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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of North America, by Israel C. Russell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: North America
+
+Author: Israel C. Russell
+
+Release Date: May 3, 2011 [EBook #36024]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORTH AMERICA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Henry Gardiner and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's note: The original publication has been replicated
+faithfully except as listed in the List Of Corrections at the end of the
+text. Words in italics are indicated like _this_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                        Appletons' World Series
+
+                       _THE REGIONS OF THE WORLD_
+
+                               EDITED BY
+
+                         H. J. MACKINDER, M.A.
+
+                      _Reader in Geography in the
+                          University of Oxford_
+
+                 Each complete in One Volume, Large 8vo.
+
+
+    BRITAIN AND THE BRITISH SEAS
+      By the EDITOR
+
+    WESTERN EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
+      By ELISÉE RECLUS
+
+    CENTRAL EUROPE
+      By JOSEPH PARTSCH, Ph.D.
+
+    SCANDINAVIA AND THE ARCTIC REGION
+      By Sir CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, K.C.B.,
+        F.R.S., President Royal Geog. Soc.
+
+    THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE
+      By PRINCE KROPOTKIN
+
+    THE NEARER EAST
+      By D. G. HOGARTH, M.A.
+
+    AFRICA
+      By J. SCOTT KELTIE, LL.D., Sec. R. G. S.
+
+    INDIA
+      By Colonel Sir THOMAS HOLDICH, K.C.I.E.,
+        C.B., R.E.
+
+    THE FARTHER EAST
+      By ARCHIBALD LITTLE
+
+    NORTH AMERICA
+      By ISRAEL C. RUSSELL, LL.D.
+
+    SOUTH AMERICA
+      By JOHN C. BRANNER, LL.D.
+
+    AUSTRALASIA AND ANTARCTICA
+      By H. O. FORBES, LL.D.
+
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 1.--North America.
+
+From a photograph of a relief map by Victor and Cosmos Mindeleff. Scales
+of original: Horizontal, 120 miles to 1 inch; vertical, 40,000 feet to 1
+inch: proportion, 1:16.]
+
+
+
+
+                             NORTH AMERICA
+
+                                  BY
+
+                            ISRAEL C. RUSSELL
+
+           PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
+
+                        _With Maps and Diagrams_
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+             NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1904
+
+                            COPYRIGHT, 1904
+                       BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+                                PREFACE
+
+
+The aim of this book is to give a condensed and, I trust, readable
+account of the leading facts concerning the North American continent
+which, from the point of view of the geographer, seem most interesting
+and instructive. The area of the continent is so vast and the diversity
+among its various parts so great, however, that the completeness of
+treatment which characterizes the preceding volumes in the series to
+which it belongs could not be attempted. To obviate in a measure this
+confessed shortcoming, there has been appended to each chapter a list of
+books which will enable the reader to continue the studies outlined in
+it.
+
+A complete review of the geography of a continent should, as it seems to
+me, be divided into two parts: first, a discussion of the natural
+conditions, or physical geography, and, second, man's dependence on and
+use of the natural resources, or economic geography. Each of these two
+leading phases of the subject was embraced in the preliminary outline of
+the present volume, but owing to a desire to make each chapter as
+complete as practicable, and also on account of limitations as to space,
+the treatment of the economic phases of geography has been necessarily
+brief. But little more can be claimed for the book as finished than that
+it is an attempt to describe some of the more prominent and attractive
+aspects of the natural conditions pertaining to North America.
+
+While writing this book I have become more and more impressed with the
+incompleteness and inadequacy of the printed records relating to the
+geography of the continent of which it treats. Extensive tracts,
+particularly in the far North, have not been traversed by observant men,
+vast areas throughout the continent have not been surveyed and mapped,
+and even in the somewhat thickly inhabited portions of the more
+enlightened countries there are large districts in reference to the
+geography of which there is but little critical information available.
+Under these conditions it seemed best to select typical examples of
+various geographical features from the better known portions of the
+continent to represent the conditions throughout the less thoroughly
+explored domain in which they are situated, and at the same time serve
+to illustrate the highly creditable advances made by American
+geographers in definitely formulating the principles of physiography.
+The book may, in a measure, be considered as an attempt to present in
+popular form a report of progress concerning the study of the
+geographical development of North America at the beginning of the
+twentieth century.
+
+                                                       I. C. R.
+
+
+
+
+                             CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                      PAGE
+
+    I. THE MARGIN OF THE CONTINENT                                1
+
+        The continental shelf--The submarine topography of the
+        Caribbean region--Movements of the ocean
+        waters--Islands--Topography of the coast--Estuaries and
+        harbours.
+
+    II. THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LAND                               60
+
+        Coastal plains and plateaus--The Atlantic mountains--The
+        continental basin--The Pacific mountains--The Antillean
+        mountains.
+
+    III. CLIMATE                                                173
+
+        The elements of climate--Climatic provinces--Secondary
+        disturbances of the atmosphere--Evaporation.
+
+    IV. PLANT LIFE                                              215
+
+        The forests--Prairies, treeless plains, and
+        plateaus--The treeless mountain tops.
+
+    V. ANIMAL LIFE                                              258
+
+        General principles of geographical
+        distribution--Life-regions and life-zones--The
+        mammals--Some representative mammals--The birds.
+
+    VI. GEOLOGY                                                 299
+
+        The growth of the continent--The rocks of which the
+        continent is composed--The concentration of mineral
+        substances.
+
+    VII. THE ABORIGINES                                         355
+
+        The Eskimos--The Indians.
+
+    VIII. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY                                   408
+
+        Classification of boundaries--Political
+        control--Population in 1900.
+
+    INDEX                                                       427
+
+
+
+
+                          LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                             COLOURED MAPS
+
+    PLATE                                                PAGE
+
+       I. Orographical features                            25
+
+      II. Mean annual rainfall and temperature            173
+
+     III. Climate and life provinces                      185
+
+      IV. Leading geological features                     306
+
+       V. Pleistocene glacial deposits                    315
+
+      VI. Linguistic stocks of Indians North of Mexico    370
+
+     VII. Distribution of governments                     410
+
+    VIII. Characteristic vegetation                       418
+
+
+                          OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+    FIG.                                                 PAGE
+
+     1. Relief map of North America            _Frontispiece_
+
+     2. Profile of a continental shelf                      2
+
+     3. Map of Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean region,
+          showing topography of the sea-floor              17
+
+     4. Co-tidal lines                                     29
+
+     5. Profile of sea-cliff and cut-and-built terrace     33
+
+     6. Map of a portion of the Atlantic coast of the
+          United States                                    35
+
+     7. Map of Mobile Bay                                  36
+
+     8. Map of Cape Cod                                    37
+
+     9. Map of the coast of Texas                          39
+
+    10. Map of a portion of the coast of Maine             45
+
+    11. Map of the coast of southeastern Alaska            47
+
+    12. Map of the delta of the Mississippi                53
+
+    13. Map giving the names of the larger physiographic
+          divisions of North America                       61
+
+    14. Altitude map of North America                      65
+
+    15. Map of the Appalachian Mountains                   74
+
+    16. Section of anticlinal valleys and synclinal
+          mountains                                        78
+
+    17. Profile showing relation of ancient peneplains
+          in the Appalachians                              81
+
+    18. Section through the Black Hills of Dakota         117
+
+    19. Sketch of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado River   134
+
+    20. Map of the Great Basin                            137
+
+    21. Map of Crater Lake, Oregon                        153
+
+    22. Mount Rainier, Washington                         154
+
+    23. Map of Puget Sound                                161
+
+    24. Map showing isobars for January and July          175
+
+    25. Ice-palace, Montreal                              199
+
+    26. Map showing tracks of West Indian hurricanes      209
+
+    27. Map showing depth of evaporation
+          in the United States                            212
+
+    28. Map showing distribution of forests               215
+
+    29. Douglas firs, Vancouver                           241
+
+    30. View in redwood forest of California, from
+           photograph by U. S. Bureau of Forestry         242
+
+    31. Bison at Silver Heights, Winnipeg                 275
+
+    32. Map showing range of bison                        276
+
+    33. Maps showing the growth of the North American
+          continent                                       303
+
+    34. Map showing the distribution of coal-fields       336
+
+    35. Ideal section through an oil and gas
+          pool beneath an anticlinal                      339
+
+    36. Lodge or tepee of Blackfoot
+          Indians, Manitoba                               387
+
+    37. Panorama of Uxmal, Yucatan                        390
+
+    38. Pointed arches in Central American ruins          393
+
+    39. Carved stonework, Uxmal, Yucatan                  394
+
+
+
+
+                             NORTH AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER I
+
+                    THE MARGIN OF THE CONTINENT--THE
+                           CONTINENTAL SHELF
+
+
+In beginning the study of the physical geography of North America, one
+of the first facts to claim attention is that the true continental
+border is in general many miles seaward from the present margin of the
+land. The boundary of our field of study is defined with considerable
+accuracy by a line drawn on the bottom of the sea adjacent to the
+present coast-line of the continent so as to pass through all points
+where the soundings show a depth of 100 fathoms of water. This
+100-fathom contour in the topography of the sea-floor chances to
+coincide in a general way with the outline of the submerged border of
+the continent; landward from it the bottom rises with a gentle slope,
+while seaward the descent is usually steep down to a depth of 2,000 or
+more fathoms.
+
+A gently sloping shelf-like border surrounds the deep central basin of
+the Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 3). To the west and north of Yucatan and west
+of Florida the shelf is from 140 to 160 miles broad, with a surface
+slope towards the centre of the Gulf of less than 6 feet to a mile--a
+slope so gentle that were the surface of the shelf exposed to view, no
+eye could distinguish it from a perfect plain. The deepest sounding yet
+obtained in the central part of the Gulf, approximately midway between
+Yucatan and Florida, shows a depth of 2,119 fathoms. The remarkable fact
+is that the slope from the 100-fathom line to the bottom of the central
+basin of the Gulf is precipitous. In two places on the border of
+the Yucatan bank a descent of about 8,500 feet occurs within a
+horizontal distance of 15 or 20 miles.
+
+On the east side of the southern extremity of Florida, and again on the
+eastern shore of Yucatan, the continental shelf is only about 5 miles
+broad; these are the nearest approaches of the present land to the
+actual border of the continent to be found on the Atlantic coast. The
+explanation of these exceptional conditions is that both Florida and
+Yucatan are portions of the continental shelf which have been raised so
+as to form low emerged plains.
+
+From Cape Hatteras northward to the extremity of the Newfoundland Banks
+the shelf increases gradually in breadth from about 15 miles in the
+region of the Carolinas to over 100 miles off the coast of Maine. The
+outer border of the shelf is an irregular curving line. Opposite the
+coast of Massachusetts and Maine an extension of the Atlantic basin
+reaches within 15 or 20 miles of the present margin of the land. The
+manner in which the low plain fringing the eastern border of the United
+States passes beneath the waters of the Atlantic and becomes a
+continental shelf is illustrated by Fig. 2.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Ideal profile through a continental shelf.]
+
+Southeast of Newfoundland the continental shelf has an irregular
+surface, marked by shoals and depressions, and furnishes the most
+valuable fishing-banks in the world. The 100-fathom curve is there over
+500 miles from the coast. This is the broadest portion of the
+continental shelf now known on the Atlantic border of the continent.
+Northward of Newfoundland the Atlantic basin extends far into Davis
+Strait and Baffin Bay, and then its border swings outward about
+Greenland, but its true margin is there but imperfectly known.
+
+To the north of the arctic coast of North America, as is suggested in
+part by the soundings made by Nansen, the submerged margin of the
+continent is probably broad and presents a steep escarpment to the
+arctic basin, but the outline of the true continent, as in the case of
+the present land extension in that direction, is unknown.
+
+Soundings to the north of Cape Lisburne, on the northwest coast of
+Alaska, show that the 100-fathom curve is there over 200 miles from
+land. The exceptionally shallow sea covering this portion of the shelf
+continues westward to the coast of Asia, and southward through Bering
+Strait, so as to embrace the eastern portion of Bering Sea. The
+continental mass of North America is thus directly connected with the
+continental mass of Asia. A rise of the bottom of less than 200 feet in
+Bering Strait would bring about a land connection between the Old and
+the New World. This, as will appear later, is a most significant fact to
+students of geography and geology.
+
+On the Pacific coast of North America the continental shelf is
+throughout much narrower than its average breadth on the Atlantic side
+of the continent, and is also more deeply submerged on its seaward
+border. The broad platform beneath the northern and eastern portions of
+Bering Sea--from which rise the low islands, St. Lawrence, St. Matthew,
+Nunivak, and the Pribilof group, now separated by water from 25 to 35
+fathoms deep--extends to the south of the more easterly of the Aleutian
+Islands, and is prolonged eastward along the south border of Alaska,
+where the 100-fathom curve is from 10 to 20 miles from the coast-line,
+and approaches still nearer the land in the neighbourhood of the islands
+of southeastern Alaska and British Columbia. The shelf is narrow but
+well defined along the coasts of Washington and Oregon. Adjacent to
+California, Mexico, and Central America, its outer margin is barely 10
+miles from land. Throughout the entire distance from the Aleutian
+Islands to Panama the outer border of the shelf is in general well
+defined, and its seaward escarpment descends abruptly to the floor of
+the vast Pacific basin, where the sounding-line shows depths of
+from 2,000 to 3,000 fathoms.
+
+Could the waters of the sea be removed and North America viewed from a
+distance, in the manner we are enabled to examine the surface features
+of the moon through a powerful telescope, an observer would behold a
+great plateau, having the present well-known triangular shape of the
+continent, rising boldly between the Atlantic and the Pacific basins.
+The surface of the plateau would be rough, in comparison with the
+generally smooth contours of the adjacent troughs, but even the highest
+mountains would be less in elevation above its general surface than the
+crests of its bordering escarpments above the adjacent depressions. The
+mountain-peaks when illuminated by the sun would appear as points of
+light with long, tapering morning and evening shadows, and the east and
+west plateau-borders would be strongly drawn bands of light or shadow,
+according to the time of day, 6,000 or 8,000 miles in length. The
+Bermuda, Hawaiian, and other islands now rising above the surface of the
+deep sea would stand on its desiccated floor as isolated, gigantic
+mountains--"Bermuda mountain" with an elevation of 15,000 feet, and the
+Hawaiian group of peaks with a culminating point of light 30,000 feet
+above the surrounding plain. The bordering slopes of the "North American
+plateau" and its slightly bevelled margin forming the present
+continental shelf would be lacking in details, and appear as a vast,
+smooth, curving belt of light or shadow, in striking contrast to the
+roughened surface now above water.
+
+The North American continent is not exceptional in being partially
+submerged at the present time. Similar conditions occur about the
+margins of other continents which, as is well known, are fringed with
+broad submarine terraces built in part of their own _débris_. In fact,
+every large land mass on the earth under existing climatic conditions
+and present distribution of life, if it remained moderately stable for a
+sufficient length of time, would have a submarine shelf built about its
+borders.
+
+_Of what is the Continental Shelf Composed?_--The rocks forming the
+present land surface of North America extend seaward from the existing
+shores and constitute the basal portions of the continental shelf, thus
+suggesting that the submerged platform is due, in part at least, to
+shore erosion--the waves having eaten into the land so as to make a
+terrace. That this is not the true explanation, however, may be shown in
+several ways.
+
+The superficial covering which gives the continental shelf its smooth
+contours is composed largely of sediments such as rivers bring from the
+land. This material is coarsest and in greatest abundance near shore and
+decreases both in the size of the particles composing it and in
+abundance towards the seaward borders of the shelf. The wash from the
+land is mostly deposited within a few miles of the coast-line and, as
+has been shown by dredging, is seldom carried, even under the most
+favourable conditions, more than about 100 miles seaward. Supplementing
+the fragmental material derived from the land, and increasing in
+thickness towards the seaward margin of the continental
+shelf--coincident with the increase in depth of the water--is a deposit
+of light-coloured calcareous mud or ooze, formed of the hard parts of
+animals and plants which live in the waters of the sea. The organisms
+which supply this material are in the main microscopic and live
+especially in the warmer seas in countless myriads. Their dead shells or
+cases fall to the sea-floor in a constant shower, much as the snow falls
+from the air, but continuously year after year and century after
+century. This descent of the hard parts of organisms, both calcareous
+and siliceous, from the waters of the sea has led to the accumulation of
+a sheet of slimy sediment over almost the entire sea-bottom. How thick
+this layer is we have no means of knowing, but it is probably many
+hundreds of feet.
+
+The organic _débris_ falling on the continental shelf descends through
+only a few hundred feet of water and is but little affected by its
+solvent action. The great number of organisms, such as the Foraminifera
+which secrete calcareous tests or "shells" causes the slime on the
+continental shelves to be calcareous and in the condition to form
+limestone if cemented or subjected to sufficient pressure. In the deep
+sea, where the hard parts of dead organisms fall through many thousands
+of feet of water, their more soluble portions are removed and the bottom
+is covered throughout vast areas with a pinkish clay composed of the
+more insoluble residue of the calcareous shells and the cases of
+silica-secreting animals and plants.
+
+The continental shelves are, in general, within the influences of ocean
+currents, and fine _débris_, as we seem justified in concluding, is
+removed from their surfaces, carried beyond their margins, and deposited
+on their seaward slopes. The shelves are thus built outward and are
+largely constructional topographic forms. Their outer slopes, where best
+defined, represent about the "angle of repose" in water of the fine
+material of which they are composed. These slopes are in several regions
+so precipitous that they probably would not retain their present forms,
+but descend in landslides, should the restraining pressure of the
+sea-water be removed.
+
+In certain favoured regions, as about the southern extremity of Florida,
+over an extensive area in the West Indies, and on both sides of Central
+America, the conditions favour the growth of reef-building coral-polyps,
+and portions of the continental shelf in that region are covered with an
+irregular layer of living coral and dead coral rock. The importance of
+this resistant superficial layer on the minor features of the relief of
+the submarine banks, etc., needs to be considered in studying the
+secondary topographic features of many portions of the floor of shallow
+tropical seas.
+
+In addition to the _débris_ from the land and the rain of the hard parts
+of organisms from the water covering the continental shelf there is in
+northern regions a third but less important source of material furnished
+by floating ice. About the northern shores of America sea ice forms in
+winter, some of which is frozen fast to boulders and stones in shallow
+water, and when this ice-foot, as it is termed, is adjacent to steep
+cliffs, rock _débris_ falls upon it. When the ice becomes broken
+into cakes in the spring-time or during storms, it floats away, under
+the influence of the winds and currents, and as it melts drops its
+freight on the floor of the sea. This shore ice seldom travels far, and
+is probably not an important factor in the building of continental
+shelves. Of greater interest are the bergs derived from glaciers,
+especially in Greenland, many of which contain hundreds of thousands and
+even millions of cubic feet of ice and travel hundreds of miles before
+melting. In some instances these bergs carry with them rock masses, mud,
+etc., derived from the land over which their parent glaciers flowed, and
+as they melt, distribute this material over the sea-floor. The greater
+portion of this ice-carried freight derived from Greenland is dropped on
+the continental shelf, and not infrequently reaches the latitude of
+Halifax, and even journeys farther south. This berg-carried _débris_ is
+mainly deposited on the continental shelf, for the reason that the cold
+currents which bring the bergs southward follow the coast in a general
+way, and are bordered on their seaward margins by warmer currents
+flowing northward. To the north of Nova Scotia the additions of material
+to the continental shelf through the agency of bergs is considerable in
+the aggregate, and as the process has been in operation for thousands of
+years, the banks or shoals in the sea off the Newfoundland coast are due
+in part to this cause.
+
+Ice-carried _débris_ forms an important source of material for the
+building of the continental shelf from New England northward and
+westward about the shores of North America, including Greenland, to
+Bering Sea, and to a less extent on the south coast of Alaska, where
+many comparatively small bergs are set afloat by glaciers which reach
+tide-water. Supplementing the distribution of _débris_ over the
+continental shelf by shore ice and bergs, is the similar work carried on
+by the ice discharged into the sea by northern rivers, such as the St.
+Lawrence, Mackenzie, and the Yukon.
+
+During the glacial epoch great ice-sheets like those now discharging
+bergs along the Greenland coast, but vastly larger, entered the
+Atlantic all the way from New York to the Arctic Ocean, and along the
+Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to the State of Washington.
+During certain periods of this time of intense glaciation great
+additions of ice-borne _débris_ must have been made to the continental
+shelf. The banks to the east of Newfoundland and other similar shoals as
+far south as Nantucket are probably due in large part to the _débris_
+deposited by the glaciers which formerly entered the sea in that region.
+It is of interest in this connection to note that the glaciers, even at
+the time of their greatest expansion, could not have extended beyond the
+seaward margin of the continental shelf, for the reason that on passing
+that boundary and entering deep water they must have broken off and
+given origin to bergs.
+
+_Submerged River Channels._--One of the most interesting features in
+connection with the continental shelf bordering North America is that
+its generally plane surface is trenched in several places by cañon-like
+depressions similar to the narrow steep-sided valleys which streams
+sometimes cut in the surfaces of plateaus. This suggestion that the
+surface of the continental shelf is crossed by stream-cut channels is
+supported by the fact that several such depressions, leading seaward
+from the present mouths of large rivers, have been discovered by the
+sounding-line. The best known example occurs off the mouth of the Hudson
+and has been traced from New York Bay about 120 miles seaward to the
+edge of the continental shelf. It is deepest and best defined on the
+outer portion of the submerged plateau, where for a distance of 23
+miles, beginning 97 miles from Sandy Hook, it has an average width of 3
+miles and a maximum depth of about 2,500 feet below the surface of the
+bordering submarine plain, which has 20 fathoms of water over it. This
+cañon opens out in the seaward face of the plateau and forms a deep
+notch in the generally uniform crest-line of that escarpment. Farther
+"up-stream," so to speak, the channel narrows to a mile and a quarter,
+with some irregularities in depth, and near Sandy Hook it is not
+apparent, owing to the amount of _débris_, largely sand, swept into
+it by shore currents. This evidence, strengthened by the fact that the
+true rock-cut valley of the Hudson as far as Troy is filled with clay
+and sand to a considerable but unknown depth, is abundant proof that the
+land was formerly higher than at present by at least 3,000 feet, and
+that the now submerged continental shelf off Long Island was then a
+plain above water, across which the ancient Hudson was extended. The
+river flowed across this plain for a sufficient length of time to
+excavate a cañon over 2,500 feet deep and 3 miles wide from crest to
+crest of its walls in its seaward portion. This submerged channel has
+the characteristics of a young, stream-cut valley and suggests that the
+plain across which it flowed to the eastward of Long Island was a
+submerged continental shelf previous to being upraised so as to be
+trenched by the Hudson.
+
+The evidence as to changes in the elevation of the Atlantic coast
+furnished by the submerged valley of the Hudson does not stand alone.
+Similar but less well-defined channels have been discovered by soundings
+off the mouths of the Delaware and the Susquehanna, while the most
+remarkable instance of all is furnished by the submerged valley of the
+St. Lawrence, which has been traced through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and
+out to the brink of the submerged continental escarpment some 200 miles
+eastward of Nova Scotia. The tide now rises and falls in the St.
+Lawrence to within a few miles of Montreal; that is, the "Greater St.
+Lawrence" has lost about 1,000 miles of its length owing to a downward
+movement of the land.
+
+Evidence of the nature just considered is lacking, or, more correctly,
+surveys and soundings which would perhaps reveal the presence of
+submerged river channels have not been made about the shores of the more
+northerly portion of the continent, but instructive results in this
+connection are to be expected when that region is thoroughly studied.
+
+On the Pacific coast several transverse channels in the continental
+shelf, similar to the submerged valleys of the Hudson, have been
+discovered by soundings, some of which are thought to be true
+stream-cut valleys; others, however, start from the coast where there
+are no rivers entering, and may be due to other and as yet unknown
+causes.
+
+An exceptional feature in the geography of the Pacific coast to the
+south of the United States-Canadian boundary is furnished by the islands
+off the southern portion of California. These islands, of which Santa
+Rosa, Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, and San Clemente are the most
+important, rise from water that is 300 or more fathoms deep to a height
+of from a few hundred to about 2,000 feet above the present sea-level.
+These islands are the summit portions of mountains similar to those
+which give a characteristic relief to southern California. One feature
+concerning the islands referred to which is of interest in connection
+with the study of the continental shelf is the presence on them of
+numerous terraces. These occur on a series of level, step-like areas,
+which sweep about the slopes of the islands, in a general way parallel
+to the present shore-line, and are records of an upward movement of the
+land. The highest well-defined terrace on San Clemente occurs at an
+elevation of 1,320 feet, but there are less distinct beach-lines up to
+1,500 feet above the present sea-level. The evidence of movements of the
+land along the Pacific border of the continent might be multiplied, but
+enough has been stated to show that the western border of North America,
+like its eastern portion, is subject to fluctuation in reference to the
+level of the sea. The line which marks the passage of the solid earth
+beneath the waters of the sea is ever changing, owing to movements in
+the earth's crust. It is ever changing, also, owing to the action of
+waves and currents on the ocean's shores and other causes.
+
+_Life on the Continental Shelf._--No attempt need be made here to give
+an accurate description of the plants and animals which find a congenial
+home on the continental shelf. One needs, however, to have in mind a
+general idea of the wonderful abundance and variety of organic forms in
+the shallow waters adjacent to the continent to fully appreciate the
+changes in the relief of the ocean-floor, in which they play a
+leading part, and also the vast economic importance of these marine
+harvest-fields and pastures, as they may be termed.
+
+The continental shelf fringing North America reaches from within 500
+miles of the equator to probably a less distance of the north pole. Its
+length following its broader curves is in the neighbourhood of 25,000
+miles, and its average width is not far from 50 miles; its area is
+therefore something like 1,000,000 square miles. On account of the vast
+extent of this submarine plain and its great range in latitude, the
+conditions influencing the lives of the plants and animals inhabiting
+its surface or living in the waters covering it vary from place to place
+between wide extremes. The waters resting on it have a mean annual
+surface temperature of from 70° to 80° F. at the south, and about 32° F.
+at the north. In places great rivers and the turbid waters from glaciers
+bring in sediments and form muddy deposits; at other localities the
+currents, as in the path of the Gulf Stream off the Carolina coast,
+sweep the bottom clear of all light _débris_; and again bare rocks of
+limited extent are exposed. The depth of the water resting on the shelf
+varies through all gradations down to 100 fathoms. At the south the
+hours of light and darkness are approximately equal each day, but at the
+north there are six months of sunlight and six months of darkness each
+year. Still other variations, as of strength of currents, salinity,
+etc., exert an influence in this realm and lead to great diversity in
+its living organisms. Throughout its entire extent, however, the
+continental shelf abounds in both plant and animal life.
+
+The plant life of the sea, as has been shown in recent years by the use
+of the dredge and net, is most abundant at the surface and is
+practically absent at the bottom where the water is over 100 fathoms
+deep. The animals of the sea, like those of the land, are dependent
+primarily on plants for their food. By far the most abundant supply of
+food plants in the sea is furnished by minute algæ, which float free in
+its water. Below a depth of about 100 fathoms algæ are absent because of
+lack of light, and all the deep-sea animals are believed to be
+carnivorous. For these reasons the comparatively shallow waters
+adjacent to the land and mainly covering the continental shelf are the
+most favourably circumstanced of any portion of the sea for the support
+of a teeming fauna.
+
+On the continental shelf of North America, especially to the south of
+Cape Cod on the Atlantic and south of the Aleutian Islands on the
+Pacific coast, there is a warm temperature, light penetrates to the
+bottom except in the unfavourable and fortunately restricted areas of
+muddy water, and motion of the waters produced by currents and the
+pulsations of waves is present. These several favourable conditions
+permit of an exuberance of life such as is unknown to persons who
+confine their attention to the study of land areas.
+
+We may safely say, in the words of Alexander Agassiz, that the abundance
+of life in the many favoured localities of the ocean far surpasses that
+of the richest terrestrial faunal districts. The most thickly populated
+tropical jungle does not compare in wealth of animal or vegetable life
+with certain portions of the continental shelf on the western border of
+the Gulf Stream. In this connection we may also cite Humboldt, who
+before the marvellous revelations in reference to the life of the sea
+made by recent dredging expeditions wrote: "Upon surfaces less varied
+than we find on continents, the sea contains in its bosom an exuberance
+of life of which no other portion of the globe could give us an idea."
+
+The distribution of life in the sea is analogous to the distribution of
+life on land, but in a reverse direction with reference to sea-level. A
+traveller passing from the tropical plains of eastern Mexico and
+ascending Orizaba, for example, crosses successive belts of vegetation,
+each with its indigenous animals, but merging one with another so as to
+make a gradation in the luxuriance of the flora and the abundance of
+animal life from the wonderfully rich plains adjacent to the Gulf coast
+to the snow-capped mountain top. In the sea, the tropical plains with
+their tangled vegetation and plentiful animal life are represented by
+the still more uniform plain forming the submerged continental
+shelf with its strange forests of flowerless plants, the seaweeds. These
+submarine jungles shelter hosts of animal species, many of which swarm
+in countless myriads. This life embraces all grades of invertebrates,
+such as the microscopic protozoa, sponges, radiate animals like the
+coral-polyps, starfishes, sea-urchins, etc., and crustaceans in vast
+variety, and, among vertebrates, includes fishes, reptiles, and mammals.
+Even birds might be included in this category, since many of them are
+more at home on the sea than on the land.
+
+The struggle for food among this multitude is intense. As with many
+animals on the land, adaptive coloration is here a means of escape from
+enemies, and many of the animals assume the brilliant hues of the
+surrounding vegetation. The water is less transparent than air, and in
+the deep sea it is always night. Counteracting to some extent this
+diminution or absence of sunlight, many marine animals are luminous and
+shine with phosphorescent light of many different tints. This property
+is shared also by the animals of the sunny, shallow sea as well as by
+those always living in the cold midnight of the great deep and in the
+polar oceans.
+
+The luxuriant vegetation, both attached and floating, and varying from
+giant kelp, scores of feet in length, to microscopic algæ which an
+amoeba might encompass, clothes the surface of the continental shelf
+except in unfavourable localities or is carried here and there by the
+currents moving over it, but has its lower limit at about the 100-fathom
+line. This inferior limit of marine vegetation is probably more
+definitely defined than the superior limit of land plants on snow-capped
+mountains. All attached seaweeds are confined to the shallow seas, but
+floating kelp, like the well-known Gulf weed or sargasso, which collects
+in the eddies of the sea currents and forms more or less mythical
+floating islands, is widely distributed, as are also many kinds of
+minute algæ which thrive in the upper 100 fathoms of the open ocean in
+all latitudes. The primary source of food for the hungry millions of
+marine animals, excepting the comparatively small quantity brought
+by rivers or blown from the land, is supplied by the marine algæ, and
+mainly by the minute forms which float in the water.
+
+So much space has just been given to the marvellous luxuriance of life
+on the southern portion of the great shelf surrounding North America
+that the reader may perhaps think the cold northern oceans are even more
+lifeless and desolate than their adjacent shores. This, however, is not
+the case.
+
+Northward along the continental shelf, with decrease in the strength of
+the sunlight, the plants and animals lose much of the brilliancy which
+characterizes many of the denizens of southern waters, and in general
+assume more subdued colours in harmony with the prevailing gray of their
+surroundings. The great diversity of animal life to be found in shallow
+tropical seas decreases as one traces the continental shelf northward,
+but even in the Arctic Ocean adjacent to the land invertebrate life
+literally swarms, although the number of species, genera, etc., is
+comparatively limited. Seaweeds are not absent from the Arctic Ocean,
+although its shores, owing to the destructive action of ice, usually
+seem exceedingly barren, and the lower or smaller forms of algæ float in
+the waters in abundance. Food sufficient for an extensive fauna is thus
+supplied, and where food is plentiful animals are present also, no
+matter what the mean annual temperature may be.
+
+The life of the Arctic Ocean has been but inadequately studied, but
+enough is known concerning it to show that a promising field there
+awaits the naturalist. On the continental shelf off Point Barrow, the
+most northern portion of the arctic shore of Alaska (latitude 71° 23'),
+180 species of marine invertebrates have been collected. Of these, the
+molluscs numbered 61 species; the crustaceans, 44 species; the worms, 20
+species; and the echinoderms (sea-urchins, starfish, etc.), 17 species.
+
+Nearly all of the Arctic Ocean adjacent to the coast of America is as
+yet unexplored, and we have therefore no direct testimony as to its
+flora and fauna. We may reasonably assume, however, that the life is
+there practically the same as in the waters of similar depth to
+the north of Eurasia. Nordenskiöld, in his narrative of the voyage of
+the Vega, speaks of decapods, worms, mussels, crustacea, and asteroids
+which crawled in myriads over the beds of clay and sand at the bottom of
+the Kara Sea. A detailed account is given of one unusually successful
+haul of the trawl when it brought up large asteroids, sponges, crinoids,
+holothuria, a gigantic spider, masses of worms, crustacea, etc. This was
+the most abundant yield of the trawl-net at any one time during the
+voyage of the Vega on the north coast of Asia, and that, too, from the
+sea off the northern extremity of the continent. The temperature of the
+water at the surface was from zero to -1.4° C. (32° to 29.48° F.), and
+at the bottom from -1.4° to 1.6° C. (29.48° to 34.88° F.). In this
+connection the same distinguished naturalist remarks: "It is singular
+that a temperature under the freezing-point of pure water should be
+advantageous for the development of an animal life so extremely rich as
+that which is found here, and that this animal life should not suffer
+any harm from the complete darkness which during the greater portion of
+the year prevails at the bottom of the ice-covered sea."
+
+To persons who have never visited the far north the statements that
+travellers in those regions give in reference to the abundance of life
+in the sea seems scarcely to be credited. The assertion, however, that
+comparing equal areas in the most populous tropical sea and in portions
+of the Arctic Ocean, the amount of life, or the tons of living animal
+matter per square mile in the two regions, would be in favour of the
+northern station is probably true. In addition to the direct evidence
+indicated above as to the prolific invertebrate life of the cold waters
+of the north, we have still more impressive testimony from the vast
+numbers of birds and large-sized mammals which subsist on this
+abundance, or feed on fishes, which in turn obtain their subsistence
+from the invertebrate realm.
+
+Every rocky island and headland at the north is a breeding-place for
+sea-birds. They are to be numbered by millions, yet their daily food is
+gathered from the surface of the sea. The seals live in large
+numbers about all the arctic shore, and the walruses, each individual
+weighing about a ton, occur in herds; while whales and narwhals inhabit
+the same waters. The presence of such numbers of large mammals is proof
+that the life on which they subsist is abundant.
+
+
+            THE SUBMARINE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION
+
+The studies which have given to the world so much information concerning
+the continental shelf surrounding the main body of North America have
+been continued, or, perhaps more properly, were initiated, in the West
+Indian waters. For this important work we are indebted mainly to the
+United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and the United States Fish
+Commission. The work of officers of the United States Navy in charge of
+Coast Survey and Fish Commission vessels, in making accurate
+measurements of depths, temperatures, strength and direction of
+currents, character of bottom, etc., has, in some instances, been
+commemorated on maps of the sea-floor by such names as Brownson Deep,
+Sigsbee Deep, Bartlett Deep, etc. The routine survey work referred to
+has been supplemented and extended by the labours of Louis Agassiz, L.
+F. Pourtales, Alexander Agassiz, and others in studying the life in the
+sea, the origin and history of the material forming the sea-bottom, and
+the nature of the shelves, banks, deeps, etc., which give diversity to
+its topography.
+
+The continental shelf bordering Florida on the east is separated from a
+similar submarine embankment surrounding the Bahama Islands by a channel
+56 miles wide and from 200 to 500 fathoms deep (Fig. 3).
+This channel when followed northward becomes shallower and broader, and
+opposite the Carolina coast is no longer discernible in the relief of
+the broad continental shelf. The Gulf Stream flows northward through
+this Florida channel, as it is termed, with a current of from 2 to 6
+miles per hour. These conditions are such as to suggest that the channel
+referred to has in part been excavated by the Gulf Stream.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean region:
+topography of sea-floor. The first contour line from the land indicates
+a depth of 600 feet--the outer margin of the continental shelf. Contour
+interval below the 600-foot curve, 3,000 feet. After R. T. Hill.]
+
+The Great Bahama Bank, from which rise the low coral-built Andros
+Islands and a large number of crags and rocks, measures about 360
+geographical miles from southeast to northwest, and has a width of
+approximately 200 geographical miles. Throughout its entire submerged
+portion the water is less than 100, and over much of the area less than
+10 fathoms deep. It is invaded and given an irregular shape, however, by
+a "tongue of the ocean" which curves in from the northward, in which
+soundings of from 700 to 1,000 fathoms have been obtained. To the north
+of the Great Bahama Bank, and separated from it by water nearly 2,000
+fathoms deep, is the Little Bahama Bank, measuring 50 by 150
+geographical miles, from which rises the low islands known as Great
+Bahama, Great Abaco, and a multitude of islets and crags, while beneath
+the water, as is the case also on the greater submarine plateau to the
+south, there are numerous shoals. Southeast from the Great Bahama Bank,
+and in a general view to be classed with it, are several other shallow
+areas in the sea, of similar character, and with numerous islands and
+reefs rising from them. The southeastern terminus of this series of
+plateaus, the surfaces of which have been built up practically to the
+level of the surface of the sea, is the Navidad Bank, situated about 50
+miles to the north of the eastern end of the island of Santo Domingo
+(Haiti) and forms the west border of Brownson Deep. The length of the
+series of banks to the north of the Greater Antilles is about 800, and
+its average width 120 geographical miles.
+
+The unevenness of the surface of the Bahama Banks (and the same is true
+also of the southern portion of Florida, the Yucatan peninsula, and of
+nearly all of the submarine plateaus or banks in West India waters) is
+largely due to the coral reefs and the coral rock formed on them. While
+the outer portion of the continental shelf, in most instances, is formed
+of soft, unconsolidated calcareous mud or ooze, in the tropical seas,
+where the depth, clearness of the water, etc., are favourable,
+reef-building coral-polyps become attached and form massive corals. The
+growth of these corals is irregular, and the surface of the plateaus
+where they are attached becomes roughened. There is a delicate
+adjustment between the growth of reef-building corals and strength of
+current, freedom of exposure to the waves, etc., and they flourish in
+certain localities, as on the windward border of islands, and die at
+other localities. The growth of coral "heads" and reefs changes the
+direction of currents, and the spaces of soft ooze and dead coral
+between the localities most favourable for coral growth are liable to be
+scoured out and the bottom lowered. When coral, together with the shells
+of molluscs and other organic refuse of the teeming life of tropical
+seas, reaches the surface of the water, fragments and even large masses
+are broken off by the force of the waves, ground into calcareous sand
+owing to the movements produced by the waves and currents, and much of
+it heaped on the borders of the reefs so as to raise them above the
+fair-weather level of the sea. Much of this material, when it becomes
+dry, is moved by the winds and built into dunes, thus still further
+increasing the height of the land. Many of the islands in the Bahamas
+have thus been formed, but the process has been modified in the greater
+part of that region by movements in the earth's crust which have
+produced widely extended elevations and depressions. The larger islands
+in the Bahama group are coral platforms which have been moderately
+elevated, and bear on their surfaces extensive accumulations of
+wind-deposited sand. The Yucatan peninsula is also, to a great extent,
+an upraised coral platform. The surfaces of such exposed areas of easily
+soluble calcareous rocks are roughened still more by the action of rain
+and percolating waters, and if subsequently submerged to a moderate
+depth would give origin to "banks" with uneven, and possibly
+conspicuously roughened surfaces. Different stages in this varied
+history are illustrated throughout the West India region.
+
+About the Caribbean coast of Honduras and Nicaragua the continental
+shelf is broad and is termed the Mosquito Bank, in reference to its
+proximity to the widely known coast of that name. Off the northeast cape
+of Honduras this submerged shelf has a breadth of about 125 geographical
+miles, and is succeeded to the eastward by the much smaller,
+isolated, submarine plateau known as the Rosalind Bank. Even on a small
+map, like that forming Fig. 3, it is readily seen that in
+general terms there is a series of banks and low islands extending from
+the Mosquito Coast to Jamaica, Santo Domingo, Porto Rico, and the
+Caribbees. The distance measured along the curved line connecting the
+several areas of shallow water is about 1,700 geographical miles. Should
+this region be upraised 600 feet, the new lands that would appear would
+still, in several instances, be separated by deep water, thus showing
+that although in a generalized view it is convenient to consider the
+banks and shelves referred to as parts of a single great group, there
+are several centres from which they have grown.
+
+A third great group of banks and shoals occurs about the borders of
+Cuba, especially along its southern margin. Associated with this
+submerged plain of calcareous mud, roughened by countless coral crags,
+is a narrow east-and-west ridge in the Caribbean Sea, known in part as
+the Misteriosa Bank, which rises precipitously on its southeast border
+from a depth of over 3,400 fathoms, and is indicated at the surface by
+the Cayman Islands.
+
+The Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region has great depressions or "deeps"
+as well as broad banks or shoals. The submarine topography is, in fact,
+on a more Titanic scale than in any other known region. Brownson Deep,
+some 50 miles north of Porto Rico, has a depth of 4,561 fathoms (27,366
+feet), and the bordering slopes of the depression in certain places, and
+for long distances, have an inclination of 35 degrees. Between 15 and 30
+miles south of Porto Rico the bottom of the Caribbean Sea is 1,500
+fathoms below its surface, and rapidly descends to over 2,400 fathoms.
+Bartlett Deep, a long, narrow depression in the sea-floor, intervening
+in its eastern portion between Cuba and Jamaica, has a depth of 3,428
+fathoms (20,568 feet) measured from the surface of the sea. Sigsbee
+Deep, in the central portion of the Gulf of Mexico, is a third basin of
+similar nature, remarkable for the great extent of its nearly
+level floor, which is from 2,035 to 2,071 fathoms below sea-level. (On
+Fig. 3 only the general depths of these great depressions are
+indicated.) Coupled with the profound depth of the sea in the West
+Indian region are the rugged mountains of the Great Antilles and the
+volcanic cones of the Caribbees. Some of the elevations of the land
+referred to are, in feet, as follows: Porto Rico, 3,609; Jamaica, 7,360;
+Cuba, 8,600; and Santo Domingo, 10,300. The extreme range in the relief
+of the surface of the solid earth (lithosphere) between the bottom of
+Brownson Deep and the summit of Santo Domingo is 37,666 feet--the
+horizontal distance between the two is about 270 geographical miles. No
+mountain on the earth has such an elevation above sea-level. The islands
+of the West Indies are thus shown to be the summits of stupendous
+mountains, the greater portions of which are submerged. The low-lying
+islands, and even the banks which can be discovered only with the aid of
+the sounding-line, are in reality the tops of wonderfully steep
+mountains or plateaus some 20,000 feet in height.
+
+It is a significant fact that the profiles of the partially or wholly
+submerged mountains of the West Indies are, as a rule, steeper than the
+slopes of the mountains on the land with which they may reasonably be
+compared. This is due in part, perhaps, to the greater density of the
+medium in which they stand, the sea-water affording a greater degree of
+support than the air, but the main reason is that beneath a few hundred
+feet of water there is no erosion except the exceedingly slow removal of
+matter in solution. Could the waters of the sea be withdrawn so as to
+reveal the Caribbean Mountains in all of their stupendous grandeur, the
+vast, smooth, sweeping surfaces extending from the horizontal lines
+drawn about the higher summits by the waves and by the deposition of
+sediment and coral growths, down to their bases would be unmarked by
+channels and ridges of the character that give details to the type of
+mountains with which we are most familiar.
+
+An instructive generalization concerning the relief of the West India
+region, suggested by Alexander Agassiz and sustained by the later
+studies of R. T. Hill, is that we there find topographic forms produced
+by movements in the earth's crust which have not been modified by
+erosion. The great elevations rising from the floors of the "deeps" are
+upraised blocks of the earth's crust which have not been beaten by rain,
+shattered by frost, or trenched by rills, creeks, or rivers. They
+illustrate the character of the rough blocks of rock from which many of
+the mountain forms of the land have been sculptured.
+
+This sweeping view, which it seems safe to accept as a generalized
+outline of the history of the topography of the region in question,
+needs to be qualified, as there are known to have been extensive up and
+down movements throughout large areas in that portion of the earth's
+surface. The mountains on Jamaica are scored by horizontal lines marking
+former sea-levels up to a height of 2,000 feet, and similar and still
+higher records are plainly visible on several of the larger West India
+islands. This evidence shows that the present land over a wide extent of
+the Caribbean region was formerly deeply submerged. More than this, the
+rocks forming the higher portions of the Greater Antilles are largely
+composed of more or less consolidated ooze, such as is now found on the
+sea-floor in deep water. This line of evidence shows that what in late
+geological time was the sea-floor has been raised between 20,000 and
+30,000 feet. It is thus known that both upward and downward movements of
+great vertical and great horizontal extent have occurred in the
+Caribbean region. Whatever minor changes the topography of the now
+submerged sea-floor may have suffered owing to emergence, the general
+relief, as suggested above, seems to have resulted from movements in the
+earth's crust, and that these movements, in certain instances at least,
+produced faults--that is, breaks or fissures--along which the rocks were
+upraised on one side or depressed on the other, so as to form great
+cliffs. The precipitous submarine slope forming the northwest border of
+Bartlett Deep may reasonably be interpreted as a great fault scarp. A
+portion of this escarpment rises above the sea and forms the remarkably
+straight and exceedingly rugged south coast of Cuba in the region
+of Santiago. In the main the remarkable submarine topography of the West
+India region presents us with an example of what would have been the
+leading features of several portions of the earth's surface which are
+now land, as, for example, the Great Basin region of Utah, Nevada, etc.,
+had deformation gone on without erosion.
+
+
+                     MOVEMENTS OF THE OCEAN WATERS
+
+To the student of the geography of a continent the climatic and other
+influences of the great ocean currents, as well as the more tangible
+results produced by the waves which break on the borders of the land,
+demand extended and painstaking investigation. The most that we can hope
+to do at present in this connection is to state briefly some of the more
+important influences that the movements of the ocean waters have on the
+climate of North America and on the topography of its shores.
+
+_Currents._--The surface waters of both the north Atlantic and the north
+Pacific, as is the case with all broad water bodies, have a drift and in
+places flow in well-defined currents, mainly on account of the friction
+of the wind on the surface of the sea, aided by variations in the
+density of the water due to differences in temperature and salinity. In
+each ocean there is a great swirl or eddy, for the reason that the
+surface drift and the flow of the deeper currents carry the waters about
+in a rudely circular path, parallel in a general way with the boundaries
+of the respective basins. The direction of this motion, to one situated
+in the central part of either basin, is from left to right, or with the
+movements of the hands of a watch. In the southern portion of each basin
+there is a westward-flowing equatorial current, which in each instance
+is deflected northward on approaching the bordering land, and as it
+continues is still more deflected owing to the influence of the earth's
+rotation, and acquires a northeast trend; on reaching the eastern side
+of the oceanic basins, the currents are again deflected, a portion of
+the one in the Atlantic and all of the one in the Pacific being
+turned southward so as to complete the circuit.
+
+In the southern portion of the north Atlantic the surface drift is
+westward at a rate of four or five miles a day. The waters, forced along
+principally by the trade-winds, flow through the numerous passes between
+the Lesser Antilles and enter the Caribbean Sea, and from thence are
+carried through the Yucatan channel into the Gulf of Mexico. The waters
+are piled up, as it were, in that great landlocked basin, at the same
+time becoming warmer, and receive additions of fresh water from rain and
+inflowing streams. Each of these causes tends to decrease the density of
+the water, while evaporation has a counterbalancing influence. The
+escape for the waters, both salt and fresh, which enter the Gulf, is by
+evaporation and by flowing through the only notch in the rim of the Gulf
+basin which is not in the path of the equatorial current, namely, the
+strait separating Florida from Cuba and the Bahama Islands. These
+outflowing waters form the justly celebrated Gulf Stream.
+
+Between Florida and the shoal waters on the Bahama Banks the Gulf Stream
+is about 50 miles wide, approximately 350 fathoms deep, and flows
+northward at the rate of from four to five miles an hour. Its
+temperature is about 80° F. It is estimated that this great river in the
+ocean carries 90,000,000,000 tons of water per hour past a given
+cross-section. Its course is northward along the immediate border of the
+continental shelf until it arrives opposite the Carolina coast, and
+thence northeastward, thus giving it a constantly increasing distance
+from the land. To the north of the Bahamas it receives as a tributary
+the portion of the equatorial current, perhaps even greater in volume
+than the true Gulf Stream, which is deflected northward by the West
+India Islands and their associated banks. Continuing its course, it is
+deflected still more towards the northeast owing to the influence of the
+earth's rotation, at the same time expanding and losing velocity so as
+to become a surface drift rather than a well-defined current. Under the
+influence of the prevailing westerly winds of the north Atlantic, the
+waters delivered by the Gulf Stream pass the vicinity of the
+British Islands and in part enter the Greenland Sea.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE I.--Orographical features.]
+
+The transfer of the vast amount of warm water carried by the Gulf Stream
+far to the north is counterbalanced in part by a southward-flowing cold
+current which emerges from Davis Strait, and being joined by another
+cold current from the eastward of Greenland, continues southward under
+the name of the Labrador current, past Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to
+the Massachusetts coast, and is thought to exert an influence on the
+temperature of the sea even as far south as Cape Hatteras. While the
+Gulf Stream in the northern portion of its course curves eastward and
+departs from the American coast, the southward-flowing Labrador current
+is turned westward and follows close along the border of the land, and
+mainly over the continental shelf.
+
+The chief effect of the cold current from the north in proximity to the
+coast of the continent is to bring to the adjacent land a lower mean
+annual temperature and especially colder and more stormy winters than it
+would otherwise experience. This tendency is augmented by the icebergs
+carried southward with the Labrador current. In a similar way, the
+northward-flowing warm current gives Florida and the Carolinas a
+subtropical climate, admits of the growth of reef-building corals about
+the Bermuda Islands, and carries so much warmth to northwestern Europe
+that its climate is milder and more humid than one would expect from its
+geographical position.
+
+The currents of the north Pacific are analogous to those of the north
+Atlantic, but simpler, as there is nothing similar to the true Gulf
+Stream, and as communication with the Arctic Ocean is practically
+closed, there is no cold current flowing southward from that ocean; but
+the conditions, so far as they influence the climate of North America,
+are reversed. A warm current flowing northward off the coast of Japan,
+and hence known as the Japan current, crosses the Pacific, and on
+approaching the coast of Alaska and British Columbia is deflected
+southward. The climate of the northwest coast is thus ameliorated, the
+prevailing westerly winds are warm and humid, and the mean annual
+precipitation from western Alaska to Oregon is in the neighbourhood of
+100 inches. Under the influence of a mild equitable temperature and
+abundant moisture, the land bordering the Pacific from southern Alaska
+to northern California is clothed with the most magnificent forests that
+the continent affords. The marked contrasts in climate, vegetation, and
+the conditions that influence civilization between the two sides of the
+North American continent, produced by the cold Labrador current on the
+east and the warm Japan current on the west, is shown in a marked way by
+the sweep of the lines of equal mean annual temperature (isotherms)
+represented on the map forming Plate II, and again by the
+distribution of forests, as will be described later. It is instructive
+to note that the climate of Sitka, in north latitude 57°, is far more
+temperate and equable than that of New York city, latitude 40° 45',
+although the cool summers on the northwest coast make the mean annual
+temperature somewhat lower than on the coast of New York, or even of New
+England.
+
+The influence of the opposite conditions in reference to ocean currents
+experienced by the eastern and western borders of the continent are even
+more marked in the life of the adjacent waters than in the vegetation
+and fauna of the land itself. The plant and invertebrate life of the
+shoal waters of the Pacific coast, consisting largely of southern
+species, is exceedingly rich and varied, even to the inlets of the
+Alaska coast, where glaciers come down to the sea; while on the Atlantic
+border, northern species occur on the New England coast, and even
+farther south. The contrasts in temperature between the waters of the
+Atlantic and Pacific which cover the submerged border of the continent
+are well shown by the distribution of the cod, the most valuable of all
+fishes to man, which, as is well known, belongs to the northern fauna
+and ranges from the north Atlantic about the arctic coast of both the
+Old and the New Hemispheres, to the north Pacific. On the east coast of
+America this circumpolar fish, of which several species are known, is
+found occasionally as far south as Cape Hatteras, but the most southern
+"bank" on which it is extensively taken is off Cape Cod, in
+latitude 42°; on the west coast it travels perhaps as far south as the
+mouth of the Columbia, but the most southern locality where it occurs in
+commercial quantities is off the Shumagin Islands, in latitude 55°. The
+life of the continental shelf, as well as of the adjacent land, thus
+bears testimony to the vast importance to North America of the great
+ocean currents washing its shores.
+
+_Tides._--The waters of the ocean are subject to wave-like undulations,
+caused by the attraction of the moon and sun, termed the tides. Every
+day, at the average interval of twelve hours and fifty-one minutes, the
+"tide rises," and with equal regularity intermediate between these
+periods it "falls." This rise and fall of the waters along the coast,
+accompanied frequently by strong currents, are produced directly by the
+arrival in the shoal water of a pulsation of the ocean, which becomes a
+true onward-moving gravity wave as it nears the land. In the open sea
+the amplitude of the tidal undulations is but two or three feet, and
+their rate of travel in general 700 to 800 miles per hour. On reaching
+shoal water, however, the onward movement is decreased by friction on
+the bottom, the waves become higher, and when they meet an
+outward-flowing bottom current, their bases are still more retarded and
+the slope of their fronts increases until the water falls forward and
+breaks into foam. On the Atlantic coast, each tidal wave reaches the
+land broadside on, as it were (Fig. 4), and at the outer capes high
+water occurs at practically the same time from Florida to New England,
+but its farther landward progression is greatly modified by the shape of
+the coast and the depth of water in the estuaries and other
+indentations. When the wave as it rushes landward enters a broad water
+body through a narrow entrance, as the Gulf of Mexico, for example, it
+spreads, and as the impulse is transmitted to larger and larger volumes
+of water, it decreases in height. (In a critical study the tides
+originating in the Gulf itself should be considered.) At Galveston,
+Texas, the mean range between high and low tide is less than one foot.
+When, however, an estuary with a broad mouth receives a tidal wave from
+the ocean, the impulse is more and more concentrated and the wave
+rises higher. At the head of the Bay of Fundy the difference between
+high and low water is from 50 to 60 feet. For the reason just stated,
+the tidal wave is generally higher in the Atlantic coast estuaries than
+on the ocean capes, and under favourable conditions may be transmitted
+for long distances up the rivers emptying into such estuaries, and may
+be felt where the mean elevation of the stream is several feet above the
+mean level of the sea on the neighbouring open coast. Tidal waves pass
+up the Hudson to Troy, a distance of 150 miles from the Narrows,
+where the mean range is 2.3 feet. In St. John River, New Brunswick, the
+tidal impulse is felt at Frederickton, 70 miles from the Bay of Fundy,
+and at an elevation of 14 feet above its surface. In the St. Lawrence
+estuary and river the tidal waves ascend 283 miles to Three Rivers, a
+few miles below Montreal, where the mean elevation is about 11 feet and
+the mean range of the tide 0.9 foot. In the Columbia the range of the
+tide is about 6 inches at a distance of 140 miles from the ocean.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Co-tidal lines. A diagrammatic representation of
+the advance of tidal waves in the Atlantic and Pacific. Figures refer to
+noon and midnight. After R. S. Tarr.]
+
+In the north Pacific (Fig. 4) the tidal waves come from the south and
+expand much the same as the corresponding waves do in the north
+Atlantic, but instead of striking the coast broadside on, sweep along
+the shore from south to north.
+
+There are two localities on the coast of North America, one at the head
+of the Bay of Fundy and the other at the head of Cook's Inlet, Alaska,
+where the tides present especially interesting features. In each of
+these inlets the incoming tidal wave meets an outward-flowing current
+which tends to hold it back. The incoming waters are thus piled up until
+sufficient head is established to cause them to advance as a
+steep-fronted wave termed a _bore_, which curls over and breaks in a
+long line of foam as it rushes along. At the head of the Bay of Fundy
+the bore travels at the rate of 6 or 7 miles an hour, and has a height
+of from 4 to 6 feet. The great disturbance produced by the strong
+current and breaking waves causes the mud of the bottom to be disturbed
+and the waters to be charged with sediment. Much of this mud is
+deposited during the interval of quiet water at high tide, and as the
+outflow is not so impetuous as the inflow, broad mud-flats are formed.
+At certain localities about the Bay of Fundy artificial dikes have been
+made, which admit the mud-charged waters at high tide, and retain them
+until much of their freight is deposited. In this manner, large areas of
+rich lands have been secured.
+
+The geographical influences of the tides and of the currents produced by
+them are of interest in many ways. To navigators they are of special
+importance. Even in this age of steam, the arrival and departure
+of vessels from harbours is regulated so as to take advantage of the
+incoming or outgoing tidal currents. Many harbours can be entered by
+deep-draft vessels only at high water, for the reason in general that
+sand-bars are frequently formed at the mouths of tidal estuaries. One of
+the most marked illustrations of the influence of the rise and fall of
+the tide on navigation occurs at St. John, New Brunswick, where the tide
+flows in and out of St. John River so as to form a cascade each way,
+dependent on the direction of the current. At low water the level of the
+river is from 11 to 15 feet above the Bay of Fundy, and at high water
+the level of the bay is from 8 to 12 feet above that of the river when
+not affected by the tide. There are four periods of from ten to fifteen
+minutes each during each twenty-four hours when vessels can pass in and
+out of the river's mouth.
+
+In the Arctic Ocean the tides are small. At Point Barrow, the most
+northern locality on the coast of Alaska, the difference between high
+and low water is but 6 or 7 inches. The tide comes from the southward
+and westward, and there is a prevailing current setting to the eastward.
+At Herschel Island, near where the east boundary of Alaska reaches the
+Arctic Ocean, the mean range of the tide is but 1.8 foot. At Cape
+Sheridan, the northeast point of Grinnell Land, north latitude 82° 25',
+there is a range of 2.6 feet during two periods each month when the
+tides are highest, and but 1.2 foot at the lowest or neap tide periods.
+
+In addition to the weakness of the tides and tidal currents along the
+arctic coast, there is an absence or great diminution of the influence
+of wave and currents, owing to the prevalence of ice on the sea. Shore
+erosion is there at a minimum in spite of the abrasion produced by the
+ice-packs when forced landward by the wind.
+
+_Islands._--In the classification of islands used by A. R. Wallace in
+his Island Life two primary divisions are recognised, namely,
+continental and oceanic islands.
+
+Continental islands are land masses which have been separated from
+continents and are rarely far removed from their borders, and,
+besides, are composed of rocks similar to those of the neighbouring
+mainland and inhabited by terrestrial animals which are related to the
+fauna of the larger land area. Ancient and modern continental islands
+have also been recognised, their age being indicated by the degree of
+similarity between their faunas and the fauna of the continent with
+which they were formerly connected. Those of ancient origin are commonly
+surrounded by deep water, while those which are more modern usually rise
+from continental shelves, the channels intervening between them and the
+mainland being less than 100 fathoms deep. Oceanic islands rise from
+deep water, are either volcanic or so far as their emerged portions are
+concerned composed of coral rock, and are without warm-blooded
+terrestrial animals.
+
+About the borders of North America there are islands belonging to each
+of these classes. The numerous examples rising from the continental
+shelf all about the margin of the land, but in the Atlantic most
+numerous from New York northward, and in the Pacific from the Strait of
+Fuca northward, are plainly recent continental islands. The larger of
+the West Indies and the group of small islands off the California coast
+are also continental islands, but show by the character of their faunas
+and the depth of the water about them that they have been long separated
+from the main mass of the continent. Typical examples of oceanic islands
+are furnished by Bermuda, in the Atlantic, and Guadalupe, in the
+Pacific. In this same class, but less remote from the mainland, and in
+their faunas and floras showing a nearer relationship to South than to
+North America, belong the Caribbees.
+
+
+                        TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COAST
+
+The generalized coast-line of North America measures about 35,000 miles
+in extent, and presents a great variety of scenery. The range in
+diversity embraces all classes of coast topography from the low, sandy
+mangrove-fringed borders of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, to the
+magnificent sea-cliffs of Labrador and British Columbia and the
+marvellous ice-walls of Greenland and Alaska where tide-water glaciers
+enter the ocean.
+
+Like nearly all the features of the earth's surface, this narrow
+intricate belt where the sea and land meet is constantly undergoing
+changes. The principal processes which lead to alterations in the
+coast-line may be considered as forming three groups: First, the wearing
+away of the land through the action of waves and currents and the
+deposition of the _débris_ thus produced so as to make additions to the
+borders of the continent; second, the upward and downward movements of
+the land; and third, the changes produced by glaciers, ice-flows, and
+icebergs.
+
+With these more active agencies by which the coast-line is being
+modified may be included chemical solution and deposition, the influence
+of plants and animals, the weathering of the margin of the land, etc.;
+but a critical review of all these processes is impracticable in the
+present treatise.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to Waves and Currents._--The waves of the
+sea beat on the land with never-ceasing activity, but exert the greatest
+force during storms. The blow which a great surge strikes when it breaks
+at the base of a cliff, amounting in many instances to 3 or more tons to
+the square foot, tends to disrupt the rocks both directly by its impact
+and by the compression of air and water in their interstices. The
+greatest work of the breaking waves is performed, however, with the aid
+of the stones which accumulate on the beaches. These are hurled against
+the land by the force of the landward-rushing waters and break and
+abrade the rocks with which they come in contact. The friction produced
+by the impact of waves charged with sand, pebbles, and boulders against
+the land leads to its removal along a horizontal belt with a narrow
+vertical range. The waves of the sea, in fact, act like a horizontal
+saw, the edge of which slowly advances landward. As a result of this
+process of under-cutting, highly characteristic and frequently most
+picturesque forms are given to rocky coasts. Whenever the sea is
+bordered by hard rocks standing well above the surface, but not rising
+too precipitously from deep water, we find cliffs facing seaward.
+At the base of each of these sea-cliffs there is a shelf or terrace
+which records, in part at least, the advance that the sea has made
+inland.
+
+A cross profile of a wave-cut seashore (Fig. 5) shows two prominent
+features, namely, a sea-cliff with a horizontal base, and a terrace
+sloping seaward from the foot of the cliff. Of these, the cliff is by
+far the more prominent as it stands up boldly to view, while the terrace
+is in large part and perhaps wholly submerged. These two leading
+characteristics in the topography of wave-cut shores are shown in the
+following diagram:
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Ideal profile of a sea-cliff and current-built
+terrace.]
+
+The water carried landward by each wave as it rushes up the sloping
+surface of a terrace again finds its way seaward, either wholly or in
+part, as an "undertow." Much of the rock _débris_ ground fine by the
+ceaseless beating of the surf is separated from the coarser material,
+thus leaving the latter free to be moved by succeeding waves, and is
+carried seaward by the bottom current or undertow. During storms
+especially there is usually to be seen a belt of discoloured water
+seaward from the white breakers which margin the land. The finer
+_débris_ carried away from the shore by the undertow is sooner or later
+deposited, and much of it is laid down on the terrace bordering the land
+and serves to build out its seaward margin. A normal sea-terrace is thus
+in part the result of the cutting away of the land, and in part of the
+deposition of the material removed. The sea not only cuts away the land,
+however, but at many localities makes important additions to it.
+
+Where the water is shallow the larger waves break at a distance perhaps
+of several miles from the coast-line, and build up long narrow bars,
+usually of sand, which form barriers, more or less parallel with the
+shore, and shelter it from further encroachments of the sea. Again, when
+the wind from the sea blows obliquely to the coast, currents are
+established in the water which sweep along the loose material on the
+beach and on the submerged portion of the terrace of which the beach is
+a visible part, and cause it to travel in the general direction of the
+prevailing on-shore winds. This action also leads to the building of
+bars more or less parallel with the coast and at the extremities of
+capes, particularly where the shore currents enter deeper water and give
+origin to spits of various shapes, which are frequently curved towards
+the land and at their extremities become hooks and loops.
+
+There are thus two important processes, one destructive and the other
+constructive, by which the sea is continually modifying the border of
+the land.
+
+When once the underlying principles on which depend the characteristics
+of coastal topography are suggested, any observant person can apply them
+for himself and thus be able to read the history as well as admire the
+beauties of seacoast scenery. It is not necessary, therefore, to attempt
+to present a detailed account of the coasts of North America from a
+purely geographical point of view; there are certain results of the
+processes just referred to, however, which are of wide-reaching
+economic, and especially of commercial interest.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 6.--A portion of the Atlantic coast of the United
+States.]
+
+From Central America northward to Cape Cod the rocks bordering the sea
+are soft or easily soluble, and the adjacent land of low relief.
+Throughout this section the work of the sea is mostly constructive, and
+the margin of the land is sheltered by sand-bars from the attack of
+waves and currents. Where the waves of the open ocean do reach the land,
+as on the coast of New Jersey, the sea-cliffs are low and the topography
+of a mild type. Very generally, as along the coast of Mexico and Texas,
+and from Florida to Long Island, there are long narrow bars adjacent to
+the shore, with lagoons intervening between them and the mainland.
+These features are well illustrated on the accompanying map (Fig. 6) of
+a portion of the Atlantic coast where long narrow bars, sometimes
+forming skeleton capes, are a characteristic feature. On the middle
+Atlantic coast of the United States the prevailing winds blow southward
+and there is a general southward flow of the shore currents, which carry
+with them the sand on the beaches and bars. An interesting fact in this
+connection, pointed out by N. S. Shaler, is that although the sands are
+continually being moved they are not worn out. After the sand-grains
+have been reduced to a certain size they retain films of water which
+separate them one from another, and act as cushions which prevent the
+grains from coming in contact, thus greatly retarding further
+comminution. But for the protection thus afforded the sand-bars would be
+removed and the border of the land exposed to the attack of the waves
+and cut away; whereas under existing conditions lagoons are formed,
+which in many instances are utilized as harbours or are filled by
+wind-blown sand, the sediment brought by streams, plant growths, etc.,
+and valuable additions are made to the continent.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Mobile Bay.]
+
+The sand-bars just referred to frequently cross the mouths of rivers,
+and in such instances a struggle ensues between the currents moving
+along the shore and the outflowing river-waters aided by the currents
+produced by the tides. This conflict leads to the formation of sand
+banks and bars, generally submerged, across the entrances of bays and
+inlets and to the building of sand-spits from the seaward capes. A
+typical instance is furnished at the entrance of Mobile Bay (Fig. 7),
+where a spit from each side has been built by shore currents so as
+to greatly contract the tideway between. Similar features are presented
+by Sandy Hook and Coney Island, each of which has been built of sand
+deposited by shore currents at the seaward entrance of the lower New
+York Bay. Another illustration of this same general character is
+furnished by the curved extremity of Cape Cod (Fig. 8), which is a
+sand-spit of large size with a hooked extremity. Spits of this nature
+are common on our coasts, and in many instances themselves form
+harbours, as at Coney Island and near the extremity of Cape Cod. Many
+other similar examples of the importance of lagoons, sand-bars, spits,
+etc., to shipping, which occur, especially along the Atlantic coast of
+the United States, may be studied to advantage on the admirable charts
+of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Cape Cod, Massachusetts.]
+
+The sand-bars, spits, and other similar structures along the Atlantic
+coast are also of strategic importance, for the reason that they afford
+advantageous sites for fortifications, as is illustrated by the strong
+forts at Sandy Hook which guard the entrance of New York Bay. These
+sea-built foundations are also utilized in a large number of localities
+for lighthouses. The waterways shut off from the sea by off-shore bars
+in some instances permit of the passage of vessels from one harbour to
+another. In this connection it is of interest to note that an important
+system of canals is under consideration for making a continuous waterway
+for deep-draft vessels, some 700 miles long, which will connect the
+estuaries and lagoons from New York to the Carolinas.
+
+While the islands of sand referred to present many conditions favourable
+to commerce, fisheries, and other industries, their apparent durability
+is deceptive, and in some instances faith in their permanence has led to
+disastrous results. They owe their existence to the action of waves and
+currents, and unless blown sand is heaped upon them are raised but a few
+feet above mean sea-level, and are liable to inundation if a high tide
+is accompanied by an on-shore gale. A sad illustration of this plain
+conclusion is furnished by the disaster that overwhelmed the city of
+Galveston on the night of September 8, 1900, during which some 3,000
+people perished and $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 worth of property was
+destroyed. This great loss was in large part due to the fact that the
+city was inundated by the advance over its site of the storm-driven
+waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The island on which Galveston stands (Fig.
+9) was built by the waters of the Gulf, and during the hurricane
+referred to they again claimed their own.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Coast of Texas.]
+
+Northward of Cape Cod, the rocks adjacent to the ocean are mostly hard
+and resistant, consisting largely of schist, gneiss, granite, trap,
+etc., which when undercut by the waves stand as bold cliffs and
+headlands. This portion of the continental border abounds in picturesque
+scenery and is abundantly supplied with fine harbours and well-sheltered
+havens in which boats may take refuge. Typical portions of this
+rugged coast are furnished by the magnificent sea-cliffs of Mount Desert
+and Grand Manan islands, the bold shores of Newfoundland and Labrador,
+and the precipitous border of Greenland. The scenery throughout nearly
+all of this vast extent of wave and storm beaten rocks is in striking
+contrast to the mild and generally monotonous sand-built shores to the
+south of Cape Cod. Between the angular headlands and rugged capes at the
+north, with their white girdles of surf, there are frequently curved
+beaches and numerous spits and bars of yellow sand which connect the
+salients of the shore or extend from them so as to furnish safe
+anchorages.
+
+On the arctic coast of North America the action of the waves and
+currents on the land is greatly retarded by ice, and the tides are
+small, but to what extent these conditions unfavourable to the work of
+the sea are counterbalanced by the abrasion performed by ice-floes is
+unknown. The northern border of Alaska, as well as the shore of Bering
+Sea, is mostly low and the rocks soft, although certain of the sea-capes
+are bold and are evidently composed of resistant material.
+
+The Aleutian Islands present a peculiar exception to the general coast
+topography of the rest of the continent. Although this region has not
+been studied in detail, it seems to furnish an example of a rugged
+mountain range that has been partially submerged at a comparatively
+recent date. The rocks in many places descend precipitously into deep
+water, leaving no room for the formation of beaches, and hence the
+waves, to a great extent, are without tools with which to cut away the
+land. At the heads of the many bays and inlets, however, one finds
+beautiful sand-beaches with gracefully curving lines, in striking
+contrast to the dark, rugged cliffs bordering their seaward extensions.
+
+The southern and southeastern borders of Alaska are exceedingly bold,
+and present some of the most sublime coast scenery to be found in the
+world, but to the geographer the greatest interest of this portion of
+the continental border, as is true also of the entire Pacific coast of
+North America, centres in its relation to up and down movements of the
+land.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to Oscillation of the Land._--Land areas
+are exposed to the erosive action of wind, rain, streams, etc., and are
+sculptured by these agencies into valleys, cañons, peaks, ridges, and
+other familiar topographic forms. The various processes by which land
+areas are modified lead in general to a roughening of the surface. As an
+extreme illustration, a high plateau becomes dissected by streams so as
+to form an intricate system of rugged mountain ridges and peaks, with
+deep, steep-sided valleys between. The degree of this roughening depends
+principally on the elevation of the land, together with contrasts in the
+resistance of the rocks due mainly to variation in hardness, climatic
+conditions, etc., but in general one may say the higher the land
+is raised above the sea the more rugged will be its topography as the
+process of wearing away progresses. It is to be remembered in this
+connection, however, that land areas pass through a somewhat definite
+series of changes, from topographic youth to topographic old age, each
+stage being accompanied by changes in the relief. It is during
+topographic maturity that the greatest roughness of the surface of a
+land area is produced.
+
+Land areas are continually wasting away, owing especially to the attacks
+of the streams, and the material removed is deposited in the sea. The
+_débris_ brought from the continents by streams is laid down in shallow
+water--about the shores of North America almost entirely on the surface
+of the continental shelf--and in this region of deposition the hollows
+are filled and a generally smooth surface given to the sea-floor.
+
+The topography of the land, for the reason stated above, is nearly
+everywhere uneven; while the topography of the sea-floor is
+characterized by uniformity. We can easily predict, therefore, the
+general character of the changes in a coast which would result from
+either a subsidence of the land, thus allowing the sea to encroach upon
+it, or of an elevation, which would expose a portion of the sea-bottom,
+thereby increasing the area of the land. A subsidence of the land
+adjacent to the sea permits an extension of the waters landward; the sea
+will enter the valleys so as to form estuaries, bays, straits, etc.,
+while the high land between the partially water-filled depressions will
+rise above the water-level and appear as peninsulas, capes, and islands.
+A bold, deeply sculptured coast when depressed will give origin to an
+intricate, and what may be termed a ragged shore-line; while a lower
+region crossed by large river-valleys would be changed to a system of
+broad estuaries.
+
+An upward movement in the earth's crust along the ocean's shore would
+expose a portion of the sea-floor and add a strip of generally level
+country to the previous land area. The boundary between the old and new
+topography in such an instance would be the upraised coast-line with
+its sea-cliffs, wave-cut caves, terraces, beaches, and other
+characteristic features of coast topography.
+
+There are thus two strongly contrasted types of coast scenery, produced
+by oscillations of the earth's crust where ocean and continents meet. In
+each class there is a wide range in details, which vary in harmony with
+the amount the land rises or falls in reference to sea-level.
+
+When one has these general laws in mind a map of the coast-line of North
+America acquires great significance.
+
+From about the latitude of New York southward to Central America many
+comparatively small oscillations of the land have occurred in recent
+geological time, and what was formerly a portion of the continental
+shelf is now exposed and forms a coastal plain. This plain, in general
+from 50 to 100 miles broad, slopes gently seaward, and its continuation
+under the sea forms the present continental shelf (Fig. 2). Evidently a
+slight up or down movement or a gentle tilting of this partially
+submerged plain in an east and west direction would cause a marked
+advance or recession of the sea. Each time the sea advanced the country
+submerged would be smoothed over by the action of the waves and currents
+and a sheet of sediment laid down upon it; and each time the sea receded
+the emerged land would be trenched by the rivers flowing across it. The
+records show that many such changes have occurred.
+
+The Gulf border of Mexico and Texas, composed of soft marine sediments,
+forms a gently sloping plain bordered on the west by a roughened upland,
+and illustrates the general feature of a recently emerged coastal plain
+(Fig. 9). The same is true also of the entire coast from Texas to New
+York, but it happens that a recent movement through this region was of
+such a nature as to allow the sea to encroach on the land, and the
+previously excavated stream valleys are now, in part, occupied by the
+sea. This feature is most marked from the Carolinas to New York (Fig.
+6), where there are several great estuaries and drowned river-valleys
+which extend far into the land. The best examples are Albemarle Sound
+and Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The James River channel is submerged
+as far as Richmond, the Potomac to Washington, the Susquehanna to
+Harrisburg, the Delaware to Trenton, and the Hudson to Troy. These are
+typical illustrations of what geographers term drowned river-valleys.
+They are evidence that the land formerly stood higher than now, was
+trenched by the rivers that flowed across it, and was then depressed or
+tilted so as to allow the sea to encroach upon it. The importance of
+these events in the settlement of North America by Europeans and on the
+subsequent development of commerce, manufactures, the location of
+cities, etc., needs only to be suggested to permit the reader to fill in
+the details for himself.
+
+On the Gulf coast and about Florida the later movements of the land have
+been less than in the region from Albemarle Sound to New York, and
+estuaries are there absent, with the somewhat marked exception of Mobile
+Bay. Certain secondary conditions need to be introduced here, but space
+will not permit of more than a brief presentation of them. Not only have
+the recent movements of the land been less about the shores of the Gulf
+of Mexico than in the middle Atlantic region of the United States, but
+the rivers at the south are in general smaller and less swift than those
+farther north, and hence are less able to excavate broad valleys. The
+Southern rivers, such as the Alabama, Mississippi, Rio Grande, etc., are
+silt-laden and tend to fill their estuaries, while the weaker streams
+are unable to resist the encroachments of sand-bars and spits built by
+shore currents, and their mouths have been practically closed. The coast
+of Texas gives evidence of slight modern subsidence, but the small
+estuaries formed have, for the most part, been separated from the Gulf
+by sand-bars.
+
+Northward of the middle Atlantic region the recent oscillations of the
+land continued to increase and reached a maximum about the shores of the
+Arctic Ocean; on the Pacific coast also there is similar evidence of an
+increase in the recent earth movements from the south northward.
+
+In an outline sketch of the present coastal topography of the continent
+we can generalize, and say that the whole continent during the late
+Tertiary, glacial, and recent times has swayed up and down about a
+hinge-line situated in the region of the Gulf of Mexico, and the
+movements, although not uniform, have increased in amount from the south
+northward. Let us glance at the evidence on which this broad statement,
+involving the up and down surging of a vast continent, is based.
+
+The Hudson, as stated above, is a drowned river as far as Troy, a
+distance from the present land margin of 160 miles. In the next great
+river to the northward, the St. Lawrence, the tide rises and falls
+nearly up to Montreal, a distance of about 800 miles from the general
+shore-line. Still farther north are Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay, which,
+although but imperfectly explored, seem to be an example not only of the
+drowning of a river-valley, but of the largest part of a river-basin.
+The geography of the arctic archipelago fringing the north shore of the
+continent also suggests that a strongly stream-cut plateau has there
+been deeply submerged.
+
+In addition to the drowned river-valleys and ragged coasts which record
+a subsidence of the land, there are raised terraces and beaches which
+begin at the south near New York and increase in elevation above the
+present sea-level, when followed northward, all the way to the arctic
+region, and have in the far north an altitude of about 1,200 feet. These
+old beaches and terraces show that the land was formerly depressed and
+has since risen; but, as shown above, has not regained the elevation it
+had previous to the glacial epoch.
+
+The marked differences in the geography of the coast from New York
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and from the same locality southward to
+Central America, are due primarily to the fact that the oscillations of
+the land have been such that at the north the continental shelf is
+entirely submerged and the sea has encroached on a rough land; while at
+the south the recent oscillations have been less and a broad margin of
+the continental shelf is exposed and forms the coastal plain.
+
+At the north, we find innumerable islands, bold, rocky shores with many
+capes and headlands, separated by deep inlets, sounds, straits,
+bays, etc., or, in brief, a ragged coast such as finds typical
+illustration on the shores of Maine (Fig. 10), while at the south (Fig.
+6) the shores are low, sandy, remarkably uniform in trend, and without
+islands, excepting such as are built by the waves and currents. The West
+India Islands will, no doubt, be recalled by the reader, but their
+history is again different. Intermediate between the land that has
+experienced great oscillation at the north and the region of less
+energetic movements at the south is the series of large estuaries
+mentioned above, in the narrower portions of the coastal plain.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 10.--A portion of the coast of Maine.]
+
+The northern and western coasts of Alaska are mostly low, and correspond
+in a general way with the coastal plan of the Carolina region. The last
+well-marked movement of the land in that region has been in the
+direction of an elevation, and we find low shores, with but few
+harbours, similar in many ways to the coast of Texas.
+
+It is probably true, as already stated, that the Aleutian Islands,
+although in part the result of recent volcanic activity, owe their
+peculiar and exceptional characteristics to the partial subsidence of a
+deeply sculptured mountain range. On the south coast of Alaska, in the
+region of Mount St. Elias and Mount Fairweather, a recent and
+extensive elevation has occurred, which, however, did not bring the
+bottom of the adjacent portion of the ocean above the sea-level. This
+apparent anomaly seems to be due to an uprising of the rocks along the
+north side of a break, or belt of branching fractures, which closely
+approximates to the coast-line and has determined the position of the
+continental border in that region. The facts, so far as known, appear to
+show that we have here what geologists term a fault, the north or
+landward side of which has been raised at least 5,000 feet in very
+modern times, but, so far as we can judge, without disturbing the
+seaward border of the break. The coast between Mount Fairweather and
+Mount St. Elias is by far the boldest, and from a scenic point of view
+the most impressive, portion of the entire shore-line of North America.
+The mountains are young and among the highest on the continent. They
+rise precipitously from the margin of the sea, and are sheathed in snow
+and ice from base to summit throughout the year.
+
+The margin of the continent southward from Mount Fairweather to the
+Columbia River, a distance in a straight line of about 1,200 miles,
+furnishes some of the best illustrations of the changes in coastal
+geography due to subsidence that our continent affords (Fig. 11). This
+wonderfully irregular coast is fringed with a belt of mountainous
+islands from 50 to 100 or more miles broad. The inlets between the bold
+capes and the straits separating the numerous islands are deep. The
+rugged, forest-clothed slopes with precipitous, and in many instances
+nearly vertical walls, descend into water that is frequently from 50 to
+over 200 fathoms deep. In brief, a deeply dissected mountain range more
+than 1,000 miles in length has there been depressed at least 2,000 feet
+below its former altitude, thus allowing the sea to flood its deep,
+picturesque valleys.
+
+Puget Sound, with its numerous and frequently narrow arms (Fig. 23), is
+the southward extension of the partially inundated country considered
+above. To the west of this magnificent sound rise the Olympic Mountains,
+which barely escape being an island at the present stage of the
+swaying of the land. On the west, as on the east border of the
+continent, there are drowned river-valleys, such as the Stikine, Frazer,
+Columbia, and Sacramento. It is not to be understood, however, that the
+entire Pacific coast region has been raised or depressed as a unit.
+There have been differential movements in some of its parts, but these
+are not as yet well known. In southern California, for example, raised
+beaches and a narrow coastal plain about Los Angeles give evidence of a
+modern rise of the land.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Coast of southeastern Alaska.]
+
+In reference to the broad generalization that the continental mass of
+North America has undergone up and down movements, greatest at the north
+and decreasing southward, as if moving on a hinge-line running east and
+west in the region of the Gulf of Mexico, it is of interest to note that
+the ragged coasts of Maine, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and
+Labrador, due to the partial submergence of a rugged land, lie in the
+same latitudes as the equally ragged coast of Washington, British
+Columbia, and Alaska. This is more than a coincidence. The rocks on the
+two coasts are similar, being for the most part resistant crystalline
+schists, gneisses, granites, etc., and in each instance stood high above
+the sea for a long period during which they were deeply trenched by
+streams and by great glaciers, and then at about the same time, as
+nearly as can be judged, each region was depressed so as to allow the
+sea to encroach upon it.
+
+While a deeply sculptured land when partially submerged gives origin to
+a ragged coast, a region of similar elevation, but not cut by streams or
+other agencies so as to have deep valleys, when subsidence occurs
+produces a bold, harbourless shore without islands. The striking
+contrast between the deeply indented border of the continent, with its
+broad fringe of islands, from Mount Fairweather southward to Mount
+Olympus, and the remarkably uniform although bold coast-line from Mount
+Olympus southward to Mexico, and indeed nearly to Cape Horn, has much
+significance in this connection.
+
+The mountains bordering the Pacific coast of the United States are among
+the younger on the continent. These coast ranges, largely on account of
+their youth, have not been deeply sculptured, but rise boldly from the
+ocean's shore throughout nearly the entire distance from the Strait of
+Fuca to the end of the peninsula of Lower California. The mountains of
+Central America, although but little known, are of comparatively recent
+date, but differ from the coast ranges in being more largely built of
+young volcanic rocks. Both the coast ranges and the mountains of Central
+America are much less deeply sculptured than the mountains bordering the
+Pacific to the north of Puget Sound, and a subsidence along this shore
+would produce but moderate changes in the coast-line. In this great
+extent of coast, measuring nearly 5,000 miles, there are but few
+harbours; in the portion belonging to the United States the generally
+bold coast-line is broken but in two places, one where the
+Columbia reaches the sea, and the other where the Sacramento finds an
+outlet through the portions of its drowned valley known as the Golden
+Gate.
+
+The Bay of San Francisco owes its origin to a subsidence of the land
+which has admitted the sea into the valley of the Sacramento, but this
+valley, which, uniting with the one at the south drained by the San
+Joaquin, forms the Great Valley of California, is not due to stream
+erosion, as in the case of the drowned valley of the Hudson or of the
+St. Lawrence, but to the upraising of the mountains bordering it. During
+a former time of greater subsidence than at present the Bay of San
+Francisco was larger than now, and has been contracted both by the
+deposition of sediment and by a partial re-elevation of the land. The
+exceptional character of the Bay of San Francisco and its marked
+excellence as a harbour give to the city on its shore promises of
+marvellous development.
+
+The Gulf of California is due, in a general view, to what may be
+considered as a departure of the Coast mountains away from the general
+trend of the continental border. We have but little detailed information
+concerning this region, however, and the studies of modern geographers
+have likewise been meagre throughout all the coast-line farther south.
+
+The Pacific coast of Mexico is geographically similar to that of
+California, but instead of a single great harbour there are four of
+moderate size and excellence, the histories of which have not been
+studied. Farther south, along the Central American coast, the shores are
+bold, but several indentations, due in part at least to volcanic
+agencies, furnish shelter for vessels and offer encouragement to
+commerce.
+
+The bold and not deeply sculptured mountains along the nearly unbroken
+coast from the Strait of Fuca to Panama, rise close to the true border
+of the continent. The continental shelf of this portion of the shore of
+the Pacific is narrow. An elevation of 100 fathoms would add scarcely
+more than 10 miles to the extent of the land. This narrowness of the
+continental shelf seems to be due to the recency of the uplifting
+of the Coast mountains, and the lack of time for the _débris_ from the
+land and the organic refuse of the sea to shoal the water. The Pacific
+basin is deep close to the land bordering it, thus restricting the
+seaward extension of the continental shelf.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to Ice._--It is now well known that
+glacial ice many hundreds of feet thick formerly covered the northern
+half of North America and flowed outward across the present position of
+the coast-line throughout all of the northern border of the continent
+from Staten Island in the east and Puget Sound in the west, with the
+exception of the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Alaska.
+
+The effects of this outward-flowing ice on the topography of the
+continental border crossed by it were in general in two directions.
+Where the land was rough or moderately so previous to the coming of the
+ice-sheets the inequalities of surface were increased; but where the
+land was smooth or but gently undulating its elevations were planed away
+by the glaciers and made still more smooth. The reason for these
+differences is that when the land from which the ice flowed was rugged
+or had previously been deeply trenched by streams, the valleys gave
+direction to the ice currents and the margins of the continental
+ice-sheets became divided into separate ice-streams, as is the case in
+Greenland at the present day. This localization of the ice currents
+served to deepen and broaden the pre-existing valleys, and especially on
+the bold coast of Alaska and British Columbia increased in a marked way
+the inequalities of the surface and favoured the production of a ragged
+coast-line when the ice melted and was replaced in part by the sea.
+When, however, the topography of the land was not sufficiently accented
+to cause the ice flowing over it to gather into well-defined currents
+the general surface was worn down, thus favouring the production of an
+even coast-line after the melting of the ice-sheets.
+
+Where the coast-lands were high and rugged, the deepening and broadening
+of the valleys led to the origin of deep, narrow, canal-like waterways
+termed fiords (_fjords_), when the ice withdrew from the partially
+submerged land or when subsequent depression carried the glaciated
+troughs below sea-level. On the Atlantic coast from Maine to Labrador,
+and thence northward to the Arctic Ocean, there are numerous examples of
+fiords, as is also the case on the Pacific coast from Mount St. Elias to
+Puget Sound. At the present time the localized ice-streams from the
+great central ice-sheet of Greenland are continuing this process of
+fiord excavation. The same is true also, but on a much smaller scale, of
+the tide-water glaciers of southern Alaska.
+
+The shores of the northern portion of the continent from New England to
+the Aleutian Islands are now being modified by the grinding of
+ice-floes, which are driven against the land by the wind. This process,
+however, although locally important, need claim but little attention in
+a general view of the geography of the continent.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to the Deposits made by Streams._--The
+visible loads of silt and sand in suspension carried to the ocean by
+streams, as well as the material the streams roll and push along their
+bottoms, is delivered to the waters of the ocean and deposited in
+various ways. Much of this material, notably the coarser portion, is
+dropped near land and the finer portion floated far out from the coast
+before settling to the bottom. Two classes of deposits made in this way
+may be recognised, namely, those laid down by the streams themselves as
+they drop their loads on entering still water, or delta deposits; and
+those spread over the sea-floor by waves and currents after receiving
+the _débris_ brought from the land. Which of these two modes of
+deposition will prevail depends on whether the waters of the ocean at
+the localities where the streams deliver their loads are essentially
+still or are affected by strong currents. In the former instance all but
+the finer of the _débris_ derived from the land is quickly dropped and
+deltas are formed; and in the second instance the currents bear the
+material away and deposit it either in the shallow water adjacent to the
+neighbouring shore, forming shoals, bars, embankments, spits, etc., or
+spread it in a sheet over the sea-floor. The most notable changes
+in the coast-line resulting from this general process occur where
+silt-laden streams enter still water and form deltas.
+
+On the coast of North America many of the streams which enter estuaries
+deliver their loads to waters which are agitated, especially by tidal
+currents, and ill-defined shoals, sand-banks, etc., are produced. In
+three conspicuous instances, however, large rivers are engaged in
+building deltas, and thus producing well-marked changes in the
+coast-line.
+
+At the north, the Mackenzie enters the nearly tideless Arctic Ocean,
+where floating ice almost completely counteracts the tendency of the
+wind to produce currents, and a great delta is being extended seaward.
+The river divides on its delta into many _distributaries_ and enters the
+sea by several mouths. The sea near the mouths of the river is reported
+to be shallow, and obstructed by many sand-banks and islands. No survey
+of the Mackenzie delta has as yet been made, and but little definite
+information concerning it is available.
+
+The Yukon on entering the shallow eastern portion of Bering Sea, where
+the influence of the tides is small and floating ice is present
+throughout about nine months each year, is also engaged in building a
+great delta which projects into the sea and gives the coast-line a bold
+outward curve. The Yukon begins to divide into separate channels,
+several of which enter the sea as independent distributaries at a
+distance of about 150 miles from the outer border of its delta. The
+distance between the outer finger-like division of the stream is about
+90 miles. The Yukon is a graded stream--i. e., is able to carry material
+in suspension, but not to deepen or fill its channel--in the lower
+portion of its course, and is making an important addition to the land
+owing to the dropping of its burden of silt as soon as the still water
+into which it flows is reached. The stream is thus being extended, and
+in order to enable it to continue its task of transportation and the
+delivery of its load to the sea, the extended portion of its channel is
+built up so as to give a slope down which the waters can
+flow--that is, the beds of the distributaries are raised, and they also
+shift their positions from time to time and make additions to the entire
+surface of the delta. This extension of the stream and deposition of
+silt by its distributaries have added about 1,000 square miles to the
+land. Although the delta of the Yukon presents an admirable example of
+the change in a coast-line produced by the sediment dropped by a great
+river, the partial surveys of it that have been made are not as yet
+available for study.
+
+Fully as characteristic of the modification of coast-lines made by a
+stream as any in the world is the well-known example of the delta of the
+Mississippi. This classical instance illustrates not only the manner in
+which coast-lines are modified, but the behaviour of a large silt-laden
+stream which has reduced its valley to a low gradient, and throughout
+hundreds of miles of its lower course is spreading out a wide flood
+plain. The extension seaward of this flood plain forms the broad delta
+at the river's mouth.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Delta of the Mississippi. After United States
+Coast and Geodetic Survey.]
+
+During high-water stages the Mississippi widely over-spreads its banks
+and during such inundations of its valley drops much of the silt it
+previously held in suspension. The material deposited is laid down most
+abundantly on the immediate border of its low-water channel. Each side
+of the channel is thus raised so as to form what is termed a natural
+levee. During this process also the bed of the stream is raised by the
+deposition of sediment upon it, thus tending to cause the stream to flow
+on a raised ridge and producing an unstable condition which from time to
+time enables the river to break across its confining levees and divide
+into two or more separate channels. In the lower portion of the river
+some of the new channels thus formed reach the sea and furnish
+independent outlets for its waters. The first of these distributaries
+now departs from the main channel at a distance of 200 miles from the
+Gulf of Mexico, and farther seaward several other divisions occur (Fig.
+12). The area of the delta is about 1,230 square miles. Each
+distributary is engaged in building a pair of embankments, or natural
+levees (although this process in recent years has been modified by the
+construction of artificial embankments for the sake of improving
+navigation), and each subdivision of the river is also building a delta.
+Each of the finger-like extensions of the delta, shown on the
+accompanying map, is due to the prolongation of a pair of embankments
+into the Gulf by each distributary and the growth of a secondary delta
+at its mouth. The river is thus building a highly compound delta,
+composed of the secondary deltas formed at the mouth of each of its
+distributaries. A conspicuous modification of the otherwise generally
+evenly curved border of the Gulf of Mexico is thus produced, a result
+that could only be reached in a water body but little disturbed by wind
+or tidal currents.
+
+
+                         ESTUARIES AND HARBOURS
+
+The features of a coast of greatest importance to civilization are its
+harbours. A coast without harbours is like a Chinese wall, and tends to
+isolate a people inclosed by it. An indented coast with numerous havens
+for the shelter of vessels fosters the interests of navigation,
+including sea fisheries, invites commerce from other lands, and
+stimulates its inhabitants to explore and travel. A diversity of
+industries is thus favoured and the people adjacent to an indented coast
+with good harbours tend to become more progressive and more cosmopolitan
+than if intercourse with other communities is confined to overland
+routes.
+
+The Atlantic border of North America is abundantly supplied with fine
+harbours, which not only favour communication with distant countries,
+but are within easy reach of agricultural and forest lands and important
+coal and other mineral deposits adjacent to the coast or in the
+interior, and are near extensive and valuable fishing grounds. The best
+of these harbours are at the mouths of rivers which have been depressed
+so as to form estuaries with wide entrances. These sea-gates, however,
+are frequently contracted, owing to the presence of sand-bars and spits
+deposited by shore currents.
+
+The great St. Lawrence estuary reaches to Montreal, and beyond lie the
+Great Lakes, the rich lands of Ontario and New York, and the now
+highly productive States of the Middle West. Two geographical features
+in this basin detract from the conditions otherwise highly favourable to
+commercial development, namely: the rapids in the St. Lawrence between
+Montreal and Lake Ontario and the fall in the Niagara, and the winter
+climate of Canada, which causes the rivers and estuaries to be ice-bound
+for a considerable part of each year. To obviate the first of these
+unfavourable conditions far-reaching plans for a deep waterway between
+the Great Lakes and the Atlantic are now being matured. The splendid
+harbours from Nova Scotia southward are never seriously obstructed by
+ice, and south of Virginia ice is practically unknown.
+
+The estuaries at the mouth of the Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna,
+Potomac, James, and the Alabama, together with the distributaries of the
+Mississippi (which is not a partially drowned river, but one that is
+building up and extending its channel), are the natural outlets of
+portions of the continent of great fruitfulness. When other, and
+especially climatic, conditions are considered, it will be seen that to
+the geographer the Atlantic sea-border from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to
+the Gulf of Mexico seems destined to be the next great commercial centre
+in the succession from Greece to Britain. An important adjunct to the
+present highly favourable geographical conditions pointing to a great
+future for civilization on the Atlantic coast is the construction of a
+ship-canal across the isthmus uniting North and South America. This step
+must soon be taken.
+
+A glance at a map of North America must impress one with the belief that
+the Pacific coast with its great extent of harbourless water-front is
+far less favourable to the growth or ideas, institutions, and industries
+than the deeply indented Atlantic shore-line. From the Isthmus of Panama
+to the State of Washington there is, as we have seen, but one harbour of
+the first class, the estuary of the Sacramento, and one of the second or
+third class, the estuary of the Columbia. From Puget Sound northward
+harbours are numberless. There are two important geographical reasons,
+however, why the general absence of good harbours to the south of
+Puget Sound is not so serious as it perhaps might seem. First, the
+mountain ranges run north and south parallel with the coast, and the
+natural lines of interior travel lead to the outlets through the Coast
+Ranges traversed by the Sacramento and the Columbia. The second and more
+general reason is that, owing to the warm currents in the Pacific, the
+portion of the west coast most favourable for a high degree of
+civilization is situated farther north than the similar belt on the
+Atlantic border.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By way of a summary of this chapter, the reader is asked to bear in mind
+the fact that the land forming North America, as is the case with all
+continents, is not at rest, but is subject to movements which cause
+elevations and depressions of various portions of its area with
+reference to sea-level. These movements have been in progress since the
+birth of the continent, and still continue. An upward movement of the
+earth's crust where the land and ocean meet causes a portion of the
+sea-floor to emerge and an addition usually of the nature of a coastal
+plain to be made to the border of a continent; while a reverse movement
+enables the sea to advance on the land and to flood the low-grade
+valleys opening to the ocean.
+
+In a generalized view of the recent history of the coast-line of North
+America the dominant fact is that to the north of the latitude of the
+north shore of the Gulf of Mexico the resultant of the later movements
+of the continent is downward; the amount of the depression thus caused
+increases in a general way with increase in latitude on both the
+Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This downward movement has permitted the
+sea to encroach on the land and to flood many pre-existing valleys. On
+the Atlantic coast it produced such estuaries as Chesapeake and Delaware
+Bays, the tide-water portions of such rivers as the Hudson and the St.
+Lawrence, and farther north, where the submergence was greater,
+permitted the sea to invade the continental basin and form Hudson Bay.
+To this same wide-reaching cause is due also the bold ragged coast-line
+of the Atlantic from New England northward. On the Pacific border
+the downward movement is recorded by the tide-water portions of the
+Sacramento, Columbia, etc., and the deep picturesque fiords of the
+Canadian and Alaskan coasts. The most decided influence of these changes
+in the geography of the continent's margin on the affairs of men
+resulted from the production of numerous fine harbours and the extension
+of estuaries far inland, thus favouring commerce and fisheries in a high
+degree.
+
+As a result of the oscillations just referred to, the sea has gained
+important characteristics as well as the land. The broad submerged shelf
+fringing the continent furnishes conditions highly favourable to both
+plant and animal life, and affords some of the most valuable
+fishing-banks of the world.
+
+The Caribbean region is a marked exception to the broader changes that
+have affected the coast-line throughout the central and northern
+portions of the continent, and stands by itself as a conspicuous
+illustration of more localized earth movements which produced a
+remarkable submarine topography.
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+In continuation of the studies outlined in this chapter the following
+books, most of which contain more special references, will be found of
+assistance:
+
+  AGASSIZ, A. _Three Cruises of the Blake._ 2 vols. Houghton,
+    Mifflin & Co., Boston, 1888.
+
+  GILBERT, G. K. _The Topographic Features of Lake Shores._ In
+    United States Geological Survey, Fifth Annual Report, 1883-'84,
+    pp. 69-123.
+
+  GULLIVER, F. P. _Shoreline Topography._ In Proceedings of the
+    American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. xxxiv, 1899, pp.
+    151-258. Contains a valuable bibliography.
+
+  HILL, R. T. _The Geological History of the Isthmus of Panama and
+    Portions of Costa Rica._ Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative
+    Zoology at Harvard College, vol. xxviii, 1898, pp. 151-285.
+
+  HILL, R. T. _Cuba and Porto Rico with the Other Islands of the
+    West Indies._ The Century Co., New York, 1899.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Seacoast Swamps of the Eastern United States._ In
+    United States Geological Survey, Sixth Annual Report, 1884-'85,
+    pp. 353-398.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _The Geological History of Harbors._ In United
+    States Geological Survey, Thirteenth Annual Report, Part II,
+    1891-'92, pp. 93-209.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Sea and Land._ Scribner, New York, 1894. _United
+    States Coast and Geodetic Survey._ Annual Reports, Coast Pilot,
+    Tide Tables, etc.
+
+
+                            CHARTS AND MAPS
+
+  To the student of the geography of the coast and submerged border
+    of North America, the extensive series of charts published by
+    the _United States Coast and Geodetic Survey_ supply a vast
+    amount of accurate information. A catalogue of these charts,
+    with prices, etc., is issued by the Survey. Many of the charts
+    issued by the _United States Hydrographic Office_, and a large
+    number of the topographic maps published by the _United States
+    Geological Survey_, are of value in this same connection. An
+    account of these charts and maps, with instructions as to
+    methods of obtaining them, etc., is given in _Government Maps
+    for Use in Schools_, by Messrs. Davis, King, and Collie,
+    published by H. Holt & Co., New York, 1894.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+                       THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LAND
+
+
+Taking the better known portions of North America as a basis on which to
+classify the leading geographical features of the continent, it is
+convenient, and in the main sufficiently accurate, to recognise five
+primary physiographic provinces. These are, in their general order, from
+east to west:
+
+1. Coastal plains and plateaus, of which the country between the
+Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains furnishes the most typical
+examples.
+
+2. A series of mountain ranges embracing all of the more elevated
+country on the east side of the continent from Georgia northward to the
+arctic archipelago, and in this book termed the _Atlantic Mountains_.
+
+3. The great system of plains and plateaus extending from the Gulf of
+Mexico northward to the Arctic Ocean and bordered on the east by the
+Atlantic Mountains and on the west by a still greater series of
+mountains, which may be designated with sufficient accuracy as the
+_Continental Basin_.
+
+4. A group of mountain chains and mountain ranges on the west side of
+the continent, including the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Cascades,
+etc., and sometimes termed the Cordilleras. Under the scheme of
+classification here used, this highly complex belt of rugged country
+extending from south-central Mexico northward to the Arctic Ocean is
+termed the _Pacific Cordillera_, or, in less technical language, the
+_Pacific Mountains_.[1]
+
+[1] The propriety of using the names here employed for the larger
+physiographic provinces of North America has been discussed by several
+writers in the _Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia_,
+vol. ii, 1899, pp. 55-69.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 13.--The larger physiographic divisions of North
+America.]
+
+Each of the four physiographic provinces briefly described above is in a
+conspicuous manner elongated in a north and south direction. The
+mountains, valleys, and plateaus, as well as the controlling lines of
+structure in the rocks below the surface, throughout the main body of
+the continent coincide in direction more or less nearly with the
+parallels of longitude. At the south, however, and crossing the trend of
+each of the provinces named above, is the:
+
+Fifth, or Caribbean province, which includes the West Indies, the
+southern part of Mexico, and all of Central America. In this
+province are the _Antillean Mountains_, now mostly submerged, the
+principal axes of which trend east and west.
+
+With this brief outline of the larger physical divisions of North
+America in mind, let us endeavour to become acquainted with the leading
+characteristics of each of the provinces as they exist to-day, and at
+the same time learn something of their long and varied histories.
+
+
+                       COASTAL PLAINS AND PLATEAUS
+
+_The Coastal Plains._--From New York to Key West and thence about the
+borders of the Gulf of Mexico to the neighbourhood of Vera Cruz, the
+border of the present land area of the continent is formed by a low
+plain, from 30 to 50 miles broad in New Jersey, but increasing in width
+southward to Georgia and Florida, where its somewhat indefinite inland
+margin is more than 100 miles from the sea, and reaching its greatest
+development in the delta of the Mississippi. Extending southward about
+the west coast of the Gulf, it forms the low, featureless eastern border
+of Texas, about 50 miles broad, and passes into Mexico, but gradually
+narrows as the Pacific Mountains approach the coast, and ends in the
+vicinity of Vera Cruz.
+
+The Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain everywhere slopes gently seaward,
+and on its landward margin has an elevation in general of from 200 to
+300 feet. The character of the material of which the coastal plain is
+composed, the fossils contained in it, as well as its geographical
+features, show that it is a continuation of the continental shelf, and
+was formed at a time when the border of the continent was more deeply
+submerged than at present. Minor oscillations of the earth's crust have
+time and again allowed the sea to extend inland, only to be forced to
+recede when the land again rose. Each invasion of the sea left a sheet
+of soft sediment over the portion of the land that was submerged. These
+oscillations are still in progress, as is indicated by the fact that
+along the New Jersey coast a downward movement at the rate of about 2
+feet per century is taking place. A similar depression of the land
+is also thought to be in progress along the south Atlantic coast and in
+the delta of the Mississippi. The Atlantic coastal plain has its most
+characteristic development in South Carolina, and is roughly divisible
+according to its topography and soil into several belts parallel with
+the shore-line. At the same time it is transversely divided into strips
+by the several rivers which flow across it and by the many branches of
+these rivers originating on the plain itself.
+
+The junction of the portion of the gently sloping border of the
+continent now above sea-level, with the submerged portion, is
+characterized by the presence of a belt of swamps, in part marine
+marshes where the salt water ebbs and flows, and in part fresh-water
+morasses in which the drainage is obstructed largely by decaying
+vegetation. Inland from the coastal swamps the surface becomes higher,
+is for the most part well drained, and when not too sandy furnishes rich
+agricultural lands. The Atlantic plain as a whole thus has three
+principal divisions: a submerged portion, a marsh portion, and a
+subaerial portion. During past ages the position of each of these belts
+migrated, owing to movements in the earth's crust, but their succession
+in reference to each other has been the same since the Tertiary period.
+
+One of the most typical portions of the fringe of swamps now bordering
+the land is situated in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, and is
+known as the Dismal Swamp. In the central portion of this marshy region,
+embracing some 700 square miles, lies Lake Drummond, an example of a
+large number of small fresh-water lakes which are retained by rims
+composed of plant growths and decaying vegetable matter. The mound of
+vegetable _débris_ in the summit of which Lake Drummond is situated is
+from 20 to 30 miles broad and rises some 12 feet above tide-level. The
+lake is nearly circular, from 2 to 2½ miles in diameter, and from 6
+to 10 feet deep. The water is amber-coloured on account of the vegetable
+matter in solution, but is clear and without sediment in suspension, and
+is considered as remarkably wholesome. The lake was without definite
+outlet previous to the cutting of drainage-canals, and is entirely
+encircled by a dense forest, which has encroached on its border in such
+a manner as to render its boundaries indefinite. The wall of rank
+vegetation surrounding the open waters of the lake marks the beginning
+of the encircling swamp. Standing in the lake and supported by their
+widely expanded roots are several aged cypress-trees.
+
+Along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia sand-bars thrown up by the
+sea have formed many lagoons (Fig. 6), which are being filled by the
+wash of detritus from the land, by sand blown from their confining
+ridges, and by vegetation and the hard parts of molluscs, crustaceans,
+etc., living in their waters. In part, these areas have been converted
+into swamps, and are gradually being transformed into dry land. Farther
+southward, about the shores of Florida, and thence along the Gulf
+border, the low, indefinite margin of the coastal plain is fringed in
+many places by dense thickets of mangrove-trees, which extend their
+aerial roots into the salt water, and by retaining sediment and dead
+vegetation as well as by furnishing conditions favourable for animal
+life, lead to a gradual extension of the land.
+
+The west border of the coastal plain from New York southward to central
+Georgia is at the junction of the soft, unconsolidated sands and clays
+of the emerged portion of the continental shelf, with hard and usually
+crystalline rocks of great geological age forming, an upland known as
+the Piedmont plateau, which extends westward to the base of the
+Appalachian Mountains. The sharply defined boundary between the plain
+and the plateau is termed the _fall line_, for the reason that it is
+marked by the lowest falls and rapids in the streams flowing eastward
+from the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout the courses of these streams
+to the west of the fall line they are shallow and swift and broken by
+many picturesque rapids, while to the east of the fall line they broaden
+in the soft sediments of the coastal plain, and are deep, placid streams
+which widen into estuaries. The influence of the tides is felt in these
+drowned rivers to the fall line. The most important fact in this
+connection is that the lower courses of the larger rivers, such as
+the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, James, etc., are navigable for
+ocean-going vessels, while their upper courses to the west of the fall
+line are difficult to traverse even in canoes.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Relief map of North America. After United
+States Geological Survey and Canadian Geological Survey.]
+
+The fall line is thus the head of navigation in a number of rivers, and
+for this reason it has determined the sites of several important cities.
+Its course is marked by Trenton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington,
+Richmond, Weldon, Raleigh, Augusta, and Macon. Farther south, about the
+landward margin of the portion of the coastal plain bordering the Gulf
+of Mexico, the fall line is less distinct, largely for the reason that
+the rocks bordering it on the north and west are less resistant than
+those forming the plateau at the east base of the Appalachians.
+
+Exceptions to the fact that the coastal plain is composed mostly of soft
+sediments occur in southern Florida and in Yucatan, where coral rock has
+been upraised. Southeastward from Yucatan a coastal plain is wanting and
+rocky bluffs separated by stream-cut valleys come boldly down to the
+surf line. Partially drowned valleys on each side of Central America
+bear record of a recent but moderate downward movement of the land.
+
+From New York northward along the border of the continent the coastal
+plain is mostly lacking, or if recognisable, is greatly modified by
+glacial deposits, and the Piedmont plateau, as it is known farther
+south, swings eastward and becomes a coastal plateau with a more or less
+roughened surface, which extends northward to Labrador and the Arctic
+Ocean.
+
+The geologically recent oscillations of the continent, as stated in the
+preceding chapter, have been greatest in high latitudes, where the last
+movement, as there are reasons for believing, was upward and is still
+continuing. This rise, although it has not fully counteracted the
+changes produced by a preceding downward movement, has caused the
+shore-line to recede and a great area on the arctic border of the
+continent which was previously submerged has thus become exposed. The
+coastal plain on the west side of Hudson Bay, as described by T. B.
+Tyrrell, is about 50 miles wide in the vicinity of Fort Churchill,
+latitude 55°, and broadens rapidly northward of that locality. In
+latitude 64° the boundary between these new lands and the older plains
+of the interior is about 300 miles from the present shore; thence
+northwestward it has not been traced, but may be expected to cross the
+Mackenzie some 250 miles from its mouth and pass westward into Alaska.
+
+This arctic coastal plain is known in part as the Barren Grounds, but in
+general may be designated as a _tundra_, as over extensive areas it is
+similar to the still greater tundras of Siberia. This tundra forms the
+extreme northern and northwestern border of the continent in arctic
+Canada and northern and northwestern Alaska, and although but
+imperfectly explored, has a length of probably 2,000 miles and a width
+of from 50 to 60, and in places of over 100 miles. On the west coast of
+Hudson Bay the tundra region slopes gradually from 500 to 600 feet above
+the sea down to the present coast, and is traversed by sand and gravel
+terraces and beaches or ridges which mark the former positions of the
+sea margin. The lower ridges referred to are thickly strewn with shells
+of molluscs belonging to species still living in the adjacent ocean
+waters, thus indicating the recency of the emergence of the land. This
+arctic coastal plain has the same general geographical features as the
+coast plain on the southern Atlantic and Gulf border of the continent;
+but, owing mainly to different climatic conditions, differs from its
+southern representative in nearly every detail.
+
+The tundra may be briefly defined as a vast frozen morass. The dense
+mat-like vegetation consists principally of mosses and lichens (but not
+noticeably of _Sphagnum_ or peat-moss, as is sometimes stated), and
+during the short and not infrequently hot summers is beautified by a
+multitude of low flowering herbaceous plants. Trees are absent, except
+along the inland border, where the tundra merges with the subarctic
+forest. To the north, or seaward from the isolated groves of stunted
+spruce-trees marking the "continental timber-line," the only
+representative of arboreal vegetation is usually the slim osier-like
+arctic willow which grows in sheltered localities and attains a height
+of 3 to 5 feet. Near the streams there are in some localities broad
+areas covered with dark-green meadow-like growths of rushes
+(_Equiseta_). The luxuriant flowering plants spring into existence
+as if by magic as soon as the winter's snow melts, and under the warmth
+and light of the nightless arctic summer grow with wonderful rapidity.
+In winter the tundra is snow-covered, but the snow is less deep than in
+more humid regions, and the cold is intense. The bog becomes deeply
+frozen, and is not completely thawed during the succeeding summer. Even
+in midsummer, when the surface is a luxuriant garden of flowers and
+fresh gray-green moss, ice exists a foot or two beneath the luxuriant
+carpet and extends to a great but unknown depth. Excavations made in
+Alaska have shown that the perennial, dirt-stained ice beneath the
+tundra is at least 25 feet thick, but this is by no means its maximum
+depth. On the shore of Eschscholtz Bay and along the Kowak River
+sections of the tundra exposed in cliffs indicate a thickness of 150 to
+300 feet of ice, covered by a thin layer of black peaty soil. The
+similar region in Siberia, as shown by borings, is known to be
+permanently frozen to a depth of 380 feet deep. The subsoil ice is
+sheltered by the vegetation and the peaty soil resting on it, from the
+heat of the short summers, and the part softened by the summer's sun is
+refrozen during the long intensely cold winters. It is probable that
+under the present climatic conditions a sheet of perennial ice would be
+formed beneath the tundra, but the suggestion that the ice now present
+is in part an inheritance from a former period of greater cold is not
+without support. The vegetation of the tundra grows each year at the
+surface, while the partially decayed material below is frozen and
+preserved. This increase in depth of the vegetable matter is much the
+same as the growth of peat in temperate latitudes, except that the
+partially decayed material is preserved in cold storage. It was in the
+tundra of Siberia that the completely preserved bodies of the mammoth
+and the woolly rhinoceros have been discovered. Similar finds are to be
+looked for in the tundra of North America, where the bones of these
+animals have already been found.
+
+On the Pacific border of the continent the shores are mostly bold, and
+coastal plains comparable with those on its eastern and northern
+margins are absent. In southern California, however, in the vicinity of
+Los Angeles, a modern and apparently local elevation of the land has
+produced a highly fertile plain, now, owing to the magic touch of
+irrigation, beautified by gardens and orchards.
+
+_The Piedmont and Coastal Plateaus._--Adjacent to the western margin of
+the Atlantic coastal plain, and extending from Alabama northward to New
+England, there is a plateau region about 150 miles broad in its central
+part, but narrowing towards its extremities so as to be from 40 to 60
+miles broad in Maryland and New Jersey, and of about the same width at
+the south, in Georgia. The slope of the plateau surface is seaward from
+an elevation of about 1,000 feet along its western margin to 250 or 300
+feet at the fall line where it joins the coastal plain.
+
+From its position at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains this
+moderately elevated plain is termed the Piedmont plateau. The same
+plateau extends northeastward, however, where it is known as the New
+England plateau, and is without any definite boundary to separate it
+from the similar region in the maritime provinces of Canada. While local
+divisions of this great extent of moderately elevated plateau country
+are recognised, yet in a general view of the continent it is evident
+that the Piedmont plateau, the New England plateau, and the similar
+region, mostly of crystalline and igneous rocks, extending from Maine to
+Hudson Strait and beyond, in reality forms a single great geographical
+unit in which the geological structure and geographical features are
+much the same. The general history of this great Atlantic plateau, as it
+may, perhaps, be termed, shows that it consists mainly of metamorphic
+rocks, such as mica schist, gneiss, slates, etc., together with granite
+and other igneous rocks, and, to a minor extent, of sandstones, shales,
+and limestones, mostly of Jura-Trias and Carboniferous age. These rocks
+were upraised probably in part into lofty mountains, and then worn down
+by erosion nearly to sea-level, thus forming what is termed a
+_peneplain_, or a plain of subaerial denudation. It is not intended by
+this statement to imply that all of the Atlantic plateau was ever
+a single great peneplain, but the same general history seems to apply to
+the entire region. The upheaval of the plains produced by erosion gave
+the streams greater energy, and they have begun the task of again
+reducing the land to sea-level, but have not as yet broadened their
+valleys so as to greatly modify the general plateau character of the
+region they traverse. The softer or more easily soluble rocks have been
+eroded away, leaving broad valleys, as in the several instances where
+sandstones and shales of what is known as the Newark system (Jura-Trias)
+occur in detached areas from South Carolina to Nova Scotia. Then, too,
+from northern New Jersey northward to Labrador and beyond, great
+glaciers have crossed the plateau or developed upon its broad north
+portion and have ground down its surface or left widely extended hills
+and ridges of morainal material upon it.
+
+Where the process, just referred to, of planing down a tract of country
+nearly to sea-level is incomplete and remnants of former uplands still
+remain as isolated hills or groups of hills, such inheritances from the
+pre-peneplain stage may still exist when the region is elevated into a
+plateau and give diversity to its surface. An example of such a residual
+hill is furnished by Mount Monadnock, in southern New Hampshire, and, as
+proposed by W. M. Davis, the name of this old landmark is adopted as a
+technical term by which to designate all similar remnants of old uplands
+left standing on a peneplain. On the Atlantic plateau there are many
+_monadnocks_. They range in size from well-characterized hills to
+mountain-like forms, and may be isolated or occur in groups. When a
+monadnock stands alone its history may be easily read, but groups of
+such eminences, especially when of large size, become ranges of hills or
+even mountains, and may preserve so much of their former characteristics
+that they outrank the adjacent peneplain and become the dominant
+geographic feature of the region to which they give diversity. Such a
+passage from monadnocks to mountains seems to be furnished by the
+numerous isolated hills on the Atlantic plateau and the mountains of New
+England and of eastern Canada.
+
+The most characteristic portions of what has just been termed
+provisionally the Atlantic plateau are the Piedmont plateau, which
+skirts the east base of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to
+central Alabama and the Labrador plateau. The eastern border of the
+Piedmont plateau is determined by the fall line described above, where
+the hard crystalline rocks of the Piedmont region meet the softer rocks
+of the Atlantic coastal plain. The rivers flowing eastward from the
+Appalachian, such as the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, and the James,
+cross the Piedmont plateau in well-defined but narrow channels, usually
+from 100 to 200 feet deep, leaving the interstream spaces with generally
+level surfaces, although etched as it were by the lateral tributaries of
+the master streams. These rivers are shallow and rapid in their courses
+across the plateau, or in somewhat technical geographical language are
+not as yet graded, but on crossing the fall line become sluggish
+tide-water streams which widen into estuaries, as already described.
+Owing to the warm humid climate of this region, the rocks in the
+interstream spaces are usually deeply decayed and furnish clay soils
+which have characteristic red and yellow colours. Much of the cotton and
+tobacco of the South Atlantic States is grown on these residual soils
+which were left as the more soluble portions of the rocks were removed
+in solution.
+
+Labrador, although in great part unexplored, is known to present the
+characteristic features of an irregular plateau, with a general
+elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the sea. The surface is
+undulating and has hills and hollows, the latter frequently holding
+lakes and swamps, but the inequalities seldom exceed 500 feet in
+vertical range. Although the western boundary of the Labrador plateau is
+indefinite, its area may be taken at about 500,000 square miles. In its
+western part, and apparently rising from the plateau as a group of
+residual hills left by erosion, are the so-called Laurentian or
+Laurentide Mountains. The eastern border of the plateau forms the bold
+and excessively rugged Atlantic coast-line of Labrador, characterized by
+steep cliff with a fringe of small rocky islands. The adjacent sea
+is deep and the continental shelf narrow. On the south the plateau is
+bordered by a series of terraces which lead down to the St. Lawrence
+River and on the west it merges indefinitely with the plains of the
+continental basin.
+
+The rocks of Labrador are largely metamorphic, but include ancient
+igneous intrusions, and are hard and resistant. The present surface is
+the result of deep erosion which has removed a great but unknown
+thickness of material and left exposed what was once the deeply buried
+basal portion of a mountainous region. This is a part of the oldest
+known land of the continent, and, so far as can be learned, has never
+been covered by the sea since a very ancient geological period. In
+addition to the long eras of erosion, during which the _débris_ removed
+was deposited in part farther south, and contributed to the formation of
+the stratified rocks of the Appalachian region and interior continental
+basin, there was a comparatively recent extension of great glaciers over
+the plateau which removed the previously disintegrated and decayed rocks
+and left the present bare, rounded, and generally subdued hills with
+intervening basins. The soils are thin, for the reason that under the
+present climatic conditions rock decay is retarded, and are confined
+principally to the depression where peaty material has accumulated.
+Owing to the lack of soil on the uplands, the excess of water in the
+hollows, and to the severity of the climate, the forest is not
+continuous, the trees are small, and the vegetation generally of a
+subarctic character. This vast region is without agricultural
+possibilities, and thus far has been of value to man almost solely on
+account of its fur-bearing animals and the fisheries of its coast.
+
+The northern border of the Atlantic plateau cannot at present be
+accurately defined. Seemingly it should include the Arctic archipelago,
+which provisionally may be considered as a deeply dissected plateau
+region, at present less elevated than formerly, thus allowing the sea to
+enter the valleys and to transform old uplands into islands. The bold
+and highly instructive explorations conducted in recent years by
+Robert Bell, for the Canadian Geological Survey, have shown that in the
+region adjacent to Hudson Strait the plateau features characteristic of
+the greater part of the Labrador peninsula are absent and mountains
+occur which rank as the highest on the eastern border of the continent.
+
+On the Pacific coast plateaus corresponding closely with those adjacent
+to or bordering the Atlantic are wanting. What geographers recognise as
+deeply dissected plateaus, so extremely rough that they pass for
+mountain ranges, do occur on the western border of the continent,
+however, and will be described later.
+
+
+                         THE ATLANTIC MOUNTAINS
+
+This title will no doubt appear novel to many persons, and is, perhaps,
+open to adverse criticism, but it serves to unite in one group all of
+the mountains in the eastern half of North America. A cordillera, as
+usually defined, consists of two or more mountain chains associated
+geographically, but not necessarily of the same age. On the Atlantic
+border of the continent we have an example of such a family of
+mountains. The Atlantic mountains, although comprising ranges, systems,
+etc., of widely different ages, are all geologically old, and have
+resulted from upheavals along two generally parallel and slightly
+overlapping northeast and southwest belts adjacent to the Atlantic
+Ocean. The growth of this group of mountains is believed to have been
+from the north southward, and several periods of upheaval have been
+recognised.
+
+The two main divisions or chains referred to are separated by the valley
+of the St. Lawrence. The mountains at the north are known as the
+Laurentides or Laurentian Highlands, and those at the south comprise the
+mountains of New Brunswick and Maine, the White Mountains of New
+Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Adirondack Mountains of
+northeastern New York, and the Appalachians. The most convenient method
+of reviewing the characteristics and histories of these several uplifts
+is to begin with the Appalachians, which are at the same time the
+most important and best known, and consider them in their order from
+south to north.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Appalachian Mountains.]
+
+_The Appalachian Mountains._--This beautiful and frequently exceedingly
+picturesque series of long, narrow ridges separated one from another by
+trough-like valleys, constitutes a mountain system some 900 miles long
+and 50 to 130 or more miles wide (Fig. 15). The truly mountainous
+portion in its widest part, in western North Carolina and eastern
+Tennessee, is about 70 miles across, but a portion of the adjacent
+plateau on the west partakes of the same structural features and is a
+part of the Appalachian uplift. The system is considered as extending
+from the Hudson southward to central Alabama and central Georgia. At the
+north its terminus is indefinite, as it merges with the highlands to the
+east of the Hudson and with the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, which
+in turn are not strictly separable from the Green Mountains of Vermont.
+At the south, the system ends somewhat abruptly where the crystalline
+rocks comprising its southern terminus pass beneath the soft sediments
+of the coastal plain. The eastern border of the system is well defined
+by its junction with the Piedmont plateau, but on the west it merges
+through a series of lessening folds with the plateaus and plains of the
+eastern border of the interior continental basin. The Alleghany plateau,
+which skirts the western border of what is usually recognised as the
+Appalachian Mountains, but which is really its moderately disturbed
+border, extends from the Hudson to Alabama, and in its various portions
+is known by distinct names. Its northern extension overlooking the
+Hudson forms the Catskill Mountains; farther south it becomes locally
+the Alleghany plateau, and still farther south the Cumberland plateau.
+Separating the bold eastern escarpment of this series of plateaus from
+the generally higher mountains to the eastward lies the great
+Appalachian Valley, which under various names extends from the Hudson to
+central Alabama. This important and highly fruitful valley is underlaid
+to a great extent by thick bedded limestones and soft shales, and owes
+its existence to erosion and largely to the removal of limestone
+in solution.
+
+The Appalachians are nowhere lofty, and only approach the
+characteristics of great mountains in their southern portion. The
+culminating summit is Mount Mitchell, in western North Carolina, which
+has an elevation of 6,711 feet. Roan Mountain, 27 miles to the northward
+of Mount Mitchell, rises 6,287 feet above the sea. In the neighbouring
+Unaka and Great Smoky Mountains, to the southwest and west of Mount
+Mitchell, there are many boldly rounded domes ranging in height from
+5,000 to over 6,000 feet Northward of the highly picturesque southern
+Appalachians, the system decreases in height and is really a deeply
+dissected plateau, as will be shown later, in which the long,
+even-crested ridges have a general elevation of 4,000 feet in Virginia
+and about 2,000 feet in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At its northern
+extension in New York it decreases still more in height, and is
+surpassed in elevation by the plateau on the west, there represented by
+the Catskill Mountains, the highest portion of which is 3,660 feet above
+the sea.
+
+The characteristic structural feature of the Appalachians is the
+presence of a great series of up and down folds, or anticlinals and
+synclinals as geologists term them, which run in a nearly parallel
+northeast and southwest direction, but in Pennsylvania especially
+exhibit many broad curves in their general course. These folds are
+similar to the waves that may be produced in a heavy rug or carpet by
+pressing against one of its margins. The rocks have been thrown into a
+series of great wrinkles which are not continuous throughout the length
+of the system, but as one dies out another takes its place. The folds
+overlap at the ends or are arranged _en échelon_. The longer axes of the
+folds are seldom horizontal, but have usually a gentle pitch; for this
+reason one end of a fold frequently passes beneath the surface, while
+the other end is exposed to erosion. Another characteristic is that the
+anticlinals, as a rule, are steep on their western margins, and slope
+more gently on their eastern flanks, or are unsymmetrical. The
+overturning of the folds where most pronounced has led to the
+breaking of the rocks on the west side of an upward wrinkle where the
+descending limb of an anticlinal is sharply bent in order to pass into
+the ascending limb of the adjacent synclinal. These breaks or faults in
+certain instances form thrust planes along which one portion of a series
+of beds has been carried westward, sometimes for several miles, over
+another portion of the same series. This highly characteristic system of
+unsymmetrical folds, passing at times, and especially in Tennessee and
+Alabama, into great thrust planes, is accounted for on the general
+theory that there has been lateral pressure or a tangential thrust,
+which has forced the strata into a series of elongated arches, in much
+the same manner as in the case of a rug, as above suggested, one margin
+of which has been forced by lateral pressure towards its central part.
+
+The rocks composing the greater portion of the Appalachians are
+stratified marine sediment such as sandstone, shale, limestone, etc.,
+which were laid down one on another until a great depth was attained,
+corresponding, as we may fancy, to a pile of rugs, the original
+thickness in Pennsylvania being about 40,000 feet. Lateral pressure
+resulting, as it is believed, from the cooling and consequent
+contraction of the earth's highly heated interior, and the movement of
+the cool and rigid crust in order to keep in contact with the shrinking
+mass beneath, has led to the folding and occasional breaking of the
+rocks, which at the same time were elevated above the sea. A crushing
+together or folding of the rocks similar to that which has taken place
+along the central part of the Atlantic border of North America, as is
+well known, has occurred also in many other regions, and the
+Appalachians may be taken as the type of a class of mountains, sometimes
+termed corrugated mountains, which includes the Alps and Pyrenees, the
+Coast Range of California, etc. For convenience we may speak of such
+mountains as being of the Appalachian type.
+
+Had the folding in the Appalachian region gone on without erosion, the
+surface would to-day be a series of great, elongated arches or
+upward folds, rising in many instances 5,000 or more feet above the
+intervening valleys, and where breaks or faults occur their upraised
+borders would stand as mighty cliffs, in some localities a mile or more
+high. The central part of the region with this strange topography had
+there been no erosion would, perhaps, be fully as prominent as the
+Himalayan Mountains are at present. No sooner, however, were the
+Appalachian Mountains upraised above the sea than the destructive
+agencies of the atmosphere began their attacks upon them. The rocks were
+shattered by changes of temperature, and at times at least crumbled by
+the freezing of absorbed water and also underwent chemical changes which
+softened and disintegrated them. The rains beat upon them, and streams
+flowing to the sea cut channels and carried away the material forming
+the land. These processes of disintegration and erosion have been in
+progress since islands and continents first appeared on the earth, and
+every mountain range now giving diversity to the surface of the land
+represents the net result of elevation over denudation. The Appalachians
+are not an exception, but a typical illustration of this general law.
+The great folds of which they are composed have been truncated by
+erosion and the surfaces thus produced, etched, as it were, by the
+action of the air, rain, and by streams, so as to leave the edges of the
+more resistant layers in relief.
+
+One conspicuous result in this general process of erosion is due to the
+fact that the folded strata consist in many instances of alternating
+hard, or insoluble and soft, or readily soluble layers. Where resistant
+layers underlaid by soft, or readily soluble strata formed the summits
+of arches they have in many instances been broken in the process of
+folding or cut through by streams flowing down their flanks and the weak
+beds beneath exposed. After this stage was reached the erosion of the
+upward folds went on more rapidly than the removal of rock from the
+compressed downward folds, so that what is structurally a ridge became a
+valley: while the bordering troughs or synclinals floored with hard
+layers were left in relief as ridges or table-lands. The anticlinal
+ridges have thus been transformed into topographic valleys and the
+original synclinal troughs left in relief as plateaus and ridges.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Section of anticlinal valleys and synclinal
+mountains.]
+
+This reversion of what would have been ridges and troughs had there been
+no erosion, is illustrated by the following cross-section through
+Lookout Mountain in Alabama, which is an example of what is known as a
+synclinal mountain. Many such synclinal mountains or plateaus, separated
+by narrower anticlinal valleys, occur throughout the Appalachians.
+
+The characteristics in the present topography of the Appalachians just
+considered are but a minor portion of the great changes that have
+resulted from erosion. The history of the system has not been the same
+in this connection throughout, but retains evidences of successive
+upward movements with long periods of erosion intervening which have
+produced certain striking differences in its northern and southern
+portions. These differences are so well marked that it is convenient to
+divide the system into two portions, termed the northern Appalachians
+and southern Appalachians. The most conspicuous difference between the
+two is shown by the direction of flow of the larger rivers. At the
+north, the principal rivers--the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, and
+James--rise well to the west of the mountains and flow southeast athwart
+the numerous folds, and after crossing the Piedmont plateau and coastal
+plain discharge into the Atlantic. At the south, however, the rivers,
+particularly New River and the Tennessee, rise on the eastern border of
+the Appalachians and flow westward, cutting through the Alleghany
+plateau, and are tributary to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.
+The somewhat arbitrary dividing line between these two provinces
+follows the divide to the north of New River, or in a general way, as
+has been stated by C. W. Hayes, is marked by a line drawn from the most
+easterly point of Kentucky southeastward to Cape Fear, on the Atlantic
+coast.
+
+The fact that several large rivers rising to the northwest of the
+northern Appalachians flow directly across or through the numerous
+ridges composing the system in deep, narrow valleys, and the similar
+behaviour of the streams rising on the eastern border of the southern
+Appalachians, but flowing westward, are among the most interesting
+features of the entire region. Why is it that the mountains have not
+formed a divide or water-parting so as to force all of the streams
+having their sources on its west side to take what would seem the easier
+course, and to flow to the Gulf of Mexico, and cause the waters falling
+on its eastern slopes to flow to the Atlantic? The answer to this
+apparently puzzling question has been furnished by Davis, Willis, Hayes,
+Campbell, and others, who have shown that the mountains were not raised
+all at once, but experienced upward movements at widely separated
+intervals, with intervening periods of rest during which the elevations
+previously produced were more or less completely planed away by erosion.
+During one of these intervals the north Appalachians more especially
+were worn down to approximately sea-level and a gently sloping plain
+produced across which the larger rivers flowed to the Atlantic. This
+peneplain was later upraised into a plateau and its downward inclination
+towards the east increased. The streams were thus given greater energy
+and began again to deepen their channels. They held their right of way
+acquired on the featureless erosion plain and cut deep trenches through
+the edges of the hard layers which crossed their courses. At the same
+time lateral branches were developed which followed the outcrops of the
+less resistant beds and eroded them away so as to leave the hard beds in
+bold relief. As the edges of the more resistant beds became more and
+more prominent the eastward-flowing streams cut deeper and deeper into
+them. The even summits of the ridges, one of the most striking
+features in the beautiful scenery of the Appalachians, still mark the
+position of the elevated erosion plain.
+
+In the southern Appalachian the old erosion plain formed nearly at
+sea-level was tilted gently westward, and the streams flowing over its
+surface given initial courses in that direction, which were maintained
+as they deepened their channels, and on account of increased energy
+originating from the upraising of the region drained by them, developed
+lateral branches, as is the case of the more northern streams just
+referred to, and the process of carving away the land to sea-level was
+again renewed.
+
+Portions of the original upland or mountain mass left unconsumed during
+the long period of planation, which reduced most of the region nearly to
+sea-level, still remain in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina,
+and northern Georgia, and form the highest and most picturesque portion
+of the Appalachians.
+
+After the upraised peneplain from which the long, even-crested ridges of
+the Appalachians were produced by the excavation of the bordering
+valleys had been deeply dissected and the valleys broadened, another
+upward movement took place and the streams again deepened their valleys.
+This is the stage in which we now find the mountains. The crests of the
+ridges, characteristically displayed in eastern Pennsylvania, are
+portions of the first peneplain of which a definite record is preserved,
+while the broad valleys with sharply cut channels in their bottoms
+represent the much less complete second stage of planation.
+
+The two ancient peneplains referred to above, the histories of which are
+recorded in the topography, have received definite names in order that
+they may be readily designated. The older and higher one is termed the
+Schooley peneplain[2] on account of the preservation of a typical
+portion at Schooley Mountain in New Jersey, while the lower one,
+represented by the broad valley through which flows the Shenandoah
+River, Virginia, is known as the Shenandoah peneplain. A generalized
+profile in a northwest and southeast direction through a portion of the
+Appalachians is shown in the following diagram, which will serve to make
+more definite the description just given. The highest summits in the
+diagram represent portions of the Schooley peneplain; if the depressions
+could be refilled the surface of the great plateau formed by the
+elevation of this plain would be restored. The bottoms of the broad
+depressions represent the Shenandoah peneplain, which is sharply
+trenched by the modern river channels.
+
+[2] Also known as the "Kittatinny peneplain," but the name used above
+has priority.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Generalized east-and-west profile showing
+relation of peneplains.]
+
+The Appalachians thus furnish not only a typical example of a mountain
+system produced by the folding and upheaval of the rocks of the earth's
+crust, accompanied in many localities by breaks or faults and
+overthrusts, but also preserve the records of two well-characterized
+peneplains. The long and varied history of the range has been in part
+interpreted by geologists from the character of the rocks, the fossils
+they contain, and the structure that has been impressed upon them; but
+some of the most instructive chapters are recorded in the topography,
+and their study has led to a highly creditable advance in methods of
+geographical research.
+
+The Appalachian Mountains when first seen by Europeans were clothed
+throughout with a varied and beautiful forest consisting largely of
+hardwood trees. Nowhere do they invade the region of perpetual snow, and
+glaciers are absent. These statements are true also for all of the
+mountains on the eastern side of the continent to the south of Hudson
+Strait.
+
+The Appalachians abound in beautiful scenery, but, except about a few of
+the very highest domes and ridges, have little of the stern
+ruggedness which is typical of truly great mountains. Their countless
+valleys are now mostly cleared of their primitive forests and under
+cultivation. To a large extent also even the steep hillsides are tilled.
+The larger trees which formerly grew on the mountains have nearly all
+been felled, and where the land is not suitable for cultivation their
+place is taken by a dense second growth. Under the mild, humid climate
+that prevails, more especially from the vicinity of the Susquehanna
+River southward, the rocks are deeply disintegrated and decayed, and
+even steep mountainsides are mantled with soil and rock _débris_. It is
+the excess of disintegration and decay over erosion which gives to the
+mountains their usually flowing outlines and pleasingly picturesque
+rather than rugged scenery. The valleys still retain much of the
+material washed from the uplands, and are deeply floored with rich soil.
+The characteristic colours of this decayed rock-waste are many shades of
+red and yellow, which harmonize in a most artistic manner with the
+prevailing green of the plant-covered uplands and abandoned fields.
+These red and yellow soils, particularly about the bases of the higher
+summits of the southern Appalachians, afford abundant crops of cotton,
+corn (maize), and tobacco.
+
+_The Mountains of New England, New York, New Brunswick, etc._--The
+picturesque Berkshire Hills, in the western portion of Massachusetts,
+have rounded and flowing outlines and a generally subdued relief. The
+more prominent of these greatly eroded remnants of what was once a
+mountain range rise but 2,000 to 3,500 feet above the sea. No
+satisfactory boundary between these hills of gneiss, schist, and allied
+metamorphic rocks, and the others of the same general character in the
+neighbouring portions of New York and New Jersey, has been determined.
+So far as the relief is concerned, and so far also as the complex
+geological history has been deciphered, there seems no good reason for
+separating the Berkshire Hills from the Appalachian Mountains. It is
+convenient, however, to consider the Appalachians as terminating at the
+Hudson. The Berkshire Hills when traced northward merge with a
+region of similar topography which unites them with the Green Mountains
+of Vermont, the highest summit of which, Mount Mansfield, attains an
+elevation of 4,364 feet above the sea. To the east of the Green
+Mountains are situated the still higher and more rugged White Mountains
+of New Hampshire, which culminate in Mount Washington. This widely known
+and greatly admired peak has an elevation of 6,293 feet, and, next to
+Mount Mitchell in the southern Appalachians, is the highest mountain on
+the eastern side of the continent to the south of the newly discovered
+group of peaks near Hudson Strait. Associated with Mount Washington are
+at least 15 peaks, each of which is over 5,000 feet high, and a still
+larger number of lesser summits which exceed 4,000 feet in elevation
+above the sea. The remarkable natural beauties of the Green and White
+Mountains, the ease with which they can be reached by means of
+railroads, and the numerous summer hotels, and hospitable farmhouses
+interspersed among them, make this, the most mountainous portion of New
+England, a favourite region for summer rest and recreation. The Green
+and White Mountains are nearly parallel north and south ranges, from 30
+to 60 miles apart, and separated by a tract of lower but hilly country
+with a generally southern slope, where many streams unite to form the
+southward-flowing Connecticut River.
+
+The Adirondack Mountains, in northeastern New York, are situated some 25
+miles to the west of the Green Mountains, and separated from them by
+another tract of hilly country similar to the one dividing the mountains
+of Vermont from those of New Hampshire. In this space lies the irregular
+sheet of water over 100 miles long known as Lake Champlain. This
+beautiful lake discharges northward through Richelieu River to the St.
+Lawrence. In the same tract of hills, but to the southward of Lake
+Champlain and tributary to it, lies the smaller but still more charming
+Lake George.
+
+The Adirondacks are rudely circular in ground plan, and measure from 60
+to 70 miles from east to west, and about 100 miles from north to south.
+The entire area, known to the early settlers of New York State as
+the North Woods, is rugged and most pleasingly diversified. Its leading
+charms are the large number of dark, densely forested summits, the many
+beautiful lakes and clear, sparkling streams. The highest of the
+numerous steep-sided peaks is Mount Marcy, 5,344 feet, and second in
+rank is the equally beautiful eminence known as Whiteface, which rises
+4,872 feet above the sea and about 3,000 feet above the adjacent
+valleys. Over 20 neighbouring forest-covered summits have elevations in
+excess of 4,000 feet.
+
+The rugged region in northeastern New York and the adjacent portion of
+New England is in general without well-marked boundaries. On the north
+it extends into Canada, and is margined by the great valley through
+which flows the St. Lawrence. In the province of Ottawa, to the south of
+the St. Lawrence, there is a group of bold hills similar in many ways to
+the Green Mountains, known as the Notre Dame Mountains, which decreases
+in height when traced northward and merge with a roughened plateau which
+extends far to the northeast and embraces the Gaspé Peninsula and the
+table-land and hills of New Brunswick. Much of the country adjacent to
+the St. Lawrence on the south is rolling and hilly and contains large
+tracts of rich agricultural land which is highly favourable for dairying
+and sheep-raising. Mount Sutton, the highest elevation in the Notre Dame
+Mountains, is 4,000 feet high, and several other forest-covered
+mountain-like hills range in elevation from 1,000 to 3,000 feet. In the
+irregular valleys of this region there are a large number of lakes,
+situated in general from 700 to 1,000 feet above the sea. The Gaspé
+Peninsula to the north of New Brunswick, bordered on the north by the
+valley of the St. Lawrence, and on the east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+has a rough relief and dense forests and is still a wilderness. The
+general elevation of the uplands in this little known region is about
+1,500 feet. The surface is in reality a broad plateau in which numerous
+valleys have been excavated and from which rises a range of hills termed
+the Shikshock Mountains, some 65 miles long and 4 or 5 miles wide,
+with peaks ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in height.
+
+Much of Maine and New Brunswick is similar to the region just referred
+to, and, in a generalized geographical view, may be considered as a part
+of the great coastal plateau of the northeastern portion of the
+continent, roughened by erosion so as to appear to one travelling
+through its valleys as an endless succession of rugged hills. The
+highest of the numerous prominences in Maine is Mount Katahdin, 5,200
+feet, and in New Brunswick the culminating summit is Bald Mountain,
+2,470 feet.
+
+The rugged region embracing the Adirondacks, together with the more
+elevated portions of New England and of the adjacent provinces of
+Canada, has many geographical features that are similar to those of the
+southern Appalachians, but at the same time this, the central portion,
+differs in a marked way from the southern extension of the Atlantic
+mountains. The higher mountains in each of these picturesque regions are
+at least in a general way to be considered as the unconsumed remnants of
+ancient uplands, the greater part of which have been eroded away. The
+most marked contrast in the scenery of these two regions of similar
+elevation is due to the presence of a great number of lakes at the
+north, many of them of large size, and the total absence of such
+beautifying elements in the landscapes at the south. The streams at the
+north are frequently impetuous and broken by many cataracts and rapids,
+thus furnishing abundant water-power; while at the south the streams
+flow through more evenly graded channels and are without cascades except
+near their sources in the mountains. These contrasts are such as are to
+be found the world over between regions of young and old topography. The
+differences in the degree of development reached by the streams of the
+New England region as contrasted with those of the southern
+Appalachians, finds an explanation in the fact that New England, Canada,
+etc., was formerly covered with glacial ice, and on the retreat of the
+glaciers the surface of the land was left with an essentially new
+relief, while the southern Appalachians were well to the south of
+the great ice invasion, and the streams of that region have reached a
+mature development, except near the sources of their head-water
+branches, which, like the topmost twigs of a tree, are always young.
+
+The central, like the southern portion of the Atlantic mountains, is
+forest-clothed. All but a few of the highest summits in the Adirondack
+and White Mountains are concealed beneath a dense and varied growth of
+trees and shrubs. The summits, which are nearly bare of vegetation, like
+the upper 800 or 1,000 feet of Mount Washington, owe this condition to
+lack of soil rather than to elevation. Nowhere in the Atlantic mountains
+to the south of the but little known peaks near Hudson Strait, is the
+elevation sufficient to reach above what would be the timber-line under
+favourable soil conditions. The trees of the White and neighbouring
+mountains are principally various species of conifers, such as the pine,
+spruce, hemlock, larch, etc., which grow thickly on all but the most
+precipitous slopes. Before man disfigured the beauties of the land the
+lower hills, the river-valleys, and the borders of the numerous lakes
+and tarns were clothed with a more varied flora than the uplands. In
+these valley forests the dark foliage of evergreens is in summer mingled
+with the lighter green of maples, beeches, birches, oaks, locusts, and
+other broad-leaf trees. The forests are thus highly diversified and
+partake of the characteristics of both the northern and southern floras.
+It is in these northern woods that the glorious autumnal colouring for
+which North America is justly famous is to be seen in its greatest
+splendour. October is here truly the golden month of the year. At that
+season the bold hills, with their sombre robes of coniferous trees, rise
+like dark rugged islands above an undulating sea from which the most
+gorgeous sunset colours seem to be reflected. The brilliant colouring of
+the ripe foliage beautifies the land as with a cloth of gold. It is at
+this season also, during the tranquil days of what is known as Indian
+Summer, that a purple haze is thrown like a veil over the harlequin
+landscape, as if to subdue its glories and bring them within the range
+of man's appreciation.
+
+Only a few of the higher summits in the New England region approach the
+scenic conditions usually associated with truly lofty mountains. In
+fact, the general lack of rugged escarpments as well as of great
+elevation leads the geographer to rank even the highest of these rounded
+summits as hills of large size rather than attempt to burden them with
+the dignity that the term mountain carries with it. They are beautiful
+hills, separated one from another by lovely valleys, which draw the
+beholder to them and fill his memory with tender longings and vague
+dreamy fancies such as the sterner grandeurs of great mountains fail to
+awaken.
+
+_The Laurentian Highlands._--A vast area in the eastern portion of
+Canada, to the north of the valley of the St. Lawrence, including
+Labrador, is underlaid by very ancient crystalline rocks of the same
+general character as those forming the Adirondacks. This same geological
+system, the Archean, has a wide development in the continental basin to
+the north of Lake Superior and about Hudson Bay. To the north of Quebec,
+in the region drained by the Saguenay and Ottawa Rivers, the land has a
+general elevation of 1,500 to 1,600 feet, and is known as the Laurentian
+Highlands, although sometimes dignified by the name Laurentian
+Mountains, or, more briefly, as the Laurentides. In reality, this broad,
+indefinitely defined region from a geographical point of view is a
+roughened plateau and not a mountain range or group of ranges. When the
+structure and metamorphosed condition of the rocks are considered,
+however, it is found that they have the characteristics pertaining to
+the central and more deeply seated portions of true mountains. The rocks
+are mainly crystalline schist, gneiss, granite, etc., together with
+igneous intrusions, all of which have been intensely folded, crumpled,
+and broken. The general interpretation of the existing conditions is
+that deep erosion has occurred and, in fact, a mountain range or a
+mountain chain worn down to a generally plane surface. The thickness of
+the rocks thus removed, or the depth of erosion, is unknown, and owing
+mainly to the complexity of the geological structure of the terranes
+remaining, will perhaps never be ascertained, but can be safely
+estimated as not only hundreds, but several thousands of feet. Erosion
+has laid bare portions of the earth's crust which were once deeply
+buried, and reveals the character of the "basement complex," as it has
+been termed, which forms the foundation of the continent. Owing to the
+great age of the rocks and the depth to which they were once depressed
+in the earth's crust, they have experienced great changes. They are not
+only intensely folded and crushed, but in large part have been caused to
+flow under great pressure, and have thus acquired a schistose structure.
+Fissures have been filled with molten rock injected from below so as to
+form dikes, and possibly still greater or regional intrusions have
+occurred. Over large areas the amount of once molten and intruded rock
+exceeds the surface exposure of what are usually, but with some
+hesitation, classed as metamorphosed sediments.
+
+Long exposure to the air in a region of mild relief is usually
+accompanied by the formation of a deep soil. The soil over the
+Laurentian Highlands, however, is generally thin, and large areas of
+bare rock are exposed. The explanation of this apparent anomaly is that
+glaciers during a geologically recent period were formed on this region
+and flowed away from it, carrying most of the previously formed rock
+_débris_ with them. The time since the melting of the glaciers has been
+too short for a new soil to form, except in the valleys and depressions
+among the bare glaciated hills, which hold a peaty accumulation
+resulting from the partial decay of vegetation. The scarcity of soil is
+also due in part to the climatic conditions now prevailing, which are
+unfavourable to rapid rock decay.
+
+To the north of the Laurentian Highlands and in the vicinity of Hudson
+Strait, the land becomes higher, and as recently reported by Robert
+Bell, of the Canadian Geological Survey, forms true mountains with
+elevations in the neighbourhood of 8,000 feet. What revelations are to
+come from the inhospitable and in large part ice-covered lands still
+farther north can only be told as exploration and surveys are extended
+in that direction.
+
+This brief review of some of the leading characteristics of the
+mountains and hills adjacent to the Atlantic coast will, I think, serve
+to show that they bear a family relationship; like the members of a
+family, they are of various ages, although all of them are past their
+prime, and may with propriety be termed the _Atlantic Cordillera_.
+
+
+                         THE CONTINENTAL BASIN
+
+An inspection of the map forming Fig. 14, on which the larger
+geographical features of North America are indicated, will assist the
+reader in appreciating the general relations and extent of the plains
+and plateaus which collectively form the Continental basin.
+
+This medial region of the continent is bordered on the east for some
+2,000 miles by the Atlantic mountains, and on the west throughout its
+entire extent by the Pacific mountains. It is open to the sea at both
+the north and the south, and extends in one continuous series of plains
+and plateaus from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. The southern
+portion of this interior basin or trough has already been briefly
+described in discussing the characteristics of the Gulf plains. The
+northern portion has also been considered in describing the tundra
+region adjacent to the Arctic Ocean.
+
+The leading geographical features of the North American continental
+basin are its generally low elevation, the mildness of its topographic
+details, and, with two exceptions, the absence within its borders of
+elevations having a mountainous structure. In general the rocks beneath
+the surface are horizontally stratified marine sediments. The stream-cut
+valleys are shallow and usually broad, except in the bordering plateaus
+and foot-hills on the east and west sides, where the streams frequently
+flow several hundred feet below the surface of the broad, flat-topped
+interstream spaces. The drainage of the continental basin serves as a
+convenient basis for subdividing it into three separate portions. These
+are the Gulf slope, which discharges its surplus waters into the Gulf of
+Mexico and is drained principally by the Mississippi; the St.
+Lawrence slope, occupied in part by the Great Lakes and drained by the
+St. Lawrence River; and the arctic slope, down which the Mackenzie,
+Nelson, and other rivers flow to the Arctic Ocean or to Hudson Bay. At
+no place are the Pacific mountains broken by cross-drainage, so as to
+allow the continental basin to send a tribute to the Pacific Ocean.
+
+The vast extent of the Continental basin, embracing, as it does, some
+three-fourths of the entire area of North America, makes it necessary,
+even in a general review of the large geographical features of the
+continent, to recognise smaller subdivisions than the three great
+drainage slopes referred to above. For this purpose we select the more
+or less well-defined plains and plateaus into which the region is
+naturally subdivided. The portion of the Continental basin embraced
+within the boundaries of the United States has been shown by J. W.
+Powell to consist of the following physiographic regions, namely, the
+Gulf plains; the Prairie plains; the Lake plains, including the region
+draining to the Great Lakes; and the Great plateaus or Great plains, as
+they are more generally termed, adjacent to the eastern border of the
+Pacific mountains. Several of these divisions need to be extended and
+still others recognised in order to include the entire region under
+review. The portion of the Continental basin to the north of the United
+States-Canadian boundary has been only partially explored, and the
+subdivisions of it suggested below are to be considered as provisional.
+
+The Lake plains include in Canada the country to the north of the Great
+Lakes, which drains to them, but excepting the flat lands bordering
+Lakes Erie and Ontario and once covered by their waters, the region
+referred to is rather a roughened plateau than a plain. From a
+geological point of view the hilly country composed of crystalline rocks
+to the north of Lakes Superior and Huron and included within their
+hydrographic basins partakes more of the character of the Laurentian
+Highlands than it does of the features of the portion of the Lake plains
+situated in the United States.
+
+The Prairie plains also extend far to the north of the international
+boundary, and on their northern border merge with the forest-covered
+plains in central Manitoba and the northern portion of Saskatchewan,
+which are drained by northward-flowing rivers. These plains in the far
+north differ from the Prairie plains in the fact that they are forested
+and acquire greater diversity from the presence of innumerable lakes,
+several of which are of large size. For convenience we may designate
+this vast and but little known northern region as the Subarctic Forest
+plains. Still farther north, where the forest dies away, lie the Barren
+Grounds, which merge on their northern border with the frozen morasses
+or tundra of the arctic coastal plain.
+
+To acquire just conceptions of the topographic and other characteristics
+of the several regions of mild relief which make up the Continental
+basin is a difficult task, as each one is of great extent and possesses
+many peculiarities of its own, and besides, in two separate regions,
+each embracing many hundreds of square miles, movements in the earth's
+crust have occurred of such a nature as to elevate the rocks and give
+them the general structure commonly found in mountain ranges. Reference
+is here made to the Ozark uplift in the southwestern portion of the
+Prairie plains and the Black Hills of Dakota which rise from the Great
+plateaus.
+
+_The Ozark Uplift._--There is an area embracing about 75,000 square
+miles in southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and the eastern border of
+the Indian Territory, in which the rocks have been upraised above the
+surrounding Gulf and Prairie plains. The uplift, if we imagine it
+uneroded, would have the general form of an inverted canoe; that is, it
+would form an elongated ridge, broad and dome-like in the central
+portion and dying away on all sides into the great surrounding region of
+undisturbed and essentially horizontal rocks. The major axis of the
+uplift, although exhibiting a double curvature, has a general northeast
+and southwest trend. It is about 500 miles long, and in the widest part
+is approximately 200 miles broad. What the height of the dome
+would be had the rocks composing it not yielded to the destructive
+influences of the air or been removed by streams cannot be readily
+estimated, since the movements of the earth's crust which upraised it
+occurred at several widely separated intervals with intervening periods
+of decay and erosion, and downward movements have also been experienced
+which submerged the region and permitted the deposit of sheets of
+sediment over it. If the results of the upbuilding agencies had not in a
+large measure been counteracted in these several ways, the dome to-day
+would have a height of several thousand feet. In the present condition
+the deeply eroded dome presents the net result of elevation over
+subsidence and erosion. The dome-like form is lost, and in its place is
+a complex series of ridges and valleys. The higher summits now
+remaining, situated principally in the Iron Mountain district in
+northeastern Missouri, rise from 1,400 to 1,800 feet above the
+neighbouring plains, and from 1,800 to 2,100 feet above the sea.
+
+The greater intensity with which the rocks in the southwestern portion
+of the Ozark uplift have been folded than in the more northern portion
+and the varying degrees to which the beds have yielded to denudation
+have resulted in giving to its various parts different types of
+topography. This diversity has led to the recognition of several
+distinct divisions, such as the Shawnee Hills, at the extreme
+northeastern end of the uplift, where the rocks have been folded and the
+ridges cut across by the Mississippi; the St. François Mountains, in
+southeastern Missouri, composed of a large number of isolated hills and
+rising from 500 to 800 feet above the adjacent valleys; the Ozark
+plateau, in southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, the central
+part of which has a general elevation of 1,500 feet above the sea, and
+to one travelling over it seems a boundless and featureless plain
+underlaid by apparently horizontal but in reality gently westward
+dipping sheets of stratified rocks; the Boston Mountains, in central and
+western Arkansas, consisting of rugged irregular ridges and truncated
+summits with a general crest-line elevation of 1,000 feet above
+the sea; and the Ouachita (pronounced _Wichitaw_) Mountains, formed of
+numerous rudely parallel upward folds of hard rock, which rise from 500
+to 1,000 feet above the adjacent valleys and form a belt of unusually
+picturesque, forest-crowned hills, extending from Little Rock, Arkansas,
+westward into Indian Territory.
+
+The study of the island-like Ozark region in the broad, ocean-like
+expanse of the prairies is far from being complete. Although
+topographically distinct and appearing as one of the minor units in the
+geology of the continent, geologists are inclined to the view that the
+Ozark uplift as above described should be considered as consisting of
+two independent but contiguous areas of upheaval, namely, the Ozark
+Hills, situated mainly in Missouri, and the Ouachita Hills, lying mainly
+in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. This Ozark-Ouachita region--by
+whatever name finally designated--is one with a long and varied, nay,
+even a poetic history. In writing of the Archean rocks of the Iron
+Mountain region, Missouri, Arthur Winslow states that they "are truly
+ancient elevations, older than any others in the State, older than the
+mountains of Arkansas, older than the Appalachians, older than the Rocky
+Mountains; if venerable be an attribute of great age, they certainly
+merit that appellation. For not only are all other rocks of Missouri
+youthful as compared with these, but there is a genetic relationship,
+and the former are in a sense descendants of the latter. For when the
+limestones and other sedimentary rocks were yet unformed these
+crystalline rocks must have existed as parts of a continental mass, and
+from the degradation of this continent resulted the materials of the
+later formed sedimentary rocks. The present granite and porphyry hills
+are but protruding parts of the remnant of this ancient continent which
+stood as islands above the ocean waters while the beds of limestone and
+sandstone were being formed about them, which rose with these beds when
+they were lifted from the waters, which now, rugged and weather-beaten,
+yet tempered by age and varied experience, rear themselves above the
+surrounding younger rocks and bid fair still to live when the
+latter have yielded to the forces of degradation."
+
+Besides its pleasing scenery, varied and abundant mineral resources, and
+health-giving springs, this oasis of hills amid the unvaried monotony of
+the grass-covered plains in the southern portion of the continental
+basin derives an additional attraction from its forest growths in which
+southern pines are mingled with oaks, hickories, walnuts, and other
+broad-leaved trees. The soil is generally productive, and great fields
+of corn and cotton may be seen side by side.
+
+_The Gulf Plains._--The Gulf plains include the western portion of
+Florida, and extend westward and southward about the borders of the Gulf
+of Mexico in a continuous belt from 50 to 60 to perhaps 100 miles wide,
+to where the Pacific mountains approach the coast in east-central
+Mexico. This low, gently seaward-sloping region, underlaid by soft
+horizontal strata, possesses a generally rich soil well adapted for the
+cultivation of cotton, corn, sugar-cane, and rice. In the low, hot
+country of eastern Mexico nearly all tropical fruits can be successfully
+raised. The most characteristic as well as the broadest portion of this
+productive belt is in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana, and
+extends northward with a gradually decreasing width to the mouth of the
+Ohio. This is the lower Mississippi basin, which owes its existence
+mainly to the deposits of silt laid down by the river after which it is
+named. Much of the land is really the delta of the "Father of Waters,"
+over which that river spreads out in vast inundations each year.
+
+The Gulf plains skirt the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, and
+to the west of the Mississippi are bordered in part by the Ozark uplift.
+There are certain reasons for believing that these two regions of
+elevation, characterized by a similar geological structure, are portions
+of a single greatly disturbed belt, but are now separated by a broad
+area which has been depressed and deeply covered with comparatively
+recent sediments. But that this general view of the origin of the larger
+features in the relief of the Gulf States can be accepted with
+entire confidence is questionable. True it is, however, that the delta
+region of the Mississippi has undergone many up and down movements, and
+that several successive sheets of sediment have been laid down upon it,
+but that the folds and crumplings characteristic of the southern
+Appalachians and of the Ozark uplift extend across the intervening space
+beneath the covering of horizontal rocks has not been demonstrated.
+
+The Gulf plains throughout are less than 500 feet above the sea, and
+much of the Gulf margin and the similar tract which extends northward to
+the mouth of the Ohio has an elevation of less than 100 feet. The fringe
+of lowland bordering the Gulf and extending up the course of the
+Mississippi is generally swampy and contains numerous small water bodies
+which owe their existence to the cutting off of the beds of the river so
+as to form what are termed ox-bow lakes.
+
+Previous to the settlement of the Gulf plains by Europeans and the
+clearing of much of the land for plantations it was clothed with such a
+dense growth of trees and vines as to be almost impenetrable. The
+southern pine there reaches its greatest perfection and is the basis of
+a great lumber industry, and oaks of several species, the wide-spreading
+white-trunked sycamore, the still more stately tulip-tree with its
+cup-like blossoms of yellow, the fragrant magnolia, the seemingly always
+aged cypress, the gum-tree, and many other species of arboreal
+vegetation also find most congenial conditions for their growth. The
+dwarf palmetto, which forms such a characteristic growth in Florida,
+extends northward in the Mississippi basin to the southern border of the
+Ozark uplift. Much of the luxuriant moss and lichen draped forest of the
+Gulf plains with all its primitive network of shrubs and vines still
+remains.
+
+_The Prairie Plains._--A prairie in the current use of the term is a
+generally level region, either a plain or a plateau, without forests but
+clothed with a carpet of luxuriant grasses and flowering annuals. A
+rolling prairie is an undulating or hilly, grass-covered region. The
+Great plains of the west-central portion of the Continental basin
+meet these requirements, and are typical prairies. On their eastern and
+northern border the Prairie plains merge with the adjacent forested
+plains, and on the west from Mexico northward to the subarctic forest
+pass by still less tangible gradations into the more elevated and drier
+Great plateaus or high plains, where bunch-grass, with bare intervals
+between the scattered tufts, takes the place of the continuous sod of
+the true prairies. The reasons for the change from forest to prairie and
+beyond to the land of the bunch-grass as one travels from east to west
+across the interior basin, lie in differences in the humidity of the
+climate.
+
+The Prairie plains have their beginning at the south in Mexico a short
+distance from the Rio Grande, and are prolonged northward through
+central Texas, meeting to the north of Red River the forest-covered
+Ouachita Hills. But to the west of the Ozark uplift the Prairie plains
+extend northward in a belt about 100 miles wide which expands in Kansas,
+northern Missouri, eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and western Ohio to
+fully 800 miles. In this highly fertile region, now the most productive
+agricultural area of comparable size in North America, if not in the
+world, one may travel in a straight line for nearly 1,000 miles through
+a land without high hills but pleasingly diversified by undulations of
+the generally level surface and by winding stream-formed valleys
+bordered by swelling bluffs, without losing sight of towns, villages, or
+comfortable farmhouses. In spring this entire region is bright green
+with pastures and sprouting grain-fields, and in autumn yellow with the
+harvest. Miles on miles of rustling corn-fields form the most
+characteristic feature of the summer landscapes.
+
+The Prairie plains contract to the north of Illinois and Iowa to a width
+of about 200 miles, being encroached upon by the forests of the Great
+Lakes region, but are prolonged northward through Minnesota and the
+Dakotas far into Canada. The length of these natural meadows from south
+to north is nearly 2,000 miles; their entire area is not far from
+500,000 square miles. On the north they merge with the vast region
+of similar relief which is darkened by the pines and spruces of the
+subarctic forest.
+
+The northern portion of the original prairie region has been given a new
+and in some respects a more pleasing aspect by the sowing of millions of
+acres with wheat. This is the most favourable large area for wheat
+culture in North America, and one of the three great wheat-growing
+regions in the world. The most productive portion of these northern
+wheat-lands lies in the valley of the Red River of the North, situated
+in part in Minnesota and the eastern portion of the Dakotas, but
+including also the plains of Manitoba. Could we view the broad extent of
+the Prairie plains as do the birds in their southward migrations, we
+would see them golden with the sheen of ripening wheat at the north,
+green and russet in the central portion with corn, and white with cotton
+to the south. Everywhere from south to north and east to west the vast
+expanse is dotted with the curling wreaths arising from household fires,
+and at hundreds of localities blotted by the smoke of towns, factories,
+smelting-works, and coal-mines.
+
+Throughout the entire extent of the Prairie plains the underlying rocks
+are essentially horizontal, and consist largely of limestone. An ancient
+sea-bottom has been broadly upraised with but slight disturbances of the
+strata to a general elevation of about 800 feet in Minnesota and the
+Dakotas. From this low continental divide the land slopes gently both to
+the north and south. The local variations of surface are due mainly to
+the unequal weathering of the rocks and the excavation of stream-formed
+valleys. To the north of the mouth of the Ohio, however, the prairie, in
+common with the adjacent regions, was formerly occupied by glacial ice,
+which on melting left widely spread deposits of clay, stones, gravel,
+etc., which gave the region a new surface, and in certain instances
+turned the streams from their former courses. Much of the rolling
+prairie inherits its billowy surface from the glaciers. In the midst of
+the young topography of glacial and more recent date there is an area of
+about 10,000 square miles in southwestern Wisconsin and adjacent
+portions of Minnesota and Iowa which is surrounded by the deposits of
+the ancient ice-sheets (glacial drifts), but not covered by them. This
+driftless area, as it is termed, has an old topography in striking
+contrast to the relief of the region about it, in which broad
+river-valleys bordered by the pinnacled and castellated rocks exposed in
+the bordering slopes of the adjacent uplands are among the most
+conspicuous features.
+
+The soil of this driftless region is a ferruginous clay, resulting from
+the prolonged weathering of the rocks, principally limestone, on which
+it rests, while the surfaces formerly covered by glacial ice are mantled
+with soil of a mixed character containing many fragments and large
+boulders of compact rock. In the prairies to the south of the glacial
+boundary the soils are mainly of a sedentary origin, and have resulted
+from the disintegration and decay of the rocks on which they rest, but
+usually rendered black by the humus resulting from the partial decay of
+numberless generating grasses and other lowly plants. This black soil is
+wonderfully productive and furnishes the basis of the greater part of
+the wealth and industries of the region it covers. The minor exceptions
+to the general fertility occur where the rocks immediately underlying
+the surface, as in the zinc and lead region of southwestern Missouri,
+are highly charged with flint-like material, which remains when the
+limestone once containing it is dissolved and carried away. The
+horizontal sheets of rock beneath the broad central portion of the
+Prairie plains belong to the Carboniferous system and contain highly
+valuable seams of bituminous coal. The area of these coal-producing
+lands is estimated at 125,000 square miles. In this same region also
+there are extensive tracts in which natural gas and petroleum are
+obtained in remarkable abundance. In southern Wisconsin and the adjacent
+portions of Illinois valuable deposits of lead occur under conditions
+similar to those associated with the lead and zinc mines about the
+northern border of the Ozark uplift.
+
+Owing to the demand for transportation facilities and the mild
+relief of the land, the entire extent of the Prairie plains is covered
+with a double-lined network of steel. The ganglia in this pulsating
+nerve system of intercommunication are Chicago (here included, as it
+belongs to the prairie as well as to the Great Lakes region), St. Louis,
+Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, St. Paul, etc., cities with from
+100,000 to over 1,500,000 inhabitants, and hundreds of lesser centres of
+trade, manufacture, and education.
+
+_The Lake Plains._--The region draining to the Great Lakes--or the
+Laurentian lakes, as they may, perhaps, be more properly designated,
+since they form the source of the river of that name--presents many
+striking contrasts to the more monotonous treeless prairies skirting it
+on the south and west.
+
+The name "Lake plains," suggested by J. W. Powell for the portion of the
+region here referred to within the borders of the United States, when
+extended to the entire area draining to the Laurentian lakes, is in part
+a misnomer, since much of its surface is rough and irregular. In a
+certain sense, however, the term _plain_ is applicable, since it
+includes a plain of water over 95,000 square miles in area. The combined
+areas of the lakes are greater than that of the region draining to them.
+The land bordering the Laurentian lakes is underlaid to a large extent
+by horizontal or but slightly disturbed sedimentary rocks, but includes
+on the north a portion of the contorted, crystalline terranes already
+referred to as forming the Laurentian Highlands, and in general is
+characterized by the mildness of its relief. The elevations of the
+surfaces of the several Laurentian lakes above the sea are, in feet, as
+follows: Superior, 602; Michigan and Huron, 582; Erie, 373; and Ontario,
+247. The land forming the margins of these water bodies rises in general
+less than 300 feet above their surfaces. In portions of northern
+Michigan and in the region of crystalline rocks to the north of Lakes
+Superior and Huron, however, the relief is more pronounced and there are
+many bold rounded hills with basins between them.
+
+The principal part of the nearly plane land surface about the Laurentian
+lakes is in immediate proximity to their borders, and records the
+former extent of their waters. These plains, composed of clay deposited
+from the lakes when more widely expanded than at present, form a fringe
+from 5 to 50 or more miles broad all about the present lake margins.
+Across this gently sloping surface the streams from the uplands,
+increasing in length as the lakes were lowered, have excavated narrow,
+steep-sided channels. These modern plains furnish typical illustrations
+of young topography.
+
+In its primitive condition nearly the entire Laurentian lakes region was
+densely covered with trees. Previous to the destruction which followed
+the advance of the lumbermen its northern portion contained some of the
+finest and most valuable white-pine forests on the continent. To the
+south of the Laurentian Lakes, and in a general way adjacent to the
+Prairie plains, there were park-like areas in the forest, known as
+oak-openings, where picturesque bur-oak grew in open groves amid
+luxuriant natural meadows. These sunlit gardens, yellow and purple with
+golden-rods and asters in autumn, owed their existence to soil
+conditions determined long previously by the streams issuing from the
+margin of the retreating ice-sheet, which formed level areas of sand and
+gravel. The loose open texture of these deposits renders them less
+retentive of moisture than the neighbouring morainal hills, and during
+the long hot summers all but the most deeply rooted of the trees that
+spring up upon them perished.
+
+The soil throughout the Great Lake region is nearly all of glacial
+origin and presents many local variations, dependent principally on the
+fact that the streams flowing from the ice assorted the _débris_
+delivered to them. The surface material, technically speaking, is of
+both glacial and fluvio-glacial origin. The former consists principally
+of stony clay or _till_, and the latter of gravel. About the immediate
+border of the existing lakes lacustral clays form the surface. The
+leading characteristics of the glacial and fluvio-glacial soils are
+their varied composition and endurance under cultivation. The glaciers
+that ploughed the land preparatory to the present harvest gathered
+together a great variety of rock _débris_, much of it broken and
+unweathered and not leached of its more soluble constituents.
+
+The most typical portion of the Lake plains, including the southern part
+of the province of Ontario and the southern shores of the Laurentian
+lakes from Minnesota to New York, is highly favourable for agricultural
+pursuits, and produces in abundance a great variety of crops as well as
+richly flavoured fruits, luscious berries, and healthful vegetables. The
+beneficial influence of the neighbouring water bodies on the climate,
+tempering the heat of the summers and moderating the severity of the
+winters, is shown especially in the distribution of the fruit belts of
+Michigan, Ohio, and New York, which are in regions where the prevailing
+winds blowing over them come from the lakes.
+
+_The Subarctic Forest Plains._--The Prairie plains merge at the north
+with a great tract of forest-covered lowlands, which extend from the
+Laurentian hills on the east to near the base of the Rocky Mountains on
+the west. The change as one travels northward from the grassy prairies
+to the country of equally mild relief, but clothed with trees adapted to
+a rigorous climate, is gradual. Along the irregular and in part
+indefinite junction of these two vast plains, the alignment of the
+forest is broken in many places, and its margin fringed by a picket-line
+of groves and of isolated trees, which has advanced southward and
+invaded the grass-lands. Between these outposts the prairie with its
+wealth of summer bloom reaches well into the realm of perennial shadow.
+The southward extensions of the forest are mainly in the valleys and
+adjacent to the streams, while the drier steppes between are open
+grass-lands. No conspicuous change in the topography of the land or of
+the rocks or the soil coincides with the change from grass to forest.
+The differences in vegetation must therefore be sought in climatic
+conditions, and mainly in the influence of atmospheric changes on the
+water contained in the soil.
+
+Throughout practically the whole of the region occupied by the subarctic
+forest, between Hudson Bay and the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains,
+the land is low and the valleys monotonous. Many lakes are
+present, several of them of large size, and the rivers are remarkable
+for their lengths, low gradients, and large volumes.
+
+The subdued topography of the region here considered, and the presence
+of vast numbers of lakes and swamps, is due in general to the influence
+of the ice-sheets which formerly covered it. In a minor way the presence
+of the innumerable small lakes and swamps is owing to the obstructions
+formed by growing vegetation, the damming of streams by driftwood, the
+work of beavers, and possibly the influence of subsoil ice.
+
+To the north of the Subarctic Forest plain, as already described, occur
+the desolate tracts known in Canada as the Barren Grounds, which form a
+part or merge into the tundras bordering the Arctic Ocean.
+
+_The Great Plateaus._--The boundary between the prairie plains of the
+central portion of the interior Continental basin and the Great plateaus
+(Great plains) bordering them on the west is usually indefinite. The
+prairies pass into the more elevated and drier plateaus by insensible
+gradations. The plateaus rise gradually from east to west, and along
+their western margin, adjacent to the east base of the Pacific
+mountains, attain a general elevation of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet. Over
+vast areas these monotonous plateaus, with their even sky-lines, are
+higher above the sea than the crests of the Appalachians, and along
+their western margin in many localities even surpass in elevation the
+most prominent peaks in the eastern portion of the United States.
+Accompanying this increase in elevation from east to west there is a
+decrease in precipitation, and in consequence a marked change in the
+vegetation. The plateaus, like the prairies, are treeless in their most
+characteristic portions, but the larger rivers winding across them are
+margined in many instances by giant cottonwoods.
+
+The mental picture that a traveller over the broad plateaus retains in
+after-years is of a vast treeless level tract of country, boundless as
+the ocean, which is bright green and decked with lowly flowers in the
+early spring, but becomes yellowish brown as the heat and dryness
+of summer increase and the grasses lose their freshness. Various
+portions of the plateaus, however, have their own individuality and
+present characteristics which make them conspicuously different from
+other portions of the same great series of steppes. At the south, in the
+region of the Rio Grande and of the Pecos and Canadian Rivers, the
+plateau is dissected by stream-cut valleys 1,000 feet or more deep, and
+from one to two score miles across, which divide it into a number of
+individual table-lands. The plateau margins for many miles on each side
+of the larger river-valleys have been carved by a complex system of
+secondary and usually ephemeral streams into a great variety of rock
+forms with deep trenches between. These conspicuously sculptured areas
+constitute what are commonly termed Bad Lands. In certain regions also
+the surfaces of the plateaus, more especially in Nebraska and South
+Dakota, are broadly undulating or reveal a seemingly endless succession
+of ridges and hills separated by shallow depressions, due to the
+presence of large tracts of drifting sand. In spite of these several
+variations, however, the leading characteristics of by far the larger
+portion of the plateau country are the generally level grass-covered
+surfaces extending away in all directions far beyond the reach of
+vision. On the rolling prairie one can frequently see the undulating
+surface about him for a distance of 15 or 20 miles, but the curvature of
+the earth usually draws still narrower limits to the region within the
+view of the plainsman. In riding over the plains the scene changes but
+little from day to day and from week to week. Monotony is the one word
+that best describes the lives of those whose lot is cast on these broad
+featureless surfaces. In journeying westward across the plateau over any
+one of the transcontinental railways a moment of excitement occurs when
+the even line of the western horizon is broken by the summit of a
+cloud-like mountain-peak. "Land ho!" is no more thrilling to voyagers on
+the ocean than the shouts which first made known the presence of a
+mountain-peak to the bands of immigrants who slowly voyaged across this
+sea of grass with their picturesque "prairie schooners" previous
+to the building of the railroads which now bind together the East and
+the West.
+
+The Great plateaus begin indefinitely to the south of the Rio Grande,
+broaden in the United States to a general width of about 400 miles, and
+extend far northward into Canada. Their northern limit has not as yet
+been determined, but is to be looked for near the head waters of the
+Mackenzie. The length of the plateau country is in the neighbourhood of
+2,000 or 2,500 miles, and its average width about 300 miles. An estimate
+of the area with a generally plane surface and an elevation of from
+1,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea places it at about 700,000 square
+miles.
+
+The eastern portion of the Great plateaus includes western Texas,
+Oklahoma, the central and western portions of Kansas and Nebraska, the
+western half of South Dakota, western North Dakota, western Assiniboia,
+and thence extend northward so as to include portions of Saskatchewan,
+Alberta, and Athabasca. On the west the plateau region includes the
+eastern portions of New Mexico and Colorado, extends far into Wyoming,
+and embraces central and eastern Montana, and thence reaches northward
+to Mackenzie.
+
+This region of essentially level plateaus, extending as it does from the
+hot lands of eastern Mexico nearly to the arctic circle, presents great
+diversity of climate and also well-marked variations in the secondary
+features of its relief. Of necessity it needs to be subdivided for more
+detailed study. The rivers flowing eastward from the Rocky Mountains
+have excavated valleys in the plateau region, and may be used as a basis
+for its subdivision. This has been done by J. W. Powell for the portion
+within the borders of the United States, and the terms Pecos plateau,
+Arkansas plateau, Platte plateau, and Missouri plateau have been
+proposed; this category may be extended especially to the northward, so
+as to include the less well-known Saskatchewan, Athabasca, Peace, and
+Laird plateaus. Each of these divisions is in reality a group of
+plateaus, for the reason that the broad areas between the
+eastward-flowing rivers are trenched by lateral stream channels
+tributary to the main waterways, and thus subdivided into smaller units.
+This subdivision of the plateau region by stream channels leaving
+flat-topped areas between them makes one instructive geographical
+process prominent--that is, the great table-land has been dissected. The
+depths of the channels cut across it depend mainly on the elevation of
+the land and the distance the streams have to travel to reach the sea;
+but modifying conditions are furnished by the degree of resistance the
+rocks offer to erosion, the amount of precipitation, etc. If the
+elevation is great, the stream can cut deeply, and leave bold secondary
+plateaus between them; if the distance to the sea is short, other
+conditions being the same, the streams can cut more deeply than when
+their courses are long; if the rocks are resistant, they are left in
+bold escarpment bordering the valleys and the margins of the secondary
+plateaus are well defined, but if they are soft and crumble easily,
+their _débris_ is washed and blown into the rivers, and a general
+lowering of the surface without the formation of deep trenches is the
+result. These and still other conditions have influenced the manner in
+which the Great plateaus have been dissected, and are of necessity to be
+considered in a critical discussion of the history of the land as
+recorded in its relief.
+
+The main reason for the dissection of the region under consideration is
+to be found in the fact that it is bordered on the west by high
+mountains where precipitation is abundant, and the streams, supplied
+largely by the melting of the snow in summer, flow across a
+comparatively rainless country. The stream channels in general have been
+deepened at a more rapid rate than the areas between them have been
+lowered by erosion. Valleys running east and west have thus been
+excavated, leaving the intervening spaces as uplands, which, however, in
+certain instances have been minutely dissected by the streams
+originating on them and supplied by local winter precipitation. Added to
+these general conditions are differences in rock texture, which have led
+to great variations in the details due to erosions, particularly on the
+valley borders.
+
+One other condition which has modified the history of the plateau
+region throughout, but most decidedly at the north, is the climatic
+change which culminated in the Glacial epoch. During the time referred
+to the northern portion of the Great plateaus situated in Canada and the
+adjacent part of the United States was invaded by glacial ice which
+spread an irregular sheet of detritus over the country it occupied.
+Decided changes occurred also in the central and southern portion owing
+to increased precipitation, the flooding of the rivers leading from the
+melting ice-front, and to movements in the earth's crust of as yet
+undetermined extent and amplitude. It is apparent to the geographer that
+much of the history of the climatic changes of glacial and post-glacial
+times is recorded in the relief of the interior Continental basin to the
+south of the limit reached by the ice and in the terraces and alluvial
+deposits of the valleys, but as yet for the most part this interesting
+story remains unread.
+
+The most deeply dissected portion of the Great plateaus occurs in
+western Texas, eastern New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In that region the
+rivers having their sources in the Rocky Mountains and flowing to the
+Gulf of Mexico have excavated deep and wide valleys, leaving broad
+intervening areas in bold relief.
+
+The Pecos River drains a large part of the mountainous region in eastern
+New Mexico, and flows through a valley of its own making, which is some
+30 or more miles broad and its bottom about 1,200 feet below the general
+surface of the plateau lying to the eastward. The Canadian River has
+excavated a similar valley, which is some 40 miles broad throughout much
+of its course, and is bordered by bold rocky escarpments from 1,000 to
+1,200 feet high, in which the edges of the horizontal strata underlying
+the adjacent plateaus are exposed. This region of large and strongly
+defined topographic features illustrates in a remarkable manner the
+nature of the work performed by streams which rise amid high mountains
+and flow across a dry plateau standing well above sea-level.
+
+_El Llano Estacado._--A typical portion of the great plateau region left
+by deep dissection is furnished by the table-land named by early
+Mexican explorers "El Llano Estacado," or the Staked Plains, in
+reference to the fact that owing to the monotony of the surface and the
+scarcity of water the routes of travel were at first marked by stakes.
+This region, celebrated in the traditions of the Southwest frontier, is
+described by Captain Marcy, who crossed its eastern portion in 1849, as
+being "much elevated above the surrounding country, very smooth and
+level, and spreading out in every direction as far as the eye can
+penetrate, without a tree, shrub, or any other herbage to intercept the
+vision. The traveller in passing over it sees nothing but one dreary and
+monotonous plain of barren solitude. It is an ocean of desert prairie,
+where the voice of man is seldom heard, and where no living being
+permanently resides. The almost total absence of water causes all
+animals to shun it; even the Indians do not venture to cross it, except
+at two or three points, where they find a few small pools of water." As
+will be shown below, the barrenness and desolation of this arid tract is
+not so great as it seemed to those who first invaded its primeval
+solitude.
+
+El Llano Estacado, or the _Llano_, as it is frequently termed, is about
+500 miles across from north to south, and 280 miles wide from east to
+west. It is bordered on nearly all portions of its periphery by
+descending escarpments which lead down to the adjacent valleys. Its
+surface, although appearing horizontal, in reality slopes eastward at
+the rate of about 20 feet per mile, and on its highest, northwest
+border, has an elevation of 5,500 feet above the sea. This great
+table-land has a smooth floor, and, as reported by recent explorers, is
+clothed with an abundance of bunch-grass, which formerly furnished
+sustenance to herds of antelope and deer. It was in this general region
+also that some of the immense herds of buffalo which once inhabited the
+broad plateaus found a winter range.
+
+The Llano, together with its southward extension, having the same
+characteristics and known as the Edwards plateau, is bordered on the
+west by the deep and broad valley of the southward-flowing Pecos River,
+and on the north by the equally deep and broad valley carved in the
+plateau country by the eastward-flowing Canadian River. The
+eastward slope of the surfaces of the two plateaus is continued
+throughout the region bordering them on the east all the way to the
+shore of the Gulf of Mexico. The streams originating on the eastern
+border of the eastward sloping plateaus and flowing to the Gulf of
+Mexico, represented at the present time by the Colorado (of Texas), the
+Brazos, Trinity, and Red Rivers, extended their trunks by head-water
+corrasion and developed numerous branches so long as the rainfall was
+sufficient to maintain a surface drainage. But as the streams were
+lengthened they cut farther and farther westward and into a region that
+became drier and drier, until finally they reached a land in which all
+of the scanty rain that fell was absorbed by the thirsty soil. The
+drainage from this higher and drier region is subterranean, and reaches
+the head waters of the streams to the eastward to a considerable extent
+as springs. The streams which lowered the country to the eastward of the
+Llano developed many branches, some of which were extended westward into
+the drier plateau country in such a manner as to give the eastern margin
+of the remaining upland a scalloped and irregular border.
+
+In travelling westward up the courses of the rivers of eastern Texas,
+one passes from a low region of old topography to one where the head
+branches of the streams flow in cañons, and the relief has the
+ruggedness of youth; on gaining the western border of the belt of
+country having surface streams one ascends to the smooth surface of the
+high plateau, which is young as regards stream development, although in
+years older than the country with a deeply eroded surface to the
+eastward. The Llano and Edwards plateau present us with examples of
+perpetuated topographic youthfulness.
+
+The Llano, although dreaded by early explorers and shunned so far as
+possible even by experienced plainsmen, on account of a lack of water,
+has in recent years become more favourably known. It is crossed at
+present by two railroads. Water has been found beneath the surface in
+numerous localities, and the desert-like region now bids fair to
+become a favourable cattle-raising country. It is not to be expected,
+however, that all the glowing predictions which have been published
+concerning this and neighbouring table-lands will be more than partially
+fulfilled through the use of the subsurface waters.
+
+_The Arkansas Plateau._--To the north of the Canadian River the region
+termed above the Great plateaus is less deeply dissected than in the
+portion of which the Llano is typical, and the streams from the
+mountains flow through shallow valleys with less rugged and less
+picturesque borders than those of the deep wide valleys of western Texas
+and eastern New Mexico. The broad plateau surfaces adjacent to the
+valleys of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers probably come nearer to the
+popular idea of the essential characteristics of the "Great plains" than
+any other of the larger divisions of the region under review. The most
+conspicuous geographic features of the Arkansas plateau have been
+described by W. D. Johnson as consisting of an assemblage of low and
+broad table-lands separated by shallow erosion valleys. The plateaus are
+immense unsculptured remnants in light relief of an older and originally
+perfect plain. The few long and feeble streams, wide apart and flowing
+eastward from the distant mountains in parallel courses and without
+tributaries, have blocked out by dissection the larger features of the
+broad landscape which in future ages will be slowly etched into a
+multitude of details. The scenery of these featureless plains is
+ordinarily depressing when once the novelty of being adrift on a sea of
+grass has passed away. There is nothing that can be termed scenery
+except that which once a year for a brief period the sky affords when
+clouds of extraordinary grandeur darken the air. Throughout nearly the
+entire annual course there is no material for landscape effect except
+the straight line of the horizon with a featureless breadth of sun-faded
+brown below it and above a merely broader space of faded blue. There is
+nowhere a curved line, and though as a scientific fact there is vast
+expanse of flat plain, there is little to suggest it when the sky is
+empty of clouds. In June the clouds come with a gradual maturing at some
+point along the even sky-line, and increase rapidly until the
+heavens are filled with magnificent vapour banks; but the display is
+simply spectacular, and passes away in a few hours as quickly as it
+came, with only local showers to refresh the land.
+
+The one industry that can thrive on the Arkansas plateau, which was
+formerly at certain seasons blackened by herds of bison, is
+stock-raising. Wells from which water is pumped by windmills furnish
+sufficient water for herds of cattle and horses, but not for irrigation.
+
+_Bad Lands._--In the northern portion of the Great plateaus within the
+United States the surface rocks over great areas are soft or but
+irregularly hardened sediments of ancient lakes and streams and have
+been sculptured by rain, wind, and ephemeral rills into a most
+marvellous array of monumental and castellated forms. Localities where
+this minute dissection of the soft horizontal strata is especially well
+marked over hundreds of square miles occur in South Dakota and Montana,
+and especially on the borders of the valleys carved by the Loup Fork,
+Niobrara, White, Yellowstone, and Missouri Rivers. In this region the
+rainfall is light, the mean annual precipitation being in the
+neighbourhood of 15 inches, and occurs mostly during the winter months.
+In the summer season the lands far out on the plateaus are dry and hot,
+and all but the larger streams disappear. The rocks, consisting mostly
+of unconsolidated clays and soft sandstones, with occasional hard layers
+and irregular concretions, have been cut into innumerable channels,
+leaving steep-sided remnants of the former plain between. The maze of
+trench-like valleys, the similarity of the sculptured land-forms one to
+another, and the absence of water, make these desert regions excessively
+difficult to traverse. The Canadian-French who explored the
+north-central portion of the Great plateaus in early days of American
+settlement termed these tracts of country, so difficult to cross,
+_Mauvaises Terres_, a name now seldom used, but replaced by the English
+name Bad Lands. Although _bad_ to the hunter and the plainsman, these
+desert regions are of fascinating interest to men of scientific
+training. The intense heat, the choking alkaline dust, the absence of
+water, and the danger of being lost and of perishing of thirst in
+these wild silent regions, have not checked the ardour of explorers. Not
+only do the Bad Lands present a most attractive field to the student of
+erosion and of the origin of earth forms, but their deathlike solitudes
+have been made to yield the most wonderful procession of strange extinct
+animals yet unearthed by geologists. They are vast cemeteries in which
+are interred the skeletons of many genera and hundreds of species of
+animals which lived in the ancient lakes or wandered through the almost
+tropical forest that in distant ages clothed the adjacent country. The
+great lesson to be learned by the geographer in these uninviting regions
+as they seem to most people relates to the way in which the rocks have
+been eroded. The prevailing softness of the beds with occasional hard
+layers, the scarcity of vegetation, the occasional heavy rains, and the
+considerable height of the country above the master streams combine to
+favour rapid and deep sculpturing. The precipitous slopes of the small
+mesas and castle-like rock forms destitute of all vegetation excepting
+succulent cacti and scattered clumps of bunch-grass, reveal a multitude
+of sunken lines and raised edges, produced by the ephemeral streams, and
+a less complex series of horizontal ledges due to the prominent edges of
+hard layers. The steep slopes are worn into alcoves and irregular
+recesses by the transient rills, and smoothed or etched by the
+wind-driven sands. The result is an assemblage of architectural forms
+such as only the most fantastic dream pictures or the strange tricks of
+the mirage on northern ice-fields can simulate. Nor are the wonderfully
+intricate topographical forms the sole attraction. The rocks are
+variously coloured, and present endless combinations of yellow, red,
+green, purple, etc., in many tints and shades, rendered seemingly
+brilliant by contrast with the gray of shales and the blackness of
+occasional coal-seams. Owing to the burning of coal-beds, the rocks are
+sometimes altered over broad areas and given unusually striking colours,
+among which various shades of red predominate. Standing on some
+commanding crag in the Bad Lands in the early morning or when the purple
+shadows of evening fill the gorges and ravines, the most unimaginative
+traveller sees in the silence about him the ruins of a vast city, with
+cathedrals, temples, and palaces of varied colours and weird designs
+such as no mortal hand ever fashioned. It is at such times that the
+picturesque and gorgeous, although desolate, landscape kindles the fancy
+and suggests day dreams which distract one's attention from the more
+prosaic study of these earth ruins.
+
+The best developed portions of the strange region here referred to occur
+on the borders of the uplands overlooking the larger valleys, excavated
+by the rivers flowing eastward from the mountains, and are simply larger
+examples of erosion, such as may be seen in many bluffs and valley-sides
+in nearly every country, but rendered conspicuous by their size, extent,
+endless variety, and unusual colours.
+
+_Sand-Hills._--The sands winnowed by the winds from the bare plains and
+steep bluffs are in certain places on the Great plateaus gathered into
+dunes which cover great areas with a succession of low dome-shaped
+hills. On the borders of the Niobrara River there is a detached area of
+about 20,000 square miles, which has been covered in this manner with
+loose sands. This region, as described by F. V. Hayden, presents a
+succession of round-topped hills, some of them scooped out by the
+swirling winds so as to resemble volcanic craters. These sand-hills were
+formerly a favourite resort of the bison, which fed upon the scanty but
+very nutritious grasses in the little valleys and intervals among the
+mounds and ridges. There is, for the most part, an abundant supply of
+water in the lakelets scattered through the region, and fed by the
+seepage from the porous sands, which drink in all the water that falls
+upon them and allow it to percolate slowly into the adjacent
+depressions. Some of the lakelets and ponds are highly alkaline, while
+others are fresh; the former can be easily distinguished from the latter
+by the absence of vegetation about their borders. The hills, although
+seemingly utterly desolate, on a nearer view sometimes reveal
+considerable vegetation, including yuccas or "Spanish needles," which
+shelter the sands from the winds.
+
+Many other regions on the western border of the Great plateaus, in the
+valleys of the Rocky Mountains and on the desert plains of Utah, Nevada,
+and California, are buried beneath drifting sands, which have the
+characteristic features of a dune-covered seacoast. The sources of the
+sands in these interior plains are usually to be found in the
+disintegration of the rocks under the action of the dry air with its
+many and sudden changes of temperature, but occasionally they come from
+desiccated lake beds not yet clothed with vegetation.
+
+_Central Portion of the Great Plateaus._--The State of Nebraska, about
+400 miles in length from east to west, and extending across the Great
+plateaus to within some 60 miles of the mountains bordering them on the
+west, furnishes a typical example of the west-central portion of the
+interior Continental basin. As described by Hayden, this State may be
+divided into two portions, one agricultural and the other pastoral. The
+eastern part, included in the Prairie plains, contains some of the most
+beautiful, gently rolling, and fertile agricultural lands in America.
+But the western part is a treeless, almost waterless plain; yet thick,
+low, sweet, nutritious grasses cover the entire surface, and render it
+well adapted for the raising of large numbers of horses, cattle, and
+sheep. Over western Nebraska not more than 15 or 20 inches of moisture
+fall annually; the snows of winter are very light and soon pass away,
+the winds rapidly gathering them into the valleys and gorges, leaving
+vast areas entirely bare. The grasses, instead of decaying, as in all
+temperate countries with a humid climate, slowly wither, retaining all
+their nutritious qualities, and thus continue until April or May, when
+the fresh shoots spring up, so that all kinds of stock thrive throughout
+the winter on the open plains without artificial shelter. In this
+account, however, the author cited fails to note that the winters are
+frequently marked by exceedingly severe storms termed blizzards, during
+which gales blow while the temperature is far below freezing, and that
+at such times cattle have been known to perish by thousands.
+
+In late summer and autumn the streams in this portion of the plateau
+region for the most part become dry, although water may usually be
+discovered at long intervals in pools in their beds. In ascending the
+valleys the water appears and disappears as if by magic. Here one finds
+a swift-running stream several yards broad, and then for a considerable
+distance nothing is to be seen but a dry and dusty creek bed, resembling
+a sunken roadway. Even the broad Platte has so far forgotten itself for
+several seasons as to cease to be a running stream. It is not uncommon
+for a river originating in the mountains on the west to be considerably
+larger towards its source than near its mouth. Many of the important
+streams that flow from the Black Hills towards the Missouri are lost on
+their way through the plains. The Yellowstone and the Missouri, the two
+most important rivers crossing the Great plateaus in the northern
+portion of the United States, retain their existence throughout the
+year, although becoming greatly shrunken in autumn, and send eastward a
+never-ceasing tribute to the Mississippi.
+
+_Northern Extension of the Great Plateaus._--The Great plateaus cross
+the United States-Canadian boundary and extend northwestward through the
+western portion of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan, and embrace nearly the
+whole of Alberta and western Athabasca. At the international boundary
+the plateau region is about 470 miles broad, and extends from longitude
+103° 30' westward to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, and in this
+region embraces what is frequently termed the third prairie steppe,
+known in part as the Missouri Coteau. The east border of this high
+plateau throughout much of its extent is well marked by an escarpment
+which descends some 300 or 400 feet to the second prairie steppe, which
+together with the first or most easterly of the series, embracing the
+Red River Valley, is usually considered as belonging to the Prairie
+plains. The third steppe in the series, or the one extending from the
+Red River to the Rocky Mountains, has an elevation along its eastern
+border of about 2,000 feet, rises gradually to the westward, and attains
+a general elevation of over 4,000 feet on its western border. All of the
+region of the Great plateaus north of the international boundary,
+with the exception of about 20,000 square miles tributary to the
+Missouri, is drained by rivers flowing eastward to Hudson Bay or
+northward to the Arctic Ocean. It is thus a portion of the northern or
+arctic slope of the Continental basin. The eastern border of the plateau
+country trends northwestward, and finally reaches the Rocky Mountains in
+the vicinity of the head waters of the Mackenzie, but as this region is
+but imperfectly explored, our knowledge of the boundaries of the natural
+division of the continent we have been endeavouring to trace there
+becomes indefinite. The Great plateaus in Canada merge into the Prairie
+plains bordering them on the east, and in large part the position of the
+dividing line between the two is arbitrary.
+
+The portion of the Great plateaus in Canada, like the similar region to
+the south, is covered with bunch-grass, which dries as it stands and
+forms highly nutritious self-cured hay. Formerly this region was the
+winter feeding-ground for vast herds of bison. The winters, although
+cold, are not characterized by a heavy snowfall, and even in midwinter
+the warm dry _chinook_ winds, as they are termed, similar to the _foehn_
+winds of Switzerland, frequently cause the snow to disappear and leave
+the brown plateau surfaces free for grazing. Now that the bison has
+disappeared, this immense region is favourable in many ways for
+stock-raising, but, unlike the lower prairies to the east with their
+rich black soil and long hot summers, is not suitable for agriculture.
+The main difficulties in the way of successful farming lie in the
+dryness of the summers, and the scarcity of water available for
+irrigation. The rivers flow in valleys several hundred feet below the
+general plateau surfaces, and hence cannot be made available for
+irrigating the uplands without too great an expense. In the bottoms of
+the valleys, however, adjacent to the stream, limited areas are now
+under cultivation, and it is to be expected that the wheat-fields of the
+prairie region will be gradually extended into the valley to the
+westward, and perhaps even to the eastern margin of the plateaus. A
+greater extension of the wheat-belt to the north and west than is now
+thought practicable has been predicted, but what the ultimate
+limit will be cannot be told.
+
+_The Black Hills of Dakota._--As stated in the brief account already
+given of the Prairie plains, their monotony of surface and of geological
+structure is broken by a single area of disturbance termed the Ozark
+uplift. Similarly, the vast generally level expanse of the Great
+plateaus is broken by a single rudely circular region of elevation, the
+Black Hills of Dakota, which has been sculptured by atmospheric agencies
+and given a diversified topography, in striking contrast with the even
+monotony of the country surrounding it.
+
+This protuberance on the surface of the Great plateaus is situated in
+the southwest portion of South Dakota, and embraces also a part of
+Wyoming, and about 140 miles east of the nearest range--the Big Horn
+Mountains--of the Rocky Mountain chain. It rises from the surrounding
+plateau to a height on an average of about 2,000 to 2,500 feet; the
+highest summit, Harney Peak, is 3,000 feet above the plain, and 7,216
+feet above the sea. The uplift is elliptical in ground plan, with a
+northwest and southeast axis measuring about 120 miles, and a transverse
+diameter of 40 to 50 miles. Its area is in the neighbourhood of 6,000
+square miles.
+
+While the generally level plateau surface about the Black Hills is
+treeless, except for the scattered groves of wide-spreading cottonwoods
+along the immediate banks of the larger streams, the central and higher
+portions of the elevation itself is clothed with an open but abundant
+forest, consisting principally of pines. The evergreen forests give to
+the hills a nearly black colour when seen from a distance, and have
+gained for them the name they bear.
+
+The rocks which have been forced upward so as to form the Black Hills
+dome were previously like those in the surrounding plain, quite
+horizontal, and had a vertical thickness of at least 5,000 feet. The
+uplift, if uneroded, would rise from the surrounding plain as a
+flat-topped dome about 6,600 feet high, as is suggested by the highest
+dotted line in the following diagram. In reality such a dome never
+existed, for the reason that its growth was slow, and perhaps is
+not completed even at the present day, and as soon as the rocks began to
+rise, the rain, wind, streams, etc., commenced their task of
+destruction. The higher the rocks were elevated the more powerfully
+those agencies acted. The top of the dome was soon broken and its
+internal structure revealed.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Ideal east-and-west section through the Black
+Hills. The vertical scale is about six times the horizontal. The dotted
+lines indicate the portion of the uplift removed by erosion. After Henry
+Newton.
+
+  1. Archean slates and schists.
+
+  2. Granite.
+
+  3. Potsdam, sandstone, resting unconformably on 1 and 2.
+
+  4. Carboniferous, mostly limestone.
+
+  5. Red Beds (Trias), sandstone with included limestone.
+
+  6. Jura, shales.
+
+  7. Cretaceous, shales.
+
+  8. White River Tertiary, shales, resting unconformably on 7.]
+
+By reference to the accompanying generalized section through the Black
+Hills, which as the uplift is rudely circular would be essentially the
+same if taken in any direction through the elevated region, it will be
+seen that there is a central core of slate, schists, and granite which
+has been forced upward so as to stand in its present eroded condition;
+it rises well above the surface of the adjacent plateau. About this
+central core the upturned edges of the sedimentary rocks form concentric
+zones, the oldest in the series being next the schists, and the youngest
+10 to 40 or 50 miles distant. It is the presence in the central part of
+the hills of an area of resistant crystalline rocks which have weathered
+into rugged forms, and the series of encircling and concentric belts of
+rock of varying degrees of hardness and solubility, that has given to
+the uplift its present peculiar relief and its generally beautiful
+scenery. The edges of the harder belts form bold hills and ridges, while
+the softer belts have been eroded into valleys. This series of
+sharp-crested ridges and intervening valleys forms concentric circles
+completely surrounding the central group of rugged mountains. The
+largest and most interesting of the ring-like valleys is underlaid by
+red sandstone, and is remarkable for its flaming colour as well as for
+its exceptional form. In this Red Valley one may ride entirely around
+the rugged central mass of the hills, on a generally level surface,
+which is inclosed on its outer border by a precipitous wall of yellowish
+sandstone and shale 300 or 400 feet high. The distance about this
+"race-course," as it is sometimes termed, is about 200 miles. This
+series of concentric ridges and intervening valleys, surrounding a high
+and rugged region of more resistant rock, furnish an admirable
+illustration of the influence of rock texture, hardness, etc., on
+topography.
+
+Another instructive geographical lesson afforded by the Black Hills is
+the manner in which the portion of the dome rising above the level of
+the rivers which flow across the surrounding plain has been dissected by
+stream erosion. The streams originating in the central portion of the
+uplift flowed outward in all directions, and have cut deep narrow gorges
+through the ridges of hard rock in the base of the truncated dome. Some
+20 streams originating in the central portion of the uplift cross Red
+Valley and escape through notches in its outer wall, about 16 of which
+are well-defined gateways leading to the encircling plateau. This is one
+of the most beautiful and most instructive examples of _consequent_
+drainage--that is, of streams whose direction has been determined by the
+inclination of the surface over which they flow--thus far discovered.
+Still another feature of much geographical interest is furnished by the
+rivers on the adjacent plain, two of which, branches of the Cheyenne
+River, cross the north and south extensions, respectively, of the Black
+Hills dome. These streams flow directly across the arched strata, in
+cañons of their own making, and, as explained by G. K. Gilbert, are
+illustrations of _superimposed_ drainage--that is, the portions of the
+dome crossed by the branches of the Cheyenne after the rocks were
+upheaved were covered by soft horizontal lake beds, over which the water
+flowed as consequent streams. The rivers deepened their channels and
+cut through the soft cover of horizontal rock and into the arched
+beds beneath. The course of the streams initiated on the covering of
+soft beds were maintained, as the flowing water charged with sand cut
+downward into the harder, upturned beds beneath, and now, the covering
+of soft beds having been eroded away, the rivers flow directly across
+(or through) the flanks of the great arch, but are not deflected by it.
+
+In the neighbourhood of the Black Hills, and especially about their
+northern and northwestern border, there are secondary hills formed by
+the upward protrusion of molten rocks into the generally horizontally
+stratified rocks underlying the plateau. These intrusions did not reach
+the surface in such a way as to form volcanoes, but were forced upward,
+raising domes above them, in which the structure is similar to that in
+the great Black Hills dome. These secondary domes have been eaten away
+by erosive agencies in varying degrees. In some of them, as the Little
+Sundance Hill, near the town of Sundance, Wyoming, the dome of
+stratified rock is unbroken, and no igneous rock is to be seen; other
+neighbouring domes in which the plutonic magmas rose higher have been
+eroded so as to expose the summit portion of the inner core; and in one
+instance, known as Mato Tepee, the uncovering of the plug of plutonic
+rock which caused the uplift is so complete that it now forms a
+prominent fluted column over 600 feet high above its immediate base.
+
+_Volcanic Mountains and Table-Lands._--In the south-central portion of
+the Great plateaus in southwestern Colorado and eastern New Mexico,
+there are several typical cinder cones with lava-flows associated with
+them, which impart novel topographic forms to the general monotony of
+the broad plateau surfaces. The highest of the extinct volcanoes in this
+region is Mount Capulin, situated in northeastern New Mexico, about 200
+miles east of the Rocky Mountains, which rises 2,750 feet above the
+surrounding plain, and has an elevation of about 9,000 feet above the
+sea. At the summit of this conical mass there is a well-defined crater a
+mile in diameter. In the same region there are several other
+similar volcanic cones, from which lava streams have descended. As has
+been pointed out by R. T. Hill, these are the most easterly volcanoes of
+recent geological age in North America. They were formed after the
+Tertiary rocks of the Llano were laid down.
+
+The Raton Mesa, situated between Mount Capulin and the front range of
+the Rockies, is capped by a lava flow of more ancient date than the
+volcanoes just referred to, which has protected the softer rocks beneath
+from erosion, and now stands as a prominent table-land with precipitous
+borders.
+
+
+                          THE PACIFIC MOUNTAINS
+
+To the west of the Continental basin is a vast cordillera composed of
+numerous mountain chains which extends from south-central Mexico
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and in its broadest part is about 1,000
+miles wide. As already explained, we speak of this region in its
+entirety as the Pacific cordillera, or less technically as the Pacific
+mountains. It is a highly complex group of mountain chains, each of
+which contains two or more distinct mountain systems; each system,
+again, is usually composed of many ranges, and each range is frequently
+made up of a multitude of ridges, peaks, buttes, mesas, etc.; there are
+also many plateaus more or less completely dissected by erosion, and
+broad valleys, as well as numerous cañons, gulches, ravines, arroyas,
+and other secondary topographic forms. This vast cordillera not only
+contains mountains produced by the folding of the rocks of the earth's
+crust, in a general way similar to the Appalachians in structure, but
+also upturned blocks many miles in extent, bounded by breaks or faults,
+and volcanic mountains, vast lava-flows, and elevations due to the
+injection of molten rock into the earth's crusts so as to elevate domes.
+In fact, scarcely any topographic form and no important geological
+structure that is known is lacking in this great family of mountains
+which dominates the western portion of the continent.
+
+The Pacific mountains begin abruptly at the south, along a generally
+east and west line passing some 75 miles south of the City of
+Mexico, where the precipitous border of the table-land of central Mexico
+overlooks a lower region to the south which is diversified by many
+volcanic mountains. But little accurate information is available
+concerning the geology and geography of Mexico, but in general, as is
+well known, there are three main mountain belts which traverse that
+republic. One of these mountain belts is adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico,
+and another is situated near the Pacific coast of the main portion of
+the republic, while the third forms the rugged and irregular axis of the
+peninsula of Lower California. Between the leading mountain belts of the
+mainland there are numerous short ranges and many nearly level-floored
+valleys. The general level of this inland region is in the neighbourhood
+of 6,000 feet, while the more prominent peaks and crests attain
+elevations of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet. The general trend of the main
+mountain belts, and of the numerous subordinate ranges, is about
+northwest and southeast. For this reason, and also because the valleys
+have become deeply filled with _débris_ from the mountains, travelling
+in directions leading north and south is facilitated by the topography,
+while in passing from one coast of the republic to the other the rugged
+bordering mountain belts have to be crossed and detours made in order to
+pass around the central mountain ranges.
+
+The more elevated portion of central and northern Mexico, together with
+the peninsula of Lower California, has an arid climate, to which many of
+the conspicuous features in the geography of the land are due. The
+precipitation over large areas is insufficient to maintain permanent
+streams, the vegetation is nearly all of a desert-like character, and
+several basins exist which do not drain to the sea. In the interior
+basins there are saline and alkaline lakes, and numerous dry lake beds
+or _playas_, which are whitened by saline efflorescences. The rocks
+exposed in the mountains are largely of sedimentary origin, but a
+characteristic feature is the geology, especially to the west, in the
+presence of extensive volcanic areas and lofty mountains of igneous
+rocks.
+
+The Pacific cordillera begins in southern Mexico with a width of some
+300 miles and broadens when traced northward. At the boundary between
+Mexico and the United States it has a width of fully 700 miles, but
+reaches its greatest breadth in the latitude of San Francisco and
+Denver, where it is about 1,000 miles across. In its better known, but
+as yet incompletely studied portion embraced within the boundaries of
+the United States there are several important subdivisions, such as the
+Rocky Mountain belt on the east; a less lofty, but yet rugged central
+region, termed the Great Basin, characterized by having a dry climate
+and by the fact that the streams do not reach the ocean; and a western
+mountain chain which includes the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges. To
+the west of the mountains just named lies the great valley of
+California, and similar regions in Oregon and Washington occupied in
+part by Puget Sound. To the west, again, are the several ranges
+bordering the Pacific coast from Lower California to Vancouver Island,
+and termed in a general way the coast mountains. Each of the great
+divisions of the Pacific mountain region has its indefinitely known
+southern terminus in Mexico, and extends northward to beyond the
+Canadian boundary. As this central portion of the most westerly of the
+larger geographical divisions of the continent is well developed in the
+United States, and has there been more carefully explored than
+elsewhere, a review of its leading features will serve to give as good
+an idea of the entire Pacific mountain region as is now practicable.
+
+_The Rocky Mountains._--The limitations to the north and south of the
+region to which this name is more or less specifically applied are not
+well defined. Perhaps the most accurate statement at present permissible
+is that the Rocky Mountains begin at the south, in northern Mexico, and
+extend northward across the United States and Canada to near the shore
+of the Arctic Ocean. On the east it is sharply defined by its junction
+with the Great plateaus. Its western border, although less definite than
+the eastern, is easily traced, at least across the greater portion of
+the United States, by the marked contrast it presents to the
+geographical conditions characteristic of the Great Basin region,
+but owing to the many difficulties met with in attempting to adjust and
+make use of the current nomenclature in classifying geographical regions
+more or less artificial boundaries have to be accepted. The Great Basin
+is so designated because it is a region of interior drainage--that is,
+it does not send any tribute to the sea. Its boundaries are therefore
+the crest-lines of the surrounding divides or water-partings. The Rocky
+Mountains, on the other hand, are defined as an elevated region, the
+boundaries of which are determined by relief and not by drainage. The
+basis of classification in these two instances is not the same, and one
+province overlaps the other. The streams flowing westward from the Rocky
+Mountains into the Great Basin--such, for example, as Bear, Provo, and
+Sevier Rivers in Utah--have their sources well within the Rocky Mountain
+province as defined by uplift, but yet lie wholly within the Great Basin
+province as defined by drainage. In spite of this inconsistency,
+geographers recognise as the western border of the Rocky Mountains the
+irregular and in part indefinite line where the elevated region breaks
+down and meets the broad level-floored valleys characteristic of the
+Great Basin. This line, or more properly belt of country, although
+indefinite at the south, may for convenience be taken as beginning at
+the head of the Gulf of California, and extending up the Colorado River
+for about 300 miles, to where that river makes an abrupt bend, turning
+southward after a westerly course through the Grand Cañon. From the
+locality indicated, the boundary passes through central Utah, and is
+sharply defined for most of the way by the bold western escarpment of
+the Wasatch Range. In the neighbourhood of Great Salt Lake the border of
+the mountain belt trends more and more to the northwest, crosses Idaho
+diagonally, and in northern Washington merges with or closely approaches
+the Cascade Mountains. In this northern region the border of the Rocky
+Mountains is again indefinite, and until the geological structure of
+western Canada is more thoroughly studied can only be located
+provisionally.
+
+The unsatisfactory condition of the nomenclature at present applied to
+the larger topographic features of North America is illustrated by the
+fact that to the north of the United States-Canadian boundary the term
+_Rocky Mountains_ is much more restricted than is the custom in the
+United States. In Canada this name is applied to the most easterly of
+the ranges or chains of the Pacific cordillera. This difference in the
+significance of the name referred to on the opposite sides of the
+international boundary is unfortunate, but is due in large part to our
+ignorance of the geography and geology not only immediately along the
+boundary line, but generally throughout the rugged region of the
+northwest portion of the continent.
+
+One of the most important geographic features in the central part of the
+United States is the presence in Wyoming of a broad, generally flat,
+region known as the Laramie plateau (plains) and its extension westward
+across nearly the entire width of the Rocky Mountains. The general
+elevation of these "plains" is about 7,000 feet, or approximately 1,000
+feet greater than that of the western border of the Great plateaus. The
+Laramie plateau and country to the west having a similar topography,
+furnished a convenient pass for the Union Pacific, the oldest of the
+transcontinental railroads, and divides the Rocky Mountain belt into two
+portions, which may be termed in a general way the northern and southern
+Rocky Mountains respectively.
+
+To the north of the Union Pacific Railroad there are several important
+mountain groups, termed collectively the Stony Mountains by Lewis and
+Clark in the report of their bold explorations across the continent in
+1804, but not generally used since that time. This name has recently
+been revived by J. W. Powell as a convenient term by which to designate
+this large division of the Rocky Mountain belt, but unfortunately is not
+recognised and has no significance to the north of the international
+boundary. What the natural limitations of the Stony Mountains may be in
+Canada remains to be determined.
+
+The Stony Mountain system includes the Big Horn Mountains in
+north-central Wyoming, the sharp and lofty Teton Range to the
+south of the Yellowstone National Park, and several other rugged uplifts
+of great extent in Montana and Idaho, and should the name be extended to
+the north of the international boundary until a natural limit is
+reached, it will include the Rocky Mountains of Canadian geographers
+(the most eastern of the great uplifts constituting the Rocky Mountain
+belt), together with the several ranges of the Gold Mountains. These
+several mountain ranges and groups of ranges appear to have diverse
+geological structure, but their histories are by no means thoroughly
+understood. Some of them, as stated by Powell, are carved out of broad
+folds, and involve both originally deeply seated igneous and metamorphic
+rocks and upturned and folded sedimentary beds; while others are due to
+movements along lines of fracture and in part of overthrust.
+
+The Stony Mountains form a portion of the continental divide which parts
+the waters flowing to the Pacific from those that find their way to the
+Atlantic. The thousands of streams tributary to the Missouri head
+against the equally numerous fountains supplying the westward-flowing
+Columbia. The broad valleys between the several ranges have a general
+elevation of between 7,000 and 8,000 feet, and the bold, massive
+mountains rise from 10,000 to over 13,000 feet above the sea. Owing to
+the considerable elevation even of the valleys, and the northern
+position of the region here considered, as well as its distance from the
+equalizing influence of the sea, the extremes of climate are strongly
+marked. The summer season is comparatively short, and in the valleys the
+heat is intense (ranging from 90° to 112° F.) and the rainfall small or
+none at all, while the winter season is cold (temperatures of from -15°
+to -30° F. being frequent) and accompanied by an abundant snowfall,
+especially on the mountains. Agriculture, although carried on in the
+valleys, is of comparatively small importance, and is usually dependent
+on irrigation. The mountains are snow-covered through much of the year,
+and small glaciers occur about the lofty summits of the Teton Range and
+on the mountains near the international boundary and in Canada. The
+valleys are generally destitute of trees except along the
+streams, where white-trunked cottonwoods spread their green leaves in
+summer and become a tracery of golden yellow in the autumn, marking the
+courses of the life-giving waters. The lower mountain slopes are covered
+with dark forests of pine, spruce, and juniper, which increase in
+density and extent as one follows the ranges northward until the
+influence of the high northern latitude is felt, and in northern Canada
+the zone of the subarctic forest is reached.
+
+In the central part of the Stony Mountains is situated the justly famed
+Yellowstone National Park, which is truly remarkable for its fine
+scenery, its deeply carved and gorgeously colored cañons, and most of
+all for its numerous hot springs and spouting geysers. This is the only
+geyser region on the continent, and the most extensive of the three now
+existing in the world.
+
+The finest scenery of the northern division of the Rocky Mountain belt
+lies to the north of the international boundary, and within recent years
+has been rendered accessible by the building of the Canadian Pacific
+Railroad. It is in this region that the mountains are highest, most
+rugged, and clothed most completely with the dark, sombre, evergreen
+northern forests. Here, too, high up among the bare serrate mountain
+tops, and mostly above the timber-line, are found the largest of the
+glaciers in the Rocky Mountain belt. This wonderful region of rugged
+mountains, deep and formerly glacier-filled valleys, impetuous rivers,
+and dense forests has only recently become known to the world at large.
+Vast areas, no doubt as attractive as those about Banff, Lake Louise,
+Glacier House, etc., already famous, remain to be discovered and
+described.
+
+In the fastnesses of these wild northern Rockies moose, elk, deer, bear,
+mountain-sheep, and mountain-goat still abound. The buffalo (bison) is
+protected in the Yellowstone National Park, and will probably be
+preserved from extinction. A small herd also survives in Canada. The
+streams, except those flowing from glaciers, are bright, clear, and
+swift, and are well stocked with fish. The trout, represented by several
+species, there finds the cool retreats so essential to its life. To the
+sportsman and skilled angler the northern Rockies are a paradise.
+Among the lofty mountains and in the larger valleys there are many
+lakes, more especially in northern Idaho and Montana and in Canada. Many
+of these, and particularly those near the heads of the valleys and about
+the more lofty peaks, are true rock-basin lakes, worn out by the
+grinding of sand-charged glacial ice when the glaciers were far more
+extensive than now. The large lakes situated in the trunk portions of
+the broad-bottomed valleys are in many instances retained by dams of
+glacially deposited detritus and record the changes in the aspect of the
+land inherited from the Glacial epoch. These numerous lakes present a
+vast variety of scenery, and in many instances reflect from their placid
+mirror-like surfaces as beautiful and inspiring pictures of rugged
+grandeur as can be found in the world. The natural beauties of the
+classical lakes of Switzerland and Italy are rivalled by many of the
+charming water bodies of the northern Rockies, which but few men
+appreciative of the beauties of nature have ever seen.
+
+To the south of the Laramie plateau the mountains of the Rocky Mountain
+system are more irregular and more lofty than those to the north of that
+break. The many rugged ranges in southern Wyoming, Colorado, and
+northern New Mexico form a great group, to which the name Park Mountains
+has been applied by J. W. Powell. The several ranges composing this
+group have a general north and south trend, to which, however, an
+exception is furnished by the Uintah Mountains in southwestern Wyoming
+and eastern Utah, which consists of a deeply dissected east and west
+fold or broadly uplifted plateau. Intervening between several of the
+adjacent ranges there are wide, nearly flat-bottomed valleys, which owe
+their leading characteristics to the deep filling of depressions by
+_débris_ carried from the bordering mountains by the wind and streams.
+These broad valleys surrounded by rugged peaks are known as parks, and
+the numerous ranges among which they are situated are hence designated
+the Park Mountains. The term by which the valleys are known is in some
+respects misleading, as the word _park_ usually carries the idea of a
+diversified and in part forested region, with mild, picturesque
+scenery. Perhaps a city park or the beautiful rural estates of England
+are most usually brought to mind when the term referred to is mentioned.
+But in the great mountains of the central portion of the continent one's
+idea must expand to keep in harmony with his surroundings. The natural
+parks of that region are broad, generally treeless, valleys with winding
+streams, the uplands are grass-covered and rolling, and in distant views
+the courses of the streams are marked by narrow belts of verdure. The
+picture is framed by a succession of mountain domes and embattled
+cliffs. Over all arches the dark blue, cloudless sky of a nearly
+rainless region. In the clear air distances are deceptive, and what
+appear to be miles to the novice must be extended to leagues in order to
+acquire adequate conceptions of the magnitude of the scene.
+
+The most famous of the great tracts of generally level land surrounded
+by the high ranges of the Park Mountains is San Luis Park, situated in
+southeastern Colorado and extending southward into New Mexico, which has
+a length from north to south of about 130 miles, and is from 20 to
+nearly 40 miles wide. Its general elevation is between 7,000 and 8,000
+feet. This great valley, level-floored with soft deposits swept in from
+the bordering highlands, and almost completely surrounded by rugged
+mountains, although more desolate than the majority of the numerous
+similar valleys in the same region, is typical of its class. The Rio
+Grande winds through its entire length and many streams rising in the
+bordering mountains flow to the valley during the winter season, but in
+summer, owing to the high temperature, active evaporation, and small
+rainfall, only a few of the larger of these mountain-born torrents reach
+the main, southward-flowing river. In the southern portions of the
+valley large areas are covered with drifting sand, which is fashioned by
+the winds into ever-changing dunes of a creamy whiteness. Some of the
+streams from the mountains expand on the plain and form the San Luis
+lakes, from which the water escapes by evaporation, thus causing them to
+become alkaline. The land bordering the lakes is whitened as with
+snow by saline incrustations. On the lower portion of the rim of this
+mountain-inclosed basin there are scattered groves of pines and
+junipers, and at higher elevations the mountains are dark with forests.
+The more lofty peaks, however, rise far above the upper limit of the
+forests and are rugged and magnificent even under the glare of a
+cloudless sky.
+
+To the east of the San Luis Park, and rising about 7,000 feet over it,
+and over 14,000 feet above the sea, stands Sierra Blanca, one of the
+finest of the many majestic mountains of Colorado. In summer immense
+cloud banks frequently gather about this cold, isolated peak, and local
+storms, accompanied by fierce lightning and echoing thunder, beat upon
+its shrouded sides. These tempests raging on the mountain top, while the
+adjacent valleys are flooded with sunlight, recall the scriptural
+accounts of the storms of Mount Sinai. In fact, the southwestern portion
+of the United States and the adjacent region in Mexico, so far as
+scenery and climatic peculiarities are concerned, have much in common
+with Palestine.
+
+The other great parks in Colorado, which have suggested a name for the
+group of mountains in the midst of which they are sheltered, are less
+arid and less desert-like than the one just described; but like it,
+derive their magnificence and fascination from their vast extent, the
+sublimity of the bordering mountains, and the wonderful transparency of
+the air above them, rather than from the topography of their nearly
+level floors or the vegetation that strives ineffectually to clothe
+their nakedness.
+
+The individual summits as well as the separate ranges composing the Park
+Mountains are remarkable for their massiveness and the great height of
+their bare rounded summits rather than for picturesque details. Several
+of the peaks are among the highest in the United States. One conspicuous
+feature is the considerable elevation of the valleys, usually over 7,000
+feet, and the large number of lofty summits. Of the peaks that have been
+measured, over 30 exceed 14,000 feet in height. The portion of the Park
+Mountains above an elevation of 10,000 feet, as is indicated on
+the map reproduced on page 65, is far greater in area than
+any other region of similar altitude on the continent.
+
+In the Park Mountains, and generally throughout the southern Rockies,
+even to central Mexico, the forms that meet the eye are the remnants of
+vast upheaved folds and domes of the earth's crust sculptured and
+degraded by erosion. The nearly horizontal rocks of the Great plateaus
+on meeting the eastern border of the mountains are bent abruptly upward,
+and in many places stand on edge or have been overturned so as to dip
+westward. This abrupt upward bending and the presence of remnants of the
+same beds on the summits of some of the higher mountains shows that the
+strata have not been simply folded into anticlinals and synclinals, but
+that there has been a thickening and upswelling of the rocks beneath.
+
+In the northern Rockies, except in western Idaho and adjacent portions
+of Washington and Oregon, evidences of recent volcanic activity are
+rare, although igneous rocks cover great areas, and in the Yellowstone
+Park numerous geysers and hot springs bear evidence to the presence of
+abnormal heat in the earth's crust. In the southern Rockies, however,
+volcanic mountains which still preserve their forms are numerous in
+certain regions, and in Mexico there are mighty volcanic piles and many
+lesser elevations built up by extrusion of molten material, some of
+which are still active. Examples are furnished of volcanic mountains
+ranging from perfect cones with curved slopes typical of the forms
+produced by the piling up of various sized fragments about the vents
+from which they were extruded, to irregular serrate peaks which reveal
+the anatomy of the dissected volcanic masses, and even the dikes which
+remain after the surface elevation of a volcano has been removed. The
+most modern volcanoes in this great group of mountains are situated in
+central Mexico, but others nearly as perfect in form occur in New Mexico
+and Arizona, and in the plateaus to the east of the Park Mountains. The
+Spanish peaks in southeastern Colorado are instructive illustrations of
+the topographic forms produced when a volcanic mountain has been deeply
+dissected.
+
+In the formation of volcanic mountains there is an extrusion of molten
+and fragmentary material accompanied by an escape of great volumes of
+steam at the surface. Closely related to this phase of vulcanism is the
+injection of molten material into the earth's crust from below, so as to
+force its way between stratified beds and produce intruded sheets. In
+this latter process the sheets of injected material may be thin in
+comparison to their lateral extent or thick lens-shaped masses. In the
+production of either of these forms of intrusion the cover above the
+injected material is lifted and a change is made in the topography of
+the surface. The intrusions, which are thick in comparison to their
+lateral extent, are known as _laccoliths_. At times intrusions of this
+nature are of such thickness that they produce true mountain forms. If
+unmodified, these elevations would be domes, but when their surfaces are
+broken by erosion and their dissection and removal progresses they
+frequently assume rugged, serrate forms.
+
+The type of laccolithic mountains made known some years since by the
+studies of G. K. Gilbert is furnished by the Henry Mountains, in
+southern Utah. More recently it has been found that this interesting
+phase of mountain building is illustrated by many other examples in the
+Rocky Mountain region and elsewhere.
+
+The rocks exposed at the surface in the southern Rockies, as in the
+northern division of that great chain, embrace almost every variety
+which enters into the composition of the earth's crust. The central
+cores of many of the now deeply eroded ranges consist of granite and
+other similar rocks, and are surrounded by sedimentary beds which range
+in age from the oldest stratified rocks now known to the youngest.
+Igneous rocks in great variety and in all forms incident to an extruded
+or volcanic and intruded or plutonic origin are present. The many
+disturbances that have occurred have led to the formation of mineral
+veins and the impregnation of rock masses with ores of various
+kinds--such as gold, silver, lead, copper, etc.--which have been mined
+with great success at many localities.
+
+_The High Plateaus._--To the west and south of the Park Mountains, and
+situated in the western portions of Colorado and New Mexico, eastern and
+southern Utah, and northern Arizona, there is an extensive region having
+a general surface level of 6,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea, known as
+the High plateaus. This region has suffered great erosion and is deeply
+trenched by stream-carved cañons. Although not mountainous in the
+ordinary acceptance of the term, its surface is rugged and difficult to
+traverse, particularly on account of the deep cañons that intersect it
+in every direction.
+
+The High plateaus are a part of the Rocky Mountain region and bear a
+somewhat similar relation to the Park Mountains that the Alleghany
+plateau does to the Appalachian Mountains. Streams flowing westward from
+the Park Mountains and from the southwestern portion of the Stony
+Mountains unite to form the Colorado River--the one great drainage
+channel of the region. The importance of this remarkable river in the
+history of the land has led to the adoption of the name Colorado plateau
+by Powell and others for the region under consideration. As with so many
+of the grander geographical units of the continent, the precise limits
+of the one here considered are difficult to define; but in spite of this
+uncertainty as to meets and bounds, the now classical writings of
+Newberry, Powell, and Dutton especially have shown that a strange and
+wonderful land exists in the southwest part of the United States, which
+is of unusual interest to geologists and geographers.
+
+The High plateaus are underlaid by nearly horizontal rocks. The larger
+elements in the structure are great blocks of the earth's crust
+measuring some 60 to 100 miles on their various borders, which are
+bounded by breaks (faults), or by what are termed monoclinal folds or a
+change from one plateau to another by a single bend in the strata. The
+rocks in each of the separate plateaus are usually gently tilted. Their
+eroded edges stand as lines of massive, gorgeously coloured, and
+frequently fantastically sculptured cliffs. These cliffs, when seen from
+below, appear as rugged mountain ranges, but to an observer standing on
+their deeply sculptured crests are easily recognised as the
+upturned edges of large gently tilted blocks of the earth's crust.
+
+The basement rocks beneath the High plateaus are very ancient granites,
+schists, etc., which formed a land surface and were greatly eroded
+before the first of the superimposed stratified beds were deposited upon
+them. The first of the sheets of sediment laid down by the primeval
+ocean belong to the oldest rocks containing records of life that have as
+yet been recognised--the Algonkian (pre-Cambrian) terranes of modern
+geology. Above these come other deposits of sandstone, shales,
+limestone, etc., representing a wide range of geological history, and
+including as the upper member of the series the sediments of large
+Tertiary lakes. This vast succession of stratified rocks, some 13,000
+feet in thickness, has been upraised in a broad way, without the
+crumpling and folding, but broken, as stated above, into great blocks
+which are now variously inclined, but still preserve a plateau-like
+character.
+
+Besides the movements in the earth's crust which raised the plateaus and
+caused fractures and simple or monoclinal folds in the rocks of which
+they are composed, there occurred volcanic eruptions which produced
+numerous cinder cones, extensive lava-flows, and widely spread sheets of
+comminuted material known as lapilli, dust, and so-called ashes.
+
+Although the history recorded in the rocks forming the High plateaus is
+one of fascinating geological interest, the easier and more obvious
+lesson that the region has to offer, more especially to the geographer,
+has been engraved and etched on its surface by streams and wind-blown
+sand.
+
+On the High plateaus the rainfall is comparatively small, and the
+streams originating there mostly ephemeral. But on the mountains to the
+east and north the precipitation is more abundant and rivers are formed
+which flow across the plateau region. The Green and Grand Rivers, fed by
+many tributaries, unite to form the Colorado, which flows southwestward
+for some 700 miles and discharges its muddy waters into the Gulf of
+Lower California. This great river year by year and century after
+century has deepened its channel through the plateau region where the
+rainfall is small, more rapidly than the general surface has been
+lowered by erosion. The main conditions are a broad area of nearly
+horizontal rocks, raised high above the sea or above the base level of
+erosion, and an arid climate; crossing this region is the ever-flowing
+river, which, acting like an endless saw, cuts deeper and deeper into
+the blocks of the earth's crust which have been raised athwart its
+course. Resulting from these conditions is a mighty trench or cañon,
+which is by far the most magnificent of its kind in North America, if
+not in the world. Not only has the main river sunken its channel into
+the earth to a depth of more than a mile throughout a large portion of
+its course, but each tributary stream has been engaged for a long period
+of time in a similar task. Although most of the streams originating on
+the surface of the plateaus are ephemeral, they work rapidly when the
+occasional heavy rains flood their channels. This deepening of the
+stream channels, while their borders and the intervening portions of the
+plateau surface suffered but comparatively slight erosion, has produced
+a wonderful system of deep steep-sided trenches in the borders of which
+the edges of the dissected rocks are exposed in nearly vertical
+precipices.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Grand Cañon of the Colorado River. After W. H.
+Holmes.]
+
+Aside from the lessons of interest to the geologist and geographer so
+plainly engraved on the surfaces of the plateaus crossed by the
+Colorado, the region has a wonderful fascination for the purely æsthetic
+feelings more or less latent in every human breast. To one traversing
+the open pine forests, in places clothing the plateaus and inclosing
+many grassy glades and flower-decked parks, in which timid deer may
+frequently be seen feeding in the early morning, and emerging on the
+brink of the Grand Cañon, the scene that meets the eye is marvellous
+beyond all description. C. E. Dutton, to whom we owe some of the most
+graphic and inspiring descriptions of natural scenery ever written,
+states that those who have long and carefully studied the Grand Cañon of
+the Colorado do not hesitate for a moment in pronouncing it the most
+sublime of all earthly spectacles. "If its sublimity," writes
+Dutton, "consisted only in its dimensions, it could be sufficiently set
+forth in a single sentence. It is more than 200 miles long, from 5 to 12
+miles wide, and from 5,000 to 6,000 feet deep. But it is not magnitude
+alone that gives this marvellous cañon its prominence; it is the
+gorgeous and varied colouring of its mighty walls, the endless details
+in the sculpturing of its battlements and towers, the ever-changing
+atmospheric effects of its profound depths, and the wonderful stimulus
+to the imagination with which it feeds the mind. Standing on the brink
+of the Grand Cañon, the prosaic search for causes and effects for a time
+at least must be laid aside, and give place to the emotions."
+
+Wonderfully grand as are the scenes beheld in traversing this region of
+high plateaus, with its magnificent cliffs and profound cañons, one is
+constantly reminded that it is an arid land. The higher portions of the
+plateau, it is true, are in places forested, but over vast areas the
+rocks are bare. Water is everywhere scarce except in the bottom of the
+larger excavations. Thirsty, and perhaps perishing, the traveller,
+Tantalus like, looks down on the shining silvery threads of water in the
+cañons, hundreds and even thousands of feet below, but separated from
+them by impassable barriers. To the south the plateaus descend to the
+desolate valleys of southern Arizona, where strange gigantic
+cactus-plants and scattered clumps of thorny shrubs alone break the
+dreary monotony of the hot gravelly deserts. Agriculture is there
+impossible without irrigation, but where the life-giving waters can be
+utilized, as in the Gila Valley, marvellous productiveness follows.
+
+
+                            THE GREAT BASIN
+
+To the west of the Rocky Mountain belt in the United States there exists
+a region embracing about 210,000 square miles, which sends no stream to
+the ocean. This vast and in large part desert tract is known as the
+Great Basin. The climate is characterized by its aridity. The annual
+precipitation is small and evaporation active. All the water reaching
+the land is returned to the air by evaporation, either directly or from
+the streams and lakes. Many of the lakes do not overflow and are more or
+less alkaline and saline, while some of them, as Great Salt Lake, Utah,
+and Mono and Owens Lakes, California, are dense with mineral matter in
+solution.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 20.--The Great Basin.]
+
+The Great Basin is not a single level-floored depression, as one might
+infer from its name, but is traversed by rugged mountain ranges, which
+divide it into a large number of minor valleys. Some of these secondary
+basins have lakes and streams which escape from them into lower
+depressions, but in many instances under present climatic conditions
+they have no surface water, all the moisture that reaches them being
+absorbed by the thirsty soil or evaporated without forming lakes. The
+Great Basin proper, as it may be termed, embraces nearly the whole of
+Utah and Nevada, together with small portions of the southern parts of
+Idaho and Oregon and a large area in southeastern California. While the
+drainage conditions limit the application of the name to this group of
+associated basins which send no tribute to the sea, the climatic and to
+a less extent the topographic and geological conditions that
+characterize it have much wider, although indefinite boundaries. This
+wider region which resembles the Great Basin proper, extends from
+British Columbia southward to beyond the city of Mexico, and includes
+the eastern half of Washington and Oregon, a large part of Idaho, and
+much of Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. In this outer region
+both to the north and south of the Great Basin proper there are
+drainless valleys, as those of central Mexico, in which the conditions
+characteristic of the desert valleys of Utah and Nevada are repeated.
+
+The greater region of arid valleys and desolate mountains surrounding
+the Great Basin proper is crossed at the north by the Columbia and in
+the central part by the Colorado. Each of these large rivers has its
+source in the Rocky Mountains and flows to the Pacific.
+
+The most obvious features of the Great Basin and of the northward and
+southward extensions of the belt of country having much in common
+with it, depend on climatic conditions. The rainfall is small throughout
+the entire belt from the Canadian boundary to south-central Mexico. The
+average mean annual precipitation, judging from such observations as are
+available, is probably less than 15 inches, but this broad statement
+does not truly represent the diverse conditions. The rainfall is
+confined almost entirely to the winter season, and frequently comes in
+short heavy downpours. During the summer season, the valleys especially,
+become so parched that only such plants can grow as are adapted to
+long-continued droughts. The topography is rough and diversified by many
+mountain ranges, and the precipitation is more abundant on the uplands
+than in the valleys. Over large areas in Nevada and southeastern
+California the mean annual rainfall is less than 5 inches. The author,
+while carrying on geological work in this region, was informed by some
+of the older settlers that at times for fully eighteen consecutive
+months no rain whatever fell in certain of the valleys. From the
+accounts of travellers in central Mexico, it seems as if some of the
+interior basins in that region must be fully as arid as those just
+referred to.
+
+One conspicuous result of the lack of moisture is the absence of
+forests. Except on the mountains mainly at the north the Great Basin and
+its extensions, as defined above, is nearly destitute of trees. The
+valleys are in many instances thickly covered with desert shrubs,
+notably the sage-brush, but the floors of the driest basins are in many
+instances almost absolutely without vegetation, and are frequently white
+with saline incrustations.
+
+Many of the depressions in the Great Basin, as well as some of the
+outlying valleys referred to, have rivers and lakes which exhibit
+certain interesting features that are unfamiliar to people dwelling in
+humid lands. The streams are fed in part by the small precipitation on
+the desert valleys, and by springs, frequently of heated water, but
+mainly by the rain and melting snow on the mountains. Many rills and
+rivulets are born on the valley sides of a single storm, but are
+absorbed by the thirsty soil or evaporated during the succeeding hours
+of sunshine. Other streams have a greater lease of life and flow
+down to valleys and basins, suffering evaporation and absorption as they
+progress, which cause them to diminish in volume, and finally to vanish.
+The stronger streams, such as Sevier and Bear Rivers in Utah, the
+Humboldt River in Nevada, and the Truckee River in California, maintain
+their existence throughout the year, and expand into lakes in which the
+inflow is balanced by evaporation.
+
+The lakes of the Great Basin present even greater diversity than the
+streams. Some of those situated principally in the mountains are of
+pure, limpid, wholesome water, supplied by cool, sweet brooks and rills
+or by the melting of the winter's snows, and overflow throughout the
+year. These lakes, usually of small size, are similar in all respects to
+the ordinary lakes of humid lands. In eastern Utah, adjacent to the west
+base of the Wasatch Mountains, the Provo River and other streams supply
+Utah Lake, the outlet of which, the Jordan River, empties into Great
+Salt Lake. Utah Lake is well within the Great Basin, and situated at a
+low elevation for the region, namely, 4,500 feet, or about 280 feet (in
+1873) above the level of lake of brine into which it discharges. This is
+the largest of the fresh lakes in the valleys of the Great Basin, and
+owes its existence to the fact that a depression there occurs which is
+filled to overflowing by the streams from the mountains. Bear Lake, in
+northeastern Utah, is another exceptional example of a fresh lake of
+considerable size at a comparatively low altitude, in the same region.
+On the western rim of the Great Basin, at an elevation of 6,247 feet,
+and surrounded by the forested peaks of the Sierra Nevada, lies Lake
+Tahoe, "the gem of the Sierra," a water body of remarkable purity, which
+discharges through Truckee River into Pyramid and Winnemucca Lakes.
+These lower lakes, situated in desert valleys at an elevation of 3,780
+feet above the sea, are without outlets and alkaline and bitter. The
+most characteristic lakes of the Great Basin, however, are those that do
+not overflow, and on account of concentration by evaporation are more or
+less highly charged with mineral matter in solution. These saline and
+alkaline lakes may be divided into two classes, in reference to
+their duration, but the line of separation is indefinite. Certain of
+them have maintained their existence for many years, and probably have
+not been evaporated to dryness for several centuries, and may be classed
+as perennial lakes; others are evaporated to dryness each year, or
+during certain exceptionally dry and hot seasons, and may be termed
+ephemeral lakes. In many instances the beds of the ephemeral lakes are
+normally in a state of desiccation, and appear as broad, level, mud
+plains, usually with a white fringe of saline matter. Frequently these
+mud plains, or _playas_, as they are termed, are transformed into
+shallow lakes during a single storm, but the waters are absorbed by the
+clays beneath or evaporated within a few days or perhaps a few hours
+after the rain ceases. The largest and most characteristic of the
+perennial saline water bodies is Great Salt Lake, the counterpart in
+many ways of the Dead Sea. The streams discharging into this salt sea
+have the usual purity of river-waters, and carry but a small fraction of
+one per cent of saline matter in solution. The lake is supplied also in
+part, but to an unimportant extent, by springs, the most of which are of
+essentially fresh water. The source of the salts which make the waters
+of the lake a brine is evidently, therefore, the small percentage of
+mineral material brought in by the tributary streams. After reaching the
+lake these fresh waters, in the ordinary meaning of the term, are
+concentrated by evaporation. This is the explanation of the leading
+facts in the chemistry of all of the saline and alkaline lakes of the
+Great Basin region, such as Pyramid, Winnemucca, and Walker Lakes in
+Nevada, Mono and Owens Lakes in California, and the saline lakes of
+Mexico.
+
+The volume of a lake without an outlet, or an "inclosed lake," is
+determined mainly by the ratio of the inflow (including the rain falling
+directly on its surface and the tribute from springs) and evaporation.
+Its volume, and consequently its area, fluctuates from season to season,
+and frequently varies also during periods embracing several years. With
+variations in volume there are fluctuations in the percentage of saline
+matter in solution, even if precipitation of one or more of the
+contained salts does not take place during the periods of more than
+usual concentration. In most instances inclosed lakes are concentrated
+by evaporation in summer seasons, and perhaps become nearly saturated
+solutions, but are diluted during the rainy winter seasons. Fluctuations
+in volume, area, depth, salinity, etc., are thus characteristic of
+inclosed water bodies. They are sensitive to climatic changes which
+ordinary weather records fail to detect, and are modified in a
+conspicuous manner when the country about them becomes inhabited and
+irrigation is practised.
+
+Some of the lakes of the Great Basin are dense brines from which various
+substances are being precipitated. The economic importance of these
+natural reservoirs of brine and of various soda salts is great, and will
+become more and more important as transportation facilities increase.
+Great Salt Lake, it has been estimated, contains 400,000,000 tons of
+common salt and 30,000,000 tons of sodium sulphate in solution. During
+the past ten years about 40,000 tons of common salt have been harvested
+from it annually. Mono Lake contains some 245,000,000 tons of saline
+matter in solution, of which about 92,000,000 tons are sodium carbonate
+and bicarbonate. Owens Lake is similar to Mono Lake in composition, and
+is now the basis of a large soda industry.
+
+A marked difference between a region which drains to the ocean and one
+where the streams enter inclosed basins where their waters are
+evaporated is that in the former the waste from the land carried by the
+streams as an invisible load in solution or as a visible load consisting
+mainly of silt and sand in suspension is contributed to the ocean and
+widely distributed before being deposited--much of the material in
+solution, in fact, may be said to be a permanent contribution to the
+salinity of sea-water; but in most instances where streams enter
+inclosed basins all of the material contributed both in solution and
+suspension is sooner or later precipitated. The area within an inclosed
+basin, on which the inflowing streams lay down their loads, is as a rule
+less extensive than the area that is being denuded to supply the
+material. The receiving basins are thus filled in or _aggraded_, and
+there is a concentration both of the mechanical wash from the land and
+of the substances taken in solution by the waters of streams and
+springs. A marked result of this process of concentration, particularly
+of the fine waste of the uplands and mountains, is seen in the
+approximately level floors of inclosed valleys. Throughout the Great
+Basin the valleys have been filled to a depth in many instances of
+hundreds of feet. Some of the lower mountain ranges in Utah have been so
+nearly buried beneath these valley deposits that only their summits,
+termed _lost mountains_, appear above the even surface of the desert
+plains. This _débris_, deeply filling the valleys referred to, is
+usually a fine yellowish dust-like material, similar in many ways, and
+probably in mode of origin, to the _loess_ of China in which geologists
+have taken much interest. With the concentration and deposition of the
+fine mechanical wash of the uplands there has also been a concentration
+of the more soluble saline constituents of rocks, which causes the soils
+of arid regions to differ in an important way from those of humid lands.
+The leached and characteristically red-tinted soils of warm humid
+countries, consisting of the oxidized residue of deeply weathered rocks,
+are absent from arid regions; in their place we find minutely
+disintegrated, usually light-coloured, and not chemically impoverished
+soils. In warm humid regions chemical decay of the rocks is the
+conspicuous feature; in equally warm arid lands mechanical
+disintegration is carried to an extreme, without the removal of the more
+soluble constituents. In fact, concentration of saline matter, notably
+common salt, sodium sulphate, gypsum, etc., is one of the functions, so
+to speak, of arid climates, when the requisite evaporation basins are
+present. Among the important industries of the Great Basin region is the
+gathering and purifying of the various salts contained in the existing
+water bodies and in the basins of desiccated lakes.
+
+In addition to the characteristics of the region referred to above,
+which are mainly the result of climatic conditions, the Great Basin has
+certain geological features, in the main, so far as North America
+is concerned, peculiar to itself. The leading structural features of the
+rocks, so far as they find expression in the surface relief, is the
+presence of a large number of extensive faults trending in general about
+northeast and southwest. These faults are breaks or cracks along which
+the rocks have been moved up and down. One side of a fault sometimes
+stands higher than the opposite side, and forms a narrow and frequently
+high and rugged mountain range. The number of these faults within the
+Great Basin is as yet unknown, but they certainly number many hundreds.
+In a cross profile of the region between the Wasatch Mountains on the
+east and the Sierra Nevada on the west the number of mountain ridges due
+to faulting is at least a score. The precipitous western border of the
+Wasatch Mountains is itself a great fault scarp, as is also the eastern
+border of the Sierra Nevada. The faults that determine the steeper sides
+of these mountain ranges are not to be considered as single clean-cut
+gashes, but as irregular and intersecting fractures traversing a narrow
+belt of country. The faults referred to divide rocks of all ages, and
+are evidently due to the most recent disturbances that have affected the
+region. It is not probable that the break in any given instance was
+formed all at once. Such vast convulsions would be out of harmony with
+the rules of nature. But rather many small movements and adjustments of
+pressure have occurred along the same belt of fracture. This conclusion
+is sustained by the fact that many of the faults have experienced
+movements in very recent times. In places fault scarps a score or more
+feet in height cross the alluvial cones at the mouths of the small
+high-grade valleys in the mountains. These scarps in loose
+unconsolidated gravel and similar material, even under an arid climate,
+could not be expected to preserve their freshness for many years. At
+times the breaks cross the courses of streams and cascades, and rapids
+are formed by the waters flowing down escarpments thus produced in loose
+material. One characteristic fault scarp in Inyo Valley, California, is
+known to have been formed during an earthquake that shook that portion
+of the country in 1872. The many small earthquakes that have been
+felt in the Great Basin region are believed to have been caused by
+slight movements along the breaks that traverse the region. This and
+other evidence indicates that the faults to which so much of the
+characteristic scenery of the Great Basin is due have grown by repeated
+minor displacements, and that such movements are a common cause of
+earthquakes.
+
+The most conspicuous topographic features of the better known portion of
+the Great Basin are long, narrow, and frequently sharp-crested ridges,
+with a gentle slope on one side and a steep escarpment on the other. The
+steeper side in a large number of instances is known to be the upraised
+side of a fault. Each of these basin ranges, as they are termed, may be
+considered as the upturned edge of a block of the earth's crust, in
+general from 60 to 100 or more miles long, and 10 to perhaps 20 miles
+wide. The crest-lines of the tilted blocks are frequently serrate, on
+account of differences in the hardness and texture of the rocks and the
+effects of weathering. There is frequently, however, an older structure
+revealed in them, showing that the region was folded and otherwise
+disturbed previous to the later movements which produced the leading
+features in the present topography. It is probable that this older
+structure in some instances has had an important bearing on the forms of
+some of the ranges, but our knowledge in this direction is too limited
+to warrant presentation in a popular treatise.
+
+Many of the basin ranges are imposing on account of their height and
+ruggedness, when seen from the adjacent, deeply filled valleys, although
+scarcely more than half of their actual elevation above the sea is
+revealed from such points of view. Exceptions to this general statement
+occur, however, in southeastern California, where, in Death Valley, the
+land is 480 feet below sea-level. This is the only region in North
+America which, like the basin of the Dead Sea, is below the level of the
+ocean's surface. On the border of Death Valley the mountain ranges rise
+from 6,000 to 10,000 feet, and the highest summit, known as Telescope
+Peak, is reported to have an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet
+above the sea. In the central and northern portions of the Great Basin
+the valley floors have a general elevation of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet.
+The mountains rise from these valleys to a height of from a few hundred
+to 4,000 or 5,000 feet. Among the highest, if not actually the
+culminating peaks well within the Great Basin are White Mountain, on the
+California-Nevada boundary, about 30 miles southeast of Mono Lake, which
+has a summit elevation of 13,000 feet, and Jeff Davis Peak, in eastern
+Nevada, which rises 13,100 feet above the sea and 8,000 feet above the
+adjacent valleys.
+
+The numerous sharp-crested ranges of the region under review are
+frequently remarkable for the richness of the colours of the naked
+rocks. The mountain slopes and towering angular summits when outlined
+against the morning or evening sky are frequently as brilliantly dyed as
+are the New England hills when clothed in the harlequin foliage of
+autumn. Before sunrise and after sunset each serrate crest-line is the
+sharply cut border of a silhouette of the deepest and richest purple.
+The diversity of scenery in the Great Basin is increased by mountains of
+volcanic origin, including several modern craters, some of which hold
+lakes, and by lava-flows of recent date, and by great alluvial fans or
+detritus cones which stream out into the valleys from the mouths of
+gorges in the bordering mountains.
+
+The Great Basin proper, with its rugged topography and arid climate, is
+not an agricultural region. Small portions of it, however, when water
+can be had for irrigation, have been transformed into fruitful farms and
+gardens which yield bountiful returns. But even a century hence, when
+all has been accomplished in the way of reclaiming the arid valleys that
+can be done by utilizing the available water for irrigation, only a
+small per cent of the whole will be under cultivation.
+
+
+                   SIERRA NEVADA AND CASCADE MOUNTAINS
+
+To the west of the Great Basin, and extending from southern California
+northward to beyond the United States-Canadian boundary, there is a
+lofty and extremely rugged belt of mountains consisting of two
+ranges--the Sierra Nevada at the south and the Cascade Mountains at the
+north. Topographically, these two ranges form a single elevated belt of
+country, but custom, and as is now generally understood the geological
+structure and history, draws a dividing line between them in northern
+California. The Sierra Nevada-Cascade range extends far into Canada, and
+is there known as the Coast Range. No adjustment of the nomenclature in
+use on the two sides of the international boundary has been made, and in
+order to conform with current usage, it is necessary to consider
+separately the two portions of the range on opposite sides of the
+forty-ninth parallel.
+
+The Sierra Nevada has its southern terminus at Tejon Pass, in southern
+California, and extending from there northward to Lassen Peak, in the
+northern part of the same State. With the exception of a small area to
+the east and north of Lake Tahoe, the entire range is included within
+the boundaries of California. This is geographically one of the best
+defined of the larger mountain ranges in the United States. Its eastern
+border especially is easy to trace, as for the most part it is
+determined by a great escarpment, corresponding to the fault scarp which
+borders one side of so many of the basin ranges. The Sierra Nevada, in
+fact, may be considered as one of the basin ranges of great size and
+forming the western wall of the region of interior drainage lying to the
+eastward. This abrupt eastward-facing mountain slope is in reality a
+great fault scarp, formed mainly by the upheaval of the west side of an
+intersecting system of fractures. It is not known, however, how much of
+the escarpment is due to the upheaval of the west side of the belt of
+fracture, or how much to the sinking of the eastern side. There have no
+doubt been many up and down movements along this belt, of which
+the present mountain wall is the algebraic sum. The escarpment rises in
+general from 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the desert valleys to the
+eastward, and reaches a maximum of about 14,000 feet in the vicinity of
+Death Valley. It is exceedingly precipitous and rises to an irregular
+serrate crest-line, from which the general slope westward to the Great
+Valley of California is gentle.
+
+The best idea of the generalized topographic form as well as of the
+origin of the Sierra Nevada, which the reader may be asked to hold in
+mind, is that the range consists of a block of the earth's crust about
+500 miles long and from 70 to 100 miles broad, which has been upraised
+along its eastern edge so as to give its surface a westward inclination.
+From this vast monolith the profound cañons and multitude of sharp
+tapering spires which give to the range its magnificent scenery have
+been sculptured. Like most generalized pictures of great geographical
+features, however, this outline of the form and structure of the great
+mountain range of California has to be modified when studied in detail.
+From extensive and most painstaking studies by H. W. Turner, of the
+United States Geological Survey, the conclusion is reached that "the
+Sierra Nevada may be described as a monogenetic range, composed of
+highly compressed schists and slates with large areas of associated
+igneous rocks, chiefly granite and diabase, upon which lie uncomfortably
+a series of later Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments and volcanic rocks."
+
+Could the profound valleys carved in the long western slope of the
+Sierra Nevada be filled so as to restore the conditions as they existed
+when the mountain block was first upraised and tilted, we would have an
+inclined plane in which the edges of previously folded rocks would be
+exposed. In other words, the western slope is a tilted peneplain,
+bearing on its surface remnants of older uplands. High up on the range
+there are detached areas of well-worn gravel, which were deposited when
+the slopes were less inclined than at present, and before the existing
+peaks and cañons came into existence. Certain of the valleys carved
+during a portion of the earlier stage of erosion were subsequently
+filled by lava-floods, which buried gold-bearing gravel beneath thick
+layers of basaltic rock. Erosion has since cut away the softer beds
+bordering these ancient lava-sheets, and left them in bold relief as
+table mountains, underneath which miners have excavated tunnels in order
+to reach the stream-deposited gravels of the ancient cañons. In these
+instances valleys have been changed to uplands, owing to the resistance
+to erosion afforded by the volcanic rocks discharged into them.
+
+The long gentle slope on the west side of the Sierra Nevada has been
+dissected by westward-flowing rivers, which have sunk their channels
+2,000 or 3,000 feet or more into the rocks. Other streams having much
+shorter courses flow down the steep eastern slope of the range and have
+also excavated cañons. These two systems of drainage, one leading
+westward to the Great Valley of California and the other eastward to the
+valleys of the Great Basin, extended their head branches until they came
+into rivalry with each other, and cut deep notches in the crest of the
+range. During a late stage in its history the higher portions of the
+mountains were covered with a great field of perennial snow, from which
+glaciers flowed both eastward and westward. These ice-streams, by
+deepening and broadening the previously water-cut channels, still
+further increased the diversity of the topography and impressed upon it
+characteristics such as only glaciers can produce.
+
+The highest and most typical part of the Sierra Nevada is in its
+south-central portion, and is known as the High Sierra. This region,
+although at present not accurately defined, is well worthy of
+recognition. Throughout its entire extent, from the neighbourhood of
+Lake Tahoe on the north to Tehichipe Pass at the south, a distance of
+about 240 miles, it is diversified by rugged serrate peaks and narrow
+stream-cut valleys of great depth. Many of the mountains attain
+elevations of from 12,000 to over 13,500 feet. The highest summit is
+Mount Whitney, in the southern part of the range and near its eastern
+border, which rises 14,522 feet above the sea and has the added
+distinction of being the highest mountain in the United States,
+exclusive of Alaska. It is a notable fact that this great mountain-peak
+should be situated only about 100 miles from Death Valley, the lowest
+depression on the continent.
+
+Another of the remarkable features of the Sierra Nevada is the great
+depth and the wonderfully precipitous walls of some of the valleys
+carved by the westward-flowing rivers. The most famous of these is the
+sublime Yosemite Valley, now world-renowned. This cleft as it appears in
+solid light-coloured granite, over a mile deep, is believed by Turner,
+the last of several geologists to discuss its origin, to be due to
+stream erosion. The fact seems well established, however, that glacial
+ice has assisted in the great task. The Yosemite is not such an unique
+feature as was at one time supposed, but is approached if not equalled
+in depth and magnificence by Hetch Hetchy Valley, through which flows
+the Tuolumne River, and is duplicated, in part at least, by other
+similar stream-cut gulfs.
+
+Among the chief elements in the glorious scenery of the Sierra Nevada is
+the multitude of lakes left as a rich inheritance by the departed
+glaciers. These occur not only high up amid the bare peaks where their
+basins were excavated by the flowing ice, but also in the lower valleys
+where the ancient ice-streams built morainal dams.
+
+The High Sierra was swept nearly clean of soil and _débris_ by the
+ancient glaciers, and the hard rocks thus exposed were rounded and
+burnished by the ice that flowed over them. But little disintegration or
+decay of the rocks has taken place since an amelioration of climate
+changed the drainage from a solid to a liquid form. On account mainly of
+the general absence of soil the forests are less dense than might be
+expected from the height of the regions where they occur and its general
+climatic conditions. The more lofty peaks reach far above the forests
+and are riven and shattered by frost. The crests and cliffs at somewhat
+lower altitudes are also bare, but in the cañons and on the meadow-like
+valley bottoms smoothed by the glaciers, open park-like groves of pine
+and spruce grow in picturesque disorder. On the ledges of the great
+precipices, and on many of the secondary summits, gardens of
+alpine flowers blossom in late summer, and at times impart a rich warm
+glow to the heights that support them. The views of nature, unmarred by
+the hand of man, which reward the persistent mountaineer in this silent
+wonderland of the upper world, are not only grand beyond all
+description, but beautified by a delicacy of decoration where
+snow-fields and alpine gardens meet, that is undreamed of by the
+dwellers in the denser air of the plains and seaside. Lovers of nature
+who are unable to climb the towering summits of the High Sierra and see
+for themselves the marvellous beauty there so lavishly displayed can at
+least find a glowing pen picture of it in John Muir's fascinating book
+The Mountains of California. On the lower western slope of the Sierra
+Nevada the forests become continuous and luxuriant, the trees are of
+large size, and the lovely flowers carpeting the valleys and hillsides
+take on a more familiar appearance than the gorgeous blossoms of the
+alpine meadows. It is in this region that the gigantic _Sequoia_ still
+lingers as a remnant of a nearly extinct flora.
+
+Statements of heights and depths, of geological structures, and of
+topographic forms are perhaps necessary to enable one to form a mental
+picture of a snow-crowned mountain range which will bear some faint
+resemblance to the mighty original; but when one threads his way through
+the resinous forests on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada, ascends
+some one of the profound water-cut rifts in its side, scales the steep
+cliffs, traverses the crystal surfaces of the small glaciers, and
+finally stands on a spire-like summit covered only by the dark blue of
+the dome above, all thoughts of the arches and walls that support the
+mighty cathedral are lost in wrapt wonder and admiration of the
+magnificent scene about him. It is this intense feeling for the sublime
+and beautiful in nature that the student of geography should strive to
+cultivate, as well as to acquire skill in reading the prosaic history
+written everywhere on the mountains. This important lesson can seldom be
+studied to greater advantage than amid the silent awe-inspiring peaks of
+California.
+
+The Cascade Mountains, as previously stated, are a direct continuation,
+so far as the relief is concerned, of the Sierra Nevada. The geological
+structure of the region in northern California, where the two ranges
+approach each other, has been studied by J. S. Diller, of the United
+States Geological Survey, who concludes that they present characteristic
+differences. In the Cascade Mountains in northern California, Oregon,
+and southern Washington the rocks exposed at the surface are mainly, if
+not entirely, of volcanic origin, and were poured out in a molten
+condition as lava-flows, or as fragmental ejections from volcanoes, and
+in part rose through fissures and formed what are termed fissure
+eruptions. The rocks thus extruded are mainly composed of dark, heavy
+basic material, such as basalt and andesite. These outpourings of molten
+rocks were on a grand scale, and a large number of volcanic mountains
+were formed which still remain as the dominant peaks of the rugged and
+densely forested Cascade Range. Although the evidence now available
+seems to show that there is a striking difference between the Sierra
+Nevada and the Cascade Mountains, another significant change occurs when
+one follows the Cascade Mountains into northern Washington. Where the
+Northern Pacific Railroad crosses the range the volcanic rocks are
+succeeded northward by granites, schists, serpentine, etc., and
+Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary beds of much the same character as
+those in the Sierra Nevada.
+
+The study of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade region has not progressed far
+enough to warrant a decision, but the fact referred to above strongly
+suggests that the two ranges, as we now term them, are essentially a
+single uplift, a large portion of which, extending from Lassen Peak, in
+California, northward across Oregon and into Washington as far as the
+Northern Pacific Railroad, is buried beneath a great blanket, so to
+speak, of lava-flows. The tract of elevated and rugged country in
+northern Washington embraced in the Cascade Mountains, as has been
+observed by the writer, passes into Canada without a marked change in
+either its geology or geography, and there is no occasion for a
+change of name when the international boundary is crossed.
+
+The Cascade Mountains in Oregon and southern Washington, where the
+surface rocks are mainly and perhaps wholly of volcanic origin, are
+rugged for two principal reasons: First, volcanic energy has built up
+great individual peaks; and second, erosion has carved deep valleys and
+numerous ravines and gorges. The volcanoes are now extinct, or have long
+been dormant, and their cold summits are in several instances crowned
+with perennial snow and small glaciers. The forms given to the more
+prominent elevations by the eruptions which built them have to a great
+extent been defaced by erosion. As they stand to-day they furnish an
+instructive series of more or less deeply dissected volcanic mountains.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Crater Lake in the summit of Mount Mazama,
+Oregon.]
+
+Not only has erosion changed the characteristic slopes of the peaks
+built of lava-flows and ejected fragments, but in at least one
+remarkable instance the volcanic energy itself greatly altered the
+structure it had previously raised. Mount Mazama, situated in southern
+Oregon in the summit region of the Cascades, is a truncated volcanic
+cone in the top of which there is an immense depression now partially
+filled by the waters of Crater Lake (Fig. 21). The main features in the
+history of this unique mountain with a lake in its summit, as
+interpreted by Messrs. Dutton and Diller, of the United States
+Geographical Survey, are as follows: It once stood as a conical peak,
+similar to several other mountains of volcanic origin in the same
+region, some 15,000 feet in height; it was then an active volcano with a
+summit crater filled with lava, but subsequently, for a time at least,
+became dormant and was occupied by glacial ice. At a later period an
+escape for the lava was furnished by a fissure or other opening which
+admitted of a surface discharge at a more or less distant locality, in a
+manner similar to the escape of the molten rocks from the great
+volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands within historic times. This drawing
+off of the lava from the crater removed the support afforded its walls
+from within, and the summit portion of the mountain, embracing about
+three-fourths of its height above the adjacent valleys, fell in
+and was engulfed. The mountain was thus truncated, and presents the
+general appearance of similar cones the upper portions of which are
+known to have been blown away by explosions. But in the case of Mount
+Mazama, the hypothesis of truncation by explosion seems to be disproved
+by the absence of the fragments of the portion removed on the slopes
+remaining or on the surrounding region. After the falling in of the
+summit of the mountain comparatively mild volcanic explosions followed
+which built a cone within the great pit or _caldera_ in the summit of
+the truncated mountain, but without filling it. The space left vacant is
+now occupied by water, and thus transformed into a lake. The cone built
+after the catastrophe referred to now forms Wizard Island, near the
+southwest border of Crater Lake.
+
+Some idea of the magnitude of the changes wrought in Mount Mazama by the
+events recorded in its geology and topography may be obtained from the
+following facts: Crater Lake has a surface elevation of 6,239 feet above
+the sea, and is nearly 2,000 feet deep in its deepest part; the
+precipices surrounding it are from 520 to 1,987 feet high. The whole
+depth of the depression is therefore 4,000 feet. This _caldera_, as such
+basins of volcanic origin are termed, is nearly circular, with an east
+and west diameter measuring 6 miles, and a north and south diameter of 5
+miles. The volume of the pit is nearly 12 cubic miles.
+
+Not only is Mount Mazama with its wonderful lake one of the most unique
+natural features of North America, but it has its full share of the
+artistic details of lake and mountain scenery which appeal so forcibly
+to the finer instincts within us. The outer slopes of the mountain are
+clothed with the all-embracing coniferous forests which cover the
+Cascades as with a mantle throughout their entire extent, while the
+precipitous inner slopes are for the most part bare precipices of
+angular and extremely rugged rock. The lake itself is of the most
+marvellous blue, in which the encircling cliffs, the crater-island, and
+the sky above are reflected.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Mount Rainier, Washington.]
+
+Other peaks along the crest-line of the Cascades to be numbered by the
+score, although with less romantic histories than Mount Mazama,
+have instructive answers to give when properly questioned. Among the
+remarkably picturesque summits rising above the dark coniferous forests
+of western Oregon are the following, with their respective heights above
+the sea expressed in feet: Mount Pitt, 9,760; Mount Mazama, 8,228; Mount
+Union, 7,881; Mount Scott, 7,123; Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson,
+10,200; and Mount Hood, 11,225. Of these peaks, the best known, on
+account of its proximity to the city of Portland, and at the same time
+one of the most picturesque and beautiful, is Mount Hood, situated about
+25 miles south of the Columbia River. The concave slopes so
+characteristic of volcanic cones are no longer conspicuous on the sides
+of this once symmetrical mountain, and only remnants of its crater
+remain. The part it played as a safety-valve for the pent-up energy
+beneath was long since finished, although heated vapours still escape
+from an opening near the summit. Similar manifestations of heat have
+also been observed about several other ancient craters in the Cascades,
+but these occurrences are not considered as indicating that actual
+connections still exist with reservoirs or bodies of molten rocks below
+the surface: they are evidently due to the residual heat of the once
+molten rock in the conduits of the now extinct or dormant volcanoes.
+
+The lava-flows and volcanic mountains typically displayed in the
+Cascades throughout the breadth of Oregon continue northward and form at
+least the surface portion of the same range in Washington as far as the
+Northern Pacific Railroad, or about 100 miles north of the Columbia. The
+more important volcanic mountains in western Washington are, in their
+order from south to north; as follows, the height of each being given in
+feet: Mount Adams, 9,570; Mount St. Helens, 9,750; Mount Rainier,
+14,525; Glacier Peak, 10,436; and Mount Baker, 10,877. Only two of these
+ancient volcanoes, namely, Mount Adams and Glacier Peak, are situated on
+the crest-line of the Cascade Mountains; the others are to the westward
+and more or less completely detached from the main range.
+
+The Cascade Mountains are in general parallel with the shore of the
+Pacific, and rise as a prominent barrier athwart the path of the
+prevailing westerly winds. Precipitation on their seaward slopes is
+copious, but their landward sides overlooking the arid plains of central
+Washington are far less humid. The westward, or rainy slope, is clothed
+with a magnificent forest of giant trees, while the eastward, or sunny
+side, is largely without forests, but abounds in natural meadows and
+pastures. Large portions of the mountains are still almost entirely
+unknown, and retain their primitive wildness, except that forest fires,
+particularly near the international boundary, have in places made
+desolate the once beautiful valleys and precipitous slopes. Elk, deer,
+bear, the mountain-goat, and mountain-sheep still roam the forests. The
+large streams abound in salmon, and each cool, clear brook and rushing
+creek is a favourite haunt of the trout. No more delightful
+camping-ground for lovers of nature and searchers for recreation can be
+found than the grassy, park-like valleys on the sunny side of these
+magnificent mountains.
+
+Many of the details in the scenery of the Cascades are due to the work
+of ancient glaciers. Numerous lakes, held in rock-basins in the higher
+portions of the mountains, and many still larger sheets of water
+retained by morainal dams in the lower valleys, give a superlative charm
+to many a wild and rugged landscape. The largest and most interesting
+lake in the entire Cascade region is Lake Chelan, situated in a deep
+valley on the eastern side of the mountains in north-central Washington.
+This beautiful sheet of water, a mile or two wide, extending like a
+placid river for some 70 miles into the mountains, resembles in many of
+its features the far-famed lakes of northern Italy. The mountains
+inclosing this hidden gem of the Cascades rise abruptly from the water's
+edge to great heights, and with one exception are unbroken by deep
+side-valleys. For fully 50 miles the blue plain of water is overshadowed
+on each side by crags and precipices from 5,000 to 6,000 or more feet in
+height. The lower slopes are dark with forests of pine and fir, and the
+bare serrate spires above are white with snow long after the
+spring flowers have faded in the lower vales. The water of the lake is
+clear and sparkling, and has the deep-blue colour of the open ocean. The
+sounding-line has shown a depth of 1,400 feet, and the bottom is about
+300 feet below sea-level. This wonderful lake, clasped in the embrace of
+the eastward extended arms of the Cascades, is but 2 or 3 miles from the
+Columbia River, into which it discharges its surplus waters through
+Chelan River, and may be easily reached from Wenachee, on the Great
+Northern Railroad, by steamers on the Columbia. Although at present
+scarcely known to the world of tourists, Lake Chelan is destined to take
+as an important place in the lives of those who seek rest and recreation
+as does Lake George in northern New York at the present day.
+
+Before attempting to trace the Pacific mountains northward through
+Canada and Alaska, let us glance at the leading geographical features to
+the west of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade uplift.
+
+
+        THE GREAT VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA AND THE PUGET SOUND BASIN
+
+To the west of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade Mountains, and bordered on the
+west by another and very nearly parallel series of elevations, known in
+a general way as the Coast Mountains, there is a succession of long,
+relatively narrow basins, situated end to end, and constituting what may
+be termed a valley-chain. This series of basins extends from southern
+California northward far into Canada, and includes, in their order from
+south to north, the great Valley of California, the Willamette and
+Cowlitz Valleys in Oregon and Washington, and the Puget Sound basin,
+together with its great but indefinitely defined northward extension.
+
+The Great Valley of California has a length of about 500 miles and an
+average width of approximately 40 miles, and is greater in area than
+either Belgium, Denmark, or Switzerland. It is divided in reference to
+drainage into two portions, the San Joaquin Valley at the south and the
+Sacramento Valley at the north, named respectively after the
+rivers that drain them. These two streams unite and discharge into San
+Francisco Bay, the outlet of which is through the Golden Gate to the
+Pacific. This central basin of California has a generally flat bottom
+composed of a great depth of unconsolidated gravel, sand, and clay,
+which are believed to owe their deposition mainly to the streams flowing
+from the bordering mountains, although in part they may have been
+deposited when the land was more depressed than now and the basin was a
+great sound, connected with the ocean by a single narrow opening. The
+rock-waste swept into the valley served not only to add to the
+accumulations forming its floor, but to give the bottom some
+irregularities. A portion of its southern end, shut off by alluvial
+deposits brought down from the Sierra Nevada, is occupied by the shallow
+alkaline waters of Tulare Lake. When the great valley was first visited
+by white men it was without trees, except along the immediate borders of
+some of the streams, and for the most part was a luxuriant meadow of
+wild grasses and flowers. On the uplands oak-trees grew in scattered
+park-like groves with gorgeously flower-decked hills and vales between.
+This favoured land, clothed in its natural beauties, came as near being
+an Eden as perhaps any portion of the continent. The changes that have
+followed the settlement and cultivation of this great mountain-inclosed
+basin are simply marvellous. Cities and villages have been built,
+orchards and vineyards planted which yield most bountiful harvests, and
+the once grass-covered plains are now seemingly boundless wheat-fields.
+The unkept natural garden of half a century ago has become a granary not
+only for the people of America, but for those of Asia as well.
+
+To the north of the Klamath Mountains, which shut in the central Valley
+of California at the north, lies the beautiful Willamette Valley, about
+150 miles long, drained by the northward-flowing river of the same name,
+which joins the Columbia where the thriving city of Portland now stands.
+The depression between the mountains of which the Valley of the
+Willamette forms a part, extends north of the Columbia, and is there
+drained by the southward-flowing Cowlitz River. The relation of
+these two valleys is much the same, although on a smaller scale, as that
+existing between the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, except that the
+Columbia, after passing through the Cascade Mountains, receives the
+Willamette and Cowlitz rivers as tributaries, one from each side of its
+course. This Willamette-Cowlitz depression is surrounded by densely
+forested hills and the snow-capped summits of ancient volcanoes. The
+soil was originally highly fertile, and although now somewhat
+impoverished, still furnishes a substantial basis for agriculture, and
+renders the region one of the most productive as well as most beautiful
+in the United States.
+
+To the geographer the Willamette-Cowlitz Valley seems scarcely distinct
+from the great depression farther north in the same valley-chain, which
+now holds the waters of Puget Sound, except that there is a low
+water-parting between. This divide, as previously suggested, is thought
+to be due largely to stream and glacial deposits, which have been laid
+down in the previously nearly level-floored intermontane trough.
+
+The Puget Sound basin has a length from south to north of about 150
+miles, and extends from the Olympic Mountains on the west to the Cascade
+Mountains on the east, a distance of some 60 miles. The sound terminates
+at the north at the Strait of Fuca (at Port Townsend, in Fig. 23), but
+the depression in which it lies continues northward, with similar
+geographical and geological characteristics. In a general way the same
+depression may be said to extend northward to southeastern Alaska, but
+is there deeply water-filled, and its western border is discontinuous
+and broken into many islands.
+
+There are several features in the Puget Sound basin which especially
+impress the traveller: Next to the magnificence of the lofty volcanic
+cones that stand like Titan watch-towers along the western slope of the
+Cascades and the dense forest of gigantic firs and cedars, the most
+conspicuous feature of the region is the extreme irregularity of the
+sound itself. Even such general maps of Puget Sound as are
+usually available indicate that it is exceptional and different from all
+other water bodies on the continent, not including the extension of the
+same series of basins northward. Not only is Puget Sound extremely
+irregular, and inconsistent with any theory that would ascribe its
+origin to the subsistence and drowning of stream-eroded valleys, but its
+waters are deep and the channels narrow. The uplands between the
+waterways are low plateaus composed of clay, gravel, and glacial
+moraines. The explanation of these unique conditions is that glacial ice
+formerly occupied the basin and deposited moraines and gravel-plains and
+clay-plains about its margins; when the branching and irregular sheet of
+stagnant ice melted its place was taken by the waters of the sea. This
+simplified outline of the later history of Puget Sound has many
+modifications, the most important being that there were at least two
+periods of ice occupation, with an intervening stage of mild climate
+between, during which the previously formed glacial deposits were forest
+covered and thick beds of peat formed.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Puget Sound.]
+
+The ice which occupied Puget Sound was the extreme southern portion of a
+great but irregular Piedmont glacier which fringed the rough and ragged
+coast of the continent all the way to southern Alaska. A remnant of this
+former ice body still exists near Mount St. Elias, and constitutes the
+very instructive Malaspina glacier.
+
+
+                 THE MOUNTAINS BORDERING THE PACIFIC
+
+In a preceding chapter the rugged topography of the western margin of
+the continent has been briefly described, and a general explanation
+given of the contrasts which it presents to the coastal plains and
+plateaus on the Atlantic border.
+
+The long, narrow peninsula known as Lower California, as yet unstudied
+in the light of modern geography, is known to be mountainous throughout.
+Although nearly surrounded by the waters of the ocean, the climate of
+the peninsula is hot and arid and its surface desert-like. The Gulf of
+California, which separates such a large portion of the Pacific border
+of Mexico from the main body of the republic, has the characteristics of
+a drowned intermontane or orogenic valley. But whether the great
+depression was ever dry land or not is unknown. The waters of the gulf
+are shallow, however, and a moderate upward movement of the earth's
+crust in that region would transform it into a great valley similar in
+its general features to the central basin of the State of California.
+
+What are frequently designated collectively as the Coast Mountains begin
+at the south and adjacent to the shore of the Pacific, in the vicinity
+of Santa Barbara, Cal., and extend northward along the immediate
+seaboard far into British Columbia. A continuation or branch of this
+series of elevations follows the south coast of Alaska, and is prolonged
+so as to form the Aleutian Islands. The length of the mountain system or
+succession of ranges referred to is between 3,500 and 4,000 miles. The
+detailed study of this long, narrow, and in many parts excessively
+rugged region is as yet in its infancy, and only a brief account of its
+salient features can be attempted at present.
+
+In southern California the structure of the mountains and the deep
+stream-deposited gravel, etc., in the intervening valleys, as well as
+the aridity of the climate and character of the vegetation, correspond
+closely with the similar conditions in the Great Basin. In fact, the
+Great Basin region, as the term has been used on a previous page, there
+meets the Pacific, and the islands rising from the adjacent
+portion of the ocean seem to be the summits of mountains of the Basin
+Range type. Owing to the dryness of the climate in southern California
+and adjacent portions of Mexico, the deeply alluvial-filled valleys are
+treeless, and agriculture is only possible with the aid of irrigation.
+Where water can be had, however, there are wonderfully productive
+orchards, vineyards, and gardens, in which the fruits and flowers of
+both the temperate and torrid zones flourish side by side with
+marvellous luxuriance. The palm there casts its shadow on fragrant
+bowers of the most superb roses. The grass-clothed mountain slopes are
+either bare of trees or but scantily forested, while the upland valleys
+produce a dense jungle of native trees and shrubs.
+
+To the north of the irregular and diversified portion of southern
+California, where the Great Basin region extends southwestward to the
+Pacific, rises the southern Coast Range of California. The indefinite
+beginning of this range is in the neighbourhood of Point Conception, to
+the north of Santa Barbara, and its northern terminus is at the Golden
+Gate. The same belt of mountains extends northward, however, and forms
+the northern Coast Range, which extends to the Klamath Mountains in
+northern California. The coast ranges of California as a whole are about
+500 miles long and from 30 to 40 miles broad, and comprise several
+seemingly distinct uplifts, some of which have culminating peaks from
+4,000 to about 7,000 feet high. In general this elevated region is
+conspicuously sculptured, and in part at least has the characteristics
+of an eroded plateau. The suggestion has been offered that the northern
+portion of the Coast Range is a dissected peneplain.
+
+The Coast Ranges, although generally bare of trees to the south of the
+Golden Gate, become more and more densely forested when followed
+northward. It is in this northern division that the great forests of
+redwood occur, now so largely used for lumber. Reference is here made
+not to the "big trees," which grow in certain restricted areas on the
+west slope of the Sierra Nevada, but to the far more extensive forests
+of a related species.
+
+Considering mountain forms simply, it is difficult if not impossible to
+determine where the Coast Mountains of California terminate at the
+north, but, as has been shown especially by J. S. Diller, there are
+reasons based on geological structure for separating them from the
+irregular group of ranges and peaks in northern California and southern
+Oregon recently named the Klamath Mountains. The coast system is
+continued north of the Klamath Mountains by the Coast Mountains of
+Oregon, which extend to the Columbia River, and consist of irregular
+ridges or series of ridges, with bold lateral spurs, especially on the
+ocean side. It varies conspicuously in height from place to place, yet
+nowhere attains a great altitude. The elevations of the bolder summits,
+although not accurately measured, seldom exceed 3,000 feet.
+
+The Coast Mountains of Oregon are considered as terminating at the
+northern boundary of the State, there defined by the Columbia River, but
+no reason is apparent, however, for not including in the same group the
+elevated land lying in southwestern Washington and adjacent to the
+Pacific coast. Between the Columbia and Chehalis River in Washington
+there is a rugged region which attains an elevation of over 4,000 feet,
+and is separated from the Olympic Mountains to the northward by Chehalis
+Valley. Although the geology of this group of ridges and peaks is
+entirely unknown, its position and general appearance, when seen from a
+distance, suggest that it might properly be considered as a direct
+extension of the Coast Mountains of Oregon.
+
+Following the general belt of the Coast Ranges still farther northward,
+we come to the splendid group of forest-clothed mountains, with usually
+snow-covered summits, situated to the west of Puget Sound, and known as
+the Olympic Mountains. This magnificent range is in full view from
+Victoria, Seattle, and Tacoma, and would be far-famed for its grandeur
+were it not for its near rival, the still more lofty Cascade Range.
+
+There are several fine, sharp peaks in the Olympics that have never been
+scaled, the highest of which, Mount Olympus, rises 8,150 feet
+above the sea. Owing to the excessive humidity and other favourable
+climatic conditions, these mountains are clothed with magnificent
+forests up to an elevation of about 7,000 feet. On account of the
+ruggedness of the country, the extreme density of the tangled
+undergrowth, and the obstructions formed by the fallen moss- and
+lichen-covered trees, this region is extremely difficult to traverse,
+and to-day is the least known of the continental portion of the United
+States. On the north the excessively rugged Olympic peninsula is
+bordered by a deep, broad fiord known as the Strait of Fuca. To the
+north of this formerly ice-filled channel lies Vancouver Island, the
+central and northern portion of which is mountainous. The highest summit
+on the island rises about 7,500 feet above the sea, and a considerable
+area in its central part has an elevation of over 2,000 feet.
+
+The Olympics, together with the mountains of Vancouver and Queen
+Charlotte Islands, and the northern extension of the same belt, embraced
+in part within the mainland of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska,
+have been termed the "Vancouver Mountains" by Canadian geographers. The
+northern boundary of this mountain system, justly named in honour of the
+celebrated English explorer who mapped large portions of the northwest
+coast about a century since, remains indefinite, and cannot be
+determined until geologists have made more thorough explorations of the
+land it occupies. The leading geographical features of this region, as
+remarked in a preceding chapter, are due to the deep dissection, by
+streams and glaciers, of an elevated table-land. When the ice-streams
+melted, the sea was permitted to enter the valleys, so as to form
+numerous deep, narrow, steep-walled fiords (Fig. 11). The coast is, in
+fact, the most ragged of any portion of the border of the continent. All
+but the higher summits are clothed with a dense mantle of vegetation,
+the upper limit of which decreases in elevation when followed northward,
+from about 7,000 feet in the Olympics to approximately 2,500 feet in
+southern Alaska. Perennial snow exists in the higher valleys and
+amphitheatres of the Olympics, but the presence of true glaciers
+in that group of peaks has not been demonstrated. When followed
+northward the snow-line becomes lower and lower, and well-defined alpine
+glaciers are known to exist in many of the valleys, more especially on
+the mainland of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska. There streams
+of ice descend lower and lower with increase in latitude, and to the
+north of Stickeen River, in a number of instances, enter the fiords
+which connect with the ocean and become tide-water glaciers.
+
+To the west of Lynn Canal, and extending to beyond Copper River, is the
+most rugged portion of North America, and contains also some of the
+highest mountain-peaks on the continent thus far measured.
+
+The region of high mountains in Alaska and the adjacent portion of
+Canada begins on the east in the group of magnificent peaks which
+cluster about Mount Fairweather as a centre and extend westward, with a
+breadth of some 80 miles, to beyond Mount St. Elias. Farther westward,
+beyond Copper River, other great mountains are known to exist. One of
+these, Mount McKinley, has an elevation of 20,400 feet, and so far as
+now known is the highest peak in North America.
+
+The highest summit to the east of Copper River is Mount Logan, 19,500
+feet. This superb ice-sheathed peak is situated in Canada about 40 miles
+from the coast and 12 miles east of the one hundred and forty-first
+meridian. Second in rank is Mount St. Elias, 18,070 feet, situated close
+to the one hundred and forty-first meridian, and within the territory
+belonging to the United States. These two summits are the highest in a
+land of lofty snow-covered mountains, and for this reason have claimed a
+large share of attention. There are many neighbouring peaks, however,
+that are wonderfully magnificent, but only a few of them have been
+measured and many of them are still unnamed. Only one of the high
+mountains of Alaska, namely, Mount St. Elias, has been climbed. This
+splendid feat of mountaineering was accomplished by Prince Luigi, of
+Savoy, in 1899.
+
+In southern Alaska the snow-line is only about 2,500 feet above
+tide, and a large number of magnificent glaciers descend to sea-level,
+and many of them actually enter the ocean. All of the valleys and basins
+among the higher summits are occupied by snow-fields and glaciers. The
+general covering of ice and snow as well as the ruggedness of the land
+makes this the most difficult of all the mountainous portions of North
+America to traverse.
+
+In the St. Elias region the mountains have been produced by upheaval,
+and are not volcanic in their origin. The frequently repeated statement
+that Mount St. Elias is a volcano is incorrect. Although igneous rocks
+occur near its summit, they are of the nature of dikes or intrusions,
+probably of ancient date, and not lava-flows. The principal volcanic
+mountains of Alaska are farther west in the region of the Alaskan
+peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. This western extension of the
+continent is excessively rugged, but the mountains rise directly from
+the ocean and in part form a chain of precipitous islands with irregular
+topographic forms.
+
+There are mountain ranges also in the central and northern portions of
+Alaska and the adjacent part of Canada, but this region awaits
+exploration, and but little accurate information concerning its
+topography is on record.
+
+_The Mountains of Western Canada._--Reference has already been made to
+the differences in the nomenclature applied to the portions of the
+Pacific mountains on opposite sides of the United States-Canadian
+boundary, and at present this lack of harmony cannot be adjusted. As is
+well known, the great Pacific cordillera crosses the boundary nearly at
+right angles, and there is no abrupt change in the topography of the
+land. From the western border of the Great plateaus to the Pacific,
+between the forty-fifth and fifty-sixth parallels, as stated by the
+Geological Survey of Canada, the cordillera has an average breadth of
+about 400 miles, and is composed of four great mountain chains, named in
+their order from east to west, the Rocky, Gold, Coast, and Vancouver
+Mountains. These four great chains are nearly parallel and have
+irregular northwest and southeast trends.
+
+The Canadian Rockies rise abruptly from Great plateaus in which the
+rocks are nearly horizontal, and have a complex structure, due to the
+folding and other disturbances that have affected the strata. Deep
+dissection by stream erosion has occurred, as is the case generally
+throughout the Pacific cordillera, and the peaks and ridges remaining
+are remarkable for their grandeur. Although less elevated than the
+higher portions of the same great belt in the United States, many of the
+summits are from 8,000 to 10,000, and, as reported, in a few instances
+reach 13,000 feet in height, while the passes range is elevated from
+about 4,000 to 7,000 feet. The western border of the Rocky Mountain
+range is well defined for a distance of some 700 miles to the northward
+of the international boundary by a remarkably straight, wide valley,
+which is occupied by the head waters of several large rivers, namely,
+the Kootenay, Columbia, Fraser, Parsnip, and Findley. To the west of the
+great valley just referred to rises the Gold system, composed
+principally of the Selkirk, Purcell, Columbia, and Caribou Ranges. It is
+in this rugged region that some of the most remarkable of the splendid
+scenery of western Canada occurs.
+
+To the west of the Gold system is a broad region of valleys and lesser
+mountains, known as the interior plateau of British Columbia, which is a
+northward extension of the Great Basin region of the United States. The
+breadth of this belt of comparatively low country is about 100 miles.
+Like the similar region in Washington and Oregon, it is without forests,
+but favourable as a grazing country. In part it is occupied by extensive
+lava-flows, similar to the Columbia River lava of the northwestern part
+of the United States.
+
+The Coast Mountains of Canada, although stated by geologists to be
+distinct from the Cascade Mountains, are in part at least, as determined
+by the present writer, a direct northward extension of that range. The
+average elevation of the higher peaks in the Canadian Coast Range, as it
+is termed, is between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, while the culminating points
+reach an elevation of about 9,000 feet. How far northward the
+nomenclature applied to the Pacific mountains in southwestern Canada
+will be found applicable can not be stated, as the region to the north
+of the fifty-sixth parallel is almost wholly unknown.
+
+
+                       THE ANTILLEAN MOUNTAINS
+
+As has been clearly pointed out by R. T. Hill, the Pacific cordillera
+ends at the south in south-central Mexico, while the Andean cordillera
+at its northern end terminates in the rugged mountains of Venezuela to
+the south of the Caribbean Sea. These two great cordilleras do not
+overlap, but there is a difference of about 10 degrees of latitude
+between them, and if extended they would pass each other at a distance
+of nearly 1,000 miles. In the space thus indicated, measuring some
+600,000 square miles, is included the southern portion of Mexico,
+Central America, and the West Indies. The rocks in these countries
+present a great series of folds which trend in an easterly and westerly
+direction, and thus present a conspicuous exception to the major
+structural features of both North and South America. To this newly
+recognised division of the larger geological and geographical
+characteristics of the New World the name _Antillean mountains_ has been
+given.
+
+The folds or corrugations in the rocks of the Central American and
+Caribbean region extend in an east and west direction along the seaward
+margin of Venezuela and Colombia from the Orinoco westward to the
+Isthmus of Panama, and thence continue westward through Costa Rica, the
+eastern portions of Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras, and reach
+southern Oaxaca in Mexico. The same system of plications is revealed
+also on the larger West India islands. The rocks of this great region
+include granite and allied metamorphosed terranes, old lavas, and
+sedimentary beds.
+
+One of the most conspicuous features of this region with a structure and
+relief commonly found in mountains is that to a great extent it is
+depressed beneath the sea, and only the higher summits are in view. Some
+of the larger inequalities of the rock surface have been
+discovered by means of the sounding-line. By referring to Fig. 3, it
+will be seen that two submarine ridges extend in an east and west
+direction beneath the Caribbean Sea, from the West Indies to the Central
+American coast, and are separated by Bartlett Deep. These ridges
+correspond in trend with the longer axes of the folds in the Antillean
+mountains, and suggest a common origin for the leading geographical
+features of the land and of the still more remarkable topography of the
+sea-floor.
