< U efr. f?J. 3 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY A view of the Panama Canal. The steamship Ancon officially opening the canal to traffic, August 15, 1914. HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY BY R, H. WHITBECK PROFESSOR OF GEOGRAPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN NAn gorfe THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1923 All rights reserved PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Copyright, 1922, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published August, 1922. NorfoooB press J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. PREFACE C .C . 97 <3 Y9 i'7 9 H ■) In the discussions of secondary school geography for a decade past, two ideas have constantly been emphasized : (1) that the geography of the secondary school ought to be humanized ; and (2) that the influence of geographical environment upon man’s mode of life and upon his principal activities should be always in the foreground. With these ideas the author is in sympathy, and he has tried to provide a brief course in geography in essential har- mony with them. Until a few years ago the geography of the secondary school was either physical geography or commercial geography ; but thus to separate the two is to rob each of its complement. If the large facts of economic geography are not traced back to the physical causes upon which, in a degree at least, they rest, and if the facts of physical geography are not carried forward to some of the great human consequences which arise from them, then each falls short of its possibilities. Geography is not simply a study of the physical environment of man, nor is it simply a study of selected human activities ; rather is it a study of both plus their interrelation. Therefore, all of the chapters devoted to the physical aspect of geography include, or are followed by, a discussion of related hu- man aspects. For example, the chapter on Materials of the Earth’s Crust is followed by one on the Mineral Resources and Industries of the United States. The chapter on Weathering includes a discussion of soil, and is followed by another on the Agricultural Industries of the United States, The chapter on the physical features of rivers is followed by one on the historical and economic aspects of American rivers, and that by another dealing with six great rivers in other lands and their part in the life of the countries to which they belong. The section dealing with mountains gives ^ v VI PREFACE generous attention to Mountains and Man, and the chapter on climate devotes half of its space to Climate and Man. More space is devoted to coast lines and harbors than to the ocean proper. The three chapters on Transportation, Forest Industries, and Manufactures are very largely applied geography. The amount of space given to Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Glaciers is less than is usually accorded these topics. Part II of the book consists of four chapters devoted to Latin America, the British Empire, Continental Europe, and China and Japan. It is not the purpose of the se chapte rs to giye__ a sys - tematie account of the geography of theselmir regions, TSutrather to select an d emphasize certain factors wh ich are highly signific ant in g iving those parts of the world the distinctive character which they have . South America differs widely from Europe in its human geography and the Far East differs widely from both. The aim of Part II is to direct the pupils’ minds to outstanding features in the geography of these regions and to indicate some of the ways in which they have influenced the course of human development there ; and secondly to bring into prominence the way in which peoples have reacted to the geographical influences to which they have been subjected. Another aim has been to provide exercises, problems, and ques- tions which call for comparison, observation, reasoning, judging, and generalizing; in short, exercises which give mental training. Various exercises aim to give the pupils experience in topical reci- tations, in the use of reference books, and in making excerpts, ab- stracts, and summaries of portions of the text. In various chap- ters throughout the book questions of location are inserted. The teacher should require pupils to know the location of the more important places about which they are studying; and wall maps should always be at hand. The author is indebted to many people and to various depart- ments of the U. S. Government for assistance in obtaining photo- graphs; liberal use has been made of maps from the Geography of the World’s Agriculture, prepared by Messrs. Finch and Baker and published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Valuable PREFACE vii suggestions and criticisms have been received from my colleagues or former colleagues, Professors Lawrence Martin, V. C. Finch, F. E. Williams, and E. F. Bean, Miss Genivera Loft, and Mr. Eric Miller of the U. S. Weather Bureau at Madison. R. H. Whitbeck University oe Wisconsin, Madison June 1, 1922 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE CHAPTER PAGE I. The Earth and Its Neighbors ... 3 II. The Materials of the Earth’s Crust .... 22 III. Mineral Resources and Industries of the United States 30 IV. Rock Weathering and Soil 53 V. Agriculture in the United States 70 VI. The Work and Service of Underground Water . . 91 VII. Rivers at Work 108 VIII. Historic and Economic Aspects of American Rivers 129 IX. Six of the World’s Great Rivers 159 X. Glaciers Present and Past 188 XI. Surface Changes Produced from Within .... 213 XII. Surface Features of the Land;. Their Origin and Influence 227 XIII. The Atmosphere 253 XIV. Winds and Storms 268 XV. Cllmate and Its Influence ....... 286 XVI. The Ocean and Its Shores 314 XVII. The Coast and Coastal Activities of the United States 337 XVIII. The Forests and Forest Industries of the United States 362 XIX. Geographical Aspects of Transportation .... 378 XX. Manufacturing and Manufacturing Centers in the United States 400 IX X TABLE OF CONTENTS PART TWO CHAPTER XXI. Latin America PAGE . 427 XXII. The British Empire . 466 XXIII. Continental Europe . 501 XXIV. Japan and China . 544 Reference Books for the School Library . 559 Index . 563 MAPS IN COLORS FIGURES 24 The United States between PAGES 36-3? 90a North America it 128-129 298 The World .... a 426-427 304 Mexico, Central America, and West Indies . face 435 308 South America between 438-439 329 Dominion of Canada . u 476-477 348 Europe “ 500-501 373 China and Japan . face 545 PART ONE HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY CHAPTER I THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS The Earth The Three Parts of the Earth. — The earth is made up of (a) the land, ( b ) the air, and (c) the water. The solid portion is composed chiefly of rock and is therefore known as the lithosphere , meaning rock-sphere. The liquid portion, chiefly contained in the oceans, is known as the hydrosphere , meaning water-sphere. The gaseous portion, or atmosphere, envelops the other two. The interior of the earth is composed of material that is heav- ier than the outer shell of the lithosphere ; again, this outer shell is composed of material that is heavier than the water or hydro- sphere ; and the hydrosphere is heavier than the atmosphere. Thus, it is evident that the materials composing the earth as a whole are increasingly lighter from the interior outward. The Atmosphere The air is a real substance and is as much a part of the earth as is the water or the land. As the earth turns upon its axis, the atmosphere turns with it ; and, in the yearly journeys of the earth around the sun, the air, water, and land travel together. By the attraction of gravity, air, water, and all loose objects are bound to the earth in spite of its rapid movements of rotation and revo- lution. 3 4 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Essential to Life. — The air not only covers the land and the water, but it also penetrates each of these. There is air in the soil and in the pores of the rocks, and were it not for the air in water, fish could not live there. Indeed, nothing that lives on the earth, either plant or animal, can do without air. Depth, Weight, Density. — While air enters both the lithosphere and the hydrosphere, by far the greater part of it encircles the rest of the earth like a gaseous mantle. Its actual depth or thickness is not known, but it extends at least 300 or 400 miles above the land. A thickness of several hun- dred miles of air seems a great amount ; but compared with the earth as a whole it really is not great (Fig. 1). Even if the atmosphere were 500 miles deep, it would then form a layer only about as thick in proportion to the size of the earth as the peel of a lemon is to the size of the lemon. Although made up of light, invisible gases, the air is a substance and therefore has weight. At sea level the weight is equal to about 15 pounds on every square inch of surface. That part of the at- mosphere which is near the bottom supports the weight of all the air above ; and, since gases are easily compressed, the gases in these lower layers are pressed more closely together ; that is, the air is made more dense. But, in going upward in the atmosphere, there is less and less pressure and the air becomes less and less dense. The air particles are farther apart and there is really much less air ; such air is said to be rarefied. If you ascend 3.6 miles above sea level, one-half of the atmosphere, by weight, lies below you and one- half above ; but the layer of air above is at least a hundred times as thick as that below, becoming more and more rarefied as the dis- tance from the earth increases. Because there is so little air at Fig. 1. • — In the above diagram, represent- ing one-half of the earth, the black semi- circle represents the “crust” of the earth as 50 miles in thickness, while the shaded band represents the proportional depth of the atmosphere if it were 250 miles in thickness. THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 5 these higher levels, men find it very difficult to climb to the tops of high mountains, and partly for this reason some of the highest mountains have never yet been climbed. The Hydrosphere The Ocean Waters. — Water, being a fluid, readily flows into the lower depressions in the earth’s surface, the largest of which Fig. 2. — Map indicating depths of the ocean. The white borders around the con- tinents are the continental shelves. ( After Murray .) are the ocean basins. There is more than enough water on the earth’s surface to fill the ocean basins so that the oceans overlap the margins of the continents somewhat (Fig. 2). The Atlantic overlaps the eastern part of North America a hundred miles or more. Although the ocean basins are in some places about six miles in depth, they are shallow in proportion to their width; relatively, the ocean waters form only a mere film on the surface of the earth ; the skin of an apple is much thicker in proportion. The Three States of Water. — Water exists in three states — solid, liquid, and gaseous — and it readily changes from one state 5 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY to another. If heated above the boiling point (212° Fahrenheit 1 ), it passes into steam, a gaseous form of matter. If cooled below the freezing point (32° Fahrenheit), it changes to a solid — ice. At temperatures between these two extremes the natural condition of water is liquid; and, since the temperatures of the inhabited parts of the earth are usually between 32° and 212° Fahrenheit, water is most commonly seen in the liquid state. Water Vapor and Rainfall. — While it is true in general that the state of water depends on the temperature, the presence of water vapor in the air at all times, even when the temperature is below the freezing point, is proof that there is an exception to this. Water vapor is at all times escaping from the surface of water bodies, and even from ice, by a process which is called evaporation. When this vapor condenses back to the liquid or solid state, it falls as rain or snow. Some of it sinks into the soil and seeps far down intq the rocks. Plants could not live if there were not water in the soil, and neither man nor lower animals could live without plants. Since the lands could not be watered by rain if the water vapor were not distributed by the air, we see here a second vital service performed by the atmosphere. The Lithosphebe The Mantle Rock. — In nearly all places the land surface has a covering of loose earth, varying from a few inches to many feet in thickness, beneath which there is solid rock or bed, rock. The layer of loose earth, sometimes called mantle rock, is almost wholly made of fragments and grains of rock. If this material were evenly distributed over the surface of the land, it would make a layer of no great thickness ; probably less than fifty feet on a sphere the size of the earth ; this is proportionally no more than a film of dust would be on a schoolroom globe. The Earth’s Interior. — The deepest mines and wells have penetrated only a little more than a mile below the surface, 1 The Fahrenheit thermometer is the one most commonly used in America. In scientific measurements the Centigrade thermometer is usually employed ; it places the freezing point of water at 0° and the boiling point at 100°. THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 7 so that it is only the loose mantle rock and the upper layers of the bed rock with which men are acquainted. Therefore, very little is known about the remaining portion of the lithosphere. One fact, however, is important : the farther wells and mines penetrate into the earth, the warmer the rock is found to be. A well in Pennsylvania, 7000 feet deep, showed a temperature of 150° Fahrenheit. While the rate of increase in temperature Fig. 3. — View of a portion of a relief model of the earth, showing continents, ocean basins, and islands. The elevations are much exaggerated in height. (Photo- graphed from Jones' Model of the Earth. Used by permission of Thos. Jones, author, and Rand McNally and Co., publishers. Patent and copyright by Thos. Jones.) varies greatly, it averages about one degree for each fifty or sixty feet of descent, after a few yards of the surface layers have been passed through. If this rate of increase in temperature continues to a depth of fifty miles, the rock would be hot enough to melt if the pressure there were the same as it is at the surface. At such a great depth, the pressure — produced by the weight of the rock above — is so enormous that, even though very hot, the rock cannot expand sufficiently to melt. It is established 8 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY that notwithstanding the great heat in the interior of the earth our planet is as rigid as a solid globe of steel. There are, how- ever, portions of the earth’s interior where the rocks are actually melted, as is proved by the lava poured out by volcanoes. Surface of the Lithosphere. — The surface of the lithosphere seems to us to be very rough. The highest mountains rise be- tween five and six miles above sea level, and the deepest parts of the ocean basins are somewhat over six miles below sea level, making a total difference of about twelve miles. Large as this amount seems, it is very small in comparison with the thickness of the lithosphere as a whole ; indeed the earth’s sur- face is no rougher in proportion to the whole sphere than the skin of a smooth orange is to the orange. Cause of the Larger Surface Features. — The largest of the surface features — the ocean basins and the continents with their mountains and plateaus — have been formed by changes in the level of the earth’s crust. As a result, some parts have been raised while others have been lowered. The cause for these changes is not certainly known, but it is evident that the earth has contracted or shrunk to smaller size, as rock, iron, and other substances do when they cool. This has caused a wrinkling of the outer crust as it fits itself to the shrinking interior (Fig. 3). In this way parts of the crust have been raised in great wrin- kles to form mountain ranges, while in other places extensive areas of the crust have settled, producing the ocean basins. Still other large areas have either been pushed upward or else did not sink so far as did the ocean basins, and these areas therefore stand up as continents or as large islands. Thus, the contracting of the earth, whether due to cooling or to some other cause, explains the larger irregularities of the surface ; but most of the lesser irregularities have been caused by the action of the weather and by running water. These pro- cesses, called weathering and erosion, will be discussed later. Gravity. — When Isaac Newton saw an apple fall from a tree, he wondered why it fell toward the earth, and he asked him- self, “Why did it not fall upward?” As the result of his years THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 9 of study, and of the investigations of other men, the working of the law of gravitation is now well understood. It is known that every particle of matter exerts an attraction upon every other particle. The earth attracts the moon and the moon the earth ; but the earth, being the larger, has the stronger attraction. It is this same attraction of gravitation, exerted by the sun, that keeps the planets revolving around it in their orbits. The attraction of gravitation is not confined to the sun, or to the planets, but exists in all matter, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous. Every object about you, even gaseous par- ticles of the air, exerts an attraction upon other objects ; but the relatively great size of the earth makes it the chief attraction for all objects on or near it. The earth’s attraction upon near-by objects is sometimes distin- guished by the term gravity; but it is ex- actly the same force as gravitation. Practical Impor- tance of Gravity. — Gravity binds the air, the water, the people, and other objects to the earth and keeps them from flying off into space as the earth spins rapidly on its axis. Because of gravity, objects have weight, water flows down- hill, glaciers move down mountain valleys, avalanches plunge down the mountains, soil and rocks creep down hill slopes, rain falls to the earth, dust settles, and many other phenomena occur. Gravity never relaxes its pull. Be- cause of its persistent operation, walls of high buildings must be vertical (plumb), or they topple over. It so pulls upon the 10 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY materials in a bridge that great engineering skill is necessary to make a long bridge safe from the danger of falling under its own weight. This force makes it difficult and expensive for locomotives to haul trains up grades ; therefore railway builders often follow circuitous routes in order to secure easy grades. The climbing of many flights of stairs tires us because we must use our muscles to overcome the downward pull of gravity. In- deed, in every act of life which requires the moving of objects or of ourselves, we must work against this ceaseless pull of gravity. Yet, if it should stop for one moment, we should be hurled off into space and the earth itself would fly into frag- ments. The Earth’s Magnetism. — There is another force of attraction in the earth called magnetism. If a needle or any small bar of steel is magnetized and then poised so that it may swing freely, it will come to rest pointing in a generally north-south direction, though not usually exactly north and south. Such an instru- ment is a simple form of compass. A magnetic needle bal- anced at the middle, so that either end may freely rise or fall, is called a dipping needle, or dip compass. If a dip compass were carried northward from Detroit, for example, one end of the needle (the positive end) would dip downward more and more until, at a certain point in northern North America, it would stand in a vertical position. This place, called the earth’s north magnetic pole, is about twenty degrees from the north (geographical) pole. The earth’s south magnetic pole is almost as far from the south (geographical) pole. The Earth a Great Magnet. — Thus the earth is a great mag- net, and it is the earth’s magnetism that makes the compass so useful, especially to mariners and surveyors. The compass needle does not point due north and south in all places, but mar- iners, and others who make use of it, have charts and tables by means of which they can readily determine the true north from the compass readings. The discovery of the earth’s magnetism and the compass must be regarded as one of the great steps in human progress. (Why?) THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 11 Longitude and Time. — The earth’s circumference comprises 360°, and the earth turns upon its axis once in 24 hours. Thus, all places on the earth turn through 360°, or one complete circle, in 24 hours. Dividing 360° by 24 gives 15°; the earth turns through 15° of longitude in one hour of time. If the sun rises at 6 a.m. at New York, it will rise one hour afterward at a place 15° west of New York ; two hours afterward at a place 30° west, and so on. If the clocks in each place were set to keep actual time (sun time), we should find a different time in each successive place as we travel east or west, and would find it nec- essary to change our watches constantly ; railroads could not have time-tables, and much confusion would result. Standard Time. — To overcome this difficulty, Standard Time Belts have been adopted. These belts are about 15° wide, and within each belt all places have the same or standard time. The clocks in Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Chicago, and St. Louis all being in the central time belt indicate noon at the same time. They keep standard time. Clocks in the central time belt (Fig. 5) are one hour earlier than those in the eastern time belt, and one 12 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY hour later than those in the mountain time belt, and two hours later than those in the Pacific time belt. The places at which standard time changes in the United States are shown in Fig. 5. NORTHERN SUMMER NORTHERN WINTER NORTHERN SPRING NORTHERN AUTUMN MARCH 21st SEPTEMBER 22nd Fig. 6. — The earth in four positions with respect to the sun’s rays. The shaded part of each circle represents the night, or dark, hemisphere, and the unshaded part the day, or light, hemisphere. Note where the perpendicular ray strikes the earth in each case ; also the extreme northern and extreme southern rays. Locate the five zones ; — N. Frigid, N. Temperate, Torrid, S. Temperate, and S. Frigid. Note on Fig. 6. The above drawings are diagrams, not views of the earth.. They show diagrammatically where certain rays from the sun strike the earth on the four dates given. It is to be remembered that the axis of the earth is always inclined 23-j°. In the lower diagram the axis does not appear to be inclined ; - it is to be thought of, however, as being so inclined that one pole is tipped directly toward the observer and the other directly away. THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 13 Brief Review of the Earth’s Motions. — Recall from your earlier study of geography, the following facts : 1. The axis of the earth is the imaginary line upon which it rotates. 2. The north and south poles are respectively the north and south ex- tremities of this axis. 3. Alternate day and night are produced by the rotation of the earth on its axis. Explain why. Why does the sun appear to rise and set? Why does it appear to rise in the east? 4. The earth revolves about the sun in an elliptical orbit. How long does it take for one revolution? What is an ellipse (Fig. 204) ? 5. The earth’s axis is inclined 23 1° toward the plane of its orbit. Explain what this means (Fig. 6). 6. The axis is at all times inclined the same amount and in the same direc- tion, the north end pointing toward the pole star. 7. Two conditions — revolution in its orbit and continuous inclination of the axis in the same direction — give rise to our change of seasons. 8. There are jive zones; the width of these is determined by the amount of inclination of the earth’s axis. Name the zones; tell the width of each in degrees, and show how the inclination of the axis fixes the width of the zones. By what circles is each of the zones bounded (Fig. 6) ? 9. Latitude is the distance, measured in degrees, north or south of the equator. 10. Longitude is the distance, measured in degrees, east or west of the prime meridian. Through what place does the meridian run from which most nations reckon longitude? 11. Meridians extend from pole to pole and are used to indicate longitude; parallels of latitude extend around the earth parallel to the equator, and are used to indicate latitude. Are meridians also parallel? Explain. EXERCISE I 1. On a globe (or a map) locate the equator; the prime meridian; the north pole ; the south pole. 2. What is the latitude of the equator? of the north pole? of the south pole? 3. What circle passes through places that have 0° latitude? 4. What point has neither latitude nor longitude ? Is there more than one such point? 5. What is the highest latitude that any place can have ? Has any man ever reached this latitude in the northern hemisphere? in the southern? 6. What is the greatest longitude that any place can have? 7. What is meant by east longitude? by west longitude? Name the grand divisions of the eastern hemisphere ; of the western hemisphere. 8. How many degrees are there in a large circle? in a small circle? 9. Through what grand divisions does the equator pass? the Arctic circle? the tropic of Cancer? the tropic of Capricorn? Trace the Ant- arctic circle. 14 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 10. Which of the zones includes the most land ? 11. Which hemisphere — the northern or the southern — has the ereater amount of land? The Solar System Members of the Sun’s Family. — Large as the earth seems to us, it is only a mere speck in space. Indeed, it is a very small part even of the solar system, and the whole solar system is only a very small part of the universe (Figs. 7, 8, 9). The solar system (Fig. 8) includes: (1) the sun, which is the center of the system ; (2) eight ; planets and their moons (twenty- five moons are known and others may yet be discovered) ; (3) some 800 tiny planets, called asteroids; (4) a few comets (most comets are not a part of the solar system). Size of the Sun. — The sun is one of the stars, and is of such vast size that if it were a hollow sphere a million earths would be required to fill it. Or, if the earth and moon were within this hollow sphere, with the earth at the center, the moon could revolve in its natural orbit around the earth and have much THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 15 room to spare (Fig. 9). So huge is the sun that its mass is 1200 times that of all the rest of the solar system. The Sun’s Heat. — The sun is intensely hot (Fig. 10). In fact, it is far hotter than anything with which we are familiar; heat waves radiate from it in all directions. An exceedingly minute fraction of this heat ( g 000 q 0 - 0 - o5 -q) comes to the earth ; yet a very small part of this minute fraction makes a summer Fig. 8. — The black circles represent the planets of the solar system in propor- tional sizes. The open circles show the relative sizes of the orbits of the va- rious planets, and the numbers give the lengths of the respective “years” of these planets, or the time it requires each to revolve around the sun. day seem almost unbearably hot to us. Without the sun’s heat, the earth would not be habitable. The Sun’s Distance. — The sun is the center of the solar sys- tem around which revolve the planets, held in their orbits by its powerful attraction. These orbits are not quite circular, but have a somewhat oval form, called an ellipse; the sun is 16 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY not at the center but a little to one side (at one of the foci ) (Fig. 204). For this reason the distance from the earth to the sun is not always the same, but changes throughout the year. The average distance of the earth from the sun is about 93,000,000 miles. Two of the planets, Mercury and Venus, are nearer than the earth to the sun ; while Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are farther away than the earth. So great is the distance of Neptune, that if at the birth of Christ a messenger had set out to travel from the sun to Neptune and had traveled at the rate of 60 miles an hour, day and night, he would not yet be halfway there. But even this great distance is small compared with the dis- tance that separates us from the stars, the nearest of which (omitting the sun) is 10,000 times as far away as the distance from the sun to Neptune. Stars and Planets. — Stars are suns and shine by their own light. About five thousand may be seen with the naked eye on a clear winter’s night, but millions more are known to the astronomers. How many million stars exist but are invisible, no one would even venture to guess. The planets of the solar system are smaller than the known stars ; they revolve about the sun, and they shine only by reflecting the sun’s light. All the planets except Mercury and Venus have one or more moons which revolve about them ; the earth has only one, while Jupiter has six and Saturn ten. The planets differ greatly in size ; Jupiter, the largest, being equal to 1200 earths, while Mercury, the smallest, is much smaller than the earth. Besides being the smallest of the planets, Mer- cury is the nearest to the sun (Fig. 8). Fig. 9. — The sun is so large that, if it were a hollow sphere with the earth at the center, the moon could revolve in its orbit around the earth entirely within the sun. THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 17 The Moon. — Our moon is smaller than any of the eight plan- ets, although it looks to us about as large as the sun. As a mat- ter of fact, the sun is many thousand times larger than the moon, which looks large merely because it is near us (about 240,000 miles away, while the sun is 400 times as distant). This small, cold body, having no air, water, or life, shines, like the planets, by reflecting the sun’s light. Other Members of the Solar System. — Between the orbit of Mars and that of Jupiter is a group of about 800 little planets, called asteroids, which revolve about the sun, each in its own path. The largest is only about 500 miles in diameter. Comets are peculiar, gaseous bodies, a few of which belong to the solar system; others occasionally enter it. They travel in very much flattened orbits ; some of them, like Halley’s comet, come back at regular intervals, while others are seen once and never return. Habitability of the Planets. — Men cannot help wondering if there are people on the other planets. It is generally be- lieved that human beings, at all like ourselves, could not live on Mercury or Venus, which are so close to the sun that the tem- perature must be exceedingly hot. Nor is it thought probable that the more distant planets, such as Saturn, Uranus, and Nep- tune, could support human life, since they are so far away from 18 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the sun that they receive much less heat from it. Neither does Jupiter seem habitable, for it appears to have an atmosphere densely laden with moisture, and some astronomers believe that it is still so hot that li Fig. 11. — A meteorite. These bodies, composed almost wholly of iron, and in some cases weighing many tons, occa- sionally fall from outer space to the earth. volve about the far distant stars to solve this mystery. could not exist upon it. That the moon is not inhabited is certain, since it has neither air nor water. Of all the planets, Mars is the one that appears to be most like the earth, and astronomers have found evi- dence which, in the opinion of some, suggests that it is inhabited by intelligent be- ings ; but to this most astron- omers have not agreed. It would be interesting to know if there are people on other planets in the solar system, or on planets that may re- but man has not been able Summary The earth is composed of the land, or lithosphere; the air, or atmosphere ; and the water, or hydrosphere. The atmosphere is believed to be a few hundred miles in thickness, but half of it lies between sea level and 3.6 miles above. It has weight and exerts a pressure of about 15 pounds to the square inch at sea level. We live at the bottom of an ocean of air. All forms of life are so made that they cannot exist without air. The oceans make up most of the hydrosphere ; they more than fill the ocean basins and overlap somewhat the margins of the continents. The oceans supply the larger part of the moisture which the winds carry over the land and distribute in the form THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 19 of rain and snow. Without this rain the continents would be deserts. The lithosphere is composed of bed rock and of disintegrated rock, or rock waste; the latter forms a thin and uneven cover- ing over the surface of the land and is often called the mantle rock. The deepest wells and mines are a little more than a mile deep, but they in- dicate that the tem- perature increases on an average 1° Fahrenheit for each 50 or 60 feet of descent. The inte- rior of the earth is very hot but not molten. The earth’s surface is less rough in proportion to its size than the surface of an orange. The shrinking or contract- ing of the interior of the earth forces the surface rocks upward in some places and downward in others, thus producing conti- nents, ocean basins/mountains, plateaus, etc. Every particle or body attracts every other ; the earth’s attrac- tion is called gravity. This attraction binds the air, water, people, and other objects to the lithosphere and gives them weight ; it makes movement “downhill” easy and “uphill” difficult. The earth acts like a great magnet with north and south magnetic poles. The solar system (a very small part of the universe) consists of 1 star (the sun), 8 planets, about 25 moons or satellites, 800 or more tiny planets called asteroids, and a few comets ; but 20 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the sun has 1200 times as much matter as all the rest of the solar system. The earth receives only a minute fraction of the total heat emitted from the sun, which is about 93,000,000 miles away. The stars are suns, shining by their own light ; planets and moons shine by reflecting light received from the sun. Our moon is only as far from us as is the sun ; it is a relatively small body without air, water, or life. EXERCISE II 1. Make a list of the following terms whose meaning you clearly under- stand and can explain. 2. Make a second list of the terms whose meaning is not clear to you from the textbook and dictionary learn the meaning of these terms : lithosphere magnetism hydrosphere compass atmosphere dip-needle density vertical rarefied north and south poles fluid axis gas rotation solid ellipse vapor inclination (of axis) temperature latitude Fahrenheit parallel of latitude evaporation meridian condensation prime meridian bed rock longitude mantle rock equator surface sphere gravity hemisphere northern hemisphere planet east and west longitude star north and south latitude orbit Arctic circle reflected light Antarctic circle asteroid tropic of Cancer comet tropic of Capricorn astronomer solar system habitable EXERCISE III 1. Why do the ocean waters occupy the lowest depressions in the litho- sphere? 2. Why is the atmosphere the outermost part of the earth? 3. WTiy is the atmosphere to be regarded as a part of the earth? THE EARTH AND ITS NEIGHBORS 21 4. Why does the rapid whirling of the earth not hurl loose bodies off into space? 5. Why is the lower air more dense than the upper air? 6. Why do men find it difficult to exert themselves on high mountains ? 7. Why is water sometimes a gas, sometimes a liquid, and sometimes a solid? 8. Why does the rock at great depths in the earth not melt, since the temperature is high enough to melt it? 9. Why is the surface of the earth rough? 10. Why are people on the other side of the earth not walking with their heads down? 11. Why is it easier to go downhill than up? 12. Wiry must the walls of tall buildings be perfectly “plumb”? 13. Why may a compass be used to indicate directions? 14. Why do we have day and night? 15. Why do we have change of seasons? 16. Why does the earth receive only a minute fraction of the heat given out by the sun ? 17. Why does the moon shine? the sun? 18. Why does the moon appear to be about as large as the sun when in reality it is much smaller ? CHAPTER II THE MATERIALS OF THE EARTH’S CRUST Man’s Dependence upon the Materials of the Lithosphere. — Unless our attention is called to the matter, we do not realize how largely we use the mineral substances of the lithosphere. Our food consists chiefly of grains, fruits, and vegetables, which grow from the soil ; or of the meat of animals, which feed upon vegetation. Clothing is made of cotton or linen fibers, which come from plants, or of silk or woolen fibers, which come from animals, both of which depend directly or indirectly upon the soil for their life. Houses are built of the wood of trees, which grow in the soil, or of brick, stone, mortar, steel, and other mineral substances. So, all of man’s fuels, utensils, tools, machines, and materials of every kind may be traced back to the lithosphere that yields them. During the thousands of years of human history, man has been learning how to utilize for his own well-being and advancement what the earth yields. As he has learned more and more how to use these materials, particularly the metals, he has advanced in civilization. Variety of Products Obtained from the Lithosphere. — The varied uses to which man puts these materials may be seen in the construction of some great building. The Library of Con- gress in Washington, D. C., may serve as an example (Fig. 13). The foundation which supports the dome is made of concrete, an artificial rock made of crushed stone, sand, cement, and water. The cement is made of finely ground shale and limestone com- bined under intense heat. In the walls, brick and tile made of baked clay are used ; these are faced on the outside with blocks of white granite from New Hampshire, and on the inside with polished marble. The framework of the dome is steel. Within 22 THE MATERIALS OF THE EARTH’S CRUST 23 the building are marble pillars, arches, and staircases. The roof is made of roofing tile, and the floors of ornamental floor tile. The tiles are made from clay, the glass mainly from quartz sand, the paint of ground lead, zinc, or some other mineral, mixed with oil. There are bronze doors ; brass door plates and hand rails, nickel fixtures, gold-leaf decorations, copper wire, lead pipe, j Fig. 13. — The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. tin gutters, and asbestos wrapping for steam pipes. In fact, a fireproof building is built almost wholly of mineral materials. Rocks, Minerals, and Ores. — Broadly speaking, soil, sand, gravel, and even ice, are forms of rock, but the word is more commonly applied to a mass of hard mineral substance of natu- ral origin. A rock may be composed of only a single mineral, as in the case of pure marble, or it may be made up of a number of minerals, as in granite. Most rocks contain several minerals. Ores are minerals or rocks containing enough of some metal to make its extraction profitable. For example, an ounce of gold scattered through a ton of rock would make gold ore, because there would be enough gold to pay for extracting ; but even a 24 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY hundred pounds of iron to a ton of rock would ordinarily be of little value as an ore, because the iron obtained would not pay for smelting. Elements and Compounds. — All things on the earth or in Fig. 14. — Stratified rocks. The different layers show slightly different degrees of resistance. ( U . S. Geol. Sur.) it are made up of about 80 elev tents or simple substances. Water, for example, is called a compound, because it can be separated into the elements oxygen and hydrogen ; but gold, silver, copper, and many other things are regarded as elements, for they have THE MATERIALS OF THE EARTH’S CRUST 25 not as yet been subdivided into anything else. In nature these 80 elements make up every substance and object much as the 26 letters of the alphabet make all the words in our language. The Rock-forming Elements. — Most of the 80 or more ele- ments which are known to exist in the crust of the earth occur only in small quantities ; it is estimated that 8 elements make up 98 per cent of the crust. 1 Classes of Rocks . 2 — There are hundreds of varieties of rocks but they may all be grouped in three classes : 1. The sedimentary rocks. These are by far the most common and are made of sand, clay, pebbles, and other sediments, which were deposited ages ago and afterward pressed and cemented together. Examples — sandstone, limestone, shale. These rocks may be recognized easily, for they practically always exist in layers (Fig. 14). 2. The igneous rocks are those which have been under such intense heat that they were liquid or molten and afterward cooled. Granite is one of the best known examples. Many varieties of granite may be seen among the tombstones of any cemetery. 3. Metamorphic rocks are those which were once either sedimentary or igneous but have since undergone some change which altered their character and appearance. For instance, by prolonged pressure accompanied by heat, limestone has been changed into marble. The Sedimentary Rocks. — During past ages, under the action of the at- mosphere, the rain, and running water, the original surface rocks decayed and much of the rock waste was washed into the streams and carried to the sea. After any severe rain you may notice how muddy the streams look. They are carrying sediment, much of which at last reaches the ocean; this silt or sediment may build up a delta at the river’s mouth or it may be drifted back and forth by waves, tides, and currents, until it finally settles to the bottom, usually within 100 or 200 miles of the shore. Some does not reach the sea, but is carried to lakes or is spread over the flood plains of rivers. Origin of the Sedimentary Rocks. — Such sediments have accumulated little by little to a depth of thousands of feet. The upper layers, resting upon the lower ones, compress them. Underground water brings natural cementing materials and binds the grains together, and in time pressure 1 Oxygen, about 47% Calcium, about 3.4% • 2 During your study of physical geography, you should, if possible, visit places where the earth’s bed rock may be seen. This is the only way to get correct ideas about the rocks of the lithosphere. Probably you cannot find in your own locality examples of all of the kinds of rock mentioned in the textbook, but if you can study even one rock-ledge or quarry, it will help, and you will find such a study interesting and enjoyable. Silicon, about 28% Aluminum, about 7.8% Iron, about 4.4% Potassium, about 2.5% Sodium, about 2.4% Magnesium, about 2% 26 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY and further cementing convert them into 3olid sedimentary rock. The fine- grained mud when cemented becomes shale, and the sand becomes sandstone. Farther out at sea, tne skeletons and shells of myriads of creatures which live in the sea sink to the bottom, and these make limestone. Shells and other fossils are also found in sandstones and shales. The sandstone, lime- stone, and shale are the commonest rocks found at the surface of the earth. They are in layers, sometimes as thin as paper, but usually several inches Fig. 15. — Igneous rock of columnar structure, formed by the cooling of a sheet of lava. or feet in thickness. They are also called stratified rocks because they occur in layers or strata (Fig. 14). The Igneous Rocks. — These are less common at the surface of the earth than are the sedimentary rocks. They are usually found in mountainous regions where streams have eroded away the overlying sedimentary rocks and have brought to view the igneous rocks below. They are also common in regions of very ancient, worn-down mountains, like New England, southern Canada, and parts of our eastern and western mountains. When looked at closely, igneous rocks are seen to be made up of crystals of various THE MATERIALS OF THE EARTH'S CRUST 27 minerals, often very small. Granite is a good example, for the crystals of different minerals can be distinguished easily. The Metamorphic Rockc . — ! ‘Metamorphic” means changed inform. By heat, pressure, and other agencies acting for a long time, both sedimentary and igneous rocks are greatly modified. Limestone is changed to marble. Fig. 16. — Cabinet showing eight stages in the weathering of rock. No. 1 is un- weathered rock, Nos. 2 to 8 show progressive stages of weathering into soil. shale may become slate, and soft coal may be changed to hard coal. Be- cause of the great length of time during which the oldest rocks have been subjected to such changes they are usually the most completely metamor- phosed. Classes of Mineral Substances The lithosphere contains an almost endless variety of rocks and minerals which man has learned to use. These may be grouped as follows : The Metals, — iron, gold, copper, and many others — some common, some rare. Make a list of the familiar ones. The Mineral Fuels, — coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The Building Stones, — granite, marble, sandstone, lime- stone, slate, and others. 28 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Precious and Semiprecious Stones, — diamond, ruby, emer- ald, sapphire, garnet, agate, amethyst, opal, turquoise, etc. The Masonry Materials, — (in addition to stone) clay, sand, ce- ment rock, limestone (for lime). The Mineral Fertilizers, — nitrates (mainly from Chile), phos- phate rock, potash salts. The Mineral Paints, — the body of practically all paints is Pig. 17. — Specimen of sandstone, mag- nified. The fragments are fine grains of sand, cemented together. some form of ground-up min- eral, particularly lead and zinc; these are mixed with oil and colors to form paints. Mineral Waters, — contain- ing small amounts of iron, sulphur, and various medicinal salts. Miscellaneous Minerals, — salt, asbestos, graphite, mica, asphalt, talc, borax, and many more. From the foregoing list, five of the much-used minerals have been selected for more detailed treatment in Chapter IV : 1. Coal, the greatest of fuels. 2. Iron, the most useful of the metals. 3. Gold, the precious metal. 4. Petroleum, the liquid mineral. 5. Salt, the indispensable mineral food. EXERCISE IV 1. Explain in your own words the meaning of each of the following terms : 1. lithosphere 5. ore 9. sedimentary rock 2. mineral 6. element 10. metamorphic rock 3. rock 7. compound 11. stratified rock 4. metal 8. igneous rock 12. mineral fuel THE MATERIALS OF THE EARTH’S CRUST 29 2. Let a committee of the class make a list of the materials from the earth's crust which are used in the construction of the school building. 3. Of what kinds of building stone are some of the prominent buildings of the village or city constructed? 4. Are there mines, quarries, clay pits, mineral springs, or oil wells in your county or in your part of the state? 5. Let a committee of the class ascertain the mineral resources of the state and report to the class. Reports of the Geological Survey, the annual volumes of the United States Geological Survey entitled Mineral Resources of the United States, or the article on your state in a good encyclopedia will furnish the information. 6. The making of an educational collection of materials of the earth’s crust is an interesting and instructive exercise. A cabinet (a broad, shallow box with hinged cover) divided into small compartments can be made in the Manual Training Department. This is convenient, but not absolutely nec- essary. The following plan may be used as a suggestion, but may be modi- fied to meet local conditions. Suggested Arrangement of a Cabinet and Collection to Illustrate Materials of the Earth’s Crust Quartz Quartz sand Sandstone Quartzite, gneiss, or other meta- morphic rock Glass (manufactured mainly from quartz sand) Feldspar or other mineral Clay Shale Slate Ore of iron, copper, or other metal Calcite or other mineral Glacial till Limestone Marble Small samples copper, lead, zinc, iron, tin, nickel, and other metals Salt, mica, asbestos, or other mineral Yellow, brown, or red soil (stained by iron rust) Local or other sedimentary rock Local or other metamorphic rock Granite or other igneous rock Peat Black soil Soft or bitu- minous coal Hard or an- thracite coal Petroleum or asphalt CHAPTER III MINERAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES Their Great Importance. — Nature has richly endowed the United States, both in its great extent of agricultural land, and in Fig. 18. — A cluster of quartz crystals. They are normally hexagonal prisms ter- minating in hexagonal pyramids. its great mineral wealth ; its known mineral resources are greater than those of any other nation. It is difficult to appreciate 30 MINERAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES 31 the large part which the minerals play in the daily life of the people of civilized countries. Since 1885 onr population has doubled, but the quantity of iron mined in the L nited States has increased twenty times. No nation to-day can rise to a place of leadership unless it possesses coal and iron. The quick rise of the United States to the position of the greatest of manu- Fig. 19. — Mining a coal vein of good thickness. The use of machines has greatly increased the output of coal per man. ( JJ . S. Bur. of Mines.) facturing nations could not have occurred without the almost unlimited supply of these two minerals. The United States and the Allies could not have won the great World War without America’s enormous resources of coal, iron, petroleum, and copper. Coal Origin. — Man could do without gold and silver, but without coal and iron he never would have made a tithe of his present advancement. In past geological ages there were periods when dense vegetation covered great areas of low, wet lands. Here 32 Feet 240- 230- 220 - 210 - 200 - 190- 180- 170- 160- 160 - 140* 130 - 120 - 110 - 100 - 90- 80 ■ 70- 60- 50- 40 - 30- 20 - FlC HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY o O cc COAL IQ INCHES £ O o cc COAL 4/2 FELT o o 0: COAL 5 FEET 20. — A section of 5 coal measures of stern Pennsylvania. mosses, shrubs, and fernlike trees grew luxuriantly. In time vast quantities of vegetable matter collected in these swamps and from it thick beds of peat formed and covered thousands of square miles. At times the peat beds were totally sub- merged, and clay or sand was washed in upon them. In this way were built up the rocks known as the coal measures, con- sisting of layers of coal alternating with lay- ers of rock (Fig. 20). Where the World’s Coal Is Found. — Figure 21 shows what large areas of the United States are underlain with coal ; it is estimated that this country has one- half of the coal of the world. About one- sixth of its total area has coal beneath the surface, but 90 per cent of all the coal we use is mined east of the Mississippi. Can- ada has a sufficient supply, but it is not favorably located, while South America has very little indeed. Europe is well sup- plied. China has vast fields as yet scarcely touched. Africa has but little and Aus- tralia only a moderate amount. Peat, the beginning of coal, is a spongy, black or brown mass of leaves, roots, stems, etc., which collects in some swamps and is partially protected from decay by the covering of water. In some countries peat is dug out in blocks, dried in the sun, and burned for fuel. In Ireland, for example, it is an important source of fuel. Lignite is sometimes called brown coal. It is a better fuel than peat and is mined in limited quantities in the West and South. '*1 MINERAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES 33 Fig. 21. — Coal areas of the United States. In the portions marked “Possible coal areas, ’’coal is known to exist, and, in places, it is being mined. 34 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY While our extensive beds of lignite are now utilized only in a small way, they will some day become of greater value when the higher grades of coal are exhausted. Soft or bituminous coal is a better fuel than lignite. There are many grades, ranging from one little superior to lignite to one nearly as hard as anthracite. Bituminous coal burns rap- idly with much smoke ; it is used in enormous quantities in facto- ries, locomotives, and steamships, and in the making of coke. Hard or Anthracite Coal. — Substantially all of this comes from a small area of 480 square miles in east- ern Pennsylvania (Fig. 22). It was once soft coal like that in the middle western states, but the layers of coal and of rock have been bent into great folds as the mountains were uplifted, and the heat and pressure produced by this folding have had a part in changing the bituminous coal into anthracite. The Energy in Coal. — The importance of coal is due to the vast amount of heat, or energy from the sun, which the plants and trees absorbed while they were growing, and which they stored up in their tissues. By burning the coal this stored-up energy can be turned into power and be used for running ma- chinery, drawing trains, and propelling steamships. Enough power is locked up in a single pound of coal to do as much work as a laboring man does in a day ; in 300 pounds, as much as he does in a year; and yet this 300 pounds costs less than a dollar. It is said that in a modern locomotive an ounce of coal will draw a ton of freight a mile. If every person in the world were an able- bodied workingman, the entire 1,600,000,000 people could not do Fig. 22. ■ — The black areas represent the anthra- cite coal fields of Pennsylvania. From these small areas comes practically all of the anthra- cite coal mined in the United States. MINERAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES 35 as much work as is now being done by coal. This means that man has, as it were, another human race of workers placed at his service, workers that require no food, clothing, or shel- ter. Coal in the United States. — Eight hundred thousand men are employed in our coal mines ; these with their families make Fig. 23. — Cars of bituminous coal pass from the mine, through the weighing house, up the inclined plane and into the tipple where they dump the coal into railroad cars below. ( TJ . S. Bur. of Mines.) a population as large as that of Norway. In the last 40 years the use of coal in the United States has increased about 20 times as fast as the population. Coal does the cooking or heating, or both, in 10,000,000 homes in this country, besides doing 75 per cent of our manufacturing. One reason why manufacturing is done mainly in the northeastern quarter of the United States is the presence there of our best coal fields. 36 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Distribution in the United States. — It is estimated that we have at least 3,000,000 million (3,000,000,000,000) tons of coal which can be mined ; about ewo- of this is now being used yearly, but the min- ing goes on more and more rapidly. The Appalachian coal field, which yields more than all the others combined, extends from Pennsylvania to Alabama (Fig. 21). It is 900 miles long and from 30 to 180 miles wide. The sepa- rate seams or layers of coal vary from less than an inch to many feet in thickness, but, as a rule, only the seams that are four feet or more thick are worked. At present 90 per cent of the coal mined in the United States is mined east of the Mississippi River. Waste. — Mining methods in the past have wasted practically half of the coal by leaving it in great pillars in the mines to support the rock above. Our engines utilize scarcely 15 per cent of the energy in the coal, and lose the rest. Unless the people of this generation learn to be less wasteful of coal, future generations may suffer ; but to a cer- tain extent the steadily rising price of coal will check this waste. Fig. 25. - — Coal from a mine mouth in the hill- side is dumped from the mine cars- into the chute which delivers it to the railroad cars on the track below. ( U . S. Bur. of Mines.) L.Mani '■obi. Devils L. mLs soula IV .'AnacoDda®^^^ Butte l! . ; marcl f 4 l 6 w £ U^X] p AR. ■ •LeadcoP 1 //zf//s 7? >cate;/o , 1 7^/1 7 -^ A® K tAjX^ <> ■ fnson''*^ Wichita* Arka)/ l( taton - Santa P 9 iquerg f ^ Oklahor >GlobLaine$vL J/pPare/td Wnrisbi COU/MBIA Madison Fig. 105. — Locations of important water powers in the Carolinas. Squares in- dicate power owned by manufacturers, and circles power owned by water power companies. A great deal of this power is used by the cotton mills. (17. S. Comr. of Corp., 1912.) the great water power plants installed in recent years are hydro- electric plants, or those which convert the water power into elec- tricity. Such are the great power houses at Niagara Falls, at Keo- kuk on the Mississippi (Fig. 100), at Great Falls, Mont., and at various places in Colorado, Washington, California, the Southern Appalachians, and elsewhere. Many mills and factories, especially in the eastern states, are still situated close beside the rivers at points where the falls or rapids occur, and their machinery is driven directly from the re- 150 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY volving water wheels. New England’s early start in manufactur- ing was greatly aided by abundant water power, and many of her leading cities are located at water power sites. The banks of the Merrimac in southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts are dotted with mills. Fall River, Mass, (cotton) ; Holyoke, Mass, (paper) ; Paterson, N. J. (silk) ; Rochester, N. Y. (flour) ; Grand Rapids, Mich, (furniture) ; Minneapolis, Minn, (flour) ; and a long list of other places belong to the group of water power cities. Fig. 106. — The mauy important water powers of New England and New York. Squares indicate power owned by manufacturers, and circles power owned by water power companies. (U. S. Comr. of Cory., 1912.) Development of Water Power in the South. — The swift streams of the Southern Appalachians are being harnessed for manufactur- ing purposes, notably for the making of cotton goods. Along the east-flowing streams in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and to a smaller extent on the western side of the Appa- lachians in Tennessee and Alabama, mills and factories have been built in large numbers. One-third of our cotton spindles are in this region (Fig. 105). HISTORIC ASPECTS OF AMERICAN- RIVERS 151 Water Power and the Manufacture of Paper. — Most of our paper is made from wood pulp. A great amount of cheap power is needed in this industry and so the chief paper-mak- ing centers are in the northern parts of New England, New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin, where swift rivers and forests of spruce and other soft woods were found near together (Fig. 106). Western Rivers Important Western Rivers. — The Columbia and Snake rivers and their branches form the drainage system of our Pacific North- west. Into the great lava plateau these rivers have cut canons from a thousand to two thousand feet in depth. By means of locks at two points the Columbia has been made navigable for 400 miles from its mouth. Ocean vessels ascend the Columbia and Willamette 110 miles to Portland. The Salmon fisheries of the Columbia River and the Colorado with its wonderful canon are described elsewhere. Portions of the Sacramento and of the San Joaquin in California, a short lower stretch of the Colorado, and a long stretch of the upper Missouri are classed as navigable rivers, but, with the exception of the Sacramento, they are little used. Character of the Western Rivers. — Of the 26,000 miles of navigable rivers in the United States, only 2000 miles are in the western half of the country. There are seven western states that contain no navigable rivers. For reasons to be explained later, the rainfall over these states is small, except along the coast north from San Francisco, and on the higher mountains, most of which collect a good deal of snow. Many of the rivers flow long distances through arid regions and lose a considerable part of their water by seepage and evaporation, and in late summer they may dwindle to mere creeks. The Rio Grande, for example, in certain places almost disappears for miles, flowing in the gravel of its bed. After heavy rains in the mountains or when the snows are melt- ing, the mountain streams become torrents and sweep down their 152 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY [ hH&zru Weavervi/fi wirmemlxta f^OahRun lletowr ■ r re mil I Reno 'iKkee 'dhon Pioch *60 Fig. 107. — Water power development in California. The circles represent hydro-electric power plants that sell power. The squares represent plants that use power directly for manufacturing purposes. (£/. S. Comr. of Corp., 1912.) courses with terrific violence, carrying everything before them; but at other times they may become almost dry. HISTORIC ASPECTS OF AMERICAN RIVERS 153 Irrigation The Growth of Irrigation in the United States. — Irrigation is one of the oldest devices of civilized man ; it was practiced in ancient Egypt, India, Mesopotamia, China, and among certain tribes of American Indians. The first Americans to use irrigation in the West were the Mormons, who entered Utah in the forties, while that region still belonged to Mexico. In the last quarter century its use has spread into hundreds of our western valleys. The progress from the first simple irrigation dams and canals of the early settlers to the great masonry dams and canals con- structed by the United States Government makes a remarkable story (Fig. 108). Fig. 108. — The Roosevelt dam in Arizona. By means of this dam a lake is pro- duced which stores enough water to irrigate 170,000 acres of land. 154 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 109. — Irrigation canal in Idaho. A main canal of this kind, shown at the left, conducts the water from an up-river point to the lands that are to be irrigated. (U. S ■ Ben. Service.) HISTORIC ASPECTS OF AMERICAN RIVERS 155 Extent and Methods of Irrigation. — In many of the western valleys the land is rich in plant food, and sunshine is abundant, but rainfall is inadequate. The larger part of the land of eleven west- ern states cannot grow crops without irrigation. In 1921 about 15 million acres, an area half as large as New York, was under irrigation. This exceeds the cultivated, area of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware Fig. 110. — Irrigated fruit lands in the Grand Valley of Colorado. ( U . S. Rec. Service.) combined, yet it is less than 3 per cent of the arid land of the West. Most of the irrigating is accomplished by building dams which hold the flood waters in reservoirs to be used during the dry summer. By means of main canals, branch canals, and ditches, this water is distributed over the valley lands (Fig. 109). In a few states, mainly in California, water from wells (about 20,000 in all) is used. 156 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The great majority of the fifty or sixty thousand irrigation enterprises in the United States include only a few hundred acres each, but some of the private enterprises, and all of the United States Reclamation projects (about 30), include thousands of acres each, a few of them exceeding 200,000 acres, equal to a small county. The less expensive projects have been established by individual Fig. 111. — Irrigated lands in the Santa Clara Valley of California. {XJ. S. Geol. Sur.) farmers or groups of farmers or by irrigation companies, but large projects costing millions of dollars have been carried out by the government through the Reclamation Service ; yet a great deal more land is irrigated by private individuals and corporations than by the United States Government through the Reclamation Service. Irrigation Farming. — Undoubtedly irrigation farming has many attractions. The farms or ranches are usually small and care- HISTORIC ASPECTS OF AMERICAN RIVERS 157 fully cultivated, and weather conditions are more dependable than in a humid climate. The people who have settled on the irrigated lands are progressive, and social conditions are usually excellent. Orchards and vineyards of 10 or 20 acres, when suc- cessfully managed, may yield their owners as much profit as 160- acre farms in the Middle West or East. While such instances are numerous, they show what is possible rather than what is common ; indeed, only about one-twentieth of the irrigated land is devoted to fruit; more than three-fourths produces grain, hay, and alfalfa ; to the last-named crop nearly one-third of all our irrigated land is devoted. EXERCISE XI Suggestion. — It is suggested that pupils prepare to discuss the foregoing chapter by the topical method, using the following topics : 1. The importance of rivers in the exploration and settlement of North America 2. Early methods of travel and transportation in the United States 3. Dependence of the fur trade on rivers 4. The importance of rivers to agriculture in the American colonies 5. Rivers and early manufacturing 6. The historic and economic importance of the St. Lawrence system (a) Early history ( b ) Importance to Canadian commerce (c) Physical features of the St. Lawrence 7. The Mississippi River (a) Features of the upper Mississippi (b) Features of the lower Mississippi The natural levees 8. The problem of controlling the river 9. Principal tributaries of the Mississippi (a) The Ohio : its past and present usefulness ( b ) The Missouri (c) The Arkansas and the Red 10. The navigation of the Mississippi : three periods (a) The period of the canoe and flatboat (b) The rise of steamboat navigation (c) The decline of river navigation 11. Reasons for the decline of river navigation 12. The waterways problem 13. The Great Lakes as a commercial waterway (a) Character of the waterway (b) Present traffic : its great volume and low cost 158 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY (c) Importance to the steel industry 14. Rivers as sources of power (а) The use of water power past and present (б) The development of water power in the South (c) Water power and the manufacture of paper 15. Important western rivers 16. Character of the western rivers 17. Irrigation (a) Growth of irrigation in the United States ( b ) Extent and methods of irrigation (c) Irrigation farming CHAPTER IX SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 1 The Amazon and Brazil Size. — The Amazon is the monarch of rivers. Though not quite so long as the Mississippi-Missouri, its basin is much larger, and it pours into the ocean a much greater volume of water. Rising in the lofty Andes within a hundred miles of the Pacific, 1 Large American rivers are described in Chapter VIII. This chapter is de- signed for reading rather than for careful study. 159 160 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY it flows in a course nearly 4000 miles long into the Atlantic. No other river cuts its continent so nearly in two. For almost its entire length the Amazon flows near the equator and parallel to it ; thus it is in a region where the rainfall is very heavy. Over the larger part of the basin the rainfall amounts to from 6 to 8 feet (72 to 96 inches) per year, and much of the land is so low and flat that at times of flood vast areas are under water. The great river does not flow in a single channel, but is like a braid of many strands. There are so many islands and so many channels that the traveler almost never sees the whole width of the mighty river. Near its mouth it becomes a hundred miles wide, and from the middle neither bank can be seen. Important Features. — 1. The great size of its basin. The Amazon drains an area larger than that of all Europe outside of Russia. 2. Its enormous volume of water. It pours more water into the Atlantic than all the rivers from Alaska to Cape Horn pour into the Pacific. So powerful is the current that it forces its yellow waters 200 miles out into the ocean. 3. Its exceedingly slight grade. On the eastern slope of the Andes the headwater streams make terrific plunges, but in the final 2000 miles of its course the Amazon falls only 35 feet, an average of two-tenths of an inch to the mile. Contrast this with the St. Lawrence, which falls 250 feet in its lower course in a tenth of this distance. No other great river has such a gentle gradient. 4. Its great depth. It is only by constant dredging of the Mississippi that a channel 9 feet deep is maintained between the mouth of the Ohio and New Orleans. The Amazon has an average depth of 100 feet or more for a greater distance than this, and from the mouth of the Rio Negro to the sea the river is about 200 feet deep. Ocean steamships ascend 2300 miles to Iquitos in Peru, and steamers drawing 14 feet of water may ascend 480 miles farther. No other large river of the world even approaches such depth for such a distance. SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 161 Fig. 113. — Vegetation of the hot, wet Amazon jungle. ( Courtesy Isaiah Bow * man, Am. Geog. Soc.) 5. The great number and size of its tributaries. Fourteen of these are as long as the Rhine or longer, and of much greater volume, and at least one is as long as the Mississippi. The Amazon Jungle. — The larger portion of the Amazon basin is a vast, uncultivated, almost unpeopled wilderness. There are 162 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY great stretches of morass in which the dense tropical forest is woven together by a tangle of undergrowth and vines looping from tree to tree or hanging from every limb. The Amazon forests form one of the most impenetrable jungles found anywhere in the world, and if it were not for the rubber trees most of the wilderness would still be little known to the outside world (Fig. 113). Comparison of the Amazon and Mississippi Valleys. — The Ama- zon basin is an impressive example of the way in which . a bad climate may almost completely block the development of a re- gion. Aside from climate and the consequences of climate, the basin of the Mississippi is not unlike that of the Amazon ; yet one teems with prosperous and progressive people, is dotted with cities, crisscrossed by railroads, and sprinkled with churches, schools, colleges, and libraries ; both its agricultural and manufactured products are measured in billions of dollars a year ; the other has not a single large city ; 1 in most of its area there is not a mile of road or railroad, not a mill or factory, not a school or church, not a cultivated farm or a white man’s permanent home. The state of Amazonas contains an average of only about one person to three square miles. In the four hundred years since Europeans penetrated the Amazon Valley little progress has been made there, but the valley of the Mississippi, on the contrary, has had a phenomenal develop- ment. What caused the difference? The answer lies mainly in the single word, climate. This is an example of geographical influence that is worth remembering. Just a difference in the angle of the sun’s rays and in the amount of rain that falls, and one valley is a tropical jungle while the other is the home of millions of progressive people and the heart of the world’s richest nation ! Navigation. — The Amazon and its tributaries are constantly used for navigation. Practically all of the products of its basin, rubber, cabinet woods, Brazil nuts, and cacao, reach the outer world by way of the river, and all of the supplies are carried in by the same route. Regular lines of steamers ply up and down the river and 1 Manaos, the chief city, had a population of about 50,000. SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 163 its chief tributaries. Ocean-going steamships load at Iquitos or Manaos, the chief cities of the interior, and proceed directly to ports of the United States and Europe. Smaller boats visit the rubber-collecting centers on the many rivers, and carry the rubber to Manaos or to Para (population 100,000) at the mouth of the river ; moreover, a part of the products of Bolivia and Peru reach the outer world by way of the Amazon. The Madeira, one of the great tributaries, has a series of 13 falls and rapids around which a railroad 200 miles long has been built. A peculiar condition exists at the headwaters of a branch of the Amazon and a branch of the Orinoco : the two rivers are united by a stream of considerable size (the Casiquiare), and at high water small boats may pass from one of these great river systems to the other. The Rhine and Germany Importance to Germany. — The Rhine is the most historic of European rivers. From the days of Julius Caesar down through the struggles of the Middle Ages to the present, the valley of the Rhine has been the scene of stirring events. It has been for more than a thousand years the principal link in the great north-south road across Europe, uniting the Mediterranean with the North Sea and the Baltic. More myths and songs and legends are associated with the Rhine than with any other part of the German Father- land. The historic river is singularly woven into the affections and patriotism of the German people. Physical Features. — Though only 800 miles in length the Rhine rises in one country, flows across a second, and enters the sea through a third. Its headwaters are collected from lakes and glaciers of the Alps. Flowing through the beautiful Lake Con- stance, it reaches the Swiss frontier at the city of Basel , Of the 233 miles in Switzerland very little is navigable even for small boats (Fig. 114). Betiveen Basel and Bingen (224 miles) the Rhine winds over a flood plain 20 miles in width. Through part of this distance 164 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 114. — The turbulent Rhine near the place where it crosses the Swiss bound- ary into Germany. ( Courtesy W. H. Dudley.) the river forms the boundary between Germany and France. For more than a hundred years, the cities and provinces along this section of the Rhine have been engaged in straightening the river, building embankments and walls to check its overflow, and nar- rowing it here and there to concentrate its current and prevent silting. By cutting across the necks of the great meanders, the river has been shortened 45 miles in this portion (Fig. 116). The navigation of this part of the river is mainly confined to the stretch below Mannheim. Between the cities of Bingen and Bonn the river traverses an ancient plateau. This portion, 79 miles in length, forms the famous and romantic “Gorge of the Rhine.” Flere the valley is narrow, and the valley walls rise steeply ; at nearly every curve a frowning height, topped by the ruins of an old castle, commands the river (Fig. 117). Many of the steep slopes are terraced for vineyards. Cities find room for growth only at places where a SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 165 Fig. 115. — A part of western Europe. Rhone Valley at the lower left; Alps at the lower right ; Rhine Valley at the right ; Holland and the Rhine delta at the top. tributary stream joins the main stream, and railroads hug the river on both sides, finding scarcely room enough for their tracks. 166 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Midway down the gorge, the river Moselle comes in from France. Northward from Bonn the Rhine crosses the flat North German Plain, passes a succession of great industrial cities and enters Hol- land, a large part of which is made up of the Rhine delta. Across Holland the river flows in a winding, sluggish course, and enters the sea through many mouths. The Rhine in the Middle Ages. — In the Middle Ages there were two important groups of commercial cities — one group in Italy, including Venice and Genoa ; the other, the scattered and powerful group known as the Hanseatic League, the most important of which were near the shores of the Baltic and North seas. Be- tween these two regions the easiest route was the valley of the Rhine, and along that river moved the most valuable over- land trade of Europe. Scores of petty nobles had their little realms along the Rhine and its tributaries, and at every com- manding point some feudal built his castle and toll ” on passing mer- chants and travelers. These were the robber barons of the still overlook the river (Fig. Fig. 116. — Section of the Rhine Rive’ The black lines indicate the former baron very crooked course of the river ; the straightened line shows the present im proved channel. Rhine, whose ruined castles 118). SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 167 On an average, merchandise doubled in cost for every hundred miles it proceeded along these toll-afflicted routes. Even as late as 1790, there were 29 legalized toll stations between Strassburg and the border of Holland ; and in the early part of the nineteenth century every laden boat that passed Cologne or Mainz had to Fig. 117. — One of the many ruined castles on the heights overlooking the Rhine. {Courtesy W. H. Dudley.) unload its cargo and display it for sale in those cities. It was a long, bitter struggle that made the trade of the Rhine safe and free, and that struggle did not end until 1868. The Rhine of the Twentieth Century. — After the union of the many German states into the German Empire, great sums of money were expended upon the Rhine. It was shortened by straightening curves (Fig. 116), rocky shoals and obstructions were blasted out, shallow portions were dredged, and nearly every city along the river built havens and docks equipped with modern loading and unload- 168 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ing machinery. Below Cologne the navigable depth is nearly 10 feet, between Cologne and St. Goar it is 8 feet, and from St. Goar to Mannheim it is 6-g- feet. Prior to the World War the Rhine fleet consisted of more than 10,000 steamboats and barges. Passenger steamers ply con- stantly from city to city. Steam tugs tow a train of three or Fig. 118 . — The restored castle Rheinstein, below Bingen on the Rhine. ( Cour- tesy W. H. Dudley.) four barges (Fig. 120), carrying from a few hundred tons to 3000 tons each. As would be expected, the commodities carried by water are mainly coal, iron ore, stone, cement, grain, and other heavy articles. The tonnage of freight carried on German waterways was very large, and, on the whole, the cost was fairly low. The Rhine flows through one of the most densely populated and productive regions of Europe. There are no less than 20 important cities along the river or directly tributary to it ; great coal mines SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 169 and iron mines are near by, and its mouths reach three world ports — Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. A network of canals connects the Rhine with the Seine in France, with the Dan- ube, and with the Elbe and other German rivers. The fact that the mouth of the Rhine is controlled by a foreign power and that the great ports which serve the Rhine are in foreign territory is, Fig. 119. — A characteristic scene in Holland. A large part of the land of Hol- land is included in the delta of the Rhine. ( Courtesy W . H. Dudley.) of course, a disadvantage to Germany. The defeat of Germany in the great World War has completely changed her relations to the Rhine, which can scarcely be called a German river any longer. By the terms of the treaty of peace Germany is forbidden to build or maintain fortifications or to keep armed forces nearer than 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) from the east bank of the Rhine. She no longer controls the river even in her own territory, for it is placed in the hands of an international commission and Allied troops may hold the German territory west of the river for fifteen years. 