I was under the understanding, from being a member on this board and from learning of past hurricane interactions with land, that mountainous terrain does have a signficant impact on the structure of a hurricane. By skirting the more mountainous terrain in eastern Cuba, Dennis will not lose the punch it has by traversing the more flat terrain of western Cuba. I agree that the primary factor that land has with a hurricane is the loss of its source of "fuel" (the warm waters), but the terrain certainly does play a more significant role than just an insignificant factor.