+
+In addition to mountains produced by corrugation and upheaval, there are
+also in the middle American region numerous volcanic mountains. Of these
+there are two well-defined belts, each trending in general north and
+south, or directly across the longer axes of the folds of the Antillean
+mountains. One of these belts of volcanic cones and craters is situated
+on the Pacific coast of Central America and Mexico, and includes some 25
+active volcanoes, and the other is defined by the numerous volcanic
+islands of the Lesser Antilles. The association of these belts of
+fracture through which molten rock has been extruded and where
+earthquakes are of common occurrence, with the junction of the east and
+west belt of plication to which the Antillean mountains are due, with
+the north and south belts of mountains forming the Pacific and Andean
+cordilleras, is significant in connection with the study of the origin
+of the larger features of the relief of the solid earth.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Varied as is the relief of North America when studied in detail, an
+outline sketch of its major features may be readily retained in mind. On
+the east side of the main continental area are the Atlantic mountains,
+extending from near the Gulf coast northward to beyond Hudson Strait; in
+the central part is the broad continental basin, a vast region of low
+relief reaching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean; west of the
+continental basin are the Pacific mountains, the greatest of all the
+elevations on the continent, which begin abruptly in south-central
+Mexico and extend northward, expanding to a width of about 1,000
+miles in the United States and reach the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea.
+The movements in the earth's crust, which blocked out these major
+physiographic features, were produced by forces acting in east and west
+directions, and gave origin to folds and faults with their longer axes
+trending north and south. To the south of the main body of the
+continent, in middle America, are situated the Antillean mountains, also
+a cordillera comparable with the Atlantic and Pacific cordilleras, in
+which the longer axes of the folds and faults trend east and west, and
+are due to forces acting in north and south directions. The Antillean
+mountains in a general way connect or intervene between the Pacific and
+the Andean cordilleras. Where the Antillean mountains cross the axes of
+the Pacific and Andean cordilleras are situated the volcanoes of
+southern Mexico and Central America, and those of the Lesser Antilles.
+
+Geographers will recognise that this outline is drawn boldly, but
+although it will no doubt have to be modified as detailed studies
+progress, it should serve to emphasize the leading geographic divisions
+of the North American continent when viewed as a whole.
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+The following list of publications relating to the physiography of North
+America is here presented largely because the books mentioned contain
+bibliographies or references which indicate sources of more special
+information:
+
+  _American Geographical Society, Bulletin._ Published annually.
+
+  _Canadian Geological Survey_, Ottawa, Canada. Index to reports
+    from 1863 to 1884, published in 1900.
+
+  DARTON, N. H. _Catalogue and Index of Contributions to North
+    American Geology, 1732 to 1891._ United States Geological
+    Survey, Bulletin No. 127, Washington, 1896.
+
+  DAVIS, W. M. _Physical Geography._ Ginn & Co., Boston, 1898.
+    Contains a valuable bibliography.
+
+  DRYER, C. R. _Lessons in Physical Geography._ American Book
+    Company, New York, 1901. Contains a valuable bibliography.
+
+  _Geological Society of America, Bulletin._ Published annually
+    since 1890 at Rochester, N. Y. Index to vols. i-x, published in
+    1900.
+
+  _International Geography._ Edited by H. R. Mill. D. Appleton and
+    Company, New York, 1900. Contains several chapters on North
+    America by various authors.
+
+  _Journal of Geology._ Edited by T. C. Chamberlin and published at
+    the University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
+
+  MERRILL, G. P. _Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and Soils._ The Macmillan
+    Company, New York, 1897.
+
+  _National Geographic Magazine._ Washington, D. C.
+
+  _National Geographic Monographs._ American Book Company, New York,
+    1895. One volume published.
+
+  POWELL, J. W. _Exploration of the Colorado River of the West._
+    Published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1875.
+
+  POWELL, J. W. _Cañons of the Colorado._ Flood & Vincent,
+    Meadeville, Pa., 1895.
+
+  RUSSELL, I. C. _Lakes of North America_, Ginn & Co., Boston, 1895;
+    _Glaciers of North America_, Ginn & Co., Boston, 1897;
+    _Volcanoes of North America_, The Macmillan Company, New York,
+    1897; _Rivers of North America_, Putnam's Sons, New York, 1898;
+    _The Names of the Larger Geographical Features of North
+    America_, in _Bulletin of the Geographical Society of
+    Philadelphia_, vol. ii, 1899, pp. 55-68.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Nature and Man in America._ Scribner's Sons, New
+    York, 1891.
+
+  _Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel._ North America:
+    Canada and Newfoundland, by S. E. Dawson; United States, by H.
+    Gannett; Central America and West Indies, by A. H. Keane.
+    Published by Edward Stanford, London.
+
+  TARR, R. S. _Elementary Physical Geography._ Macmillan & Co.,
+    1895.
+
+  _United States Geological Survey._ Bibliography and Index,
+    contained in Bulletins No. 100, 127, 177, 188, and 189, issued
+    by the Survey. The reader is referred especially to the
+    _Geological Atlas_ and the _Topographic Atlas_, published by the
+    Survey.
+
+  WARMAN, P. C. _Bibliography and Index to the Publications of the
+    United States Geological Survey._ United States Geological
+    Survey, Bulletin No. 100, Washington, 1893. (Relates to
+    publications of the United States Geological Survey issued
+    previous to 1892; continued in Bulletin No. 177 by the same
+    author.)
+
+  WARMAN, P. C. _Catalogue and Index of the Publications of the
+    United States Geological Survey, 1880 to 1901._ United States
+    Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 177, Washington, 1901.
+
+  WEEKS, F. B. _Bibliography of North American Geology,
+    Paleontology, Petrology, and Mineralogy for the Years 1892-1900,
+    inclusive._ United States Geological Survey, Bulletins No. 188
+    and 189, Washington, 1902.
+
+  WHITNEY, J. D. _The United States._ 2 vols. Little, Brown & Co.,
+    Boston, 1889 and 1894.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+                                CLIMATE
+
+
+                       _The Elements of Climate_
+
+North America, embracing as it does essentially a quadrant of the
+earth's surface, presents a variety of climatic conditions ranging from
+those characteristic of the equatorial belt to those normal to polar
+regions, as well as every gradation due to variations in elevation from
+sea-level and even below that horizon in Death Valley, California, to
+the summits of high plateaus and lofty mountains.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE II.--Mean Annual Rainfall & Temperature.]
+
+The principal elements of the weather which go to make up the conditions
+of the atmosphere embraced in the broader term _climate_ are
+temperature, precipitation, and the winds. On the accompanying map,
+Plate II, the mean annual temperature of the continent is represented by
+_isotherms_, or lines drawn through localities having the same average
+temperature for the year. On the same map is also shown in blue the
+average depth of precipitation, including both rains and melted snow. On
+Fig. 24 lines are drawn through points having the same average
+barometrical pressure (_isobars_) for the months of January and July,
+together with arrows indicating the general direction of the surface
+winds during each of these months, which may be considered as
+representative of the summer and winter seasons. The data shown on these
+maps have been compiled mainly from the reports of the weather bureaus
+of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and indicate, at least in a
+general way, a summary of what is known concerning the main
+meteorological elements which determine the climatic conditions in North
+America. An examination of these maps will suggest certain general
+conclusions in reference to the leading characteristics of the climate
+in various portions of the continent and the changes they undergo
+from season to season.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Average barometric pressure and direction of
+wind for January and July.]
+
+_Distribution of Heat and Light._--The distribution over the earth's
+surface of the heat and light received from the sun is not only of
+fundamental importance as respects climate, but furnishes a part of the
+essential conditions on which depend the presence and distribution of
+living organisms. The heat and light, or more accurately, the radiant
+energy of the sun, the full significance of which is probably not
+thoroughly understood, we term, for convenience, _insolation_. The
+intensity and seasonal distribution of insolation are prime factors on
+which many important results hinge.
+
+Owing to the inclination of the axis about which the earth rotates (23°
+27') to the plane in which the earth travels about the sun, or the plane
+of the ecliptic, the northern end of the axis is turned towards the sun
+in summer and away from it in winter--that is, the axis of rotation of
+the earth at all times is parallel to the same imaginary straight line.
+As a result, the sun appears to migrate northward in the heavens during
+the spring-time of each year, being vertical over the equator on March
+21st, and to an observer in north latitude 23° 27' rises higher and
+higher each moon, until on June 21st it is vertically overhead; and then
+returns southward. The latitude in which the sun is in the zenith at the
+time of its greatest northward migration determines the position of an
+imaginary line on the earth's surface, named the Tropic of Cancer. This
+line, as shown on the accompanying maps, crosses the Bahama Islands,
+passes about 40 miles to the northward of Havana, divides Mexico into
+two approximately equal parts, and cuts the peninsula of Lower
+California near its southern end. The portion of the continent to the
+south of the Tropic of Cancer lies within the torrid zone.
+
+When the sun is vertical over the equator, as it is about March 21st and
+September 23d each year, its rays, not allowing for refraction, are
+tangent to the earth's surface at the poles, and the hours of light and
+darkness are equal the world over. During the winter season the sun
+appears to migrate southward of the equator until December 21st,
+when it is vertical at noon at all points situated in south latitude 23°
+27', which is termed the Tropic of Capricorn. Its rays are then tangent
+to the earth's surface in the northern hemisphere in latitude 66° 33',
+which defines the position of the arctic circle. This imaginary line on
+the earth's surface, as is indicated on the accompanying maps, crosses
+Canada to the north of Hudson Bay, and passes through Alaska near where
+the Porcupine River joins the Yukon. To the north of the arctic circle
+lies the frigid zone. Between the torrid and frigid zones is situated
+the temperate zone, within which is included about seven-eighths of
+North America, exclusive of Greenland. The relation of the continent to
+the three great zones of climate into which the northern hemisphere is
+divided is thus most fortunate so far as man's activities are concerned.
+
+The climatic zones just referred to, while based on precise astronomical
+data and representing important facts, are not separated one from
+another by tangible lines, and might easily pass undiscovered by one who
+studied only the surface characteristics of the earth. Each summer a
+wave of heat and light sweeps northward over the continent and reaches
+beyond the pole; and each winter a counteracting wave of cold and
+darkness moves southward, the influence of which is marked even well
+within the torrid zone. A comparison of the isothermal lines drawn on
+the map forming Plate II with the parallels of latitude
+shows at a glance that there is only a general relationship between the
+two. In order to understand this discrepancy between what might be
+expected from astronomical considerations in reference to the
+distribution of solar energy and the actual conditions as learned by
+observation, it is necessary to take a more critical view of the manner
+in which insolation is received by the continent, and also to consider
+secondary conditions which exert far-reaching influences on its
+distribution.
+
+The amount of heat, or to avoid objections, the distribution of
+insolation over North America, depends on three primary conditions:
+First, the angle at which the sun's rays strike the earth, the range
+being from zero to 90°; second, the length of time a particular
+locality is exposed to sunlight; and third, variations in the distance
+of the earth from the sun. Each of these conditions varies from day to
+day for every locality throughout the continent. The sun is highest in
+the heavens in the torrid zone, being twice vertically overhead each
+year at every locality, and the hours of light and darkness each day are
+approximately equal throughout the year. North of the torrid zone,
+however, the rays of the sun become more and more oblique to the earth's
+surface, and hence insolation becomes weaker and weaker for a given
+period of sunshine as one travels from south to north. But the hours of
+sunlight each day undergo marked variations, lengthening from December
+21st to June 21st, and shortening as the sun makes its southward
+migration. At the north pole, as all know, there are six months of light
+and six months of darkness each year. The amount of insolation reaching
+the northern portion of the continent each day increases with the
+lengthening of the hours of light, and during midsummer is greater for a
+given area in a single day (twenty-four hours) than the amount received
+by a similar area in the torrid zone. The almost magical springing into
+life and bloom of the vegetation over the northern portion of the
+continent with the lengthening of the hours of sunshine each summer is
+thus explained. In the portion of the continent within the temperate
+zone, more especially within the continental basin, the large number of
+hours of sunshine during a summer's day is frequently accompanied by a
+temperature as great as is usually experienced in the torrid zone. It is
+the high summer temperature of this region, together with the lengthened
+duration of sunshine in the growing season, that makes the Mississippi
+basin and the adjacent region on the east and north so favourable for
+agriculture when the requisite amount of moisture is present.
+
+The distribution of heat over the earth's surface depends not only on
+the direct influence of insolation, but on its transfer from one
+locality to another through the agency of the winds and ocean currents.
+The movements of the waters of the ocean, it will be remembered, are
+largely under the control of the winds, so that the essential
+factor in the transfer of heat from place to place is atmospheric
+circulation. The primary causes of movements in the air, as is a matter
+of current knowledge, are the differences that arise in temperature at
+various localities. In regions where the air becomes more highly heated
+than over adjacent areas it expands, and in consequence becomes lighter,
+volume for volume, than the air over neighbouring areas, and is forced
+upward and overflows aloft. The overflow or dispersion of the warmer and
+lighter air above gives origin to a reduction in barometric pressure,
+the column of mercury in a barometer being counterbalanced by the
+pressure of the air above it. Briefly stated, the air near the earth's
+surface flows towards regions of low, and away from regions of high
+barometric pressure, and winds are established. The directions taken by
+the winds are influenced or controlled in various ways.
+
+_The Planetary Winds._--The great movements in the atmosphere originate
+from differences in temperature between the warm equatorial and cold
+polar regions. This alone would cause the cold air from either pole to
+flow towards the equator as surface winds, and the warm air in the
+equatorial belt to ascend and overflow aloft towards either pole. The
+earth's rotation, however, influences the direction of these winds and
+causes them to be deflected from the lines of longitude which they would
+otherwise follow. In the northern hemisphere the air-currents are
+deflected to the right and in the southern hemisphere to the left of
+their initial directions. The best known examples of these planetary
+winds, as they are termed, are the trade-winds, which blow from the
+northeast in the northern and from the southeast in the southern
+hemisphere. Between these two belts of converging winds lies the
+equatorial belt of calm, some 300 miles wide, which also encircles the
+earth and is termed the doldrums.
+
+In the quadrant of the earth's surface occupied by North America the
+climatic conditions are controlled in a large measure by the planetary
+winds. In the equatorial belt of calms the barometric pressure is lower
+than on either side, the temperature is uniformly high, the air
+is heavily charged with moisture, and torrential rains are frequent. In
+the belt of the northeast trades the weight of the air for a given area
+is greater than in the doldrums, the wind blows with remarkable
+uniformity both of direction and force, the sky is normally clear, and
+rain infrequent except when the warm moist air is forced upward either
+by local storms or on coming in contact with high land. The trade-winds
+blow across the West Indies, Mexico, and much of Central America. To the
+north of the trade-wind belt is a belt of prevailingly high barometrical
+pressure, light variable winds, narrower and less well defined than the
+doldrums, which encircles the earth in the region of the Tropic of
+Cancer. This belt of calms, although familiar to sailors, to whom it is
+known as the "horse latitudes," is ill-defined on the land, where its
+presence is masked by changes due to local conditions. To the north of
+the tropical calm belt the prevailing surface winds are from the
+westward, and owe their direction to the constant flow of the upper
+air-currents in their poleward journey, under the influence of the
+earth's rotation. This great belt of winds from the westward crosses the
+portion of North America including the United States and southern
+Canada, but it is subject to many disturbances. The northern portion of
+the continent extends into the little known polar region of prevailingly
+low barometrical pressure, where midsummer and midwinter calms normally
+prevail.
+
+The great world-encircling currents of the atmosphere, namely, the
+trade-winds, blowing towards the southwest or west across the Caribbean
+and Mexican region, and the prevailing westerlies, or winds blowing in
+an easterly direction, over the broad temperate portion of North
+America, exert the main control on the climate of the continent.
+
+_The Seasons._--Of primary importance to the inhabitants of North
+America is the fact that the climatic belts determined by the
+inclination of the earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic are subject
+to annual migration towards the north and south. In the torrid zone the
+equatorial belt of calms, with its humid and oppressively hot
+atmosphere, prevailing cloudiness, and heavy rains, and the belt
+of the northeast trades, with its prevailingly clear skies and
+refreshing breezes, do not occupy the same positions throughout the
+year, but migrate with the sun. The migration of these two strongly
+contrasted climatic belts brings to the otherwise remarkably uniform
+conditions of the atmosphere over the West Indies, Central America, and
+Mexico, two, in general well-defined, periods each year, namely, a wet
+and a dry season, the former occurring in the summer and the latter in
+the winter. It is to be borne in mind that between the tropics there
+are, with certain local exceptions, but two seasons each year, the
+leading contrasts of which are determined by differences in rainfall.
+
+To the north of the Tropic of Cancer the seasonal changes are more
+varied than in the torrid zone, and contrasts in temperature become the
+most marked climatic feature; while precipitation, although in general
+somewhat evenly distributed throughout the year, is more abundant in
+winter than in summer. On account, however, of the greater diversity in
+the climatic changes experienced each year within the temperate zone,
+four seasons are recognised, the most distinctive features of which
+depend on changes in both temperature and humidity.
+
+In the northern portion of the temperate zone, and extending over the
+arctic zone, the seasons are again reduced to two, summer and winter,
+the contrasted conditions pertaining mainly to temperature and light.
+
+A marked variation, which has an important bearing not only on climate,
+but on the distribution of life encountered in passing from equatorial
+to polar regions, is found in the distribution of light. Between the
+tropics the number of hours of light and darkness each day is
+approximately equal; in the temperate zone there is considerable
+diversity from season to season, which increases with increase in
+latitude; and uniformity, of a different character than at the far
+south, again becomes prominent in the frigid zone, where the number of
+hours of light each day is greatly prolonged during the summer and
+correspondingly decreased during the winter. The extreme contrast
+occurs in the neighbourhood of the pole, where during the summer season
+the sun is continuously above, and in winter continuously below the
+horizon, or in familiar language, there is a six-months day (light) and
+a six-months night (darkness).
+
+In going from the equatorial to north polar regions there is a general
+decrease in mean annual temperature, and in general a decrease also in
+precipitation, but great variations in these gradual changes, with
+increase in latitude, occur which are both continental and local in
+character. In winter the interior portions of the continent, and
+especially the plateaus and mountains, are colder than the lands in
+corresponding latitudes near the oceans; while in summer the reverse is
+true, the margin of the continent being cooler than the broad interior.
+
+In this general view of the climatic zones and the normal changes they
+undergo we may note that the torrid zone is characterized by its
+simplicity and monotony of climatic conditions, although disturbed at
+times, especially in the West Indies, by occasional great cyclonic
+storms, termed hurricanes, which occur, however, at quite definite
+seasons. The temperate belt is equally well marked by its complex and
+frequently changing atmospheric conditions, the winds being subject to
+numerous and great variations, and storms of diverse character being
+frequent. The frigid zone, again, is without conspicuous variations
+except during the change from its monotonous summer to its still more
+uniform winter weather, and the reverse change six months later. The
+disturbances in the balance of atmospheric conditions at the far north,
+or the storms, are of a much less varied character than in the fickle
+temperate zone--thunder-storms and tornadoes, for example, being
+unknown.
+
+It is the summer migration of a heated belt from the south northward
+across the temperate zone, and the equally conspicuous winter advances
+of cold from the north southward across the same broad region, which
+gives to the United States and the southern portion of Canada a
+conspicuously changeable climate. The temperate zone, so far at
+least as North America is concerned, deserves its name only when the
+mean of the yearly changes in temperature is considered, as much of it
+is hotter in summer than equal areas between the tropics, and in winter
+over all of its northern half the cold is, at times, nearly or quite as
+intense as during the same season in the far north. As a whole, the
+portion of the continent embraced in the temperate zone is characterized
+by its pronounced seasonal changes, including wide extremes of heat and
+cold over large areas, and by its frequently sudden and strongly marked
+weather changes during short periods of time. It is a highly suggestive
+fact that of all the great climatic zones the one having the most
+changeable climate, the greatest extremes of heat and cold, and the most
+frequent storms should be the one in which man has reached the highest
+development both of body and mind. Evidently it is the _struggle_ for
+existence, when not too severe, which insures advancement. The part of
+North America most densely inhabited by descendants of Europeans, and
+the portion of the continent where intellectual development has made the
+greatest advance, is the east-central portion, where not only the
+variation of climate from season to season, but the weather changes from
+week to week and day to day are the most conspicuous.
+
+_Secondary Conditions influencing Climate._--While the primary
+conditions controlling the climate of North America in common with all
+other portions of the earth's surface depend on the relation of the
+earth to the sun, there are many secondary conditions to be considered.
+First in importance among these, so far as the broader features of the
+climate of the continent are concerned, is the unequal heating of land
+and water areas. During summer, more especially in the temperate zone,
+the land becomes more highly heated than the adjacent oceans, and an
+inflow of the cooler and moister air from the sea over the land occurs.
+In winter the land cools more quickly and to a greater degree than the
+adjacent waters, and the tendency of the heavier air over the land is to
+flow outward as surface winds. Continental winds are thus generated,
+similar in their origin to the familiar land and sea breezes of the
+ocean shore in summer, but on a large scale, which have an
+important bearing on the seasonal changes. The influence of the
+continental winds is sufficiently well marked to give North America two
+general classes of climate. One pertains to inland regions, is
+characterized by great contrasts in temperature and humidity between
+summer and winter, and is termed continental. The other pertains to the
+border of the land where, on account of the equalizing influence of
+large water borders, the contrast between the climate of summer and
+winter is less pronounced, and has received the general title of oceanic
+climate. The climate of the Dakotas, for example, is of the continental
+type, while that of New Jersey is of the oceanic type.
+
+The unequal heating and cooling of adjacent portions of land areas also
+produces important atmospheric movements, as, for instance, when broad,
+treeless plains become more highly heated in summer than adjacent
+forested areas; or on account of rapid radiation become excessively cold
+in winter and lower the temperature of the air above them. In the first
+instance an inflow of cooler and heavier air from adjacent regions would
+be established; and in the second example the chilled air would tend to
+flow outward, thus, in each instance, establishing winds which usually
+acquire a more or less well-pronounced circular motion. The Prairie
+plains and the Great plateaus to the east of the Rocky Mountains become
+highly heated in summer, and together with several other similar regions
+in North America, meet the first of the conditions just considered;
+while the higher portions of the Great plateau, especially at the north,
+and the still more elevated mountains of Montana, Colorado, etc., become
+excessively cold in winter and illustrate the other extreme.
+
+Mountains serve to deflect the winds blowing against them either to one
+side or upward, the former frequently producing important changes in
+direction of the surface air-currents, and the latter, by causing the
+air to rise, permits of its expansion and consequent cooling, thus
+favouring precipitation. For this and other reasons precipitation
+increases with elevation, at least until an altitude of many
+thousands of feet is reached, and the mountains are cooler and more
+humid than the adjacent valleys. The air-currents on passing over a
+mountain range and descending are warmed by compression, and having lost
+a part and in many observed instances a large percentage of the moisture
+they previously contained, become warm, drying winds. The chinook winds,
+as they are termed in America, are marked examples of the influence
+exerted by mountains on climatic conditions.
+
+What are termed above the secondary conditions, tending to modify
+climate, produce such great changes in the distribution of rainfall,
+temperature, etc., and in the influence of the planetary winds, that the
+subdivision of the northern hemisphere into torrid, temperate, and
+frigid zones, while based on astronomical data, does not serve to
+represent actual conditions, except in a general way, in reference even
+to the single element of temperature expressed in these names. A
+comparison of the isotherms and of the distribution of precipitation as
+indicated on the preceding maps, with the parallels of latitude, shows
+at once that these two most important elements of climate are
+conspicuously independent of distance from the equator. A logical basis
+for subdividing the continent into _climatic provinces_ must therefore
+be sought in other directions.
+
+
+                           CLIMATIC PROVINCES
+
+In order to obtain a comprehensive idea of the climate of a continent,
+it is obviously desirable to subdivide it into areas having more or less
+similar and distinct atmospheric conditions. The leading difficulty in
+making such subdivisions is the well-known fact that the climate of any
+region which may be chosen passes by insensible gradations into that of
+adjacent regions, and any boundaries that may be drawn are to a
+considerable extent artificial and arbitrary. While the true basis on
+which to establish climatic areas or provinces is the resultant of all
+the weather elements which go to make up the atmospheric conditions
+recognised under the broader term climate, so many factors have to be
+considered that it is extremely difficult to arrive at a general
+acceptable conclusion. The principal elements of the weather to be
+considered are, approximately, in the order of their importance,
+beginning with the one which exerts almost universal control--temperature,
+precipitation, the winds, absolute and relative humidity of the air, and
+evaporation.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE III.--Climate & Life Provinces.]
+
+In North America there are voluminous records in reference to each of
+these elements of the weather, embracing considerable lengths of time,
+and relating mainly to the United States and southeastern Canada, but
+not sufficient to enable one to subdivide the entire continent into
+climatic provinces. The lack of weather records embracing the entire
+continent may be supplied in part by what may be termed the natural
+records of atmospheric conditions as expressed by the flora and fauna,
+as well as by soil conditions and topography. In recognition of this
+principle, the climatic provinces of North America here adopted have
+been made to conform to its life-zones.
+
+The major climatic divisions of North America here provisionally adopted
+are, in their general order from south to north, the _Tropical_, _Lower
+Austral_, _Upper Austral_, _Transition_, _Boreal_, and _Arctic_ (Plate
+III). These several divisions are termed climatic provinces, and are
+assumed to coincide with those of the life-regions as mapped by C. Hart
+Merriam. The basis for classification is mainly temperature. In the
+main, the northern boundaries of the provinces and their higher limits
+in mountainous regions are determined by the temperature of the season
+of growth and reproduction among plants and animals; while their
+southern boundaries or lower limits on the mountains are determined by
+the temperature of a brief period during the hottest portion of the
+year. A more definite account of the reasons for choosing these
+limitations will be given later in discussing life areas. While the
+principal basis for establishing climatic provinces is temperature, many
+other conditions are also recognised, chief among which is
+precipitation. Several of the climatic provinces have two divisions,
+namely, a _humid_ and an _arid_, the dividing line being
+approximately the one hundredth meridian. These are well defined and
+important in the tropical, austral, and transitional, but less definite
+and less well known in the boreal and arctic provinces. The regions
+embraced in the several climatic provinces named above, as well as their
+humid and arid divisions, so far as now understood, are shown on the
+accompanying map.
+
+_The Tropical Province_ (Plate III).--This is the most southern of the
+climatic provinces which it is convenient to recognise in North America,
+and includes the West Indies, Central America, and southern Mexico,
+together with a narrow strip on each coast of northern Mexico and the
+extreme southern ends of the peninsulas of Florida and of Lower
+California. While the land areas in this widely extended province
+present conspicuous differences, their climate in general is
+characterized by a high mean annual temperature with but moderate
+seasonal or daily variations, and by the occurrence in general of a wet
+and a dry season each year. The prevailing winds are the northeast
+trades. While the average yearly temperature is high, being in general
+about 80° F., the heat in summer is less intense than in many portions
+of the austral provinces. In winter the temperature does not fall
+sufficiently to produce frost, except on the higher mountains, which, in
+fact, belong to one or more of the other provinces named above. On
+ascending the mountains a rapid change to cooler and even to frigid
+zones is experienced. Snow occurs on the higher portions of the
+mountains of Central America and Mexico, and in a few instances, as on
+the great volcanic cones in sight from the City of Mexico, is perennial.
+On the mountains just referred to all of the several climatic provinces
+are represented by well-characterized zones, arranged one above another,
+and presenting in epitome the general changes one would experience in
+travelling from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.
+
+In marked contrast to the prevailing uniformity of temperature at
+corresponding elevations throughout the tropical provinces is the
+inequality in rainfall in reference to both seasonal periods and
+differences in geographical position. Of the annual changes, the
+most pronounced and characteristic is the alternation of wet and dry
+periods. During the summer season, or in general from May to October,
+the air is usually clouded for at least a portion of each day, and heavy
+downpours of rain occur. Throughout the remainder of the year the clear
+skies and refreshing breezes, such as on the ocean are normally
+characteristic of the trade-wind belt, prevail. The remarkable
+regularity with which these changes occur each year suggests at once
+that they are due to the migrations northward and southward with the sun
+of the great climatic belts encircling the equatorial region of the
+earth. In summer the equatorial belt of calms and heavy rainfall not
+only migrates northward and occupies a portion of Central America,
+bringing to Costa Rica and Nicaragua cloudy skies and abundant
+precipitation, but seems to be carried bodily still farther northward,
+so that the influence of the southeast trades of the southern hemisphere
+makes itself felt, and four somewhat well-marked annual changes occur,
+namely, two wet and two dry seasons. What is known of the climate of
+this extreme southern portion of the province under review indicates
+that the seasonal changes, especially on the Caribbean slope, are less
+well marked than in its central portion, and rain is frequently copious
+in nearly every month of the year. In the region just mentioned the mean
+annual precipitation, as at Greytown, for example, at the eastern
+extremity of the proposed Nicaragua Canal, is about 250 inches, and in
+exceptionally wet years reaches nearly or quite 300 inches. This is, so
+far as known, the heaviest annual precipitation in any portion of North
+America.
+
+In the West Indies the rainy season begins, in general, in May and lasts
+until October. On the lowlands of eastern and south-central Mexico the
+wet season commences in June, and the rains increase until the end of
+July and end in November. This region lies to the north of the northern
+limit reached by the equatorial belt of calm, but the rains in the
+summer season are due to the same general influence, namely, the
+lowering of temperature in the northward-moving upper air-currents, and
+their effect on the trade-winds. In Cuba and along the northern
+coast of the Gulf of Mexico when the trade-wind belt migrates southward
+in winter the influences of the southward-moving storm from the
+Mississippi Valley and Atlantic States produces what are termed
+_northers_, which bring a chill and at times frost, more especially in
+Florida and on the higher portions of Cuba.
+
+While the wide-reaching seasonal changes within the tropical province
+depend on the migrations of the planetary winds northward and southward
+with the sun, and are due primarily to astronomical conditions, there
+are equally well-marked variations in rainfall dependent on or regulated
+by geographical conditions. These are of two principal classes: First,
+elevation of the land; and second, the relation of broad land areas to
+the direction of the prevailing winds, each of which is abundantly
+illustrated in the tropical province.
+
+The mountainous islands in the West Indies receive a heavy rainfall,
+especially on their windward or easterly slopes, while the low islands,
+and less markedly the southwestern border of the higher islands, are
+much less humid. The eastern side of Porto Rico, for example, has an
+abundant rainfall, and was originally clothed with a luxuriant native
+flora, including large forest-trees, while the lowlands on its southern
+and southwestern border are subject to drought, and irrigation is
+desirable to insure the growth of crops. Again, while the mountainous
+islands of the Lesser Antilles, with their luxuriantly forested slopes,
+present ideal pictures of tropical loveliness, low-lying Sombrero,
+Barbuda, St. Martin, and other similar islands are so arid that guano
+has accumulated on them to such an extent as to be of commercial
+importance. The reason for these striking contrasts within narrow
+geographical limits is readily seen in the influence of the highlands on
+the trade-winds. These air-currents blowing from the Atlantic are warm
+and contain a high percentage of moisture. As they advance, however,
+they invade regions that are progressively warmer and warmer, and the
+capacity of the air for moisture is correspondingly increased. For this
+reason the trade-winds in crossing low land become drying winds.
+When the warm humid air-currents are forced upward, however, they are
+cooled in part by contact with the land, but to a greater extent on
+account of expansion due to decreased pressure; the dew-point is thus
+lowered, and when saturation is reached precipitation follows. This
+explanation applies also to the low peninsula of Yucatan, which is
+within the trade-wind belt, and is exceptional among the lands of
+Central America, on account of its dearth of forests, but in this
+instance, and also in reference to the similar barren condition of the
+Bahama Islands, in addition to the lowness of the land, the influence of
+the underlying porous, limestone rocks on the vegetable growths should
+be considered. In the instances just mentioned the rain that falls is
+quickly absorbed by the cavernous rocks, and surface streams are rare.
+
+In Central America the influence of mountains on the climate is much the
+same as in the West India islands; in fact, the narrow rugged belt of
+land connecting the two Americas may, from our present point of view, be
+considered as a great island situated mainly within the trade-wind belt,
+and similar to Jamaica, for example, in its influences on the winds
+blowing across it. The eastern slopes of the Central American mountains,
+together with the adjacent lowlands, with the exception, principally, of
+Yucatan, are well watered and clothed with dense vegetation, while on
+the western slopes, and especially over the narrow fringe of lowland
+adjacent to the Pacific, the rainfall is less than on the Caribbean
+coast, and the forests are open with many grass-covered areas which are
+favourable for agriculture. In the mountainous portions of the West
+Indies and of Central America, on account of the more healthy conditions
+on the leeward or drier sides, as compared with the windward or humid
+slopes of the mountains, the towns and the principal portion of the
+white inhabitants are located on their western borders. Owing to the
+great humidity and the long-continued high temperature during the hotter
+portion of the year throughout the tropical province, much of the
+lowland to the eastward of the high mountains is swampy and unhealthy.
+This low region in Mexico and Central America is known as the
+_tierra caliente_, or hot country; on the mountains and plateaus, or in
+general where the elevation is between 5,000 and 7,000 feet, is the
+cooler and remarkably salubrious _tierra templada_; and at still higher
+elevations occur the _tierra frie_. Owing to the decrease in temperature
+with elevation, and the fact that the moist warm air is forced to rise,
+and in consequence expands on passing over the highland, the rainfall
+probably increases with elevation through the three zones just referred
+to.
+
+While the tropical province is characterized by the uniformity with
+which its atmospheric changes occur, it is nevertheless in part subject
+to occasional and exceedingly violent cyclonic storms termed hurricanes,
+which begin in the torrid zone, travel northward (Fig. 26, page 210),
+and make their influence felt in more than one of the climatic provinces
+into which North America is here divided. Thunder-storms, frequently of
+great violence, also occur, especially in the Central American region in
+summer, when the doldrums migrate northward.
+
+The trade-wind belt broadens in crossing the southern portion of the
+North American continent, and on the west coast and during its greatest
+northward migration reaches to southern California. As we have seen, the
+lowlands not adjacent to mountains in the Caribbean region receive
+little or no rain from the trade-winds, for the reason that the
+prevailing air-currents are moving from cooler to warmer regions, and
+therefore have their capacity for moisture increased as they advance
+more rapidly than their thirst can be satiated. The trade-winds are thus
+normally drying winds. The same principle holds true for continents as
+well as islands. The trade-winds on reaching the eastern border of the
+Mexican plateau are forced upward and part with much of their moisture
+in the form of rain and snow, and on descending to the lower lands
+bordering the Pacific are desiccating winds. The conditions are thus
+much the same as on the lowlands situated to the leeward of the
+mountains of the West Indies. The narrow fringe of low-lying country on
+the west border of the main body of Mexico, together with the
+peninsula of Lower California and a portion of the southern extremity of
+California, are arid, although in immediate proximity to the ocean. The
+leading characteristics of the climate of this, the arid portion of the
+tropical province, are its small rainfall, clear atmosphere, high mean
+annual temperature, moderate seasonal changes, and active evaporation.
+
+The most typical portion of the arid region bordering the Pacific from
+California southward lies in northwestern Mexico, where the mean annual
+precipitation on the western slope of the central table-land is from 15
+to 20 inches, but gradually diminishes as one descends to the lower
+lands to the westward to 10 inches, and even to 5 inches or less. A
+great portion of the lowlands is practically a desert, although, as is
+common on the desert-like tracts of this continent, it is sparingly
+covered with detached clumps of cacti, yuccas, and other similar plants
+which live with the minimum of water.
+
+The hot, arid lands of the southwest just referred to are similar in
+position, in reference to the relation of land areas to the trade-wind
+belts, as other trade-wind deserts, as they are termed, such as the
+Sahara, which occur on the leeward side of continents where they are
+crossed by these drying winds.
+
+_The Lower Austral Province_ (Plate III).--This province embraces the
+Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States from Connecticut
+southward, with the exception of the tropical portion of southern
+Florida; the Mississippi basin south of the mouth of the Ohio; and
+includes also many of the valleys amid the Pacific mountains from the
+northern boundary of California to central Mexico. The larger
+geographical conditions on which the boundaries of the province depend
+are the warm currents in the Atlantic, which ameliorate the temperature
+of the adjacent land as well as supply it with abundant moisture; the
+low elevation of the central continental basin, which permits of great
+extension northward of the climatic conditions originating about the
+Gulf of Mexico; and the mountainous character of the western portion of
+the province, where the valleys have a markedly different
+temperature and rainfall from the highlands.
+
+The most southern portions of the lower austral province within the
+border of the United States has a semitropical climate and is
+characterized by its high mean annual temperature, abundant rainfall,
+and uniformity of weather conditions throughout the year. The summers
+are hot, but tempered by winds from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic,
+and the winters, although normally mild and without snow, are varied at
+intervals by periods of cold which bring occasional frosts. This
+semitropical division of the lower austral province embraces a narrow
+strip of coast-land extending from South Carolina to southeastern Texas,
+with the exception of the extreme southern end of Florida, and forms a
+transition between the hotter and more humid tropical province to the
+southward and the cooler and less humid region to the northward.
+
+As the saying is, a tree is judged by its fruit; in a similar way we may
+judge of the climate of a region by its products. The Gulf strip of the
+lower austral province is the home of a number of plants and animals not
+found farther north, as, for example, the cabbage palmetto and Cuban
+pine, and several species of birds and small mammals. Among the
+agricultural products of this narrow coastal belt which are suggestive
+of its climate are rice, sugar-cane, and sea-island cotton; of fruits it
+produces, especially in Florida, oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes,
+shaddocks, and pineapples.
+
+The humid portion of the lower austral province extends northward from
+the Gulf strip, and presents a transition in climatic conditions between
+the semitropical Gulf coast and the more markedly temperate climate of
+the upper austral. This eastern division of the lower austral,
+characterized by its mild winters, general absence of snow, long hot
+summers with abundant rain, extends from eastern Virginia southward
+about the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, and in the
+Mississippi Valley broadens so as to reach the mouth of the Ohio River.
+Its western limit is in central Texas, where the mean annual rainfall
+decreases to less than 20 inches, and forests give place to
+treeless, grass-covered plains and plateaus.
+
+Through this eastern portion of the lower austral the mean annual
+precipitation is in general between 50 and 60 inches, and is so
+distributed throughout the year that each month receives approximately
+an equal share. In general, however, the rainfall is greater in winter
+than in summer. The mean annual temperature of the humid portion of the
+lower austral is from 60° to 68° F., the mean winter temperature 40° to
+52°, and the mean summer temperature from 75° to 80° F. From these
+records it may be inferred that the conditions are favourable for the
+growth of trees. In its natural condition this entire region was clothed
+with a varied and beautiful forest, consisting largely of broad-leaved
+trees, but is also the home of the southern pine and the cypress. The
+characteristic crops are cotton and corn (maize).
+
+The western or arid portion of the lower austral province embraces
+western Texas, a large area in northeastern Mexico, and circling about
+the southern extremity of the Pacific mountains in central Mexico,
+extends northward adjacent to the tropical border of the Pacific and the
+Gulf of Lower California, into Arizona and southern California. A
+detached area of this same province occupies the great Valley of
+California.
+
+The leading feature in the climate of the extensive and irregular region
+just outlined is its aridity. The rainfall is too small to insure forest
+growths; the land is treeless, except along the streams, and irrigation
+is necessary for successful agriculture. With a sufficient amount of
+water for irrigation, a great variety of fruits, etc., may be raised,
+including many products usually considered as indicating tropical
+conditions, such as mangoes, dates, figs, citrus fruits, olives,
+pineapples, etc. Not only are the agricultural products numerous and
+varied, but the yield per acre under the most favourable conditions is
+far in excess of the best results reached in most regions where rain is
+relied on to furnish the requisite moisture. Under the prevailingly
+cloudless skies of the hot arid lands of the southwestern portion
+of the continent insolation is intense and the growth of vegetation
+phenomenal when the necessary amount of water is supplied. The land in
+its present condition presents great contrasts, ranging from desolate,
+sun-burned tracts which are almost absolute deserts, to the vivid green
+of irrigated fields and the deep shade of heavily fruit-laden orchards.
+
+_The Upper Austral Province_ (Plate III).--The portion of North
+America embraced in this climatic province lies principally in the
+central part of the United States, but includes also a narrow strip in
+southern Ontario, adjacent to the north shore of Lake Erie, and a large
+irregular area in the central plateau of Mexico. A marked feature of its
+geography is its extreme irregularity in the portion occupied by the
+Pacific mountains in the United States and Mexico. The reasons for this
+lie mainly in the influence of the relief of the land on climate, the
+direction of the prevailing winds, and varying distances from the ocean.
+It is a familiar fact that boreal and even arctic climatic conditions
+are met with on high mountains. The attention that is given to changes
+in climate with increase in altitude is no doubt largely due to the fact
+that the mountains present conditions which are exceptional and more or
+less novel as seen from our accustomed point of view. A person living in
+an elevated region, on descending into a deep valley, would be impressed
+with the reverse order in which the climatic zones occur. In making such
+a descent he would pass in succession from a boreal or perhaps arctic
+climate, through a transitional or cold temperate, to the warm temperate
+or upper austral province, and might even reach the semitropical
+division of the lower austral. In the Pacific mountains within the
+border of the United States the valleys are sufficiently deep to have
+the climatic conditions here ascribed to the upper austral, and in the
+southwestern portion of the United States descents may be made--as in
+the Great Valley of California and in the arid basins of southern
+Nevada, Arizona, etc.--sufficiently great to reach the lower austral.
+The valleys amid the Pacific mountains, which fall in the upper austral
+province, are in general low at the north in reference to
+sea-level, and become higher and higher at the south. For example, the
+upper austral region in central Washington is but 400 or 500 feet above
+the sea, while in Mexico it lies in general at an altitude of between
+4,000 and 6,000 feet.
+
+The upper austral province may be termed warm temperate, with a marked
+contrast between the heat of summer and the cold of winter. The summers
+are long, with an average temperature of 70° or 75°, while the winters
+are variable, with frequent cold periods when ice forms and snow-storms
+are not rare. The snow seldom remains on the ground for more than a few
+days at a time, however, except in the northeast, where the warm
+temperate climatic conditions of the province under review merge with
+those of the colder region to the northward embraced in the transition
+province.
+
+The upper, like the lower austral, presents two well-marked divisions in
+reference to humidity--an eastern or humid and a western or semihumid
+portion; the dividing line is in the neighbourhood of the one hundredth
+meridian. In the eastern division the mean annual precipitation in the
+Piedmont region to the east of the Appalachians and on the coastal plain
+adjacent to the Atlantic in Maryland and New Jersey is from 40 to 80
+inches, but decreases westward, and on the border of the Great plateaus
+in Kansas and Nebraska is about 20 inches. In the western division the
+annual precipitation is less than 20 inches, and agriculture without
+irrigation is uncertain and usually impossible. To the east of the one
+hundredth meridian the rain is somewhat evenly distributed throughout
+the year, although an increasing dryness of the summer is easily
+detected as one travels from east to west, but in the various upper
+austral valleys of the Pacific mountain region the precipitation is
+mostly during the winter, and the summers are practically rainless. The
+marked difference in precipitation between the humid and semihumid
+division of the upper austral province is recorded on the surface of the
+land by the vegetation. In the eastern division the entire region, with
+the exception of the prairies in the central part of the Mississippi
+basin, was originally clothed with a varied and beautiful forest,
+consisting mainly of broad-leaved trees, such as the hickory, maple,
+oak, etc., while the semihumid western division is treeless, except in
+immediate proximity to streams.
+
+In the southern portion of the humid division of the upper austral
+province cotton is one of the staple products, but the northern limit of
+the region in which it can be successfully cultivated is soon reached as
+one travels northward. Tobacco is grown extensively in the southeastern
+and eastern portions of the province. The principal crop of the great
+central area in the Mississippi Valley is corn (maize). Successful wheat
+culture begins in the northern portion of the province, but the
+conditions favouring its cultivation increase to the northward and it
+becomes the characteristic and most valuable crop of the transition
+province.
+
+In the western or semihumid division of the upper austral the variety of
+agricultural products that can be successfully cultivated with the aid
+of irrigation is greater than in its eastern portion, where irrigation
+is not generally practised. The northern limit at which tobacco, fruits,
+the vine, etc., may be advantageously cultivated in the west is greater
+than in the east. For example, in the east the northern limit at which
+tobacco is raised on a commercial scale is in Connecticut, while in the
+west it reaches a large size and excellent quality in central
+Washington. Various fruits, such as the peach, pear, plum, grape, etc.,
+have their northern limit of successful cultivation in the east in
+western New York, southern Ontario, and southern Michigan, a region
+favourably influenced in this connection by the proximity of the Great
+Lakes; in the west these same fruits reach a high degree of perfection,
+and are produced in great abundance, with the aid of irrigation, in
+north-central Washington, fully 5 degrees of latitude farther northward.
+
+On the whole, the upper austral province may be said to have a warm
+temperate climate, in which the summer season is longer and more
+pronounced in its characteristics than the winter season. It
+presents sufficient seasonal variations, however, to favour in a high
+degree both the physical and intellectual development of man.
+
+_The Transition Province_ (Plate III).--This, the transition region
+between the austral and boreal provinces, includes the cool temperate
+portions of North America. Like the austral provinces, its outlines are
+irregular, and in places it occupies detached or island-like areas, on
+account of the influence of mountains on climatic conditions. Its
+largest continuous area is situated along the northern border of the
+United States, but includes the southern portions of Assiniboia,
+Ontario, and Quebec, and extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
+From this main belt there is a marked extension southward along the
+Appalachian Mountains, which carries a cool temperate climate into
+northern Georgia, and another and much greater southward extension along
+the Pacific mountains, which reaches central Mexico. In the northern
+portion of the United States and adjacent parts of Canada, the region
+under consideration has, in general, an elevation of 1,000 feet or even
+less above the sea, but it rises when followed southward along the
+mountains, and in the southwestern portion of the United States and on
+the table-land of central Mexico attains an elevation of some 8,000 or
+9,000 feet. On the higher portions of the mountains of Central America
+and the West Indies the climatic conditions are similar to those of the
+regions farther north here included in the transition climatic province,
+but these isolated areas are not sufficiently well known to be indicated
+on the accompanying map.
+
+The mean annual temperature of the transition province is lower than
+that of the upper austral, and, although a precise average is not at
+present attainable, may be taken at about 45° F. The winters are long
+and cold, especially in the northern part of the United States and
+adjacent portions of Canada, the mean temperature being approximately
+20° or 25°, but sudden and great variations are not uncommon. At times,
+and frequently for continuous periods of several days, the temperature
+falls to 20° or more below zero of the Fahrenheit scale, then again
+rises above freezing, and the frozen soil thaws and possibly
+becomes entirely freed from ice.
+
+In common with the austral provinces, the one under consideration is
+divided into two portions, an eastern and a western, in reference to
+precipitation, the dividing line being a little to the eastward of the
+one hundredth meridian. While the western portion of the province is
+characterized by its small rainfall, precipitation is greater, mainly on
+account of greater elevation, than in the adjacent portions of the
+austral provinces, and in Oregon and Washington there is a markedly
+humid area.
+
+Snow falls throughout the entire transition province, at least during
+exceptional winters, and in general during every winter. There is great
+variation in the depth of the snow from winter to winter, and also with
+geographical position. It is greatest in the northeast--that is, from
+the Atlantic coast westward to Wisconsin and Minnesota--and least on the
+Pacific coast and the southern portion of the Pacific mountains. Over
+the northeastern portion of the province the snow frequently whitens the
+ground for weeks, and even for two or three months continuously. A deep
+accumulation which remains for a long time unmelted is welcome, as it
+protects the roots of plants from sudden changes of temperature and
+prevents alternate freezing and thawing of their sap, which is injurious
+to their tissues in numerous instances. Great variation in the amount of
+snow that falls annually in a given locality is of common occurrence. A
+large proportion of the yearly accumulation frequently occurs during one
+or two great storms. For example, in January and February, 1898, there
+were two severe storms, accompanied by an unusual depth of snow, the
+first being most pronounced over New England, and the second in the
+region of the Great Lakes. Other storms increased the amount of snow so
+that at the beginning of March the average depth in Maine was 40 to 70
+inches, in New Hampshire and Vermont 10 to 40 inches, and in
+Massachusetts 10 to 20 inches, while in Michigan and Wisconsin the
+general depth on level ground was 1 to 2 feet, with many drifts 10 to 15
+feet deep.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Ice-palace erected in Montreal, Canada, during
+the winter of 1889.]
+
+The winter in the northeastern portion of the transition province may be
+said to be the most characteristic feature of the climate, as it is the
+one that is most pronounced and exceptional, when a comparison is made
+with other thickly peopled portions of the continent. The period of cold
+and snow each year is long, extending in general from November to March,
+and the coming of the flowers and birds in spring is frequently much
+delayed. The long cold winters have a decided influence on plant and
+animal life, and in a marked way modify the lives of men. In the
+northeastern portion of the United States and adjacent provinces of
+Canada various forms of sleighs are extensively used during the winters,
+and skating on the frozen lakes and streams and excursions on snow-shoes
+over the fields and through the forests are a popular and healthful
+exercise, while coasting and tobogganing--or to explain these terms to
+people living in regions where snow does not fall, the sliding down
+steep snow- or ice-covered slopes on sleds or flat-bottomed
+toboggans--are highly enjoyable sports indulged in by children and grown
+people alike. In certain cities, notably Montreal and Quebec, what are
+termed ice-palaces (Fig. 25) are built of blocks of ice and are utilized
+for winter carnivals.
+
+The summers throughout the transition province are hot, with little rain
+in the western portion, but refreshing showers and occasional
+destructive storms in the humid eastern portion. Owing to the latitude
+of the main transcontinental belt of the province, the number of hours
+of sunlight each day in summer is increased beyond what it is in the
+main portions of the austral provinces, thus favouring the growth of
+vegetation. There is also a lengthening of the morning and evening
+duration of twilight, and magnificent sunrises and sunsets are frequent.
+The mean summer temperature is in the neighbourhood of 70° F., but hot
+spells, lasting for days, and even weeks, are of common occurrence.
+During these trying and frequently unhealthy intervals the temperature
+in the shade reaches or even exceeds 100° F., and sunstrokes or
+prostrations by reason of the heat, particularly in the cities, are
+numerous. The four seasons of the year are better marked and have
+more pronounced characteristics in this division of the continent than
+in any other, and it is the region of greatest seasonal climatic changes
+as well as of marked weekly and even daily variations in weather
+conditions. The most delightful months to most people are May, when the
+returning migratory birds are nesting, the trees unfolding their many
+tinted leaves, and the air laden with the perfume of multitudes of
+blossoms, and October, when the rich colours of ripened leaves give to
+the forests a marvellous variety and brilliancy of colour and the
+tranquil, hazy atmosphere is undisturbed by storms for days and even
+weeks together. This annual period of tranquil weather, extending
+frequently far into November, is known as Indian summer.
+
+In the northern portion of the transition province the broad-leaved,
+deciduous trees of the central and eastern portions of the United States
+reach their northern limit, and become mingled with a southward
+extension of the conifers which form the major portion of the forest of
+Canada. A similar but less marked change occurs among the Pacific
+mountains, where the scattered growths of oaks, piñon pines, sycamores,
+etc., of the lower mountain slopes and stream sides mingle with the
+spruces and yellow and white pines of the more elevated region, where
+the climate is similar to that of central Canada. As remarked by
+Merriam, the province as a whole is characterized by comparatively few
+distinctive animals or plants, but rather by the occurrence together of
+southern species which there find their northern limit and northern
+species which there reach their southern limit. It embraces the northern
+portion of the truly agricultural lands of the continent. The plants of
+economic importance which there reach their highest stage of perfection
+are wheat, oats, and other cereals, the sugar-beet, numerous vegetables,
+the white potato, apples in great variety and abundance, cherries,
+plums, grapes, etc. It is the northern limit of corn, and includes
+nearly the entire area in which maple-sugar is produced. In the eastern
+portion of the province several varieties of native nuts, such as the
+beechnut, butternut, chestnut, hazelnut, hickory-nut, walnut,
+etc., grow wild and in great abundance; but nut-bearing hardwood trees
+are also a characteristic feature of the forests of the humid portion of
+the austral provinces.
+
+In the western division of the province a humid area--embracing western
+Washington and Oregon, part of northern California, including the Coast
+Range of the same States--presents a marked contrast to the more widely
+extended and excessively irregular arid portion which surrounds the
+higher mountains and is for the most part remote from the ocean. Both
+the humid and arid divisions of the western part of the province are
+alike favourable for agriculture, as is shown by the vast and highly
+productive wheat-fields of the semihumid eastern portion of the States
+just named and the productive hop lands, orchards, and vineyards of
+their humid western portions.
+
+The climate of a great land area not only finds expression in its fauna
+and flora, but in the industries and the intellectual development of its
+people. While it is difficult to translate man's physical and
+intellectual development into terms of climate, it is evident that the
+transition province favours both bodily and mental activity more than
+any of the other climatic provinces into which North America is here
+divided. Although the boundary between the upper austral and the
+transition provinces is indefinite, it is easily to be seen, from the
+geographical distribution of cities, agricultural population,
+manufactories, colleges, and other institutions of learning, etc., that
+the climate of the province under review is on the whole the one in
+which the greatest intellectual advance has been made and the one which
+holds out the greatest promise for the future.
+
+_The Boreal Province_ (Plate III).--This climatic division of North
+America extends in a broad belt diagonally across the continent from the
+eastern portion of Labrador nearly to the shore of Bering Sea, and is
+represented by detached areas in both the Atlantic and Pacific mountains
+far beyond its general southern limit. Its northern border, in the
+Continental basin, is marked by the cessation of forests, and on the
+mountains to the southward its upper limit coincides with the
+timber-line. Its leading climatic features are its low mean
+annual temperature--in general from 32° to 40° F.--its long, cold
+winters, and short, hot summers. The differences in mean annual
+precipitation in various parts of the province are less marked than in
+the several provinces previously noticed, but in the far north a cold
+arid division should be recognised. Although but few direct measures of
+precipitation are available for comparison, our general knowledge of the
+great boreal province and the character of its vegetation indicate that
+there is a decrease in precipitation from both the eastern and western
+borders of the continent towards the interior, and also from its central
+portion both northward and southward. The heaviest precipitation is on
+the Pacific coast, from California northward to southern Alaska, and the
+lightest precipitation is probably in the central Continental basin,
+near the northern limit of the province. Precipitation on the Pacific
+coast at low elevations is almost entirely in the form of rain, but on
+the mountains there is in winter deep snow which remains for a number of
+months unmelted. Throughout the portion of the province included in
+Canada and Alaska the snowfall is abundant, but heaviest towards the
+Atlantic coast. Along the northern margin of the province, as indicated
+by observations at a small number of stations, not only is the mean
+annual precipitation light, probably under 20 inches, but the winter
+snow is not deep, although it remains on the ground continuously for
+five or six months. In the main or northern portion of the boreal
+province, owing to the comparatively high latitude, the variation in the
+number of hours of light and darkness each day during a year becomes
+conspicuous. In summer the sun is above the horizon from eighteen to
+twenty-four hours each day, and in winter the hours of darkness are
+correspondingly increased. The year is divided into but two seasons,
+summer and winter, the distinctive features of spring and fall, so well
+marked in the upper austral and transition provinces, disappearing. On
+account of the low mean annual temperature, and especially because of
+the shortness of the growing season, agriculture is of small importance.
+Along its southern border, more especially in southeastern Canada and
+Newfoundland, such small fruits as currants, huckleberries,
+raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc., grow wild and yield
+abundant returns when cultivated. In favoured localities white potatoes,
+turnips, beets, and certain varieties of the apple, as well as the more
+hardy cereals, are cultivated with moderate success.
+
+_The Arctic Province_ (Plate III) comprises the cold, treeless plains
+sloping to the Arctic Ocean and the summits of the higher mountains at
+the south which rise above the transition province. The one controlling
+climatic feature is the low temperature, the mean for each year being
+32° F. or lower. The winters are longer and more severe than in the
+boreal province, and the summers short and hot. Insolation, on account
+of the length of the days in summer of the main area of the province and
+the free exposure on the mountain summits to the southward, is intense,
+but its beneficial effect on vegetation is largely counterbalanced by
+the influence of the lingering snow and ice. In the mountainous regions
+of North America the arctic province is the birthplace of numerous
+glaciers. Although destitute of trees, the arctic, or arctic-alpine
+province, as it may be termed, is rendered glorious in numberless
+localities by the profusion and brilliancy of its flowering annuals.
+
+
+                SECONDARY DISTURBANCES OF THE ATMOSPHERE
+
+In the broad, general movements of the atmosphere over North America
+embraced in what are termed the planetary and continental winds there
+are many disturbances due to more or less local changes in conditions,
+the most conspicuous of which are whirlwinds, chinook winds,
+thunder-storms, tornadoes, cyclones, and hurricanes. While some of these
+disturbances are local, as the whirlwind and tornadoes, and may not
+extend beyond the boundaries of the particular climatic provinces where
+they originate, others, as the cyclones and hurricanes, may affect the
+climate of several provinces.
+
+_Whirlwind._--A conspicuous, although minor feature in the atmospheric
+phenomena of the hot, dry plains and valleys, especially of the
+Mexican plateau and the Great Basin, and less markedly of the Great
+plateau to the east of the Rocky Mountains, is the occurrence of small
+whirlwinds which carry dust and light objects into the air in spiral
+columns that are not infrequently 2,000 or 3,000 feet high, and have a
+diameter of perhaps 50 to 100 feet. These small whirls of the air, in
+which some of the characteristic features of the intensely active
+tornadoes and widely destructive tropical hurricanes can be studied on a
+small scale, occur most commonly during hot summer afternoons, when from
+a commanding station half a dozen or more swaying columns may be seen
+moving in various directions over the parched valleys and sun-scorched
+plains. These columns not only move in various directions, showing that
+they are not due to the same immediate cause, but have different
+internal motions, some whirling from right to left, and others in the
+opposite direction.
+
+The generally accepted explanation of these small whirlwinds is that the
+air over the surface of the deserts, which are frequently almost bare of
+vegetation and perhaps white with saline incrustations, becomes locally
+highly heated, especially when there is little or no wind, and is forced
+upward by the inflow of the surrounding cooler and heavier air. The
+inflowing currents have different velocities, and on meeting the
+strongest one gives a rotary or spiral motion to the ascending column,
+which acts like a chimney in allowing the escape upward of the hot air
+from below. A central vertical line frequently seen in the dust columns
+shows that a core of comparatively still air is present, about which the
+dust-charged air rises in a spiral course. If the conditions just
+outlined should be greatly increased in magnitude some of the leading
+features of tornadoes and even of hurricanes would be produced. In
+short, all of the winds cited above, except the chinook, are concentric,
+swirling movements in ascending air, due primarily to a local increase
+in temperature at the lower portion of the atmosphere.
+
+_Chinook Winds._--On the Great plateaus adjacent to the Rocky Mountains,
+and in similar situations to the eastward of the Sierra Nevada
+and Cascade Mountains, warm, drying winds frequently occur, especially
+in winter, when they bring a balminess as of spring. The remarkable
+feature of these interesting winds is that they come from the snow-clad
+mountains, but are warm and dry in contrast with the preceding condition
+of the air on the plains. The capacity of the air brought by these winds
+for moisture is so great that evaporation is active, and the snow in the
+valleys and over the broad plains disappears without visible melting.
+The change in the previously winter aspect of a region within the
+influence of these _chinook_ winds, as they are termed, is truly
+surprising, and to their influence is due to a marked extent the value
+of the Great plateaus as stock-ranges, for the reason that the snow is
+removed from them so as to allow cattle to feed on the naturally dried
+grasses.
+
+The chinook winds are the counterpart of the _foehn_ winds of
+Switzerland, and are explained on the principle that descending air is
+made more dense by the increased pressure to which it is subjected, and
+its temperature correspondingly raised, its capacity for moisture being
+at the same time increased on account of its rise in temperature. The
+apparent anomaly of a warm, dry wind blowing from a snow-clad mountain
+range is no longer a mystery, if we consider that the air is drawn over
+the mountains towards a centre of low barometrical pressure owing to the
+wide-reaching influence of a cyclonic storm or other large atmospheric
+movement. The air as it rises in order to cross a mountain is cooled,
+largely on account of relief of pressure, and parts with a portion,
+possibly a large portion, of its moisture, which condenses on the
+mountain commonly as snow; on passing the mountain the air descends and
+is warmed by compression, and having less moisture than before, becomes
+a drying wind, which produces the sudden and surprising changes on the
+plains and valleys to the leeward.
+
+The chinook winds of the western portion of Canada and the United States
+occur principally to the eastward of high mountains, for the reason that
+the prevailing air-currents of that region are from the west.
+
+_Thunder-Storms._--In the eastern portion of the United States and
+adjacent parts of Canada during the summer season the heating of the
+lower portion of the atmosphere, especially on still, sultry afternoons,
+causes ascending currents of warm, moist air, which become cooled as
+they rise, and give origin to vast masses of cumulus clouds. These
+magnificent "thunder-heads," as they are sometimes termed, illuminated
+by the full sunlight are most magnificent, and usually herald the coming
+of heavy showers, accompanied by frequently destructive lightning and
+heavy thunder. The bases of the clouds when seen from a distance are
+usually horizontal and may have curtain-like festoons beneath, due to
+falling rain; while aloft the white vapour boils upward in fleece-like
+masses, revealing a strong convectional ascent of moist air. The
+immediate cause of a thunder-storm is the rapid ascent of a column of
+warm moist air, which becomes cooled as it rises and the moisture
+contained in it condensed. The cause of the ascent of the air column, at
+least over plains and plateaus, is the heating of the air in contact
+with the earth. A layer of warm, and consequently light, air beneath a
+layer of cooler and heavier air furnishes unstable conditions which
+favour an overturning and an escape upward of the lighter air, which is
+forced to ascend much as the hot air in a chimney is made to flow upward
+by the pressure of cooler and heavier air around. The conditions
+preceding a thunder-storm are a stagnant atmosphere over a broad region
+where the lower layer of hot air is also charged with moisture. These
+conditions are frequently fulfilled on the plains of the Atlantic slope
+and southeastern portion of the continental basin in summer when warm
+moist air is drawn in from the Gulf region towards the centre of an area
+of low atmospheric pressure, and thunder-storms are there a
+characteristic feature. The storms usually advance northeastward, the
+direction being determined by the flow of upper air-currents, and move
+over the country with a breadth of from 10 to perhaps 100 miles, and
+send down copious supplies of refreshing rain.
+
+Over the Great plateaus the air near the earth's surface is
+highly heated during the summer season, but it is deficient in moisture,
+and thunder-storms are rare, except for a brief period in late summer or
+fall when the normal conditions are disturbed.
+
+Thunder-storms are almost unknown in the great Canadian-Alaska province
+and along the cool and humid northwest coast. They are also of rare
+occurrence in the hot and dry atmosphere of the Great Basin and Mexican
+plateau, but when they do come are of marked intensity, and pass under
+the name of "cloudbursts." At the far south, in the region brought under
+the influence of the equatorial belt of calm, thunder-storms are
+frequent and of great intensity.
+
+An upward ascent of warm moist air, in much the same manner as described
+above, occurs about isolated mountains, particularly in the southern
+portion of the Rocky Mountain chain, and summer thunder-storms are there
+of frequent occurrence, especially in the afternoon, about the higher
+mountain-peaks, while the adjacent valleys are flooded with sunlight.
+Reference to this most striking phenomenon has already been made in
+describing the Park Mountain.
+
+_Tornadoes._--The fierce circular whirls in the air producing pendent,
+spirally twisting clouds, which when they touch the earth are of such
+intensity as to sweep away houses, trees, and nearly everything in their
+paths, are known to meteorologists as tornadoes, although popularly, but
+erroneously, termed cyclones. Storms of this character are of frequent
+occurrence in the United States to the east of the Great plateau, and
+are most numerous in the Mississippi Valley. Their path of destruction
+is seldom over half a mile wide, and as a rule they progress towards the
+northeast, in obedience to the movement of the upper air-currents, at a
+rate of from 20 to 40 miles an hour, and may cut a swath from a few
+miles to 20 or more miles long through forests, farms, villages, and
+towns. They occur usually in the afternoon, and sometimes in the earlier
+hours of the night, of warm, sultry days, especially in spring and early
+summer, but are not strictly confined to that portion of the
+year. The conditions which precede the coming of a tornado are, in
+general, the same as those in advance of a thunder-storm--that is, an
+indraft of hot, moist air beneath a cooler layer, thus establishing
+unstable conditions. An upward draft is started, the intensity of which
+becomes so great that the inflowing winds are given a rapid spiral
+motion about a calm centre. The tornado may be considered as a fully
+developed or exceptionally energetic thunder-storm, in which a spiral
+movement is established as in desert whirlwinds. The conditions for the
+origin of this class of dreaded and locally most destructive storms are
+best fulfilled in the central portion of the Mississippi basin, where
+they are somewhat frequent. They occur less commonly over the country to
+the eastward, and are unknown in the more northern and western climatic
+provinces, and, so far as the writer is aware, they have not been
+reported from the region to the north of the United States.
+
+_Cyclones._--This name is applied to the great atmospheric disturbances
+marked by an inflowing of air towards a centre of low barometric
+pressure from adjacent regions, commonly several hundred miles across,
+and an escape and overflow aloft. As in whirlwinds and tornadoes, there
+is a spiral movement established in the inflowing currents, but owing to
+the large size of the area of low pressure, this seldom reaches
+destructive violence. Cyclonic storms are of common occurrence,
+especially in the temperate zone, and bring to that region its
+characteristic diversity of weather. Most of the rain and snow-storms of
+the continent are due to the vast swirls of the atmosphere about areas
+of low atmospheric pressure, which cause air-currents from different
+directions and with different components of heat and moisture to move
+over the land.
+
+The cyclonic storm of the Mississippi Valley, the Atlantic coast States,
+and southeastern Canada frequently originate in the Great plateau
+province, and are carried towards the Atlantic owing to the influence of
+the eastward-blowing winds of the upper atmosphere. At times these
+storms are of such magnitude and intensity that they cross the Atlantic
+and are observed in England and Scandinavia. The courses they
+follow may be traced from day to day on the weather-maps issued by the
+United States Weather Bureau, and from the directions they are likely to
+follow and the atmospheric conditions pertaining to their various parts
+predictions of surprising accuracy as to the changes which the weather
+in a given locality will experience can be made one or two days before
+the changes occur.
+
+_Hurricanes._--Cyclonic storms of the general nature of the tornadoes,
+but of vastly greater extent and intensity, originate occasionally
+during the latter portion of the summer season over the tropical portion
+of the north Atlantic, move slowly westward to the vicinity of the
+Lesser Antilles, where normally their courses bend northward, and then
+skirt the Atlantic coast of the United States and drift eastward under
+the influence of the eastward-flowing upper air-currents, and not
+infrequently make their influence felt in the western portion of Europe.
+Occasionally, on account of the presence of an area of high barometric
+pressure to the north of Cuba, the course of one of these tropical
+hurricanes, as they are termed, is rendered irregular, and it passes
+over the Atlantic States or is deflected still more and crosses the Gulf
+of Mexico before reaching the border of the continent, as was the case
+in September, 1900, when a large part of Galveston was destroyed. The
+normal paths of the tropical hurricanes as they approach the coast of
+the United States and the exceptional course of the one which passed
+over Galveston, are indicated on the map forming Fig. 26.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Tracks of West Indian hurricanes. The circles
+on the tracks indicate the position of the storm centres at Greenwich
+mean noon on successive days. The date of the several storms is as
+follows:
+
+    1. Aug. 27-Sept. 1, 1890.
+    2. Aug. 19-Aug. 25, 1890.
+    3. Aug. 19-Aug. 31, 1891.
+    4. Sept. 4-Sept. 9, 1891.
+    5. Sept. 16-Sept. 25, 1891.
+    6. Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 1891.
+    7. Aug. 17-Aug. 22, 1892.
+    8. Aug. 15-Aug. 22, 1893.
+    9. Aug. 23-Aug. 28, 1893.
+    10. Sept. 6-Sept. 9, 1894.
+    11. Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 1894.
+    12. Oct. 5-Oct. 10, 1894.
+    13. Oct. 12-Oct. 18, 1894.
+    14. Oct. 24-Oct. 27, 1894.
+    15. Oct. 18-Oct. 25, 1895.
+    16. Sept. 5-Sept. 10, 1896.
+    17. Sept. 9-Sept. 25, 1896.
+    18. Sept. 26-Sept. 29, 1896.
+    19. Oct. 9-Oct. 14, 1896.
+    20. Oct. 23-Oct. 26, 1897.
+    21. Oct. 20-Oct. 23, 1897.
+    22. Sept. 11-Sept. 20, 1898.
+    23. Aug. 3-Aug. 25, 1899.
+    24. Aug. 30-Sept. 7, 1899.
+    25. Sept. 8-Sept. 14, 1899.
+    26. Sept. 1-Sept. 11, 1900.]
+
+The analogy of a tropical hurricane to a tornado has already been
+referred to, but while a tornado may lay waste a tract of country
+perhaps half a mile wide, and in exceptional cases 20 to 30 miles in
+length, a hurricane is from 200 to 300 miles in diameter, and may
+continue to be destructive, on account of the rapid inflow of air from
+the periphery towards the centre, for 2,000 or 3,000 miles. The velocity
+of the spirally blowing winds which are the characteristic feature of
+these great storms is frequently 100 miles or more per hour. In spite of
+their magnitude, however, the conditions leading to their origin and
+growth are essentially the same as in the case of tornadoes, and
+even of the much smaller whirlwinds. They have their birth where the
+moist, still air above the ocean in the region of the doldrums at the
+season when the equatorial belt of calms is farthest north, becomes
+highly heated and rises on account of the pressing in of cooler and
+heavier air from adjacent regions. The ascending column is at first
+carried slowly westward, in obedience to the general flow of the
+atmosphere in the intertropical belt, and at the same time the currents
+coming in from opposite directions give the ascending air a rotary
+motion. As the currents from the northeast are stronger than those from
+other directions, this whirling motion is from right to left, or
+opposite to the movement of the hands of a watch. The whirling air
+column extends into the upper atmosphere, and as it moves along past the
+West Indies becomes influenced by the prevalent flow of the upper
+air-currents, and is carried northwestward, and later eastward in a path
+which approximates to a parabolic curve. The inward-rushing spiral winds
+leave a calm centre, the "eye of the storm," which corresponds to the
+hollow core of a whirlwind and the calm centre sometimes noted in
+tornadoes. The upward ascent of warm, humid air is accompanied by a
+decrease of pressure and consequent expansion and cooling which leads to
+rapid condensation and a heavy downpour of rain; the change of the
+moisture from a vaporous to a liquid form liberates heat, which serves
+to perpetuate the upward flow of air, and thus prolongs the life of the
+storm. During the passage of the central area of low barometric pressure
+over a given locality the clouds frequently part and portions of the
+clear sky may be seen. Accompanying the rain are frequent lightning
+flashes, as during ordinary thunder-storms.
+
+The tropical hurricanes are the most violent and most dreaded of all the
+storms that sweep over any portion of our continent, but fortunately for
+dwellers on the land, are confined for the most part to the sea, since
+the atmospheric conditions over the land lead to their loss of energy,
+although in rare instances they may be re-enforced by uniting with a
+cyclonic storm, as happened in the case of the Galveston hurricane, and
+thus continued after reaching the land. The destructiveness of the
+hurricanes at sea has been greatly lessened in recent years, not only on
+account of the general use of steam as a motive power for vessels
+instead of the wind, but because meteorologists can designate the time
+when they are likely to occur and the best method of sailing away
+from them if encountered. Since the establishment of the United States
+stations for observing and reporting the atmospheric conditions on the
+West India islands, the approach of a hurricane can be foretold and
+warning given to navigators and others of the coming danger.
+
+
+                              EVAPORATION
+
+An important element in climate is the amount of moisture the air
+contains. The absolute amount of water vapour in a given volume of air
+is of interest in this connection, but what is of still greater
+importance is the ratio of the amount of water vapour present to that
+which the air might contain, or what is termed the _relative humidity_.
+The relative humidity, providing the actual amount of vapour present
+remains unchanged, depends upon the temperature of the atmosphere. For
+this reason, the warming of an air-current, as the trade-winds, for
+example, in which the water vapour present may, previous to the warming,
+have approached saturation, causes it to have a still greater capacity,
+and hence decreases the relative humidity.
+
+The winds in passing over the land may be either cooled or warmed, and
+hence their influence on evaporation is continually changing; but the
+mean rate of evaporation from an open water body can be determined for a
+definite time, say a year, for various localities, and thus afford a
+means of comparison between one region and another. Observation of the
+mean annual evaporation for various stations, mostly within the United
+States, have been made, and the result shown by lines drawn through
+places where the rate is the same. A map showing this data, on which the
+figures indicate the depth of evaporation in inches, is here presented.
+The systematic study of evaporation, and especially the part played in
+it by plants, has scarcely more than been begun on this continent, and
+important results concerning its influence on atmospheric conditions are
+to be expected. The subject is also of great importance in reference to
+agriculture, the prevention of frost, etc.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Depth of evaporation. After T. Russell.]
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+The great storehouse of information pertaining to the weather and
+climate of the United States is the numerous publications of the United
+States Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Similar bureaus exist at the
+capitals of Canada and Mexico, which have issued valuable reports.
+
+Of the many elementary and popular books on meteorology, the following
+will be found helpful in continuing the study of the subjects outlined
+in this chapter:
+
+  DAVIS, W. M. _Whirlwinds, Cyclones, and Tornadoes_, Lee & Shepard,
+    Boston, 1884; _Elementary Meteorology_, Ginn & Co., Boston,
+    1894.
+
+  FERRIL, W. _A Popular Treatise on the Winds._ Wiley & Sons, New
+    York, 1889.
+
+  GREELY, A. W. _American Weather._ Dodd, Mead & Co., New York,
+    1888.
+
+  _Maryland Weather Service_, vol. i, Baltimore, 1899. Contains a
+    valuable bibliography.
+
+  RUSSELL, T. _Meteorology._ Macmillan & Co., New York, 1895.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Aspects of the Earth._ Scribner's Sons, New York,
+    1889.
+
+  WALDO, F. _Modern Meteorology_, Scribner's Sons, New York, 1893;
+    _Elementary Meteorology_, American Book Company, New York, 1896.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+                               PLANT LIFE
+
+
+If we take the trees as representatives of the flora of North America,
+and this seems to be the only practicable method in a general treatise,
+we find them growing most densely and presenting at the same time the
+greatest variety where the temperature is uniformly high throughout the
+year and the rainfall heavy and long-continued. From the torrid lowlands
+the forests in general decrease in the variety and number of trees on a
+given area, both towards the north, where temperature becomes the
+controlling factor, and towards regions of small rainfall, where the
+leading adverse condition is deficiency of moisture. In the most highly
+favoured localities the struggle for existence between species and
+species and individual with individual is intense, exposure to the
+life-giving sunlight being the dominant aim of every one of the
+contending hosts. As drier or colder regions are approached, but few
+species can survive and the forests are characterized by their monotony.
+Where the conditions of heat and moisture are such that the existence of
+a species is precarious, the balance of power, so to speak, passes to
+the secondary conditions; and the texture and composition of the soil,
+slight differences in the relief of the land, and consequently in
+drainage or in the degree of exposure to light, prevalence of fires,
+etc., make themselves prominent and limit distribution.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Map showing the distribution of forests in
+North America.]
+
+From a geographical point of view, the broadest features in the flora of
+North America are the forested and unforested areas. The distribution of
+the forests, prairies, and treeless plains as they existed previous to
+the coming of Europeans is shown on the accompanying map. For the
+portion of the continent to the northward of Mexico the data on
+which this map is based are much more abundant than for the southern
+portion.
+
+
+                              THE FORESTS
+
+As is indicated on the map just referred to, the forests of North
+America in a general way form a broad belt, for the most part within the
+influence of winds from the ocean, which surrounds a large area of
+treeless plains and plateaus in the west-central portion of the interior
+continental basin, but is broken and rendered irregular in its
+southwestern part of the treeless valley of the Great Basin region. The
+irregular circular belt of tree-covered land is closed at the south by
+the forest on the lowlands of Mexico and Central America. This vast
+forest belt, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Panama
+to northern Canada, presents great variations even in its larger
+features, and, for convenience, and also with the aim of expressing in a
+rough way natural relationships, needs to be subdivided for purpose of
+study. The basis for such a subdivision has already been suggested, as
+the forests, like all other divisions of the life of the continent, are
+an expression of climatic conditions--that is, the boundaries of the
+botanical and zoological provinces should agree with those of the
+climatic provinces.
+
+On this basis we have the tropical forest, which covers the more humid
+portions of the east and west margins as well as all of the southern
+portion of Mexico, together with nearly all of Central America and the
+West Indies, and includes the southern extremity of Florida. Within the
+tropical forest, however, there are high mountains on which trees with
+the general characteristic of those more northern floras find a
+congenial habitat. The two austral and the transition provinces are to a
+great extent clothed with diversified forests, which are naturally
+divided into two portions: an eastern division, embracing the Atlantic
+and Gulf border of the United States, together with the eastern part of
+the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes region; and a western
+division, in which is included the lands bordering the Pacific
+from near Mount St. Elias southward to the vicinity of San Francisco,
+and also several irregular branches or detached island-like areas on the
+Pacific mountains, in the United States and Mexico. The former of these
+divisions may, in a general way, be termed the Atlantic, and the latter
+the Pacific forest. Separating them is the treeless west-central portion
+of the Continental basin. Both the Atlantic and Pacific forests merge at
+the north with the boreal forest, which extends diagonally across the
+continent from Newfoundland to Alaska. Peninsula-like and island-like
+areas occupied by the boreal forest occur in the sea-like expanse of the
+transition and austral provinces, on both the Atlantic and Pacific
+mountains.
+
+The tropical and boreal forests have their greatest extension from east
+to west or with the parallels of latitude, and are remarkable for their
+uniformity in general characteristics, the reason being that climatic
+conditions, and especially the temperature in summer, change less
+rapidly along east and west than along north and south lines. The
+Atlantic and Pacific forests, on the other hand, have their greatest
+extension across the parallels of latitude, and hence experience marked
+changes from locality to locality in both temperature and precipitation,
+and are characterized by conspicuous changes from one locality to
+another in the genera and species of trees of which they are composed.
+In each of the areas occupied by the major divisions of the encircling
+continental forest belt there are marked variations in elevation, which
+are accompanied by corresponding climatic changes, and hence by
+modifications in the forest growths. Of all portions of the continental
+forest belt, variation in elevation is least marked in the forests of
+Canada, and for this reason, in part, we there find the most uniform and
+most monotonous of all the forests of the continent. The influence of
+elevation, however, on climate and on both plant and animal life is
+greater for a given measure, as for 1,000 feet, in the torrid than in
+the cool or cold zone, for the reason that the possible range in
+climatic conditions is much greater at the south than at the north.
+
+_The Tropical Forest._--There are great areas in southern Mexico which
+are clothed with a typical tropical forest; while other similar forests
+cover nearly all of the lower portions of Central America, the larger or
+more rugged West India islands, and the southern extremity of Florida.
+Throughout this vast region, within the influence of the trade-winds and
+of the equatorial rains, the forests are luxuriant and beautiful, except
+on lowlands not adjacent to the windward side of mountains. The
+characteristic trees of the hot, humid lowlands extend up the mountain
+to an elevation of some 4,000 or 5,000 feet, where a change to the
+aspects familiar in the lowlands of the temperate zone begins, and palms
+give place to oaks and pines.
+
+Of the many features of the tropical forests which impress a traveller
+from colder regions, none excite greater wonder than the large number of
+vegetable species growing in close proximity. It has been said, and
+apparently the statement cannot be successfully challenged, that a
+greater variety of plants may be collected on 100 square yards of
+surface in the humid, tropical lowlands than can be found on 100 square
+miles in the forest of central Canada. It is probably safe to extend
+this striking contrast by saying that of the trees on a typical area in
+the tropical forest of the size mentioned, there are in many localities
+more species than in the whole of the subarctic forest.
+
+Among the characteristics of tropical forests is the presence of many
+kinds of plants on a limited area, hundreds of species struggling upward
+to the light where there seems room but for one; the variety of mosses
+and lichens; the profusion of flowering parasites; the luxuriance of the
+vines, many of which are armed with spines; and the abundance of the
+remarkable aerial roots termed _lianas_. Of the last there is a great
+variety, some of them of large size and surprising length; they
+frequently descend from plants entwined among the topmost branches of
+great trees, looking not unlike the cordage of a forest of masts in some
+crowded port, and on reaching the ground send out rootlets in the humid
+soil.
+
+In the depths of a tropical forest it is always twilight. Even at
+noontide no shafts of yellow sunlight reach the ground to glorify mossy
+banks and flower-gemmed dells, as in the open woods of temperate climes,
+but a diffused greenish light, producing weird effects, alone penetrates
+the dense leafy canopy far overhead. The roots of even the larger trees
+in these hot, humid forests do not have to descend deeply in order to
+find the necessary moisture or to receive protection from frost and
+sudden changes of temperature, but are usually widely expanded and
+thickly interwoven over the surface. The earth from which the dense
+vegetation derives nourishment is surprisingly deficient in vegetable
+mould, which is a characteristic feature in the moist forests of
+temperate and even subarctic regions, where the complete decay of dead
+vegetation is long delayed. In the tropical forests the annual supply of
+dead vegetable matter suitable to be transformed into humus is far
+greater than on a corresponding area in the woods of more northern
+regions, but decay is so rapid, owing to the uniformly high temperature
+and the conditions favouring the multiplication of bacteria, that even
+great trees on falling quickly disappear; in many instances, the forms
+of prostrate tree trunks are preserved and overgrown with luxuriant
+mosses or gorgeously festooned with ferns and orchids, but soon become
+fragile shells from which nearly all the woody tissues have been removed
+by decay or by swarming colonies of insects. Where life is so exuberant
+and the wants of growing plants so great it seems as if the food supply
+was insufficient, and that none could be spared to accumulate on the
+ground and form a soil.
+
+The two most characteristic and distinctive classes of plants in the
+tropical forests are the palms and the ferns, each of which is
+represented by many genera, a large number of species, and multitudes of
+individuals, and in each class there is a gradation in size from low
+herbaceous growths to arboreal forms.
+
+In every way worthy of first mention among the plants of the Caribbean
+forests are the palms. A characteristic portion of the forest referred
+to occurs in Cuba, where, as is stated by R. T. Hill in his recently
+published and attractive book descriptive of the West Indies,
+there are some 26 species of palms, which give variety and beauty to the
+scenery of the "Pearl of the Antilles," as well as shade and food to its
+inhabitants. At the head of these for height and grace of form stands
+the royal palm, which might well be chosen for the emblem of the fair
+island it adorns. The wide-spreading crown of glossy pinnate leaves of
+this species is borne on a spindle-shaped stem of tough fibrous wood--so
+strong and pliant that it defies even the hurricane--in many instances
+150 feet above the ground. The tree is a marvel of beauty and
+elasticity, and, fortunately for Cuba, is one of the most abundant of
+the larger trees on the island. It is met with almost everywhere; in the
+centre of broad pasture-lands it often stands alone, tall and straight,
+while bordering the cultivated fields of the rich planter it forms a
+shady avenue to his dwelling. This well-named _royal palm_ has also been
+called the _blessed tree_, for every part of it has its usefulness to
+mankind. Certain medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots; the
+outer portion of its trunk is easily split into boards for use in making
+houses and furniture for the poorer people; in the centre of the cluster
+of young leaves at the summit is a tender substance which is eaten raw,
+or cooked as a vegetable, or preserved with sugar as a table delicacy.
+The broadened leaf-stalks where they leave the main stem form a
+sheath-like expansion resembling a thin board, often four to six feet
+long, which is made to serve a variety of purposes, such as plates, and
+when soaked in water becomes pliable and may be fashioned into baskets
+and dishes for cooking, and at the same time furnishes salt for the
+seasoning of the boiling vegetables or meat.
+
+The world-encircling cocoanut-palm is found about the shore of tropical
+North America, and there, as elsewhere, serves a great variety of uses,
+being a greater blessing, especially to the natives and the poorer
+descendants of European and African immigrants, than even the royal
+palm. The economic importance of its wood-fibres, leaves, and fruit are
+too well known to require re-enumeration.
+
+While the wealth of palms is confined to the hot, moist regions
+of Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, several members of the
+same great family are found in the United States. The royal palm is
+native to southern Florida, while the low fan-palms cover much of the
+northern portion of the same State, and occur even about the Ozark Hills
+in Arkansas, and the palmetto, growing to be a stately tree, is found
+near the coast in the Carolinas and is the emblem of South Carolina, the
+"Palmetto State."
+
+The ferns, although abundant, especially in moist woods from Alaska
+southward, throughout the continent, reach their greatest variety and
+richest luxuriance in the West Indies and Central America, where the
+graceful and most artistically beautiful tree-ferns add an indescribable
+charm to the always varied foliage. The tree-ferns grow farther up the
+mountains of the torrid zone than do the larger palms (in the same
+manner that the smaller ferns extend much farther north than the most
+hardy palmettoes), and form a conspicuous feature in the foreground of
+nearly every wide-reaching prospect in the more elevated portions of the
+West Indies, Central America, and south-central Mexico.
+
+In addition to the palms and ferns, the tropical forests of North
+America contain a large number of trees of great economic importance.
+Chief among these are the mahogany, which is native to the lands
+bordering the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and reaches the largest
+size and produces the most beautiful and most highly prized wood on
+Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. As is well known, this hard,
+dark, heavy, fine-grained, and exceedingly durable wood has been used
+for the best grades of cabinet-work for about two centuries, and is
+still unsurpassed for the beauty of its grain, susceptibility of a high
+polish, and the several ways in which it is adapted for the carver's
+tool. On account of the great and long-continued demand for its wood it
+has become scarce in all but the most inaccessible localities. When
+allowed to reach full maturity it is a large, wide-spreading tree with
+numerous branches, looking not unlike a giant oak, but has pinnate
+leaves and small, although somewhat conspicuous, white flowers.
+
+Another gift of the tropical forest is the lignum-vitæ, which furnishes
+the exceedingly tough, hard, resinous wood preferred above all others
+for the making of pulleys, mallets, etc. Many other highly prized woods,
+not known, however, by familiar names, are also found in the varied
+forests of tropical America, as well as numerous vegetable dyes, such as
+logwood, brazil-wood, indigo, etc.
+
+The lands of the Caribbean-Gulf region are credited with having
+introduced to civilized man the potato, Indian corn (maize), and
+tobacco, although the home of the former is probably in the Andean
+portion of South America. Indian corn grows luxuriantly not only in the
+hot lowlands of Mexico, but on the border of the central table-land of
+that republic, where it is supposed to be indigenous, and has now become
+one of the leading crops of temperate North America, and is cultivated
+in many other portions of the world. Tobacco was found under cultivation
+in Mexico at the time of the first coming of Europeans, and retains for
+its familiar name the appellation of the district where it was first
+seen. From Mexico also come the dahlia and the giant sunflower, as well
+as the various species of aloes and cacti now so common in gardens and
+conservatories the world over.
+
+Of all the plants, excepting Indian corn and the potato, which are
+native to the region under review, none has proved such an unalloyed
+blessing to civilized man as the cacao-tree. As this tree is unfamiliar
+to most residents of temperate lands, it may not be unprofitable to
+transcribe in part a description of it from Rhind's Vegetable Kingdom.
+The tree is very handsome, from 12 to 16 feet high, with an upright
+trunk some 5 feet high; the leaves are lanceolate, with entire margins,
+and of a bright-green colour; the flowers are inconspicuous, reddish,
+with yellowish sepals; the fruit, attached by short stems to both trunk
+and branches, has a yellowish and reddish colour, oblong, about 3 inches
+in length, and consists of a fleshy rind, half an inch thick, containing
+a white pulp in which are imbedded about 25 seeds. The seeds, when
+roasted, freed from their husks, and ground, furnish the chocolate so
+extensively used, especially in France and Spain and in the
+former Spanish colonies, and is increasing in favour among
+English-speaking people.
+
+Vanilla, which is used in flavouring chocolate as well as many other
+dishes, was also found in use among the Aztecs at the time of the
+Spanish conquest. The vanilla-plant is a climbing vine, with lanceolate
+leaves 18 inches or more in length, and produces a pod containing
+bean-like seeds. The pods and seeds when properly dried furnish the
+flavouring extract of commerce.
+
+Although the trees which yield rubber in America, as well as the
+cinchona, from the bark of which quinine is obtained, are justly to be
+accredited to South America, yet certain varieties of these useful
+plants occur in Central America and are under cultivation as far
+northward as central Mexico.
+
+A more detailed account of the plants of great utility in one direction
+or another native to the tropical forests, should include plantains,
+bananas, and yams, the wide distribution of which, largely by human
+agency, throughout the torrid zone is well known. The delicious
+pineapple is native to the Caribbean region, and was found in the
+markets of the Aztecs by the early Spanish invaders, although perhaps
+indigenous to other lands as well. In Mexico especially, but on the
+borders of the tropical forest and in the drier interior, grows the
+agave, from which the national beverage, _pulque_, is obtained, and
+another species of the same peculiarly American family of plants
+supplies great quantities of the tough fibre known as sisal or henequen
+hemp, particularly on the stony, arid portions of the peninsula of
+Yucatan. Of interest to children especially is the fact that Mexico
+exports some 3,000,000 pounds of chewing-gum each year, which is
+obtained from a plant there growing wild. To this list of indigenous
+products may be added ginger, arrowroot, etc., as well as many fruits
+scarcely known outside the tropics, such as the mango, alligator-pear,
+breadfruit, and numerous others. This hasty enumeration might be greatly
+extended or presented in more detail, but probably enough has been said
+to indicate the great and probably as yet but partially
+determined economic importance of the vegetable products of the torrid
+portion of North America.
+
+Associated with the tropical forest, but thriving best in an advanced
+skirmish-line about its drier inland borders, is a group of plants
+indigenous to the two Americas--the strangely shaped and spinous cacti.
+One of these, the prickly-pear, as it is termed on account of its
+pear-like edible fruit, is the emblem of Mexico. A fit legend to place
+about this unique heraldic design would be the motto inscribed on the
+rattlesnake flag of colonial days in America, "Don't tread on me," as
+every one will appreciate who has travelled in the southwestern portion
+of the United States or in the upland regions of Mexico.
+
+The cacti extend from South America northward through the lands
+bordering the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and east of the
+Mississippi are represented by a single genus, _Opuntia_--the
+prickly-pear, or Indian fig, as it is often termed--which grows in dry
+situations as far north as Massachusetts and Michigan. In the Great
+Basin several genera of cacti are plentiful, especially on dry, stony
+uplands, and two species reach as far northward as the Canadian
+boundary. Although the cacti tribe is widely distributed, the region
+where it presents the greatest variety and the largest individuals is in
+the dry, semi-desert portions of Arizona and the table-lands of central
+Mexico. It is most at home on sterile, rocky ridges and amid bare cliffs
+where there appears to be but little soil, but the strong roots strike
+deep into the earth in search of moisture. The cacti present great
+diversity of form and an indefinite differentiation of stem and leaf. In
+fact, there are no easily recognised leaves in the ordinary sense of the
+term, but the fluted and jointed stems perform the function of foliage.
+The plants are economical of moisture, and not only present a minimum of
+surface for evaporation or transpiration, but their epidermal tissues
+are for the most part without pores, thus retarding the escape of the
+moisture drawn from the seemingly dry soil.
+
+In size and shape the cacti present great variety, ranging
+through all gradations from the thick, strongly jointed, pad-like
+expansions of the prickly-pear, a few inches high, growing in widely
+extended clusters and massive globular forms, looking not unlike spiny
+melons, 2 or 3 feet or more in diameter, to jointed and fluted columns,
+bristling with sharp spines, the largest of which, known as the
+candelabrum cactus, attains a height of from 40 to 60 feet. In this the
+largest of all the cacti, which is not uncommon in Arizona and adjacent
+portions of Mexico, the central upright stem, frequently 20 inches or
+more in diameter, sends out from 1 to perhaps 7 or 8 club-shaped
+branches, which leave the parent stem nearly at right angles, but soon
+bend upward and become parallel with the central stalk, which they
+frequently surpass in height, their form thus suggesting a branching
+candlestick or candelabrum.
+
+In spite of the bizarre and frequently repellent appearance of the cacti
+as seen under cultivation, in their barren homes they are in harmony
+with their surroundings, and add a characteristic, and even beautiful
+element to the scenery of the parched and generally desolate valleys and
+rocky slopes where they thrive best. Their blossoms are large, usually
+either white or brilliantly coloured, and expand in the hot, dry air,
+fully exposed to the intense sunlight, and present a freshness and
+vigour which tell of the abundant store of moisture within the thick
+rind inclosing their stems. The showy flowers are borne close to the
+body of the plant or at the ends or edges of the inflated pad-like
+leaves, and are scentless, except in the case of a few night-blooming
+species, and attract insects from afar by reason of the conspicuousness
+of their widely expanded corollas. The fruits also are usually
+conspicuous, and present many rich tints of red and yellow, which at a
+little distance give them the appearance of flowers. The fruit of
+several species are edible, and even delicious, especially when gathered
+fresh from the thorny stems and eaten on the desert, perhaps many miles
+from the nearest spring or stream. One species of cactus growing
+abundantly in Mexico and known as the cochineal-fig, is inhabited by the
+cochineal-insect, from which the highly prized dye of that name is
+obtained.
+
+A companion of the cacti in the arid region where they flourish best is
+the yucca, or Spanish bayonet, which sometimes attains the size of small
+trees and throws out several branches. Its leaves are stiff,
+thick-stemmed, and each one terminated by a sharp spine, as is well
+known from the many examples to be seen under cultivation in Europe and
+America. The flowers are white and borne in luxuriant showy spikes a
+foot or two in length, and sometimes give to dry, rocky slopes the
+appearance of a luxuriant garden.
+
+The cacti, yuccas, and associated plants of the most arid portions of
+the continent stand far apart, without mutual support or shelter, and
+find protection in their spines, thick rinds, and frequently acrid
+juices. Their colours are usually neutral, grayish green, rendered still
+more inconspicuous by the dust that settles on them, but their flowers
+are as a rule conspicuous, thus serving to attract pollen-bearing
+insects, and their fruits are in many instances brightly coloured, and
+furnish food for birds and other animals, which assist in the
+distribution of their seeds.
+
+_The Atlantic Forest._--The originally forest-covered eastern portion of
+North America, referred to under the term Atlantic forest, embraces the
+region from the eastern coast of the continent inland across the
+Appalachian Mountains and interior Continental basin to the eastern
+border of the prairies or plains; its southern limit, in a general way,
+is the coast-line of the Gulf of Mexico, but the arbitrary boundary,
+dividing it from the tropical forest, crosses the southern portion of
+Florida, and at the extreme southwest is drawn at the Rio Grande. The
+northern boundary of the Atlantic forest is also an arbitrary line, and
+follows the fiftieth parallel of latitude from the mouth of the St.
+Lawrence westward to the region about the Lake of the Woods; along this
+boundary the varied Atlantic forest merges with the monotonous and
+mostly coniferous subarctic forest. The region thus roughly outlined
+comprises over 2,000,000 square miles, and was at the time of the first
+coming of white men to America almost completely forest-covered, but the
+natural conditions are now profoundly modified, and to a great extent
+the trees have been cut or burned, and the land they shaded
+converted into cultivated fields.
+
+The Atlantic forest as a whole has two leading characteristics, the
+first being the great variety and frequently large size of the deciduous
+trees--that is, of broad-leaved trees, such as the oak, hickory, elm,
+maple, chestnut, etc., which drop their ripe leaves each fall and renew
+them the following spring--and the second, the intermingling of the
+trees of the class just mentioned with the coniferous trees, such as the
+pine, spruce, tamarack, etc., which have narrow, needle-shaped leaves
+and are usually designated as evergreens. While these general statements
+are sufficiently accurate for our present purpose, it is to be
+remembered that some of the broad-leaved trees (_Angiosperms_) are
+evergreen, especially in the southern portion of the Atlantic forest,
+as, for example, some of the oaks, the magnolias, the holly, etc.; while
+at the north, certain of the conifers (_Gymnosperms_) shed their leaves
+each fall, as is conspicuously illustrated by the yellow of the tamarack
+or larch forests of the northeastern portion of the United States and
+eastern Canada, in November, and the bright green of the same trees in
+May of each year. It is in the intermediate temperate region, between
+the mostly evergreen coniferous subarctic forests and the mostly
+evergreen broad-leaved trees of the Caribbean forest, that the wonderful
+transformation in the colours of the mountains and plains each autumn
+becomes the most conspicuous feature in the annual round of seasonal
+changes as expressed by the vegetation.
+
+Of the two classes of forest-trees, represented by the oak and the pine,
+which are intermingled and struggle with each other for supremacy in the
+Atlantic forest, it is difficult to say which is the more beautiful or
+which is of the greater service to man. The broad-leaved trees give us
+our hardwoods, used extensively for furniture, the interior finish of
+buildings, and for the manufacture of tools, farming implements, wagons,
+carriages, sleighs, etc. To a great extent it was the availability of
+these strong, tough, hard, and durable woods which has made American
+tools and implements of such a high grade of excellence that they
+are in demand in every civilized country. For example, the American
+ax-helve, made of hickory, is almost a work of art, as well as of
+utility, and it is prized above all others by foresters the world over.
+The same tree has aided no less efficiently in the popularity and
+excellence of American carriages and sleighs, the equal of which for
+lightness, strength, and durability has not been reached in other
+countries. The pines and their near relatives furnish what unfortunately
+has been considered an unlimited supply of easily workable lumber,
+suitable for building houses, vessels, bridges, and many other purposes.
+Of the pine lumber supplied by the Atlantic forest, there are two
+principal varieties, the far-famed white pine, furnished by New England,
+the Great Lake region, and southeastern Canada, and the yellow pine,
+which comes from the South Atlantic and Gulf States.
+
+Of the Angiosperms which reach the dignity of trees, the Atlantic forest
+possesses a variety and abundance not exceeded elsewhere in the world.
+The most characteristic examples are the maples, elms, oaks, hickories,
+walnuts, chestnuts, ashes, basswoods, birches, tulip-trees, magnolias,
+liquidambar, tupelos, sycamores, etc., nearly all of which are
+represented by a number of species or varieties and vast numbers of
+individuals. While this diversity is found throughout the forests of the
+east-central part of the continent, certain regions are characterized by
+the abundance and large size of the trees belonging to one or to a few
+genera, so that a striking change is met with as one travels in any
+direction. The maples and elms reach their greatest size and abundance
+at the north, especially in New England, and thence westward to the
+Mississippi Valley, where they are the favourite shade-trees of villages
+and farms. In regions where the forests have been removed choice
+specimens of these trees have frequently been saved or subsequently
+planted, and standing alone, without competition and fully exposed to
+the light, reach great perfection of form and a high degree of beauty.
+The oaks are represented by a large number of species and varieties
+throughout the entire Atlantic forest, but reach their largest size and
+greatest abundance, both of species and individuals, in central
+and southern portions of the eastern United States. The same may be said
+also of the hickories, except that the maximum in reference to size,
+number of species, and abundance is attained in the region of the Ozark
+Hills. The tulip-tree, so named from the profusion of showy yellow
+blossoms it bears, is large and wide-spreading, with broad, dark-green
+leaves, and has the centre of its habitat in Kentucky, where many
+magnificent examples occur along the fences separating the broad meadows
+and rich pastures of the region of the blue grass, but thrives also from
+the Atlantic coast westward to beyond the Mississippi, and from Ontario
+on the north nearly to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. Not only is the
+tulip-tree an ornament and a blessing on account of its flower-laden
+branches and dense shade, but its white, even-grained wood is of great
+value.
+
+To give even a list of the deciduous trees which flourish and reach a
+high degree of perfection in the Atlantic forest would require far more
+space than is at present available. There is one other genus, however,
+which cannot be passed by even by a casual observer, and that is the
+magnolia, one species of which, the _grandiflora_, is the most
+magnificent of all the splendid broad-leaved trees of America. This, the
+largest and finest of the several species of its genus found in the
+eastern portion of the United States, attains a great size in the
+southern Appalachian region, but is best developed in the lower portion
+of the Mississippi Valley. It is frequently from 50 to 80 feet or more
+in height, wide-spreading, and in many instances upward of 3 feet in
+diameter, with dark-green leaves which do not fall in the autumn. In
+spring the dark foliage is beautified by cup-shaped blossoms of creamy
+whiteness and remarkable fragrance, which measure 3 or 4 inches in
+diameter. When the magnolia is in blossom it becomes a centre of
+delicious perfume and a colony of insect life. Its wood, although creamy
+white and excellent for cabinet-work and interior finish of houses, has
+not as yet found favour for these or other purposes.
+
+With the exception of a few species of broad-leaved forest-trees
+found in greatest perfection in the northern portion of the Atlantic
+forest, they reach their greatest development in size, number of
+species, and density of growth in the southern portion of the broad
+Mississippi basin, where, in addition to magnolias, the tulip-tree,
+etc., chestnuts, hickories, oaks, and many other genera grow side by
+side and attain great height and dignity. This is also the centre of
+dispersion of the American hawthorns, which reach a size and beauty
+unrivalled elsewhere. The Osage orange is peculiar to this region, and
+the red cedar (juniper), the most widely distributed of all the American
+conifers, and also the yellow or southern pine are there at their best.
+Much of this region still retains its primitive wildness.
+
+The great extent of the Atlantic forest in latitude, the topographic
+diversity of the region it occupies, and its exposure on the east to
+maritime and on the west to continental climatic conditions, have led to
+great variations within itself. From the coast of New England westward
+and including the entire drainage basin of the St. Lawrence, together
+with an extension southward along the Appalachians, the forests are
+composed largely and over extensive areas almost wholly of coniferous
+trees. This region of northern evergreens contains in its southern
+portion sturdy growths of broad-leaved deciduous trees. The spruces, the
+most characteristic of the trees of the subarctic region, are present
+in abundance on the mountains of New England, and still form a dark
+mantle over the Adirondack hills; but on the less elevated lands
+adjacent the white pine dominated and outnumbered all its rivals in the
+primeval forest.
+
+The white or Weymouth pine, which up to the present time has proved to
+be of greater commercial value than any other tree on the continent,
+extends westward from southern Newfoundland and the coasts of the
+maritime provinces of Canada to Minnesota, and occupies nearly the
+entire drainage area of the St. Lawrence, together with an extension
+southward along the Appalachians nearly to their southern limit.
+
+The white pine is a large tree for the region in which it grows. Its
+height is from 70 to 150 feet, with a diameter at the base of from 3 to
+9 feet. It thrives best on sandy soil and hills of glacial drift, and
+endures a severe winter climate, as well as the frequently
+long-continued droughts of the hot summers. Its wood is soft, compact,
+with an even, straight grain, and is not conspicuously resinous. The
+sap-wood is nearly white and the heart of a light brown, slightly tinged
+with red; it is easily worked and susceptible of a good polish; it is
+more extensively used for boards, shingles, etc., than any other wood in
+the eastern portion of the continent, and is in demand also for
+cabinet-work, the interior finish of buildings, ship-building, and many
+other purposes.
+
+The southern pine--known also as the "long-leaved pine"; "Georgia pine,"
+for the reason that the lumber derived from it was first extensively
+shipped from that State; "yellow pine," in reference to the golden
+colour of its wood; and "hard pine," in distinction from the softer
+white pine--is another valuable species. The tree with these several
+synonyms, of which the term _southern pine_ will here be used, forms
+open forests with but scanty undergrowth, over a region extending from
+near the Atlantic coast in the Carolinas and Florida, westward to the
+delta region of the Mississippi, and reappears again to the southward of
+the Ozark Hills. Although not so large, and to many admirers of
+beautiful trees not so picturesque or pleasing as its relative in the
+more rigorous climate of the St. Lawrence basin, the southern pine,
+growing within the reach of the moist, warm winds from the Atlantic and
+Gulf of Mexico, is still an attractive tree, especially when young and
+when freedom is afforded to expand its boughs. It is seldom over 100
+feet high, and as cut for lumber has on an average a diameter of about 2
+feet at the base, although individuals measuring 3 or 4 feet in diameter
+are not rare in certain favoured areas. It grows best on dry, sandy
+soil, outside the flood-plains of streams, where it forms monotonous
+forests, with but few intergrowths of other trees. The wood is heavy,
+hard, strong, durable, coarse-grained, very resinous, and of many
+shades of brown and yellow. When sawed into lumber, it serves a wide
+range of uses, more especially for the frames of buildings and ships,
+and for the floors and interior finish of houses.
+
+Next to the southern pine, the most characteristic tree of the Atlantic
+coastal plain southward from Virginia and westward through the Gulf
+States, is the cypress, also a conifer, but, like the tamarack, sheds
+its leaves in the autumn. The cypress grows especially in swampy
+localities, and has a widely expanded base, suitable for support on
+marshy soil, and reaches a large girth, although seldom over 75 feet
+high. Aged and most picturesque examples are growing in isolated
+positions in Lake Drummond, the central water body of the Dismal Swamp,
+and in many other similar situations in the belt of low country fringing
+the borders of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Its wood is used for
+most of the purposes for which the southern pine is employed, and now
+that the white pine is approaching extinction, is to a considerable
+extent supplying the demand for cabinet-wood.
+
+In glancing at the larger and most numerous trees of the Atlantic
+forest, and those of greatest utility, we should not neglect the humbler
+plants, usually of little, if any, purely commercial value, but
+priceless on account of their beauty and the fragrance of their flowers,
+which grow beneath the shade of their larger and more stately associates
+or are content to possess the local areas, perhaps high on the
+mountains, where the conditions of climate or soil are unfavourable for
+the growth of large trees. Throughout the eastern portion of the United
+States, but more especially on the slopes and summit portions of the
+Appalachians, there are many species of azalea, laurel, rhododendron,
+etc., which grow luxuriantly and in spring and early summer furnish a
+wealth of bloom that is scarcely rivalled elsewhere on the continent. In
+this same region also, but extending westward to Michigan and Minnesota,
+and even to eastern Nebraska, grows the redbud or Judas-tree, which each
+May becomes as thickly set throughout all its branches with small
+crimson blossoms as are the tree-like coral in tropical seas with
+expanded polyps. This beautiful tree of low growth many times gives to
+the mountains of Virginia, when seen from a distance, a delicate blush
+like that which the osiers earlier in the spring impart to the marshy
+vales and river-banks. A companion of the redbud, but far more widely
+distributed, is the dogwood or cornel, of several species, the most
+conspicuous of which, and in the Appalachian region the most common, is
+the flowering dogwood. In May and June this species puts out a profusion
+of clusters of small greenish flowers, each of which is surrounded by a
+broadly expanded and very showy corolla-like involucre, composed of four
+white or pinkish inversely heart-shaped leaves. When the cornel is at
+the height of its spring-time glory it stands forth amid the tender
+greens, russets, and pinks of the unfolding leaves of the various trees
+and shrubs among which it grows as if the orchards and forests had been
+commingled by some fairy gardener. In autumn the cornel again becomes
+conspicuous in the woodlands by reason of its clusters of coral-red
+fruit.
+
+In the splendid Atlantic forests, with their marvellous intermingling of
+shining pine-needles, broad, swaying leaves, and many-coloured trunks,
+there are also vines and creepers sometimes forming impenetrable
+tangles, as where the broad leaves of the wild grape grow in pendent
+sheets of green from supporting trees, or the jessamine fills the air
+with fragrance. Of the many vines which entwine the trunks of trees,
+mantle the rocks, and quickly claim abandoned fields, especially in
+Virginia and neighbouring States to the southward, none is more
+beautiful or more highly prized for the charm it adds alike to fields,
+fences, and forests than the familiar Virginia creeper. The glory of
+this widely distributed vine comes in the autumn when its leaves change
+from green to the most brilliant scarlet. During the season of harvest
+also, when the trees are arrayed in their greatest splendour, the ground
+is yellow with golden-rods or purple with asters. This annual carnival
+of colour embraces the entire Atlantic forest, but is most
+resplendent in the region of the Hudson and St. Lawrence. A charming
+little denizen of the Atlantic forest is the lowly and humble arbutus,
+or Mayflower, which springs up through the dead leaves carpeting the
+ground in early spring, and fills the air with its delicious perfume.
+The Mayflower is a trailing plant, but a few inches high, with rounded
+or oval leaves, which remain green all winter and furnish a pleasing
+setting for the small pink or rose-coloured blossoms, which appear in
+early spring even before the snow has melted. It reaches great
+perfection beneath the pines of New England and about the Laurentian
+lakes, but extends far southward along the Appalachians, where elevation
+gives conditions similar to those of the lower region at the north.
+
+The Atlantic forest reaches its western limit in the Mississippi basin
+(Fig. 28), and is succeeded westward by treeless prairies, which merge
+along their western margins with the drier and less completely
+grass-covered high plains adjacent to the east base of the Rocky
+Mountains. The forest does not terminate abruptly, as on the border of a
+cleared field, but by gradual transitions. As its western limit is
+approached, a change in the species is noted, trees which thrive on
+uplands and can sustain long-continued summer drought replacing the
+species best adapted for more humid conditions. The forest is most
+extended, however, along the streams where white-trunked cottonwoods,
+frequently of great size, with widely spreading branches, extend even
+into the region of the great plateaus. Much of the prairie region in
+Illinois, Iowa, etc., was originally nearly surrounded by forest
+growths. The natural condition of the prairies and higher plains
+adjacent to them on the west and the reason for the limits set to the
+western extension of the Atlantic forest will be considered later under
+the heading _Prairies and Plateaus_.
+
+_The Boreal Forest._--From Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador a
+forest composed mainly of a few species of coniferous trees extends
+westward, and after passing the southern extremity of Hudson Bay, is
+prolonged northwestward across the continent and in the region of
+the mouth of the Mackenzie nearly to the shore of the Arctic Ocean. It
+extends also through central Alaska to within about 100 miles of the
+border of Bering Sea. This vast transverse forest belt which unites the
+northern extremity of the Atlantic forest with the northern portion of
+the Pacific forest is over 3,000 miles long from southeast to northwest,
+and on an average fully 600 miles wide. On the north, more especially in
+arctic Canada and as it approaches the shore of Bering Sea, it thins
+out, owing to the severity of the winter climate, the trees become
+dwarfed and stunted in much the same way as the trees adjacent to the
+timber-line on high mountains, and is succeeded by the broad treeless
+plains of the Barren Grounds and tundra. Along its south-central border
+its extension is again limited by climatic conditions, principally the
+dryness of the hot summers. The trees are there scattered or form
+isolated groves to the south of the general forest boundary, and are
+finally succeeded by the treeless prairies and interior plains and
+plateaus. On the east the great northern forest merges with the pine of
+the northern portion of the Atlantic forest, and in a similar way at the
+northwest passes by insensible gradations into the north extension of
+the coniferous forest growing on the Pacific mountains. In each of the
+instances there is no well-defined boundary between the east and west
+belt of northern forests and the north and south forest belts adjacent
+to the Atlantic and Pacific.
+
+The boreal forest presents a striking contrast to the forests of the
+torrid zone and to the greater portion of the forests of temperate
+regions in the fact that it is composed of but a few species of trees.
+Monotony which becomes oppressive to one who lingers long in its sombre
+shade is its most conspicuous characteristic. In the main it is composed
+of but eight species of trees, namely, white and black spruce, larch or
+tamarack, canoe-birch, balsam-poplar, aspen, balsam-fir, and the gray
+pine. Of these the spruces are the most abundant and most characteristic
+as well as the most northern trees of the continent. They
+frequently reach sufficient size to make them available for building log
+houses and for lumber.
+
+Four of the species mentioned above, namely, the white spruce,
+canoe-birch, balsam-poplar, and aspen, cross the entire breadth of the
+continent from Labrador to Alaska, but the pines and firs in the east
+and the west are of different species. The larch or tamarack, which
+forms such an important feature of the forest in eastern Canada and
+about the Laurentian lakes, extends westward to beyond Hudson Bay, but
+is represented by other species in the Mackenzie and Yukon basins, and
+in the northern portion of the Pacific mountains. The region occupied by
+the great northern forest is interspersed with lakes, some of them of
+large size, and by innumerable swamps. The spruces and the gray pine
+grow on the uplands between the lakes and swamps, while the cold, wet
+bottom-lands are occupied by poplars, dwarf birches, willows, and
+alders. In the north, near where the forest breaks into outstanding
+groves and finally gives place to grassy hills, as along the Porcupine
+River in Alaska, the foliage in the lowlands becomes golden in autumn
+and forms irregular, far-reaching avenues of brilliant colour separating
+the hills, which are black with spruce-trees or shimmer with the soft
+gray tints of ripened grasses. There is much that is beautiful and even
+lovely along the poleward border of the great forest, but within its
+deeper recesses the ground is covered with mosses and lichens, and the
+stiff, sombre trees have a monotonous similarity and unbending rigidity.
+
+In spite of the great area covered by the boreal forest, it being one of
+the greatest, if not the most widely extended continuous growth of
+arboreal vegetation in the world, it is of comparatively small economic
+importance. Even if the trees were within the reach of a market, their
+wood is of inferior quality and not generally suitable for lumber. A
+modern industry has been developed, however, which may bring it into
+demand, namely, the manufacture of wood-pulp, so largely employed in the
+making of paper and for other purposes.
+
+_The Pacific Forest._--In the northern portion of the Rocky Mountain
+region in Canada and Alaska the boreal forest, as already stated, merges
+by insensible gradations with the forests occupying the Pacific
+mountains from Alaska southward to Mexico. The junction line between the
+two is irregular, and what are essentially outliers of the more northern
+forest occupy the higher portions of the mountains in the western
+portion of the United States.
+
+The Pacific forest begins at the north near Mount St. Elias, and at
+first occurs on isolated areas separated by ice-fields and inland
+reaches of the ocean, but in southeastern Alaska and on the numerous
+islands adjacent becomes more continuous and extends eastward far into
+British Columbia. As the timber-line in that region has an elevation of
+but 2,500 feet at the extreme western extension of the forest, although
+gradually rising southward, large portions of the mountains are treeless
+and barren. In the United States, on account of increasing dryness of
+the valleys from north to south, the forest becomes broken into many
+detached portions, which occupy the mountains and higher plateaus and in
+general are restricted to higher and higher locations with decrease in
+latitude. This distribution illustrates in a striking manner the
+dependence of trees on humidity. The forest is densest and the trees in
+general of greatest size and occur at the lowest elevations on the
+northwest portion of the Pacific coastal region, where the rainfall is
+excessive and distributed practically throughout the entire year. The
+Coast Ranges from Alaska southward to central California, as well as the
+Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada, are tree-clothed. In the interior,
+and especially in the central and southern portion of the Pacific
+cordillera, where the valleys are hot and dry in summer, trees are
+absent, and even the borders of the rivers in many instances without
+shade. In Canada the trees frequently extend across the lowlands, but in
+Montana and Idaho the valleys resemble the treeless plains to the east
+of the Rocky Mountains, while the uplands and the lower mountain slopes
+are dark with firs and pines. Above the forest rise the barren and
+frequently perpetually snow-covered summit-peaks and ridges. In
+the Great Basin region, and from there southward, many of the mountains
+are practically destitute of trees from base to summit.
+
+So vast is the region occupied by the Pacific forest and so varied the
+conditions dependent upon climate, soil, and elevation which influence
+its growth, that great variations in the genera and species of trees
+composing it are to be expected. This prediction is soon verified when
+one travels through the forest. The extremes may be indicated briefly by
+referring to the fact that at the north the trees are mainly spruces,
+firs, and cedars, and at the south include the giant cactus, arboreal
+yucca, and the fan-leafed palm. In its medial division are the great
+forests of western Washington and Oregon, composed mainly of firs and
+cedars, and the no less magnificent forests of redwood-trees on the
+Coast Ranges of northern California and the west slope of the Sierra
+Nevada. Like the boreal forest, the one under consideration is largely
+composed of coniferous trees, although in the valley, and especially
+along the borders of streams in southern Canada, Washington, etc., a few
+species of broad-leaved trees, such as the maple, cottonwood, ash, and
+alder, thrive in close association with dark conifers; while in similar
+situations farther south oaks growing in scattered groves give a
+park-like character to the land, as in the southern portion of
+California.
+
+In contrast with the Atlantic region, the western portion of the
+continental forest belt is singularly lacking in broad-leaved trees, and
+such as are found are usually of small size and but little economic
+importance. This lack, however, is perhaps more than counterbalanced by
+the number both of individuals and of species and the great size and
+magnificence of the conifers.
+
+One of the densest and in many ways most thoroughly representative
+portions of the Pacific forest where it occupies an excessively humid
+region occurs on the west side of the Cascade Mountains in Washington,
+inclusive of the Puget Sound basin and the region to the westward from
+which rise the Olympic Mountains.
+
+In western Washington the forest is composed mainly, and, in
+fact, over large areas, almost entirely of two species of trees, namely,
+the red fir and the red cedar, each of which attains gigantic
+dimensions. Of these two species, the first is the more common, the
+larger, and by far the more important from a commercial point of view.
+It frequently, and, in fact, commonly, attains a height of from 200 to
+300 feet, with a diameter at the base of from 8 to 10 or more feet. Not
+only do these magnificent trees reach such great dimensions, but they
+are thickly set over hundreds of square miles of territory. In thousands
+of instances the great trunks sheathed in rough thick bark rise straight
+and massive, with but a slight decrease in diameter, to a height of
+upward of 80 feet before the first branch is given off. The cedars, the
+intimate companions of the great firs, are of equally gigantic girth at
+the base, but taper rapidly to spire-like summits, usually from 100 to
+150 feet above the ground, and are thickly set with small branches
+throughout. They flourish best in excessively moist situations and reach
+far up the mountains, particularly along the numerous watercourses;
+while the firs, although perhaps most at home on the less thoroughly
+water-soaked uplands, thrive on the banks of streams, the sides and
+summits of hills, and on steep mountainsides alike.
+
+Mere enumeration of the number and size of the trees, however, fails to
+give an adequate impression of the astonishing magnificence of the
+wonderful forest of the Puget Sound region. Its grandeur is beyond
+description, and can only be fully appreciated by one who abides for
+weeks or months in its perpetual twilight. The great trees, shaggy with
+mosses and lichens of innumerable tints of brown, green, and yellow, do
+not form detached groves, as is so frequently the case in less humid
+lands, but are thickly set for mile after mile and league after league,
+as one threads his difficult way beneath them. So vast is the forest
+that a person travelling through it soon becomes impressed with the idea
+that it is interminable. Beneath the deep shade of the lofty boughs
+there is a rank undergrowth of young firs, cedars, and hemlocks, while
+in the valleys especially, and on the frequently inundated
+flood-plains of the streams, there is usually a tangled growth of
+vine-like maples, alders, elders, yews, etc. In this lower forest the
+most conspicuous and frequently too abundant plant is the broad-leaved
+and excessively spiny devil's-club, the foliage of which changes to
+brilliant yellow in the early autumn, and forms a most artistic setting
+for the spikes of crimson fruit borne at the extremities of the
+upward-bending ends of the usually prostrate stems.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Douglas Firs, Vancouver, B. C.]
+
+Of still more lowly habits are the ferns, mosses, and lichens which form
+a thick, luxuriant, and ever-varied carpet over the black humus soil
+beneath. The ground throughout the forest is encumbered with fallen
+trunks, sometimes piled one on another to the depth of 20 or 30 feet,
+which, owing to the continuous moisture, remain undecayed for centuries.
+Not infrequently a massive cedar or fir, in size and shape not unlike a
+prostrate column of some great temple, supports three or more trees,
+each large enough to be cut for lumber, whose gnarled and twisted roots
+clasp the sides of their host and descend to the earth beneath. The
+beauty of these fallen giants when overgrown with thick layers of
+variegated moss and exquisitely decorated with hundreds of small
+hemlocks and a multitude of gracefully bending fern-fronds, always fresh
+in colour and usually beaded with moisture, is beyond the power of the
+most skilful artist to adequately portray. The fascination of the
+great forest is such that the explorer, although perhaps weary with
+forcing a passage through the dense undergrowths and climbing over
+prostrate trunks, is lured by its charms into more and more inaccessible
+retreats probably never before invaded by man, but at last finding that
+the wonderland has no attainable limits, is content to rest on some
+inviting couch of golden-tinted lichens and study the varied charms and
+endless details of the dream-like picture surrounding him.
+
+From a commercial point of view the forest of the Puget Sound region is
+of immense importance. Lumber industries have been established there,
+with the most improved appliances for cutting trees, transporting the
+logs to mills, and sawing them into lumber, much of which is loaded on
+ships and widely distributed. So vast is the forest, however, that as
+yet the natural conditions are but slightly changed, except in the
+immediate vicinity of tide-water, but the destruction from axe and fire
+has only been begun; the waste that, no doubt, is to continue is most
+disheartening.
+
+Another centre in the vast and locally differentiated Pacific forest, as
+typical in its way as are the dense growths of fir and cedar just
+referred to, occurs on the Coast Range of north California, where the
+redwood (_Sequoia sempervirens_) is the all-important and characteristic
+tree. This redwood forest begins at the south in the vicinity of San
+Francisco, and extends northward, mainly on the moist seaward slopes of
+the Coast Ranges, to southwestern Oregon, but seldom reaches more than
+30 miles inland.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Redwood Forest, California.]
+
+The redwood resembles the cedar in habit, general appearance, character
+of its wood, and colour of bark and leaves. It flourishes best in moist
+localities, and attains a great size, surpassing in height and diameter
+of stem even the giant firs of Washington, and is only exceeded on this
+continent by its cousin, the great sequoia (_Sequoia gigantea_) of the
+western slope of the Sierra Nevada, in south-central California. It
+frequently attains a height of 300 or more feet, with a diameter at the
+base of 15 or 16, and in certain exceptional instances of over 20 feet.
+It rarely branches low, but almost invariably has a straight,
+fluted stem, perfectly symmetrical, rising with a slight taper for about
+200 feet to the first limb. The foliage is dull green in colour, fine,
+and drooping. It is a most beautiful tree both in form and colour, and
+is markedly gregarious in habit. As stated by Henry Gannett, it forms
+the densest forest known if the comparison is made on the basis of the
+amount of merchantable lumber growing on a given unit of area. For
+example, the yellow-pine forests of the Southern Atlantic and Gulf
+States contain on an average about 5,000 feet, board measure (square
+feet of boards an inch thick), of timber per acre, and in the moderately
+dense portion of the white-pine forests of the Great Lakes region the
+average is about the same. In each of these regions, famed for their
+lumber, a tract containing 10,000 feet of lumber per acre would be
+considered as heavily forested. In the redwood forests of California,
+however, 50,000 feet of lumber per acre is not rare over extensive
+areas, while for special tracts containing many square miles this
+estimate may safely be doubled. Upon 96,443 acres in Humboldt County,
+California, the average amount of lumber contained in the trees still
+standing is 84,000 feet per acre. The returns of lumber companies during
+a continuous period of ten years from tracts which have been cleared
+show a return of 75,000 to 100,000 feet per acre, but even this is not
+the maximum. A certain tract of several square miles actually yielded
+150,000 feet per acre; and there is on record a yield of 1,431,530 feet
+from a single acre. One tree is said to have furnished 66,500 feet of
+lumber, and another, 15 feet in diameter at the base, contained
+100,000 feet. Another tree, still standing, measures 22 feet in
+diameter, and it is estimated will yield 200,000 square feet of boards
+an inch thick.
+
+The wood of the redwood-tree is of a clear red colour with the exception
+of a thin layer just under the bark, which is almost pure white, and is
+light, soft, coarse-grained, and susceptible of a high polish. It is the
+most common and most valuable of all the forest products of the Pacific
+coast of North America, and is serviceable for a great variety of
+purposes.
+
+The celebrated "big trees" of California are not to be confounded with
+the redwood described above, but belong to a different species of the
+same genus. The big trees are worthy of their name, as they are by far
+the largest in North America. When full-grown they average about 275
+feet in height, with a diameter near the ground of about 20 feet. One of
+the tallest as yet measured has a height of 325 feet, and the largest a
+diameter of 35 feet 8 inches inside the bark and 4 feet above the
+ground. The age of one of these giants, as shown by the number of rings
+of growth in its trunk, is about thirteen hundred years; another, 24
+feet in diameter, is twenty-two hundred years old; and a third showed
+over four thousand rings of growth, and must have been in its prime at
+the time of the birth of Christ. The trees occur in detached groves on
+the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in south-central California, but
+become more common southward, where they form a genuine forest belt.
+Their range from north to south is about 260 miles, and their elevation
+above the sea from 6,000 to 8,000 feet.
+
+"So exquisitely harmonious," says John Muir, in his charming book The
+Mountains of California, "and finely balanced are even the very
+mightiest of these monarchs of the woods in all their proportions and
+circumstances, that there is never anything overgrown or monstrous about
+them. On coming in sight of them for the first time, you are likely to
+say, 'Oh, see what beautiful, noble-looking trees are towering there
+among the firs and pines!' their grandeur being in the meantime in great
+part invisible, but to the living eye it will be manifest sooner
+or later, stealing slowly on the senses like the grandeur of Niagara or
+the lofty Yosemite domes. Their great size is hidden from the
+inexperienced observer as long as they are seen at a distance in one
+harmonious view. When, however, you approach them and walk around them,
+you begin to wonder at their colossal size and seek a measuring-rod.
+These giants bulge considerably at the base, but not more than is
+required for beauty and safety; and the only reason that this bulging
+seems in some cases excessive is that only a comparatively small section
+of the shaft is seen at once in near views. One that I measured in the
+King's River forest was 25 feet in diameter at the ground and 10 feet in
+diameter 200 feet above the ground, showing that the taper of the trunk
+as a whole is charmingly fine. And when you stand back far enough to see
+the massive columns from the swelling instep to the lofty summit
+dissolving in a dome of verdure, you rejoice in the unrivalled display
+of combined grandeur and beauty. About 100 feet or more of the trunk is
+usually branchless, but its massive simplicity is relieved by the bark
+furrows, which, instead of making an irregular network, run evenly
+parallel, like the fluting of an architectural column, and to some
+extent by tufts of slender sprays that wave lightly in the winds and
+cast flecks of shade, seeming to have been pinned on here and there for
+the sake of beauty only. The young trees have slender simple branches
+down to the ground, put on with strict regularity, sharply aspiring at
+the top, horizontal about half-way down, and drooping in handsome curves
+at the base. By the time the sapling is five or six hundred years old
+this spiry, feathery, juvenile habit merges into a firm, rounded dome
+form of middle age, which in turn takes on the eccentric picturesqueness
+of old age. No other tree in the Sierra forest has foliage so densely
+massed or presents outlines so firmly drawn and so steadily subordinate
+to a special type.... The foliage of the saplings is dark bluish green
+in colour, while the older trees ripen to a warm brownish-yellow tint,
+like _Libocedrus_. The bark is rich crimson brown, purplish in
+young trees and in shady portions of the old, while the ground is
+covered with brown leaves and burrs forming colour masses of
+extraordinary richness, not to mention the flowers and underbrush that
+rejoice about them in their season. Walk in the sequoia woods at any
+time of year, and you will say they are the most beautiful and majestic
+on earth. Beautiful and impressive contrasts meet you everywhere; the
+colours of tree and flowers, rock and sky, light and shade, strength and
+frailty, endurance and evanescence, tangles of supple hazel-bushes, tree
+pillars about as rigid as granite domes, roses and violets the smallest
+of their kind, blooming around the feet of the giants. Then in winter
+the trees themselves break forth in bloom, myriads of small four-sided
+staminate cones crowd the ends of the slender sprays, colouring the
+whole tree, and when ripe dusting the air and ground with golden
+pollen."
+
+Owing to the remoteness of the big trees from commercial centres, they
+have escaped to a great extent the destruction which everywhere attends
+the advent of the white man, and some of the finest groves are now under
+state protection.
+
+The sequoias are not only of interest on account of their great size and
+grandeur, but from the fact that they are the lingering survivors of an
+ancient and once widely distributed genus. During the Cretaceous and
+Tertiary divisions of geological history the genus numbered at least 50
+species, as has been shown by leaf impressions, fossil wood, and cones
+buried in the rocks of New Zealand and Chile on the south, Spitzbergen
+and Greenland on the north. Over North America they extend from the
+Atlantic to the Pacific. At present the only two species known, both of
+which, as already stated, are confined to the Pacific coast, and with
+the exception of a slight extension of the less gigantic of the two into
+southwestern Oregon, are found only in California.
+
+While the firs, cedars, and redwoods form the major portion of the
+forests in the more humid regions on the western side of the continent,
+there are two species of pines growing in drier situations which in a
+general view are even more characteristic of the Pacific forest
+than are the sequoias. These two pines, well worthy to stand side by
+side with the giant firs and still more gigantic redwoods, are known as
+the sugar-pine and the yellow pine.
+
+The sugar-pine grows amid the mountains from southwestern British
+Columbia, southward through western Washington, Oregon, and on the
+Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges of California, at elevations ranging from
+4,000 to 8,000 feet. It frequently clothes steep declivities or bids
+defiance to the storms on the crests of sharp ridges. In size it is
+scarcely exceeded by any of its companions excepting the firs and
+sequoias. It frequently attains a height of from 200 to 275 feet, with a
+diameter at the base of from 8 to 14, and in some instances of over 20
+feet. Individual trees are known which have a height of 245 feet and are
+18 feet in diameter. The branches are usually high above the ground and
+widely spreading. In the case of well-grown individuals they leave the
+main trunk with a sweeping, downward curve, which midway out changes to
+an upward curve, and at the extreme distal end droops once more. At the
+extremity of many of the far-reaching boughs there are suspended one or
+two cones, each 12 or 14 inches long and sometimes over 8 inches in
+diameter. The peculiar and frequently remarkably regular curvature of
+the great branches, giving them the form of half a Cupid's bow, imparts
+to these mighty pines a grace and symmetry possessed by few other trees.
+The familiar name of this great pine refers to the fact that from wounds
+or incisions in its trunk there exudes a sweet sap which is considered
+by many persons to exceed even the sap of the maple in agreeableness of
+flavour.
+
+Lovers of beautiful trees will agree in considering the sugar-pine as
+the noblest of its family growing in the woods of America, if not the
+most majestic of its kindred in the world. Its only rival, but of a
+different type of beauty, is the Norfolk Island pine, of the south sea
+islands.
+
+Of the many pleasant memories of camp life in the forests of America
+which are a source of delight to the writer none are recalled with
+greater pleasure than those associated with the sugar-pine of the
+Sierra Nevada, where the ground is carpeted with the long brown needles
+that fall in showers at certain seasons from the boughs far overhead.
+With the faded leaves are strewed also the great cones which always
+excite wonder and admiration. In the clear air and brilliant sunlight of
+the Californian mountains the luxuriant plume-like leaves far aloft
+appear to be formed of burnished silver or have the yellow of gold,
+according as the light strikes them, and at night the lofty boughs
+swayed by the winds make music such as no other forest can produce.
+Nothing in the vegetable world, not even the great sequoias, convey such
+an abiding impression of strength and majesty as these pines which have
+withstood the storms of centuries without losing their vigour or their
+symmetry and beauty of form. Unfortunately as it would seem, however,
+these magnificent trees are useful, as the term is commonly employed,
+and are fast falling a prey to lumbermen, who measure their value in
+dollars.
+
+The yellow pine of the Pacific mountains, not to be confounded, however,
+with the yellow pine of the southern Appalachian region, fortunately has
+another common name, the _silver pine_, which is more appropriate and
+distinctive. This is the most widely spread, perhaps, of all the pines
+of North America, and is familiar to every one who has travelled through
+the Pacific mountains from British Columbia to Mexico, and from the
+Black Hills of Dakota or the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico
+westward to within hearing of the surf of the Pacific Ocean. It ranks
+second in size to the sugar-pine, but is a near rival in strength and
+nobleness of form. As might be inferred from its wide distribution, the
+silver pine had adapted itself to a great range of conditions, not only
+of climate, but of soil and height above the sea. It is found from an
+elevation of about 2,000 feet above the sea up the mountainsides nearly
+to timber-line, and flourishes alike in the hot, arid valleys and in
+regions bordering on perpetual snow and ice. One beautiful feature of
+the silver-pine forests is their open, park-like character. The trees
+stand far apart, and thus have room to reach not only a great size,
+but a remarkable degree of perfection of form. Between the
+islands of shade on the sunlit ground there is usually but little
+undergrowth, and the far-extending natural pastures permit one to ride
+in any direction without inconvenience.
+
+One other pine of the widely extended Pacific forest demands attention
+even from the passing traveller, not on account of its size, for it is a
+dwarf in a land of giants, but for its wide distribution and the food
+its large, oily seeds furnish for birds, squirrels, and even for man. I
+refer to the piñon pine, of which there are several species. They are
+seldom over 35 or 40 feet high, and are not remarkable for beauty,
+although they furnish an agreeable feature in the sparsely
+forest-clothed and semiarid region where they thrive best, but they bear
+a profusion of small cones, each of which contains perhaps a dozen
+edible and nutritious seeds. These seeds were formerly used by the
+Indians for food on an extensive scale, and are still gathered in large
+quantities, and may be found in the markets of our cities. The Indian
+encampments in the piñon forests in the fall of the year are among the
+most picturesque features of these degenerate days of the aborigines.
+
+In the southwest portions of the United States the forests are confined
+to the mountains and the higher table-lands, the hot, arid valleys being
+without trees other than the larger growths of cacti and yucca. Similar
+conditions are present in northern Mexico, but on the western side of
+that republic and throughout practically the whole of the peninsula of
+Lower California the mountains and valleys alike are treeless and
+desolate.
+
+As stated by C. S. Sargent, the forests of North America, exclusive of
+Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, contain arboreal
+representatives of 158 genera of plants, of which 94 genera occur in the
+Atlantic and 59 in the Pacific side of the continent, and 48 genera in
+the tropical portion of southern Florida. Of the number of genera of
+trees in the Caribbean forest we have no reliable census.
+
+
+                PRAIRIES, TREELESS PLAINS, AND PLATEAUS
+
+To the west of the Atlantic forest lie the broad natural meadows termed
+prairies, and still farther west the yet more extensive pasture-lands of
+the great plateaus which reach the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains
+(Fig. 28). The transition from the luxuriant and varied forest on the
+east to the treeless, thinly grass-covered plateaus on the west side of
+the interior Continental basin is gradual. The change occurs in the
+prairie region, where a struggle has been in progress for thousands of
+years between the conditions favouring and those adverse to tree growth.
+The balance of power, so to speak, is the amount of rain or of
+soil-stored moisture during the summer season. The gradual decrease in
+the mean annual precipitation from east to west on the inland border of
+the Atlantic forest continues westward, and on the plateaus adjacent to
+the Rocky Mountains the aridity is such that no trees can grow except
+along the immediate border of the stream, unless artificially irrigated.
+
+The explanation of the absence of trees in the central and western
+portions of the interior Continental basin is found in the mean annual
+rainfall and the manner in which it is distributed throughout the year,
+together with variations in the texture and composition of the soil, and
+the disturbances in the natural conditions brought about by fires. The
+question, "Why are the prairies treeless?" has been variously answered
+by different observers. The outcome of a long discussion in this
+connection seems to be that the main cause of the absence of trees lies
+in the climatic conditions and principally in the lack of sufficient
+rain during the long, hot summers. Arid regions the world over are
+without forests, but the Prairie plains cannot be said to be arid; in
+fact, the mean annual rainfall over the greater portion of this region
+is equal to or exceeds that of many well-forested countries, averaging
+as it does in general about 30 inches. But the prairies lie between the
+more humid forest-covered regions on the east and the less humid or
+subarid plateaus on the west, and during the summer season
+droughts and hot, scorching winds are of common occurrence. It is the
+long dry summer that establishes the critical conditions, particularly
+about the eastern and northern borders of the prairies. Of secondary
+importance is the character of the soil. An exceedingly fine soil, like
+that of the prairies, as has been pointed out by J. D. Whitney, by
+excluding the air from the roots of trees is detrimental to their
+growth. Where the dryness of the summers make the lives of trees
+precarious the nature of the soil, whether coarse or fine, becomes the
+controlling factor. In the prairie region where the soil is more open
+and porous than usual, although other conditions remain the same, as in
+the Cross Timbers of Texas, trees flourish; while intervening areas
+where the soil is fine are typical prairies. Again, where the climatic
+conditions become critical, as during long, dry summers, the grass and
+other vegetation burns readily, fire spreads rapidly and widely, and
+young trees are destroyed. In the prairie region, as pointed out by J.
+W. Powell, the Indians were formerly in the habit of burning the grass
+each summer in order to insure more favorable pasturage for game during
+the succeeding spring. This annual burning kept back the forest and led
+to the eastward extension of the prairie.
+
+During the past decade many groves have been planted on the prairies,
+and have flourished, especially when the adjacent fields are cultivated
+so as to allow the earth to store a larger share of the winter rain; the
+success of this tree planting, it has been claimed, is evidence that the
+nature of the soil is not a determining factor in the problem, because
+trees will grow if protected from fire. The success of arboriculture on
+the formerly treeless plains and plateaus, however, decreases as one
+travels westward. On the western border of the prairies and on the great
+plateaus, remote from streams, trees can be made to grow only by the aid
+of irrigation. If this region had never been swept by fire it is safe to
+say it would still be treeless. Each of the explanations referred to
+above to account for the treeless condition of the prairies--one
+referring it to soil conditions, and the other to the former prevalence
+of fires--certainly has much in its favour, and for certain localities
+seems satisfactory, but each point of view should include a broader
+range and recognise the fact that the requisite critical conditions have
+been furnished by wide-reaching climatic causes. The Prairie plains
+furnish but one phase of the gradual change that occurs in the natural
+mantle of vegetation when traced from the dense, well-watered forests of
+the Appalachians and the Alleghany plateau westward to the semiarid and
+truly arid lands of the great plateaus and Rocky Mountain region, where
+only such plants as are able to withstand long-continued drought can
+grow. This same broad conclusion is sustained also at the north, where
+the prairie dovetails, as it were, with the subarctic forest.
+
+The general or underlying reason for the treeless condition of the vast
+central portion of the continent is doubtless a lack of sufficient rain.
+The precipitation that does occur comes mainly during the winter season,
+when the land is colder than the ocean; in summer the land becomes
+highly heated and imparts its temperature to the air, which thus has its
+capacity for moisture increased, and prolonged droughts occur. At the
+south, in Mexico and the adjacent portion of the United States, the
+trade-winds blow over a region which is more highly heated than the
+ocean from which they come, and are hence drying winds. To the west of
+the Great plateaus rise the Rocky Mountains, where climatic conditions
+are different on account of elevation, and, as we have seen, forests
+occur at considerable elevations, but not in the broader valleys. The
+conditions unfavourable for tree growth are continued and even
+intensified in the valleys of the central portion of the Pacific
+mountain region, and culminate in the deserts of the Great Basin and
+western Mexico. Throughout all of this vast treeless region the
+controlling condition is deficiency of moisture, particularly during the
+summer or growing season.
+
+The nearest approach to desert conditions to be found in North America
+occur in the valley of Utah and Nevada and the southern portion
+of the Great Basin region in Arizona and Mexico. The bottoms of these
+valleys are, in some instances, occupied by shallow lakes in winter,
+when scanty rains occur, but during the long, hot summers they become
+completely desiccated, and are then broad expanses of hard mud, cracked
+by drying so as to resemble a tessellated pavement of cream-coloured
+marble. These mud-flats or _playas_ are frequently absolutely without
+plant life. Excepting the playas, however, and, in numerous instances, a
+narrow belt of ground encircling them, which is white with efflorescent
+salts, the valleys of even the most arid portion of the Great Basin
+region are generally plant-covered. The most common and most widely
+spread of the shrubs on these shadeless plains is the sage-brush. So
+characteristic is this plant of countless valleys from Canada to Mexico
+within the general region of the Pacific mountains that to one familiar
+with the country the term "sage-brush land" brings to mind the leading
+features of the region designated. The sage-brush lands are far from
+being desert areas, however, for in early spring a profusion of low,
+sweet-scented flowers bloom beneath the gray-green _Artemisia_, and
+sufficient bunch-grass to sustain considerable herds may be expected in
+the same localities.
+
+The vast, irregular belt of forest encircling the central treeless
+portion of the continent also dies out on its northern border, where the
+subarctic forest is succeeded northward by the Barren Grounds and tundra
+plains. Clearly the explanation of the absence of trees in the prairie
+region and the adjacent plateaus cannot be applied to scarcely less
+extensive treeless plains at the far north, where rain falls in summer
+and the soil is always abundantly charged with moisture. It needs no
+argument to show that the control among the conditions governing tree
+growth at the north passes to the temperate element of climate, and that
+the timber-line is there determined, as it is on high mountains, by the
+severity of the winters' storms and frosts and the shortness of the
+summers.
+
+
+                       THE TREELESS MOUNTAIN TOPS
+
+On the higher mountains of North America above the upper limit at which
+trees are able to grow there are picturesque regions carpeted and
+garlanded in late spring and summer with lovely flowers, the
+indescribable charms of which are only known to those who rejoice in
+climbing rugged peaks and in following the trails of the mountain-goat
+along sharp-crested ridges. The gorgeous blossoms of these roof-gardens
+of the world are much the same on all high mountains in temperate
+latitudes, but from having become first widely known to civilized man on
+the mountains of Switzerland, are generally termed alpine flowers. The
+most attractive features of an alpine flora, which springs into bloom as
+soon as the snow melts and forms a rapidly widening belt of colour as
+the margins of the snow-fields recede higher and higher, is the great
+profusion of brilliantly coloured blossoms. No sooner does the snow of
+winter melt than the moist ground becomes enamelled in brilliant colours
+on account of the springing up and quick blossoming of millions of hardy
+plants. The growing season on mountain heights is short, but the sun's
+energy is there more intense and the hours of light each day longer than
+in the valleys below, and the plants adapted to such conditions pass
+through their annual circle of changes from sprouting seed to mature
+fruit with remarkable rapidity. In many instances the mountain-climber
+finds beautiful lilies unfolding their sun-dyed blossoms at the bottom
+of well-like depressions in lingering snow-banks. The gleaming
+mountain-peaks when seen from afar are said to be crowned with snow, but
+the mountaineer rejoices in the knowledge that their cold diadems are
+wreathed and festooned about their lower margins with lovely blossoms.
+Many mountains less ambitious than their neighbours have the garlands
+without the crown. An alpine flora is present on the Pacific mountains
+from Mexico northward to Alaska. Like the "timber-line" and the
+"snow-line," the intermediate belt of profusely flowering herbaceous
+plants descends lower and lower with decrease in latitude; on the great
+volcanic cones of Mexico it has an elevation of over 15,000 feet;
+on the Sierra Nevada the greatest wealth of flowers occurs at about
+12,000 feet; on Mount Rainier widely extended gardens resplendent with
+rainbow tints occur at 7,000 to 8,000 feet; and about the foot-hills
+near Mount St. Elias, at an elevation of 2,500 feet or less above the
+sea, every knoll and island-like area in the vast ice-fields is so
+densely overgrown with brilliantly flowered plants that one has to part
+the rank growths with his hands and press them aside with his alpenstick
+in order to force a way through the fields of bloom. Admirers of
+nature's loveliness who have not climbed to aspiring heights will find a
+new and beautiful world in the public alpine garden on the summit and
+about the snow-fields of the higher portions of the Pacific mountains,
+where no sign-boards forbid entry and no fences obstruct the way. In
+these regions nearest the sun and stars there are few, if any, plants of
+utility to man, but marvellous beauty and lavish profusion fill the
+foreground in every view. These glorious mountain heights have their
+use, however, although as yet known to but few; rest and recreation amid
+scenes at the same time novel and most inspiring may there be found by
+the toilers in our crowded cities.
+
+Among the Atlantic mountains only a few summits attain a sufficient
+elevation to claim a wreath of alpine flowers. Something of the nature
+of the gorgeous fields of bloom about the great peaks of the Pacific
+mountains is suggested on the treeless summits of the White Mountains,
+but although classed by botanists among alpine floras, the plants
+growing there fail to give a true idea of the display characteristic of
+the mountains which make a nearer approach to the lower limit of
+perennial snow. In the southern Appalachians the absence of a luxuriant
+alpine flora is perhaps more than counterbalanced by the profusion of
+rhododendrons, azaleas, and laurels.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One instructive lesson suggested by this hasty glance at the plant life
+of North America is furnished by the quick response that vegetation
+gives to conditions of environment. Throughout the greater
+divisions of the forest, prairies, grass-covered plains and valleys, and
+flower-decked mountain heights there are constant variations from
+locality to locality in the plant life to meet seemingly obscure or but
+slight changes in the conditions of temperature, humidity, exposure to
+sunlight, soil composition, soil texture, etc.; and besides there is a
+never-ceasing struggle for existence among the plants themselves which
+leads to important modifications of a flora. These changes occur from
+locality to locality, frequently within a short radius, but more than
+this, the resultant of the various modifying conditions on which plant
+life depends are not constant even for a given locality. The study of
+extinct floras has shown that during the preceding ages in the earth's
+history marvellous changes in the plants of many regions, and, in fact,
+of the entire earth's surface, have taken place. The distinct
+impressions of palm-leaves, for example, are commonly found in the rocks
+of the Cascade Mountains, where spruces, firs, and cedars now dominate
+the landscape. Still more striking is the fact that even treeless
+Greenland and the largely ice-covered islands of the arctic archipelago
+were formerly clothed with forests as luxuriant and varied as those now
+growing in the southern Appalachian region. Although the migrations of
+existing forests during the few centuries of which we have historic
+records have been too slow to be appreciated by man, yet it is safe to
+conclude that changes similar to, and in fact a continuation of, those
+known by geologists to have taken place in the distribution of the
+vegetation of the continent since the Tertiary period are still in
+progress. With far-reaching and exceedingly slow changes in climatic
+conditions and in elevation above the sea due to upheaval and
+denudation, the plants of our forests, prairies, and mountainsides, are
+being moved here and there, in ever-changing combinations. Nature thus
+secures a rotation in the vegetation of a region, as the careful
+husbandman varies his crops from year to year. The suggestion in this
+connection furnished by geologists is that we are living in a
+spring-time following the great winter, known as the Glacial epoch, and
+that the tropical, temperate, and subarctic forests are migrating
+northward in an orderly march, and each in turn ascending higher and
+higher on the more lofty mountains.
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+  MUIR, JOHN. _The Mountains of California._ T. Fisher Unwin,
+    London, 1894.
+
+  PINCHOT, GIFFORD. _A Primer of Forestry._ United States Department
+    of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 24, Washington, D. C., 1899.
+
+  SARGENT, C. S. _Report on the Forests of North America._ Tenth
+    Census of the United States, vol. ix, Washington, D. C., 1884.
+
+  United States Geological Survey. Reports on Forestry.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER V
+
+                               ANIMAL LIFE
+
+
+A common ground to zoologists and geographers in the exploration of
+which they derive mutual pleasure from assisting each other, is the
+geographical distribution of animals. In this connection the fauna of
+North America presents perhaps even more interesting problems than does
+its flora.
+
+
+             GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
+
+In the study of the distribution of animals over a continent, the
+discovery of the laws determining the intangible boundaries which the
+members of a species may not pass is even more difficult than the
+similar task in the case of plants. Plant species for the most part
+advance and retreat slowly as conditions change, and, with minor
+exceptions, there is no freedom of movement for the individual; but
+animals, and especially the higher forms, are sensitive to even slight
+changes in their environment, and there is more or less individual
+freedom to travel over the land, to fly through the air, or to swim
+through the water. Why the members of a given species which have
+apparently unlimited power to travel should be confined to a certain and
+frequently a narrowly circumscribed area has excited the curiosity of
+man for many centuries.
+
+A point is gained in reference to the distribution of animal species
+when it is remembered that animals are either directly or indirectly
+dependent on plants for food, and it follows that if plants, as we have
+seen, are so largely controlled in their distribution by climate, the
+secret of the distribution of animals is to be sought in the same
+direction. When a thoroughly satisfactory classification of
+climatic provinces is arrived at, it will no doubt be found to agree
+with the larger features of plant distribution, and should coincide,
+although perhaps less definitely, with the major divisions into which
+the zoologist partitions the earth's surface. This principle has been
+recognised by C. Hart Merriam in subdividing the United States into
+"life-zones and crop-zones," and in the following pages his view will be
+discernible, although losing much of their clearness by reflection.
+
+_The Place of North America in the Life Realms of the Earth._--The
+geological distribution of animals has been critically studied by P. L.
+Sclater, A. R. Wallace, T. H. Huxley, and others, and the entire land
+area of the earth subdivided into realms, regions, etc., in such a
+manner as to indicate the present grouping of animals. One of the latest
+of these broad views of the life of the earth is presented by Richard
+Lydekker, who, from the evidence furnished by both living and extinct
+mammals, has divided the world into three great "realms," two of which
+are again subdivided into "regions," as follows:
+
+                    { 1. Australian region.
+    Notogæic realm  { 2. Polynesian region.
+                    { 3. Hawaiian region.
+                    { 4. Austro-Malayan region.
+
+    Neogæic realm        Neotropical region.
+
+                    { 1. Malagasy region.
+                    { 2. Ethiopian region.
+    Arctogæic realm { 3. Oriental region.
+                    { 4. Holarctic region.
+                    { 5. Sonoran region.
+
+In this classification, North America falls in part in two realms, the
+_Arctogæic_ and _Neogæic_, the former embracing the table-land of
+north-central Mexico and all of that portion of the continent lying to
+the northward, while the lowland of Mexico, together with Central
+America and the West Indies, falls in the latter realm. The Arctogæic
+includes also nearly the whole of the eastern hemisphere. The
+relationship expressed in this classification of both the living and
+extinct mammalia of North America to that of Eurasia, is supposed to be
+due to a former land connection between the Old and the New World
+at Bering Strait, and is most clearly marked by northern species, the
+intercontinental bridge being too far north to be available for southern
+forms. The mammals and many of the other animals of the low, hot borders
+of Mexico and of Central America are a northward extension of the fauna
+of South America--that continent constituting nearly the entire Neogæic
+realm. The mammals of the West Indies are few in species, and have their
+nearest relationship with the fauna of the continent to the southward.
+
+
+                      LIFE-REGIONS AND LIFE-ZONES
+
+The detailed study of the zoology of North America is far from complete,
+but the voluminous results reached have led to several attempts at broad
+generalization in reference to geographical distribution. Important and
+highly instructive memoirs have been presented in this connection by J.
+A. Allen, Angelo Heilprin, E. D. Cope, and others, who have in the main
+attempted to correlate the distribution of animal species, but
+principally the mammals, with variations in mean annual temperature.
+Among the latest of these contributions, and marking the advance made at
+the close of the nineteenth century, is the classification proposed by
+C. Hart Merriam, already referred to in the sketches that have been
+given of the climate and of the flora of the continent. The basis for
+this classification is the seemingly well-determined law that the
+northward distribution of terrestrial animals and plants is controlled
+by the sum of the positive temperatures for the entire season of growth
+and reproduction, and that the southward distribution is governed by the
+mean temperature of a brief period during the hotter portion of the
+year. By "positive temperatures" is meant the sum of the mean daily
+temperature above that which determines the period of physiological
+activity in plants and of reproductive activity in animals, assumed to
+be 6° C. or 43° F. The exact length of the period to be taken as the
+hottest portion of the year has not been definitely determined, but
+must be short enough to fall within the hottest part of the
+summer in high northern latitudes, and probably increases in length from
+north to south; the time assumed is the six hottest consecutive weeks of
+the year.
+
+On the basis just stated, Merriam has divided North America into the
+following life-regions and life-zones:
+
+ +--------+---------+---------------+---------------------------------+
+ |        |         |               |      Governing Temperatures     |
+ |        |         |               +-----------------+---------------+
+ |        |         |               | NORTHERN LIMIT  |SOUTHERN LIMIT |
+ |        |         |               +-----------------+---------------+
+ | Realms | Regions |    Zones      |  Sum of normal  |Normal mean    |
+ |  of    |         |               |   mean daily    |temperature of |
+ |  Ly-   |         |               |  temperatures   |the six hottest|
+ | dekker |         |               |   above 6° C.   |consecutive    |
+ |        |         |               |    or 43° F.    |   weeks       |
+ +--------+---------+---------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+
+ |        |         |               | Deg. C.| Deg. F.|Deg. C.|Deg F. |
+ |        |         |{Arctic        |        |        | 10[3] | 50[3] |
+ |        |{Boreal  |{Hudsonian     |        |        | 14[3] |57.2[3]|
+ |Arcto-  |{        |{Canadian      |        |        | 18    | 64.4  |
+ |  gæic  |{        |{Transition    |  5,500 | 10,000 | 22    | 71.6  |
+ |        |{Austral |{Upper austral |  6,400 | 11,500 | 26    | 78.8  |
+ |        |         |{Lower austral | 10,000 | 18,000 |       |       |
+ |Neogæic |Tropical |(At present    |        |        |       |       |
+ |        |         | unclassified) | 14,500 | 26,000 |       |       |
+ +--------+---------+---------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+
+
+[3] Estimated from insufficient data.
+
+The boundaries of the regions and zones given in the above table are
+shown on the map facing page 173, but for detailed information
+concerning the basis of the classification the reader is referred to the
+monographs by Merriam mentioned at the end of this chapter. In the
+publications referred to lists are presented of the resident mammals and
+birds characteristic of each region and of its subdivisions to the north
+of Mexico. While the boundaries shown on the accompanying map can be
+recognised in nature by the naturalist and serve a useful purpose, to
+the unskilled observer each region would appear to blend with its
+neighbours by intangible gradations. In fact, in this, as in the case of
+so many other similar instances in nature, there is an absence of
+definite, or what may be termed hard and fast lines. The significance of
+the boundaries referred to, to the unskilled observer, is still more
+obscure by the fact that the migratory birds, and to some extent the
+mammals, annually pass from one zone to another, and besides,
+several conspicuous mammals and birds are permanent residents in more
+than one zone.
+
+
+                              THE MAMMALS
+
+The relation of the mammals of North America to the similar animals now
+inhabiting other portions of the earth may be briefly shown by
+indicating the distribution of the orders into which the mammalia are
+divided. It will be remembered that in general each order is subdivided
+into families, these again into genera, the genera into species, and a
+species may contain several varieties. The classification here adopted
+is the one used by Lydekker in his Manual of Palæontology. An order when
+represented in the fauna of a continent is indicated in the following
+table by a plus, and when absent by a minus sign.
+
+                            CLASS--MAMMALIA
+
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+--------------------------+
+ |       |             |                    |    DISTRIBUTION          |
+ | Sub-  |             |                    +---+---+----+------+------+
+ |Classes|     Orders  |      Examples      | N.| S.|Eur-|      |Aus-  |
+ |       |             |                    |Am.|Am.|asia|Africa|tralia|
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+ |      {|1. Primates  |Man, lemurs,        | + | + | +  |  +   |(Man) |
+ |      {|             |apes, monkeys.      |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|2. Chiroptera|Bats.               | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|3. Insecti-  |Moles, shrews,      | + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |      {|     vora    |hedgehogs.          |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|4. Carnivora |Lions, tigers, cats,| + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |      {|             |dogs, seals, etc.   |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|5. Rodentia  |Beavers,  rats,     | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|             |mice, squirrels,    |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|             |rabbits.            |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |Eu-   {|6. Ungulata  |Ox, horse, elephant,| + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |theria{|             |tapir, etc.         |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|7. Sirenia   |Dugong and          | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|             |manatee.            |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|8. Cetacea   |Whales, dolphins,   | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|             |narwhals.           |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|9. Edentata  |Sloths, armadillos, | + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |       |             |ant-eaters.         |   |   |    |      |      |
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+ |Meta-  |10. Marsu-   |Kangaroos, opossums,| + | + | -  |  -   |  +   |
+ |theria |     pialia  |etc.                |   |   |    |      |      |
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+ |Proto- |11. Monotre- |Ornithorhynchus,    | - | - | -  |  -   |  +   |
+ |theria |      mata   |echidna             |   |   |    |      |      |
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+
+1. Of the _primates_, exclusive of man, the monkeys are the only
+representatives in North America. Several species are common in Central
+America, but they are absent from the West Indies, and do not occur
+north of the _terra caliente_ of Mexico.
+
+2. The bats are world-wide in their distribution, and several genera and
+species occur on this continent, their northern limit being in central
+Canada; during the winter in the United States and Canada they hibernate
+largely in caverns. One family of the _Chiroptera_, the leaf-nosed bats
+(_Phyllostomatidæ_), are strictly American, having their principal
+habitat in the southern continent, but ranging as far north as the West
+Indies, Mexico, and southern California. These are the vampires of which
+many harrowing tales are told. The Central American species are small,
+not larger than an English sparrow, but do not hesitate to attack
+cattle, and even men.
+
+3. The insect-eating mammals are represented by a large number of genera
+and species, of moles and shrews, but hedgehogs are absent.
+
+4. The flesh-eating animals are well represented by the cats (jaguars,
+panthers, and lynxes), wolves, bears, racoons, martens, etc. Many
+species of the seal family occur about the entire coast-line from Panama
+to the Arctic Ocean. The lion, tiger, leopard, hyena, are absent.
+
+5. The rodents are present in great numbers not only of individuals, but
+of species and genera; as rats, mice, jumping-mice, squirrels,
+porcupines, beavers, rabbits, etc.
+
+6. The hoofed animals, _ungulates_, are represented by the bison,
+musk-ox, several deer, antelope, mountain-sheep and mountain-goat,
+tapir, and swine (peccary). Abundant remains of extinct species of the
+horse family have been found, ranging far back in geological time, but
+native horses are not known to have existed since the coming of
+Europeans. The most notable vacancies in this order in the living fauna
+are the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, giraffe, and elephant, although
+these are abundantly represented by fossil forms.
+
+7. The _Sirenia_, which includes certain large herbivorous marine
+mammals of wide distribution, are represented on the borders of the Gulf
+of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea by the manatee.
+
+8. The _Cetacea_ are present in the marine waters adjacent to the coast,
+more especially in the north, where whales of several species, dolphins,
+the narwhal, etc., are found.
+
+9. Of the _Edentata_, which are so characteristic of the fauna of South
+America, and with one exception (the scaly ant-eater, not found in
+America) do not occur in the Old World, only the armadillo can be
+credited to North America; of this, two species occur from Texas
+southward.
+
+10. The marsupials, found nowhere else in the world to-day except in
+Australia and America, are represented by the opossum, of which two
+species are common in the United States.
+
+11. The lowest known order of the mammalia, the _Monotremata_,
+represented in Australia by the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus)
+and the _Echidna_, is unknown in America.
+
+Considered in reference to their abundance, large size of individuals,
+and number of species, in comparison with the other orders present,
+North America may be said to be the home of _herbivores_. The only
+continent in rivalry with it in this respect is Africa. More abundant in
+individuals and species than the herbivorous mammals, however, but
+smaller in size and frequently diminutive, are the rodents. The
+carnivores are fortunately limited in number of species, although the
+individuals of certain species are at times numerous, but not in general
+dangerous to man.
+
+
+                       SOME REPRESENTATIVE MAMMALS
+
+To the general reader the animals of greatest interest are no doubt the
+mammals, and particularly those which attract the sportsman, are of
+value for food, or furnish fur and skins for clothing. Of such animals
+the northern portion of North America and the mountains extending
+southward into the austral region furnish a large number.
+
+_The Musk-Ox._--In the far north, mostly beyond the arctic circle, lives
+the musk-ox, the hardiest of herbivores, in which, as expressed in its
+generic name, _Ovibos_, there is a curious mingling of the
+characteristics of the sheep and the ox. The teeth are similar to those
+of the sheep, the female has but two mammæ, and beneath the long
+yellowish-brown hair of the outer coat there is a thick wool-like
+growth. Its gentle, inoffensive nature is also similar to that of the
+sheep. The large feet and the horns, however, are like those of the ox
+tribe. The horns resemble those of the Cape buffalo, being broad at the
+base and covering nearly the entire forehead. They slope downward at the
+sides, and then curve forward and outward, at the same time tapering to
+a sharp point, which renders them efficient weapons. These
+characteristics, although intermediate between those of the sheep and
+the ox, are more strongly inclined to the former. In reality, however,
+the musk-ox is more goat-like than sheep-like, as is indicated by its
+covering of hair, its short sturdy legs, the cannon-bone being
+remarkably short, and its ability as a climber.
+
+A full-grown musk-ox measures about 8 feet in length, inclusive of the
+short tail, and is 3 feet, 8 or 9 inches in height at the shoulders. The
+thick-set, shaggy body is supported on short stout legs, and the feet
+are broad, to serve both as scrapers in clearing away the snow from the
+moss and herbage on which it lives and in climbing ice-covered slopes.
+
+Its range is over the Barren Grounds of Canada, the islands of the
+arctic archipelago, and the border of Greenland. Peary found it grazing
+in herds in the far north of Greenland beyond the inland ice, and was
+saved from starvation by the food it furnished. Although hardy and well
+adapted by nature to withstand the most severe cold, it moves southward
+over the Barren Grounds in winter and to some extent at least seeks
+shelter in the subarctic forest, but apparently does not pass to the
+southward of latitude 59°. Like certain other animals of the northern
+portion of the continent, its habitat is to the northeastward and it is
+unknown in Alaska.
+
+Bones of the musk-ox found in the frozen soil of Siberia indicate that
+it formerly had a circumpolar distribution. A skull obtained near Salt
+Lake City, Utah, in 1871, and the presence of its bones in the
+superficial deposit of Europe as far south as the Pyrenees, show that it
+formerly lived far to the southward of its present southern limit. This
+was during the Pleistocene division of geological history, when glacial
+ice covered all of Canada and the arctic animals were crowded southward.
+As the ice melted and its southern margin receded, the musk-ox moved
+northward. The absence of this species in northern Europe and Asia,
+where the climatic conditions, nature of the vegetation, etc., are
+similar to those of its present home, is perhaps due to the influence of
+man. The successful introduction of the domesticated reindeer into
+Alaska suggests that beneficial results would follow the transplanting
+of the musk-ox to northern Siberia.
+
+_The Polar Bear._--About all of the northern coast-line of America,
+including the shore of Bering Sea and Baffin Bay, lives the well-known
+polar bear, which is circumpolar in its distribution. The wide range of
+this the most northern of the bear tribe is due not only to its strength
+and ability to make long journeys over rough ice-floes and the wide
+distribution of the animals it feeds upon, principally the hair-seal,
+but is aided by the fact that it takes to the water readily and is a
+good swimmer. It has also been known to make long journeys on floating
+ice.
+
+_The Eskimo Dog._--Another animal of circumpolar distribution, the
+original home of which is unknown, is the Eskimo dog, the range of which
+has no doubt been extended while the distribution of many other animals
+has been curtailed, owing to human influences.
+
+_The Caribou._--The neighbour of the musk-ox in the desolate solitudes
+of the far north, and in part ranging over the same ground, is the
+caribou, the American representative of the reindeer. Indeed the caribou
+and the reindeer have been considered as belonging to the same species
+by some naturalists, but recently the American division of the genus has
+been shown to consist of at least five species, each of which
+differs from the one found in Europe and Asia. Among hunters and
+sportsmen, two divisions have long been known, namely, the woodland
+caribou and the Barren Ground caribou. The former includes the larger
+species, or the caribou proper, as it may be termed, and the recently
+described species from Newfoundland and Alaska; while the latter is
+represented by a single species, the _Rangifer articus_.
+
+The woodland caribou is in general about twice the size of the species
+inhabiting the Barren Grounds, has a height of 4½ feet at the
+shoulder, and weighs some 250 pounds, although the males sometimes reach
+a weight of 400 pounds. Its range is from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland
+northwestward through the subarctic forest to British Columbia and
+northeastern Alaska. As its popular name signifies, its home is in the
+forest, and although meeting the smaller form during the latter's
+southward migrations, it does not extend its range to the Barren
+Grounds. On the south, it was formerly found in northern Michigan and in
+southern New York, and thence eastward through Vermont, New Hampshire,
+and Maine. Owing to the activity with which it has been hunted, it has
+for the most part been crowded to the north of the St. Lawrence, and is
+reported to be greatly diminished in numbers even in the wilds of
+Labrador. It still wanders into the woods of New Hampshire and Maine,
+and occurs somewhat abundantly in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. It is
+the caribou of Newfoundland, etc., which comes nearest the reindeer in
+size and in the shape of its magnificent antlers, but none of the
+American species has been domesticated.
+
+The Barren-Ground caribou still occurs in large herds in northern
+Labrador, on the treeless region to the west of Hudson Bay, and in
+winter migrates southward into the shelter of the subarctic forest. In
+its northern range it reaches the shore of the Arctic Ocean and the
+islands adjacent, and on the west follows the tundra to the Bering Sea
+coast. In Alaska it formerly occurred in immense herds, especially in
+winter, when it made long inland journeys through the forest and across
+the frozen rivers, but the invasion of the region by miners and
+the supplying of the natives with firearms has led to a great reduction
+in its numbers. In the barren and but seldom traversed region to the
+west and north of Hudson Bay the caribou is still in its primitive
+condition and moves in bands numbering several thousand. In this
+connection an extract from the journal of J. B. Tyrrell, of the Canadian
+Geological Survey, is of interest: "All day [July 30, 1893] the caribou
+have been around us in vast numbers, many thousands being assembled in a
+single herd. One herd collected on the hill behind our camp, and another
+remained for hours in the wet bog on the point in front of us. The
+little fawns were running about everywhere, often coming up to within a
+yard or two of us, uttering their sharp grunts as they stood and looked
+at us or as they turned and ran back to the does. About noon a large
+herd had collected on the sides and summit of the hill behind us. Taking
+a small hand-camera with which we were supplied, we walked quietly among
+them. As we approached to within a few yards of the dense herd, it
+opened to let us in and then formed a circle around us, so that we were
+able to stand for a couple of hours and watch the deer as they stood in
+the light breeze or rubbed slowly past each other to keep off the black
+flies. The bucks, with their beautiful branching antlers, kept well to
+the background. Later in the afternoon a herd of bucks trotted up to us
+and stood at about 40 yards distant. This was a most beautiful sight,
+for their horns were fully grown, though still soft at the tips, but
+unfortunately we had no camera with us. We did no shooting to-day." The
+herd of caribou just described was estimated to contain between 100,000
+and 200,000 animals.
+
+The destruction of the woodland caribou in the eastern portion of Canada
+has been so great that it is in danger of being exterminated, and great
+suffering, and even starvation has overtaken the Indians of that region
+in consequence. Similar, but even more alarming results have followed
+the thoughtless slaughter of the Barren-Ground caribou in Alaska, and to
+prevent the suffering and even threatened extermination of the
+natives, reindeer from Siberia and northern Europe have been introduced
+by the United States Government[4] and are thriving under the care of
+herders from Lapland. The moss on which the reindeer feed is abundant in
+Alaska, and there seems no good reason why they should not become as
+numerous and useful in their new home as they were in the boreal portion
+of the Old World. The first reindeer were introduced in Alaska in 1881,
+and the several herds, collectively, now number 3,323.
+
+[4] The introduction of domesticated reindeer into North America is a
+very important matter, and one which if properly conducted will add
+vastly to the food supply and resources for clothing for both native and
+white people. The civilization of the natives in the northern portion of
+the continent and the securing for them of a source of subsistence which
+will depend on their own care and industry hinges on the success of this
+undertaking. Much information in this connection may be found in the
+reports of Sheldon Jackson, published by the Bureau of Education at
+Washington between 1893 and 1900.
+
+_The Moose._--This, the largest living representative of the deer tribe,
+and with the exception of the bison the largest existing land mammal of
+North America, formerly inhabited the continent throughout its entire
+breadth from the forty-third to the seventieth degree of latitude, or
+from the mouth of the Ohio to the mouth of the Mackenzie. Although
+crowded northward and now found only sparingly in the United States, as,
+for example, in the extensive forests of Maine and in the still larger
+forests clothing the mountains of Montana and Idaho, it has held its own
+in the wildest and most remote portions of the Pacific mountains in
+Canada and Alaska, where its numbers are perhaps nearly as great as they
+were a century ago. Its preservation is due not only to its shyness,
+remarkably quick hearing, and keen sense of smell, but to its solitary
+habits and the fact that it does not gather in herds during the
+breeding season, like most other deer.
+
+A full-grown male moose is from 7 to 8 feet high at the shoulder, and
+from 10 to 12 feet high at the tip of the magnificent antlers when
+standing erect, and is from 800 to 1,200 pounds in weight. The
+broad palmate antlers with numerous sharp points sometimes measure 8½
+feet or more from tip to tip. The does are without antlers, and are
+still more ungainly than the long-legged and apparently awkward males.
+Stringent laws are now enforced for the protection of the moose in all
+of the inhabited portions of its range, and it is likely to survive and
+to continue to tempt the sportsman to traverse the wild regions it
+inhabits for several generations to come.
+
+_The Wapiti._--Next in size to the moose, and in many ways the grandest
+of the deer tribe not only of America, but of the world, is the wapiti
+or American elk. In language not pedantic, W. A. Perry speaks as follows
+of this noble animal: "Monarch of the wilderness, lord of the mountain,
+king of the plain, what hunter who has sought thee in thy pine-embowered
+home whose heart-beat does not quicken and whose eye does not brighten
+at the mention of thy name! For with it comes the recollection of
+boundless prairies, grass-robed and flower-decked; of pine-clad,
+snow-capped mountains; of sweet breezes, gentle melodies, and grand
+trophies. I once heard an Indian speak his last words, and they were
+these: 'To-morrow, in the Spirit Land, again shall I chase the wapiti.'"
+
+Although the wapiti is one of the typical animals of the boreal region,
+in its primitive freedom it overstepped the boundaries of the life-zones
+which science seeks to define, and marched southward far into the
+austral region. It was found at the coming of the white man in nearly
+all parts of what is now the United States, and extended from the
+table-land of north-central Mexico northward to the fifty-sixth or
+fifty-seventh degree of latitude, or about the position of Lake
+Athabasca. Its northern range thus overlapped the region inhabited by
+the moose and caribou, while at the south it was exposed to the attacks
+of the jaguar. As civilization advanced across the continent, the wapiti
+slowly retreated, and in diminished numbers it now lives in the wildest
+portion of the Pacific mountains to the north of Snake River and the
+Columbia. It is still abundant in the Olympic Mountains of Washington,
+the Bitter Root Mountains of Idaho, and in Montana. A large herd
+finds protection in the Yellowstone National Park, but in winter, when
+migrating southward, is exposed to most destructive attacks from both
+white and Indian hunters. Among the mountains of the mainland in British
+Columbia and the central and more rugged portion of Vancouver Island it
+is still the "king of the wilderness."
+
+The male wapiti at maturity is some 7 or 8 feet high at the shoulders,
+and lifts its wide-spreading antlers fully 11 feet from the ground. Its
+weight is from 800 to possibly 1,100 pounds. The colour is, in general,
+dark brown, with lighter shades on the thighs, and changing to black
+beneath the body; there are stripes of light brown on either side of the
+tail which join an area of similar colour beneath the hind legs; the
+colour varies, however, at different seasons and in different
+individuals. The head is small, well formed, and beautiful. The carriage
+of the animal and its bold, undaunted mien, when roaming its native
+mountains and glens, is all and more than poets ascribe to the stag of
+the Old World.
+
+Stringent laws are now on the statute-books for the protection of the
+wapiti, both in the United States and Canada, but the difficulties in
+the way of enforcing them in regions remote from civilization are great.
+The wapiti does not extend into the most forbidding wilds of the far
+north, where its safety as a species, as in the case of the moose, would
+be insured, and besides, congregates in bands, which facilitates its
+slaughter. Its range has been steadily decreasing since the coming of
+the white man, and particularly since the introduction of firearms among
+the Indians, and its extinction, outside of reservations and parks, is
+to be expected in the near future.
+
+_The Smaller Deer._--Besides the caribou, moose, and wapiti, there are
+half a dozen or more members of the deer family (_Cervidæ_) represented
+in the fauna of North America. Of these the Virginia deer is best known,
+as its range embraces the most thickly settled portion of the continent
+between Maine and the Gulf States, and from the Atlantic coast to the
+Rocky Mountains. In spite of indiscriminate slaughter and poorly
+enforced game laws, this species has not only held its own, but in
+recent years has greatly increased in number in certain localities. To
+the west of the range of the Virginia deer and merging with it in part,
+in the Pacific mountain region occur the white-tailed, black-tailed
+mule, and sonora deer, and perhaps other species. The combined ranges of
+these several species embrace the larger part of the continent and
+extend from eastern Canada to the Pacific coast, and from southern
+Alaska to Panama.
+
+Next to the deer comes the antelope, formerly so common on the Great
+plateaus. This, the pronghorn antelope, as it is usually termed, is
+about the size of the domestic sheep, but with long slim legs, and is a
+most active and exceedingly graceful animal. Its true home is on the
+treeless plateaus east of the Rocky Mountains, but its range extends
+from Saskatchewan to northern Mexico, and from the Prairie plains to the
+Cascade Mountains in Oregon. It has steadily decreased in number,
+especially during the last quarter of a century, and is now no longer
+seen in the large bands that were formerly an attractive feature of the
+sea-like plains over which it travels seemingly with the freedom of a
+bird.
+
+The animals thus far referred to have their range determined mainly by
+the broader features of climate, but not in a conspicuous way by the
+relief of surface. They inhabit mountains, plateaus, and plains alike,
+as is shown most conspicuously in the case of the wapiti, which formerly
+grazed in large herds on the prairies of the Mississippi Valley, and has
+been killed at an elevation of over 10,000 feet in the Pacific
+mountains. Not so, however, with the mountain-climbers whose names
+follow, which have their chosen "station" on the mountains at
+timber-line and ascend as far above that horizon as vegetation grows.
+
+_The Bighorn or Mountain-Sheep._--The bighorn, of which three species
+are now recognised, has its home in the Pacific mountains from northern
+Mexico to central and northern Alaska. Its vertical range is also great,
+as it has been seen on the precipitous walls of the Grand Cañon of
+the Colorado, but a few hundred feet above sea-level, and about
+the summits of the peaks of Colorado and in the Sierra Nevada and
+Cascade Mountains at elevations of from 10,000 to 13,000 feet. An
+exception to the fact that the bighorn is usually found on rugged
+mountains and is most at home on seemingly inaccessible cliffs is
+furnished by bands which live and appear to thrive amid the Bad Lands
+along the Missouri River, some 400 miles to the eastward of the Stony
+Mountains.
+
+The bighorn resembles the wapiti in colour, although it is of a lighter
+brown, especially in winter. It is clothed with wool beneath the stiff
+outer coat of hair, and is a true sheep, but larger than any
+domesticated variety of _Ovis_. The rams attain a height of at least 3
+feet 6 inches at the shoulder, and weigh some 300 or 400 pounds. Both
+sexes are provided with horns, but those of the male are much the
+larger, and in the finest examples attain a length of 30 inches,
+measured along the outer curve, and a circumference at the base of 15 or
+16 inches. The most magnificent head ever obtained, so far as the writer
+has been able to learn, is that of a ram shot in the Selkirk Mountains,
+the horns of which are 52½ inches in length, measured along the outer
+curve, and 18½ inches in circumference at the base. These immense
+horns are used, as in the case of the domestic ram, in fighting, but the
+widely current statement in reference to the animals alighting on them
+when jumping from precipices is entirely mythical. The bighorn is a
+fearless and skilful mountaineer, and will climb or descend precipices
+by bounding from ledge to ledge where the most reckless hunter dares not
+follow. Its ability to find a sure footing on even smoothly glaciated
+rocks is due to the peculiar structure of the feet, which have a
+rubber-like pad beneath the sharp-pointed and sharp-edged hoofs.
+
+_The Mazama or Mountain-Goat._--The companion of the bighorn on the
+lofty mountains, but even more thoroughly a mountaineer, is the
+so-called mountain-goat, _Aplocerus montanus_, which, in spite of its
+long hair, short curved horns, sturdy legs, bearded chin, and general
+goat-like appearance, and more than the goat's ability to climb,
+is in reality more nearly related to the antelope than it is to the
+sheep. This alpine antelope, unlike its cousin of the plains, is only at
+home on dizzy heights, and summer and winter alike lives at timber-line
+on the mountains or in the alpine gardens adjacent to perpetual snow.
+
+One of the earliest generic names under which it is assumed this alpine
+antelope was included, namely, _Mazama_, although rejected by
+naturalists, has recently been revived and adopted by an enthusiastic
+mountaineering club in Portland, Oregon, as their name, and is likely to
+become widely known. Among the hunters and the inhabitants generally of
+the region where the animal under consideration lives it is termed the
+mountain-goat, and no protest from naturalists, however well founded, is
+likely to bring about a change in this connection.
+
+The mazama is entirely white, excepting its hoofs, horns, and narrow
+lines about the eyes and nostrils, which are black. In general, it is
+smaller than the bighorn, but bucks have been reported to attain a
+length of nearly 6 feet and a weight of some 300 or 400 pounds. Its
+habitat is not only higher on the mountains but more restricted in
+geographical extent than that of the bighorn. It is said to live about
+Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the Sierra Nevada, but is unknown
+farther south; in Colorado it is reported to have been seen on a few of
+the higher peaks, but its main range begins well to the north of these
+outlying localities, in the mountains of Montana and Idaho and in the
+Cascades. To the north of the United States it occurs throughout the
+higher ranges of British Columbia and in the mountains of southern
+Alaska as far west at least as Cook Inlet. It is plentiful and as yet
+undisturbed by hunters on the foot-hills about Mount St. Elias, where
+the alpine conditions congenial to it occur at an elevation of from
+2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea. Like all of the larger animals, and
+especially the herbivores, the bighorn and the mazama are sought by
+sportsmen, but on account of the ruggedness of the regions they inhabit
+and their wariness they are likely to survive when most other examples
+of "big game" shall have been exterminated. Both the bighorn and
+the mazama are sought by Indians for food and for their pelts, and their
+horns are frequently used, especially in Alaska, in the manufacture of
+spoons. They are practically of no economic importance to white men,
+although their flesh when young is excellent food, and their fleeces
+would be of value to the weaver if they could be obtained in sufficient
+quantity. They serve, however, to entice the sportsman, who is usually
+an ardent lover of nature, into some of the wildest and grandest regions
+the continent affords. Their value in this connection is not to be
+measured in dollars, and strenuous efforts should be made to insure
+their continuance.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Bison at Silver Heights, Winnipeg. (Photograph
+by William Notman & Son.)]
+
+_The Bison._--Of all the larger mammals of North America, none was more
+numerous at the time Europeans advanced over the continent than the
+bison or "buffalo" (_Bos americanus_), and none more important alike to
+the Indian and the white man. The part played by this relative of the
+domestic ox in the history of the country is not only instructive, but
+one of the best illustrations that can be furnished of the practical
+extermination of a species through the greed and lack of forethought of
+so-called civilized man.
+
+The bison is a shaggy, brown animal, about the size of the well-known
+Durham breed of cattle, but with a larger head and a prominent hump on
+the shoulders (Fig. 31). The hind quarters are small in comparison with
+the massive head and shoulders, and appear weak. The head, neck,
+shoulders, and fore legs are covered with thick matted hair, at times 16
+inches long and of a dark-brown colour merging into black. The straight
+black hair beneath the chin of the bull is usually some 10 inches in
+length, and as the animal carries its head low, frequently sweeps the
+ground. Back of the medial portion of the body the hair is short and of
+a yellowish-brown colour, or "between dark umber and a living-liver
+brown," as Audubon says. There is much variation in colour, however, and
+distinct varieties have been stated to exist. The horns, hoofs,
+and a bare space about the nostrils and mouth are black.
+
+The weight of a fully grown bull is about 2,000 pounds, and of a cow
+1,200 pounds.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Range of the Bison.]
+
+The boundaries of the region in which the bison has been seen by white
+men, together with the dates of its extermination in various sections of
+the country, etc., are shown in Fig. 32. In about 1870 the vast herd
+which ranged over the treeless plateaus and Prairie plains between the
+Rio Grande and Great Slave Lake was divided, owing to the great
+slaughter that occurred in the vicinity of the Central Pacific Railroad,
+into two herds, one of which had its summer range in Montana and
+neighbouring territory, but moved northward in summer into
+Canada, while the other fed on the plains of the west Texas region in
+winter and moved northward in summer as far as southern Nebraska. In
+each case a southward movement was begun as winter approached, but these
+seasonal changes scarcely warrant the name of migrations.
+
+The number of these large animals living between the Mississippi and
+Rocky Mountains previous to 1872, even after being hunted for centuries
+by the Indians and killed in constantly increasing numbers each year by
+white men for half a century, can only be reckoned in millions. Many
+trustworthy observations are on record, however, from which the vastness
+of the herds can be approximately judged. For example, R. I. Dodge thus
+refers to a herd which he passed through in the Arkansas Valley in May,
+1871, when it was moving northward: "The great herd could not have
+averaged, _at rest_, over 15 or 20 individuals to the acre, but was not
+less than 25 miles wide, and from reports of hunters and others it was
+about five days in passing a given point, or not less than 50 miles
+deep. From the top of Pawnee Rock I could see from 6 to 10 miles in
+almost every direction. This whole vast space was covered with buffalo,
+looking at a distance like one compact mass, the visual angle not
+permitting the ground to be seen." From this and other observations, W.
+T. Hornaday has estimated that the herd referred to numbered not less
+than 4,000,000 individuals. From the records kept by railroad companies
+of the number of skins shipped over their lines and other evidences, it
+has been computed that of the southern herd mentioned above over
+3,500,000 individuals were killed during the years 1872, 1873, and 1874.
+The northern herd seems to have been at least as large as the southern
+one, so that the entire number on the Great plateaus in any one year for
+the decade preceding 1870 was not less than 8,000,000, and even this
+vast number seems to be an underestimate.
+
+The great slaughter of the southern herd occurred from 1872 to 1874, and
+of the northern herd ten years later. In 1889, as stated by Hornaday,
+the bisons running at large in North America numbered but 635. In
+1902 the number of bison in the United States was reported to be 800,
+the increase being due to protection extended to the herds, and perhaps
+also to a more accurate count.
+
+_Fur-Bearing Animals._--Of the animals of North America which are taken
+for their fur, the seal and sea-otter have already been referred to in
+connection with the brief review presented of the life of the
+continental shelf. As is well known, the colder regions of the earth are
+the ones which yield the most valuable furs, and in the fur trade of the
+world this continent, on account of its wide expansion at the north, has
+taken the leading place as a producer. In fact, the fur trade is a
+prominent feature in the history of America, and one whose followers
+experienced great vicissitudes and countless adventures.
+
+The animals that tempted the tireless and fearless sons particularly of
+France, England, Scotland, and Russia to build their fortified
+trading-posts throughout the subarctic forest from the St. Lawrence to
+the Mackenzie and Yukon, were principally the beaver, sable, ermine,
+fox, mink, wolverene, bear, otter, wolf, lynx, musk-rat, skunk, marmot,
+etc. Nearly all of these animals are forest dwellers, and several of
+them, as the beaver, otter, mink, and musk-rat, haunt the shores of
+streams and lakes. Of the sable, there are two species, known as the
+marten and the fisher. The bears are represented by at least four
+species. The foxes number at least a dozen species, of which four are
+especially prized for the beauty of their fur, namely, the arctic, red,
+cross, and silver.
+
+While the fur-bearing animals named above are characteristic of the life
+of the boreal region of North America, a number of the species, and, in
+fact, nearly all of them, range southward into the austral region,
+especially in the more humid and generally forest-covered portions of
+both the Pacific and Atlantic mountains, while one of the most important
+as regards the beauty of its fur--the otter (_Lutra canadensis_),
+frequently termed the land-otter, in order not to confound it with its
+larger and far more valuable cousin, the sea-otter (_Enhydra
+marina_)--reaches the torrid region and is still living in
+Florida, and has been reported as occurring in Central America.
+
+Of all the fur-bearing animals referred to above, the most valuable when
+the total number of skins that have been taken is considered, and in
+many ways the most interesting, is the beaver, of which but one living
+species (_Castor canadensis_), closely allied to the beaver of northern
+Europe, is known in America. Fully grown individuals are about 3 feet in
+length, one-third of which is to be credited to the broad, flat,
+scale-covered tail, and weighs some 50 or 60 pounds. The outer coat of
+its pelage consists of rather coarse brown hair, beneath which there is
+a fine, soft, dark fur, which makes its skin of commercial value. In
+dressing the skins the hair is plucked, the fine fur beneath being
+clipped to a uniform length and usually dyed. The formerly well-known
+beaver hat was made from this fur, but in recent years silk has taken
+its place. The importance of the American beaver is illustrated by the
+fact that some 7,000,000 skins have been sold in London by the Hudson's
+Bay Company since the year 1752. Not only is the fur of the beaver in
+demand, but its flesh, and especially the muscles of the tail, are
+prized for food by hunters and others who live the free, open-air life
+of the frontier, although it is seldom exposed for sale in the markets
+of cities.
+
+The beaver is of interest to the geographer not only on account of its
+wide distribution, which embraced the entire continent wherever the
+willow, birch, alder, etc., on which it subsisted, could grow, from
+northern Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, but for the reason that it made
+more conspicuous and lasting changes in the minor features of the
+surface of the land than any other mammal. One of its peculiar habits is
+that it gnaws down trees frequently 6 or 8 inches in diameter, and after
+cutting them into sticks a few feet in length, uses them in making dams
+across small streams. These dams were built in thousands and tens of
+thousands all through the forested regions, and being plastered with
+mud, and still further enlarged and strengthened by the accumulation of
+driftwood and leaves, held the waters of the streams in check and
+caused them to expand so as to form small lakes, ponds, and swamps.
+These beaver-dam lakes are common even at the present day, and many of
+them which have been filled with sediment or drained furnish rich lands,
+now utilized for gardens and cultivated fields. In Michigan these
+beaver-dam lakes furnish the rich black soil so favourable for the
+raising of celery and other vegetables. The beaver has disappeared from
+all but the wilder and more inaccessible portions of the continent, but
+the influence of the changes it made in the drainage of the land will
+endure for many generations to come.
+
+Of the fur-bearing animals mentioned above, none are more definitely
+American than the skunks, or, to use a more felicitous name, _Mephitis_,
+which ranges from central Canada to central Mexico, and is represented
+by four or five species. As stated by Elliott Coues in his instructive
+monograph on the North America _Mustelidæ_, the skunks are closely
+related to the badgers, being heavy-bodied, short-legged, stout in
+build, with hairy tails and generally loose pelage. They neither climb
+trees nor swim in water; their gait is slow, and they do not allow
+themselves to be hurried, even in the face of danger; their retreats are
+burrows in the ground or dens in rocks and hollow logs, and sometimes in
+the nooks and corners of dwellings and outhouses. Their most common
+representative, _Mephitis mephitica_, is a beautiful animal some 15 or
+20 inches in length, exclusive of its bushy tail, which is usually 12 to
+15 inches long. The head is small, the ears low and short, and the hair
+of a glossy black, relieved by conspicuous white markings which are not
+only irregular in shape, but vary with individuals. The most marked
+characteristic of the skunks is their ability to emit at will a fluid
+which has the most disagreeable and sickening odour known. This fluid is
+secreted in two glands, each about one inch in diameter, situated at the
+base of the tail and opening into the rectum, but has no connection with
+the secretions of the kidneys, and is probably seldom discharged except
+when the animal is annoyed. It is a unique and most efficient
+means of defence. In this connection it is to be remembered, however,
+that the skunks belong to the family _Mustelidæ_, which is characterized
+in part by the odoriferous secretions present in its various species,
+but, above all others, the odours emitted by the genera under
+consideration are the most dreadful. The stench produced by these
+animals when startled or enraged is not only horrible beyond
+description, but endures for months and even a year or more. The yellow
+liquid which is ejected is squirted in a fine spray for a distance of
+some 6 or 8 feet, but its odour may sometimes be perceived, even when
+the wind is still, for a distance of a quarter of a mile.
+
+The skunk having this one unconquerable means of defence from all its
+enemies except man, exhibits evidence of degeneration in other respects.
+When discharging its odoriferous fluid it faces its enemy, who is held
+at bay or retreats, and hence, not being compelled to run, has acquired
+a slow, wavering gait and deliberate movements; having no occasion to
+ascend trees for safety, it has lost or failed to develop the ability to
+climb; and its lack of other powers which are highly developed in its
+near of kin may be used in illustration in a similar way. It is
+practically removed from the attacks of enemies excepting dogs and other
+canines and some birds of prey, but has to adapt itself to conditions of
+climate and food supply. In winter in the northern portion of its
+habitat it becomes more or less torpid, and during the coldest weather
+usually hibernates, thus lessening the exertion required to procure
+sustenance. When the temperature is not excessively low it seeks its
+food, which consists of insects, birds' eggs, small reptiles, mice,
+etc., and in settled regions visits the poultry-yards, and thus
+increases the enmity extended to it by all mankind, who have ever been
+disgusted by its odours. Another objectionable fact in reference to this
+despised yet, we may perhaps say, respectfully treated animal, is that
+its bite sometimes produces hydrophobia.
+
+The skunks are not only widely distributed in North America, occupying
+perhaps a larger area in the austral than they do in the boreal region,
+but are influenced to a less extent by climatic and topographic
+conditions than probably any other genera among our mammals. It lives
+among mountains and on plateaus and plains, and in forests as well as on
+the open prairies, and extends from humid regions like eastern Canada
+and New England to the dry, semi-desert valley of New Mexico, and from
+the cold shores of the Great Lakes and central Canada to the warm Gulf
+States. Although offensive, and everywhere declared a nuisance, and
+persecuted as such, as well as trapped and hunted for its pelt, its
+range has been decreased but little since the settlement of the country
+by Europeans, although its numbers are greatly reduced. Its beautiful
+fur when deodorized and dyed of a uniform black is sold under the name
+"Alaskan sable," "black marten," "American sable," etc., and is
+extensively worn even by the most fashionably attired dames of every
+land.
+
+_The Bears._--Of the bears native to North America, as was stated by S.
+F. Baird in 1857, the number of species is somewhat indefinite, but four
+are commonly recognised and mention is sometimes made of two others.
+This uncertainty as to the number of species of the genus _Ursus_, I
+believe, still exists, and in itself is significant. If the bears have
+not been satisfactorily classified, as is apparently the case, it
+suggests that they exhibit great variations and that the drawing of hard
+and fast specific boundaries among them is difficult, and perhaps
+impossible.
+
+The species which are usually recognised are the polar bear, the
+grizzly, the cinnamon, and the black. Of the black and brown or cinnamon
+bears there seems to be several varieties, some of which are perhaps
+worthy of being considered species. On the other hand, it must be
+remembered that Baird and others makes the cinnamon a variety of the
+black bear. Again the grizzly and cinnamon intergrade in such a manner
+that an experienced naturalist has considered them to be but extremes of
+a single species.
+
+The polar bear is distinguished from its kindred, at least in a general
+way, by its large size and white or yellowish-white colour. These and
+other differences from its relatives have led naturalists to place it in
+a distinct genus, of which it is the only species. It is
+circumpolar in its distribution, and in America occurs along the coast,
+seldom travelling inland except during the breeding season, when it is
+sometimes met with 25 miles from the ocean. Its southern range on the
+Atlantic coast is in northern Labrador, but it is occasionally carried
+on floating ice as far south as Newfoundland. It inhabits the shores of
+Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. On the west coast it reaches Bering
+Strait, and is carried on floating ice to the islands in the northern
+part of Bering Sea, and at rare intervals reaches the Pribilof Islands.
+It is probably strictly carnivorous, and lives principally on the seal.
+It is supposed to be the largest of the bear tribe, but is certainly
+approached if not rivalled in size by the brown bear of southern Alaska.
+As many arctic explorers testify, it is dangerous to man and will lead
+in an attack.
+
+The famous grizzly or "silver tip" inhabits the Pacific mountains, but
+is best known in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Although like
+all kindred species presenting conspicuous individual variations, it is
+usually dark in colour, with white tips to some of the hairs. The pelage
+is long, almost shaggy, and gives the animal even a more formidable
+appearance than its great size and strength justifies. It is not only
+one of the largest of the American bears, ranking in this respect with
+the polar bear and the largest of the huge brown bears, but is also
+probably the fiercest, and not infrequently has been known to attack
+man, although it will usually retreat from the presence of human beings
+if an opportunity is available. Full-grown individuals are about 8 feet
+in length and weigh in the neighbourhood of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds.
+
+The brown bear, of which there are perhaps three species, including the
+Barren-Ground bear of the north-central part of Canada, are, as their
+name signifies, of a brown or cinnamon colour, but present great
+variation in this respect. Some are of a decided yellow, while others
+become dark and are scarcely distinguishable from the true grizzly. They
+reach a great size, particularly in southern Alaska, and possibly in
+certain instances even exceed the polar bear in dimensions and
+weight. The tracks of one which I measured near Mount St. Elias were 16
+inches long by 8 inches wide, and the stride was 64 inches. The range of
+the brown bear is confined principally to the Pacific mountains, but is
+of greater extent than that of the true grizzlies and includes central
+Canada.
+
+The black bears are of almost continental distribution and occurred in
+all or nearly all wooded districts before the balance of natural
+conditions was disturbed by the coming of the white man. They are the
+smallest of the bear tribe on this continent and are usually harmless,
+but at times when attacked or approached suddenly, especially if
+accompanied by their young, become formidable enemies. Their colour is
+usually a glossy black, but much variation occurs, especially about the
+head, and this and other differences are thought by some to indicate
+specific distinctions. A seemingly well-marked variety occurring in
+southern Alaska, which has a thick bluish-black under-fur, has recently
+been described as a distinct species.
+
+Near relatives of the bear are the racoons, of which several species are
+present, one being abundant in the eastern portion of the United States
+and the other in the Pacific mountains.
+
+_The Cats._--The _Felidæ_ are represented by two genera, _Felis_ and
+_Lynx_, each of which contains several species.
+
+Of the true cats, the largest is the beautiful jaguar, or American
+tiger, _Felis onza_, which is nearly as large, and by some said to be
+equal in size to its Asiatic relative. It more nearly approaches the
+leopard, however, in the character of its spots as well as in its
+arboreal habit, but exceeds it in size. The jaguar is some 4 feet or
+more in length to the base of the tail, and the tail is about 3 feet
+long. Its general colour is a soft-yellowish passing into dark brown and
+black, with large rosette- or somewhat lozenge-shaped spots, which take
+the form of indefinite rings of dark fur with lighter centres, within
+which there are one or two dark dots or eyes. The skins are fully as
+beautiful as those of the tiger or leopard, and are highly prized for
+rugs, and in some cases have been used for clothing. A dark,
+nearly black variety (or perhaps more properly, examples of melanism)
+has been described as a distinct species, and is sometimes spoken of as
+the black tiger.
+
+The centre of distribution of the jaguar is probably in the great
+Amazonian forest, but it ranges over nearly all of South America,
+throughout Central America, and extends northward to Texas and perhaps
+Louisiana.
+
+Next to the jaguar in importance is the widely known panther. Unlike
+most of its relatives, this species has an essentially uniform colour.
+The fur on the back, head, and tail is of a tawny brownish-yellow, but
+varies somewhat with changes in seasons. The under parts are of a dirty
+white. The animal when full-grown is of a formidable size, the larger
+examples being nearly 5 feet long from the tip of the nose to the base
+of the tail. The stout cylindrical tail is from 20 to over 30 inches
+long. In spite of its size and great strength the panther is not to be
+feared so long as room for its escape is open, as it is a great coward.
+One of the most interesting facts concerning this species is its
+unusually great range. Before being disturbed by white men it inhabited
+practically the entire width of both North and South America, from
+Hudson Bay to Patagonia, an extreme range of some 110 degrees of
+latitude. It is most at home in the mountains and is seldom seen on open
+plains. It is still common in the Pacific mountains of the United States
+and Canada.
+
+Of the smaller cats, several of which are beautifully marked, mention
+may be made of the ocelot of the Texas region and the lynx or American
+wildcat. The latter, of which there are at least three varieties, is yet
+common, and maintains approximately its original range, which embraces
+the entire width of the continent from the subarctic forest at least as
+far south as northern Mexico.
+
+_The Wolves._--In the history of the establishment of English colonies
+in this country, and throughout the spread of civilization across the
+continent, many accounts are given of encounters with wolves. These
+stories as they have been handed down have probably in many instances
+been magnified, but there is no doubt but that the larger wolves,
+such as the gray timber-wolf, once common in the northern portion of the
+United States, when assembled in packs and pressed by hunger, were
+formidable antagonists.
+
+Of the wolves, four species are usually recognised, but their great
+variation, in each instance, has led to the description of numerous
+varieties, some of which have by certain writers been given the dignity
+of distinct species. The largest is the gray wolf, which is white or
+grizzly gray in colour, and frequently 5 feet or more in length and
+weighs 50 to 60 pounds. Individuals have been killed, however, which
+exceed these measures. The range of this species, or group of species as
+the case may be, was originally continental, but more particularly in
+the forested regions. Its hair, which is frequently 4 inches or more in
+length, and the fine thick under-fur make the skins valuable for robes,
+but they are seldom used for clothing, except by the Indians and
+Eskimos. The hood of the outer garment worn by Eskimos, termed a parkie,
+is frequently fringed about the face-opening with the long warm hair of
+the wolf.
+
+A smaller species, the coyote, is still common on the western plains,
+and is termed the prairie-wolf. It is a comparatively small animal,
+although frequently 3 feet in length of body with a bushy tail
+two-thirds as long, and is of a skulking, cowardly nature. Its colour is
+usually a yellowish gray, and its skin, although used for robes, is much
+inferior to that of the gray wolf. Its range is from northern Mexico
+northward throughout the great plateaus, and in the valleys of the
+Pacific mountains into Canada. It is usually the first of the larger
+mammals the traveller in that region learns the existence of, even at
+the present day. Several individuals frequently gather together just
+after sunset and make their presence known by barking and howling in
+concert. These serenades last but a short time, however, and are likely
+to be repeated in the morning just before sunrise. During the night the
+animals composing these bands seem to scatter and hunt for food
+singly, but reunite in the early morning, after which they again
+separate and seek secluded individual retreats.
+
+_Brief Mention of Other Mammals._--In order to convey an adequate idea
+of the large variety and richness of the North American mammalian fauna
+far more space would be required than is at present available. Indeed,
+of the smaller mammals much more research is evidently needed before
+even the number of genera and species can be enumerated, much less their
+life histories and economic importance made known, as is indicated by
+the fact that a large number of species previously recognised has been
+described during the past two or three years.
+
+Of the abundant smaller mammals, none are more attractive or beautiful
+than the arboreal squirrels, of which several species are widely known.
+One of these, the common red squirrel, is remarkable for its wide range
+and adaptability to a great variety of conditions. It is abundant in the
+valley of the Yukon and even north of the arctic circle, throughout the
+forest-covered portions of Canada, and as far south as the South
+Atlantic States. Of less extensive range is the gray squirrel and the
+black squirrel, common in New England, and the somewhat larger and yet
+more beautiful fox squirrel of the central part of the continental
+basin. There are also a large number of species of ground squirrels, and
+several species of flying-squirrels. The rodents are also represented by
+the marmots, certain species of which are exceedingly numerous near
+timber-line in many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains as far north
+at least as Mount St. Elias, and by gophers, chipmunks, lemmings, the
+musk-rat, porcupines, rabbits, hares, rats, mice, etc. The list might
+also be extended by enumerating the bats, shrews, and moles, but we are
+compelled to cut short this most interesting portion of our review.
+
+_Mammalian Families Peculiar to America._--While there are many genera
+and species of mammals found only on this continent, the number of
+families that are peculiar to it is small. Among the characteristic
+families, most of which, however, extend into South America, none are of
+greater interest in the study of geographical distribution than
+the opossums, of which there are 3 genera and some 22 species, all of
+them confined to the New World. Of these, two species are common in
+North America: one, the Virginia opossum, abundant throughout the
+eastern portion of the United States to the south of New York, and the
+other and smaller species, which inhabits Mexico and extends northward
+into southern California and Texas. Many representatives of this same
+family occur in Central and South America, some of which are notable on
+account of their diminutive size. The opossums are of peculiar interest
+owing to the fact that they are the only representatives of the
+marsupials now living outside of Australia. Fossil species occur,
+however, in the Tertiary rock of Europe, so that the American forms
+cannot be considered as indicating a recent land connection between this
+continent and Australia.
+
+The porcupines are also representative of the New World fauna, although
+not strictly confined to it, and belong mostly in the northern
+continent. The Canadian porcupine is found throughout nearly the entire
+forested portion of the boreal region and extends as far south as the
+Middle Atlantic States, and an allied species, but of larger size,
+inhabits a portion of the same region and extends to the Pacific
+mountains and occurs in Alaska.
+
+The racoons are strictly American and inhabit both continents. They are
+common in the forests of Central America and Mexico, and extend as far
+north as central Canada.
+
+Of the several families of smaller and less well-known mammals peculiar
+to this continent, mention may be made of the pouched rats of
+California.
+
+All of the animals to which attention has thus far been directed are now
+living; should one attempt to describe the great number of fossil forms
+whose bones have been discovered in the rocks, the menagerie would be
+vastly enlarged, and many exceedingly strange species, genera, families,
+and even larger divisions of the animal kingdom, added to the extended
+procession.
+
+
+                               THE BIRDS
+
+When one attempts to write an account of the birds of North America, the
+heavens seem darkened with such a multitude of varied and beautiful
+forms and the air filled with such a discordant clamour mingled with the
+sweetest of music that failure to convey an adequate idea of the
+countless numbers and diversity of the feathered throng within the
+compass of a few pages must be recognised from the start.
+
+The important place held by the birds of North America in the avifauna
+of the world, may perhaps be best indicated by noting first of all what
+orders and families are without representatives among them.
+
+The orders under which the birds of the world are arranged in the scheme
+of classification adopted by Wallace in his great work on the
+geographical distribution of animals are as follows:
+
+
+                              CLASS--AVES
+
+ ORDERS.                       EXAMPLES.
+
+ 1. Passeres     Includes the greater number of the smaller birds, such
+                   as kingbirds, flycatchers, larks, jays, crows,
+                   blackbirds, finches, sparrows, warblers, chickadees,
+                   swallows, thrushes, etc., numbering in North America
+                   some 328 species and many subspecies.
+
+ 2. Picariæ      Woodpeckers, cuckoos, toucans, kingfishers, swifts,
+                   goat-suckers, humming-birds, etc.
+
+ 3. Psittaci     Parrots only.
+
+ 4. Columbæ      Pigeons and the dodo.
+
+ 5. Gallinæ      Grouse, pheasants, quail, jungle-fowl, turkeys,
+                   guinea-fowl, etc.
+
+ 6. Opisthocomi  The hoazin of Guiana and Brazil only.
+
+ 7. Accipitres   Eagles, owls, vultures, hawks, buzzards, falcons, etc.
+
+ 8. Grallæ       Rails, snipes, plovers, cranes, herons, storks,
+                   flamingoes, etc.
+
+ 9. Anseres      Ducks, geese, gulls, petrels, pelicans, penguins,
+                   loons, auks, etc.
+
+ 10. Struthiones Ostrich, rhea, cassowaries, emeus, apteryx.
+
+Of these ten orders, all but two are abundantly represented in North
+America. The missing orders include the ostrich-like birds, of which the
+only species in the New World is the rhea, of the southern portion of
+South America, and the peculiar hoazin, represented by a single
+species found in Guiana and Brazil.
+
+The eight orders under which the birds of North America have been
+arranged (other classifications, however, have been adopted by various
+naturalists) have again been subdivided into families, genera, species,
+etc. According to Wallace's summary, the 8 orders referred to contain
+124 families, of which 75 are not represented in North America to the
+north of the lowlands of Mexico, while 47 families are present. Of these
+47 families, 25 are essentially of world-wide distribution, and only 1,
+containing a single species, a small wren-like bird of the genus
+_Chamæa_, found in California, is peculiar to the fauna of the
+continent.
+
+As the North American continent under the arrangement adopted for the
+series of books of which the one in hand forms a part, is considered as
+including the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America, the above
+summary does not represent its entire bird fauna, but presents, perhaps,
+the best general idea of it that is at present attainable. To include
+the birds of the tropical portion of the continent would add greatly to
+the number of species, but I believe not materially to the number of
+families and orders, as given above.
+
+In reviewing the distribution of the land birds of North America to the
+north of Mexico, but including lower California, J. A. Allen places the
+total number of genera, as given in the check-list of the American
+Ornithologists' Union, at 181. Of these, 55, or 30 per cent, are
+circumpolar or otherwise wide-ranging Old World forms; 126 genera, or 70
+per cent, are American, of which 35, or 28 per cent, are essentially
+tropical, leaving 91 genera, or about 50 per cent, as distinctly North
+American.
+
+The number of species in the avifauna of the continent, according to the
+latest check-list published by the American Ornithologists' Union
+(1895), is 768, together with a large number of subspecies. If the
+tropical portion of the continent were included, this number would be
+greatly increased and possibly doubled.
+
+A further generalization has been advanced by Allen, who states that in
+the arctic portion of the continent the number of genera of birds
+present during the breeding season is 65, of which only 5 are
+exclusively American. In the cold temperate belt 120 genera are
+represented, of which 98 are circumpolar and 22 American. In the warm
+temperate belt 95 genera occur which do not range into the cold
+temperate belt, and of these only 12 are Old World forms, while 83 are
+exclusively American, and in addition 60 genera are common to both the
+cold and the warm temperate zone, of which 46 are represented in the
+fauna of the Old World, while 14 are American. This gives 155 genera for
+the warm temperate zone, of which 58 are Old World and 97 exclusively
+American. There are besides 50 essentially tropical genera which extend
+into the warm temperate zone, of which 43 are American and 7
+tropicopolitan. The avifauna of the warm temperate zone thus contains a
+total of 205 genera.
+
+The above enumeration indicates the rapid increase in the variety of
+bird life met with as one travels from the arctic to the Gulf coast of
+the continent, and in this connection it is to be remembered that the
+land contracts in breadth towards the south. In number of individuals,
+however, it is doubtful if there are less per square mile at the north
+than at the south during the breeding season.
+
+There is a decrease in the number of Old World forms inhabiting North
+America from north to south. A similar decrease in mammalian species
+common to America and Eurasia has previously been referred to, and the
+same explanation applies in each case, namely, the near approach of the
+land areas of the Old and the New World at the north, and the actual
+union of the two continents in late geological time.
+
+As has been shown by Allen, the species of birds of the temperate and
+boreal zones of North America were derived in part from the Old World,
+in part from types almost universally distributed throughout the warmer
+latitudes, and in part from tropical America, but to a marked extent the
+species present developed where they are now found. This
+generalization is in harmony with the geographical relations of the
+continent to other land areas, and with the fundamental principles of
+evolution.
+
+_Migrations._--Among the many facts of interest to the geographer in
+connection with the bird life, none present a more fascinating field for
+study than the annual migrations in which a very large number of the
+species participate.
+
+As one travels northward from Mexico or the Gulf States, the number of
+species of birds which remain in essentially the same area throughout
+the year, or the _residents_ as they are termed, becomes less and less.
+In New England and about the southern shores of the Great Lakes there
+are about 30 species which remain all winter and may justly claim to be
+citizens. Besides these, there are several visitors that come from the
+north and belong to the vast army of migrants, but which are contented
+with a comparatively small change of position during the periods of
+greatest cold or heaviest snow. In the far north the number of residents
+is still more restricted. On the tundras fringing the arctic coast even
+the snow-owls, snow-buntings, and the ptarmigans, the hardiest of birds,
+move southward during the winter to the shelter of the subarctic forest,
+and bird life on the vast frozen morasses is practically, if not
+absolutely, wanting.
+
+The millions of birds that journey southward each fall begin their
+return migrations at the first promise of spring. Even during unusually
+mild spells of weather in winter, temporary northward movements occur.
+The migratory birds are actuated by such a strong desire to regain their
+nesting places and summer homes that they embrace every opportunity to
+journey towards them, and not infrequently suffer severely for the risks
+they take. In some instances species which have begun their northward
+flight too soon are killed by thousands owing to a return of severely
+cold weather or die for lack of food.
+
+The first definite northward migration in the southern portion of the
+Mississippi Valley begins during exceptionally favourable years as early
+as the end of January, but the great movement of the feathered
+hosts is not usually at its height before the middle of March or the
+first of April. In New England the current of migration begins between
+the middle of February and the first of March, and increases in strength
+until the middle of May, when it is at its height, and then rapidly
+declines and is practically over by the beginning of June. In the far
+north, the first arrival from the southward, and that a species which
+does not make a long annual journey, usually appears early in April. At
+Point Barrow, the most northern portion of Alaska, as was observed by
+John Murdock in 1882 and 1883, the first harbinger of spring was a
+snow-bunting, which arrived the first year on April 9th. The
+northward-flowing tide of bird life ends early in July in the region of
+the Yukon, and by the middle of that month the vast flocks have been
+separated and the many mates have found their nesting places. The time
+taken for the general movement is thus in the neighbourhood of four
+months.
+
+The northward flight of the birds is seldom, if ever, one continuous
+journey, but like many other movements in nature, progresses by
+pulsations. Well-defined "bird-waves" have been recognised especially in
+the Mississippi Valley. The direct or immediate cause of the starting of
+these waves of life is the coming of a wave of heat. Secondary or
+modifying conditions are furnished by strength and direction of the
+wind, cloudiness, rain, etc. As the weather in spring-time is fickle,
+and its variations not the same for any two consecutive years, so the
+gathering of the birds into flocks and their northward flights vary,
+although for a term of years the arrival of a given species at a
+particular station does not depart far from a mean date. With the
+northward sweep of the waves of bird life over the temperate and boreal
+portions of the continent comes the awakening of plant life, but the
+birds, to a marked extent, precede the unfolding of the flowers. This
+marvellous renewal of the life of the land after the long cold winter
+makes the budding and nesting spring-time the most joyous portion of the
+year, and one which exerts a marked effect on human thought and
+activities. The spring-time awakening in all nature is like a
+resurrection, and has apparently exerted an influence on the religions
+of the world.
+
+The bird-waves referred to above are characterized at the start by the
+presence of great numbers of a single species, but as they progress,
+scattering occurs, and at the time of the greatest movements in the
+northern portion of the United States a large number of species
+frequently arrive at a given locality in a single night. At sunset the
+groves may be nearly tenantless and silent, while at sunrise they are
+alive with the flitting of wings of many colours, and the air pulsates
+with many different songs.
+
+Judging from extended observations on migrations made in the Mississippi
+Valley, the definite waves of bird life which sweep northward with the
+spring-tide of temperature are in some instances 100 or 200 miles long
+and have a breadth of perhaps a score of miles. The distance between the
+waves varies with variations in the weather and perhaps other causes,
+and as they progress they apparently become less definite and at the
+north have yet to be recognised.
+
+The migrations of the birds are performed principally at night. In the
+northern part of the United States during the hours of darkness in early
+spring, even when cloudiness prevails or the land is veiled in mist, the
+voices of geese may frequently be heard overhead, proving that unseen
+flocks are then winging their way northward. About the lighthouses along
+the coast and on the shores of the Great Lakes, when migration is in
+progress, dead birds are frequently found in considerable numbers and of
+various species. In these cases the birds are evidently attracted by the
+lights and killed on striking the windows that protect them. This occurs
+particularly on stormy or cloudy nights, when the birds fly low. Several
+of the larger species of birds, as the geese, ducks, cranes, etc., which
+are strong of wing, make long flights without resting. In many instances
+a single stage in a journey may include 500 or 600 miles. Most of the
+smaller birds, however, fly comparatively short distances between the
+pauses made for rest and food.
+
+A species on reaching the northern portion of the route over which it
+usually migrates scatters, and the individuals mate, nests are built,
+and young reared. At the approach of cold weather reassemblage occurs,
+frequently great flocks being formed, and the southern movement begins.
+The southward migration is less conspicuous in most instances than the
+movement _en masse_ of the birds in the spring, and so far as now seems
+to be recognised is not divided into definite waves.
+
+While the winter habitat of most birds in the temperate and boreal
+portions of the continent is to the south of their summer homes, the
+annual migration is not in all cases great in amount. Some species move
+only a few hundred, or possibly a few score, miles. Even the winter
+residents make short migrations, dependent on weather conditions. The
+greater part of the migratory birds, however, pass the winter in the
+Gulf States, Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America. In
+some cases they go well to the south of the equator. The annual flight
+going and coming measured in a straight line, between the nesting place
+and the winter home, cannot be less in many instances than from 8,000 to
+10,000 or 12,000 miles. An interesting fact in this connection is that
+certain species follow definite routes. The region moved over annually,
+if marked on a map, would resemble two open or partially opened fans,
+with their handles pointing towards each other and connected by a narrow
+band.
+
+The causes of the annual migrations of birds have received much study
+and been the subject of much speculation. The general consensus of
+opinion in this connection seems to be that the birds are controlled
+largely by what we in our ignorance term instinct. The true beginning of
+the migration seems to be in the fall, when the birds are driven from
+their homes by cold or, perhaps more accurately in most cases, by
+scarcity of food. This, however, is not the whole story, since many
+species start southward before cold weather approaches and while food is
+yet abundant. Then, too, crippled individuals have been known to survive
+the winter in regions from which their summer companions have
+departed. Instinct, therefore, plays a part in even the fall migration,
+where at first glance sufficient physical reasons may seemingly be
+claimed for it. During the spring migration the birds are moved by a
+strong impulse to regain their breeding-grounds. Each species seems to
+have adapted itself to certain conditions of temperature, food, etc.,
+through long ages of development, and acquired a subtle faculty of
+regaining the environment to which it is best adapted, as soon as the
+adverse conditions that caused it to leave its home are ameliorated. How
+a particular bird is enabled to return to the nest it built the year
+previous is not known. The study of the homing instinct of pigeons
+assists in this direction, however, and suggests that birds are endowed
+with something answering to a sixth sense--that is, a sense of direction
+or of orientation.
+
+_Spring-time Music._--The northward-flowing tide of life each spring
+brings to the temperate zone of North America a marvellous change not
+only in colour and movements, but in sound. This is the season of bird
+courtship and more than usual happiness among the feathered millions.
+From shore to shore of the continent a chorus more seductive than
+sirens' songs pulsates on the breezes.
+
+The winter is characteristically a season of silence. The sounds heard
+at a distance from human habitations are mainly those produced by
+inanimate nature. The wind causes varied discords amid the bare branches
+of the deciduous trees or sings weird melodies in the pines. Strange
+muffled roars come from the frozen lakes, as the ice contracts and
+breaks during periods of excessive cold. The frost in tree trunks causes
+sharp explosions. The ice-covered streams are still except where
+cataracts interrupt their even flow. In the profound silence of a calm
+winter night the distant dismal howl of a wolf, the cry of an owl, or
+the bark of a fox alone reminds one that life still continues, but these
+animate sounds are far more frequently absent than present. With the
+coming of the spring there is a marvellous awakening and unfolding. The
+brooks, swollen to overflowing by the melting of the snow, make
+music as they run. The northward flight of the birds brings to every
+grove a chorus of song. A host of batrachians and reptiles bestir
+themselves after a long winter sleep and vociferously proclaim their
+presence. The insect world, with its unnumbered legions, takes wing. The
+air vibrates with millions of voices. The trees put forth their leaves,
+each a harp-string which responds to the touch of the fingers of the
+wind. The organ-notes of the thunder again startle the hibernating
+echoes. As the winter is the silent season, so the spring is the time of
+music.
+
+One of the most charming of the many phases of nature's concert season
+is the matin songs of the birds. Ere the eastern sky along the New
+England coast becomes roseate with the first blush of morn, the twitter
+of birds may be heard amid the shadowy branches of the trees. Soon a
+thrush or a warbler awakens in full song, and is followed by a host of
+other voices, until the air pulsates with music. As the sun rises and
+his first level rays reveal the varied tints of the tree tops, the
+many-voiced chorus passes the height of its ecstasy and the music
+gradually subsides. But the glad tidings of the coming of the day are
+passed westward from grove to grove and from meadow to meadow, and a
+wave of song sweeps on ahead of the wave of light, induced by its
+coming. The song-wave spreads to the north and south and flows steadily
+westward over the forest-covered mountains, across the great central
+basin of the continent, breaking on the treeless plateaus into many
+streams which follow the grove-fringed rivers, passes through the
+depressions in the Rocky Mountains, and although weakened in the arid
+valleys beyond, is not checked. The larks there listen for its coming
+and pass the joyful message westward. The timid dwellers in the great
+forests of Oregon awaken at the magic sound and the lofty tree tops are
+made to thrill with the voices of unseen choirs while it is yet night in
+the silent aisles below. The onward rush of sound is not reflected or
+turned back by the lofty Cascades, but flows through their passes and
+only ceases when the sea-birds of the Pacific renew a note that
+was dropped on the distant Atlantic coast.
+
+One of the most fascinating incidents in the life of the explorer in his
+lonely camps in the great forests or amid the solemn mountains is the
+coming of the wave of song in the spring and early summer-time which
+precedes and accompanies the rising of the sun.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The fascination of the field of study touched upon in this chapter
+invites an attempt to present an account of some of the more
+characteristic birds of North America, and to endeavour to convey to the
+reader some idea of the varied reptilian, fish, and invertebrate life of
+the continent, but the limitations of space prohibit such a review. Even
+the great problems dealing with the intimate relation that exists
+between geographical conditions and the distribution of animals cannot
+be given more attention than the suggestions already offered.
+
+
+                              LITERATURE
+
+  ALLEN, J. A. _The Geographical Distribution of Animals_, in
+    Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey
+    of the Territories, vol. iv, Washington, 1878, pp. 313-377; _The
+    Geographical Distribution of North American Mammals_, in
+    Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. iv, New
+    York, 1892, pp. 199-243.
+
+  HEILPRIN, ANGELO. _The Geographical and Geological Distribution of
+    Animals_. International Scientific Series, London and New York,
+    1897.
+
+  OSBORN, H. F. _The Rise of the Mammalia in North America._ New
+    York, 1893.
+
+  COPE, E. D. _Geographical Distribution._ In the Annual Report of
+    the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1898,
+    Washington, 1900, pp. 1199-1234.
+
+  MERRIAM, C. HART. _Life-Zones and Crop-Zones of the United
+    States_, United States Department of Agriculture, Division of
+    Biological Survey, Bulletin No. 10, Washington, 1898; _Results
+    of a Biological Survey of the San Francisco Mountain Region and
+    Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona_, United States
+    Department of Agriculture, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy
+    [Bulletin] No. 3, Washington, 1890; _The Geographical
+    Distribution of Life in North America_, in Proceedings of the
+    Biological Society of Washington, vol. vii, 1892, pp. 1-64.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI
+
+                               GEOLOGY
+
+
+                           _Introduction_
+
+In the preceding chapters an attempt has been made to present outline
+sketches of the geography, fauna, and flora of North America as they
+exist now. Yesterday, we may say for the sake of emphasis, there were
+differences from what exists to-day in each of these great groups of
+facts. That is, changes are everywhere in progress. With the recognition
+of this idea comes logically the conclusion that similar changes must
+have taken place in the past, and that the geography of the earth's
+surface, and its flora and fauna, at no very distant time must have been
+markedly different from what they are to-day. To test this hypothesis
+the geologist studies the records preserved in the rocks in much the
+same manner that the historian searches the papyri or the monuments of
+Egypt to discover what changes in the affairs of men have occurred since
+the days of the Pharaohs. The changes referred to are not essentially
+different from those now in progress, but in reality the two are parts
+of a single series. For a very long time there have been continents and
+oceans, lakes and rivers, and the land has been diversified by mountains
+and hills, plains and valleys, in the same general way as at the present
+time. When once the idea is grasped that we are living in a geological
+age, and that there is no break between the present and the past, it is
+evident that the history of the past can be interpreted by means of the
+results produced by known causes. Familiar formulas which express this
+idea are: "The present is the key to the past"; "Geography is the
+geology of to-day," etc. The forces or agencies which are now modifying
+the earth's surface, such as the rending of rocks by changes of
+temperature and the action of frost, erosion and deposition by streams,
+the dash of ocean waves against the land, volcanic eruption, the
+chemical action of organic acids, movements producing upheaval and
+subsidence, etc., have been in action for geological eras, but their
+intensity has varied from time to time and from place to place.
+
+
+                      THE GROWTH OF THE CONTINENT
+
+The geological history of North America is, in general, the same as that
+of other continents, but claims attention in certain particulars,
+largely for the reason that with the exception of Europe it has been
+studied more thoroughly than any other comparable land area. In Europe,
+throughout much of geological time, there have been numerous islands,
+and as a large portion of the records of past changes which have been
+presented were formed in the ocean, the results are complex. But in
+North America there has been a comparatively steady growth from one main
+continental centre or nucleus, and the records of the principal changes
+that have occurred are, to a greater degree, simple. Not only in the
+major features of the relief of the continent, as already described, but
+in its growth and geological history, it is, so far as can be judged
+from the present state of our knowledge of the various land areas, the
+most typical of all the continents.
+
+Changes in the outlines and area of a continent are brought about
+principally by movements of elevation or depression in the earth's
+crust. Of less importance is the erosion of the margin of the land by
+waves and currents and the deposition of material brought from the land
+by streams, together with the spits, bars, and embankments made by waves
+and currents. By these and other and less conspicuous processes the
+shape of North America has undergone numerous changes in outline and is
+still being modified.
+
+General maps have been prepared by J. D. Dana and others, showing the
+outlines of North America at various stages in the course of its
+development, and from a series of such maps recently compiled by D. C.
+Schaffner those here reproduced (Fig. 33) have been selected to
+illustrate the growth of the continent. As has been shown by various
+geologists, the outlines of the present continents and ocean-basins had
+their major features determined at a very early stage in the history of
+the earth, and at a time preceding the existence of the oldest known
+sedimentary rocks. At the close of the Archean, the earliest geological
+era now recognised, and, so far as has been determined, before life
+existed on the earth, the principal nucleus of North America was a land
+mass some 2,000,000 square miles in area, situated mainly in what is now
+the eastern half of Canada, from which there was a southward
+prolongation represented by the Adirondack hills of New York (Fig. 33,
+A).
+
+The rocks forming this earliest known land in the Western Hemisphere
+consist of crystalline schists, gneisses, and granite, which are
+considered by some geologists at least as having resulted from the
+metamorphism of sedimentary beds. Penetrating and intimately
+intermingled with these greatly altered rocks, some of them perhaps
+metamorphosed lavas and allied terranes, are many rocks that were forced
+upward from deep in the earth into fissures in a molten condition and
+have since cooled and crystallized. More than one epoch of metamorphism
+has perhaps occurred, and the entire record now accessible is
+exceedingly complicated.
+
+The physical conditions at the earth's surface at the close of the
+Archean period, as may reasonably be inferred, were not essentially
+different from what they are now. The land areas were eroded by streams,
+and the _débris_ carried to the sea and deposited, the coarser near
+shore and the finer farther seaward. Upward movements in the earth's
+crust in various places subsequently laid bare a portion of the
+sea-floor adjacent to the former land, and the continent was enlarged.
+The outline of the land as it existed previous to the upheaval which
+exposed this portion of the ocean's bottom would be defined by the
+landward margin of the material deposited. The exposed sediments
+would be coarsest near the former coast-line and become finer and finer
+seaward from it, and the fossils contained in the consolidated sands and
+clays would also supply evidence bearing on the origin of the rocks. It
+is by such interpretation of the ancient records in the light of what is
+now taking place that the geologist is enabled to map approximately the
+outline of North America at several stages in its growth in the manner
+shown on the series of maps here presented. Information in this
+connection, however, concerning both the northern and southern portions
+of the continent is too meagre at present to be largely utilized in
+these outline sketches.[5]
+
+[5] The relations of the eras referred to on these maps and the
+positions they occupy on the geological time-scale are shown a few pages
+later on a chart of the geological history of North America.
+
+The next system thus far recognised, following the Archean, is the
+Algonkian, at the close of whose deposition some additions had been made
+to the Archean or pre-Algonkian land. Succeeding the Algonkian system
+come, in succession, the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian systems. At
+the close of the Silurian there was a decided increase in the size of
+the main nucleus of the continent. Owing principally to an excess of
+elevation over subsidence in the portion of the earth's crust beneath
+the northeastern part of the region now occupied by the United States,
+portions of the sediments deposited previous to the close of the
+Silurian were upraised and important additions made to the extent of the
+land southward from the Archean area of Canada. This "Appalachian
+peninsula" would be conspicuous in a map representing the outline of the
+continent at the close of the Silurian. The eastern margin of the
+growing continent was then well to the eastward of its present position,
+but how far beyond the present coast we have no means of determining.
+Although at the close of the Silurian the continent had greatly
+increased in area over that of the nucleus at the close of the Archean,
+it bore but little resemblance to its present form. It is worthy
+of note, however, that with the exception of the eastward extension of
+the land at the time referred to, the growth had been within the present
+continental outline.
+
+A later stage in the growth of the continent is shown in Fig. 33, B,
+when its eastern margin had much of its present general outline and the
+Appalachian Mountains were in their prime. The time indicated is at the
+close of the Paleozoic era, and after the great coal-fields extending
+from Pennsylvania southward to Alabama and westward to beyond the
+Mississippi were formed. The eastern half of the continent was
+approximately completed at the time just referred to, and is older than
+the western half.
+
+During the Cretaceous period great changes took place in the geography
+of the still growing continent, as may be seen by the map illustrating
+that period. The conspicuous features in the geography are the submerged
+Atlantic and Gulf borders, and the presence of a broad belt of ocean
+water in the continental basin which reached from the then much expanded
+Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, and divided the land into an eastern
+and a western continental island.
+
+Following the Cretaceous period came the Tertiary period, during which
+the continent assumed very nearly its present outline. During this
+period, however, as is indicated in Fig. 33, D, the Atlantic border of
+the United States from New England southward and a wide area about the
+Gulf of Mexico, were submerged and had deep layers of sediment deposited
+on them. During the Tertiary, bodies of fresh water became for the first
+time a conspicuous feature on the land, and large lakes and broad
+silt-depositing rivers existed particularly in the Pacific mountain
+region of the United States, and at its close the continent was
+practically completed as we now know it, but several important
+oscillations, particularly at the north, have since occurred.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Maps showing the growth of the North American
+continent.]
+
+With the growth of the continent, briefly outlined above, came greater
+and greater diversity in its relief, due principally to the
+upraising of various mountains in a somewhat orderly succession from
+east to west.
+
+The oldest mountains on the continent are the Laurentian Highlands of
+eastern Canada. Although the region referred to--the one mentioned above
+as being composed of Archean crystalline rocks--is not now of sufficient
+elevation or ruggedness to be termed mountainous, it shows in the nature
+and structure of its rocks that deep erosion has taken place. The
+inference is that truly great mountains have been removed, but the
+evidence may also sustain the interpretation that slow upheaval has been
+accompanied by erosion, and that at no time was the land conspicuously
+elevated.
+
+Next in age after the Laurentian Highlands come the mountains of New
+England and the maritime province of Canada, which were upraised at the
+close of the Silurian period. The next great step was the crumpling into
+folds and upheaval of the rocks in the Appalachian region at the close
+of the Paleozoic era. The Park and Stony Mountains were upraised at the
+close of the Mesozoic era, and later came the Sierra Nevada and
+Cascades, followed by the Coast Ranges. Youngest of all, and in part for
+that reason the boldest and most lofty, are the magnificent mountains of
+southern Alaska, with a host of sublime peaks, like Mounts Fairweather,
+Logan, St. Elias, and perhaps McKinley. The last-named and highest peak
+of all, however, may be of volcanic origin.
+
+In the above list showing the progressive westward movement of the birth
+of mountain systems, account is taken only of the elevations produced by
+upheaval. The mountains due to volcanic eruptions, which are still
+conspicuous, are all young, in comparison with the mountains situated to
+the eastward of the Sierra Nevada. The majestic cones of the
+northwestern portion of the United States, of which Mounts Shasta, Hood,
+Adams, Rainier, Baker, etc., are the most glorious, are of Tertiary or
+later age. The same is true, so far as known, of the still more lofty
+volcanoes in Mexico. The "pine-tree" forms of steam rising from the
+volcanoes of the Caribbees, Central America, southern Mexico, and
+southwestern Alaska, proclaim the recency of the birth of the frequently
+magnificent craters built of rocks that were once molten, from which
+they emerge.
+
+
+             THE ROCKS OF WHICH THE CONTINENT IS COMPOSED
+
+The rocks of which North America is built belong to three classes, which
+are world-wide in their distribution. These are: First, rocks produced
+by the cooling and crystallizing of formerly molten magmas; second,
+those deposited by water; and third, those which previously belonged to
+either of the two classes just referred to, but have been recrystallized
+and so greatly changed that their preceding condition is no longer
+clearly recognisable.
+
+These three classes or subkingdoms, as perhaps they might be termed from
+analogy with systems of biological classifications, are in technical
+language:
+
+     1. _Igneous rocks_, such as the lava of Vesuvius.
+
+     2. _Sedimentary rocks_, such as sandstone, shale, limestone,
+     coal, etc.
+
+     3. _Metamorphic rocks_, such as gneiss, schist, some granites,
+     etc.
+
+These major divisions are based principally on mode of origin, but do
+not indicate relative age. While theoretically at least, and in a
+general way, the rocks of these three great classes came into existence
+on the earth in the order named, it is convenient to consider first
+those of sedimentary origin.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE IV.--Leading geological features.]
+
+_The Sedimentary Rocks_ (Plate IV).--Whenever land exists or the waves
+and currents of the ocean come in contact with the rocks denudation
+occurs. That is, the rocks are broken through the action of mechanical
+or chemical agencies, such as the friction of the gravel and sand swept
+along by streams, the solvent power of water, etc., and the fragments
+thus produced are removed principally through the action of flowing
+water and deposited. Resulting from this general process of rock decay
+and disintegration, combined with transportation and deposition,
+there result mechanically formed sedimentary beds, such as shale,
+sandstone, conglomerate, etc.; chemically formed sedimentary beds, such
+as the deposits of springs, the saline precipitates from inclosed lakes,
+etc.; and organically formed sedimentary beds, as, for example, peat,
+coal, and limestone.
+
+Since the first appearance of land in the region now occupied by North
+America, sedimentary rocks have been in process of formation, and in
+this way the growth of the continent, with the aid of movements in the
+earth's crust, has been produced.
+
+The superficial extent of the sedimentary beds in North America is very
+great, as is indicated on the map referred to above. By far the larger
+portion of the surface of the continent is underlain by them. Their
+thickness varies from place to place, but probably reaches a maximum in
+the Appalachian region, where a depth of some 40,000 feet has been
+measured. Throughout the continental basin their depth is in general
+from 3,000 to 4,000 feet. In the Pacific mountains their thickness
+embraces tens of thousands of feet, and the same is true in Mexico,
+Cuba, and Jamaica. These sedimentary rocks contain fossils which, with
+comparatively few exceptions, show that they were deposited in the
+ocean; thus sustaining in an important manner the conclusion already
+presented in reference to the growth of the continent.
+
+Great as is the area of the sedimentary beds at the present time, it
+does not show the entire extent to which what is now land has at some
+time been submerged beneath the sea. In certain broad regions,
+sedimentary beds which formerly existed have been removed by erosion; in
+other extensive areas they are covered by volcanic rocks, and in still
+other portions of the continent, embracing thousands of square miles,
+they have been metamorphosed and their original characteristics
+obliterated.
+
+The system of classification of the sedimentary beds that has been
+adopted, as is well known, is based on the relative age of the
+formations, determined primarily by the occurrence of one formation
+above another, in regions where but moderate disturbances in
+position have occurred. Many of the stratified rocks contain
+fossils--that is, records of the life of the time they were deposited,
+and after the order of succession of a large number of formations has
+been ascertained, the life records they contain may be used as a means
+of determining the age of a newly discovered terrane.
+
+By grouping the information obtained from the study of the vertical
+sequence of the formations in many regions, and also the records of life
+contained in them, a composite geological column has been constructed
+which shows the relative age of all known formations. The larger
+divisions of such a scheme of classification are world-wide in their
+application, but the smaller divisions are usually of restricted
+geographical extent.
+
+The scheme of classification of general application in North America is
+shown in the chart on page 308. The arrangement is in order of age, the
+oldest formation being at the bottom. There is some lack of uniformity
+among American geologists as to certain of the terms used, more
+especially in the lower portion of the column, and in part the scheme is
+provisional, but in general it may be taken as expressing the progress
+made in the study of the geology of North America up to the present
+time.
+
+The names of the larger divisions in this scheme of classification, or
+those designating the groups and systems and the eras and periods, have
+for the most part been adopted from European geologists. Two important
+ones, however--namely, Archean and Algonkian--are of American birth.
+
+While this scheme of classification is based on the succession of
+sedimentary beds, igneous and metamorphic rocks have a place in it,
+providing their age can be determined.
+
+The Archean period includes the time previous to the deposition of the
+oldest known sedimentary beds, and its lower limit is as yet undefined.
+The Archean system, or the rocks formed during the Archean period, are
+without known fossils, and consist largely of gneisses and foliated
+schists, which are metamorphosed sedimentary or igneous terranes,
+together with various eruptives. The typical area where these rocks are
+exposed at the surface is in the Laurentian Highlands of eastern Canada,
+the main Archean nucleus of the continent, but rocks of the same age and
+same general character occur in several of the mountain systems of both
+the Atlantic and Pacific cordilleras, and underlie the sedimentary beds
+throughout a large part of the Continental basin. The Archean system was
+named by J. D. Dana, and divided into two portions, namely, the
+Laurentian below and the Huronian above. More recent studies, especially
+by C. R. Van Hise, have shown the necessity of removing from the system
+many of the terranes formerly referred to it, and of placing them in the
+Algonkian. The Archean as it remains after this adjustment is termed by
+Van Hise the _Basement Complex_. This term, although thus far not
+generally adopted, has much to commend it, since the terranes designated
+by it are highly complex, and may perhaps be ultimately subdivided into
+two or more systems, and besides occupy a basal position lower than any
+known sedimentary formation that has escaped metamorphism.
+
+      _Outline Chart of the Geological History of North America_
+
+ +----------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |                         Rock-Scale. -->|   Group.  |   System.       |
+ |                         Time-Scale. -->|    Era.   |   Period.       |
+ +------------+------------+--------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |Zoic time:  |  Time of   |   Time of    |Psychozoic.|Human.           |
+ |embracing   |  Mammals.  |  Palms and   +-----------+-----------------+
+ |the history +------------+ Angiosperms. |           |Pleistocene.     |
+ |of the      |            +--------------+Cenozoic.  +-----------------+
+ |earth since |            |              |           |Tertiary.        |
+ |the         |  Time of   |              +-----------+-----------------+
+ |appearance  | Reptiles.  |   Time of    |           |Cretaceous.      |
+ |of life.    |            |   Cycads.    |Mesozoic.  +-----------------+
+ |            +------------+--------------+           |Jura-Trias.      |
+ |            |  Time of   |              +-----------+-----------------+
+ |            |Amphibians. |   Time of    |           |Carboniferous.   |
+ |            |            |   Acrogens   |           +-----------------+
+ |            +------------+(Ferns, club- |           |Devonian.        |
+ |            |  Time of   |mosses, etc.).|           +-----------------+
+ |            |  Fishes.   |              |Paleozoic. |Silurian.        |
+ |            +------------+              |           +-----------------+
+ |            |            +--------------+           |Ordovician.      |
+ |            |  Time of   |              |           +-----------------+
+ |            |Molluscs and|              |           |Cambrian.        |
+ |            |Crustaceans.|              +-----------+-----------------+
+ |            |            |   Time of    |           |Algonkian.       |
+ |            +------------+    Algæ.     |           +-----------------+
+ |            |            |              |Eozoic.    |(As yet unknown  |
+ |            |  Time of   |              |           |pre-Algonkian    |
+ |            | Protozoa?  |              |           |sediments.)      |
+ +------------+------------+--------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |Azoic time: preceding the dawn of life. |Azoic.     |Archean or       |
+ |                                        |           |Basement Complex.|
+ +----------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |                                         Solid Earth.                 |
+ |            Prehistoric                  Molten Earth.                |
+ |                                         Gaseous Earth.               |
+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+The Algonkian series embraces a great thickness of sedimentary beds, in
+part metamorphosed, which in certain localities rest unconformably on
+the eroded surface of the Basement Complex and in places are overlain
+unconformably by Cambrian rocks. Both the upper and lower contacts,
+however, in certain localities, have been rendered obscure by
+metamorphism. The system derives its name from a tribe of Indians that
+inhabited the region about the shores of Lake Superior, where it is well
+developed. The Algonkian terranes are exposed in the Grand Cañon of the
+Colorado, in the Wasatch and Uintah Mountains, the Black Hills of
+Dakota, about the southern shore of Lake Superior, and in many parts of
+eastern Canada, as well as in several other localities. The oldest known
+fossils occur in these rocks, and consist of a small number of
+brachiopods, molluscs, crustaceans, etc. These scanty records are
+suggestive, and at least stimulate the hope that an extensive
+pre-Cambrian fauna will ultimately be discovered. The few forms found
+seem to be not far different from the similar life records of the
+Cambrian.
+
+The Cambrian system, although first studied in Europe, has an important
+development in North America, and occurs at the surface at a large
+number of localities ranging from Newfoundland to California. The known
+distribution of the system and the nature of the rocks composing it
+indicate that it occurs widely in the Continental basin beneath
+subsequent deposits. The most interesting results derived from the study
+of the Cambrian, carried on especially by C. D. Walcott, pertain to its
+life records. With the exception of a few obscure algæ, all the fossils
+thus far discovered are marine invertebrates. As regards rank in the
+zoological scale, certain molluscan remains are the highest, but
+outclassing them in size, abundance, and degree of specialization are
+the _trilobites_, the nearest living representatives of which are
+certain crustaceans. Of the trilobites about 100 species have been
+discovered in the Cambrian rocks of North America, the largest
+individual being about 20 inches in length.
+
+The picture of the continent which the facts just referred to enables
+one to sketch in fancy includes land areas destitute of animal life, and
+probably without vegetation, except perhaps the lichens, the lowest of
+the cryptogams. The sea, especially in its shallower portions near land
+and over its surface, contains algæ, mostly, we presume, of small size,
+in fact microscopic, and soft tissued. The animal life subsisting
+primarily on the algæ are all invertebrates, and nearly all of them,
+excepting the crustaceans, simple in organization. None of the animals
+the remains of which have thus far been discovered had strong shells or
+other well-developed protective or supporting tissues, thus indicating
+that they were not subject to the attacks of formidable enemies.
+
+As compared with later faunas, the animals of the Cambrian were
+primitive, but their diversity--every subkingdom of invertebrates being
+represented--is positive evidence that they were not the first
+inhabitants of the waters. Considered from the point of view of
+development, this fauna stands at least half-way, and some students of
+the ancient history of the earth place it as far as nine-tenths of the
+way, up the life column--that is, the time from the first appearance of
+life on the earth to the beginning of the Cambrian was at least as long
+and possibly nine times as long as the time that has since elapsed. This
+is a sufficient promise that many records of life, and it seems safe to
+predict as varied an assemblage of organisms as the at present
+known Cambrian fauna, will ultimately be discovered in the Algonkian or
+lower rocks.
+
+The Paleozoic era witnessed the first appearance of vertebrate life. The
+earliest known forms were fish-like in character and were succeeded in
+sequence by batrachians and reptiles. In this connection the most
+important contribution to the world's knowledge, from the study of the
+American records, include the discovery of a large number of fishes, or
+fish-like forms, some of them of gigantic size, in the Devonian and
+Carboniferous rocks of the Ohio region, by J. S. Newberry; numerous
+batrachians in the Coal Measures of Ohio, by E. D. Cope; of batrachians
+and probably reptiles in rocks of similar age in Nova Scotia, by J. W.
+Dawson and O. C. Marsh.
+
+During the Paleozoic era land plants appeared, and before its close the
+continent was densely clothed with forests consisting of flowerless
+plants such as ferns and club-mosses, together with a less abundance of
+trees related to the existing conifers.
+
+Great additions to the world's knowledge of the varied and beautiful
+floras of the swamps in which the coal-beds of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nova
+Scotia, etc., were accumulated have been made by H. D. Rogers, J. S.
+Newberry, Leo Lesquereux, J. W. Dawson, I. C. White, David White, and
+others.
+
+The Mesozoic era is characterized among other events by the first
+appearance and rapid development of flowering plants, the cycads being
+especially numerous, and of our ordinary broad-leaved trees, such as the
+oak, willow, sassafras, etc., and by the coming in of palms; and in the
+animal kingdom by the culmination of reptilian life and the advent of
+birds and mammals.
+
+The American Mesozoic rocks have yielded a rich store of fossil plants,
+as is well known from the painstaking studies of J. S. Newberry, Leo
+Lesquereux, W. M. Fontaine, L. F. Ward, F. H. Knowlton, and others.
+These same students of the progress of plant life on the continent have
+also made extensive and critical studies of the Cenozoic floras.
+
+The relics of reptilian life brought to light from the Mesozoic rocks of
+New Jersey, Kansas, Wyoming, etc., by Joseph Leidy, O. C. Marsh, E. D.
+Cope, and others, have astonished the world, even though marvellous
+results in a similar direction had previously been made known in Europe.
+The reptilian age was marked in America by the presence of such huge
+reptiles, and by the strange development and adaptations in various
+directions that they surpass the wildest dreams of fable. Lizard-like
+reptiles walked the earth that were 40 to 60 feet in length and stood 10
+to 14 feet high where the massive hind limbs joined the body. Their
+thigh-bones in certain instances measured over 6 feet in length. Some of
+these monsters, it is estimated, weighed at least 10 tons. These, the
+hugest of all land animals, were vegetable feeders. Others, of less
+size, although still gigantic and more active, were carnivorous. Some of
+the old lizard-like forms which left their footprints in great abundance
+in the sands now hardened into sandstone in the Connecticut Valley and
+New Jersey walked on their hind feet, after the manner of birds, and
+left three-toed footmarks, some of them 20 inches in length, which are
+strikingly bird-like in appearance. Other great reptiles, whale-like in
+appearance, inhabited the ocean. Yet more marvellous forms were provided
+with wings, resembling those of bats, and in the case of the great
+_Pteranodons_ found in the rocks of Kansas had a "stretch of wing" of
+fully 20 feet. But the strange menagerie that has been resurrected
+contains such a marvellous array of grotesque shapes that not even a
+catalogue of the genera can be presented here.
+
+While the Mesozoic era was emphatically the age of reptiles, the coming
+of a more highly developed fauna was foreshadowed. Bird life was
+represented, and the skeletons of reptilian birds, or birds with teeth
+like those of reptiles, have been discovered in the Mesozoic rocks of
+Kansas. Important additions to our knowledge of these strange creatures,
+which furnish much instructive data in reference to the development of
+the higher from the lower forms of life, have been made by O. C. Marsh.
+The humble beginning of mammalian life is shown by insectivorous
+marsupials, the jaws of which were discovered in the Newark system
+(Lower Mesozoic) of North Carolina.
+
+The Cenozoic era is the age of mammals, so called because during that
+time brute mammals succeeded reptiles as the rulers of the earth. From
+the rocks deposited in North America during this era, principally the
+sediments of fresh-water lakes and the gravel-beds laid down by streams
+in the Pacific mountain region, a great number of skeletons of truly
+remarkable mammals, differing widely from anything now living, have been
+discovered by Joseph Leidy, O. C. Marsh, E. D. Cope, H. F. Osborn, and
+others. The profound interest attached to this fauna, and the bearings
+it has on the study of the geographical distribution of animals,
+climatic changes, etc., is indicated by the fact that it includes forms
+related to the rhinoceros, elephant, camel, etc., which are not
+represented among the animals now living on the continent, although
+having relatives in other and principally tropical countries.
+
+During the Psychozoic era mind gained ascendency over brute force, and
+man became the leader. The mammals continued to dominate the earth
+throughout the Pleistocene period and were then probably more numerous
+and of even larger size than during the preceding Tertiary period.
+During the Pleistocene great climatic changes occurred, and large
+glaciers existed in several regions which now enjoy a temperate climate
+and are densely populated.
+
+The presence of man in North America during the Pleistocene has not been
+proved, but important contributions to knowledge concerning the brute
+mammals, and in reference also to the climatic and physiographic
+changes, have been made.
+
+In stream-deposited gravels, caverns, peat swamps, etc., over the
+surface of practically the entire continent, the bones of many species
+of large mammals have been obtained. These include the mastodon and
+elephant, megatherium, megalonyx, mylodon, a large horse, a great bison,
+an elk much exceeding the living species in size, a giant beaver,
+and many others remarkable for their large dimensions as compared with
+their living representatives. Several of these large animals survived
+the vicissitudes of climate characteristic of the Glacial epoch, but
+have since become extinct.
+
+The chief contributions to Pleistocene history, however, made by
+American geologists, are in connection with the records of climatic
+changes. During the earlier portion of the period, and beginning perhaps
+in late Tertiary time, the continent in large part at least was more
+elevated than now and the energetic streams of the mountainous portions
+eroded deep cañons. To this Sierran epoch, as it is termed, is referred
+the excavation of the larger valleys of the Sierra Nevada, the
+world-renowned cañons of the Colorado and Snake Rivers, and probably the
+deep Valley of the St. Lawrence and the Hudson.
+
+A climatic change perhaps initiated by the greater elevation of the
+land, but not as yet wholly explained, caused glaciers to form about the
+higher portions of a number of the ranges in the Pacific mountains, and
+continental glaciers of the type of the ice-sheet now covering Greenland
+to expand from at least three centres, termed the Labradorean, Keewatin,
+and Cordilleran, in what is now Canada. During this time of great ice
+accumulation and of glacial advance and retreat, or the Glacial epoch,
+as it is termed, fully one-half of North America was buried beneath
+ice-sheets of the continental type. A composite map showing the portions
+of the continent which were covered with ice at one time or another
+during the Glacial epoch is reproduced in Plate V.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE V.--Pleistocene glacial deposits.
+
+     NOTE: This map presents what may be termed a composite picture
+     of the extent of glacial ice during Pleistocene and Recent
+     time; Greenland, much of the Arctic archipelago, and many areas
+     in the Pacific mountains are still occupied by ice. The broken
+     blue lines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts show
+     approximately the seaward extension of the Pleistocene
+     ice-sheets. The detached areas of glaciation in the western
+     portion of the United States are here assigned to the Wisconsin
+     stage, but in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada there are
+     records of two ice advances. The drift in western Canada here
+     colored as Wisconsin is perhaps in part of later date.]
+
+During the maximum advance of the ice from the Labradorean centre into
+the Continental basin it nearly reached the mouth of the Ohio River
+(near Cincinnati). An earlier advance from the Keewatin centre extended
+to the Missouri River in Missouri. There is evidence of a succession of
+advances and retreats of the ice forming a very complex history. With
+its final retreat the Great Lakes came into existence and the continent
+reached the stage in its development when man became prominent.
+
+The study of glacial geology in North America was initiated, or at least
+given a fresh start and in the proper direction, by Louis Agassiz, and
+within recent years energetically carried forward by a large number of
+earnest workers. The stage of advance reached in this branch of geology
+which serves so admirably to link the present with the past is well
+presented in the numerous publications of T. C. Chamberlin and his
+associates.
+
+The instructive history of the growth of North America and the
+successive appearance of higher and higher forms of life, the records of
+which have been discovered in the sedimentary rocks, has been made known
+by the combined studies of a large number of investigators, but the
+great task has been carried on mainly under the auspices of various
+national and State surveys. Chief among these is the present United
+States Geological Survey, which has published what may be justly termed
+a library of valuable literature and of topographic and geologic maps.
+
+_The Igneous Rocks_ (Plate IV).--Under the at present popular
+explanation of the origin of the earth, namely, the nebular hypothesis,
+and also the modification of it termed the meteoric hypothesis, the
+planet itself is considered to have been at one time in a molten
+condition. The starting-point of the study of the rocks composing the
+earth should be, therefore, the primitive crust cooled from fusion. In
+addition to this there have been throughout history geologic migrations
+of molten matter from deep within the earth towards the surface, and a
+part of the material thus forced outward, principally through fissures,
+has cooled in the rocks it penetrated, forming intrusions of various
+kinds, and a part has reached the surface and been extruded, as during
+volcanic eruptions.
+
+Probably every known phase of vulcanism is illustrated by the igneous
+rocks of North America, and in certain branches of the subject, as the
+nature of intrusions and the changes which occur in the cooling of
+igneous magmas, marked advances in the world's knowledge have been made
+by American geologists.
+
+Examples of volcanic phenomena on a grand scale are furnished by the
+still active volcanoes of the Caribbees, Central America, Mexico, and
+Alaska. Between southern Alaska and south-central Mexico there are no
+active craters, but a large number of volcanic mountains in various
+stages of erosion which form an instructive series illustrating the
+internal structure of the mode of accumulation of ejected fragment
+material and of lava-flows. In this series of mountains built by igneous
+agencies belongs the great volcanic piles of the Cascade region, of
+which Mounts Baker, Rainier, Adams, Hood, Jefferson, Mazama, Shasta,
+etc., are among the leading examples. Many other illustrations in the
+same connection, some of them in an advanced stage of erosion and now
+revealing only the dikes and necks of resistant rock that cooled and
+hardened well below the surface, occur widely throughout the southwest
+portion of the United States. The still recognisable volcanic mountains
+of the continent, with the exception of those of the Caribbees, are
+confined to its western half, and with the exception of certain almost
+perfect craters in eastern New Mexico are all within the Pacific
+mountains. A great belt of volcanoes, including a large number of both
+active and extinct examples, extends from Panama to the Aleutian
+Islands, a distance of some 7,000 miles, and is a part of the so-called
+"circle of fire" surrounding the Pacific Ocean. This belt is about 1,000
+miles broad in its central part, where only extinct volcanoes exist, and
+narrows towards both its northern and southern extremities, which are
+defined by still steaming craters. The narrow northern portion,
+inclusive of the active volcanoes of the Alaskan Peninsula and the
+Aleutian Islands, is prolonged westward, and forms a curve concave to
+the southward, while the equally narrow southern portion marked by the
+energetic craters of Central America forms a curve concave to the
+northward. The entire belt has something the shape of a sigmoid curve,
+with a wide central portion.
+
+In the preceding sketch of the growth of the continent it was shown that
+the Pacific mountain region is younger than the Atlantic mountain
+region. In this same connection certain interesting general conclusions
+have been reached in reference to igneous activity. In each of the great
+cordilleras referred to there have been extensive breaks in the earth's
+crust through which molten rocks have been forced upward. Volcanoes and
+various intrusions have been formed in each region, but in the eastern
+half of the continent the time since the last eruptions has been so
+great that all evidence in the relief of the land of the former presence
+of volcanic mountains has been obliterated. Erosion has cut deeply into
+the rocks on which the ancient volcanoes stood, and revealed in some
+instances the dikes occupying the fissures which supplied them. A large
+number of dikes of igneous rock occur in the Atlantic coast region from
+Prince Edward Island southward to Alabama and Georgia, and vast
+lava-flows of ancient date are still preserved about the south shore of
+Lake Superior. Volcanic eruptions in the older half of the continent
+have long since ceased and the breaks which gave them existence have
+been healed. The later movements in the western half of the continent
+have caused fresh fractures to form, through which molten matter has
+been forced to the surface. Many facts have been observed in each region
+which show an intimate connection between movements in the earth's crust
+which have produced fractures and the distribution of volcanoes.
+
+The lavas poured out by the more recent volcanoes of North America are
+mainly dark basic rocks, among which basalt predominates. An exception
+occurs in the case of the Mono craters near Mono Lake, California, which
+in recent time extruded a thick, viscous, highly siliceous, rhyolitic
+lava, much of which cooled quickly and formed volcanic glass or
+obsidian.
+
+In addition to streams and sheets of lava, many volcanoes, and
+especially those in a state of explosive eruption, blew into the air
+quantities of fragmental material, such as scoria, bombs, volcanic
+gravel (lapilli), dust, etc., which was scattered far and wide over the
+land. More or less extensive sheets of this material, in many instances
+interstratified with sedimentary beds, and especially with the
+strata laid down in Tertiary lakes, or separating lava-flows, occur
+widely throughout the Pacific mountains. Dust showers of the nature just
+referred to have occurred at a recent date, and the fine white material
+that fell is now found at the surface in a large number of localities,
+ranging from Central America to the Yukon Valley and from Kansas and
+Nebraska to Oregon and Washington.
+
+The most remarkable instance of the addition of volcanic rocks to the
+surface of North America is in the case of the Columbia River lava,
+which covers some 200,000 or more square miles of country in Washington,
+Oregon, and neighbouring States. In that region outwellings of highly
+liquid rock came from fissures and spread widely over the surface as
+veritable inundations, which on cooling became black, basaltic rock, but
+without forming mountains or craters. Where the Snake River has
+excavated its magnificent cañon in these still horizontal layers of
+basalt, a thickness of 4,000 feet is revealed, although the stream has
+not as yet cut through the formation, and in Stein Mountain, Oregon, a
+similar series of lava-sheets over 5,000 feet thick has been measured.
+The Columbia River lava was spread over the surface of a deeply eroded
+land in a series of vast overflows of molten material. The liquid rock
+covered the broad plains and extended into the valleys in the adjacent
+mountains, giving them level floors of basalt. Mountain spurs became
+capes and headlands and outstanding buttes were transformed into islands
+in the molten sea. The lava since cooled and crystallized has in places
+been folded and tilted; streams like the Columbia, Snake, Spokane
+Rivers, etc., have carved great cañons in it, and the surface,
+especially where it is still nearly horizontal, has decayed and yielded
+a wonderfully rich soil. It is the fine, rich residual material of these
+lava plains, redistributed in part by the wind, which furnishes the
+basis for the immense wheat industry of the northwestern portion of the
+United States.
+
+The extrusion of molten rock from deep within the earth so as to form
+volcanoes or fissure eruptions at the surface is only a part of a widely
+extended and highly varied process. As geologists have discovered,
+particularly in deeply eroded regions, by no means all of the fissures
+which permit of the forcing upward of molten material in them reach the
+surface. Many of them died out before coming to the light and favoured
+the production of various forms of intrusion.
+
+A fissure originating deep in the earth's crust and extending upward,
+perhaps with many branches and irregularities, if injected with molten
+rock from below gives origin to dikes. That is, a dike is a more or less
+vertical sheet of igneous rock which has cooled and crystallized in a
+fissure. Such sheets of intruded material cutting across the bedding of
+stratified rocks, or traversing older igneous or metamorphic terranes,
+are of common occurrence and are frequently abundant in deeply eroded
+regions. They occur particularly in mountains of upheaval, thus
+demonstrating the fact that to a large extent the fissure which became
+injected with molten magmas and perhaps gave origin to volcanoes, are
+due to movements in the rocks composing the earth's crust. The force
+which causes molten rock to rise in such fissures also tends to prolong
+and enlarge them. The heat of an intruded magma affects the rocks it
+traverses and produces what is termed contact metamorphism. Examples of
+dikes in the Newark system have already been referred to, and others are
+common throughout the Pacific mountains. Where the Columbia River lava
+in central Washington has been removed by erosion, hundreds, and in fact
+thousands, of dikes are exposed in the terranes on which it formerly
+rested.
+
+When a dike ends above in horizontally bedded rocks it sometimes happens
+that the injected magma, especially if highly fluid, is forced in
+between the strata and spreads widely between the layers, forming an
+intruded sheet, which lifts a broad cover to a height equal to its own
+thickness. An example of an intrusion of this nature is furnished by the
+palisade trap-sheet in New Jersey and New York, which has a maximum
+thickness of about 1,000 feet, and is fully 100 miles in length from
+north to south. The portion which remains is but a remnant and is
+seldom over 2 or 3 miles wide. This sheet in common with its associated
+sandstones and shales has been tilted so as to dip westward at an angle
+of about 15 degrees, and its eastern border eroded so as to form the
+picturesque Palisades on the west bank of the Hudson opposite New York
+city. Many other similar intruded sheets are known in Nova Scotia, the
+Connecticut Valley, among the Pacific mountains, etc.
+
+A marked variation in the process just outlined occurs when, as the
+controlling condition, the intruded magma is highly viscous instead of
+highly fluid, and the friction of contact and of flow is greatly
+increased. Under such circumstances the intruded magma expands less
+widely than is the case when an intruded sheet is formed, and a thick
+intrusion results, which lifts a small cover perhaps to a great height.
+Intrusions of this nature are sometimes expanded in their upper portions
+into a more or less mushroom shape, and from their fancied resemblance
+to cisterns of once molten rock within older terranes have been termed
+_laccoliths_. The typical examples are furnished by the Henry Mountains
+in southern Utah, described by G. K. Gilbert. Other similar intrusions
+in Colorado have been studied by Whitman Cross, and yet other examples
+have been discovered in various parts of the Pacific mountains. In the
+case of certain of the laccoliths in the Henry Mountains, now laid bare
+by erosion, the cistern-like mass of intruded material is 12,000 feet or
+more in diameter, some 5,000 feet thick in the central part, and lifted
+a cover of stratified rocks fully 7,000 feet thick.
+
+Where a dike ends above in older rocks, and particularly in horizontally
+stratified sedimentary beds, in a pipe-like form, similar to the conduit
+of a volcano, but without reaching the surface, the unexpanded or but
+slightly enlarged summit portion lifts a comparatively small cover into
+a dome, and what has been termed a plutonic plug results.
+
+All the various phases of intrusions thus far referred to, it will be
+readily seen, are variations of one process. The wide range in
+the results produced are dependent on local conditions, either in
+respect to terranes invaded, as, for example, whether or not they are
+undisturbed sedimentary beds, and on the physical condition of the
+intruded material, in reference especially to its degree of viscosity.
+There is an intimate and even a genetic connection between intrusions on
+the one hand and volcanic and fissure eruptions on the other. If
+fissures lead from portions of the earth's crust sufficiently deep to
+permit the rocks to become plastic or fused on account of the relief of
+pressure due to the opening of the fissure, the magma may be forced to
+the surface, becoming more and more plastic or more perfectly fluid as
+the weight upon it decreased, and volcanic phenomena result; or if the
+fissure fails to reach the surface intrusions of various forms may be
+produced. The simplest form of intrusion, the dike, results under
+whatever condition the summit portion of the magma comes to rest. A
+magma forced upward in fissures in the earth's crust may meet moist
+rocks or even reservoirs of water, and in such instances steam or gases
+are produced and a new force is added, which may produce explosions.
+
+In addition to the intrusions of the various classes just referred to
+there are others on a far larger scale, examples of which occur in North
+America, but as yet their mode of origin has been but little studied. I
+refer to vast upwellings of molten or plastic material beneath the more
+rigid portions of the earth's crust, which elevate domes, perhaps 200 or
+300 miles or more in their various horizontal diameters. The great areas
+occupied by intrusive granite, as the one from which the Bitter Root
+Mountains in Idaho have been sculptured, are of this nature. These
+"regional intrusions," as they may be termed, elevate mountains in the
+same general manner as in the case of laccoliths, but of far greater
+size. To the elevations produced in this manner I have ventured to apply
+the name _subtuberant mountains_, in expression of the idea that they
+have resulted from vertical uplifts, due to the upswelling of molten
+material beneath.
+
+_The Metamorphic Rocks_ (Plate IV).--At the contact of either
+sedimentary or igneous rocks with intrusive rocks of whatever form, such
+as dikes, sheets, laccoliths, etc., there has been in many well-known
+instances an alteration of the terranes penetrated or uplifted which is
+most intense along the contact and diminishes at a distance. This change
+or metamorphism, as it is termed, consists of an alteration in the
+colour, texture, hardness, mineral and chemical composition, etc., of
+the rocks affected, and may be manifest throughout a thickness of but a
+few feet, or perhaps only a few inches, but near large intrusions is apt
+to be traceable for scores or hundreds of feet. In the case of intense
+contact metamorphism, the altered rock assumes a new form, and may
+exhibit a crystalline and foliated or schistose structure. The changes
+referred to are most marked when water is present, and are thought to be
+due largely to the influence of heated water percolating through the
+rocks and producing changes by solution and deposition. The principal
+agencies which take part in contact metamorphism are heat, heated
+waters, pressure, and perhaps movements within the rocks.
+
+There are extensive regions throughout which the rocks have been changed
+in a manner similar to the alterations commonly found adjacent to
+igneous intrusions which, in general, have been brought about in some
+other way. This regional metamorphism, as it is termed, has affected the
+rocks in certain instances throughout districts measuring many hundreds
+of square miles in surface extent, and with a vertical range of many
+thousands of feet. The rocks referred to have been changed without
+fusion from a previous condition, during which they were either
+sedimentary beds or cooled and crystallized igneous magma. This
+conclusion has been verified in numerous instances by tracing the
+thoroughly altered rocks to regions where the change has been less
+intense and finally to where they pass by insensible gradations into
+easily recognisable sedimentary or igneous terranes. Common examples of
+metamorphic rocks are mica, schist, gneiss, statuary marble,
+certain granites, etc. These rocks frequently have a foliated or fissile
+structure, such as it is presumed would result from a flowing movement
+within the mass while under great pressure. Characteristically also the
+rocks are composed of interlocking crystals or portions of crystals,
+which are not contained in a glassy base, as is the case with most rocks
+that have crystallized from fusion. That is, the metamorphic rocks are
+characteristically _holocrystalline_, while igneous rocks are
+_porphyritic_, or _cryptocrystalline_.
+
+The analogy between rocks altered by contact metamorphism and those
+affected by regional metamorphism had led to the conclusion that the
+latter, like the former, have been changed by heat and the passage
+through them of heated water bearing mineral matter, and especially
+silica, in solution. More than this, the foliation frequently so
+characteristic of metamorphic rocks is considered as evidence of a
+flowing movement or shearing of the material while under pressure. In
+short, rocks are altered by heat, especially if water is present in
+them, by motion, and by chemical changes produced by percolating waters,
+and perhaps in still other ways. The degree of heat required is not
+definitely known, and probably varies according to the nature of the
+rocks, the presence or absence of water, etc., but is certainly less
+than that necessary to produce fusion, and is thought, in general, to be
+in the neighbourhood of 750° F. While heat alone is considered as
+sufficient to produce metamorphism, it is probable that in most
+instances two or more of the agencies just referred to have been in
+operation at the same time. In the case of the foliated rocks motion
+within the mass seems to have been the predominating factor, and
+dynamical metamorphism is considered as important as heat metamorphism.
+
+In North America, as is indicated roughly on the map forming Plate IV,
+metamorphic rocks occur at the surface over a great region in eastern
+and northeastern Canada, in Labrador and Newfoundland, in the New
+England States, and thence southward along the eastern side of the
+Appalachians. Other extensive regions occupied by similar rocks
+occur in many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains, from Alaska to
+Panama, and are known in the West Indies.
+
+Not only do the metamorphosed rocks outcrop at the surface over large
+areas, but, as may be inferred from such outcrops, as well as from the
+records of numerous borings, underlies nearly the entire extent of the
+sedimentary formations. The basal portion of the continent, with the
+exception of certain areas where igneous rocks occur, is formed of
+metamorphosed terranes. So generally is this true, that it is safe to
+say that if a boring is begun at any locality on the continent where
+sedimentary beds occur, and is continued downward until the sedimentary
+rocks are passed through, metamorphic terranes will be found beneath.
+The same is true also where the surface is composed of lava-sheets. The
+exceptions, where metamorphosed rocks do not occur beneath sedimentary
+or volcanic beds, are when igneous intrusions or ancient lava-flows are
+present at a depth.
+
+In the brief description given of the Archean system on a preceding
+page, it was stated that the rocks composing it are largely metamorphic.
+But rocks of practically any age may be altered in the several ways
+mentioned above, and the resulting gneisses, schists, etc., be
+indistinguishable from those of the Archean. In fact, some of the
+metamorphosed rocks of North America, as certain gneisses, schists,
+etc., of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, are known to be of
+Mesozoic and even Cenozoic age.
+
+In speaking of the growth of North America, and again in connection with
+the distribution of volcanic mountains, it was shown that there has been
+a progressive migration of the field of action of the forces which
+upheave the rocks so as to form land areas, and also of the movements in
+the rocks which produce fractures and lead to the origin of volcanoes.
+In a similar way the sphere of influence of metamorphism as indicated by
+the age of the transformed rocks in various regions has in a general way
+migrated from east to west across the continent.
+
+In the Laurentian Highlands the metamorphosed rocks are of pre-Cambrian
+age; in New England and the Appalachian region they are, in part at
+least, of Paleozoic age; and in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains
+metamorphosed Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks occur. As movements in the
+outer portion of the earth's crust may produce fractures in any class of
+rocks, and as such fractures favour the intrusion of igneous material,
+the metamorphic rocks may contain igneous intrusions similar to those
+noted above in connection with sedimentary rocks. As the stratification
+so marked in sedimentary beds is lacking in metamorphosed rocks, it is
+not to be expected that intrusions will take the form of sheets,
+laccoliths, etc., but rather appear as dikes with perhaps irregular
+branches. As the same region may experience two or more periods of
+metamorphism, it is evident that great complexities may arise, as, for
+example, when a metamorphosed terrane is penetrated by dikes and
+irregular intrusions and again subjected to metamorphosing conditions.
+These considerations lead to the suggestion that rocks metamorphosed in
+pre-Cambrian time, for example, would be apt to be more complex than
+those of Mesozoic date. In general, this has been found to be true, as
+is suggested by the fact that to the pre-Cambrian metamorphosed
+terranes, as previously stated, the name Basement Complex has been
+applied.
+
+_Summary._--The relation of the three great divisions into which the
+rocks composing North America, in common with all other portions of the
+known lithosphere, are divided, may perhaps be better understood when it
+is remembered that the igneous rocks came _from below_ in a molten
+condition; that the sedimentary rocks have been formed _at the surface_
+from the _débris_ of either igneous, metamorphic, or previously formed
+sedimentary beds; and that metamorphic rocks have been produced _within_
+the earth's outer crust by the alteration of either igneous or
+sedimentary rocks. When the heat which produced certain phases of
+metamorphism is sufficiently increased, greater freedom of molecular and
+chemical changes occur and the material acted on passes to the
+condition of an igneous magma. The three great classes of rocks
+considered above are thus seen to be but stages in a cycle which the
+material of the lithosphere passes through.
+
+The conditions which bring about these changes are still in action and
+are intimately associated with movements in the rocks of the earth's
+crust. When elevation raises a portion of the earth's crust above
+sea-level, erosion and redeposition ensue and sedimentary rocks are
+formed; the greater the elevation the more energetically the forces act
+which bring about denudation, transportation, and sedimentation. When
+depression occurs of sufficient amount to carry rocks previously at or
+near the surface into the zone of metamorphism, alterations follow, and
+in general the deeper the depression the greater the changes until
+metamorphism culminates in fusion, providing pressure does not
+counteract the influence of heat. Dynamical and chemical metamorphism
+may occur at less depth than purely heat metamorphism, and it may be
+presumed takes place in the axes of mountain ranges, even above
+sea-level. Such a broad view of the relations and genesis of the three
+great lithologic divisions of the material forming the earth's outer
+crust is necessary to the understanding of the conditions observed in
+the basal portion of the geological column, as it is termed, in which
+the age and order of succession of the sedimentary rocks is indicated.
+In certain localities, for example, the Cambrian rocks rest
+unconformably on a surface of metamorphic and igneous rocks--that is,
+the Basement Complex was raised above sea-level, eroded and subsequently
+depressed before the Cambrian sediments were laid upon it. In other
+localities the Cambrian rocks pass indefinitely into metamorphosed
+terranes beneath, which means that metamorphism invaded the series after
+the deposition of the Cambrian, and the characteristics of its junction
+with older rocks was obliterated. Similar relations may evidently be
+discovered at any horizon in the geological column. Obviously the
+chances of a system of stratified rocks becoming metamorphosed or of
+being removed by erosion, are greater the nearer their position
+to the base of the sedimentary series; in a similar way the chances of a
+sedimentary terrane becoming invaded by igneous intrusions is greater
+the greater its age; again, the older a sedimentary terrane the greater
+the chances of its becoming buried by subsequent deposition and the less
+the likelihood of its being exposed for study. The only position in
+which a sedimentary formation can maintain its integrity and be safe
+from destruction by erosion or transformation by metamorphism is below
+sea-level and above the zone of heat metamorphism; but even in this
+position it may have its distinctive features, including its fossils,
+obliterated by dynamical and chemical alterations. These suggestions are
+offered for the sake of indicating, as stated on a previous page, that
+the Cambrian and Algonkian rocks should not be considered as the first
+formed sediments, and that there is hope of the discovery of a rich
+fauna of older date than any at present known. In the search for the
+earliest evidence of animal life on the earth, North America holds out
+favourable conditions.
+
+
+                THE CONCENTRATION OF MINERAL SUBSTANCES
+
+The most important branch of geology treats of the substances in the
+earth's crust that are of direct service to man, as, for example,
+building stones, coal, iron, petroleum, gold, etc. Only a glance can
+here be given at the conditions which have led to the origin of the
+materials of commercial value and to their geographical distribution.
+
+From the mode of origin of the principal classes of rocks it may be
+reasonably inferred that certain minerals and ores will be developed or
+concentrated in one class of rocks and not in the others. To a great
+extent the facts observed during the development of mines, etc., sustain
+this prediction.
+
+In the cooling and crystallizing of igneous rocks from a state of fusion
+many minerals are formed, the most common being silicates of the
+alkaline earths, which are usually inclosed in a glassy or
+cryptocrystalline base. The igneous rocks have characteristically
+a highly complex chemical composition, and although frequently
+containing the metallic element, etc., which are of economic importance,
+these are widely disseminated, and in nearly all cases in chemical
+combinations, as the minor ingredients of siliceous minerals. Although
+the igneous rocks sometimes contain valuable ores, they are in many, if
+not all instances, due to secondary enrichment and are not a result of
+primary crystallization from fusion. As all the material of the earth's
+crust was at one stage in the series of changes it has experienced
+consolidated from fusion, it follows that the ores and minerals now of
+economic value did not then exist, or were widely diffused and have
+since been formed or concentrated.
+
+The processes of concentration referred to are carried on in various
+ways through the agency of mechanical, chemical, vital, molecular, and
+electrical forces, acting singly or in association. For example,
+concentration through the action of mechanical agencies is illustrated
+by the manner in which rocks are reduced to fragments in the every-day
+process of denudation and the resulting _débris_ removed by streams and
+redeposited. In this process an assorting in reference to size, specific
+gravity, etc., takes place, and certain substances, as sand, for
+instance, is accumulated in one locality, and certain other substances,
+as clay, deposited in another locality. During this process gold,
+platinum, etc., owing to their high specific gravity, may be
+concentrated in stream channels. The accumulation of mineral matter
+through the action mainly of chemical agencies, occurs when the waters
+percolating through rocks dissolves certain substances, as calcium
+carbonate, for instance, and on coming to the surface as springs, or
+dripping from the roofs of caverns, deposit calcareous tufa,
+stalactites, etc. Silica, iron, manganese, and other substances are
+frequently concentrated in a similar manner.
+
+Concentration of previously widely disseminated substances principally
+through the agency of vital forces, is illustrated by the manner in
+which molluscs and polyps obtain calcium carbonate from water and
+deposit it in their shells or skeletons. The part played by plants in
+this same connection is shown by the way in which they eliminate carbon
+dioxide from the air or from water, and concentrate the carbon in their
+tissues. From the carbon accumulated in this manner, under certain
+conditions, deposits of peat, lignite, coal, graphite, etc., have
+resulted.
+
+What may provisionally at least be termed molecular concentration occurs
+when similar molecules are brought together largely by water and
+crystallized to form mineral species. In order to simplify this brief
+discussion as much as practicable, this phase of concentration will be
+included under the chemical processes referred to above.
+
+The three principal methods by which mineral substances are
+concentrated, namely, the mechanical, chemical, and vital, have in the
+main different fields of action. The mechanical and vital agencies
+operate at the surface of the lithosphere, although organic products,
+principally certain acids, descend into the earth in solution in water
+and play an important part in deep-seated chemical changes, as in the
+formation of mineral veins. The chemical agencies bring about the
+concentration of mineral substances both at or near the surface and at a
+depth.
+
+The intensity with which the several agencies just referred to operate
+varies according to conditions. The mechanical agencies, for example,
+acting mainly through the aid of flowing water, are in general most
+potent in humid regions and where the land is high above sea-level.
+Vital agencies depend largely on climate and are most active in warm
+humid regions. The chemical agencies are influenced largely by heat, the
+presence of water, and by pressure.
+
+It is interesting to note that a high degree of heat leads to the
+dissipation and wide distribution of substances previously concentrated;
+fusion, for example, permitting of the intimate mingling or
+recombination of substances, previously segregated, although during the
+dying stages of volcanic activity minerals like sulphur, cinnabar, etc.,
+may be directly condensed and thus concentrated from a vaporous
+condition.
+
+During the formation of the three main classes of rocks composing the
+earth's crust, the agencies leading to the concentration of various
+substances now of economic importance have to a great extent been
+different, and hence in a marked way the stones, ores, fuels, gems,
+etc., to be expected in each of the three classes of rocks,
+respectively, are distinct. Certain exceptions to this broad conclusion,
+however, arise from the fact that rocks belonging to each of the classes
+referred to may have been brought within the influence of the same or
+similar concentrating agencies and like results produced in each class.
+
+_Economic Importance of the Igneous Terranes._--The igneous rocks, as
+previously noted, are such as have cooled from fusion. On the cooling of
+magmas various minerals are formed, most commonly silicates, and except
+in a minor way in connection with the weaker stages of volcanic activity
+and the slow cooling of the rocks, there does not seem to be any marked
+tendency towards the concentration or segregation of metallic minerals
+or ores. Although igneous rocks do contain gold, silver, copper, etc.,
+and a large variety of the rarer metals, they are widely disseminated.
+As is well known, however, igneous rocks are in some instances of value
+for the metallic mineral, gems, and ores associated with them, but in
+the great majority of instances at least, and as a rule, these minerals
+and ores are the result of subsequent changes and owe their origin
+mainly to deposition from heated, percolating water. Rich ore bodies
+frequently occur on the borders of igneous dikes, and in fissures and
+cavities in igneous rocks, but the process by which they have been
+formed is similar to that leading to the concentration of mineral matter
+in metamorphic rocks, and will be referred to later.
+
+The igneous rocks themselves furnish desirable building stones, such as
+granite, diorite, porphyry, diabase, etc. With the exception of granite
+and the nearly related diorite, these have not as yet been extensively
+utilized in North America. Certain of the igneous rocks have been
+altered to serpentine, which on account of its pleasing green colour and
+the ease with which it can be cut and polished furnishes a stone
+valuable for interior uses. It is also employed, usually with a rough
+surface, in the construction of exterior walls of dwellings, gateways,
+etc. Large bodies of serpentine occur at a number of localities in the
+Atlantic mountains from Pennsylvania and Maryland northward, including
+eastern Canada, and also over extensive areas in the Pacific mountains,
+particularly in California, Washington, and Alaska.
+
+The principal ores and minerals of commercial importance in the igneous
+rocks are native copper, as in northern Michigan; copper pyrites, as at
+Butte, Montana; gold, at many localities, including the Treadwell mine,
+Alaska; opal, which is mined on a small scale in Idaho and Washington.
+In practically all these instances, and numerous others that might be
+enumerated, the substances referred to have been deposited from solution
+in cavities in the rocks or have replaced other substances, and are due
+to what is termed above chemical concentration.
+
+_Economic Importance of the Sedimentary Terranes._--The sedimentary
+rocks are composed principally of fragmental material derived from the
+disintegration of older rocks transported and deposited mechanically,
+and resulting in the formation of sandstone, shale, etc., and of
+organically concentrated material, such as shells and corals, which form
+limestones. The deposits originating in these ways furnish excellent
+building stones, the principal classes being sandstones and limestones.
+These occur widely throughout North America, and in formations of all
+ages subsequent to the Archean. The sandstones were deposited near the
+shores of the seas, or in lakes, and the limestones principally in
+moderately deep oceans.
+
+Sandstones occur largely in the Cambrian formation on the south shore of
+Lake Superior and about the borders of the Adirondack hills of New York.
+They are usually red or reddish-brown rocks, and their pleasing colours,
+durability, even grain, and the readiness with which they may be broken
+in any direction make them desirable building stones.
+
+The Newark system, extending in detached areas from Nova Scotia
+to South Carolina, contains immense quantities of brown and gray
+sandstone, which have been extensively quarried, particularly in the
+Connecticut Valley, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and largely
+used in Atlantic coast cities. The Carboniferous and Devonian
+sandstones, usually of a gray colour, of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and
+neighbouring States, are largely used in the cities of the interior
+portions of the United States. Extensive deposits of Mesozoic and
+Cenozoic sandstones occur throughout the Pacific mountains, and afford a
+practically unlimited supply of good building material, which as yet has
+been but little utilized. The colours of sandstones vary from bright red
+through brown-yellow to gray, and in some cases are nearly white,
+depending largely on the condition of the iron present. The red rocks
+are dyed with ferric oxide; the brownstones contain iron, frequently in
+the cementing material that unites the grains, in various stages of
+oxidation and hydration; the gray stones may also contain iron, but if
+present it is in union with organic matter, as the ferric carbonate, for
+example. The Cambrian and Newark sandstones are prevailingly of some
+shade of red, for the reason that not enough organic matter is present
+to change the iron to a carbonate.
+
+The sandstones when of an even fine grain and not too hard, are suitable
+for sharpening tools, and large quantities of grindstones, whetstones,
+etc., are made from them, as on the Lake Huron shore of Michigan, in
+Ohio, etc. Other sandstones, practically free from iron, are used in the
+manufacture of glass. The best example of "glass sand" is the Sylvania
+sandstone of southeastern Michigan. Unconsolidated sand is largely used
+in mixing mortars and cements, for smoothing stones used for
+architectural and monumental purposes, as foundry sand in making moulds
+for casting, and many other ways. Seaward from where sand is being
+deposited we find in the present oceans that as a rule fine bluish or
+greenish mud occurs, and still farther seaward, except where
+coral-polyps thrive, usually at a distance of 100 miles or more from
+land, the bottom is composed of calcareous mud or ooze. The sand
+and mud are derived from the land, and if consolidated form sandstone
+and shale. The calcareous ooze is derived from the life of the sea,
+largely minute lime-secreting foraminifera, together with shells of
+molluscs, and in the vicinity of coral islands or reefs the hard parts
+of coral growth are added. That is, the calcareous oozes are formed by
+the concentration of calcium carbonate through the vital action of
+animals and to a less extent of plants. Such material, if consolidated,
+would form ordinary limestone.
+
+In North America there are terranes scores of hundreds of miles across
+in various directions and hundreds and even thousands of feet thick that
+have been formed in the manner just indicated. From this mode of origin
+it may be truthfully inferred that limestone may have been formed during
+any age since organisms having the power of secreting calcium carbonate
+existed on the earth. The limestones of North America range in age from
+the Algonkian period to the present time, and are still being formed in
+the ocean and in a minor way in lakes.
+
+Impure limestones, frequently coloured or clouded with red, due to
+ferric oxide, are quarried on an extensive scale in eastern Tennessee,
+and are used for decorative purposes. The Tennessee limestones referred
+to are of Paleozoic age; in Florida porous rocks, known as coquina,
+composed of imperfectly consolidated shells of living species of
+molluscs, are used in the construction of buildings. Gray limestones
+susceptible of a good polish occur in Ohio and neighbouring States and
+are utilized to some extent for columns and interior finish of
+buildings, but in the main the stones of this nature when employed for
+architectural purposes are rough-faced. Vast amounts of limestone
+suitable for masonry occur widely throughout the Mississippi Valley in
+many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains, especially in the United
+States and Mexico, and are also of immense thickness in the West Indies.
+
+In many instances limestone has been metamorphosed, as will be described
+below, and converted into crystalline marble. Commercially, however, all
+limestone, whether crystalline or not, which is susceptible of a
+polish, is termed marble.
+
+Under certain conditions calcium carbonate is concentrated at or near
+the earth's surface by chemical agencies, as about springs where
+calcareous tufa, travertine, etc., are precipitated, and in caverns
+where stalactites and stalagmites are formed. Stalagmite sheets are
+sometimes composed of variegated, laminated layers, and when polished
+produce a beautiful decorative stone which passes under the name of onyx
+marble. Deposits of this character of commercial importance occur in
+Arizona and Mexico.
+
+Calcium carbonate concentrated in lakes through the combined action of
+chemical and vital agencies produces the so-called marl, now extensively
+utilized in the manufacture of Portland cement. In this mode of
+accumulation the calcium carbonate is dissolved by percolating waters
+from the rocks and soils and carried to lakes in solution; it is there
+precipitated largely through the vital action of certain algæ and
+deposited as a fine white ooze. Thousands of deposits of this nature,
+varying in extent up to several hundred acres, and having a depth of
+from a few feet to 40 and even 60 or more feet, occur in the portion of
+the continent covered with glacial drift, and especially in the States
+from New England to Minnesota. The reasons for the greater abundance of
+marl in this region than elsewhere are that the glacial drift is there
+highly calcareous, numerous lakes are present, and the climatic
+conditions are such as to favour the growth of certain aquatic plants,
+and especially the _Characeæ_ or stoneworts, which have the property of
+eliminating calcium carbonate from ordinary lake waters.
+
+The importance of the vital agencies in concentrating substances of
+economic value is illustrated by the manner in which coal, petroleum,
+and natural or rock-gas, etc., have been formed.
+
+Land plants have the power, under the influence of light, of decomposing
+the carbon dioxide (carbonic-acid gas) of the air and fixing the carbon
+in their tissues, the oxygen being liberated and rendered
+available for animal respiration. Carbon is thus concentrated, and when
+plant remains accumulate and are preserved beneath water in swamps, a
+slow change takes place and peat is formed. The essential conditions for
+the accumulation of vegetable matter have been present on the earth ever
+since a land flora existed, and coal-beds occur at many different
+horizons. The earliest date at which land plants seem to have been
+sufficiently abundant to furnish material for coal-beds was the
+Carboniferous period. Although a similar flora existed during the
+preceding period, the Devonian, no coal-beds of workable thickness are
+known in the rocks of that age. Since the Carboniferous period coal has
+been found at many horizons in the sedimentary rocks, and peat is being
+accumulated at the present day.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Map showing the distribution of coal in North
+America.]
+
+The coal-fields of North America are more extensive than those of any
+other continent, excepting, perhaps, the at present but little known
+coal-bearing formations of Asia, and are distributed in temperate
+latitudes, from tide-water on the Atlantic to tide-water on the Pacific
+coasts, where the greatest commercial and intellectual development has
+been reached.
+
+Coal of Carboniferous age occurs in large and valuable deposits in Nova
+Scotia and New Brunswick; there is a small area of graphitic anthracite,
+not now utilized, in Rhode Island; but the great fields are in
+Pennsylvania and the States southward to central Alabama, and westward
+to beyond the Mississippi. A detached coal-basin containing some 6,700
+square miles, but a small part of which is productive, however, occurs
+in the central part of southern Michigan. Small coal-fields in Virginia
+and North Carolina, the first to be worked in America, are of Jura-Trias
+age and form part of the Newark system. Extensive fields of valuable
+coal of Mesozoic age, principally in the Laramie system, occur in New
+Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and still farther north along the
+same great belt in Canada.
+
+Another highly valuable field of Mesozoic coal is now being extensively
+worked on Vancouver Island. The coals of the west side of the
+Pacific mountains, largely lignites, but in many instances of high grade
+and serviceable for steam coal, are mostly of Cenozoic age (Tertiary)
+and occur in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The
+distribution of the various coal-fields is indicated on the above map,
+and space will not be taken in describing their geographical relations.
+
+Peat is present in innumerable swamps throughout the humid, temperate
+portion of the continent, especially from Louisiana and Florida
+northward, to the region about the Great Lakes and widely throughout
+Canada, but is at present of small commercial importance, although steps
+are being taken for its extensive utilization.
+
+The most valuable of the coal deposits are of Carboniferous age, and lie
+to the east of the Rocky Mountains. The most of the coal is bituminous,
+or soft coal, used principally in generating steam and for manufacturing
+gas and coke. The exceptions occur in eastern Pennsylvania and in Rhode
+Island. These are considered as metamorphosed coals, although in the
+Pennsylvania region there is no evidence of the action of a high degree
+of heat. In the Rhode Island field the rocks associated with the coal
+are plainly metamorphic in character, and the coal has, in large part,
+been changed to graphitic anthracite.
+
+That anthracite may be of any age, however, is indicated by the local
+changes that have occurred in Mesozoic and Cenozoic coals, where they
+have been penetrated by dikes and other varieties of intrusions, or have
+been altered by surface lava-flows. In such situations the coal has lost
+nearly all its volatile matter, and in composition and in certain
+instances, as in western Colorado, in physical character as well, is
+essentially an anthracite.
+
+In addition to the various coal deposits referred to above there is a
+second series of organic compounds found stored in sedimentary rocks
+which consists of hydrocarbon. This series of substances includes
+natural or rock-gas, petroleum, maltha or semifluid hydrocarbon, and
+solid hydrocarbons, such as asphaltum, albertite, grahamite,
+ozokerite, etc. These substances are usually considered as being of
+organic origin and to have resulted from changes which take place in
+vegetable and animal tissues when buried and in most cases subjected to
+heavy pressure. A large part of the hydrocarbons referred to is thought
+to have been derived from animal organisms, an opinion which is
+sustained in an important manner by the fact that large stores of both
+petroleum and rock-gas have been discovered in rocks which were laid
+down before land vegetation is known to have existed. Marine algæ were
+present, however, so that it cannot be affirmed that the hydrocarbon of
+the earlier Paleozoic rocks came entirely from animal organisms. It is
+highly probable, however, that a large portion of the hydrocarbons
+stored in Paleozoic and later strata was derived from the animals whose
+hard parts occur so abundantly as fossils in the same or adjacent beds.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Ideal section showing favourable conditions for
+the storage of petroleum and gas.]
+
+Besides the concentration of carbon in plant and animal tissues and its
+change to hydrocarbons, there is a still further concentration necessary
+in order that stores of petroleum, gas, etc., shall be accumulated so as
+to be of economic value. This accumulation is dependent largely on
+physical conditions. The production of hydrocarbons from organic matter
+contained in sedimentary rocks, and particularly in shale, is going on
+in many regions, and probably nearly everywhere, especially when the
+soft parts of animals are buried in the rocks, but the petroleum, gas,
+etc., generated escape at the surface and pass into the air and are
+again widely disseminated, unless conditions are present which lead to
+their accumulation. The conditions favouring the natural storage of the
+substances referred to are cavities, or more usually porous beds, such
+as sandstone, beneath impervious beds, such as clay or shale. The
+conditions are still more favourable when lateral as well as vertical
+escape is cut off, as, for example, when arches or domes occur. The most
+favourable conditions result when a bed of shale or other rock, as _a_,
+Fig. 35, from which hydrocarbons are being evolved occur beneath a sheet
+of porous sandstone or fissured rock of any kind, _b_, above which there
+is a close-textured, unfractured stratum, such as shale, _c_, and the
+series is bent along certain axes into upward folds or anticlinals.