170 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 120. — The middle Rhine. Note the long narrow barges towed by a steam tug. A great deal of freight is carried by these Rhine boats. ( Courtesy W. H. Dudley.) The Volga and Russia Physical Features. — The Volga is the longest river of Europe, as well as Russia’s most important waterway, but its volume is less than that of the Danube. It is 2300 miles long, equal to the distance from Boston to the Rocky Mountains, and navigable for 2000 miles. Russia is very poorly supplied with roads and rail- roads, and its rivers, like those of the United States at an earlier period, have been important avenues of transportation. Time does not count so much in Russia as it does in the United States, and slow-moving river craft are quite satisfactory. Unlike most large rivers, the Volga does not rise in mountains or flow even in sight of mountains. It begins in one of the greatest of the Russian swamps at the low elevation of 600 feet above sea level, SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 171 Fig. 121. — Bridge over the Rhine at Bonn. ( Courtesy W . H. Dudley.) flows in a crooked course through a vast plain, and empties into an inland lake, the Caspian Sea. It has one notable peculiarity, — for a large part of its course, it cuts against the right bank, producing earth cliffs of considerable height, while the left bank is low and easily flooded. This gives rise to a peculiar distribution of cities and towns ; in the lower three-fifths of its course there are only four important towns on the left bank (east), but over thirty on the right bank (Fig. 122). The river flows through an excellent farm- ing region and from 30 to 40 million people live in its drainage basin (Fig. 123). Canals connect the Volga with rivers flowing into the Baltic, the White, and the Black seas. Navigation of the Volga. — Since the Caspian Sea is an inland lake in a nearly desert land, the traffic on the Volga is largely up- stream. Fifteen times as much traffic formerly reached Petrograd by the Volga canals as reached Astrakhan at the mouth of the Volga. Russia has long been a country of fairs, and the greatest fair regularly held anywhere in the world was held at Nizhni 172 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Novgorod on the Volga in the very heart of Russia. Here, in late summer, gathered tens of thousands of buyers and sellers of almost Fig. 122. — The Volga River system, Russia. The absence of tributaries in the southern part of the basin reveals the very light rainfall of this region. Note that most of the cities are on the west bank of the river, which is usually higher ground than the east bank. everything ; traders came from every part of the Empire and of Europe ; from Persia, Turkey, and even from the borders of China. Goods to the value of about one hundred million dollars changed SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 173 hands each season, and a large part of these came and went by the river. Thirteen thousand boats entered Nizhni Novgorod annu- ally, and 2000 to 3000 entered and cleared at Astrakhan at the mouth of the Volga. The Volga as a waterway has two drawbacks — its upper por- tion is icebound for five months, and its lower course for three months, while in a dry summer the water becomes so shallow that navigation is difficult and dredging is constantly necessary. At Fig. 123. — Modern harvesters drawn by oxen cutting grain on the broad plains of Russia. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) its mouth the Volga is building a great delta in which the river has some 150 shifting distributaries and 50 regular channels. In the lower Volga, great numbers of sturgeon are caught and from their roe (eggs) the famous Russian caviare is made and widely sold. The Volga is to be remembered as the most important river of Russia — particularly important in the nation’s life because Russia has not passed the stage of development in which rivers are arteries of transportation. 174 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Nile and Egypt Historic Relations. — The Greek historian Herodotus (450 b.c.) called Egypt the gift of the Nile. About all of Egypt that pro- duces crops is a narrow green rib- bon from 1 to 10 miles wide, stretching a thousand miles across the brown and yellow desert, and ending in a fertile delta 150 miles broad. Thousands of years be- fore civilized man lived in western Europe, the valley of the Nile was the seat of a powerful and enlightened empire, where lived a remarkable race of builders, engineers, and warriors. Their temples and pyramids have been the wonder of all ages. The Nile Valley was the cradle of one of the world’s oldest civilizations. When we catch the first glimpse of the ancient Egyptians, 6000 years ago, they were even then far advanced. Size and Character. — The Nile, second in length only to the Mississippi-Missouri, is over 4000 miles long. Rising almost on the equator in one of the great lakes of central Africa (Victoria Nyanza), fed by the heavy downpours of the belt of calms and of the Abys- sinian monsoon, the Nile carries such a volume of water that it Fig. 124. — The Nile River system. SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 175 flows 1600 miles across the Sahara without increase from a single tributary. Three great rivers combine to make the Egyp- tian Nile (Fig. 124), namely the White Nile from the equatorial lakes, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara from the mountains of Abyssinia. In the middle course of the river are six series of rapids called cataracts (Fig. 124), between which the river flows with a fall of less than an inch to the mile. The Nile Valley is narrow, rarely over 10 miles in width. The cultivated area, including the entire valley and delta, is about one-fifth that of Illinois (Fig. 125). The Nile Floods. — Of such unusual importance to millions of people are the Nile floods that they deserve more than passing notice. In early summer the river is at its lowest. In June it begins to rise, and during August and September it spreads like a lake over its flood plain ; in late September it is 20 feet above its low-water stage at Assuan ; then, suddenly, it begins to fall, subsid- ing almost as rapidly as it rose. Year after year with wonderful regularity this is repeated. The Egyptians have kept accu- rate records for 3000 years, and these show the average annual rise at Thebes to have been 36 feet. Under the old system of irrigation (and to some extent even now) a difference of six or eight feet in the height of the flood water was a matter of serious importance. If the water rose too high, embankments broke and disaster followed. If it did not rise high enough to overflow the land, there was no crop, and famine followed. In 1877 nearly a million acres of land failed to receive water and there was great suffering among the people. Cause of the Rise and Fall of the Nile. — It is a strange fact that neither of the large branches which join the main river in the stretch south of Khartum supplies any appreciable amount of water to the Nile floods. The flood waters and their load of rich silt do not come from these headwaters, but from the Blue Nile and the Atbara, which are fed from the torrential summer rains in Abys- sinia. Such a volume of water does the Blue Nile pour into the main channel at Khartum that it actually obstructs the flow of the White Nile, temporarily ponding it back into a great lake. When the flood of the Blue Nile subsides, the V'hite Nile is able again to 176 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY send its retarded waters on to Egypt. The supply of water from the lakes and swamps at the headwaters of the White Nile would naturally be quite constant, but this would give most of the val- ley no overflow, and without that there would be no fertile Egypt. Here is an impressive illus- tration of the importance of a single geographic influence in the making of a nation. The Older Method of Irri- gation. — For ages the Egyp- tians irrigated such land as they could by crude methods. Embankments or dikes were built inclosing shallow “ ba- sins ” on the flood plain. When the river rose high enough, it filled the basins with the muddy Nile water, which stood in them for six weeks or more. The mud set- tled to the bottom, and the water soaked deeply into the soil. When the river sub- sided, the surplus water was allowed to drain from the ba- sins back into the river, and as soon as possible seed was sown in the wet ground. This method had two objec- tions : (1) only one crop a year could be secured ; (2) only the land which was over- flowed produced a crop, and the amount of such land va- ried according to the height of the river. Some additional land was irrigated by using crude pumps and water wheels oper- Fig. 125. — (17. iS. Dept, of Agr.) SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 177 ated by men or animals. Thousands of these are still in use, and travelers tell of the dreary groaning chorus of the pumps and wheels as they laboriously lift the water to the thirsty land. The Present System of Irrigation. — Under the direction of the English engineers a great dam 1^ miles long has been built across the Nile at Assuan near the first cataract (Fig. 124). Around the dam is a canal with four locks, enabling boats to pass. Through the dam are 180 openings with gates that can be opened and closed. By means of this dam the excess flood waters, which formerly flowed unused to the sea, are now stored in a great artificial lake that extends nearly 200 miles up the valley of the Nile. In the dry season this water is released, and is directed into canals and carried over the land, enabling the people to raise two or more crops a year. Cotton of excellent quality is the most profitable crop, and Egypt ranks third in the world as a cotton-growing country ; but corn, wheat, barley, and vegetables are also grown in large quantities. Much more ground is now irrigated than formerly, larger crops are grown, the population has nearly doubled, and the country is pros- pering as never before. Other important improvements now under way are directed towards the irrigation of still more land. So pro- ductive are the flood plain and delta of the Nile that, although the area under cultivation is only one-fifth of that of one of our me- dium-sized states, it supports 12,000,000 people. Portions of the delta have 1000 persons to the square mile, the densest agricul- tural population in the world. The Nile as a Waterway. — Excepting at the rapids or “ cata- racts ” the Nile is navigable for 2900 miles. It is still the main ar- tery of traffic, although- paralleled in part by a railroad. Swarms of the peculiar Nile boats, with their odd sails, and a considerable number of steamers navigate the river. The mouths of the river are practically useless for navigation because of sandbars and because of dams built to keep out the sea water and thus to preserve the fresh Nile water for irrigation. Cairo, once of great commer- cial importance, is at the apex of the delta, about 100 miles inland from the sea. Alexandria, the largest city in Africa, is on a spur of solid land at the mouth of one of the distributaries. 178 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 126. - — • A barage, near one of the mouths of the Nile ; by this means, the flow of water is regulated for purposes of irrigation. (17. S. Bur. of Soils.) Man and Nature in Egypt. — The story of Egypt and the Nile illustrates two great principles in the field of geography. The com- plete dependence of 12,000,000 people upon a single, natural phe- nomenon, such as the annual rise of a river, shows the way in which men are sometimes under the domination of their geographic en- vironment. The Nile floods irrigated a strip of desert and it early became the seat of an enlightened empire. The second principle is illustrated by the splendid engineering feat, the building of the Assuan dam and its related devices for controlling and utilizing the floods : an example of man’s conquest of nature ; of his power to subjugate the forces of nature and make them serve him. The Ganges and India Importance of the Ganges in the History of India. — Next to China, India is the most populous country in the world. Here, in an area half the size of the United States, are crowded together nearly twice as many people as live in the whole western hemi- sphere. India has been the home of mankind for thousands of years, and the people have crowded into every province in about as great numbers as the land will support. When we discover that nearly half of India’s great population live in one-fifth of the coun- SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 179 try, we at once suspect that this one-fifth must be a remarkable region ; and such it is, for its soil feeds nearly as many people as live in North and South America combined. This region is the valley of the Ganges River — not one of the long rivers of the world, for it is only half the length of the Missouri. As one cannot think of Egypt without thinking of the Nile, so one cannot think of India apart from the Ganges. This river and its broad flood plain have affected the history of India and the life of its people for centuries. The great civilizations of antiquity grew up on the rich flood plains of Egypt, of Mesopotamia, of India, and of China. The rivers which built these flood plains have entered intimately into the history, the literature, the religion, and the life of the people. The inhabitants depend mainly upon agriculture, and the river whose waters and enriching silt give them their crops soon comes to be almost a god. As the ancient Egyptians worshiped the Nile, so millions of 180 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Hindus worship the. Ganges. Temples and shrines line its banks and hundreds of thousands of people yearly come to bathe in its sacred waters and thus, as they believe, to wash away their sins (Fig. 128). Benares, the most holy of their cities, has over a thousand temples and shrines. All this illustrates how a river Fig. 128. — Thousands of pilgrims seeking an opportunity to bathe in the sacred waters of the Ganges. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) that irrigates and fertilizes a people’s lands may so enter into their affections that they regard it as sacred. Features of the Valley. — The Ganges is fed by the perpetual snows of the Himalayas and by the heavy summer rains of its own valley. The rapid mountain streams which enter the Ganges from the north have brought down a great amount of gravel and finer sediment and have deposited it in the broad valley of the Ganges and Indus, partially filling it and crowding the Ganges southward SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 181 almost to the edge of the valley. This process must have gone on for a long time, for the valley is now filled to a depth of many hun- dreds of feet with the sediment. This is similar to the process by which the Great Valley of California has been filled. The Ganges Fig. 129. — Wheat-growing regions of India. Note the concentration in the fer- tile valley of the upper Ganges. (C7. S. Dept, of Agr.) has thus built a broad and fertile plain, and with the aid of the Brahmaputra, which joins it from the east, is still engaged in ex- tending its delta out into the sea. A low, swampy, tiger-infested jungle reaching 200 miles back from the mouth of the river covers 182 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY this rapidly extending delta. The principal distributary in the delta is the river Hooghly, on which the largest city of India, Cal- cutta, is situated. Agriculture in the Ganges Flood Plain. — Hundreds of thousands of acres of the lowlands are planted to rice, the chief food of the people, and to jute to be exported or used for making cordage and bagging. The farms are tiny, the cultivation intensive, the people poor, and the farm villages almost as numerous as farmhouses in America. In the western half of the Ganges Valley the rainfall is sufficient only for summer crops, and great irrigation works have been constructed by the British Government ; these are among the largest in the world. The soil is soft and warm, and is enriched by the periodical overflows. The amount of food produced is enor- mous, as it has to be to feed the vast population (Fig. 129). No- where else in India is the soil so productive, and it is little won- der that the Hindus regard the river with reverence. Cities, Navigation, Railroads. — The valley is dotted with fa- mous cities, Calcutta, Benares, Agra, Delhi (the present capital), and many more, and is strewn with the ruins of still others. Before the English built their railroads, the Ganges was the great thor- oughfare of India. In 1876—77 it is reported that 178,000 boats passed a certain point on the river. Small boats are still used, but steamers now rarely ascend beyond Calcutta. The valley is traversed by many railroads and the river has yielded its traffic to them. The Yangtze and China Importance. — The Yangtze is the principal river of the most populous country in the world. As a highway of commerce it serves more people than any other river. It is as long as the Mis- sissippi and carries a much greater volume of water. Rising at an altitude of over 10,000 feet in Tibet, the headwaters plunge down a succession of falls and rapids, acquiring great erosive power, and supplying an enormous load of rock waste to be carried out across the lowlands of China for building up the flood plain and delta of SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 183 the Yangtze (Fig. 130). Like the Ganges and the Amazon it is wearing away the mountains and building up the plains. This work of rivers has greatly increased the producing power of the earth, for alluvial plains supply a large proportion of the world’s food. A quarter of the human race lives in China, and the larger part of these are farmer folk tilling little pieces of alluvial land which has been laid down by China’s many rivers, notably the Yangtze and the Hwang. Features of the Yangtze. — At its mouth is a delta of great size ; for 1000 miles above its mouth, the river flows through a plain of its own making, intensively cultivated and teeming with people and dotted with walled towns and cities. Like the lower Mississippi it has built up natural levees along both banks, and in many places the river channel is higher than the general level of the plain through which it flows. It will be recalled that this is common with silt-carrying rivers which periodically flood their valley bot- toms. At Ichang begin the picturesque gorges which the river has cut through the mountain ranges that here rise across its course (Fig. 131). These deep mountain gorges recur for 400 miles through the mountainous belt that separates the plains of eastern and central 184 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY China. In this 400-mile stretch there are said to be 13 important rapids and 72 minor ones. Beyond the gorges (west) lies Sze- chuan, the most productive and populous of the eighteen provinces of China. In this rich interior basin, as large as California, live Fig. 131. — In the gorge of the upper Yangtze River in China. Type of boat used on this river. from 40 to 50 million people, and the only commercial highway between it and the outer world is the Yangtze. The Yangtze as a Highway of Commerce. — China has few rail- ways and the navigable rivers are of utmost importance. Near the mouth of the Yangtze is Shanghai, the chief commercial city of China. Ocean steamships ascend the river 600 miles to the great city of Hankau (often called the Chicago of China), and large river steamers ascend to the rapids, which are navigable mainly by specially built Chinese junks and small boats. The junks carry SIX OP THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 185 50 tons or more of freight. At high water the boats rapidly descend the rapids but the up journey is difficult and dangerous. The boats are laboriously hauled up the rapids by long lines of Chinese coolies, called “ trackers ” (Fig. 132). The largest boats re- quire 200 to 300 men tugging at a bamboo rope a quarter of a mile Fig. 132. — The peculiar Y angtze boats are hauled up the rapids by scores of Chinese called “trackers,” pulling on a bamboo rope that is sometimes a quarter of a mile long. long. Scores of men and boats are lost every year. The labor of the trackers is the most arduous in which any human beings regu- larly engage. For 12 hours a day they labor like draught horses, live on a little rice, and earn a mere pittance. Eight thousand junks and a quarter of a million river men carry on the commerce of the upper Yangtze. In this way, most of the 186 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY merchandise and produce are conveyed in and out of interior China ; and almost the sole avenue for a vast traffic is the Yangtze. No other river means so much to the commerce of a nation as this river means to China. The Yangtze is to be remembered as a type of great river serving as a nation’s main artery of communication. EXERCISE XII 1. Why are the rivers of the Atlantic slope of South America long while those of the Pacific slope are very short? 2. Why does the Amazon carry a great volume of water? 3. Why does its current flow rather slowly? 4. Why is the Amazon basin a jungle? 5. Why has the development of the Mississippi Valley been much more rapid than that of the Amazon? 6. Why is river navigation important on the Amazon but not on the Mississippi ? 7. Why has the valley of the Rhine been for centuries one of the fore- most trade routes of Europe? 8. Why is the Rhine more uniform in volume than many other rivers? 9. Why were the old castles located mainly along the “gorge” portion of the Rhine? 10. Why is the Rhine used more for navigation than any of our American rivers ? 11. Why do coal, ore, grain, and other heavy commodities form the larger part of the Rhine traffic ? 12. Why are rivers used more largely for navigation in Russia than in the United States? 13. Why is the Volga a slow-flowing river? 14. Why is its upstream traffic larger than its downstream? 15. Why is oil used as fuel by the Volga steamers? 16. Why has the Nile no tributaries in its lower course? 17. Why is the Nile of exceptional importance to Egypt? 18. Why does the river rise to such a great height at times of flood? 19. Why is the White Nile of less importance than the Blue Nile? 20. Why was the great dam of Assuan built? 21. Why is the present system of irrigation in the Nile Valley superior to the old system? 22. Why is the Nile flood plain and delta able to support a very large population? 23. Why is the Ganges Valley the most important part of India? 24. Why do the Hindus regard the Ganges as a sacred river? 25. Why does the Ganges receive the larger part of its water and silt from the northern tributaries? 26. Why does the Ganges Valley contain so large a part of the popula- tion of India? SIX OF THE WORLD’S GREAT RIVERS 187 27. Why is the Yangtze of great value to the people of China? 28. Why is human labor very cheap in China? 29. Why is the plain of the Yangtze very fertile? 30. Why is this river building a delta at its mouth? The following places and geographical features are mentioned in the foregoing chapter: what and where is each? Manaos, Nizhni Novgorod, Constance, Benares, Bonn, Moselle, Hooghly, Hankau, Iquitos, Caspian, Mainz, Madeira, Atbara, Para, Agra, Cairo, Hwang, Calcutta, Rotterdam, Alexandria, Delhi, Astrakhan, Assuan, Indus, Cologne, Venice, Himalaya, Peru, Strassburg, Antwerp, Genoa, Elbe, Danube, Seine, Shanghai. CHAPTER X GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST The Glaciers of the Alps Origin and Movement. - The peaks of the Alps are between two and three miles high and at this altitude the snow does not entirely melt during the summer ; each succeeding winter more is added until the piled-up snow in the snow fields becomes deep and heavy. So great is the weight that the snow and ice move slowly down the high mountain valleys in tongues of ice known as mountain gla- ciers or valley glaciers; of these there are nearly 2000 in the Alps alone (Fig. 133). Their motion is like slow flowage, and the rate of movement varies from a few inches to a few feet daily. They flow somewhat more rapidly at the top and middle than at the bottom and sides, where they are retarded by friction. Part way down the valley the end of the tongue of ice gradually melts and feeds some mountain stream. The constant melting of the gla- ciers during the summer tends to keep glacier-fed rivers more steady in their flow than other rivers. The longest glaciers of the Alps are from 5 to 10 miles in length, but most of them are much shorter. In places they are crossed by great open cracks and chasms called crevasses, into which stones fall and become eroding tools at the bottom of the ice. Erosion and Transportation. — In the high mountains ava- lanches frequently plunge down the mountain sides, tearing away loose rock and carrying it down upon the snow fields or glaciers. Fragments of rock, large and small, slide and roll down the moun- tain slopes and are carried along by the moving ice. Valleys in which glaciers have worked for a long time become worn into U-shaped troughs (Fig. 137). Many such troughs are found 188 Fig. 133. — Scene in the high Alps where glaciers are forming. ( Aeroplane photo by Swiss Aviation Service.) 190 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 135. — The black areas represent the largest glaciers of the Alps ; these are superposed upon the Hubbard glacier of Alaska, drawn to the same scale. ( After Martin.) where no glaciers now exist and they tell unmistakably of a period when glaciers oc- cupied these valleys. Terminal Moraines. — As the lower end of the glacier melts, the earth, gravel, stones, and bowlders, mixed in the ice, pile up around the end forming what is known as a terminal moraine. Similar deposits along the sides of glaciers are lateral moraines. Scenery as a Natural Re- source. — The glaciers of the Alps attract thousands of Fig. 136. — A V-shaped valley made by stream erosion. Compare with the gla- ciated, U-shaped valley shown in Fig. 137. ( U . S. Geol. Sur.) GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 191 visitors every year. Excellent carriage and automobile roads have been constructed, and at sightly points hotels have been built. The Alps and their glaciers thus bring millions of dollars to the Fig. 137. — A mountain valley that has been eroded into a U-shape by valley glaciers. (U. S, Geol. Sur.) mountain people every summer. In fact, the scenery of Switzer- land must be counted as one of the little country’s chief resources. Existing Glaciers in North America Alaska. — On the Pacific slope of the Alaskan mountains the snowfall is very heavy, and great numbers of glaciers exist ; these are much larger than the glaciers of the Alps. Hubbard Glacier is 40 miles long and 3 miles wide at its terminus. In Fig. 135 three of the largest Swiss glaciers are compared in size with one of the large Alaskan glaciers, and in Fig. 139 the front of a glacier is shown in comparison with the height of the National Capitol at Washington. 192 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Tidal Glaciers and Icebergs. — Many of the glaciers of Alaska and Greenland reach down to the sea, where great masses break off and float away as icebergs. Such glaciers are known as tidal Fig. 138. — An Alpine glacier formed by the union of tributary glaciers. ( Aero- plane photo by Swiss Aviation Service.) glaciers (Fig. 140). Since ice is nearly as heavy as water, icebergs float with about seven-eighths of their mass below the water and so are very deceptive in appearance. Bergs of enormous size drift southward near Newfoundland and are a menace to Atlantic GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 193 Fig. 139. — Front of the Childs Glacier, Alaska, with the Capitol at Washington drawn to the same scale. {Martin.) Fig. 140. — A tidal glacier in Alaska. The ice slowly advances into the bay un- til it reaches water that is deep enough to float the ice, and then large blocks break off and float away as icebergs. {Martin.) 194 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY steamers (Fig. 141). The great Atlantic liner Titanic struck such a berg in 1912 and sank within a few minutes. Piedmont Glaciers; the Malaspina. — In certain regions such as Alaska, several mountain glaciers, flowing down neighboring val- leys, sometimes unite at the base of the mountains into a broad, low plateau of ice. The Malaspina Glacier in Alaska is such a gla- cier (Fig. 142) ; it has an area of 1500 square miles, which is more Fig. 141.- — -An iceberg from the north floating southward near Newfoundland. These enormous icebergs constitute a menace to shipping in these waters. ( XJ . S. Geol. Sur.) than that of Rhode Island. This glacier remained stationary for a time ; the surface ice melted during the summers and gradually the glacier became covered with soil ; trees and shrubs took root, and a forest 20 to 35 square miles in area grew on the surface of the glacier. The Greenland Ice Cap. — Greenland is four times the size of France ; with the exception of a narrow border near the coast, it is entirely covered by snow and ice, the accumulation of centuries. This plateau of ice has a very slow movement from the middle out- ward toward the sea ; some distance back from the shore the ice GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 195 collects in valleys that fringe the coast and moves down to the sea in the form of valley glaciers. These valleys end in deep bays or fiords where the ice breaks off and floats away as icebergs. It is Fig. 142. — Photograph of a model of Malaspina Glacier on the coast of Alaska. {Model by Martin and Lorenz.) known that the fiords themselves are mainly due to prolonged erosion by the tongues of glacial ice. Other Glaciers in North America. — Glaciers occur in the Canadian Rockies, and still smaller ones in Glacier National Park 196 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY in Montana, and on high peaks in the Cascade Range, and even in Mexico. Glaciers in Other Parts of the World. — There are many valley glaciers in the southern Andes, and also a few small ones near the equator in the Andes and in Africa. There are also glaciers in the Caucasus and Himalaya mountains, in Norway and New Zealand, and in islands of the Arctic Ocean. The continent of Antarctica is covered by the largest ice cap now existing. It is more extensive than Europe, and resembles the Greenland ice cap, but is much larger. Valley Glaciers Once Larger and More Numerous Than Now. — ■ In the Alps, the Caucasus, the Rockies, and elsewhere, glaciers once occupied valleys where there are at present no glaciers, and existing glaciers reached many miles farther down their valleys than they do now. This is known by the moraines which they built and which are now conspicuous features of the valleys where glaciers have been. This and other facts show that valley glaciers in many parts of the world are shrinking, and this would seem to indicate either that the earth’s climate on the whole is slowly be- coming warmer, or that less snow is falling than formerly. Continental Glaciers of the Past Evidences That Glaciers of Great Size Have Existed in North America and Europe ; Lessons from the Alps. — The glaciers of the Alps have been studied for more than a century. Their movement, their power to erode and to carry rock debris, and their habit of de- positing moraines have long been understood. It was noted that the moraines contained various kinds of bowlders and rock frag- ments brought by the ice from higher portions of the mountains. The rock sides and bottoms of valleys in which glaciers had moved were seen to be eroded, and even polished, by the moving ice. Such surfaces are marked by parallel scratches (called striae ) and even by deep grooves running in the direction that the ice moved (Fig. 143), and pebbles in the moraines are often worn and striated (Fig. 144). In short, European geologists had become familiar GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 197 with the signs of former glaciers at the base of the Alps long before they suspected that ice sheets had spread over a third of Europe and nearly half of North America. Discovery of Glacial Evidences in the United States. — About 1850 the Swiss naturalist, Louis Agassiz (ag'a-see), who had come to the United States, noticed here bowlders, moraines, and strife that looked like those left by glaciers in the Alps. He announced his belief that there had sometime been glaciers in parts of the Fig. 143.- — -Rock surface polished and grooved by glacial erosion. ( U . S. Geol. Sur.) United States. Many scientists could not believe it, and fanciful theories were invented to account for these bowlders and moraines. But every year more evidence was discovered, all leading unmistak- ably to the conclusion that a great continental ice sheet must have once spread over Canada and the northern United States. Nature of These Evidences. Glacial Boiclders or Erratics. — In most parts of our northeastern and north central states one may find bowlders of many different kinds of rock, some of which are entirely unlike the bed rock found in the region ; they are called erratics, meaning icanderers. Sometimes they are of enormous 198 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY size (Fig. 145). In parts of New England they are so numerous as to interfere seriously with farming, while in parts of Illinois scarcely one can be found. In some instances these bowlders have been traced back to rock-ledges from which they were plucked by the glacier, these ledges being at times hundreds of miles to the north or north- east. Strice. — Frequently when a covering of earth is removed, the surface of the under- lying rock is found to be marked by parallel scratches and grooves, showing that glaciers have moved over them and also showing the direction of their movement (Fig. 143). Moraines . — When detailed maps of our northern states were made, ranges of hills, composed of sand, gravel, clay, and bowlders, were found to extend for miles across the country. These proved to be terminal moraines, built up of materials brought by glaciers and deposited when the ice melted. One may see this taking place now in the Alps or in Alaska on a smaller scale. These and other evidences carefully studied for a half century so completely prove the former existence of a great continental ice sheet in North America that we are as sure of the fact as if we had actually seen the glacier itself. Extent of the North American Ice Sheet. — During the Glacial Period or Ice Age, this continental glacier spread outward from two principal centers, one in Labrador and one west of Hudson Bay (Fig. 146). It appears that at these places the greatest amount of Fig. 144. — Glacial bowlder, showing a polished and striated face due to glacial erosion. ( U . S. Geol. Sur.) GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 199 Fig. 145. ■ — - A glacial bowlder of large size left by the glacier in northern New Jersey. ( Salisbury .) snow accumulated, reaching a depth of thousands of feet. The weight or pressure became so great that, as in Greenland at present, the whole body of snow took on a slow movement, mainly toward the south, and was not stopped until it reached a region where the southern climate melted it. At the same time that the great depth of snow was collecting at these centers, valley glaciers were forming in all of the higher mountains of the northern half of the continent. The glacial ice pushed as far south as Pennsylvania, the Ohio River, and the Missouri River, covering the highest peaks of the Adiron- dacks and the New England mountains. In southwestern Wiscon- sin, extending a little into Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois, there is an area of about 15,000 square miles which, for some reason, was not covered by the glacier ; it is known as the Driftless Area (Figs. 146a and 146b). The European Ice Sheet. — Another continental glacier spread southward from the north of Europe as far as central Russia, central Germany, and southern England (Fig. 147). 200 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 146a. — A map showing the centers from which the glacial ice moved in the last glacial period, and the maximum extension of the ice sheet. ( After Tarr and Martin.) GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 201 Fig. 146b. — The white area in the northeast represents the southern portion of the ice sheet of the last glacial epoch (the Wisconsin). The dark area reaching somewhat farther southward represents the more advanced position of the ice sheet in earlier glacial epochs. ( Photo and Model by Howell , Wash., D. C.) 202 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Changes Made by Continental Glaciers Erosion. — The slowly moving ice plowed its way over hills and mountains, through valleys and over plains. Loose rocks and soil became mixed with the ice and were also carried along. Project- ing ledges of rock were plucked and worn away; hill-tops and mountain-tops were partially rounded off, and some valleys were considerably eroded (Fig. 137). The large features of the land, however, such as the highest hills, the mountains, and the main valleys, were changed only in minor details. Glacial Deposits Glacial Drift. — In parts of Canada and New England the glaciers scraped off much of the soil and carried it southward, causing serious loss to these regions ; but the area south of the Great Lakes, and other regions where there was deposition rather than removal, received large deposits of glacial drift, as the ice-carried GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 203 Fig. 148. — The hummocky hills of a terminal moraine in Illinois. ({7. S. Bur. of Soils.) debris is called. In some places former valleys were entirely filled and streams were compelled to find new courses. Terminal moraines were heaped up along the margin of the ice, marking places where the front of the glacier stood for a consider- able time, melting along the front as fast as the ice moved up from behind (Fig. 148). As the ice melted it dropped the rock and earth which it carried, and in the course of time built up morainic hills, often a hundred feet or more in height, in belts several miles wide, and extending for scores or even hundreds of miles in length (Fig. 148). The front of the glacier was a series of lobes which projected forward in the valleys and lowlands. We can now tell where the ice lobes were by the great loops of moraine which mark their former positions (Fig. 149). Each terminal moraine marks a place where the front of the glacier stood for a long time during its intermittent retreat toward the north at the close of the Ice Age. The Ground Moraine. — At other times the front of the glacier melted or receded rather steadily, pausing nowhere long enough 204 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY to heap up terminal moraines ; instead, the glacial drift laid down by the melting ice was spread somewhat unevenly over the surface in what is called a till sheet or ground moraine (Fig. 150). In places this is only a few inches or a few feet deep, but may be all the way up to a few hundred feet deep, as in the states from Ohio west- ward to the Missouri River ; these glacial plains are one cause of the agricultural ex- cellence of the north central states. Outwash Plains. — As the glacier, with its included load of rock waste, melted, it yielded a great amount of water which flowed away from the ice, and, where the land sloped away from the glacier, built outwash -plains. These differ from ground moraine in being made of water-sorted material (sand, clay, and gravel) roughly stratified and nearly level. The total area covered by outwash plains in the United States amounts to many thousands of square miles. Streams Obstructed. — Both the terminal moraine and the ground moraine seriously obstructed the former courses of streams. In some cases rivers were forced to reverse the direction of their flow ; in others they were forced to wind in and out among the mo- rainic hills in entirely new courses, giving rise to rapids and falls. Fig. 149. — Map showing the position of one of the lobes of the glacier that invaded Wisconsin. The arrows indicate the direction of the movement of the glacial ice. ( Alden , U. S. Geol. Sur.) GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 205 Lakes Due to Glaciers. — The heaps of moraine dumped in the valleys by the glaciers act as dams ; the streams are thus ob- structed, and lakes are produced (Fig. 151). This is the commonest cause of lakes, and in most regions where glaciers have existed, lakes are numerous. The beautiful lakes of Switzerland, Scotland, and England are mainly due to glaciers. There are many thousands of these in Finland, Sweden, and Canada; New England is dotted Fig. 150. — Type of gently rolling ground moraine in southern Wisconsin; ex- cellent farm land. ( XJ . S. Bur. of Soils.) with them. The beautiful lakes of New York, New Jersey, Wis- consin, and Minnesota are of the same origin. Some of these bodies of water occupy rock basins which were eroded or scoured out by the glacier, but a much greater number are due to the damming of streams by moraines. The Great Lakes. — The five Great Lakes, lying along the Canadian border, are due to glacial work. They occupy old river basins which have been eroded and deepened by the ice lobes that 206 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY moved through them, while masses of moraine form low dams across the basins. Swamps. — The obstruction of streams by glacial deposits also caused many swamps or marshes. These are more or less numer- ous over the entire glaciated area, and in all cover millions of acres. who seek rest and enjoyment and who bring into the region a large sum of money. As sources of ice, fish, and water for cities these lakes have an annual value of millions of dollars. Our chain of Great Lakes, forming the greatest inland water way in the world, has already been discussed in Chapter VIII. Waterfalls. — It is safe to say that nine-tenths of the water- falls in the glaciated area of the United States would not exist if glaciers had not interfered with the former courses of the streams. Glacial drift fills or partly fills many of the preglacial valleys, and streams are forced to flow in new and ungraded channels. Here and there these streams plunge over rock-ledges, and waterfalls are produced. At such places, water power is available and leads to important industries. Niagara Falls, the falls at Minneapolis, at Rochester, N. Y., at Paterson, N. J., and at hundreds of other Many of the shal- lowest glacial lakes have become filled with sediment and vegetation and now are merely swamps. Fig. 151. — Hundreds of glacial lakes in northern Wisconsin. (Wis. Geol. Sur.) The Value of Lakes. — The lakes of our northern states are a large asset. Their shores are de- lightful places for homes, summer cot- tages and hotels, and sanitariums. They attract ever increas- ing numbers of people GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 207 places in New England, New York, Wisconsin, and elsewhere, are due to changes caused by glaciers. Glacial Soil. — In much of New England and eastern Canada the glacier removed the original soil and left large areas strewn with bowlders ; in general this proved an injury to agriculture. But in the upper Missis- sippi Valley the wide stretches of glacial plains form one of the garden spots of the earth. Investigations in the states of Wiscon- sin, Illinois, and Ohio lead to the belief that agriculture in these states benefits yearly to the extent of mil- lions of dollars through the smoothing of the topography due to glacial deposits (Fig. 150). Temporary Lakes of the Glacial Period A portion of Minne- sota and the Dakotas and most of central Canada slopes toward the north, and the rivers flow in that general direction. Since the glaciers came from the north and northeast, and melted back from the south toward the north, the ice formed temporary dams in the valleys of these north-flowing rivers and thus lakes were formed. One of the largest of these, known as Lake Agassiz, covered an area greater than that covered by all of the five Great Lakes together (Fig. 152). It occupied the valley of the Red River of the North, and while it lasted, drained southward through the Minnesota River into the Mississippi. When the ice dam had melted away, the lake drained northward into Hudson Bay and Fig. 152. - — Map showing part of the glacial ice sheet as it was melting away at the close of the Glacial Period. The front of the ice formed a dam that produced a lake of great size (Lake Agassiz) which had its outlet southward through the Min- nesota River. Lake Winnipeg is a remnant of that glacial lake. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) 208 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY shrank to what is now Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. The fine silt which this lake deposited over its bed now constitutes very rich soil over an almost perfectly level plain. Various Stages of the Great Lakes. — When the glacial lobes were slowly melting from the basins now occupied by the Great Fig. 153. — Map of Great Lakes region during the retreat of the glacier. Note the various outlets of the lakes. ( After Taylor and Leverett.) Lakes, marginal lakes of varying sizes occupied the southern and western portions of the lake basins. In an early stage each of these marginal lakes had its own outlet into the Mississippi (Fig. 153). At a much later stage (Fig. 154) they drained eastward by way of the Mohawk-Hudson Valley. Between these stages many differ- ent outlets were used. Epochs of the Glacial Period. — Careful study of glacial deposits shows that the last Ice Age had several epochs of cold climate alternating with epochs of warm climate ; during the latter the ice- front withdrew toward the north and remained for many thousands of years. These warmer epochs are referred to as interglacial ; periods . It is possible that we are now living in an interglacial period, and that thousands of years hence our northern states may again be buried beneath a great ice sheet. Very Ancient Glacial Periods. — The Glacial Period of which we have been speaking occurred in a recent geological age. It is often GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 209 spoken of as having occurred but yesterday. This was only one of many glacial periods that have come and gone during the long ages of the past. Glacial bowlders, glacial striae, and consolidated glacial drift are found in rocks of great age in Brazil, South Africa, India, Australia, Canada, Scandinavia, and elsewhere. It is clear Fig. 154. — - Map of the Great Lakes region at a later stage than that shown in Fig. 153. Compare the outlets of the lakes in the two maps. , ( After Taylor and Leverett.) that the climate of the earth undergoes great changes and that glacial periods have occurred time after time throughout the past. Summary Glaciers occur wherever the amount of snow which falls each year in the mountains is greater than the amount which melts. In these regions snow accumulates and is compressed into ice, which flows slowly down the mountain valleys. The rate of flow is usually a few inches or, at the most, a few feet a day. Loose rocks fall upon the glaciers or are plucked from ledges along the route, and some of these rocks, firmly frozen in the bottom of the glacier, act as tools for eroding the valley down which the ice is moving. Where the ice melts terminal moraines are built. There are hundreds of valley glaciers, mostly small ones, in the 210 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Alps. Alaska has still more and larger valley glaciers, many of which move down to the bays and fiords and break off to form icebergs. The fiords of Alaska, Norway, and other regions are mainly due to prolonged glacial erosion. Nearly all of the lofty mountain ranges, even in the tropics, have valley glaciers. Green- land and the Antarctic Continent have slowly moving ice caps covering almost their entire surface. During the last 60 or 70 years complete proof of the presence of former glaciers of great size in North America and Europe has been established through the evidences of glacial striae, erratics, moraines, etc. The European ice sheet, with its principal center in Scandinavia, reached as far south as southern England, Ger- many, and central Russia. In North America the principal centers from which the glaciers moved were in Labrador and in Canada just west of Hudson Bay. The ice sheet extended as far south as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Ohio River, and the Missouri River. In places the glaciers eroded the land con- siderably, carrying away the soil, rounding off the tops of hills and mountains, and deepening valleys. In our north central states a great amount of glacial drift was deposited in the form of terminal and ground moraines and glacial outwash. South of the Great Lakes the drift is scores and even hundreds of feet deep in places. The glacial deposits have greatly interfered with the courses of streams, causing lakes, swamps, rapids, and falls. The glacial plains of the north central states are among our finest agri- cultural lands. Temporary lakes occurred in places along the southern bor- der of the retreating ice sheet ; one of these, Lake Agassiz, as large as all the Great Lakes together, occupied the basin of the Red River of the North. There were alternating periods of advance and retreat of the ice front, giving several glacial and interglacial epochs, each thousands of years long. The last glacial period came to a close in a recent geological age, perhaps not over 30,000 years ago. It was one of many such periods which have occurred at intervals during the history of the earth. GLACIERS PRESENT AND PAST 211 EXERCISE XIII Explain the meaning of each of the following terms : 1 . Snow field 8. Glacial erosion 15. Outwash plain 2. Valley glacier 9. Continental glacier 16. Preglacial 3. Terminal moraine 10. Striae 17. Interglacial 4. Crevasse 11. Erratics 18. Postglacial 5. Tidal glacier 12. Glacial Period 19. Ice Age 6. Piedmont glacier 13. Glacial drift 20. Glacial till 7. Ice cap 14. Ground moraine EXERCISE XIV 1. How are glacial striae made? 2. How are terminal moraines built? 3. How did the continental glacier bring lakes into existence? 4. How did the continental glacier benefit parts of North America? 5. How did it injure other parts? 6. How did it cause waterfalls and rapids? 7. How did it cause swamps ? 8. How are outwash plains formed ? 9. How fast do glaciers move? 10. How do we know that there have been several ice ages in the past? 11. How was glacial Lake Agassiz caused ? Where was it? How large? 12. How has Lake Agassiz proved a benefit to the territory that it covered? 13. How are most icebergs formed ? 14. How did the Glacial Period benefit (a) present day agriculture ? ( b ) pres- ent day manufacturing ? EXERCISE XV 1. Why do glaciers exist in some mountains but not in others? 2. Why do the glaciers of the Alps move faster in summer than in win- ter? 3. Why are glacier-fed rivers more uniform in their flow than most other rivers ? 4. Why does glacial ice usually contain more or less rock waste ? 5. Why do glaciated regions usually have a variety of soils? 6. Why does Alaska have more glaciers than British Columbia or Wash- ington ? 7. Why do the glaciers of Alaska extend down the mountain valleys to lower levels than those of the Alps ? 8. Why is the Greenland glacier called an ice cap? 9. Why may glaciers exist even in the torrid zone? 212 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 10. Why do we believe that the climate of the earth as a whole is grow- ing warmer rather than cooler ? 11. Why did Agassiz decide that glaciers had covered portions of North America which now have no glaciers? 12. Why are there more lakes in glaciated regions than elsewhere? 13. Why are falls and rapids numerous in the rivers of glaciated regions? 14. Why did the continental glaciers of Europe and North America move for the most part in a southerly direction? 15. Why may the scenery of Switzerland be considered one of the natural resources of that country? CHAPTER XI SURFACE CHANGES PRODUCED FROM WITHIN The Continents and the Ocean Basins. The continents are large masses of the earth’s crust which rise above the level of the sea, yet none of the continents is wholly above sea level. All of them have borders, called continental shelves, which are covered by shal- low ocean water ; thus the continents are larger than they appear on the map. At the seaward edge of the continental shelves the ocean floor slopes downward somewhat abruptly to the ocean depths. The ocean basins are believed to be portions of the crust that have settled ; in sinking they have pressed with great force against the margins of the continents, forcing up portions of the crust to form mountains and plateaus. Observed Movements of the Earth’s Crust. — Most of the up- ward or downward movements of the earth’s crust are very slow, but in some instances the change of level is rapid ; for example, in an Alaskan earthquake (in 1899) a portion of the coast rose 47 feet, while a near-by portion settled several feet. There are abundant records of slower movements ; for example, in northern Sweden, in the Bay of Naples, and in the island of Crete in the Mediterranean. On the coasts of Labrador, of California, of Peru, and in many other places, old shore lines are now scores or hundreds of feet above the present sea level. So common is this rising or sinking that almost every coast bears evidence of it. Condition of the Earth’s Interior. — Volcanoes, geysers, and hot springs show that below the crust of the earth, in certain places, at least, there is great heat. Well-borings and deep mines reveal an average increase of heat of 1° F. for each 50 or 60 feet of descent. Not long ago people believed the interior of the earth to be com- posed of molten or liquefied rock. Although the deep-seated rocks 213 214 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY are very hot, recent investigations prove that the interior of the earth is solid and is more rigid than a globe of steel ; nevertheless, there are places where the rocks are melted and come to the surface as lava. Earthquakes Earthquakes Very Common. — If every earthquake were known and reported, we should find that they are of almost constant occur- rence at one place or another. It is estimated that an average of nearly 100 earthquakes, which would be perceptible to our senses, occur daily. Most of these, and many still weaker tremors, are known only through the records made by instruments which auto- Fig. 155. — Ruins of the gymnasium of Stanford University after the earthquake of 1906. {U . S. Geol. Sur.) matically record even slight movements of the crust. Occasion- ally there are shocks of great violence, and when the latter occur in the neighborhood of cities, heavy loss of property and life results. Such earthquakes are among nature’s most frightful phenomena. SURFACE CHANGES PRODUCED FROM WITHIN 215 Examples of Destructive Earthquakes. — San Francisco had an earthquake in 1906, which in itself did serious damage (Figs. 155, 156). The loss from fire was, however, still greater, for the broken water mains prevented the effective fighting of fire, which gained such headway that it destroyed about 25,000 buildings. The Charleston earthquake of 1886 is thus de- scribed: “Strange noises were heard and slight tremors were felt before the earth- quake, notably on August 27 and 28. Just before ten o’clock at night on the 31st a rumbling sound was heard, increasing to a great roar, and the shaking became vio- lent. There was a second violent shock a few minutes after- wards, and a number of aftershocks of lesser violence. The earth- quake Wav e spread at p IG — Effect of an earthquake upon the rails the rate of 150 miles a and paving of a city street. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) minute, and was felt in many states; 14,000 chimneys were thrown down and 27 persons were killed.” The terrible Lisbon earthquake of 1755 is reported to have caused the death of 60,000 people in six minutes. Southern Italy has had repeated earthquakes of ter- rible destructiveness; the one at Messina in 1908 caused the loss of 100,000 lives. Japan is subject to daily earthquakes, having 216 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY an average of 1 400 recorded tremors and shocks a year ; most of them are light, yet 223 very destructive shocks are known to have occurred in that country in the last 1500 years. Causes of Earthquakes. — The earth is still in the making; be- cause of the slow contraction due to the loss of heat and other Fig. 157. — The fence- — -formerly continuous — was offset 8-!,- feet by the Cali- fornia earthquake of 1906. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) causes, the rocks of the earth’s surface are constantly under great stress, so great that at times they break along some plane of weak- ness and one side is forced violently up or down or sidewise (Fig. 157). The displacement varies in amount from a few inches to many feet, and may occur along a line scores of miles in length. SURFACE CHANGES PRODUCED FROM WITHIN 217 This breaking of the rocks under stress is the chief cause of earth- quakes, but there are minor causes of small importance, such as avalanches, the falling in of the roofs of caves, and the discharge of explosives. Movement of Earthquake Waves. — Owing to the great pressure upon the deep-seated rocks, only those rocks near the surface are able to break and slip, and thus to produce a tremor or quake. At great depths the rocks flow rather than fracture. Directly over the line along which the fracturing of rock occurs, the shock sets up “waves,” or vibrations in the earth’s crust, and these have a nearly up-and- down movement which is very destructive, but as the waves spread outward from the place of origin, they become less and less dangerous. The waves thus started pass both around the earth and through it, accomplishing the latter in about 20 minutes. The great velocity with which these waves travel through the earth is one of the evidences that the earth’s interior is solid. The Principal Earthquake Zones. — Both earthquakes and volcanoes are most common in regions of young, growing moun- tains, where rock stresses are great. Such mountains nearly encircle the Pacific Ocean. The Mediterranean Sea and the East and West Indies are also regions of frequent earthquakes (Fig. 165). Fig. 158. — Fissures in the earth opened by the California earthquake of 1906. ( XJ . S. Geol. Sur.) 218 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 159. — Ropy lava and cinder cone at the su mmi t, of Mt. Vesuvius, 1872. SURFACE CHANGES PRODUCED FROM WITHIN 219 Summary Earthquakes occur at frequent intervals somewhere in the earth, but most of them do little harm ; occasionally one of unusual violence occurs near a city and causes great loss of property and life. Earthquake waves travel very rapidly, passing through the earth in about 20 minutes. Japan has an average of 1400 recorded quakes a year, but most of them are of slight force. Earthquake shocks and tremors are due chiefly to fracturing and slipping of bodies of rock at or near the surface of the earth, and are most frequent in regions of young, growing mountains such as those which nearly encircle the Pacific Ocean, or those in the south of Europe, in the East Indies, and in the West Indies. Volcanoes Two Types of Volcanoes. — In the quiet type of volcanoes, such as those of the Hawaiian Islands, lava rises in the throat of the crater and from time to time spills over the rim or breaks through the side and flows slowly away in a thick, sluggish stream, cooling as it flows (Fig. 159). Volcanic cones built up in this way are broad in proportion to their height. In the explosive type, the volcano may slumber for a long time, perhaps for centuries as in the case of Vesuvius ; then rumblings are heard, steam issues from the crater, and soon a terrific explosion occurs. Steam, ash, cinders, and pieces of volcanic rock are hurled into the air and fall in a shower upon the surrounding country (Fig. 159). This explosion is usually, though not always, followed by the outpouring of lava. Sometimes clouds of suffocating gases pour from the crater and settle over the surrounding country, de- stroying every living thing. In the eruption of Mt. Pelee on the border of the Caribbean Sea (1902) every person, except one, in the near-by city of St. Pierre was killed. Famous Volcanoes. — ■ Of the 400 to 500 active volcanoes on the earth a few have become famous. Vesuvius (Fig. 160), by the Bay of Naples, has had several outbursts of great violence, one of them 220 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY burying the fine old Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the year 79 a.d. Etna on the island of Sicily near Italy, and Stromboli near by, are also historic volcanoes. Krakatoa, on an island southeast of Asia, had (in 1883) one of the most terrific ex- plosions ever known ; windows were broken a hundred miles away ; half of the island was hurled into the air, and water 1000 feet deep now occupies the place where this half of the island was. The Fig. 160. - — Mt. Vesuvius in eruption in 1872. wave occasioned by the explosion swept over the ocean to the far- off coasts of Africa, Australia, and California ; dust from the vol- cano was carried by high air currents entirely around the earth, and some of it continued to float for more than two years. Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Ivilauea are widely known vol- canoes in the Hawaiian Islands. Many of the loftiest peaks of South America, of Mexico, and of western North America, such as Mt. Shasta, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Rainier, are volcanic cones (Fig. 161). The towering cone of Mt. Fujiyama in Japan, which ap- pears in many Japanese pictures, is almost a national idol. Fissure Eruptions. — At different times in the past enormous quantities of lava have risen through fissures, or vents in the crust SURFACE CHANGES PRODUCED FROM WITHIN 221 Fiq. 161. — The lofty volcanic cone of Mt. Shasta in northern California. (© by Waters.) Fis. 162. — Lava from Volcano Sakurazima, Japan, flowing into the sea (1916). 222 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY of the earth, and have spread over the surrounding country in a lake of molten rock. In the basin of the Columbia and Snake Fig. 163. - — Canon of the Snake River in Idaho where the river has cut a deep gorge in the lava plateau. The layers showing successive flow of lava, are plainly visible. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) rivers in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and northern California, out- pourings of this kind have taken place repeatedly in past ages. SURFACE CHANGES PRODUCED FROM WITHIN 223 The different beds of lava formed by the successive outflows hard- ened into rock and now lie one upon the other, in some places at- taining a total depth of 4000 feet (Fig. 163). Hills and mountains were buried in the lava and their tops now rise above it like islands. This plateau of igneous rock extends over an area of more than 200,000 square miles (Fig. 164). Iceland, the peninsula of India, Fig. 164. — The great lava plateau of the Columbia and Snake river basin. (U . S. Geol. Sur. Bulletin 611 .) the north of Ireland, and several other regions have had similar lava flows. The soil which is formed by the decay of this lava is often very productive. Causes of Volcanoes. — These are not well understood, but the following points appear to be true: (1) that the interior of the earth is not liquid, but that (2) there are places where, for some 224 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY" cause, reservoirs or huge pockets of molten rock exist ; (3) that this molten rock is squeezed upward through vents by the great weight of solid rock above it, causing the quiet type of volcano and the great outflows of lava through fissures ; (4) that the explosive vol- canoes are due either to steam produced by water coming in con- Fig. 165.- — Distribution of volcanoes, shown by the shaded areas; dots indi- cate the locations of some of the active or recently extinct volcanoes. tact with heated rocks below the surface, or, more likely, to ; steam and other vapors contained in the lava itself. Distribution of Volcanoes. — The volcanic belts of the earth coincide closely with the earthquake belts (Fig. 165). Volcanoes, both active and extinct, are numerous in a zone around the Pacific Ocean. They also occur in the Mediterranean region, in the West Indies, in the East Indies, Iceland, East Africa, and on many scat- tered islands ; in fact, about two-thirds of the active volcanoes are on islands. Many of these are regions of growing mountains. Volcanic cones frequently rise from the sea bottom, building up volcanic islands, such as the Hawaiian group and many others in the Pacific. Regions of old mountains and the interiors of conti- SURFACE CHANGES PRODUCED FROM WITHIN 225 nents are relatively free from active volcanoes. Only one volcano in the United States has been active since white men came to America, Lassen Peak in California, which erupted in 1915. Summary Volcanoes of the quiet type, such as those of the Hawaiian Islands, from time to time pour forth lava which spreads out and builds up broad, gently sloping cones. These and the great out- flows from fissures seem to be due to the squeezing upward of lava, perhaps caused by the pressure of the overlying rocks. Volcanoes of the explosive type are alternately quiescent and active. These are treacherous and dangerous; they sometimes blot out entire cities by the showers of ashes and cinders and the clouds of suffo- cating gases which they emit. The cones built by such volcanoes are usually high and pointed and form some of the loftiest peaks in the world. In several parts of the earth lava has risen through fissures, has spread over thousands of square miles, and has built up lava plateaus such as the Columbia River Plateau and the “Deccan” of India. The cause of explosive volcanoes is not well understood but seems to be connected with steam and other vapors confined in the lava. A great volcanic belt nearly encircles the Pacific Ocean. There are volcanoes on the margins of other con- tinents and on islands, but not many in the interiors of continents. EXERCISE XVI 1. What is a “continental shelf”? 2. Explain why the continents are larger than they appear on an ordi- nary map. 3. To what are the ocean basins due? 4. Cite examples of rising and sinking coasts. Are such movements of the land common ? 5. What are the evidences that the interior of the earth is hot? Is it thought to be in a molten condition ? 6. Comment on the frequency and violence of earthquakes. 7. Give examples of severe earthquakes and of the extent of their de- structiveness. 8. What is the probable cause of earthquakes? 226 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 9. Why do the movements that produce earthquakes occur only in the rocks near the surface of the earth? 10. Describe the movements of earthquake waves. 11. Where are the principal earthquake zones? 12. What are the two types of volcanoes and what are their chief differ- ences? 13. Name and locate several volcanoes, (a) outside the United States, (b) in the United States. 14. What are fissure eruptions? Name regions in which extensive ones have occurred. 15. What are the suggested causes of volcanoes? 16. Where are the principal regions of volcanic activity? 17. On a wall map or other map point out the following places or geo- graphical features mentioned in the. chapter: Alaska, Naples, Peru, Sweden, Japan, San Francisco, Charleston, Lisbon, Messina, East Indies, West In- dies, Caribbean Sea, Vesuvius, Island of Sicily, Mt. Etna, Hawaiian Islands, Mt. Shasta, Columbia River Plateau, Iceland, India. CHAPTER XII SURFACE FEATURES OF THE LAND; THEIR ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE The major features of the land are 1. Mountains 2. Plateaus 3. Plains Hills and Mountains. — In a comparatively level region the people sometimes call an elevation a few hundred feet high a Fig. 166. — • Intensely folded rocks in one of the mountains of Alaska. Such folding is frequent in mountain structures. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) mountain, while in some other region a much higher elevation is called a hill. The so-called Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts attain a height of over 2000 feet, and the Black Hills in South Dakota and Wyoming rise to over 7000 feet. However, the word hill is usually applied to a low elevation, while the word mountain is applied to an 227 228 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY elevation measured in thousands of feet and having a small area at the top. Origin of Mountain Ranges. — Mountain ranges may be thought of as wrinkles in the earth’s crust due to the shrinking, or contract- ing, of the interior. The contracting has sometimes been attrib- uted to cooling, but this is probably not the only cause, and possi- bly not the chief cause. At any rate our globe has undergone a slight shrinking and this has compelled the outer shell to wrinkle. Volcanic Activity in Mountains. — Volcanoes are not confined to mountainous regions, for they are found also in the ocean ; but Fig. 167. — Cross section of folded mountains in Montana. The crests of the folds have been worn away by weathering and erosion. ( U . S. Geol. Sur. Bul- letin 611.) they most commonly occur in regions of young mountains. Here the crust of the earth is much fractured, giving opportunity for the escape of lava. Here movements of the crust are taking place, tremendous pressure and great heat are developed, and other con- ditions favorable to volcanic activity exist. Many of the loftiest peaks in the younger mountain ranges are volcanic cones. Mountains the Skeletons of the Continents. — The shape of a continent is much influenced by the direction and length of its fhountain ranges, as may be seen in relief maps. The moun- tain skeleton of South America, for example, consists of one long, continuous system (the Andes) along the west coast, and a plateau with short ranges in eastern Brazil, and another in Venezuela at the FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 229 north. The broad areas between these mountains are plains made of the sediments carried down from the mountains. The shape of South America is very closely determined by its mountains. Europe has many ranges and spurs extending in various directions ; one range forms the backbone of Scandinavia ; another forms Italy ; a mountainous plateau makes the Iberian peninsula ; the Balkan peninsula is due to ranges and spurs extend- Fig. 168. — Weathering of igneous rocks at high altitudes. Note the accumula- tion of weathered material on the slopes. ( U. S. Geol. Sur.) ing southward ; and the British Isles were formerly a partially mountainous peninsula projecting from the continent. Most large peninsulas are due to mountain ranges or plateaus, but there are exceptions, such as Florida. The Sculpturing of Mountains. — As soon as a part of the earth’s crust rises above the surrounding level, it is attacked by the agents of weathering and erosion. The uplifting of the rocks fractures them, and the weathering agents and the mountain streams ply 230 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 169. — Type of old, well-rounded mountains of the southern Appalachians in North Carolina. (U . S. Geol. Sur.) FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 231 their destructive work to better advantage. The loosened portions of rock creep or slide or are washed down the slopes, and the face of the rock is exposed anew to the weather (Fig. 168). Thus, moun- tains are denuded much more rapidly than plains because their steeper slopes are not able to retain a covering of soil and vegeta- tion to protect them from further attacks of the weather. Mountain Peaks and Passes. — Mountain peaks (which are not due to volcanoes) are resistant portions of the ranges. Wherever Fig. 170. — Gracefully rounded mountains and rocky land characteristic of parts of New England. ( Courtesy of B. and M. R. R.) the mountain is much fractured, the air, water, frost, roots of trees, and other agents of waste work most effectively, and in such places notches and, possibly, passes are made, leaving the more solid and resistant rock standing up in the form of peaks (Fig. 167). In the notches, streams may head, and flow in opposite directions, and by their headwater erosion they may still further lower the notch, un- til it becomes a pass across the range. Such a pass may be used by a railroad in crossing the mountains. Most of the wild scenery of the mountains arises from this work of weather, ice, and water eat- 232 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 1/1. The broad plain in the foreground (Silverton, Colo.) is partly due to the deposition of sediments eroded from the mountains. The fan-like form of the deposits is evident. (JJ . S. Geol. Sur.) FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 233 ing away portions of the rocks and leaving other portions towering upward as peaks, domes, and spires (Figs. 168, 169). Old and Young Mountains. — In their youth, mountains become sculptured, as described in the preceding paragraph. Sharp peaks, steep slopes, jagged cliffs, and narrow gorges characterize most young mountains ; but with the passing of time the notches and valleys broaden, the slopes become less and less steep, and the peaks are rounded off (Fig. 170). If, during this process, the region is not uplifted, and the denudation continues for a great length of time, the highland will be worn down to a rolling plain. Such a surface is called a peneplain, meaning “almost a plain.” The Blue Ridge and the mountains of New England, for example, are low, round-topped, and billowy (Fig. 169), because they are very old, while the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas, the Alps and Himalayas, with their sharp peaks, deep gorges, and precipitous cliffs are relatively young (Fig. 168). The Influence of Mountains on Man and His Activities • Altitude and Temperature. — On an average, temperature di- minishes one degree for each 330 feet of ascent ; thus, an ascent of a mile in the torrid zone, for example, becomes equivalent to travel- ing poleward 800 to 1000 miles. At high altitudes the atmosphere is thin, and whatever heat the land receives from the sun is rapidly radiated back into the air and out into space, so that the highest peaks are cold and snow-capped the year round, even in the torrid zone. Because of their elevation, plateaus within the tropics are cool, and people find them agreeable places in which to live. In Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, the capital cities and most of the other cities are built at altitudes of from five to eight thousand feet above the sea. In India the English officials, merchants, and others who are able to do so, go to the mountains during the hot summer, and even the capital or seat of government is temporarily moved there. The same prac- tice is followed by many Americans in the Philippines and by the Dutch in Java. In short, it is only by taking advantage of the Fig- 172. — A young valley (New River, West Virginia), eroded in the Allegheny plateau. Note the V-shape of the valley and the even sky-line formed by the top of the plateau. ( U. S. Gaol. Sur .) FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 235 coolness of the mountains and plateaus that white people living in the tropics can retain health and vigor. Rainfall and Agriculture. — Winds blowing over mountains are forced to rise ; this air expands and becomes cooled, and conse- quently has to precipitate most of its moisture on the windward side (Fig. 206). For example, the rainfall on the west slope of the Cascade Mountains in Washington is several times as great as the average for the half of the state lying east of these mountains. By their direct and indirect effects the mountains of western United States render nearly 500,000,000 acres of our country unfit for ag- riculture ; this region, four times the area of France, has a popula- tion of less than 5,000,000. Erosion and Overloading of Streams. — As previously explained, weathering and stream erosion go on rapidly in mountains. The streams become heavily loaded with rock waste (Fig. 171), which they carry to the chief rivers, overburdening them, silting up their channels to the injury of navigation, and increasing the danger of floods. The Platte, Arkansas, and Missouri, heading in the Rocky Mountains, carry such enormous loads of silt that they are of scarcely any use for navigation. It is well to note in passing that most of the sediments and sedimentary rocks which form the great plains of the earth are made of materials eroded from the moun- tains, and that the rich alluvium which the Nile and other rivers spread over their flood plains is mostly brought from the same source. Mountains as Forest Reserves. — When man takes possession of a new land, he clears the forests from the lowlands in order to use them for agriculture. But not so in the mountains ; they, by their inaccessibility and unfitness for agriculture have little attraction for man, and therefore they become a natural timber preserve from which he may supply his needs when the more accessible timber is gone. Moreover, these mountain forests serve a highly important purpose in controlling the run-off and thus checking what might be disastrous floods. Our government is buying up large tracts of forest land in the Appalachian Mountains to be held for this very purpose. 