+Under these conditions, as extended experience has shown, a well drilled
+at _d_ should yield in succession gas, petroleum, and water.
+
+The conditions for the production of petroleum, gas, etc., have been
+present on the earth since the first appearance of life, and reservoirs
+may have originated at any subsequent time. The oldest known reservoirs
+still charged with these substances that have been discovered occur in
+the earlier Paleozoic rocks, just above the formations containing the
+oldest known fauna. Important petroleum and gas fields in rocks of the
+Trenton period occur in New York, Ontario, Ohio, and Indiana. The
+Devonian rocks of Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, etc., also yield
+large supplies of both oil and gas. Mesozoic rocks of Colorado, Wyoming,
+etc., are also rich in the concentrated hydrocarbon referred to, and on
+the Pacific coast, particularly in California, rocks of Cenozoic age are
+highly productive. Petroleum and gas may occur also in rocks more recent
+than the Cenozoic, but owing to the absence of reservoirs, and possibly
+the lack of sufficient time, no important accumulations are known in
+beds more recent than the Tertiary, unless they come from a deeper
+source in older rocks. The vast quantity of petroleum stored in the
+rocks of various ages in North America is indicated by the fact that in
+1900 the yield from the wells of the United States was 63,362,704
+barrels, and from Canadian wells about 280,000 barrels, making a total
+of nearly 64,000,000 barrels.
+
+The stores of rock-gas are also enormous, as is indicated by the fact
+that a single well at Bairdstown, Ohio, yielded over 17,000,000
+cubic feet per day. In 1890 the average daily flow of the Indiana
+gas-wells was 779,525,000 cubic feet. The value of the natural gas
+consumed in the United States in 1900 was $23,606,463.
+
+In the sedimentary rocks of North America there occur also extensive and
+valuable deposits of semifluid and solid hydrocarbons, such as maltha,
+asphaltum, albertite, grahamite, uintahite, etc., which have arisen,
+under the most plausible explanation thus far offered, from the
+concentration by evaporation of fluid hydrocarbons such as petroleum.
+The evaporation, particularly of heavy petroleum, leads to the formation
+of a solid residue, similar to asphaltum. In fact, there is no definite
+boundary between the lightest naphtha and the most coal-like asphaltum.
+They form a connected hydrocarbon series, analogous to the coal series.
+
+Albertite, a bright, coal-like substance, exceedingly rich in volatile
+hydrocarbon, occupies fissures in Carboniferous rocks in Nova Scotia,
+and a similar but less lustrous mineral, termed grahamite, occurs in
+fissures in rock of the same age, near a rich oil-pool in West Virginia.
+Other similar deposits, but usually wax-like and dull, are found in Utah
+and neighbouring States. Asphaltum occurs in vast quantities in southern
+California, and also in Cuba; these deposits resemble the celebrated
+asphaltum of Trinidad and give promise of being fully as extensive and
+valuable.
+
+In brief, gaseous, fluid, semifluid, and solid hydrocarbons in great
+variety are widely distributed throughout the portions of North America
+where the surface is composed of sedimentary beds, and in a few
+instances occur in cavities in igneous rocks as well.
+
+The influence of life in leading to the concentration of substances of
+commercial value is still further illustrated by the beds of
+diatomaceous earth which are found in various portions of North America
+and elsewhere, particularly in Cenozoic and more recent terranes. Beds
+of diatomaceous earth reported to be 40 feet thick and of wide extent
+have been found near Richmond, Virginia, and similar deposits occur at
+several localities in Oregon, California, etc. The uses of this fine,
+white, flour-like powder, each minute grain of which is a
+beautiful siliceous organism, are for polishing powder, as an ingredient
+in friction soap, as an absorbent for nitroglycerine in the manufacture
+of high explosives, etc.
+
+A class of substances of economic importance which owe their
+accumulation to chemical agencies acting at the surface of the earth is
+well illustrated by deposits of rock salt and gypsum.
+
+In the Silurian system in New York, Ontario, Michigan, etc., several
+beds of rock salt and gypsum occur, indicating that there were formerly
+a number of separate evaporating basins in that region. The beds of salt
+vary in thickness from a few inches to over 300 feet, as at Tulley, New
+York. At Goodrich, Ontario, 6 beds of salt from 6 to 35 feet thick have
+been penetrated in a single well. With the salt in this the Salina
+formation there are many beds of gypsum. In rocks of Carboniferous age
+in Michigan, other extensive beds of salt and gypsum have been
+discovered. In Louisiana, Texas, Utah, and other States, salt and gypsum
+occur in Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks. One of the most remarkable of
+these deposits is beneath small islands in the Gulf of Mexico off the
+Louisiana coast. On Jefferson Island, for example, rock salt was reached
+recently at a depth of 260 feet beneath Cenozoic rock, and was
+penetrated for over 1,800 feet without reaching the base of the deposit.
+The supply of salt stored in the rocks, and the natural brines of the
+arid region, such as the waters of Great Salt Lake, afford an
+inexhaustible supply upon which comparatively small demands have thus
+far been made.
+
+In addition to salt and gypsum there are other substances that have been
+accumulated in a similar manner, such, for example, as sodium sulphate,
+of which large beds occur in the desiccated lake basins of the arid
+region, sodium bromide, which is obtained from some of the ancient
+brines pumped from deep wells in Michigan.
+
+Next to the fossil fuels, the most important products of the rocks in
+North America are the iron ores. Although certain igneous rocks are rich
+in iron, and in some instances contain it even in a pure or
+metallic state, none of the rocks that have cooled from fusion carry
+iron in any form in sufficient quantities to be of commercial
+importance. Most of the iron in igneous rocks is contained in mineral,
+usually silicates, and would be difficult to separate. When exposed to
+the air and to percolating water, the iron-bearing minerals of the
+igneous or other rocks decay and the iron enters into various new
+combinations. When organic acids are present, and especially carbon
+dioxide, ferrous carbonate is formed, which is quite soluble, and is
+taken into solution by percolating water, some of which emerges as
+springs, and joins the surface run-off, which may also take up ferrous
+carbonate in solution. One of the most common methods by which iron ore
+is accumulated is when water carrying ferrous carbonate in solution
+forms swamps and lakes, and in many instances as the water is exposed to
+the air and aided by evaporation it parts with a portion of its carbon
+dioxide, and the hydrated sesquioxide of iron or limonite results. When,
+under similar conditions, an excess of organic matter is present, beds
+of ferrous carbonate are formed. In other instances iron oxide is
+precipitated in swamps and lakes through the action of low forms of
+plant life. The ores of iron concentrated in these ways are in many
+instances in well-defined layers, or lenticular bodies, which are
+thickest in the central portion and thin out in all directions. Their
+forms are determined mainly by the shapes of the depressions they
+occupy. Both ferrous carbonate and limonite, however, occur in irregular
+surface deposits.
+
+In North America, bog-iron ores occur at the surface in many regions, in
+existing swamps and about springs, but are seldom of economic
+importance, owing in part to the great abundance of better ores.
+Limonite occurs at the surface also, having been deposited in cavities
+and as a cement for loose fragments, particularly on the weathered
+outcrops of formations rich in iron. When rocks contain but a fraction
+of 1 per cent of iron, the soil on their weathered outcrops, owing to
+the removal of the more soluble ingredients and the leaving of the less
+soluble oxidized iron, have a yellow, brown, or red colour, and
+in some instances this process of concentration has produced workable
+iron ore. Limonite and earthy hematites occur widely throughout the
+Appalachian region, in central New York, and westward to the Mississippi
+Valley. One of the most productive formations is the Clinton, a division
+of the Silurian, the outcrop of which extends in a nearly continuous
+band from Alabama, where at Birmingham, etc., it is extensively worked,
+northward along the west side of the Appalachians to central New York,
+and thence westward to Ohio, and appears again in Wisconsin. At many
+localities throughout this belt, some 1,300 miles in length, iron
+furnaces have been built, although now mostly abandoned, the ore supply
+being the weathered outcrop of the Clinton limestone.
+
+In the Carboniferous rocks of Pennsylvania and neighbouring States to
+the south and west, layers of ferrous carbonate, formed when there was
+an excess of organic matter present, termed black-band ore and kidney
+ore, occur. The former is present as regular strata and the latter in
+oval concretionary masses. These ores, although not as rich in iron and
+less pure than certain other and more abundant and more accessible
+deposits, have been extensively utilized, largely for the reason that
+they occur in the same formation which furnishes coal available for
+their reduction.
+
+Deposits of iron ore accumulated in the several ways referred to above
+may be metamorphosed and changed to hematite and magnetite. The richest
+iron ores of North America are of this nature, and will be referred to
+below in connection with other substances of economic importance
+contained in the metamorphic rocks.
+
+There are various other substances in the stratified rocks of North
+America of economic importance which owe their value to some process of
+concentration. Certain rocks, as the so-called greensands or marls of
+eastern New Jersey, contain from 3 to 10 per cent of potash, which makes
+them valuable fertilizers. In this instance the concentration took place
+on the floor of the sea, through the action of decomposing
+organic matter, and the potash-bearing mineral of the greensand, namely,
+glauconite, was deposited in the interiors of the minute tests of
+foraminifera. The importance of this material is indicated by the fact
+that the greensands of New Jersey have been actively worked for more
+than half a century, the annual products during many years being upward
+of 100,000 tons.
+
+Extensive areas in the Carolinas, Florida, etc., underlaid by rocks of
+Cenozoic age, are rich in phosphatic nodules, which have been derived
+from organic matter. The guano deposits of the low arid islands in the
+West Indies illustrate another mode of accumulation of organic material
+useful as a fertilizer.
+
+The assorting of surface _débris_ by streams and currents has led to the
+formation of extensive deposits of clay which occur widely throughout
+the portions of North America where the surface is composed of
+stratified rock, which is extensively used in the manufacture of
+earthenware, bricks, tiles, terra-cotta, Portland cement, etc.
+
+When rocks containing gold in nuggets, grains, scales, etc., are
+disintegrated, and the resulting _débris_ removed by streams, mechanical
+separation of the heavier from the lighter material takes place and all
+but the very finest of the gold is concentrated on the stream beds. In
+this manner the rich placers of the Pacific mountain region from
+California to Alaska have originated.
+
+The general nature of the ore bodies formed through the action of
+chemical agencies in sedimentary rocks, by solution and redeposition, is
+illustrated by the lead and zinc ores of Wisconsin, Missouri, the
+silver-bearing lodes of the Pacific mountains, etc. In the case of the
+lead and zinc deposits the ores occupy the interspaces between broken
+sedimentary beds or line caverns. Under the best explanation of the
+origin of these deposits that has been offered, although certain
+modifications of the general hypothesis have been suggested which it is
+not necessary to consider at length at this time, the lead and zinc are
+considered to have been at one time widely distributed in the adjacent
+sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone, and to have been taken in
+solution by percolating waters and carried to cavities where they were
+precipitated, together with various other mineral substances, such as
+calcium carbonate or calcite, barium sulphate or barite, carbonate of
+calcium and magnesium or dolomite, etc. The minerals containing lead are
+principally galenite or lead sulphate, cerussite or lead carbonate;
+while the zinc is contained in the minerals, sphalerite or zinc
+sulphide, calamine or zinc silicate, smithsonite or zinc carbonate, etc.
+These minerals, including both those containing lead and zinc, and those
+intimately associated with them which are at present of no commercial
+value, are such as are known to crystallize from solution without the
+aid of high temperatures. In the Missouri lead and zinc districts the
+ore deposits occur near the surface, the depth of the present working
+seldom exceeding 150 or 200 feet, and, as nearly as can be judged, have
+been formed by the downward transfer of mineral matter through the
+process of solution and recrystallization, as the surface of the land
+has been lowered by chemical and mechanical denudation.
+
+Many of the rich silver-mines of the Pacific mountains occur in fissures
+and cavities in sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone. Instances of this
+nature are furnished by certain mines in northeastern Mexico, where the
+ore is found in cavities in Cretaceous limestone; at Leadville and
+Aspen, Colorado; Big and Little Cottonwood cañons, and the Horn
+silver-mine, Utah, where the principal country rock is Carboniferous
+limestone; the Eureka district, Nevada, where the ore occurs in cavities
+in Cambrian limestone. In the case of several of these mines, igneous
+rock is near at hand, and the ores are believed to owe their
+concentration largely to the action of heated waters.
+
+In other regions deep fissures, occupied in part by dikes of igneous
+rock, have permitted of the ascent of water charged with mineral matter
+from far below the surface; such waters are heated, in part by the
+general heat of the earth's interior, or, if in association with dikes,
+by the heat of the once molten intruded rock. The ascending hot water is
+an active solvent, and as it rises becomes cooled, and for this
+and other reasons precipitates many mineral substances. Veins are thus
+formed, which are many times banded--that is, result from the filling of
+fissures by the successive deposition of minerals of various kinds on
+their walls, each different layer of minerals indicating a change in
+conditions. Fissures filled in this manner from below, as denudation
+progresses, become exposed at the surface and reconcentration through
+the influence of disintegration and decay, and of solution and
+redeposition by descending water takes place. Ore bodies of this
+character carrying gold, silver, mercury, etc., are of wide occurrence,
+especially in the Pacific mountains, but the process of concentration is
+independent of the nature of the country rock. Segregated and fissure
+veins occur in either igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic terranes, but
+are more commonly of economic importance in the metamorphic rocks than
+elsewhere, and will be referred to again in that connection.
+
+_Economic Importance of the Metamorphic Terranes._--The great laboratory
+in which rocks undergo important changes in their physical condition and
+in mineralogical and chemical composition, is what has been termed on a
+previous page the zone of metamorphism. The depth of the upper limit of
+this zone is variable, dependent in part on the nature of the rocks and
+on movements within them, as is the case of mountain building. In fact,
+there is probably no well-defined limit to the zone either above or
+below, as in the former direction metamorphism merges by gradations into
+alteration produced by the descent of surface water, and in the latter
+direction as heat increases passes again, as we imagine, by insensible
+and irregular gradations into a region where the rocks are so highly
+heated that diffusion rather than concentration results. Whether the
+rocks below the zone of metamorphism are fused or not depends on
+pressure. They are probably solid, but in a potentially plastic
+condition, and become fused and may be forced upward through fissures in
+the condition of igneous magmas when pressure is relieved. The zone of
+metamorphism lies between a superior zone where alteration by
+descending water is dominant, and a lower region where alteration due
+mainly to heat is in control. In the zone of metamorphism the influence
+of heated percolating waters, combined with movements in the rocks, are
+the principal factors which lead to the concentration of mineral
+substances.
+
+Under the influence of percolating, heated waters, new minerals are
+formed in sedimentary or igneous rocks, and rocks once metamorphosed may
+undergo additional changes. Mineral matter previously widely
+disseminated through rocks is, under the action of percolating, heated
+water, brought together and the regeneration and crystallization of a
+large variety of ores and minerals result. The birthplace of a large
+variety of ores and minerals is in the zone of metamorphism. It is in
+metamorphic rocks that the geologist looks for gems, the precious
+metals, crystalline marble, magnetic iron, etc.
+
+For the most part, however, the native metals and ores of the precious
+and many of the common metals are too widely disseminated in the
+metamorphic rocks to be of commercial importance, and a still further
+concentration, principally in fissures and other cavities, is necessary
+before they can be of value to man. This secondary concentration is much
+the same as in the case of the deposition of lead and zinc ores in
+cavities in sedimentary rocks, and results largely from the solution and
+redeposition, sometimes by replacement, of mineral matter by heated
+waters.
+
+Certain ores and rocks contained in metamorphic terranes owe their
+concentration to previously acting processes of concentration, but have
+undergone chemical changes in place. Illustrations of this class of
+ores, etc., are furnished by the magnetite and hematite contained in the
+metamorphic rocks on the eastern border of the Appalachians, in New
+England, eastern Canada, and the Lake Superior region. These ore bodies,
+frequently of great size, in some instances furnish evidence of having
+been originally lenticular masses of bog-iron ore, or ferric carbonate,
+associated with sedimentary beds, and originally concentrated, as
+already mentioned, at the surface through the action of water charged
+with carbon dioxide, but principally on account of the influence of heat
+have been changed to a higher degree of oxidation and now appear as
+hematite, as, for example, in the iron districts of the northern
+portions of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Ozark Hills, or
+still further altered as in the richest of all iron ores, magnetite, so
+abundant in the metamorphic rocks of the Appalachian region, about the
+Adirondack hills, widely and in extensive bodies in eastern Canada,
+about the south shore of Lake Superior, in Texas, etc.
+
+In certain instances, as has been shown by C. R. Van Hise and others,
+hematite ore, like that of the Lake Superior region, has resulted from
+the alteration of ferrous carbonate which had replaced limestone by a
+chemical process of solution and double decomposition.
+
+As bodies of iron ore in the form of the carbonate, or limonite, may
+occur in rocks of any age, and as rocks of any age may be metamorphosed,
+it follows that hematite and magnetite may be present in any formation
+which has been subjected to metamorphosing conditions.
+
+Limestone when metamorphosed is changed to a crystalline marble,
+frequently white in colour owing to the dissipation of its previously
+contained organic matter. The white marbles so extensively utilized in
+Georgia, Vermont, etc., are of this nature. Other similar metamorphosed
+layers occur in several of the ranges of the Pacific mountains from
+Mexico to Alaska.
+
+The influence of metamorphism on deposits of coal when the heat has been
+of moderate intensity serves to drive off a large part of the volatile
+matter present and converts the coal into a substance resembling coke,
+as has happened adjacent to dikes or intruded sheets of igneous rock in
+the Richmond coal-field, Virginia, in New Mexico, Washington, etc. When
+the heat is somewhat more intense, the coal is changed to what is termed
+graphitic anthracite, as in the Rhode Island coal-fields, and when still
+greater or long-continued, results in the production of graphite,
+as in the Algonkian rocks about the Adirondack hills and over a wide
+region in eastern Canada.
+
+An important result of metamorphism is the production of new minerals in
+the rocks acted on. Many of the metamorphic terranes consist essentially
+of quartz, feldspar, and mica, which have been formed by the
+rearrangement of the mineral matter contained in the rocks during their
+previous state. Besides these constituent minerals there are frequently
+others present, such as the garnets, tourmaline, emerald, sapphire,
+corundum, etc., which are of economic importance. In a large number of
+instances the minerals of metamorphic rocks are contained in veins of
+one class or another, in part resulting from segregation in the rocks
+themselves while yet in a heated condition, and in part deposited in
+fissures or other openings as a result of secondary concentration
+through the action of heated waters. The principal difference between
+the minerals concentrated in the metamorphic rocks and those deposited
+in cavities in unaltered sedimentary beds seems to be that in the former
+instance the percolating water which carried the material in solution
+had a higher temperature than in the latter case.
+
+Among the numerous mineral substances of value in the arts, occurring in
+the metamorphic terranes of North America, other than building stones
+and the previously concentrated deposits, such as iron ore, graphite,
+etc., mention can only be made at present of the following:
+
+Mica, which is used in thin sheets for the windows of stoves and
+furnaces, and when ground and mingled with other substances furnishes a
+good insulating material for electric wires, fireproofing, and also used
+as a lubricant, etc., occurs in large quantities in the metamorphic
+rocks of New Hampshire and Ottawa, and less abundantly in North
+Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, etc. It is widely distributed,
+but to find transparent colourless sheets of large size is difficult.
+
+Talc and soapstone, consisting of the hydrated silicate of magnesia, and
+useful for hearths, mantels, fire-brick, linings for stoves, laundry-,
+bath-, and acid-tubs, etc., and when ground, employed as an
+adulterant of soap, paper, rubber, and as a lubricant, etc., occurs
+widely in the metamorphic terranes on the eastern side of the
+Appalachians, in Canada, and at numerous localities in the Pacific
+mountains. The chief centres of production at present are in
+Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
+
+Asbestos, valuable on account of its fibrous structure and
+non-conductivity of heat, which make it an excellent insulator, and
+largely used in the manufacture of fireproof paper, cloth, etc., occurs
+in connection with serpentine, in metamorphic terranes, and is
+extensively mined in the Thetford district, Quebec.
+
+Corundum, consisting of aluminum oxide, and having essentially the same
+composition as the sapphire and ruby, and a less pure variety of similar
+composition termed emery, is largely used as an abrasive in polishing
+metal, sharpening tools, etc., and also as "sand-paper" in working wood,
+occurs in commercial quantities, largely in crystalline limestone, at
+Chester, Mass., in Georgia, North Carolina, and several other
+localities. Although corundum is next to the diamond in hardness, and
+therefore highly favourable, when reduced to a powder, for polishing
+various substances, the demand for it has in recent years been
+diminished owing to the manufacture of an equally if not superior
+material termed commercially _carborundum_.
+
+Among the crystals used as gems, which occur in the metamorphic rocks of
+North America but thus far in minor quantities, and as a rule of
+inferior quality, may be enumerated sapphires, rubies, tourmalines,
+garnets, quartz, etc.
+
+Apatite, a mineral rich in phosphoric acid, and largely used in the
+manufacture of fertilizers, occurs associated with limestone in the
+metamorphic rocks of Quebec and Ontario in the form of veins, beds, and
+irregular pockets, and a few years since was extensively mined, but now,
+owing to foreign competition, is held in reserve.
+
+By far the most valuable of the minerals and native metals that occur in
+the metamorphosed terranes is gold. Although this metal has been found
+in paying quantities in association with nearly every kind of
+country rocks and in terranes of all ages, the place of its original
+concentration from a previously widely disseminated condition is to a
+great extent in the zone of metamorphism. It occurs principally as
+native gold, although usually alloyed with silver, but is frequently
+contained in iron pyrites. In the crystalline rocks, such as gneiss,
+schist, slates, granite, etc., it occurs in flakes and grains, but so
+far as its occurrence in commercial quantities is concerned its
+deposition has for the most part been secondary, and the metal, usually
+in association with quartz, is found in veins, lodes, contact deposits,
+etc., and owes its concentration to chemical agencies not well
+understood, acting in connection with percolating water. That this
+general statement is correct is clearly shown by the fact that gold
+occurs in crystals, flakes, grains, etc., most frequently in quartz and
+iron pyrites, which, as can be shown in a number of ways, have
+crystallized from solution. The gold and its commonly associated mineral
+in countless instances occupy fissures and must have been carried to
+such localities after the surrounding rock had been fractured. So
+intimate is the association of gold with metamorphic rocks that this is
+one of the main guides in searching for it, although, as already stated,
+it is frequently present in other rocks as well. With the disintegration
+of the metamorphic terranes the gold is set free, and may be still
+further concentrated by streams so as to form the well-known placers.
+
+A very large proportion of both the quartz and placer mining of North
+America is in regions occupied by metamorphic rock. This is true of all
+gold-mines, previously quite largely exploited, of the Atlantic mountain
+region from Georgia to eastern Canada. The mines of California are also
+largely in schistose rocks, as are also those to the northward,
+throughout the Pacific mountains, to British Columbia and Alaska,
+including the recently established mining district at Cape Nome.
+
+With placer gold, and probably derived largely, if not entirely, from
+metamorphic rocks, there are frequently found grains of platinum. The
+annual production of this metal in the United States and Canada
+has a value of about $5,000.
+
+The study of the distribution of native metals and ores in the
+metamorphic rocks of North America indicates that in general the older
+rocks, as the Archean, for example, are less rich than the younger
+terranes, such as the schist, etc., of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade
+Mountains. This seems to indicate that the older rocks were once deeply
+buried and their more soluble substances removed by ascending waters,
+and in part redeposited in higher terranes. Erosion has since carried
+off the rocks which were mineral-charged and laid bare the depleted
+terranes beneath. This hypothetical explanation of the general poverty
+of the Archean rocks is coupled with another consideration, namely, that
+the younger metamorphic terranes, where they have been elevated, as in
+the Pacific mountains, are more broken than the Archean rocks, and
+afford more cavities in which minerals may be deposited. Whether this is
+a complete explanation or not remains to be demonstrated, but
+observation shows that the Archean terranes--all of which as yet
+discovered are composed of either metamorphosed or igneous rocks--are,
+in comparison with younger metamorphosed rocks, relatively poor in
+minerals and ores of commercial importance.
+
+Among the economic products of the rocks are included mineral waters.
+The direct commercial value of such waters, not including their use for
+baths, etc., in the United States, is about $7,000,000 annually. The
+demand for these waters depends largely on the mineral substances they
+hold in solution, and which in many instances is in process of
+transference from one locality to another. Much might be written in this
+connection in illustration of the fact that the processes by which
+minerals, ores, etc., have been concentrated are still in progress.
+
+
+                              LITERATURE
+
+An extensive literature is available concerning the geology, minerals,
+ores, etc., of North America, but only a few of the more important
+publications can here be referred to. The numerous publications
+of the United States Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada,
+and the Geological Survey of Mexico contain vast amounts of valuable
+information. Several of the States of the United States have independent
+surveys and have published numerous reports. Of journals containing
+articles of American geology, the more important are: _The Journal of
+Geology_, published at the University of Chicago; _The American
+Geologist_, published at Minneapolis, Minn.; _The American Journal of
+Science_, published at New Haven, Conn. The publications of a large
+number of learned societies in Canada and the United States should also
+be consulted.
+
+The most useful bibliographies of North American geology are:
+
+  DARTON, N. H. _Catalogue and Index of Contributions to North
+    American Geology, 1732-1891._ Published as Bulletin No. 127 of
+    the United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., 1896.
+
+  DOWLING, D. B. _General Index to the Reports of Progress_ [of the
+    Geological Survey of Canada], _1863-1884_. Published by the
+    Canadian Geological Survey, Ottawa, Canada, 1900.
+
+  WARMAN, P. C. _Catalogue and Index of the Publications of the
+    United States Geological Survey, 1880 to 1901._ Published as
+    Bulletin No. 177 of the United States Geological Survey,
+    Washington, D. C., 1901.
+
+  WEEKS, F. B. _Bibliography of North American Geology,
+    Paleontology, Petrology, and Mineralogy for the Years 1892-1900,
+    Inclusive._ United States Geological Survey, Bulletins No. 188
+    and 189, Washington, D. C., 1902.
+
+Of the numerous general treatises on the geology, the following will be
+found especially helpful to the student:
+
+  DANA, J. D. _Manual of Geology._ Fourth edition. American Book
+    Company, New York, 1895.
+
+  KEMP, J. F. _The Ore Deposits of the United States and Canada._
+    Scientific Publishing Company, New York, 1900.
+
+  LE CONTE, J. _Elements of Geology._ Fifth edition, revised and
+    partly rewritten by Prof. H. L. Fairchild. D. Appleton and
+    Company, New York, 1903.
+
+  MERRILL, G. P. _A Treatise on Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and Soils._
+    The Macmillan Company, New York, 1897.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Outlines of the Earth's History._ D. Appleton and
+    Company, New York, 1898.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VII
+
+                           THE ABORIGINES
+
+
+At the time the Western Hemisphere became known to Europeans, as has
+been shown by subsequent explorations, it was inhabited by native tribes
+from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the extreme north to
+Patagonia. The aborigines were distributed principally along the coast,
+about the borders of lakes, and on the margins of streams, but much of
+the interior was also inhabited or roamed over by hunting and war
+parties, or crossed by various tribes during their migrations. Large
+areas, it is true, more especially among the rugged mountains, in the
+great subarctic forest, and on the trackless tundras, had no permanent
+residents, but in general terms the entire land was inhabited.
+
+In spite of the reports as to the density of the aboriginal population
+made by several early explorers, who for the most part followed the
+waterways, visited the most thickly inhabited regions, and saw the
+natives when brought together by motives of curiosity or defence, it is
+now known that North America, considering its vast extent, was but
+sparsely peopled. As to the number of the inhabitants, there is no even
+approximately accurate knowledge. The greatest density of population, so
+far as can be judged, was in the tropical region, and decreased
+northward in a general way in conformity with change in latitude, but
+varied also in a conspicuous manner in accord with local climatic and
+topographic influences.
+
+In the same manner as the exploration of the New World led to the
+discovery of many species, genera, etc., of plants and animals, it also
+added two types of man to those previously known to Europeans. The
+propriety of separating the American aborigines into two groups of
+tribes is based on the contrasts the members of these divisions
+present not only in colour and other physiological characteristics, but
+on well-marked differences in language, customs, arts, etc. On this
+basis two varieties of the human species have been recognised, namely,
+the Eskimo and the Indian.
+
+The term Eskimo, formerly spelled Esquimau, is of obscure origin, but is
+thought to have been adopted by Europeans from the Indians of Labrador,
+who thus designated a northern people living on the coast, and is said
+to mean "raw-flesh eaters." The word in use among the Eskimos to
+designate themselves is _Innuit_, meaning people, or the people, in the
+sense that in their own estimation they are of more importance than all
+other peoples.
+
+The term Indian, as is well known, arose from an error of the early
+Spanish voyagers, who, on arriving in America, believed they had reached
+India, and hence termed the natives of the new land Indians. This
+mistake has led to many attempts to substitute some other word by which
+to designate the people referred to, but thus far none of the terms
+proposed has been generally accepted. In the present book the word
+Indian is used to designate the aborigines of the New World, exclusive
+of the Eskimos.
+
+The geographical distribution of the Eskimos and Indians is sharply
+defined even at the present day, and is indicated on the map forming
+Plate VI.
+
+_Origin of the Aborigines._--The generally accepted conclusion in
+reference to the origin of the American aborigines seems to be that man
+reached this continent while the peoples of the Old World were yet in a
+primitive condition, and at a time when the highest stage of culture was
+expressed by the knife and spear-point of chipped stone, and developed
+independently in accord with the natural conditions with which he was
+surrounded. More than this, once planted, the original stock received
+but slight if any accessions by subsequent immigration. This last
+statement is not in strict accord with the conclusions reached by
+certain ethnologists, who claim that the use of masks, the art of
+carving on wood, stone, ivory, etc., the practise of tattooing, the
+preservation of human heads, and other customs practised by the Indians
+of the Pacific coast of the two Americas--and in North America,
+extending eastward along lines of easiest communication--suggest an
+influence coming from Polynesia at a time when the peoples dwelling on
+the west borders of the Pacific had made a well-marked advance in
+culture. Some influences on the aborigines of America coming both from
+Polynesia and eastern Asia must seemingly be admitted, the importations
+having been by means of storm- and current-swept boats and junks, but
+the evidence does not point to trade relations. The most that can be
+claimed seems to be slight modifications of the arts and customs of the
+American aborigines, but not enough to make what may be termed an
+indelible impression upon them.
+
+The low state of culture of the original stock from which the American
+aborigines were derived, implied in their distinct subsequent
+development in language, arts, etc., indicates that man appeared in
+America previous to the invention of boats capable of crossing broad
+oceans. The necessary inference from this--if the hypothesis of one
+place of origin for the human race is accepted--is that migration to
+America was by land, or at most across narrow straits. The geography of
+the continents must have been markedly different from what it is at
+present to admit of this, providing the proof that access was not gained
+where Asia and America make a near approach to each other at Bering
+Strait is conclusive, and at present that evidence seems unquestionable.
+
+The present state of opinion in reference to the origin of the American
+aborigines is thus expressed by one well qualified to speak with
+authority. At the close of a review of several lines of evidence J. W.
+Powell says:
+
+"Thus we are forced to conclude that the occupancy of America by mankind
+was anterior to the development of arts, industries, institutions,
+languages, and opinions; that the primordial occupancy of the continent
+antedates present geographical conditions, and points to a remote time
+which can be discovered only on geological and biological
+investigation."
+
+_Antiquity of the Aborigines._--The conclusions to be drawn from the
+studies of ethnologists in reference to the length of time man
+has made his home in America are qualitative, not quantitative. The time
+is certainly long, probably embracing tens of centuries; but how long no
+one can state in years. This claim for a great although indefinite
+antiquity is based on several lines of evidence, some few of which the
+reader may find it profitable to briefly consider.
+
+A comparison of physiological characteristics shows that the American
+aborigines have well-marked differences from all other varieties of the
+human race. This conclusion is not based on any one special feature,
+although colour and character of the hair are the most conspicuous, but
+on the resultant, so to speak, of many attributes. It is, in a measure,
+a comparison of ideal type-examples of each variety. While each
+characteristic that may be chosen has individual and tribal variations,
+and but few of them are perhaps conspicuously different from those
+pertaining to the peoples of the Old World, yet taken together they
+clearly differentiate the American aborigines from all other varieties
+of the human species.
+
+Applying the same principles to man that are used in the study of the
+geographical distribution of the lower animals, the only legitimate
+conclusion the naturalist can deduce from the evidence just referred to
+is that the branch of the human family indigenous to North America has
+been isolated for a sufficient length of time to develop into a new
+variety. The American aborigines are different from all other varieties
+of the human species because each more or less isolated community or
+group of communities the world over has varied in its own way in accord
+with climatic and other conditions, and the connecting links have been
+lost. The differences that have arisen in this manner are so great that
+the nature of the parent stock is no longer determinable from its living
+representatives. This process of development among the lower animals is
+understood to involve a great length of time; and the inference is that
+man's development is no exception to the rule.
+
+The evidence favouring a great antiquity for the American aborigines is
+strengthened by the fact that when first known to Europeans both North
+and South America were inhabited by tribes having more or less
+well-defined territorial limits. If this population spread from one or
+even from several centres it is evident that a great length of time
+would be required for it to reach all parts of the New World and to
+become adjusted to a wide range in climatic and other conditions, as is
+known to be the case.
+
+Students of languages have shown that the most enduring characteristics
+of man are to be found in his speech. The fundamental principles of a
+language outlive not only political and social changes, but even
+physiological distinctions, and are inherited from a primitive stock by
+all its branches. We might reasonably expect, therefore, that a study of
+the languages spoken in America in pre-Columbian days would be a sure
+index as to the primitive stock from which the various tribes came, and
+show to which of the many other branches of the linguistic tree they are
+most closely related. Turning with this question to those who have made
+a critical study of the languages of the American aborigines, and no one
+is better qualified to bear testimony in this connection than J. W.
+Powell, the honoured director of the American Bureau of Ethnology, we
+find a definite answer. He says:
+
+"The North American Indian tribes, instead of speaking related dialects,
+originating in a single parent language, in reality speak many
+languages, belonging to distinct families, which have no apparent unity
+of origin."
+
+To the north of Mexico (Plate VI) the aborigines are divided into 58
+linguistic families. In a large portion of these languages there are
+tribal dialects not understood by members of other tribes of the same
+family. Thus the Algonquin linguistic family contains some 30 or 40
+distinct languages. In the Athapascan the diversity is nearly as great.
+The smaller families present similar conditions in proportionate degree,
+although there are stocks which speak but one language. Four of the
+linguistic families referred to extend into Mexico, but to the south of
+the territory occupied by them other languages and dialects are spoken.
+Ethnologists who have studied the tribes of Mexico report 19 linguistic
+stocks, containing 108 distinct languages, among which there are upward
+of 60 dialects. In Central America a similar diversity in the
+native tongues exists. Reclus, in his great work The Earth and its
+Inhabitants, states that in the New World 450 native languages are
+spoken--a number greater than that of all the languages in use in the
+rest of the earth. Not only are the American linguistic stocks different
+from each other, and fail to furnish evidence of having been derived
+from a single parent tongue, but, as philologists assure us, no one of
+them is analogous to any language spoken in other lands.
+
+As is well known, a language is not created _de novo_, but by a slow
+process of development. Since the first acquirement of articulate speech
+by man a succession of languages has appeared owing to the growth,
+differentiation, etc., of pre-existing forms of speech. It is a
+warrantable inference, therefore, that the marvellous diversity in
+speech present in America could only have arisen by a process of
+evolution involving a very long period of time.
+
+As the American languages have no affinity with the Teutonic or Semitic
+stocks, it is evident that the source or sources from which they came
+far antedate the birth of the oldest people of which history takes
+cognizance. Man must therefore have set foot on American soil before the
+sprouting of the linguistic twig which, after millenniums, produced the
+cuneiform inscriptions of ancient Persia and Assyria.
+
+The diversity of arts, customs, myths, religions, etc., among the
+American aborigines, and their difference in nearly all instances from
+the analogous attributes of the peoples of other lands, also point to a
+long period of isolated development in much the same manner as has been
+referred to in the case of a comparative study of their languages. The
+skin boats used by the Eskimos are widely different from the birch-bark
+canoes of the Algonquins, and these again differ conspicuously from the
+dug-out canoes of southeastern Alaska and British Columbia; still other
+varieties of boats are peculiar to the more southern Indian tribes, and
+all alike differ from the boats used in other lands. Like individuality
+pertains also to the houses of the American aborigines, their clothing,
+arms, utensils, basket-work, picture-writings, etc. One is forced to
+recognise in each of these arts or industries not only development in
+many diverging lines among the various tribes, but the birth of ideas
+analogous to those which arose in other lands, and their independent
+growth under special conditions. All of this, and much more in the same
+general direction that might be discussed did space permit, points to a
+great antiquity for the indigenous American peoples.
+
+Among the nations of the Old World certain plants have been under
+domestication for so long a time, and have varied so greatly, that the
+wild species from which they came are no longer known. This is true of
+nearly all our common fruits and vegetables and many of our flowers that
+were derived from the Old World. At the time of the Spanish conquest the
+aborigines of America were cultivating tobacco, potatoes, beans,
+tomatoes, squashes, maize, cotton, etc., and in the case of most of
+these plants the wild species from which they were derived has not been
+ascertained. The argument that points to a great antiquity in the case
+of wheat and the peach applies equally well to tobacco and maize, and
+indicates that horticulture began in America in remote antiquity. At the
+time of Columbus, the ox, sheep, goat, pigeons, fowls, cat, etc., long
+domesticated in the Old, were absent in the New World, and the llama,
+turkey, etc., indigenous in America, were unknown in Europe. These
+striking differences, among which there is not even a single exception,
+amount to positive evidence that contact between the peoples of the Old
+and the New World did not occur after the inhabitants of the former
+emerged from savagery, or, what is the same thing, never existed in the
+sense that trade relations were entered into. This same line of argument
+seemingly casts grave doubts on the deductions already referred to
+concerning the importation into America from Polynesia of the practise
+of tattooing, the wearing of masks, the use of labrets, etc.; and
+indicates also that but slight changes were produced in the American
+aborigines owing to the wrecking of Asiatic junks on the northwest
+coast.
+
+Another factor bearing on the antiquity of the indigenous Americans is
+the stage of development reached in spite of their long and nearly
+complete isolation. Stimuli from without, and particularly
+contact with more advanced peoples, having been lacking or of small
+importance, incentive to bodily and mental activity arose mainly from
+the desire for food, clothing, and shelter, and from intertribal
+rivalry, jealousy, and war. This process of indigenous development was
+certainly slow. With man, as with the lower animals, the rate of advance
+and of specialization increases as higher and higher grades of
+development are reached. For the American aborigines to have attained
+the higher stages of barbarism at the time of the arrival of civilized
+Europeans, solely by self-growth and self-education, is perhaps even a
+stronger argument for their antiquity than their differentiation in
+culture, languages, etc.
+
+These several lines of evidence point to the coming of man to America as
+an event of the far distant past--a time so remote, in fact, that it
+pertains to geology rather than to ethnology.
+
+Turning to the geological records, we find no authentic and
+well-attested evidence of the presence of man in America either previous
+or during the Glacial period. From time to time so-called "finds" of
+stone implements in gravel and other deposits more or less definitely
+determined to be of Glacial age have been made, but in all of these
+instances convincing proof as to the age of the deposits, or of the
+relation of the implements in question, to them, has not been presented.
+Certain discoveries of the bones of men and of articles of human
+manufacture found in California have been claimed to be of Tertiary
+age--that is, much older than the Glacial epoch--but more critical
+studies, especially by W. H. Holmes, have shown that they are decidedly
+modern and pertain to the Indians still living in the region where they
+were found. In brief, all the geological evidence thus far gathered
+bearing on the antiquity of man in America points to the conclusion that
+he came after the Glacial epoch. Judgment in this respect, however,
+should be held in abeyance, as the search for evidence is as yet
+incomplete.
+
+As the problem now stands, the origin of the American aborigines is not
+only unknown, but no generally accepted or fairly promising
+hypothesis as to the land from which they came, the route followed, or
+the date of their arrival is to be found among the large number
+suggested. A continuation of the critical, ethnological, and geological
+studies now in progress, it is hoped, will do much to clear away this
+mystery, but at present only small progress can be truthfully reported.
+
+_Culture of the Aborigines._--In the classification of peoples in terms
+of culture three main divisions are commonly recognised, namely,
+_savagery_, _barbarism_, and _civilization_; but the boundaries between
+these divisions are not sharply defined and a wide range of intermediate
+gradations is easily discernible.
+
+By savagery is understood the lowest grade of culture and of ethics, in
+which social customs are lax or wanting and tribal organization not
+attempted. In the condition of savagery people are without permanent
+homes, do not attempt agriculture or even horticulture, have no
+domesticated animals except perhaps the dog, and subsist on fish and
+game, including molluscs, small mammals, and reptiles, and such seeds,
+fruits, nuts, etc., as wild plants supply. The art of kindling fire is
+probably known to all existing savages, but much of their food is eaten
+uncooked.
+
+In the state of barbarism tribal organization may exist; some form of
+religion is usually recognised; definite marriage relations are entered
+into, although polygamy is commonly practised; permanent houses, perhaps
+for winter use only, are built; clothes are made from woven cloth as
+well as from skins; the plaiting of baskets and the art of making coarse
+pottery, frequently highly decorated, are understood; essentially all
+utensils, arms, etc., are of stone, wood, bone, or ivory, the metals
+other than those occurring in a native state being unknown; and writing
+is unknown, although pictographs may be employed.
+
+Civilization implies a well-marked development in ethics, laws, social
+organization, institutions, arts, writing, etc.
+
+Under this scheme of classification various divisions of the aborigines
+of North America at the time of the coming of Columbus occupied each of
+the planes of development designated; but those frequently classed as
+civilized had not arrived at an advanced stage of culture, and
+can perhaps with greater propriety be designated as semicivilized, or,
+better still, be referred to the highest stage of barbarism.
+
+Some of the native tribes, as those of southern California and certain
+of the peoples of Mexico and Central America, were in a state of
+savagery, and, in fact, have not advanced beyond that state at the
+present day. A large majority of the aborigines, as, for example, the
+Algonquins, Shoshoneans, etc., or, in general, all of the Indians to the
+northward of Arizona and New Mexico, together with certain of the tribes
+to the south of that boundary, had definite tribal organization,
+permanent homes at least for winter use, in part practised horticulture,
+and for these and other reasons are to be classed as in the barbarous
+stage of development. The Aztecs, Mayas, etc., of Mexico and Central
+America had well-established governments, built permanent and frequently
+large and elaborately decorated houses, some of which were of hewn
+stone, practised horticulture with the aid of irrigation, had developed
+a system of picture-writing, and were skilled in working native metals.
+These and other advances towards civilization were great and promising,
+but the use of iron was unknown, and their practice of human sacrifice
+and the absence of phonetic writing denies them a place among truly
+civilized peoples.
+
+Another scheme for the classification of peoples in terms of the highest
+grade of implements used by them is current under which they are placed
+in certain ages on the assumption that man in all regions has passed
+through an orderly sequence in his development, and that the successive
+changes are expressed by the nature of the material used in the
+manufacture of implements. Under this plan of classification we have an
+age of stone, an age of bronze, and an age of iron. The stone age is
+commonly divided into two parts: an earlier or _paleolithic_, during
+which the highest type of implement used is fashioned of stone by
+chipping; and a later, or _neolithic_, when implements of stone are
+shaped by grinding and polishing. Following the stone age came one of
+bronze, when a mixture of copper and tin was used for implements; and
+later the age of iron, beginning when the art of reducing metals
+from their ores was discovered. In this scheme a copper age is sometimes
+included, with doubtful propriety, however, if, as in America, the metal
+referred to is obtained in its native condition.
+
+Under the somewhat indefinite scheme of classification just referred to
+the North American aborigines, inclusive of the Aztecs, etc., previous
+to the coming of European civilization were in the stone age of
+development, although bronze was in use among the Incas of Peru, and to
+some extent had found its way northward as far as Mexico. Certain of the
+tribes still used implements of chipped stone, but in the great majority
+of instances implements of polished stone were the highest type known.
+Native copper was widely used for axes, knives, ornaments, etc., but
+iron, except such as occurs in meteors, was unknown.
+
+The difficulty met with in selecting any one article or any one material
+used by primitive peoples as a basis for their classification is
+illustrated by the facts just cited, as it places the lowest savage of
+America in the same group as the Aztec and the Maya. Obviously, in the
+classification of peoples as with the lower animals all characteristics
+should be included.
+
+
+                             THE ESKIMOS
+
+The extreme northern part of North America is included in the
+circumpolar lands described in another volume of the series of which the
+present book forms a part, and the Eskimos as a people will therefore
+receive but passing attention at this time.
+
+One of the most interesting facts to the geographer concerning the
+Eskimos is their peculiar distribution. From choice or necessity they
+make their homes on the bleak, inhospitable northern border of the
+continent, and do not extend inland except where the coast is indented
+or large rivers enter the sea. In all localities their dwellings are
+near the water. They are the most northern people on the earth, and
+their still greater northward extension is checked only by the absence
+of land on which to build their winter homes. Their present inland limit
+on the continent is no doubt determined in part by long-established
+custom and by the distribution of the animals on which they have become
+dependent for food, clothing, fuel, etc., but the chief control
+formerly, no doubt, more potent than at present, is to be sought in the
+aggressiveness of the Indians. In Greenland, the arctic archipelago, and
+throughout the immense extent of coast-lands from Labrador to Alaska
+they have been isolated and withdrawn from contact with other peoples
+for a long period of time, and their slow development unmodified by
+extraneous influences. In Newfoundland and Alaska, however, they have
+been in contact with the Indians, trade relations established, and to a
+limited extent an interchange of ideas as well as some intermarriage has
+taken place.
+
+Throughout the vast extent of arctic coast between Newfoundland and
+Alaska, as well as in Greenland and on the islands of the arctic
+archipelago, the Eskimo was the sole inhabitant before the coming of
+Europeans, and one language current from the Atlantic to the Pacific. No
+other primitive people has such an extent in longitude. The reason for
+this peculiarity is that between the sea margin, where the Eskimo makes
+his home, and the southern border of the subarctic forest and adjacent
+prairies, where the Indians have their hunting-grounds, there intervenes
+the tundra--a neutral ground attractive neither to the Eskimo nor the
+Indian.
+
+The one thing which more than all else has enabled the Eskimo to
+maintain an existence and to thrive in the frozen north is his discovery
+of a means of obtaining heat and light where wood is scarce--that is,
+the invention of the lamp. This invention, as has been shown by Walter
+Hugh and others, was favoured by the occurrence in the far north of
+animals like the seal and walrus, which yield oil with a high
+heat-giving property.
+
+In Alaska the Eskimo stock is broken into several tribes speaking
+diverse dialects. Of these, two main subgroups are distinguished,
+namely, Innuits and Aleuts or Aleutians. The former includes several
+tribes living on the margin of the mainland, from near Mount St. Elias
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and the latter consists of but two
+tribes, now intermingled, which at the time of the discovery of
+the Alaskan region by the Russians inhabited the western portion of the
+Alaskan peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. A detailed account of these
+peoples should have united with it a study of the so-called Tuski of
+northeastern Siberia, who are of the same stock, and, as seems probable,
+are the descendants of Eskimos who migrated from America to Asia.
+
+_The Innuits._--This name, as is stated by W. H. Dall, is applied to
+themselves by all the tribes of the Eskimo stock, except the Aleuts and
+the eastern Siberian natives. It is in use at the present time from
+Greenland to Bering Strait, and thence southward to the vicinity of
+Mount St. Elias.
+
+In Alaska the Innuits are divided into at least fourteen tribes,
+speaking as many different dialects, and distinguished by such names as
+Ugalakmuts, Kaniagmuts, etc. The termination _mut_, in a substantive
+sense, means a village at the place or on the river to the name of which
+it is added (Dall). In common with all other Eskimo tribes the Innuits
+are a sturdy, well-built people, having lighter-coloured skins than the
+Indians, and more nearly approaching the yellow of the Asiatics, but
+distinct from it, and in many instances having a decided reddish tinge
+to the cheeks. The prevalent idea that the Eskimo is of decidedly short
+stature is not borne out by the various tribes in Alaska, who are not
+much, if any, below the average height of Europeans. Their rotund bodies
+and full, round faces, in which the organ answering to a nose is
+depressed until between the eyes it is scarcely distinguishable, suggest
+that the severity of the climate has led to a development of fat for
+protection against cold in the same manner as among the seals and
+walruses. Such a generalization is perhaps misleading, as great
+individual variations occur as among all peoples, but the typical Innuit
+whose figure remains in one's memory when the bony hags, the cadaverous
+individuals, and the aged are forgotten or but dimly recalled, favours
+the conventional pictures of Santa Claus, with a face resembling the
+full moon, small black eyes with a suggestion of obliquity in their
+alignment, and nearly complete absence of a beard on the ruddy cheeks.
+
+The food of the Eskimos of Alaska, as is the case with all other
+divisions of that people, is derived mainly from the sea. Their diet is
+almost exclusively fish, the blubber and flesh of the seal, walrus, and
+whales, especially the white whale or beluga, which ascends the larger
+streams. To these sources of supply are added the arctic hare, caribou
+(reindeer), and in fact any flesh that can be obtained. Vegetable diet
+is almost unknown, except so far as it is supplied by the berries that
+grow in profusion on the tundras. The necessity for salt, so marked in
+the case of most peoples, is absent in the far north.
+
+The coast of Alaska, where dwells the Innuit, is treeless. Inland from
+the margin of the sea extends the permanently frozen tundra. Wood for
+fires, sleds, frames for skin boats, spears, bows, arrows, etc., and in
+prehistoric time for producing fire by friction, is derived entirely
+from driftwood cast on the beach by the waves. This wood, consisting in
+many instances of great tree trunks from which planks two or more feet
+wide can be hewn, is brought to the sea by rivers heading far inland,
+as, for example, the Yukon and the Kuskokwim, and distributed by the
+wind and currents all about the coast and islands of Bering Sea.
+Driftwood is also carried to the Arctic Ocean by the Mackenzie, but in
+general is not plentiful on the borders of the ice-bound northern ocean.
+
+The houses of the Alaskan Innuit previous to the coming of the Russians,
+and still to a great extent, consist of a single room, usually measuring
+about 10 by 14 feet, situated in part below the surface of the ground
+and entered by means of a tunnel-like passageway. They are made of
+driftwood, and floored, lined, and roofed with planks hewn from the same
+material. On a roof of poles sods and earth are placed and rendered
+compact by stamping, thus forming a cover which serves to exclude water
+produced by the melting of the naturally added layer of snow. When
+spring-time approaches these partially subterranean winter dwellings are
+liable to be inundated, and are abandoned and tents used during summer
+seasons. Formerly these tents were made of skins of caribou or seal, but
+in these degenerate days cotton drilling bought of white traders
+has been substituted. During winter journeys temporary snow huts are
+built, of the oval, bake-oven shape, well known to most Europeans from
+the many pictures that have been published of similar structures made by
+the more northern Eskimos. On the coast of Alaska, however, when
+driftwood is available, the roofs of the snow houses are frequently made
+of poles on which snow is piled.
+
+In addition to the ordinary winter dwellings, which are usually occupied
+by two or more families, each village is commonly supplied with an
+assembly house or _casine_ (a word of Russian origin), which serves also
+as a bath-house, and in them winter dances, the chief amusement of the
+people, are held. The casine, built by the united efforts of the various
+members of a community, consist of a single room, in part underground
+and entered by a tunnel, which frequently measures some 25 by 30 feet on
+the sides, and is approximately 15 feet high. They are substantially
+made of logs or of thick planks hewn with much labour from stranded tree
+trunks. The roof is of logs covered with moss and earth, and has an
+opening in the centre for the escape of smoke from the fire kindled on a
+hearth in the centre of the floor. When the fire is not burning, the
+opening in the roof is closed with a membrane obtained from the
+intestines of the seal. About the sides of the room there is a raised
+platform for spectators during dances and for the use of bathers when
+the customary steam-baths are indulged in. An interesting fact in
+connection with both the ordinary winter homes and the casines, which
+indicates their American origin, is that they are communal. A tenement
+used by several families in common is characteristic of the American
+aborigines from the arctic to Panama.
+
+The architecture of the Innuits has been modified but little during
+recent years, except that in localities most visited by white men and
+where trading stations have been established, as at St. Michael,
+log-houses built after the manner of those used by the Russian residents
+have to a considerable extent replaced the native huts, with favourable
+results so far as sanitary conditions are concerned. The Russian
+log-house is not unlike the many similar structures still to be
+seen in portions of Canada and the United States, except that the upper
+side of each log is hewn so as to have a sharp edge, which fits into a
+deep groove, cut in the log which rests on it. Moss is placed between
+the logs, and is also used to fill all holes and crevices. Air is
+usually admitted through a pipe situated beneath the floor and opening
+in front of the stove, if one is used, and a small pipe for ventilation
+passes out through the roof. In the Russian houses the stove is usually
+a huge affair, made of large flat stones, which retain heat for a long
+time.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VI.--Linguistic stocks of indians north of Mexico.]
+
+The dress of the Innuits in former days, in common with all the Eskimo
+tribes, consisted of skins, and in special cases of the intestines of
+seals. The characteristic garment is the parkie or overshirt, not open
+in front, however, provided with a hood and made of caribou skin tanned
+with the hair on. Those worn by men have a different cut than those
+intended for women. In recent years, and perhaps before the coming of
+white men, the skins for the manufacture of parkies were derived largely
+by trade from the people owning domesticated reindeer in Asia. The
+margin of the hood is commonly made of wolf skins, the long hair of
+which, blowing across the face, affords much protection. Trousers and
+boots made of the skin of the hair-seal or moccasins shaped from the
+skin of the leg of a caribou completed the dress. Mats of grass are worn
+in the boots or moccasins during cold weather. At the present time the
+summer clothing of the natives throughout Alaska is generally of cloth
+obtained from white traders, but nothing brought from more civilized
+countries can replace the parkies, fur trousers, skin boots, and
+waterproof shirts or _kamlaykas_. These articles, except the last
+mentioned, are largely used by white men, especially if making winter
+journeys.
+
+The boats in use among the Innuits are still the _kayak_ and the
+_oomiak_, for which civilized man can offer no adequate substitute. The
+well-known kayak, made of a light framework of wood, tied with thongs,
+over which is tightly stretched a dressed sealskin covering, leaving
+only one or two circular openings for the occupant, is in use from
+Greenland all about the arctic coast of America to Asia. Different
+shapes pertain to different tribes. In recent years, as a result
+of outside influence, openings for three occupants are sometimes made,
+the size of the boat also being increased. To one familiar with boat and
+canoe travel these light skin craft, with their water-tight decks, seem
+the perfection of boat construction. The occupant lashes the skirt of
+his kamlayka about the raised rim of the opening in which he sits and
+the boat is thus rendered impervious to water from whatever direction.
+The greatest danger is that the parchment-like covering may be ruptured,
+as by the cutting edge of thin ice. To ordinary storms, however, they
+are more safe than even the deservedly celebrated "whale-boat" of the
+white man. The oomiak, or woman's boat, also made of dressed skin
+stretched over a frame, is much larger than the kayak, has a flat
+bottom, is without deck covering, and designed for the use of many
+occupants. As is well known, boats of each of these types are propelled
+by means of paddles. Both the kayak and oomiak are still in every-day
+use, and it is to be hoped the boats of the white man will never wholly
+replace them.
+
+The changes in house-building and dress referred to, which have come
+from contact with white men, are outward signs of a great modification
+in the lives of the Innuits, which began in the early days of Russian
+occupation and has continued with increasing importance to the present
+time. The natives are quick to imitate the customs of the strangers who
+have visited them, and but for the restraint that the climatic
+conditions have put upon them and the high price in furs demanded by
+traders for imported goods the changes thus produced would be far more
+marked than is now the case. To some extent the food of the natives has
+been modified, flour being in demand, but, with minor exceptions, the
+principal articles consumed are still such as are obtained by hunting
+and fishing.
+
+The greatest change that has taken place in the condition of the Alaskan
+Innuits, and one which, perhaps, culminated at the time of the recent
+"gold excitement" on the Yukon and at Cape Nome, is in relation to the
+introduction of intoxicating liquors and of certain contagious diseases.
+These scourges, coming from the south, have been almost as great
+a blight among the native peoples as would be the sweeping southward of
+a wave of arctic temperature to the vegetation of tropical lands. The
+_curse of contact_, resulting when a civilized race invades a land
+inhabited by childlike aborigines, as has been seen in many parts of the
+world, has overtaken the Innuits in common with nearly all other tribes
+in Alaska, and decadence and the prolongation of a miserable existence,
+unless cut short by extermination through starvation, is all that
+seemingly can be hoped for.
+
+The fur-bearing animals of Alaska have been greatly reduced in numbers
+during the last twenty-five years: the caribou and the moose have, to a
+marked degree, been killed or driven to remote regions; the larger
+whales, on account of overcapture by American whalers, have become
+scarce; the sea-lion and the walrus are nearly extinct; the fur-seal, of
+more importance to the Aleutians than the Innuits, is rapidly
+approaching extinction. Thus in many ways the food supply is greatly
+decreased. Recourse to agriculture is impossible. The one redeeming
+feature of the white man's aggression is the introduction of the
+domesticated reindeer from Asia and Lapland. With reindeer, the salmon,
+not as yet depleted in the streams emptying into Bering Sea, the white
+whale, the hair-seal, not as yet of commercial value, the countless
+birds of summer, the berries of the tundra, etc., the Innuits can
+survive, maintain their manhood, and become useful to civilization in
+certain ways if the curse of drink and the spread of imported diseases
+could be stopped. Such a change, however, for various reasons, is not to
+be hoped for. It may perhaps be said that the influence of missionaries,
+and, what is vastly more important, the work of the school-teacher, has
+opened to these children of the cold northern land a way to
+civilization, but the results up to the present time are not reassuring.
+
+The census of 1890 showed that the Innuits of Alaska numbered 13,045. In
+the census of 1900 a separate enumeration of Eskimos and Indians was not
+made.
+
+The dismal picture I have been compelled to sketch of the present
+condition and future prospects of the Innuits of Alaska, in order
+to indicate their status at the opening of the twentieth century,
+applies also with variations in detail and some hopeful signs to a large
+majority of the other aboriginal tribes of North America.
+
+_The Aleutians._--The aboriginal inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands are
+termed Aleuts or Aleutians, a word of obscure and perhaps foreign
+derivation. As stated above, they belong to the Eskimo family, but are
+more widely separated from the parent stock than any other of its
+constituent tribes. Evidence advanced by W. H. Dall tends to show that
+they are of American continental origin. At the time of the first coming
+of the Russians, about 1750, they were at war with the Kaniagmuts, who
+inhabited the greater part of the Alaskan peninsula and were the nearest
+tribe of the Innuits.
+
+When discovered by the Russians the Aleuts were an active, sprightly
+people, fond of the dance and of festivities. They are of lighter
+colour, but not perhaps in general more nearly white than the
+full-blooded Innuits. At present it is difficult to find even a single
+representative of unmixed descent, Russian occupation having stamped out
+or greatly modified nearly every native characteristic both of body and
+mind. They were originally a robust people, of about the average height
+found in civilized countries, with coarse black hair and scanty beards.
+Their island life, where no large game invited inland journeys, made
+them emphatically "canoe people." The habit of sitting in their kayaks
+and using the muscles of the upper portion of the body in paddling,
+throwing the spear, etc., while the lower portion of the body received
+but little exercise, led to a fine chest development and to undersized
+and comparatively weak legs. The women, to whom the use of the kayak was
+not intrusted, were better proportioned than the men, and many of them
+are pleasing in appearance. As stated by Dall, they were less determined
+than their neighbours on the mainland, the Kaniagmuts, but were by no
+means devoid of courage. Their mode of worship partook more of the
+character of a religion than that of any other of the Eskimo tribes in
+their native condition.
+
+From what can be learned of the Aleuts in their uncontaminated native
+state, they seem to have been the most intelligent of all the Eskimo
+tribes and the one which gave the greatest promise, if treated humanely,
+of advancement when civilization was introduced. Less than a century of
+contact with Russian invaders, however, led to a depth of degradation
+that is only paralleled and possibly not exceeded by the shameful
+results of the Spanish invasion among the aborigines of the West Indies.
+One of the darkest chapters in American history, fortunately for the
+credit of Europeans now largely lost, is that containing an account of
+the brutal treatment the Aleuts received at the hands of the Russians.
+The childlike natives became worse than slaves. The debauchery of their
+oppressors was shameful. As stated by Dall, "the Aleuts were subjected
+to the most horrible outrages. The names of Glottoff and Solóvioff (two
+Russian explorers, 1764-'65) make them shudder to this day. Thousands
+perished under sword and fire. Long after those enormities were checked
+the Russians considered the Aleuts as beasts rather than men," etc.
+Their numbers, estimated at 10,000 in 1799, were, according to a Russian
+census, reduced to 5,238 in 1808, and, as stated by Dall, numbered not
+more than 1,500 in 1870. The census of 1890 gives it as 967.
+
+The incentive to Russian oppression was the greed for furs and the lust
+of rude men at a distance from all centres of control. The Aleutian
+Islands and neighbouring waters is the home of the sea-otter, which is
+clothed with the most beautiful of all furs. Near at hand are the
+Pribilof Islands, to which the fur-seal formerly resorted each summer in
+countless numbers, and during its migrations traversed the passes
+separating the islands of the Aleutian chain, where they were easily
+taken; the commercial value of their skins previous to about 1867,
+however, was small. In addition, the land-otter and several species of
+foxes also inhabited the same region. These allurements tempted the
+Russians, and besides the Aleutian Islands, with their sheltered
+harbours, furnished favourable stations from which to extend the fur
+trade into the still greater region to the eastward, and at an
+early date in the foreign occupation of Alaska became a basis for
+supplies.
+
+The entire fur trade in Russian America was placed by charter in the
+hands of the Russian-American Fur Company in 1799, which, like the
+Hudson's Bay Company, had territorial jurisdiction as well as trade
+monopoly. This powerful company maintained its existence under various
+renewals of its charter until the purchase of Alaska by the United
+States in 1867. The authority conferred on the Russian company gave it
+exclusive right to purchase furs from the natives, and thus to dictate
+prices. This system was fraught with evil to the natives, and their
+extinction would no doubt have resulted had it not been for the
+influence of missionaries of the Russian-Greek Church, among whom the
+name of Veniaminoff will ever be held in blessed memory. In a measure
+the gross oppression of the Russians brought its own punishment to the
+offenders. The decrease in the number of the Aleutians meant a decline
+in the number of pelts secured. To insure the gathering of the highly
+prized furs the native hunters must be maintained. The later days of
+Russian occupation were characterized by more humane treatment of the
+natives, schools were established among them, liquors withheld, and
+their rapid decline checked. When Alaska was purchased by the United
+States the Russian-American Fur Company was supplanted by the Alaskan
+Commercial Company, to whom a lease of the Pribilof Islands was granted.
+In this lease provision was made for the support and education of the
+Aleutians on the Pribilof Islands. As the chief and almost the sole
+employment open to the Aleutians during the past thirty years has been
+the taking of sealskins on these islands, this wise provision had a
+beneficent influence on the entire tribe. How faithfully the Alaskan
+Commercial Company carried out its contract has been seriously
+questioned, but it is, nevertheless, a fact that the Aleutians have
+fared better under American than under Russian rule. A gradual adverse
+change in their condition has come about, however, owing to the decrease
+and threatened extinction of the sea-otter, and the great decline in the
+number of the fur-seals owing to the attacks made on them during
+their annual migrations, which amounts to commercial extinction. The
+lucrative industries of the natives have thus practically disappeared,
+and there is nothing to take their place. The surviving members are
+objects of charity, but as yet the United States Government has made no
+adequate provision for their support. One method of ameliorating the
+existing adverse conditions that is practicable is the introduction of
+domesticated reindeer; another, not so easy to accomplish, is the
+suppression of the liquor traffic.
+
+
+                            THE INDIANS
+
+The aborigines of the New World to the southward of the narrow strip of
+arctic coast-land inhabited by the Eskimo are designated by the term
+Indian, as already explained. There is no sharp line of demarcation
+between the Indians of North and South America, one shading into the
+other, but only those of the northern continent are here considered.
+
+In many scientific treatises, as well as in books of travel and general
+literature, the Indians are frequently referred to as "red men," and the
+term "copper coloured" commonly applied to them. To the writer each of
+these expressions seems infelicitous. It is true that throughout America
+the Indians have a reddish undertone in their colour, but in numerous
+tribes it is not pronounced. As to copper colour, the meaning of the
+term is vague. What is copper colour? Presumably the colour of the pure
+metal when unoxidized. No such colour is more than suggested even by the
+aborigines having the lightest skins in the members of the many tribes
+that have come under the writer's notice. A more correct term--but this
+is a matter of opinion, in which differences are permissible--would be
+brown, of which many shades occur, ranging from light cinnamon colour to
+dark chocolate, and even nearly black. There is no recognisable
+connection between variations in colour and climatic conditions. The
+faces, hands, and other freely exposed portions of their bodies are
+darker than the parts usually covered with clothing, and frequently
+suggest the appearance of bronze statutes not fully darkened by
+exposure to the weather. In colour they more nearly approach that of the
+Polynesians than any other peoples, but in general are of a darker hue.
+The members of the various Indian tribes, although presenting a wide
+range of differences, have many physiological and mental resemblances,
+which, like their languages, serve to set them apart from all other
+peoples. A composite picture of their persons would show a man sinewy
+rather than heavy in build, but there are many exceptions; of average
+stature, 5 feet 8 or 10 inches, but there are tribes whose average is
+more, and others in which it is less; dark brown, with a reddish
+undertone, in colour; deep-set, black, and in general small eyes, their
+alignment straight; the nose prominent and frequently well shaped; mouth
+large, with strong, frequently perfect teeth; lower jaw massive; and
+face beardless or nearly so, and the hair of the scalp long, coarse, and
+black. In order to make such a sketch realistic, the bronze-like
+athletic figure must be clothed in a blanket worn with the grace of a
+Roman toga or wrapped in a robe of bison-skin; the feet encased in
+moccasins of tanned deerskin, and usually decorated with beads or
+variously coloured porcupine-quills; the face striped, dotted, or
+blotched with various colours; the coarse hair falling like a thatch to
+the shoulder, or braided, and in certain tribes shaved or plucked,
+except only the traditional scalp-lock, and decorated with feathers,
+most frequently of the eagle; necklaces, rings in the ears, amulets,
+etc., made of the claws of the bear, shells, beads, quills, etc.,
+bespeak various tribes; the primitive weapons were the hatchet-like
+tomahawk, the bow and arrow, and the spear. The Indian has been
+idealized in the writings of poets and novelists, but occasionally, even
+at the present day, one meets with an approach to the ideal. Judged by
+the standards of civilization, as he is seen to-day on numerous
+reservations and about the streets of towns, he is a lazy, dirty
+vagabond. A far more favourable and agreeable picture is presented,
+especially in the eastern portion of Canada and adjacent States to the
+south and in the Indian Territory, where the blessings of civilization
+have been accepted and the once roaming savage has become a tiller of
+the soil, an owner of cattle and sheep, and lives in a comfortable
+house supplied with furniture such as white men use.
+
+While a racial likeness impossible to conceal unites all of the various
+tribes, no single picture or generalized description, however carefully
+prepared, can convey to one unfamiliar with the Indian an accurate idea
+of his personal appearance. A typical example from one tribe when
+critically studied is found to differ widely from an equally
+representative example of another tribe, not only in speech, dress,
+methods of wearing the hair, ornaments, etc., but also in physique and
+in mental traits.
+
+In temperament the Indian is usually described as being moody, reserved,
+wary, grave, and his face expressionless, the current of his thoughts
+being unrevealed in his proud, indifferent bearing. In his own mind he
+seems to consider himself superior to all other beings, and to regard
+them with contemptuous indifference. All this is true enough as seen by
+a stranger, but in his home life, and not infrequently when in the
+presence of trusted white men, the mask of indifference is laid aside
+and the laugh and jest indulged in. The extreme of assumed indifference
+is exhibited, as has been well attested by many witnesses, when death by
+torture is inflicted on a captive, as, for example, burning alive, when
+no outward sign is permitted to reveal his intense suffering.
+
+The Indian is a hunter and fisherman both from inheritance and
+necessity. From his mode of life his sense of sight and of hearing have
+become wonderfully acute. His skill in following a trail is proverbial.
+When living near the sea or by the side of streams and lakes he is as
+much at home in a canoe as his relative of the plains in post-Columbian
+days when seated on his hardy pony. In current literature, however, all
+of these traits, as in the case of the personality of the Indian, have
+been fused into one ideal. It is true that the Indian hunter is more
+skilled in following a trail, in interpreting the signs and sounds in
+the forest, in shooting the foaming rapids in his frail canoe, etc.,
+than the average white man to whom such pursuits are incidental or newly
+acquired; but many white men, and particularly those who have in a
+measure degenerated and assumed the Indian mode of life, are his
+equal, if not his superior, in all that pertains to woodcraft.
+
+In mental qualities the Indian is the inferior of the Caucasian and the
+Asiatic, but is the superior of the negro. The ability to advance is not
+absent, and capacity to reach a certain grade in civilization is
+general, but beyond the acquirement of indifferent skill in the arts,
+literature, etc., but few have passed. The mental quality of
+perseverance under adverse conditions and of continuous application has
+not been granted him.
+
+These children of the forests and plains, easily pleased and as easily
+angered; kind to their children and friends, but cruelly revengeful when
+enraged; treasuring a kindness, but never forgetting an injury; without
+rigid self-control, as is sadly illustrated by their inordinate passion
+for liquor when once a taste for it is acquired, are plastic organisms,
+which reflect the conditions under which they have developed. These
+untutored barbarians, descendants from ancestors who brought little with
+them save the stone axe and the stone spear, but of necessity originated
+all their arts and institutions without contact with other peoples, and
+were exposed to a wide range of climatic and other physical conditions
+for many centuries, present a most instructive subject for the study of
+the geographer and others who are interested in the relation of man to
+his environment.
+
+_Resources._--To the Indian in pre-Columbian days no ships from overseas
+brought supplies, and as the various tribes were frequently at war with
+their neighbours, trade relations were greatly restricted. Intertribal
+barter was carried on, however, and the capture of supplies and utensils
+of various sorts by one tribe from another favoured their dispersion.
+Although such articles as the native copper of the Lake Superior region,
+the red pipe-stone (catlinite) of Minnesota, and obsidian from various
+places found its way to remote localities, each tribe had essentially to
+supply its wants from the natural resources of its own domain. The range
+in raw materials, to borrow a modern commercial term, that the Indian's
+intellectual development permitted him to utilize is indicated in the
+following table:
+
+                    { Animal: Mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes,
+                    {    crustaceans, insects, and at times human flesh.
+                    {
+                    {           { Wild--roots, bulbs, seeds, fruits, nuts,
+                    {           {   bark, berries, sap.
+ Used for food.     { Vegetable { Cultivated--maize, cacao, melons,
+                    {           {   squashes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes,
+                    {           {   potatoes, pineapple, (tobacco).
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Salt, (earth in certain instances).
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, sinews, tendons, hair, wool,
+                    {    feathers, and cochineal for dyes.
+                    {
+ Used for clothing. { Vegetable { Wild--bark, fibres, roots, dyes, gums.
+                    {           { Cultivated--cotton, aloe (?)
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Dyes, such as ochres and cinnabar,
+                    {   charcoal.
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, sinew, etc.
+ Used in the        {
+   construction of  { Vegetable: Logs, bark, seeds; grass, roots, etc.,
+   houses.          {   for mats.
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Stone, adobe, sods, earth, selenite
+                    {   (caves).
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, sinew; oil in paint; quills, shells,
+                    {   etc., for decoration.
+ Used in making     {
+   boats.           { Vegetable: Tree trunks, bark, seeds, pitch.
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Asphaltum; metallic oxides, etc., for
+                    {   paint.
+
+                    { Animal: Bones, horns, skins, scales, teeth, shells.
+                    {
+                    { Vegetable: Wood, bark, nuts, leaves, fibre, dyes,
+                    {   pitch.
+ Used in making     {
+   utensils and     { Mineral: Soapstone for pots, pipes, etc.; obsidian,
+   weapons.         {   flint, etc., for spear and arrow points, knives,
+                    {   scrapers, etc.; various hard stones and pebbles
+                    {   for axes, mortars, pestles, etc.; copper for axes,
+                    {   knives, etc.; mineral dyes; gold and silver.
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, hair, fur, bones, hoofs, claws,
+                    {   teeth, ivory, oil in paints; shells, coral,
+                    {    pearls, feathers, quills, scales, etc.
+ Used as personal   {
+   ornaments and in { Vegetable: Seeds; fibres for mats, basket-work, etc.
+   the decoration   {
+   of houses,       { Mineral: Stone (turquoise, emerald, jasper, mica,
+   boats, etc.      {   catlinite, etc.), clay, gold, silver, meteoric
+                    {   iron; and various metallic oxides, cinnabar, etc.,
+                    {   for paints.
+
+In these several ways, and yet others, as in their games, medical
+practice, elaborate religious ceremonials, mortuary customs, modes of
+travel, etc., the aborigines utilized a wide range of materials supplied
+by nature, and supplemented them by horticulture, and to an exceedingly
+limited extent by domesticating animals. The degree to which they
+utilized the natural supplies was much less in certain directions than
+became possible to civilized people, but several sources of raw
+materials prized by them have not been called upon by white men, and are
+now in greater or less measure abandoned by the natives
+themselves. The vast mineral wealth of the continent was almost entirely
+unavailing to the aborigines, except so far as native metals were
+discovered; while several articles, such as the camass, the seeds of
+grasses, insects, etc., for food and material, used for implements, as
+obsidian for arrow points, spears, and knives, catlinite and other
+stones for pipes, porcupine-quills for decoration, etc., are of small
+value to Europeans. While civilized man has become more and more
+independent of climatic and other natural conditions, largely through
+the aid of commerce, the aborigines were much less resistant and were
+forced to adjust themselves to their environment, and like other plastic
+organisms, were modified by it.
+
+_The Natural Food Supply._--The food of the Indians was mainly the flesh
+of mammals, birds, and fishes. The smaller deer of various species
+inhabited the entire continent from the subarctic forest to Panama. The
+range of the bears was equally extensive, but in certain instances, on
+account of superstitious fear, were not customarily used for food. The
+almost universal source of food supply furnished by the smaller deer was
+supplemented at the far north by the Barren Ground caribou, succeeded
+southward by the woodland caribou; overlapping the range of the latter
+and extending farther south was the moose; this, in turn, was
+supplemented and exceeded in southern range by the Wapiti (elk); more
+restricted was the range of the mountain-sheep and mountain-goat, each
+inhabiting the Pacific mountains; on the Great plains roamed the bison
+and the antelope, the former extending from the central Atlantic
+seaboard to the Snake River plains, and the latter from the subarctic
+forest to Mexico. The mammalian food supply was most abundant in the
+temperate belt, and while decreasing northward, declined more rapidly
+towards the south. The food supply furnished by fishes was plentiful
+wherever water was present, and in superabundance in tidal rivers and
+estuaries both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts; but these resources
+fluctuated in a conspicuous way with seasonal changes, owing especially
+to the annual migrations of the shad and salmon. Supplementing the
+highly desirable fish-food on the ocean shores were the molluscs,
+and especially the oyster and the clam. The rivers, particularly of the
+Mississippi Basin, supplied fresh-water "clams" (_Unios_), and the
+saline and alkaline lakes of the arid region, inclusive of Mexico,
+teemed with the larvæ of insects, which were utilized for food. In the
+Atlantic and Mississippi region, south of the Great Lakes and extending
+to Central America, lived the wild turkey; the forests of the Atlantic
+and Pacific coasts, the vast prairies, and the no less extensive
+sage-brush plains to the westward were inhabited by various species of
+grouse; the land east of the Pacific mountains, from the Gulf of Mexico
+far northward, was darkened by immense flights of pigeons; the water
+from the far south to the far north, throughout the breadth of the
+continent, were visited by large numbers of swans, geese, ducks, and
+other water birds. In a conspicuous way the feathered hosts, valuable
+for food, were migratory, thus again introducing a variable quantity
+into the lives of the aborigines.
+
+The vegetable food of the Indian tribes that did not practise
+horticulture varied from locality to locality, and in the temperate and
+more northern regions fluctuated through a wide range with seasonal
+changes. Berries were abundant in certain regions and at certain
+seasons. The raspberry, blackberry, huckleberry, strawberry, etc., of
+many varieties, grew wild in the eastern Mississippi and Atlantic coast
+regions. The huckleberry extended from the northern Atlantic coast
+regions westward across the continent on the southern border of the
+subarctic forest, and reached central Alaska. On the coast of British
+Columbia and Alaska to Mount St. Elias, salmon-berries, wild currants,
+huckleberries, and strawberries flourished with marvellous luxuriance
+and of large size. Wild cherries were abundant on the Atlantic coast and
+extended to the Pacific mountains. Certain small plums of value for food
+occurred widely in what is now the United States. The papaw and
+persimmon thrived in the southern portion of the Atlantic coast region.
+The fruits of the cacti yielded refreshment in the southwestern States
+and in Mexico. Throughout all the hardwood forests of the Mississippi
+Valley and the region south of the St. Lawrence a large variety
+of nut-bearing trees, such as the walnut, hickory, chestnut, beechnut,
+oak, etc., were in great abundance and furnished a large annual food
+supply. In the northern portion of this region grew the maple, the
+saccharine sap of which was utilized by the Indians for making sugar. In
+the Pacific mountains south of Canada grew the piñon, perhaps of all the
+trees of the continent the species that yielded the greatest food supply
+to the Indians. In this same region, particularly to the northward, grew
+the small lily-like plant having a blue flower, known as the camass, the
+bulbs of which are highly nutritious. Both the piñon and the camass are
+largely utilized even at the present day for food by the Indians. In
+Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies a large number of tropical
+fruits, bulbs, nuts, etc., abound, which are suitable for food, and, as
+we have more or less direct evidence, were utilized by the Indians of
+that region in prehistoric times. The period of harvest at the south is
+less sharply defined than in temperate latitudes and the natural food
+supply subject to less seasonal fluctuations.
+
+The Indians so long as they did not engage in agriculture--there being
+an absence of anything that could be termed commerce, and even the
+transfer of food and other supplies by barter being restricted--were
+obliged to move from place to place, in order to avail themselves of the
+abundance furnished in certain localities and at certain seasons. This
+is well illustrated at the present day. With the coming of the salmon in
+the rivers of the northwest Pacific coast region the Indian feasts by
+the river-side; when the berries ripen in the valleys of the Cascade
+Mountains he is there, together with the bears, to profit by the
+bounties of nature; in Nevada he still makes journeys to the piñon
+groves in October; and in the subarctic forest he accompanies the
+migration of the caribou. In former days he followed the movements of
+the herds of bison on the Great plateaus. In these and many other ways
+the food supply of the Indian tended to establish nomadic customs, and
+as each source of fuel and other supplies demanded different methods of
+capturing animals or different utensils for gathering seeds,
+etc., variations in culture development was a necessary result. The duty
+of replenishing the general stores was shared by all, but there was no
+definite organization for this purpose, and certainly nothing worth the
+name of business management. As the adage is, "What is every one's
+business is no one's business," and for this reason the Indian, as a
+rule, failed to lay aside a sufficient supply of food for winter use,
+and in consequence frequently went hungry and not infrequently died of
+starvation.
+
+The scarcity of the spontaneous food supply at certain seasons or during
+exceptional years, and the recurrence of cold or rainy seasons,
+necessitating shelter, would naturally lead the Indian to develop in two
+important directions, namely, agriculture and architecture. As is well
+known, promising advances had been made in each of these arts, when
+indigenous development was checked and to a great extent killed by the
+appearance on the scene and subsequent encroachments of peoples from
+over the sea.
+
+_Horticulture._--Concerning the art of cultivating plants for food,
+clothing, utensils, etc., practised by the Indians before the coming of
+Europeans, it is difficult to obtain accurate information. The writings
+of Spanish and other explorers who first visited various tribes have
+been diligently searched in this connection by students of American
+history, and although much that is instructive has been discovered, many
+questions remain unanswered.
+
+The principal regions where cultivation of the soil was practised in
+pre-Columbian times are situated in the United States south of the St.
+Lawrence and east of the Mississippi Valley, and inclusive of the lands
+bordering the Great Lakes on the south; also much of New Mexico,
+Arizona, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. In the eastern
+portion of what is now the United States localities naturally devoid of
+trees were cultivated by the Indians, and partial clearings were made in
+the vast forest by deadening the trees, probably by girdling or cutting
+the bark entirely around their trunks with stone axes, and leaving them
+standing. A similar process was employed by white settlers in later
+years, and is practised even at the present day. In these partial
+clearings, from which the underbrush was no doubt burned, gardens of
+maize, melons, pumpkins, beans, gourds, sunflowers, potatoes, tobacco,
+and perhaps other plants were grown without irrigation. Garden-beds, as
+they are termed, are still to be seen in the forests of Michigan, which,
+as indicated by the trees growing on them, are older than the time white
+men began the cultivation of the soil of that region. In the arid
+southwestern portion of the continent and in Central America gardens
+were cultivated with the aid of irrigation, and what has been described
+as a high degree of skill in horticulture attained. The chief products
+of these gardens were maize, cotton, tobacco, beans, melons, cacao,
+bananas, and the red pepper. Possibly vanilla, tomatoes, and pumpkins
+were also grown. The aloe was extensively utilized in the south, but
+whether definitely cultivated or not seems uncertain.
+
+The cultivation of fruit-trees other than the cacao, which furnishes the
+seeds from which chocolate is made, does not seem to have been carried
+on, although certain writers imply that native trees were tended and
+given greater facility for growth by removing adjacent plants. It is
+stated by some authors that in the region to the eastward of the
+Mississippi the Chickasaw plum is now found growing in clearings that
+were abandoned by the Indians and not elsewhere, and the inference is
+that it was formerly cultivated. Asa Gray mentions, however, that this
+species is probably not indigenous.
+
+Of domesticated mammals none are known to have been possessed by the
+Indians except the dog, which it is presumed was derived from one or
+more species of the native wolf, and was used to carry or draw burdens,
+served also for food, and furnished skins for clothing and hair for
+weaving cloth. The turkey was domesticated by the Aztecs and the village
+Indians of the New Mexico region; among the latter, even at the present
+day, eagles are confined in cages and plucked for feathers. There is
+seemingly no doubt but that in pre-Columbian, as in recent years, the
+young of wild animals were captured by the Indians and reared as pets,
+which in times of necessity probably served for food; but there are no
+records of definite attempts to domesticate the bison, mountain-sheep,
+mountain-goat, or the peccary of the Gulf coast and Central America. In
+the attractive accounts that have appeared in recent years concerning
+the grandeur of the Aztecs mention is made of extensive menageries, but
+even the most poetic of historians has not assigned to the tribes of
+that confederation flocks and herds. The llama and the paco or alpaca,
+although reared extensively by the Incas of Peru, are not certainly
+known to have been introduced into North America.
+
+To the eastward of the Mississippi, where numerous earthworks bear
+testimony of an early settlement by aborigines, heavy forests, the
+severity of the winter climate, and wide variations in summer rains
+combined to make the natural conditions to a marked degree adverse to
+aboriginal development. In Central America, and the West Indies
+generally, the exuberance of vegetable growth is such as almost to defy
+the clearing of land by people provided only with stone or copper
+utensils. Between these two regions, in the southwestern portion of the
+continent, are the arid lands, where, when once the idea of irrigation
+was embraced, the conditions favouring a sedentary life, with
+agriculture as a basis, are far more auspicious than elsewhere. The land
+is there treeless, the indigenous plants are easily killed by fire and
+by irrigation, the soil is rich, intense sunshine favours plant growth,
+and the gathering of harvests is not delayed or the efforts of industry
+rendered abortive by rain. Of all portions of the continent, this is the
+one where resistance to human development is least, providing man's
+ideas are sufficiently advanced to permit him to grasp and put in
+practise the art of irrigation. It is reasonable to suppose that the
+Indian there first began to build permanent homes and to cultivate the
+soil. This hypothesis is sustained in part by historical evidence, and
+in part by the ruins of ancient villages or communal houses, irrigation,
+ditches, etc. From this centre it may be presumed, in the absence of
+definite proof, that the art of horticulture spread to Central America
+and the Mississippi Valley.
+
+In spite of the glowing accounts given by certain historians concerning
+the high degree of skill in agriculture attained by the
+aborigines of Mexico and Central America, and the extent of their
+plantations, a conservative balancing of the evidence indicates that
+they never advanced beyond the stage of gardening, and that field
+agriculture, the cultivation of orchards, and the domestication of
+mammals was practically unknown to them.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Lodge or Tepee, Blackfoot Indians, Manitoba.
+Photograph by William Notman & Son.]
+
+_Houses._--The houses of the primitive Indians, owing to the various
+stages in culture attained by different tribes and differences in
+climatic conditions, showed a wide range in material used and in the
+results obtained. The shelters of the wandering tribes and of the
+village Indians during their journeys were usually some form of tent,
+either composed wholly of boughs or of a framework of sticks over which
+skins were spread and secured by thongs. The typical _wigwam_ consisted
+of a number of poles from 15 to 18 feet long, lashed together at the top
+and arranged in a circle some 10 feet in diameter at the base, on which
+a covering of skins, bark, or mats was spread, leaving an opening at the
+top for the escape of smoke from a small fire placed on the ground
+within. At the top a wing-like extension of the covering was frequently
+provided which could be adjusted to the direction of the wind. An
+opening on one side, protected by a curtain of skin, or closed by
+drawing the covering together, served as a door. A modification of this
+genuine Indian lodge, or _tepee_, in which cotton cloth is substituted
+for the primitive covering, may be seen over a wide extent of the
+country to the west of the Mississippi at the present day (Fig. 36).
+
+A step higher than the usually circular lodge of boughs, etc., in use
+principally among the Indians to the west of the Mississippi, was
+furnished by the bark houses of the northeastern tribes, as those of New
+York, in which a rectangular frame of poles with an arched or triangular
+roof was covered with bark, usually of the elm, tied to the inner frame
+and held also by an external frame of poles, the two frames being lashed
+firmly together. This, the celebrated "long house" of the Iroquois, like
+most Indian houses, was designed to accommodate a number of families,
+and may be said to have consisted of several houses placed end to end
+with a common passageway running through them. Fires were lighted
+in this passageway, one for each family, and the smoke allowed to escape
+through openings in the roof. One of these bark houses is described by
+an early traveller as being 80 feet long, 17 feet wide, and with a
+common passageway 6 feet wide running through its length, on each side
+of which were apartments 5 feet square. Smaller houses, usually for the
+use of a few families, were also built. The larger ones, as was common
+in many Indian villages, were occupied both as dwellings and for general
+assemblies. These houses were grouped in villages, about which
+palisades, consisting of poles planted in the ground, were frequently
+built, and in at least one instance a ditch filled with water was used
+on the outside of the palisade to increase their security against
+attack.
+
+The feature of special interest concerning the houses of the American
+aborigines, inclusive of the Eskimos, is that they were usually occupied
+by a number of families. This communal idea runs through all the
+indigenous American architecture. As remarked by Lewis H. Morgan, one of
+the most judicious students of American ethnology, "the house for a
+single family was exceptional throughout aboriginal America, while the
+house large enough to accommodate several families was the rule.
+Moreover, they were occupied as joint tenement-houses. There was also a
+tendency to form these households on the principle of gentile kin, the
+mothers with their children being of the same gens or clan."
+
+The idea of the joint tenement-house, as has been clearly shown by
+Morgan, illustrated by the bark cabins of the Iroquois, finds its most
+striking expression in the communal houses, or _pueblos_, of the village
+Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, and in the abandoned stone houses of
+Central America. In the arid southwestern portion of the continent
+certain tribes, termed the Pueblo Indians, are still living in the
+villages they occupied when first visited by Spanish explorers (1640).
+On account of their exclusiveness and the isolation of their villages in
+an immense desert region they have been but slightly modified, so far as
+their home life is concerned, even at the present day, by contact
+with white men. The hot desert has shielded these people in much the
+same manner that the frozen tundra has served to preserve the purity of
+the Eskimo.
+
+The homes of Pueblo Indians, as described by Morgan, are immense
+tenement-houses, built of stone and adobe, frequently occupying several
+acres of ground, and from 1 to 6 or 7 stories high. The number of
+inhabitants at Zuñi, one of the most typical of these pueblo towns, is
+stated to have been 1,500 in 1851, but to have previously included some
+5,000 souls. The adobe, of which the houses are largely constructed, is
+the soil of the region, which when mixed with water and allowed to dry
+becomes sufficiently hard to retain indefinitely in an arid climate the
+form given to it. The soil is formed into bricks, and also used as a
+mortar to unite rough stones. Although much stone was used in the
+construction of the pueblos, it was roughly dressed by hammering, or not
+changed at all from its natural condition, and regularly cut and carved
+stones do not occur in the buildings. The pueblos were built in
+successive terraces, usually either in a semicircle or on three sides of
+a rectangle, the open side being protected by a wall. Irregular forms
+are also known, the general plan being adapted to the natural condition
+of the site chosen. In certain instances the structures were placed on
+elevations where a high degree of safety was insured, but others are on
+the open plain and even at the base of a commanding eminence, and near
+enough to be reached by arrows shot from a bow. Protection against
+enemies was increased by an absence of openings in the exterior walls,
+except at a considerable height above the ground; ingress and
+communication from terrace to terrace being by means of ladders, which
+were drawn up or their steps removed in times of danger. The roofs of
+the pueblos, as may be seen at Zuñi at the present day, are flat and
+consist of poles covered with adobe.
+
+The controlling ideas in the construction of the pueblos seems to have
+been communal residence and defence. The houses are at the same time
+tenements and fortresses. A characteristic feature of these, as of
+practically all Indian villages, is the presence of one or more
+assembly rooms, and of open courts or plazas, where the people gathered
+for council, worship, amusement, etc.
+
+When white men first visited the Pueblo Indians they cultivated gardens
+with the aid of irrigation in which maize, mostly of a blue colour, was
+the principal crop, and had domesticated the turkey; earthen vessels of
+large size, frequently elaborately and pleasingly decorated, were
+manufactured; cotton fabrics were woven of spun threads, and the men
+were armed with bows and arrows and shields; clothing was made of
+dressed deerskins, buffalo-robes, and cotton cloth usually dyed dark
+blue. The descriptions of the Pueblo Indians given by the first visitors
+from civilized peoples would, to a great extent, apply to them at the
+present day, although in reality their lives have been profoundly
+modified and their indigenous development checked.
+
+Throughout a wide extent of the arid southwest the ruins of ancient
+pueblos, irrigation canals, remnants of pottery, the latter frequently
+marking village sites on isolated eminences, bear witness of a formerly
+widely spread people. This evidence shows also that the ancestors of the
+present tribes have inhabited the same territory for a great length of
+time. In this same general region are found the houses of the
+cliff-dwellers, who excavated rooms in the faces of precipices,
+frequently high above their bases and only accessible by means of holes,
+serving as steps, cut in the rock, or with the aid of ladders. In many
+instances these ancient cliff-dwellers, of which no certain descendants
+remain, took advantage of natural caverns, or of overhanging ledges,
+which were closed by means of walls of rough stone and adobe.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Panorama of Uxmal, Yucatan.
+
+     In the foreground at the left is the Pyramid-temple of the
+     Magician, _A_, with its small court at the right-hand base.
+     Connecting immediately with this is the Nunnery quadrangle,
+     _B_, occupying the greater part of the foreground. Behind the
+     latter, on the ground level, are two massive ruined walls
+     usually referred to as the Gymnasium, _C_, and rising behind
+     this is a great triple terrace, on the second level of which,
+     at the right, is the House of the Turtles, _D_, and crowning
+     the summit is the Governor's Palace, _E_. To the right and
+     beyond is the serrated crest of the House of the Pigeons, _F_,
+     overshadowed on the left by the massive pyramid, _G_, and
+     backed up by a temple-crowned pyramidal pile of inferior
+     dimensions, _H_. To the left of the House of the Governor and
+     beyond is a group consisting of two pyramids, _I_, and on the
+     right of the Nunnery quadrangle, and some distance farther
+     away, are other ruined masses, one only coming fully within the
+     limits of the picture.--_W. H. Holmes._]
+
+The pueblo dwellings, built largely of adobe, are stated by ethnologists
+to have extended southward into Mexico, and illustrate the nature of the
+houses in which the Aztecs lived, but the highest type of aboriginal
+architecture in America is furnished by the dwellings and so-called
+temples, palaces, etc., still standing in Yucatan and other portions of
+Central America. In these ruins we have abundant example of buildings
+made of cut stone, laid in regular and even courses, united with
+mortar composed of burned lime and sand, and elaborately sculptured in
+bas-relief and in the round, or covered with designs moulded in stucco.
+In size and proportions these unique structures are impressive. The
+so-called Governor's Palace at Uxmal, Yucatan, is 320 feet long, 40 feet
+wide, and 25 to 26 feet high, and surmounts an artificially constructed
+platform of earth 35 feet high and approximately 550 feet square.
+This platform is terraced and provided with broad flights of stone steps
+(Fig. 37). These dimensions will serve to render more instructive the
+accompanying sketch of the principal ruins at Uxmal by W. H. Holmes.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Examples of Maya Arches. After W. H. Holmes.
+
+    _a._ Section of cuneiform arch with acute apex, Chichen-Itza.
+    _b._ Section of ordinary arch with flat capstone.
+    _c._ Section of ordinary arch with dressed surfaces.
+    _d._ Section of ordinary arch with dressed surfaces and curved
+                soffit slopes.
+    _e._ Portal arch with long slopes, showing masonry of exterior
+                facing.
+    _f._ Section of trefoil, portal arch of Palenque.]
+
+Mere size and their great number are not the significant features of
+these ruins. They are well built, of cut stone, and most elaborately
+decorated, as may be seen by the accompanying reproduction of a
+photograph of a typical example. In reference to the skill displayed by
+the unknown architects and builders, Holmes, one of the most recent as
+well as the most critical of Central American travellers, remarks as
+follows:
+
+"The stone used is the pale-yellowish and reddish-gray, obscurely
+marbled limestone of the locality.... The facings and ornaments are all
+cut and sculptured with a masterly handling not surpassed where chisels,
+picks, and hammers of iron and steel are used, and the faces and contact
+margins are hewn with perfect precision. Though the finish of the
+surfaces was often secured by means of abrasion or grinding, picking or
+pecking were the main agents employed, and the indents of the tools are
+often apparent and wonderfully fresh-looking. The stones were set in
+mortar, although in many cases the joints are so perfect that the mortar
+does not appear on the surface."
+
+The extensive ruins of Uxmal, although only a part of the treasures
+concealed in the forests of Central America, express with an eloquence
+not as yet fully appreciated the advanced stage of culture and
+refinement attained in America from the growth of indigenous ideas. Some
+of the special features illustrated by them from which the degree of
+mental development of their builders can be judged is the presence of
+the wedge-shaped but not of the true arch. The character of the simplest
+and perhaps the first style of arch constructed by the awakening peoples
+in many lands are shown in the accompanying sketches, borrowed from
+Holmes's most instructive report. Columns, both square and round, were
+used, and statues both in bas-relief and in the round are common. The
+designs, whether of animals, grotesque monsters, feathers, or
+plants, are in strong relief, either cut in stone or moulded in stucco.
+These designs are not confined to single stones, but embrace several
+blocks, and together with the diaper fretwork extend the entire length
+of even the larger structures. Accompanying the well-wrought figures of
+men, and at times forming separate inscriptions, are many hieroglyphics,
+the meanings of which are still unknown. All or nearly all of the
+structures stand on artificial platforms, which are terraced. A terraced
+pyramid, with a broad flight of steps on one or more sides, surmounted
+by a well-proportioned rectangular building, faced with cut stone,
+highly decorated, and with a flat roof, are the larger features of the
+Maya ruins.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Sculptured Façade of Governor's Palace, Uxmal,
+Yucatan.
+
+     This very handsome and elaborate piece of work is a section of
+     the embellished entablature zone of the palace. The height from
+     the lower or medial moulding below to the coping course above
+     is about 10 feet. The entire length, covering the four walls of
+     the building, is some 725 feet. If we allow that the stones
+     employed average 6 by 12 inches in surface dimensions, this
+     deeply coffered and relieved mosaic would comprise upward of
+     20,000 pieces, all specially cut and a large percentage
+     elaborately sculptured. Two plain coping courses are seen at
+     the top, followed by a twined fillet moulding, while under this
+     is a line of very ornate snouted masks. The broad space below
+     is filled with bold fretwork, set on a lattice ground and
+     interrupted by the wonderful overdoor trophy, the central
+     feature of which is a human figure, fully life size, sculptured
+     in the round and seated in a niche with festooned base. The
+     head [now displaced] was surrounded by an elaborate and
+     colossal head-dress, most of which remains. The horizontal bars
+     terminating in serpent heads at both ends are separated by
+     lines of hieroglyphs.--_W. H. Holmes._]
+
+All of this and more, as can be read in the elaborately illustrated
+books of Stephens, Holmes, and others, shows that the Maya people, at
+the time they were crushed by the more than cruel Spanish invasion, had
+reached a stage in their development but little short of true
+civilization.
+
+_Ethnological Studies._--The native dress of the Indians, their boats,
+ornaments, and still more their customs, systems of government,
+religions, myths, traditions, etc., offer attractive subjects for study,
+which are being earnestly pursued by many students at the present time.
+The closing decade of the nineteenth century witnessed a true awakening
+of the white people of America to an interest in the many relics
+of ancient earthworks, buildings, utensils, etc., found throughout the
+continent, and a healthy growth of an earnest desire to record all that
+can be learned concerning the representatives still remaining of the
+vanished peoples to whom they pertain.
+
+In the van of this important work is the Bureau of Ethnology of the
+Smithsonian Institution. Important work has also been carried on by the
+Peabody Museum of Archæology, situated at Cambridge, and more recently
+has been taken up in an energetic manner by the American Museum in New
+York and the Field Columbian Museum at Chicago. The National Museum of
+Mexico has assembled rich stores of archæological and ethnological
+material pertaining to the native races of Mexico, and the Mexican
+Government is doing much to preserve the priceless prehistoric monuments
+of the republic from vandalism. There are also many private antiquarian
+collections and many individual students who are doing good work along
+their chosen historic, linguistic, and other branches of research. One
+phase of this work, particularly in reference to ancient earthworks,
+buildings, and also the observations of early travellers, missionaries,
+explorers, etc., is the removal of the incrustation of romance, and in
+part of fable, that has been formed about them. As shown by W. H.
+Holmes, in reference to many reputed finds of the relics of men in
+various glacial and other deposits; by W. H. Henshaw, in respect to
+certain animal carvings; by Cyrus Thomas, in the case of the earthwork
+of the eastern part of the United States; by L. H. Morgan, in connection
+with the history of the Mexican and Central American aborigines and
+other similar examples, imagination has only too frequently taken the
+place of critical study and hasty generalizations have been given
+publicity. It is perhaps not too strong a statement to say that the
+fascinating histories pertaining to Mexico and Central America, written
+by Irving, Prescott, and Bancroft, need to be thoroughly revised and
+rewritten from the standpoint of the scientific ethnologist. This
+clearing of the field of an underbrush of fancy is as necessary as the
+work of the axe or _machete_ in removing the vegetable growths
+that conceal many of the records of America's history.
+
+_The Contact of the Aborigines with Foreign Peoples._--The chief
+interest of the ethnologist concerning the American aborigines relates
+to their condition before the introduction of European ideas and
+customs. This external influence has been far-reaching and cumulative in
+its effects, and to-day there is not a tribe in North America that
+stands where it would have stood but for its coming. Among some of the
+Eskimo tribes, and in the case also of certain Indian communities in
+central Alaska and northern Canada, there have been but slight
+modifications even in dress, utensils, etc., by reason of contact with
+the white man. The Pueblo Indians have been resistant to change, but
+although still grinding their blue corn in primitive stone hand-mills,
+and dressed nearly as the first Spanish visitors found their ancestors
+in the same villages, there has been a slowly progressing revolution in
+the undercurrent of their thought, ideas, religion, customs, etc.
+Whether this change is for the better or the worse depends on the point
+of view. In attempting to judge of it from the Indian's side, the only
+possible conclusion seems to be that the coming of the white man has
+been a curse.
+
+The reception of Europeans by the Indian, although in many instances
+kindly, has, in the main, been but an outward show of friendship,
+concealing suspicion, fear, and jealousy. That this distrust was well
+founded is abundantly proved by history. Since the slaughter and
+enslavement of the aborigines of the West Indies and of the southern
+portion of the continent by Spaniards, through all the bloody conflicts
+of the English and French with the Indians of the Atlantic and
+Mississippi regions, to near the close of the nineteenth century, almost
+constant war, marauding, murder, rapine, and jealousy have accompanied
+the contact of the aborigines and the whites. Although the Indians
+succeeded in retarding the spread of civilization, they were not strong
+enough to permanently check it. In the United States and Canada they
+have been, to a great extent, dispossessed of their hunting-grounds by
+so-called treaties, or by formal purchase, and placed on
+reservations. In Mexico the struggle is still in active progress, but
+there and in Central America and the West Indies the contact of the two
+races has in part assumed a different phase, and one less visibly
+detrimental to the Indian. In the countries now held by people of
+Spanish descent, and in fact throughout Latin America, as it is termed,
+amalgamation has, to a great extent, caused the disappearance of the
+Indian race in its purity. North of the indefinite boundary where the
+Spanish language is largely spoken much less admixture of the two races
+has occurred than farther south, and the half-breed is classed as an
+Indian. While to the north of Mexico it is possible to trace the
+post-Columbian histories of the Indian tribes with an approach to
+completeness and to state their present census, and note the results of
+the attempts that have been made to civilize them, to the south of the
+Mexican boundary such a task is seemingly hopeless.
+
+In Alaska the Indians still roam at large with no other restraint than
+that arising from the adjustment reached through intertribal relations,
+with slight modifications due to the widely scattered settlements of
+white men. No attempt has been made by the United States Government to
+place them on reservations, and this will probably not occur, as the
+white man does not wish their lands for agricultural purposes.
+Displacement by contact seems to express the change now in progress.
+
+In Canada the present condition of the Indians varies with locality. In
+the southeastern part, including the maritime provinces, they have been
+greatly changed from their native condition, and to a large extent
+gathered on reservations or have settled on land of their own and become
+self-sustaining. In the Labrador region and throughout the Rocky
+Mountains they still roam at will, and depend mainly on hunting and
+fishing for a livelihood. On the Pacific coast, the Haidas, etc., of
+British Columbia--and the same is true of their neighbours, the Tlingits
+of southeastern Alaska--have become interested as labourers in the
+commercial fisheries, principally the salmon industry.
+
+The Canadian Government has purchased extensive tracts of land
+from the Indians, and the purchase money, together with the returns from
+the sale of relinquished lands, etc., amounting in 1900 to $3,893,623,
+is held in trust for their benefit. The interest on this sum, together
+with appropriations made by the Government for the support, education,
+etc., of the Indians, amounted during the year 1900 to $1,309,127. The
+total--in part estimated--Indian population of Canada is about 99,000,
+and those classed as resident Indians number 77,450. The last-named
+during the year 1900 cultivated 108,850 acres of land; owned 83,019 head
+of cattle, horses, sheep, etc.; cut 68,395 tons of hay; gathered 471,596
+bushels of potatoes and other root crops, besides an output of
+$1,639,398 worth of fish, furs, etc. During the same year 9,634 Indian
+children attended industrial schools. This is certainly a creditable
+report and one encouraging to the hope that all the Indians in Canada
+will in the course of a few generations become civilized, in spite of
+the fact that the Indians outside of the reservations and beyond the
+limits of the treaty lands still roam at large and to a great extent are
+in a deplorable condition.
+
+In the treatment of the aborigines within her borders Canada has to a
+marked degree been both humane and just. Her policy in this connection
+is largely an inheritance from that of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose
+success in trade depended on maintaining friendly relations with the
+native peoples. The work of the factors of "the Great Company" scattered
+throughout Canada and carried on continuously for more than two
+centuries did much to prepare the aborigines for civil government. Owing
+largely, also, to the efficiency of the mounted police of Canada much
+less trouble has been experienced in the management of the Indians of
+that country than has been the case in the adjacent portion of the
+United States. In any comparison, however, of the relation of the
+Canadian and United States governments to the aborigines within their
+respective borders account needs to be taken of the widely different
+conditions on the opposite sides of the boundary line between them. Not
+only are the Indians of Canada about one-third as numerous as in the
+United States, while the area of each country is about the same,
+but owing to a less dense white population to the north of the
+international boundary, far less demand has there arisen for their lands
+for agricultural, mining, and other purposes than in the United States.
+
+The Indian problem within the United States has been a most serious one,
+and is still a severe tax on the nation. The union of the colonies and
+the final separation from the mother country left the United States with
+an immense western frontier, extending in an irregular way from north to
+south through the trackless forests of the Mississippi Valley. As the
+nation grew in strength this frontier was pressed farther and farther
+westward, while settlements established on the Pacific coast presented a
+frontier to the eastward. These two inundations of civilization, crude,
+but virile and aggressive, approached each other and entered the passes
+in the mountains separating them. Between the two were the
+hunting-grounds of the Indians, but the advance of the whites was
+irregular and the outposts of civilization were in the Indian country.
+In 1867 the buildings of the first of the transcontinental railroads
+divided the region roamed over by savage tribes. Railroads continued to
+be built, and presently there was no frontier. In a later stage in this
+process of subduing a continent it became imperative that the more
+hostile and treacherous Indian tribes should be either exterminated or
+segregated and confined to definite regions, where they could be under
+military surveillance. Many treaties were made between the United States
+and the Indians, and by this means and by force the original occupants
+of the land were placed on reservations. The aim of the Government, it
+must be conceded, has during the past fifty years or more been humane,
+but in many instances treaties have been unfulfilled, and individuals in
+authority have proved incompetent, unfaithful, and dishonest. In judging
+of the dealings of the white man with the Indian, it must be remembered
+that the problem was highly complex and in certain ways of such a nature
+that no result just to each party was practicable. On one hand, the
+rights of the Indian to the land they inherited from their ancestors was
+to be recognised, but a larger interest, the march of civilization, had
+also to be encouraged. The good of humanity demanded that the barbarian,
+roaming over broad lands of which he made no use except for hunting,
+should give place to more enlightened people, who wished to cultivate
+the soil and make it support thousands of individuals, where before only
+a few hundred could find sustenance. The history pertaining to so many
+countries, where civilized peoples have displaced races in the lower
+stages of culture, was here repeated. The main issue was the same, only
+the details differ. In the struggle between the white and the red man it
+became evident that the latter must yield, assume habits of industry,
+and earn his bread by the sweat of his brow or be exterminated. It may
+be said that neither of these seemingly inevitable results has occurred;
+the Indian has not been exterminated, and possibly not seriously reduced
+in numbers, and to a great extent is not self-supporting. It is
+believed, however, that this is but a transient stage, resulting from
+the reservation system. In a large number of instances the lands
+formerly occupied by the Indians have been purchased from them by the
+Government and thrown open to settlement by white people. The money due
+for these purchases has in several instances been paid to the Indians,
+either as tribes or individually, while in other cases it is still held
+in trust by the Government, and the interest on it used for the benefit
+of the original occupants of the land.
+
+The United States Government by treaty with certain of the tribes, as
+the Sioux, for example, has agreed to pay definite annuities and issue
+to each individual a certain amount of clothing and food each year.
+Other tribes placed on reservations were also granted clothing and food
+sufficient to keep them from want, although no agreement to that effect
+was entered into, the theory of the Government being that the Indians
+deprived of their hunting-grounds should receive aid until they could
+adopt the ways of civilized men sufficiently to be self-supporting. The
+number of Indians assisted in this way each year during the past decade
+has been about 85,000. The food issued, usually twice a month, consists
+of meat, either beef or its equivalent in bacon, flour, coffee,
+and sugar. The ration supplied each individual is sufficient to maintain
+a person, or at least keep him from starving, but is not intended to
+meet all his wants. The desire on the part of the Government that want
+should compel the Indian to work, has been still further pressed by a
+gradual decrease in the ration issued in certain instances where
+definite agreement has not been made and where a tendency to
+self-support is manifest. In general, however, this assistance, instead
+of stimulating industry, and, as would seem natural, gradually leading
+the recipient to desire and obtain more and more of the comforts and
+luxuries that may be had as a reward of exertion, served but to enhance
+his inherited aversion to all forms of labour. The issuing of rations
+even to the extent of insuring the Indian against starvation has to a
+great extent removed the incentive to industry, and the Indian, being an
+Indian, has remained thriftless and indifferent. The reservation system,
+so far as attaining the main aim in view, namely, the civilizing of the
+Indian and encouraging him to work, has, to a great extent, been a
+failure.
+
+In addition to the issuing of food and clothing, the Government, with
+the view of extending still further encouragement, has in a large number
+of instances provided the Indians with tools, horses, agricultural
+implements, etc., and aided in irrigation and other schemes tending to
+the improvement of the lands comprised in reservations.
+
+Besides the direct material aid just referred to, schools have been
+established, and an earnest and widely extended effort made to educate
+the Indians and make them worthy of citizenship. The result of this
+effort, while highly encouraging in many individual instances, has on
+the whole fallen far short of what was expected in view of the large
+expenditures incurred. The sum thus employed during the past
+thirty-three years is about $240,000,000. The total appropriation made
+by the Government for the care and education of the Indians, inclusive
+of the aborigines of Alaska, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901,
+was over $9,000,000. Of this sum, over one-third was expended in the
+maintenance of schools. In addition to this provision there are a number
+of mission and other schools, supported mainly by religious or
+benevolent organizations, and certain public schools not receiving aid
+from the General Government which were wholly or in part for the benefit
+of Indian pupils.
+
+In the case of the larger of the Government Indian schools the Indian
+children are removed from their homes and placed in institutions where
+they live for a period of four years under military discipline. In these
+schools literary is subordinate to industrial training. The majority of
+the schools are equipped with shops for shoe- and harness-making,
+carpentry, blacksmithing, wagon-making, etc., and in several instances
+the girls are taught cooking and house-work. The largest of these
+schools is situated at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at which the average
+attendance during the year 1900 was 961. The extent to which education
+is spreading through the Indian tribes and its rate of increase are
+indicated by the fact that the attendance on the Government schools has
+increased from 3,598 in 1877 to 21,566 in 1900.
+
+While the benefits received by the Indians through the issuing of
+clothing, rations, and by education has been great and the seed for
+future progress sown broadcast, the results, so far as lifting the
+recipients into an atmosphere of refinement and civilization and making
+them self-supporting are concerned, are far from encouraging. The
+Indians in general are still wards of the Government and not worthy of
+citizenship.
+
+The aim of the Government is not only to educate the Indians, but to
+induce them to adopt the ways of industrious and progressive white men,
+build homes on land ceded to them and which they may hold as
+individuals, thus breaking up their long-established practise of
+communal or tribe ownership, and finally become citizens of the
+republic. To this end land has been divided among the heads of families
+of several tribes and titles in severalty granted, with restrictions in
+most, if not all instances, in reference to the sale of the land within
+a certain period. In many instances this plan has been productive of
+good results, and the Indians have become industrious and to a large
+extent citizens. The numerous successes that have followed the
+allotment of land in severalty, accompanied as it is with
+responsibilities and the necessity of self-support, is encouraging and
+leads to the hope that in the course of a few generations all the
+Indians will have passed from the condition of barbarism to one of
+civilization.
+
+In Mexico since 1824 the Indians have been on the same political basis
+as the whites, although to a great extent they have failed to profit by
+their advantages, and so far as legal restrictions are concerned are
+eligible to any office of the republic. The brightest example of the
+wisdom of this policy is furnished by the fact that in at least one
+instance a man of pure Aztec blood has occupied the highest office in
+the gift of the people. In general, and in fact almost universally, the
+position of the Indian in Mexico is that of a farm labourer, but
+although nominally free, owing to a prevalent system of debt, he is
+really held in vassalage by the owners of the large plantations or
+_haciendas_. In many ways his condition is but little better than that
+of a slave. Unlike the roaming tribes of the more northern portion of
+the continent, where the food supply fluctuates greatly with the
+seasons, the natives of Mexico early became sedentary, and, owing no
+doubt in part to the density of the population, became horticulturists,
+and have continued to cultivate the soil to the present day. They are
+now essentially agriculturists, wedded to their place of birth, and not
+only do not desire change, but repel by passive resistance the invasion
+of civilization and the use of new and improved tools and machinery.
+They are non-progressive, and on account of their great numbers,
+constituting about 38 per cent of the entire population, serve to retard
+advancement in a manner that is highly detrimental to the enlightened
+and progressive members of the ruling class. Education in nearly all
+parts of the republic is compulsory and the schools free. With both
+political and educational advantages, however, but indifferent progress
+towards civilization has been made.
+
+The present condition of the Indians throughout Central America is
+similar to that of the descendants of the Aztecs and other tribes in
+Mexico both politically and socially. They are a disheartened
+race, living in a region where exuberant nature supplies their small
+wants with but little exertion on their part, and incentives to activity
+either of body or mind are, to a great extent, lacking.
+
+In the West Indies the native Caribs were nearly exterminated by the
+Spaniards early in their occupation of the islands, their places as
+labourers being supplied by the importation of negro slaves, and at the
+present time but few, if any, Indians of pure blood are to be found.
+Throughout Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies amalgamation of
+the Indian with both Europeans and negroes has taken place, and a mixed
+race, consisting of a large percentage of the total population, has
+resulted. In Mexico these _mestizos_, as they are termed, number about
+5,000,000, or about two-fifths of the entire population. In the Central
+American republics the supplanting of the aboriginal race by the same
+process is thought to have progressed at about the same rate as in
+Mexico.
+
+To the student of geography a comparison of the state of the aborigines
+of North America before peoples from other lands came among them, with
+reference to the influence of environment, is full of significance. The
+highest degree of culture and the greatest advance towards refinement
+was in Mexico and Central America, where a uniform climate prevails and
+bodily wants are few and easily supplied. It was there that skill in
+architecture reached its highest development, and what is worthy the
+name of art, and we may almost say letters, but in truth
+picture-writing, reached a high degree of advancement.
+
+This marked progress in a tropical country beyond what was attained by
+the Indian tribes in the temperate and cold portions of the continent
+seems to be an exception to the general rule that intellectual progress
+is stimulated by changeable climatic conditions, and reaches the highest
+development in cold, temperate climates. Apparently the degree of
+stimulation needed for the Caucasian and the Indian differs, and the
+latter thrives best where the obstacles to be overcome are least. This
+is in harmony with the oft-repeated statement that the Indian is but a
+child. The struggle which would discourage the boy is but zest to
+the man. Among the Indians themselves, however, we find an exception to
+the rule suggested in the fact that the Iroquois or the Six Nations of
+New York, in their tribal organization and alliances of offence and
+defence probably surpassed even the Aztecs and Mayas. In physical
+strength and endurance, and in mental powers, so far as government and
+oratory are concerned, the Iroquois probably surpassed all other
+Indians; but in architecture, art, picture-writing, etc., they were far
+the inferiors of the Mexican and Central American Indians. Thus,
+intellectual strength and vigour seem to have been most markedly a
+product of the colder and more changeable climate, while the highest
+attainment in architecture, etc., was reached at the south.
+
+It is in the temperate region also that the best results have been
+reached in attempting to civilize the Indians. This, however, cannot be
+claimed as a result of climate simply, since the aid that has been
+extended to them in Canada and the United States is far different from
+the influence exerted on their relatives at the south by men of Spanish
+blood. The results of the efforts of Canada and the United States to
+civilize the Indian and make him worthy of citizenship, although costly
+and slow in reaching the desired end, are full of promise. By the
+methods referred to in the last few pages a strong effort is being made
+to counteract the harsh treatment the Indians received during the
+earlier years of French and English aggression, and to give them a fair
+chance to advance. One important result of the present firm control is
+the total cessation of intertribal warfare. Seemingly the aborigines
+throughout North America, with the exception--and it is hoped this is
+but temporary--of the Alaskan Eskimos and the still uncared-for Indian
+tribes of Alaska and Canada, should increase in numbers as well as in
+enlightenment. In reference to numbers, the enumerations that have been
+made in recent years, although not exact, seem to indicate a diminution
+in the rate of decrease, if not a positive advance. In the case of most
+of the Indian tribes north of Mexico the change from a free life, passed
+to a large extent in tents or temporary homes, to an inactive,
+sedentary existence, mostly on reservations, and the influences of
+house-life without a knowledge of sanitary conditions was a most severe
+one. The adverse results of this change, it is probable, are not yet
+past, but the rate of decrease in numbers resulting from it appears to
+be diminishing. Aside from the comparative suddenness with which the
+Indian has been forced to change his ways of thinking and living, it
+must be confessed that there is something inherent in his mental
+qualities that makes him unduly resistant to progress. As a race it is
+not to be hoped that he can ever be placed on really equal terms with
+the white man.
+
+The total aboriginal population of North America in 1900, as nearly as
+it is now practicable to ascertain, is shown in the following table:
+
+              { Canada, Arctic coast                      1,000
+    Eskimos.  { Newfoundland (Labrador coast)               800
+              { United States, Alaska (1890)             14,000
+                                                     ----------
+                    Total Eskimo population, about       15,800
+
+              { Canada                                   99,010
+              { United States, exclusive of Alaska      270,544
+    Indians.  { "        "     Alaska                    15,500
+              { Mexico (1895)                         5,000,000
+              { Central America (largely estimated)   1,600,000
+                                                      ---------
+                  Total Indian population, about      6,985,054
+                                                      ---------
+                  Total aboriginal population, about  7,000,800
+
+In this enumeration no account is taken of the Indians of the West
+Indies, for the reason, so far as can be learned, that there are few, if
+any, of pure blood remaining.
+
+
+                             LITERATURE
+
+  Vast stores of information concerning the aborigines of America
+    have been published by the Bureau of American Ethnology,
+    Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.; the Peabody Museum
+    of Archæology, Cambridge, Mass.; the American Museum of Natural
+    History, New York, N. Y.; the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago,
+    Ill.; and in the _American Archæologist_, a monthly magazine now
+    printed by Putnam's Sons, New York.
+
+  Readily accessible books relating to the Eskimos of Alaska are:
+
+  DALL, W. H. _Alaska and its Resources._ Lee & Shepard, Boston,
+    1870.
+
+  PETROFF, IVAN. _Reports on the Population, Resources, etc., of
+    Alaska._ In the reports of the tenth and eleventh censuses of
+    the United States.
+
+     The condition of the Indians in the United States during the
+     past half century is recorded in the annual reports on Indian
+     affairs published by the Department of the Interior,
+     Washington, D. C. Similar information concerning the natives of
+     Canada may be found in the reports on Indian affairs issued by
+     the Canadian Government at Ottawa.
+
+     Of the numerous books on ethnology in which the relation of the
+     aborigines of America to other peoples is discussed, perhaps
+     the most useful to the general reader is A. H. Keane's _Man
+     Past and Present_, printed at the University Press, Cambridge,
+     England.
+
+     Of the many attractive books of travel in which the Indians of
+     Mexico and Central America and the ruins, etc., of the same
+     region are described, the most readily accessible are: John L.
+     Stephens's _Incidents of Travel in Yucatan_, 2 vols., and his
+     _Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan_,
+     2 vols., published by Harper & Brothers, New York, 1867-'68;
+     and W. H. Holmes's _Archæological Studies among the Ancient
+     Cities of Mexico_, published by the Field Columbian Museum,
+     Chicago, 1897.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER VIII
+
+                       POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY[6]
+
+
+[6] As stated in the preface, several chapters have been omitted from
+this book on account of limitations of space. The portions of the
+original manuscript referred to relate to the geography of fisheries,
+forestry, mining, commerce, agriculture, etc. In discussing each of
+these themes, the control exerted by natural conditions or environment
+on human affairs made itself prominent because of the immediate
+influence of corrective failures when nature's laws are disregarded. A
+less attractive phase of the study of the relation of man to nature is
+furnished by political geography, in which the influence of something
+opposed to environment becomes prominent, and as history shows has in
+the main exerted a major control over the geography of nations. That
+something, as is well known, is the greed of peoples. Space is here
+claimed for a part of my original manuscript for the reason that it
+presents a view of political adjustments not usually taken and in a way
+perhaps pessimistical, which may awaken opposition, and also because it
+contains a summary of the results of a long series of struggles among
+various nations for the possession of the North American continent. Of
+greater moment than the rivalries of nations for territory, as is also
+outlined, is the conflict between two radically different principles of
+government--the monarchical and the republican--in which this continent
+has furnished the chief battle-grounds. Did space permit, the influence
+of geographical conditions on the growth and development of the
+fundamental ideas of government could be illustrated by American
+history, and the probability that environment will in the end gain
+ascendency over local self-interests in the establishing of national
+boundaries made prominent.
+
+Among the prominent facts dealt with in the study of political geography
+and of history are the territorial limits of nations. For this reason
+the characteristics of boundaries are of fundamental importance, and a
+classification of them is convenient, if not essential.
+
+
+                     CLASSIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES
+
+The boundaries between nations, states, provinces, etc., established in
+various ways, may be classified, at least provisionally, in six
+groups. We may term these groups _coast boundaries_, _astronomical
+boundaries_, _water boundaries_, _mountain boundaries_, _divide
+boundaries_, and _arbitrary boundaries_.
+
+_Coast Boundaries._--The junction of the sea and land on the borders of
+continents and islands furnishes natural and sharply defined lines,
+which are clearly the most desirable of any of the various classes of
+boundaries for defining political limits. By international consent the
+jurisdiction of a country bordering on the "high seas" is a line one
+marine league seaward from the margin of the land, and following its
+meanders. As an international dividing line the one-league limit seldom,
+if ever, becomes important, since the nice adjustment of the width of an
+arm of the sea necessary for such a purpose rarely occurs. When an
+extension of the ocean's waters intervening between two nations is less
+than two marine leagues wide the boundary between them commonly follows
+its medial line, and has all the essential features of a water boundary,
+described below.
+
+_Astronomical Boundaries._--The shape of the earth and its motions in
+reference to the sun are such that certain imaginary lines on its
+surface may be located with precision by astronomers, and if the
+monuments or other marks employed to show the positions of such lines
+are removed they can be accurately relocated. The lines referred to are
+principally parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude, and
+boundaries, so far as they coincide with these lines, may for
+convenience be classed as astronomical boundaries.
+
+Examples of the class of boundaries here indicated are furnished by the
+one defining the east border of the main body of Alaska, which, as
+defined in a treaty made in 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, is
+the one hundred and forty-first meridian west of Greenwich; and by the
+boundary between Canada and the continental portion of the United States
+from near the Lake of the Woods westward to the coast of the continent,
+which, as finally decided in a treaty between Great Britain and the
+United States in 1846, is the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude.
+The boundaries of a number of the States of the United States and of
+several of the provinces of Canada are either wholly or in part
+parallels of latitude or meridians of longitude, and furnish good
+examples of what are here termed astronomical boundaries.
+
+The most conspicuous advantages of astronomical boundaries are that they
+may be accurately described without a knowledge of the country through
+which they pass. They can be located with precision and their courses
+accurately marked by monuments. For these reasons astronomical
+boundaries, when clearly defined in treaties between nations or in laws
+concerning the territorial limits of states or provinces, leave no room
+for contention as to their positions.
+
+The leading objections to the use of astronomical boundaries,
+particularly as international dividing lines, are: The temptation they
+offer to diplomats and others, who may be interested in the speedy
+conclusion of a treaty, to make hasty divisions of territory without
+knowing its resources or commercial and other possibilities. Then, too,
+such boundaries cross the land without reference to its topography, and
+have no essential relations to the courses of streams or the directions
+of coast-lines, etc. They may divide a fruitful valley in a most
+arbitrary and inconvenient manner between two nations with widely
+different laws and customs, or cross a navigable river at several
+localities, and intersect a coast or lake shore so as to initiate
+complex conditions in respect to harbours, navigation, customs duties,
+etc. In these and still other ways boundaries coinciding with lines of
+latitude and longitude are apt to bring about detrimental commercial and
+other relations between adjacent nations, states, and provinces. A
+region which is an industrial unit--as the gold fields of the Klondike
+district, the iron-bearing tracts to the west of Lake Superior, the
+wheat-lands of the Red River Valley, the forested lands of the northwest
+coast, etc.--when divided between two or more countries with different
+laws is deprived of the advantages that should follow from the natural
+course of industrial development, and one part or the other suffers in
+consequence.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VII.--Distribution of governments in North
+America.]
+
+Again, until an astronomical boundary is surveyed and marked on
+the ground by skilled geodesists, it cannot be located even
+approximately by miners, trappers, foresters, and others, and many
+difficulties are apt to arise in this connection.
+
+Although an astronomical boundary once decided on and formally recorded
+in a treaty leaves no excuse for national quarrels as to its position,
+it is evident that its far-reaching and perhaps highly complex
+influences on the development of neighbouring peoples are likely to be
+such that the natural resources, conditions affecting transportation,
+etc., of the region through which it passes should be thoroughly
+understood before a final decision is reached.
+
+_Water Boundaries._--In numerous instances the medial line or one shore
+of a stream, lake, estuary, strait, or other water body not recognised
+as a part of the "high seas" has been selected to serve as a fence
+between nations and states; collectively, such boundaries, typically
+represented by a river without islands, flowing between well-defined and
+permanent banks, may conveniently be termed water boundaries. In
+general, when a stream, lake, etc., is a national or state boundary, its
+medial line, or the centre of the deepest channel when there is more
+than one, is defined as the precise line of demarcation.
+
+The leading features of water boundaries are illustrated by a portion of
+the line separating the United States from Canada, which traverses the
+middle of the St. Lawrence River, and divides medially several of the
+Great Lakes and their connecting streams. The south boundary of the
+United States is also in part a water boundary, and is defined by treaty
+as "the middle line of the Rio Grande, or its deepest channel where
+there is more than one."
+
+In certain instances, when a river, lake, bay, etc., separates two
+political organizations, one shore or the other may be defined by treaty
+or by law as the actual line of separation, and even complex relations
+may exist, in reference to jurisdiction over the dividing waters. The
+water boundary between New York and New Jersey, for example, is, in
+part, the middle line of the Hudson and of New York Bay, etc., with
+several qualifications, including exclusive jurisdiction by New
+York over all the waters of the Hudson to the west of Manhattan Island
+to the low-water line on the New Jersey shore, subject, however, to
+certain rights of property and of jurisdiction of the State of New
+Jersey, etc. The waters of Delaware River are, by agreement between New
+Jersey and Pennsylvania, a common highway, over which each State "shall
+enjoy and exercise a concurrent jurisdiction within and upon the water,
+and not upon the dry land between the shores of said river"; the islands
+in the river being specifically assigned to the one or the other State.
+
+The advantages of a water boundary are suggested by the fact that in
+most instances they may be easily located, even by persons inexperienced
+in the method of surveying. Coinciding, as they generally do, with
+definite geographical divisions, they do not lead in a conspicuous
+manner to complications in the industrial development of the countries
+or States separated by them.
+
+The difficulties to which water boundaries may give rise are indicated
+by the fact that streams, more particularly than the other water bodies
+in question, frequently divide so as to inclose islands, and in certain
+instances on nearing the sea send off, perhaps, several distributaries,
+which discharge through independent mouths. When a stream divides so as
+to inclose an island, even if the main or the deepest channel is
+specified by treaty or by law as the one chosen as a boundary, the
+question as to which of two channels is really the larger or the deeper
+may not permit of definite answer. Streams are subject to many changes,
+and what is the main channel one year may become of secondary rank the
+next year, or a river, as not infrequently happens, may shift its course
+bodily, and thus furnish grounds for contention as to the ownership of
+the territory transferred from one of its banks to the other. The
+distributaries of streams, or the separate channels into which they
+divide on deltas, etc., are also subject to conspicuous and sometimes
+sudden changes. Who could decide, for instance, which is the main
+channel of such rivers as the Mississippi, the Nile, or the Ganges, in
+the delta portions of their courses; or if a choice seemed practicable,
+is there any assurance that the distributary largest to-day will
+maintain its supremacy for a decade to come, or even be in existence a
+century hence?
+
+The controversies that may arise in reference to which of two channels
+in a designated water body is the main one, are illustrated by the
+well-known "San Juan episode," which came near bringing on hostilities
+between Great Britain and the United States in reference to the
+ownership of certain islands in the Strait of Georgia; the immediate
+subject of contention being whether "the channel which separates the
+continent from Vancouvers Island," as the statement reads in the
+Webster-Ashburton treaty, 1846, passes to the east or to the west of the
+San Juan Islands. The Emperor of Germany, as is well known, acting as
+arbitrator, decided that the islands belong to the United States. Thus,
+in 1872, a series of disputes as to the Canadian-United-States boundary,
+which had been carried on for ninety years, was closed.
+
+While water boundaries, and especially rivers, in certain instances,
+have furnished almost ideal dividing lines between nations, in other
+instances they have proved to be objectionable. The difference lies in
+the nature of the streams themselves, and illustrates the fact that,
+with water boundaries as with other classes of dividing lines between
+nations, a critical knowledge of the geography of the region through
+which they pass is a prerequisite of treaty making, if subsequent
+boundary disputes are to be avoided.
+
+_Mountain Boundaries._--The crests of mountain ranges, or mountain
+chains, are sometimes specified in treaties as defining territorial
+limits. The ideal mountain range is one having a generally straight
+alignment and a continuous and sharply defined crest, but in nature this
+ideal is seldom attained. Modern geographical studies have shown that
+many so-called mountains, which from a distance appear to be
+well-defined uplifts with sharp crest-lines, are in reality broad
+plateaus or great domes, deeply dissected by stream erosion. In such
+instances it is frequently difficult to decide where the crest of the
+range is located. Indeed, as is not infrequently the case, there is no
+definite and tangible crest-line. Although it is sometimes assumed that
+the crest-line coincides with the water-parting, or the divide, between
+the head branches of streams flowing in opposite directions from
+a mountain-like uplift, it is well known that a mountain range, even
+when bold and sharply defined, may not be a divide for the principal
+streams of the region where it is situated. An illustration in point is
+furnished by the Appalachian Mountains, through which the Susquehanna,
+Delaware, and other important rivers rising in the plateau to the west
+flow transversely in deep valleys and empty into the Atlantic.
+
+The recent controversy between Argentina and Chile was due to an
+assumption in a treaty between them that the crest-line of the southern
+Andes coincides with the water-parting between the streams flowing to
+the Atlantic and those discharging into the Pacific. Post-treaty
+surveys, as they may suggestively be termed, have shown that in the
+portion of the Andes in question streams rising well to the east of the
+mountains flow westward through them in deep transverse cañons, and that
+there is a wide discrepancy between the continental water-parting and
+the topographic crest-line of the continent.
+
+A mountain boundary, if defined as the line along which the upward
+slopes on the opposite sides of a prominent uplift meet in its summit
+portion, would in most instances be irregular and perhaps conspicuously
+intricate, for the reason that mountain crests are modified and shaped
+by erosion and migrate in one direction or another according to the
+strength and other qualifying conditions of the opposite-flowing
+streams. Then, too, an uplift which seems to a casual observer to be a
+single mountain range, may in reality be highly complex, and no
+continuous crest-line be discoverable. In short, the sweeping statements
+sometimes embodied in treaties, to the effect that the line of
+demarcation between contiguous countries shall be the crest-line of a
+certain indicated mountain range are fraught with uncertainties and
+difficulties, which are likely to prove a source of discontent and
+costly arbitration, or even lead to war.
+
+_Divide Boundaries._--A boundary which is defined as following a
+specified water-parting or divide, from which streams flow in opposite
+directions, would in most instances be easily traceable on the ground
+even by persons unskilled in the art of surveying, and for this
+and other reasons has much to commend it; yet, without an accurate
+knowledge, and most of all an accurate topographic map of the region
+through which such a boundary is to pass, its selection on general
+principles, however nicely worded, is open to dangers of the same nature
+as those pertaining to a similar choice of a mountain boundary.
+
+In arid regions broad plateaus may form divides, and even an approximate
+location of the line of water-parting, if one exists, be a matter of
+difficulty and uncertainty. Then, too, the process of head-water
+corrasion pertaining to essentially all streams, and of stream capture,
+or the acquiring by one stream, through the process of stream
+development, of the territory formerly drained by its neighbour, leads
+to a migration and sometimes a sudden and perhaps extensive shifting of
+a water-parting.
+
+Examples of divide boundaries are furnished by the one separating Idaho
+and Montana, which in part coincides with the continental divide, and
+serves its purpose well; but the satisfaction it has given is to be
+qualified by the fact that, for the most part, it is situated in a
+rugged region, where there is but slight probability of the property
+interests of the communities parted by it coming into direct contact.
+
+Boundaries which are made to coincide with the courses of rivers, with
+the crest-lines of mountains, or with water-partings, have certain
+commendable features in common; they are easily located, readily defined
+by natural features of the earth's surface, and in general do not
+require to be accurately surveyed and marked by monuments before they
+serve their purpose as international or interstate fences.
+
+_Arbitrary Boundaries._--A class of boundaries not otherwise readily
+definable may be conveniently designated as arbitrary boundaries, since,
+as a rule, they are not described in terms such as pertain to
+astronomical boundaries, and bear no necessary relation to topographic
+or other features of the regions they traverse. Like astronomical
+boundaries, the ones here considered are imaginary lines, and, in part,
+might with propriety be included in that class, since they are capable
+of being located by astronomical methods; but they serve our
+purpose better if considered in a group by themselves. The class of
+boundaries here referred to includes straight lines connecting two
+points; lines defined as running in a given direction (azimuth) and for
+certain distances; arcs of circles; tangents to circles, etc. In brief,
+arbitrary boundaries may be defined as straight or curved lines or
+combinations of such lines, and are similar to the lines employed by
+surveyors in marking the boundaries of a farm, locating a railroad, etc.
+
+An example of what is meant by an arbitrary boundary is furnished by the
+line separating Delaware from Pennsylvania, which is an arc of a circle
+12 miles in radius, with the steeple of the old court-house in
+Newcastle, Delaware, as a centre. Again, in the establishment of the
+District of Columbia, a rectangle 10 miles square was chosen and marked
+on the ground by means of monuments as the site of the capital of the
+United States. Another illustration is furnished by the eastern boundary
+of California, as defined in its constitution. This boundary runs from
+the intersection of 120 degrees of west longitude with the thirty-ninth
+degree of north latitude in a straight line in a southeasterly direction
+to the River Colorado, at a point where it intersects the thirty-fifth
+degree of north latitude.
+
+Boundaries of the nature just cited can only be recognised when actually
+marked on the ground, and except in the case of straight lines, not of
+great length, or small geometrical figures, are difficult of precise
+location, even by skilled surveyors. Should the monuments used to define
+their positions be destroyed, their replacement is an arduous task.
+
+An interesting example of a change from an astronomical to an arbitrary
+boundary is furnished by the line of demarcation between Texas and New
+Mexico, which in part, as originally defined by law, was the one hundred
+and third meridian of west longitude, but owing to errors in the first
+survey was wrongly marked on the ground by monuments. The monuments,
+however, having been accepted as indicating the position of the true
+line of division, became points in an arbitrary boundary. Other similar
+examples of the acceptance of an arbitrary in place of an
+astronomical boundary are not uncommon.
+
+_Impracticable Boundaries._--There are certain dividing lines which are
+defined in treaties, decrees, etc., as running parallel to some natural
+feature, as a coast or a river, and at a given distance from it, that
+might with propriety be classed as arbitrary boundaries, since no effort
+is made to adjust them to the natural conditions of the immediate
+territory they traverse; but, for the purpose of expressing a still
+greater weakness inherent in them, they are here specially designated as
+_impracticable boundaries_. This, as is to be hoped, temporary class of
+boundaries includes the proposed lines of demarcation sometimes inserted
+in treaties, etc., which it is impossible, or at least impracticable,
+without great and for the most part useless expense of time and money,
+to mark on the ground, and thus seek to make serviceable.
+
+In this connection reference may be made to the boundary between
+southeastern Alaska and Canada, which, as stated in the treaty between
+Great Britain and Russia previously referred to, in the absence of a
+mountain range parallel with the coast and not over 10 marine leagues
+inland--and as subsequent explorations and surveys have shown such is
+the case--"shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the
+coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of 10 marine leagues
+therefrom." The region through which the line described would pass, if
+surveyed, was almost entirely unknown at the time the treaty referred to
+was made, but, as has since been discovered, it is exceedingly rugged,
+and contains many mountains ranging from 10,000 to 18,000 feet high,
+besides a multitude of glaciers and many extensive fields of perpetual
+snow. To survey and mark on the ground the boundary indicated in the
+treaty would be what may be justly termed an impossible task; and,
+besides, if the line as defined by treaty should be established, it
+would be intricate, and much less serviceable as a national fence than
+any one of several possible boundaries that could have been chosen, with
+essentially the same end in view, at the time the original treaty was
+entered into, had a geographer been employed to make even a hasty
+reconnaissance of the region in question.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--Characteristic vegetation.]
+
+Another example of a boundary being defined as running parallel to and
+at a specified distance from an irregular geographical feature is
+furnished by a part of the boundary between Massachusetts and New
+Hampshire, which is a line parallel to the Merrimac River, and distant
+from it 3 miles on the north. In this case, although the distance of the
+line designated from the one to which it is to be drawn parallel is but
+3 miles, and the country between only mildly undulating or hilly, the
+boundary as now marked on the ground and accepted as an interstate
+boundary is but a rude approximation to the one originally defined.
+
+These examples, and others that might with propriety be classified as
+impracticable boundaries, illustrate again the desirability of accurate
+geographical knowledge, and still more of an adequate appreciation of
+the difficulties and limitations met with by the surveyor, on the part
+of those who attend to the real-estate business of nations.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The line of separation between Canada and the United States, as defined
+by the Treaty of Ghent, 1814, and after several subsequent adjustments,
+was determined as indicated roughly on the accompanying map. Throughout
+the greater part of its eastern half it is a river boundary, and in its
+western half an astronomical boundary.
+
+In 1876 the English Government granted Newfoundland jurisdiction over
+Labrador, and in letters patent defined that dependency as "all the
+coast of Labrador, from the entrance of Hudson Straits to a line to be
+drawn due north and south from Ause Sableu on the said coast to the
+fifty-second degree of north latitude, and all the islands adjacent to
+that part of the said coast of Labrador." This line is still unsurveyed.
+From the fifty-second parallel to the Strait of Belle Isle, a distance
+of about 40 miles, the boundary is a north-and-south line situated about
+7 miles west of the fifty-seventh meridian, as is indicated on the best
+maps available.
+
+The southern boundary of the United States, as finally determined in
+1853 by treaty with Mexico, is, beginning at the east, a river
+boundary for some 900 miles, namely, the middle of the Rio Grande, or
+its deepest channel, when there is more than one, to where the river
+crosses the parallel of latitude 31° 47'; continuing westward, the line
+is in part an astronomical and in part an arbitrary boundary to the
+Pacific.
+
+The nature of the boundaries separating the several provinces of Canada,
+the various States of the United States and of Mexico, the republics of
+Central America, etc., are indicated approximately on the accompanying
+map. These lines when studied on larger-scale maps on which the drainage
+and relief are also shown reveal many features of interest.
+
+
+                          POLITICAL CONTROL
+
+The political subdivisions of North America in 1900 are too well known
+to require specific description at this time. The long-continued
+struggles and rivalries that have led to the present subdivision of
+territory pertain to history, and although full of interest from the
+point of view of the geographer, cannot be discussed in the present
+treatise. Among the conspicuous events that might be shown by a series
+of political maps is the contraction and final disappearance of Spanish
+and French dominion from the continental mainland. The broad, indefinite
+territory once belonging to Spain, which in the sixteenth century seemed
+destined to expand still more and possibly embrace the whole of the two
+Americas, has been diminished from time to time, until as a result of
+the recent Spanish-American War her flag no longer waves over any
+portion of the New World. The French territory, once embracing a large
+portion of what is now Canada and the United States, is at present
+represented by the islands Martinique and Guadeloupe with its
+dependencies, in the West Indies, and the islands Miquelon and St.
+Pierre, adjacent to the south coast of Newfoundland; in all, comprising
+about 1,161 square miles. The French have, in addition, certain treaty
+rights pertaining to fisheries on the northern and western shores of
+Newfoundland.
+
+Between the two forms of government, monarchical and republican,
+North America is somewhat equally divided, so far as extent of territory
+is concerned (Plate VII), but not as respects population. The people
+under republican organization far outnumber those still acknowledging
+allegiance to hereditary rulers. The countries self-governed, or forming
+parts of American republics, embraced in 1900 all of the continental
+mainland south of the United-States-Canadian boundary, together with
+Alaska, Cuba, San Domingo and Haiti, and Porto Rico. The provinces,
+islands, etc., still controlled by European powers are Canada,
+Newfoundland, Bermuda, and all of the West Indies except the islands
+just referred to, which are more definitely designated in the table on
+page 424. The population of the American republics is in the
+neighbourhood of 97,000,000, and of the European dependencies somewhat
+less than 7,000,000. A republican form of government, more or less
+definitely foreshadowed by the tribal confederations of the aborigines,
+the most conspicuous example of which is furnished by the Iroquois or
+"Six Nations," has thus become the characteristic feature of the
+political organizations of North America; the same is true also of South
+America. The New World is thus conspicuously republican, in distinction
+from the Old World, which is characteristically monarchical.
+
+The immigration to North America since its discovery by Columbus has
+been from all the nations of the Old World, but most largely from
+Europe. Negroes were brought as slaves, and their descendants, now free,
+form a large percentage of the population, especially in the
+southeastern part of the United States and the West Indies. Chinese,
+since about 1870, have arrived in large numbers, but their immigration
+to the United States is now restricted. Of the nations of Europe, the
+strongest influx has come from Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain,
+and Italy. To a marked degree this westward migration has been along
+parallels of latitude, but the migratory streams on reaching North
+America subdivided into many distributaries, and a mingling of
+nationalities on a vast scale has resulted. This amalgamation has been
+so great and so long-continued that several new and somewhat strongly
+individualized nationalities have arisen, the most instructive
+being in the temperate portion of the continent.
+
+The dominant language, as in the case of political control, has been
+inherited from Great Britain. English is the universal language to the
+northward of Mexico and on certain of the West Indian islands. To the
+south of the United-States-Mexican boundary, but beginning in the
+southwestern portion of the United States, and including also the
+greater part of the population of the West Indies, Spanish is the
+current language, except among the uncivilized aborigines. French is
+commonly spoken by many thousands of people in the province of Quebec,
+Canada, and in certain of the West Indies.
+
+The ideal nation, from the point of view of the geographer, is one so
+situated that it is self-sustaining--that is, contains within its own
+domain all the conditions necessary for its life and growth. It should
+have favourable climatic conditions, agricultural land, forests, mines,
+fisheries, etc. More than this, even if all material wants are supplied
+from within its own border, intellectual desires demand outside stimuli.
+The ideal nation should therefore touch the ocean, in order to have
+avenues for travel open to its people. I am well aware that a more
+commanding, or, perhaps better, a more modern view, would show that
+improved methods of transportation have made the whole world
+commercially one; but invisible tariff walls still separate peoples and
+wars break lines of communication.
+
+It might be expected that in the New World, conditions being also new
+and room for development abundant, civilized nations would have adjusted
+their boundaries so as to make an ideal subdivision of territory in
+accord with natural conditions. A study of the boundaries separating the
+nations of North America, however, fails to furnish evidence of such an
+adjustment. On the contrary, even between the most highly civilized
+countries, in which the people speak the same language, the dividing
+lines are entirely arbitrary, so far as relation to soil, climate,
+mineral and timber resources, fisheries, etc., are concerned. The line
+separating Alaska and Canada is mainly a meridian of longitude, which
+passes through a rich mining district. The southern boundary of
+Canada is for the most part a parallel of latitude dividing
+agricultural, mining, and timber lands. The material advancement of the
+inhabitants on the opposite sides of these unnatural dividing lines is
+retarded by them and the progress of civilization delayed. The same is
+true of the invisible wall separating the United States from Mexico, and
+the various partitions intersecting Central America. There has evidently
+been but little, if any, tendency to draw the boundaries referred to in
+conformity with natural conditions. What, then, is the force which sets
+nature at naught? The reply is not obscure. In one word, it is _greed_.
+"To have and to hold" is the unwritten motto of republics as well as of
+monarchies.
+
+The absurdity of disregarding geographical relations, and in consequence
+checking national development, and leading to stagnation and to material
+and intellectual decline, is sadly illustrated by the subdivision of the
+West Indies. In an admirable account of the Caribbean region by R. T.
+Hill, in which its present commercial depression is described and the
+reasons for it judiciously analyzed, occurs the following passage
+relative to the case in point:
+
+"A greater drawback to the West Indies than the one-sided
+agriculture--the raising of sugar-cane--is their political condition.
+Their distribution among too many nationalities necessitates the support
+of expensive and useless administrations, and prevents federation of
+interests and the development of trade among themselves and with the
+United States, the nearest and largest natural consumer of their
+products. Very ridiculous some of these political conditions seem. The
+island of St. Martin, not as large as an average county in the United
+States, is divided into two principalities, the French and the Dutch,
+each of which maintains an administrative force as large as that of the
+State of Texas. Then, as we sail down the eastern islands, hardly a
+score in number, and within sight of one another, aggregating in area
+less than our little State of Delaware, about 2,000 square miles, we
+find five foreign and no less than a dozen distinct colonial
+governments, each responsible to Europe, with no shadow of
+federation between them, or even cooperation of any kind--a condition
+not only pitiable, but absurd. Why should Dominica, whose people are
+French in language and institutions, be sandwiched in between Martinique
+and Guadeloupe, and within easy sight of both, yet so cut off from them
+by quarantine and tariff laws that it is commercially nearer England,
+some 3,000 miles distant, than to its neighbours?"
+
+The conditions necessary for an ideal, self-contained government were
+briefly referred to above. In North America, perhaps, several such
+eligible sites for a definite number of people might be chosen, but in
+no case without the drawing of unnatural boundaries. The continent, as
+is shown by its geology and geography, is a unit, and the most typical
+of comparable size of any on the earth. These same conditions point to a
+single political unit. Arguing from geographical relations simply, and
+not considering the racial differences and local self-interests, the one
+boundary in North America should be the shore boundary, except at the
+30-mile-wide Isthmus of Panama. To the geographer North America presents
+an example of a region containing within itself essentially all of the
+elements necessary to a high industrial, social, educational, and
+ethical development of its inhabitants. The industrial needs are met by
+a range of products, whether of soils, mines, forests, or fisheries, as
+varied or nearly so as is presented by the entire earth. Although the
+continent is broadest at the far north, where climatic extremes prohibit
+a dense population, yet in the temperate region, or between the mean
+annual isotherms of 45 and 75, a space of some 1,200 miles in latitude,
+it is from 2,500 to 4,000 miles wide. In this temperate region there is
+at present greater commercial and mental activity than elsewhere on the
+continent, and it is here that the dominant power of the future will be
+located. Supplementing the agriculture, manufactures, etc., of the
+temperate belt are the vast forested and fur-bearing regions on the
+north and the exuberant tropical countries on the south. Each of these
+three great regions are parts of a whole and mutually supplement each
+other.
+
+The distribution of the population of North America, in respect to
+political subdivisions during the year 1900, is indicated, as nearly as
+it has been found practicable to ascertain it, in the following table:
+
+                  POPULATION OF NORTH AMERICA IN 1900
+
+ --------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
+                   Government.               |Area in square|Population.
+                                             |    miles.    |
+ --------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
+            _American Governments_           |              |
+                                             |              |
+ United States (inclusive of Alaska          |    3,626,533 | 76,265,469
+     and Porto Rico)[7]                      |              |
+ Mexico                                      |      767,005 | 13,570,545
+ Guatemala[8]                                |       63,400 |  1,574,338
+ Salvador[9]                                 |        7,225 |    803,534
+ Nicaragua                                   |       49,200 |    420,000
+ Honduras[10]                                |       45,250 |    407,000
+ Costa Rica[11]                              |       23,000 |    310,000
+ Panama (Department of Colombia)             |       32,380 |    290,000
+ San Domingo[13]                             |       20,596 |  1,244,650
+ Haiti[13]                                   |        9,242 |    500,000
+ Cuba                                        |       44,000 |  1,572,797
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+       Total for American governments        |    4,687,831 | 96,958,333
+                                             |              |
+   _Possessions still held by                |              |
+          European Governments_              |              |
+ United Kingdom of Great Britain             |              |
+      and Ireland:[12]                       |              |
+   Canada                                    |    3,653,946 |  4,846,377
+   Newfoundland and Labrador                 |       49,734 |    201,934
+   Bermuda                                   |           19 |     15,013
+   West Indies (Bahamas, Jamaica, etc.)      |       12,059 |  1,357,254
+   British Honduras                          |        7,562 |     31,471
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+       Total for the United Kingdom          |    3,723,320 |  6,452,049
+ France:                                     |              |
+   Miquelon and St. Pierre                   |           93 |      6,250
+   West Indies (Guadeloupe,                  |              |
+        Martinique, etc.)                    |        1,068 |    354,790
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+       Total for France                      |        1,161 |    361,040
+ Denmark:                                    |              |
+   West Indies (St. Thomas, St. John,        |              |
+        and St. Croix)                       |          149 |     35,900
+ Holland:                                    |              |
+   West Indies (St. Martin in part, St.      |              |
+       Eustace, and Saba)                    |           29 |      7,236
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+        Total for European governments       |    3,724,659 |  6,856,225
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+        Total for North America              |    8,412,490 |103,814,558
+ --------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
+
+[7] The area of Alaska is 590,884 square miles; its population, 63,592.
+The area of Porto Rico is 3,600 square miles; its population (1899),
+953,243. Hawaii, not included above, has an area of 6,449 square miles
+and a population of 154,000.
+
+[8] In 1894.
+
+[9] In 1896.
+
+[10] In 1899.
+
+[11] In 1891.
+
+[12] In 1898.
+
+[13] Together occupying the island Santo Domingo or Haiti.
+
+
+                              LITERATURE
+
+                 Twelfth Census of the United States.
+
+  _British America._ By several authors. Published by Kegan Paul,
+    Trench, Trübner & Co., London, 1900.
+
+  _Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel._ North America.
+    Vol. i, Canada and Newfoundland, by S. E. Dawson. Vol. ii, The
+    United States, by Henry Gannett; Central America and the West
+    Indies, by A. H. Keane.
+
+  HILL, R. T. _Cuba, Porto Rico, and the other West India Islands._
+    The Century Company, New York, 1899.
+
+  GANNETT, H. _Boundaries of the United States._ United States
+    Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 171, second edition, Washington,
+    1900.
+
+
+
+
+                                INDEX
+
+
+    Aborigines, 355-407.
+
+    Adams, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    Adirondack Mountains, brief account of, 83-84.
+
+    Adobe used for bricks, 389.
+
+    Agassiz, A., cited, 12, 21. Work of, in Caribbean region, 16.
+
+    Alaska, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundary of, 416.
+      Coast topography of, 45-46.
+      Indians of, 397.
+      Map of coast of, 47.
+
+    Alaska Commercial Company, 375.
+
+    Albemarle Sound, origin of, 42.
+
+    Aleutian Islands, topography of, 40.
+
+    Aleutians, brief account of, 373-376.
+
+    Aleuts, brief account of, 373-376.
+
+    Algonkian system, 310.
+
+    Allen, J. A., cited, 260, 290.
+
+    Alpine flora, 254-257.
+
+    American governments, enumeration of, 424.
+
+    Animal life, 258-298.
+
+    Anticlinal valleys, 78.
+
+    Antillean Mountains, brief account of, 169-171.
+
+    Antiquity of the aborigines, 357-363.
+
+    Apatite, 350.
+
+    Appalachian Mountains, description of, 74-82.
+      Map of, 74.
+
+    Archean period, 308-310.
+
+    Arches in Maya houses, 392.
+
+    Arctic climatic province, 203.
+
+    Arctogæic life realm, 259.
+
+    Areas of various governments, 424.
+
+    Arkansas Plateau, brief account of, 109-110.
+
+    Asbestos, 349-350.
+
+    Astronomical boundaries, 409-411.
+
+    Atlantic coastal plain, 62-64.
+      Forest, brief account of, 227.
+      Mountains, 60, 73-89.
+
+    Austral climatic provinces, 191-197.
+
+    Aves, orders of, 289.
+
+    Aztecs, advancement of, 364.
+
+
+    Badlands, brief account of, 110-111.
+
+    Bahama Islands, topography of, 19.
+
+    Baker, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    Bald, Mt., N. B., height of, 85.
+
+    Bancroft, George, reference to, 395.
+
+    Barren grounds, absence of trees on, 253.
+
+    Bartlett Deep, 20.
+
+    Basement complex, 310.
+
+    Bay of Fundy, tides in, 29.
+
+    Bear, Polar, 266.
+
+    Bears, brief account of, 279, 282-284.
+
+    Bell, R., exploration by, 88.
+
+    Bermuda, area and population of, 424.
+
+    "Bermuda Mountain," 4.
+
+    Bering Sea, depth of, 2.
+
+    Bighorn, brief account of, 272-273.
+
+    Big trees of California, 242-246.
+
+    Bird migrations, 292-296.
+
+    Birds, brief account of, 289-298.
+
+    Bison, brief account of, 275-278.
+      Map showing range of, 276.
+
+    Blackfoot Indians, lodge of, 387.
+
+    Black Hills of Dakota, 116-119.
+
+    Boreal climatic province, 201-203.
+      Forest, 235-237.
+
+    Boston, Mt., Mo., height of, 92.
+
+    Boundaries, classification of, 408-418.
+
+    British Honduras, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Brownson Deep, 20.
+
+    Buffalo, brief account of, 275-277.
+
+
+    Cacti, 225-226.
+
+    California, boundary of, 416.
+
+    Cambrian system, 310-312.
+
+    Canada, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundary of, 417, 418.
+      Mountains of Western, 167-169.
+      Treatment of Indians by, 397-399.
+
+    Canadian Coast Ranges, 168.
+      Rockies, 167-169.
+
+    Cape Cod, map of, 37.
+      Hatteras, continental shelf bordering, 2.
+      Lisburne, depth of water near, 2.
+      Sheridan, tides at, 30.
+
+    Capulin, Mt., N. M., height of, 119.
+
+    Carborundum, 351.
+
+    Caribbean region, submarine topography of, 16-23.
+
+    Caribou, brief account of, 266-269.
+
+    Cascade Mountains, brief account of, 147-158.
+      Igneous rocks of, 316-322.
+
+    _Castor canadensis_, 279.
+
+    Catlinite, 379, 380.
+
+    Cats, brief account of, 284-285.
+
+    Cedar trees in Pacific forest, 240.
+
+    Census of various nations, 424.
+      Of aborigines, 406.
+
+    Central America, Indians of, 403-405.
+
+    Chamberlin, T. C., cited, 316.
+
+    _Characeæ_, lime secreted by, 335.
+
+    Chart of geological history, 309.
+
+    Chelan, Lake, Wash., 157-158.
+
+    Chesapeake Bay, origin of, 42.
+
+    Chickasaw plum, 385.
+
+    Chinook winds, 115, 204-205.
+
+    Classification of boundaries, 408-418.
+      Geological terranes, 308-309.
+
+    Clays, 345.
+
+    Climate, 173-214.
+      Elements of, 173-184.
+
+    Climatic provinces, 184-203.
+
+    Coal, 336-338.
+      Fields, map of, 336.
+
+    Coastal plains, 62-69.
+
+    Coast boundaries, 409.
+      Mountains, 162-169.
+      Topography of, 31-55.
+
+    Columbia River lava, 319-320.
+
+    Commercial geology, 328-353.
+
+    Communal dwellings of Indians, 388-389.
+
+    Concentration of mineral substances, 328-353.
+
+    Consequent drainage, examples of, 118.
+
+    Contact of aborigines with foreign people, 396-406.
+
+    Continental borer, description of, 89-120.
+      Shelf, 1-16.
+
+    Cope, E. D., cited, 260, 311, 312.
+
+    Coral growths on continental shelf, 6.
+      Reefs in the West Indies, 18.
+
+    Corundum, 351.
+
+    Costa Rica, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Crater Lake, Ore., brief account of, 153-155.
+      Map of, 153.
+
+    Cross, W., cited, 321.
+
+    Cuba, area and population of, 424.
+      Banks near, 20.
+
+    Culture of the aborigines, 363-365.
+
+    Currents, ocean, 23-27.
+
+    Cyclones, 208-212.
+
+    Cypresses, 233.
+
+
+    Dall, W. H., cited, 367, 373, 374.
+
+    Dana, J. D., cited, 300.
+
+    Davis, W. M., cited, 79.
+
+    Dawson, J. W., cited, 312.
+
+    Death Valley, Cal., 145.
+
+    Débris forming continental shelf, 5-8.
+
+    "Deeps" of the West Indies, 20-21.
+
+    Deer, brief account of, 271-272.
+
+    Delaware, boundary of, 416.
+      Bay, origin of, 42.
+      River, submerged channel of, 43.
+
+    Deltas, 52-55.
+
+    Denmark, possessions of, 424.
+
+    Dikes, 320.
+
+    Diller, J. S., cited, 152, 153, 164.
+
+    Dismal Swamp, brief account of, 63-64.
+
+    Divide boundaries, 414-415.
+
+    Dog, Eskimo, 266.
+
+    Drowned river-valleys, 43, 48, 49.
+
+    Dutton, C. E., cited, 134, 136, 153.
+
+
+    Economic geology, 328-352.
+
+    Edwards Plateau, Tex., brief account of, 107-108.
+
+    El Llano Estacado, brief account of, 106-109.
+
+    _Enhydra marina_, 278.
+
+    Eschscholtz Bay, Alaska, ice near, 68.
+
+    Eskimo, meaning of the word, 356.
+      Dog, 266.
+      Meaning of the term, 356.
+
+    Eskimos, brief account of, 365-376.
+      Census of, 406.
+
+    Estuaries, 55-58.
+
+    Ethnological studies, 394-396.
+
+    Evaporation, 212-213.
+
+
+    Fall line in Atlantic coast rivers, 66.
+
+    Ferns, 222.
+
+    Fir trees in Pacific forest, 240.
+
+    Flora, 215-257.
+
+    Florida, continental shelf bordering, 2.
+
+    Fontaine, W. M., cited, 312.
+
+    Food supply of Indians, 381-387.
+
+    Forests, description of, 217-249.
+      Map of, 215.
+
+    Fossil floras, 256.
+
+    France, possessions of, 419, 424.
+
+    Fur-bearing animals, 278-282.
+
+
+    Galveston, Tex., destruction of, 38.
+      Tides at, 27.
+
+    Gardens of the Indians, 384-387.
+
+    Gas, natural, 340.
+
+    Gaspé Peninsula, 84.
+
+    Geographical distribution of animals, 258-263.
+
+    Geology, 299-354.
+
+    Gilbert, G. K., cited, 118, 131, 321.
+
+    Glacial epoch, brief account of, 314-316.
+      Extent of glaciers during, 7-8.
+
+    Glacier Peak, Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    Glass sand, 333.
+
+    Glottoff, reference to, 374.
+
+    Gold, 345-346, 351-352.
+      Mountains, Canada, 168.
+
+    Governor's palace, Uxmal, 393, 394.
+
+    Grand Cañon of the Colorado, 134-135.
+      Sketch of, 135.
+
+    Gray, A., cited, 389.
+
+    Great Abaco, reference to, 18.
+
+    Great Bahama Bank, brief account of, 18.
+      Basin, brief account of, 136-146.
+      Basin, map of, 137.
+      Lakes, 99.
+      Plains, brief account of, 102-106.
+      Plateaus, brief account of, 102-106.
+      Salt Lake, Utah, 140-142.
+      Valley of California, 158-161.
+
+    "Greater St. Lawrence," 9.
+
+    Growth of the continent, 300-306.
+
+    Guatemala, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Gulf of California, 49.
+      of Mexico, continental shelf on border of, 1-2.
+      of Mexico, map of west coast of, 38.
+      Plains, brief account of, 94-95.
+      Stream, 16.
+      Stream, volume, etc., of, 24-25.
+
+
+    Haida Indians, 397.
+
+    Haiti, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Harbours, 53-58.
+
+    Harney Peak, S. D., elevation of, 116.
+
+    Hawaiian Islands, 4.
+
+    Hawaii, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Hayden, F. V., cited, 113.
+
+    Hayes, C. W., cited, 79.
+
+    Heilprin, A., cited, 260.
+
+    Henry Mountains, Utah, 131, 321.
+
+    Henshaw, W. H., cited, 395.
+
+    Hetch Hetchy Valley, Cal., 150.
+
+    High plateaus, brief account of, 132-134.
+
+    Hill, R. T., cited, 22, 169, 220, 422.
+      Map by, 17.
+
+    Holland, possessions of, 424.
+
+    Holmes, W. H., cited, 390, 392, 393, 394.
+
+    Honduras, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Hood, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Hornaday, W. T., cited, 277.
+
+    Horticulture by Indians, 384-387.
+
+    Houses of Indians, 387-394.
+      Innuits, 368-369.
+
+    Hudson River, submerged channel of, 8-9, 43.
+
+    Humboldt, A. von, cited, 12.
+
+    Huxley, T. H., cited, 259.
+
+    Hydrocarbons, 338-342.
+
+
+    Ice, changes in coasts due to, 50-51.
+      Subsoil, in Alaska, 68.
+      Deposited débris on continental shelf, 6-7.
+      Palace, Montreal, 199.
+
+    Igneous rocks, brief account of, 316-326.
+      Terranes, economic importance of, 331-332.
+
+    Impracticable boundaries, 417-418.
+
+    Indians, account of, 376-406.
+      Census of, 406.
+      Treatment of, by United States and Canada, 397-403.
+
+    Innuit, meaning of the term, 356.
+
+    Innuits, brief account of, 366-372.
+
+    Intrusive sheets, 320-321.
+
+    Iron Mountain, Mo., 92.
+
+    Iron ores, 342-344.
+
+    Iroquois, houses of, 387-388.
+
+    Irrigation practised by Indians, 386.
+
+    Irving, W., reference to, 395.
+
+    Islands, 30-31.
+
+    Isobars, 173.
+
+    Isotherms, 173.
+
+
+    Jackson, S., reference to, 269.
+
+    Jamaica, terraces on, 22.
+
+    James River, Va., submerged channel of, 42.
+
+    Japan current, reference to, 25.
+
+    Jeff Davis Peak, Nev., height of, 146.
+
+    Jefferson, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Johnson, W. D., cited, 109.
+
+    Judas-tree, 233.
+
+
+    Kamlayka, 370.
+
+    Kara Sea, life in, 14.
+
+    Katahdin, Mt., Me., height of, 85.
+
+    Kayaks, 370-371.
+
+    Kittatinny peneplain, 80.
+
+    Knowlton, F. H., cited, 312.
+
+    Kowak River, Alaska, ice near, 68.
+
+
+    Labrador, boundary of, 418.
+      Topography of, 71-72.
+
+    Laccoliths, 131, 321.
+
+    Lake plains, brief account of, 99-101.
+
+    Lakes, enclosed, 141.
+
+    Languages, 359-360.
+
+    Language spoken in America, 421.
+
+    Laurentian Highlands, brief account of, 87-88.
+      Lakes, 99.
+
+    Leidy, J., cited, 313-314.
+
+    Lesquereux, L., cited, 312.
+
+    Life on the continental shelf, 10-16.
+      Realms, 259-260.
+      Regions and life-zones, 260-262.
+
+    Limestones, 334-335.
+
+    Little Bahama Bank, brief account of, 18.
+
+    Llano Estacado, El, 106-109.
+
+    Lodge of Blackfoot Indians, 387.
+
+    Logan, Mt., Yukon, height of, 166.
+
+    Longhouse of Iroquois, 387-388.
+
+    Lookout Mountain, Tenn., section through, 78.
+
+    Lost mountains, 143.
+
+    Lower Austral climatic province, 191-194.
+
+    Luigi, Prince, ascent of Mt. St.
+      Elias, 166.
+
+    _Lutra canadensis_, 278.
+
+
+    Mackenzie River, delta of, 52.
+
+    McKinley, Mt., Alaska, height of, 166.
+
+    Magnolia, 230.
+
+    Maine, map of coast of, 45.
+
+    Mammalian families peculiar to America, 287-288.
+
+    Mammals, classification of, 262-264.
+
+    Mansfield, Mt., N. H., height of, 83.
+
+    Marcy, Mt., N. Y., height of, 84.
+
+    Marl, 335.
+
+    Marsh, O. C., cited, 312, 313, 314.
+
+    Massachusetts, boundary of, 418.
+
+    Mauvaises terres, 110.
+
+    Maya houses, 392.
+
+    Mayas, culture of, 364.
+
+    Mazama, Mt., Ore., 153-155.
+      Height of, 156.
+
+    _Mazama_, 273-275.
+
+    Mazamas, the, 273.
+
+    _Mephitis mephitica_, 280.
+
+    Merriam, C. H., cited, 185, 259, 260.
+
+    Merrimac River, boundary near, 418.
+
+    Metamorphic rocks, 323-324.
+      Terranes, economic importance of, 347-353.
+
+    Metamorphism, nature of, 324.
+
+    Mexico, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundary of, 418.
+      Indians of, 403.
+
+    Mica, 350.
+
+    Migration of birds, 292-296.
+
+    Miquelon, retained by France, 419.
+
+    Mississippi Delta, map of, 53.
+      River, delta of, 53-55.
+
+    Mobile Bay, 36.
+
+    Monadnock, definition of, 70.
+
+    Moose, brief account of, 269-270.
+
+    Morgan, L. H., cited, 388, 395.
+
+    Mountain boundaries, 413-414.
+      Sheep, brief account of, 272-273.
+      Goat, 273-275.
+
+    Muir, John, cited, 151, 244.
+
+    Musk-ox, 265-266.
+
+
+    Navidad Bank, reference to, 18.
+
+    Neogæic life realm, 259.
+
+    Neolithic, 364.
+
+    Newark system, 320.
+
+    Newberry, J. S., cited, 312.
+
+    New Brunswick, mountains of, 84.
+
+    Newcastle, Del., boundary in reference to, 416.
+
+    New England, mountains of, 82-83.
+
+    Newfoundland, area and population of, 424.
+      Continental shelf bordering, 2.
+      French rights in, 419.
+      Jurisdiction over Labrador, 417.
+
+    New Hampshire, boundary of, 418.
+
+    New Jersey, boundary of, 411-412.
+      Subsidence of coast of, 63.
+
+    New York, boundary of, 411-412.
+      Mountains of, 83.
+
+    Nicaragua, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Nordenskiöld cited, 15.
+
+    Notogæic life realm, 259.
+
+    Notre Dame Mountains, 84.
+
+
+    Olympic Mountains, Wash., 165.
+
+    Onyx marble, 335.
+
+    Oomiak, 370.
+
+    Ores, deposition of, 345.
+
+    Origin of the aborigines, 356-357.
+
+    Otter, 278.
+
+    Ouachita Mountains, 93.
+
+    Ozark Uplift, description of, 91-94.
+
+
+    Pacific forest, 238-249.
+      Mountains, 60, 120-136.
+
+    Paleolithic, 364.
+
+    Palms, 220-224.
+
+    Panama, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Park Mountains, 127-130.
+
+    Parkies, 370.
+
+    Peneplain, definition of, 69-70.
+
+    Pennsylvania, boundary of, 416.
+
+    Perry, W. A., cited, 270.
+
+    Petroleum, 338-340.
+
+    Physiographic divisions, map of, 61.
+
+    Piedmont plateau, 64, 69-70.
+
+    Pines, 232-233, 247-249.
+
+    Pitt, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Planetary winds, 178-179.
+
+    Plant life, 215-257.
+
+    Plateaus, treeless, 252-253.
+
+    Platinum, 352.
+
+    Playas, characteristics of, 253.
+      Examples of, 141.
+      Description of, 121.
+
+    Plutonic plug, 321.
+
+    Point Barrow, Alaska, life in the sea near, 14.
+      Tides at, 30.
+
+    Polar bear, 266.
+
+    Political control, 419-424.
+      Geography, 408-426.
+
+    Population of North America, 424.
+
+    Porto Rico, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Possessions held by European governments, 424.
+
+    Potomac River, submerged channel of, 43.
+
+    Pourtales, L. F., work of in Caribbean region, 16.
+
+    Powell, J. W., cited, 90, 104, 124, 127, 251, 357, 359.
+
+    Prairies, brief account of, 250, 253.
+
+    Prairie plains, brief account of, 95-99.
+
+    Prescott, W. H., reference to, 395.
+
+    _Pteranodon_, 313.
+
+    Pueblo Indians, 390.
+
+    Pueblos, 388.
+
+    Puget Sound basin, 158-161.
+      Origin of, 47.
+      Map of, 161.
+
+    Pyramid Lake, Nev., 140.
+
+
+    Rainier, Mt., Wash., photograph of, 156.
+      Height of, 156.
+
+    Raton Mesa, N. M., 120.
+
+    Redwood forests of California, 242-246.
+
+    Reindeer in Alaska, 269.
+
+    Reptiles of the Mesozoic, 313.
+
+    Republics, American, 420.
+
+    Resources used by Indians, 379-387.
+
+    River deltas, 52-55.
+
+    Rocky Mountains, brief account of, 122-136.
+      Of Canada, 124.
+
+    Rogers, H. D., cited, 312.
+
+    Russian-American Company, 375.
+      Houses, 369.
+
+
+    St. Elias, Mt., Alaska, height of, 166.
+      Elevation of coast near, 46.
+      Not a volcano, 167.
+
+    St. François Mountains, Mo., height of, 92.
+
+    St. Helens, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    St. John, N. B., tides at, 30.
+
+    St. Lawrence estuary, 55-56.
+      River, submerged channel of, 9.
+
+    St. Pierre, retained by France, 419.
+
+    Salt, 341-342.
+
+    Salvador, area and population of, 424.
+
+    San Clemente Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    San Domingo, area and population of, 424.
+
+    San Francisco Bay, Cal., origin of, 49.
+
+    San Juan Islands, Wash., 413.
+
+    San Louis Park, Col., 128.
+
+    Sand-hills, 112-113.
+
+    Sandstone, 332-333.
+
+    Santa Catalina Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    Santa Cruz Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    Santa Domingo, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Santa Rosa Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    Sargent, C. S., cited, 249.
+
+    Schaffner, D. C., maps compiled by, 301.
+
+    Schooley peneplain, 80-81.
+
+    Schools for Indians, 401-402.
+
+    Sclater, P. L., cited, 259.
+
+    Scott, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Seasons, 179-182.
+
+    Section through Black Hills of Dakota, 117.
+      Lookout Mountain, Tenn., 78.
+
+    Sedimentary rocks, brief account of, 306-316.
+      Terranes, economic importance of, 331-346.
+
+    _Sequoia gigantea_, 242, 244-246.
+      _Sempervirens_, 242-244.
+
+    Shenandoah peneplain, 81.
+
+    Sierra Blanca, N. M., 129.
+
+    Sierran epoch, mention of, 315.
+
+    Sierra Nevada Mountains, Cal., brief account of, 147-158.
+
+    Sigsbee Deep, 20.
+
+    Silver, 346.
+      Pine, 248.
+
+    Six Nations of New York, 405.
+
+    Skunk, brief account of, 280-282.
+
+    Solóvioff, I. M., reference to, 374.
+
+    Spain, former possessions of, 419.
+
+    _Sphagnum_, 67.
+
+    Spring-time music, 296-298.
+
+    Stony Mountains, 124-127.
+
+    Stream deposits, changes in coast-lines due to, 51-55.
+
+    Subarctic forest plains, 101-102.
+
+    Submerged river channels, 8-10.
+
+    Subsequent drainage, example of, 118.
+
+    Subsidences of coasts, 62-63.
+
+    Subtuberant mountains, 322.
+
+    Sugar-pine, 247.
+
+    Superimposed drainage, example of, 118.
+
+    Susquehanna River, submerged channel of, 43.
+
+    Sutton, Mt., N. B., height of, 84.
+
+    Synclinal mountains, 78.
+
+
+    Tahoe Lake, Cal.--Nev., 140.
+
+    Talc, 350.
+
+    Tarr, R. S., map of co-tidal lines by, 28.
+
+    Tepee of Indians, 387, 388.
+
+    Terraces on islands of California coast, 10.
+      Sea, 33-34.
+
+    Thomas, C, cited, 395.
+
+    Thunder-storms, 206-207.
+
+    Tides, 27-30.
+      in rivers, 44.
+
+    Timber-line, 254.
+
+    Tlingit Indians, 397.
+
+    Topography of coasts, 31-55.
+
+    Tornadoes, 207.
+
+    Transition climatic province, 197-201.
+
+    Treaty of Ghent, reference to, 418.
+
+    Treeless mountain tops, 254-257.
+      Plains, brief account of, 250-253.
+
+    Tropical climatic province, 186-191.
+      Forests, 219-227.
+
+    Tundra, brief account of, 67-68.
+
+    Turner, H. W., cited, 148.
+
+    Tyrrell, J. B., cited, 66, 268.
+
+
+    Union, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    United Kingdom, possessions of, 424.
+
+    United States, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundaries of, 417-418.
+      Treatment of Indians by, 399-403.
+      Coast and Geodetic Survey, reference to work of, 16.
+      Fish Commission, reference to work of, 16.
+
+    Upper Austral climatic province, 194-197.
+
+    Uxmal, Yucatan, panorama of, 390.
+
+
+    Vancouver, B. C., firs of, 241.
+      Mountains, B. C., 165.
+
+    Van Hise, C. R., cited, 310.
+
+    "Vega," voyage of, 15.
+
+    Veniaminoff, reference to, 375.
+
+    Virginia creeper, 234.
+
+    Volcanic mountains, 120-121.
+
+    Volcanoes, 317-318.
+
+
+    Wallace, A. R., cited, 30, 259.
+
+    Wapiti, brief account of, 270-271.
+
+    Ward, L. F., cited, 312.
+
+    Washington, Mt., N. H., height of, 83.
+
+    Water boundaries, 411-413.
+      Mineral, 353.
+
+    West Indian hurricanes, 210.
+
+    West Indies, Danish, area and population of, 424.
+      French, area and population of, 424.
+      Indians of, 404.
+      Political division of, 422-423.
+
+    Whirlwinds, 203.
+
+    White, D., cited, 312.
+
+    White, I. C., cited, 312.
+
+    White, Mt., Nev., height of, 146.
+
+    White Mountains, N. H., forests of, 86.
+
+    Whiteface, Mt., N. Y., height of, 84.
+
+    Whitney, J. D., cited, 251.
+
+    Whitney, Mt., Cal., height of, 149.
+
+    Willis, Bailey, cited, 79.
+
+    Winds, planetary, 178-179.
+
+    Winnemucca Lake, Nev., 140.
+
+    Wolves, brief account of, 285-287.
+
+
+    Yellow pine, 248.
+
+    Yosemite Valley, Cal., 150.
+
+    Yucatan, continental shelf bordering, 2.
+      Topography of, 19.
+
+    Yukon River, delta of, 52.
+
+
+    Zuñi, 389.
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                          List Of Corrections
+
+Transcriber's Note: Blank pages have been deleted. Some illustrations have
+been moved. We have rendered consistent on a per-word-pair basis the
+hyphenation or spacing of such pairs when repeated in the same grammatical
+context. Detected publisher's errors were corrected as listed below:
+
+ Page          Correction
+
+   5    both calcareous and silicious[siliceous]
+  12    Carribbean[Caribbean]
+  18    Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean[Caribbean] region:
+  60    Taking the better-known[better known] portions of North America
+  72    and are hard and resistent[resistant]
+ 103    "Land oh[ho]!" is no more thrilling
+ 105    where preciptation[precipitation] is abundant
+ 126    Bamf[Banff], Lake Louise, Glacier House,
+ 131    related to this phase of volcanism[vulcanism] is the
+ 139    in Nevada and southestern[southeastern] California
+ 150    hard rocks thus exposed [were] rounded
+ 176    to take a more criticial[critical] view
+ 179    wind blows with remarkable unformity[uniformity]
+ 203    are cultivated with moderate successs[success].
+ 263    the terra calente[caliente] of Mexico
+ 271    from civilization is[are] great
+ 281    skunks belong to the family Mustalidæ[Mustelidæ]
+ 290    and the pecular[peculiar] hoazin, represented
+ 363    the plating[plaiting] of baskets and the art
+ 430    Sub-soil[Subsoil], in Alaska, 68.
+ 431    Mephities[Mephitis] mephitica, 280.
+ 431    Micquelon[Miquelon], retained by France, 419.
+ 433    St. Francois[François] Mountains, Mo., height of,
+ 433    Solóvieff[Solóvioff], I. M., reference to, 374
+ 433    St. Helena[Helens], Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+ 434    Wapati[Wapiti], brief account of, 270-271.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of North America, by Israel C. Russell
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORTH AMERICA ***
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of North America, by Israel C. Russell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: North America
+
+Author: Israel C. Russell
+
+Release Date: May 3, 2011 [EBook #36024]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORTH AMERICA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Henry Gardiner and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<!--001.png--><hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class="center" style="width: 25em; margin: auto; border: solid 1px; padding: 1em;">
+Transcriber's note: The original publication has been replicated faithfully except as listed
+<a href="#Corrections" name="Start" id="Start">here</a>.
+</div>
+
+<!--002.png-->
+
+<div style="width: 30em; padding-top: 3em; margin-left: -11em; padding-left: 50%;">
+<div class="center" style="width: 23em">
+<br /><br />
+<span style="font-size: 1.5em;">Appletons' World Series</span><br />
+<i>THE REGIONS OF THE WORLD</i><br /><br />
+<span style="font-size: 0.5em">EDITED BY</span><br />
+H. J. MACKINDER, M.A.<br />
+<i>Reader in Geography in the<br />
+University of Oxford</i><br /><br />
+Each complete in One Volume, Large 8vo.<br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">BRITAIN AND THE BRITISH SEAS</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By the <span class="smcap">Editor</span></span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">WESTERN EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Elisée Reclus</span></span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">CENTRAL EUROPE</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Joseph Partsch</span>, Ph.D.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">SCANDINAVIA AND THE ARCTIC REGION</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By Sir <span class="smcap">Clements R. Markham</span>, K.C.B.,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 4em;">F.R.S., President Royal Geog. Soc.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Prince Kropotkin</span></span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">THE NEARER EAST</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">D. G. Hogarth</span>, M.A.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">AFRICA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">J. Scott Keltie</span>, LL.D., Sec. R. G. S.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">INDIA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By Colonel Sir <span class="smcap">Thomas Holdich</span>, K.C.I.E.,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 4em;">C.B., R.E.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">THE FARTHER EAST</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Archibald Little</span></span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">NORTH AMERICA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">Israel C. Russell</span>, LL.D.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">SOUTH AMERICA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">John C. Branner</span>, LL.D.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">AUSTRALASIA AND ANTARCTICA</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By <span class="smcap">H. O. Forbes</span>, LL.D.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--004.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">ii</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;"><a name="Fig_1" id="Fig_1"></a>
+<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="445" height="600" alt="Fig. 1." title="Fig. 1." />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 1.</span>&mdash;North America.<br />
+From a photograph of a relief map by Victor and Cosmos Mindeleff. Scales
+of original: Horizontal, 120 miles to 1 inch; vertical, 40,000 feet to 1 inch:
+proportion, 1:16.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--005.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">iii</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h1>NORTH AMERICA<br /><br /></h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>ISRAEL C. RUSSELL</h2>
+
+<h5>PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN</h5>
+
+<h3><i>With Maps and Diagrams</i><br /></h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60px;"><a name="iv" id="iv"></a>
+<img src="images/i00iv.jpg" width="60" height="69" alt="Decoration." title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="center" style="letter-spacing: 0.1em; word-spacing: 0.1em; padding-top: 3em;">NEW YORK<br />D. APPLETON AND COMPANY<br />1904</div>
+
+<!--006.png-->
+
+
+<h5 class="smcap" style="padding-top: 5em;">Copyright, 1904<br />
+By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</h5>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--007.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">v</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>The aim of this book is to give a condensed and, I trust, readable
+account of the leading facts concerning the North American continent
+which, from the point of view of the geographer, seem most interesting
+and instructive. The area of the continent is so vast and the diversity
+among its various parts so great, however, that the completeness of
+treatment which characterizes the preceding volumes in the series to
+which it belongs could not be attempted. To obviate in a measure this
+confessed shortcoming, there has been appended to each chapter a list of
+books which will enable the reader to continue the studies outlined in
+it.</p>
+
+<p>A complete review of the geography of a continent should, as it seems to
+me, be divided into two parts: first, a discussion of the natural
+conditions, or physical geography, and, second, man's dependence on and
+use of the natural resources, or economic geography. Each of these two
+leading phases of the subject was embraced in the preliminary outline of
+the present volume, but owing to a desire to make each chapter as
+complete as practicable, and also on account of limitations as to space,
+the treatment of the economic phases of geography has been necessarily
+brief. But little more can be claimed for the book as finished than that
+it is an attempt to describe some of the more prominent and attractive
+aspects of the natural conditions pertaining to North America.
+<!--008.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">vi</a></span></p>
+
+<p>While writing this book I have become more and more impressed with the
+incompleteness and inadequacy of the printed records relating to the
+geography of the continent of which it treats. Extensive tracts,
+particularly in the far North, have not been traversed by observant men,
+vast areas throughout the continent have not been surveyed and mapped,
+and even in the somewhat thickly inhabited portions of the more
+enlightened countries there are large districts in reference to the
+geography of which there is but little critical information available.
+Under these conditions it seemed best to select typical examples of
+various geographical features from the better known portions of the
+continent to represent the conditions throughout the less thoroughly
+explored domain in which they are situated, and at the same time serve
+to illustrate the highly creditable advances made by American
+geographers in definitely formulating the principles of physiography.
+The book may, in a measure, be considered as an attempt to present in
+popular form a report of progress concerning the study of the
+geographical development of North America at the beginning of the
+twentieth century.</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">I. C. R.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--009.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">vii</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+<table border="0" width="500" cellspacing="10" summary="Table of Contents" title="">
+  <tr style="font-size: 0.8em">
+    <td class="toi-fig">CHAPTER</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj"></td>
+    <td class="toi-pge">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">I.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">The Margin Of The Continent</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        The continental shelf&mdash;The submarine topography of the
+        Caribbean region&mdash;Movements of the ocean
+        waters&mdash;Islands&mdash;Topography of the coast&mdash;Estuaries and
+        harbours.</td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">II.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">The Topography Of The Land</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        Coastal plains and plateaus&mdash;The Atlantic mountains&mdash;The
+        continental basin&mdash;The Pacific mountains&mdash;The Antillean
+        mountains.</td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">III.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">Climate</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        The elements of climate&mdash;Climatic provinces&mdash;Secondary
+        disturbances of the atmosphere&mdash;Evaporation.
+    </td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">IV.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">Plant Life</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        The forests&mdash;Prairies, treeless plains, and
+        plateaus&mdash;The treeless mountain tops.</td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">V.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">Animal Life</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        General principles of geographical
+        distribution&mdash;Life-regions and life-zones&mdash;The
+        mammals&mdash;Some representative mammals&mdash;The birds.
+    </td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">VI.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">Geology</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        The growth of the continent&mdash;The rocks of which the
+        continent is composed&mdash;The concentration of mineral
+        substances.</td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">VII.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">The Aborigines</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_355">355</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        The Eskimos&mdash;The Indians.</td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp">VIII.</td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">Political Geography</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_408">408</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+        Classification of boundaries&mdash;Political
+        control&mdash;Population in 1900.</td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toc-chp"></td>
+    <td class="toc-sbj">Index</td>
+    <td class="toc-pge"><a href="#Page_427">427</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td align="left" class="toc-des" style="">
+    </td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--011.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">ix</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS<br />
+<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">COLOURED MAPS</span></h2>
+
+
+<table border="0" width="500" cellspacing="10" summary="List of Illustrations" title="">
+  <tr style="font-size: 0.8em">
+    <td class="toi-fig">PLATE</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj"></td>
+    <td class="toi-pge">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">I.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Orographical features</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">II.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Mean annual rainfall and temperature </td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">III.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Climate and life provinces</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">IV.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Leading geological features</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">V.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Pleistocene glacial deposits</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_315">315</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">VI.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Linguistic stocks of Indians North of Mexico</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_370">370</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">VII.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Distribution of governments</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_410">410</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">VIII.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Characteristic vegetation</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_418">418</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<h2 style="padding-top: 1em"><a name="OTHER_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="OTHER_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<table border="0" width="500" cellspacing="10" summary="Other Illustrations" title="">
+  <tr style="font-size: 0.8em">
+    <td class="toi-fig">FIG.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj"></td>
+    <td class="toi-pge">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">1.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Relief map of North America</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_ii">ii</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">2.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Profile of a continental shelf</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">3.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean region,
+            showing topography of the sea-floor</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">4.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Co-tidal lines</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">5.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Profile of sea-cliff and cut-and-built terrace</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">6.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of a portion of the Atlantic coast of the
+            United States</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">7.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of Mobile Bay</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">8.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of Cape Cod</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">9.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of the coast of Texas</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">10.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of a portion of the coast of Maine</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">11.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of the coast of southeastern Alaska</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">12.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of the delta of the Mississippi</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">13.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map giving the names of the larger physiographic
+            divisions of North America</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">14.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Altitude map of North America</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">15.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of the Appalachian Mountains</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">16.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Section of anticlinal valleys and synclinal
+            mountains</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">17.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Profile showing relation of ancient peneplains
+            in the Appalachians</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">18.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Section through the Black Hills of Dakota</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">19.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Sketch of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado River</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">20.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of the Great Basin</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">21.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of Crater Lake, Oregon</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">22.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Mount Rainier, Washington</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">23.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map of Puget Sound</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">24.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map showing isobars for January and July</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">25.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Ice-palace, Montreal</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">26.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map showing tracks of West Indian hurricanes</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">27.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map showing depth of evaporation
+      in the United States</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">28.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map showing distribution of forests</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">29.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Douglas firs, Vancouver</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">30.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">View in redwood forest of California, from
+      photograph by U. S. Bureau of Forestry</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">31.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Bison at Silver Heights, Winnipeg</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">32.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map showing range of bison</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_276">276</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">33.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Maps showing the growth of the North American
+      continent</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">34.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Map showing the distribution of coal-fields</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">35.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Ideal section through an oil and gas
+      pool beneath an anticlinal</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_339">339</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">36.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Lodge or tepee of Blackfoot
+      Indians, Manitoba</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_387">387</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">37.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Panorama of Uxmal, Yucatan</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_390">390</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">38.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Pointed arches in Central American ruins</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_393">393</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="toi-fig">39.</td>
+    <td class="toi-sbj">Carved stonework, Uxmal, Yucatan</td>
+    <td class="toi-pge"><a href="#Page_394">394</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--013.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">1</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="NORTH_AMERICA" id="NORTH_AMERICA"></a>NORTH AMERICA</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">
+THE MARGIN OF THE CONTINENT&mdash;THE
+CONTINENTAL SHELF</div>
+
+
+<p>In beginning the study of the physical geography of North America, one
+of the first facts to claim attention is that the true continental
+border is in general many miles seaward from the present margin of the
+land. The boundary of our field of study is defined with considerable
+accuracy by a line drawn on the bottom of the sea adjacent to the
+present coast-line of the continent so as to pass through all points
+where the soundings show a depth of 100 fathoms of water. This
+100-fathom contour in the topography of the sea-floor chances to
+coincide in a general way with the outline of the submerged border of
+the continent; landward from it the bottom rises with a gentle slope,
+while seaward the descent is usually steep down to a depth of 2,000 or
+more fathoms.</p>
+
+<p>A gently sloping shelf-like border surrounds the deep central basin of
+the Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 3). To the west and north of Yucatan and west
+of Florida the shelf is from 140 to 160 miles broad, with a surface
+slope towards the centre of the Gulf of less than 6 feet to a mile&mdash;a
+slope so gentle that were the surface of the shelf exposed to view, no
+eye could distinguish it from a perfect plain. The deepest sounding yet
+obtained in the central part of the Gulf, approximately midway between
+Yucatan and Florida, shows a depth of 2,119 fathoms. The remarkable fact
+is that the slope from the 100-fathom line to the bottom of the central
+basin of the Gulf is precipitous. In two places
+<!--014.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">2</a></span>
+on the border of
+the Yucatan bank a descent of about 8,500 feet occurs within a
+horizontal distance of 15 or 20 miles.</p>
+
+<p>On the east side of the southern extremity of Florida, and again on the
+eastern shore of Yucatan, the continental shelf is only about 5 miles
+broad; these are the nearest approaches of the present land to the
+actual border of the continent to be found on the Atlantic coast. The
+explanation of these exceptional conditions is that both Florida and
+Yucatan are portions of the continental shelf which have been raised so
+as to form low emerged plains.</p>
+
+<p>From Cape Hatteras northward to the extremity of the Newfoundland Banks
+the shelf increases gradually in breadth from about 15 miles in the
+region of the Carolinas to over 100 miles off the coast of Maine. The
+outer border of the shelf is an irregular curving line. Opposite the
+coast of Massachusetts and Maine an extension of the Atlantic basin
+reaches within 15 or 20 miles of the present margin of the land. The
+manner in which the low plain fringing the eastern border of the United
+States passes beneath the waters of the Atlantic and becomes a
+continental shelf is illustrated by Fig. 2.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_2" id="Fig_2"></a>
+<img src="images/i012.jpg" width="600" height="108" alt="Terrain profile at edge of continent." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 2.</span>&mdash;Ideal profile through a continental shelf.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Southeast of Newfoundland the continental shelf has an irregular
+surface, marked by shoals and depressions, and furnishes the most
+valuable fishing-banks in the world. The 100-fathom curve is there over
+500 miles from the coast. This is the broadest portion of the
+continental shelf now known on the Atlantic border of the continent.
+Northward of Newfoundland the Atlantic basin extends far into Davis
+Strait and Baffin Bay, and then its border swings outward about
+Greenland, but its true margin is there but imperfectly known.
+<!--015.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">3</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To the north of the arctic coast of North America, as is suggested in
+part by the soundings made by Nansen, the submerged margin of the
+continent is probably broad and presents a steep escarpment to the
+arctic basin, but the outline of the true continent, as in the case of
+the present land extension in that direction, is unknown.</p>
+
+<p>Soundings to the north of Cape Lisburne, on the northwest coast of
+Alaska, show that the 100-fathom curve is there over 200 miles from
+land. The exceptionally shallow sea covering this portion of the shelf
+continues westward to the coast of Asia, and southward through Bering
+Strait, so as to embrace the eastern portion of Bering Sea. The
+continental mass of North America is thus directly connected with the
+continental mass of Asia. A rise of the bottom of less than 200 feet in
+Bering Strait would bring about a land connection between the Old and
+the New World. This, as will appear later, is a most significant fact to
+students of geography and geology.</p>
+
+<p>On the Pacific coast of North America the continental shelf is
+throughout much narrower than its average breadth on the Atlantic side
+of the continent, and is also more deeply submerged on its seaward
+border. The broad platform beneath the northern and eastern portions of
+Bering Sea&mdash;from which rise the low islands, St. Lawrence, St. Matthew,
+Nunivak, and the Pribilof group, now separated by water from 25 to 35
+fathoms deep&mdash;extends to the south of the more easterly of the Aleutian
+Islands, and is prolonged eastward along the south border of Alaska,
+where the 100-fathom curve is from 10 to 20 miles from the coast-line,
+and approaches still nearer the land in the neighbourhood of the islands
+of southeastern Alaska and British Columbia. The shelf is narrow but
+well defined along the coasts of Washington and Oregon. Adjacent to
+California, Mexico, and Central America, its outer margin is barely 10
+miles from land. Throughout the entire distance from the Aleutian
+Islands to Panama the outer border of the shelf is in general well
+defined, and its seaward escarpment descends abruptly to the floor of
+the vast Pacific
+<!--016.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">4</a></span>
+basin, where the sounding-line shows depths of
+from 2,000 to 3,000 fathoms.</p>
+
+<p>Could the waters of the sea be removed and North America viewed from a
+distance, in the manner we are enabled to examine the surface features
+of the moon through a powerful telescope, an observer would behold a
+great plateau, having the present well-known triangular shape of the
+continent, rising boldly between the Atlantic and the Pacific basins.
+The surface of the plateau would be rough, in comparison with the
+generally smooth contours of the adjacent troughs, but even the highest
+mountains would be less in elevation above its general surface than the
+crests of its bordering escarpments above the adjacent depressions. The
+mountain-peaks when illuminated by the sun would appear as points of
+light with long, tapering morning and evening shadows, and the east and
+west plateau-borders would be strongly drawn bands of light or shadow,
+according to the time of day, 6,000 or 8,000 miles in length. The
+Bermuda, Hawaiian, and other islands now rising above the surface of the
+deep sea would stand on its desiccated floor as isolated, gigantic
+mountains&mdash;"Bermuda mountain" with an elevation of 15,000 feet, and the
+Hawaiian group of peaks with a culminating point of light 30,000 feet
+above the surrounding plain. The bordering slopes of the "North American
+plateau" and its slightly bevelled margin forming the present
+continental shelf would be lacking in details, and appear as a vast,
+smooth, curving belt of light or shadow, in striking contrast to the
+roughened surface now above water.</p>
+
+<p>The North American continent is not exceptional in being partially
+submerged at the present time. Similar conditions occur about the
+margins of other continents which, as is well known, are fringed with
+broad submarine terraces built in part of their own <i>débris</i>. In fact,
+every large land mass on the earth under existing climatic conditions
+and present distribution of life, if it remained moderately stable for a
+sufficient length of time, would have a submarine shelf built about its
+borders.
+<!--017.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">5</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>Of what is the Continental Shelf Composed?</i>&mdash;The rocks forming the
+present land surface of North America extend seaward from the existing
+shores and constitute the basal portions of the continental shelf, thus
+suggesting that the submerged platform is due, in part at least, to
+shore erosion&mdash;the waves having eaten into the land so as to make a
+terrace. That this is not the true explanation, however, may be shown in
+several ways.</p>
+
+<p>The superficial covering which gives the continental shelf its smooth
+contours is composed largely of sediments such as rivers bring from the
+land. This material is coarsest and in greatest abundance near shore and
+decreases both in the size of the particles composing it and in
+abundance towards the seaward borders of the shelf. The wash from the
+land is mostly deposited within a few miles of the coast-line and, as
+has been shown by dredging, is seldom carried, even under the most
+favourable conditions, more than about 100 miles seaward. Supplementing
+the fragmental material derived from the land, and increasing in
+thickness towards the seaward margin of the continental
+shelf&mdash;coincident with the increase in depth of the water&mdash;is a deposit
+of light-coloured calcareous mud or ooze, formed of the hard parts of
+animals and plants which live in the waters of the sea. The organisms
+which supply this material are in the main microscopic and live
+especially in the warmer seas in countless myriads. Their dead shells or
+cases fall to the sea-floor in a constant shower, much as the snow falls
+from the air, but continuously year after year and century after
+century. This descent of the hard parts of organisms, both calcareous
+and siliceous, from the waters of the sea has led to the accumulation of
+a sheet of slimy sediment over almost the entire sea-bottom. How thick
+this layer is we have no means of knowing, but it is probably many
+hundreds of feet.</p>
+
+<p>The organic <i>débris</i> falling on the continental shelf descends through
+only a few hundred feet of water and is but little affected by its
+solvent action. The great number of organisms, such as the Foraminifera
+which secrete calcareous tests or "shells" causes the slime on the
+continental
+<!--018.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span>
+shelves to be calcareous and in the condition to form
+limestone if cemented or subjected to sufficient pressure. In the deep
+sea, where the hard parts of dead organisms fall through many thousands
+of feet of water, their more soluble portions are removed and the bottom
+is covered throughout vast areas with a pinkish clay composed of the
+more insoluble residue of the calcareous shells and the cases of
+silica-secreting animals and plants.</p>
+
+<p>The continental shelves are, in general, within the influences of ocean
+currents, and fine <i>débris</i>, as we seem justified in concluding, is
+removed from their surfaces, carried beyond their margins, and deposited
+on their seaward slopes. The shelves are thus built outward and are
+largely constructional topographic forms. Their outer slopes, where best
+defined, represent about the "angle of repose" in water of the fine
+material of which they are composed. These slopes are in several regions
+so precipitous that they probably would not retain their present forms,
+but descend in landslides, should the restraining pressure of the
+sea-water be removed.</p>
+
+<p>In certain favoured regions, as about the southern extremity of Florida,
+over an extensive area in the West Indies, and on both sides of Central
+America, the conditions favour the growth of reef-building coral-polyps,
+and portions of the continental shelf in that region are covered with an
+irregular layer of living coral and dead coral rock. The importance of
+this resistant superficial layer on the minor features of the relief of
+the submarine banks, etc., needs to be considered in studying the
+secondary topographic features of many portions of the floor of shallow
+tropical seas.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the <i>débris</i> from the land and the rain of the hard parts
+of organisms from the water covering the continental shelf there is in
+northern regions a third but less important source of material furnished
+by floating ice. About the northern shores of America sea ice forms in
+winter, some of which is frozen fast to boulders and stones in shallow
+water, and when this ice-foot, as it is termed, is adjacent to steep
+cliffs, rock <i>débris</i> falls upon it. When
+<!--019.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span>
+the ice becomes broken
+into cakes in the spring-time or during storms, it floats away, under
+the influence of the winds and currents, and as it melts drops its
+freight on the floor of the sea. This shore ice seldom travels far, and
+is probably not an important factor in the building of continental
+shelves. Of greater interest are the bergs derived from glaciers,
+especially in Greenland, many of which contain hundreds of thousands and
+even millions of cubic feet of ice and travel hundreds of miles before
+melting. In some instances these bergs carry with them rock masses, mud,
+etc., derived from the land over which their parent glaciers flowed, and
+as they melt, distribute this material over the sea-floor. The greater
+portion of this ice-carried freight derived from Greenland is dropped on
+the continental shelf, and not infrequently reaches the latitude of
+Halifax, and even journeys farther south. This berg-carried <i>débris</i> is
+mainly deposited on the continental shelf, for the reason that the cold
+currents which bring the bergs southward follow the coast in a general
+way, and are bordered on their seaward margins by warmer currents
+flowing northward. To the north of Nova Scotia the additions of material
+to the continental shelf through the agency of bergs is considerable in
+the aggregate, and as the process has been in operation for thousands of
+years, the banks or shoals in the sea off the Newfoundland coast are due
+in part to this cause.</p>
+
+<p>Ice-carried <i>débris</i> forms an important source of material for the
+building of the continental shelf from New England northward and
+westward about the shores of North America, including Greenland, to
+Bering Sea, and to a less extent on the south coast of Alaska, where
+many comparatively small bergs are set afloat by glaciers which reach
+tide-water. Supplementing the distribution of <i>débris</i> over the
+continental shelf by shore ice and bergs, is the similar work carried on
+by the ice discharged into the sea by northern rivers, such as the St.
+Lawrence, Mackenzie, and the Yukon.</p>
+
+<p>During the glacial epoch great ice-sheets like those now discharging
+bergs along the Greenland coast, but vastly
+<!--020.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span>
+larger, entered the
+Atlantic all the way from New York to the Arctic Ocean, and along the
+Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to the State of Washington.
+During certain periods of this time of intense glaciation great
+additions of ice-borne <i>débris</i> must have been made to the continental
+shelf. The banks to the east of Newfoundland and other similar shoals as
+far south as Nantucket are probably due in large part to the <i>débris</i>
+deposited by the glaciers which formerly entered the sea in that region.
+It is of interest in this connection to note that the glaciers, even at
+the time of their greatest expansion, could not have extended beyond the
+seaward margin of the continental shelf, for the reason that on passing
+that boundary and entering deep water they must have broken off and
+given origin to bergs.</p>
+
+<p><i>Submerged River Channels.</i>&mdash;One of the most interesting features in
+connection with the continental shelf bordering North America is that
+its generally plane surface is trenched in several places by cañon-like
+depressions similar to the narrow steep-sided valleys which streams
+sometimes cut in the surfaces of plateaus. This suggestion that the
+surface of the continental shelf is crossed by stream-cut channels is
+supported by the fact that several such depressions, leading seaward
+from the present mouths of large rivers, have been discovered by the
+sounding-line. The best known example occurs off the mouth of the Hudson
+and has been traced from New York Bay about 120 miles seaward to the
+edge of the continental shelf. It is deepest and best defined on the
+outer portion of the submerged plateau, where for a distance of 23
+miles, beginning 97 miles from Sandy Hook, it has an average width of 3
+miles and a maximum depth of about 2,500 feet below the surface of the
+bordering submarine plain, which has 20 fathoms of water over it. This
+cañon opens out in the seaward face of the plateau and forms a deep
+notch in the generally uniform crest-line of that escarpment. Farther
+"up-stream," so to speak, the channel narrows to a mile and a quarter,
+with some irregularities in depth, and near Sandy Hook it is not
+apparent, owing to the amount of <i>débris</i>, largely sand, swept
+<!--021.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span>
+into
+it by shore currents. This evidence, strengthened by the fact that the
+true rock-cut valley of the Hudson as far as Troy is filled with clay
+and sand to a considerable but unknown depth, is abundant proof that the
+land was formerly higher than at present by at least 3,000 feet, and
+that the now submerged continental shelf off Long Island was then a
+plain above water, across which the ancient Hudson was extended. The
+river flowed across this plain for a sufficient length of time to
+excavate a cañon over 2,500 feet deep and 3 miles wide from crest to
+crest of its walls in its seaward portion. This submerged channel has
+the characteristics of a young, stream-cut valley and suggests that the
+plain across which it flowed to the eastward of Long Island was a
+submerged continental shelf previous to being upraised so as to be
+trenched by the Hudson.</p>
+
+<p>The evidence as to changes in the elevation of the Atlantic coast
+furnished by the submerged valley of the Hudson does not stand alone.
+Similar but less well-defined channels have been discovered by soundings
+off the mouths of the Delaware and the Susquehanna, while the most
+remarkable instance of all is furnished by the submerged valley of the
+St. Lawrence, which has been traced through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and
+out to the brink of the submerged continental escarpment some 200 miles
+eastward of Nova Scotia. The tide now rises and falls in the St.
+Lawrence to within a few miles of Montreal; that is, the "Greater St.
+Lawrence" has lost about 1,000 miles of its length owing to a downward
+movement of the land.</p>
+
+<p>Evidence of the nature just considered is lacking, or, more correctly,
+surveys and soundings which would perhaps reveal the presence of
+submerged river channels have not been made about the shores of the more
+northerly portion of the continent, but instructive results in this
+connection are to be expected when that region is thoroughly studied.</p>
+
+<p>On the Pacific coast several transverse channels in the continental
+shelf, similar to the submerged valleys of the Hudson, have been
+discovered by soundings, some of
+<!--022.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span>
+which are thought to be true
+stream-cut valleys; others, however, start from the coast where there
+are no rivers entering, and may be due to other and as yet unknown
+causes.</p>
+
+<p>An exceptional feature in the geography of the Pacific coast to the
+south of the United States-Canadian boundary is furnished by the islands
+off the southern portion of California. These islands, of which Santa
+Rosa, Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, and San Clemente are the most
+important, rise from water that is 300 or more fathoms deep to a height
+of from a few hundred to about 2,000 feet above the present sea-level.
+These islands are the summit portions of mountains similar to those
+which give a characteristic relief to southern California. One feature
+concerning the islands referred to which is of interest in connection
+with the study of the continental shelf is the presence on them of
+numerous terraces. These occur on a series of level, step-like areas,
+which sweep about the slopes of the islands, in a general way parallel
+to the present shore-line, and are records of an upward movement of the
+land. The highest well-defined terrace on San Clemente occurs at an
+elevation of 1,320 feet, but there are less distinct beach-lines up to
+1,500 feet above the present sea-level. The evidence of movements of the
+land along the Pacific border of the continent might be multiplied, but
+enough has been stated to show that the western border of North America,
+like its eastern portion, is subject to fluctuation in reference to the
+level of the sea. The line which marks the passage of the solid earth
+beneath the waters of the sea is ever changing, owing to movements in
+the earth's crust. It is ever changing, also, owing to the action of
+waves and currents on the ocean's shores and other causes.</p>
+
+<p><i>Life on the Continental Shelf.</i>&mdash;No attempt need be made here to give
+an accurate description of the plants and animals which find a congenial
+home on the continental shelf. One needs, however, to have in mind a
+general idea of the wonderful abundance and variety of organic forms in
+the shallow waters adjacent to the continent to fully appreciate the
+changes in the relief of the ocean-floor, in which they
+<!--023.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span>
+play a
+leading part, and also the vast economic importance of these marine
+harvest-fields and pastures, as they may be termed.</p>
+
+<p>The continental shelf fringing North America reaches from within 500
+miles of the equator to probably a less distance of the north pole. Its
+length following its broader curves is in the neighbourhood of 25,000
+miles, and its average width is not far from 50 miles; its area is
+therefore something like 1,000,000 square miles. On account of the vast
+extent of this submarine plain and its great range in latitude, the
+conditions influencing the lives of the plants and animals inhabiting
+its surface or living in the waters covering it vary from place to place
+between wide extremes. The waters resting on it have a mean annual
+surface temperature of from 70° to 80° F. at the south, and about 32° F.
+at the north. In places great rivers and the turbid waters from glaciers
+bring in sediments and form muddy deposits; at other localities the
+currents, as in the path of the Gulf Stream off the Carolina coast,
+sweep the bottom clear of all light <i>débris</i>; and again bare rocks of
+limited extent are exposed. The depth of the water resting on the shelf
+varies through all gradations down to 100 fathoms. At the south the
+hours of light and darkness are approximately equal each day, but at the
+north there are six months of sunlight and six months of darkness each
+year. Still other variations, as of strength of currents, salinity,
+etc., exert an influence in this realm and lead to great diversity in
+its living organisms. Throughout its entire extent, however, the
+continental shelf abounds in both plant and animal life.</p>
+
+<p>The plant life of the sea, as has been shown in recent years by the use
+of the dredge and net, is most abundant at the surface and is
+practically absent at the bottom where the water is over 100 fathoms
+deep. The animals of the sea, like those of the land, are dependent
+primarily on plants for their food. By far the most abundant supply of
+food plants in the sea is furnished by minute algæ, which float free in
+its water. Below a depth of about 100 fathoms algæ are absent because of
+lack of light, and all the deep-sea animals are believed to be
+carnivorous. For these reasons the comparatively
+<!--024.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span>
+shallow waters
+adjacent to the land and mainly covering the continental shelf are the
+most favourably circumstanced of any portion of the sea for the support
+of a teeming fauna.</p>
+
+<p>On the continental shelf of North America, especially to the south of
+Cape Cod on the Atlantic and south of the Aleutian Islands on the
+Pacific coast, there is a warm temperature, light penetrates to the
+bottom except in the unfavourable and fortunately restricted areas of
+muddy water, and motion of the waters produced by currents and the
+pulsations of waves is present. These several favourable conditions
+permit of an exuberance of life such as is unknown to persons who
+confine their attention to the study of land areas.</p>
+
+<p>We may safely say, in the words of Alexander Agassiz, that the abundance
+of life in the many favoured localities of the ocean far surpasses that
+of the richest terrestrial faunal districts. The most thickly populated
+tropical jungle does not compare in wealth of animal or vegetable life
+with certain portions of the continental shelf on the western border of
+the Gulf Stream. In this connection we may also cite Humboldt, who
+before the marvellous revelations in reference to the life of the sea
+made by recent dredging expeditions wrote: "Upon surfaces less varied
+than we find on continents, the sea contains in its bosom an exuberance
+of life of which no other portion of the globe could give us an idea."</p>
+
+<p>The distribution of life in the sea is analogous to the distribution of
+life on land, but in a reverse direction with reference to sea-level. A
+traveller passing from the tropical plains of eastern Mexico and
+ascending Orizaba, for example, crosses successive belts of vegetation,
+each with its indigenous animals, but merging one with another so as to
+make a gradation in the luxuriance of the flora and the abundance of
+animal life from the wonderfully rich plains adjacent to the Gulf coast
+to the snow-capped mountain top. In the sea, the tropical plains with
+their tangled vegetation and plentiful animal life are represented by
+the still more uniform plain forming the submerged continental
+<!--025.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span>
+shelf with its strange forests of flowerless plants, the seaweeds. These
+submarine jungles shelter hosts of animal species, many of which swarm
+in countless myriads. This life embraces all grades of invertebrates,
+such as the microscopic protozoa, sponges, radiate animals like the
+coral-polyps, starfishes, sea-urchins, etc., and crustaceans in vast
+variety, and, among vertebrates, includes fishes, reptiles, and mammals.
+Even birds might be included in this category, since many of them are
+more at home on the sea than on the land.</p>
+
+<p>The struggle for food among this multitude is intense. As with many
+animals on the land, adaptive coloration is here a means of escape from
+enemies, and many of the animals assume the brilliant hues of the
+surrounding vegetation. The water is less transparent than air, and in
+the deep sea it is always night. Counteracting to some extent this
+diminution or absence of sunlight, many marine animals are luminous and
+shine with phosphorescent light of many different tints. This property
+is shared also by the animals of the sunny, shallow sea as well as by
+those always living in the cold midnight of the great deep and in the
+polar oceans.</p>
+
+<p>The luxuriant vegetation, both attached and floating, and varying from
+giant kelp, scores of feet in length, to microscopic algæ which an
+am&#339;ba might encompass, clothes the surface of the continental shelf
+except in unfavourable localities or is carried here and there by the
+currents moving over it, but has its lower limit at about the 100-fathom
+line. This inferior limit of marine vegetation is probably more
+definitely defined than the superior limit of land plants on snow-capped
+mountains. All attached seaweeds are confined to the shallow seas, but
+floating kelp, like the well-known Gulf weed or sargasso, which collects
+in the eddies of the sea currents and forms more or less mythical
+floating islands, is widely distributed, as are also many kinds of
+minute algæ which thrive in the upper 100 fathoms of the open ocean in
+all latitudes. The primary source of food for the hungry millions of
+marine animals, excepting the comparatively small quantity brought
+<!--026.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span>
+by rivers or blown from the land, is supplied by the marine algæ, and
+mainly by the minute forms which float in the water.</p>
+
+<p>So much space has just been given to the marvellous luxuriance of life
+on the southern portion of the great shelf surrounding North America
+that the reader may perhaps think the cold northern oceans are even more
+lifeless and desolate than their adjacent shores. This, however, is not
+the case.</p>
+
+<p>Northward along the continental shelf, with decrease in the strength of
+the sunlight, the plants and animals lose much of the brilliancy which
+characterizes many of the denizens of southern waters, and in general
+assume more subdued colours in harmony with the prevailing gray of their
+surroundings. The great diversity of animal life to be found in shallow
+tropical seas decreases as one traces the continental shelf northward,
+but even in the Arctic Ocean adjacent to the land invertebrate life
+literally swarms, although the number of species, genera, etc., is
+comparatively limited. Seaweeds are not absent from the Arctic Ocean,
+although its shores, owing to the destructive action of ice, usually
+seem exceedingly barren, and the lower or smaller forms of algæ float in
+the waters in abundance. Food sufficient for an extensive fauna is thus
+supplied, and where food is plentiful animals are present also, no
+matter what the mean annual temperature may be.</p>
+
+<p>The life of the Arctic Ocean has been but inadequately studied, but
+enough is known concerning it to show that a promising field there
+awaits the naturalist. On the continental shelf off Point Barrow, the
+most northern portion of the arctic shore of Alaska (latitude 71° 23'),
+180 species of marine invertebrates have been collected. Of these, the
+molluscs numbered 61 species; the crustaceans, 44 species; the worms, 20
+species; and the echinoderms (sea-urchins, starfish, etc.), 17 species.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly all of the Arctic Ocean adjacent to the coast of America is as
+yet unexplored, and we have therefore no direct testimony as to its
+flora and fauna. We may reasonably assume, however, that the life is
+there practically the
+<!--027.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span>
+same as in the waters of similar depth to
+the north of Eurasia. Nordenskiöld, in his narrative of the voyage of
+the Vega, speaks of decapods, worms, mussels, crustacea, and asteroids
+which crawled in myriads over the beds of clay and sand at the bottom of
+the Kara Sea. A detailed account is given of one unusually successful
+haul of the trawl when it brought up large asteroids, sponges, crinoids,
+holothuria, a gigantic spider, masses of worms, crustacea, etc. This was
+the most abundant yield of the trawl-net at any one time during the
+voyage of the Vega on the north coast of Asia, and that, too, from the
+sea off the northern extremity of the continent. The temperature of the
+water at the surface was from zero to -1.4° C. (32° to 29.48° F.), and
+at the bottom from -1.4° to 1.6° C. (29.48° to 34.88° F.). In this
+connection the same distinguished naturalist remarks: "It is singular
+that a temperature under the freezing-point of pure water should be
+advantageous for the development of an animal life so extremely rich as
+that which is found here, and that this animal life should not suffer
+any harm from the complete darkness which during the greater portion of
+the year prevails at the bottom of the ice-covered sea."</p>
+
+<p>To persons who have never visited the far north the statements that
+travellers in those regions give in reference to the abundance of life
+in the sea seems scarcely to be credited. The assertion, however, that
+comparing equal areas in the most populous tropical sea and in portions
+of the Arctic Ocean, the amount of life, or the tons of living animal
+matter per square mile in the two regions, would be in favour of the
+northern station is probably true. In addition to the direct evidence
+indicated above as to the prolific invertebrate life of the cold waters
+of the north, we have still more impressive testimony from the vast
+numbers of birds and large-sized mammals which subsist on this
+abundance, or feed on fishes, which in turn obtain their subsistence
+from the invertebrate realm.</p>
+
+<p>Every rocky island and headland at the north is a breeding-place for
+sea-birds. They are to be numbered by millions, yet their daily food is
+gathered from the surface of the
+<!--028.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span>
+sea. The seals live in large
+numbers about all the arctic shore, and the walruses, each individual
+weighing about a ton, occur in herds; while whales and narwhals inhabit
+the same waters. The presence of such numbers of large mammals is proof
+that the life on which they subsist is abundant.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE SUBMARINE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION</div>
+
+<p>The studies which have given to the world so much information concerning
+the continental shelf surrounding the main body of North America have
+been continued, or, perhaps more properly, were initiated, in the West
+Indian waters. For this important work we are indebted mainly to the
+United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and the United States Fish
+Commission. The work of officers of the United States Navy in charge of
+Coast Survey and Fish Commission vessels, in making accurate
+measurements of depths, temperatures, strength and direction of
+currents, character of bottom, etc., has, in some instances, been
+commemorated on maps of the sea-floor by such names as Brownson Deep,
+Sigsbee Deep, Bartlett Deep, etc. The routine survey work referred to
+has been supplemented and extended by the labours of Louis Agassiz, L.
+F. Pourtales, Alexander Agassiz, and others in studying the life in the
+sea, the origin and history of the material forming the sea-bottom, and
+the nature of the shelves, banks, deeps, etc., which give diversity to
+its topography.</p>
+
+<p>The continental shelf bordering Florida on the east is separated from a
+similar submarine embankment surrounding the Bahama Islands by a channel
+56 miles wide and from 200 to 500 fathoms deep (Fig. 3).
+This channel when followed northward becomes shallower and broader, and
+opposite the Carolina coast is no longer discernible in the relief of
+the broad continental shelf. The Gulf Stream flows northward through
+this Florida channel, as it is termed, with a current of from 2 to 6
+miles per hour. These conditions are such as to suggest that the channel
+referred to has in part been excavated by the Gulf Stream.
+<!--029.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span></p>
+
+<!--030.png-->
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;">
+   <a href="images/i027h.jpg" target="_blank" name="Fig_3" id="Fig_3"><img src="images/i027t.jpg" width="200" height="125"
+       alt="Fig. 3." title="" /></a>
+   <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 3.</span>&mdash;Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean region:
+   topography of sea-floor. The first contour line from the land indicates
+   a depth of 600 feet&mdash;the outer margin of the continental shelf. Contour interval
+   below the 600-foot curve, 3,000 feet. After R. T. Hill.<br />
+      <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Great Bahama Bank, from which rise the low coral-built Andros
+Islands and a large number of crags and rocks, measures about 360
+geographical miles from southeast to northwest, and has a width of
+approximately 200 geographical miles. Throughout its entire submerged
+portion the water is less than 100, and over much of the area less than
+10 fathoms deep. It is invaded and given an irregular shape, however, by
+a "tongue of the ocean" which curves in from the northward, in which
+soundings of from 700 to 1,000 fathoms have been obtained. To the north
+of the Great Bahama Bank, and separated from it by water nearly 2,000
+fathoms deep, is the Little Bahama Bank, measuring 50 by 150
+geographical miles, from which rises the low islands known as Great
+Bahama, Great Abaco, and a multitude of islets and crags, while beneath
+the water, as is the case also on the greater submarine plateau to the
+south, there are numerous shoals. Southeast from the Great Bahama Bank,
+and in a general view to be classed with it, are several other shallow
+areas in the sea, of similar character, and with numerous islands and
+reefs rising from them. The southeastern terminus of this series of
+plateaus, the surfaces of which have been built up practically to the
+level of the surface of the sea, is the Navidad Bank, situated about 50
+miles to the north of the eastern end of the island of Santo Domingo
+(Haiti) and forms the west border of Brownson Deep. The length of the
+series of banks to the north of the Greater Antilles is about 800, and
+its average width 120 geographical miles.</p>
+
+<p>The unevenness of the surface of the Bahama Banks (and the same is true
+also of the southern portion of Florida, the Yucatan peninsula, and of
+nearly all of the submarine plateaus or banks in West India waters) is
+largely due to the coral reefs and the coral rock formed on them. While
+the outer portion of the continental shelf, in most instances, is formed
+of soft, unconsolidated calcareous mud or ooze, in the tropical seas,
+where the depth, clearness of the water, etc., are favourable,
+reef-building coral-polyps become attached and form massive corals. The
+growth of these corals is irregular, and the surface of the plateaus
+where
+<!--031.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span>
+they are attached becomes roughened. There is a delicate
+adjustment between the growth of reef-building corals and strength of
+current, freedom of exposure to the waves, etc., and they flourish in
+certain localities, as on the windward border of islands, and die at
+other localities. The growth of coral "heads" and reefs changes the
+direction of currents, and the spaces of soft ooze and dead coral
+between the localities most favourable for coral growth are liable to be
+scoured out and the bottom lowered. When coral, together with the shells
+of molluscs and other organic refuse of the teeming life of tropical
+seas, reaches the surface of the water, fragments and even large masses
+are broken off by the force of the waves, ground into calcareous sand
+owing to the movements produced by the waves and currents, and much of
+it heaped on the borders of the reefs so as to raise them above the
+fair-weather level of the sea. Much of this material, when it becomes
+dry, is moved by the winds and built into dunes, thus still further
+increasing the height of the land. Many of the islands in the Bahamas
+have thus been formed, but the process has been modified in the greater
+part of that region by movements in the earth's crust which have
+produced widely extended elevations and depressions. The larger islands
+in the Bahama group are coral platforms which have been moderately
+elevated, and bear on their surfaces extensive accumulations of
+wind-deposited sand. The Yucatan peninsula is also, to a great extent,
+an upraised coral platform. The surfaces of such exposed areas of easily
+soluble calcareous rocks are roughened still more by the action of rain
+and percolating waters, and if subsequently submerged to a moderate
+depth would give origin to "banks" with uneven, and possibly
+conspicuously roughened surfaces. Different stages in this varied
+history are illustrated throughout the West India region.</p>
+
+<p>About the Caribbean coast of Honduras and Nicaragua the continental
+shelf is broad and is termed the Mosquito Bank, in reference to its
+proximity to the widely known coast of that name. Off the northeast cape
+of Honduras this submerged shelf has a breadth of about 125 geographical
+<!--032.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span>
+miles, and is succeeded to the eastward by the much smaller,
+isolated, submarine plateau known as the Rosalind Bank. Even on a small
+map, like that forming Fig. 3, it is readily seen that in
+general terms there is a series of banks and low islands extending from
+the Mosquito Coast to Jamaica, Santo Domingo, Porto Rico, and the
+Caribbees. The distance measured along the curved line connecting the
+several areas of shallow water is about 1,700 geographical miles. Should
+this region be upraised 600 feet, the new lands that would appear would
+still, in several instances, be separated by deep water, thus showing
+that although in a generalized view it is convenient to consider the
+banks and shelves referred to as parts of a single great group, there
+are several centres from which they have grown.</p>
+
+<p>A third great group of banks and shoals occurs about the borders of
+Cuba, especially along its southern margin. Associated with this
+submerged plain of calcareous mud, roughened by countless coral crags,
+is a narrow east-and-west ridge in the Caribbean Sea, known in part as
+the Misteriosa Bank, which rises precipitously on its southeast border
+from a depth of over 3,400 fathoms, and is indicated at the surface by
+the Cayman Islands.</p>
+
+<p>The Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region has great depressions or "deeps"
+as well as broad banks or shoals. The submarine topography is, in fact,
+on a more Titanic scale than in any other known region. Brownson Deep,
+some 50 miles north of Porto Rico, has a depth of 4,561 fathoms (27,366
+feet), and the bordering slopes of the depression in certain places, and
+for long distances, have an inclination of 35 degrees. Between 15 and 30
+miles south of Porto Rico the bottom of the Caribbean Sea is 1,500
+fathoms below its surface, and rapidly descends to over 2,400 fathoms.
+Bartlett Deep, a long, narrow depression in the sea-floor, intervening
+in its eastern portion between Cuba and Jamaica, has a depth of 3,428
+fathoms (20,568 feet) measured from the surface of the sea. Sigsbee
+Deep, in the central portion of the Gulf of Mexico, is a third basin of
+similar nature, remarkable for the great extent
+<!--033.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span>
+of its nearly
+level floor, which is from 2,035 to 2,071 fathoms below sea-level. (On
+Fig. 3 only the general depths of these great depressions
+are indicated.) Coupled with the profound depth of the sea in the West
+Indian region are the rugged mountains of the Great Antilles and the
+volcanic cones of the Caribbees. Some of the elevations of the land
+referred to are, in feet, as follows: Porto Rico, 3,609; Jamaica, 7,360;
+Cuba, 8,600; and Santo Domingo, 10,300. The extreme range in the relief
+of the surface of the solid earth (lithosphere) between the bottom of
+Brownson Deep and the summit of Santo Domingo is 37,666 feet&mdash;the
+horizontal distance between the two is about 270 geographical miles. No
+mountain on the earth has such an elevation above sea-level. The islands
+of the West Indies are thus shown to be the summits of stupendous
+mountains, the greater portions of which are submerged. The low-lying
+islands, and even the banks which can be discovered only with the aid of
+the sounding-line, are in reality the tops of wonderfully steep
+mountains or plateaus some 20,000 feet in height.</p>
+
+<p>It is a significant fact that the profiles of the partially or wholly
+submerged mountains of the West Indies are, as a rule, steeper than the
+slopes of the mountains on the land with which they may reasonably be
+compared. This is due in part, perhaps, to the greater density of the
+medium in which they stand, the sea-water affording a greater degree of
+support than the air, but the main reason is that beneath a few hundred
+feet of water there is no erosion except the exceedingly slow removal of
+matter in solution. Could the waters of the sea be withdrawn so as to
+reveal the Caribbean Mountains in all of their stupendous grandeur, the
+vast, smooth, sweeping surfaces extending from the horizontal lines
+drawn about the higher summits by the waves and by the deposition of
+sediment and coral growths, down to their bases would be unmarked by
+channels and ridges of the character that give details to the type of
+mountains with which we are most familiar.</p>
+
+<p>An instructive generalization concerning the relief of the West India
+region, suggested by Alexander Agassiz
+<!--034.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span>
+and sustained by the later
+studies of R. T. Hill, is that we there find topographic forms produced
+by movements in the earth's crust which have not been modified by
+erosion. The great elevations rising from the floors of the "deeps" are
+upraised blocks of the earth's crust which have not been beaten by rain,
+shattered by frost, or trenched by rills, creeks, or rivers. They
+illustrate the character of the rough blocks of rock from which many of
+the mountain forms of the land have been sculptured.</p>
+
+<p>This sweeping view, which it seems safe to accept as a generalized
+outline of the history of the topography of the region in question,
+needs to be qualified, as there are known to have been extensive up and
+down movements throughout large areas in that portion of the earth's
+surface. The mountains on Jamaica are scored by horizontal lines marking
+former sea-levels up to a height of 2,000 feet, and similar and still
+higher records are plainly visible on several of the larger West India
+islands. This evidence shows that the present land over a wide extent of
+the Caribbean region was formerly deeply submerged. More than this, the
+rocks forming the higher portions of the Greater Antilles are largely
+composed of more or less consolidated ooze, such as is now found on the
+sea-floor in deep water. This line of evidence shows that what in late
+geological time was the sea-floor has been raised between 20,000 and
+30,000 feet. It is thus known that both upward and downward movements of
+great vertical and great horizontal extent have occurred in the
+Caribbean region. Whatever minor changes the topography of the now
+submerged sea-floor may have suffered owing to emergence, the general
+relief, as suggested above, seems to have resulted from movements in the
+earth's crust, and that these movements, in certain instances at least,
+produced faults&mdash;that is, breaks or fissures&mdash;along which the rocks were
+upraised on one side or depressed on the other, so as to form great
+cliffs. The precipitous submarine slope forming the northwest border of
+Bartlett Deep may reasonably be interpreted as a great fault scarp. A
+portion of this escarpment rises above the sea and forms the remarkably
+straight and exceedingly
+<!--035.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span>
+rugged south coast of Cuba in the region
+of Santiago. In the main the remarkable submarine topography of the West
+India region presents us with an example of what would have been the
+leading features of several portions of the earth's surface which are
+now land, as, for example, the Great Basin region of Utah, Nevada, etc.,
+had deformation gone on without erosion.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">MOVEMENTS OF THE OCEAN WATERS</div>
+
+<p>To the student of the geography of a continent the climatic and other
+influences of the great ocean currents, as well as the more tangible
+results produced by the waves which break on the borders of the land,
+demand extended and painstaking investigation. The most that we can hope
+to do at present in this connection is to state briefly some of the more
+important influences that the movements of the ocean waters have on the
+climate of North America and on the topography of its shores.</p>
+
+<p><i>Currents.</i>&mdash;The surface waters of both the north Atlantic and the north
+Pacific, as is the case with all broad water bodies, have a drift and in
+places flow in well-defined currents, mainly on account of the friction
+of the wind on the surface of the sea, aided by variations in the
+density of the water due to differences in temperature and salinity. In
+each ocean there is a great swirl or eddy, for the reason that the
+surface drift and the flow of the deeper currents carry the waters about
+in a rudely circular path, parallel in a general way with the boundaries
+of the respective basins. The direction of this motion, to one situated
+in the central part of either basin, is from left to right, or with the
+movements of the hands of a watch. In the southern portion of each basin
+there is a westward-flowing equatorial current, which in each instance
+is deflected northward on approaching the bordering land, and as it
+continues is still more deflected owing to the influence of the earth's
+rotation, and acquires a northeast trend; on reaching the eastern side
+of the oceanic basins, the currents are again deflected, a portion of
+the one in the Atlantic and all of the one in
+<!--036.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span>
+the Pacific being
+turned southward so as to complete the circuit.</p>
+
+<p>In the southern portion of the north Atlantic the surface drift is
+westward at a rate of four or five miles a day. The waters, forced along
+principally by the trade-winds, flow through the numerous passes between
+the Lesser Antilles and enter the Caribbean Sea, and from thence are
+carried through the Yucatan channel into the Gulf of Mexico. The waters
+are piled up, as it were, in that great landlocked basin, at the same
+time becoming warmer, and receive additions of fresh water from rain and
+inflowing streams. Each of these causes tends to decrease the density of
+the water, while evaporation has a counterbalancing influence. The
+escape for the waters, both salt and fresh, which enter the Gulf, is by
+evaporation and by flowing through the only notch in the rim of the Gulf
+basin which is not in the path of the equatorial current, namely, the
+strait separating Florida from Cuba and the Bahama Islands. These
+outflowing waters form the justly celebrated Gulf Stream.</p>
+
+<p>Between Florida and the shoal waters on the Bahama Banks the Gulf Stream
+is about 50 miles wide, approximately 350 fathoms deep, and flows
+northward at the rate of from four to five miles an hour. Its
+temperature is about 80° F. It is estimated that this great river in the
+ocean carries 90,000,000,000 tons of water per hour past a given
+cross-section. Its course is northward along the immediate border of the
+continental shelf until it arrives opposite the Carolina coast, and
+thence northeastward, thus giving it a constantly increasing distance
+from the land. To the north of the Bahamas it receives as a tributary
+the portion of the equatorial current, perhaps even greater in volume
+than the true Gulf Stream, which is deflected northward by the West
+India Islands and their associated banks. Continuing its course, it is
+deflected still more towards the northeast owing to the influence of the
+earth's rotation, at the same time expanding and losing velocity so as
+to become a surface drift rather than a well-defined current. Under the
+influence of the prevailing westerly winds of the north Atlantic, the
+waters delivered by the Gulf
+<!--037.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span>
+Stream pass the vicinity of the
+British Islands and in part enter the Greenland Sea.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 619px;"><a name="plate_1" id="plate_1"></a>
+<img src="images/plate1.jpg" width="619" height="700" alt="PLATE I" title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate I.</span>&mdash;Orographical features.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The transfer of the vast amount of warm water carried by the Gulf Stream
+far to the north is counterbalanced in part by a southward-flowing cold
+current which emerges from Davis Strait, and being joined by another
+cold current from the eastward of Greenland, continues southward under
+the name of the Labrador current, past Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to
+the Massachusetts coast, and is thought to exert an influence on the
+temperature of the sea even as far south as Cape Hatteras. While the
+Gulf Stream in the northern portion of its course curves eastward and
+departs from the American coast, the southward-flowing Labrador current
+is turned westward and follows close along the border of the land, and
+mainly over the continental shelf.</p>
+
+<p>The chief effect of the cold current from the north in proximity to the
+coast of the continent is to bring to the adjacent land a lower mean
+annual temperature and especially colder and more stormy winters than it
+would otherwise experience. This tendency is augmented by the icebergs
+carried southward with the Labrador current. In a similar way, the
+northward-flowing warm current gives Florida and the Carolinas a
+subtropical climate, admits of the growth of reef-building corals about
+the Bermuda Islands, and carries so much warmth to northwestern Europe
+that its climate is milder and more humid than one would expect from its
+geographical position.</p>
+
+<p>The currents of the north Pacific are analogous to those of the north
+Atlantic, but simpler, as there is nothing similar to the true Gulf
+Stream, and as communication with the Arctic Ocean is practically
+closed, there is no cold current flowing southward from that ocean; but
+the conditions, so far as they influence the climate of North America,
+are reversed. A warm current flowing northward off the coast of Japan,
+and hence known as the Japan current, crosses the Pacific, and on
+approaching the coast of Alaska and British Columbia is deflected
+southward. The climate of the northwest coast is thus ameliorated, the
+prevailing westerly winds are warm and humid, and the mean annual
+<!--038.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span>
+precipitation from western Alaska to Oregon is in the neighbourhood of
+100 inches. Under the influence of a mild equitable temperature and
+abundant moisture, the land bordering the Pacific from southern Alaska
+to northern California is clothed with the most magnificent forests that
+the continent affords. The marked contrasts in climate, vegetation, and
+the conditions that influence civilization between the two sides of the
+North American continent, produced by the cold Labrador current on the
+east and the warm Japan current on the west, is shown in a marked way by
+the sweep of the lines of equal mean annual temperature (isotherms)
+represented on the map forming Plate II, and again by the
+distribution of forests, as will be described later. It is instructive
+to note that the climate of Sitka, in north latitude 57°, is far more
+temperate and equable than that of New York city, latitude 40° 45',
+although the cool summers on the northwest coast make the mean annual
+temperature somewhat lower than on the coast of New York, or even of New
+England.</p>
+
+<p>The influence of the opposite conditions in reference to ocean currents
+experienced by the eastern and western borders of the continent are even
+more marked in the life of the adjacent waters than in the vegetation
+and fauna of the land itself. The plant and invertebrate life of the
+shoal waters of the Pacific coast, consisting largely of southern
+species, is exceedingly rich and varied, even to the inlets of the
+Alaska coast, where glaciers come down to the sea; while on the Atlantic
+border, northern species occur on the New England coast, and even
+farther south. The contrasts in temperature between the waters of the
+Atlantic and Pacific which cover the submerged border of the continent
+are well shown by the distribution of the cod, the most valuable of all
+fishes to man, which, as is well known, belongs to the northern fauna
+and ranges from the north Atlantic about the arctic coast of both the
+Old and the New Hemispheres, to the north Pacific. On the east coast of
+America this circumpolar fish, of which several species are known, is
+found occasionally as far south as Cape Hatteras, but the most southern
+"bank" on which it is extensively taken is
+<!--039.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span>
+off Cape Cod, in
+latitude 42°; on the west coast it travels perhaps as far south as the
+mouth of the Columbia, but the most southern locality where it occurs in
+commercial quantities is off the Shumagin Islands, in latitude 55°. The
+life of the continental shelf, as well as of the adjacent land, thus
+bears testimony to the vast importance to North America of the great
+ocean currents washing its shores.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tides.</i>&mdash;The waters of the ocean are subject to wave-like undulations,
+caused by the attraction of the moon and sun, termed the tides. Every
+day, at the average interval of twelve hours and fifty-one minutes, the
+"tide rises," and with equal regularity intermediate between these
+periods it "falls." This rise and fall of the waters along the coast,
+accompanied frequently by strong currents, are produced directly by the
+arrival in the shoal water of a pulsation of the ocean, which becomes a
+true onward-moving gravity wave as it nears the land. In the open sea
+the amplitude of the tidal undulations is but two or three feet, and
+their rate of travel in general 700 to 800 miles per hour. On reaching
+shoal water, however, the onward movement is decreased by friction on
+the bottom, the waves become higher, and when they meet an
+outward-flowing bottom current, their bases are still more retarded and
+the slope of their fronts increases until the water falls forward and
+breaks into foam. On the Atlantic coast, each tidal wave reaches the
+land broadside on, as it were (Fig. 4), and at the outer
+capes high water occurs at practically the same time from Florida to New
+England, but its farther landward progression is greatly modified by the
+shape of the coast and the depth of water in the estuaries and other
+indentations. When the wave as it rushes landward enters a broad water
+body through a narrow entrance, as the Gulf of Mexico, for example, it
+spreads, and as the impulse is transmitted to larger and larger volumes
+of water, it decreases in height. (In a critical study the tides
+originating in the Gulf itself should be considered.) At Galveston,
+Texas, the mean range between high and low tide is less than one foot.
+When, however, an estuary with a broad mouth receives a tidal wave from
+the ocean, the impulse is more and more concentrated
+<!--040.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span>
+and the wave
+rises higher. At the head of the Bay of Fundy the difference between
+high and low water is from 50 to 60 feet. For the reason just stated,
+the tidal wave is generally higher in the Atlantic coast estuaries than
+on the ocean capes, and under favourable conditions may be transmitted
+for long distances up the rivers emptying into such estuaries, and may
+be felt where the mean elevation of the stream is several feet above the
+mean level of the sea on the neighbouring open coast. Tidal waves pass
+up the Hudson
+<!--041.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span>
+to Troy, a distance of 150 miles from the Narrows,
+where the mean range is 2.3 feet. In St. John River, New Brunswick, the
+tidal impulse is felt at Frederickton, 70 miles from the Bay of Fundy,
+and at an elevation of 14 feet above its surface. In the St. Lawrence
+estuary and river the tidal waves ascend 283 miles to Three Rivers, a
+few miles below Montreal, where the mean elevation is about 11 feet and
+the mean range of the tide 0.9 foot. In the Columbia the range of the
+tide is about 6 inches at a distance of 140 miles from the ocean.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 630px;"><a name="Fig_4" id="Fig_4"></a>
+<img src="images/i038.jpg" width="630" height="700" alt="Co-tidal lines." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 4.</span>&mdash;Co-tidal lines. A diagrammatic representation of
+the advance of tidal waves in the Atlantic and Pacific. Figures refer to
+noon and midnight. After R. S. Tarr.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the north Pacific (Fig. 4) the tidal waves come from the south and
+expand much the same as the corresponding waves do in the north
+Atlantic, but instead of striking the coast broadside on, sweep along
+the shore from south to north.</p>
+
+<p>There are two localities on the coast of North America, one at the head
+of the Bay of Fundy and the other at the head of Cook's Inlet, Alaska,
+where the tides present especially interesting features. In each of
+these inlets the incoming tidal wave meets an outward-flowing current
+which tends to hold it back. The incoming waters are thus piled up until
+sufficient head is established to cause them to advance as a
+steep-fronted wave termed a <i>bore</i>, which curls over and breaks in a
+long line of foam as it rushes along. At the head of the Bay of Fundy
+the bore travels at the rate of 6 or 7 miles an hour, and has a height
+of from 4 to 6 feet. The great disturbance produced by the strong
+current and breaking waves causes the mud of the bottom to be disturbed
+and the waters to be charged with sediment. Much of this mud is
+deposited during the interval of quiet water at high tide, and as the
+outflow is not so impetuous as the inflow, broad mud-flats are formed.
+At certain localities about the Bay of Fundy artificial dikes have been
+made, which admit the mud-charged waters at high tide, and retain them
+until much of their freight is deposited. In this manner, large areas of
+rich lands have been secured.</p>
+
+<p>The geographical influences of the tides and of the currents produced by
+them are of interest in many ways. To navigators they are of special
+importance. Even in this
+<!--042.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span>
+age of steam, the arrival and departure
+of vessels from harbours is regulated so as to take advantage of the
+incoming or outgoing tidal currents. Many harbours can be entered by
+deep-draft vessels only at high water, for the reason in general that
+sand-bars are frequently formed at the mouths of tidal estuaries. One of
+the most marked illustrations of the influence of the rise and fall of
+the tide on navigation occurs at St. John, New Brunswick, where the tide
+flows in and out of St. John River so as to form a cascade each way,
+dependent on the direction of the current. At low water the level of the
+river is from 11 to 15 feet above the Bay of Fundy, and at high water
+the level of the bay is from 8 to 12 feet above that of the river when
+not affected by the tide. There are four periods of from ten to fifteen
+minutes each during each twenty-four hours when vessels can pass in and
+out of the river's mouth.</p>
+
+<p>In the Arctic Ocean the tides are small. At Point Barrow, the most
+northern locality on the coast of Alaska, the difference between high
+and low water is but 6 or 7 inches. The tide comes from the southward
+and westward, and there is a prevailing current setting to the eastward.
+At Herschel Island, near where the east boundary of Alaska reaches the
+Arctic Ocean, the mean range of the tide is but 1.8 foot. At Cape
+Sheridan, the northeast point of Grinnell Land, north latitude 82° 25',
+there is a range of 2.6 feet during two periods each month when the
+tides are highest, and but 1.2 foot at the lowest or neap tide periods.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the weakness of the tides and tidal currents along the
+arctic coast, there is an absence or great diminution of the influence
+of wave and currents, owing to the prevalence of ice on the sea. Shore
+erosion is there at a minimum in spite of the abrasion produced by the
+ice-packs when forced landward by the wind.</p>
+
+<p><i>Islands.</i>&mdash;In the classification of islands used by A. R. Wallace in
+his Island Life two primary divisions are recognised, namely,
+continental and oceanic islands.</p>
+
+<p>Continental islands are land masses which have been separated from
+continents and are rarely far removed from
+<!--043.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span>
+their borders, and,
+besides, are composed of rocks similar to those of the neighbouring
+mainland and inhabited by terrestrial animals which are related to the
+fauna of the larger land area. Ancient and modern continental islands
+have also been recognised, their age being indicated by the degree of
+similarity between their faunas and the fauna of the continent with
+which they were formerly connected. Those of ancient origin are commonly
+surrounded by deep water, while those which are more modern usually rise
+from continental shelves, the channels intervening between them and the
+mainland being less than 100 fathoms deep. Oceanic islands rise from
+deep water, are either volcanic or so far as their emerged portions are
+concerned composed of coral rock, and are without warm-blooded
+terrestrial animals.</p>
+
+<p>About the borders of North America there are islands belonging to each
+of these classes. The numerous examples rising from the continental
+shelf all about the margin of the land, but in the Atlantic most
+numerous from New York northward, and in the Pacific from the Strait of
+Fuca northward, are plainly recent continental islands. The larger of
+the West Indies and the group of small islands off the California coast
+are also continental islands, but show by the character of their faunas
+and the depth of the water about them that they have been long separated
+from the main mass of the continent. Typical examples of oceanic islands
+are furnished by Bermuda, in the Atlantic, and Guadalupe, in the
+Pacific. In this same class, but less remote from the mainland, and in
+their faunas and floras showing a nearer relationship to South than to
+North America, belong the Caribbees.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COAST</div>
+
+<p>The generalized coast-line of North America measures about 35,000 miles
+in extent, and presents a great variety of scenery. The range in
+diversity embraces all classes of coast topography from the low, sandy
+mangrove-fringed borders of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, to the
+magnificent sea-cliffs of Labrador and British Columbia and the
+<!--044.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span>
+marvellous ice-walls of Greenland and Alaska where tide-water glaciers
+enter the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>Like nearly all the features of the earth's surface, this narrow
+intricate belt where the sea and land meet is constantly undergoing
+changes. The principal processes which lead to alterations in the
+coast-line may be considered as forming three groups: First, the wearing
+away of the land through the action of waves and currents and the
+deposition of the <i>débris</i> thus produced so as to make additions to the
+borders of the continent; second, the upward and downward movements of
+the land; and third, the changes produced by glaciers, ice-flows, and
+icebergs.</p>
+
+<p>With these more active agencies by which the coast-line is being
+modified may be included chemical solution and deposition, the influence
+of plants and animals, the weathering of the margin of the land, etc.;
+but a critical review of all these processes is impracticable in the
+present treatise.</p>
+
+<p><i>Changes in the Coast-Line due to Waves and Currents.</i>&mdash;The waves of the
+sea beat on the land with never-ceasing activity, but exert the greatest
+force during storms. The blow which a great surge strikes when it breaks
+at the base of a cliff, amounting in many instances to 3 or more tons to
+the square foot, tends to disrupt the rocks both directly by its impact
+and by the compression of air and water in their interstices. The
+greatest work of the breaking waves is performed, however, with the aid
+of the stones which accumulate on the beaches. These are hurled against
+the land by the force of the landward-rushing waters and break and
+abrade the rocks with which they come in contact. The friction produced
+by the impact of waves charged with sand, pebbles, and boulders against
+the land leads to its removal along a horizontal belt with a narrow
+vertical range. The waves of the sea, in fact, act like a horizontal
+saw, the edge of which slowly advances landward. As a result of this
+process of under-cutting, highly characteristic and frequently most
+picturesque forms are given to rocky coasts. Whenever the sea is
+bordered by hard rocks standing well above the surface, but not rising
+too precipitously
+<!--045.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span>
+from deep water, we find cliffs facing seaward.
+At the base of each of these sea-cliffs there is a shelf or terrace
+which records, in part at least, the advance that the sea has made
+inland.</p>
+
+<p>A cross profile of a wave-cut seashore (Fig. 5) shows two
+prominent features, namely, a sea-cliff with a horizontal base, and a
+terrace sloping seaward from the foot of the cliff. Of these, the cliff
+is by far the more prominent as it stands up boldly to view, while the
+terrace is in large part and perhaps wholly submerged. These two leading
+characteristics in the topography of wave-cut shores are shown in the
+following diagram:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_5" id="Fig_5"></a>
+<img src="images/i043.jpg" width="600" height="207" alt="Fig. 5." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 5.</span>&mdash;Ideal profile of a sea-cliff and current-built
+terrace.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The water carried landward by each wave as it rushes up the sloping
+surface of a terrace again finds its way seaward, either wholly or in
+part, as an "undertow." Much of the rock <i>débris</i> ground fine by the
+ceaseless beating of the surf is separated from the coarser material,
+thus leaving the latter free to be moved by succeeding waves, and is
+carried seaward by the bottom current or undertow. During storms
+especially there is usually to be seen a belt of discoloured water
+seaward from the white breakers which margin the land. The finer
+<i>débris</i> carried away from the shore by the undertow is sooner or later
+deposited, and much of it is laid down on the terrace bordering the land
+and serves to build out its seaward margin. A normal sea-terrace is thus
+in part the result of the cutting away of the land, and in part of the
+deposition of the material removed. The sea not only cuts away the land,
+however, but at many localities makes important additions to it.
+<!--046.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Where the water is shallow the larger waves break at a distance perhaps
+of several miles from the coast-line, and build up long narrow bars,
+usually of sand, which form barriers, more or less parallel with the
+shore, and shelter it from further encroachments of the sea. Again, when
+the wind from the sea blows obliquely to the coast, currents are
+established in the water which sweep along the loose material on the
+beach and on the submerged portion of the terrace of which the beach is
+a visible part, and cause it to travel in the general direction of the
+prevailing on-shore winds. This action also leads to the building of
+bars more or less parallel with the coast and at the extremities of
+capes, particularly where the shore currents enter deeper water and give
+origin to spits of various shapes, which are frequently curved towards
+the land and at their extremities become hooks and loops.</p>
+
+<p>There are thus two important processes, one destructive and the other
+constructive, by which the sea is continually modifying the border of
+the land.</p>
+
+<p>When once the underlying principles on which depend the characteristics
+of coastal topography are suggested, any observant person can apply them
+for himself and thus be able to read the history as well as admire the
+beauties of seacoast scenery. It is not necessary, therefore, to attempt
+to present a detailed account of the coasts of North America from a
+purely geographical point of view; there are certain results of the
+processes just referred to, however, which are of wide-reaching
+economic, and especially of commercial interest.</p>
+
+<!--047.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 393px;"><a name="Fig_6" id="Fig_6"></a>
+<img src="images/i045.jpg" width="393" height="700" alt="Fig. 6." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 6.</span>&mdash;A portion of the Atlantic coast of the United
+States.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>From Central America northward to Cape Cod the rocks bordering the sea
+are soft or easily soluble, and the adjacent land of low relief.
+Throughout this section the work of the sea is mostly constructive, and
+the margin of the land is sheltered by sand-bars from the attack of
+waves and currents. Where the waves of the open ocean do reach the land,
+as on the coast of New Jersey, the sea-cliffs are low and the topography
+of a mild type. Very generally, as along the coast of Mexico and Texas,
+and from Florida to Long Island, there are long narrow bars adjacent to
+<!--048.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span>
+the shore, with lagoons intervening between them and the mainland.
+These features are well illustrated on the accompanying map (Fig. 6)
+of a portion of the Atlantic coast where long narrow
+bars, sometimes forming skeleton capes, are a characteristic feature. On
+the middle Atlantic coast of the United States the prevailing winds blow
+southward and there is a general southward flow of the shore currents,
+which carry with them the sand on the beaches and bars. An interesting
+fact in this connection, pointed out by N. S. Shaler, is that although
+the sands are continually being moved they are not worn out. After the
+sand-grains have been reduced to a certain size they retain films of
+water which separate them one from another, and act as cushions which
+prevent the grains from coming in contact, thus greatly retarding
+further comminution. But for the protection thus afforded the sand-bars
+would be removed and the border of the land exposed to the attack of the
+waves and cut away; whereas under existing conditions lagoons are
+formed, which in many instances are utilized as harbours or are filled
+by wind-blown sand, the sediment brought by streams, plant growths,
+etc., and valuable additions are made to the continent.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 311px;"><a name="Fig_7" id="Fig_7"></a>
+<img src="images/i046.jpg" width="311" height="400" alt="Fig. 7." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 7.</span>&mdash;Mobile Bay.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The sand-bars just referred to frequently cross the mouths of rivers,
+and in such instances a struggle ensues between the currents moving
+along the shore and the outflowing river-waters aided by the currents
+produced by the tides. This conflict leads to the formation of sand
+banks and bars, generally submerged, across the entrances of bays and
+inlets and to the building of sand-spits from the seaward capes. A
+typical instance is furnished at the entrance of Mobile Bay (Fig. 7),
+<!--049.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span>
+where a spit from each side has been built by
+shore currents so as to greatly contract the tideway between. Similar
+features are presented by Sandy Hook and Coney Island, each of which has
+been built of sand deposited by shore currents at the seaward entrance
+of the lower New York Bay. Another illustration of this same general
+character is furnished by the curved extremity of Cape Cod (Fig.
+8), which is a sand-spit of large size with a hooked
+extremity. Spits of this nature are common on our coasts, and in many
+instances themselves form harbours, as at Coney Island and near the
+extremity of Cape Cod. Many other similar examples of the importance of
+lagoons, sand-bars, spits, etc., to shipping, which occur, especially
+along the Atlantic coast of the United States, may be studied to
+advantage on the admirable charts of the United States Coast and
+Geodetic Survey.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_8" id="Fig_8"></a>
+<img src="images/i047.jpg" width="600" height="557" alt="Fig. 8." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 8.</span>&mdash;Cape Cod, Massachusetts.</span>
+</div><p>
+<!--050.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The sand-bars, spits, and other similar structures along the Atlantic
+coast are also of strategic importance, for the reason that they afford
+advantageous sites for fortifications, as is illustrated by the strong
+forts at Sandy Hook which guard the entrance of New York Bay. These
+sea-built foundations are also utilized in a large number of localities
+for lighthouses. The waterways shut off from the sea by off-shore bars
+in some instances permit of the passage of vessels from one harbour to
+another. In this connection it is of interest to note that an important
+system of canals is under consideration for making a continuous waterway
+for deep-draft vessels, some 700 miles long, which will connect the
+estuaries and lagoons from New York to the Carolinas.</p>
+
+<p>While the islands of sand referred to present many conditions favourable
+to commerce, fisheries, and other industries, their apparent durability
+is deceptive, and in some instances faith in their permanence has led to
+disastrous results. They owe their existence to the action of waves and
+currents, and unless blown sand is heaped upon them are raised but a few
+feet above mean sea-level, and are liable to inundation if a high tide
+is accompanied by an on-shore gale. A sad illustration of this plain
+conclusion is furnished by the disaster that overwhelmed the city of
+Galveston on the night of September 8, 1900, during which some 3,000
+people perished and $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 worth of property was
+destroyed. This great loss was in large part due to the fact that the
+city was inundated by the advance over its site of the storm-driven
+waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The island on which Galveston stands (Fig.
+9) was built by the waters of the Gulf, and during the
+hurricane referred to they again claimed their own.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 568px;"><a name="Fig_9" id="Fig_9"></a>
+<img src="images/i049.jpg" width="568" height="600" alt="Fig. 9." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 9.</span>&mdash;Coast of Texas.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Northward of Cape Cod, the rocks adjacent to the ocean are mostly hard
+and resistant, consisting largely of schist, gneiss, granite, trap,
+etc., which when undercut by the waves stand as bold cliffs and
+headlands. This portion of the continental border abounds in picturesque
+scenery and is abundantly supplied with fine harbours and well-sheltered
+havens in which boats may take refuge. Typical portions
+<!--051.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span>
+of this
+rugged coast are furnished by the magnificent sea-cliffs of Mount Desert
+and Grand Manan islands, the bold shores of Newfoundland and Labrador,
+and the precipitous border of Greenland. The scenery throughout nearly
+all of this vast extent of wave and storm beaten rocks is in striking
+contrast to the mild and generally monotonous sand-built shores to the
+south of Cape Cod. Between the angular headlands and rugged capes at the
+north, with their white girdles of surf, there are frequently curved
+beaches and numerous spits and bars of yellow sand which connect the
+salients of the shore or extend from them so as to furnish safe
+anchorages.</p>
+
+<p>On the arctic coast of North America the action of the waves and
+currents on the land is greatly retarded by ice,
+<!--052.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span>
+and the tides are
+small, but to what extent these conditions unfavourable to the work of
+the sea are counterbalanced by the abrasion performed by ice-floes is
+unknown. The northern border of Alaska, as well as the shore of Bering
+Sea, is mostly low and the rocks soft, although certain of the sea-capes
+are bold and are evidently composed of resistant material.</p>
+
+<p>The Aleutian Islands present a peculiar exception to the general coast
+topography of the rest of the continent. Although this region has not
+been studied in detail, it seems to furnish an example of a rugged
+mountain range that has been partially submerged at a comparatively
+recent date. The rocks in many places descend precipitously into deep
+water, leaving no room for the formation of beaches, and hence the
+waves, to a great extent, are without tools with which to cut away the
+land. At the heads of the many bays and inlets, however, one finds
+beautiful sand-beaches with gracefully curving lines, in striking
+contrast to the dark, rugged cliffs bordering their seaward extensions.</p>
+
+<p>The southern and southeastern borders of Alaska are exceedingly bold,
+and present some of the most sublime coast scenery to be found in the
+world, but to the geographer the greatest interest of this portion of
+the continental border, as is true also of the entire Pacific coast of
+North America, centres in its relation to up and down movements of the
+land.</p>
+
+<p><i>Changes in the Coast-Line due to Oscillation of the Land.</i>&mdash;Land areas
+are exposed to the erosive action of wind, rain, streams, etc., and are
+sculptured by these agencies into valleys, cañons, peaks, ridges, and
+other familiar topographic forms. The various processes by which land
+areas are modified lead in general to a roughening of the surface. As an
+extreme illustration, a high plateau becomes dissected by streams so as
+to form an intricate system of rugged mountain ridges and peaks, with
+deep, steep-sided valleys between. The degree of this roughening depends
+principally on the elevation of the land, together with contrasts in the
+resistance of the rocks due mainly to variation in hardness, climatic
+conditions, etc., but in general
+<!--053.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span>
+one may say the higher the land
+is raised above the sea the more rugged will be its topography as the
+process of wearing away progresses. It is to be remembered in this
+connection, however, that land areas pass through a somewhat definite
+series of changes, from topographic youth to topographic old age, each
+stage being accompanied by changes in the relief. It is during
+topographic maturity that the greatest roughness of the surface of a
+land area is produced.</p>
+
+<p>Land areas are continually wasting away, owing especially to the attacks
+of the streams, and the material removed is deposited in the sea. The
+<i>débris</i> brought from the continents by streams is laid down in shallow
+water&mdash;about the shores of North America almost entirely on the surface
+of the continental shelf&mdash;and in this region of deposition the hollows
+are filled and a generally smooth surface given to the sea-floor.</p>
+
+<p>The topography of the land, for the reason stated above, is nearly
+everywhere uneven; while the topography of the sea-floor is
+characterized by uniformity. We can easily predict, therefore, the
+general character of the changes in a coast which would result from
+either a subsidence of the land, thus allowing the sea to encroach upon
+it, or of an elevation, which would expose a portion of the sea-bottom,
+thereby increasing the area of the land. A subsidence of the land
+adjacent to the sea permits an extension of the waters landward; the sea
+will enter the valleys so as to form estuaries, bays, straits, etc.,
+while the high land between the partially water-filled depressions will
+rise above the water-level and appear as peninsulas, capes, and islands.
+A bold, deeply sculptured coast when depressed will give origin to an
+intricate, and what may be termed a ragged shore-line; while a lower
+region crossed by large river-valleys would be changed to a system of
+broad estuaries.</p>
+
+<p>An upward movement in the earth's crust along the ocean's shore would
+expose a portion of the sea-floor and add a strip of generally level
+country to the previous land area. The boundary between the old and new
+topography in such an instance would be the upraised coast-line with
+<!--054.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span>
+its sea-cliffs, wave-cut caves, terraces, beaches, and other
+characteristic features of coast topography.</p>
+
+<p>There are thus two strongly contrasted types of coast scenery, produced
+by oscillations of the earth's crust where ocean and continents meet. In
+each class there is a wide range in details, which vary in harmony with
+the amount the land rises or falls in reference to sea-level.</p>
+
+<p>When one has these general laws in mind a map of the coast-line of North
+America acquires great significance.</p>
+
+<p>From about the latitude of New York southward to Central America many
+comparatively small oscillations of the land have occurred in recent
+geological time, and what was formerly a portion of the continental
+shelf is now exposed and forms a coastal plain. This plain, in general
+from 50 to 100 miles broad, slopes gently seaward, and its continuation
+under the sea forms the present continental shelf (Fig. 2).
+Evidently a slight up or down movement or a gentle tilting of this
+partially submerged plain in an east and west direction would cause a
+marked advance or recession of the sea. Each time the sea advanced the
+country submerged would be smoothed over by the action of the waves and
+currents and a sheet of sediment laid down upon it; and each time the
+sea receded the emerged land would be trenched by the rivers flowing
+across it. The records show that many such changes have occurred.</p>
+
+<p>The Gulf border of Mexico and Texas, composed of soft marine sediments,
+forms a gently sloping plain bordered on the west by a roughened upland,
+and illustrates the general feature of a recently emerged coastal plain
+(Fig. 9). The same is true also of the entire coast from
+Texas to New York, but it happens that a recent movement through this
+region was of such a nature as to allow the sea to encroach on the land,
+and the previously excavated stream valleys are now, in part, occupied
+by the sea. This feature is most marked from the Carolinas to New York
+(Fig. 6), where there are several great estuaries and
+drowned river-valleys which extend far into the land. The best examples
+are Albemarle Sound and Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The James River
+channel is submerged as far as Richmond,
+<!--055.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span>
+the Potomac to
+Washington, the Susquehanna to Harrisburg, the Delaware to Trenton, and
+the Hudson to Troy. These are typical illustrations of what geographers
+term drowned river-valleys. They are evidence that the land formerly
+stood higher than now, was trenched by the rivers that flowed across it,
+and was then depressed or tilted so as to allow the sea to encroach upon
+it. The importance of these events in the settlement of North America by
+Europeans and on the subsequent development of commerce, manufactures,
+the location of cities, etc., needs only to be suggested to permit the
+reader to fill in the details for himself.</p>
+
+<p>On the Gulf coast and about Florida the later movements of the land have
+been less than in the region from Albemarle Sound to New York, and
+estuaries are there absent, with the somewhat marked exception of Mobile
+Bay. Certain secondary conditions need to be introduced here, but space
+will not permit of more than a brief presentation of them. Not only have
+the recent movements of the land been less about the shores of the Gulf
+of Mexico than in the middle Atlantic region of the United States, but
+the rivers at the south are in general smaller and less swift than those
+farther north, and hence are less able to excavate broad valleys. The
+Southern rivers, such as the Alabama, Mississippi, Rio Grande, etc., are
+silt-laden and tend to fill their estuaries, while the weaker streams
+are unable to resist the encroachments of sand-bars and spits built by
+shore currents, and their mouths have been practically closed. The coast
+of Texas gives evidence of slight modern subsidence, but the small
+estuaries formed have, for the most part, been separated from the Gulf
+by sand-bars.</p>
+
+<p>Northward of the middle Atlantic region the recent oscillations of the
+land continued to increase and reached a maximum about the shores of the
+Arctic Ocean; on the Pacific coast also there is similar evidence of an
+increase in the recent earth movements from the south northward.</p>
+
+<p>In an outline sketch of the present coastal topography of the continent
+we can generalize, and say that the whole continent during the late
+Tertiary, glacial, and recent times
+<!--056.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span>
+has swayed up and down about a
+hinge-line situated in the region of the Gulf of Mexico, and the
+movements, although not uniform, have increased in amount from the south
+northward. Let us glance at the evidence on which this broad statement,
+involving the up and down surging of a vast continent, is based.</p>
+
+<p>The Hudson, as stated above, is a drowned river as far as Troy, a
+distance from the present land margin of 160 miles. In the next great
+river to the northward, the St. Lawrence, the tide rises and falls
+nearly up to Montreal, a distance of about 800 miles from the general
+shore-line. Still farther north are Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay, which,
+although but imperfectly explored, seem to be an example not only of the
+drowning of a river-valley, but of the largest part of a river-basin.
+The geography of the arctic archipelago fringing the north shore of the
+continent also suggests that a strongly stream-cut plateau has there
+been deeply submerged.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the drowned river-valleys and ragged coasts which record
+a subsidence of the land, there are raised terraces and beaches which
+begin at the south near New York and increase in elevation above the
+present sea-level, when followed northward, all the way to the arctic
+region, and have in the far north an altitude of about 1,200 feet. These
+old beaches and terraces show that the land was formerly depressed and
+has since risen; but, as shown above, has not regained the elevation it
+had previous to the glacial epoch.</p>
+
+<p>The marked differences in the geography of the coast from New York
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and from the same locality southward to
+Central America, are due primarily to the fact that the oscillations of
+the land have been such that at the north the continental shelf is
+entirely submerged and the sea has encroached on a rough land; while at
+the south the recent oscillations have been less and a broad margin of
+the continental shelf is exposed and forms the coastal plain.</p>
+
+<p>At the north, we find innumerable islands, bold, rocky shores with many
+capes and headlands, separated by deep
+<!--057.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span>
+inlets, sounds, straits,
+bays, etc., or, in brief, a ragged coast such as finds typical
+illustration on the shores of Maine (Fig. 10), while at the
+south (Fig. 6) the shores are low, sandy, remarkably
+uniform in trend, and without islands, excepting such as are built by
+the waves and currents. The West India Islands will, no doubt, be
+recalled by the reader, but their history is again different.
+Intermediate between the land that has experienced great oscillation at
+the north and the region of less energetic movements at the south is the
+series of large estuaries mentioned above, in the narrower portions of
+the coastal plain.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_10" id="Fig_10"></a>
+<img src="images/i055.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="Fig. 10." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 10.</span>&mdash;A portion of the coast of Maine.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The northern and western coasts of Alaska are mostly low, and correspond
+in a general way with the coastal plan of the Carolina region. The last
+well-marked movement of the land in that region has been in the
+direction of an elevation, and we find low shores, with but few
+harbours, similar in many ways to the coast of Texas.</p>
+
+<p>It is probably true, as already stated, that the Aleutian Islands,
+although in part the result of recent volcanic activity, owe their
+peculiar and exceptional characteristics to the partial subsidence of a
+deeply sculptured mountain range. On the south coast of Alaska, in the
+region of
+<!--058.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span>
+Mount St. Elias and Mount Fairweather, a recent and
+extensive elevation has occurred, which, however, did not bring the
+bottom of the adjacent portion of the ocean above the sea-level. This
+apparent anomaly seems to be due to an uprising of the rocks along the
+north side of a break, or belt of branching fractures, which closely
+approximates to the coast-line and has determined the position of the
+continental border in that region. The facts, so far as known, appear to
+show that we have here what geologists term a fault, the north or
+landward side of which has been raised at least 5,000 feet in very
+modern times, but, so far as we can judge, without disturbing the
+seaward border of the break. The coast between Mount Fairweather and
+Mount St. Elias is by far the boldest, and from a scenic point of view
+the most impressive, portion of the entire shore-line of North America.
+The mountains are young and among the highest on the continent. They
+rise precipitously from the margin of the sea, and are sheathed in snow
+and ice from base to summit throughout the year.</p>
+
+<p>The margin of the continent southward from Mount Fairweather to the
+Columbia River, a distance in a straight line of about 1,200 miles,
+furnishes some of the best illustrations of the changes in coastal
+geography due to subsidence that our continent affords (Fig.
+11). This wonderfully irregular coast is fringed with a
+belt of mountainous islands from 50 to 100 or more miles broad. The
+inlets between the bold capes and the straits separating the numerous
+islands are deep. The rugged, forest-clothed slopes with precipitous,
+and in many instances nearly vertical walls, descend into water that is
+frequently from 50 to over 200 fathoms deep. In brief, a deeply
+dissected mountain range more than 1,000 miles in length has there been
+depressed at least 2,000 feet below its former altitude, thus allowing
+the sea to flood its deep, picturesque valleys.</p>
+
+<p>Puget Sound, with its numerous and frequently narrow arms (Fig.
+23), is the southward extension of the partially inundated
+country considered above. To the west of this magnificent sound rise the
+Olympic Mountains, which barely escape being an island at the present
+stage of the
+<!--059.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span>
+swaying of the land. On the west, as on the east
+border of the continent, there are drowned river-valleys, such as the
+Stikine, Frazer, Columbia, and Sacramento. It is not to be understood,
+however, that the entire Pacific coast region has been raised or
+depressed as a unit. There have been differential movements in some of
+its parts, but these are not as yet well known. In southern California,
+for example, raised beaches and a narrow coastal plain about Los Angeles
+give evidence of a modern rise of the land.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 249px;"><a name="Fig_11" id="Fig_11"></a>
+<img src="images/i057.jpg" width="249" height="700" alt="Fig. 11." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 11.</span>&mdash;Coast of southeastern Alaska.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In reference to the broad generalization that the continental mass of
+North America has undergone up and down movements, greatest at the north
+and decreasing southward, as if moving on a hinge-line running east and
+west in the region of the Gulf of Mexico, it is of interest to note that
+the ragged coasts
+<!--060.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span>
+of Maine, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and
+Labrador, due to the partial submergence of a rugged land, lie in the
+same latitudes as the equally ragged coast of Washington, British
+Columbia, and Alaska. This is more than a coincidence. The rocks on the
+two coasts are similar, being for the most part resistant crystalline
+schists, gneisses, granites, etc., and in each instance stood high above
+the sea for a long period during which they were deeply trenched by
+streams and by great glaciers, and then at about the same time, as
+nearly as can be judged, each region was depressed so as to allow the
+sea to encroach upon it.</p>
+
+<p>While a deeply sculptured land when partially submerged gives origin to
+a ragged coast, a region of similar elevation, but not cut by streams or
+other agencies so as to have deep valleys, when subsidence occurs
+produces a bold, harbourless shore without islands. The striking
+contrast between the deeply indented border of the continent, with its
+broad fringe of islands, from Mount Fairweather southward to Mount
+Olympus, and the remarkably uniform although bold coast-line from Mount
+Olympus southward to Mexico, and indeed nearly to Cape Horn, has much
+significance in this connection.</p>
+
+<p>The mountains bordering the Pacific coast of the United States are among
+the younger on the continent. These coast ranges, largely on account of
+their youth, have not been deeply sculptured, but rise boldly from the
+ocean's shore throughout nearly the entire distance from the Strait of
+Fuca to the end of the peninsula of Lower California. The mountains of
+Central America, although but little known, are of comparatively recent
+date, but differ from the coast ranges in being more largely built of
+young volcanic rocks. Both the coast ranges and the mountains of Central
+America are much less deeply sculptured than the mountains bordering the
+Pacific to the north of Puget Sound, and a subsidence along this shore
+would produce but moderate changes in the coast-line. In this great
+extent of coast, measuring nearly 5,000 miles, there are but few
+harbours; in the portion belonging to the United States the generally
+bold coast-line is broken but in two places, one
+<!--061.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span>
+where the
+Columbia reaches the sea, and the other where the Sacramento finds an
+outlet through the portions of its drowned valley known as the Golden
+Gate.</p>
+
+<p>The Bay of San Francisco owes its origin to a subsidence of the land
+which has admitted the sea into the valley of the Sacramento, but this
+valley, which, uniting with the one at the south drained by the San
+Joaquin, forms the Great Valley of California, is not due to stream
+erosion, as in the case of the drowned valley of the Hudson or of the
+St. Lawrence, but to the upraising of the mountains bordering it. During
+a former time of greater subsidence than at present the Bay of San
+Francisco was larger than now, and has been contracted both by the
+deposition of sediment and by a partial re-elevation of the land. The
+exceptional character of the Bay of San Francisco and its marked
+excellence as a harbour give to the city on its shore promises of
+marvellous development.</p>
+
+<p>The Gulf of California is due, in a general view, to what may be
+considered as a departure of the Coast mountains away from the general
+trend of the continental border. We have but little detailed information
+concerning this region, however, and the studies of modern geographers
+have likewise been meagre throughout all the coast-line farther south.</p>
+
+<p>The Pacific coast of Mexico is geographically similar to that of
+California, but instead of a single great harbour there are four of
+moderate size and excellence, the histories of which have not been
+studied. Farther south, along the Central American coast, the shores are
+bold, but several indentations, due in part at least to volcanic
+agencies, furnish shelter for vessels and offer encouragement to
+commerce.</p>
+
+<p>The bold and not deeply sculptured mountains along the nearly unbroken
+coast from the Strait of Fuca to Panama, rise close to the true border
+of the continent. The continental shelf of this portion of the shore of
+the Pacific is narrow. An elevation of 100 fathoms would add scarcely
+more than 10 miles to the extent of the land. This narrowness of the
+continental shelf seems to be due to the
+<!--062.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span>
+recency of the uplifting
+of the Coast mountains, and the lack of time for the <i>débris</i> from the
+land and the organic refuse of the sea to shoal the water. The Pacific
+basin is deep close to the land bordering it, thus restricting the
+seaward extension of the continental shelf.</p>
+
+<p><i>Changes in the Coast-Line due to Ice.</i>&mdash;It is now well known that
+glacial ice many hundreds of feet thick formerly covered the northern
+half of North America and flowed outward across the present position of
+the coast-line throughout all of the northern border of the continent
+from Staten Island in the east and Puget Sound in the west, with the
+exception of the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>The effects of this outward-flowing ice on the topography of the
+continental border crossed by it were in general in two directions.
+Where the land was rough or moderately so previous to the coming of the
+ice-sheets the inequalities of surface were increased; but where the
+land was smooth or but gently undulating its elevations were planed away
+by the glaciers and made still more smooth. The reason for these
+differences is that when the land from which the ice flowed was rugged
+or had previously been deeply trenched by streams, the valleys gave
+direction to the ice currents and the margins of the continental
+ice-sheets became divided into separate ice-streams, as is the case in
+Greenland at the present day. This localization of the ice currents
+served to deepen and broaden the pre-existing valleys, and especially on
+the bold coast of Alaska and British Columbia increased in a marked way
+the inequalities of the surface and favoured the production of a ragged
+coast-line when the ice melted and was replaced in part by the sea.
+When, however, the topography of the land was not sufficiently accented
+to cause the ice flowing over it to gather into well-defined currents
+the general surface was worn down, thus favouring the production of an
+even coast-line after the melting of the ice-sheets.</p>
+
+<p>Where the coast-lands were high and rugged, the deepening and broadening
+of the valleys led to the origin of deep, narrow, canal-like waterways
+termed fiords (<i>fjords</i>),
+<!--063.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span>
+when the ice withdrew from the partially
+submerged land or when subsequent depression carried the glaciated
+troughs below sea-level. On the Atlantic coast from Maine to Labrador,
+and thence northward to the Arctic Ocean, there are numerous examples of
+fiords, as is also the case on the Pacific coast from Mount St. Elias to
+Puget Sound. At the present time the localized ice-streams from the
+great central ice-sheet of Greenland are continuing this process of
+fiord excavation. The same is true also, but on a much smaller scale, of
+the tide-water glaciers of southern Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>The shores of the northern portion of the continent from New England to
+the Aleutian Islands are now being modified by the grinding of
+ice-floes, which are driven against the land by the wind. This process,
+however, although locally important, need claim but little attention in
+a general view of the geography of the continent.</p>
+
+<p><i>Changes in the Coast-Line due to the Deposits made by Streams.</i>&mdash;The
+visible loads of silt and sand in suspension carried to the ocean by
+streams, as well as the material the streams roll and push along their
+bottoms, is delivered to the waters of the ocean and deposited in
+various ways. Much of this material, notably the coarser portion, is
+dropped near land and the finer portion floated far out from the coast
+before settling to the bottom. Two classes of deposits made in this way
+may be recognised, namely, those laid down by the streams themselves as
+they drop their loads on entering still water, or delta deposits; and
+those spread over the sea-floor by waves and currents after receiving
+the <i>débris</i> brought from the land. Which of these two modes of
+deposition will prevail depends on whether the waters of the ocean at
+the localities where the streams deliver their loads are essentially
+still or are affected by strong currents. In the former instance all but
+the finer of the <i>débris</i> derived from the land is quickly dropped and
+deltas are formed; and in the second instance the currents bear the
+material away and deposit it either in the shallow water adjacent to the
+neighbouring shore, forming shoals, bars, embankments, spits, etc., or
+spread it in a sheet over
+<!--064.png-->
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span>
+the sea-floor. The most notable changes
+in the coast-line resulting from this general process occur where
+silt-laden streams enter still water and form deltas.</p>
+
+<p>On the coast of North America many of the streams which enter estuaries
+deliver their loads to waters which are agitated, especially by tidal
+currents, and ill-defined shoals, sand-banks, etc., are produced. In
+three conspicuous instances, however, large rivers are engaged in
+building deltas, and thus producing well-marked changes in the
+coast-line.</p>
+
+<p>At the north, the Mackenzie enters the nearly tideless Arctic Ocean,
+where floating ice almost completely counteracts the tendency of the
+wind to produce currents, and a great delta is being extended seaward.
+The river divides on its delta into many <i>distributaries</i> and enters the
+sea by several mouths. The sea near the mouths of the river is reported
+to be shallow, and obstructed by many sand-banks and islands. No survey
+of the Mackenzie delta has as yet been made, and but little definite
+information concerning it is available.</p>
+
+<p>The Yukon on entering the shallow eastern portion of Bering Sea, where
+the influence of the tides is small and floating ice is present
+throughout about nine months each year, is also engaged in building a
+great delta which projects into the sea and gives the coast-line a bold
+outward curve. The Yukon begins to divide into separate channels,
+several of which enter the sea as independent distributaries at a
+distance of about 150 miles from the outer border of its delta. The
+distance between the outer finger-like division of the stream is about
+90 miles. The Yukon is a graded stream&mdash;i. e., is able to carry material
+in suspension, but not to deepen or fill its channel&mdash;in the lower
+portion of its course, and is making an important addition to the land
+owing to the dropping of its burden of silt as soon as the still water
+into which it flows is reached. The stream is thus being extended, and
+in order to enable it to continue its task of transportation and the
+delivery of its load to the sea, the extended portion of its channel is
+built up so as to give a slope down which the waters can
+<!--065.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span>
+flow&mdash;that is, the beds of the distributaries are raised, and they also
+shift their positions from time to time and make additions to the entire
+surface of the delta. This extension of the stream and deposition of
+silt by its distributaries have added about 1,000 square miles to the
+land. Although the delta of the Yukon presents an admirable example of
+the change in a coast-line produced by the sediment dropped by a great
+river, the partial surveys of it that have been made are not as yet
+available for study.</p>
+
+<p>Fully as characteristic of the modification of coast-lines made by a
+stream as any in the world is the well-known example of the delta of the
+Mississippi. This classical instance illustrates not only the manner in
+which coast-lines are modified, but the behaviour of a large silt-laden
+stream which has reduced its valley to a low gradient, and throughout
+hundreds of miles of its lower course is spreading out a wide flood
+plain. The extension seaward of this flood plain forms the broad delta
+at the river's mouth.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 421px;"><a name="Fig_12" id="Fig_12"></a>
+<img src="images/i064.jpg" width="421" height="700" alt="Fig. 12." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 12.</span>&mdash;Delta of the Mississippi. After United States
+Coast and Geodetic Survey.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>During high-water stages the Mississippi widely over-spreads its banks
+and during such inundations of its valley drops much of the silt it
+previously held in suspension. The material deposited is laid down most
+abundantly on the immediate border of its low-water channel. Each side
+of the channel is thus raised so as to form what is termed a natural
+levee. During this process also the bed of the stream is raised by the
+deposition of sediment upon it, thus tending to cause the stream to flow
+on a raised ridge and producing an unstable condition which from time to
+time enables the river to break across its confining levees and divide
+into two or more separate channels. In the lower portion of the river
+some of the new channels thus formed reach the sea and furnish
+independent outlets for its waters. The first of these distributaries
+now departs from the main channel at a distance of 200 miles from the
+Gulf of Mexico, and farther seaward several other divisions occur (Fig.
+12). The area of the delta is about 1,230 square miles.
+Each distributary is engaged in building a pair of embankments, or
+natural levees (although this process in recent years has been modified
+by the construction of artificial embankments
+<!--067.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span>
+for the sake of
+improving navigation), and each subdivision of the river is also
+building a delta. Each of the finger-like extensions of the delta, shown
+on the accompanying map, is due to the prolongation of a pair of
+embankments into the Gulf by each distributary and the growth of a
+secondary delta at its mouth. The river is thus building a highly
+compound delta, composed of the secondary deltas formed at the mouth of
+each of its distributaries. A conspicuous modification of the otherwise
+generally evenly curved border of the Gulf of Mexico is thus produced, a
+result that could only be reached in a water body but little disturbed
+by wind or tidal currents.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">ESTUARIES AND HARBOURS</div>
+
+<p>The features of a coast of greatest importance to civilization are its
+harbours. A coast without harbours is like a Chinese wall, and tends to
+isolate a people inclosed by it. An indented coast with numerous havens
+for the shelter of vessels fosters the interests of navigation,
+including sea fisheries, invites commerce from other lands, and
+stimulates its inhabitants to explore and travel. A diversity of
+industries is thus favoured and the people adjacent to an indented coast
+with good harbours tend to become more progressive and more cosmopolitan
+than if intercourse with other communities is confined to overland
+routes.</p>
+
+<p>The Atlantic border of North America is abundantly supplied with fine
+harbours, which not only favour communication with distant countries,
+but are within easy reach of agricultural and forest lands and important
+coal and other mineral deposits adjacent to the coast or in the
+interior, and are near extensive and valuable fishing grounds. The best
+of these harbours are at the mouths of rivers which have been depressed
+so as to form estuaries with wide entrances. These sea-gates, however,
+are frequently contracted, owing to the presence of sand-bars and spits
+deposited by shore currents.</p>
+
+<p>The great St. Lawrence estuary reaches to Montreal, and beyond lie the
+Great Lakes, the rich lands of Ontario
+<!--068.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span>
+and New York, and the now
+highly productive States of the Middle West. Two geographical features
+in this basin detract from the conditions otherwise highly favourable to
+commercial development, namely: the rapids in the St. Lawrence between
+Montreal and Lake Ontario and the fall in the Niagara, and the winter
+climate of Canada, which causes the rivers and estuaries to be ice-bound
+for a considerable part of each year. To obviate the first of these
+unfavourable conditions far-reaching plans for a deep waterway between
+the Great Lakes and the Atlantic are now being matured. The splendid
+harbours from Nova Scotia southward are never seriously obstructed by
+ice, and south of Virginia ice is practically unknown.</p>
+
+<p>The estuaries at the mouth of the Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna,
+Potomac, James, and the Alabama, together with the distributaries of the
+Mississippi (which is not a partially drowned river, but one that is
+building up and extending its channel), are the natural outlets of
+portions of the continent of great fruitfulness. When other, and
+especially climatic, conditions are considered, it will be seen that to
+the geographer the Atlantic sea-border from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to
+the Gulf of Mexico seems destined to be the next great commercial centre
+in the succession from Greece to Britain. An important adjunct to the
+present highly favourable geographical conditions pointing to a great
+future for civilization on the Atlantic coast is the construction of a
+ship-canal across the isthmus uniting North and South America. This step
+must soon be taken.</p>
+
+<p>A glance at a map of North America must impress one with the belief that
+the Pacific coast with its great extent of harbourless water-front is
+far less favourable to the growth or ideas, institutions, and industries
+than the deeply indented Atlantic shore-line. From the Isthmus of Panama
+to the State of Washington there is, as we have seen, but one harbour of
+the first class, the estuary of the Sacramento, and one of the second or
+third class, the estuary of the Columbia. From Puget Sound northward
+harbours are numberless. There are two important geographical reasons,
+<!--069.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span>
+however, why the general absence of good harbours to the south of
+Puget Sound is not so serious as it perhaps might seem. First, the
+mountain ranges run north and south parallel with the coast, and the
+natural lines of interior travel lead to the outlets through the Coast
+Ranges traversed by the Sacramento and the Columbia. The second and more
+general reason is that, owing to the warm currents in the Pacific, the
+portion of the west coast most favourable for a high degree of
+civilization is situated farther north than the similar belt on the
+Atlantic border.</p>
+
+<div style="padding-top: 1em"></div>
+
+<p>By way of a summary of this chapter, the reader is asked to bear in mind
+the fact that the land forming North America, as is the case with all
+continents, is not at rest, but is subject to movements which cause
+elevations and depressions of various portions of its area with
+reference to sea-level. These movements have been in progress since the
+birth of the continent, and still continue. An upward movement of the
+earth's crust where the land and ocean meet causes a portion of the
+sea-floor to emerge and an addition usually of the nature of a coastal
+plain to be made to the border of a continent; while a reverse movement
+enables the sea to advance on the land and to flood the low-grade
+valleys opening to the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>In a generalized view of the recent history of the coast-line of North
+America the dominant fact is that to the north of the latitude of the
+north shore of the Gulf of Mexico the resultant of the later movements
+of the continent is downward; the amount of the depression thus caused
+increases in a general way with increase in latitude on both the
+Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This downward movement has permitted the
+sea to encroach on the land and to flood many pre-existing valleys. On
+the Atlantic coast it produced such estuaries as Chesapeake and Delaware
+Bays, the tide-water portions of such rivers as the Hudson and the St.
+Lawrence, and farther north, where the submergence was greater,
+permitted the sea to invade the continental basin and form Hudson Bay.
+To this same wide-reaching cause is due also the bold ragged coast-line
+of the
+<!--070.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span>
+Atlantic from New England northward. On the Pacific border
+the downward movement is recorded by the tide-water portions of the
+Sacramento, Columbia, etc., and the deep picturesque fiords of the
+Canadian and Alaskan coasts. The most decided influence of these changes
+in the geography of the continent's margin on the affairs of men
+resulted from the production of numerous fine harbours and the extension
+of estuaries far inland, thus favouring commerce and fisheries in a high
+degree.</p>
+
+<p>As a result of the oscillations just referred to, the sea has gained
+important characteristics as well as the land. The broad submerged shelf
+fringing the continent furnishes conditions highly favourable to both
+plant and animal life, and affords some of the most valuable
+fishing-banks of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The Caribbean region is a marked exception to the broader changes that
+have affected the coast-line throughout the central and northern
+portions of the continent, and stands by itself as a conspicuous
+illustration of more localized earth movements which produced a
+remarkable submarine topography.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<p>In continuation of the studies outlined in this chapter the following
+books, most of which contain more special references, will be found of
+assistance:</p>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Agassiz, A.</span> <i>Three Cruises of the Blake.</i> 2 vols. Houghton,
+Mifflin &amp; Co., Boston, 1888.</li>
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Gilbert, G. K.</span> <i>The Topographic Features of Lake Shores.</i> In
+United States Geological Survey, Fifth Annual Report, 1883-'84,
+pp. 69-123.</li>
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Gulliver, F. P.</span> <i>Shoreline Topography.</i> In Proceedings of the
+American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. xxxiv, 1899, pp.
+151-258. Contains a valuable bibliography.</li>
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Hill, R. T.</span> <i>The Geological History of the Isthmus of Panama and
+Portions of Costa Rica.</i> Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative
+Zoology at Harvard College, vol. xxviii, 1898, pp. 151-285.</li>
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Hill, R. T.</span> <i>Cuba and Porto Rico with the Other Islands of the
+West Indies.</i> The Century Co., New York, 1899.
+<!--071.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span></li>
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Shaler, N. S.</span> <i>Seacoast Swamps of the Eastern United States.</i> In
+United States Geological Survey, Sixth Annual Report, 1884-'85,
+pp. 353-398.</li>
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Shaler, N. S.</span> <i>The Geological History of Harbors.</i> In United
+States Geological Survey, Thirteenth Annual Report, Part II,
+1891-'92, pp. 93-209.</li>
+
+  <li><span class="smcap">Shaler, N. S.</span> <i>Sea and Land.</i> Scribner, New York, 1894. <i>United
+States Coast and Geodetic Survey.</i> Annual Reports, Coast Pilot,
+Tide Tables, etc.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">CHARTS AND MAPS</div>
+
+<blockquote><p>To the student of the geography of the coast and submerged border
+of North America, the extensive series of charts published by
+the <i>United States Coast and Geodetic Survey</i> supply a vast
+amount of accurate information. A catalogue of these charts,
+with prices, etc., is issued by the Survey. Many of the charts
+issued by the <i>United States Hydrographic Office</i>, and a large
+number of the topographic maps published by the <i>United States
+Geological Survey</i>, are of value in this same connection. An
+account of these charts and maps, with instructions as to
+methods of obtaining them, etc., is given in <i>Government Maps
+for Use in Schools</i>, by Messrs. Davis, King, and Collie,
+published by H. Holt &amp; Co., New York, 1894.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--072.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LAND</div>
+
+
+<p>Taking the better known portions of North America as a basis on which to
+classify the leading geographical features of the continent, it is
+convenient, and in the main sufficiently accurate, to recognise five
+primary physiographic provinces. These are, in their general order, from
+east to west:</p>
+
+<p>1. Coastal plains and plateaus, of which the country between the
+Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains furnishes the most typical
+examples.</p>
+
+<p>2. A series of mountain ranges embracing all of the more elevated
+country on the east side of the continent from Georgia northward to the
+arctic archipelago, and in this book termed the <i>Atlantic Mountains</i>.</p>
+
+<p>3. The great system of plains and plateaus extending from the Gulf of
+Mexico northward to the Arctic Ocean and bordered on the east by the
+Atlantic Mountains and on the west by a still greater series of
+mountains, which may be designated with sufficient accuracy as the
+<i>Continental Basin</i>.</p>
+
+<p>4. A group of mountain chains and mountain ranges on the west side of
+the continent, including the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Cascades,
+etc., and sometimes termed the Cordilleras. Under the scheme of
+classification here used, this highly complex belt of rugged country
+extending from south-central Mexico northward to the Arctic Ocean is
+termed the <i>Pacific Cordillera</i>, or, in less technical language, the
+<i>Pacific Mountains</i>.<span class="fnanchor">[1]</span></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[1]</span>The propriety of using the names here employed for the
+larger physiographic provinces of North America has been discussed by
+several writers in the <i>Bulletin of the Geographical Society of
+Philadelphia</i>, vol. ii, 1899, pp. 55-69.</div>
+<!--073.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_13" id="Fig_13"></a>
+<img src="images/i071.jpg" width="600" height="823" alt="Fig. 13." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 13.</span>&mdash;The larger physiographic divisions of North
+America.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Each of the four physiographic provinces briefly described above is in a
+conspicuous manner elongated in a north and south direction. The
+mountains, valleys, and plateaus, as well as the controlling lines of
+structure in the rocks below the surface, throughout the main body of
+the continent coincide in direction more or less nearly with the
+parallels of longitude. At the south, however, and crossing the trend of
+each of the provinces named above, is the:</p>
+
+<p>Fifth, or Caribbean province, which includes the West Indies, the
+southern part of Mexico, and all of Central
+<!--074.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span>
+America. In this
+province are the <i>Antillean Mountains</i>, now mostly submerged, the
+principal axes of which trend east and west.</p>
+
+<p>With this brief outline of the larger physical divisions of North
+America in mind, let us endeavour to become acquainted with the leading
+characteristics of each of the provinces as they exist to-day, and at
+the same time learn something of their long and varied histories.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">COASTAL PLAINS AND PLATEAUS</div>
+
+<p><i>The Coastal Plains.</i>&mdash;From New York to Key West and thence about the
+borders of the Gulf of Mexico to the neighbourhood of Vera Cruz, the
+border of the present land area of the continent is formed by a low
+plain, from 30 to 50 miles broad in New Jersey, but increasing in width
+southward to Georgia and Florida, where its somewhat indefinite inland
+margin is more than 100 miles from the sea, and reaching its greatest
+development in the delta of the Mississippi. Extending southward about
+the west coast of the Gulf, it forms the low, featureless eastern border
+of Texas, about 50 miles broad, and passes into Mexico, but gradually
+narrows as the Pacific Mountains approach the coast, and ends in the
+vicinity of Vera Cruz.</p>
+
+<p>The Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain everywhere slopes gently seaward,
+and on its landward margin has an elevation in general of from 200 to
+300 feet. The character of the material of which the coastal plain is
+composed, the fossils contained in it, as well as its geographical
+features, show that it is a continuation of the continental shelf, and
+was formed at a time when the border of the continent was more deeply
+submerged than at present. Minor oscillations of the earth's crust have
+time and again allowed the sea to extend inland, only to be forced to
+recede when the land again rose. Each invasion of the sea left a sheet
+of soft sediment over the portion of the land that was submerged. These
+oscillations are still in progress, as is indicated by the fact that
+along the New Jersey coast a downward movement at the rate of about 2
+feet per century is
+<!--075.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span>
+taking place. A similar depression of the land
+is also thought to be in progress along the south Atlantic coast and in
+the delta of the Mississippi. The Atlantic coastal plain has its most
+characteristic development in South Carolina, and is roughly divisible
+according to its topography and soil into several belts parallel with
+the shore-line. At the same time it is transversely divided into strips
+by the several rivers which flow across it and by the many branches of
+these rivers originating on the plain itself.</p>
+
+<p>The junction of the portion of the gently sloping border of the
+continent now above sea-level, with the submerged portion, is
+characterized by the presence of a belt of swamps, in part marine
+marshes where the salt water ebbs and flows, and in part fresh-water
+morasses in which the drainage is obstructed largely by decaying
+vegetation. Inland from the coastal swamps the surface becomes higher,
+is for the most part well drained, and when not too sandy furnishes rich
+agricultural lands. The Atlantic plain as a whole thus has three
+principal divisions: a submerged portion, a marsh portion, and a
+subaerial portion. During past ages the position of each of these belts
+migrated, owing to movements in the earth's crust, but their succession
+in reference to each other has been the same since the Tertiary period.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most typical portions of the fringe of swamps now bordering
+the land is situated in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, and is
+known as the Dismal Swamp. In the central portion of this marshy region,
+embracing some 700 square miles, lies Lake Drummond, an example of a
+large number of small fresh-water lakes which are retained by rims
+composed of plant growths and decaying vegetable matter. The mound of
+vegetable <i>débris</i> in the summit of which Lake Drummond is situated is
+from 20 to 30 miles broad and rises some 12 feet above tide-level. The
+lake is nearly circular, from 2 to 2&frac12; miles in diameter, and from 6
+to 10 feet deep. The water is amber-coloured on account of the vegetable
+matter in solution, but is clear and without sediment in suspension, and
+is considered as remarkably wholesome. The lake was without definite
+outlet previous to the cutting of drainage-canals,
+<!--076.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span>
+and is entirely
+encircled by a dense forest, which has encroached on its border in such
+a manner as to render its boundaries indefinite. The wall of rank
+vegetation surrounding the open waters of the lake marks the beginning
+of the encircling swamp. Standing in the lake and supported by their
+widely expanded roots are several aged cypress-trees.</p>
+
+<p>Along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia sand-bars thrown up by the
+sea have formed many lagoons (Fig. 6), which are being
+filled by the wash of detritus from the land, by sand blown from their
+confining ridges, and by vegetation and the hard parts of molluscs,
+crustaceans, etc., living in their waters. In part, these areas have
+been converted into swamps, and are gradually being transformed into dry
+land. Farther southward, about the shores of Florida, and thence along
+the Gulf border, the low, indefinite margin of the coastal plain is
+fringed in many places by dense thickets of mangrove-trees, which extend
+their aerial roots into the salt water, and by retaining sediment and
+dead vegetation as well as by furnishing conditions favourable for
+animal life, lead to a gradual extension of the land.</p>
+
+<p>The west border of the coastal plain from New York southward to central
+Georgia is at the junction of the soft, unconsolidated sands and clays
+of the emerged portion of the continental shelf, with hard and usually
+crystalline rocks of great geological age forming, an upland known as
+the Piedmont plateau, which extends westward to the base of the
+Appalachian Mountains. The sharply defined boundary between the plain
+and the plateau is termed the <i>fall line</i>, for the reason that it is
+marked by the lowest falls and rapids in the streams flowing eastward
+from the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout the courses of these streams
+to the west of the fall line they are shallow and swift and broken by
+many picturesque rapids, while to the east of the fall line they broaden
+in the soft sediments of the coastal plain, and are deep, placid streams
+which widen into estuaries. The influence of the tides is felt in these
+drowned rivers to the fall line. The most important fact in this
+connection
+<!--077.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span>
+is that the lower courses of the larger rivers, such as
+the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, James, etc., are navigable for
+ocean-going vessels, while their upper courses to the west of the fall
+line are difficult to traverse even in canoes.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;"><a name="Fig_14" id="Fig_14"></a>
+<img src="images/i075t.jpg" width="172" height="200" alt="Fig. 14." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 14.</span>&mdash;Relief map of North America. After United
+States Geological Survey and Canadian Geological Survey.
+<a href="images/i075nw.jpg" target="_blank">Larger NW Quadrant View.</a><br />
+<a href="images/i075ne.jpg" target="_blank">Larger NE Quadrant View.</a><br />
+<a href="images/i075sw.jpg" target="_blank">Larger SW Quadrant View.</a><br />
+<a href="images/i075se.jpg" target="_blank">Larger SE Quadrant View.</a></span>
+</div><p>
+<!--078.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The fall line is thus the head of navigation in a number of rivers, and
+for this reason it has determined the sites of several important cities.
+Its course is marked by Trenton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington,
+Richmond, Weldon, Raleigh, Augusta, and Macon. Farther south, about the
+landward margin of the portion of the coastal plain bordering the Gulf
+of Mexico, the fall line is less distinct, largely for the reason that
+the rocks bordering it on the north and west are less resistant than
+those forming the plateau at the east base of the Appalachians.</p>
+
+<p>Exceptions to the fact that the coastal plain is composed mostly of soft
+sediments occur in southern Florida and in Yucatan, where coral rock has
+been upraised. Southeastward from Yucatan a coastal plain is wanting and
+rocky bluffs separated by stream-cut valleys come boldly down to the
+surf line. Partially drowned valleys on each side of Central America
+bear record of a recent but moderate downward movement of the land.</p>
+
+<p>From New York northward along the border of the continent the coastal
+plain is mostly lacking, or if recognisable, is greatly modified by
+glacial deposits, and the Piedmont plateau, as it is known farther
+south, swings eastward and becomes a coastal plateau with a more or less
+roughened surface, which extends northward to Labrador and the Arctic
+Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The geologically recent oscillations of the continent, as stated in the
+preceding chapter, have been greatest in high latitudes, where the last
+movement, as there are reasons for believing, was upward and is still
+continuing. This rise, although it has not fully counteracted the
+changes produced by a preceding downward movement, has caused the
+shore-line to recede and a great area on the arctic border of the
+continent which was previously submerged has thus become exposed. The
+coastal plain on the west side of Hudson Bay, as described by T. B.
+Tyrrell, is about 50 miles wide in the vicinity of Fort Churchill,
+latitude 55°, and broadens rapidly northward of that locality. In
+latitude 64° the boundary between these new lands and the older plains
+of the interior is about 300 miles from the present
+<!--079.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span>
+shore; thence
+northwestward it has not been traced, but may be expected to cross the
+Mackenzie some 250 miles from its mouth and pass westward into Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>This arctic coastal plain is known in part as the Barren Grounds, but in
+general may be designated as a <i>tundra</i>, as over extensive areas it is
+similar to the still greater tundras of Siberia. This tundra forms the
+extreme northern and northwestern border of the continent in arctic
+Canada and northern and northwestern Alaska, and although but
+imperfectly explored, has a length of probably 2,000 miles and a width
+of from 50 to 60, and in places of over 100 miles. On the west coast of
+Hudson Bay the tundra region slopes gradually from 500 to 600 feet above
+the sea down to the present coast, and is traversed by sand and gravel
+terraces and beaches or ridges which mark the former positions of the
+sea margin. The lower ridges referred to are thickly strewn with shells
+of molluscs belonging to species still living in the adjacent ocean
+waters, thus indicating the recency of the emergence of the land. This
+arctic coastal plain has the same general geographical features as the
+coast plain on the southern Atlantic and Gulf border of the continent;
+but, owing mainly to different climatic conditions, differs from its
+southern representative in nearly every detail.</p>
+
+<p>The tundra may be briefly defined as a vast frozen morass. The dense
+mat-like vegetation consists principally of mosses and lichens (but not
+noticeably of <i>Sphagnum</i> or peat-moss, as is sometimes stated), and
+during the short and not infrequently hot summers is beautified by a
+multitude of low flowering herbaceous plants. Trees are absent, except
+along the inland border, where the tundra merges with the subarctic
+forest. To the north, or seaward from the isolated groves of stunted
+spruce-trees marking the "continental timber-line," the only
+representative of arboreal vegetation is usually the slim osier-like
+arctic willow which grows in sheltered localities and attains a height
+of 3 to 5 feet. Near the streams there are in some localities broad
+areas covered with dark-green meadow-like growths of rushes
+(<i>Equiseta</i>). The luxuriant flowering plants spring
+<!--080.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span>
+into existence
+as if by magic as soon as the winter's snow melts, and under the warmth
+and light of the nightless arctic summer grow with wonderful rapidity.
+In winter the tundra is snow-covered, but the snow is less deep than in
+more humid regions, and the cold is intense. The bog becomes deeply
+frozen, and is not completely thawed during the succeeding summer. Even
+in midsummer, when the surface is a luxuriant garden of flowers and
+fresh gray-green moss, ice exists a foot or two beneath the luxuriant
+carpet and extends to a great but unknown depth. Excavations made in
+Alaska have shown that the perennial, dirt-stained ice beneath the
+tundra is at least 25 feet thick, but this is by no means its maximum
+depth. On the shore of Eschscholtz Bay and along the Kowak River
+sections of the tundra exposed in cliffs indicate a thickness of 150 to
+300 feet of ice, covered by a thin layer of black peaty soil. The
+similar region in Siberia, as shown by borings, is known to be
+permanently frozen to a depth of 380 feet deep. The subsoil ice is
+sheltered by the vegetation and the peaty soil resting on it, from the
+heat of the short summers, and the part softened by the summer's sun is
+refrozen during the long intensely cold winters. It is probable that
+under the present climatic conditions a sheet of perennial ice would be
+formed beneath the tundra, but the suggestion that the ice now present
+is in part an inheritance from a former period of greater cold is not
+without support. The vegetation of the tundra grows each year at the
+surface, while the partially decayed material below is frozen and
+preserved. This increase in depth of the vegetable matter is much the
+same as the growth of peat in temperate latitudes, except that the
+partially decayed material is preserved in cold storage. It was in the
+tundra of Siberia that the completely preserved bodies of the mammoth
+and the woolly rhinoceros have been discovered. Similar finds are to be
+looked for in the tundra of North America, where the bones of these
+animals have already been found.</p>
+
+<p>On the Pacific border of the continent the shores are mostly bold, and
+coastal plains comparable with those on
+<!--081.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span>
+its eastern and northern
+margins are absent. In southern California, however, in the vicinity of
+Los Angeles, a modern and apparently local elevation of the land has
+produced a highly fertile plain, now, owing to the magic touch of
+irrigation, beautified by gardens and orchards.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Piedmont and Coastal Plateaus.</i>&mdash;Adjacent to the western margin of
+the Atlantic coastal plain, and extending from Alabama northward to New
+England, there is a plateau region about 150 miles broad in its central
+part, but narrowing towards its extremities so as to be from 40 to 60
+miles broad in Maryland and New Jersey, and of about the same width at
+the south, in Georgia. The slope of the plateau surface is seaward from
+an elevation of about 1,000 feet along its western margin to 250 or 300
+feet at the fall line where it joins the coastal plain.</p>
+
+<p>From its position at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains this
+moderately elevated plain is termed the Piedmont plateau. The same
+plateau extends northeastward, however, where it is known as the New
+England plateau, and is without any definite boundary to separate it
+from the similar region in the maritime provinces of Canada. While local
+divisions of this great extent of moderately elevated plateau country
+are recognised, yet in a general view of the continent it is evident
+that the Piedmont plateau, the New England plateau, and the similar
+region, mostly of crystalline and igneous rocks, extending from Maine to
+Hudson Strait and beyond, in reality forms a single great geographical
+unit in which the geological structure and geographical features are
+much the same. The general history of this great Atlantic plateau, as it
+may, perhaps, be termed, shows that it consists mainly of metamorphic
+rocks, such as mica schist, gneiss, slates, etc., together with granite
+and other igneous rocks, and, to a minor extent, of sandstones, shales,
+and limestones, mostly of Jura-Trias and Carboniferous age. These rocks
+were upraised probably in part into lofty mountains, and then worn down
+by erosion nearly to sea-level, thus forming what is termed a
+<i>peneplain</i>, or a plain of subaerial denudation. It is not intended by
+this statement to imply that all of the
+<!--082.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span>
+Atlantic plateau was ever
+a single great peneplain, but the same general history seems to apply to
+the entire region. The upheaval of the plains produced by erosion gave
+the streams greater energy, and they have begun the task of again
+reducing the land to sea-level, but have not as yet broadened their
+valleys so as to greatly modify the general plateau character of the
+region they traverse. The softer or more easily soluble rocks have been
+eroded away, leaving broad valleys, as in the several instances where
+sandstones and shales of what is known as the Newark system (Jura-Trias)
+occur in detached areas from South Carolina to Nova Scotia. Then, too,
+from northern New Jersey northward to Labrador and beyond, great
+glaciers have crossed the plateau or developed upon its broad north
+portion and have ground down its surface or left widely extended hills
+and ridges of morainal material upon it.</p>
+
+<p>Where the process, just referred to, of planing down a tract of country
+nearly to sea-level is incomplete and remnants of former uplands still
+remain as isolated hills or groups of hills, such inheritances from the
+pre-peneplain stage may still exist when the region is elevated into a
+plateau and give diversity to its surface. An example of such a residual
+hill is furnished by Mount Monadnock, in southern New Hampshire, and, as
+proposed by W. M. Davis, the name of this old landmark is adopted as a
+technical term by which to designate all similar remnants of old uplands
+left standing on a peneplain. On the Atlantic plateau there are many
+<i>monadnocks</i>. They range in size from well-characterized hills to
+mountain-like forms, and may be isolated or occur in groups. When a
+monadnock stands alone its history may be easily read, but groups of
+such eminences, especially when of large size, become ranges of hills or
+even mountains, and may preserve so much of their former characteristics
+that they outrank the adjacent peneplain and become the dominant
+geographic feature of the region to which they give diversity. Such a
+passage from monadnocks to mountains seems to be furnished by the
+numerous isolated hills on the Atlantic plateau and the mountains of New
+England and of eastern Canada.
+<!--083.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The most characteristic portions of what has just been termed
+provisionally the Atlantic plateau are the Piedmont plateau, which
+skirts the east base of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to
+central Alabama and the Labrador plateau. The eastern border of the
+Piedmont plateau is determined by the fall line described above, where
+the hard crystalline rocks of the Piedmont region meet the softer rocks
+of the Atlantic coastal plain. The rivers flowing eastward from the
+Appalachian, such as the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, and the James,
+cross the Piedmont plateau in well-defined but narrow channels, usually
+from 100 to 200 feet deep, leaving the interstream spaces with generally
+level surfaces, although etched as it were by the lateral tributaries of
+the master streams. These rivers are shallow and rapid in their courses
+across the plateau, or in somewhat technical geographical language are
+not as yet graded, but on crossing the fall line become sluggish
+tide-water streams which widen into estuaries, as already described.
+Owing to the warm humid climate of this region, the rocks in the
+interstream spaces are usually deeply decayed and furnish clay soils
+which have characteristic red and yellow colours. Much of the cotton and
+tobacco of the South Atlantic States is grown on these residual soils
+which were left as the more soluble portions of the rocks were removed
+in solution.</p>
+
+<p>Labrador, although in great part unexplored, is known to present the
+characteristic features of an irregular plateau, with a general
+elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the sea. The surface is
+undulating and has hills and hollows, the latter frequently holding
+lakes and swamps, but the inequalities seldom exceed 500 feet in
+vertical range. Although the western boundary of the Labrador plateau is
+indefinite, its area may be taken at about 500,000 square miles. In its
+western part, and apparently rising from the plateau as a group of
+residual hills left by erosion, are the so-called Laurentian or
+Laurentide Mountains. The eastern border of the plateau forms the bold
+and excessively rugged Atlantic coast-line of Labrador, characterized by
+steep cliff with a fringe of small rocky islands. The adjacent
+<!--084.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span>
+sea
+is deep and the continental shelf narrow. On the south the plateau is
+bordered by a series of terraces which lead down to the St. Lawrence
+River and on the west it merges indefinitely with the plains of the
+continental basin.</p>
+
+<p>The rocks of Labrador are largely metamorphic, but include ancient
+igneous intrusions, and are hard and resistant. The present surface is
+the result of deep erosion which has removed a great but unknown
+thickness of material and left exposed what was once the deeply buried
+basal portion of a mountainous region. This is a part of the oldest
+known land of the continent, and, so far as can be learned, has never
+been covered by the sea since a very ancient geological period. In
+addition to the long eras of erosion, during which the <i>débris</i> removed
+was deposited in part farther south, and contributed to the formation of
+the stratified rocks of the Appalachian region and interior continental
+basin, there was a comparatively recent extension of great glaciers over
+the plateau which removed the previously disintegrated and decayed rocks
+and left the present bare, rounded, and generally subdued hills with
+intervening basins. The soils are thin, for the reason that under the
+present climatic conditions rock decay is retarded, and are confined
+principally to the depression where peaty material has accumulated.
+Owing to the lack of soil on the uplands, the excess of water in the
+hollows, and to the severity of the climate, the forest is not
+continuous, the trees are small, and the vegetation generally of a
+subarctic character. This vast region is without agricultural
+possibilities, and thus far has been of value to man almost solely on
+account of its fur-bearing animals and the fisheries of its coast.</p>
+
+<p>The northern border of the Atlantic plateau cannot at present be
+accurately defined. Seemingly it should include the Arctic archipelago,
+which provisionally may be considered as a deeply dissected plateau
+region, at present less elevated than formerly, thus allowing the sea to
+enter the valleys and to transform old uplands into islands. The bold
+and highly instructive explorations conducted in
+<!--085.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span>
+recent years by
+Robert Bell, for the Canadian Geological Survey, have shown that in the
+region adjacent to Hudson Strait the plateau features characteristic of
+the greater part of the Labrador peninsula are absent and mountains
+occur which rank as the highest on the eastern border of the continent.</p>
+
+<p>On the Pacific coast plateaus corresponding closely with those adjacent
+to or bordering the Atlantic are wanting. What geographers recognise as
+deeply dissected plateaus, so extremely rough that they pass for
+mountain ranges, do occur on the western border of the continent,
+however, and will be described later.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE ATLANTIC MOUNTAINS</div>
+
+<p>This title will no doubt appear novel to many persons, and is, perhaps,
+open to adverse criticism, but it serves to unite in one group all of
+the mountains in the eastern half of North America. A cordillera, as
+usually defined, consists of two or more mountain chains associated
+geographically, but not necessarily of the same age. On the Atlantic
+border of the continent we have an example of such a family of
+mountains. The Atlantic mountains, although comprising ranges, systems,
+etc., of widely different ages, are all geologically old, and have
+resulted from upheavals along two generally parallel and slightly
+overlapping northeast and southwest belts adjacent to the Atlantic
+Ocean. The growth of this group of mountains is believed to have been
+from the north southward, and several periods of upheaval have been
+recognised.</p>
+
+<p>The two main divisions or chains referred to are separated by the valley
+of the St. Lawrence. The mountains at the north are known as the
+Laurentides or Laurentian Highlands, and those at the south comprise the
+mountains of New Brunswick and Maine, the White Mountains of New
+Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Adirondack Mountains of
+northeastern New York, and the Appalachians. The most convenient method
+of reviewing the characteristics and histories of these several uplifts
+is to
+<!--086.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span>
+begin with the Appalachians, which are at the same time the
+most important and best known, and consider them in their order from
+south to north.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"><a name="Fig_15" id="Fig_15"></a>
+<img src="images/i085.jpg" width="700" height="606" alt="Fig. 15." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 15.</span>&mdash;Appalachian Mountains.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>The Appalachian Mountains.</i>&mdash;This beautiful and frequently exceedingly
+picturesque series of long, narrow ridges separated one from another by
+trough-like valleys, constitutes a mountain system some 900 miles long
+and 50 to 130 or more miles wide (Fig. 15). The truly
+mountainous portion in its widest part, in western North Carolina and
+eastern Tennessee, is about 70 miles across, but a portion of the
+adjacent plateau on the west partakes of the same structural features
+and is a part of the Appalachian uplift. The system is considered as
+extending from the Hudson southward to central Alabama and central
+Georgia. At the north its terminus is indefinite, as it merges with the
+highlands to the east of the Hudson and with the Berkshire Hills of
+Massachusetts, which in turn are not strictly separable from the Green
+Mountains of Vermont. At the south, the system ends somewhat abruptly
+where the crystalline rocks comprising its southern terminus pass
+beneath the soft sediments of the coastal plain. The eastern border of
+the system is well defined by its junction with the Piedmont plateau,
+but on the west it merges through a series of lessening folds with the
+plateaus and plains of the eastern border of the interior continental
+basin. The Alleghany plateau, which skirts the western border of what is
+usually recognised as the Appalachian Mountains, but which is really its
+moderately disturbed border, extends from the Hudson to Alabama, and in
+its various portions is known by distinct names. Its northern extension
+overlooking the Hudson forms the Catskill Mountains; farther south it
+becomes locally the Alleghany plateau, and still farther south the
+Cumberland plateau. Separating the bold eastern escarpment of this
+series of plateaus from the generally higher mountains to the eastward
+lies the great Appalachian Valley, which under various names extends
+from the Hudson to central Alabama. This important and highly fruitful
+valley is underlaid to a great extent by thick bedded limestones and
+soft shales, and owes its existence
+<!--089.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span>
+to erosion and largely to the
+removal of limestone in solution.</p>
+
+<p>The Appalachians are nowhere lofty, and only approach the
+characteristics of great mountains in their southern portion. The
+culminating summit is Mount Mitchell, in western North Carolina, which
+has an elevation of 6,711 feet. Roan Mountain, 27 miles to the northward
+of Mount Mitchell, rises 6,287 feet above the sea. In the neighbouring
+Unaka and Great Smoky Mountains, to the southwest and west of Mount
+Mitchell, there are many boldly rounded domes ranging in height from
+5,000 to over 6,000 feet Northward of the highly picturesque southern
+Appalachians, the system decreases in height and is really a deeply
+dissected plateau, as will be shown later, in which the long,
+even-crested ridges have a general elevation of 4,000 feet in Virginia
+and about 2,000 feet in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At its northern
+extension in New York it decreases still more in height, and is
+surpassed in elevation by the plateau on the west, there represented by
+the Catskill Mountains, the highest portion of which is 3,660 feet above
+the sea.</p>
+
+<p>The characteristic structural feature of the Appalachians is the
+presence of a great series of up and down folds, or anticlinals and
+synclinals as geologists term them, which run in a nearly parallel
+northeast and southwest direction, but in Pennsylvania especially
+exhibit many broad curves in their general course. These folds are
+similar to the waves that may be produced in a heavy rug or carpet by
+pressing against one of its margins. The rocks have been thrown into a
+series of great wrinkles which are not continuous throughout the length
+of the system, but as one dies out another takes its place. The folds
+overlap at the ends or are arranged <i>en échelon</i>. The longer axes of the
+folds are seldom horizontal, but have usually a gentle pitch; for this
+reason one end of a fold frequently passes beneath the surface, while
+the other end is exposed to erosion. Another characteristic is that the
+anticlinals, as a rule, are steep on their western margins, and slope
+more gently on their eastern flanks, or are unsymmetrical. The
+overturning of
+<!--090.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span>
+the folds where most pronounced has led to the
+breaking of the rocks on the west side of an upward wrinkle where the
+descending limb of an anticlinal is sharply bent in order to pass into
+the ascending limb of the adjacent synclinal. These breaks or faults in
+certain instances form thrust planes along which one portion of a series
+of beds has been carried westward, sometimes for several miles, over
+another portion of the same series. This highly characteristic system of
+unsymmetrical folds, passing at times, and especially in Tennessee and
+Alabama, into great thrust planes, is accounted for on the general
+theory that there has been lateral pressure or a tangential thrust,
+which has forced the strata into a series of elongated arches, in much
+the same manner as in the case of a rug, as above suggested, one margin
+of which has been forced by lateral pressure towards its central part.</p>
+
+<p>The rocks composing the greater portion of the Appalachians are
+stratified marine sediment such as sandstone, shale, limestone, etc.,
+which were laid down one on another until a great depth was attained,
+corresponding, as we may fancy, to a pile of rugs, the original
+thickness in Pennsylvania being about 40,000 feet. Lateral pressure
+resulting, as it is believed, from the cooling and consequent
+contraction of the earth's highly heated interior, and the movement of
+the cool and rigid crust in order to keep in contact with the shrinking
+mass beneath, has led to the folding and occasional breaking of the
+rocks, which at the same time were elevated above the sea. A crushing
+together or folding of the rocks similar to that which has taken place
+along the central part of the Atlantic border of North America, as is
+well known, has occurred also in many other regions, and the
+Appalachians may be taken as the type of a class of mountains, sometimes
+termed corrugated mountains, which includes the Alps and Pyrenees, the
+Coast Range of California, etc. For convenience we may speak of such
+mountains as being of the Appalachian type.</p>
+
+<p>Had the folding in the Appalachian region gone on without erosion, the
+surface would to-day be a series of
+<!--091.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span>
+great, elongated arches or
+upward folds, rising in many instances 5,000 or more feet above the
+intervening valleys, and where breaks or faults occur their upraised
+borders would stand as mighty cliffs, in some localities a mile or more
+high. The central part of the region with this strange topography had
+there been no erosion would, perhaps, be fully as prominent as the
+Himalayan Mountains are at present. No sooner, however, were the
+Appalachian Mountains upraised above the sea than the destructive
+agencies of the atmosphere began their attacks upon them. The rocks were
+shattered by changes of temperature, and at times at least crumbled by
+the freezing of absorbed water and also underwent chemical changes which
+softened and disintegrated them. The rains beat upon them, and streams
+flowing to the sea cut channels and carried away the material forming
+the land. These processes of disintegration and erosion have been in
+progress since islands and continents first appeared on the earth, and
+every mountain range now giving diversity to the surface of the land
+represents the net result of elevation over denudation. The Appalachians
+are not an exception, but a typical illustration of this general law.
+The great folds of which they are composed have been truncated by
+erosion and the surfaces thus produced, etched, as it were, by the
+action of the air, rain, and by streams, so as to leave the edges of the
+more resistant layers in relief.</p>
+
+<p>One conspicuous result in this general process of erosion is due to the
+fact that the folded strata consist in many instances of alternating
+hard, or insoluble and soft, or readily soluble layers. Where resistant
+layers underlaid by soft, or readily soluble strata formed the summits
+of arches they have in many instances been broken in the process of
+folding or cut through by streams flowing down their flanks and the weak
+beds beneath exposed. After this stage was reached the erosion of the
+upward folds went on more rapidly than the removal of rock from the
+compressed downward folds, so that what is structurally a ridge became a
+valley: while the bordering troughs or synclinals floored with hard
+layers were left in relief as ridges or table-lands. The anticlinal
+ridges have thus been transformed
+<!--092.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span>
+into topographic valleys and the
+original synclinal troughs left in relief as plateaus and ridges.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_16" id="Fig_16"></a>
+<img src="images/i090.jpg" width="600" height="154" alt="Fig. 16." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 16.</span>&mdash;Section of anticlinal valleys and synclinal
+mountains.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This reversion of what would have been ridges and troughs had there been
+no erosion, is illustrated by the following cross-section through
+Lookout Mountain in Alabama, which is an example of what is known as a
+synclinal mountain. Many such synclinal mountains or plateaus, separated
+by narrower anticlinal valleys, occur throughout the Appalachians.</p>
+
+<p>The characteristics in the present topography of the Appalachians just
+considered are but a minor portion of the great changes that have
+resulted from erosion. The history of the system has not been the same
+in this connection throughout, but retains evidences of successive
+upward movements with long periods of erosion intervening which have
+produced certain striking differences in its northern and southern
+portions. These differences are so well marked that it is convenient to
+divide the system into two portions, termed the northern Appalachians
+and southern Appalachians. The most conspicuous difference between the
+two is shown by the direction of flow of the larger rivers. At the
+north, the principal rivers&mdash;the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, and
+James&mdash;rise well to the west of the mountains and flow southeast athwart
+the numerous folds, and after crossing the Piedmont plateau and coastal
+plain discharge into the Atlantic. At the south, however, the rivers,
+particularly New River and the Tennessee, rise on the eastern border of
+the Appalachians and flow westward, cutting through the Alleghany
+plateau, and are tributary to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.
+The somewhat arbitrary dividing line between these two
+<!--093.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span>
+provinces
+follows the divide to the north of New River, or in a general way, as
+has been stated by C. W. Hayes, is marked by a line drawn from the most
+easterly point of Kentucky southeastward to Cape Fear, on the Atlantic
+coast.</p>
+
+<p>The fact that several large rivers rising to the northwest of the
+northern Appalachians flow directly across or through the numerous
+ridges composing the system in deep, narrow valleys, and the similar
+behaviour of the streams rising on the eastern border of the southern
+Appalachians, but flowing westward, are among the most interesting
+features of the entire region. Why is it that the mountains have not
+formed a divide or water-parting so as to force all of the streams
+having their sources on its west side to take what would seem the easier
+course, and to flow to the Gulf of Mexico, and cause the waters falling
+on its eastern slopes to flow to the Atlantic? The answer to this
+apparently puzzling question has been furnished by Davis, Willis, Hayes,
+Campbell, and others, who have shown that the mountains were not raised
+all at once, but experienced upward movements at widely separated
+intervals, with intervening periods of rest during which the elevations
+previously produced were more or less completely planed away by erosion.
+During one of these intervals the north Appalachians more especially
+were worn down to approximately sea-level and a gently sloping plain
+produced across which the larger rivers flowed to the Atlantic. This
+peneplain was later upraised into a plateau and its downward inclination
+towards the east increased. The streams were thus given greater energy
+and began again to deepen their channels. They held their right of way
+acquired on the featureless erosion plain and cut deep trenches through
+the edges of the hard layers which crossed their courses. At the same
+time lateral branches were developed which followed the outcrops of the
+less resistant beds and eroded them away so as to leave the hard beds in
+bold relief. As the edges of the more resistant beds became more and
+more prominent the eastward-flowing streams cut deeper and deeper into
+them. The even summits
+<!--094.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span>
+of the ridges, one of the most striking
+features in the beautiful scenery of the Appalachians, still mark the
+position of the elevated erosion plain.</p>
+
+<p>In the southern Appalachian the old erosion plain formed nearly at
+sea-level was tilted gently westward, and the streams flowing over its
+surface given initial courses in that direction, which were maintained
+as they deepened their channels, and on account of increased energy
+originating from the upraising of the region drained by them, developed
+lateral branches, as is the case of the more northern streams just
+referred to, and the process of carving away the land to sea-level was
+again renewed.</p>
+
+<p>Portions of the original upland or mountain mass left unconsumed during
+the long period of planation, which reduced most of the region nearly to
+sea-level, still remain in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina,
+and northern Georgia, and form the highest and most picturesque portion
+of the Appalachians.</p>
+
+<p>After the upraised peneplain from which the long, even-crested ridges of
+the Appalachians were produced by the excavation of the bordering
+valleys had been deeply dissected and the valleys broadened, another
+upward movement took place and the streams again deepened their valleys.
+This is the stage in which we now find the mountains. The crests of the
+ridges, characteristically displayed in eastern Pennsylvania, are
+portions of the first peneplain of which a definite record is preserved,
+while the broad valleys with sharply cut channels in their bottoms
+represent the much less complete second stage of planation.</p>
+
+<p>The two ancient peneplains referred to above, the histories of which are
+recorded in the topography, have received definite names in order that
+they may be readily designated. The older and higher one is termed the
+Schooley peneplain<span class="fnanchor">[2]</span> on account of the preservation of a typical
+portion at Schooley Mountain in New Jersey, while the lower one,
+represented by the broad valley through
+<!--095.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span>
+which flows the Shenandoah
+River, Virginia, is known as the Shenandoah peneplain. A generalized
+profile in a northwest and southeast direction through a portion of the
+Appalachians is shown in the following diagram, which will serve to make
+more definite the description just given. The highest summits in the
+diagram represent portions of the Schooley peneplain; if the depressions
+could be refilled the surface of the great plateau formed by the
+elevation of this plain would be restored. The bottoms of the broad
+depressions represent the Shenandoah peneplain, which is sharply
+trenched by the modern river channels.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[2]</span>Also known as the "Kittatinny peneplain," but the name used
+above has priority.</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"><a name="Fig_17" id="Fig_17"></a>
+<img src="images/i093.jpg" width="700" height="84" alt="Fig. 17." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 17.</span>&mdash;Generalized east-and-west profile showing
+relation of peneplains.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Appalachians thus furnish not only a typical example of a mountain
+system produced by the folding and upheaval of the rocks of the earth's
+crust, accompanied in many localities by breaks or faults and
+overthrusts, but also preserve the records of two well-characterized
+peneplains. The long and varied history of the range has been in part
+interpreted by geologists from the character of the rocks, the fossils
+they contain, and the structure that has been impressed upon them; but
+some of the most instructive chapters are recorded in the topography,
+and their study has led to a highly creditable advance in methods of
+geographical research.</p>
+
+<p>The Appalachian Mountains when first seen by Europeans were clothed
+throughout with a varied and beautiful forest consisting largely of
+hardwood trees. Nowhere do they invade the region of perpetual snow, and
+glaciers are absent. These statements are true also for all of the
+mountains on the eastern side of the continent to the south of Hudson
+Strait.</p>
+
+<p>The Appalachians abound in beautiful scenery, but, except about a few of
+the very highest domes and ridges, have
+<!--096.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span>
+little of the stern
+ruggedness which is typical of truly great mountains. Their countless
+valleys are now mostly cleared of their primitive forests and under
+cultivation. To a large extent also even the steep hillsides are tilled.
+The larger trees which formerly grew on the mountains have nearly all
+been felled, and where the land is not suitable for cultivation their
+place is taken by a dense second growth. Under the mild, humid climate
+that prevails, more especially from the vicinity of the Susquehanna
+River southward, the rocks are deeply disintegrated and decayed, and
+even steep mountainsides are mantled with soil and rock <i>débris</i>. It is
+the excess of disintegration and decay over erosion which gives to the
+mountains their usually flowing outlines and pleasingly picturesque
+rather than rugged scenery. The valleys still retain much of the
+material washed from the uplands, and are deeply floored with rich soil.
+The characteristic colours of this decayed rock-waste are many shades of
+red and yellow, which harmonize in a most artistic manner with the
+prevailing green of the plant-covered uplands and abandoned fields.
+These red and yellow soils, particularly about the bases of the higher
+summits of the southern Appalachians, afford abundant crops of cotton,
+corn (maize), and tobacco.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Mountains of New England, New York, New Brunswick, etc.</i>&mdash;The
+picturesque Berkshire Hills, in the western portion of Massachusetts,
+have rounded and flowing outlines and a generally subdued relief. The
+more prominent of these greatly eroded remnants of what was once a
+mountain range rise but 2,000 to 3,500 feet above the sea. No
+satisfactory boundary between these hills of gneiss, schist, and allied
+metamorphic rocks, and the others of the same general character in the
+neighbouring portions of New York and New Jersey, has been determined.
+So far as the relief is concerned, and so far also as the complex
+geological history has been deciphered, there seems no good reason for
+separating the Berkshire Hills from the Appalachian Mountains. It is
+convenient, however, to consider the Appalachians as terminating at the
+Hudson. The Berkshire Hills when traced northward merge with a
+<!--097.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span>
+region of similar topography which unites them with the Green Mountains
+of Vermont, the highest summit of which, Mount Mansfield, attains an
+elevation of 4,364 feet above the sea. To the east of the Green
+Mountains are situated the still higher and more rugged White Mountains
+of New Hampshire, which culminate in Mount Washington. This widely known
+and greatly admired peak has an elevation of 6,293 feet, and, next to
+Mount Mitchell in the southern Appalachians, is the highest mountain on
+the eastern side of the continent to the south of the newly discovered
+group of peaks near Hudson Strait. Associated with Mount Washington are
+at least 15 peaks, each of which is over 5,000 feet high, and a still
+larger number of lesser summits which exceed 4,000 feet in elevation
+above the sea. The remarkable natural beauties of the Green and White
+Mountains, the ease with which they can be reached by means of
+railroads, and the numerous summer hotels, and hospitable farmhouses
+interspersed among them, make this, the most mountainous portion of New
+England, a favourite region for summer rest and recreation. The Green
+and White Mountains are nearly parallel north and south ranges, from 30
+to 60 miles apart, and separated by a tract of lower but hilly country
+with a generally southern slope, where many streams unite to form the
+southward-flowing Connecticut River.</p>
+
+<p>The Adirondack Mountains, in northeastern New York, are situated some 25
+miles to the west of the Green Mountains, and separated from them by
+another tract of hilly country similar to the one dividing the mountains
+of Vermont from those of New Hampshire. In this space lies the irregular
+sheet of water over 100 miles long known as Lake Champlain. This
+beautiful lake discharges northward through Richelieu River to the St.
+Lawrence. In the same tract of hills, but to the southward of Lake
+Champlain and tributary to it, lies the smaller but still more charming
+Lake George.</p>
+
+<p>The Adirondacks are rudely circular in ground plan, and measure from 60
+to 70 miles from east to west, and about 100 miles from north to south.
+The entire area,
+<!--098.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span>
+known to the early settlers of New York State as
+the North Woods, is rugged and most pleasingly diversified. Its leading
+charms are the large number of dark, densely forested summits, the many
+beautiful lakes and clear, sparkling streams. The highest of the
+numerous steep-sided peaks is Mount Marcy, 5,344 feet, and second in
+rank is the equally beautiful eminence known as Whiteface, which rises
+4,872 feet above the sea and about 3,000 feet above the adjacent
+valleys. Over 20 neighbouring forest-covered summits have elevations in
+excess of 4,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The rugged region in northeastern New York and the adjacent portion of
+New England is in general without well-marked boundaries. On the north
+it extends into Canada, and is margined by the great valley through
+which flows the St. Lawrence. In the province of Ottawa, to the south of
+the St. Lawrence, there is a group of bold hills similar in many ways to
+the Green Mountains, known as the Notre Dame Mountains, which decreases
+in height when traced northward and merge with a roughened plateau which
+extends far to the northeast and embraces the Gaspé Peninsula and the
+table-land and hills of New Brunswick. Much of the country adjacent to
+the St. Lawrence on the south is rolling and hilly and contains large
+tracts of rich agricultural land which is highly favourable for dairying
+and sheep-raising. Mount Sutton, the highest elevation in the Notre Dame
+Mountains, is 4,000 feet high, and several other forest-covered
+mountain-like hills range in elevation from 1,000 to 3,000 feet. In the
+irregular valleys of this region there are a large number of lakes,
+situated in general from 700 to 1,000 feet above the sea. The Gaspé
+Peninsula to the north of New Brunswick, bordered on the north by the
+valley of the St. Lawrence, and on the east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+has a rough relief and dense forests and is still a wilderness. The
+general elevation of the uplands in this little known region is about
+1,500 feet. The surface is in reality a broad plateau in which numerous
+valleys have been excavated and from which rises a range of hills termed
+the Shikshock Mountains,
+<!--099.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span>
+some 65 miles long and 4 or 5 miles wide,
+with peaks ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in height.</p>
+
+<p>Much of Maine and New Brunswick is similar to the region just referred
+to, and, in a generalized geographical view, may be considered as a part
+of the great coastal plateau of the northeastern portion of the
+continent, roughened by erosion so as to appear to one travelling
+through its valleys as an endless succession of rugged hills. The
+highest of the numerous prominences in Maine is Mount Katahdin, 5,200
+feet, and in New Brunswick the culminating summit is Bald Mountain,
+2,470 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The rugged region embracing the Adirondacks, together with the more
+elevated portions of New England and of the adjacent provinces of
+Canada, has many geographical features that are similar to those of the
+southern Appalachians, but at the same time this, the central portion,
+differs in a marked way from the southern extension of the Atlantic
+mountains. The higher mountains in each of these picturesque regions are
+at least in a general way to be considered as the unconsumed remnants of
+ancient uplands, the greater part of which have been eroded away. The
+most marked contrast in the scenery of these two regions of similar
+elevation is due to the presence of a great number of lakes at the
+north, many of them of large size, and the total absence of such
+beautifying elements in the landscapes at the south. The streams at the
+north are frequently impetuous and broken by many cataracts and rapids,
+thus furnishing abundant water-power; while at the south the streams
+flow through more evenly graded channels and are without cascades except
+near their sources in the mountains. These contrasts are such as are to
+be found the world over between regions of young and old topography. The
+differences in the degree of development reached by the streams of the
+New England region as contrasted with those of the southern
+Appalachians, finds an explanation in the fact that New England, Canada,
+etc., was formerly covered with glacial ice, and on the retreat of the
+glaciers the surface of the land was left with an essentially new
+relief, while the southern Appalachians were
+<!--100.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span>
+well to the south of
+the great ice invasion, and the streams of that region have reached a
+mature development, except near the sources of their head-water
+branches, which, like the topmost twigs of a tree, are always young.</p>
+
+<p>The central, like the southern portion of the Atlantic mountains, is
+forest-clothed. All but a few of the highest summits in the Adirondack
+and White Mountains are concealed beneath a dense and varied growth of
+trees and shrubs. The summits, which are nearly bare of vegetation, like
+the upper 800 or 1,000 feet of Mount Washington, owe this condition to
+lack of soil rather than to elevation. Nowhere in the Atlantic mountains
+to the south of the but little known peaks near Hudson Strait, is the
+elevation sufficient to reach above what would be the timber-line under
+favourable soil conditions. The trees of the White and neighbouring
+mountains are principally various species of conifers, such as the pine,
+spruce, hemlock, larch, etc., which grow thickly on all but the most
+precipitous slopes. Before man disfigured the beauties of the land the
+lower hills, the river-valleys, and the borders of the numerous lakes
+and tarns were clothed with a more varied flora than the uplands. In
+these valley forests the dark foliage of evergreens is in summer mingled
+with the lighter green of maples, beeches, birches, oaks, locusts, and
+other broad-leaf trees. The forests are thus highly diversified and
+partake of the characteristics of both the northern and southern floras.
+It is in these northern woods that the glorious autumnal colouring for
+which North America is justly famous is to be seen in its greatest
+splendour. October is here truly the golden month of the year. At that
+season the bold hills, with their sombre robes of coniferous trees, rise
+like dark rugged islands above an undulating sea from which the most
+gorgeous sunset colours seem to be reflected. The brilliant colouring of
+the ripe foliage beautifies the land as with a cloth of gold. It is at
+this season also, during the tranquil days of what is known as Indian
+Summer, that a purple haze is thrown like a veil over the harlequin
+landscape, as if to subdue its glories and bring them within the range
+of man's appreciation.
+<!--101.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Only a few of the higher summits in the New England region approach the
+scenic conditions usually associated with truly lofty mountains. In
+fact, the general lack of rugged escarpments as well as of great
+elevation leads the geographer to rank even the highest of these rounded
+summits as hills of large size rather than attempt to burden them with
+the dignity that the term mountain carries with it. They are beautiful
+hills, separated one from another by lovely valleys, which draw the
+beholder to them and fill his memory with tender longings and vague
+dreamy fancies such as the sterner grandeurs of great mountains fail to
+awaken.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Laurentian Highlands.</i>&mdash;A vast area in the eastern portion of
+Canada, to the north of the valley of the St. Lawrence, including
+Labrador, is underlaid by very ancient crystalline rocks of the same
+general character as those forming the Adirondacks. This same geological
+system, the Archean, has a wide development in the continental basin to
+the north of Lake Superior and about Hudson Bay. To the north of Quebec,
+in the region drained by the Saguenay and Ottawa Rivers, the land has a
+general elevation of 1,500 to 1,600 feet, and is known as the Laurentian
+Highlands, although sometimes dignified by the name Laurentian
+Mountains, or, more briefly, as the Laurentides. In reality, this broad,
+indefinitely defined region from a geographical point of view is a
+roughened plateau and not a mountain range or group of ranges. When the
+structure and metamorphosed condition of the rocks are considered,
+however, it is found that they have the characteristics pertaining to
+the central and more deeply seated portions of true mountains. The rocks
+are mainly crystalline schist, gneiss, granite, etc., together with
+igneous intrusions, all of which have been intensely folded, crumpled,
+and broken. The general interpretation of the existing conditions is
+that deep erosion has occurred and, in fact, a mountain range or a
+mountain chain worn down to a generally plane surface. The thickness of
+the rocks thus removed, or the depth of erosion, is unknown, and owing
+mainly to the complexity of the geological structure of the terranes
+remaining, will
+<!--102.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span>
+perhaps never be ascertained, but can be safely
+estimated as not only hundreds, but several thousands of feet. Erosion
+has laid bare portions of the earth's crust which were once deeply
+buried, and reveals the character of the "basement complex," as it has
+been termed, which forms the foundation of the continent. Owing to the
+great age of the rocks and the depth to which they were once depressed
+in the earth's crust, they have experienced great changes. They are not
+only intensely folded and crushed, but in large part have been caused to
+flow under great pressure, and have thus acquired a schistose structure.
+Fissures have been filled with molten rock injected from below so as to
+form dikes, and possibly still greater or regional intrusions have
+occurred. Over large areas the amount of once molten and intruded rock
+exceeds the surface exposure of what are usually, but with some
+hesitation, classed as metamorphosed sediments.</p>
+
+<p>Long exposure to the air in a region of mild relief is usually
+accompanied by the formation of a deep soil. The soil over the
+Laurentian Highlands, however, is generally thin, and large areas of
+bare rock are exposed. The explanation of this apparent anomaly is that
+glaciers during a geologically recent period were formed on this region
+and flowed away from it, carrying most of the previously formed rock
+<i>débris</i> with them. The time since the melting of the glaciers has been
+too short for a new soil to form, except in the valleys and depressions
+among the bare glaciated hills, which hold a peaty accumulation
+resulting from the partial decay of vegetation. The scarcity of soil is
+also due in part to the climatic conditions now prevailing, which are
+unfavourable to rapid rock decay.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of the Laurentian Highlands and in the vicinity of Hudson
+Strait, the land becomes higher, and as recently reported by Robert
+Bell, of the Canadian Geological Survey, forms true mountains with
+elevations in the neighbourhood of 8,000 feet. What revelations are to
+come from the inhospitable and in large part ice-covered lands still
+farther north can only be told as exploration and surveys are extended
+in that direction.
+<!--103.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This brief review of some of the leading characteristics of the
+mountains and hills adjacent to the Atlantic coast will, I think, serve
+to show that they bear a family relationship; like the members of a
+family, they are of various ages, although all of them are past their
+prime, and may with propriety be termed the <i>Atlantic Cordillera</i>.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE CONTINENTAL BASIN</div>
+
+<p>An inspection of the map forming Fig. 14, on which the
+larger geographical features of North America are indicated, will assist
+the reader in appreciating the general relations and extent of the
+plains and plateaus which collectively form the Continental basin.</p>
+
+<p>This medial region of the continent is bordered on the east for some
+2,000 miles by the Atlantic mountains, and on the west throughout its
+entire extent by the Pacific mountains. It is open to the sea at both
+the north and the south, and extends in one continuous series of plains
+and plateaus from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. The southern
+portion of this interior basin or trough has already been briefly
+described in discussing the characteristics of the Gulf plains. The
+northern portion has also been considered in describing the tundra
+region adjacent to the Arctic Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The leading geographical features of the North American continental
+basin are its generally low elevation, the mildness of its topographic
+details, and, with two exceptions, the absence within its borders of
+elevations having a mountainous structure. In general the rocks beneath
+the surface are horizontally stratified marine sediments. The stream-cut
+valleys are shallow and usually broad, except in the bordering plateaus
+and foot-hills on the east and west sides, where the streams frequently
+flow several hundred feet below the surface of the broad, flat-topped
+interstream spaces. The drainage of the continental basin serves as a
+convenient basis for subdividing it into three separate portions. These
+are the Gulf slope, which discharges its surplus waters into the Gulf of
+Mexico and is drained principally
+<!--104.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span>
+by the Mississippi; the St.
+Lawrence slope, occupied in part by the Great Lakes and drained by the
+St. Lawrence River; and the arctic slope, down which the Mackenzie,
+Nelson, and other rivers flow to the Arctic Ocean or to Hudson Bay. At
+no place are the Pacific mountains broken by cross-drainage, so as to
+allow the continental basin to send a tribute to the Pacific Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The vast extent of the Continental basin, embracing, as it does, some
+three-fourths of the entire area of North America, makes it necessary,
+even in a general review of the large geographical features of the
+continent, to recognise smaller subdivisions than the three great
+drainage slopes referred to above. For this purpose we select the more
+or less well-defined plains and plateaus into which the region is
+naturally subdivided. The portion of the Continental basin embraced
+within the boundaries of the United States has been shown by J. W.
+Powell to consist of the following physiographic regions, namely, the
+Gulf plains; the Prairie plains; the Lake plains, including the region
+draining to the Great Lakes; and the Great plateaus or Great plains, as
+they are more generally termed, adjacent to the eastern border of the
+Pacific mountains. Several of these divisions need to be extended and
+still others recognised in order to include the entire region under
+review. The portion of the Continental basin to the north of the United
+States-Canadian boundary has been only partially explored, and the
+subdivisions of it suggested below are to be considered as provisional.</p>
+
+<p>The Lake plains include in Canada the country to the north of the Great
+Lakes, which drains to them, but excepting the flat lands bordering
+Lakes Erie and Ontario and once covered by their waters, the region
+referred to is rather a roughened plateau than a plain. From a
+geological point of view the hilly country composed of crystalline rocks
+to the north of Lakes Superior and Huron and included within their
+hydrographic basins partakes more of the character of the Laurentian
+Highlands than it does of the features of the portion of the Lake plains
+situated in the United States.
+<!--105.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Prairie plains also extend far to the north of the international
+boundary, and on their northern border merge with the forest-covered
+plains in central Manitoba and the northern portion of Saskatchewan,
+which are drained by northward-flowing rivers. These plains in the far
+north differ from the Prairie plains in the fact that they are forested
+and acquire greater diversity from the presence of innumerable lakes,
+several of which are of large size. For convenience we may designate
+this vast and but little known northern region as the Subarctic Forest
+plains. Still farther north, where the forest dies away, lie the Barren
+Grounds, which merge on their northern border with the frozen morasses
+or tundra of the arctic coastal plain.</p>
+
+<p>To acquire just conceptions of the topographic and other characteristics
+of the several regions of mild relief which make up the Continental
+basin is a difficult task, as each one is of great extent and possesses
+many peculiarities of its own, and besides, in two separate regions,
+each embracing many hundreds of square miles, movements in the earth's
+crust have occurred of such a nature as to elevate the rocks and give
+them the general structure commonly found in mountain ranges. Reference
+is here made to the Ozark uplift in the southwestern portion of the
+Prairie plains and the Black Hills of Dakota which rise from the Great
+plateaus.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Ozark Uplift.</i>&mdash;There is an area embracing about 75,000 square
+miles in southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and the eastern border of
+the Indian Territory, in which the rocks have been upraised above the
+surrounding Gulf and Prairie plains. The uplift, if we imagine it
+uneroded, would have the general form of an inverted canoe; that is, it
+would form an elongated ridge, broad and dome-like in the central
+portion and dying away on all sides into the great surrounding region of
+undisturbed and essentially horizontal rocks. The major axis of the
+uplift, although exhibiting a double curvature, has a general northeast
+and southwest trend. It is about 500 miles long, and in the widest part
+is approximately 200 miles broad. What the
+<!--106.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span>
+height of the dome
+would be had the rocks composing it not yielded to the destructive
+influences of the air or been removed by streams cannot be readily
+estimated, since the movements of the earth's crust which upraised it
+occurred at several widely separated intervals with intervening periods
+of decay and erosion, and downward movements have also been experienced
+which submerged the region and permitted the deposit of sheets of
+sediment over it. If the results of the upbuilding agencies had not in a
+large measure been counteracted in these several ways, the dome to-day
+would have a height of several thousand feet. In the present condition
+the deeply eroded dome presents the net result of elevation over
+subsidence and erosion. The dome-like form is lost, and in its place is
+a complex series of ridges and valleys. The higher summits now
+remaining, situated principally in the Iron Mountain district in
+northeastern Missouri, rise from 1,400 to 1,800 feet above the
+neighbouring plains, and from 1,800 to 2,100 feet above the sea.</p>
+
+<p>The greater intensity with which the rocks in the southwestern portion
+of the Ozark uplift have been folded than in the more northern portion
+and the varying degrees to which the beds have yielded to denudation
+have resulted in giving to its various parts different types of
+topography. This diversity has led to the recognition of several
+distinct divisions, such as the Shawnee Hills, at the extreme
+northeastern end of the uplift, where the rocks have been folded and the
+ridges cut across by the Mississippi; the St. François Mountains, in
+southeastern Missouri, composed of a large number of isolated hills and
+rising from 500 to 800 feet above the adjacent valleys; the Ozark
+plateau, in southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, the central
+part of which has a general elevation of 1,500 feet above the sea, and
+to one travelling over it seems a boundless and featureless plain
+underlaid by apparently horizontal but in reality gently westward
+dipping sheets of stratified rocks; the Boston Mountains, in central and
+western Arkansas, consisting of rugged irregular ridges and truncated
+summits with a general crest-line elevation of 1,000 feet
+<!--107.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span>
+above
+the sea; and the Ouachita (pronounced <i>Wichitaw</i>) Mountains, formed of
+numerous rudely parallel upward folds of hard rock, which rise from 500
+to 1,000 feet above the adjacent valleys and form a belt of unusually
+picturesque, forest-crowned hills, extending from Little Rock, Arkansas,
+westward into Indian Territory.</p>
+
+<p>The study of the island-like Ozark region in the broad, ocean-like
+expanse of the prairies is far from being complete. Although
+topographically distinct and appearing as one of the minor units in the
+geology of the continent, geologists are inclined to the view that the
+Ozark uplift as above described should be considered as consisting of
+two independent but contiguous areas of upheaval, namely, the Ozark
+Hills, situated mainly in Missouri, and the Ouachita Hills, lying mainly
+in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. This Ozark-Ouachita region&mdash;by
+whatever name finally designated&mdash;is one with a long and varied, nay,
+even a poetic history. In writing of the Archean rocks of the Iron
+Mountain region, Missouri, Arthur Winslow states that they "are truly
+ancient elevations, older than any others in the State, older than the
+mountains of Arkansas, older than the Appalachians, older than the Rocky
+Mountains; if venerable be an attribute of great age, they certainly
+merit that appellation. For not only are all other rocks of Missouri
+youthful as compared with these, but there is a genetic relationship,
+and the former are in a sense descendants of the latter. For when the
+limestones and other sedimentary rocks were yet unformed these
+crystalline rocks must have existed as parts of a continental mass, and
+from the degradation of this continent resulted the materials of the
+later formed sedimentary rocks. The present granite and porphyry hills
+are but protruding parts of the remnant of this ancient continent which
+stood as islands above the ocean waters while the beds of limestone and
+sandstone were being formed about them, which rose with these beds when
+they were lifted from the waters, which now, rugged and weather-beaten,
+yet tempered by age and varied experience, rear themselves above the
+surrounding younger rocks and bid
+<!--108.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span>
+fair still to live when the
+latter have yielded to the forces of degradation."</p>
+
+<p>Besides its pleasing scenery, varied and abundant mineral resources, and
+health-giving springs, this oasis of hills amid the unvaried monotony of
+the grass-covered plains in the southern portion of the continental
+basin derives an additional attraction from its forest growths in which
+southern pines are mingled with oaks, hickories, walnuts, and other
+broad-leaved trees. The soil is generally productive, and great fields
+of corn and cotton may be seen side by side.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Gulf Plains.</i>&mdash;The Gulf plains include the western portion of
+Florida, and extend westward and southward about the borders of the Gulf
+of Mexico in a continuous belt from 50 to 60 to perhaps 100 miles wide,
+to where the Pacific mountains approach the coast in east-central
+Mexico. This low, gently seaward-sloping region, underlaid by soft
+horizontal strata, possesses a generally rich soil well adapted for the
+cultivation of cotton, corn, sugar-cane, and rice. In the low, hot
+country of eastern Mexico nearly all tropical fruits can be successfully
+raised. The most characteristic as well as the broadest portion of this
+productive belt is in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana, and
+extends northward with a gradually decreasing width to the mouth of the
+Ohio. This is the lower Mississippi basin, which owes its existence
+mainly to the deposits of silt laid down by the river after which it is
+named. Much of the land is really the delta of the "Father of Waters,"
+over which that river spreads out in vast inundations each year.</p>
+
+<p>The Gulf plains skirt the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, and
+to the west of the Mississippi are bordered in part by the Ozark uplift.
+There are certain reasons for believing that these two regions of
+elevation, characterized by a similar geological structure, are portions
+of a single greatly disturbed belt, but are now separated by a broad
+area which has been depressed and deeply covered with comparatively
+recent sediments. But that this general view of the origin of the larger
+features in the
+<!--109.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span>
+relief of the Gulf States can be accepted with
+entire confidence is questionable. True it is, however, that the delta
+region of the Mississippi has undergone many up and down movements, and
+that several successive sheets of sediment have been laid down upon it,
+but that the folds and crumplings characteristic of the southern
+Appalachians and of the Ozark uplift extend across the intervening space
+beneath the covering of horizontal rocks has not been demonstrated.</p>
+
+<p>The Gulf plains throughout are less than 500 feet above the sea, and
+much of the Gulf margin and the similar tract which extends northward to
+the mouth of the Ohio has an elevation of less than 100 feet. The fringe
+of lowland bordering the Gulf and extending up the course of the
+Mississippi is generally swampy and contains numerous small water bodies
+which owe their existence to the cutting off of the beds of the river so
+as to form what are termed ox-bow lakes.</p>
+
+<p>Previous to the settlement of the Gulf plains by Europeans and the
+clearing of much of the land for plantations it was clothed with such a
+dense growth of trees and vines as to be almost impenetrable. The
+southern pine there reaches its greatest perfection and is the basis of
+a great lumber industry, and oaks of several species, the wide-spreading
+white-trunked sycamore, the still more stately tulip-tree with its
+cup-like blossoms of yellow, the fragrant magnolia, the seemingly always
+aged cypress, the gum-tree, and many other species of arboreal
+vegetation also find most congenial conditions for their growth. The
+dwarf palmetto, which forms such a characteristic growth in Florida,
+extends northward in the Mississippi basin to the southern border of the
+Ozark uplift. Much of the luxuriant moss and lichen draped forest of the
+Gulf plains with all its primitive network of shrubs and vines still
+remains.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Prairie Plains.</i>&mdash;A prairie in the current use of the term is a
+generally level region, either a plain or a plateau, without forests but
+clothed with a carpet of luxuriant grasses and flowering annuals. A
+rolling prairie is an undulating or hilly, grass-covered region. The
+Great plains
+<!--110.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span>
+of the west-central portion of the Continental basin
+meet these requirements, and are typical prairies. On their eastern and
+northern border the Prairie plains merge with the adjacent forested
+plains, and on the west from Mexico northward to the subarctic forest
+pass by still less tangible gradations into the more elevated and drier
+Great plateaus or high plains, where bunch-grass, with bare intervals
+between the scattered tufts, takes the place of the continuous sod of
+the true prairies. The reasons for the change from forest to prairie and
+beyond to the land of the bunch-grass as one travels from east to west
+across the interior basin, lie in differences in the humidity of the
+climate.</p>
+
+<p>The Prairie plains have their beginning at the south in Mexico a short
+distance from the Rio Grande, and are prolonged northward through
+central Texas, meeting to the north of Red River the forest-covered
+Ouachita Hills. But to the west of the Ozark uplift the Prairie plains
+extend northward in a belt about 100 miles wide which expands in Kansas,
+northern Missouri, eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and western Ohio to
+fully 800 miles. In this highly fertile region, now the most productive
+agricultural area of comparable size in North America, if not in the
+world, one may travel in a straight line for nearly 1,000 miles through
+a land without high hills but pleasingly diversified by undulations of
+the generally level surface and by winding stream-formed valleys
+bordered by swelling bluffs, without losing sight of towns, villages, or
+comfortable farmhouses. In spring this entire region is bright green
+with pastures and sprouting grain-fields, and in autumn yellow with the
+harvest. Miles on miles of rustling corn-fields form the most
+characteristic feature of the summer landscapes.</p>
+
+<p>The Prairie plains contract to the north of Illinois and Iowa to a width
+of about 200 miles, being encroached upon by the forests of the Great
+Lakes region, but are prolonged northward through Minnesota and the
+Dakotas far into Canada. The length of these natural meadows from south
+to north is nearly 2,000 miles; their entire area is not far from
+500,000 square miles. On the north they merge
+<!--111.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span>
+with the vast region
+of similar relief which is darkened by the pines and spruces of the
+subarctic forest.</p>
+
+<p>The northern portion of the original prairie region has been given a new
+and in some respects a more pleasing aspect by the sowing of millions of
+acres with wheat. This is the most favourable large area for wheat
+culture in North America, and one of the three great wheat-growing
+regions in the world. The most productive portion of these northern
+wheat-lands lies in the valley of the Red River of the North, situated
+in part in Minnesota and the eastern portion of the Dakotas, but
+including also the plains of Manitoba. Could we view the broad extent of
+the Prairie plains as do the birds in their southward migrations, we
+would see them golden with the sheen of ripening wheat at the north,
+green and russet in the central portion with corn, and white with cotton
+to the south. Everywhere from south to north and east to west the vast
+expanse is dotted with the curling wreaths arising from household fires,
+and at hundreds of localities blotted by the smoke of towns, factories,
+smelting-works, and coal-mines.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the entire extent of the Prairie plains the underlying rocks
+are essentially horizontal, and consist largely of limestone. An ancient
+sea-bottom has been broadly upraised with but slight disturbances of the
+strata to a general elevation of about 800 feet in Minnesota and the
+Dakotas. From this low continental divide the land slopes gently both to
+the north and south. The local variations of surface are due mainly to
+the unequal weathering of the rocks and the excavation of stream-formed
+valleys. To the north of the mouth of the Ohio, however, the prairie, in
+common with the adjacent regions, was formerly occupied by glacial ice,
+which on melting left widely spread deposits of clay, stones, gravel,
+etc., which gave the region a new surface, and in certain instances
+turned the streams from their former courses. Much of the rolling
+prairie inherits its billowy surface from the glaciers. In the midst of
+the young topography of glacial and more recent date there is an area of
+about 10,000 square miles in southwestern Wisconsin and adjacent
+<!--112.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span>
+portions of Minnesota and Iowa which is surrounded by the deposits of
+the ancient ice-sheets (glacial drifts), but not covered by them. This
+driftless area, as it is termed, has an old topography in striking
+contrast to the relief of the region about it, in which broad
+river-valleys bordered by the pinnacled and castellated rocks exposed in
+the bordering slopes of the adjacent uplands are among the most
+conspicuous features.</p>
+
+<p>The soil of this driftless region is a ferruginous clay, resulting from
+the prolonged weathering of the rocks, principally limestone, on which
+it rests, while the surfaces formerly covered by glacial ice are mantled
+with soil of a mixed character containing many fragments and large
+boulders of compact rock. In the prairies to the south of the glacial
+boundary the soils are mainly of a sedentary origin, and have resulted
+from the disintegration and decay of the rocks on which they rest, but
+usually rendered black by the humus resulting from the partial decay of
+numberless generating grasses and other lowly plants. This black soil is
+wonderfully productive and furnishes the basis of the greater part of
+the wealth and industries of the region it covers. The minor exceptions
+to the general fertility occur where the rocks immediately underlying
+the surface, as in the zinc and lead region of southwestern Missouri,
+are highly charged with flint-like material, which remains when the
+limestone once containing it is dissolved and carried away. The
+horizontal sheets of rock beneath the broad central portion of the
+Prairie plains belong to the Carboniferous system and contain highly
+valuable seams of bituminous coal. The area of these coal-producing
+lands is estimated at 125,000 square miles. In this same region also
+there are extensive tracts in which natural gas and petroleum are
+obtained in remarkable abundance. In southern Wisconsin and the adjacent
+portions of Illinois valuable deposits of lead occur under conditions
+similar to those associated with the lead and zinc mines about the
+northern border of the Ozark uplift.</p>
+
+<p>Owing to the demand for transportation facilities and
+<!--113.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span>
+the mild
+relief of the land, the entire extent of the Prairie plains is covered
+with a double-lined network of steel. The ganglia in this pulsating
+nerve system of intercommunication are Chicago (here included, as it
+belongs to the prairie as well as to the Great Lakes region), St. Louis,
+Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, St. Paul, etc., cities with from
+100,000 to over 1,500,000 inhabitants, and hundreds of lesser centres of
+trade, manufacture, and education.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Lake Plains.</i>&mdash;The region draining to the Great Lakes&mdash;or the
+Laurentian lakes, as they may, perhaps, be more properly designated,
+since they form the source of the river of that name&mdash;presents many
+striking contrasts to the more monotonous treeless prairies skirting it
+on the south and west.</p>
+
+<p>The name "Lake plains," suggested by J. W. Powell for the portion of the
+region here referred to within the borders of the United States, when
+extended to the entire area draining to the Laurentian lakes, is in part
+a misnomer, since much of its surface is rough and irregular. In a
+certain sense, however, the term <i>plain</i> is applicable, since it
+includes a plain of water over 95,000 square miles in area. The combined
+areas of the lakes are greater than that of the region draining to them.
+The land bordering the Laurentian lakes is underlaid to a large extent
+by horizontal or but slightly disturbed sedimentary rocks, but includes
+on the north a portion of the contorted, crystalline terranes already
+referred to as forming the Laurentian Highlands, and in general is
+characterized by the mildness of its relief. The elevations of the
+surfaces of the several Laurentian lakes above the sea are, in feet, as
+follows: Superior, 602; Michigan and Huron, 582; Erie, 373; and Ontario,
+247. The land forming the margins of these water bodies rises in general
+less than 300 feet above their surfaces. In portions of northern
+Michigan and in the region of crystalline rocks to the north of Lakes
+Superior and Huron, however, the relief is more pronounced and there are
+many bold rounded hills with basins between them.</p>
+
+<p>The principal part of the nearly plane land surface about the Laurentian
+lakes is in immediate proximity to their
+<!--114.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span>
+borders, and records the
+former extent of their waters. These plains, composed of clay deposited
+from the lakes when more widely expanded than at present, form a fringe
+from 5 to 50 or more miles broad all about the present lake margins.
+Across this gently sloping surface the streams from the uplands,
+increasing in length as the lakes were lowered, have excavated narrow,
+steep-sided channels. These modern plains furnish typical illustrations
+of young topography.</p>
+
+<p>In its primitive condition nearly the entire Laurentian lakes region was
+densely covered with trees. Previous to the destruction which followed
+the advance of the lumbermen its northern portion contained some of the
+finest and most valuable white-pine forests on the continent. To the
+south of the Laurentian Lakes, and in a general way adjacent to the
+Prairie plains, there were park-like areas in the forest, known as
+oak-openings, where picturesque bur-oak grew in open groves amid
+luxuriant natural meadows. These sunlit gardens, yellow and purple with
+golden-rods and asters in autumn, owed their existence to soil
+conditions determined long previously by the streams issuing from the
+margin of the retreating ice-sheet, which formed level areas of sand and
+gravel. The loose open texture of these deposits renders them less
+retentive of moisture than the neighbouring morainal hills, and during
+the long hot summers all but the most deeply rooted of the trees that
+spring up upon them perished.</p>
+
+<p>The soil throughout the Great Lake region is nearly all of glacial
+origin and presents many local variations, dependent principally on the
+fact that the streams flowing from the ice assorted the <i>débris</i>
+delivered to them. The surface material, technically speaking, is of
+both glacial and fluvio-glacial origin. The former consists principally
+of stony clay or <i>till</i>, and the latter of gravel. About the immediate
+border of the existing lakes lacustral clays form the surface. The
+leading characteristics of the glacial and fluvio-glacial soils are
+their varied composition and endurance under cultivation. The glaciers
+that ploughed the land preparatory to the present harvest gathered
+together
+<!--115.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span>
+a great variety of rock <i>débris</i>, much of it broken and
+unweathered and not leached of its more soluble constituents.</p>
+
+<p>The most typical portion of the Lake plains, including the southern part
+of the province of Ontario and the southern shores of the Laurentian
+lakes from Minnesota to New York, is highly favourable for agricultural
+pursuits, and produces in abundance a great variety of crops as well as
+richly flavoured fruits, luscious berries, and healthful vegetables. The
+beneficial influence of the neighbouring water bodies on the climate,
+tempering the heat of the summers and moderating the severity of the
+winters, is shown especially in the distribution of the fruit belts of
+Michigan, Ohio, and New York, which are in regions where the prevailing
+winds blowing over them come from the lakes.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Subarctic Forest Plains.</i>&mdash;The Prairie plains merge at the north
+with a great tract of forest-covered lowlands, which extend from the
+Laurentian hills on the east to near the base of the Rocky Mountains on
+the west. The change as one travels northward from the grassy prairies
+to the country of equally mild relief, but clothed with trees adapted to
+a rigorous climate, is gradual. Along the irregular and in part
+indefinite junction of these two vast plains, the alignment of the
+forest is broken in many places, and its margin fringed by a picket-line
+of groves and of isolated trees, which has advanced southward and
+invaded the grass-lands. Between these outposts the prairie with its
+wealth of summer bloom reaches well into the realm of perennial shadow.
+The southward extensions of the forest are mainly in the valleys and
+adjacent to the streams, while the drier steppes between are open
+grass-lands. No conspicuous change in the topography of the land or of
+the rocks or the soil coincides with the change from grass to forest.
+The differences in vegetation must therefore be sought in climatic
+conditions, and mainly in the influence of atmospheric changes on the
+water contained in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout practically the whole of the region occupied by the subarctic
+forest, between Hudson Bay and the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains,
+the land is low and the
+<!--116.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span>
+valleys monotonous. Many lakes are
+present, several of them of large size, and the rivers are remarkable
+for their lengths, low gradients, and large volumes.</p>
+
+<p>The subdued topography of the region here considered, and the presence
+of vast numbers of lakes and swamps, is due in general to the influence
+of the ice-sheets which formerly covered it. In a minor way the presence
+of the innumerable small lakes and swamps is owing to the obstructions
+formed by growing vegetation, the damming of streams by driftwood, the
+work of beavers, and possibly the influence of subsoil ice.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of the Subarctic Forest plain, as already described, occur
+the desolate tracts known in Canada as the Barren Grounds, which form a
+part or merge into the tundras bordering the Arctic Ocean.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Great Plateaus.</i>&mdash;The boundary between the prairie plains of the
+central portion of the interior Continental basin and the Great plateaus
+(Great plains) bordering them on the west is usually indefinite. The
+prairies pass into the more elevated and drier plateaus by insensible
+gradations. The plateaus rise gradually from east to west, and along
+their western margin, adjacent to the east base of the Pacific
+mountains, attain a general elevation of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet. Over
+vast areas these monotonous plateaus, with their even sky-lines, are
+higher above the sea than the crests of the Appalachians, and along
+their western margin in many localities even surpass in elevation the
+most prominent peaks in the eastern portion of the United States.
+Accompanying this increase in elevation from east to west there is a
+decrease in precipitation, and in consequence a marked change in the
+vegetation. The plateaus, like the prairies, are treeless in their most
+characteristic portions, but the larger rivers winding across them are
+margined in many instances by giant cottonwoods.</p>
+
+<p>The mental picture that a traveller over the broad plateaus retains in
+after-years is of a vast treeless level tract of country, boundless as
+the ocean, which is bright green and decked with lowly flowers in the
+early spring, but becomes
+<!--117.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span>
+yellowish brown as the heat and dryness
+of summer increase and the grasses lose their freshness. Various
+portions of the plateaus, however, have their own individuality and
+present characteristics which make them conspicuously different from
+other portions of the same great series of steppes. At the south, in the
+region of the Rio Grande and of the Pecos and Canadian Rivers, the
+plateau is dissected by stream-cut valleys 1,000 feet or more deep, and
+from one to two score miles across, which divide it into a number of
+individual table-lands. The plateau margins for many miles on each side
+of the larger river-valleys have been carved by a complex system of
+secondary and usually ephemeral streams into a great variety of rock
+forms with deep trenches between. These conspicuously sculptured areas
+constitute what are commonly termed Bad Lands. In certain regions also
+the surfaces of the plateaus, more especially in Nebraska and South
+Dakota, are broadly undulating or reveal a seemingly endless succession
+of ridges and hills separated by shallow depressions, due to the
+presence of large tracts of drifting sand. In spite of these several
+variations, however, the leading characteristics of by far the larger
+portion of the plateau country are the generally level grass-covered
+surfaces extending away in all directions far beyond the reach of
+vision. On the rolling prairie one can frequently see the undulating
+surface about him for a distance of 15 or 20 miles, but the curvature of
+the earth usually draws still narrower limits to the region within the
+view of the plainsman. In riding over the plains the scene changes but
+little from day to day and from week to week. Monotony is the one word
+that best describes the lives of those whose lot is cast on these broad
+featureless surfaces. In journeying westward across the plateau over any
+one of the transcontinental railways a moment of excitement occurs when
+the even line of the western horizon is broken by the summit of a
+cloud-like mountain-peak. "Land ho!" is no more thrilling to voyagers on
+the ocean than the shouts which first made known the presence of a
+mountain-peak to the bands of immigrants who slowly voyaged across this
+sea of grass with their picturesque "prairie
+<!--118.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span>
+schooners" previous
+to the building of the railroads which now bind together the East and
+the West.</p>
+
+<p>The Great plateaus begin indefinitely to the south of the Rio Grande,
+broaden in the United States to a general width of about 400 miles, and
+extend far northward into Canada. Their northern limit has not as yet
+been determined, but is to be looked for near the head waters of the
+Mackenzie. The length of the plateau country is in the neighbourhood of
+2,000 or 2,500 miles, and its average width about 300 miles. An estimate
+of the area with a generally plane surface and an elevation of from
+1,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea places it at about 700,000 square
+miles.</p>
+
+<p>The eastern portion of the Great plateaus includes western Texas,
+Oklahoma, the central and western portions of Kansas and Nebraska, the
+western half of South Dakota, western North Dakota, western Assiniboia,
+and thence extend northward so as to include portions of Saskatchewan,
+Alberta, and Athabasca. On the west the plateau region includes the
+eastern portions of New Mexico and Colorado, extends far into Wyoming,
+and embraces central and eastern Montana, and thence reaches northward
+to Mackenzie.</p>
+
+<p>This region of essentially level plateaus, extending as it does from the
+hot lands of eastern Mexico nearly to the arctic circle, presents great
+diversity of climate and also well-marked variations in the secondary
+features of its relief. Of necessity it needs to be subdivided for more
+detailed study. The rivers flowing eastward from the Rocky Mountains
+have excavated valleys in the plateau region, and may be used as a basis
+for its subdivision. This has been done by J. W. Powell for the portion
+within the borders of the United States, and the terms Pecos plateau,
+Arkansas plateau, Platte plateau, and Missouri plateau have been
+proposed; this category may be extended especially to the northward, so
+as to include the less well-known Saskatchewan, Athabasca, Peace, and
+Laird plateaus. Each of these divisions is in reality a group of
+plateaus, for the reason that the broad areas between the
+eastward-flowing rivers are trenched by lateral stream channels
+<!--119.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span>
+tributary to the main waterways, and thus subdivided into smaller units.
+This subdivision of the plateau region by stream channels leaving
+flat-topped areas between them makes one instructive geographical
+process prominent&mdash;that is, the great table-land has been dissected. The
+depths of the channels cut across it depend mainly on the elevation of
+the land and the distance the streams have to travel to reach the sea;
+but modifying conditions are furnished by the degree of resistance the
+rocks offer to erosion, the amount of precipitation, etc. If the
+elevation is great, the stream can cut deeply, and leave bold secondary
+plateaus between them; if the distance to the sea is short, other
+conditions being the same, the streams can cut more deeply than when
+their courses are long; if the rocks are resistant, they are left in
+bold escarpment bordering the valleys and the margins of the secondary
+plateaus are well defined, but if they are soft and crumble easily,
+their <i>débris</i> is washed and blown into the rivers, and a general
+lowering of the surface without the formation of deep trenches is the
+result. These and still other conditions have influenced the manner in
+which the Great plateaus have been dissected, and are of necessity to be
+considered in a critical discussion of the history of the land as
+recorded in its relief.</p>
+
+<p>The main reason for the dissection of the region under consideration is
+to be found in the fact that it is bordered on the west by high
+mountains where precipitation is abundant, and the streams, supplied
+largely by the melting of the snow in summer, flow across a
+comparatively rainless country. The stream channels in general have been
+deepened at a more rapid rate than the areas between them have been
+lowered by erosion. Valleys running east and west have thus been
+excavated, leaving the intervening spaces as uplands, which, however, in
+certain instances have been minutely dissected by the streams
+originating on them and supplied by local winter precipitation. Added to
+these general conditions are differences in rock texture, which have led
+to great variations in the details due to erosions, particularly on the
+valley borders.</p>
+
+<p>One other condition which has modified the history
+<!--120.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span>
+of the plateau
+region throughout, but most decidedly at the north, is the climatic
+change which culminated in the Glacial epoch. During the time referred
+to the northern portion of the Great plateaus situated in Canada and the
+adjacent part of the United States was invaded by glacial ice which
+spread an irregular sheet of detritus over the country it occupied.
+Decided changes occurred also in the central and southern portion owing
+to increased precipitation, the flooding of the rivers leading from the
+melting ice-front, and to movements in the earth's crust of as yet
+undetermined extent and amplitude. It is apparent to the geographer that
+much of the history of the climatic changes of glacial and post-glacial
+times is recorded in the relief of the interior Continental basin to the
+south of the limit reached by the ice and in the terraces and alluvial
+deposits of the valleys, but as yet for the most part this interesting
+story remains unread.</p>
+
+<p>The most deeply dissected portion of the Great plateaus occurs in
+western Texas, eastern New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In that region the
+rivers having their sources in the Rocky Mountains and flowing to the
+Gulf of Mexico have excavated deep and wide valleys, leaving broad
+intervening areas in bold relief.</p>
+
+<p>The Pecos River drains a large part of the mountainous region in eastern
+New Mexico, and flows through a valley of its own making, which is some
+30 or more miles broad and its bottom about 1,200 feet below the general
+surface of the plateau lying to the eastward. The Canadian River has
+excavated a similar valley, which is some 40 miles broad throughout much
+of its course, and is bordered by bold rocky escarpments from 1,000 to
+1,200 feet high, in which the edges of the horizontal strata underlying
+the adjacent plateaus are exposed. This region of large and strongly
+defined topographic features illustrates in a remarkable manner the
+nature of the work performed by streams which rise amid high mountains
+and flow across a dry plateau standing well above sea-level.</p>
+
+<p><i>El Llano Estacado.</i>&mdash;A typical portion of the great plateau region left
+by deep dissection is furnished by the
+<!--121.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span>
+table-land named by early
+Mexican explorers "El Llano Estacado," or the Staked Plains, in
+reference to the fact that owing to the monotony of the surface and the
+scarcity of water the routes of travel were at first marked by stakes.
+This region, celebrated in the traditions of the Southwest frontier, is
+described by Captain Marcy, who crossed its eastern portion in 1849, as
+being "much elevated above the surrounding country, very smooth and
+level, and spreading out in every direction as far as the eye can
+penetrate, without a tree, shrub, or any other herbage to intercept the
+vision. The traveller in passing over it sees nothing but one dreary and
+monotonous plain of barren solitude. It is an ocean of desert prairie,
+where the voice of man is seldom heard, and where no living being
+permanently resides. The almost total absence of water causes all
+animals to shun it; even the Indians do not venture to cross it, except
+at two or three points, where they find a few small pools of water." As
+will be shown below, the barrenness and desolation of this arid tract is
+not so great as it seemed to those who first invaded its primeval
+solitude.</p>
+
+<p>El Llano Estacado, or the <i>Llano</i>, as it is frequently termed, is about
+500 miles across from north to south, and 280 miles wide from east to
+west. It is bordered on nearly all portions of its periphery by
+descending escarpments which lead down to the adjacent valleys. Its
+surface, although appearing horizontal, in reality slopes eastward at
+the rate of about 20 feet per mile, and on its highest, northwest
+border, has an elevation of 5,500 feet above the sea. This great
+table-land has a smooth floor, and, as reported by recent explorers, is
+clothed with an abundance of bunch-grass, which formerly furnished
+sustenance to herds of antelope and deer. It was in this general region
+also that some of the immense herds of buffalo which once inhabited the
+broad plateaus found a winter range.</p>
+
+<p>The Llano, together with its southward extension, having the same
+characteristics and known as the Edwards plateau, is bordered on the
+west by the deep and broad valley of the southward-flowing Pecos River,
+and on the north by the equally deep and broad valley carved in the
+plateau
+<!--122.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span>
+country by the eastward-flowing Canadian River. The
+eastward slope of the surfaces of the two plateaus is continued
+throughout the region bordering them on the east all the way to the
+shore of the Gulf of Mexico. The streams originating on the eastern
+border of the eastward sloping plateaus and flowing to the Gulf of
+Mexico, represented at the present time by the Colorado (of Texas), the
+Brazos, Trinity, and Red Rivers, extended their trunks by head-water
+corrasion and developed numerous branches so long as the rainfall was
+sufficient to maintain a surface drainage. But as the streams were
+lengthened they cut farther and farther westward and into a region that
+became drier and drier, until finally they reached a land in which all
+of the scanty rain that fell was absorbed by the thirsty soil. The
+drainage from this higher and drier region is subterranean, and reaches
+the head waters of the streams to the eastward to a considerable extent
+as springs. The streams which lowered the country to the eastward of the
+Llano developed many branches, some of which were extended westward into
+the drier plateau country in such a manner as to give the eastern margin
+of the remaining upland a scalloped and irregular border.</p>
+
+<p>In travelling westward up the courses of the rivers of eastern Texas,
+one passes from a low region of old topography to one where the head
+branches of the streams flow in cañons, and the relief has the
+ruggedness of youth; on gaining the western border of the belt of
+country having surface streams one ascends to the smooth surface of the
+high plateau, which is young as regards stream development, although in
+years older than the country with a deeply eroded surface to the
+eastward. The Llano and Edwards plateau present us with examples of
+perpetuated topographic youthfulness.</p>
+
+<p>The Llano, although dreaded by early explorers and shunned so far as
+possible even by experienced plainsmen, on account of a lack of water,
+has in recent years become more favourably known. It is crossed at
+present by two railroads. Water has been found beneath the surface in
+numerous localities, and the desert-like region now bids
+<!--123.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span>
+fair to
+become a favourable cattle-raising country. It is not to be expected,
+however, that all the glowing predictions which have been published
+concerning this and neighbouring table-lands will be more than partially
+fulfilled through the use of the subsurface waters.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Arkansas Plateau.</i>&mdash;To the north of the Canadian River the region
+termed above the Great plateaus is less deeply dissected than in the
+portion of which the Llano is typical, and the streams from the
+mountains flow through shallow valleys with less rugged and less
+picturesque borders than those of the deep wide valleys of western Texas
+and eastern New Mexico. The broad plateau surfaces adjacent to the
+valleys of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers probably come nearer to the
+popular idea of the essential characteristics of the "Great plains" than
+any other of the larger divisions of the region under review. The most
+conspicuous geographic features of the Arkansas plateau have been
+described by W. D. Johnson as consisting of an assemblage of low and
+broad table-lands separated by shallow erosion valleys. The plateaus are
+immense unsculptured remnants in light relief of an older and originally
+perfect plain. The few long and feeble streams, wide apart and flowing
+eastward from the distant mountains in parallel courses and without
+tributaries, have blocked out by dissection the larger features of the
+broad landscape which in future ages will be slowly etched into a
+multitude of details. The scenery of these featureless plains is
+ordinarily depressing when once the novelty of being adrift on a sea of
+grass has passed away. There is nothing that can be termed scenery
+except that which once a year for a brief period the sky affords when
+clouds of extraordinary grandeur darken the air. Throughout nearly the
+entire annual course there is no material for landscape effect except
+the straight line of the horizon with a featureless breadth of sun-faded
+brown below it and above a merely broader space of faded blue. There is
+nowhere a curved line, and though as a scientific fact there is vast
+expanse of flat plain, there is little to suggest it when the sky is
+empty of clouds. In June the clouds come with a gradual maturing at some
+point along
+<!--124.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span>
+the even sky-line, and increase rapidly until the
+heavens are filled with magnificent vapour banks; but the display is
+simply spectacular, and passes away in a few hours as quickly as it
+came, with only local showers to refresh the land.</p>
+
+<p>The one industry that can thrive on the Arkansas plateau, which was
+formerly at certain seasons blackened by herds of bison, is
+stock-raising. Wells from which water is pumped by windmills furnish
+sufficient water for herds of cattle and horses, but not for irrigation.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bad Lands.</i>&mdash;In the northern portion of the Great plateaus within the
+United States the surface rocks over great areas are soft or but
+irregularly hardened sediments of ancient lakes and streams and have
+been sculptured by rain, wind, and ephemeral rills into a most
+marvellous array of monumental and castellated forms. Localities where
+this minute dissection of the soft horizontal strata is especially well
+marked over hundreds of square miles occur in South Dakota and Montana,
+and especially on the borders of the valleys carved by the Loup Fork,
+Niobrara, White, Yellowstone, and Missouri Rivers. In this region the
+rainfall is light, the mean annual precipitation being in the
+neighbourhood of 15 inches, and occurs mostly during the winter months.
+In the summer season the lands far out on the plateaus are dry and hot,
+and all but the larger streams disappear. The rocks, consisting mostly
+of unconsolidated clays and soft sandstones, with occasional hard layers
+and irregular concretions, have been cut into innumerable channels,
+leaving steep-sided remnants of the former plain between. The maze of
+trench-like valleys, the similarity of the sculptured land-forms one to
+another, and the absence of water, make these desert regions excessively
+difficult to traverse. The Canadian-French who explored the
+north-central portion of the Great plateaus in early days of American
+settlement termed these tracts of country, so difficult to cross,
+<i>Mauvaises Terres</i>, a name now seldom used, but replaced by the English
+name Bad Lands. Although <i>bad</i> to the hunter and the plainsman, these
+desert regions are of fascinating interest to men of scientific
+training. The intense heat, the choking alkaline dust, the absence of
+water,
+<!--125.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span>
+and the danger of being lost and of perishing of thirst in
+these wild silent regions, have not checked the ardour of explorers. Not
+only do the Bad Lands present a most attractive field to the student of
+erosion and of the origin of earth forms, but their deathlike solitudes
+have been made to yield the most wonderful procession of strange extinct
+animals yet unearthed by geologists. They are vast cemeteries in which
+are interred the skeletons of many genera and hundreds of species of
+animals which lived in the ancient lakes or wandered through the almost
+tropical forest that in distant ages clothed the adjacent country. The
+great lesson to be learned by the geographer in these uninviting regions
+as they seem to most people relates to the way in which the rocks have
+been eroded. The prevailing softness of the beds with occasional hard
+layers, the scarcity of vegetation, the occasional heavy rains, and the
+considerable height of the country above the master streams combine to
+favour rapid and deep sculpturing. The precipitous slopes of the small
+mesas and castle-like rock forms destitute of all vegetation excepting
+succulent cacti and scattered clumps of bunch-grass, reveal a multitude
+of sunken lines and raised edges, produced by the ephemeral streams, and
+a less complex series of horizontal ledges due to the prominent edges of
+hard layers. The steep slopes are worn into alcoves and irregular
+recesses by the transient rills, and smoothed or etched by the
+wind-driven sands. The result is an assemblage of architectural forms
+such as only the most fantastic dream pictures or the strange tricks of
+the mirage on northern ice-fields can simulate. Nor are the wonderfully
+intricate topographical forms the sole attraction. The rocks are
+variously coloured, and present endless combinations of yellow, red,
+green, purple, etc., in many tints and shades, rendered seemingly
+brilliant by contrast with the gray of shales and the blackness of
+occasional coal-seams. Owing to the burning of coal-beds, the rocks are
+sometimes altered over broad areas and given unusually striking colours,
+among which various shades of red predominate. Standing on some
+commanding crag in the Bad Lands in the early morning or when the purple
+<!--126.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span>
+shadows of evening fill the gorges and ravines, the most
+unimaginative traveller sees in the silence about him the ruins of a
+vast city, with cathedrals, temples, and palaces of varied colours and
+weird designs such as no mortal hand ever fashioned. It is at such times
+that the picturesque and gorgeous, although desolate, landscape kindles
+the fancy and suggests day dreams which distract one's attention from
+the more prosaic study of these earth ruins.</p>
+
+<p>The best developed portions of the strange region here referred to occur
+on the borders of the uplands overlooking the larger valleys, excavated
+by the rivers flowing eastward from the mountains, and are simply larger
+examples of erosion, such as may be seen in many bluffs and valley-sides
+in nearly every country, but rendered conspicuous by their size, extent,
+endless variety, and unusual colours.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sand-Hills.</i>&mdash;The sands winnowed by the winds from the bare plains and
+steep bluffs are in certain places on the Great plateaus gathered into
+dunes which cover great areas with a succession of low dome-shaped
+hills. On the borders of the Niobrara River there is a detached area of
+about 20,000 square miles, which has been covered in this manner with
+loose sands. This region, as described by F. V. Hayden, presents a
+succession of round-topped hills, some of them scooped out by the
+swirling winds so as to resemble volcanic craters. These sand-hills were
+formerly a favourite resort of the bison, which fed upon the scanty but
+very nutritious grasses in the little valleys and intervals among the
+mounds and ridges. There is, for the most part, an abundant supply of
+water in the lakelets scattered through the region, and fed by the
+seepage from the porous sands, which drink in all the water that falls
+upon them and allow it to percolate slowly into the adjacent
+depressions. Some of the lakelets and ponds are highly alkaline, while
+others are fresh; the former can be easily distinguished from the latter
+by the absence of vegetation about their borders. The hills, although
+seemingly utterly desolate, on a nearer view sometimes reveal
+considerable vegetation, including yuccas or "Spanish needles," which
+shelter the sands from the winds.
+<!--127.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Many other regions on the western border of the Great plateaus, in the
+valleys of the Rocky Mountains and on the desert plains of Utah, Nevada,
+and California, are buried beneath drifting sands, which have the
+characteristic features of a dune-covered seacoast. The sources of the
+sands in these interior plains are usually to be found in the
+disintegration of the rocks under the action of the dry air with its
+many and sudden changes of temperature, but occasionally they come from
+desiccated lake beds not yet clothed with vegetation.</p>
+
+<p><i>Central Portion of the Great Plateaus.</i>&mdash;The State of Nebraska, about
+400 miles in length from east to west, and extending across the Great
+plateaus to within some 60 miles of the mountains bordering them on the
+west, furnishes a typical example of the west-central portion of the
+interior Continental basin. As described by Hayden, this State may be
+divided into two portions, one agricultural and the other pastoral. The
+eastern part, included in the Prairie plains, contains some of the most
+beautiful, gently rolling, and fertile agricultural lands in America.
+But the western part is a treeless, almost waterless plain; yet thick,
+low, sweet, nutritious grasses cover the entire surface, and render it
+well adapted for the raising of large numbers of horses, cattle, and
+sheep. Over western Nebraska not more than 15 or 20 inches of moisture
+fall annually; the snows of winter are very light and soon pass away,
+the winds rapidly gathering them into the valleys and gorges, leaving
+vast areas entirely bare. The grasses, instead of decaying, as in all
+temperate countries with a humid climate, slowly wither, retaining all
+their nutritious qualities, and thus continue until April or May, when
+the fresh shoots spring up, so that all kinds of stock thrive throughout
+the winter on the open plains without artificial shelter. In this
+account, however, the author cited fails to note that the winters are
+frequently marked by exceedingly severe storms termed blizzards, during
+which gales blow while the temperature is far below freezing, and that
+at such times cattle have been known to perish by thousands.</p>
+
+<p>In late summer and autumn the streams in this portion
+<!--128.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span>
+of the
+plateau region for the most part become dry, although water may usually
+be discovered at long intervals in pools in their beds. In ascending the
+valleys the water appears and disappears as if by magic. Here one finds
+a swift-running stream several yards broad, and then for a considerable
+distance nothing is to be seen but a dry and dusty creek bed, resembling
+a sunken roadway. Even the broad Platte has so far forgotten itself for
+several seasons as to cease to be a running stream. It is not uncommon
+for a river originating in the mountains on the west to be considerably
+larger towards its source than near its mouth. Many of the important
+streams that flow from the Black Hills towards the Missouri are lost on
+their way through the plains. The Yellowstone and the Missouri, the two
+most important rivers crossing the Great plateaus in the northern
+portion of the United States, retain their existence throughout the
+year, although becoming greatly shrunken in autumn, and send eastward a
+never-ceasing tribute to the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p><i>Northern Extension of the Great Plateaus.</i>&mdash;The Great plateaus cross
+the United States-Canadian boundary and extend northwestward through the
+western portion of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan, and embrace nearly the
+whole of Alberta and western Athabasca. At the international boundary
+the plateau region is about 470 miles broad, and extends from longitude
+103° 30' westward to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, and in this
+region embraces what is frequently termed the third prairie steppe,
+known in part as the Missouri Coteau. The east border of this high
+plateau throughout much of its extent is well marked by an escarpment
+which descends some 300 or 400 feet to the second prairie steppe, which
+together with the first or most easterly of the series, embracing the
+Red River Valley, is usually considered as belonging to the Prairie
+plains. The third steppe in the series, or the one extending from the
+Red River to the Rocky Mountains, has an elevation along its eastern
+border of about 2,000 feet, rises gradually to the westward, and attains
+a general elevation of over 4,000 feet on its western border. All of the
+region of the Great
+<!--129.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span>
+plateaus north of the international boundary,
+with the exception of about 20,000 square miles tributary to the
+Missouri, is drained by rivers flowing eastward to Hudson Bay or
+northward to the Arctic Ocean. It is thus a portion of the northern or
+arctic slope of the Continental basin. The eastern border of the plateau
+country trends northwestward, and finally reaches the Rocky Mountains in
+the vicinity of the head waters of the Mackenzie, but as this region is
+but imperfectly explored, our knowledge of the boundaries of the natural
+division of the continent we have been endeavouring to trace there
+becomes indefinite. The Great plateaus in Canada merge into the Prairie
+plains bordering them on the east, and in large part the position of the
+dividing line between the two is arbitrary.</p>
+
+<p>The portion of the Great plateaus in Canada, like the similar region to
+the south, is covered with bunch-grass, which dries as it stands and
+forms highly nutritious self-cured hay. Formerly this region was the
+winter feeding-ground for vast herds of bison. The winters, although
+cold, are not characterized by a heavy snowfall, and even in midwinter
+the warm dry <i>chinook</i> winds, as they are termed, similar to the <i>foehn</i>
+winds of Switzerland, frequently cause the snow to disappear and leave
+the brown plateau surfaces free for grazing. Now that the bison has
+disappeared, this immense region is favourable in many ways for
+stock-raising, but, unlike the lower prairies to the east with their
+rich black soil and long hot summers, is not suitable for agriculture.
+The main difficulties in the way of successful farming lie in the
+dryness of the summers, and the scarcity of water available for
+irrigation. The rivers flow in valleys several hundred feet below the
+general plateau surfaces, and hence cannot be made available for
+irrigating the uplands without too great an expense. In the bottoms of
+the valleys, however, adjacent to the stream, limited areas are now
+under cultivation, and it is to be expected that the wheat-fields of the
+prairie region will be gradually extended into the valley to the
+westward, and perhaps even to the eastern margin of the plateaus. A
+greater extension of the wheat-belt to the north and west than is now
+thought practicable
+<!--130.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span>
+has been predicted, but what the ultimate
+limit will be cannot be told.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Black Hills of Dakota.</i>&mdash;As stated in the brief account already
+given of the Prairie plains, their monotony of surface and of geological
+structure is broken by a single area of disturbance termed the Ozark
+uplift. Similarly, the vast generally level expanse of the Great
+plateaus is broken by a single rudely circular region of elevation, the
+Black Hills of Dakota, which has been sculptured by atmospheric agencies
+and given a diversified topography, in striking contrast with the even
+monotony of the country surrounding it.</p>
+
+<p>This protuberance on the surface of the Great plateaus is situated in
+the southwest portion of South Dakota, and embraces also a part of
+Wyoming, and about 140 miles east of the nearest range&mdash;the Big Horn
+Mountains&mdash;of the Rocky Mountain chain. It rises from the surrounding
+plateau to a height on an average of about 2,000 to 2,500 feet; the
+highest summit, Harney Peak, is 3,000 feet above the plain, and 7,216
+feet above the sea. The uplift is elliptical in ground plan, with a
+northwest and southeast axis measuring about 120 miles, and a transverse
+diameter of 40 to 50 miles. Its area is in the neighbourhood of 6,000
+square miles.</p>
+
+<p>While the generally level plateau surface about the Black Hills is
+treeless, except for the scattered groves of wide-spreading cottonwoods
+along the immediate banks of the larger streams, the central and higher
+portions of the elevation itself is clothed with an open but abundant
+forest, consisting principally of pines. The evergreen forests give to
+the hills a nearly black colour when seen from a distance, and have
+gained for them the name they bear.</p>
+
+<p>The rocks which have been forced upward so as to form the Black Hills
+dome were previously like those in the surrounding plain, quite
+horizontal, and had a vertical thickness of at least 5,000 feet. The
+uplift, if uneroded, would rise from the surrounding plain as a
+flat-topped dome about 6,600 feet high, as is suggested by the highest
+dotted line in the following diagram. In reality such a dome never
+<!--131.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span>
+existed, for the reason that its growth was slow, and perhaps is
+not completed even at the present day, and as soon as the rocks began to
+rise, the rain, wind, streams, etc., commenced their task of
+destruction. The higher the rocks were elevated the more powerfully
+those agencies acted. The top of the dome was soon broken and its
+internal structure revealed.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"><a name="Fig_18" id="Fig_18"></a>
+<img src="images/i129.jpg" width="700" height="180" alt="Fig. 18." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 18.</span>&mdash;Ideal east-and-west section through the Black
+Hills. The vertical scale is about six times the horizontal. The dotted
+lines indicate the portion of the uplift removed by erosion. After Henry
+Newton.<br />
+<span style="width: 30em; text-align: left;">
+1.&nbsp;Archean slates and schists.<br />
+2.&nbsp;Granite.<br />
+3.&nbsp;Potsdam, sandstone, resting unconformably on 1 and 2.<br />
+4.&nbsp;Carboniferous, mostly limestone.<br />
+5.&nbsp;Red Beds (Trias), sandstone with included limestone.<br />
+6.&nbsp;Jura, shales.<br />
+7.&nbsp;Cretaceous, shales.<br />
+8.&nbsp;White River Tertiary, shales, resting unconformably on 7.
+</span>
+</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>By reference to the accompanying generalized section through the Black
+Hills, which as the uplift is rudely circular would be essentially the
+same if taken in any direction through the elevated region, it will be
+seen that there is a central core of slate, schists, and granite which
+has been forced upward so as to stand in its present eroded condition;
+it rises well above the surface of the adjacent plateau. About this
+central core the upturned edges of the sedimentary rocks form concentric
+zones, the oldest in the series being next the schists, and the youngest
+10 to 40 or 50 miles distant. It is the presence in the central part of
+the hills of an area of resistant crystalline rocks which have weathered
+into rugged forms, and the series of encircling and concentric belts of
+rock of varying degrees of hardness and solubility, that has given to
+the uplift its present peculiar relief and its generally beautiful
+scenery. The edges of the harder belts form bold hills and ridges, while
+the softer belts have been eroded into valleys. This series of
+sharp-crested ridges and intervening valleys forms concentric circles
+<!--132.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span>
+completely surrounding the central group of rugged mountains. The
+largest and most interesting of the ring-like valleys is underlaid by
+red sandstone, and is remarkable for its flaming colour as well as for
+its exceptional form. In this Red Valley one may ride entirely around
+the rugged central mass of the hills, on a generally level surface,
+which is inclosed on its outer border by a precipitous wall of yellowish
+sandstone and shale 300 or 400 feet high. The distance about this
+"race-course," as it is sometimes termed, is about 200 miles. This
+series of concentric ridges and intervening valleys, surrounding a high
+and rugged region of more resistant rock, furnish an admirable
+illustration of the influence of rock texture, hardness, etc., on
+topography.</p>
+
+<p>Another instructive geographical lesson afforded by the Black Hills is
+the manner in which the portion of the dome rising above the level of
+the rivers which flow across the surrounding plain has been dissected by
+stream erosion. The streams originating in the central portion of the
+uplift flowed outward in all directions, and have cut deep narrow gorges
+through the ridges of hard rock in the base of the truncated dome. Some
+20 streams originating in the central portion of the uplift cross Red
+Valley and escape through notches in its outer wall, about 16 of which
+are well-defined gateways leading to the encircling plateau. This is one
+of the most beautiful and most instructive examples of <i>consequent</i>
+drainage&mdash;that is, of streams whose direction has been determined by the
+inclination of the surface over which they flow&mdash;thus far discovered.
+Still another feature of much geographical interest is furnished by the
+rivers on the adjacent plain, two of which, branches of the Cheyenne
+River, cross the north and south extensions, respectively, of the Black
+Hills dome. These streams flow directly across the arched strata, in
+cañons of their own making, and, as explained by G. K. Gilbert, are
+illustrations of <i>superimposed</i> drainage&mdash;that is, the portions of the
+dome crossed by the branches of the Cheyenne after the rocks were
+upheaved were covered by soft horizontal lake beds, over which the water
+flowed as consequent streams. The rivers deepened their channels and
+<!--133.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span>
+cut through the soft cover of horizontal rock and into the arched
+beds beneath. The course of the streams initiated on the covering of
+soft beds were maintained, as the flowing water charged with sand cut
+downward into the harder, upturned beds beneath, and now, the covering
+of soft beds having been eroded away, the rivers flow directly across
+(or through) the flanks of the great arch, but are not deflected by it.</p>
+
+<p>In the neighbourhood of the Black Hills, and especially about their
+northern and northwestern border, there are secondary hills formed by
+the upward protrusion of molten rocks into the generally horizontally
+stratified rocks underlying the plateau. These intrusions did not reach
+the surface in such a way as to form volcanoes, but were forced upward,
+raising domes above them, in which the structure is similar to that in
+the great Black Hills dome. These secondary domes have been eaten away
+by erosive agencies in varying degrees. In some of them, as the Little
+Sundance Hill, near the town of Sundance, Wyoming, the dome of
+stratified rock is unbroken, and no igneous rock is to be seen; other
+neighbouring domes in which the plutonic magmas rose higher have been
+eroded so as to expose the summit portion of the inner core; and in one
+instance, known as Mato Tepee, the uncovering of the plug of plutonic
+rock which caused the uplift is so complete that it now forms a
+prominent fluted column over 600 feet high above its immediate base.</p>
+
+<p><i>Volcanic Mountains and Table-Lands.</i>&mdash;In the south-central portion of
+the Great plateaus in southwestern Colorado and eastern New Mexico,
+there are several typical cinder cones with lava-flows associated with
+them, which impart novel topographic forms to the general monotony of
+the broad plateau surfaces. The highest of the extinct volcanoes in this
+region is Mount Capulin, situated in northeastern New Mexico, about 200
+miles east of the Rocky Mountains, which rises 2,750 feet above the
+surrounding plain, and has an elevation of about 9,000 feet above the
+sea. At the summit of this conical mass there is a well-defined crater a
+mile in diameter. In the same region there
+<!--134.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span>
+are several other
+similar volcanic cones, from which lava streams have descended. As has
+been pointed out by R. T. Hill, these are the most easterly volcanoes of
+recent geological age in North America. They were formed after the
+Tertiary rocks of the Llano were laid down.</p>
+
+<p>The Raton Mesa, situated between Mount Capulin and the front range of
+the Rockies, is capped by a lava flow of more ancient date than the
+volcanoes just referred to, which has protected the softer rocks beneath
+from erosion, and now stands as a prominent table-land with precipitous
+borders.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE PACIFIC MOUNTAINS</div>
+
+<p>To the west of the Continental basin is a vast cordillera composed of
+numerous mountain chains which extends from south-central Mexico
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and in its broadest part is about 1,000
+miles wide. As already explained, we speak of this region in its
+entirety as the Pacific cordillera, or less technically as the Pacific
+mountains. It is a highly complex group of mountain chains, each of
+which contains two or more distinct mountain systems; each system,
+again, is usually composed of many ranges, and each range is frequently
+made up of a multitude of ridges, peaks, buttes, mesas, etc.; there are
+also many plateaus more or less completely dissected by erosion, and
+broad valleys, as well as numerous cañons, gulches, ravines, arroyas,
+and other secondary topographic forms. This vast cordillera not only
+contains mountains produced by the folding of the rocks of the earth's
+crust, in a general way similar to the Appalachians in structure, but
+also upturned blocks many miles in extent, bounded by breaks or faults,
+and volcanic mountains, vast lava-flows, and elevations due to the
+injection of molten rock into the earth's crusts so as to elevate domes.
+In fact, scarcely any topographic form and no important geological
+structure that is known is lacking in this great family of mountains
+which dominates the western portion of the continent.</p>
+
+<p>The Pacific mountains begin abruptly at the south, along a generally
+east and west line passing some 75 miles
+<!--135.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span>
+south of the City of
+Mexico, where the precipitous border of the table-land of central Mexico
+overlooks a lower region to the south which is diversified by many
+volcanic mountains. But little accurate information is available
+concerning the geology and geography of Mexico, but in general, as is
+well known, there are three main mountain belts which traverse that
+republic. One of these mountain belts is adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico,
+and another is situated near the Pacific coast of the main portion of
+the republic, while the third forms the rugged and irregular axis of the
+peninsula of Lower California. Between the leading mountain belts of the
+mainland there are numerous short ranges and many nearly level-floored
+valleys. The general level of this inland region is in the neighbourhood
+of 6,000 feet, while the more prominent peaks and crests attain
+elevations of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet. The general trend of the main
+mountain belts, and of the numerous subordinate ranges, is about
+northwest and southeast. For this reason, and also because the valleys
+have become deeply filled with <i>débris</i> from the mountains, travelling
+in directions leading north and south is facilitated by the topography,
+while in passing from one coast of the republic to the other the rugged
+bordering mountain belts have to be crossed and detours made in order to
+pass around the central mountain ranges.</p>
+
+<p>The more elevated portion of central and northern Mexico, together with
+the peninsula of Lower California, has an arid climate, to which many of
+the conspicuous features in the geography of the land are due. The
+precipitation over large areas is insufficient to maintain permanent
+streams, the vegetation is nearly all of a desert-like character, and
+several basins exist which do not drain to the sea. In the interior
+basins there are saline and alkaline lakes, and numerous dry lake beds
+or <i>playas</i>, which are whitened by saline efflorescences. The rocks
+exposed in the mountains are largely of sedimentary origin, but a
+characteristic feature is the geology, especially to the west, in the
+presence of extensive volcanic areas and lofty mountains of igneous
+rocks.
+<!--136.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Pacific cordillera begins in southern Mexico with a width of some
+300 miles and broadens when traced northward. At the boundary between
+Mexico and the United States it has a width of fully 700 miles, but
+reaches its greatest breadth in the latitude of San Francisco and
+Denver, where it is about 1,000 miles across. In its better known, but
+as yet incompletely studied portion embraced within the boundaries of
+the United States there are several important subdivisions, such as the
+Rocky Mountain belt on the east; a less lofty, but yet rugged central
+region, termed the Great Basin, characterized by having a dry climate
+and by the fact that the streams do not reach the ocean; and a western
+mountain chain which includes the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges. To
+the west of the mountains just named lies the great valley of
+California, and similar regions in Oregon and Washington occupied in
+part by Puget Sound. To the west, again, are the several ranges
+bordering the Pacific coast from Lower California to Vancouver Island,
+and termed in a general way the coast mountains. Each of the great
+divisions of the Pacific mountain region has its indefinitely known
+southern terminus in Mexico, and extends northward to beyond the
+Canadian boundary. As this central portion of the most westerly of the
+larger geographical divisions of the continent is well developed in the
+United States, and has there been more carefully explored than
+elsewhere, a review of its leading features will serve to give as good
+an idea of the entire Pacific mountain region as is now practicable.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Rocky Mountains.</i>&mdash;The limitations to the north and south of the
+region to which this name is more or less specifically applied are not
+well defined. Perhaps the most accurate statement at present permissible
+is that the Rocky Mountains begin at the south, in northern Mexico, and
+extend northward across the United States and Canada to near the shore
+of the Arctic Ocean. On the east it is sharply defined by its junction
+with the Great plateaus. Its western border, although less definite than
+the eastern, is easily traced, at least across the greater portion of
+the United States, by the marked contrast it presents to the
+geographical
+<!--137.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span>
+conditions characteristic of the Great Basin region,
+but owing to the many difficulties met with in attempting to adjust and
+make use of the current nomenclature in classifying geographical regions
+more or less artificial boundaries have to be accepted. The Great Basin
+is so designated because it is a region of interior drainage&mdash;that is,
+it does not send any tribute to the sea. Its boundaries are therefore
+the crest-lines of the surrounding divides or water-partings. The Rocky
+Mountains, on the other hand, are defined as an elevated region, the
+boundaries of which are determined by relief and not by drainage. The
+basis of classification in these two instances is not the same, and one
+province overlaps the other. The streams flowing westward from the Rocky
+Mountains into the Great Basin&mdash;such, for example, as Bear, Provo, and
+Sevier Rivers in Utah&mdash;have their sources well within the Rocky Mountain
+province as defined by uplift, but yet lie wholly within the Great Basin
+province as defined by drainage. In spite of this inconsistency,
+geographers recognise as the western border of the Rocky Mountains the
+irregular and in part indefinite line where the elevated region breaks
+down and meets the broad level-floored valleys characteristic of the
+Great Basin. This line, or more properly belt of country, although
+indefinite at the south, may for convenience be taken as beginning at
+the head of the Gulf of California, and extending up the Colorado River
+for about 300 miles, to where that river makes an abrupt bend, turning
+southward after a westerly course through the Grand Cañon. From the
+locality indicated, the boundary passes through central Utah, and is
+sharply defined for most of the way by the bold western escarpment of
+the Wasatch Range. In the neighbourhood of Great Salt Lake the border of
+the mountain belt trends more and more to the northwest, crosses Idaho
+diagonally, and in northern Washington merges with or closely approaches
+the Cascade Mountains. In this northern region the border of the Rocky
+Mountains is again indefinite, and until the geological structure of
+western Canada is more thoroughly studied can only be located
+provisionally.
+<!--138.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The unsatisfactory condition of the nomenclature at present applied to
+the larger topographic features of North America is illustrated by the
+fact that to the north of the United States-Canadian boundary the term
+<i>Rocky Mountains</i> is much more restricted than is the custom in the
+United States. In Canada this name is applied to the most easterly of
+the ranges or chains of the Pacific cordillera. This difference in the
+significance of the name referred to on the opposite sides of the
+international boundary is unfortunate, but is due in large part to our
+ignorance of the geography and geology not only immediately along the
+boundary line, but generally throughout the rugged region of the
+northwest portion of the continent.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most important geographic features in the central part of the
+United States is the presence in Wyoming of a broad, generally flat,
+region known as the Laramie plateau (plains) and its extension westward
+across nearly the entire width of the Rocky Mountains. The general
+elevation of these "plains" is about 7,000 feet, or approximately 1,000
+feet greater than that of the western border of the Great plateaus. The
+Laramie plateau and country to the west having a similar topography,
+furnished a convenient pass for the Union Pacific, the oldest of the
+transcontinental railroads, and divides the Rocky Mountain belt into two
+portions, which may be termed in a general way the northern and southern
+Rocky Mountains respectively.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of the Union Pacific Railroad there are several important
+mountain groups, termed collectively the Stony Mountains by Lewis and
+Clark in the report of their bold explorations across the continent in
+1804, but not generally used since that time. This name has recently
+been revived by J. W. Powell as a convenient term by which to designate
+this large division of the Rocky Mountain belt, but unfortunately is not
+recognised and has no significance to the north of the international
+boundary. What the natural limitations of the Stony Mountains may be in
+Canada remains to be determined.</p>
+
+<p>The Stony Mountain system includes the Big Horn Mountains in
+north-central Wyoming, the sharp and lofty
+<!--139.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span>
+Teton Range to the
+south of the Yellowstone National Park, and several other rugged uplifts
+of great extent in Montana and Idaho, and should the name be extended to
+the north of the international boundary until a natural limit is
+reached, it will include the Rocky Mountains of Canadian geographers
+(the most eastern of the great uplifts constituting the Rocky Mountain
+belt), together with the several ranges of the Gold Mountains. These
+several mountain ranges and groups of ranges appear to have diverse
+geological structure, but their histories are by no means thoroughly
+understood. Some of them, as stated by Powell, are carved out of broad
+folds, and involve both originally deeply seated igneous and metamorphic
+rocks and upturned and folded sedimentary beds; while others are due to
+movements along lines of fracture and in part of overthrust.</p>
+
+<p>The Stony Mountains form a portion of the continental divide which parts
+the waters flowing to the Pacific from those that find their way to the
+Atlantic. The thousands of streams tributary to the Missouri head
+against the equally numerous fountains supplying the westward-flowing
+Columbia. The broad valleys between the several ranges have a general
+elevation of between 7,000 and 8,000 feet, and the bold, massive
+mountains rise from 10,000 to over 13,000 feet above the sea. Owing to
+the considerable elevation even of the valleys, and the northern
+position of the region here considered, as well as its distance from the
+equalizing influence of the sea, the extremes of climate are strongly
+marked. The summer season is comparatively short, and in the valleys the
+heat is intense (ranging from 90° to 112° F.) and the rainfall small or
+none at all, while the winter season is cold (temperatures of from -15°
+to -30° F. being frequent) and accompanied by an abundant snowfall,
+especially on the mountains. Agriculture, although carried on in the
+valleys, is of comparatively small importance, and is usually dependent
+on irrigation. The mountains are snow-covered through much of the year,
+and small glaciers occur about the lofty summits of the Teton Range and
+on the mountains near the international boundary and in Canada. The
+valleys are generally destitute of trees except
+<!--140.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span>
+along the
+streams, where white-trunked cottonwoods spread their green leaves in
+summer and become a tracery of golden yellow in the autumn, marking the
+courses of the life-giving waters. The lower mountain slopes are covered
+with dark forests of pine, spruce, and juniper, which increase in
+density and extent as one follows the ranges northward until the
+influence of the high northern latitude is felt, and in northern Canada
+the zone of the subarctic forest is reached.</p>
+
+<p>In the central part of the Stony Mountains is situated the justly famed
+Yellowstone National Park, which is truly remarkable for its fine
+scenery, its deeply carved and gorgeously colored cañons, and most of
+all for its numerous hot springs and spouting geysers. This is the only
+geyser region on the continent, and the most extensive of the three now
+existing in the world.</p>
+
+<p>The finest scenery of the northern division of the Rocky Mountain belt
+lies to the north of the international boundary, and within recent years
+has been rendered accessible by the building of the Canadian Pacific
+Railroad. It is in this region that the mountains are highest, most
+rugged, and clothed most completely with the dark, sombre, evergreen
+northern forests. Here, too, high up among the bare serrate mountain
+tops, and mostly above the timber-line, are found the largest of the
+glaciers in the Rocky Mountain belt. This wonderful region of rugged
+mountains, deep and formerly glacier-filled valleys, impetuous rivers,
+and dense forests has only recently become known to the world at large.
+Vast areas, no doubt as attractive as those about Banff, Lake Louise,
+Glacier House, etc., already famous, remain to be discovered and
+described.</p>
+
+<p>In the fastnesses of these wild northern Rockies moose, elk, deer, bear,
+mountain-sheep, and mountain-goat still abound. The buffalo (bison) is
+protected in the Yellowstone National Park, and will probably be
+preserved from extinction. A small herd also survives in Canada. The
+streams, except those flowing from glaciers, are bright, clear, and
+swift, and are well stocked with fish. The trout, represented by several
+species, there finds the cool retreats so essential to its life. To the
+sportsman and
+<!--141.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span>
+skilled angler the northern Rockies are a paradise.
+Among the lofty mountains and in the larger valleys there are many
+lakes, more especially in northern Idaho and Montana and in Canada. Many
+of these, and particularly those near the heads of the valleys and about
+the more lofty peaks, are true rock-basin lakes, worn out by the
+grinding of sand-charged glacial ice when the glaciers were far more
+extensive than now. The large lakes situated in the trunk portions of
+the broad-bottomed valleys are in many instances retained by dams of
+glacially deposited detritus and record the changes in the aspect of the
+land inherited from the Glacial epoch. These numerous lakes present a
+vast variety of scenery, and in many instances reflect from their placid
+mirror-like surfaces as beautiful and inspiring pictures of rugged
+grandeur as can be found in the world. The natural beauties of the
+classical lakes of Switzerland and Italy are rivalled by many of the
+charming water bodies of the northern Rockies, which but few men
+appreciative of the beauties of nature have ever seen.</p>
+
+<p>To the south of the Laramie plateau the mountains of the Rocky Mountain
+system are more irregular and more lofty than those to the north of that
+break. The many rugged ranges in southern Wyoming, Colorado, and
+northern New Mexico form a great group, to which the name Park Mountains
+has been applied by J. W. Powell. The several ranges composing this
+group have a general north and south trend, to which, however, an
+exception is furnished by the Uintah Mountains in southwestern Wyoming
+and eastern Utah, which consists of a deeply dissected east and west
+fold or broadly uplifted plateau. Intervening between several of the
+adjacent ranges there are wide, nearly flat-bottomed valleys, which owe
+their leading characteristics to the deep filling of depressions by
+<i>débris</i> carried from the bordering mountains by the wind and streams.
+These broad valleys surrounded by rugged peaks are known as parks, and
+the numerous ranges among which they are situated are hence designated
+the Park Mountains. The term by which the valleys are known is in some
+respects misleading, as the word <i>park</i> usually carries the idea of a
+diversified
+<!--142.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span>
+and in part forested region, with mild, picturesque
+scenery. Perhaps a city park or the beautiful rural estates of England
+are most usually brought to mind when the term referred to is mentioned.
+But in the great mountains of the central portion of the continent one's
+idea must expand to keep in harmony with his surroundings. The natural
+parks of that region are broad, generally treeless, valleys with winding
+streams, the uplands are grass-covered and rolling, and in distant views
+the courses of the streams are marked by narrow belts of verdure. The
+picture is framed by a succession of mountain domes and embattled
+cliffs. Over all arches the dark blue, cloudless sky of a nearly
+rainless region. In the clear air distances are deceptive, and what
+appear to be miles to the novice must be extended to leagues in order to
+acquire adequate conceptions of the magnitude of the scene.</p>
+
+<p>The most famous of the great tracts of generally level land surrounded
+by the high ranges of the Park Mountains is San Luis Park, situated in
+southeastern Colorado and extending southward into New Mexico, which has
+a length from north to south of about 130 miles, and is from 20 to
+nearly 40 miles wide. Its general elevation is between 7,000 and 8,000
+feet. This great valley, level-floored with soft deposits swept in from
+the bordering highlands, and almost completely surrounded by rugged
+mountains, although more desolate than the majority of the numerous
+similar valleys in the same region, is typical of its class. The Rio
+Grande winds through its entire length and many streams rising in the
+bordering mountains flow to the valley during the winter season, but in
+summer, owing to the high temperature, active evaporation, and small
+rainfall, only a few of the larger of these mountain-born torrents reach
+the main, southward-flowing river. In the southern portions of the
+valley large areas are covered with drifting sand, which is fashioned by
+the winds into ever-changing dunes of a creamy whiteness. Some of the
+streams from the mountains expand on the plain and form the San Luis
+lakes, from which the water escapes by evaporation, thus causing them to
+become alkaline. The land bordering the lakes is whitened
+<!--143.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span>
+as with
+snow by saline incrustations. On the lower portion of the rim of this
+mountain-inclosed basin there are scattered groves of pines and
+junipers, and at higher elevations the mountains are dark with forests.
+The more lofty peaks, however, rise far above the upper limit of the
+forests and are rugged and magnificent even under the glare of a
+cloudless sky.</p>
+
+<p>To the east of the San Luis Park, and rising about 7,000 feet over it,
+and over 14,000 feet above the sea, stands Sierra Blanca, one of the
+finest of the many majestic mountains of Colorado. In summer immense
+cloud banks frequently gather about this cold, isolated peak, and local
+storms, accompanied by fierce lightning and echoing thunder, beat upon
+its shrouded sides. These tempests raging on the mountain top, while the
+adjacent valleys are flooded with sunlight, recall the scriptural
+accounts of the storms of Mount Sinai. In fact, the southwestern portion
+of the United States and the adjacent region in Mexico, so far as
+scenery and climatic peculiarities are concerned, have much in common
+with Palestine.</p>
+
+<p>The other great parks in Colorado, which have suggested a name for the
+group of mountains in the midst of which they are sheltered, are less
+arid and less desert-like than the one just described; but like it,
+derive their magnificence and fascination from their vast extent, the
+sublimity of the bordering mountains, and the wonderful transparency of
+the air above them, rather than from the topography of their nearly
+level floors or the vegetation that strives ineffectually to clothe
+their nakedness.</p>
+
+<p>The individual summits as well as the separate ranges composing the Park
+Mountains are remarkable for their massiveness and the great height of
+their bare rounded summits rather than for picturesque details. Several
+of the peaks are among the highest in the United States. One conspicuous
+feature is the considerable elevation of the valleys, usually over 7,000
+feet, and the large number of lofty summits. Of the peaks that have been
+measured, over 30 exceed 14,000 feet in height. The portion of the Park
+Mountains above an elevation of 10,000 feet, as is indicated
+<!--144.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span>
+on
+the map reproduced on page 65, is far greater in area than
+any other region of similar altitude on the continent.</p>
+
+<p>In the Park Mountains, and generally throughout the southern Rockies,
+even to central Mexico, the forms that meet the eye are the remnants of
+vast upheaved folds and domes of the earth's crust sculptured and
+degraded by erosion. The nearly horizontal rocks of the Great plateaus
+on meeting the eastern border of the mountains are bent abruptly upward,
+and in many places stand on edge or have been overturned so as to dip
+westward. This abrupt upward bending and the presence of remnants of the
+same beds on the summits of some of the higher mountains shows that the
+strata have not been simply folded into anticlinals and synclinals, but
+that there has been a thickening and upswelling of the rocks beneath.</p>
+
+<p>In the northern Rockies, except in western Idaho and adjacent portions
+of Washington and Oregon, evidences of recent volcanic activity are
+rare, although igneous rocks cover great areas, and in the Yellowstone
+Park numerous geysers and hot springs bear evidence to the presence of
+abnormal heat in the earth's crust. In the southern Rockies, however,
+volcanic mountains which still preserve their forms are numerous in
+certain regions, and in Mexico there are mighty volcanic piles and many
+lesser elevations built up by extrusion of molten material, some of
+which are still active. Examples are furnished of volcanic mountains
+ranging from perfect cones with curved slopes typical of the forms
+produced by the piling up of various sized fragments about the vents
+from which they were extruded, to irregular serrate peaks which reveal
+the anatomy of the dissected volcanic masses, and even the dikes which
+remain after the surface elevation of a volcano has been removed. The
+most modern volcanoes in this great group of mountains are situated in
+central Mexico, but others nearly as perfect in form occur in New Mexico
+and Arizona, and in the plateaus to the east of the Park Mountains. The
+Spanish peaks in southeastern Colorado are instructive illustrations of
+the topographic forms produced when a volcanic mountain has been deeply
+dissected.
+<!--145.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In the formation of volcanic mountains there is an extrusion of molten
+and fragmentary material accompanied by an escape of great volumes of
+steam at the surface. Closely related to this phase of vulcanism is the
+injection of molten material into the earth's crust from below, so as to
+force its way between stratified beds and produce intruded sheets. In
+this latter process the sheets of injected material may be thin in
+comparison to their lateral extent or thick lens-shaped masses. In the
+production of either of these forms of intrusion the cover above the
+injected material is lifted and a change is made in the topography of
+the surface. The intrusions, which are thick in comparison to their
+lateral extent, are known as <i>laccoliths</i>. At times intrusions of this
+nature are of such thickness that they produce true mountain forms. If
+unmodified, these elevations would be domes, but when their surfaces are
+broken by erosion and their dissection and removal progresses they
+frequently assume rugged, serrate forms.</p>
+
+<p>The type of laccolithic mountains made known some years since by the
+studies of G. K. Gilbert is furnished by the Henry Mountains, in
+southern Utah. More recently it has been found that this interesting
+phase of mountain building is illustrated by many other examples in the
+Rocky Mountain region and elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>The rocks exposed at the surface in the southern Rockies, as in the
+northern division of that great chain, embrace almost every variety
+which enters into the composition of the earth's crust. The central
+cores of many of the now deeply eroded ranges consist of granite and
+other similar rocks, and are surrounded by sedimentary beds which range
+in age from the oldest stratified rocks now known to the youngest.
+Igneous rocks in great variety and in all forms incident to an extruded
+or volcanic and intruded or plutonic origin are present. The many
+disturbances that have occurred have led to the formation of mineral
+veins and the impregnation of rock masses with ores of various
+kinds&mdash;such as gold, silver, lead, copper, etc.&mdash;which have been mined
+with great success at many localities.
+<!--146.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>The High Plateaus.</i>&mdash;To the west and south of the Park Mountains, and
+situated in the western portions of Colorado and New Mexico, eastern and
+southern Utah, and northern Arizona, there is an extensive region having
+a general surface level of 6,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea, known as
+the High plateaus. This region has suffered great erosion and is deeply
+trenched by stream-carved cañons. Although not mountainous in the
+ordinary acceptance of the term, its surface is rugged and difficult to
+traverse, particularly on account of the deep cañons that intersect it
+in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>The High plateaus are a part of the Rocky Mountain region and bear a
+somewhat similar relation to the Park Mountains that the Alleghany
+plateau does to the Appalachian Mountains. Streams flowing westward from
+the Park Mountains and from the southwestern portion of the Stony
+Mountains unite to form the Colorado River&mdash;the one great drainage
+channel of the region. The importance of this remarkable river in the
+history of the land has led to the adoption of the name Colorado plateau
+by Powell and others for the region under consideration. As with so many
+of the grander geographical units of the continent, the precise limits
+of the one here considered are difficult to define; but in spite of this
+uncertainty as to meets and bounds, the now classical writings of
+Newberry, Powell, and Dutton especially have shown that a strange and
+wonderful land exists in the southwest part of the United States, which
+is of unusual interest to geologists and geographers.</p>
+
+<p>The High plateaus are underlaid by nearly horizontal rocks. The larger
+elements in the structure are great blocks of the earth's crust
+measuring some 60 to 100 miles on their various borders, which are
+bounded by breaks (faults), or by what are termed monoclinal folds or a
+change from one plateau to another by a single bend in the strata. The
+rocks in each of the separate plateaus are usually gently tilted. Their
+eroded edges stand as lines of massive, gorgeously coloured, and
+frequently fantastically sculptured cliffs. These cliffs, when seen from
+below, appear as rugged mountain ranges, but to an observer standing on
+<!--147.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span>
+their deeply sculptured crests are easily recognised as the
+upturned edges of large gently tilted blocks of the earth's crust.</p>
+
+<p>The basement rocks beneath the High plateaus are very ancient granites,
+schists, etc., which formed a land surface and were greatly eroded
+before the first of the superimposed stratified beds were deposited upon
+them. The first of the sheets of sediment laid down by the primeval
+ocean belong to the oldest rocks containing records of life that have as
+yet been recognised&mdash;the Algonkian (pre-Cambrian) terranes of modern
+geology. Above these come other deposits of sandstone, shales,
+limestone, etc., representing a wide range of geological history, and
+including as the upper member of the series the sediments of large
+Tertiary lakes. This vast succession of stratified rocks, some 13,000
+feet in thickness, has been upraised in a broad way, without the
+crumpling and folding, but broken, as stated above, into great blocks
+which are now variously inclined, but still preserve a plateau-like
+character.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the movements in the earth's crust which raised the plateaus and
+caused fractures and simple or monoclinal folds in the rocks of which
+they are composed, there occurred volcanic eruptions which produced
+numerous cinder cones, extensive lava-flows, and widely spread sheets of
+comminuted material known as lapilli, dust, and so-called ashes.</p>
+
+<p>Although the history recorded in the rocks forming the High plateaus is
+one of fascinating geological interest, the easier and more obvious
+lesson that the region has to offer, more especially to the geographer,
+has been engraved and etched on its surface by streams and wind-blown
+sand.</p>
+
+<p>On the High plateaus the rainfall is comparatively small, and the
+streams originating there mostly ephemeral. But on the mountains to the
+east and north the precipitation is more abundant and rivers are formed
+which flow across the plateau region. The Green and Grand Rivers, fed by
+many tributaries, unite to form the Colorado, which flows southwestward
+for some 700 miles and discharges its muddy waters into the Gulf of
+Lower California. This great river
+<!--148.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span>
+year by year and century after
+century has deepened its channel through the plateau region where the
+rainfall is small, more rapidly than the general surface has been
+lowered by erosion. The main conditions are a broad area of nearly
+horizontal rocks, raised high above the sea or above the base level of
+erosion, and an arid climate; crossing this region is the ever-flowing
+river, which, acting like an endless saw, cuts deeper and deeper into
+the blocks of the earth's crust which have been raised athwart its
+course. Resulting from these conditions is a mighty trench or cañon,
+which is by far the most magnificent of its kind in North America, if
+not in the world. Not only has the main river sunken its channel into
+the earth to a depth of more than a mile throughout a large portion of
+its course, but each tributary stream has been engaged for a long period
+of time in a similar task. Although most of the streams originating on
+the surface of the plateaus are ephemeral, they work rapidly when the
+occasional heavy rains flood their channels. This deepening of the
+stream channels, while their borders and the intervening portions of the
+plateau surface suffered but comparatively slight erosion, has produced
+a wonderful system of deep steep-sided trenches in the borders of which
+the edges of the dissected rocks are exposed in nearly vertical
+precipices.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_19" id="Fig_19"></a>
+<img src="images/i147.jpg" width="600" height="365" alt="Fig. 19." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 19.</span>&mdash;Grand Cañon of the Colorado River. After W. H.
+Holmes.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Aside from the lessons of interest to the geologist and geographer so
+plainly engraved on the surfaces of the plateaus crossed by the
+Colorado, the region has a wonderful fascination for the purely æsthetic
+feelings more or less latent in every human breast. To one traversing
+the open pine forests, in places clothing the plateaus and inclosing
+many grassy glades and flower-decked parks, in which timid deer may
+frequently be seen feeding in the early morning, and emerging on the
+brink of the Grand Cañon, the scene that meets the eye is marvellous
+beyond all description. C. E. Dutton, to whom we owe some of the most
+graphic and inspiring descriptions of natural scenery ever written,
+states that those who have long and carefully studied the Grand Cañon of
+the Colorado do not hesitate for a moment in pronouncing it the most
+sublime of all earthly
+<!--150.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span>
+spectacles. "If its sublimity," writes
+Dutton, "consisted only in its dimensions, it could be sufficiently set
+forth in a single sentence. It is more than 200 miles long, from 5 to 12
+miles wide, and from 5,000 to 6,000 feet deep. But it is not magnitude
+alone that gives this marvellous cañon its prominence; it is the
+gorgeous and varied colouring of its mighty walls, the endless details
+in the sculpturing of its battlements and towers, the ever-changing
+atmospheric effects of its profound depths, and the wonderful stimulus
+to the imagination with which it feeds the mind. Standing on the brink
+of the Grand Cañon, the prosaic search for causes and effects for a time
+at least must be laid aside, and give place to the emotions."</p>
+
+<p>Wonderfully grand as are the scenes beheld in traversing this region of
+high plateaus, with its magnificent cliffs and profound cañons, one is
+constantly reminded that it is an arid land. The higher portions of the
+plateau, it is true, are in places forested, but over vast areas the
+rocks are bare. Water is everywhere scarce except in the bottom of the
+larger excavations. Thirsty, and perhaps perishing, the traveller,
+Tantalus like, looks down on the shining silvery threads of water in the
+cañons, hundreds and even thousands of feet below, but separated from
+them by impassable barriers. To the south the plateaus descend to the
+desolate valleys of southern Arizona, where strange gigantic
+cactus-plants and scattered clumps of thorny shrubs alone break the
+dreary monotony of the hot gravelly deserts. Agriculture is there
+impossible without irrigation, but where the life-giving waters can be
+utilized, as in the Gila Valley, marvellous productiveness follows.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE GREAT BASIN</div>
+
+<p>To the west of the Rocky Mountain belt in the United States there exists
+a region embracing about 210,000 square miles, which sends no stream to
+the ocean. This vast and in large part desert tract is known as the
+Great Basin. The climate is characterized by its aridity. The annual
+precipitation is small and evaporation active. All the water
+<!--151.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span>
+reaching the land is returned to the air by evaporation, either directly
+or from the streams and lakes. Many of the lakes do not overflow and are
+more or less alkaline and saline, while some of them, as Great Salt
+Lake, Utah, and Mono and Owens Lakes, California, are dense with mineral
+matter in solution.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 253px;">
+   <a href="images/i150h.jpg" target="_blank" name="Fig_20" id="Fig_20"><img src="images/i150t.jpg"
+       width="253" height="400" alt="Fig. 20." title="" /></a>
+   <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 20.</span>&mdash;The Great Basin.<br />
+   <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The Great Basin is not a single level-floored depression, as one might
+infer from its name, but is traversed by rugged mountain ranges, which
+divide it into a large number of minor valleys. Some of these secondary
+basins have lakes and streams which escape from them into lower
+depressions, but in many instances under present climatic conditions
+they have no surface water, all the moisture that reaches them being
+absorbed by the thirsty soil or evaporated without forming lakes. The
+Great Basin proper, as it may be termed, embraces nearly the whole of
+Utah and Nevada, together with small portions of the southern parts of
+Idaho and Oregon and a large area in southeastern California. While the
+drainage conditions limit the application of the name to this group of
+associated basins which send no tribute to the sea, the climatic and to
+a less extent the topographic and geological conditions that
+characterize it have much wider, although indefinite boundaries. This
+wider region which resembles the Great Basin proper, extends from
+British Columbia southward to beyond the city of Mexico, and includes
+the eastern half of Washington and Oregon, a large part of Idaho, and
+much of Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. In this outer region
+both to the north and south of the Great Basin proper there are
+drainless valleys, as those of central Mexico, in which the conditions
+characteristic of the desert valleys of Utah and Nevada are repeated.</p>
+
+<p>The greater region of arid valleys and desolate mountains surrounding
+the Great Basin proper is crossed at the north by the Columbia and in
+the central part by the Colorado. Each of these large rivers has its
+source in the Rocky Mountains and flows to the Pacific.</p>
+
+<p>The most obvious features of the Great Basin and of the northward and
+southward extensions of the belt of country
+<!--153.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span>
+having much in common
+with it, depend on climatic conditions. The rainfall is small throughout
+the entire belt from the Canadian boundary to south-central Mexico. The
+average mean annual precipitation, judging from such observations as are
+available, is probably less than 15 inches, but this broad statement
+does not truly represent the diverse conditions. The rainfall is
+confined almost entirely to the winter season, and frequently comes in
+short heavy downpours. During the summer season, the valleys especially,
+become so parched that only such plants can grow as are adapted to
+long-continued droughts. The topography is rough and diversified by many
+mountain ranges, and the precipitation is more abundant on the uplands
+than in the valleys. Over large areas in Nevada and southeastern
+California the mean annual rainfall is less than 5 inches. The author,
+while carrying on geological work in this region, was informed by some
+of the older settlers that at times for fully eighteen consecutive
+months no rain whatever fell in certain of the valleys. From the
+accounts of travellers in central Mexico, it seems as if some of the
+interior basins in that region must be fully as arid as those just
+referred to.</p>
+
+<p>One conspicuous result of the lack of moisture is the absence of
+forests. Except on the mountains mainly at the north the Great Basin and
+its extensions, as defined above, is nearly destitute of trees. The
+valleys are in many instances thickly covered with desert shrubs,
+notably the sage-brush, but the floors of the driest basins are in many
+instances almost absolutely without vegetation, and are frequently white
+with saline incrustations.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the depressions in the Great Basin, as well as some of the
+outlying valleys referred to, have rivers and lakes which exhibit
+certain interesting features that are unfamiliar to people dwelling in
+humid lands. The streams are fed in part by the small precipitation on
+the desert valleys, and by springs, frequently of heated water, but
+mainly by the rain and melting snow on the mountains. Many rills and
+rivulets are born on the valley sides of a single storm, but are
+absorbed by the thirsty soil or evaporated during the succeeding hours
+of sunshine. Other streams
+<!--154.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span>
+have a greater lease of life and flow
+down to valleys and basins, suffering evaporation and absorption as they
+progress, which cause them to diminish in volume, and finally to vanish.
+The stronger streams, such as Sevier and Bear Rivers in Utah, the
+Humboldt River in Nevada, and the Truckee River in California, maintain
+their existence throughout the year, and expand into lakes in which the
+inflow is balanced by evaporation.</p>
+
+<p>The lakes of the Great Basin present even greater diversity than the
+streams. Some of those situated principally in the mountains are of
+pure, limpid, wholesome water, supplied by cool, sweet brooks and rills
+or by the melting of the winter's snows, and overflow throughout the
+year. These lakes, usually of small size, are similar in all respects to
+the ordinary lakes of humid lands. In eastern Utah, adjacent to the west
+base of the Wasatch Mountains, the Provo River and other streams supply
+Utah Lake, the outlet of which, the Jordan River, empties into Great
+Salt Lake. Utah Lake is well within the Great Basin, and situated at a
+low elevation for the region, namely, 4,500 feet, or about 280 feet (in
+1873) above the level of lake of brine into which it discharges. This is
+the largest of the fresh lakes in the valleys of the Great Basin, and
+owes its existence to the fact that a depression there occurs which is
+filled to overflowing by the streams from the mountains. Bear Lake, in
+northeastern Utah, is another exceptional example of a fresh lake of
+considerable size at a comparatively low altitude, in the same region.
+On the western rim of the Great Basin, at an elevation of 6,247 feet,
+and surrounded by the forested peaks of the Sierra Nevada, lies Lake
+Tahoe, "the gem of the Sierra," a water body of remarkable purity, which
+discharges through Truckee River into Pyramid and Winnemucca Lakes.
+These lower lakes, situated in desert valleys at an elevation of 3,780
+feet above the sea, are without outlets and alkaline and bitter. The
+most characteristic lakes of the Great Basin, however, are those that do
+not overflow, and on account of concentration by evaporation are more or
+less highly charged with mineral matter in solution. These saline and
+alkaline lakes may be
+<!--155.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span>
+divided into two classes, in reference to
+their duration, but the line of separation is indefinite. Certain of
+them have maintained their existence for many years, and probably have
+not been evaporated to dryness for several centuries, and may be classed
+as perennial lakes; others are evaporated to dryness each year, or
+during certain exceptionally dry and hot seasons, and may be termed
+ephemeral lakes. In many instances the beds of the ephemeral lakes are
+normally in a state of desiccation, and appear as broad, level, mud
+plains, usually with a white fringe of saline matter. Frequently these
+mud plains, or <i>playas</i>, as they are termed, are transformed into
+shallow lakes during a single storm, but the waters are absorbed by the
+clays beneath or evaporated within a few days or perhaps a few hours
+after the rain ceases. The largest and most characteristic of the
+perennial saline water bodies is Great Salt Lake, the counterpart in
+many ways of the Dead Sea. The streams discharging into this salt sea
+have the usual purity of river-waters, and carry but a small fraction of
+one per cent of saline matter in solution. The lake is supplied also in
+part, but to an unimportant extent, by springs, the most of which are of
+essentially fresh water. The source of the salts which make the waters
+of the lake a brine is evidently, therefore, the small percentage of
+mineral material brought in by the tributary streams. After reaching the
+lake these fresh waters, in the ordinary meaning of the term, are
+concentrated by evaporation. This is the explanation of the leading
+facts in the chemistry of all of the saline and alkaline lakes of the
+Great Basin region, such as Pyramid, Winnemucca, and Walker Lakes in
+Nevada, Mono and Owens Lakes in California, and the saline lakes of
+Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>The volume of a lake without an outlet, or an "inclosed lake," is
+determined mainly by the ratio of the inflow (including the rain falling
+directly on its surface and the tribute from springs) and evaporation.
+Its volume, and consequently its area, fluctuates from season to season,
+and frequently varies also during periods embracing several years. With
+variations in volume there are fluctuations in the percentage of saline
+matter in solution, even if precipitation of
+<!--156.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span>
+one or more of the
+contained salts does not take place during the periods of more than
+usual concentration. In most instances inclosed lakes are concentrated
+by evaporation in summer seasons, and perhaps become nearly saturated
+solutions, but are diluted during the rainy winter seasons. Fluctuations
+in volume, area, depth, salinity, etc., are thus characteristic of
+inclosed water bodies. They are sensitive to climatic changes which
+ordinary weather records fail to detect, and are modified in a
+conspicuous manner when the country about them becomes inhabited and
+irrigation is practised.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the lakes of the Great Basin are dense brines from which various
+substances are being precipitated. The economic importance of these
+natural reservoirs of brine and of various soda salts is great, and will
+become more and more important as transportation facilities increase.
+Great Salt Lake, it has been estimated, contains 400,000,000 tons of
+common salt and 30,000,000 tons of sodium sulphate in solution. During
+the past ten years about 40,000 tons of common salt have been harvested
+from it annually. Mono Lake contains some 245,000,000 tons of saline
+matter in solution, of which about 92,000,000 tons are sodium carbonate
+and bicarbonate. Owens Lake is similar to Mono Lake in composition, and
+is now the basis of a large soda industry.</p>
+
+<p>A marked difference between a region which drains to the ocean and one
+where the streams enter inclosed basins where their waters are
+evaporated is that in the former the waste from the land carried by the
+streams as an invisible load in solution or as a visible load consisting
+mainly of silt and sand in suspension is contributed to the ocean and
+widely distributed before being deposited&mdash;much of the material in
+solution, in fact, may be said to be a permanent contribution to the
+salinity of sea-water; but in most instances where streams enter
+inclosed basins all of the material contributed both in solution and
+suspension is sooner or later precipitated. The area within an inclosed
+basin, on which the inflowing streams lay down their loads, is as a rule
+less extensive than the area that is being denuded to
+<!--157.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span>
+supply the
+material. The receiving basins are thus filled in or <i>aggraded</i>, and
+there is a concentration both of the mechanical wash from the land and
+of the substances taken in solution by the waters of streams and
+springs. A marked result of this process of concentration, particularly
+of the fine waste of the uplands and mountains, is seen in the
+approximately level floors of inclosed valleys. Throughout the Great
+Basin the valleys have been filled to a depth in many instances of
+hundreds of feet. Some of the lower mountain ranges in Utah have been so
+nearly buried beneath these valley deposits that only their summits,
+termed <i>lost mountains</i>, appear above the even surface of the desert
+plains. This <i>débris</i>, deeply filling the valleys referred to, is
+usually a fine yellowish dust-like material, similar in many ways, and
+probably in mode of origin, to the <i>loess</i> of China in which geologists
+have taken much interest. With the concentration and deposition of the
+fine mechanical wash of the uplands there has also been a concentration
+of the more soluble saline constituents of rocks, which causes the soils
+of arid regions to differ in an important way from those of humid lands.
+The leached and characteristically red-tinted soils of warm humid
+countries, consisting of the oxidized residue of deeply weathered rocks,
+are absent from arid regions; in their place we find minutely
+disintegrated, usually light-coloured, and not chemically impoverished
+soils. In warm humid regions chemical decay of the rocks is the
+conspicuous feature; in equally warm arid lands mechanical
+disintegration is carried to an extreme, without the removal of the more
+soluble constituents. In fact, concentration of saline matter, notably
+common salt, sodium sulphate, gypsum, etc., is one of the functions, so
+to speak, of arid climates, when the requisite evaporation basins are
+present. Among the important industries of the Great Basin region is the
+gathering and purifying of the various salts contained in the existing
+water bodies and in the basins of desiccated lakes.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the characteristics of the region referred to above,
+which are mainly the result of climatic conditions, the Great Basin has
+certain geological features, in
+<!--158.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span>
+the main, so far as North America
+is concerned, peculiar to itself. The leading structural features of the
+rocks, so far as they find expression in the surface relief, is the
+presence of a large number of extensive faults trending in general about
+northeast and southwest. These faults are breaks or cracks along which
+the rocks have been moved up and down. One side of a fault sometimes
+stands higher than the opposite side, and forms a narrow and frequently
+high and rugged mountain range. The number of these faults within the
+Great Basin is as yet unknown, but they certainly number many hundreds.
+In a cross profile of the region between the Wasatch Mountains on the
+east and the Sierra Nevada on the west the number of mountain ridges due
+to faulting is at least a score. The precipitous western border of the
+Wasatch Mountains is itself a great fault scarp, as is also the eastern
+border of the Sierra Nevada. The faults that determine the steeper sides
+of these mountain ranges are not to be considered as single clean-cut
+gashes, but as irregular and intersecting fractures traversing a narrow
+belt of country. The faults referred to divide rocks of all ages, and
+are evidently due to the most recent disturbances that have affected the
+region. It is not probable that the break in any given instance was
+formed all at once. Such vast convulsions would be out of harmony with
+the rules of nature. But rather many small movements and adjustments of
+pressure have occurred along the same belt of fracture. This conclusion
+is sustained by the fact that many of the faults have experienced
+movements in very recent times. In places fault scarps a score or more
+feet in height cross the alluvial cones at the mouths of the small
+high-grade valleys in the mountains. These scarps in loose
+unconsolidated gravel and similar material, even under an arid climate,
+could not be expected to preserve their freshness for many years. At
+times the breaks cross the courses of streams and cascades, and rapids
+are formed by the waters flowing down escarpments thus produced in loose
+material. One characteristic fault scarp in Inyo Valley, California, is
+known to have been formed during an earthquake that shook that portion
+of the country
+<!--159.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span>
+in 1872. The many small earthquakes that have been
+felt in the Great Basin region are believed to have been caused by
+slight movements along the breaks that traverse the region. This and
+other evidence indicates that the faults to which so much of the
+characteristic scenery of the Great Basin is due have grown by repeated
+minor displacements, and that such movements are a common cause of
+earthquakes.</p>
+
+<p>The most conspicuous topographic features of the better known portion of
+the Great Basin are long, narrow, and frequently sharp-crested ridges,
+with a gentle slope on one side and a steep escarpment on the other. The
+steeper side in a large number of instances is known to be the upraised
+side of a fault. Each of these basin ranges, as they are termed, may be
+considered as the upturned edge of a block of the earth's crust, in
+general from 60 to 100 or more miles long, and 10 to perhaps 20 miles
+wide. The crest-lines of the tilted blocks are frequently serrate, on
+account of differences in the hardness and texture of the rocks and the
+effects of weathering. There is frequently, however, an older structure
+revealed in them, showing that the region was folded and otherwise
+disturbed previous to the later movements which produced the leading
+features in the present topography. It is probable that this older
+structure in some instances has had an important bearing on the forms of
+some of the ranges, but our knowledge in this direction is too limited
+to warrant presentation in a popular treatise.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the basin ranges are imposing on account of their height and
+ruggedness, when seen from the adjacent, deeply filled valleys, although
+scarcely more than half of their actual elevation above the sea is
+revealed from such points of view. Exceptions to this general statement
+occur, however, in southeastern California, where, in Death Valley, the
+land is 480 feet below sea-level. This is the only region in North
+America which, like the basin of the Dead Sea, is below the level of the
+ocean's surface. On the border of Death Valley the mountain ranges rise
+from 6,000 to 10,000 feet, and the highest summit, known as Telescope
+<!--160.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span>
+Peak, is reported to have an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet
+above the sea. In the central and northern portions of the Great Basin
+the valley floors have a general elevation of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet.
+The mountains rise from these valleys to a height of from a few hundred
+to 4,000 or 5,000 feet. Among the highest, if not actually the
+culminating peaks well within the Great Basin are White Mountain, on the
+California-Nevada boundary, about 30 miles southeast of Mono Lake, which
+has a summit elevation of 13,000 feet, and Jeff Davis Peak, in eastern
+Nevada, which rises 13,100 feet above the sea and 8,000 feet above the
+adjacent valleys.</p>
+
+<p>The numerous sharp-crested ranges of the region under review are
+frequently remarkable for the richness of the colours of the naked
+rocks. The mountain slopes and towering angular summits when outlined
+against the morning or evening sky are frequently as brilliantly dyed as
+are the New England hills when clothed in the harlequin foliage of
+autumn. Before sunrise and after sunset each serrate crest-line is the
+sharply cut border of a silhouette of the deepest and richest purple.
+The diversity of scenery in the Great Basin is increased by mountains of
+volcanic origin, including several modern craters, some of which hold
+lakes, and by lava-flows of recent date, and by great alluvial fans or
+detritus cones which stream out into the valleys from the mouths of
+gorges in the bordering mountains.</p>
+
+<p>The Great Basin proper, with its rugged topography and arid climate, is
+not an agricultural region. Small portions of it, however, when water
+can be had for irrigation, have been transformed into fruitful farms and
+gardens which yield bountiful returns. But even a century hence, when
+all has been accomplished in the way of reclaiming the arid valleys that
+can be done by utilizing the available water for irrigation, only a
+small per cent of the whole will be under cultivation.
+<!--161.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">SIERRA NEVADA AND CASCADE MOUNTAINS</div>
+
+<p>To the west of the Great Basin, and extending from southern California
+northward to beyond the United States-Canadian boundary, there is a
+lofty and extremely rugged belt of mountains consisting of two
+ranges&mdash;the Sierra Nevada at the south and the Cascade Mountains at the
+north. Topographically, these two ranges form a single elevated belt of
+country, but custom, and as is now generally understood the geological
+structure and history, draws a dividing line between them in northern
+California. The Sierra Nevada-Cascade range extends far into Canada, and
+is there known as the Coast Range. No adjustment of the nomenclature in
+use on the two sides of the international boundary has been made, and in
+order to conform with current usage, it is necessary to consider
+separately the two portions of the range on opposite sides of the
+forty-ninth parallel.</p>
+
+<p>The Sierra Nevada has its southern terminus at Tejon Pass, in southern
+California, and extending from there northward to Lassen Peak, in the
+northern part of the same State. With the exception of a small area to
+the east and north of Lake Tahoe, the entire range is included within
+the boundaries of California. This is geographically one of the best
+defined of the larger mountain ranges in the United States. Its eastern
+border especially is easy to trace, as for the most part it is
+determined by a great escarpment, corresponding to the fault scarp which
+borders one side of so many of the basin ranges. The Sierra Nevada, in
+fact, may be considered as one of the basin ranges of great size and
+forming the western wall of the region of interior drainage lying to the
+eastward. This abrupt eastward-facing mountain slope is in reality a
+great fault scarp, formed mainly by the upheaval of the west side of an
+intersecting system of fractures. It is not known, however, how much of
+the escarpment is due to the upheaval of the west side of the belt of
+fracture, or how much to the sinking of the eastern side. There have no
+doubt been many up and down movements along this belt, of which
+<!--162.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span>
+the present mountain wall is the algebraic sum. The escarpment rises in
+general from 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the desert valleys to the
+eastward, and reaches a maximum of about 14,000 feet in the vicinity of
+Death Valley. It is exceedingly precipitous and rises to an irregular
+serrate crest-line, from which the general slope westward to the Great
+Valley of California is gentle.</p>
+
+<p>The best idea of the generalized topographic form as well as of the
+origin of the Sierra Nevada, which the reader may be asked to hold in
+mind, is that the range consists of a block of the earth's crust about
+500 miles long and from 70 to 100 miles broad, which has been upraised
+along its eastern edge so as to give its surface a westward inclination.
+From this vast monolith the profound cañons and multitude of sharp
+tapering spires which give to the range its magnificent scenery have
+been sculptured. Like most generalized pictures of great geographical
+features, however, this outline of the form and structure of the great
+mountain range of California has to be modified when studied in detail.
+From extensive and most painstaking studies by H. W. Turner, of the
+United States Geological Survey, the conclusion is reached that "the
+Sierra Nevada may be described as a monogenetic range, composed of
+highly compressed schists and slates with large areas of associated
+igneous rocks, chiefly granite and diabase, upon which lie uncomfortably
+a series of later Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments and volcanic rocks."</p>
+
+<p>Could the profound valleys carved in the long western slope of the
+Sierra Nevada be filled so as to restore the conditions as they existed
+when the mountain block was first upraised and tilted, we would have an
+inclined plane in which the edges of previously folded rocks would be
+exposed. In other words, the western slope is a tilted peneplain,
+bearing on its surface remnants of older uplands. High up on the range
+there are detached areas of well-worn gravel, which were deposited when
+the slopes were less inclined than at present, and before the existing
+peaks and cañons came into existence. Certain of the valleys carved
+during a portion of the earlier stage of erosion were
+<!--163.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span>
+subsequently filled by lava-floods, which buried gold-bearing gravel
+beneath thick layers of basaltic rock. Erosion has since cut away the
+softer beds bordering these ancient lava-sheets, and left them in bold
+relief as table mountains, underneath which miners have excavated
+tunnels in order to reach the stream-deposited gravels of the ancient
+cañons. In these instances valleys have been changed to uplands, owing
+to the resistance to erosion afforded by the volcanic rocks discharged
+into them.</p>
+
+<p>The long gentle slope on the west side of the Sierra Nevada has been
+dissected by westward-flowing rivers, which have sunk their channels
+2,000 or 3,000 feet or more into the rocks. Other streams having much
+shorter courses flow down the steep eastern slope of the range and have
+also excavated cañons. These two systems of drainage, one leading
+westward to the Great Valley of California and the other eastward to the
+valleys of the Great Basin, extended their head branches until they came
+into rivalry with each other, and cut deep notches in the crest of the
+range. During a late stage in its history the higher portions of the
+mountains were covered with a great field of perennial snow, from which
+glaciers flowed both eastward and westward. These ice-streams, by
+deepening and broadening the previously water-cut channels, still
+further increased the diversity of the topography and impressed upon it
+characteristics such as only glaciers can produce.</p>
+
+<p>The highest and most typical part of the Sierra Nevada is in its
+south-central portion, and is known as the High Sierra. This region,
+although at present not accurately defined, is well worthy of
+recognition. Throughout its entire extent, from the neighbourhood of
+Lake Tahoe on the north to Tehichipe Pass at the south, a distance of
+about 240 miles, it is diversified by rugged serrate peaks and narrow
+stream-cut valleys of great depth. Many of the mountains attain
+elevations of from 12,000 to over 13,500 feet. The highest summit is
+Mount Whitney, in the southern part of the range and near its eastern
+border, which rises 14,522 feet above the sea and has the added
+distinction of being the highest mountain in the
+<!--164.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span>
+United States,
+exclusive of Alaska. It is a notable fact that this great mountain-peak
+should be situated only about 100 miles from Death Valley, the lowest
+depression on the continent.</p>
+
+<p>Another of the remarkable features of the Sierra Nevada is the great
+depth and the wonderfully precipitous walls of some of the valleys
+carved by the westward-flowing rivers. The most famous of these is the
+sublime Yosemite Valley, now world-renowned. This cleft as it appears in
+solid light-coloured granite, over a mile deep, is believed by Turner,
+the last of several geologists to discuss its origin, to be due to
+stream erosion. The fact seems well established, however, that glacial
+ice has assisted in the great task. The Yosemite is not such an unique
+feature as was at one time supposed, but is approached if not equalled
+in depth and magnificence by Hetch Hetchy Valley, through which flows
+the Tuolumne River, and is duplicated, in part at least, by other
+similar stream-cut gulfs.</p>
+
+<p>Among the chief elements in the glorious scenery of the Sierra Nevada is
+the multitude of lakes left as a rich inheritance by the departed
+glaciers. These occur not only high up amid the bare peaks where their
+basins were excavated by the flowing ice, but also in the lower valleys
+where the ancient ice-streams built morainal dams.</p>
+
+<p>The High Sierra was swept nearly clean of soil and <i>débris</i> by the
+ancient glaciers, and the hard rocks thus exposed were rounded and
+burnished by the ice that flowed over them. But little disintegration or
+decay of the rocks has taken place since an amelioration of climate
+changed the drainage from a solid to a liquid form. On account mainly of
+the general absence of soil the forests are less dense than might be
+expected from the height of the regions where they occur and its general
+climatic conditions. The more lofty peaks reach far above the forests
+and are riven and shattered by frost. The crests and cliffs at somewhat
+lower altitudes are also bare, but in the cañons and on the meadow-like
+valley bottoms smoothed by the glaciers, open park-like groves of pine
+and spruce grow in picturesque disorder. On the ledges of the great
+precipices, and on
+<!--165.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span>
+many of the secondary summits, gardens of
+alpine flowers blossom in late summer, and at times impart a rich warm
+glow to the heights that support them. The views of nature, unmarred by
+the hand of man, which reward the persistent mountaineer in this silent
+wonderland of the upper world, are not only grand beyond all
+description, but beautified by a delicacy of decoration where
+snow-fields and alpine gardens meet, that is undreamed of by the
+dwellers in the denser air of the plains and seaside. Lovers of nature
+who are unable to climb the towering summits of the High Sierra and see
+for themselves the marvellous beauty there so lavishly displayed can at
+least find a glowing pen picture of it in John Muir's fascinating book
+The Mountains of California. On the lower western slope of the Sierra
+Nevada the forests become continuous and luxuriant, the trees are of
+large size, and the lovely flowers carpeting the valleys and hillsides
+take on a more familiar appearance than the gorgeous blossoms of the
+alpine meadows. It is in this region that the gigantic <i>Sequoia</i> still
+lingers as a remnant of a nearly extinct flora.</p>
+
+<p>Statements of heights and depths, of geological structures, and of
+topographic forms are perhaps necessary to enable one to form a mental
+picture of a snow-crowned mountain range which will bear some faint
+resemblance to the mighty original; but when one threads his way through
+the resinous forests on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada, ascends
+some one of the profound water-cut rifts in its side, scales the steep
+cliffs, traverses the crystal surfaces of the small glaciers, and
+finally stands on a spire-like summit covered only by the dark blue of
+the dome above, all thoughts of the arches and walls that support the
+mighty cathedral are lost in wrapt wonder and admiration of the
+magnificent scene about him. It is this intense feeling for the sublime
+and beautiful in nature that the student of geography should strive to
+cultivate, as well as to acquire skill in reading the prosaic history
+written everywhere on the mountains. This important lesson can seldom be
+studied to greater advantage than amid the silent awe-inspiring peaks of
+California.
+<!--166.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Cascade Mountains, as previously stated, are a direct continuation,
+so far as the relief is concerned, of the Sierra Nevada. The geological
+structure of the region in northern California, where the two ranges
+approach each other, has been studied by J. S. Diller, of the United
+States Geological Survey, who concludes that they present characteristic
+differences. In the Cascade Mountains in northern California, Oregon,
+and southern Washington the rocks exposed at the surface are mainly, if
+not entirely, of volcanic origin, and were poured out in a molten
+condition as lava-flows, or as fragmental ejections from volcanoes, and
+in part rose through fissures and formed what are termed fissure
+eruptions. The rocks thus extruded are mainly composed of dark, heavy
+basic material, such as basalt and andesite. These outpourings of molten
+rocks were on a grand scale, and a large number of volcanic mountains
+were formed which still remain as the dominant peaks of the rugged and
+densely forested Cascade Range. Although the evidence now available
+seems to show that there is a striking difference between the Sierra
+Nevada and the Cascade Mountains, another significant change occurs when
+one follows the Cascade Mountains into northern Washington. Where the
+Northern Pacific Railroad crosses the range the volcanic rocks are
+succeeded northward by granites, schists, serpentine, etc., and
+Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary beds of much the same character as
+those in the Sierra Nevada.</p>
+
+<p>The study of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade region has not progressed far
+enough to warrant a decision, but the fact referred to above strongly
+suggests that the two ranges, as we now term them, are essentially a
+single uplift, a large portion of which, extending from Lassen Peak, in
+California, northward across Oregon and into Washington as far as the
+Northern Pacific Railroad, is buried beneath a great blanket, so to
+speak, of lava-flows. The tract of elevated and rugged country in
+northern Washington embraced in the Cascade Mountains, as has been
+observed by the writer, passes into Canada without a marked change in
+either its geology or geography, and there is no occasion
+<!--167.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span>
+for a
+change of name when the international boundary is crossed.</p>
+
+<p>The Cascade Mountains in Oregon and southern Washington, where the
+surface rocks are mainly and perhaps wholly of volcanic origin, are
+rugged for two principal reasons: First, volcanic energy has built up
+great individual peaks; and second, erosion has carved deep valleys and
+numerous ravines and gorges. The volcanoes are now extinct, or have long
+been dormant, and their cold summits are in several instances crowned
+with perennial snow and small glaciers. The forms given to the more
+prominent elevations by the eruptions which built them have to a great
+extent been defaced by erosion. As they stand to-day they furnish an
+instructive series of more or less deeply dissected volcanic mountains.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 480px;"><a name="Fig_21" id="Fig_21"></a>
+<img src="images/i167.jpg" width="480" height="700" alt="Fig. 21." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 21.</span>&mdash;Crater Lake in the summit of Mount Mazama,
+Oregon.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Not only has erosion changed the characteristic slopes of the peaks
+built of lava-flows and ejected fragments, but in at least one
+remarkable instance the volcanic energy itself greatly altered the
+structure it had previously raised. Mount Mazama, situated in southern
+Oregon in the summit region of the Cascades, is a truncated volcanic
+cone in the top of which there is an immense depression now partially
+filled by the waters of Crater Lake (Fig. 21). The main
+features in the history of this unique mountain with a lake in its
+summit, as interpreted by Messrs. Dutton and Diller, of the United
+States Geographical Survey, are as follows: It once stood as a conical
+peak, similar to several other mountains of volcanic origin in the same
+region, some 15,000 feet in height; it was then an active volcano with a
+summit crater filled with lava, but subsequently, for a time at least,
+became dormant and was occupied by glacial ice. At a later period an
+escape for the lava was furnished by a fissure or other opening which
+admitted of a surface discharge at a more or less distant locality, in a
+manner similar to the escape of the molten rocks from the great
+volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands within historic times. This drawing
+off of the lava from the crater removed the support afforded its walls
+from within, and the summit portion of the mountain, embracing about
+three-fourths of its
+<!--168.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span>
+height above the adjacent valleys, fell in
+and was engulfed. The mountain was thus truncated, and presents the
+general appearance of similar cones the upper portions of which are
+known to have been blown away by explosions. But in the case of Mount
+Mazama, the hypothesis of truncation by explosion seems to be disproved
+by the absence of the fragments of the portion removed on the slopes
+remaining or on the surrounding region. After the falling in of the
+summit of the mountain comparatively mild volcanic explosions followed
+which built a cone within the great pit or <i>caldera</i> in the summit of
+the truncated mountain, but without filling it. The space left vacant is
+now occupied by water, and thus transformed into a lake. The cone built
+after the catastrophe referred to now forms Wizard Island, near the
+southwest border of Crater Lake.</p>
+
+<p>Some idea of the magnitude of the changes wrought in Mount Mazama by the
+events recorded in its geology and topography may be obtained from the
+following facts: Crater Lake has a surface elevation of 6,239 feet above
+the sea, and is nearly 2,000 feet deep in its deepest part; the
+precipices surrounding it are from 520 to 1,987 feet high. The whole
+depth of the depression is therefore 4,000 feet. This <i>caldera</i>, as such
+basins of volcanic origin are termed, is nearly circular, with an east
+and west diameter measuring 6 miles, and a north and south diameter of 5
+miles. The volume of the pit is nearly 12 cubic miles.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is Mount Mazama with its wonderful lake one of the most unique
+natural features of North America, but it has its full share of the
+artistic details of lake and mountain scenery which appeal so forcibly
+to the finer instincts within us. The outer slopes of the mountain are
+clothed with the all-embracing coniferous forests which cover the
+Cascades as with a mantle throughout their entire extent, while the
+precipitous inner slopes are for the most part bare precipices of
+angular and extremely rugged rock. The lake itself is of the most
+marvellous blue, in which the encircling cliffs, the crater-island, and
+the sky above are reflected.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 493px;"><a name="Fig_22" id="Fig_22"></a>
+<img src="images/i169.jpg" width="493" height="600" alt="Fig. 22." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 22.</span>&mdash;Mount Rainier, Washington.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Other peaks along the crest-line of the Cascades to be numbered by the
+score, although with less romantic histories
+<!--170.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span>
+than Mount Mazama,
+have instructive answers to give when properly questioned. Among the
+remarkably picturesque summits rising above the dark coniferous forests
+of western Oregon are the following, with their respective heights above
+the sea expressed in feet: Mount Pitt, 9,760; Mount Mazama, 8,228; Mount
+Union, 7,881; Mount Scott, 7,123; Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson,
+10,200; and Mount Hood, 11,225. Of these peaks, the best known, on
+account of its proximity to the city of Portland, and at the same time
+one of the most picturesque and beautiful, is Mount Hood, situated about
+25 miles south of the Columbia River. The concave slopes so
+characteristic of volcanic cones are no longer conspicuous on the sides
+of this once symmetrical mountain, and only remnants of its crater
+remain. The part it played as a safety-valve for the pent-up energy
+beneath was long since finished, although heated vapours still escape
+from an opening near the summit. Similar manifestations of heat have
+also been observed about several other ancient craters in the Cascades,
+but these occurrences are not considered as indicating that actual
+connections still exist with reservoirs or bodies of molten rocks below
+the surface: they are evidently due to the residual heat of the once
+molten rock in the conduits of the now extinct or dormant volcanoes.</p>
+
+<p>The lava-flows and volcanic mountains typically displayed in the
+Cascades throughout the breadth of Oregon continue northward and form at
+least the surface portion of the same range in Washington as far as the
+Northern Pacific Railroad, or about 100 miles north of the Columbia. The
+more important volcanic mountains in western Washington are, in their
+order from south to north; as follows, the height of each being given in
+feet: Mount Adams, 9,570; Mount St. Helens, 9,750; Mount Rainier,
+14,525; Glacier Peak, 10,436; and Mount Baker, 10,877. Only two of these
+ancient volcanoes, namely, Mount Adams and Glacier Peak, are situated on
+the crest-line of the Cascade Mountains; the others are to the westward
+and more or less completely detached from the main range.
+<!--173.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Cascade Mountains are in general parallel with the shore of the
+Pacific, and rise as a prominent barrier athwart the path of the
+prevailing westerly winds. Precipitation on their seaward slopes is
+copious, but their landward sides overlooking the arid plains of central
+Washington are far less humid. The westward, or rainy slope, is clothed
+with a magnificent forest of giant trees, while the eastward, or sunny
+side, is largely without forests, but abounds in natural meadows and
+pastures. Large portions of the mountains are still almost entirely
+unknown, and retain their primitive wildness, except that forest fires,
+particularly near the international boundary, have in places made
+desolate the once beautiful valleys and precipitous slopes. Elk, deer,
+bear, the mountain-goat, and mountain-sheep still roam the forests. The
+large streams abound in salmon, and each cool, clear brook and rushing
+creek is a favourite haunt of the trout. No more delightful
+camping-ground for lovers of nature and searchers for recreation can be
+found than the grassy, park-like valleys on the sunny side of these
+magnificent mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the details in the scenery of the Cascades are due to the work
+of ancient glaciers. Numerous lakes, held in rock-basins in the higher
+portions of the mountains, and many still larger sheets of water
+retained by morainal dams in the lower valleys, give a superlative charm
+to many a wild and rugged landscape. The largest and most interesting
+lake in the entire Cascade region is Lake Chelan, situated in a deep
+valley on the eastern side of the mountains in north-central Washington.
+This beautiful sheet of water, a mile or two wide, extending like a
+placid river for some 70 miles into the mountains, resembles in many of
+its features the far-famed lakes of northern Italy. The mountains
+inclosing this hidden gem of the Cascades rise abruptly from the water's
+edge to great heights, and with one exception are unbroken by deep
+side-valleys. For fully 50 miles the blue plain of water is overshadowed
+on each side by crags and precipices from 5,000 to 6,000 or more feet in
+height. The lower slopes are dark with forests of pine and fir, and the
+bare serrate spires above are white with snow
+<!--174.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span>
+long after the
+spring flowers have faded in the lower vales. The water of the lake is
+clear and sparkling, and has the deep-blue colour of the open ocean. The
+sounding-line has shown a depth of 1,400 feet, and the bottom is about
+300 feet below sea-level. This wonderful lake, clasped in the embrace of
+the eastward extended arms of the Cascades, is but 2 or 3 miles from the
+Columbia River, into which it discharges its surplus waters through
+Chelan River, and may be easily reached from Wenachee, on the Great
+Northern Railroad, by steamers on the Columbia. Although at present
+scarcely known to the world of tourists, Lake Chelan is destined to take
+as an important place in the lives of those who seek rest and recreation
+as does Lake George in northern New York at the present day.</p>
+
+<p>Before attempting to trace the Pacific mountains northward through
+Canada and Alaska, let us glance at the leading geographical features to
+the west of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade uplift.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE GREAT VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA AND THE PUGET SOUND BASIN</div>
+
+<p>To the west of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade Mountains, and bordered on the
+west by another and very nearly parallel series of elevations, known in
+a general way as the Coast Mountains, there is a succession of long,
+relatively narrow basins, situated end to end, and constituting what may
+be termed a valley-chain. This series of basins extends from southern
+California northward far into Canada, and includes, in their order from
+south to north, the great Valley of California, the Willamette and
+Cowlitz Valleys in Oregon and Washington, and the Puget Sound basin,
+together with its great but indefinitely defined northward extension.</p>
+
+<p>The Great Valley of California has a length of about 500 miles and an
+average width of approximately 40 miles, and is greater in area than
+either Belgium, Denmark, or Switzerland. It is divided in reference to
+drainage into two portions, the San Joaquin Valley at the south and the
+Sacramento Valley at the north, named respectively after the
+<!--175.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span>
+rivers that drain them. These two streams unite and discharge into San
+Francisco Bay, the outlet of which is through the Golden Gate to the
+Pacific. This central basin of California has a generally flat bottom
+composed of a great depth of unconsolidated gravel, sand, and clay,
+which are believed to owe their deposition mainly to the streams flowing
+from the bordering mountains, although in part they may have been
+deposited when the land was more depressed than now and the basin was a
+great sound, connected with the ocean by a single narrow opening. The
+rock-waste swept into the valley served not only to add to the
+accumulations forming its floor, but to give the bottom some
+irregularities. A portion of its southern end, shut off by alluvial
+deposits brought down from the Sierra Nevada, is occupied by the shallow
+alkaline waters of Tulare Lake. When the great valley was first visited
+by white men it was without trees, except along the immediate borders of
+some of the streams, and for the most part was a luxuriant meadow of
+wild grasses and flowers. On the uplands oak-trees grew in scattered
+park-like groves with gorgeously flower-decked hills and vales between.
+This favoured land, clothed in its natural beauties, came as near being
+an Eden as perhaps any portion of the continent. The changes that have
+followed the settlement and cultivation of this great mountain-inclosed
+basin are simply marvellous. Cities and villages have been built,
+orchards and vineyards planted which yield most bountiful harvests, and
+the once grass-covered plains are now seemingly boundless wheat-fields.
+The unkept natural garden of half a century ago has become a granary not
+only for the people of America, but for those of Asia as well.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of the Klamath Mountains, which shut in the central Valley
+of California at the north, lies the beautiful Willamette Valley, about
+150 miles long, drained by the northward-flowing river of the same name,
+which joins the Columbia where the thriving city of Portland now stands.
+The depression between the mountains of which the Valley of the
+Willamette forms a part, extends north of the Columbia, and is there
+drained by the southward-flowing
+<!--176.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span>
+Cowlitz River. The relation of
+these two valleys is much the same, although on a smaller scale, as that
+existing between the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, except that the
+Columbia, after passing through the Cascade Mountains, receives the
+Willamette and Cowlitz rivers as tributaries, one from each side of its
+course. This Willamette-Cowlitz depression is surrounded by densely
+forested hills and the snow-capped summits of ancient volcanoes. The
+soil was originally highly fertile, and although now somewhat
+impoverished, still furnishes a substantial basis for agriculture, and
+renders the region one of the most productive as well as most beautiful
+in the United States.</p>
+
+<p>To the geographer the Willamette-Cowlitz Valley seems scarcely distinct
+from the great depression farther north in the same valley-chain, which
+now holds the waters of Puget Sound, except that there is a low
+water-parting between. This divide, as previously suggested, is thought
+to be due largely to stream and glacial deposits, which have been laid
+down in the previously nearly level-floored intermontane trough.</p>
+
+<p>The Puget Sound basin has a length from south to north of about 150
+miles, and extends from the Olympic Mountains on the west to the Cascade
+Mountains on the east, a distance of some 60 miles. The sound terminates
+at the north at the Strait of Fuca (at Port Townsend, in Fig.
+23), but the depression in which it lies continues
+northward, with similar geographical and geological characteristics. In
+a general way the same depression may be said to extend northward to
+southeastern Alaska, but is there deeply water-filled, and its western
+border is discontinuous and broken into many islands.</p>
+
+<p>There are several features in the Puget Sound basin which especially
+impress the traveller: Next to the magnificence of the lofty volcanic
+cones that stand like Titan watch-towers along the western slope of the
+Cascades and the dense forest of gigantic firs and cedars, the most
+conspicuous feature of the region is the extreme irregularity of the
+sound itself. Even such general maps of Puget Sound
+<!--177.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span>
+as are
+usually available indicate that it is exceptional and different from all
+other water bodies on the continent, not including the extension of the
+same series of basins northward. Not only is Puget Sound extremely
+irregular, and inconsistent with any theory that would ascribe its
+origin to the subsistence and drowning of stream-eroded valleys, but its
+waters are deep and the channels narrow. The uplands between the
+waterways are low plateaus composed of clay, gravel, and glacial
+moraines. The explanation of these unique conditions is that glacial ice
+formerly occupied the basin and deposited moraines and gravel-plains and
+clay-plains about its margins; when the branching and irregular sheet of
+stagnant ice melted its place was taken by the waters of the sea. This
+simplified outline of the later history of Puget Sound has many
+modifications, the most important being that there were at least two
+periods of ice occupation, with an intervening stage of mild climate
+between, during which the previously formed glacial deposits were forest
+covered and thick beds of peat formed.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 393px;"><a name="Fig_23" id="Fig_23"></a>
+<img src="images/i175.jpg" width="393" height="600" alt="Fig. 23.&mdash;Puget Sound." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 23.</span>&mdash;Puget Sound.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ice which occupied Puget Sound was the extreme southern portion of a
+great but irregular Piedmont glacier which fringed the rough and ragged
+coast of the continent all the way to southern Alaska. A remnant of this
+former ice body still exists near Mount St. Elias, and constitutes the
+very instructive Malaspina glacier.
+<!--178.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE MOUNTAINS BORDERING THE PACIFIC</div>
+
+<p>In a preceding chapter the rugged topography of the western margin of
+the continent has been briefly described, and a general explanation
+given of the contrasts which it presents to the coastal plains and
+plateaus on the Atlantic border.</p>
+
+<p>The long, narrow peninsula known as Lower California, as yet unstudied
+in the light of modern geography, is known to be mountainous throughout.
+Although nearly surrounded by the waters of the ocean, the climate of
+the peninsula is hot and arid and its surface desert-like. The Gulf of
+California, which separates such a large portion of the Pacific border
+of Mexico from the main body of the republic, has the characteristics of
+a drowned intermontane or orogenic valley. But whether the great
+depression was ever dry land or not is unknown. The waters of the gulf
+are shallow, however, and a moderate upward movement of the earth's
+crust in that region would transform it into a great valley similar in
+its general features to the central basin of the State of California.</p>
+
+<p>What are frequently designated collectively as the Coast Mountains begin
+at the south and adjacent to the shore of the Pacific, in the vicinity
+of Santa Barbara, Cal., and extend northward along the immediate
+seaboard far into British Columbia. A continuation or branch of this
+series of elevations follows the south coast of Alaska, and is prolonged
+so as to form the Aleutian Islands. The length of the mountain system or
+succession of ranges referred to is between 3,500 and 4,000 miles. The
+detailed study of this long, narrow, and in many parts excessively
+rugged region is as yet in its infancy, and only a brief account of its
+salient features can be attempted at present.</p>
+
+<p>In southern California the structure of the mountains and the deep
+stream-deposited gravel, etc., in the intervening valleys, as well as
+the aridity of the climate and character of the vegetation, correspond
+closely with the similar conditions in the Great Basin. In fact, the
+Great Basin region, as the term has been used on a previous page, there
+<!--179.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span>
+meets the Pacific, and the islands rising from the adjacent
+portion of the ocean seem to be the summits of mountains of the Basin
+Range type. Owing to the dryness of the climate in southern California
+and adjacent portions of Mexico, the deeply alluvial-filled valleys are
+treeless, and agriculture is only possible with the aid of irrigation.
+Where water can be had, however, there are wonderfully productive
+orchards, vineyards, and gardens, in which the fruits and flowers of
+both the temperate and torrid zones flourish side by side with
+marvellous luxuriance. The palm there casts its shadow on fragrant
+bowers of the most superb roses. The grass-clothed mountain slopes are
+either bare of trees or but scantily forested, while the upland valleys
+produce a dense jungle of native trees and shrubs.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of the irregular and diversified portion of southern
+California, where the Great Basin region extends southwestward to the
+Pacific, rises the southern Coast Range of California. The indefinite
+beginning of this range is in the neighbourhood of Point Conception, to
+the north of Santa Barbara, and its northern terminus is at the Golden
+Gate. The same belt of mountains extends northward, however, and forms
+the northern Coast Range, which extends to the Klamath Mountains in
+northern California. The coast ranges of California as a whole are about
+500 miles long and from 30 to 40 miles broad, and comprise several
+seemingly distinct uplifts, some of which have culminating peaks from
+4,000 to about 7,000 feet high. In general this elevated region is
+conspicuously sculptured, and in part at least has the characteristics
+of an eroded plateau. The suggestion has been offered that the northern
+portion of the Coast Range is a dissected peneplain.</p>
+
+<p>The Coast Ranges, although generally bare of trees to the south of the
+Golden Gate, become more and more densely forested when followed
+northward. It is in this northern division that the great forests of
+redwood occur, now so largely used for lumber. Reference is here made
+not to the "big trees," which grow in certain restricted areas on the
+west slope of the Sierra Nevada, but to the far more extensive forests
+of a related species.
+<!--180.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Considering mountain forms simply, it is difficult if not impossible to
+determine where the Coast Mountains of California terminate at the
+north, but, as has been shown especially by J. S. Diller, there are
+reasons based on geological structure for separating them from the
+irregular group of ranges and peaks in northern California and southern
+Oregon recently named the Klamath Mountains. The coast system is
+continued north of the Klamath Mountains by the Coast Mountains of
+Oregon, which extend to the Columbia River, and consist of irregular
+ridges or series of ridges, with bold lateral spurs, especially on the
+ocean side. It varies conspicuously in height from place to place, yet
+nowhere attains a great altitude. The elevations of the bolder summits,
+although not accurately measured, seldom exceed 3,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The Coast Mountains of Oregon are considered as terminating at the
+northern boundary of the State, there defined by the Columbia River, but
+no reason is apparent, however, for not including in the same group the
+elevated land lying in southwestern Washington and adjacent to the
+Pacific coast. Between the Columbia and Chehalis River in Washington
+there is a rugged region which attains an elevation of over 4,000 feet,
+and is separated from the Olympic Mountains to the northward by Chehalis
+Valley. Although the geology of this group of ridges and peaks is
+entirely unknown, its position and general appearance, when seen from a
+distance, suggest that it might properly be considered as a direct
+extension of the Coast Mountains of Oregon.</p>
+
+<p>Following the general belt of the Coast Ranges still farther northward,
+we come to the splendid group of forest-clothed mountains, with usually
+snow-covered summits, situated to the west of Puget Sound, and known as
+the Olympic Mountains. This magnificent range is in full view from
+Victoria, Seattle, and Tacoma, and would be far-famed for its grandeur
+were it not for its near rival, the still more lofty Cascade Range.</p>
+
+<p>There are several fine, sharp peaks in the Olympics that have never been
+scaled, the highest of which, Mount
+<!--181.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span>
+Olympus, rises 8,150 feet
+above the sea. Owing to the excessive humidity and other favourable
+climatic conditions, these mountains are clothed with magnificent
+forests up to an elevation of about 7,000 feet. On account of the
+ruggedness of the country, the extreme density of the tangled
+undergrowth, and the obstructions formed by the fallen moss- and
+lichen-covered trees, this region is extremely difficult to traverse,
+and to-day is the least known of the continental portion of the United
+States. On the north the excessively rugged Olympic peninsula is
+bordered by a deep, broad fiord known as the Strait of Fuca. To the
+north of this formerly ice-filled channel lies Vancouver Island, the
+central and northern portion of which is mountainous. The highest summit
+on the island rises about 7,500 feet above the sea, and a considerable
+area in its central part has an elevation of over 2,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The Olympics, together with the mountains of Vancouver and Queen
+Charlotte Islands, and the northern extension of the same belt, embraced
+in part within the mainland of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska,
+have been termed the "Vancouver Mountains" by Canadian geographers. The
+northern boundary of this mountain system, justly named in honour of the
+celebrated English explorer who mapped large portions of the northwest
+coast about a century since, remains indefinite, and cannot be
+determined until geologists have made more thorough explorations of the
+land it occupies. The leading geographical features of this region, as
+remarked in a preceding chapter, are due to the deep dissection, by
+streams and glaciers, of an elevated table-land. When the ice-streams
+melted, the sea was permitted to enter the valleys, so as to form
+numerous deep, narrow, steep-walled fiords (Fig. 11). The
+coast is, in fact, the most ragged of any portion of the border of the
+continent. All but the higher summits are clothed with a dense mantle of
+vegetation, the upper limit of which decreases in elevation when
+followed northward, from about 7,000 feet in the Olympics to
+approximately 2,500 feet in southern Alaska. Perennial snow exists in
+the higher valleys and amphitheatres of the Olympics, but the
+<!--182.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span>
+presence of true glaciers in that group of peaks has not been
+demonstrated. When followed northward the snow-line becomes lower and
+lower, and well-defined alpine glaciers are known to exist in many of
+the valleys, more especially on the mainland of British Columbia and
+southeastern Alaska. There streams of ice descend lower and lower with
+increase in latitude, and to the north of Stickeen River, in a number of
+instances, enter the fiords which connect with the ocean and become
+tide-water glaciers.</p>
+
+<p>To the west of Lynn Canal, and extending to beyond Copper River, is the
+most rugged portion of North America, and contains also some of the
+highest mountain-peaks on the continent thus far measured.</p>
+
+<p>The region of high mountains in Alaska and the adjacent portion of
+Canada begins on the east in the group of magnificent peaks which
+cluster about Mount Fairweather as a centre and extend westward, with a
+breadth of some 80 miles, to beyond Mount St. Elias. Farther westward,
+beyond Copper River, other great mountains are known to exist. One of
+these, Mount McKinley, has an elevation of 20,400 feet, and so far as
+now known is the highest peak in North America.</p>
+
+<p>The highest summit to the east of Copper River is Mount Logan, 19,500
+feet. This superb ice-sheathed peak is situated in Canada about 40 miles
+from the coast and 12 miles east of the one hundred and forty-first
+meridian. Second in rank is Mount St. Elias, 18,070 feet, situated close
+to the one hundred and forty-first meridian, and within the territory
+belonging to the United States. These two summits are the highest in a
+land of lofty snow-covered mountains, and for this reason have claimed a
+large share of attention. There are many neighbouring peaks, however,
+that are wonderfully magnificent, but only a few of them have been
+measured and many of them are still unnamed. Only one of the high
+mountains of Alaska, namely, Mount St. Elias, has been climbed. This
+splendid feat of mountaineering was accomplished by Prince Luigi, of
+Savoy, in 1899.</p>
+
+<p>In southern Alaska the snow-line is only about 2,500
+<!--183.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span>
+feet above
+tide, and a large number of magnificent glaciers descend to sea-level,
+and many of them actually enter the ocean. All of the valleys and basins
+among the higher summits are occupied by snow-fields and glaciers. The
+general covering of ice and snow as well as the ruggedness of the land
+makes this the most difficult of all the mountainous portions of North
+America to traverse.</p>
+
+<p>In the St. Elias region the mountains have been produced by upheaval,
+and are not volcanic in their origin. The frequently repeated statement
+that Mount St. Elias is a volcano is incorrect. Although igneous rocks
+occur near its summit, they are of the nature of dikes or intrusions,
+probably of ancient date, and not lava-flows. The principal volcanic
+mountains of Alaska are farther west in the region of the Alaskan
+peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. This western extension of the
+continent is excessively rugged, but the mountains rise directly from
+the ocean and in part form a chain of precipitous islands with irregular
+topographic forms.</p>
+
+<p>There are mountain ranges also in the central and northern portions of
+Alaska and the adjacent part of Canada, but this region awaits
+exploration, and but little accurate information concerning its
+topography is on record.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Mountains of Western Canada.</i>&mdash;Reference has already been made to
+the differences in the nomenclature applied to the portions of the
+Pacific mountains on opposite sides of the United States-Canadian
+boundary, and at present this lack of harmony cannot be adjusted. As is
+well known, the great Pacific cordillera crosses the boundary nearly at
+right angles, and there is no abrupt change in the topography of the
+land. From the western border of the Great plateaus to the Pacific,
+between the forty-fifth and fifty-sixth parallels, as stated by the
+Geological Survey of Canada, the cordillera has an average breadth of
+about 400 miles, and is composed of four great mountain chains, named in
+their order from east to west, the Rocky, Gold, Coast, and Vancouver
+Mountains. These four great chains are nearly parallel and have
+irregular northwest and southeast trends.
+<!--184.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Canadian Rockies rise abruptly from Great plateaus in which the
+rocks are nearly horizontal, and have a complex structure, due to the
+folding and other disturbances that have affected the strata. Deep
+dissection by stream erosion has occurred, as is the case generally
+throughout the Pacific cordillera, and the peaks and ridges remaining
+are remarkable for their grandeur. Although less elevated than the
+higher portions of the same great belt in the United States, many of the
+summits are from 8,000 to 10,000, and, as reported, in a few instances
+reach 13,000 feet in height, while the passes range is elevated from
+about 4,000 to 7,000 feet. The western border of the Rocky Mountain
+range is well defined for a distance of some 700 miles to the northward
+of the international boundary by a remarkably straight, wide valley,
+which is occupied by the head waters of several large rivers, namely,
+the Kootenay, Columbia, Fraser, Parsnip, and Findley. To the west of the
+great valley just referred to rises the Gold system, composed
+principally of the Selkirk, Purcell, Columbia, and Caribou Ranges. It is
+in this rugged region that some of the most remarkable of the splendid
+scenery of western Canada occurs.</p>
+
+<p>To the west of the Gold system is a broad region of valleys and lesser
+mountains, known as the interior plateau of British Columbia, which is a
+northward extension of the Great Basin region of the United States. The
+breadth of this belt of comparatively low country is about 100 miles.
+Like the similar region in Washington and Oregon, it is without forests,
+but favourable as a grazing country. In part it is occupied by extensive
+lava-flows, similar to the Columbia River lava of the northwestern part
+of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>The Coast Mountains of Canada, although stated by geologists to be
+distinct from the Cascade Mountains, are in part at least, as determined
+by the present writer, a direct northward extension of that range. The
+average elevation of the higher peaks in the Canadian Coast Range, as it
+is termed, is between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, while the culminating points
+reach an elevation of about 9,000 feet. How
+<!--185.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span>
+far northward the
+nomenclature applied to the Pacific mountains in southwestern Canada
+will be found applicable can not be stated, as the region to the north
+of the fifty-sixth parallel is almost wholly unknown.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE ANTILLEAN MOUNTAINS</div>
+
+<p>As has been clearly pointed out by R. T. Hill, the Pacific cordillera
+ends at the south in south-central Mexico, while the Andean cordillera
+at its northern end terminates in the rugged mountains of Venezuela to
+the south of the Caribbean Sea. These two great cordilleras do not
+overlap, but there is a difference of about 10 degrees of latitude
+between them, and if extended they would pass each other at a distance
+of nearly 1,000 miles. In the space thus indicated, measuring some
+600,000 square miles, is included the southern portion of Mexico,
+Central America, and the West Indies. The rocks in these countries
+present a great series of folds which trend in an easterly and westerly
+direction, and thus present a conspicuous exception to the major
+structural features of both North and South America. To this newly
+recognised division of the larger geological and geographical
+characteristics of the New World the name <i>Antillean mountains</i> has been
+given.</p>
+
+<p>The folds or corrugations in the rocks of the Central American and
+Caribbean region extend in an east and west direction along the seaward
+margin of Venezuela and Colombia from the Orinoco westward to the
+Isthmus of Panama, and thence continue westward through Costa Rica, the
+eastern portions of Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras, and reach
+southern Oaxaca in Mexico. The same system of plications is revealed
+also on the larger West India islands. The rocks of this great region
+include granite and allied metamorphosed terranes, old lavas, and
+sedimentary beds.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most conspicuous features of this region with a structure and
+relief commonly found in mountains is that to a great extent it is
+depressed beneath the sea, and only the higher summits are in view. Some
+of the larger
+<!--186.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span>
+inequalities of the rock surface have been
+discovered by means of the sounding-line. By referring to Fig.
+3, it will be seen that two submarine ridges extend in an
+east and west direction beneath the Caribbean Sea, from the West Indies
+to the Central American coast, and are separated by Bartlett Deep. These
+ridges correspond in trend with the longer axes of the folds in the
+Antillean mountains, and suggest a common origin for the leading
+geographical features of the land and of the still more remarkable
+topography of the sea-floor.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to mountains produced by corrugation and upheaval, there are
+also in the middle American region numerous volcanic mountains. Of these
+there are two well-defined belts, each trending in general north and
+south, or directly across the longer axes of the folds of the Antillean
+mountains. One of these belts of volcanic cones and craters is situated
+on the Pacific coast of Central America and Mexico, and includes some 25
+active volcanoes, and the other is defined by the numerous volcanic
+islands of the Lesser Antilles. The association of these belts of
+fracture through which molten rock has been extruded and where
+earthquakes are of common occurrence, with the junction of the east and
+west belt of plication to which the Antillean mountains are due, with
+the north and south belts of mountains forming the Pacific and Andean
+cordilleras, is significant in connection with the study of the origin
+of the larger features of the relief of the solid earth.</p>
+
+<div style="padding-top: 1em"></div>
+
+<p>Varied as is the relief of North America when studied in detail, an
+outline sketch of its major features may be readily retained in mind. On
+the east side of the main continental area are the Atlantic mountains,
+extending from near the Gulf coast northward to beyond Hudson Strait; in
+the central part is the broad continental basin, a vast region of low
+relief reaching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean; west of the
+continental basin are the Pacific mountains, the greatest of all the
+elevations on the continent, which begin abruptly in south-central
+Mexico and extend northward, expanding to a width of about 1,000
+<!--187.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span>
+miles in the United States and reach the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea.
+The movements in the earth's crust, which blocked out these major
+physiographic features, were produced by forces acting in east and west
+directions, and gave origin to folds and faults with their longer axes
+trending north and south. To the south of the main body of the
+continent, in middle America, are situated the Antillean mountains, also
+a cordillera comparable with the Atlantic and Pacific cordilleras, in
+which the longer axes of the folds and faults trend east and west, and
+are due to forces acting in north and south directions. The Antillean
+mountains in a general way connect or intervene between the Pacific and
+the Andean cordilleras. Where the Antillean mountains cross the axes of
+the Pacific and Andean cordilleras are situated the volcanoes of
+southern Mexico and Central America, and those of the Lesser Antilles.</p>
+
+<p>Geographers will recognise that this outline is drawn boldly, but
+although it will no doubt have to be modified as detailed studies
+progress, it should serve to emphasize the leading geographic divisions
+of the North American continent when viewed as a whole.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<p>The following list of publications relating to the physiography of North
+America is here presented largely because the books mentioned contain
+bibliographies or references which indicate sources of more special
+information:</p>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li><i>American Geographical Society, Bulletin.</i> Published annually.</li>
+
+<li><i>Canadian Geological Survey</i>, Ottawa, Canada. Index to reports
+from 1863 to 1884, published in 1900.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Darton, N. H.</span> <i>Catalogue and Index of Contributions to North
+American Geology, 1732 to 1891.</i> United States Geological
+Survey, Bulletin No. 127, Washington, 1896.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Davis, W. M.</span> <i>Physical Geography.</i> Ginn &amp; Co., Boston, 1898.
+Contains a valuable bibliography.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Dryer, C. R.</span> <i>Lessons in Physical Geography.</i> American Book
+Company, New York, 1901. Contains a valuable bibliography.</li>
+
+<li><i>Geological Society of America, Bulletin.</i> Published annually
+since 1890 at Rochester, N. Y. Index to vols. i-x, published in
+1900.</li>
+<!--188.png-->
+
+<li><i>International Geography.</i> Edited by H. R. Mill. D. Appleton and
+Company, New York, 1900. Contains several chapters on North
+America by various authors.</li>
+
+<li><i>Journal of Geology.</i> Edited by T. C. Chamberlin and published at
+the University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Merrill, G. P.</span> <i>Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and Soils.</i> The Macmillan
+Company, New York, 1897.</li>
+
+<li><i>National Geographic Magazine.</i> Washington, D. C.</li>
+
+<li><i>National Geographic Monographs.</i> American Book Company, New York,
+1895. One volume published.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Powell, J. W.</span> <i>Exploration of the Colorado River of the West.</i>
+Published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1875.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Powell, J. W.</span> <i>Cañons of the Colorado.</i> Flood &amp; Vincent,
+Meadeville, Pa., 1895.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Russell, I. C.</span> <i>Lakes of North America</i>, Ginn &amp; Co., Boston, 1895;
+<i>Glaciers of North America</i>, Ginn &amp; Co., Boston, 1897;
+<i>Volcanoes of North America</i>, The Macmillan Company, New York,
+1897; <i>Rivers of North America</i>, Putnam's Sons, New York, 1898;
+<i>The Names of the Larger Geographical Features of North
+America</i>, in <i>Bulletin of the Geographical Society of
+Philadelphia</i>, vol. ii, 1899, pp. 55-68.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Shaler, N. S.</span> <i>Nature and Man in America.</i> Scribner's Sons, New
+York, 1891.</li>
+
+<li><i>Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel.</i> North America:
+Canada and Newfoundland, by S. E. Dawson; United States, by H.
+Gannett; Central America and West Indies, by A. H. Keane.
+Published by Edward Stanford, London.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Tarr, R. S.</span> <i>Elementary Physical Geography.</i> Macmillan &amp; Co.,
+1895.</li>
+
+<li><i>United States Geological Survey.</i> Bibliography and Index,
+contained in Bulletins No. 100, 127, 177, 188, and 189, issued
+by the Survey. The reader is referred especially to the
+<i>Geological Atlas</i> and the <i>Topographic Atlas</i>, published by the
+Survey.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Warman, P. C.</span> <i>Bibliography and Index to the Publications of the
+United States Geological Survey.</i> United States Geological
+Survey, Bulletin No. 100, Washington, 1893. (Relates to
+publications of the United States Geological Survey issued
+previous to 1892; continued in Bulletin No. 177 by the same
+author.)</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Warman, P. C.</span> <i>Catalogue and Index of the Publications of the
+United States Geological Survey, 1880 to 1901.</i> United States
+Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 177, Washington, 1901.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Weeks, F. B.</span> <i>Bibliography of North American Geology,
+Paleontology, Petrology, and Mineralogy for the Years 1892-1900,
+inclusive.</i> United States Geological Survey, Bulletins No. 188
+and 189, Washington, 1902.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Whitney, J. D.</span> <i>The United States.</i> 2 vols. Little, Brown &amp; Co.,
+Boston, 1889 and 1894.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<!--189.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">CLIMATE</div>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-ital">The Elements of Climate</div>
+
+<p>North America, embracing as it does essentially a quadrant of the
+earth's surface, presents a variety of climatic conditions ranging from
+those characteristic of the equatorial belt to those normal to polar
+regions, as well as every gradation due to variations in elevation from
+sea-level and even below that horizon in Death Valley, California, to
+the summits of high plateaus and lofty mountains.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 274px;">
+  <a href="images/plate2h.jpg" target="_blank" name="plate2" id="plate2">
+      <img src="images/plate2t.jpg" width="274" height="300" alt="Plate II." title="" /></a>
+  <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate II.</span>&mdash;Mean annual rainfall &amp; temperature.
+  <br /><i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The principal elements of the weather which go to make up the conditions
+of the atmosphere embraced in the broader term <i>climate</i> are
+temperature, precipitation, and the winds. On the accompanying map,
+Plate II, the mean annual temperature of the continent is
+represented by <i>isotherms</i>, or lines drawn through localities having the
+same average temperature for the year. On the same map is also shown in
+blue the average depth of precipitation, including both rains and melted
+snow. On Fig. 24 lines are drawn through points having the
+same average barometrical pressure (<i>isobars</i>) for the months of January
+and July, together with arrows indicating the general direction of the
+surface winds during each of these months, which may be considered as
+representative of the summer and winter seasons. The data shown on these
+maps have been compiled mainly from the reports of the weather bureaus
+of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and indicate, at least in a
+general way, a summary of what is known concerning the main
+meteorological elements which determine the climatic conditions in North
+America. An examination of these maps will suggest certain general
+conclusions in reference to the leading characteristics of the climate
+<!--191.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span>
+in various portions of the continent and the changes they undergo
+from season to season.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 232px;">
+  <a href="images/i188h.jpg" target="_blank" name="Fig_24" id="Fig_24">
+      <img src="images/i188t.jpg" width="232" height="300" alt="Fig. 24." title="" /></a>
+  <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 24.</span>&mdash;Average barometric pressure and direction of
+      wind for January and July.<br />
+  <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Distribution of Heat and Light.</i>&mdash;The distribution over the earth's
+surface of the heat and light received from the sun is not only of
+fundamental importance as respects climate, but furnishes a part of the
+essential conditions on which depend the presence and distribution of
+living organisms. The heat and light, or more accurately, the radiant
+energy of the sun, the full significance of which is probably not
+thoroughly understood, we term, for convenience, <i>insolation</i>. The
+intensity and seasonal distribution of insolation are prime factors on
+which many important results hinge.</p>
+
+<p>Owing to the inclination of the axis about which the earth rotates (23°
+27') to the plane in which the earth travels about the sun, or the plane
+of the ecliptic, the northern end of the axis is turned towards the sun
+in summer and away from it in winter&mdash;that is, the axis of rotation of
+the earth at all times is parallel to the same imaginary straight line.
+As a result, the sun appears to migrate northward in the heavens during
+the spring-time of each year, being vertical over the equator on March
+21st, and to an observer in north latitude 23° 27' rises higher and
+higher each moon, until on June 21st it is vertically overhead; and then
+returns southward. The latitude in which the sun is in the zenith at the
+time of its greatest northward migration determines the position of an
+imaginary line on the earth's surface, named the Tropic of Cancer. This
+line, as shown on the accompanying maps, crosses the Bahama Islands,
+passes about 40 miles to the northward of Havana, divides Mexico into
+two approximately equal parts, and cuts the peninsula of Lower
+California near its southern end. The portion of the continent to the
+south of the Tropic of Cancer lies within the torrid zone.</p>
+
+<p>When the sun is vertical over the equator, as it is about March 21st and
+September 23d each year, its rays, not allowing for refraction, are
+tangent to the earth's surface at the poles, and the hours of light and
+darkness are equal the world over. During the winter season the sun
+appears to migrate southward of the equator until December 21st,
+<!--192.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span>
+when it is vertical at noon at all points situated in south latitude 23°
+27', which is termed the Tropic of Capricorn. Its rays are then tangent
+to the earth's surface in the northern hemisphere in latitude 66° 33',
+which defines the position of the arctic circle. This imaginary line on
+the earth's surface, as is indicated on the accompanying maps, crosses
+Canada to the north of Hudson Bay, and passes through Alaska near where
+the Porcupine River joins the Yukon. To the north of the arctic circle
+lies the frigid zone. Between the torrid and frigid zones is situated
+the temperate zone, within which is included about seven-eighths of
+North America, exclusive of Greenland. The relation of the continent to
+the three great zones of climate into which the northern hemisphere is
+divided is thus most fortunate so far as man's activities are concerned.</p>
+
+<p>The climatic zones just referred to, while based on precise astronomical
+data and representing important facts, are not separated one from
+another by tangible lines, and might easily pass undiscovered by one who
+studied only the surface characteristics of the earth. Each summer a
+wave of heat and light sweeps northward over the continent and reaches
+beyond the pole; and each winter a counteracting wave of cold and
+darkness moves southward, the influence of which is marked even well
+within the torrid zone. A comparison of the isothermal lines drawn on
+the map forming Plate II with the parallels of latitude
+shows at a glance that there is only a general relationship between the
+two. In order to understand this discrepancy between what might be
+expected from astronomical considerations in reference to the
+distribution of solar energy and the actual conditions as learned by
+observation, it is necessary to take a more critical view of the manner
+in which insolation is received by the continent, and also to consider
+secondary conditions which exert far-reaching influences on its
+distribution.</p>
+
+<p>The amount of heat, or to avoid objections, the distribution of
+insolation over North America, depends on three primary conditions:
+First, the angle at which the sun's rays strike the earth, the range
+being from zero to 90°; second,
+<!--193.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span>
+the length of time a particular
+locality is exposed to sunlight; and third, variations in the distance
+of the earth from the sun. Each of these conditions varies from day to
+day for every locality throughout the continent. The sun is highest in
+the heavens in the torrid zone, being twice vertically overhead each
+year at every locality, and the hours of light and darkness each day are
+approximately equal throughout the year. North of the torrid zone,
+however, the rays of the sun become more and more oblique to the earth's
+surface, and hence insolation becomes weaker and weaker for a given
+period of sunshine as one travels from south to north. But the hours of
+sunlight each day undergo marked variations, lengthening from December
+21st to June 21st, and shortening as the sun makes its southward
+migration. At the north pole, as all know, there are six months of light
+and six months of darkness each year. The amount of insolation reaching
+the northern portion of the continent each day increases with the
+lengthening of the hours of light, and during midsummer is greater for a
+given area in a single day (twenty-four hours) than the amount received
+by a similar area in the torrid zone. The almost magical springing into
+life and bloom of the vegetation over the northern portion of the
+continent with the lengthening of the hours of sunshine each summer is
+thus explained. In the portion of the continent within the temperate
+zone, more especially within the continental basin, the large number of
+hours of sunshine during a summer's day is frequently accompanied by a
+temperature as great as is usually experienced in the torrid zone. It is
+the high summer temperature of this region, together with the lengthened
+duration of sunshine in the growing season, that makes the Mississippi
+basin and the adjacent region on the east and north so favourable for
+agriculture when the requisite amount of moisture is present.</p>
+
+<p>The distribution of heat over the earth's surface depends not only on
+the direct influence of insolation, but on its transfer from one
+locality to another through the agency of the winds and ocean currents.
+The movements of the waters of the ocean, it will be remembered, are
+largely
+<!--194.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span>
+under the control of the winds, so that the essential
+factor in the transfer of heat from place to place is atmospheric
+circulation. The primary causes of movements in the air, as is a matter
+of current knowledge, are the differences that arise in temperature at
+various localities. In regions where the air becomes more highly heated
+than over adjacent areas it expands, and in consequence becomes lighter,
+volume for volume, than the air over neighbouring areas, and is forced
+upward and overflows aloft. The overflow or dispersion of the warmer and
+lighter air above gives origin to a reduction in barometric pressure,
+the column of mercury in a barometer being counterbalanced by the
+pressure of the air above it. Briefly stated, the air near the earth's
+surface flows towards regions of low, and away from regions of high
+barometric pressure, and winds are established. The directions taken by
+the winds are influenced or controlled in various ways.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Planetary Winds.</i>&mdash;The great movements in the atmosphere originate
+from differences in temperature between the warm equatorial and cold
+polar regions. This alone would cause the cold air from either pole to
+flow towards the equator as surface winds, and the warm air in the
+equatorial belt to ascend and overflow aloft towards either pole. The
+earth's rotation, however, influences the direction of these winds and
+causes them to be deflected from the lines of longitude which they would
+otherwise follow. In the northern hemisphere the air-currents are
+deflected to the right and in the southern hemisphere to the left of
+their initial directions. The best known examples of these planetary
+winds, as they are termed, are the trade-winds, which blow from the
+northeast in the northern and from the southeast in the southern
+hemisphere. Between these two belts of converging winds lies the
+equatorial belt of calm, some 300 miles wide, which also encircles the
+earth and is termed the doldrums.</p>
+
+<p>In the quadrant of the earth's surface occupied by North America the
+climatic conditions are controlled in a large measure by the planetary
+winds. In the equatorial belt of calms the barometric pressure is lower
+than on
+<!--195.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span>
+either side, the temperature is uniformly high, the air
+is heavily charged with moisture, and torrential rains are frequent. In
+the belt of the northeast trades the weight of the air for a given area
+is greater than in the doldrums, the wind blows with remarkable
+uniformity both of direction and force, the sky is normally clear, and
+rain infrequent except when the warm moist air is forced upward either
+by local storms or on coming in contact with high land. The trade-winds
+blow across the West Indies, Mexico, and much of Central America. To the
+north of the trade-wind belt is a belt of prevailingly high barometrical
+pressure, light variable winds, narrower and less well defined than the
+doldrums, which encircles the earth in the region of the Tropic of
+Cancer. This belt of calms, although familiar to sailors, to whom it is
+known as the "horse latitudes," is ill-defined on the land, where its
+presence is masked by changes due to local conditions. To the north of
+the tropical calm belt the prevailing surface winds are from the
+westward, and owe their direction to the constant flow of the upper
+air-currents in their poleward journey, under the influence of the
+earth's rotation. This great belt of winds from the westward crosses the
+portion of North America including the United States and southern
+Canada, but it is subject to many disturbances. The northern portion of
+the continent extends into the little known polar region of prevailingly
+low barometrical pressure, where midsummer and midwinter calms normally
+prevail.</p>
+
+<p>The great world-encircling currents of the atmosphere, namely, the
+trade-winds, blowing towards the southwest or west across the Caribbean
+and Mexican region, and the prevailing westerlies, or winds blowing in
+an easterly direction, over the broad temperate portion of North
+America, exert the main control on the climate of the continent.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Seasons.</i>&mdash;Of primary importance to the inhabitants of North
+America is the fact that the climatic belts determined by the
+inclination of the earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic are subject
+to annual migration towards the north and south. In the torrid zone the
+equatorial belt of calms, with its humid and oppressively hot
+atmosphere, prevailing
+<!--196.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span>
+cloudiness, and heavy rains, and the belt
+of the northeast trades, with its prevailingly clear skies and
+refreshing breezes, do not occupy the same positions throughout the
+year, but migrate with the sun. The migration of these two strongly
+contrasted climatic belts brings to the otherwise remarkably uniform
+conditions of the atmosphere over the West Indies, Central America, and
+Mexico, two, in general well-defined, periods each year, namely, a wet
+and a dry season, the former occurring in the summer and the latter in
+the winter. It is to be borne in mind that between the tropics there
+are, with certain local exceptions, but two seasons each year, the
+leading contrasts of which are determined by differences in rainfall.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of the Tropic of Cancer the seasonal changes are more
+varied than in the torrid zone, and contrasts in temperature become the
+most marked climatic feature; while precipitation, although in general
+somewhat evenly distributed throughout the year, is more abundant in
+winter than in summer. On account, however, of the greater diversity in
+the climatic changes experienced each year within the temperate zone,
+four seasons are recognised, the most distinctive features of which
+depend on changes in both temperature and humidity.</p>
+
+<p>In the northern portion of the temperate zone, and extending over the
+arctic zone, the seasons are again reduced to two, summer and winter,
+the contrasted conditions pertaining mainly to temperature and light.</p>
+
+<p>A marked variation, which has an important bearing not only on climate,
+but on the distribution of life encountered in passing from equatorial
+to polar regions, is found in the distribution of light. Between the
+tropics the number of hours of light and darkness each day is
+approximately equal; in the temperate zone there is considerable
+diversity from season to season, which increases with increase in
+latitude; and uniformity, of a different character than at the far
+south, again becomes prominent in the frigid zone, where the number of
+hours of light each day is greatly prolonged during the summer and
+correspondingly decreased during
+<!--197.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span>
+the winter. The extreme contrast
+occurs in the neighbourhood of the pole, where during the summer season
+the sun is continuously above, and in winter continuously below the
+horizon, or in familiar language, there is a six-months day (light) and
+a six-months night (darkness).</p>
+
+<p>In going from the equatorial to north polar regions there is a general
+decrease in mean annual temperature, and in general a decrease also in
+precipitation, but great variations in these gradual changes, with
+increase in latitude, occur which are both continental and local in
+character. In winter the interior portions of the continent, and
+especially the plateaus and mountains, are colder than the lands in
+corresponding latitudes near the oceans; while in summer the reverse is
+true, the margin of the continent being cooler than the broad interior.</p>
+
+<p>In this general view of the climatic zones and the normal changes they
+undergo we may note that the torrid zone is characterized by its
+simplicity and monotony of climatic conditions, although disturbed at
+times, especially in the West Indies, by occasional great cyclonic
+storms, termed hurricanes, which occur, however, at quite definite
+seasons. The temperate belt is equally well marked by its complex and
+frequently changing atmospheric conditions, the winds being subject to
+numerous and great variations, and storms of diverse character being
+frequent. The frigid zone, again, is without conspicuous variations
+except during the change from its monotonous summer to its still more
+uniform winter weather, and the reverse change six months later. The
+disturbances in the balance of atmospheric conditions at the far north,
+or the storms, are of a much less varied character than in the fickle
+temperate zone&mdash;thunder-storms and tornadoes, for example, being
+unknown.</p>
+
+<p>It is the summer migration of a heated belt from the south northward
+across the temperate zone, and the equally conspicuous winter advances
+of cold from the north southward across the same broad region, which
+gives to the United States and the southern portion of Canada a
+conspicuously changeable climate. The temperate zone, so far
+<!--198.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span>
+at
+least as North America is concerned, deserves its name only when the
+mean of the yearly changes in temperature is considered, as much of it
+is hotter in summer than equal areas between the tropics, and in winter
+over all of its northern half the cold is, at times, nearly or quite as
+intense as during the same season in the far north. As a whole, the
+portion of the continent embraced in the temperate zone is characterized
+by its pronounced seasonal changes, including wide extremes of heat and
+cold over large areas, and by its frequently sudden and strongly marked
+weather changes during short periods of time. It is a highly suggestive
+fact that of all the great climatic zones the one having the most
+changeable climate, the greatest extremes of heat and cold, and the most
+frequent storms should be the one in which man has reached the highest
+development both of body and mind. Evidently it is the <i>struggle</i> for
+existence, when not too severe, which insures advancement. The part of
+North America most densely inhabited by descendants of Europeans, and
+the portion of the continent where intellectual development has made the
+greatest advance, is the east-central portion, where not only the
+variation of climate from season to season, but the weather changes from
+week to week and day to day are the most conspicuous.</p>
+
+<p><i>Secondary Conditions influencing Climate.</i>&mdash;While the primary
+conditions controlling the climate of North America in common with all
+other portions of the earth's surface depend on the relation of the
+earth to the sun, there are many secondary conditions to be considered.
+First in importance among these, so far as the broader features of the
+climate of the continent are concerned, is the unequal heating of land
+and water areas. During summer, more especially in the temperate zone,
+the land becomes more highly heated than the adjacent oceans, and an
+inflow of the cooler and moister air from the sea over the land occurs.
+In winter the land cools more quickly and to a greater degree than the
+adjacent waters, and the tendency of the heavier air over the land is to
+flow outward as surface winds. Continental winds are thus generated,
+similar in their origin to the familiar land and sea breezes of the
+ocean shore in
+<!--199.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span>
+summer, but on a large scale, which have an
+important bearing on the seasonal changes. The influence of the
+continental winds is sufficiently well marked to give North America two
+general classes of climate. One pertains to inland regions, is
+characterized by great contrasts in temperature and humidity between
+summer and winter, and is termed continental. The other pertains to the
+border of the land where, on account of the equalizing influence of
+large water borders, the contrast between the climate of summer and
+winter is less pronounced, and has received the general title of oceanic
+climate. The climate of the Dakotas, for example, is of the continental
+type, while that of New Jersey is of the oceanic type.</p>
+
+<p>The unequal heating and cooling of adjacent portions of land areas also
+produces important atmospheric movements, as, for instance, when broad,
+treeless plains become more highly heated in summer than adjacent
+forested areas; or on account of rapid radiation become excessively cold
+in winter and lower the temperature of the air above them. In the first
+instance an inflow of cooler and heavier air from adjacent regions would
+be established; and in the second example the chilled air would tend to
+flow outward, thus, in each instance, establishing winds which usually
+acquire a more or less well-pronounced circular motion. The Prairie
+plains and the Great plateaus to the east of the Rocky Mountains become
+highly heated in summer, and together with several other similar regions
+in North America, meet the first of the conditions just considered;
+while the higher portions of the Great plateau, especially at the north,
+and the still more elevated mountains of Montana, Colorado, etc., become
+excessively cold in winter and illustrate the other extreme.</p>
+
+<p>Mountains serve to deflect the winds blowing against them either to one
+side or upward, the former frequently producing important changes in
+direction of the surface air-currents, and the latter, by causing the
+air to rise, permits of its expansion and consequent cooling, thus
+favouring precipitation. For this and other reasons precipitation
+increases with elevation, at least until an altitude of many
+<!--200.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span>
+thousands of feet is reached, and the mountains are cooler and more
+humid than the adjacent valleys. The air-currents on passing over a
+mountain range and descending are warmed by compression, and having lost
+a part and in many observed instances a large percentage of the moisture
+they previously contained, become warm, drying winds. The chinook winds,
+as they are termed in America, are marked examples of the influence
+exerted by mountains on climatic conditions.</p>
+
+<p>What are termed above the secondary conditions, tending to modify
+climate, produce such great changes in the distribution of rainfall,
+temperature, etc., and in the influence of the planetary winds, that the
+subdivision of the northern hemisphere into torrid, temperate, and
+frigid zones, while based on astronomical data, does not serve to
+represent actual conditions, except in a general way, in reference even
+to the single element of temperature expressed in these names. A
+comparison of the isotherms and of the distribution of precipitation as
+indicated on the preceding maps, with the parallels of latitude, shows
+at once that these two most important elements of climate are
+conspicuously independent of distance from the equator. A logical basis
+for subdividing the continent into <i>climatic provinces</i> must therefore
+be sought in other directions.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">CLIMATIC PROVINCES</div>
+
+<p>In order to obtain a comprehensive idea of the climate of a continent,
+it is obviously desirable to subdivide it into areas having more or less
+similar and distinct atmospheric conditions. The leading difficulty in
+making such subdivisions is the well-known fact that the climate of any
+region which may be chosen passes by insensible gradations into that of
+adjacent regions, and any boundaries that may be drawn are to a
+considerable extent artificial and arbitrary. While the true basis on
+which to establish climatic areas or provinces is the resultant of all
+the weather elements which go to make up the atmospheric conditions
+recognised under the broader term climate, so many factors have to
+<!--201.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span>
+be considered that it is extremely difficult to arrive at a
+general acceptable conclusion. The principal elements of the weather to
+be considered are, approximately, in the order of their importance,
+beginning with the one which exerts almost universal
+control&mdash;temperature, precipitation, the winds, absolute and relative
+humidity of the air, and evaporation.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 274px;"><a name="plate_3" id="plate_3"></a>
+   <a href="images/plate3h.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="images/plate3t.jpg"
+       width="274" height="300" alt="PLATE III" title="" /></a>
+   <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate III.</span>&mdash;Climate &amp; life provinces. <i>Click image to expand.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In North America there are voluminous records in reference to each of
+these elements of the weather, embracing considerable lengths of time,
+and relating mainly to the United States and southeastern Canada, but
+not sufficient to enable one to subdivide the entire continent into
+climatic provinces. The lack of weather records embracing the entire
+continent may be supplied in part by what may be termed the natural
+records of atmospheric conditions as expressed by the flora and fauna,
+as well as by soil conditions and topography. In recognition of this
+principle, the climatic provinces of North America here adopted have
+been made to conform to its life-zones.</p>
+
+<p>The major climatic divisions of North America here provisionally adopted
+are, in their general order from south to north, the <i>Tropical</i>, <i>Lower
+Austral</i>, <i>Upper Austral</i>, <i>Transition</i>, <i>Boreal</i>, and <i>Arctic</i> (Plate
+III). These several divisions are termed climatic provinces, and are
+assumed to coincide with those of the life-regions as mapped by C. Hart
+Merriam. The basis for classification is mainly temperature. In the
+main, the northern boundaries of the provinces and their higher limits
+in mountainous regions are determined by the temperature of the season
+of growth and reproduction among plants and animals; while their
+southern boundaries or lower limits on the mountains are determined by
+the temperature of a brief period during the hottest portion of the
+year. A more definite account of the reasons for choosing these
+limitations will be given later in discussing life areas. While the
+principal basis for establishing climatic provinces is temperature, many
+other conditions are also recognised, chief among which is
+precipitation. Several of the climatic provinces have two divisions,
+namely, a <i>humid</i> and an <i>arid</i>, the dividing line being
+<!--202.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span>
+approximately the one hundredth meridian. These are well defined and
+important in the tropical, austral, and transitional, but less definite
+and less well known in the boreal and arctic provinces. The regions
+embraced in the several climatic provinces named above, as well as their
+humid and arid divisions, so far as now understood, are shown on the
+accompanying map.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Tropical Province</i> (Plate III).&mdash;This is the most southern of the
+climatic provinces which it is convenient to recognise in North America,
+and includes the West Indies, Central America, and southern Mexico,
+together with a narrow strip on each coast of northern Mexico and the
+extreme southern ends of the peninsulas of Florida and of Lower
+California. While the land areas in this widely extended province
+present conspicuous differences, their climate in general is
+characterized by a high mean annual temperature with but moderate
+seasonal or daily variations, and by the occurrence in general of a wet
+and a dry season each year. The prevailing winds are the northeast
+trades. While the average yearly temperature is high, being in general
+about 80° F., the heat in summer is less intense than in many portions
+of the austral provinces. In winter the temperature does not fall
+sufficiently to produce frost, except on the higher mountains, which, in
+fact, belong to one or more of the other provinces named above. On
+ascending the mountains a rapid change to cooler and even to frigid
+zones is experienced. Snow occurs on the higher portions of the
+mountains of Central America and Mexico, and in a few instances, as on
+the great volcanic cones in sight from the City of Mexico, is perennial.
+On the mountains just referred to all of the several climatic provinces
+are represented by well-characterized zones, arranged one above another,
+and presenting in epitome the general changes one would experience in
+travelling from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>In marked contrast to the prevailing uniformity of temperature at
+corresponding elevations throughout the tropical provinces is the
+inequality in rainfall in reference to both seasonal periods and
+differences in geographical position.
+<!--203.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span>
+Of the annual changes, the
+most pronounced and characteristic is the alternation of wet and dry
+periods. During the summer season, or in general from May to October,
+the air is usually clouded for at least a portion of each day, and heavy
+downpours of rain occur. Throughout the remainder of the year the clear
+skies and refreshing breezes, such as on the ocean are normally
+characteristic of the trade-wind belt, prevail. The remarkable
+regularity with which these changes occur each year suggests at once
+that they are due to the migrations northward and southward with the sun
+of the great climatic belts encircling the equatorial region of the
+earth. In summer the equatorial belt of calms and heavy rainfall not
+only migrates northward and occupies a portion of Central America,
+bringing to Costa Rica and Nicaragua cloudy skies and abundant
+precipitation, but seems to be carried bodily still farther northward,
+so that the influence of the southeast trades of the southern hemisphere
+makes itself felt, and four somewhat well-marked annual changes occur,
+namely, two wet and two dry seasons. What is known of the climate of
+this extreme southern portion of the province under review indicates
+that the seasonal changes, especially on the Caribbean slope, are less
+well marked than in its central portion, and rain is frequently copious
+in nearly every month of the year. In the region just mentioned the mean
+annual precipitation, as at Greytown, for example, at the eastern
+extremity of the proposed Nicaragua Canal, is about 250 inches, and in
+exceptionally wet years reaches nearly or quite 300 inches. This is, so
+far as known, the heaviest annual precipitation in any portion of North
+America.</p>
+
+<p>In the West Indies the rainy season begins, in general, in May and lasts
+until October. On the lowlands of eastern and south-central Mexico the
+wet season commences in June, and the rains increase until the end of
+July and end in November. This region lies to the north of the northern
+limit reached by the equatorial belt of calm, but the rains in the
+summer season are due to the same general influence, namely, the
+lowering of temperature in the northward-moving upper air-currents, and
+their effect on the
+<!--204.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span>
+trade-winds. In Cuba and along the northern
+coast of the Gulf of Mexico when the trade-wind belt migrates southward
+in winter the influences of the southward-moving storm from the
+Mississippi Valley and Atlantic States produces what are termed
+<i>northers</i>, which bring a chill and at times frost, more especially in
+Florida and on the higher portions of Cuba.</p>
+
+<p>While the wide-reaching seasonal changes within the tropical province
+depend on the migrations of the planetary winds northward and southward
+with the sun, and are due primarily to astronomical conditions, there
+are equally well-marked variations in rainfall dependent on or regulated
+by geographical conditions. These are of two principal classes: First,
+elevation of the land; and second, the relation of broad land areas to
+the direction of the prevailing winds, each of which is abundantly
+illustrated in the tropical province.</p>
+
+<p>The mountainous islands in the West Indies receive a heavy rainfall,
+especially on their windward or easterly slopes, while the low islands,
+and less markedly the southwestern border of the higher islands, are
+much less humid. The eastern side of Porto Rico, for example, has an
+abundant rainfall, and was originally clothed with a luxuriant native
+flora, including large forest-trees, while the lowlands on its southern
+and southwestern border are subject to drought, and irrigation is
+desirable to insure the growth of crops. Again, while the mountainous
+islands of the Lesser Antilles, with their luxuriantly forested slopes,
+present ideal pictures of tropical loveliness, low-lying Sombrero,
+Barbuda, St. Martin, and other similar islands are so arid that guano
+has accumulated on them to such an extent as to be of commercial
+importance. The reason for these striking contrasts within narrow
+geographical limits is readily seen in the influence of the highlands on
+the trade-winds. These air-currents blowing from the Atlantic are warm
+and contain a high percentage of moisture. As they advance, however,
+they invade regions that are progressively warmer and warmer, and the
+capacity of the air for moisture is correspondingly increased. For this
+reason the trade-winds in
+<!--205.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span>
+crossing low land become drying winds.
+When the warm humid air-currents are forced upward, however, they are
+cooled in part by contact with the land, but to a greater extent on
+account of expansion due to decreased pressure; the dew-point is thus
+lowered, and when saturation is reached precipitation follows. This
+explanation applies also to the low peninsula of Yucatan, which is
+within the trade-wind belt, and is exceptional among the lands of
+Central America, on account of its dearth of forests, but in this
+instance, and also in reference to the similar barren condition of the
+Bahama Islands, in addition to the lowness of the land, the influence of
+the underlying porous, limestone rocks on the vegetable growths should
+be considered. In the instances just mentioned the rain that falls is
+quickly absorbed by the cavernous rocks, and surface streams are rare.</p>
+
+<p>In Central America the influence of mountains on the climate is much the
+same as in the West India islands; in fact, the narrow rugged belt of
+land connecting the two Americas may, from our present point of view, be
+considered as a great island situated mainly within the trade-wind belt,
+and similar to Jamaica, for example, in its influences on the winds
+blowing across it. The eastern slopes of the Central American mountains,
+together with the adjacent lowlands, with the exception, principally, of
+Yucatan, are well watered and clothed with dense vegetation, while on
+the western slopes, and especially over the narrow fringe of lowland
+adjacent to the Pacific, the rainfall is less than on the Caribbean
+coast, and the forests are open with many grass-covered areas which are
+favourable for agriculture. In the mountainous portions of the West
+Indies and of Central America, on account of the more healthy conditions
+on the leeward or drier sides, as compared with the windward or humid
+slopes of the mountains, the towns and the principal portion of the
+white inhabitants are located on their western borders. Owing to the
+great humidity and the long-continued high temperature during the hotter
+portion of the year throughout the tropical province, much of the
+lowland to the eastward of the high mountains is swampy and unhealthy.
+This low region in Mexico and Central
+<!--206.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span>
+America is known as the
+<i>tierra caliente</i>, or hot country; on the mountains and plateaus, or in
+general where the elevation is between 5,000 and 7,000 feet, is the
+cooler and remarkably salubrious <i>tierra templada</i>; and at still higher
+elevations occur the <i>tierra frie</i>. Owing to the decrease in temperature
+with elevation, and the fact that the moist warm air is forced to rise,
+and in consequence expands on passing over the highland, the rainfall
+probably increases with elevation through the three zones just referred
+to.</p>
+
+<p>While the tropical province is characterized by the uniformity with
+which its atmospheric changes occur, it is nevertheless in part subject
+to occasional and exceedingly violent cyclonic storms termed hurricanes,
+which begin in the torrid zone, travel northward (Fig. 26, page 210),
+and make their influence felt in more than one of the climatic provinces
+into which North America is here divided. Thunder-storms, frequently of
+great violence, also occur, especially in the Central American region in
+summer, when the doldrums migrate northward.</p>
+
+<p>The trade-wind belt broadens in crossing the southern portion of the
+North American continent, and on the west coast and during its greatest
+northward migration reaches to southern California. As we have seen, the
+lowlands not adjacent to mountains in the Caribbean region receive
+little or no rain from the trade-winds, for the reason that the
+prevailing air-currents are moving from cooler to warmer regions, and
+therefore have their capacity for moisture increased as they advance
+more rapidly than their thirst can be satiated. The trade-winds are thus
+normally drying winds. The same principle holds true for continents as
+well as islands. The trade-winds on reaching the eastern border of the
+Mexican plateau are forced upward and part with much of their moisture
+in the form of rain and snow, and on descending to the lower lands
+bordering the Pacific are desiccating winds. The conditions are thus
+much the same as on the lowlands situated to the leeward of the
+mountains of the West Indies. The narrow fringe of low-lying country on
+the west border of the main body of
+<!--207.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span>
+Mexico, together with the
+peninsula of Lower California and a portion of the southern extremity of
+California, are arid, although in immediate proximity to the ocean. The
+leading characteristics of the climate of this, the arid portion of the
+tropical province, are its small rainfall, clear atmosphere, high mean
+annual temperature, moderate seasonal changes, and active evaporation.</p>
+
+<p>The most typical portion of the arid region bordering the Pacific from
+California southward lies in northwestern Mexico, where the mean annual
+precipitation on the western slope of the central table-land is from 15
+to 20 inches, but gradually diminishes as one descends to the lower
+lands to the westward to 10 inches, and even to 5 inches or less. A
+great portion of the lowlands is practically a desert, although, as is
+common on the desert-like tracts of this continent, it is sparingly
+covered with detached clumps of cacti, yuccas, and other similar plants
+which live with the minimum of water.</p>
+
+<p>The hot, arid lands of the southwest just referred to are similar in
+position, in reference to the relation of land areas to the trade-wind
+belts, as other trade-wind deserts, as they are termed, such as the
+Sahara, which occur on the leeward side of continents where they are
+crossed by these drying winds.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Lower Austral Province</i> (Plate III).&mdash;This province embraces the
+Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States from Connecticut
+southward, with the exception of the tropical portion of southern
+Florida; the Mississippi basin south of the mouth of the Ohio; and
+includes also many of the valleys amid the Pacific mountains from the
+northern boundary of California to central Mexico. The larger
+geographical conditions on which the boundaries of the province depend
+are the warm currents in the Atlantic, which ameliorate the temperature
+of the adjacent land as well as supply it with abundant moisture; the
+low elevation of the central continental basin, which permits of great
+extension northward of the climatic conditions originating about the
+Gulf of Mexico; and the mountainous character of the western portion of
+the province, where the valleys
+<!--208.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span>
+have a markedly different
+temperature and rainfall from the highlands.</p>
+
+<p>The most southern portions of the lower austral province within the
+border of the United States has a semitropical climate and is
+characterized by its high mean annual temperature, abundant rainfall,
+and uniformity of weather conditions throughout the year. The summers
+are hot, but tempered by winds from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic,
+and the winters, although normally mild and without snow, are varied at
+intervals by periods of cold which bring occasional frosts. This
+semitropical division of the lower austral province embraces a narrow
+strip of coast-land extending from South Carolina to southeastern Texas,
+with the exception of the extreme southern end of Florida, and forms a
+transition between the hotter and more humid tropical province to the
+southward and the cooler and less humid region to the northward.</p>
+
+<p>As the saying is, a tree is judged by its fruit; in a similar way we may
+judge of the climate of a region by its products. The Gulf strip of the
+lower austral province is the home of a number of plants and animals not
+found farther north, as, for example, the cabbage palmetto and Cuban
+pine, and several species of birds and small mammals. Among the
+agricultural products of this narrow coastal belt which are suggestive
+of its climate are rice, sugar-cane, and sea-island cotton; of fruits it
+produces, especially in Florida, oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes,
+shaddocks, and pineapples.</p>
+
+<p>The humid portion of the lower austral province extends northward from
+the Gulf strip, and presents a transition in climatic conditions between
+the semitropical Gulf coast and the more markedly temperate climate of
+the upper austral. This eastern division of the lower austral,
+characterized by its mild winters, general absence of snow, long hot
+summers with abundant rain, extends from eastern Virginia southward
+about the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, and in the
+Mississippi Valley broadens so as to reach the mouth of the Ohio River.
+Its western limit is in central Texas, where the mean annual rainfall
+decreases
+<!--209.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span>
+to less than 20 inches, and forests give place to
+treeless, grass-covered plains and plateaus.</p>
+
+<p>Through this eastern portion of the lower austral the mean annual
+precipitation is in general between 50 and 60 inches, and is so
+distributed throughout the year that each month receives approximately
+an equal share. In general, however, the rainfall is greater in winter
+than in summer. The mean annual temperature of the humid portion of the
+lower austral is from 60° to 68° F., the mean winter temperature 40° to
+52°, and the mean summer temperature from 75° to 80° F. From these
+records it may be inferred that the conditions are favourable for the
+growth of trees. In its natural condition this entire region was clothed
+with a varied and beautiful forest, consisting largely of broad-leaved
+trees, but is also the home of the southern pine and the cypress. The
+characteristic crops are cotton and corn (maize).</p>
+
+<p>The western or arid portion of the lower austral province embraces
+western Texas, a large area in northeastern Mexico, and circling about
+the southern extremity of the Pacific mountains in central Mexico,
+extends northward adjacent to the tropical border of the Pacific and the
+Gulf of Lower California, into Arizona and southern California. A
+detached area of this same province occupies the great Valley of
+California.</p>
+
+<p>The leading feature in the climate of the extensive and irregular region
+just outlined is its aridity. The rainfall is too small to insure forest
+growths; the land is treeless, except along the streams, and irrigation
+is necessary for successful agriculture. With a sufficient amount of
+water for irrigation, a great variety of fruits, etc., may be raised,
+including many products usually considered as indicating tropical
+conditions, such as mangoes, dates, figs, citrus fruits, olives,
+pineapples, etc. Not only are the agricultural products numerous and
+varied, but the yield per acre under the most favourable conditions is
+far in excess of the best results reached in most regions where rain is
+relied on to furnish the requisite moisture. Under the prevailingly
+cloudless skies of the hot arid lands of the southwestern
+<!--210.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span>
+portion
+of the continent insolation is intense and the growth of vegetation
+phenomenal when the necessary amount of water is supplied. The land in
+its present condition presents great contrasts, ranging from desolate,
+sun-burned tracts which are almost absolute deserts, to the vivid green
+of irrigated fields and the deep shade of heavily fruit-laden orchards.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Upper Austral Province</i> (Plate III).&mdash;The portion of North
+America embraced in this climatic province lies principally in the
+central part of the United States, but includes also a narrow strip in
+southern Ontario, adjacent to the north shore of Lake Erie, and a large
+irregular area in the central plateau of Mexico. A marked feature of its
+geography is its extreme irregularity in the portion occupied by the
+Pacific mountains in the United States and Mexico. The reasons for this
+lie mainly in the influence of the relief of the land on climate, the
+direction of the prevailing winds, and varying distances from the ocean.
+It is a familiar fact that boreal and even arctic climatic conditions
+are met with on high mountains. The attention that is given to changes
+in climate with increase in altitude is no doubt largely due to the fact
+that the mountains present conditions which are exceptional and more or
+less novel as seen from our accustomed point of view. A person living in
+an elevated region, on descending into a deep valley, would be impressed
+with the reverse order in which the climatic zones occur. In making such
+a descent he would pass in succession from a boreal or perhaps arctic
+climate, through a transitional or cold temperate, to the warm temperate
+or upper austral province, and might even reach the semitropical
+division of the lower austral. In the Pacific mountains within the
+border of the United States the valleys are sufficiently deep to have
+the climatic conditions here ascribed to the upper austral, and in the
+southwestern portion of the United States descents may be made&mdash;as in
+the Great Valley of California and in the arid basins of southern
+Nevada, Arizona, etc.&mdash;sufficiently great to reach the lower austral.
+The valleys amid the Pacific mountains, which fall in the upper austral
+province, are in
+<!--211.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span>
+general low at the north in reference to
+sea-level, and become higher and higher at the south. For example, the
+upper austral region in central Washington is but 400 or 500 feet above
+the sea, while in Mexico it lies in general at an altitude of between
+4,000 and 6,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The upper austral province may be termed warm temperate, with a marked
+contrast between the heat of summer and the cold of winter. The summers
+are long, with an average temperature of 70° or 75°, while the winters
+are variable, with frequent cold periods when ice forms and snow-storms
+are not rare. The snow seldom remains on the ground for more than a few
+days at a time, however, except in the northeast, where the warm
+temperate climatic conditions of the province under review merge with
+those of the colder region to the northward embraced in the transition
+province.</p>
+
+<p>The upper, like the lower austral, presents two well-marked divisions in
+reference to humidity&mdash;an eastern or humid and a western or semihumid
+portion; the dividing line is in the neighbourhood of the one hundredth
+meridian. In the eastern division the mean annual precipitation in the
+Piedmont region to the east of the Appalachians and on the coastal plain
+adjacent to the Atlantic in Maryland and New Jersey is from 40 to 80
+inches, but decreases westward, and on the border of the Great plateaus
+in Kansas and Nebraska is about 20 inches. In the western division the
+annual precipitation is less than 20 inches, and agriculture without
+irrigation is uncertain and usually impossible. To the east of the one
+hundredth meridian the rain is somewhat evenly distributed throughout
+the year, although an increasing dryness of the summer is easily
+detected as one travels from east to west, but in the various upper
+austral valleys of the Pacific mountain region the precipitation is
+mostly during the winter, and the summers are practically rainless. The
+marked difference in precipitation between the humid and semihumid
+division of the upper austral province is recorded on the surface of the
+land by the vegetation. In the eastern division the entire region, with
+the exception of the prairies in the central part of the Mississippi
+<!--212.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span>
+basin, was originally clothed with a varied and beautiful forest,
+consisting mainly of broad-leaved trees, such as the hickory, maple,
+oak, etc., while the semihumid western division is treeless, except in
+immediate proximity to streams.</p>
+
+<p>In the southern portion of the humid division of the upper austral
+province cotton is one of the staple products, but the northern limit of
+the region in which it can be successfully cultivated is soon reached as
+one travels northward. Tobacco is grown extensively in the southeastern
+and eastern portions of the province. The principal crop of the great
+central area in the Mississippi Valley is corn (maize). Successful wheat
+culture begins in the northern portion of the province, but the
+conditions favouring its cultivation increase to the northward and it
+becomes the characteristic and most valuable crop of the transition
+province.</p>
+
+<p>In the western or semihumid division of the upper austral the variety of
+agricultural products that can be successfully cultivated with the aid
+of irrigation is greater than in its eastern portion, where irrigation
+is not generally practised. The northern limit at which tobacco, fruits,
+the vine, etc., may be advantageously cultivated in the west is greater
+than in the east. For example, in the east the northern limit at which
+tobacco is raised on a commercial scale is in Connecticut, while in the
+west it reaches a large size and excellent quality in central
+Washington. Various fruits, such as the peach, pear, plum, grape, etc.,
+have their northern limit of successful cultivation in the east in
+western New York, southern Ontario, and southern Michigan, a region
+favourably influenced in this connection by the proximity of the Great
+Lakes; in the west these same fruits reach a high degree of perfection,
+and are produced in great abundance, with the aid of irrigation, in
+north-central Washington, fully 5 degrees of latitude farther northward.</p>
+
+<p>On the whole, the upper austral province may be said to have a warm
+temperate climate, in which the summer season is longer and more
+pronounced in its characteristics
+<!--213.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span>
+than the winter season. It
+presents sufficient seasonal variations, however, to favour in a high
+degree both the physical and intellectual development of man.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Transition Province</i> (Plate III).&mdash;This, the transition region
+between the austral and boreal provinces, includes the cool temperate
+portions of North America. Like the austral provinces, its outlines are
+irregular, and in places it occupies detached or island-like areas, on
+account of the influence of mountains on climatic conditions. Its
+largest continuous area is situated along the northern border of the
+United States, but includes the southern portions of Assiniboia,
+Ontario, and Quebec, and extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
+From this main belt there is a marked extension southward along the
+Appalachian Mountains, which carries a cool temperate climate into
+northern Georgia, and another and much greater southward extension along
+the Pacific mountains, which reaches central Mexico. In the northern
+portion of the United States and adjacent parts of Canada, the region
+under consideration has, in general, an elevation of 1,000 feet or even
+less above the sea, but it rises when followed southward along the
+mountains, and in the southwestern portion of the United States and on
+the table-land of central Mexico attains an elevation of some 8,000 or
+9,000 feet. On the higher portions of the mountains of Central America
+and the West Indies the climatic conditions are similar to those of the
+regions farther north here included in the transition climatic province,
+but these isolated areas are not sufficiently well known to be indicated
+on the accompanying map.</p>
+
+<p>The mean annual temperature of the transition province is lower than
+that of the upper austral, and, although a precise average is not at
+present attainable, may be taken at about 45° F. The winters are long
+and cold, especially in the northern part of the United States and
+adjacent portions of Canada, the mean temperature being approximately
+20° or 25°, but sudden and great variations are not uncommon. At times,
+and frequently for continuous periods of several days, the temperature
+falls to 20° or more below zero of the Fahrenheit scale, then again
+rises above
+<!--214.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span>
+freezing, and the frozen soil thaws and possibly
+becomes entirely freed from ice.</p>
+
+<p>In common with the austral provinces, the one under consideration is
+divided into two portions, an eastern and a western, in reference to
+precipitation, the dividing line being a little to the eastward of the
+one hundredth meridian. While the western portion of the province is
+characterized by its small rainfall, precipitation is greater, mainly on
+account of greater elevation, than in the adjacent portions of the
+austral provinces, and in Oregon and Washington there is a markedly
+humid area.</p>
+
+<p>Snow falls throughout the entire transition province, at least during
+exceptional winters, and in general during every winter. There is great
+variation in the depth of the snow from winter to winter, and also with
+geographical position. It is greatest in the northeast&mdash;that is, from
+the Atlantic coast westward to Wisconsin and Minnesota&mdash;and least on the
+Pacific coast and the southern portion of the Pacific mountains. Over
+the northeastern portion of the province the snow frequently whitens the
+ground for weeks, and even for two or three months continuously. A deep
+accumulation which remains for a long time unmelted is welcome, as it
+protects the roots of plants from sudden changes of temperature and
+prevents alternate freezing and thawing of their sap, which is injurious
+to their tissues in numerous instances. Great variation in the amount of
+snow that falls annually in a given locality is of common occurrence. A
+large proportion of the yearly accumulation frequently occurs during one
+or two great storms. For example, in January and February, 1898, there
+were two severe storms, accompanied by an unusual depth of snow, the
+first being most pronounced over New England, and the second in the
+region of the Great Lakes. Other storms increased the amount of snow so
+that at the beginning of March the average depth in Maine was 40 to 70
+inches, in New Hampshire and Vermont 10 to 40 inches, and in
+Massachusetts 10 to 20 inches, while in Michigan and Wisconsin the
+general depth on level ground was 1 to 2 feet, with many drifts 10 to 15
+feet deep.
+<!--217.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_25" id="Fig_25"></a>
+<img src="images/i214.jpg" width="600" height="392" alt="Fig. 25." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 25.</span>&mdash;Ice-palace erected in Montreal, Canada, during
+the winter of 1889.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The winter in the northeastern portion of the transition province may be
+said to be the most characteristic feature of the climate, as it is the
+one that is most pronounced and exceptional, when a comparison is made
+with other thickly peopled portions of the continent. The period of cold
+and snow each year is long, extending in general from November to March,
+and the coming of the flowers and birds in spring is frequently much
+delayed. The long cold winters have a decided influence on plant and
+animal life, and in a marked way modify the lives of men. In the
+northeastern portion of the United States and adjacent provinces of
+Canada various forms of sleighs are extensively used during the winters,
+and skating on the frozen lakes and streams and excursions on snow-shoes
+over the fields and through the forests are a popular and healthful
+exercise, while coasting and tobogganing&mdash;or to explain these terms to
+people living in regions where snow does not fall, the sliding down
+steep snow- or ice-covered slopes on sleds or flat-bottomed
+toboggans&mdash;are highly enjoyable sports indulged in by children and grown
+people alike. In certain cities, notably Montreal and Quebec, what are
+termed ice-palaces (Fig. 25) are built of blocks of ice and are utilized
+for winter carnivals.</p>
+
+<p>The summers throughout the transition province are hot, with little rain
+in the western portion, but refreshing showers and occasional
+destructive storms in the humid eastern portion. Owing to the latitude
+of the main transcontinental belt of the province, the number of hours
+of sunlight each day in summer is increased beyond what it is in the
+main portions of the austral provinces, thus favouring the growth of
+vegetation. There is also a lengthening of the morning and evening
+duration of twilight, and magnificent sunrises and sunsets are frequent.
+The mean summer temperature is in the neighbourhood of 70° F., but hot
+spells, lasting for days, and even weeks, are of common occurrence.
+During these trying and frequently unhealthy intervals the temperature
+in the shade reaches or even exceeds 100° F., and sunstrokes or
+prostrations by reason of the heat, particularly in the cities, are
+numerous. The four
+<!--218.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span>
+seasons of the year are better marked and have
+more pronounced characteristics in this division of the continent than
+in any other, and it is the region of greatest seasonal climatic changes
+as well as of marked weekly and even daily variations in weather
+conditions. The most delightful months to most people are May, when the
+returning migratory birds are nesting, the trees unfolding their many
+tinted leaves, and the air laden with the perfume of multitudes of
+blossoms, and October, when the rich colours of ripened leaves give to
+the forests a marvellous variety and brilliancy of colour and the
+tranquil, hazy atmosphere is undisturbed by storms for days and even
+weeks together. This annual period of tranquil weather, extending
+frequently far into November, is known as Indian summer.</p>
+
+<p>In the northern portion of the transition province the broad-leaved,
+deciduous trees of the central and eastern portions of the United States
+reach their northern limit, and become mingled with a southward
+extension of the conifers which form the major portion of the forest of
+Canada. A similar but less marked change occurs among the Pacific
+mountains, where the scattered growths of oaks, piñon pines, sycamores,
+etc., of the lower mountain slopes and stream sides mingle with the
+spruces and yellow and white pines of the more elevated region, where
+the climate is similar to that of central Canada. As remarked by
+Merriam, the province as a whole is characterized by comparatively few
+distinctive animals or plants, but rather by the occurrence together of
+southern species which there find their northern limit and northern
+species which there reach their southern limit. It embraces the northern
+portion of the truly agricultural lands of the continent. The plants of
+economic importance which there reach their highest stage of perfection
+are wheat, oats, and other cereals, the sugar-beet, numerous vegetables,
+the white potato, apples in great variety and abundance, cherries,
+plums, grapes, etc. It is the northern limit of corn, and includes
+nearly the entire area in which maple-sugar is produced. In the eastern
+portion of the province several varieties of native nuts, such as the
+beechnut, butternut, chestnut, hazelnut, hickory-nut, walnut,
+<!--219.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span>
+etc., grow wild and in great abundance; but nut-bearing hardwood trees
+are also a characteristic feature of the forests of the humid portion of
+the austral provinces.</p>
+
+<p>In the western division of the province a humid area&mdash;embracing western
+Washington and Oregon, part of northern California, including the Coast
+Range of the same States&mdash;presents a marked contrast to the more widely
+extended and excessively irregular arid portion which surrounds the
+higher mountains and is for the most part remote from the ocean. Both
+the humid and arid divisions of the western part of the province are
+alike favourable for agriculture, as is shown by the vast and highly
+productive wheat-fields of the semihumid eastern portion of the States
+just named and the productive hop lands, orchards, and vineyards of
+their humid western portions.</p>
+
+<p>The climate of a great land area not only finds expression in its fauna
+and flora, but in the industries and the intellectual development of its
+people. While it is difficult to translate man's physical and
+intellectual development into terms of climate, it is evident that the
+transition province favours both bodily and mental activity more than
+any of the other climatic provinces into which North America is here
+divided. Although the boundary between the upper austral and the
+transition provinces is indefinite, it is easily to be seen, from the
+geographical distribution of cities, agricultural population,
+manufactories, colleges, and other institutions of learning, etc., that
+the climate of the province under review is on the whole the one in
+which the greatest intellectual advance has been made and the one which
+holds out the greatest promise for the future.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Boreal Province</i> (Plate III).&mdash;This climatic division of North
+America extends in a broad belt diagonally across the continent from the
+eastern portion of Labrador nearly to the shore of Bering Sea, and is
+represented by detached areas in both the Atlantic and Pacific mountains
+far beyond its general southern limit. Its northern border, in the
+Continental basin, is marked by the cessation of forests, and on the
+mountains to the southward its upper limit coincides with the
+timber-line. Its leading climatic features
+<!--220.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span>
+are its low mean
+annual temperature&mdash;in general from 32° to 40° F.&mdash;its long, cold
+winters, and short, hot summers. The differences in mean annual
+precipitation in various parts of the province are less marked than in
+the several provinces previously noticed, but in the far north a cold
+arid division should be recognised. Although but few direct measures of
+precipitation are available for comparison, our general knowledge of the
+great boreal province and the character of its vegetation indicate that
+there is a decrease in precipitation from both the eastern and western
+borders of the continent towards the interior, and also from its central
+portion both northward and southward. The heaviest precipitation is on
+the Pacific coast, from California northward to southern Alaska, and the
+lightest precipitation is probably in the central Continental basin,
+near the northern limit of the province. Precipitation on the Pacific
+coast at low elevations is almost entirely in the form of rain, but on
+the mountains there is in winter deep snow which remains for a number of
+months unmelted. Throughout the portion of the province included in
+Canada and Alaska the snowfall is abundant, but heaviest towards the
+Atlantic coast. Along the northern margin of the province, as indicated
+by observations at a small number of stations, not only is the mean
+annual precipitation light, probably under 20 inches, but the winter
+snow is not deep, although it remains on the ground continuously for
+five or six months. In the main or northern portion of the boreal
+province, owing to the comparatively high latitude, the variation in the
+number of hours of light and darkness each day during a year becomes
+conspicuous. In summer the sun is above the horizon from eighteen to
+twenty-four hours each day, and in winter the hours of darkness are
+correspondingly increased. The year is divided into but two seasons,
+summer and winter, the distinctive features of spring and fall, so well
+marked in the upper austral and transition provinces, disappearing. On
+account of the low mean annual temperature, and especially because of
+the shortness of the growing season, agriculture is of small importance.
+Along its southern border, more especially in southeastern Canada and
+Newfoundland,
+<!--221.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span>
+such small fruits as currants, huckleberries,
+raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc., grow wild and yield
+abundant returns when cultivated. In favoured localities white potatoes,
+turnips, beets, and certain varieties of the apple, as well as the more
+hardy cereals, are cultivated with moderate success.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Arctic Province</i> (Plate III) comprises the cold, treeless plains
+sloping to the Arctic Ocean and the summits of the higher mountains at
+the south which rise above the transition province. The one controlling
+climatic feature is the low temperature, the mean for each year being
+32° F. or lower. The winters are longer and more severe than in the
+boreal province, and the summers short and hot. Insolation, on account
+of the length of the days in summer of the main area of the province and
+the free exposure on the mountain summits to the southward, is intense,
+but its beneficial effect on vegetation is largely counterbalanced by
+the influence of the lingering snow and ice. In the mountainous regions
+of North America the arctic province is the birthplace of numerous
+glaciers. Although destitute of trees, the arctic, or arctic-alpine
+province, as it may be termed, is rendered glorious in numberless
+localities by the profusion and brilliancy of its flowering annuals.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">SECONDARY DISTURBANCES OF THE ATMOSPHERE</div>
+
+<p>In the broad, general movements of the atmosphere over North America
+embraced in what are termed the planetary and continental winds there
+are many disturbances due to more or less local changes in conditions,
+the most conspicuous of which are whirlwinds, chinook winds,
+thunder-storms, tornadoes, cyclones, and hurricanes. While some of these
+disturbances are local, as the whirlwind and tornadoes, and may not
+extend beyond the boundaries of the particular climatic provinces where
+they originate, others, as the cyclones and hurricanes, may affect the
+climate of several provinces.</p>
+
+<p><i>Whirlwind.</i>&mdash;A conspicuous, although minor feature in the atmospheric
+phenomena of the hot, dry plains and
+<!--222.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span>
+valleys, especially of the
+Mexican plateau and the Great Basin, and less markedly of the Great
+plateau to the east of the Rocky Mountains, is the occurrence of small
+whirlwinds which carry dust and light objects into the air in spiral
+columns that are not infrequently 2,000 or 3,000 feet high, and have a
+diameter of perhaps 50 to 100 feet. These small whirls of the air, in
+which some of the characteristic features of the intensely active
+tornadoes and widely destructive tropical hurricanes can be studied on a
+small scale, occur most commonly during hot summer afternoons, when from
+a commanding station half a dozen or more swaying columns may be seen
+moving in various directions over the parched valleys and sun-scorched
+plains. These columns not only move in various directions, showing that
+they are not due to the same immediate cause, but have different
+internal motions, some whirling from right to left, and others in the
+opposite direction.</p>
+
+<p>The generally accepted explanation of these small whirlwinds is that the
+air over the surface of the deserts, which are frequently almost bare of
+vegetation and perhaps white with saline incrustations, becomes locally
+highly heated, especially when there is little or no wind, and is forced
+upward by the inflow of the surrounding cooler and heavier air. The
+inflowing currents have different velocities, and on meeting the
+strongest one gives a rotary or spiral motion to the ascending column,
+which acts like a chimney in allowing the escape upward of the hot air
+from below. A central vertical line frequently seen in the dust columns
+shows that a core of comparatively still air is present, about which the
+dust-charged air rises in a spiral course. If the conditions just
+outlined should be greatly increased in magnitude some of the leading
+features of tornadoes and even of hurricanes would be produced. In
+short, all of the winds cited above, except the chinook, are concentric,
+swirling movements in ascending air, due primarily to a local increase
+in temperature at the lower portion of the atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p><i>Chinook Winds.</i>&mdash;On the Great plateaus adjacent to the Rocky Mountains,
+and in similar situations to the eastward
+<!--223.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span>
+of the Sierra Nevada
+and Cascade Mountains, warm, drying winds frequently occur, especially
+in winter, when they bring a balminess as of spring. The remarkable
+feature of these interesting winds is that they come from the snow-clad
+mountains, but are warm and dry in contrast with the preceding condition
+of the air on the plains. The capacity of the air brought by these winds
+for moisture is so great that evaporation is active, and the snow in the
+valleys and over the broad plains disappears without visible melting.
+The change in the previously winter aspect of a region within the
+influence of these <i>chinook</i> winds, as they are termed, is truly
+surprising, and to their influence is due to a marked extent the value
+of the Great plateaus as stock-ranges, for the reason that the snow is
+removed from them so as to allow cattle to feed on the naturally dried
+grasses.</p>
+
+<p>The chinook winds are the counterpart of the <i>foehn</i> winds of
+Switzerland, and are explained on the principle that descending air is
+made more dense by the increased pressure to which it is subjected, and
+its temperature correspondingly raised, its capacity for moisture being
+at the same time increased on account of its rise in temperature. The
+apparent anomaly of a warm, dry wind blowing from a snow-clad mountain
+range is no longer a mystery, if we consider that the air is drawn over
+the mountains towards a centre of low barometrical pressure owing to the
+wide-reaching influence of a cyclonic storm or other large atmospheric
+movement. The air as it rises in order to cross a mountain is cooled,
+largely on account of relief of pressure, and parts with a portion,
+possibly a large portion, of its moisture, which condenses on the
+mountain commonly as snow; on passing the mountain the air descends and
+is warmed by compression, and having less moisture than before, becomes
+a drying wind, which produces the sudden and surprising changes on the
+plains and valleys to the leeward.</p>
+
+<p>The chinook winds of the western portion of Canada and the United States
+occur principally to the eastward of high mountains, for the reason that
+the prevailing air-currents of that region are from the west.
+<!--224.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>Thunder-Storms.</i>&mdash;In the eastern portion of the United States and
+adjacent parts of Canada during the summer season the heating of the
+lower portion of the atmosphere, especially on still, sultry afternoons,
+causes ascending currents of warm, moist air, which become cooled as
+they rise, and give origin to vast masses of cumulus clouds. These
+magnificent "thunder-heads," as they are sometimes termed, illuminated
+by the full sunlight are most magnificent, and usually herald the coming
+of heavy showers, accompanied by frequently destructive lightning and
+heavy thunder. The bases of the clouds when seen from a distance are
+usually horizontal and may have curtain-like festoons beneath, due to
+falling rain; while aloft the white vapour boils upward in fleece-like
+masses, revealing a strong convectional ascent of moist air. The
+immediate cause of a thunder-storm is the rapid ascent of a column of
+warm moist air, which becomes cooled as it rises and the moisture
+contained in it condensed. The cause of the ascent of the air column, at
+least over plains and plateaus, is the heating of the air in contact
+with the earth. A layer of warm, and consequently light, air beneath a
+layer of cooler and heavier air furnishes unstable conditions which
+favour an overturning and an escape upward of the lighter air, which is
+forced to ascend much as the hot air in a chimney is made to flow upward
+by the pressure of cooler and heavier air around. The conditions
+preceding a thunder-storm are a stagnant atmosphere over a broad region
+where the lower layer of hot air is also charged with moisture. These
+conditions are frequently fulfilled on the plains of the Atlantic slope
+and southeastern portion of the continental basin in summer when warm
+moist air is drawn in from the Gulf region towards the centre of an area
+of low atmospheric pressure, and thunder-storms are there a
+characteristic feature. The storms usually advance northeastward, the
+direction being determined by the flow of upper air-currents, and move
+over the country with a breadth of from 10 to perhaps 100 miles, and
+send down copious supplies of refreshing rain.</p>
+
+<p>Over the Great plateaus the air near the earth's surface
+<!--225.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span>
+is
+highly heated during the summer season, but it is deficient in moisture,
+and thunder-storms are rare, except for a brief period in late summer or
+fall when the normal conditions are disturbed.</p>
+
+<p>Thunder-storms are almost unknown in the great Canadian-Alaska province
+and along the cool and humid northwest coast. They are also of rare
+occurrence in the hot and dry atmosphere of the Great Basin and Mexican
+plateau, but when they do come are of marked intensity, and pass under
+the name of "cloudbursts." At the far south, in the region brought under
+the influence of the equatorial belt of calm, thunder-storms are
+frequent and of great intensity.</p>
+
+<p>An upward ascent of warm moist air, in much the same manner as described
+above, occurs about isolated mountains, particularly in the southern
+portion of the Rocky Mountain chain, and summer thunder-storms are there
+of frequent occurrence, especially in the afternoon, about the higher
+mountain-peaks, while the adjacent valleys are flooded with sunlight.
+Reference to this most striking phenomenon has already been made in
+describing the Park Mountain.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tornadoes.</i>&mdash;The fierce circular whirls in the air producing pendent,
+spirally twisting clouds, which when they touch the earth are of such
+intensity as to sweep away houses, trees, and nearly everything in their
+paths, are known to meteorologists as tornadoes, although popularly, but
+erroneously, termed cyclones. Storms of this character are of frequent
+occurrence in the United States to the east of the Great plateau, and
+are most numerous in the Mississippi Valley. Their path of destruction
+is seldom over half a mile wide, and as a rule they progress towards the
+northeast, in obedience to the movement of the upper air-currents, at a
+rate of from 20 to 40 miles an hour, and may cut a swath from a few
+miles to 20 or more miles long through forests, farms, villages, and
+towns. They occur usually in the afternoon, and sometimes in the earlier
+hours of the night, of warm, sultry days, especially in spring and early
+summer, but are not strictly confined to that portion
+<!--226.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span>
+of the
+year. The conditions which precede the coming of a tornado are, in
+general, the same as those in advance of a thunder-storm&mdash;that is, an
+indraft of hot, moist air beneath a cooler layer, thus establishing
+unstable conditions. An upward draft is started, the intensity of which
+becomes so great that the inflowing winds are given a rapid spiral
+motion about a calm centre. The tornado may be considered as a fully
+developed or exceptionally energetic thunder-storm, in which a spiral
+movement is established as in desert whirlwinds. The conditions for the
+origin of this class of dreaded and locally most destructive storms are
+best fulfilled in the central portion of the Mississippi basin, where
+they are somewhat frequent. They occur less commonly over the country to
+the eastward, and are unknown in the more northern and western climatic
+provinces, and, so far as the writer is aware, they have not been
+reported from the region to the north of the United States.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cyclones.</i>&mdash;This name is applied to the great atmospheric disturbances
+marked by an inflowing of air towards a centre of low barometric
+pressure from adjacent regions, commonly several hundred miles across,
+and an escape and overflow aloft. As in whirlwinds and tornadoes, there
+is a spiral movement established in the inflowing currents, but owing to
+the large size of the area of low pressure, this seldom reaches
+destructive violence. Cyclonic storms are of common occurrence,
+especially in the temperate zone, and bring to that region its
+characteristic diversity of weather. Most of the rain and snow-storms of
+the continent are due to the vast swirls of the atmosphere about areas
+of low atmospheric pressure, which cause air-currents from different
+directions and with different components of heat and moisture to move
+over the land.</p>
+
+<p>The cyclonic storm of the Mississippi Valley, the Atlantic coast States,
+and southeastern Canada frequently originate in the Great plateau
+province, and are carried towards the Atlantic owing to the influence of
+the eastward-blowing winds of the upper atmosphere. At times these
+storms are of such magnitude and intensity that they cross the Atlantic
+and are observed in England and Scandinavia.
+<!--227.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span>
+The courses they
+follow may be traced from day to day on the weather-maps issued by the
+United States Weather Bureau, and from the directions they are likely to
+follow and the atmospheric conditions pertaining to their various parts
+predictions of surprising accuracy as to the changes which the weather
+in a given locality will experience can be made one or two days before
+the changes occur.</p>
+
+<p><i>Hurricanes.</i>&mdash;Cyclonic storms of the general nature of the tornadoes,
+but of vastly greater extent and intensity, originate occasionally
+during the latter portion of the summer season over the tropical portion
+of the north Atlantic, move slowly westward to the vicinity of the
+Lesser Antilles, where normally their courses bend northward, and then
+skirt the Atlantic coast of the United States and drift eastward under
+the influence of the eastward-flowing upper air-currents, and not
+infrequently make their influence felt in the western portion of Europe.
+Occasionally, on account of the presence of an area of high barometric
+pressure to the north of Cuba, the course of one of these tropical
+hurricanes, as they are termed, is rendered irregular, and it passes
+over the Atlantic States or is deflected still more and crosses the Gulf
+of Mexico before reaching the border of the continent, as was the case
+in September, 1900, when a large part of Galveston was destroyed. The
+normal paths of the tropical hurricanes as they approach the coast of
+the United States and the exceptional course of the one which passed
+over Galveston, are indicated on the map forming Fig. 26.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"><a name="Fig_26" id="Fig_26"></a>
+<img src="images/i226.jpg" width="700" height="605" alt="Fig. 26." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 26.</span>&mdash;Tracks of West Indian hurricanes. The circles
+on the tracks indicate the position of the storm centres at Greenwich
+mean noon on successive days. The date of the several storms is as
+follows:<br /></span></div>
+
+<div style="padding-left: 15%;">
+<div style="margin-left: 11em;">
+1. Aug. 27-Sept. 1, 1890.<br />
+2. Aug. 19-Aug. 25, 1890.<br />
+3. Aug. 19-Aug. 31, 1891.<br />
+4. Sept. 4-Sept. 9, 1891.<br />
+5. Sept. 16-Sept. 25, 1891.<br />
+6. Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 1891.<br />
+7. Aug. 17-Aug. 22, 1892.<br />
+8. Aug. 15-Aug. 22, 1893.<br />
+9. Aug. 23-Aug. 28, 1893.<br />
+10. Sept. 6-Sept. 9, 1894.<br />
+11. Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 1894.<br />
+12. Oct. 5-Oct. 10, 1894.<br />
+13. Oct. 12-Oct. 18, 1894.<br />
+14. Oct. 24-Oct. 27, 1894.<br />
+15. Oct. 18-Oct. 25, 1895.<br />
+16. Sept. 5-Sept. 10, 1896.<br />
+17. Sept. 9-Sept. 25, 1896.<br />
+18. Sept. 26-Sept. 29, 1896.<br />
+19. Oct. 9-Oct. 14, 1896.<br />
+20. Oct. 23-Oct. 26, 1897.<br />
+21. Oct. 20-Oct. 23, 1897.<br />
+22. Sept. 11-Sept. 20, 1898.<br />
+23. Aug. 3-Aug. 25, 1899.<br />
+24. Aug. 30-Sept. 7, 1899.<br />
+25. Sept. 8-Sept. 14, 1899.<br />
+26. Sept. 1-Sept. 11, 1900.
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The analogy of a tropical hurricane to a tornado has already been
+referred to, but while a tornado may lay waste a tract of country
+perhaps half a mile wide, and in exceptional cases 20 to 30 miles in
+length, a hurricane is from 200 to 300 miles in diameter, and may
+continue to be destructive, on account of the rapid inflow of air from
+the periphery towards the centre, for 2,000 or 3,000 miles. The velocity
+of the spirally blowing winds which are the characteristic feature of
+these great storms is frequently 100 miles or more per hour. In spite of
+their magnitude, however, the conditions leading to their origin and
+growth
+<!--228.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span>
+are essentially the same as in the case of tornadoes, and
+even of the much smaller whirlwinds. They have their birth where the
+moist, still air above the ocean in the region of the doldrums at the
+season when the equatorial belt of calms is farthest north, becomes
+highly heated and rises on account of the pressing in of cooler and
+heavier air from adjacent regions. The ascending column is at first
+carried
+<!--229.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span>
+slowly westward, in obedience to the general flow of the
+atmosphere in the intertropical belt, and at the same time the currents
+coming in from opposite directions give the ascending air a rotary
+motion. As the currents from the northeast are stronger than those from
+other directions, this whirling motion is from right to left, or
+opposite to the movement of the hands of a watch. The whirling air
+column extends into the upper atmosphere, and as it moves along past the
+West Indies becomes influenced by the prevalent flow of the upper
+air-currents, and is carried northwestward, and later eastward in a path
+which approximates to a parabolic curve. The inward-rushing spiral winds
+leave a calm centre, the "eye of the storm," which corresponds to the
+hollow core of a whirlwind and the calm centre sometimes noted in
+tornadoes. The upward ascent of warm, humid air is accompanied by a
+decrease of pressure and consequent expansion and cooling which leads to
+rapid condensation and a heavy downpour of rain; the change of the
+moisture from a vaporous to a liquid form liberates heat, which serves
+to perpetuate the upward flow of air, and thus prolongs the life of the
+storm. During the passage of the central area of low barometric pressure
+over a given locality the clouds frequently part and portions of the
+clear sky may be seen. Accompanying the rain are frequent lightning
+flashes, as during ordinary thunder-storms.</p>
+
+<p>The tropical hurricanes are the most violent and most dreaded of all the
+storms that sweep over any portion of our continent, but fortunately for
+dwellers on the land, are confined for the most part to the sea, since
+the atmospheric conditions over the land lead to their loss of energy,
+although in rare instances they may be re-enforced by uniting with a
+cyclonic storm, as happened in the case of the Galveston hurricane, and
+thus continued after reaching the land. The destructiveness of the
+hurricanes at sea has been greatly lessened in recent years, not only on
+account of the general use of steam as a motive power for vessels
+instead of the wind, but because meteorologists can designate the time
+when they are likely to occur and the best method of sailing
+<!--230.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span>
+away
+from them if encountered. Since the establishment of the United States
+stations for observing and reporting the atmospheric conditions on the
+West India islands, the approach of a hurricane can be foretold and
+warning given to navigators and others of the coming danger.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">EVAPORATION</div>
+
+<p>An important element in climate is the amount of moisture the air
+contains. The absolute amount of water vapour in a given volume of air
+is of interest in this connection, but what is of still greater
+importance is the ratio of the amount of water vapour present to that
+which the air might contain, or what is termed the <i>relative humidity</i>.
+The relative humidity, providing the actual amount of vapour present
+remains unchanged, depends upon the temperature of the atmosphere. For
+this reason, the warming of an air-current, as the trade-winds, for
+example, in which the water vapour present may, previous to the warming,
+have approached saturation, causes it to have a still greater capacity,
+and hence decreases the relative humidity.</p>
+
+<p>The winds in passing over the land may be either cooled or warmed, and
+hence their influence on evaporation is continually changing; but the
+mean rate of evaporation from an open water body can be determined for a
+definite time, say a year, for various localities, and thus afford a
+means of comparison between one region and another. Observation of the
+mean annual evaporation for various stations, mostly within the United
+States, have been made, and the result shown by lines drawn through
+places where the rate is the same. A map showing this data, on which the
+figures indicate the depth of evaporation in inches, is here presented.
+The systematic study of evaporation, and especially the part played in
+it by plants, has scarcely more than been begun on this continent, and
+important results concerning its influence on atmospheric conditions are
+to be expected. The subject is also of great importance in reference to
+agriculture, the prevention of frost, etc.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"><a name="Fig_27" id="Fig_27"></a>
+<img src="images/i229.jpg" width="700" height="412" alt="Fig. 27." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 27.</span>&mdash;Depth of evaporation. After T. Russell.</span>
+</div><p>
+<!--232.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<p>The great storehouse of information pertaining to the weather and
+climate of the United States is the numerous publications of the United
+States Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Similar bureaus exist at the
+capitals of Canada and Mexico, which have issued valuable reports.</p>
+
+<p>Of the many elementary and popular books on meteorology, the following
+will be found helpful in continuing the study of the subjects outlined
+in this chapter:</p>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Davis, W. M.</span> <i>Whirlwinds, Cyclones, and Tornadoes</i>, Lee &amp; Shepard,
+Boston, 1884; <i>Elementary Meteorology</i>, Ginn &amp; Co., Boston,
+1894.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Ferril, W.</span> <i>A Popular Treatise on the Winds.</i> Wiley &amp; Sons, New
+York, 1889.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Greely, A. W.</span> <i>American Weather.</i> Dodd, Mead &amp; Co., New York,
+1888.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maryland Weather Service</i>, vol. i, Baltimore, 1899. Contains a
+valuable bibliography.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Russell, T.</span> <i>Meteorology.</i> Macmillan &amp; Co., New York, 1895.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Shaler, N. S.</span> <i>Aspects of the Earth.</i> Scribner's Sons, New York,
+1889.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Waldo, F.</span> <i>Modern Meteorology</i>, Scribner's Sons, New York, 1893;
+<i>Elementary Meteorology</i>, American Book Company, New York, 1896.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--233.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">PLANT LIFE</div>
+
+
+<p>If we take the trees as representatives of the flora of North America,
+and this seems to be the only practicable method in a general treatise,
+we find them growing most densely and presenting at the same time the
+greatest variety where the temperature is uniformly high throughout the
+year and the rainfall heavy and long-continued. From the torrid lowlands
+the forests in general decrease in the variety and number of trees on a
+given area, both towards the north, where temperature becomes the
+controlling factor, and towards regions of small rainfall, where the
+leading adverse condition is deficiency of moisture. In the most highly
+favoured localities the struggle for existence between species and
+species and individual with individual is intense, exposure to the
+life-giving sunlight being the dominant aim of every one of the
+contending hosts. As drier or colder regions are approached, but few
+species can survive and the forests are characterized by their monotony.
+Where the conditions of heat and moisture are such that the existence of
+a species is precarious, the balance of power, so to speak, passes to
+the secondary conditions; and the texture and composition of the soil,
+slight differences in the relief of the land, and consequently in
+drainage or in the degree of exposure to light, prevalence of fires,
+etc., make themselves prominent and limit distribution.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Fig_28" id="Fig_28"></a>
+<img src="images/i232.jpg" width="550" height="700" alt="Fig. 28." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 28.</span>&mdash;Map showing the distribution of forests in
+North America.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>From a geographical point of view, the broadest features in the flora of
+North America are the forested and unforested areas. The distribution of
+the forests, prairies, and treeless plains as they existed previous to
+the coming of Europeans is shown on the accompanying map. For the
+portion of the continent to the northward of Mexico
+<!--235.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span>
+the data on
+which this map is based are much more abundant than for the southern
+portion.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE FORESTS</div>
+
+<p>As is indicated on the map just referred to, the forests of North
+America in a general way form a broad belt, for the most part within the
+influence of winds from the ocean, which surrounds a large area of
+treeless plains and plateaus in the west-central portion of the interior
+continental basin, but is broken and rendered irregular in its
+southwestern part of the treeless valley of the Great Basin region. The
+irregular circular belt of tree-covered land is closed at the south by
+the forest on the lowlands of Mexico and Central America. This vast
+forest belt, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Panama
+to northern Canada, presents great variations even in its larger
+features, and, for convenience, and also with the aim of expressing in a
+rough way natural relationships, needs to be subdivided for purpose of
+study. The basis for such a subdivision has already been suggested, as
+the forests, like all other divisions of the life of the continent, are
+an expression of climatic conditions&mdash;that is, the boundaries of the
+botanical and zoological provinces should agree with those of the
+climatic provinces.</p>
+
+<p>On this basis we have the tropical forest, which covers the more humid
+portions of the east and west margins as well as all of the southern
+portion of Mexico, together with nearly all of Central America and the
+West Indies, and includes the southern extremity of Florida. Within the
+tropical forest, however, there are high mountains on which trees with
+the general characteristic of those more northern floras find a
+congenial habitat. The two austral and the transition provinces are to a
+great extent clothed with diversified forests, which are naturally
+divided into two portions: an eastern division, embracing the Atlantic
+and Gulf border of the United States, together with the eastern part of
+the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes region; and a western
+division, in which is included the lands bordering the
+<!--236.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span>
+Pacific
+from near Mount St. Elias southward to the vicinity of San Francisco,
+and also several irregular branches or detached island-like areas on the
+Pacific mountains, in the United States and Mexico. The former of these
+divisions may, in a general way, be termed the Atlantic, and the latter
+the Pacific forest. Separating them is the treeless west-central portion
+of the Continental basin. Both the Atlantic and Pacific forests merge at
+the north with the boreal forest, which extends diagonally across the
+continent from Newfoundland to Alaska. Peninsula-like and island-like
+areas occupied by the boreal forest occur in the sea-like expanse of the
+transition and austral provinces, on both the Atlantic and Pacific
+mountains.</p>
+
+<p>The tropical and boreal forests have their greatest extension from east
+to west or with the parallels of latitude, and are remarkable for their
+uniformity in general characteristics, the reason being that climatic
+conditions, and especially the temperature in summer, change less
+rapidly along east and west than along north and south lines. The
+Atlantic and Pacific forests, on the other hand, have their greatest
+extension across the parallels of latitude, and hence experience marked
+changes from locality to locality in both temperature and precipitation,
+and are characterized by conspicuous changes from one locality to
+another in the genera and species of trees of which they are composed.
+In each of the areas occupied by the major divisions of the encircling
+continental forest belt there are marked variations in elevation, which
+are accompanied by corresponding climatic changes, and hence by
+modifications in the forest growths. Of all portions of the continental
+forest belt, variation in elevation is least marked in the forests of
+Canada, and for this reason, in part, we there find the most uniform and
+most monotonous of all the forests of the continent. The influence of
+elevation, however, on climate and on both plant and animal life is
+greater for a given measure, as for 1,000 feet, in the torrid than in
+the cool or cold zone, for the reason that the possible range in
+climatic conditions is much greater at the south than at the north.</p>
+<!--237.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>The Tropical Forest.</i>&mdash;There are great areas in southern Mexico which
+are clothed with a typical tropical forest; while other similar forests
+cover nearly all of the lower portions of Central America, the larger or
+more rugged West India islands, and the southern extremity of Florida.
+Throughout this vast region, within the influence of the trade-winds and
+of the equatorial rains, the forests are luxuriant and beautiful, except
+on lowlands not adjacent to the windward side of mountains. The
+characteristic trees of the hot, humid lowlands extend up the mountain
+to an elevation of some 4,000 or 5,000 feet, where a change to the
+aspects familiar in the lowlands of the temperate zone begins, and palms
+give place to oaks and pines.</p>
+
+<p>Of the many features of the tropical forests which impress a traveller
+from colder regions, none excite greater wonder than the large number of
+vegetable species growing in close proximity. It has been said, and
+apparently the statement cannot be successfully challenged, that a
+greater variety of plants may be collected on 100 square yards of
+surface in the humid, tropical lowlands than can be found on 100 square
+miles in the forest of central Canada. It is probably safe to extend
+this striking contrast by saying that of the trees on a typical area in
+the tropical forest of the size mentioned, there are in many localities
+more species than in the whole of the subarctic forest.</p>
+
+<p>Among the characteristics of tropical forests is the presence of many
+kinds of plants on a limited area, hundreds of species struggling upward
+to the light where there seems room but for one; the variety of mosses
+and lichens; the profusion of flowering parasites; the luxuriance of the
+vines, many of which are armed with spines; and the abundance of the
+remarkable aerial roots termed <i>lianas</i>. Of the last there is a great
+variety, some of them of large size and surprising length; they
+frequently descend from plants entwined among the topmost branches of
+great trees, looking not unlike the cordage of a forest of masts in some
+crowded port, and on reaching the ground send out rootlets in the humid
+soil.</p>
+
+<p>In the depths of a tropical forest it is always twilight.
+<!--238.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span>
+Even at
+noontide no shafts of yellow sunlight reach the ground to glorify mossy
+banks and flower-gemmed dells, as in the open woods of temperate climes,
+but a diffused greenish light, producing weird effects, alone penetrates
+the dense leafy canopy far overhead. The roots of even the larger trees
+in these hot, humid forests do not have to descend deeply in order to
+find the necessary moisture or to receive protection from frost and
+sudden changes of temperature, but are usually widely expanded and
+thickly interwoven over the surface. The earth from which the dense
+vegetation derives nourishment is surprisingly deficient in vegetable
+mould, which is a characteristic feature in the moist forests of
+temperate and even subarctic regions, where the complete decay of dead
+vegetation is long delayed. In the tropical forests the annual supply of
+dead vegetable matter suitable to be transformed into humus is far
+greater than on a corresponding area in the woods of more northern
+regions, but decay is so rapid, owing to the uniformly high temperature
+and the conditions favouring the multiplication of bacteria, that even
+great trees on falling quickly disappear; in many instances, the forms
+of prostrate tree trunks are preserved and overgrown with luxuriant
+mosses or gorgeously festooned with ferns and orchids, but soon become
+fragile shells from which nearly all the woody tissues have been removed
+by decay or by swarming colonies of insects. Where life is so exuberant
+and the wants of growing plants so great it seems as if the food supply
+was insufficient, and that none could be spared to accumulate on the
+ground and form a soil.</p>
+
+<p>The two most characteristic and distinctive classes of plants in the
+tropical forests are the palms and the ferns, each of which is
+represented by many genera, a large number of species, and multitudes of
+individuals, and in each class there is a gradation in size from low
+herbaceous growths to arboreal forms.</p>
+
+<p>In every way worthy of first mention among the plants of the Caribbean
+forests are the palms. A characteristic portion of the forest referred
+to occurs in Cuba, where, as is stated by R. T. Hill in his recently
+published and attractive
+<!--239.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span>
+book descriptive of the West Indies,
+there are some 26 species of palms, which give variety and beauty to the
+scenery of the "Pearl of the Antilles," as well as shade and food to its
+inhabitants. At the head of these for height and grace of form stands
+the royal palm, which might well be chosen for the emblem of the fair
+island it adorns. The wide-spreading crown of glossy pinnate leaves of
+this species is borne on a spindle-shaped stem of tough fibrous wood&mdash;so
+strong and pliant that it defies even the hurricane&mdash;in many instances
+150 feet above the ground. The tree is a marvel of beauty and
+elasticity, and, fortunately for Cuba, is one of the most abundant of
+the larger trees on the island. It is met with almost everywhere; in the
+centre of broad pasture-lands it often stands alone, tall and straight,
+while bordering the cultivated fields of the rich planter it forms a
+shady avenue to his dwelling. This well-named <i>royal palm</i> has also been
+called the <i>blessed tree</i>, for every part of it has its usefulness to
+mankind. Certain medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots; the
+outer portion of its trunk is easily split into boards for use in making
+houses and furniture for the poorer people; in the centre of the cluster
+of young leaves at the summit is a tender substance which is eaten raw,
+or cooked as a vegetable, or preserved with sugar as a table delicacy.
+The broadened leaf-stalks where they leave the main stem form a
+sheath-like expansion resembling a thin board, often four to six feet
+long, which is made to serve a variety of purposes, such as plates, and
+when soaked in water becomes pliable and may be fashioned into baskets
+and dishes for cooking, and at the same time furnishes salt for the
+seasoning of the boiling vegetables or meat.</p>
+
+<p>The world-encircling cocoanut-palm is found about the shore of tropical
+North America, and there, as elsewhere, serves a great variety of uses,
+being a greater blessing, especially to the natives and the poorer
+descendants of European and African immigrants, than even the royal
+palm. The economic importance of its wood-fibres, leaves, and fruit are
+too well known to require re-enumeration.</p>
+
+<p>While the wealth of palms is confined to the hot, moist
+<!--240.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span>
+regions
+of Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, several members of the
+same great family are found in the United States. The royal palm is
+native to southern Florida, while the low fan-palms cover much of the
+northern portion of the same State, and occur even about the Ozark Hills
+in Arkansas, and the palmetto, growing to be a stately tree, is found
+near the coast in the Carolinas and is the emblem of South Carolina, the
+"Palmetto State."</p>
+
+<p>The ferns, although abundant, especially in moist woods from Alaska
+southward, throughout the continent, reach their greatest variety and
+richest luxuriance in the West Indies and Central America, where the
+graceful and most artistically beautiful tree-ferns add an indescribable
+charm to the always varied foliage. The tree-ferns grow farther up the
+mountains of the torrid zone than do the larger palms (in the same
+manner that the smaller ferns extend much farther north than the most
+hardy palmettoes), and form a conspicuous feature in the foreground of
+nearly every wide-reaching prospect in the more elevated portions of the
+West Indies, Central America, and south-central Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the palms and ferns, the tropical forests of North
+America contain a large number of trees of great economic importance.
+Chief among these are the mahogany, which is native to the lands
+bordering the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and reaches the largest
+size and produces the most beautiful and most highly prized wood on
+Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. As is well known, this hard,
+dark, heavy, fine-grained, and exceedingly durable wood has been used
+for the best grades of cabinet-work for about two centuries, and is
+still unsurpassed for the beauty of its grain, susceptibility of a high
+polish, and the several ways in which it is adapted for the carver's
+tool. On account of the great and long-continued demand for its wood it
+has become scarce in all but the most inaccessible localities. When
+allowed to reach full maturity it is a large, wide-spreading tree with
+numerous branches, looking not unlike a giant oak, but has pinnate
+leaves and small, although somewhat conspicuous, white flowers.
+<!--241.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Another gift of the tropical forest is the lignum-vitæ, which furnishes
+the exceedingly tough, hard, resinous wood preferred above all others
+for the making of pulleys, mallets, etc. Many other highly prized woods,
+not known, however, by familiar names, are also found in the varied
+forests of tropical America, as well as numerous vegetable dyes, such as
+logwood, brazil-wood, indigo, etc.</p>
+
+<p>The lands of the Caribbean-Gulf region are credited with having
+introduced to civilized man the potato, Indian corn (maize), and
+tobacco, although the home of the former is probably in the Andean
+portion of South America. Indian corn grows luxuriantly not only in the
+hot lowlands of Mexico, but on the border of the central table-land of
+that republic, where it is supposed to be indigenous, and has now become
+one of the leading crops of temperate North America, and is cultivated
+in many other portions of the world. Tobacco was found under cultivation
+in Mexico at the time of the first coming of Europeans, and retains for
+its familiar name the appellation of the district where it was first
+seen. From Mexico also come the dahlia and the giant sunflower, as well
+as the various species of aloes and cacti now so common in gardens and
+conservatories the world over.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the plants, excepting Indian corn and the potato, which are
+native to the region under review, none has proved such an unalloyed
+blessing to civilized man as the cacao-tree. As this tree is unfamiliar
+to most residents of temperate lands, it may not be unprofitable to
+transcribe in part a description of it from Rhind's Vegetable Kingdom.
+The tree is very handsome, from 12 to 16 feet high, with an upright
+trunk some 5 feet high; the leaves are lanceolate, with entire margins,
+and of a bright-green colour; the flowers are inconspicuous, reddish,
+with yellowish sepals; the fruit, attached by short stems to both trunk
+and branches, has a yellowish and reddish colour, oblong, about 3 inches
+in length, and consists of a fleshy rind, half an inch thick, containing
+a white pulp in which are imbedded about 25 seeds. The seeds, when
+roasted, freed from their husks, and ground, furnish the chocolate so
+extensively
+<!--242.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span>
+used, especially in France and Spain and in the
+former Spanish colonies, and is increasing in favour among
+English-speaking people.</p>
+
+<p>Vanilla, which is used in flavouring chocolate as well as many other
+dishes, was also found in use among the Aztecs at the time of the
+Spanish conquest. The vanilla-plant is a climbing vine, with lanceolate
+leaves 18 inches or more in length, and produces a pod containing
+bean-like seeds. The pods and seeds when properly dried furnish the
+flavouring extract of commerce.</p>
+
+<p>Although the trees which yield rubber in America, as well as the
+cinchona, from the bark of which quinine is obtained, are justly to be
+accredited to South America, yet certain varieties of these useful
+plants occur in Central America and are under cultivation as far
+northward as central Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>A more detailed account of the plants of great utility in one direction
+or another native to the tropical forests, should include plantains,
+bananas, and yams, the wide distribution of which, largely by human
+agency, throughout the torrid zone is well known. The delicious
+pineapple is native to the Caribbean region, and was found in the
+markets of the Aztecs by the early Spanish invaders, although perhaps
+indigenous to other lands as well. In Mexico especially, but on the
+borders of the tropical forest and in the drier interior, grows the
+agave, from which the national beverage, <i>pulque</i>, is obtained, and
+another species of the same peculiarly American family of plants
+supplies great quantities of the tough fibre known as sisal or henequen
+hemp, particularly on the stony, arid portions of the peninsula of
+Yucatan. Of interest to children especially is the fact that Mexico
+exports some 3,000,000 pounds of chewing-gum each year, which is
+obtained from a plant there growing wild. To this list of indigenous
+products may be added ginger, arrowroot, etc., as well as many fruits
+scarcely known outside the tropics, such as the mango, alligator-pear,
+breadfruit, and numerous others. This hasty enumeration might be greatly
+extended or presented in more detail, but probably enough has been said
+<!--243.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span>
+to indicate the great and probably as yet but partially
+determined economic importance of the vegetable products of the torrid
+portion of North America.</p>
+
+<p>Associated with the tropical forest, but thriving best in an advanced
+skirmish-line about its drier inland borders, is a group of plants
+indigenous to the two Americas&mdash;the strangely shaped and spinous cacti.