236 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 173. — Iron-mining operations in a mountain valley in western North Carolina. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) FEATURES OF LAND ; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 237 Mountains and Grazing. — Although mountains are unfavorable to agriculture, they usually contain tracts of land where cattle, sheep, and goats may graze. The rugged lands of Europe support many millions of such animals — cattle in Switzerland, sheep in Spain, and goats in Italy and the Balkan states. Our principal sheep-raising states, Montana and Wyoming, are both moun- tainous. Wherever the land is too rugged for cultivating crops, Fig. 174. — Bitter Root Mountains in Idaho. Town of Wardner in the valley. (C- S- Geol. Sur.) men turn to the grazing industries. This is also true in regions where rainfall is too light for growing crops, as in a great part of Australia. Mountains and Mining. — In the mountain-building process the rocks are broken and cracks penetrate in all directions. In many instances mountain building is also attended by volcanic outbursts. The heat sets underground waters and vapors in motion, and these dissolve deep-seated minerals and carry them upward to the sur- face, where they are deposited in the cracks and fissures of the 238 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY rocks, forming mineral veins, as described in an earlier chapter (page 100). Later the vigorous weathering and erosion which take place in mountains bring these veins into view and pros- pectors discover them ; thus the mountains are the chief sources of gold, silver, copper, and many other metals. There are ex- ceptions to this general rule; the Alps, the Pyrenees, and our Fig. 175. — A railroad (the Moffat Road) winding its way over the Rocky Moun- tains west of Denver. own Appalachians are rather barren in metallic minerals, while mineral deposits are found in non-mountainous regions, as, for example, the lead and zinc deposits of Wisconsin and Mis- souri. Mountains as Barriers. — High mountains are difficult to cross ; animals, birds, and native plants may differ considerably on oppo- site sides of a high range. The building of roads and railroads across mountains is difficult and expensive (Fig. 175). As a result FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 239 only two good roads cross the Caucasus Mountains, and only a few cross the Pyrenees. Throughout its length of 5000 miles only one railroad completely crosses the Andes chain. One of the serious drawbacks to the development of the Andean countries of South America is the enormous difficulty of getting from the Pacific coast over the Andes into the interior of these countries. For example, a ton of coal which normally costs $10 or $12 at a port of Peru or northern Chile, costs from $50 to $80 a ton when it reaches interior Fig. 176. - — Among the peaks and passes of the Alps; a Swiss village high up in the mountains. Bolivia. It is exceedingly difficult to lead armies with their can- non, supply wagons, camp equipment, etc., over mountains to invade the countries on the other side. So great are the advan- tages possessed by the defenders of mountain passes and roads that invaders frequently find it impossible to dislodge them. For these and other reasons, mountain ranges are good boundary lines between nations. Mountains and Population. — The severe climate, scanty soil, difficulties of travel and transportation, and limited industries usually deter any very large number of people from settling in 240 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY mountains. In ten of our western states there are no more people than live in New York City alone. The more level parts of New York State have an average density of population more than 20 times as great as that of the mountainous parts. The plain of northern India has about 100 million people, while an equal area in the mountainous plateau of Tibet just north has not even Fig. 177. — A mountaineer’s cabin and family in the southern Appalachians. In many instances these families are so isolated that they have practically no contact with the outer world. ( Oeland .) one million. On the other hand, mountainous Switzerland is more densely peopled than lowland Denmark, and in the tropical part of South America the white population is usually more dense in the highlands than in the sultry lowlands. Peculiarities of Mountain Peoples. — Some mountain regions are so isolated that the people who live in them seldom come in FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 241 contact with people from the outside. They retain quaint, old- fashioned ways, have odd customs, superstitions, and modes of speech, dress peculiarly, and preserve ideas and practices that may have disappeared elsewhere centuries before. Only a few of many illustrations can be given here. The mountain whites of the South are strikingly unlike the people outside the mountains (Fig. 177). Many of them have little education, rarely see newspapers or magazines, dress in homespun and home-made clothing, cling to old super- stitions, are suspi- cious of strangers, and use many words and expressions that have passed out of use elsewhere. Some of these people never saw a trolley car or railway train, a mowing machine or a steamboat. In the mountains of Wales there are some 500,000 people who cannot speak or understand English, although Wales has been united with England for more than 500 years. In the Pyrenees Mountains live a peculiar people numbering half a million, known as the Basques. They and their ancestors have been there so long that no reliable trace of their origin can be found. Their language shows no connection with any existing European language. France and Spain have been invaded and overrun by foreign foes time after time ; wave after wave of inva- sion and conquest has rolled up to the base of the Pyrenees, but the Basques in their mountain retreat have remained for 2000 years or more almost untouched by any of these changes. 242 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Caucasus Mountains are a veritable museum of peoples and languages. Almost every important valley shelters a different tribe. It is said that Jewish families in the Caucasus still give their children names that were in use in Israel 2500 years ago and which have long since dropped from use elsewhere. The great difficulty of conquering mountain peoples is shown by the fact that Russia was able to subjugate 4,000,000 square miles in Siberia before the tribes of the Caucasus were brought under subjection. Such mountains are nature’s fortresses into which remnants of de- feated or oppressed peoples retreat and there live untouched by the influence of events outside. Plateaus Definition of Plateau. — Just as there is confusion between the terms hill and mountain, so there is indefiniteness in the terms plain and plateau. For instance, at the eastern base of the Appa- lachians an upland less than 2000 feet in elevation is called the Piedmont Plateau, while the region just east of the Rocky Moun- tains is known as the Great Plains, although the elevation reaches 5000 feet. The term plateau is applied to a land form of large area and considerable elevation (usually some thousands of feet) which rises rapidly above the adjacent land on one or more sides. The Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains have no such rapid rise on any side and that may account for their classification as plains. Types of Plateaus. — The Columbia River Plateau, built up of many layers of solidified lava, is described elsewhere. The Col- orado Plateau, in which the Grand Canon of Arizona has been eroded, is made of many beds of sedimentary rocks ; these were uplifted, and, though a great thickness of rock has since been re- moved by erosion, the surface of the plateau still has an elevation of over 8000 feet. On the western side of the Appalachian highland is the Allegheny Plateau. Its steep eastern edge is often referred to as the Allegheny Mountains. A part of this plateau, lying in New FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 243 York just west of the Hudson River, has an elevation of over 4000 feet, and is there called the Catskill Mountains. Into the Alle- gheny Plateau rivers have eroded a maze of steep-sided valleys — some of them 2000 feet in depth. Between certain layers of rock are beds of coal ; in fact, the Allegheny Plateau from Pennsylvania to Alabama is the greatest coal-mining region of the United States. In West Virginia, for example, the plateau is so cut into great hills and valleys that the region appears to be mountainous, and is usually so called (Fig. 172). Arabia is a vast desert plateau, and Africa is a plateau continent. The loftiest plateau in the world is Tibet in southern Asia, rising to an elevation of 15,000 feet and having upon it mountain ranges that rise 14,000 feet higher ; Mt. Everest, the highest of the Himalayas, reaches 29,002 feet. It becomes evident, then, that plateaus are not usually flat-topped table-lands, although some of them would be comparatively flat if streams had not cut valleys and canons in them. Life on High Plateaus. — In the temperate zone, high plateaus are cool in summer and bleak in winter. They are often windswept and nearly barren, as in Arabia and Mongolia. Some of the larg- est plateaus are arid or semiarid ; the great desert belt, which in- cludes central and southwestern Asia and the Sahara, is a belt of arid plateaus. In such an environment life is hard. Nomadic tribes, with flocks and herds, move from place to place in search of grass and water. Settled homes are the exception ; law and gov- ernment are weak, and robbery and raiding are common. (Read Huntington’s account on pages 302, 303.) It has been pointed out that in tropical lands like Mexico and western South America, the plateaus are the most agreeable and healthful places of residence and contain the major part of the population. The scarcity of rainfall, however, limits agriculture and prevents any very great advancement. Most plateaus have been uplifted as part of a mountain-building process and so are likely to have rich mineral veins. This is notably true in Mexico and South America, although it is not true of all plateaus; for example, the Piedmont Plateau of our southern states. 244 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 179. — Mountains and plains of the eastern third of the United States. {Model by Lorenz , Madison , Wis.) FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 245 Plains Character. — Some plains are very low and very level, while others have considerable elevation and are rolling or hilly. But low elevation and a generally even surface are implied in the word plain. Coastal plains are stretches of low land, more or less sandy, on the coastal borders of continents. They are portions of the ad- jacent sea bottom which has been slightly uplifted and added to the Fig. 180. — A wheat field on the broad, level plain of the valley of the Red River of the North in Minnesota and North Dakota. land. Such a plain extends from New Jersey to Mexico along the Atlantic and Gulf coast of North America (Fig. 179). Interior plains. — The vast plains of Prussia, and Siberia and of central North America are examples of extensive regions which were once submerged beneath the sea. During their submergence, sand, clay, and other sediments were deposited in broad sheets. Later these were uplifted bodily and became parts of the conti- nents. It has been pointed out (page 235) that mountains fur- nish most of the sediments of which such plains are made. In- terior plains and coastal plains make up a large part of Europe and of the two Americas. Alluvial plains, already discussed in connection with rivers, are made of the alluvium carried by streams, and deposited in deltas, 246 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY flood plains, alluvial fans, etc. Such plains are commonly found along the lower courses of great rivers, e.g., the Mississippi, the Nile, the Ganges, and the Yangtze (Chapter IX). Glacial plains are those made by the deposits of continental gla- ciers, as in the upper Mississippi Valley and northern Europe. They are sometimes called till plains. Lake plains are due to silt deposited on the beds of lakes which no longer exist. Large plains of this kind are rare, but small ones Fig. 181.- — An irrigated valley among the mountains of Colorado. (<7. 5. Bur. of Soils.) are common in regions where continental glaciers have been ; one of the best examples is the rich plain of the Red River of the North, the bed of glacial Lake Agassiz (Fig. ISO). It is evident that alluvial, glacial, and lake plains may overlap or rest upon other kinds. For example, that of Lake Agassiz rests upon a glacial plain, which in turn is part of the great interior plain of North America. Plains with Special Names. — The prairies are the grass- covered plains of our Middle West. They were treeless, or else had trees only along the streams. Sometimes patches of prairie FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 247 Fig. 182. — A state that is almost a continuous plain, in the heart of the foremost agricultural lands of the world. ( Model by Lorenz, Madison, TFfs.) 248 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY and of woodland were interspersed. There are similar grassy plains in various parts of the world called by special names, as, for example, llanos in Venezuela, and pampas in Argentina. The frozen, swampy plains of the Far North are called tundras, and dry plains such as those of southern Siberia and Russia are called steppes; not all steppes, however, are plains. Plains in Different Climates. — The frozen plains of northern Siberia, Russia, and Canada are of small use to man. They yield him furs, but little else, and few people live there ; these are the cold plains. In Australia, the Sahara, Patagonia, and Russian Turke- stan there are desert plains ; in Brazil the vast plain of the Amazon is a tropical jungle, so moist, hot, and unhealthful that white men cannot long remain there. But the well-watered plains of the tem- perate zone, with their deep soil, invigorating climate, and ease of travel, are regions of great productiveness. Here the chief food crops grow ; here roads and railways may readily unite every part of the plain with every other, and facilitate the exchange of products. The ease of travel leads to the exchange of ideas and this promotes progress. Such plains are the ones referred to in the following contrasts. Plains and Mankind Mountains and Plains Contrasted. — (1) Mountains have a great variety of climate in relatively small areas, while plains are likely to have a uniformity of climate over a large area. (2) Mountains tend to cause heavy rainfall upon small areas, while plains cause the rainfall to be distributed widely. (3) Mountain streams are torrential and erode the land rapidly, while streams on the plains are sluggish and often deposit more than they erode. (4) Mountains retard the movements of people and of armies, and hinder the building of railroads, roads, and canals, while plains encourage such undertakings. (5) Mountains tend to isolate their inhabitants and keep them secluded and unprogressive, while plains lead to constant inter- FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 249 mingling of people and to that exchange of ideas which causes progress. (6) Mountains are favorable to the preservation of forests, while plains favor their removal to make way for agriculture. (7) Mountainous regions are likely to be cut up into small na- tions, as in western and southern Europe, while great plains are favorable to the growth of large nations, of which Russia is a notable example. (8) Plains are suited to the growing of the great food crops, and can support a large population, while mountains raise little food and usually support a small population. Summary Plateaus are large areas of considerable elevation which rise steeply above the adjacent land on one or more sides. High plateaus are likely to be deeply cut by gorges, to be arid or semi- arid, and hence lacking in population. The smaller and lower plateaus, of which the Allegheny Plateau is an example, may have abundant rainfall and be well forested. The great plateaus are nearly all surmounted by higher mountain ranges to which the aridity is in part due. Plains are of various origins : they may be portions of the sea bottom, uplifted and added to the continent as coastal or interior plains ; they may be due to deposits of rivers (alluvial plains), or of glaciers (glacial plains), or of lakes (lake plains). Where the temperature and rainfall are favorable, plains are the ideal places for man’s activities. Their level surface makes agriculture attractive, and makes the exchange of products and of ideas convenient ; plains oppose clannishness and promote unity among the people ; they are favorable to the growth of large na- tions and to the spread of civilization, but they are easy to invade and difficult to defend. They are the regions from which the world’s supply of food must mainly be drawn — Russia, Argentina, central North America, and the smaller plains of Hungary, Ger- many, France, and India. 250 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The earth’s interior has undergone a contracting or shrinking process which has forced parts of the crust upward to form plateaus and mountains, and lias caused other portions to sink and form ocean basins. These movements of the crust produce breaks or fractures which are favorable to general volcanic activity. The main mountain systems form the skeletons of the continents and largely determine their shape. By weathering and erosion, moun- tains are sculptured into ridges, peaks, domes, passes, gaps, etc. But as they grow old their tall peaks, precipitous cliffs, and sharp angles change to rounded summits, gentler slopes, and slowly de- creasing altitude. Condensed Summary of the Influence of Mountains The influence which mountains exert upon man and his activities is one of the most positive and easily discernible of geographic influences. Mountains whose general elevation is low or whose passes are low exert only a moderate influence. In estimating the influence of mountains upon a country, con- sider what the conditions would be if the mountain area were a plain. 1. The climate of a mountain belt is made colder by its eleva- tion. One mile upward equals 800 miles poleward. The tropical Andean countries can produce practically all crops. 2. High mountains force the passing winds to precipitate their moisture on the windward slope, producing arid or desert lands on the leeward side. Our western mountains render 500,000,000 acres unfit for agriculture. 3. The gradual melting of mountain glaciers equalizes the sea- sonal flow of rivers, thus reducing floods and aiding navigation and irrigation. 4. Excessive weathering and erosion in mountains often over- loads a stream to the detriment of navigation, as in the Missouri, or to the benefit of alluvial plains, as in the Nile. FEATURES OF LAND; ORIGIN AND INFLUENCE 251 5. Mountains supply most of the sediments of which the plains are built up. 6. Fissures and fractures in the earth’s crust and the circulation of mineral-carrying waters result from mountain building. Hence mountains are the natural home of metallic veins and of mining. 7. The relative inaccessibility of mountains tends toward the preservation of their forests, thus conserving the timber supply, and regulating the run-off. 8. Mountains discourage agriculture, but their lower slopes favor grazing, e.g., in the Rockies, and the Alps. 9. The rigorous climate, scanty soil, difficulties of travel, and restricted industries of mountains attract but a scanty population. About the same number of people live in our ten mountain states of the West as live in New York City alone. 10. Mountains are often effective barriers to the intercourse of people, to the spread of population, to military campaigns, and to the building of roads and railways. They are nature’s boundary lines for nations. 11. Mountains form a retreat for vanquished races; they isolate and preserve past languages, customs, laws, and ideas. 12. The isolation of mountain life accentuates non-social qualities, as seen in the clannishness of the Scotch mountaineer, the democracy of the Swiss, the insubordination of the Basques and the tribes of the Caucasus, the Tibetan’s dislike of strangers, the lawlessness in the Balkans, and the suspiciousness and family feuds among our southern mountaineers. EXERCISE XVII 1. Why are parts of the earth’s crust wrinkled into mountains? 2. Why is there little soil on mountain slopes? 3. Why are high mountain tops cold? 4. Why does weathering proceed rapidly on mountains? 5. Why is stream erosion very active in mountains? 6. Why does a mountain range usually develop into a line of peaks? 7. Why are mineral veins likely to be found in mountains? 8. Why are mountains unfavorable to agriculture? 252 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 9. Why are forests likely to be found in mountains long after they have been cleared from the near-by plains? 10. Why are mountain tribes difficult to conquer? 11. Why do old languages and customs continue longer in mountains than on plains? 12. Why does a high mountain range make a good national boundary? 13. Why are volcanoes more common in mountainous regions than else- where ? 14. Why are earthquakes frequent in young mountains? 15. Why are glaciers found in mountains when there are none on the plains near by? 16. Why is population sparse in mountainous regions? 17. Why are high plateaus usually arid ? 18. Why are valleys and canons deeper in plateaus than in plains? 19. Why are coastal plains usually sandy? 20. Why are alluvial plains usually fertile? 21. Why do glacial plains usually contain many lakes and swamps? 22. Why is rainfall more evenly distributed over plains than over moun- tainous regions? 23. Why are plains (generally) well suited to farming? 24. Why do large plains often lead to nations of large size? 25. Why are the people of the plains usually more unified than mountain people? CHAPTER XIII THE ATMOSPHERE The atmosphere is part of the earth, not merely an envelope surrounding it. The atmosphere rotates with the rest of the earth and travels with it around the sun. Light as it is, the air has weight and is held by the attraction of gravity. Thirteen cubic feet of ordinary air weigh about a pound. Composition. — Moist air rarely contains more than one or two per cent of water vapor. The following table shows the average composition of dry air : Pee Cent of the Atmospheke Nitrogen 78.00 Oxygen 21. 00- Argon 1.00- Carbon dioxide .03 Hydrogen 1 .01 Function of the Different Parts. — Oxygen is the active gas of the air ; life is impossible without it. So delicately are we ad- justed to the proportion of oxygen in the air that a small reduction in the amount makes us drowsy and a large reduction may cause death. Review what is said of the atmosphere on pages 3—5. Nitrogen is exceedingly inert or inactive. So far as animal life is concerned its chief function seems to be to dilute the oxygen. Plants require nitrogen, but they do not get it directly from the air. As explained on page 65, certain plants (particularly members of the clover family) are able to store it in usable form in nodules 1 It is believed that the air at a great height (above 50 miles) is mainly com- posed of the very light gas, hydrogen, which can barely be detected in the lower air. 253 254 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY formed by soil bacteria on the roots. Argon is much like nitrogen, and is not known to serve any important purpose in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (composed of carbon and oxygen) is exhaled in the breath of people and animals, and is one of the gases given off when things burn or decay. Every ton of coal that is burned pours into the air nearly three tons of carbon dioxide. Plants are able to take the carbon from the carbon dioxide of the air and to use it in building up their tissues, while the oxygen is (in the presence of sunlight) returned to the air. Water vapor is of great importance, particularly because it supplies the rainfall, without which there could be no life on the land. It gives rise to clouds, dew, snow, fog, and hail ; its presence makes the atmosphere a better blanket to protect us from the intense heat of the sun during the day and to prevent the rapid escape of heat from the earth at night. Dust in the atmosphere varies greatly in amount at different times and in different places. Dust and bacteria are from 10 to 20 times as abundant in the air of cities as in that of the open country. Depth of the Atmosphere. — There is no way of knowing how far the air extends upward beyond the lithosphere, but it is at least 300 miles, and probably more. However, at a height of 10 miles the air is too thin to support human life, and at 50 miles (where it is thought to be nearly all hydrogen), it must be extremely thin or rare. At its outer margin the atmosphere must blend so gradually with empty space that no boundary between them could possibly be fixed. Pressure and Density. — Since the air has weight, it presses down upon the surface of the land and sea ; this pressure is about 15 pounds upon each square inch, or about one ton on each square foot at sea level. Since the lower air supports the weight of all the air above it, this lower portion of the air is compressed. So great is this compression that the lower air, extending up to an elevation of 3.6 miles, contains one-half of the total atmosphere by weight. In other words, if we ascend a mountain 3.6 miles THE ATMOSPHERE 255 above the sea, we shall have half of the atmosphere below and half above our level. So rare is the atmosphere on the highest moun- tain tops that men cannot keep alive there. Mt. Everest and others of the high peaks of the Himalayas have never been sealed. 1 Explorers cannot sleep at these high altitudes, and in this rare at- mosphere they find the exertion of climbing so great that they can scarcely lift one foot above the other. On a hot, sultry day when the air is full of moisture, we think the air is heavy, while on a clear, cool day it seems light ; but just the opposite is true. Water vapor is lighter than air and when freely mixed with the at- mosphere, makes the latter less heavy. The barometer is an instrument for meas- uring the pressure or weight of the atmos- phere. The essential parts of a barometer are (1) a glass tube about 32 inches in length, closed at one end and open at the other, and (2) a cup of mercury. The glass tube is filled with mercury, and is then stood upright with the open end in the cup (Fig. 183). The mercury in the tube will sink a little until it stands about 30 inches higher than the surface of the mercury in the cup, while the upper (closed) portion of the tube above the mercury will be entirely empty ; that is, it will be a vacuum. The ordinary barometer differs from this only in details (Fig. 184). It has a graduated scale along the tube, marked off in inches and fractions of an inch, so that an observer may tell at a glance “ how high the barometer stands.” 2 The Principle of the Barometer. — Mercury is used in the barometer because it is the heaviest liquid, and does not freeze 1 An expedition is attempting (1922) to reach the top of Mt. Everest. 2 The Aneroid Barometer is an instrument which measures atmospheric pres- sure without the use of mercury or any other liquid ; it is shaped like a very large watch and is more compact and convenient to carry than the mercurial ba- rometer. Fig. 183. — Illustrat- ing the principle of the barometer. Fig. 184 .— A barom- eter. HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY at ordinary winter temperatures. The principle of the barometer would be the same if any other liquid were used. Water might be employed (in warm weather), but in that case the glass tube must be about 34 feet long. Since the atmosphere exerts a pressure of about 15 pounds to the square inch, it is evident that the downward pressure upon the mercury in the cup is 15 pounds on each square inch, and this downward pressure of the air balances a column of mercury about 30 inches high (equal to a column of water about 34 feet high) in the tube of the barom- eter. If, for any reason, the pressure of the air upon the mercury in the cup changes, the mercury in the tube rises or sinks. If, for instance, the atmospheric pressure diminishes one-thirtieth, the mercury in the tube sinks one- thirtieth. Thus, by means of the barometer, we can measure changes in the pressure or weight of the atmosphere. The word barometer means pressure measure, just as thermometer means heat measure. Uses of the Barometer. — If we ascend a moun- tain, carrying such a barometer with us, we shall find that the mercury in the glass tube gradually sinks as we go higher up the mountain. In this way the altitudes of places can be measured ; for this purpose the aneroid barometer is conven- ient. Important changes in the weather are preceded, accompanied, and followed by changes in atmos- pheric pressure. The laws governing these changes are so well understood that the weather can be par- tially foretold by the action of the barometer. All weather predictions sent out by the U. S. Weather Bureau stations are based upon observations of the barometer made at many stations and telegraphed daily to other stations. THE ATMOSPHERE 257 Isobars are lines drawn on a map connecting places of equal atmospheric pressure (Fig. 196). Heat in the Atmosphere How the Atmosphere Is Warmed. — The sun is the source of practically all of our heat. It sends out or radiates waves of energy which travel outward from the sun in all directions through space, and a minute fraction (one two-billionth) is received by the earth. The waves of energy, usually called rays, pass through space and enter our atmosphere ; some of their heat is absorbed directly by the air, but the larger part of it passes through the air and is absorbed by the land and water. During the night some of this heat is radiated back into the atmosphere and much of it escapes into outer space. Heat is also constantly radiated back into the air from the earth during the day. While the air absorbs some heat directly from the sun’s rays, it is warmed still more by the waves which are radiated back from the earth. The Air as a Blanket. — Clear air permits heat waves to pass through it readily, but clouds and even invisible moisture retard them. Thus, the atmosphere acts as a blanket which tempers the heat of the sun during the day and checks the rapid escape of heat from the earth at night. This benefits man in important ways. It is estimated that the temperature of the land would fall at night to 320° below zero F. if there were no atmosphere. It is believed that on the moon, where there is no atmosphere, the temperature rises far above the boiling point of water during the moon’s day and falls more than a hundred degrees below zero dur- ing its night. The heat of day and the cold of night on the earth would be much more extreme if our atmosphere were thinner or contained less moisture and carbon dioxide. Convection. — Warming the air causes it to expand and thus to become lighter, and being lighter, it tends to rise. This tend- ency of warm air to rise and cool air to sink causes a circulation called convection. A similar circulation is started when a dish of water or bod}' of water is heated. Convection currents both in air 258 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY and in water are a highly important means of distributing heat. By means of these convection currents, including the winds, warm air and cool air are being continually mixed, usually to the comfort and benefit of man. Day and Night Temperatures. — As a rule, the coldest part of the night is shortly before sunrise, for the dark part of the earth has received no heat since sunset and has been radiating heat all night. At sunrise this part of the earth begins to receive and absorb heat, and continues to absorb it during the forenoon and until about 2 p.m. in winter, and 4 p.m. in summer, when the warmest part of the day is reached. The earth is then radiating heat back into the air with the greatest intensity of the day; after that time (2 to 4 p.m.), the temperature grows cooler. Thus the hottest part of the day lags behind the noon hour ; and for a similar reason the hottest part of summer lags behind the sum- mer solstice (June 21). Water in the Atmosphere Vapor and Water. - The atmosphere is never absolutely dry, but the amount of water vapor which it contains varies from day to day and from place to place. Water vapor itself is invisible, but when it is cooled sufficiently the vapor condenses into droplets or drops of icater and these are visible. Condensation is the change of invisible water vapor to visible water, due to cooling. Evaporation. — At ordinary temperatures water is a liquid. When the temperature is raised to 212° F., water boils (at sea level) and passes into steam or vapor. It also passes sloidy into vapor at temperatures much below 212° F. Everybody knows that clothes dry on the line, that mud “dries up,” and that pools of water evap- orate in the sun and wind. Evaporation is the process by which water becomes vapor and passes into the air. Humidity. — On a sultry day in summer, the air is spoken of as being very humid, or moist. A cubic yard of air at 80° F. can hold a certain amount of water vapor ; at 70°, it can hold less, and at 90° more. In an ordinary -sized schoolroom, say 20 feet square and THE ATMOSPHERE 259 15 feet high, at 70° F. the air can hold about 6 pounds of water vapor. The actual amount of vapor which a certain body of air holds is called its absolute humidity. This is usually measured in grains per cubic foot ; for example, 10 grains of water vapor per cubic foot of air. Air which contains 75 per cent of the water vapor that it is ca- pable of holding at that temperature is said to have a relative humidity Fig. 185. — Cirrus clouds. of 75 per cent. Relative humidity is, therefore, the percentage which the amount of water actually in the air forms of the amount which the air coidd hold at that temperature. Saturation. — The warmer the air, the more moisture it can hold. When air contains all the moisture it can hold at that temperature, it is said to be saturated. So long as the air is not saturated, its moisture remains invisible, but when it passes the point of saturation, some of the water vapor condenses and becomes visible in the form of clouds, mist, fog, rain, snow, or dew. 260 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The dew point is the temperature at which air becomes satu- rated, that is, reaches the point where it contains all the moisture that it can hold. If the air becomes any cooler, some of the water vapor in it will condense. If we breathe upon a cold pane of glass, for example, the breath is quickly cooled below the dew point, part of the moisture in the breath condenses and forms a film of water on the glass. If the glass were as warm as the breath, no such film would form. The ice pitcher or ice-water tank cools be- low the dew point the air that touches it, and the water vapor in the air is condensed on the outside of the pitcher or tank. It will be seen that the dew point is not a fixed temperature, but is variable. If the air is hot and full of moisture, the dew point will be high, say at 80° or 85° F., but if the air is relatively dry it will need to be cooled many degrees before the point of saturation (dew point) is reached, perhaps to 35° or 40° F. Clouds Cause of Clouds. — The upper air is, as a rule, cooler than that near the earth. Upward-moving currents of air expand and are thereby cooled, and the moisture is condensed into tiny droplets which become visible, yet are light enough to float in the air. This visible water vapor, floating at high altitudes, forms clouds. They are easily blown before the wind, constantly changing their shape, and often dissolving under the warming influence of the sun or in warm air currents. Kinds of Clouds. — Clouds are classified into four principal types : (1) Fleecy white clouds at very high altitudes are called cirrus, meaning hairlike; they are 8 or 10 miles high and consist of tiny crystals of frozen mist (Fig. 185). (2) Stratus clouds are those which lie in long, nearly horizontal bands or layers one above the other. They are seldom more than a mile or two above the earth and often cover a considerable part of the sky (Fig. 186). (3) Cumulus clouds are the great heaps of cloud which look much like piles of fluffy cotton or wool. They often form quickly on a summer’s day, assuming picturesque shapes and taking on rich THE ATMOSPHERE 261 colors at sunset (Fig. 187). (4) Nimbus clouds are the rain clouds. They are dense and dark and threatening. They are usually only a mile or two high and do not last long. Colors of the Clouds. — Even the blackest clouds are bright and shining on the side toward the sun. “The darkest cloud has a silver lining.” The dark clouds are black only because they are too dense for the sun to shine through. Other clouds are white because the sunlight passes through them, and the rays are Fig. 186. — Stratus clouds. scattered or diffused, as they are in passing through ground glass. The brilliant colors of the clouds at sunset are due to the action of the atmospheric vapor and dust upon the rays of the sun. Sun- light is made up of all the colors of the rainbow, and when beams of sunlight pass through the cloud particles at certain angles, the rays of light are separated into their various colors and give us the beautiful hues of the sunset. Fog is really cloud stuff floating near the surface of the land or water. It is formed when moist air is cooled. Near Newfound- land the warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador current come close together ; the warm air over the Gulf Stream is mixed with the cold air over the Labrador current and great banks of fog are produced. Dust particles and smoke particles form tiny centers 262 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 187. — Cumulus clouds. Fig. 188. — Clouds floating in valleys below the mountain tops, New England. ( Courtesy of B. and M. R. R.) THE ATMOSPHERE 263 upon which moisture condenses and produces fog. The London fogs are believed to be in part due to this cause. Dew and Frost. — The dew does not “fall”; after sunset, in summer, the ground cools rapidly and soon the grass and shrubs are cool enough to con- dense the moisture in the air which touches them, and the mois- ture which they them- selves exhale. The thin leaves of the grass and plants not only exhale moisture, but they also expose much surface to the air, and cool quickly, and so are the first objects to become wet with dew. Wood is a conductor of and therefore slowly. A sidewalk may no dew when Fig. 189. — Photographs of snowflakes. Note the characteristic hexagonal form. (Photos by Bentley.) poor heat cools board collect the grass on either side is dripping wet. Iron and other metals are good conductors of heat ; they cool rapidly and often collect dew early in the even- ing. The moisture that collects on the outside of a glass of ice water is actual dew ; so also is the moisture which collects on the window pane. The white frost that appears on objects on cool autumn mornings is frozen vapor which would have appeared as dew if the temperature had not been at 32° F. or lower. Rain is due to the rapid condensation of water vapor in the upper air. We do not expect “rain from a cloudless sky,” because the cloud is an intermediate step between vapor and rain. The warm 264 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY air of summer is able to hold a large amount of water vapor. When this warm, moist air rises and cools, clouds form, and if condensa- tion proceeds far enough the tiny droplets unite, form into drops, and rain follows. Rainfall and snowfall are often referred to as 'precipitation. Snow is not frozen rain ; it is frozen vapor. Snowflakes form directly from water vapor without passing through the liquid state. Pig. 190. • — Hailstones, actual size. Note the interior structure. Strangely enough, perfect snowflakes (which are ice crystals) al- ways have six points or six angles. Many hundreds of snow- flakes have been photographed, and they are always hexagonal (Fig. 189). Hail is less common than rain because hail cap form only under unusual conditions. If a large hailstone is cut in two, it is found to be made up of a snowy center inclosed by several shells of ice, like the formation of an onion (Fig. 190). Large hailstones form THE ATMOSPHERE 265 only when the upper air is in violent commotion ; a snowflake or frozen raindrop is caught in an upward-moving air current, carried up, then falls toward the earth, and is again caught in a rising current and carried upward, thus traversing alternately cool and warm layers of air and adding film after film of ice. In rare cases, hailstones as large as small eggs are formed. Hailstorms are often destructive to growing crops and farmers sometimes carry hail insurance. The Main Facts about the Atmosphere Summarized The atmosphere is as much a part of the earth as is the land or the water. It consists of a mixture of about 78 per cent nitrogen, 21 per cent oxygen, and small amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and dust. Oxygen is the active, life-giving element of the air; it is the cause of decay and combustion. Nitrogen dilutes the oxygen ; it is required by plants, but they cannot take it directly out of the air ; carbon dioxide is also essential to plants, and is taken directly from the air ; water vapor supplies dew, snow, fog, clouds, and rain. The atmosphere has weight, and the lower air is so compressed by the weight of the air above it, that one-half of all the air, by weight, forms a bottom “layer” only 3.6 miles deep. The high atmosphere is very thin or rare. At sea level the atmospheric pressure, due to the weight of the air, is about 15 pounds to the square inch or one ton to the square foot. The barometer measures atmospheric pressure ; it is used for measuring elevations and is also one of the principal instruments used by weather forecasters. The air is warmed by the sun’s rays as they pass through it, but it is warmed still more by 'the heat radiated back by the land and water. The atmosphere acts as a blanket inclosing the rest of the earth and protecting it from the intense rays of the sun by day, and checking the rapid loss of heat from the earth at night. The warmer the air, the more water vapor it can contain. The air is said to be saturated when it contains all the water vapor it 266 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY can hold at that temperature. If air is cooled, its capacity for holding water is diminished, and when the point of saturation (the dew point) is reached, the invisible vapor condenses into fog, cloud, rain, dew, etc. Frost, snow, and hail are formed when the temperature is at or below the freezing point, 32° F. Clouds are bodies of condensed vapor floating in the upper air. Their height varies all the way from less than one mile to 8 or 10 miles ; the highest clouds are fluffy crystals or frozen mist. Fog is cloud stuff at a low elevation. Dew collects mainly on grass and other low vegetation, partly because they lose their heat quickly in the evening and partly because vegetation itself exhales moisture. The film of moisture which often collects on cold glass or metals is condensed from the air which comes in con- tact with these objects. Rain is due to the rapid cooling of ascend- ing air and the resulting condensation of its vapor. If the tem- perature is at 32° F. or lower, the vapor turns directly to snow. Hail is frozen rain, formed under somewhat unusual conditions. EXERCISE XVIII Saturation Convection Density- Atmospheric pressure Dew point I. Give the meaning of the following terms : 1 . Barometer 6. 2. Evaporation 7. 3. Condensation 8. 4. Radiation 9. 5. Precipitation 10. II. Give the principal cause or causes for each of the following : 1. Rising and falling of the barometer 2. The blackness of storm clouds 3. The sunset colors 4. The fogs near Newfoundland 5. The clouds around high mountain peaks 6. The dissolving or disappearance of clouds III. Twenty-five “Whys” : 1. Why is the atmosphere to be regarded as a part of the earth? 2. Why is the lower atmosphere more dense than the upper? 3. Why is the water vapor of the atmosphere of great importance to man? 4. Why is mercury instead of some other liquid used in the barometer? 5. Why may the barometer be employed in ascertaining the altitude of places ? THE ATMOSPHERE 267 6. Why does the dark side of the earth cool during the night? 7. Why does it cool more rapidly on a clear night ? 8. Why does the atmosphere have the effect of a blanket around the rest of the earth? 9. Why does the surface of the moon undergo great extremes of tem- perature? 10. Why does air become lighter as it becomes warmer? 11. Why does our breath show on a cold winter’s day? 12. Why do clouds form? 13. Why do clouds constantly change their shape? 14. Why does dew form? 15. Why does it form more quickly on grass than on the sidewalk? 16. Why does dew form more abundantly on a clear night than on a cloudy night? 17. Why does fog form? 18. Why is fog over the land more likely to appear in the evening or morning than in the daytime? 19. Why does a film of moisture form on the outside of a glass of ice water? 20. Why does “steam” sometimes collect on a person’s eyeglasses when he enters a warm house in winter? 21. Why do we not expect rain from a clear sky? 22. Why does precipitation sometimes take the form of snow and some- times of rain? 23. Why are hailstorms less frequent than rainstorms ? 24. Why does not the cooling of the upper atmosphere always cause rain or snow ? 25. Why is fog likely to occur in the vicinity of cities? CHAPTER XIV WINDS AND STORMS How Differences of Temperature Cause the Movement of Air. — If an outside door of a house is opened on a cold day, there is an outflow of warm air at the top of the doorway and an inflow of Fig. 191. — Showing the circulation of the air in a room containing a stove. (After Tarr and McMurry.) cold air at the bottom. (Test this.) The inflowing cold air is heavier than the air of the room and pushes it up and out. A stove in a room warms the air near it, causing it to expand and so to 268 WINDS AND STORMS 269 become lighter ; the cooler air flows in toward the stove, becomes warmed, and in turn rises, thus setting up convection currents, and the circulation causes the entire room to become warm (Fig. 191). Relation of Temperature and Pressure to Wind. — Since cold air is heavier than warm, a region of cool or cold air is one of greater air pressure, and a region of warm air is one of less air pressure, or low pressure. Toward such a region the heavier air on any side flows, causing winds. It is a basic principle that air moves toward regions of loio pressure and away from regions of high pressure. How Winds Are Named. — A north wind is one that blows from the north ; a southeast wind is one that blows from the southeast, etc. Winds are named according to the direction they blow /row. The Cause of Wind Temperatures. — The air over a warm body of water or land absorbs heat from it and becomes warmer. Air over a cold body of water or land imparts heat to it, and itself be- comes cooler. Thus, in either case, the air tends to take on a temperature similar to that of the land or water upon which it rests. Air is capable of holding and carrying a large amount of heat ; it parts with this heat gradually as it blows over a cool re- gion, or absorbs heat gradually as it blows over a warm region. Thus, winds from the south bring heat which they previously absorbed ; and winds from the north take up heat as they pass, making the region cooler. Air Drainage. — On summer nights, the cool air of the hills flows down the hillsides into the valleys, and forces the warm air in the valleys to rise. Thus the low ground gets the cool air and may have frost, while the higher ground gets the lighter warm air and may escape frost. This principle of air drainage is important to fruit growers. Orchards and vineyards are usually safer on the slopes of hills or even on the summits, if not too high, than in the valley bottoms. Land and Sea Breezes. — Land warms and cools more rapidly than water. During a summer day the land along the coast be- comes warmer than the adjacent ocean, and the cooler air from the sea flows in, giving a cool, refreshing sea breeze. At night the land cools more rapidly than the sea, and soon after sunset the air over 270 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the sea is warmer than that over the land and a breeze flows out to sea, giving a land breeze. The land breeze continues until after sunrise, when a reversal grad- ually takes place. Such breezes affect the land only a short distance (seldom more than 10 or 15 miles) back from the shore. Similar breezes, though not so well developed, occur near lakes. These cooling breezes are one of the attractions which draw people to the seashore and to lake shores in summer. The Monsoons. — These are land and sea breezes on a large scale ; they shift with the change of the sea- sons instead of with the change of night and day. Monsoons exist in many parts of the world but they are most perfectly developed in southern and south- eastern Asia, including India, part of China and Japan, and the ad- jacent ocean (Fig. 192). In our summer when the sun is north of the equator, the land of Asia becomes warmer than the sea, and an Very light Light Moderate Heavy Very heavy Fig. 192. — Upper figure, — direction of Monsoon winds and distribution of rainfall in India during the winter; lower figure, — the same during the summer. WINDS AND STORMS 271 Fig. 193. — Prevailing winds of the earth. ( After Tarr and McMurry.) 272 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ocean wind sets in from a general southerly direction, carrying much moisture with it. The monsoon winds are of utmost impor- tance in India, where the summer or wet monsoon begins in June and continues until September. In our winter when the sun moves south of the equator, central Asia becomes colder than the Indian Ocean and for about three or four months the monsoon blows from the land to the sea. Between the summer and winter monsoons are periods when the winds are shifty and uncertain. Importance to India. — So important to India is the rainfall of the summer monsoon that its failure brings almost complete ruin to crops, and at various times millions of the people of the afflicted regions have starved to death. Sometimes the famines are so wide- spread and severe that famine relief has to be given to millions of the population for periods varying from one to four years. For example, the famine of 1896—97 in India affected an area of about 225,000 square miles, with a population of 62,000,000 people, and the government had to expend millions of dollars in the direct- relief of distress. An idea of the frequency of these famines may be formed from the fact that during the last three decades of the nineteenth century, no less than four severe famines devastated the country. The Wind Belts of the Earth 1 The Heat Equator and Its Seasonal Movement. — Some part of the torrid zone is always receiving the sun’s vertical rays. Owing to the inclination of the earth’s axis and to the annual revolution of the earth, the sun’s apparent path seems to shift its position grad- ually from north of the equator to south of it and back again. In our summer the sun’s vertical rays fall upon the northern half of 1 If the surface of the earth were perfectly smooth, and were either all land or all ocean, the wind system of the earth would be relatively simple. But it is not smooth and furthermore it is part land and part water. Since the land heats and cools much more readily than the sea, and since the continents are of various shapes with mountain ranges extending in many directions, it follows that the actual wind system is not simple. It is convenient to speak of “wind belts,” but it is not to be understood that these extend continuously around the earth like zones. Most of the “belts” are fairly definite over the ocean, but quite indefinite and sometimes non-existent over the land. The account of the wind system as here given is to be thought of as a generalized explanation, true in theory, but in reality much modified by the distribution of the land masses and the oceans. WINDS AND STORMS 273 the torrid zone, and in our winter they fall upon the southern half. The heat equator, or line of greatest heat, is therefore nearly al- ways entirely within the torrid zone. Since the great land masses (continents) are mainly in the north- ern hemisphere, this hemisphere becomes somewhat hotter in the northern summer than does the southern hemisphere during its summer. This causes the heat equator, which shifts north and south with the sun, to be more largely in the northern hemisphere than in the southern (Figs. 194 and 195). In summer the land becomes hotter than the ocean and the heat equator bends farther Fig. 194. — Map showing the position of the heat equator, direction of the winds, and the rainfall of part of the earth in our winter — December to February. Compare with Fig. 195. ( After Tarr and McMurry.) north over the continents than over the oceans in the northern hemisphere, and farther south in the southern hemisphere. The Doldrums or Region of Equatorial Calms. — Since the heat equator is in the middle of a belt of high temperature and low pressure, the air is constantly rising. This belt of rising air, known as the doldrums or equatorial calms, is a few degrees in width and is practically always north of the equator ; it is well defined only over the sea. In it sailing ships have sometimes been becalmed for days or even weeks. The constantly rising and cooling air gives a heavy rainfall, and a sultry, unhealthy climate. The Trade Winds. — These are winds which, on the sea, blow rather steadily toward the heat equator from both sides, supplying 274 HIGH SCHOOL OROGRAPHY the air that is constantly rising in the doldrums. If the earth did not rotate on its axis, these winds would blow from the north and south, but the rotation causes the trade winds to blow from the northeast and the southeast, hence they are called the northeast trades and the southeast trades. Their steadiness led sailing vessels to make use of them, and this may have given rise to their name. The trade winds, of course, migrate alternately north and south with the change of seasons. They bring rainfall when they blow from sea to highlands, as they do in northern South America and Central America ; they are drying winds causing deserts when they blow over the land as they do in Arabia and the Sahara. Fig. 195. — Map showing the position of th% heat equator, the direction of the winds, and the rainfall of a part of the earth in our summer — June to August. Compare with Fig. 194. (After Tarr and McMurry.) The Horse Latitudes. — The air which rises in the doldrums precipitates most of its moisture in rising ; at a considerable height the air spreads out and flows both northward and southward as upper currents, called the anti-trade winds, because they blow in a direction opposite to the trades. This air which has become cooled and hence heavier, begins to sink toward the earth when it reaches latitudes of 30° to 35° each side of the equator. Since it is sinking and hence coming under greater pressure, it becomes warmer, and having previously lost most of its moisture, the air is in condition to absorb moisture, not to precipitate it. These re- gions of settling air near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are WINDS AND STORMS 275 called the horse latitudes. They migrate north and south with the seasons, as do the trades and doldrums, and are always dry or nearly so. They therefore bring the “dry season” to lands which they visit in their seasonal movements northward and southward. The Prevailing Westerlies. — Not all of the air of the anti- trades settles to the earth in the horse latitude belt ; much continues to move farther toward the poles, settling as it progresses. The earth’s rotation causes this air to swerve toward the right in the northern hemisphere and toward the left in the southern, giving rise to the wide belt of east-moving wind known in both hemi- spheres as the belt of ■prevailing westerlies. This belt covers most of the two temperate zones and the frigid zones, and includes all of the great nations of the earth. While the prevailing winds of this belt are from the westerly quarter, yet, as we know by expe- rience, they are very changeable. The cause of this changeable- ness is discussed later (pages 276— 280). The Wind Belts Summarized The heat equator is a line or narrow belt connecting places of highest heat. The doldrums are a region of calms and high tem- perature covering an irregular area a few degrees on each side of the heat equator where the air rises and precipitates its moisture in heavy rains. The air which constantly flows in from the north- east and the southeast to displace the lighter air of the doldrums forms the trade winds. These may bring rainfall when they blow from the ocean to the land, but otherwise they are drying winds and are an important cause of the great deserts, as the Sahara, for example. Their steadiness on the sea favored sailing vessels and possibly led to the name, trade winds. The doldrums and the trades prevail in the torrid zone. The anti-trades are the upper return currents of air flowing poleward from the doldrums and, in part, settling near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. These belts of sinking air are regions of relative calm and dryness and are known as the horse latitudes. The heat equator, the doldrums and trades, and the horse latitudes all migrate a little northward 276 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY in our summer and southward in our winter, due to the same causes that produce the change of seasons, namely, the revolution of the earth around the sun and the fixed inclination of its axis. The winds of the temperate and frigid zones form two great circum- polar whirls, moving in an easterly direction in both the northern and the southern hemispheres. The 'prevailing westerlies give the kind of climate which is most favorable to mental and bodily vigor ; therefore, regions with this climate have the highest civili- zation. Storms and Weather Changes Frequent Changes of Weather. — Most of the people living in the I nited States are accustomed to frequent changes of weather. 1 ig. 196. — Weather map showing the isobars around two areas of low pressure, and a less important area of high pressure. Note that the arrows indicate winds blowing toward the “low” and away from the “high.” The wind sometimes changes its direction several times during a day, and the thermometer rises or falls many degrees during the same period. A day may begin with clear skies and bright sun- shine, and in the course of a few hours clouds may gather, rain pour down in torrents, and the sky again be clear before evening. The WINDS AND STORMS 277 causes of these changes will be discussed in the following para- graphs. Regions of High and Low Pressure. — People sometimes say “as fickle as the weather,” implying that the weather changes its mood rapidly and with little cause. Of course every such change has a cause. Practically all these rapid changes are connected with changes of atmospheric pressure. If at this moment you were to receive telegraphic messages from places widely scattered over the United States, and these messages told the height of the mercury in the barometer, you would find that the atmospheric pressure differs at different places quite irrespective of altitude. In regions of low pressure the air is rising, and in regions of high pressure it is sinking. Wherever the air is warmer and lighter Fig. 197. — Weather map for the day following that shown in Fig. 196. The “low” has moved eastward several hundred miles. than that around it, it rises or is forced upward by the inflow of heavier air. The ascending air expands and cools and may give rain or snow. Descending air is likely to be cool and relatively dry. A large region of ascending air (low pressure) is called a low, and a 278 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY large region of descending air (high pressure) is a high. Such regions of high or low pressure are of very large extent, covering thousands of square miles. Movements of the Air in a Cyclone. — A low is spoken of as a storm. The air which flows toward such a center does not move straight in, but, like other winds in the northern hemisphere, it is deflected toward the right by the earth’s rotation. This causes the inflowing and ascending air to have a circular or spiral movement, as shown in Figs. 196 and 197. Such areas of inflowing and ris- ing air are called cyclones or cyclonic storms. They occur in the belt of prevailing westerly winds and so are carried along with the prevailing wind toward the east or northeast. Anti-Cyclones or Highs. — If air rises in certain regions, other air must somewhere descend to replace it. Areas of descending air are indicated by a high barometer, signifying high atmospheric pressure. Such regions are called anti-cyclones. Like the cy- clones, they travel from west to east with the prevailing westerlies. They usually bring clear and cooler weather. The rate of movement of highs and lows is exceedingly vari- able. Sometimes they move a third of the way across the United States in 24 hours, and again a high or a low may be nearly station- ary for some time (Fig. 198). Storm Tracks across the United States. — Most of the cyclonic storms come from the northwest or southwest, cross the United States, and pass out over the Atlantic near the Gulf of St. Lawrence. So many of these storms follow certain quite definite paths that maps showing storm tracks may be made. In Fig. 199 the width of any black line is in proportion to the frequency of storm movements along that path. Influence of the Passing of Highs and Lows upon the Weather. — Most of the rapid changes of weather are caused by the pass- ing of highs and lows. Since the wind blows in toward low-pres- sure centers, and out from high-pressure centers, and since both of these are carried across the country in the westerlies, it is clear that much changing of wind direction must be caused. If a low is passing north of a place, say Chicago, the wind in the region of WINDS AND STORMS 279 ■S * 2 •g ® 2 p ® a o-~ 2 ,c H >H S '3 o o ^ m +3 J.S’g Eh § 0 •r- . 0 TD ® C 0 ■£ S A 8 I -o' 0 J 5 2 "2 c H .SP 0 to 42 43 -d 03 O 03 rt O .5 TJ £ «— « ^42 *2 T3 •2 0 ° £ & « C .d TJ == .S> ■ s> ° s > -d a> >-C o += 0 0 d a m p, •*> 03 03 0 0 42 ■£ J_ +5 03 _ o ^3 13 -p 2 0 o3 -d T3 0 _, 2 T3 £ p£J rn 0 w -5 42 •+p> 1 1- H g'& . c3 03 «3 -S £ tH « ^ ! § 2 ’ O +3 1 g* ■s a c d ; 8 £ 5 c3 ' 0 42 6 H .2 £ represent temperatures. (From Milham.) 280 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 199. ■ — Principal paths followed by cyclonic storms across the United States. The width of the line is proportional to the frequency of storms moving along the path. ( After Van Cleef.) Chicago moves toward the low, that is, moves from the south toward the north ; this gives Chicago a warm wind from the south- east, south, or southwest. If the low passes south of the city, the wind will be from a northerly quarter and will be cool or cold. As a low approaches a place from the west, the wind, blowing to- ward it, comes from the easterly quarter. When the storm center has passed, the wind, blowing toward it, comes from the westerly quarter. The low-pressure area (rising air) is usually accompanied by rain (or snow), while the high-pressure area of descending air is usually clear and cool, or in winter it may be bitterly cold. The area directly influenced by one of these highs or lows may be a thousand miles across, covering a third of the United States. A large part of the rainfall of the Mississippi basin is brought from WINDS AND STORMS 281 the Gulf of Mexico by winds moving toward low-pressure areas in the northern states. Thunder Storms. — These are most common when the weather is hot. In our latitude they occur most frequently on hot summer afternoons. During the day the ground and air above it become very warm ; the air rises rapidly, expands, cools, and its moisture condenses ; great heaps of cumulo-nimbus clouds quickly gather and rain falls, usually in a vigorous shower. Lightning is an electric charge leaping from one cloud to another or from a cloud to the earth (Fig. 201). Each tiny drop of water in the air carries a little charge of electricity. When clouds gather very rapidly, as they do before the breaking of a thunder storm, many of these tiny drops unite into larger ones ; their little charges of electricity combine, causing every droplet in the cloud to be highly charged ; hence the cloud itself becomes highly charged with electricity. It discharges violently by the lightning, and quietly by the fall of the raindrops. So-called heat lightning does not differ from other lightning. It simply is occurring so far away that we see its reflection in the clouds, but do not hear the thunder. Thunder is due to intense vibrations in the air set up by the light- ning. The passing of the electric charge which we call lightning disturbs the air, sets it in vibration, and sound is produced. If the discharge of electricity is very near the observer, the crash of thunder instantly follows the lightning flash. Such discharges are to be feared. If the discharge is a few miles from the observer, the thunder is not heard for some seconds and then comes with a rolling sound, echoing from cloud to cloud. Tornadoes, though frequently miscalled cyclones, are quite dif- ferent. Cyclones cover a great area, are not necessarily violent, and seldom do any direct damage ; they are constantly passing over the United States. Tornadoes are small areas of exceptionally low pressure accompanied by rapidly rising and violently whirling air. They are often only a few rods broad ; at the center there is usually a funnel-shaped, whirling, black cloud, within which the pressure is very low indeed. So violent is the wind and so low the pressure in this cloud that trees are uprooted, buildings are torn to pieces, 282 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 200. — Prevailing direction of the surface winds in July. Note that in the eastern half of the United States the winds are mainly from the south and southwest, bringing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. ( After Day.) WINDS AND STORMS 283 Fig. 201. — Remarkable electric display at Spokane, Wash., about 2:30 a.m., July 13, 1914. (© C. R. Lewis.) and people killed. Usually tornadoes are attended by lightning, by a most violent downpour of rain, and often by hail. Summary of Storms and Weather The rapid and frequent changes of weather in most parts of the United States are mainly due to the passing of low-pressure areas, called cyclones. These lows are near the center of slowly rising and rotating bodies of air of wide extent ; they move in a general west-to-east direction, like great eddies in the prevailing westerly winds. Most of them enter North America from the Pacific and the larger number of them follow tracks which pass near the Great Lakes and out through the St. Lawrence Valley. The same storms, or similar ones, traverse the Atlantic and move on across Europe. 284 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Areas of high pressure, or highs, usually follow the lows, each, as a rule, moving across the United States in three or four days. The cyclones, or lows, being areas of rising and cooling air, usually bring rain or snow. The anti-cyclones, or highs, being areas of descending air, are usually dry and cool in summer and cold in winter. The frequent passing of cyclonic storms across the United States causes in-drafts of moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and these furnish most of the rainfall for the Mississippi Valley. Our Atlantic coast region receives rain from the Atlantic in a similar manner. The passing of successive highs and lows causes rapid changes of the wind, cold and warm waves, wet and dry spells, and a general uncertainty of weather. Tornadoes are much smaller than cy- clones, much less frequent and, unlike cyclones, are usually violent and destructive. EXERCISE XIX Test Questions on Winds and Storms 1. How can it be proved that air has weight? 2. What is meant by pressure of the air? 3. Why is the pressure of the atmosphere greater at sea level than on a mountain top? 4. What instrument is used for measuring the pressure of the atmosphere? 5. How does heating the atmosphere affect its weight or pressure ? 6. When an outside door is opened in cold weather, why does air flow out at the top and in at the bottom? 7. Why does cool air, on a summer evening, flow down the hill slopes into the valleys? 8. What becomes of the warm air thus displaced from the valley bottoms? 9. Why, in winter, is a current of cool air often found flowing down the stairways of our houses? 10. Why is the air near the ceiling of a room warmer than that near the floor? 11. Why do hot air and smoke rise in chimneys? 12. Why does water flow down a slope? Why does air flow from a place of higher to one of lower pressure? 13. Why do land and sea breezes alternate on coasts ? 14. Explain the cause and importance of the monsoons. 15. What is meant by a north wind, or a south wind? What rule is fol- lowed in naming the winds? WINDS AND STORMS 285 16. What is the heat equator? Why is it not parallel to the earth’s equa- tor? 17. Where do the sun’s rays fall vertically about March 21? Septem- ber 21? June 21? December 21? Why this change? 18. Why does the heat equator change its position from month to month? 19. What and where are the doldrums ? 20. Why are the doldrums called a “belt of calms”? In what direction is the air moving in this belt ? Why ? 21. Why is the belt of calms rainy? What continents are crossed by it? 22. What are the trade winds? Why so called? 23. What are the anti-trades? Why so called? 24. From what directions do they blow? Why? 25. Under what conditions do they bring rain? 26. What are the horse latitudes? In about what latitude are they found? 27. What is the direction of air movement in the horse latitudes? Why are they dry? 28. Why do all of these belts move alternately north and south ? 29. What and where are the prevailing westerlies? Why so called? 30. W T hy is this belt in the northern hemisphere of more than ordinary importance? Why less important in the southern hemisphere? 31. What is a low-pressure area, or a low? 32. Describe the movements of the air at and near a low. 33. What is a cyclone? Why does the air of a cyclone have a spiral mo- tion? 34. What causes air currents to be deflected toward the right in the northern hemisphere and toward the left in the southern? 35. What are anti-cyclones, or highs? 36. Why do cyclones usually bring rain and anti-cyclones clear weather? 37. From what directions do the cyclones of the United States most com- monly move? Do they usually originate in the United States? What path do they commonly follow in leaving North America? 38. How does the frequent passing of highs and lows across the United States affect our weather? Why? 39. Why are the cyclonic storms of especial importance to the Missis- sippi basin ? 40. Explain the cause of thunder and of lightning. What is “heat light- ning” ? 