+One of these, the prickly-pear, as it is termed on account of its
+pear-like edible fruit, is the emblem of Mexico. A fit legend to place
+about this unique heraldic design would be the motto inscribed on the
+rattlesnake flag of colonial days in America, "Don't tread on me," as
+every one will appreciate who has travelled in the southwestern portion
+of the United States or in the upland regions of Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>The cacti extend from South America northward through the lands
+bordering the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and east of the
+Mississippi are represented by a single genus, <i>Opuntia</i>&mdash;the
+prickly-pear, or Indian fig, as it is often termed&mdash;which grows in dry
+situations as far north as Massachusetts and Michigan. In the Great
+Basin several genera of cacti are plentiful, especially on dry, stony
+uplands, and two species reach as far northward as the Canadian
+boundary. Although the cacti tribe is widely distributed, the region
+where it presents the greatest variety and the largest individuals is in
+the dry, semi-desert portions of Arizona and the table-lands of central
+Mexico. It is most at home on sterile, rocky ridges and amid bare cliffs
+where there appears to be but little soil, but the strong roots strike
+deep into the earth in search of moisture. The cacti present great
+diversity of form and an indefinite differentiation of stem and leaf. In
+fact, there are no easily recognised leaves in the ordinary sense of the
+term, but the fluted and jointed stems perform the function of foliage.
+The plants are economical of moisture, and not only present a minimum of
+surface for evaporation or transpiration, but their epidermal tissues
+are for the most part without pores, thus retarding the escape of the
+moisture drawn from the seemingly dry soil.</p>
+
+<p>In size and shape the cacti present great variety, ranging
+<!--244.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span>
+through all gradations from the thick, strongly jointed, pad-like
+expansions of the prickly-pear, a few inches high, growing in widely
+extended clusters and massive globular forms, looking not unlike spiny
+melons, 2 or 3 feet or more in diameter, to jointed and fluted columns,
+bristling with sharp spines, the largest of which, known as the
+candelabrum cactus, attains a height of from 40 to 60 feet. In this the
+largest of all the cacti, which is not uncommon in Arizona and adjacent
+portions of Mexico, the central upright stem, frequently 20 inches or
+more in diameter, sends out from 1 to perhaps 7 or 8 club-shaped
+branches, which leave the parent stem nearly at right angles, but soon
+bend upward and become parallel with the central stalk, which they
+frequently surpass in height, their form thus suggesting a branching
+candlestick or candelabrum.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of the bizarre and frequently repellent appearance of the cacti
+as seen under cultivation, in their barren homes they are in harmony
+with their surroundings, and add a characteristic, and even beautiful
+element to the scenery of the parched and generally desolate valleys and
+rocky slopes where they thrive best. Their blossoms are large, usually
+either white or brilliantly coloured, and expand in the hot, dry air,
+fully exposed to the intense sunlight, and present a freshness and
+vigour which tell of the abundant store of moisture within the thick
+rind inclosing their stems. The showy flowers are borne close to the
+body of the plant or at the ends or edges of the inflated pad-like
+leaves, and are scentless, except in the case of a few night-blooming
+species, and attract insects from afar by reason of the conspicuousness
+of their widely expanded corollas. The fruits also are usually
+conspicuous, and present many rich tints of red and yellow, which at a
+little distance give them the appearance of flowers. The fruit of
+several species are edible, and even delicious, especially when gathered
+fresh from the thorny stems and eaten on the desert, perhaps many miles
+from the nearest spring or stream. One species of cactus growing
+abundantly in Mexico and known as the cochineal-fig, is inhabited by the
+cochineal-insect, from which the highly prized dye of that name is
+obtained.
+<!--245.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A companion of the cacti in the arid region where they flourish best is
+the yucca, or Spanish bayonet, which sometimes attains the size of small
+trees and throws out several branches. Its leaves are stiff,
+thick-stemmed, and each one terminated by a sharp spine, as is well
+known from the many examples to be seen under cultivation in Europe and
+America. The flowers are white and borne in luxuriant showy spikes a
+foot or two in length, and sometimes give to dry, rocky slopes the
+appearance of a luxuriant garden.</p>
+
+<p>The cacti, yuccas, and associated plants of the most arid portions of
+the continent stand far apart, without mutual support or shelter, and
+find protection in their spines, thick rinds, and frequently acrid
+juices. Their colours are usually neutral, grayish green, rendered still
+more inconspicuous by the dust that settles on them, but their flowers
+are as a rule conspicuous, thus serving to attract pollen-bearing
+insects, and their fruits are in many instances brightly coloured, and
+furnish food for birds and other animals, which assist in the
+distribution of their seeds.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Atlantic Forest.</i>&mdash;The originally forest-covered eastern portion of
+North America, referred to under the term Atlantic forest, embraces the
+region from the eastern coast of the continent inland across the
+Appalachian Mountains and interior Continental basin to the eastern
+border of the prairies or plains; its southern limit, in a general way,
+is the coast-line of the Gulf of Mexico, but the arbitrary boundary,
+dividing it from the tropical forest, crosses the southern portion of
+Florida, and at the extreme southwest is drawn at the Rio Grande. The
+northern boundary of the Atlantic forest is also an arbitrary line, and
+follows the fiftieth parallel of latitude from the mouth of the St.
+Lawrence westward to the region about the Lake of the Woods; along this
+boundary the varied Atlantic forest merges with the monotonous and
+mostly coniferous subarctic forest. The region thus roughly outlined
+comprises over 2,000,000 square miles, and was at the time of the first
+coming of white men to America almost completely forest-covered, but the
+natural conditions are now profoundly modified, and to a great extent
+the trees have been
+<!--246.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span>
+cut or burned, and the land they shaded
+converted into cultivated fields.</p>
+
+<p>The Atlantic forest as a whole has two leading characteristics, the
+first being the great variety and frequently large size of the deciduous
+trees&mdash;that is, of broad-leaved trees, such as the oak, hickory, elm,
+maple, chestnut, etc., which drop their ripe leaves each fall and renew
+them the following spring&mdash;and the second, the intermingling of the
+trees of the class just mentioned with the coniferous trees, such as the
+pine, spruce, tamarack, etc., which have narrow, needle-shaped leaves
+and are usually designated as evergreens. While these general statements
+are sufficiently accurate for our present purpose, it is to be
+remembered that some of the broad-leaved trees (<i>Angiosperms</i>) are
+evergreen, especially in the southern portion of the Atlantic forest,
+as, for example, some of the oaks, the magnolias, the holly, etc.; while
+at the north, certain of the conifers (<i>Gymnosperms</i>) shed their leaves
+each fall, as is conspicuously illustrated by the yellow of the tamarack
+or larch forests of the northeastern portion of the United States and
+eastern Canada, in November, and the bright green of the same trees in
+May of each year. It is in the intermediate temperate region, between
+the mostly evergreen coniferous subarctic forests and the mostly
+evergreen broad-leaved trees of the Caribbean forest, that the wonderful
+transformation in the colours of the mountains and plains each autumn
+becomes the most conspicuous feature in the annual round of seasonal
+changes as expressed by the vegetation.</p>
+
+<p>Of the two classes of forest-trees, represented by the oak and the pine,
+which are intermingled and struggle with each other for supremacy in the
+Atlantic forest, it is difficult to say which is the more beautiful or
+which is of the greater service to man. The broad-leaved trees give us
+our hardwoods, used extensively for furniture, the interior finish of
+buildings, and for the manufacture of tools, farming implements, wagons,
+carriages, sleighs, etc. To a great extent it was the availability of
+these strong, tough, hard, and durable woods which has made American
+tools and implements of
+<!--247.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span>
+such a high grade of excellence that they
+are in demand in every civilized country. For example, the American
+ax-helve, made of hickory, is almost a work of art, as well as of
+utility, and it is prized above all others by foresters the world over.
+The same tree has aided no less efficiently in the popularity and
+excellence of American carriages and sleighs, the equal of which for
+lightness, strength, and durability has not been reached in other
+countries. The pines and their near relatives furnish what unfortunately
+has been considered an unlimited supply of easily workable lumber,
+suitable for building houses, vessels, bridges, and many other purposes.
+Of the pine lumber supplied by the Atlantic forest, there are two
+principal varieties, the far-famed white pine, furnished by New England,
+the Great Lake region, and southeastern Canada, and the yellow pine,
+which comes from the South Atlantic and Gulf States.</p>
+
+<p>Of the Angiosperms which reach the dignity of trees, the Atlantic forest
+possesses a variety and abundance not exceeded elsewhere in the world.
+The most characteristic examples are the maples, elms, oaks, hickories,
+walnuts, chestnuts, ashes, basswoods, birches, tulip-trees, magnolias,
+liquidambar, tupelos, sycamores, etc., nearly all of which are
+represented by a number of species or varieties and vast numbers of
+individuals. While this diversity is found throughout the forests of the
+east-central part of the continent, certain regions are characterized by
+the abundance and large size of the trees belonging to one or to a few
+genera, so that a striking change is met with as one travels in any
+direction. The maples and elms reach their greatest size and abundance
+at the north, especially in New England, and thence westward to the
+Mississippi Valley, where they are the favourite shade-trees of villages
+and farms. In regions where the forests have been removed choice
+specimens of these trees have frequently been saved or subsequently
+planted, and standing alone, without competition and fully exposed to
+the light, reach great perfection of form and a high degree of beauty.
+The oaks are represented by a large number of species and varieties
+throughout the entire Atlantic forest, but reach their largest size and
+greatest
+<!--248.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span>
+abundance, both of species and individuals, in central
+and southern portions of the eastern United States. The same may be said
+also of the hickories, except that the maximum in reference to size,
+number of species, and abundance is attained in the region of the Ozark
+Hills. The tulip-tree, so named from the profusion of showy yellow
+blossoms it bears, is large and wide-spreading, with broad, dark-green
+leaves, and has the centre of its habitat in Kentucky, where many
+magnificent examples occur along the fences separating the broad meadows
+and rich pastures of the region of the blue grass, but thrives also from
+the Atlantic coast westward to beyond the Mississippi, and from Ontario
+on the north nearly to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. Not only is the
+tulip-tree an ornament and a blessing on account of its flower-laden
+branches and dense shade, but its white, even-grained wood is of great
+value.</p>
+
+<p>To give even a list of the deciduous trees which flourish and reach a
+high degree of perfection in the Atlantic forest would require far more
+space than is at present available. There is one other genus, however,
+which cannot be passed by even by a casual observer, and that is the
+magnolia, one species of which, the <i>grandiflora</i>, is the most
+magnificent of all the splendid broad-leaved trees of America. This, the
+largest and finest of the several species of its genus found in the
+eastern portion of the United States, attains a great size in the
+southern Appalachian region, but is best developed in the lower portion
+of the Mississippi Valley. It is frequently from 50 to 80 feet or more
+in height, wide-spreading, and in many instances upward of 3 feet in
+diameter, with dark-green leaves which do not fall in the autumn. In
+spring the dark foliage is beautified by cup-shaped blossoms of creamy
+whiteness and remarkable fragrance, which measure 3 or 4 inches in
+diameter. When the magnolia is in blossom it becomes a centre of
+delicious perfume and a colony of insect life. Its wood, although creamy
+white and excellent for cabinet-work and interior finish of houses, has
+not as yet found favour for these or other purposes.</p>
+
+<p>With the exception of a few species of broad-leaved
+<!--249.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span>
+forest-trees
+found in greatest perfection in the northern portion of the Atlantic
+forest, they reach their greatest development in size, number of
+species, and density of growth in the southern portion of the broad
+Mississippi basin, where, in addition to magnolias, the tulip-tree,
+etc., chestnuts, hickories, oaks, and many other genera grow side by
+side and attain great height and dignity. This is also the centre of
+dispersion of the American hawthorns, which reach a size and beauty
+unrivalled elsewhere. The Osage orange is peculiar to this region, and
+the red cedar (juniper), the most widely distributed of all the American
+conifers, and also the yellow or southern pine are there at their best.
+Much of this region still retains its primitive wildness.</p>
+
+<p>The great extent of the Atlantic forest in latitude, the topographic
+diversity of the region it occupies, and its exposure on the east to
+maritime and on the west to continental climatic conditions, have led to
+great variations within itself. From the coast of New England westward
+and including the entire drainage basin of the St. Lawrence, together
+with an extension southward along the Appalachians, the forests are
+composed largely and over extensive areas almost wholly of coniferous
+trees. This region of northern evergreens contains in its southern
+portion sturdy growths of broad-leaved deciduous trees. The spruces, the
+most characteristic of the trees of the subarctic region, are present
+in abundance on the mountains of New England, and still form a dark
+mantle over the Adirondack hills; but on the less elevated lands
+adjacent the white pine dominated and outnumbered all its rivals in the
+primeval forest.</p>
+
+<p>The white or Weymouth pine, which up to the present time has proved to
+be of greater commercial value than any other tree on the continent,
+extends westward from southern Newfoundland and the coasts of the
+maritime provinces of Canada to Minnesota, and occupies nearly the
+entire drainage area of the St. Lawrence, together with an extension
+southward along the Appalachians nearly to their southern limit.
+<!--250.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The white pine is a large tree for the region in which it grows. Its
+height is from 70 to 150 feet, with a diameter at the base of from 3 to
+9 feet. It thrives best on sandy soil and hills of glacial drift, and
+endures a severe winter climate, as well as the frequently
+long-continued droughts of the hot summers. Its wood is soft, compact,
+with an even, straight grain, and is not conspicuously resinous. The
+sap-wood is nearly white and the heart of a light brown, slightly tinged
+with red; it is easily worked and susceptible of a good polish; it is
+more extensively used for boards, shingles, etc., than any other wood in
+the eastern portion of the continent, and is in demand also for
+cabinet-work, the interior finish of buildings, ship-building, and many
+other purposes.</p>
+
+<p>The southern pine&mdash;known also as the "long-leaved pine"; "Georgia pine,"
+for the reason that the lumber derived from it was first extensively
+shipped from that State; "yellow pine," in reference to the golden
+colour of its wood; and "hard pine," in distinction from the softer
+white pine&mdash;is another valuable species. The tree with these several
+synonyms, of which the term <i>southern pine</i> will here be used, forms
+open forests with but scanty undergrowth, over a region extending from
+near the Atlantic coast in the Carolinas and Florida, westward to the
+delta region of the Mississippi, and reappears again to the southward of
+the Ozark Hills. Although not so large, and to many admirers of
+beautiful trees not so picturesque or pleasing as its relative in the
+more rigorous climate of the St. Lawrence basin, the southern pine,
+growing within the reach of the moist, warm winds from the Atlantic and
+Gulf of Mexico, is still an attractive tree, especially when young and
+when freedom is afforded to expand its boughs. It is seldom over 100
+feet high, and as cut for lumber has on an average a diameter of about 2
+feet at the base, although individuals measuring 3 or 4 feet in diameter
+are not rare in certain favoured areas. It grows best on dry, sandy
+soil, outside the flood-plains of streams, where it forms monotonous
+forests, with but few intergrowths of other trees. The wood is heavy,
+<!--251.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span>
+hard, strong, durable, coarse-grained, very resinous, and of many
+shades of brown and yellow. When sawed into lumber, it serves a wide
+range of uses, more especially for the frames of buildings and ships,
+and for the floors and interior finish of houses.</p>
+
+<p>Next to the southern pine, the most characteristic tree of the Atlantic
+coastal plain southward from Virginia and westward through the Gulf
+States, is the cypress, also a conifer, but, like the tamarack, sheds
+its leaves in the autumn. The cypress grows especially in swampy
+localities, and has a widely expanded base, suitable for support on
+marshy soil, and reaches a large girth, although seldom over 75 feet
+high. Aged and most picturesque examples are growing in isolated
+positions in Lake Drummond, the central water body of the Dismal Swamp,
+and in many other similar situations in the belt of low country fringing
+the borders of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Its wood is used for
+most of the purposes for which the southern pine is employed, and now
+that the white pine is approaching extinction, is to a considerable
+extent supplying the demand for cabinet-wood.</p>
+
+<p>In glancing at the larger and most numerous trees of the Atlantic
+forest, and those of greatest utility, we should not neglect the humbler
+plants, usually of little, if any, purely commercial value, but
+priceless on account of their beauty and the fragrance of their flowers,
+which grow beneath the shade of their larger and more stately associates
+or are content to possess the local areas, perhaps high on the
+mountains, where the conditions of climate or soil are unfavourable for
+the growth of large trees. Throughout the eastern portion of the United
+States, but more especially on the slopes and summit portions of the
+Appalachians, there are many species of azalea, laurel, rhododendron,
+etc., which grow luxuriantly and in spring and early summer furnish a
+wealth of bloom that is scarcely rivalled elsewhere on the continent. In
+this same region also, but extending westward to Michigan and Minnesota,
+and even to eastern Nebraska, grows the redbud or Judas-tree, which each
+May becomes as thickly set throughout
+<!--252.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span>
+all its branches with small
+crimson blossoms as are the tree-like coral in tropical seas with
+expanded polyps. This beautiful tree of low growth many times gives to
+the mountains of Virginia, when seen from a distance, a delicate blush
+like that which the osiers earlier in the spring impart to the marshy
+vales and river-banks. A companion of the redbud, but far more widely
+distributed, is the dogwood or cornel, of several species, the most
+conspicuous of which, and in the Appalachian region the most common, is
+the flowering dogwood. In May and June this species puts out a profusion
+of clusters of small greenish flowers, each of which is surrounded by a
+broadly expanded and very showy corolla-like involucre, composed of four
+white or pinkish inversely heart-shaped leaves. When the cornel is at
+the height of its spring-time glory it stands forth amid the tender
+greens, russets, and pinks of the unfolding leaves of the various trees
+and shrubs among which it grows as if the orchards and forests had been
+commingled by some fairy gardener. In autumn the cornel again becomes
+conspicuous in the woodlands by reason of its clusters of coral-red
+fruit.</p>
+
+<p>In the splendid Atlantic forests, with their marvellous intermingling of
+shining pine-needles, broad, swaying leaves, and many-coloured trunks,
+there are also vines and creepers sometimes forming impenetrable
+tangles, as where the broad leaves of the wild grape grow in pendent
+sheets of green from supporting trees, or the jessamine fills the air
+with fragrance. Of the many vines which entwine the trunks of trees,
+mantle the rocks, and quickly claim abandoned fields, especially in
+Virginia and neighbouring States to the southward, none is more
+beautiful or more highly prized for the charm it adds alike to fields,
+fences, and forests than the familiar Virginia creeper. The glory of
+this widely distributed vine comes in the autumn when its leaves change
+from green to the most brilliant scarlet. During the season of harvest
+also, when the trees are arrayed in their greatest splendour, the ground
+is yellow with golden-rods or purple with asters. This annual carnival
+of colour embraces the entire Atlantic forest, but
+<!--253.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span>
+is most
+resplendent in the region of the Hudson and St. Lawrence. A charming
+little denizen of the Atlantic forest is the lowly and humble arbutus,
+or Mayflower, which springs up through the dead leaves carpeting the
+ground in early spring, and fills the air with its delicious perfume.
+The Mayflower is a trailing plant, but a few inches high, with rounded
+or oval leaves, which remain green all winter and furnish a pleasing
+setting for the small pink or rose-coloured blossoms, which appear in
+early spring even before the snow has melted. It reaches great
+perfection beneath the pines of New England and about the Laurentian
+lakes, but extends far southward along the Appalachians, where elevation
+gives conditions similar to those of the lower region at the north.</p>
+
+<p>The Atlantic forest reaches its western limit in the Mississippi basin
+(Fig. 28), and is succeeded westward by treeless prairies, which merge
+along their western margins with the drier and less completely
+grass-covered high plains adjacent to the east base of the Rocky
+Mountains. The forest does not terminate abruptly, as on the border of a
+cleared field, but by gradual transitions. As its western limit is
+approached, a change in the species is noted, trees which thrive on
+uplands and can sustain long-continued summer drought replacing the
+species best adapted for more humid conditions. The forest is most
+extended, however, along the streams where white-trunked cottonwoods,
+frequently of great size, with widely spreading branches, extend even
+into the region of the great plateaus. Much of the prairie region in
+Illinois, Iowa, etc., was originally nearly surrounded by forest
+growths. The natural condition of the prairies and higher plains
+adjacent to them on the west and the reason for the limits set to the
+western extension of the Atlantic forest will be considered later under
+the heading <i>Prairies and Plateaus</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Boreal Forest.</i>&mdash;From Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador a
+forest composed mainly of a few species of coniferous trees extends
+westward, and after passing the southern extremity of Hudson Bay, is
+prolonged northwestward
+<!--254.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span>
+across the continent and in the region of
+the mouth of the Mackenzie nearly to the shore of the Arctic Ocean. It
+extends also through central Alaska to within about 100 miles of the
+border of Bering Sea. This vast transverse forest belt which unites the
+northern extremity of the Atlantic forest with the northern portion of
+the Pacific forest is over 3,000 miles long from southeast to northwest,
+and on an average fully 600 miles wide. On the north, more especially in
+arctic Canada and as it approaches the shore of Bering Sea, it thins
+out, owing to the severity of the winter climate, the trees become
+dwarfed and stunted in much the same way as the trees adjacent to the
+timber-line on high mountains, and is succeeded by the broad treeless
+plains of the Barren Grounds and tundra. Along its south-central border
+its extension is again limited by climatic conditions, principally the
+dryness of the hot summers. The trees are there scattered or form
+isolated groves to the south of the general forest boundary, and are
+finally succeeded by the treeless prairies and interior plains and
+plateaus. On the east the great northern forest merges with the pine of
+the northern portion of the Atlantic forest, and in a similar way at the
+northwest passes by insensible gradations into the north extension of
+the coniferous forest growing on the Pacific mountains. In each of the
+instances there is no well-defined boundary between the east and west
+belt of northern forests and the north and south forest belts adjacent
+to the Atlantic and Pacific.</p>
+
+<p>The boreal forest presents a striking contrast to the forests of the
+torrid zone and to the greater portion of the forests of temperate
+regions in the fact that it is composed of but a few species of trees.
+Monotony which becomes oppressive to one who lingers long in its sombre
+shade is its most conspicuous characteristic. In the main it is composed
+of but eight species of trees, namely, white and black spruce, larch or
+tamarack, canoe-birch, balsam-poplar, aspen, balsam-fir, and the gray
+pine. Of these the spruces are the most abundant and most characteristic
+as well as the most northern trees of the continent. They
+<!--255.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span>
+frequently reach sufficient size to make them available for building log
+houses and for lumber.</p>
+
+<p>Four of the species mentioned above, namely, the white spruce,
+canoe-birch, balsam-poplar, and aspen, cross the entire breadth of the
+continent from Labrador to Alaska, but the pines and firs in the east
+and the west are of different species. The larch or tamarack, which
+forms such an important feature of the forest in eastern Canada and
+about the Laurentian lakes, extends westward to beyond Hudson Bay, but
+is represented by other species in the Mackenzie and Yukon basins, and
+in the northern portion of the Pacific mountains. The region occupied by
+the great northern forest is interspersed with lakes, some of them of
+large size, and by innumerable swamps. The spruces and the gray pine
+grow on the uplands between the lakes and swamps, while the cold, wet
+bottom-lands are occupied by poplars, dwarf birches, willows, and
+alders. In the north, near where the forest breaks into outstanding
+groves and finally gives place to grassy hills, as along the Porcupine
+River in Alaska, the foliage in the lowlands becomes golden in autumn
+and forms irregular, far-reaching avenues of brilliant colour separating
+the hills, which are black with spruce-trees or shimmer with the soft
+gray tints of ripened grasses. There is much that is beautiful and even
+lovely along the poleward border of the great forest, but within its
+deeper recesses the ground is covered with mosses and lichens, and the
+stiff, sombre trees have a monotonous similarity and unbending rigidity.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of the great area covered by the boreal forest, it being one of
+the greatest, if not the most widely extended continuous growth of
+arboreal vegetation in the world, it is of comparatively small economic
+importance. Even if the trees were within the reach of a market, their
+wood is of inferior quality and not generally suitable for lumber. A
+modern industry has been developed, however, which may bring it into
+demand, namely, the manufacture of wood-pulp, so largely employed in the
+making of paper and for other purposes.
+<!--256.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>The Pacific Forest.</i>&mdash;In the northern portion of the Rocky Mountain
+region in Canada and Alaska the boreal forest, as already stated, merges
+by insensible gradations with the forests occupying the Pacific
+mountains from Alaska southward to Mexico. The junction line between the
+two is irregular, and what are essentially outliers of the more northern
+forest occupy the higher portions of the mountains in the western
+portion of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>The Pacific forest begins at the north near Mount St. Elias, and at
+first occurs on isolated areas separated by ice-fields and inland
+reaches of the ocean, but in southeastern Alaska and on the numerous
+islands adjacent becomes more continuous and extends eastward far into
+British Columbia. As the timber-line in that region has an elevation of
+but 2,500 feet at the extreme western extension of the forest, although
+gradually rising southward, large portions of the mountains are treeless
+and barren. In the United States, on account of increasing dryness of
+the valleys from north to south, the forest becomes broken into many
+detached portions, which occupy the mountains and higher plateaus and in
+general are restricted to higher and higher locations with decrease in
+latitude. This distribution illustrates in a striking manner the
+dependence of trees on humidity. The forest is densest and the trees in
+general of greatest size and occur at the lowest elevations on the
+northwest portion of the Pacific coastal region, where the rainfall is
+excessive and distributed practically throughout the entire year. The
+Coast Ranges from Alaska southward to central California, as well as the
+Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada, are tree-clothed. In the interior,
+and especially in the central and southern portion of the Pacific
+cordillera, where the valleys are hot and dry in summer, trees are
+absent, and even the borders of the rivers in many instances without
+shade. In Canada the trees frequently extend across the lowlands, but in
+Montana and Idaho the valleys resemble the treeless plains to the east
+of the Rocky Mountains, while the uplands and the lower mountain slopes
+are dark with firs and pines. Above the forest rise the barren and
+frequently perpetually snow-covered
+<!--257.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span>
+summit-peaks and ridges. In
+the Great Basin region, and from there southward, many of the mountains
+are practically destitute of trees from base to summit.</p>
+
+<p>So vast is the region occupied by the Pacific forest and so varied the
+conditions dependent upon climate, soil, and elevation which influence
+its growth, that great variations in the genera and species of trees
+composing it are to be expected. This prediction is soon verified when
+one travels through the forest. The extremes may be indicated briefly by
+referring to the fact that at the north the trees are mainly spruces,
+firs, and cedars, and at the south include the giant cactus, arboreal
+yucca, and the fan-leafed palm. In its medial division are the great
+forests of western Washington and Oregon, composed mainly of firs and
+cedars, and the no less magnificent forests of redwood-trees on the
+Coast Ranges of northern California and the west slope of the Sierra
+Nevada. Like the boreal forest, the one under consideration is largely
+composed of coniferous trees, although in the valley, and especially
+along the borders of streams in southern Canada, Washington, etc., a few
+species of broad-leaved trees, such as the maple, cottonwood, ash, and
+alder, thrive in close association with dark conifers; while in similar
+situations farther south oaks growing in scattered groves give a
+park-like character to the land, as in the southern portion of
+California.</p>
+
+<p>In contrast with the Atlantic region, the western portion of the
+continental forest belt is singularly lacking in broad-leaved trees, and
+such as are found are usually of small size and but little economic
+importance. This lack, however, is perhaps more than counterbalanced by
+the number both of individuals and of species and the great size and
+magnificence of the conifers.</p>
+
+<p>One of the densest and in many ways most thoroughly representative
+portions of the Pacific forest where it occupies an excessively humid
+region occurs on the west side of the Cascade Mountains in Washington,
+inclusive of the Puget Sound basin and the region to the westward from
+which rise the Olympic Mountains.</p>
+
+<p>In western Washington the forest is composed mainly,
+<!--258.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span>
+and, in
+fact, over large areas, almost entirely of two species of trees, namely,
+the red fir and the red cedar, each of which attains gigantic
+dimensions. Of these two species, the first is the more common, the
+larger, and by far the more important from a commercial point of view.
+It frequently, and, in fact, commonly, attains a height of from 200 to
+300 feet, with a diameter at the base of from 8 to 10 or more feet. Not
+only do these magnificent trees reach such great dimensions, but they
+are thickly set over hundreds of square miles of territory. In thousands
+of instances the great trunks sheathed in rough thick bark rise straight
+and massive, with but a slight decrease in diameter, to a height of
+upward of 80 feet before the first branch is given off. The cedars, the
+intimate companions of the great firs, are of equally gigantic girth at
+the base, but taper rapidly to spire-like summits, usually from 100 to
+150 feet above the ground, and are thickly set with small branches
+throughout. They flourish best in excessively moist situations and reach
+far up the mountains, particularly along the numerous watercourses;
+while the firs, although perhaps most at home on the less thoroughly
+water-soaked uplands, thrive on the banks of streams, the sides and
+summits of hills, and on steep mountainsides alike.</p>
+
+<p>Mere enumeration of the number and size of the trees, however, fails to
+give an adequate impression of the astonishing magnificence of the
+wonderful forest of the Puget Sound region. Its grandeur is beyond
+description, and can only be fully appreciated by one who abides for
+weeks or months in its perpetual twilight. The great trees, shaggy with
+mosses and lichens of innumerable tints of brown, green, and yellow, do
+not form detached groves, as is so frequently the case in less humid
+lands, but are thickly set for mile after mile and league after league,
+as one threads his difficult way beneath them. So vast is the forest
+that a person travelling through it soon becomes impressed with the idea
+that it is interminable. Beneath the deep shade of the lofty boughs
+there is a rank undergrowth of young firs, cedars, and hemlocks, while
+in the
+<!--259.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span>
+valleys especially, and on the frequently inundated
+flood-plains of the streams, there is usually a tangled growth of
+vine-like maples, alders, elders, yews, etc. In this lower forest the
+most conspicuous and frequently too abundant plant is the broad-leaved
+and excessively spiny devil's-club, the foliage of which changes to
+brilliant yellow in the early autumn, and forms a most artistic setting
+for the spikes of crimson fruit borne at the extremities of the
+upward-bending ends of the usually prostrate stems.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 214px;"><a name="Fig_29" id="Fig_29"></a>
+<img src="images/i257.jpg" width="214" height="600" alt="Fig. 29." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 29.</span>&mdash;Douglas Firs, Vancouver, B. C.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of still more lowly habits are the ferns, mosses, and lichens which form
+a thick, luxuriant, and ever-varied carpet over the black humus soil
+beneath. The ground throughout the forest is encumbered with fallen
+trunks, sometimes piled one on another to the depth of 20 or 30 feet,
+which, owing to the continuous moisture, remain undecayed for centuries.
+Not infrequently a massive cedar or fir, in size and shape not unlike a
+prostrate column of some great temple, supports three or more trees,
+each large enough to be cut for lumber, whose gnarled and twisted roots
+clasp the sides of their host and descend to the earth beneath. The
+beauty of these fallen giants when overgrown with thick layers of
+variegated moss and exquisitely decorated with hundreds of small
+hemlocks and a multitude of gracefully bending fern-fronds, always fresh
+in colour and usually beaded with moisture, is beyond the power of the
+most skilful artist
+<!--260.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span>
+to adequately portray. The fascination of the
+great forest is such that the explorer, although perhaps weary with
+forcing a passage through the dense undergrowths and climbing over
+prostrate trunks, is lured by its charms into more and more inaccessible
+retreats probably never before invaded by man, but at last finding that
+the wonderland has no attainable limits, is content to rest on some
+inviting couch of golden-tinted lichens and study the varied charms and
+endless details of the dream-like picture surrounding him.</p>
+
+<p>From a commercial point of view the forest of the Puget Sound region is
+of immense importance. Lumber industries have been established there,
+with the most improved appliances for cutting trees, transporting the
+logs to mills, and sawing them into lumber, much of which is loaded on
+ships and widely distributed. So vast is the forest, however, that as
+yet the natural conditions are but slightly changed, except in the
+immediate vicinity of tide-water, but the destruction from axe and fire
+has only been begun; the waste that, no doubt, is to continue is most
+disheartening.</p>
+
+<p>Another centre in the vast and locally differentiated Pacific forest, as
+typical in its way as are the dense growths of fir and cedar just
+referred to, occurs on the Coast Range of north California, where the
+redwood (<i>Sequoia sempervirens</i>) is the all-important and characteristic
+tree. This redwood forest begins at the south in the vicinity of San
+Francisco, and extends northward, mainly on the moist seaward slopes of
+the Coast Ranges, to southwestern Oregon, but seldom reaches more than
+30 miles inland.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 396px;"><a name="Fig_30" id="Fig_30"></a>
+<img src="images/i259.jpg" width="396" height="500" alt="Fig. 30.&mdash;Redwood Forest, California." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 30.</span>&mdash;Redwood forest, California.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The redwood resembles the cedar in habit, general appearance, character
+of its wood, and colour of bark and leaves. It flourishes best in moist
+localities, and attains a great size, surpassing in height and diameter
+of stem even the giant firs of Washington, and is only exceeded on this
+continent by its cousin, the great sequoia (<i>Sequoia gigantea</i>) of the
+western slope of the Sierra Nevada, in south-central California. It
+frequently attains a height of 300 or more feet, with a diameter at the
+base of 15 or 16, and in certain exceptional instances of over 20 feet.
+It rarely branches
+<!--261.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span>
+low, but almost invariably has a straight,
+fluted stem, perfectly symmetrical, rising with a slight taper for about
+200 feet to the first limb. The foliage is dull green in colour, fine,
+and drooping. It is a most beautiful tree both in form and colour, and
+is markedly gregarious in habit. As stated by Henry Gannett, it forms
+the densest forest known if the comparison is made on the basis of the
+amount of merchantable lumber growing on a given unit of area. For
+example, the yellow-pine forests of the Southern Atlantic and Gulf
+States contain on an average about 5,000 feet, board measure (square
+feet of boards an inch thick), of timber per acre, and in the moderately
+dense portion of the white-pine forests of the Great Lakes region the
+average is about the same. In each of these regions, famed for their
+lumber, a tract containing 10,000 feet of lumber per acre would be
+considered as heavily forested. In the redwood forests of California,
+however, 50,000 feet of lumber per acre is not rare over extensive
+areas, while for special tracts containing many square miles this
+estimate may safely be doubled. Upon 96,443 acres in Humboldt County,
+California, the average amount of lumber contained in the trees still
+standing is 84,000 feet per acre. The returns of lumber companies during
+a continuous period of ten years from tracts which have been cleared
+show a return of 75,000 to 100,000 feet per acre, but even this is not
+the maximum. A certain tract of several square miles actually yielded
+150,000 feet per acre; and there is on record a yield of 1,431,530 feet
+from a single acre. One tree is said to have furnished 66,500 feet of
+lumber, and another, 15 feet in diameter at the base,
+<!--262.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span>
+contained
+100,000 feet. Another tree, still standing, measures 22 feet in
+diameter, and it is estimated will yield 200,000 square feet of boards
+an inch thick.</p>
+
+<p>The wood of the redwood-tree is of a clear red colour with the exception
+of a thin layer just under the bark, which is almost pure white, and is
+light, soft, coarse-grained, and susceptible of a high polish. It is the
+most common and most valuable of all the forest products of the Pacific
+coast of North America, and is serviceable for a great variety of
+purposes.</p>
+
+<p>The celebrated "big trees" of California are not to be confounded with
+the redwood described above, but belong to a different species of the
+same genus. The big trees are worthy of their name, as they are by far
+the largest in North America. When full-grown they average about 275
+feet in height, with a diameter near the ground of about 20 feet. One of
+the tallest as yet measured has a height of 325 feet, and the largest a
+diameter of 35 feet 8 inches inside the bark and 4 feet above the
+ground. The age of one of these giants, as shown by the number of rings
+of growth in its trunk, is about thirteen hundred years; another, 24
+feet in diameter, is twenty-two hundred years old; and a third showed
+over four thousand rings of growth, and must have been in its prime at
+the time of the birth of Christ. The trees occur in detached groves on
+the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in south-central California, but
+become more common southward, where they form a genuine forest belt.
+Their range from north to south is about 260 miles, and their elevation
+above the sea from 6,000 to 8,000 feet.</p>
+
+<p>"So exquisitely harmonious," says John Muir, in his charming book The
+Mountains of California, "and finely balanced are even the very
+mightiest of these monarchs of the woods in all their proportions and
+circumstances, that there is never anything overgrown or monstrous about
+them. On coming in sight of them for the first time, you are likely to
+say, 'Oh, see what beautiful, noble-looking trees are towering there
+among the firs and pines!' their grandeur being in the meantime in great
+part invisible,
+<!--263.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span>
+but to the living eye it will be manifest sooner
+or later, stealing slowly on the senses like the grandeur of Niagara or
+the lofty Yosemite domes. Their great size is hidden from the
+inexperienced observer as long as they are seen at a distance in one
+harmonious view. When, however, you approach them and walk around them,
+you begin to wonder at their colossal size and seek a measuring-rod.
+These giants bulge considerably at the base, but not more than is
+required for beauty and safety; and the only reason that this bulging
+seems in some cases excessive is that only a comparatively small section
+of the shaft is seen at once in near views. One that I measured in the
+King's River forest was 25 feet in diameter at the ground and 10 feet in
+diameter 200 feet above the ground, showing that the taper of the trunk
+as a whole is charmingly fine. And when you stand back far enough to see
+the massive columns from the swelling instep to the lofty summit
+dissolving in a dome of verdure, you rejoice in the unrivalled display
+of combined grandeur and beauty. About 100 feet or more of the trunk is
+usually branchless, but its massive simplicity is relieved by the bark
+furrows, which, instead of making an irregular network, run evenly
+parallel, like the fluting of an architectural column, and to some
+extent by tufts of slender sprays that wave lightly in the winds and
+cast flecks of shade, seeming to have been pinned on here and there for
+the sake of beauty only. The young trees have slender simple branches
+down to the ground, put on with strict regularity, sharply aspiring at
+the top, horizontal about half-way down, and drooping in handsome curves
+at the base. By the time the sapling is five or six hundred years old
+this spiry, feathery, juvenile habit merges into a firm, rounded dome
+form of middle age, which in turn takes on the eccentric picturesqueness
+of old age. No other tree in the Sierra forest has foliage so densely
+massed or presents outlines so firmly drawn and so steadily subordinate
+to a special type.... The foliage of the saplings is dark bluish green
+in colour, while the older trees ripen to a warm brownish-yellow tint,
+like <i>Libocedrus</i>. The bark is rich crimson brown, purplish in
+<!--264.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span>
+young trees and in shady portions of the old, while the ground is
+covered with brown leaves and burrs forming colour masses of
+extraordinary richness, not to mention the flowers and underbrush that
+rejoice about them in their season. Walk in the sequoia woods at any
+time of year, and you will say they are the most beautiful and majestic
+on earth. Beautiful and impressive contrasts meet you everywhere; the
+colours of tree and flowers, rock and sky, light and shade, strength and
+frailty, endurance and evanescence, tangles of supple hazel-bushes, tree
+pillars about as rigid as granite domes, roses and violets the smallest
+of their kind, blooming around the feet of the giants. Then in winter
+the trees themselves break forth in bloom, myriads of small four-sided
+staminate cones crowd the ends of the slender sprays, colouring the
+whole tree, and when ripe dusting the air and ground with golden
+pollen."</p>
+
+<p>Owing to the remoteness of the big trees from commercial centres, they
+have escaped to a great extent the destruction which everywhere attends
+the advent of the white man, and some of the finest groves are now under
+state protection.</p>
+
+<p>The sequoias are not only of interest on account of their great size and
+grandeur, but from the fact that they are the lingering survivors of an
+ancient and once widely distributed genus. During the Cretaceous and
+Tertiary divisions of geological history the genus numbered at least 50
+species, as has been shown by leaf impressions, fossil wood, and cones
+buried in the rocks of New Zealand and Chile on the south, Spitzbergen
+and Greenland on the north. Over North America they extend from the
+Atlantic to the Pacific. At present the only two species known, both of
+which, as already stated, are confined to the Pacific coast, and with
+the exception of a slight extension of the less gigantic of the two into
+southwestern Oregon, are found only in California.</p>
+
+<p>While the firs, cedars, and redwoods form the major portion of the
+forests in the more humid regions on the western side of the continent,
+there are two species of pines growing in drier situations which in a
+general view
+<!--265.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span>
+are even more characteristic of the Pacific forest
+than are the sequoias. These two pines, well worthy to stand side by
+side with the giant firs and still more gigantic redwoods, are known as
+the sugar-pine and the yellow pine.</p>
+
+<p>The sugar-pine grows amid the mountains from southwestern British
+Columbia, southward through western Washington, Oregon, and on the
+Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges of California, at elevations ranging from
+4,000 to 8,000 feet. It frequently clothes steep declivities or bids
+defiance to the storms on the crests of sharp ridges. In size it is
+scarcely exceeded by any of its companions excepting the firs and
+sequoias. It frequently attains a height of from 200 to 275 feet, with a
+diameter at the base of from 8 to 14, and in some instances of over 20
+feet. Individual trees are known which have a height of 245 feet and are
+18 feet in diameter. The branches are usually high above the ground and
+widely spreading. In the case of well-grown individuals they leave the
+main trunk with a sweeping, downward curve, which midway out changes to
+an upward curve, and at the extreme distal end droops once more. At the
+extremity of many of the far-reaching boughs there are suspended one or
+two cones, each 12 or 14 inches long and sometimes over 8 inches in
+diameter. The peculiar and frequently remarkably regular curvature of
+the great branches, giving them the form of half a Cupid's bow, imparts
+to these mighty pines a grace and symmetry possessed by few other trees.
+The familiar name of this great pine refers to the fact that from wounds
+or incisions in its trunk there exudes a sweet sap which is considered
+by many persons to exceed even the sap of the maple in agreeableness of
+flavour.</p>
+
+<p>Lovers of beautiful trees will agree in considering the sugar-pine as
+the noblest of its family growing in the woods of America, if not the
+most majestic of its kindred in the world. Its only rival, but of a
+different type of beauty, is the Norfolk Island pine, of the south sea
+islands.</p>
+
+<p>Of the many pleasant memories of camp life in the forests of America
+which are a source of delight to the writer none are recalled with
+greater pleasure than those associated
+<!--266.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span>
+with the sugar-pine of the
+Sierra Nevada, where the ground is carpeted with the long brown needles
+that fall in showers at certain seasons from the boughs far overhead.
+With the faded leaves are strewed also the great cones which always
+excite wonder and admiration. In the clear air and brilliant sunlight of
+the Californian mountains the luxuriant plume-like leaves far aloft
+appear to be formed of burnished silver or have the yellow of gold,
+according as the light strikes them, and at night the lofty boughs
+swayed by the winds make music such as no other forest can produce.
+Nothing in the vegetable world, not even the great sequoias, convey such
+an abiding impression of strength and majesty as these pines which have
+withstood the storms of centuries without losing their vigour or their
+symmetry and beauty of form. Unfortunately as it would seem, however,
+these magnificent trees are useful, as the term is commonly employed,
+and are fast falling a prey to lumbermen, who measure their value in
+dollars.</p>
+
+<p>The yellow pine of the Pacific mountains, not to be confounded, however,
+with the yellow pine of the southern Appalachian region, fortunately has
+another common name, the <i>silver pine</i>, which is more appropriate and
+distinctive. This is the most widely spread, perhaps, of all the pines
+of North America, and is familiar to every one who has travelled through
+the Pacific mountains from British Columbia to Mexico, and from the
+Black Hills of Dakota or the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico
+westward to within hearing of the surf of the Pacific Ocean. It ranks
+second in size to the sugar-pine, but is a near rival in strength and
+nobleness of form. As might be inferred from its wide distribution, the
+silver pine had adapted itself to a great range of conditions, not only
+of climate, but of soil and height above the sea. It is found from an
+elevation of about 2,000 feet above the sea up the mountainsides nearly
+to timber-line, and flourishes alike in the hot, arid valleys and in
+regions bordering on perpetual snow and ice. One beautiful feature of
+the silver-pine forests is their open, park-like character. The trees
+stand far apart, and thus have room to reach not only a great size,
+<!--267.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span>
+but a remarkable degree of perfection of form. Between the
+islands of shade on the sunlit ground there is usually but little
+undergrowth, and the far-extending natural pastures permit one to ride
+in any direction without inconvenience.</p>
+
+<p>One other pine of the widely extended Pacific forest demands attention
+even from the passing traveller, not on account of its size, for it is a
+dwarf in a land of giants, but for its wide distribution and the food
+its large, oily seeds furnish for birds, squirrels, and even for man. I
+refer to the piñon pine, of which there are several species. They are
+seldom over 35 or 40 feet high, and are not remarkable for beauty,
+although they furnish an agreeable feature in the sparsely
+forest-clothed and semiarid region where they thrive best, but they bear
+a profusion of small cones, each of which contains perhaps a dozen
+edible and nutritious seeds. These seeds were formerly used by the
+Indians for food on an extensive scale, and are still gathered in large
+quantities, and may be found in the markets of our cities. The Indian
+encampments in the piñon forests in the fall of the year are among the
+most picturesque features of these degenerate days of the aborigines.</p>
+
+<p>In the southwest portions of the United States the forests are confined
+to the mountains and the higher table-lands, the hot, arid valleys being
+without trees other than the larger growths of cacti and yucca. Similar
+conditions are present in northern Mexico, but on the western side of
+that republic and throughout practically the whole of the peninsula of
+Lower California the mountains and valleys alike are treeless and
+desolate.</p>
+
+<p>As stated by C. S. Sargent, the forests of North America, exclusive of
+Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, contain arboreal
+representatives of 158 genera of plants, of which 94 genera occur in the
+Atlantic and 59 in the Pacific side of the continent, and 48 genera in
+the tropical portion of southern Florida. Of the number of genera of
+trees in the Caribbean forest we have no reliable census.
+<!--268.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">PRAIRIES, TREELESS PLAINS, AND PLATEAUS</div>
+
+<p>To the west of the Atlantic forest lie the broad natural meadows termed
+prairies, and still farther west the yet more extensive pasture-lands of
+the great plateaus which reach the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains
+(Fig. 28). The transition from the luxuriant and varied forest on the
+east to the treeless, thinly grass-covered plateaus on the west side of
+the interior Continental basin is gradual. The change occurs in the
+prairie region, where a struggle has been in progress for thousands of
+years between the conditions favouring and those adverse to tree growth.
+The balance of power, so to speak, is the amount of rain or of
+soil-stored moisture during the summer season. The gradual decrease in
+the mean annual precipitation from east to west on the inland border of
+the Atlantic forest continues westward, and on the plateaus adjacent to
+the Rocky Mountains the aridity is such that no trees can grow except
+along the immediate border of the stream, unless artificially irrigated.</p>
+
+<p>The explanation of the absence of trees in the central and western
+portions of the interior Continental basin is found in the mean annual
+rainfall and the manner in which it is distributed throughout the year,
+together with variations in the texture and composition of the soil, and
+the disturbances in the natural conditions brought about by fires. The
+question, "Why are the prairies treeless?" has been variously answered
+by different observers. The outcome of a long discussion in this
+connection seems to be that the main cause of the absence of trees lies
+in the climatic conditions and principally in the lack of sufficient
+rain during the long, hot summers. Arid regions the world over are
+without forests, but the Prairie plains cannot be said to be arid; in
+fact, the mean annual rainfall over the greater portion of this region
+is equal to or exceeds that of many well-forested countries, averaging
+as it does in general about 30 inches. But the prairies lie between the
+more humid forest-covered regions on the east and the less humid or
+subarid plateaus on the west,
+<!--269.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span>
+and during the summer season
+droughts and hot, scorching winds are of common occurrence. It is the
+long dry summer that establishes the critical conditions, particularly
+about the eastern and northern borders of the prairies. Of secondary
+importance is the character of the soil. An exceedingly fine soil, like
+that of the prairies, as has been pointed out by J. D. Whitney, by
+excluding the air from the roots of trees is detrimental to their
+growth. Where the dryness of the summers make the lives of trees
+precarious the nature of the soil, whether coarse or fine, becomes the
+controlling factor. In the prairie region where the soil is more open
+and porous than usual, although other conditions remain the same, as in
+the Cross Timbers of Texas, trees flourish; while intervening areas
+where the soil is fine are typical prairies. Again, where the climatic
+conditions become critical, as during long, dry summers, the grass and
+other vegetation burns readily, fire spreads rapidly and widely, and
+young trees are destroyed. In the prairie region, as pointed out by J.
+W. Powell, the Indians were formerly in the habit of burning the grass
+each summer in order to insure more favorable pasturage for game during
+the succeeding spring. This annual burning kept back the forest and led
+to the eastward extension of the prairie.</p>
+
+<p>During the past decade many groves have been planted on the prairies,
+and have flourished, especially when the adjacent fields are cultivated
+so as to allow the earth to store a larger share of the winter rain; the
+success of this tree planting, it has been claimed, is evidence that the
+nature of the soil is not a determining factor in the problem, because
+trees will grow if protected from fire. The success of arboriculture on
+the formerly treeless plains and plateaus, however, decreases as one
+travels westward. On the western border of the prairies and on the great
+plateaus, remote from streams, trees can be made to grow only by the aid
+of irrigation. If this region had never been swept by fire it is safe to
+say it would still be treeless. Each of the explanations referred to
+above to account for the treeless condition of the prairies&mdash;one
+<!--270.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span>
+referring it to soil conditions, and the other to the former prevalence
+of fires&mdash;certainly has much in its favour, and for certain localities
+seems satisfactory, but each point of view should include a broader
+range and recognise the fact that the requisite critical conditions have
+been furnished by wide-reaching climatic causes. The Prairie plains
+furnish but one phase of the gradual change that occurs in the natural
+mantle of vegetation when traced from the dense, well-watered forests of
+the Appalachians and the Alleghany plateau westward to the semiarid and
+truly arid lands of the great plateaus and Rocky Mountain region, where
+only such plants as are able to withstand long-continued drought can
+grow. This same broad conclusion is sustained also at the north, where
+the prairie dovetails, as it were, with the subarctic forest.</p>
+
+<p>The general or underlying reason for the treeless condition of the vast
+central portion of the continent is doubtless a lack of sufficient rain.
+The precipitation that does occur comes mainly during the winter season,
+when the land is colder than the ocean; in summer the land becomes
+highly heated and imparts its temperature to the air, which thus has its
+capacity for moisture increased, and prolonged droughts occur. At the
+south, in Mexico and the adjacent portion of the United States, the
+trade-winds blow over a region which is more highly heated than the
+ocean from which they come, and are hence drying winds. To the west of
+the Great plateaus rise the Rocky Mountains, where climatic conditions
+are different on account of elevation, and, as we have seen, forests
+occur at considerable elevations, but not in the broader valleys. The
+conditions unfavourable for tree growth are continued and even
+intensified in the valleys of the central portion of the Pacific
+mountain region, and culminate in the deserts of the Great Basin and
+western Mexico. Throughout all of this vast treeless region the
+controlling condition is deficiency of moisture, particularly during the
+summer or growing season.</p>
+
+<p>The nearest approach to desert conditions to be found in North America
+occur in the valley of Utah and Nevada
+<!--271.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span>
+and the southern portion
+of the Great Basin region in Arizona and Mexico. The bottoms of these
+valleys are, in some instances, occupied by shallow lakes in winter,
+when scanty rains occur, but during the long, hot summers they become
+completely desiccated, and are then broad expanses of hard mud, cracked
+by drying so as to resemble a tessellated pavement of cream-coloured
+marble. These mud-flats or <i>playas</i> are frequently absolutely without
+plant life. Excepting the playas, however, and, in numerous instances, a
+narrow belt of ground encircling them, which is white with efflorescent
+salts, the valleys of even the most arid portion of the Great Basin
+region are generally plant-covered. The most common and most widely
+spread of the shrubs on these shadeless plains is the sage-brush. So
+characteristic is this plant of countless valleys from Canada to Mexico
+within the general region of the Pacific mountains that to one familiar
+with the country the term "sage-brush land" brings to mind the leading
+features of the region designated. The sage-brush lands are far from
+being desert areas, however, for in early spring a profusion of low,
+sweet-scented flowers bloom beneath the gray-green <i>Artemisia</i>, and
+sufficient bunch-grass to sustain considerable herds may be expected in
+the same localities.</p>
+
+<p>The vast, irregular belt of forest encircling the central treeless
+portion of the continent also dies out on its northern border, where the
+subarctic forest is succeeded northward by the Barren Grounds and tundra
+plains. Clearly the explanation of the absence of trees in the prairie
+region and the adjacent plateaus cannot be applied to scarcely less
+extensive treeless plains at the far north, where rain falls in summer
+and the soil is always abundantly charged with moisture. It needs no
+argument to show that the control among the conditions governing tree
+growth at the north passes to the temperate element of climate, and that
+the timber-line is there determined, as it is on high mountains, by the
+severity of the winters' storms and frosts and the shortness of the
+summers.
+<!--272.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE TREELESS MOUNTAIN TOPS</div>
+
+<p>On the higher mountains of North America above the upper limit at which
+trees are able to grow there are picturesque regions carpeted and
+garlanded in late spring and summer with lovely flowers, the
+indescribable charms of which are only known to those who rejoice in
+climbing rugged peaks and in following the trails of the mountain-goat
+along sharp-crested ridges. The gorgeous blossoms of these roof-gardens
+of the world are much the same on all high mountains in temperate
+latitudes, but from having become first widely known to civilized man on
+the mountains of Switzerland, are generally termed alpine flowers. The
+most attractive features of an alpine flora, which springs into bloom as
+soon as the snow melts and forms a rapidly widening belt of colour as
+the margins of the snow-fields recede higher and higher, is the great
+profusion of brilliantly coloured blossoms. No sooner does the snow of
+winter melt than the moist ground becomes enamelled in brilliant colours
+on account of the springing up and quick blossoming of millions of hardy
+plants. The growing season on mountain heights is short, but the sun's
+energy is there more intense and the hours of light each day longer than
+in the valleys below, and the plants adapted to such conditions pass
+through their annual circle of changes from sprouting seed to mature
+fruit with remarkable rapidity. In many instances the mountain-climber
+finds beautiful lilies unfolding their sun-dyed blossoms at the bottom
+of well-like depressions in lingering snow-banks. The gleaming
+mountain-peaks when seen from afar are said to be crowned with snow, but
+the mountaineer rejoices in the knowledge that their cold diadems are
+wreathed and festooned about their lower margins with lovely blossoms.
+Many mountains less ambitious than their neighbours have the garlands
+without the crown. An alpine flora is present on the Pacific mountains
+from Mexico northward to Alaska. Like the "timber-line" and the
+"snow-line," the intermediate belt of profusely flowering herbaceous
+plants descends lower and lower with decrease in latitude; on the great
+volcanic
+<!--273.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span>
+cones of Mexico it has an elevation of over 15,000 feet;
+on the Sierra Nevada the greatest wealth of flowers occurs at about
+12,000 feet; on Mount Rainier widely extended gardens resplendent with
+rainbow tints occur at 7,000 to 8,000 feet; and about the foot-hills
+near Mount St. Elias, at an elevation of 2,500 feet or less above the
+sea, every knoll and island-like area in the vast ice-fields is so
+densely overgrown with brilliantly flowered plants that one has to part
+the rank growths with his hands and press them aside with his alpenstick
+in order to force a way through the fields of bloom. Admirers of
+nature's loveliness who have not climbed to aspiring heights will find a
+new and beautiful world in the public alpine garden on the summit and
+about the snow-fields of the higher portions of the Pacific mountains,
+where no sign-boards forbid entry and no fences obstruct the way. In
+these regions nearest the sun and stars there are few, if any, plants of
+utility to man, but marvellous beauty and lavish profusion fill the
+foreground in every view. These glorious mountain heights have their
+use, however, although as yet known to but few; rest and recreation amid
+scenes at the same time novel and most inspiring may there be found by
+the toilers in our crowded cities.</p>
+
+<p>Among the Atlantic mountains only a few summits attain a sufficient
+elevation to claim a wreath of alpine flowers. Something of the nature
+of the gorgeous fields of bloom about the great peaks of the Pacific
+mountains is suggested on the treeless summits of the White Mountains,
+but although classed by botanists among alpine floras, the plants
+growing there fail to give a true idea of the display characteristic of
+the mountains which make a nearer approach to the lower limit of
+perennial snow. In the southern Appalachians the absence of a luxuriant
+alpine flora is perhaps more than counterbalanced by the profusion of
+rhododendrons, azaleas, and laurels.</p>
+
+<div style="padding-top: 1em;"></div>
+
+<p>One instructive lesson suggested by this hasty glance at the plant life
+of North America is furnished by the quick response that vegetation
+gives to conditions of environment.
+<!--274.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span>
+Throughout the greater
+divisions of the forest, prairies, grass-covered plains and valleys, and
+flower-decked mountain heights there are constant variations from
+locality to locality in the plant life to meet seemingly obscure or but
+slight changes in the conditions of temperature, humidity, exposure to
+sunlight, soil composition, soil texture, etc.; and besides there is a
+never-ceasing struggle for existence among the plants themselves which
+leads to important modifications of a flora. These changes occur from
+locality to locality, frequently within a short radius, but more than
+this, the resultant of the various modifying conditions on which plant
+life depends are not constant even for a given locality. The study of
+extinct floras has shown that during the preceding ages in the earth's
+history marvellous changes in the plants of many regions, and, in fact,
+of the entire earth's surface, have taken place. The distinct
+impressions of palm-leaves, for example, are commonly found in the rocks
+of the Cascade Mountains, where spruces, firs, and cedars now dominate
+the landscape. Still more striking is the fact that even treeless
+Greenland and the largely ice-covered islands of the arctic archipelago
+were formerly clothed with forests as luxuriant and varied as those now
+growing in the southern Appalachian region. Although the migrations of
+existing forests during the few centuries of which we have historic
+records have been too slow to be appreciated by man, yet it is safe to
+conclude that changes similar to, and in fact a continuation of, those
+known by geologists to have taken place in the distribution of the
+vegetation of the continent since the Tertiary period are still in
+progress. With far-reaching and exceedingly slow changes in climatic
+conditions and in elevation above the sea due to upheaval and
+denudation, the plants of our forests, prairies, and mountainsides, are
+being moved here and there, in ever-changing combinations. Nature thus
+secures a rotation in the vegetation of a region, as the careful
+husbandman varies his crops from year to year. The suggestion in this
+connection furnished by geologists is that we are living in a
+spring-time following the great winter, known as the Glacial epoch, and
+that the tropical,
+<!--275.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span>
+temperate, and subarctic forests are migrating
+northward in an orderly march, and each in turn ascending higher and
+higher on the more lofty mountains.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Muir, John.</span> <i>The Mountains of California.</i> T. Fisher Unwin,
+London, 1894.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Pinchot, Gifford.</span> <i>A Primer of Forestry.</i> United States Department
+of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 24, Washington, D. C., 1899.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Sargent, C. S.</span> <i>Report on the Forests of North America.</i> Tenth
+Census of the United States, vol. ix, Washington, D. C., 1884.</li>
+
+<li>United States Geological Survey. Reports on Forestry.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--276.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">ANIMAL LIFE</div>
+
+
+<p>A common ground to zoologists and geographers in the exploration of
+which they derive mutual pleasure from assisting each other, is the
+geographical distribution of animals. In this connection the fauna of
+North America presents perhaps even more interesting problems than does
+its flora.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION</div>
+
+<p>In the study of the distribution of animals over a continent, the
+discovery of the laws determining the intangible boundaries which the
+members of a species may not pass is even more difficult than the
+similar task in the case of plants. Plant species for the most part
+advance and retreat slowly as conditions change, and, with minor
+exceptions, there is no freedom of movement for the individual; but
+animals, and especially the higher forms, are sensitive to even slight
+changes in their environment, and there is more or less individual
+freedom to travel over the land, to fly through the air, or to swim
+through the water. Why the members of a given species which have
+apparently unlimited power to travel should be confined to a certain and
+frequently a narrowly circumscribed area has excited the curiosity of
+man for many centuries.</p>
+
+<p>A point is gained in reference to the distribution of animal species
+when it is remembered that animals are either directly or indirectly
+dependent on plants for food, and it follows that if plants, as we have
+seen, are so largely controlled in their distribution by climate, the
+secret of the distribution of animals is to be sought in the same
+direction. When a thoroughly satisfactory classification of
+<!--277.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span>
+climatic provinces is arrived at, it will no doubt be found to agree
+with the larger features of plant distribution, and should coincide,
+although perhaps less definitely, with the major divisions into which
+the zoologist partitions the earth's surface. This principle has been
+recognised by C. Hart Merriam in subdividing the United States into
+"life-zones and crop-zones," and in the following pages his view will be
+discernible, although losing much of their clearness by reflection.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Place of North America in the Life Realms of the Earth.</i>&mdash;The
+geological distribution of animals has been critically studied by P. L.
+Sclater, A. R. Wallace, T. H. Huxley, and others, and the entire land
+area of the earth subdivided into realms, regions, etc., in such a
+manner as to indicate the present grouping of animals. One of the latest
+of these broad views of the life of the earth is presented by Richard
+Lydekker, who, from the evidence furnished by both living and extinct
+mammals, has divided the world into three great "realms," two of which
+are again subdivided into "regions," as follows:</p>
+
+<table summary="List of realms and regions.">
+  <tr>
+    <td>Notogæic realm.</td>
+    <td>1.</td>
+    <td>Australian region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>2.</td>
+    <td>Polynesian region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>3.</td>
+    <td>Hawaiian region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>4.</td>
+    <td>Austro-Malayan region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Neogæic realm.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Neotropical region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Arctogæic realm.</td>
+    <td>1.</td>
+    <td>Malagasy region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>2.</td>
+    <td>Ethiopian region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>3.</td>
+    <td>Oriental region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>4.</td>
+    <td>Holarctic region.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>5.</td>
+    <td>Sonoran region.</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>In this classification, North America falls in part in two realms, the
+<i>Arctogæic</i> and <i>Neogæic</i>, the former embracing the table-land of
+north-central Mexico and all of that portion of the continent lying to
+the northward, while the lowland of Mexico, together with Central
+America and the West Indies, falls in the latter realm. The Arctogæic
+includes also nearly the whole of the eastern hemisphere. The
+relationship expressed in this classification of both the living and
+extinct mammalia of North America to that of Eurasia, is supposed to be
+due to a former land connection
+<!--278.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span>
+between the Old and the New World
+at Bering Strait, and is most clearly marked by northern species, the
+intercontinental bridge being too far north to be available for southern
+forms. The mammals and many of the other animals of the low, hot borders
+of Mexico and of Central America are a northward extension of the fauna
+of South America&mdash;that continent constituting nearly the entire Neogæic
+realm. The mammals of the West Indies are few in species, and have their
+nearest relationship with the fauna of the continent to the southward.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LIFE-REGIONS AND LIFE-ZONES</div>
+
+<p>The detailed study of the zoology of North America is far from complete,
+but the voluminous results reached have led to several attempts at broad
+generalization in reference to geographical distribution. Important and
+highly instructive memoirs have been presented in this connection by J.
+A. Allen, Angelo Heilprin, E. D. Cope, and others, who have in the main
+attempted to correlate the distribution of animal species, but
+principally the mammals, with variations in mean annual temperature.
+Among the latest of these contributions, and marking the advance made at
+the close of the nineteenth century, is the classification proposed by
+C. Hart Merriam, already referred to in the sketches that have been
+given of the climate and of the flora of the continent. The basis for
+this classification is the seemingly well-determined law that the
+northward distribution of terrestrial animals and plants is controlled
+by the sum of the positive temperatures for the entire season of growth
+and reproduction, and that the southward distribution is governed by the
+mean temperature of a brief period during the hotter portion of the
+year. By "positive temperatures" is meant the sum of the mean daily
+temperature above that which determines the period of physiological
+activity in plants and of reproductive activity in animals, assumed to
+be 6° C. or 43° F. The exact length of the period to be taken as the
+hottest portion of the year has not been definitely determined, but
+<!--279.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span>
+must be short enough to fall within the hottest part of the
+summer in high northern latitudes, and probably increases in length from
+north to south; the time assumed is the six hottest consecutive weeks of
+the year.</p>
+
+<p>On the basis just stated, Merriam has divided North America into the
+following life-regions and life-zones:</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="center" rowspan="4"><span class="smcap">Realms of Lydekker.</span></td><td align="center" rowspan="4">Regions.</td><td align="center" rowspan="4">Zones.</td><td align="center" colspan="4"><span class="smcap">Governing Temperatures.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2" style="font-size: 0.8em;">NORTHERN LIMIT.</td><td align="center" colspan="2" style="font-size: 0.8em;">SOUTHERN LIMIT.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">Sum of normal mean daily temperatures above 6° C. or 43° F.</td><td align="center" colspan="2">Normal mean temperature of the six hottest consecutive weeks.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center">Deg. C.</td><td align="center">Deg. F.</td><td align="center">Deg. C.</td><td align="center">Deg. F.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center" rowspan="6">Arctogæic.</td><td align="center" rowspan="3">Boreal.</td><td align="center">Arctic.</td><td>&#8230;</td><td>&#8230;</td><td align="center">10<span class="fnanchor">[3]</span></td><td align="center">50<span class="fnanchor">[3]</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center">Hudsonian.</td><td>&#8230;</td><td>&#8230;</td><td align="center">14<span class="fnanchor">[3]</span></td><td align="center">57.2<span class="fnanchor">[3]</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center">Canadian.</td><td>&#8230;</td><td>&#8230;</td><td align="center">18</td><td align="center">64.4</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center" rowspan="3">Austral.</td><td align="center">Transition.</td><td align="center">5,500</td><td align="center">10,000</td><td align="center">22</td><td align="center">71.6</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center">Upper austral.</td><td align="center">6,400</td><td align="center">11,500</td><td align="center">26</td><td align="center">78.8</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center">Lower austral.</td><td align="center">10,000</td><td align="center">18,000</td><td>&#8230;</td><td>&#8230;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center">Neogæic.</td><td align="center">Tropical.</td><td align="center">(At present unclassified.)</td><td align="center">14,500</td><td align="center">26,000</td><td>&#8230;</td><td>&#8230;</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[3]</span>Estimated from insufficient data.</div>
+
+<p>The boundaries of the regions and zones given in the above table are
+shown on the map facing page 173, but for detailed information
+concerning the basis of the classification the reader is referred to the
+monographs by Merriam mentioned at the end of this chapter. In the
+publications referred to lists are presented of the resident mammals and
+birds characteristic of each region and of its subdivisions to the north
+of Mexico. While the boundaries shown on the accompanying map can be
+recognised in nature by the naturalist and serve a useful purpose, to
+the unskilled observer each region would appear to blend with its
+neighbours by intangible gradations. In fact, in this, as in the case of
+so many other similar instances in nature, there is an absence of
+definite, or what may be termed hard and fast lines. The significance of
+the boundaries referred to, to the unskilled observer, is still more
+obscure by the fact that the migratory birds, and to some extent the
+mammals, annually pass from one zone to another,
+<!--280.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span>
+and besides,
+several conspicuous mammals and birds are permanent residents in more
+than one zone.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE MAMMALS</div>
+
+<p>The relation of the mammals of North America to the similar animals now
+inhabiting other portions of the earth may be briefly shown by
+indicating the distribution of the orders into which the mammalia are
+divided. It will be remembered that in general each order is subdivided
+into families, these again into genera, the genera into species, and a
+species may contain several varieties. The classification here adopted
+is the one used by Lydekker in his Manual of Palæontology. An order when
+represented in the fauna of a continent is indicated in the following
+table by a plus, and when absent by a minus sign.</p>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">CLASS&mdash;MAMMALIA</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="center" rowspan="2" class="smcap">Sub-Classes.</td><td align="center" colspan="2" rowspan="2">Orders.</td><td align="center" rowspan="2">Examples.</td><td align="center" colspan="5" style="font-size: 0.8em;">DISTRIBUTION.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center">N. Am.</td><td align="center">S. Am.</td><td align="center">Eurasia.</td><td align="center">Africa.</td><td align="center">Australia.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" rowspan="9">Eutheria.</td><td align="right">1.</td><td align="left">Primates.</td><td align="left">Man, lemurs, apes, monkeys.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">(Man)</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">2.</td><td align="left">Chiroptera.</td><td align="left">Bats.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">3.</td><td align="left">Insectivora.</td><td align="left">Moles, shrews, hedgehogs.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">-</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">4.</td><td align="left">Carnivora.</td><td align="left">Lions, tigers, cats, dogs, seals, etc.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">-</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">5.</td><td align="left">Rodentia.</td><td align="left">Beavers, rats, mice, squirrels, rabbits.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">6.</td><td align="left">Ungulata.</td><td align="left">Ox, horse, elephant, tapir, etc.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">-</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">7.</td><td align="left">Sirenia.</td><td align="left">Dugong and manatee.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">8.</td><td align="left">Cetacea.</td><td align="left">Whales, dolphins, narwhals.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">9.</td><td align="left">Edentata.</td><td align="left">Sloths, armadillos, ant-eaters.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">-</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Metatheria.</td><td align="right">10.</td><td align="left">Marsupialia.</td><td align="left">Kangaroos, opossums, etc.</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">+</td><td align="center">-</td><td align="center">-</td><td align="center">+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Prototheria.</td><td align="right">11.</td><td align="left">Monotremata.</td><td align="left">Ornithorhynchus, echidna.</td><td align="center">-</td><td align="center">-</td><td align="center">-</td><td align="center">-</td><td align="center">+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<!--281.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span></p>
+
+<p>1. Of the <i>primates</i>, exclusive of man, the monkeys are the only
+representatives in North America. Several species are common in Central
+America, but they are absent from the West Indies, and do not occur
+north of the <i>terra caliente</i> of Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>2. The bats are world-wide in their distribution, and several genera and
+species occur on this continent, their northern limit being in central
+Canada; during the winter in the United States and Canada they hibernate
+largely in caverns. One family of the <i>Chiroptera</i>, the leaf-nosed bats
+(<i>Phyllostomatidæ</i>), are strictly American, having their principal
+habitat in the southern continent, but ranging as far north as the West
+Indies, Mexico, and southern California. These are the vampires of which
+many harrowing tales are told. The Central American species are small,
+not larger than an English sparrow, but do not hesitate to attack
+cattle, and even men.</p>
+
+<p>3. The insect-eating mammals are represented by a large number of genera
+and species, of moles and shrews, but hedgehogs are absent.</p>
+
+<p>4. The flesh-eating animals are well represented by the cats (jaguars,
+panthers, and lynxes), wolves, bears, racoons, martens, etc. Many
+species of the seal family occur about the entire coast-line from Panama
+to the Arctic Ocean. The lion, tiger, leopard, hyena, are absent.</p>
+
+<p>5. The rodents are present in great numbers not only of individuals, but
+of species and genera; as rats, mice, jumping-mice, squirrels,
+porcupines, beavers, rabbits, etc.</p>
+
+<p>6. The hoofed animals, <i>ungulates</i>, are represented by the bison,
+musk-ox, several deer, antelope, mountain-sheep and mountain-goat,
+tapir, and swine (peccary). Abundant remains of extinct species of the
+horse family have been found, ranging far back in geological time, but
+native horses are not known to have existed since the coming of
+Europeans. The most notable vacancies in this order in the living fauna
+are the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, giraffe, and elephant, although
+these are abundantly represented by fossil forms.</p>
+
+<p>7. The <i>Sirenia</i>, which includes certain large herbivorous
+<!--282.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span>
+marine
+mammals of wide distribution, are represented on the borders of the Gulf
+of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea by the manatee.</p>
+
+<p>8. The <i>Cetacea</i> are present in the marine waters adjacent to the coast,
+more especially in the north, where whales of several species, dolphins,
+the narwhal, etc., are found.</p>
+
+<p>9. Of the <i>Edentata</i>, which are so characteristic of the fauna of South
+America, and with one exception (the scaly ant-eater, not found in
+America) do not occur in the Old World, only the armadillo can be
+credited to North America; of this, two species occur from Texas
+southward.</p>
+
+<p>10. The marsupials, found nowhere else in the world to-day except in
+Australia and America, are represented by the opossum, of which two
+species are common in the United States.</p>
+
+<p>11. The lowest known order of the mammalia, the <i>Monotremata</i>,
+represented in Australia by the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus)
+and the <i>Echidna</i>, is unknown in America.</p>
+
+<p>Considered in reference to their abundance, large size of individuals,
+and number of species, in comparison with the other orders present,
+North America may be said to be the home of <i>herbivores</i>. The only
+continent in rivalry with it in this respect is Africa. More abundant in
+individuals and species than the herbivorous mammals, however, but
+smaller in size and frequently diminutive, are the rodents. The
+carnivores are fortunately limited in number of species, although the
+individuals of certain species are at times numerous, but not in general
+dangerous to man.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">SOME REPRESENTATIVE MAMMALS</div>
+
+<p>To the general reader the animals of greatest interest are no doubt the
+mammals, and particularly those which attract the sportsman, are of
+value for food, or furnish fur and skins for clothing. Of such animals
+the northern portion of North America and the mountains extending
+southward into the austral region furnish a large number.
+<!--283.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>The Musk-Ox.</i>&mdash;In the far north, mostly beyond the arctic circle, lives
+the musk-ox, the hardiest of herbivores, in which, as expressed in its
+generic name, <i>Ovibos</i>, there is a curious mingling of the
+characteristics of the sheep and the ox. The teeth are similar to those
+of the sheep, the female has but two mammæ, and beneath the long
+yellowish-brown hair of the outer coat there is a thick wool-like
+growth. Its gentle, inoffensive nature is also similar to that of the
+sheep. The large feet and the horns, however, are like those of the ox
+tribe. The horns resemble those of the Cape buffalo, being broad at the
+base and covering nearly the entire forehead. They slope downward at the
+sides, and then curve forward and outward, at the same time tapering to
+a sharp point, which renders them efficient weapons. These
+characteristics, although intermediate between those of the sheep and
+the ox, are more strongly inclined to the former. In reality, however,
+the musk-ox is more goat-like than sheep-like, as is indicated by its
+covering of hair, its short sturdy legs, the cannon-bone being
+remarkably short, and its ability as a climber.</p>
+
+<p>A full-grown musk-ox measures about 8 feet in length, inclusive of the
+short tail, and is 3 feet, 8 or 9 inches in height at the shoulders. The
+thick-set, shaggy body is supported on short stout legs, and the feet
+are broad, to serve both as scrapers in clearing away the snow from the
+moss and herbage on which it lives and in climbing ice-covered slopes.</p>
+
+<p>Its range is over the Barren Grounds of Canada, the islands of the
+arctic archipelago, and the border of Greenland. Peary found it grazing
+in herds in the far north of Greenland beyond the inland ice, and was
+saved from starvation by the food it furnished. Although hardy and well
+adapted by nature to withstand the most severe cold, it moves southward
+over the Barren Grounds in winter and to some extent at least seeks
+shelter in the subarctic forest, but apparently does not pass to the
+southward of latitude 59°. Like certain other animals of the northern
+portion of the continent, its habitat is to the northeastward and it is
+unknown in Alaska.
+<!--284.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bones of the musk-ox found in the frozen soil of Siberia indicate that
+it formerly had a circumpolar distribution. A skull obtained near Salt
+Lake City, Utah, in 1871, and the presence of its bones in the
+superficial deposit of Europe as far south as the Pyrenees, show that it
+formerly lived far to the southward of its present southern limit. This
+was during the Pleistocene division of geological history, when glacial
+ice covered all of Canada and the arctic animals were crowded southward.
+As the ice melted and its southern margin receded, the musk-ox moved
+northward. The absence of this species in northern Europe and Asia,
+where the climatic conditions, nature of the vegetation, etc., are
+similar to those of its present home, is perhaps due to the influence of
+man. The successful introduction of the domesticated reindeer into
+Alaska suggests that beneficial results would follow the transplanting
+of the musk-ox to northern Siberia.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Polar Bear.</i>&mdash;About all of the northern coast-line of America,
+including the shore of Bering Sea and Baffin Bay, lives the well-known
+polar bear, which is circumpolar in its distribution. The wide range of
+this the most northern of the bear tribe is due not only to its strength
+and ability to make long journeys over rough ice-floes and the wide
+distribution of the animals it feeds upon, principally the hair-seal,
+but is aided by the fact that it takes to the water readily and is a
+good swimmer. It has also been known to make long journeys on floating
+ice.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Eskimo Dog.</i>&mdash;Another animal of circumpolar distribution, the
+original home of which is unknown, is the Eskimo dog, the range of which
+has no doubt been extended while the distribution of many other animals
+has been curtailed, owing to human influences.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Caribou.</i>&mdash;The neighbour of the musk-ox in the desolate solitudes
+of the far north, and in part ranging over the same ground, is the
+caribou, the American representative of the reindeer. Indeed the caribou
+and the reindeer have been considered as belonging to the same species
+by some naturalists, but recently the American division of the genus has
+been shown to consist of at least five species,
+<!--285.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span>
+each of which
+differs from the one found in Europe and Asia. Among hunters and
+sportsmen, two divisions have long been known, namely, the woodland
+caribou and the Barren Ground caribou. The former includes the larger
+species, or the caribou proper, as it may be termed, and the recently
+described species from Newfoundland and Alaska; while the latter is
+represented by a single species, the <i>Rangifer articus</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The woodland caribou is in general about twice the size of the species
+inhabiting the Barren Grounds, has a height of 4&frac12; feet at the
+shoulder, and weighs some 250 pounds, although the males sometimes reach
+a weight of 400 pounds. Its range is from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland
+northwestward through the subarctic forest to British Columbia and
+northeastern Alaska. As its popular name signifies, its home is in the
+forest, and although meeting the smaller form during the latter's
+southward migrations, it does not extend its range to the Barren
+Grounds. On the south, it was formerly found in northern Michigan and in
+southern New York, and thence eastward through Vermont, New Hampshire,
+and Maine. Owing to the activity with which it has been hunted, it has
+for the most part been crowded to the north of the St. Lawrence, and is
+reported to be greatly diminished in numbers even in the wilds of
+Labrador. It still wanders into the woods of New Hampshire and Maine,
+and occurs somewhat abundantly in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. It is
+the caribou of Newfoundland, etc., which comes nearest the reindeer in
+size and in the shape of its magnificent antlers, but none of the
+American species has been domesticated.</p>
+
+<p>The Barren-Ground caribou still occurs in large herds in northern
+Labrador, on the treeless region to the west of Hudson Bay, and in
+winter migrates southward into the shelter of the subarctic forest. In
+its northern range it reaches the shore of the Arctic Ocean and the
+islands adjacent, and on the west follows the tundra to the Bering Sea
+coast. In Alaska it formerly occurred in immense herds, especially in
+winter, when it made long inland journeys through the forest and across
+the frozen rivers, but
+<!--286.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span>
+the invasion of the region by miners and
+the supplying of the natives with firearms has led to a great reduction
+in its numbers. In the barren and but seldom traversed region to the
+west and north of Hudson Bay the caribou is still in its primitive
+condition and moves in bands numbering several thousand. In this
+connection an extract from the journal of J. B. Tyrrell, of the Canadian
+Geological Survey, is of interest: "All day [July 30, 1893] the caribou
+have been around us in vast numbers, many thousands being assembled in a
+single herd. One herd collected on the hill behind our camp, and another
+remained for hours in the wet bog on the point in front of us. The
+little fawns were running about everywhere, often coming up to within a
+yard or two of us, uttering their sharp grunts as they stood and looked
+at us or as they turned and ran back to the does. About noon a large
+herd had collected on the sides and summit of the hill behind us. Taking
+a small hand-camera with which we were supplied, we walked quietly among
+them. As we approached to within a few yards of the dense herd, it
+opened to let us in and then formed a circle around us, so that we were
+able to stand for a couple of hours and watch the deer as they stood in
+the light breeze or rubbed slowly past each other to keep off the black
+flies. The bucks, with their beautiful branching antlers, kept well to
+the background. Later in the afternoon a herd of bucks trotted up to us
+and stood at about 40 yards distant. This was a most beautiful sight,
+for their horns were fully grown, though still soft at the tips, but
+unfortunately we had no camera with us. We did no shooting to-day." The
+herd of caribou just described was estimated to contain between 100,000
+and 200,000 animals.</p>
+
+<p>The destruction of the woodland caribou in the eastern portion of Canada
+has been so great that it is in danger of being exterminated, and great
+suffering, and even starvation has overtaken the Indians of that region
+in consequence. Similar, but even more alarming results have followed
+the thoughtless slaughter of the Barren-Ground caribou in Alaska, and to
+prevent the suffering and even
+<!--287.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">269</a></span>
+threatened extermination of the
+natives, reindeer from Siberia and northern Europe have been introduced
+by the United States Government<span class="fnanchor">[4]</span> and are thriving under the care of
+herders from Lapland. The moss on which the reindeer feed is abundant in
+Alaska, and there seems no good reason why they should not become as
+numerous and useful in their new home as they were in the boreal portion
+of the Old World. The first reindeer were introduced in Alaska in 1881,
+and the several herds, collectively, now number 3,323.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[4]</span>The introduction of domesticated reindeer into North
+America is a very important matter, and one which if properly conducted
+will add vastly to the food supply and resources for clothing for both
+native and white people. The civilization of the natives in the northern
+portion of the continent and the securing for them of a source of
+subsistence which will depend on their own care and industry hinges on
+the success of this undertaking. Much information in this connection may
+be found in the reports of Sheldon Jackson, published by the Bureau of
+Education at Washington between 1893 and 1900.</div>
+
+<p><i>The Moose.</i>&mdash;This, the largest living representative of the deer tribe,
+and with the exception of the bison the largest existing land mammal of
+North America, formerly inhabited the continent throughout its entire
+breadth from the forty-third to the seventieth degree of latitude, or
+from the mouth of the Ohio to the mouth of the Mackenzie. Although
+crowded northward and now found only sparingly in the United States, as,
+for example, in the extensive forests of Maine and in the still larger
+forests clothing the mountains of Montana and Idaho, it has held its own
+in the wildest and most remote portions of the Pacific mountains in
+Canada and Alaska, where its numbers are perhaps nearly as great as they
+were a century ago. Its preservation is due not only to its shyness,
+remarkably quick hearing, and keen sense of smell, but to its solitary
+habits and the fact that it does not gather in herds during the
+breeding season, like most other deer.</p>
+
+<p>A full-grown male moose is from 7 to 8 feet high at the shoulder, and
+from 10 to 12 feet high at the tip of the magnificent antlers when
+standing erect, and is from 800
+<!--288.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">270</a></span>
+to 1,200 pounds in weight. The
+broad palmate antlers with numerous sharp points sometimes measure 8&frac12;
+feet or more from tip to tip. The does are without antlers, and are
+still more ungainly than the long-legged and apparently awkward males.
+Stringent laws are now enforced for the protection of the moose in all
+of the inhabited portions of its range, and it is likely to survive and
+to continue to tempt the sportsman to traverse the wild regions it
+inhabits for several generations to come.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Wapiti.</i>&mdash;Next in size to the moose, and in many ways the grandest
+of the deer tribe not only of America, but of the world, is the wapiti
+or American elk. In language not pedantic, W. A. Perry speaks as follows
+of this noble animal: "Monarch of the wilderness, lord of the mountain,
+king of the plain, what hunter who has sought thee in thy pine-embowered
+home whose heart-beat does not quicken and whose eye does not brighten
+at the mention of thy name! For with it comes the recollection of
+boundless prairies, grass-robed and flower-decked; of pine-clad,
+snow-capped mountains; of sweet breezes, gentle melodies, and grand
+trophies. I once heard an Indian speak his last words, and they were
+these: 'To-morrow, in the Spirit Land, again shall I chase the wapiti.'"</p>
+
+<p>Although the wapiti is one of the typical animals of the boreal region,
+in its primitive freedom it overstepped the boundaries of the life-zones
+which science seeks to define, and marched southward far into the
+austral region. It was found at the coming of the white man in nearly
+all parts of what is now the United States, and extended from the
+table-land of north-central Mexico northward to the fifty-sixth or
+fifty-seventh degree of latitude, or about the position of Lake
+Athabasca. Its northern range thus overlapped the region inhabited by
+the moose and caribou, while at the south it was exposed to the attacks
+of the jaguar. As civilization advanced across the continent, the wapiti
+slowly retreated, and in diminished numbers it now lives in the wildest
+portion of the Pacific mountains to the north of Snake River and the
+Columbia. It is still abundant in the Olympic Mountains of Washington,
+the
+<!--289.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">271</a></span>
+Bitter Root Mountains of Idaho, and in Montana. A large herd
+finds protection in the Yellowstone National Park, but in winter, when
+migrating southward, is exposed to most destructive attacks from both
+white and Indian hunters. Among the mountains of the mainland in British
+Columbia and the central and more rugged portion of Vancouver Island it
+is still the "king of the wilderness."</p>
+
+<p>The male wapiti at maturity is some 7 or 8 feet high at the shoulders,
+and lifts its wide-spreading antlers fully 11 feet from the ground. Its
+weight is from 800 to possibly 1,100 pounds. The colour is, in general,
+dark brown, with lighter shades on the thighs, and changing to black
+beneath the body; there are stripes of light brown on either side of the
+tail which join an area of similar colour beneath the hind legs; the
+colour varies, however, at different seasons and in different
+individuals. The head is small, well formed, and beautiful. The carriage
+of the animal and its bold, undaunted mien, when roaming its native
+mountains and glens, is all and more than poets ascribe to the stag of
+the Old World.</p>
+
+<p>Stringent laws are now on the statute-books for the protection of the
+wapiti, both in the United States and Canada, but the difficulties in
+the way of enforcing them in regions remote from civilization are great.
+The wapiti does not extend into the most forbidding wilds of the far
+north, where its safety as a species, as in the case of the moose, would
+be insured, and besides, congregates in bands, which facilitates its
+slaughter. Its range has been steadily decreasing since the coming of
+the white man, and particularly since the introduction of firearms among
+the Indians, and its extinction, outside of reservations and parks, is
+to be expected in the near future.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Smaller Deer.</i>&mdash;Besides the caribou, moose, and wapiti, there are
+half a dozen or more members of the deer family (<i>Cervidæ</i>) represented
+in the fauna of North America. Of these the Virginia deer is best known,
+as its range embraces the most thickly settled portion of the continent
+between Maine and the Gulf States, and from the Atlantic coast to the
+Rocky Mountains. In spite of indiscriminate
+<!--290.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">272</a></span>
+slaughter and poorly
+enforced game laws, this species has not only held its own, but in
+recent years has greatly increased in number in certain localities. To
+the west of the range of the Virginia deer and merging with it in part,
+in the Pacific mountain region occur the white-tailed, black-tailed
+mule, and sonora deer, and perhaps other species. The combined ranges of
+these several species embrace the larger part of the continent and
+extend from eastern Canada to the Pacific coast, and from southern
+Alaska to Panama.</p>
+
+<p>Next to the deer comes the antelope, formerly so common on the Great
+plateaus. This, the pronghorn antelope, as it is usually termed, is
+about the size of the domestic sheep, but with long slim legs, and is a
+most active and exceedingly graceful animal. Its true home is on the
+treeless plateaus east of the Rocky Mountains, but its range extends
+from Saskatchewan to northern Mexico, and from the Prairie plains to the
+Cascade Mountains in Oregon. It has steadily decreased in number,
+especially during the last quarter of a century, and is now no longer
+seen in the large bands that were formerly an attractive feature of the
+sea-like plains over which it travels seemingly with the freedom of a
+bird.</p>
+
+<p>The animals thus far referred to have their range determined mainly by
+the broader features of climate, but not in a conspicuous way by the
+relief of surface. They inhabit mountains, plateaus, and plains alike,
+as is shown most conspicuously in the case of the wapiti, which formerly
+grazed in large herds on the prairies of the Mississippi Valley, and has
+been killed at an elevation of over 10,000 feet in the Pacific
+mountains. Not so, however, with the mountain-climbers whose names
+follow, which have their chosen "station" on the mountains at
+timber-line and ascend as far above that horizon as vegetation grows.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Bighorn or Mountain-Sheep.</i>&mdash;The bighorn, of which three species
+are now recognised, has its home in the Pacific mountains from northern
+Mexico to central and northern Alaska. Its vertical range is also great,
+as it has been seen on the precipitous walls of the Grand Cañon of
+<!--291.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">273</a></span>
+the Colorado, but a few hundred feet above sea-level, and about
+the summits of the peaks of Colorado and in the Sierra Nevada and
+Cascade Mountains at elevations of from 10,000 to 13,000 feet. An
+exception to the fact that the bighorn is usually found on rugged
+mountains and is most at home on seemingly inaccessible cliffs is
+furnished by bands which live and appear to thrive amid the Bad Lands
+along the Missouri River, some 400 miles to the eastward of the Stony
+Mountains.</p>
+
+<p>The bighorn resembles the wapiti in colour, although it is of a lighter
+brown, especially in winter. It is clothed with wool beneath the stiff
+outer coat of hair, and is a true sheep, but larger than any
+domesticated variety of <i>Ovis</i>. The rams attain a height of at least 3
+feet 6 inches at the shoulder, and weigh some 300 or 400 pounds. Both
+sexes are provided with horns, but those of the male are much the
+larger, and in the finest examples attain a length of 30 inches,
+measured along the outer curve, and a circumference at the base of 15 or
+16 inches. The most magnificent head ever obtained, so far as the writer
+has been able to learn, is that of a ram shot in the Selkirk Mountains,
+the horns of which are 52&frac12; inches in length, measured along the outer
+curve, and 18&frac12; inches in circumference at the base. These immense
+horns are used, as in the case of the domestic ram, in fighting, but the
+widely current statement in reference to the animals alighting on them
+when jumping from precipices is entirely mythical. The bighorn is a
+fearless and skilful mountaineer, and will climb or descend precipices
+by bounding from ledge to ledge where the most reckless hunter dares not
+follow. Its ability to find a sure footing on even smoothly glaciated
+rocks is due to the peculiar structure of the feet, which have a
+rubber-like pad beneath the sharp-pointed and sharp-edged hoofs.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Mazama or Mountain-Goat.</i>&mdash;The companion of the bighorn on the
+lofty mountains, but even more thoroughly a mountaineer, is the
+so-called mountain-goat, <i>Aplocerus montanus</i>, which, in spite of its
+long hair, short curved horns, sturdy legs, bearded chin, and general
+goat-like appearance,
+<!--292.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">274</a></span>
+and more than the goat's ability to climb,
+is in reality more nearly related to the antelope than it is to the
+sheep. This alpine antelope, unlike its cousin of the plains, is only at
+home on dizzy heights, and summer and winter alike lives at timber-line
+on the mountains or in the alpine gardens adjacent to perpetual snow.</p>
+
+<p>One of the earliest generic names under which it is assumed this alpine
+antelope was included, namely, <i>Mazama</i>, although rejected by
+naturalists, has recently been revived and adopted by an enthusiastic
+mountaineering club in Portland, Oregon, as their name, and is likely to
+become widely known. Among the hunters and the inhabitants generally of
+the region where the animal under consideration lives it is termed the
+mountain-goat, and no protest from naturalists, however well founded, is
+likely to bring about a change in this connection.</p>
+
+<p>The mazama is entirely white, excepting its hoofs, horns, and narrow
+lines about the eyes and nostrils, which are black. In general, it is
+smaller than the bighorn, but bucks have been reported to attain a
+length of nearly 6 feet and a weight of some 300 or 400 pounds. Its
+habitat is not only higher on the mountains but more restricted in
+geographical extent than that of the bighorn. It is said to live about
+Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the Sierra Nevada, but is unknown
+farther south; in Colorado it is reported to have been seen on a few of
+the higher peaks, but its main range begins well to the north of these
+outlying localities, in the mountains of Montana and Idaho and in the
+Cascades. To the north of the United States it occurs throughout the
+higher ranges of British Columbia and in the mountains of southern
+Alaska as far west at least as Cook Inlet. It is plentiful and as yet
+undisturbed by hunters on the foot-hills about Mount St. Elias, where
+the alpine conditions congenial to it occur at an elevation of from
+2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea. Like all of the larger animals, and
+especially the herbivores, the bighorn and the mazama are sought by
+sportsmen, but on account of the ruggedness of the regions they inhabit
+and their wariness they are likely to survive when most other examples
+<!--295.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">275</a></span>
+of "big game" shall have been exterminated. Both the bighorn and
+the mazama are sought by Indians for food and for their pelts, and their
+horns are frequently used, especially in Alaska, in the manufacture of
+spoons. They are practically of no economic importance to white men,
+although their flesh when young is excellent food, and their fleeces
+would be of value to the weaver if they could be obtained in sufficient
+quantity. They serve, however, to entice the sportsman, who is usually
+an ardent lover of nature, into some of the wildest and grandest regions
+the continent affords. Their value in this connection is not to be
+measured in dollars, and strenuous efforts should be made to insure
+their continuance.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Fig_31" id="Fig_31"></a>
+<img src="images/i292.jpg" width="400" height="269" alt="Fig. 31." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 31.</span>&mdash;Bison at Silver Heights, Winnipeg. (Photograph
+by William Notman &amp; Son.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>The Bison.</i>&mdash;Of all the larger mammals of North America, none was more
+numerous at the time Europeans advanced over the continent than the
+bison or "buffalo" (<i>Bos americanus</i>), and none more important alike to
+the Indian and the white man. The part played by this relative of the
+domestic ox in the history of the country is not only instructive, but
+one of the best illustrations that can be furnished of the practical
+extermination of a species through the greed and lack of forethought of
+so-called civilized man.</p>
+
+<p>The bison is a shaggy, brown animal, about the size of the well-known
+Durham breed of cattle, but with a larger head and a prominent hump on
+the shoulders (Fig. 31). The hind quarters are small in comparison with
+the massive head and shoulders, and appear weak. The head, neck,
+shoulders, and fore legs are covered with thick matted hair, at times 16
+inches long and of a dark-brown colour merging into black. The straight
+black hair beneath the chin of the bull is usually some 10 inches in
+length, and as the animal carries its head low, frequently sweeps the
+ground. Back of the medial portion of the body the hair is short and of
+a yellowish-brown colour, or "between dark umber and a living-liver
+brown," as Audubon says. There is much variation in colour, however, and
+distinct varieties have been stated to exist. The horns,
+<!--296.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">276</a></span>
+hoofs,
+and a bare space about the nostrils and mouth are black.</p>
+
+<p>The weight of a fully grown bull is about 2,000 pounds, and of a cow
+1,200 pounds.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 670px;"><a name="Fig_32" id="Fig_32"></a>
+<img src="images/i294.jpg" width="670" height="700" alt="Fig. 32." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 32.</span>&mdash;Range of the Bison.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The boundaries of the region in which the bison has been seen by white
+men, together with the dates of its extermination in various sections of
+the country, etc., are shown in Fig. 32. In about 1870 the vast herd
+which ranged over the treeless plateaus and Prairie plains between the
+Rio Grande and Great Slave Lake was divided, owing to the great
+slaughter that occurred in the vicinity of the Central Pacific Railroad,
+into two herds, one of which had its summer range in Montana and
+neighbouring territory,
+<!--297.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">277</a></span>
+but moved northward in summer into
+Canada, while the other fed on the plains of the west Texas region in
+winter and moved northward in summer as far as southern Nebraska. In
+each case a southward movement was begun as winter approached, but these
+seasonal changes scarcely warrant the name of migrations.</p>
+
+<p>The number of these large animals living between the Mississippi and
+Rocky Mountains previous to 1872, even after being hunted for centuries
+by the Indians and killed in constantly increasing numbers each year by
+white men for half a century, can only be reckoned in millions. Many
+trustworthy observations are on record, however, from which the vastness
+of the herds can be approximately judged. For example, R. I. Dodge thus
+refers to a herd which he passed through in the Arkansas Valley in May,
+1871, when it was moving northward: "The great herd could not have
+averaged, <i>at rest</i>, over 15 or 20 individuals to the acre, but was not
+less than 25 miles wide, and from reports of hunters and others it was
+about five days in passing a given point, or not less than 50 miles
+deep. From the top of Pawnee Rock I could see from 6 to 10 miles in
+almost every direction. This whole vast space was covered with buffalo,
+looking at a distance like one compact mass, the visual angle not
+permitting the ground to be seen." From this and other observations, W.
+T. Hornaday has estimated that the herd referred to numbered not less
+than 4,000,000 individuals. From the records kept by railroad companies
+of the number of skins shipped over their lines and other evidences, it
+has been computed that of the southern herd mentioned above over
+3,500,000 individuals were killed during the years 1872, 1873, and 1874.
+The northern herd seems to have been at least as large as the southern
+one, so that the entire number on the Great plateaus in any one year for
+the decade preceding 1870 was not less than 8,000,000, and even this
+vast number seems to be an underestimate.</p>
+
+<p>The great slaughter of the southern herd occurred from 1872 to 1874, and
+of the northern herd ten years later. In 1889, as stated by Hornaday,
+the bisons running
+<!--298.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">278</a></span>
+at large in North America numbered but 635. In
+1902 the number of bison in the United States was reported to be 800,
+the increase being due to protection extended to the herds, and perhaps
+also to a more accurate count.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fur-Bearing Animals.</i>&mdash;Of the animals of North America which are taken
+for their fur, the seal and sea-otter have already been referred to in
+connection with the brief review presented of the life of the
+continental shelf. As is well known, the colder regions of the earth are
+the ones which yield the most valuable furs, and in the fur trade of the
+world this continent, on account of its wide expansion at the north, has
+taken the leading place as a producer. In fact, the fur trade is a
+prominent feature in the history of America, and one whose followers
+experienced great vicissitudes and countless adventures.</p>
+
+<p>The animals that tempted the tireless and fearless sons particularly of
+France, England, Scotland, and Russia to build their fortified
+trading-posts throughout the subarctic forest from the St. Lawrence to
+the Mackenzie and Yukon, were principally the beaver, sable, ermine,
+fox, mink, wolverene, bear, otter, wolf, lynx, musk-rat, skunk, marmot,
+etc. Nearly all of these animals are forest dwellers, and several of
+them, as the beaver, otter, mink, and musk-rat, haunt the shores of
+streams and lakes. Of the sable, there are two species, known as the
+marten and the fisher. The bears are represented by at least four
+species. The foxes number at least a dozen species, of which four are
+especially prized for the beauty of their fur, namely, the arctic, red,
+cross, and silver.</p>
+
+<p>While the fur-bearing animals named above are characteristic of the life
+of the boreal region of North America, a number of the species, and, in
+fact, nearly all of them, range southward into the austral region,
+especially in the more humid and generally forest-covered portions of
+both the Pacific and Atlantic mountains, while one of the most important
+as regards the beauty of its fur&mdash;the otter (<i>Lutra canadensis</i>),
+frequently termed the land-otter, in order not to confound it with its
+larger and far more valuable cousin, the sea-otter (<i>Enhydra
+marina</i>)&mdash;reaches the torrid region
+<!--299.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">279</a></span>
+and is still living in
+Florida, and has been reported as occurring in Central America.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the fur-bearing animals referred to above, the most valuable when
+the total number of skins that have been taken is considered, and in
+many ways the most interesting, is the beaver, of which but one living
+species (<i>Castor canadensis</i>), closely allied to the beaver of northern
+Europe, is known in America. Fully grown individuals are about 3 feet in
+length, one-third of which is to be credited to the broad, flat,
+scale-covered tail, and weighs some 50 or 60 pounds. The outer coat of
+its pelage consists of rather coarse brown hair, beneath which there is
+a fine, soft, dark fur, which makes its skin of commercial value. In
+dressing the skins the hair is plucked, the fine fur beneath being
+clipped to a uniform length and usually dyed. The formerly well-known
+beaver hat was made from this fur, but in recent years silk has taken
+its place. The importance of the American beaver is illustrated by the
+fact that some 7,000,000 skins have been sold in London by the Hudson's
+Bay Company since the year 1752. Not only is the fur of the beaver in
+demand, but its flesh, and especially the muscles of the tail, are
+prized for food by hunters and others who live the free, open-air life
+of the frontier, although it is seldom exposed for sale in the markets
+of cities.</p>
+
+<p>The beaver is of interest to the geographer not only on account of its
+wide distribution, which embraced the entire continent wherever the
+willow, birch, alder, etc., on which it subsisted, could grow, from
+northern Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, but for the reason that it made
+more conspicuous and lasting changes in the minor features of the
+surface of the land than any other mammal. One of its peculiar habits is
+that it gnaws down trees frequently 6 or 8 inches in diameter, and after
+cutting them into sticks a few feet in length, uses them in making dams
+across small streams. These dams were built in thousands and tens of
+thousands all through the forested regions, and being plastered with
+mud, and still further enlarged and strengthened by the accumulation of
+driftwood and leaves,
+<!--300.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">280</a></span>
+held the waters of the streams in check and
+caused them to expand so as to form small lakes, ponds, and swamps.
+These beaver-dam lakes are common even at the present day, and many of
+them which have been filled with sediment or drained furnish rich lands,
+now utilized for gardens and cultivated fields. In Michigan these
+beaver-dam lakes furnish the rich black soil so favourable for the
+raising of celery and other vegetables. The beaver has disappeared from
+all but the wilder and more inaccessible portions of the continent, but
+the influence of the changes it made in the drainage of the land will
+endure for many generations to come.</p>
+
+<p>Of the fur-bearing animals mentioned above, none are more definitely
+American than the skunks, or, to use a more felicitous name, <i>Mephitis</i>,
+which ranges from central Canada to central Mexico, and is represented
+by four or five species. As stated by Elliott Coues in his instructive
+monograph on the North America <i>Mustelidæ</i>, the skunks are closely
+related to the badgers, being heavy-bodied, short-legged, stout in
+build, with hairy tails and generally loose pelage. They neither climb
+trees nor swim in water; their gait is slow, and they do not allow
+themselves to be hurried, even in the face of danger; their retreats are
+burrows in the ground or dens in rocks and hollow logs, and sometimes in
+the nooks and corners of dwellings and outhouses. Their most common
+representative, <i>Mephitis mephitica</i>, is a beautiful animal some 15 or
+20 inches in length, exclusive of its bushy tail, which is usually 12 to
+15 inches long. The head is small, the ears low and short, and the hair
+of a glossy black, relieved by conspicuous white markings which are not
+only irregular in shape, but vary with individuals. The most marked
+characteristic of the skunks is their ability to emit at will a fluid
+which has the most disagreeable and sickening odour known. This fluid is
+secreted in two glands, each about one inch in diameter, situated at the
+base of the tail and opening into the rectum, but has no connection with
+the secretions of the kidneys, and is probably seldom discharged except
+when the animal is annoyed. It is a unique and most efficient
+<!--301.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">281</a></span>
+means of defence. In this connection it is to be remembered, however,
+that the skunks belong to the family <i>Mustelidæ</i>, which is characterized
+in part by the odoriferous secretions present in its various species,
+but, above all others, the odours emitted by the genera under
+consideration are the most dreadful. The stench produced by these
+animals when startled or enraged is not only horrible beyond
+description, but endures for months and even a year or more. The yellow
+liquid which is ejected is squirted in a fine spray for a distance of
+some 6 or 8 feet, but its odour may sometimes be perceived, even when
+the wind is still, for a distance of a quarter of a mile.</p>
+
+<p>The skunk having this one unconquerable means of defence from all its
+enemies except man, exhibits evidence of degeneration in other respects.
+When discharging its odoriferous fluid it faces its enemy, who is held
+at bay or retreats, and hence, not being compelled to run, has acquired
+a slow, wavering gait and deliberate movements; having no occasion to
+ascend trees for safety, it has lost or failed to develop the ability to
+climb; and its lack of other powers which are highly developed in its
+near of kin may be used in illustration in a similar way. It is
+practically removed from the attacks of enemies excepting dogs and other
+canines and some birds of prey, but has to adapt itself to conditions of
+climate and food supply. In winter in the northern portion of its
+habitat it becomes more or less torpid, and during the coldest weather
+usually hibernates, thus lessening the exertion required to procure
+sustenance. When the temperature is not excessively low it seeks its
+food, which consists of insects, birds' eggs, small reptiles, mice,
+etc., and in settled regions visits the poultry-yards, and thus
+increases the enmity extended to it by all mankind, who have ever been
+disgusted by its odours. Another objectionable fact in reference to this
+despised yet, we may perhaps say, respectfully treated animal, is that
+its bite sometimes produces hydrophobia.</p>
+
+<p>The skunks are not only widely distributed in North America, occupying
+perhaps a larger area in the austral than they do in the boreal region,
+but are influenced to a less
+<!--302.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">282</a></span>
+extent by climatic and topographic
+conditions than probably any other genera among our mammals. It lives
+among mountains and on plateaus and plains, and in forests as well as on
+the open prairies, and extends from humid regions like eastern Canada
+and New England to the dry, semi-desert valley of New Mexico, and from
+the cold shores of the Great Lakes and central Canada to the warm Gulf
+States. Although offensive, and everywhere declared a nuisance, and
+persecuted as such, as well as trapped and hunted for its pelt, its
+range has been decreased but little since the settlement of the country
+by Europeans, although its numbers are greatly reduced. Its beautiful
+fur when deodorized and dyed of a uniform black is sold under the name
+"Alaskan sable," "black marten," "American sable," etc., and is
+extensively worn even by the most fashionably attired dames of every
+land.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Bears.</i>&mdash;Of the bears native to North America, as was stated by S.
+F. Baird in 1857, the number of species is somewhat indefinite, but four
+are commonly recognised and mention is sometimes made of two others.
+This uncertainty as to the number of species of the genus <i>Ursus</i>, I
+believe, still exists, and in itself is significant. If the bears have
+not been satisfactorily classified, as is apparently the case, it
+suggests that they exhibit great variations and that the drawing of hard
+and fast specific boundaries among them is difficult, and perhaps
+impossible.</p>
+
+<p>The species which are usually recognised are the polar bear, the
+grizzly, the cinnamon, and the black. Of the black and brown or cinnamon
+bears there seems to be several varieties, some of which are perhaps
+worthy of being considered species. On the other hand, it must be
+remembered that Baird and others makes the cinnamon a variety of the
+black bear. Again the grizzly and cinnamon intergrade in such a manner
+that an experienced naturalist has considered them to be but extremes of
+a single species.</p>
+
+<p>The polar bear is distinguished from its kindred, at least in a general
+way, by its large size and white or yellowish-white colour. These and
+other differences from its relatives have led naturalists to place it in
+a distinct genus,
+<!--303.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">283</a></span>
+of which it is the only species. It is
+circumpolar in its distribution, and in America occurs along the coast,
+seldom travelling inland except during the breeding season, when it is
+sometimes met with 25 miles from the ocean. Its southern range on the
+Atlantic coast is in northern Labrador, but it is occasionally carried
+on floating ice as far south as Newfoundland. It inhabits the shores of
+Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. On the west coast it reaches Bering
+Strait, and is carried on floating ice to the islands in the northern
+part of Bering Sea, and at rare intervals reaches the Pribilof Islands.
+It is probably strictly carnivorous, and lives principally on the seal.
+It is supposed to be the largest of the bear tribe, but is certainly
+approached if not rivalled in size by the brown bear of southern Alaska.
+As many arctic explorers testify, it is dangerous to man and will lead
+in an attack.</p>
+
+<p>The famous grizzly or "silver tip" inhabits the Pacific mountains, but
+is best known in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Although like
+all kindred species presenting conspicuous individual variations, it is
+usually dark in colour, with white tips to some of the hairs. The pelage
+is long, almost shaggy, and gives the animal even a more formidable
+appearance than its great size and strength justifies. It is not only
+one of the largest of the American bears, ranking in this respect with
+the polar bear and the largest of the huge brown bears, but is also
+probably the fiercest, and not infrequently has been known to attack
+man, although it will usually retreat from the presence of human beings
+if an opportunity is available. Full-grown individuals are about 8 feet
+in length and weigh in the neighbourhood of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds.</p>
+
+<p>The brown bear, of which there are perhaps three species, including the
+Barren-Ground bear of the north-central part of Canada, are, as their
+name signifies, of a brown or cinnamon colour, but present great
+variation in this respect. Some are of a decided yellow, while others
+become dark and are scarcely distinguishable from the true grizzly. They
+reach a great size, particularly in southern Alaska, and possibly in
+certain instances even exceed the
+<!--304.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">284</a></span>
+polar bear in dimensions and
+weight. The tracks of one which I measured near Mount St. Elias were 16
+inches long by 8 inches wide, and the stride was 64 inches. The range of
+the brown bear is confined principally to the Pacific mountains, but is
+of greater extent than that of the true grizzlies and includes central
+Canada.</p>
+
+<p>The black bears are of almost continental distribution and occurred in
+all or nearly all wooded districts before the balance of natural
+conditions was disturbed by the coming of the white man. They are the
+smallest of the bear tribe on this continent and are usually harmless,
+but at times when attacked or approached suddenly, especially if
+accompanied by their young, become formidable enemies. Their colour is
+usually a glossy black, but much variation occurs, especially about the
+head, and this and other differences are thought by some to indicate
+specific distinctions. A seemingly well-marked variety occurring in
+southern Alaska, which has a thick bluish-black under-fur, has recently
+been described as a distinct species.</p>
+
+<p>Near relatives of the bear are the racoons, of which several species are
+present, one being abundant in the eastern portion of the United States
+and the other in the Pacific mountains.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Cats.</i>&mdash;The <i>Felidæ</i> are represented by two genera, <i>Felis</i> and
+<i>Lynx</i>, each of which contains several species.</p>
+
+<p>Of the true cats, the largest is the beautiful jaguar, or American
+tiger, <i>Felis onza</i>, which is nearly as large, and by some said to be
+equal in size to its Asiatic relative. It more nearly approaches the
+leopard, however, in the character of its spots as well as in its
+arboreal habit, but exceeds it in size. The jaguar is some 4 feet or
+more in length to the base of the tail, and the tail is about 3 feet
+long. Its general colour is a soft-yellowish passing into dark brown and
+black, with large rosette- or somewhat lozenge-shaped spots, which take
+the form of indefinite rings of dark fur with lighter centres, within
+which there are one or two dark dots or eyes. The skins are fully as
+beautiful as those of the tiger or leopard, and are highly prized for
+rugs, and in some cases have been used for
+<!--305.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">285</a></span>
+clothing. A dark,
+nearly black variety (or perhaps more properly, examples of melanism)
+has been described as a distinct species, and is sometimes spoken of as
+the black tiger.</p>
+
+<p>The centre of distribution of the jaguar is probably in the great
+Amazonian forest, but it ranges over nearly all of South America,
+throughout Central America, and extends northward to Texas and perhaps
+Louisiana.</p>
+
+<p>Next to the jaguar in importance is the widely known panther. Unlike
+most of its relatives, this species has an essentially uniform colour.
+The fur on the back, head, and tail is of a tawny brownish-yellow, but
+varies somewhat with changes in seasons. The under parts are of a dirty
+white. The animal when full-grown is of a formidable size, the larger
+examples being nearly 5 feet long from the tip of the nose to the base
+of the tail. The stout cylindrical tail is from 20 to over 30 inches
+long. In spite of its size and great strength the panther is not to be
+feared so long as room for its escape is open, as it is a great coward.
+One of the most interesting facts concerning this species is its
+unusually great range. Before being disturbed by white men it inhabited
+practically the entire width of both North and South America, from
+Hudson Bay to Patagonia, an extreme range of some 110 degrees of
+latitude. It is most at home in the mountains and is seldom seen on open
+plains. It is still common in the Pacific mountains of the United States
+and Canada.</p>
+
+<p>Of the smaller cats, several of which are beautifully marked, mention
+may be made of the ocelot of the Texas region and the lynx or American
+wildcat. The latter, of which there are at least three varieties, is yet
+common, and maintains approximately its original range, which embraces
+the entire width of the continent from the subarctic forest at least as
+far south as northern Mexico.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Wolves.</i>&mdash;In the history of the establishment of English colonies
+in this country, and throughout the spread of civilization across the
+continent, many accounts are given of encounters with wolves. These
+stories as they have been handed down have probably in many instances
+<!--306.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">286</a></span>
+been magnified, but there is no doubt but that the larger wolves,
+such as the gray timber-wolf, once common in the northern portion of the
+United States, when assembled in packs and pressed by hunger, were
+formidable antagonists.</p>
+
+<p>Of the wolves, four species are usually recognised, but their great
+variation, in each instance, has led to the description of numerous
+varieties, some of which have by certain writers been given the dignity
+of distinct species. The largest is the gray wolf, which is white or
+grizzly gray in colour, and frequently 5 feet or more in length and
+weighs 50 to 60 pounds. Individuals have been killed, however, which
+exceed these measures. The range of this species, or group of species as
+the case may be, was originally continental, but more particularly in
+the forested regions. Its hair, which is frequently 4 inches or more in
+length, and the fine thick under-fur make the skins valuable for robes,
+but they are seldom used for clothing, except by the Indians and
+Eskimos. The hood of the outer garment worn by Eskimos, termed a parkie,
+is frequently fringed about the face-opening with the long warm hair of
+the wolf.</p>
+
+<p>A smaller species, the coyote, is still common on the western plains,
+and is termed the prairie-wolf. It is a comparatively small animal,
+although frequently 3 feet in length of body with a bushy tail
+two-thirds as long, and is of a skulking, cowardly nature. Its colour is
+usually a yellowish gray, and its skin, although used for robes, is much
+inferior to that of the gray wolf. Its range is from northern Mexico
+northward throughout the great plateaus, and in the valleys of the
+Pacific mountains into Canada. It is usually the first of the larger
+mammals the traveller in that region learns the existence of, even at
+the present day. Several individuals frequently gather together just
+after sunset and make their presence known by barking and howling in
+concert. These serenades last but a short time, however, and are likely
+to be repeated in the morning just before sunrise. During the night the
+animals composing these bands seem to scatter and hunt for food
+<!--307.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">287</a></span>
+singly, but reunite in the early morning, after which they again
+separate and seek secluded individual retreats.</p>
+
+<p><i>Brief Mention of Other Mammals.</i>&mdash;In order to convey an adequate idea
+of the large variety and richness of the North American mammalian fauna
+far more space would be required than is at present available. Indeed,
+of the smaller mammals much more research is evidently needed before
+even the number of genera and species can be enumerated, much less their
+life histories and economic importance made known, as is indicated by
+the fact that a large number of species previously recognised has been
+described during the past two or three years.</p>
+
+<p>Of the abundant smaller mammals, none are more attractive or beautiful
+than the arboreal squirrels, of which several species are widely known.
+One of these, the common red squirrel, is remarkable for its wide range
+and adaptability to a great variety of conditions. It is abundant in the
+valley of the Yukon and even north of the arctic circle, throughout the
+forest-covered portions of Canada, and as far south as the South
+Atlantic States. Of less extensive range is the gray squirrel and the
+black squirrel, common in New England, and the somewhat larger and yet
+more beautiful fox squirrel of the central part of the continental
+basin. There are also a large number of species of ground squirrels, and
+several species of flying-squirrels. The rodents are also represented by
+the marmots, certain species of which are exceedingly numerous near
+timber-line in many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains as far north
+at least as Mount St. Elias, and by gophers, chipmunks, lemmings, the
+musk-rat, porcupines, rabbits, hares, rats, mice, etc. The list might
+also be extended by enumerating the bats, shrews, and moles, but we are
+compelled to cut short this most interesting portion of our review.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mammalian Families Peculiar to America.</i>&mdash;While there are many genera
+and species of mammals found only on this continent, the number of
+families that are peculiar to it is small. Among the characteristic
+families, most of which, however, extend into South America, none are of
+greater interest in the study of geographical distribution
+<!--308.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">288</a></span>
+than
+the opossums, of which there are 3 genera and some 22 species, all of
+them confined to the New World. Of these, two species are common in
+North America: one, the Virginia opossum, abundant throughout the
+eastern portion of the United States to the south of New York, and the
+other and smaller species, which inhabits Mexico and extends northward
+into southern California and Texas. Many representatives of this same
+family occur in Central and South America, some of which are notable on
+account of their diminutive size. The opossums are of peculiar interest
+owing to the fact that they are the only representatives of the
+marsupials now living outside of Australia. Fossil species occur,
+however, in the Tertiary rock of Europe, so that the American forms
+cannot be considered as indicating a recent land connection between this
+continent and Australia.</p>
+
+<p>The porcupines are also representative of the New World fauna, although
+not strictly confined to it, and belong mostly in the northern
+continent. The Canadian porcupine is found throughout nearly the entire
+forested portion of the boreal region and extends as far south as the
+Middle Atlantic States, and an allied species, but of larger size,
+inhabits a portion of the same region and extends to the Pacific
+mountains and occurs in Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>The racoons are strictly American and inhabit both continents. They are
+common in the forests of Central America and Mexico, and extend as far
+north as central Canada.</p>
+
+<p>Of the several families of smaller and less well-known mammals peculiar
+to this continent, mention may be made of the pouched rats of
+California.</p>
+
+<p>All of the animals to which attention has thus far been directed are now
+living; should one attempt to describe the great number of fossil forms
+whose bones have been discovered in the rocks, the menagerie would be
+vastly enlarged, and many exceedingly strange species, genera, families,
+and even larger divisions of the animal kingdom, added to the extended
+procession.
+<!--309.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">289</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE BIRDS</div>
+
+<p>When one attempts to write an account of the birds of North America, the
+heavens seem darkened with such a multitude of varied and beautiful
+forms and the air filled with such a discordant clamour mingled with the
+sweetest of music that failure to convey an adequate idea of the
+countless numbers and diversity of the feathered throng within the
+compass of a few pages must be recognised from the start.</p>
+
+<p>The important place held by the birds of North America in the avifauna
+of the world, may perhaps be best indicated by noting first of all what
+orders and families are without representatives among them.</p>
+
+<p>The orders under which the birds of the world are arranged in the scheme
+of classification adopted by Wallace in his great work on the
+geographical distribution of animals are as follows:</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap" style="padding-bottom: 1em;">CLASS&mdash;AVES</div>
+
+<table border="0" summary="Animal orders.">
+  <tr class="smcap" style="font-size: 0.8em;">
+    <td style="width: 10em">Orders.</td>
+    <td>Examples.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td style="line-height: 0.5em;">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>1. Passeres</td>
+    <td>Includes the greater number of the smaller birds, such
+        as kingbirds, flycatchers, larks, jays, crows,
+        blackbirds, finches, sparrows, warblers, chickadees,
+        swallows, thrushes, etc., numbering in North America
+        some 328 species and many subspecies.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>2. Picariæ</td>
+    <td>Woodpeckers, cuckoos, toucans, kingfishers, swifts,
+        goat-suckers, humming-birds, etc.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>3. Psittaci</td>
+    <td>Parrots only.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>4. Columbæ</td>
+    <td>Pigeons and the dodo.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>5. Gallinæ</td>
+    <td>Grouse, pheasants, quail, jungle-fowl, turkeys,
+        guinea-fowl, etc.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>6. Opisthocomi</td>
+    <td>The hoazin of Guiana and Brazil only.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>7. Accipitres</td>
+    <td>Eagles, owls, vultures, hawks, buzzards, falcons, etc.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>8. Grallæ</td>
+    <td>Rails, snipes, plovers, cranes, herons, storks,
+        flamingoes, etc.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>9. Anseres</td>
+    <td>Ducks, geese, gulls, petrels, pelicans, penguins,
+        loons, auks, etc.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>10. Struthiones</td>
+    <td>Ostrich, rhea, cassowaries, emeus, apteryx.</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Of these ten orders, all but two are abundantly represented in North
+America. The missing orders include the ostrich-like birds, of which the
+only species in the New World is the rhea, of the southern portion of
+South America,
+<!--310.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">290</a></span>
+and the peculiar hoazin, represented by a single
+species found in Guiana and Brazil.</p>
+
+<p>The eight orders under which the birds of North America have been
+arranged (other classifications, however, have been adopted by various
+naturalists) have again been subdivided into families, genera, species,
+etc. According to Wallace's summary, the 8 orders referred to contain
+124 families, of which 75 are not represented in North America to the
+north of the lowlands of Mexico, while 47 families are present. Of these
+47 families, 25 are essentially of world-wide distribution, and only 1,
+containing a single species, a small wren-like bird of the genus
+<i>Chamæa</i>, found in California, is peculiar to the fauna of the
+continent.</p>
+
+<p>As the North American continent under the arrangement adopted for the
+series of books of which the one in hand forms a part, is considered as
+including the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America, the above
+summary does not represent its entire bird fauna, but presents, perhaps,
+the best general idea of it that is at present attainable. To include
+the birds of the tropical portion of the continent would add greatly to
+the number of species, but I believe not materially to the number of
+families and orders, as given above.</p>
+
+<p>In reviewing the distribution of the land birds of North America to the
+north of Mexico, but including lower California, J. A. Allen places the
+total number of genera, as given in the check-list of the American
+Ornithologists' Union, at 181. Of these, 55, or 30 per cent, are
+circumpolar or otherwise wide-ranging Old World forms; 126 genera, or 70
+per cent, are American, of which 35, or 28 per cent, are essentially
+tropical, leaving 91 genera, or about 50 per cent, as distinctly North
+American.</p>
+
+<p>The number of species in the avifauna of the continent, according to the
+latest check-list published by the American Ornithologists' Union
+(1895), is 768, together with a large number of subspecies. If the
+tropical portion of the continent were included, this number would be
+greatly increased and possibly doubled.
+<!--311.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">291</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A further generalization has been advanced by Allen, who states that in
+the arctic portion of the continent the number of genera of birds
+present during the breeding season is 65, of which only 5 are
+exclusively American. In the cold temperate belt 120 genera are
+represented, of which 98 are circumpolar and 22 American. In the warm
+temperate belt 95 genera occur which do not range into the cold
+temperate belt, and of these only 12 are Old World forms, while 83 are
+exclusively American, and in addition 60 genera are common to both the
+cold and the warm temperate zone, of which 46 are represented in the
+fauna of the Old World, while 14 are American. This gives 155 genera for
+the warm temperate zone, of which 58 are Old World and 97 exclusively
+American. There are besides 50 essentially tropical genera which extend
+into the warm temperate zone, of which 43 are American and 7
+tropicopolitan. The avifauna of the warm temperate zone thus contains a
+total of 205 genera.</p>
+
+<p>The above enumeration indicates the rapid increase in the variety of
+bird life met with as one travels from the arctic to the Gulf coast of
+the continent, and in this connection it is to be remembered that the
+land contracts in breadth towards the south. In number of individuals,
+however, it is doubtful if there are less per square mile at the north
+than at the south during the breeding season.</p>
+
+<p>There is a decrease in the number of Old World forms inhabiting North
+America from north to south. A similar decrease in mammalian species
+common to America and Eurasia has previously been referred to, and the
+same explanation applies in each case, namely, the near approach of the
+land areas of the Old and the New World at the north, and the actual
+union of the two continents in late geological time.</p>
+
+<p>As has been shown by Allen, the species of birds of the temperate and
+boreal zones of North America were derived in part from the Old World,
+in part from types almost universally distributed throughout the warmer
+latitudes, and in part from tropical America, but to a marked extent the
+species present developed where they are now
+<!--312.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">292</a></span>
+found. This
+generalization is in harmony with the geographical relations of the
+continent to other land areas, and with the fundamental principles of
+evolution.</p>
+
+<p><i>Migrations.</i>&mdash;Among the many facts of interest to the geographer in
+connection with the bird life, none present a more fascinating field for
+study than the annual migrations in which a very large number of the
+species participate.</p>
+
+<p>As one travels northward from Mexico or the Gulf States, the number of
+species of birds which remain in essentially the same area throughout
+the year, or the <i>residents</i> as they are termed, becomes less and less.
+In New England and about the southern shores of the Great Lakes there
+are about 30 species which remain all winter and may justly claim to be
+citizens. Besides these, there are several visitors that come from the
+north and belong to the vast army of migrants, but which are contented
+with a comparatively small change of position during the periods of
+greatest cold or heaviest snow. In the far north the number of residents
+is still more restricted. On the tundras fringing the arctic coast even
+the snow-owls, snow-buntings, and the ptarmigans, the hardiest of birds,
+move southward during the winter to the shelter of the subarctic forest,
+and bird life on the vast frozen morasses is practically, if not
+absolutely, wanting.</p>
+
+<p>The millions of birds that journey southward each fall begin their
+return migrations at the first promise of spring. Even during unusually
+mild spells of weather in winter, temporary northward movements occur.
+The migratory birds are actuated by such a strong desire to regain their
+nesting places and summer homes that they embrace every opportunity to
+journey towards them, and not infrequently suffer severely for the risks
+they take. In some instances species which have begun their northward
+flight too soon are killed by thousands owing to a return of severely
+cold weather or die for lack of food.</p>
+
+<p>The first definite northward migration in the southern portion of the
+Mississippi Valley begins during exceptionally favourable years as early
+as the end of January, but
+<!--313.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">293</a></span>
+the great movement of the feathered
+hosts is not usually at its height before the middle of March or the
+first of April. In New England the current of migration begins between
+the middle of February and the first of March, and increases in strength
+until the middle of May, when it is at its height, and then rapidly
+declines and is practically over by the beginning of June. In the far
+north, the first arrival from the southward, and that a species which
+does not make a long annual journey, usually appears early in April. At
+Point Barrow, the most northern portion of Alaska, as was observed by
+John Murdock in 1882 and 1883, the first harbinger of spring was a
+snow-bunting, which arrived the first year on April 9th. The
+northward-flowing tide of bird life ends early in July in the region of
+the Yukon, and by the middle of that month the vast flocks have been
+separated and the many mates have found their nesting places. The time
+taken for the general movement is thus in the neighbourhood of four
+months.</p>
+
+<p>The northward flight of the birds is seldom, if ever, one continuous
+journey, but like many other movements in nature, progresses by
+pulsations. Well-defined "bird-waves" have been recognised especially in
+the Mississippi Valley. The direct or immediate cause of the starting of
+these waves of life is the coming of a wave of heat. Secondary or
+modifying conditions are furnished by strength and direction of the
+wind, cloudiness, rain, etc. As the weather in spring-time is fickle,
+and its variations not the same for any two consecutive years, so the
+gathering of the birds into flocks and their northward flights vary,
+although for a term of years the arrival of a given species at a
+particular station does not depart far from a mean date. With the
+northward sweep of the waves of bird life over the temperate and boreal
+portions of the continent comes the awakening of plant life, but the
+birds, to a marked extent, precede the unfolding of the flowers. This
+marvellous renewal of the life of the land after the long cold winter
+makes the budding and nesting spring-time the most joyous portion of the
+year, and one which exerts a marked effect on human thought and
+activities. The
+<!--314.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">294</a></span>
+spring-time awakening in all nature is like a
+resurrection, and has apparently exerted an influence on the religions
+of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The bird-waves referred to above are characterized at the start by the
+presence of great numbers of a single species, but as they progress,
+scattering occurs, and at the time of the greatest movements in the
+northern portion of the United States a large number of species
+frequently arrive at a given locality in a single night. At sunset the
+groves may be nearly tenantless and silent, while at sunrise they are
+alive with the flitting of wings of many colours, and the air pulsates
+with many different songs.</p>
+
+<p>Judging from extended observations on migrations made in the Mississippi
+Valley, the definite waves of bird life which sweep northward with the
+spring-tide of temperature are in some instances 100 or 200 miles long
+and have a breadth of perhaps a score of miles. The distance between the
+waves varies with variations in the weather and perhaps other causes,
+and as they progress they apparently become less definite and at the
+north have yet to be recognised.</p>
+
+<p>The migrations of the birds are performed principally at night. In the
+northern part of the United States during the hours of darkness in early
+spring, even when cloudiness prevails or the land is veiled in mist, the
+voices of geese may frequently be heard overhead, proving that unseen
+flocks are then winging their way northward. About the lighthouses along
+the coast and on the shores of the Great Lakes, when migration is in
+progress, dead birds are frequently found in considerable numbers and of
+various species. In these cases the birds are evidently attracted by the
+lights and killed on striking the windows that protect them. This occurs
+particularly on stormy or cloudy nights, when the birds fly low. Several
+of the larger species of birds, as the geese, ducks, cranes, etc., which
+are strong of wing, make long flights without resting. In many instances
+a single stage in a journey may include 500 or 600 miles. Most of the
+smaller birds, however, fly comparatively short distances between the
+pauses made for rest and food.
+<!--315.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">295</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A species on reaching the northern portion of the route over which it
+usually migrates scatters, and the individuals mate, nests are built,
+and young reared. At the approach of cold weather reassemblage occurs,
+frequently great flocks being formed, and the southern movement begins.
+The southward migration is less conspicuous in most instances than the
+movement <i>en masse</i> of the birds in the spring, and so far as now seems
+to be recognised is not divided into definite waves.</p>
+
+<p>While the winter habitat of most birds in the temperate and boreal
+portions of the continent is to the south of their summer homes, the
+annual migration is not in all cases great in amount. Some species move
+only a few hundred, or possibly a few score, miles. Even the winter
+residents make short migrations, dependent on weather conditions. The
+greater part of the migratory birds, however, pass the winter in the
+Gulf States, Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America. In
+some cases they go well to the south of the equator. The annual flight
+going and coming measured in a straight line, between the nesting place
+and the winter home, cannot be less in many instances than from 8,000 to
+10,000 or 12,000 miles. An interesting fact in this connection is that
+certain species follow definite routes. The region moved over annually,
+if marked on a map, would resemble two open or partially opened fans,
+with their handles pointing towards each other and connected by a narrow
+band.</p>
+
+<p>The causes of the annual migrations of birds have received much study
+and been the subject of much speculation. The general consensus of
+opinion in this connection seems to be that the birds are controlled
+largely by what we in our ignorance term instinct. The true beginning of
+the migration seems to be in the fall, when the birds are driven from
+their homes by cold or, perhaps more accurately in most cases, by
+scarcity of food. This, however, is not the whole story, since many
+species start southward before cold weather approaches and while food is
+yet abundant. Then, too, crippled individuals have been known to survive
+the winter in regions from which their summer
+<!--316.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">296</a></span>
+companions have
+departed. Instinct, therefore, plays a part in even the fall migration,
+where at first glance sufficient physical reasons may seemingly be
+claimed for it. During the spring migration the birds are moved by a
+strong impulse to regain their breeding-grounds. Each species seems to
+have adapted itself to certain conditions of temperature, food, etc.,
+through long ages of development, and acquired a subtle faculty of
+regaining the environment to which it is best adapted, as soon as the
+adverse conditions that caused it to leave its home are ameliorated. How
+a particular bird is enabled to return to the nest it built the year
+previous is not known. The study of the homing instinct of pigeons
+assists in this direction, however, and suggests that birds are endowed
+with something answering to a sixth sense&mdash;that is, a sense of direction
+or of orientation.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spring-time Music.</i>&mdash;The northward-flowing tide of life each spring
+brings to the temperate zone of North America a marvellous change not
+only in colour and movements, but in sound. This is the season of bird
+courtship and more than usual happiness among the feathered millions.
+From shore to shore of the continent a chorus more seductive than
+sirens' songs pulsates on the breezes.</p>
+
+<p>The winter is characteristically a season of silence. The sounds heard
+at a distance from human habitations are mainly those produced by
+inanimate nature. The wind causes varied discords amid the bare branches
+of the deciduous trees or sings weird melodies in the pines. Strange
+muffled roars come from the frozen lakes, as the ice contracts and
+breaks during periods of excessive cold. The frost in tree trunks causes
+sharp explosions. The ice-covered streams are still except where
+cataracts interrupt their even flow. In the profound silence of a calm
+winter night the distant dismal howl of a wolf, the cry of an owl, or
+the bark of a fox alone reminds one that life still continues, but these
+animate sounds are far more frequently absent than present. With the
+coming of the spring there is a marvellous awakening and unfolding. The
+brooks, swollen to overflowing by the melting of the
+<!--317.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">297</a></span>
+snow, make
+music as they run. The northward flight of the birds brings to every
+grove a chorus of song. A host of batrachians and reptiles bestir
+themselves after a long winter sleep and vociferously proclaim their
+presence. The insect world, with its unnumbered legions, takes wing. The
+air vibrates with millions of voices. The trees put forth their leaves,
+each a harp-string which responds to the touch of the fingers of the
+wind. The organ-notes of the thunder again startle the hibernating
+echoes. As the winter is the silent season, so the spring is the time of
+music.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most charming of the many phases of nature's concert season
+is the matin songs of the birds. Ere the eastern sky along the New
+England coast becomes roseate with the first blush of morn, the twitter
+of birds may be heard amid the shadowy branches of the trees. Soon a
+thrush or a warbler awakens in full song, and is followed by a host of
+other voices, until the air pulsates with music. As the sun rises and
+his first level rays reveal the varied tints of the tree tops, the
+many-voiced chorus passes the height of its ecstasy and the music
+gradually subsides. But the glad tidings of the coming of the day are
+passed westward from grove to grove and from meadow to meadow, and a
+wave of song sweeps on ahead of the wave of light, induced by its
+coming. The song-wave spreads to the north and south and flows steadily
+westward over the forest-covered mountains, across the great central
+basin of the continent, breaking on the treeless plateaus into many
+streams which follow the grove-fringed rivers, passes through the
+depressions in the Rocky Mountains, and although weakened in the arid
+valleys beyond, is not checked. The larks there listen for its coming
+and pass the joyful message westward. The timid dwellers in the great
+forests of Oregon awaken at the magic sound and the lofty tree tops are
+made to thrill with the voices of unseen choirs while it is yet night in
+the silent aisles below. The onward rush of sound is not reflected or
+turned back by the lofty Cascades, but flows through their passes and
+only ceases when the sea-birds of the
+<!--318.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">298</a></span>
+Pacific renew a note that
+was dropped on the distant Atlantic coast.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most fascinating incidents in the life of the explorer in his
+lonely camps in the great forests or amid the solemn mountains is the
+coming of the wave of song in the spring and early summer-time which
+precedes and accompanies the rising of the sun.</p>
+
+<div style="padding-top: 1em;"></div>
+
+<p>The fascination of the field of study touched upon in this chapter
+invites an attempt to present an account of some of the more
+characteristic birds of North America, and to endeavour to convey to the
+reader some idea of the varied reptilian, fish, and invertebrate life of
+the continent, but the limitations of space prohibit such a review. Even
+the great problems dealing with the intimate relation that exists
+between geographical conditions and the distribution of animals cannot
+be given more attention than the suggestions already offered.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Allen, J. A.</span> <i>The Geographical Distribution of Animals</i>, in
+Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey
+of the Territories, vol. iv, Washington, 1878, pp. 313-377; <i>The
+Geographical Distribution of North American Mammals</i>, in
+Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. iv, New
+York, 1892, pp. 199-243.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Heilprin, Angelo.</span> <i>The Geographical and Geological Distribution of
+Animals</i>. International Scientific Series, London and New York,
+1897.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Osborn, H. F.</span> <i>The Rise of the Mammalia in North America.</i> New
+York, 1893.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Cope, E. D.</span> <i>Geographical Distribution.</i> In the Annual Report of
+the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1898,
+Washington, 1900, pp. 1199-1234.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Merriam, C. Hart.</span> <i>Life-Zones and Crop-Zones of the United
+States</i>, United States Department of Agriculture, Division of
+Biological Survey, Bulletin No. 10, Washington, 1898; <i>Results
+of a Biological Survey of the San Francisco Mountain Region and
+Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona</i>, United States
+Department of Agriculture, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy
+[Bulletin] No. 3, Washington, 1890; <i>The Geographical
+Distribution of Life in North America</i>, in Proceedings of the
+Biological Society of Washington, vol. vii, 1892, pp. 1-64.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--319.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">299</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">GEOLOGY</div>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-ital">Introduction</div>
+
+<p>In the preceding chapters an attempt has been made to present outline
+sketches of the geography, fauna, and flora of North America as they
+exist now. Yesterday, we may say for the sake of emphasis, there were
+differences from what exists to-day in each of these great groups of
+facts. That is, changes are everywhere in progress. With the recognition
+of this idea comes logically the conclusion that similar changes must
+have taken place in the past, and that the geography of the earth's
+surface, and its flora and fauna, at no very distant time must have been
+markedly different from what they are to-day. To test this hypothesis
+the geologist studies the records preserved in the rocks in much the
+same manner that the historian searches the papyri or the monuments of
+Egypt to discover what changes in the affairs of men have occurred since
+the days of the Pharaohs. The changes referred to are not essentially
+different from those now in progress, but in reality the two are parts
+of a single series. For a very long time there have been continents and
+oceans, lakes and rivers, and the land has been diversified by mountains
+and hills, plains and valleys, in the same general way as at the present
+time. When once the idea is grasped that we are living in a geological
+age, and that there is no break between the present and the past, it is
+evident that the history of the past can be interpreted by means of the
+results produced by known causes. Familiar formulas which express this
+idea are: "The present is the key to the past"; "Geography is the
+geology of to-day," etc. The forces or agencies which are now modifying
+the earth's surface,
+<!--320.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">300</a></span>
+such as the rending of rocks by changes of
+temperature and the action of frost, erosion and deposition by streams,
+the dash of ocean waves against the land, volcanic eruption, the
+chemical action of organic acids, movements producing upheaval and
+subsidence, etc., have been in action for geological eras, but their
+intensity has varied from time to time and from place to place.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE GROWTH OF THE CONTINENT</div>
+
+<p>The geological history of North America is, in general, the same as that
+of other continents, but claims attention in certain particulars,
+largely for the reason that with the exception of Europe it has been
+studied more thoroughly than any other comparable land area. In Europe,
+throughout much of geological time, there have been numerous islands,
+and as a large portion of the records of past changes which have been
+presented were formed in the ocean, the results are complex. But in
+North America there has been a comparatively steady growth from one main
+continental centre or nucleus, and the records of the principal changes
+that have occurred are, to a greater degree, simple. Not only in the
+major features of the relief of the continent, as already described, but
+in its growth and geological history, it is, so far as can be judged
+from the present state of our knowledge of the various land areas, the
+most typical of all the continents.</p>
+
+<p>Changes in the outlines and area of a continent are brought about
+principally by movements of elevation or depression in the earth's
+crust. Of less importance is the erosion of the margin of the land by
+waves and currents and the deposition of material brought from the land
+by streams, together with the spits, bars, and embankments made by waves
+and currents. By these and other and less conspicuous processes the
+shape of North America has undergone numerous changes in outline and is
+still being modified.</p>
+
+<p>General maps have been prepared by J. D. Dana and others, showing the
+outlines of North America at various
+<!--321.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">301</a></span>
+stages in the course of its
+development, and from a series of such maps recently compiled by D. C.
+Schaffner those here reproduced (Fig. 33) have been selected to
+illustrate the growth of the continent. As has been shown by various
+geologists, the outlines of the present continents and ocean-basins had
+their major features determined at a very early stage in the history of
+the earth, and at a time preceding the existence of the oldest known
+sedimentary rocks. At the close of the Archean, the earliest geological
+era now recognised, and, so far as has been determined, before life
+existed on the earth, the principal nucleus of North America was a land
+mass some 2,000,000 square miles in area, situated mainly in what is now
+the eastern half of Canada, from which there was a southward
+prolongation represented by the Adirondack hills of New York (Fig. 33,
+A).</p>
+
+<p>The rocks forming this earliest known land in the Western Hemisphere
+consist of crystalline schists, gneisses, and granite, which are
+considered by some geologists at least as having resulted from the
+metamorphism of sedimentary beds. Penetrating and intimately
+intermingled with these greatly altered rocks, some of them perhaps
+metamorphosed lavas and allied terranes, are many rocks that were forced
+upward from deep in the earth into fissures in a molten condition and
+have since cooled and crystallized. More than one epoch of metamorphism
+has perhaps occurred, and the entire record now accessible is
+exceedingly complicated.</p>
+
+<p>The physical conditions at the earth's surface at the close of the
+Archean period, as may reasonably be inferred, were not essentially
+different from what they are now. The land areas were eroded by streams,
+and the <i>débris</i> carried to the sea and deposited, the coarser near
+shore and the finer farther seaward. Upward movements in the earth's
+crust in various places subsequently laid bare a portion of the
+sea-floor adjacent to the former land, and the continent was enlarged.
+The outline of the land as it existed previous to the upheaval which
+exposed this portion of the ocean's bottom would be defined by the
+landward
+<!--322.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">302</a></span>
+margin of the material deposited. The exposed sediments
+would be coarsest near the former coast-line and become finer and finer
+seaward from it, and the fossils contained in the consolidated sands and
+clays would also supply evidence bearing on the origin of the rocks. It
+is by such interpretation of the ancient records in the light of what is
+now taking place that the geologist is enabled to map approximately the
+outline of North America at several stages in its growth in the manner
+shown on the series of maps here presented. Information in this
+connection, however, concerning both the northern and southern portions
+of the continent is too meagre at present to be largely utilized in
+these outline sketches.<span class="fnanchor">[5]</span></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[5]</span>The relations of the eras referred to on these maps and the
+positions they occupy on the geological time-scale are shown a few pages
+later on a chart of the geological history of North America.</div>
+
+<p>The next system thus far recognised, following the Archean, is the
+Algonkian, at the close of whose deposition some additions had been made
+to the Archean or pre-Algonkian land. Succeeding the Algonkian system
+come, in succession, the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian systems. At
+the close of the Silurian there was a decided increase in the size of
+the main nucleus of the continent. Owing principally to an excess of
+elevation over subsidence in the portion of the earth's crust beneath
+the northeastern part of the region now occupied by the United States,
+portions of the sediments deposited previous to the close of the
+Silurian were upraised and important additions made to the extent of the
+land southward from the Archean area of Canada. This "Appalachian
+peninsula" would be conspicuous in a map representing the outline of the
+continent at the close of the Silurian. The eastern margin of the
+growing continent was then well to the eastward of its present position,
+but how far beyond the present coast we have no means of determining.
+Although at the close of the Silurian the continent had greatly
+increased in area over that of the nucleus at the close of the Archean,
+it bore but little resemblance to its present form.
+<!--323.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">303</a></span>
+It is worthy
+of note, however, that with the exception of the eastward extension of
+the land at the time referred to, the growth had been within the present
+continental outline.</p>
+
+<p>A later stage in the growth of the continent is shown in Fig. 33, B,
+when its eastern margin had much of its present general outline and the
+Appalachian Mountains were in their prime. The time indicated is at the
+close of the Paleozoic era, and after the great coal-fields extending
+from Pennsylvania southward to Alabama and westward to beyond the
+Mississippi were formed. The eastern half of the continent was
+approximately completed at the time just referred to, and is older than
+the western half.</p>
+
+<p>During the Cretaceous period great changes took place in the geography
+of the still growing continent, as may be seen by the map illustrating
+that period. The conspicuous features in the geography are the submerged
+Atlantic and Gulf borders, and the presence of a broad belt of ocean
+water in the continental basin which reached from the then much expanded
+Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, and divided the land into an eastern
+and a western continental island.</p>
+
+<p>Following the Cretaceous period came the Tertiary period, during which
+the continent assumed very nearly its present outline. During this
+period, however, as is indicated in Fig. 33, D, the Atlantic border of
+the United States from New England southward and a wide area about the
+Gulf of Mexico, were submerged and had deep layers of sediment deposited
+on them. During the Tertiary, bodies of fresh water became for the first
+time a conspicuous feature on the land, and large lakes and broad
+silt-depositing rivers existed particularly in the Pacific mountain
+region of the United States, and at its close the continent was
+practically completed as we now know it, but several important
+oscillations, particularly at the north, have since occurred.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 503px;"><a name="Fig_33" id="Fig_33"></a>
+<img src="images/i322a.jpg" width="503" height="686" alt="Fig. 33a" title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 33a.</span>&mdash;Maps showing the growth of the North American
+continent.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 501px;">
+<img src="images/i322b.jpg" width="501" height="695" alt="Fig. 33b." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 33b.</span></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 503px;">
+<img src="images/i322c.jpg" width="503" height="679" alt="Fig. 33c." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 33c.</span></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 502px;">
+<img src="images/i322d.jpg" width="502" height="700" alt="Fig. 33d." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 33d.</span></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>With the growth of the continent, briefly outlined above, came greater
+and greater diversity in its relief, due
+<!--325.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">305</a></span>
+principally to the
+upraising of various mountains in a somewhat orderly succession from
+east to west.</p>
+
+<p>The oldest mountains on the continent are the Laurentian Highlands of
+eastern Canada. Although the region referred to&mdash;the one mentioned above
+as being composed of Archean crystalline rocks&mdash;is not now of sufficient
+elevation or ruggedness to be termed mountainous, it shows in the nature
+and structure of its rocks that deep erosion has taken place. The
+inference is that truly great mountains have been removed, but the
+evidence may also sustain the interpretation that slow upheaval has been
+accompanied by erosion, and that at no time was the land conspicuously
+elevated.</p>
+
+<p>Next in age after the Laurentian Highlands come the mountains of New
+England and the maritime province of Canada, which were upraised at the
+close of the Silurian period. The next great step was the crumpling into
+folds and upheaval of the rocks in the Appalachian region at the close
+of the Paleozoic era. The Park and Stony Mountains were upraised at the
+close of the Mesozoic era, and later came the Sierra Nevada and
+Cascades, followed by the Coast Ranges. Youngest of all, and in part for
+that reason the boldest and most lofty, are the magnificent mountains of
+southern Alaska, with a host of sublime peaks, like Mounts Fairweather,
+Logan, St. Elias, and perhaps McKinley. The last-named and highest peak
+of all, however, may be of volcanic origin.</p>
+
+<p>In the above list showing the progressive westward movement of the birth
+of mountain systems, account is taken only of the elevations produced by
+upheaval. The mountains due to volcanic eruptions, which are still
+conspicuous, are all young, in comparison with the mountains situated to
+the eastward of the Sierra Nevada. The majestic cones of the
+northwestern portion of the United States, of which Mounts Shasta, Hood,
+Adams, Rainier, Baker, etc., are the most glorious, are of Tertiary or
+later age. The same is true, so far as known, of the still more lofty
+volcanoes in Mexico. The "pine-tree" forms of steam rising from the
+volcanoes of the Caribbees, Central
+<!--326.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">306</a></span>
+America, southern Mexico, and
+southwestern Alaska, proclaim the recency of the birth of the frequently
+magnificent craters built of rocks that were once molten, from which
+they emerge.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE ROCKS OF WHICH THE CONTINENT IS COMPOSED</div>
+
+<p>The rocks of which North America is built belong to three classes, which
+are world-wide in their distribution. These are: First, rocks produced
+by the cooling and crystallizing of formerly molten magmas; second,
+those deposited by water; and third, those which previously belonged to
+either of the two classes just referred to, but have been recrystallized
+and so greatly changed that their preceding condition is no longer
+clearly recognisable.</p>
+
+<p>These three classes or subkingdoms, as perhaps they might be termed from
+analogy with systems of biological classifications, are in technical
+language:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>1. <i>Igneous rocks</i>, such as the lava of Vesuvius.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Sedimentary rocks</i>, such as sandstone, shale, limestone,
+coal, etc.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>Metamorphic rocks</i>, such as gneiss, schist, some granites,
+etc.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>These major divisions are based principally on mode of origin, but do
+not indicate relative age. While theoretically at least, and in a
+general way, the rocks of these three great classes came into existence
+on the earth in the order named, it is convenient to consider first
+those of sedimentary origin.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 274px;">
+   <a href="images/plate4h.jpg" target="_blank" name="plate4" id="plate4"><img src="images/plate4t.jpg"
+       width="274" height="300" alt="Plate 4." title="" /></a>
+   <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate IV.</span>&mdash;Leading geological features.<br />
+   <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>The Sedimentary Rocks</i> (Plate IV).&mdash;Whenever land exists or the waves
+and currents of the ocean come in contact with the rocks denudation
+occurs. That is, the rocks are broken through the action of mechanical
+or chemical agencies, such as the friction of the gravel and sand swept
+along by streams, the solvent power of water, etc., and the fragments
+thus produced are removed principally through the action of flowing
+water and deposited. Resulting from this general process of rock decay
+and disintegration, combined with transportation and deposition,
+<!--327.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">307</a></span>
+there result mechanically formed sedimentary beds, such as shale,
+sandstone, conglomerate, etc.; chemically formed sedimentary beds, such
+as the deposits of springs, the saline precipitates from inclosed lakes,
+etc.; and organically formed sedimentary beds, as, for example, peat,
+coal, and limestone.</p>
+
+<p>Since the first appearance of land in the region now occupied by North
+America, sedimentary rocks have been in process of formation, and in
+this way the growth of the continent, with the aid of movements in the
+earth's crust, has been produced.</p>
+
+<p>The superficial extent of the sedimentary beds in North America is very
+great, as is indicated on the map referred to above. By far the larger
+portion of the surface of the continent is underlain by them. Their
+thickness varies from place to place, but probably reaches a maximum in
+the Appalachian region, where a depth of some 40,000 feet has been
+measured. Throughout the continental basin their depth is in general
+from 3,000 to 4,000 feet. In the Pacific mountains their thickness
+embraces tens of thousands of feet, and the same is true in Mexico,
+Cuba, and Jamaica. These sedimentary rocks contain fossils which, with
+comparatively few exceptions, show that they were deposited in the
+ocean; thus sustaining in an important manner the conclusion already
+presented in reference to the growth of the continent.</p>
+
+<p>Great as is the area of the sedimentary beds at the present time, it
+does not show the entire extent to which what is now land has at some
+time been submerged beneath the sea. In certain broad regions,
+sedimentary beds which formerly existed have been removed by erosion; in
+other extensive areas they are covered by volcanic rocks, and in still
+other portions of the continent, embracing thousands of square miles,
+they have been metamorphosed and their original characteristics
+obliterated.</p>
+
+<p>The system of classification of the sedimentary beds that has been
+adopted, as is well known, is based on the relative age of the
+formations, determined primarily by the occurrence of one formation
+above another, in regions
+<!--328.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">308</a></span>
+where but moderate disturbances in
+position have occurred. Many of the stratified rocks contain
+fossils&mdash;that is, records of the life of the time they were deposited,
+and after the order of succession of a large number of formations has
+been ascertained, the life records they contain may be used as a means
+of determining the age of a newly discovered terrane.</p>
+
+<p>By grouping the information obtained from the study of the vertical
+sequence of the formations in many regions, and also the records of life
+contained in them, a composite geological column has been constructed
+which shows the relative age of all known formations. The larger
+divisions of such a scheme of classification are world-wide in their
+application, but the smaller divisions are usually of restricted
+geographical extent.</p>
+
+<p>The scheme of classification of general application in North America is
+shown in the chart on page 308. The arrangement is in order of age, the
+oldest formation being at the bottom. There is some lack of uniformity
+among American geologists as to certain of the terms used, more
+especially in the lower portion of the column, and in part the scheme is
+provisional, but in general it may be taken as expressing the progress
+made in the study of the geology of North America up to the present
+time.</p>
+
+<p>The names of the larger divisions in this scheme of classification, or
+those designating the groups and systems and the eras and periods, have
+for the most part been adopted from European geologists. Two important
+ones, however&mdash;namely, Archean and Algonkian&mdash;are of American birth.</p>
+
+<div class="center" style="padding-bottom:1em;padding-top:2em;"><i>Outline Chart of the Geological History of North America</i></div>
+
+<table summary="Geological time scales and periods"
+style="border-collapse:collapse;">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt" colspan="2">Rock-Scale. &#x261e;</td>
+<td class="bt bl center">Group.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br center">System.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">Time-Scale. &#x261e;</td>
+<td class="bl center">Era.</td>
+<td class="bl br center">Period.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="14">Zoic time: embracing the history
+of the earth since the appearance of life.</td>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="2">Time of Mammals.</td>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="3">Time of Palms and Angiosperms.</td>
+<td class="bt bl">Psychozoic.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Human.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="3">Cenozoic.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Pleistocene.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="3">Time of Reptiles.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br" rowspan="2">Tertiary.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="2">Time of Cycads.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="2">Mesozoic.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Cretaceous.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="2">Time of Amphibians.</td>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="5">Time of Acrogens (Ferns, club-mosses, etc.).</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Jura-Trias.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="6">Paleozoic.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Carboniferous.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="2">Time of Fishes.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Devonian.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl br" rowspan="2">Silurian.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="4">Time of Molluscs and Crustaceans.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="4">Time of Algæ.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Ordovician.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl br">Cambrian.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" rowspan="2">Eozoic.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Algonkian.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl">Time of Protozoa?</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">(As yet unknown pre-Algonkian sediments.)</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl" colspan="3">Azoic time: preceding the dawn of life.</td>
+<td class="bt bl">Azoic.</td>
+<td class="bt bl br">Archean or Basement Complex.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bl bb" rowspan="3">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt bb" colspan="2" rowspan="3">Prehistoric</td>
+<td class="bt br" colspan="2">Solid Earth.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br" colspan="2">Molten Earth.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb" colspan="2">Gaseous Earth.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>While this scheme of classification is based on the succession of
+sedimentary beds, igneous and metamorphic rocks have a place in it,
+providing their age can be determined.</p>
+
+<p>The Archean period includes the time previous to the deposition of the
+oldest known sedimentary beds, and its lower limit is as yet undefined.
+The Archean system, or the rocks formed during the Archean period, are
+without known fossils, and consist largely of gneisses and foliated
+<!--329.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">309</a></span>
+schists, which are metamorphosed sedimentary or igneous terranes,
+together with various eruptives. The typical area where these rocks are
+exposed at the surface is in the Laurentian Highlands of eastern Canada,
+the main Archean nucleus of the continent, but rocks of the same age and
+same general character occur in several of the mountain systems of both
+the Atlantic and Pacific cordilleras, and underlie the sedimentary beds
+throughout a large part of the Continental basin. The Archean system was
+named by J. D. Dana, and divided into two portions, namely, the
+<!--330.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">310</a></span>
+Laurentian below and the Huronian above. More recent studies, especially
+by C. R. Van Hise, have shown the necessity of removing from the system
+many of the terranes formerly referred to it, and of placing them in the
+Algonkian. The Archean as it remains after this adjustment is termed by
+Van Hise the <i>Basement Complex</i>. This term, although thus far not
+generally adopted, has much to commend it, since the terranes designated
+by it are highly complex, and may perhaps be ultimately subdivided into
+two or more systems, and besides occupy a basal position lower than any
+known sedimentary formation that has escaped metamorphism.</p>
+
+<p>The Algonkian series embraces a great thickness of sedimentary beds, in
+part metamorphosed, which in certain localities rest unconformably on
+the eroded surface of the Basement Complex and in places are overlain
+unconformably by Cambrian rocks. Both the upper and lower contacts,
+however, in certain localities, have been rendered obscure by
+metamorphism. The system derives its name from a tribe of Indians that
+inhabited the region about the shores of Lake Superior, where it is well
+developed. The Algonkian terranes are exposed in the Grand Cañon of the
+Colorado, in the Wasatch and Uintah Mountains, the Black Hills of
+Dakota, about the southern shore of Lake Superior, and in many parts of
+eastern Canada, as well as in several other localities. The oldest known
+fossils occur in these rocks, and consist of a small number of
+brachiopods, molluscs, crustaceans, etc. These scanty records are
+suggestive, and at least stimulate the hope that an extensive
+pre-Cambrian fauna will ultimately be discovered. The few forms found
+seem to be not far different from the similar life records of the
+Cambrian.</p>
+
+<p>The Cambrian system, although first studied in Europe, has an important
+development in North America, and occurs at the surface at a large
+number of localities ranging from Newfoundland to California. The known
+distribution of the system and the nature of the rocks composing it
+indicate that it occurs widely in the Continental
+<!--331.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">311</a></span>
+basin beneath
+subsequent deposits. The most interesting results derived from the study
+of the Cambrian, carried on especially by C. D. Walcott, pertain to its
+life records. With the exception of a few obscure algæ, all the fossils
+thus far discovered are marine invertebrates. As regards rank in the
+zoological scale, certain molluscan remains are the highest, but
+outclassing them in size, abundance, and degree of specialization are
+the <i>trilobites</i>, the nearest living representatives of which are
+certain crustaceans. Of the trilobites about 100 species have been
+discovered in the Cambrian rocks of North America, the largest
+individual being about 20 inches in length.</p>
+
+<p>The picture of the continent which the facts just referred to enables
+one to sketch in fancy includes land areas destitute of animal life, and
+probably without vegetation, except perhaps the lichens, the lowest of
+the cryptogams. The sea, especially in its shallower portions near land
+and over its surface, contains algæ, mostly, we presume, of small size,
+in fact microscopic, and soft tissued. The animal life subsisting
+primarily on the algæ are all invertebrates, and nearly all of them,
+excepting the crustaceans, simple in organization. None of the animals
+the remains of which have thus far been discovered had strong shells or
+other well-developed protective or supporting tissues, thus indicating
+that they were not subject to the attacks of formidable enemies.</p>
+
+<p>As compared with later faunas, the animals of the Cambrian were
+primitive, but their diversity&mdash;every subkingdom of invertebrates being
+represented&mdash;is positive evidence that they were not the first
+inhabitants of the waters. Considered from the point of view of
+development, this fauna stands at least half-way, and some students of
+the ancient history of the earth place it as far as nine-tenths of the
+way, up the life column&mdash;that is, the time from the first appearance of
+life on the earth to the beginning of the Cambrian was at least as long
+and possibly nine times as long as the time that has since elapsed. This
+is a sufficient promise that many records of life, and it seems safe to
+predict as varied an assemblage of organisms
+<!--332.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">312</a></span>
+as the at present
+known Cambrian fauna, will ultimately be discovered in the Algonkian or
+lower rocks.</p>
+
+<p>The Paleozoic era witnessed the first appearance of vertebrate life. The
+earliest known forms were fish-like in character and were succeeded in
+sequence by batrachians and reptiles. In this connection the most
+important contribution to the world's knowledge, from the study of the
+American records, include the discovery of a large number of fishes, or
+fish-like forms, some of them of gigantic size, in the Devonian and
+Carboniferous rocks of the Ohio region, by J. S. Newberry; numerous
+batrachians in the Coal Measures of Ohio, by E. D. Cope; of batrachians
+and probably reptiles in rocks of similar age in Nova Scotia, by J. W.
+Dawson and O. C. Marsh.</p>
+
+<p>During the Paleozoic era land plants appeared, and before its close the
+continent was densely clothed with forests consisting of flowerless
+plants such as ferns and club-mosses, together with a less abundance of
+trees related to the existing conifers.</p>
+
+<p>Great additions to the world's knowledge of the varied and beautiful
+floras of the swamps in which the coal-beds of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nova
+Scotia, etc., were accumulated have been made by H. D. Rogers, J. S.
+Newberry, Leo Lesquereux, J. W. Dawson, I. C. White, David White, and
+others.</p>
+
+<p>The Mesozoic era is characterized among other events by the first
+appearance and rapid development of flowering plants, the cycads being
+especially numerous, and of our ordinary broad-leaved trees, such as the
+oak, willow, sassafras, etc., and by the coming in of palms; and in the
+animal kingdom by the culmination of reptilian life and the advent of
+birds and mammals.</p>
+
+<p>The American Mesozoic rocks have yielded a rich store of fossil plants,
+as is well known from the painstaking studies of J. S. Newberry, Leo
+Lesquereux, W. M. Fontaine, L. F. Ward, F. H. Knowlton, and others.
+These same students of the progress of plant life on the continent have
+also made extensive and critical studies of the Cenozoic floras.
+<!--333.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">313</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The relics of reptilian life brought to light from the Mesozoic rocks of
+New Jersey, Kansas, Wyoming, etc., by Joseph Leidy, O. C. Marsh, E. D.
+Cope, and others, have astonished the world, even though marvellous
+results in a similar direction had previously been made known in Europe.
+The reptilian age was marked in America by the presence of such huge
+reptiles, and by the strange development and adaptations in various
+directions that they surpass the wildest dreams of fable. Lizard-like
+reptiles walked the earth that were 40 to 60 feet in length and stood 10
+to 14 feet high where the massive hind limbs joined the body. Their
+thigh-bones in certain instances measured over 6 feet in length. Some of
+these monsters, it is estimated, weighed at least 10 tons. These, the
+hugest of all land animals, were vegetable feeders. Others, of less
+size, although still gigantic and more active, were carnivorous. Some of
+the old lizard-like forms which left their footprints in great abundance
+in the sands now hardened into sandstone in the Connecticut Valley and
+New Jersey walked on their hind feet, after the manner of birds, and
+left three-toed footmarks, some of them 20 inches in length, which are
+strikingly bird-like in appearance. Other great reptiles, whale-like in
+appearance, inhabited the ocean. Yet more marvellous forms were provided
+with wings, resembling those of bats, and in the case of the great
+<i>Pteranodons</i> found in the rocks of Kansas had a "stretch of wing" of
+fully 20 feet. But the strange menagerie that has been resurrected
+contains such a marvellous array of grotesque shapes that not even a
+catalogue of the genera can be presented here.</p>
+
+<p>While the Mesozoic era was emphatically the age of reptiles, the coming
+of a more highly developed fauna was foreshadowed. Bird life was
+represented, and the skeletons of reptilian birds, or birds with teeth
+like those of reptiles, have been discovered in the Mesozoic rocks of
+Kansas. Important additions to our knowledge of these strange creatures,
+which furnish much instructive data in reference to the development of
+the higher from the lower forms of life, have been made by O. C. Marsh.
+The humble
+<!--334.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">314</a></span>
+beginning of mammalian life is shown by insectivorous
+marsupials, the jaws of which were discovered in the Newark system
+(Lower Mesozoic) of North Carolina.</p>
+
+<p>The Cenozoic era is the age of mammals, so called because during that
+time brute mammals succeeded reptiles as the rulers of the earth. From
+the rocks deposited in North America during this era, principally the
+sediments of fresh-water lakes and the gravel-beds laid down by streams
+in the Pacific mountain region, a great number of skeletons of truly
+remarkable mammals, differing widely from anything now living, have been
+discovered by Joseph Leidy, O. C. Marsh, E. D. Cope, H. F. Osborn, and
+others. The profound interest attached to this fauna, and the bearings
+it has on the study of the geographical distribution of animals,
+climatic changes, etc., is indicated by the fact that it includes forms
+related to the rhinoceros, elephant, camel, etc., which are not
+represented among the animals now living on the continent, although
+having relatives in other and principally tropical countries.</p>
+
+<p>During the Psychozoic era mind gained ascendency over brute force, and
+man became the leader. The mammals continued to dominate the earth
+throughout the Pleistocene period and were then probably more numerous
+and of even larger size than during the preceding Tertiary period.
+During the Pleistocene great climatic changes occurred, and large
+glaciers existed in several regions which now enjoy a temperate climate
+and are densely populated.</p>
+
+<p>The presence of man in North America during the Pleistocene has not been
+proved, but important contributions to knowledge concerning the brute
+mammals, and in reference also to the climatic and physiographic
+changes, have been made.</p>
+
+<p>In stream-deposited gravels, caverns, peat swamps, etc., over the
+surface of practically the entire continent, the bones of many species
+of large mammals have been obtained. These include the mastodon and
+elephant, megatherium, megalonyx, mylodon, a large horse, a great bison,
+an elk much exceeding the living species in size,
+<!--337.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">315</a></span>
+a giant beaver,
+and many others remarkable for their large dimensions as compared with
+their living representatives. Several of these large animals survived
+the vicissitudes of climate characteristic of the Glacial epoch, but
+have since become extinct.</p>
+
+<p>The chief contributions to Pleistocene history, however, made by
+American geologists, are in connection with the records of climatic
+changes. During the earlier portion of the period, and beginning perhaps
+in late Tertiary time, the continent in large part at least was more
+elevated than now and the energetic streams of the mountainous portions
+eroded deep cañons. To this Sierran epoch, as it is termed, is referred
+the excavation of the larger valleys of the Sierra Nevada, the
+world-renowned cañons of the Colorado and Snake Rivers, and probably the
+deep Valley of the St. Lawrence and the Hudson.</p>
+
+<p>A climatic change perhaps initiated by the greater elevation of the
+land, but not as yet wholly explained, caused glaciers to form about the
+higher portions of a number of the ranges in the Pacific mountains, and
+continental glaciers of the type of the ice-sheet now covering Greenland
+to expand from at least three centres, termed the Labradorean, Keewatin,
+and Cordilleran, in what is now Canada. During this time of great ice
+accumulation and of glacial advance and retreat, or the Glacial epoch,
+as it is termed, fully one-half of North America was buried beneath
+ice-sheets of the continental type. A composite map showing the portions
+of the continent which were covered with ice at one time or another
+during the Glacial epoch is reproduced in Plate V.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 277px;">
+  <a href="images/i334h.jpg" target="_blank" name="plate_5" id="plate_5"><img src="images/i334t.jpg"
+      width="177" height="200" alt="Plate V." title="" />
+  </a>
+  <span class="caption"><span class="smcap"><br />Plate V.</span>&mdash;Pleistocene glacial deposits.<br />
+  Note: This map presents what may be termed a composite picture
+  of the extent of glacial ice during Pleistocene and Recent
+  time; Greenland, much of the Arctic archipelago, and many areas
+  in the Pacific mountains are still occupied by ice. The broken
+  blue lines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts show
+  approximately the seaward extension of the Pleistocene
+  ice-sheets. The detached areas of glaciation in the western
+  portion of the United States are here assigned to the Wisconsin
+  stage, but in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada there are
+  records of two ice advances. The drift in western Canada here
+  colored as Wisconsin is perhaps in part of later date.<br />
+  <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>During the maximum advance of the ice from the Labradorean centre into
+the Continental basin it nearly reached the mouth of the Ohio River
+(near Cincinnati). An earlier advance from the Keewatin centre extended
+to the Missouri River in Missouri. There is evidence of a succession of
+advances and retreats of the ice forming a very complex history. With
+its final retreat the Great Lakes came into existence and the continent
+reached the stage in its development when man became prominent.
+<!--338.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">316</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The study of glacial geology in North America was initiated, or at least
+given a fresh start and in the proper direction, by Louis Agassiz, and
+within recent years energetically carried forward by a large number of
+earnest workers. The stage of advance reached in this branch of geology
+which serves so admirably to link the present with the past is well
+presented in the numerous publications of T. C. Chamberlin and his
+associates.</p>
+
+<p>The instructive history of the growth of North America and the
+successive appearance of higher and higher forms of life, the records of
+which have been discovered in the sedimentary rocks, has been made known
+by the combined studies of a large number of investigators, but the
+great task has been carried on mainly under the auspices of various
+national and State surveys. Chief among these is the present United
+States Geological Survey, which has published what may be justly termed
+a library of valuable literature and of topographic and geologic maps.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Igneous Rocks</i> (Plate IV).&mdash;Under the at present popular
+explanation of the origin of the earth, namely, the nebular hypothesis,
+and also the modification of it termed the meteoric hypothesis, the
+planet itself is considered to have been at one time in a molten
+condition. The starting-point of the study of the rocks composing the
+earth should be, therefore, the primitive crust cooled from fusion. In
+addition to this there have been throughout history geologic migrations
+of molten matter from deep within the earth towards the surface, and a
+part of the material thus forced outward, principally through fissures,
+has cooled in the rocks it penetrated, forming intrusions of various
+kinds, and a part has reached the surface and been extruded, as during
+volcanic eruptions.</p>
+
+<p>Probably every known phase of vulcanism is illustrated by the igneous
+rocks of North America, and in certain branches of the subject, as the
+nature of intrusions and the changes which occur in the cooling of
+igneous magmas, marked advances in the world's knowledge have been made
+by American geologists.
+<!--339.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">317</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Examples of volcanic phenomena on a grand scale are furnished by the
+still active volcanoes of the Caribbees, Central America, Mexico, and
+Alaska. Between southern Alaska and south-central Mexico there are no
+active craters, but a large number of volcanic mountains in various
+stages of erosion which form an instructive series illustrating the
+internal structure of the mode of accumulation of ejected fragment
+material and of lava-flows. In this series of mountains built by igneous
+agencies belongs the great volcanic piles of the Cascade region, of
+which Mounts Baker, Rainier, Adams, Hood, Jefferson, Mazama, Shasta,
+etc., are among the leading examples. Many other illustrations in the
+same connection, some of them in an advanced stage of erosion and now
+revealing only the dikes and necks of resistant rock that cooled and
+hardened well below the surface, occur widely throughout the southwest
+portion of the United States. The still recognisable volcanic mountains
+of the continent, with the exception of those of the Caribbees, are
+confined to its western half, and with the exception of certain almost
+perfect craters in eastern New Mexico are all within the Pacific
+mountains. A great belt of volcanoes, including a large number of both
+active and extinct examples, extends from Panama to the Aleutian
+Islands, a distance of some 7,000 miles, and is a part of the so-called
+"circle of fire" surrounding the Pacific Ocean. This belt is about 1,000
+miles broad in its central part, where only extinct volcanoes exist, and
+narrows towards both its northern and southern extremities, which are
+defined by still steaming craters. The narrow northern portion,
+inclusive of the active volcanoes of the Alaskan Peninsula and the
+Aleutian Islands, is prolonged westward, and forms a curve concave to
+the southward, while the equally narrow southern portion marked by the
+energetic craters of Central America forms a curve concave to the
+northward. The entire belt has something the shape of a sigmoid curve,
+with a wide central portion.</p>
+
+<p>In the preceding sketch of the growth of the continent it was shown that
+the Pacific mountain region is
+<!--340.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">318</a></span>
+younger than the Atlantic mountain
+region. In this same connection certain interesting general conclusions
+have been reached in reference to igneous activity. In each of the great
+cordilleras referred to there have been extensive breaks in the earth's
+crust through which molten rocks have been forced upward. Volcanoes and
+various intrusions have been formed in each region, but in the eastern
+half of the continent the time since the last eruptions has been so
+great that all evidence in the relief of the land of the former presence
+of volcanic mountains has been obliterated. Erosion has cut deeply into
+the rocks on which the ancient volcanoes stood, and revealed in some
+instances the dikes occupying the fissures which supplied them. A large
+number of dikes of igneous rock occur in the Atlantic coast region from
+Prince Edward Island southward to Alabama and Georgia, and vast
+lava-flows of ancient date are still preserved about the south shore of
+Lake Superior. Volcanic eruptions in the older half of the continent
+have long since ceased and the breaks which gave them existence have
+been healed. The later movements in the western half of the continent
+have caused fresh fractures to form, through which molten matter has
+been forced to the surface. Many facts have been observed in each region
+which show an intimate connection between movements in the earth's crust
+which have produced fractures and the distribution of volcanoes.</p>
+
+<p>The lavas poured out by the more recent volcanoes of North America are
+mainly dark basic rocks, among which basalt predominates. An exception
+occurs in the case of the Mono craters near Mono Lake, California, which
+in recent time extruded a thick, viscous, highly siliceous, rhyolitic
+lava, much of which cooled quickly and formed volcanic glass or
+obsidian.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to streams and sheets of lava, many volcanoes, and
+especially those in a state of explosive eruption, blew into the air
+quantities of fragmental material, such as scoria, bombs, volcanic
+gravel (lapilli), dust, etc., which was scattered far and wide over the
+land. More or less extensive sheets of this material, in many instances
+<!--341.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">319</a></span>
+interstratified with sedimentary beds, and especially with the
+strata laid down in Tertiary lakes, or separating lava-flows, occur
+widely throughout the Pacific mountains. Dust showers of the nature just
+referred to have occurred at a recent date, and the fine white material
+that fell is now found at the surface in a large number of localities,
+ranging from Central America to the Yukon Valley and from Kansas and
+Nebraska to Oregon and Washington.</p>
+
+<p>The most remarkable instance of the addition of volcanic rocks to the
+surface of North America is in the case of the Columbia River lava,
+which covers some 200,000 or more square miles of country in Washington,
+Oregon, and neighbouring States. In that region outwellings of highly
+liquid rock came from fissures and spread widely over the surface as
+veritable inundations, which on cooling became black, basaltic rock, but
+without forming mountains or craters. Where the Snake River has
+excavated its magnificent cañon in these still horizontal layers of
+basalt, a thickness of 4,000 feet is revealed, although the stream has
+not as yet cut through the formation, and in Stein Mountain, Oregon, a
+similar series of lava-sheets over 5,000 feet thick has been measured.
+The Columbia River lava was spread over the surface of a deeply eroded
+land in a series of vast overflows of molten material. The liquid rock
+covered the broad plains and extended into the valleys in the adjacent
+mountains, giving them level floors of basalt. Mountain spurs became
+capes and headlands and outstanding buttes were transformed into islands
+in the molten sea. The lava since cooled and crystallized has in places
+been folded and tilted; streams like the Columbia, Snake, Spokane
+Rivers, etc., have carved great cañons in it, and the surface,
+especially where it is still nearly horizontal, has decayed and yielded
+a wonderfully rich soil. It is the fine, rich residual material of these
+lava plains, redistributed in part by the wind, which furnishes the
+basis for the immense wheat industry of the northwestern portion of the
+United States.</p>
+
+<p>The extrusion of molten rock from deep within the earth so as to form
+volcanoes or fissure eruptions at the surface is only a part of a widely
+extended and highly
+<!--342.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">320</a></span>
+varied process. As geologists have
+discovered, particularly in deeply eroded regions, by no means all of
+the fissures which permit of the forcing upward of molten material in
+them reach the surface. Many of them died out before coming to the light
+and favoured the production of various forms of intrusion.</p>
+
+<p>A fissure originating deep in the earth's crust and extending upward,
+perhaps with many branches and irregularities, if injected with molten
+rock from below gives origin to dikes. That is, a dike is a more or less
+vertical sheet of igneous rock which has cooled and crystallized in a
+fissure. Such sheets of intruded material cutting across the bedding of
+stratified rocks, or traversing older igneous or metamorphic terranes,
+are of common occurrence and are frequently abundant in deeply eroded
+regions. They occur particularly in mountains of upheaval, thus
+demonstrating the fact that to a large extent the fissure which became
+injected with molten magmas and perhaps gave origin to volcanoes, are
+due to movements in the rocks composing the earth's crust. The force
+which causes molten rock to rise in such fissures also tends to prolong
+and enlarge them. The heat of an intruded magma affects the rocks it
+traverses and produces what is termed contact metamorphism. Examples of
+dikes in the Newark system have already been referred to, and others are
+common throughout the Pacific mountains. Where the Columbia River lava
+in central Washington has been removed by erosion, hundreds, and in fact
+thousands, of dikes are exposed in the terranes on which it formerly
+rested.</p>
+
+<p>When a dike ends above in horizontally bedded rocks it sometimes happens
+that the injected magma, especially if highly fluid, is forced in
+between the strata and spreads widely between the layers, forming an
+intruded sheet, which lifts a broad cover to a height equal to its own
+thickness. An example of an intrusion of this nature is furnished by the
+palisade trap-sheet in New Jersey and New York, which has a maximum
+thickness of about 1,000 feet, and is fully 100 miles in length from
+north to south.
+<!--343.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">321</a></span>
+The portion which remains is but a remnant and is
+seldom over 2 or 3 miles wide. This sheet in common with its associated
+sandstones and shales has been tilted so as to dip westward at an angle
+of about 15 degrees, and its eastern border eroded so as to form the
+picturesque Palisades on the west bank of the Hudson opposite New York
+city. Many other similar intruded sheets are known in Nova Scotia, the
+Connecticut Valley, among the Pacific mountains, etc.</p>
+
+<p>A marked variation in the process just outlined occurs when, as the
+controlling condition, the intruded magma is highly viscous instead of
+highly fluid, and the friction of contact and of flow is greatly
+increased. Under such circumstances the intruded magma expands less
+widely than is the case when an intruded sheet is formed, and a thick
+intrusion results, which lifts a small cover perhaps to a great height.
+Intrusions of this nature are sometimes expanded in their upper portions
+into a more or less mushroom shape, and from their fancied resemblance
+to cisterns of once molten rock within older terranes have been termed
+<i>laccoliths</i>. The typical examples are furnished by the Henry Mountains
+in southern Utah, described by G. K. Gilbert. Other similar intrusions
+in Colorado have been studied by Whitman Cross, and yet other examples
+have been discovered in various parts of the Pacific mountains. In the
+case of certain of the laccoliths in the Henry Mountains, now laid bare
+by erosion, the cistern-like mass of intruded material is 12,000 feet or
+more in diameter, some 5,000 feet thick in the central part, and lifted
+a cover of stratified rocks fully 7,000 feet thick.</p>
+
+<p>Where a dike ends above in older rocks, and particularly in horizontally
+stratified sedimentary beds, in a pipe-like form, similar to the conduit
+of a volcano, but without reaching the surface, the unexpanded or but
+slightly enlarged summit portion lifts a comparatively small cover into
+a dome, and what has been termed a plutonic plug results.</p>
+
+<p>All the various phases of intrusions thus far referred to, it will be
+readily seen, are variations of one process.
+<!--344.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">322</a></span>
+The wide range in
+the results produced are dependent on local conditions, either in
+respect to terranes invaded, as, for example, whether or not they are
+undisturbed sedimentary beds, and on the physical condition of the
+intruded material, in reference especially to its degree of viscosity.
+There is an intimate and even a genetic connection between intrusions on
+the one hand and volcanic and fissure eruptions on the other. If
+fissures lead from portions of the earth's crust sufficiently deep to
+permit the rocks to become plastic or fused on account of the relief of
+pressure due to the opening of the fissure, the magma may be forced to
+the surface, becoming more and more plastic or more perfectly fluid as
+the weight upon it decreased, and volcanic phenomena result; or if the
+fissure fails to reach the surface intrusions of various forms may be
+produced. The simplest form of intrusion, the dike, results under
+whatever condition the summit portion of the magma comes to rest. A
+magma forced upward in fissures in the earth's crust may meet moist
+rocks or even reservoirs of water, and in such instances steam or gases
+are produced and a new force is added, which may produce explosions.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the intrusions of the various classes just referred to
+there are others on a far larger scale, examples of which occur in North
+America, but as yet their mode of origin has been but little studied. I
+refer to vast upwellings of molten or plastic material beneath the more
+rigid portions of the earth's crust, which elevate domes, perhaps 200 or
+300 miles or more in their various horizontal diameters. The great areas
+occupied by intrusive granite, as the one from which the Bitter Root
+Mountains in Idaho have been sculptured, are of this nature. These
+"regional intrusions," as they may be termed, elevate mountains in the
+same general manner as in the case of laccoliths, but of far greater
+size. To the elevations produced in this manner I have ventured to apply
+the name <i>subtuberant mountains</i>, in expression of the idea that they
+have resulted from vertical uplifts, due to the upswelling of molten
+material beneath.
+<!--345.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">323</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>The Metamorphic Rocks</i> (Plate IV).&mdash;At the contact of either
+sedimentary or igneous rocks with intrusive rocks of whatever form, such
+as dikes, sheets, laccoliths, etc., there has been in many well-known
+instances an alteration of the terranes penetrated or uplifted which is
+most intense along the contact and diminishes at a distance. This change
+or metamorphism, as it is termed, consists of an alteration in the
+colour, texture, hardness, mineral and chemical composition, etc., of
+the rocks affected, and may be manifest throughout a thickness of but a
+few feet, or perhaps only a few inches, but near large intrusions is apt
+to be traceable for scores or hundreds of feet. In the case of intense
+contact metamorphism, the altered rock assumes a new form, and may
+exhibit a crystalline and foliated or schistose structure. The changes
+referred to are most marked when water is present, and are thought to be
+due largely to the influence of heated water percolating through the
+rocks and producing changes by solution and deposition. The principal
+agencies which take part in contact metamorphism are heat, heated
+waters, pressure, and perhaps movements within the rocks.</p>
+
+<p>There are extensive regions throughout which the rocks have been changed
+in a manner similar to the alterations commonly found adjacent to
+igneous intrusions which, in general, have been brought about in some
+other way. This regional metamorphism, as it is termed, has affected the
+rocks in certain instances throughout districts measuring many hundreds
+of square miles in surface extent, and with a vertical range of many
+thousands of feet. The rocks referred to have been changed without
+fusion from a previous condition, during which they were either
+sedimentary beds or cooled and crystallized igneous magma. This
+conclusion has been verified in numerous instances by tracing the
+thoroughly altered rocks to regions where the change has been less
+intense and finally to where they pass by insensible gradations into
+easily recognisable sedimentary or igneous terranes. Common examples of
+metamorphic rocks are mica, schist, gneiss,
+<!--346.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">324</a></span>
+statuary marble,
+certain granites, etc. These rocks frequently have a foliated or fissile
+structure, such as it is presumed would result from a flowing movement
+within the mass while under great pressure. Characteristically also the
+rocks are composed of interlocking crystals or portions of crystals,
+which are not contained in a glassy base, as is the case with most rocks
+that have crystallized from fusion. That is, the metamorphic rocks are
+characteristically <i>holocrystalline</i>, while igneous rocks are
+<i>porphyritic</i>, or <i>cryptocrystalline</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The analogy between rocks altered by contact metamorphism and those
+affected by regional metamorphism had led to the conclusion that the
+latter, like the former, have been changed by heat and the passage
+through them of heated water bearing mineral matter, and especially
+silica, in solution. More than this, the foliation frequently so
+characteristic of metamorphic rocks is considered as evidence of a
+flowing movement or shearing of the material while under pressure. In
+short, rocks are altered by heat, especially if water is present in
+them, by motion, and by chemical changes produced by percolating waters,
+and perhaps in still other ways. The degree of heat required is not
+definitely known, and probably varies according to the nature of the
+rocks, the presence or absence of water, etc., but is certainly less
+than that necessary to produce fusion, and is thought, in general, to be
+in the neighbourhood of 750° F. While heat alone is considered as
+sufficient to produce metamorphism, it is probable that in most
+instances two or more of the agencies just referred to have been in
+operation at the same time. In the case of the foliated rocks motion
+within the mass seems to have been the predominating factor, and
+dynamical metamorphism is considered as important as heat metamorphism.</p>
+
+<p>In North America, as is indicated roughly on the map forming Plate IV,
+metamorphic rocks occur at the surface over a great region in eastern
+and northeastern Canada, in Labrador and Newfoundland, in the New
+England States, and thence southward along the eastern side of the
+Appalachians. Other extensive regions occupied by similar
+<!--347.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">325</a></span>
+rocks
+occur in many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains, from Alaska to
+Panama, and are known in the West Indies.</p>
+
+<p>Not only do the metamorphosed rocks outcrop at the surface over large
+areas, but, as may be inferred from such outcrops, as well as from the
+records of numerous borings, underlies nearly the entire extent of the
+sedimentary formations. The basal portion of the continent, with the
+exception of certain areas where igneous rocks occur, is formed of
+metamorphosed terranes. So generally is this true, that it is safe to
+say that if a boring is begun at any locality on the continent where
+sedimentary beds occur, and is continued downward until the sedimentary
+rocks are passed through, metamorphic terranes will be found beneath.
+The same is true also where the surface is composed of lava-sheets. The
+exceptions, where metamorphosed rocks do not occur beneath sedimentary
+or volcanic beds, are when igneous intrusions or ancient lava-flows are
+present at a depth.</p>
+
+<p>In the brief description given of the Archean system on a preceding
+page, it was stated that the rocks composing it are largely metamorphic.
+But rocks of practically any age may be altered in the several ways
+mentioned above, and the resulting gneisses, schists, etc., be
+indistinguishable from those of the Archean. In fact, some of the
+metamorphosed rocks of North America, as certain gneisses, schists,
+etc., of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, are known to be of
+Mesozoic and even Cenozoic age.</p>
+
+<p>In speaking of the growth of North America, and again in connection with
+the distribution of volcanic mountains, it was shown that there has been
+a progressive migration of the field of action of the forces which
+upheave the rocks so as to form land areas, and also of the movements in
+the rocks which produce fractures and lead to the origin of volcanoes.
+In a similar way the sphere of influence of metamorphism as indicated by
+the age of the transformed rocks in various regions has in a general way
+migrated from east to west across the continent.
+<!--348.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">326</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In the Laurentian Highlands the metamorphosed rocks are of pre-Cambrian
+age; in New England and the Appalachian region they are, in part at
+least, of Paleozoic age; and in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains
+metamorphosed Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks occur. As movements in the
+outer portion of the earth's crust may produce fractures in any class of
+rocks, and as such fractures favour the intrusion of igneous material,
+the metamorphic rocks may contain igneous intrusions similar to those
+noted above in connection with sedimentary rocks. As the stratification
+so marked in sedimentary beds is lacking in metamorphosed rocks, it is
+not to be expected that intrusions will take the form of sheets,
+laccoliths, etc., but rather appear as dikes with perhaps irregular
+branches. As the same region may experience two or more periods of
+metamorphism, it is evident that great complexities may arise, as, for
+example, when a metamorphosed terrane is penetrated by dikes and
+irregular intrusions and again subjected to metamorphosing conditions.
+These considerations lead to the suggestion that rocks metamorphosed in
+pre-Cambrian time, for example, would be apt to be more complex than
+those of Mesozoic date. In general, this has been found to be true, as
+is suggested by the fact that to the pre-Cambrian metamorphosed
+terranes, as previously stated, the name Basement Complex has been
+applied.</p>
+
+<p><i>Summary.</i>&mdash;The relation of the three great divisions into which the
+rocks composing North America, in common with all other portions of the
+known lithosphere, are divided, may perhaps be better understood when it
+is remembered that the igneous rocks came <i>from below</i> in a molten
+condition; that the sedimentary rocks have been formed <i>at the surface</i>
+from the <i>débris</i> of either igneous, metamorphic, or previously formed
+sedimentary beds; and that metamorphic rocks have been produced <i>within</i>
+the earth's outer crust by the alteration of either igneous or
+sedimentary rocks. When the heat which produced certain phases of
+metamorphism is sufficiently increased, greater freedom of molecular and
+chemical changes occur
+<!--349.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">327</a></span>
+and the material acted on passes to the
+condition of an igneous magma. The three great classes of rocks
+considered above are thus seen to be but stages in a cycle which the
+material of the lithosphere passes through.</p>
+
+<p>The conditions which bring about these changes are still in action and
+are intimately associated with movements in the rocks of the earth's
+crust. When elevation raises a portion of the earth's crust above
+sea-level, erosion and redeposition ensue and sedimentary rocks are
+formed; the greater the elevation the more energetically the forces act
+which bring about denudation, transportation, and sedimentation. When
+depression occurs of sufficient amount to carry rocks previously at or
+near the surface into the zone of metamorphism, alterations follow, and
+in general the deeper the depression the greater the changes until
+metamorphism culminates in fusion, providing pressure does not
+counteract the influence of heat. Dynamical and chemical metamorphism
+may occur at less depth than purely heat metamorphism, and it may be
+presumed takes place in the axes of mountain ranges, even above
+sea-level. Such a broad view of the relations and genesis of the three
+great lithologic divisions of the material forming the earth's outer
+crust is necessary to the understanding of the conditions observed in
+the basal portion of the geological column, as it is termed, in which
+the age and order of succession of the sedimentary rocks is indicated.
+In certain localities, for example, the Cambrian rocks rest
+unconformably on a surface of metamorphic and igneous rocks&mdash;that is,
+the Basement Complex was raised above sea-level, eroded and subsequently
+depressed before the Cambrian sediments were laid upon it. In other
+localities the Cambrian rocks pass indefinitely into metamorphosed
+terranes beneath, which means that metamorphism invaded the series after
+the deposition of the Cambrian, and the characteristics of its junction
+with older rocks was obliterated. Similar relations may evidently be
+discovered at any horizon in the geological column. Obviously the
+chances of a system of stratified rocks becoming metamorphosed or of
+being removed by erosion, are
+<!--350.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">328</a></span>
+greater the nearer their position
+to the base of the sedimentary series; in a similar way the chances of a
+sedimentary terrane becoming invaded by igneous intrusions is greater
+the greater its age; again, the older a sedimentary terrane the greater
+the chances of its becoming buried by subsequent deposition and the less
+the likelihood of its being exposed for study. The only position in
+which a sedimentary formation can maintain its integrity and be safe
+from destruction by erosion or transformation by metamorphism is below
+sea-level and above the zone of heat metamorphism; but even in this
+position it may have its distinctive features, including its fossils,
+obliterated by dynamical and chemical alterations. These suggestions are
+offered for the sake of indicating, as stated on a previous page, that
+the Cambrian and Algonkian rocks should not be considered as the first
+formed sediments, and that there is hope of the discovery of a rich
+fauna of older date than any at present known. In the search for the
+earliest evidence of animal life on the earth, North America holds out
+favourable conditions.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE CONCENTRATION OF MINERAL SUBSTANCES</div>
+
+<p>The most important branch of geology treats of the substances in the
+earth's crust that are of direct service to man, as, for example,
+building stones, coal, iron, petroleum, gold, etc. Only a glance can
+here be given at the conditions which have led to the origin of the
+materials of commercial value and to their geographical distribution.</p>
+
+<p>From the mode of origin of the principal classes of rocks it may be
+reasonably inferred that certain minerals and ores will be developed or
+concentrated in one class of rocks and not in the others. To a great
+extent the facts observed during the development of mines, etc., sustain
+this prediction.</p>
+
+<p>In the cooling and crystallizing of igneous rocks from a state of fusion
+many minerals are formed, the most common being silicates of the
+alkaline earths, which are usually inclosed in a glassy or
+cryptocrystalline base. The
+<!--351.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">329</a></span>
+igneous rocks have characteristically
+a highly complex chemical composition, and although frequently
+containing the metallic element, etc., which are of economic importance,
+these are widely disseminated, and in nearly all cases in chemical
+combinations, as the minor ingredients of siliceous minerals. Although
+the igneous rocks sometimes contain valuable ores, they are in many, if
+not all instances, due to secondary enrichment and are not a result of
+primary crystallization from fusion. As all the material of the earth's
+crust was at one stage in the series of changes it has experienced
+consolidated from fusion, it follows that the ores and minerals now of
+economic value did not then exist, or were widely diffused and have
+since been formed or concentrated.</p>
+
+<p>The processes of concentration referred to are carried on in various
+ways through the agency of mechanical, chemical, vital, molecular, and
+electrical forces, acting singly or in association. For example,
+concentration through the action of mechanical agencies is illustrated
+by the manner in which rocks are reduced to fragments in the every-day
+process of denudation and the resulting <i>débris</i> removed by streams and
+redeposited. In this process an assorting in reference to size, specific
+gravity, etc., takes place, and certain substances, as sand, for
+instance, is accumulated in one locality, and certain other substances,
+as clay, deposited in another locality. During this process gold,
+platinum, etc., owing to their high specific gravity, may be
+concentrated in stream channels. The accumulation of mineral matter
+through the action mainly of chemical agencies, occurs when the waters
+percolating through rocks dissolves certain substances, as calcium
+carbonate, for instance, and on coming to the surface as springs, or
+dripping from the roofs of caverns, deposit calcareous tufa,
+stalactites, etc. Silica, iron, manganese, and other substances are
+frequently concentrated in a similar manner.</p>
+
+<p>Concentration of previously widely disseminated substances principally
+through the agency of vital forces, is illustrated by the manner in
+which molluscs and polyps
+<!--352.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">330</a></span>
+obtain calcium carbonate from water and
+deposit it in their shells or skeletons. The part played by plants in
+this same connection is shown by the way in which they eliminate carbon
+dioxide from the air or from water, and concentrate the carbon in their
+tissues. From the carbon accumulated in this manner, under certain
+conditions, deposits of peat, lignite, coal, graphite, etc., have
+resulted.</p>
+
+<p>What may provisionally at least be termed molecular concentration occurs
+when similar molecules are brought together largely by water and
+crystallized to form mineral species. In order to simplify this brief
+discussion as much as practicable, this phase of concentration will be
+included under the chemical processes referred to above.</p>
+
+<p>The three principal methods by which mineral substances are
+concentrated, namely, the mechanical, chemical, and vital, have in the
+main different fields of action. The mechanical and vital agencies
+operate at the surface of the lithosphere, although organic products,
+principally certain acids, descend into the earth in solution in water
+and play an important part in deep-seated chemical changes, as in the
+formation of mineral veins. The chemical agencies bring about the
+concentration of mineral substances both at or near the surface and at a
+depth.</p>
+
+<p>The intensity with which the several agencies just referred to operate
+varies according to conditions. The mechanical agencies, for example,
+acting mainly through the aid of flowing water, are in general most
+potent in humid regions and where the land is high above sea-level.
+Vital agencies depend largely on climate and are most active in warm
+humid regions. The chemical agencies are influenced largely by heat, the
+presence of water, and by pressure.</p>
+
+<p>It is interesting to note that a high degree of heat leads to the
+dissipation and wide distribution of substances previously concentrated;
+fusion, for example, permitting of the intimate mingling or
+recombination of substances, previously segregated, although during the
+dying stages of volcanic activity minerals like sulphur, cinnabar, etc.,
+may be directly condensed and thus concentrated from a vaporous
+condition.
+<!--353.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">331</a></span></p>
+
+<p>During the formation of the three main classes of rocks composing the
+earth's crust, the agencies leading to the concentration of various
+substances now of economic importance have to a great extent been
+different, and hence in a marked way the stones, ores, fuels, gems,
+etc., to be expected in each of the three classes of rocks,
+respectively, are distinct. Certain exceptions to this broad conclusion,
+however, arise from the fact that rocks belonging to each of the classes
+referred to may have been brought within the influence of the same or
+similar concentrating agencies and like results produced in each class.</p>
+
+<p><i>Economic Importance of the Igneous Terranes.</i>&mdash;The igneous rocks, as
+previously noted, are such as have cooled from fusion. On the cooling of
+magmas various minerals are formed, most commonly silicates, and except
+in a minor way in connection with the weaker stages of volcanic activity
+and the slow cooling of the rocks, there does not seem to be any marked
+tendency towards the concentration or segregation of metallic minerals
+or ores. Although igneous rocks do contain gold, silver, copper, etc.,
+and a large variety of the rarer metals, they are widely disseminated.
+As is well known, however, igneous rocks are in some instances of value
+for the metallic mineral, gems, and ores associated with them, but in
+the great majority of instances at least, and as a rule, these minerals
+and ores are the result of subsequent changes and owe their origin
+mainly to deposition from heated, percolating water. Rich ore bodies
+frequently occur on the borders of igneous dikes, and in fissures and
+cavities in igneous rocks, but the process by which they have been
+formed is similar to that leading to the concentration of mineral matter
+in metamorphic rocks, and will be referred to later.</p>
+
+<p>The igneous rocks themselves furnish desirable building stones, such as
+granite, diorite, porphyry, diabase, etc. With the exception of granite
+and the nearly related diorite, these have not as yet been extensively
+utilized in North America. Certain of the igneous rocks have been
+altered to serpentine, which on account of its pleasing green colour and
+the ease with which it can be cut and
+<!--354.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">332</a></span>
+polished furnishes a stone
+valuable for interior uses. It is also employed, usually with a rough
+surface, in the construction of exterior walls of dwellings, gateways,
+etc. Large bodies of serpentine occur at a number of localities in the
+Atlantic mountains from Pennsylvania and Maryland northward, including
+eastern Canada, and also over extensive areas in the Pacific mountains,
+particularly in California, Washington, and Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>The principal ores and minerals of commercial importance in the igneous
+rocks are native copper, as in northern Michigan; copper pyrites, as at
+Butte, Montana; gold, at many localities, including the Treadwell mine,
+Alaska; opal, which is mined on a small scale in Idaho and Washington.
+In practically all these instances, and numerous others that might be
+enumerated, the substances referred to have been deposited from solution
+in cavities in the rocks or have replaced other substances, and are due
+to what is termed above chemical concentration.</p>
+
+<p><i>Economic Importance of the Sedimentary Terranes.</i>&mdash;The sedimentary
+rocks are composed principally of fragmental material derived from the
+disintegration of older rocks transported and deposited mechanically,
+and resulting in the formation of sandstone, shale, etc., and of
+organically concentrated material, such as shells and corals, which form
+limestones. The deposits originating in these ways furnish excellent
+building stones, the principal classes being sandstones and limestones.
+These occur widely throughout North America, and in formations of all
+ages subsequent to the Archean. The sandstones were deposited near the
+shores of the seas, or in lakes, and the limestones principally in
+moderately deep oceans.</p>
+
+<p>Sandstones occur largely in the Cambrian formation on the south shore of
+Lake Superior and about the borders of the Adirondack hills of New York.
+They are usually red or reddish-brown rocks, and their pleasing colours,
+durability, even grain, and the readiness with which they may be broken
+in any direction make them desirable building stones.</p>
+
+<p>The Newark system, extending in detached areas from
+<!--355.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">333</a></span>
+Nova Scotia
+to South Carolina, contains immense quantities of brown and gray
+sandstone, which have been extensively quarried, particularly in the
+Connecticut Valley, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and largely
+used in Atlantic coast cities. The Carboniferous and Devonian
+sandstones, usually of a gray colour, of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and
+neighbouring States, are largely used in the cities of the interior
+portions of the United States. Extensive deposits of Mesozoic and
+Cenozoic sandstones occur throughout the Pacific mountains, and afford a
+practically unlimited supply of good building material, which as yet has
+been but little utilized. The colours of sandstones vary from bright red
+through brown-yellow to gray, and in some cases are nearly white,
+depending largely on the condition of the iron present. The red rocks
+are dyed with ferric oxide; the brownstones contain iron, frequently in
+the cementing material that unites the grains, in various stages of
+oxidation and hydration; the gray stones may also contain iron, but if
+present it is in union with organic matter, as the ferric carbonate, for
+example. The Cambrian and Newark sandstones are prevailingly of some
+shade of red, for the reason that not enough organic matter is present
+to change the iron to a carbonate.</p>
+
+<p>The sandstones when of an even fine grain and not too hard, are suitable
+for sharpening tools, and large quantities of grindstones, whetstones,
+etc., are made from them, as on the Lake Huron shore of Michigan, in
+Ohio, etc. Other sandstones, practically free from iron, are used in the
+manufacture of glass. The best example of "glass sand" is the Sylvania
+sandstone of southeastern Michigan. Unconsolidated sand is largely used
+in mixing mortars and cements, for smoothing stones used for
+architectural and monumental purposes, as foundry sand in making moulds
+for casting, and many other ways. Seaward from where sand is being
+deposited we find in the present oceans that as a rule fine bluish or
+greenish mud occurs, and still farther seaward, except where
+coral-polyps thrive, usually at a distance of 100 miles or more from
+land, the bottom is composed of calcareous mud or ooze. The
+<!--356.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">334</a></span>
+sand
+and mud are derived from the land, and if consolidated form sandstone
+and shale. The calcareous ooze is derived from the life of the sea,
+largely minute lime-secreting foraminifera, together with shells of
+molluscs, and in the vicinity of coral islands or reefs the hard parts
+of coral growth are added. That is, the calcareous oozes are formed by
+the concentration of calcium carbonate through the vital action of
+animals and to a less extent of plants. Such material, if consolidated,
+would form ordinary limestone.</p>
+
+<p>In North America there are terranes scores of hundreds of miles across
+in various directions and hundreds and even thousands of feet thick that
+have been formed in the manner just indicated. From this mode of origin
+it may be truthfully inferred that limestone may have been formed during
+any age since organisms having the power of secreting calcium carbonate
+existed on the earth. The limestones of North America range in age from
+the Algonkian period to the present time, and are still being formed in
+the ocean and in a minor way in lakes.</p>
+
+<p>Impure limestones, frequently coloured or clouded with red, due to
+ferric oxide, are quarried on an extensive scale in eastern Tennessee,
+and are used for decorative purposes. The Tennessee limestones referred
+to are of Paleozoic age; in Florida porous rocks, known as coquina,
+composed of imperfectly consolidated shells of living species of
+molluscs, are used in the construction of buildings. Gray limestones
+susceptible of a good polish occur in Ohio and neighbouring States and
+are utilized to some extent for columns and interior finish of
+buildings, but in the main the stones of this nature when employed for
+architectural purposes are rough-faced. Vast amounts of limestone
+suitable for masonry occur widely throughout the Mississippi Valley in
+many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains, especially in the United
+States and Mexico, and are also of immense thickness in the West Indies.</p>
+
+<p>In many instances limestone has been metamorphosed, as will be described
+below, and converted into crystalline marble. Commercially, however, all
+limestone, whether
+<!--357.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">335</a></span>
+crystalline or not, which is susceptible of a
+polish, is termed marble.</p>
+
+<p>Under certain conditions calcium carbonate is concentrated at or near
+the earth's surface by chemical agencies, as about springs where
+calcareous tufa, travertine, etc., are precipitated, and in caverns
+where stalactites and stalagmites are formed. Stalagmite sheets are
+sometimes composed of variegated, laminated layers, and when polished
+produce a beautiful decorative stone which passes under the name of onyx
+marble. Deposits of this character of commercial importance occur in
+Arizona and Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>Calcium carbonate concentrated in lakes through the combined action of
+chemical and vital agencies produces the so-called marl, now extensively
+utilized in the manufacture of Portland cement. In this mode of
+accumulation the calcium carbonate is dissolved by percolating waters
+from the rocks and soils and carried to lakes in solution; it is there
+precipitated largely through the vital action of certain algæ and
+deposited as a fine white ooze. Thousands of deposits of this nature,
+varying in extent up to several hundred acres, and having a depth of
+from a few feet to 40 and even 60 or more feet, occur in the portion of
+the continent covered with glacial drift, and especially in the States
+from New England to Minnesota. The reasons for the greater abundance of
+marl in this region than elsewhere are that the glacial drift is there
+highly calcareous, numerous lakes are present, and the climatic
+conditions are such as to favour the growth of certain aquatic plants,
+and especially the <i>Characeæ</i> or stoneworts, which have the property of
+eliminating calcium carbonate from ordinary lake waters.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of the vital agencies in concentrating substances of
+economic value is illustrated by the manner in which coal, petroleum,
+and natural or rock-gas, etc., have been formed.</p>
+
+<p>Land plants have the power, under the influence of light, of decomposing
+the carbon dioxide (carbonic-acid gas) of the air and fixing the carbon
+in their tissues, the
+<!--358.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">336</a></span>
+oxygen being liberated and rendered
+available for animal respiration. Carbon is thus concentrated, and when
+plant remains accumulate and are preserved beneath water in swamps, a
+slow change takes place and peat is formed. The essential conditions for
+the accumulation of vegetable matter have been present on the earth ever
+since a land flora existed, and coal-beds occur at many different
+horizons. The earliest date at which land plants seem to have been
+sufficiently abundant to furnish material for coal-beds was the
+Carboniferous period. Although a similar flora existed during the
+preceding period, the Devonian, no coal-beds of workable thickness are
+known in the rocks of that age. Since the Carboniferous period coal has
+been found at many horizons in the sedimentary rocks, and peat is being
+accumulated at the present day.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 641px;"><a name="Fig_34" id="Fig_34"></a>
+<img src="images/i357.jpg" width="641" height="700" alt="Fig. 34." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 34.</span>&mdash;Map showing the distribution of coal in North America.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The coal-fields of North America are more extensive than those of any
+other continent, excepting, perhaps, the at present but little known
+coal-bearing formations of Asia, and are distributed in temperate
+latitudes, from tide-water on the Atlantic to tide-water on the Pacific
+coasts, where the greatest commercial and intellectual development has
+been reached.</p>
+
+<p>Coal of Carboniferous age occurs in large and valuable deposits in Nova
+Scotia and New Brunswick; there is a small area of graphitic anthracite,
+not now utilized, in Rhode Island; but the great fields are in
+Pennsylvania and the States southward to central Alabama, and westward
+to beyond the Mississippi. A detached coal-basin containing some 6,700
+square miles, but a small part of which is productive, however, occurs
+in the central part of southern Michigan. Small coal-fields in Virginia
+and North Carolina, the first to be worked in America, are of Jura-Trias
+age and form part of the Newark system. Extensive fields of valuable
+coal of Mesozoic age, principally in the Laramie system, occur in New
+Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and still farther north along the
+same great belt in Canada.</p>
+
+<p>Another highly valuable field of Mesozoic coal is now being extensively
+worked on Vancouver Island. The
+<!--360.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">338</a></span>
+coals of the west side of the
+Pacific mountains, largely lignites, but in many instances of high grade
+and serviceable for steam coal, are mostly of Cenozoic age (Tertiary)
+and occur in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The
+distribution of the various coal-fields is indicated on the above map,
+and space will not be taken in describing their geographical relations.</p>
+
+<p>Peat is present in innumerable swamps throughout the humid, temperate
+portion of the continent, especially from Louisiana and Florida
+northward, to the region about the Great Lakes and widely throughout
+Canada, but is at present of small commercial importance, although steps
+are being taken for its extensive utilization.</p>
+
+<p>The most valuable of the coal deposits are of Carboniferous age, and lie
+to the east of the Rocky Mountains. The most of the coal is bituminous,
+or soft coal, used principally in generating steam and for manufacturing
+gas and coke. The exceptions occur in eastern Pennsylvania and in Rhode
+Island. These are considered as metamorphosed coals, although in the
+Pennsylvania region there is no evidence of the action of a high degree
+of heat. In the Rhode Island field the rocks associated with the coal
+are plainly metamorphic in character, and the coal has, in large part,
+been changed to graphitic anthracite.</p>
+
+<p>That anthracite may be of any age, however, is indicated by the local
+changes that have occurred in Mesozoic and Cenozoic coals, where they
+have been penetrated by dikes and other varieties of intrusions, or have
+been altered by surface lava-flows. In such situations the coal has lost
+nearly all its volatile matter, and in composition and in certain
+instances, as in western Colorado, in physical character as well, is
+essentially an anthracite.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the various coal deposits referred to above there is a
+second series of organic compounds found stored in sedimentary rocks
+which consists of hydrocarbon. This series of substances includes
+natural or rock-gas, petroleum, maltha or semifluid hydrocarbon, and
+solid hydrocarbons, such as asphaltum, albertite, grahamite,
+<!--361.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">339</a></span>
+ozokerite, etc. These substances are usually considered as being of
+organic origin and to have resulted from changes which take place in
+vegetable and animal tissues when buried and in most cases subjected to
+heavy pressure. A large part of the hydrocarbons referred to is thought
+to have been derived from animal organisms, an opinion which is
+sustained in an important manner by the fact that large stores of both
+petroleum and rock-gas have been discovered in rocks which were laid
+down before land vegetation is known to have existed. Marine algæ were
+present, however, so that it cannot be affirmed that the hydrocarbon of
+the earlier Paleozoic rocks came entirely from animal organisms. It is
+highly probable, however, that a large portion of the hydrocarbons
+stored in Paleozoic and later strata was derived from the animals whose
+hard parts occur so abundantly as fossils in the same or adjacent beds.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"><a name="Fig_35" id="Fig_35"></a>
+<img src="images/i359.jpg" width="700" height="151" alt="Fig. 35." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 35.</span>&mdash;Ideal section showing favourable conditions for
+the storage of petroleum and gas.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Besides the concentration of carbon in plant and animal tissues and its
+change to hydrocarbons, there is a still further concentration necessary
+in order that stores of petroleum, gas, etc., shall be accumulated so as
+to be of economic value. This accumulation is dependent largely on
+physical conditions. The production of hydrocarbons from organic matter
+contained in sedimentary rocks, and particularly in shale, is going on
+in many regions, and probably nearly everywhere, especially when the
+soft parts of animals are buried in the rocks, but the petroleum, gas,
+etc., generated escape at the surface and pass into the air and are
+again widely disseminated, unless conditions are present which lead to
+their accumulation. The conditions favouring the natural storage of the
+substances referred to are cavities, or more usually porous beds, such
+<!--362.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">340</a></span>
+as sandstone, beneath impervious beds, such as clay or shale. The
+conditions are still more favourable when lateral as well as vertical
+escape is cut off, as, for example, when arches or domes occur. The most
+favourable conditions result when a bed of shale or other rock, as <i>a</i>,
+Fig. 35, from which hydrocarbons are being evolved occur beneath a sheet
+of porous sandstone or fissured rock of any kind, <i>b</i>, above which there
+is a close-textured, unfractured stratum, such as shale, <i>c</i>, and the
+series is bent along certain axes into upward folds or anticlinals.
+Under these conditions, as extended experience has shown, a well drilled
+at <i>d</i> should yield in succession gas, petroleum, and water.</p>
+
+<p>The conditions for the production of petroleum, gas, etc., have been
+present on the earth since the first appearance of life, and reservoirs
+may have originated at any subsequent time. The oldest known reservoirs
+still charged with these substances that have been discovered occur in
+the earlier Paleozoic rocks, just above the formations containing the
+oldest known fauna. Important petroleum and gas fields in rocks of the
+Trenton period occur in New York, Ontario, Ohio, and Indiana. The
+Devonian rocks of Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, etc., also yield
+large supplies of both oil and gas. Mesozoic rocks of Colorado, Wyoming,
+etc., are also rich in the concentrated hydrocarbon referred to, and on
+the Pacific coast, particularly in California, rocks of Cenozoic age are
+highly productive. Petroleum and gas may occur also in rocks more recent
+than the Cenozoic, but owing to the absence of reservoirs, and possibly
+the lack of sufficient time, no important accumulations are known in
+beds more recent than the Tertiary, unless they come from a deeper
+source in older rocks. The vast quantity of petroleum stored in the
+rocks of various ages in North America is indicated by the fact that in
+1900 the yield from the wells of the United States was 63,362,704
+barrels, and from Canadian wells about 280,000 barrels, making a total
+of nearly 64,000,000 barrels.</p>
+
+<p>The stores of rock-gas are also enormous, as is indicated by the fact
+that a single well at Bairdstown, Ohio,
+<!--363.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">341</a></span>
+yielded over 17,000,000
+cubic feet per day. In 1890 the average daily flow of the Indiana
+gas-wells was 779,525,000 cubic feet. The value of the natural gas
+consumed in the United States in 1900 was $23,606,463.</p>
+
+<p>In the sedimentary rocks of North America there occur also extensive and
+valuable deposits of semifluid and solid hydrocarbons, such as maltha,
+asphaltum, albertite, grahamite, uintahite, etc., which have arisen,
+under the most plausible explanation thus far offered, from the
+concentration by evaporation of fluid hydrocarbons such as petroleum.
+The evaporation, particularly of heavy petroleum, leads to the formation
+of a solid residue, similar to asphaltum. In fact, there is no definite
+boundary between the lightest naphtha and the most coal-like asphaltum.
+They form a connected hydrocarbon series, analogous to the coal series.</p>
+
+<p>Albertite, a bright, coal-like substance, exceedingly rich in volatile
+hydrocarbon, occupies fissures in Carboniferous rocks in Nova Scotia,
+and a similar but less lustrous mineral, termed grahamite, occurs in
+fissures in rock of the same age, near a rich oil-pool in West Virginia.
+Other similar deposits, but usually wax-like and dull, are found in Utah
+and neighbouring States. Asphaltum occurs in vast quantities in southern
+California, and also in Cuba; these deposits resemble the celebrated
+asphaltum of Trinidad and give promise of being fully as extensive and
+valuable.</p>
+
+<p>In brief, gaseous, fluid, semifluid, and solid hydrocarbons in great
+variety are widely distributed throughout the portions of North America
+where the surface is composed of sedimentary beds, and in a few
+instances occur in cavities in igneous rocks as well.</p>
+
+<p>The influence of life in leading to the concentration of substances of
+commercial value is still further illustrated by the beds of
+diatomaceous earth which are found in various portions of North America
+and elsewhere, particularly in Cenozoic and more recent terranes. Beds
+of diatomaceous earth reported to be 40 feet thick and of wide extent
+have been found near Richmond, Virginia, and similar deposits occur at
+several localities in Oregon, California, etc. The uses of this fine,
+white, flour-like powder, each
+<!--364.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">342</a></span>
+minute grain of which is a
+beautiful siliceous organism, are for polishing powder, as an ingredient
+in friction soap, as an absorbent for nitroglycerine in the manufacture
+of high explosives, etc.</p>
+
+<p>A class of substances of economic importance which owe their
+accumulation to chemical agencies acting at the surface of the earth is
+well illustrated by deposits of rock salt and gypsum.</p>
+
+<p>In the Silurian system in New York, Ontario, Michigan, etc., several
+beds of rock salt and gypsum occur, indicating that there were formerly
+a number of separate evaporating basins in that region. The beds of salt
+vary in thickness from a few inches to over 300 feet, as at Tulley, New
+York. At Goodrich, Ontario, 6 beds of salt from 6 to 35 feet thick have
+been penetrated in a single well. With the salt in this the Salina
+formation there are many beds of gypsum. In rocks of Carboniferous age
+in Michigan, other extensive beds of salt and gypsum have been
+discovered. In Louisiana, Texas, Utah, and other States, salt and gypsum
+occur in Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks. One of the most remarkable of
+these deposits is beneath small islands in the Gulf of Mexico off the
+Louisiana coast. On Jefferson Island, for example, rock salt was reached
+recently at a depth of 260 feet beneath Cenozoic rock, and was
+penetrated for over 1,800 feet without reaching the base of the deposit.
+The supply of salt stored in the rocks, and the natural brines of the
+arid region, such as the waters of Great Salt Lake, afford an
+inexhaustible supply upon which comparatively small demands have thus
+far been made.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to salt and gypsum there are other substances that have been
+accumulated in a similar manner, such, for example, as sodium sulphate,
+of which large beds occur in the desiccated lake basins of the arid
+region, sodium bromide, which is obtained from some of the ancient
+brines pumped from deep wells in Michigan.</p>
+
+<p>Next to the fossil fuels, the most important products of the rocks in
+North America are the iron ores. Although certain igneous rocks are rich
+in iron, and in some
+<!--365.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">343</a></span>
+instances contain it even in a pure or
+metallic state, none of the rocks that have cooled from fusion carry
+iron in any form in sufficient quantities to be of commercial
+importance. Most of the iron in igneous rocks is contained in mineral,
+usually silicates, and would be difficult to separate. When exposed to
+the air and to percolating water, the iron-bearing minerals of the
+igneous or other rocks decay and the iron enters into various new
+combinations. When organic acids are present, and especially carbon
+dioxide, ferrous carbonate is formed, which is quite soluble, and is
+taken into solution by percolating water, some of which emerges as
+springs, and joins the surface run-off, which may also take up ferrous
+carbonate in solution. One of the most common methods by which iron ore
+is accumulated is when water carrying ferrous carbonate in solution
+forms swamps and lakes, and in many instances as the water is exposed to
+the air and aided by evaporation it parts with a portion of its carbon
+dioxide, and the hydrated sesquioxide of iron or limonite results. When,
+under similar conditions, an excess of organic matter is present, beds
+of ferrous carbonate are formed. In other instances iron oxide is
+precipitated in swamps and lakes through the action of low forms of
+plant life. The ores of iron concentrated in these ways are in many
+instances in well-defined layers, or lenticular bodies, which are
+thickest in the central portion and thin out in all directions. Their
+forms are determined mainly by the shapes of the depressions they
+occupy. Both ferrous carbonate and limonite, however, occur in irregular
+surface deposits.</p>
+
+<p>In North America, bog-iron ores occur at the surface in many regions, in
+existing swamps and about springs, but are seldom of economic
+importance, owing in part to the great abundance of better ores.
+Limonite occurs at the surface also, having been deposited in cavities
+and as a cement for loose fragments, particularly on the weathered
+outcrops of formations rich in iron. When rocks contain but a fraction
+of 1 per cent of iron, the soil on their weathered outcrops, owing to
+the removal of the more soluble ingredients and the leaving of the less
+soluble
+<!--366.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">344</a></span>
+oxidized iron, have a yellow, brown, or red colour, and
+in some instances this process of concentration has produced workable
+iron ore. Limonite and earthy hematites occur widely throughout the
+Appalachian region, in central New York, and westward to the Mississippi
+Valley. One of the most productive formations is the Clinton, a division
+of the Silurian, the outcrop of which extends in a nearly continuous
+band from Alabama, where at Birmingham, etc., it is extensively worked,
+northward along the west side of the Appalachians to central New York,
+and thence westward to Ohio, and appears again in Wisconsin. At many
+localities throughout this belt, some 1,300 miles in length, iron
+furnaces have been built, although now mostly abandoned, the ore supply
+being the weathered outcrop of the Clinton limestone.</p>
+
+<p>In the Carboniferous rocks of Pennsylvania and neighbouring States to
+the south and west, layers of ferrous carbonate, formed when there was
+an excess of organic matter present, termed black-band ore and kidney
+ore, occur. The former is present as regular strata and the latter in
+oval concretionary masses. These ores, although not as rich in iron and
+less pure than certain other and more abundant and more accessible
+deposits, have been extensively utilized, largely for the reason that
+they occur in the same formation which furnishes coal available for
+their reduction.</p>
+
+<p>Deposits of iron ore accumulated in the several ways referred to above
+may be metamorphosed and changed to hematite and magnetite. The richest
+iron ores of North America are of this nature, and will be referred to
+below in connection with other substances of economic importance
+contained in the metamorphic rocks.</p>
+
+<p>There are various other substances in the stratified rocks of North
+America of economic importance which owe their value to some process of
+concentration. Certain rocks, as the so-called greensands or marls of
+eastern New Jersey, contain from 3 to 10 per cent of potash, which makes
+them valuable fertilizers. In this instance the concentration took place
+on the floor of the sea, through the
+<!--367.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">345</a></span>
+action of decomposing
+organic matter, and the potash-bearing mineral of the greensand, namely,
+glauconite, was deposited in the interiors of the minute tests of
+foraminifera. The importance of this material is indicated by the fact
+that the greensands of New Jersey have been actively worked for more
+than half a century, the annual products during many years being upward
+of 100,000 tons.</p>
+
+<p>Extensive areas in the Carolinas, Florida, etc., underlaid by rocks of
+Cenozoic age, are rich in phosphatic nodules, which have been derived
+from organic matter. The guano deposits of the low arid islands in the
+West Indies illustrate another mode of accumulation of organic material
+useful as a fertilizer.</p>
+
+<p>The assorting of surface <i>débris</i> by streams and currents has led to the
+formation of extensive deposits of clay which occur widely throughout
+the portions of North America where the surface is composed of
+stratified rock, which is extensively used in the manufacture of
+earthenware, bricks, tiles, terra-cotta, Portland cement, etc.</p>
+
+<p>When rocks containing gold in nuggets, grains, scales, etc., are
+disintegrated, and the resulting <i>débris</i> removed by streams, mechanical
+separation of the heavier from the lighter material takes place and all
+but the very finest of the gold is concentrated on the stream beds. In
+this manner the rich placers of the Pacific mountain region from
+California to Alaska have originated.</p>
+
+<p>The general nature of the ore bodies formed through the action of
+chemical agencies in sedimentary rocks, by solution and redeposition, is
+illustrated by the lead and zinc ores of Wisconsin, Missouri, the
+silver-bearing lodes of the Pacific mountains, etc. In the case of the
+lead and zinc deposits the ores occupy the interspaces between broken
+sedimentary beds or line caverns. Under the best explanation of the
+origin of these deposits that has been offered, although certain
+modifications of the general hypothesis have been suggested which it is
+not necessary to consider at length at this time, the lead and zinc are
+considered to have been at one time widely distributed in the adjacent
+sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone, and
+<!--368.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">346</a></span>
+to have been taken in
+solution by percolating waters and carried to cavities where they were
+precipitated, together with various other mineral substances, such as
+calcium carbonate or calcite, barium sulphate or barite, carbonate of
+calcium and magnesium or dolomite, etc. The minerals containing lead are
+principally galenite or lead sulphate, cerussite or lead carbonate;
+while the zinc is contained in the minerals, sphalerite or zinc
+sulphide, calamine or zinc silicate, smithsonite or zinc carbonate, etc.
+These minerals, including both those containing lead and zinc, and those
+intimately associated with them which are at present of no commercial
+value, are such as are known to crystallize from solution without the
+aid of high temperatures. In the Missouri lead and zinc districts the
+ore deposits occur near the surface, the depth of the present working
+seldom exceeding 150 or 200 feet, and, as nearly as can be judged, have
+been formed by the downward transfer of mineral matter through the
+process of solution and recrystallization, as the surface of the land
+has been lowered by chemical and mechanical denudation.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the rich silver-mines of the Pacific mountains occur in fissures
+and cavities in sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone. Instances of this
+nature are furnished by certain mines in northeastern Mexico, where the
+ore is found in cavities in Cretaceous limestone; at Leadville and
+Aspen, Colorado; Big and Little Cottonwood cañons, and the Horn
+silver-mine, Utah, where the principal country rock is Carboniferous
+limestone; the Eureka district, Nevada, where the ore occurs in cavities
+in Cambrian limestone. In the case of several of these mines, igneous
+rock is near at hand, and the ores are believed to owe their
+concentration largely to the action of heated waters.</p>
+
+<p>In other regions deep fissures, occupied in part by dikes of igneous
+rock, have permitted of the ascent of water charged with mineral matter
+from far below the surface; such waters are heated, in part by the
+general heat of the earth's interior, or, if in association with dikes,
+by the heat of the once molten intruded rock. The ascending hot water is
+an active solvent, and as it rises
+<!--369.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">347</a></span>
+becomes cooled, and for this
+and other reasons precipitates many mineral substances. Veins are thus
+formed, which are many times banded&mdash;that is, result from the filling of
+fissures by the successive deposition of minerals of various kinds on
+their walls, each different layer of minerals indicating a change in
+conditions. Fissures filled in this manner from below, as denudation
+progresses, become exposed at the surface and reconcentration through
+the influence of disintegration and decay, and of solution and
+redeposition by descending water takes place. Ore bodies of this
+character carrying gold, silver, mercury, etc., are of wide occurrence,
+especially in the Pacific mountains, but the process of concentration is
+independent of the nature of the country rock. Segregated and fissure
+veins occur in either igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic terranes, but
+are more commonly of economic importance in the metamorphic rocks than
+elsewhere, and will be referred to again in that connection.</p>
+
+<p><i>Economic Importance of the Metamorphic Terranes.</i>&mdash;The great laboratory
+in which rocks undergo important changes in their physical condition and
+in mineralogical and chemical composition, is what has been termed on a
+previous page the zone of metamorphism. The depth of the upper limit of
+this zone is variable, dependent in part on the nature of the rocks and
+on movements within them, as is the case of mountain building. In fact,
+there is probably no well-defined limit to the zone either above or
+below, as in the former direction metamorphism merges by gradations into
+alteration produced by the descent of surface water, and in the latter
+direction as heat increases passes again, as we imagine, by insensible
+and irregular gradations into a region where the rocks are so highly
+heated that diffusion rather than concentration results. Whether the
+rocks below the zone of metamorphism are fused or not depends on
+pressure. They are probably solid, but in a potentially plastic
+condition, and become fused and may be forced upward through fissures in
+the condition of igneous magmas when pressure is relieved. The zone of
+metamorphism lies between a superior zone where
+<!--370.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">348</a></span>
+alteration by
+descending water is dominant, and a lower region where alteration due
+mainly to heat is in control. In the zone of metamorphism the influence
+of heated percolating waters, combined with movements in the rocks, are
+the principal factors which lead to the concentration of mineral
+substances.</p>
+
+<p>Under the influence of percolating, heated waters, new minerals are
+formed in sedimentary or igneous rocks, and rocks once metamorphosed may
+undergo additional changes. Mineral matter previously widely
+disseminated through rocks is, under the action of percolating, heated
+water, brought together and the regeneration and crystallization of a
+large variety of ores and minerals result. The birthplace of a large
+variety of ores and minerals is in the zone of metamorphism. It is in
+metamorphic rocks that the geologist looks for gems, the precious
+metals, crystalline marble, magnetic iron, etc.</p>
+
+<p>For the most part, however, the native metals and ores of the precious
+and many of the common metals are too widely disseminated in the
+metamorphic rocks to be of commercial importance, and a still further
+concentration, principally in fissures and other cavities, is necessary
+before they can be of value to man. This secondary concentration is much
+the same as in the case of the deposition of lead and zinc ores in
+cavities in sedimentary rocks, and results largely from the solution and
+redeposition, sometimes by replacement, of mineral matter by heated
+waters.</p>
+
+<p>Certain ores and rocks contained in metamorphic terranes owe their
+concentration to previously acting processes of concentration, but have
+undergone chemical changes in place. Illustrations of this class of
+ores, etc., are furnished by the magnetite and hematite contained in the
+metamorphic rocks on the eastern border of the Appalachians, in New
+England, eastern Canada, and the Lake Superior region. These ore bodies,
+frequently of great size, in some instances furnish evidence of having
+been originally lenticular masses of bog-iron ore, or ferric carbonate,
+associated with sedimentary beds, and originally
+<!--371.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">349</a></span>
+concentrated, as
+already mentioned, at the surface through the action of water charged
+with carbon dioxide, but principally on account of the influence of heat
+have been changed to a higher degree of oxidation and now appear as
+hematite, as, for example, in the iron districts of the northern
+portions of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Ozark Hills, or
+still further altered as in the richest of all iron ores, magnetite, so
+abundant in the metamorphic rocks of the Appalachian region, about the
+Adirondack hills, widely and in extensive bodies in eastern Canada,
+about the south shore of Lake Superior, in Texas, etc.</p>
+
+<p>In certain instances, as has been shown by C. R. Van Hise and others,
+hematite ore, like that of the Lake Superior region, has resulted from
+the alteration of ferrous carbonate which had replaced limestone by a
+chemical process of solution and double decomposition.</p>
+
+<p>As bodies of iron ore in the form of the carbonate, or limonite, may
+occur in rocks of any age, and as rocks of any age may be metamorphosed,
+it follows that hematite and magnetite may be present in any formation
+which has been subjected to metamorphosing conditions.</p>
+
+<p>Limestone when metamorphosed is changed to a crystalline marble,
+frequently white in colour owing to the dissipation of its previously
+contained organic matter. The white marbles so extensively utilized in
+Georgia, Vermont, etc., are of this nature. Other similar metamorphosed
+layers occur in several of the ranges of the Pacific mountains from
+Mexico to Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>The influence of metamorphism on deposits of coal when the heat has been
+of moderate intensity serves to drive off a large part of the volatile
+matter present and converts the coal into a substance resembling coke,
+as has happened adjacent to dikes or intruded sheets of igneous rock in
+the Richmond coal-field, Virginia, in New Mexico, Washington, etc. When
+the heat is somewhat more intense, the coal is changed to what is termed
+graphitic anthracite, as in the Rhode Island coal-fields, and when still
+greater or long-continued, results in the production of
+<!--372.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">350</a></span>
+graphite,
+as in the Algonkian rocks about the Adirondack hills and over a wide
+region in eastern Canada.</p>
+
+<p>An important result of metamorphism is the production of new minerals in
+the rocks acted on. Many of the metamorphic terranes consist essentially
+of quartz, feldspar, and mica, which have been formed by the
+rearrangement of the mineral matter contained in the rocks during their
+previous state. Besides these constituent minerals there are frequently
+others present, such as the garnets, tourmaline, emerald, sapphire,
+corundum, etc., which are of economic importance. In a large number of
+instances the minerals of metamorphic rocks are contained in veins of
+one class or another, in part resulting from segregation in the rocks
+themselves while yet in a heated condition, and in part deposited in
+fissures or other openings as a result of secondary concentration
+through the action of heated waters. The principal difference between
+the minerals concentrated in the metamorphic rocks and those deposited
+in cavities in unaltered sedimentary beds seems to be that in the former
+instance the percolating water which carried the material in solution
+had a higher temperature than in the latter case.</p>
+
+<p>Among the numerous mineral substances of value in the arts, occurring in
+the metamorphic terranes of North America, other than building stones
+and the previously concentrated deposits, such as iron ore, graphite,
+etc., mention can only be made at present of the following:</p>
+
+<p>Mica, which is used in thin sheets for the windows of stoves and
+furnaces, and when ground and mingled with other substances furnishes a
+good insulating material for electric wires, fireproofing, and also used
+as a lubricant, etc., occurs in large quantities in the metamorphic
+rocks of New Hampshire and Ottawa, and less abundantly in North
+Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, etc. It is widely distributed,
+but to find transparent colourless sheets of large size is difficult.</p>
+
+<p>Talc and soapstone, consisting of the hydrated silicate of magnesia, and
+useful for hearths, mantels, fire-brick, linings for stoves, laundry-,
+bath-, and acid-tubs, etc., and
+<!--373.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">351</a></span>
+when ground, employed as an
+adulterant of soap, paper, rubber, and as a lubricant, etc., occurs
+widely in the metamorphic terranes on the eastern side of the
+Appalachians, in Canada, and at numerous localities in the Pacific
+mountains. The chief centres of production at present are in
+Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Vermont.</p>
+
+<p>Asbestos, valuable on account of its fibrous structure and
+non-conductivity of heat, which make it an excellent insulator, and
+largely used in the manufacture of fireproof paper, cloth, etc., occurs
+in connection with serpentine, in metamorphic terranes, and is
+extensively mined in the Thetford district, Quebec.</p>
+
+<p>Corundum, consisting of aluminum oxide, and having essentially the same
+composition as the sapphire and ruby, and a less pure variety of similar
+composition termed emery, is largely used as an abrasive in polishing
+metal, sharpening tools, etc., and also as "sand-paper" in working wood,
+occurs in commercial quantities, largely in crystalline limestone, at
+Chester, Mass., in Georgia, North Carolina, and several other
+localities. Although corundum is next to the diamond in hardness, and
+therefore highly favourable, when reduced to a powder, for polishing
+various substances, the demand for it has in recent years been
+diminished owing to the manufacture of an equally if not superior
+material termed commercially <i>carborundum</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Among the crystals used as gems, which occur in the metamorphic rocks of
+North America but thus far in minor quantities, and as a rule of
+inferior quality, may be enumerated sapphires, rubies, tourmalines,
+garnets, quartz, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Apatite, a mineral rich in phosphoric acid, and largely used in the
+manufacture of fertilizers, occurs associated with limestone in the
+metamorphic rocks of Quebec and Ontario in the form of veins, beds, and
+irregular pockets, and a few years since was extensively mined, but now,
+owing to foreign competition, is held in reserve.</p>
+
+<p>By far the most valuable of the minerals and native metals that occur in
+the metamorphosed terranes is gold. Although this metal has been found
+in paying quantities
+<!--374.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">352</a></span>
+in association with nearly every kind of
+country rocks and in terranes of all ages, the place of its original
+concentration from a previously widely disseminated condition is to a
+great extent in the zone of metamorphism. It occurs principally as
+native gold, although usually alloyed with silver, but is frequently
+contained in iron pyrites. In the crystalline rocks, such as gneiss,
+schist, slates, granite, etc., it occurs in flakes and grains, but so
+far as its occurrence in commercial quantities is concerned its
+deposition has for the most part been secondary, and the metal, usually
+in association with quartz, is found in veins, lodes, contact deposits,
+etc., and owes its concentration to chemical agencies not well
+understood, acting in connection with percolating water. That this
+general statement is correct is clearly shown by the fact that gold
+occurs in crystals, flakes, grains, etc., most frequently in quartz and
+iron pyrites, which, as can be shown in a number of ways, have
+crystallized from solution. The gold and its commonly associated mineral
+in countless instances occupy fissures and must have been carried to
+such localities after the surrounding rock had been fractured. So
+intimate is the association of gold with metamorphic rocks that this is
+one of the main guides in searching for it, although, as already stated,
+it is frequently present in other rocks as well. With the disintegration
+of the metamorphic terranes the gold is set free, and may be still
+further concentrated by streams so as to form the well-known placers.</p>
+
+<p>A very large proportion of both the quartz and placer mining of North
+America is in regions occupied by metamorphic rock. This is true of all
+gold-mines, previously quite largely exploited, of the Atlantic mountain
+region from Georgia to eastern Canada. The mines of California are also
+largely in schistose rocks, as are also those to the northward,
+throughout the Pacific mountains, to British Columbia and Alaska,
+including the recently established mining district at Cape Nome.</p>
+
+<p>With placer gold, and probably derived largely, if not entirely, from
+metamorphic rocks, there are frequently found grains of platinum. The
+annual production of this
+<!--375.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">353</a></span>
+metal in the United States and Canada
+has a value of about $5,000.</p>
+
+<p>The study of the distribution of native metals and ores in the
+metamorphic rocks of North America indicates that in general the older
+rocks, as the Archean, for example, are less rich than the younger
+terranes, such as the schist, etc., of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade
+Mountains. This seems to indicate that the older rocks were once deeply
+buried and their more soluble substances removed by ascending waters,
+and in part redeposited in higher terranes. Erosion has since carried
+off the rocks which were mineral-charged and laid bare the depleted
+terranes beneath. This hypothetical explanation of the general poverty
+of the Archean rocks is coupled with another consideration, namely, that
+the younger metamorphic terranes, where they have been elevated, as in
+the Pacific mountains, are more broken than the Archean rocks, and
+afford more cavities in which minerals may be deposited. Whether this is
+a complete explanation or not remains to be demonstrated, but
+observation shows that the Archean terranes&mdash;all of which as yet
+discovered are composed of either metamorphosed or igneous rocks&mdash;are,
+in comparison with younger metamorphosed rocks, relatively poor in
+minerals and ores of commercial importance.</p>
+
+<p>Among the economic products of the rocks are included mineral waters.
+The direct commercial value of such waters, not including their use for
+baths, etc., in the United States, is about $7,000,000 annually. The
+demand for these waters depends largely on the mineral substances they
+hold in solution, and which in many instances is in process of
+transference from one locality to another. Much might be written in this
+connection in illustration of the fact that the processes by which
+minerals, ores, etc., have been concentrated are still in progress.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<p>An extensive literature is available concerning the geology, minerals,
+ores, etc., of North America, but only a few of the more important
+publications can here be referred
+<!--376.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">354</a></span>
+to. The numerous publications
+of the United States Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada,
+and the Geological Survey of Mexico contain vast amounts of valuable
+information. Several of the States of the United States have independent
+surveys and have published numerous reports. Of journals containing
+articles of American geology, the more important are: <i>The Journal of
+Geology</i>, published at the University of Chicago; <i>The American
+Geologist</i>, published at Minneapolis, Minn.; <i>The American Journal of
+Science</i>, published at New Haven, Conn. The publications of a large
+number of learned societies in Canada and the United States should also
+be consulted.</p>
+
+<p>The most useful bibliographies of North American geology are:</p>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Darton, N. H.</span> <i>Catalogue and Index of Contributions to North
+American Geology, 1732-1891.</i> Published as Bulletin No. 127 of
+the United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., 1896.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Dowling, D. B.</span> <i>General Index to the Reports of Progress</i> [of
+the Geological Survey of Canada], <i>1863-1884</i>. Published by the
+Canadian Geological Survey, Ottawa, Canada, 1900.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Warman, P. C.</span> <i>Catalogue and Index of the Publications of the
+United States Geological Survey, 1880 to 1901.</i> Published as
+Bulletin No. 177 of the United States Geological Survey,
+Washington, D. C., 1901.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Weeks, F. B.</span> <i>Bibliography of North American Geology,
+Paleontology, Petrology, and Mineralogy for the Years
+1892-1900, Inclusive.</i> United States Geological Survey,
+Bulletins No. 188 and 189, Washington, D. C., 1902.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>Of the numerous general treatises on the geology, the following will be
+found especially helpful to the student:</p>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Dana, J. D.</span> <i>Manual of Geology.</i> Fourth edition. American Book
+Company, New York, 1895.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Kemp, J. F.</span> <i>The Ore Deposits of the United States and Canada.</i>
+Scientific Publishing Company, New York, 1900.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Le Conte, J.</span> <i>Elements of Geology.</i> Fifth edition, revised and
+partly rewritten by Prof. H. L. Fairchild. D. Appleton and
+Company, New York, 1903.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Merrill, G. P.</span> <i>A Treatise on Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and
+Soils.</i> The Macmillan Company, New York, 1897.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Shaler, N. S.</span> <i>Outlines of the Earth's History.</i> D. Appleton
+and Company, New York, 1898.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--377.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">355</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE ABORIGINES</div>
+
+
+<p>At the time the Western Hemisphere became known to Europeans, as has
+been shown by subsequent explorations, it was inhabited by native tribes
+from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the extreme north to
+Patagonia. The aborigines were distributed principally along the coast,
+about the borders of lakes, and on the margins of streams, but much of
+the interior was also inhabited or roamed over by hunting and war
+parties, or crossed by various tribes during their migrations. Large
+areas, it is true, more especially among the rugged mountains, in the
+great subarctic forest, and on the trackless tundras, had no permanent
+residents, but in general terms the entire land was inhabited.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of the reports as to the density of the aboriginal population
+made by several early explorers, who for the most part followed the
+waterways, visited the most thickly inhabited regions, and saw the
+natives when brought together by motives of curiosity or defence, it is
+now known that North America, considering its vast extent, was but
+sparsely peopled. As to the number of the inhabitants, there is no even
+approximately accurate knowledge. The greatest density of population, so
+far as can be judged, was in the tropical region, and decreased
+northward in a general way in conformity with change in latitude, but
+varied also in a conspicuous manner in accord with local climatic and
+topographic influences.</p>
+
+<p>In the same manner as the exploration of the New World led to the
+discovery of many species, genera, etc., of plants and animals, it also
+added two types of man to those previously known to Europeans. The
+propriety of separating the American aborigines into two groups of
+tribes is based
+<!--378.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">356</a></span>
+on the contrasts the members of these divisions
+present not only in colour and other physiological characteristics, but
+on well-marked differences in language, customs, arts, etc. On this
+basis two varieties of the human species have been recognised, namely,
+the Eskimo and the Indian.</p>
+
+<p>The term Eskimo, formerly spelled Esquimau, is of obscure origin, but is
+thought to have been adopted by Europeans from the Indians of Labrador,
+who thus designated a northern people living on the coast, and is said
+to mean "raw-flesh eaters." The word in use among the Eskimos to
+designate themselves is <i>Innuit</i>, meaning people, or the people, in the
+sense that in their own estimation they are of more importance than all
+other peoples.</p>
+
+<p>The term Indian, as is well known, arose from an error of the early
+Spanish voyagers, who, on arriving in America, believed they had reached
+India, and hence termed the natives of the new land Indians. This
+mistake has led to many attempts to substitute some other word by which
+to designate the people referred to, but thus far none of the terms
+proposed has been generally accepted. In the present book the word
+Indian is used to designate the aborigines of the New World, exclusive
+of the Eskimos.</p>
+
+<p>The geographical distribution of the Eskimos and Indians is sharply
+defined even at the present day, and is indicated on the map forming
+Plate VI.</p>
+
+<p><i>Origin of the Aborigines.</i>&mdash;The generally accepted conclusion in
+reference to the origin of the American aborigines seems to be that man
+reached this continent while the peoples of the Old World were yet in a
+primitive condition, and at a time when the highest stage of culture was
+expressed by the knife and spear-point of chipped stone, and developed
+independently in accord with the natural conditions with which he was
+surrounded. More than this, once planted, the original stock received
+but slight if any accessions by subsequent immigration. This last
+statement is not in strict accord with the conclusions reached by
+certain ethnologists, who claim that the use of masks, the art of
+carving on wood, stone, ivory, etc., the practise of tattooing, the
+preservation of human heads, and other customs practised by the Indians
+<!--379.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">357</a></span>
+of the Pacific coast of the two Americas&mdash;and in North America,
+extending eastward along lines of easiest communication&mdash;suggest an
+influence coming from Polynesia at a time when the peoples dwelling on
+the west borders of the Pacific had made a well-marked advance in
+culture. Some influences on the aborigines of America coming both from
+Polynesia and eastern Asia must seemingly be admitted, the importations
+having been by means of storm- and current-swept boats and junks, but
+the evidence does not point to trade relations. The most that can be
+claimed seems to be slight modifications of the arts and customs of the
+American aborigines, but not enough to make what may be termed an
+indelible impression upon them.</p>
+
+<p>The low state of culture of the original stock from which the American
+aborigines were derived, implied in their distinct subsequent
+development in language, arts, etc., indicates that man appeared in
+America previous to the invention of boats capable of crossing broad
+oceans. The necessary inference from this&mdash;if the hypothesis of one
+place of origin for the human race is accepted&mdash;is that migration to
+America was by land, or at most across narrow straits. The geography of
+the continents must have been markedly different from what it is at
+present to admit of this, providing the proof that access was not gained
+where Asia and America make a near approach to each other at Bering
+Strait is conclusive, and at present that evidence seems unquestionable.</p>
+
+<p>The present state of opinion in reference to the origin of the American
+aborigines is thus expressed by one well qualified to speak with
+authority. At the close of a review of several lines of evidence J. W.
+Powell says:</p>
+
+<p>"Thus we are forced to conclude that the occupancy of America by mankind
+was anterior to the development of arts, industries, institutions,
+languages, and opinions; that the primordial occupancy of the continent
+antedates present geographical conditions, and points to a remote time
+which can be discovered only on geological and biological
+investigation."</p>
+
+<p><i>Antiquity of the Aborigines.</i>&mdash;The conclusions to be drawn from the
+studies of ethnologists in reference to the
+<!--380.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">358</a></span>
+length of time man
+has made his home in America are qualitative, not quantitative. The time
+is certainly long, probably embracing tens of centuries; but how long no
+one can state in years. This claim for a great although indefinite
+antiquity is based on several lines of evidence, some few of which the
+reader may find it profitable to briefly consider.</p>
+
+<p>A comparison of physiological characteristics shows that the American
+aborigines have well-marked differences from all other varieties of the
+human race. This conclusion is not based on any one special feature,
+although colour and character of the hair are the most conspicuous, but
+on the resultant, so to speak, of many attributes. It is, in a measure,
+a comparison of ideal type-examples of each variety. While each
+characteristic that may be chosen has individual and tribal variations,
+and but few of them are perhaps conspicuously different from those
+pertaining to the peoples of the Old World, yet taken together they
+clearly differentiate the American aborigines from all other varieties
+of the human species.</p>
+
+<p>Applying the same principles to man that are used in the study of the
+geographical distribution of the lower animals, the only legitimate
+conclusion the naturalist can deduce from the evidence just referred to
+is that the branch of the human family indigenous to North America has
+been isolated for a sufficient length of time to develop into a new
+variety. The American aborigines are different from all other varieties
+of the human species because each more or less isolated community or
+group of communities the world over has varied in its own way in accord
+with climatic and other conditions, and the connecting links have been
+lost. The differences that have arisen in this manner are so great that
+the nature of the parent stock is no longer determinable from its living
+representatives. This process of development among the lower animals is
+understood to involve a great length of time; and the inference is that
+man's development is no exception to the rule.</p>
+
+<p>The evidence favouring a great antiquity for the American aborigines is
+strengthened by the fact that when first known to Europeans both North
+and South America were
+<!--381.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">359</a></span>
+inhabited by tribes having more or less
+well-defined territorial limits. If this population spread from one or
+even from several centres it is evident that a great length of time
+would be required for it to reach all parts of the New World and to
+become adjusted to a wide range in climatic and other conditions, as is
+known to be the case.</p>
+
+<p>Students of languages have shown that the most enduring characteristics
+of man are to be found in his speech. The fundamental principles of a
+language outlive not only political and social changes, but even
+physiological distinctions, and are inherited from a primitive stock by
+all its branches. We might reasonably expect, therefore, that a study of
+the languages spoken in America in pre-Columbian days would be a sure
+index as to the primitive stock from which the various tribes came, and
+show to which of the many other branches of the linguistic tree they are
+most closely related. Turning with this question to those who have made
+a critical study of the languages of the American aborigines, and no one
+is better qualified to bear testimony in this connection than J. W.
+Powell, the honoured director of the American Bureau of Ethnology, we
+find a definite answer. He says:</p>
+
+<p>"The North American Indian tribes, instead of speaking related dialects,
+originating in a single parent language, in reality speak many
+languages, belonging to distinct families, which have no apparent unity
+of origin."</p>
+
+<p>To the north of Mexico (Plate VI) the aborigines are divided into 58
+linguistic families. In a large portion of these languages there are
+tribal dialects not understood by members of other tribes of the same
+family. Thus the Algonquin linguistic family contains some 30 or 40
+distinct languages. In the Athapascan the diversity is nearly as great.
+The smaller families present similar conditions in proportionate degree,
+although there are stocks which speak but one language. Four of the
+linguistic families referred to extend into Mexico, but to the south of
+the territory occupied by them other languages and dialects are spoken.
+Ethnologists who have studied the tribes of Mexico report 19 linguistic
+stocks, containing 108 distinct languages, among which there are upward
+of 60 dialects. In Central America
+<!--382.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">360</a></span>
+a similar diversity in the
+native tongues exists. Reclus, in his great work The Earth and its
+Inhabitants, states that in the New World 450 native languages are
+spoken&mdash;a number greater than that of all the languages in use in the
+rest of the earth. Not only are the American linguistic stocks different
+from each other, and fail to furnish evidence of having been derived
+from a single parent tongue, but, as philologists assure us, no one of
+them is analogous to any language spoken in other lands.</p>
+
+<p>As is well known, a language is not created <i>de novo</i>, but by a slow
+process of development. Since the first acquirement of articulate speech
+by man a succession of languages has appeared owing to the growth,
+differentiation, etc., of pre-existing forms of speech. It is a
+warrantable inference, therefore, that the marvellous diversity in
+speech present in America could only have arisen by a process of
+evolution involving a very long period of time.</p>
+
+<p>As the American languages have no affinity with the Teutonic or Semitic
+stocks, it is evident that the source or sources from which they came
+far antedate the birth of the oldest people of which history takes
+cognizance. Man must therefore have set foot on American soil before the
+sprouting of the linguistic twig which, after millenniums, produced the
+cuneiform inscriptions of ancient Persia and Assyria.</p>
+
+<p>The diversity of arts, customs, myths, religions, etc., among the
+American aborigines, and their difference in nearly all instances from
+the analogous attributes of the peoples of other lands, also point to a
+long period of isolated development in much the same manner as has been
+referred to in the case of a comparative study of their languages. The
+skin boats used by the Eskimos are widely different from the birch-bark
+canoes of the Algonquins, and these again differ conspicuously from the
+dug-out canoes of southeastern Alaska and British Columbia; still other
+varieties of boats are peculiar to the more southern Indian tribes, and
+all alike differ from the boats used in other lands. Like individuality
+pertains also to the houses of the American aborigines, their clothing,
+arms, utensils, basket-work, picture-writings, etc. One is forced to
+recognise in each of these arts or industries
+<!--383.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">361</a></span>
+not only
+development in many diverging lines among the various tribes, but the
+birth of ideas analogous to those which arose in other lands, and their
+independent growth under special conditions. All of this, and much more
+in the same general direction that might be discussed did space permit,
+points to a great antiquity for the indigenous American peoples.</p>
+
+<p>Among the nations of the Old World certain plants have been under
+domestication for so long a time, and have varied so greatly, that the
+wild species from which they came are no longer known. This is true of
+nearly all our common fruits and vegetables and many of our flowers that
+were derived from the Old World. At the time of the Spanish conquest the
+aborigines of America were cultivating tobacco, potatoes, beans,
+tomatoes, squashes, maize, cotton, etc., and in the case of most of
+these plants the wild species from which they were derived has not been
+ascertained. The argument that points to a great antiquity in the case
+of wheat and the peach applies equally well to tobacco and maize, and
+indicates that horticulture began in America in remote antiquity. At the
+time of Columbus, the ox, sheep, goat, pigeons, fowls, cat, etc., long
+domesticated in the Old, were absent in the New World, and the llama,
+turkey, etc., indigenous in America, were unknown in Europe. These
+striking differences, among which there is not even a single exception,
+amount to positive evidence that contact between the peoples of the Old
+and the New World did not occur after the inhabitants of the former
+emerged from savagery, or, what is the same thing, never existed in the
+sense that trade relations were entered into. This same line of argument
+seemingly casts grave doubts on the deductions already referred to
+concerning the importation into America from Polynesia of the practise
+of tattooing, the wearing of masks, the use of labrets, etc.; and
+indicates also that but slight changes were produced in the American
+aborigines owing to the wrecking of Asiatic junks on the northwest
+coast.</p>
+
+<p>Another factor bearing on the antiquity of the indigenous Americans is
+the stage of development reached in spite of their long and nearly
+complete isolation. Stimuli from without,
+<!--384.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">362</a></span>
+and particularly
+contact with more advanced peoples, having been lacking or of small
+importance, incentive to bodily and mental activity arose mainly from
+the desire for food, clothing, and shelter, and from intertribal
+rivalry, jealousy, and war. This process of indigenous development was
+certainly slow. With man, as with the lower animals, the rate of advance
+and of specialization increases as higher and higher grades of
+development are reached. For the American aborigines to have attained
+the higher stages of barbarism at the time of the arrival of civilized
+Europeans, solely by self-growth and self-education, is perhaps even a
+stronger argument for their antiquity than their differentiation in
+culture, languages, etc.</p>
+
+<p>These several lines of evidence point to the coming of man to America as
+an event of the far distant past&mdash;a time so remote, in fact, that it
+pertains to geology rather than to ethnology.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the geological records, we find no authentic and
+well-attested evidence of the presence of man in America either previous
+or during the Glacial period. From time to time so-called "finds" of
+stone implements in gravel and other deposits more or less definitely
+determined to be of Glacial age have been made, but in all of these
+instances convincing proof as to the age of the deposits, or of the
+relation of the implements in question, to them, has not been presented.
+Certain discoveries of the bones of men and of articles of human
+manufacture found in California have been claimed to be of Tertiary
+age&mdash;that is, much older than the Glacial epoch&mdash;but more critical
+studies, especially by W. H. Holmes, have shown that they are decidedly
+modern and pertain to the Indians still living in the region where they
+were found. In brief, all the geological evidence thus far gathered
+bearing on the antiquity of man in America points to the conclusion that
+he came after the Glacial epoch. Judgment in this respect, however,
+should be held in abeyance, as the search for evidence is as yet
+incomplete.</p>
+
+<p>As the problem now stands, the origin of the American aborigines is not
+only unknown, but no generally accepted
+<!--385.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">363</a></span>
+or fairly promising
+hypothesis as to the land from which they came, the route followed, or
+the date of their arrival is to be found among the large number
+suggested. A continuation of the critical, ethnological, and geological
+studies now in progress, it is hoped, will do much to clear away this
+mystery, but at present only small progress can be truthfully reported.</p>
+
+<p><i>Culture of the Aborigines.</i>&mdash;In the classification of peoples in terms
+of culture three main divisions are commonly recognised, namely,
+<i>savagery</i>, <i>barbarism</i>, and <i>civilization</i>; but the boundaries between
+these divisions are not sharply defined and a wide range of intermediate
+gradations is easily discernible.</p>
+
+<p>By savagery is understood the lowest grade of culture and of ethics, in
+which social customs are lax or wanting and tribal organization not
+attempted. In the condition of savagery people are without permanent
+homes, do not attempt agriculture or even horticulture, have no
+domesticated animals except perhaps the dog, and subsist on fish and
+game, including molluscs, small mammals, and reptiles, and such seeds,
+fruits, nuts, etc., as wild plants supply. The art of kindling fire is
+probably known to all existing savages, but much of their food is eaten
+uncooked.</p>
+
+<p>In the state of barbarism tribal organization may exist; some form of
+religion is usually recognised; definite marriage relations are entered
+into, although polygamy is commonly practised; permanent houses, perhaps
+for winter use only, are built; clothes are made from woven cloth as
+well as from skins; the plaiting of baskets and the art of making coarse
+pottery, frequently highly decorated, are understood; essentially all
+utensils, arms, etc., are of stone, wood, bone, or ivory, the metals
+other than those occurring in a native state being unknown; and writing
+is unknown, although pictographs may be employed.</p>
+
+<p>Civilization implies a well-marked development in ethics, laws, social
+organization, institutions, arts, writing, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Under this scheme of classification various divisions of the aborigines
+of North America at the time of the coming of Columbus occupied each of
+the planes of development designated; but those frequently classed as
+civilized had not
+<!--386.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">364</a></span>
+arrived at an advanced stage of culture, and
+can perhaps with greater propriety be designated as semicivilized, or,
+better still, be referred to the highest stage of barbarism.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the native tribes, as those of southern California and certain
+of the peoples of Mexico and Central America, were in a state of
+savagery, and, in fact, have not advanced beyond that state at the
+present day. A large majority of the aborigines, as, for example, the
+Algonquins, Shoshoneans, etc., or, in general, all of the Indians to the
+northward of Arizona and New Mexico, together with certain of the tribes
+to the south of that boundary, had definite tribal organization,
+permanent homes at least for winter use, in part practised horticulture,
+and for these and other reasons are to be classed as in the barbarous
+stage of development. The Aztecs, Mayas, etc., of Mexico and Central
+America had well-established governments, built permanent and frequently
+large and elaborately decorated houses, some of which were of hewn
+stone, practised horticulture with the aid of irrigation, had developed
+a system of picture-writing, and were skilled in working native metals.
+These and other advances towards civilization were great and promising,
+but the use of iron was unknown, and their practice of human sacrifice
+and the absence of phonetic writing denies them a place among truly
+civilized peoples.</p>
+
+<p>Another scheme for the classification of peoples in terms of the highest
+grade of implements used by them is current under which they are placed
+in certain ages on the assumption that man in all regions has passed
+through an orderly sequence in his development, and that the successive
+changes are expressed by the nature of the material used in the
+manufacture of implements. Under this plan of classification we have an
+age of stone, an age of bronze, and an age of iron. The stone age is
+commonly divided into two parts: an earlier or <i>paleolithic</i>, during
+which the highest type of implement used is fashioned of stone by
+chipping; and a later, or <i>neolithic</i>, when implements of stone are
+shaped by grinding and polishing. Following the stone age came one of
+bronze, when a mixture of copper and tin was used for implements; and
+later the age of iron, beginning when the art of reducing
+<!--387.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">365</a></span>
+metals
+from their ores was discovered. In this scheme a copper age is sometimes
+included, with doubtful propriety, however, if, as in America, the metal
+referred to is obtained in its native condition.</p>
+
+<p>Under the somewhat indefinite scheme of classification just referred to
+the North American aborigines, inclusive of the Aztecs, etc., previous
+to the coming of European civilization were in the stone age of
+development, although bronze was in use among the Incas of Peru, and to
+some extent had found its way northward as far as Mexico. Certain of the
+tribes still used implements of chipped stone, but in the great majority
+of instances implements of polished stone were the highest type known.
+Native copper was widely used for axes, knives, ornaments, etc., but
+iron, except such as occurs in meteors, was unknown.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulty met with in selecting any one article or any one material
+used by primitive peoples as a basis for their classification is
+illustrated by the facts just cited, as it places the lowest savage of
+America in the same group as the Aztec and the Maya. Obviously, in the
+classification of peoples as with the lower animals all characteristics
+should be included.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE ESKIMOS</div>
+
+<p>The extreme northern part of North America is included in the
+circumpolar lands described in another volume of the series of which the
+present book forms a part, and the Eskimos as a people will therefore
+receive but passing attention at this time.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most interesting facts to the geographer concerning the
+Eskimos is their peculiar distribution. From choice or necessity they
+make their homes on the bleak, inhospitable northern border of the
+continent, and do not extend inland except where the coast is indented
+or large rivers enter the sea. In all localities their dwellings are
+near the water. They are the most northern people on the earth, and
+their still greater northward extension is checked only by the absence
+of land on which to build their winter homes. Their present inland limit
+on the continent is no doubt determined
+<!--388.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">366</a></span>
+in part by
+long-established custom and by the distribution of the animals on which
+they have become dependent for food, clothing, fuel, etc., but the chief
+control formerly, no doubt, more potent than at present, is to be sought
+in the aggressiveness of the Indians. In Greenland, the arctic
+archipelago, and throughout the immense extent of coast-lands from
+Labrador to Alaska they have been isolated and withdrawn from contact
+with other peoples for a long period of time, and their slow development
+unmodified by extraneous influences. In Newfoundland and Alaska,
+however, they have been in contact with the Indians, trade relations
+established, and to a limited extent an interchange of ideas as well as
+some intermarriage has taken place.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the vast extent of arctic coast between Newfoundland and
+Alaska, as well as in Greenland and on the islands of the arctic
+archipelago, the Eskimo was the sole inhabitant before the coming of
+Europeans, and one language current from the Atlantic to the Pacific. No
+other primitive people has such an extent in longitude. The reason for
+this peculiarity is that between the sea margin, where the Eskimo makes
+his home, and the southern border of the subarctic forest and adjacent
+prairies, where the Indians have their hunting-grounds, there intervenes
+the tundra&mdash;a neutral ground attractive neither to the Eskimo nor the
+Indian.</p>
+
+<p>The one thing which more than all else has enabled the Eskimo to
+maintain an existence and to thrive in the frozen north is his discovery
+of a means of obtaining heat and light where wood is scarce&mdash;that is,
+the invention of the lamp. This invention, as has been shown by Walter
+Hugh and others, was favoured by the occurrence in the far north of
+animals like the seal and walrus, which yield oil with a high
+heat-giving property.</p>
+
+<p>In Alaska the Eskimo stock is broken into several tribes speaking
+diverse dialects. Of these, two main subgroups are distinguished,
+namely, Innuits and Aleuts or Aleutians. The former includes several
+tribes living on the margin of the mainland, from near Mount St. Elias
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and the latter consists of but two
+tribes, now
+<!--389.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">367</a></span>
+intermingled, which at the time of the discovery of
+the Alaskan region by the Russians inhabited the western portion of the
+Alaskan peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. A detailed account of these
+peoples should have united with it a study of the so-called Tuski of
+northeastern Siberia, who are of the same stock, and, as seems probable,
+are the descendants of Eskimos who migrated from America to Asia.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Innuits.</i>&mdash;This name, as is stated by W. H. Dall, is applied to
+themselves by all the tribes of the Eskimo stock, except the Aleuts and
+the eastern Siberian natives. It is in use at the present time from
+Greenland to Bering Strait, and thence southward to the vicinity of
+Mount St. Elias.</p>
+
+<p>In Alaska the Innuits are divided into at least fourteen tribes,
+speaking as many different dialects, and distinguished by such names as
+Ugalakmuts, Kaniagmuts, etc. The termination <i>mut</i>, in a substantive
+sense, means a village at the place or on the river to the name of which
+it is added (Dall). In common with all other Eskimo tribes the Innuits
+are a sturdy, well-built people, having lighter-coloured skins than the
+Indians, and more nearly approaching the yellow of the Asiatics, but
+distinct from it, and in many instances having a decided reddish tinge
+to the cheeks. The prevalent idea that the Eskimo is of decidedly short
+stature is not borne out by the various tribes in Alaska, who are not
+much, if any, below the average height of Europeans. Their rotund bodies
+and full, round faces, in which the organ answering to a nose is
+depressed until between the eyes it is scarcely distinguishable, suggest
+that the severity of the climate has led to a development of fat for
+protection against cold in the same manner as among the seals and
+walruses. Such a generalization is perhaps misleading, as great
+individual variations occur as among all peoples, but the typical Innuit
+whose figure remains in one's memory when the bony hags, the cadaverous
+individuals, and the aged are forgotten or but dimly recalled, favours
+the conventional pictures of Santa Claus, with a face resembling the
+full moon, small black eyes with a suggestion of obliquity in their
+alignment, and nearly complete absence of a beard on the ruddy cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>The food of the Eskimos of Alaska, as is the case with all
+<!--390.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">368</a></span>
+other
+divisions of that people, is derived mainly from the sea. Their diet is
+almost exclusively fish, the blubber and flesh of the seal, walrus, and
+whales, especially the white whale or beluga, which ascends the larger
+streams. To these sources of supply are added the arctic hare, caribou
+(reindeer), and in fact any flesh that can be obtained. Vegetable diet
+is almost unknown, except so far as it is supplied by the berries that
+grow in profusion on the tundras. The necessity for salt, so marked in
+the case of most peoples, is absent in the far north.</p>
+
+<p>The coast of Alaska, where dwells the Innuit, is treeless. Inland from
+the margin of the sea extends the permanently frozen tundra. Wood for
+fires, sleds, frames for skin boats, spears, bows, arrows, etc., and in
+prehistoric time for producing fire by friction, is derived entirely
+from driftwood cast on the beach by the waves. This wood, consisting in
+many instances of great tree trunks from which planks two or more feet
+wide can be hewn, is brought to the sea by rivers heading far inland,
+as, for example, the Yukon and the Kuskokwim, and distributed by the
+wind and currents all about the coast and islands of Bering Sea.
+Driftwood is also carried to the Arctic Ocean by the Mackenzie, but in
+general is not plentiful on the borders of the ice-bound northern ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The houses of the Alaskan Innuit previous to the coming of the Russians,
+and still to a great extent, consist of a single room, usually measuring
+about 10 by 14 feet, situated in part below the surface of the ground
+and entered by means of a tunnel-like passageway. They are made of
+driftwood, and floored, lined, and roofed with planks hewn from the same
+material. On a roof of poles sods and earth are placed and rendered
+compact by stamping, thus forming a cover which serves to exclude water
+produced by the melting of the naturally added layer of snow. When
+spring-time approaches these partially subterranean winter dwellings are
+liable to be inundated, and are abandoned and tents used during summer
+seasons. Formerly these tents were made of skins of caribou or seal, but
+in these degenerate days cotton drilling bought of white traders
+<!--391.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">369</a></span>
+has been substituted. During winter journeys temporary snow huts are
+built, of the oval, bake-oven shape, well known to most Europeans from
+the many pictures that have been published of similar structures made by
+the more northern Eskimos. On the coast of Alaska, however, when
+driftwood is available, the roofs of the snow houses are frequently made
+of poles on which snow is piled.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the ordinary winter dwellings, which are usually occupied
+by two or more families, each village is commonly supplied with an
+assembly house or <i>casine</i> (a word of Russian origin), which serves also
+as a bath-house, and in them winter dances, the chief amusement of the
+people, are held. The casine, built by the united efforts of the various
+members of a community, consist of a single room, in part underground
+and entered by a tunnel, which frequently measures some 25 by 30 feet on
+the sides, and is approximately 15 feet high. They are substantially
+made of logs or of thick planks hewn with much labour from stranded tree
+trunks. The roof is of logs covered with moss and earth, and has an
+opening in the centre for the escape of smoke from the fire kindled on a
+hearth in the centre of the floor. When the fire is not burning, the
+opening in the roof is closed with a membrane obtained from the
+intestines of the seal. About the sides of the room there is a raised
+platform for spectators during dances and for the use of bathers when
+the customary steam-baths are indulged in. An interesting fact in
+connection with both the ordinary winter homes and the casines, which
+indicates their American origin, is that they are communal. A tenement
+used by several families in common is characteristic of the American
+aborigines from the arctic to Panama.</p>
+
+<p>The architecture of the Innuits has been modified but little during
+recent years, except that in localities most visited by white men and
+where trading stations have been established, as at St. Michael,
+log-houses built after the manner of those used by the Russian residents
+have to a considerable extent replaced the native huts, with favourable
+results so far as sanitary conditions are concerned. The Russian
+log-house is not unlike the many similar structures
+<!--392.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">370</a></span>
+still to be
+seen in portions of Canada and the United States, except that the upper
+side of each log is hewn so as to have a sharp edge, which fits into a
+deep groove, cut in the log which rests on it. Moss is placed between
+the logs, and is also used to fill all holes and crevices. Air is
+usually admitted through a pipe situated beneath the floor and opening
+in front of the stove, if one is used, and a small pipe for ventilation
+passes out through the roof. In the Russian houses the stove is usually
+a huge affair, made of large flat stones, which retain heat for a long
+time.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+   <a href="images/plate6ah.jpg" target="_blank" name="plate6" id="plate6"><img src="images/plate6at.jpg"
+       width="300" height="171"
+       alt="Plate VI" title="" /></a>
+   <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate VI.</span>&mdash;Linguistic stocks of indians north of Mexico.<br />
+   <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+   <a href="images/plate6bh.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="images/plate6bt.jpg"
+       width="300" height="210" alt="Plate VI (Continued)" title="" /></a>
+   <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate VI.</span>&mdash;Linguistic stocks of indians north of Mexico. (Continued.)<br />
+   <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The dress of the Innuits in former days, in common with all the Eskimo
+tribes, consisted of skins, and in special cases of the intestines of
+seals. The characteristic garment is the parkie or overshirt, not open
+in front, however, provided with a hood and made of caribou skin tanned
+with the hair on. Those worn by men have a different cut than those
+intended for women. In recent years, and perhaps before the coming of
+white men, the skins for the manufacture of parkies were derived largely
+by trade from the people owning domesticated reindeer in Asia. The
+margin of the hood is commonly made of wolf skins, the long hair of
+which, blowing across the face, affords much protection. Trousers and
+boots made of the skin of the hair-seal or moccasins shaped from the
+skin of the leg of a caribou completed the dress. Mats of grass are worn
+in the boots or moccasins during cold weather. At the present time the
+summer clothing of the natives throughout Alaska is generally of cloth
+obtained from white traders, but nothing brought from more civilized
+countries can replace the parkies, fur trousers, skin boots, and
+waterproof shirts or <i>kamlaykas</i>. These articles, except the last
+mentioned, are largely used by white men, especially if making winter
+journeys.</p>
+
+<p>The boats in use among the Innuits are still the <i>kayak</i> and the
+<i>oomiak</i>, for which civilized man can offer no adequate substitute. The
+well-known kayak, made of a light framework of wood, tied with thongs,
+over which is tightly stretched a dressed sealskin covering, leaving
+only one or two circular openings for the occupant, is in use from
+Greenland all about the arctic coast of America to Asia. Different
+<!--393.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">371</a></span>
+shapes pertain to different tribes. In recent years, as a result
+of outside influence, openings for three occupants are sometimes made,
+the size of the boat also being increased. To one familiar with boat and
+canoe travel these light skin craft, with their water-tight decks, seem
+the perfection of boat construction. The occupant lashes the skirt of
+his kamlayka about the raised rim of the opening in which he sits and
+the boat is thus rendered impervious to water from whatever direction.
+The greatest danger is that the parchment-like covering may be ruptured,
+as by the cutting edge of thin ice. To ordinary storms, however, they
+are more safe than even the deservedly celebrated "whale-boat" of the
+white man. The oomiak, or woman's boat, also made of dressed skin
+stretched over a frame, is much larger than the kayak, has a flat
+bottom, is without deck covering, and designed for the use of many
+occupants. As is well known, boats of each of these types are propelled
+by means of paddles. Both the kayak and oomiak are still in every-day
+use, and it is to be hoped the boats of the white man will never wholly
+replace them.</p>
+
+<p>The changes in house-building and dress referred to, which have come
+from contact with white men, are outward signs of a great modification
+in the lives of the Innuits, which began in the early days of Russian
+occupation and has continued with increasing importance to the present
+time. The natives are quick to imitate the customs of the strangers who
+have visited them, and but for the restraint that the climatic
+conditions have put upon them and the high price in furs demanded by
+traders for imported goods the changes thus produced would be far more
+marked than is now the case. To some extent the food of the natives has
+been modified, flour being in demand, but, with minor exceptions, the
+principal articles consumed are still such as are obtained by hunting
+and fishing.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest change that has taken place in the condition of the Alaskan
+Innuits, and one which, perhaps, culminated at the time of the recent
+"gold excitement" on the Yukon and at Cape Nome, is in relation to the
+introduction of intoxicating liquors and of certain contagious diseases.
+These
+<!--394.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">372</a></span>
+scourges, coming from the south, have been almost as great
+a blight among the native peoples as would be the sweeping southward of
+a wave of arctic temperature to the vegetation of tropical lands. The
+<i>curse of contact</i>, resulting when a civilized race invades a land
+inhabited by childlike aborigines, as has been seen in many parts of the
+world, has overtaken the Innuits in common with nearly all other tribes
+in Alaska, and decadence and the prolongation of a miserable existence,
+unless cut short by extermination through starvation, is all that
+seemingly can be hoped for.</p>
+
+<p>The fur-bearing animals of Alaska have been greatly reduced in numbers
+during the last twenty-five years: the caribou and the moose have, to a
+marked degree, been killed or driven to remote regions; the larger
+whales, on account of overcapture by American whalers, have become
+scarce; the sea-lion and the walrus are nearly extinct; the fur-seal, of
+more importance to the Aleutians than the Innuits, is rapidly
+approaching extinction. Thus in many ways the food supply is greatly
+decreased. Recourse to agriculture is impossible. The one redeeming
+feature of the white man's aggression is the introduction of the
+domesticated reindeer from Asia and Lapland. With reindeer, the salmon,
+not as yet depleted in the streams emptying into Bering Sea, the white
+whale, the hair-seal, not as yet of commercial value, the countless
+birds of summer, the berries of the tundra, etc., the Innuits can
+survive, maintain their manhood, and become useful to civilization in
+certain ways if the curse of drink and the spread of imported diseases
+could be stopped. Such a change, however, for various reasons, is not to
+be hoped for. It may perhaps be said that the influence of missionaries,
+and, what is vastly more important, the work of the school-teacher, has
+opened to these children of the cold northern land a way to
+civilization, but the results up to the present time are not reassuring.</p>
+
+<p>The census of 1890 showed that the Innuits of Alaska numbered 13,045. In
+the census of 1900 a separate enumeration of Eskimos and Indians was not
+made.</p>
+
+<p>The dismal picture I have been compelled to sketch of the present
+condition and future prospects of the Innuits
+<!--395.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">373</a></span>
+of Alaska, in order
+to indicate their status at the opening of the twentieth century,
+applies also with variations in detail and some hopeful signs to a large
+majority of the other aboriginal tribes of North America.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Aleutians.</i>&mdash;The aboriginal inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands are
+termed Aleuts or Aleutians, a word of obscure and perhaps foreign
+derivation. As stated above, they belong to the Eskimo family, but are
+more widely separated from the parent stock than any other of its
+constituent tribes. Evidence advanced by W. H. Dall tends to show that
+they are of American continental origin. At the time of the first coming
+of the Russians, about 1750, they were at war with the Kaniagmuts, who
+inhabited the greater part of the Alaskan peninsula and were the nearest
+tribe of the Innuits.</p>
+
+<p>When discovered by the Russians the Aleuts were an active, sprightly
+people, fond of the dance and of festivities. They are of lighter
+colour, but not perhaps in general more nearly white than the
+full-blooded Innuits. At present it is difficult to find even a single
+representative of unmixed descent, Russian occupation having stamped out
+or greatly modified nearly every native characteristic both of body and
+mind. They were originally a robust people, of about the average height
+found in civilized countries, with coarse black hair and scanty beards.
+Their island life, where no large game invited inland journeys, made
+them emphatically "canoe people." The habit of sitting in their kayaks
+and using the muscles of the upper portion of the body in paddling,
+throwing the spear, etc., while the lower portion of the body received
+but little exercise, led to a fine chest development and to undersized
+and comparatively weak legs. The women, to whom the use of the kayak was
+not intrusted, were better proportioned than the men, and many of them
+are pleasing in appearance. As stated by Dall, they were less determined
+than their neighbours on the mainland, the Kaniagmuts, but were by no
+means devoid of courage. Their mode of worship partook more of the
+character of a religion than that of any other of the Eskimo tribes in
+their native condition.
+<!--396.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">374</a></span></p>
+
+<p>From what can be learned of the Aleuts in their uncontaminated native
+state, they seem to have been the most intelligent of all the Eskimo
+tribes and the one which gave the greatest promise, if treated humanely,
+of advancement when civilization was introduced. Less than a century of
+contact with Russian invaders, however, led to a depth of degradation
+that is only paralleled and possibly not exceeded by the shameful
+results of the Spanish invasion among the aborigines of the West Indies.
+One of the darkest chapters in American history, fortunately for the
+credit of Europeans now largely lost, is that containing an account of
+the brutal treatment the Aleuts received at the hands of the Russians.
+The childlike natives became worse than slaves. The debauchery of their
+oppressors was shameful. As stated by Dall, "the Aleuts were subjected
+to the most horrible outrages. The names of Glottoff and Solóvioff (two
+Russian explorers, 1764-'65) make them shudder to this day. Thousands
+perished under sword and fire. Long after those enormities were checked
+the Russians considered the Aleuts as beasts rather than men," etc.
+Their numbers, estimated at 10,000 in 1799, were, according to a Russian
+census, reduced to 5,238 in 1808, and, as stated by Dall, numbered not
+more than 1,500 in 1870. The census of 1890 gives it as 967.</p>
+
+<p>The incentive to Russian oppression was the greed for furs and the lust
+of rude men at a distance from all centres of control. The Aleutian
+Islands and neighbouring waters is the home of the sea-otter, which is
+clothed with the most beautiful of all furs. Near at hand are the
+Pribilof Islands, to which the fur-seal formerly resorted each summer in
+countless numbers, and during its migrations traversed the passes
+separating the islands of the Aleutian chain, where they were easily
+taken; the commercial value of their skins previous to about 1867,
+however, was small. In addition, the land-otter and several species of
+foxes also inhabited the same region. These allurements tempted the
+Russians, and besides the Aleutian Islands, with their sheltered
+harbours, furnished favourable stations from which to extend the fur
+trade into the still greater region to the eastward,
+<!--397.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">375</a></span>
+and at an
+early date in the foreign occupation of Alaska became a basis for
+supplies.</p>
+
+<p>The entire fur trade in Russian America was placed by charter in the
+hands of the Russian-American Fur Company in 1799, which, like the
+Hudson's Bay Company, had territorial jurisdiction as well as trade
+monopoly. This powerful company maintained its existence under various
+renewals of its charter until the purchase of Alaska by the United
+States in 1867. The authority conferred on the Russian company gave it
+exclusive right to purchase furs from the natives, and thus to dictate
+prices. This system was fraught with evil to the natives, and their
+extinction would no doubt have resulted had it not been for the
+influence of missionaries of the Russian-Greek Church, among whom the
+name of Veniaminoff will ever be held in blessed memory. In a measure
+the gross oppression of the Russians brought its own punishment to the
+offenders. The decrease in the number of the Aleutians meant a decline
+in the number of pelts secured. To insure the gathering of the highly
+prized furs the native hunters must be maintained. The later days of
+Russian occupation were characterized by more humane treatment of the
+natives, schools were established among them, liquors withheld, and
+their rapid decline checked. When Alaska was purchased by the United
+States the Russian-American Fur Company was supplanted by the Alaskan
+Commercial Company, to whom a lease of the Pribilof Islands was granted.
+In this lease provision was made for the support and education of the
+Aleutians on the Pribilof Islands. As the chief and almost the sole
+employment open to the Aleutians during the past thirty years has been
+the taking of sealskins on these islands, this wise provision had a
+beneficent influence on the entire tribe. How faithfully the Alaskan
+Commercial Company carried out its contract has been seriously
+questioned, but it is, nevertheless, a fact that the Aleutians have
+fared better under American than under Russian rule. A gradual adverse
+change in their condition has come about, however, owing to the decrease
+and threatened extinction of the sea-otter, and the great decline in the
+number of the fur-seals owing to the attacks made
+<!--398.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">376</a></span>
+on them during
+their annual migrations, which amounts to commercial extinction. The
+lucrative industries of the natives have thus practically disappeared,
+and there is nothing to take their place. The surviving members are
+objects of charity, but as yet the United States Government has made no
+adequate provision for their support. One method of ameliorating the
+existing adverse conditions that is practicable is the introduction of
+domesticated reindeer; another, not so easy to accomplish, is the
+suppression of the liquor traffic.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">The Indians</div>
+
+<p>The aborigines of the New World to the southward of the narrow strip of
+arctic coast-land inhabited by the Eskimo are designated by the term
+Indian, as already explained. There is no sharp line of demarcation
+between the Indians of North and South America, one shading into the
+other, but only those of the northern continent are here considered.</p>
+
+<p>In many scientific treatises, as well as in books of travel and general
+literature, the Indians are frequently referred to as "red men," and the
+term "copper coloured" commonly applied to them. To the writer each of
+these expressions seems infelicitous. It is true that throughout America
+the Indians have a reddish undertone in their colour, but in numerous
+tribes it is not pronounced. As to copper colour, the meaning of the
+term is vague. What is copper colour? Presumably the colour of the pure
+metal when unoxidized. No such colour is more than suggested even by the
+aborigines having the lightest skins in the members of the many tribes
+that have come under the writer's notice. A more correct term&mdash;but this
+is a matter of opinion, in which differences are permissible&mdash;would be
+brown, of which many shades occur, ranging from light cinnamon colour to
+dark chocolate, and even nearly black. There is no recognisable
+connection between variations in colour and climatic conditions. The
+faces, hands, and other freely exposed portions of their bodies are
+darker than the parts usually covered with clothing, and frequently
+suggest the appearance of bronze statutes
+<!--399.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">377</a></span>
+not fully darkened by
+exposure to the weather. In colour they more nearly approach that of the
+Polynesians than any other peoples, but in general are of a darker hue.
+The members of the various Indian tribes, although presenting a wide
+range of differences, have many physiological and mental resemblances,
+which, like their languages, serve to set them apart from all other
+peoples. A composite picture of their persons would show a man sinewy
+rather than heavy in build, but there are many exceptions; of average
+stature, 5 feet 8 or 10 inches, but there are tribes whose average is
+more, and others in which it is less; dark brown, with a reddish
+undertone, in colour; deep-set, black, and in general small eyes, their
+alignment straight; the nose prominent and frequently well shaped; mouth
+large, with strong, frequently perfect teeth; lower jaw massive; and
+face beardless or nearly so, and the hair of the scalp long, coarse, and
+black. In order to make such a sketch realistic, the bronze-like
+athletic figure must be clothed in a blanket worn with the grace of a
+Roman toga or wrapped in a robe of bison-skin; the feet encased in
+moccasins of tanned deerskin, and usually decorated with beads or
+variously coloured porcupine-quills; the face striped, dotted, or
+blotched with various colours; the coarse hair falling like a thatch to
+the shoulder, or braided, and in certain tribes shaved or plucked,
+except only the traditional scalp-lock, and decorated with feathers,
+most frequently of the eagle; necklaces, rings in the ears, amulets,
+etc., made of the claws of the bear, shells, beads, quills, etc.,
+bespeak various tribes; the primitive weapons were the hatchet-like
+tomahawk, the bow and arrow, and the spear. The Indian has been
+idealized in the writings of poets and novelists, but occasionally, even
+at the present day, one meets with an approach to the ideal. Judged by
+the standards of civilization, as he is seen to-day on numerous
+reservations and about the streets of towns, he is a lazy, dirty
+vagabond. A far more favourable and agreeable picture is presented,
+especially in the eastern portion of Canada and adjacent States to the
+south and in the Indian Territory, where the blessings of civilization
+have been accepted and the once roaming savage has become a tiller of
+the soil, an owner of
+<!--400.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">378</a></span>
+cattle and sheep, and lives in a
+comfortable house supplied with furniture such as white men use.</p>
+
+<p>While a racial likeness impossible to conceal unites all of the various
+tribes, no single picture or generalized description, however carefully
+prepared, can convey to one unfamiliar with the Indian an accurate idea
+of his personal appearance. A typical example from one tribe when
+critically studied is found to differ widely from an equally
+representative example of another tribe, not only in speech, dress,
+methods of wearing the hair, ornaments, etc., but also in physique and
+in mental traits.</p>
+
+<p>In temperament the Indian is usually described as being moody, reserved,
+wary, grave, and his face expressionless, the current of his thoughts
+being unrevealed in his proud, indifferent bearing. In his own mind he
+seems to consider himself superior to all other beings, and to regard
+them with contemptuous indifference. All this is true enough as seen by
+a stranger, but in his home life, and not infrequently when in the
+presence of trusted white men, the mask of indifference is laid aside
+and the laugh and jest indulged in. The extreme of assumed indifference
+is exhibited, as has been well attested by many witnesses, when death by
+torture is inflicted on a captive, as, for example, burning alive, when
+no outward sign is permitted to reveal his intense suffering.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian is a hunter and fisherman both from inheritance and
+necessity. From his mode of life his sense of sight and of hearing have
+become wonderfully acute. His skill in following a trail is proverbial.
+When living near the sea or by the side of streams and lakes he is as
+much at home in a canoe as his relative of the plains in post-Columbian
+days when seated on his hardy pony. In current literature, however, all
+of these traits, as in the case of the personality of the Indian, have
+been fused into one ideal. It is true that the Indian hunter is more
+skilled in following a trail, in interpreting the signs and sounds in
+the forest, in shooting the foaming rapids in his frail canoe, etc.,
+than the average white man to whom such pursuits are incidental or newly
+acquired; but many white men, and particularly those who have in a
+measure degenerated and
+<!--401.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">379</a></span>
+assumed the Indian mode of life, are his
+equal, if not his superior, in all that pertains to woodcraft.</p>
+
+<p>In mental qualities the Indian is the inferior of the Caucasian and the
+Asiatic, but is the superior of the negro. The ability to advance is not
+absent, and capacity to reach a certain grade in civilization is
+general, but beyond the acquirement of indifferent skill in the arts,
+literature, etc., but few have passed. The mental quality of
+perseverance under adverse conditions and of continuous application has
+not been granted him.</p>
+
+<p>These children of the forests and plains, easily pleased and as easily
+angered; kind to their children and friends, but cruelly revengeful when
+enraged; treasuring a kindness, but never forgetting an injury; without
+rigid self-control, as is sadly illustrated by their inordinate passion
+for liquor when once a taste for it is acquired, are plastic organisms,
+which reflect the conditions under which they have developed. These
+untutored barbarians, descendants from ancestors who brought little with
+them save the stone axe and the stone spear, but of necessity originated
+all their arts and institutions without contact with other peoples, and
+were exposed to a wide range of climatic and other physical conditions
+for many centuries, present a most instructive subject for the study of
+the geographer and others who are interested in the relation of man to
+his environment.</p>
+
+<p><i>Resources.</i>&mdash;To the Indian in pre-Columbian days no ships from overseas
+brought supplies, and as the various tribes were frequently at war with
+their neighbours, trade relations were greatly restricted. Intertribal
+barter was carried on, however, and the capture of supplies and utensils
+of various sorts by one tribe from another favoured their dispersion.
+Although such articles as the native copper of the Lake Superior region,
+the red pipe-stone (catlinite) of Minnesota, and obsidian from various
+places found its way to remote localities, each tribe had essentially to
+supply its wants from the natural resources of its own domain. The range
+in raw materials, to borrow a modern commercial term, that the Indian's
+intellectual development permitted him to utilize is indicated in the
+following table:
+<!--402.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">380</a></span></p>
+
+<table border="1" cellpadding="5" summary="Utilization of raw materials.">
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="3">
+      Used for food.
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Animal
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, crustaceans, insects,
+      and at times human flesh.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="1">
+      Vegetable
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Wild&mdash;Roots, bulbs, seeds, fruits, nuts, bark, berries,
+      sap.<br /><br />Cultivated&mdash;maize, cacao, melons, squashes, tomatoes, sweet
+      potatoes, potatoes, pineapple, (tobacco).
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Mineral
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Salt, (earth in certain instances).
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="3">
+      Used for clothing.
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Animal
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Skins, sinews, tendons, hair, wool, feathers, and cochineal
+      for dyes.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Vegetable
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Wild&mdash;bark, fibres, roots, dyes, gums.<br /><br />Cultivated&mdash;Cotton,
+      aloe (?)
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Mineral
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Dyes, such as ochres and cinnabar, charcoal.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="3">
+      Used in the construction of houses.
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Animal
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Skins, sinew, etc.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Vegetable
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Logs, bark, seeds; grass, roots, etc., for mats.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Mineral
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Stone, adobe, sods, earth, selenite (caves).
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="3">
+      Used in making boats.
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Animal
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Skins, sinew; oil in paint; quills, shells, etc., for
+      decoration.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Vegetable
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Tree trunks, bark, seeds, pitch.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Mineral
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Asphaltum; metallic oxides, etc., for paint.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="3">
+      Used in making utensils and weapons.
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Animal
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Bones, horns, skins, scales, teeth, shells.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Vegetable
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Wood, bark, nuts, leaves, fibre, dyes, pitch.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Mineral
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Soapstone for pots, pipes, etc.; obsidian, flint, etc.,
+      for spear and arrow points, knives, scrapers, etc.; various hard
+      stones and pebbles for axes, mortars, pestles, etc.; copper for
+      axes, knives, etc.; mineral dyes; gold and silver.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="3">
+      Used as personal ornaments and in the decoration of houses, boats,
+      etc.
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Animal
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Skins, hair, fur, bones, hoofs, claws, teeth, ivory,
+      oil in paints; shells, coral, pearls, feathers, quills, scales,
+      etc.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Vegetable
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Seeds; fibres for mats, basket-work, etc.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Mineral
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Stone (turquoise, emerald, jasper, mica, catlinite,
+      etc.), clay, gold, silver, meteoric iron; and various metallic
+      oxides, cinnabar, etc., for paints.
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>In these several ways, and yet others, as in their games, medical
+practice, elaborate religious ceremonials, mortuary customs, modes of
+travel, etc., the aborigines utilized a wide range of materials supplied
+by nature, and supplemented them by horticulture, and to an exceedingly
+limited extent by domesticating animals. The degree to which they
+utilized the natural supplies was much less in certain directions than
+became possible to civilized people, but several sources of raw
+materials prized by them have not been called upon by white men, and are
+now in greater or less measure abandoned by
+<!--403.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">381</a></span>
+the natives
+themselves. The vast mineral wealth of the continent was almost entirely
+unavailing to the aborigines, except so far as native metals were
+discovered; while several articles, such as the camass, the seeds of
+grasses, insects, etc., for food and material, used for implements, as
+obsidian for arrow points, spears, and knives, catlinite and other
+stones for pipes, porcupine-quills for decoration, etc., are of small
+value to Europeans. While civilized man has become more and more
+independent of climatic and other natural conditions, largely through
+the aid of commerce, the aborigines were much less resistant and were
+forced to adjust themselves to their environment, and like other plastic
+organisms, were modified by it.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Natural Food Supply.</i>&mdash;The food of the Indians was mainly the flesh
+of mammals, birds, and fishes. The smaller deer of various species
+inhabited the entire continent from the subarctic forest to Panama. The
+range of the bears was equally extensive, but in certain instances, on
+account of superstitious fear, were not customarily used for food. The
+almost universal source of food supply furnished by the smaller deer was
+supplemented at the far north by the Barren Ground caribou, succeeded
+southward by the woodland caribou; overlapping the range of the latter
+and extending farther south was the moose; this, in turn, was
+supplemented and exceeded in southern range by the Wapiti (elk); more
+restricted was the range of the mountain-sheep and mountain-goat, each
+inhabiting the Pacific mountains; on the Great plains roamed the bison
+and the antelope, the former extending from the central Atlantic
+seaboard to the Snake River plains, and the latter from the subarctic
+forest to Mexico. The mammalian food supply was most abundant in the
+temperate belt, and while decreasing northward, declined more rapidly
+towards the south. The food supply furnished by fishes was plentiful
+wherever water was present, and in superabundance in tidal rivers and
+estuaries both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts; but these resources
+fluctuated in a conspicuous way with seasonal changes, owing especially
+to the annual migrations of the shad and salmon. Supplementing the
+highly desirable fish-food on the ocean
+<!--404.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">382</a></span>
+shores were the molluscs,
+and especially the oyster and the clam. The rivers, particularly of the
+Mississippi Basin, supplied fresh-water "clams" (<i>Unios</i>), and the
+saline and alkaline lakes of the arid region, inclusive of Mexico,
+teemed with the larvæ of insects, which were utilized for food. In the
+Atlantic and Mississippi region, south of the Great Lakes and extending
+to Central America, lived the wild turkey; the forests of the Atlantic
+and Pacific coasts, the vast prairies, and the no less extensive
+sage-brush plains to the westward were inhabited by various species of
+grouse; the land east of the Pacific mountains, from the Gulf of Mexico
+far northward, was darkened by immense flights of pigeons; the water
+from the far south to the far north, throughout the breadth of the
+continent, were visited by large numbers of swans, geese, ducks, and
+other water birds. In a conspicuous way the feathered hosts, valuable
+for food, were migratory, thus again introducing a variable quantity
+into the lives of the aborigines.</p>
+
+<p>The vegetable food of the Indian tribes that did not practise
+horticulture varied from locality to locality, and in the temperate and
+more northern regions fluctuated through a wide range with seasonal
+changes. Berries were abundant in certain regions and at certain
+seasons. The raspberry, blackberry, huckleberry, strawberry, etc., of
+many varieties, grew wild in the eastern Mississippi and Atlantic coast
+regions. The huckleberry extended from the northern Atlantic coast
+regions westward across the continent on the southern border of the
+subarctic forest, and reached central Alaska. On the coast of British
+Columbia and Alaska to Mount St. Elias, salmon-berries, wild currants,
+huckleberries, and strawberries flourished with marvellous luxuriance
+and of large size. Wild cherries were abundant on the Atlantic coast and
+extended to the Pacific mountains. Certain small plums of value for food
+occurred widely in what is now the United States. The papaw and
+persimmon thrived in the southern portion of the Atlantic coast region.
+The fruits of the cacti yielded refreshment in the southwestern States
+and in Mexico. Throughout all the hardwood forests of the Mississippi
+Valley and the region south of the St. Lawrence
+<!--405.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">383</a></span>
+a large variety
+of nut-bearing trees, such as the walnut, hickory, chestnut, beechnut,
+oak, etc., were in great abundance and furnished a large annual food
+supply. In the northern portion of this region grew the maple, the
+saccharine sap of which was utilized by the Indians for making sugar. In
+the Pacific mountains south of Canada grew the piñon, perhaps of all the
+trees of the continent the species that yielded the greatest food supply
+to the Indians. In this same region, particularly to the northward, grew
+the small lily-like plant having a blue flower, known as the camass, the
+bulbs of which are highly nutritious. Both the piñon and the camass are
+largely utilized even at the present day for food by the Indians. In
+Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies a large number of tropical
+fruits, bulbs, nuts, etc., abound, which are suitable for food, and, as
+we have more or less direct evidence, were utilized by the Indians of
+that region in prehistoric times. The period of harvest at the south is
+less sharply defined than in temperate latitudes and the natural food
+supply subject to less seasonal fluctuations.</p>
+
+<p>The Indians so long as they did not engage in agriculture&mdash;there being
+an absence of anything that could be termed commerce, and even the
+transfer of food and other supplies by barter being restricted&mdash;were
+obliged to move from place to place, in order to avail themselves of the
+abundance furnished in certain localities and at certain seasons. This
+is well illustrated at the present day. With the coming of the salmon in
+the rivers of the northwest Pacific coast region the Indian feasts by
+the river-side; when the berries ripen in the valleys of the Cascade
+Mountains he is there, together with the bears, to profit by the
+bounties of nature; in Nevada he still makes journeys to the piñon
+groves in October; and in the subarctic forest he accompanies the
+migration of the caribou. In former days he followed the movements of
+the herds of bison on the Great plateaus. In these and many other ways
+the food supply of the Indian tended to establish nomadic customs, and
+as each source of fuel and other supplies demanded different methods of
+capturing animals or different utensils for gathering
+<!--406.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">384</a></span>
+seeds,
+etc., variations in culture development was a necessary result. The duty
+of replenishing the general stores was shared by all, but there was no
+definite organization for this purpose, and certainly nothing worth the
+name of business management. As the adage is, "What is every one's
+business is no one's business," and for this reason the Indian, as a
+rule, failed to lay aside a sufficient supply of food for winter use,
+and in consequence frequently went hungry and not infrequently died of
+starvation.</p>
+
+<p>The scarcity of the spontaneous food supply at certain seasons or during
+exceptional years, and the recurrence of cold or rainy seasons,
+necessitating shelter, would naturally lead the Indian to develop in two
+important directions, namely, agriculture and architecture. As is well
+known, promising advances had been made in each of these arts, when
+indigenous development was checked and to a great extent killed by the
+appearance on the scene and subsequent encroachments of peoples from
+over the sea.</p>
+
+<p><i>Horticulture.</i>&mdash;Concerning the art of cultivating plants for food,
+clothing, utensils, etc., practised by the Indians before the coming of
+Europeans, it is difficult to obtain accurate information. The writings
+of Spanish and other explorers who first visited various tribes have
+been diligently searched in this connection by students of American
+history, and although much that is instructive has been discovered, many
+questions remain unanswered.</p>
+
+<p>The principal regions where cultivation of the soil was practised in
+pre-Columbian times are situated in the United States south of the St.
+Lawrence and east of the Mississippi Valley, and inclusive of the lands
+bordering the Great Lakes on the south; also much of New Mexico,
+Arizona, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. In the eastern
+portion of what is now the United States localities naturally devoid of
+trees were cultivated by the Indians, and partial clearings were made in
+the vast forest by deadening the trees, probably by girdling or cutting
+the bark entirely around their trunks with stone axes, and leaving them
+standing. A similar process was employed by white settlers in later
+years, and is practised even at the present day. In these
+<!--407.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">385</a></span>
+partial
+clearings, from which the underbrush was no doubt burned, gardens of
+maize, melons, pumpkins, beans, gourds, sunflowers, potatoes, tobacco,
+and perhaps other plants were grown without irrigation. Garden-beds, as
+they are termed, are still to be seen in the forests of Michigan, which,
+as indicated by the trees growing on them, are older than the time white
+men began the cultivation of the soil of that region. In the arid
+southwestern portion of the continent and in Central America gardens
+were cultivated with the aid of irrigation, and what has been described
+as a high degree of skill in horticulture attained. The chief products
+of these gardens were maize, cotton, tobacco, beans, melons, cacao,
+bananas, and the red pepper. Possibly vanilla, tomatoes, and pumpkins
+were also grown. The aloe was extensively utilized in the south, but
+whether definitely cultivated or not seems uncertain.</p>
+
+<p>The cultivation of fruit-trees other than the cacao, which furnishes the
+seeds from which chocolate is made, does not seem to have been carried
+on, although certain writers imply that native trees were tended and
+given greater facility for growth by removing adjacent plants. It is
+stated by some authors that in the region to the eastward of the
+Mississippi the Chickasaw plum is now found growing in clearings that
+were abandoned by the Indians and not elsewhere, and the inference is
+that it was formerly cultivated. Asa Gray mentions, however, that this
+species is probably not indigenous.</p>
+
+<p>Of domesticated mammals none are known to have been possessed by the
+Indians except the dog, which it is presumed was derived from one or
+more species of the native wolf, and was used to carry or draw burdens,
+served also for food, and furnished skins for clothing and hair for
+weaving cloth. The turkey was domesticated by the Aztecs and the village
+Indians of the New Mexico region; among the latter, even at the present
+day, eagles are confined in cages and plucked for feathers. There is
+seemingly no doubt but that in pre-Columbian, as in recent years, the
+young of wild animals were captured by the Indians and reared as pets,
+which in times of necessity probably served for food; but there are no
+records of definite attempts to domesticate the
+<!--408.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">386</a></span>
+bison,
+mountain-sheep, mountain-goat, or the peccary of the Gulf coast and
+Central America. In the attractive accounts that have appeared in recent
+years concerning the grandeur of the Aztecs mention is made of extensive
+menageries, but even the most poetic of historians has not assigned to
+the tribes of that confederation flocks and herds. The llama and the
+paco or alpaca, although reared extensively by the Incas of Peru, are
+not certainly known to have been introduced into North America.</p>
+
+<p>To the eastward of the Mississippi, where numerous earthworks bear
+testimony of an early settlement by aborigines, heavy forests, the
+severity of the winter climate, and wide variations in summer rains
+combined to make the natural conditions to a marked degree adverse to
+aboriginal development. In Central America, and the West Indies
+generally, the exuberance of vegetable growth is such as almost to defy
+the clearing of land by people provided only with stone or copper
+utensils. Between these two regions, in the southwestern portion of the
+continent, are the arid lands, where, when once the idea of irrigation
+was embraced, the conditions favouring a sedentary life, with
+agriculture as a basis, are far more auspicious than elsewhere. The land
+is there treeless, the indigenous plants are easily killed by fire and
+by irrigation, the soil is rich, intense sunshine favours plant growth,
+and the gathering of harvests is not delayed or the efforts of industry
+rendered abortive by rain. Of all portions of the continent, this is the
+one where resistance to human development is least, providing man's
+ideas are sufficiently advanced to permit him to grasp and put in
+practise the art of irrigation. It is reasonable to suppose that the
+Indian there first began to build permanent homes and to cultivate the
+soil. This hypothesis is sustained in part by historical evidence, and
+in part by the ruins of ancient villages or communal houses, irrigation,
+ditches, etc. From this centre it may be presumed, in the absence of
+definite proof, that the art of horticulture spread to Central America
+and the Mississippi Valley.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of the glowing accounts given by certain historians concerning
+the high degree of skill in agriculture
+<!--411.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">387</a></span>
+attained by the
+aborigines of Mexico and Central America, and the extent of their
+plantations, a conservative balancing of the evidence indicates that
+they never advanced beyond the stage of gardening, and that field
+agriculture, the cultivation of orchards, and the domestication of
+mammals was practically unknown to them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="Fig_36" id="Fig_36"></a>
+<img src="images/i408.jpg" width="600" height="442" alt="Fig. 36." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 36.</span>&mdash;Lodge or Tepee, Blackfoot Indians, Manitoba.
+Photograph by William Notman &amp; Son.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Houses.</i>&mdash;The houses of the primitive Indians, owing to the various
+stages in culture attained by different tribes and differences in
+climatic conditions, showed a wide range in material used and in the
+results obtained. The shelters of the wandering tribes and of the
+village Indians during their journeys were usually some form of tent,
+either composed wholly of boughs or of a framework of sticks over which
+skins were spread and secured by thongs. The typical <i>wigwam</i> consisted
+of a number of poles from 15 to 18 feet long, lashed together at the top
+and arranged in a circle some 10 feet in diameter at the base, on which
+a covering of skins, bark, or mats was spread, leaving an opening at the
+top for the escape of smoke from a small fire placed on the ground
+within. At the top a wing-like extension of the covering was frequently
+provided which could be adjusted to the direction of the wind. An
+opening on one side, protected by a curtain of skin, or closed by
+drawing the covering together, served as a door. A modification of this
+genuine Indian lodge, or <i>tepee</i>, in which cotton cloth is substituted
+for the primitive covering, may be seen over a wide extent of the
+country to the west of the Mississippi at the present day (Fig. 36).</p>
+
+<p>A step higher than the usually circular lodge of boughs, etc., in use
+principally among the Indians to the west of the Mississippi, was
+furnished by the bark houses of the northeastern tribes, as those of New
+York, in which a rectangular frame of poles with an arched or triangular
+roof was covered with bark, usually of the elm, tied to the inner frame
+and held also by an external frame of poles, the two frames being lashed
+firmly together. This, the celebrated "long house" of the Iroquois, like
+most Indian houses, was designed to accommodate a number of families,
+and may be said to have consisted of several houses placed end to end
+<!--412.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">388</a></span>
+with a common passageway running through them. Fires were lighted
+in this passageway, one for each family, and the smoke allowed to escape
+through openings in the roof. One of these bark houses is described by
+an early traveller as being 80 feet long, 17 feet wide, and with a
+common passageway 6 feet wide running through its length, on each side
+of which were apartments 5 feet square. Smaller houses, usually for the
+use of a few families, were also built. The larger ones, as was common
+in many Indian villages, were occupied both as dwellings and for general
+assemblies. These houses were grouped in villages, about which
+palisades, consisting of poles planted in the ground, were frequently
+built, and in at least one instance a ditch filled with water was used
+on the outside of the palisade to increase their security against
+attack.</p>
+
+<p>The feature of special interest concerning the houses of the American
+aborigines, inclusive of the Eskimos, is that they were usually occupied
+by a number of families. This communal idea runs through all the
+indigenous American architecture. As remarked by Lewis H. Morgan, one of
+the most judicious students of American ethnology, "the house for a
+single family was exceptional throughout aboriginal America, while the
+house large enough to accommodate several families was the rule.
+Moreover, they were occupied as joint tenement-houses. There was also a
+tendency to form these households on the principle of gentile kin, the
+mothers with their children being of the same gens or clan."</p>
+
+<p>The idea of the joint tenement-house, as has been clearly shown by
+Morgan, illustrated by the bark cabins of the Iroquois, finds its most
+striking expression in the communal houses, or <i>pueblos</i>, of the village
+Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, and in the abandoned stone houses of
+Central America. In the arid southwestern portion of the continent
+certain tribes, termed the Pueblo Indians, are still living in the
+villages they occupied when first visited by Spanish explorers (1640).
+On account of their exclusiveness and the isolation of their villages in
+an immense desert region they have been but slightly modified, so far as
+their home life is
+<!--413.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">389</a></span>
+concerned, even at the present day, by contact
+with white men. The hot desert has shielded these people in much the
+same manner that the frozen tundra has served to preserve the purity of
+the Eskimo.</p>
+
+<p>The homes of Pueblo Indians, as described by Morgan, are immense
+tenement-houses, built of stone and adobe, frequently occupying several
+acres of ground, and from 1 to 6 or 7 stories high. The number of
+inhabitants at Zuñi, one of the most typical of these pueblo towns, is
+stated to have been 1,500 in 1851, but to have previously included some
+5,000 souls. The adobe, of which the houses are largely constructed, is
+the soil of the region, which when mixed with water and allowed to dry
+becomes sufficiently hard to retain indefinitely in an arid climate the
+form given to it. The soil is formed into bricks, and also used as a
+mortar to unite rough stones. Although much stone was used in the
+construction of the pueblos, it was roughly dressed by hammering, or not
+changed at all from its natural condition, and regularly cut and carved
+stones do not occur in the buildings. The pueblos were built in
+successive terraces, usually either in a semicircle or on three sides of
+a rectangle, the open side being protected by a wall. Irregular forms
+are also known, the general plan being adapted to the natural condition
+of the site chosen. In certain instances the structures were placed on
+elevations where a high degree of safety was insured, but others are on
+the open plain and even at the base of a commanding eminence, and near
+enough to be reached by arrows shot from a bow. Protection against
+enemies was increased by an absence of openings in the exterior walls,
+except at a considerable height above the ground; ingress and
+communication from terrace to terrace being by means of ladders, which
+were drawn up or their steps removed in times of danger. The roofs of
+the pueblos, as may be seen at Zuñi at the present day, are flat and
+consist of poles covered with adobe.</p>
+
+<p>The controlling ideas in the construction of the pueblos seems to have
+been communal residence and defence. The houses are at the same time
+tenements and fortresses. A characteristic feature of these, as of
+practically all Indian
+<!--414.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">390</a></span>
+villages, is the presence of one or more
+assembly rooms, and of open courts or plazas, where the people gathered
+for council, worship, amusement, etc.</p>
+
+<p>When white men first visited the Pueblo Indians they cultivated gardens
+with the aid of irrigation in which maize, mostly of a blue colour, was
+the principal crop, and had domesticated the turkey; earthen vessels of
+large size, frequently elaborately and pleasingly decorated, were
+manufactured; cotton fabrics were woven of spun threads, and the men
+were armed with bows and arrows and shields; clothing was made of
+dressed deerskins, buffalo-robes, and cotton cloth usually dyed dark
+blue. The descriptions of the Pueblo Indians given by the first visitors
+from civilized peoples would, to a great extent, apply to them at the
+present day, although in reality their lives have been profoundly
+modified and their indigenous development checked.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout a wide extent of the arid southwest the ruins of ancient
+pueblos, irrigation canals, remnants of pottery, the latter frequently
+marking village sites on isolated eminences, bear witness of a formerly
+widely spread people. This evidence shows also that the ancestors of the
+present tribes have inhabited the same territory for a great length of
+time. In this same general region are found the houses of the
+cliff-dwellers, who excavated rooms in the faces of precipices,
+frequently high above their bases and only accessible by means of holes,
+serving as steps, cut in the rock, or with the aid of ladders. In many
+instances these ancient cliff-dwellers, of which no certain descendants
+remain, took advantage of natural caverns, or of overhanging ledges,
+which were closed by means of walls of rough stone and adobe.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"><a name="Fig_37" id="Fig_37"></a>
+<img src="images/i413.jpg" width="700" height="340" alt="Fig. 37." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 37.</span>&mdash;Panorama of Uxmal, Yucatan.<br />
+In the foreground at the left is the Pyramid-temple of the
+Magician, A, with its small court at the right-hand base.
+Connecting immediately with this is the Nunnery quadrangle,
+B, occupying the greater part of the foreground. Behind the
+latter, on the ground level, are two massive ruined walls
+usually referred to as the Gymnasium, C, and rising behind
+this is a great triple terrace, on the second level of which,
+at the right, is the House of the Turtles, D, and crowning
+the summit is the Governor&#39;s Palace, E. To the right and
+beyond is the serrated crest of the House of the Pigeons, F,
+overshadowed on the left by the massive pyramid, G, and
+backed up by a temple-crowned pyramidal pile of inferior
+dimensions, H. To the left of the House of the Governor and
+beyond is a group consisting of two pyramids, I, and on the
+right of the Nunnery quadrangle, and some distance farther
+away, are other ruined masses, one only coming fully within the
+limits of the picture.&mdash;W. H. Holmes.
+</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The pueblo dwellings, built largely of adobe, are stated by ethnologists
+to have extended southward into Mexico, and illustrate the nature of the
+houses in which the Aztecs lived, but the highest type of aboriginal
+architecture in America is furnished by the dwellings and so-called
+temples, palaces, etc., still standing in Yucatan and other portions of
+Central America. In these ruins we have abundant example of buildings
+made of cut stone, laid in regular and even
+<!--416.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">392</a></span>
+courses, united with
+mortar composed of burned lime and sand, and elaborately sculptured in
+bas-relief and in the round, or covered with designs moulded in stucco.
+In size and proportions these unique structures are impressive. The
+so-called Governor's Palace at Uxmal, Yucatan, is 320 feet long, 40 feet
+wide, and 25 to 26 feet high, and surmounts an artificially constructed
+platform of earth 35 feet high and
+<!--417.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">393</a></span>
+approximately 550 feet square.
+This platform is terraced and provided with broad flights of stone steps
+(Fig. 37). These dimensions will serve to render more instructive the
+accompanying sketch of the principal ruins at Uxmal by W. H. Holmes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;"><a name="Fig_38" id="Fig_38"></a>
+<img src="images/i414.jpg" width="448" height="700" alt="Fig. 38." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 38.</span>&mdash;Examples of Maya Arches. After W. H. Holmes.<br />
+</span></div>
+<div style="padding-left: 45%;">
+<div style="margin-left: -10em;">
+a. Section of cuneiform arch with acute apex, Chichen-Itza.<br />
+b. Section of ordinary arch with flat capstone.<br />
+c. Section of ordinary arch with dressed surfaces.<br />
+d. Section of ordinary arch with dressed surfaces and curved
+soffit slopes.<br />
+e. Portal arch with long slopes, showing masonry of exterior
+facing.<br />
+f. Section of trefoil, portal arch of Palenque.
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Mere size and their great number are not the significant features of
+these ruins. They are well built, of cut stone, and most elaborately
+decorated, as may be seen by the accompanying reproduction of a
+photograph of a typical example. In reference to the skill displayed by
+the unknown architects and builders, Holmes, one of the most recent as
+well as the most critical of Central American travellers, remarks as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>"The stone used is the pale-yellowish and reddish-gray, obscurely
+marbled limestone of the locality.... The facings and ornaments are all
+cut and sculptured with a masterly handling not surpassed where chisels,
+picks, and hammers of iron and steel are used, and the faces and contact
+margins are hewn with perfect precision. Though the finish of the
+surfaces was often secured by means of abrasion or grinding, picking or
+pecking were the main agents employed, and the indents of the tools are
+often apparent and wonderfully fresh-looking. The stones were set in
+mortar, although in many cases the joints are so perfect that the mortar
+does not appear on the surface."</p>
+
+<p>The extensive ruins of Uxmal, although only a part of the treasures
+concealed in the forests of Central America, express with an eloquence
+not as yet fully appreciated the advanced stage of culture and
+refinement attained in America from the growth of indigenous ideas. Some
+of the special features illustrated by them from which the degree of
+mental development of their builders can be judged is the presence of
+the wedge-shaped but not of the true arch. The character of the simplest
+and perhaps the first style of arch constructed by the awakening peoples
+in many lands are shown in the accompanying sketches, borrowed from
+Holmes's most instructive report. Columns, both square and round, were
+used, and statues both in bas-relief and in the round are common. The
+designs, whether of animals, grotesque
+<!--418.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">394</a></span>
+monsters, feathers, or
+plants, are in strong relief, either cut in stone or moulded in stucco.
+These designs are not confined to single stones, but embrace several
+blocks, and together with the diaper fretwork extend the entire length
+of even the larger structures. Accompanying the well-wrought figures of
+men, and at times forming separate inscriptions, are many hieroglyphics,
+the meanings of which are still unknown. All or nearly all of the
+structures stand on artificial platforms, which are terraced. A terraced
+pyramid, with a broad flight of steps on one or more sides, surmounted
+by a well-proportioned rectangular building, faced with cut stone,
+highly decorated, and with a flat roof, are the larger features of the
+Maya ruins.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 399px;"><a name="Fig_39" id="Fig_39"></a>
+<img src="images/i417.jpg" width="399" height="600" alt="Fig. 39." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig. 39.</span>&mdash;Sculptured Façade of Governor&#39;s Palace, Uxmal,
+Yucatan.</span><br /><span style="text-align: justify;">
+This very handsome and elaborate piece of work is a section of the
+embellished entablature zone of the palace. The height from the lower or
+medial moulding below to the coping course above is about 10 feet. The
+entire length, covering the four walls of the building, is some 725
+feet. If we allow that the stones employed average 6 by 12 inches in
+surface dimensions, this deeply coffered and relieved mosaic would
+comprise upward of 20,000 pieces, all specially cut and a large
+percentage elaborately sculptured. Two plain coping courses are seen at
+the top, followed by a twined fillet moulding, while under this is a
+line of very ornate snouted masks. The broad space below is filled with
+bold fretwork, set on a lattice ground and interrupted by the wonderful
+overdoor trophy, the central feature of which is a human figure, fully
+life size, sculptured in the round and seated in a niche with festooned
+base. The head [now displaced] was surrounded by an elaborate and
+colossal head-dress, most of which remains. The horizontal bars
+terminating in serpent heads at both ends are separated by lines of
+hieroglyphs.&mdash;W. H. Holmes.
+</span></div>
+
+<p>All of this and more, as can be read in the elaborately illustrated
+books of Stephens, Holmes, and others, shows that the Maya people, at
+the time they were crushed by the more than cruel Spanish invasion, had
+reached a stage in their development but little short of true
+civilization.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ethnological Studies.</i>&mdash;The native dress of the Indians, their boats,
+ornaments, and still more their customs, systems of government,
+religions, myths, traditions, etc., offer attractive subjects for study,
+which are being earnestly pursued by many students at the present time.
+The closing decade of the nineteenth century witnessed a true awakening
+<!--421.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">395</a></span>
+of the white people of America to an interest in the many relics
+of ancient earthworks, buildings, utensils, etc., found throughout the
+continent, and a healthy growth of an earnest desire to record all that
+can be learned concerning the representatives still remaining of the
+vanished peoples to whom they pertain.</p>
+
+<p>In the van of this important work is the Bureau of Ethnology of the
+Smithsonian Institution. Important work has also been carried on by the
+Peabody Museum of Archæology, situated at Cambridge, and more recently
+has been taken up in an energetic manner by the American Museum in New
+York and the Field Columbian Museum at Chicago. The National Museum of
+Mexico has assembled rich stores of archæological and ethnological
+material pertaining to the native races of Mexico, and the Mexican
+Government is doing much to preserve the priceless prehistoric monuments
+of the republic from vandalism. There are also many private antiquarian
+collections and many individual students who are doing good work along
+their chosen historic, linguistic, and other branches of research. One
+phase of this work, particularly in reference to ancient earthworks,
+buildings, and also the observations of early travellers, missionaries,
+explorers, etc., is the removal of the incrustation of romance, and in
+part of fable, that has been formed about them. As shown by W. H.
+Holmes, in reference to many reputed finds of the relics of men in
+various glacial and other deposits; by W. H. Henshaw, in respect to
+certain animal carvings; by Cyrus Thomas, in the case of the earthwork
+of the eastern part of the United States; by L. H. Morgan, in connection
+with the history of the Mexican and Central American aborigines and
+other similar examples, imagination has only too frequently taken the
+place of critical study and hasty generalizations have been given
+publicity. It is perhaps not too strong a statement to say that the
+fascinating histories pertaining to Mexico and Central America, written
+by Irving, Prescott, and Bancroft, need to be thoroughly revised and
+rewritten from the standpoint of the scientific ethnologist. This
+clearing of the field of an underbrush of fancy is as necessary as the
+work of the axe or
+<!--422.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">396</a></span><i>machete</i> in removing the vegetable growths
+that conceal many of the records of America's history.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Contact of the Aborigines with Foreign Peoples.</i>&mdash;The chief
+interest of the ethnologist concerning the American aborigines relates
+to their condition before the introduction of European ideas and
+customs. This external influence has been far-reaching and cumulative in
+its effects, and to-day there is not a tribe in North America that
+stands where it would have stood but for its coming. Among some of the
+Eskimo tribes, and in the case also of certain Indian communities in
+central Alaska and northern Canada, there have been but slight
+modifications even in dress, utensils, etc., by reason of contact with
+the white man. The Pueblo Indians have been resistant to change, but
+although still grinding their blue corn in primitive stone hand-mills,
+and dressed nearly as the first Spanish visitors found their ancestors
+in the same villages, there has been a slowly progressing revolution in
+the undercurrent of their thought, ideas, religion, customs, etc.
+Whether this change is for the better or the worse depends on the point
+of view. In attempting to judge of it from the Indian's side, the only
+possible conclusion seems to be that the coming of the white man has
+been a curse.</p>
+
+<p>The reception of Europeans by the Indian, although in many instances
+kindly, has, in the main, been but an outward show of friendship,
+concealing suspicion, fear, and jealousy. That this distrust was well
+founded is abundantly proved by history. Since the slaughter and
+enslavement of the aborigines of the West Indies and of the southern
+portion of the continent by Spaniards, through all the bloody conflicts
+of the English and French with the Indians of the Atlantic and
+Mississippi regions, to near the close of the nineteenth century, almost
+constant war, marauding, murder, rapine, and jealousy have accompanied
+the contact of the aborigines and the whites. Although the Indians
+succeeded in retarding the spread of civilization, they were not strong
+enough to permanently check it. In the United States and Canada they
+have been, to a great extent, dispossessed of their hunting-grounds by
+so-called treaties, or by formal purchase,
+<!--423.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">397</a></span>
+and placed on
+reservations. In Mexico the struggle is still in active progress, but
+there and in Central America and the West Indies the contact of the two
+races has in part assumed a different phase, and one less visibly
+detrimental to the Indian. In the countries now held by people of
+Spanish descent, and in fact throughout Latin America, as it is termed,
+amalgamation has, to a great extent, caused the disappearance of the
+Indian race in its purity. North of the indefinite boundary where the
+Spanish language is largely spoken much less admixture of the two races
+has occurred than farther south, and the half-breed is classed as an
+Indian. While to the north of Mexico it is possible to trace the
+post-Columbian histories of the Indian tribes with an approach to
+completeness and to state their present census, and note the results of
+the attempts that have been made to civilize them, to the south of the
+Mexican boundary such a task is seemingly hopeless.</p>
+
+<p>In Alaska the Indians still roam at large with no other restraint than
+that arising from the adjustment reached through intertribal relations,
+with slight modifications due to the widely scattered settlements of
+white men. No attempt has been made by the United States Government to
+place them on reservations, and this will probably not occur, as the
+white man does not wish their lands for agricultural purposes.
+Displacement by contact seems to express the change now in progress.</p>
+
+<p>In Canada the present condition of the Indians varies with locality. In
+the southeastern part, including the maritime provinces, they have been
+greatly changed from their native condition, and to a large extent
+gathered on reservations or have settled on land of their own and become
+self-sustaining. In the Labrador region and throughout the Rocky
+Mountains they still roam at will, and depend mainly on hunting and
+fishing for a livelihood. On the Pacific coast, the Haidas, etc., of
+British Columbia&mdash;and the same is true of their neighbours, the Tlingits
+of southeastern Alaska&mdash;have become interested as labourers in the
+commercial fisheries, principally the salmon industry.</p>
+
+<p>The Canadian Government has purchased extensive
+<!--424.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">398</a></span>
+tracts of land
+from the Indians, and the purchase money, together with the returns from
+the sale of relinquished lands, etc., amounting in 1900 to $3,893,623,
+is held in trust for their benefit. The interest on this sum, together
+with appropriations made by the Government for the support, education,
+etc., of the Indians, amounted during the year 1900 to $1,309,127. The
+total&mdash;in part estimated&mdash;Indian population of Canada is about 99,000,
+and those classed as resident Indians number 77,450. The last-named
+during the year 1900 cultivated 108,850 acres of land; owned 83,019 head
+of cattle, horses, sheep, etc.; cut 68,395 tons of hay; gathered 471,596
+bushels of potatoes and other root crops, besides an output of
+$1,639,398 worth of fish, furs, etc. During the same year 9,634 Indian
+children attended industrial schools. This is certainly a creditable
+report and one encouraging to the hope that all the Indians in Canada
+will in the course of a few generations become civilized, in spite of
+the fact that the Indians outside of the reservations and beyond the
+limits of the treaty lands still roam at large and to a great extent are
+in a deplorable condition.</p>
+
+<p>In the treatment of the aborigines within her borders Canada has to a
+marked degree been both humane and just. Her policy in this connection
+is largely an inheritance from that of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose
+success in trade depended on maintaining friendly relations with the
+native peoples. The work of the factors of "the Great Company" scattered
+throughout Canada and carried on continuously for more than two
+centuries did much to prepare the aborigines for civil government. Owing
+largely, also, to the efficiency of the mounted police of Canada much
+less trouble has been experienced in the management of the Indians of
+that country than has been the case in the adjacent portion of the
+United States. In any comparison, however, of the relation of the
+Canadian and United States governments to the aborigines within their
+respective borders account needs to be taken of the widely different
+conditions on the opposite sides of the boundary line between them. Not
+only are the Indians of Canada about one-third as numerous as in the
+United States, while the area of each country is about the
+<!--425.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">399</a></span>
+same,
+but owing to a less dense white population to the north of the
+international boundary, far less demand has there arisen for their lands
+for agricultural, mining, and other purposes than in the United States.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian problem within the United States has been a most serious one,
+and is still a severe tax on the nation. The union of the colonies and
+the final separation from the mother country left the United States with
+an immense western frontier, extending in an irregular way from north to
+south through the trackless forests of the Mississippi Valley. As the
+nation grew in strength this frontier was pressed farther and farther
+westward, while settlements established on the Pacific coast presented a
+frontier to the eastward. These two inundations of civilization, crude,
+but virile and aggressive, approached each other and entered the passes
+in the mountains separating them. Between the two were the
+hunting-grounds of the Indians, but the advance of the whites was
+irregular and the outposts of civilization were in the Indian country.
+In 1867 the buildings of the first of the transcontinental railroads
+divided the region roamed over by savage tribes. Railroads continued to
+be built, and presently there was no frontier. In a later stage in this
+process of subduing a continent it became imperative that the more
+hostile and treacherous Indian tribes should be either exterminated or
+segregated and confined to definite regions, where they could be under
+military surveillance. Many treaties were made between the United States
+and the Indians, and by this means and by force the original occupants
+of the land were placed on reservations. The aim of the Government, it
+must be conceded, has during the past fifty years or more been humane,
+but in many instances treaties have been unfulfilled, and individuals in
+authority have proved incompetent, unfaithful, and dishonest. In judging
+of the dealings of the white man with the Indian, it must be remembered
+that the problem was highly complex and in certain ways of such a nature
+that no result just to each party was practicable. On one hand, the
+rights of the Indian to the land they inherited from their ancestors was
+to be recognised, but a larger
+<!--426.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">400</a></span>
+interest, the march of
+civilization, had also to be encouraged. The good of humanity demanded
+that the barbarian, roaming over broad lands of which he made no use
+except for hunting, should give place to more enlightened people, who
+wished to cultivate the soil and make it support thousands of
+individuals, where before only a few hundred could find sustenance. The
+history pertaining to so many countries, where civilized peoples have
+displaced races in the lower stages of culture, was here repeated. The
+main issue was the same, only the details differ. In the struggle
+between the white and the red man it became evident that the latter must
+yield, assume habits of industry, and earn his bread by the sweat of his
+brow or be exterminated. It may be said that neither of these seemingly
+inevitable results has occurred; the Indian has not been exterminated,
+and possibly not seriously reduced in numbers, and to a great extent is
+not self-supporting. It is believed, however, that this is but a
+transient stage, resulting from the reservation system. In a large
+number of instances the lands formerly occupied by the Indians have been
+purchased from them by the Government and thrown open to settlement by
+white people. The money due for these purchases has in several instances
+been paid to the Indians, either as tribes or individually, while in
+other cases it is still held in trust by the Government, and the
+interest on it used for the benefit of the original occupants of the
+land.</p>
+
+<p>The United States Government by treaty with certain of the tribes, as
+the Sioux, for example, has agreed to pay definite annuities and issue
+to each individual a certain amount of clothing and food each year.
+Other tribes placed on reservations were also granted clothing and food
+sufficient to keep them from want, although no agreement to that effect
+was entered into, the theory of the Government being that the Indians
+deprived of their hunting-grounds should receive aid until they could
+adopt the ways of civilized men sufficiently to be self-supporting. The
+number of Indians assisted in this way each year during the past decade
+has been about 85,000. The food issued, usually twice a month, consists
+of meat, either beef or its equivalent
+<!--427.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">401</a></span>
+in bacon, flour, coffee,
+and sugar. The ration supplied each individual is sufficient to maintain
+a person, or at least keep him from starving, but is not intended to
+meet all his wants. The desire on the part of the Government that want
+should compel the Indian to work, has been still further pressed by a
+gradual decrease in the ration issued in certain instances where
+definite agreement has not been made and where a tendency to
+self-support is manifest. In general, however, this assistance, instead
+of stimulating industry, and, as would seem natural, gradually leading
+the recipient to desire and obtain more and more of the comforts and
+luxuries that may be had as a reward of exertion, served but to enhance
+his inherited aversion to all forms of labour. The issuing of rations
+even to the extent of insuring the Indian against starvation has to a
+great extent removed the incentive to industry, and the Indian, being an
+Indian, has remained thriftless and indifferent. The reservation system,
+so far as attaining the main aim in view, namely, the civilizing of the
+Indian and encouraging him to work, has, to a great extent, been a
+failure.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the issuing of food and clothing, the Government, with
+the view of extending still further encouragement, has in a large number
+of instances provided the Indians with tools, horses, agricultural
+implements, etc., and aided in irrigation and other schemes tending to
+the improvement of the lands comprised in reservations.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the direct material aid just referred to, schools have been
+established, and an earnest and widely extended effort made to educate
+the Indians and make them worthy of citizenship. The result of this
+effort, while highly encouraging in many individual instances, has on
+the whole fallen far short of what was expected in view of the large
+expenditures incurred. The sum thus employed during the past
+thirty-three years is about $240,000,000. The total appropriation made
+by the Government for the care and education of the Indians, inclusive
+of the aborigines of Alaska, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901,
+was over $9,000,000. Of this sum, over one-third was expended in the
+maintenance of schools. In addition to this provision there are a number
+<!--428.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">402</a></span>
+of mission and other schools, supported mainly by religious or
+benevolent organizations, and certain public schools not receiving aid
+from the General Government which were wholly or in part for the benefit
+of Indian pupils.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of the larger of the Government Indian schools the Indian
+children are removed from their homes and placed in institutions where
+they live for a period of four years under military discipline. In these
+schools literary is subordinate to industrial training. The majority of
+the schools are equipped with shops for shoe- and harness-making,
+carpentry, blacksmithing, wagon-making, etc., and in several instances
+the girls are taught cooking and house-work. The largest of these
+schools is situated at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at which the average
+attendance during the year 1900 was 961. The extent to which education
+is spreading through the Indian tribes and its rate of increase are
+indicated by the fact that the attendance on the Government schools has
+increased from 3,598 in 1877 to 21,566 in 1900.</p>
+
+<p>While the benefits received by the Indians through the issuing of
+clothing, rations, and by education has been great and the seed for
+future progress sown broadcast, the results, so far as lifting the
+recipients into an atmosphere of refinement and civilization and making
+them self-supporting are concerned, are far from encouraging. The
+Indians in general are still wards of the Government and not worthy of
+citizenship.</p>
+
+<p>The aim of the Government is not only to educate the Indians, but to
+induce them to adopt the ways of industrious and progressive white men,
+build homes on land ceded to them and which they may hold as
+individuals, thus breaking up their long-established practise of
+communal or tribe ownership, and finally become citizens of the
+republic. To this end land has been divided among the heads of families
+of several tribes and titles in severalty granted, with restrictions in
+most, if not all instances, in reference to the sale of the land within
+a certain period. In many instances this plan has been productive of
+good results, and the Indians have become industrious and to a large
+extent citizens. The
+<!--429.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">403</a></span>
+numerous successes that have followed the
+allotment of land in severalty, accompanied as it is with
+responsibilities and the necessity of self-support, is encouraging and
+leads to the hope that in the course of a few generations all the
+Indians will have passed from the condition of barbarism to one of
+civilization.</p>
+
+<p>In Mexico since 1824 the Indians have been on the same political basis
+as the whites, although to a great extent they have failed to profit by
+their advantages, and so far as legal restrictions are concerned are
+eligible to any office of the republic. The brightest example of the
+wisdom of this policy is furnished by the fact that in at least one
+instance a man of pure Aztec blood has occupied the highest office in
+the gift of the people. In general, and in fact almost universally, the
+position of the Indian in Mexico is that of a farm labourer, but
+although nominally free, owing to a prevalent system of debt, he is
+really held in vassalage by the owners of the large plantations or
+<i>haciendas</i>. In many ways his condition is but little better than that
+of a slave. Unlike the roaming tribes of the more northern portion of
+the continent, where the food supply fluctuates greatly with the
+seasons, the natives of Mexico early became sedentary, and, owing no
+doubt in part to the density of the population, became horticulturists,
+and have continued to cultivate the soil to the present day. They are
+now essentially agriculturists, wedded to their place of birth, and not
+only do not desire change, but repel by passive resistance the invasion
+of civilization and the use of new and improved tools and machinery.
+They are non-progressive, and on account of their great numbers,
+constituting about 38 per cent of the entire population, serve to retard
+advancement in a manner that is highly detrimental to the enlightened
+and progressive members of the ruling class. Education in nearly all
+parts of the republic is compulsory and the schools free. With both
+political and educational advantages, however, but indifferent progress
+towards civilization has been made.</p>
+
+<p>The present condition of the Indians throughout Central America is
+similar to that of the descendants of the Aztecs and other tribes in
+Mexico both politically and socially.
+<!--430.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">404</a></span>
+They are a disheartened
+race, living in a region where exuberant nature supplies their small
+wants with but little exertion on their part, and incentives to activity
+either of body or mind are, to a great extent, lacking.</p>
+
+<p>In the West Indies the native Caribs were nearly exterminated by the
+Spaniards early in their occupation of the islands, their places as
+labourers being supplied by the importation of negro slaves, and at the
+present time but few, if any, Indians of pure blood are to be found.
+Throughout Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies amalgamation of
+the Indian with both Europeans and negroes has taken place, and a mixed
+race, consisting of a large percentage of the total population, has
+resulted. In Mexico these <i>mestizos</i>, as they are termed, number about
+5,000,000, or about two-fifths of the entire population. In the Central
+American republics the supplanting of the aboriginal race by the same
+process is thought to have progressed at about the same rate as in
+Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>To the student of geography a comparison of the state of the aborigines
+of North America before peoples from other lands came among them, with
+reference to the influence of environment, is full of significance. The
+highest degree of culture and the greatest advance towards refinement
+was in Mexico and Central America, where a uniform climate prevails and
+bodily wants are few and easily supplied. It was there that skill in
+architecture reached its highest development, and what is worthy the
+name of art, and we may almost say letters, but in truth
+picture-writing, reached a high degree of advancement.</p>
+
+<p>This marked progress in a tropical country beyond what was attained by
+the Indian tribes in the temperate and cold portions of the continent
+seems to be an exception to the general rule that intellectual progress
+is stimulated by changeable climatic conditions, and reaches the highest
+development in cold, temperate climates. Apparently the degree of
+stimulation needed for the Caucasian and the Indian differs, and the
+latter thrives best where the obstacles to be overcome are least. This
+is in harmony with the oft-repeated statement that the Indian is but a
+child. The struggle
+<!--431.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">405</a></span>
+which would discourage the boy is but zest to
+the man. Among the Indians themselves, however, we find an exception to
+the rule suggested in the fact that the Iroquois or the Six Nations of
+New York, in their tribal organization and alliances of offence and
+defence probably surpassed even the Aztecs and Mayas. In physical
+strength and endurance, and in mental powers, so far as government and
+oratory are concerned, the Iroquois probably surpassed all other
+Indians; but in architecture, art, picture-writing, etc., they were far
+the inferiors of the Mexican and Central American Indians. Thus,
+intellectual strength and vigour seem to have been most markedly a
+product of the colder and more changeable climate, while the highest
+attainment in architecture, etc., was reached at the south.</p>
+
+<p>It is in the temperate region also that the best results have been
+reached in attempting to civilize the Indians. This, however, cannot be
+claimed as a result of climate simply, since the aid that has been
+extended to them in Canada and the United States is far different from
+the influence exerted on their relatives at the south by men of Spanish
+blood. The results of the efforts of Canada and the United States to
+civilize the Indian and make him worthy of citizenship, although costly
+and slow in reaching the desired end, are full of promise. By the
+methods referred to in the last few pages a strong effort is being made
+to counteract the harsh treatment the Indians received during the
+earlier years of French and English aggression, and to give them a fair
+chance to advance. One important result of the present firm control is
+the total cessation of intertribal warfare. Seemingly the aborigines
+throughout North America, with the exception&mdash;and it is hoped this is
+but temporary&mdash;of the Alaskan Eskimos and the still uncared-for Indian
+tribes of Alaska and Canada, should increase in numbers as well as in
+enlightenment. In reference to numbers, the enumerations that have been
+made in recent years, although not exact, seem to indicate a diminution
+in the rate of decrease, if not a positive advance. In the case of most
+of the Indian tribes north of Mexico the change from a free life, passed
+to a large extent in tents or temporary homes, to an inactive,
+<!--432.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">406</a></span>
+sedentary existence, mostly on reservations, and the influences of
+house-life without a knowledge of sanitary conditions was a most severe
+one. The adverse results of this change, it is probable, are not yet
+past, but the rate of decrease in numbers resulting from it appears to
+be diminishing. Aside from the comparative suddenness with which the
+Indian has been forced to change his ways of thinking and living, it
+must be confessed that there is something inherent in his mental
+qualities that makes him unduly resistant to progress. As a race it is
+not to be hoped that he can ever be placed on really equal terms with
+the white man.</p>
+
+<p>The total aboriginal population of North America in 1900, as nearly as
+it is now practicable to ascertain, is shown in the following table:</p>
+
+<table summary="Aboriginal population in North America">
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="3">
+      Eskimos.&nbsp;
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Canada, Arctic coast
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      1,000
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Newfoundland (Labrador coast)
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      800
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      United States, Alaska (1890)
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      14,000
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Total Eskimo population, about
+    </td>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      15,800
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      <br />
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="5">
+      Indians.&nbsp;
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Canada
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      99,010
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      United States, exclusive of Alaska
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      270,544
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      United States Alaska
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      15,500
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Mexico (1895)
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      5,000,000
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+      Central America (largely estimated)
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      1,600,000
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Total Indian population, about
+    </td>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+       6,985,054
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      ========
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Total aboriginal population, about
+    </td>
+    <td>
+    </td>
+    <td style="text-align: right">
+      7,000,800
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>In this enumeration no account is taken of the Indians of the West
+Indies, for the reason, so far as can be learned, that there are few, if
+any, of pure blood remaining.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<p>Vast stores of information concerning the aborigines of America
+have been published by the Bureau of American Ethnology,
+Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.; the Peabody Museum
+of Archæology, Cambridge, Mass.; the American Museum of Natural
+History, New York, N. Y.; the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago,
+Ill.; and in the <i>American Archæologist</i>, a monthly magazine
+now printed by Putnam's Sons, New York.
+<!--433.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">407</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Readily accessible books relating to the Eskimos of Alaska are:</p>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Dall, W. H.</span> <i>Alaska and its Resources.</i> Lee &amp; Shepard, Boston,
+1870.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Petroff, Ivan.</span> <i>Reports on the Population, Resources, etc., of
+Alaska.</i> In the reports of the tenth and eleventh censuses of
+the United States.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>The condition of the Indians in the United States during the
+past half century is recorded in the annual reports on Indian
+affairs published by the Department of the Interior,
+Washington, D. C. Similar information concerning the natives of
+Canada may be found in the reports on Indian affairs issued by
+the Canadian Government at Ottawa.</p>
+
+<p>Of the numerous books on ethnology in which the relation of the
+aborigines of America to other peoples is discussed, perhaps
+the most useful to the general reader is A. H. Keane's <i>Man
+Past and Present</i>, printed at the University Press, Cambridge,
+England.</p>
+
+<p>Of the many attractive books of travel in which the Indians of
+Mexico and Central America and the ruins, etc., of the same
+region are described, the most readily accessible are: John L.
+Stephens's <i>Incidents of Travel in Yucatan</i>, 2 vols., and his
+<i>Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan</i>,
+2 vols., published by Harper &amp; Brothers, New York, 1867-'68;
+and W. H. Holmes's <i>Archæological Studies among the Ancient
+Cities of Mexico</i>, published by the Field Columbian Museum,
+Chicago, 1897.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--434.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">408</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h3>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY<span class="fnanchor">[6]</span></div>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[6]</span>As stated in the preface, several chapters have been
+omitted from this book on account of limitations of space. The portions
+of the original manuscript referred to relate to the geography of
+fisheries, forestry, mining, commerce, agriculture, etc. In discussing
+each of these themes, the control exerted by natural conditions or
+environment on human affairs made itself prominent because of the
+immediate influence of corrective failures when nature's laws are
+disregarded. A less attractive phase of the study of the relation of man
+to nature is furnished by political geography, in which the influence of
+something opposed to environment becomes prominent, and as history shows
+has in the main exerted a major control over the geography of nations.
+That something, as is well known, is the greed of peoples. Space is here
+claimed for a part of my original manuscript for the reason that it
+presents a view of political adjustments not usually taken and in a way
+perhaps pessimistical, which may awaken opposition, and also because it
+contains a summary of the results of a long series of struggles among
+various nations for the possession of the North American continent. Of
+greater moment than the rivalries of nations for territory, as is also
+outlined, is the conflict between two radically different principles of
+government&mdash;the monarchical and the republican&mdash;in which this continent
+has furnished the chief battle-grounds. Did space permit, the influence
+of geographical conditions on the growth and development of the
+fundamental ideas of government could be illustrated by American
+history, and the probability that environment will in the end gain
+ascendency over local self-interests in the establishing of national
+boundaries made prominent.</div>
+
+<p>Among the prominent facts dealt with in the study of political geography
+and of history are the territorial limits of nations. For this reason
+the characteristics of boundaries are of fundamental importance, and a
+classification of them is convenient, if not essential.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">CLASSIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES</div>
+
+<p>The boundaries between nations, states, provinces, etc., established in
+various ways, may be classified, at least provisionally,
+<!--435.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">409</a></span>
+in six
+groups. We may term these groups <i>coast boundaries</i>, <i>astronomical
+boundaries</i>, <i>water boundaries</i>, <i>mountain boundaries</i>, <i>divide
+boundaries</i>, and <i>arbitrary boundaries</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Coast Boundaries.</i>&mdash;The junction of the sea and land on the borders of
+continents and islands furnishes natural and sharply defined lines,
+which are clearly the most desirable of any of the various classes of
+boundaries for defining political limits. By international consent the
+jurisdiction of a country bordering on the "high seas" is a line one
+marine league seaward from the margin of the land, and following its
+meanders. As an international dividing line the one-league limit seldom,
+if ever, becomes important, since the nice adjustment of the width of an
+arm of the sea necessary for such a purpose rarely occurs. When an
+extension of the ocean's waters intervening between two nations is less
+than two marine leagues wide the boundary between them commonly follows
+its medial line, and has all the essential features of a water boundary,
+described below.</p>
+
+<p><i>Astronomical Boundaries.</i>&mdash;The shape of the earth and its motions in
+reference to the sun are such that certain imaginary lines on its
+surface may be located with precision by astronomers, and if the
+monuments or other marks employed to show the positions of such lines
+are removed they can be accurately relocated. The lines referred to are
+principally parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude, and
+boundaries, so far as they coincide with these lines, may for
+convenience be classed as astronomical boundaries.</p>
+
+<p>Examples of the class of boundaries here indicated are furnished by the
+one defining the east border of the main body of Alaska, which, as
+defined in a treaty made in 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, is
+the one hundred and forty-first meridian west of Greenwich; and by the
+boundary between Canada and the continental portion of the United States
+from near the Lake of the Woods westward to the coast of the continent,
+which, as finally decided in a treaty between Great Britain and the
+United States in 1846, is the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude.
+The boundaries of a number of the States of the United States and of
+several of
+<!--436.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">410</a></span>
+the provinces of Canada are either wholly or in part
+parallels of latitude or meridians of longitude, and furnish good
+examples of what are here termed astronomical boundaries.</p>
+
+<p>The most conspicuous advantages of astronomical boundaries are that they
+may be accurately described without a knowledge of the country through
+which they pass. They can be located with precision and their courses
+accurately marked by monuments. For these reasons astronomical
+boundaries, when clearly defined in treaties between nations or in laws
+concerning the territorial limits of states or provinces, leave no room
+for contention as to their positions.</p>
+
+<p>The leading objections to the use of astronomical boundaries,
+particularly as international dividing lines, are: The temptation they
+offer to diplomats and others, who may be interested in the speedy
+conclusion of a treaty, to make hasty divisions of territory without
+knowing its resources or commercial and other possibilities. Then, too,
+such boundaries cross the land without reference to its topography, and
+have no essential relations to the courses of streams or the directions
+of coast-lines, etc. They may divide a fruitful valley in a most
+arbitrary and inconvenient manner between two nations with widely
+different laws and customs, or cross a navigable river at several
+localities, and intersect a coast or lake shore so as to initiate
+complex conditions in respect to harbours, navigation, customs duties,
+etc. In these and still other ways boundaries coinciding with lines of
+latitude and longitude are apt to bring about detrimental commercial and
+other relations between adjacent nations, states, and provinces. A
+region which is an industrial unit&mdash;as the gold fields of the Klondike
+district, the iron-bearing tracts to the west of Lake Superior, the
+wheat-lands of the Red River Valley, the forested lands of the northwest
+coast, etc.&mdash;when divided between two or more countries with different
+laws is deprived of the advantages that should follow from the natural
+course of industrial development, and one part or the other suffers in
+consequence.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 511px;"><a name="plate_7" id="plate_7"></a>
+<img src="images/i435.jpg" width="511" height="600" alt="PLATE VII." title="" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate VII.</span>&mdash;Distribution of governments in North
+America.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Again, until an astronomical boundary is surveyed and
+<!--439.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">411</a></span>
+marked on
+the ground by skilled geodesists, it cannot be located even
+approximately by miners, trappers, foresters, and others, and many
+difficulties are apt to arise in this connection.</p>
+
+<p>Although an astronomical boundary once decided on and formally recorded
+in a treaty leaves no excuse for national quarrels as to its position,
+it is evident that its far-reaching and perhaps highly complex
+influences on the development of neighbouring peoples are likely to be
+such that the natural resources, conditions affecting transportation,
+etc., of the region through which it passes should be thoroughly
+understood before a final decision is reached.</p>
+
+<p><i>Water Boundaries.</i>&mdash;In numerous instances the medial line or one shore
+of a stream, lake, estuary, strait, or other water body not recognised
+as a part of the "high seas" has been selected to serve as a fence
+between nations and states; collectively, such boundaries, typically
+represented by a river without islands, flowing between well-defined and
+permanent banks, may conveniently be termed water boundaries. In
+general, when a stream, lake, etc., is a national or state boundary, its
+medial line, or the centre of the deepest channel when there is more
+than one, is defined as the precise line of demarcation.</p>
+
+<p>The leading features of water boundaries are illustrated by a portion of
+the line separating the United States from Canada, which traverses the
+middle of the St. Lawrence River, and divides medially several of the
+Great Lakes and their connecting streams. The south boundary of the
+United States is also in part a water boundary, and is defined by treaty
+as "the middle line of the Rio Grande, or its deepest channel where
+there is more than one."</p>
+
+<p>In certain instances, when a river, lake, bay, etc., separates two
+political organizations, one shore or the other may be defined by treaty
+or by law as the actual line of separation, and even complex relations
+may exist, in reference to jurisdiction over the dividing waters. The
+water boundary between New York and New Jersey, for example, is, in
+part, the middle line of the Hudson and of New York Bay, etc., with
+several qualifications, including exclusive jurisdiction
+<!--440.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">412</a></span>
+by New
+York over all the waters of the Hudson to the west of Manhattan Island
+to the low-water line on the New Jersey shore, subject, however, to
+certain rights of property and of jurisdiction of the State of New
+Jersey, etc. The waters of Delaware River are, by agreement between New
+Jersey and Pennsylvania, a common highway, over which each State "shall
+enjoy and exercise a concurrent jurisdiction within and upon the water,
+and not upon the dry land between the shores of said river"; the islands
+in the river being specifically assigned to the one or the other State.</p>
+
+<p>The advantages of a water boundary are suggested by the fact that in
+most instances they may be easily located, even by persons inexperienced
+in the method of surveying. Coinciding, as they generally do, with
+definite geographical divisions, they do not lead in a conspicuous
+manner to complications in the industrial development of the countries
+or States separated by them.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulties to which water boundaries may give rise are indicated
+by the fact that streams, more particularly than the other water bodies
+in question, frequently divide so as to inclose islands, and in certain
+instances on nearing the sea send off, perhaps, several distributaries,
+which discharge through independent mouths. When a stream divides so as
+to inclose an island, even if the main or the deepest channel is
+specified by treaty or by law as the one chosen as a boundary, the
+question as to which of two channels is really the larger or the deeper
+may not permit of definite answer. Streams are subject to many changes,
+and what is the main channel one year may become of secondary rank the
+next year, or a river, as not infrequently happens, may shift its course
+bodily, and thus furnish grounds for contention as to the ownership of
+the territory transferred from one of its banks to the other. The
+distributaries of streams, or the separate channels into which they
+divide on deltas, etc., are also subject to conspicuous and sometimes
+sudden changes. Who could decide, for instance, which is the main
+channel of such rivers as the Mississippi, the Nile, or the Ganges, in
+the delta portions of their courses; or if a choice seemed practicable,
+is there any assurance that the distributary largest
+<!--441.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">413</a></span>
+to-day will
+maintain its supremacy for a decade to come, or even be in existence a
+century hence?</p>
+
+<p>The controversies that may arise in reference to which of two channels
+in a designated water body is the main one, are illustrated by the
+well-known "San Juan episode," which came near bringing on hostilities
+between Great Britain and the United States in reference to the
+ownership of certain islands in the Strait of Georgia; the immediate
+subject of contention being whether "the channel which separates the
+continent from Vancouvers Island," as the statement reads in the
+Webster-Ashburton treaty, 1846, passes to the east or to the west of the
+San Juan Islands. The Emperor of Germany, as is well known, acting as
+arbitrator, decided that the islands belong to the United States. Thus,
+in 1872, a series of disputes as to the Canadian-United-States boundary,
+which had been carried on for ninety years, was closed.</p>
+
+<p>While water boundaries, and especially rivers, in certain instances,
+have furnished almost ideal dividing lines between nations, in other
+instances they have proved to be objectionable. The difference lies in
+the nature of the streams themselves, and illustrates the fact that,
+with water boundaries as with other classes of dividing lines between
+nations, a critical knowledge of the geography of the region through
+which they pass is a prerequisite of treaty making, if subsequent
+boundary disputes are to be avoided.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mountain Boundaries.</i>&mdash;The crests of mountain ranges, or mountain
+chains, are sometimes specified in treaties as defining territorial
+limits. The ideal mountain range is one having a generally straight
+alignment and a continuous and sharply defined crest, but in nature this
+ideal is seldom attained. Modern geographical studies have shown that
+many so-called mountains, which from a distance appear to be
+well-defined uplifts with sharp crest-lines, are in reality broad
+plateaus or great domes, deeply dissected by stream erosion. In such
+instances it is frequently difficult to decide where the crest of the
+range is located. Indeed, as is not infrequently the case, there is no
+definite and tangible crest-line. Although it is sometimes assumed that
+the crest-line coincides with the water-parting, or the divide, between
+the head
+<!--442.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">414</a></span>
+branches of streams flowing in opposite directions from
+a mountain-like uplift, it is well known that a mountain range, even
+when bold and sharply defined, may not be a divide for the principal
+streams of the region where it is situated. An illustration in point is
+furnished by the Appalachian Mountains, through which the Susquehanna,
+Delaware, and other important rivers rising in the plateau to the west
+flow transversely in deep valleys and empty into the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>The recent controversy between Argentina and Chile was due to an
+assumption in a treaty between them that the crest-line of the southern
+Andes coincides with the water-parting between the streams flowing to
+the Atlantic and those discharging into the Pacific. Post-treaty
+surveys, as they may suggestively be termed, have shown that in the
+portion of the Andes in question streams rising well to the east of the
+mountains flow westward through them in deep transverse cañons, and that
+there is a wide discrepancy between the continental water-parting and
+the topographic crest-line of the continent.</p>
+
+<p>A mountain boundary, if defined as the line along which the upward
+slopes on the opposite sides of a prominent uplift meet in its summit
+portion, would in most instances be irregular and perhaps conspicuously
+intricate, for the reason that mountain crests are modified and shaped
+by erosion and migrate in one direction or another according to the
+strength and other qualifying conditions of the opposite-flowing
+streams. Then, too, an uplift which seems to a casual observer to be a
+single mountain range, may in reality be highly complex, and no
+continuous crest-line be discoverable. In short, the sweeping statements
+sometimes embodied in treaties, to the effect that the line of
+demarcation between contiguous countries shall be the crest-line of a
+certain indicated mountain range are fraught with uncertainties and
+difficulties, which are likely to prove a source of discontent and
+costly arbitration, or even lead to war.</p>
+
+<p><i>Divide Boundaries.</i>&mdash;A boundary which is defined as following a
+specified water-parting or divide, from which streams flow in opposite
+directions, would in most instances be easily traceable on the ground
+even by persons unskilled
+<!--443.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">415</a></span>
+in the art of surveying, and for this
+and other reasons has much to commend it; yet, without an accurate
+knowledge, and most of all an accurate topographic map of the region
+through which such a boundary is to pass, its selection on general
+principles, however nicely worded, is open to dangers of the same nature
+as those pertaining to a similar choice of a mountain boundary.</p>
+
+<p>In arid regions broad plateaus may form divides, and even an approximate
+location of the line of water-parting, if one exists, be a matter of
+difficulty and uncertainty. Then, too, the process of head-water
+corrasion pertaining to essentially all streams, and of stream capture,
+or the acquiring by one stream, through the process of stream
+development, of the territory formerly drained by its neighbour, leads
+to a migration and sometimes a sudden and perhaps extensive shifting of
+a water-parting.</p>
+
+<p>Examples of divide boundaries are furnished by the one separating Idaho
+and Montana, which in part coincides with the continental divide, and
+serves its purpose well; but the satisfaction it has given is to be
+qualified by the fact that, for the most part, it is situated in a
+rugged region, where there is but slight probability of the property
+interests of the communities parted by it coming into direct contact.</p>
+
+<p>Boundaries which are made to coincide with the courses of rivers, with
+the crest-lines of mountains, or with water-partings, have certain
+commendable features in common; they are easily located, readily defined
+by natural features of the earth's surface, and in general do not
+require to be accurately surveyed and marked by monuments before they
+serve their purpose as international or interstate fences.</p>
+
+<p><i>Arbitrary Boundaries.</i>&mdash;A class of boundaries not otherwise readily
+definable may be conveniently designated as arbitrary boundaries, since,
+as a rule, they are not described in terms such as pertain to
+astronomical boundaries, and bear no necessary relation to topographic
+or other features of the regions they traverse. Like astronomical
+boundaries, the ones here considered are imaginary lines, and, in part,
+might with propriety be included in that class, since they are capable
+of being located by astronomical methods; but they
+<!--444.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">416</a></span>
+serve our
+purpose better if considered in a group by themselves. The class of
+boundaries here referred to includes straight lines connecting two
+points; lines defined as running in a given direction (azimuth) and for
+certain distances; arcs of circles; tangents to circles, etc. In brief,
+arbitrary boundaries may be defined as straight or curved lines or
+combinations of such lines, and are similar to the lines employed by
+surveyors in marking the boundaries of a farm, locating a railroad, etc.</p>
+
+<p>An example of what is meant by an arbitrary boundary is furnished by the
+line separating Delaware from Pennsylvania, which is an arc of a circle
+12 miles in radius, with the steeple of the old court-house in
+Newcastle, Delaware, as a centre. Again, in the establishment of the
+District of Columbia, a rectangle 10 miles square was chosen and marked
+on the ground by means of monuments as the site of the capital of the
+United States. Another illustration is furnished by the eastern boundary
+of California, as defined in its constitution. This boundary runs from
+the intersection of 120 degrees of west longitude with the thirty-ninth
+degree of north latitude in a straight line in a southeasterly direction
+to the River Colorado, at a point where it intersects the thirty-fifth
+degree of north latitude.</p>
+
+<p>Boundaries of the nature just cited can only be recognised when actually
+marked on the ground, and except in the case of straight lines, not of
+great length, or small geometrical figures, are difficult of precise
+location, even by skilled surveyors. Should the monuments used to define
+their positions be destroyed, their replacement is an arduous task.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting example of a change from an astronomical to an arbitrary
+boundary is furnished by the line of demarcation between Texas and New
+Mexico, which in part, as originally defined by law, was the one hundred
+and third meridian of west longitude, but owing to errors in the first
+survey was wrongly marked on the ground by monuments. The monuments,
+however, having been accepted as indicating the position of the true
+line of division, became points in an arbitrary boundary. Other similar
+examples of the acceptance
+<!--445.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">417</a></span>
+of an arbitrary in place of an
+astronomical boundary are not uncommon.</p>
+
+<p><i>Impracticable Boundaries.</i>&mdash;There are certain dividing lines which are
+defined in treaties, decrees, etc., as running parallel to some natural
+feature, as a coast or a river, and at a given distance from it, that
+might with propriety be classed as arbitrary boundaries, since no effort
+is made to adjust them to the natural conditions of the immediate
+territory they traverse; but, for the purpose of expressing a still
+greater weakness inherent in them, they are here specially designated as
+<i>impracticable boundaries</i>. This, as is to be hoped, temporary class of
+boundaries includes the proposed lines of demarcation sometimes inserted
+in treaties, etc., which it is impossible, or at least impracticable,
+without great and for the most part useless expense of time and money,
+to mark on the ground, and thus seek to make serviceable.</p>
+
+<p>In this connection reference may be made to the boundary between
+southeastern Alaska and Canada, which, as stated in the treaty between
+Great Britain and Russia previously referred to, in the absence of a
+mountain range parallel with the coast and not over 10 marine leagues
+inland&mdash;and as subsequent explorations and surveys have shown such is
+the case&mdash;"shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the
+coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of 10 marine leagues
+therefrom." The region through which the line described would pass, if
+surveyed, was almost entirely unknown at the time the treaty referred to
+was made, but, as has since been discovered, it is exceedingly rugged,
+and contains many mountains ranging from 10,000 to 18,000 feet high,
+besides a multitude of glaciers and many extensive fields of perpetual
+snow. To survey and mark on the ground the boundary indicated in the
+treaty would be what may be justly termed an impossible task; and,
+besides, if the line as defined by treaty should be established, it
+would be intricate, and much less serviceable as a national fence than
+any one of several possible boundaries that could have been chosen, with
+essentially the same end in view, at the time the original treaty was
+entered into, had a geographer been
+<!--446.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">418</a></span>
+employed to make even a hasty
+reconnaissance of the region in question.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 274px;">
+   <a href="images/plate8h.jpg" target="_blank" name="plate_8" id="plate_8"><img src="images/plate8t.jpg"
+       width="274" height="300"
+       alt="PLATE VIII" title="" /></a>
+   <span class="caption"><span class="smcap">PLATE VIII.</span>&mdash;Characteristic vegetation.<br />
+   <i>Click image to enlarge.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Another example of a boundary being defined as running parallel to and
+at a specified distance from an irregular geographical feature is
+furnished by a part of the boundary between Massachusetts and New
+Hampshire, which is a line parallel to the Merrimac River, and distant
+from it 3 miles on the north. In this case, although the distance of the
+line designated from the one to which it is to be drawn parallel is but
+3 miles, and the country between only mildly undulating or hilly, the
+boundary as now marked on the ground and accepted as an interstate
+boundary is but a rude approximation to the one originally defined.</p>
+
+<p>These examples, and others that might with propriety be classified as
+impracticable boundaries, illustrate again the desirability of accurate
+geographical knowledge, and still more of an adequate appreciation of
+the difficulties and limitations met with by the surveyor, on the part
+of those who attend to the real-estate business of nations.</p>
+
+<div style="padding-top: 1em;"></div>
+
+<p>The line of separation between Canada and the United States, as defined
+by the Treaty of Ghent, 1814, and after several subsequent adjustments,
+was determined as indicated roughly on the accompanying map. Throughout
+the greater part of its eastern half it is a river boundary, and in its
+western half an astronomical boundary.</p>
+
+<p>In 1876 the English Government granted Newfoundland jurisdiction over
+Labrador, and in letters patent defined that dependency as "all the
+coast of Labrador, from the entrance of Hudson Straits to a line to be
+drawn due north and south from Ause Sableu on the said coast to the
+fifty-second degree of north latitude, and all the islands adjacent to
+that part of the said coast of Labrador." This line is still unsurveyed.
+From the fifty-second parallel to the Strait of Belle Isle, a distance
+of about 40 miles, the boundary is a north-and-south line situated about
+7 miles west of the fifty-seventh meridian, as is indicated on the best
+maps available.</p>
+
+<p>The southern boundary of the United States, as finally determined in
+1853 by treaty with Mexico, is, beginning
+<!--447.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">419</a></span>
+at the east, a river
+boundary for some 900 miles, namely, the middle of the Rio Grande, or
+its deepest channel, when there is more than one, to where the river
+crosses the parallel of latitude 31° 47'; continuing westward, the line
+is in part an astronomical and in part an arbitrary boundary to the
+Pacific.</p>
+
+<p>The nature of the boundaries separating the several provinces of Canada,
+the various States of the United States and of Mexico, the republics of
+Central America, etc., are indicated approximately on the accompanying
+map. These lines when studied on larger-scale maps on which the drainage
+and relief are also shown reveal many features of interest.</p>
+
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">POLITICAL CONTROL</div>
+
+<p>The political subdivisions of North America in 1900 are too well known
+to require specific description at this time. The long-continued
+struggles and rivalries that have led to the present subdivision of
+territory pertain to history, and although full of interest from the
+point of view of the geographer, cannot be discussed in the present
+treatise. Among the conspicuous events that might be shown by a series
+of political maps is the contraction and final disappearance of Spanish
+and French dominion from the continental mainland. The broad, indefinite
+territory once belonging to Spain, which in the sixteenth century seemed
+destined to expand still more and possibly embrace the whole of the two
+Americas, has been diminished from time to time, until as a result of
+the recent Spanish-American War her flag no longer waves over any
+portion of the New World. The French territory, once embracing a large
+portion of what is now Canada and the United States, is at present
+represented by the islands Martinique and Guadeloupe with its
+dependencies, in the West Indies, and the islands Miquelon and St.
+Pierre, adjacent to the south coast of Newfoundland; in all, comprising
+about 1,161 square miles. The French have, in addition, certain treaty
+rights pertaining to fisheries on the northern and western shores of
+Newfoundland.</p>
+
+<p>Between the two forms of government, monarchical and
+<!--448.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">420</a></span>
+republican,
+North America is somewhat equally divided, so far as extent of territory
+is concerned (Plate VII), but not as respects population. The people
+under republican organization far outnumber those still acknowledging
+allegiance to hereditary rulers. The countries self-governed, or forming
+parts of American republics, embraced in 1900 all of the continental
+mainland south of the United-States-Canadian boundary, together with
+Alaska, Cuba, San Domingo and Haiti, and Porto Rico. The provinces,
+islands, etc., still controlled by European powers are Canada,
+Newfoundland, Bermuda, and all of the West Indies except the islands
+just referred to, which are more definitely designated in the table on
+page 424. The population of the American republics is in the
+neighbourhood of 97,000,000, and of the European dependencies somewhat
+less than 7,000,000. A republican form of government, more or less
+definitely foreshadowed by the tribal confederations of the aborigines,
+the most conspicuous example of which is furnished by the Iroquois or
+"Six Nations," has thus become the characteristic feature of the
+political organizations of North America; the same is true also of South
+America. The New World is thus conspicuously republican, in distinction
+from the Old World, which is characteristically monarchical.</p>
+
+<p>The immigration to North America since its discovery by Columbus has
+been from all the nations of the Old World, but most largely from
+Europe. Negroes were brought as slaves, and their descendants, now free,
+form a large percentage of the population, especially in the
+southeastern part of the United States and the West Indies. Chinese,
+since about 1870, have arrived in large numbers, but their immigration
+to the United States is now restricted. Of the nations of Europe, the
+strongest influx has come from Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain,
+and Italy. To a marked degree this westward migration has been along
+parallels of latitude, but the migratory streams on reaching North
+America subdivided into many distributaries, and a mingling of
+nationalities on a vast scale has resulted. This amalgamation has been
+so great and so long-continued that several new and somewhat strongly
+individualized nationalities
+<!--449.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">421</a></span>
+have arisen, the most instructive
+being in the temperate portion of the continent.</p>
+
+<p>The dominant language, as in the case of political control, has been
+inherited from Great Britain. English is the universal language to the
+northward of Mexico and on certain of the West Indian islands. To the
+south of the United-States-Mexican boundary, but beginning in the
+southwestern portion of the United States, and including also the
+greater part of the population of the West Indies, Spanish is the
+current language, except among the uncivilized aborigines. French is
+commonly spoken by many thousands of people in the province of Quebec,
+Canada, and in certain of the West Indies.</p>
+
+<p>The ideal nation, from the point of view of the geographer, is one so
+situated that it is self-sustaining&mdash;that is, contains within its own
+domain all the conditions necessary for its life and growth. It should
+have favourable climatic conditions, agricultural land, forests, mines,
+fisheries, etc. More than this, even if all material wants are supplied
+from within its own border, intellectual desires demand outside stimuli.
+The ideal nation should therefore touch the ocean, in order to have
+avenues for travel open to its people. I am well aware that a more
+commanding, or, perhaps better, a more modern view, would show that
+improved methods of transportation have made the whole world
+commercially one; but invisible tariff walls still separate peoples and
+wars break lines of communication.</p>
+
+<p>It might be expected that in the New World, conditions being also new
+and room for development abundant, civilized nations would have adjusted
+their boundaries so as to make an ideal subdivision of territory in
+accord with natural conditions. A study of the boundaries separating the
+nations of North America, however, fails to furnish evidence of such an
+adjustment. On the contrary, even between the most highly civilized
+countries, in which the people speak the same language, the dividing
+lines are entirely arbitrary, so far as relation to soil, climate,
+mineral and timber resources, fisheries, etc., are concerned. The line
+separating Alaska and Canada is mainly a meridian of longitude, which
+<!--450.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">422</a></span>
+passes through a rich mining district. The southern boundary of
+Canada is for the most part a parallel of latitude dividing
+agricultural, mining, and timber lands. The material advancement of the
+inhabitants on the opposite sides of these unnatural dividing lines is
+retarded by them and the progress of civilization delayed. The same is
+true of the invisible wall separating the United States from Mexico, and
+the various partitions intersecting Central America. There has evidently
+been but little, if any, tendency to draw the boundaries referred to in
+conformity with natural conditions. What, then, is the force which sets
+nature at naught? The reply is not obscure. In one word, it is <i>greed</i>.
+"To have and to hold" is the unwritten motto of republics as well as of
+monarchies.</p>
+
+<p>The absurdity of disregarding geographical relations, and in consequence
+checking national development, and leading to stagnation and to material
+and intellectual decline, is sadly illustrated by the subdivision of the
+West Indies. In an admirable account of the Caribbean region by R. T.
+Hill, in which its present commercial depression is described and the
+reasons for it judiciously analyzed, occurs the following passage
+relative to the case in point:</p>
+
+<p>"A greater drawback to the West Indies than the one-sided
+agriculture&mdash;the raising of sugar-cane&mdash;is their political condition.
+Their distribution among too many nationalities necessitates the support
+of expensive and useless administrations, and prevents federation of
+interests and the development of trade among themselves and with the
+United States, the nearest and largest natural consumer of their
+products. Very ridiculous some of these political conditions seem. The
+island of St. Martin, not as large as an average county in the United
+States, is divided into two principalities, the French and the Dutch,
+each of which maintains an administrative force as large as that of the
+State of Texas. Then, as we sail down the eastern islands, hardly a
+score in number, and within sight of one another, aggregating in area
+less than our little State of Delaware, about 2,000 square miles, we
+find five foreign and no less than a dozen distinct colonial
+governments, each responsible to Europe, with no
+<!--451.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">423</a></span>
+shadow of
+federation between them, or even cooperation of any kind&mdash;a condition
+not only pitiable, but absurd. Why should Dominica, whose people are
+French in language and institutions, be sandwiched in between Martinique
+and Guadeloupe, and within easy sight of both, yet so cut off from them
+by quarantine and tariff laws that it is commercially nearer England,
+some 3,000 miles distant, than to its neighbours?"</p>
+
+<p>The conditions necessary for an ideal, self-contained government were
+briefly referred to above. In North America, perhaps, several such
+eligible sites for a definite number of people might be chosen, but in
+no case without the drawing of unnatural boundaries. The continent, as
+is shown by its geology and geography, is a unit, and the most typical
+of comparable size of any on the earth. These same conditions point to a
+single political unit. Arguing from geographical relations simply, and
+not considering the racial differences and local self-interests, the one
+boundary in North America should be the shore boundary, except at the
+30-mile-wide Isthmus of Panama. To the geographer North America presents
+an example of a region containing within itself essentially all of the
+elements necessary to a high industrial, social, educational, and
+ethical development of its inhabitants. The industrial needs are met by
+a range of products, whether of soils, mines, forests, or fisheries, as
+varied or nearly so as is presented by the entire earth. Although the
+continent is broadest at the far north, where climatic extremes prohibit
+a dense population, yet in the temperate region, or between the mean
+annual isotherms of 45 and 75, a space of some 1,200 miles in latitude,
+it is from 2,500 to 4,000 miles wide. In this temperate region there is
+at present greater commercial and mental activity than elsewhere on the
+continent, and it is here that the dominant power of the future will be
+located. Supplementing the agriculture, manufactures, etc., of the
+temperate belt are the vast forested and fur-bearing regions on the
+north and the exuberant tropical countries on the south. Each of these
+three great regions are parts of a whole and mutually supplement each
+other.
+<!--452.png--><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">424</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The distribution of the population of North America, in respect to
+political subdivisions during the year 1900, is indicated, as nearly as
+it has been found practicable to ascertain it, in the following table:</p>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">POPULATION OF NORTH AMERICA IN 1900</div>
+
+<div class="center" style="padding-top: 1em;">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="center" class="smcap">Government.</td><td align="right">Area in square miles.</td><td align="right">Population.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center" style="padding-top: 1em;"><i>American Governments</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">United States (inclusive of Alaska and Porto Rico)<span class="fnanchor">[7]</span></td><td align="right">3,626,533</td><td align="right">76,265,469</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Mexico</td><td align="right">767,005</td><td align="right">13,570,545</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Guatemala<span class="fnanchor">[8]</span></td><td align="right">63,400</td><td align="right">1,574,338</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Salvador<span class="fnanchor">[9]</span></td><td align="right">7,225</td><td align="right">803,534</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Nicaragua</td><td align="right">49,200</td><td align="right">420,000</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Honduras<span class="fnanchor">[10]</span></td><td align="right">45,250</td><td align="right">407,000</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Costa Rica<span class="fnanchor">[11]</span></td><td align="right">23,000</td><td align="right">310,000</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Panama (Department of Colombia)</td><td align="right">32,380</td><td align="right">290,000</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">San Domingo<span class="fnanchor">[13]</span></td><td align="right">20,596</td><td align="right">1,244,650</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Haiti<span class="fnanchor">[13]</span></td><td align="right">9,242</td><td align="right">500,000</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Cuba</td><td align="right">44,000</td><td align="right">1,572,797</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 4em;">Total for American governments</td><td align="right">4,687,831</td><td align="right">96,958,333</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="center" style="padding-top: 1em;"><i>Possessions still held by European Governments</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland:<span class="fnanchor">[12]</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">Canada</td><td align="right">3,653,946</td><td align="right">4,846,377</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">Newfoundland and Labrador</td><td align="right">49,734</td><td align="right">201,934</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">Bermuda</td><td align="right">19</td><td align="right">15,013</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">West Indies (Bahamas, Jamaica, etc.)</td><td align="right">12,059</td><td align="right">1,357,254</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">British Honduras</td><td align="right">7,562</td><td align="right">31,471</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 4em;">Total for the United Kingdom</td><td align="right">3,723,320</td><td align="right">6,452,049</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">France:</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">Miquelon and St. Pierre</td><td align="right">93</td><td align="right">6,250</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">West Indies (Guadeloupe, Martinique, etc.)</td><td align="right">1,068</td><td align="right">354,790</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 4em;">Total for France</td><td align="right">1,161</td><td align="right">361,040</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Denmark:</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">West Indies (St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix)</td><td align="right">149</td><td align="right">35,900</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Holland:</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">West Indies (St. Martin in part, St. Eustace, and Saba)</td><td align="right">29</td><td align="right">7,236</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td><td align="right">&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 4em;">Total for European governments</td><td align="right">3,724,659</td><td align="right">6,856,225</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="right">========</td><td align="right">========</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" style="padding-left: 4em;">Total for North America</td><td align="right">8,412,490</td><td align="right">103,814,558</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[7]</span>The area of Alaska is 590,884 square miles; its population, 63,592.
+The area of Porto Rico is 3,600 square miles; its population (1899),
+953,243. Hawaii, not included above, has an area of 6,449 square miles and
+a population of 154,000.</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[8]</span>In 1894.</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[9]</span>In 1896.</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[10]</span>In 1899.</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[11]</span>In 1891.</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[12]</span>In 1898.</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><span class="label">[13]</span>Together occupying the island Santo
+Domingo or Haiti.</div>
+
+<!--453.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">425</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">LITERATURE</div>
+
+<ul class="lit-list">
+
+<li>Twelfth Census of the United States.</li>
+
+<li><i>British America.</i> By several authors. Published by Kegan Paul,
+Trench, Trübner &amp; Co., London, 1900.</li>
+
+<li><i>Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel.</i> North America.
+Vol. i, Canada and Newfoundland, by S. E. Dawson. Vol. ii, The
+United States, by Henry Gannett; Central America and the West
+Indies, by A. H. Keane.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Hill, R. T.</span> <i>Cuba, Porto Rico, and the other West India Islands.</i>
+The Century Company, New York, 1899.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Gannett, H.</span> <i>Boundaries of the United States.</i> United States
+Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 171, second edition, Washington,
+1900.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!--455.png--><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">427</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h3>
+
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li>Aborigines, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>-407.</li>
+<li>Adams, Mt., Wash., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>Adirondack Mountains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>-84.</li>
+<li>Adobe used for bricks, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</li>
+<li>Agassiz, A., cited, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>. Work of, in Caribbean region, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li>
+<li>Alaska, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>Boundary of, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>.</li>
+      <li>Coast topography of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>-46.</li>
+      <li>Indians of, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</li>
+      <li>Map of coast of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Alaska Commercial Company, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</li>
+<li>Albemarle Sound, origin of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li>
+<li>Aleutian Islands, topography of, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li>
+<li>Aleutians, brief account of, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>-376.</li>
+<li>Aleuts, brief account of, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>-376.</li>
+<li>Algonkian system, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</li>
+<li>Allen, J. A., cited, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>.</li>
+<li>Alpine flora, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>-257.</li>
+<li>American governments, enumeration of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Animal life, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>-298.</li>
+<li>Anticlinal valleys, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li>
+<li>Antillean Mountains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>-171.</li>
+<li>Antiquity of the aborigines, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>-363.</li>
+<li>Apatite, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li>
+<li>Appalachian Mountains, description of, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-82.
+  <ul><li>Map of, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Archean period, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>-310.</li>
+<li>Arches in Maya houses, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</li>
+<li>Arctic climatic province, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li>
+<li>Arctogæic life realm, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+<li>Areas of various governments, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Arkansas Plateau, brief account of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>-110.</li>
+<li>Asbestos, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>-350.</li>
+<li>Astronomical boundaries, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>-411.</li>
+<li>Atlantic coastal plain, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>-64.
+  <ul><li>Forest, brief account of, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li>
+      <li>Mountains, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>-89.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Austral climatic provinces, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>-197.</li>
+<li>Aves, orders of, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</li>
+<li>Aztecs, advancement of, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Badlands, brief account of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>-111.</li>
+<li>Bahama Islands, topography of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li>
+<li>Baker, Mt., Wash., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>Bald, Mt., N. B., height of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li>
+<li>Bancroft, George, reference to, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>Barren grounds, absence of trees on, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li>
+<li>Bartlett Deep, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li>
+<li>Basement complex, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</li>
+<li>Bay of Fundy, tides in, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li>
+<li>Bear, Polar, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li>
+<li>Bears, brief account of, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>-284.</li>
+<li>Bell, R., exploration by, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+<li>Bermuda, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>"Bermuda Mountain," <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+<li>Bering Sea, depth of, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+<li>Bighorn, brief account of, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>-273.</li>
+<li>Big trees of California, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>-246.</li>
+<li>Bird migrations, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>-296.</li>
+<li>Birds, brief account of, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>-298.</li>
+<li>Bison, brief account of, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>-278.
+  <ul><li>Map showing range of, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Blackfoot Indians, lodge of, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</li>
+<li>Black Hills of Dakota, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>-119.</li>
+<li>Boreal climatic province, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>-203.
+  <ul><li>Forest, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>-237.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Boston, Mt., Mo., height of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li>
+<li>Boundaries, classification of, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>-418.</li>
+<li>British Honduras, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Brownson Deep, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li>
+<li>Buffalo, brief account of, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>-277.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Cacti, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>-226.</li>
+<li>California, boundary of, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>.</li>
+<li>Cambrian system, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>-312.</li>
+<li>Canada, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>Boundary of, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</li>
+      <li>Mountains of Western, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>-169.</li>
+      <li>Treatment of Indians by, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>-399.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Canadian Coast Ranges, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.
+  <ul><li>Rockies, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>-169.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Cape Cod, map of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.
+  <ul><li>Hatteras, continental shelf bordering, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+      <li>Lisburne, depth of water near, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+      <li>Sheridan, tides at, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Capulin, Mt., N. M., height of, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</li>
+<li>Carborundum, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li>
+<li>Caribbean region, submarine topography of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>-23.</li>
+<li>Caribou, brief account of, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>-269.</li>
+<li>Cascade Mountains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>-158.
+  <ul><li>Igneous rocks of, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>-322.</li></ul></li>
+<li><i>Castor canadensis</i>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>.</li>
+<li>Catlinite, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>.</li>
+<li>Cats, brief account of, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>-285.</li>
+<li>Cedar trees in Pacific forest, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li>
+<li>Census of various nations, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>Of aborigines, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Central America, Indians of, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>-405.</li>
+<li>Chamberlin, T. C., cited, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.</li>
+<li><i>Characeæ</i>, lime secreted by, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>.</li>
+<li>Chart of geological history, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</li>
+<li>Chelan, Lake, Wash., <a href="#Page_157">157</a>-158.</li>
+<li>Chesapeake Bay, origin of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li>
+<li>Chickasaw plum, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>.</li>
+<li>Chinook winds, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>-205.</li>
+<li>Classification of boundaries, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>-418.
+  <ul><li>Geological terranes, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>-309.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Clays, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li>
+<li>Climate, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>-214.
+  <ul><li>Elements of, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>-184.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Climatic provinces, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>-203.</li>
+<li>Coal, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>-338.
+  <ul><li>Fields, map of, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Coastal plains, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>-69.</li>
+<li>Coast boundaries, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.
+  <ul><li>Mountains, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>-169.</li>
+      <li>Topography of, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>-55.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Columbia River lava, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>-320.</li>
+<li>Commercial geology, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>-353.</li>
+<li>Communal dwellings of Indians, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>-389.</li>
+<li>Concentration of mineral substances, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>-353.</li>
+<li>Consequent drainage, examples of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li>
+<li>Contact of aborigines with foreign people, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>-406.</li>
+<li>Continental borer, description of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>-120.
+  <ul><li>Shelf, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>-16.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Cope, E. D., cited, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>Coral growths on continental shelf, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.
+  <ul><li>Reefs in the West Indies, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Corundum, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li>
+<li>Costa Rica, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Crater Lake, Ore., brief account of, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>-155.
+  <ul><li>Map of, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Cross, W., cited, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li>
+<li>Cuba, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>Banks near, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Culture of the aborigines, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>-365.</li>
+<li>Currents, ocean, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>-27.</li>
+<li>Cyclones, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>-212.</li>
+<li>Cypresses, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Dall, W. H., cited, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</li>
+<li>Dana, J. D., cited, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li>
+<li>Davis, W. M., cited, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li>
+<li>Dawson, J. W., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>Death Valley, Cal., <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+<li>Débris forming continental shelf, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>-8.</li>
+<li>"Deeps" of the West Indies, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>-21.</li>
+<li>Deer, brief account of, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>-272.</li>
+<li>Delaware, boundary of, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>.
+  <ul><li>Bay, origin of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li>
+      <li>River, submerged channel of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Deltas, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>-55.</li>
+<li>Denmark, possessions of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Dikes, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li>
+<li>Diller, J. S., cited, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+<li>Dismal Swamp, brief account of, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>-64.</li>
+<li>Divide boundaries, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>-415.</li>
+<li>Dog, Eskimo, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li>
+<li>Drowned river-valleys, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+<li>Dutton, C. E., cited, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Economic geology, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>-352.</li>
+<li>Edwards Plateau, Tex., brief account of, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>-108.</li>
+<li>El Llano Estacado, brief account of, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>-109.</li>
+<li><i>Enhydra marina</i>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li>
+<li>Eschscholtz Bay, Alaska, ice near, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li>
+<li>Eskimo, meaning of the word, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.
+  <ul><li>Dog, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li>
+  <li>Meaning of the term, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Eskimos, brief account of, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>-376.
+  <ul><li>Census of, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Estuaries, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>-58.</li>
+<li>Ethnological studies, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>-396.</li>
+<li>Evaporation, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>-213.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Fall line in Atlantic coast rivers, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li>
+<li>Ferns, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</li>
+<li>Fir trees in Pacific forest, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li>
+<li>Flora, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>-257.</li>
+<li>Florida, continental shelf bordering, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+<li>Fontaine, W. M., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>Food supply of Indians, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>-387.</li>
+<li>Forests, description of, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>-249.
+  <ul><li>Map of, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Fossil floras, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li>
+<li>France, possessions of, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Fur-bearing animals, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>-282.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Galveston, Tex., destruction of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.
+  <ul><li>Tides at, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Gardens of the Indians, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>-387.</li>
+<li>Gas, natural, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.</li>
+<li>Gaspé Peninsula, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>Geographical distribution of animals, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>-263.</li>
+<li>Geology, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>-354.</li>
+<li>Gilbert, G. K., cited, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li>
+<li>Glacial epoch, brief account of, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>-316.
+  <ul><li>Extent of glaciers during, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>-8.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Glacier Peak, Wash., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>Glass sand, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>.</li>
+<li>Glottoff, reference to, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</li>
+<li>Gold, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>-346, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>-352.
+  <ul><li>Mountains, Canada, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Governor's palace, Uxmal, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+<li>Grand Cañon of the Colorado, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-135.
+  <ul><li>Sketch of, <a href="#Page_134">135</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Gray, A., cited, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</li>
+<li>Great Abaco, reference to, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li>
+<li>Great Bahama Bank, brief account of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.
+  <ul><li>Basin, brief account of, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>-146.</li>
+      <li>Basin, map of, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li>
+      <li>Lakes, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+      <li>Plains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>-106.</li>
+      <li>Plateaus, brief account of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>-106.</li>
+      <li>Salt Lake, Utah, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>-142.</li>
+      <li>Valley of California, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>-161.</li></ul></li>
+<li>"Greater St. Lawrence," <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li>
+<li>Growth of the continent, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>-306.</li>
+<li>Guatemala, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Gulf of California, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.
+  <ul><li>of Mexico, continental shelf on border of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>-2.</li>
+      <li>of Mexico, map of west coast of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li>
+      <li>Plains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>-95.</li>
+      <li>Stream, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li>
+      <li>Stream, volume, etc., of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>-25.</li></ul></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Haida Indians, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</li>
+<li>Haiti, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Harbours, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>-58.</li>
+<li>Harney Peak, S. D., elevation of, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+<li>Hawaiian Islands, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+<li>Hawaii, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Hayden, F. V., cited, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li>
+<li>Hayes, C. W., cited, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li>
+<li>Heilprin, A., cited, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li>
+<li>Henry Mountains, Utah, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li>
+<li>Henshaw, W. H., cited, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>Hetch Hetchy Valley, Cal., <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li>
+<li>High plateaus, brief account of, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>-134.</li>
+<li>Hill, R. T., cited, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.
+  <ul><li>Map by, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Holland, possessions of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Holmes, W. H., cited, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+<li>Honduras, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Hood, Mt., Ore., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>Hornaday, W. T., cited, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li>
+<li>Horticulture by Indians, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>-387.</li>
+<li>Houses of Indians, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>-394.
+  <ul><li>Innuits, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>-369.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Hudson River, submerged channel of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>-9, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li>
+<li>Humboldt, A. von, cited, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li>
+<li>Huxley, T. H., cited, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+<li>Hydrocarbons, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>-342.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Ice, changes in coasts due to, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>-51.
+  <ul><li>Subsoil, in Alaska, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li>
+      <li>Deposited <i>débris</i> on continental shelf, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>-7.</li>
+      <li>Palace, Montreal, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Igneous rocks, brief account of, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>-326.
+  <ul><li>Terranes, economic importance of, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>-332.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Impracticable boundaries, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>-418.</li>
+<li>Indians, account of, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>-406.
+  <ul><li>Census of, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</li>
+      <li>Treatment of, by United States and Canada, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>-403.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Innuit, meaning of the term, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.</li>
+<li>Innuits, brief account of, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>-372.</li>
+<li>Intrusive sheets, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>-321.</li>
+<li>Iron Mountain, Mo., <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li>
+<li>Iron ores, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>-344.</li>
+<li>Iroquois, houses of, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>-388.</li>
+<li>Irrigation practised by Indians, <a href="#Page_386">386</a>.</li>
+<li>Irving, W., reference to, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>Islands, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>-31.</li>
+<li>Isobars, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li>
+<li>Isotherms, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Jackson, S., reference to, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li>
+<li>Jamaica, terraces on, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li>
+<li>James River, Va., submerged channel of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li>
+<li>Japan current, reference to, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li>
+<li>Jeff Davis Peak, Nev., height of, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li>
+<li>Jefferson, Mt., Ore., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>Johnson, W. D., cited, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li>
+<li>Judas-tree, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Kamlayka, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li>
+<li>Kara Sea, life in, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+<li>Katahdin, Mt., Me., height of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li>
+<li>Kayaks, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>-371.</li>
+<li>Kittatinny peneplain, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li>
+<li>Knowlton, F. H., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>Kowak River, Alaska, ice near, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Labrador, boundary of, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.
+  <ul><li>Topography of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>-72.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Laccoliths, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li>
+<li>Lake plains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>-101.</li>
+<li>Lakes, enclosed, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li>
+<li>Languages, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>-360.</li>
+<li>Language spoken in America, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.</li>
+<li>Laurentian Highlands, brief account of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-88.
+  <ul><li>Lakes, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Leidy, J., cited, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>-314.</li>
+<li>Lesquereux, L., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>Life on the continental shelf, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>-16.
+  <ul><li>Realms, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>-260.</li>
+      <li>Regions and life-zones, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>-262.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Limestones, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>-335.</li>
+<li>Little Bahama Bank, brief account of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li>
+<li>Llano Estacado, El, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>-109.</li>
+<li>Lodge of Blackfoot Indians, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</li>
+<li>Logan, Mt., Yukon, height of, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li>
+<li>Longhouse of Iroquois, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>-388.</li>
+<li>Lookout Mountain, Tenn., section through, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li>
+<li>Lost mountains, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+<li>Lower Austral climatic province, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>-194.</li>
+<li>Luigi, Prince, ascent of Mt. St.
+  <ul><li>Elias, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li><i>Lutra canadensis</i>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Mackenzie River, delta of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li>
+<li>McKinley, Mt., Alaska, height of, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li>
+<li>Magnolia, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li>
+<li>Maine, map of coast of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li>
+<li>Mammalian families peculiar to America, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>-288.</li>
+<li>Mammals, classification of, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-264.</li>
+<li>Mansfield, Mt., N. H., height of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+<li>Marcy, Mt., N. Y., height of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>Marl, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>.</li>
+<li>Marsh, O. C., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.</li>
+<li>Massachusetts, boundary of, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</li>
+<li>Mauvaises terres, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li>
+<li>Maya houses, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</li>
+<li>Mayas, culture of, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.</li>
+<li>Mazama, Mt., Ore., <a href="#Page_153">153</a>-155.
+  <ul><li>Height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li><i>Mazama</i>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>-275.</li>
+<li>Mazamas, the, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>.</li>
+<li><i>Mephitis mephitica</i>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.</li>
+<li>Merriam, C. H., cited, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li>
+<li>Merrimac River, boundary near, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</li>
+<li>Metamorphic rocks, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>-324.
+  <ul><li>Terranes, economic importance of, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>-353.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Metamorphism, nature of, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li>
+<li>Mexico, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>Boundary of, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</li>
+  <li>Indians of, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Mica, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li>
+<li>Migration of birds, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>-296.</li>
+<li>Miquelon, retained by France, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+<li>Mississippi Delta, map of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.
+  <ul><li>River, delta of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>-55.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Mobile Bay, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li>
+<li>Monadnock, definition of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li>
+<li>Moose, brief account of, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>-270.</li>
+<li>Morgan, L. H., cited, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>Mountain boundaries, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>-414.
+  <ul><li>Sheep, brief account of, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>-273.</li>
+      <li>Goat, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>-275.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Muir, John, cited, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li>
+<li>Musk-ox, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>-266.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Navidad Bank, reference to, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li>
+<li>Neogæic life realm, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+<li>Neolithic, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.</li>
+<li>Newark system, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li>
+<li>Newberry, J. S., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>New Brunswick, mountains of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>Newcastle, Del., boundary in reference to, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>.</li>
+<li>New England, mountains of, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>-83.</li>
+<li>Newfoundland, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>Continental shelf bordering, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+      <li>French rights in, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+      <li>Jurisdiction over Labrador, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>New Hampshire, boundary of, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</li>
+<li>New Jersey, boundary of, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>-412.
+  <ul><li>Subsidence of coast of, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>New York, boundary of, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>-412.
+  <ul><li>Mountains of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Nicaragua, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Nordenskiöld cited, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li>
+<li>Notogæic life realm, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+<li>Notre Dame Mountains, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Olympic Mountains, Wash., <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+<li>Onyx marble, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>.</li>
+<li>Oomiak, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li>
+<li>Ores, deposition of, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li>
+<li>Origin of the aborigines, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>-357.</li>
+<li>Otter, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li>
+<li>Ouachita Mountains, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li>
+<li>Ozark Uplift, description of, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>-94.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Pacific forest, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>-249.
+  <ul><li>Mountains, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>-136.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Paleolithic, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.</li>
+<li>Palms, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>-224.</li>
+<li>Panama, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Park Mountains, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>-130.</li>
+<li>Parkies, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li>
+<li>Peneplain, definition of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>-70.</li>
+<li>Pennsylvania, boundary of, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>.</li>
+<li>Perry, W. A., cited, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li>
+<li>Petroleum, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>-340.</li>
+<li>Physiographic divisions, map of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li>
+<li>Piedmont plateau, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>-70.</li>
+<li>Pines, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>-233, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>-249.</li>
+<li>Pitt, Mt., Ore., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>Planetary winds, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>-179.</li>
+<li>Plant life, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>-257.</li>
+<li>Plateaus, treeless, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>-253.</li>
+<li>Platinum, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</li>
+<li>Playas, characteristics of, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.
+  <ul><li>Examples of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li>
+  <li>Description of, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Plutonic plug, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li>
+<li>Point Barrow, Alaska, life in the sea near, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.
+  <ul><li>Tides at, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Polar bear, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li>
+<li>Political control, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>-424.
+  <ul><li>Geography, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>-426.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Population of North America, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Porto Rico, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Possessions held by European governments, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Potomac River, submerged channel of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li>
+<li>Pourtales, L. F., work of in Caribbean region, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li>
+<li>Powell, J. W., cited, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</li>
+<li>Prairies, brief account of, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li>
+<li>Prairie plains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>-99.</li>
+<li>Prescott, W. H., reference to, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li><i>Pteranodon</i>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.</li>
+<li>Pueblo Indians, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.</li>
+<li>Pueblos, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</li>
+<li>Puget Sound basin, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>-161.
+  <ul><li>Origin of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+      <li>Map of, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Pyramid Lake, Nev., <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Rainier, Mt., Wash., photograph of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.
+  <ul><li>Height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Raton Mesa, N. M., <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li>
+<li>Redwood forests of California, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>-246.</li>
+<li>Reindeer in Alaska, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li>
+<li>Reptiles of the Mesozoic, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.</li>
+<li>Republics, American, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</li>
+<li>Resources used by Indians, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-387.</li>
+<li>River deltas, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>-55.</li>
+<li>Rocky Mountains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>-136.
+  <ul><li>Of Canada, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Rogers, H. D., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>Russian-American Company, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.
+  <ul><li>Houses, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>St. Elias, Mt., Alaska, height of, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.
+  <ul><li>Elevation of coast near, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li>
+  <li>Not a volcano, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>St. François Mountains, Mo., height of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li>
+<li>St. Helens, Mt., Wash., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>St. John, N. B., tides at, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+<li>St. Lawrence estuary, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>-56.
+  <ul><li>River, submerged channel of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>St. Pierre, retained by France, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+<li>Salt, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>-342.</li>
+<li>Salvador, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>San Clemente Island, Cal., <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li>
+<li>San Domingo, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>San Francisco Bay, Cal., origin of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+<li>San Juan Islands, Wash., <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</li>
+<li>San Louis Park, Col., <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li>
+<li>Sand-hills, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-113.</li>
+<li>Sandstone, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>-333.</li>
+<li>Santa Catalina Island, Cal., <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li>
+<li>Santa Cruz Island, Cal., <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li>
+<li>Santa Domingo, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>Santa Rosa Island, Cal., <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li>
+<li>Sargent, C. S., cited, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li>
+<li>Schaffner, D. C., maps compiled by, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.</li>
+<li>Schooley peneplain, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>-81.</li>
+<li>Schools for Indians, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>-402.</li>
+<li>Sclater, P. L., cited, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+<li>Scott, Mt., Ore., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>Seasons, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>-182.</li>
+<li>Section through Black Hills of Dakota, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.
+  <ul><li>Lookout Mountain, Tenn., <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Sedimentary rocks, brief account of, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>-316.
+  <ul><li>Terranes, economic importance of, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>-346.</li></ul></li>
+<li><i>Sequoia gigantea</i>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>-246.
+  <ul><li><i>Sempervirens</i>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>-244.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Shenandoah peneplain, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li>
+<li>Sierra Blanca, N. M., <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li>
+<li>Sierran epoch, mention of, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li>
+<li>Sierra Nevada Mountains, Cal., brief account of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>-158.</li>
+<li>Sigsbee Deep, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li>
+<li>Silver, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.
+  <ul><li>Pine, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Six Nations of New York, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</li>
+<li>Skunk, brief account of, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>-282.</li>
+<li>Solóvioff, I. M., reference to, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</li>
+<li>Spain, former possessions of, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+<li><i>Sphagnum</i>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li>
+<li>Spring-time music, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>-298.</li>
+<li>Stony Mountains, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>-127.</li>
+<li>Stream deposits, changes in coast-lines due to, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>-55.</li>
+<li>Subarctic forest plains, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>-102.</li>
+<li>Submerged river channels, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>-10.</li>
+<li>Subsequent drainage, example of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li>
+<li>Subsidences of coasts, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>-63.</li>
+<li>Subtuberant mountains, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>.</li>
+<li>Sugar-pine, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li>
+<li>Superimposed drainage, example of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li>
+<li>Susquehanna River, submerged channel of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li>
+<li>Sutton, Mt., N. B., height of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>Synclinal mountains, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Tahoe Lake, Cal.&mdash;Nev., <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+<li>Talc, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li>
+<li>Tarr, R. S., map of co-tidal lines by, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li>
+<li>Tepee of Indians, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</li>
+<li>Terraces on islands of California coast, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.
+  <ul><li>Sea, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>-34.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Thomas, C, cited, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>Thunder-storms, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>-207.</li>
+<li>Tides, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>-30.
+  <ul><li>in rivers, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Timber-line, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</li>
+<li>Tlingit Indians, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</li>
+<li>Topography of coasts, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>-55.</li>
+<li>Tornadoes, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li>
+<li>Transition climatic province, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>-201.</li>
+<li>Treaty of Ghent, reference to, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</li>
+<li>Treeless mountain tops, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>-257.
+  <ul><li>Plains, brief account of, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>-253.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Tropical climatic province, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>-191.
+  <ul><li>Forests, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>-227.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Tundra, brief account of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>-68.</li>
+<li>Turner, H. W., cited, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+<li>Tyrrell, J. B., cited, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Union, Mt., Ore., height of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>United Kingdom, possessions of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+<li>United States, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>Boundaries of, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>-418.</li>
+      <li>Treatment of Indians by, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>-403.</li>
+      <li>Coast and Geodetic Survey, reference to work of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li>
+      <li>Fish Commission, reference to work of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Upper Austral climatic province, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>-197.</li>
+<li>Uxmal, Yucatan, panorama of, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Vancouver, B. C., firs of, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.
+  <ul><li>Mountains, B. C., <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Van Hise, C. R., cited, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</li>
+<li>"Vega," voyage of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li>
+<li>Veniaminoff, reference to, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</li>
+<li>Virginia creeper, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li>
+<li>Volcanic mountains, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>-121.</li>
+<li>Volcanoes, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>-318.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Wallace, A. R., cited, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+<li>Wapiti, brief account of, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>-271.</li>
+<li>Ward, L. F., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>Washington, Mt., N. H., height of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+<li>Water boundaries, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>-413.
+  <ul><li>Mineral, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>West Indian hurricanes, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li>
+<li>West Indies, Danish, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.
+  <ul><li>French, area and population of, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+      <li>Indians of, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>.</li>
+      <li>Political division of, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>-423.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Whirlwinds, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li>
+<li>White, D., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>White, I. C., cited, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>White, Mt., Nev., height of, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li>
+<li>White Mountains, N. H., forests of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li>
+<li>Whiteface, Mt., N. Y., height of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>Whitney, J. D., cited, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li>
+<li>Whitney, Mt., Cal., height of, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li>
+<li>Willis, Bailey, cited, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li>
+<li>Winds, planetary, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>-179.</li>
+<li>Winnemucca Lake, Nev., <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+<li>Wolves, brief account of, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>-287.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Yellow pine, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li>
+<li>Yosemite Valley, Cal., <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li>
+<li>Yucatan, continental shelf bordering, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.
+  <ul><li>Topography of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>Yukon River, delta of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>Zuñi, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.
+  <ul><li>&nbsp;</li></ul></li>
+</ul>
+
+<div class="subhdr-smcap">THE END</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+
+
+<h4 class="center"><a name="Corrections" id="Corrections"></a>List Of Corrections</h4>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+Transcriber's Note: Blank pages have been deleted. Some illustrations have
+been moved. We have rendered consistent on a per-word-pair basis the
+hyphenation or spacing of such pairs when repeated in the same grammatical
+context. Detected publisher's errors were corrected as listed below:
+
+ Page          Correction
+
+   5    both calcareous and silicious[siliceous]
+  12    Carribbean[Caribbean]
+  18    Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean[Caribbean] region:
+  60    Taking the better-known[better known] portions of North America
+  72    and are hard and resistent[resistant]
+ 103    "Land oh[ho]!" is no more thrilling
+ 105    where preciptation[precipitation] is abundant
+ 126    Bamf[Banff], Lake Louise, Glacier House,
+ 131    related to this phase of volcanism[vulcanism] is the
+ 139    in Nevada and southestern[southeastern] California
+ 150    hard rocks thus exposed [were] rounded
+ 176    to take a more criticial[critical] view
+ 179    wind blows with remarkable unformity[uniformity]
+ 203    are cultivated with moderate successs[success].
+ 263    the terra calente[caliente] of Mexico
+ 271    from civilization is[are] great
+ 281    skunks belong to the family Mustalidæ[Mustelidæ]
+ 290    and the pecular[peculiar] hoazin, represented
+ 363    the plating[plaiting] of baskets and the art
+ 430    Sub-soil[Subsoil], in Alaska, 68.
+ 431    Mephities[Mephitis] mephitica, 280.
+ 431    Micquelon[Miquelon], retained by France, 419.
+ 433    St. Francois[François] Mountains, Mo., height of,
+ 433    Solóvieff[Solóvioff], I. M., reference to, 374
+ 433    St. Helena[Helens], Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+ 434    Wapati[Wapiti], brief account of, 270-271.
+
+</pre>
+
+<div><a href="#Start">Return to beginning.</a></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of North America, by Israel C. Russell
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,16226 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of North America, by Israel C. Russell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: North America
+
+Author: Israel C. Russell
+
+Release Date: May 3, 2011 [EBook #36024]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORTH AMERICA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Henry Gardiner and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's note: The original publication has been replicated
+faithfully except as listed in the List Of Corrections at the end of the
+text. Words in italics are indicated like _this_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                        Appletons' World Series
+
+                       _THE REGIONS OF THE WORLD_
+
+                               EDITED BY
+
+                         H. J. MACKINDER, M.A.
+
+                      _Reader in Geography in the
+                          University of Oxford_
+
+                 Each complete in One Volume, Large 8vo.
+
+
+    BRITAIN AND THE BRITISH SEAS
+      By the EDITOR
+
+    WESTERN EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
+      By ELISEE RECLUS
+
+    CENTRAL EUROPE
+      By JOSEPH PARTSCH, Ph.D.
+
+    SCANDINAVIA AND THE ARCTIC REGION
+      By Sir CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, K.C.B.,
+        F.R.S., President Royal Geog. Soc.
+
+    THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE
+      By PRINCE KROPOTKIN
+
+    THE NEARER EAST
+      By D. G. HOGARTH, M.A.
+
+    AFRICA
+      By J. SCOTT KELTIE, LL.D., Sec. R. G. S.
+
+    INDIA
+      By Colonel Sir THOMAS HOLDICH, K.C.I.E.,
+        C.B., R.E.
+
+    THE FARTHER EAST
+      By ARCHIBALD LITTLE
+
+    NORTH AMERICA
+      By ISRAEL C. RUSSELL, LL.D.
+
+    SOUTH AMERICA
+      By JOHN C. BRANNER, LL.D.
+
+    AUSTRALASIA AND ANTARCTICA
+      By H. O. FORBES, LL.D.
+
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 1.--North America.
+
+From a photograph of a relief map by Victor and Cosmos Mindeleff. Scales
+of original: Horizontal, 120 miles to 1 inch; vertical, 40,000 feet to 1
+inch: proportion, 1:16.]
+
+
+
+
+                             NORTH AMERICA
+
+                                  BY
+
+                            ISRAEL C. RUSSELL
+
+           PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
+
+                        _With Maps and Diagrams_
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+             NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1904
+
+                            COPYRIGHT, 1904
+                       BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+                                PREFACE
+
+
+The aim of this book is to give a condensed and, I trust, readable
+account of the leading facts concerning the North American continent
+which, from the point of view of the geographer, seem most interesting
+and instructive. The area of the continent is so vast and the diversity
+among its various parts so great, however, that the completeness of
+treatment which characterizes the preceding volumes in the series to
+which it belongs could not be attempted. To obviate in a measure this
+confessed shortcoming, there has been appended to each chapter a list of
+books which will enable the reader to continue the studies outlined in
+it.
+
+A complete review of the geography of a continent should, as it seems to
+me, be divided into two parts: first, a discussion of the natural
+conditions, or physical geography, and, second, man's dependence on and
+use of the natural resources, or economic geography. Each of these two
+leading phases of the subject was embraced in the preliminary outline of
+the present volume, but owing to a desire to make each chapter as
+complete as practicable, and also on account of limitations as to space,
+the treatment of the economic phases of geography has been necessarily
+brief. But little more can be claimed for the book as finished than that
+it is an attempt to describe some of the more prominent and attractive
+aspects of the natural conditions pertaining to North America.
+
+While writing this book I have become more and more impressed with the
+incompleteness and inadequacy of the printed records relating to the
+geography of the continent of which it treats. Extensive tracts,
+particularly in the far North, have not been traversed by observant men,
+vast areas throughout the continent have not been surveyed and mapped,
+and even in the somewhat thickly inhabited portions of the more
+enlightened countries there are large districts in reference to the
+geography of which there is but little critical information available.
+Under these conditions it seemed best to select typical examples of
+various geographical features from the better known portions of the
+continent to represent the conditions throughout the less thoroughly
+explored domain in which they are situated, and at the same time serve
+to illustrate the highly creditable advances made by American
+geographers in definitely formulating the principles of physiography.
+The book may, in a measure, be considered as an attempt to present in
+popular form a report of progress concerning the study of the
+geographical development of North America at the beginning of the
+twentieth century.
+
+                                                       I. C. R.
+
+
+
+
+                             CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                      PAGE
+
+    I. THE MARGIN OF THE CONTINENT                                1
+
+        The continental shelf--The submarine topography of the
+        Caribbean region--Movements of the ocean
+        waters--Islands--Topography of the coast--Estuaries and
+        harbours.
+
+    II. THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LAND                               60
+
+        Coastal plains and plateaus--The Atlantic mountains--The
+        continental basin--The Pacific mountains--The Antillean
+        mountains.
+
+    III. CLIMATE                                                173
+
+        The elements of climate--Climatic provinces--Secondary
+        disturbances of the atmosphere--Evaporation.
+
+    IV. PLANT LIFE                                              215
+
+        The forests--Prairies, treeless plains, and
+        plateaus--The treeless mountain tops.
+
+    V. ANIMAL LIFE                                              258
+
+        General principles of geographical
+        distribution--Life-regions and life-zones--The
+        mammals--Some representative mammals--The birds.
+
+    VI. GEOLOGY                                                 299
+
+        The growth of the continent--The rocks of which the
+        continent is composed--The concentration of mineral
+        substances.
+
+    VII. THE ABORIGINES                                         355
+
+        The Eskimos--The Indians.
+
+    VIII. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY                                   408
+
+        Classification of boundaries--Political
+        control--Population in 1900.
+
+    INDEX                                                       427
+
+
+
+
+                          LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                             COLOURED MAPS
+
+    PLATE                                                PAGE
+
+       I. Orographical features                            25
+
+      II. Mean annual rainfall and temperature            173
+
+     III. Climate and life provinces                      185
+
+      IV. Leading geological features                     306
+
+       V. Pleistocene glacial deposits                    315
+
+      VI. Linguistic stocks of Indians North of Mexico    370
+
+     VII. Distribution of governments                     410
+
+    VIII. Characteristic vegetation                       418
+
+
+                          OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+    FIG.                                                 PAGE
+
+     1. Relief map of North America            _Frontispiece_
+
+     2. Profile of a continental shelf                      2
+
+     3. Map of Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean region,
+          showing topography of the sea-floor              17
+
+     4. Co-tidal lines                                     29
+
+     5. Profile of sea-cliff and cut-and-built terrace     33
+
+     6. Map of a portion of the Atlantic coast of the
+          United States                                    35
+
+     7. Map of Mobile Bay                                  36
+
+     8. Map of Cape Cod                                    37
+
+     9. Map of the coast of Texas                          39
+
+    10. Map of a portion of the coast of Maine             45
+
+    11. Map of the coast of southeastern Alaska            47
+
+    12. Map of the delta of the Mississippi                53
+
+    13. Map giving the names of the larger physiographic
+          divisions of North America                       61
+
+    14. Altitude map of North America                      65
+
+    15. Map of the Appalachian Mountains                   74
+
+    16. Section of anticlinal valleys and synclinal
+          mountains                                        78
+
+    17. Profile showing relation of ancient peneplains
+          in the Appalachians                              81
+
+    18. Section through the Black Hills of Dakota         117
+
+    19. Sketch of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River  134
+
+    20. Map of the Great Basin                            137
+
+    21. Map of Crater Lake, Oregon                        153
+
+    22. Mount Rainier, Washington                         154
+
+    23. Map of Puget Sound                                161
+
+    24. Map showing isobars for January and July          175
+
+    25. Ice-palace, Montreal                              199
+
+    26. Map showing tracks of West Indian hurricanes      209
+
+    27. Map showing depth of evaporation
+          in the United States                            212
+
+    28. Map showing distribution of forests               215
+
+    29. Douglas firs, Vancouver                           241
+
+    30. View in redwood forest of California, from
+           photograph by U. S. Bureau of Forestry         242
+
+    31. Bison at Silver Heights, Winnipeg                 275
+
+    32. Map showing range of bison                        276
+
+    33. Maps showing the growth of the North American
+          continent                                       303
+
+    34. Map showing the distribution of coal-fields       336
+
+    35. Ideal section through an oil and gas
+          pool beneath an anticlinal                      339
+
+    36. Lodge or tepee of Blackfoot
+          Indians, Manitoba                               387
+
+    37. Panorama of Uxmal, Yucatan                        390
+
+    38. Pointed arches in Central American ruins          393
+
+    39. Carved stonework, Uxmal, Yucatan                  394
+
+
+
+
+                             NORTH AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER I
+
+                    THE MARGIN OF THE CONTINENT--THE
+                           CONTINENTAL SHELF
+
+
+In beginning the study of the physical geography of North America, one
+of the first facts to claim attention is that the true continental
+border is in general many miles seaward from the present margin of the
+land. The boundary of our field of study is defined with considerable
+accuracy by a line drawn on the bottom of the sea adjacent to the
+present coast-line of the continent so as to pass through all points
+where the soundings show a depth of 100 fathoms of water. This
+100-fathom contour in the topography of the sea-floor chances to
+coincide in a general way with the outline of the submerged border of
+the continent; landward from it the bottom rises with a gentle slope,
+while seaward the descent is usually steep down to a depth of 2,000 or
+more fathoms.
+
+A gently sloping shelf-like border surrounds the deep central basin of
+the Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 3). To the west and north of Yucatan and west
+of Florida the shelf is from 140 to 160 miles broad, with a surface
+slope towards the centre of the Gulf of less than 6 feet to a mile--a
+slope so gentle that were the surface of the shelf exposed to view, no
+eye could distinguish it from a perfect plain. The deepest sounding yet
+obtained in the central part of the Gulf, approximately midway between
+Yucatan and Florida, shows a depth of 2,119 fathoms. The remarkable fact
+is that the slope from the 100-fathom line to the bottom of the central
+basin of the Gulf is precipitous. In two places on the border of
+the Yucatan bank a descent of about 8,500 feet occurs within a
+horizontal distance of 15 or 20 miles.
+
+On the east side of the southern extremity of Florida, and again on the
+eastern shore of Yucatan, the continental shelf is only about 5 miles
+broad; these are the nearest approaches of the present land to the
+actual border of the continent to be found on the Atlantic coast. The
+explanation of these exceptional conditions is that both Florida and
+Yucatan are portions of the continental shelf which have been raised so
+as to form low emerged plains.
+
+From Cape Hatteras northward to the extremity of the Newfoundland Banks
+the shelf increases gradually in breadth from about 15 miles in the
+region of the Carolinas to over 100 miles off the coast of Maine. The
+outer border of the shelf is an irregular curving line. Opposite the
+coast of Massachusetts and Maine an extension of the Atlantic basin
+reaches within 15 or 20 miles of the present margin of the land. The
+manner in which the low plain fringing the eastern border of the United
+States passes beneath the waters of the Atlantic and becomes a
+continental shelf is illustrated by Fig. 2.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Ideal profile through a continental shelf.]
+
+Southeast of Newfoundland the continental shelf has an irregular
+surface, marked by shoals and depressions, and furnishes the most
+valuable fishing-banks in the world. The 100-fathom curve is there over
+500 miles from the coast. This is the broadest portion of the
+continental shelf now known on the Atlantic border of the continent.
+Northward of Newfoundland the Atlantic basin extends far into Davis
+Strait and Baffin Bay, and then its border swings outward about
+Greenland, but its true margin is there but imperfectly known.
+
+To the north of the arctic coast of North America, as is suggested in
+part by the soundings made by Nansen, the submerged margin of the
+continent is probably broad and presents a steep escarpment to the
+arctic basin, but the outline of the true continent, as in the case of
+the present land extension in that direction, is unknown.
+
+Soundings to the north of Cape Lisburne, on the northwest coast of
+Alaska, show that the 100-fathom curve is there over 200 miles from
+land. The exceptionally shallow sea covering this portion of the shelf
+continues westward to the coast of Asia, and southward through Bering
+Strait, so as to embrace the eastern portion of Bering Sea. The
+continental mass of North America is thus directly connected with the
+continental mass of Asia. A rise of the bottom of less than 200 feet in
+Bering Strait would bring about a land connection between the Old and
+the New World. This, as will appear later, is a most significant fact to
+students of geography and geology.
+
+On the Pacific coast of North America the continental shelf is
+throughout much narrower than its average breadth on the Atlantic side
+of the continent, and is also more deeply submerged on its seaward
+border. The broad platform beneath the northern and eastern portions of
+Bering Sea--from which rise the low islands, St. Lawrence, St. Matthew,
+Nunivak, and the Pribilof group, now separated by water from 25 to 35
+fathoms deep--extends to the south of the more easterly of the Aleutian
+Islands, and is prolonged eastward along the south border of Alaska,
+where the 100-fathom curve is from 10 to 20 miles from the coast-line,
+and approaches still nearer the land in the neighbourhood of the islands
+of southeastern Alaska and British Columbia. The shelf is narrow but
+well defined along the coasts of Washington and Oregon. Adjacent to
+California, Mexico, and Central America, its outer margin is barely 10
+miles from land. Throughout the entire distance from the Aleutian
+Islands to Panama the outer border of the shelf is in general well
+defined, and its seaward escarpment descends abruptly to the floor of
+the vast Pacific basin, where the sounding-line shows depths of
+from 2,000 to 3,000 fathoms.
+
+Could the waters of the sea be removed and North America viewed from a
+distance, in the manner we are enabled to examine the surface features
+of the moon through a powerful telescope, an observer would behold a
+great plateau, having the present well-known triangular shape of the
+continent, rising boldly between the Atlantic and the Pacific basins.
+The surface of the plateau would be rough, in comparison with the
+generally smooth contours of the adjacent troughs, but even the highest
+mountains would be less in elevation above its general surface than the
+crests of its bordering escarpments above the adjacent depressions. The
+mountain-peaks when illuminated by the sun would appear as points of
+light with long, tapering morning and evening shadows, and the east and
+west plateau-borders would be strongly drawn bands of light or shadow,
+according to the time of day, 6,000 or 8,000 miles in length. The
+Bermuda, Hawaiian, and other islands now rising above the surface of the
+deep sea would stand on its desiccated floor as isolated, gigantic
+mountains--"Bermuda mountain" with an elevation of 15,000 feet, and the
+Hawaiian group of peaks with a culminating point of light 30,000 feet
+above the surrounding plain. The bordering slopes of the "North American
+plateau" and its slightly bevelled margin forming the present
+continental shelf would be lacking in details, and appear as a vast,
+smooth, curving belt of light or shadow, in striking contrast to the
+roughened surface now above water.
+
+The North American continent is not exceptional in being partially
+submerged at the present time. Similar conditions occur about the
+margins of other continents which, as is well known, are fringed with
+broad submarine terraces built in part of their own _debris_. In fact,
+every large land mass on the earth under existing climatic conditions
+and present distribution of life, if it remained moderately stable for a
+sufficient length of time, would have a submarine shelf built about its
+borders.
+
+_Of what is the Continental Shelf Composed?_--The rocks forming the
+present land surface of North America extend seaward from the existing
+shores and constitute the basal portions of the continental shelf, thus
+suggesting that the submerged platform is due, in part at least, to
+shore erosion--the waves having eaten into the land so as to make a
+terrace. That this is not the true explanation, however, may be shown in
+several ways.
+
+The superficial covering which gives the continental shelf its smooth
+contours is composed largely of sediments such as rivers bring from the
+land. This material is coarsest and in greatest abundance near shore and
+decreases both in the size of the particles composing it and in
+abundance towards the seaward borders of the shelf. The wash from the
+land is mostly deposited within a few miles of the coast-line and, as
+has been shown by dredging, is seldom carried, even under the most
+favourable conditions, more than about 100 miles seaward. Supplementing
+the fragmental material derived from the land, and increasing in
+thickness towards the seaward margin of the continental
+shelf--coincident with the increase in depth of the water--is a deposit
+of light-coloured calcareous mud or ooze, formed of the hard parts of
+animals and plants which live in the waters of the sea. The organisms
+which supply this material are in the main microscopic and live
+especially in the warmer seas in countless myriads. Their dead shells or
+cases fall to the sea-floor in a constant shower, much as the snow falls
+from the air, but continuously year after year and century after
+century. This descent of the hard parts of organisms, both calcareous
+and siliceous, from the waters of the sea has led to the accumulation of
+a sheet of slimy sediment over almost the entire sea-bottom. How thick
+this layer is we have no means of knowing, but it is probably many
+hundreds of feet.
+
+The organic _debris_ falling on the continental shelf descends through
+only a few hundred feet of water and is but little affected by its
+solvent action. The great number of organisms, such as the Foraminifera
+which secrete calcareous tests or "shells" causes the slime on the
+continental shelves to be calcareous and in the condition to form
+limestone if cemented or subjected to sufficient pressure. In the deep
+sea, where the hard parts of dead organisms fall through many thousands
+of feet of water, their more soluble portions are removed and the bottom
+is covered throughout vast areas with a pinkish clay composed of the
+more insoluble residue of the calcareous shells and the cases of
+silica-secreting animals and plants.
+
+The continental shelves are, in general, within the influences of ocean
+currents, and fine _debris_, as we seem justified in concluding, is
+removed from their surfaces, carried beyond their margins, and deposited
+on their seaward slopes. The shelves are thus built outward and are
+largely constructional topographic forms. Their outer slopes, where best
+defined, represent about the "angle of repose" in water of the fine
+material of which they are composed. These slopes are in several regions
+so precipitous that they probably would not retain their present forms,
+but descend in landslides, should the restraining pressure of the
+sea-water be removed.
+
+In certain favoured regions, as about the southern extremity of Florida,
+over an extensive area in the West Indies, and on both sides of Central
+America, the conditions favour the growth of reef-building coral-polyps,
+and portions of the continental shelf in that region are covered with an
+irregular layer of living coral and dead coral rock. The importance of
+this resistant superficial layer on the minor features of the relief of
+the submarine banks, etc., needs to be considered in studying the
+secondary topographic features of many portions of the floor of shallow
+tropical seas.
+
+In addition to the _debris_ from the land and the rain of the hard parts
+of organisms from the water covering the continental shelf there is in
+northern regions a third but less important source of material furnished
+by floating ice. About the northern shores of America sea ice forms in
+winter, some of which is frozen fast to boulders and stones in shallow
+water, and when this ice-foot, as it is termed, is adjacent to steep
+cliffs, rock _debris_ falls upon it. When the ice becomes broken
+into cakes in the spring-time or during storms, it floats away, under
+the influence of the winds and currents, and as it melts drops its
+freight on the floor of the sea. This shore ice seldom travels far, and
+is probably not an important factor in the building of continental
+shelves. Of greater interest are the bergs derived from glaciers,
+especially in Greenland, many of which contain hundreds of thousands and
+even millions of cubic feet of ice and travel hundreds of miles before
+melting. In some instances these bergs carry with them rock masses, mud,
+etc., derived from the land over which their parent glaciers flowed, and
+as they melt, distribute this material over the sea-floor. The greater
+portion of this ice-carried freight derived from Greenland is dropped on
+the continental shelf, and not infrequently reaches the latitude of
+Halifax, and even journeys farther south. This berg-carried _debris_ is
+mainly deposited on the continental shelf, for the reason that the cold
+currents which bring the bergs southward follow the coast in a general
+way, and are bordered on their seaward margins by warmer currents
+flowing northward. To the north of Nova Scotia the additions of material
+to the continental shelf through the agency of bergs is considerable in
+the aggregate, and as the process has been in operation for thousands of
+years, the banks or shoals in the sea off the Newfoundland coast are due
+in part to this cause.
+
+Ice-carried _debris_ forms an important source of material for the
+building of the continental shelf from New England northward and
+westward about the shores of North America, including Greenland, to
+Bering Sea, and to a less extent on the south coast of Alaska, where
+many comparatively small bergs are set afloat by glaciers which reach
+tide-water. Supplementing the distribution of _debris_ over the
+continental shelf by shore ice and bergs, is the similar work carried on
+by the ice discharged into the sea by northern rivers, such as the St.
+Lawrence, Mackenzie, and the Yukon.
+
+During the glacial epoch great ice-sheets like those now discharging
+bergs along the Greenland coast, but vastly larger, entered the
+Atlantic all the way from New York to the Arctic Ocean, and along the
+Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to the State of Washington.
+During certain periods of this time of intense glaciation great
+additions of ice-borne _debris_ must have been made to the continental
+shelf. The banks to the east of Newfoundland and other similar shoals as
+far south as Nantucket are probably due in large part to the _debris_
+deposited by the glaciers which formerly entered the sea in that region.
+It is of interest in this connection to note that the glaciers, even at
+the time of their greatest expansion, could not have extended beyond the
+seaward margin of the continental shelf, for the reason that on passing
+that boundary and entering deep water they must have broken off and
+given origin to bergs.
+
+_Submerged River Channels._--One of the most interesting features in
+connection with the continental shelf bordering North America is that
+its generally plane surface is trenched in several places by canyon-like
+depressions similar to the narrow steep-sided valleys which streams
+sometimes cut in the surfaces of plateaus. This suggestion that the
+surface of the continental shelf is crossed by stream-cut channels is
+supported by the fact that several such depressions, leading seaward
+from the present mouths of large rivers, have been discovered by the
+sounding-line. The best known example occurs off the mouth of the Hudson
+and has been traced from New York Bay about 120 miles seaward to the
+edge of the continental shelf. It is deepest and best defined on the
+outer portion of the submerged plateau, where for a distance of 23
+miles, beginning 97 miles from Sandy Hook, it has an average width of 3
+miles and a maximum depth of about 2,500 feet below the surface of the
+bordering submarine plain, which has 20 fathoms of water over it. This
+canyon opens out in the seaward face of the plateau and forms a deep
+notch in the generally uniform crest-line of that escarpment. Farther
+"up-stream," so to speak, the channel narrows to a mile and a quarter,
+with some irregularities in depth, and near Sandy Hook it is not
+apparent, owing to the amount of _debris_, largely sand, swept into
+it by shore currents. This evidence, strengthened by the fact that the
+true rock-cut valley of the Hudson as far as Troy is filled with clay
+and sand to a considerable but unknown depth, is abundant proof that the
+land was formerly higher than at present by at least 3,000 feet, and
+that the now submerged continental shelf off Long Island was then a
+plain above water, across which the ancient Hudson was extended. The
+river flowed across this plain for a sufficient length of time to
+excavate a canyon over 2,500 feet deep and 3 miles wide from crest to
+crest of its walls in its seaward portion. This submerged channel has
+the characteristics of a young, stream-cut valley and suggests that the
+plain across which it flowed to the eastward of Long Island was a
+submerged continental shelf previous to being upraised so as to be
+trenched by the Hudson.
+
+The evidence as to changes in the elevation of the Atlantic coast
+furnished by the submerged valley of the Hudson does not stand alone.
+Similar but less well-defined channels have been discovered by soundings
+off the mouths of the Delaware and the Susquehanna, while the most
+remarkable instance of all is furnished by the submerged valley of the
+St. Lawrence, which has been traced through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and
+out to the brink of the submerged continental escarpment some 200 miles
+eastward of Nova Scotia. The tide now rises and falls in the St.
+Lawrence to within a few miles of Montreal; that is, the "Greater St.
+Lawrence" has lost about 1,000 miles of its length owing to a downward
+movement of the land.
+
+Evidence of the nature just considered is lacking, or, more correctly,
+surveys and soundings which would perhaps reveal the presence of
+submerged river channels have not been made about the shores of the more
+northerly portion of the continent, but instructive results in this
+connection are to be expected when that region is thoroughly studied.
+
+On the Pacific coast several transverse channels in the continental
+shelf, similar to the submerged valleys of the Hudson, have been
+discovered by soundings, some of which are thought to be true
+stream-cut valleys; others, however, start from the coast where there
+are no rivers entering, and may be due to other and as yet unknown
+causes.
+
+An exceptional feature in the geography of the Pacific coast to the
+south of the United States-Canadian boundary is furnished by the islands
+off the southern portion of California. These islands, of which Santa
+Rosa, Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, and San Clemente are the most
+important, rise from water that is 300 or more fathoms deep to a height
+of from a few hundred to about 2,000 feet above the present sea-level.
+These islands are the summit portions of mountains similar to those
+which give a characteristic relief to southern California. One feature
+concerning the islands referred to which is of interest in connection
+with the study of the continental shelf is the presence on them of
+numerous terraces. These occur on a series of level, step-like areas,
+which sweep about the slopes of the islands, in a general way parallel
+to the present shore-line, and are records of an upward movement of the
+land. The highest well-defined terrace on San Clemente occurs at an
+elevation of 1,320 feet, but there are less distinct beach-lines up to
+1,500 feet above the present sea-level. The evidence of movements of the
+land along the Pacific border of the continent might be multiplied, but
+enough has been stated to show that the western border of North America,
+like its eastern portion, is subject to fluctuation in reference to the
+level of the sea. The line which marks the passage of the solid earth
+beneath the waters of the sea is ever changing, owing to movements in
+the earth's crust. It is ever changing, also, owing to the action of
+waves and currents on the ocean's shores and other causes.
+
+_Life on the Continental Shelf._--No attempt need be made here to give
+an accurate description of the plants and animals which find a congenial
+home on the continental shelf. One needs, however, to have in mind a
+general idea of the wonderful abundance and variety of organic forms in
+the shallow waters adjacent to the continent to fully appreciate the
+changes in the relief of the ocean-floor, in which they play a
+leading part, and also the vast economic importance of these marine
+harvest-fields and pastures, as they may be termed.
+
+The continental shelf fringing North America reaches from within 500
+miles of the equator to probably a less distance of the north pole. Its
+length following its broader curves is in the neighbourhood of 25,000
+miles, and its average width is not far from 50 miles; its area is
+therefore something like 1,000,000 square miles. On account of the vast
+extent of this submarine plain and its great range in latitude, the
+conditions influencing the lives of the plants and animals inhabiting
+its surface or living in the waters covering it vary from place to place
+between wide extremes. The waters resting on it have a mean annual
+surface temperature of from 70 deg. to 80 deg. F. at the south, and about 32 deg. F.
+at the north. In places great rivers and the turbid waters from glaciers
+bring in sediments and form muddy deposits; at other localities the
+currents, as in the path of the Gulf Stream off the Carolina coast,
+sweep the bottom clear of all light _debris_; and again bare rocks of
+limited extent are exposed. The depth of the water resting on the shelf
+varies through all gradations down to 100 fathoms. At the south the
+hours of light and darkness are approximately equal each day, but at the
+north there are six months of sunlight and six months of darkness each
+year. Still other variations, as of strength of currents, salinity,
+etc., exert an influence in this realm and lead to great diversity in
+its living organisms. Throughout its entire extent, however, the
+continental shelf abounds in both plant and animal life.
+
+The plant life of the sea, as has been shown in recent years by the use
+of the dredge and net, is most abundant at the surface and is
+practically absent at the bottom where the water is over 100 fathoms
+deep. The animals of the sea, like those of the land, are dependent
+primarily on plants for their food. By far the most abundant supply of
+food plants in the sea is furnished by minute algae, which float free in
+its water. Below a depth of about 100 fathoms algae are absent because of
+lack of light, and all the deep-sea animals are believed to be
+carnivorous. For these reasons the comparatively shallow waters
+adjacent to the land and mainly covering the continental shelf are the
+most favourably circumstanced of any portion of the sea for the support
+of a teeming fauna.
+
+On the continental shelf of North America, especially to the south of
+Cape Cod on the Atlantic and south of the Aleutian Islands on the
+Pacific coast, there is a warm temperature, light penetrates to the
+bottom except in the unfavourable and fortunately restricted areas of
+muddy water, and motion of the waters produced by currents and the
+pulsations of waves is present. These several favourable conditions
+permit of an exuberance of life such as is unknown to persons who
+confine their attention to the study of land areas.
+
+We may safely say, in the words of Alexander Agassiz, that the abundance
+of life in the many favoured localities of the ocean far surpasses that
+of the richest terrestrial faunal districts. The most thickly populated
+tropical jungle does not compare in wealth of animal or vegetable life
+with certain portions of the continental shelf on the western border of
+the Gulf Stream. In this connection we may also cite Humboldt, who
+before the marvellous revelations in reference to the life of the sea
+made by recent dredging expeditions wrote: "Upon surfaces less varied
+than we find on continents, the sea contains in its bosom an exuberance
+of life of which no other portion of the globe could give us an idea."
+
+The distribution of life in the sea is analogous to the distribution of
+life on land, but in a reverse direction with reference to sea-level. A
+traveller passing from the tropical plains of eastern Mexico and
+ascending Orizaba, for example, crosses successive belts of vegetation,
+each with its indigenous animals, but merging one with another so as to
+make a gradation in the luxuriance of the flora and the abundance of
+animal life from the wonderfully rich plains adjacent to the Gulf coast
+to the snow-capped mountain top. In the sea, the tropical plains with
+their tangled vegetation and plentiful animal life are represented by
+the still more uniform plain forming the submerged continental
+shelf with its strange forests of flowerless plants, the seaweeds. These
+submarine jungles shelter hosts of animal species, many of which swarm
+in countless myriads. This life embraces all grades of invertebrates,
+such as the microscopic protozoa, sponges, radiate animals like the
+coral-polyps, starfishes, sea-urchins, etc., and crustaceans in vast
+variety, and, among vertebrates, includes fishes, reptiles, and mammals.
+Even birds might be included in this category, since many of them are
+more at home on the sea than on the land.
+
+The struggle for food among this multitude is intense. As with many
+animals on the land, adaptive coloration is here a means of escape from
+enemies, and many of the animals assume the brilliant hues of the
+surrounding vegetation. The water is less transparent than air, and in
+the deep sea it is always night. Counteracting to some extent this
+diminution or absence of sunlight, many marine animals are luminous and
+shine with phosphorescent light of many different tints. This property
+is shared also by the animals of the sunny, shallow sea as well as by
+those always living in the cold midnight of the great deep and in the
+polar oceans.
+
+The luxuriant vegetation, both attached and floating, and varying from
+giant kelp, scores of feet in length, to microscopic algae which an
+amoeba might encompass, clothes the surface of the continental shelf
+except in unfavourable localities or is carried here and there by the
+currents moving over it, but has its lower limit at about the 100-fathom
+line. This inferior limit of marine vegetation is probably more
+definitely defined than the superior limit of land plants on snow-capped
+mountains. All attached seaweeds are confined to the shallow seas, but
+floating kelp, like the well-known Gulf weed or sargasso, which collects
+in the eddies of the sea currents and forms more or less mythical
+floating islands, is widely distributed, as are also many kinds of
+minute algae which thrive in the upper 100 fathoms of the open ocean in
+all latitudes. The primary source of food for the hungry millions of
+marine animals, excepting the comparatively small quantity brought
+by rivers or blown from the land, is supplied by the marine algae, and
+mainly by the minute forms which float in the water.
+
+So much space has just been given to the marvellous luxuriance of life
+on the southern portion of the great shelf surrounding North America
+that the reader may perhaps think the cold northern oceans are even more
+lifeless and desolate than their adjacent shores. This, however, is not
+the case.
+
+Northward along the continental shelf, with decrease in the strength of
+the sunlight, the plants and animals lose much of the brilliancy which
+characterizes many of the denizens of southern waters, and in general
+assume more subdued colours in harmony with the prevailing gray of their
+surroundings. The great diversity of animal life to be found in shallow
+tropical seas decreases as one traces the continental shelf northward,
+but even in the Arctic Ocean adjacent to the land invertebrate life
+literally swarms, although the number of species, genera, etc., is
+comparatively limited. Seaweeds are not absent from the Arctic Ocean,
+although its shores, owing to the destructive action of ice, usually
+seem exceedingly barren, and the lower or smaller forms of algae float in
+the waters in abundance. Food sufficient for an extensive fauna is thus
+supplied, and where food is plentiful animals are present also, no
+matter what the mean annual temperature may be.
+
+The life of the Arctic Ocean has been but inadequately studied, but
+enough is known concerning it to show that a promising field there
+awaits the naturalist. On the continental shelf off Point Barrow, the
+most northern portion of the arctic shore of Alaska (latitude 71 deg. 23'),
+180 species of marine invertebrates have been collected. Of these, the
+molluscs numbered 61 species; the crustaceans, 44 species; the worms, 20
+species; and the echinoderms (sea-urchins, starfish, etc.), 17 species.
+
+Nearly all of the Arctic Ocean adjacent to the coast of America is as
+yet unexplored, and we have therefore no direct testimony as to its
+flora and fauna. We may reasonably assume, however, that the life is
+there practically the same as in the waters of similar depth to
+the north of Eurasia. Nordenskioeld, in his narrative of the voyage of
+the Vega, speaks of decapods, worms, mussels, crustacea, and asteroids
+which crawled in myriads over the beds of clay and sand at the bottom of
+the Kara Sea. A detailed account is given of one unusually successful
+haul of the trawl when it brought up large asteroids, sponges, crinoids,
+holothuria, a gigantic spider, masses of worms, crustacea, etc. This was
+the most abundant yield of the trawl-net at any one time during the
+voyage of the Vega on the north coast of Asia, and that, too, from the
+sea off the northern extremity of the continent. The temperature of the
+water at the surface was from zero to -1.4 deg. C. (32 deg. to 29.48 deg. F.), and
+at the bottom from -1.4 deg. to 1.6 deg. C. (29.48 deg. to 34.88 deg. F.). In this
+connection the same distinguished naturalist remarks: "It is singular
+that a temperature under the freezing-point of pure water should be
+advantageous for the development of an animal life so extremely rich as
+that which is found here, and that this animal life should not suffer
+any harm from the complete darkness which during the greater portion of
+the year prevails at the bottom of the ice-covered sea."
+
+To persons who have never visited the far north the statements that
+travellers in those regions give in reference to the abundance of life
+in the sea seems scarcely to be credited. The assertion, however, that
+comparing equal areas in the most populous tropical sea and in portions
+of the Arctic Ocean, the amount of life, or the tons of living animal
+matter per square mile in the two regions, would be in favour of the
+northern station is probably true. In addition to the direct evidence
+indicated above as to the prolific invertebrate life of the cold waters
+of the north, we have still more impressive testimony from the vast
+numbers of birds and large-sized mammals which subsist on this
+abundance, or feed on fishes, which in turn obtain their subsistence
+from the invertebrate realm.
+
+Every rocky island and headland at the north is a breeding-place for
+sea-birds. They are to be numbered by millions, yet their daily food is
+gathered from the surface of the sea. The seals live in large
+numbers about all the arctic shore, and the walruses, each individual
+weighing about a ton, occur in herds; while whales and narwhals inhabit
+the same waters. The presence of such numbers of large mammals is proof
+that the life on which they subsist is abundant.
+
+
+            THE SUBMARINE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION
+
+The studies which have given to the world so much information concerning
+the continental shelf surrounding the main body of North America have
+been continued, or, perhaps more properly, were initiated, in the West
+Indian waters. For this important work we are indebted mainly to the
+United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and the United States Fish
+Commission. The work of officers of the United States Navy in charge of
+Coast Survey and Fish Commission vessels, in making accurate
+measurements of depths, temperatures, strength and direction of
+currents, character of bottom, etc., has, in some instances, been
+commemorated on maps of the sea-floor by such names as Brownson Deep,
+Sigsbee Deep, Bartlett Deep, etc. The routine survey work referred to
+has been supplemented and extended by the labours of Louis Agassiz, L.
+F. Pourtales, Alexander Agassiz, and others in studying the life in the
+sea, the origin and history of the material forming the sea-bottom, and
+the nature of the shelves, banks, deeps, etc., which give diversity to
+its topography.
+
+The continental shelf bordering Florida on the east is separated from a
+similar submarine embankment surrounding the Bahama Islands by a channel
+56 miles wide and from 200 to 500 fathoms deep (Fig. 3).
+This channel when followed northward becomes shallower and broader, and
+opposite the Carolina coast is no longer discernible in the relief of
+the broad continental shelf. The Gulf Stream flows northward through
+this Florida channel, as it is termed, with a current of from 2 to 6
+miles per hour. These conditions are such as to suggest that the channel
+referred to has in part been excavated by the Gulf Stream.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean region:
+topography of sea-floor. The first contour line from the land indicates
+a depth of 600 feet--the outer margin of the continental shelf. Contour
+interval below the 600-foot curve, 3,000 feet. After R. T. Hill.]
+
+The Great Bahama Bank, from which rise the low coral-built Andros
+Islands and a large number of crags and rocks, measures about 360
+geographical miles from southeast to northwest, and has a width of
+approximately 200 geographical miles. Throughout its entire submerged
+portion the water is less than 100, and over much of the area less than
+10 fathoms deep. It is invaded and given an irregular shape, however, by
+a "tongue of the ocean" which curves in from the northward, in which
+soundings of from 700 to 1,000 fathoms have been obtained. To the north
+of the Great Bahama Bank, and separated from it by water nearly 2,000
+fathoms deep, is the Little Bahama Bank, measuring 50 by 150
+geographical miles, from which rises the low islands known as Great
+Bahama, Great Abaco, and a multitude of islets and crags, while beneath
+the water, as is the case also on the greater submarine plateau to the
+south, there are numerous shoals. Southeast from the Great Bahama Bank,
+and in a general view to be classed with it, are several other shallow
+areas in the sea, of similar character, and with numerous islands and
+reefs rising from them. The southeastern terminus of this series of
+plateaus, the surfaces of which have been built up practically to the
+level of the surface of the sea, is the Navidad Bank, situated about 50
+miles to the north of the eastern end of the island of Santo Domingo
+(Haiti) and forms the west border of Brownson Deep. The length of the
+series of banks to the north of the Greater Antilles is about 800, and
+its average width 120 geographical miles.
+
+The unevenness of the surface of the Bahama Banks (and the same is true
+also of the southern portion of Florida, the Yucatan peninsula, and of
+nearly all of the submarine plateaus or banks in West India waters) is
+largely due to the coral reefs and the coral rock formed on them. While
+the outer portion of the continental shelf, in most instances, is formed
+of soft, unconsolidated calcareous mud or ooze, in the tropical seas,
+where the depth, clearness of the water, etc., are favourable,
+reef-building coral-polyps become attached and form massive corals. The
+growth of these corals is irregular, and the surface of the plateaus
+where they are attached becomes roughened. There is a delicate
+adjustment between the growth of reef-building corals and strength of
+current, freedom of exposure to the waves, etc., and they flourish in
+certain localities, as on the windward border of islands, and die at
+other localities. The growth of coral "heads" and reefs changes the
+direction of currents, and the spaces of soft ooze and dead coral
+between the localities most favourable for coral growth are liable to be
+scoured out and the bottom lowered. When coral, together with the shells
+of molluscs and other organic refuse of the teeming life of tropical
+seas, reaches the surface of the water, fragments and even large masses
+are broken off by the force of the waves, ground into calcareous sand
+owing to the movements produced by the waves and currents, and much of
+it heaped on the borders of the reefs so as to raise them above the
+fair-weather level of the sea. Much of this material, when it becomes
+dry, is moved by the winds and built into dunes, thus still further
+increasing the height of the land. Many of the islands in the Bahamas
+have thus been formed, but the process has been modified in the greater
+part of that region by movements in the earth's crust which have
+produced widely extended elevations and depressions. The larger islands
+in the Bahama group are coral platforms which have been moderately
+elevated, and bear on their surfaces extensive accumulations of
+wind-deposited sand. The Yucatan peninsula is also, to a great extent,
+an upraised coral platform. The surfaces of such exposed areas of easily
+soluble calcareous rocks are roughened still more by the action of rain
+and percolating waters, and if subsequently submerged to a moderate
+depth would give origin to "banks" with uneven, and possibly
+conspicuously roughened surfaces. Different stages in this varied
+history are illustrated throughout the West India region.
+
+About the Caribbean coast of Honduras and Nicaragua the continental
+shelf is broad and is termed the Mosquito Bank, in reference to its
+proximity to the widely known coast of that name. Off the northeast cape
+of Honduras this submerged shelf has a breadth of about 125 geographical
+miles, and is succeeded to the eastward by the much smaller,
+isolated, submarine plateau known as the Rosalind Bank. Even on a small
+map, like that forming Fig. 3, it is readily seen that in
+general terms there is a series of banks and low islands extending from
+the Mosquito Coast to Jamaica, Santo Domingo, Porto Rico, and the
+Caribbees. The distance measured along the curved line connecting the
+several areas of shallow water is about 1,700 geographical miles. Should
+this region be upraised 600 feet, the new lands that would appear would
+still, in several instances, be separated by deep water, thus showing
+that although in a generalized view it is convenient to consider the
+banks and shelves referred to as parts of a single great group, there
+are several centres from which they have grown.
+
+A third great group of banks and shoals occurs about the borders of
+Cuba, especially along its southern margin. Associated with this
+submerged plain of calcareous mud, roughened by countless coral crags,
+is a narrow east-and-west ridge in the Caribbean Sea, known in part as
+the Misteriosa Bank, which rises precipitously on its southeast border
+from a depth of over 3,400 fathoms, and is indicated at the surface by
+the Cayman Islands.
+
+The Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region has great depressions or "deeps"
+as well as broad banks or shoals. The submarine topography is, in fact,
+on a more Titanic scale than in any other known region. Brownson Deep,
+some 50 miles north of Porto Rico, has a depth of 4,561 fathoms (27,366
+feet), and the bordering slopes of the depression in certain places, and
+for long distances, have an inclination of 35 degrees. Between 15 and 30
+miles south of Porto Rico the bottom of the Caribbean Sea is 1,500
+fathoms below its surface, and rapidly descends to over 2,400 fathoms.
+Bartlett Deep, a long, narrow depression in the sea-floor, intervening
+in its eastern portion between Cuba and Jamaica, has a depth of 3,428
+fathoms (20,568 feet) measured from the surface of the sea. Sigsbee
+Deep, in the central portion of the Gulf of Mexico, is a third basin of
+similar nature, remarkable for the great extent of its nearly
+level floor, which is from 2,035 to 2,071 fathoms below sea-level. (On
+Fig. 3 only the general depths of these great depressions are
+indicated.) Coupled with the profound depth of the sea in the West
+Indian region are the rugged mountains of the Great Antilles and the
+volcanic cones of the Caribbees. Some of the elevations of the land
+referred to are, in feet, as follows: Porto Rico, 3,609; Jamaica, 7,360;
+Cuba, 8,600; and Santo Domingo, 10,300. The extreme range in the relief
+of the surface of the solid earth (lithosphere) between the bottom of
+Brownson Deep and the summit of Santo Domingo is 37,666 feet--the
+horizontal distance between the two is about 270 geographical miles. No
+mountain on the earth has such an elevation above sea-level. The islands
+of the West Indies are thus shown to be the summits of stupendous
+mountains, the greater portions of which are submerged. The low-lying
+islands, and even the banks which can be discovered only with the aid of
+the sounding-line, are in reality the tops of wonderfully steep
+mountains or plateaus some 20,000 feet in height.
+
+It is a significant fact that the profiles of the partially or wholly
+submerged mountains of the West Indies are, as a rule, steeper than the
+slopes of the mountains on the land with which they may reasonably be
+compared. This is due in part, perhaps, to the greater density of the
+medium in which they stand, the sea-water affording a greater degree of
+support than the air, but the main reason is that beneath a few hundred
+feet of water there is no erosion except the exceedingly slow removal of
+matter in solution. Could the waters of the sea be withdrawn so as to
+reveal the Caribbean Mountains in all of their stupendous grandeur, the
+vast, smooth, sweeping surfaces extending from the horizontal lines
+drawn about the higher summits by the waves and by the deposition of
+sediment and coral growths, down to their bases would be unmarked by
+channels and ridges of the character that give details to the type of
+mountains with which we are most familiar.
+
+An instructive generalization concerning the relief of the West India
+region, suggested by Alexander Agassiz and sustained by the later
+studies of R. T. Hill, is that we there find topographic forms produced
+by movements in the earth's crust which have not been modified by
+erosion. The great elevations rising from the floors of the "deeps" are
+upraised blocks of the earth's crust which have not been beaten by rain,
+shattered by frost, or trenched by rills, creeks, or rivers. They
+illustrate the character of the rough blocks of rock from which many of
+the mountain forms of the land have been sculptured.
+
+This sweeping view, which it seems safe to accept as a generalized
+outline of the history of the topography of the region in question,
+needs to be qualified, as there are known to have been extensive up and
+down movements throughout large areas in that portion of the earth's
+surface. The mountains on Jamaica are scored by horizontal lines marking
+former sea-levels up to a height of 2,000 feet, and similar and still
+higher records are plainly visible on several of the larger West India
+islands. This evidence shows that the present land over a wide extent of
+the Caribbean region was formerly deeply submerged. More than this, the
+rocks forming the higher portions of the Greater Antilles are largely
+composed of more or less consolidated ooze, such as is now found on the
+sea-floor in deep water. This line of evidence shows that what in late
+geological time was the sea-floor has been raised between 20,000 and
+30,000 feet. It is thus known that both upward and downward movements of
+great vertical and great horizontal extent have occurred in the
+Caribbean region. Whatever minor changes the topography of the now
+submerged sea-floor may have suffered owing to emergence, the general
+relief, as suggested above, seems to have resulted from movements in the
+earth's crust, and that these movements, in certain instances at least,
+produced faults--that is, breaks or fissures--along which the rocks were
+upraised on one side or depressed on the other, so as to form great
+cliffs. The precipitous submarine slope forming the northwest border of
+Bartlett Deep may reasonably be interpreted as a great fault scarp. A
+portion of this escarpment rises above the sea and forms the remarkably
+straight and exceedingly rugged south coast of Cuba in the region
+of Santiago. In the main the remarkable submarine topography of the West
+India region presents us with an example of what would have been the
+leading features of several portions of the earth's surface which are
+now land, as, for example, the Great Basin region of Utah, Nevada, etc.,
+had deformation gone on without erosion.
+
+
+                     MOVEMENTS OF THE OCEAN WATERS
+
+To the student of the geography of a continent the climatic and other
+influences of the great ocean currents, as well as the more tangible
+results produced by the waves which break on the borders of the land,
+demand extended and painstaking investigation. The most that we can hope
+to do at present in this connection is to state briefly some of the more
+important influences that the movements of the ocean waters have on the
+climate of North America and on the topography of its shores.
+
+_Currents._--The surface waters of both the north Atlantic and the north
+Pacific, as is the case with all broad water bodies, have a drift and in
+places flow in well-defined currents, mainly on account of the friction
+of the wind on the surface of the sea, aided by variations in the
+density of the water due to differences in temperature and salinity. In
+each ocean there is a great swirl or eddy, for the reason that the
+surface drift and the flow of the deeper currents carry the waters about
+in a rudely circular path, parallel in a general way with the boundaries
+of the respective basins. The direction of this motion, to one situated
+in the central part of either basin, is from left to right, or with the
+movements of the hands of a watch. In the southern portion of each basin
+there is a westward-flowing equatorial current, which in each instance
+is deflected northward on approaching the bordering land, and as it
+continues is still more deflected owing to the influence of the earth's
+rotation, and acquires a northeast trend; on reaching the eastern side
+of the oceanic basins, the currents are again deflected, a portion of
+the one in the Atlantic and all of the one in the Pacific being
+turned southward so as to complete the circuit.
+
+In the southern portion of the north Atlantic the surface drift is
+westward at a rate of four or five miles a day. The waters, forced along
+principally by the trade-winds, flow through the numerous passes between
+the Lesser Antilles and enter the Caribbean Sea, and from thence are
+carried through the Yucatan channel into the Gulf of Mexico. The waters
+are piled up, as it were, in that great landlocked basin, at the same
+time becoming warmer, and receive additions of fresh water from rain and
+inflowing streams. Each of these causes tends to decrease the density of
+the water, while evaporation has a counterbalancing influence. The
+escape for the waters, both salt and fresh, which enter the Gulf, is by
+evaporation and by flowing through the only notch in the rim of the Gulf
+basin which is not in the path of the equatorial current, namely, the
+strait separating Florida from Cuba and the Bahama Islands. These
+outflowing waters form the justly celebrated Gulf Stream.
+
+Between Florida and the shoal waters on the Bahama Banks the Gulf Stream
+is about 50 miles wide, approximately 350 fathoms deep, and flows
+northward at the rate of from four to five miles an hour. Its
+temperature is about 80 deg. F. It is estimated that this great river in the
+ocean carries 90,000,000,000 tons of water per hour past a given
+cross-section. Its course is northward along the immediate border of the
+continental shelf until it arrives opposite the Carolina coast, and
+thence northeastward, thus giving it a constantly increasing distance
+from the land. To the north of the Bahamas it receives as a tributary
+the portion of the equatorial current, perhaps even greater in volume
+than the true Gulf Stream, which is deflected northward by the West
+India Islands and their associated banks. Continuing its course, it is
+deflected still more towards the northeast owing to the influence of the
+earth's rotation, at the same time expanding and losing velocity so as
+to become a surface drift rather than a well-defined current. Under the
+influence of the prevailing westerly winds of the north Atlantic, the
+waters delivered by the Gulf Stream pass the vicinity of the
+British Islands and in part enter the Greenland Sea.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE I.--Orographical features.]
+
+The transfer of the vast amount of warm water carried by the Gulf Stream
+far to the north is counterbalanced in part by a southward-flowing cold
+current which emerges from Davis Strait, and being joined by another
+cold current from the eastward of Greenland, continues southward under
+the name of the Labrador current, past Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to
+the Massachusetts coast, and is thought to exert an influence on the
+temperature of the sea even as far south as Cape Hatteras. While the
+Gulf Stream in the northern portion of its course curves eastward and
+departs from the American coast, the southward-flowing Labrador current
+is turned westward and follows close along the border of the land, and
+mainly over the continental shelf.
+
+The chief effect of the cold current from the north in proximity to the
+coast of the continent is to bring to the adjacent land a lower mean
+annual temperature and especially colder and more stormy winters than it
+would otherwise experience. This tendency is augmented by the icebergs
+carried southward with the Labrador current. In a similar way, the
+northward-flowing warm current gives Florida and the Carolinas a
+subtropical climate, admits of the growth of reef-building corals about
+the Bermuda Islands, and carries so much warmth to northwestern Europe
+that its climate is milder and more humid than one would expect from its
+geographical position.
+
+The currents of the north Pacific are analogous to those of the north
+Atlantic, but simpler, as there is nothing similar to the true Gulf
+Stream, and as communication with the Arctic Ocean is practically
+closed, there is no cold current flowing southward from that ocean; but
+the conditions, so far as they influence the climate of North America,
+are reversed. A warm current flowing northward off the coast of Japan,
+and hence known as the Japan current, crosses the Pacific, and on
+approaching the coast of Alaska and British Columbia is deflected
+southward. The climate of the northwest coast is thus ameliorated, the
+prevailing westerly winds are warm and humid, and the mean annual
+precipitation from western Alaska to Oregon is in the neighbourhood of
+100 inches. Under the influence of a mild equitable temperature and
+abundant moisture, the land bordering the Pacific from southern Alaska
+to northern California is clothed with the most magnificent forests that
+the continent affords. The marked contrasts in climate, vegetation, and
+the conditions that influence civilization between the two sides of the
+North American continent, produced by the cold Labrador current on the
+east and the warm Japan current on the west, is shown in a marked way by
+the sweep of the lines of equal mean annual temperature (isotherms)
+represented on the map forming Plate II, and again by the
+distribution of forests, as will be described later. It is instructive
+to note that the climate of Sitka, in north latitude 57 deg., is far more
+temperate and equable than that of New York city, latitude 40 deg. 45',
+although the cool summers on the northwest coast make the mean annual
+temperature somewhat lower than on the coast of New York, or even of New
+England.
+
+The influence of the opposite conditions in reference to ocean currents
+experienced by the eastern and western borders of the continent are even
+more marked in the life of the adjacent waters than in the vegetation
+and fauna of the land itself. The plant and invertebrate life of the
+shoal waters of the Pacific coast, consisting largely of southern
+species, is exceedingly rich and varied, even to the inlets of the
+Alaska coast, where glaciers come down to the sea; while on the Atlantic
+border, northern species occur on the New England coast, and even
+farther south. The contrasts in temperature between the waters of the
+Atlantic and Pacific which cover the submerged border of the continent
+are well shown by the distribution of the cod, the most valuable of all
+fishes to man, which, as is well known, belongs to the northern fauna
+and ranges from the north Atlantic about the arctic coast of both the
+Old and the New Hemispheres, to the north Pacific. On the east coast of
+America this circumpolar fish, of which several species are known, is
+found occasionally as far south as Cape Hatteras, but the most southern
+"bank" on which it is extensively taken is off Cape Cod, in
+latitude 42 deg.; on the west coast it travels perhaps as far south as the
+mouth of the Columbia, but the most southern locality where it occurs in
+commercial quantities is off the Shumagin Islands, in latitude 55 deg.. The
+life of the continental shelf, as well as of the adjacent land, thus
+bears testimony to the vast importance to North America of the great
+ocean currents washing its shores.
+
+_Tides._--The waters of the ocean are subject to wave-like undulations,
+caused by the attraction of the moon and sun, termed the tides. Every
+day, at the average interval of twelve hours and fifty-one minutes, the
+"tide rises," and with equal regularity intermediate between these
+periods it "falls." This rise and fall of the waters along the coast,
+accompanied frequently by strong currents, are produced directly by the
+arrival in the shoal water of a pulsation of the ocean, which becomes a
+true onward-moving gravity wave as it nears the land. In the open sea
+the amplitude of the tidal undulations is but two or three feet, and
+their rate of travel in general 700 to 800 miles per hour. On reaching
+shoal water, however, the onward movement is decreased by friction on
+the bottom, the waves become higher, and when they meet an
+outward-flowing bottom current, their bases are still more retarded and
+the slope of their fronts increases until the water falls forward and
+breaks into foam. On the Atlantic coast, each tidal wave reaches the
+land broadside on, as it were (Fig. 4), and at the outer capes high
+water occurs at practically the same time from Florida to New England,
+but its farther landward progression is greatly modified by the shape of
+the coast and the depth of water in the estuaries and other
+indentations. When the wave as it rushes landward enters a broad water
+body through a narrow entrance, as the Gulf of Mexico, for example, it
+spreads, and as the impulse is transmitted to larger and larger volumes
+of water, it decreases in height. (In a critical study the tides
+originating in the Gulf itself should be considered.) At Galveston,
+Texas, the mean range between high and low tide is less than one foot.
+When, however, an estuary with a broad mouth receives a tidal wave from
+the ocean, the impulse is more and more concentrated and the wave
+rises higher. At the head of the Bay of Fundy the difference between
+high and low water is from 50 to 60 feet. For the reason just stated,
+the tidal wave is generally higher in the Atlantic coast estuaries than
+on the ocean capes, and under favourable conditions may be transmitted
+for long distances up the rivers emptying into such estuaries, and may
+be felt where the mean elevation of the stream is several feet above the
+mean level of the sea on the neighbouring open coast. Tidal waves pass
+up the Hudson to Troy, a distance of 150 miles from the Narrows,
+where the mean range is 2.3 feet. In St. John River, New Brunswick, the
+tidal impulse is felt at Frederickton, 70 miles from the Bay of Fundy,
+and at an elevation of 14 feet above its surface. In the St. Lawrence
+estuary and river the tidal waves ascend 283 miles to Three Rivers, a
+few miles below Montreal, where the mean elevation is about 11 feet and
+the mean range of the tide 0.9 foot. In the Columbia the range of the
+tide is about 6 inches at a distance of 140 miles from the ocean.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Co-tidal lines. A diagrammatic representation of
+the advance of tidal waves in the Atlantic and Pacific. Figures refer to
+noon and midnight. After R. S. Tarr.]
+
+In the north Pacific (Fig. 4) the tidal waves come from the south and
+expand much the same as the corresponding waves do in the north
+Atlantic, but instead of striking the coast broadside on, sweep along
+the shore from south to north.
+
+There are two localities on the coast of North America, one at the head
+of the Bay of Fundy and the other at the head of Cook's Inlet, Alaska,
+where the tides present especially interesting features. In each of
+these inlets the incoming tidal wave meets an outward-flowing current
+which tends to hold it back. The incoming waters are thus piled up until
+sufficient head is established to cause them to advance as a
+steep-fronted wave termed a _bore_, which curls over and breaks in a
+long line of foam as it rushes along. At the head of the Bay of Fundy
+the bore travels at the rate of 6 or 7 miles an hour, and has a height
+of from 4 to 6 feet. The great disturbance produced by the strong
+current and breaking waves causes the mud of the bottom to be disturbed
+and the waters to be charged with sediment. Much of this mud is
+deposited during the interval of quiet water at high tide, and as the
+outflow is not so impetuous as the inflow, broad mud-flats are formed.
+At certain localities about the Bay of Fundy artificial dikes have been
+made, which admit the mud-charged waters at high tide, and retain them
+until much of their freight is deposited. In this manner, large areas of
+rich lands have been secured.
+
+The geographical influences of the tides and of the currents produced by
+them are of interest in many ways. To navigators they are of special
+importance. Even in this age of steam, the arrival and departure
+of vessels from harbours is regulated so as to take advantage of the
+incoming or outgoing tidal currents. Many harbours can be entered by
+deep-draft vessels only at high water, for the reason in general that
+sand-bars are frequently formed at the mouths of tidal estuaries. One of
+the most marked illustrations of the influence of the rise and fall of
+the tide on navigation occurs at St. John, New Brunswick, where the tide
+flows in and out of St. John River so as to form a cascade each way,
+dependent on the direction of the current. At low water the level of the
+river is from 11 to 15 feet above the Bay of Fundy, and at high water
+the level of the bay is from 8 to 12 feet above that of the river when
+not affected by the tide. There are four periods of from ten to fifteen
+minutes each during each twenty-four hours when vessels can pass in and
+out of the river's mouth.
+
+In the Arctic Ocean the tides are small. At Point Barrow, the most
+northern locality on the coast of Alaska, the difference between high
+and low water is but 6 or 7 inches. The tide comes from the southward
+and westward, and there is a prevailing current setting to the eastward.
+At Herschel Island, near where the east boundary of Alaska reaches the
+Arctic Ocean, the mean range of the tide is but 1.8 foot. At Cape
+Sheridan, the northeast point of Grinnell Land, north latitude 82 deg. 25',
+there is a range of 2.6 feet during two periods each month when the
+tides are highest, and but 1.2 foot at the lowest or neap tide periods.
+
+In addition to the weakness of the tides and tidal currents along the
+arctic coast, there is an absence or great diminution of the influence
+of wave and currents, owing to the prevalence of ice on the sea. Shore
+erosion is there at a minimum in spite of the abrasion produced by the
+ice-packs when forced landward by the wind.
+
+_Islands._--In the classification of islands used by A. R. Wallace in
+his Island Life two primary divisions are recognised, namely,
+continental and oceanic islands.
+
+Continental islands are land masses which have been separated from
+continents and are rarely far removed from their borders, and,
+besides, are composed of rocks similar to those of the neighbouring
+mainland and inhabited by terrestrial animals which are related to the
+fauna of the larger land area. Ancient and modern continental islands
+have also been recognised, their age being indicated by the degree of
+similarity between their faunas and the fauna of the continent with
+which they were formerly connected. Those of ancient origin are commonly
+surrounded by deep water, while those which are more modern usually rise
+from continental shelves, the channels intervening between them and the
+mainland being less than 100 fathoms deep. Oceanic islands rise from
+deep water, are either volcanic or so far as their emerged portions are
+concerned composed of coral rock, and are without warm-blooded
+terrestrial animals.
+
+About the borders of North America there are islands belonging to each
+of these classes. The numerous examples rising from the continental
+shelf all about the margin of the land, but in the Atlantic most
+numerous from New York northward, and in the Pacific from the Strait of
+Fuca northward, are plainly recent continental islands. The larger of
+the West Indies and the group of small islands off the California coast
+are also continental islands, but show by the character of their faunas
+and the depth of the water about them that they have been long separated
+from the main mass of the continent. Typical examples of oceanic islands
+are furnished by Bermuda, in the Atlantic, and Guadalupe, in the
+Pacific. In this same class, but less remote from the mainland, and in
+their faunas and floras showing a nearer relationship to South than to
+North America, belong the Caribbees.
+
+
+                        TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COAST
+
+The generalized coast-line of North America measures about 35,000 miles
+in extent, and presents a great variety of scenery. The range in
+diversity embraces all classes of coast topography from the low, sandy
+mangrove-fringed borders of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, to the
+magnificent sea-cliffs of Labrador and British Columbia and the
+marvellous ice-walls of Greenland and Alaska where tide-water glaciers
+enter the ocean.
+
+Like nearly all the features of the earth's surface, this narrow
+intricate belt where the sea and land meet is constantly undergoing
+changes. The principal processes which lead to alterations in the
+coast-line may be considered as forming three groups: First, the wearing
+away of the land through the action of waves and currents and the
+deposition of the _debris_ thus produced so as to make additions to the
+borders of the continent; second, the upward and downward movements of
+the land; and third, the changes produced by glaciers, ice-flows, and
+icebergs.
+
+With these more active agencies by which the coast-line is being
+modified may be included chemical solution and deposition, the influence
+of plants and animals, the weathering of the margin of the land, etc.;
+but a critical review of all these processes is impracticable in the
+present treatise.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to Waves and Currents._--The waves of the
+sea beat on the land with never-ceasing activity, but exert the greatest
+force during storms. The blow which a great surge strikes when it breaks
+at the base of a cliff, amounting in many instances to 3 or more tons to
+the square foot, tends to disrupt the rocks both directly by its impact
+and by the compression of air and water in their interstices. The
+greatest work of the breaking waves is performed, however, with the aid
+of the stones which accumulate on the beaches. These are hurled against
+the land by the force of the landward-rushing waters and break and
+abrade the rocks with which they come in contact. The friction produced
+by the impact of waves charged with sand, pebbles, and boulders against
+the land leads to its removal along a horizontal belt with a narrow
+vertical range. The waves of the sea, in fact, act like a horizontal
+saw, the edge of which slowly advances landward. As a result of this
+process of under-cutting, highly characteristic and frequently most
+picturesque forms are given to rocky coasts. Whenever the sea is
+bordered by hard rocks standing well above the surface, but not rising
+too precipitously from deep water, we find cliffs facing seaward.
+At the base of each of these sea-cliffs there is a shelf or terrace
+which records, in part at least, the advance that the sea has made
+inland.
+
+A cross profile of a wave-cut seashore (Fig. 5) shows two prominent
+features, namely, a sea-cliff with a horizontal base, and a terrace
+sloping seaward from the foot of the cliff. Of these, the cliff is by
+far the more prominent as it stands up boldly to view, while the terrace
+is in large part and perhaps wholly submerged. These two leading
+characteristics in the topography of wave-cut shores are shown in the
+following diagram:
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Ideal profile of a sea-cliff and current-built
+terrace.]
+
+The water carried landward by each wave as it rushes up the sloping
+surface of a terrace again finds its way seaward, either wholly or in
+part, as an "undertow." Much of the rock _debris_ ground fine by the
+ceaseless beating of the surf is separated from the coarser material,
+thus leaving the latter free to be moved by succeeding waves, and is
+carried seaward by the bottom current or undertow. During storms
+especially there is usually to be seen a belt of discoloured water
+seaward from the white breakers which margin the land. The finer
+_debris_ carried away from the shore by the undertow is sooner or later
+deposited, and much of it is laid down on the terrace bordering the land
+and serves to build out its seaward margin. A normal sea-terrace is thus
+in part the result of the cutting away of the land, and in part of the
+deposition of the material removed. The sea not only cuts away the land,
+however, but at many localities makes important additions to it.
+
+Where the water is shallow the larger waves break at a distance perhaps
+of several miles from the coast-line, and build up long narrow bars,
+usually of sand, which form barriers, more or less parallel with the
+shore, and shelter it from further encroachments of the sea. Again, when
+the wind from the sea blows obliquely to the coast, currents are
+established in the water which sweep along the loose material on the
+beach and on the submerged portion of the terrace of which the beach is
+a visible part, and cause it to travel in the general direction of the
+prevailing on-shore winds. This action also leads to the building of
+bars more or less parallel with the coast and at the extremities of
+capes, particularly where the shore currents enter deeper water and give
+origin to spits of various shapes, which are frequently curved towards
+the land and at their extremities become hooks and loops.
+
+There are thus two important processes, one destructive and the other
+constructive, by which the sea is continually modifying the border of
+the land.
+
+When once the underlying principles on which depend the characteristics
+of coastal topography are suggested, any observant person can apply them
+for himself and thus be able to read the history as well as admire the
+beauties of seacoast scenery. It is not necessary, therefore, to attempt
+to present a detailed account of the coasts of North America from a
+purely geographical point of view; there are certain results of the
+processes just referred to, however, which are of wide-reaching
+economic, and especially of commercial interest.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 6.--A portion of the Atlantic coast of the United
+States.]
+
+From Central America northward to Cape Cod the rocks bordering the sea
+are soft or easily soluble, and the adjacent land of low relief.
+Throughout this section the work of the sea is mostly constructive, and
+the margin of the land is sheltered by sand-bars from the attack of
+waves and currents. Where the waves of the open ocean do reach the land,
+as on the coast of New Jersey, the sea-cliffs are low and the topography
+of a mild type. Very generally, as along the coast of Mexico and Texas,
+and from Florida to Long Island, there are long narrow bars adjacent to
+the shore, with lagoons intervening between them and the mainland.
+These features are well illustrated on the accompanying map (Fig. 6) of
+a portion of the Atlantic coast where long narrow bars, sometimes
+forming skeleton capes, are a characteristic feature. On the middle
+Atlantic coast of the United States the prevailing winds blow southward
+and there is a general southward flow of the shore currents, which carry
+with them the sand on the beaches and bars. An interesting fact in this
+connection, pointed out by N. S. Shaler, is that although the sands are
+continually being moved they are not worn out. After the sand-grains
+have been reduced to a certain size they retain films of water which
+separate them one from another, and act as cushions which prevent the
+grains from coming in contact, thus greatly retarding further
+comminution. But for the protection thus afforded the sand-bars would be
+removed and the border of the land exposed to the attack of the waves
+and cut away; whereas under existing conditions lagoons are formed,
+which in many instances are utilized as harbours or are filled by
+wind-blown sand, the sediment brought by streams, plant growths, etc.,
+and valuable additions are made to the continent.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Mobile Bay.]
+
+The sand-bars just referred to frequently cross the mouths of rivers,
+and in such instances a struggle ensues between the currents moving
+along the shore and the outflowing river-waters aided by the currents
+produced by the tides. This conflict leads to the formation of sand
+banks and bars, generally submerged, across the entrances of bays and
+inlets and to the building of sand-spits from the seaward capes. A
+typical instance is furnished at the entrance of Mobile Bay (Fig. 7),
+where a spit from each side has been built by shore currents so as
+to greatly contract the tideway between. Similar features are presented
+by Sandy Hook and Coney Island, each of which has been built of sand
+deposited by shore currents at the seaward entrance of the lower New
+York Bay. Another illustration of this same general character is
+furnished by the curved extremity of Cape Cod (Fig. 8), which is a
+sand-spit of large size with a hooked extremity. Spits of this nature
+are common on our coasts, and in many instances themselves form
+harbours, as at Coney Island and near the extremity of Cape Cod. Many
+other similar examples of the importance of lagoons, sand-bars, spits,
+etc., to shipping, which occur, especially along the Atlantic coast of
+the United States, may be studied to advantage on the admirable charts
+of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Cape Cod, Massachusetts.]
+
+The sand-bars, spits, and other similar structures along the Atlantic
+coast are also of strategic importance, for the reason that they afford
+advantageous sites for fortifications, as is illustrated by the strong
+forts at Sandy Hook which guard the entrance of New York Bay. These
+sea-built foundations are also utilized in a large number of localities
+for lighthouses. The waterways shut off from the sea by off-shore bars
+in some instances permit of the passage of vessels from one harbour to
+another. In this connection it is of interest to note that an important
+system of canals is under consideration for making a continuous waterway
+for deep-draft vessels, some 700 miles long, which will connect the
+estuaries and lagoons from New York to the Carolinas.
+
+While the islands of sand referred to present many conditions favourable
+to commerce, fisheries, and other industries, their apparent durability
+is deceptive, and in some instances faith in their permanence has led to
+disastrous results. They owe their existence to the action of waves and
+currents, and unless blown sand is heaped upon them are raised but a few
+feet above mean sea-level, and are liable to inundation if a high tide
+is accompanied by an on-shore gale. A sad illustration of this plain
+conclusion is furnished by the disaster that overwhelmed the city of
+Galveston on the night of September 8, 1900, during which some 3,000
+people perished and $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 worth of property was
+destroyed. This great loss was in large part due to the fact that the
+city was inundated by the advance over its site of the storm-driven
+waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The island on which Galveston stands (Fig.
+9) was built by the waters of the Gulf, and during the hurricane
+referred to they again claimed their own.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Coast of Texas.]
+
+Northward of Cape Cod, the rocks adjacent to the ocean are mostly hard
+and resistant, consisting largely of schist, gneiss, granite, trap,
+etc., which when undercut by the waves stand as bold cliffs and
+headlands. This portion of the continental border abounds in picturesque
+scenery and is abundantly supplied with fine harbours and well-sheltered
+havens in which boats may take refuge. Typical portions of this
+rugged coast are furnished by the magnificent sea-cliffs of Mount Desert
+and Grand Manan islands, the bold shores of Newfoundland and Labrador,
+and the precipitous border of Greenland. The scenery throughout nearly
+all of this vast extent of wave and storm beaten rocks is in striking
+contrast to the mild and generally monotonous sand-built shores to the
+south of Cape Cod. Between the angular headlands and rugged capes at the
+north, with their white girdles of surf, there are frequently curved
+beaches and numerous spits and bars of yellow sand which connect the
+salients of the shore or extend from them so as to furnish safe
+anchorages.
+
+On the arctic coast of North America the action of the waves and
+currents on the land is greatly retarded by ice, and the tides are
+small, but to what extent these conditions unfavourable to the work of
+the sea are counterbalanced by the abrasion performed by ice-floes is
+unknown. The northern border of Alaska, as well as the shore of Bering
+Sea, is mostly low and the rocks soft, although certain of the sea-capes
+are bold and are evidently composed of resistant material.
+
+The Aleutian Islands present a peculiar exception to the general coast
+topography of the rest of the continent. Although this region has not
+been studied in detail, it seems to furnish an example of a rugged
+mountain range that has been partially submerged at a comparatively
+recent date. The rocks in many places descend precipitously into deep
+water, leaving no room for the formation of beaches, and hence the
+waves, to a great extent, are without tools with which to cut away the
+land. At the heads of the many bays and inlets, however, one finds
+beautiful sand-beaches with gracefully curving lines, in striking
+contrast to the dark, rugged cliffs bordering their seaward extensions.
+
+The southern and southeastern borders of Alaska are exceedingly bold,
+and present some of the most sublime coast scenery to be found in the
+world, but to the geographer the greatest interest of this portion of
+the continental border, as is true also of the entire Pacific coast of
+North America, centres in its relation to up and down movements of the
+land.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to Oscillation of the Land._--Land areas
+are exposed to the erosive action of wind, rain, streams, etc., and are
+sculptured by these agencies into valleys, canyons, peaks, ridges, and
+other familiar topographic forms. The various processes by which land
+areas are modified lead in general to a roughening of the surface. As an
+extreme illustration, a high plateau becomes dissected by streams so as
+to form an intricate system of rugged mountain ridges and peaks, with
+deep, steep-sided valleys between. The degree of this roughening depends
+principally on the elevation of the land, together with contrasts in the
+resistance of the rocks due mainly to variation in hardness, climatic
+conditions, etc., but in general one may say the higher the land
+is raised above the sea the more rugged will be its topography as the
+process of wearing away progresses. It is to be remembered in this
+connection, however, that land areas pass through a somewhat definite
+series of changes, from topographic youth to topographic old age, each
+stage being accompanied by changes in the relief. It is during
+topographic maturity that the greatest roughness of the surface of a
+land area is produced.
+
+Land areas are continually wasting away, owing especially to the attacks
+of the streams, and the material removed is deposited in the sea. The
+_debris_ brought from the continents by streams is laid down in shallow
+water--about the shores of North America almost entirely on the surface
+of the continental shelf--and in this region of deposition the hollows
+are filled and a generally smooth surface given to the sea-floor.
+
+The topography of the land, for the reason stated above, is nearly
+everywhere uneven; while the topography of the sea-floor is
+characterized by uniformity. We can easily predict, therefore, the
+general character of the changes in a coast which would result from
+either a subsidence of the land, thus allowing the sea to encroach upon
+it, or of an elevation, which would expose a portion of the sea-bottom,
+thereby increasing the area of the land. A subsidence of the land
+adjacent to the sea permits an extension of the waters landward; the sea
+will enter the valleys so as to form estuaries, bays, straits, etc.,
+while the high land between the partially water-filled depressions will
+rise above the water-level and appear as peninsulas, capes, and islands.
+A bold, deeply sculptured coast when depressed will give origin to an
+intricate, and what may be termed a ragged shore-line; while a lower
+region crossed by large river-valleys would be changed to a system of
+broad estuaries.
+
+An upward movement in the earth's crust along the ocean's shore would
+expose a portion of the sea-floor and add a strip of generally level
+country to the previous land area. The boundary between the old and new
+topography in such an instance would be the upraised coast-line with
+its sea-cliffs, wave-cut caves, terraces, beaches, and other
+characteristic features of coast topography.
+
+There are thus two strongly contrasted types of coast scenery, produced
+by oscillations of the earth's crust where ocean and continents meet. In
+each class there is a wide range in details, which vary in harmony with
+the amount the land rises or falls in reference to sea-level.
+
+When one has these general laws in mind a map of the coast-line of North
+America acquires great significance.
+
+From about the latitude of New York southward to Central America many
+comparatively small oscillations of the land have occurred in recent
+geological time, and what was formerly a portion of the continental
+shelf is now exposed and forms a coastal plain. This plain, in general
+from 50 to 100 miles broad, slopes gently seaward, and its continuation
+under the sea forms the present continental shelf (Fig. 2). Evidently a
+slight up or down movement or a gentle tilting of this partially
+submerged plain in an east and west direction would cause a marked
+advance or recession of the sea. Each time the sea advanced the country
+submerged would be smoothed over by the action of the waves and currents
+and a sheet of sediment laid down upon it; and each time the sea receded
+the emerged land would be trenched by the rivers flowing across it. The
+records show that many such changes have occurred.
+
+The Gulf border of Mexico and Texas, composed of soft marine sediments,
+forms a gently sloping plain bordered on the west by a roughened upland,
+and illustrates the general feature of a recently emerged coastal plain
+(Fig. 9). The same is true also of the entire coast from Texas to New
+York, but it happens that a recent movement through this region was of
+such a nature as to allow the sea to encroach on the land, and the
+previously excavated stream valleys are now, in part, occupied by the
+sea. This feature is most marked from the Carolinas to New York (Fig.
+6), where there are several great estuaries and drowned river-valleys
+which extend far into the land. The best examples are Albemarle Sound
+and Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The James River channel is submerged
+as far as Richmond, the Potomac to Washington, the Susquehanna to
+Harrisburg, the Delaware to Trenton, and the Hudson to Troy. These are
+typical illustrations of what geographers term drowned river-valleys.
+They are evidence that the land formerly stood higher than now, was
+trenched by the rivers that flowed across it, and was then depressed or
+tilted so as to allow the sea to encroach upon it. The importance of
+these events in the settlement of North America by Europeans and on the
+subsequent development of commerce, manufactures, the location of
+cities, etc., needs only to be suggested to permit the reader to fill in
+the details for himself.
+
+On the Gulf coast and about Florida the later movements of the land have
+been less than in the region from Albemarle Sound to New York, and
+estuaries are there absent, with the somewhat marked exception of Mobile
+Bay. Certain secondary conditions need to be introduced here, but space
+will not permit of more than a brief presentation of them. Not only have
+the recent movements of the land been less about the shores of the Gulf
+of Mexico than in the middle Atlantic region of the United States, but
+the rivers at the south are in general smaller and less swift than those
+farther north, and hence are less able to excavate broad valleys. The
+Southern rivers, such as the Alabama, Mississippi, Rio Grande, etc., are
+silt-laden and tend to fill their estuaries, while the weaker streams
+are unable to resist the encroachments of sand-bars and spits built by
+shore currents, and their mouths have been practically closed. The coast
+of Texas gives evidence of slight modern subsidence, but the small
+estuaries formed have, for the most part, been separated from the Gulf
+by sand-bars.
+
+Northward of the middle Atlantic region the recent oscillations of the
+land continued to increase and reached a maximum about the shores of the
+Arctic Ocean; on the Pacific coast also there is similar evidence of an
+increase in the recent earth movements from the south northward.
+
+In an outline sketch of the present coastal topography of the continent
+we can generalize, and say that the whole continent during the late
+Tertiary, glacial, and recent times has swayed up and down about a
+hinge-line situated in the region of the Gulf of Mexico, and the
+movements, although not uniform, have increased in amount from the south
+northward. Let us glance at the evidence on which this broad statement,
+involving the up and down surging of a vast continent, is based.
+
+The Hudson, as stated above, is a drowned river as far as Troy, a
+distance from the present land margin of 160 miles. In the next great
+river to the northward, the St. Lawrence, the tide rises and falls
+nearly up to Montreal, a distance of about 800 miles from the general
+shore-line. Still farther north are Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay, which,
+although but imperfectly explored, seem to be an example not only of the
+drowning of a river-valley, but of the largest part of a river-basin.
+The geography of the arctic archipelago fringing the north shore of the
+continent also suggests that a strongly stream-cut plateau has there
+been deeply submerged.
+
+In addition to the drowned river-valleys and ragged coasts which record
+a subsidence of the land, there are raised terraces and beaches which
+begin at the south near New York and increase in elevation above the
+present sea-level, when followed northward, all the way to the arctic
+region, and have in the far north an altitude of about 1,200 feet. These
+old beaches and terraces show that the land was formerly depressed and
+has since risen; but, as shown above, has not regained the elevation it
+had previous to the glacial epoch.
+
+The marked differences in the geography of the coast from New York
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and from the same locality southward to
+Central America, are due primarily to the fact that the oscillations of
+the land have been such that at the north the continental shelf is
+entirely submerged and the sea has encroached on a rough land; while at
+the south the recent oscillations have been less and a broad margin of
+the continental shelf is exposed and forms the coastal plain.
+
+At the north, we find innumerable islands, bold, rocky shores with many
+capes and headlands, separated by deep inlets, sounds, straits,
+bays, etc., or, in brief, a ragged coast such as finds typical
+illustration on the shores of Maine (Fig. 10), while at the south (Fig.
+6) the shores are low, sandy, remarkably uniform in trend, and without
+islands, excepting such as are built by the waves and currents. The West
+India Islands will, no doubt, be recalled by the reader, but their
+history is again different. Intermediate between the land that has
+experienced great oscillation at the north and the region of less
+energetic movements at the south is the series of large estuaries
+mentioned above, in the narrower portions of the coastal plain.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 10.--A portion of the coast of Maine.]
+
+The northern and western coasts of Alaska are mostly low, and correspond
+in a general way with the coastal plan of the Carolina region. The last
+well-marked movement of the land in that region has been in the
+direction of an elevation, and we find low shores, with but few
+harbours, similar in many ways to the coast of Texas.
+
+It is probably true, as already stated, that the Aleutian Islands,
+although in part the result of recent volcanic activity, owe their
+peculiar and exceptional characteristics to the partial subsidence of a
+deeply sculptured mountain range. On the south coast of Alaska, in the
+region of Mount St. Elias and Mount Fairweather, a recent and
+extensive elevation has occurred, which, however, did not bring the
+bottom of the adjacent portion of the ocean above the sea-level. This
+apparent anomaly seems to be due to an uprising of the rocks along the
+north side of a break, or belt of branching fractures, which closely
+approximates to the coast-line and has determined the position of the
+continental border in that region. The facts, so far as known, appear to
+show that we have here what geologists term a fault, the north or
+landward side of which has been raised at least 5,000 feet in very
+modern times, but, so far as we can judge, without disturbing the
+seaward border of the break. The coast between Mount Fairweather and
+Mount St. Elias is by far the boldest, and from a scenic point of view
+the most impressive, portion of the entire shore-line of North America.
+The mountains are young and among the highest on the continent. They
+rise precipitously from the margin of the sea, and are sheathed in snow
+and ice from base to summit throughout the year.
+
+The margin of the continent southward from Mount Fairweather to the
+Columbia River, a distance in a straight line of about 1,200 miles,
+furnishes some of the best illustrations of the changes in coastal
+geography due to subsidence that our continent affords (Fig. 11). This
+wonderfully irregular coast is fringed with a belt of mountainous
+islands from 50 to 100 or more miles broad. The inlets between the bold
+capes and the straits separating the numerous islands are deep. The
+rugged, forest-clothed slopes with precipitous, and in many instances
+nearly vertical walls, descend into water that is frequently from 50 to
+over 200 fathoms deep. In brief, a deeply dissected mountain range more
+than 1,000 miles in length has there been depressed at least 2,000 feet
+below its former altitude, thus allowing the sea to flood its deep,
+picturesque valleys.
+
+Puget Sound, with its numerous and frequently narrow arms (Fig. 23), is
+the southward extension of the partially inundated country considered
+above. To the west of this magnificent sound rise the Olympic Mountains,
+which barely escape being an island at the present stage of the
+swaying of the land. On the west, as on the east border of the
+continent, there are drowned river-valleys, such as the Stikine, Frazer,
+Columbia, and Sacramento. It is not to be understood, however, that the
+entire Pacific coast region has been raised or depressed as a unit.
+There have been differential movements in some of its parts, but these
+are not as yet well known. In southern California, for example, raised
+beaches and a narrow coastal plain about Los Angeles give evidence of a
+modern rise of the land.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Coast of southeastern Alaska.]
+
+In reference to the broad generalization that the continental mass of
+North America has undergone up and down movements, greatest at the north
+and decreasing southward, as if moving on a hinge-line running east and
+west in the region of the Gulf of Mexico, it is of interest to note that
+the ragged coasts of Maine, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and
+Labrador, due to the partial submergence of a rugged land, lie in the
+same latitudes as the equally ragged coast of Washington, British
+Columbia, and Alaska. This is more than a coincidence. The rocks on the
+two coasts are similar, being for the most part resistant crystalline
+schists, gneisses, granites, etc., and in each instance stood high above
+the sea for a long period during which they were deeply trenched by
+streams and by great glaciers, and then at about the same time, as
+nearly as can be judged, each region was depressed so as to allow the
+sea to encroach upon it.
+
+While a deeply sculptured land when partially submerged gives origin to
+a ragged coast, a region of similar elevation, but not cut by streams or
+other agencies so as to have deep valleys, when subsidence occurs
+produces a bold, harbourless shore without islands. The striking
+contrast between the deeply indented border of the continent, with its
+broad fringe of islands, from Mount Fairweather southward to Mount
+Olympus, and the remarkably uniform although bold coast-line from Mount
+Olympus southward to Mexico, and indeed nearly to Cape Horn, has much
+significance in this connection.
+
+The mountains bordering the Pacific coast of the United States are among
+the younger on the continent. These coast ranges, largely on account of
+their youth, have not been deeply sculptured, but rise boldly from the
+ocean's shore throughout nearly the entire distance from the Strait of
+Fuca to the end of the peninsula of Lower California. The mountains of
+Central America, although but little known, are of comparatively recent
+date, but differ from the coast ranges in being more largely built of
+young volcanic rocks. Both the coast ranges and the mountains of Central
+America are much less deeply sculptured than the mountains bordering the
+Pacific to the north of Puget Sound, and a subsidence along this shore
+would produce but moderate changes in the coast-line. In this great
+extent of coast, measuring nearly 5,000 miles, there are but few
+harbours; in the portion belonging to the United States the generally
+bold coast-line is broken but in two places, one where the
+Columbia reaches the sea, and the other where the Sacramento finds an
+outlet through the portions of its drowned valley known as the Golden
+Gate.
+
+The Bay of San Francisco owes its origin to a subsidence of the land
+which has admitted the sea into the valley of the Sacramento, but this
+valley, which, uniting with the one at the south drained by the San
+Joaquin, forms the Great Valley of California, is not due to stream
+erosion, as in the case of the drowned valley of the Hudson or of the
+St. Lawrence, but to the upraising of the mountains bordering it. During
+a former time of greater subsidence than at present the Bay of San
+Francisco was larger than now, and has been contracted both by the
+deposition of sediment and by a partial re-elevation of the land. The
+exceptional character of the Bay of San Francisco and its marked
+excellence as a harbour give to the city on its shore promises of
+marvellous development.
+
+The Gulf of California is due, in a general view, to what may be
+considered as a departure of the Coast mountains away from the general
+trend of the continental border. We have but little detailed information
+concerning this region, however, and the studies of modern geographers
+have likewise been meagre throughout all the coast-line farther south.
+
+The Pacific coast of Mexico is geographically similar to that of
+California, but instead of a single great harbour there are four of
+moderate size and excellence, the histories of which have not been
+studied. Farther south, along the Central American coast, the shores are
+bold, but several indentations, due in part at least to volcanic
+agencies, furnish shelter for vessels and offer encouragement to
+commerce.
+
+The bold and not deeply sculptured mountains along the nearly unbroken
+coast from the Strait of Fuca to Panama, rise close to the true border
+of the continent. The continental shelf of this portion of the shore of
+the Pacific is narrow. An elevation of 100 fathoms would add scarcely
+more than 10 miles to the extent of the land. This narrowness of the
+continental shelf seems to be due to the recency of the uplifting
+of the Coast mountains, and the lack of time for the _debris_ from the
+land and the organic refuse of the sea to shoal the water. The Pacific
+basin is deep close to the land bordering it, thus restricting the
+seaward extension of the continental shelf.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to Ice._--It is now well known that
+glacial ice many hundreds of feet thick formerly covered the northern
+half of North America and flowed outward across the present position of
+the coast-line throughout all of the northern border of the continent
+from Staten Island in the east and Puget Sound in the west, with the
+exception of the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Alaska.
+
+The effects of this outward-flowing ice on the topography of the
+continental border crossed by it were in general in two directions.
+Where the land was rough or moderately so previous to the coming of the
+ice-sheets the inequalities of surface were increased; but where the
+land was smooth or but gently undulating its elevations were planed away
+by the glaciers and made still more smooth. The reason for these
+differences is that when the land from which the ice flowed was rugged
+or had previously been deeply trenched by streams, the valleys gave
+direction to the ice currents and the margins of the continental
+ice-sheets became divided into separate ice-streams, as is the case in
+Greenland at the present day. This localization of the ice currents
+served to deepen and broaden the pre-existing valleys, and especially on
+the bold coast of Alaska and British Columbia increased in a marked way
+the inequalities of the surface and favoured the production of a ragged
+coast-line when the ice melted and was replaced in part by the sea.
+When, however, the topography of the land was not sufficiently accented
+to cause the ice flowing over it to gather into well-defined currents
+the general surface was worn down, thus favouring the production of an
+even coast-line after the melting of the ice-sheets.
+
+Where the coast-lands were high and rugged, the deepening and broadening
+of the valleys led to the origin of deep, narrow, canal-like waterways
+termed fiords (_fjords_), when the ice withdrew from the partially
+submerged land or when subsequent depression carried the glaciated
+troughs below sea-level. On the Atlantic coast from Maine to Labrador,
+and thence northward to the Arctic Ocean, there are numerous examples of
+fiords, as is also the case on the Pacific coast from Mount St. Elias to
+Puget Sound. At the present time the localized ice-streams from the
+great central ice-sheet of Greenland are continuing this process of
+fiord excavation. The same is true also, but on a much smaller scale, of
+the tide-water glaciers of southern Alaska.
+
+The shores of the northern portion of the continent from New England to
+the Aleutian Islands are now being modified by the grinding of
+ice-floes, which are driven against the land by the wind. This process,
+however, although locally important, need claim but little attention in
+a general view of the geography of the continent.
+
+_Changes in the Coast-Line due to the Deposits made by Streams._--The
+visible loads of silt and sand in suspension carried to the ocean by
+streams, as well as the material the streams roll and push along their
+bottoms, is delivered to the waters of the ocean and deposited in
+various ways. Much of this material, notably the coarser portion, is
+dropped near land and the finer portion floated far out from the coast
+before settling to the bottom. Two classes of deposits made in this way
+may be recognised, namely, those laid down by the streams themselves as
+they drop their loads on entering still water, or delta deposits; and
+those spread over the sea-floor by waves and currents after receiving
+the _debris_ brought from the land. Which of these two modes of
+deposition will prevail depends on whether the waters of the ocean at
+the localities where the streams deliver their loads are essentially
+still or are affected by strong currents. In the former instance all but
+the finer of the _debris_ derived from the land is quickly dropped and
+deltas are formed; and in the second instance the currents bear the
+material away and deposit it either in the shallow water adjacent to the
+neighbouring shore, forming shoals, bars, embankments, spits, etc., or
+spread it in a sheet over the sea-floor. The most notable changes
+in the coast-line resulting from this general process occur where
+silt-laden streams enter still water and form deltas.
+
+On the coast of North America many of the streams which enter estuaries
+deliver their loads to waters which are agitated, especially by tidal
+currents, and ill-defined shoals, sand-banks, etc., are produced. In
+three conspicuous instances, however, large rivers are engaged in
+building deltas, and thus producing well-marked changes in the
+coast-line.
+
+At the north, the Mackenzie enters the nearly tideless Arctic Ocean,
+where floating ice almost completely counteracts the tendency of the
+wind to produce currents, and a great delta is being extended seaward.
+The river divides on its delta into many _distributaries_ and enters the
+sea by several mouths. The sea near the mouths of the river is reported
+to be shallow, and obstructed by many sand-banks and islands. No survey
+of the Mackenzie delta has as yet been made, and but little definite
+information concerning it is available.
+
+The Yukon on entering the shallow eastern portion of Bering Sea, where
+the influence of the tides is small and floating ice is present
+throughout about nine months each year, is also engaged in building a
+great delta which projects into the sea and gives the coast-line a bold
+outward curve. The Yukon begins to divide into separate channels,
+several of which enter the sea as independent distributaries at a
+distance of about 150 miles from the outer border of its delta. The
+distance between the outer finger-like division of the stream is about
+90 miles. The Yukon is a graded stream--i. e., is able to carry material
+in suspension, but not to deepen or fill its channel--in the lower
+portion of its course, and is making an important addition to the land
+owing to the dropping of its burden of silt as soon as the still water
+into which it flows is reached. The stream is thus being extended, and
+in order to enable it to continue its task of transportation and the
+delivery of its load to the sea, the extended portion of its channel is
+built up so as to give a slope down which the waters can
+flow--that is, the beds of the distributaries are raised, and they also
+shift their positions from time to time and make additions to the entire
+surface of the delta. This extension of the stream and deposition of
+silt by its distributaries have added about 1,000 square miles to the
+land. Although the delta of the Yukon presents an admirable example of
+the change in a coast-line produced by the sediment dropped by a great
+river, the partial surveys of it that have been made are not as yet
+available for study.
+
+Fully as characteristic of the modification of coast-lines made by a
+stream as any in the world is the well-known example of the delta of the
+Mississippi. This classical instance illustrates not only the manner in
+which coast-lines are modified, but the behaviour of a large silt-laden
+stream which has reduced its valley to a low gradient, and throughout
+hundreds of miles of its lower course is spreading out a wide flood
+plain. The extension seaward of this flood plain forms the broad delta
+at the river's mouth.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Delta of the Mississippi. After United States
+Coast and Geodetic Survey.]
+
+During high-water stages the Mississippi widely over-spreads its banks
+and during such inundations of its valley drops much of the silt it
+previously held in suspension. The material deposited is laid down most
+abundantly on the immediate border of its low-water channel. Each side
+of the channel is thus raised so as to form what is termed a natural
+levee. During this process also the bed of the stream is raised by the
+deposition of sediment upon it, thus tending to cause the stream to flow
+on a raised ridge and producing an unstable condition which from time to
+time enables the river to break across its confining levees and divide
+into two or more separate channels. In the lower portion of the river
+some of the new channels thus formed reach the sea and furnish
+independent outlets for its waters. The first of these distributaries
+now departs from the main channel at a distance of 200 miles from the
+Gulf of Mexico, and farther seaward several other divisions occur (Fig.
+12). The area of the delta is about 1,230 square miles. Each
+distributary is engaged in building a pair of embankments, or natural
+levees (although this process in recent years has been modified by the
+construction of artificial embankments for the sake of improving
+navigation), and each subdivision of the river is also building a delta.
+Each of the finger-like extensions of the delta, shown on the
+accompanying map, is due to the prolongation of a pair of embankments
+into the Gulf by each distributary and the growth of a secondary delta
+at its mouth. The river is thus building a highly compound delta,
+composed of the secondary deltas formed at the mouth of each of its
+distributaries. A conspicuous modification of the otherwise generally
+evenly curved border of the Gulf of Mexico is thus produced, a result
+that could only be reached in a water body but little disturbed by wind
+or tidal currents.
+
+
+                         ESTUARIES AND HARBOURS
+
+The features of a coast of greatest importance to civilization are its
+harbours. A coast without harbours is like a Chinese wall, and tends to
+isolate a people inclosed by it. An indented coast with numerous havens
+for the shelter of vessels fosters the interests of navigation,
+including sea fisheries, invites commerce from other lands, and
+stimulates its inhabitants to explore and travel. A diversity of
+industries is thus favoured and the people adjacent to an indented coast
+with good harbours tend to become more progressive and more cosmopolitan
+than if intercourse with other communities is confined to overland
+routes.
+
+The Atlantic border of North America is abundantly supplied with fine
+harbours, which not only favour communication with distant countries,
+but are within easy reach of agricultural and forest lands and important
+coal and other mineral deposits adjacent to the coast or in the
+interior, and are near extensive and valuable fishing grounds. The best
+of these harbours are at the mouths of rivers which have been depressed
+so as to form estuaries with wide entrances. These sea-gates, however,
+are frequently contracted, owing to the presence of sand-bars and spits
+deposited by shore currents.
+
+The great St. Lawrence estuary reaches to Montreal, and beyond lie the
+Great Lakes, the rich lands of Ontario and New York, and the now
+highly productive States of the Middle West. Two geographical features
+in this basin detract from the conditions otherwise highly favourable to
+commercial development, namely: the rapids in the St. Lawrence between
+Montreal and Lake Ontario and the fall in the Niagara, and the winter
+climate of Canada, which causes the rivers and estuaries to be ice-bound
+for a considerable part of each year. To obviate the first of these
+unfavourable conditions far-reaching plans for a deep waterway between
+the Great Lakes and the Atlantic are now being matured. The splendid
+harbours from Nova Scotia southward are never seriously obstructed by
+ice, and south of Virginia ice is practically unknown.
+
+The estuaries at the mouth of the Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna,
+Potomac, James, and the Alabama, together with the distributaries of the
+Mississippi (which is not a partially drowned river, but one that is
+building up and extending its channel), are the natural outlets of
+portions of the continent of great fruitfulness. When other, and
+especially climatic, conditions are considered, it will be seen that to
+the geographer the Atlantic sea-border from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to
+the Gulf of Mexico seems destined to be the next great commercial centre
+in the succession from Greece to Britain. An important adjunct to the
+present highly favourable geographical conditions pointing to a great
+future for civilization on the Atlantic coast is the construction of a
+ship-canal across the isthmus uniting North and South America. This step
+must soon be taken.
+
+A glance at a map of North America must impress one with the belief that
+the Pacific coast with its great extent of harbourless water-front is
+far less favourable to the growth or ideas, institutions, and industries
+than the deeply indented Atlantic shore-line. From the Isthmus of Panama
+to the State of Washington there is, as we have seen, but one harbour of
+the first class, the estuary of the Sacramento, and one of the second or
+third class, the estuary of the Columbia. From Puget Sound northward
+harbours are numberless. There are two important geographical reasons,
+however, why the general absence of good harbours to the south of
+Puget Sound is not so serious as it perhaps might seem. First, the
+mountain ranges run north and south parallel with the coast, and the
+natural lines of interior travel lead to the outlets through the Coast
+Ranges traversed by the Sacramento and the Columbia. The second and more
+general reason is that, owing to the warm currents in the Pacific, the
+portion of the west coast most favourable for a high degree of
+civilization is situated farther north than the similar belt on the
+Atlantic border.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By way of a summary of this chapter, the reader is asked to bear in mind
+the fact that the land forming North America, as is the case with all
+continents, is not at rest, but is subject to movements which cause
+elevations and depressions of various portions of its area with
+reference to sea-level. These movements have been in progress since the
+birth of the continent, and still continue. An upward movement of the
+earth's crust where the land and ocean meet causes a portion of the
+sea-floor to emerge and an addition usually of the nature of a coastal
+plain to be made to the border of a continent; while a reverse movement
+enables the sea to advance on the land and to flood the low-grade
+valleys opening to the ocean.
+
+In a generalized view of the recent history of the coast-line of North
+America the dominant fact is that to the north of the latitude of the
+north shore of the Gulf of Mexico the resultant of the later movements
+of the continent is downward; the amount of the depression thus caused
+increases in a general way with increase in latitude on both the
+Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This downward movement has permitted the
+sea to encroach on the land and to flood many pre-existing valleys. On
+the Atlantic coast it produced such estuaries as Chesapeake and Delaware
+Bays, the tide-water portions of such rivers as the Hudson and the St.
+Lawrence, and farther north, where the submergence was greater,
+permitted the sea to invade the continental basin and form Hudson Bay.
+To this same wide-reaching cause is due also the bold ragged coast-line
+of the Atlantic from New England northward. On the Pacific border
+the downward movement is recorded by the tide-water portions of the
+Sacramento, Columbia, etc., and the deep picturesque fiords of the
+Canadian and Alaskan coasts. The most decided influence of these changes
+in the geography of the continent's margin on the affairs of men
+resulted from the production of numerous fine harbours and the extension
+of estuaries far inland, thus favouring commerce and fisheries in a high
+degree.
+
+As a result of the oscillations just referred to, the sea has gained
+important characteristics as well as the land. The broad submerged shelf
+fringing the continent furnishes conditions highly favourable to both
+plant and animal life, and affords some of the most valuable
+fishing-banks of the world.
+
+The Caribbean region is a marked exception to the broader changes that
+have affected the coast-line throughout the central and northern
+portions of the continent, and stands by itself as a conspicuous
+illustration of more localized earth movements which produced a
+remarkable submarine topography.
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+In continuation of the studies outlined in this chapter the following
+books, most of which contain more special references, will be found of
+assistance:
+
+  AGASSIZ, A. _Three Cruises of the Blake._ 2 vols. Houghton,
+    Mifflin & Co., Boston, 1888.
+
+  GILBERT, G. K. _The Topographic Features of Lake Shores._ In
+    United States Geological Survey, Fifth Annual Report, 1883-'84,
+    pp. 69-123.
+
+  GULLIVER, F. P. _Shoreline Topography._ In Proceedings of the
+    American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. xxxiv, 1899, pp.
+    151-258. Contains a valuable bibliography.
+
+  HILL, R. T. _The Geological History of the Isthmus of Panama and
+    Portions of Costa Rica._ Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative
+    Zoology at Harvard College, vol. xxviii, 1898, pp. 151-285.
+
+  HILL, R. T. _Cuba and Porto Rico with the Other Islands of the
+    West Indies._ The Century Co., New York, 1899.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Seacoast Swamps of the Eastern United States._ In
+    United States Geological Survey, Sixth Annual Report, 1884-'85,
+    pp. 353-398.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _The Geological History of Harbors._ In United
+    States Geological Survey, Thirteenth Annual Report, Part II,
+    1891-'92, pp. 93-209.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Sea and Land._ Scribner, New York, 1894. _United
+    States Coast and Geodetic Survey._ Annual Reports, Coast Pilot,
+    Tide Tables, etc.
+
+
+                            CHARTS AND MAPS
+
+  To the student of the geography of the coast and submerged border
+    of North America, the extensive series of charts published by
+    the _United States Coast and Geodetic Survey_ supply a vast
+    amount of accurate information. A catalogue of these charts,
+    with prices, etc., is issued by the Survey. Many of the charts
+    issued by the _United States Hydrographic Office_, and a large
+    number of the topographic maps published by the _United States
+    Geological Survey_, are of value in this same connection. An
+    account of these charts and maps, with instructions as to
+    methods of obtaining them, etc., is given in _Government Maps
+    for Use in Schools_, by Messrs. Davis, King, and Collie,
+    published by H. Holt & Co., New York, 1894.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+                       THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LAND
+
+
+Taking the better known portions of North America as a basis on which to
+classify the leading geographical features of the continent, it is
+convenient, and in the main sufficiently accurate, to recognise five
+primary physiographic provinces. These are, in their general order, from
+east to west:
+
+1. Coastal plains and plateaus, of which the country between the
+Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains furnishes the most typical
+examples.
+
+2. A series of mountain ranges embracing all of the more elevated
+country on the east side of the continent from Georgia northward to the
+arctic archipelago, and in this book termed the _Atlantic Mountains_.
+
+3. The great system of plains and plateaus extending from the Gulf of
+Mexico northward to the Arctic Ocean and bordered on the east by the
+Atlantic Mountains and on the west by a still greater series of
+mountains, which may be designated with sufficient accuracy as the
+_Continental Basin_.
+
+4. A group of mountain chains and mountain ranges on the west side of
+the continent, including the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Cascades,
+etc., and sometimes termed the Cordilleras. Under the scheme of
+classification here used, this highly complex belt of rugged country
+extending from south-central Mexico northward to the Arctic Ocean is
+termed the _Pacific Cordillera_, or, in less technical language, the
+_Pacific Mountains_.[1]
+
+[1] The propriety of using the names here employed for the larger
+physiographic provinces of North America has been discussed by several
+writers in the _Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia_,
+vol. ii, 1899, pp. 55-69.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 13.--The larger physiographic divisions of North
+America.]
+
+Each of the four physiographic provinces briefly described above is in a
+conspicuous manner elongated in a north and south direction. The
+mountains, valleys, and plateaus, as well as the controlling lines of
+structure in the rocks below the surface, throughout the main body of
+the continent coincide in direction more or less nearly with the
+parallels of longitude. At the south, however, and crossing the trend of
+each of the provinces named above, is the:
+
+Fifth, or Caribbean province, which includes the West Indies, the
+southern part of Mexico, and all of Central America. In this
+province are the _Antillean Mountains_, now mostly submerged, the
+principal axes of which trend east and west.
+
+With this brief outline of the larger physical divisions of North
+America in mind, let us endeavour to become acquainted with the leading
+characteristics of each of the provinces as they exist to-day, and at
+the same time learn something of their long and varied histories.
+
+
+                       COASTAL PLAINS AND PLATEAUS
+
+_The Coastal Plains._--From New York to Key West and thence about the
+borders of the Gulf of Mexico to the neighbourhood of Vera Cruz, the
+border of the present land area of the continent is formed by a low
+plain, from 30 to 50 miles broad in New Jersey, but increasing in width
+southward to Georgia and Florida, where its somewhat indefinite inland
+margin is more than 100 miles from the sea, and reaching its greatest
+development in the delta of the Mississippi. Extending southward about
+the west coast of the Gulf, it forms the low, featureless eastern border
+of Texas, about 50 miles broad, and passes into Mexico, but gradually
+narrows as the Pacific Mountains approach the coast, and ends in the
+vicinity of Vera Cruz.
+
+The Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain everywhere slopes gently seaward,
+and on its landward margin has an elevation in general of from 200 to
+300 feet. The character of the material of which the coastal plain is
+composed, the fossils contained in it, as well as its geographical
+features, show that it is a continuation of the continental shelf, and
+was formed at a time when the border of the continent was more deeply
+submerged than at present. Minor oscillations of the earth's crust have
+time and again allowed the sea to extend inland, only to be forced to
+recede when the land again rose. Each invasion of the sea left a sheet
+of soft sediment over the portion of the land that was submerged. These
+oscillations are still in progress, as is indicated by the fact that
+along the New Jersey coast a downward movement at the rate of about 2
+feet per century is taking place. A similar depression of the land
+is also thought to be in progress along the south Atlantic coast and in
+the delta of the Mississippi. The Atlantic coastal plain has its most
+characteristic development in South Carolina, and is roughly divisible
+according to its topography and soil into several belts parallel with
+the shore-line. At the same time it is transversely divided into strips
+by the several rivers which flow across it and by the many branches of
+these rivers originating on the plain itself.
+
+The junction of the portion of the gently sloping border of the
+continent now above sea-level, with the submerged portion, is
+characterized by the presence of a belt of swamps, in part marine
+marshes where the salt water ebbs and flows, and in part fresh-water
+morasses in which the drainage is obstructed largely by decaying
+vegetation. Inland from the coastal swamps the surface becomes higher,
+is for the most part well drained, and when not too sandy furnishes rich
+agricultural lands. The Atlantic plain as a whole thus has three
+principal divisions: a submerged portion, a marsh portion, and a
+subaerial portion. During past ages the position of each of these belts
+migrated, owing to movements in the earth's crust, but their succession
+in reference to each other has been the same since the Tertiary period.
+
+One of the most typical portions of the fringe of swamps now bordering
+the land is situated in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, and is
+known as the Dismal Swamp. In the central portion of this marshy region,
+embracing some 700 square miles, lies Lake Drummond, an example of a
+large number of small fresh-water lakes which are retained by rims
+composed of plant growths and decaying vegetable matter. The mound of
+vegetable _debris_ in the summit of which Lake Drummond is situated is
+from 20 to 30 miles broad and rises some 12 feet above tide-level. The
+lake is nearly circular, from 2 to 21/2 miles in diameter, and from 6
+to 10 feet deep. The water is amber-coloured on account of the vegetable
+matter in solution, but is clear and without sediment in suspension, and
+is considered as remarkably wholesome. The lake was without definite
+outlet previous to the cutting of drainage-canals, and is entirely
+encircled by a dense forest, which has encroached on its border in such
+a manner as to render its boundaries indefinite. The wall of rank
+vegetation surrounding the open waters of the lake marks the beginning
+of the encircling swamp. Standing in the lake and supported by their
+widely expanded roots are several aged cypress-trees.
+
+Along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia sand-bars thrown up by the
+sea have formed many lagoons (Fig. 6), which are being filled by the
+wash of detritus from the land, by sand blown from their confining
+ridges, and by vegetation and the hard parts of molluscs, crustaceans,
+etc., living in their waters. In part, these areas have been converted
+into swamps, and are gradually being transformed into dry land. Farther
+southward, about the shores of Florida, and thence along the Gulf
+border, the low, indefinite margin of the coastal plain is fringed in
+many places by dense thickets of mangrove-trees, which extend their
+aerial roots into the salt water, and by retaining sediment and dead
+vegetation as well as by furnishing conditions favourable for animal
+life, lead to a gradual extension of the land.
+
+The west border of the coastal plain from New York southward to central
+Georgia is at the junction of the soft, unconsolidated sands and clays
+of the emerged portion of the continental shelf, with hard and usually
+crystalline rocks of great geological age forming, an upland known as
+the Piedmont plateau, which extends westward to the base of the
+Appalachian Mountains. The sharply defined boundary between the plain
+and the plateau is termed the _fall line_, for the reason that it is
+marked by the lowest falls and rapids in the streams flowing eastward
+from the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout the courses of these streams
+to the west of the fall line they are shallow and swift and broken by
+many picturesque rapids, while to the east of the fall line they broaden
+in the soft sediments of the coastal plain, and are deep, placid streams
+which widen into estuaries. The influence of the tides is felt in these
+drowned rivers to the fall line. The most important fact in this
+connection is that the lower courses of the larger rivers, such as
+the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, James, etc., are navigable for
+ocean-going vessels, while their upper courses to the west of the fall
+line are difficult to traverse even in canoes.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Relief map of North America. After United
+States Geological Survey and Canadian Geological Survey.]
+
+The fall line is thus the head of navigation in a number of rivers, and
+for this reason it has determined the sites of several important cities.
+Its course is marked by Trenton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington,
+Richmond, Weldon, Raleigh, Augusta, and Macon. Farther south, about the
+landward margin of the portion of the coastal plain bordering the Gulf
+of Mexico, the fall line is less distinct, largely for the reason that
+the rocks bordering it on the north and west are less resistant than
+those forming the plateau at the east base of the Appalachians.
+
+Exceptions to the fact that the coastal plain is composed mostly of soft
+sediments occur in southern Florida and in Yucatan, where coral rock has
+been upraised. Southeastward from Yucatan a coastal plain is wanting and
+rocky bluffs separated by stream-cut valleys come boldly down to the
+surf line. Partially drowned valleys on each side of Central America
+bear record of a recent but moderate downward movement of the land.
+
+From New York northward along the border of the continent the coastal
+plain is mostly lacking, or if recognisable, is greatly modified by
+glacial deposits, and the Piedmont plateau, as it is known farther
+south, swings eastward and becomes a coastal plateau with a more or less
+roughened surface, which extends northward to Labrador and the Arctic
+Ocean.
+
+The geologically recent oscillations of the continent, as stated in the
+preceding chapter, have been greatest in high latitudes, where the last
+movement, as there are reasons for believing, was upward and is still
+continuing. This rise, although it has not fully counteracted the
+changes produced by a preceding downward movement, has caused the
+shore-line to recede and a great area on the arctic border of the
+continent which was previously submerged has thus become exposed. The
+coastal plain on the west side of Hudson Bay, as described by T. B.
+Tyrrell, is about 50 miles wide in the vicinity of Fort Churchill,
+latitude 55 deg., and broadens rapidly northward of that locality. In
+latitude 64 deg. the boundary between these new lands and the older plains
+of the interior is about 300 miles from the present shore; thence
+northwestward it has not been traced, but may be expected to cross the
+Mackenzie some 250 miles from its mouth and pass westward into Alaska.
+
+This arctic coastal plain is known in part as the Barren Grounds, but in
+general may be designated as a _tundra_, as over extensive areas it is
+similar to the still greater tundras of Siberia. This tundra forms the
+extreme northern and northwestern border of the continent in arctic
+Canada and northern and northwestern Alaska, and although but
+imperfectly explored, has a length of probably 2,000 miles and a width
+of from 50 to 60, and in places of over 100 miles. On the west coast of
+Hudson Bay the tundra region slopes gradually from 500 to 600 feet above
+the sea down to the present coast, and is traversed by sand and gravel
+terraces and beaches or ridges which mark the former positions of the
+sea margin. The lower ridges referred to are thickly strewn with shells
+of molluscs belonging to species still living in the adjacent ocean
+waters, thus indicating the recency of the emergence of the land. This
+arctic coastal plain has the same general geographical features as the
+coast plain on the southern Atlantic and Gulf border of the continent;
+but, owing mainly to different climatic conditions, differs from its
+southern representative in nearly every detail.
+
+The tundra may be briefly defined as a vast frozen morass. The dense
+mat-like vegetation consists principally of mosses and lichens (but not
+noticeably of _Sphagnum_ or peat-moss, as is sometimes stated), and
+during the short and not infrequently hot summers is beautified by a
+multitude of low flowering herbaceous plants. Trees are absent, except
+along the inland border, where the tundra merges with the subarctic
+forest. To the north, or seaward from the isolated groves of stunted
+spruce-trees marking the "continental timber-line," the only
+representative of arboreal vegetation is usually the slim osier-like
+arctic willow which grows in sheltered localities and attains a height
+of 3 to 5 feet. Near the streams there are in some localities broad
+areas covered with dark-green meadow-like growths of rushes
+(_Equiseta_). The luxuriant flowering plants spring into existence
+as if by magic as soon as the winter's snow melts, and under the warmth
+and light of the nightless arctic summer grow with wonderful rapidity.
+In winter the tundra is snow-covered, but the snow is less deep than in
+more humid regions, and the cold is intense. The bog becomes deeply
+frozen, and is not completely thawed during the succeeding summer. Even
+in midsummer, when the surface is a luxuriant garden of flowers and
+fresh gray-green moss, ice exists a foot or two beneath the luxuriant
+carpet and extends to a great but unknown depth. Excavations made in
+Alaska have shown that the perennial, dirt-stained ice beneath the
+tundra is at least 25 feet thick, but this is by no means its maximum
+depth. On the shore of Eschscholtz Bay and along the Kowak River
+sections of the tundra exposed in cliffs indicate a thickness of 150 to
+300 feet of ice, covered by a thin layer of black peaty soil. The
+similar region in Siberia, as shown by borings, is known to be
+permanently frozen to a depth of 380 feet deep. The subsoil ice is
+sheltered by the vegetation and the peaty soil resting on it, from the
+heat of the short summers, and the part softened by the summer's sun is
+refrozen during the long intensely cold winters. It is probable that
+under the present climatic conditions a sheet of perennial ice would be
+formed beneath the tundra, but the suggestion that the ice now present
+is in part an inheritance from a former period of greater cold is not
+without support. The vegetation of the tundra grows each year at the
+surface, while the partially decayed material below is frozen and
+preserved. This increase in depth of the vegetable matter is much the
+same as the growth of peat in temperate latitudes, except that the
+partially decayed material is preserved in cold storage. It was in the
+tundra of Siberia that the completely preserved bodies of the mammoth
+and the woolly rhinoceros have been discovered. Similar finds are to be
+looked for in the tundra of North America, where the bones of these
+animals have already been found.
+
+On the Pacific border of the continent the shores are mostly bold, and
+coastal plains comparable with those on its eastern and northern
+margins are absent. In southern California, however, in the vicinity of
+Los Angeles, a modern and apparently local elevation of the land has
+produced a highly fertile plain, now, owing to the magic touch of
+irrigation, beautified by gardens and orchards.
+
+_The Piedmont and Coastal Plateaus._--Adjacent to the western margin of
+the Atlantic coastal plain, and extending from Alabama northward to New
+England, there is a plateau region about 150 miles broad in its central
+part, but narrowing towards its extremities so as to be from 40 to 60
+miles broad in Maryland and New Jersey, and of about the same width at
+the south, in Georgia. The slope of the plateau surface is seaward from
+an elevation of about 1,000 feet along its western margin to 250 or 300
+feet at the fall line where it joins the coastal plain.
+
+From its position at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains this
+moderately elevated plain is termed the Piedmont plateau. The same
+plateau extends northeastward, however, where it is known as the New
+England plateau, and is without any definite boundary to separate it
+from the similar region in the maritime provinces of Canada. While local
+divisions of this great extent of moderately elevated plateau country
+are recognised, yet in a general view of the continent it is evident
+that the Piedmont plateau, the New England plateau, and the similar
+region, mostly of crystalline and igneous rocks, extending from Maine to
+Hudson Strait and beyond, in reality forms a single great geographical
+unit in which the geological structure and geographical features are
+much the same. The general history of this great Atlantic plateau, as it
+may, perhaps, be termed, shows that it consists mainly of metamorphic
+rocks, such as mica schist, gneiss, slates, etc., together with granite
+and other igneous rocks, and, to a minor extent, of sandstones, shales,
+and limestones, mostly of Jura-Trias and Carboniferous age. These rocks
+were upraised probably in part into lofty mountains, and then worn down
+by erosion nearly to sea-level, thus forming what is termed a
+_peneplain_, or a plain of subaerial denudation. It is not intended by
+this statement to imply that all of the Atlantic plateau was ever
+a single great peneplain, but the same general history seems to apply to
+the entire region. The upheaval of the plains produced by erosion gave
+the streams greater energy, and they have begun the task of again
+reducing the land to sea-level, but have not as yet broadened their
+valleys so as to greatly modify the general plateau character of the
+region they traverse. The softer or more easily soluble rocks have been
+eroded away, leaving broad valleys, as in the several instances where
+sandstones and shales of what is known as the Newark system (Jura-Trias)
+occur in detached areas from South Carolina to Nova Scotia. Then, too,
+from northern New Jersey northward to Labrador and beyond, great
+glaciers have crossed the plateau or developed upon its broad north
+portion and have ground down its surface or left widely extended hills
+and ridges of morainal material upon it.
+
+Where the process, just referred to, of planing down a tract of country
+nearly to sea-level is incomplete and remnants of former uplands still
+remain as isolated hills or groups of hills, such inheritances from the
+pre-peneplain stage may still exist when the region is elevated into a
+plateau and give diversity to its surface. An example of such a residual
+hill is furnished by Mount Monadnock, in southern New Hampshire, and, as
+proposed by W. M. Davis, the name of this old landmark is adopted as a
+technical term by which to designate all similar remnants of old uplands
+left standing on a peneplain. On the Atlantic plateau there are many
+_monadnocks_. They range in size from well-characterized hills to
+mountain-like forms, and may be isolated or occur in groups. When a
+monadnock stands alone its history may be easily read, but groups of
+such eminences, especially when of large size, become ranges of hills or
+even mountains, and may preserve so much of their former characteristics
+that they outrank the adjacent peneplain and become the dominant
+geographic feature of the region to which they give diversity. Such a
+passage from monadnocks to mountains seems to be furnished by the
+numerous isolated hills on the Atlantic plateau and the mountains of New
+England and of eastern Canada.
+
+The most characteristic portions of what has just been termed
+provisionally the Atlantic plateau are the Piedmont plateau, which
+skirts the east base of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to
+central Alabama and the Labrador plateau. The eastern border of the
+Piedmont plateau is determined by the fall line described above, where
+the hard crystalline rocks of the Piedmont region meet the softer rocks
+of the Atlantic coastal plain. The rivers flowing eastward from the
+Appalachian, such as the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, and the James,
+cross the Piedmont plateau in well-defined but narrow channels, usually
+from 100 to 200 feet deep, leaving the interstream spaces with generally
+level surfaces, although etched as it were by the lateral tributaries of
+the master streams. These rivers are shallow and rapid in their courses
+across the plateau, or in somewhat technical geographical language are
+not as yet graded, but on crossing the fall line become sluggish
+tide-water streams which widen into estuaries, as already described.
+Owing to the warm humid climate of this region, the rocks in the
+interstream spaces are usually deeply decayed and furnish clay soils
+which have characteristic red and yellow colours. Much of the cotton and
+tobacco of the South Atlantic States is grown on these residual soils
+which were left as the more soluble portions of the rocks were removed
+in solution.
+
+Labrador, although in great part unexplored, is known to present the
+characteristic features of an irregular plateau, with a general
+elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the sea. The surface is
+undulating and has hills and hollows, the latter frequently holding
+lakes and swamps, but the inequalities seldom exceed 500 feet in
+vertical range. Although the western boundary of the Labrador plateau is
+indefinite, its area may be taken at about 500,000 square miles. In its
+western part, and apparently rising from the plateau as a group of
+residual hills left by erosion, are the so-called Laurentian or
+Laurentide Mountains. The eastern border of the plateau forms the bold
+and excessively rugged Atlantic coast-line of Labrador, characterized by
+steep cliff with a fringe of small rocky islands. The adjacent sea
+is deep and the continental shelf narrow. On the south the plateau is
+bordered by a series of terraces which lead down to the St. Lawrence
+River and on the west it merges indefinitely with the plains of the
+continental basin.
+
+The rocks of Labrador are largely metamorphic, but include ancient
+igneous intrusions, and are hard and resistant. The present surface is
+the result of deep erosion which has removed a great but unknown
+thickness of material and left exposed what was once the deeply buried
+basal portion of a mountainous region. This is a part of the oldest
+known land of the continent, and, so far as can be learned, has never
+been covered by the sea since a very ancient geological period. In
+addition to the long eras of erosion, during which the _debris_ removed
+was deposited in part farther south, and contributed to the formation of
+the stratified rocks of the Appalachian region and interior continental
+basin, there was a comparatively recent extension of great glaciers over
+the plateau which removed the previously disintegrated and decayed rocks
+and left the present bare, rounded, and generally subdued hills with
+intervening basins. The soils are thin, for the reason that under the
+present climatic conditions rock decay is retarded, and are confined
+principally to the depression where peaty material has accumulated.
+Owing to the lack of soil on the uplands, the excess of water in the
+hollows, and to the severity of the climate, the forest is not
+continuous, the trees are small, and the vegetation generally of a
+subarctic character. This vast region is without agricultural
+possibilities, and thus far has been of value to man almost solely on
+account of its fur-bearing animals and the fisheries of its coast.
+
+The northern border of the Atlantic plateau cannot at present be
+accurately defined. Seemingly it should include the Arctic archipelago,
+which provisionally may be considered as a deeply dissected plateau
+region, at present less elevated than formerly, thus allowing the sea to
+enter the valleys and to transform old uplands into islands. The bold
+and highly instructive explorations conducted in recent years by
+Robert Bell, for the Canadian Geological Survey, have shown that in the
+region adjacent to Hudson Strait the plateau features characteristic of
+the greater part of the Labrador peninsula are absent and mountains
+occur which rank as the highest on the eastern border of the continent.
+
+On the Pacific coast plateaus corresponding closely with those adjacent
+to or bordering the Atlantic are wanting. What geographers recognise as
+deeply dissected plateaus, so extremely rough that they pass for
+mountain ranges, do occur on the western border of the continent,
+however, and will be described later.
+
+
+                         THE ATLANTIC MOUNTAINS
+
+This title will no doubt appear novel to many persons, and is, perhaps,
+open to adverse criticism, but it serves to unite in one group all of
+the mountains in the eastern half of North America. A cordillera, as
+usually defined, consists of two or more mountain chains associated
+geographically, but not necessarily of the same age. On the Atlantic
+border of the continent we have an example of such a family of
+mountains. The Atlantic mountains, although comprising ranges, systems,
+etc., of widely different ages, are all geologically old, and have
+resulted from upheavals along two generally parallel and slightly
+overlapping northeast and southwest belts adjacent to the Atlantic
+Ocean. The growth of this group of mountains is believed to have been
+from the north southward, and several periods of upheaval have been
+recognised.
+
+The two main divisions or chains referred to are separated by the valley
+of the St. Lawrence. The mountains at the north are known as the
+Laurentides or Laurentian Highlands, and those at the south comprise the
+mountains of New Brunswick and Maine, the White Mountains of New
+Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Adirondack Mountains of
+northeastern New York, and the Appalachians. The most convenient method
+of reviewing the characteristics and histories of these several uplifts
+is to begin with the Appalachians, which are at the same time the
+most important and best known, and consider them in their order from
+south to north.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Appalachian Mountains.]
+
+_The Appalachian Mountains._--This beautiful and frequently exceedingly
+picturesque series of long, narrow ridges separated one from another by
+trough-like valleys, constitutes a mountain system some 900 miles long
+and 50 to 130 or more miles wide (Fig. 15). The truly mountainous
+portion in its widest part, in western North Carolina and eastern
+Tennessee, is about 70 miles across, but a portion of the adjacent
+plateau on the west partakes of the same structural features and is a
+part of the Appalachian uplift. The system is considered as extending
+from the Hudson southward to central Alabama and central Georgia. At the
+north its terminus is indefinite, as it merges with the highlands to the
+east of the Hudson and with the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, which
+in turn are not strictly separable from the Green Mountains of Vermont.
+At the south, the system ends somewhat abruptly where the crystalline
+rocks comprising its southern terminus pass beneath the soft sediments
+of the coastal plain. The eastern border of the system is well defined
+by its junction with the Piedmont plateau, but on the west it merges
+through a series of lessening folds with the plateaus and plains of the
+eastern border of the interior continental basin. The Alleghany plateau,
+which skirts the western border of what is usually recognised as the
+Appalachian Mountains, but which is really its moderately disturbed
+border, extends from the Hudson to Alabama, and in its various portions
+is known by distinct names. Its northern extension overlooking the
+Hudson forms the Catskill Mountains; farther south it becomes locally
+the Alleghany plateau, and still farther south the Cumberland plateau.
+Separating the bold eastern escarpment of this series of plateaus from
+the generally higher mountains to the eastward lies the great
+Appalachian Valley, which under various names extends from the Hudson to
+central Alabama. This important and highly fruitful valley is underlaid
+to a great extent by thick bedded limestones and soft shales, and owes
+its existence to erosion and largely to the removal of limestone
+in solution.
+
+The Appalachians are nowhere lofty, and only approach the
+characteristics of great mountains in their southern portion. The
+culminating summit is Mount Mitchell, in western North Carolina, which
+has an elevation of 6,711 feet. Roan Mountain, 27 miles to the northward
+of Mount Mitchell, rises 6,287 feet above the sea. In the neighbouring
+Unaka and Great Smoky Mountains, to the southwest and west of Mount
+Mitchell, there are many boldly rounded domes ranging in height from
+5,000 to over 6,000 feet Northward of the highly picturesque southern
+Appalachians, the system decreases in height and is really a deeply
+dissected plateau, as will be shown later, in which the long,
+even-crested ridges have a general elevation of 4,000 feet in Virginia
+and about 2,000 feet in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At its northern
+extension in New York it decreases still more in height, and is
+surpassed in elevation by the plateau on the west, there represented by
+the Catskill Mountains, the highest portion of which is 3,660 feet above
+the sea.
+
+The characteristic structural feature of the Appalachians is the
+presence of a great series of up and down folds, or anticlinals and
+synclinals as geologists term them, which run in a nearly parallel
+northeast and southwest direction, but in Pennsylvania especially
+exhibit many broad curves in their general course. These folds are
+similar to the waves that may be produced in a heavy rug or carpet by
+pressing against one of its margins. The rocks have been thrown into a
+series of great wrinkles which are not continuous throughout the length
+of the system, but as one dies out another takes its place. The folds
+overlap at the ends or are arranged _en echelon_. The longer axes of the
+folds are seldom horizontal, but have usually a gentle pitch; for this
+reason one end of a fold frequently passes beneath the surface, while
+the other end is exposed to erosion. Another characteristic is that the
+anticlinals, as a rule, are steep on their western margins, and slope
+more gently on their eastern flanks, or are unsymmetrical. The
+overturning of the folds where most pronounced has led to the
+breaking of the rocks on the west side of an upward wrinkle where the
+descending limb of an anticlinal is sharply bent in order to pass into
+the ascending limb of the adjacent synclinal. These breaks or faults in
+certain instances form thrust planes along which one portion of a series
+of beds has been carried westward, sometimes for several miles, over
+another portion of the same series. This highly characteristic system of
+unsymmetrical folds, passing at times, and especially in Tennessee and
+Alabama, into great thrust planes, is accounted for on the general
+theory that there has been lateral pressure or a tangential thrust,
+which has forced the strata into a series of elongated arches, in much
+the same manner as in the case of a rug, as above suggested, one margin
+of which has been forced by lateral pressure towards its central part.
+
+The rocks composing the greater portion of the Appalachians are
+stratified marine sediment such as sandstone, shale, limestone, etc.,
+which were laid down one on another until a great depth was attained,
+corresponding, as we may fancy, to a pile of rugs, the original
+thickness in Pennsylvania being about 40,000 feet. Lateral pressure
+resulting, as it is believed, from the cooling and consequent
+contraction of the earth's highly heated interior, and the movement of
+the cool and rigid crust in order to keep in contact with the shrinking
+mass beneath, has led to the folding and occasional breaking of the
+rocks, which at the same time were elevated above the sea. A crushing
+together or folding of the rocks similar to that which has taken place
+along the central part of the Atlantic border of North America, as is
+well known, has occurred also in many other regions, and the
+Appalachians may be taken as the type of a class of mountains, sometimes
+termed corrugated mountains, which includes the Alps and Pyrenees, the
+Coast Range of California, etc. For convenience we may speak of such
+mountains as being of the Appalachian type.
+
+Had the folding in the Appalachian region gone on without erosion, the
+surface would to-day be a series of great, elongated arches or
+upward folds, rising in many instances 5,000 or more feet above the
+intervening valleys, and where breaks or faults occur their upraised
+borders would stand as mighty cliffs, in some localities a mile or more
+high. The central part of the region with this strange topography had
+there been no erosion would, perhaps, be fully as prominent as the
+Himalayan Mountains are at present. No sooner, however, were the
+Appalachian Mountains upraised above the sea than the destructive
+agencies of the atmosphere began their attacks upon them. The rocks were
+shattered by changes of temperature, and at times at least crumbled by
+the freezing of absorbed water and also underwent chemical changes which
+softened and disintegrated them. The rains beat upon them, and streams
+flowing to the sea cut channels and carried away the material forming
+the land. These processes of disintegration and erosion have been in
+progress since islands and continents first appeared on the earth, and
+every mountain range now giving diversity to the surface of the land
+represents the net result of elevation over denudation. The Appalachians
+are not an exception, but a typical illustration of this general law.
+The great folds of which they are composed have been truncated by
+erosion and the surfaces thus produced, etched, as it were, by the
+action of the air, rain, and by streams, so as to leave the edges of the
+more resistant layers in relief.
+
+One conspicuous result in this general process of erosion is due to the
+fact that the folded strata consist in many instances of alternating
+hard, or insoluble and soft, or readily soluble layers. Where resistant
+layers underlaid by soft, or readily soluble strata formed the summits
+of arches they have in many instances been broken in the process of
+folding or cut through by streams flowing down their flanks and the weak
+beds beneath exposed. After this stage was reached the erosion of the
+upward folds went on more rapidly than the removal of rock from the
+compressed downward folds, so that what is structurally a ridge became a
+valley: while the bordering troughs or synclinals floored with hard
+layers were left in relief as ridges or table-lands. The anticlinal
+ridges have thus been transformed into topographic valleys and the
+original synclinal troughs left in relief as plateaus and ridges.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Section of anticlinal valleys and synclinal
+mountains.]
+
+This reversion of what would have been ridges and troughs had there been
+no erosion, is illustrated by the following cross-section through
+Lookout Mountain in Alabama, which is an example of what is known as a
+synclinal mountain. Many such synclinal mountains or plateaus, separated
+by narrower anticlinal valleys, occur throughout the Appalachians.
+
+The characteristics in the present topography of the Appalachians just
+considered are but a minor portion of the great changes that have
+resulted from erosion. The history of the system has not been the same
+in this connection throughout, but retains evidences of successive
+upward movements with long periods of erosion intervening which have
+produced certain striking differences in its northern and southern
+portions. These differences are so well marked that it is convenient to
+divide the system into two portions, termed the northern Appalachians
+and southern Appalachians. The most conspicuous difference between the
+two is shown by the direction of flow of the larger rivers. At the
+north, the principal rivers--the Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, and
+James--rise well to the west of the mountains and flow southeast athwart
+the numerous folds, and after crossing the Piedmont plateau and coastal
+plain discharge into the Atlantic. At the south, however, the rivers,
+particularly New River and the Tennessee, rise on the eastern border of
+the Appalachians and flow westward, cutting through the Alleghany
+plateau, and are tributary to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.
+The somewhat arbitrary dividing line between these two provinces
+follows the divide to the north of New River, or in a general way, as
+has been stated by C. W. Hayes, is marked by a line drawn from the most
+easterly point of Kentucky southeastward to Cape Fear, on the Atlantic
+coast.
+
+The fact that several large rivers rising to the northwest of the
+northern Appalachians flow directly across or through the numerous
+ridges composing the system in deep, narrow valleys, and the similar
+behaviour of the streams rising on the eastern border of the southern
+Appalachians, but flowing westward, are among the most interesting
+features of the entire region. Why is it that the mountains have not
+formed a divide or water-parting so as to force all of the streams
+having their sources on its west side to take what would seem the easier
+course, and to flow to the Gulf of Mexico, and cause the waters falling
+on its eastern slopes to flow to the Atlantic? The answer to this
+apparently puzzling question has been furnished by Davis, Willis, Hayes,
+Campbell, and others, who have shown that the mountains were not raised
+all at once, but experienced upward movements at widely separated
+intervals, with intervening periods of rest during which the elevations
+previously produced were more or less completely planed away by erosion.
+During one of these intervals the north Appalachians more especially
+were worn down to approximately sea-level and a gently sloping plain
+produced across which the larger rivers flowed to the Atlantic. This
+peneplain was later upraised into a plateau and its downward inclination
+towards the east increased. The streams were thus given greater energy
+and began again to deepen their channels. They held their right of way
+acquired on the featureless erosion plain and cut deep trenches through
+the edges of the hard layers which crossed their courses. At the same
+time lateral branches were developed which followed the outcrops of the
+less resistant beds and eroded them away so as to leave the hard beds in
+bold relief. As the edges of the more resistant beds became more and
+more prominent the eastward-flowing streams cut deeper and deeper into
+them. The even summits of the ridges, one of the most striking
+features in the beautiful scenery of the Appalachians, still mark the
+position of the elevated erosion plain.
+
+In the southern Appalachian the old erosion plain formed nearly at
+sea-level was tilted gently westward, and the streams flowing over its
+surface given initial courses in that direction, which were maintained
+as they deepened their channels, and on account of increased energy
+originating from the upraising of the region drained by them, developed
+lateral branches, as is the case of the more northern streams just
+referred to, and the process of carving away the land to sea-level was
+again renewed.
+
+Portions of the original upland or mountain mass left unconsumed during
+the long period of planation, which reduced most of the region nearly to
+sea-level, still remain in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina,
+and northern Georgia, and form the highest and most picturesque portion
+of the Appalachians.
+
+After the upraised peneplain from which the long, even-crested ridges of
+the Appalachians were produced by the excavation of the bordering
+valleys had been deeply dissected and the valleys broadened, another
+upward movement took place and the streams again deepened their valleys.
+This is the stage in which we now find the mountains. The crests of the
+ridges, characteristically displayed in eastern Pennsylvania, are
+portions of the first peneplain of which a definite record is preserved,
+while the broad valleys with sharply cut channels in their bottoms
+represent the much less complete second stage of planation.
+
+The two ancient peneplains referred to above, the histories of which are
+recorded in the topography, have received definite names in order that
+they may be readily designated. The older and higher one is termed the
+Schooley peneplain[2] on account of the preservation of a typical
+portion at Schooley Mountain in New Jersey, while the lower one,
+represented by the broad valley through which flows the Shenandoah
+River, Virginia, is known as the Shenandoah peneplain. A generalized
+profile in a northwest and southeast direction through a portion of the
+Appalachians is shown in the following diagram, which will serve to make
+more definite the description just given. The highest summits in the
+diagram represent portions of the Schooley peneplain; if the depressions
+could be refilled the surface of the great plateau formed by the
+elevation of this plain would be restored. The bottoms of the broad
+depressions represent the Shenandoah peneplain, which is sharply
+trenched by the modern river channels.
+
+[2] Also known as the "Kittatinny peneplain," but the name used above
+has priority.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Generalized east-and-west profile showing
+relation of peneplains.]
+
+The Appalachians thus furnish not only a typical example of a mountain
+system produced by the folding and upheaval of the rocks of the earth's
+crust, accompanied in many localities by breaks or faults and
+overthrusts, but also preserve the records of two well-characterized
+peneplains. The long and varied history of the range has been in part
+interpreted by geologists from the character of the rocks, the fossils
+they contain, and the structure that has been impressed upon them; but
+some of the most instructive chapters are recorded in the topography,
+and their study has led to a highly creditable advance in methods of
+geographical research.
+
+The Appalachian Mountains when first seen by Europeans were clothed
+throughout with a varied and beautiful forest consisting largely of
+hardwood trees. Nowhere do they invade the region of perpetual snow, and
+glaciers are absent. These statements are true also for all of the
+mountains on the eastern side of the continent to the south of Hudson
+Strait.
+
+The Appalachians abound in beautiful scenery, but, except about a few of
+the very highest domes and ridges, have little of the stern
+ruggedness which is typical of truly great mountains. Their countless
+valleys are now mostly cleared of their primitive forests and under
+cultivation. To a large extent also even the steep hillsides are tilled.
+The larger trees which formerly grew on the mountains have nearly all
+been felled, and where the land is not suitable for cultivation their
+place is taken by a dense second growth. Under the mild, humid climate
+that prevails, more especially from the vicinity of the Susquehanna
+River southward, the rocks are deeply disintegrated and decayed, and
+even steep mountainsides are mantled with soil and rock _debris_. It is
+the excess of disintegration and decay over erosion which gives to the
+mountains their usually flowing outlines and pleasingly picturesque
+rather than rugged scenery. The valleys still retain much of the
+material washed from the uplands, and are deeply floored with rich soil.
+The characteristic colours of this decayed rock-waste are many shades of
+red and yellow, which harmonize in a most artistic manner with the
+prevailing green of the plant-covered uplands and abandoned fields.
+These red and yellow soils, particularly about the bases of the higher
+summits of the southern Appalachians, afford abundant crops of cotton,
+corn (maize), and tobacco.
+
+_The Mountains of New England, New York, New Brunswick, etc._--The
+picturesque Berkshire Hills, in the western portion of Massachusetts,
+have rounded and flowing outlines and a generally subdued relief. The
+more prominent of these greatly eroded remnants of what was once a
+mountain range rise but 2,000 to 3,500 feet above the sea. No
+satisfactory boundary between these hills of gneiss, schist, and allied
+metamorphic rocks, and the others of the same general character in the
+neighbouring portions of New York and New Jersey, has been determined.
+So far as the relief is concerned, and so far also as the complex
+geological history has been deciphered, there seems no good reason for
+separating the Berkshire Hills from the Appalachian Mountains. It is
+convenient, however, to consider the Appalachians as terminating at the
+Hudson. The Berkshire Hills when traced northward merge with a
+region of similar topography which unites them with the Green Mountains
+of Vermont, the highest summit of which, Mount Mansfield, attains an
+elevation of 4,364 feet above the sea. To the east of the Green
+Mountains are situated the still higher and more rugged White Mountains
+of New Hampshire, which culminate in Mount Washington. This widely known
+and greatly admired peak has an elevation of 6,293 feet, and, next to
+Mount Mitchell in the southern Appalachians, is the highest mountain on
+the eastern side of the continent to the south of the newly discovered
+group of peaks near Hudson Strait. Associated with Mount Washington are
+at least 15 peaks, each of which is over 5,000 feet high, and a still
+larger number of lesser summits which exceed 4,000 feet in elevation
+above the sea. The remarkable natural beauties of the Green and White
+Mountains, the ease with which they can be reached by means of
+railroads, and the numerous summer hotels, and hospitable farmhouses
+interspersed among them, make this, the most mountainous portion of New
+England, a favourite region for summer rest and recreation. The Green
+and White Mountains are nearly parallel north and south ranges, from 30
+to 60 miles apart, and separated by a tract of lower but hilly country
+with a generally southern slope, where many streams unite to form the
+southward-flowing Connecticut River.
+
+The Adirondack Mountains, in northeastern New York, are situated some 25
+miles to the west of the Green Mountains, and separated from them by
+another tract of hilly country similar to the one dividing the mountains
+of Vermont from those of New Hampshire. In this space lies the irregular
+sheet of water over 100 miles long known as Lake Champlain. This
+beautiful lake discharges northward through Richelieu River to the St.
+Lawrence. In the same tract of hills, but to the southward of Lake
+Champlain and tributary to it, lies the smaller but still more charming
+Lake George.
+
+The Adirondacks are rudely circular in ground plan, and measure from 60
+to 70 miles from east to west, and about 100 miles from north to south.
+The entire area, known to the early settlers of New York State as
+the North Woods, is rugged and most pleasingly diversified. Its leading
+charms are the large number of dark, densely forested summits, the many
+beautiful lakes and clear, sparkling streams. The highest of the
+numerous steep-sided peaks is Mount Marcy, 5,344 feet, and second in
+rank is the equally beautiful eminence known as Whiteface, which rises
+4,872 feet above the sea and about 3,000 feet above the adjacent
+valleys. Over 20 neighbouring forest-covered summits have elevations in
+excess of 4,000 feet.
+
+The rugged region in northeastern New York and the adjacent portion of
+New England is in general without well-marked boundaries. On the north
+it extends into Canada, and is margined by the great valley through
+which flows the St. Lawrence. In the province of Ottawa, to the south of
+the St. Lawrence, there is a group of bold hills similar in many ways to
+the Green Mountains, known as the Notre Dame Mountains, which decreases
+in height when traced northward and merge with a roughened plateau which
+extends far to the northeast and embraces the Gaspe Peninsula and the
+table-land and hills of New Brunswick. Much of the country adjacent to
+the St. Lawrence on the south is rolling and hilly and contains large
+tracts of rich agricultural land which is highly favourable for dairying
+and sheep-raising. Mount Sutton, the highest elevation in the Notre Dame
+Mountains, is 4,000 feet high, and several other forest-covered
+mountain-like hills range in elevation from 1,000 to 3,000 feet. In the
+irregular valleys of this region there are a large number of lakes,
+situated in general from 700 to 1,000 feet above the sea. The Gaspe
+Peninsula to the north of New Brunswick, bordered on the north by the
+valley of the St. Lawrence, and on the east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+has a rough relief and dense forests and is still a wilderness. The
+general elevation of the uplands in this little known region is about
+1,500 feet. The surface is in reality a broad plateau in which numerous
+valleys have been excavated and from which rises a range of hills termed
+the Shikshock Mountains, some 65 miles long and 4 or 5 miles wide,
+with peaks ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in height.
+
+Much of Maine and New Brunswick is similar to the region just referred
+to, and, in a generalized geographical view, may be considered as a part
+of the great coastal plateau of the northeastern portion of the
+continent, roughened by erosion so as to appear to one travelling
+through its valleys as an endless succession of rugged hills. The
+highest of the numerous prominences in Maine is Mount Katahdin, 5,200
+feet, and in New Brunswick the culminating summit is Bald Mountain,
+2,470 feet.
+
+The rugged region embracing the Adirondacks, together with the more
+elevated portions of New England and of the adjacent provinces of
+Canada, has many geographical features that are similar to those of the
+southern Appalachians, but at the same time this, the central portion,
+differs in a marked way from the southern extension of the Atlantic
+mountains. The higher mountains in each of these picturesque regions are
+at least in a general way to be considered as the unconsumed remnants of
+ancient uplands, the greater part of which have been eroded away. The
+most marked contrast in the scenery of these two regions of similar
+elevation is due to the presence of a great number of lakes at the
+north, many of them of large size, and the total absence of such
+beautifying elements in the landscapes at the south. The streams at the
+north are frequently impetuous and broken by many cataracts and rapids,
+thus furnishing abundant water-power; while at the south the streams
+flow through more evenly graded channels and are without cascades except
+near their sources in the mountains. These contrasts are such as are to
+be found the world over between regions of young and old topography. The
+differences in the degree of development reached by the streams of the
+New England region as contrasted with those of the southern
+Appalachians, finds an explanation in the fact that New England, Canada,
+etc., was formerly covered with glacial ice, and on the retreat of the
+glaciers the surface of the land was left with an essentially new
+relief, while the southern Appalachians were well to the south of
+the great ice invasion, and the streams of that region have reached a
+mature development, except near the sources of their head-water
+branches, which, like the topmost twigs of a tree, are always young.
+
+The central, like the southern portion of the Atlantic mountains, is
+forest-clothed. All but a few of the highest summits in the Adirondack
+and White Mountains are concealed beneath a dense and varied growth of
+trees and shrubs. The summits, which are nearly bare of vegetation, like
+the upper 800 or 1,000 feet of Mount Washington, owe this condition to
+lack of soil rather than to elevation. Nowhere in the Atlantic mountains
+to the south of the but little known peaks near Hudson Strait, is the
+elevation sufficient to reach above what would be the timber-line under
+favourable soil conditions. The trees of the White and neighbouring
+mountains are principally various species of conifers, such as the pine,
+spruce, hemlock, larch, etc., which grow thickly on all but the most
+precipitous slopes. Before man disfigured the beauties of the land the
+lower hills, the river-valleys, and the borders of the numerous lakes
+and tarns were clothed with a more varied flora than the uplands. In
+these valley forests the dark foliage of evergreens is in summer mingled
+with the lighter green of maples, beeches, birches, oaks, locusts, and
+other broad-leaf trees. The forests are thus highly diversified and
+partake of the characteristics of both the northern and southern floras.
+It is in these northern woods that the glorious autumnal colouring for
+which North America is justly famous is to be seen in its greatest
+splendour. October is here truly the golden month of the year. At that
+season the bold hills, with their sombre robes of coniferous trees, rise
+like dark rugged islands above an undulating sea from which the most
+gorgeous sunset colours seem to be reflected. The brilliant colouring of
+the ripe foliage beautifies the land as with a cloth of gold. It is at
+this season also, during the tranquil days of what is known as Indian
+Summer, that a purple haze is thrown like a veil over the harlequin
+landscape, as if to subdue its glories and bring them within the range
+of man's appreciation.
+
+Only a few of the higher summits in the New England region approach the
+scenic conditions usually associated with truly lofty mountains. In
+fact, the general lack of rugged escarpments as well as of great
+elevation leads the geographer to rank even the highest of these rounded
+summits as hills of large size rather than attempt to burden them with
+the dignity that the term mountain carries with it. They are beautiful
+hills, separated one from another by lovely valleys, which draw the
+beholder to them and fill his memory with tender longings and vague
+dreamy fancies such as the sterner grandeurs of great mountains fail to
+awaken.
+
+_The Laurentian Highlands._--A vast area in the eastern portion of
+Canada, to the north of the valley of the St. Lawrence, including
+Labrador, is underlaid by very ancient crystalline rocks of the same
+general character as those forming the Adirondacks. This same geological
+system, the Archean, has a wide development in the continental basin to
+the north of Lake Superior and about Hudson Bay. To the north of Quebec,
+in the region drained by the Saguenay and Ottawa Rivers, the land has a
+general elevation of 1,500 to 1,600 feet, and is known as the Laurentian
+Highlands, although sometimes dignified by the name Laurentian
+Mountains, or, more briefly, as the Laurentides. In reality, this broad,
+indefinitely defined region from a geographical point of view is a
+roughened plateau and not a mountain range or group of ranges. When the
+structure and metamorphosed condition of the rocks are considered,
+however, it is found that they have the characteristics pertaining to
+the central and more deeply seated portions of true mountains. The rocks
+are mainly crystalline schist, gneiss, granite, etc., together with
+igneous intrusions, all of which have been intensely folded, crumpled,
+and broken. The general interpretation of the existing conditions is
+that deep erosion has occurred and, in fact, a mountain range or a
+mountain chain worn down to a generally plane surface. The thickness of
+the rocks thus removed, or the depth of erosion, is unknown, and owing
+mainly to the complexity of the geological structure of the terranes
+remaining, will perhaps never be ascertained, but can be safely
+estimated as not only hundreds, but several thousands of feet. Erosion
+has laid bare portions of the earth's crust which were once deeply
+buried, and reveals the character of the "basement complex," as it has
+been termed, which forms the foundation of the continent. Owing to the
+great age of the rocks and the depth to which they were once depressed
+in the earth's crust, they have experienced great changes. They are not
+only intensely folded and crushed, but in large part have been caused to
+flow under great pressure, and have thus acquired a schistose structure.
+Fissures have been filled with molten rock injected from below so as to
+form dikes, and possibly still greater or regional intrusions have
+occurred. Over large areas the amount of once molten and intruded rock
+exceeds the surface exposure of what are usually, but with some
+hesitation, classed as metamorphosed sediments.
+
+Long exposure to the air in a region of mild relief is usually
+accompanied by the formation of a deep soil. The soil over the
+Laurentian Highlands, however, is generally thin, and large areas of
+bare rock are exposed. The explanation of this apparent anomaly is that
+glaciers during a geologically recent period were formed on this region
+and flowed away from it, carrying most of the previously formed rock
+_debris_ with them. The time since the melting of the glaciers has been
+too short for a new soil to form, except in the valleys and depressions
+among the bare glaciated hills, which hold a peaty accumulation
+resulting from the partial decay of vegetation. The scarcity of soil is
+also due in part to the climatic conditions now prevailing, which are
+unfavourable to rapid rock decay.
+
+To the north of the Laurentian Highlands and in the vicinity of Hudson
+Strait, the land becomes higher, and as recently reported by Robert
+Bell, of the Canadian Geological Survey, forms true mountains with
+elevations in the neighbourhood of 8,000 feet. What revelations are to
+come from the inhospitable and in large part ice-covered lands still
+farther north can only be told as exploration and surveys are extended
+in that direction.
+
+This brief review of some of the leading characteristics of the
+mountains and hills adjacent to the Atlantic coast will, I think, serve
+to show that they bear a family relationship; like the members of a
+family, they are of various ages, although all of them are past their
+prime, and may with propriety be termed the _Atlantic Cordillera_.
+
+
+                         THE CONTINENTAL BASIN
+
+An inspection of the map forming Fig. 14, on which the larger
+geographical features of North America are indicated, will assist the
+reader in appreciating the general relations and extent of the plains
+and plateaus which collectively form the Continental basin.
+
+This medial region of the continent is bordered on the east for some
+2,000 miles by the Atlantic mountains, and on the west throughout its
+entire extent by the Pacific mountains. It is open to the sea at both
+the north and the south, and extends in one continuous series of plains
+and plateaus from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. The southern
+portion of this interior basin or trough has already been briefly
+described in discussing the characteristics of the Gulf plains. The
+northern portion has also been considered in describing the tundra
+region adjacent to the Arctic Ocean.
+
+The leading geographical features of the North American continental
+basin are its generally low elevation, the mildness of its topographic
+details, and, with two exceptions, the absence within its borders of
+elevations having a mountainous structure. In general the rocks beneath
+the surface are horizontally stratified marine sediments. The stream-cut
+valleys are shallow and usually broad, except in the bordering plateaus
+and foot-hills on the east and west sides, where the streams frequently
+flow several hundred feet below the surface of the broad, flat-topped
+interstream spaces. The drainage of the continental basin serves as a
+convenient basis for subdividing it into three separate portions. These
+are the Gulf slope, which discharges its surplus waters into the Gulf of
+Mexico and is drained principally by the Mississippi; the St.
+Lawrence slope, occupied in part by the Great Lakes and drained by the
+St. Lawrence River; and the arctic slope, down which the Mackenzie,
+Nelson, and other rivers flow to the Arctic Ocean or to Hudson Bay. At
+no place are the Pacific mountains broken by cross-drainage, so as to
+allow the continental basin to send a tribute to the Pacific Ocean.
+
+The vast extent of the Continental basin, embracing, as it does, some
+three-fourths of the entire area of North America, makes it necessary,
+even in a general review of the large geographical features of the
+continent, to recognise smaller subdivisions than the three great
+drainage slopes referred to above. For this purpose we select the more
+or less well-defined plains and plateaus into which the region is
+naturally subdivided. The portion of the Continental basin embraced
+within the boundaries of the United States has been shown by J. W.
+Powell to consist of the following physiographic regions, namely, the
+Gulf plains; the Prairie plains; the Lake plains, including the region
+draining to the Great Lakes; and the Great plateaus or Great plains, as
+they are more generally termed, adjacent to the eastern border of the
+Pacific mountains. Several of these divisions need to be extended and
+still others recognised in order to include the entire region under
+review. The portion of the Continental basin to the north of the United
+States-Canadian boundary has been only partially explored, and the
+subdivisions of it suggested below are to be considered as provisional.
+
+The Lake plains include in Canada the country to the north of the Great
+Lakes, which drains to them, but excepting the flat lands bordering
+Lakes Erie and Ontario and once covered by their waters, the region
+referred to is rather a roughened plateau than a plain. From a
+geological point of view the hilly country composed of crystalline rocks
+to the north of Lakes Superior and Huron and included within their
+hydrographic basins partakes more of the character of the Laurentian
+Highlands than it does of the features of the portion of the Lake plains
+situated in the United States.
+
+The Prairie plains also extend far to the north of the international
+boundary, and on their northern border merge with the forest-covered
+plains in central Manitoba and the northern portion of Saskatchewan,
+which are drained by northward-flowing rivers. These plains in the far
+north differ from the Prairie plains in the fact that they are forested
+and acquire greater diversity from the presence of innumerable lakes,
+several of which are of large size. For convenience we may designate
+this vast and but little known northern region as the Subarctic Forest
+plains. Still farther north, where the forest dies away, lie the Barren
+Grounds, which merge on their northern border with the frozen morasses
+or tundra of the arctic coastal plain.
+
+To acquire just conceptions of the topographic and other characteristics
+of the several regions of mild relief which make up the Continental
+basin is a difficult task, as each one is of great extent and possesses
+many peculiarities of its own, and besides, in two separate regions,
+each embracing many hundreds of square miles, movements in the earth's
+crust have occurred of such a nature as to elevate the rocks and give
+them the general structure commonly found in mountain ranges. Reference
+is here made to the Ozark uplift in the southwestern portion of the
+Prairie plains and the Black Hills of Dakota which rise from the Great
+plateaus.
+
+_The Ozark Uplift._--There is an area embracing about 75,000 square
+miles in southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and the eastern border of
+the Indian Territory, in which the rocks have been upraised above the
+surrounding Gulf and Prairie plains. The uplift, if we imagine it
+uneroded, would have the general form of an inverted canoe; that is, it
+would form an elongated ridge, broad and dome-like in the central
+portion and dying away on all sides into the great surrounding region of
+undisturbed and essentially horizontal rocks. The major axis of the
+uplift, although exhibiting a double curvature, has a general northeast
+and southwest trend. It is about 500 miles long, and in the widest part
+is approximately 200 miles broad. What the height of the dome
+would be had the rocks composing it not yielded to the destructive
+influences of the air or been removed by streams cannot be readily
+estimated, since the movements of the earth's crust which upraised it
+occurred at several widely separated intervals with intervening periods
+of decay and erosion, and downward movements have also been experienced
+which submerged the region and permitted the deposit of sheets of
+sediment over it. If the results of the upbuilding agencies had not in a
+large measure been counteracted in these several ways, the dome to-day
+would have a height of several thousand feet. In the present condition
+the deeply eroded dome presents the net result of elevation over
+subsidence and erosion. The dome-like form is lost, and in its place is
+a complex series of ridges and valleys. The higher summits now
+remaining, situated principally in the Iron Mountain district in
+northeastern Missouri, rise from 1,400 to 1,800 feet above the
+neighbouring plains, and from 1,800 to 2,100 feet above the sea.
+
+The greater intensity with which the rocks in the southwestern portion
+of the Ozark uplift have been folded than in the more northern portion
+and the varying degrees to which the beds have yielded to denudation
+have resulted in giving to its various parts different types of
+topography. This diversity has led to the recognition of several
+distinct divisions, such as the Shawnee Hills, at the extreme
+northeastern end of the uplift, where the rocks have been folded and the
+ridges cut across by the Mississippi; the St. Francois Mountains, in
+southeastern Missouri, composed of a large number of isolated hills and
+rising from 500 to 800 feet above the adjacent valleys; the Ozark
+plateau, in southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, the central
+part of which has a general elevation of 1,500 feet above the sea, and
+to one travelling over it seems a boundless and featureless plain
+underlaid by apparently horizontal but in reality gently westward
+dipping sheets of stratified rocks; the Boston Mountains, in central and
+western Arkansas, consisting of rugged irregular ridges and truncated
+summits with a general crest-line elevation of 1,000 feet above
+the sea; and the Ouachita (pronounced _Wichitaw_) Mountains, formed of
+numerous rudely parallel upward folds of hard rock, which rise from 500
+to 1,000 feet above the adjacent valleys and form a belt of unusually
+picturesque, forest-crowned hills, extending from Little Rock, Arkansas,
+westward into Indian Territory.
+
+The study of the island-like Ozark region in the broad, ocean-like
+expanse of the prairies is far from being complete. Although
+topographically distinct and appearing as one of the minor units in the
+geology of the continent, geologists are inclined to the view that the
+Ozark uplift as above described should be considered as consisting of
+two independent but contiguous areas of upheaval, namely, the Ozark
+Hills, situated mainly in Missouri, and the Ouachita Hills, lying mainly
+in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. This Ozark-Ouachita region--by
+whatever name finally designated--is one with a long and varied, nay,
+even a poetic history. In writing of the Archean rocks of the Iron
+Mountain region, Missouri, Arthur Winslow states that they "are truly
+ancient elevations, older than any others in the State, older than the
+mountains of Arkansas, older than the Appalachians, older than the Rocky
+Mountains; if venerable be an attribute of great age, they certainly
+merit that appellation. For not only are all other rocks of Missouri
+youthful as compared with these, but there is a genetic relationship,
+and the former are in a sense descendants of the latter. For when the
+limestones and other sedimentary rocks were yet unformed these
+crystalline rocks must have existed as parts of a continental mass, and
+from the degradation of this continent resulted the materials of the
+later formed sedimentary rocks. The present granite and porphyry hills
+are but protruding parts of the remnant of this ancient continent which
+stood as islands above the ocean waters while the beds of limestone and
+sandstone were being formed about them, which rose with these beds when
+they were lifted from the waters, which now, rugged and weather-beaten,
+yet tempered by age and varied experience, rear themselves above the
+surrounding younger rocks and bid fair still to live when the
+latter have yielded to the forces of degradation."
+
+Besides its pleasing scenery, varied and abundant mineral resources, and
+health-giving springs, this oasis of hills amid the unvaried monotony of
+the grass-covered plains in the southern portion of the continental
+basin derives an additional attraction from its forest growths in which
+southern pines are mingled with oaks, hickories, walnuts, and other
+broad-leaved trees. The soil is generally productive, and great fields
+of corn and cotton may be seen side by side.
+
+_The Gulf Plains._--The Gulf plains include the western portion of
+Florida, and extend westward and southward about the borders of the Gulf
+of Mexico in a continuous belt from 50 to 60 to perhaps 100 miles wide,
+to where the Pacific mountains approach the coast in east-central
+Mexico. This low, gently seaward-sloping region, underlaid by soft
+horizontal strata, possesses a generally rich soil well adapted for the
+cultivation of cotton, corn, sugar-cane, and rice. In the low, hot
+country of eastern Mexico nearly all tropical fruits can be successfully
+raised. The most characteristic as well as the broadest portion of this
+productive belt is in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana, and
+extends northward with a gradually decreasing width to the mouth of the
+Ohio. This is the lower Mississippi basin, which owes its existence
+mainly to the deposits of silt laid down by the river after which it is
+named. Much of the land is really the delta of the "Father of Waters,"
+over which that river spreads out in vast inundations each year.
+
+The Gulf plains skirt the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, and
+to the west of the Mississippi are bordered in part by the Ozark uplift.
+There are certain reasons for believing that these two regions of
+elevation, characterized by a similar geological structure, are portions
+of a single greatly disturbed belt, but are now separated by a broad
+area which has been depressed and deeply covered with comparatively
+recent sediments. But that this general view of the origin of the larger
+features in the relief of the Gulf States can be accepted with
+entire confidence is questionable. True it is, however, that the delta
+region of the Mississippi has undergone many up and down movements, and
+that several successive sheets of sediment have been laid down upon it,
+but that the folds and crumplings characteristic of the southern
+Appalachians and of the Ozark uplift extend across the intervening space
+beneath the covering of horizontal rocks has not been demonstrated.
+
+The Gulf plains throughout are less than 500 feet above the sea, and
+much of the Gulf margin and the similar tract which extends northward to
+the mouth of the Ohio has an elevation of less than 100 feet. The fringe
+of lowland bordering the Gulf and extending up the course of the
+Mississippi is generally swampy and contains numerous small water bodies
+which owe their existence to the cutting off of the beds of the river so
+as to form what are termed ox-bow lakes.
+
+Previous to the settlement of the Gulf plains by Europeans and the
+clearing of much of the land for plantations it was clothed with such a
+dense growth of trees and vines as to be almost impenetrable. The
+southern pine there reaches its greatest perfection and is the basis of
+a great lumber industry, and oaks of several species, the wide-spreading
+white-trunked sycamore, the still more stately tulip-tree with its
+cup-like blossoms of yellow, the fragrant magnolia, the seemingly always
+aged cypress, the gum-tree, and many other species of arboreal
+vegetation also find most congenial conditions for their growth. The
+dwarf palmetto, which forms such a characteristic growth in Florida,
+extends northward in the Mississippi basin to the southern border of the
+Ozark uplift. Much of the luxuriant moss and lichen draped forest of the
+Gulf plains with all its primitive network of shrubs and vines still
+remains.
+
+_The Prairie Plains._--A prairie in the current use of the term is a
+generally level region, either a plain or a plateau, without forests but
+clothed with a carpet of luxuriant grasses and flowering annuals. A
+rolling prairie is an undulating or hilly, grass-covered region. The
+Great plains of the west-central portion of the Continental basin
+meet these requirements, and are typical prairies. On their eastern and
+northern border the Prairie plains merge with the adjacent forested
+plains, and on the west from Mexico northward to the subarctic forest
+pass by still less tangible gradations into the more elevated and drier
+Great plateaus or high plains, where bunch-grass, with bare intervals
+between the scattered tufts, takes the place of the continuous sod of
+the true prairies. The reasons for the change from forest to prairie and
+beyond to the land of the bunch-grass as one travels from east to west
+across the interior basin, lie in differences in the humidity of the
+climate.
+
+The Prairie plains have their beginning at the south in Mexico a short
+distance from the Rio Grande, and are prolonged northward through
+central Texas, meeting to the north of Red River the forest-covered
+Ouachita Hills. But to the west of the Ozark uplift the Prairie plains
+extend northward in a belt about 100 miles wide which expands in Kansas,
+northern Missouri, eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and western Ohio to
+fully 800 miles. In this highly fertile region, now the most productive
+agricultural area of comparable size in North America, if not in the
+world, one may travel in a straight line for nearly 1,000 miles through
+a land without high hills but pleasingly diversified by undulations of
+the generally level surface and by winding stream-formed valleys
+bordered by swelling bluffs, without losing sight of towns, villages, or
+comfortable farmhouses. In spring this entire region is bright green
+with pastures and sprouting grain-fields, and in autumn yellow with the
+harvest. Miles on miles of rustling corn-fields form the most
+characteristic feature of the summer landscapes.
+
+The Prairie plains contract to the north of Illinois and Iowa to a width
+of about 200 miles, being encroached upon by the forests of the Great
+Lakes region, but are prolonged northward through Minnesota and the
+Dakotas far into Canada. The length of these natural meadows from south
+to north is nearly 2,000 miles; their entire area is not far from
+500,000 square miles. On the north they merge with the vast region
+of similar relief which is darkened by the pines and spruces of the
+subarctic forest.
+
+The northern portion of the original prairie region has been given a new
+and in some respects a more pleasing aspect by the sowing of millions of
+acres with wheat. This is the most favourable large area for wheat
+culture in North America, and one of the three great wheat-growing
+regions in the world. The most productive portion of these northern
+wheat-lands lies in the valley of the Red River of the North, situated
+in part in Minnesota and the eastern portion of the Dakotas, but
+including also the plains of Manitoba. Could we view the broad extent of
+the Prairie plains as do the birds in their southward migrations, we
+would see them golden with the sheen of ripening wheat at the north,
+green and russet in the central portion with corn, and white with cotton
+to the south. Everywhere from south to north and east to west the vast
+expanse is dotted with the curling wreaths arising from household fires,
+and at hundreds of localities blotted by the smoke of towns, factories,
+smelting-works, and coal-mines.
+
+Throughout the entire extent of the Prairie plains the underlying rocks
+are essentially horizontal, and consist largely of limestone. An ancient
+sea-bottom has been broadly upraised with but slight disturbances of the
+strata to a general elevation of about 800 feet in Minnesota and the
+Dakotas. From this low continental divide the land slopes gently both to
+the north and south. The local variations of surface are due mainly to
+the unequal weathering of the rocks and the excavation of stream-formed
+valleys. To the north of the mouth of the Ohio, however, the prairie, in
+common with the adjacent regions, was formerly occupied by glacial ice,
+which on melting left widely spread deposits of clay, stones, gravel,
+etc., which gave the region a new surface, and in certain instances
+turned the streams from their former courses. Much of the rolling
+prairie inherits its billowy surface from the glaciers. In the midst of
+the young topography of glacial and more recent date there is an area of
+about 10,000 square miles in southwestern Wisconsin and adjacent
+portions of Minnesota and Iowa which is surrounded by the deposits of
+the ancient ice-sheets (glacial drifts), but not covered by them. This
+driftless area, as it is termed, has an old topography in striking
+contrast to the relief of the region about it, in which broad
+river-valleys bordered by the pinnacled and castellated rocks exposed in
+the bordering slopes of the adjacent uplands are among the most
+conspicuous features.
+
+The soil of this driftless region is a ferruginous clay, resulting from
+the prolonged weathering of the rocks, principally limestone, on which
+it rests, while the surfaces formerly covered by glacial ice are mantled
+with soil of a mixed character containing many fragments and large
+boulders of compact rock. In the prairies to the south of the glacial
+boundary the soils are mainly of a sedentary origin, and have resulted
+from the disintegration and decay of the rocks on which they rest, but
+usually rendered black by the humus resulting from the partial decay of
+numberless generating grasses and other lowly plants. This black soil is
+wonderfully productive and furnishes the basis of the greater part of
+the wealth and industries of the region it covers. The minor exceptions
+to the general fertility occur where the rocks immediately underlying
+the surface, as in the zinc and lead region of southwestern Missouri,
+are highly charged with flint-like material, which remains when the
+limestone once containing it is dissolved and carried away. The
+horizontal sheets of rock beneath the broad central portion of the
+Prairie plains belong to the Carboniferous system and contain highly
+valuable seams of bituminous coal. The area of these coal-producing
+lands is estimated at 125,000 square miles. In this same region also
+there are extensive tracts in which natural gas and petroleum are
+obtained in remarkable abundance. In southern Wisconsin and the adjacent
+portions of Illinois valuable deposits of lead occur under conditions
+similar to those associated with the lead and zinc mines about the
+northern border of the Ozark uplift.
+
+Owing to the demand for transportation facilities and the mild
+relief of the land, the entire extent of the Prairie plains is covered
+with a double-lined network of steel. The ganglia in this pulsating
+nerve system of intercommunication are Chicago (here included, as it
+belongs to the prairie as well as to the Great Lakes region), St. Louis,
+Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, St. Paul, etc., cities with from
+100,000 to over 1,500,000 inhabitants, and hundreds of lesser centres of
+trade, manufacture, and education.
+
+_The Lake Plains._--The region draining to the Great Lakes--or the
+Laurentian lakes, as they may, perhaps, be more properly designated,
+since they form the source of the river of that name--presents many
+striking contrasts to the more monotonous treeless prairies skirting it
+on the south and west.
+
+The name "Lake plains," suggested by J. W. Powell for the portion of the
+region here referred to within the borders of the United States, when
+extended to the entire area draining to the Laurentian lakes, is in part
+a misnomer, since much of its surface is rough and irregular. In a
+certain sense, however, the term _plain_ is applicable, since it
+includes a plain of water over 95,000 square miles in area. The combined
+areas of the lakes are greater than that of the region draining to them.
+The land bordering the Laurentian lakes is underlaid to a large extent
+by horizontal or but slightly disturbed sedimentary rocks, but includes
+on the north a portion of the contorted, crystalline terranes already
+referred to as forming the Laurentian Highlands, and in general is
+characterized by the mildness of its relief. The elevations of the
+surfaces of the several Laurentian lakes above the sea are, in feet, as
+follows: Superior, 602; Michigan and Huron, 582; Erie, 373; and Ontario,
+247. The land forming the margins of these water bodies rises in general
+less than 300 feet above their surfaces. In portions of northern
+Michigan and in the region of crystalline rocks to the north of Lakes
+Superior and Huron, however, the relief is more pronounced and there are
+many bold rounded hills with basins between them.
+
+The principal part of the nearly plane land surface about the Laurentian
+lakes is in immediate proximity to their borders, and records the
+former extent of their waters. These plains, composed of clay deposited
+from the lakes when more widely expanded than at present, form a fringe
+from 5 to 50 or more miles broad all about the present lake margins.
+Across this gently sloping surface the streams from the uplands,
+increasing in length as the lakes were lowered, have excavated narrow,
+steep-sided channels. These modern plains furnish typical illustrations
+of young topography.
+
+In its primitive condition nearly the entire Laurentian lakes region was
+densely covered with trees. Previous to the destruction which followed
+the advance of the lumbermen its northern portion contained some of the
+finest and most valuable white-pine forests on the continent. To the
+south of the Laurentian Lakes, and in a general way adjacent to the
+Prairie plains, there were park-like areas in the forest, known as
+oak-openings, where picturesque bur-oak grew in open groves amid
+luxuriant natural meadows. These sunlit gardens, yellow and purple with
+golden-rods and asters in autumn, owed their existence to soil
+conditions determined long previously by the streams issuing from the
+margin of the retreating ice-sheet, which formed level areas of sand and
+gravel. The loose open texture of these deposits renders them less
+retentive of moisture than the neighbouring morainal hills, and during
+the long hot summers all but the most deeply rooted of the trees that
+spring up upon them perished.
+
+The soil throughout the Great Lake region is nearly all of glacial
+origin and presents many local variations, dependent principally on the
+fact that the streams flowing from the ice assorted the _debris_
+delivered to them. The surface material, technically speaking, is of
+both glacial and fluvio-glacial origin. The former consists principally
+of stony clay or _till_, and the latter of gravel. About the immediate
+border of the existing lakes lacustral clays form the surface. The
+leading characteristics of the glacial and fluvio-glacial soils are
+their varied composition and endurance under cultivation. The glaciers
+that ploughed the land preparatory to the present harvest gathered
+together a great variety of rock _debris_, much of it broken and
+unweathered and not leached of its more soluble constituents.
+
+The most typical portion of the Lake plains, including the southern part
+of the province of Ontario and the southern shores of the Laurentian
+lakes from Minnesota to New York, is highly favourable for agricultural
+pursuits, and produces in abundance a great variety of crops as well as
+richly flavoured fruits, luscious berries, and healthful vegetables. The
+beneficial influence of the neighbouring water bodies on the climate,
+tempering the heat of the summers and moderating the severity of the
+winters, is shown especially in the distribution of the fruit belts of
+Michigan, Ohio, and New York, which are in regions where the prevailing
+winds blowing over them come from the lakes.
+
+_The Subarctic Forest Plains._--The Prairie plains merge at the north
+with a great tract of forest-covered lowlands, which extend from the
+Laurentian hills on the east to near the base of the Rocky Mountains on
+the west. The change as one travels northward from the grassy prairies
+to the country of equally mild relief, but clothed with trees adapted to
+a rigorous climate, is gradual. Along the irregular and in part
+indefinite junction of these two vast plains, the alignment of the
+forest is broken in many places, and its margin fringed by a picket-line
+of groves and of isolated trees, which has advanced southward and
+invaded the grass-lands. Between these outposts the prairie with its
+wealth of summer bloom reaches well into the realm of perennial shadow.
+The southward extensions of the forest are mainly in the valleys and
+adjacent to the streams, while the drier steppes between are open
+grass-lands. No conspicuous change in the topography of the land or of
+the rocks or the soil coincides with the change from grass to forest.
+The differences in vegetation must therefore be sought in climatic
+conditions, and mainly in the influence of atmospheric changes on the
+water contained in the soil.
+
+Throughout practically the whole of the region occupied by the subarctic
+forest, between Hudson Bay and the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains,
+the land is low and the valleys monotonous. Many lakes are
+present, several of them of large size, and the rivers are remarkable
+for their lengths, low gradients, and large volumes.
+
+The subdued topography of the region here considered, and the presence
+of vast numbers of lakes and swamps, is due in general to the influence
+of the ice-sheets which formerly covered it. In a minor way the presence
+of the innumerable small lakes and swamps is owing to the obstructions
+formed by growing vegetation, the damming of streams by driftwood, the
+work of beavers, and possibly the influence of subsoil ice.
+
+To the north of the Subarctic Forest plain, as already described, occur
+the desolate tracts known in Canada as the Barren Grounds, which form a
+part or merge into the tundras bordering the Arctic Ocean.
+
+_The Great Plateaus._--The boundary between the prairie plains of the
+central portion of the interior Continental basin and the Great plateaus
+(Great plains) bordering them on the west is usually indefinite. The
+prairies pass into the more elevated and drier plateaus by insensible
+gradations. The plateaus rise gradually from east to west, and along
+their western margin, adjacent to the east base of the Pacific
+mountains, attain a general elevation of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet. Over
+vast areas these monotonous plateaus, with their even sky-lines, are
+higher above the sea than the crests of the Appalachians, and along
+their western margin in many localities even surpass in elevation the
+most prominent peaks in the eastern portion of the United States.
+Accompanying this increase in elevation from east to west there is a
+decrease in precipitation, and in consequence a marked change in the
+vegetation. The plateaus, like the prairies, are treeless in their most
+characteristic portions, but the larger rivers winding across them are
+margined in many instances by giant cottonwoods.
+
+The mental picture that a traveller over the broad plateaus retains in
+after-years is of a vast treeless level tract of country, boundless as
+the ocean, which is bright green and decked with lowly flowers in the
+early spring, but becomes yellowish brown as the heat and dryness
+of summer increase and the grasses lose their freshness. Various
+portions of the plateaus, however, have their own individuality and
+present characteristics which make them conspicuously different from
+other portions of the same great series of steppes. At the south, in the
+region of the Rio Grande and of the Pecos and Canadian Rivers, the
+plateau is dissected by stream-cut valleys 1,000 feet or more deep, and
+from one to two score miles across, which divide it into a number of
+individual table-lands. The plateau margins for many miles on each side
+of the larger river-valleys have been carved by a complex system of
+secondary and usually ephemeral streams into a great variety of rock
+forms with deep trenches between. These conspicuously sculptured areas
+constitute what are commonly termed Bad Lands. In certain regions also
+the surfaces of the plateaus, more especially in Nebraska and South
+Dakota, are broadly undulating or reveal a seemingly endless succession
+of ridges and hills separated by shallow depressions, due to the
+presence of large tracts of drifting sand. In spite of these several
+variations, however, the leading characteristics of by far the larger
+portion of the plateau country are the generally level grass-covered
+surfaces extending away in all directions far beyond the reach of
+vision. On the rolling prairie one can frequently see the undulating
+surface about him for a distance of 15 or 20 miles, but the curvature of
+the earth usually draws still narrower limits to the region within the
+view of the plainsman. In riding over the plains the scene changes but
+little from day to day and from week to week. Monotony is the one word
+that best describes the lives of those whose lot is cast on these broad
+featureless surfaces. In journeying westward across the plateau over any
+one of the transcontinental railways a moment of excitement occurs when
+the even line of the western horizon is broken by the summit of a
+cloud-like mountain-peak. "Land ho!" is no more thrilling to voyagers on
+the ocean than the shouts which first made known the presence of a
+mountain-peak to the bands of immigrants who slowly voyaged across this
+sea of grass with their picturesque "prairie schooners" previous
+to the building of the railroads which now bind together the East and
+the West.
+
+The Great plateaus begin indefinitely to the south of the Rio Grande,
+broaden in the United States to a general width of about 400 miles, and
+extend far northward into Canada. Their northern limit has not as yet
+been determined, but is to be looked for near the head waters of the
+Mackenzie. The length of the plateau country is in the neighbourhood of
+2,000 or 2,500 miles, and its average width about 300 miles. An estimate
+of the area with a generally plane surface and an elevation of from
+1,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea places it at about 700,000 square
+miles.
+
+The eastern portion of the Great plateaus includes western Texas,
+Oklahoma, the central and western portions of Kansas and Nebraska, the
+western half of South Dakota, western North Dakota, western Assiniboia,
+and thence extend northward so as to include portions of Saskatchewan,
+Alberta, and Athabasca. On the west the plateau region includes the
+eastern portions of New Mexico and Colorado, extends far into Wyoming,
+and embraces central and eastern Montana, and thence reaches northward
+to Mackenzie.
+
+This region of essentially level plateaus, extending as it does from the
+hot lands of eastern Mexico nearly to the arctic circle, presents great
+diversity of climate and also well-marked variations in the secondary
+features of its relief. Of necessity it needs to be subdivided for more
+detailed study. The rivers flowing eastward from the Rocky Mountains
+have excavated valleys in the plateau region, and may be used as a basis
+for its subdivision. This has been done by J. W. Powell for the portion
+within the borders of the United States, and the terms Pecos plateau,
+Arkansas plateau, Platte plateau, and Missouri plateau have been
+proposed; this category may be extended especially to the northward, so
+as to include the less well-known Saskatchewan, Athabasca, Peace, and
+Laird plateaus. Each of these divisions is in reality a group of
+plateaus, for the reason that the broad areas between the
+eastward-flowing rivers are trenched by lateral stream channels
+tributary to the main waterways, and thus subdivided into smaller units.
+This subdivision of the plateau region by stream channels leaving
+flat-topped areas between them makes one instructive geographical
+process prominent--that is, the great table-land has been dissected. The
+depths of the channels cut across it depend mainly on the elevation of
+the land and the distance the streams have to travel to reach the sea;
+but modifying conditions are furnished by the degree of resistance the
+rocks offer to erosion, the amount of precipitation, etc. If the
+elevation is great, the stream can cut deeply, and leave bold secondary
+plateaus between them; if the distance to the sea is short, other
+conditions being the same, the streams can cut more deeply than when
+their courses are long; if the rocks are resistant, they are left in
+bold escarpment bordering the valleys and the margins of the secondary
+plateaus are well defined, but if they are soft and crumble easily,
+their _debris_ is washed and blown into the rivers, and a general
+lowering of the surface without the formation of deep trenches is the
+result. These and still other conditions have influenced the manner in
+which the Great plateaus have been dissected, and are of necessity to be
+considered in a critical discussion of the history of the land as
+recorded in its relief.
+
+The main reason for the dissection of the region under consideration is
+to be found in the fact that it is bordered on the west by high
+mountains where precipitation is abundant, and the streams, supplied
+largely by the melting of the snow in summer, flow across a
+comparatively rainless country. The stream channels in general have been
+deepened at a more rapid rate than the areas between them have been
+lowered by erosion. Valleys running east and west have thus been
+excavated, leaving the intervening spaces as uplands, which, however, in
+certain instances have been minutely dissected by the streams
+originating on them and supplied by local winter precipitation. Added to
+these general conditions are differences in rock texture, which have led
+to great variations in the details due to erosions, particularly on the
+valley borders.
+
+One other condition which has modified the history of the plateau
+region throughout, but most decidedly at the north, is the climatic
+change which culminated in the Glacial epoch. During the time referred
+to the northern portion of the Great plateaus situated in Canada and the
+adjacent part of the United States was invaded by glacial ice which
+spread an irregular sheet of detritus over the country it occupied.
+Decided changes occurred also in the central and southern portion owing
+to increased precipitation, the flooding of the rivers leading from the
+melting ice-front, and to movements in the earth's crust of as yet
+undetermined extent and amplitude. It is apparent to the geographer that
+much of the history of the climatic changes of glacial and post-glacial
+times is recorded in the relief of the interior Continental basin to the
+south of the limit reached by the ice and in the terraces and alluvial
+deposits of the valleys, but as yet for the most part this interesting
+story remains unread.
+
+The most deeply dissected portion of the Great plateaus occurs in
+western Texas, eastern New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In that region the
+rivers having their sources in the Rocky Mountains and flowing to the
+Gulf of Mexico have excavated deep and wide valleys, leaving broad
+intervening areas in bold relief.