41. What is a tornado ? How does it differ from a cyclone? CHAPTER XV CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE Climate and Weather. — The weather of a place may change several times in a day ; the climate, however, is the average of weather conditions over a long period. A dry climate need not be free from times of wet weather, and a climate classed as cool may have periods of very hot weather. Climate is the average of weather. Within the tropics only are weather and climate the same, or nearly the same. Changes of climate take place, but such changes are too gradual to be detected except over very long periods. For example, the climate of North America was colder in the Ice Age than it is now, and it was warmer in the coal-forming periods ; fossils of tropical palms are found in icy Greenland, and glacial deposits in tropical Africa. An essential quality of climate, however, is its permanence or unchangeableness through long periods of time. Elements Which Make Up the Climate of a Place. — The most important of these are (a) temperature, (b) moisture, and (c) winds. The average temperature of a place depends mainly upon (1) its latitude, (2) its altitude, (3) its nearness to the sea, and (4) the direction of the prevailing winds. The moisture of the air supplies rainfall, a fundamental requirement for all life. The winds are the great carriers of heat and moisture and so they directly affect the temperature and rainfall. How the Earth Is Warmed. — Practically all of the heat which warms the earth comes from the sun. The waves of energy sent out by the sun traverse space without either warming or lighting it. Though the space between the earth and sun is always filled with waves which carry both heat and light, yet this space is as dark as night and intensely cold. When, however, any of these 286 CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 287 waves that are radiated from the sun strike an object, say the earth or even grains of dust or droplets of water in the air, these objects are warmed and illumined. Go out on a clear night before the moon has risen, and look out into space ; it is all dark excepting where the stars appear as points of light. It is hard to believe that this dark space is completely filled with waves from the sun, capable of producing light, yet such is the case. Later, the moon rises into the space which seemed so dark, and behold the face of the moon shines bril- liantly. But what causes it to shine? It shines by reflecting light received from the sun. If there were hundreds of moons scattered through this dark sky, they would all be shining by reflecting the sun’s light. Clearly, then, this space which appears dark to us is filled with waves that produce light. Although the moon changes in position every hour of the night and every night of the year, it never (except when the earth comes between it and the sun causing an eclipse of the moon) gets out of reach of the sun’s rays, Simply because all space surrounding the sun is filled with the waves or rays radiated from it. When these waves are traveling through space they manifest neither heat nor light , but the instant they strike any object, the object is illumined and itself sends out waves of actual light by reflection. It light enters a darkened room through a small hole or crack, the dust particles in the air show exactly the path of the rays of light. If there were no dust in the room, the pencil of light would not be noted. Effect of Oblique and of Vertical Rays. Latitude and Tempera- ture. — The reason that the poles are colder than the equatorial regions is not that they are farther from the sun, for this small dif- ference in distance is of little account. The temperatures in the polar regions are lower because of the earth’s spherical shape. So far away is the sun that those of its rays which strike the earth act substantially as they would if they were moving in parallel lines. If other conditions are the same, the amount of heat re- ceived by a square mile of the earth’s surface depends upon the number of sun’s rays (or waves) which strike it. If one square mile receives the sun’s rays perpendicularly, and another square mile receives them obliquely, the former receives more rays than the latter. A point on the equator receives on an average dur- ing a year nearly three times as much heat as the pole receives. In Fig. 202, the lines AB, AC, and BC are all of equal length ; BC, upon wdiieh the rays fall at right angles, receives the heat of 12 rays; but AB, of the same length as BC, but on which the 288 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ;SUN'S RAYS / A \ B Fig. 202. — Diagram to show why a region that receives the sun’s rays perpendicularly is warmer than one that receives them obliquely. AB, AC, and BC are the same length, - but BC receives the heat of twice as many rays as AB or AC. rays fall obliquely, receives only 6 rays, and hence only half as much heat. This explains one reason why the frigid zones are cold. The second reason arises from the fact that rays which fall upon the equatorial region pass through less atmosphere ( DK in Fig. 203) than do the rays that fall up- on the polar regions (AM in Fig. 203). The more atmosphere the sun’s rays pass through, the more heat is absorbed from them before reaching the surface of the land or sea. These two causes make the frigid zones cold, and a great amount of snow and ice has accumulated there. When the sun does shine upon the frigid zones, its heat is used up merely in melting some of the snow and ice. The torrid zone is warmest because there the sun’s rays pass through the atmosphere by the shortest path, and because more rays strike each square mile of surface than in any other zone. Why W e Have Winter When the Earth Is Nearest the Sun. — It will be recalled that the earth’s orbit is a slightly flattened circle, or an ellipse, and that the sun is not at the center but at one of the foci (F and F' in Fig. 204), a little on one side of the center. Recall that, as the earth journeys around the sun, its axis constantly remains tilted at the same angle (23|°), and in the same direction (toward the pole star). As shown in Fig. 6, page 12, the northern hemisphere is tipped toward the sun in our summer, but away from the sun in our winter, causing this hemisphere to receive much more heat in summer than in winter even though the earth is actually 2| million miles nearer the sun in winter. The people of the southern hemisphere have CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 289 their summer when the earth is nearest the sun, and there- fore would be ex- pected to have warmer summers than we have. How- ever, the great amount of ocean in the southern hemi- sphere so tempers the summer climate there that it is no warmer than ours. Effect of Altitude upon Climate. — As Fig. 203. — Diagram to illustrate why the sun's heat is more effective in the torrid zone than in the tem- perate or frigid zones. Note (1) that the same number of rays fall upon the small area CD as upon the large area AB ; and (2) that a polar ray passes through the atmosphere by the long path M A, while a tropical ray passes through the atmos- phere by the shorter path DK. Both of these conditions contribute to the higher average tem- perature of the tropics- above ellipse is flattened very much more than is the elliptical orbit followed by the earth in its yearly revolution around the sun. 290 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY previously explained, temperature decreases one degree Fahrenheit on an average for each 330 feet of ascent, hence highlands are cooler than lowlands would be in the same location. Mountain ranges usually receive heavy rainfall on their windward slopes, but large plateaus are often dry because the winds lose their moisture in rising to the level of the plateau, or in passing over the bor- dering mountains. Effect of Large Bodies of Water upon Climate. — Even though the sun’s rays fall equally upon the land and water, the land be- comes much warmer, for it requires about four times as much heat to raise the temperature of water one degree as it does to raise the temperature of the same amount of land one degree. Thus, the continents and the air above them become much Warmer in summer than do the oceans and the air over them. Water also gives up its heat more slowly than land. Therefore, the effect of large bodies of water is to produce a steadiness or equability of temperature between day and night and between summer and winter. Examples of Lake Influence. — This influence of water bodies upon climate is well shown in the effect of the Great Lakes upon fruit growing. The prevailing westerly winds cause the lake in- fluence to be mainly felt on the eastern side of the Lakes. Wiscon- sin, lying on the west side of Lake Michigan, raises very few grapes or peaches, but Michigan produces great quantities of both, es- pecially in the counties near the lake (Fig. 205). The Chautauqua grape belt of New York is east of Lake Erie (Fig. 205) ; the apple belt of New York lies near the shore of Lake Ontario (Fig. 205), and the fruit belt of Ontario, Canada, is in the peninsula which lies between Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Oceanic Climate. — Oceanic islands have a remarkably uniform climate ; for example, the average temperature of the coldest month in Hawaii is only 2 or 3 degrees lower than that of the warmest month. In latitudes between 40° N. and 40° S. the average temperature of the air over the sea differs only 2 or 3 degrees be- tween day and night. Coast lands are more uniform in temper- ature than interiors of continents. This is especially true of coasts which receive their prevailing winds from the sea, as is CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 291 Fig. 205. ■ — The black areas are regions of intensive production of fruits. (U. S. Dept, of Agr.) 292 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the case on our Pacific coast and on the Atlantic coast of Eu- rope. Effect of Winds upon Climate. — Winds are the great distribu- ters of heat and moisture. They absorb heat in warm regions and carry it into cooler regions, and they convey cold air into warm lati- tudes. All summer long the oceans of the temperate zones store up heat ; in winter, winds blowing over these ocean waters gradu- ally absorb the heat and carry it over the continents. Europe re- ceives an enormous amount of heat from the westerly winds which blow over the North Atlantic. Southerly lands are often invaded by cold winds from the north ; for example, the orange groves of Florida were practically destroyed at one time by a “norther” which brought a freezing temperature into that state. The winds are constantly engaged in mixing the atmosphere, and this tends toward greater uniformity of climate over the earth as a whole than would otherwise exist. From what has been said, it follows that the character of the pre- vailing winds exerts a powerful influence upon the climate of a place. If the prevailing winds are warm or cold, moist or dry, oceanic or continental, steady or fluctuating, — the climate of the land over which they blow necessarily takes on a similar character. Effect of Ocean Currents upon Climate. — Warm ocean cur- rents and “drifts,” such as the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Drift (Fig. 222), carry a great amount of heat into cool latitudes; this is taken up by winds that blow over them and the winds in turn warm the lands over which they blow. In a similar way, cold ocean currents invade warm latitudes, chill the winds, and cool the climate of the neighboring lands. It should be noted that, while ocean currents carry warm water or cold water, they have very little direct effect upon the temperature of the lands ; their warming or cooling influence is exerted through the winds. Effect of Mountain Barriers on Climate. — High mountain walls like the Alps and the Himalayas protect the lands south of them from cold north winds. Italy and India have milder climates in winter than they would have if they did not possess such effi- cient windbreaks on the north. The cities of northern India are CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 293 0 Sea Level 25 miles from 10 to 15 degrees warmer in winter than those of China in the same latitude. The Central Plain of the United States has no such protection against north winds, and in spring these sometimes sweep down from Canada and do serious dam- age to fruit and sensi- tive crops in our south- ern states. North and South Sides of Mountain Ranges. — There is usually a marked differ- ence between climatic conditions on the north side and on the south side of mountains in the temperate zone ; for example, the region Fm 206 _ Diagram showing the extent t0 which lying north of the precipitation is caused by mountains. Note in Caucasus Mountains 0 ^ ** l ~ in southern Russia is subject to cold, bleak winds from the north, and only hardy crops are grown. South of these mountains is a different world, for here subtropical fruits grow in profusion and in perfect safety. The effect of mountains on rainfall is still more marked ; for example, the west coast of Washington receives 140 inches of rain- fall a year, while eastern Washington, on the lee side of the moun- tains, receives from 7 to 15 inches. Note also the effect of the Sierra Nevada Mountains as shown in Fig. 206. This general topic is more fully discussed on page 235. Isotherms are lines drawn on a map to connect places of equal temperature. For example, an isothermal map for July has a series of lines, each connecting places which have the same aver- age temperature during July (Fig. 20S) ; a map showing annual — Relation of topography to rainfall. Sierra Nevada Mountains. 294 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 207. — Average annual rainfall of the United States. ( After map by U. S. Dept, of Agr.) CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 295 Fig. 208. — Isotherms for July. Note that the highest indicated temperature, 90° F., is found in the interiors of North America, Africa, and Asia. ( After Tarr.) isotherms has a series of lines each of which connects places having the same average temperature during the year. Summary of the General Features of Climate 1. Climate is the average of weather. 2. Climate is determined by conditions that are more or less fixed, and so the climate of any part of the world changes very slowly; but there is ample evidence that great changes have occurred in past geological ages. 3. The three main elements of climate are temperature, mois- ture, and winds. 4. The four influences which most affect the climate of a place are latitude, altitude, nearness to the sea, and the direction of the prevailing winds. 5. Over 99 per cent of the heat which warms the earth comes from the sun. 296 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 6. The polar regions are cold because there the sun’s rays trav- erse very slanting and hence long paths through the atmosphere, and also because fewer rays fall upon a given area than is the case in lower latitudes. 7. The earth is 2 \ million miles nearer the sun in our winter than in our summer, but in our winter the northern hemisphere is tipped away from the sun and so receives its rays very obliquely. 8. Temperature decreases with altitude (1° for each 330 feet). Mountain tops and high plateaus are cold because the rare atmos- phere permits them to radiate their heat back into space rapidly. 9. The ocean is warmed and cooled much more slowly than the land ; oceanic climates are therefore more equable than con- tinental climates. 10. Winds are absorbers and distributers of heat and moisture ; they tend to impart their own temperatures to lands over which they blow, and thus to make the lands warmer or colder, wetter or drier, as the case may be. 11. Cold or warm ocean currents affect the temperature of the winds that blow over them, and these in turn affect the cli- mate of the land. Climate and Man Life in the Arctic. — It seems strange that anyone should care to live in a region of almost perpetual winter ; yet thousands of Eskimos and a number of other tribes live there. On a few oc- casions Eskimos have been brought to the United States, but they were unhappy and unhealthy and longed to get back to their northern home. Seasons and “ Days ” in the Far North. — Summer is the period of light, and winter the period of darkness. At the Arctic circle the longest period of continuous sunlight is 24 hours ; at 70° lati- tude, it is two months ; at 78°, four months ; and at the poles, six months. To these periods of actual sunlight should be added (1) further duration resulting from the fact that refraction of the sun’s rays increases the length of the period of light ; (2) periods CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 29 ? of long polar twilight varying from hours at the circles to weeks at the poles. In northern Norway, Lapland, and Alaska beyond the Arctic circle a few hardy grains are grown. The reindeer has Fig. 209. — The white winters of the Far North. been domesticated and is the main dependence of the people. It is used as a draft animal ; its milk and flesh furnish food ; and its skin is used for clothing, blankets, and tents. The uncivilized Eskimos of northern America represent a people who live the natural life of the Arctic zone. Their mode of life is in strict accord with their climatic environment, and therefore forms an interesting study in the effect of a cold climate upon the life and customs of people. The Eskimos are thus described by one who has visited them : “ The uncivilized Eskimos are spread in scattered settlements from just west of Bering Straits to the eastern coast of Greenland, fringing the main- land and also occupying the coast of some of the islands. Formerly through- out this area, and at present in those places out of reach of the influence of white men, the Eskimos have been engaged in one of the most serious struggles against adverse geographic conditions of any people in the world. . . . “ They must look out to the sea not only for the bulk of their food, but also for materials for clothing and shelter. Only by the hardest struggle, constantly kept up, and by the exercise of intelligence, energy, and ingenuity, 298 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY is it possible for them to maintain life amid such surroundings. Since the food supply is shifting and uncertain, it is not usual for them to have fixed homes ; they must ever be ready to move from point to point when the food supply fails. Consequently, though not strictly nomadic, they are migra- tory within a narrow range. “ This necessary mode of life of the Eskimo places a distinct limitation upon the amount of property that can be accumulated, for anything in ex- cess of actual needs must be left behind when the time for moving comes. The boat (kayak), which the men use in hunting, the large skin boat (oomiak), in which the women and children move the property from place to place, a few skins for cover and for tents, the clothing which they wear, and a few simple implements constitute the outfit of Eskimo communities. The win- ter home is of ice or snow, suitable not merely because of the abundant sup- ply, but also because it is easily worked and quickly built into the igloo form, and because it furnishes the best of shelter against the Arctic cold. The summer home consists of a few skins thrown over upright supports, usually the bones of large animals, easily put together, easily taken down, and easy to transport. For fuel in winter the blubber of the seal or walrus suffices, and in summer little or no fuel is used, since meat is relished in the raw state. “ The boat is made of skin wrapped around a frame of bone or, where pos- sible, of wood that has drifted ashore. The hunting boat, or kayak, is long and narrow and can be propelled through the water with great rapidity, this being necessary in the seal hunt. . . . The winter sled is also an ingenious contrivance made of bone, or wood and bone, fastened together with thongs, shod with bone or ivory, and attached to the dog team with sinew. . . . “ Under these conditions of life it naturally follows that there can be no large settlements, for success depends upon scattering, otherwise the food supply in a locality would soon be exhausted. . . . Such a life necessarily breeds hardiness, courage, cunning, and intelligent ingenuity; but both the severe struggle for existence and the necessary mode of life are adverse to the internal development of civilization .” 1 The continent of Antarctica is larger than Australia ; it is deeply buried under snow and ice and is surrounded by the great Antarctic or Southern Ocean ; it is far removed from the other continents and has no human inhabitants. Life in the Tropics Equatorial Lowlands. — Here snow never falls, frost never oc- curs; day and night are always about 12 hours long, and there is little dawn or twilight ; thunder storms occur almost every after- noon in the wet season ; a dense jungle usually covers the land ; 1 From “Human Life in the Arctic,” by Professor R. S. Tarr, Journal of Geog- raphy, Vol. X, p. 145. CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 290 Fig. 210. — One of the ice palaces erected in Montreal in years past. Built entirely of blocks of ice. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) insects are a pest and a menace; birds have gorgeous plumage; flowers are brilliantly colored ; weeds are unconquerable ; agricul- ture is discouraging ; malaria, yellow fever, and other tropical dis- eases are prevalent ; the native peoples are dark skinned, usually lazy, content to live on what nature provides, and disposed to pro- duce little beyond their few simple needs. There are so-called wet and dry seasons, or even two of each, due to the migration of the doldrums with the sun north from the equator a few degrees and then south again. These regions have never produced a peo- ple or nation that contributed anything of importance to human advancement. Though the torrid zone includes a third of the land of the earth, it is practically all ruled by Europeans or descendants of Europeans. White men cannot live long at a time and retain their vigor in the equatorial lowlands. 300 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Tropical highlands are cool, but the climate is likely to be monotonously uniform. Rainfall may be heavy or light, depend- ing upon the direction of the winds. Quito, near the equator in Ecuador, is over 9000 feet above the sea ; the mean temperature of its coldest month is only one degree lower than that of its warmest Fig. 211. — In tropical Jamaica. Natives returning from market. ( Physiog- raphy Lab. Cornell Univ.) month, while the range of temperature from day to night is 20 times as great. A majority of the people of western America from Bolivia to Mexico live on the plateaus at elevations ranging from a mile to two miles above sea level. The trade wind belts differ widely in different portions. Since the trades blow from cooler to warmer regions, their tendency is to absorb and not to precipitate moisture, and thus they are likely to produce deserts. Arabia and the Sahara and the deserts of Aus- CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 301 Fig. 212. — The dense vegetation of the humid tropics ; the north shore of the island of Jamaica. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) tralia and of South Africa are mainly in regions over which the trades blow. If, however, the trade winds, blowing from the sea, encounter mountains, as they do in Brazil and Central America, they bring rainfall, perhaps in great abundance ; yet deserts are much more common than jungles in the trade wind belts. The Savannas or Grass Lands. — Between the equatorial forests and the trade wind deserts there is usually an irregular belt which has a wet season followed by a very dry one. The Soudan, south of the Sahara in Africa, is such a region. In our summer, as the sun moves northward, the belt of equatorial rains moves northward over the Soudan, bringing to it the rainy season. Later, the equatorial rain belt moves southward, and the Soudan is then brought under the influence of the trades and the dry season follows. Under these conditions forests cannot maintain themselves, but grass grows abundantly. Regions of this type are called savannas. The llanos of Venezuela, the campos of southern Brazil, and the park lands of South Africa are savannas. They are used for pasturing cattle and sheep, 302 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY but have nowhere as yet attained importance as the home of progressive peoples. Life in the desert is hard and the severe conditions strongly influence the habits and even the moral standards of the desert Fig. 213. — Only parts of the desert are sandy. Much larger areas are bare rocks from which the sand has been blown. people. Huntington, who has seen much of these people, has pointed out how the desert affects the Arab’s views of right and wrong : “No argument is needed to prove that the moral standards of the desert are vastly different from our own. What seems absolutely wrong to us may seem not only right but laudable to them. To what shall we ascribe this? There is ground for believing that many of the most prominent Arab traits have been caused, or at least fostered, by the hard conditions imposed by the desert climate. “ Consider what happens to an Arab nomad during the course of a year. In the spring, when the camels, goats, and sheep are giving abundance of milk he lays up a store of sour cheese and curds, dried as hard as the toughest hardtack. Then when the summer comes he exchanges his surplus animals, CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 303 chiefly the young males, for dates, wheat, and rice grown in the oases or in the border lands where agriculture is possible. A few animals may be saved for future use as food, but only the most wealthy can afford to eat meat often. In good years the ordinary Arab can lay by enough food to last himself and his family until the following spring. Suppose, however, that the year has been dry, and many of the young animals have died on the one hand, and the price of dates and wheat is high because the crop is scanty on the other hand. In that case a large number of the nomadic Arabs are unable to lay by food enough to last them later than perhaps February, the time when the rains ought to come and the young sheep and camels to begin to be born, and the milk to be abundant. . . . Imagine the state of people who eagerly pack their tents and all their crude belongings upon camels and travel one or two hundred miles simply because they have heard that a little shower has fallen over an area no larger than that watered by a single sum- mer thunderstorm in America. Yet this is a common occurrence in Ara- bia. . . . What is an Arab to do when his camels, his sheep, his wife, his children, and himself are all suffering the pangs of hunger? He cannot go off to some other land and get work. . . . The only resource under such circumstances is plunder. The man who is starving has little thought of right or wrong. To have such thoughts would seem to him fatal. If considerations of humanity or any other moral ideas prevent him from en- gaging in raids upon the tribes around him, the doom of his family is sealed, or his children die of hunger. Thus through the thousands of years since Semitic nomads first lived in Arabia the hard conditions of climate have steadily weeded out all who withheld their hands from violence.” 1 Climates of the North Temperate Zone Characteristics. — Considered as a whole, the climate of the north temperate zone has four characteristics : (1) four seasons — spring, summer, autumn, and winter ; (2) a very wide range of tem- perature from the hottest to the coldest days, and from the hottest to the coldest places ; (3) winds prevailingly from the west, yet con- stantly shifting ; (4) the presence of cyclones and anti-cyclones (lows and highs) moving from west to east, and causing great uncertainty of weather. West-facing Coasts. — It has been pointed out that west- facing coasts in the temperate zones have a more equable tempera- ture than east-facing coasts. The former have the oceanic type of climate (equable) and the latter the continental type (variable). In latitudes below 40°, west-facing coasts have relatively light 1 Ellsworth Huntington, in the Journal of Geography, Vol. X, pp. 172, 173. 304 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 214. — Dense forest on the west coast of Washington where the rainfall is heavy and the winters mild. {U . S. Geol. Sur.) rainfall, and this comes mainly in winter. In higher latitudes these coasts have heavy rainfall also chiefly in winter. Climate of our Pacific Coast. — Southern California, from San Diego to San Francisco, has a great deal of sunny weather — 200 to 250 perfectly clear days a year — and in the south the tempera- ture is that of almost continuous spring. The westerlies prevail in this region and three-fourths of the small annual rainfall comes in December, January, February, and March. In summer the northward movement of the sun brings the horse latitudes to south- ern California, and during the four summer months little or no rain falls. Freezing temperatures are rare ; under irrigation, oranges, lemons, figs, and olives and all of the hardier fruits grow, and flowers bloom in gorgeous profusion. In the vicinity of San Francisco the average rainfall is 23 inches a year ; nearly all of it falls during the six winter months from No- CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 305 vember to April. June, July, and August as a rule are nearly rain- less. The coast of California really has only two seasons, a wet and a dry. In summer, dense banks of fog roll in from the sea and in- close the city and bay, but the neighboring mountain tops rise above the billows of white fog and are bathed in brilliant sunshine. Though San Francisco is in the latitude of Washington, D. C., snow seldom falls and even a hard freeze is rare. The summers are cool and summer evenings are often too chilly for comfort. The average temper- ature of the warmest month is only 1 1 de- grees above that of the coldest ; contrast this with St. Louis in the interior of the continent, which has a range of 55 de- grees between its warmest and its coldest month. The Great Val- ley of California has a light rain- p ii i i • Fig. 215. — Heavy rainfall of the Pacific coast due to the west- lail, ana liriga- erlies and the mountains. {After Tarr.) tion is exten- sively practiced. Climatic conditions are ideal for raising grapes, peaches, prunes, pears, apricots, and many other fruits. Califor- nia produces more fruit than any other three states (Fig. 205). Northward from San Francisco the yearly rainfall is increasingly heavier ; in western Washington it reaches 140 inches, the highest in the Lhiited States, and continues to be heavy along the entire coast well into Alaska. The rain is heaviest in winter, while the summer months are relatively dry. This is due to the fact that in win- 306 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ter the land is cooler than the ocean and hence the moisture-laden winds blowing in from the Pacific precipitate a great, amount of rain on the windward or western side of both the Coast Ranges and the Cascades. Twenty times as much rain falls on the Olym- pic Mountains, near the Pacific coast, as falls in certain parts of the state east of the Cascade Mountains. In western Washington, Oregon, and northern California are found the most magnificent forests in the world (Fig. 214). So great is the tempering effect of the Pacific upon the west coast as far north as Alaska, that Sitka, 900 miles farther north than Halifax, Nova Scotia, has the same average temperature. The Climate of Western Europe. — The warming influence of the Atlantic on the winter climate of western Europe is so great that the effect of the northerly latitude is largely offset. Ocean currents, especially the Gulf Stream, bring a great amount of heat into the north Atlantic; the westerlies absorb this heat and carry it over Europe. But if there were no Gulf Stream, the warming influence of the Atlantic would still be great. The British Isles and the coast of Norway have heavy rainfall and are as mild in winter as are our middle Atlantic states, which are from a thou- sand to fifteen hundred miles farther south. The west coast of Europe, like the west coast of the United States, has more rain in the north than in the south. The winter temperatures of much of Europe change more from west to east than from south to north. Rainfall also decreases steadily from west to east across Europe. The warming influence of the Atlantic is carried much farther into Europe than that of the Pacific is into North America because Europe has no high mountain barrier on its west side as North America has. The effect of the Atlantic upon winter tempera- tures in central Europe is shown by five rivers in Germany. Ice lies on the Rhine an average of 26 days in a year ; on the Elbe, 62 days; on the Oder, still farther east, 70 days; on the Vistula, 86 days; and on the Memel, mainly in Russia, 116 days. In summer the ocean cools the winds that blow over west-facing coasts and give to the British Isles, for example, summers as cool as those of Newfoundland and Labrador. CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 307 Fig. 216. ■ — Rainfall of the world. ( After Herbertson and Taylor.) 308 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Climate of the Interior of the United States. — With the excep- tion of land near the Pacific, and scattered regions of high altitude, the western third of the United States is arid or semiarid. West of the 100th meridian the rainfall averages less than 20 inches a year, and ordinary agriculture is rarely successful in any region where the annual rainfall is below 20 inches. Large parts of the Great Basin, included in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of some other states, are true deserts, because rain-bear- ing winds blowing from any direction are intercepted by mountains. Throughout the Great Basin agriculture is largely (though not wholly) dependent upon irrigation. The High Plains. — A tier of states from the Dakotas southward to Texas, the “high plains” states, have enough rainfall for crops nearly every year, but partial crop failures sometimes occur in the western part of these states on account of drought. However, dry-farming and the introduction of drought-resisting crops are helping to remedy these conditions and these states are pro- ducers of enormous quantities of cereals. This was once a grazing belt, the land of the cowboy. It is now our principal wheat-grow- ing belt. Eastward from the 100th meridian the rainfall increases rather steadily to 30, 40, and 50 inches. The Mississippi Valley is a region of great agricultural prosper- ity, nevertheless heavy losses are occasionally sustained from too much or too little rain. These losses may reach a total of hundreds of millions of dollars in a single year, but they are spread over so great a number of states that their effect is seldom disastrous. Lying in the belt of cyclonic storms, the region is subject to rapid changes of weather and wide extremes of temperature. In the interior the summers are hot and the northern winters are severely cold. The temperature in the most northerly states may fall as low as 40° below zero and rise to 100° or higher. Through- out the interior, rain, largely derived from the Gulf of Mexico, is most frequent in spring and summer, a highly favorable condition. The Gulf states rarely have snow and the growing season for plants (period between the last killing frost in the spring and the first in the fall) is from 7 to 8 months long. CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 309 Climate of the Eastern Coast of the United States. — This may be taken as a type of an east-facing coast in the region of the pre- vailing westerlies. The land immediately bordering on the At- lantic has a more equable temperature than the interior of the continent ; but the influence of the ocean does not reach far inland because the prevail ’ug winds come from the west. In the middle Atlantic states the wind blows from the western quarter three times as much as from any other quarter. The weather is exceed- ingly changeable ; the winters of New England and New York are severe and the summers are fairly hot. The frequent passing of cyclones along the northern storm tracks causes indrafts of moist air from the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico and gives the eastern states ample rainfall amounting to 40 to 50 inches north of Vir- ginia and 50 to 60 inches south of that state. From Florida to Maine the average temperature decreases rather steadily. For example, fruit trees blossom three weeks earlier in northern Delaware than they do 150 miles north, near New York 310 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY City. Recall that a distance of 500 miles north and south on our Pacific coast makes little difference in the average temperature, while a third of that distance along the Atlantic coast makes three weeks’ difference in the time of blossoming of fruit trees. This Fig. 218. — Average length of the growing season, or the period between the last killing frost in spring and the first in autumn. ( After Ward in Geog. Rev.) illustrates one of the differences between west-facing coasts with their oceanic climate and east-facing coasts with their continental climate. Summary of Climate and Man In the Far North the conditions of life are so hard and the strug- gle for existence is so unceasing that only a comparatively few people live there. Within the polar circles the longest period of light or darkness (disregarding refraction or twilight; see p. 296) varies from 24 hours at the circles to six months at the poles. The Antarctic continent is larger than Australia but is deeply covered with ice and snow and has no permanent inhabitants. CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 311 The equatorial lowlands are regions of excessive rains and dense vegetation. The climate, always sultry and depressing, robs man of ambition ; agriculture is an incessant fight against weeds. Sustained effort is disagreeable ; work is irksome ; thrift and fore- thought are not necessary to existence, and so are little practiced ; thus, the native tribes would, of themselves, scarcely rise above barbarism. Tropical diseases make it dangerous for white men to continue long in these lowlands, which, as a result, remain, and are likely long to remain, among the most undeveloped parts of the earth. In the tropical highlands, altitude offsets latitude, and an agree- able and healthful, yet monotonous, climate prevails. In western America, from Bolivia to Mexico, the larger part of the people live on the plateaus or in the high mountain valleys. Here the climate is cool — even cold in Bolivia ; it is dry and fairly stimu- lating for a while, yet entirely lacking the tonic quality of the win- ters of the temperate zone. These regions are far better suited to man’s progress than are the tropical lowlands, yet they have not given the world any strong nation. The trade wind belts are prevailingly dry on land, though not nec- essarily so. Where the trades blow from sea to land and encoun- ter mountains, they cause heavy rainfall. On land these winds, blowing ever toward a warmer latitude and so becoming warmer, take up moisture and cause the greatest deserts of the world, notably the Sahara and the Arabian Desert. The population of the desert is relatively small yet larger than is generally supposed. The oases are usually peopled with a settled population, but the desert tribes are nomadic and lawless. When they feel the pinch of hunger, as they often do, they turn robbers and marauders, attacking caravans and raiding other tribes. This trait of the desert peoples is so general that it has evidently been bred in them by the hard life of the desert. The temperate zones are clearly the best suited to human prog- ress. The four seasons have taught man the need of a season of sowing, a season of growth, a season of harvest, and a season of rest and recuperation. The cyclonic storms which are such an 312 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY important element in the weather are believed to stimulate mental and physical energy. In the temperate zones, as nowhere else, man has learned thrift, industry, efficiency, and the value of sta- ble government. Here he has acquired the work habit and finds it agreeable. Here nature is not so generous in her gifts as in the torrid zone, yet she rewards effort much more abundantly than she does in the frigid zones. Here in the middle latitudes man finds the “ happy climatic mean,” and has reached his highest development. A few nations in the north temperate zone domi- nate the world’s affairs, and the most progressive peoples of the southern hemisphere are those of the south temperate zone. EXERCISE XX Review Questions on Climate 1. Define climate. 2. How does climate differ from weather? 3. What evidences have we that in parts of the world the climate of the past differed from that of the present? 4. What are the most important elements of climate? 5. Upon what conditions does the average temperature of a place mainly depend? 6. What is the source of practically all of the heat that warms the earth ? 7. Describe the way in which waves of energy from the sun yield light and heat. 8. Why are the polar regions cold and the equatorial belt hot? 9. Why are slanting rays from the sun less effective in heating the land than perpendicular rays? 10. Why do we not have summer when the earth is nearest the sun? 11. Why is the summer of the southern hemisphere not warmer than that of the northern? 12. Why do mountains usually receive considerable rainfall? 13. Why do high plateaus usually have a dry climate? 14. Explain how large bodies of water influence the climate of the adja- cent land. 15. Point out the effect of the Great Lakes upon fruit-growing in their vicinity. 16. Why do oceanic islands have an equable temperature? 17. What are some of the important effects of winds upon climate? Give examples. 18. How do ocean currents influence climate? Give examples. 19. Explain how topography influences climate. Give examples. 20. How does topography influence rainfall? CLIMATE AND ITS INFLUENCE 313 21. How long is the longest “day” at the poles? at the polar circles? at 70° latitude? at Hammerfest, Norway? 22. Describe the conditions of life in the Far North. 23. What are the main features of climate in equatorial lowlands? in equatorial highlands ? 24. Name some of the countries which include large areas of tropical low- lands ; of tropical highlands. 25. Tell something of the conditions of human life in these regions. 26. Point out important ways in which climate affects people and their stage of civilization. 27. Why do the trade wind belts include much desert? Name and locate some of these deserts. 28. Under what conditions do the trade winds yield heavy rainfall ? Give an example. 29. Where are the savanna belts? Why do they have alternate wet and dry seasons? 30. To what use are the savannas best suited? Why are they sparsely populated ? 31. What are the main characteristics of the climate of the north tem- perate zone? 32. Describe the principal features of the climates of the Pacific coast of North America. 33. Account for the peculiarities of the rainfall of different parts of that coast. 34. Why is fruit-growing highly successful in California ? 35. Account for the dense forests of western Washington and the dryness of eastern Washington. 36. Why is the winter temperature of the coast of Alaska milder than that of the coast of Labrador? 37. Account for the mild climate of the British Isles and of the coast of Norway. 38. Why does the interior of the United States have such changeable weather and such a wide range of temperature? 39. In what parts of the United States is rainfall ample for the needs of agriculture? In what parts is it inadequate? 40. At least how many inches of rainfall are needed for ordinary agricul- ture in the United States? 41. Why is the grazing of cattle or sheep extensively practiced in lands having low rainfall ? 42. Name some crops which are especially sensitive to cold. 43. From what bodies of water is the rainfall of the central United States mainly drawn? 44. Why is there a much wider variation in temperature along our Atlantic coast than along our Pacific coast? CHAPTER XVI THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES Extent of the Ocean. — The ocean waters cover about three- fourths of the surface of the earth. This is quite in contrast with the moon, which has no oceans, and Mars, our nearest neighbor among the planets, which has none so far as can be discovered. The proportion of land and water surface on the earth undergoes a slow change. At one time or another shallow ocean waters have covered almost every part of the continents as the sea-laid sedi- mentary rocks show. If the earth were a perfectly smooth globe, the ocean waters would cover its entire surface to a depth of 1.7 miles. Instead of being smooth, however, the surface of the earth has broad depressions, and in these the ocean waters collect. There is more than sufficient water to fill them, and so the ocean spreads over nearly 10,000,000 square miles of low land along the borders of the continents (Fig. 2). Unlike the continents, the oceans are all connected ; they really form one great body of water, but it is convenient to have names for the different portions, and so we speak of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic oceans. The Ocean Basins. ■ — The deepest known part of the ocean is over 32,000 feet, or a little over 6 miles (near the Philippine Islands). Since, in this latitude, the Pacific is over 6000 miles broad, the greatest depth is only reVo of the width. A fine hair-line drawn across this page would be too thick in proportion to its length to represent the comparative depth and width of the Pacific, or any of the other oceans. However, the ocean basins dip below the level of the sea more than the continents rise above that level. If all the land which is above sea level were scraped off 314 THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 315 Fig. 219. — The rocky New England coast. ( Courtesy of B. & M. R. R.) and dumped into the ocean basins, it would not go far toward filling them. The ocean bottom is for the most part a plain. Near the continents and oceanic islands steep slopes occur, but since no streams are eroding valleys under the sea, and since sediments are being constantly deposited on the ocean bottom, it is a vast and monotonous plain. There are, of course, great sags and swells, over which the water is deeper or shallower as the case may be, and some of the “deeps” have quite abrupt slopes; yet the steepest of these are much less abrupt than those on land. A broad swell, or ridge, ex- tends north and south through the mid-Atlantic, reaching in places within a mile or less of the surface of the sea. Chains of islands, such as the Japanese Islands or the West Indies, are mountain chains rising from the sea floor; the islands are the higher portions of the mountain chain, while shoals are the elevations which do not quite reach the surface. Ocean Bottom Deposits. — Near the shores of the continents, rivers are dumping sand, silt, and clay into the sea, and the shore currents and tides are distributing these over the sea bottom near the coasts. Only the finest 316 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY of the river-brought sediments are carried more than a few hundred miles out to sea. Most of them are deposited on the continental shelf, as the submerged margin of a continent is called. Somewhat less than half of the ocean is two miles or less in depth, and this portion is covered with an ooze formed mainly of the skeletons of mi- croscopic creatures. More than half of the ocean is over two miles deep, and here the sea-bottom sediments form a peculiar red clay made up of those parts of the tiny skeletons which do not dissolve. These last-mentioned sediments accumulate very, very slowly. Fig. 220. — Coral growth, low tide. ( Field Museum.) Composition of the Ocean Water. — The rivers carry dissolved mineral matter to the sea, and, as the ocean waters are evaporated by the sun and wind, this dissolved mineral matter is left behind in the ocean. Two of the minerals dissolved in the sea are common salt and carbonate of lime. The latter is taken up by animal life and used in making their shells and skeletons. The corals, for example, extract lime from the sea and build coral reefs of great extent (Fig. 220). The salt is not much used by sea life and so it THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 317 accumulates age after age ; the ocean now contains enough salt to make a layer 175 feet thick over its entire bed. Many other kinds of dissolved mineral matter are found in the sea, the total forming about parts to each hundred parts of water. Temperatures of the Ocean . — Under the same conditions the land heats and cools about four times as rapidly as the sea, and so the temperature of the ocean varies from season to season much less than that of the land. In any one place the ocean temperature seldom varies more than 10 degrees during the year, while land temperatures often vary more than ten times that amount. In the equatorial region the surface of the sea averages about 80° F. In the inclosed Red Sea the surface temperature may rise to 90° or even higher. In the polar regions the temperature is as low as 28° F., at which point salt water freezes. Proceeding from the equator toward the poles, the temperature of the ocean does not decrease uniformly. In some places i warm currents or drifts reach far toward the poles, and elsewhere cold cur- i rents from high latitudes reach far into the temperate zones (Fig. 222). As a rule the ocean becomes colder with increasing depth, but below 4000 feet the temperature is found to be between 35° and 40° F., and at the greatest ; depth to be below 35°. Only in the frigid and in the very cold parts of the ' temperate zones does the ocean water freeze. Nearly all the ports on the ! west side of North America and Europe are open throughout the year ; those in North America from the Gulf of St. Lawrence southward never freeze. * The great amount of ocean surface, and the comparatively slight change | in ocean temperature from season to season have a most beneficial effect upon the earth’s climate. Were it not for this influence of the ocean, the extreme temperatures on land in the temperate zone would be almost, if not quite, unbearable. Life in the Ocean. — Air, which is necessary to plant and animal life, is dissolved in the ocean water, but it is mainly confined to the upper portion. Light in only a small amount penetrates below 300 feet, hence plants or animals requiring light cannot live at a depth much greater than this ; but a little plant life is found down to depths of 1000 feet. While there are microscopic creatures in every part of the sea, most of the life is found in the uppermost 300 feet of water. Some life exists even in the deepest water, but it is exceedingly scanty in the intermediate portions, that is, between the bottom of the sea and the 300 feet at the top. At great depths the pressure is enormous, and fish which live there are especially constructed to resist this pressure. When caught and raised to the surface they sometimes burst or “explode.” Some of the deep- 318 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY sea fish have eyes and some have none, and many species of sea creatures are phosphorescent ; that is, they emit a light somewhat like that given out by the head of a match when it is slightly rubbed in the dark. The animal life of the sea is almost end- less in variety ; it in- cludes the largest ex- isting animal, the whale, and many oth- ers of large size, such as seals, sea lions, and walruses. Most forms of animal life in the sea extract lime car- bonate from the water and with it build their own skeletons or shells. Conspicuous among them is the tiny coral polyp which lives in colonies of millions and builds coral reefs some- times hundreds of miles in extent. The lime- stone rocks which cover large areas of the earth are largely composed of material cob lected and deposited by animal life in the sea. Food from the Sea. - — It is estimated that man obtains at least $500,000,000 worth of food from the sea each year ; this is largely made up of oysters, clams, lobsters, cod, mackerel, herring, and many kinds of fish caught near shore or in the shallow waters like the North Sea, or on the so-called fishing-banks, like those south of Newfoundland. Fig. 221. — Magnified skeletons of minute creatures 1 that make up the ooze on portions of the sea bot- tom. ( Field Museum,.) THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 319 Movements of Ocean Waters Wind Waves. — As the wind blows over the water, the friction of the moving air upon the surface of the water heaps it up into waves, the size of the wave depending upon the violence of the wind. The wave form moves forward with the wind, but the movement of the water in the w r ave is mainly up and down, as may be seen by observing a floating piece of wood. Some of the surface water is dragged forward by the wind, although far more slowly than the wave itself progresses. Upon reaching shallow water near shore, the bottom of the wave is retarded by friction upon the sea bottom and the top of the wave tumbles forward, forming white-crested breakers. Ocean Currents. — Wherever the wind blows more or less constantly over the ocean in one general direction, the surface water is set in motion in the same direction and a surface current or drift is produced. These are by no means so well defined as the map (Fig. 222) seems to indicate. In most cases they are to be thought of rather as slow drifts of surface water than as dis- tinct currents. The Equatorial Currents. — In both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans the trade winds produce westward-moving' currents on each side of the heat equator, while between these is a return current moving eastward (Fig. 222). The Gulf Stream. — The equatorial currents of the Atlantic divide as they approach the wedgelike nose of South America. The northern branch flows through the Caribbean Sea, whence part of it passes northward by way of the West Indies, and part enters the Gulf of Mexico. A large amount of fresh water also flows into the Gulf from rivers. The water that flows through the narrow strait between Cuba and Florida and thence in a northeasterly direction is known as the Gulf Stream. As it leaves the Strait of Florida it has a velocity of 5 miles an hour, is 50 miles wide, and occupies the entire channel. For hundreds of miles its course through the Atlantic can be noted by the warmth, color, and mo- tion of its water. Some distance out from the strait, the Gulf 320 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 0 )g! m 111 A * I W’ A / , ^X~T 0 '*; IW«, % wwft VO.cC V/ i /t l V /C: 'Vi 1 1 Fig. 222. • — Ocean, currents of the world. ( Tarr and McMurry.) THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 321 Stream is joined by the warm water which has come from the equatorial region by way of the West Indies (Fig. 222) ; before the mid-Atlantic is reached, the “ stream ” has spread out more and more fanlike, its rate of movement continues to diminish and it merges into what is known as the North Atlantic Drift, with a movement of only 8 or 9 miles a day. So much heat is thus carried into the North Atlantic that Norway, in the latitude of Greenland, has a fairly mild winter climate and its ports are never frozen ; the British Isles are as mild in winter as Maryland, 1400 miles farther south. The Labrador Current (Fig. 222), and other return currents both at the surface and below, carry back toward the equator the water which drifted north in the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift. The Labrador Current flows close to the coast of Labra- dor, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, and exerts a cooling in- fluence on the Canadian and New England coasts. Near Newfoundland it encounters the warm North Atlantic Drift, and the mixing of the cold and warm air over these waters causes dense fogs, which are dreaded by navigators, particularly on account of the gigantic icebergs that float south in the Labrador Current. Currents of the Pacific. — The Pacific has its equatorial currents, its Japan Current which corresponds to the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic, and its west wind drift. The Japan Current is less dis- tinct and less important than the Gulf Stream. The North Pacific drift of warm water imparts its temperature to the westerly winds and they give a mild oceanic climate to the Pacific coast of North America ; but because of the mountains near the Pacific coast the oceanic influence is not carried so far into North America as it is into Europe from the Atlantic. The Currents of the Southern Hemisphere are less important than those of the northern, mainly because the oceans of the north- ern hemisphere are used more and because the northern continents are larger and more populous than the southern. The position and direction of the currents of the southern hemisphere are shown in Fig. 222. 322 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Causes of Ocean Currents. - — The close agreement between the direction of the prevailing winds and that of the principal ocean currents and drifts leaves no room for doubt that these winds are the main cause of the currents. Yet they are not the sole cause. Wherever the wind forces the water to move away from any portion of the sea, other water flows in to take its place, and thus an ex- tensive and complex circulation is set up. There are also other causes for the circulation of ocean waters, such as unequal heating, differences in salinity, and the inflowing of rivers. The direction of the main currents is determined not only by the direction of the prevailing winds, but also by the earth’s rotation, and by the shape of the continents. Tides. — An observer at almost any port may note that during periods of about 6 hours each day the water rises, and during following periods of about 6 hours it falls. This rising and sinking of the water is known as the tide. During the rising or incoming movement the tide is said to flow, and the highest water is called flood tide; the outgoing or receding movement is ebb tide. There are ordinarily two flood tides and two ebb tides every 24 hours and 52 minutes. Cause of Tides. — This rising of the tide is due mainly to the attraction of the moon and also in a lesser degree to the attraction of the sun upon the ocean waters. Though the moon is much smaller than the sun, it is only as far away from the earth, and this makes it more effective in producing tides. When the sun, moon, and earth are about in a straight line, and so are pulling to- gether, the highest tides, called spring tides, are produced (Fig. 223) ; and when the sun and moon are about at right angles and so are pulling in different directions, the lowest, or neap tides, are pro- duced (Fig. 224). Not only does the moon’s (or sun’s) attraction cause a tidal wave on the side of the earth which is toward the moon (or sun) but it also causes one on the opposite side of the earth, a fact which cannot be adequately explained in a simple way, and is not here attempted. Since there are always tidal waves or “bulges” on opposite sides of the earth, and since the earth rotates daily upon its axis, a point on the coast is visited by both of these THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 323 Fig. 223. - — Showing the relative positions of sun, moon, and earth at spring tide. The black portion of the earth represents the tide, very greatly exaggerated in depth. © Fig. 224. — Showing the relative positions of sun, moon, and earth at neap tide. The moon may occupy either of the two positions shown, but, of course, not both positions at one time. tidal waves every 24 hours and 52 minutes, the time from moon- rise to moon-rise. Height of the Tide. — In the open sea, the average difference between high and low tide is only about 2 feet, but in V-shaped 324 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY bays which become narrower toward their heads the tide may rise 10, 20, and even 50 feet, as in the Bay of Fundy. Ships of deep draught frequently select flood tide for entering and leaving har- bors. Indeed, many harbors could not be used by large ships were it not for the assistance of the tides. The Ocean and Mankind The Ocean as a Source of Rainfall and a Distributer of Heat. — The ocean is the source from which the winds obtain the larger part of the moisture which they distribute over the land as rain, and it is rain that makes the difference between the desert, the semiarid land, and the fruitful farmland where millions dwell in plenty. The ocean is a vast storage reservoir of heat. The tropical seas absorb the sun’s heat throughout the year, and those of the temper- ate zone absorb it in summer. By means of the ocean currents this heat is carried into colder latitudes and distributed over the land by the winds. The Oceans as Barriers and as Boundaries. — Up to a few cen- turies ago the oceans so effectively separated the Eastern conti- nents from the Americas that the Old World knew nothing of them. For ages the oceans were the most impassable barriers that man encountered. They are no longer barriers to man, but they are still the most satisfactory of all boundaries for nations. Service to Commerce. — In this age of steam navigation, the oceans are of great benefit to commerce between widely separated parts of the world, because of the cheapness of ocean transporta- tion as compared with land transportation. For example, the cost of shipping wheat from Chicago to New York by rail is from ten to twenty times as much per mile as it is from New York to Liver- pool by steamer. The amount of wool needed to make a suit of clothes can be sent (in large shipments) from Australia to England, a distance of 12,000 miles, for four cents. Relation to Wars. — The danger of war between any two nations is very greatly lessened if they or their possessions are separated by a broad stretch of ocean. With the single exception of the THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 325 Coast Line World War, the only serious wars with foreign powers in which the United States has ever been involved have been with nations near us or having territory on this side of the ocean. There was no talk of war with Japan until we took possession of islands near Japan (the Philip- pines). Types of Coast Line. — The nature of a coast line depends upon the configura- tion of the land along the shore and upon the rising or sinking of the coast. The land has long been subjected to stream erosion and so is cut up into hills and val- leys, but the near-by sea bottom has been undergoing an oppo- site process ; it has become smooth by the deposition of sedi- ments over its surface. Sinking Coast. — If the land along the coast sinks, the sea backs up into the mouths of the creeks and rivers, while the hills or moun- tains stand up as headlands or islands extending out into the water. If the coast land is hilly or mountainous, as it is in Maine or south- ern Alaska, a very irregular, jagged coast line is produced, and if the sinking is considerable, river mouths become deep bays (Figs. 225 , 226 ). Fig. 225. — Sinking coast of a mountainous region ; mountains become headlands and islands. A coast somewhat like that of Maine. ( Model by Davis and, Curtis, Harvard.) 326 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY If a low, nearly flat coastal plain sinks, the shore line becomes swampy ; the river mouths become broad, shallow estuaries, as they are along the coast of our south Atlantic states ; deep harbors are rare or absent, and sand bars readily form parallel to the shore. Fig. 226 . — Map showing the submerged channel of the St. Lawrence River across the continental shelf. Fiorded Coasts. — Norway presents the best example of this type of coast (Fig. 227). It is a region of rugged mountains with deep, stream-cut valleys leading down to the sea. During the Ice Age glaciers moved down these valleys and greatly deepened them by ice erosion. A sinking of the coast possibly accompanied this, and when the glaciers melted away, the ocean entered the long, narrow valleys, forming fiords (Fig. 228). Some of these extend from 50 to 100 miles into the land ; the water is often hundreds of feet deep, while the precipitous cliffs rise high above the water’s edge, and thousands of islands fringe the coast. Such coasts, found only where glaciers have been, occur also in southern Chile, in southern Alaska, in British Columbia, in Labrador, and in New Zealand. THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 327 Fig. 227. — A portion of the coast of Norway with its many islands and long fiords. Such a coast line is due to (1) river erosion, followed by (2) glacial erosion and (3) probable sinking of the coast. Rising Coasts. — When a coast is uplifted without being deformed, a strip of sandy sea- bottom is added to the land and forms a low, flat coastal plain, lacking in natural harbors, such as the coast of New Jersey. If mountain ranges are uplifted near the shore, then a mountain coast such as that of western South America and Mexico, and parts of Italy is produced (Figs. 229, 230). Along such a coast there is little or no coastal lowland, and very few good harbors, making en- trance into the continent from the sea more or less difficult. The Ever Changing Charac- ter of Coasts. — Not only are coasts subject to rising and sinking, but they are constantly battered by waves and eroded by tides and shore currents. Headlands are worn off and little indentations are filled with sand or have sand bars built across their mouths. The tendency is for coasts to be- come more and more regular as time goes on, provided a sinking of the coast does not take place (Figs. 232, 233, 234). The Influence of Coast Line. — Europe has the most irregular coast line of any of the continents, and Africa has the most regular. Europe also has the highest civilization and Africa the lowest ; this is due in part to the difference in the coast lines of the two conti- nents, though difference in climate has been a still more important 328 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 228. — Hardanger Fiord, one of many along the mountainous coast of Norway. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Unio.) Fig. 229. — The mountainous coast of Italy near Amalfi. ( Courtesy W. H. Dudley.) THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 329 Fig. 230. — The rugged Italian coast south of Naples. ( Courtesy W . H. Dudley.) factor. The many peninsulas and indentations of the European coast have given it an exceedingly long shore line, with many points at which it can be entered from the sea. On the contrary, explorers, traders, and travelers have found Africa difficult to pene- trate. Thus, Europe constantly received civilizing influences from the outside, whereas Africa did not. The indented coast of Britain has favored the development of maritime people, and the remarkably indented coast of Norway has played an important part in the history of that country. The Vikings of the Norwegian coast were for many centuries the bold rovers of the northern seas, and Norway is to-day one of the leading maritime nations. The coast of Greece has many indentations, peninsulas, and islands ; as a consequence the Greeks have long been the leading maritime people of the eastern Mediterranean. The influence of the coast line of the United States is discussed in Chapter XVII. 330 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 231. — Example of the low, tidal marsh lands on the edge of the coastal plain of the southern states. (U . S. Bur. of Soils.) THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 331 Fig. 232. — A rocky, wave-cut coast, Oregon. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) Fig. 233. — A specimen of New England’s granite-ribbed coast. ( Courtesy B. and M. R. R.) 332 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Harbors Qualities of a Good Natural Harbor. — Many harbors that once served well the needs of ocean commerce are too shallow for the great ships of the present day. A good modern harbor needs (a) to be deep enough for the largest ships to reach the piers (30 to Fig. 234. — An island that is being slowly eaten away by the attacks of the waves. 40 feet deep near shore) ; (6) to be spacious enough to afford an- chorage for many ships at one time ; (c) to have a long water front, permitting many piers, warehouses, grain elevators, coni docks, railway terminals, etc. ; ( d ) to have a deep and direct entrance channel ; ( e ) to be well inclosed by land, giving protection from storms ; (/) to have an easy route leading into the back country or “ hinterland ” ; (g) to be free from ice obstruction the year around ; ( h ) to be free from excessively high or low tides ; ( i ) to be located THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 333 in a part of a continent where land and water routes naturally and conveniently meet. The Improvement of Harbors. — There are few if any harbors which meet without improvements the needs of modern commerce. The great majority of harbors are the drowned mouths of rivers. The rivers deposit silt, and shore currents build sand bars across the channels, so that harbors require almost continuous dredging to remove the sediment. For example, the port of Liverpool re- quires the constant service of from five to seven powerful dredges. They remove annually about 20,000,000 tons of sand, equivalent to 500,000 car-loads. Piers, docks, machinery for loading and un- loading ships, lights, railway terminals, and many other conven- iences and necessities make up the equipment of a modern port of entry. (See description of New York Harbor, page 344.) It has cost the port of Glasgow more than $100,000,000 for improve- ments, and the port of Liverpool has expended $200,000,000 on docks. In some cases a harbor is so poorly protected against storms that an artificial wall, or breakwater, has to be built. Summary The earth, unlike the moon or Mars, possesses a large volume of water — enough to fill the great basins or depressions in the crust, and to submerge about 10,000,000 square miles of lowland belonging to the continents. The greatest known depth of the ocean is over 6 miles, yet even the Pacific is a mere film of water when its depth is compared with its length and breadth. The ocean bottom is a monotonous plain with broad swells, and occasional “deeps,” but with few steep slopes. The salt, lime carbonate, and other minerals in sea water are mainly carried there by rivers. The lime carbonate is used by animals, large and small, in building their shells and skeletons, but the salt remains in the sea and slowly increases in amount as the sea water is evaporated. The temperature of the sea is much more steady than that of 334 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the land; it seldom changes more than 10° F. in any one place during the year. Since light does not penetrate much beyond 300 feet into the sea, the greater part of the life of the ocean is found in the more shallow waters and near the surface, but some life is found in all parts. The three principal movements of the ocean are (1) waves caused by the wind ; (2) ocean currents and drifts, which are largely due to the prevailing winds, and (3) the tides which are caused by the attraction of the moon and sun, the moon being the more important because of its nearness to the earth. The north and south equatorial currents in both the Atlantic and the Pacific are due to the trade winds. The Gulf Stream is the most important of all the ocean currents. In the mid-At- lantic, it spreads out broadly and becomes the North Atlantic Drift. The mild climate of western Europe is partly due to the heat which is derived from this drift of warm water. The Japan Current in the Pacific corresponds in position to the Gulf Stream, but is less important. The tide ebbs and flows twice in 24 hours and 52 minutes. Spring tides (high) are due to the combined attraction of the moon and sun. Neap tides (low) occur when the sun and moon are about at right angles to each other. The great extent of ocean surface supplies the winds with abun- dant moisture and gives sufficient rainfall for crops to more than two-thirds of the land. If the earth had less ocean and more land, deserts would be increased. The great amount of ocean water has a tempering effect upon the climate of the earth as a whole. Ocean currents carry an enormous amount of heat from the torrid zone into higher latitudes. Speaking generally, a sinking coast is irregular and may have many harbors. A rising coast usually gives a low coastal plain with few good harbors. Irregularity of coast line is favorable to intercourse between land and sea ; this leads to trade, to the ex- change of ideas between different lands, and to the general ad- vance of civilization. There are eight or ten desirable qualities of a first class natural THE OCEAN AND ITS SHORES 335 harbor. No single harbor possesses all of these, and even the best harbors require constant attention and expensive improve- ments. EXERCISE XXI Problems 1. Suppose, through a gradual sinking of the ocean bottom, the ocean basins were to become considerably deeper than they are now, what change would this make in the area of the continents? Name parts of certain con- tinents which would show the change most. 2. Rivers carry more lime carbonate to the sea than they do salt, yet there is far more salt in the sea water than there is lime carbonate. Account for this. 3. Ports on the east coast of North America and of Asia are closed by ice when more northerly ports on the west side of North America and of Europe are open all the year. How do you explain this? 4. If a cubic foot of sea water weighs 64 pounds, what is the pressure on a square foot of ocean bottom at a depth of 5 miles ? 5. Why is most of the fishing in the sea confined to, the so-called “banks” or to other shallow waters? 6. Why are waves on the ocean larger than those on lakes? 7. What are (a) white caps and (6) breakers? What causes them? 8. Suppose the earth rotated on its axis from east to west ; describe the probable movement of ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean. 9. Suppose the Caribbean Sea were connected with the Pacific at Pan- ama by a strait 100 miles or more wide. Point out any effect that this might have upon the climate of Europe. 10. The prevailing winds are believed to be the main cause of the ocean currents, yet no such wind accounts for the Labrador Current. How do you explain this current? 11. Both fogs and icebergs are more common near Newfoundland than elsewhere along the. North Atlantic steamship routes. Explain why. 12. The winds blowing from the Pacific are of much less importance to North America than those from the Atlantic are to Europe. Account for this. 13. Why do ship captains need to know the time and height of tides in harbors which they visit? 14. Suppose the earth’s surface were half land and half water, thus dou- bling the present amount of land ; would this necessarily mean that the world could support twice as many people as it can now? Explain. 15. Give reasons why long-distance transportation on the ocean is cheaper than on land. 16. Why are nations that are separated by the ocean less likely to get into war than nations whose territories touch? Give illustrations from his- tory. 336 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 17. If a hilly or mountainous coast sinks, the resulting coast line is likely to be very irregular. Explain why. 18. The Norwegians have been excellent seamen for centuries; but the Swedes who live in the same peninsula are not especially given to a sea-faring life. Account for the difference. 19. Why are rising coasts likely to be deficient in good harbors ? 20. Maine has harbors equally as good as New York Bay, but they are of far less importance to overseas commerce. Explain why. CHAPTER XVII THE COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES General Character. — The coast of the United States is highly favorable to the needs of a commercial nation : (a) because of its great length ; ( b ) because of its many harbors ; (c) because it faces the two principal oceans. Speaking broadly the coast is of three types : 1. the drowned and much indented coast of New England ; 2. the coastal-plain shore of the middle and southern states; 3. the mountain coast of the Pacific. 1. From eastern Maine to New York Bay the coast has sunk so much that the sea entirely covers the coastal plain, and backs up into the valleys of all the streams flowing into the sea. Since this downward movement of the coast occurred, a lesser upward movement has taken place. 2. From New York southward around Florida and on beyond the mouth of the Rio Grande, extends a coastal plain ; here the sea meets the land along a low, flat shore, with the characteristic features of a rising coast. Since the general uplift of the coastal plain, a slight sinking has occurred, changing the river mouths into broad but not deep estuaries and bays, of which Delaware and Chesapeake bays are examples. 3. The Pacific coast has practically no coastal plain, and the mountain ranges, which are very close to the sea, are broken by only three or four openings which make harbors suitable for ocean commerce. 337 338 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Atlantic Coast Favorable Features. — 1 . The Atlantic coast is a much in- dented, many-harbored coast, especially from Virginia northward. 2. It is bordered by lowlands, in part suited to agriculture and Fig. 235. — A part of the coast of Maine, showing the effect upon the coast line produced by the sinking of a rugged coast. affording ample space for manufacturing centers, railways, and commercial cities. 3. The mountains (the Appalachians) which lie between the coast and the interior are easily crossed. 4. It faces Europe, the most important of the continents. COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 339 The Coast of Maine. —Maine is sometimes called the “ Hundred Harbor State.” The actual length of the coast is more than ten times the length measured in a direct line. The river valleys which lead down to the sea have been scoured and deepened by glaciers, and a sinking of the land has drowned the river mouths, causing the sea to extend up the valleys, and leaving ranges of hills protruding into the ocean as headlands and islands (Fig. 235). Maine’s geographical position is somewhat isolated, and its many harbors, of which Portland is the most important, are less 340 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY used commercially than they would he if they were farther south. In the days of wooden ships the coast of Maine was famous for shipbuilding, and several ports, Bath in particular, still have im- portant shipyards. A coast like that of Maine develops in its people a fondness for the sea, for ships, and for the seaman’s life. Some 7000 fishermen still go out from the fishing villages and ports of Maine, and the annual catch reaches millions of pounds. The wild beauty of the Maine coast, its cool summers, its green islands and blue waters, Fig. 237. -Map showing the drowned month attra , Ct , ^OUSands of of the Hudson River. The contour lines show people who go there for the submerged channel across the continental health rest and oleas- ure. The coast of Maine has become one of the nation’s summer play- grounds. Boston Harbor, the drowned mouth of the Charles River, is protected by islands at the harbor entrance (Fig. 236). The outer and the inner harbors together cover a large area, and have improved channels deep enough for the largest ocean liners. The total water front is 141 miles in length, but it is not all used. Boston ranks fourth among the great ports of the United States ; in normal times over 40 steamship lines connect it with foreign countries, and there are many lines of steamers engaged in the coastwise trade. Enormous quantities of coal are brought by water to Boston both for use in the city and for distribution to the manufacturing cities tributary to it. Eastern Massachusetts is sprinkled with manufacturing cities, in which cotton and woolen mills and shoe factories are of first importance; hence Boston COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 341 Fig. 238. — Gloucester, Mass., one of the most famous fishing towns of New England. ({/. S. Bur. of Fisheries .) 