+
+The Pecos River drains a large part of the mountainous region in eastern
+New Mexico, and flows through a valley of its own making, which is some
+30 or more miles broad and its bottom about 1,200 feet below the general
+surface of the plateau lying to the eastward. The Canadian River has
+excavated a similar valley, which is some 40 miles broad throughout much
+of its course, and is bordered by bold rocky escarpments from 1,000 to
+1,200 feet high, in which the edges of the horizontal strata underlying
+the adjacent plateaus are exposed. This region of large and strongly
+defined topographic features illustrates in a remarkable manner the
+nature of the work performed by streams which rise amid high mountains
+and flow across a dry plateau standing well above sea-level.
+
+_El Llano Estacado._--A typical portion of the great plateau region left
+by deep dissection is furnished by the table-land named by early
+Mexican explorers "El Llano Estacado," or the Staked Plains, in
+reference to the fact that owing to the monotony of the surface and the
+scarcity of water the routes of travel were at first marked by stakes.
+This region, celebrated in the traditions of the Southwest frontier, is
+described by Captain Marcy, who crossed its eastern portion in 1849, as
+being "much elevated above the surrounding country, very smooth and
+level, and spreading out in every direction as far as the eye can
+penetrate, without a tree, shrub, or any other herbage to intercept the
+vision. The traveller in passing over it sees nothing but one dreary and
+monotonous plain of barren solitude. It is an ocean of desert prairie,
+where the voice of man is seldom heard, and where no living being
+permanently resides. The almost total absence of water causes all
+animals to shun it; even the Indians do not venture to cross it, except
+at two or three points, where they find a few small pools of water." As
+will be shown below, the barrenness and desolation of this arid tract is
+not so great as it seemed to those who first invaded its primeval
+solitude.
+
+El Llano Estacado, or the _Llano_, as it is frequently termed, is about
+500 miles across from north to south, and 280 miles wide from east to
+west. It is bordered on nearly all portions of its periphery by
+descending escarpments which lead down to the adjacent valleys. Its
+surface, although appearing horizontal, in reality slopes eastward at
+the rate of about 20 feet per mile, and on its highest, northwest
+border, has an elevation of 5,500 feet above the sea. This great
+table-land has a smooth floor, and, as reported by recent explorers, is
+clothed with an abundance of bunch-grass, which formerly furnished
+sustenance to herds of antelope and deer. It was in this general region
+also that some of the immense herds of buffalo which once inhabited the
+broad plateaus found a winter range.
+
+The Llano, together with its southward extension, having the same
+characteristics and known as the Edwards plateau, is bordered on the
+west by the deep and broad valley of the southward-flowing Pecos River,
+and on the north by the equally deep and broad valley carved in the
+plateau country by the eastward-flowing Canadian River. The
+eastward slope of the surfaces of the two plateaus is continued
+throughout the region bordering them on the east all the way to the
+shore of the Gulf of Mexico. The streams originating on the eastern
+border of the eastward sloping plateaus and flowing to the Gulf of
+Mexico, represented at the present time by the Colorado (of Texas), the
+Brazos, Trinity, and Red Rivers, extended their trunks by head-water
+corrasion and developed numerous branches so long as the rainfall was
+sufficient to maintain a surface drainage. But as the streams were
+lengthened they cut farther and farther westward and into a region that
+became drier and drier, until finally they reached a land in which all
+of the scanty rain that fell was absorbed by the thirsty soil. The
+drainage from this higher and drier region is subterranean, and reaches
+the head waters of the streams to the eastward to a considerable extent
+as springs. The streams which lowered the country to the eastward of the
+Llano developed many branches, some of which were extended westward into
+the drier plateau country in such a manner as to give the eastern margin
+of the remaining upland a scalloped and irregular border.
+
+In travelling westward up the courses of the rivers of eastern Texas,
+one passes from a low region of old topography to one where the head
+branches of the streams flow in canyons, and the relief has the
+ruggedness of youth; on gaining the western border of the belt of
+country having surface streams one ascends to the smooth surface of the
+high plateau, which is young as regards stream development, although in
+years older than the country with a deeply eroded surface to the
+eastward. The Llano and Edwards plateau present us with examples of
+perpetuated topographic youthfulness.
+
+The Llano, although dreaded by early explorers and shunned so far as
+possible even by experienced plainsmen, on account of a lack of water,
+has in recent years become more favourably known. It is crossed at
+present by two railroads. Water has been found beneath the surface in
+numerous localities, and the desert-like region now bids fair to
+become a favourable cattle-raising country. It is not to be expected,
+however, that all the glowing predictions which have been published
+concerning this and neighbouring table-lands will be more than partially
+fulfilled through the use of the subsurface waters.
+
+_The Arkansas Plateau._--To the north of the Canadian River the region
+termed above the Great plateaus is less deeply dissected than in the
+portion of which the Llano is typical, and the streams from the
+mountains flow through shallow valleys with less rugged and less
+picturesque borders than those of the deep wide valleys of western Texas
+and eastern New Mexico. The broad plateau surfaces adjacent to the
+valleys of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers probably come nearer to the
+popular idea of the essential characteristics of the "Great plains" than
+any other of the larger divisions of the region under review. The most
+conspicuous geographic features of the Arkansas plateau have been
+described by W. D. Johnson as consisting of an assemblage of low and
+broad table-lands separated by shallow erosion valleys. The plateaus are
+immense unsculptured remnants in light relief of an older and originally
+perfect plain. The few long and feeble streams, wide apart and flowing
+eastward from the distant mountains in parallel courses and without
+tributaries, have blocked out by dissection the larger features of the
+broad landscape which in future ages will be slowly etched into a
+multitude of details. The scenery of these featureless plains is
+ordinarily depressing when once the novelty of being adrift on a sea of
+grass has passed away. There is nothing that can be termed scenery
+except that which once a year for a brief period the sky affords when
+clouds of extraordinary grandeur darken the air. Throughout nearly the
+entire annual course there is no material for landscape effect except
+the straight line of the horizon with a featureless breadth of sun-faded
+brown below it and above a merely broader space of faded blue. There is
+nowhere a curved line, and though as a scientific fact there is vast
+expanse of flat plain, there is little to suggest it when the sky is
+empty of clouds. In June the clouds come with a gradual maturing at some
+point along the even sky-line, and increase rapidly until the
+heavens are filled with magnificent vapour banks; but the display is
+simply spectacular, and passes away in a few hours as quickly as it
+came, with only local showers to refresh the land.
+
+The one industry that can thrive on the Arkansas plateau, which was
+formerly at certain seasons blackened by herds of bison, is
+stock-raising. Wells from which water is pumped by windmills furnish
+sufficient water for herds of cattle and horses, but not for irrigation.
+
+_Bad Lands._--In the northern portion of the Great plateaus within the
+United States the surface rocks over great areas are soft or but
+irregularly hardened sediments of ancient lakes and streams and have
+been sculptured by rain, wind, and ephemeral rills into a most
+marvellous array of monumental and castellated forms. Localities where
+this minute dissection of the soft horizontal strata is especially well
+marked over hundreds of square miles occur in South Dakota and Montana,
+and especially on the borders of the valleys carved by the Loup Fork,
+Niobrara, White, Yellowstone, and Missouri Rivers. In this region the
+rainfall is light, the mean annual precipitation being in the
+neighbourhood of 15 inches, and occurs mostly during the winter months.
+In the summer season the lands far out on the plateaus are dry and hot,
+and all but the larger streams disappear. The rocks, consisting mostly
+of unconsolidated clays and soft sandstones, with occasional hard layers
+and irregular concretions, have been cut into innumerable channels,
+leaving steep-sided remnants of the former plain between. The maze of
+trench-like valleys, the similarity of the sculptured land-forms one to
+another, and the absence of water, make these desert regions excessively
+difficult to traverse. The Canadian-French who explored the
+north-central portion of the Great plateaus in early days of American
+settlement termed these tracts of country, so difficult to cross,
+_Mauvaises Terres_, a name now seldom used, but replaced by the English
+name Bad Lands. Although _bad_ to the hunter and the plainsman, these
+desert regions are of fascinating interest to men of scientific
+training. The intense heat, the choking alkaline dust, the absence of
+water, and the danger of being lost and of perishing of thirst in
+these wild silent regions, have not checked the ardour of explorers. Not
+only do the Bad Lands present a most attractive field to the student of
+erosion and of the origin of earth forms, but their deathlike solitudes
+have been made to yield the most wonderful procession of strange extinct
+animals yet unearthed by geologists. They are vast cemeteries in which
+are interred the skeletons of many genera and hundreds of species of
+animals which lived in the ancient lakes or wandered through the almost
+tropical forest that in distant ages clothed the adjacent country. The
+great lesson to be learned by the geographer in these uninviting regions
+as they seem to most people relates to the way in which the rocks have
+been eroded. The prevailing softness of the beds with occasional hard
+layers, the scarcity of vegetation, the occasional heavy rains, and the
+considerable height of the country above the master streams combine to
+favour rapid and deep sculpturing. The precipitous slopes of the small
+mesas and castle-like rock forms destitute of all vegetation excepting
+succulent cacti and scattered clumps of bunch-grass, reveal a multitude
+of sunken lines and raised edges, produced by the ephemeral streams, and
+a less complex series of horizontal ledges due to the prominent edges of
+hard layers. The steep slopes are worn into alcoves and irregular
+recesses by the transient rills, and smoothed or etched by the
+wind-driven sands. The result is an assemblage of architectural forms
+such as only the most fantastic dream pictures or the strange tricks of
+the mirage on northern ice-fields can simulate. Nor are the wonderfully
+intricate topographical forms the sole attraction. The rocks are
+variously coloured, and present endless combinations of yellow, red,
+green, purple, etc., in many tints and shades, rendered seemingly
+brilliant by contrast with the gray of shales and the blackness of
+occasional coal-seams. Owing to the burning of coal-beds, the rocks are
+sometimes altered over broad areas and given unusually striking colours,
+among which various shades of red predominate. Standing on some
+commanding crag in the Bad Lands in the early morning or when the purple
+shadows of evening fill the gorges and ravines, the most unimaginative
+traveller sees in the silence about him the ruins of a vast city, with
+cathedrals, temples, and palaces of varied colours and weird designs
+such as no mortal hand ever fashioned. It is at such times that the
+picturesque and gorgeous, although desolate, landscape kindles the fancy
+and suggests day dreams which distract one's attention from the more
+prosaic study of these earth ruins.
+
+The best developed portions of the strange region here referred to occur
+on the borders of the uplands overlooking the larger valleys, excavated
+by the rivers flowing eastward from the mountains, and are simply larger
+examples of erosion, such as may be seen in many bluffs and valley-sides
+in nearly every country, but rendered conspicuous by their size, extent,
+endless variety, and unusual colours.
+
+_Sand-Hills._--The sands winnowed by the winds from the bare plains and
+steep bluffs are in certain places on the Great plateaus gathered into
+dunes which cover great areas with a succession of low dome-shaped
+hills. On the borders of the Niobrara River there is a detached area of
+about 20,000 square miles, which has been covered in this manner with
+loose sands. This region, as described by F. V. Hayden, presents a
+succession of round-topped hills, some of them scooped out by the
+swirling winds so as to resemble volcanic craters. These sand-hills were
+formerly a favourite resort of the bison, which fed upon the scanty but
+very nutritious grasses in the little valleys and intervals among the
+mounds and ridges. There is, for the most part, an abundant supply of
+water in the lakelets scattered through the region, and fed by the
+seepage from the porous sands, which drink in all the water that falls
+upon them and allow it to percolate slowly into the adjacent
+depressions. Some of the lakelets and ponds are highly alkaline, while
+others are fresh; the former can be easily distinguished from the latter
+by the absence of vegetation about their borders. The hills, although
+seemingly utterly desolate, on a nearer view sometimes reveal
+considerable vegetation, including yuccas or "Spanish needles," which
+shelter the sands from the winds.
+
+Many other regions on the western border of the Great plateaus, in the
+valleys of the Rocky Mountains and on the desert plains of Utah, Nevada,
+and California, are buried beneath drifting sands, which have the
+characteristic features of a dune-covered seacoast. The sources of the
+sands in these interior plains are usually to be found in the
+disintegration of the rocks under the action of the dry air with its
+many and sudden changes of temperature, but occasionally they come from
+desiccated lake beds not yet clothed with vegetation.
+
+_Central Portion of the Great Plateaus._--The State of Nebraska, about
+400 miles in length from east to west, and extending across the Great
+plateaus to within some 60 miles of the mountains bordering them on the
+west, furnishes a typical example of the west-central portion of the
+interior Continental basin. As described by Hayden, this State may be
+divided into two portions, one agricultural and the other pastoral. The
+eastern part, included in the Prairie plains, contains some of the most
+beautiful, gently rolling, and fertile agricultural lands in America.
+But the western part is a treeless, almost waterless plain; yet thick,
+low, sweet, nutritious grasses cover the entire surface, and render it
+well adapted for the raising of large numbers of horses, cattle, and
+sheep. Over western Nebraska not more than 15 or 20 inches of moisture
+fall annually; the snows of winter are very light and soon pass away,
+the winds rapidly gathering them into the valleys and gorges, leaving
+vast areas entirely bare. The grasses, instead of decaying, as in all
+temperate countries with a humid climate, slowly wither, retaining all
+their nutritious qualities, and thus continue until April or May, when
+the fresh shoots spring up, so that all kinds of stock thrive throughout
+the winter on the open plains without artificial shelter. In this
+account, however, the author cited fails to note that the winters are
+frequently marked by exceedingly severe storms termed blizzards, during
+which gales blow while the temperature is far below freezing, and that
+at such times cattle have been known to perish by thousands.
+
+In late summer and autumn the streams in this portion of the plateau
+region for the most part become dry, although water may usually be
+discovered at long intervals in pools in their beds. In ascending the
+valleys the water appears and disappears as if by magic. Here one finds
+a swift-running stream several yards broad, and then for a considerable
+distance nothing is to be seen but a dry and dusty creek bed, resembling
+a sunken roadway. Even the broad Platte has so far forgotten itself for
+several seasons as to cease to be a running stream. It is not uncommon
+for a river originating in the mountains on the west to be considerably
+larger towards its source than near its mouth. Many of the important
+streams that flow from the Black Hills towards the Missouri are lost on
+their way through the plains. The Yellowstone and the Missouri, the two
+most important rivers crossing the Great plateaus in the northern
+portion of the United States, retain their existence throughout the
+year, although becoming greatly shrunken in autumn, and send eastward a
+never-ceasing tribute to the Mississippi.
+
+_Northern Extension of the Great Plateaus._--The Great plateaus cross
+the United States-Canadian boundary and extend northwestward through the
+western portion of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan, and embrace nearly the
+whole of Alberta and western Athabasca. At the international boundary
+the plateau region is about 470 miles broad, and extends from longitude
+103 deg. 30' westward to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, and in this
+region embraces what is frequently termed the third prairie steppe,
+known in part as the Missouri Coteau. The east border of this high
+plateau throughout much of its extent is well marked by an escarpment
+which descends some 300 or 400 feet to the second prairie steppe, which
+together with the first or most easterly of the series, embracing the
+Red River Valley, is usually considered as belonging to the Prairie
+plains. The third steppe in the series, or the one extending from the
+Red River to the Rocky Mountains, has an elevation along its eastern
+border of about 2,000 feet, rises gradually to the westward, and attains
+a general elevation of over 4,000 feet on its western border. All of the
+region of the Great plateaus north of the international boundary,
+with the exception of about 20,000 square miles tributary to the
+Missouri, is drained by rivers flowing eastward to Hudson Bay or
+northward to the Arctic Ocean. It is thus a portion of the northern or
+arctic slope of the Continental basin. The eastern border of the plateau
+country trends northwestward, and finally reaches the Rocky Mountains in
+the vicinity of the head waters of the Mackenzie, but as this region is
+but imperfectly explored, our knowledge of the boundaries of the natural
+division of the continent we have been endeavouring to trace there
+becomes indefinite. The Great plateaus in Canada merge into the Prairie
+plains bordering them on the east, and in large part the position of the
+dividing line between the two is arbitrary.
+
+The portion of the Great plateaus in Canada, like the similar region to
+the south, is covered with bunch-grass, which dries as it stands and
+forms highly nutritious self-cured hay. Formerly this region was the
+winter feeding-ground for vast herds of bison. The winters, although
+cold, are not characterized by a heavy snowfall, and even in midwinter
+the warm dry _chinook_ winds, as they are termed, similar to the _foehn_
+winds of Switzerland, frequently cause the snow to disappear and leave
+the brown plateau surfaces free for grazing. Now that the bison has
+disappeared, this immense region is favourable in many ways for
+stock-raising, but, unlike the lower prairies to the east with their
+rich black soil and long hot summers, is not suitable for agriculture.
+The main difficulties in the way of successful farming lie in the
+dryness of the summers, and the scarcity of water available for
+irrigation. The rivers flow in valleys several hundred feet below the
+general plateau surfaces, and hence cannot be made available for
+irrigating the uplands without too great an expense. In the bottoms of
+the valleys, however, adjacent to the stream, limited areas are now
+under cultivation, and it is to be expected that the wheat-fields of the
+prairie region will be gradually extended into the valley to the
+westward, and perhaps even to the eastern margin of the plateaus. A
+greater extension of the wheat-belt to the north and west than is now
+thought practicable has been predicted, but what the ultimate
+limit will be cannot be told.
+
+_The Black Hills of Dakota._--As stated in the brief account already
+given of the Prairie plains, their monotony of surface and of geological
+structure is broken by a single area of disturbance termed the Ozark
+uplift. Similarly, the vast generally level expanse of the Great
+plateaus is broken by a single rudely circular region of elevation, the
+Black Hills of Dakota, which has been sculptured by atmospheric agencies
+and given a diversified topography, in striking contrast with the even
+monotony of the country surrounding it.
+
+This protuberance on the surface of the Great plateaus is situated in
+the southwest portion of South Dakota, and embraces also a part of
+Wyoming, and about 140 miles east of the nearest range--the Big Horn
+Mountains--of the Rocky Mountain chain. It rises from the surrounding
+plateau to a height on an average of about 2,000 to 2,500 feet; the
+highest summit, Harney Peak, is 3,000 feet above the plain, and 7,216
+feet above the sea. The uplift is elliptical in ground plan, with a
+northwest and southeast axis measuring about 120 miles, and a transverse
+diameter of 40 to 50 miles. Its area is in the neighbourhood of 6,000
+square miles.
+
+While the generally level plateau surface about the Black Hills is
+treeless, except for the scattered groves of wide-spreading cottonwoods
+along the immediate banks of the larger streams, the central and higher
+portions of the elevation itself is clothed with an open but abundant
+forest, consisting principally of pines. The evergreen forests give to
+the hills a nearly black colour when seen from a distance, and have
+gained for them the name they bear.
+
+The rocks which have been forced upward so as to form the Black Hills
+dome were previously like those in the surrounding plain, quite
+horizontal, and had a vertical thickness of at least 5,000 feet. The
+uplift, if uneroded, would rise from the surrounding plain as a
+flat-topped dome about 6,600 feet high, as is suggested by the highest
+dotted line in the following diagram. In reality such a dome never
+existed, for the reason that its growth was slow, and perhaps is
+not completed even at the present day, and as soon as the rocks began to
+rise, the rain, wind, streams, etc., commenced their task of
+destruction. The higher the rocks were elevated the more powerfully
+those agencies acted. The top of the dome was soon broken and its
+internal structure revealed.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Ideal east-and-west section through the Black
+Hills. The vertical scale is about six times the horizontal. The dotted
+lines indicate the portion of the uplift removed by erosion. After Henry
+Newton.
+
+  1. Archean slates and schists.
+
+  2. Granite.
+
+  3. Potsdam, sandstone, resting unconformably on 1 and 2.
+
+  4. Carboniferous, mostly limestone.
+
+  5. Red Beds (Trias), sandstone with included limestone.
+
+  6. Jura, shales.
+
+  7. Cretaceous, shales.
+
+  8. White River Tertiary, shales, resting unconformably on 7.]
+
+By reference to the accompanying generalized section through the Black
+Hills, which as the uplift is rudely circular would be essentially the
+same if taken in any direction through the elevated region, it will be
+seen that there is a central core of slate, schists, and granite which
+has been forced upward so as to stand in its present eroded condition;
+it rises well above the surface of the adjacent plateau. About this
+central core the upturned edges of the sedimentary rocks form concentric
+zones, the oldest in the series being next the schists, and the youngest
+10 to 40 or 50 miles distant. It is the presence in the central part of
+the hills of an area of resistant crystalline rocks which have weathered
+into rugged forms, and the series of encircling and concentric belts of
+rock of varying degrees of hardness and solubility, that has given to
+the uplift its present peculiar relief and its generally beautiful
+scenery. The edges of the harder belts form bold hills and ridges, while
+the softer belts have been eroded into valleys. This series of
+sharp-crested ridges and intervening valleys forms concentric circles
+completely surrounding the central group of rugged mountains. The
+largest and most interesting of the ring-like valleys is underlaid by
+red sandstone, and is remarkable for its flaming colour as well as for
+its exceptional form. In this Red Valley one may ride entirely around
+the rugged central mass of the hills, on a generally level surface,
+which is inclosed on its outer border by a precipitous wall of yellowish
+sandstone and shale 300 or 400 feet high. The distance about this
+"race-course," as it is sometimes termed, is about 200 miles. This
+series of concentric ridges and intervening valleys, surrounding a high
+and rugged region of more resistant rock, furnish an admirable
+illustration of the influence of rock texture, hardness, etc., on
+topography.
+
+Another instructive geographical lesson afforded by the Black Hills is
+the manner in which the portion of the dome rising above the level of
+the rivers which flow across the surrounding plain has been dissected by
+stream erosion. The streams originating in the central portion of the
+uplift flowed outward in all directions, and have cut deep narrow gorges
+through the ridges of hard rock in the base of the truncated dome. Some
+20 streams originating in the central portion of the uplift cross Red
+Valley and escape through notches in its outer wall, about 16 of which
+are well-defined gateways leading to the encircling plateau. This is one
+of the most beautiful and most instructive examples of _consequent_
+drainage--that is, of streams whose direction has been determined by the
+inclination of the surface over which they flow--thus far discovered.
+Still another feature of much geographical interest is furnished by the
+rivers on the adjacent plain, two of which, branches of the Cheyenne
+River, cross the north and south extensions, respectively, of the Black
+Hills dome. These streams flow directly across the arched strata, in
+canyons of their own making, and, as explained by G. K. Gilbert, are
+illustrations of _superimposed_ drainage--that is, the portions of the
+dome crossed by the branches of the Cheyenne after the rocks were
+upheaved were covered by soft horizontal lake beds, over which the water
+flowed as consequent streams. The rivers deepened their channels and
+cut through the soft cover of horizontal rock and into the arched
+beds beneath. The course of the streams initiated on the covering of
+soft beds were maintained, as the flowing water charged with sand cut
+downward into the harder, upturned beds beneath, and now, the covering
+of soft beds having been eroded away, the rivers flow directly across
+(or through) the flanks of the great arch, but are not deflected by it.
+
+In the neighbourhood of the Black Hills, and especially about their
+northern and northwestern border, there are secondary hills formed by
+the upward protrusion of molten rocks into the generally horizontally
+stratified rocks underlying the plateau. These intrusions did not reach
+the surface in such a way as to form volcanoes, but were forced upward,
+raising domes above them, in which the structure is similar to that in
+the great Black Hills dome. These secondary domes have been eaten away
+by erosive agencies in varying degrees. In some of them, as the Little
+Sundance Hill, near the town of Sundance, Wyoming, the dome of
+stratified rock is unbroken, and no igneous rock is to be seen; other
+neighbouring domes in which the plutonic magmas rose higher have been
+eroded so as to expose the summit portion of the inner core; and in one
+instance, known as Mato Tepee, the uncovering of the plug of plutonic
+rock which caused the uplift is so complete that it now forms a
+prominent fluted column over 600 feet high above its immediate base.
+
+_Volcanic Mountains and Table-Lands._--In the south-central portion of
+the Great plateaus in southwestern Colorado and eastern New Mexico,
+there are several typical cinder cones with lava-flows associated with
+them, which impart novel topographic forms to the general monotony of
+the broad plateau surfaces. The highest of the extinct volcanoes in this
+region is Mount Capulin, situated in northeastern New Mexico, about 200
+miles east of the Rocky Mountains, which rises 2,750 feet above the
+surrounding plain, and has an elevation of about 9,000 feet above the
+sea. At the summit of this conical mass there is a well-defined crater a
+mile in diameter. In the same region there are several other
+similar volcanic cones, from which lava streams have descended. As has
+been pointed out by R. T. Hill, these are the most easterly volcanoes of
+recent geological age in North America. They were formed after the
+Tertiary rocks of the Llano were laid down.
+
+The Raton Mesa, situated between Mount Capulin and the front range of
+the Rockies, is capped by a lava flow of more ancient date than the
+volcanoes just referred to, which has protected the softer rocks beneath
+from erosion, and now stands as a prominent table-land with precipitous
+borders.
+
+
+                          THE PACIFIC MOUNTAINS
+
+To the west of the Continental basin is a vast cordillera composed of
+numerous mountain chains which extends from south-central Mexico
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and in its broadest part is about 1,000
+miles wide. As already explained, we speak of this region in its
+entirety as the Pacific cordillera, or less technically as the Pacific
+mountains. It is a highly complex group of mountain chains, each of
+which contains two or more distinct mountain systems; each system,
+again, is usually composed of many ranges, and each range is frequently
+made up of a multitude of ridges, peaks, buttes, mesas, etc.; there are
+also many plateaus more or less completely dissected by erosion, and
+broad valleys, as well as numerous canyons, gulches, ravines, arroyas,
+and other secondary topographic forms. This vast cordillera not only
+contains mountains produced by the folding of the rocks of the earth's
+crust, in a general way similar to the Appalachians in structure, but
+also upturned blocks many miles in extent, bounded by breaks or faults,
+and volcanic mountains, vast lava-flows, and elevations due to the
+injection of molten rock into the earth's crusts so as to elevate domes.
+In fact, scarcely any topographic form and no important geological
+structure that is known is lacking in this great family of mountains
+which dominates the western portion of the continent.
+
+The Pacific mountains begin abruptly at the south, along a generally
+east and west line passing some 75 miles south of the City of
+Mexico, where the precipitous border of the table-land of central Mexico
+overlooks a lower region to the south which is diversified by many
+volcanic mountains. But little accurate information is available
+concerning the geology and geography of Mexico, but in general, as is
+well known, there are three main mountain belts which traverse that
+republic. One of these mountain belts is adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico,
+and another is situated near the Pacific coast of the main portion of
+the republic, while the third forms the rugged and irregular axis of the
+peninsula of Lower California. Between the leading mountain belts of the
+mainland there are numerous short ranges and many nearly level-floored
+valleys. The general level of this inland region is in the neighbourhood
+of 6,000 feet, while the more prominent peaks and crests attain
+elevations of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet. The general trend of the main
+mountain belts, and of the numerous subordinate ranges, is about
+northwest and southeast. For this reason, and also because the valleys
+have become deeply filled with _debris_ from the mountains, travelling
+in directions leading north and south is facilitated by the topography,
+while in passing from one coast of the republic to the other the rugged
+bordering mountain belts have to be crossed and detours made in order to
+pass around the central mountain ranges.
+
+The more elevated portion of central and northern Mexico, together with
+the peninsula of Lower California, has an arid climate, to which many of
+the conspicuous features in the geography of the land are due. The
+precipitation over large areas is insufficient to maintain permanent
+streams, the vegetation is nearly all of a desert-like character, and
+several basins exist which do not drain to the sea. In the interior
+basins there are saline and alkaline lakes, and numerous dry lake beds
+or _playas_, which are whitened by saline efflorescences. The rocks
+exposed in the mountains are largely of sedimentary origin, but a
+characteristic feature is the geology, especially to the west, in the
+presence of extensive volcanic areas and lofty mountains of igneous
+rocks.
+
+The Pacific cordillera begins in southern Mexico with a width of some
+300 miles and broadens when traced northward. At the boundary between
+Mexico and the United States it has a width of fully 700 miles, but
+reaches its greatest breadth in the latitude of San Francisco and
+Denver, where it is about 1,000 miles across. In its better known, but
+as yet incompletely studied portion embraced within the boundaries of
+the United States there are several important subdivisions, such as the
+Rocky Mountain belt on the east; a less lofty, but yet rugged central
+region, termed the Great Basin, characterized by having a dry climate
+and by the fact that the streams do not reach the ocean; and a western
+mountain chain which includes the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges. To
+the west of the mountains just named lies the great valley of
+California, and similar regions in Oregon and Washington occupied in
+part by Puget Sound. To the west, again, are the several ranges
+bordering the Pacific coast from Lower California to Vancouver Island,
+and termed in a general way the coast mountains. Each of the great
+divisions of the Pacific mountain region has its indefinitely known
+southern terminus in Mexico, and extends northward to beyond the
+Canadian boundary. As this central portion of the most westerly of the
+larger geographical divisions of the continent is well developed in the
+United States, and has there been more carefully explored than
+elsewhere, a review of its leading features will serve to give as good
+an idea of the entire Pacific mountain region as is now practicable.
+
+_The Rocky Mountains._--The limitations to the north and south of the
+region to which this name is more or less specifically applied are not
+well defined. Perhaps the most accurate statement at present permissible
+is that the Rocky Mountains begin at the south, in northern Mexico, and
+extend northward across the United States and Canada to near the shore
+of the Arctic Ocean. On the east it is sharply defined by its junction
+with the Great plateaus. Its western border, although less definite than
+the eastern, is easily traced, at least across the greater portion of
+the United States, by the marked contrast it presents to the
+geographical conditions characteristic of the Great Basin region,
+but owing to the many difficulties met with in attempting to adjust and
+make use of the current nomenclature in classifying geographical regions
+more or less artificial boundaries have to be accepted. The Great Basin
+is so designated because it is a region of interior drainage--that is,
+it does not send any tribute to the sea. Its boundaries are therefore
+the crest-lines of the surrounding divides or water-partings. The Rocky
+Mountains, on the other hand, are defined as an elevated region, the
+boundaries of which are determined by relief and not by drainage. The
+basis of classification in these two instances is not the same, and one
+province overlaps the other. The streams flowing westward from the Rocky
+Mountains into the Great Basin--such, for example, as Bear, Provo, and
+Sevier Rivers in Utah--have their sources well within the Rocky Mountain
+province as defined by uplift, but yet lie wholly within the Great Basin
+province as defined by drainage. In spite of this inconsistency,
+geographers recognise as the western border of the Rocky Mountains the
+irregular and in part indefinite line where the elevated region breaks
+down and meets the broad level-floored valleys characteristic of the
+Great Basin. This line, or more properly belt of country, although
+indefinite at the south, may for convenience be taken as beginning at
+the head of the Gulf of California, and extending up the Colorado River
+for about 300 miles, to where that river makes an abrupt bend, turning
+southward after a westerly course through the Grand Canyon. From the
+locality indicated, the boundary passes through central Utah, and is
+sharply defined for most of the way by the bold western escarpment of
+the Wasatch Range. In the neighbourhood of Great Salt Lake the border of
+the mountain belt trends more and more to the northwest, crosses Idaho
+diagonally, and in northern Washington merges with or closely approaches
+the Cascade Mountains. In this northern region the border of the Rocky
+Mountains is again indefinite, and until the geological structure of
+western Canada is more thoroughly studied can only be located
+provisionally.
+
+The unsatisfactory condition of the nomenclature at present applied to
+the larger topographic features of North America is illustrated by the
+fact that to the north of the United States-Canadian boundary the term
+_Rocky Mountains_ is much more restricted than is the custom in the
+United States. In Canada this name is applied to the most easterly of
+the ranges or chains of the Pacific cordillera. This difference in the
+significance of the name referred to on the opposite sides of the
+international boundary is unfortunate, but is due in large part to our
+ignorance of the geography and geology not only immediately along the
+boundary line, but generally throughout the rugged region of the
+northwest portion of the continent.
+
+One of the most important geographic features in the central part of the
+United States is the presence in Wyoming of a broad, generally flat,
+region known as the Laramie plateau (plains) and its extension westward
+across nearly the entire width of the Rocky Mountains. The general
+elevation of these "plains" is about 7,000 feet, or approximately 1,000
+feet greater than that of the western border of the Great plateaus. The
+Laramie plateau and country to the west having a similar topography,
+furnished a convenient pass for the Union Pacific, the oldest of the
+transcontinental railroads, and divides the Rocky Mountain belt into two
+portions, which may be termed in a general way the northern and southern
+Rocky Mountains respectively.
+
+To the north of the Union Pacific Railroad there are several important
+mountain groups, termed collectively the Stony Mountains by Lewis and
+Clark in the report of their bold explorations across the continent in
+1804, but not generally used since that time. This name has recently
+been revived by J. W. Powell as a convenient term by which to designate
+this large division of the Rocky Mountain belt, but unfortunately is not
+recognised and has no significance to the north of the international
+boundary. What the natural limitations of the Stony Mountains may be in
+Canada remains to be determined.
+
+The Stony Mountain system includes the Big Horn Mountains in
+north-central Wyoming, the sharp and lofty Teton Range to the
+south of the Yellowstone National Park, and several other rugged uplifts
+of great extent in Montana and Idaho, and should the name be extended to
+the north of the international boundary until a natural limit is
+reached, it will include the Rocky Mountains of Canadian geographers
+(the most eastern of the great uplifts constituting the Rocky Mountain
+belt), together with the several ranges of the Gold Mountains. These
+several mountain ranges and groups of ranges appear to have diverse
+geological structure, but their histories are by no means thoroughly
+understood. Some of them, as stated by Powell, are carved out of broad
+folds, and involve both originally deeply seated igneous and metamorphic
+rocks and upturned and folded sedimentary beds; while others are due to
+movements along lines of fracture and in part of overthrust.
+
+The Stony Mountains form a portion of the continental divide which parts
+the waters flowing to the Pacific from those that find their way to the
+Atlantic. The thousands of streams tributary to the Missouri head
+against the equally numerous fountains supplying the westward-flowing
+Columbia. The broad valleys between the several ranges have a general
+elevation of between 7,000 and 8,000 feet, and the bold, massive
+mountains rise from 10,000 to over 13,000 feet above the sea. Owing to
+the considerable elevation even of the valleys, and the northern
+position of the region here considered, as well as its distance from the
+equalizing influence of the sea, the extremes of climate are strongly
+marked. The summer season is comparatively short, and in the valleys the
+heat is intense (ranging from 90 deg. to 112 deg. F.) and the rainfall small or
+none at all, while the winter season is cold (temperatures of from -15 deg.
+to -30 deg. F. being frequent) and accompanied by an abundant snowfall,
+especially on the mountains. Agriculture, although carried on in the
+valleys, is of comparatively small importance, and is usually dependent
+on irrigation. The mountains are snow-covered through much of the year,
+and small glaciers occur about the lofty summits of the Teton Range and
+on the mountains near the international boundary and in Canada. The
+valleys are generally destitute of trees except along the
+streams, where white-trunked cottonwoods spread their green leaves in
+summer and become a tracery of golden yellow in the autumn, marking the
+courses of the life-giving waters. The lower mountain slopes are covered
+with dark forests of pine, spruce, and juniper, which increase in
+density and extent as one follows the ranges northward until the
+influence of the high northern latitude is felt, and in northern Canada
+the zone of the subarctic forest is reached.
+
+In the central part of the Stony Mountains is situated the justly famed
+Yellowstone National Park, which is truly remarkable for its fine
+scenery, its deeply carved and gorgeously colored canyons, and most of
+all for its numerous hot springs and spouting geysers. This is the only
+geyser region on the continent, and the most extensive of the three now
+existing in the world.
+
+The finest scenery of the northern division of the Rocky Mountain belt
+lies to the north of the international boundary, and within recent years
+has been rendered accessible by the building of the Canadian Pacific
+Railroad. It is in this region that the mountains are highest, most
+rugged, and clothed most completely with the dark, sombre, evergreen
+northern forests. Here, too, high up among the bare serrate mountain
+tops, and mostly above the timber-line, are found the largest of the
+glaciers in the Rocky Mountain belt. This wonderful region of rugged
+mountains, deep and formerly glacier-filled valleys, impetuous rivers,
+and dense forests has only recently become known to the world at large.
+Vast areas, no doubt as attractive as those about Banff, Lake Louise,
+Glacier House, etc., already famous, remain to be discovered and
+described.
+
+In the fastnesses of these wild northern Rockies moose, elk, deer, bear,
+mountain-sheep, and mountain-goat still abound. The buffalo (bison) is
+protected in the Yellowstone National Park, and will probably be
+preserved from extinction. A small herd also survives in Canada. The
+streams, except those flowing from glaciers, are bright, clear, and
+swift, and are well stocked with fish. The trout, represented by several
+species, there finds the cool retreats so essential to its life. To the
+sportsman and skilled angler the northern Rockies are a paradise.
+Among the lofty mountains and in the larger valleys there are many
+lakes, more especially in northern Idaho and Montana and in Canada. Many
+of these, and particularly those near the heads of the valleys and about
+the more lofty peaks, are true rock-basin lakes, worn out by the
+grinding of sand-charged glacial ice when the glaciers were far more
+extensive than now. The large lakes situated in the trunk portions of
+the broad-bottomed valleys are in many instances retained by dams of
+glacially deposited detritus and record the changes in the aspect of the
+land inherited from the Glacial epoch. These numerous lakes present a
+vast variety of scenery, and in many instances reflect from their placid
+mirror-like surfaces as beautiful and inspiring pictures of rugged
+grandeur as can be found in the world. The natural beauties of the
+classical lakes of Switzerland and Italy are rivalled by many of the
+charming water bodies of the northern Rockies, which but few men
+appreciative of the beauties of nature have ever seen.
+
+To the south of the Laramie plateau the mountains of the Rocky Mountain
+system are more irregular and more lofty than those to the north of that
+break. The many rugged ranges in southern Wyoming, Colorado, and
+northern New Mexico form a great group, to which the name Park Mountains
+has been applied by J. W. Powell. The several ranges composing this
+group have a general north and south trend, to which, however, an
+exception is furnished by the Uintah Mountains in southwestern Wyoming
+and eastern Utah, which consists of a deeply dissected east and west
+fold or broadly uplifted plateau. Intervening between several of the
+adjacent ranges there are wide, nearly flat-bottomed valleys, which owe
+their leading characteristics to the deep filling of depressions by
+_debris_ carried from the bordering mountains by the wind and streams.
+These broad valleys surrounded by rugged peaks are known as parks, and
+the numerous ranges among which they are situated are hence designated
+the Park Mountains. The term by which the valleys are known is in some
+respects misleading, as the word _park_ usually carries the idea of a
+diversified and in part forested region, with mild, picturesque
+scenery. Perhaps a city park or the beautiful rural estates of England
+are most usually brought to mind when the term referred to is mentioned.
+But in the great mountains of the central portion of the continent one's
+idea must expand to keep in harmony with his surroundings. The natural
+parks of that region are broad, generally treeless, valleys with winding
+streams, the uplands are grass-covered and rolling, and in distant views
+the courses of the streams are marked by narrow belts of verdure. The
+picture is framed by a succession of mountain domes and embattled
+cliffs. Over all arches the dark blue, cloudless sky of a nearly
+rainless region. In the clear air distances are deceptive, and what
+appear to be miles to the novice must be extended to leagues in order to
+acquire adequate conceptions of the magnitude of the scene.
+
+The most famous of the great tracts of generally level land surrounded
+by the high ranges of the Park Mountains is San Luis Park, situated in
+southeastern Colorado and extending southward into New Mexico, which has
+a length from north to south of about 130 miles, and is from 20 to
+nearly 40 miles wide. Its general elevation is between 7,000 and 8,000
+feet. This great valley, level-floored with soft deposits swept in from
+the bordering highlands, and almost completely surrounded by rugged
+mountains, although more desolate than the majority of the numerous
+similar valleys in the same region, is typical of its class. The Rio
+Grande winds through its entire length and many streams rising in the
+bordering mountains flow to the valley during the winter season, but in
+summer, owing to the high temperature, active evaporation, and small
+rainfall, only a few of the larger of these mountain-born torrents reach
+the main, southward-flowing river. In the southern portions of the
+valley large areas are covered with drifting sand, which is fashioned by
+the winds into ever-changing dunes of a creamy whiteness. Some of the
+streams from the mountains expand on the plain and form the San Luis
+lakes, from which the water escapes by evaporation, thus causing them to
+become alkaline. The land bordering the lakes is whitened as with
+snow by saline incrustations. On the lower portion of the rim of this
+mountain-inclosed basin there are scattered groves of pines and
+junipers, and at higher elevations the mountains are dark with forests.
+The more lofty peaks, however, rise far above the upper limit of the
+forests and are rugged and magnificent even under the glare of a
+cloudless sky.
+
+To the east of the San Luis Park, and rising about 7,000 feet over it,
+and over 14,000 feet above the sea, stands Sierra Blanca, one of the
+finest of the many majestic mountains of Colorado. In summer immense
+cloud banks frequently gather about this cold, isolated peak, and local
+storms, accompanied by fierce lightning and echoing thunder, beat upon
+its shrouded sides. These tempests raging on the mountain top, while the
+adjacent valleys are flooded with sunlight, recall the scriptural
+accounts of the storms of Mount Sinai. In fact, the southwestern portion
+of the United States and the adjacent region in Mexico, so far as
+scenery and climatic peculiarities are concerned, have much in common
+with Palestine.
+
+The other great parks in Colorado, which have suggested a name for the
+group of mountains in the midst of which they are sheltered, are less
+arid and less desert-like than the one just described; but like it,
+derive their magnificence and fascination from their vast extent, the
+sublimity of the bordering mountains, and the wonderful transparency of
+the air above them, rather than from the topography of their nearly
+level floors or the vegetation that strives ineffectually to clothe
+their nakedness.
+
+The individual summits as well as the separate ranges composing the Park
+Mountains are remarkable for their massiveness and the great height of
+their bare rounded summits rather than for picturesque details. Several
+of the peaks are among the highest in the United States. One conspicuous
+feature is the considerable elevation of the valleys, usually over 7,000
+feet, and the large number of lofty summits. Of the peaks that have been
+measured, over 30 exceed 14,000 feet in height. The portion of the Park
+Mountains above an elevation of 10,000 feet, as is indicated on
+the map reproduced on page 65, is far greater in area than
+any other region of similar altitude on the continent.
+
+In the Park Mountains, and generally throughout the southern Rockies,
+even to central Mexico, the forms that meet the eye are the remnants of
+vast upheaved folds and domes of the earth's crust sculptured and
+degraded by erosion. The nearly horizontal rocks of the Great plateaus
+on meeting the eastern border of the mountains are bent abruptly upward,
+and in many places stand on edge or have been overturned so as to dip
+westward. This abrupt upward bending and the presence of remnants of the
+same beds on the summits of some of the higher mountains shows that the
+strata have not been simply folded into anticlinals and synclinals, but
+that there has been a thickening and upswelling of the rocks beneath.
+
+In the northern Rockies, except in western Idaho and adjacent portions
+of Washington and Oregon, evidences of recent volcanic activity are
+rare, although igneous rocks cover great areas, and in the Yellowstone
+Park numerous geysers and hot springs bear evidence to the presence of
+abnormal heat in the earth's crust. In the southern Rockies, however,
+volcanic mountains which still preserve their forms are numerous in
+certain regions, and in Mexico there are mighty volcanic piles and many
+lesser elevations built up by extrusion of molten material, some of
+which are still active. Examples are furnished of volcanic mountains
+ranging from perfect cones with curved slopes typical of the forms
+produced by the piling up of various sized fragments about the vents
+from which they were extruded, to irregular serrate peaks which reveal
+the anatomy of the dissected volcanic masses, and even the dikes which
+remain after the surface elevation of a volcano has been removed. The
+most modern volcanoes in this great group of mountains are situated in
+central Mexico, but others nearly as perfect in form occur in New Mexico
+and Arizona, and in the plateaus to the east of the Park Mountains. The
+Spanish peaks in southeastern Colorado are instructive illustrations of
+the topographic forms produced when a volcanic mountain has been deeply
+dissected.
+
+In the formation of volcanic mountains there is an extrusion of molten
+and fragmentary material accompanied by an escape of great volumes of
+steam at the surface. Closely related to this phase of vulcanism is the
+injection of molten material into the earth's crust from below, so as to
+force its way between stratified beds and produce intruded sheets. In
+this latter process the sheets of injected material may be thin in
+comparison to their lateral extent or thick lens-shaped masses. In the
+production of either of these forms of intrusion the cover above the
+injected material is lifted and a change is made in the topography of
+the surface. The intrusions, which are thick in comparison to their
+lateral extent, are known as _laccoliths_. At times intrusions of this
+nature are of such thickness that they produce true mountain forms. If
+unmodified, these elevations would be domes, but when their surfaces are
+broken by erosion and their dissection and removal progresses they
+frequently assume rugged, serrate forms.
+
+The type of laccolithic mountains made known some years since by the
+studies of G. K. Gilbert is furnished by the Henry Mountains, in
+southern Utah. More recently it has been found that this interesting
+phase of mountain building is illustrated by many other examples in the
+Rocky Mountain region and elsewhere.
+
+The rocks exposed at the surface in the southern Rockies, as in the
+northern division of that great chain, embrace almost every variety
+which enters into the composition of the earth's crust. The central
+cores of many of the now deeply eroded ranges consist of granite and
+other similar rocks, and are surrounded by sedimentary beds which range
+in age from the oldest stratified rocks now known to the youngest.
+Igneous rocks in great variety and in all forms incident to an extruded
+or volcanic and intruded or plutonic origin are present. The many
+disturbances that have occurred have led to the formation of mineral
+veins and the impregnation of rock masses with ores of various
+kinds--such as gold, silver, lead, copper, etc.--which have been mined
+with great success at many localities.
+
+_The High Plateaus._--To the west and south of the Park Mountains, and
+situated in the western portions of Colorado and New Mexico, eastern and
+southern Utah, and northern Arizona, there is an extensive region having
+a general surface level of 6,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea, known as
+the High plateaus. This region has suffered great erosion and is deeply
+trenched by stream-carved canyons. Although not mountainous in the
+ordinary acceptance of the term, its surface is rugged and difficult to
+traverse, particularly on account of the deep canyons that intersect it
+in every direction.
+
+The High plateaus are a part of the Rocky Mountain region and bear a
+somewhat similar relation to the Park Mountains that the Alleghany
+plateau does to the Appalachian Mountains. Streams flowing westward from
+the Park Mountains and from the southwestern portion of the Stony
+Mountains unite to form the Colorado River--the one great drainage
+channel of the region. The importance of this remarkable river in the
+history of the land has led to the adoption of the name Colorado plateau
+by Powell and others for the region under consideration. As with so many
+of the grander geographical units of the continent, the precise limits
+of the one here considered are difficult to define; but in spite of this
+uncertainty as to meets and bounds, the now classical writings of
+Newberry, Powell, and Dutton especially have shown that a strange and
+wonderful land exists in the southwest part of the United States, which
+is of unusual interest to geologists and geographers.
+
+The High plateaus are underlaid by nearly horizontal rocks. The larger
+elements in the structure are great blocks of the earth's crust
+measuring some 60 to 100 miles on their various borders, which are
+bounded by breaks (faults), or by what are termed monoclinal folds or a
+change from one plateau to another by a single bend in the strata. The
+rocks in each of the separate plateaus are usually gently tilted. Their
+eroded edges stand as lines of massive, gorgeously coloured, and
+frequently fantastically sculptured cliffs. These cliffs, when seen from
+below, appear as rugged mountain ranges, but to an observer standing on
+their deeply sculptured crests are easily recognised as the
+upturned edges of large gently tilted blocks of the earth's crust.
+
+The basement rocks beneath the High plateaus are very ancient granites,
+schists, etc., which formed a land surface and were greatly eroded
+before the first of the superimposed stratified beds were deposited upon
+them. The first of the sheets of sediment laid down by the primeval
+ocean belong to the oldest rocks containing records of life that have as
+yet been recognised--the Algonkian (pre-Cambrian) terranes of modern
+geology. Above these come other deposits of sandstone, shales,
+limestone, etc., representing a wide range of geological history, and
+including as the upper member of the series the sediments of large
+Tertiary lakes. This vast succession of stratified rocks, some 13,000
+feet in thickness, has been upraised in a broad way, without the
+crumpling and folding, but broken, as stated above, into great blocks
+which are now variously inclined, but still preserve a plateau-like
+character.
+
+Besides the movements in the earth's crust which raised the plateaus and
+caused fractures and simple or monoclinal folds in the rocks of which
+they are composed, there occurred volcanic eruptions which produced
+numerous cinder cones, extensive lava-flows, and widely spread sheets of
+comminuted material known as lapilli, dust, and so-called ashes.
+
+Although the history recorded in the rocks forming the High plateaus is
+one of fascinating geological interest, the easier and more obvious
+lesson that the region has to offer, more especially to the geographer,
+has been engraved and etched on its surface by streams and wind-blown
+sand.
+
+On the High plateaus the rainfall is comparatively small, and the
+streams originating there mostly ephemeral. But on the mountains to the
+east and north the precipitation is more abundant and rivers are formed
+which flow across the plateau region. The Green and Grand Rivers, fed by
+many tributaries, unite to form the Colorado, which flows southwestward
+for some 700 miles and discharges its muddy waters into the Gulf of
+Lower California. This great river year by year and century after
+century has deepened its channel through the plateau region where the
+rainfall is small, more rapidly than the general surface has been
+lowered by erosion. The main conditions are a broad area of nearly
+horizontal rocks, raised high above the sea or above the base level of
+erosion, and an arid climate; crossing this region is the ever-flowing
+river, which, acting like an endless saw, cuts deeper and deeper into
+the blocks of the earth's crust which have been raised athwart its
+course. Resulting from these conditions is a mighty trench or canyon,
+which is by far the most magnificent of its kind in North America, if
+not in the world. Not only has the main river sunken its channel into
+the earth to a depth of more than a mile throughout a large portion of
+its course, but each tributary stream has been engaged for a long period
+of time in a similar task. Although most of the streams originating on
+the surface of the plateaus are ephemeral, they work rapidly when the
+occasional heavy rains flood their channels. This deepening of the
+stream channels, while their borders and the intervening portions of the
+plateau surface suffered but comparatively slight erosion, has produced
+a wonderful system of deep steep-sided trenches in the borders of which
+the edges of the dissected rocks are exposed in nearly vertical
+precipices.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. After W. H.
+Holmes.]
+
+Aside from the lessons of interest to the geologist and geographer so
+plainly engraved on the surfaces of the plateaus crossed by the
+Colorado, the region has a wonderful fascination for the purely aesthetic
+feelings more or less latent in every human breast. To one traversing
+the open pine forests, in places clothing the plateaus and inclosing
+many grassy glades and flower-decked parks, in which timid deer may
+frequently be seen feeding in the early morning, and emerging on the
+brink of the Grand Canyon, the scene that meets the eye is marvellous
+beyond all description. C. E. Dutton, to whom we owe some of the most
+graphic and inspiring descriptions of natural scenery ever written,
+states that those who have long and carefully studied the Grand Canyon of
+the Colorado do not hesitate for a moment in pronouncing it the most
+sublime of all earthly spectacles. "If its sublimity," writes
+Dutton, "consisted only in its dimensions, it could be sufficiently set
+forth in a single sentence. It is more than 200 miles long, from 5 to 12
+miles wide, and from 5,000 to 6,000 feet deep. But it is not magnitude
+alone that gives this marvellous canyon its prominence; it is the
+gorgeous and varied colouring of its mighty walls, the endless details
+in the sculpturing of its battlements and towers, the ever-changing
+atmospheric effects of its profound depths, and the wonderful stimulus
+to the imagination with which it feeds the mind. Standing on the brink
+of the Grand Canyon, the prosaic search for causes and effects for a time
+at least must be laid aside, and give place to the emotions."
+
+Wonderfully grand as are the scenes beheld in traversing this region of
+high plateaus, with its magnificent cliffs and profound canyons, one is
+constantly reminded that it is an arid land. The higher portions of the
+plateau, it is true, are in places forested, but over vast areas the
+rocks are bare. Water is everywhere scarce except in the bottom of the
+larger excavations. Thirsty, and perhaps perishing, the traveller,
+Tantalus like, looks down on the shining silvery threads of water in the
+canyons, hundreds and even thousands of feet below, but separated from
+them by impassable barriers. To the south the plateaus descend to the
+desolate valleys of southern Arizona, where strange gigantic
+cactus-plants and scattered clumps of thorny shrubs alone break the
+dreary monotony of the hot gravelly deserts. Agriculture is there
+impossible without irrigation, but where the life-giving waters can be
+utilized, as in the Gila Valley, marvellous productiveness follows.
+
+
+                            THE GREAT BASIN
+
+To the west of the Rocky Mountain belt in the United States there exists
+a region embracing about 210,000 square miles, which sends no stream to
+the ocean. This vast and in large part desert tract is known as the
+Great Basin. The climate is characterized by its aridity. The annual
+precipitation is small and evaporation active. All the water reaching
+the land is returned to the air by evaporation, either directly or from
+the streams and lakes. Many of the lakes do not overflow and are more or
+less alkaline and saline, while some of them, as Great Salt Lake, Utah,
+and Mono and Owens Lakes, California, are dense with mineral matter in
+solution.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 20.--The Great Basin.]
+
+The Great Basin is not a single level-floored depression, as one might
+infer from its name, but is traversed by rugged mountain ranges, which
+divide it into a large number of minor valleys. Some of these secondary
+basins have lakes and streams which escape from them into lower
+depressions, but in many instances under present climatic conditions
+they have no surface water, all the moisture that reaches them being
+absorbed by the thirsty soil or evaporated without forming lakes. The
+Great Basin proper, as it may be termed, embraces nearly the whole of
+Utah and Nevada, together with small portions of the southern parts of
+Idaho and Oregon and a large area in southeastern California. While the
+drainage conditions limit the application of the name to this group of
+associated basins which send no tribute to the sea, the climatic and to
+a less extent the topographic and geological conditions that
+characterize it have much wider, although indefinite boundaries. This
+wider region which resembles the Great Basin proper, extends from
+British Columbia southward to beyond the city of Mexico, and includes
+the eastern half of Washington and Oregon, a large part of Idaho, and
+much of Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. In this outer region
+both to the north and south of the Great Basin proper there are
+drainless valleys, as those of central Mexico, in which the conditions
+characteristic of the desert valleys of Utah and Nevada are repeated.
+
+The greater region of arid valleys and desolate mountains surrounding
+the Great Basin proper is crossed at the north by the Columbia and in
+the central part by the Colorado. Each of these large rivers has its
+source in the Rocky Mountains and flows to the Pacific.
+
+The most obvious features of the Great Basin and of the northward and
+southward extensions of the belt of country having much in common
+with it, depend on climatic conditions. The rainfall is small throughout
+the entire belt from the Canadian boundary to south-central Mexico. The
+average mean annual precipitation, judging from such observations as are
+available, is probably less than 15 inches, but this broad statement
+does not truly represent the diverse conditions. The rainfall is
+confined almost entirely to the winter season, and frequently comes in
+short heavy downpours. During the summer season, the valleys especially,
+become so parched that only such plants can grow as are adapted to
+long-continued droughts. The topography is rough and diversified by many
+mountain ranges, and the precipitation is more abundant on the uplands
+than in the valleys. Over large areas in Nevada and southeastern
+California the mean annual rainfall is less than 5 inches. The author,
+while carrying on geological work in this region, was informed by some
+of the older settlers that at times for fully eighteen consecutive
+months no rain whatever fell in certain of the valleys. From the
+accounts of travellers in central Mexico, it seems as if some of the
+interior basins in that region must be fully as arid as those just
+referred to.
+
+One conspicuous result of the lack of moisture is the absence of
+forests. Except on the mountains mainly at the north the Great Basin and
+its extensions, as defined above, is nearly destitute of trees. The
+valleys are in many instances thickly covered with desert shrubs,
+notably the sage-brush, but the floors of the driest basins are in many
+instances almost absolutely without vegetation, and are frequently white
+with saline incrustations.
+
+Many of the depressions in the Great Basin, as well as some of the
+outlying valleys referred to, have rivers and lakes which exhibit
+certain interesting features that are unfamiliar to people dwelling in
+humid lands. The streams are fed in part by the small precipitation on
+the desert valleys, and by springs, frequently of heated water, but
+mainly by the rain and melting snow on the mountains. Many rills and
+rivulets are born on the valley sides of a single storm, but are
+absorbed by the thirsty soil or evaporated during the succeeding hours
+of sunshine. Other streams have a greater lease of life and flow
+down to valleys and basins, suffering evaporation and absorption as they
+progress, which cause them to diminish in volume, and finally to vanish.
+The stronger streams, such as Sevier and Bear Rivers in Utah, the
+Humboldt River in Nevada, and the Truckee River in California, maintain
+their existence throughout the year, and expand into lakes in which the
+inflow is balanced by evaporation.
+
+The lakes of the Great Basin present even greater diversity than the
+streams. Some of those situated principally in the mountains are of
+pure, limpid, wholesome water, supplied by cool, sweet brooks and rills
+or by the melting of the winter's snows, and overflow throughout the
+year. These lakes, usually of small size, are similar in all respects to
+the ordinary lakes of humid lands. In eastern Utah, adjacent to the west
+base of the Wasatch Mountains, the Provo River and other streams supply
+Utah Lake, the outlet of which, the Jordan River, empties into Great
+Salt Lake. Utah Lake is well within the Great Basin, and situated at a
+low elevation for the region, namely, 4,500 feet, or about 280 feet (in
+1873) above the level of lake of brine into which it discharges. This is
+the largest of the fresh lakes in the valleys of the Great Basin, and
+owes its existence to the fact that a depression there occurs which is
+filled to overflowing by the streams from the mountains. Bear Lake, in
+northeastern Utah, is another exceptional example of a fresh lake of
+considerable size at a comparatively low altitude, in the same region.
+On the western rim of the Great Basin, at an elevation of 6,247 feet,
+and surrounded by the forested peaks of the Sierra Nevada, lies Lake
+Tahoe, "the gem of the Sierra," a water body of remarkable purity, which
+discharges through Truckee River into Pyramid and Winnemucca Lakes.
+These lower lakes, situated in desert valleys at an elevation of 3,780
+feet above the sea, are without outlets and alkaline and bitter. The
+most characteristic lakes of the Great Basin, however, are those that do
+not overflow, and on account of concentration by evaporation are more or
+less highly charged with mineral matter in solution. These saline and
+alkaline lakes may be divided into two classes, in reference to
+their duration, but the line of separation is indefinite. Certain of
+them have maintained their existence for many years, and probably have
+not been evaporated to dryness for several centuries, and may be classed
+as perennial lakes; others are evaporated to dryness each year, or
+during certain exceptionally dry and hot seasons, and may be termed
+ephemeral lakes. In many instances the beds of the ephemeral lakes are
+normally in a state of desiccation, and appear as broad, level, mud
+plains, usually with a white fringe of saline matter. Frequently these
+mud plains, or _playas_, as they are termed, are transformed into
+shallow lakes during a single storm, but the waters are absorbed by the
+clays beneath or evaporated within a few days or perhaps a few hours
+after the rain ceases. The largest and most characteristic of the
+perennial saline water bodies is Great Salt Lake, the counterpart in
+many ways of the Dead Sea. The streams discharging into this salt sea
+have the usual purity of river-waters, and carry but a small fraction of
+one per cent of saline matter in solution. The lake is supplied also in
+part, but to an unimportant extent, by springs, the most of which are of
+essentially fresh water. The source of the salts which make the waters
+of the lake a brine is evidently, therefore, the small percentage of
+mineral material brought in by the tributary streams. After reaching the
+lake these fresh waters, in the ordinary meaning of the term, are
+concentrated by evaporation. This is the explanation of the leading
+facts in the chemistry of all of the saline and alkaline lakes of the
+Great Basin region, such as Pyramid, Winnemucca, and Walker Lakes in
+Nevada, Mono and Owens Lakes in California, and the saline lakes of
+Mexico.
+
+The volume of a lake without an outlet, or an "inclosed lake," is
+determined mainly by the ratio of the inflow (including the rain falling
+directly on its surface and the tribute from springs) and evaporation.
+Its volume, and consequently its area, fluctuates from season to season,
+and frequently varies also during periods embracing several years. With
+variations in volume there are fluctuations in the percentage of saline
+matter in solution, even if precipitation of one or more of the
+contained salts does not take place during the periods of more than
+usual concentration. In most instances inclosed lakes are concentrated
+by evaporation in summer seasons, and perhaps become nearly saturated
+solutions, but are diluted during the rainy winter seasons. Fluctuations
+in volume, area, depth, salinity, etc., are thus characteristic of
+inclosed water bodies. They are sensitive to climatic changes which
+ordinary weather records fail to detect, and are modified in a
+conspicuous manner when the country about them becomes inhabited and
+irrigation is practised.
+
+Some of the lakes of the Great Basin are dense brines from which various
+substances are being precipitated. The economic importance of these
+natural reservoirs of brine and of various soda salts is great, and will
+become more and more important as transportation facilities increase.
+Great Salt Lake, it has been estimated, contains 400,000,000 tons of
+common salt and 30,000,000 tons of sodium sulphate in solution. During
+the past ten years about 40,000 tons of common salt have been harvested
+from it annually. Mono Lake contains some 245,000,000 tons of saline
+matter in solution, of which about 92,000,000 tons are sodium carbonate
+and bicarbonate. Owens Lake is similar to Mono Lake in composition, and
+is now the basis of a large soda industry.
+
+A marked difference between a region which drains to the ocean and one
+where the streams enter inclosed basins where their waters are
+evaporated is that in the former the waste from the land carried by the
+streams as an invisible load in solution or as a visible load consisting
+mainly of silt and sand in suspension is contributed to the ocean and
+widely distributed before being deposited--much of the material in
+solution, in fact, may be said to be a permanent contribution to the
+salinity of sea-water; but in most instances where streams enter
+inclosed basins all of the material contributed both in solution and
+suspension is sooner or later precipitated. The area within an inclosed
+basin, on which the inflowing streams lay down their loads, is as a rule
+less extensive than the area that is being denuded to supply the
+material. The receiving basins are thus filled in or _aggraded_, and
+there is a concentration both of the mechanical wash from the land and
+of the substances taken in solution by the waters of streams and
+springs. A marked result of this process of concentration, particularly
+of the fine waste of the uplands and mountains, is seen in the
+approximately level floors of inclosed valleys. Throughout the Great
+Basin the valleys have been filled to a depth in many instances of
+hundreds of feet. Some of the lower mountain ranges in Utah have been so
+nearly buried beneath these valley deposits that only their summits,
+termed _lost mountains_, appear above the even surface of the desert
+plains. This _debris_, deeply filling the valleys referred to, is
+usually a fine yellowish dust-like material, similar in many ways, and
+probably in mode of origin, to the _loess_ of China in which geologists
+have taken much interest. With the concentration and deposition of the
+fine mechanical wash of the uplands there has also been a concentration
+of the more soluble saline constituents of rocks, which causes the soils
+of arid regions to differ in an important way from those of humid lands.
+The leached and characteristically red-tinted soils of warm humid
+countries, consisting of the oxidized residue of deeply weathered rocks,
+are absent from arid regions; in their place we find minutely
+disintegrated, usually light-coloured, and not chemically impoverished
+soils. In warm humid regions chemical decay of the rocks is the
+conspicuous feature; in equally warm arid lands mechanical
+disintegration is carried to an extreme, without the removal of the more
+soluble constituents. In fact, concentration of saline matter, notably
+common salt, sodium sulphate, gypsum, etc., is one of the functions, so
+to speak, of arid climates, when the requisite evaporation basins are
+present. Among the important industries of the Great Basin region is the
+gathering and purifying of the various salts contained in the existing
+water bodies and in the basins of desiccated lakes.
+
+In addition to the characteristics of the region referred to above,
+which are mainly the result of climatic conditions, the Great Basin has
+certain geological features, in the main, so far as North America
+is concerned, peculiar to itself. The leading structural features of the
+rocks, so far as they find expression in the surface relief, is the
+presence of a large number of extensive faults trending in general about
+northeast and southwest. These faults are breaks or cracks along which
+the rocks have been moved up and down. One side of a fault sometimes
+stands higher than the opposite side, and forms a narrow and frequently
+high and rugged mountain range. The number of these faults within the
+Great Basin is as yet unknown, but they certainly number many hundreds.
+In a cross profile of the region between the Wasatch Mountains on the
+east and the Sierra Nevada on the west the number of mountain ridges due
+to faulting is at least a score. The precipitous western border of the
+Wasatch Mountains is itself a great fault scarp, as is also the eastern
+border of the Sierra Nevada. The faults that determine the steeper sides
+of these mountain ranges are not to be considered as single clean-cut
+gashes, but as irregular and intersecting fractures traversing a narrow
+belt of country. The faults referred to divide rocks of all ages, and
+are evidently due to the most recent disturbances that have affected the
+region. It is not probable that the break in any given instance was
+formed all at once. Such vast convulsions would be out of harmony with
+the rules of nature. But rather many small movements and adjustments of
+pressure have occurred along the same belt of fracture. This conclusion
+is sustained by the fact that many of the faults have experienced
+movements in very recent times. In places fault scarps a score or more
+feet in height cross the alluvial cones at the mouths of the small
+high-grade valleys in the mountains. These scarps in loose
+unconsolidated gravel and similar material, even under an arid climate,
+could not be expected to preserve their freshness for many years. At
+times the breaks cross the courses of streams and cascades, and rapids
+are formed by the waters flowing down escarpments thus produced in loose
+material. One characteristic fault scarp in Inyo Valley, California, is
+known to have been formed during an earthquake that shook that portion
+of the country in 1872. The many small earthquakes that have been
+felt in the Great Basin region are believed to have been caused by
+slight movements along the breaks that traverse the region. This and
+other evidence indicates that the faults to which so much of the
+characteristic scenery of the Great Basin is due have grown by repeated
+minor displacements, and that such movements are a common cause of
+earthquakes.
+
+The most conspicuous topographic features of the better known portion of
+the Great Basin are long, narrow, and frequently sharp-crested ridges,
+with a gentle slope on one side and a steep escarpment on the other. The
+steeper side in a large number of instances is known to be the upraised
+side of a fault. Each of these basin ranges, as they are termed, may be
+considered as the upturned edge of a block of the earth's crust, in
+general from 60 to 100 or more miles long, and 10 to perhaps 20 miles
+wide. The crest-lines of the tilted blocks are frequently serrate, on
+account of differences in the hardness and texture of the rocks and the
+effects of weathering. There is frequently, however, an older structure
+revealed in them, showing that the region was folded and otherwise
+disturbed previous to the later movements which produced the leading
+features in the present topography. It is probable that this older
+structure in some instances has had an important bearing on the forms of
+some of the ranges, but our knowledge in this direction is too limited
+to warrant presentation in a popular treatise.
+
+Many of the basin ranges are imposing on account of their height and
+ruggedness, when seen from the adjacent, deeply filled valleys, although
+scarcely more than half of their actual elevation above the sea is
+revealed from such points of view. Exceptions to this general statement
+occur, however, in southeastern California, where, in Death Valley, the
+land is 480 feet below sea-level. This is the only region in North
+America which, like the basin of the Dead Sea, is below the level of the
+ocean's surface. On the border of Death Valley the mountain ranges rise
+from 6,000 to 10,000 feet, and the highest summit, known as Telescope
+Peak, is reported to have an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet
+above the sea. In the central and northern portions of the Great Basin
+the valley floors have a general elevation of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet.
+The mountains rise from these valleys to a height of from a few hundred
+to 4,000 or 5,000 feet. Among the highest, if not actually the
+culminating peaks well within the Great Basin are White Mountain, on the
+California-Nevada boundary, about 30 miles southeast of Mono Lake, which
+has a summit elevation of 13,000 feet, and Jeff Davis Peak, in eastern
+Nevada, which rises 13,100 feet above the sea and 8,000 feet above the
+adjacent valleys.
+
+The numerous sharp-crested ranges of the region under review are
+frequently remarkable for the richness of the colours of the naked
+rocks. The mountain slopes and towering angular summits when outlined
+against the morning or evening sky are frequently as brilliantly dyed as
+are the New England hills when clothed in the harlequin foliage of
+autumn. Before sunrise and after sunset each serrate crest-line is the
+sharply cut border of a silhouette of the deepest and richest purple.
+The diversity of scenery in the Great Basin is increased by mountains of
+volcanic origin, including several modern craters, some of which hold
+lakes, and by lava-flows of recent date, and by great alluvial fans or
+detritus cones which stream out into the valleys from the mouths of
+gorges in the bordering mountains.
+
+The Great Basin proper, with its rugged topography and arid climate, is
+not an agricultural region. Small portions of it, however, when water
+can be had for irrigation, have been transformed into fruitful farms and
+gardens which yield bountiful returns. But even a century hence, when
+all has been accomplished in the way of reclaiming the arid valleys that
+can be done by utilizing the available water for irrigation, only a
+small per cent of the whole will be under cultivation.
+
+
+                   SIERRA NEVADA AND CASCADE MOUNTAINS
+
+To the west of the Great Basin, and extending from southern California
+northward to beyond the United States-Canadian boundary, there is a
+lofty and extremely rugged belt of mountains consisting of two
+ranges--the Sierra Nevada at the south and the Cascade Mountains at the
+north. Topographically, these two ranges form a single elevated belt of
+country, but custom, and as is now generally understood the geological
+structure and history, draws a dividing line between them in northern
+California. The Sierra Nevada-Cascade range extends far into Canada, and
+is there known as the Coast Range. No adjustment of the nomenclature in
+use on the two sides of the international boundary has been made, and in
+order to conform with current usage, it is necessary to consider
+separately the two portions of the range on opposite sides of the
+forty-ninth parallel.
+
+The Sierra Nevada has its southern terminus at Tejon Pass, in southern
+California, and extending from there northward to Lassen Peak, in the
+northern part of the same State. With the exception of a small area to
+the east and north of Lake Tahoe, the entire range is included within
+the boundaries of California. This is geographically one of the best
+defined of the larger mountain ranges in the United States. Its eastern
+border especially is easy to trace, as for the most part it is
+determined by a great escarpment, corresponding to the fault scarp which
+borders one side of so many of the basin ranges. The Sierra Nevada, in
+fact, may be considered as one of the basin ranges of great size and
+forming the western wall of the region of interior drainage lying to the
+eastward. This abrupt eastward-facing mountain slope is in reality a
+great fault scarp, formed mainly by the upheaval of the west side of an
+intersecting system of fractures. It is not known, however, how much of
+the escarpment is due to the upheaval of the west side of the belt of
+fracture, or how much to the sinking of the eastern side. There have no
+doubt been many up and down movements along this belt, of which
+the present mountain wall is the algebraic sum. The escarpment rises in
+general from 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the desert valleys to the
+eastward, and reaches a maximum of about 14,000 feet in the vicinity of
+Death Valley. It is exceedingly precipitous and rises to an irregular
+serrate crest-line, from which the general slope westward to the Great
+Valley of California is gentle.
+
+The best idea of the generalized topographic form as well as of the
+origin of the Sierra Nevada, which the reader may be asked to hold in
+mind, is that the range consists of a block of the earth's crust about
+500 miles long and from 70 to 100 miles broad, which has been upraised
+along its eastern edge so as to give its surface a westward inclination.
+From this vast monolith the profound canyons and multitude of sharp
+tapering spires which give to the range its magnificent scenery have
+been sculptured. Like most generalized pictures of great geographical
+features, however, this outline of the form and structure of the great
+mountain range of California has to be modified when studied in detail.
+From extensive and most painstaking studies by H. W. Turner, of the
+United States Geological Survey, the conclusion is reached that "the
+Sierra Nevada may be described as a monogenetic range, composed of
+highly compressed schists and slates with large areas of associated
+igneous rocks, chiefly granite and diabase, upon which lie uncomfortably
+a series of later Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments and volcanic rocks."
+
+Could the profound valleys carved in the long western slope of the
+Sierra Nevada be filled so as to restore the conditions as they existed
+when the mountain block was first upraised and tilted, we would have an
+inclined plane in which the edges of previously folded rocks would be
+exposed. In other words, the western slope is a tilted peneplain,
+bearing on its surface remnants of older uplands. High up on the range
+there are detached areas of well-worn gravel, which were deposited when
+the slopes were less inclined than at present, and before the existing
+peaks and canyons came into existence. Certain of the valleys carved
+during a portion of the earlier stage of erosion were subsequently
+filled by lava-floods, which buried gold-bearing gravel beneath thick
+layers of basaltic rock. Erosion has since cut away the softer beds
+bordering these ancient lava-sheets, and left them in bold relief as
+table mountains, underneath which miners have excavated tunnels in order
+to reach the stream-deposited gravels of the ancient canyons. In these
+instances valleys have been changed to uplands, owing to the resistance
+to erosion afforded by the volcanic rocks discharged into them.
+
+The long gentle slope on the west side of the Sierra Nevada has been
+dissected by westward-flowing rivers, which have sunk their channels
+2,000 or 3,000 feet or more into the rocks. Other streams having much
+shorter courses flow down the steep eastern slope of the range and have
+also excavated canyons. These two systems of drainage, one leading
+westward to the Great Valley of California and the other eastward to the
+valleys of the Great Basin, extended their head branches until they came
+into rivalry with each other, and cut deep notches in the crest of the
+range. During a late stage in its history the higher portions of the
+mountains were covered with a great field of perennial snow, from which
+glaciers flowed both eastward and westward. These ice-streams, by
+deepening and broadening the previously water-cut channels, still
+further increased the diversity of the topography and impressed upon it
+characteristics such as only glaciers can produce.
+
+The highest and most typical part of the Sierra Nevada is in its
+south-central portion, and is known as the High Sierra. This region,
+although at present not accurately defined, is well worthy of
+recognition. Throughout its entire extent, from the neighbourhood of
+Lake Tahoe on the north to Tehichipe Pass at the south, a distance of
+about 240 miles, it is diversified by rugged serrate peaks and narrow
+stream-cut valleys of great depth. Many of the mountains attain
+elevations of from 12,000 to over 13,500 feet. The highest summit is
+Mount Whitney, in the southern part of the range and near its eastern
+border, which rises 14,522 feet above the sea and has the added
+distinction of being the highest mountain in the United States,
+exclusive of Alaska. It is a notable fact that this great mountain-peak
+should be situated only about 100 miles from Death Valley, the lowest
+depression on the continent.
+
+Another of the remarkable features of the Sierra Nevada is the great
+depth and the wonderfully precipitous walls of some of the valleys
+carved by the westward-flowing rivers. The most famous of these is the
+sublime Yosemite Valley, now world-renowned. This cleft as it appears in
+solid light-coloured granite, over a mile deep, is believed by Turner,
+the last of several geologists to discuss its origin, to be due to
+stream erosion. The fact seems well established, however, that glacial
+ice has assisted in the great task. The Yosemite is not such an unique
+feature as was at one time supposed, but is approached if not equalled
+in depth and magnificence by Hetch Hetchy Valley, through which flows
+the Tuolumne River, and is duplicated, in part at least, by other
+similar stream-cut gulfs.
+
+Among the chief elements in the glorious scenery of the Sierra Nevada is
+the multitude of lakes left as a rich inheritance by the departed
+glaciers. These occur not only high up amid the bare peaks where their
+basins were excavated by the flowing ice, but also in the lower valleys
+where the ancient ice-streams built morainal dams.
+
+The High Sierra was swept nearly clean of soil and _debris_ by the
+ancient glaciers, and the hard rocks thus exposed were rounded and
+burnished by the ice that flowed over them. But little disintegration or
+decay of the rocks has taken place since an amelioration of climate
+changed the drainage from a solid to a liquid form. On account mainly of
+the general absence of soil the forests are less dense than might be
+expected from the height of the regions where they occur and its general
+climatic conditions. The more lofty peaks reach far above the forests
+and are riven and shattered by frost. The crests and cliffs at somewhat
+lower altitudes are also bare, but in the canyons and on the meadow-like
+valley bottoms smoothed by the glaciers, open park-like groves of pine
+and spruce grow in picturesque disorder. On the ledges of the great
+precipices, and on many of the secondary summits, gardens of
+alpine flowers blossom in late summer, and at times impart a rich warm
+glow to the heights that support them. The views of nature, unmarred by
+the hand of man, which reward the persistent mountaineer in this silent
+wonderland of the upper world, are not only grand beyond all
+description, but beautified by a delicacy of decoration where
+snow-fields and alpine gardens meet, that is undreamed of by the
+dwellers in the denser air of the plains and seaside. Lovers of nature
+who are unable to climb the towering summits of the High Sierra and see
+for themselves the marvellous beauty there so lavishly displayed can at
+least find a glowing pen picture of it in John Muir's fascinating book
+The Mountains of California. On the lower western slope of the Sierra
+Nevada the forests become continuous and luxuriant, the trees are of
+large size, and the lovely flowers carpeting the valleys and hillsides
+take on a more familiar appearance than the gorgeous blossoms of the
+alpine meadows. It is in this region that the gigantic _Sequoia_ still
+lingers as a remnant of a nearly extinct flora.
+
+Statements of heights and depths, of geological structures, and of
+topographic forms are perhaps necessary to enable one to form a mental
+picture of a snow-crowned mountain range which will bear some faint
+resemblance to the mighty original; but when one threads his way through
+the resinous forests on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada, ascends
+some one of the profound water-cut rifts in its side, scales the steep
+cliffs, traverses the crystal surfaces of the small glaciers, and
+finally stands on a spire-like summit covered only by the dark blue of
+the dome above, all thoughts of the arches and walls that support the
+mighty cathedral are lost in wrapt wonder and admiration of the
+magnificent scene about him. It is this intense feeling for the sublime
+and beautiful in nature that the student of geography should strive to
+cultivate, as well as to acquire skill in reading the prosaic history
+written everywhere on the mountains. This important lesson can seldom be
+studied to greater advantage than amid the silent awe-inspiring peaks of
+California.
+
+The Cascade Mountains, as previously stated, are a direct continuation,
+so far as the relief is concerned, of the Sierra Nevada. The geological
+structure of the region in northern California, where the two ranges
+approach each other, has been studied by J. S. Diller, of the United
+States Geological Survey, who concludes that they present characteristic
+differences. In the Cascade Mountains in northern California, Oregon,
+and southern Washington the rocks exposed at the surface are mainly, if
+not entirely, of volcanic origin, and were poured out in a molten
+condition as lava-flows, or as fragmental ejections from volcanoes, and
+in part rose through fissures and formed what are termed fissure
+eruptions. The rocks thus extruded are mainly composed of dark, heavy
+basic material, such as basalt and andesite. These outpourings of molten
+rocks were on a grand scale, and a large number of volcanic mountains
+were formed which still remain as the dominant peaks of the rugged and
+densely forested Cascade Range. Although the evidence now available
+seems to show that there is a striking difference between the Sierra
+Nevada and the Cascade Mountains, another significant change occurs when
+one follows the Cascade Mountains into northern Washington. Where the
+Northern Pacific Railroad crosses the range the volcanic rocks are
+succeeded northward by granites, schists, serpentine, etc., and
+Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary beds of much the same character as
+those in the Sierra Nevada.
+
+The study of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade region has not progressed far
+enough to warrant a decision, but the fact referred to above strongly
+suggests that the two ranges, as we now term them, are essentially a
+single uplift, a large portion of which, extending from Lassen Peak, in
+California, northward across Oregon and into Washington as far as the
+Northern Pacific Railroad, is buried beneath a great blanket, so to
+speak, of lava-flows. The tract of elevated and rugged country in
+northern Washington embraced in the Cascade Mountains, as has been
+observed by the writer, passes into Canada without a marked change in
+either its geology or geography, and there is no occasion for a
+change of name when the international boundary is crossed.
+
+The Cascade Mountains in Oregon and southern Washington, where the
+surface rocks are mainly and perhaps wholly of volcanic origin, are
+rugged for two principal reasons: First, volcanic energy has built up
+great individual peaks; and second, erosion has carved deep valleys and
+numerous ravines and gorges. The volcanoes are now extinct, or have long
+been dormant, and their cold summits are in several instances crowned
+with perennial snow and small glaciers. The forms given to the more
+prominent elevations by the eruptions which built them have to a great
+extent been defaced by erosion. As they stand to-day they furnish an
+instructive series of more or less deeply dissected volcanic mountains.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Crater Lake in the summit of Mount Mazama,
+Oregon.]
+
+Not only has erosion changed the characteristic slopes of the peaks
+built of lava-flows and ejected fragments, but in at least one
+remarkable instance the volcanic energy itself greatly altered the
+structure it had previously raised. Mount Mazama, situated in southern
+Oregon in the summit region of the Cascades, is a truncated volcanic
+cone in the top of which there is an immense depression now partially
+filled by the waters of Crater Lake (Fig. 21). The main features in the
+history of this unique mountain with a lake in its summit, as
+interpreted by Messrs. Dutton and Diller, of the United States
+Geographical Survey, are as follows: It once stood as a conical peak,
+similar to several other mountains of volcanic origin in the same
+region, some 15,000 feet in height; it was then an active volcano with a
+summit crater filled with lava, but subsequently, for a time at least,
+became dormant and was occupied by glacial ice. At a later period an
+escape for the lava was furnished by a fissure or other opening which
+admitted of a surface discharge at a more or less distant locality, in a
+manner similar to the escape of the molten rocks from the great
+volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands within historic times. This drawing
+off of the lava from the crater removed the support afforded its walls
+from within, and the summit portion of the mountain, embracing about
+three-fourths of its height above the adjacent valleys, fell in
+and was engulfed. The mountain was thus truncated, and presents the
+general appearance of similar cones the upper portions of which are
+known to have been blown away by explosions. But in the case of Mount
+Mazama, the hypothesis of truncation by explosion seems to be disproved
+by the absence of the fragments of the portion removed on the slopes
+remaining or on the surrounding region. After the falling in of the
+summit of the mountain comparatively mild volcanic explosions followed
+which built a cone within the great pit or _caldera_ in the summit of
+the truncated mountain, but without filling it. The space left vacant is
+now occupied by water, and thus transformed into a lake. The cone built
+after the catastrophe referred to now forms Wizard Island, near the
+southwest border of Crater Lake.
+
+Some idea of the magnitude of the changes wrought in Mount Mazama by the
+events recorded in its geology and topography may be obtained from the
+following facts: Crater Lake has a surface elevation of 6,239 feet above
+the sea, and is nearly 2,000 feet deep in its deepest part; the
+precipices surrounding it are from 520 to 1,987 feet high. The whole
+depth of the depression is therefore 4,000 feet. This _caldera_, as such
+basins of volcanic origin are termed, is nearly circular, with an east
+and west diameter measuring 6 miles, and a north and south diameter of 5
+miles. The volume of the pit is nearly 12 cubic miles.
+
+Not only is Mount Mazama with its wonderful lake one of the most unique
+natural features of North America, but it has its full share of the
+artistic details of lake and mountain scenery which appeal so forcibly
+to the finer instincts within us. The outer slopes of the mountain are
+clothed with the all-embracing coniferous forests which cover the
+Cascades as with a mantle throughout their entire extent, while the
+precipitous inner slopes are for the most part bare precipices of
+angular and extremely rugged rock. The lake itself is of the most
+marvellous blue, in which the encircling cliffs, the crater-island, and
+the sky above are reflected.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Mount Rainier, Washington.]
+
+Other peaks along the crest-line of the Cascades to be numbered by the
+score, although with less romantic histories than Mount Mazama,
+have instructive answers to give when properly questioned. Among the
+remarkably picturesque summits rising above the dark coniferous forests
+of western Oregon are the following, with their respective heights above
+the sea expressed in feet: Mount Pitt, 9,760; Mount Mazama, 8,228; Mount
+Union, 7,881; Mount Scott, 7,123; Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson,
+10,200; and Mount Hood, 11,225. Of these peaks, the best known, on
+account of its proximity to the city of Portland, and at the same time
+one of the most picturesque and beautiful, is Mount Hood, situated about
+25 miles south of the Columbia River. The concave slopes so
+characteristic of volcanic cones are no longer conspicuous on the sides
+of this once symmetrical mountain, and only remnants of its crater
+remain. The part it played as a safety-valve for the pent-up energy
+beneath was long since finished, although heated vapours still escape
+from an opening near the summit. Similar manifestations of heat have
+also been observed about several other ancient craters in the Cascades,
+but these occurrences are not considered as indicating that actual
+connections still exist with reservoirs or bodies of molten rocks below
+the surface: they are evidently due to the residual heat of the once
+molten rock in the conduits of the now extinct or dormant volcanoes.
+
+The lava-flows and volcanic mountains typically displayed in the
+Cascades throughout the breadth of Oregon continue northward and form at
+least the surface portion of the same range in Washington as far as the
+Northern Pacific Railroad, or about 100 miles north of the Columbia. The
+more important volcanic mountains in western Washington are, in their
+order from south to north; as follows, the height of each being given in
+feet: Mount Adams, 9,570; Mount St. Helens, 9,750; Mount Rainier,
+14,525; Glacier Peak, 10,436; and Mount Baker, 10,877. Only two of these
+ancient volcanoes, namely, Mount Adams and Glacier Peak, are situated on
+the crest-line of the Cascade Mountains; the others are to the westward
+and more or less completely detached from the main range.
+
+The Cascade Mountains are in general parallel with the shore of the
+Pacific, and rise as a prominent barrier athwart the path of the
+prevailing westerly winds. Precipitation on their seaward slopes is
+copious, but their landward sides overlooking the arid plains of central
+Washington are far less humid. The westward, or rainy slope, is clothed
+with a magnificent forest of giant trees, while the eastward, or sunny
+side, is largely without forests, but abounds in natural meadows and
+pastures. Large portions of the mountains are still almost entirely
+unknown, and retain their primitive wildness, except that forest fires,
+particularly near the international boundary, have in places made
+desolate the once beautiful valleys and precipitous slopes. Elk, deer,
+bear, the mountain-goat, and mountain-sheep still roam the forests. The
+large streams abound in salmon, and each cool, clear brook and rushing
+creek is a favourite haunt of the trout. No more delightful
+camping-ground for lovers of nature and searchers for recreation can be
+found than the grassy, park-like valleys on the sunny side of these
+magnificent mountains.
+
+Many of the details in the scenery of the Cascades are due to the work
+of ancient glaciers. Numerous lakes, held in rock-basins in the higher
+portions of the mountains, and many still larger sheets of water
+retained by morainal dams in the lower valleys, give a superlative charm
+to many a wild and rugged landscape. The largest and most interesting
+lake in the entire Cascade region is Lake Chelan, situated in a deep
+valley on the eastern side of the mountains in north-central Washington.
+This beautiful sheet of water, a mile or two wide, extending like a
+placid river for some 70 miles into the mountains, resembles in many of
+its features the far-famed lakes of northern Italy. The mountains
+inclosing this hidden gem of the Cascades rise abruptly from the water's
+edge to great heights, and with one exception are unbroken by deep
+side-valleys. For fully 50 miles the blue plain of water is overshadowed
+on each side by crags and precipices from 5,000 to 6,000 or more feet in
+height. The lower slopes are dark with forests of pine and fir, and the
+bare serrate spires above are white with snow long after the
+spring flowers have faded in the lower vales. The water of the lake is
+clear and sparkling, and has the deep-blue colour of the open ocean. The
+sounding-line has shown a depth of 1,400 feet, and the bottom is about
+300 feet below sea-level. This wonderful lake, clasped in the embrace of
+the eastward extended arms of the Cascades, is but 2 or 3 miles from the
+Columbia River, into which it discharges its surplus waters through
+Chelan River, and may be easily reached from Wenachee, on the Great
+Northern Railroad, by steamers on the Columbia. Although at present
+scarcely known to the world of tourists, Lake Chelan is destined to take
+as an important place in the lives of those who seek rest and recreation
+as does Lake George in northern New York at the present day.
+
+Before attempting to trace the Pacific mountains northward through
+Canada and Alaska, let us glance at the leading geographical features to
+the west of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade uplift.
+
+
+        THE GREAT VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA AND THE PUGET SOUND BASIN
+
+To the west of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade Mountains, and bordered on the
+west by another and very nearly parallel series of elevations, known in
+a general way as the Coast Mountains, there is a succession of long,
+relatively narrow basins, situated end to end, and constituting what may
+be termed a valley-chain. This series of basins extends from southern
+California northward far into Canada, and includes, in their order from
+south to north, the great Valley of California, the Willamette and
+Cowlitz Valleys in Oregon and Washington, and the Puget Sound basin,
+together with its great but indefinitely defined northward extension.
+
+The Great Valley of California has a length of about 500 miles and an
+average width of approximately 40 miles, and is greater in area than
+either Belgium, Denmark, or Switzerland. It is divided in reference to
+drainage into two portions, the San Joaquin Valley at the south and the
+Sacramento Valley at the north, named respectively after the
+rivers that drain them. These two streams unite and discharge into San
+Francisco Bay, the outlet of which is through the Golden Gate to the
+Pacific. This central basin of California has a generally flat bottom
+composed of a great depth of unconsolidated gravel, sand, and clay,
+which are believed to owe their deposition mainly to the streams flowing
+from the bordering mountains, although in part they may have been
+deposited when the land was more depressed than now and the basin was a
+great sound, connected with the ocean by a single narrow opening. The
+rock-waste swept into the valley served not only to add to the
+accumulations forming its floor, but to give the bottom some
+irregularities. A portion of its southern end, shut off by alluvial
+deposits brought down from the Sierra Nevada, is occupied by the shallow
+alkaline waters of Tulare Lake. When the great valley was first visited
+by white men it was without trees, except along the immediate borders of
+some of the streams, and for the most part was a luxuriant meadow of
+wild grasses and flowers. On the uplands oak-trees grew in scattered
+park-like groves with gorgeously flower-decked hills and vales between.
+This favoured land, clothed in its natural beauties, came as near being
+an Eden as perhaps any portion of the continent. The changes that have
+followed the settlement and cultivation of this great mountain-inclosed
+basin are simply marvellous. Cities and villages have been built,
+orchards and vineyards planted which yield most bountiful harvests, and
+the once grass-covered plains are now seemingly boundless wheat-fields.
+The unkept natural garden of half a century ago has become a granary not
+only for the people of America, but for those of Asia as well.
+
+To the north of the Klamath Mountains, which shut in the central Valley
+of California at the north, lies the beautiful Willamette Valley, about
+150 miles long, drained by the northward-flowing river of the same name,
+which joins the Columbia where the thriving city of Portland now stands.
+The depression between the mountains of which the Valley of the
+Willamette forms a part, extends north of the Columbia, and is there
+drained by the southward-flowing Cowlitz River. The relation of
+these two valleys is much the same, although on a smaller scale, as that
+existing between the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, except that the
+Columbia, after passing through the Cascade Mountains, receives the
+Willamette and Cowlitz rivers as tributaries, one from each side of its
+course. This Willamette-Cowlitz depression is surrounded by densely
+forested hills and the snow-capped summits of ancient volcanoes. The
+soil was originally highly fertile, and although now somewhat
+impoverished, still furnishes a substantial basis for agriculture, and
+renders the region one of the most productive as well as most beautiful
+in the United States.
+
+To the geographer the Willamette-Cowlitz Valley seems scarcely distinct
+from the great depression farther north in the same valley-chain, which
+now holds the waters of Puget Sound, except that there is a low
+water-parting between. This divide, as previously suggested, is thought
+to be due largely to stream and glacial deposits, which have been laid
+down in the previously nearly level-floored intermontane trough.
+
+The Puget Sound basin has a length from south to north of about 150
+miles, and extends from the Olympic Mountains on the west to the Cascade
+Mountains on the east, a distance of some 60 miles. The sound terminates
+at the north at the Strait of Fuca (at Port Townsend, in Fig. 23), but
+the depression in which it lies continues northward, with similar
+geographical and geological characteristics. In a general way the same
+depression may be said to extend northward to southeastern Alaska, but
+is there deeply water-filled, and its western border is discontinuous
+and broken into many islands.
+
+There are several features in the Puget Sound basin which especially
+impress the traveller: Next to the magnificence of the lofty volcanic
+cones that stand like Titan watch-towers along the western slope of the
+Cascades and the dense forest of gigantic firs and cedars, the most
+conspicuous feature of the region is the extreme irregularity of the
+sound itself. Even such general maps of Puget Sound as are
+usually available indicate that it is exceptional and different from all
+other water bodies on the continent, not including the extension of the
+same series of basins northward. Not only is Puget Sound extremely
+irregular, and inconsistent with any theory that would ascribe its
+origin to the subsistence and drowning of stream-eroded valleys, but its
+waters are deep and the channels narrow. The uplands between the
+waterways are low plateaus composed of clay, gravel, and glacial
+moraines. The explanation of these unique conditions is that glacial ice
+formerly occupied the basin and deposited moraines and gravel-plains and
+clay-plains about its margins; when the branching and irregular sheet of
+stagnant ice melted its place was taken by the waters of the sea. This
+simplified outline of the later history of Puget Sound has many
+modifications, the most important being that there were at least two
+periods of ice occupation, with an intervening stage of mild climate
+between, during which the previously formed glacial deposits were forest
+covered and thick beds of peat formed.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Puget Sound.]
+
+The ice which occupied Puget Sound was the extreme southern portion of a
+great but irregular Piedmont glacier which fringed the rough and ragged
+coast of the continent all the way to southern Alaska. A remnant of this
+former ice body still exists near Mount St. Elias, and constitutes the
+very instructive Malaspina glacier.
+
+
+                 THE MOUNTAINS BORDERING THE PACIFIC
+
+In a preceding chapter the rugged topography of the western margin of
+the continent has been briefly described, and a general explanation
+given of the contrasts which it presents to the coastal plains and
+plateaus on the Atlantic border.
+
+The long, narrow peninsula known as Lower California, as yet unstudied
+in the light of modern geography, is known to be mountainous throughout.
+Although nearly surrounded by the waters of the ocean, the climate of
+the peninsula is hot and arid and its surface desert-like. The Gulf of
+California, which separates such a large portion of the Pacific border
+of Mexico from the main body of the republic, has the characteristics of
+a drowned intermontane or orogenic valley. But whether the great
+depression was ever dry land or not is unknown. The waters of the gulf
+are shallow, however, and a moderate upward movement of the earth's
+crust in that region would transform it into a great valley similar in
+its general features to the central basin of the State of California.
+
+What are frequently designated collectively as the Coast Mountains begin
+at the south and adjacent to the shore of the Pacific, in the vicinity
+of Santa Barbara, Cal., and extend northward along the immediate
+seaboard far into British Columbia. A continuation or branch of this
+series of elevations follows the south coast of Alaska, and is prolonged
+so as to form the Aleutian Islands. The length of the mountain system or
+succession of ranges referred to is between 3,500 and 4,000 miles. The
+detailed study of this long, narrow, and in many parts excessively
+rugged region is as yet in its infancy, and only a brief account of its
+salient features can be attempted at present.
+
+In southern California the structure of the mountains and the deep
+stream-deposited gravel, etc., in the intervening valleys, as well as
+the aridity of the climate and character of the vegetation, correspond
+closely with the similar conditions in the Great Basin. In fact, the
+Great Basin region, as the term has been used on a previous page, there
+meets the Pacific, and the islands rising from the adjacent
+portion of the ocean seem to be the summits of mountains of the Basin
+Range type. Owing to the dryness of the climate in southern California
+and adjacent portions of Mexico, the deeply alluvial-filled valleys are
+treeless, and agriculture is only possible with the aid of irrigation.
+Where water can be had, however, there are wonderfully productive
+orchards, vineyards, and gardens, in which the fruits and flowers of
+both the temperate and torrid zones flourish side by side with
+marvellous luxuriance. The palm there casts its shadow on fragrant
+bowers of the most superb roses. The grass-clothed mountain slopes are
+either bare of trees or but scantily forested, while the upland valleys
+produce a dense jungle of native trees and shrubs.
+
+To the north of the irregular and diversified portion of southern
+California, where the Great Basin region extends southwestward to the
+Pacific, rises the southern Coast Range of California. The indefinite
+beginning of this range is in the neighbourhood of Point Conception, to
+the north of Santa Barbara, and its northern terminus is at the Golden
+Gate. The same belt of mountains extends northward, however, and forms
+the northern Coast Range, which extends to the Klamath Mountains in
+northern California. The coast ranges of California as a whole are about
+500 miles long and from 30 to 40 miles broad, and comprise several
+seemingly distinct uplifts, some of which have culminating peaks from
+4,000 to about 7,000 feet high. In general this elevated region is
+conspicuously sculptured, and in part at least has the characteristics
+of an eroded plateau. The suggestion has been offered that the northern
+portion of the Coast Range is a dissected peneplain.
+
+The Coast Ranges, although generally bare of trees to the south of the
+Golden Gate, become more and more densely forested when followed
+northward. It is in this northern division that the great forests of
+redwood occur, now so largely used for lumber. Reference is here made
+not to the "big trees," which grow in certain restricted areas on the
+west slope of the Sierra Nevada, but to the far more extensive forests
+of a related species.
+
+Considering mountain forms simply, it is difficult if not impossible to
+determine where the Coast Mountains of California terminate at the
+north, but, as has been shown especially by J. S. Diller, there are
+reasons based on geological structure for separating them from the
+irregular group of ranges and peaks in northern California and southern
+Oregon recently named the Klamath Mountains. The coast system is
+continued north of the Klamath Mountains by the Coast Mountains of
+Oregon, which extend to the Columbia River, and consist of irregular
+ridges or series of ridges, with bold lateral spurs, especially on the
+ocean side. It varies conspicuously in height from place to place, yet
+nowhere attains a great altitude. The elevations of the bolder summits,
+although not accurately measured, seldom exceed 3,000 feet.
+
+The Coast Mountains of Oregon are considered as terminating at the
+northern boundary of the State, there defined by the Columbia River, but
+no reason is apparent, however, for not including in the same group the
+elevated land lying in southwestern Washington and adjacent to the
+Pacific coast. Between the Columbia and Chehalis River in Washington
+there is a rugged region which attains an elevation of over 4,000 feet,
+and is separated from the Olympic Mountains to the northward by Chehalis
+Valley. Although the geology of this group of ridges and peaks is
+entirely unknown, its position and general appearance, when seen from a
+distance, suggest that it might properly be considered as a direct
+extension of the Coast Mountains of Oregon.
+
+Following the general belt of the Coast Ranges still farther northward,
+we come to the splendid group of forest-clothed mountains, with usually
+snow-covered summits, situated to the west of Puget Sound, and known as
+the Olympic Mountains. This magnificent range is in full view from
+Victoria, Seattle, and Tacoma, and would be far-famed for its grandeur
+were it not for its near rival, the still more lofty Cascade Range.
+
+There are several fine, sharp peaks in the Olympics that have never been
+scaled, the highest of which, Mount Olympus, rises 8,150 feet
+above the sea. Owing to the excessive humidity and other favourable
+climatic conditions, these mountains are clothed with magnificent
+forests up to an elevation of about 7,000 feet. On account of the
+ruggedness of the country, the extreme density of the tangled
+undergrowth, and the obstructions formed by the fallen moss- and
+lichen-covered trees, this region is extremely difficult to traverse,
+and to-day is the least known of the continental portion of the United
+States. On the north the excessively rugged Olympic peninsula is
+bordered by a deep, broad fiord known as the Strait of Fuca. To the
+north of this formerly ice-filled channel lies Vancouver Island, the
+central and northern portion of which is mountainous. The highest summit
+on the island rises about 7,500 feet above the sea, and a considerable
+area in its central part has an elevation of over 2,000 feet.
+
+The Olympics, together with the mountains of Vancouver and Queen
+Charlotte Islands, and the northern extension of the same belt, embraced
+in part within the mainland of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska,
+have been termed the "Vancouver Mountains" by Canadian geographers. The
+northern boundary of this mountain system, justly named in honour of the
+celebrated English explorer who mapped large portions of the northwest
+coast about a century since, remains indefinite, and cannot be
+determined until geologists have made more thorough explorations of the
+land it occupies. The leading geographical features of this region, as
+remarked in a preceding chapter, are due to the deep dissection, by
+streams and glaciers, of an elevated table-land. When the ice-streams
+melted, the sea was permitted to enter the valleys, so as to form
+numerous deep, narrow, steep-walled fiords (Fig. 11). The coast is, in
+fact, the most ragged of any portion of the border of the continent. All
+but the higher summits are clothed with a dense mantle of vegetation,
+the upper limit of which decreases in elevation when followed northward,
+from about 7,000 feet in the Olympics to approximately 2,500 feet in
+southern Alaska. Perennial snow exists in the higher valleys and
+amphitheatres of the Olympics, but the presence of true glaciers
+in that group of peaks has not been demonstrated. When followed
+northward the snow-line becomes lower and lower, and well-defined alpine
+glaciers are known to exist in many of the valleys, more especially on
+the mainland of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska. There streams
+of ice descend lower and lower with increase in latitude, and to the
+north of Stickeen River, in a number of instances, enter the fiords
+which connect with the ocean and become tide-water glaciers.
+
+To the west of Lynn Canal, and extending to beyond Copper River, is the
+most rugged portion of North America, and contains also some of the
+highest mountain-peaks on the continent thus far measured.
+
+The region of high mountains in Alaska and the adjacent portion of
+Canada begins on the east in the group of magnificent peaks which
+cluster about Mount Fairweather as a centre and extend westward, with a
+breadth of some 80 miles, to beyond Mount St. Elias. Farther westward,
+beyond Copper River, other great mountains are known to exist. One of
+these, Mount McKinley, has an elevation of 20,400 feet, and so far as
+now known is the highest peak in North America.
+
+The highest summit to the east of Copper River is Mount Logan, 19,500
+feet. This superb ice-sheathed peak is situated in Canada about 40 miles
+from the coast and 12 miles east of the one hundred and forty-first
+meridian. Second in rank is Mount St. Elias, 18,070 feet, situated close
+to the one hundred and forty-first meridian, and within the territory
+belonging to the United States. These two summits are the highest in a
+land of lofty snow-covered mountains, and for this reason have claimed a
+large share of attention. There are many neighbouring peaks, however,
+that are wonderfully magnificent, but only a few of them have been
+measured and many of them are still unnamed. Only one of the high
+mountains of Alaska, namely, Mount St. Elias, has been climbed. This
+splendid feat of mountaineering was accomplished by Prince Luigi, of
+Savoy, in 1899.
+
+In southern Alaska the snow-line is only about 2,500 feet above
+tide, and a large number of magnificent glaciers descend to sea-level,
+and many of them actually enter the ocean. All of the valleys and basins
+among the higher summits are occupied by snow-fields and glaciers. The
+general covering of ice and snow as well as the ruggedness of the land
+makes this the most difficult of all the mountainous portions of North
+America to traverse.
+
+In the St. Elias region the mountains have been produced by upheaval,
+and are not volcanic in their origin. The frequently repeated statement
+that Mount St. Elias is a volcano is incorrect. Although igneous rocks
+occur near its summit, they are of the nature of dikes or intrusions,
+probably of ancient date, and not lava-flows. The principal volcanic
+mountains of Alaska are farther west in the region of the Alaskan
+peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. This western extension of the
+continent is excessively rugged, but the mountains rise directly from
+the ocean and in part form a chain of precipitous islands with irregular
+topographic forms.
+
+There are mountain ranges also in the central and northern portions of
+Alaska and the adjacent part of Canada, but this region awaits
+exploration, and but little accurate information concerning its
+topography is on record.
+
+_The Mountains of Western Canada._--Reference has already been made to
+the differences in the nomenclature applied to the portions of the
+Pacific mountains on opposite sides of the United States-Canadian
+boundary, and at present this lack of harmony cannot be adjusted. As is
+well known, the great Pacific cordillera crosses the boundary nearly at
+right angles, and there is no abrupt change in the topography of the
+land. From the western border of the Great plateaus to the Pacific,
+between the forty-fifth and fifty-sixth parallels, as stated by the
+Geological Survey of Canada, the cordillera has an average breadth of
+about 400 miles, and is composed of four great mountain chains, named in
+their order from east to west, the Rocky, Gold, Coast, and Vancouver
+Mountains. These four great chains are nearly parallel and have
+irregular northwest and southeast trends.
+
+The Canadian Rockies rise abruptly from Great plateaus in which the
+rocks are nearly horizontal, and have a complex structure, due to the
+folding and other disturbances that have affected the strata. Deep
+dissection by stream erosion has occurred, as is the case generally
+throughout the Pacific cordillera, and the peaks and ridges remaining
+are remarkable for their grandeur. Although less elevated than the
+higher portions of the same great belt in the United States, many of the
+summits are from 8,000 to 10,000, and, as reported, in a few instances
+reach 13,000 feet in height, while the passes range is elevated from
+about 4,000 to 7,000 feet. The western border of the Rocky Mountain
+range is well defined for a distance of some 700 miles to the northward
+of the international boundary by a remarkably straight, wide valley,
+which is occupied by the head waters of several large rivers, namely,
+the Kootenay, Columbia, Fraser, Parsnip, and Findley. To the west of the
+great valley just referred to rises the Gold system, composed
+principally of the Selkirk, Purcell, Columbia, and Caribou Ranges. It is
+in this rugged region that some of the most remarkable of the splendid
+scenery of western Canada occurs.
+
+To the west of the Gold system is a broad region of valleys and lesser
+mountains, known as the interior plateau of British Columbia, which is a
+northward extension of the Great Basin region of the United States. The
+breadth of this belt of comparatively low country is about 100 miles.
+Like the similar region in Washington and Oregon, it is without forests,
+but favourable as a grazing country. In part it is occupied by extensive
+lava-flows, similar to the Columbia River lava of the northwestern part
+of the United States.
+
+The Coast Mountains of Canada, although stated by geologists to be
+distinct from the Cascade Mountains, are in part at least, as determined
+by the present writer, a direct northward extension of that range. The
+average elevation of the higher peaks in the Canadian Coast Range, as it
+is termed, is between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, while the culminating points
+reach an elevation of about 9,000 feet. How far northward the
+nomenclature applied to the Pacific mountains in southwestern Canada
+will be found applicable can not be stated, as the region to the north
+of the fifty-sixth parallel is almost wholly unknown.
+
+
+                       THE ANTILLEAN MOUNTAINS
+
+As has been clearly pointed out by R. T. Hill, the Pacific cordillera
+ends at the south in south-central Mexico, while the Andean cordillera
+at its northern end terminates in the rugged mountains of Venezuela to
+the south of the Caribbean Sea. These two great cordilleras do not
+overlap, but there is a difference of about 10 degrees of latitude
+between them, and if extended they would pass each other at a distance
+of nearly 1,000 miles. In the space thus indicated, measuring some
+600,000 square miles, is included the southern portion of Mexico,
+Central America, and the West Indies. The rocks in these countries
+present a great series of folds which trend in an easterly and westerly
+direction, and thus present a conspicuous exception to the major
+structural features of both North and South America. To this newly
+recognised division of the larger geological and geographical
+characteristics of the New World the name _Antillean mountains_ has been
+given.
+
+The folds or corrugations in the rocks of the Central American and
+Caribbean region extend in an east and west direction along the seaward
+margin of Venezuela and Colombia from the Orinoco westward to the
+Isthmus of Panama, and thence continue westward through Costa Rica, the
+eastern portions of Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras, and reach
+southern Oaxaca in Mexico. The same system of plications is revealed
+also on the larger West India islands. The rocks of this great region
+include granite and allied metamorphosed terranes, old lavas, and
+sedimentary beds.
+
+One of the most conspicuous features of this region with a structure and
+relief commonly found in mountains is that to a great extent it is
+depressed beneath the sea, and only the higher summits are in view. Some
+of the larger inequalities of the rock surface have been
+discovered by means of the sounding-line. By referring to Fig. 3, it
+will be seen that two submarine ridges extend in an east and west
+direction beneath the Caribbean Sea, from the West Indies to the Central
+American coast, and are separated by Bartlett Deep. These ridges
+correspond in trend with the longer axes of the folds in the Antillean
+mountains, and suggest a common origin for the leading geographical
+features of the land and of the still more remarkable topography of the
+sea-floor.
+
+In addition to mountains produced by corrugation and upheaval, there are
+also in the middle American region numerous volcanic mountains. Of these
+there are two well-defined belts, each trending in general north and
+south, or directly across the longer axes of the folds of the Antillean
+mountains. One of these belts of volcanic cones and craters is situated
+on the Pacific coast of Central America and Mexico, and includes some 25
+active volcanoes, and the other is defined by the numerous volcanic
+islands of the Lesser Antilles. The association of these belts of
+fracture through which molten rock has been extruded and where
+earthquakes are of common occurrence, with the junction of the east and
+west belt of plication to which the Antillean mountains are due, with
+the north and south belts of mountains forming the Pacific and Andean
+cordilleras, is significant in connection with the study of the origin
+of the larger features of the relief of the solid earth.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Varied as is the relief of North America when studied in detail, an
+outline sketch of its major features may be readily retained in mind. On
+the east side of the main continental area are the Atlantic mountains,
+extending from near the Gulf coast northward to beyond Hudson Strait; in
+the central part is the broad continental basin, a vast region of low
+relief reaching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean; west of the
+continental basin are the Pacific mountains, the greatest of all the
+elevations on the continent, which begin abruptly in south-central
+Mexico and extend northward, expanding to a width of about 1,000
+miles in the United States and reach the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea.
+The movements in the earth's crust, which blocked out these major
+physiographic features, were produced by forces acting in east and west
+directions, and gave origin to folds and faults with their longer axes
+trending north and south. To the south of the main body of the
+continent, in middle America, are situated the Antillean mountains, also
+a cordillera comparable with the Atlantic and Pacific cordilleras, in
+which the longer axes of the folds and faults trend east and west, and
+are due to forces acting in north and south directions. The Antillean
+mountains in a general way connect or intervene between the Pacific and
+the Andean cordilleras. Where the Antillean mountains cross the axes of
+the Pacific and Andean cordilleras are situated the volcanoes of
+southern Mexico and Central America, and those of the Lesser Antilles.
+
+Geographers will recognise that this outline is drawn boldly, but
+although it will no doubt have to be modified as detailed studies
+progress, it should serve to emphasize the leading geographic divisions
+of the North American continent when viewed as a whole.
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+The following list of publications relating to the physiography of North
+America is here presented largely because the books mentioned contain
+bibliographies or references which indicate sources of more special
+information:
+
+  _American Geographical Society, Bulletin._ Published annually.
+
+  _Canadian Geological Survey_, Ottawa, Canada. Index to reports
+    from 1863 to 1884, published in 1900.
+
+  DARTON, N. H. _Catalogue and Index of Contributions to North
+    American Geology, 1732 to 1891._ United States Geological
+    Survey, Bulletin No. 127, Washington, 1896.
+
+  DAVIS, W. M. _Physical Geography._ Ginn & Co., Boston, 1898.
+    Contains a valuable bibliography.
+
+  DRYER, C. R. _Lessons in Physical Geography._ American Book
+    Company, New York, 1901. Contains a valuable bibliography.
+
+  _Geological Society of America, Bulletin._ Published annually
+    since 1890 at Rochester, N. Y. Index to vols. i-x, published in
+    1900.
+
+  _International Geography._ Edited by H. R. Mill. D. Appleton and
+    Company, New York, 1900. Contains several chapters on North
+    America by various authors.
+
+  _Journal of Geology._ Edited by T. C. Chamberlin and published at
+    the University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
+
+  MERRILL, G. P. _Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and Soils._ The Macmillan
+    Company, New York, 1897.
+
+  _National Geographic Magazine._ Washington, D. C.
+
+  _National Geographic Monographs._ American Book Company, New York,
+    1895. One volume published.
+
+  POWELL, J. W. _Exploration of the Colorado River of the West._
+    Published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1875.
+
+  POWELL, J. W. _Canyons of the Colorado._ Flood & Vincent,
+    Meadeville, Pa., 1895.
+
+  RUSSELL, I. C. _Lakes of North America_, Ginn & Co., Boston, 1895;
+    _Glaciers of North America_, Ginn & Co., Boston, 1897;
+    _Volcanoes of North America_, The Macmillan Company, New York,
+    1897; _Rivers of North America_, Putnam's Sons, New York, 1898;
+    _The Names of the Larger Geographical Features of North
+    America_, in _Bulletin of the Geographical Society of
+    Philadelphia_, vol. ii, 1899, pp. 55-68.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Nature and Man in America._ Scribner's Sons, New
+    York, 1891.
+
+  _Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel._ North America:
+    Canada and Newfoundland, by S. E. Dawson; United States, by H.
+    Gannett; Central America and West Indies, by A. H. Keane.
+    Published by Edward Stanford, London.
+
+  TARR, R. S. _Elementary Physical Geography._ Macmillan & Co.,
+    1895.
+
+  _United States Geological Survey._ Bibliography and Index,
+    contained in Bulletins No. 100, 127, 177, 188, and 189, issued
+    by the Survey. The reader is referred especially to the
+    _Geological Atlas_ and the _Topographic Atlas_, published by the
+    Survey.
+
+  WARMAN, P. C. _Bibliography and Index to the Publications of the
+    United States Geological Survey._ United States Geological
+    Survey, Bulletin No. 100, Washington, 1893. (Relates to
+    publications of the United States Geological Survey issued
+    previous to 1892; continued in Bulletin No. 177 by the same
+    author.)
+
+  WARMAN, P. C. _Catalogue and Index of the Publications of the
+    United States Geological Survey, 1880 to 1901._ United States
+    Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 177, Washington, 1901.
+
+  WEEKS, F. B. _Bibliography of North American Geology,
+    Paleontology, Petrology, and Mineralogy for the Years 1892-1900,
+    inclusive._ United States Geological Survey, Bulletins No. 188
+    and 189, Washington, 1902.
+
+  WHITNEY, J. D. _The United States._ 2 vols. Little, Brown & Co.,
+    Boston, 1889 and 1894.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+                                CLIMATE
+
+
+                       _The Elements of Climate_
+
+North America, embracing as it does essentially a quadrant of the
+earth's surface, presents a variety of climatic conditions ranging from
+those characteristic of the equatorial belt to those normal to polar
+regions, as well as every gradation due to variations in elevation from
+sea-level and even below that horizon in Death Valley, California, to
+the summits of high plateaus and lofty mountains.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE II.--Mean Annual Rainfall & Temperature.]
+
+The principal elements of the weather which go to make up the conditions
+of the atmosphere embraced in the broader term _climate_ are
+temperature, precipitation, and the winds. On the accompanying map,
+Plate II, the mean annual temperature of the continent is represented by
+_isotherms_, or lines drawn through localities having the same average
+temperature for the year. On the same map is also shown in blue the
+average depth of precipitation, including both rains and melted snow. On
+Fig. 24 lines are drawn through points having the same average
+barometrical pressure (_isobars_) for the months of January and July,
+together with arrows indicating the general direction of the surface
+winds during each of these months, which may be considered as
+representative of the summer and winter seasons. The data shown on these
+maps have been compiled mainly from the reports of the weather bureaus
+of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and indicate, at least in a
+general way, a summary of what is known concerning the main
+meteorological elements which determine the climatic conditions in North
+America. An examination of these maps will suggest certain general
+conclusions in reference to the leading characteristics of the climate
+in various portions of the continent and the changes they undergo
+from season to season.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Average barometric pressure and direction of
+wind for January and July.]
+
+_Distribution of Heat and Light._--The distribution over the earth's
+surface of the heat and light received from the sun is not only of
+fundamental importance as respects climate, but furnishes a part of the
+essential conditions on which depend the presence and distribution of
+living organisms. The heat and light, or more accurately, the radiant
+energy of the sun, the full significance of which is probably not
+thoroughly understood, we term, for convenience, _insolation_. The
+intensity and seasonal distribution of insolation are prime factors on
+which many important results hinge.
+
+Owing to the inclination of the axis about which the earth rotates (23 deg.
+27') to the plane in which the earth travels about the sun, or the plane
+of the ecliptic, the northern end of the axis is turned towards the sun
+in summer and away from it in winter--that is, the axis of rotation of
+the earth at all times is parallel to the same imaginary straight line.
+As a result, the sun appears to migrate northward in the heavens during
+the spring-time of each year, being vertical over the equator on March
+21st, and to an observer in north latitude 23 deg. 27' rises higher and
+higher each moon, until on June 21st it is vertically overhead; and then
+returns southward. The latitude in which the sun is in the zenith at the
+time of its greatest northward migration determines the position of an
+imaginary line on the earth's surface, named the Tropic of Cancer. This
+line, as shown on the accompanying maps, crosses the Bahama Islands,
+passes about 40 miles to the northward of Havana, divides Mexico into
+two approximately equal parts, and cuts the peninsula of Lower
+California near its southern end. The portion of the continent to the
+south of the Tropic of Cancer lies within the torrid zone.
+
+When the sun is vertical over the equator, as it is about March 21st and
+September 23d each year, its rays, not allowing for refraction, are
+tangent to the earth's surface at the poles, and the hours of light and
+darkness are equal the world over. During the winter season the sun
+appears to migrate southward of the equator until December 21st,
+when it is vertical at noon at all points situated in south latitude 23 deg.
+27', which is termed the Tropic of Capricorn. Its rays are then tangent
+to the earth's surface in the northern hemisphere in latitude 66 deg. 33',
+which defines the position of the arctic circle. This imaginary line on
+the earth's surface, as is indicated on the accompanying maps, crosses
+Canada to the north of Hudson Bay, and passes through Alaska near where
+the Porcupine River joins the Yukon. To the north of the arctic circle
+lies the frigid zone. Between the torrid and frigid zones is situated
+the temperate zone, within which is included about seven-eighths of
+North America, exclusive of Greenland. The relation of the continent to
+the three great zones of climate into which the northern hemisphere is
+divided is thus most fortunate so far as man's activities are concerned.
+
+The climatic zones just referred to, while based on precise astronomical
+data and representing important facts, are not separated one from
+another by tangible lines, and might easily pass undiscovered by one who
+studied only the surface characteristics of the earth. Each summer a
+wave of heat and light sweeps northward over the continent and reaches
+beyond the pole; and each winter a counteracting wave of cold and
+darkness moves southward, the influence of which is marked even well
+within the torrid zone. A comparison of the isothermal lines drawn on
+the map forming Plate II with the parallels of latitude
+shows at a glance that there is only a general relationship between the
+two. In order to understand this discrepancy between what might be
+expected from astronomical considerations in reference to the
+distribution of solar energy and the actual conditions as learned by
+observation, it is necessary to take a more critical view of the manner
+in which insolation is received by the continent, and also to consider
+secondary conditions which exert far-reaching influences on its
+distribution.
+
+The amount of heat, or to avoid objections, the distribution of
+insolation over North America, depends on three primary conditions:
+First, the angle at which the sun's rays strike the earth, the range
+being from zero to 90 deg.; second, the length of time a particular
+locality is exposed to sunlight; and third, variations in the distance
+of the earth from the sun. Each of these conditions varies from day to
+day for every locality throughout the continent. The sun is highest in
+the heavens in the torrid zone, being twice vertically overhead each
+year at every locality, and the hours of light and darkness each day are
+approximately equal throughout the year. North of the torrid zone,
+however, the rays of the sun become more and more oblique to the earth's
+surface, and hence insolation becomes weaker and weaker for a given
+period of sunshine as one travels from south to north. But the hours of
+sunlight each day undergo marked variations, lengthening from December
+21st to June 21st, and shortening as the sun makes its southward
+migration. At the north pole, as all know, there are six months of light
+and six months of darkness each year. The amount of insolation reaching
+the northern portion of the continent each day increases with the
+lengthening of the hours of light, and during midsummer is greater for a
+given area in a single day (twenty-four hours) than the amount received
+by a similar area in the torrid zone. The almost magical springing into
+life and bloom of the vegetation over the northern portion of the
+continent with the lengthening of the hours of sunshine each summer is
+thus explained. In the portion of the continent within the temperate
+zone, more especially within the continental basin, the large number of
+hours of sunshine during a summer's day is frequently accompanied by a
+temperature as great as is usually experienced in the torrid zone. It is
+the high summer temperature of this region, together with the lengthened
+duration of sunshine in the growing season, that makes the Mississippi
+basin and the adjacent region on the east and north so favourable for
+agriculture when the requisite amount of moisture is present.
+
+The distribution of heat over the earth's surface depends not only on
+the direct influence of insolation, but on its transfer from one
+locality to another through the agency of the winds and ocean currents.
+The movements of the waters of the ocean, it will be remembered, are
+largely under the control of the winds, so that the essential
+factor in the transfer of heat from place to place is atmospheric
+circulation. The primary causes of movements in the air, as is a matter
+of current knowledge, are the differences that arise in temperature at
+various localities. In regions where the air becomes more highly heated
+than over adjacent areas it expands, and in consequence becomes lighter,
+volume for volume, than the air over neighbouring areas, and is forced
+upward and overflows aloft. The overflow or dispersion of the warmer and
+lighter air above gives origin to a reduction in barometric pressure,
+the column of mercury in a barometer being counterbalanced by the
+pressure of the air above it. Briefly stated, the air near the earth's
+surface flows towards regions of low, and away from regions of high
+barometric pressure, and winds are established. The directions taken by
+the winds are influenced or controlled in various ways.
+
+_The Planetary Winds._--The great movements in the atmosphere originate
+from differences in temperature between the warm equatorial and cold
+polar regions. This alone would cause the cold air from either pole to
+flow towards the equator as surface winds, and the warm air in the
+equatorial belt to ascend and overflow aloft towards either pole. The
+earth's rotation, however, influences the direction of these winds and
+causes them to be deflected from the lines of longitude which they would
+otherwise follow. In the northern hemisphere the air-currents are
+deflected to the right and in the southern hemisphere to the left of
+their initial directions. The best known examples of these planetary
+winds, as they are termed, are the trade-winds, which blow from the
+northeast in the northern and from the southeast in the southern
+hemisphere. Between these two belts of converging winds lies the
+equatorial belt of calm, some 300 miles wide, which also encircles the
+earth and is termed the doldrums.
+
+In the quadrant of the earth's surface occupied by North America the
+climatic conditions are controlled in a large measure by the planetary
+winds. In the equatorial belt of calms the barometric pressure is lower
+than on either side, the temperature is uniformly high, the air
+is heavily charged with moisture, and torrential rains are frequent. In
+the belt of the northeast trades the weight of the air for a given area
+is greater than in the doldrums, the wind blows with remarkable
+uniformity both of direction and force, the sky is normally clear, and
+rain infrequent except when the warm moist air is forced upward either
+by local storms or on coming in contact with high land. The trade-winds
+blow across the West Indies, Mexico, and much of Central America. To the
+north of the trade-wind belt is a belt of prevailingly high barometrical
+pressure, light variable winds, narrower and less well defined than the
+doldrums, which encircles the earth in the region of the Tropic of
+Cancer. This belt of calms, although familiar to sailors, to whom it is
+known as the "horse latitudes," is ill-defined on the land, where its
+presence is masked by changes due to local conditions. To the north of
+the tropical calm belt the prevailing surface winds are from the
+westward, and owe their direction to the constant flow of the upper
+air-currents in their poleward journey, under the influence of the
+earth's rotation. This great belt of winds from the westward crosses the
+portion of North America including the United States and southern
+Canada, but it is subject to many disturbances. The northern portion of
+the continent extends into the little known polar region of prevailingly
+low barometrical pressure, where midsummer and midwinter calms normally
+prevail.
+
+The great world-encircling currents of the atmosphere, namely, the
+trade-winds, blowing towards the southwest or west across the Caribbean
+and Mexican region, and the prevailing westerlies, or winds blowing in
+an easterly direction, over the broad temperate portion of North
+America, exert the main control on the climate of the continent.
+
+_The Seasons._--Of primary importance to the inhabitants of North
+America is the fact that the climatic belts determined by the
+inclination of the earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic are subject
+to annual migration towards the north and south. In the torrid zone the
+equatorial belt of calms, with its humid and oppressively hot
+atmosphere, prevailing cloudiness, and heavy rains, and the belt
+of the northeast trades, with its prevailingly clear skies and
+refreshing breezes, do not occupy the same positions throughout the
+year, but migrate with the sun. The migration of these two strongly
+contrasted climatic belts brings to the otherwise remarkably uniform
+conditions of the atmosphere over the West Indies, Central America, and
+Mexico, two, in general well-defined, periods each year, namely, a wet
+and a dry season, the former occurring in the summer and the latter in
+the winter. It is to be borne in mind that between the tropics there
+are, with certain local exceptions, but two seasons each year, the
+leading contrasts of which are determined by differences in rainfall.
+
+To the north of the Tropic of Cancer the seasonal changes are more
+varied than in the torrid zone, and contrasts in temperature become the
+most marked climatic feature; while precipitation, although in general
+somewhat evenly distributed throughout the year, is more abundant in
+winter than in summer. On account, however, of the greater diversity in
+the climatic changes experienced each year within the temperate zone,
+four seasons are recognised, the most distinctive features of which
+depend on changes in both temperature and humidity.
+
+In the northern portion of the temperate zone, and extending over the
+arctic zone, the seasons are again reduced to two, summer and winter,
+the contrasted conditions pertaining mainly to temperature and light.
+
+A marked variation, which has an important bearing not only on climate,
+but on the distribution of life encountered in passing from equatorial
+to polar regions, is found in the distribution of light. Between the
+tropics the number of hours of light and darkness each day is
+approximately equal; in the temperate zone there is considerable
+diversity from season to season, which increases with increase in
+latitude; and uniformity, of a different character than at the far
+south, again becomes prominent in the frigid zone, where the number of
+hours of light each day is greatly prolonged during the summer and
+correspondingly decreased during the winter. The extreme contrast
+occurs in the neighbourhood of the pole, where during the summer season
+the sun is continuously above, and in winter continuously below the
+horizon, or in familiar language, there is a six-months day (light) and
+a six-months night (darkness).
+
+In going from the equatorial to north polar regions there is a general
+decrease in mean annual temperature, and in general a decrease also in
+precipitation, but great variations in these gradual changes, with
+increase in latitude, occur which are both continental and local in
+character. In winter the interior portions of the continent, and
+especially the plateaus and mountains, are colder than the lands in
+corresponding latitudes near the oceans; while in summer the reverse is
+true, the margin of the continent being cooler than the broad interior.
+
+In this general view of the climatic zones and the normal changes they
+undergo we may note that the torrid zone is characterized by its
+simplicity and monotony of climatic conditions, although disturbed at
+times, especially in the West Indies, by occasional great cyclonic
+storms, termed hurricanes, which occur, however, at quite definite
+seasons. The temperate belt is equally well marked by its complex and
+frequently changing atmospheric conditions, the winds being subject to
+numerous and great variations, and storms of diverse character being
+frequent. The frigid zone, again, is without conspicuous variations
+except during the change from its monotonous summer to its still more
+uniform winter weather, and the reverse change six months later. The
+disturbances in the balance of atmospheric conditions at the far north,
+or the storms, are of a much less varied character than in the fickle
+temperate zone--thunder-storms and tornadoes, for example, being
+unknown.
+
+It is the summer migration of a heated belt from the south northward
+across the temperate zone, and the equally conspicuous winter advances
+of cold from the north southward across the same broad region, which
+gives to the United States and the southern portion of Canada a
+conspicuously changeable climate. The temperate zone, so far at
+least as North America is concerned, deserves its name only when the
+mean of the yearly changes in temperature is considered, as much of it
+is hotter in summer than equal areas between the tropics, and in winter
+over all of its northern half the cold is, at times, nearly or quite as
+intense as during the same season in the far north. As a whole, the
+portion of the continent embraced in the temperate zone is characterized
+by its pronounced seasonal changes, including wide extremes of heat and
+cold over large areas, and by its frequently sudden and strongly marked
+weather changes during short periods of time. It is a highly suggestive
+fact that of all the great climatic zones the one having the most
+changeable climate, the greatest extremes of heat and cold, and the most
+frequent storms should be the one in which man has reached the highest
+development both of body and mind. Evidently it is the _struggle_ for
+existence, when not too severe, which insures advancement. The part of
+North America most densely inhabited by descendants of Europeans, and
+the portion of the continent where intellectual development has made the
+greatest advance, is the east-central portion, where not only the
+variation of climate from season to season, but the weather changes from
+week to week and day to day are the most conspicuous.
+
+_Secondary Conditions influencing Climate._--While the primary
+conditions controlling the climate of North America in common with all
+other portions of the earth's surface depend on the relation of the
+earth to the sun, there are many secondary conditions to be considered.
+First in importance among these, so far as the broader features of the
+climate of the continent are concerned, is the unequal heating of land
+and water areas. During summer, more especially in the temperate zone,
+the land becomes more highly heated than the adjacent oceans, and an
+inflow of the cooler and moister air from the sea over the land occurs.
+In winter the land cools more quickly and to a greater degree than the
+adjacent waters, and the tendency of the heavier air over the land is to
+flow outward as surface winds. Continental winds are thus generated,
+similar in their origin to the familiar land and sea breezes of the
+ocean shore in summer, but on a large scale, which have an
+important bearing on the seasonal changes. The influence of the
+continental winds is sufficiently well marked to give North America two
+general classes of climate. One pertains to inland regions, is
+characterized by great contrasts in temperature and humidity between
+summer and winter, and is termed continental. The other pertains to the
+border of the land where, on account of the equalizing influence of
+large water borders, the contrast between the climate of summer and
+winter is less pronounced, and has received the general title of oceanic
+climate. The climate of the Dakotas, for example, is of the continental
+type, while that of New Jersey is of the oceanic type.
+
+The unequal heating and cooling of adjacent portions of land areas also
+produces important atmospheric movements, as, for instance, when broad,
+treeless plains become more highly heated in summer than adjacent
+forested areas; or on account of rapid radiation become excessively cold
+in winter and lower the temperature of the air above them. In the first
+instance an inflow of cooler and heavier air from adjacent regions would
+be established; and in the second example the chilled air would tend to
+flow outward, thus, in each instance, establishing winds which usually
+acquire a more or less well-pronounced circular motion. The Prairie
+plains and the Great plateaus to the east of the Rocky Mountains become
+highly heated in summer, and together with several other similar regions
+in North America, meet the first of the conditions just considered;
+while the higher portions of the Great plateau, especially at the north,
+and the still more elevated mountains of Montana, Colorado, etc., become
+excessively cold in winter and illustrate the other extreme.
+
+Mountains serve to deflect the winds blowing against them either to one
+side or upward, the former frequently producing important changes in
+direction of the surface air-currents, and the latter, by causing the
+air to rise, permits of its expansion and consequent cooling, thus
+favouring precipitation. For this and other reasons precipitation
+increases with elevation, at least until an altitude of many
+thousands of feet is reached, and the mountains are cooler and more
+humid than the adjacent valleys. The air-currents on passing over a
+mountain range and descending are warmed by compression, and having lost
+a part and in many observed instances a large percentage of the moisture
+they previously contained, become warm, drying winds. The chinook winds,
+as they are termed in America, are marked examples of the influence
+exerted by mountains on climatic conditions.
+
+What are termed above the secondary conditions, tending to modify
+climate, produce such great changes in the distribution of rainfall,
+temperature, etc., and in the influence of the planetary winds, that the
+subdivision of the northern hemisphere into torrid, temperate, and
+frigid zones, while based on astronomical data, does not serve to
+represent actual conditions, except in a general way, in reference even
+to the single element of temperature expressed in these names. A
+comparison of the isotherms and of the distribution of precipitation as
+indicated on the preceding maps, with the parallels of latitude, shows
+at once that these two most important elements of climate are
+conspicuously independent of distance from the equator. A logical basis
+for subdividing the continent into _climatic provinces_ must therefore
+be sought in other directions.
+
+
+                           CLIMATIC PROVINCES
+
+In order to obtain a comprehensive idea of the climate of a continent,
+it is obviously desirable to subdivide it into areas having more or less
+similar and distinct atmospheric conditions. The leading difficulty in
+making such subdivisions is the well-known fact that the climate of any
+region which may be chosen passes by insensible gradations into that of
+adjacent regions, and any boundaries that may be drawn are to a
+considerable extent artificial and arbitrary. While the true basis on
+which to establish climatic areas or provinces is the resultant of all
+the weather elements which go to make up the atmospheric conditions
+recognised under the broader term climate, so many factors have to be
+considered that it is extremely difficult to arrive at a general
+acceptable conclusion. The principal elements of the weather to be
+considered are, approximately, in the order of their importance,
+beginning with the one which exerts almost universal control--temperature,
+precipitation, the winds, absolute and relative humidity of the air, and
+evaporation.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE III.--Climate & Life Provinces.]
+
+In North America there are voluminous records in reference to each of
+these elements of the weather, embracing considerable lengths of time,
+and relating mainly to the United States and southeastern Canada, but
+not sufficient to enable one to subdivide the entire continent into
+climatic provinces. The lack of weather records embracing the entire
+continent may be supplied in part by what may be termed the natural
+records of atmospheric conditions as expressed by the flora and fauna,
+as well as by soil conditions and topography. In recognition of this
+principle, the climatic provinces of North America here adopted have
+been made to conform to its life-zones.
+
+The major climatic divisions of North America here provisionally adopted
+are, in their general order from south to north, the _Tropical_, _Lower
+Austral_, _Upper Austral_, _Transition_, _Boreal_, and _Arctic_ (Plate
+III). These several divisions are termed climatic provinces, and are
+assumed to coincide with those of the life-regions as mapped by C. Hart
+Merriam. The basis for classification is mainly temperature. In the
+main, the northern boundaries of the provinces and their higher limits
+in mountainous regions are determined by the temperature of the season
+of growth and reproduction among plants and animals; while their
+southern boundaries or lower limits on the mountains are determined by
+the temperature of a brief period during the hottest portion of the
+year. A more definite account of the reasons for choosing these
+limitations will be given later in discussing life areas. While the
+principal basis for establishing climatic provinces is temperature, many
+other conditions are also recognised, chief among which is
+precipitation. Several of the climatic provinces have two divisions,
+namely, a _humid_ and an _arid_, the dividing line being
+approximately the one hundredth meridian. These are well defined and
+important in the tropical, austral, and transitional, but less definite
+and less well known in the boreal and arctic provinces. The regions
+embraced in the several climatic provinces named above, as well as their
+humid and arid divisions, so far as now understood, are shown on the
+accompanying map.
+
+_The Tropical Province_ (Plate III).--This is the most southern of the
+climatic provinces which it is convenient to recognise in North America,
+and includes the West Indies, Central America, and southern Mexico,
+together with a narrow strip on each coast of northern Mexico and the
+extreme southern ends of the peninsulas of Florida and of Lower
+California. While the land areas in this widely extended province
+present conspicuous differences, their climate in general is
+characterized by a high mean annual temperature with but moderate
+seasonal or daily variations, and by the occurrence in general of a wet
+and a dry season each year. The prevailing winds are the northeast
+trades. While the average yearly temperature is high, being in general
+about 80 deg. F., the heat in summer is less intense than in many portions
+of the austral provinces. In winter the temperature does not fall
+sufficiently to produce frost, except on the higher mountains, which, in
+fact, belong to one or more of the other provinces named above. On
+ascending the mountains a rapid change to cooler and even to frigid
+zones is experienced. Snow occurs on the higher portions of the
+mountains of Central America and Mexico, and in a few instances, as on
+the great volcanic cones in sight from the City of Mexico, is perennial.
+On the mountains just referred to all of the several climatic provinces
+are represented by well-characterized zones, arranged one above another,
+and presenting in epitome the general changes one would experience in
+travelling from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.
+
+In marked contrast to the prevailing uniformity of temperature at
+corresponding elevations throughout the tropical provinces is the
+inequality in rainfall in reference to both seasonal periods and
+differences in geographical position. Of the annual changes, the
+most pronounced and characteristic is the alternation of wet and dry
+periods. During the summer season, or in general from May to October,
+the air is usually clouded for at least a portion of each day, and heavy
+downpours of rain occur. Throughout the remainder of the year the clear
+skies and refreshing breezes, such as on the ocean are normally
+characteristic of the trade-wind belt, prevail. The remarkable
+regularity with which these changes occur each year suggests at once
+that they are due to the migrations northward and southward with the sun
+of the great climatic belts encircling the equatorial region of the
+earth. In summer the equatorial belt of calms and heavy rainfall not
+only migrates northward and occupies a portion of Central America,
+bringing to Costa Rica and Nicaragua cloudy skies and abundant
+precipitation, but seems to be carried bodily still farther northward,
+so that the influence of the southeast trades of the southern hemisphere
+makes itself felt, and four somewhat well-marked annual changes occur,
+namely, two wet and two dry seasons. What is known of the climate of
+this extreme southern portion of the province under review indicates
+that the seasonal changes, especially on the Caribbean slope, are less
+well marked than in its central portion, and rain is frequently copious
+in nearly every month of the year. In the region just mentioned the mean
+annual precipitation, as at Greytown, for example, at the eastern
+extremity of the proposed Nicaragua Canal, is about 250 inches, and in
+exceptionally wet years reaches nearly or quite 300 inches. This is, so
+far as known, the heaviest annual precipitation in any portion of North
+America.
+
+In the West Indies the rainy season begins, in general, in May and lasts
+until October. On the lowlands of eastern and south-central Mexico the
+wet season commences in June, and the rains increase until the end of
+July and end in November. This region lies to the north of the northern
+limit reached by the equatorial belt of calm, but the rains in the
+summer season are due to the same general influence, namely, the
+lowering of temperature in the northward-moving upper air-currents, and
+their effect on the trade-winds. In Cuba and along the northern
+coast of the Gulf of Mexico when the trade-wind belt migrates southward
+in winter the influences of the southward-moving storm from the
+Mississippi Valley and Atlantic States produces what are termed
+_northers_, which bring a chill and at times frost, more especially in
+Florida and on the higher portions of Cuba.
+
+While the wide-reaching seasonal changes within the tropical province
+depend on the migrations of the planetary winds northward and southward
+with the sun, and are due primarily to astronomical conditions, there
+are equally well-marked variations in rainfall dependent on or regulated
+by geographical conditions. These are of two principal classes: First,
+elevation of the land; and second, the relation of broad land areas to
+the direction of the prevailing winds, each of which is abundantly
+illustrated in the tropical province.
+
+The mountainous islands in the West Indies receive a heavy rainfall,
+especially on their windward or easterly slopes, while the low islands,
+and less markedly the southwestern border of the higher islands, are
+much less humid. The eastern side of Porto Rico, for example, has an
+abundant rainfall, and was originally clothed with a luxuriant native
+flora, including large forest-trees, while the lowlands on its southern
+and southwestern border are subject to drought, and irrigation is
+desirable to insure the growth of crops. Again, while the mountainous
+islands of the Lesser Antilles, with their luxuriantly forested slopes,
+present ideal pictures of tropical loveliness, low-lying Sombrero,
+Barbuda, St. Martin, and other similar islands are so arid that guano
+has accumulated on them to such an extent as to be of commercial
+importance. The reason for these striking contrasts within narrow
+geographical limits is readily seen in the influence of the highlands on
+the trade-winds. These air-currents blowing from the Atlantic are warm
+and contain a high percentage of moisture. As they advance, however,
+they invade regions that are progressively warmer and warmer, and the
+capacity of the air for moisture is correspondingly increased. For this
+reason the trade-winds in crossing low land become drying winds.
+When the warm humid air-currents are forced upward, however, they are
+cooled in part by contact with the land, but to a greater extent on
+account of expansion due to decreased pressure; the dew-point is thus
+lowered, and when saturation is reached precipitation follows. This
+explanation applies also to the low peninsula of Yucatan, which is
+within the trade-wind belt, and is exceptional among the lands of
+Central America, on account of its dearth of forests, but in this
+instance, and also in reference to the similar barren condition of the
+Bahama Islands, in addition to the lowness of the land, the influence of
+the underlying porous, limestone rocks on the vegetable growths should
+be considered. In the instances just mentioned the rain that falls is
+quickly absorbed by the cavernous rocks, and surface streams are rare.
+
+In Central America the influence of mountains on the climate is much the
+same as in the West India islands; in fact, the narrow rugged belt of
+land connecting the two Americas may, from our present point of view, be
+considered as a great island situated mainly within the trade-wind belt,
+and similar to Jamaica, for example, in its influences on the winds
+blowing across it. The eastern slopes of the Central American mountains,
+together with the adjacent lowlands, with the exception, principally, of
+Yucatan, are well watered and clothed with dense vegetation, while on
+the western slopes, and especially over the narrow fringe of lowland
+adjacent to the Pacific, the rainfall is less than on the Caribbean
+coast, and the forests are open with many grass-covered areas which are
+favourable for agriculture. In the mountainous portions of the West
+Indies and of Central America, on account of the more healthy conditions
+on the leeward or drier sides, as compared with the windward or humid
+slopes of the mountains, the towns and the principal portion of the
+white inhabitants are located on their western borders. Owing to the
+great humidity and the long-continued high temperature during the hotter
+portion of the year throughout the tropical province, much of the
+lowland to the eastward of the high mountains is swampy and unhealthy.
+This low region in Mexico and Central America is known as the
+_tierra caliente_, or hot country; on the mountains and plateaus, or in
+general where the elevation is between 5,000 and 7,000 feet, is the
+cooler and remarkably salubrious _tierra templada_; and at still higher
+elevations occur the _tierra frie_. Owing to the decrease in temperature
+with elevation, and the fact that the moist warm air is forced to rise,
+and in consequence expands on passing over the highland, the rainfall
+probably increases with elevation through the three zones just referred
+to.
+
+While the tropical province is characterized by the uniformity with
+which its atmospheric changes occur, it is nevertheless in part subject
+to occasional and exceedingly violent cyclonic storms termed hurricanes,
+which begin in the torrid zone, travel northward (Fig. 26, page 210),
+and make their influence felt in more than one of the climatic provinces
+into which North America is here divided. Thunder-storms, frequently of
+great violence, also occur, especially in the Central American region in
+summer, when the doldrums migrate northward.
+
+The trade-wind belt broadens in crossing the southern portion of the
+North American continent, and on the west coast and during its greatest
+northward migration reaches to southern California. As we have seen, the
+lowlands not adjacent to mountains in the Caribbean region receive
+little or no rain from the trade-winds, for the reason that the
+prevailing air-currents are moving from cooler to warmer regions, and
+therefore have their capacity for moisture increased as they advance
+more rapidly than their thirst can be satiated. The trade-winds are thus
+normally drying winds. The same principle holds true for continents as
+well as islands. The trade-winds on reaching the eastern border of the
+Mexican plateau are forced upward and part with much of their moisture
+in the form of rain and snow, and on descending to the lower lands
+bordering the Pacific are desiccating winds. The conditions are thus
+much the same as on the lowlands situated to the leeward of the
+mountains of the West Indies. The narrow fringe of low-lying country on
+the west border of the main body of Mexico, together with the
+peninsula of Lower California and a portion of the southern extremity of
+California, are arid, although in immediate proximity to the ocean. The
+leading characteristics of the climate of this, the arid portion of the
+tropical province, are its small rainfall, clear atmosphere, high mean
+annual temperature, moderate seasonal changes, and active evaporation.
+
+The most typical portion of the arid region bordering the Pacific from
+California southward lies in northwestern Mexico, where the mean annual
+precipitation on the western slope of the central table-land is from 15
+to 20 inches, but gradually diminishes as one descends to the lower
+lands to the westward to 10 inches, and even to 5 inches or less. A
+great portion of the lowlands is practically a desert, although, as is
+common on the desert-like tracts of this continent, it is sparingly
+covered with detached clumps of cacti, yuccas, and other similar plants
+which live with the minimum of water.
+
+The hot, arid lands of the southwest just referred to are similar in
+position, in reference to the relation of land areas to the trade-wind
+belts, as other trade-wind deserts, as they are termed, such as the
+Sahara, which occur on the leeward side of continents where they are
+crossed by these drying winds.
+
+_The Lower Austral Province_ (Plate III).--This province embraces the
+Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States from Connecticut
+southward, with the exception of the tropical portion of southern
+Florida; the Mississippi basin south of the mouth of the Ohio; and
+includes also many of the valleys amid the Pacific mountains from the
+northern boundary of California to central Mexico. The larger
+geographical conditions on which the boundaries of the province depend
+are the warm currents in the Atlantic, which ameliorate the temperature
+of the adjacent land as well as supply it with abundant moisture; the
+low elevation of the central continental basin, which permits of great
+extension northward of the climatic conditions originating about the
+Gulf of Mexico; and the mountainous character of the western portion of
+the province, where the valleys have a markedly different
+temperature and rainfall from the highlands.
+
+The most southern portions of the lower austral province within the
+border of the United States has a semitropical climate and is
+characterized by its high mean annual temperature, abundant rainfall,
+and uniformity of weather conditions throughout the year. The summers
+are hot, but tempered by winds from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic,
+and the winters, although normally mild and without snow, are varied at
+intervals by periods of cold which bring occasional frosts. This
+semitropical division of the lower austral province embraces a narrow
+strip of coast-land extending from South Carolina to southeastern Texas,
+with the exception of the extreme southern end of Florida, and forms a
+transition between the hotter and more humid tropical province to the
+southward and the cooler and less humid region to the northward.
+
+As the saying is, a tree is judged by its fruit; in a similar way we may
+judge of the climate of a region by its products. The Gulf strip of the
+lower austral province is the home of a number of plants and animals not
+found farther north, as, for example, the cabbage palmetto and Cuban
+pine, and several species of birds and small mammals. Among the
+agricultural products of this narrow coastal belt which are suggestive
+of its climate are rice, sugar-cane, and sea-island cotton; of fruits it
+produces, especially in Florida, oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes,
+shaddocks, and pineapples.
+
+The humid portion of the lower austral province extends northward from
+the Gulf strip, and presents a transition in climatic conditions between
+the semitropical Gulf coast and the more markedly temperate climate of
+the upper austral. This eastern division of the lower austral,
+characterized by its mild winters, general absence of snow, long hot
+summers with abundant rain, extends from eastern Virginia southward
+about the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, and in the
+Mississippi Valley broadens so as to reach the mouth of the Ohio River.
+Its western limit is in central Texas, where the mean annual rainfall
+decreases to less than 20 inches, and forests give place to
+treeless, grass-covered plains and plateaus.
+
+Through this eastern portion of the lower austral the mean annual
+precipitation is in general between 50 and 60 inches, and is so
+distributed throughout the year that each month receives approximately
+an equal share. In general, however, the rainfall is greater in winter
+than in summer. The mean annual temperature of the humid portion of the
+lower austral is from 60 deg. to 68 deg. F., the mean winter temperature 40 deg. to
+52 deg., and the mean summer temperature from 75 deg. to 80 deg. F. From these
+records it may be inferred that the conditions are favourable for the
+growth of trees. In its natural condition this entire region was clothed
+with a varied and beautiful forest, consisting largely of broad-leaved
+trees, but is also the home of the southern pine and the cypress. The
+characteristic crops are cotton and corn (maize).
+
+The western or arid portion of the lower austral province embraces
+western Texas, a large area in northeastern Mexico, and circling about
+the southern extremity of the Pacific mountains in central Mexico,
+extends northward adjacent to the tropical border of the Pacific and the
+Gulf of Lower California, into Arizona and southern California. A
+detached area of this same province occupies the great Valley of
+California.
+
+The leading feature in the climate of the extensive and irregular region
+just outlined is its aridity. The rainfall is too small to insure forest
+growths; the land is treeless, except along the streams, and irrigation
+is necessary for successful agriculture. With a sufficient amount of
+water for irrigation, a great variety of fruits, etc., may be raised,
+including many products usually considered as indicating tropical
+conditions, such as mangoes, dates, figs, citrus fruits, olives,
+pineapples, etc. Not only are the agricultural products numerous and
+varied, but the yield per acre under the most favourable conditions is
+far in excess of the best results reached in most regions where rain is
+relied on to furnish the requisite moisture. Under the prevailingly
+cloudless skies of the hot arid lands of the southwestern portion
+of the continent insolation is intense and the growth of vegetation
+phenomenal when the necessary amount of water is supplied. The land in
+its present condition presents great contrasts, ranging from desolate,
+sun-burned tracts which are almost absolute deserts, to the vivid green
+of irrigated fields and the deep shade of heavily fruit-laden orchards.
+
+_The Upper Austral Province_ (Plate III).--The portion of North
+America embraced in this climatic province lies principally in the
+central part of the United States, but includes also a narrow strip in
+southern Ontario, adjacent to the north shore of Lake Erie, and a large
+irregular area in the central plateau of Mexico. A marked feature of its
+geography is its extreme irregularity in the portion occupied by the
+Pacific mountains in the United States and Mexico. The reasons for this
+lie mainly in the influence of the relief of the land on climate, the
+direction of the prevailing winds, and varying distances from the ocean.
+It is a familiar fact that boreal and even arctic climatic conditions
+are met with on high mountains. The attention that is given to changes
+in climate with increase in altitude is no doubt largely due to the fact
+that the mountains present conditions which are exceptional and more or
+less novel as seen from our accustomed point of view. A person living in
+an elevated region, on descending into a deep valley, would be impressed
+with the reverse order in which the climatic zones occur. In making such
+a descent he would pass in succession from a boreal or perhaps arctic
+climate, through a transitional or cold temperate, to the warm temperate
+or upper austral province, and might even reach the semitropical
+division of the lower austral. In the Pacific mountains within the
+border of the United States the valleys are sufficiently deep to have
+the climatic conditions here ascribed to the upper austral, and in the
+southwestern portion of the United States descents may be made--as in
+the Great Valley of California and in the arid basins of southern
+Nevada, Arizona, etc.--sufficiently great to reach the lower austral.
+The valleys amid the Pacific mountains, which fall in the upper austral
+province, are in general low at the north in reference to
+sea-level, and become higher and higher at the south. For example, the
+upper austral region in central Washington is but 400 or 500 feet above
+the sea, while in Mexico it lies in general at an altitude of between
+4,000 and 6,000 feet.
+
+The upper austral province may be termed warm temperate, with a marked
+contrast between the heat of summer and the cold of winter. The summers
+are long, with an average temperature of 70 deg. or 75 deg., while the winters
+are variable, with frequent cold periods when ice forms and snow-storms
+are not rare. The snow seldom remains on the ground for more than a few
+days at a time, however, except in the northeast, where the warm
+temperate climatic conditions of the province under review merge with
+those of the colder region to the northward embraced in the transition
+province.
+
+The upper, like the lower austral, presents two well-marked divisions in
+reference to humidity--an eastern or humid and a western or semihumid
+portion; the dividing line is in the neighbourhood of the one hundredth
+meridian. In the eastern division the mean annual precipitation in the
+Piedmont region to the east of the Appalachians and on the coastal plain
+adjacent to the Atlantic in Maryland and New Jersey is from 40 to 80
+inches, but decreases westward, and on the border of the Great plateaus
+in Kansas and Nebraska is about 20 inches. In the western division the
+annual precipitation is less than 20 inches, and agriculture without
+irrigation is uncertain and usually impossible. To the east of the one
+hundredth meridian the rain is somewhat evenly distributed throughout
+the year, although an increasing dryness of the summer is easily
+detected as one travels from east to west, but in the various upper
+austral valleys of the Pacific mountain region the precipitation is
+mostly during the winter, and the summers are practically rainless. The
+marked difference in precipitation between the humid and semihumid
+division of the upper austral province is recorded on the surface of the
+land by the vegetation. In the eastern division the entire region, with
+the exception of the prairies in the central part of the Mississippi
+basin, was originally clothed with a varied and beautiful forest,
+consisting mainly of broad-leaved trees, such as the hickory, maple,
+oak, etc., while the semihumid western division is treeless, except in
+immediate proximity to streams.
+
+In the southern portion of the humid division of the upper austral
+province cotton is one of the staple products, but the northern limit of
+the region in which it can be successfully cultivated is soon reached as
+one travels northward. Tobacco is grown extensively in the southeastern
+and eastern portions of the province. The principal crop of the great
+central area in the Mississippi Valley is corn (maize). Successful wheat
+culture begins in the northern portion of the province, but the
+conditions favouring its cultivation increase to the northward and it
+becomes the characteristic and most valuable crop of the transition
+province.
+
+In the western or semihumid division of the upper austral the variety of
+agricultural products that can be successfully cultivated with the aid
+of irrigation is greater than in its eastern portion, where irrigation
+is not generally practised. The northern limit at which tobacco, fruits,
+the vine, etc., may be advantageously cultivated in the west is greater
+than in the east. For example, in the east the northern limit at which
+tobacco is raised on a commercial scale is in Connecticut, while in the
+west it reaches a large size and excellent quality in central
+Washington. Various fruits, such as the peach, pear, plum, grape, etc.,
+have their northern limit of successful cultivation in the east in
+western New York, southern Ontario, and southern Michigan, a region
+favourably influenced in this connection by the proximity of the Great
+Lakes; in the west these same fruits reach a high degree of perfection,
+and are produced in great abundance, with the aid of irrigation, in
+north-central Washington, fully 5 degrees of latitude farther northward.
+
+On the whole, the upper austral province may be said to have a warm
+temperate climate, in which the summer season is longer and more
+pronounced in its characteristics than the winter season. It
+presents sufficient seasonal variations, however, to favour in a high
+degree both the physical and intellectual development of man.
+
+_The Transition Province_ (Plate III).--This, the transition region
+between the austral and boreal provinces, includes the cool temperate
+portions of North America. Like the austral provinces, its outlines are
+irregular, and in places it occupies detached or island-like areas, on
+account of the influence of mountains on climatic conditions. Its
+largest continuous area is situated along the northern border of the
+United States, but includes the southern portions of Assiniboia,
+Ontario, and Quebec, and extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
+From this main belt there is a marked extension southward along the
+Appalachian Mountains, which carries a cool temperate climate into
+northern Georgia, and another and much greater southward extension along
+the Pacific mountains, which reaches central Mexico. In the northern
+portion of the United States and adjacent parts of Canada, the region
+under consideration has, in general, an elevation of 1,000 feet or even
+less above the sea, but it rises when followed southward along the
+mountains, and in the southwestern portion of the United States and on
+the table-land of central Mexico attains an elevation of some 8,000 or
+9,000 feet. On the higher portions of the mountains of Central America
+and the West Indies the climatic conditions are similar to those of the
+regions farther north here included in the transition climatic province,
+but these isolated areas are not sufficiently well known to be indicated
+on the accompanying map.
+
+The mean annual temperature of the transition province is lower than
+that of the upper austral, and, although a precise average is not at
+present attainable, may be taken at about 45 deg. F. The winters are long
+and cold, especially in the northern part of the United States and
+adjacent portions of Canada, the mean temperature being approximately
+20 deg. or 25 deg., but sudden and great variations are not uncommon. At times,
+and frequently for continuous periods of several days, the temperature
+falls to 20 deg. or more below zero of the Fahrenheit scale, then again
+rises above freezing, and the frozen soil thaws and possibly
+becomes entirely freed from ice.
+
+In common with the austral provinces, the one under consideration is
+divided into two portions, an eastern and a western, in reference to
+precipitation, the dividing line being a little to the eastward of the
+one hundredth meridian. While the western portion of the province is
+characterized by its small rainfall, precipitation is greater, mainly on
+account of greater elevation, than in the adjacent portions of the
+austral provinces, and in Oregon and Washington there is a markedly
+humid area.
+
+Snow falls throughout the entire transition province, at least during
+exceptional winters, and in general during every winter. There is great
+variation in the depth of the snow from winter to winter, and also with
+geographical position. It is greatest in the northeast--that is, from
+the Atlantic coast westward to Wisconsin and Minnesota--and least on the
+Pacific coast and the southern portion of the Pacific mountains. Over
+the northeastern portion of the province the snow frequently whitens the
+ground for weeks, and even for two or three months continuously. A deep
+accumulation which remains for a long time unmelted is welcome, as it
+protects the roots of plants from sudden changes of temperature and
+prevents alternate freezing and thawing of their sap, which is injurious
+to their tissues in numerous instances. Great variation in the amount of
+snow that falls annually in a given locality is of common occurrence. A
+large proportion of the yearly accumulation frequently occurs during one
+or two great storms. For example, in January and February, 1898, there
+were two severe storms, accompanied by an unusual depth of snow, the
+first being most pronounced over New England, and the second in the
+region of the Great Lakes. Other storms increased the amount of snow so
+that at the beginning of March the average depth in Maine was 40 to 70
+inches, in New Hampshire and Vermont 10 to 40 inches, and in
+Massachusetts 10 to 20 inches, while in Michigan and Wisconsin the
+general depth on level ground was 1 to 2 feet, with many drifts 10 to 15
+feet deep.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Ice-palace erected in Montreal, Canada, during
+the winter of 1889.]
+
+The winter in the northeastern portion of the transition province may be
+said to be the most characteristic feature of the climate, as it is the
+one that is most pronounced and exceptional, when a comparison is made
+with other thickly peopled portions of the continent. The period of cold
+and snow each year is long, extending in general from November to March,
+and the coming of the flowers and birds in spring is frequently much
+delayed. The long cold winters have a decided influence on plant and
+animal life, and in a marked way modify the lives of men. In the
+northeastern portion of the United States and adjacent provinces of
+Canada various forms of sleighs are extensively used during the winters,
+and skating on the frozen lakes and streams and excursions on snow-shoes
+over the fields and through the forests are a popular and healthful
+exercise, while coasting and tobogganing--or to explain these terms to
+people living in regions where snow does not fall, the sliding down
+steep snow- or ice-covered slopes on sleds or flat-bottomed
+toboggans--are highly enjoyable sports indulged in by children and grown
+people alike. In certain cities, notably Montreal and Quebec, what are
+termed ice-palaces (Fig. 25) are built of blocks of ice and are utilized
+for winter carnivals.
+
+The summers throughout the transition province are hot, with little rain
+in the western portion, but refreshing showers and occasional
+destructive storms in the humid eastern portion. Owing to the latitude
+of the main transcontinental belt of the province, the number of hours
+of sunlight each day in summer is increased beyond what it is in the
+main portions of the austral provinces, thus favouring the growth of
+vegetation. There is also a lengthening of the morning and evening
+duration of twilight, and magnificent sunrises and sunsets are frequent.
+The mean summer temperature is in the neighbourhood of 70 deg. F., but hot
+spells, lasting for days, and even weeks, are of common occurrence.
+During these trying and frequently unhealthy intervals the temperature
+in the shade reaches or even exceeds 100 deg. F., and sunstrokes or
+prostrations by reason of the heat, particularly in the cities, are
+numerous. The four seasons of the year are better marked and have
+more pronounced characteristics in this division of the continent than
+in any other, and it is the region of greatest seasonal climatic changes
+as well as of marked weekly and even daily variations in weather
+conditions. The most delightful months to most people are May, when the
+returning migratory birds are nesting, the trees unfolding their many
+tinted leaves, and the air laden with the perfume of multitudes of
+blossoms, and October, when the rich colours of ripened leaves give to
+the forests a marvellous variety and brilliancy of colour and the
+tranquil, hazy atmosphere is undisturbed by storms for days and even
+weeks together. This annual period of tranquil weather, extending
+frequently far into November, is known as Indian summer.
+
+In the northern portion of the transition province the broad-leaved,
+deciduous trees of the central and eastern portions of the United States
+reach their northern limit, and become mingled with a southward
+extension of the conifers which form the major portion of the forest of
+Canada. A similar but less marked change occurs among the Pacific
+mountains, where the scattered growths of oaks, pinyon pines, sycamores,
+etc., of the lower mountain slopes and stream sides mingle with the
+spruces and yellow and white pines of the more elevated region, where
+the climate is similar to that of central Canada. As remarked by
+Merriam, the province as a whole is characterized by comparatively few
+distinctive animals or plants, but rather by the occurrence together of
+southern species which there find their northern limit and northern
+species which there reach their southern limit. It embraces the northern
+portion of the truly agricultural lands of the continent. The plants of
+economic importance which there reach their highest stage of perfection
+are wheat, oats, and other cereals, the sugar-beet, numerous vegetables,
+the white potato, apples in great variety and abundance, cherries,
+plums, grapes, etc. It is the northern limit of corn, and includes
+nearly the entire area in which maple-sugar is produced. In the eastern
+portion of the province several varieties of native nuts, such as the
+beechnut, butternut, chestnut, hazelnut, hickory-nut, walnut,
+etc., grow wild and in great abundance; but nut-bearing hardwood trees
+are also a characteristic feature of the forests of the humid portion of
+the austral provinces.
+
+In the western division of the province a humid area--embracing western
+Washington and Oregon, part of northern California, including the Coast
+Range of the same States--presents a marked contrast to the more widely
+extended and excessively irregular arid portion which surrounds the
+higher mountains and is for the most part remote from the ocean. Both
+the humid and arid divisions of the western part of the province are
+alike favourable for agriculture, as is shown by the vast and highly
+productive wheat-fields of the semihumid eastern portion of the States
+just named and the productive hop lands, orchards, and vineyards of
+their humid western portions.
+
+The climate of a great land area not only finds expression in its fauna
+and flora, but in the industries and the intellectual development of its
+people. While it is difficult to translate man's physical and
+intellectual development into terms of climate, it is evident that the
+transition province favours both bodily and mental activity more than
+any of the other climatic provinces into which North America is here
+divided. Although the boundary between the upper austral and the
+transition provinces is indefinite, it is easily to be seen, from the
+geographical distribution of cities, agricultural population,
+manufactories, colleges, and other institutions of learning, etc., that
+the climate of the province under review is on the whole the one in
+which the greatest intellectual advance has been made and the one which
+holds out the greatest promise for the future.
+
+_The Boreal Province_ (Plate III).--This climatic division of North
+America extends in a broad belt diagonally across the continent from the
+eastern portion of Labrador nearly to the shore of Bering Sea, and is
+represented by detached areas in both the Atlantic and Pacific mountains
+far beyond its general southern limit. Its northern border, in the
+Continental basin, is marked by the cessation of forests, and on the
+mountains to the southward its upper limit coincides with the
+timber-line. Its leading climatic features are its low mean
+annual temperature--in general from 32 deg. to 40 deg. F.--its long, cold
+winters, and short, hot summers. The differences in mean annual
+precipitation in various parts of the province are less marked than in
+the several provinces previously noticed, but in the far north a cold
+arid division should be recognised. Although but few direct measures of
+precipitation are available for comparison, our general knowledge of the
+great boreal province and the character of its vegetation indicate that
+there is a decrease in precipitation from both the eastern and western
+borders of the continent towards the interior, and also from its central
+portion both northward and southward. The heaviest precipitation is on
+the Pacific coast, from California northward to southern Alaska, and the
+lightest precipitation is probably in the central Continental basin,
+near the northern limit of the province. Precipitation on the Pacific
+coast at low elevations is almost entirely in the form of rain, but on
+the mountains there is in winter deep snow which remains for a number of
+months unmelted. Throughout the portion of the province included in
+Canada and Alaska the snowfall is abundant, but heaviest towards the
+Atlantic coast. Along the northern margin of the province, as indicated
+by observations at a small number of stations, not only is the mean
+annual precipitation light, probably under 20 inches, but the winter
+snow is not deep, although it remains on the ground continuously for
+five or six months. In the main or northern portion of the boreal
+province, owing to the comparatively high latitude, the variation in the
+number of hours of light and darkness each day during a year becomes
+conspicuous. In summer the sun is above the horizon from eighteen to
+twenty-four hours each day, and in winter the hours of darkness are
+correspondingly increased. The year is divided into but two seasons,
+summer and winter, the distinctive features of spring and fall, so well
+marked in the upper austral and transition provinces, disappearing. On
+account of the low mean annual temperature, and especially because of
+the shortness of the growing season, agriculture is of small importance.
+Along its southern border, more especially in southeastern Canada and
+Newfoundland, such small fruits as currants, huckleberries,
+raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc., grow wild and yield
+abundant returns when cultivated. In favoured localities white potatoes,
+turnips, beets, and certain varieties of the apple, as well as the more
+hardy cereals, are cultivated with moderate success.
+
+_The Arctic Province_ (Plate III) comprises the cold, treeless plains
+sloping to the Arctic Ocean and the summits of the higher mountains at
+the south which rise above the transition province. The one controlling
+climatic feature is the low temperature, the mean for each year being
+32 deg. F. or lower. The winters are longer and more severe than in the
+boreal province, and the summers short and hot. Insolation, on account
+of the length of the days in summer of the main area of the province and
+the free exposure on the mountain summits to the southward, is intense,
+but its beneficial effect on vegetation is largely counterbalanced by
+the influence of the lingering snow and ice. In the mountainous regions
+of North America the arctic province is the birthplace of numerous
+glaciers. Although destitute of trees, the arctic, or arctic-alpine
+province, as it may be termed, is rendered glorious in numberless
+localities by the profusion and brilliancy of its flowering annuals.
+
+
+                SECONDARY DISTURBANCES OF THE ATMOSPHERE
+
+In the broad, general movements of the atmosphere over North America
+embraced in what are termed the planetary and continental winds there
+are many disturbances due to more or less local changes in conditions,
+the most conspicuous of which are whirlwinds, chinook winds,
+thunder-storms, tornadoes, cyclones, and hurricanes. While some of these
+disturbances are local, as the whirlwind and tornadoes, and may not
+extend beyond the boundaries of the particular climatic provinces where
+they originate, others, as the cyclones and hurricanes, may affect the
+climate of several provinces.
+
+_Whirlwind._--A conspicuous, although minor feature in the atmospheric
+phenomena of the hot, dry plains and valleys, especially of the
+Mexican plateau and the Great Basin, and less markedly of the Great
+plateau to the east of the Rocky Mountains, is the occurrence of small
+whirlwinds which carry dust and light objects into the air in spiral
+columns that are not infrequently 2,000 or 3,000 feet high, and have a
+diameter of perhaps 50 to 100 feet. These small whirls of the air, in
+which some of the characteristic features of the intensely active
+tornadoes and widely destructive tropical hurricanes can be studied on a
+small scale, occur most commonly during hot summer afternoons, when from
+a commanding station half a dozen or more swaying columns may be seen
+moving in various directions over the parched valleys and sun-scorched
+plains. These columns not only move in various directions, showing that
+they are not due to the same immediate cause, but have different
+internal motions, some whirling from right to left, and others in the
+opposite direction.
+
+The generally accepted explanation of these small whirlwinds is that the
+air over the surface of the deserts, which are frequently almost bare of
+vegetation and perhaps white with saline incrustations, becomes locally
+highly heated, especially when there is little or no wind, and is forced
+upward by the inflow of the surrounding cooler and heavier air. The
+inflowing currents have different velocities, and on meeting the
+strongest one gives a rotary or spiral motion to the ascending column,
+which acts like a chimney in allowing the escape upward of the hot air
+from below. A central vertical line frequently seen in the dust columns
+shows that a core of comparatively still air is present, about which the
+dust-charged air rises in a spiral course. If the conditions just
+outlined should be greatly increased in magnitude some of the leading
+features of tornadoes and even of hurricanes would be produced. In
+short, all of the winds cited above, except the chinook, are concentric,
+swirling movements in ascending air, due primarily to a local increase
+in temperature at the lower portion of the atmosphere.
+
+_Chinook Winds._--On the Great plateaus adjacent to the Rocky Mountains,
+and in similar situations to the eastward of the Sierra Nevada
+and Cascade Mountains, warm, drying winds frequently occur, especially
+in winter, when they bring a balminess as of spring. The remarkable
+feature of these interesting winds is that they come from the snow-clad
+mountains, but are warm and dry in contrast with the preceding condition
+of the air on the plains. The capacity of the air brought by these winds
+for moisture is so great that evaporation is active, and the snow in the
+valleys and over the broad plains disappears without visible melting.
+The change in the previously winter aspect of a region within the
+influence of these _chinook_ winds, as they are termed, is truly
+surprising, and to their influence is due to a marked extent the value
+of the Great plateaus as stock-ranges, for the reason that the snow is
+removed from them so as to allow cattle to feed on the naturally dried
+grasses.
+
+The chinook winds are the counterpart of the _foehn_ winds of
+Switzerland, and are explained on the principle that descending air is
+made more dense by the increased pressure to which it is subjected, and
+its temperature correspondingly raised, its capacity for moisture being
+at the same time increased on account of its rise in temperature. The
+apparent anomaly of a warm, dry wind blowing from a snow-clad mountain
+range is no longer a mystery, if we consider that the air is drawn over
+the mountains towards a centre of low barometrical pressure owing to the
+wide-reaching influence of a cyclonic storm or other large atmospheric
+movement. The air as it rises in order to cross a mountain is cooled,
+largely on account of relief of pressure, and parts with a portion,
+possibly a large portion, of its moisture, which condenses on the
+mountain commonly as snow; on passing the mountain the air descends and
+is warmed by compression, and having less moisture than before, becomes
+a drying wind, which produces the sudden and surprising changes on the
+plains and valleys to the leeward.
+
+The chinook winds of the western portion of Canada and the United States
+occur principally to the eastward of high mountains, for the reason that
+the prevailing air-currents of that region are from the west.
+
+_Thunder-Storms._--In the eastern portion of the United States and
+adjacent parts of Canada during the summer season the heating of the
+lower portion of the atmosphere, especially on still, sultry afternoons,
+causes ascending currents of warm, moist air, which become cooled as
+they rise, and give origin to vast masses of cumulus clouds. These
+magnificent "thunder-heads," as they are sometimes termed, illuminated
+by the full sunlight are most magnificent, and usually herald the coming
+of heavy showers, accompanied by frequently destructive lightning and
+heavy thunder. The bases of the clouds when seen from a distance are
+usually horizontal and may have curtain-like festoons beneath, due to
+falling rain; while aloft the white vapour boils upward in fleece-like
+masses, revealing a strong convectional ascent of moist air. The
+immediate cause of a thunder-storm is the rapid ascent of a column of
+warm moist air, which becomes cooled as it rises and the moisture
+contained in it condensed. The cause of the ascent of the air column, at
+least over plains and plateaus, is the heating of the air in contact
+with the earth. A layer of warm, and consequently light, air beneath a
+layer of cooler and heavier air furnishes unstable conditions which
+favour an overturning and an escape upward of the lighter air, which is
+forced to ascend much as the hot air in a chimney is made to flow upward
+by the pressure of cooler and heavier air around. The conditions
+preceding a thunder-storm are a stagnant atmosphere over a broad region
+where the lower layer of hot air is also charged with moisture. These
+conditions are frequently fulfilled on the plains of the Atlantic slope
+and southeastern portion of the continental basin in summer when warm
+moist air is drawn in from the Gulf region towards the centre of an area
+of low atmospheric pressure, and thunder-storms are there a
+characteristic feature. The storms usually advance northeastward, the
+direction being determined by the flow of upper air-currents, and move
+over the country with a breadth of from 10 to perhaps 100 miles, and
+send down copious supplies of refreshing rain.
+
+Over the Great plateaus the air near the earth's surface is
+highly heated during the summer season, but it is deficient in moisture,
+and thunder-storms are rare, except for a brief period in late summer or
+fall when the normal conditions are disturbed.
+
+Thunder-storms are almost unknown in the great Canadian-Alaska province
+and along the cool and humid northwest coast. They are also of rare
+occurrence in the hot and dry atmosphere of the Great Basin and Mexican
+plateau, but when they do come are of marked intensity, and pass under
+the name of "cloudbursts." At the far south, in the region brought under
+the influence of the equatorial belt of calm, thunder-storms are
+frequent and of great intensity.
+
+An upward ascent of warm moist air, in much the same manner as described
+above, occurs about isolated mountains, particularly in the southern
+portion of the Rocky Mountain chain, and summer thunder-storms are there
+of frequent occurrence, especially in the afternoon, about the higher
+mountain-peaks, while the adjacent valleys are flooded with sunlight.
+Reference to this most striking phenomenon has already been made in
+describing the Park Mountain.
+
+_Tornadoes._--The fierce circular whirls in the air producing pendent,
+spirally twisting clouds, which when they touch the earth are of such
+intensity as to sweep away houses, trees, and nearly everything in their
+paths, are known to meteorologists as tornadoes, although popularly, but
+erroneously, termed cyclones. Storms of this character are of frequent
+occurrence in the United States to the east of the Great plateau, and
+are most numerous in the Mississippi Valley. Their path of destruction
+is seldom over half a mile wide, and as a rule they progress towards the
+northeast, in obedience to the movement of the upper air-currents, at a
+rate of from 20 to 40 miles an hour, and may cut a swath from a few
+miles to 20 or more miles long through forests, farms, villages, and
+towns. They occur usually in the afternoon, and sometimes in the earlier
+hours of the night, of warm, sultry days, especially in spring and early
+summer, but are not strictly confined to that portion of the
+year. The conditions which precede the coming of a tornado are, in
+general, the same as those in advance of a thunder-storm--that is, an
+indraft of hot, moist air beneath a cooler layer, thus establishing
+unstable conditions. An upward draft is started, the intensity of which
+becomes so great that the inflowing winds are given a rapid spiral
+motion about a calm centre. The tornado may be considered as a fully
+developed or exceptionally energetic thunder-storm, in which a spiral
+movement is established as in desert whirlwinds. The conditions for the
+origin of this class of dreaded and locally most destructive storms are
+best fulfilled in the central portion of the Mississippi basin, where
+they are somewhat frequent. They occur less commonly over the country to
+the eastward, and are unknown in the more northern and western climatic
+provinces, and, so far as the writer is aware, they have not been
+reported from the region to the north of the United States.
+
+_Cyclones._--This name is applied to the great atmospheric disturbances
+marked by an inflowing of air towards a centre of low barometric
+pressure from adjacent regions, commonly several hundred miles across,
+and an escape and overflow aloft. As in whirlwinds and tornadoes, there
+is a spiral movement established in the inflowing currents, but owing to
+the large size of the area of low pressure, this seldom reaches
+destructive violence. Cyclonic storms are of common occurrence,
+especially in the temperate zone, and bring to that region its
+characteristic diversity of weather. Most of the rain and snow-storms of
+the continent are due to the vast swirls of the atmosphere about areas
+of low atmospheric pressure, which cause air-currents from different
+directions and with different components of heat and moisture to move
+over the land.
+
+The cyclonic storm of the Mississippi Valley, the Atlantic coast States,
+and southeastern Canada frequently originate in the Great plateau
+province, and are carried towards the Atlantic owing to the influence of
+the eastward-blowing winds of the upper atmosphere. At times these
+storms are of such magnitude and intensity that they cross the Atlantic
+and are observed in England and Scandinavia. The courses they
+follow may be traced from day to day on the weather-maps issued by the
+United States Weather Bureau, and from the directions they are likely to
+follow and the atmospheric conditions pertaining to their various parts
+predictions of surprising accuracy as to the changes which the weather
+in a given locality will experience can be made one or two days before
+the changes occur.
+
+_Hurricanes._--Cyclonic storms of the general nature of the tornadoes,
+but of vastly greater extent and intensity, originate occasionally
+during the latter portion of the summer season over the tropical portion
+of the north Atlantic, move slowly westward to the vicinity of the
+Lesser Antilles, where normally their courses bend northward, and then
+skirt the Atlantic coast of the United States and drift eastward under
+the influence of the eastward-flowing upper air-currents, and not
+infrequently make their influence felt in the western portion of Europe.
+Occasionally, on account of the presence of an area of high barometric
+pressure to the north of Cuba, the course of one of these tropical
+hurricanes, as they are termed, is rendered irregular, and it passes
+over the Atlantic States or is deflected still more and crosses the Gulf
+of Mexico before reaching the border of the continent, as was the case
+in September, 1900, when a large part of Galveston was destroyed. The
+normal paths of the tropical hurricanes as they approach the coast of
+the United States and the exceptional course of the one which passed
+over Galveston, are indicated on the map forming Fig. 26.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Tracks of West Indian hurricanes. The circles
+on the tracks indicate the position of the storm centres at Greenwich
+mean noon on successive days. The date of the several storms is as
+follows:
+
+    1. Aug. 27-Sept. 1, 1890.
+    2. Aug. 19-Aug. 25, 1890.
+    3. Aug. 19-Aug. 31, 1891.
+    4. Sept. 4-Sept. 9, 1891.
+    5. Sept. 16-Sept. 25, 1891.
+    6. Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 1891.
+    7. Aug. 17-Aug. 22, 1892.
+    8. Aug. 15-Aug. 22, 1893.
+    9. Aug. 23-Aug. 28, 1893.
+    10. Sept. 6-Sept. 9, 1894.
+    11. Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 1894.
+    12. Oct. 5-Oct. 10, 1894.
+    13. Oct. 12-Oct. 18, 1894.
+    14. Oct. 24-Oct. 27, 1894.
+    15. Oct. 18-Oct. 25, 1895.
+    16. Sept. 5-Sept. 10, 1896.
+    17. Sept. 9-Sept. 25, 1896.
+    18. Sept. 26-Sept. 29, 1896.
+    19. Oct. 9-Oct. 14, 1896.
+    20. Oct. 23-Oct. 26, 1897.
+    21. Oct. 20-Oct. 23, 1897.
+    22. Sept. 11-Sept. 20, 1898.
+    23. Aug. 3-Aug. 25, 1899.
+    24. Aug. 30-Sept. 7, 1899.
+    25. Sept. 8-Sept. 14, 1899.
+    26. Sept. 1-Sept. 11, 1900.]
+
+The analogy of a tropical hurricane to a tornado has already been
+referred to, but while a tornado may lay waste a tract of country
+perhaps half a mile wide, and in exceptional cases 20 to 30 miles in
+length, a hurricane is from 200 to 300 miles in diameter, and may
+continue to be destructive, on account of the rapid inflow of air from
+the periphery towards the centre, for 2,000 or 3,000 miles. The velocity
+of the spirally blowing winds which are the characteristic feature of
+these great storms is frequently 100 miles or more per hour. In spite of
+their magnitude, however, the conditions leading to their origin and
+growth are essentially the same as in the case of tornadoes, and
+even of the much smaller whirlwinds. They have their birth where the
+moist, still air above the ocean in the region of the doldrums at the
+season when the equatorial belt of calms is farthest north, becomes
+highly heated and rises on account of the pressing in of cooler and
+heavier air from adjacent regions. The ascending column is at first
+carried slowly westward, in obedience to the general flow of the
+atmosphere in the intertropical belt, and at the same time the currents
+coming in from opposite directions give the ascending air a rotary
+motion. As the currents from the northeast are stronger than those from
+other directions, this whirling motion is from right to left, or
+opposite to the movement of the hands of a watch. The whirling air
+column extends into the upper atmosphere, and as it moves along past the
+West Indies becomes influenced by the prevalent flow of the upper
+air-currents, and is carried northwestward, and later eastward in a path
+which approximates to a parabolic curve. The inward-rushing spiral winds
+leave a calm centre, the "eye of the storm," which corresponds to the
+hollow core of a whirlwind and the calm centre sometimes noted in
+tornadoes. The upward ascent of warm, humid air is accompanied by a
+decrease of pressure and consequent expansion and cooling which leads to
+rapid condensation and a heavy downpour of rain; the change of the
+moisture from a vaporous to a liquid form liberates heat, which serves
+to perpetuate the upward flow of air, and thus prolongs the life of the
+storm. During the passage of the central area of low barometric pressure
+over a given locality the clouds frequently part and portions of the
+clear sky may be seen. Accompanying the rain are frequent lightning
+flashes, as during ordinary thunder-storms.
+
+The tropical hurricanes are the most violent and most dreaded of all the
+storms that sweep over any portion of our continent, but fortunately for
+dwellers on the land, are confined for the most part to the sea, since
+the atmospheric conditions over the land lead to their loss of energy,
+although in rare instances they may be re-enforced by uniting with a
+cyclonic storm, as happened in the case of the Galveston hurricane, and
+thus continued after reaching the land. The destructiveness of the
+hurricanes at sea has been greatly lessened in recent years, not only on
+account of the general use of steam as a motive power for vessels
+instead of the wind, but because meteorologists can designate the time
+when they are likely to occur and the best method of sailing away
+from them if encountered. Since the establishment of the United States
+stations for observing and reporting the atmospheric conditions on the
+West India islands, the approach of a hurricane can be foretold and
+warning given to navigators and others of the coming danger.
+
+
+                              EVAPORATION
+
+An important element in climate is the amount of moisture the air
+contains. The absolute amount of water vapour in a given volume of air
+is of interest in this connection, but what is of still greater
+importance is the ratio of the amount of water vapour present to that
+which the air might contain, or what is termed the _relative humidity_.
+The relative humidity, providing the actual amount of vapour present
+remains unchanged, depends upon the temperature of the atmosphere. For
+this reason, the warming of an air-current, as the trade-winds, for
+example, in which the water vapour present may, previous to the warming,
+have approached saturation, causes it to have a still greater capacity,
+and hence decreases the relative humidity.
+
+The winds in passing over the land may be either cooled or warmed, and
+hence their influence on evaporation is continually changing; but the
+mean rate of evaporation from an open water body can be determined for a
+definite time, say a year, for various localities, and thus afford a
+means of comparison between one region and another. Observation of the
+mean annual evaporation for various stations, mostly within the United
+States, have been made, and the result shown by lines drawn through
+places where the rate is the same. A map showing this data, on which the
+figures indicate the depth of evaporation in inches, is here presented.
+The systematic study of evaporation, and especially the part played in
+it by plants, has scarcely more than been begun on this continent, and
+important results concerning its influence on atmospheric conditions are
+to be expected. The subject is also of great importance in reference to
+agriculture, the prevention of frost, etc.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Depth of evaporation. After T. Russell.]
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+The great storehouse of information pertaining to the weather and
+climate of the United States is the numerous publications of the United
+States Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Similar bureaus exist at the
+capitals of Canada and Mexico, which have issued valuable reports.
+
+Of the many elementary and popular books on meteorology, the following
+will be found helpful in continuing the study of the subjects outlined
+in this chapter:
+
+  DAVIS, W. M. _Whirlwinds, Cyclones, and Tornadoes_, Lee & Shepard,
+    Boston, 1884; _Elementary Meteorology_, Ginn & Co., Boston,
+    1894.
+
+  FERRIL, W. _A Popular Treatise on the Winds._ Wiley & Sons, New
+    York, 1889.
+
+  GREELY, A. W. _American Weather._ Dodd, Mead & Co., New York,
+    1888.
+
+  _Maryland Weather Service_, vol. i, Baltimore, 1899. Contains a
+    valuable bibliography.
+
+  RUSSELL, T. _Meteorology._ Macmillan & Co., New York, 1895.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Aspects of the Earth._ Scribner's Sons, New York,
+    1889.
+
+  WALDO, F. _Modern Meteorology_, Scribner's Sons, New York, 1893;
+    _Elementary Meteorology_, American Book Company, New York, 1896.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+                               PLANT LIFE
+
+
+If we take the trees as representatives of the flora of North America,
+and this seems to be the only practicable method in a general treatise,
+we find them growing most densely and presenting at the same time the
+greatest variety where the temperature is uniformly high throughout the
+year and the rainfall heavy and long-continued. From the torrid lowlands
+the forests in general decrease in the variety and number of trees on a
+given area, both towards the north, where temperature becomes the
+controlling factor, and towards regions of small rainfall, where the
+leading adverse condition is deficiency of moisture. In the most highly
+favoured localities the struggle for existence between species and
+species and individual with individual is intense, exposure to the
+life-giving sunlight being the dominant aim of every one of the
+contending hosts. As drier or colder regions are approached, but few
+species can survive and the forests are characterized by their monotony.
+Where the conditions of heat and moisture are such that the existence of
+a species is precarious, the balance of power, so to speak, passes to
+the secondary conditions; and the texture and composition of the soil,
+slight differences in the relief of the land, and consequently in
+drainage or in the degree of exposure to light, prevalence of fires,
+etc., make themselves prominent and limit distribution.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Map showing the distribution of forests in
+North America.]
+
+From a geographical point of view, the broadest features in the flora of
+North America are the forested and unforested areas. The distribution of
+the forests, prairies, and treeless plains as they existed previous to
+the coming of Europeans is shown on the accompanying map. For the
+portion of the continent to the northward of Mexico the data on
+which this map is based are much more abundant than for the southern
+portion.
+
+
+                              THE FORESTS
+
+As is indicated on the map just referred to, the forests of North
+America in a general way form a broad belt, for the most part within the
+influence of winds from the ocean, which surrounds a large area of
+treeless plains and plateaus in the west-central portion of the interior
+continental basin, but is broken and rendered irregular in its
+southwestern part of the treeless valley of the Great Basin region. The
+irregular circular belt of tree-covered land is closed at the south by
+the forest on the lowlands of Mexico and Central America. This vast
+forest belt, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Panama
+to northern Canada, presents great variations even in its larger
+features, and, for convenience, and also with the aim of expressing in a
+rough way natural relationships, needs to be subdivided for purpose of
+study. The basis for such a subdivision has already been suggested, as
+the forests, like all other divisions of the life of the continent, are
+an expression of climatic conditions--that is, the boundaries of the
+botanical and zoological provinces should agree with those of the
+climatic provinces.
+
+On this basis we have the tropical forest, which covers the more humid
+portions of the east and west margins as well as all of the southern
+portion of Mexico, together with nearly all of Central America and the
+West Indies, and includes the southern extremity of Florida. Within the
+tropical forest, however, there are high mountains on which trees with
+the general characteristic of those more northern floras find a
+congenial habitat. The two austral and the transition provinces are to a
+great extent clothed with diversified forests, which are naturally
+divided into two portions: an eastern division, embracing the Atlantic
+and Gulf border of the United States, together with the eastern part of
+the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes region; and a western
+division, in which is included the lands bordering the Pacific
+from near Mount St. Elias southward to the vicinity of San Francisco,
+and also several irregular branches or detached island-like areas on the
+Pacific mountains, in the United States and Mexico. The former of these
+divisions may, in a general way, be termed the Atlantic, and the latter
+the Pacific forest. Separating them is the treeless west-central portion
+of the Continental basin. Both the Atlantic and Pacific forests merge at
+the north with the boreal forest, which extends diagonally across the
+continent from Newfoundland to Alaska. Peninsula-like and island-like
+areas occupied by the boreal forest occur in the sea-like expanse of the
+transition and austral provinces, on both the Atlantic and Pacific
+mountains.
+
+The tropical and boreal forests have their greatest extension from east
+to west or with the parallels of latitude, and are remarkable for their
+uniformity in general characteristics, the reason being that climatic
+conditions, and especially the temperature in summer, change less
+rapidly along east and west than along north and south lines. The
+Atlantic and Pacific forests, on the other hand, have their greatest
+extension across the parallels of latitude, and hence experience marked
+changes from locality to locality in both temperature and precipitation,
+and are characterized by conspicuous changes from one locality to
+another in the genera and species of trees of which they are composed.
+In each of the areas occupied by the major divisions of the encircling
+continental forest belt there are marked variations in elevation, which
+are accompanied by corresponding climatic changes, and hence by
+modifications in the forest growths. Of all portions of the continental
+forest belt, variation in elevation is least marked in the forests of
+Canada, and for this reason, in part, we there find the most uniform and
+most monotonous of all the forests of the continent. The influence of
+elevation, however, on climate and on both plant and animal life is
+greater for a given measure, as for 1,000 feet, in the torrid than in
+the cool or cold zone, for the reason that the possible range in
+climatic conditions is much greater at the south than at the north.
+
+_The Tropical Forest._--There are great areas in southern Mexico which
+are clothed with a typical tropical forest; while other similar forests
+cover nearly all of the lower portions of Central America, the larger or
+more rugged West India islands, and the southern extremity of Florida.
+Throughout this vast region, within the influence of the trade-winds and
+of the equatorial rains, the forests are luxuriant and beautiful, except
+on lowlands not adjacent to the windward side of mountains. The
+characteristic trees of the hot, humid lowlands extend up the mountain
+to an elevation of some 4,000 or 5,000 feet, where a change to the
+aspects familiar in the lowlands of the temperate zone begins, and palms
+give place to oaks and pines.
+
+Of the many features of the tropical forests which impress a traveller
+from colder regions, none excite greater wonder than the large number of
+vegetable species growing in close proximity. It has been said, and
+apparently the statement cannot be successfully challenged, that a
+greater variety of plants may be collected on 100 square yards of
+surface in the humid, tropical lowlands than can be found on 100 square
+miles in the forest of central Canada. It is probably safe to extend
+this striking contrast by saying that of the trees on a typical area in
+the tropical forest of the size mentioned, there are in many localities
+more species than in the whole of the subarctic forest.
+
+Among the characteristics of tropical forests is the presence of many
+kinds of plants on a limited area, hundreds of species struggling upward
+to the light where there seems room but for one; the variety of mosses
+and lichens; the profusion of flowering parasites; the luxuriance of the
+vines, many of which are armed with spines; and the abundance of the
+remarkable aerial roots termed _lianas_. Of the last there is a great
+variety, some of them of large size and surprising length; they
+frequently descend from plants entwined among the topmost branches of
+great trees, looking not unlike the cordage of a forest of masts in some
+crowded port, and on reaching the ground send out rootlets in the humid
+soil.
+
+In the depths of a tropical forest it is always twilight. Even at
+noontide no shafts of yellow sunlight reach the ground to glorify mossy
+banks and flower-gemmed dells, as in the open woods of temperate climes,
+but a diffused greenish light, producing weird effects, alone penetrates
+the dense leafy canopy far overhead. The roots of even the larger trees
+in these hot, humid forests do not have to descend deeply in order to
+find the necessary moisture or to receive protection from frost and
+sudden changes of temperature, but are usually widely expanded and
+thickly interwoven over the surface. The earth from which the dense
+vegetation derives nourishment is surprisingly deficient in vegetable
+mould, which is a characteristic feature in the moist forests of
+temperate and even subarctic regions, where the complete decay of dead
+vegetation is long delayed. In the tropical forests the annual supply of
+dead vegetable matter suitable to be transformed into humus is far
+greater than on a corresponding area in the woods of more northern
+regions, but decay is so rapid, owing to the uniformly high temperature
+and the conditions favouring the multiplication of bacteria, that even
+great trees on falling quickly disappear; in many instances, the forms
+of prostrate tree trunks are preserved and overgrown with luxuriant
+mosses or gorgeously festooned with ferns and orchids, but soon become
+fragile shells from which nearly all the woody tissues have been removed
+by decay or by swarming colonies of insects. Where life is so exuberant
+and the wants of growing plants so great it seems as if the food supply
+was insufficient, and that none could be spared to accumulate on the
+ground and form a soil.
+
+The two most characteristic and distinctive classes of plants in the
+tropical forests are the palms and the ferns, each of which is
+represented by many genera, a large number of species, and multitudes of
+individuals, and in each class there is a gradation in size from low
+herbaceous growths to arboreal forms.
+
+In every way worthy of first mention among the plants of the Caribbean
+forests are the palms. A characteristic portion of the forest referred
+to occurs in Cuba, where, as is stated by R. T. Hill in his recently
+published and attractive book descriptive of the West Indies,
+there are some 26 species of palms, which give variety and beauty to the
+scenery of the "Pearl of the Antilles," as well as shade and food to its
+inhabitants. At the head of these for height and grace of form stands
+the royal palm, which might well be chosen for the emblem of the fair
+island it adorns. The wide-spreading crown of glossy pinnate leaves of
+this species is borne on a spindle-shaped stem of tough fibrous wood--so
+strong and pliant that it defies even the hurricane--in many instances
+150 feet above the ground. The tree is a marvel of beauty and
+elasticity, and, fortunately for Cuba, is one of the most abundant of
+the larger trees on the island. It is met with almost everywhere; in the
+centre of broad pasture-lands it often stands alone, tall and straight,
+while bordering the cultivated fields of the rich planter it forms a
+shady avenue to his dwelling. This well-named _royal palm_ has also been
+called the _blessed tree_, for every part of it has its usefulness to
+mankind. Certain medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots; the
+outer portion of its trunk is easily split into boards for use in making
+houses and furniture for the poorer people; in the centre of the cluster
+of young leaves at the summit is a tender substance which is eaten raw,
+or cooked as a vegetable, or preserved with sugar as a table delicacy.
+The broadened leaf-stalks where they leave the main stem form a
+sheath-like expansion resembling a thin board, often four to six feet
+long, which is made to serve a variety of purposes, such as plates, and
+when soaked in water becomes pliable and may be fashioned into baskets
+and dishes for cooking, and at the same time furnishes salt for the
+seasoning of the boiling vegetables or meat.
+
+The world-encircling cocoanut-palm is found about the shore of tropical
+North America, and there, as elsewhere, serves a great variety of uses,
+being a greater blessing, especially to the natives and the poorer
+descendants of European and African immigrants, than even the royal
+palm. The economic importance of its wood-fibres, leaves, and fruit are
+too well known to require re-enumeration.
+
+While the wealth of palms is confined to the hot, moist regions
+of Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, several members of the
+same great family are found in the United States. The royal palm is
+native to southern Florida, while the low fan-palms cover much of the
+northern portion of the same State, and occur even about the Ozark Hills
+in Arkansas, and the palmetto, growing to be a stately tree, is found
+near the coast in the Carolinas and is the emblem of South Carolina, the
+"Palmetto State."
+
+The ferns, although abundant, especially in moist woods from Alaska
+southward, throughout the continent, reach their greatest variety and
+richest luxuriance in the West Indies and Central America, where the
+graceful and most artistically beautiful tree-ferns add an indescribable
+charm to the always varied foliage. The tree-ferns grow farther up the
+mountains of the torrid zone than do the larger palms (in the same
+manner that the smaller ferns extend much farther north than the most
+hardy palmettoes), and form a conspicuous feature in the foreground of
+nearly every wide-reaching prospect in the more elevated portions of the
+West Indies, Central America, and south-central Mexico.
+
+In addition to the palms and ferns, the tropical forests of North
+America contain a large number of trees of great economic importance.
+Chief among these are the mahogany, which is native to the lands
+bordering the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and reaches the largest
+size and produces the most beautiful and most highly prized wood on
+Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. As is well known, this hard,
+dark, heavy, fine-grained, and exceedingly durable wood has been used
+for the best grades of cabinet-work for about two centuries, and is
+still unsurpassed for the beauty of its grain, susceptibility of a high
+polish, and the several ways in which it is adapted for the carver's
+tool. On account of the great and long-continued demand for its wood it
+has become scarce in all but the most inaccessible localities. When
+allowed to reach full maturity it is a large, wide-spreading tree with
+numerous branches, looking not unlike a giant oak, but has pinnate
+leaves and small, although somewhat conspicuous, white flowers.
+
+Another gift of the tropical forest is the lignum-vitae, which furnishes
+the exceedingly tough, hard, resinous wood preferred above all others
+for the making of pulleys, mallets, etc. Many other highly prized woods,
+not known, however, by familiar names, are also found in the varied
+forests of tropical America, as well as numerous vegetable dyes, such as
+logwood, brazil-wood, indigo, etc.
+
+The lands of the Caribbean-Gulf region are credited with having
+introduced to civilized man the potato, Indian corn (maize), and
+tobacco, although the home of the former is probably in the Andean
+portion of South America. Indian corn grows luxuriantly not only in the
+hot lowlands of Mexico, but on the border of the central table-land of
+that republic, where it is supposed to be indigenous, and has now become
+one of the leading crops of temperate North America, and is cultivated
+in many other portions of the world. Tobacco was found under cultivation
+in Mexico at the time of the first coming of Europeans, and retains for
+its familiar name the appellation of the district where it was first
+seen. From Mexico also come the dahlia and the giant sunflower, as well
+as the various species of aloes and cacti now so common in gardens and
+conservatories the world over.
+
+Of all the plants, excepting Indian corn and the potato, which are
+native to the region under review, none has proved such an unalloyed
+blessing to civilized man as the cacao-tree. As this tree is unfamiliar
+to most residents of temperate lands, it may not be unprofitable to
+transcribe in part a description of it from Rhind's Vegetable Kingdom.
+The tree is very handsome, from 12 to 16 feet high, with an upright
+trunk some 5 feet high; the leaves are lanceolate, with entire margins,
+and of a bright-green colour; the flowers are inconspicuous, reddish,
+with yellowish sepals; the fruit, attached by short stems to both trunk
+and branches, has a yellowish and reddish colour, oblong, about 3 inches
+in length, and consists of a fleshy rind, half an inch thick, containing
+a white pulp in which are imbedded about 25 seeds. The seeds, when
+roasted, freed from their husks, and ground, furnish the chocolate so
+extensively used, especially in France and Spain and in the
+former Spanish colonies, and is increasing in favour among
+English-speaking people.
+
+Vanilla, which is used in flavouring chocolate as well as many other
+dishes, was also found in use among the Aztecs at the time of the
+Spanish conquest. The vanilla-plant is a climbing vine, with lanceolate
+leaves 18 inches or more in length, and produces a pod containing
+bean-like seeds. The pods and seeds when properly dried furnish the
+flavouring extract of commerce.
+
+Although the trees which yield rubber in America, as well as the
+cinchona, from the bark of which quinine is obtained, are justly to be
+accredited to South America, yet certain varieties of these useful
+plants occur in Central America and are under cultivation as far
+northward as central Mexico.
+
+A more detailed account of the plants of great utility in one direction
+or another native to the tropical forests, should include plantains,
+bananas, and yams, the wide distribution of which, largely by human
+agency, throughout the torrid zone is well known. The delicious
+pineapple is native to the Caribbean region, and was found in the
+markets of the Aztecs by the early Spanish invaders, although perhaps
+indigenous to other lands as well. In Mexico especially, but on the
+borders of the tropical forest and in the drier interior, grows the
+agave, from which the national beverage, _pulque_, is obtained, and
+another species of the same peculiarly American family of plants
+supplies great quantities of the tough fibre known as sisal or henequen
+hemp, particularly on the stony, arid portions of the peninsula of
+Yucatan. Of interest to children especially is the fact that Mexico
+exports some 3,000,000 pounds of chewing-gum each year, which is
+obtained from a plant there growing wild. To this list of indigenous
+products may be added ginger, arrowroot, etc., as well as many fruits
+scarcely known outside the tropics, such as the mango, alligator-pear,
+breadfruit, and numerous others. This hasty enumeration might be greatly
+extended or presented in more detail, but probably enough has been said
+to indicate the great and probably as yet but partially
+determined economic importance of the vegetable products of the torrid
+portion of North America.
+
+Associated with the tropical forest, but thriving best in an advanced
+skirmish-line about its drier inland borders, is a group of plants
+indigenous to the two Americas--the strangely shaped and spinous cacti.
+One of these, the prickly-pear, as it is termed on account of its
+pear-like edible fruit, is the emblem of Mexico. A fit legend to place
+about this unique heraldic design would be the motto inscribed on the
+rattlesnake flag of colonial days in America, "Don't tread on me," as
+every one will appreciate who has travelled in the southwestern portion
+of the United States or in the upland regions of Mexico.
+
+The cacti extend from South America northward through the lands
+bordering the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and east of the
+Mississippi are represented by a single genus, _Opuntia_--the
+prickly-pear, or Indian fig, as it is often termed--which grows in dry
+situations as far north as Massachusetts and Michigan. In the Great
+Basin several genera of cacti are plentiful, especially on dry, stony
+uplands, and two species reach as far northward as the Canadian
+boundary. Although the cacti tribe is widely distributed, the region
+where it presents the greatest variety and the largest individuals is in
+the dry, semi-desert portions of Arizona and the table-lands of central
+Mexico. It is most at home on sterile, rocky ridges and amid bare cliffs
+where there appears to be but little soil, but the strong roots strike
+deep into the earth in search of moisture. The cacti present great
+diversity of form and an indefinite differentiation of stem and leaf. In
+fact, there are no easily recognised leaves in the ordinary sense of the
+term, but the fluted and jointed stems perform the function of foliage.
+The plants are economical of moisture, and not only present a minimum of
+surface for evaporation or transpiration, but their epidermal tissues
+are for the most part without pores, thus retarding the escape of the
+moisture drawn from the seemingly dry soil.
+
+In size and shape the cacti present great variety, ranging
+through all gradations from the thick, strongly jointed, pad-like
+expansions of the prickly-pear, a few inches high, growing in widely
+extended clusters and massive globular forms, looking not unlike spiny
+melons, 2 or 3 feet or more in diameter, to jointed and fluted columns,
+bristling with sharp spines, the largest of which, known as the
+candelabrum cactus, attains a height of from 40 to 60 feet. In this the
+largest of all the cacti, which is not uncommon in Arizona and adjacent
+portions of Mexico, the central upright stem, frequently 20 inches or
+more in diameter, sends out from 1 to perhaps 7 or 8 club-shaped
+branches, which leave the parent stem nearly at right angles, but soon
+bend upward and become parallel with the central stalk, which they
+frequently surpass in height, their form thus suggesting a branching
+candlestick or candelabrum.
+
+In spite of the bizarre and frequently repellent appearance of the cacti
+as seen under cultivation, in their barren homes they are in harmony
+with their surroundings, and add a characteristic, and even beautiful
+element to the scenery of the parched and generally desolate valleys and
+rocky slopes where they thrive best. Their blossoms are large, usually
+either white or brilliantly coloured, and expand in the hot, dry air,
+fully exposed to the intense sunlight, and present a freshness and
+vigour which tell of the abundant store of moisture within the thick
+rind inclosing their stems. The showy flowers are borne close to the
+body of the plant or at the ends or edges of the inflated pad-like
+leaves, and are scentless, except in the case of a few night-blooming
+species, and attract insects from afar by reason of the conspicuousness
+of their widely expanded corollas. The fruits also are usually
+conspicuous, and present many rich tints of red and yellow, which at a
+little distance give them the appearance of flowers. The fruit of
+several species are edible, and even delicious, especially when gathered
+fresh from the thorny stems and eaten on the desert, perhaps many miles
+from the nearest spring or stream. One species of cactus growing
+abundantly in Mexico and known as the cochineal-fig, is inhabited by the
+cochineal-insect, from which the highly prized dye of that name is
+obtained.
+
+A companion of the cacti in the arid region where they flourish best is
+the yucca, or Spanish bayonet, which sometimes attains the size of small
+trees and throws out several branches. Its leaves are stiff,
+thick-stemmed, and each one terminated by a sharp spine, as is well
+known from the many examples to be seen under cultivation in Europe and
+America. The flowers are white and borne in luxuriant showy spikes a
+foot or two in length, and sometimes give to dry, rocky slopes the
+appearance of a luxuriant garden.
+
+The cacti, yuccas, and associated plants of the most arid portions of
+the continent stand far apart, without mutual support or shelter, and
+find protection in their spines, thick rinds, and frequently acrid
+juices. Their colours are usually neutral, grayish green, rendered still
+more inconspicuous by the dust that settles on them, but their flowers
+are as a rule conspicuous, thus serving to attract pollen-bearing
+insects, and their fruits are in many instances brightly coloured, and
+furnish food for birds and other animals, which assist in the
+distribution of their seeds.
+
+_The Atlantic Forest._--The originally forest-covered eastern portion of
+North America, referred to under the term Atlantic forest, embraces the
+region from the eastern coast of the continent inland across the
+Appalachian Mountains and interior Continental basin to the eastern
+border of the prairies or plains; its southern limit, in a general way,
+is the coast-line of the Gulf of Mexico, but the arbitrary boundary,
+dividing it from the tropical forest, crosses the southern portion of
+Florida, and at the extreme southwest is drawn at the Rio Grande. The
+northern boundary of the Atlantic forest is also an arbitrary line, and
+follows the fiftieth parallel of latitude from the mouth of the St.
+Lawrence westward to the region about the Lake of the Woods; along this
+boundary the varied Atlantic forest merges with the monotonous and
+mostly coniferous subarctic forest. The region thus roughly outlined
+comprises over 2,000,000 square miles, and was at the time of the first
+coming of white men to America almost completely forest-covered, but the
+natural conditions are now profoundly modified, and to a great extent
+the trees have been cut or burned, and the land they shaded
+converted into cultivated fields.
+
+The Atlantic forest as a whole has two leading characteristics, the
+first being the great variety and frequently large size of the deciduous
+trees--that is, of broad-leaved trees, such as the oak, hickory, elm,
+maple, chestnut, etc., which drop their ripe leaves each fall and renew
+them the following spring--and the second, the intermingling of the
+trees of the class just mentioned with the coniferous trees, such as the
+pine, spruce, tamarack, etc., which have narrow, needle-shaped leaves
+and are usually designated as evergreens. While these general statements
+are sufficiently accurate for our present purpose, it is to be
+remembered that some of the broad-leaved trees (_Angiosperms_) are
+evergreen, especially in the southern portion of the Atlantic forest,
+as, for example, some of the oaks, the magnolias, the holly, etc.; while
+at the north, certain of the conifers (_Gymnosperms_) shed their leaves
+each fall, as is conspicuously illustrated by the yellow of the tamarack
+or larch forests of the northeastern portion of the United States and
+eastern Canada, in November, and the bright green of the same trees in
+May of each year. It is in the intermediate temperate region, between
+the mostly evergreen coniferous subarctic forests and the mostly
+evergreen broad-leaved trees of the Caribbean forest, that the wonderful
+transformation in the colours of the mountains and plains each autumn
+becomes the most conspicuous feature in the annual round of seasonal
+changes as expressed by the vegetation.
+
+Of the two classes of forest-trees, represented by the oak and the pine,
+which are intermingled and struggle with each other for supremacy in the
+Atlantic forest, it is difficult to say which is the more beautiful or
+which is of the greater service to man. The broad-leaved trees give us
+our hardwoods, used extensively for furniture, the interior finish of
+buildings, and for the manufacture of tools, farming implements, wagons,
+carriages, sleighs, etc. To a great extent it was the availability of
+these strong, tough, hard, and durable woods which has made American
+tools and implements of such a high grade of excellence that they
+are in demand in every civilized country. For example, the American
+ax-helve, made of hickory, is almost a work of art, as well as of
+utility, and it is prized above all others by foresters the world over.
+The same tree has aided no less efficiently in the popularity and
+excellence of American carriages and sleighs, the equal of which for
+lightness, strength, and durability has not been reached in other
+countries. The pines and their near relatives furnish what unfortunately
+has been considered an unlimited supply of easily workable lumber,
+suitable for building houses, vessels, bridges, and many other purposes.
+Of the pine lumber supplied by the Atlantic forest, there are two
+principal varieties, the far-famed white pine, furnished by New England,
+the Great Lake region, and southeastern Canada, and the yellow pine,
+which comes from the South Atlantic and Gulf States.
+
+Of the Angiosperms which reach the dignity of trees, the Atlantic forest
+possesses a variety and abundance not exceeded elsewhere in the world.
+The most characteristic examples are the maples, elms, oaks, hickories,
+walnuts, chestnuts, ashes, basswoods, birches, tulip-trees, magnolias,
+liquidambar, tupelos, sycamores, etc., nearly all of which are
+represented by a number of species or varieties and vast numbers of
+individuals. While this diversity is found throughout the forests of the
+east-central part of the continent, certain regions are characterized by
+the abundance and large size of the trees belonging to one or to a few
+genera, so that a striking change is met with as one travels in any
+direction. The maples and elms reach their greatest size and abundance
+at the north, especially in New England, and thence westward to the
+Mississippi Valley, where they are the favourite shade-trees of villages
+and farms. In regions where the forests have been removed choice
+specimens of these trees have frequently been saved or subsequently
+planted, and standing alone, without competition and fully exposed to
+the light, reach great perfection of form and a high degree of beauty.
+The oaks are represented by a large number of species and varieties
+throughout the entire Atlantic forest, but reach their largest size and
+greatest abundance, both of species and individuals, in central
+and southern portions of the eastern United States. The same may be said
+also of the hickories, except that the maximum in reference to size,
+number of species, and abundance is attained in the region of the Ozark
+Hills. The tulip-tree, so named from the profusion of showy yellow
+blossoms it bears, is large and wide-spreading, with broad, dark-green
+leaves, and has the centre of its habitat in Kentucky, where many
+magnificent examples occur along the fences separating the broad meadows
+and rich pastures of the region of the blue grass, but thrives also from
+the Atlantic coast westward to beyond the Mississippi, and from Ontario
+on the north nearly to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. Not only is the
+tulip-tree an ornament and a blessing on account of its flower-laden
+branches and dense shade, but its white, even-grained wood is of great
+value.
+
+To give even a list of the deciduous trees which flourish and reach a
+high degree of perfection in the Atlantic forest would require far more
+space than is at present available. There is one other genus, however,
+which cannot be passed by even by a casual observer, and that is the
+magnolia, one species of which, the _grandiflora_, is the most
+magnificent of all the splendid broad-leaved trees of America. This, the
+largest and finest of the several species of its genus found in the
+eastern portion of the United States, attains a great size in the
+southern Appalachian region, but is best developed in the lower portion
+of the Mississippi Valley. It is frequently from 50 to 80 feet or more
+in height, wide-spreading, and in many instances upward of 3 feet in
+diameter, with dark-green leaves which do not fall in the autumn. In
+spring the dark foliage is beautified by cup-shaped blossoms of creamy
+whiteness and remarkable fragrance, which measure 3 or 4 inches in
+diameter. When the magnolia is in blossom it becomes a centre of
+delicious perfume and a colony of insect life. Its wood, although creamy
+white and excellent for cabinet-work and interior finish of houses, has
+not as yet found favour for these or other purposes.
+
+With the exception of a few species of broad-leaved forest-trees
+found in greatest perfection in the northern portion of the Atlantic
+forest, they reach their greatest development in size, number of
+species, and density of growth in the southern portion of the broad
+Mississippi basin, where, in addition to magnolias, the tulip-tree,
+etc., chestnuts, hickories, oaks, and many other genera grow side by
+side and attain great height and dignity. This is also the centre of
+dispersion of the American hawthorns, which reach a size and beauty
+unrivalled elsewhere. The Osage orange is peculiar to this region, and
+the red cedar (juniper), the most widely distributed of all the American
+conifers, and also the yellow or southern pine are there at their best.
+Much of this region still retains its primitive wildness.
+
+The great extent of the Atlantic forest in latitude, the topographic
+diversity of the region it occupies, and its exposure on the east to
+maritime and on the west to continental climatic conditions, have led to
+great variations within itself. From the coast of New England westward
+and including the entire drainage basin of the St. Lawrence, together
+with an extension southward along the Appalachians, the forests are
+composed largely and over extensive areas almost wholly of coniferous
+trees. This region of northern evergreens contains in its southern
+portion sturdy growths of broad-leaved deciduous trees. The spruces, the
+most characteristic of the trees of the subarctic region, are present
+in abundance on the mountains of New England, and still form a dark
+mantle over the Adirondack hills; but on the less elevated lands
+adjacent the white pine dominated and outnumbered all its rivals in the
+primeval forest.
+
+The white or Weymouth pine, which up to the present time has proved to
+be of greater commercial value than any other tree on the continent,
+extends westward from southern Newfoundland and the coasts of the
+maritime provinces of Canada to Minnesota, and occupies nearly the
+entire drainage area of the St. Lawrence, together with an extension
+southward along the Appalachians nearly to their southern limit.
+
+The white pine is a large tree for the region in which it grows. Its
+height is from 70 to 150 feet, with a diameter at the base of from 3 to
+9 feet. It thrives best on sandy soil and hills of glacial drift, and
+endures a severe winter climate, as well as the frequently
+long-continued droughts of the hot summers. Its wood is soft, compact,
+with an even, straight grain, and is not conspicuously resinous. The
+sap-wood is nearly white and the heart of a light brown, slightly tinged
+with red; it is easily worked and susceptible of a good polish; it is
+more extensively used for boards, shingles, etc., than any other wood in
+the eastern portion of the continent, and is in demand also for
+cabinet-work, the interior finish of buildings, ship-building, and many
+other purposes.
+
+The southern pine--known also as the "long-leaved pine"; "Georgia pine,"
+for the reason that the lumber derived from it was first extensively
+shipped from that State; "yellow pine," in reference to the golden
+colour of its wood; and "hard pine," in distinction from the softer
+white pine--is another valuable species. The tree with these several
+synonyms, of which the term _southern pine_ will here be used, forms
+open forests with but scanty undergrowth, over a region extending from
+near the Atlantic coast in the Carolinas and Florida, westward to the
+delta region of the Mississippi, and reappears again to the southward of
+the Ozark Hills. Although not so large, and to many admirers of
+beautiful trees not so picturesque or pleasing as its relative in the
+more rigorous climate of the St. Lawrence basin, the southern pine,
+growing within the reach of the moist, warm winds from the Atlantic and
+Gulf of Mexico, is still an attractive tree, especially when young and
+when freedom is afforded to expand its boughs. It is seldom over 100
+feet high, and as cut for lumber has on an average a diameter of about 2
+feet at the base, although individuals measuring 3 or 4 feet in diameter
+are not rare in certain favoured areas. It grows best on dry, sandy
+soil, outside the flood-plains of streams, where it forms monotonous
+forests, with but few intergrowths of other trees. The wood is heavy,
+hard, strong, durable, coarse-grained, very resinous, and of many
+shades of brown and yellow. When sawed into lumber, it serves a wide
+range of uses, more especially for the frames of buildings and ships,
+and for the floors and interior finish of houses.
+
+Next to the southern pine, the most characteristic tree of the Atlantic
+coastal plain southward from Virginia and westward through the Gulf
+States, is the cypress, also a conifer, but, like the tamarack, sheds
+its leaves in the autumn. The cypress grows especially in swampy
+localities, and has a widely expanded base, suitable for support on
+marshy soil, and reaches a large girth, although seldom over 75 feet
+high. Aged and most picturesque examples are growing in isolated
+positions in Lake Drummond, the central water body of the Dismal Swamp,
+and in many other similar situations in the belt of low country fringing
+the borders of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Its wood is used for
+most of the purposes for which the southern pine is employed, and now
+that the white pine is approaching extinction, is to a considerable
+extent supplying the demand for cabinet-wood.
+
+In glancing at the larger and most numerous trees of the Atlantic
+forest, and those of greatest utility, we should not neglect the humbler
+plants, usually of little, if any, purely commercial value, but
+priceless on account of their beauty and the fragrance of their flowers,
+which grow beneath the shade of their larger and more stately associates
+or are content to possess the local areas, perhaps high on the
+mountains, where the conditions of climate or soil are unfavourable for
+the growth of large trees. Throughout the eastern portion of the United
+States, but more especially on the slopes and summit portions of the
+Appalachians, there are many species of azalea, laurel, rhododendron,
+etc., which grow luxuriantly and in spring and early summer furnish a
+wealth of bloom that is scarcely rivalled elsewhere on the continent. In
+this same region also, but extending westward to Michigan and Minnesota,
+and even to eastern Nebraska, grows the redbud or Judas-tree, which each
+May becomes as thickly set throughout all its branches with small
+crimson blossoms as are the tree-like coral in tropical seas with
+expanded polyps. This beautiful tree of low growth many times gives to
+the mountains of Virginia, when seen from a distance, a delicate blush
+like that which the osiers earlier in the spring impart to the marshy
+vales and river-banks. A companion of the redbud, but far more widely
+distributed, is the dogwood or cornel, of several species, the most
+conspicuous of which, and in the Appalachian region the most common, is
+the flowering dogwood. In May and June this species puts out a profusion
+of clusters of small greenish flowers, each of which is surrounded by a
+broadly expanded and very showy corolla-like involucre, composed of four
+white or pinkish inversely heart-shaped leaves. When the cornel is at
+the height of its spring-time glory it stands forth amid the tender
+greens, russets, and pinks of the unfolding leaves of the various trees
+and shrubs among which it grows as if the orchards and forests had been
+commingled by some fairy gardener. In autumn the cornel again becomes
+conspicuous in the woodlands by reason of its clusters of coral-red
+fruit.
+
+In the splendid Atlantic forests, with their marvellous intermingling of
+shining pine-needles, broad, swaying leaves, and many-coloured trunks,
+there are also vines and creepers sometimes forming impenetrable
+tangles, as where the broad leaves of the wild grape grow in pendent
+sheets of green from supporting trees, or the jessamine fills the air
+with fragrance. Of the many vines which entwine the trunks of trees,
+mantle the rocks, and quickly claim abandoned fields, especially in
+Virginia and neighbouring States to the southward, none is more
+beautiful or more highly prized for the charm it adds alike to fields,
+fences, and forests than the familiar Virginia creeper. The glory of
+this widely distributed vine comes in the autumn when its leaves change
+from green to the most brilliant scarlet. During the season of harvest
+also, when the trees are arrayed in their greatest splendour, the ground
+is yellow with golden-rods or purple with asters. This annual carnival
+of colour embraces the entire Atlantic forest, but is most
+resplendent in the region of the Hudson and St. Lawrence. A charming
+little denizen of the Atlantic forest is the lowly and humble arbutus,
+or Mayflower, which springs up through the dead leaves carpeting the
+ground in early spring, and fills the air with its delicious perfume.
+The Mayflower is a trailing plant, but a few inches high, with rounded
+or oval leaves, which remain green all winter and furnish a pleasing
+setting for the small pink or rose-coloured blossoms, which appear in
+early spring even before the snow has melted. It reaches great
+perfection beneath the pines of New England and about the Laurentian
+lakes, but extends far southward along the Appalachians, where elevation
+gives conditions similar to those of the lower region at the north.
+
+The Atlantic forest reaches its western limit in the Mississippi basin
+(Fig. 28), and is succeeded westward by treeless prairies, which merge
+along their western margins with the drier and less completely
+grass-covered high plains adjacent to the east base of the Rocky
+Mountains. The forest does not terminate abruptly, as on the border of a
+cleared field, but by gradual transitions. As its western limit is
+approached, a change in the species is noted, trees which thrive on
+uplands and can sustain long-continued summer drought replacing the
+species best adapted for more humid conditions. The forest is most
+extended, however, along the streams where white-trunked cottonwoods,
+frequently of great size, with widely spreading branches, extend even
+into the region of the great plateaus. Much of the prairie region in
+Illinois, Iowa, etc., was originally nearly surrounded by forest
+growths. The natural condition of the prairies and higher plains
+adjacent to them on the west and the reason for the limits set to the
+western extension of the Atlantic forest will be considered later under
+the heading _Prairies and Plateaus_.
+
+_The Boreal Forest._--From Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador a
+forest composed mainly of a few species of coniferous trees extends
+westward, and after passing the southern extremity of Hudson Bay, is
+prolonged northwestward across the continent and in the region of
+the mouth of the Mackenzie nearly to the shore of the Arctic Ocean. It
+extends also through central Alaska to within about 100 miles of the
+border of Bering Sea. This vast transverse forest belt which unites the
+northern extremity of the Atlantic forest with the northern portion of
+the Pacific forest is over 3,000 miles long from southeast to northwest,
+and on an average fully 600 miles wide. On the north, more especially in
+arctic Canada and as it approaches the shore of Bering Sea, it thins
+out, owing to the severity of the winter climate, the trees become
+dwarfed and stunted in much the same way as the trees adjacent to the
+timber-line on high mountains, and is succeeded by the broad treeless
+plains of the Barren Grounds and tundra. Along its south-central border
+its extension is again limited by climatic conditions, principally the
+dryness of the hot summers. The trees are there scattered or form
+isolated groves to the south of the general forest boundary, and are
+finally succeeded by the treeless prairies and interior plains and
+plateaus. On the east the great northern forest merges with the pine of
+the northern portion of the Atlantic forest, and in a similar way at the
+northwest passes by insensible gradations into the north extension of
+the coniferous forest growing on the Pacific mountains. In each of the
+instances there is no well-defined boundary between the east and west
+belt of northern forests and the north and south forest belts adjacent
+to the Atlantic and Pacific.
+
+The boreal forest presents a striking contrast to the forests of the
+torrid zone and to the greater portion of the forests of temperate
+regions in the fact that it is composed of but a few species of trees.
+Monotony which becomes oppressive to one who lingers long in its sombre
+shade is its most conspicuous characteristic. In the main it is composed
+of but eight species of trees, namely, white and black spruce, larch or
+tamarack, canoe-birch, balsam-poplar, aspen, balsam-fir, and the gray
+pine. Of these the spruces are the most abundant and most characteristic
+as well as the most northern trees of the continent. They
+frequently reach sufficient size to make them available for building log
+houses and for lumber.
+
+Four of the species mentioned above, namely, the white spruce,
+canoe-birch, balsam-poplar, and aspen, cross the entire breadth of the
+continent from Labrador to Alaska, but the pines and firs in the east
+and the west are of different species. The larch or tamarack, which
+forms such an important feature of the forest in eastern Canada and
+about the Laurentian lakes, extends westward to beyond Hudson Bay, but
+is represented by other species in the Mackenzie and Yukon basins, and
+in the northern portion of the Pacific mountains. The region occupied by
+the great northern forest is interspersed with lakes, some of them of
+large size, and by innumerable swamps. The spruces and the gray pine
+grow on the uplands between the lakes and swamps, while the cold, wet
+bottom-lands are occupied by poplars, dwarf birches, willows, and
+alders. In the north, near where the forest breaks into outstanding
+groves and finally gives place to grassy hills, as along the Porcupine
+River in Alaska, the foliage in the lowlands becomes golden in autumn
+and forms irregular, far-reaching avenues of brilliant colour separating
+the hills, which are black with spruce-trees or shimmer with the soft
+gray tints of ripened grasses. There is much that is beautiful and even
+lovely along the poleward border of the great forest, but within its
+deeper recesses the ground is covered with mosses and lichens, and the
+stiff, sombre trees have a monotonous similarity and unbending rigidity.
+
+In spite of the great area covered by the boreal forest, it being one of
+the greatest, if not the most widely extended continuous growth of
+arboreal vegetation in the world, it is of comparatively small economic
+importance. Even if the trees were within the reach of a market, their
+wood is of inferior quality and not generally suitable for lumber. A
+modern industry has been developed, however, which may bring it into
+demand, namely, the manufacture of wood-pulp, so largely employed in the
+making of paper and for other purposes.
+
+_The Pacific Forest._--In the northern portion of the Rocky Mountain
+region in Canada and Alaska the boreal forest, as already stated, merges
+by insensible gradations with the forests occupying the Pacific
+mountains from Alaska southward to Mexico. The junction line between the
+two is irregular, and what are essentially outliers of the more northern
+forest occupy the higher portions of the mountains in the western
+portion of the United States.
+
+The Pacific forest begins at the north near Mount St. Elias, and at
+first occurs on isolated areas separated by ice-fields and inland
+reaches of the ocean, but in southeastern Alaska and on the numerous
+islands adjacent becomes more continuous and extends eastward far into
+British Columbia. As the timber-line in that region has an elevation of
+but 2,500 feet at the extreme western extension of the forest, although
+gradually rising southward, large portions of the mountains are treeless
+and barren. In the United States, on account of increasing dryness of
+the valleys from north to south, the forest becomes broken into many
+detached portions, which occupy the mountains and higher plateaus and in
+general are restricted to higher and higher locations with decrease in
+latitude. This distribution illustrates in a striking manner the
+dependence of trees on humidity. The forest is densest and the trees in
+general of greatest size and occur at the lowest elevations on the
+northwest portion of the Pacific coastal region, where the rainfall is
+excessive and distributed practically throughout the entire year. The
+Coast Ranges from Alaska southward to central California, as well as the
+Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada, are tree-clothed. In the interior,
+and especially in the central and southern portion of the Pacific
+cordillera, where the valleys are hot and dry in summer, trees are
+absent, and even the borders of the rivers in many instances without
+shade. In Canada the trees frequently extend across the lowlands, but in
+Montana and Idaho the valleys resemble the treeless plains to the east
+of the Rocky Mountains, while the uplands and the lower mountain slopes
+are dark with firs and pines. Above the forest rise the barren and
+frequently perpetually snow-covered summit-peaks and ridges. In
+the Great Basin region, and from there southward, many of the mountains
+are practically destitute of trees from base to summit.
+
+So vast is the region occupied by the Pacific forest and so varied the
+conditions dependent upon climate, soil, and elevation which influence
+its growth, that great variations in the genera and species of trees
+composing it are to be expected. This prediction is soon verified when
+one travels through the forest. The extremes may be indicated briefly by
+referring to the fact that at the north the trees are mainly spruces,
+firs, and cedars, and at the south include the giant cactus, arboreal
+yucca, and the fan-leafed palm. In its medial division are the great
+forests of western Washington and Oregon, composed mainly of firs and
+cedars, and the no less magnificent forests of redwood-trees on the
+Coast Ranges of northern California and the west slope of the Sierra
+Nevada. Like the boreal forest, the one under consideration is largely
+composed of coniferous trees, although in the valley, and especially
+along the borders of streams in southern Canada, Washington, etc., a few
+species of broad-leaved trees, such as the maple, cottonwood, ash, and
+alder, thrive in close association with dark conifers; while in similar
+situations farther south oaks growing in scattered groves give a
+park-like character to the land, as in the southern portion of
+California.
+
+In contrast with the Atlantic region, the western portion of the
+continental forest belt is singularly lacking in broad-leaved trees, and
+such as are found are usually of small size and but little economic
+importance. This lack, however, is perhaps more than counterbalanced by
+the number both of individuals and of species and the great size and
+magnificence of the conifers.
+
+One of the densest and in many ways most thoroughly representative
+portions of the Pacific forest where it occupies an excessively humid
+region occurs on the west side of the Cascade Mountains in Washington,
+inclusive of the Puget Sound basin and the region to the westward from
+which rise the Olympic Mountains.
+
+In western Washington the forest is composed mainly, and, in
+fact, over large areas, almost entirely of two species of trees, namely,
+the red fir and the red cedar, each of which attains gigantic
+dimensions. Of these two species, the first is the more common, the
+larger, and by far the more important from a commercial point of view.
+It frequently, and, in fact, commonly, attains a height of from 200 to
+300 feet, with a diameter at the base of from 8 to 10 or more feet. Not
+only do these magnificent trees reach such great dimensions, but they
+are thickly set over hundreds of square miles of territory. In thousands
+of instances the great trunks sheathed in rough thick bark rise straight
+and massive, with but a slight decrease in diameter, to a height of
+upward of 80 feet before the first branch is given off. The cedars, the
+intimate companions of the great firs, are of equally gigantic girth at
+the base, but taper rapidly to spire-like summits, usually from 100 to
+150 feet above the ground, and are thickly set with small branches
+throughout. They flourish best in excessively moist situations and reach
+far up the mountains, particularly along the numerous watercourses;
+while the firs, although perhaps most at home on the less thoroughly
+water-soaked uplands, thrive on the banks of streams, the sides and
+summits of hills, and on steep mountainsides alike.
+
+Mere enumeration of the number and size of the trees, however, fails to
+give an adequate impression of the astonishing magnificence of the
+wonderful forest of the Puget Sound region. Its grandeur is beyond
+description, and can only be fully appreciated by one who abides for
+weeks or months in its perpetual twilight. The great trees, shaggy with
+mosses and lichens of innumerable tints of brown, green, and yellow, do
+not form detached groves, as is so frequently the case in less humid
+lands, but are thickly set for mile after mile and league after league,
+as one threads his difficult way beneath them. So vast is the forest
+that a person travelling through it soon becomes impressed with the idea
+that it is interminable. Beneath the deep shade of the lofty boughs
+there is a rank undergrowth of young firs, cedars, and hemlocks, while
+in the valleys especially, and on the frequently inundated
+flood-plains of the streams, there is usually a tangled growth of
+vine-like maples, alders, elders, yews, etc. In this lower forest the
+most conspicuous and frequently too abundant plant is the broad-leaved
+and excessively spiny devil's-club, the foliage of which changes to
+brilliant yellow in the early autumn, and forms a most artistic setting
+for the spikes of crimson fruit borne at the extremities of the
+upward-bending ends of the usually prostrate stems.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Douglas Firs, Vancouver, B. C.]
+
+Of still more lowly habits are the ferns, mosses, and lichens which form
+a thick, luxuriant, and ever-varied carpet over the black humus soil
+beneath. The ground throughout the forest is encumbered with fallen
+trunks, sometimes piled one on another to the depth of 20 or 30 feet,
+which, owing to the continuous moisture, remain undecayed for centuries.
+Not infrequently a massive cedar or fir, in size and shape not unlike a
+prostrate column of some great temple, supports three or more trees,
+each large enough to be cut for lumber, whose gnarled and twisted roots
+clasp the sides of their host and descend to the earth beneath. The
+beauty of these fallen giants when overgrown with thick layers of
+variegated moss and exquisitely decorated with hundreds of small
+hemlocks and a multitude of gracefully bending fern-fronds, always fresh
+in colour and usually beaded with moisture, is beyond the power of the
+most skilful artist to adequately portray. The fascination of the
+great forest is such that the explorer, although perhaps weary with
+forcing a passage through the dense undergrowths and climbing over
+prostrate trunks, is lured by its charms into more and more inaccessible
+retreats probably never before invaded by man, but at last finding that
+the wonderland has no attainable limits, is content to rest on some
+inviting couch of golden-tinted lichens and study the varied charms and
+endless details of the dream-like picture surrounding him.
+
+From a commercial point of view the forest of the Puget Sound region is
+of immense importance. Lumber industries have been established there,
+with the most improved appliances for cutting trees, transporting the
+logs to mills, and sawing them into lumber, much of which is loaded on
+ships and widely distributed. So vast is the forest, however, that as
+yet the natural conditions are but slightly changed, except in the
+immediate vicinity of tide-water, but the destruction from axe and fire
+has only been begun; the waste that, no doubt, is to continue is most
+disheartening.
+
+Another centre in the vast and locally differentiated Pacific forest, as
+typical in its way as are the dense growths of fir and cedar just
+referred to, occurs on the Coast Range of north California, where the
+redwood (_Sequoia sempervirens_) is the all-important and characteristic
+tree. This redwood forest begins at the south in the vicinity of San
+Francisco, and extends northward, mainly on the moist seaward slopes of
+the Coast Ranges, to southwestern Oregon, but seldom reaches more than
+30 miles inland.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Redwood Forest, California.]
+
+The redwood resembles the cedar in habit, general appearance, character
+of its wood, and colour of bark and leaves. It flourishes best in moist
+localities, and attains a great size, surpassing in height and diameter
+of stem even the giant firs of Washington, and is only exceeded on this
+continent by its cousin, the great sequoia (_Sequoia gigantea_) of the
+western slope of the Sierra Nevada, in south-central California. It
+frequently attains a height of 300 or more feet, with a diameter at the
+base of 15 or 16, and in certain exceptional instances of over 20 feet.
+It rarely branches low, but almost invariably has a straight,
+fluted stem, perfectly symmetrical, rising with a slight taper for about
+200 feet to the first limb. The foliage is dull green in colour, fine,
+and drooping. It is a most beautiful tree both in form and colour, and
+is markedly gregarious in habit. As stated by Henry Gannett, it forms
+the densest forest known if the comparison is made on the basis of the
+amount of merchantable lumber growing on a given unit of area. For
+example, the yellow-pine forests of the Southern Atlantic and Gulf
+States contain on an average about 5,000 feet, board measure (square
+feet of boards an inch thick), of timber per acre, and in the moderately
+dense portion of the white-pine forests of the Great Lakes region the
+average is about the same. In each of these regions, famed for their
+lumber, a tract containing 10,000 feet of lumber per acre would be
+considered as heavily forested. In the redwood forests of California,
+however, 50,000 feet of lumber per acre is not rare over extensive
+areas, while for special tracts containing many square miles this
+estimate may safely be doubled. Upon 96,443 acres in Humboldt County,
+California, the average amount of lumber contained in the trees still
+standing is 84,000 feet per acre. The returns of lumber companies during
+a continuous period of ten years from tracts which have been cleared
+show a return of 75,000 to 100,000 feet per acre, but even this is not
+the maximum. A certain tract of several square miles actually yielded
+150,000 feet per acre; and there is on record a yield of 1,431,530 feet
+from a single acre. One tree is said to have furnished 66,500 feet of
+lumber, and another, 15 feet in diameter at the base, contained
+100,000 feet. Another tree, still standing, measures 22 feet in
+diameter, and it is estimated will yield 200,000 square feet of boards
+an inch thick.
+
+The wood of the redwood-tree is of a clear red colour with the exception
+of a thin layer just under the bark, which is almost pure white, and is
+light, soft, coarse-grained, and susceptible of a high polish. It is the
+most common and most valuable of all the forest products of the Pacific
+coast of North America, and is serviceable for a great variety of
+purposes.
+
+The celebrated "big trees" of California are not to be confounded with
+the redwood described above, but belong to a different species of the
+same genus. The big trees are worthy of their name, as they are by far
+the largest in North America. When full-grown they average about 275
+feet in height, with a diameter near the ground of about 20 feet. One of
+the tallest as yet measured has a height of 325 feet, and the largest a
+diameter of 35 feet 8 inches inside the bark and 4 feet above the
+ground. The age of one of these giants, as shown by the number of rings
+of growth in its trunk, is about thirteen hundred years; another, 24
+feet in diameter, is twenty-two hundred years old; and a third showed
+over four thousand rings of growth, and must have been in its prime at
+the time of the birth of Christ. The trees occur in detached groves on
+the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in south-central California, but
+become more common southward, where they form a genuine forest belt.
+Their range from north to south is about 260 miles, and their elevation
+above the sea from 6,000 to 8,000 feet.
+
+"So exquisitely harmonious," says John Muir, in his charming book The
+Mountains of California, "and finely balanced are even the very
+mightiest of these monarchs of the woods in all their proportions and
+circumstances, that there is never anything overgrown or monstrous about
+them. On coming in sight of them for the first time, you are likely to
+say, 'Oh, see what beautiful, noble-looking trees are towering there
+among the firs and pines!' their grandeur being in the meantime in great
+part invisible, but to the living eye it will be manifest sooner
+or later, stealing slowly on the senses like the grandeur of Niagara or
+the lofty Yosemite domes. Their great size is hidden from the
+inexperienced observer as long as they are seen at a distance in one
+harmonious view. When, however, you approach them and walk around them,
+you begin to wonder at their colossal size and seek a measuring-rod.
+These giants bulge considerably at the base, but not more than is
+required for beauty and safety; and the only reason that this bulging
+seems in some cases excessive is that only a comparatively small section
+of the shaft is seen at once in near views. One that I measured in the
+King's River forest was 25 feet in diameter at the ground and 10 feet in
+diameter 200 feet above the ground, showing that the taper of the trunk
+as a whole is charmingly fine. And when you stand back far enough to see
+the massive columns from the swelling instep to the lofty summit
+dissolving in a dome of verdure, you rejoice in the unrivalled display
+of combined grandeur and beauty. About 100 feet or more of the trunk is
+usually branchless, but its massive simplicity is relieved by the bark
+furrows, which, instead of making an irregular network, run evenly
+parallel, like the fluting of an architectural column, and to some
+extent by tufts of slender sprays that wave lightly in the winds and
+cast flecks of shade, seeming to have been pinned on here and there for
+the sake of beauty only. The young trees have slender simple branches
+down to the ground, put on with strict regularity, sharply aspiring at
+the top, horizontal about half-way down, and drooping in handsome curves
+at the base. By the time the sapling is five or six hundred years old
+this spiry, feathery, juvenile habit merges into a firm, rounded dome
+form of middle age, which in turn takes on the eccentric picturesqueness
+of old age. No other tree in the Sierra forest has foliage so densely
+massed or presents outlines so firmly drawn and so steadily subordinate
+to a special type.... The foliage of the saplings is dark bluish green
+in colour, while the older trees ripen to a warm brownish-yellow tint,
+like _Libocedrus_. The bark is rich crimson brown, purplish in
+young trees and in shady portions of the old, while the ground is
+covered with brown leaves and burrs forming colour masses of
+extraordinary richness, not to mention the flowers and underbrush that
+rejoice about them in their season. Walk in the sequoia woods at any
+time of year, and you will say they are the most beautiful and majestic
+on earth. Beautiful and impressive contrasts meet you everywhere; the
+colours of tree and flowers, rock and sky, light and shade, strength and
+frailty, endurance and evanescence, tangles of supple hazel-bushes, tree
+pillars about as rigid as granite domes, roses and violets the smallest
+of their kind, blooming around the feet of the giants. Then in winter
+the trees themselves break forth in bloom, myriads of small four-sided
+staminate cones crowd the ends of the slender sprays, colouring the
+whole tree, and when ripe dusting the air and ground with golden
+pollen."
+
+Owing to the remoteness of the big trees from commercial centres, they
+have escaped to a great extent the destruction which everywhere attends
+the advent of the white man, and some of the finest groves are now under
+state protection.
+
+The sequoias are not only of interest on account of their great size and
+grandeur, but from the fact that they are the lingering survivors of an
+ancient and once widely distributed genus. During the Cretaceous and
+Tertiary divisions of geological history the genus numbered at least 50
+species, as has been shown by leaf impressions, fossil wood, and cones
+buried in the rocks of New Zealand and Chile on the south, Spitzbergen
+and Greenland on the north. Over North America they extend from the
+Atlantic to the Pacific. At present the only two species known, both of
+which, as already stated, are confined to the Pacific coast, and with
+the exception of a slight extension of the less gigantic of the two into
+southwestern Oregon, are found only in California.
+
+While the firs, cedars, and redwoods form the major portion of the
+forests in the more humid regions on the western side of the continent,
+there are two species of pines growing in drier situations which in a
+general view are even more characteristic of the Pacific forest
+than are the sequoias. These two pines, well worthy to stand side by
+side with the giant firs and still more gigantic redwoods, are known as
+the sugar-pine and the yellow pine.
+
+The sugar-pine grows amid the mountains from southwestern British
+Columbia, southward through western Washington, Oregon, and on the
+Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges of California, at elevations ranging from
+4,000 to 8,000 feet. It frequently clothes steep declivities or bids
+defiance to the storms on the crests of sharp ridges. In size it is
+scarcely exceeded by any of its companions excepting the firs and
+sequoias. It frequently attains a height of from 200 to 275 feet, with a
+diameter at the base of from 8 to 14, and in some instances of over 20
+feet. Individual trees are known which have a height of 245 feet and are
+18 feet in diameter. The branches are usually high above the ground and
+widely spreading. In the case of well-grown individuals they leave the
+main trunk with a sweeping, downward curve, which midway out changes to
+an upward curve, and at the extreme distal end droops once more. At the
+extremity of many of the far-reaching boughs there are suspended one or
+two cones, each 12 or 14 inches long and sometimes over 8 inches in
+diameter. The peculiar and frequently remarkably regular curvature of
+the great branches, giving them the form of half a Cupid's bow, imparts
+to these mighty pines a grace and symmetry possessed by few other trees.
+The familiar name of this great pine refers to the fact that from wounds
+or incisions in its trunk there exudes a sweet sap which is considered
+by many persons to exceed even the sap of the maple in agreeableness of
+flavour.
+
+Lovers of beautiful trees will agree in considering the sugar-pine as
+the noblest of its family growing in the woods of America, if not the
+most majestic of its kindred in the world. Its only rival, but of a
+different type of beauty, is the Norfolk Island pine, of the south sea
+islands.
+
+Of the many pleasant memories of camp life in the forests of America
+which are a source of delight to the writer none are recalled with
+greater pleasure than those associated with the sugar-pine of the
+Sierra Nevada, where the ground is carpeted with the long brown needles
+that fall in showers at certain seasons from the boughs far overhead.
+With the faded leaves are strewed also the great cones which always
+excite wonder and admiration. In the clear air and brilliant sunlight of
+the Californian mountains the luxuriant plume-like leaves far aloft
+appear to be formed of burnished silver or have the yellow of gold,
+according as the light strikes them, and at night the lofty boughs
+swayed by the winds make music such as no other forest can produce.
+Nothing in the vegetable world, not even the great sequoias, convey such
+an abiding impression of strength and majesty as these pines which have
+withstood the storms of centuries without losing their vigour or their
+symmetry and beauty of form. Unfortunately as it would seem, however,
+these magnificent trees are useful, as the term is commonly employed,
+and are fast falling a prey to lumbermen, who measure their value in
+dollars.
+
+The yellow pine of the Pacific mountains, not to be confounded, however,
+with the yellow pine of the southern Appalachian region, fortunately has
+another common name, the _silver pine_, which is more appropriate and
+distinctive. This is the most widely spread, perhaps, of all the pines
+of North America, and is familiar to every one who has travelled through
+the Pacific mountains from British Columbia to Mexico, and from the
+Black Hills of Dakota or the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico
+westward to within hearing of the surf of the Pacific Ocean. It ranks
+second in size to the sugar-pine, but is a near rival in strength and
+nobleness of form. As might be inferred from its wide distribution, the
+silver pine had adapted itself to a great range of conditions, not only
+of climate, but of soil and height above the sea. It is found from an
+elevation of about 2,000 feet above the sea up the mountainsides nearly
+to timber-line, and flourishes alike in the hot, arid valleys and in
+regions bordering on perpetual snow and ice. One beautiful feature of
+the silver-pine forests is their open, park-like character. The trees
+stand far apart, and thus have room to reach not only a great size,
+but a remarkable degree of perfection of form. Between the
+islands of shade on the sunlit ground there is usually but little
+undergrowth, and the far-extending natural pastures permit one to ride
+in any direction without inconvenience.
+
+One other pine of the widely extended Pacific forest demands attention
+even from the passing traveller, not on account of its size, for it is a
+dwarf in a land of giants, but for its wide distribution and the food
+its large, oily seeds furnish for birds, squirrels, and even for man. I
+refer to the pinyon pine, of which there are several species. They are
+seldom over 35 or 40 feet high, and are not remarkable for beauty,
+although they furnish an agreeable feature in the sparsely
+forest-clothed and semiarid region where they thrive best, but they bear
+a profusion of small cones, each of which contains perhaps a dozen
+edible and nutritious seeds. These seeds were formerly used by the
+Indians for food on an extensive scale, and are still gathered in large
+quantities, and may be found in the markets of our cities. The Indian
+encampments in the pinyon forests in the fall of the year are among the
+most picturesque features of these degenerate days of the aborigines.
+
+In the southwest portions of the United States the forests are confined
+to the mountains and the higher table-lands, the hot, arid valleys being
+without trees other than the larger growths of cacti and yucca. Similar
+conditions are present in northern Mexico, but on the western side of
+that republic and throughout practically the whole of the peninsula of
+Lower California the mountains and valleys alike are treeless and
+desolate.
+
+As stated by C. S. Sargent, the forests of North America, exclusive of
+Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, contain arboreal
+representatives of 158 genera of plants, of which 94 genera occur in the
+Atlantic and 59 in the Pacific side of the continent, and 48 genera in
+the tropical portion of southern Florida. Of the number of genera of
+trees in the Caribbean forest we have no reliable census.
+
+
+                PRAIRIES, TREELESS PLAINS, AND PLATEAUS
+
+To the west of the Atlantic forest lie the broad natural meadows termed
+prairies, and still farther west the yet more extensive pasture-lands of
+the great plateaus which reach the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains
+(Fig. 28). The transition from the luxuriant and varied forest on the
+east to the treeless, thinly grass-covered plateaus on the west side of
+the interior Continental basin is gradual. The change occurs in the
+prairie region, where a struggle has been in progress for thousands of
+years between the conditions favouring and those adverse to tree growth.
+The balance of power, so to speak, is the amount of rain or of
+soil-stored moisture during the summer season. The gradual decrease in
+the mean annual precipitation from east to west on the inland border of
+the Atlantic forest continues westward, and on the plateaus adjacent to
+the Rocky Mountains the aridity is such that no trees can grow except
+along the immediate border of the stream, unless artificially irrigated.
+
+The explanation of the absence of trees in the central and western
+portions of the interior Continental basin is found in the mean annual
+rainfall and the manner in which it is distributed throughout the year,
+together with variations in the texture and composition of the soil, and
+the disturbances in the natural conditions brought about by fires. The
+question, "Why are the prairies treeless?" has been variously answered
+by different observers. The outcome of a long discussion in this
+connection seems to be that the main cause of the absence of trees lies
+in the climatic conditions and principally in the lack of sufficient
+rain during the long, hot summers. Arid regions the world over are
+without forests, but the Prairie plains cannot be said to be arid; in
+fact, the mean annual rainfall over the greater portion of this region
+is equal to or exceeds that of many well-forested countries, averaging
+as it does in general about 30 inches. But the prairies lie between the
+more humid forest-covered regions on the east and the less humid or
+subarid plateaus on the west, and during the summer season
+droughts and hot, scorching winds are of common occurrence. It is the
+long dry summer that establishes the critical conditions, particularly
+about the eastern and northern borders of the prairies. Of secondary
+importance is the character of the soil. An exceedingly fine soil, like
+that of the prairies, as has been pointed out by J. D. Whitney, by
+excluding the air from the roots of trees is detrimental to their
+growth. Where the dryness of the summers make the lives of trees
+precarious the nature of the soil, whether coarse or fine, becomes the
+controlling factor. In the prairie region where the soil is more open
+and porous than usual, although other conditions remain the same, as in
+the Cross Timbers of Texas, trees flourish; while intervening areas
+where the soil is fine are typical prairies. Again, where the climatic
+conditions become critical, as during long, dry summers, the grass and
+other vegetation burns readily, fire spreads rapidly and widely, and
+young trees are destroyed. In the prairie region, as pointed out by J.
+W. Powell, the Indians were formerly in the habit of burning the grass
+each summer in order to insure more favorable pasturage for game during
+the succeeding spring. This annual burning kept back the forest and led
+to the eastward extension of the prairie.
+
+During the past decade many groves have been planted on the prairies,
+and have flourished, especially when the adjacent fields are cultivated
+so as to allow the earth to store a larger share of the winter rain; the
+success of this tree planting, it has been claimed, is evidence that the
+nature of the soil is not a determining factor in the problem, because
+trees will grow if protected from fire. The success of arboriculture on
+the formerly treeless plains and plateaus, however, decreases as one
+travels westward. On the western border of the prairies and on the great
+plateaus, remote from streams, trees can be made to grow only by the aid
+of irrigation. If this region had never been swept by fire it is safe to
+say it would still be treeless. Each of the explanations referred to
+above to account for the treeless condition of the prairies--one
+referring it to soil conditions, and the other to the former prevalence
+of fires--certainly has much in its favour, and for certain localities
+seems satisfactory, but each point of view should include a broader
+range and recognise the fact that the requisite critical conditions have
+been furnished by wide-reaching climatic causes. The Prairie plains
+furnish but one phase of the gradual change that occurs in the natural
+mantle of vegetation when traced from the dense, well-watered forests of
+the Appalachians and the Alleghany plateau westward to the semiarid and
+truly arid lands of the great plateaus and Rocky Mountain region, where
+only such plants as are able to withstand long-continued drought can
+grow. This same broad conclusion is sustained also at the north, where
+the prairie dovetails, as it were, with the subarctic forest.
+
+The general or underlying reason for the treeless condition of the vast
+central portion of the continent is doubtless a lack of sufficient rain.
+The precipitation that does occur comes mainly during the winter season,
+when the land is colder than the ocean; in summer the land becomes
+highly heated and imparts its temperature to the air, which thus has its
+capacity for moisture increased, and prolonged droughts occur. At the
+south, in Mexico and the adjacent portion of the United States, the
+trade-winds blow over a region which is more highly heated than the
+ocean from which they come, and are hence drying winds. To the west of
+the Great plateaus rise the Rocky Mountains, where climatic conditions
+are different on account of elevation, and, as we have seen, forests
+occur at considerable elevations, but not in the broader valleys. The
+conditions unfavourable for tree growth are continued and even
+intensified in the valleys of the central portion of the Pacific
+mountain region, and culminate in the deserts of the Great Basin and
+western Mexico. Throughout all of this vast treeless region the
+controlling condition is deficiency of moisture, particularly during the
+summer or growing season.
+
+The nearest approach to desert conditions to be found in North America
+occur in the valley of Utah and Nevada and the southern portion
+of the Great Basin region in Arizona and Mexico. The bottoms of these
+valleys are, in some instances, occupied by shallow lakes in winter,
+when scanty rains occur, but during the long, hot summers they become
+completely desiccated, and are then broad expanses of hard mud, cracked
+by drying so as to resemble a tessellated pavement of cream-coloured
+marble. These mud-flats or _playas_ are frequently absolutely without
+plant life. Excepting the playas, however, and, in numerous instances, a
+narrow belt of ground encircling them, which is white with efflorescent
+salts, the valleys of even the most arid portion of the Great Basin
+region are generally plant-covered. The most common and most widely
+spread of the shrubs on these shadeless plains is the sage-brush. So
+characteristic is this plant of countless valleys from Canada to Mexico
+within the general region of the Pacific mountains that to one familiar
+with the country the term "sage-brush land" brings to mind the leading
+features of the region designated. The sage-brush lands are far from
+being desert areas, however, for in early spring a profusion of low,
+sweet-scented flowers bloom beneath the gray-green _Artemisia_, and
+sufficient bunch-grass to sustain considerable herds may be expected in
+the same localities.
+
+The vast, irregular belt of forest encircling the central treeless
+portion of the continent also dies out on its northern border, where the
+subarctic forest is succeeded northward by the Barren Grounds and tundra
+plains. Clearly the explanation of the absence of trees in the prairie
+region and the adjacent plateaus cannot be applied to scarcely less
+extensive treeless plains at the far north, where rain falls in summer
+and the soil is always abundantly charged with moisture. It needs no
+argument to show that the control among the conditions governing tree
+growth at the north passes to the temperate element of climate, and that
+the timber-line is there determined, as it is on high mountains, by the
+severity of the winters' storms and frosts and the shortness of the
+summers.
+
+
+                       THE TREELESS MOUNTAIN TOPS
+
+On the higher mountains of North America above the upper limit at which
+trees are able to grow there are picturesque regions carpeted and
+garlanded in late spring and summer with lovely flowers, the
+indescribable charms of which are only known to those who rejoice in
+climbing rugged peaks and in following the trails of the mountain-goat
+along sharp-crested ridges. The gorgeous blossoms of these roof-gardens
+of the world are much the same on all high mountains in temperate
+latitudes, but from having become first widely known to civilized man on
+the mountains of Switzerland, are generally termed alpine flowers. The
+most attractive features of an alpine flora, which springs into bloom as
+soon as the snow melts and forms a rapidly widening belt of colour as
+the margins of the snow-fields recede higher and higher, is the great
+profusion of brilliantly coloured blossoms. No sooner does the snow of
+winter melt than the moist ground becomes enamelled in brilliant colours
+on account of the springing up and quick blossoming of millions of hardy
+plants. The growing season on mountain heights is short, but the sun's
+energy is there more intense and the hours of light each day longer than
+in the valleys below, and the plants adapted to such conditions pass
+through their annual circle of changes from sprouting seed to mature
+fruit with remarkable rapidity. In many instances the mountain-climber
+finds beautiful lilies unfolding their sun-dyed blossoms at the bottom
+of well-like depressions in lingering snow-banks. The gleaming
+mountain-peaks when seen from afar are said to be crowned with snow, but
+the mountaineer rejoices in the knowledge that their cold diadems are
+wreathed and festooned about their lower margins with lovely blossoms.
+Many mountains less ambitious than their neighbours have the garlands
+without the crown. An alpine flora is present on the Pacific mountains
+from Mexico northward to Alaska. Like the "timber-line" and the
+"snow-line," the intermediate belt of profusely flowering herbaceous
+plants descends lower and lower with decrease in latitude; on the great
+volcanic cones of Mexico it has an elevation of over 15,000 feet;
+on the Sierra Nevada the greatest wealth of flowers occurs at about
+12,000 feet; on Mount Rainier widely extended gardens resplendent with
+rainbow tints occur at 7,000 to 8,000 feet; and about the foot-hills
+near Mount St. Elias, at an elevation of 2,500 feet or less above the
+sea, every knoll and island-like area in the vast ice-fields is so
+densely overgrown with brilliantly flowered plants that one has to part
+the rank growths with his hands and press them aside with his alpenstick
+in order to force a way through the fields of bloom. Admirers of
+nature's loveliness who have not climbed to aspiring heights will find a
+new and beautiful world in the public alpine garden on the summit and
+about the snow-fields of the higher portions of the Pacific mountains,
+where no sign-boards forbid entry and no fences obstruct the way. In
+these regions nearest the sun and stars there are few, if any, plants of
+utility to man, but marvellous beauty and lavish profusion fill the
+foreground in every view. These glorious mountain heights have their
+use, however, although as yet known to but few; rest and recreation amid
+scenes at the same time novel and most inspiring may there be found by
+the toilers in our crowded cities.
+
+Among the Atlantic mountains only a few summits attain a sufficient
+elevation to claim a wreath of alpine flowers. Something of the nature
+of the gorgeous fields of bloom about the great peaks of the Pacific
+mountains is suggested on the treeless summits of the White Mountains,
+but although classed by botanists among alpine floras, the plants
+growing there fail to give a true idea of the display characteristic of
+the mountains which make a nearer approach to the lower limit of
+perennial snow. In the southern Appalachians the absence of a luxuriant
+alpine flora is perhaps more than counterbalanced by the profusion of
+rhododendrons, azaleas, and laurels.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One instructive lesson suggested by this hasty glance at the plant life
+of North America is furnished by the quick response that vegetation
+gives to conditions of environment. Throughout the greater
+divisions of the forest, prairies, grass-covered plains and valleys, and
+flower-decked mountain heights there are constant variations from
+locality to locality in the plant life to meet seemingly obscure or but
+slight changes in the conditions of temperature, humidity, exposure to
+sunlight, soil composition, soil texture, etc.; and besides there is a
+never-ceasing struggle for existence among the plants themselves which
+leads to important modifications of a flora. These changes occur from
+locality to locality, frequently within a short radius, but more than
+this, the resultant of the various modifying conditions on which plant
+life depends are not constant even for a given locality. The study of
+extinct floras has shown that during the preceding ages in the earth's
+history marvellous changes in the plants of many regions, and, in fact,
+of the entire earth's surface, have taken place. The distinct
+impressions of palm-leaves, for example, are commonly found in the rocks
+of the Cascade Mountains, where spruces, firs, and cedars now dominate
+the landscape. Still more striking is the fact that even treeless
+Greenland and the largely ice-covered islands of the arctic archipelago
+were formerly clothed with forests as luxuriant and varied as those now
+growing in the southern Appalachian region. Although the migrations of
+existing forests during the few centuries of which we have historic
+records have been too slow to be appreciated by man, yet it is safe to
+conclude that changes similar to, and in fact a continuation of, those
+known by geologists to have taken place in the distribution of the
+vegetation of the continent since the Tertiary period are still in
+progress. With far-reaching and exceedingly slow changes in climatic
+conditions and in elevation above the sea due to upheaval and
+denudation, the plants of our forests, prairies, and mountainsides, are
+being moved here and there, in ever-changing combinations. Nature thus
+secures a rotation in the vegetation of a region, as the careful
+husbandman varies his crops from year to year. The suggestion in this
+connection furnished by geologists is that we are living in a
+spring-time following the great winter, known as the Glacial epoch, and
+that the tropical, temperate, and subarctic forests are migrating
+northward in an orderly march, and each in turn ascending higher and
+higher on the more lofty mountains.
+
+
+                               LITERATURE
+
+  MUIR, JOHN. _The Mountains of California._ T. Fisher Unwin,
+    London, 1894.
+
+  PINCHOT, GIFFORD. _A Primer of Forestry._ United States Department
+    of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 24, Washington, D. C., 1899.
+
+  SARGENT, C. S. _Report on the Forests of North America._ Tenth
+    Census of the United States, vol. ix, Washington, D. C., 1884.
+
+  United States Geological Survey. Reports on Forestry.
+
+
+
+
+                                CHAPTER V
+
+                               ANIMAL LIFE
+
+
+A common ground to zoologists and geographers in the exploration of
+which they derive mutual pleasure from assisting each other, is the
+geographical distribution of animals. In this connection the fauna of
+North America presents perhaps even more interesting problems than does
+its flora.
+
+
+             GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
+
+In the study of the distribution of animals over a continent, the
+discovery of the laws determining the intangible boundaries which the
+members of a species may not pass is even more difficult than the
+similar task in the case of plants. Plant species for the most part
+advance and retreat slowly as conditions change, and, with minor
+exceptions, there is no freedom of movement for the individual; but
+animals, and especially the higher forms, are sensitive to even slight
+changes in their environment, and there is more or less individual
+freedom to travel over the land, to fly through the air, or to swim
+through the water. Why the members of a given species which have
+apparently unlimited power to travel should be confined to a certain and
+frequently a narrowly circumscribed area has excited the curiosity of
+man for many centuries.
+
+A point is gained in reference to the distribution of animal species
+when it is remembered that animals are either directly or indirectly
+dependent on plants for food, and it follows that if plants, as we have
+seen, are so largely controlled in their distribution by climate, the
+secret of the distribution of animals is to be sought in the same
+direction. When a thoroughly satisfactory classification of
+climatic provinces is arrived at, it will no doubt be found to agree
+with the larger features of plant distribution, and should coincide,
+although perhaps less definitely, with the major divisions into which
+the zoologist partitions the earth's surface. This principle has been
+recognised by C. Hart Merriam in subdividing the United States into
+"life-zones and crop-zones," and in the following pages his view will be
+discernible, although losing much of their clearness by reflection.
+
+_The Place of North America in the Life Realms of the Earth._--The
+geological distribution of animals has been critically studied by P. L.
+Sclater, A. R. Wallace, T. H. Huxley, and others, and the entire land
+area of the earth subdivided into realms, regions, etc., in such a
+manner as to indicate the present grouping of animals. One of the latest
+of these broad views of the life of the earth is presented by Richard
+Lydekker, who, from the evidence furnished by both living and extinct
+mammals, has divided the world into three great "realms," two of which
+are again subdivided into "regions," as follows:
+
+                    { 1. Australian region.
+    Notogaeic realm  { 2. Polynesian region.
+                    { 3. Hawaiian region.
+                    { 4. Austro-Malayan region.
+
+    Neogaeic realm        Neotropical region.
+
+                    { 1. Malagasy region.
+                    { 2. Ethiopian region.
+    Arctogaeic realm { 3. Oriental region.
+                    { 4. Holarctic region.
+                    { 5. Sonoran region.
+
+In this classification, North America falls in part in two realms, the
+_Arctogaeic_ and _Neogaeic_, the former embracing the table-land of
+north-central Mexico and all of that portion of the continent lying to
+the northward, while the lowland of Mexico, together with Central
+America and the West Indies, falls in the latter realm. The Arctogaeic
+includes also nearly the whole of the eastern hemisphere. The
+relationship expressed in this classification of both the living and
+extinct mammalia of North America to that of Eurasia, is supposed to be
+due to a former land connection between the Old and the New World
+at Bering Strait, and is most clearly marked by northern species, the
+intercontinental bridge being too far north to be available for southern
+forms. The mammals and many of the other animals of the low, hot borders
+of Mexico and of Central America are a northward extension of the fauna
+of South America--that continent constituting nearly the entire Neogaeic
+realm. The mammals of the West Indies are few in species, and have their
+nearest relationship with the fauna of the continent to the southward.
+
+
+                      LIFE-REGIONS AND LIFE-ZONES
+
+The detailed study of the zoology of North America is far from complete,
+but the voluminous results reached have led to several attempts at broad
+generalization in reference to geographical distribution. Important and
+highly instructive memoirs have been presented in this connection by J.
+A. Allen, Angelo Heilprin, E. D. Cope, and others, who have in the main
+attempted to correlate the distribution of animal species, but
+principally the mammals, with variations in mean annual temperature.
+Among the latest of these contributions, and marking the advance made at
+the close of the nineteenth century, is the classification proposed by
+C. Hart Merriam, already referred to in the sketches that have been
+given of the climate and of the flora of the continent. The basis for
+this classification is the seemingly well-determined law that the
+northward distribution of terrestrial animals and plants is controlled
+by the sum of the positive temperatures for the entire season of growth
+and reproduction, and that the southward distribution is governed by the
+mean temperature of a brief period during the hotter portion of the
+year. By "positive temperatures" is meant the sum of the mean daily
+temperature above that which determines the period of physiological
+activity in plants and of reproductive activity in animals, assumed to
+be 6 deg. C. or 43 deg. F. The exact length of the period to be taken as the
+hottest portion of the year has not been definitely determined, but
+must be short enough to fall within the hottest part of the
+summer in high northern latitudes, and probably increases in length from
+north to south; the time assumed is the six hottest consecutive weeks of
+the year.
+
+On the basis just stated, Merriam has divided North America into the
+following life-regions and life-zones:
+
+ +--------+---------+---------------+---------------------------------+
+ |        |         |               |      Governing Temperatures     |
+ |        |         |               +-----------------+---------------+
+ |        |         |               | NORTHERN LIMIT  |SOUTHERN LIMIT |
+ |        |         |               +-----------------+---------------+
+ | Realms | Regions |    Zones      |  Sum of normal  |Normal mean    |
+ |  of    |         |               |   mean daily    |temperature of |
+ |  Ly-   |         |               |  temperatures   |the six hottest|
+ | dekker |         |               |   above 6 deg. C.   |consecutive    |
+ |        |         |               |    or 43 deg. F.    |   weeks       |
+ +--------+---------+---------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+
+ |        |         |               | Deg. C.| Deg. F.|Deg. C.|Deg F. |
+ |        |         |{Arctic        |        |        | 10[3] | 50[3] |
+ |        |{Boreal  |{Hudsonian     |        |        | 14[3] |57.2[3]|
+ |Arcto-  |{        |{Canadian      |        |        | 18    | 64.4  |
+ |  gaeic  |{        |{Transition    |  5,500 | 10,000 | 22    | 71.6  |
+ |        |{Austral |{Upper austral |  6,400 | 11,500 | 26    | 78.8  |
+ |        |         |{Lower austral | 10,000 | 18,000 |       |       |
+ |Neogaeic |Tropical |(At present    |        |        |       |       |
+ |        |         | unclassified) | 14,500 | 26,000 |       |       |
+ +--------+---------+---------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+
+
+[3] Estimated from insufficient data.
+
+The boundaries of the regions and zones given in the above table are
+shown on the map facing page 173, but for detailed information
+concerning the basis of the classification the reader is referred to the
+monographs by Merriam mentioned at the end of this chapter. In the
+publications referred to lists are presented of the resident mammals and
+birds characteristic of each region and of its subdivisions to the north
+of Mexico. While the boundaries shown on the accompanying map can be
+recognised in nature by the naturalist and serve a useful purpose, to
+the unskilled observer each region would appear to blend with its
+neighbours by intangible gradations. In fact, in this, as in the case of
+so many other similar instances in nature, there is an absence of
+definite, or what may be termed hard and fast lines. The significance of
+the boundaries referred to, to the unskilled observer, is still more
+obscure by the fact that the migratory birds, and to some extent the
+mammals, annually pass from one zone to another, and besides,
+several conspicuous mammals and birds are permanent residents in more
+than one zone.
+
+
+                              THE MAMMALS
+
+The relation of the mammals of North America to the similar animals now
+inhabiting other portions of the earth may be briefly shown by
+indicating the distribution of the orders into which the mammalia are
+divided. It will be remembered that in general each order is subdivided
+into families, these again into genera, the genera into species, and a
+species may contain several varieties. The classification here adopted
+is the one used by Lydekker in his Manual of Palaeontology. An order when
+represented in the fauna of a continent is indicated in the following
+table by a plus, and when absent by a minus sign.
+
+                            CLASS--MAMMALIA
+
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+--------------------------+
+ |       |             |                    |    DISTRIBUTION          |
+ | Sub-  |             |                    +---+---+----+------+------+
+ |Classes|     Orders  |      Examples      | N.| S.|Eur-|      |Aus-  |
+ |       |             |                    |Am.|Am.|asia|Africa|tralia|
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+ |      {|1. Primates  |Man, lemurs,        | + | + | +  |  +   |(Man) |
+ |      {|             |apes, monkeys.      |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|2. Chiroptera|Bats.               | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|3. Insecti-  |Moles, shrews,      | + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |      {|     vora    |hedgehogs.          |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|4. Carnivora |Lions, tigers, cats,| + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |      {|             |dogs, seals, etc.   |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|5. Rodentia  |Beavers,  rats,     | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|             |mice, squirrels,    |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|             |rabbits.            |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |Eu-   {|6. Ungulata  |Ox, horse, elephant,| + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |theria{|             |tapir, etc.         |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|7. Sirenia   |Dugong and          | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|             |manatee.            |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|8. Cetacea   |Whales, dolphins,   | + | + | +  |  +   |  +   |
+ |      {|             |narwhals.           |   |   |    |      |      |
+ |      {|9. Edentata  |Sloths, armadillos, | + | + | +  |  +   |  -   |
+ |       |             |ant-eaters.         |   |   |    |      |      |
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+ |Meta-  |10. Marsu-   |Kangaroos, opossums,| + | + | -  |  -   |  +   |
+ |theria |     pialia  |etc.                |   |   |    |      |      |
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+ |Proto- |11. Monotre- |Ornithorhynchus,    | - | - | -  |  -   |  +   |
+ |theria |      mata   |echidna             |   |   |    |      |      |
+ +-------+-------------+--------------------+---+---+----+------+------+
+
+1. Of the _primates_, exclusive of man, the monkeys are the only
+representatives in North America. Several species are common in Central
+America, but they are absent from the West Indies, and do not occur
+north of the _terra caliente_ of Mexico.
+
+2. The bats are world-wide in their distribution, and several genera and
+species occur on this continent, their northern limit being in central
+Canada; during the winter in the United States and Canada they hibernate
+largely in caverns. One family of the _Chiroptera_, the leaf-nosed bats
+(_Phyllostomatidae_), are strictly American, having their principal
+habitat in the southern continent, but ranging as far north as the West
+Indies, Mexico, and southern California. These are the vampires of which
+many harrowing tales are told. The Central American species are small,
+not larger than an English sparrow, but do not hesitate to attack
+cattle, and even men.
+
+3. The insect-eating mammals are represented by a large number of genera
+and species, of moles and shrews, but hedgehogs are absent.
+
+4. The flesh-eating animals are well represented by the cats (jaguars,
+panthers, and lynxes), wolves, bears, racoons, martens, etc. Many
+species of the seal family occur about the entire coast-line from Panama
+to the Arctic Ocean. The lion, tiger, leopard, hyena, are absent.
+
+5. The rodents are present in great numbers not only of individuals, but
+of species and genera; as rats, mice, jumping-mice, squirrels,
+porcupines, beavers, rabbits, etc.
+
+6. The hoofed animals, _ungulates_, are represented by the bison,
+musk-ox, several deer, antelope, mountain-sheep and mountain-goat,
+tapir, and swine (peccary). Abundant remains of extinct species of the
+horse family have been found, ranging far back in geological time, but
+native horses are not known to have existed since the coming of
+Europeans. The most notable vacancies in this order in the living fauna
+are the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, giraffe, and elephant, although
+these are abundantly represented by fossil forms.
+
+7. The _Sirenia_, which includes certain large herbivorous marine
+mammals of wide distribution, are represented on the borders of the Gulf
+of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea by the manatee.
+
+8. The _Cetacea_ are present in the marine waters adjacent to the coast,
+more especially in the north, where whales of several species, dolphins,
+the narwhal, etc., are found.
+
+9. Of the _Edentata_, which are so characteristic of the fauna of South
+America, and with one exception (the scaly ant-eater, not found in
+America) do not occur in the Old World, only the armadillo can be
+credited to North America; of this, two species occur from Texas
+southward.
+
+10. The marsupials, found nowhere else in the world to-day except in
+Australia and America, are represented by the opossum, of which two
+species are common in the United States.
+
+11. The lowest known order of the mammalia, the _Monotremata_,
+represented in Australia by the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus)
+and the _Echidna_, is unknown in America.
+
+Considered in reference to their abundance, large size of individuals,
+and number of species, in comparison with the other orders present,
+North America may be said to be the home of _herbivores_. The only
+continent in rivalry with it in this respect is Africa. More abundant in
+individuals and species than the herbivorous mammals, however, but
+smaller in size and frequently diminutive, are the rodents. The
+carnivores are fortunately limited in number of species, although the
+individuals of certain species are at times numerous, but not in general
+dangerous to man.
+
+
+                       SOME REPRESENTATIVE MAMMALS
+
+To the general reader the animals of greatest interest are no doubt the
+mammals, and particularly those which attract the sportsman, are of
+value for food, or furnish fur and skins for clothing. Of such animals
+the northern portion of North America and the mountains extending
+southward into the austral region furnish a large number.
+
+_The Musk-Ox._--In the far north, mostly beyond the arctic circle, lives
+the musk-ox, the hardiest of herbivores, in which, as expressed in its
+generic name, _Ovibos_, there is a curious mingling of the
+characteristics of the sheep and the ox. The teeth are similar to those
+of the sheep, the female has but two mammae, and beneath the long
+yellowish-brown hair of the outer coat there is a thick wool-like
+growth. Its gentle, inoffensive nature is also similar to that of the
+sheep. The large feet and the horns, however, are like those of the ox
+tribe. The horns resemble those of the Cape buffalo, being broad at the
+base and covering nearly the entire forehead. They slope downward at the
+sides, and then curve forward and outward, at the same time tapering to
+a sharp point, which renders them efficient weapons. These
+characteristics, although intermediate between those of the sheep and
+the ox, are more strongly inclined to the former. In reality, however,
+the musk-ox is more goat-like than sheep-like, as is indicated by its
+covering of hair, its short sturdy legs, the cannon-bone being
+remarkably short, and its ability as a climber.
+
+A full-grown musk-ox measures about 8 feet in length, inclusive of the
+short tail, and is 3 feet, 8 or 9 inches in height at the shoulders. The
+thick-set, shaggy body is supported on short stout legs, and the feet
+are broad, to serve both as scrapers in clearing away the snow from the
+moss and herbage on which it lives and in climbing ice-covered slopes.
+
+Its range is over the Barren Grounds of Canada, the islands of the
+arctic archipelago, and the border of Greenland. Peary found it grazing
+in herds in the far north of Greenland beyond the inland ice, and was
+saved from starvation by the food it furnished. Although hardy and well
+adapted by nature to withstand the most severe cold, it moves southward
+over the Barren Grounds in winter and to some extent at least seeks
+shelter in the subarctic forest, but apparently does not pass to the
+southward of latitude 59 deg.. Like certain other animals of the northern
+portion of the continent, its habitat is to the northeastward and it is
+unknown in Alaska.
+
+Bones of the musk-ox found in the frozen soil of Siberia indicate that
+it formerly had a circumpolar distribution. A skull obtained near Salt
+Lake City, Utah, in 1871, and the presence of its bones in the
+superficial deposit of Europe as far south as the Pyrenees, show that it
+formerly lived far to the southward of its present southern limit. This
+was during the Pleistocene division of geological history, when glacial
+ice covered all of Canada and the arctic animals were crowded southward.
+As the ice melted and its southern margin receded, the musk-ox moved
+northward. The absence of this species in northern Europe and Asia,
+where the climatic conditions, nature of the vegetation, etc., are
+similar to those of its present home, is perhaps due to the influence of
+man. The successful introduction of the domesticated reindeer into
+Alaska suggests that beneficial results would follow the transplanting
+of the musk-ox to northern Siberia.
+
+_The Polar Bear._--About all of the northern coast-line of America,
+including the shore of Bering Sea and Baffin Bay, lives the well-known
+polar bear, which is circumpolar in its distribution. The wide range of
+this the most northern of the bear tribe is due not only to its strength
+and ability to make long journeys over rough ice-floes and the wide
+distribution of the animals it feeds upon, principally the hair-seal,
+but is aided by the fact that it takes to the water readily and is a
+good swimmer. It has also been known to make long journeys on floating
+ice.
+
+_The Eskimo Dog._--Another animal of circumpolar distribution, the
+original home of which is unknown, is the Eskimo dog, the range of which
+has no doubt been extended while the distribution of many other animals
+has been curtailed, owing to human influences.
+
+_The Caribou._--The neighbour of the musk-ox in the desolate solitudes
+of the far north, and in part ranging over the same ground, is the
+caribou, the American representative of the reindeer. Indeed the caribou
+and the reindeer have been considered as belonging to the same species
+by some naturalists, but recently the American division of the genus has
+been shown to consist of at least five species, each of which
+differs from the one found in Europe and Asia. Among hunters and
+sportsmen, two divisions have long been known, namely, the woodland
+caribou and the Barren Ground caribou. The former includes the larger
+species, or the caribou proper, as it may be termed, and the recently
+described species from Newfoundland and Alaska; while the latter is
+represented by a single species, the _Rangifer articus_.
+
+The woodland caribou is in general about twice the size of the species
+inhabiting the Barren Grounds, has a height of 41/2 feet at the
+shoulder, and weighs some 250 pounds, although the males sometimes reach
+a weight of 400 pounds. Its range is from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland
+northwestward through the subarctic forest to British Columbia and
+northeastern Alaska. As its popular name signifies, its home is in the
+forest, and although meeting the smaller form during the latter's
+southward migrations, it does not extend its range to the Barren
+Grounds. On the south, it was formerly found in northern Michigan and in
+southern New York, and thence eastward through Vermont, New Hampshire,
+and Maine. Owing to the activity with which it has been hunted, it has
+for the most part been crowded to the north of the St. Lawrence, and is
+reported to be greatly diminished in numbers even in the wilds of
+Labrador. It still wanders into the woods of New Hampshire and Maine,
+and occurs somewhat abundantly in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. It is
+the caribou of Newfoundland, etc., which comes nearest the reindeer in
+size and in the shape of its magnificent antlers, but none of the
+American species has been domesticated.
+
+The Barren-Ground caribou still occurs in large herds in northern
+Labrador, on the treeless region to the west of Hudson Bay, and in
+winter migrates southward into the shelter of the subarctic forest. In
+its northern range it reaches the shore of the Arctic Ocean and the
+islands adjacent, and on the west follows the tundra to the Bering Sea
+coast. In Alaska it formerly occurred in immense herds, especially in
+winter, when it made long inland journeys through the forest and across
+the frozen rivers, but the invasion of the region by miners and
+the supplying of the natives with firearms has led to a great reduction
+in its numbers. In the barren and but seldom traversed region to the
+west and north of Hudson Bay the caribou is still in its primitive
+condition and moves in bands numbering several thousand. In this
+connection an extract from the journal of J. B. Tyrrell, of the Canadian
+Geological Survey, is of interest: "All day [July 30, 1893] the caribou
+have been around us in vast numbers, many thousands being assembled in a
+single herd. One herd collected on the hill behind our camp, and another
+remained for hours in the wet bog on the point in front of us. The
+little fawns were running about everywhere, often coming up to within a
+yard or two of us, uttering their sharp grunts as they stood and looked
+at us or as they turned and ran back to the does. About noon a large
+herd had collected on the sides and summit of the hill behind us. Taking
+a small hand-camera with which we were supplied, we walked quietly among
+them. As we approached to within a few yards of the dense herd, it
+opened to let us in and then formed a circle around us, so that we were
+able to stand for a couple of hours and watch the deer as they stood in
+the light breeze or rubbed slowly past each other to keep off the black
+flies. The bucks, with their beautiful branching antlers, kept well to
+the background. Later in the afternoon a herd of bucks trotted up to us
+and stood at about 40 yards distant. This was a most beautiful sight,
+for their horns were fully grown, though still soft at the tips, but
+unfortunately we had no camera with us. We did no shooting to-day." The
+herd of caribou just described was estimated to contain between 100,000
+and 200,000 animals.
+
+The destruction of the woodland caribou in the eastern portion of Canada
+has been so great that it is in danger of being exterminated, and great
+suffering, and even starvation has overtaken the Indians of that region
+in consequence. Similar, but even more alarming results have followed
+the thoughtless slaughter of the Barren-Ground caribou in Alaska, and to
+prevent the suffering and even threatened extermination of the
+natives, reindeer from Siberia and northern Europe have been introduced
+by the United States Government[4] and are thriving under the care of
+herders from Lapland. The moss on which the reindeer feed is abundant in
+Alaska, and there seems no good reason why they should not become as
+numerous and useful in their new home as they were in the boreal portion
+of the Old World. The first reindeer were introduced in Alaska in 1881,
+and the several herds, collectively, now number 3,323.
+
+[4] The introduction of domesticated reindeer into North America is a
+very important matter, and one which if properly conducted will add
+vastly to the food supply and resources for clothing for both native and
+white people. The civilization of the natives in the northern portion of
+the continent and the securing for them of a source of subsistence which
+will depend on their own care and industry hinges on the success of this
+undertaking. Much information in this connection may be found in the
+reports of Sheldon Jackson, published by the Bureau of Education at
+Washington between 1893 and 1900.
+
+_The Moose._--This, the largest living representative of the deer tribe,
+and with the exception of the bison the largest existing land mammal of
+North America, formerly inhabited the continent throughout its entire
+breadth from the forty-third to the seventieth degree of latitude, or
+from the mouth of the Ohio to the mouth of the Mackenzie. Although
+crowded northward and now found only sparingly in the United States, as,
+for example, in the extensive forests of Maine and in the still larger
+forests clothing the mountains of Montana and Idaho, it has held its own
+in the wildest and most remote portions of the Pacific mountains in
+Canada and Alaska, where its numbers are perhaps nearly as great as they
+were a century ago. Its preservation is due not only to its shyness,
+remarkably quick hearing, and keen sense of smell, but to its solitary
+habits and the fact that it does not gather in herds during the
+breeding season, like most other deer.
+
+A full-grown male moose is from 7 to 8 feet high at the shoulder, and
+from 10 to 12 feet high at the tip of the magnificent antlers when
+standing erect, and is from 800 to 1,200 pounds in weight. The
+broad palmate antlers with numerous sharp points sometimes measure 81/2
+feet or more from tip to tip. The does are without antlers, and are
+still more ungainly than the long-legged and apparently awkward males.
+Stringent laws are now enforced for the protection of the moose in all
+of the inhabited portions of its range, and it is likely to survive and
+to continue to tempt the sportsman to traverse the wild regions it
+inhabits for several generations to come.
+
+_The Wapiti._--Next in size to the moose, and in many ways the grandest
+of the deer tribe not only of America, but of the world, is the wapiti
+or American elk. In language not pedantic, W. A. Perry speaks as follows
+of this noble animal: "Monarch of the wilderness, lord of the mountain,
+king of the plain, what hunter who has sought thee in thy pine-embowered
+home whose heart-beat does not quicken and whose eye does not brighten
+at the mention of thy name! For with it comes the recollection of
+boundless prairies, grass-robed and flower-decked; of pine-clad,
+snow-capped mountains; of sweet breezes, gentle melodies, and grand
+trophies. I once heard an Indian speak his last words, and they were
+these: 'To-morrow, in the Spirit Land, again shall I chase the wapiti.'"
+
+Although the wapiti is one of the typical animals of the boreal region,
+in its primitive freedom it overstepped the boundaries of the life-zones
+which science seeks to define, and marched southward far into the
+austral region. It was found at the coming of the white man in nearly
+all parts of what is now the United States, and extended from the
+table-land of north-central Mexico northward to the fifty-sixth or
+fifty-seventh degree of latitude, or about the position of Lake
+Athabasca. Its northern range thus overlapped the region inhabited by
+the moose and caribou, while at the south it was exposed to the attacks
+of the jaguar. As civilization advanced across the continent, the wapiti
+slowly retreated, and in diminished numbers it now lives in the wildest
+portion of the Pacific mountains to the north of Snake River and the
+Columbia. It is still abundant in the Olympic Mountains of Washington,
+the Bitter Root Mountains of Idaho, and in Montana. A large herd
+finds protection in the Yellowstone National Park, but in winter, when
+migrating southward, is exposed to most destructive attacks from both
+white and Indian hunters. Among the mountains of the mainland in British
+Columbia and the central and more rugged portion of Vancouver Island it
+is still the "king of the wilderness."
+
+The male wapiti at maturity is some 7 or 8 feet high at the shoulders,
+and lifts its wide-spreading antlers fully 11 feet from the ground. Its
+weight is from 800 to possibly 1,100 pounds. The colour is, in general,
+dark brown, with lighter shades on the thighs, and changing to black
+beneath the body; there are stripes of light brown on either side of the
+tail which join an area of similar colour beneath the hind legs; the
+colour varies, however, at different seasons and in different
+individuals. The head is small, well formed, and beautiful. The carriage
+of the animal and its bold, undaunted mien, when roaming its native
+mountains and glens, is all and more than poets ascribe to the stag of
+the Old World.
+
+Stringent laws are now on the statute-books for the protection of the
+wapiti, both in the United States and Canada, but the difficulties in
+the way of enforcing them in regions remote from civilization are great.
+The wapiti does not extend into the most forbidding wilds of the far
+north, where its safety as a species, as in the case of the moose, would
+be insured, and besides, congregates in bands, which facilitates its
+slaughter. Its range has been steadily decreasing since the coming of
+the white man, and particularly since the introduction of firearms among
+the Indians, and its extinction, outside of reservations and parks, is
+to be expected in the near future.
+
+_The Smaller Deer._--Besides the caribou, moose, and wapiti, there are
+half a dozen or more members of the deer family (_Cervidae_) represented
+in the fauna of North America. Of these the Virginia deer is best known,
+as its range embraces the most thickly settled portion of the continent
+between Maine and the Gulf States, and from the Atlantic coast to the
+Rocky Mountains. In spite of indiscriminate slaughter and poorly
+enforced game laws, this species has not only held its own, but in
+recent years has greatly increased in number in certain localities. To
+the west of the range of the Virginia deer and merging with it in part,
+in the Pacific mountain region occur the white-tailed, black-tailed
+mule, and sonora deer, and perhaps other species. The combined ranges of
+these several species embrace the larger part of the continent and
+extend from eastern Canada to the Pacific coast, and from southern
+Alaska to Panama.
+
+Next to the deer comes the antelope, formerly so common on the Great
+plateaus. This, the pronghorn antelope, as it is usually termed, is
+about the size of the domestic sheep, but with long slim legs, and is a
+most active and exceedingly graceful animal. Its true home is on the
+treeless plateaus east of the Rocky Mountains, but its range extends
+from Saskatchewan to northern Mexico, and from the Prairie plains to the
+Cascade Mountains in Oregon. It has steadily decreased in number,
+especially during the last quarter of a century, and is now no longer
+seen in the large bands that were formerly an attractive feature of the
+sea-like plains over which it travels seemingly with the freedom of a
+bird.
+
+The animals thus far referred to have their range determined mainly by
+the broader features of climate, but not in a conspicuous way by the
+relief of surface. They inhabit mountains, plateaus, and plains alike,
+as is shown most conspicuously in the case of the wapiti, which formerly
+grazed in large herds on the prairies of the Mississippi Valley, and has
+been killed at an elevation of over 10,000 feet in the Pacific
+mountains. Not so, however, with the mountain-climbers whose names
+follow, which have their chosen "station" on the mountains at
+timber-line and ascend as far above that horizon as vegetation grows.
+
+_The Bighorn or Mountain-Sheep._--The bighorn, of which three species
+are now recognised, has its home in the Pacific mountains from northern
+Mexico to central and northern Alaska. Its vertical range is also great,
+as it has been seen on the precipitous walls of the Grand Canyon of
+the Colorado, but a few hundred feet above sea-level, and about
+the summits of the peaks of Colorado and in the Sierra Nevada and
+Cascade Mountains at elevations of from 10,000 to 13,000 feet. An
+exception to the fact that the bighorn is usually found on rugged
+mountains and is most at home on seemingly inaccessible cliffs is
+furnished by bands which live and appear to thrive amid the Bad Lands
+along the Missouri River, some 400 miles to the eastward of the Stony
+Mountains.
+
+The bighorn resembles the wapiti in colour, although it is of a lighter
+brown, especially in winter. It is clothed with wool beneath the stiff
+outer coat of hair, and is a true sheep, but larger than any
+domesticated variety of _Ovis_. The rams attain a height of at least 3
+feet 6 inches at the shoulder, and weigh some 300 or 400 pounds. Both
+sexes are provided with horns, but those of the male are much the
+larger, and in the finest examples attain a length of 30 inches,
+measured along the outer curve, and a circumference at the base of 15 or
+16 inches. The most magnificent head ever obtained, so far as the writer
+has been able to learn, is that of a ram shot in the Selkirk Mountains,
+the horns of which are 521/2 inches in length, measured along the outer
+curve, and 181/2 inches in circumference at the base. These immense
+horns are used, as in the case of the domestic ram, in fighting, but the
+widely current statement in reference to the animals alighting on them
+when jumping from precipices is entirely mythical. The bighorn is a
+fearless and skilful mountaineer, and will climb or descend precipices
+by bounding from ledge to ledge where the most reckless hunter dares not
+follow. Its ability to find a sure footing on even smoothly glaciated
+rocks is due to the peculiar structure of the feet, which have a
+rubber-like pad beneath the sharp-pointed and sharp-edged hoofs.
+
+_The Mazama or Mountain-Goat._--The companion of the bighorn on the
+lofty mountains, but even more thoroughly a mountaineer, is the
+so-called mountain-goat, _Aplocerus montanus_, which, in spite of its
+long hair, short curved horns, sturdy legs, bearded chin, and general
+goat-like appearance, and more than the goat's ability to climb,
+is in reality more nearly related to the antelope than it is to the
+sheep. This alpine antelope, unlike its cousin of the plains, is only at
+home on dizzy heights, and summer and winter alike lives at timber-line
+on the mountains or in the alpine gardens adjacent to perpetual snow.
+
+One of the earliest generic names under which it is assumed this alpine
+antelope was included, namely, _Mazama_, although rejected by
+naturalists, has recently been revived and adopted by an enthusiastic
+mountaineering club in Portland, Oregon, as their name, and is likely to
+become widely known. Among the hunters and the inhabitants generally of
+the region where the animal under consideration lives it is termed the
+mountain-goat, and no protest from naturalists, however well founded, is
+likely to bring about a change in this connection.
+
+The mazama is entirely white, excepting its hoofs, horns, and narrow
+lines about the eyes and nostrils, which are black. In general, it is
+smaller than the bighorn, but bucks have been reported to attain a
+length of nearly 6 feet and a weight of some 300 or 400 pounds. Its
+habitat is not only higher on the mountains but more restricted in
+geographical extent than that of the bighorn. It is said to live about
+Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the Sierra Nevada, but is unknown
+farther south; in Colorado it is reported to have been seen on a few of
+the higher peaks, but its main range begins well to the north of these
+outlying localities, in the mountains of Montana and Idaho and in the
+Cascades. To the north of the United States it occurs throughout the
+higher ranges of British Columbia and in the mountains of southern
+Alaska as far west at least as Cook Inlet. It is plentiful and as yet
+undisturbed by hunters on the foot-hills about Mount St. Elias, where
+the alpine conditions congenial to it occur at an elevation of from
+2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea. Like all of the larger animals, and
+especially the herbivores, the bighorn and the mazama are sought by
+sportsmen, but on account of the ruggedness of the regions they inhabit
+and their wariness they are likely to survive when most other examples
+of "big game" shall have been exterminated. Both the bighorn and
+the mazama are sought by Indians for food and for their pelts, and their
+horns are frequently used, especially in Alaska, in the manufacture of
+spoons. They are practically of no economic importance to white men,
+although their flesh when young is excellent food, and their fleeces
+would be of value to the weaver if they could be obtained in sufficient
+quantity. They serve, however, to entice the sportsman, who is usually
+an ardent lover of nature, into some of the wildest and grandest regions
+the continent affords. Their value in this connection is not to be
+measured in dollars, and strenuous efforts should be made to insure
+their continuance.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Bison at Silver Heights, Winnipeg. (Photograph
+by William Notman & Son.)]