342 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY is a leading city in the importation of hides, skins, wool, and foreign-grown cotton. The Coast of Southern New England has sunk less and is less indented than that of Maine, but this, too, is a region of hills and valleys and the sinking has converted the river mouths into harbors. The coastal plain is nearly all submerged, hut ap- pears in places, as in Cape Cod Peninsula, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Long Island. Narragansett Bay reaches entirely across one portion of Rhode Island, cutting the little state in two and giving Massachusetts a seaport, Fall River, on one of its arms. At the entrance to the Bay is Newport, a very fashionable and exclusive summer COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 343 resort and the seat of the United States Naval War College. On Providence River, at the head of the bay, is Providence, which is more largely devoted to manufacturing than to ocean commerce. Near one end of the recently completed Cape Cod Canal is the famous old whaling port of New Bedford, now a great cotton-manufacturing center. Long Island, Manhattan Island, and Staten Island were for- merly parts of the mainland, from which they have been separated by the sinking of the land. The same sinking of the coast gave Connecticut its much indented shore line and many harbors, large and small. On these harbors have sprung up a line of man- ufacturing cities including New Haven, New London, and Bridge- port, all of which get coal by water from ports in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. The New England Fisheries Why Our Ocean Fisheries Are Important. — There are two reasons why the fisheries of the United States are important : (1) they supply us with a valuable kind of food; (2) the ocean fisheries are a school for seamen. Men in the fishing fleets often become expert sailors and many of them become the officers and seamen of our merchant vessels and ships of war. Up to the time of the Civil War the United States was one of the leading nations in the building of ships and in the ocean-carrying trade, and since the World War it has again become a great maritime power. The New England boat builders turned out sailing ves- sels of the swiftest type, and the New England fisheries devel- oped a race of seamen as expert and fearless as any in the world. The American “Clipper” and the Yankee sailor were known in every port. New Bedford was once famous for its whal- ing fleet and Gloucester is still widely known for its fishing fleet which goes annually to the banks off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (Fig. 226). Of the New England fishermen, the late Professor Ralph S. Tarr, who grew up among the fisher folk of Gloucester, wrote : 344 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY “Such contact with the sea develops bravery; nay, it demands bravery first of all and then develops it still further. The life of the fisherman who spends his days in an open boat on the heaving sea, which may at any mo- ment be lashed by the fury of the storm wind, is such as to demand not merely braveness, but hardiness, quickness to see, and in an emergency, ability to judge and act with utmost coolness and fearlessness. The life of the fish- erman is also calculated to develop a spirit of independence; he must also be patient and persistent. We will never know to what extent the develop- ment of these qualities among New Englanders and later transplanted in other parts of the country, is to be credited to the influence of the early life by the seashore ; but for my own part, I believe this influence has been great. . . . “ The summer fishing for mackerel is pleasant, the boats cruising near the coast in the exciting search for schools of mackerel which, when sighted, are chased with large seine boats and then surrounded with the seine and taken aboard, either to be salted in barrels or to be quickly taken to the mar- ket and sold fresh. The winter fishing presents an abundance of excitement and danger. The fishing banks are notoriously stormy and foggy, and often the boats are so densely wrapped in the fog that objects only a few feet away cannot be seen. Then they are in danger of collision with icebergs and with ocean steamers, whose path lies directly across the fishing banks. It is by no means uncommon for a fishing schooner to go to the bottom with all hands, crushed like an eggshell beneath the bows of a huge transatlantic liner. ” 1 New York Harbor. — New York has become the world’s leading seaport (Fig. 239). The bay is the drowned mouth of the Hud- son River, and is one of the best protected and most spacious among the great harbors of the world. The upper bay is almost entirely landlocked. It has mile after mile of water front on both sides of Manhattan Island, around the western end of Long Island, and along the New Jersey side — 748 miles in all. Pro- jecting out from the land, like the teeth of a great comb, are some 800 piers and wharves, at which may lie the ocean liners, the huge freighters, and the vessels engaged in the coastwise trade (Fig. 239). Along the New Jersey shore are the terminals of many railway systems which focus upon this port from the south, west, and north. Into these railway terminals roll the trains bringing the grain, meat, milk, fruit, cotton, lumber, coal, and every other commod- ity and every form of merchandise which the country is produc- ing. The passenger, express, and mail trains which rumble in 1 “ The Fishing Industry of New England,” Bulletin of the American Bureau of Geography, Vol. II, p- 44. COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 345 and out of these terminals are so numerous, especially at morn- ing and evening, that they are like a procession. Tens of thousands of people live in New Jersey but go to their business in New York daily. Until a few years ago all passengers for New York from the south and west, except those who came by the New York Central Railroad, had to get off the trains on the New Jersey side and be transferred across the Hudson River to New York on ferry boats. Now the Pennsylvania Railroad enters New York by tunnels under the Hudson River and dis- charges passengers at its mammoth station in the very heart of the city. Other tunnels also lead under the Hudson between Man- hattan and New 7 Jersey, and between Manhattan and Brooklyn on Long Island. Four bridges, each a mile or more in length, connect the Manhattan and Brooklyn portions of the city. Scores of ferry boats pass to and fro day and night carrying people and vehicles from one point to another. There are so many ocean steamers, schooners, car ferries, passenger ferries, tugs, barges, lighters, pleasure boats, river craft, and harbor craft crossing, entering, and leaving the harbor that only an estab- lished system of signals prevents collisions. There are, for ex- ample, 10,000 lighters, or boats, which transfer freight cars from place to place along the water front. The Equipment of a Great Port of Entry. — A great harbor requires many facilities for carrying on its operations. There are harbor lights that are watched and tended ; a customhouse through which imported goods pass and pay duty ; an immigrant station with officials, interpreters, inspectors, physicians, hos- pitals, quarantine station, and all the other facilities for register- ing, inspecting, and passing thousands of immigrants every month. There are police boats, fire boats, and revenue cutters ; powerful dredges are always at work keeping channels open in places where the river deposits silt. There are fortifications with their huge guns and their quarters for soldiers and officers ; drydocks where ships may be repaired, elevators for handling grain, and piers equipped with hoisting machinery for loading and unload- ing vessels. There are acres of train sheds, freight yards, and 346 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY stock yards, warehouses, cold storage plants, and offices of the commission merchants, and of other dealers and brokers. Yet all of these form only a part of the equipment of a great port. The New Jersey Coast. — The coast of New Jersey between Fig. 240. — The sandy beach at Atlantic City, N. J. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) Raritan Bay (near New York Bay) and Philadelphia has little commerce because the shore is low and sandy without a deep har- bor or a commercial city. But this very condition and the absence of commercial activity makes it an ideal coast for summer cot- tages, homes, and hotels, and for pleasure seekers from the great cities near by. hliles and miles of the coast are built up with sum- mer homes, many of them palatial in character. In a few hours’ automobile ride along the ocean boulevard you pass through a half dozen cities which include, in addition to the homes of the permanent residents, hotels, clubs, summer cottages, amusement places, and bazaars. The beach is white and sandy and as soft as velvet ; the water is not deep and the huge waves, rolling in, make surf-bathing a delight (Fig. 240). Atlantic City is said to surpass any similar city in the world in the number and palatial character of its hotels. There are other stretches of coast, not yet given over to cottagers and summer visitors, where quaint COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 347 fishing towns, quite unlike the fashionable resorts, still re- main. Delaware Bay and the Port of Philadelphia. — South of New York Bay the first harbor of commercial importance is the estuary Fig. 241. — Steel steamship under construction in a Philadelphia shipyard. When ships were made of wood, Maine was our leading shipbuilding state. With the change to steel, the centers of this industry moved to the Delaware-Chesapeake region. ( Courtesy Cramp Shipbuilding Co.) Joseph it mint) of the Delaware River. At the head of ocean navigation on this river is Philadelphia, the third city in size in the United States, with 37 miles of water front. Philadelphia is one of the natural outlets for coal from the anthracite fields of eastern Pennsylvania, for the products of the great steel-making centers and for the oil fields of Pennsylvania and the interior. It is connected with foreign ports by over 30 lines of steamships, and with American ports by some 15 or 20 lines. It is one of the chief commercial, mercantile, and manufacturing cities of the nation. Opposite Philadelphia is Camden on the New Jersey side of the Delaware and 348 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY a little farther south is Wilmington, the chief city of Delaware. A canal built a century ago and soon to be enlarged, joins Delaware and Chesapeake bays. These bays are the nearest coastal waters to the principal iron- and steel-making centers, and have the Fig. 242. — A portion of the oyster fleet of Baltimore in former years. Sailing boats are less in use at present. ( U . S. Bur. of Fisheries.) largest shipbuilding yards in the United States (Fig. 241). When wood gave place to iron and steel in the building of ships, the indus- try declined in New England and increased along the middle At- lantic coast because it is nearer the coal and iron regions. During COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 349 the World War the Delaware became the foremost shipbuilding river in the world, surpassing even the famous Clyde in Scotland. Chesapeake Bay is the drowned mouth of the Susquehanna River, to which the Potomac and James were once tributaries (Fig. 243). This bay with its many branches is important commercially, and in addition contains the most productive oyster beds in the world. Baltimore, the most southerly of our four leading Atlantic ports, Nor- folk and Newport News, at the mouth of the James, and Washington and Richmond, reached by river steamers, combine to make this an important stretch of coast. Several railways, reaching back into the coal fields, terminate here and make these ports especially important coal-ship- ping points. The South Atlantic Coast. — South of Chesapeake Bay the coast be- comes less indented. Much of the way it is skirted with long, slender islands of sand, built up by the waves and the wind (Fig. 244). Nearly all of the river mouths are slightly drowned and afford useful though not deep harbors as Wilmington, N. C., Charleston, S. C., Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla. The export of cotton from some of these ports is very large, notably from Savan- nah. The opening of the Panama Canal has led to unusual activity along this coast, including deepening of harbors, building of railway terminals and wharves, and improvement of rail- way facilities between the coal fields and the sea board. The “ Great Circle Route,” the shortest water route between the Panama Canal and western Europe, lies near this coast, and rivers that formed this branch- ing, submerged valley. 350 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the South Atlantic ports should profit largely by the opening of the canal. Sea-island Cotton. — The coast of South Carolina and Georgia is fringed with small islands ; upon these and to a much greater ex- tent on the mainland of Georgia and north- ern Florida grows the valuable sea-island cotton , a variety highly prized because of the long, fine, strong fiber which it yields. The Florida Coast is the longest sea coast (1000 miles) possessed by any state, yet it has no deep harbors on the Atlantic side and only two or three on the Gulf coast. The peninsula itself is low and nearly flat, Fig. 244. - Shore of North Carolina showing the long, t] bu j, t ()f narrow orr-shore bars which are common along our 1 ^ 1 # south Atlantic and Gulf coasts. coral and other kinds of limestone. Long, narrow sand bars lie parallel to almost the entire east coast. At the south, a line of coral reefs, called keys, form a chain of islands nearly 200 miles long (Fig. 246). One of the most notable railroad undertakings of recent years was the building of the Florida East Coast Railroad, whose southern section runs from island to island on concrete arches all the way to Key West, the most southerly city in the United States. This trip of 100 miles on the keys is described as “an ocean trip by rail- road ” (Fig. 247). Sponge Fishing. — The sponges with which we are familiar are the skeletons of colonies of once living creatures. At the south- COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 351 ern end of Florida, sponge fishing is carried on both by divers and by fishermen using long-handled spears or hooks. This industry is rather more interesting than important, yet about 2000 per- Fig. 245. — Lumber dock at Savannah, Ga. Southern yellow pine constitutes over one- third of the total lumber cut of the United States. (U. S. Forest Service.) sons are engaged in it, and they market several hundred thousand pounds of sponges each year. The Gulf Coast From Florida to the Mexican border, the Gulf of Mexico is bordered by a low coastal plain with all the characteristics be- longing to a rising coast. That, of course, means that there are few good harbors, and these require frequent dredging to keep them open. Tampa and Pensacola, Fla., and Mobile, Ala., are on large well-protected bays, and have a considerable commerce. Florida is one of the large producers of lumber and of naval stores, which form the bulk of Pensacola’s exports. Mobile is a cotton-shipping and lumber-shipping port and is becoming an 352 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 246. — The Florida East Coast Railroad running about 100 miles on the keys to Key West. Fig. 247. • — Concrete viaduct of the Florida East Coast Railroad, which runs for about 100 miles from key to key, terminating at Key West — "an ocean trip by railroad." ( Courtesy F. E. C. R. R.) COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 353 outlet for the rapidly growing coal and steel district around Birmingham, Ala. The Delta of the Mississippi. — A long time ago the Gulf of Mex- ico reached northward to the present mouth of the Ohio River, but this arm of the Gulf is now filled by the sediment poured into it by the rivers. The Mississippi is carrying its load of sediment out into the main gulf, each year depositing an amount twice as great as all the rock and earth removed from the Panama Canal. As shown in Fig. 24S, the Missis- sippi discharges through sev- eral mouths called “ passes ” ; these become partially filled with sediment that obstructs navigation. About 90 miles up the river is the city of New Orleans, and it is essen- tial that the river be kept open for seagoing vessels at least for that distance. This has been achieved by building “ jetties ” or walls of earth and rock on each side of the river at certain of its mouths. These con- fine its course to a narrower channel, and compel it to flow with a stronger current so that it carries the sediment some distance out into the Gulf, thus preventing the clogging of the mouth. The delta is extending out into the Gulf at the rate of about 340 feet a year. New Orleans and Galveston. — New Orleans and Galveston hold the place of leadership among the Gulf ports. In the value of their commerce New Orleans leads, and both rank next to New York. These two cities represent widely different types of harbors. New Orleans is a great river port 90 miles in from Fig. 248. ■ — - Map of the delta of the Mis- sissippi River. Note the growth since 1S72. 354 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the coast, placed there on a natural levee because the swampy delta of the river forbade the building of a city on the coast. Galveston, on the contrary, is built on a sandy island or bar some distance out from the coast (Fig. 249). Large sums of Fig. 249. — The location of Galveston on one of the bars near the Texas coast. Note that the piers and docks are on the sheltered side of the bar. money have been expended in perfecting these two harbors. A ship canal 7 miles in length connects the city of Houston with Galveston Harbor. The Pacific Coast Characteristics. — This coast differs greatly from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Throughout almost its entire length mountains rise from near the water’s edge. There is practically no coastal plain, and at only two places has the sinking of the land been sufficient to admit the sea through notches in the Coast Ranges so as to produce spacious harbors ; these are San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound. The Columbia River has cut a channel to the sea through the mountains, thus permitting ocean vessels to ascend to the city of Portland. COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 355 At almost the extreme southern end of California is the har- bor of San Diego, deep, landlocked, and ample for a large com- merce. Los Angeles, growing with great rapidity, has reached 20 miles down to the sea and has consolidated with the ports Fig. 250. — Oil derricks along the coast of Southern California. ( U . S. Geol. Sur.) of San Pedro and Wilmington. There is no inclosed natural harbor here, but an artificial breakwater gives protection to ship- ping. The Harbor of San Francisco. — A long time ago the two riv- ers (the Sacramento and the San Joaquin) which now drain the Great Valley of California united and flowed through the Coast Ranges in a notch which the river itself had made. The sink- ing of the coast afterward drowned the mouth of this river so that the sea now enters, and behind the Coast Ranges broadens out into San Francisco Bay, 40 miles in length and deep enough for the largest ships afloat (Fig. 251). The entrance to the bay is the celebrated Golden Gate. The city of San Francisco 356 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY is on a peninsula between the bay and the ocean. Across the bay, chiefly at Oakland, are the terminals of several trans- continental railroads which reach this harbor. San Francisco has long been the chief port on our Pacific coast ; the excel- lence of the harbor and its central position caused it to be made the terminus of the first transcontinental railroad. The gold deposits, the rich lands of the Great Valley, the lumber, and the ocean commerce have all combined to give this port large importance. Portland, 112 miles from the sea, is reached by ocean vessels by way of the Columbia and Willamette rivers. It is a beautiful city, the natural out- let of a large and productive region tributary to the Co- lumbia River and its branches ; this territory includes the great forests of western Oregon and Washington and the wheat lands of eastern Washington and Idaho. The Puget Sound Ports. — From the state of Washington to Bering Strait stretches a coast wholly unlike that of Oregon, California, and Mexico. This northern coast has experienced much sinking and glacial erosion ; there are endless bays and in- lets and a continuous fringe of islands. The southernmost of these indentations is Puget Sound, the most spacious harbor on our Pacific coast. Seattle and Tacoma are the prin- cipal ports. Seattle is nearer the mouth of the sound than Tacoma; it handles the larger part of the ocean commerce, and Fig. 251. — Map of San Francisco Bay and its cities. Most of the railroads do not enter the city directly, but terminate at points across the bay from San Francisco, and connect with the city by ferries. COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 357 has had a marvelously rapid growth. Seattle is the western ter- minus of several of the great western railway systems, and is also an important steamship terminal for both Alaskan and Asiatic lines. The Salmon Fisheries on the Pacific Coast. — The Pacific salmon are the most valuable fish of the western hemisphere, and with the single exception of the sea herring, are commer- cially the leading fish of the world. There are different species, the largest of which is the king salmon, averaging 25 pounds in weight, and some- times reaching 100 pounds. The red sal- mon does not grow so large, but the rich color of the meat makes it a favorite for canning. The catch- ing and canning of salmon has become a large industry on the Pacific coast from San Francisco to Bering Strait. The canning season extends throughout the summer and early fall and engages upwards of 35,000 people. From 400 to 500 million pounds of fish are caught annually. If the cans of salmon which are put up in an average year on our Pa- cific coast were placed end to end, they would encircle the earth at the equator. Peculiarities of the Salmon. — After the young salmon hatch from eggs deposited far up a river by the mother, they go down the river and out to sea, where they live as salt water fish. When they reach maturity, in from two to four years, they seek the mouths of streams flowing into the ocean. So Fig. 252. — Log raft on the Oregon coast. Our north Pacific coast, with its heavy rainfall, has magnificent forests, but the coast south of San Francisco has very little timber. ( U . S. Geol. Sur.) 358 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY eager are they to go far up the rivers that they will try time and again to leap up a waterfall or dam, and will often ascend falls of considerable height. After they begin their journey upstream they eat no food, and shortly after depositing their eggs they die. The eggs hatch slowly, depending upon the temperature of the water; in some cases the process requires seven or eight months. When a school of salmon is proceeding up a river it is like an army ; in one stream in Alaska the United States Bureau of Fish- eries arranged a device which en- abled men to count the fish as they passed through narrow gates. On one day 324,000 were counted and on another 402,000. Over 2,500,000 were counted during that run, which lasted through July and part of August. Nets and seines are stretched across parts of the rivers and fish- wheels are constructed in shallow channels to catch the fish as they swim up the stream. The govern- ment regulates the salmon fisheries and thus seeks to prevent the catching of so many as to dimin- ish permanently the supply for future years. The Alaskan Seal Fisher- ies. — The value and impor- tance of the fur seal may be judged from the fact that a sealskin coat costs hundreds of dollars. The most im- portant herd of seals in the world lives in the north Pacific and each season collects on the Pribilof Islands near Alaska (Fig. 255) ; formerly there were • 4 or 5 million seals in this herd, but the seal hunters reduced it almost to the point of extermination. The peculiar habits of the seal make the animal an easy prey ; the Alaskan seals always go to the same small islands during the breeding season. Strangely enough, they have selected for their breeding place islands Fig. 253. — Map of Puget Sound. COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 359 which are from 100 to 200 miles away from the waters where they obtain their food. This compels the mother seals to swim all this distance to get food ; they make the trips every five or ten days, and return faithfully to care for their young. The Fig. 254. — A log boom at one of the great saw mills of the Northwest — at Ta- coma. (U . S. Forest Service .) seal hunters, knowing this habit, found it easy to kill them when they were swimming back and forth. Killing the seals has been forbidden for a period of 15 years by a treaty entered into by Great Britain, Russia, Japan, and the United States, and it is believed that the herd will again grow to large size. Suggestion. — The author has prepared no summary of this chapter. It is suggested that the pupils prepare summaries as follows : 1. The Atlantic coast of the United States. (About 200 words.) 2. The Gulf coast of the United States. (About 100 words.) 3. The Pacific coast of the United States. (About 200 words.) 360 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 255. — Thousands of seals on the Pribilof Islands, oS the coast of Alaska.' COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES 361 EXERCISE XXII 1. Why is the coast line of the United States especially well suited to the needs of a commercial nation? 2. Why has New England no coastal plain? 3. Why is the coast of Maine so irregular? 4. Why has shipbuilding declined in importance on the New England coast ? 5. Why, with its many fine harbors, has Maine no very large cities? 6. Why does a coast like that of Maine develop a “sea-faring instinct” in men? 7. Why does New England use a great amount of coal? 8. Why are there many manufacturing cities along the New England coast, but not along the New Jersey coast? 9. Why is New York harbor an excellent one? 10. Why is the coast of New Jersey especially well suited for pleasure re- sorts ? 11. Why do the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers have large bays at their mouths? 12. Why are many shipyards located in the region of Delaware and Ches- apeake bays? 13. Why is coal a particularly large item in the shipments from middle Atlantic ports? 14. Why are there relatively few deep harbors along the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts? 15. Why is the commerce of the south Atlantic ports smaller than that of the north Atlantic ports? 16. Why is sea-island cotton so called? Why is it more valuable than ordinary cotton? 17. Why does the Mississippi discharge through several mouths? Why are jetties needed at some of these mouths? 18. Why was the city of New Orleans not located at the mouth of the Mississippi? 19. Why has the Pacific coast of the United States few indentations? 20. Why is there a gap through the mountains at the Golden Gate? 21. Why is the harbor of San Francisco an exceptionally good one? 22. Why is the Puget Sound country likely to become a great commercial region? 23. Why is the coast from Puget Sound to Alaska very irregular? 24. Why are there fewer cities on our Pacific coast than on our Atlantic coast? 25. Why is the character of the coast line a matter of large importance to a country or a region? CHAPTER XVIII THE FORESTS AND FOREST INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES The Habits of Forest Trees. — Wherever soil and climate will allow them to grow, trees are nature’s favored crop. Hun- dreds of kinds of forest trees grow in the United States ; there are, for example, about 60 species of maple, 70 species of pine, and 300 species of oak. Not only do the leaf, wood, and shape of every species of tree differ from those of every other, but every kind of tree has its own peculiarities and habits. During past ages the different species of trees have acquired habits and abil- ities which enable them to live, some under one set of conditions and some under another. The kind of situation in which a tree or other plant ordinarily grows is called its habitat. It seems to be nature’s determination that something shall live in every pos- sible place, and since the earth furnishes an endless variety of places, or habitats, an endless variety of plants may exist. Adaptation of Trees to Climate and Soil. — Among the forest trees, some have learned to live in a cold climate and some in a warm ; some require wet soil, and others dry ; some can grow in the shade, and others must always have light and space. For example, the mangrove of Florida grows in the swamps, while the rock oak grows on dry, barren ridges ; the mesquite is con- tent to live in the desert and the jack pine in sand barrens, but the black walnut will grow only in the richest of soil. Hemlock will grow in the shade of the white pine, but the white pine will not thrive in the shade of the hemlock or of any other tree; the rubber tree cannot live where frosts occur, but the birch will grow in the frigid zone. The variety known as the canoe birch will live year after year in the intense cold of the arctic and grow 362 FORESTS 363 Fig. 256. — Map of the original forest areas of the United States. (Data from U. S. Forest Service.) 364 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY to be only 4 or 5 inches tall in 50 years, but in a warm climate it will grow to be a tree of 100 to 120 feet in height. The Battle Ground of the Forest. — In every forest a constant struggle is taking place as the trees strive for light, food, and water; probably hundreds of saplings perish for every one that grows to maturity. Mr. Gifford Pinchot points out also that, in a way, trees cooperate with another : “The history of the life of a forest is a story of the help and harm which the trees receive from one another. On one side every tree is engaged in a relentless struggle against its neighbors for light, water, and food, — the three things trees need most. On the other side, each tree is constantly working with all its neighbors, even those which stand at some distance, to bring about the best condition of the soil and air for the growth and fighting power of every other tree.” On the whole, rainfall is the most important single factor in deciding where forests shall grow and what kind they shall be. This is strikingly shown as you cross the Cascade or Sierra Ne- vada mountains near our Pacific coast. On the eastern slope there are few forest trees and those that do grow look stunted and hungry. But as you cross to the western slopes, where the rainfall is heavy, dense and magnificent forests cover the ground (Fig. 209). Extent of the Forests of the United States. — When white men came to the New World, almost continuous forests covered the country east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the prairies, and it is not yet fully understood why the prairies had so few trees. According to the United States Bureau of Forestry, “ the original forests of the United States exceeded in quantity and variety of timber the forests of any other region of similiar size on the globe.” A large part of the western half of the United States is not forested because it receives too little rain. On the Pacific slope, however, in northern California, Washington, Oregon, and Brit- ish Columbia, are the largest trees and finest forests in all North America, for there the rainfall is ample (Fig. 209). The Big Trees of California are the largest and oldest living things on the earth. FORESTS 365 You may see in those groves trees 1500 years old or more (Fig. 257). Our Five Great Forest Regions. — The forests of the United States have been grouped under five types (Fig. 256) : 1. The Northern forests, which extend from Minnesota east- Fig. 257. — A California “Fallen Monarch” with a railway train drawn to the same scale. (© Southern Pacific Co.) ward to the Atlantic. They contain hemlock and many kinds of hardwoods, but the most valued tree was the white pine, now nearly gone. Up to about 1905 these forests were our leading source of lumber. ? 2. The Central or Interior Hardivood forests. — A great deal of the timber in this region was cut and burned merely to get rid of it, so that the land might be used for agriculture. 3. The Southern forests, in which the yellow pine is dominant, are now supplying more lumber than any other part of the coun- try (Fig. 259). 366 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 4. The Rocky Mountain forests are scattered and varied, but almost wholly coniferous (cone-bearing), with pines predomi- nating. 5. In the Pacific forests, the stately Douglas fir and the cedar predominate (Fig. 209). Washington has been the foremost lum- bering state in the Union since 1905. There are practically no hardwood forests in the western half of the United States. Industries Which Depend upon the Forests Lumbering. — The United States is the foremost lumber-pro- ducing nation, and the value of its lumber exceeds 1500 millions of dollars yearly. There are two main divisions of the lumber- ing and wood-working industries, logging, which is done in the forest, and sawing, which is done in the mills. (a) Logging. In the northern forests the lumbermen cut down the trees, trim off the branches, and saw the trunk into logs of convenient lengths, ranging from 10 to 20 feet or more. The following paragraphs, though describing logging methods in Wisconsin, apply equally well to the northern pine forests gen- erally. These methods of lumbering are, however, largely out of use ; most of the logs that are now cut are transported by railroads. “To-day the white pine forests are scarcely more than a memory; but for forty years lumbering was the dominant interest in the northern half of Wisconsin. Into the pineries every winter went small armies of men. Down its rivers every spring the river-men drove thousands upon thousands of pine logs. Along these rivers hundreds of sawmills stood, and around the mills grew up the lumbering towns, many of them the cities of to-day. “ Naturally the trees near the rivers were cut first, for the principal method of transporting the logs to the mills was by floating them down the rivers. At first only the best parts of the choice trees were taken. Each season the logging camps pushed farther up the streams and farther back from the banks, as the timber was cut away. The logs were hauled by horses or by logging railroads to the rivers, and by thousands were piled on the ice and along the banks, awaiting the spring ‘break-up,’ when the melting snow turned the river into a torrent (Fig. 261). When the break-up came and the mass of logs moved, the most exciting and dangerous employment of the lumberman FORESTS 367 Fig. 258. — Map showing the number of lumber mills and the relative production of hard wood and soft wood lumber in each state. ( After map by U . S. Forest Service.) 368 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY began. To guide and control this plunging, driving, rolling avalanche of timber, and to prevent or to break a jam called for the coolest heads, and the most alert, most daring men on the river.” Logging methods differ widely in different parts of the coun- try. For example, in the rugged topography and dense forests of Washington and Oregon, where the trees are of exceptional Fig. 259. • — Logging methods in the South — quite unlike those of our northern states and eastern Canada. size, stationary engines drag the logs by cables to logging rail- ways, by which they are taken to the mills. In the cypress swamps of the South logways are opened through the swamps and the logs are moved by floating. (b) The sawmills saw the logs into rough lumber of many dimensions ; some of the lumber is used in this rough form and some is further manufactured into flooring, siding, doors, sash, boxes, furniture, wooden ware, and hundreds of other forms for special uses. FORESTS 369 Fig. 260. — A California redwood tree sometimes made a trainload of logs. {U . S. Geol. Sur.) 370 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Manufacturing of Pulp and Paper from Wood. — Most grades of paper in America are now manufactured from a pulp made of wood fiber. Spruce is preferred for this purpose, but hemlock, poplar, and several other woods are also used. The states that lead in this industry are New York, Wisconsin (Fig. 262), Maine, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, not only be- Fig. 261. — In regions of heavy snow and spring floods, the streams are often em- ployed to transport the logs to the mills. cause these states have pulp-wood, but also because they are near Canada from which it is imported. Moreover, all of these states have abundant water power, the chief power employed in the paper mills ; they are also in the section of the country where the great printing and publishing centers are located. The Use of Wood in Tanning. — Tanning is the process of making hides and skins into leather, a process which consists mainly in soaking the hides in tanks or vats of tanning fluids. These tanning extracts were formerly obtained from hemlock and oak bark ; so the earlier tanneries were built near the north- ern forests in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New York. Now bark is used much less ; instead, chemicals and extracts made FORESTS 371 from chestnut wood and from a South American wood, called quebracho, are being used more and more. The small tan- neries, once so common, have disappeared and large ones, con- trolled by great cor- porations and located in or near large cities, have replaced them. Other Forest Prod- ucts. — From the pine trees of the South $25,000,000 worth of turpentine and resin (together called naval stores ) are annually made. The crude tur- pentine is obtained by cutting gashes in the trunks of the growing Fig. 262. — Location of the pulp and paper mills trees and collectin 0 ' the along the lower Fox River in Wisconsin. The . . . .. . . . 7 scale may be taken from the small circle for thick liquid that nOWS Depere, which represents a daily production of from the gashes (Fig. 32,000 pounds of paper. Nearly all of the mills n , 7777 1 use water power. (IFfs. Geol. Sur.) 2b-l). V¥ OOd alcohol and various chemicals are made from waste wood by a process of distilling. Maple sugar is made from the sap of the maple tree, particularly in Vermont and New York. But the chief item, next to lumber, among forest products, is fire wood or stove wood, which is cut from wood-lots on the farms and is mainly used by the farmers themselves or by inhabitants of near-by villages. The United States Forest Service estimates the value of this wood at the huge sum of $250,000,000 a year. The Importance of Retaining Forests on Steep Slopes. — Besides the timber which they supply, forests perform valuable services while they are standing. On slopes they prevent the erosion of the soil. During heavy rains or the melting of snows the dense tangle of roots in the soil acts like a sponge and holds 372 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 263. — Forest of long leaf pine from which naval stores are produced. (U . S. Geol. Sur.) FORESTS 373 Fig. 264. — Thousands of barrels of resin on the wharf at Savannah, Georgia. This city is the chief naval stores mar- ket of the world. (17. S. Geol. Sur.) 374 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the water, in this way checking the run-off and aiding in the pre- vention of floods. In the mountains there are extensive tracts of land which are too steep and rocky to produce crops, and forests are the natural and proper growth on such lands. If the forests Fig. 265. — Ruinous soil-erosion following deforestation. ( U . S. Geol. Sur.) are removed, the soil is quickly eroded, and soon the slopes be- come barren and useless (Fig. 265). The interests of the nation require that the forests on these non-agricultural lands shall not be ruthlessly stripped off, but that only such trees as are at their best for lumber or other purposes shall be cut from year to year. Our government, through its policy of forest reserves and through the encouragement of scientific forestry is trying to check the avoid- able waste of such forests as it still controls. Most of our forests, FORESTS 375 however, have already passed into the possession of private indi- viduals or corporations and the methods of lumbering followed in them cannot be controlled by the government. The Waste of Timber and the Loss by Forest Fires. — Tn the logging operations of the past, nearly one-fourth of all the Fig. 266. — Logged-over lands in northern Wisconsin. The rubbish left on the ground easily catches fire and starts the disastrous forest fires which cause enor- mous losses. (U. S. Geol. Sur.) timber logged was lost or wasted in the forest (Fig. 266). Of the three-fourths that reached the mills, fully a third was wasted or turned to small account. The remainder went into building opera- tions or to factories for further manufacturing, where still more was lost. Experts estimate that we have been wasting five- eighths of the tree and using three-eighths. Some of this loss was, of course, unavoidable. The present high price of lumber, how- ever, is leading to greater care, and wastes are being cut down. The older methods used in the turpentine or naval stores industry destroy in a few years great numbers of fine trees, each of which has taken 50 or 100 years to grow. 376 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Forest Fires . — But tin- most appalling loss of all is by the dreaded forest fires. The United States has lost from this one cause nearly as much timber as it has used. This is a shocking state- ment and seems hardly possible, but it is supported by the best of authority. These losses still continue, but the conservation movement has drawn the attention of the public to the avoid- able waste and a better state of affairs is slowly coming. The United States Forest Service believes that “ by reasonable thrift we can produce a constant timber supply beyond our present need and with it conserve the usefulness of our streams for irrigation, water supply, navigation, and power,” and that “ under right management our forests will yield over four times as much as now.” EXERCISE XXIII 1. Originally about one-half of the area of the present United States was forest covered. Where was the largest unforested portion? Why there? (See Fig. 2.56.) 2. One-half of these forests has already been cut. Give two reasons why they have been so rapidly removed. 3. There are five great forest belts : (a) The Northern Belt, extending from Maine to Minnesota and reach- ing south along the Appalachians. White pine was the most valuable tim- ber of this belt ; more than 70 per cent of this has been cut. Suggest rea- sons why such a high percentage of this timber has already been removed. ( b ) The Southern Belt, on the coastal plain from New Jersey to Texas. Y ellow pine predominates ; over 50 per cent of this has been removed. At present this belt is our largest source of lumber. It is also our chief source of naval stores. What are naval stores? How obtained? For what used? The Gulf states lead in the production of these stores. (c) The Central Hardwood Belt. Eighty per cent of the timber has already been removed ; this is the highest proportion in any belt. Can you give reasons? What are some of the most useful hardwoods? For what used? ( d ) The Rocky Mountain Belt. This timber is in scattered patches and is largely a variety known as western pine ; 75 per cent of the timber of this belt still remains. Why is so much more left in this belt than in the first, three mentioned? (e) The Pacific Belt is most heavily wooded near the coast where the rainfall is heaviest ; it is nearly all soft wood. Douglas fir predominates ; 75 per cent of the timber is stdl left. The leading lumber-producing state is Washington. 4. Every year we take an average of 250 cubic feet of wood per capita from our forests ; France takes only 25 cubic feet. Why do we use so much more? FORESTS 377 5. Eight kinds of wood make up over 80 per cent of our forest products ; yellow pine leads, followed by Douglas fir, oak, white pine, and hemlock. Which of the five forest belts produces each of these? 6. Lumbering is distributed widely over the country ; 18 states produce a billion board-feet or more a year each. A board-foot, is 12 inches square and one inch thick. 7. The annual value of our forest products at the place of production is from I7 to 2 billion dollars, but the lumber finally costs the consumer sev- eral times as much. This amount is about 12 per cent of the value of our farm products. Make a list of the principal uses to which wood is put. Three- fourths of the timber cut is soft wood. Can you explain why? 8. Our largest uncut forests are in the Gulf states and the Pacific states. Explain why. 9. Forty years ago three-fourths of our timber lands were owned by the nation or by the states. Now four-fifths are owned by individuals or corpo- rations. Less than a dozen companies now hold a quarter of all the privately owned timber in the United States, and 200 holders own one-half of our timber lands. How have private companies gained such enormous holdings of timber? Discuss the wisdom of our government in permitting this. What are the gains and the losses to the public ? Remember that some of our great western railroads would not have been built until long after they were, had our government not aided them by these land-grants. 10. From 1875 to 1900 the Great Lakes region (especially Michigan and Wisconsin) was the chief producer of lumber. Why was the lumber of this region cut before that in the South and in the Far West? 11. The chief products of our forest industries are (a) lumber in many forms for building purposes; (6) fire wood; (c) wood pulp and paper; (d) furniture ; (e) tanning extracts ; (/) naval stores. Mention some of the sections of the country where each of these industries is carried on. 12. The waste of wood is enormous. Point out some of the chief causes for this waste and loss. 13. Name 8 to 10 kinds of wood which are particularly well suited to specific uses, e.g., for paper-pulp, cross-ties, furniture, shingles, flooring, packing boxes, etc. 14. Paper and pulp are mostly made in the northern forest belt. Give three reasons. In what states are the leading paper-making centers? CHAPTER XIX GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS OF TRANSPORTATION The Dependence of Modem Life upon Transportation. — In a pioneer community the people supply nearly all their own wants, producing most of the food that they eat, the lumber or other materials for their homes, the fuel that they use, and even the material for their clothing. Hundreds of such communities still exist in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. Miss Ellen Semple, writing in 1901, has thus described one of them: “In one of the most progressive and productive countries of the world, and in that section of the country which has had its civilization and its wealth longest, we find a large area where the people are still living the frontier life of the backwoods, where the civilization is that of the eighteenth century, where the people speak the English of Shakespeare’s time, where the large majority of the inhabitants have never seen a steamboat or a railroad, where money is as scarce as in colonial days, and all trade is barter. It is the great upheaved mass of the southern Appalachians which, with the conserving power of the mountains, has caused these conditions to survive, carrying a bit of the eighteenth century intact over into this strongly contrasted twen- tieth century. . . . “The furnishings of the cabins are reduced to the merest necessaries of life, though in the vicinity of the railroads or along the main streams where the valley roads make transportation a simpler problem, a few luxuries like an occasional piece of shop-made furniture and lamp-chimneys have crept in. One cabin which we visited near the foot of Pine Mountain, though of the better sort, may be taken as typical. Almost everything it contained was homemade, and only one iron-bound bucket showed the use of hardware. Both rooms contained two double beds. These were made of plain white wood, and were roped across from side to side through auger-holes to support the mattresses. The lower one of these was stuffed with corn-shucks, the upper one with feathers from the geese raised by the housewife. The sheets, blankets, and counterpanes had all been woven by her, as also the linsey- woolsey from which her own and her children’s clothes were made. Gourds, hung on the walls, served as receptacles for salt, soda, and other kitchen supplies. The meal-barrel was a section of a log, hollowed out with great nicety till the wood was not more than an inch thick. The Hour- barrel was a large firkin, the parts held in place by hoops, fastened by 378 METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 379 an arrowhead at. one end of the withe slipped into a slit in the other; the churn was made in the same way, and in neither was there nail or screw. The wash tub was a trough hollowed out of a log. A large basket was woven of hickory slips by the mountaineer himself, and two smaller ones made of the cane of the broom corn and bound at the edges with colored calico were the handiwork of his wife. Only the iron stove with its few utensils, and some table knives, testified to any connection with the outside world. The old flint-lock gun and powder-horn hanging from a rafter gave the finishing touch of local color to this typical pioneer home. Daniel Boone’s first cabin in the Kentucky wilderness could not have been more primitive.” 1 In an American city, or for that matter in almost any home that has the benefits of modern transportation, things are quite different. For a small sum one may have a dinner brought to- gether from every continent : grapefruit from Florida ; olives from Spain ; fish from the banks of Newfoundland ; bread from wheat grown in Manitoba, ground in Minneapolis, shipped in a sack made of Texas cotton in a factory in Massachusetts ; beef from a steer grown in Kansas, fattened in Iowa, and slaughtered in Chicago, seasoned with salt from Michigan and pepper from Sumatra; salad made of bananas from Costa Rica, grapes from Spain, walnuts from California, seasoned with a dressing made of mustard from Madagascar and olive oil from Italy ; coffee from Brazil with sugar from Cuba, drunk from a cup made in Trenton, N. J., stirred with a spoon made in Meriden, Conn., from silver mined in Mexico. The napkin may have been woven in Con- necticut, from linen made of flax from Russia. The chair may have been made in Grand Rapids, Mich., from oak grown in Georgia, seated with leather tanned in Boston from a goat skin imported from Asia. The rug on the floor may have been made in Philadelphia from Australian wool, colored with German dyes. There is scarcely a well-laid table or a well-furnished room in an ordinary home that does not represent a list much like the above. Cheap, rapid transportation enables the average Amer- ican family to enjoy comforts and luxuries that even princes did not know in the Middle Ages. 1 “The Anglo Saxons of the Kentucky Mountains,” in The Bulletin of the American Geographical Society , Vol. XLII, pp. 561-594. 380 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Use of Rivers in a New Country. — It has already been pointed out (Chap. VIII) that in a new country, where forests are dense, the rivers are almost the only routes for explorers, trad- ers, and settlers. Throughout the million square miles of ter- ritory in Canada in which the Hudson Bay Fur Company oper- ates, the hunters, trappers, and all others use the rivers and lakes as routes of travel. In the vast stretches of Siberia, in the Amazon basin, and in Central Africa, the waterways are still almost the only highways. In China, Germany, France, and, to some extent, Russia, rivers have been joined by canals form- ing a network of routes for boats. While the cost of carrying merchandise on rivers may be low, this was not always true. The early steamboats from New Orleans to Louisville charged an av- erage of 5 cents a pound for freight and $125 for a passenger. Half rates were charged for downstream traffic. These prices are many times higher than the present railroad rates. The Canals of the United States. — The United States had its Canal Period, but it was so quickly followed by the Railroad Era that canal transportation in this country was really impor- tant for only a little more than one generation. The most impor- tant of these canals were constructed between 1825 and 1840 (Fig. 267). Nearly a dozen canals in New York connected the larger lakes and rivers with one another or with the Erie Canal. Three canals, each about 50 miles long, were built in New Eng- land, but were among the first to be abandoned. Two crossed New Jersey from New York Bay to the Delaware River; one of them (the Delaware and Raritan) is still in use. A large num- ber of canal projects were carried out in Pennsylvania, and Maryland and Virginia attempted without success to complete water connection between the Atlantic and the Ohio River. Ohio built several canals, the principal ones being the two that joined Lake Erie with the Ohio River. Indiana constructed a canal joining the Ohio River with an Ohio canal leading to Lake Erie. Illinois connected Lake Michigan with the Illinois River, which flows into the Mississippi, and in Wisconsin a half- successful attempt was made to build and maintain a waterway METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 381 between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Most of these canals were useful for a time and aided largely in the de- velopment of the regions which they traversed ; but the majority Fig. 267. ■ — None of the canals are used very extensively, and the two canals in Ohio are practically abandoned. of them did not pay, were allowed to fall into disrepair, and have been abandoned or nearly so (Fig. 267). The Erie Canal. — The most successful of all these canals was the Erie in New York, uniting Buffalo on Lake Erie with the Hudson River at Troy and thence with New York City, a total distance of 425 miles. The story of this famous water- way reads like a romance. Nature had prepared the route ; the sinking of the land had converted the Hudson into a deep, navigable river with a spacious harbor at its mouth. The Mo- hawk, a branch of the Hudson, had cut a notch through the east- 382 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ern mountains and thus had prepared a route to the Ontario plain of western New York, a plain so level that it contains stretches of the canal 50 miles long without a lock. New York was fortunate in possessing the only low gap in our eastern moun- tains, in fact the only possible route in the United States for a successful canal between the Atlantic and the interior of the country. No other factor was so influential in making New York City the metropolis of the nation as those features of the state’s topography which permitted the joining of the Great Lakes to the sea, thus giving New York, for a half century, the principal east-west highway of the nation. The Erie Canal has twice been enlarged and has recently been rebuilt and enlarged at an expense of over $150,000,000. Lake and River Transportation in the United States. — It would be well to review at this point the story of the rise and decline of navigation on the Mississippi River (page 140), and the accounts of the remarkable increase in navigation on the Great Lakes (page 147). It is a noteworthy fact that prior to 1914 we had more ships on these lakes than there were American ships on the ocean engaged in our foreign commerce. Valleys and Railways. The topography of the country to be traversed is one of the most important matters in select- ing railway routes. Engineers search out and survey these routes with great care, because the railroad must, if possible, avoid heavy grades and sharp curves. In a rough country, val- leys whose streams have graded their channels to easy slopes are almost invariably selected for railways. The route . having been selected, the construction of a railroad is largely a process of grading ; that is) cutting and filling. When the Pennsylva- nia Railroad was building, the chief engineer estimated that on the level stretches the road could be built for $10,000 a mile, on the western slope of the Alleghenies for $28,000 a mile, and on the very steep eastern slope for $50,000 a mile. A 40-mile sec- tion of the road over the Alleghenies cost nearly twice as much as a 60-mile section along a river valley. Nor does the extra cost end when the road is built, for every heavy train that passes METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 383 Fig. 268 . — Canon of the Grand River in Colorado. Among lofty mountains, such canons provide almost the only possible railway routes through the moun- tain barriers. ( Courtesy D. & R. G. R. R.) 384 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 269. ■ Railroad to Cripple Creek, Colo. An example of the difficulties of railroad-building among mountains. METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 385 Fig. 270. — Valley of the New River in the Allegheny Plateau, West Virginia. In a region of such topography, the river valleys form about the only feasible routes for railways. (U . S. Geol. Sur.) 386 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY over this mountain division requires one or more extra locomo- tives, thereby adding to the cost of transportation. About every important river valley in the Appalachians has been taken pos- session of by some railway. Mountain Passes and Railways. — Low passes are of utmost importance to railway builders, and the early railways which Fig. 271. — View on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad along Eagle River, Col- orado, illustrating the importance of stream valleys and canons as railroad routes through mountains. got possession of such natural routes as the Mohawk Valley in New York, the Susquehanna-Juniata Valley in Pennsylvania, and the Potomac Valley between Maryland and Virginia, have become the great trunk lines of the East. In the western moun- tains the railroads that got possession of the low passes secured an advantage worth millions of dollars. A bitter struggle oc- curred between two rival railroad companies, both of which were METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 387 determined to get control of the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River through the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains (page 139). The passes in the Alps have been important influences in determining the routes of several of the main railroads of cen- Fig. 272. — The Conestoga wagon and the stagecoach by means of which freight and passengers were carried between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before the day of railroads. tral Europe, and the same general principle holds true of rail- road-building in any mountainous region. Growth of Transport Facilities in the United States. — -This part of our country’s history is as fascinating as a story; it is dealt with more fully in Chapter VIII. The story begins with the Indian canoe and the French bateau ; on the rivers it is a story of flatboats laboriously propelled by poles, of clumsy arks, of great lumber rafts, of keel boats that could ascend the streams as well as float down them, of the first crude steamboats, puffing and splashing along, of ever improving river steamers, until we reach the period of the “Floating Palaces” carrying their gay parties between New Orleans and St. Louis before the Civil War. On land the story takes us through the days when long trains of pack horses in single file carried people and goods along narrow trails from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in 20 days. It is said that in the years around 1780, as many as 500 pack horses a day sometimes passed through Carlisle, Penn. One proprietor at Harpers Ferry had 200 pack horses and nearly a hundred men em- ployed in carrying goods and passengers. The “packers” vigor- 388 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ously opposed the building of roads and fought hard to prevent the introduction of wheeled vehicles. Roads. — Soon after 1S00 an agitation for good roads began. The great Cumberland National Road, designed to reach from Fig. 273. — One of the excellent roads over the Swiss Alps. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) Cumberland, hid., to the Mississippi River at St. Louis, was be- gun in 1811 but was completed only to Yandalia, 111. Over these turnpikes long trains of canvas-covered wagons (Fig. 272) rum- bled and creaked, their owners charging a hundred dollars a ton or higher for conveying goods between Philadelphia and Pitts- burgh. In those days salt sold for $5 a bushel, and iron for 20 cents a pound in Pittsburgh. There was a still earlier period when the “flying stagecoaches” covered the distance from Boston to New York in 5 days and made the 90 miles from New York to Philadelphia in 3 days. Even as late as 1S24, Thurlow Weed wrote that it took him 6 days and 7 nights to go by stagecoaches from Albany to Rochester, N. Y., a distance of 225 miles. The First Railroads. — The next improvement in roads con- sisted in laying wooden timbers to which strips of band iron later were nailed. At first, horses were used to draw the cars ; early in METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 389 8ci\V 390 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 1829, three crude locomo- tives were brought from England. The early lo- comotives are described as being “so covered with rods and joints that they resemble a huge grass- hopper” (Fig. 274). It is a strange fact that every important step in the im- provement of transporta- tion methods has been opposed by people who either feared that their own profits would be en- dangered, or who glori- fied “the good old days.” By these people railroads and steamships were rid- iculed and their utter fail- ure was predicted. Extent of Railroads in the United States. — There are over 260,000 miles of railroads in the United States, more than the total railroad mileage of Europe and Asia com- bined, and 40 per cent of the mileage of the world. There are a number of reasons for this : the United States has a large population and a large area, yet China and Russia are even larger. But the METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 391 Fxo 276 — Railroad map of the United States. 392 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY people of the United States travel more than any other people ; they raise and ship the greatest amount of farm produce, use the most coal, steel, and lumber, and manufacture the greatest amount of goods of any country. Railroads are, of course, most numer- jw m*; LOS ANGETj, >ALLA1 0-ALVtSTON Fig. 277. — Railroad system formerly known as the “Harriman Roads”; the Southern Pacific, the Union Pacific, and subsidiaries. ous in wealthy and progressive countries ; in the United States they are most numerous in the level farming section of the Mid- dle West, where they form a perfect network (Fig. 276). Railroad Systems of the United States. — More than two- METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION m thirds of the railroad mileage of this country is comprised in ten great systems which have been built up or bought up by men united in corporations which control vast wealth. The so-called Vanderbilt System includes nearly as many miles of railway as there are in all Canada. At the time of Mr. E. H. Harriman’s & TKp’tiuu ' rr >WAHA Kansas'""' iClTY-^ FT WORT h you s ton Fig. 278. — Railroads making up the “Hill Lines”; the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, the Burlington, the Colorado and Southern, and subsidiaries. death (1909), the Harriman System (Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and others) included a railway mileage greater than that of Italy and Spain combined (Fig. 277). The so-called “Hill Roads” (Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Burlington, and others) equal in length those of Brazil (Fig. 278), and the roads domi- 394 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY nated by the banking house of J. P. Morgan & Co. nearly equal in mileage all those of Argentina. So powerful did these railroad corporations become that the government found it necessary to curb them and to establish a degree of control over them. The Vanderbilt System, built up around the New York Cen- tral Lines, serves the section of country extending from Boston and New York through New York State to Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. The Pennsylvania System, whose lines cover more than 10,- 000 miles, serves the region just south of this from New York and Philadelphia through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illi- nois to Chicago and St. Louis (Fig. 280). Several lesser systems also traverse this area and the region immediately south of it. The Southern Railway System is the most extensive in the South. Several others serve the Mississippi Valley in a generally north and south direction, the leading ones being the Louisville and Nashville, and the Illinois Central. No less than seven lines connect the Mississippi Valley with the Pacific coast ; the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul serve the northern section and terminate on Puget Sound. The Union Pacific and the recently completed Western Pacific serve the central belt and terminate at San Francisco Bay. Farther south are the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific lines which reach San Francisco Bay after entering California at the south. During the World War, the United States Government took over the railroads and operated them as if they formed a single great system. Cost of Transporting Goods by Different Methods. -By comparing the cost of transporting goods by different methods, the advantages of railroads and steamships are brought out. In parts of China coolies carry goods long distances, or wheel them in wheelbarrows scores or even hundreds of miles. Camels are used in the desert, while the sure-footed llamas are the prin- cipal pack animals of the Andes Mountains. Dogs are used in Alaska, Greenland, and other parts of the frigid North ; the rein- deer in Lapland, the yak in Tibet, and the burro in many lands. METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 395 Fig. 279. — Main-line railroads of the United States. 396 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY In Siberia and Manchuria grain is frequently hauled 100 miles by horses drawing clumsy wagons. An ordinary camel can carry 300 pounds 25 miles a day at an average cost of 50 cents a ton per mile (per ton-mile). A two-horse team can haul 2 tons Fig. 280. ■ — Map of the Pennsylvania Railroad System, one of the principal systems of the United States. 20 miles a day on a good road at a cost of about 20 cents a ton-mile. A locomotive can draw, at the rate of 400 miles or more a day, 40 loaded freight cars each carrying from 10 to 50 tons, at an average cost of 1 cent a ton-mile ; and the ore-carrying steam- ers on the Great Lakes have carried iron ore at the rate of Jg- of a cent a ton-mile. Stated briefly and for averages: It costs about 50 cents a ton-mile to transport goods by camels. It costs about 40 cents a ton-mile to transport goods in China by porters. It costs about 20 cents a ton-mile to transport goods in the United States by horses and wagons. It costs about 1 cent a ton-mile to transport goods in the United States by railways. It costs about ^ cent a ton-mile to transport iron ore by steamers on the Great Lakes (pre-war rate). METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 397 Fig. 281. ■ — • Unloading a Great Lakes coal carrier at Green Bay, Wis. Coal is the second largest commodity carried on the Lakes. (IF is. Geol. Sur .) Fig. 282. — Dumping a carload of coal into the hold of a lake steamer. Most of the coal shipped on the lakes is loaded by this rapid method. ( U . S. Bur. of Mines.) 398 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Summary By the cheap, rapid, and well-organized transportation systems of land and sea, we are now provided with the products of almost every place and clime. The items connected with an average dinner may be drawn from possibly forty or fifty localities scat- tered widely over the earth. Methods of transportation differ according to the stage of a country’s progress. Rivers are of great importance in the ex- ploration and early development of a country and they may con- tinue to be of much use. In the United States, in Europe, and in China, canals were once much used, and in Europe they are still important, but in this country their period of greatest usefulness passed when railroads became common. New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio expended a great deal of money on canals. The Erie Canal in New York was a splendid success and has recently been enlarged at the cost of over 8150,000,000. River valleys usually offer the easiest railroad routes in hilly or mountainous regions. Hence in the eastern and western parts of the United States, the main stream courses have directed the routes of the principal railroads. Low passes and water gaps usually determine the points at which railroads cross mountain ranges and so are of great value to railway builders. Transportation on water has progressed from the Indian canoe, through various types of river boats (bateaux, flatboats, arks, keel boats, etc.) to the steamboat. In this country the only large development of inland water transportation is on the Great Lakes. On land, methods of transportation have progressed from the time when men carried loads on their backs along forest trails, or pack animals carried them along narrow, crooked paths, to the day of turnpikes with freight wagons and stagecoaches, on to the time when wooden rails were laid and horses hauled the cars, down to the present Railroad Era. The United States has 40 per cent of the railroad mileage of the world ; two-thirds of this is comprised in ten great railroad sys- METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION 399 terns. The majority of these systems, either directly or through connecting lines which they control, have one of their terminals in Chicago, the greatest railroad center in the world. Water transportation on the ocean or on our Great Lakes under the most favorable conditions is very cheap, being as low as one-twentieth of a cent a ton-mile for coal and iron ore, while the average railway freight rate is many times as much, and the average cost of hauling by horses more than a hundred times as much. EXERCISE XXIV The author has provided no review or test questions on this chapter. It is suggested that the pupils themselves prepare this set of questions, per- haps 25 in all; some of them ought to be “Why” questions, others “Where” ; some should be such that the answers are found directly in the chapter, while others should call for thought, reasoning, comparison, and possibly for in- formation related to the statements in the text, yet not found there. CHAPTER XX MANUFACTURING AND MANUFACTURING CENTERS IN THE UNITED STATES Growth of Manufacturing in the United States. — Modern factories, with acres of buildings and thousands of employees, came into existence within the memory of people who are now liv- ing. Of such great size are some of these plants that they and the workmen’s homes would form cities of considerable size. The slow, tiresome hand labor and the crude appliances (Fig. 283) which produced the wares of colonial days have given place in this country to mills and factories which together turn out upwards of a million dollars’ worth of manufactures every five minutes of the working day (Fig. 284). Rank of the United States. — This country has become the greatest of manufacturing nations. It produced in the years just before the World War twice the value of manufactured goods produced by Great Britain and three times the value of those produced by Germany. Four Essentials of Modem Manufacturing. — 1. Poicer, — mainly derived from coal. 2. Capital, — money or other property employed in business. 3. Labor, — both skilled and unskilled. 4. Ability on the part of selected men to build up and conduct great enterprises. Every one of these has a vital part in manufacturing. The study of geography, however, does not to any large extent treat of capital, labor, or business ability. Importance of Coal. — It was pointed out on page 34 that the power concealed in coal is the stored-up sunshine of past ages, that in 300 pounds of coal is stored away the capacity for doing 400 MANUFACTURING CENTERS 401 as much work as an average workingman can perform in a year. When the steam engine was discovered and man found a way to use this energy locked up in coal, one of the greatest steps in the progress of mankind was taken. Step by step the steam engine Fig. 283. — An old mill in eastern Pennsylvania. In similar mills much of the manufacturing of a half century ago was done. has been improved, becoming ever larger and more powerful. Inventors are constantly devising new machines that will do quickly and perfectly the work which before only skilled mechan- ics could do and do slowly ; and behind most of the machines are the coal-burning engines that furnish the power. This is one of the reasons why the nations which have abundance of coal lead the world. 402 HTGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 284. — Plant of the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio. Akron is the foremost rubber-manufacturing city in the world. ( Courtesy of B. F. Goodrich Co.) MANUFACTURING CENTERS 403 Factors That Affect the Growth of Manufacturing. — In most lines of manufacturing many different companies are engaged, each striving for a share of the business. This severe competition makes push, resourcefulness, and economy necessary, and the manufacturer must study constantly how he can cut down the cost of production and increase his sales. The success of his business depends upon many factors, with some of which the study of geography is concerned : Cost of Fuel. — The power which drives three-quarters of our machinery is steam power derived from coal. Single establish- ments may use tens of thousands of tons annually; its w T eight makes it relatively costly to transport, hence factories which use much coal aim to locate where they can get it cheaply. The cost of transporting commodities does not always depend upon dis- tance ; railways may charge as much for hauling coal 20 miles as 200 miles, but as a rule, distance counts. The cost of transport- ing heavy and bulky commodities by water is usually less than that by rail, and factories which can secure coal or raw materials by water may have an advantage. This is shown in the rapid growth of iron and steel manufacturing near the Great Lakes. Available Water Poiver. — Water power is used much less than steam power in manufacturing; yet, as a rule, it is cheaper, and wherever it is available factories are likely to spring up, as in New England, and at points such as Paterson, Rochester, Niagara Falls, and Minneapolis. Cost of Transporting Raw Materials. — Into the price of every pair of shoes, for example, enters the cost of transporting the hides from which the leather is tanned, and into the price of every piece of furniture enters the cost of transporting the lumber. Factories commonly effect a saving by being near the source of the principal raw materials which they use. In actual prac- tice there are many exceptions to this ; for example, more cotton goods are made in Massachusetts than in any cotton-growing state. This is because Massachusetts possesses other advantages which more than offset the disadvantage of being a long way from the cotton fields. 404 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Nearness to Markets. — This does not always, mean nearness in miles. A place 500 miles away, but connected by railroad may for business purposes be nearer a given place than another only 20 miles away which is not connected by railroad. Nearness must Fig. 285. — Distribution of cities in the United States. The siie of the dot is pro- portional to the size of the city. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) be counted in terms of cost of transportation. Articles are some- times shipped across the Atlantic for less than the cost of a rail- road haul of a few hundred miles or a wagon haul of 20 miles. Although this is true, factories situated in the eastern states, where a dense population furnishes a great market, have advan- tages over similar factories located in sparsely settled sections of the country. Ten Reasons for the Great Development of Manufacturing in the United States 1. An Invigorating Climate. — In every phase of a nation’s life the climate is of fundamental importance. For mental and MANUFACTURING CENTERS 405 physical vigor a cool climate with variable weather is best, and in most parts of the United States, as in most parts of Europe, the climate favors an energetic life and the cultivation of the work-habit. 2. An Energetic People. — Americans are descended from Europeans, the most advanced people of the world ; and amid the great opportunities of a new and rich country they have developed a degree of push, inventiveness, and power of organization which is unsurpassed in any other people. 3. Great Natural Resources. — The United States is a large country, and it possesses resources of almost every kind, includ- ing coal, iron, copper, gold, lead, zinc, petroleum, and other min- erals, an enormous area of agricultural land, and great forests. 4. Abundance of Fuel for Power. — The coal resources of the United States are the greatest possessed by any nation, and in- clude about one-half of all the known coal in the earth. 5. Capital for Carrying on Enterprises. — The natural wealth of the United States has yielded the people of this country a vast amount of capital and this has enabled them to build up their man- ufacturing and other industries, which, in turn, create more capital. 6. A Great Home Market. — A hundred million people, earn- ing and accumulating money with a rapidity elsewhere unknown, make the greatest market for manufactured goods afforded by any country. Ordinarily 90 per cent of our manufactures are used within the country. 7. Improved Machinery and Abundant Labor. — The latter has been constantly increased by immigration from Europe. 8. Facilities for Transportation and Communication.- — -For example, there are more miles of railway in the United States than in Europe and Asia combined, and twice as many tele- phones as in all the rest of the world. 9. Government Encouragement. — This is largely accomplished by a protective tariff, which has helped to keep out foreign manufactures and has allowed our own a favorable opportunity for growth. It is doubtful if this protective tariff is longer needed, except in a limited number of new industries. 406 HTGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 10. A Home Food Supply. — This is not strictly essential to the growth of manufactures, as the case of England shows, but it is a decided advantage. Summary Briefly summarized, the reasons for America’s leadership in manufacturing are : 1. The invigorating climate 2. The inventive and mechanical genius of the people 3. The stored-up energy in its coal deposits 4. The wealth of raw materials 5. The capital which has been accumulated 6. The improved machinery and the abundance of labor 7. The great home demand for manufactures 8. The superior railway facilities and means of rapid com- munication 9. The protective tariff during the earlier years of growth 10. The ability to provide at home a great food supply Why Manufacturing Is Centered in the Northeastern States. — Manufacturing is done in all of the states, but 75 per cent of it is done in states which lie north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers and east of the Mississippi River. A narrow strip of land only 100 miles wide, extending from Massachusetts to Baltimore, is the leading factory belt of the United States (Fig. 286). Of our thirty greatest manufacturing cities, twelve are in this small strip. Fifty per cent of our total manufacturing is done in five states — New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Ohio. The question arises — Why do five states 7nanufacture as much as the other forty-three f 1. The eastern states were settled earliest. New England had in general, ( a ) thin and bowlder-strewn soil which discouraged agriculture, ( b ) rapid rivers affording water power, (c) many harbors, and (d) people who possessed an aptness for manufac- turing and business. MANUFACTURING CENTERS 407 2. The richest coal beds and those first to be developed are in the northeastern states, though New England, New York, and New Jersey have no coal beds within their own borders. Fig. 286. — Of the 48 leading manufacturing cities, 21 are in the extreme East, and most of the others are in the north central states. 3. Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois all have coal; these states were settled mainly by people from the East, many of whom had had some experience in manufacturing. 4. The eastern states get the largest supply of labor, because nearly all the immigrants land at the Atlantic ports. 5. The early start, the abundant labor and capital, and the rapid growth of business in the East led to the early building of railroads, which still further increased the manufacturing ad- vantages of these states. The mills of New England are, to a noteworthy extent, en- gaged in the making of articles which have high value in propor- tion to their bulk, for all the coal and most of the raw materials must be brought in, and then a large part of the manufactured goods must in turn be shipped out. On the whole, therefore, it pays best in New England to manufacture the lighter and more 408 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY costly articles, such as cotton and woolen cloths, shoes, hats, clocks, jewelry, and thousands of articles sold in the department and drygoods stores. Factories for the making of shoes are particu- larly numerous around Boston, in fact, five out of six of the fore- Fig. 287. — The New York Metropolitan District. Shaded area is New York City, made up of five boroughs. (U . S. Census.) most shoe-manufacturing cities of the United States are in that section. Six out of the seven leading cotton-manufacturing cities are in or near eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; these are Lowell, Manchester, Fall River, New Bedford, Providence, MANUFACTURING CENTERS 409 and Pawtucket. Woolen-manufacturing centers in Lawrence, jewelry making in and near Providence, silverware in Meri- den, clocks in Ansonia, firearms in Springfield, hats in Dan- bury, paper in Holyoke, and so on through a long list. South- ern New England is sprinkled over with manufacturing cities. The New York Metropolitan District includes New York City and the immediately surrounding region (Fig. 287). The dis- trict includes small portions of Connecticut and New Jersey, as well as the southern point of New York, the western end of Long Island, and Staten Island. It. is set thickly with cities — Yonkers, Jersey City, Newark, Passaic, Paterson, Hoboken, Elizabeth, Bayonne, and several others. In this Metropolitan District are about 20 cities of over 25,000 population ; as many people live there as in the whole Dominion of Canada, and within its limits more goods are manufactured than in South America and Canada combined. There are several of our states and some foreign coun- tries in which the total of manufactures does not reach 20 million dollars a year ; in the Metropolitan District alone there are nearly fifty different articles each of which is manufactured to the value of 20 million dollars or more a year. Near the water’s edge, in both New Jersey and New York, are great sugar refineries which receive raw sugar by shiploads from the West Indies, the East Indies, Hawaii, Central America, and South America. There are enormous oil refineries, fed by hun- dreds of miles of pipelines reaching back into the oil fields (Fig. 34). There are great copper refineries receiving copper from Chile, Peru, Spain, Mexico, Asia, and any other part of the world where copper ore is mined. The products of these three groups of refineries alone are measured in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. About 40 per cent of the men’s clothing and about 70 per cent of the women’s clothing made in the United States are made in New York City. Indeed this one city now manufactures more goods than the entire United States manu- factured in 1860. In New Jersey’s part of the Metropolitan District are seven large manufacturing cities and many others of lesser size. They 410 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY are all closely knit together and all closely joined to New York in their business interests. However, New York City alone pro- duces more manufactured goods than are made in the rest of the Metropolitan District. The Philadelphia-Baltimore District.- — Philadelphia ranks third in total product among our manufacturing cities, yet in the com- Fig. 288. — A small portion of Cramp’s shipbuilding yards, Philadelphia. Dur- ing the World War the Delaware became the leading shipbuilding river of the world. pleteness with which its business interests gather around manu- facturing, it may almost be given first place. Omitting our six foremost manufacturing states, Philadelphia makes more manu- factured goods than the remaining forty-two states. In the mak- ing of carpets, rugs, and hosiery, it leads all the cities of the United States. Its oil and sugar refineries are among the largest in the country. The Philadelphia district includes cities on the Dela- ware from Trenton south. The leading city of Delaware is MANUFACTURING CENTERS 411 Wilmington; in Maryland is the important port and manufac- turing city of Baltimore, which ranks high among our great man- Fig. 289. — Principal cotton-manufacturing states. Areas of circles are in pro- portion to amount of cotton consumed in each state. (U . S. Dept, of Agr.) ( 412 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 290. — Lower New York. MANUFACTURING CENTERS 413 ufacturing centers. Baltimore is usually classed as a southern city, and if so considered, it is the foremost manufacturing city of the South. It will be recalled that our principal shipbuild- ing yards, now the greatest in the world, are on the bays and rivers between the Hudson and the James (Va.) (Fig. 288). Our Greatest Manufacturing Section. — It is a ten hours’ ride by train from Boston to Baltimore, yet in that trip you will pass through ten important manufacturing cities and a half dozen others which, in most parts of the country, would be called large cities. If the journey were made by aeroplane on a clear day, you would pass almost in sight of factories which produce a third (in value) of the manufactured goods made in the entire United States. The Pittsburgh Iron and Steel District. — This is the most im- portant iron and steel center in the United States. At one time Pennsylvania was a leading state in the production of iron ore, and with coal and limestone at hand for smelting it, important iron industries sprang up. Later, the vastly richer deposits of ore near Lake Superior were found, and the cheap transportation of this ore by way of the Great Lakes enabled the iron industry to continue in the Pittsburgh district and in other parts of Penn- sylvania where it was already rooted. The superior quality of the coke produced near Pittsburgh is one of the chief reasons for the growth of this vast industry in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Little by little, other steel-making centers are growing up, as at Buffalo, N. Y., Gary, Ind., Youngstown, Ohio, Chicago, 111., Birmingham, Ala., Milwaukee, Wis., and Duluth, Minn. Manufacturing in the North Central States. — It has been pointed out that manufacturing in the belt from Baltimore to Boston is remarkable for the great variety and the high value of the products. Only a small part of the raw materials used in these factories is produced in the East; they are brought from every- where. But when we have crossed the Appalachian Mountains quite a different set of conditions is found. Most of the cities on the Great Lakes and in the states between the Lakes and the 414 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Ohio River manufacture articles in which iron and steel figure very prominently. This is because the iron ore from the Lake Superior mines reaches this region cheaply by way of the Lakes and also because in these agricultural states a heavy demand for iron and steel products always exists. Here railroads, the larg- est users of iron and steel, are particularly numerous. It is a wealthy farming section where an enormous quantity of farm machinery and engines, wagons, automobiles, windmills, fence wire, and of all kinds of hardware is used. Illinois, for example, makes about 40 per cent of all the farming machinery manufactured in this country. In the western half of this section, convenient to the grazing lands and the corn belt, slaughtering and meat-packing estab- lishments are located in nearly every large city. In value of products this is the leading manufacturing industry in the United States (Fig. 201). The states on the Great Lakes have long been the largest mak- ers of all kinds of vehicles, and when the automobile came into use some of these carriage and wagon factories turned their ex- perience and capital into the making of automobiles. Detroit, the chief center, makes upwards of one-fourth of all the automo- biles made in the United States ; one factory turns out three au- tomobiles a minute. All of the leading centers of automobile manufacturing are in the states which touch Lake Erie and Lake Michigan (Fig. 292). The exceedingly rapid growth of Akron, Ohio, in recent years has been due to the rubber plants in that city ; the largest use for rubber is now in the making of rubber tires. The forests of Michigan and Wisconsin have given rise to many lumber mills, to pulp mills and paper mills, to tanneries, furni- ture factories, and scores of other wood-using industries (Fig. 293). Chicago. — Chicago is the industrial and commercial center of the Middle West ; it is the hub of the railroad systems of America, in fact, the greatest railroad center in the world, and it is sur- rounded by a wonderfully rich agricultural region. Its situation as a MANUFACTURING CENTERS 415 manufacturing and distributing point is ideal, for it is within easy reach of coal, iron, lumber, copper, petroleum, cattle, hogs, and grain. Among American cities it ranks second only to New York in population, and holds first place in many important lines of Fig. 291. — Slaughtered hogs in one of the great packing houses of Chicago. ({/. S. Dept, of Agr.) manufacturing, including meat-packing, machinery, cars, and blast furnace products (Fig. 294). The value of its manufac- tures exceeds the combined total of nineteen states of the Union; only five states manufacture more goods than this single city. St. Louis. — This is the largest of the Mississippi River cities and is one of the half dozen greatest industrial centers of the United States. It has a wide range of manufactures, the leaders of which are boots and shoes, tobacco, and meat products. It has long been the chief distributing center for the Southwest. Cleveland, Detroit, and Mihcaukee (with Chicago) are the dom- 416 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY in ant manufacturing centers on the Great Lakes ; all are large manufacturers of ma- chinery and other prod- ucts in which iron and steel are used. Milwau- kee is also the second city in the United States in the tanning of leather. Cincinnati and Louis- ville are on the southern margin of the iron- and steel-making region, and are primarily engaged in other lines of industry ; Cincinnati is one of the large meat-packing and clothing centers, while Louisville is one of the leading tobacco markets of the United States. Indianapolis is typical of the cities of the Middle West, with its meat-packing plants and its manufactures of ma- chinery and automobiles. Kansas City (Kan.) and South Omaha (Neb.) are among the great meat- packing centers. Kansas City (Mo.) and St. Paul are prominent mercan- tile, banking, and rail- road centers, with varied MANUFACTURING CENTERS 417 manufactures. Minneapolis leads all in flour-milling and is the great lumber center of the Northwest. Thus, it is evident that manufacturing in the north central states, unlike that in the eastern states, is notably dependent Jig. 293. — One of the great lumber mills of northern Wisconsin. The greater part of the timber has been cut from the Great Lakes region and most of the great saw mill s are gone. ( Courtesy N . W. Lumber Co.) upon raw materials which the section produces. It is to be noted, however, that in these states there are also great industries which are not dependent upon raw materials produced near by, as, for example, the shoe factories of St. Louis, the clothing factories of Chicago, the rubber industries of Akron, Ohio, and numerous other examples. Manufacturing in the South. — As has already been stated, the people of the southern states have devoted themselves more largely to agriculture than to manufacturing. About 15 per 418 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 294. — Portion ol the Chicago stock yards. Chicago is the leading meat-packing city of the world. MANUFACTURING CENTERS 419 cent of the manufacturing of the United States is done in the South ; for some time past, however, manufacturing there has been Fig. 295. — Distribution of cotton mills. They are nearly all east-of the Appa- lachians. ( U. S. Dept, of Agr.) 420 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY increasing. On the lower slopes of the Appalachian highland and along the Piedmont, where water power is abundant, cotton mills have been built in large numbers. North and South Carolina and Georgia now rank among the leading cotton-manufacturing Fig. 296. — An iron smelter in Colorado. states (Fig. 295). In the sawing of lumber and the making of furniture, several of the southern states hold important positions. The manufacture of tobacco in Virginia, North Carolina, and Ken- tucky, of cigars in Florida, of sugar and molasses in Louisiana, of cottonseed oil in Texas, and of iron and steel in Alabama and Tennessee are industries of nation-wide importance. Birming- ham, Ala., is one of the rising iron and steel centers of the coun- try. In the South, as in the Middle West, the kind of man- ufacturing depends largely upon the raw materials which the region produces ; this fact is always true of a region in the earlier MANUFACTURING CENTERS 421 Fig. 297. - — An immense saw mill in Idaho. 422 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY stages of manufacturing. Later, industries grow up which are not dependent upon local raw materials, as is clearly shown in the older eastern states. Fig. 298. • — Map showing the distribution of manufacturing by states in 1910. Each dot represents $100,000,000 worth of manufactured goods. The figures for 1920 show about three times this value ; approximately half of this increase, however, is due to higher prices. Manufacturing in the Western Half of the United States. — About 6 to 8 per cent of the manufacturing of the United States is done in the mountain and Pacific states. Of the 50 leading manufacturing cities, 4 only are in the western half of the coun- try. These are Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Yet, in the value of manufactures per capita of the population, the Pacific states rank fifth in the nine groups of states into which the country is divided by the Census Bureau. The manu- facture of lumber and other wood products is the largest industry in each of the three Pacific coast states. The canning of fruit in California, and of salmon in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, are large industries (page 357). The smelting of ores is impor- tant near the great mining centers in Montana, Arizona, Utah, MANUFACTURING CENTERS 423 Colorado, and other mountain states. Colorado has quite exten- sive iron and steel industries (Fig. 296), and the largest part of our beet sugar is made in Colorado and California. Oil refining in California has also risen to large proportions. It will be noted that all of these industries use the raw materials of the regions. Summary It is convenient to divide the territory of the United States into four sections with respect to manufacturing : 1. The Northeastern Section is the oldest, most fully developed, and populous of the four sections; here, in a belt about 100 miles wide, reaching from Boston to Baltimore, an area no larger than Indiana, are located 21 of the 50 leading manufacturing cities of the United States. Here manufacturing depends but little upon raw materials produced in the region ; the mills make an endless variety of goods, generally of high value in proportion to their bulk, and ship them to all parts of this country and abroad. 2. The North Central Section, lying between the Great Lakes, the Ohio, and the Missouri rivers, includes 24 of the 50 leading manufacturing cities (Fig. 286). It is particularly engaged in the manufacture of products in which the raw materials produced in the section are very largely used, such as iron and steel near the Lakes, lumber, paper, and other wood products in Michigan and Wisconsin, automobiles in Michigan, farming machinery in Illi- nois, flour in Minnesota, and meat products in all of the large cities. 3. The South is more largely an agricultural than an industrial section, but it is rich in raw materials, coal, and water power, and is steadily developing in manufacturing, notably in cotton goods, wood products, sugar, steel, and tobacco. 4. The I Vest, mountainous, lacking in rainfall, and thinly popu- lated, has as yet built up comparatively little manufacturing ex- cept on the Pacific slope, where a rapid industrial expansion is in progress. 424 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY EXERCISE XXV Problems 1. Though Great Britain and France are old and in some ways more ad- vanced than the United States, yet the manufactures of both together are much less in value than those of the United States. Give reasons for this. 2. From the ten reasons for the great development of manufacturing in the United States, given on page 404, select the five reasons which you re- gard as the most important, and tell why you selected them. 3. While the United States produces manufactured goods more than twice as great in value as Great Britain does, it has more than twice the population of Great Britain and more than 30 times the area. Which of the two countries should be ranked first as a manufacturing nation f Give your reasons. 4. Both Russia and China are larger and more populous than the United States; both have great natural resources, including coal and iron, and an invigorating climate. Why are they not prominent manufacturing nations? 5. Account for the fact that up to 1915 the United States exported fewer manufactured goods than Great Britain. 6. What is a tariff? A protective tariff? Why called “protective”? How does a protective tariff help to build up a nation’s manufacturing in- dustries? Does such a tariff make goods more expensive to the consumer? Be prepared to defend your answer. 7. Cheap fuel is almost a necessity in building up manufacturing in- dustries, yet neither New England nor New York has coal deposits. Explain this apparent contradiction. 8. Suppose you desired to enter into some manufacturing enterprise on a large scale. In what part of the United States would you locate: (а) a meat-packing plant? ( d ) a cotton mill? (б) a paper mill? (e) a steel-making plant? (e) a cane sugar refinery? (/) a silk mill? Might there be several places equally advantageous for each of these? Explain. With respect to each of the above industries, name sections of the country where you certainly would not locate it. Give reasons. 9. The states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as a group, rank high in agriculture, in manufacturing, in mining, and in railway mileage. Give some of the reasons. Which one of the four is essential to the success of all ? 10. Give reasons why the South has devoted less attention to manufac- turing than the North. Why is manufacturing less developed in the West than in the East? Many people in the South do not desire mills and fac- tories in their midst. Suggest reasons. 11. Give reasons for each of the following facts : (a) Manufacturing has developed faster along the Great Lakes than along the Mississippi ; ( b ) on the shores of Lake Michigan than on the shores of Lake Huron ; (c) on the shores of Lake Erie than on the shores of Lake Ontario ; (d) along the Ohio than along the Missouri ; (e) on the Atlantic coast of the United States than on the Pacific coast. PART TWO 426 EIG. 298 CHAPTER XXI LATIN AMERICA 1 From the Rio Grande to Cape Horn stretches a vast area which was conquered and colonized by Spain and Portugal four centuries ago. About a hundred years ago these colonies re- volted and, with the exception of Brazil, established republics. Brazil, the only Portuguese colony, established a monarchy, but in 1889 changed to a republic. European powers gained control of the various islands of the West Indies and still hold the major- ity of them. Latin America includes Mexico, the islands of Cuba and Haiti, six Central American and ten South American republics, in all of which, with the exception of Brazil and apart of Haiti, Spanish is the national language. The northern part of Mexico and the southern quarter of South America are the only portions of Latin America which are not within the tropics. In all the tropical countries except Cuba the colored races greatly outnumber the whites. This part of Latin America (Bra- zil excepted) was long afflicted with revolutions, corrupt govern- ments, and backwardness generally ; but improvement is going on and several of the countries including Cuba and Brazil and the temperate zone countries, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile, are taking respected places in the family of nations. 1 The countries of the western hemisphere south of the United States are re- ferred to as Latin America because the people speak Spanish or Portuguese, which are based upon Latin. In this chapter the author has included, because of their situation, Porto Rico, Jamaica, the Panama Canal Zone, and a few small islands which belong to the United Statas or Great Britain. 127 428 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Mexico The Mexican People. — Over 80 per cent of the Mexican popula- tion is composed of Indians or mestizos (mes-tee'zoz) ; the latter are of mixed white and Indian parentage. Most of the white peo- ple are of Spanish descent and this small white minority owns the greater part of the land and holds most of the important offices. Eighty-five per cent of the people are poor and illiterate. The upper class of Mexicans includes people of high education, refine- ment, and wealth ; but as a nation the Mexicans have not shown themselves able to maintain a stable republic. The Country. — Mexico is a little over one-fourth the size of the United States and has a population of about 15,000,000, which is considerably greater than that of Canada. It is essentially a plateau bordered by high mountain ranges on either side (Fig. 299), and in the north is deficient in rainfall; the high altitude LATIN AMERICA 429 makes the climate reasonably healthy and agreeable, but fully half of the land is of little use for agriculture. Resources. — In minerals Mexico is exceedingly rich ; it has yielded approximately $4,000,000,000 worth of minerals since the Spanish conquest four hundred years ago. It is one of Fig. 300. ■ — Percentage of the world’s petroleum produced by different countries in 1921. Russia’s production is far below normal and Mexico’s production is rising rapidly. the foremost silver-producing nations and an important producer of gold, copper, lead, and several other metals. On the other hand it is handicapped by the lack of coal, and very little iron is mined. One of the chief oil fields of the world is in eastern Mexico near Tampico and Tuxpam, and in the Isthmus of Te- huantepec. Mexico is now the second largest producer of petro- leum (United States, Mexico, Russia). In 1921 there were 25 ivells in Mexico capable of producing 600,000 barrels daily. The character of the oil and the nearness of the fields to the coast make the Mexican oil particularly desirable for oil-burning ships (Fig. 299) . Less than a quarter of the land is used for agriculture, and most of that is held in great estates which are poorly cultivated or are used for grazing. From 5 to 10 per cent of the land is covered with forests which contain valuable woods, but the timber is difficult to secure because of lack of transportation. In the pen- insula of Yucatan are extensive areas which produce the fiber- producing plant called henequen ; most of this (350,000,000 lb. a year) goes to the United States and is made into binder twine and other forms of cordage. 430 HfGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 301. — Agricultural lands on the plateau of southern Mexico. (© Keyettme View Co.) LATIN AMERICA 431 Industries. — The majority of the people live by means of primitive agriculture ; corn is the chief food crop. A main cause of the chronic discontent among the people is that the land is nearly all in the possession of rich land-holders who treat the Fig. 302. — Map showing that most of the larger cities of Mexico are at altitudes above 5000 feet. The figures indicate altitudes in hundreds of meters. (After Mark Jefferson , Geographical Review, 1917.) laborers (called peons) with scanty consideration. Mining is a great industry, but most of the large mining properties are owned by foreigners, especially Americans. The oil fields are mainly controlled by American and English capital, as are many of the cattle and sheep ranches. The Mexicans seem unable to develop the resources of their country and at times resent the in- trusion of foreigners who seek to do so. There is some reason for their resentment and it is important that the United States treat Mexico with patience and justice. Manufacturing was making 432 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY some progress until the revolutionary period which began in 1910 ; but Mexico is likely to continue to import the bulk of the manu- factured goods used by her people. Means of Transportation. The high mountains near the coasts make the building of railroads to the interior difficult and expensive, yet several lines with their branches have been built over these mountains. Mexico ranks third among Latin Ameri- can countries in railway mileage. Several important lines cross the border from the United States and traverse the country from north to south. In normal times a through Pullman train runs between St. Louis and Mexico City. Foreign Trade. — In peace times Mexico carries on a large trade with the United States which, because of its nearness, gets about two-thirds of that trade. Metals, oil, sisal fiber or henequen, coffee, and hides, are the chief exports. The imports are varied, but include manufactured goods, railway equipment, mining machinery, coal, and coke. Our trade with the 15 million people of Mexico is as great as that with the 400 million people of China, but less than that with the 3 million of Cuba. Summary While Mexico is in part a tropical country, it is made up of mountains and plateaus and the climate is not disagreeably hot in the highlands; it has enormous mineral wealth, especially sil- ver, copper, lead, and petroleum. There are extensive, unused lands suited to agriculture and grazing, and the country has a favorable position for commerce, especially with the United States. The people lack capital and business ability; the land system is bad and a great majority of the people are landless and illiterate, and live by means of agriculture crudely carried on, or work for others; and, worst of all, Mexico has not been able to maintain a stable government. The larger enterprises are financed with foreign capital, most of which was invested before the last period of misgovernment demoralized the nation. Manu- facturing has made only moderate progress. From one-half to three-fourths of the foreign trade is with the United States, and LATIN AMERICA 433 cordial relations ought to exist between the two countries. When one notes the wonderful progress made by Cuba under a stable government he sees what might he done by Mexico much richer, larger, and more populous — if the right kind of govern- ment existed there. Central America The neck of land which connects Mexico and South America is divided into six small republics and the little colony of Brit- ish Honduras. The largest of the republics (Nicaragua) is about the size of New York State, and the most populous (Guatemala) has somewhat over 2,000,000 people. The republics are Gua- temala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama. Costa Rica and Panama are in advance of the other countries in nearly every way. All are tropical lands with dense jungles on the east (windward) side of the mountain system which extends through them. There is only one city having as many as 100,000 population ; the people and the cities are mainly on the Pacific side, and in the highlands, where the altitude partially offsets the tropical heat. The great majority of the people are Indians and mestizos, mostly illiterate and thriftless. A small minority of the people are white descendants of old Spanish families; these and the foreigners own most of the land and conduct most of the enterprises. Agriculture is the principal occupation. Coffee plantations on the Pacific slope and banana plantations near the eastern coast are the chief sources of exports. Most of the coffee plantations are owned by Central Americans, but the large ba- nana plantations are owned by Americans, notably by the United Fruit Company. (Forty per cent of the exported bananas of the world come from Central America.) Some of the large plantations produce upwards of a million pounds of coffee annually (Fig. 305). The United Fruit Company has over 100,000 acres of banana plan- tations in the Caribbean region and ships 40 to 50 million bunches yearly, mostly to the United States. There is very little man- ufacturing, few roads, and only a small railway mileage. Rev- olutions and disorders are frequent, yet slow progress is being made. 434 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY On a number of occasions a part or all of the Central Amer- ican nations have attempted some sort of a confederation, but the (© Keystone View Co.) Fig. 303. — Native Indians and their home in Guatemala, Central America. The Federated Republic of Central America, formed in 192f is made up of Guatemala , Salvador, and Honduras FIG. 304 LATIN AMERICA 435 attempt has not succeeded. In 1921, three of the countries — Guatemala, Salvador, and Honduras — formed a new union, but its success is problematical. Panama, which became independent of Colombia in 1903, has Fig. 305. — Number of bunches of bananas shipped to the United States from various Caribbean countries in 1920. an orderly government and is in a prosperous condition. The United States is in possession of the Canal Zone, a strip five miles wide on each side of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal (Fig. 304). — This is one of the great en- gineering triumphs of the United States. A French company attempted to construct a canal at Panama, but after expending millions of dollars and sacrificing thousands of lives to tropical diseases, the company became bankrupt and finally sold its rights to the United States, which began work on the canal in 1904 and opened it for traffic in 1914. It is about 50 miles long, and has 436 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY three pairs of locks near eacli end ; it has already cost over $400,- 000,000. Vessels carrying passengers or cargo pay a toll of $1 .20 per ton for passing through the canal ; vessels in ballast pay less. The canal is of great value to the United States for both military Fig. 306. — • Miraflores locks in the Panama Canal. and commercial reasons. Between 3000 and 4000 ships pass through the canal yearly, and the income from tolls pays the cost of operation but does not pay off any of the cost of construction. The West Indies This large and important group of islands is made up of the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles (Fig. 304). Four of the largest islands compose the Greater Antilles : Cuba, Haiti, Ja- maica, and Porto Rico. Cuba is an independent republic under the guardianship of the United States. In length it would reach nearly from New York LATIN AMERICA 437 to Chicago. It is as large as Ohio and has a population of over two and one-half millions. Havana, the capital and chief port, is a stirring city of four hundred thousand people. Cuba has be- come one of the most stable and prosperous of the Latin American Fig. 307. — Map showing the locations of the 200 sugar mills of Cuba. The bars represent the average annual production of sugar in the leading cane sugar pro- ducing countries. countries. Its great crop is sugar cane, of which it is the world’s leading producer (Fig. 307). The raw sugar is made from the sweet juice of the cane extracted by grinding and pressing. The juice is boiled and the raw sugar crystallizes out. Most of the raw sugar comes to the United States, where it is refined and con- sumed. The other important crop is tobacco, raised in the western end of the island and regarded as the choicest cigar-making leaf in the world (Fig. 309). The principal mineral product is iron, mined in the eastern end of the island ; most of this goes to iron works in Maryland. Cuba’s commerce, remarkably large for a country of its size and population, is mainly with its near neighbor, the United States, as is also true of Mexico and in large degree of Canada. Haiti. — This island has two republics, Haiti and the Domin- ican Republic, badly governed and very backward ; the people are practically all negroes. Tropical agriculture is the principal industry, and sugar and cacao the principal crops. 438 HTGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Jamaica, the size of Connecticut, belongs to Great Britain; the upper official positions and the larger financial enterprises are mainly in the hands of the white residents, but over 90 per cent of the people are negroes, descendants of former slaves. Formerly Jamaica was a very large producer of sugar and, later, of bananas, but destructive hurricanes ruined many of the plan- tations ; the exportation of bananas dropped from 16 million bunches in 1914 to less than 3 million in 1919, but gradually rose again in following years. The capital, Kingston, has an excel- lent harbor and is one of the principal naval stations of Great Britain in the West Indies. Porto Rico formerly belonged to Spain but became a possession of the United States after the Spanish-American War (1898). It is nearly three times the size of Rhode Island and has over a million people. It is largely self-governing and sends a com- missioner to the United States Congress. About two-thirds of the Porto Rican people are white and one-third colored. Sugar is the big crop and forms two-thirds of the value of all exports. Coffee, tobacco, and pineapples are also characteristic products. There is little manufacturing or mining, but the foreign trade is very large per capita. The Virgin Islands. — Near Porto Rico are three small islands called the Virgin Islands, purchased by the United States from FIG, 308 LATIN AMERICA 439 Denmark in 1916 for $25,000,000. They are unimportant ex- cept as they may strengthen our naval position in the Caribbean. The Lesser Antilles. — These belong to various European powers, especially Great Britain and France. They were once important producers of sugar ; now they yield various tropical products, such as cacao, coffee, and coconuts, but they are less valuable as colonies than they were formerly. The island of Trinidad, a British colony near the coast of South America, has an asphalt lake which is one of the chief sources of our natural asphalt. The Bahamas are a group of coral islands belonging to Great Britain not far from the coast of Florida. On the map (Fig. 304) locate all of the countries and islands named above. SOUTH AMERICA The Outstanding Physical Features 1. An Exceptionally Regular Coast Line. — South America has an unusually regular coast line ; there are no peninsulas of note and no large indentations. Only the coast of southern Chile is irregular ; this section has fiords and many islands, resembling the coast of southern Alaska. There are almost no good harbors on the west coast except in the southern half of Chile. On the whole, eastern South America has sufficient natural harbors for its commercial needs, but the harbors on the west coast are so open to the sea that they give little protection to ships in times of storm. 2. The Andes Mountains. — This mountain system, studded with active volcanoes, is one of the most lofty mountain barriers in the world. It is made up of two or three main ranges broad- ening into an extensive plateau in Bolivia. Its highest peaks exceed 20,000 feet, and for the greater part of its length the low- est passes are between two and three miles above sea level. This frowning mountain wall, rising from the very edge of the conti- nent and traversing its entire length, is one of the most difficult of the great mountain systems of the world for roads and 440 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY railroads to cross. This barrier acts as a powerful influence in retarding the development of the countries on the west coast, especially those north of Chile. 3. The Northern and Eastern Mountains. — These are much older and much more worn down by the agents of waste than are the Andes. In southeastern Brazil they rise from near the water’s edge to a height of 2000 feet and more. Their height somewhat offsets the tropical heat and improves the climate of this part of Brazil. The great coffee plantations are on the plateau back of Rio de Janeiro and Santos. 4. The Three Great River Basins. — The largest of these, the Amazon, has already been described (page 150). The Orinoco, mainly within the boundaries of Venezuela, is navigated for a few hundred miles ; the broad grassy plains, called llanos, on either side form natural pasture lands, but they are only partially uti- lized. The group of rivers which unite to form the Rio de la Plata is nearly as important as the Amazon system ; these include the Parana, the Paraguay, and the Uruguay. Both the Amazon and the Rio de la Plata systems are more used for navigation than are rivers in the United States ; this is partly due to the fact that railroads are much less common in South America. Summary of the Surface Features (1) An exceptionally regular coast line; (2) a lofty mountain wall forming an effective barrier along the entire west coast ; (3) a vast extent of swampy, jungle-covered plains forming the Amazon basin ; (4) extensive grassy plains in Venezuela and southern Brazil, and more important ones in Uruguay and Argen- tina; (5) large areas of worn-down mountains in eastern Brazil, important in their effect upon temperature and upon the coffee industry ; (6) three great river systems, two of which are much used for navigation. South America Contrasted with North America 1. Size. — The difference in size is not particularly impor- tant, although North America is about 15 per cent larger than its southern neighbor. LATIN AMERICA 441 2. Situation. — The difference in situation is of utmost impor- tance for most of North America is in the temperate zone, while about three-fourths of South America is in the torrid zone. Fig. 310. — Forest regions of South America. ( Zon , in Geographical Review.) 3. Climate. — The difference in climate is very marked. In the torrid zone changes of seasons are less important than in the tern- 442 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY perate zone. The hot, sultry climate of the tropical lowlands robs men of their energy, makes work irksome, and retards prog- ress generally. All of the great nations of the world are in the temperate zones, none in the torrid. The southern quarter of South America is in the temperate zone and this region is advanc- ing more rapidly than the rest of the continent. 4. Productions. — In this particular the two continents natu- rally differ a great deal. The larger part of South America is tropical, and here the commercial products are mainly coffee, rubber, cacao, sugar cane, and cotton. The temperate portion of the continent yields the same crops as the United States. The mineral products, of course, have no connection with the climate. The greatest difference in this respect is in the coal resources of the two continents. North America is the richest and South America the poorest in coal. Brazil has large iron ore resources and a small amount of iron is mined in Chile, but the total iron ore production of the continent is insignificant. Al- though mining is a leading industry in the Andean region the total output of minerals of all South America is not 10 per cent of the output of the United States. 5. People. — If we include only the people of the United States and Canada in North America, then the difference between the two continents is very marked. The people of Mexico and Cen- tral America are similar to those of tropical South America. In the countries of the west coast the vast majority of the people are Indians or mestizos. In the Caribbean countries and tropical Brazil, negroes, Indians, and mixed races constitute a majority. Only in two South American countries, namely, Argentina and Uruguay, do white people predominate in numbers. 6. Government. — In both continents republics are the rule, yet there are wide differences among republics. Argentina, Brazil, and Chile have maintained stable governments for a long time. The other countries have had more or less frequent rev- olutions and their governments are none too stable. Education for the common people is in a backward state. In quality of government and in general welfare the best South American coun- LATIN AMERICA 443 tries are behind the United States and Canada, and the other countries are very far behind. Bad government deters men from investing their capital in mines, railroads, or factories, and so retards business development. This is a serious drawback in several countries, but the condition is gradually improving. Fig. 311. — Approximate population of each of the South American countries. 7. General Development. — The conditions in North America are far in advance ; in only a few parts of South America has rail- road building made much headway, and good roads are scarce. Less manufacturing is done in all South America than is done in 444 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Illinois. Though mining is an important industry in the Andes, the total mineral output ot' the continent does not equal in value the output of coal from the mines of Pennsylvania alone. More money is expended on education in New York State than in all the countries of South America combined. Countries Bordering the Caribbean The Caribbean countries are Colombia and Venezuela, and we might add the three colonies, British Guiana, French Guiana, and Dutch Guiana, though they are somewhat east of the Carib- bean. All are tropical and backward (Fig. 311). Colombia and Venezuela have been retarded by frequent revolutions and a prevailing instability of government. Colombia. — This country is larger than France and Germany combined. It formerly included Panama, which in 1903 became an independent republic. The tropical heat is intense in the low- lands, and so the greater part of the white people live in the high- lands several thousand feet above the sea level. Bogota, the cap- ital, is situated far inland at an elevation of over 8000 feet. Less than 10 per cent of the people are pure whites, but these form the educated, well-to-do, governing class. Half of the country is tropical jungle belonging to the Amazon basin and is sparsely in- habited by Indian tribes. The Magdalena River, navigated by river steamers, is the chief route, but a slow one, into the interior. Links of railroad connect navigable parts of the Magdalena and extend to Bogota ; one railway also connects with the Pacific coast. In all, the country has 700 miles of railway, but only a few roads for wheeled vehicles. Trails, followed by pack animals, are the chief highways. There are banana, sugar, cacao, and cof- fee plantations, but only a small fraction of the country produces commercial crops. Coffee is by far the most important product, forming 50 per cent of the total exports of the country. Ivory nuts, emeralds, platinum, cattle, and gold form exports of con- siderable value. There are about 5,000,000 people in the coun- try, the majority of whom carry on agriculture to the extent of LATIN AMERICA 445 supplying their simple needs and providing a limited amount for export . Though Colombia is the largest gold producer among South American countries, its annual output reaches only 6 or 7 million dollars. Colombia is one of the two countries that produce Fig. 312. — Digging asphalt from the surface of the asphalt lake in the island of Trinidad. (© Pub. Photo. Service.) most of the world’s platinum, though Colombia’s part is only 6 per cent against Russia’s former 93 per cent ; it is also the chief producer of emeralds. Iron and coal exist but are mined very slightly. The value of the coffee produced is much greater than that of all the minerals combined. There is but little man- ufacturing, and the total foreign trade is only about one-tenth that of Cuba. Venezuela. — This unfortunate, misgoverned country has more than three times the area of the British Isles and has a popula- 446 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY tion under 3,000,000, less than 10 per cent of whom are whites. The colored people include negroes, Indians, and mixed races. Repeated revolutions with much destruction of property have occurred. The country has extensive areas of grazing lands, but the cattle industry has been retarded by the many internal wars. The most important crop is coffee, grown on hundreds of plantations and making up more than half of the total exports of the country. A little gold and copper is mined and a little petroleum and asphalt is produced, but the mineral output is small (Fig. 312). There is no manufacturing of note. The total railroad mileage is 600 to 700 miles and there are almost no roads except trails. Both the producing and the consuming power of the country is small, hence the foreign trade is small. Both Colombia and Venezuela carry on the larger part of their trade with the United States. The Guianas. — These three tropical colonies belong respec- tively to Great Britain, Holland, and France. Only a very small fraction of the people are white. British Guiana is the most prosperous, yet only one acre in three hundred of the land is cul- tivated ; the population is near the coast ; the interior is tropical jungle with some grassland. Sugar cane and rice are the only crops of importance. Dutch Guiana once belonged to Great Britain ; in 1667 it was traded to Holland for New Amsterdam, now New York. The total population of Dutch Guiana is scarcely 100,000, more than half of whom live in or near the capital, Paramaribo. French Guiana is the least important of the three colonies ; its total population is around 50,000. The West Coast of South America Unfavorable Conditions. — The countries of the west coast, north of Chile, are seriously handicapped by five unfavorable conditions : 1. As already pointed out, each is traversed by a lofty and un- broken mountain system. There is only a narrow coastal plain, and such lowland as does exist between the sea and the mountains in Colombia and Ecuador is hot and unhealthful. LATIN AMERICA 447 2. The people must choose between living near the coast in a tropical lowland and going up among the mountains, where the temperature is moderate but where other conditions are unfa- vorable for carrying on various industries. There is little agri- cultural land. The roads are merely trails or mule paths. Rail- roads are few and very costly to build and maintain. Not as much manufacturing is done in the five Andean countries as is done in a city like Cleveland. Most of the industries that do exist are conducted on a small scale ; mining is a partial exception to this. 3. From Peru to central Chile (2000 miles) the rainfall is so light on the Pacific side of the mountains that the country is a desert, while in eastern Peru and Bolivia the rainfall is so heavy that dense tropical jungles cover the mountain slopes and plains. The total agricultural exports from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile do not equal the productions of a single one of our good farming states, such as Ohio or Illinois. 4. Only a small proportion (less than 10 per cent) of the peo- ple are pure whites. As a rule this white population (mostly of Spanish descent) has the education, holds the offices, and owns most of the property ; while a large majority of the lower classes are in a state of poverty and ignorance and many are peons or near-slaves. 5 . The governments have been unstable, revolutions have been frequent, and popular education is neglected ; the men of the rul- ing class have not had the sort of training that fits them to carry on large enterprises ; and so mining, railroad building, and most other lines of development on a large scale have been accom- plished by Americans and Europeans. Mineral Resources. — Peru and Chile have the largest cop- per mines in South America ; Bolivia is the only important source of tin in either America ; most of the Andean countries produce silver, Peru being the leader. In the desert of northern Chile are the largest deposits of nitrate (nitrate of soda) in the world. In fact Chile furnishes the world’s supply of this salt. It is found in beds at or near the surface of the ground ; it is loosened by the use of explosives, is purified by dissolving out the nitrate and re- 448 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY moving the earthy matter, is bagged, shipped to the coast, and exported. In peace times it is mainly used for fertilizer and in war times for the manufacture of explosives. These nitrate beds are the richest known mineral deposits in South America, and Fig. 313. — Sacking nitrate in Chile. (© Keystone View Co.) the export tax collected on them supplies the chief source of income for the Chilean government (Fig. 313). Off the coast of Peru are islands upon which were enormous deposits of guano, the exports of which during forty years were valued at over $400,000,000. This valuable fertilizer is still exported, but in re- stricted quantities. Chile mines a small amount of iron ore, and has the only coal mines of importance in South America. No other country in South America mines any coal for export, and even Chile imports more than it exports. Coal is reported to exist in Colombia and a LATIN AMERICA 449 poor variety in Brazil ; a small amount is mined in Peru and is mostly used by the copper smelters near by. One of the great drawbacks to the development of South America is this lack of coal. The railroads and manufacturing plants are largely de- pendent upon imported coal, which has become very costly. The amount of gold and silver taken from western South Amer- ica by the Spanish conquerors amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars; in fact, the Spaniards directed their efforts mainly to mining the precious metals. They did little to develop the colo- nies or to improve the Indians, whom they treated with cruelty unbelievable. Lest an incorrect impression of the mineral production of South America be given, it may be pointed out that the annual output of gold in all South America is less than that of Cripple Creek, Col. ; of copper, is less than that of any one of our leading five districts; of silver, tin, iron, coal, and all other minerals, includ- ing nitrate, is less than the value of the iron ore mined in the Mesabi Range in Minnesota. Agriculture. — In western South America, as in nearly all coun- tries which are in the early stages of development, agriculture and stock raising are the chief occupations of the people. The countries are so mountainous and means of transportation are so imperfect that the majority of the communities produce little more than enough for their own needs. Cacao beans, from which chocolate is made, form the chief export of Ecuador. A small part of the coast land of Peru is irrigated and produces abun- dantly. Plantation agriculture is here practiced, mainly with for- eign capital. There are large sugar and cotton plantations ; the value of the sugar exported is greater than that of all other Pe- ruvian food crops (Fig. 314). These are about the only coast lands from Panama to central Chile where agriculture really thrives, and here it is due to irrigation ; for nearly 2000 miles this coast is practically desert. Such grazing animals as the llama, alpaca, and sheep are raised in the highlands and a part of the wool gets into international trade. The mountain lands produce little more food than the 450 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY natives require. The vast majority of the natives are wholly ignorant of modern methods of agricul- ture. Nothing need be said of agriculture in Bolivia, where less than six per cent of the people are whites. The northern third of Chile is a desert and the southern third is made up of forested or snow-covered mountains. The cen- tral third includes the Vale of Chile, a beau- tiful valley much like that of California. Here agriculture is carried on by modern methods. All of the crops of the middle temperate zone are raised, and several million bushels of cereals (wheat, oats, barley) are exported yearly. This valley Fig. 314. — Irrigated areas along the coast of Peru. The greater part of the agricultural exports of Peru come from these irrigated lands. (Andes of South- ern Peru , 1916, Amer. Geogr. Soc.) and the irrigated patches in Peru are the only agricultural lands on the west coast that deserve mention. Transportation. — Roads for wheeled vehicles are very rare in these countries except in the valley of Chile. A winding railroad climbs up from the port of Guayaquil to Quito, the cap- LATIN AMERICA 451 ital of Ecuador. Peru has two lines connecting the coast with the interior, and also a number of short lines, a total of nearly 2000 miles. Bolivia is penetrated by a railroad from Peru and two from Chile, and another from Argentina enters from the south. Chile is reasonably well supplied with railways, particularly in the central section. The only railroad in South America which entirely crosses the Andes is the one from Valparaiso in Chile to Buenos Aires in Argentina, known as the Transandine. Taken as a whole, western South America is highly unfavorable to the building of good roads and railroads, and, as already pointed out, this is one of the serious hindrances to the progress of these countries. Foreign Trade. — From what has been said it is evident that with the exception of a limited number of products the west coast produces relatively little for export. Minerals, especially nitrate and copper from Chile, tin from Bolivia, and copper and petro- leum from Peru constitute the important items. Cacao from Ecuador and sugar and cotton from the irrigated lands of Peru deserve mention. On the side of imports the trade is relatively small but is in- creasing (Fig. 315). Moreover the country people, most of whom are Indians or mestizos, live so simply that they require few r im- ported goods (Fig. 303). A large part of the coal, machinery, cloth, shoes, and other manufactured goods now come from the United States, which is also the largest purchaser of the exports. Cities. — Judged by our standard western South America has no large cities. Each country except Bolivia has ports at which steamships stop. Guayaquil, the principal port of Ecua- dor, has been one of the most unhealthful on the whole coast and was avoided until recent improvements were made. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is situated 9000 feet above the sea and nearly on the equator. Its temperature is said to be that of perpetual spring. The chief city of Peru is Lima, one of the oldest cities in the western hemisphere. Bolivia has no city of prominence. La Paz, the capital, is at an elevation of 11,000 feet. In northern Chile are several ports from which nitrate is shipped ; the largest 452 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY are Iquique and Antofagasta. The chief port of Chile is Valpa- raiso, and the chief city is Santiago, the capital, a city of great natural beauty and the largest South American city west of the Fig. 315. — Diagram showing the growth of exports from the eastern United States to western South America following the opening of the Panama Canal. A considerable part of the increase was due to higher prices. Andes. Santiago has a population of somewhat over 400,000, or about that of New Orleans. Argentina General Conditions. — By many people Argentina is consid- ered to be the leading country of South America. It lies in the LATIN AMERICA 453 temperate zone ; it is inhabited almost solely by people of Euro- pean stock ; it has extensive areas of excellent agricultural and grazing land, producing a large surplus for export ; it has thou- sands of miles of railroads (23,000 miles in 1921), mainly built with Fig. 316. — Hauling wheat to the railroad in Argentina. The ponderous carts carry 4 to 8 tons and are drawn by 8 to 10 oxen or horses. (© Keystone View Co.) British capital ; it has maintained a stable government for many years, and foreign investments are regarded as safe. There are able men in the country, and the per capita wealth is high. Prior to the World War of 1914—18, Argentina was receiving annually large numbers of European immigrants, especially Italian and Spanish. During the World War and for several years after, con- ditions were unfavorable, first because of the lack of ships to handle the country’s commerce, and later because of financial depression and reduced prices. Agriculture and Stock Raising. — Argentina has two great in- dustries, agriculture and stock raising. Twenty or thirty years ago stock raising (sheep and cattle) was the more important branch ; now agriculture is the more important. The greater part of the country is made up of vast plains called ’pampas, al- most as level as the sea (Fig. 316). Many of the farms or estates comprise tens of thousands of acres. In the east, where 454 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the rainfall is most favorable, the plains produce great crops of corn, wheat, flax, oats, and alfalfa; however, droughts are fre- quent and crop failures are serious. The locusts are terrible pests ; they invade the country in clouds and destroy every green Fig. 317. — The flax-growing region of Argentina. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) thing in their path. In the year 1917—18 one-third of the wheat, two-thirds of the flax, one-third of the oats, and nearly one-half of the corn were lost on account of locusts and drought. The southern third of the country and a strip near the mountains in the west are too dry for most crops, though suited to sheep raising. More than one-half of Argentina suffers from insufficient rainfall. Near the base of the Andes, around Mendoza, are irrigated vineyards and orchards ; in fact, the grape industry there is com- parable to that in California. Near Tucuman, in the northwest, is an area devoted to sugar cane, making Argentina practically self-sufficient in sugar. Tens of millions of cattle and sheep and millions of hogs, goats, and horses are raised ; and in the semi-arid parts, live stock, and especially sheep, must continue to be the main source of income. LATIN AMERICA 455 Foreign Trade. — In proportion to population Argentina has a very large foreign trade ; in fact, it is one of the leading nations of the world in per capita foreign trade. The country produces so much and the population is still so small (8,000,000) that there is a great surplus of products to sell abroad. This makes it possible also to buy large quantities of imported goods. Unfortunately, the country produces no coal or iron and scarcely any other mineral of importance, therefore it cannot make notable progress in man- ufacturing ; consequently coal and a large proportion of manufactures must be im- ported. With the great ex- portation of wheat, corn, hides, skins, meat, wool, and flaxseed, and the large im- port of mineral products and manufactures, the foreign Fig . 318 . _ The principal wheat . growing trade is necessarily large, areas of South America. Each dot rep- reaching a billion dollars a r f ei ? ts 100 ' 000 bu - s ~ Dept of year, or more than $100 per capita of the population ; this is larger than the normal per capita trade of the United States. We import wool, hides, flaxseed, and varying amounts of other products from Argentina, and sell her coal, petroleum, and all kinds of manufactures. Future of Argentina. — The country has excellent prospects because of the temperate climate, large area of level agricul- tural land, almost exclusively white population, rapidly increasing wealth, and increasingly strong government. It must always be an agricultural and stock raising country because of the absence of minerals ; yet the manufacture of dairy products, wines, flour, tanning extracts, meat products, and leather is growing rapidly. 456 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 319. — Distribution of cattle in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. ( U . S. Dept, of Apr.) LATIN AMERICA 457 Uruguay and Paraguay Uruguay is about the size of California and has a population of 2,000,000, or less than that of Chicago. The people are nearly all whites and the country is prosperous despite prolonged politi- cal turmoil. It is a country of only one great industry, stock Fig. 320. — Sheep-raising in South America. Each dot represents 200,000 sheep. ( V . S. Dept, of Agr.) raising. Nearly all the land is suited to pasturage. The cli- mate is mild and the rainfall fairly abundant (about 35 inches). Sheep and cattle in great numbers graze all the year round (Fig. 320). Large meat packing houses, some of them built by Chicago packers, are located in Uruguay, as well as in Argentina and southern Brazil. Uruguay has no mineral or forest resources of any consequence, does very little manufacturing, but has, like Argentina, a large foreign trade in proportion to its population. It exports meat, wool, hides, and sheepskins, all products of the live stock indus- 458 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY try. The imports are mainly manufactured goods. For a small country Uruguay seems to have a promising future. Paraguay is quite the opposite of Uruguay. Its people are nearly all Indians ; a large part of the country is jungle ; neither farm- ing nor stock raising is carried on beyond supplying the simple needs of the simple people. One crop of importance is grown and exported, yerba mate , or Paraguay tea. When steeped, it makes a pleasant, mildly stimulating drink, said to have no bad effects upon the user. Oranges grow wild in Paraguay and are so common that they are fed to hogs. The country has no sea- coast, has made little progress, and seems to have little promise for the immediate future. Brazil General Conditions. — Brazil is the giant of South America; it is larger than the United States proper, has three times the population of any other South American country, and has great natural wealth and a great variety of resources. About half of the country is tropical jungle, but an area in the east and southeast four times the size of France or Germany is capable of devel- oping into a densely populated and progressive section. This section is hilly or mountainous, but the altitude helps to offset the high temperature which would otherwise prevail. The Amazon Forests. — These are among the most impen- etrable jungles known, and they can scarcely be traversed except along the river courses. The most valuable trees here are the rubber trees, found far up the rivers in Bolivia, Peru, and Co- lombia, as well as in Brazil. Until a short time ago when the out- put of plantation rubber in southeastern Asia became so large, Brazil was the world’s chief source of rubber. It is still the chief producer of the wild product, but the Amazon basin now pro- vides only a small fraction of the world’s total supply of rubber. Coffee . 1 — Brazil has become the world’s chief source of coffee, producing from 70 to 75 per cent of all that is used (Fig. 321). 1 Some member of the class should make a special report on the coffee industry of Brazil. LATIN AMERICA 459 The coffee tree thrives only in the tropics and grows best on up- lands where the soil contains quite a good deal of iron. The red Fig. 321. — Coffee tree loaded with ripe coffee berries. Brazil produces about 73 per cent of the world’s coffee. (© Keystone View Co.) soil of Brazil, the low mountains not far from the sea, the trop- ical sunshine, and ample rainfall in this region combine to make 460 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY southeastern Brazil the paradise of the coffee grower. For the most part the coffee is raised on plantations of large extent hav- ing thousands and even millions of trees each ; one has over 20,000,000 trees. Such plantations require a large investment of capital and hundreds of laborers. The coffee trees are allowed to grow to a height of ten or twelve feet ; the coffee berry resem- bles a red cherry, within which are two coffee beans. The red pulp is removed and the kernels are carefully cured in the sun ; the coffee is then bagged and sent to the shipping ports, espe- cially to Santos, the greatest coffee port in the world (Fig. 323). Rio de Janeiro is also an important shipping port. Coffee is the all- important crop of Brazil ; few countries are so dependent upon a single crop as Brazil is upon coffee. The value of the crop in recent years has reached SI 50,000,000 a year. Most of it is raised in a compact area back of Rio de Janeiro and Santos (Fig. 322). Other Productions. — Brazil is one of the largest producers of cacao beans, from which chocolate is made. Along the coast lands cotton, sugar, rice, and tobacco are raised in increasing quantities. Southern Brazil raises millions of cattle on its ex- tensive areas of pasture land. Modern packing plants have been established, mainly by American packers, and southern Brazil, along with Uruguay and northern Argentina, is becoming one of the important sources of meat for Europe, and possibly in the future for the United States. Mineral Wealth. — Brazil has some of the most valuable iron ore deposits in the world. Unfortunately, there is no native coal with which to smelt the ore, which is located somewhat over 400 miles inland. Brazil is one of the three principal sources of man- ganese, a metal which is essential in the making of steel. At one time there were valuable gold mines and diamond mines in this part of Brazil, but the gold is practically all worked out, and the diamonds, chiefly of the black variety, are found only in limited numbers. Though there is considerable known mineral wealth, and doubtless much that is undiscovered, the present mineral industries of Brazil are not of great importance. Transportation. — Like all other South American countries LATIN AMERICA 461 Brazil has few good roads. In the Amazon basin the rivers form the routes of transportation, especially for bringing out the rubber and for distributing supplies to the rubber gatherers, who are mostly Indians. Far up the Madeira River near the boundary Fig. 322. ■ — The coffee-growing regions of Central and South America. Each dot represents 5,000,000 pounds. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) of Bolivia is a railroad around the rapids 200 miles long. This railroad and river form an important route into and out of Bo- livia. The coffee district has a network of railroads, and many short lines extend inland from various ports. There is continu- ous rail connection between Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Brazil has somewhat less than 20,000 miles of railroad, Argentina nearly 25,000 miles, and the United States over 260,000 miles. Manufactures. — Nowhere in South America has manufactur- ing become really important. Brazil has made a good deal of progress in the making of cottons, shoes, hats, tobacco, flour, meat products, and some other things ; but native coal is poor, 462 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY and inadequate in amount, and imported coal is expensive. Of the great amount of water power in this country only a little has been developed. Capital and competent labor for extensive manu- facturing are not available within the country. Fig. 323. — View of Santos, Brazil, the leading coffee-exporting port of the world. (Pub. Photo. Service.) Foreign Trade. — Among South American countries Brazil has a total foreign trade second only to that of Argentina, and about one-tenth that of the United States. Of the total export trade, about one-half is coffee and one-tenth is rubber. The people of the United States are the greatest consumers of coffee and they purchase more than half of all that Brazil exports. So heavy are our purchases of coffee that the value of our exports to Brazil falls much below that of our imports from that country. During LATIN AMERICA 463 the World War and since, Brazil has bought the larger part of her imports from the United States. The peculiar character of the foreign trade of Brazil may be seen in the fact that nearly 50 per cent of the imports are manufactured goods and about SO per cent of the exports are agricultural products. Cities of Eastern South America. — Buenos Aires, the capital and chief port of Argentina, is the largest city in the southern hemisphere and the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world. It has had a most remarkable growth and is nearing a popula- tion of 2,000,000. More than one-fifth of the people of Argen- tina live in this single city. On the map (Fig. 308) note the loca- tion of Rosario, Bahia Blanca, and La Plata, which are impor- tant shipping ports. Montevideo, across the estuary of the Plata from Buenos Aires, is the capital and chief port of Uruguay and is a thoroughly modern, progressive city. Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, is situated on one of the finest harbors in the world. Its water front has been improved at great expense and from the bay presents an appearance of unusual beauty. The city has a population of over 1,000,000. Santos, the great cof- fee-shipping port (Fig. 323), Sdo Paulo in the coffee district, Para, the rubber-shipping port at the mouth of the Amazon, Manaos, the chief rubber- collecting center up the Amazon, Ba- hia, and Pernambuco are all cities of more or less importance. Locate them on the map (Fig. 308). Relations of the United States to South American Countries The United States and the South American countries ought to maintain close and friendly relations. The tropics produce things which we need in ever increasing quantities ; we also need the wool, hides, and flax of Argentina, the nitrates of Chile, and the tin of Bolivia. Some of the largest mining operations in the Andes are financed and controlled by Americans. Moreover, South America depends upon outside countries for most of its coal, petroleum, machinery, and manufactures of all kinds. These we can supply and ought to supply as we are now doing. 464 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Many American banks have already been established in Latin America ; we have more ships under the American flag prepared to serve our trade than we ever had before, and a cordial feeling exists between the United States and most South American countries. The Latin Americans and the Anglo-Americans are different in their ways of doing and thinking ; they speak different languages and have different traditions and customs. The Latin Ameri- cans of education and refinement are often offended by the ag- gressiveness and informality of North Americans. Our hustling ways sometimes grate upon their sensibilities and they resent the attitude of superiority which a certain type of American assumes. On our side we are likely to be annoyed at the easy-going, procrastinating ways of the Latin Americans. Yet these dif- ferences in point of view can be overcome by a display of genuine good will. There is still some suspicion of our intentions, for some Latin Americans fear that our Monroe Doctrine is only an excuse for gaining an increasing political control in Latin Amer- ica. It is of utmost importance that the United States demon- strate in every possible way its sincere desire to help its sister republics for their own benefit first of all ; that we convince them by all our actions that we do not desire their territory or desire to gain any political control over them. During the World War, nearly all of the South American coun- tries arrayed themselves on the side of the Allies. As a result of the cutting off of trade with Germany and of the necessary de- cline in trade with Great Britain our trade with South Amer- ica grew notably. EXERCISE XXVI 1. Why are there no large rivers G.u the Pacific slope of South America? 2. Why is only a small proportion of Mexico suited to agriculture? 3. Why is a country like Mexico likely to have greater mineral wealth than one like Argentina? 4. Why is the position of Mexico better for commerce than that of Chile? 5. Why are the forests of Central America heaviest on the eastern side? 6. Why are most of the important cities of Central America and western South America inland instead of on the coast? LATIN AMERICA 465 7. Why is agriculture more important in Argentina than in Chile? Why more important in Chile, than in Bolivia? 8. Why is the rubber industry of Brazil declining in relative importance? 9. Why has railroad development in Argentina been more rapid than elsewhere in South America? 10. Why is Argentina not likely to become a manufacturing nation? 11. Why is the rainfall of the Amazon Valley very heavy? Why light in most of Argentina? Why heavy in southern Chile? 12. Why is southern Argentina (Patagonia) better suited to grazing than to agriculture? Why better suited to sheep than to cattle? 13. Why is water transportation employed more in the Amazon Valley than in the Mississippi Valley? 14. Why is eastern Peru a jungle and western Peru a desert? 15. Why is the large size of Brazil less an advantage than it might seem? 16. Why is southeastern Brazil the most promising part of that country? 17. Why is South America more likely to be an importer than a maker of manufactured goods? 18. Why must ore deposits in the Andean countries be exceptionally rich in order to be worked at a profit? 19. Why are the Andean countries seriously handicapped in their develop- ment? 20. Why do foreign investors hesitate to invest their capital in several of the Latin American countries? 21. Why did the United States build the Panama Canal? 22. Why is Cuba exceptionally prosperous? 23. Why is banana growing more profitable in the Caribbean region than in tropical Africa? 24. Why are there few large cities in South America? CHAPTER XXII THE BRITISH EMPIRE Extent. — T1 le British Empire is the largest in the world ; in both area and population it is four times the size of the United States. British India is the most populous dependency, while both Canada and Australia are as large as the United States ; but together they have a population not much greater than that of New York State. Great Britain now controls territory from one end of Africa to the other (Fig. 324). A surprisingly large number of the most valuable points on the great ocean routes of trade are British ; these include Gibraltar, which commands the narrow entrance to the Mediterranean Sea ; Malta, near the center of the Mediterranean Sea; the Suez Canal, still the most important ship canal in the world ; Aden, which commands the southern entrance to the Red Sea; Ceylon, midway across the Indian Ocean ; Singapore, which commands the narrow strait of Malakka ; and Hong Kong, off the coast of China — a contin- uous chain along the most important trade route from the At- lantic to the Far East. In Central America is British Hondu- ras, a small tropical colony. In the West Indies are Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, and other islands ; and in the northern part of South America is British Guiana. The Bahamas, east of Florida, and the Bermudas farther north are also British. These possessions give Great Britain a strong position in the middle Atlantic and in the Caribbean Sea. Besides these colonies there are, in every sea, islands and groups of islands which belong to Great Britain ; no other empire of such extent has ever existed. The widely scattered possessions give an opportunity for coal- ing stations and naval stations in every part of the world, and these, together with the powerful British navy, give Great Brit- 466 THE BRITISH EMPIRE 467 Fig. 324. — The British Empire. 468 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ain the mastery of the sea (Fig. 324). It has taken centuries to acquire and cement this great empire. The Kingdom of Great Britain The Country and the People. — The little kingdom with the vast colonial empire that it has acquired is the richest, most Fig. 325. • — Rainfall and prevailing wind direction of the British Isles. powerful, and most influential of all European nations ; yet Eng- land, the nucleus of the empire, is no larger than Alabama. Many factors have combined to create this nation, a few of which are referred to here : THE BRITISH EMPIRE 469 1. Its climate is mild, much milder than its latitude would cause one to expect, due to the influence of the ocean and to the prevailing westerly winds. (See page 306 and Fig. 325.) The rainfall is ample for crops ; the winters are invigorating and the summers are rarely oppressive. 2. Its insularity, or separation from the continent, has made invasion by land impossible. No foreign war has been fought on English soil for nearly a thousand years. British agriculture and British industries have never been ruined by an invading army as they have been again and again on the continent. The insularity of the nation has favored shipbuilding and seaman- ship, and has given it a strong bent toward the sea, toward ocean commerce, and toward colonization. 3. Its coast line is remarkably indented, affording an excep- tional number of harbors, mostly at river mouths. More than twenty ports have a depth of at least twenty-five feet at high water. 