+
+_The Bison._--Of all the larger mammals of North America, none was more
+numerous at the time Europeans advanced over the continent than the
+bison or "buffalo" (_Bos americanus_), and none more important alike to
+the Indian and the white man. The part played by this relative of the
+domestic ox in the history of the country is not only instructive, but
+one of the best illustrations that can be furnished of the practical
+extermination of a species through the greed and lack of forethought of
+so-called civilized man.
+
+The bison is a shaggy, brown animal, about the size of the well-known
+Durham breed of cattle, but with a larger head and a prominent hump on
+the shoulders (Fig. 31). The hind quarters are small in comparison with
+the massive head and shoulders, and appear weak. The head, neck,
+shoulders, and fore legs are covered with thick matted hair, at times 16
+inches long and of a dark-brown colour merging into black. The straight
+black hair beneath the chin of the bull is usually some 10 inches in
+length, and as the animal carries its head low, frequently sweeps the
+ground. Back of the medial portion of the body the hair is short and of
+a yellowish-brown colour, or "between dark umber and a living-liver
+brown," as Audubon says. There is much variation in colour, however, and
+distinct varieties have been stated to exist. The horns, hoofs,
+and a bare space about the nostrils and mouth are black.
+
+The weight of a fully grown bull is about 2,000 pounds, and of a cow
+1,200 pounds.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Range of the Bison.]
+
+The boundaries of the region in which the bison has been seen by white
+men, together with the dates of its extermination in various sections of
+the country, etc., are shown in Fig. 32. In about 1870 the vast herd
+which ranged over the treeless plateaus and Prairie plains between the
+Rio Grande and Great Slave Lake was divided, owing to the great
+slaughter that occurred in the vicinity of the Central Pacific Railroad,
+into two herds, one of which had its summer range in Montana and
+neighbouring territory, but moved northward in summer into
+Canada, while the other fed on the plains of the west Texas region in
+winter and moved northward in summer as far as southern Nebraska. In
+each case a southward movement was begun as winter approached, but these
+seasonal changes scarcely warrant the name of migrations.
+
+The number of these large animals living between the Mississippi and
+Rocky Mountains previous to 1872, even after being hunted for centuries
+by the Indians and killed in constantly increasing numbers each year by
+white men for half a century, can only be reckoned in millions. Many
+trustworthy observations are on record, however, from which the vastness
+of the herds can be approximately judged. For example, R. I. Dodge thus
+refers to a herd which he passed through in the Arkansas Valley in May,
+1871, when it was moving northward: "The great herd could not have
+averaged, _at rest_, over 15 or 20 individuals to the acre, but was not
+less than 25 miles wide, and from reports of hunters and others it was
+about five days in passing a given point, or not less than 50 miles
+deep. From the top of Pawnee Rock I could see from 6 to 10 miles in
+almost every direction. This whole vast space was covered with buffalo,
+looking at a distance like one compact mass, the visual angle not
+permitting the ground to be seen." From this and other observations, W.
+T. Hornaday has estimated that the herd referred to numbered not less
+than 4,000,000 individuals. From the records kept by railroad companies
+of the number of skins shipped over their lines and other evidences, it
+has been computed that of the southern herd mentioned above over
+3,500,000 individuals were killed during the years 1872, 1873, and 1874.
+The northern herd seems to have been at least as large as the southern
+one, so that the entire number on the Great plateaus in any one year for
+the decade preceding 1870 was not less than 8,000,000, and even this
+vast number seems to be an underestimate.
+
+The great slaughter of the southern herd occurred from 1872 to 1874, and
+of the northern herd ten years later. In 1889, as stated by Hornaday,
+the bisons running at large in North America numbered but 635. In
+1902 the number of bison in the United States was reported to be 800,
+the increase being due to protection extended to the herds, and perhaps
+also to a more accurate count.
+
+_Fur-Bearing Animals._--Of the animals of North America which are taken
+for their fur, the seal and sea-otter have already been referred to in
+connection with the brief review presented of the life of the
+continental shelf. As is well known, the colder regions of the earth are
+the ones which yield the most valuable furs, and in the fur trade of the
+world this continent, on account of its wide expansion at the north, has
+taken the leading place as a producer. In fact, the fur trade is a
+prominent feature in the history of America, and one whose followers
+experienced great vicissitudes and countless adventures.
+
+The animals that tempted the tireless and fearless sons particularly of
+France, England, Scotland, and Russia to build their fortified
+trading-posts throughout the subarctic forest from the St. Lawrence to
+the Mackenzie and Yukon, were principally the beaver, sable, ermine,
+fox, mink, wolverene, bear, otter, wolf, lynx, musk-rat, skunk, marmot,
+etc. Nearly all of these animals are forest dwellers, and several of
+them, as the beaver, otter, mink, and musk-rat, haunt the shores of
+streams and lakes. Of the sable, there are two species, known as the
+marten and the fisher. The bears are represented by at least four
+species. The foxes number at least a dozen species, of which four are
+especially prized for the beauty of their fur, namely, the arctic, red,
+cross, and silver.
+
+While the fur-bearing animals named above are characteristic of the life
+of the boreal region of North America, a number of the species, and, in
+fact, nearly all of them, range southward into the austral region,
+especially in the more humid and generally forest-covered portions of
+both the Pacific and Atlantic mountains, while one of the most important
+as regards the beauty of its fur--the otter (_Lutra canadensis_),
+frequently termed the land-otter, in order not to confound it with its
+larger and far more valuable cousin, the sea-otter (_Enhydra
+marina_)--reaches the torrid region and is still living in
+Florida, and has been reported as occurring in Central America.
+
+Of all the fur-bearing animals referred to above, the most valuable when
+the total number of skins that have been taken is considered, and in
+many ways the most interesting, is the beaver, of which but one living
+species (_Castor canadensis_), closely allied to the beaver of northern
+Europe, is known in America. Fully grown individuals are about 3 feet in
+length, one-third of which is to be credited to the broad, flat,
+scale-covered tail, and weighs some 50 or 60 pounds. The outer coat of
+its pelage consists of rather coarse brown hair, beneath which there is
+a fine, soft, dark fur, which makes its skin of commercial value. In
+dressing the skins the hair is plucked, the fine fur beneath being
+clipped to a uniform length and usually dyed. The formerly well-known
+beaver hat was made from this fur, but in recent years silk has taken
+its place. The importance of the American beaver is illustrated by the
+fact that some 7,000,000 skins have been sold in London by the Hudson's
+Bay Company since the year 1752. Not only is the fur of the beaver in
+demand, but its flesh, and especially the muscles of the tail, are
+prized for food by hunters and others who live the free, open-air life
+of the frontier, although it is seldom exposed for sale in the markets
+of cities.
+
+The beaver is of interest to the geographer not only on account of its
+wide distribution, which embraced the entire continent wherever the
+willow, birch, alder, etc., on which it subsisted, could grow, from
+northern Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, but for the reason that it made
+more conspicuous and lasting changes in the minor features of the
+surface of the land than any other mammal. One of its peculiar habits is
+that it gnaws down trees frequently 6 or 8 inches in diameter, and after
+cutting them into sticks a few feet in length, uses them in making dams
+across small streams. These dams were built in thousands and tens of
+thousands all through the forested regions, and being plastered with
+mud, and still further enlarged and strengthened by the accumulation of
+driftwood and leaves, held the waters of the streams in check and
+caused them to expand so as to form small lakes, ponds, and swamps.
+These beaver-dam lakes are common even at the present day, and many of
+them which have been filled with sediment or drained furnish rich lands,
+now utilized for gardens and cultivated fields. In Michigan these
+beaver-dam lakes furnish the rich black soil so favourable for the
+raising of celery and other vegetables. The beaver has disappeared from
+all but the wilder and more inaccessible portions of the continent, but
+the influence of the changes it made in the drainage of the land will
+endure for many generations to come.
+
+Of the fur-bearing animals mentioned above, none are more definitely
+American than the skunks, or, to use a more felicitous name, _Mephitis_,
+which ranges from central Canada to central Mexico, and is represented
+by four or five species. As stated by Elliott Coues in his instructive
+monograph on the North America _Mustelidae_, the skunks are closely
+related to the badgers, being heavy-bodied, short-legged, stout in
+build, with hairy tails and generally loose pelage. They neither climb
+trees nor swim in water; their gait is slow, and they do not allow
+themselves to be hurried, even in the face of danger; their retreats are
+burrows in the ground or dens in rocks and hollow logs, and sometimes in
+the nooks and corners of dwellings and outhouses. Their most common
+representative, _Mephitis mephitica_, is a beautiful animal some 15 or
+20 inches in length, exclusive of its bushy tail, which is usually 12 to
+15 inches long. The head is small, the ears low and short, and the hair
+of a glossy black, relieved by conspicuous white markings which are not
+only irregular in shape, but vary with individuals. The most marked
+characteristic of the skunks is their ability to emit at will a fluid
+which has the most disagreeable and sickening odour known. This fluid is
+secreted in two glands, each about one inch in diameter, situated at the
+base of the tail and opening into the rectum, but has no connection with
+the secretions of the kidneys, and is probably seldom discharged except
+when the animal is annoyed. It is a unique and most efficient
+means of defence. In this connection it is to be remembered, however,
+that the skunks belong to the family _Mustelidae_, which is characterized
+in part by the odoriferous secretions present in its various species,
+but, above all others, the odours emitted by the genera under
+consideration are the most dreadful. The stench produced by these
+animals when startled or enraged is not only horrible beyond
+description, but endures for months and even a year or more. The yellow
+liquid which is ejected is squirted in a fine spray for a distance of
+some 6 or 8 feet, but its odour may sometimes be perceived, even when
+the wind is still, for a distance of a quarter of a mile.
+
+The skunk having this one unconquerable means of defence from all its
+enemies except man, exhibits evidence of degeneration in other respects.
+When discharging its odoriferous fluid it faces its enemy, who is held
+at bay or retreats, and hence, not being compelled to run, has acquired
+a slow, wavering gait and deliberate movements; having no occasion to
+ascend trees for safety, it has lost or failed to develop the ability to
+climb; and its lack of other powers which are highly developed in its
+near of kin may be used in illustration in a similar way. It is
+practically removed from the attacks of enemies excepting dogs and other
+canines and some birds of prey, but has to adapt itself to conditions of
+climate and food supply. In winter in the northern portion of its
+habitat it becomes more or less torpid, and during the coldest weather
+usually hibernates, thus lessening the exertion required to procure
+sustenance. When the temperature is not excessively low it seeks its
+food, which consists of insects, birds' eggs, small reptiles, mice,
+etc., and in settled regions visits the poultry-yards, and thus
+increases the enmity extended to it by all mankind, who have ever been
+disgusted by its odours. Another objectionable fact in reference to this
+despised yet, we may perhaps say, respectfully treated animal, is that
+its bite sometimes produces hydrophobia.
+
+The skunks are not only widely distributed in North America, occupying
+perhaps a larger area in the austral than they do in the boreal region,
+but are influenced to a less extent by climatic and topographic
+conditions than probably any other genera among our mammals. It lives
+among mountains and on plateaus and plains, and in forests as well as on
+the open prairies, and extends from humid regions like eastern Canada
+and New England to the dry, semi-desert valley of New Mexico, and from
+the cold shores of the Great Lakes and central Canada to the warm Gulf
+States. Although offensive, and everywhere declared a nuisance, and
+persecuted as such, as well as trapped and hunted for its pelt, its
+range has been decreased but little since the settlement of the country
+by Europeans, although its numbers are greatly reduced. Its beautiful
+fur when deodorized and dyed of a uniform black is sold under the name
+"Alaskan sable," "black marten," "American sable," etc., and is
+extensively worn even by the most fashionably attired dames of every
+land.
+
+_The Bears._--Of the bears native to North America, as was stated by S.
+F. Baird in 1857, the number of species is somewhat indefinite, but four
+are commonly recognised and mention is sometimes made of two others.
+This uncertainty as to the number of species of the genus _Ursus_, I
+believe, still exists, and in itself is significant. If the bears have
+not been satisfactorily classified, as is apparently the case, it
+suggests that they exhibit great variations and that the drawing of hard
+and fast specific boundaries among them is difficult, and perhaps
+impossible.
+
+The species which are usually recognised are the polar bear, the
+grizzly, the cinnamon, and the black. Of the black and brown or cinnamon
+bears there seems to be several varieties, some of which are perhaps
+worthy of being considered species. On the other hand, it must be
+remembered that Baird and others makes the cinnamon a variety of the
+black bear. Again the grizzly and cinnamon intergrade in such a manner
+that an experienced naturalist has considered them to be but extremes of
+a single species.
+
+The polar bear is distinguished from its kindred, at least in a general
+way, by its large size and white or yellowish-white colour. These and
+other differences from its relatives have led naturalists to place it in
+a distinct genus, of which it is the only species. It is
+circumpolar in its distribution, and in America occurs along the coast,
+seldom travelling inland except during the breeding season, when it is
+sometimes met with 25 miles from the ocean. Its southern range on the
+Atlantic coast is in northern Labrador, but it is occasionally carried
+on floating ice as far south as Newfoundland. It inhabits the shores of
+Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. On the west coast it reaches Bering
+Strait, and is carried on floating ice to the islands in the northern
+part of Bering Sea, and at rare intervals reaches the Pribilof Islands.
+It is probably strictly carnivorous, and lives principally on the seal.
+It is supposed to be the largest of the bear tribe, but is certainly
+approached if not rivalled in size by the brown bear of southern Alaska.
+As many arctic explorers testify, it is dangerous to man and will lead
+in an attack.
+
+The famous grizzly or "silver tip" inhabits the Pacific mountains, but
+is best known in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Although like
+all kindred species presenting conspicuous individual variations, it is
+usually dark in colour, with white tips to some of the hairs. The pelage
+is long, almost shaggy, and gives the animal even a more formidable
+appearance than its great size and strength justifies. It is not only
+one of the largest of the American bears, ranking in this respect with
+the polar bear and the largest of the huge brown bears, but is also
+probably the fiercest, and not infrequently has been known to attack
+man, although it will usually retreat from the presence of human beings
+if an opportunity is available. Full-grown individuals are about 8 feet
+in length and weigh in the neighbourhood of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds.
+
+The brown bear, of which there are perhaps three species, including the
+Barren-Ground bear of the north-central part of Canada, are, as their
+name signifies, of a brown or cinnamon colour, but present great
+variation in this respect. Some are of a decided yellow, while others
+become dark and are scarcely distinguishable from the true grizzly. They
+reach a great size, particularly in southern Alaska, and possibly in
+certain instances even exceed the polar bear in dimensions and
+weight. The tracks of one which I measured near Mount St. Elias were 16
+inches long by 8 inches wide, and the stride was 64 inches. The range of
+the brown bear is confined principally to the Pacific mountains, but is
+of greater extent than that of the true grizzlies and includes central
+Canada.
+
+The black bears are of almost continental distribution and occurred in
+all or nearly all wooded districts before the balance of natural
+conditions was disturbed by the coming of the white man. They are the
+smallest of the bear tribe on this continent and are usually harmless,
+but at times when attacked or approached suddenly, especially if
+accompanied by their young, become formidable enemies. Their colour is
+usually a glossy black, but much variation occurs, especially about the
+head, and this and other differences are thought by some to indicate
+specific distinctions. A seemingly well-marked variety occurring in
+southern Alaska, which has a thick bluish-black under-fur, has recently
+been described as a distinct species.
+
+Near relatives of the bear are the racoons, of which several species are
+present, one being abundant in the eastern portion of the United States
+and the other in the Pacific mountains.
+
+_The Cats._--The _Felidae_ are represented by two genera, _Felis_ and
+_Lynx_, each of which contains several species.
+
+Of the true cats, the largest is the beautiful jaguar, or American
+tiger, _Felis onza_, which is nearly as large, and by some said to be
+equal in size to its Asiatic relative. It more nearly approaches the
+leopard, however, in the character of its spots as well as in its
+arboreal habit, but exceeds it in size. The jaguar is some 4 feet or
+more in length to the base of the tail, and the tail is about 3 feet
+long. Its general colour is a soft-yellowish passing into dark brown and
+black, with large rosette- or somewhat lozenge-shaped spots, which take
+the form of indefinite rings of dark fur with lighter centres, within
+which there are one or two dark dots or eyes. The skins are fully as
+beautiful as those of the tiger or leopard, and are highly prized for
+rugs, and in some cases have been used for clothing. A dark,
+nearly black variety (or perhaps more properly, examples of melanism)
+has been described as a distinct species, and is sometimes spoken of as
+the black tiger.
+
+The centre of distribution of the jaguar is probably in the great
+Amazonian forest, but it ranges over nearly all of South America,
+throughout Central America, and extends northward to Texas and perhaps
+Louisiana.
+
+Next to the jaguar in importance is the widely known panther. Unlike
+most of its relatives, this species has an essentially uniform colour.
+The fur on the back, head, and tail is of a tawny brownish-yellow, but
+varies somewhat with changes in seasons. The under parts are of a dirty
+white. The animal when full-grown is of a formidable size, the larger
+examples being nearly 5 feet long from the tip of the nose to the base
+of the tail. The stout cylindrical tail is from 20 to over 30 inches
+long. In spite of its size and great strength the panther is not to be
+feared so long as room for its escape is open, as it is a great coward.
+One of the most interesting facts concerning this species is its
+unusually great range. Before being disturbed by white men it inhabited
+practically the entire width of both North and South America, from
+Hudson Bay to Patagonia, an extreme range of some 110 degrees of
+latitude. It is most at home in the mountains and is seldom seen on open
+plains. It is still common in the Pacific mountains of the United States
+and Canada.
+
+Of the smaller cats, several of which are beautifully marked, mention
+may be made of the ocelot of the Texas region and the lynx or American
+wildcat. The latter, of which there are at least three varieties, is yet
+common, and maintains approximately its original range, which embraces
+the entire width of the continent from the subarctic forest at least as
+far south as northern Mexico.
+
+_The Wolves._--In the history of the establishment of English colonies
+in this country, and throughout the spread of civilization across the
+continent, many accounts are given of encounters with wolves. These
+stories as they have been handed down have probably in many instances
+been magnified, but there is no doubt but that the larger wolves,
+such as the gray timber-wolf, once common in the northern portion of the
+United States, when assembled in packs and pressed by hunger, were
+formidable antagonists.
+
+Of the wolves, four species are usually recognised, but their great
+variation, in each instance, has led to the description of numerous
+varieties, some of which have by certain writers been given the dignity
+of distinct species. The largest is the gray wolf, which is white or
+grizzly gray in colour, and frequently 5 feet or more in length and
+weighs 50 to 60 pounds. Individuals have been killed, however, which
+exceed these measures. The range of this species, or group of species as
+the case may be, was originally continental, but more particularly in
+the forested regions. Its hair, which is frequently 4 inches or more in
+length, and the fine thick under-fur make the skins valuable for robes,
+but they are seldom used for clothing, except by the Indians and
+Eskimos. The hood of the outer garment worn by Eskimos, termed a parkie,
+is frequently fringed about the face-opening with the long warm hair of
+the wolf.
+
+A smaller species, the coyote, is still common on the western plains,
+and is termed the prairie-wolf. It is a comparatively small animal,
+although frequently 3 feet in length of body with a bushy tail
+two-thirds as long, and is of a skulking, cowardly nature. Its colour is
+usually a yellowish gray, and its skin, although used for robes, is much
+inferior to that of the gray wolf. Its range is from northern Mexico
+northward throughout the great plateaus, and in the valleys of the
+Pacific mountains into Canada. It is usually the first of the larger
+mammals the traveller in that region learns the existence of, even at
+the present day. Several individuals frequently gather together just
+after sunset and make their presence known by barking and howling in
+concert. These serenades last but a short time, however, and are likely
+to be repeated in the morning just before sunrise. During the night the
+animals composing these bands seem to scatter and hunt for food
+singly, but reunite in the early morning, after which they again
+separate and seek secluded individual retreats.
+
+_Brief Mention of Other Mammals._--In order to convey an adequate idea
+of the large variety and richness of the North American mammalian fauna
+far more space would be required than is at present available. Indeed,
+of the smaller mammals much more research is evidently needed before
+even the number of genera and species can be enumerated, much less their
+life histories and economic importance made known, as is indicated by
+the fact that a large number of species previously recognised has been
+described during the past two or three years.
+
+Of the abundant smaller mammals, none are more attractive or beautiful
+than the arboreal squirrels, of which several species are widely known.
+One of these, the common red squirrel, is remarkable for its wide range
+and adaptability to a great variety of conditions. It is abundant in the
+valley of the Yukon and even north of the arctic circle, throughout the
+forest-covered portions of Canada, and as far south as the South
+Atlantic States. Of less extensive range is the gray squirrel and the
+black squirrel, common in New England, and the somewhat larger and yet
+more beautiful fox squirrel of the central part of the continental
+basin. There are also a large number of species of ground squirrels, and
+several species of flying-squirrels. The rodents are also represented by
+the marmots, certain species of which are exceedingly numerous near
+timber-line in many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains as far north
+at least as Mount St. Elias, and by gophers, chipmunks, lemmings, the
+musk-rat, porcupines, rabbits, hares, rats, mice, etc. The list might
+also be extended by enumerating the bats, shrews, and moles, but we are
+compelled to cut short this most interesting portion of our review.
+
+_Mammalian Families Peculiar to America._--While there are many genera
+and species of mammals found only on this continent, the number of
+families that are peculiar to it is small. Among the characteristic
+families, most of which, however, extend into South America, none are of
+greater interest in the study of geographical distribution than
+the opossums, of which there are 3 genera and some 22 species, all of
+them confined to the New World. Of these, two species are common in
+North America: one, the Virginia opossum, abundant throughout the
+eastern portion of the United States to the south of New York, and the
+other and smaller species, which inhabits Mexico and extends northward
+into southern California and Texas. Many representatives of this same
+family occur in Central and South America, some of which are notable on
+account of their diminutive size. The opossums are of peculiar interest
+owing to the fact that they are the only representatives of the
+marsupials now living outside of Australia. Fossil species occur,
+however, in the Tertiary rock of Europe, so that the American forms
+cannot be considered as indicating a recent land connection between this
+continent and Australia.
+
+The porcupines are also representative of the New World fauna, although
+not strictly confined to it, and belong mostly in the northern
+continent. The Canadian porcupine is found throughout nearly the entire
+forested portion of the boreal region and extends as far south as the
+Middle Atlantic States, and an allied species, but of larger size,
+inhabits a portion of the same region and extends to the Pacific
+mountains and occurs in Alaska.
+
+The racoons are strictly American and inhabit both continents. They are
+common in the forests of Central America and Mexico, and extend as far
+north as central Canada.
+
+Of the several families of smaller and less well-known mammals peculiar
+to this continent, mention may be made of the pouched rats of
+California.
+
+All of the animals to which attention has thus far been directed are now
+living; should one attempt to describe the great number of fossil forms
+whose bones have been discovered in the rocks, the menagerie would be
+vastly enlarged, and many exceedingly strange species, genera, families,
+and even larger divisions of the animal kingdom, added to the extended
+procession.
+
+
+                               THE BIRDS
+
+When one attempts to write an account of the birds of North America, the
+heavens seem darkened with such a multitude of varied and beautiful
+forms and the air filled with such a discordant clamour mingled with the
+sweetest of music that failure to convey an adequate idea of the
+countless numbers and diversity of the feathered throng within the
+compass of a few pages must be recognised from the start.
+
+The important place held by the birds of North America in the avifauna
+of the world, may perhaps be best indicated by noting first of all what
+orders and families are without representatives among them.
+
+The orders under which the birds of the world are arranged in the scheme
+of classification adopted by Wallace in his great work on the
+geographical distribution of animals are as follows:
+
+
+                              CLASS--AVES
+
+ ORDERS.                       EXAMPLES.
+
+ 1. Passeres     Includes the greater number of the smaller birds, such
+                   as kingbirds, flycatchers, larks, jays, crows,
+                   blackbirds, finches, sparrows, warblers, chickadees,
+                   swallows, thrushes, etc., numbering in North America
+                   some 328 species and many subspecies.
+
+ 2. Picariae      Woodpeckers, cuckoos, toucans, kingfishers, swifts,
+                   goat-suckers, humming-birds, etc.
+
+ 3. Psittaci     Parrots only.
+
+ 4. Columbae      Pigeons and the dodo.
+
+ 5. Gallinae      Grouse, pheasants, quail, jungle-fowl, turkeys,
+                   guinea-fowl, etc.
+
+ 6. Opisthocomi  The hoazin of Guiana and Brazil only.
+
+ 7. Accipitres   Eagles, owls, vultures, hawks, buzzards, falcons, etc.
+
+ 8. Grallae       Rails, snipes, plovers, cranes, herons, storks,
+                   flamingoes, etc.
+
+ 9. Anseres      Ducks, geese, gulls, petrels, pelicans, penguins,
+                   loons, auks, etc.
+
+ 10. Struthiones Ostrich, rhea, cassowaries, emeus, apteryx.
+
+Of these ten orders, all but two are abundantly represented in North
+America. The missing orders include the ostrich-like birds, of which the
+only species in the New World is the rhea, of the southern portion of
+South America, and the peculiar hoazin, represented by a single
+species found in Guiana and Brazil.
+
+The eight orders under which the birds of North America have been
+arranged (other classifications, however, have been adopted by various
+naturalists) have again been subdivided into families, genera, species,
+etc. According to Wallace's summary, the 8 orders referred to contain
+124 families, of which 75 are not represented in North America to the
+north of the lowlands of Mexico, while 47 families are present. Of these
+47 families, 25 are essentially of world-wide distribution, and only 1,
+containing a single species, a small wren-like bird of the genus
+_Chamaea_, found in California, is peculiar to the fauna of the
+continent.
+
+As the North American continent under the arrangement adopted for the
+series of books of which the one in hand forms a part, is considered as
+including the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America, the above
+summary does not represent its entire bird fauna, but presents, perhaps,
+the best general idea of it that is at present attainable. To include
+the birds of the tropical portion of the continent would add greatly to
+the number of species, but I believe not materially to the number of
+families and orders, as given above.
+
+In reviewing the distribution of the land birds of North America to the
+north of Mexico, but including lower California, J. A. Allen places the
+total number of genera, as given in the check-list of the American
+Ornithologists' Union, at 181. Of these, 55, or 30 per cent, are
+circumpolar or otherwise wide-ranging Old World forms; 126 genera, or 70
+per cent, are American, of which 35, or 28 per cent, are essentially
+tropical, leaving 91 genera, or about 50 per cent, as distinctly North
+American.
+
+The number of species in the avifauna of the continent, according to the
+latest check-list published by the American Ornithologists' Union
+(1895), is 768, together with a large number of subspecies. If the
+tropical portion of the continent were included, this number would be
+greatly increased and possibly doubled.
+
+A further generalization has been advanced by Allen, who states that in
+the arctic portion of the continent the number of genera of birds
+present during the breeding season is 65, of which only 5 are
+exclusively American. In the cold temperate belt 120 genera are
+represented, of which 98 are circumpolar and 22 American. In the warm
+temperate belt 95 genera occur which do not range into the cold
+temperate belt, and of these only 12 are Old World forms, while 83 are
+exclusively American, and in addition 60 genera are common to both the
+cold and the warm temperate zone, of which 46 are represented in the
+fauna of the Old World, while 14 are American. This gives 155 genera for
+the warm temperate zone, of which 58 are Old World and 97 exclusively
+American. There are besides 50 essentially tropical genera which extend
+into the warm temperate zone, of which 43 are American and 7
+tropicopolitan. The avifauna of the warm temperate zone thus contains a
+total of 205 genera.
+
+The above enumeration indicates the rapid increase in the variety of
+bird life met with as one travels from the arctic to the Gulf coast of
+the continent, and in this connection it is to be remembered that the
+land contracts in breadth towards the south. In number of individuals,
+however, it is doubtful if there are less per square mile at the north
+than at the south during the breeding season.
+
+There is a decrease in the number of Old World forms inhabiting North
+America from north to south. A similar decrease in mammalian species
+common to America and Eurasia has previously been referred to, and the
+same explanation applies in each case, namely, the near approach of the
+land areas of the Old and the New World at the north, and the actual
+union of the two continents in late geological time.
+
+As has been shown by Allen, the species of birds of the temperate and
+boreal zones of North America were derived in part from the Old World,
+in part from types almost universally distributed throughout the warmer
+latitudes, and in part from tropical America, but to a marked extent the
+species present developed where they are now found. This
+generalization is in harmony with the geographical relations of the
+continent to other land areas, and with the fundamental principles of
+evolution.
+
+_Migrations._--Among the many facts of interest to the geographer in
+connection with the bird life, none present a more fascinating field for
+study than the annual migrations in which a very large number of the
+species participate.
+
+As one travels northward from Mexico or the Gulf States, the number of
+species of birds which remain in essentially the same area throughout
+the year, or the _residents_ as they are termed, becomes less and less.
+In New England and about the southern shores of the Great Lakes there
+are about 30 species which remain all winter and may justly claim to be
+citizens. Besides these, there are several visitors that come from the
+north and belong to the vast army of migrants, but which are contented
+with a comparatively small change of position during the periods of
+greatest cold or heaviest snow. In the far north the number of residents
+is still more restricted. On the tundras fringing the arctic coast even
+the snow-owls, snow-buntings, and the ptarmigans, the hardiest of birds,
+move southward during the winter to the shelter of the subarctic forest,
+and bird life on the vast frozen morasses is practically, if not
+absolutely, wanting.
+
+The millions of birds that journey southward each fall begin their
+return migrations at the first promise of spring. Even during unusually
+mild spells of weather in winter, temporary northward movements occur.
+The migratory birds are actuated by such a strong desire to regain their
+nesting places and summer homes that they embrace every opportunity to
+journey towards them, and not infrequently suffer severely for the risks
+they take. In some instances species which have begun their northward
+flight too soon are killed by thousands owing to a return of severely
+cold weather or die for lack of food.
+
+The first definite northward migration in the southern portion of the
+Mississippi Valley begins during exceptionally favourable years as early
+as the end of January, but the great movement of the feathered
+hosts is not usually at its height before the middle of March or the
+first of April. In New England the current of migration begins between
+the middle of February and the first of March, and increases in strength
+until the middle of May, when it is at its height, and then rapidly
+declines and is practically over by the beginning of June. In the far
+north, the first arrival from the southward, and that a species which
+does not make a long annual journey, usually appears early in April. At
+Point Barrow, the most northern portion of Alaska, as was observed by
+John Murdock in 1882 and 1883, the first harbinger of spring was a
+snow-bunting, which arrived the first year on April 9th. The
+northward-flowing tide of bird life ends early in July in the region of
+the Yukon, and by the middle of that month the vast flocks have been
+separated and the many mates have found their nesting places. The time
+taken for the general movement is thus in the neighbourhood of four
+months.
+
+The northward flight of the birds is seldom, if ever, one continuous
+journey, but like many other movements in nature, progresses by
+pulsations. Well-defined "bird-waves" have been recognised especially in
+the Mississippi Valley. The direct or immediate cause of the starting of
+these waves of life is the coming of a wave of heat. Secondary or
+modifying conditions are furnished by strength and direction of the
+wind, cloudiness, rain, etc. As the weather in spring-time is fickle,
+and its variations not the same for any two consecutive years, so the
+gathering of the birds into flocks and their northward flights vary,
+although for a term of years the arrival of a given species at a
+particular station does not depart far from a mean date. With the
+northward sweep of the waves of bird life over the temperate and boreal
+portions of the continent comes the awakening of plant life, but the
+birds, to a marked extent, precede the unfolding of the flowers. This
+marvellous renewal of the life of the land after the long cold winter
+makes the budding and nesting spring-time the most joyous portion of the
+year, and one which exerts a marked effect on human thought and
+activities. The spring-time awakening in all nature is like a
+resurrection, and has apparently exerted an influence on the religions
+of the world.
+
+The bird-waves referred to above are characterized at the start by the
+presence of great numbers of a single species, but as they progress,
+scattering occurs, and at the time of the greatest movements in the
+northern portion of the United States a large number of species
+frequently arrive at a given locality in a single night. At sunset the
+groves may be nearly tenantless and silent, while at sunrise they are
+alive with the flitting of wings of many colours, and the air pulsates
+with many different songs.
+
+Judging from extended observations on migrations made in the Mississippi
+Valley, the definite waves of bird life which sweep northward with the
+spring-tide of temperature are in some instances 100 or 200 miles long
+and have a breadth of perhaps a score of miles. The distance between the
+waves varies with variations in the weather and perhaps other causes,
+and as they progress they apparently become less definite and at the
+north have yet to be recognised.
+
+The migrations of the birds are performed principally at night. In the
+northern part of the United States during the hours of darkness in early
+spring, even when cloudiness prevails or the land is veiled in mist, the
+voices of geese may frequently be heard overhead, proving that unseen
+flocks are then winging their way northward. About the lighthouses along
+the coast and on the shores of the Great Lakes, when migration is in
+progress, dead birds are frequently found in considerable numbers and of
+various species. In these cases the birds are evidently attracted by the
+lights and killed on striking the windows that protect them. This occurs
+particularly on stormy or cloudy nights, when the birds fly low. Several
+of the larger species of birds, as the geese, ducks, cranes, etc., which
+are strong of wing, make long flights without resting. In many instances
+a single stage in a journey may include 500 or 600 miles. Most of the
+smaller birds, however, fly comparatively short distances between the
+pauses made for rest and food.
+
+A species on reaching the northern portion of the route over which it
+usually migrates scatters, and the individuals mate, nests are built,
+and young reared. At the approach of cold weather reassemblage occurs,
+frequently great flocks being formed, and the southern movement begins.
+The southward migration is less conspicuous in most instances than the
+movement _en masse_ of the birds in the spring, and so far as now seems
+to be recognised is not divided into definite waves.
+
+While the winter habitat of most birds in the temperate and boreal
+portions of the continent is to the south of their summer homes, the
+annual migration is not in all cases great in amount. Some species move
+only a few hundred, or possibly a few score, miles. Even the winter
+residents make short migrations, dependent on weather conditions. The
+greater part of the migratory birds, however, pass the winter in the
+Gulf States, Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America. In
+some cases they go well to the south of the equator. The annual flight
+going and coming measured in a straight line, between the nesting place
+and the winter home, cannot be less in many instances than from 8,000 to
+10,000 or 12,000 miles. An interesting fact in this connection is that
+certain species follow definite routes. The region moved over annually,
+if marked on a map, would resemble two open or partially opened fans,
+with their handles pointing towards each other and connected by a narrow
+band.
+
+The causes of the annual migrations of birds have received much study
+and been the subject of much speculation. The general consensus of
+opinion in this connection seems to be that the birds are controlled
+largely by what we in our ignorance term instinct. The true beginning of
+the migration seems to be in the fall, when the birds are driven from
+their homes by cold or, perhaps more accurately in most cases, by
+scarcity of food. This, however, is not the whole story, since many
+species start southward before cold weather approaches and while food is
+yet abundant. Then, too, crippled individuals have been known to survive
+the winter in regions from which their summer companions have
+departed. Instinct, therefore, plays a part in even the fall migration,
+where at first glance sufficient physical reasons may seemingly be
+claimed for it. During the spring migration the birds are moved by a
+strong impulse to regain their breeding-grounds. Each species seems to
+have adapted itself to certain conditions of temperature, food, etc.,
+through long ages of development, and acquired a subtle faculty of
+regaining the environment to which it is best adapted, as soon as the
+adverse conditions that caused it to leave its home are ameliorated. How
+a particular bird is enabled to return to the nest it built the year
+previous is not known. The study of the homing instinct of pigeons
+assists in this direction, however, and suggests that birds are endowed
+with something answering to a sixth sense--that is, a sense of direction
+or of orientation.
+
+_Spring-time Music._--The northward-flowing tide of life each spring
+brings to the temperate zone of North America a marvellous change not
+only in colour and movements, but in sound. This is the season of bird
+courtship and more than usual happiness among the feathered millions.
+From shore to shore of the continent a chorus more seductive than
+sirens' songs pulsates on the breezes.
+
+The winter is characteristically a season of silence. The sounds heard
+at a distance from human habitations are mainly those produced by
+inanimate nature. The wind causes varied discords amid the bare branches
+of the deciduous trees or sings weird melodies in the pines. Strange
+muffled roars come from the frozen lakes, as the ice contracts and
+breaks during periods of excessive cold. The frost in tree trunks causes
+sharp explosions. The ice-covered streams are still except where
+cataracts interrupt their even flow. In the profound silence of a calm
+winter night the distant dismal howl of a wolf, the cry of an owl, or
+the bark of a fox alone reminds one that life still continues, but these
+animate sounds are far more frequently absent than present. With the
+coming of the spring there is a marvellous awakening and unfolding. The
+brooks, swollen to overflowing by the melting of the snow, make
+music as they run. The northward flight of the birds brings to every
+grove a chorus of song. A host of batrachians and reptiles bestir
+themselves after a long winter sleep and vociferously proclaim their
+presence. The insect world, with its unnumbered legions, takes wing. The
+air vibrates with millions of voices. The trees put forth their leaves,
+each a harp-string which responds to the touch of the fingers of the
+wind. The organ-notes of the thunder again startle the hibernating
+echoes. As the winter is the silent season, so the spring is the time of
+music.
+
+One of the most charming of the many phases of nature's concert season
+is the matin songs of the birds. Ere the eastern sky along the New
+England coast becomes roseate with the first blush of morn, the twitter
+of birds may be heard amid the shadowy branches of the trees. Soon a
+thrush or a warbler awakens in full song, and is followed by a host of
+other voices, until the air pulsates with music. As the sun rises and
+his first level rays reveal the varied tints of the tree tops, the
+many-voiced chorus passes the height of its ecstasy and the music
+gradually subsides. But the glad tidings of the coming of the day are
+passed westward from grove to grove and from meadow to meadow, and a
+wave of song sweeps on ahead of the wave of light, induced by its
+coming. The song-wave spreads to the north and south and flows steadily
+westward over the forest-covered mountains, across the great central
+basin of the continent, breaking on the treeless plateaus into many
+streams which follow the grove-fringed rivers, passes through the
+depressions in the Rocky Mountains, and although weakened in the arid
+valleys beyond, is not checked. The larks there listen for its coming
+and pass the joyful message westward. The timid dwellers in the great
+forests of Oregon awaken at the magic sound and the lofty tree tops are
+made to thrill with the voices of unseen choirs while it is yet night in
+the silent aisles below. The onward rush of sound is not reflected or
+turned back by the lofty Cascades, but flows through their passes and
+only ceases when the sea-birds of the Pacific renew a note that
+was dropped on the distant Atlantic coast.
+
+One of the most fascinating incidents in the life of the explorer in his
+lonely camps in the great forests or amid the solemn mountains is the
+coming of the wave of song in the spring and early summer-time which
+precedes and accompanies the rising of the sun.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The fascination of the field of study touched upon in this chapter
+invites an attempt to present an account of some of the more
+characteristic birds of North America, and to endeavour to convey to the
+reader some idea of the varied reptilian, fish, and invertebrate life of
+the continent, but the limitations of space prohibit such a review. Even
+the great problems dealing with the intimate relation that exists
+between geographical conditions and the distribution of animals cannot
+be given more attention than the suggestions already offered.
+
+
+                              LITERATURE
+
+  ALLEN, J. A. _The Geographical Distribution of Animals_, in
+    Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey
+    of the Territories, vol. iv, Washington, 1878, pp. 313-377; _The
+    Geographical Distribution of North American Mammals_, in
+    Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. iv, New
+    York, 1892, pp. 199-243.
+
+  HEILPRIN, ANGELO. _The Geographical and Geological Distribution of
+    Animals_. International Scientific Series, London and New York,
+    1897.
+
+  OSBORN, H. F. _The Rise of the Mammalia in North America._ New
+    York, 1893.
+
+  COPE, E. D. _Geographical Distribution._ In the Annual Report of
+    the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1898,
+    Washington, 1900, pp. 1199-1234.
+
+  MERRIAM, C. HART. _Life-Zones and Crop-Zones of the United
+    States_, United States Department of Agriculture, Division of
+    Biological Survey, Bulletin No. 10, Washington, 1898; _Results
+    of a Biological Survey of the San Francisco Mountain Region and
+    Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona_, United States
+    Department of Agriculture, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy
+    [Bulletin] No. 3, Washington, 1890; _The Geographical
+    Distribution of Life in North America_, in Proceedings of the
+    Biological Society of Washington, vol. vii, 1892, pp. 1-64.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI
+
+                               GEOLOGY
+
+
+                           _Introduction_
+
+In the preceding chapters an attempt has been made to present outline
+sketches of the geography, fauna, and flora of North America as they
+exist now. Yesterday, we may say for the sake of emphasis, there were
+differences from what exists to-day in each of these great groups of
+facts. That is, changes are everywhere in progress. With the recognition
+of this idea comes logically the conclusion that similar changes must
+have taken place in the past, and that the geography of the earth's
+surface, and its flora and fauna, at no very distant time must have been
+markedly different from what they are to-day. To test this hypothesis
+the geologist studies the records preserved in the rocks in much the
+same manner that the historian searches the papyri or the monuments of
+Egypt to discover what changes in the affairs of men have occurred since
+the days of the Pharaohs. The changes referred to are not essentially
+different from those now in progress, but in reality the two are parts
+of a single series. For a very long time there have been continents and
+oceans, lakes and rivers, and the land has been diversified by mountains
+and hills, plains and valleys, in the same general way as at the present
+time. When once the idea is grasped that we are living in a geological
+age, and that there is no break between the present and the past, it is
+evident that the history of the past can be interpreted by means of the
+results produced by known causes. Familiar formulas which express this
+idea are: "The present is the key to the past"; "Geography is the
+geology of to-day," etc. The forces or agencies which are now modifying
+the earth's surface, such as the rending of rocks by changes of
+temperature and the action of frost, erosion and deposition by streams,
+the dash of ocean waves against the land, volcanic eruption, the
+chemical action of organic acids, movements producing upheaval and
+subsidence, etc., have been in action for geological eras, but their
+intensity has varied from time to time and from place to place.
+
+
+                      THE GROWTH OF THE CONTINENT
+
+The geological history of North America is, in general, the same as that
+of other continents, but claims attention in certain particulars,
+largely for the reason that with the exception of Europe it has been
+studied more thoroughly than any other comparable land area. In Europe,
+throughout much of geological time, there have been numerous islands,
+and as a large portion of the records of past changes which have been
+presented were formed in the ocean, the results are complex. But in
+North America there has been a comparatively steady growth from one main
+continental centre or nucleus, and the records of the principal changes
+that have occurred are, to a greater degree, simple. Not only in the
+major features of the relief of the continent, as already described, but
+in its growth and geological history, it is, so far as can be judged
+from the present state of our knowledge of the various land areas, the
+most typical of all the continents.
+
+Changes in the outlines and area of a continent are brought about
+principally by movements of elevation or depression in the earth's
+crust. Of less importance is the erosion of the margin of the land by
+waves and currents and the deposition of material brought from the land
+by streams, together with the spits, bars, and embankments made by waves
+and currents. By these and other and less conspicuous processes the
+shape of North America has undergone numerous changes in outline and is
+still being modified.
+
+General maps have been prepared by J. D. Dana and others, showing the
+outlines of North America at various stages in the course of its
+development, and from a series of such maps recently compiled by D. C.
+Schaffner those here reproduced (Fig. 33) have been selected to
+illustrate the growth of the continent. As has been shown by various
+geologists, the outlines of the present continents and ocean-basins had
+their major features determined at a very early stage in the history of
+the earth, and at a time preceding the existence of the oldest known
+sedimentary rocks. At the close of the Archean, the earliest geological
+era now recognised, and, so far as has been determined, before life
+existed on the earth, the principal nucleus of North America was a land
+mass some 2,000,000 square miles in area, situated mainly in what is now
+the eastern half of Canada, from which there was a southward
+prolongation represented by the Adirondack hills of New York (Fig. 33,
+A).
+
+The rocks forming this earliest known land in the Western Hemisphere
+consist of crystalline schists, gneisses, and granite, which are
+considered by some geologists at least as having resulted from the
+metamorphism of sedimentary beds. Penetrating and intimately
+intermingled with these greatly altered rocks, some of them perhaps
+metamorphosed lavas and allied terranes, are many rocks that were forced
+upward from deep in the earth into fissures in a molten condition and
+have since cooled and crystallized. More than one epoch of metamorphism
+has perhaps occurred, and the entire record now accessible is
+exceedingly complicated.
+
+The physical conditions at the earth's surface at the close of the
+Archean period, as may reasonably be inferred, were not essentially
+different from what they are now. The land areas were eroded by streams,
+and the _debris_ carried to the sea and deposited, the coarser near
+shore and the finer farther seaward. Upward movements in the earth's
+crust in various places subsequently laid bare a portion of the
+sea-floor adjacent to the former land, and the continent was enlarged.
+The outline of the land as it existed previous to the upheaval which
+exposed this portion of the ocean's bottom would be defined by the
+landward margin of the material deposited. The exposed sediments
+would be coarsest near the former coast-line and become finer and finer
+seaward from it, and the fossils contained in the consolidated sands and
+clays would also supply evidence bearing on the origin of the rocks. It
+is by such interpretation of the ancient records in the light of what is
+now taking place that the geologist is enabled to map approximately the
+outline of North America at several stages in its growth in the manner
+shown on the series of maps here presented. Information in this
+connection, however, concerning both the northern and southern portions
+of the continent is too meagre at present to be largely utilized in
+these outline sketches.[5]
+
+[5] The relations of the eras referred to on these maps and the
+positions they occupy on the geological time-scale are shown a few pages
+later on a chart of the geological history of North America.
+
+The next system thus far recognised, following the Archean, is the
+Algonkian, at the close of whose deposition some additions had been made
+to the Archean or pre-Algonkian land. Succeeding the Algonkian system
+come, in succession, the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian systems. At
+the close of the Silurian there was a decided increase in the size of
+the main nucleus of the continent. Owing principally to an excess of
+elevation over subsidence in the portion of the earth's crust beneath
+the northeastern part of the region now occupied by the United States,
+portions of the sediments deposited previous to the close of the
+Silurian were upraised and important additions made to the extent of the
+land southward from the Archean area of Canada. This "Appalachian
+peninsula" would be conspicuous in a map representing the outline of the
+continent at the close of the Silurian. The eastern margin of the
+growing continent was then well to the eastward of its present position,
+but how far beyond the present coast we have no means of determining.
+Although at the close of the Silurian the continent had greatly
+increased in area over that of the nucleus at the close of the Archean,
+it bore but little resemblance to its present form. It is worthy
+of note, however, that with the exception of the eastward extension of
+the land at the time referred to, the growth had been within the present
+continental outline.
+
+A later stage in the growth of the continent is shown in Fig. 33, B,
+when its eastern margin had much of its present general outline and the
+Appalachian Mountains were in their prime. The time indicated is at the
+close of the Paleozoic era, and after the great coal-fields extending
+from Pennsylvania southward to Alabama and westward to beyond the
+Mississippi were formed. The eastern half of the continent was
+approximately completed at the time just referred to, and is older than
+the western half.
+
+During the Cretaceous period great changes took place in the geography
+of the still growing continent, as may be seen by the map illustrating
+that period. The conspicuous features in the geography are the submerged
+Atlantic and Gulf borders, and the presence of a broad belt of ocean
+water in the continental basin which reached from the then much expanded
+Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, and divided the land into an eastern
+and a western continental island.
+
+Following the Cretaceous period came the Tertiary period, during which
+the continent assumed very nearly its present outline. During this
+period, however, as is indicated in Fig. 33, D, the Atlantic border of
+the United States from New England southward and a wide area about the
+Gulf of Mexico, were submerged and had deep layers of sediment deposited
+on them. During the Tertiary, bodies of fresh water became for the first
+time a conspicuous feature on the land, and large lakes and broad
+silt-depositing rivers existed particularly in the Pacific mountain
+region of the United States, and at its close the continent was
+practically completed as we now know it, but several important
+oscillations, particularly at the north, have since occurred.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Maps showing the growth of the North American
+continent.]
+
+With the growth of the continent, briefly outlined above, came greater
+and greater diversity in its relief, due principally to the
+upraising of various mountains in a somewhat orderly succession from
+east to west.
+
+The oldest mountains on the continent are the Laurentian Highlands of
+eastern Canada. Although the region referred to--the one mentioned above
+as being composed of Archean crystalline rocks--is not now of sufficient
+elevation or ruggedness to be termed mountainous, it shows in the nature
+and structure of its rocks that deep erosion has taken place. The
+inference is that truly great mountains have been removed, but the
+evidence may also sustain the interpretation that slow upheaval has been
+accompanied by erosion, and that at no time was the land conspicuously
+elevated.
+
+Next in age after the Laurentian Highlands come the mountains of New
+England and the maritime province of Canada, which were upraised at the
+close of the Silurian period. The next great step was the crumpling into
+folds and upheaval of the rocks in the Appalachian region at the close
+of the Paleozoic era. The Park and Stony Mountains were upraised at the
+close of the Mesozoic era, and later came the Sierra Nevada and
+Cascades, followed by the Coast Ranges. Youngest of all, and in part for
+that reason the boldest and most lofty, are the magnificent mountains of
+southern Alaska, with a host of sublime peaks, like Mounts Fairweather,
+Logan, St. Elias, and perhaps McKinley. The last-named and highest peak
+of all, however, may be of volcanic origin.
+
+In the above list showing the progressive westward movement of the birth
+of mountain systems, account is taken only of the elevations produced by
+upheaval. The mountains due to volcanic eruptions, which are still
+conspicuous, are all young, in comparison with the mountains situated to
+the eastward of the Sierra Nevada. The majestic cones of the
+northwestern portion of the United States, of which Mounts Shasta, Hood,
+Adams, Rainier, Baker, etc., are the most glorious, are of Tertiary or
+later age. The same is true, so far as known, of the still more lofty
+volcanoes in Mexico. The "pine-tree" forms of steam rising from the
+volcanoes of the Caribbees, Central America, southern Mexico, and
+southwestern Alaska, proclaim the recency of the birth of the frequently
+magnificent craters built of rocks that were once molten, from which
+they emerge.
+
+
+             THE ROCKS OF WHICH THE CONTINENT IS COMPOSED
+
+The rocks of which North America is built belong to three classes, which
+are world-wide in their distribution. These are: First, rocks produced
+by the cooling and crystallizing of formerly molten magmas; second,
+those deposited by water; and third, those which previously belonged to
+either of the two classes just referred to, but have been recrystallized
+and so greatly changed that their preceding condition is no longer
+clearly recognisable.
+
+These three classes or subkingdoms, as perhaps they might be termed from
+analogy with systems of biological classifications, are in technical
+language:
+
+     1. _Igneous rocks_, such as the lava of Vesuvius.
+
+     2. _Sedimentary rocks_, such as sandstone, shale, limestone,
+     coal, etc.
+
+     3. _Metamorphic rocks_, such as gneiss, schist, some granites,
+     etc.
+
+These major divisions are based principally on mode of origin, but do
+not indicate relative age. While theoretically at least, and in a
+general way, the rocks of these three great classes came into existence
+on the earth in the order named, it is convenient to consider first
+those of sedimentary origin.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE IV.--Leading geological features.]
+
+_The Sedimentary Rocks_ (Plate IV).--Whenever land exists or the waves
+and currents of the ocean come in contact with the rocks denudation
+occurs. That is, the rocks are broken through the action of mechanical
+or chemical agencies, such as the friction of the gravel and sand swept
+along by streams, the solvent power of water, etc., and the fragments
+thus produced are removed principally through the action of flowing
+water and deposited. Resulting from this general process of rock decay
+and disintegration, combined with transportation and deposition,
+there result mechanically formed sedimentary beds, such as shale,
+sandstone, conglomerate, etc.; chemically formed sedimentary beds, such
+as the deposits of springs, the saline precipitates from inclosed lakes,
+etc.; and organically formed sedimentary beds, as, for example, peat,
+coal, and limestone.
+
+Since the first appearance of land in the region now occupied by North
+America, sedimentary rocks have been in process of formation, and in
+this way the growth of the continent, with the aid of movements in the
+earth's crust, has been produced.
+
+The superficial extent of the sedimentary beds in North America is very
+great, as is indicated on the map referred to above. By far the larger
+portion of the surface of the continent is underlain by them. Their
+thickness varies from place to place, but probably reaches a maximum in
+the Appalachian region, where a depth of some 40,000 feet has been
+measured. Throughout the continental basin their depth is in general
+from 3,000 to 4,000 feet. In the Pacific mountains their thickness
+embraces tens of thousands of feet, and the same is true in Mexico,
+Cuba, and Jamaica. These sedimentary rocks contain fossils which, with
+comparatively few exceptions, show that they were deposited in the
+ocean; thus sustaining in an important manner the conclusion already
+presented in reference to the growth of the continent.
+
+Great as is the area of the sedimentary beds at the present time, it
+does not show the entire extent to which what is now land has at some
+time been submerged beneath the sea. In certain broad regions,
+sedimentary beds which formerly existed have been removed by erosion; in
+other extensive areas they are covered by volcanic rocks, and in still
+other portions of the continent, embracing thousands of square miles,
+they have been metamorphosed and their original characteristics
+obliterated.
+
+The system of classification of the sedimentary beds that has been
+adopted, as is well known, is based on the relative age of the
+formations, determined primarily by the occurrence of one formation
+above another, in regions where but moderate disturbances in
+position have occurred. Many of the stratified rocks contain
+fossils--that is, records of the life of the time they were deposited,
+and after the order of succession of a large number of formations has
+been ascertained, the life records they contain may be used as a means
+of determining the age of a newly discovered terrane.
+
+By grouping the information obtained from the study of the vertical
+sequence of the formations in many regions, and also the records of life
+contained in them, a composite geological column has been constructed
+which shows the relative age of all known formations. The larger
+divisions of such a scheme of classification are world-wide in their
+application, but the smaller divisions are usually of restricted
+geographical extent.
+
+The scheme of classification of general application in North America is
+shown in the chart on page 308. The arrangement is in order of age, the
+oldest formation being at the bottom. There is some lack of uniformity
+among American geologists as to certain of the terms used, more
+especially in the lower portion of the column, and in part the scheme is
+provisional, but in general it may be taken as expressing the progress
+made in the study of the geology of North America up to the present
+time.
+
+The names of the larger divisions in this scheme of classification, or
+those designating the groups and systems and the eras and periods, have
+for the most part been adopted from European geologists. Two important
+ones, however--namely, Archean and Algonkian--are of American birth.
+
+While this scheme of classification is based on the succession of
+sedimentary beds, igneous and metamorphic rocks have a place in it,
+providing their age can be determined.
+
+The Archean period includes the time previous to the deposition of the
+oldest known sedimentary beds, and its lower limit is as yet undefined.
+The Archean system, or the rocks formed during the Archean period, are
+without known fossils, and consist largely of gneisses and foliated
+schists, which are metamorphosed sedimentary or igneous terranes,
+together with various eruptives. The typical area where these rocks are
+exposed at the surface is in the Laurentian Highlands of eastern Canada,
+the main Archean nucleus of the continent, but rocks of the same age and
+same general character occur in several of the mountain systems of both
+the Atlantic and Pacific cordilleras, and underlie the sedimentary beds
+throughout a large part of the Continental basin. The Archean system was
+named by J. D. Dana, and divided into two portions, namely, the
+Laurentian below and the Huronian above. More recent studies, especially
+by C. R. Van Hise, have shown the necessity of removing from the system
+many of the terranes formerly referred to it, and of placing them in the
+Algonkian. The Archean as it remains after this adjustment is termed by
+Van Hise the _Basement Complex_. This term, although thus far not
+generally adopted, has much to commend it, since the terranes designated
+by it are highly complex, and may perhaps be ultimately subdivided into
+two or more systems, and besides occupy a basal position lower than any
+known sedimentary formation that has escaped metamorphism.
+
+      _Outline Chart of the Geological History of North America_
+
+ +----------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |                         Rock-Scale. -->|   Group.  |   System.       |
+ |                         Time-Scale. -->|    Era.   |   Period.       |
+ +------------+------------+--------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |Zoic time:  |  Time of   |   Time of    |Psychozoic.|Human.           |
+ |embracing   |  Mammals.  |  Palms and   +-----------+-----------------+
+ |the history +------------+ Angiosperms. |           |Pleistocene.     |
+ |of the      |            +--------------+Cenozoic.  +-----------------+
+ |earth since |            |              |           |Tertiary.        |
+ |the         |  Time of   |              +-----------+-----------------+
+ |appearance  | Reptiles.  |   Time of    |           |Cretaceous.      |
+ |of life.    |            |   Cycads.    |Mesozoic.  +-----------------+
+ |            +------------+--------------+           |Jura-Trias.      |
+ |            |  Time of   |              +-----------+-----------------+
+ |            |Amphibians. |   Time of    |           |Carboniferous.   |
+ |            |            |   Acrogens   |           +-----------------+
+ |            +------------+(Ferns, club- |           |Devonian.        |
+ |            |  Time of   |mosses, etc.).|           +-----------------+
+ |            |  Fishes.   |              |Paleozoic. |Silurian.        |
+ |            +------------+              |           +-----------------+
+ |            |            +--------------+           |Ordovician.      |
+ |            |  Time of   |              |           +-----------------+
+ |            |Molluscs and|              |           |Cambrian.        |
+ |            |Crustaceans.|              +-----------+-----------------+
+ |            |            |   Time of    |           |Algonkian.       |
+ |            +------------+    Algae.     |           +-----------------+
+ |            |            |              |Eozoic.    |(As yet unknown  |
+ |            |  Time of   |              |           |pre-Algonkian    |
+ |            | Protozoa?  |              |           |sediments.)      |
+ +------------+------------+--------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |Azoic time: preceding the dawn of life. |Azoic.     |Archean or       |
+ |                                        |           |Basement Complex.|
+ +----------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------+
+ |                                         Solid Earth.                 |
+ |            Prehistoric                  Molten Earth.                |
+ |                                         Gaseous Earth.               |
+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+The Algonkian series embraces a great thickness of sedimentary beds, in
+part metamorphosed, which in certain localities rest unconformably on
+the eroded surface of the Basement Complex and in places are overlain
+unconformably by Cambrian rocks. Both the upper and lower contacts,
+however, in certain localities, have been rendered obscure by
+metamorphism. The system derives its name from a tribe of Indians that
+inhabited the region about the shores of Lake Superior, where it is well
+developed. The Algonkian terranes are exposed in the Grand Canyon of the
+Colorado, in the Wasatch and Uintah Mountains, the Black Hills of
+Dakota, about the southern shore of Lake Superior, and in many parts of
+eastern Canada, as well as in several other localities. The oldest known
+fossils occur in these rocks, and consist of a small number of
+brachiopods, molluscs, crustaceans, etc. These scanty records are
+suggestive, and at least stimulate the hope that an extensive
+pre-Cambrian fauna will ultimately be discovered. The few forms found
+seem to be not far different from the similar life records of the
+Cambrian.
+
+The Cambrian system, although first studied in Europe, has an important
+development in North America, and occurs at the surface at a large
+number of localities ranging from Newfoundland to California. The known
+distribution of the system and the nature of the rocks composing it
+indicate that it occurs widely in the Continental basin beneath
+subsequent deposits. The most interesting results derived from the study
+of the Cambrian, carried on especially by C. D. Walcott, pertain to its
+life records. With the exception of a few obscure algae, all the fossils
+thus far discovered are marine invertebrates. As regards rank in the
+zoological scale, certain molluscan remains are the highest, but
+outclassing them in size, abundance, and degree of specialization are
+the _trilobites_, the nearest living representatives of which are
+certain crustaceans. Of the trilobites about 100 species have been
+discovered in the Cambrian rocks of North America, the largest
+individual being about 20 inches in length.
+
+The picture of the continent which the facts just referred to enables
+one to sketch in fancy includes land areas destitute of animal life, and
+probably without vegetation, except perhaps the lichens, the lowest of
+the cryptogams. The sea, especially in its shallower portions near land
+and over its surface, contains algae, mostly, we presume, of small size,
+in fact microscopic, and soft tissued. The animal life subsisting
+primarily on the algae are all invertebrates, and nearly all of them,
+excepting the crustaceans, simple in organization. None of the animals
+the remains of which have thus far been discovered had strong shells or
+other well-developed protective or supporting tissues, thus indicating
+that they were not subject to the attacks of formidable enemies.
+
+As compared with later faunas, the animals of the Cambrian were
+primitive, but their diversity--every subkingdom of invertebrates being
+represented--is positive evidence that they were not the first
+inhabitants of the waters. Considered from the point of view of
+development, this fauna stands at least half-way, and some students of
+the ancient history of the earth place it as far as nine-tenths of the
+way, up the life column--that is, the time from the first appearance of
+life on the earth to the beginning of the Cambrian was at least as long
+and possibly nine times as long as the time that has since elapsed. This
+is a sufficient promise that many records of life, and it seems safe to
+predict as varied an assemblage of organisms as the at present
+known Cambrian fauna, will ultimately be discovered in the Algonkian or
+lower rocks.
+
+The Paleozoic era witnessed the first appearance of vertebrate life. The
+earliest known forms were fish-like in character and were succeeded in
+sequence by batrachians and reptiles. In this connection the most
+important contribution to the world's knowledge, from the study of the
+American records, include the discovery of a large number of fishes, or
+fish-like forms, some of them of gigantic size, in the Devonian and
+Carboniferous rocks of the Ohio region, by J. S. Newberry; numerous
+batrachians in the Coal Measures of Ohio, by E. D. Cope; of batrachians
+and probably reptiles in rocks of similar age in Nova Scotia, by J. W.
+Dawson and O. C. Marsh.
+
+During the Paleozoic era land plants appeared, and before its close the
+continent was densely clothed with forests consisting of flowerless
+plants such as ferns and club-mosses, together with a less abundance of
+trees related to the existing conifers.
+
+Great additions to the world's knowledge of the varied and beautiful
+floras of the swamps in which the coal-beds of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nova
+Scotia, etc., were accumulated have been made by H. D. Rogers, J. S.
+Newberry, Leo Lesquereux, J. W. Dawson, I. C. White, David White, and
+others.
+
+The Mesozoic era is characterized among other events by the first
+appearance and rapid development of flowering plants, the cycads being
+especially numerous, and of our ordinary broad-leaved trees, such as the
+oak, willow, sassafras, etc., and by the coming in of palms; and in the
+animal kingdom by the culmination of reptilian life and the advent of
+birds and mammals.
+
+The American Mesozoic rocks have yielded a rich store of fossil plants,
+as is well known from the painstaking studies of J. S. Newberry, Leo
+Lesquereux, W. M. Fontaine, L. F. Ward, F. H. Knowlton, and others.
+These same students of the progress of plant life on the continent have
+also made extensive and critical studies of the Cenozoic floras.
+
+The relics of reptilian life brought to light from the Mesozoic rocks of
+New Jersey, Kansas, Wyoming, etc., by Joseph Leidy, O. C. Marsh, E. D.
+Cope, and others, have astonished the world, even though marvellous
+results in a similar direction had previously been made known in Europe.
+The reptilian age was marked in America by the presence of such huge
+reptiles, and by the strange development and adaptations in various
+directions that they surpass the wildest dreams of fable. Lizard-like
+reptiles walked the earth that were 40 to 60 feet in length and stood 10
+to 14 feet high where the massive hind limbs joined the body. Their
+thigh-bones in certain instances measured over 6 feet in length. Some of
+these monsters, it is estimated, weighed at least 10 tons. These, the
+hugest of all land animals, were vegetable feeders. Others, of less
+size, although still gigantic and more active, were carnivorous. Some of
+the old lizard-like forms which left their footprints in great abundance
+in the sands now hardened into sandstone in the Connecticut Valley and
+New Jersey walked on their hind feet, after the manner of birds, and
+left three-toed footmarks, some of them 20 inches in length, which are
+strikingly bird-like in appearance. Other great reptiles, whale-like in
+appearance, inhabited the ocean. Yet more marvellous forms were provided
+with wings, resembling those of bats, and in the case of the great
+_Pteranodons_ found in the rocks of Kansas had a "stretch of wing" of
+fully 20 feet. But the strange menagerie that has been resurrected
+contains such a marvellous array of grotesque shapes that not even a
+catalogue of the genera can be presented here.
+
+While the Mesozoic era was emphatically the age of reptiles, the coming
+of a more highly developed fauna was foreshadowed. Bird life was
+represented, and the skeletons of reptilian birds, or birds with teeth
+like those of reptiles, have been discovered in the Mesozoic rocks of
+Kansas. Important additions to our knowledge of these strange creatures,
+which furnish much instructive data in reference to the development of
+the higher from the lower forms of life, have been made by O. C. Marsh.
+The humble beginning of mammalian life is shown by insectivorous
+marsupials, the jaws of which were discovered in the Newark system
+(Lower Mesozoic) of North Carolina.
+
+The Cenozoic era is the age of mammals, so called because during that
+time brute mammals succeeded reptiles as the rulers of the earth. From
+the rocks deposited in North America during this era, principally the
+sediments of fresh-water lakes and the gravel-beds laid down by streams
+in the Pacific mountain region, a great number of skeletons of truly
+remarkable mammals, differing widely from anything now living, have been
+discovered by Joseph Leidy, O. C. Marsh, E. D. Cope, H. F. Osborn, and
+others. The profound interest attached to this fauna, and the bearings
+it has on the study of the geographical distribution of animals,
+climatic changes, etc., is indicated by the fact that it includes forms
+related to the rhinoceros, elephant, camel, etc., which are not
+represented among the animals now living on the continent, although
+having relatives in other and principally tropical countries.
+
+During the Psychozoic era mind gained ascendency over brute force, and
+man became the leader. The mammals continued to dominate the earth
+throughout the Pleistocene period and were then probably more numerous
+and of even larger size than during the preceding Tertiary period.
+During the Pleistocene great climatic changes occurred, and large
+glaciers existed in several regions which now enjoy a temperate climate
+and are densely populated.
+
+The presence of man in North America during the Pleistocene has not been
+proved, but important contributions to knowledge concerning the brute
+mammals, and in reference also to the climatic and physiographic
+changes, have been made.
+
+In stream-deposited gravels, caverns, peat swamps, etc., over the
+surface of practically the entire continent, the bones of many species
+of large mammals have been obtained. These include the mastodon and
+elephant, megatherium, megalonyx, mylodon, a large horse, a great bison,
+an elk much exceeding the living species in size, a giant beaver,
+and many others remarkable for their large dimensions as compared with
+their living representatives. Several of these large animals survived
+the vicissitudes of climate characteristic of the Glacial epoch, but
+have since become extinct.
+
+The chief contributions to Pleistocene history, however, made by
+American geologists, are in connection with the records of climatic
+changes. During the earlier portion of the period, and beginning perhaps
+in late Tertiary time, the continent in large part at least was more
+elevated than now and the energetic streams of the mountainous portions
+eroded deep canyons. To this Sierran epoch, as it is termed, is referred
+the excavation of the larger valleys of the Sierra Nevada, the
+world-renowned canyons of the Colorado and Snake Rivers, and probably the
+deep Valley of the St. Lawrence and the Hudson.
+
+A climatic change perhaps initiated by the greater elevation of the
+land, but not as yet wholly explained, caused glaciers to form about the
+higher portions of a number of the ranges in the Pacific mountains, and
+continental glaciers of the type of the ice-sheet now covering Greenland
+to expand from at least three centres, termed the Labradorean, Keewatin,
+and Cordilleran, in what is now Canada. During this time of great ice
+accumulation and of glacial advance and retreat, or the Glacial epoch,
+as it is termed, fully one-half of North America was buried beneath
+ice-sheets of the continental type. A composite map showing the portions
+of the continent which were covered with ice at one time or another
+during the Glacial epoch is reproduced in Plate V.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE V.--Pleistocene glacial deposits.
+
+     NOTE: This map presents what may be termed a composite picture
+     of the extent of glacial ice during Pleistocene and Recent
+     time; Greenland, much of the Arctic archipelago, and many areas
+     in the Pacific mountains are still occupied by ice. The broken
+     blue lines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts show
+     approximately the seaward extension of the Pleistocene
+     ice-sheets. The detached areas of glaciation in the western
+     portion of the United States are here assigned to the Wisconsin
+     stage, but in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada there are
+     records of two ice advances. The drift in western Canada here
+     colored as Wisconsin is perhaps in part of later date.]
+
+During the maximum advance of the ice from the Labradorean centre into
+the Continental basin it nearly reached the mouth of the Ohio River
+(near Cincinnati). An earlier advance from the Keewatin centre extended
+to the Missouri River in Missouri. There is evidence of a succession of
+advances and retreats of the ice forming a very complex history. With
+its final retreat the Great Lakes came into existence and the continent
+reached the stage in its development when man became prominent.
+
+The study of glacial geology in North America was initiated, or at least
+given a fresh start and in the proper direction, by Louis Agassiz, and
+within recent years energetically carried forward by a large number of
+earnest workers. The stage of advance reached in this branch of geology
+which serves so admirably to link the present with the past is well
+presented in the numerous publications of T. C. Chamberlin and his
+associates.
+
+The instructive history of the growth of North America and the
+successive appearance of higher and higher forms of life, the records of
+which have been discovered in the sedimentary rocks, has been made known
+by the combined studies of a large number of investigators, but the
+great task has been carried on mainly under the auspices of various
+national and State surveys. Chief among these is the present United
+States Geological Survey, which has published what may be justly termed
+a library of valuable literature and of topographic and geologic maps.
+
+_The Igneous Rocks_ (Plate IV).--Under the at present popular
+explanation of the origin of the earth, namely, the nebular hypothesis,
+and also the modification of it termed the meteoric hypothesis, the
+planet itself is considered to have been at one time in a molten
+condition. The starting-point of the study of the rocks composing the
+earth should be, therefore, the primitive crust cooled from fusion. In
+addition to this there have been throughout history geologic migrations
+of molten matter from deep within the earth towards the surface, and a
+part of the material thus forced outward, principally through fissures,
+has cooled in the rocks it penetrated, forming intrusions of various
+kinds, and a part has reached the surface and been extruded, as during
+volcanic eruptions.
+
+Probably every known phase of vulcanism is illustrated by the igneous
+rocks of North America, and in certain branches of the subject, as the
+nature of intrusions and the changes which occur in the cooling of
+igneous magmas, marked advances in the world's knowledge have been made
+by American geologists.
+
+Examples of volcanic phenomena on a grand scale are furnished by the
+still active volcanoes of the Caribbees, Central America, Mexico, and
+Alaska. Between southern Alaska and south-central Mexico there are no
+active craters, but a large number of volcanic mountains in various
+stages of erosion which form an instructive series illustrating the
+internal structure of the mode of accumulation of ejected fragment
+material and of lava-flows. In this series of mountains built by igneous
+agencies belongs the great volcanic piles of the Cascade region, of
+which Mounts Baker, Rainier, Adams, Hood, Jefferson, Mazama, Shasta,
+etc., are among the leading examples. Many other illustrations in the
+same connection, some of them in an advanced stage of erosion and now
+revealing only the dikes and necks of resistant rock that cooled and
+hardened well below the surface, occur widely throughout the southwest
+portion of the United States. The still recognisable volcanic mountains
+of the continent, with the exception of those of the Caribbees, are
+confined to its western half, and with the exception of certain almost
+perfect craters in eastern New Mexico are all within the Pacific
+mountains. A great belt of volcanoes, including a large number of both
+active and extinct examples, extends from Panama to the Aleutian
+Islands, a distance of some 7,000 miles, and is a part of the so-called
+"circle of fire" surrounding the Pacific Ocean. This belt is about 1,000
+miles broad in its central part, where only extinct volcanoes exist, and
+narrows towards both its northern and southern extremities, which are
+defined by still steaming craters. The narrow northern portion,
+inclusive of the active volcanoes of the Alaskan Peninsula and the
+Aleutian Islands, is prolonged westward, and forms a curve concave to
+the southward, while the equally narrow southern portion marked by the
+energetic craters of Central America forms a curve concave to the
+northward. The entire belt has something the shape of a sigmoid curve,
+with a wide central portion.
+
+In the preceding sketch of the growth of the continent it was shown that
+the Pacific mountain region is younger than the Atlantic mountain
+region. In this same connection certain interesting general conclusions
+have been reached in reference to igneous activity. In each of the great
+cordilleras referred to there have been extensive breaks in the earth's
+crust through which molten rocks have been forced upward. Volcanoes and
+various intrusions have been formed in each region, but in the eastern
+half of the continent the time since the last eruptions has been so
+great that all evidence in the relief of the land of the former presence
+of volcanic mountains has been obliterated. Erosion has cut deeply into
+the rocks on which the ancient volcanoes stood, and revealed in some
+instances the dikes occupying the fissures which supplied them. A large
+number of dikes of igneous rock occur in the Atlantic coast region from
+Prince Edward Island southward to Alabama and Georgia, and vast
+lava-flows of ancient date are still preserved about the south shore of
+Lake Superior. Volcanic eruptions in the older half of the continent
+have long since ceased and the breaks which gave them existence have
+been healed. The later movements in the western half of the continent
+have caused fresh fractures to form, through which molten matter has
+been forced to the surface. Many facts have been observed in each region
+which show an intimate connection between movements in the earth's crust
+which have produced fractures and the distribution of volcanoes.
+
+The lavas poured out by the more recent volcanoes of North America are
+mainly dark basic rocks, among which basalt predominates. An exception
+occurs in the case of the Mono craters near Mono Lake, California, which
+in recent time extruded a thick, viscous, highly siliceous, rhyolitic
+lava, much of which cooled quickly and formed volcanic glass or
+obsidian.
+
+In addition to streams and sheets of lava, many volcanoes, and
+especially those in a state of explosive eruption, blew into the air
+quantities of fragmental material, such as scoria, bombs, volcanic
+gravel (lapilli), dust, etc., which was scattered far and wide over the
+land. More or less extensive sheets of this material, in many instances
+interstratified with sedimentary beds, and especially with the
+strata laid down in Tertiary lakes, or separating lava-flows, occur
+widely throughout the Pacific mountains. Dust showers of the nature just
+referred to have occurred at a recent date, and the fine white material
+that fell is now found at the surface in a large number of localities,
+ranging from Central America to the Yukon Valley and from Kansas and
+Nebraska to Oregon and Washington.
+
+The most remarkable instance of the addition of volcanic rocks to the
+surface of North America is in the case of the Columbia River lava,
+which covers some 200,000 or more square miles of country in Washington,
+Oregon, and neighbouring States. In that region outwellings of highly
+liquid rock came from fissures and spread widely over the surface as
+veritable inundations, which on cooling became black, basaltic rock, but
+without forming mountains or craters. Where the Snake River has
+excavated its magnificent canyon in these still horizontal layers of
+basalt, a thickness of 4,000 feet is revealed, although the stream has
+not as yet cut through the formation, and in Stein Mountain, Oregon, a
+similar series of lava-sheets over 5,000 feet thick has been measured.
+The Columbia River lava was spread over the surface of a deeply eroded
+land in a series of vast overflows of molten material. The liquid rock
+covered the broad plains and extended into the valleys in the adjacent
+mountains, giving them level floors of basalt. Mountain spurs became
+capes and headlands and outstanding buttes were transformed into islands
+in the molten sea. The lava since cooled and crystallized has in places
+been folded and tilted; streams like the Columbia, Snake, Spokane
+Rivers, etc., have carved great canyons in it, and the surface,
+especially where it is still nearly horizontal, has decayed and yielded
+a wonderfully rich soil. It is the fine, rich residual material of these
+lava plains, redistributed in part by the wind, which furnishes the
+basis for the immense wheat industry of the northwestern portion of the
+United States.
+
+The extrusion of molten rock from deep within the earth so as to form
+volcanoes or fissure eruptions at the surface is only a part of a widely
+extended and highly varied process. As geologists have discovered,
+particularly in deeply eroded regions, by no means all of the fissures
+which permit of the forcing upward of molten material in them reach the
+surface. Many of them died out before coming to the light and favoured
+the production of various forms of intrusion.
+
+A fissure originating deep in the earth's crust and extending upward,
+perhaps with many branches and irregularities, if injected with molten
+rock from below gives origin to dikes. That is, a dike is a more or less
+vertical sheet of igneous rock which has cooled and crystallized in a
+fissure. Such sheets of intruded material cutting across the bedding of
+stratified rocks, or traversing older igneous or metamorphic terranes,
+are of common occurrence and are frequently abundant in deeply eroded
+regions. They occur particularly in mountains of upheaval, thus
+demonstrating the fact that to a large extent the fissure which became
+injected with molten magmas and perhaps gave origin to volcanoes, are
+due to movements in the rocks composing the earth's crust. The force
+which causes molten rock to rise in such fissures also tends to prolong
+and enlarge them. The heat of an intruded magma affects the rocks it
+traverses and produces what is termed contact metamorphism. Examples of
+dikes in the Newark system have already been referred to, and others are
+common throughout the Pacific mountains. Where the Columbia River lava
+in central Washington has been removed by erosion, hundreds, and in fact
+thousands, of dikes are exposed in the terranes on which it formerly
+rested.
+
+When a dike ends above in horizontally bedded rocks it sometimes happens
+that the injected magma, especially if highly fluid, is forced in
+between the strata and spreads widely between the layers, forming an
+intruded sheet, which lifts a broad cover to a height equal to its own
+thickness. An example of an intrusion of this nature is furnished by the
+palisade trap-sheet in New Jersey and New York, which has a maximum
+thickness of about 1,000 feet, and is fully 100 miles in length from
+north to south. The portion which remains is but a remnant and is
+seldom over 2 or 3 miles wide. This sheet in common with its associated
+sandstones and shales has been tilted so as to dip westward at an angle
+of about 15 degrees, and its eastern border eroded so as to form the
+picturesque Palisades on the west bank of the Hudson opposite New York
+city. Many other similar intruded sheets are known in Nova Scotia, the
+Connecticut Valley, among the Pacific mountains, etc.
+
+A marked variation in the process just outlined occurs when, as the
+controlling condition, the intruded magma is highly viscous instead of
+highly fluid, and the friction of contact and of flow is greatly
+increased. Under such circumstances the intruded magma expands less
+widely than is the case when an intruded sheet is formed, and a thick
+intrusion results, which lifts a small cover perhaps to a great height.
+Intrusions of this nature are sometimes expanded in their upper portions
+into a more or less mushroom shape, and from their fancied resemblance
+to cisterns of once molten rock within older terranes have been termed
+_laccoliths_. The typical examples are furnished by the Henry Mountains
+in southern Utah, described by G. K. Gilbert. Other similar intrusions
+in Colorado have been studied by Whitman Cross, and yet other examples
+have been discovered in various parts of the Pacific mountains. In the
+case of certain of the laccoliths in the Henry Mountains, now laid bare
+by erosion, the cistern-like mass of intruded material is 12,000 feet or
+more in diameter, some 5,000 feet thick in the central part, and lifted
+a cover of stratified rocks fully 7,000 feet thick.
+
+Where a dike ends above in older rocks, and particularly in horizontally
+stratified sedimentary beds, in a pipe-like form, similar to the conduit
+of a volcano, but without reaching the surface, the unexpanded or but
+slightly enlarged summit portion lifts a comparatively small cover into
+a dome, and what has been termed a plutonic plug results.
+
+All the various phases of intrusions thus far referred to, it will be
+readily seen, are variations of one process. The wide range in
+the results produced are dependent on local conditions, either in
+respect to terranes invaded, as, for example, whether or not they are
+undisturbed sedimentary beds, and on the physical condition of the
+intruded material, in reference especially to its degree of viscosity.
+There is an intimate and even a genetic connection between intrusions on
+the one hand and volcanic and fissure eruptions on the other. If
+fissures lead from portions of the earth's crust sufficiently deep to
+permit the rocks to become plastic or fused on account of the relief of
+pressure due to the opening of the fissure, the magma may be forced to
+the surface, becoming more and more plastic or more perfectly fluid as
+the weight upon it decreased, and volcanic phenomena result; or if the
+fissure fails to reach the surface intrusions of various forms may be
+produced. The simplest form of intrusion, the dike, results under
+whatever condition the summit portion of the magma comes to rest. A
+magma forced upward in fissures in the earth's crust may meet moist
+rocks or even reservoirs of water, and in such instances steam or gases
+are produced and a new force is added, which may produce explosions.
+
+In addition to the intrusions of the various classes just referred to
+there are others on a far larger scale, examples of which occur in North
+America, but as yet their mode of origin has been but little studied. I
+refer to vast upwellings of molten or plastic material beneath the more
+rigid portions of the earth's crust, which elevate domes, perhaps 200 or
+300 miles or more in their various horizontal diameters. The great areas
+occupied by intrusive granite, as the one from which the Bitter Root
+Mountains in Idaho have been sculptured, are of this nature. These
+"regional intrusions," as they may be termed, elevate mountains in the
+same general manner as in the case of laccoliths, but of far greater
+size. To the elevations produced in this manner I have ventured to apply
+the name _subtuberant mountains_, in expression of the idea that they
+have resulted from vertical uplifts, due to the upswelling of molten
+material beneath.
+
+_The Metamorphic Rocks_ (Plate IV).--At the contact of either
+sedimentary or igneous rocks with intrusive rocks of whatever form, such
+as dikes, sheets, laccoliths, etc., there has been in many well-known
+instances an alteration of the terranes penetrated or uplifted which is
+most intense along the contact and diminishes at a distance. This change
+or metamorphism, as it is termed, consists of an alteration in the
+colour, texture, hardness, mineral and chemical composition, etc., of
+the rocks affected, and may be manifest throughout a thickness of but a
+few feet, or perhaps only a few inches, but near large intrusions is apt
+to be traceable for scores or hundreds of feet. In the case of intense
+contact metamorphism, the altered rock assumes a new form, and may
+exhibit a crystalline and foliated or schistose structure. The changes
+referred to are most marked when water is present, and are thought to be
+due largely to the influence of heated water percolating through the
+rocks and producing changes by solution and deposition. The principal
+agencies which take part in contact metamorphism are heat, heated
+waters, pressure, and perhaps movements within the rocks.
+
+There are extensive regions throughout which the rocks have been changed
+in a manner similar to the alterations commonly found adjacent to
+igneous intrusions which, in general, have been brought about in some
+other way. This regional metamorphism, as it is termed, has affected the
+rocks in certain instances throughout districts measuring many hundreds
+of square miles in surface extent, and with a vertical range of many
+thousands of feet. The rocks referred to have been changed without
+fusion from a previous condition, during which they were either
+sedimentary beds or cooled and crystallized igneous magma. This
+conclusion has been verified in numerous instances by tracing the
+thoroughly altered rocks to regions where the change has been less
+intense and finally to where they pass by insensible gradations into
+easily recognisable sedimentary or igneous terranes. Common examples of
+metamorphic rocks are mica, schist, gneiss, statuary marble,
+certain granites, etc. These rocks frequently have a foliated or fissile
+structure, such as it is presumed would result from a flowing movement
+within the mass while under great pressure. Characteristically also the
+rocks are composed of interlocking crystals or portions of crystals,
+which are not contained in a glassy base, as is the case with most rocks
+that have crystallized from fusion. That is, the metamorphic rocks are
+characteristically _holocrystalline_, while igneous rocks are
+_porphyritic_, or _cryptocrystalline_.
+
+The analogy between rocks altered by contact metamorphism and those
+affected by regional metamorphism had led to the conclusion that the
+latter, like the former, have been changed by heat and the passage
+through them of heated water bearing mineral matter, and especially
+silica, in solution. More than this, the foliation frequently so
+characteristic of metamorphic rocks is considered as evidence of a
+flowing movement or shearing of the material while under pressure. In
+short, rocks are altered by heat, especially if water is present in
+them, by motion, and by chemical changes produced by percolating waters,
+and perhaps in still other ways. The degree of heat required is not
+definitely known, and probably varies according to the nature of the
+rocks, the presence or absence of water, etc., but is certainly less
+than that necessary to produce fusion, and is thought, in general, to be
+in the neighbourhood of 750 deg. F. While heat alone is considered as
+sufficient to produce metamorphism, it is probable that in most
+instances two or more of the agencies just referred to have been in
+operation at the same time. In the case of the foliated rocks motion
+within the mass seems to have been the predominating factor, and
+dynamical metamorphism is considered as important as heat metamorphism.
+
+In North America, as is indicated roughly on the map forming Plate IV,
+metamorphic rocks occur at the surface over a great region in eastern
+and northeastern Canada, in Labrador and Newfoundland, in the New
+England States, and thence southward along the eastern side of the
+Appalachians. Other extensive regions occupied by similar rocks
+occur in many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains, from Alaska to
+Panama, and are known in the West Indies.
+
+Not only do the metamorphosed rocks outcrop at the surface over large
+areas, but, as may be inferred from such outcrops, as well as from the
+records of numerous borings, underlies nearly the entire extent of the
+sedimentary formations. The basal portion of the continent, with the
+exception of certain areas where igneous rocks occur, is formed of
+metamorphosed terranes. So generally is this true, that it is safe to
+say that if a boring is begun at any locality on the continent where
+sedimentary beds occur, and is continued downward until the sedimentary
+rocks are passed through, metamorphic terranes will be found beneath.
+The same is true also where the surface is composed of lava-sheets. The
+exceptions, where metamorphosed rocks do not occur beneath sedimentary
+or volcanic beds, are when igneous intrusions or ancient lava-flows are
+present at a depth.
+
+In the brief description given of the Archean system on a preceding
+page, it was stated that the rocks composing it are largely metamorphic.
+But rocks of practically any age may be altered in the several ways
+mentioned above, and the resulting gneisses, schists, etc., be
+indistinguishable from those of the Archean. In fact, some of the
+metamorphosed rocks of North America, as certain gneisses, schists,
+etc., of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, are known to be of
+Mesozoic and even Cenozoic age.
+
+In speaking of the growth of North America, and again in connection with
+the distribution of volcanic mountains, it was shown that there has been
+a progressive migration of the field of action of the forces which
+upheave the rocks so as to form land areas, and also of the movements in
+the rocks which produce fractures and lead to the origin of volcanoes.
+In a similar way the sphere of influence of metamorphism as indicated by
+the age of the transformed rocks in various regions has in a general way
+migrated from east to west across the continent.
+
+In the Laurentian Highlands the metamorphosed rocks are of pre-Cambrian
+age; in New England and the Appalachian region they are, in part at
+least, of Paleozoic age; and in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains
+metamorphosed Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks occur. As movements in the
+outer portion of the earth's crust may produce fractures in any class of
+rocks, and as such fractures favour the intrusion of igneous material,
+the metamorphic rocks may contain igneous intrusions similar to those
+noted above in connection with sedimentary rocks. As the stratification
+so marked in sedimentary beds is lacking in metamorphosed rocks, it is
+not to be expected that intrusions will take the form of sheets,
+laccoliths, etc., but rather appear as dikes with perhaps irregular
+branches. As the same region may experience two or more periods of
+metamorphism, it is evident that great complexities may arise, as, for
+example, when a metamorphosed terrane is penetrated by dikes and
+irregular intrusions and again subjected to metamorphosing conditions.
+These considerations lead to the suggestion that rocks metamorphosed in
+pre-Cambrian time, for example, would be apt to be more complex than
+those of Mesozoic date. In general, this has been found to be true, as
+is suggested by the fact that to the pre-Cambrian metamorphosed
+terranes, as previously stated, the name Basement Complex has been
+applied.
+
+_Summary._--The relation of the three great divisions into which the
+rocks composing North America, in common with all other portions of the
+known lithosphere, are divided, may perhaps be better understood when it
+is remembered that the igneous rocks came _from below_ in a molten
+condition; that the sedimentary rocks have been formed _at the surface_
+from the _debris_ of either igneous, metamorphic, or previously formed
+sedimentary beds; and that metamorphic rocks have been produced _within_
+the earth's outer crust by the alteration of either igneous or
+sedimentary rocks. When the heat which produced certain phases of
+metamorphism is sufficiently increased, greater freedom of molecular and
+chemical changes occur and the material acted on passes to the
+condition of an igneous magma. The three great classes of rocks
+considered above are thus seen to be but stages in a cycle which the
+material of the lithosphere passes through.
+
+The conditions which bring about these changes are still in action and
+are intimately associated with movements in the rocks of the earth's
+crust. When elevation raises a portion of the earth's crust above
+sea-level, erosion and redeposition ensue and sedimentary rocks are
+formed; the greater the elevation the more energetically the forces act
+which bring about denudation, transportation, and sedimentation. When
+depression occurs of sufficient amount to carry rocks previously at or
+near the surface into the zone of metamorphism, alterations follow, and
+in general the deeper the depression the greater the changes until
+metamorphism culminates in fusion, providing pressure does not
+counteract the influence of heat. Dynamical and chemical metamorphism
+may occur at less depth than purely heat metamorphism, and it may be
+presumed takes place in the axes of mountain ranges, even above
+sea-level. Such a broad view of the relations and genesis of the three
+great lithologic divisions of the material forming the earth's outer
+crust is necessary to the understanding of the conditions observed in
+the basal portion of the geological column, as it is termed, in which
+the age and order of succession of the sedimentary rocks is indicated.
+In certain localities, for example, the Cambrian rocks rest
+unconformably on a surface of metamorphic and igneous rocks--that is,
+the Basement Complex was raised above sea-level, eroded and subsequently
+depressed before the Cambrian sediments were laid upon it. In other
+localities the Cambrian rocks pass indefinitely into metamorphosed
+terranes beneath, which means that metamorphism invaded the series after
+the deposition of the Cambrian, and the characteristics of its junction
+with older rocks was obliterated. Similar relations may evidently be
+discovered at any horizon in the geological column. Obviously the
+chances of a system of stratified rocks becoming metamorphosed or of
+being removed by erosion, are greater the nearer their position
+to the base of the sedimentary series; in a similar way the chances of a
+sedimentary terrane becoming invaded by igneous intrusions is greater
+the greater its age; again, the older a sedimentary terrane the greater
+the chances of its becoming buried by subsequent deposition and the less
+the likelihood of its being exposed for study. The only position in
+which a sedimentary formation can maintain its integrity and be safe
+from destruction by erosion or transformation by metamorphism is below
+sea-level and above the zone of heat metamorphism; but even in this
+position it may have its distinctive features, including its fossils,
+obliterated by dynamical and chemical alterations. These suggestions are
+offered for the sake of indicating, as stated on a previous page, that
+the Cambrian and Algonkian rocks should not be considered as the first
+formed sediments, and that there is hope of the discovery of a rich
+fauna of older date than any at present known. In the search for the
+earliest evidence of animal life on the earth, North America holds out
+favourable conditions.
+
+
+                THE CONCENTRATION OF MINERAL SUBSTANCES
+
+The most important branch of geology treats of the substances in the
+earth's crust that are of direct service to man, as, for example,
+building stones, coal, iron, petroleum, gold, etc. Only a glance can
+here be given at the conditions which have led to the origin of the
+materials of commercial value and to their geographical distribution.
+
+From the mode of origin of the principal classes of rocks it may be
+reasonably inferred that certain minerals and ores will be developed or
+concentrated in one class of rocks and not in the others. To a great
+extent the facts observed during the development of mines, etc., sustain
+this prediction.
+
+In the cooling and crystallizing of igneous rocks from a state of fusion
+many minerals are formed, the most common being silicates of the
+alkaline earths, which are usually inclosed in a glassy or
+cryptocrystalline base. The igneous rocks have characteristically
+a highly complex chemical composition, and although frequently
+containing the metallic element, etc., which are of economic importance,
+these are widely disseminated, and in nearly all cases in chemical
+combinations, as the minor ingredients of siliceous minerals. Although
+the igneous rocks sometimes contain valuable ores, they are in many, if
+not all instances, due to secondary enrichment and are not a result of
+primary crystallization from fusion. As all the material of the earth's
+crust was at one stage in the series of changes it has experienced
+consolidated from fusion, it follows that the ores and minerals now of
+economic value did not then exist, or were widely diffused and have
+since been formed or concentrated.
+
+The processes of concentration referred to are carried on in various
+ways through the agency of mechanical, chemical, vital, molecular, and
+electrical forces, acting singly or in association. For example,
+concentration through the action of mechanical agencies is illustrated
+by the manner in which rocks are reduced to fragments in the every-day
+process of denudation and the resulting _debris_ removed by streams and
+redeposited. In this process an assorting in reference to size, specific
+gravity, etc., takes place, and certain substances, as sand, for
+instance, is accumulated in one locality, and certain other substances,
+as clay, deposited in another locality. During this process gold,
+platinum, etc., owing to their high specific gravity, may be
+concentrated in stream channels. The accumulation of mineral matter
+through the action mainly of chemical agencies, occurs when the waters
+percolating through rocks dissolves certain substances, as calcium
+carbonate, for instance, and on coming to the surface as springs, or
+dripping from the roofs of caverns, deposit calcareous tufa,
+stalactites, etc. Silica, iron, manganese, and other substances are
+frequently concentrated in a similar manner.
+
+Concentration of previously widely disseminated substances principally
+through the agency of vital forces, is illustrated by the manner in
+which molluscs and polyps obtain calcium carbonate from water and
+deposit it in their shells or skeletons. The part played by plants in
+this same connection is shown by the way in which they eliminate carbon
+dioxide from the air or from water, and concentrate the carbon in their
+tissues. From the carbon accumulated in this manner, under certain
+conditions, deposits of peat, lignite, coal, graphite, etc., have
+resulted.
+
+What may provisionally at least be termed molecular concentration occurs
+when similar molecules are brought together largely by water and
+crystallized to form mineral species. In order to simplify this brief
+discussion as much as practicable, this phase of concentration will be
+included under the chemical processes referred to above.
+
+The three principal methods by which mineral substances are
+concentrated, namely, the mechanical, chemical, and vital, have in the
+main different fields of action. The mechanical and vital agencies
+operate at the surface of the lithosphere, although organic products,
+principally certain acids, descend into the earth in solution in water
+and play an important part in deep-seated chemical changes, as in the
+formation of mineral veins. The chemical agencies bring about the
+concentration of mineral substances both at or near the surface and at a
+depth.
+
+The intensity with which the several agencies just referred to operate
+varies according to conditions. The mechanical agencies, for example,
+acting mainly through the aid of flowing water, are in general most
+potent in humid regions and where the land is high above sea-level.
+Vital agencies depend largely on climate and are most active in warm
+humid regions. The chemical agencies are influenced largely by heat, the
+presence of water, and by pressure.
+
+It is interesting to note that a high degree of heat leads to the
+dissipation and wide distribution of substances previously concentrated;
+fusion, for example, permitting of the intimate mingling or
+recombination of substances, previously segregated, although during the
+dying stages of volcanic activity minerals like sulphur, cinnabar, etc.,
+may be directly condensed and thus concentrated from a vaporous
+condition.
+
+During the formation of the three main classes of rocks composing the
+earth's crust, the agencies leading to the concentration of various
+substances now of economic importance have to a great extent been
+different, and hence in a marked way the stones, ores, fuels, gems,
+etc., to be expected in each of the three classes of rocks,
+respectively, are distinct. Certain exceptions to this broad conclusion,
+however, arise from the fact that rocks belonging to each of the classes
+referred to may have been brought within the influence of the same or
+similar concentrating agencies and like results produced in each class.
+
+_Economic Importance of the Igneous Terranes._--The igneous rocks, as
+previously noted, are such as have cooled from fusion. On the cooling of
+magmas various minerals are formed, most commonly silicates, and except
+in a minor way in connection with the weaker stages of volcanic activity
+and the slow cooling of the rocks, there does not seem to be any marked
+tendency towards the concentration or segregation of metallic minerals
+or ores. Although igneous rocks do contain gold, silver, copper, etc.,
+and a large variety of the rarer metals, they are widely disseminated.
+As is well known, however, igneous rocks are in some instances of value
+for the metallic mineral, gems, and ores associated with them, but in
+the great majority of instances at least, and as a rule, these minerals
+and ores are the result of subsequent changes and owe their origin
+mainly to deposition from heated, percolating water. Rich ore bodies
+frequently occur on the borders of igneous dikes, and in fissures and
+cavities in igneous rocks, but the process by which they have been
+formed is similar to that leading to the concentration of mineral matter
+in metamorphic rocks, and will be referred to later.
+
+The igneous rocks themselves furnish desirable building stones, such as
+granite, diorite, porphyry, diabase, etc. With the exception of granite
+and the nearly related diorite, these have not as yet been extensively
+utilized in North America. Certain of the igneous rocks have been
+altered to serpentine, which on account of its pleasing green colour and
+the ease with which it can be cut and polished furnishes a stone
+valuable for interior uses. It is also employed, usually with a rough
+surface, in the construction of exterior walls of dwellings, gateways,
+etc. Large bodies of serpentine occur at a number of localities in the
+Atlantic mountains from Pennsylvania and Maryland northward, including
+eastern Canada, and also over extensive areas in the Pacific mountains,
+particularly in California, Washington, and Alaska.
+
+The principal ores and minerals of commercial importance in the igneous
+rocks are native copper, as in northern Michigan; copper pyrites, as at
+Butte, Montana; gold, at many localities, including the Treadwell mine,
+Alaska; opal, which is mined on a small scale in Idaho and Washington.
+In practically all these instances, and numerous others that might be
+enumerated, the substances referred to have been deposited from solution
+in cavities in the rocks or have replaced other substances, and are due
+to what is termed above chemical concentration.
+
+_Economic Importance of the Sedimentary Terranes._--The sedimentary
+rocks are composed principally of fragmental material derived from the
+disintegration of older rocks transported and deposited mechanically,
+and resulting in the formation of sandstone, shale, etc., and of
+organically concentrated material, such as shells and corals, which form
+limestones. The deposits originating in these ways furnish excellent
+building stones, the principal classes being sandstones and limestones.
+These occur widely throughout North America, and in formations of all
+ages subsequent to the Archean. The sandstones were deposited near the
+shores of the seas, or in lakes, and the limestones principally in
+moderately deep oceans.
+
+Sandstones occur largely in the Cambrian formation on the south shore of
+Lake Superior and about the borders of the Adirondack hills of New York.
+They are usually red or reddish-brown rocks, and their pleasing colours,
+durability, even grain, and the readiness with which they may be broken
+in any direction make them desirable building stones.
+
+The Newark system, extending in detached areas from Nova Scotia
+to South Carolina, contains immense quantities of brown and gray
+sandstone, which have been extensively quarried, particularly in the
+Connecticut Valley, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and largely
+used in Atlantic coast cities. The Carboniferous and Devonian
+sandstones, usually of a gray colour, of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and
+neighbouring States, are largely used in the cities of the interior
+portions of the United States. Extensive deposits of Mesozoic and
+Cenozoic sandstones occur throughout the Pacific mountains, and afford a
+practically unlimited supply of good building material, which as yet has
+been but little utilized. The colours of sandstones vary from bright red
+through brown-yellow to gray, and in some cases are nearly white,
+depending largely on the condition of the iron present. The red rocks
+are dyed with ferric oxide; the brownstones contain iron, frequently in
+the cementing material that unites the grains, in various stages of
+oxidation and hydration; the gray stones may also contain iron, but if
+present it is in union with organic matter, as the ferric carbonate, for
+example. The Cambrian and Newark sandstones are prevailingly of some
+shade of red, for the reason that not enough organic matter is present
+to change the iron to a carbonate.
+
+The sandstones when of an even fine grain and not too hard, are suitable
+for sharpening tools, and large quantities of grindstones, whetstones,
+etc., are made from them, as on the Lake Huron shore of Michigan, in
+Ohio, etc. Other sandstones, practically free from iron, are used in the
+manufacture of glass. The best example of "glass sand" is the Sylvania
+sandstone of southeastern Michigan. Unconsolidated sand is largely used
+in mixing mortars and cements, for smoothing stones used for
+architectural and monumental purposes, as foundry sand in making moulds
+for casting, and many other ways. Seaward from where sand is being
+deposited we find in the present oceans that as a rule fine bluish or
+greenish mud occurs, and still farther seaward, except where
+coral-polyps thrive, usually at a distance of 100 miles or more from
+land, the bottom is composed of calcareous mud or ooze. The sand
+and mud are derived from the land, and if consolidated form sandstone
+and shale. The calcareous ooze is derived from the life of the sea,
+largely minute lime-secreting foraminifera, together with shells of
+molluscs, and in the vicinity of coral islands or reefs the hard parts
+of coral growth are added. That is, the calcareous oozes are formed by
+the concentration of calcium carbonate through the vital action of
+animals and to a less extent of plants. Such material, if consolidated,
+would form ordinary limestone.
+
+In North America there are terranes scores of hundreds of miles across
+in various directions and hundreds and even thousands of feet thick that
+have been formed in the manner just indicated. From this mode of origin
+it may be truthfully inferred that limestone may have been formed during
+any age since organisms having the power of secreting calcium carbonate
+existed on the earth. The limestones of North America range in age from
+the Algonkian period to the present time, and are still being formed in
+the ocean and in a minor way in lakes.
+
+Impure limestones, frequently coloured or clouded with red, due to
+ferric oxide, are quarried on an extensive scale in eastern Tennessee,
+and are used for decorative purposes. The Tennessee limestones referred
+to are of Paleozoic age; in Florida porous rocks, known as coquina,
+composed of imperfectly consolidated shells of living species of
+molluscs, are used in the construction of buildings. Gray limestones
+susceptible of a good polish occur in Ohio and neighbouring States and
+are utilized to some extent for columns and interior finish of
+buildings, but in the main the stones of this nature when employed for
+architectural purposes are rough-faced. Vast amounts of limestone
+suitable for masonry occur widely throughout the Mississippi Valley in
+many of the ranges of the Pacific mountains, especially in the United
+States and Mexico, and are also of immense thickness in the West Indies.
+
+In many instances limestone has been metamorphosed, as will be described
+below, and converted into crystalline marble. Commercially, however, all
+limestone, whether crystalline or not, which is susceptible of a
+polish, is termed marble.
+
+Under certain conditions calcium carbonate is concentrated at or near
+the earth's surface by chemical agencies, as about springs where
+calcareous tufa, travertine, etc., are precipitated, and in caverns
+where stalactites and stalagmites are formed. Stalagmite sheets are
+sometimes composed of variegated, laminated layers, and when polished
+produce a beautiful decorative stone which passes under the name of onyx
+marble. Deposits of this character of commercial importance occur in
+Arizona and Mexico.
+
+Calcium carbonate concentrated in lakes through the combined action of
+chemical and vital agencies produces the so-called marl, now extensively
+utilized in the manufacture of Portland cement. In this mode of
+accumulation the calcium carbonate is dissolved by percolating waters
+from the rocks and soils and carried to lakes in solution; it is there
+precipitated largely through the vital action of certain algae and
+deposited as a fine white ooze. Thousands of deposits of this nature,
+varying in extent up to several hundred acres, and having a depth of
+from a few feet to 40 and even 60 or more feet, occur in the portion of
+the continent covered with glacial drift, and especially in the States
+from New England to Minnesota. The reasons for the greater abundance of
+marl in this region than elsewhere are that the glacial drift is there
+highly calcareous, numerous lakes are present, and the climatic
+conditions are such as to favour the growth of certain aquatic plants,
+and especially the _Characeae_ or stoneworts, which have the property of
+eliminating calcium carbonate from ordinary lake waters.
+
+The importance of the vital agencies in concentrating substances of
+economic value is illustrated by the manner in which coal, petroleum,
+and natural or rock-gas, etc., have been formed.
+
+Land plants have the power, under the influence of light, of decomposing
+the carbon dioxide (carbonic-acid gas) of the air and fixing the carbon
+in their tissues, the oxygen being liberated and rendered
+available for animal respiration. Carbon is thus concentrated, and when
+plant remains accumulate and are preserved beneath water in swamps, a
+slow change takes place and peat is formed. The essential conditions for
+the accumulation of vegetable matter have been present on the earth ever
+since a land flora existed, and coal-beds occur at many different
+horizons. The earliest date at which land plants seem to have been
+sufficiently abundant to furnish material for coal-beds was the
+Carboniferous period. Although a similar flora existed during the
+preceding period, the Devonian, no coal-beds of workable thickness are
+known in the rocks of that age. Since the Carboniferous period coal has
+been found at many horizons in the sedimentary rocks, and peat is being
+accumulated at the present day.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Map showing the distribution of coal in North
+America.]
+
+The coal-fields of North America are more extensive than those of any
+other continent, excepting, perhaps, the at present but little known
+coal-bearing formations of Asia, and are distributed in temperate
+latitudes, from tide-water on the Atlantic to tide-water on the Pacific
+coasts, where the greatest commercial and intellectual development has
+been reached.
+
+Coal of Carboniferous age occurs in large and valuable deposits in Nova
+Scotia and New Brunswick; there is a small area of graphitic anthracite,
+not now utilized, in Rhode Island; but the great fields are in
+Pennsylvania and the States southward to central Alabama, and westward
+to beyond the Mississippi. A detached coal-basin containing some 6,700
+square miles, but a small part of which is productive, however, occurs
+in the central part of southern Michigan. Small coal-fields in Virginia
+and North Carolina, the first to be worked in America, are of Jura-Trias
+age and form part of the Newark system. Extensive fields of valuable
+coal of Mesozoic age, principally in the Laramie system, occur in New
+Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and still farther north along the
+same great belt in Canada.
+
+Another highly valuable field of Mesozoic coal is now being extensively
+worked on Vancouver Island. The coals of the west side of the
+Pacific mountains, largely lignites, but in many instances of high grade
+and serviceable for steam coal, are mostly of Cenozoic age (Tertiary)
+and occur in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The
+distribution of the various coal-fields is indicated on the above map,
+and space will not be taken in describing their geographical relations.
+
+Peat is present in innumerable swamps throughout the humid, temperate
+portion of the continent, especially from Louisiana and Florida
+northward, to the region about the Great Lakes and widely throughout
+Canada, but is at present of small commercial importance, although steps
+are being taken for its extensive utilization.
+
+The most valuable of the coal deposits are of Carboniferous age, and lie
+to the east of the Rocky Mountains. The most of the coal is bituminous,
+or soft coal, used principally in generating steam and for manufacturing
+gas and coke. The exceptions occur in eastern Pennsylvania and in Rhode
+Island. These are considered as metamorphosed coals, although in the
+Pennsylvania region there is no evidence of the action of a high degree
+of heat. In the Rhode Island field the rocks associated with the coal
+are plainly metamorphic in character, and the coal has, in large part,
+been changed to graphitic anthracite.
+
+That anthracite may be of any age, however, is indicated by the local
+changes that have occurred in Mesozoic and Cenozoic coals, where they
+have been penetrated by dikes and other varieties of intrusions, or have
+been altered by surface lava-flows. In such situations the coal has lost
+nearly all its volatile matter, and in composition and in certain
+instances, as in western Colorado, in physical character as well, is
+essentially an anthracite.
+
+In addition to the various coal deposits referred to above there is a
+second series of organic compounds found stored in sedimentary rocks
+which consists of hydrocarbon. This series of substances includes
+natural or rock-gas, petroleum, maltha or semifluid hydrocarbon, and
+solid hydrocarbons, such as asphaltum, albertite, grahamite,
+ozokerite, etc. These substances are usually considered as being of
+organic origin and to have resulted from changes which take place in
+vegetable and animal tissues when buried and in most cases subjected to
+heavy pressure. A large part of the hydrocarbons referred to is thought
+to have been derived from animal organisms, an opinion which is
+sustained in an important manner by the fact that large stores of both
+petroleum and rock-gas have been discovered in rocks which were laid
+down before land vegetation is known to have existed. Marine algae were
+present, however, so that it cannot be affirmed that the hydrocarbon of
+the earlier Paleozoic rocks came entirely from animal organisms. It is
+highly probable, however, that a large portion of the hydrocarbons
+stored in Paleozoic and later strata was derived from the animals whose
+hard parts occur so abundantly as fossils in the same or adjacent beds.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Ideal section showing favourable conditions for
+the storage of petroleum and gas.]
+
+Besides the concentration of carbon in plant and animal tissues and its
+change to hydrocarbons, there is a still further concentration necessary
+in order that stores of petroleum, gas, etc., shall be accumulated so as
+to be of economic value. This accumulation is dependent largely on
+physical conditions. The production of hydrocarbons from organic matter
+contained in sedimentary rocks, and particularly in shale, is going on
+in many regions, and probably nearly everywhere, especially when the
+soft parts of animals are buried in the rocks, but the petroleum, gas,
+etc., generated escape at the surface and pass into the air and are
+again widely disseminated, unless conditions are present which lead to
+their accumulation. The conditions favouring the natural storage of the
+substances referred to are cavities, or more usually porous beds, such
+as sandstone, beneath impervious beds, such as clay or shale. The
+conditions are still more favourable when lateral as well as vertical
+escape is cut off, as, for example, when arches or domes occur. The most
+favourable conditions result when a bed of shale or other rock, as _a_,
+Fig. 35, from which hydrocarbons are being evolved occur beneath a sheet
+of porous sandstone or fissured rock of any kind, _b_, above which there
+is a close-textured, unfractured stratum, such as shale, _c_, and the
+series is bent along certain axes into upward folds or anticlinals.
+Under these conditions, as extended experience has shown, a well drilled
+at _d_ should yield in succession gas, petroleum, and water.
+
+The conditions for the production of petroleum, gas, etc., have been
+present on the earth since the first appearance of life, and reservoirs
+may have originated at any subsequent time. The oldest known reservoirs
+still charged with these substances that have been discovered occur in
+the earlier Paleozoic rocks, just above the formations containing the
+oldest known fauna. Important petroleum and gas fields in rocks of the
+Trenton period occur in New York, Ontario, Ohio, and Indiana. The
+Devonian rocks of Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, etc., also yield
+large supplies of both oil and gas. Mesozoic rocks of Colorado, Wyoming,
+etc., are also rich in the concentrated hydrocarbon referred to, and on
+the Pacific coast, particularly in California, rocks of Cenozoic age are
+highly productive. Petroleum and gas may occur also in rocks more recent
+than the Cenozoic, but owing to the absence of reservoirs, and possibly
+the lack of sufficient time, no important accumulations are known in
+beds more recent than the Tertiary, unless they come from a deeper
+source in older rocks. The vast quantity of petroleum stored in the
+rocks of various ages in North America is indicated by the fact that in
+1900 the yield from the wells of the United States was 63,362,704
+barrels, and from Canadian wells about 280,000 barrels, making a total
+of nearly 64,000,000 barrels.
+
+The stores of rock-gas are also enormous, as is indicated by the fact
+that a single well at Bairdstown, Ohio, yielded over 17,000,000
+cubic feet per day. In 1890 the average daily flow of the Indiana
+gas-wells was 779,525,000 cubic feet. The value of the natural gas
+consumed in the United States in 1900 was $23,606,463.
+
+In the sedimentary rocks of North America there occur also extensive and
+valuable deposits of semifluid and solid hydrocarbons, such as maltha,
+asphaltum, albertite, grahamite, uintahite, etc., which have arisen,
+under the most plausible explanation thus far offered, from the
+concentration by evaporation of fluid hydrocarbons such as petroleum.
+The evaporation, particularly of heavy petroleum, leads to the formation
+of a solid residue, similar to asphaltum. In fact, there is no definite
+boundary between the lightest naphtha and the most coal-like asphaltum.
+They form a connected hydrocarbon series, analogous to the coal series.
+
+Albertite, a bright, coal-like substance, exceedingly rich in volatile
+hydrocarbon, occupies fissures in Carboniferous rocks in Nova Scotia,
+and a similar but less lustrous mineral, termed grahamite, occurs in
+fissures in rock of the same age, near a rich oil-pool in West Virginia.
+Other similar deposits, but usually wax-like and dull, are found in Utah
+and neighbouring States. Asphaltum occurs in vast quantities in southern
+California, and also in Cuba; these deposits resemble the celebrated
+asphaltum of Trinidad and give promise of being fully as extensive and
+valuable.
+
+In brief, gaseous, fluid, semifluid, and solid hydrocarbons in great
+variety are widely distributed throughout the portions of North America
+where the surface is composed of sedimentary beds, and in a few
+instances occur in cavities in igneous rocks as well.
+
+The influence of life in leading to the concentration of substances of
+commercial value is still further illustrated by the beds of
+diatomaceous earth which are found in various portions of North America
+and elsewhere, particularly in Cenozoic and more recent terranes. Beds
+of diatomaceous earth reported to be 40 feet thick and of wide extent
+have been found near Richmond, Virginia, and similar deposits occur at
+several localities in Oregon, California, etc. The uses of this fine,
+white, flour-like powder, each minute grain of which is a
+beautiful siliceous organism, are for polishing powder, as an ingredient
+in friction soap, as an absorbent for nitroglycerine in the manufacture
+of high explosives, etc.
+
+A class of substances of economic importance which owe their
+accumulation to chemical agencies acting at the surface of the earth is
+well illustrated by deposits of rock salt and gypsum.
+
+In the Silurian system in New York, Ontario, Michigan, etc., several
+beds of rock salt and gypsum occur, indicating that there were formerly
+a number of separate evaporating basins in that region. The beds of salt
+vary in thickness from a few inches to over 300 feet, as at Tulley, New
+York. At Goodrich, Ontario, 6 beds of salt from 6 to 35 feet thick have
+been penetrated in a single well. With the salt in this the Salina
+formation there are many beds of gypsum. In rocks of Carboniferous age
+in Michigan, other extensive beds of salt and gypsum have been
+discovered. In Louisiana, Texas, Utah, and other States, salt and gypsum
+occur in Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks. One of the most remarkable of
+these deposits is beneath small islands in the Gulf of Mexico off the
+Louisiana coast. On Jefferson Island, for example, rock salt was reached
+recently at a depth of 260 feet beneath Cenozoic rock, and was
+penetrated for over 1,800 feet without reaching the base of the deposit.
+The supply of salt stored in the rocks, and the natural brines of the
+arid region, such as the waters of Great Salt Lake, afford an
+inexhaustible supply upon which comparatively small demands have thus
+far been made.
+
+In addition to salt and gypsum there are other substances that have been
+accumulated in a similar manner, such, for example, as sodium sulphate,
+of which large beds occur in the desiccated lake basins of the arid
+region, sodium bromide, which is obtained from some of the ancient
+brines pumped from deep wells in Michigan.
+
+Next to the fossil fuels, the most important products of the rocks in
+North America are the iron ores. Although certain igneous rocks are rich
+in iron, and in some instances contain it even in a pure or
+metallic state, none of the rocks that have cooled from fusion carry
+iron in any form in sufficient quantities to be of commercial
+importance. Most of the iron in igneous rocks is contained in mineral,
+usually silicates, and would be difficult to separate. When exposed to
+the air and to percolating water, the iron-bearing minerals of the
+igneous or other rocks decay and the iron enters into various new
+combinations. When organic acids are present, and especially carbon
+dioxide, ferrous carbonate is formed, which is quite soluble, and is
+taken into solution by percolating water, some of which emerges as
+springs, and joins the surface run-off, which may also take up ferrous
+carbonate in solution. One of the most common methods by which iron ore
+is accumulated is when water carrying ferrous carbonate in solution
+forms swamps and lakes, and in many instances as the water is exposed to
+the air and aided by evaporation it parts with a portion of its carbon
+dioxide, and the hydrated sesquioxide of iron or limonite results. When,
+under similar conditions, an excess of organic matter is present, beds
+of ferrous carbonate are formed. In other instances iron oxide is
+precipitated in swamps and lakes through the action of low forms of
+plant life. The ores of iron concentrated in these ways are in many
+instances in well-defined layers, or lenticular bodies, which are
+thickest in the central portion and thin out in all directions. Their
+forms are determined mainly by the shapes of the depressions they
+occupy. Both ferrous carbonate and limonite, however, occur in irregular
+surface deposits.
+
+In North America, bog-iron ores occur at the surface in many regions, in
+existing swamps and about springs, but are seldom of economic
+importance, owing in part to the great abundance of better ores.
+Limonite occurs at the surface also, having been deposited in cavities
+and as a cement for loose fragments, particularly on the weathered
+outcrops of formations rich in iron. When rocks contain but a fraction
+of 1 per cent of iron, the soil on their weathered outcrops, owing to
+the removal of the more soluble ingredients and the leaving of the less
+soluble oxidized iron, have a yellow, brown, or red colour, and
+in some instances this process of concentration has produced workable
+iron ore. Limonite and earthy hematites occur widely throughout the
+Appalachian region, in central New York, and westward to the Mississippi
+Valley. One of the most productive formations is the Clinton, a division
+of the Silurian, the outcrop of which extends in a nearly continuous
+band from Alabama, where at Birmingham, etc., it is extensively worked,
+northward along the west side of the Appalachians to central New York,
+and thence westward to Ohio, and appears again in Wisconsin. At many
+localities throughout this belt, some 1,300 miles in length, iron
+furnaces have been built, although now mostly abandoned, the ore supply
+being the weathered outcrop of the Clinton limestone.
+
+In the Carboniferous rocks of Pennsylvania and neighbouring States to
+the south and west, layers of ferrous carbonate, formed when there was
+an excess of organic matter present, termed black-band ore and kidney
+ore, occur. The former is present as regular strata and the latter in
+oval concretionary masses. These ores, although not as rich in iron and
+less pure than certain other and more abundant and more accessible
+deposits, have been extensively utilized, largely for the reason that
+they occur in the same formation which furnishes coal available for
+their reduction.
+
+Deposits of iron ore accumulated in the several ways referred to above
+may be metamorphosed and changed to hematite and magnetite. The richest
+iron ores of North America are of this nature, and will be referred to
+below in connection with other substances of economic importance
+contained in the metamorphic rocks.
+
+There are various other substances in the stratified rocks of North
+America of economic importance which owe their value to some process of
+concentration. Certain rocks, as the so-called greensands or marls of
+eastern New Jersey, contain from 3 to 10 per cent of potash, which makes
+them valuable fertilizers. In this instance the concentration took place
+on the floor of the sea, through the action of decomposing
+organic matter, and the potash-bearing mineral of the greensand, namely,
+glauconite, was deposited in the interiors of the minute tests of
+foraminifera. The importance of this material is indicated by the fact
+that the greensands of New Jersey have been actively worked for more
+than half a century, the annual products during many years being upward
+of 100,000 tons.
+
+Extensive areas in the Carolinas, Florida, etc., underlaid by rocks of
+Cenozoic age, are rich in phosphatic nodules, which have been derived
+from organic matter. The guano deposits of the low arid islands in the
+West Indies illustrate another mode of accumulation of organic material
+useful as a fertilizer.
+
+The assorting of surface _debris_ by streams and currents has led to the
+formation of extensive deposits of clay which occur widely throughout
+the portions of North America where the surface is composed of
+stratified rock, which is extensively used in the manufacture of
+earthenware, bricks, tiles, terra-cotta, Portland cement, etc.
+
+When rocks containing gold in nuggets, grains, scales, etc., are
+disintegrated, and the resulting _debris_ removed by streams, mechanical
+separation of the heavier from the lighter material takes place and all
+but the very finest of the gold is concentrated on the stream beds. In
+this manner the rich placers of the Pacific mountain region from
+California to Alaska have originated.
+
+The general nature of the ore bodies formed through the action of
+chemical agencies in sedimentary rocks, by solution and redeposition, is
+illustrated by the lead and zinc ores of Wisconsin, Missouri, the
+silver-bearing lodes of the Pacific mountains, etc. In the case of the
+lead and zinc deposits the ores occupy the interspaces between broken
+sedimentary beds or line caverns. Under the best explanation of the
+origin of these deposits that has been offered, although certain
+modifications of the general hypothesis have been suggested which it is
+not necessary to consider at length at this time, the lead and zinc are
+considered to have been at one time widely distributed in the adjacent
+sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone, and to have been taken in
+solution by percolating waters and carried to cavities where they were
+precipitated, together with various other mineral substances, such as
+calcium carbonate or calcite, barium sulphate or barite, carbonate of
+calcium and magnesium or dolomite, etc. The minerals containing lead are
+principally galenite or lead sulphate, cerussite or lead carbonate;
+while the zinc is contained in the minerals, sphalerite or zinc
+sulphide, calamine or zinc silicate, smithsonite or zinc carbonate, etc.
+These minerals, including both those containing lead and zinc, and those
+intimately associated with them which are at present of no commercial
+value, are such as are known to crystallize from solution without the
+aid of high temperatures. In the Missouri lead and zinc districts the
+ore deposits occur near the surface, the depth of the present working
+seldom exceeding 150 or 200 feet, and, as nearly as can be judged, have
+been formed by the downward transfer of mineral matter through the
+process of solution and recrystallization, as the surface of the land
+has been lowered by chemical and mechanical denudation.
+
+Many of the rich silver-mines of the Pacific mountains occur in fissures
+and cavities in sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone. Instances of this
+nature are furnished by certain mines in northeastern Mexico, where the
+ore is found in cavities in Cretaceous limestone; at Leadville and
+Aspen, Colorado; Big and Little Cottonwood canyons, and the Horn
+silver-mine, Utah, where the principal country rock is Carboniferous
+limestone; the Eureka district, Nevada, where the ore occurs in cavities
+in Cambrian limestone. In the case of several of these mines, igneous
+rock is near at hand, and the ores are believed to owe their
+concentration largely to the action of heated waters.
+
+In other regions deep fissures, occupied in part by dikes of igneous
+rock, have permitted of the ascent of water charged with mineral matter
+from far below the surface; such waters are heated, in part by the
+general heat of the earth's interior, or, if in association with dikes,
+by the heat of the once molten intruded rock. The ascending hot water is
+an active solvent, and as it rises becomes cooled, and for this
+and other reasons precipitates many mineral substances. Veins are thus
+formed, which are many times banded--that is, result from the filling of
+fissures by the successive deposition of minerals of various kinds on
+their walls, each different layer of minerals indicating a change in
+conditions. Fissures filled in this manner from below, as denudation
+progresses, become exposed at the surface and reconcentration through
+the influence of disintegration and decay, and of solution and
+redeposition by descending water takes place. Ore bodies of this
+character carrying gold, silver, mercury, etc., are of wide occurrence,
+especially in the Pacific mountains, but the process of concentration is
+independent of the nature of the country rock. Segregated and fissure
+veins occur in either igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic terranes, but
+are more commonly of economic importance in the metamorphic rocks than
+elsewhere, and will be referred to again in that connection.
+
+_Economic Importance of the Metamorphic Terranes._--The great laboratory
+in which rocks undergo important changes in their physical condition and
+in mineralogical and chemical composition, is what has been termed on a
+previous page the zone of metamorphism. The depth of the upper limit of
+this zone is variable, dependent in part on the nature of the rocks and
+on movements within them, as is the case of mountain building. In fact,
+there is probably no well-defined limit to the zone either above or
+below, as in the former direction metamorphism merges by gradations into
+alteration produced by the descent of surface water, and in the latter
+direction as heat increases passes again, as we imagine, by insensible
+and irregular gradations into a region where the rocks are so highly
+heated that diffusion rather than concentration results. Whether the
+rocks below the zone of metamorphism are fused or not depends on
+pressure. They are probably solid, but in a potentially plastic
+condition, and become fused and may be forced upward through fissures in
+the condition of igneous magmas when pressure is relieved. The zone of
+metamorphism lies between a superior zone where alteration by
+descending water is dominant, and a lower region where alteration due
+mainly to heat is in control. In the zone of metamorphism the influence
+of heated percolating waters, combined with movements in the rocks, are
+the principal factors which lead to the concentration of mineral
+substances.
+
+Under the influence of percolating, heated waters, new minerals are
+formed in sedimentary or igneous rocks, and rocks once metamorphosed may
+undergo additional changes. Mineral matter previously widely
+disseminated through rocks is, under the action of percolating, heated
+water, brought together and the regeneration and crystallization of a
+large variety of ores and minerals result. The birthplace of a large
+variety of ores and minerals is in the zone of metamorphism. It is in
+metamorphic rocks that the geologist looks for gems, the precious
+metals, crystalline marble, magnetic iron, etc.
+
+For the most part, however, the native metals and ores of the precious
+and many of the common metals are too widely disseminated in the
+metamorphic rocks to be of commercial importance, and a still further
+concentration, principally in fissures and other cavities, is necessary
+before they can be of value to man. This secondary concentration is much
+the same as in the case of the deposition of lead and zinc ores in
+cavities in sedimentary rocks, and results largely from the solution and
+redeposition, sometimes by replacement, of mineral matter by heated
+waters.
+
+Certain ores and rocks contained in metamorphic terranes owe their
+concentration to previously acting processes of concentration, but have
+undergone chemical changes in place. Illustrations of this class of
+ores, etc., are furnished by the magnetite and hematite contained in the
+metamorphic rocks on the eastern border of the Appalachians, in New
+England, eastern Canada, and the Lake Superior region. These ore bodies,
+frequently of great size, in some instances furnish evidence of having
+been originally lenticular masses of bog-iron ore, or ferric carbonate,
+associated with sedimentary beds, and originally concentrated, as
+already mentioned, at the surface through the action of water charged
+with carbon dioxide, but principally on account of the influence of heat
+have been changed to a higher degree of oxidation and now appear as
+hematite, as, for example, in the iron districts of the northern
+portions of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Ozark Hills, or
+still further altered as in the richest of all iron ores, magnetite, so
+abundant in the metamorphic rocks of the Appalachian region, about the
+Adirondack hills, widely and in extensive bodies in eastern Canada,
+about the south shore of Lake Superior, in Texas, etc.
+
+In certain instances, as has been shown by C. R. Van Hise and others,
+hematite ore, like that of the Lake Superior region, has resulted from
+the alteration of ferrous carbonate which had replaced limestone by a
+chemical process of solution and double decomposition.
+
+As bodies of iron ore in the form of the carbonate, or limonite, may
+occur in rocks of any age, and as rocks of any age may be metamorphosed,
+it follows that hematite and magnetite may be present in any formation
+which has been subjected to metamorphosing conditions.
+
+Limestone when metamorphosed is changed to a crystalline marble,
+frequently white in colour owing to the dissipation of its previously
+contained organic matter. The white marbles so extensively utilized in
+Georgia, Vermont, etc., are of this nature. Other similar metamorphosed
+layers occur in several of the ranges of the Pacific mountains from
+Mexico to Alaska.
+
+The influence of metamorphism on deposits of coal when the heat has been
+of moderate intensity serves to drive off a large part of the volatile
+matter present and converts the coal into a substance resembling coke,
+as has happened adjacent to dikes or intruded sheets of igneous rock in
+the Richmond coal-field, Virginia, in New Mexico, Washington, etc. When
+the heat is somewhat more intense, the coal is changed to what is termed
+graphitic anthracite, as in the Rhode Island coal-fields, and when still
+greater or long-continued, results in the production of graphite,
+as in the Algonkian rocks about the Adirondack hills and over a wide
+region in eastern Canada.
+
+An important result of metamorphism is the production of new minerals in
+the rocks acted on. Many of the metamorphic terranes consist essentially
+of quartz, feldspar, and mica, which have been formed by the
+rearrangement of the mineral matter contained in the rocks during their
+previous state. Besides these constituent minerals there are frequently
+others present, such as the garnets, tourmaline, emerald, sapphire,
+corundum, etc., which are of economic importance. In a large number of
+instances the minerals of metamorphic rocks are contained in veins of
+one class or another, in part resulting from segregation in the rocks
+themselves while yet in a heated condition, and in part deposited in
+fissures or other openings as a result of secondary concentration
+through the action of heated waters. The principal difference between
+the minerals concentrated in the metamorphic rocks and those deposited
+in cavities in unaltered sedimentary beds seems to be that in the former
+instance the percolating water which carried the material in solution
+had a higher temperature than in the latter case.
+
+Among the numerous mineral substances of value in the arts, occurring in
+the metamorphic terranes of North America, other than building stones
+and the previously concentrated deposits, such as iron ore, graphite,
+etc., mention can only be made at present of the following:
+
+Mica, which is used in thin sheets for the windows of stoves and
+furnaces, and when ground and mingled with other substances furnishes a
+good insulating material for electric wires, fireproofing, and also used
+as a lubricant, etc., occurs in large quantities in the metamorphic
+rocks of New Hampshire and Ottawa, and less abundantly in North
+Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, etc. It is widely distributed,
+but to find transparent colourless sheets of large size is difficult.
+
+Talc and soapstone, consisting of the hydrated silicate of magnesia, and
+useful for hearths, mantels, fire-brick, linings for stoves, laundry-,
+bath-, and acid-tubs, etc., and when ground, employed as an
+adulterant of soap, paper, rubber, and as a lubricant, etc., occurs
+widely in the metamorphic terranes on the eastern side of the
+Appalachians, in Canada, and at numerous localities in the Pacific
+mountains. The chief centres of production at present are in
+Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
+
+Asbestos, valuable on account of its fibrous structure and
+non-conductivity of heat, which make it an excellent insulator, and
+largely used in the manufacture of fireproof paper, cloth, etc., occurs
+in connection with serpentine, in metamorphic terranes, and is
+extensively mined in the Thetford district, Quebec.
+
+Corundum, consisting of aluminum oxide, and having essentially the same
+composition as the sapphire and ruby, and a less pure variety of similar
+composition termed emery, is largely used as an abrasive in polishing
+metal, sharpening tools, etc., and also as "sand-paper" in working wood,
+occurs in commercial quantities, largely in crystalline limestone, at
+Chester, Mass., in Georgia, North Carolina, and several other
+localities. Although corundum is next to the diamond in hardness, and
+therefore highly favourable, when reduced to a powder, for polishing
+various substances, the demand for it has in recent years been
+diminished owing to the manufacture of an equally if not superior
+material termed commercially _carborundum_.
+
+Among the crystals used as gems, which occur in the metamorphic rocks of
+North America but thus far in minor quantities, and as a rule of
+inferior quality, may be enumerated sapphires, rubies, tourmalines,
+garnets, quartz, etc.
+
+Apatite, a mineral rich in phosphoric acid, and largely used in the
+manufacture of fertilizers, occurs associated with limestone in the
+metamorphic rocks of Quebec and Ontario in the form of veins, beds, and
+irregular pockets, and a few years since was extensively mined, but now,
+owing to foreign competition, is held in reserve.
+
+By far the most valuable of the minerals and native metals that occur in
+the metamorphosed terranes is gold. Although this metal has been found
+in paying quantities in association with nearly every kind of
+country rocks and in terranes of all ages, the place of its original
+concentration from a previously widely disseminated condition is to a
+great extent in the zone of metamorphism. It occurs principally as
+native gold, although usually alloyed with silver, but is frequently
+contained in iron pyrites. In the crystalline rocks, such as gneiss,
+schist, slates, granite, etc., it occurs in flakes and grains, but so
+far as its occurrence in commercial quantities is concerned its
+deposition has for the most part been secondary, and the metal, usually
+in association with quartz, is found in veins, lodes, contact deposits,
+etc., and owes its concentration to chemical agencies not well
+understood, acting in connection with percolating water. That this
+general statement is correct is clearly shown by the fact that gold
+occurs in crystals, flakes, grains, etc., most frequently in quartz and
+iron pyrites, which, as can be shown in a number of ways, have
+crystallized from solution. The gold and its commonly associated mineral
+in countless instances occupy fissures and must have been carried to
+such localities after the surrounding rock had been fractured. So
+intimate is the association of gold with metamorphic rocks that this is
+one of the main guides in searching for it, although, as already stated,
+it is frequently present in other rocks as well. With the disintegration
+of the metamorphic terranes the gold is set free, and may be still
+further concentrated by streams so as to form the well-known placers.
+
+A very large proportion of both the quartz and placer mining of North
+America is in regions occupied by metamorphic rock. This is true of all
+gold-mines, previously quite largely exploited, of the Atlantic mountain
+region from Georgia to eastern Canada. The mines of California are also
+largely in schistose rocks, as are also those to the northward,
+throughout the Pacific mountains, to British Columbia and Alaska,
+including the recently established mining district at Cape Nome.
+
+With placer gold, and probably derived largely, if not entirely, from
+metamorphic rocks, there are frequently found grains of platinum. The
+annual production of this metal in the United States and Canada
+has a value of about $5,000.
+
+The study of the distribution of native metals and ores in the
+metamorphic rocks of North America indicates that in general the older
+rocks, as the Archean, for example, are less rich than the younger
+terranes, such as the schist, etc., of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade
+Mountains. This seems to indicate that the older rocks were once deeply
+buried and their more soluble substances removed by ascending waters,
+and in part redeposited in higher terranes. Erosion has since carried
+off the rocks which were mineral-charged and laid bare the depleted
+terranes beneath. This hypothetical explanation of the general poverty
+of the Archean rocks is coupled with another consideration, namely, that
+the younger metamorphic terranes, where they have been elevated, as in
+the Pacific mountains, are more broken than the Archean rocks, and
+afford more cavities in which minerals may be deposited. Whether this is
+a complete explanation or not remains to be demonstrated, but
+observation shows that the Archean terranes--all of which as yet
+discovered are composed of either metamorphosed or igneous rocks--are,
+in comparison with younger metamorphosed rocks, relatively poor in
+minerals and ores of commercial importance.
+
+Among the economic products of the rocks are included mineral waters.
+The direct commercial value of such waters, not including their use for
+baths, etc., in the United States, is about $7,000,000 annually. The
+demand for these waters depends largely on the mineral substances they
+hold in solution, and which in many instances is in process of
+transference from one locality to another. Much might be written in this
+connection in illustration of the fact that the processes by which
+minerals, ores, etc., have been concentrated are still in progress.
+
+
+                              LITERATURE
+
+An extensive literature is available concerning the geology, minerals,
+ores, etc., of North America, but only a few of the more important
+publications can here be referred to. The numerous publications
+of the United States Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada,
+and the Geological Survey of Mexico contain vast amounts of valuable
+information. Several of the States of the United States have independent
+surveys and have published numerous reports. Of journals containing
+articles of American geology, the more important are: _The Journal of
+Geology_, published at the University of Chicago; _The American
+Geologist_, published at Minneapolis, Minn.; _The American Journal of
+Science_, published at New Haven, Conn. The publications of a large
+number of learned societies in Canada and the United States should also
+be consulted.
+
+The most useful bibliographies of North American geology are:
+
+  DARTON, N. H. _Catalogue and Index of Contributions to North
+    American Geology, 1732-1891._ Published as Bulletin No. 127 of
+    the United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., 1896.
+
+  DOWLING, D. B. _General Index to the Reports of Progress_ [of the
+    Geological Survey of Canada], _1863-1884_. Published by the
+    Canadian Geological Survey, Ottawa, Canada, 1900.
+
+  WARMAN, P. C. _Catalogue and Index of the Publications of the
+    United States Geological Survey, 1880 to 1901._ Published as
+    Bulletin No. 177 of the United States Geological Survey,
+    Washington, D. C., 1901.
+
+  WEEKS, F. B. _Bibliography of North American Geology,
+    Paleontology, Petrology, and Mineralogy for the Years 1892-1900,
+    Inclusive._ United States Geological Survey, Bulletins No. 188
+    and 189, Washington, D. C., 1902.
+
+Of the numerous general treatises on the geology, the following will be
+found especially helpful to the student:
+
+  DANA, J. D. _Manual of Geology._ Fourth edition. American Book
+    Company, New York, 1895.
+
+  KEMP, J. F. _The Ore Deposits of the United States and Canada._
+    Scientific Publishing Company, New York, 1900.
+
+  LE CONTE, J. _Elements of Geology._ Fifth edition, revised and
+    partly rewritten by Prof. H. L. Fairchild. D. Appleton and
+    Company, New York, 1903.
+
+  MERRILL, G. P. _A Treatise on Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and Soils._
+    The Macmillan Company, New York, 1897.
+
+  SHALER, N. S. _Outlines of the Earth's History._ D. Appleton and
+    Company, New York, 1898.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VII
+
+                           THE ABORIGINES
+
+
+At the time the Western Hemisphere became known to Europeans, as has
+been shown by subsequent explorations, it was inhabited by native tribes
+from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the extreme north to
+Patagonia. The aborigines were distributed principally along the coast,
+about the borders of lakes, and on the margins of streams, but much of
+the interior was also inhabited or roamed over by hunting and war
+parties, or crossed by various tribes during their migrations. Large
+areas, it is true, more especially among the rugged mountains, in the
+great subarctic forest, and on the trackless tundras, had no permanent
+residents, but in general terms the entire land was inhabited.
+
+In spite of the reports as to the density of the aboriginal population
+made by several early explorers, who for the most part followed the
+waterways, visited the most thickly inhabited regions, and saw the
+natives when brought together by motives of curiosity or defence, it is
+now known that North America, considering its vast extent, was but
+sparsely peopled. As to the number of the inhabitants, there is no even
+approximately accurate knowledge. The greatest density of population, so
+far as can be judged, was in the tropical region, and decreased
+northward in a general way in conformity with change in latitude, but
+varied also in a conspicuous manner in accord with local climatic and
+topographic influences.
+
+In the same manner as the exploration of the New World led to the
+discovery of many species, genera, etc., of plants and animals, it also
+added two types of man to those previously known to Europeans. The
+propriety of separating the American aborigines into two groups of
+tribes is based on the contrasts the members of these divisions
+present not only in colour and other physiological characteristics, but
+on well-marked differences in language, customs, arts, etc. On this
+basis two varieties of the human species have been recognised, namely,
+the Eskimo and the Indian.
+
+The term Eskimo, formerly spelled Esquimau, is of obscure origin, but is
+thought to have been adopted by Europeans from the Indians of Labrador,
+who thus designated a northern people living on the coast, and is said
+to mean "raw-flesh eaters." The word in use among the Eskimos to
+designate themselves is _Innuit_, meaning people, or the people, in the
+sense that in their own estimation they are of more importance than all
+other peoples.
+
+The term Indian, as is well known, arose from an error of the early
+Spanish voyagers, who, on arriving in America, believed they had reached
+India, and hence termed the natives of the new land Indians. This
+mistake has led to many attempts to substitute some other word by which
+to designate the people referred to, but thus far none of the terms
+proposed has been generally accepted. In the present book the word
+Indian is used to designate the aborigines of the New World, exclusive
+of the Eskimos.
+
+The geographical distribution of the Eskimos and Indians is sharply
+defined even at the present day, and is indicated on the map forming
+Plate VI.
+
+_Origin of the Aborigines._--The generally accepted conclusion in
+reference to the origin of the American aborigines seems to be that man
+reached this continent while the peoples of the Old World were yet in a
+primitive condition, and at a time when the highest stage of culture was
+expressed by the knife and spear-point of chipped stone, and developed
+independently in accord with the natural conditions with which he was
+surrounded. More than this, once planted, the original stock received
+but slight if any accessions by subsequent immigration. This last
+statement is not in strict accord with the conclusions reached by
+certain ethnologists, who claim that the use of masks, the art of
+carving on wood, stone, ivory, etc., the practise of tattooing, the
+preservation of human heads, and other customs practised by the Indians
+of the Pacific coast of the two Americas--and in North America,
+extending eastward along lines of easiest communication--suggest an
+influence coming from Polynesia at a time when the peoples dwelling on
+the west borders of the Pacific had made a well-marked advance in
+culture. Some influences on the aborigines of America coming both from
+Polynesia and eastern Asia must seemingly be admitted, the importations
+having been by means of storm- and current-swept boats and junks, but
+the evidence does not point to trade relations. The most that can be
+claimed seems to be slight modifications of the arts and customs of the
+American aborigines, but not enough to make what may be termed an
+indelible impression upon them.
+
+The low state of culture of the original stock from which the American
+aborigines were derived, implied in their distinct subsequent
+development in language, arts, etc., indicates that man appeared in
+America previous to the invention of boats capable of crossing broad
+oceans. The necessary inference from this--if the hypothesis of one
+place of origin for the human race is accepted--is that migration to
+America was by land, or at most across narrow straits. The geography of
+the continents must have been markedly different from what it is at
+present to admit of this, providing the proof that access was not gained
+where Asia and America make a near approach to each other at Bering
+Strait is conclusive, and at present that evidence seems unquestionable.
+
+The present state of opinion in reference to the origin of the American
+aborigines is thus expressed by one well qualified to speak with
+authority. At the close of a review of several lines of evidence J. W.
+Powell says:
+
+"Thus we are forced to conclude that the occupancy of America by mankind
+was anterior to the development of arts, industries, institutions,
+languages, and opinions; that the primordial occupancy of the continent
+antedates present geographical conditions, and points to a remote time
+which can be discovered only on geological and biological
+investigation."
+
+_Antiquity of the Aborigines._--The conclusions to be drawn from the
+studies of ethnologists in reference to the length of time man
+has made his home in America are qualitative, not quantitative. The time
+is certainly long, probably embracing tens of centuries; but how long no
+one can state in years. This claim for a great although indefinite
+antiquity is based on several lines of evidence, some few of which the
+reader may find it profitable to briefly consider.
+
+A comparison of physiological characteristics shows that the American
+aborigines have well-marked differences from all other varieties of the
+human race. This conclusion is not based on any one special feature,
+although colour and character of the hair are the most conspicuous, but
+on the resultant, so to speak, of many attributes. It is, in a measure,
+a comparison of ideal type-examples of each variety. While each
+characteristic that may be chosen has individual and tribal variations,
+and but few of them are perhaps conspicuously different from those
+pertaining to the peoples of the Old World, yet taken together they
+clearly differentiate the American aborigines from all other varieties
+of the human species.
+
+Applying the same principles to man that are used in the study of the
+geographical distribution of the lower animals, the only legitimate
+conclusion the naturalist can deduce from the evidence just referred to
+is that the branch of the human family indigenous to North America has
+been isolated for a sufficient length of time to develop into a new
+variety. The American aborigines are different from all other varieties
+of the human species because each more or less isolated community or
+group of communities the world over has varied in its own way in accord
+with climatic and other conditions, and the connecting links have been
+lost. The differences that have arisen in this manner are so great that
+the nature of the parent stock is no longer determinable from its living
+representatives. This process of development among the lower animals is
+understood to involve a great length of time; and the inference is that
+man's development is no exception to the rule.
+
+The evidence favouring a great antiquity for the American aborigines is
+strengthened by the fact that when first known to Europeans both North
+and South America were inhabited by tribes having more or less
+well-defined territorial limits. If this population spread from one or
+even from several centres it is evident that a great length of time
+would be required for it to reach all parts of the New World and to
+become adjusted to a wide range in climatic and other conditions, as is
+known to be the case.
+
+Students of languages have shown that the most enduring characteristics
+of man are to be found in his speech. The fundamental principles of a
+language outlive not only political and social changes, but even
+physiological distinctions, and are inherited from a primitive stock by
+all its branches. We might reasonably expect, therefore, that a study of
+the languages spoken in America in pre-Columbian days would be a sure
+index as to the primitive stock from which the various tribes came, and
+show to which of the many other branches of the linguistic tree they are
+most closely related. Turning with this question to those who have made
+a critical study of the languages of the American aborigines, and no one
+is better qualified to bear testimony in this connection than J. W.
+Powell, the honoured director of the American Bureau of Ethnology, we
+find a definite answer. He says:
+
+"The North American Indian tribes, instead of speaking related dialects,
+originating in a single parent language, in reality speak many
+languages, belonging to distinct families, which have no apparent unity
+of origin."
+
+To the north of Mexico (Plate VI) the aborigines are divided into 58
+linguistic families. In a large portion of these languages there are
+tribal dialects not understood by members of other tribes of the same
+family. Thus the Algonquin linguistic family contains some 30 or 40
+distinct languages. In the Athapascan the diversity is nearly as great.
+The smaller families present similar conditions in proportionate degree,
+although there are stocks which speak but one language. Four of the
+linguistic families referred to extend into Mexico, but to the south of
+the territory occupied by them other languages and dialects are spoken.
+Ethnologists who have studied the tribes of Mexico report 19 linguistic
+stocks, containing 108 distinct languages, among which there are upward
+of 60 dialects. In Central America a similar diversity in the
+native tongues exists. Reclus, in his great work The Earth and its
+Inhabitants, states that in the New World 450 native languages are
+spoken--a number greater than that of all the languages in use in the
+rest of the earth. Not only are the American linguistic stocks different
+from each other, and fail to furnish evidence of having been derived
+from a single parent tongue, but, as philologists assure us, no one of
+them is analogous to any language spoken in other lands.
+
+As is well known, a language is not created _de novo_, but by a slow
+process of development. Since the first acquirement of articulate speech
+by man a succession of languages has appeared owing to the growth,
+differentiation, etc., of pre-existing forms of speech. It is a
+warrantable inference, therefore, that the marvellous diversity in
+speech present in America could only have arisen by a process of
+evolution involving a very long period of time.
+
+As the American languages have no affinity with the Teutonic or Semitic
+stocks, it is evident that the source or sources from which they came
+far antedate the birth of the oldest people of which history takes
+cognizance. Man must therefore have set foot on American soil before the
+sprouting of the linguistic twig which, after millenniums, produced the
+cuneiform inscriptions of ancient Persia and Assyria.
+
+The diversity of arts, customs, myths, religions, etc., among the
+American aborigines, and their difference in nearly all instances from
+the analogous attributes of the peoples of other lands, also point to a
+long period of isolated development in much the same manner as has been
+referred to in the case of a comparative study of their languages. The
+skin boats used by the Eskimos are widely different from the birch-bark
+canoes of the Algonquins, and these again differ conspicuously from the
+dug-out canoes of southeastern Alaska and British Columbia; still other
+varieties of boats are peculiar to the more southern Indian tribes, and
+all alike differ from the boats used in other lands. Like individuality
+pertains also to the houses of the American aborigines, their clothing,
+arms, utensils, basket-work, picture-writings, etc. One is forced to
+recognise in each of these arts or industries not only development in
+many diverging lines among the various tribes, but the birth of ideas
+analogous to those which arose in other lands, and their independent
+growth under special conditions. All of this, and much more in the same
+general direction that might be discussed did space permit, points to a
+great antiquity for the indigenous American peoples.
+
+Among the nations of the Old World certain plants have been under
+domestication for so long a time, and have varied so greatly, that the
+wild species from which they came are no longer known. This is true of
+nearly all our common fruits and vegetables and many of our flowers that
+were derived from the Old World. At the time of the Spanish conquest the
+aborigines of America were cultivating tobacco, potatoes, beans,
+tomatoes, squashes, maize, cotton, etc., and in the case of most of
+these plants the wild species from which they were derived has not been
+ascertained. The argument that points to a great antiquity in the case
+of wheat and the peach applies equally well to tobacco and maize, and
+indicates that horticulture began in America in remote antiquity. At the
+time of Columbus, the ox, sheep, goat, pigeons, fowls, cat, etc., long
+domesticated in the Old, were absent in the New World, and the llama,
+turkey, etc., indigenous in America, were unknown in Europe. These
+striking differences, among which there is not even a single exception,
+amount to positive evidence that contact between the peoples of the Old
+and the New World did not occur after the inhabitants of the former
+emerged from savagery, or, what is the same thing, never existed in the
+sense that trade relations were entered into. This same line of argument
+seemingly casts grave doubts on the deductions already referred to
+concerning the importation into America from Polynesia of the practise
+of tattooing, the wearing of masks, the use of labrets, etc.; and
+indicates also that but slight changes were produced in the American
+aborigines owing to the wrecking of Asiatic junks on the northwest
+coast.
+
+Another factor bearing on the antiquity of the indigenous Americans is
+the stage of development reached in spite of their long and nearly
+complete isolation. Stimuli from without, and particularly
+contact with more advanced peoples, having been lacking or of small
+importance, incentive to bodily and mental activity arose mainly from
+the desire for food, clothing, and shelter, and from intertribal
+rivalry, jealousy, and war. This process of indigenous development was
+certainly slow. With man, as with the lower animals, the rate of advance
+and of specialization increases as higher and higher grades of
+development are reached. For the American aborigines to have attained
+the higher stages of barbarism at the time of the arrival of civilized
+Europeans, solely by self-growth and self-education, is perhaps even a
+stronger argument for their antiquity than their differentiation in
+culture, languages, etc.
+
+These several lines of evidence point to the coming of man to America as
+an event of the far distant past--a time so remote, in fact, that it
+pertains to geology rather than to ethnology.
+
+Turning to the geological records, we find no authentic and
+well-attested evidence of the presence of man in America either previous
+or during the Glacial period. From time to time so-called "finds" of
+stone implements in gravel and other deposits more or less definitely
+determined to be of Glacial age have been made, but in all of these
+instances convincing proof as to the age of the deposits, or of the
+relation of the implements in question, to them, has not been presented.
+Certain discoveries of the bones of men and of articles of human
+manufacture found in California have been claimed to be of Tertiary
+age--that is, much older than the Glacial epoch--but more critical
+studies, especially by W. H. Holmes, have shown that they are decidedly
+modern and pertain to the Indians still living in the region where they
+were found. In brief, all the geological evidence thus far gathered
+bearing on the antiquity of man in America points to the conclusion that
+he came after the Glacial epoch. Judgment in this respect, however,
+should be held in abeyance, as the search for evidence is as yet
+incomplete.
+
+As the problem now stands, the origin of the American aborigines is not
+only unknown, but no generally accepted or fairly promising
+hypothesis as to the land from which they came, the route followed, or
+the date of their arrival is to be found among the large number
+suggested. A continuation of the critical, ethnological, and geological
+studies now in progress, it is hoped, will do much to clear away this
+mystery, but at present only small progress can be truthfully reported.
+
+_Culture of the Aborigines._--In the classification of peoples in terms
+of culture three main divisions are commonly recognised, namely,
+_savagery_, _barbarism_, and _civilization_; but the boundaries between
+these divisions are not sharply defined and a wide range of intermediate
+gradations is easily discernible.
+
+By savagery is understood the lowest grade of culture and of ethics, in
+which social customs are lax or wanting and tribal organization not
+attempted. In the condition of savagery people are without permanent
+homes, do not attempt agriculture or even horticulture, have no
+domesticated animals except perhaps the dog, and subsist on fish and
+game, including molluscs, small mammals, and reptiles, and such seeds,
+fruits, nuts, etc., as wild plants supply. The art of kindling fire is
+probably known to all existing savages, but much of their food is eaten
+uncooked.
+
+In the state of barbarism tribal organization may exist; some form of
+religion is usually recognised; definite marriage relations are entered
+into, although polygamy is commonly practised; permanent houses, perhaps
+for winter use only, are built; clothes are made from woven cloth as
+well as from skins; the plaiting of baskets and the art of making coarse
+pottery, frequently highly decorated, are understood; essentially all
+utensils, arms, etc., are of stone, wood, bone, or ivory, the metals
+other than those occurring in a native state being unknown; and writing
+is unknown, although pictographs may be employed.
+
+Civilization implies a well-marked development in ethics, laws, social
+organization, institutions, arts, writing, etc.
+
+Under this scheme of classification various divisions of the aborigines
+of North America at the time of the coming of Columbus occupied each of
+the planes of development designated; but those frequently classed as
+civilized had not arrived at an advanced stage of culture, and
+can perhaps with greater propriety be designated as semicivilized, or,
+better still, be referred to the highest stage of barbarism.
+
+Some of the native tribes, as those of southern California and certain
+of the peoples of Mexico and Central America, were in a state of
+savagery, and, in fact, have not advanced beyond that state at the
+present day. A large majority of the aborigines, as, for example, the
+Algonquins, Shoshoneans, etc., or, in general, all of the Indians to the
+northward of Arizona and New Mexico, together with certain of the tribes
+to the south of that boundary, had definite tribal organization,
+permanent homes at least for winter use, in part practised horticulture,
+and for these and other reasons are to be classed as in the barbarous
+stage of development. The Aztecs, Mayas, etc., of Mexico and Central
+America had well-established governments, built permanent and frequently
+large and elaborately decorated houses, some of which were of hewn
+stone, practised horticulture with the aid of irrigation, had developed
+a system of picture-writing, and were skilled in working native metals.
+These and other advances towards civilization were great and promising,
+but the use of iron was unknown, and their practice of human sacrifice
+and the absence of phonetic writing denies them a place among truly
+civilized peoples.
+
+Another scheme for the classification of peoples in terms of the highest
+grade of implements used by them is current under which they are placed
+in certain ages on the assumption that man in all regions has passed
+through an orderly sequence in his development, and that the successive
+changes are expressed by the nature of the material used in the
+manufacture of implements. Under this plan of classification we have an
+age of stone, an age of bronze, and an age of iron. The stone age is
+commonly divided into two parts: an earlier or _paleolithic_, during
+which the highest type of implement used is fashioned of stone by
+chipping; and a later, or _neolithic_, when implements of stone are
+shaped by grinding and polishing. Following the stone age came one of
+bronze, when a mixture of copper and tin was used for implements; and
+later the age of iron, beginning when the art of reducing metals
+from their ores was discovered. In this scheme a copper age is sometimes
+included, with doubtful propriety, however, if, as in America, the metal
+referred to is obtained in its native condition.
+
+Under the somewhat indefinite scheme of classification just referred to
+the North American aborigines, inclusive of the Aztecs, etc., previous
+to the coming of European civilization were in the stone age of
+development, although bronze was in use among the Incas of Peru, and to
+some extent had found its way northward as far as Mexico. Certain of the
+tribes still used implements of chipped stone, but in the great majority
+of instances implements of polished stone were the highest type known.
+Native copper was widely used for axes, knives, ornaments, etc., but
+iron, except such as occurs in meteors, was unknown.
+
+The difficulty met with in selecting any one article or any one material
+used by primitive peoples as a basis for their classification is
+illustrated by the facts just cited, as it places the lowest savage of
+America in the same group as the Aztec and the Maya. Obviously, in the
+classification of peoples as with the lower animals all characteristics
+should be included.
+
+
+                             THE ESKIMOS
+
+The extreme northern part of North America is included in the
+circumpolar lands described in another volume of the series of which the
+present book forms a part, and the Eskimos as a people will therefore
+receive but passing attention at this time.
+
+One of the most interesting facts to the geographer concerning the
+Eskimos is their peculiar distribution. From choice or necessity they
+make their homes on the bleak, inhospitable northern border of the
+continent, and do not extend inland except where the coast is indented
+or large rivers enter the sea. In all localities their dwellings are
+near the water. They are the most northern people on the earth, and
+their still greater northward extension is checked only by the absence
+of land on which to build their winter homes. Their present inland limit
+on the continent is no doubt determined in part by long-established
+custom and by the distribution of the animals on which they have become
+dependent for food, clothing, fuel, etc., but the chief control
+formerly, no doubt, more potent than at present, is to be sought in the
+aggressiveness of the Indians. In Greenland, the arctic archipelago, and
+throughout the immense extent of coast-lands from Labrador to Alaska
+they have been isolated and withdrawn from contact with other peoples
+for a long period of time, and their slow development unmodified by
+extraneous influences. In Newfoundland and Alaska, however, they have
+been in contact with the Indians, trade relations established, and to a
+limited extent an interchange of ideas as well as some intermarriage has
+taken place.
+
+Throughout the vast extent of arctic coast between Newfoundland and
+Alaska, as well as in Greenland and on the islands of the arctic
+archipelago, the Eskimo was the sole inhabitant before the coming of
+Europeans, and one language current from the Atlantic to the Pacific. No
+other primitive people has such an extent in longitude. The reason for
+this peculiarity is that between the sea margin, where the Eskimo makes
+his home, and the southern border of the subarctic forest and adjacent
+prairies, where the Indians have their hunting-grounds, there intervenes
+the tundra--a neutral ground attractive neither to the Eskimo nor the
+Indian.
+
+The one thing which more than all else has enabled the Eskimo to
+maintain an existence and to thrive in the frozen north is his discovery
+of a means of obtaining heat and light where wood is scarce--that is,
+the invention of the lamp. This invention, as has been shown by Walter
+Hugh and others, was favoured by the occurrence in the far north of
+animals like the seal and walrus, which yield oil with a high
+heat-giving property.
+
+In Alaska the Eskimo stock is broken into several tribes speaking
+diverse dialects. Of these, two main subgroups are distinguished,
+namely, Innuits and Aleuts or Aleutians. The former includes several
+tribes living on the margin of the mainland, from near Mount St. Elias
+northward to the Arctic Ocean, and the latter consists of but two
+tribes, now intermingled, which at the time of the discovery of
+the Alaskan region by the Russians inhabited the western portion of the
+Alaskan peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. A detailed account of these
+peoples should have united with it a study of the so-called Tuski of
+northeastern Siberia, who are of the same stock, and, as seems probable,
+are the descendants of Eskimos who migrated from America to Asia.
+
+_The Innuits._--This name, as is stated by W. H. Dall, is applied to
+themselves by all the tribes of the Eskimo stock, except the Aleuts and
+the eastern Siberian natives. It is in use at the present time from
+Greenland to Bering Strait, and thence southward to the vicinity of
+Mount St. Elias.
+
+In Alaska the Innuits are divided into at least fourteen tribes,
+speaking as many different dialects, and distinguished by such names as
+Ugalakmuts, Kaniagmuts, etc. The termination _mut_, in a substantive
+sense, means a village at the place or on the river to the name of which
+it is added (Dall). In common with all other Eskimo tribes the Innuits
+are a sturdy, well-built people, having lighter-coloured skins than the
+Indians, and more nearly approaching the yellow of the Asiatics, but
+distinct from it, and in many instances having a decided reddish tinge
+to the cheeks. The prevalent idea that the Eskimo is of decidedly short
+stature is not borne out by the various tribes in Alaska, who are not
+much, if any, below the average height of Europeans. Their rotund bodies
+and full, round faces, in which the organ answering to a nose is
+depressed until between the eyes it is scarcely distinguishable, suggest
+that the severity of the climate has led to a development of fat for
+protection against cold in the same manner as among the seals and
+walruses. Such a generalization is perhaps misleading, as great
+individual variations occur as among all peoples, but the typical Innuit
+whose figure remains in one's memory when the bony hags, the cadaverous
+individuals, and the aged are forgotten or but dimly recalled, favours
+the conventional pictures of Santa Claus, with a face resembling the
+full moon, small black eyes with a suggestion of obliquity in their
+alignment, and nearly complete absence of a beard on the ruddy cheeks.
+
+The food of the Eskimos of Alaska, as is the case with all other
+divisions of that people, is derived mainly from the sea. Their diet is
+almost exclusively fish, the blubber and flesh of the seal, walrus, and
+whales, especially the white whale or beluga, which ascends the larger
+streams. To these sources of supply are added the arctic hare, caribou
+(reindeer), and in fact any flesh that can be obtained. Vegetable diet
+is almost unknown, except so far as it is supplied by the berries that
+grow in profusion on the tundras. The necessity for salt, so marked in
+the case of most peoples, is absent in the far north.
+
+The coast of Alaska, where dwells the Innuit, is treeless. Inland from
+the margin of the sea extends the permanently frozen tundra. Wood for
+fires, sleds, frames for skin boats, spears, bows, arrows, etc., and in
+prehistoric time for producing fire by friction, is derived entirely
+from driftwood cast on the beach by the waves. This wood, consisting in
+many instances of great tree trunks from which planks two or more feet
+wide can be hewn, is brought to the sea by rivers heading far inland,
+as, for example, the Yukon and the Kuskokwim, and distributed by the
+wind and currents all about the coast and islands of Bering Sea.
+Driftwood is also carried to the Arctic Ocean by the Mackenzie, but in
+general is not plentiful on the borders of the ice-bound northern ocean.
+
+The houses of the Alaskan Innuit previous to the coming of the Russians,
+and still to a great extent, consist of a single room, usually measuring
+about 10 by 14 feet, situated in part below the surface of the ground
+and entered by means of a tunnel-like passageway. They are made of
+driftwood, and floored, lined, and roofed with planks hewn from the same
+material. On a roof of poles sods and earth are placed and rendered
+compact by stamping, thus forming a cover which serves to exclude water
+produced by the melting of the naturally added layer of snow. When
+spring-time approaches these partially subterranean winter dwellings are
+liable to be inundated, and are abandoned and tents used during summer
+seasons. Formerly these tents were made of skins of caribou or seal, but
+in these degenerate days cotton drilling bought of white traders
+has been substituted. During winter journeys temporary snow huts are
+built, of the oval, bake-oven shape, well known to most Europeans from
+the many pictures that have been published of similar structures made by
+the more northern Eskimos. On the coast of Alaska, however, when
+driftwood is available, the roofs of the snow houses are frequently made
+of poles on which snow is piled.
+
+In addition to the ordinary winter dwellings, which are usually occupied
+by two or more families, each village is commonly supplied with an
+assembly house or _casine_ (a word of Russian origin), which serves also
+as a bath-house, and in them winter dances, the chief amusement of the
+people, are held. The casine, built by the united efforts of the various
+members of a community, consist of a single room, in part underground
+and entered by a tunnel, which frequently measures some 25 by 30 feet on
+the sides, and is approximately 15 feet high. They are substantially
+made of logs or of thick planks hewn with much labour from stranded tree
+trunks. The roof is of logs covered with moss and earth, and has an
+opening in the centre for the escape of smoke from the fire kindled on a
+hearth in the centre of the floor. When the fire is not burning, the
+opening in the roof is closed with a membrane obtained from the
+intestines of the seal. About the sides of the room there is a raised
+platform for spectators during dances and for the use of bathers when
+the customary steam-baths are indulged in. An interesting fact in
+connection with both the ordinary winter homes and the casines, which
+indicates their American origin, is that they are communal. A tenement
+used by several families in common is characteristic of the American
+aborigines from the arctic to Panama.
+
+The architecture of the Innuits has been modified but little during
+recent years, except that in localities most visited by white men and
+where trading stations have been established, as at St. Michael,
+log-houses built after the manner of those used by the Russian residents
+have to a considerable extent replaced the native huts, with favourable
+results so far as sanitary conditions are concerned. The Russian
+log-house is not unlike the many similar structures still to be
+seen in portions of Canada and the United States, except that the upper
+side of each log is hewn so as to have a sharp edge, which fits into a
+deep groove, cut in the log which rests on it. Moss is placed between
+the logs, and is also used to fill all holes and crevices. Air is
+usually admitted through a pipe situated beneath the floor and opening
+in front of the stove, if one is used, and a small pipe for ventilation
+passes out through the roof. In the Russian houses the stove is usually
+a huge affair, made of large flat stones, which retain heat for a long
+time.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VI.--Linguistic stocks of indians north of Mexico.]
+
+The dress of the Innuits in former days, in common with all the Eskimo
+tribes, consisted of skins, and in special cases of the intestines of
+seals. The characteristic garment is the parkie or overshirt, not open
+in front, however, provided with a hood and made of caribou skin tanned
+with the hair on. Those worn by men have a different cut than those
+intended for women. In recent years, and perhaps before the coming of
+white men, the skins for the manufacture of parkies were derived largely
+by trade from the people owning domesticated reindeer in Asia. The
+margin of the hood is commonly made of wolf skins, the long hair of
+which, blowing across the face, affords much protection. Trousers and
+boots made of the skin of the hair-seal or moccasins shaped from the
+skin of the leg of a caribou completed the dress. Mats of grass are worn
+in the boots or moccasins during cold weather. At the present time the
+summer clothing of the natives throughout Alaska is generally of cloth
+obtained from white traders, but nothing brought from more civilized
+countries can replace the parkies, fur trousers, skin boots, and
+waterproof shirts or _kamlaykas_. These articles, except the last
+mentioned, are largely used by white men, especially if making winter
+journeys.
+
+The boats in use among the Innuits are still the _kayak_ and the
+_oomiak_, for which civilized man can offer no adequate substitute. The
+well-known kayak, made of a light framework of wood, tied with thongs,
+over which is tightly stretched a dressed sealskin covering, leaving
+only one or two circular openings for the occupant, is in use from
+Greenland all about the arctic coast of America to Asia. Different
+shapes pertain to different tribes. In recent years, as a result
+of outside influence, openings for three occupants are sometimes made,
+the size of the boat also being increased. To one familiar with boat and
+canoe travel these light skin craft, with their water-tight decks, seem
+the perfection of boat construction. The occupant lashes the skirt of
+his kamlayka about the raised rim of the opening in which he sits and
+the boat is thus rendered impervious to water from whatever direction.
+The greatest danger is that the parchment-like covering may be ruptured,
+as by the cutting edge of thin ice. To ordinary storms, however, they
+are more safe than even the deservedly celebrated "whale-boat" of the
+white man. The oomiak, or woman's boat, also made of dressed skin
+stretched over a frame, is much larger than the kayak, has a flat
+bottom, is without deck covering, and designed for the use of many
+occupants. As is well known, boats of each of these types are propelled
+by means of paddles. Both the kayak and oomiak are still in every-day
+use, and it is to be hoped the boats of the white man will never wholly
+replace them.
+
+The changes in house-building and dress referred to, which have come
+from contact with white men, are outward signs of a great modification
+in the lives of the Innuits, which began in the early days of Russian
+occupation and has continued with increasing importance to the present
+time. The natives are quick to imitate the customs of the strangers who
+have visited them, and but for the restraint that the climatic
+conditions have put upon them and the high price in furs demanded by
+traders for imported goods the changes thus produced would be far more
+marked than is now the case. To some extent the food of the natives has
+been modified, flour being in demand, but, with minor exceptions, the
+principal articles consumed are still such as are obtained by hunting
+and fishing.
+
+The greatest change that has taken place in the condition of the Alaskan
+Innuits, and one which, perhaps, culminated at the time of the recent
+"gold excitement" on the Yukon and at Cape Nome, is in relation to the
+introduction of intoxicating liquors and of certain contagious diseases.
+These scourges, coming from the south, have been almost as great
+a blight among the native peoples as would be the sweeping southward of
+a wave of arctic temperature to the vegetation of tropical lands. The
+_curse of contact_, resulting when a civilized race invades a land
+inhabited by childlike aborigines, as has been seen in many parts of the
+world, has overtaken the Innuits in common with nearly all other tribes
+in Alaska, and decadence and the prolongation of a miserable existence,
+unless cut short by extermination through starvation, is all that
+seemingly can be hoped for.
+
+The fur-bearing animals of Alaska have been greatly reduced in numbers
+during the last twenty-five years: the caribou and the moose have, to a
+marked degree, been killed or driven to remote regions; the larger
+whales, on account of overcapture by American whalers, have become
+scarce; the sea-lion and the walrus are nearly extinct; the fur-seal, of
+more importance to the Aleutians than the Innuits, is rapidly
+approaching extinction. Thus in many ways the food supply is greatly
+decreased. Recourse to agriculture is impossible. The one redeeming
+feature of the white man's aggression is the introduction of the
+domesticated reindeer from Asia and Lapland. With reindeer, the salmon,
+not as yet depleted in the streams emptying into Bering Sea, the white
+whale, the hair-seal, not as yet of commercial value, the countless
+birds of summer, the berries of the tundra, etc., the Innuits can
+survive, maintain their manhood, and become useful to civilization in
+certain ways if the curse of drink and the spread of imported diseases
+could be stopped. Such a change, however, for various reasons, is not to
+be hoped for. It may perhaps be said that the influence of missionaries,
+and, what is vastly more important, the work of the school-teacher, has
+opened to these children of the cold northern land a way to
+civilization, but the results up to the present time are not reassuring.
+
+The census of 1890 showed that the Innuits of Alaska numbered 13,045. In
+the census of 1900 a separate enumeration of Eskimos and Indians was not
+made.
+
+The dismal picture I have been compelled to sketch of the present
+condition and future prospects of the Innuits of Alaska, in order
+to indicate their status at the opening of the twentieth century,
+applies also with variations in detail and some hopeful signs to a large
+majority of the other aboriginal tribes of North America.
+
+_The Aleutians._--The aboriginal inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands are
+termed Aleuts or Aleutians, a word of obscure and perhaps foreign
+derivation. As stated above, they belong to the Eskimo family, but are
+more widely separated from the parent stock than any other of its
+constituent tribes. Evidence advanced by W. H. Dall tends to show that
+they are of American continental origin. At the time of the first coming
+of the Russians, about 1750, they were at war with the Kaniagmuts, who
+inhabited the greater part of the Alaskan peninsula and were the nearest
+tribe of the Innuits.
+
+When discovered by the Russians the Aleuts were an active, sprightly
+people, fond of the dance and of festivities. They are of lighter
+colour, but not perhaps in general more nearly white than the
+full-blooded Innuits. At present it is difficult to find even a single
+representative of unmixed descent, Russian occupation having stamped out
+or greatly modified nearly every native characteristic both of body and
+mind. They were originally a robust people, of about the average height
+found in civilized countries, with coarse black hair and scanty beards.
+Their island life, where no large game invited inland journeys, made
+them emphatically "canoe people." The habit of sitting in their kayaks
+and using the muscles of the upper portion of the body in paddling,
+throwing the spear, etc., while the lower portion of the body received
+but little exercise, led to a fine chest development and to undersized
+and comparatively weak legs. The women, to whom the use of the kayak was
+not intrusted, were better proportioned than the men, and many of them
+are pleasing in appearance. As stated by Dall, they were less determined
+than their neighbours on the mainland, the Kaniagmuts, but were by no
+means devoid of courage. Their mode of worship partook more of the
+character of a religion than that of any other of the Eskimo tribes in
+their native condition.
+
+From what can be learned of the Aleuts in their uncontaminated native
+state, they seem to have been the most intelligent of all the Eskimo
+tribes and the one which gave the greatest promise, if treated humanely,
+of advancement when civilization was introduced. Less than a century of
+contact with Russian invaders, however, led to a depth of degradation
+that is only paralleled and possibly not exceeded by the shameful
+results of the Spanish invasion among the aborigines of the West Indies.
+One of the darkest chapters in American history, fortunately for the
+credit of Europeans now largely lost, is that containing an account of
+the brutal treatment the Aleuts received at the hands of the Russians.
+The childlike natives became worse than slaves. The debauchery of their
+oppressors was shameful. As stated by Dall, "the Aleuts were subjected
+to the most horrible outrages. The names of Glottoff and Solovioff (two
+Russian explorers, 1764-'65) make them shudder to this day. Thousands
+perished under sword and fire. Long after those enormities were checked
+the Russians considered the Aleuts as beasts rather than men," etc.
+Their numbers, estimated at 10,000 in 1799, were, according to a Russian
+census, reduced to 5,238 in 1808, and, as stated by Dall, numbered not
+more than 1,500 in 1870. The census of 1890 gives it as 967.
+
+The incentive to Russian oppression was the greed for furs and the lust
+of rude men at a distance from all centres of control. The Aleutian
+Islands and neighbouring waters is the home of the sea-otter, which is
+clothed with the most beautiful of all furs. Near at hand are the
+Pribilof Islands, to which the fur-seal formerly resorted each summer in
+countless numbers, and during its migrations traversed the passes
+separating the islands of the Aleutian chain, where they were easily
+taken; the commercial value of their skins previous to about 1867,
+however, was small. In addition, the land-otter and several species of
+foxes also inhabited the same region. These allurements tempted the
+Russians, and besides the Aleutian Islands, with their sheltered
+harbours, furnished favourable stations from which to extend the fur
+trade into the still greater region to the eastward, and at an
+early date in the foreign occupation of Alaska became a basis for
+supplies.
+
+The entire fur trade in Russian America was placed by charter in the
+hands of the Russian-American Fur Company in 1799, which, like the
+Hudson's Bay Company, had territorial jurisdiction as well as trade
+monopoly. This powerful company maintained its existence under various
+renewals of its charter until the purchase of Alaska by the United
+States in 1867. The authority conferred on the Russian company gave it
+exclusive right to purchase furs from the natives, and thus to dictate
+prices. This system was fraught with evil to the natives, and their
+extinction would no doubt have resulted had it not been for the
+influence of missionaries of the Russian-Greek Church, among whom the
+name of Veniaminoff will ever be held in blessed memory. In a measure
+the gross oppression of the Russians brought its own punishment to the
+offenders. The decrease in the number of the Aleutians meant a decline
+in the number of pelts secured. To insure the gathering of the highly
+prized furs the native hunters must be maintained. The later days of
+Russian occupation were characterized by more humane treatment of the
+natives, schools were established among them, liquors withheld, and
+their rapid decline checked. When Alaska was purchased by the United
+States the Russian-American Fur Company was supplanted by the Alaskan
+Commercial Company, to whom a lease of the Pribilof Islands was granted.
+In this lease provision was made for the support and education of the
+Aleutians on the Pribilof Islands. As the chief and almost the sole
+employment open to the Aleutians during the past thirty years has been
+the taking of sealskins on these islands, this wise provision had a
+beneficent influence on the entire tribe. How faithfully the Alaskan
+Commercial Company carried out its contract has been seriously
+questioned, but it is, nevertheless, a fact that the Aleutians have
+fared better under American than under Russian rule. A gradual adverse
+change in their condition has come about, however, owing to the decrease
+and threatened extinction of the sea-otter, and the great decline in the
+number of the fur-seals owing to the attacks made on them during
+their annual migrations, which amounts to commercial extinction. The
+lucrative industries of the natives have thus practically disappeared,
+and there is nothing to take their place. The surviving members are
+objects of charity, but as yet the United States Government has made no
+adequate provision for their support. One method of ameliorating the
+existing adverse conditions that is practicable is the introduction of
+domesticated reindeer; another, not so easy to accomplish, is the
+suppression of the liquor traffic.
+
+
+                            THE INDIANS
+
+The aborigines of the New World to the southward of the narrow strip of
+arctic coast-land inhabited by the Eskimo are designated by the term
+Indian, as already explained. There is no sharp line of demarcation
+between the Indians of North and South America, one shading into the
+other, but only those of the northern continent are here considered.
+
+In many scientific treatises, as well as in books of travel and general
+literature, the Indians are frequently referred to as "red men," and the
+term "copper coloured" commonly applied to them. To the writer each of
+these expressions seems infelicitous. It is true that throughout America
+the Indians have a reddish undertone in their colour, but in numerous
+tribes it is not pronounced. As to copper colour, the meaning of the
+term is vague. What is copper colour? Presumably the colour of the pure
+metal when unoxidized. No such colour is more than suggested even by the
+aborigines having the lightest skins in the members of the many tribes
+that have come under the writer's notice. A more correct term--but this
+is a matter of opinion, in which differences are permissible--would be
+brown, of which many shades occur, ranging from light cinnamon colour to
+dark chocolate, and even nearly black. There is no recognisable
+connection between variations in colour and climatic conditions. The
+faces, hands, and other freely exposed portions of their bodies are
+darker than the parts usually covered with clothing, and frequently
+suggest the appearance of bronze statutes not fully darkened by
+exposure to the weather. In colour they more nearly approach that of the
+Polynesians than any other peoples, but in general are of a darker hue.
+The members of the various Indian tribes, although presenting a wide
+range of differences, have many physiological and mental resemblances,
+which, like their languages, serve to set them apart from all other
+peoples. A composite picture of their persons would show a man sinewy
+rather than heavy in build, but there are many exceptions; of average
+stature, 5 feet 8 or 10 inches, but there are tribes whose average is
+more, and others in which it is less; dark brown, with a reddish
+undertone, in colour; deep-set, black, and in general small eyes, their
+alignment straight; the nose prominent and frequently well shaped; mouth
+large, with strong, frequently perfect teeth; lower jaw massive; and
+face beardless or nearly so, and the hair of the scalp long, coarse, and
+black. In order to make such a sketch realistic, the bronze-like
+athletic figure must be clothed in a blanket worn with the grace of a
+Roman toga or wrapped in a robe of bison-skin; the feet encased in
+moccasins of tanned deerskin, and usually decorated with beads or
+variously coloured porcupine-quills; the face striped, dotted, or
+blotched with various colours; the coarse hair falling like a thatch to
+the shoulder, or braided, and in certain tribes shaved or plucked,
+except only the traditional scalp-lock, and decorated with feathers,
+most frequently of the eagle; necklaces, rings in the ears, amulets,
+etc., made of the claws of the bear, shells, beads, quills, etc.,
+bespeak various tribes; the primitive weapons were the hatchet-like
+tomahawk, the bow and arrow, and the spear. The Indian has been
+idealized in the writings of poets and novelists, but occasionally, even
+at the present day, one meets with an approach to the ideal. Judged by
+the standards of civilization, as he is seen to-day on numerous
+reservations and about the streets of towns, he is a lazy, dirty
+vagabond. A far more favourable and agreeable picture is presented,
+especially in the eastern portion of Canada and adjacent States to the
+south and in the Indian Territory, where the blessings of civilization
+have been accepted and the once roaming savage has become a tiller of
+the soil, an owner of cattle and sheep, and lives in a comfortable
+house supplied with furniture such as white men use.
+
+While a racial likeness impossible to conceal unites all of the various
+tribes, no single picture or generalized description, however carefully
+prepared, can convey to one unfamiliar with the Indian an accurate idea
+of his personal appearance. A typical example from one tribe when
+critically studied is found to differ widely from an equally
+representative example of another tribe, not only in speech, dress,
+methods of wearing the hair, ornaments, etc., but also in physique and
+in mental traits.
+
+In temperament the Indian is usually described as being moody, reserved,
+wary, grave, and his face expressionless, the current of his thoughts
+being unrevealed in his proud, indifferent bearing. In his own mind he
+seems to consider himself superior to all other beings, and to regard
+them with contemptuous indifference. All this is true enough as seen by
+a stranger, but in his home life, and not infrequently when in the
+presence of trusted white men, the mask of indifference is laid aside
+and the laugh and jest indulged in. The extreme of assumed indifference
+is exhibited, as has been well attested by many witnesses, when death by
+torture is inflicted on a captive, as, for example, burning alive, when
+no outward sign is permitted to reveal his intense suffering.
+
+The Indian is a hunter and fisherman both from inheritance and
+necessity. From his mode of life his sense of sight and of hearing have
+become wonderfully acute. His skill in following a trail is proverbial.
+When living near the sea or by the side of streams and lakes he is as
+much at home in a canoe as his relative of the plains in post-Columbian
+days when seated on his hardy pony. In current literature, however, all
+of these traits, as in the case of the personality of the Indian, have
+been fused into one ideal. It is true that the Indian hunter is more
+skilled in following a trail, in interpreting the signs and sounds in
+the forest, in shooting the foaming rapids in his frail canoe, etc.,
+than the average white man to whom such pursuits are incidental or newly
+acquired; but many white men, and particularly those who have in a
+measure degenerated and assumed the Indian mode of life, are his
+equal, if not his superior, in all that pertains to woodcraft.
+
+In mental qualities the Indian is the inferior of the Caucasian and the
+Asiatic, but is the superior of the negro. The ability to advance is not
+absent, and capacity to reach a certain grade in civilization is
+general, but beyond the acquirement of indifferent skill in the arts,
+literature, etc., but few have passed. The mental quality of
+perseverance under adverse conditions and of continuous application has
+not been granted him.
+
+These children of the forests and plains, easily pleased and as easily
+angered; kind to their children and friends, but cruelly revengeful when
+enraged; treasuring a kindness, but never forgetting an injury; without
+rigid self-control, as is sadly illustrated by their inordinate passion
+for liquor when once a taste for it is acquired, are plastic organisms,
+which reflect the conditions under which they have developed. These
+untutored barbarians, descendants from ancestors who brought little with
+them save the stone axe and the stone spear, but of necessity originated
+all their arts and institutions without contact with other peoples, and
+were exposed to a wide range of climatic and other physical conditions
+for many centuries, present a most instructive subject for the study of
+the geographer and others who are interested in the relation of man to
+his environment.
+
+_Resources._--To the Indian in pre-Columbian days no ships from overseas
+brought supplies, and as the various tribes were frequently at war with
+their neighbours, trade relations were greatly restricted. Intertribal
+barter was carried on, however, and the capture of supplies and utensils
+of various sorts by one tribe from another favoured their dispersion.
+Although such articles as the native copper of the Lake Superior region,
+the red pipe-stone (catlinite) of Minnesota, and obsidian from various
+places found its way to remote localities, each tribe had essentially to
+supply its wants from the natural resources of its own domain. The range
+in raw materials, to borrow a modern commercial term, that the Indian's
+intellectual development permitted him to utilize is indicated in the
+following table:
+
+                    { Animal: Mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes,
+                    {    crustaceans, insects, and at times human flesh.
+                    {
+                    {           { Wild--roots, bulbs, seeds, fruits, nuts,
+                    {           {   bark, berries, sap.
+ Used for food.     { Vegetable { Cultivated--maize, cacao, melons,
+                    {           {   squashes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes,
+                    {           {   potatoes, pineapple, (tobacco).
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Salt, (earth in certain instances).
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, sinews, tendons, hair, wool,
+                    {    feathers, and cochineal for dyes.
+                    {
+ Used for clothing. { Vegetable { Wild--bark, fibres, roots, dyes, gums.
+                    {           { Cultivated--cotton, aloe (?)
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Dyes, such as ochres and cinnabar,
+                    {   charcoal.
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, sinew, etc.
+ Used in the        {
+   construction of  { Vegetable: Logs, bark, seeds; grass, roots, etc.,
+   houses.          {   for mats.
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Stone, adobe, sods, earth, selenite
+                    {   (caves).
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, sinew; oil in paint; quills, shells,
+                    {   etc., for decoration.
+ Used in making     {
+   boats.           { Vegetable: Tree trunks, bark, seeds, pitch.
+                    {
+                    { Mineral: Asphaltum; metallic oxides, etc., for
+                    {   paint.
+
+                    { Animal: Bones, horns, skins, scales, teeth, shells.
+                    {
+                    { Vegetable: Wood, bark, nuts, leaves, fibre, dyes,
+                    {   pitch.
+ Used in making     {
+   utensils and     { Mineral: Soapstone for pots, pipes, etc.; obsidian,
+   weapons.         {   flint, etc., for spear and arrow points, knives,
+                    {   scrapers, etc.; various hard stones and pebbles
+                    {   for axes, mortars, pestles, etc.; copper for axes,
+                    {   knives, etc.; mineral dyes; gold and silver.
+
+                    { Animal: Skins, hair, fur, bones, hoofs, claws,
+                    {   teeth, ivory, oil in paints; shells, coral,
+                    {    pearls, feathers, quills, scales, etc.
+ Used as personal   {
+   ornaments and in { Vegetable: Seeds; fibres for mats, basket-work, etc.
+   the decoration   {
+   of houses,       { Mineral: Stone (turquoise, emerald, jasper, mica,
+   boats, etc.      {   catlinite, etc.), clay, gold, silver, meteoric
+                    {   iron; and various metallic oxides, cinnabar, etc.,
+                    {   for paints.
+
+In these several ways, and yet others, as in their games, medical
+practice, elaborate religious ceremonials, mortuary customs, modes of
+travel, etc., the aborigines utilized a wide range of materials supplied
+by nature, and supplemented them by horticulture, and to an exceedingly
+limited extent by domesticating animals. The degree to which they
+utilized the natural supplies was much less in certain directions than
+became possible to civilized people, but several sources of raw
+materials prized by them have not been called upon by white men, and are
+now in greater or less measure abandoned by the natives
+themselves. The vast mineral wealth of the continent was almost entirely
+unavailing to the aborigines, except so far as native metals were
+discovered; while several articles, such as the camass, the seeds of
+grasses, insects, etc., for food and material, used for implements, as
+obsidian for arrow points, spears, and knives, catlinite and other
+stones for pipes, porcupine-quills for decoration, etc., are of small
+value to Europeans. While civilized man has become more and more
+independent of climatic and other natural conditions, largely through
+the aid of commerce, the aborigines were much less resistant and were
+forced to adjust themselves to their environment, and like other plastic
+organisms, were modified by it.
+
+_The Natural Food Supply._--The food of the Indians was mainly the flesh
+of mammals, birds, and fishes. The smaller deer of various species
+inhabited the entire continent from the subarctic forest to Panama. The
+range of the bears was equally extensive, but in certain instances, on
+account of superstitious fear, were not customarily used for food. The
+almost universal source of food supply furnished by the smaller deer was
+supplemented at the far north by the Barren Ground caribou, succeeded
+southward by the woodland caribou; overlapping the range of the latter
+and extending farther south was the moose; this, in turn, was
+supplemented and exceeded in southern range by the Wapiti (elk); more
+restricted was the range of the mountain-sheep and mountain-goat, each
+inhabiting the Pacific mountains; on the Great plains roamed the bison
+and the antelope, the former extending from the central Atlantic
+seaboard to the Snake River plains, and the latter from the subarctic
+forest to Mexico. The mammalian food supply was most abundant in the
+temperate belt, and while decreasing northward, declined more rapidly
+towards the south. The food supply furnished by fishes was plentiful
+wherever water was present, and in superabundance in tidal rivers and
+estuaries both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts; but these resources
+fluctuated in a conspicuous way with seasonal changes, owing especially
+to the annual migrations of the shad and salmon. Supplementing the
+highly desirable fish-food on the ocean shores were the molluscs,
+and especially the oyster and the clam. The rivers, particularly of the
+Mississippi Basin, supplied fresh-water "clams" (_Unios_), and the
+saline and alkaline lakes of the arid region, inclusive of Mexico,
+teemed with the larvae of insects, which were utilized for food. In the
+Atlantic and Mississippi region, south of the Great Lakes and extending
+to Central America, lived the wild turkey; the forests of the Atlantic
+and Pacific coasts, the vast prairies, and the no less extensive
+sage-brush plains to the westward were inhabited by various species of
+grouse; the land east of the Pacific mountains, from the Gulf of Mexico
+far northward, was darkened by immense flights of pigeons; the water
+from the far south to the far north, throughout the breadth of the
+continent, were visited by large numbers of swans, geese, ducks, and
+other water birds. In a conspicuous way the feathered hosts, valuable
+for food, were migratory, thus again introducing a variable quantity
+into the lives of the aborigines.
+
+The vegetable food of the Indian tribes that did not practise
+horticulture varied from locality to locality, and in the temperate and
+more northern regions fluctuated through a wide range with seasonal
+changes. Berries were abundant in certain regions and at certain
+seasons. The raspberry, blackberry, huckleberry, strawberry, etc., of
+many varieties, grew wild in the eastern Mississippi and Atlantic coast
+regions. The huckleberry extended from the northern Atlantic coast
+regions westward across the continent on the southern border of the
+subarctic forest, and reached central Alaska. On the coast of British
+Columbia and Alaska to Mount St. Elias, salmon-berries, wild currants,
+huckleberries, and strawberries flourished with marvellous luxuriance
+and of large size. Wild cherries were abundant on the Atlantic coast and
+extended to the Pacific mountains. Certain small plums of value for food
+occurred widely in what is now the United States. The papaw and
+persimmon thrived in the southern portion of the Atlantic coast region.
+The fruits of the cacti yielded refreshment in the southwestern States
+and in Mexico. Throughout all the hardwood forests of the Mississippi
+Valley and the region south of the St. Lawrence a large variety
+of nut-bearing trees, such as the walnut, hickory, chestnut, beechnut,
+oak, etc., were in great abundance and furnished a large annual food
+supply. In the northern portion of this region grew the maple, the
+saccharine sap of which was utilized by the Indians for making sugar. In
+the Pacific mountains south of Canada grew the pinyon, perhaps of all the
+trees of the continent the species that yielded the greatest food supply
+to the Indians. In this same region, particularly to the northward, grew
+the small lily-like plant having a blue flower, known as the camass, the
+bulbs of which are highly nutritious. Both the pinyon and the camass are
+largely utilized even at the present day for food by the Indians. In
+Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies a large number of tropical
+fruits, bulbs, nuts, etc., abound, which are suitable for food, and, as
+we have more or less direct evidence, were utilized by the Indians of
+that region in prehistoric times. The period of harvest at the south is
+less sharply defined than in temperate latitudes and the natural food
+supply subject to less seasonal fluctuations.
+
+The Indians so long as they did not engage in agriculture--there being
+an absence of anything that could be termed commerce, and even the
+transfer of food and other supplies by barter being restricted--were
+obliged to move from place to place, in order to avail themselves of the
+abundance furnished in certain localities and at certain seasons. This
+is well illustrated at the present day. With the coming of the salmon in
+the rivers of the northwest Pacific coast region the Indian feasts by
+the river-side; when the berries ripen in the valleys of the Cascade
+Mountains he is there, together with the bears, to profit by the
+bounties of nature; in Nevada he still makes journeys to the pinyon
+groves in October; and in the subarctic forest he accompanies the
+migration of the caribou. In former days he followed the movements of
+the herds of bison on the Great plateaus. In these and many other ways
+the food supply of the Indian tended to establish nomadic customs, and
+as each source of fuel and other supplies demanded different methods of
+capturing animals or different utensils for gathering seeds,
+etc., variations in culture development was a necessary result. The duty
+of replenishing the general stores was shared by all, but there was no
+definite organization for this purpose, and certainly nothing worth the
+name of business management. As the adage is, "What is every one's
+business is no one's business," and for this reason the Indian, as a
+rule, failed to lay aside a sufficient supply of food for winter use,
+and in consequence frequently went hungry and not infrequently died of
+starvation.
+
+The scarcity of the spontaneous food supply at certain seasons or during
+exceptional years, and the recurrence of cold or rainy seasons,
+necessitating shelter, would naturally lead the Indian to develop in two
+important directions, namely, agriculture and architecture. As is well
+known, promising advances had been made in each of these arts, when
+indigenous development was checked and to a great extent killed by the
+appearance on the scene and subsequent encroachments of peoples from
+over the sea.
+
+_Horticulture._--Concerning the art of cultivating plants for food,
+clothing, utensils, etc., practised by the Indians before the coming of
+Europeans, it is difficult to obtain accurate information. The writings
+of Spanish and other explorers who first visited various tribes have
+been diligently searched in this connection by students of American
+history, and although much that is instructive has been discovered, many
+questions remain unanswered.
+
+The principal regions where cultivation of the soil was practised in
+pre-Columbian times are situated in the United States south of the St.
+Lawrence and east of the Mississippi Valley, and inclusive of the lands
+bordering the Great Lakes on the south; also much of New Mexico,
+Arizona, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. In the eastern
+portion of what is now the United States localities naturally devoid of
+trees were cultivated by the Indians, and partial clearings were made in
+the vast forest by deadening the trees, probably by girdling or cutting
+the bark entirely around their trunks with stone axes, and leaving them
+standing. A similar process was employed by white settlers in later
+years, and is practised even at the present day. In these partial
+clearings, from which the underbrush was no doubt burned, gardens of
+maize, melons, pumpkins, beans, gourds, sunflowers, potatoes, tobacco,
+and perhaps other plants were grown without irrigation. Garden-beds, as
+they are termed, are still to be seen in the forests of Michigan, which,
+as indicated by the trees growing on them, are older than the time white
+men began the cultivation of the soil of that region. In the arid
+southwestern portion of the continent and in Central America gardens
+were cultivated with the aid of irrigation, and what has been described
+as a high degree of skill in horticulture attained. The chief products
+of these gardens were maize, cotton, tobacco, beans, melons, cacao,
+bananas, and the red pepper. Possibly vanilla, tomatoes, and pumpkins
+were also grown. The aloe was extensively utilized in the south, but
+whether definitely cultivated or not seems uncertain.
+
+The cultivation of fruit-trees other than the cacao, which furnishes the
+seeds from which chocolate is made, does not seem to have been carried
+on, although certain writers imply that native trees were tended and
+given greater facility for growth by removing adjacent plants. It is
+stated by some authors that in the region to the eastward of the
+Mississippi the Chickasaw plum is now found growing in clearings that
+were abandoned by the Indians and not elsewhere, and the inference is
+that it was formerly cultivated. Asa Gray mentions, however, that this
+species is probably not indigenous.
+
+Of domesticated mammals none are known to have been possessed by the
+Indians except the dog, which it is presumed was derived from one or
+more species of the native wolf, and was used to carry or draw burdens,
+served also for food, and furnished skins for clothing and hair for
+weaving cloth. The turkey was domesticated by the Aztecs and the village
+Indians of the New Mexico region; among the latter, even at the present
+day, eagles are confined in cages and plucked for feathers. There is
+seemingly no doubt but that in pre-Columbian, as in recent years, the
+young of wild animals were captured by the Indians and reared as pets,
+which in times of necessity probably served for food; but there are no
+records of definite attempts to domesticate the bison, mountain-sheep,
+mountain-goat, or the peccary of the Gulf coast and Central America. In
+the attractive accounts that have appeared in recent years concerning
+the grandeur of the Aztecs mention is made of extensive menageries, but
+even the most poetic of historians has not assigned to the tribes of
+that confederation flocks and herds. The llama and the paco or alpaca,
+although reared extensively by the Incas of Peru, are not certainly
+known to have been introduced into North America.
+
+To the eastward of the Mississippi, where numerous earthworks bear
+testimony of an early settlement by aborigines, heavy forests, the
+severity of the winter climate, and wide variations in summer rains
+combined to make the natural conditions to a marked degree adverse to
+aboriginal development. In Central America, and the West Indies
+generally, the exuberance of vegetable growth is such as almost to defy
+the clearing of land by people provided only with stone or copper
+utensils. Between these two regions, in the southwestern portion of the
+continent, are the arid lands, where, when once the idea of irrigation
+was embraced, the conditions favouring a sedentary life, with
+agriculture as a basis, are far more auspicious than elsewhere. The land
+is there treeless, the indigenous plants are easily killed by fire and
+by irrigation, the soil is rich, intense sunshine favours plant growth,
+and the gathering of harvests is not delayed or the efforts of industry
+rendered abortive by rain. Of all portions of the continent, this is the
+one where resistance to human development is least, providing man's
+ideas are sufficiently advanced to permit him to grasp and put in
+practise the art of irrigation. It is reasonable to suppose that the
+Indian there first began to build permanent homes and to cultivate the
+soil. This hypothesis is sustained in part by historical evidence, and
+in part by the ruins of ancient villages or communal houses, irrigation,
+ditches, etc. From this centre it may be presumed, in the absence of
+definite proof, that the art of horticulture spread to Central America
+and the Mississippi Valley.
+
+In spite of the glowing accounts given by certain historians concerning
+the high degree of skill in agriculture attained by the
+aborigines of Mexico and Central America, and the extent of their
+plantations, a conservative balancing of the evidence indicates that
+they never advanced beyond the stage of gardening, and that field
+agriculture, the cultivation of orchards, and the domestication of
+mammals was practically unknown to them.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Lodge or Tepee, Blackfoot Indians, Manitoba.
+Photograph by William Notman & Son.]
+
+_Houses._--The houses of the primitive Indians, owing to the various
+stages in culture attained by different tribes and differences in
+climatic conditions, showed a wide range in material used and in the
+results obtained. The shelters of the wandering tribes and of the
+village Indians during their journeys were usually some form of tent,
+either composed wholly of boughs or of a framework of sticks over which
+skins were spread and secured by thongs. The typical _wigwam_ consisted
+of a number of poles from 15 to 18 feet long, lashed together at the top
+and arranged in a circle some 10 feet in diameter at the base, on which
+a covering of skins, bark, or mats was spread, leaving an opening at the
+top for the escape of smoke from a small fire placed on the ground
+within. At the top a wing-like extension of the covering was frequently
+provided which could be adjusted to the direction of the wind. An
+opening on one side, protected by a curtain of skin, or closed by
+drawing the covering together, served as a door. A modification of this
+genuine Indian lodge, or _tepee_, in which cotton cloth is substituted
+for the primitive covering, may be seen over a wide extent of the
+country to the west of the Mississippi at the present day (Fig. 36).
+
+A step higher than the usually circular lodge of boughs, etc., in use
+principally among the Indians to the west of the Mississippi, was
+furnished by the bark houses of the northeastern tribes, as those of New
+York, in which a rectangular frame of poles with an arched or triangular
+roof was covered with bark, usually of the elm, tied to the inner frame
+and held also by an external frame of poles, the two frames being lashed
+firmly together. This, the celebrated "long house" of the Iroquois, like
+most Indian houses, was designed to accommodate a number of families,
+and may be said to have consisted of several houses placed end to end
+with a common passageway running through them. Fires were lighted
+in this passageway, one for each family, and the smoke allowed to escape
+through openings in the roof. One of these bark houses is described by
+an early traveller as being 80 feet long, 17 feet wide, and with a
+common passageway 6 feet wide running through its length, on each side
+of which were apartments 5 feet square. Smaller houses, usually for the
+use of a few families, were also built. The larger ones, as was common
+in many Indian villages, were occupied both as dwellings and for general
+assemblies. These houses were grouped in villages, about which
+palisades, consisting of poles planted in the ground, were frequently
+built, and in at least one instance a ditch filled with water was used
+on the outside of the palisade to increase their security against
+attack.
+
+The feature of special interest concerning the houses of the American
+aborigines, inclusive of the Eskimos, is that they were usually occupied
+by a number of families. This communal idea runs through all the
+indigenous American architecture. As remarked by Lewis H. Morgan, one of
+the most judicious students of American ethnology, "the house for a
+single family was exceptional throughout aboriginal America, while the
+house large enough to accommodate several families was the rule.
+Moreover, they were occupied as joint tenement-houses. There was also a
+tendency to form these households on the principle of gentile kin, the
+mothers with their children being of the same gens or clan."
+
+The idea of the joint tenement-house, as has been clearly shown by
+Morgan, illustrated by the bark cabins of the Iroquois, finds its most
+striking expression in the communal houses, or _pueblos_, of the village
+Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, and in the abandoned stone houses of
+Central America. In the arid southwestern portion of the continent
+certain tribes, termed the Pueblo Indians, are still living in the
+villages they occupied when first visited by Spanish explorers (1640).
+On account of their exclusiveness and the isolation of their villages in
+an immense desert region they have been but slightly modified, so far as
+their home life is concerned, even at the present day, by contact
+with white men. The hot desert has shielded these people in much the
+same manner that the frozen tundra has served to preserve the purity of
+the Eskimo.
+
+The homes of Pueblo Indians, as described by Morgan, are immense
+tenement-houses, built of stone and adobe, frequently occupying several
+acres of ground, and from 1 to 6 or 7 stories high. The number of
+inhabitants at Zuni, one of the most typical of these pueblo towns, is
+stated to have been 1,500 in 1851, but to have previously included some
+5,000 souls. The adobe, of which the houses are largely constructed, is
+the soil of the region, which when mixed with water and allowed to dry
+becomes sufficiently hard to retain indefinitely in an arid climate the
+form given to it. The soil is formed into bricks, and also used as a
+mortar to unite rough stones. Although much stone was used in the
+construction of the pueblos, it was roughly dressed by hammering, or not
+changed at all from its natural condition, and regularly cut and carved
+stones do not occur in the buildings. The pueblos were built in
+successive terraces, usually either in a semicircle or on three sides of
+a rectangle, the open side being protected by a wall. Irregular forms
+are also known, the general plan being adapted to the natural condition
+of the site chosen. In certain instances the structures were placed on
+elevations where a high degree of safety was insured, but others are on
+the open plain and even at the base of a commanding eminence, and near
+enough to be reached by arrows shot from a bow. Protection against
+enemies was increased by an absence of openings in the exterior walls,
+except at a considerable height above the ground; ingress and
+communication from terrace to terrace being by means of ladders, which
+were drawn up or their steps removed in times of danger. The roofs of
+the pueblos, as may be seen at Zuni at the present day, are flat and
+consist of poles covered with adobe.
+
+The controlling ideas in the construction of the pueblos seems to have
+been communal residence and defence. The houses are at the same time
+tenements and fortresses. A characteristic feature of these, as of
+practically all Indian villages, is the presence of one or more
+assembly rooms, and of open courts or plazas, where the people gathered
+for council, worship, amusement, etc.
+
+When white men first visited the Pueblo Indians they cultivated gardens
+with the aid of irrigation in which maize, mostly of a blue colour, was
+the principal crop, and had domesticated the turkey; earthen vessels of
+large size, frequently elaborately and pleasingly decorated, were
+manufactured; cotton fabrics were woven of spun threads, and the men
+were armed with bows and arrows and shields; clothing was made of
+dressed deerskins, buffalo-robes, and cotton cloth usually dyed dark
+blue. The descriptions of the Pueblo Indians given by the first visitors
+from civilized peoples would, to a great extent, apply to them at the
+present day, although in reality their lives have been profoundly
+modified and their indigenous development checked.
+
+Throughout a wide extent of the arid southwest the ruins of ancient
+pueblos, irrigation canals, remnants of pottery, the latter frequently
+marking village sites on isolated eminences, bear witness of a formerly
+widely spread people. This evidence shows also that the ancestors of the
+present tribes have inhabited the same territory for a great length of
+time. In this same general region are found the houses of the
+cliff-dwellers, who excavated rooms in the faces of precipices,
+frequently high above their bases and only accessible by means of holes,
+serving as steps, cut in the rock, or with the aid of ladders. In many
+instances these ancient cliff-dwellers, of which no certain descendants
+remain, took advantage of natural caverns, or of overhanging ledges,
+which were closed by means of walls of rough stone and adobe.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Panorama of Uxmal, Yucatan.
+
+     In the foreground at the left is the Pyramid-temple of the
+     Magician, _A_, with its small court at the right-hand base.
+     Connecting immediately with this is the Nunnery quadrangle,
+     _B_, occupying the greater part of the foreground. Behind the
+     latter, on the ground level, are two massive ruined walls
+     usually referred to as the Gymnasium, _C_, and rising behind
+     this is a great triple terrace, on the second level of which,
+     at the right, is the House of the Turtles, _D_, and crowning
+     the summit is the Governor's Palace, _E_. To the right and
+     beyond is the serrated crest of the House of the Pigeons, _F_,
+     overshadowed on the left by the massive pyramid, _G_, and
+     backed up by a temple-crowned pyramidal pile of inferior
+     dimensions, _H_. To the left of the House of the Governor and
+     beyond is a group consisting of two pyramids, _I_, and on the
+     right of the Nunnery quadrangle, and some distance farther
+     away, are other ruined masses, one only coming fully within the
+     limits of the picture.--_W. H. Holmes._]
+
+The pueblo dwellings, built largely of adobe, are stated by ethnologists
+to have extended southward into Mexico, and illustrate the nature of the
+houses in which the Aztecs lived, but the highest type of aboriginal
+architecture in America is furnished by the dwellings and so-called
+temples, palaces, etc., still standing in Yucatan and other portions of
+Central America. In these ruins we have abundant example of buildings
+made of cut stone, laid in regular and even courses, united with
+mortar composed of burned lime and sand, and elaborately sculptured in
+bas-relief and in the round, or covered with designs moulded in stucco.
+In size and proportions these unique structures are impressive. The
+so-called Governor's Palace at Uxmal, Yucatan, is 320 feet long, 40 feet
+wide, and 25 to 26 feet high, and surmounts an artificially constructed
+platform of earth 35 feet high and approximately 550 feet square.
+This platform is terraced and provided with broad flights of stone steps
+(Fig. 37). These dimensions will serve to render more instructive the
+accompanying sketch of the principal ruins at Uxmal by W. H. Holmes.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Examples of Maya Arches. After W. H. Holmes.
+
+    _a._ Section of cuneiform arch with acute apex, Chichen-Itza.
+    _b._ Section of ordinary arch with flat capstone.
+    _c._ Section of ordinary arch with dressed surfaces.
+    _d._ Section of ordinary arch with dressed surfaces and curved
+                soffit slopes.
+    _e._ Portal arch with long slopes, showing masonry of exterior
+                facing.
+    _f._ Section of trefoil, portal arch of Palenque.]
+
+Mere size and their great number are not the significant features of
+these ruins. They are well built, of cut stone, and most elaborately
+decorated, as may be seen by the accompanying reproduction of a
+photograph of a typical example. In reference to the skill displayed by
+the unknown architects and builders, Holmes, one of the most recent as
+well as the most critical of Central American travellers, remarks as
+follows:
+
+"The stone used is the pale-yellowish and reddish-gray, obscurely
+marbled limestone of the locality.... The facings and ornaments are all
+cut and sculptured with a masterly handling not surpassed where chisels,
+picks, and hammers of iron and steel are used, and the faces and contact
+margins are hewn with perfect precision. Though the finish of the
+surfaces was often secured by means of abrasion or grinding, picking or
+pecking were the main agents employed, and the indents of the tools are
+often apparent and wonderfully fresh-looking. The stones were set in
+mortar, although in many cases the joints are so perfect that the mortar
+does not appear on the surface."
+
+The extensive ruins of Uxmal, although only a part of the treasures
+concealed in the forests of Central America, express with an eloquence
+not as yet fully appreciated the advanced stage of culture and
+refinement attained in America from the growth of indigenous ideas. Some
+of the special features illustrated by them from which the degree of
+mental development of their builders can be judged is the presence of
+the wedge-shaped but not of the true arch. The character of the simplest
+and perhaps the first style of arch constructed by the awakening peoples
+in many lands are shown in the accompanying sketches, borrowed from
+Holmes's most instructive report. Columns, both square and round, were
+used, and statues both in bas-relief and in the round are common. The
+designs, whether of animals, grotesque monsters, feathers, or
+plants, are in strong relief, either cut in stone or moulded in stucco.
+These designs are not confined to single stones, but embrace several
+blocks, and together with the diaper fretwork extend the entire length
+of even the larger structures. Accompanying the well-wrought figures of
+men, and at times forming separate inscriptions, are many hieroglyphics,
+the meanings of which are still unknown. All or nearly all of the
+structures stand on artificial platforms, which are terraced. A terraced
+pyramid, with a broad flight of steps on one or more sides, surmounted
+by a well-proportioned rectangular building, faced with cut stone,
+highly decorated, and with a flat roof, are the larger features of the
+Maya ruins.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Sculptured Facade of Governor's Palace, Uxmal,
+Yucatan.
+
+     This very handsome and elaborate piece of work is a section of
+     the embellished entablature zone of the palace. The height from
+     the lower or medial moulding below to the coping course above
+     is about 10 feet. The entire length, covering the four walls of
+     the building, is some 725 feet. If we allow that the stones
+     employed average 6 by 12 inches in surface dimensions, this
+     deeply coffered and relieved mosaic would comprise upward of
+     20,000 pieces, all specially cut and a large percentage
+     elaborately sculptured. Two plain coping courses are seen at
+     the top, followed by a twined fillet moulding, while under this
+     is a line of very ornate snouted masks. The broad space below
+     is filled with bold fretwork, set on a lattice ground and
+     interrupted by the wonderful overdoor trophy, the central
+     feature of which is a human figure, fully life size, sculptured
+     in the round and seated in a niche with festooned base. The
+     head [now displaced] was surrounded by an elaborate and
+     colossal head-dress, most of which remains. The horizontal bars
+     terminating in serpent heads at both ends are separated by
+     lines of hieroglyphs.--_W. H. Holmes._]
+
+All of this and more, as can be read in the elaborately illustrated
+books of Stephens, Holmes, and others, shows that the Maya people, at
+the time they were crushed by the more than cruel Spanish invasion, had
+reached a stage in their development but little short of true
+civilization.
+
+_Ethnological Studies._--The native dress of the Indians, their boats,
+ornaments, and still more their customs, systems of government,
+religions, myths, traditions, etc., offer attractive subjects for study,
+which are being earnestly pursued by many students at the present time.
+The closing decade of the nineteenth century witnessed a true awakening
+of the white people of America to an interest in the many relics
+of ancient earthworks, buildings, utensils, etc., found throughout the
+continent, and a healthy growth of an earnest desire to record all that
+can be learned concerning the representatives still remaining of the
+vanished peoples to whom they pertain.
+
+In the van of this important work is the Bureau of Ethnology of the
+Smithsonian Institution. Important work has also been carried on by the
+Peabody Museum of Archaeology, situated at Cambridge, and more recently
+has been taken up in an energetic manner by the American Museum in New
+York and the Field Columbian Museum at Chicago. The National Museum of
+Mexico has assembled rich stores of archaeological and ethnological
+material pertaining to the native races of Mexico, and the Mexican
+Government is doing much to preserve the priceless prehistoric monuments
+of the republic from vandalism. There are also many private antiquarian
+collections and many individual students who are doing good work along
+their chosen historic, linguistic, and other branches of research. One
+phase of this work, particularly in reference to ancient earthworks,
+buildings, and also the observations of early travellers, missionaries,
+explorers, etc., is the removal of the incrustation of romance, and in
+part of fable, that has been formed about them. As shown by W. H.
+Holmes, in reference to many reputed finds of the relics of men in
+various glacial and other deposits; by W. H. Henshaw, in respect to
+certain animal carvings; by Cyrus Thomas, in the case of the earthwork
+of the eastern part of the United States; by L. H. Morgan, in connection
+with the history of the Mexican and Central American aborigines and
+other similar examples, imagination has only too frequently taken the
+place of critical study and hasty generalizations have been given
+publicity. It is perhaps not too strong a statement to say that the
+fascinating histories pertaining to Mexico and Central America, written
+by Irving, Prescott, and Bancroft, need to be thoroughly revised and
+rewritten from the standpoint of the scientific ethnologist. This
+clearing of the field of an underbrush of fancy is as necessary as the
+work of the axe or _machete_ in removing the vegetable growths
+that conceal many of the records of America's history.
+
+_The Contact of the Aborigines with Foreign Peoples._--The chief
+interest of the ethnologist concerning the American aborigines relates
+to their condition before the introduction of European ideas and
+customs. This external influence has been far-reaching and cumulative in
+its effects, and to-day there is not a tribe in North America that
+stands where it would have stood but for its coming. Among some of the
+Eskimo tribes, and in the case also of certain Indian communities in
+central Alaska and northern Canada, there have been but slight
+modifications even in dress, utensils, etc., by reason of contact with
+the white man. The Pueblo Indians have been resistant to change, but
+although still grinding their blue corn in primitive stone hand-mills,
+and dressed nearly as the first Spanish visitors found their ancestors
+in the same villages, there has been a slowly progressing revolution in
+the undercurrent of their thought, ideas, religion, customs, etc.
+Whether this change is for the better or the worse depends on the point
+of view. In attempting to judge of it from the Indian's side, the only
+possible conclusion seems to be that the coming of the white man has
+been a curse.
+
+The reception of Europeans by the Indian, although in many instances
+kindly, has, in the main, been but an outward show of friendship,
+concealing suspicion, fear, and jealousy. That this distrust was well
+founded is abundantly proved by history. Since the slaughter and
+enslavement of the aborigines of the West Indies and of the southern
+portion of the continent by Spaniards, through all the bloody conflicts
+of the English and French with the Indians of the Atlantic and
+Mississippi regions, to near the close of the nineteenth century, almost
+constant war, marauding, murder, rapine, and jealousy have accompanied
+the contact of the aborigines and the whites. Although the Indians
+succeeded in retarding the spread of civilization, they were not strong
+enough to permanently check it. In the United States and Canada they
+have been, to a great extent, dispossessed of their hunting-grounds by
+so-called treaties, or by formal purchase, and placed on
+reservations. In Mexico the struggle is still in active progress, but
+there and in Central America and the West Indies the contact of the two
+races has in part assumed a different phase, and one less visibly
+detrimental to the Indian. In the countries now held by people of
+Spanish descent, and in fact throughout Latin America, as it is termed,
+amalgamation has, to a great extent, caused the disappearance of the
+Indian race in its purity. North of the indefinite boundary where the
+Spanish language is largely spoken much less admixture of the two races
+has occurred than farther south, and the half-breed is classed as an
+Indian. While to the north of Mexico it is possible to trace the
+post-Columbian histories of the Indian tribes with an approach to
+completeness and to state their present census, and note the results of
+the attempts that have been made to civilize them, to the south of the
+Mexican boundary such a task is seemingly hopeless.
+
+In Alaska the Indians still roam at large with no other restraint than
+that arising from the adjustment reached through intertribal relations,
+with slight modifications due to the widely scattered settlements of
+white men. No attempt has been made by the United States Government to
+place them on reservations, and this will probably not occur, as the
+white man does not wish their lands for agricultural purposes.
+Displacement by contact seems to express the change now in progress.
+
+In Canada the present condition of the Indians varies with locality. In
+the southeastern part, including the maritime provinces, they have been
+greatly changed from their native condition, and to a large extent
+gathered on reservations or have settled on land of their own and become
+self-sustaining. In the Labrador region and throughout the Rocky
+Mountains they still roam at will, and depend mainly on hunting and
+fishing for a livelihood. On the Pacific coast, the Haidas, etc., of
+British Columbia--and the same is true of their neighbours, the Tlingits
+of southeastern Alaska--have become interested as labourers in the
+commercial fisheries, principally the salmon industry.
+
+The Canadian Government has purchased extensive tracts of land
+from the Indians, and the purchase money, together with the returns from
+the sale of relinquished lands, etc., amounting in 1900 to $3,893,623,
+is held in trust for their benefit. The interest on this sum, together
+with appropriations made by the Government for the support, education,
+etc., of the Indians, amounted during the year 1900 to $1,309,127. The
+total--in part estimated--Indian population of Canada is about 99,000,
+and those classed as resident Indians number 77,450. The last-named
+during the year 1900 cultivated 108,850 acres of land; owned 83,019 head
+of cattle, horses, sheep, etc.; cut 68,395 tons of hay; gathered 471,596
+bushels of potatoes and other root crops, besides an output of
+$1,639,398 worth of fish, furs, etc. During the same year 9,634 Indian
+children attended industrial schools. This is certainly a creditable
+report and one encouraging to the hope that all the Indians in Canada
+will in the course of a few generations become civilized, in spite of
+the fact that the Indians outside of the reservations and beyond the
+limits of the treaty lands still roam at large and to a great extent are
+in a deplorable condition.
+
+In the treatment of the aborigines within her borders Canada has to a
+marked degree been both humane and just. Her policy in this connection
+is largely an inheritance from that of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose
+success in trade depended on maintaining friendly relations with the
+native peoples. The work of the factors of "the Great Company" scattered
+throughout Canada and carried on continuously for more than two
+centuries did much to prepare the aborigines for civil government. Owing
+largely, also, to the efficiency of the mounted police of Canada much
+less trouble has been experienced in the management of the Indians of
+that country than has been the case in the adjacent portion of the
+United States. In any comparison, however, of the relation of the
+Canadian and United States governments to the aborigines within their
+respective borders account needs to be taken of the widely different
+conditions on the opposite sides of the boundary line between them. Not
+only are the Indians of Canada about one-third as numerous as in the
+United States, while the area of each country is about the same,
+but owing to a less dense white population to the north of the
+international boundary, far less demand has there arisen for their lands
+for agricultural, mining, and other purposes than in the United States.
+
+The Indian problem within the United States has been a most serious one,
+and is still a severe tax on the nation. The union of the colonies and
+the final separation from the mother country left the United States with
+an immense western frontier, extending in an irregular way from north to
+south through the trackless forests of the Mississippi Valley. As the
+nation grew in strength this frontier was pressed farther and farther
+westward, while settlements established on the Pacific coast presented a
+frontier to the eastward. These two inundations of civilization, crude,
+but virile and aggressive, approached each other and entered the passes
+in the mountains separating them. Between the two were the
+hunting-grounds of the Indians, but the advance of the whites was
+irregular and the outposts of civilization were in the Indian country.
+In 1867 the buildings of the first of the transcontinental railroads
+divided the region roamed over by savage tribes. Railroads continued to
+be built, and presently there was no frontier. In a later stage in this
+process of subduing a continent it became imperative that the more
+hostile and treacherous Indian tribes should be either exterminated or
+segregated and confined to definite regions, where they could be under
+military surveillance. Many treaties were made between the United States
+and the Indians, and by this means and by force the original occupants
+of the land were placed on reservations. The aim of the Government, it
+must be conceded, has during the past fifty years or more been humane,
+but in many instances treaties have been unfulfilled, and individuals in
+authority have proved incompetent, unfaithful, and dishonest. In judging
+of the dealings of the white man with the Indian, it must be remembered
+that the problem was highly complex and in certain ways of such a nature
+that no result just to each party was practicable. On one hand, the
+rights of the Indian to the land they inherited from their ancestors was
+to be recognised, but a larger interest, the march of civilization, had
+also to be encouraged. The good of humanity demanded that the barbarian,
+roaming over broad lands of which he made no use except for hunting,
+should give place to more enlightened people, who wished to cultivate
+the soil and make it support thousands of individuals, where before only
+a few hundred could find sustenance. The history pertaining to so many
+countries, where civilized peoples have displaced races in the lower
+stages of culture, was here repeated. The main issue was the same, only
+the details differ. In the struggle between the white and the red man it
+became evident that the latter must yield, assume habits of industry,
+and earn his bread by the sweat of his brow or be exterminated. It may
+be said that neither of these seemingly inevitable results has occurred;
+the Indian has not been exterminated, and possibly not seriously reduced
+in numbers, and to a great extent is not self-supporting. It is
+believed, however, that this is but a transient stage, resulting from
+the reservation system. In a large number of instances the lands
+formerly occupied by the Indians have been purchased from them by the
+Government and thrown open to settlement by white people. The money due
+for these purchases has in several instances been paid to the Indians,
+either as tribes or individually, while in other cases it is still held
+in trust by the Government, and the interest on it used for the benefit
+of the original occupants of the land.
+
+The United States Government by treaty with certain of the tribes, as
+the Sioux, for example, has agreed to pay definite annuities and issue
+to each individual a certain amount of clothing and food each year.
+Other tribes placed on reservations were also granted clothing and food
+sufficient to keep them from want, although no agreement to that effect
+was entered into, the theory of the Government being that the Indians
+deprived of their hunting-grounds should receive aid until they could
+adopt the ways of civilized men sufficiently to be self-supporting. The
+number of Indians assisted in this way each year during the past decade
+has been about 85,000. The food issued, usually twice a month, consists
+of meat, either beef or its equivalent in bacon, flour, coffee,
+and sugar. The ration supplied each individual is sufficient to maintain
+a person, or at least keep him from starving, but is not intended to
+meet all his wants. The desire on the part of the Government that want
+should compel the Indian to work, has been still further pressed by a
+gradual decrease in the ration issued in certain instances where
+definite agreement has not been made and where a tendency to
+self-support is manifest. In general, however, this assistance, instead
+of stimulating industry, and, as would seem natural, gradually leading
+the recipient to desire and obtain more and more of the comforts and
+luxuries that may be had as a reward of exertion, served but to enhance
+his inherited aversion to all forms of labour. The issuing of rations
+even to the extent of insuring the Indian against starvation has to a
+great extent removed the incentive to industry, and the Indian, being an
+Indian, has remained thriftless and indifferent. The reservation system,
+so far as attaining the main aim in view, namely, the civilizing of the
+Indian and encouraging him to work, has, to a great extent, been a
+failure.
+
+In addition to the issuing of food and clothing, the Government, with
+the view of extending still further encouragement, has in a large number
+of instances provided the Indians with tools, horses, agricultural
+implements, etc., and aided in irrigation and other schemes tending to
+the improvement of the lands comprised in reservations.
+
+Besides the direct material aid just referred to, schools have been
+established, and an earnest and widely extended effort made to educate
+the Indians and make them worthy of citizenship. The result of this
+effort, while highly encouraging in many individual instances, has on
+the whole fallen far short of what was expected in view of the large
+expenditures incurred. The sum thus employed during the past
+thirty-three years is about $240,000,000. The total appropriation made
+by the Government for the care and education of the Indians, inclusive
+of the aborigines of Alaska, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901,
+was over $9,000,000. Of this sum, over one-third was expended in the
+maintenance of schools. In addition to this provision there are a number
+of mission and other schools, supported mainly by religious or
+benevolent organizations, and certain public schools not receiving aid
+from the General Government which were wholly or in part for the benefit
+of Indian pupils.
+
+In the case of the larger of the Government Indian schools the Indian
+children are removed from their homes and placed in institutions where
+they live for a period of four years under military discipline. In these
+schools literary is subordinate to industrial training. The majority of
+the schools are equipped with shops for shoe- and harness-making,
+carpentry, blacksmithing, wagon-making, etc., and in several instances
+the girls are taught cooking and house-work. The largest of these
+schools is situated at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at which the average
+attendance during the year 1900 was 961. The extent to which education
+is spreading through the Indian tribes and its rate of increase are
+indicated by the fact that the attendance on the Government schools has
+increased from 3,598 in 1877 to 21,566 in 1900.
+
+While the benefits received by the Indians through the issuing of
+clothing, rations, and by education has been great and the seed for
+future progress sown broadcast, the results, so far as lifting the
+recipients into an atmosphere of refinement and civilization and making
+them self-supporting are concerned, are far from encouraging. The
+Indians in general are still wards of the Government and not worthy of
+citizenship.
+
+The aim of the Government is not only to educate the Indians, but to
+induce them to adopt the ways of industrious and progressive white men,
+build homes on land ceded to them and which they may hold as
+individuals, thus breaking up their long-established practise of
+communal or tribe ownership, and finally become citizens of the
+republic. To this end land has been divided among the heads of families
+of several tribes and titles in severalty granted, with restrictions in
+most, if not all instances, in reference to the sale of the land within
+a certain period. In many instances this plan has been productive of
+good results, and the Indians have become industrious and to a large
+extent citizens. The numerous successes that have followed the
+allotment of land in severalty, accompanied as it is with
+responsibilities and the necessity of self-support, is encouraging and
+leads to the hope that in the course of a few generations all the
+Indians will have passed from the condition of barbarism to one of
+civilization.
+
+In Mexico since 1824 the Indians have been on the same political basis
+as the whites, although to a great extent they have failed to profit by
+their advantages, and so far as legal restrictions are concerned are
+eligible to any office of the republic. The brightest example of the
+wisdom of this policy is furnished by the fact that in at least one
+instance a man of pure Aztec blood has occupied the highest office in
+the gift of the people. In general, and in fact almost universally, the
+position of the Indian in Mexico is that of a farm labourer, but
+although nominally free, owing to a prevalent system of debt, he is
+really held in vassalage by the owners of the large plantations or
+_haciendas_. In many ways his condition is but little better than that
+of a slave. Unlike the roaming tribes of the more northern portion of
+the continent, where the food supply fluctuates greatly with the
+seasons, the natives of Mexico early became sedentary, and, owing no
+doubt in part to the density of the population, became horticulturists,
+and have continued to cultivate the soil to the present day. They are
+now essentially agriculturists, wedded to their place of birth, and not
+only do not desire change, but repel by passive resistance the invasion
+of civilization and the use of new and improved tools and machinery.
+They are non-progressive, and on account of their great numbers,
+constituting about 38 per cent of the entire population, serve to retard
+advancement in a manner that is highly detrimental to the enlightened
+and progressive members of the ruling class. Education in nearly all
+parts of the republic is compulsory and the schools free. With both
+political and educational advantages, however, but indifferent progress
+towards civilization has been made.
+
+The present condition of the Indians throughout Central America is
+similar to that of the descendants of the Aztecs and other tribes in
+Mexico both politically and socially. They are a disheartened
+race, living in a region where exuberant nature supplies their small
+wants with but little exertion on their part, and incentives to activity
+either of body or mind are, to a great extent, lacking.
+
+In the West Indies the native Caribs were nearly exterminated by the
+Spaniards early in their occupation of the islands, their places as
+labourers being supplied by the importation of negro slaves, and at the
+present time but few, if any, Indians of pure blood are to be found.
+Throughout Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies amalgamation of
+the Indian with both Europeans and negroes has taken place, and a mixed
+race, consisting of a large percentage of the total population, has
+resulted. In Mexico these _mestizos_, as they are termed, number about
+5,000,000, or about two-fifths of the entire population. In the Central
+American republics the supplanting of the aboriginal race by the same
+process is thought to have progressed at about the same rate as in
+Mexico.
+
+To the student of geography a comparison of the state of the aborigines
+of North America before peoples from other lands came among them, with
+reference to the influence of environment, is full of significance. The
+highest degree of culture and the greatest advance towards refinement
+was in Mexico and Central America, where a uniform climate prevails and
+bodily wants are few and easily supplied. It was there that skill in
+architecture reached its highest development, and what is worthy the
+name of art, and we may almost say letters, but in truth
+picture-writing, reached a high degree of advancement.
+
+This marked progress in a tropical country beyond what was attained by
+the Indian tribes in the temperate and cold portions of the continent
+seems to be an exception to the general rule that intellectual progress
+is stimulated by changeable climatic conditions, and reaches the highest
+development in cold, temperate climates. Apparently the degree of
+stimulation needed for the Caucasian and the Indian differs, and the
+latter thrives best where the obstacles to be overcome are least. This
+is in harmony with the oft-repeated statement that the Indian is but a
+child. The struggle which would discourage the boy is but zest to
+the man. Among the Indians themselves, however, we find an exception to
+the rule suggested in the fact that the Iroquois or the Six Nations of
+New York, in their tribal organization and alliances of offence and
+defence probably surpassed even the Aztecs and Mayas. In physical
+strength and endurance, and in mental powers, so far as government and
+oratory are concerned, the Iroquois probably surpassed all other
+Indians; but in architecture, art, picture-writing, etc., they were far
+the inferiors of the Mexican and Central American Indians. Thus,
+intellectual strength and vigour seem to have been most markedly a
+product of the colder and more changeable climate, while the highest
+attainment in architecture, etc., was reached at the south.
+
+It is in the temperate region also that the best results have been
+reached in attempting to civilize the Indians. This, however, cannot be
+claimed as a result of climate simply, since the aid that has been
+extended to them in Canada and the United States is far different from
+the influence exerted on their relatives at the south by men of Spanish
+blood. The results of the efforts of Canada and the United States to
+civilize the Indian and make him worthy of citizenship, although costly
+and slow in reaching the desired end, are full of promise. By the
+methods referred to in the last few pages a strong effort is being made
+to counteract the harsh treatment the Indians received during the
+earlier years of French and English aggression, and to give them a fair
+chance to advance. One important result of the present firm control is
+the total cessation of intertribal warfare. Seemingly the aborigines
+throughout North America, with the exception--and it is hoped this is
+but temporary--of the Alaskan Eskimos and the still uncared-for Indian
+tribes of Alaska and Canada, should increase in numbers as well as in
+enlightenment. In reference to numbers, the enumerations that have been
+made in recent years, although not exact, seem to indicate a diminution
+in the rate of decrease, if not a positive advance. In the case of most
+of the Indian tribes north of Mexico the change from a free life, passed
+to a large extent in tents or temporary homes, to an inactive,
+sedentary existence, mostly on reservations, and the influences of
+house-life without a knowledge of sanitary conditions was a most severe
+one. The adverse results of this change, it is probable, are not yet
+past, but the rate of decrease in numbers resulting from it appears to
+be diminishing. Aside from the comparative suddenness with which the
+Indian has been forced to change his ways of thinking and living, it
+must be confessed that there is something inherent in his mental
+qualities that makes him unduly resistant to progress. As a race it is
+not to be hoped that he can ever be placed on really equal terms with
+the white man.
+
+The total aboriginal population of North America in 1900, as nearly as
+it is now practicable to ascertain, is shown in the following table:
+
+              { Canada, Arctic coast                      1,000
+    Eskimos.  { Newfoundland (Labrador coast)               800
+              { United States, Alaska (1890)             14,000
+                                                     ----------
+                    Total Eskimo population, about       15,800
+
+              { Canada                                   99,010
+              { United States, exclusive of Alaska      270,544
+    Indians.  { "        "     Alaska                    15,500
+              { Mexico (1895)                         5,000,000
+              { Central America (largely estimated)   1,600,000
+                                                      ---------
+                  Total Indian population, about      6,985,054
+                                                      ---------
+                  Total aboriginal population, about  7,000,800
+
+In this enumeration no account is taken of the Indians of the West
+Indies, for the reason, so far as can be learned, that there are few, if
+any, of pure blood remaining.
+
+
+                             LITERATURE
+
+  Vast stores of information concerning the aborigines of America
+    have been published by the Bureau of American Ethnology,
+    Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.; the Peabody Museum
+    of Archaeology, Cambridge, Mass.; the American Museum of Natural
+    History, New York, N. Y.; the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago,
+    Ill.; and in the _American Archaeologist_, a monthly magazine now
+    printed by Putnam's Sons, New York.
+
+  Readily accessible books relating to the Eskimos of Alaska are:
+
+  DALL, W. H. _Alaska and its Resources._ Lee & Shepard, Boston,
+    1870.
+
+  PETROFF, IVAN. _Reports on the Population, Resources, etc., of
+    Alaska._ In the reports of the tenth and eleventh censuses of
+    the United States.
+
+     The condition of the Indians in the United States during the
+     past half century is recorded in the annual reports on Indian
+     affairs published by the Department of the Interior,
+     Washington, D. C. Similar information concerning the natives of
+     Canada may be found in the reports on Indian affairs issued by
+     the Canadian Government at Ottawa.
+
+     Of the numerous books on ethnology in which the relation of the
+     aborigines of America to other peoples is discussed, perhaps
+     the most useful to the general reader is A. H. Keane's _Man
+     Past and Present_, printed at the University Press, Cambridge,
+     England.
+
+     Of the many attractive books of travel in which the Indians of
+     Mexico and Central America and the ruins, etc., of the same
+     region are described, the most readily accessible are: John L.
+     Stephens's _Incidents of Travel in Yucatan_, 2 vols., and his
+     _Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan_,
+     2 vols., published by Harper & Brothers, New York, 1867-'68;
+     and W. H. Holmes's _Archaeological Studies among the Ancient
+     Cities of Mexico_, published by the Field Columbian Museum,
+     Chicago, 1897.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER VIII
+
+                       POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY[6]
+
+
+[6] As stated in the preface, several chapters have been omitted from
+this book on account of limitations of space. The portions of the
+original manuscript referred to relate to the geography of fisheries,
+forestry, mining, commerce, agriculture, etc. In discussing each of
+these themes, the control exerted by natural conditions or environment
+on human affairs made itself prominent because of the immediate
+influence of corrective failures when nature's laws are disregarded. A
+less attractive phase of the study of the relation of man to nature is
+furnished by political geography, in which the influence of something
+opposed to environment becomes prominent, and as history shows has in
+the main exerted a major control over the geography of nations. That
+something, as is well known, is the greed of peoples. Space is here
+claimed for a part of my original manuscript for the reason that it
+presents a view of political adjustments not usually taken and in a way
+perhaps pessimistical, which may awaken opposition, and also because it
+contains a summary of the results of a long series of struggles among
+various nations for the possession of the North American continent. Of
+greater moment than the rivalries of nations for territory, as is also
+outlined, is the conflict between two radically different principles of
+government--the monarchical and the republican--in which this continent
+has furnished the chief battle-grounds. Did space permit, the influence
+of geographical conditions on the growth and development of the
+fundamental ideas of government could be illustrated by American
+history, and the probability that environment will in the end gain
+ascendency over local self-interests in the establishing of national
+boundaries made prominent.
+
+Among the prominent facts dealt with in the study of political geography
+and of history are the territorial limits of nations. For this reason
+the characteristics of boundaries are of fundamental importance, and a
+classification of them is convenient, if not essential.
+
+
+                     CLASSIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES
+
+The boundaries between nations, states, provinces, etc., established in
+various ways, may be classified, at least provisionally, in six
+groups. We may term these groups _coast boundaries_, _astronomical
+boundaries_, _water boundaries_, _mountain boundaries_, _divide
+boundaries_, and _arbitrary boundaries_.
+
+_Coast Boundaries._--The junction of the sea and land on the borders of
+continents and islands furnishes natural and sharply defined lines,
+which are clearly the most desirable of any of the various classes of
+boundaries for defining political limits. By international consent the
+jurisdiction of a country bordering on the "high seas" is a line one
+marine league seaward from the margin of the land, and following its
+meanders. As an international dividing line the one-league limit seldom,
+if ever, becomes important, since the nice adjustment of the width of an
+arm of the sea necessary for such a purpose rarely occurs. When an
+extension of the ocean's waters intervening between two nations is less
+than two marine leagues wide the boundary between them commonly follows
+its medial line, and has all the essential features of a water boundary,
+described below.
+
+_Astronomical Boundaries._--The shape of the earth and its motions in
+reference to the sun are such that certain imaginary lines on its
+surface may be located with precision by astronomers, and if the
+monuments or other marks employed to show the positions of such lines
+are removed they can be accurately relocated. The lines referred to are
+principally parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude, and
+boundaries, so far as they coincide with these lines, may for
+convenience be classed as astronomical boundaries.
+
+Examples of the class of boundaries here indicated are furnished by the
+one defining the east border of the main body of Alaska, which, as
+defined in a treaty made in 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, is
+the one hundred and forty-first meridian west of Greenwich; and by the
+boundary between Canada and the continental portion of the United States
+from near the Lake of the Woods westward to the coast of the continent,
+which, as finally decided in a treaty between Great Britain and the
+United States in 1846, is the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude.
+The boundaries of a number of the States of the United States and of
+several of the provinces of Canada are either wholly or in part
+parallels of latitude or meridians of longitude, and furnish good
+examples of what are here termed astronomical boundaries.
+
+The most conspicuous advantages of astronomical boundaries are that they
+may be accurately described without a knowledge of the country through
+which they pass. They can be located with precision and their courses
+accurately marked by monuments. For these reasons astronomical
+boundaries, when clearly defined in treaties between nations or in laws
+concerning the territorial limits of states or provinces, leave no room
+for contention as to their positions.
+
+The leading objections to the use of astronomical boundaries,
+particularly as international dividing lines, are: The temptation they
+offer to diplomats and others, who may be interested in the speedy
+conclusion of a treaty, to make hasty divisions of territory without
+knowing its resources or commercial and other possibilities. Then, too,
+such boundaries cross the land without reference to its topography, and
+have no essential relations to the courses of streams or the directions
+of coast-lines, etc. They may divide a fruitful valley in a most
+arbitrary and inconvenient manner between two nations with widely
+different laws and customs, or cross a navigable river at several
+localities, and intersect a coast or lake shore so as to initiate
+complex conditions in respect to harbours, navigation, customs duties,
+etc. In these and still other ways boundaries coinciding with lines of
+latitude and longitude are apt to bring about detrimental commercial and
+other relations between adjacent nations, states, and provinces. A
+region which is an industrial unit--as the gold fields of the Klondike
+district, the iron-bearing tracts to the west of Lake Superior, the
+wheat-lands of the Red River Valley, the forested lands of the northwest
+coast, etc.--when divided between two or more countries with different
+laws is deprived of the advantages that should follow from the natural
+course of industrial development, and one part or the other suffers in
+consequence.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VII.--Distribution of governments in North
+America.]
+
+Again, until an astronomical boundary is surveyed and marked on
+the ground by skilled geodesists, it cannot be located even
+approximately by miners, trappers, foresters, and others, and many
+difficulties are apt to arise in this connection.
+
+Although an astronomical boundary once decided on and formally recorded
+in a treaty leaves no excuse for national quarrels as to its position,
+it is evident that its far-reaching and perhaps highly complex
+influences on the development of neighbouring peoples are likely to be
+such that the natural resources, conditions affecting transportation,
+etc., of the region through which it passes should be thoroughly
+understood before a final decision is reached.
+
+_Water Boundaries._--In numerous instances the medial line or one shore
+of a stream, lake, estuary, strait, or other water body not recognised
+as a part of the "high seas" has been selected to serve as a fence
+between nations and states; collectively, such boundaries, typically
+represented by a river without islands, flowing between well-defined and
+permanent banks, may conveniently be termed water boundaries. In
+general, when a stream, lake, etc., is a national or state boundary, its
+medial line, or the centre of the deepest channel when there is more
+than one, is defined as the precise line of demarcation.
+
+The leading features of water boundaries are illustrated by a portion of
+the line separating the United States from Canada, which traverses the
+middle of the St. Lawrence River, and divides medially several of the
+Great Lakes and their connecting streams. The south boundary of the
+United States is also in part a water boundary, and is defined by treaty
+as "the middle line of the Rio Grande, or its deepest channel where
+there is more than one."
+
+In certain instances, when a river, lake, bay, etc., separates two
+political organizations, one shore or the other may be defined by treaty
+or by law as the actual line of separation, and even complex relations
+may exist, in reference to jurisdiction over the dividing waters. The
+water boundary between New York and New Jersey, for example, is, in
+part, the middle line of the Hudson and of New York Bay, etc., with
+several qualifications, including exclusive jurisdiction by New
+York over all the waters of the Hudson to the west of Manhattan Island
+to the low-water line on the New Jersey shore, subject, however, to
+certain rights of property and of jurisdiction of the State of New
+Jersey, etc. The waters of Delaware River are, by agreement between New
+Jersey and Pennsylvania, a common highway, over which each State "shall
+enjoy and exercise a concurrent jurisdiction within and upon the water,
+and not upon the dry land between the shores of said river"; the islands
+in the river being specifically assigned to the one or the other State.
+
+The advantages of a water boundary are suggested by the fact that in
+most instances they may be easily located, even by persons inexperienced
+in the method of surveying. Coinciding, as they generally do, with
+definite geographical divisions, they do not lead in a conspicuous
+manner to complications in the industrial development of the countries
+or States separated by them.
+
+The difficulties to which water boundaries may give rise are indicated
+by the fact that streams, more particularly than the other water bodies
+in question, frequently divide so as to inclose islands, and in certain
+instances on nearing the sea send off, perhaps, several distributaries,
+which discharge through independent mouths. When a stream divides so as
+to inclose an island, even if the main or the deepest channel is
+specified by treaty or by law as the one chosen as a boundary, the
+question as to which of two channels is really the larger or the deeper
+may not permit of definite answer. Streams are subject to many changes,
+and what is the main channel one year may become of secondary rank the
+next year, or a river, as not infrequently happens, may shift its course
+bodily, and thus furnish grounds for contention as to the ownership of
+the territory transferred from one of its banks to the other. The
+distributaries of streams, or the separate channels into which they
+divide on deltas, etc., are also subject to conspicuous and sometimes
+sudden changes. Who could decide, for instance, which is the main
+channel of such rivers as the Mississippi, the Nile, or the Ganges, in
+the delta portions of their courses; or if a choice seemed practicable,
+is there any assurance that the distributary largest to-day will
+maintain its supremacy for a decade to come, or even be in existence a
+century hence?
+
+The controversies that may arise in reference to which of two channels
+in a designated water body is the main one, are illustrated by the
+well-known "San Juan episode," which came near bringing on hostilities
+between Great Britain and the United States in reference to the
+ownership of certain islands in the Strait of Georgia; the immediate
+subject of contention being whether "the channel which separates the
+continent from Vancouvers Island," as the statement reads in the
+Webster-Ashburton treaty, 1846, passes to the east or to the west of the
+San Juan Islands. The Emperor of Germany, as is well known, acting as
+arbitrator, decided that the islands belong to the United States. Thus,
+in 1872, a series of disputes as to the Canadian-United-States boundary,
+which had been carried on for ninety years, was closed.
+
+While water boundaries, and especially rivers, in certain instances,
+have furnished almost ideal dividing lines between nations, in other
+instances they have proved to be objectionable. The difference lies in
+the nature of the streams themselves, and illustrates the fact that,
+with water boundaries as with other classes of dividing lines between
+nations, a critical knowledge of the geography of the region through
+which they pass is a prerequisite of treaty making, if subsequent
+boundary disputes are to be avoided.
+
+_Mountain Boundaries._--The crests of mountain ranges, or mountain
+chains, are sometimes specified in treaties as defining territorial
+limits. The ideal mountain range is one having a generally straight
+alignment and a continuous and sharply defined crest, but in nature this
+ideal is seldom attained. Modern geographical studies have shown that
+many so-called mountains, which from a distance appear to be
+well-defined uplifts with sharp crest-lines, are in reality broad
+plateaus or great domes, deeply dissected by stream erosion. In such
+instances it is frequently difficult to decide where the crest of the
+range is located. Indeed, as is not infrequently the case, there is no
+definite and tangible crest-line. Although it is sometimes assumed that
+the crest-line coincides with the water-parting, or the divide, between
+the head branches of streams flowing in opposite directions from
+a mountain-like uplift, it is well known that a mountain range, even
+when bold and sharply defined, may not be a divide for the principal
+streams of the region where it is situated. An illustration in point is
+furnished by the Appalachian Mountains, through which the Susquehanna,
+Delaware, and other important rivers rising in the plateau to the west
+flow transversely in deep valleys and empty into the Atlantic.
+
+The recent controversy between Argentina and Chile was due to an
+assumption in a treaty between them that the crest-line of the southern
+Andes coincides with the water-parting between the streams flowing to
+the Atlantic and those discharging into the Pacific. Post-treaty
+surveys, as they may suggestively be termed, have shown that in the
+portion of the Andes in question streams rising well to the east of the
+mountains flow westward through them in deep transverse canyons, and that
+there is a wide discrepancy between the continental water-parting and
+the topographic crest-line of the continent.
+
+A mountain boundary, if defined as the line along which the upward
+slopes on the opposite sides of a prominent uplift meet in its summit
+portion, would in most instances be irregular and perhaps conspicuously
+intricate, for the reason that mountain crests are modified and shaped
+by erosion and migrate in one direction or another according to the
+strength and other qualifying conditions of the opposite-flowing
+streams. Then, too, an uplift which seems to a casual observer to be a
+single mountain range, may in reality be highly complex, and no
+continuous crest-line be discoverable. In short, the sweeping statements
+sometimes embodied in treaties, to the effect that the line of
+demarcation between contiguous countries shall be the crest-line of a
+certain indicated mountain range are fraught with uncertainties and
+difficulties, which are likely to prove a source of discontent and
+costly arbitration, or even lead to war.
+
+_Divide Boundaries._--A boundary which is defined as following a
+specified water-parting or divide, from which streams flow in opposite
+directions, would in most instances be easily traceable on the ground
+even by persons unskilled in the art of surveying, and for this
+and other reasons has much to commend it; yet, without an accurate
+knowledge, and most of all an accurate topographic map of the region
+through which such a boundary is to pass, its selection on general
+principles, however nicely worded, is open to dangers of the same nature
+as those pertaining to a similar choice of a mountain boundary.
+
+In arid regions broad plateaus may form divides, and even an approximate
+location of the line of water-parting, if one exists, be a matter of
+difficulty and uncertainty. Then, too, the process of head-water
+corrasion pertaining to essentially all streams, and of stream capture,
+or the acquiring by one stream, through the process of stream
+development, of the territory formerly drained by its neighbour, leads
+to a migration and sometimes a sudden and perhaps extensive shifting of
+a water-parting.
+
+Examples of divide boundaries are furnished by the one separating Idaho
+and Montana, which in part coincides with the continental divide, and
+serves its purpose well; but the satisfaction it has given is to be
+qualified by the fact that, for the most part, it is situated in a
+rugged region, where there is but slight probability of the property
+interests of the communities parted by it coming into direct contact.
+
+Boundaries which are made to coincide with the courses of rivers, with
+the crest-lines of mountains, or with water-partings, have certain
+commendable features in common; they are easily located, readily defined
+by natural features of the earth's surface, and in general do not
+require to be accurately surveyed and marked by monuments before they
+serve their purpose as international or interstate fences.
+
+_Arbitrary Boundaries._--A class of boundaries not otherwise readily
+definable may be conveniently designated as arbitrary boundaries, since,
+as a rule, they are not described in terms such as pertain to
+astronomical boundaries, and bear no necessary relation to topographic
+or other features of the regions they traverse. Like astronomical
+boundaries, the ones here considered are imaginary lines, and, in part,
+might with propriety be included in that class, since they are capable
+of being located by astronomical methods; but they serve our
+purpose better if considered in a group by themselves. The class of
+boundaries here referred to includes straight lines connecting two
+points; lines defined as running in a given direction (azimuth) and for
+certain distances; arcs of circles; tangents to circles, etc. In brief,
+arbitrary boundaries may be defined as straight or curved lines or
+combinations of such lines, and are similar to the lines employed by
+surveyors in marking the boundaries of a farm, locating a railroad, etc.
+
+An example of what is meant by an arbitrary boundary is furnished by the
+line separating Delaware from Pennsylvania, which is an arc of a circle
+12 miles in radius, with the steeple of the old court-house in
+Newcastle, Delaware, as a centre. Again, in the establishment of the
+District of Columbia, a rectangle 10 miles square was chosen and marked
+on the ground by means of monuments as the site of the capital of the
+United States. Another illustration is furnished by the eastern boundary
+of California, as defined in its constitution. This boundary runs from
+the intersection of 120 degrees of west longitude with the thirty-ninth
+degree of north latitude in a straight line in a southeasterly direction
+to the River Colorado, at a point where it intersects the thirty-fifth
+degree of north latitude.
+
+Boundaries of the nature just cited can only be recognised when actually
+marked on the ground, and except in the case of straight lines, not of
+great length, or small geometrical figures, are difficult of precise
+location, even by skilled surveyors. Should the monuments used to define
+their positions be destroyed, their replacement is an arduous task.
+
+An interesting example of a change from an astronomical to an arbitrary
+boundary is furnished by the line of demarcation between Texas and New
+Mexico, which in part, as originally defined by law, was the one hundred
+and third meridian of west longitude, but owing to errors in the first
+survey was wrongly marked on the ground by monuments. The monuments,
+however, having been accepted as indicating the position of the true
+line of division, became points in an arbitrary boundary. Other similar
+examples of the acceptance of an arbitrary in place of an
+astronomical boundary are not uncommon.
+
+_Impracticable Boundaries._--There are certain dividing lines which are
+defined in treaties, decrees, etc., as running parallel to some natural
+feature, as a coast or a river, and at a given distance from it, that
+might with propriety be classed as arbitrary boundaries, since no effort
+is made to adjust them to the natural conditions of the immediate
+territory they traverse; but, for the purpose of expressing a still
+greater weakness inherent in them, they are here specially designated as
+_impracticable boundaries_. This, as is to be hoped, temporary class of
+boundaries includes the proposed lines of demarcation sometimes inserted
+in treaties, etc., which it is impossible, or at least impracticable,
+without great and for the most part useless expense of time and money,
+to mark on the ground, and thus seek to make serviceable.
+
+In this connection reference may be made to the boundary between
+southeastern Alaska and Canada, which, as stated in the treaty between
+Great Britain and Russia previously referred to, in the absence of a
+mountain range parallel with the coast and not over 10 marine leagues
+inland--and as subsequent explorations and surveys have shown such is
+the case--"shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the
+coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of 10 marine leagues
+therefrom." The region through which the line described would pass, if
+surveyed, was almost entirely unknown at the time the treaty referred to
+was made, but, as has since been discovered, it is exceedingly rugged,
+and contains many mountains ranging from 10,000 to 18,000 feet high,
+besides a multitude of glaciers and many extensive fields of perpetual
+snow. To survey and mark on the ground the boundary indicated in the
+treaty would be what may be justly termed an impossible task; and,
+besides, if the line as defined by treaty should be established, it
+would be intricate, and much less serviceable as a national fence than
+any one of several possible boundaries that could have been chosen, with
+essentially the same end in view, at the time the original treaty was
+entered into, had a geographer been employed to make even a hasty
+reconnaissance of the region in question.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--Characteristic vegetation.]
+
+Another example of a boundary being defined as running parallel to and
+at a specified distance from an irregular geographical feature is
+furnished by a part of the boundary between Massachusetts and New
+Hampshire, which is a line parallel to the Merrimac River, and distant
+from it 3 miles on the north. In this case, although the distance of the
+line designated from the one to which it is to be drawn parallel is but
+3 miles, and the country between only mildly undulating or hilly, the
+boundary as now marked on the ground and accepted as an interstate
+boundary is but a rude approximation to the one originally defined.
+
+These examples, and others that might with propriety be classified as
+impracticable boundaries, illustrate again the desirability of accurate
+geographical knowledge, and still more of an adequate appreciation of
+the difficulties and limitations met with by the surveyor, on the part
+of those who attend to the real-estate business of nations.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The line of separation between Canada and the United States, as defined
+by the Treaty of Ghent, 1814, and after several subsequent adjustments,
+was determined as indicated roughly on the accompanying map. Throughout
+the greater part of its eastern half it is a river boundary, and in its
+western half an astronomical boundary.
+
+In 1876 the English Government granted Newfoundland jurisdiction over
+Labrador, and in letters patent defined that dependency as "all the
+coast of Labrador, from the entrance of Hudson Straits to a line to be
+drawn due north and south from Ause Sableu on the said coast to the
+fifty-second degree of north latitude, and all the islands adjacent to
+that part of the said coast of Labrador." This line is still unsurveyed.
+From the fifty-second parallel to the Strait of Belle Isle, a distance
+of about 40 miles, the boundary is a north-and-south line situated about
+7 miles west of the fifty-seventh meridian, as is indicated on the best
+maps available.
+
+The southern boundary of the United States, as finally determined in
+1853 by treaty with Mexico, is, beginning at the east, a river
+boundary for some 900 miles, namely, the middle of the Rio Grande, or
+its deepest channel, when there is more than one, to where the river
+crosses the parallel of latitude 31 deg. 47'; continuing westward, the line
+is in part an astronomical and in part an arbitrary boundary to the
+Pacific.
+
+The nature of the boundaries separating the several provinces of Canada,
+the various States of the United States and of Mexico, the republics of
+Central America, etc., are indicated approximately on the accompanying
+map. These lines when studied on larger-scale maps on which the drainage
+and relief are also shown reveal many features of interest.
+
+
+                          POLITICAL CONTROL
+
+The political subdivisions of North America in 1900 are too well known
+to require specific description at this time. The long-continued
+struggles and rivalries that have led to the present subdivision of
+territory pertain to history, and although full of interest from the
+point of view of the geographer, cannot be discussed in the present
+treatise. Among the conspicuous events that might be shown by a series
+of political maps is the contraction and final disappearance of Spanish
+and French dominion from the continental mainland. The broad, indefinite
+territory once belonging to Spain, which in the sixteenth century seemed
+destined to expand still more and possibly embrace the whole of the two
+Americas, has been diminished from time to time, until as a result of
+the recent Spanish-American War her flag no longer waves over any
+portion of the New World. The French territory, once embracing a large
+portion of what is now Canada and the United States, is at present
+represented by the islands Martinique and Guadeloupe with its
+dependencies, in the West Indies, and the islands Miquelon and St.
+Pierre, adjacent to the south coast of Newfoundland; in all, comprising
+about 1,161 square miles. The French have, in addition, certain treaty
+rights pertaining to fisheries on the northern and western shores of
+Newfoundland.
+
+Between the two forms of government, monarchical and republican,
+North America is somewhat equally divided, so far as extent of territory
+is concerned (Plate VII), but not as respects population. The people
+under republican organization far outnumber those still acknowledging
+allegiance to hereditary rulers. The countries self-governed, or forming
+parts of American republics, embraced in 1900 all of the continental
+mainland south of the United-States-Canadian boundary, together with
+Alaska, Cuba, San Domingo and Haiti, and Porto Rico. The provinces,
+islands, etc., still controlled by European powers are Canada,
+Newfoundland, Bermuda, and all of the West Indies except the islands
+just referred to, which are more definitely designated in the table on
+page 424. The population of the American republics is in the
+neighbourhood of 97,000,000, and of the European dependencies somewhat
+less than 7,000,000. A republican form of government, more or less
+definitely foreshadowed by the tribal confederations of the aborigines,
+the most conspicuous example of which is furnished by the Iroquois or
+"Six Nations," has thus become the characteristic feature of the
+political organizations of North America; the same is true also of South
+America. The New World is thus conspicuously republican, in distinction
+from the Old World, which is characteristically monarchical.
+
+The immigration to North America since its discovery by Columbus has
+been from all the nations of the Old World, but most largely from
+Europe. Negroes were brought as slaves, and their descendants, now free,
+form a large percentage of the population, especially in the
+southeastern part of the United States and the West Indies. Chinese,
+since about 1870, have arrived in large numbers, but their immigration
+to the United States is now restricted. Of the nations of Europe, the
+strongest influx has come from Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain,
+and Italy. To a marked degree this westward migration has been along
+parallels of latitude, but the migratory streams on reaching North
+America subdivided into many distributaries, and a mingling of
+nationalities on a vast scale has resulted. This amalgamation has been
+so great and so long-continued that several new and somewhat strongly
+individualized nationalities have arisen, the most instructive
+being in the temperate portion of the continent.
+
+The dominant language, as in the case of political control, has been
+inherited from Great Britain. English is the universal language to the
+northward of Mexico and on certain of the West Indian islands. To the
+south of the United-States-Mexican boundary, but beginning in the
+southwestern portion of the United States, and including also the
+greater part of the population of the West Indies, Spanish is the
+current language, except among the uncivilized aborigines. French is
+commonly spoken by many thousands of people in the province of Quebec,
+Canada, and in certain of the West Indies.
+
+The ideal nation, from the point of view of the geographer, is one so
+situated that it is self-sustaining--that is, contains within its own
+domain all the conditions necessary for its life and growth. It should
+have favourable climatic conditions, agricultural land, forests, mines,
+fisheries, etc. More than this, even if all material wants are supplied
+from within its own border, intellectual desires demand outside stimuli.
+The ideal nation should therefore touch the ocean, in order to have
+avenues for travel open to its people. I am well aware that a more
+commanding, or, perhaps better, a more modern view, would show that
+improved methods of transportation have made the whole world
+commercially one; but invisible tariff walls still separate peoples and
+wars break lines of communication.
+
+It might be expected that in the New World, conditions being also new
+and room for development abundant, civilized nations would have adjusted
+their boundaries so as to make an ideal subdivision of territory in
+accord with natural conditions. A study of the boundaries separating the
+nations of North America, however, fails to furnish evidence of such an
+adjustment. On the contrary, even between the most highly civilized
+countries, in which the people speak the same language, the dividing
+lines are entirely arbitrary, so far as relation to soil, climate,
+mineral and timber resources, fisheries, etc., are concerned. The line
+separating Alaska and Canada is mainly a meridian of longitude, which
+passes through a rich mining district. The southern boundary of
+Canada is for the most part a parallel of latitude dividing
+agricultural, mining, and timber lands. The material advancement of the
+inhabitants on the opposite sides of these unnatural dividing lines is
+retarded by them and the progress of civilization delayed. The same is
+true of the invisible wall separating the United States from Mexico, and
+the various partitions intersecting Central America. There has evidently
+been but little, if any, tendency to draw the boundaries referred to in
+conformity with natural conditions. What, then, is the force which sets
+nature at naught? The reply is not obscure. In one word, it is _greed_.
+"To have and to hold" is the unwritten motto of republics as well as of
+monarchies.
+
+The absurdity of disregarding geographical relations, and in consequence
+checking national development, and leading to stagnation and to material
+and intellectual decline, is sadly illustrated by the subdivision of the
+West Indies. In an admirable account of the Caribbean region by R. T.
+Hill, in which its present commercial depression is described and the
+reasons for it judiciously analyzed, occurs the following passage
+relative to the case in point:
+
+"A greater drawback to the West Indies than the one-sided
+agriculture--the raising of sugar-cane--is their political condition.
+Their distribution among too many nationalities necessitates the support
+of expensive and useless administrations, and prevents federation of
+interests and the development of trade among themselves and with the
+United States, the nearest and largest natural consumer of their
+products. Very ridiculous some of these political conditions seem. The
+island of St. Martin, not as large as an average county in the United
+States, is divided into two principalities, the French and the Dutch,
+each of which maintains an administrative force as large as that of the
+State of Texas. Then, as we sail down the eastern islands, hardly a
+score in number, and within sight of one another, aggregating in area
+less than our little State of Delaware, about 2,000 square miles, we
+find five foreign and no less than a dozen distinct colonial
+governments, each responsible to Europe, with no shadow of
+federation between them, or even cooperation of any kind--a condition
+not only pitiable, but absurd. Why should Dominica, whose people are
+French in language and institutions, be sandwiched in between Martinique
+and Guadeloupe, and within easy sight of both, yet so cut off from them
+by quarantine and tariff laws that it is commercially nearer England,
+some 3,000 miles distant, than to its neighbours?"
+
+The conditions necessary for an ideal, self-contained government were
+briefly referred to above. In North America, perhaps, several such
+eligible sites for a definite number of people might be chosen, but in
+no case without the drawing of unnatural boundaries. The continent, as
+is shown by its geology and geography, is a unit, and the most typical
+of comparable size of any on the earth. These same conditions point to a
+single political unit. Arguing from geographical relations simply, and
+not considering the racial differences and local self-interests, the one
+boundary in North America should be the shore boundary, except at the
+30-mile-wide Isthmus of Panama. To the geographer North America presents
+an example of a region containing within itself essentially all of the
+elements necessary to a high industrial, social, educational, and
+ethical development of its inhabitants. The industrial needs are met by
+a range of products, whether of soils, mines, forests, or fisheries, as
+varied or nearly so as is presented by the entire earth. Although the
+continent is broadest at the far north, where climatic extremes prohibit
+a dense population, yet in the temperate region, or between the mean
+annual isotherms of 45 and 75, a space of some 1,200 miles in latitude,
+it is from 2,500 to 4,000 miles wide. In this temperate region there is
+at present greater commercial and mental activity than elsewhere on the
+continent, and it is here that the dominant power of the future will be
+located. Supplementing the agriculture, manufactures, etc., of the
+temperate belt are the vast forested and fur-bearing regions on the
+north and the exuberant tropical countries on the south. Each of these
+three great regions are parts of a whole and mutually supplement each
+other.
+
+The distribution of the population of North America, in respect to
+political subdivisions during the year 1900, is indicated, as nearly as
+it has been found practicable to ascertain it, in the following table:
+
+                  POPULATION OF NORTH AMERICA IN 1900
+
+ --------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
+                   Government.               |Area in square|Population.
+                                             |    miles.    |
+ --------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
+            _American Governments_           |              |
+                                             |              |
+ United States (inclusive of Alaska          |    3,626,533 | 76,265,469
+     and Porto Rico)[7]                      |              |
+ Mexico                                      |      767,005 | 13,570,545
+ Guatemala[8]                                |       63,400 |  1,574,338
+ Salvador[9]                                 |        7,225 |    803,534
+ Nicaragua                                   |       49,200 |    420,000
+ Honduras[10]                                |       45,250 |    407,000
+ Costa Rica[11]                              |       23,000 |    310,000
+ Panama (Department of Colombia)             |       32,380 |    290,000
+ San Domingo[13]                             |       20,596 |  1,244,650
+ Haiti[13]                                   |        9,242 |    500,000
+ Cuba                                        |       44,000 |  1,572,797
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+       Total for American governments        |    4,687,831 | 96,958,333
+                                             |              |
+   _Possessions still held by                |              |
+          European Governments_              |              |
+ United Kingdom of Great Britain             |              |
+      and Ireland:[12]                       |              |
+   Canada                                    |    3,653,946 |  4,846,377
+   Newfoundland and Labrador                 |       49,734 |    201,934
+   Bermuda                                   |           19 |     15,013
+   West Indies (Bahamas, Jamaica, etc.)      |       12,059 |  1,357,254
+   British Honduras                          |        7,562 |     31,471
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+       Total for the United Kingdom          |    3,723,320 |  6,452,049
+ France:                                     |              |
+   Miquelon and St. Pierre                   |           93 |      6,250
+   West Indies (Guadeloupe,                  |              |
+        Martinique, etc.)                    |        1,068 |    354,790
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+       Total for France                      |        1,161 |    361,040
+ Denmark:                                    |              |
+   West Indies (St. Thomas, St. John,        |              |
+        and St. Croix)                       |          149 |     35,900
+ Holland:                                    |              |
+   West Indies (St. Martin in part, St.      |              |
+       Eustace, and Saba)                    |           29 |      7,236
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+        Total for European governments       |    3,724,659 |  6,856,225
+                                             +--------------+-----------
+        Total for North America              |    8,412,490 |103,814,558
+ --------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
+
+[7] The area of Alaska is 590,884 square miles; its population, 63,592.
+The area of Porto Rico is 3,600 square miles; its population (1899),
+953,243. Hawaii, not included above, has an area of 6,449 square miles
+and a population of 154,000.
+
+[8] In 1894.
+
+[9] In 1896.
+
+[10] In 1899.
+
+[11] In 1891.
+
+[12] In 1898.
+
+[13] Together occupying the island Santo Domingo or Haiti.
+
+
+                              LITERATURE
+
+                 Twelfth Census of the United States.
+
+  _British America._ By several authors. Published by Kegan Paul,
+    Trench, Trubner & Co., London, 1900.
+
+  _Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel._ North America.
+    Vol. i, Canada and Newfoundland, by S. E. Dawson. Vol. ii, The
+    United States, by Henry Gannett; Central America and the West
+    Indies, by A. H. Keane.
+
+  HILL, R. T. _Cuba, Porto Rico, and the other West India Islands._
+    The Century Company, New York, 1899.
+
+  GANNETT, H. _Boundaries of the United States._ United States
+    Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 171, second edition, Washington,
+    1900.
+
+
+
+
+                                INDEX
+
+
+    Aborigines, 355-407.
+
+    Adams, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    Adirondack Mountains, brief account of, 83-84.
+
+    Adobe used for bricks, 389.
+
+    Agassiz, A., cited, 12, 21. Work of, in Caribbean region, 16.
+
+    Alaska, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundary of, 416.
+      Coast topography of, 45-46.
+      Indians of, 397.
+      Map of coast of, 47.
+
+    Alaska Commercial Company, 375.
+
+    Albemarle Sound, origin of, 42.
+
+    Aleutian Islands, topography of, 40.
+
+    Aleutians, brief account of, 373-376.
+
+    Aleuts, brief account of, 373-376.
+
+    Algonkian system, 310.
+
+    Allen, J. A., cited, 260, 290.
+
+    Alpine flora, 254-257.
+
+    American governments, enumeration of, 424.
+
+    Animal life, 258-298.
+
+    Anticlinal valleys, 78.
+
+    Antillean Mountains, brief account of, 169-171.
+
+    Antiquity of the aborigines, 357-363.
+
+    Apatite, 350.
+
+    Appalachian Mountains, description of, 74-82.
+      Map of, 74.
+
+    Archean period, 308-310.
+
+    Arches in Maya houses, 392.
+
+    Arctic climatic province, 203.
+
+    Arctogaeic life realm, 259.
+
+    Areas of various governments, 424.
+
+    Arkansas Plateau, brief account of, 109-110.
+
+    Asbestos, 349-350.
+
+    Astronomical boundaries, 409-411.
+
+    Atlantic coastal plain, 62-64.
+      Forest, brief account of, 227.
+      Mountains, 60, 73-89.
+
+    Austral climatic provinces, 191-197.
+
+    Aves, orders of, 289.
+
+    Aztecs, advancement of, 364.
+
+
+    Badlands, brief account of, 110-111.
+
+    Bahama Islands, topography of, 19.
+
+    Baker, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    Bald, Mt., N. B., height of, 85.
+
+    Bancroft, George, reference to, 395.
+
+    Barren grounds, absence of trees on, 253.
+
+    Bartlett Deep, 20.
+
+    Basement complex, 310.
+
+    Bay of Fundy, tides in, 29.
+
+    Bear, Polar, 266.
+
+    Bears, brief account of, 279, 282-284.
+
+    Bell, R., exploration by, 88.
+
+    Bermuda, area and population of, 424.
+
+    "Bermuda Mountain," 4.
+
+    Bering Sea, depth of, 2.
+
+    Bighorn, brief account of, 272-273.
+
+    Big trees of California, 242-246.
+
+    Bird migrations, 292-296.
+
+    Birds, brief account of, 289-298.
+
+    Bison, brief account of, 275-278.
+      Map showing range of, 276.
+
+    Blackfoot Indians, lodge of, 387.
+
+    Black Hills of Dakota, 116-119.
+
+    Boreal climatic province, 201-203.
+      Forest, 235-237.
+
+    Boston, Mt., Mo., height of, 92.
+
+    Boundaries, classification of, 408-418.
+
+    British Honduras, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Brownson Deep, 20.
+
+    Buffalo, brief account of, 275-277.
+
+
+    Cacti, 225-226.
+
+    California, boundary of, 416.
+
+    Cambrian system, 310-312.
+
+    Canada, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundary of, 417, 418.
+      Mountains of Western, 167-169.
+      Treatment of Indians by, 397-399.
+
+    Canadian Coast Ranges, 168.
+      Rockies, 167-169.
+
+    Cape Cod, map of, 37.
+      Hatteras, continental shelf bordering, 2.
+      Lisburne, depth of water near, 2.
+      Sheridan, tides at, 30.
+
+    Capulin, Mt., N. M., height of, 119.
+
+    Carborundum, 351.
+
+    Caribbean region, submarine topography of, 16-23.
+
+    Caribou, brief account of, 266-269.
+
+    Cascade Mountains, brief account of, 147-158.
+      Igneous rocks of, 316-322.
+
+    _Castor canadensis_, 279.
+
+    Catlinite, 379, 380.
+
+    Cats, brief account of, 284-285.
+
+    Cedar trees in Pacific forest, 240.
+
+    Census of various nations, 424.
+      Of aborigines, 406.
+
+    Central America, Indians of, 403-405.
+
+    Chamberlin, T. C., cited, 316.
+
+    _Characeae_, lime secreted by, 335.
+
+    Chart of geological history, 309.
+
+    Chelan, Lake, Wash., 157-158.
+
+    Chesapeake Bay, origin of, 42.
+
+    Chickasaw plum, 385.
+
+    Chinook winds, 115, 204-205.
+
+    Classification of boundaries, 408-418.
+      Geological terranes, 308-309.
+
+    Clays, 345.
+
+    Climate, 173-214.
+      Elements of, 173-184.
+
+    Climatic provinces, 184-203.
+
+    Coal, 336-338.
+      Fields, map of, 336.
+
+    Coastal plains, 62-69.
+
+    Coast boundaries, 409.
+      Mountains, 162-169.
+      Topography of, 31-55.
+
+    Columbia River lava, 319-320.
+
+    Commercial geology, 328-353.
+
+    Communal dwellings of Indians, 388-389.
+
+    Concentration of mineral substances, 328-353.
+
+    Consequent drainage, examples of, 118.
+
+    Contact of aborigines with foreign people, 396-406.
+
+    Continental borer, description of, 89-120.
+      Shelf, 1-16.
+
+    Cope, E. D., cited, 260, 311, 312.
+
+    Coral growths on continental shelf, 6.
+      Reefs in the West Indies, 18.
+
+    Corundum, 351.
+
+    Costa Rica, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Crater Lake, Ore., brief account of, 153-155.
+      Map of, 153.
+
+    Cross, W., cited, 321.
+
+    Cuba, area and population of, 424.
+      Banks near, 20.
+
+    Culture of the aborigines, 363-365.
+
+    Currents, ocean, 23-27.
+
+    Cyclones, 208-212.
+
+    Cypresses, 233.
+
+
+    Dall, W. H., cited, 367, 373, 374.
+
+    Dana, J. D., cited, 300.
+
+    Davis, W. M., cited, 79.
+
+    Dawson, J. W., cited, 312.
+
+    Death Valley, Cal., 145.
+
+    Debris forming continental shelf, 5-8.
+
+    "Deeps" of the West Indies, 20-21.
+
+    Deer, brief account of, 271-272.
+
+    Delaware, boundary of, 416.
+      Bay, origin of, 42.
+      River, submerged channel of, 43.
+
+    Deltas, 52-55.
+
+    Denmark, possessions of, 424.
+
+    Dikes, 320.
+
+    Diller, J. S., cited, 152, 153, 164.
+
+    Dismal Swamp, brief account of, 63-64.
+
+    Divide boundaries, 414-415.
+
+    Dog, Eskimo, 266.
+
+    Drowned river-valleys, 43, 48, 49.
+
+    Dutton, C. E., cited, 134, 136, 153.
+
+
+    Economic geology, 328-352.
+
+    Edwards Plateau, Tex., brief account of, 107-108.
+
+    El Llano Estacado, brief account of, 106-109.
+
+    _Enhydra marina_, 278.
+
+    Eschscholtz Bay, Alaska, ice near, 68.
+
+    Eskimo, meaning of the word, 356.
+      Dog, 266.
+      Meaning of the term, 356.
+
+    Eskimos, brief account of, 365-376.
+      Census of, 406.
+
+    Estuaries, 55-58.
+
+    Ethnological studies, 394-396.
+
+    Evaporation, 212-213.
+
+
+    Fall line in Atlantic coast rivers, 66.
+
+    Ferns, 222.
+
+    Fir trees in Pacific forest, 240.
+
+    Flora, 215-257.
+
+    Florida, continental shelf bordering, 2.
+
+    Fontaine, W. M., cited, 312.
+
+    Food supply of Indians, 381-387.
+
+    Forests, description of, 217-249.
+      Map of, 215.
+
+    Fossil floras, 256.
+
+    France, possessions of, 419, 424.
+
+    Fur-bearing animals, 278-282.
+
+
+    Galveston, Tex., destruction of, 38.
+      Tides at, 27.
+
+    Gardens of the Indians, 384-387.
+
+    Gas, natural, 340.
+
+    Gaspe Peninsula, 84.
+
+    Geographical distribution of animals, 258-263.
+
+    Geology, 299-354.
+
+    Gilbert, G. K., cited, 118, 131, 321.
+
+    Glacial epoch, brief account of, 314-316.
+      Extent of glaciers during, 7-8.
+
+    Glacier Peak, Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    Glass sand, 333.
+
+    Glottoff, reference to, 374.
+
+    Gold, 345-346, 351-352.
+      Mountains, Canada, 168.
+
+    Governor's palace, Uxmal, 393, 394.
+
+    Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 134-135.
+      Sketch of, 135.
+
+    Gray, A., cited, 389.
+
+    Great Abaco, reference to, 18.
+
+    Great Bahama Bank, brief account of, 18.
+      Basin, brief account of, 136-146.
+      Basin, map of, 137.
+      Lakes, 99.
+      Plains, brief account of, 102-106.
+      Plateaus, brief account of, 102-106.
+      Salt Lake, Utah, 140-142.
+      Valley of California, 158-161.
+
+    "Greater St. Lawrence," 9.
+
+    Growth of the continent, 300-306.
+
+    Guatemala, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Gulf of California, 49.
+      of Mexico, continental shelf on border of, 1-2.
+      of Mexico, map of west coast of, 38.
+      Plains, brief account of, 94-95.
+      Stream, 16.
+      Stream, volume, etc., of, 24-25.
+
+
+    Haida Indians, 397.
+
+    Haiti, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Harbours, 53-58.
+
+    Harney Peak, S. D., elevation of, 116.
+
+    Hawaiian Islands, 4.
+
+    Hawaii, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Hayden, F. V., cited, 113.
+
+    Hayes, C. W., cited, 79.
+
+    Heilprin, A., cited, 260.
+
+    Henry Mountains, Utah, 131, 321.
+
+    Henshaw, W. H., cited, 395.
+
+    Hetch Hetchy Valley, Cal., 150.
+
+    High plateaus, brief account of, 132-134.
+
+    Hill, R. T., cited, 22, 169, 220, 422.
+      Map by, 17.
+
+    Holland, possessions of, 424.
+
+    Holmes, W. H., cited, 390, 392, 393, 394.
+
+    Honduras, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Hood, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Hornaday, W. T., cited, 277.
+
+    Horticulture by Indians, 384-387.
+
+    Houses of Indians, 387-394.
+      Innuits, 368-369.
+
+    Hudson River, submerged channel of, 8-9, 43.
+
+    Humboldt, A. von, cited, 12.
+
+    Huxley, T. H., cited, 259.
+
+    Hydrocarbons, 338-342.
+
+
+    Ice, changes in coasts due to, 50-51.
+      Subsoil, in Alaska, 68.
+      Deposited debris on continental shelf, 6-7.
+      Palace, Montreal, 199.
+
+    Igneous rocks, brief account of, 316-326.
+      Terranes, economic importance of, 331-332.
+
+    Impracticable boundaries, 417-418.
+
+    Indians, account of, 376-406.
+      Census of, 406.
+      Treatment of, by United States and Canada, 397-403.
+
+    Innuit, meaning of the term, 356.
+
+    Innuits, brief account of, 366-372.
+
+    Intrusive sheets, 320-321.
+
+    Iron Mountain, Mo., 92.
+
+    Iron ores, 342-344.
+
+    Iroquois, houses of, 387-388.
+
+    Irrigation practised by Indians, 386.
+
+    Irving, W., reference to, 395.
+
+    Islands, 30-31.
+
+    Isobars, 173.
+
+    Isotherms, 173.
+
+
+    Jackson, S., reference to, 269.
+
+    Jamaica, terraces on, 22.
+
+    James River, Va., submerged channel of, 42.
+
+    Japan current, reference to, 25.
+
+    Jeff Davis Peak, Nev., height of, 146.
+
+    Jefferson, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Johnson, W. D., cited, 109.
+
+    Judas-tree, 233.
+
+
+    Kamlayka, 370.
+
+    Kara Sea, life in, 14.
+
+    Katahdin, Mt., Me., height of, 85.
+
+    Kayaks, 370-371.
+
+    Kittatinny peneplain, 80.
+
+    Knowlton, F. H., cited, 312.
+
+    Kowak River, Alaska, ice near, 68.
+
+
+    Labrador, boundary of, 418.
+      Topography of, 71-72.
+
+    Laccoliths, 131, 321.
+
+    Lake plains, brief account of, 99-101.
+
+    Lakes, enclosed, 141.
+
+    Languages, 359-360.
+
+    Language spoken in America, 421.
+
+    Laurentian Highlands, brief account of, 87-88.
+      Lakes, 99.
+
+    Leidy, J., cited, 313-314.
+
+    Lesquereux, L., cited, 312.
+
+    Life on the continental shelf, 10-16.
+      Realms, 259-260.
+      Regions and life-zones, 260-262.
+
+    Limestones, 334-335.
+
+    Little Bahama Bank, brief account of, 18.
+
+    Llano Estacado, El, 106-109.
+
+    Lodge of Blackfoot Indians, 387.
+
+    Logan, Mt., Yukon, height of, 166.
+
+    Longhouse of Iroquois, 387-388.
+
+    Lookout Mountain, Tenn., section through, 78.
+
+    Lost mountains, 143.
+
+    Lower Austral climatic province, 191-194.
+
+    Luigi, Prince, ascent of Mt. St.
+      Elias, 166.
+
+    _Lutra canadensis_, 278.
+
+
+    Mackenzie River, delta of, 52.
+
+    McKinley, Mt., Alaska, height of, 166.
+
+    Magnolia, 230.
+
+    Maine, map of coast of, 45.
+
+    Mammalian families peculiar to America, 287-288.
+
+    Mammals, classification of, 262-264.
+
+    Mansfield, Mt., N. H., height of, 83.
+
+    Marcy, Mt., N. Y., height of, 84.
+
+    Marl, 335.
+
+    Marsh, O. C., cited, 312, 313, 314.
+
+    Massachusetts, boundary of, 418.
+
+    Mauvaises terres, 110.
+
+    Maya houses, 392.
+
+    Mayas, culture of, 364.
+
+    Mazama, Mt., Ore., 153-155.
+      Height of, 156.
+
+    _Mazama_, 273-275.
+
+    Mazamas, the, 273.
+
+    _Mephitis mephitica_, 280.
+
+    Merriam, C. H., cited, 185, 259, 260.
+
+    Merrimac River, boundary near, 418.
+
+    Metamorphic rocks, 323-324.
+      Terranes, economic importance of, 347-353.
+
+    Metamorphism, nature of, 324.
+
+    Mexico, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundary of, 418.
+      Indians of, 403.
+
+    Mica, 350.
+
+    Migration of birds, 292-296.
+
+    Miquelon, retained by France, 419.
+
+    Mississippi Delta, map of, 53.
+      River, delta of, 53-55.
+
+    Mobile Bay, 36.
+
+    Monadnock, definition of, 70.
+
+    Moose, brief account of, 269-270.
+
+    Morgan, L. H., cited, 388, 395.
+
+    Mountain boundaries, 413-414.
+      Sheep, brief account of, 272-273.
+      Goat, 273-275.
+
+    Muir, John, cited, 151, 244.
+
+    Musk-ox, 265-266.
+
+
+    Navidad Bank, reference to, 18.
+
+    Neogaeic life realm, 259.
+
+    Neolithic, 364.
+
+    Newark system, 320.
+
+    Newberry, J. S., cited, 312.
+
+    New Brunswick, mountains of, 84.
+
+    Newcastle, Del., boundary in reference to, 416.
+
+    New England, mountains of, 82-83.
+
+    Newfoundland, area and population of, 424.
+      Continental shelf bordering, 2.
+      French rights in, 419.
+      Jurisdiction over Labrador, 417.
+
+    New Hampshire, boundary of, 418.
+
+    New Jersey, boundary of, 411-412.
+      Subsidence of coast of, 63.
+
+    New York, boundary of, 411-412.
+      Mountains of, 83.
+
+    Nicaragua, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Nordenskioeld cited, 15.
+
+    Notogaeic life realm, 259.
+
+    Notre Dame Mountains, 84.
+
+
+    Olympic Mountains, Wash., 165.
+
+    Onyx marble, 335.
+
+    Oomiak, 370.
+
+    Ores, deposition of, 345.
+
+    Origin of the aborigines, 356-357.
+
+    Otter, 278.
+
+    Ouachita Mountains, 93.
+
+    Ozark Uplift, description of, 91-94.
+
+
+    Pacific forest, 238-249.
+      Mountains, 60, 120-136.
+
+    Paleolithic, 364.
+
+    Palms, 220-224.
+
+    Panama, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Park Mountains, 127-130.
+
+    Parkies, 370.
+
+    Peneplain, definition of, 69-70.
+
+    Pennsylvania, boundary of, 416.
+
+    Perry, W. A., cited, 270.
+
+    Petroleum, 338-340.
+
+    Physiographic divisions, map of, 61.
+
+    Piedmont plateau, 64, 69-70.
+
+    Pines, 232-233, 247-249.
+
+    Pitt, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Planetary winds, 178-179.
+
+    Plant life, 215-257.
+
+    Plateaus, treeless, 252-253.
+
+    Platinum, 352.
+
+    Playas, characteristics of, 253.
+      Examples of, 141.
+      Description of, 121.
+
+    Plutonic plug, 321.
+
+    Point Barrow, Alaska, life in the sea near, 14.
+      Tides at, 30.
+
+    Polar bear, 266.
+
+    Political control, 419-424.
+      Geography, 408-426.
+
+    Population of North America, 424.
+
+    Porto Rico, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Possessions held by European governments, 424.
+
+    Potomac River, submerged channel of, 43.
+
+    Pourtales, L. F., work of in Caribbean region, 16.
+
+    Powell, J. W., cited, 90, 104, 124, 127, 251, 357, 359.
+
+    Prairies, brief account of, 250, 253.
+
+    Prairie plains, brief account of, 95-99.
+
+    Prescott, W. H., reference to, 395.
+
+    _Pteranodon_, 313.
+
+    Pueblo Indians, 390.
+
+    Pueblos, 388.
+
+    Puget Sound basin, 158-161.
+      Origin of, 47.
+      Map of, 161.
+
+    Pyramid Lake, Nev., 140.
+
+
+    Rainier, Mt., Wash., photograph of, 156.
+      Height of, 156.
+
+    Raton Mesa, N. M., 120.
+
+    Redwood forests of California, 242-246.
+
+    Reindeer in Alaska, 269.
+
+    Reptiles of the Mesozoic, 313.
+
+    Republics, American, 420.
+
+    Resources used by Indians, 379-387.
+
+    River deltas, 52-55.
+
+    Rocky Mountains, brief account of, 122-136.
+      Of Canada, 124.
+
+    Rogers, H. D., cited, 312.
+
+    Russian-American Company, 375.
+      Houses, 369.
+
+
+    St. Elias, Mt., Alaska, height of, 166.
+      Elevation of coast near, 46.
+      Not a volcano, 167.
+
+    St. Francois Mountains, Mo., height of, 92.
+
+    St. Helens, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+
+    St. John, N. B., tides at, 30.
+
+    St. Lawrence estuary, 55-56.
+      River, submerged channel of, 9.
+
+    St. Pierre, retained by France, 419.
+
+    Salt, 341-342.
+
+    Salvador, area and population of, 424.
+
+    San Clemente Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    San Domingo, area and population of, 424.
+
+    San Francisco Bay, Cal., origin of, 49.
+
+    San Juan Islands, Wash., 413.
+
+    San Louis Park, Col., 128.
+
+    Sand-hills, 112-113.
+
+    Sandstone, 332-333.
+
+    Santa Catalina Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    Santa Cruz Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    Santa Domingo, area and population of, 424.
+
+    Santa Rosa Island, Cal., 10.
+
+    Sargent, C. S., cited, 249.
+
+    Schaffner, D. C., maps compiled by, 301.
+
+    Schooley peneplain, 80-81.
+
+    Schools for Indians, 401-402.
+
+    Sclater, P. L., cited, 259.
+
+    Scott, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    Seasons, 179-182.
+
+    Section through Black Hills of Dakota, 117.
+      Lookout Mountain, Tenn., 78.
+
+    Sedimentary rocks, brief account of, 306-316.
+      Terranes, economic importance of, 331-346.
+
+    _Sequoia gigantea_, 242, 244-246.
+      _Sempervirens_, 242-244.
+
+    Shenandoah peneplain, 81.
+
+    Sierra Blanca, N. M., 129.
+
+    Sierran epoch, mention of, 315.
+
+    Sierra Nevada Mountains, Cal., brief account of, 147-158.
+
+    Sigsbee Deep, 20.
+
+    Silver, 346.
+      Pine, 248.
+
+    Six Nations of New York, 405.
+
+    Skunk, brief account of, 280-282.
+
+    Solovioff, I. M., reference to, 374.
+
+    Spain, former possessions of, 419.
+
+    _Sphagnum_, 67.
+
+    Spring-time music, 296-298.
+
+    Stony Mountains, 124-127.
+
+    Stream deposits, changes in coast-lines due to, 51-55.
+
+    Subarctic forest plains, 101-102.
+
+    Submerged river channels, 8-10.
+
+    Subsequent drainage, example of, 118.
+
+    Subsidences of coasts, 62-63.
+
+    Subtuberant mountains, 322.
+
+    Sugar-pine, 247.
+
+    Superimposed drainage, example of, 118.
+
+    Susquehanna River, submerged channel of, 43.
+
+    Sutton, Mt., N. B., height of, 84.
+
+    Synclinal mountains, 78.
+
+
+    Tahoe Lake, Cal.--Nev., 140.
+
+    Talc, 350.
+
+    Tarr, R. S., map of co-tidal lines by, 28.
+
+    Tepee of Indians, 387, 388.
+
+    Terraces on islands of California coast, 10.
+      Sea, 33-34.
+
+    Thomas, C, cited, 395.
+
+    Thunder-storms, 206-207.
+
+    Tides, 27-30.
+      in rivers, 44.
+
+    Timber-line, 254.
+
+    Tlingit Indians, 397.
+
+    Topography of coasts, 31-55.
+
+    Tornadoes, 207.
+
+    Transition climatic province, 197-201.
+
+    Treaty of Ghent, reference to, 418.
+
+    Treeless mountain tops, 254-257.
+      Plains, brief account of, 250-253.
+
+    Tropical climatic province, 186-191.
+      Forests, 219-227.
+
+    Tundra, brief account of, 67-68.
+
+    Turner, H. W., cited, 148.
+
+    Tyrrell, J. B., cited, 66, 268.
+
+
+    Union, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
+
+    United Kingdom, possessions of, 424.
+
+    United States, area and population of, 424.
+      Boundaries of, 417-418.
+      Treatment of Indians by, 399-403.
+      Coast and Geodetic Survey, reference to work of, 16.
+      Fish Commission, reference to work of, 16.
+
+    Upper Austral climatic province, 194-197.
+
+    Uxmal, Yucatan, panorama of, 390.
+
+
+    Vancouver, B. C., firs of, 241.
+      Mountains, B. C., 165.
+
+    Van Hise, C. R., cited, 310.
+
+    "Vega," voyage of, 15.
+
+    Veniaminoff, reference to, 375.
+
+    Virginia creeper, 234.
+
+    Volcanic mountains, 120-121.
+
+    Volcanoes, 317-318.
+
+
+    Wallace, A. R., cited, 30, 259.
+
+    Wapiti, brief account of, 270-271.
+
+    Ward, L. F., cited, 312.
+
+    Washington, Mt., N. H., height of, 83.
+
+    Water boundaries, 411-413.
+      Mineral, 353.
+
+    West Indian hurricanes, 210.
+
+    West Indies, Danish, area and population of, 424.
+      French, area and population of, 424.
+      Indians of, 404.
+      Political division of, 422-423.
+
+    Whirlwinds, 203.
+
+    White, D., cited, 312.
+
+    White, I. C., cited, 312.
+
+    White, Mt., Nev., height of, 146.
+
+    White Mountains, N. H., forests of, 86.
+
+    Whiteface, Mt., N. Y., height of, 84.
+
+    Whitney, J. D., cited, 251.
+
+    Whitney, Mt., Cal., height of, 149.
+
+    Willis, Bailey, cited, 79.
+
+    Winds, planetary, 178-179.
+
+    Winnemucca Lake, Nev., 140.
+
+    Wolves, brief account of, 285-287.
+
+
+    Yellow pine, 248.
+
+    Yosemite Valley, Cal., 150.
+
+    Yucatan, continental shelf bordering, 2.
+      Topography of, 19.
+
+    Yukon River, delta of, 52.
+
+
+    Zuni, 389.
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                          List Of Corrections
+
+Transcriber's Note: Blank pages have been deleted. Some illustrations have
+been moved. We have rendered consistent on a per-word-pair basis the
+hyphenation or spacing of such pairs when repeated in the same grammatical
+context. Detected publisher's errors were corrected as listed below:
+
+ Page          Correction
+
+   5    both calcareous and silicious[siliceous]
+  12    Carribbean[Caribbean]
+  18    Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean[Caribbean] region:
+  60    Taking the better-known[better known] portions of North America
+  72    and are hard and resistent[resistant]
+ 103    "Land oh[ho]!" is no more thrilling
+ 105    where preciptation[precipitation] is abundant
+ 126    Bamf[Banff], Lake Louise, Glacier House,
+ 131    related to this phase of volcanism[vulcanism] is the
+ 139    in Nevada and southestern[southeastern] California
+ 150    hard rocks thus exposed [were] rounded
+ 176    to take a more criticial[critical] view
+ 179    wind blows with remarkable unformity[uniformity]
+ 203    are cultivated with moderate successs[success].
+ 263    the terra calente[caliente] of Mexico
+ 271    from civilization is[are] great
+ 281    skunks belong to the family Mustalidae[Mustelidae]
+ 290    and the pecular[peculiar] hoazin, represented
+ 363    the plating[plaiting] of baskets and the art
+ 430    Sub-soil[Subsoil], in Alaska, 68.
+ 431    Mephities[Mephitis] mephitica, 280.
+ 431    Micquelon[Miquelon], retained by France, 419.
+ 433    St. Francois[Francois] Mountains, Mo., height of,
+ 433    Solovieff[Solovioff], I. M., reference to, 374
+ 433    St. Helena[Helens], Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
+ 434    Wapati[Wapiti], brief account of, 270-271.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of North America, by Israel C. Russell
+
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