4. Its resources of coal and, iron have greatly aided in build- ing up the manufacturing industries and overseas trade, from which British wealth is largely derived. Without these essential minerals, Great Britain would probably have remained what it was over a century ago, an agricultural nation. Without coal and iron or easy access to them, a great industrial and commercial nation is scarcely possible. 5. Its position, at the front door of Europe and on the side toward America, is a commanding one. France alone has an equally favorable position for ocean commerce. Both nations lie near the center of the land hemisphere. 6. Its government is remarkably liberal and adaptable, con- servative enough and rigid enough to prevent hasty changes, yet always able to change when the need of change is clear. 7. Its people have a genius for business, for colonization, and for diplomacy. The Englishman never knows when he is beaten and, as a consequence, he has won almost every great conflict in which he has engaged. The stubbornness and persistence of the British are proverbial. 470 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Thus does Britain combine in its people, its country, and its climate a remarkable group of advantages out of which the power- ful nation has developed. Fig. 326. — Location of the Chief Cities of the British Isles. (Modified from Mark Jefferson , Geographical Review, 1917.) The Status of Ireland. — Early in 1922, Ireland, which had Fiq. 327. — Coal in Great Britain. 1, Clackmannan ; '2, Fifeshire ; 3, Clyde ; 4, Lo- thians ; 5, Ayrshire ; 6, Lesmaha Co. ; 7, Straiton ; 8, Northumberland and Dur- ham ; 8a, Cumberland ; 9, Ingleton ; 10, Lancashire ; 11, Yorkshire ; 12, Derbyshire ; 13, Flintshire ; 14, Denbighshire; 14a, Anglesey; 15, North Staffordshire; 15a, Shropshire; 16, South Staffordshire; 17, Warwickshire; 17a, Leicestershire; 18, South Wales; 18a, Pembrokeshire; 19, Forest of Dean; 20, Bristol. (After Edward Krehbiel, Geographical Review, 1916.) 472 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY long been dissatisfied with her relations to Great Britain, secured recognition as “The Free State of Ireland,” remaining within the British Empire but being wholly self-governing. The northern part, known as Ulster, has its own parliament, separate from the rest of Ireland. Resources. — Minerals. England, Scotland, and Wales all have large deposits of coal, and the combined output is second only to that of the United States (Fig. 326). Several of the coal areas are close to the sea (Fig. 328), making the shipment of coal by water very easy. The coal of South Wales goes to most of the countries within 5000 miles that need to import coal. The British Empire is estimated to have one-fourth of the coal of the w T orld. Eighty per cent of the value of all minerals mined in Great Britain is in coal. The iron mines have been among the largest producers in Europe, but .now they supply less than half the country’s needs. The famous tin mines of Cornwall have been worked for upwards of two thousand years, but are nearly exhausted. With the exception of clays and building stones no other minerals are produced in important quantities. The fisheries yield the only food product that the islands have in surplus. The rather shallow waters which surround the Brit- ish Isles give rise to the most important sea fisheries in the world. This is especially true of the North Sea. The British fishing fleets constitute the training school for British seamen and have had no small part in making Great Britain the foremost mari- time power among the nations. Soil. — Products of the soil have fallen to a secondary position. About one-fourth of the land of the British Isles is arable ; this is mainly in England and Ireland; the latter country being mainly devoted to agriculture. Nowhere in Europe is the raising of high-grade cattle and sheep so important as in the British Isles, where more sheep are raised than in Germany, Holland, Belgium, and France combined (Fig. 328). Farming on the high-priced land of Great Britain has almost ceased to be profitable, and be- fore the World War it had declined greatly ; so dependent is Great Britain upon imported food that the nation would starve in three THE BRITISH EMPIRE 473 months if outside supplies were cut off. Such crops as are grown are those of the cool temperate zone, including wheat and other cereals, potatoes, root crops, and hay; 40 per cent of the farm land is used for pasturage. Cultivation is much more intensive than in the United States and the yield per acre is much higher. Fig. 328. - — - Distribution of sheep in Europe. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) Industries. — Five times as many people in Great Britain are engaged in mining and manufacturing as in agriculture. Manu- facturing is especially concentrated on the coal fields (Fig. 327). Of the many lines of manufacturing, iron and steel products (in- cluding ships) rank first. The manufacture of textiles, cotton first and woolen second, is the other great industry. The raw cotton is all imported (most largely from the United States), and its manufacture is centered around Manchester in the northwest of England. Britain was long the greatest ex- porter of cotton goods and the greatest builder of ships in the world. Besides the vast quantities of cotton, woolen, and linen goods, and the endless variety of metal products, British mills 474 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY and factories manufacture almost everything else that people use. Most of the raw materials must be imported. In manu- facturing these raw materials into finished products, millions of working people are employed and billions of dollars of British capital are invested. The manufactured goods are (1) used at home ; (2) sold to the British colonies ; and (3) sold to foreign nations. Though the United States is the foremost manufac- turing nation, yet we buy millions of dollars’ worth of British manufactures every year. No other nation is so dependent upon manufacturing and commerce as is the United Kingdom ; around these the economic life of the nation centers, and only by their continuance can the British people make the money with which to buy the imported food and materials that they need. Commerce. — The United Kingdom was until the World War the greatest of commercial nations ; it now ranks second to the United States. Its merchants buy and sell in every land and its ships reach almost every port. Over one-third of the sea- going ships of the world fly the British flag, carrying not only British commerce but much of that of the United States and of other countries. The constant addition of colonial possessions has been principally for commercial purposes, and the powerful Brit- ish navy exists to protect that colonial empire. By owning these many colonies, Great Britain is more sure of securing the raw materials that her manufacturers require, and also is more sure of markets in which to sell her manufactures. It is said that “ Trade follows the flag.” All nations may sell goods to British colonies, but many of these colonies charge a lower tariff on Brit- ish goods than on foreign goods ; this is true in Canada and in the British West Indies ; yet, partly because of nearness, the United States sells more of its products in these colonies than does the mother country. Besides buying raw materials and selling manufactured goods, the British carry on a very large trade in other products, such as wool, rubber, furs, metals, etc., which are produced in the more remote parts of the world, brought to England, and reshipped to countries that need them. For example, the United States THE BRITISH EMPIRE 475 buys considerable wool, rubber, tin, jute, and many other articles through London. British imports exceed exports by hundreds of millions of dol- lars annually. Formerly this unfavorable balance of trade was offset by the income from British investments in foreign coun- tries and by the large earnings of British ships. Cities. — London, on the Thames, is the political and financial capital of the empire, the largest city, and greatest center of trade in the empire; it was the world’s greatest port for 200 years and may be again when the bad effects of the World War are more fully corrected. Greater London has a population of about 7,500,000. Liverpool, on the west coast, is the second commer- cial city of the kingdom and the first in trade with America ; it is connected by ship canal with Manchester, the center of the greatest cotton manufacturing district in the world and “the nat- ural focus of fully 8,000,000 people.” The city of Oldham in this district has between twelve and fifteen million cotton spin- dles. Glasgoiv on the Clyde in Scotland, Newcastle on the Tyne, and Belfast in the north of Ireland are great shipbuilding centers. Birmingham, Sheffield, and surrounding cities are iron and steel centers. Dublin is the seat of government of Ireland, and Edin- burgh of Scotland. Hull, Southampton, Bristol, and Cardiff are other important ports. Locate each of these cities (Figs. 325, 348). Summary 1. The commercial and industrial greatness of the United King- dom arises largely from four factors : A. The advantageous situation of the islands at the front door of Europe and on the side nearest America. To its situation is due also the mild but invigorating climate without which the British character and energy might not have developed. B. Great Britain’s insularity makes land invasion impossible ; it has saved British industries from the ruin of war, which has so often prostrated parts of the continent ; it has encouraged the sea fisheries, the building and operation of ships, and the de- velopment of ocean commerce. 476 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY C. The great coal resources have supplied most of the power which drives British machinery and British ships and so have made possible the enormous growth of manufacturing and commerce which supports the nation. 1). The characteristics of the British people, and the strong, liberal government which they have evolved, comprise the most potent factor of all, yet these are doubtless the outgrowth of still more fundamental causes. 2. Great Britain's most notable achievements are in the realm of (a) manufacturing, (b) commerce, (c) colonization, and (cl) empire building. In the latter two, the country has no equal, and her only equal in the former two is her offspring, the United States. 3. The British Empire is the most extensive and populous that ever existed, and includes parts of every continent, islands in every sea, and the most strategic points in the world’s great trade routes. To serve and to defend this widely scattered empire the British merchant fleet and the British navy have been made the largest in the world. 4. Within the United Kingdom agriculture declined in impor- tance during the past century. The raising of superior cattle and sheep is a prominent industry ; the fisheries are highly important and supply the only item of food that the nation produces in sur- plus. Coal forms 80 per cent of the value of all the minerals produced ; iron is a distant second in value. Iron and steel prod- ucts and cotton, woolen, and linen goods are the great lines of manufacturing. There are over 20 excellent harbors. Ship- building and the operation of ships in the commerce of all nations are leading industries. London was for 200 years the world’s greatest port, a position which was lost to New York during the World War and which may or may not be regained. Canada Government and People. — For more than 200 years Canada was New France, a part of the great colonial empire which the French kings ruled in America. Defeated by the English at Quebec, France had to give up this vast domain and it became FIG. 329 THE BRITISH EMPIRE 477 a British dependency in 1763. A century later (1867) the vari- ous parts (except Newfoundland) were merged into the Dominion of Canada with its capital at Ottawa. The people of Canada have self-government in all except foreign affairs. The Domin- Fig. 330. — A logging scene in Canada. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) ion is larger than the United States ; it is composed of ten prov- inces and the Northwest Territories (Fig. 329) ; the provinces correspond to our states, but average much larger in size : Quebec, for example, is three times the size of Texas. The population (about 9,000,000, or less than that of New York State) is very small for so large a country. A majority of the people in the province of Quebec are French Canadians, speaking French and constituting a rather distinct people. x\bout one-third of the total population of Canada live in the southern part of the province of Ontario. 478 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Vast Areas of Waste Land. — Canada is a northern land ; nearly two-thirds of the country is north of the 55th parallel, and most of this is ill-suited to agriculture. The Labrador peninsula is barely explored ; British Columbia is mountainous, and large Fig. 331. • — • Interior of a wood-pulp mill, Ottawa, Canada. The United States is becoming increasingly dependent upon Canada for paper pulp. (© Keystone View Co.) parts of Ontario and Quebec are covered with forest, swamps, lakes, or bare rock. About one-twentieth of the total land of Canada is occupied, and one-fiftieth is under cultivation. This is partly due to the slow growth of population and partly to un- favorable natural conditions, especially climate. A great deal THE BRITISH EMPIRE 479 of good land, however, is still unoccupied ; and, considering Scot- land and Scandinavia, with their northern climate and scanty soil, the Canadian’s faith in the future of his vastly larger and richer country is entirely justified. Forest Wealth and Industries. — Canada’s forests are one of her great natural resources ; about 22 per cent of the total area Fig. 332. • — Regions of chief mineral production in Canada. Each circle represents a value of $1,000,000 in 1919, a year of active production. is forested. While this is nearly as large as the forested area of the United States, it has less merchantable timber (Fig. 330). The forests are mainly evergreens, such as pine, spruce, and fir, though hardwoods are included. The timber most easily reached has been cut, and forest fires still cause enormous losses, as they do in the United States. Canada’s forest products amount, to about $300,000,000 a year, about one-fifth of those of the United States. Our own supplies of sprucewood for paper pulp are badly depleted and we are already drawing heavily upon Can- ada (Fig. 331). Fisheries. — The shallow waters off the east coast of Canada near Newfoundland and Nova Scotia are among the most impor- tant fishing waters of the world, yielding lobsters, cod, herring, halibut, mackerel, etc., while British Columbia yields upwards of 480 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 150,000,000 pounds of salmon a year. The total value of the fish, about $35,000,000 a year, is far below that of minerals, forest products, or farm crops, yet the fisheries employ 90,000 to 100,000 men, and give Canada a place among the leading fishing and fish- exporting nations of the world. Canada’s Mineral Resources. — Canada is a large country and it is probable that only a fraction of its mineral wealth has yet been discovered. The minerals of greatest importance to any nation are coal, iron, copper, and petroleum. Coal. — Canada has coal of good quality in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. From these mines comes half the coal mined in Canada (Fig. 332). The seaboard provinces and Quebec use most of it, but a few hundred thousand tons are shipped to New England ports. In the whole long stretch between Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, a distance of nearly 2000 miles, there are no coal beds. This would be a serious handicap if coal could not be secured from the United States. The coal of Saskatchewan is of low grade and can be used only near the place of mining. Alberta has a large area of fair coal and British Columbia has several deposits of good quality. The great drawback is the absence of coal in the province of Ontario, which is the most populous and needs it most and yet has to import it from the United States. Iron. — The greatest iron mines in the world are in Minnesota south of the Canadian boundary ; but in all of the Dominion of Canada almost no iron is mined and no important deposits are known. Newfoundland has mines which supply steel plants in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton and export a little. Canada’s short- age of this most important of metals is unfortunate, especially since manufacturing is developing rapidly in parts of the Dominion. Oilier minerals (Fig. 332). — The richest nickel mines in the world, producing over half the world’s supply, are at Sudbury in On- tario. Not far away are the rich gold and silver mines of the Cobalt district. Copper, lead, and a long list of minor minerals are mined. Thus far, no petroleum of importance is produced. At present Ontario yields about 40' per cent, British Columbia THE BRITISH EMPIRE 481 25 per cent, and Nova Scotia 15 per cent (in value) of the min- erals produced in Canada. The total mineral output is still relatively small, but it will increase greatly as population and development go on increasing. Water Power. — Canada has enormous water power possi- bilities. Ontario and Quebec alone are officially estimated to possess 12,000,000 horse power, or about 8 times the amount that may be developed at Niagara Falls on both sides of the river. The glaciation of Canada produced almost countless rapids and lakes ; the latter form natural reservoirs for the storage of water, while the rapids and falls give the necessary drop to create power. The shortage of coal in these provinces may be partially offset by developing the abundant water power. Agriculture. — This is the greatest of Canadian industries. The amount of land at present under crops in the Dominion is some- what greater than that in Illinois and Iowa, but several times this amount will probably prove to be suited to agriculture, and this will exceed the agricultural area of any European country except Russia. The little province of Prince Edwards Island is nearly all cultivated or used for pasturage, but the greater part of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is unsuited to agriculture. Scarcely 2 per cent of the great province of Quebec produces farm crops. 482 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The part of southern Ontario lying near Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario is the garden spot of eastern Canada. This region is as productive as the states of Michigan and New York, between which it lies. This peninsula and the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia are the two principal fruit belts of Canada. Ontario has Fig. 334. — Cattle raising in the Canadian provinces. (£/. S. Dept, of Agr.) most of Canada’s dairy farms and cheese factories. From south- ern Ontario to Manitoba is a long stretch of 800 to 1000 miles, most of which is little more than a wilderness; then begin the rich prairie lands of southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Al- berta. These cereal lands have developed rapidly during the past 30 years and are becoming one of the great wheat-producing areas of the world (Fig. 333). These three provinces are yield- ing nearly 300,000,000 bushels of wheat and about 400,000,000 bushels of oats yearly, in addition to many lesser crops. Fruit farms and other farms occupy some of the valleys of British Columbia, but the product is small. The total value of farm products of Canada is about one-tenth that of the United States. Manufactures. — Not only is Canada a relatively undeveloped country, but it mines very little iron, has no coal in its most im- portant province, and has a small population. All of these con- ditions retard the growth of manufacturing. In 1920 the Do- minion employed a half million people in its mills and factories and turned out $1,500,000,000 worth of products. This was somewhat below the figures for New York City alone. The out- put was greatly increased during the progress of the World War but dropped back somewhat afterward. Foreign Commerce. — In proportion to population Canada has an exceptionally large foreign trade. Before the World War, THE BRITISH EMPIRE 483 imports exceeded exports, but this was reversed during the war. At present the two nearly balance. Canada buys over half her im- ports from the United States, because of nearness and the use of a common language. Our trade with Canada is larger than that with any other country except the United Kingdom. More than half of Canada’s exports come to the United States. Why ? Wheat and other agricultural products are by far the leading exports. Lumber, wood pulp, paper, and other forest products are second. While her imports have in the past been mainly manufactures, Canada is increasingly supplying her own needs in this direction. EXERCISE XXVII 1. Why is so much of Canada either unsettled or sparsely settled? 2. Why is Labrador so much colder than the British Isles, which are in the same latitude? 3. Why do the forests of Canada contain less merchantable timber, acre for acre, than those of the United States? 4. Why are ocean fisheries regarded with special favor by most govern- ments ? 5 . Why are Canada’s mineral resources less explored and less developed than those of the United States? 6. Why is Canada both fortunate and unfortunate in her coal resources ? 7. Why is the shortage of iron ore in Canada a matter of importance? 8. Why is the great water power of Canada of special value to the coun- try? 9. Why was manufacturing slow to develop in Canada? 10. Why does Canada buy more from the United States than the United States buys from Canada? 11. Why does Great Britain buy more of Canada’s products than any other European country buys? 12. Why is it to be expected that a country like Canada will have a larger per capita foreign trade than a country like the United States ? BRITISH POSSESSIONS IN ASIA The Indian Empire The People. — Of all the possessions of Great Britain, India is the most important. It is nearly two-thirds the size of the United States and has over 300,000,000 people — about 65 per cent of the entire population of the British Empire. When Eng- land took possession of India it was made up of many native states, 484 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY each under its own ruler. So diverse is India that each one of eleven different languages is spoken by more people than speak English in India. Newspapers are issued in more than twenty- five languages. Seven different religions in India count their followers by millions. The vast majority of the people are very poor and illiterate, yet they are better off than before they came under British rule. The average earnings of a laborer are from $10 to $20 a year. Famines, carrying off millions of people, have been frequent, but are diminishing. The caste system is practically universal ; there are four principal castes, but these are divided and subdivided until more than 2000 castes and sub- castes are officially recognized. The Climate. — The cause of the monsoon winds, which in summer blow from the sea over India and in the winter blow from the land, is discussed on page 270. 1 The summer or wet monsoon is all-important to India ; if it fails to bring the ac- customed rainfall, millions of people suffer and thousands starve. Most of India is in the torrid zone or just north of it, and is very hot and sultry in summer. In the tropical part chil- dren of European parents cannot as a rule be reared in health ; hence few English families live continuously in tropical India. The rainfall is terrific on the slopes of the Himalayas in north- eastern India ; but northwestern India, the plain of the lower Indus, is mainly desert. In almost all parts of India irrigation is practiced during the dry (or winter) season. Nowhere else in the world is irrigation so extensively employed. One of the great- est benefits to agriculture in India is the great irrigation works constructed by the British. The Importance of Agriculture. — The all-important industry of India is agriculture, practiced by 80 per cent or more of the people, who live in little villages and work little pieces of land by antiquated methods. Almost everything is done by hand or possibly with the aid of a cow or bullock. Over half of the land is under cultivation, for most of the food for 300,000,000 people 1 Review the section on the Monsoons in Chapter XIV, page 270, and that on the Ganges in Chapter IX, page 178. THE BRITISH EMPIRE 485 Fig. 335. • — Pilgrims bathing in the sacred Ganges, before the many temples of the holy city of Benares. (© Keystone View Co.) 11 - 486 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY must be raised at home. The growing of rice on from 60 to 70 million acres surpasses everything else (Fig. 336). Wheat comes next, followed by cotton ; both are exported to quite an extent. India ranks second to the United States as a grower of cotton. Fig. 336. — Note the concentration of rice production in the valley of the lower Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. ( V . S. Dept, of Agr.) Great quantities of millet are raised for home use. Next to Cuba, India is the largest producer of cane sugar in the world, but it is mostly used at home. India also has more cattle than any other country, though for religious reasons they are not widely used for meat. The lowlands at the mouth of the Ganges produce THE BRITISH EMPIRE 487 three-fourths of the jute grown in the world. Jute is a fiber used by the millions of bales in making coarse bags (gunny sacks) used for shipping raw sugar, coffee, grain, cotton, and many other com- modities ; it is also used for making burlap and cordage. The tea Fig. 337. — Railroad station, Bombay, India. ( Courtesy Nat. City Bank.) plantations of India and Ceylon together export nearly twice as much tea as China and Japan combined. The Backward State of Mining and Manufacturing. — India has moderate resources of coal, iron, gold, petroleum, manga- nese, and a number of other minerals, but the total output of min- erals is only about $100,000,000 a year, or less than the value of the coal mined in West Virginia. The native peoples are wonder- fully skillful in the hand trades, such as hand weaving, working in gold, silver, and brass, ivory carving, etc. These workmen have opposed the introduction of machinery, but with only partial success, for cotton factories, jute mills, sugar refineries, and other forms of manufacturing have been established. Since Great Britain is an exporter of manufactures, the British Government 488 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY naturally does not seek to build up manufacturing in its greatest colony, although it cannot be said that it actively opposes the development of manufacturing. Relations with Great Britain. — India is officially called “ The Fig. 338. — Tin workings in the Malay Peninsula. This region, including near-by islands, supplies the greater part of the world’s tin. ( Phila . Museums.) Empire of India ” ; the emperor is the king of England, who is represented by a governor-general sent out by the British Govern- ment. It will be seen from the map (Fig. 324) that British India has reached westward and absorbed Baluchistan, and has reached eastward and absorbed Burma. It is gradually reaching north- ward into Tibet and still farther westward into Persia. Two-thirds of the area of India is ruled directly by high British officials, but the vast majority of the lower officials are Hindus. Somewhat less than 150 small native states are still allowed to retain their native princes as nominal rulers, but these are also essentially THE BRITISH EMPIRE 489 under British authority. Great Britain regards India as the choicest gem in her colonial empire ; to bind it closer to the home country she secured the Suez Canal. Her trade with India is larger than that with any other of the British possessions. India is better off under British rule than it was before or would be for a long time to come under an independent government. Many Hindus, however, are dissatisfied and desire independence. The Malay Peninsula This small area and two Dutch islands near by contain the greatest known tin deposits in the world (Fig. 338). This general region, including the Dutch East Indies, also contains the greater part of the rubber plantations of the world, which yield 80 per cent of all the crude rubber that is produced. The Amazon Valley, once the leading producer, has declined rapidly in production. Singapore, a city at the very southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, is one of the great commercial centers of this part of the world. Hongkong Hongkong consists of an island and a small piece of mainland now belonging to Great Britain on the southeast coast of China (Fig. 324). On the island is the very important commercial city of Victoria. This great collecting and distributing center of the Far East is usually called Hongkong, not Victoria ; it is one of the six greatest ports of the world. Southwestern Asia Great Britain has long held Aden, a city and strip of land at the southern corner of Arabia, guarding the southern outlet of the Red Sea, which is part of the Suez route to India. As a result of the World War Mesopotamia (in the valley of the Tigris- Euphrates) and probably certain other parts of the old Turkish Empire will pass under British influence (Fig. 324). 490 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Australia and New Zealand Australia. — Opened to settlement in 1788 and organized into a self-governing commonwealth in 1901, Australia has risen to an influential place in the British Empire. Though equal to the United States in area it has only 5,000,000 people ; and Fig. 339. — States and chief cities of the Australian Commonwealth. only 10 or 12 per cent of its area has both a temperate climate and sufficient rainfall for agriculture. Owing to the position of the main mountain range close to the eastern (windward) side of the continent, over 40 per cent is desert, and about 28 per cent is suited only to pasturage (Fig. 340). Less than one per cent of the total area is cultivated and nearly one-half of this is devoted to wheat, the leading crop. The prevailing aridity of the climate causes Australia to be, in the main, a pastoral land, THE BRITISH EMPIRE 491 and its 90,000,000 sheep make it the greatest exporter of wool in the world (Fig. 342) ; about 40 per cent of its exports consists of wool, the greater part of which is sold at the wool auctions of Fig. 340. - — Rainfall zones in Australia. {Gregory in Nat. Geog. Mag.) Sydney, which are attended by buyers from all the principal wool- importing countries of the world. Australia has important mineral resources, — gold, coal, tin, copper, silver, lead, zinc, and others (Fig. 343). It is one of the five leading gold producers of the world. Single gold nuggets worth $50,000 to $75,000 each have been found. The principal coal fields are near the east coast and send coal to California and South iVmerica. However, all the minerals produced are worth much less than the wool alone. Most of the people live in the southeastern part of the continent. The population is so small 492 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Fig. 341. — Grazing lands in South Australia. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) THE BRITISH EMPIRE 493 Fig. 342. — Distribution of sheep in Australia and New Zealand: compare with the rainfall map, Fig. 340. {U . S. Dept, of Agr.) Fig. 343. — Approximate annual production of the chief minerals of Australia. 494 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY in proportion to the value of the products that the export trade is over $100 per capita, a figure reached by only a few countries in the world, and considerably greater than that of the United States at its highest. The people are nearly all of British an- Fig. 344. — Loading a steamer with pigs of lead and zinc from the famous Broken Hill mines of New South Wales. This is one of the leading zinc and lead pro- ducing districts of the world. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) cestry. Immigration is small, hence the population grows slowly. Strict laws against the admission of colored races are in force. The labor party is very strong and many laws of the commonwealth have been largely dictated by this party. The remote posi- tion of the continent and its small proportion of arable land hinder rapid development. The principal cities are Sydney and Mel- bourne, each having a population of three-fourths of a million. New Zealand consists of two main islands having the area of Colorado and a population of somewhat over a million. The raising of sheep and cattle is the chief industry (Fig. 342). There are twenty sheep for every person on the islands. Meat, wool, THE BRITISH EMPIRE 495 and dairy products are the principal exports. Both gold and coal are mined in considerable quantities. The overseas trade of New Zealand is very large in proportion to the population, in fact, greater than that of the United States. The per capita wealth of the people is also high, among the highest in the world. British Possessions in Africa About 40 per cent of the great continent of Africa and 40 per cent of its people are now under the British flag, or within the British sphere of influence (Fig. 324). By acquiring German East Africa, Great Britain now holds land or transportation rights extending the length of Africa, making possible the building of the “Cape to Cairo” railroad wholly under British control. In this vast area there is only a small proportion of white people, and these are chiefly in South Africa. The na- tives produce little that enters into international trade and they consume little that needs to be imported. With the exception of South Africa the British possessions in Africa have a relatively small present value, but that value will greatly increase With time. ' Fl ?- 3 ? 5 ‘ — The cotton prochic- mg lands of the Nile delta and Egypt. — After the Outbreak of the valley. In value of cotton World War, Egvpt was definitely produced, Egypt ranks third, 1 J following the United States regarded as a protectorate of Great and India. {U. S. Dept, of Britain ; but in 1922, it was granted Agr ^ almost complete independence. Egypt consists of a small area of irrigated land, the delta and flood plain of the Nile, and a large area of desert. The irrigated portion is exceed- ingly productive and very densely populated. On an irri- gated area smaller than the little state of New Jersey live 496 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY nearly as many people as inhabit the two vast countries, Canada and Australia. Irrigation in Egypt is discussed on page 176. Egypt produces a large variety of crops, including wheat, rice, sugar, and corn, but the one crop that overshadows everything else Fig. 346. • — The rising waters of the Nile in the annual overflow of its flood plain. (© Keystone View Co.) is cotton (of high grade). Of somewhat over $200,000,000 worth of products exported from Egypt in a recent year, $167,000,000 consisted of cotton, the greater part going to England, but $25,000,000 worth going to the United States. The Suez Canal. — This famous canal about 100 miles long, connecting the Mediterranean and Red seas, was built under the direction of a French engineer and was opened to traffic in 1869, but later the British gained control of it. The canal nearly failed financially in the early years but is now exceedingly prof- THE BRITISH EMPIRE 497 itable, for ships passing through pay toll. A ship of even moder- ate size pays as much as $5000 to $10,000 for one transit of the canal. It shortens the ocean route between Europe and the Orient by many thousands of miles. This link in the water route to India is of great importance to the British Empire. Fig. 347. — One of the diamond mines of Kimberley, South Africa. The diamonds are found in the necks of extinct volcanoes. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell U niv.) South Africa. — This part of the world has become famous as the producer of nearly half of the world’s gold and practically all of its diamonds. The diamonds are found in ancient lava which fills the necks of old volcanoes, mainly in the vicinity of the city of Kimberley (Fig. 347). The gold fields are somewhat farther north, near Johannesburg. Next to gold, wool is the largest product of South Africa, exceeding diamonds in total value. The country is for the most part a plateau with light rain- fall, better suited to sheep raising than to agriculture. The early white settlers were Dutch and their descendants, called Boers, make up the major part of the white people in large 498 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY sections of the country. The Union of South Africa is, like Can- ada, a self-governing dominion ; Cape Town is the chief city. Summary For 400 years Great Britain has been a colonizing power. Cen- tury after century she has gone on acquiring new possessions by colonization and conquest until her colonial empire is the most extensive that any nation ever possessed. Hand in hand with this acquisition of new lands has gone the expansion of her com- merce and the growth of her great manufacturing industries at home. The very life of the nation depends upon manufacturing, which is made possible by her great resources of coal. Her com- merce consists in large part of selling these manufactures to her colonies and to other countries, and in return securing from them needed raw materials and foodstuffs. To do this requires ships in great numbers, and so Great Britain became the leading ship- builder and ocean carrier. To protect her scattered colonies and her commerce requires a large navy and widely distributed coaling stations and naval stations. Her great coal resources near the sea permit the export of coal to many parts of the world that furnish return cargoes to British ships, thus cheapening ocean freight rates to the British Isles. British capitalists have invested large sums of money in the colonies and in foreign countries. This has gone into railroads, public works, banks, etc., and the dividends and interest from these investments have flowed back to Great Britain. Moreover, British ships earn many millions of pounds sterling for their owners. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are self- governing, almost independent, countries. If they chose to do so, they probably would be allowed to separate themselves from the Empire, but they prefer to remain under the British flag. The Empire of India, the most populous colony, is only partially self- governing, yet it is probably better off than it would be under any government or governments which it could independently maintain. However, India has many people who are dissatisfied THE BRITISH EMPIRE 499 with British rule. Ireland has been granted a status about like that of Canada or Australia and is known as the Free State of Ireland. With the exception of Canada the commerce of the British colonies is more largely with the home country than with any other ; yet no British colony has so much trade with the United Kingdom as has the United States or as Germany had before the war. Most of the materials needed in English industries are bought abroad ; these include cotton from the United States, iron ore from Spain and Sweden, and petroleum from the United States and Mexico. As a result of the World War Britain greatly ex- tended her territory in Africa and strengthened her position in southwestern Asia ; but the war imposed an enormous debt upon the nation. The English-speaking peoples have risen to a commanding place among the nations, and if the highest ideals of these peoples can prevail their leadership will benefit the world. EXERCISE XXVIII Consult an Atlas; also Figs. 229, 298, 32J., 350. 1. Locate Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, British Guiana, New- foundland, Suez Canal, Ceylon, Jamaica, Nova Scotia, Malay Peninsula, British Columbia, Egypt, province of Ontario, Province of Quebec, Burma, Wales, Malta, Gibraltar, Aden, Hongkong, Bermuda Islands, Bahama Is- lands. 2. Locate the following cities : London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin, Manchester, Calcutta, Bombay, Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Auck- land, Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver. 3. Where in the British Empire are the following produced in large quan- tities : tin, rubber, gold, coal, nickel, diamonds, cotton, rice, wheat, wool, forest products, silver ? 4. Why is the climate of the British Isles exceptionally mild for their latitude ? 5. Why is the geographical situation of the British Isles highly favor- able for commerce? 6. Why are ocean fisheries especially important to a nation such as the United Kingdom? 7. Why do the British consider it necessary to maintain a large navy? 8. Why does the United Kingdom need a larger merchant fleet than Russia ? 9. Why is the Suez Canal more important to the United Kingdom than to any other country? 10. Why is a large part of Australia a desert? 500 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 11. Why is sheep raising the most suitable industry in much of Australia? 12. Wiry has the population of Canada increased more slowly than that of the United States? 13. Why has the population of Australia increased slowly? 14. Why is foreign trade more necessary to the United Kingdom than to the United States? 15. Why does India have its rains chiefly in summer? 16. What reasons can you assign for the great power and influence of the British nation? 17. Suppose the coal of the British Isles were to become exhausted ; what would be some of the important results? 18. Suppose the British Isles in time of war could be so effectively block- aded that no ships could enter or leave British ports ; what would probably be the outcome? W T hy? 19. Where do the British cotton mills get the greater part of their raw cot- ton? Why is Great Britain very anxious to increase cotton growing within the empire ? What parts of the empire would be best suited to cotton grow- ing? FIG. 348 CHAPTER XXIII CONTINENTAL EUROPE European Leadership. — Europeans and their descendants dom- inate most of the world. Europeans discovered and colonized the western hemisphere, and their descendants now occupy it. Europeans have taken possession of Australia and nearly the whole of Africa ; they rule more than half of Asia and practi- cally all the islands of the sea. European civilization has spread over the earth ; it seems to have won because of its supe- riority (Figs. 349, 350). To what is this conquering and dominating power of European peoples due ? No one can regard it as a mere accident ; there must be a cause or a combination of causes. To say that this superiority is something in the peoples themselves and to account MILLIONS OF SQUARE MILES AREA OF CO UJ NATIONS OF AREA OF AREA Q. O EUROPEAN ORIGIN DEPENDENCIES OF ALL Z> LU CHIEFLY IN OF OTHER U. O NORTH AMERICA EUROPEAN NATIONS LANDS < AND SOUTH AMERICA 28.6 8 a: < 17.5 Fig. 349. — Proportional areas, showing the extent of European domination. for it by saying that some races are stronger and abler than others is no answer. We want to know, if we can, why Europeans became superior to most other peoples. Is their power of leadership due to something in the climate in which they have lived, or in 501 502 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY the configuration of the continent, or in its productions, or in its position with reference to the other continents, or to some- thing else? Probably all these factors have done something to POPULATION OF EUROPE 470,000,000 POPULATION OF NATIONS OF EUROPEAN ORIGIN CHIEFLY IN NORTH AMERICA AND SOUTH AMERICA 205,000, QUO POPULATION OF DEPENDENCIES OF EUROPEAN NATIONS 515,000,000 POPULATION OF ALL OTHER NATIONS 510,000,000 Fig. 350. — The areas of the four spaces in the above diagram are proportional to the respective populations as indicated. The figures are approximations in round numbers. create the characteristics which Europeans have acquired during past centuries. Most Europeans were barbarians when we first know of them; and from this condition of barbarism they have been changed into the most enlightened and most masterful people in the world. The Climate of Europe as a Whole. — Europe is the most north- erly of the continents ; not only does it lie almost wholly in the temperate zone, but it lies in the northern part of that zone. Both Asia and North America extend far enough south to reach well within the tropics ; not so with Europe, whose southernmost point is in latitude 38° (15° north of the tropic). Every part of Europe has those distinct seasonal changes which are found only in the temperate zones. Every part of Europe has a winter and a summer ; and every country has snow, though snow does not fall in every part of these countries. All great peoples are or have been agricultural peoples. The desert, the tropical jungle, and semiarid steppe, or the tundra, cannot produce great nations. It is noteworthy that Europe has the smallest proportion of nonagricultural land of any of the continents. It is the only continent without a desert, and almost everywhere the rainfall is sufficient for crops (Fig. 351). Europe is in the belt of prevailing westerlies, which bring rapid and extreme changes of weather. Much as we may dislike these CONTINENTAL EUROPE 503 constant changes, they are believed to be beneficial. There is little doubt that mental and physical vigor, the work habit, the practice of taking thought for the future, of laying up some- thing, and of getting work done when there is opportunity are traits most conspicuous in the peoples who have been exposed to these rapid changes of weather and to distinct changes of seasons. The cold weather renews our vigor and makes us enjoy work. The enjoyment of work, the love of achievement, the aggressiveness and progressiveness of the leading European and American peoples are directly connected with the climate under which for centuries they have lived. The Remarkable Coast Line of Europe. — No other continent has a coast line which approaches that of Europe in irregularity. Peninsulas, large and small, protrude from almost every part of the continent, and long arms of the sea reach far into the land ; 504 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY there are many islands, and many estuaries. All of this has had somewhat to do with the rate of progress and the position of leadership which Europe has achieved. ' Countries progress by the exchange of ideas. Commerce, especially sea-borne commerce, is one of the great carriers of ideas. Into the chief harbors of a country come ships and people from many lands, each bringing something new. The remarkably indented coast line of Europe, with its islands and inclosed seas, had a most beneficial effect upon navigation and commerce. Outside of Russia no part of Europe is far from the sea, and so various articles of trade and the traders who carried them reached into nearly all parts of Europe. In- formation spread from place to place and this stimulated thought and suggested other ideas. The coast line of Europe is ideally suited to this commercial activity and its consequent stimulus to mental activity. Another aid to the rise of European peoples undoubtedly has been this greatly indented coast line which the continent has. The Surface Features of Europe. — Europe is a continent of exceptionally complex surface features. Its mountain ranges are scattered and they extend in various directions ; to these moun- tain spurs most of the peninsulas are due ; for example, Greece, Italy, Spain-Portugal, and Norway-Sweden. Most of the impor- tant islands are due to mountainous areas protruding above the sea ; for example, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Greek archipelago, and the British Isles. The people of each of these peninsulas and each of the larger islands, being somewhat set off by them- selves, developed their own peculiarities, their own ways of think- ing and doing, their own languages, customs, and ideas. Yet these various peoples were isolated only in part, for there was communication among them. They traded and traveled in one another’s lands. There was a constant exchange of ideas. The physical barriers that separated them were sufficient to en- able each country to develop and preserve, in a measure, its own type of civilization, but they were not sufficient to prevent that interchange of ideas which made each country a sharer in the progress of all the others. Thus did Europe’s diversity of sur- CONTINENTAL EUROPE 505 face tend to produce diversity of peoples whose intercourse carried the peoples forward in civilization. Herein seems to be a third reason for the rapid rise of Europe to its place of world leader- ship. The Rivers of Europe. — Europe is too small to have rivers of great size, but many of them are extensively used for navi- gation. This is partly due to the dense population in Europe The Rhine, the Volga, and the Danube are the most important. The Rhine and the Volga are described in Chapter IX. The Dan- ube rises in the Alps, the chief watershed of Europe, and flows into the Black Sea. It has large navigable branches in the rich agricultural lands of Hungary and Rumania. The main river is also an important waterway for parts of Serbia and Bul- garia. At the “Iron Gate” the river has carved a deep gorge through the mountains, and here the channel has been made navi- gable by expensive improvements. The Rhine, Elbe, and Oder, whose courses are chiefly in Ger- many, and the Vistula in Poland, have all been made “interna- tional rivers,” governed by international boards, so that the dif- ferent countries through which they flow may use them in common. The Elbe and the Oder give the new nation of Czechoslovakia water connection with the sea. The rivers of France, especially the Seine, Loire, Saone, and their largest branches, have been improved and connected by canals so that boats of moderate size may pass from river to river and may also reach the rivers of Belgium and Germany. All of the more important rivers of Germany and a few of those of Russia are also connected by canals. These interior waterways of Europe are used more than the rivers of the United States. In Great Britain inland waterways are not important, except the mouths of rivers like the Thames, Mercy, Tyne, and Clyde, whose estuaries form the chief harbors of the British Isles. The Po *is the only river of Italy of any size. The river and its tributaries flow through a very fertile flood plain which they have built, and they supply water for the irrigation of some 140,- 000 acres of agricultural land. 506 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY The Races of Europe. — This topic can be discussed here only in a very general way. With a few unimportant exceptions all the European peoples belong to the white race. The Lapps and Finns of the Far North, the Hungarians, and the European Turks are descended from peoples of the Mongolian or Yellow race, but they have been so long in Europe that the difference between them and the other Europeans is not necessarily greater than the differences among some of the white Europeans them- selves. Europe has three major racial groups : (1) the Latin or Medi- terranean group, including Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, and the French in part ; (2) the Teutonic group, including the English, Scandinavians, Dutch, Germans, and German Austrians, and an important element of the French and the Belgians ; (3) the Slavs, including the majority of the Russians, Poles, Bohemians, and a large part of the Balkan peoples. Besides these three major groups, several million Celts are found in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany in France, and the French as a whole have a large amount of Celtic blood. The Latin peoples are largely Roman Catholics in religion, a majority of the Teutonic peoples are Protestants, and the Slavs are mainly Greek Catholics. Each of the three principal racial groups of Europe has pro- duced one or more strong nations : Russia among the Slavs ; Italy and France among the Latins ; Great Britain and Germany among the Teutons. Since the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand must be considered mainly Teutonic, it is evident that the Teutonic peoples are the most influential racial group. Among the Teutonic nations the English-speaking people are most numerous and most powerful. It seems clear that there is some- thing in the climate of the belt of prevailing westerlies that, im- parts mental and bodily vigor, ambition, and determination, and helps to make strong nations. The Mineral Resources of Europe Coal and Iron. — Europe could not have become the ruling con- tinent that it is if it had not been rich in minerals. No modern CONTINENTAL EUROPE 507 country can become a first-class power that does not either have coal and iron within its own borders or have easy access to them. In the present industrial and commercial age the rank of a coun- try as a world power is closely connected with its use of coal and iron. Unlike South America, Europe has many coal fields and much iron ore (Fig. 352). Great Britain is the largest producer of coal Fig. 352. — Average annual production of coal and iron in western and central Europe. in Europe, and for a long time was the greatest exporter in the world ; Germany came second, followed by France and Austria- Hungary, but the World War so upset production that comparative figures have lost their meaning. Russia has valuable coal mines in the south, and Belgium has part of the coal beds that extend into northern France. Of the leading nations of Europe, Italy alone has almost no coal, a most serious drawback to that country. During the war and since, Italy has suffered greatly from this 508 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY lack. Spain has coal beds, but only a small amount is mined. Holland, Switzerland, and the three Scandinavian countries have no coal at all, or very little, and the Balkan Peninsula has but little. The new states of Poland and Czechoslovakia have valuable coal mines, and these will greatly aid these countries in their struggle for national existence. Iron ore is more widely distributed than coal. Great Britain produces about half of the iron ore she uses. France now has more than her industries demand, for she again has the mines of Lorraine, which Germany developed into the largest producers in Europe. Germany lost her best mines and will not have enough for her own needs, a severe blow to her industries. Some of the best iron deposits of Austria-Hungary were in Styria and these now belong to the new republic of Austria. Russia and Swe- den have exceedingly valuable beds of the highest grade, but most of the Swedish ore must be exported because of lack of coal to smelt it. Spain has important iron mines, especially in the north near the Bay of Biscay ; the larger part of this goes to the British Isles for smelting and for use in manufacturing. Italy mines a little iron but not enough for her own needs. Norway, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Portugal, and the Balkan Pen- insula either yield no iron ore or yield very little. Taken as a whole, Europe is the greatest producer of coal and iron among the continents, in fact, produces as much as all the rest of the world. This is another of the reasons for the place of leadership which Europe occupies. Petroleum. — Outside of the important Russian oil fields of Baku on the shore of the Caspian Sea, Europe produces com- paratively little petroleum. A moderate amount is obtained in Rumania and a still smaller amount in Galicia and Alsace. The Russian field is an uncertain producer and Europe is depending mainly upon the United States and Mexico for petroleum and its products. Copper, lead, and zinc are mined in considerable amounts in Spain and in Germany. Russia has copper deposits and Italy has valuable zinc deposits in Sardinia, but the largest zinc mines CONTINENTAL EUROPE 509 of Europe are in upper Silesia, which have been divided between Poland and Germany. Silver, Gold, and Platinum. — Though Europe has nearly all other minerals, it produces so little gold and silver that they scarcely deserve mention, but this lack is of small importance, for these metals pass from country to country with great ease. Most of the world’s platinum — more valuable than an equal weight of gold — came in the past from the Ural region of Russia. Nonmetallic Minerals. — These include the various kinds of salts, the building stones, clay, etc. Some of these are found in almost every country. There are wonderful deposits of common salt in Poland. Germany has almost a monopoly of potash salts, but lost one important deposit when Alsace was ceded back to France. Statuary marble of great purity and whiteness is found in certain islands south of Greece and in Italy. Porcelain clays of the finest quality are found in many parts of Europe, notably France, Holland, Austria, and Germany ; famous porcelains are manufactured in each of these countries. Great quantities of sulphur are obtained from the volcanic region of Sicily. Other minor minerals are obtained in Europe but they cannot be named in detail here. Food Production in Europe. — Europe, as a whole, is a great producer of food. This has been made necessary by the dense population. The United States produces more food than any European country, yet Europe as a whole produces more than any other continent. With the exception of the Mediterranean region, the crops of Europe are much the same as those of the northern United States. Wheat and rye are the great bread- stuffs (Figs. 353, 354) ; corn is confined mainly to the Po Valley, the Danubian region, and southern Russia. Ten times as many potatoes and several times as many sugar beets are grown in Europe as in North America (Fig. 355). Barley and oats are important, but mainly for animals. The raising of live stock for milk, meat, hides, and skins is an important occupation in nearly every European country. Land in central and western Europe is much more carefully 510 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY cultivated than in the United States. In parts (Belgium, for example) spade agriculture is common, and the land is made to yield very large crops. In Russia, Poland, Denmark, Ireland, Hungary, Rumania, the Balkan States, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, Fig. 353. — Distribution of wheat production in Europe. (U. S. Dept, of Agr.) agriculture is the leading occupation of the people. In Germany, Holland, France, and Sweden it occupies from one-third to one- half of the population. In Great Britain, Belgium, and Swit- zerland it is less important than manufacturing. Even in Eng- land, Belgium, northern France, and in western Germany, where manufacturing towns are so numerous, the agricultural land is intensively cultivated. LTnder normal conditions, eastern Eu- rope produces a surplus of foodstuffs ; middle Europe is nearly self-sufficient, but western Europe must import food in large quantities. Great Britain produces only one-fourth to one-third of the food that her people require. Europe is the chief buyer of the world’s surplus food products. The Forests and Forest Industries. — Aside from some of the Mediterranean lands and the southern third of Russia, most of CONTINENTAL EUROPE 511 Europe was originally covered with forests, as lands usually are where rainfall is ample. Gradually these forests have been cut off wherever the land was suitable for crops, for the increasing population demanded more and more food. The only great for- Fig. 354. — Two-thirds of the rye of the world is grown in Germany and Russia, where it is the chief breadstuff of the people. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) est areas left are those of Sweden, Finland, and northern Russia, which supply the major part of the export timber of Europe. The mountainous portions of other countries still retain more or less of their forests, but western Europe imports a large part of its lum- ber, timber, and other wood products. So keenly have Germany, France, and Switzerland felt their lack of timber that they are reforesting their nonagricultural lands. In Germany the for- ests have been managed with exceptional care, a tree being planted whenever one was removed. Americans, who use wood, lumber, and timber extensively, do not appreciate how carefully wood is conserved in many European countries, where peasant women go to the woods and gather up little twigs scarcely larger than a lead pencil and carry them home for fuel. With us wood for 512 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY fuel is sold by the cord ; in parts of Europe it is quite commonly sold in little bundles. Most paper is now made from wood pulp. Sweden and Fin- land are exporters, while Germany and Austria-Hungary were in the past also important producers ; most of the other European countries are importers. Railways in Europe. — Railways are one of the best evidences of a country’s progress. No modern country can be highly de- Fig. 355. — In normal times, great quantities of sugar beets are grown in France, Germany, Russia, and adjacent countries. Before the World War about half of the world ’s sugar was made from cane and half from beets. {U . S. Dept, of Agr.) veloped without a network of railways, and the modern de- velopment of a country usually is in proportion to the develop- ment of its railways. The British Isles, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, southern Sweden, northern Italy, Austria, and Switzerland have very complete railroad systems, including trunk lines and branch lines. Outside of the British Isles the majority of the railways are owned and operated by the various govern- ments. In Spain, Norway, Russia, and the Balkan States, rail- CONTINENTAL EUROPE 513 road building has not progressed so far as in the countries mentioned in the first group. Naturally in a country like Rus- sia there are large areas without railways. As a whole, Europe is not so well supplied with railways as the United States. Europe has somewhat more than 200,000 miles of lines in an area of over 4,000,000 square miles, while the United States has 260,000 miles in an area of 3,000,000 square miles. Manufacturing in Europe. — It is well known that as coun- tries progress they engage more and more in manufacturing. The extent to which this can be carried depends partly upon their supplies of coal and iron. It has been pointed out that eastern and southeastern Europe are predominantly agricultural. In Russia, Hungary, the Balkan States, Spain, and Portugal manu- facturing is decidedly second to agriculture. The new state of Czechoslovakia, northern Italy, Poland, and southern Sweden are well advanced in manufacturing. France, Germany, and Holland have reached the stage where their interests are as largely in manufacturing as in agriculture, while England, Belgium, and, to a lesser degree, Switzerland, are industrial countries. In general, the manufacturing centers are on or near the coal fields, though this is not always true; for example, Switzerland, north- ern Italy, and Holland import their coal. Manufacturing leads to large cities and a congested population. From the map (Fig. 352), the section where manufacturing is most highly developed may be judged from the amount of coal produced. No single country in Europe does even one-half as much manufacturing as the United States, yet middle and western Europe as a region have nearly three times the population and do twice as much manufacturing as the United States. Among the continents Europe is the leader in manufacturing, as it is in agriculture. The Foreign Commerce of Europe.- — There are upwards of twenty-five different nations in Europe ; leaving out Russia, all of the others together do not equal the United States in area. There are so many different nations that a large proportion of their commerce passes from one country to another and hence is recorded as foreign commerce. In the United States where 48 514 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY states belong to one nation the commerce is very largely from state to state and is not counted as foreign commerce. Partly for this reason and partly because of an early start Europe is the fore- most continent in foreign trade ; in fact, it carries on more than all the other continents combined. Relatively new countries like the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia are likely to export more than they import, while older and more densely populated countries like most of those of Europe are likely to import more than they export. In normal times, the foreign trade of the United Kingdom ex- ceeds 6 billion dollars. In 1913, the last full year before the War, that of Germany reached nearly 5 billion dollars ; that of France, Holland, Belgium, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (in this order) ranged from 3 billion down to 1 billion dollars respectively. A large part of the exports from western Europe consists of manufactures, while the imports are most largely foodstuffs and raw materials to be used in manufacturing. Rus- sia and southeastern Europe, however, export foodstuffs and raw materials and import manufactures. The great commercial ports of Europe are London and Liver- pool in England, Hamburg and Bremen in Germany, Antwerp in Belgium, Rotterdam in Holland, Marseilles and Havre in France. Locate these on a map. (Fig. 348.) France Rank among the Nations. — For hundreds of years France was the leading nation of the world ; the French language was the court language of Europe. French literature, art, manners, and education were regarded as standards of excellence. The long series of wars with England finally ended wdth the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, and since that time France has not occupied the place of leadership which she so long held. The crushing defeat of the French armies by Germany in 1871 still further reduced the prestige of France, but it has been partly regained by her victory in the World War. CONTINENTAL EUROPE 515 In many respects the French still hold an advanced position among European peoples : they are intellectually keen and alert ; their schools and universities produce men of very fine scholar- ship ; their manufactures are peculiarly artistic ; the people are fond of pleasure and gayety, yet exceedingly thrifty. No other peo- ple have such an in- grained habit of saving as have the French, and as a result France' became a very wealthy nation, though the losses arising from the late war were terrible. The French seem to lack either the capacity or the daring to under- take commercial and industrial enterprises on the large scale ern- Fig. 356. - — Location of the coal deposits of France, ployed by the Ameri- (After Blanchard.) cans, the British, and the Germans; they did, however, build the Suez Canal. The high position among the nations held by the French is due more to their intellectual and artistic qualities than to the magnitude of their undertakings. From the days of Lafayette down to the present, France and the LTnited States have been warm friends, and our entrance into the World War was partly due to that friendship. Favorable Conditions. — As a country France has certain im- portant geographical advantages ; among them are : (1) A superior geographical situation (2) An excellent climate (3) A high proportion of agricultural land 516 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY (4) Very large resources of iron, considerable coal, and great potential water power. In addition to these gifts of nature, France has built (5) one of the finest systems of highways in the world, (6) an excellent system of inland waterways, (7) an excellent system of railroads, (8) has achieved a foremost place in high-grade manufactures, and (9) has acquired colonial possessions second only to those of Great Britain. Geographical Position. — France has a most excellent posi- tion for ocean commerce, for the country touches the English Channel, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. The only easy natural route from the Mediterranean to northwestern Europe is through France by way of the Rhone-Saone Valley. France is lacking in first-class natural harbors, but extensive improve- ments have been carried out at Marseilles, Havre, Bordeaux, Brest, and several other ports, making them serve well the needs of commerce. Advantages of Climate. — With the exception of the large num- ber of rainy days in northern France (200 a year), the climate is one of the best in Europe. The Mediterranean coastal region has dry summers and much sunshine ; here the rain falls chiefly in winter. In most of France the westerlies, blowing off the At- lantic, make both the summers and the winters mild and give plenty of rainfall for agriculture. All of France is farther north than Chicago or New York. Mineral Wealth. — With the exception of iron, France is not rich in minerals. Even with the Sarre coal fields obtained from Germany, France will not have enough coal for her needs. The principal coal fields are in the extreme northeast, extending into Belgium ; smaller deposits are found in several other parts of the country (Fig. 356). When Lorraine was ceded back to France in 1918, France came into possession of the chief iron ore fields of Germany and now has an abundance of iron. France is one of the leading producers of aluminum in the world and has pot- tery clays of the finest quality. Food Production. — Nearly one-half of France is agricultural CONTINENTAL EUROPE 517 land and one-fifth is pasture ; only 15 per cent is waste land. The Paris Basin is the garden spot of the country and one of the very best agricultural sections of Europe. The French soil as a whole is far more fertile than that of Germany. French farmers are very industrious and famously thrifty, but not scientific ; yet the country produces about 75 per cent of the food that it uses. Wheat is the principal crop ; in fact, France is one of the leading wheat growers of the world (Fig. 353). All of the other grains are raised, including corn (in the south) . More po- tatoes and sugar beets are raised than in the United States (Fig. 355). France has large Fig - 357 • numbers of sheep, cattle, and horses, yet is not a leader in the raising of live stock. France is to a large extent an agricultural country ; over 40 per cent of her people are engaged in farming, as against 8 per cent in Great Britain. No less important is the fact that 80 per cent of the farms are cultivated by their owners and not by tenants. The Vineyards. — These are the most important in any country. They are found especially in the valleys of the south and west, but the famous vineyards of Champagne are in the east of France (Fig. 357). In a normal year France makes upwards of a billion gallons of wine and consumes even a greater amount ; more is imported than is exported. The French vineyards produce an average of 500 pounds of grapes for every person in the country. ■ Principal wine regions ( After Blanchard.) of France. 518 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY French Manufactures. — French goods are famous for their fineness, beauty, artistic finish, and superior style. French silks, velvets, tapestries, laces, fine cottons and woolens, millinery, porcelain, and art goods are, as a whole, the most beautiful made by any people. A large proportion of the French exports are Fig. 358. — The beet sugar region of northeastern France, almost wholly within the battle lines during the World War. Each dot represents a sugar factory. 0 Courtesy Am. Sugar Ref. Co.) luxuries rather than necessities. In total value of manufactures France now ranks third, following the United States and the United Kingdom. Lyon and the surrounding region is devoted to the manufacturing of silks. Marseille specializes in olive oil. soaps, and other oil products. The great manufacturing section., however, is in the northeast, extending from Paris to the Belgian boundary (Fig. 358). Foreign Trade. — In value of foreign trade France ranks third among the nations, yet it is far below that of the United States and the United Kingdom and is below what might be expected of a country so ideally situated as France is. The French have not pushed their foreign trade so vigorously as the English and Americans have, perhaps because the French business man is CONTINENTAL EUROPE 519 Fig. 359. The beautiful City of Nice on the Mediterranean coast of France. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) 520 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY content with a modest fortune and likes to enjoy it while he lives. As in most European countries, the imports exceed the exports ; the latter are mainly luxuries, such as silks, fine cotton and woolen fabrics, wines, automobiles, art goods, etc. The chief imports are quite the opposite in character, being bulky raw materials, such as wool, cotton, grain, coal, coke, and the metals. Cities. — To a remarkable degree the national life of France centers in Paris, the third city of the world in size. It is near the center of the rich Paris Basin, the chief agricultural and in- dustrial section of the country. It is noted for its beauty and gayety and probably is visited by more foreigners than any other city in the world. Marseille, on the Mediterranean, is the chief port of France, followed by Havre on the English Channel ; Lyon and vicinity are famous for silk manufacturing and Bordeaux for its wine trade. Rouen, Lille, Boulogne, Calais, Nice (Fig. 359), Brest, Metz, Strassburg, Reims, and Verdun should be located on a map. French Colonies. — These are chiefly in Africa and include Tunis, Algeria, Morocco, most of the Sahara, and tropical colo- nies reaching to the Gulf of Guinea ; also the large island of Mada- gascar (Fig. 298). Besides these, France holds French Indo-China in southeastern Asia, French Guiana in South America, and vari- ous islands. Next to Great Britain, France is the leading colo- nial power of the world. The colonies on the Mediterranean in North Africa, particularly Algeria, are the most valuable and- are making notable progress under French rule. Summary France is smaller than Texas in area, has about 40,000,000 people, 40 per cent of whom live on farms. The French are famous for their patriotism, their thrift, their workmanship, their gayety, and their intellectual achievements. France has an ideal situation for ocean commerce, has a large proportion of fertile land, a good cli- mate, abundance of iron (but not of coal), and a long coast line with fair natural harbors. Her manufactures are renowned for their artis- tic finish ; her foreign trade is large but not so large as might be ex- pected ; her colonial empire is second only to that of Great Britain. CONTINENTAL EUROPE 521 Germany The Ruin of Germany. — In the years preceding 1914 Germany had become one of the greatest nations in the world. In indus- try, in commerce, in science, in education, and in nearly all other fields of activity, Germany was in the very front rank of nations. Fig. 360. — Some of the geographical changes in Germany resulting from the World War. {Modified from map in Journal of Geography , Sept., 1919.) Had the nation continued its peaceful course it seems unques- tionable that Germany would have become the leading nation of the world. But the warlike spirit and the ambitions of her ruling class plunged the world into the most terrible .war of all time, and Germany emerged from it almost wrecked. By the terms of the peace treaty Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France. The German portion of Poland was restored to that country (Fig. 360). Her navy and merchant marine and all of her colonial possessions were lost. Most of her fortifications 522 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY were ordered demolished. Her chief rivers were internationalized and an enormous payment for damages was assessed upon her. The old autocratic government has been overturned and a re- public established ; the immediate future is uncertain, but the German people remain and will probably again become powerful in Europe. Geographical Conditions. — Germany has a present area of considerably less than 200,000 square miles and a popula- tion of about 60,000,000. The northern half of the country is a sandy plain, naturally infertile but intelligently cultivated. The southern half is more or less mountainous. The climate is much like that of the central United States ; the winters are most severe in the east, for western Germany feels the tempering in- fluence of the winds from the Atlantic. The rainfall is everywhere sufficient for agriculture. The Baltic seacoast is low and sandy and poorly suited to ocean commerce. The short strip of coast on the North Sea carried on most of the sea-borne trade, mainly through the ports of Hamburg and Bremen, but also through ports in Belgium and Holland. The rivers flow from south to north across the country and are much used for navigation ; this is especially true of the Pdiine. (See page 163.) Germany has the best system of internal waterways in Europe, but by the terms of the peace treaty the larger rivers are internationalized. Lying in the very heart of Europe and touching most of the principal countries of the continent, Germany has an excellent position for overland commerce. Minerals and Forests. — Germany still has much coal, though some was lost by the war ; the best of her iron ore deposits, those of Lorraine, also were lost. Enough coal, but not enough iron ore, remains for the country’s immediate needs. The only important potash deposits in the world are in Germany, and the more val- uable of these beds (at Stassfurt) are still retained. Copper, lead, zinc, a little petroleum, and several other minerals are pro- duced. Most of the nonagricultural or nongrazing land is de- voted to forests carefully managed by government officials. Agriculture. While Germany has become a great manufac- CONTINENTAL EUROPE 523 turing country, agriculture is still the occupation of about 40 per cent of the people. Enormous quantities of potatoes, rye, and sugar beets are produced. Under normal conditions Germany produces four times as many potatoes (Fig. 361), three times as Fig. 361. ■ — Over 90 per cent of the potatoes of the world are grown in Europe. Germany alone, under normal conditions, produced nearly five times as many as the United States. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) many sugar beets (Fig. 355), and fifteen times as much rye (Fig. 354) as the United States, but only one-seventh as much wheat and almost no corn. All the crops of cool temperate climates are grown, and the country is normally able to produce from 75 to 80 per cent of the food that its people require. Farm labor is done by women as well as by men, as it is throughout the con- tinent of Europe ; on the whole, agriculture in Germany is con- ducted on a more scientific basis than in most other countries. Manufacturing. — Before the war Germany ranked third as a manufacturing nation and was rapidly rising to second place. The working of iron and steel and the making of textiles were the leading industries, as they are in nearly all manufacturing nations. Germany led the world in the manufacture of dyes, chemicals, and beet sugar. Shipbuilding had become a great industry, and in the manufacture of guns of all kinds no country equaled her. In manufacturing, as in all other industries, Germany made full use of scientific men and of scientific methods, and to this 524 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY practice much of her success was due. Following the war most industries were at low ebb, but there can be little doubt that a people as industrious as the Germans will again build up their industries and their commerce. Cities. — Germany is a country of many large cities. There are no less than 40 that have more than one hundred thousand population. Berlin grew nearly as fast as Chicago and has a pop- ulation of over two millions ; Hamburg , the chief port, has a mil- lion ; and Leipzig, Breslau, Cologne, Dresden, and Munich have over half a million each. Essen, in the Ruhr coal district, was the seat of the great Ivrupp gun works. Summary In almost every field of human endeavor Germany occupied a leading position. With abundant resources of coal, iron, and potash, and considerable resources of other minerals, an invigorat- ing climate, central position, strong government, the best of CONTINENTAL EUROPE 525 Fig. 363. — Scene in the beautiful valley of the Moselle, flowing from France into Germany. 526 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY educational facilities, and a gifted people, Germany might by peaceful methods have become the foremost nation in the world. Her agricidture, mining, manufacturing, and forestry methods were thoroughly scientific. Her rail and inland water transporta- tion was highly perfected. Her manufacturing industries and Fig. 364. — Scene along the Meuse at Namur, Belgium. This valley formed the route of the invading German army in 1914. (© Keystone View Co.) foreign trade were rapidly rising to first place in Europe. But her territory was too small to satisfy her rulers, who risked all in a disastrous war, and lost. Belgium and the Netherlands These two little countries, each about as large as Maryland, occupy strategic but dangerous geographical positions. For com- merce they are favorably situated, and before the war each had a larger foreign trade than Russia. Their position is danger- CONTINENTAL EUROPE 527 ous because they lie in a part of Europe where the conflicting interests of great nations meet. We know what happened to Bel- gium in the recent war, and we can understand what a perilous po- sition a little country occupies when it lies between powerful rivals. Belgium is one of the most highly developed manufacturing countries in Europe, and the most densely populated, having an average of one person for every acre of land. It is sometimes called the “Workshop of Europe” because of its many factories. Moreover, Belgium is one of the most carefully tilled parts of Europe ; 60 per cent of the country is under inten- sive cultivation. The amount of foodstuffs that the little country produces is almost past belief. Much of the cultivation is done by hand ; there are over 500,000 little farms of less than 2| acres each. The yield of wheat per acre is about three times the average in the United States, and sugar beets and potatoes yield very heavily under the careful cultivation which they receive. Antwerp, one of the foremost ports of the world, is not on the coast, which is low and sandy, but on the Scheldt River, which flows through Holland to the sea. Brussels, the capi- tal, is a great industrial center. Under normal conditions Bel- gium has a foreign trade of nearly $2,000,000,000 a year. Holland occupies the delta of the Rhine. A quarter of it is below sea level and has to be protected from inundation by means of dikes (Fig. 365). The ceaseless fight against the sea which plucky little Holland has kept up for centuries has called forth the admiration of the world. Projects are now under way to reclaim Fig. 365. — Map showing elevations of the land of Holland. ( Tarr and McMurry.) 528 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY a part of the Zuider Zee. Canals and navigable rivers traverse the country in every direction and a tenth of the people live on barges. The polders (diked lands below sea level) are kept drained by constant pumping. There are no minerals except clay and a very little coal, hence the country has made less progress in manu- facturing than Belgium. A quarter of the land is devoted to crops and a third to pastures. Agriculture and dairying and the raising of a great variety of flower bulbs for export are characteristic in- dustries. Commerce, shipbuilding, and fishing employ a large number of the people. Holland owns the chief islands of the East Indies, the most prosperous and productive tropical colonies in the world. This valuable East Indian trade, however, is only a part of the extensive commerce carried on by Dutch merchants. In proportion to size and population, Holland is a wealthy nation. It is to be remembered for its fine dairy cattle and dairy products, its proverbial cleanliness, its long fight with the sea, its valuable colonies, and its remarkably large commerce. Locate Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and The Hague. For what is The Hague noted? The Scandinavian Countries These three countries, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, closely akin in race and language, are now separate nations, though at times two of them and even all of them have been united. Norway is a land of nearly barren mountains ; less than 4 per cent of the area is cultivated, while 70 per cent is barren. The forests, though they cover a fifth of the area, are for the most part thin and poor, and there are almost no mineral resources. Norway has a most remarkable coast, fringed with thousands of islands and notched by hundreds of fiords. (See page 327.) The coast is mild in temperature on account of the winds from the Atlantic. (See page 306.) Even the port of Hammerfest, beyond the Arctic circle, is ice-free the year around. So far north is Norway that at North Cape daylight is continuous for 73 days in summer, and night is continuous for 73 days in winter. Nowhere in Norway does actual darkness exist during the middle weeks of summer, for the twilight and the dawn extend throughout the short nights. CONTINENTAL EUROPE 529 There is a great amount of water power, as yet only partially used, but little manufacturing is done. The land of Norway of- fers few opportunities and, as a result, the Norwegians long ago took to the sea and became famous boat builders and mariners. Fig. 366. — Map showing the glaciated portion of Europe. Arrows indicate the general direction of ice movement. The Northmen of the Middle Ages were the sea rovers (Vikings) and pirates of their time. The present Norwegians are one of the principal seafaring peoples of Europe. Thousands of them are on the ships of other nations, and the Norwegian merchant fleet, in proportion to the population of the home country, is the largest in the world. The total population of Norway is less than that of Chicago and the capital, Christiania, is a city of 250,000. Sweden is larger than Norway, has greater resources and more than double the population. The southern third is agricultural land of good quality. Over half of Sweden is forested. The iron deposits are among the most valuable in Europe, though the prin- cipal mines are beyond the Arctic circle. The forests are the lead- ing source of wealth, and the production of lumber, timber, pulp, and paper is the largest industry ; as an exporter of lumber, tim- 530 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY ber, and other forest products Sweden ranks next to the United States; for example, there are 180 pulp mills and 80 paper mills in the country. Manufacturing, especially in the south, has under- gone a notable development in recent years. Sweden has great water power possibilities but very little coal. About half of the people are engaged in agriculture, though only nine per cent of the total area is cultivated. Stockholm, the capital, has over 400,000 population. Denmark is a small, flat, sandy country whose population of less than 3,000,000 has made a remarkable success of dairy farm- ing. Danish butter, eggs, and bacon bring the highest prices in the London market ; it is said that Denmark supplies the Londoner’s breakfast. Because of the intelligent cooperative methods em- ployed by her people in preparing and marketing their products, Denmark, though very poor in resources, has become a prosperous country. There are no mineral resources, no forest resources, no water power, and not a great deal of manufacturing ; but in a nor- mal year little Denmark exports 200,000,000 pounds of butter, 250,000,000 pounds of bacon, and 830,000,000 worth of eggs. Ex- ports amount to |10 for every acre of land in the kingdom, so far as known, the highest record made by any country. Copen- hagen, the capital, has a population of nearly half a million. Russia and Countries Severed from It The Russia of 1914 was one of the powerful nations of the earth, and its territory included one-sixth of the land of the world. Its population estimated at upwards of 150 millions lived under the tyranny of an autocratic government. Only a limited class received an education ; the great mass of the people were simple- minded peasants who gained a living by crude methods of agricul- ture; the greater part of the land belonged to the royal family, the government, and the nobility. There were few good roads, but there was a fair railroad system with one long line reaching en- tirely across Siberia to the Pacific ; this is the longest railroad in the world. Manufacturing was largely confined to the western part of European Russia. CONTINENTAL EUROPE 531 Minerals. — The oil field at Baku on the shore of the Caspian Sea was once the largest producer of any single field in the world, and gave Russia second place in the production of petroleum. There are large coal resources, the most productive mines being in the Donetz Basin of southern Russia. The gold mines of the Ural Mountains and of Siberia placed Russia among the five leading gold-producing nations. Over 90 per cent of all the platinum mined in the world came from the Ural Mountains. Iron, some of it of the highest grade, is abundant. Most of the other minerals were mined somewhere in the vast empire, but only an imperfect knowledge of the country’s mineral resources exists. Forests. — The north of Russia and parts of Siberia have forests of vast extent. Russia, next to Sweden, was the chief European source of lumber and timber. Finland, which was conquered by Russia in 1809 and made a Rus- sian province in 1899, separated itself from Russia after the revo- lution of 1917 and has set up an independent republic with the cap- ital at Helsingfors. The country is larger and more populous than Norway and has more resources. Many of the people are well ed- ucated and progressive and all are very patriotic. There are ex- tensive forests, but agriculture is the chief industry. Poland, which was divided among Russia, Prussia, and Austria many years ago, has become an independent republic with Warsaw as the capital. Other sections of Russia, including Estho- nia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Ukrainia, have set up separate govern- ments, but their success is uncertain. Poland has an area about as large as that of Germany ; it includes excellent farm lands, coal fields, salt mines, and manufacturing cities. The Poles are in- tensely patriotic and include in their number a great many able men. The boundaries of Poland are hard to fix, for the country has no natural boundaries. Poland suffered terribly in the war and it was for years in a pitiable condition. It will have a very hard time maintaining a national existence. Georgia and Azerbaijan in southern Russia and the Far East- ern Republic in Siberia detached themselves from Russia and set up independent states. 532 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Switzerland Scenery. — The greatest resource of this little republic of the Alps is its wondrous scenery (Fig. 367) ; it includes the finest ranges of these mountains with their 1077 glaciers. The Alps occupy three-fifths of the area of Switzerland, but the greater part of the people live in the lower lands north of the Alps. The peaks, the glaciers, the lakes, the deep green valleys, the cascading streams, the mountain passes, the excellent roads, and the good hotels all combine to make Switzerland the playground of Europe and to attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. There are said to be 2500 hotels, employing 50,000 servants. Thou- sands of the Swiss people derive a large part of their incomes from serving the travelers, and providing for their wants, and from the sale of souvenirs or other articles. Visitors left fully $50,000,000 a year in Switzerland prior to the World War. Fig. 367. — Among the Swiss Alps in winter. The town of Engelberg. ( Physi- ography Lab. Cornell TJniv.) CONTINENTAL EUROPE 533 Other Resources. — Mountainous regions are often rich in min- erals, but it is not so in Switzerland. The country has practically no mineral wealth — not even the much needed coal and iron. Twenty-eight per cent of the land is used for pasture or meadow and half as much more can be cultivated, but this supplies scarcely half of the food which the 4,000,000 people need ; the rest is imported. The climate is damp, the rainfall heavy, and the land rugged ; all this makes the pasturing of goats, sheep, and cattle (especially cattle) more appropriate than agriculture. Many of the chief rivers of Europe have their headwaters in the Alps, and they are capable of yielding enormous water power, but only one- third of it is used. The forested lands supply firewood and lum- ber, mainly for local use. Swiss Industries. — There are, in addition to caring for tour- ists, two dominant industries in Switzerland, (1) the raising of cat- tle for dairy products and (2) manufacturing. In summer the Swiss herdsmen drive their cows far up the mountain sides, where they feed upon the rich grass, and from their milk and also from the milk of goats the famous Swiss cheeses are made. Much con- densed milk and milk chocolate are also made and exported. Manufacturing. — It would hardly be expected that a country without coal or iron or many raw materials would become a man- ufacturing country, yet Switzerland is distinctly such. As many people are engaged in manufacturing as in agriculture and herding combined. Skilled labor is abundant and quite cheap ; the Swiss manufacturers specialize in products of small bulk and high value, notably cotton, silk, and woolen goods, embroideries, expensive watches, delicate machinery, and scientific instruments. Wonder- ful wood carving is done. From ten million to twelve million Swiss watches are made yearly. Transportation. — The position of the country between four important nations makes it a crossroads of traffic. The excellent Swiss railroads, the principal ones owned by the government, form parts of great through lines between the north of Europe and Italy, between Paris and Italy, and between Paris and Vienna. Remarkably fine automobile roads traverse the valleys and zig- 534 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY zag up the slopes and over the passes. Under the most important passes railway tunnels have been constructed, the St. Gothard (10 miles long) and the Simplon (12 miles long) being the most famous. Many special cable roads and cog roads have been built to enable tourists to reach points of particular scenic beauty. The People and Government. — The people of Switzerland, though intensely patriotic, have no national language. The coun- try is divided into 22 cantons ; in 15 of these German is spoken ; in 5 French, and in 2 Italian. The government is extremely democratic. Education is general and nearly all of the people can read and write ; there are seven universities, some of them of high standing. The capital is Bern. Geneva has been selected as the seat of government for the League of Nations. The Mediterranean Countries Handicaps. — For a long time the Mediterranean region consti- tuted the greater part of the known world. It was the cradle of European civilization, but declined in relative importance as the known world expanded into northern Europe and across the Atlan- tic. Three geographical reasons help to explain this decline in contrast with the rise of the North Sea countries : 1. The Climate. — In the Mediterranean lands, which in sum- mer lie in the belt of horse latitudes, the rainfall comes chiefly in winter ; this is not favorable for agriculture. 2. The Topography. — The Mediterranean countries are moun- tainous with a relatively small proportion of agricultural land ; agriculture is, however, the principal occupation of the people. 3. The Shortage of Minerals. — The region is almost wholly lacking in coal (Fig. 352), which is now so essential to manufactur- ing and transportation ; moreover, the prolonged drought of sum- mer reduces the flow of streams and restricts the use of water power. Thus are the people of these lands handicapped in three of the leading occupations in which men engage; namely, agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. Spain is an exception, so far as mining is concerned, for Spain is rich in minerals ; yet the key CONTINENTAL EUROPE 535 mineral, coal, is there only in limited amount. It is true that the majority of the people in these lands get their living from the soil, but for most of them it is a poor living ; the mountainous land de- mands a maximum of labor for a minimum return. Products. — Wheat is the chief cereal grown and both Italy and Spain devote a large part of their agricultural land to it ; yet they do not raise enough for their people and must import it. The Med- iterranean region is the region of the olive and the grape (Figs. 368, 369). The To Valley of Italy is the third largest producer of raw silk in the world, and the cork oak trees of southern Spain and Portugal supply most of the world’s cork, as Greece supplies a large part of the dried currants. Chestnuts constitute an impor- tant item of food in the mountainous region : e.g ., Italy produces 600,000 tons of chestnuts a year. Lemons and oranges, particu- larly in eastern Spain and in Sicily, are noteworthy crops. It will be seen that the Mediterranean lands are forced to the produc- tion of many specialized crops rather than the great staple food- 536 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY stuffs ; these are crops demanding hand labor and cheap labor. General Conditions. — Northern Italy has a high development of manufacturing, and parts of Spain (especially Barcelona) have Fig. 369. — The chief grape-raising regions of Europe. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) developed manufacturing to a considerable degree, yet both are largely dependent upon imported (and expensive) coal and im- ported raw materials. In these countries wages are low, the work- ing people are poor, sometimes distressingly poor, military service is compulsory, there is little money for public education, and emi- gration is constant ; in fact the money sent back by emigrants is an important item in the support of the people at home. Italy is included among the great powers of Europe, yet Italy is having, and must continue to have, a hard struggle to meet the financial demands arising from her great war debt. Her resources are small ; coal is almost prohibitive in price and taxation is neces- sarily heavy. In recent decades, millions of Italians have come to America and they form one of the largest elements in our foreign- born population. Spain has large mineral resources, iron, copper, lead, silver, zinc, quicksilver, and some coal, but the greater part of the mining is CONTINENTAL EUROPE 537 done by foreign corporations, and Spain derives only a part of the benefits. The main part of Spain is a semibarren plateau. Rail- road transportation is inadequate ; the government is inefficient, and capital is lacking. Fig. 370. — The Corinth Ship Canal in southern Greece. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) Though not actually a Mediterranean country Portugal is an integral part of the Iberian Peninsula, differing comparatively little from Spain in its physical features. The republic has small resources and an unstable government but possesses two promis- ing colonies in Africa. Greece is a country of intense national spirit, but small resources. The area was about equal to that of Pennsylvania, but it has been increased and new territory has been acquired (and some of it lost) as the outcome of recent wars. The country is poor ; for example, the total yearly revenue of the government of Greece is 538 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY about the same as the cost of maintaining the public schools of New York City. The annual value of all manufacturing in Greece and the total number of persons engaged in manufacturing are less than those of the Ford automobile factory in Detroit. The Greeks have always been a seafaring people and Greek sailors are numer- Fig. 371. — Map of Czechoslovakia. ( Geographical Review, 1919, Amer. Geogr. Soc.) ous, especially on the Mediterranean. Many Greeks have come to America and now form an important element in our city population. The world has an unusual interest in Greece because of its illustrious past, when the Greeks were the most intellectual and artistic of all peoples. The debt of modern civilization to ancient Greece is very great indeed. The chief exports of Greece are tobacco and small dried grapes, called currants. The Mediterranean countries have many famous cities. Lo- cate : Rome, Genoa, Naples, Florence, Milan, Palermo, Athens, Con- stantinople, Saloniki, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Trieste, Fiume. Southeastern Europe Czechoslovakia. — The World War made great changes in southeastern Europe. The defeat of the Central Powers brought a CONTINENTAL EUROPE 539 complete break-up of Austria-Hungary. The northern part, mainly inhabited by Slavs, became the new republic of Czechoslo- vakia (check-o-slo-vak'ia) with an area equal to that of New York State and a population of about 14,000,000. It lies between Ger- Fig. 372. — All that is left of Austria. ( Geographical Review, 1919, Amer. Geogr. Soc.) many and German Austria and is one of the important mining and manufacturing sections of central Europe. The people are energetic and resourceful, education is general, railroads are numer- ous, agriculture is efficiently conducted, there is skilled labor, capital, and coal for the industries, and the country is making good progress (Fig. 371). Austria. — Austria has been reduced to an area equal to that of South Carolina (Fig. 372). The people are German in language and sympathy, but were not allowed by the peace treaty to unite with Germany. The country has been in a des- perate condition following the war. It is now only a fragment of what was once a proud and powerful empire. Of all the wrecks 540 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY resulting from the World War, none was so complete as that of Austria, the nation regarded as most directly responsible for pre- cipitating the war. Vienna was one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe, but the present Austria cannot maintain a capital of 2,000,000 population, and the great public buildings, parks, and boulevards of Vienna cannot be kept up as they formerly were. Hungary. — Hungary, the other member of the old Austro- Hungarian monarchy, is a distinctively agricultural country, now about the size of Pennsylvania ; it was one of the leading cereal producers of Europe. By the peace terms, it was reduced to about half its former size, the major part of the lost territory going to Ru- mania. Like Austria it has no seacoast, is heavily burdened with war debts, and has a difficult future. Both countries have at- tempted a republican form of government, but with uncertain success. The capital of Hungary, Budapest, was the leading flour milling center of Europe. Rumania. — The kingdom of Rumania was nearly doubled in size by territory acquired as a result of the war ; it is now nearly as large as Italy, and has a population of about 15,000,000 people, the great majority of whom are engaged in agriculture and stock rais- ing. A major part of the country is composed of fertile plains which produce large quantities of wheat and other grains for export. It is also a part of the south European corn belt. Bucharest, the capital, is a modern city. Like other parts of southeastern Europe, Rumania does little manufacturing, but it is one of the more prom- ising countries of this region. Jugoslavia. — The kingdom of Jugoslavia 1 (yu-g5-sla/vi-a), one of the products of the World War, consists of the former kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro and of certain provinces that were formerly held by Austria-Hungary. With the exception of the part near the Danube it is a mountainous land whose people are mainly engaged in crude agriculture and stock raising. It is now the largest of the Balkan countries, has mineral and forest resources, and a seacoast on the Adriatic. In most respects it is a backward country need- ing roads, railroads, schools, and the development of mining and ir rhe official name is the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. CONTINENTAL EUROPE 541 manufacturing. Its capital, Belgrade, is a city of about 100,000 population. Bulgaria — an independent nation since 1908 — joined Austria- Hungary and Germany in the World War, and, as a result of defeat, lost a part of her territory, though not a large part ; most of this was annexed to Greece. The country, like the other Bal- kan countries, is mountainous in character and backward in many of the elements of modern civilization. A minor part of the land is cultivated, very little mining is done, and manufacturing and transportation are in the early stages of development. The population is much mixed, including Turks, Greeks, Ru- manians, Slavs, and Germans, in addition to the Bulgars them- selves. The total population is about 5 millions. The agricul- tural land is held in small parcels by the owners, but most of the grazing land and woodland is owned by the communes (communi- ties), and is used more or less in common. Partly on account of their rugged surface, the Balkan States are one of the principal sheep and goat raising regions of Europe. Summary of Boundary Changes and New Nations The chief changes of boundaries which the war brought about are as follows : (See Fig. 348.) 1. France regained Alsace-Lorraine from Germany. 2. Denmark regained from Germany the northern portion of Schleswig. 3. Finland, formerly a part of Russia, was made an independent nation. 4. The Polish parts of Germany, Russia, and Austria were reunited and Poland again became an independent nation. 5. Northern Austria-Hungary became the new nation of Czecho- slovakia. 6. Italy regained the province of Trentino from Austria and also gained additional territory on the Adriatic, including the port of Trieste. 542 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 7. Rumania gained territory from Hungary and Russia, nearly doubling its former area. 8. The new state of the Jugoslavs (South Slavs) under the lead- ership of Serbia, gained Montenegro and the southern part of Austria-H ungary . 9. Austria-Hungary entirely disappeared as a nation, while Austria and Hungary still exist as small independent nations. 10. Turkey practically disappeared from Europe and lost some of her Asiatic territory. Constantinople was left under Turkish rule. 1 1. Greece gained most of the land that Turkey lost in Europe and a small section of Bulgaria. 12. Former provinces of Russia, Esthonia, the Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania, attempted independent existence, but their status is uncertain. 13. Two small states in the Caucasus region, formerly included in Russia, have set up independent governments. EXERCISE XXIX 1. Why is Europe, strictly speaking, not a continent? 2. Why has it so many peninsular projections? 3. Why does it naturally divide into many separate nations? 4. Why was it more easily possible for Russia to grow large than for other European countries? 5. Why are the river mouths of the British Isles estuaries? 6. Why has the separation of the British Isles from the continent proved beneficial to the former? 7. Why is France ideally situated for foreign commerce? Has France fully improved her opportunities for commerce? 8. Why, in your judgment, did Germany outstrip France commercially? 9. Why is Germany well situated for international trade in Europe? 10. Why is the climate of all northwestern Europe unusually mild for the latitude? 11. Why has Belgium become a manufacturing nation and Holland more largely an agricultural nation? 12. Why are there so many canals and windmills in Holland? 13. Why is the Po Valley very fertile? Why is the climate of Italy mild? 14. Why has Italy such a peculiar shape? 15. Why are so many Norwegians fishermen or sailors? 16. Why are the rivers of Norway and Sweden short? 17. Why is agriculture more important in Sweden than in Norway? CONTINENTAL EUROPE 543 18. Why is Italy milder in climate than our northern states in the same latitude? 19. Why is the geographical position of Belgium regarded as both advan- tageous and dangerous? 20. Why is a small part only of the iron ore of Sweden smelted in Sweden ? EXERCISE XXX 1. Give reasons for the large foreign trade of the United Kingdom ; France ; the Netherlands. 2. In what European countries is agriculture the principal industry? Why? 3. Compare and contrast agricultural conditions in the United King- dom, France, Belgium, and Denmark. 4. In what parts of Europe is wheat a main crop? rye? potatoes? sugar beets? corn? grapes? flax? . olives? Give one reason in each instance. 5. What countries have coal in large quantities? What ones find it necessary to import it? What countries export it in considerable quantities? To how great a degree do the native coal supplies of a country determine the extent of its manufacturing? Give examples. 6. What rivers of Europe are important highways of commerce? Locate them. 7. Account for the dry summer climate of the Mediterranean countries. What are some of the chief effects? 8. Arrange the following cities in order of latitude, the most northerly first : Berlin, Madrid, Petrograd, Paris, Rome, London, Constantinople, Chicago. 9. Select the five European countries which you consider to have the most advantageous position for foreign trade. In what order would you rank them in this particular? 10. What European countries would suffer most if all trade with other coun- tries were cut off ? What ones would suffer least ? Give a reason in each case. 11. What ten cities would you name as important ports of Europe? Locate these cities. 12. Most European countries have gained a reputation for the manufac- ture of some particular article or articles. Name some of these articles in the case of the more important countries. 13. What parts of Europe have an exceptionally dense population? Suggest the reasons. 14. Contrast Holland and Belgium in their industrial activities; Norway and Sweden ; France and Spain. 15. What European countries would suffer seriously if they were quickly cut off from all trade with the United States? Explain how and why. 16. Are we chiefly dependent upon Europe for markets for our products or for imports which we actually need? Explain. 17. What countries of Europe would you name as being richly endowed by nature, and what ones as being handicapped by nature, but effectively developed by man’s efforts ? In what ones has man conspicuously failed to do his part ? In what ones have man and nature cooperated most effectively ? CHAPTER XXIV JAPAN AND CHINA Japan The Expansion of the Empire. — - Up to 1854 the Japanese were almost an unknown people. Like the Chinese they were suspicious of foreigners and wished to keep them out of their country. The opening of Japan was mainly due to the efforts of the American Government, represented by Commodore Perry, who visited Japan in 1853 and 1854 with two warships and induced the Japanese Government to open their country to foreign trade. Since 1889, Japan has been a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a parliament and a Mikado whose ancestors are said to have ruled Japan con- tinuously since 660 b.c. The rapidity with which Japan has gone forward has had no parallel in history, and to-day the nation is recognized as one of the world powers. By defeating China in 1895 and Russia in 1905, Japan became the dominant power in the Far East. In 1910 Korea (now called Chosen) was formally annexed, and Japan’s influence in the Chinese province of Manchuria has become so strong that this province may eventually be absorbed into the Japanese Empire (Fig. 373). The navy and merchant marine of Japan have grown very rapidly ; Japanese steamship lines are reaching out to many parts of the commercial world. Her manu- factures and commerce have also grown with remarkable rapidity. Geographical Conditions. — The original empire consisted of three large islands and many small ones, to which have been added the dependencies of (1) Chosen, (2) the large island of Formosa, taken from China, (3) the island of Sakhalin, taken from Russia, (4) Port Arthur on the coast of China, and (5) certain groups of 544 373 JAPAN AND CHINA 545 islands in the Pacific, taken from Germany at the end of the World War of 1914-18. The main islands of Japan lie in the north temperate zone, partly in the belt of prevailing westerlies and partly in the region of the Fig. 374. — Preparing a rice field for planting, in Japan. ( Phila . Museums.) monsoon winds. The climate is invigorating and the people are an alert and energetic race. Rainfall is abundant ; snow falls on all of the main islands, although Tokio, the capital, has only three or four snowstorms in an average winter. xMl of the islands are mountainous and there are some fifty active volcanoes. In fact, the Japanese chain of islands is essentially a mountain system which is still growing. Earthquakes are of daily occurrence some- where in the islands. The short rivers, plunging down the mountain valleys, are torrential. The coast line is irregular and good harbors are fairly numerous. Agriculture. — Until a generation ago, nearly all the people of Japan lived by agriculture supplemented by fishing ; and agri- culture is still the most important occupation (Fig. 374). The country is so mountainous that only about 15 per cent of the 546 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY land can be cultivated, but this is cultivated with an intensiveness scarcely equaled anywhere else in the world. Two or three crops a year are taken from the same land, and the population of over 60,000,000 is fed very largely from home-grown food, although only one-third as much land is under culti- vation as in Illinois. Rice is the na- tional food and about 50 per cent of the cultivated land is devoted to this crop (Fig. 374). Japan, small as it is, raises more rice than Canada does wheat. As a rule the rice fields are tiny, averaging only one-eighth of an acre in size. A million acres raise mulberry trees for feeding silkworms. Tens of thousands of families raise silkworms as a domestic industry ; raw silk is the largest export of Japan, and most of it comes to the United States. 1 Farms are very small, averaging two and one-half acres ; over half of them are tilled by their owners. Barley and Fig. 375. — (U.s. Dept. of Agr.) wheat are, after rice, the leading grains (Figs. 375,376). Tea is not particularly important in Japan. Good land commands a high price, because so little of the total area can be cultivated. The country raises very little live stock of any kind, partly because land is more valuable for the production of crops. Minerals. — Japan is fortunate in having coal enough for present needs. The annual output of 30 million tons is about one-twen- tieth of that of the United States. Her copper mines supply all domestic needs and yield a surplus for export. The country pro- duces considerable petroleum, a small amount of gold, and a larger amount of silver, and some other minerals (Fig. 378). The most serious shortage is in iron. Japan aspires to become a manufactur- 1 Members of the class should prepare special reports on the silk industry and on rice cultivation. / JAPAN AND CHINA 547 ,IAPAN BARLEY ACREAGE REPRESEf*TS 1.000 ACRES ing nation and will need more iron than her own deposits can sup- ply. China has large deposits of iron ore, and naturally Japan looks there for her needed supplies ; this is one reason why Japan would like to have as much influence as possible in China. Con- sidering her small area, Japan may be considered as well supplied with miner- als excepting iron. Manufactures. — Japanese labor is relatively cheap and abundant ; some of the workers are very highly skilled in the peculiar Japanese hand trades. In recent years the Japanese have been making remarkable progress in many lines of manufacturing, includ- ing shipbuilding, silk and cotton man- ufactures, iron and steel products, pot- tery, and hundreds of small articles, such as fans, toys, cigarettes, matches, etc. It is evident that if Japan is to hold a place among the leading nations she must be a manufacturing nation. So small is her food-producing area Fig - 3 76.- (U.s.Dept.of Agr.) and so rapid is her increase of population, that Japan, like England, Belgium, and Switzerland, must to an ever increasing extent purchase imported food and raw materials and pay for them with manufactured goods. Although a large amount of machinery is in use, handw'ork is still very important (Fig. 379). However, the Japanese are quick to learn new ways, and factories are sure to become more and more numerous. Foreign Trade. — The commerce of Japan has had a remarkable growth since 1914, increasing about 300 per cent in the four years 1914—18, but declining afterwards. Much of this in- crease, but not all, was due to advancing prices caused by the war. The leading articles exported are raw' and manufactured silk and cotton manufactures, both of which exceed $300,000,000 a year. Seventy per cent of the raw silk produced in Japan is exported, and 548 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY seven-eighths of this comes to the United States. The raw cotton is imported mainly from the United States and British India. The cotton goods are sent chiefly to China, India, and other Asiatic Fig. 377. ■ — The spaces in the above diagram show the proportional areas in Japan devoted to various crops and the area left uncultivated because it cannot be used for crops. countries. The total foreign trade is beyond 2 billion dollars a year, which is about that of Holland. Relations of Japan and the United States. — Since the United States acquired the Hawaiian Islands and assumed the control of COAL COPPER SILVER SULFUR PETROLEUM GOLD LEAD IRON ZINC $140,000,000 Fig. 378. — Average annual value of the principal mineral products of Japan. Coal has a greater value than all of the other minerals combined. the Philippines, and since the aspirations of Japan to expand have become clearly evident, there have been, both in Japan and in the United States, certain people who have stirred up suspicion and distrust. The two governments, however, have maintained cordial relations and the great majority of thinking people in both coun- tries desire to continue them. A third of Japan’s foreign trade is JAPAN AND CHINA 549 with the United States and the cessation of that trade would be a blow to Japan. Every effort to preserve friendship should be made by both peoples. If trouble should arise between the two nations, Fig. 379. — Reeling silk from cocoons. Silk-production is a leading industry of Japan, and Japan is the foremost producer of raw silk. ( Physiography Lab. Cornell Univ.) it is likely to be over China, whose people fear the encroachments of Japan and look upon the United States as their friend. EXERCISE XXXI The Study of Japan: A Geographical Problem Given : An able, aggressive, ambitious people in a restricted area, but in- tent upon holding a place as a world power. Problem : What elements in the geography of Japan favor or hinder her ambitions, and why is the United States concerned about them? Questions for Consideration : 1. What is the density of population in Japan? (60,000,000 people; 148,000 square miles.) 550 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY 2. Compare this with the density in the United Kingdom (378 per square mile), Germany (315 per square mile), and France (192 per square mile). 3. What proportion of the area of Japan can be devoted to food produc- tion? 4. Can so large a population be supported on such a small area? Can food production in the islands be increased much further? 5. Consider the growth of population in Japan in recent decades (1890, 40,000,000; 1900, 45,000,000; 1910, 50,000,000; 1920, 60,000,000). Sug- gest ways in which Japan might relieve this pressure of population and food shortage. 6. How did the British Isles meet a similar problem? Belgium? 7. Consider the territorial expansion of the British Empire; of the United States. Are Japan’s ambitions to expand justifiable? 8. To what extent is Japan self-sufficient in : (a) coal, ( b ) iron, (c) pe- troleum, ( d ) copper, (e) cotton, (f) other raw materials? 9. Compare Japan with the British Isles in these respects. 10. Could China supply any of the minerals and raw materials needed by Japan? Could Manchuria? 11. As a whole, is the Orient a producer or a buyer of manufactures? 12. What is the population of China? of India? Consider these coun- tries as markets for Japan’s manufactures. 13. Might it not be to the advantage of these countries to sell to Japan the needed food, fuel, and raw materials, and purchase manufactures in re- turn ? 14. Why should Japan care to gain a large measure of influence in Chinese affairs? In Manchuria? 15. To what extent have other great nations sought similar control be- yond their own boundaries? (Consider England especially.) 16. Why are the American people concerned about Japanese ambitions? The Republic of China History. — China has a history running bade over 4000 years, and many of the laws and customs still in use were established as early as 1000 B.c. Confucius, the most celebrated scholar and law- giver of China, lived about 300 b.c. The mariner’s compass, block printing, and gunpowder were invented in China centuries before they were known in Europe. The Great Wall of North China, 1250 miles long, was completed 2100 years ago. It is said that the Chinese people went to sleep about 200 b.c. and did not awaken for twenty centuries. In 1912 the Chinese revolted against the Manchu rulers, who had dominated them for nearly 400 years ; they deposed the Emperor and adopted a republican form of government. The effort to JAPAN AND CHINA 551 maintain a republic has not been very successful, and frequent armed conflicts have occurred between factions, especially conflicts between the North and the South. In spite of its size and great population, China is still a weak nation and greatly in need of Fig. 380. — Density of population in Europe and Asia. About one-half of the people of the world live in southern and eastern Asia. ( U . S. Dept, of Agr.) friendly aid from outside (Fig. 380). The United States has been a sincere friend to China and desires that the nation shall be aided and protected in the long, hard struggle that is before her. The Five Parts of China. — The Chinese Republic is made up of the eighteen provinces of China proper and four outlying de- pendencies, which are loosely held ; these are Manchuria, Mongo- lia, Chinese Turkestan (Sinkiang), and Tibet (Fig. 381). Of the four, Manchuria is the most valuable, but the Japanese are getting such a foothold in that region that there is doubt of China’s ability to keep it. Mongolia is a desert plateau sparsely occupied by no- madic tribes. In 1922 it was reported that Mongolia wished to secede from China and join Russia. The outcome remains to be seen. Turkestan is for the most part a desert. Tibet is the most lofty plateau in the world ; surrounded by mountains, it is difficult to enter, and is but little known to outsiders. British in- 552 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY fluence spreading northward from India is becoming stronger in Tibet and Chinese influence weaker. Excepting Manchuria, none of these dependencies is of much value to China, but they act as buffers between China proper and her powerful neighbors. More than 90 per cent of the people of China live in the eighteen provinces of China proper, which form the southeastern third of the country. In the outlying provinces there is a sparse population and no large cities, but China itself is densely populated and has many cities, including Peking, Shang- hai, Hankow, and Canton. The Long Isolation. — China had almost no contact with the outside world until the nineteenth century. Between China and the more enlightened people of Asia Minor and Europe there was practi- cally no exchange of ideas. Long ago China pushed her bounda- ries outward until they reached the great barriers of the desert on the north and west, the almost impassable mountains on the south. JAPAN AND CHINA 553 and the sea on the east ; but nowhere did she come into contact with peoples from whom she could learn very much, and gradually the Chinese became self-satisfied ; they concluded that they were the most enlightened people of the earth, fell into the practice of worshiping their ancestors, and adopted the idea that these ances- tors were wiser than their descendants, and that the very best they themselves could do was to imitate them. Because the country was completely isolated from western nations where civilization was going forward, China did not know of her backwardness until she was aroused by the coming of Europeans in the nineteenth century. The one most significant fact in the geography of China is this geographical separateness in which she lived, a separateness which grew out of her remote location and the almost impassable barriers that separated her from western nations. Only with the develop- ment of modern means of navigation was this isolation broken down ; and in the interior of China it is still very little changed, where changed at all. Other Geographical Conditions. — Besides the geographical bar- riers that shut China off from the rest of the world, several other features of her geography should be noted. 1. The country is very large, a third larger than the United States ; it has a great diversity of surface, including vast, fertile plains ; range on range of mountains ; far-reaching deserts ; and a wide diversity of climate from cold temperate to tropical. 2. The two main rivers, the Hwang and Yangtze, have built up flood plains of great extent and great fertility which are now very densely populated (Fig. 380). 3. The principal part of China is in the belt of monsoon winds which bring heavy summer rainfall and aid in making China one of the most productive parts of the world. Because both soil and rainfall are ideally suited to agriculture the Chinese became a nation of farmers, and because of the great population the farms necessarily are small. So industrious are the people and so intensively do they cultivate and fertilize their land that it produces a prodigious amount of food, practically enough for their population of 400,000,000, or nearly a quarter of the people 554 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY of the earth. One serious drawback to life on the flood plains is the occurrence of disastrous floods which sometimes cause the death of as many as a million people by drowning and by famine. The Yangtze River, described in Chapter IX, is the great interior waterway of China. The Hwang has so many rapids and is so turbulent that it can- not be used for navigation, but it brings down and spreads over its flood plain a great amount of fertile, yellow loess, which constantly restores the fertility of the soil. (See page 66.) The Lack of Modern Means of Transportation. — - The Chinese have built practically no good roads anywhere in China. In few sections can any wheeled vehicle except a wheelbarrow be used, but there are several thousand miles of canals and navigable rivers upon which an enormous traffic is carried (Fig. 382). A large part of the overland trans- portation is done by pack animals or by porters who carry goods on their backs or on wheelbarrows. Though labor is cheap, transportation by these methods is slow and expensive if the distance is considerable. This is another cause for the backwardness of China, for no nation can make much progress unless it has good means of transport. The Great Resources of China. — The mineral wealth of China Fig. 382. ■ — Map showing about one-third of the canals in 718 square miles of east- ern China. ( F . H. King.) JAPAN AND CHINA 555 is very great ; coal occurs in nearly every province. Next to the United States, China has the greatest coal resources of any coun- try, yet only a small amount is mined. These coal deposits, how- ever, will be developed and with the almost unlimited supply of labor which China has she ought some time to become a great manu- facturing nation. Iron also exists in large but undetermined quan- tities, and tin is exported to the value of $5, 000, 000 a year. Geological explorations in China, though very incomplete, war- rant the belief that in mineral wealth the country is one of the rich- est in the world. Forests. — Nearly all the forests except those in the most inaccessible mountains have been cut away, resulting in serious erosion of the soil and in a present shortage of timber. Labor. — One of China’s greatest resources is her millions of industrious workers. As yet much of their labor is ineffectually employed because of antiquated methods, but it seems sure that this abundant labor will lead to the upbuilding of the nation’s industries, and that some day China will produce not only her own manufactured goods but also a surplus for export. Agriculture. — Agriculture is the one great industry of China, but the soil can do little more than feed the enormous population. Above all rice is the important crop ; the production exceeds 50 billion pounds a year. Nearly all the grains and great quanti- ties of vegetables are raised. There is practically no animal industry except the raising of pigs and poultry. The production of the mulberry and the care of silkworms is widespread and impor- tant, as raw silk constitutes the largest export from China. Tea is declining as an export, due in part to the better methods of produc- tion employed in India and Ceylon. Cotton is widely grown and is used mainly within the country, although some is exported ; China ranks fourth in the production of this staple (U. S., India, Egypt, China). Most of the land is owned by the farmers them- selves ; it is worked by hand, and by an infinite amount of labor it is forced to produce a surprising amount. Commerce. — Although the foreign trade is over a billion dollars a year, it is still small in proportion to the population. The people 556 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY are too poor to buy very many imported goods, and what they produce is mostly needed at home. China has a per capita trade of less than $3 a year, while that of Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina is more than $100 per capita. The trade is most Fig. 383. — One method of sawing lumber in Manchuria. (© ^ e V stone View Co.) largely with Japan, the United States, and the British Empire. The trade of China will become very large in time, and all the commercial nations are seeking to gain trade advantages there. JAPAN AND CHINA 557 The Present Republic. — In 1912 China became a republic, but great difficulties confront the nation ; the people of the North and South are more or less hostile to each other and civil strife breaks out frequently. Money for developing mines, improving trans- portation, and building up industries is needed in great amounts. Modern education, a get-together spirit, honest government, and friendly aid from outside are essential. In the interior foreigners are still regarded with suspicion. The most serious difficulty is the lack of unity among the various parts of the country, and the impossibility of getting honest public officials who can command the confidence and support of the country as a whole. Summary China has the largest population of any country in the world (400,000,000) ; it is also one of the oldest countries in the world. Surrounded by vast deserts, lofty mountain ranges, and the sea, China remained for thousands of years cut off from contact with western nations. In 1912 the country became a republic in name, but the new government has had a troublous course and its success is still uncertain. The vast majority of the people live on little pieces of land which they till with infinite care and labor, producing a great amount of food. The Chinese are a remarkably industrious people, but they are wedded to their ancient ways and do not readily change them. In the production of rice, silk, and tea, China takes a high but not a leading place. The country is very rich in coal, iron, and most other minerals, but only a small amount of mining is done. Labor is cheap and abundant ; roads are few and poor. There are less than 7000 miles of railroad in the whole country. The foreign trade is only S3 per capita. China, though large and populous, is a weak nation and will require the friend- ship of stronger powers if it is to hold together. EXERCISE XXXII The Study of China : A Geographical Problem Given : A nation with a large area, favorable climate, rich, undevel- oped mineral resources, and an enormous population of able people, but as yet not competent to protect itself or achieve its own internal development. 558 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Problem : What elements in the history and geography of China have brought about this helplessness and what is essential to the preservation and upbuilding of the nation? Questions for Consideration : 1. Area? population? density of population? 2. Of what parts is the Chinese Republic made up? Which ones of these are dependencies (Fig. 381)? 3. Only one of these dependencies is very valuable in itself. Which one ? 4. Why are the other three of small value in themselves? 5. In what ways are they of value to China? In what ways would the loss of these dependencies affect China? 6. What country has been gaining an increasing degree of control in Tibet? in Mongolia? in Manchuria? 7. Which of these encroachments is most dangerous to China? Why? 8. Show how China’s geographical position and surroundings favored her long isolation ? When was this isolation broken ? 9. When and how did China become a republic ? 10. Comment on the success of the Chinese Republic. What conditions in China seriously handicap the present republic? 11. To what extent is China supplied with (a) coal, ( b ) iron, (c) petroleum, (d) other minerals? Is the country self-sufficient in food? 12. To what extent is the country retarded by lack of transportation fa- cilities? lack of education? lack of capital? lack of national spirit? 13. Discuss the importance of agriculture in China. 14. Consider China as a future manufacturing nation. In what particu- lars is it (a) strong and ( b ) weak? 15. In what important ways is China’s future connected with Japan’s attitude ? 16. To what extent is the United States justified in interesting itself in Far Eastern affairs? 17. Why is the future of China endangered? 18. What does China most need in order to work out its future as an independent, modernized nation? REFERENCE BOOKS FOR THE SCHOOL LIBRARY Agriculture and Soils Finch, V. C., and Baker, O. E. Geography of the World’s Agriculture. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 1917. Hopkins, C. G. Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture. Ginn and Co., "Boston, 1910, 653 pp. Lyon, T. L., and Fippin, E. O. The Principles of Soil Management. The ’'Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1909, 531 pp. United States Department of Agriculture. Year Book of the Depart- ment of Agriculture (Annual). Washington, D. C. Asia Huntington, Ellsworth. Asia, a geographical reader. Rand, McNally and Co., Chicago, 1912, 344 pp. Astronomy Moulton, F. R. Introduction to Astronomy. The Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1906, 557 pp. Atlases Bartholomew, J. G. An Atlas of Economic Geography. The Oxford Uni- versity Press, London and New York, 1914, 64 pp. of text and 64 pp. of maps. Bartholomew, J. G. The Comparative Atlas of Physical and Political Geog- raphy. Meiklejohn and Holden, London, 64 pp. of maps with detailed index. Bartholomew, J. G. The Advanced Atlas of Physical and Political Geog- raphy. Oxford University Press, London and New York, 1917, 96 pp. of maps. The British Empire Herbertson, A. J., and Howarth, O. J. R., editors. Oxford Survey of the British Empire. Vol. 1 , British Isles Vol. 4, America Vol. 2, Asia Vol. 5, Australasia Vol. 3, Africa Vol. 6, General Survey Oxford University Press, London and New York, 1914. The Britishlsles Mackinder, H. J. Britain and the British Seas. D. Appleton and Co., N. Y., 1902, 377 pp. 559 560 HIGH SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Canada Ami, Henry M., editor. North America. Stanford’s Compendium of 'Geography and Travel, Vol. 1. Edward Stanford, London, 1915, 1068 pp. Commercial and Industrial Geography Chisholm, George G. Handbook of Commercial Geography . Longmans, Green and Co., N. Y., 1908, 660 pp. (New Edition, 1921.) McFarlane, John. Economic Geography. The Macmillan Co., N. Y., no date, 560 pp. Smith, J. Russell. Commercial and Industrial Geography. Henry Holt and Co., N. Y., 1913, 914 pp. Europe Lyde, Lionel W. The Continent of Europe. The Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1913, 446 pp. Food Resources Smith, J. Russell. The World’s Food Resources. Henry Holt and Co., N. Y., 1919, 634 pp. France Blanchard, R., and Todd, M. Geography of France. Rand, McNally and Co., Chicago, 1919, 238 pp. Geography of the W orld Mill, H. R. International Geography. D. Appleton and Co., N. Y., 1899, 1088 pp. Geographical Environment and Its Influence Semple, Ellen C. The Influences of Geographic Environment. Henry Holt and Co., N. Y., 1911, 683 pp. Geology and Mineral Resources Cleiand, Herdman F. Geology, Physical and Historical. American Book Co., N. Y., 1916, 718 pp. Ries, Heinrich. Economic Geology. John Wiley and Sons, N. Y., 1916, 856 pp. Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, R. D. Introductory Geology. Henry Holt and Co., N. Y., 1914, 708 pp. United States Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. Annual volumes on Mineral Resources of the United States ; also World Atlas of Commercial Geology, Part 1, 1921. Human Geography Brunhes, Jean, translated by Le Compte ; edited by Bowman and Dodge. Rand, McNally and Co., Chicago, 1920, 648 pp. Huntington, E., and Cushing, S. Principles of Human Geography. John Wiley and Sons, N. Y., 1920, 430 pp. Latin America Halsey, F. M., Investments in Latin America. Special Agents Series, No. 169. U. S. Dept, of Commerce, Washington, D. C. (50;i). 1918, 544 pp. REFERENCE BOOKS FOR THE SCHOOL LIBRARY 561 Mathematical Geography Johnson, Willis E. Mathematical Geography. American Book Co., N. Y., 1907, 336 pp. Meteorology and Climatology Davis, Wm. M. Elementary Meteorology. Ginn and Co., Boston, 1894, 355 pp. Milham, W. I. Meteorology. The Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1912, 541 pp. Ward, R. De C. Climate. G. P. Putnams Sons, N. Y., 1908, 372 pp. North America Colby, Chas. C. Source Book for the Economic Geography of North America. University of Chicago Press, 1921, 418 pp. Ocean Murry, Sir John. The Ocean. Henry Holt and Co., 1912, 256 pp. Physical and Commercial Geography Gregory, H. E., Keller, A. G., and Bishop, A. L. Physical and Commer- cial Geography. Ginn and Co., Boston, 1910, 469 pp. Physiography Tarr, R. S., and Martin, Lawrence. College Physiography. The Mac- millan Co., N. Y., 1914, 837 pp. Salisbury, Rollin D. Physioqraphy, Advanced Course. Henry Holt and Co., N. Y., 1907, 770 pp. Physiography of the United States Bowman, Isaiah. Forest Physiography. John Wiley and. Sons, N. Y., 1911, 759 pp. Political Geography Bowman, Isaiah. The New World; Problems in Political Geography. World Book Co., Yonkers, N. Y., 1921, 632 pp. The Statesman’s Year Book, published annually by The Macmillan Co., N. Y. The World Almanac, published annually by The World, N. Y. City. Geographical Magazines The Geographical Review. Published by the American Geographical Society, New York, quarterly; $5.00 a year. The National Geographic Magazine. Published by the National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., monthly, beautifully illustrated, $3.50 a year. The Bulletin of the Philadelphia Geographical Society. Published by the Society, Philadelphia, quarterly, $2.00 a year. The Journal of Geography. Published by A. J. Nystrom & Co., 2249 Calumet Ave., Chicago, 111. A geography teachers’ magazine ; organ of the National Council of Geography Teachers; monthly except June, July, and August; $2.00 a year; $1.50 a year to members, including membership in the Na- tional Council. INDEX Numbers refer to pages Absolute humidity, 259 Africa, British possessions, 495 Agassiz, Lake, map , 207, 246 Agassiz, Louis, 197 Agricultural provinces of the United States, map, 72 Agriculture, importance of, 63 and rainfall, 235 and weather, 70 in the United States, 70—90 ( For special countries, see under those countries ) Air drainage, 269 Akron, 414 Alabama, 38, 41, 150, 353, 420 Alaska, 192, 305, 422 glaciers, 191 gold in, 44 salmon fisheries, 358 seal fisheries, 358 Alfalfa, 76 Allegheny Plateau, 242, 243 Alluvial fans, 125 Alluvium, 66 Alps, glaciers of, 196 scenery of, 532 railroads and tunnels, 533 Altitude and temperature, 233 Amazon River, 159-162 forests, 458 Amsterdam, 528 Andes Mountains, 239, 439 grazing, 449 transportation, 450 Animal life and soil, 64 Antarctica, 298 Anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania, map, 34 Anticyclones, 278 Antitrade winds, 274 Antofagasta, 452 Antwerp, 527 Appalachian coal field, 36 Appalachian highland, 227, 230, 233, 236, 240, 244, 386 valley, soil, 66 Apples, United States, 82-83 Arabs, 302 Arctic, life in, 296 Argentina, 452-456 agriculture and stock raising, 453 cattle, map, 456 cities, 454 climatic conditions, 454 flax production, map, 454 foreign trade, 455 fruit, 454 future of, 455 locusts, 454 sugar, 454 Arizona, 84, 101, 102, 422 copper production, 42, 43 cotton, 77 Arkansas, 81, 97 Arkansas river, 140 Artesian wells, 94, 95 Asia, British possessions in, 483- 489 Asia, southwestern,' 489 Asteroids, 14, 17 Atlantic City, 346 Atlantic coast of United States, 338 Atmosphere, 3, 253-267 as a blanket, 257 chemical work, 59 circulation, map, 271 composition, 53, 253 density, 4 depth, 4, 254 essential to life, 4 heat in, 257 pressure, 254, 269 summary, 265 water in, 258 Australia, 490-495 climate, 490 exports, 494 general description, 490 gold, 44 lead and zinc, 50 563 564 INDEX map, 490 mineral wealth, 491, 493 rainfall, map, 491 sheep and wool, 491, 493 Austria, 539 Austria-Hungary, map, 539 Automobile manufacturing in central states, 414 Axis of earth, 13 Azerbaijan, 531 Bacteria in soil, 65 Bahama Islands, 439 Baku oil field, 508 Baltimore, 349, 410, 413 fishing fleet, 348 Baltimore-Philadelphia manufacturing district, 410 Bananas, Caribbean region, 433, map, 435 Barley, 82 Barometer, 255, 256 Barriers, mountain, 238 Basques, 241 Bath, 340 Bed rock, 6 Beet sugar, Belgium, 527 Europe, map, 512 France, 518 Germany, 523 United States, 82, 423 Belgium, 526-527 Belgrade, 541 Berkshire Hills, 227 Berlin, 524 Big trees, California, 364, 365 Birmingham, 353, 420 Black Hills, 227 Blue grass region, 66 Bolivia, 450 Books for school library, list of, 559 Boston Harbor, map, 339, 340 Brazil, the Amazon, 159, 458-463 coffee, 458-460 forests, 458 minerals, 460 rubber, 458, 462 transportation in, 460 Bridgeport, 343 British Columbia, minerals, 480 salmon fisheries, 479 British Empire, 466-500 British Guiana, 446 British India, 483-489 British possessions in Africa, 495-496 in Asia, 483-489 in Australia, 490-495 in North America, 433, 438, 476-483 Brooklyn, 342, 345 Brussels, 527 Bucharest, 540 Buckwheat in United States, map , 81 Budapest, 540 Buenos Aires, 463 Bulgaria, 541 Butter and cheese in United States, 87 Cacao, 449, 460 Cairo, 111., 146 California, 77, 81, 82, 84, 96, 155, 304, 305, 306, 355, 364, 422, 423 fruit, 83, 85 gold, 44 oil, 46 relief map, 125 salt, 49 valley, 125 water powers, map, 152 Calms, 273 Camden, 347 Canada, 476-483 agriculture, 481 cattle raising, 482 coal, 480 fisheries, 479 foreign commerce, 482 forest wealth and industries, 479 government and people, 476 iron, 480 land area, 477 manufacturing, 482 mineral resources, 479-480 nickel, 480 water power, 481 wheat production, map, 481 wood pulp, 479 Canals of China, 554 of United States, 380, map, 381 Canton, 552 Cape Cod Canal, 343 Cape to Cairo railroad, 495 Cape Town, 498 Caribbean countries of South America, 444-446 Caribbean region, banana production, 435 Catskill Mountains, 243 Cattle in United States, 84 INDEX 565 Caucasus Mountains, people, 242 Caves and caverns, 101, 102 Centigrade thermometer, 6 Central America, 433-436 Central American Confederation, 434 Change of seasons, 12 Charleston, 349 Chautauqua grape belt, 290 Cheese and butter production of United States, 87 Chemical weathering, 59 Chesapeake Bay, 349 Chicago, 414-415 stock yards, view, 418 Chief cities of British Isles, map, 470 Chile, 446-452 nitrate, 447 China, 550-557 agriculture, 555 area, 552 canals, 554 commerce, 555 famines, 554 flood plains, 553 floods, 554 forests, 555 geographical conditions, 553 history, 550 labor supply, 555 loess, 66 long isolation, 552 monsoons, 553 parts of, 551 population, 553 present republic, 557 resources, 554 rivers, 553 silk, 555 soil, erosion, 67 summary, 557 tea, 555 Cincinnati, 416 Cirrus clouds, 259, 260 Cities of United States, map, 404 Clay, 64 Cleveland, 415 Climate, and its influence, 286-313 and agriculture, 70 and altitude, 233 and man, 296, 310 and mountain barriers, 292 and ocean currents, 292 and water bodies, 290 and weather, 286 and winds, 292 of east coast of United States, 309 of interior of United States, 308 of Mississippi Valley, 308 of North temperate zone, 303 of Pacific coast of United States, 304 of western Europe, 306 of west facing coast, 303 oceanic, 290 relation to manufacturing, 404 summary, 295 Clouds, 260 colors of, 261 Coal, anthracite, 34 areas of United States, map, 33 bituminous, 34 distribution of, 32 energy in, 34 Europe, 506 Great Britain, 471 importance to manufacturing, 400 mining of, 31, 32, 35, 36 origin of, 31 resources of United States, 35, 36 resources of world, 37 {See also under various countries) Coast line, 325, 327, 361, 469 Coastal plains, 245 Coast of United States, 337-361 Coasts, horded, 326 rising, 327 sinking, 325 Coffee, 445, 446 in Brazil, 458, 460 in Central America, 433 Coffee of South America, map, 461 Colombia, 444 Colombia Plateau, map, 222, 242 Colorado, 44, 50, 82, 423 Columbia River, 354, 356 Columnar structure, 26 Comets, 14, 17 Compass, 10 Condensation, 258 Connecticut, 409 Continental Europe, 501-543 Continental glaciers, past, 196 Continents and ocean basins, 213 Convection in the atmosphere, 257 Copper in United States, 42 Coral growth, 316 Cork, in Spain, 535 Corn in United States, 74, map, 75 Costa Rica, 433 566 INDEX Cost of transportation by different methods, 396 Cotton, in China, 555 in Egypt, 495 in India, 486 in Peru, 449 in United States, 74, 76 Cotton consumption by states, map, 411 Cotton crop, importance of, 63 Cotton manufacturing, by states, map, 411 in New England, 408 Cotton mills in United States, map, 419 Cotton regions of United States, map, 76 Cotton, sea island, 77, 350 Cotton, soils, 68 Creep of soil, 67 Crevasses, 188 Crops and prosperity, 70 and soil, 67 of United States, 75 Cuba, 436, 437 sugar mills, map, 437 tobacco, 437, map, 438 Cumulus clouds, 260, 262 Currents of ocean, 319 Cyclones, 278 Czechoslovakia, 538 Dairying, United States, 87, 88 Day and night, cause of, 13 temperatures, 258 Dayton, flood, 122 Dead Sea, 48 Decay of rocks, 59 Deforestation and soil erosion, 374 Delaware, 94, 309, 348 Bay, 347 River, 347 Deltas, 124 Delta of the Mississippi, 353 Denmark, 530 Denudation, 114 Deposits, on ocean bottom, 315 by rivers, 123 Deserts, life in, 302 Detroit, 414, 415 River, 147 Detroit River, traffic through, 39 Dew and frost, 263 Dew point, 260 Diamonds, South Africa, 497 Doldrums, 273 Dominican Republic, 437 Drift, glacial, 202 Driftless area of Wisconsin, 199 Drowned river mouths, 126 Dust in atmosphere, 254 Dutch Guiana, 446 Earth, interior temperatures of, 7 its interior, 6 its motion, 13 its neighbors, 2, 21 movements of its crust, 213 Earthquakes, 214 causes, 216 examples, 215 summary, 219 waves, 217 zones, 217 Ecuador, 449 Egypt, 495 agriculture, 496 cotton, 495 irrigation, 496 man and nature in, 178 Egypt and the Nile, 174-178 Elements and compounds, 24 Elements, rock forming, 25 Emeralds, 445 England, 466-476 Equatorial calms, 273 Equatorial currents, 319 Equatorial lowlands, 298 Erie Canal, 132, 147, 381 Erosion, by glaciers, 188, 202 and natural scenery, 121 and overloading of streams, 235 by rivers, 108-121 of soil, 67 Erratics, glacial, 197 Eskimos, life of, 297 Esthonia, 531 Estuaries, 126 Etna, volcano, 220 Europe, 501-543 boundary changes, summary, 541 cereals, 509 climate, influence of, 502 coal and iron, 506, map, 507 coast line, influence of* 503 commerce, 513 continental, 501-543 domination of world, 501 food production, 509 forests, 510 glaciers, 199, 202, map, 529 INDEX 567 grape growing, map, 536 leadership, 501 manufacturing, 513 mineral resources 506-509 new nations, summary, 541 olive growing, map, 535 petroleum, 508 ports, 514 potatoes, map, 523 races, 506 railways, 512 rivers, 505 rye, map, 511 sheep, map, 473 sugar beets, 509, map, 512 surface features, influence of, 504 western, climate of, 306 wheat, map, 510 Evaporation, 258 Exfoliation, 58 Fahrenheit thermometer, 6 Falls and rapids, 115 Fall River, 342 Fans, alluvial, 125 Far Eastern Republic, 531 Farm machinery, use of, 73 Farming methods in United States, 73 Farming regions of United States, 74 Filled valleys, 125 Finland. 531 Fiorded coasts, 326 Fisheries, 318 of Alaska, 358 of New England, 343 of Pacific coast, 357 of the ocean, 343 of the United Kingdom, 472 of the United States, 340, 343, 349, 350, 357, 358 Fissure eruptions, 220 Flax in Argentina, map, 454 Flax in United States, map, 81 Floods, 122 Flood plains, 123 Florida, 77, 84, 229, 350, 351, 352-, 420 Florida East Coast Railway, 352 Florida keys, 350 map, 352 Flour-milling, Minneapolis, 417 Forest, fires, 375, 376 industries, 366 of United States, map, 363 products of Europe, 510—512 trees, habits, 362 Forest and soils, 68 Forests of United States, central, 365 northern, 365 Pacific slope, 366 Rocky Mountains, 366 southern, 365 of South America, map, 441 of the United States, 362-377 Fox River Valley, Wisconsin, 371 France, 5 14-520 agriculture, 516 cities, 520 climate, 516 coal deposits, map, 515 colonies, 520 favorable geography, 515 foreign trade, 518 geographical position, 516 grape growing, map, 517 manufactures, 518 minerals, 516 rank among nations, 514 rivers, 505 summary, 520 vineyards, 517 French Guiana, 446 Frost and dew, 263 Frost work, 56 Fruit-drying, California, 85 Fruit production in United States, 82, map, 291 Fuel, influence of cost on manufactur- ing, 403 Fur trade and rivers, 130 Galveston, 353, 354 Ganges River, 178-182 Ganges Valley, 125 Gas, natural, 48 Genesee Falls, 118 Georgia, 77, 81, 350 Georgia, Republic, 531 Germany, 521-526 agriculture, 522 cities, 524 forests, 522 geographical conditions, 522 manufactures, 523 map, 521 minerals, 522 population, 522, map, 524 Rhine, 163-170 rivers, 505, 522 568 INDEX ruin of, 521 summary, 524 Geysers, 98, 99, 100 Glacial bowlders, 197 epochs, 208 evidences in United States, 197 lakes, temporary, 207 period, evidence of, 196 periods, very ancient, 208 plains, 246 portion of Europe, map, 529 soil, 66, 207 stages of Great Lakes, maps, 208, 209 striae, 198 Glacier National Park, 195 Glaciers, 188-212 Alaska, 190, 191, 193, 194, 195 Alps, 188, 192, 196 Antarctic, 196 continental, 196-210 deposits, 202 erosion by, 188, 202 Europe, map, 202 Greenland, 194 lakes, caused by, 205 North America, 191, 195, map, 200, 201 origin and movement, 188 piedmont, 194 summary, 209 tidal, 192 transportation by, 188 Glasgow, 333 Gloucester, 341, 343 Gold, 43 Australia, 491 dredging in California, 44 in South Africa, 497 occurrence of, 43 placer deposits, 44 veins, 43 world distribution, 44 Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 119 Grand Rapids, 150 Grapes (see fruits, 82-84) Grape production, Europe, map, 536 France, 517 Gravitation, law of, 9 Gravity and gravitation, 8 Grazing and mountains, 237 Greater Antilles, 436 Great Falls, Montana, 149 Great Lakes, 205 as a commercial waterway, 146, 149 influence on fruit growing, 83 ore transportation on, 39 manufacturing near, 414 relation to iron industry, 148 various stages of, 208, 209 Great Salt Lake, 48 salt in, 49, 122 Greece, 537 Greenland, ice cap, 194 Ground moraine, 203 Ground water, 91-107 and food supply, 104 and mineral veins, 100 Growing season, length of in United States, map, 310 Guatemala, 433 Guayaquil, 451 Guianas, The, 446 Gulf of Mexico, coast, 351 Gulf stream, 292, 306, 319, 320 Hague, The, 528 Hail, 264 Hail storms, 70 Haiti, 437 Hamburg, 524 Hammerfest, 296 Hankow, 552 Harbors, 332 improvement of, 333 qualities of a good, 332 Havre, 520 Hawaiian Islands, 219, 220, 224 Hay and forage, 75 Heat equator, 272, map, 273, 274 Heat in the atmosphere, 257 in the earth, 7, 8 Henequen, Yucatan, 429 High and low pressure areas, 277 High plains of United States, climate, 308 Hills and mountains, 227 Himalaya Mountains, 243 Holland, map, 527 Honduras, 433 Hongkong, 489 Horse latitudes, 274 Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park, 96, 97 Houston, 354 Humidity, 258 Humus, 61, 64 Hungary, 540 Huntington, Ellsworth, description of life in deserts, 303 Hydrosphere, 3, 5 INDEX 569 Icebergs, 192 Ice sheet, European, 199, 202 North American, 198, 200, 201 Idaho, lead, 50 lumber industry, 421 Igneous rocks, 25, 26 Illinois, 41, 73, 74, 94, 406, 407 relief map, 247 Inclination of earth’s axis, 12 India, British, 483-489 agriculture, 484 castes, 484 climate, 484 cotton, 486 famines, 484 Ganges, 178-18 irrigation, 484 jute, 487 manufacturing, 487 mining, 487 monsoons, 272, 484 people, 483 relation to Great Britain, 488 rice, 486 sugar cane, 486 tea, 487 wheat acreage, map, 1S1 Indiana, 41, 407 Indianapolis, 416 Insularity, influence on Great Britain, 469 Interglacial periods, 208 Interior of earth, condition, 213 Iowa, 71, 74, 85 Iquique, 452 Ireland, 468-476 Iron, 37-42 in Europe, 506 in Newfoundland, 480 Iron mines in United States, 38 Iron mining, open pit method, 38, 40 Irpn occurrence in nature, 37 Iron ore docks, 38, 41 Iron ore, mining operations, 38 Iron production by states, map, 38 Iron smelting, 40 Iron and steel centers, 39 cities, 413 industries, 40 manufacturing districts, 413 (See also under various countries ) Irrigation in Egypt, 176, 177, 496 Irrigation farming, 156 from wells, 95 in Peru, 449, map, 450 in United States, 153 methods of, 155 Isobars, 257 Isotherms, 293 for July, 295 Italy, 328, 329, 534-536 Jacksonville, 349 Jamaica, 438 Japan, 544-550 agriculture, 545 climate, 545 earthquakes, 545 expansion of, 544 fishing 545 foreign commerce, 547 geographical conditions, 544 land of, 548 , manufactures, 547 minerals, 546, 548 population, 546 relations with the United States, 548 rice, 546 silk, 546 volcanoes, 545 Johnstown flood, 122 Joplin district, zinc, 50 Jugoslavia, 540 Jupiter, 16 Jute, India, 487 Kansas, 46, 50, 76, 78 Kansas City, Kansas, 416 Kansas City, Missouri, 416 Kentucky, 66, 82, 102, 103, 420 Kentucky mountains, life in, 378 Kentucky, soil, 66 tobacco, 82 Keokuk dam, view, 141, 143 Key West, 350 Kilauea, 220 Kimberley, diamond fields, 497 Krakatoa, 220 Labrador current, 321 Lake Erie, grape belt, 84 Lake plains, 246 Lake Superior iron mines, 41 Lakes, climatic influence, 290 due to glaciers, 205 of glacial period, 207 value of, 206 Land and sea breezes, 269 570 INDEX La Paz, 451 Lateral erosion, 111 Latin America, 427-465 Latitude, 13 Latitude and temperature, 287 Latvia, 531 Lava Plateau of Columbia River, map, 223 Lead, 50 Lesser Antilles, 439 Levees, natural, 137 Lightning, 281 Lignite, 32 Lima, Peru, 451 Limestone, 26 Lisbon earthquake, 215 Lithosphere, 3, 6, S materials of, 22 Lithuania, 531 Liverpool, 333, 475 Llanos, 248, 440 Loam, 64 Loess, 66 Logging, 366 methods, 368, 369 London, 475 Longitude, 13 Longitude and time, 11 Los Angeles, 355 Louisiana, rice, 81 salt, 49 sugar, 81, 420 Louisville, 416 Lumbering in United States, 366-369 Lumber mills of United States, map, 367 Luray caverns, 103 Lyon, 520 Magnetic poles, 10 Magnetism of the earth, 10 Maine, 79, SO, 338, 339, 340, 370 Malaspina glacier, 194, 195 Malay peninsula, 489 rubber, 489 tin, 488-489 Mammoth cave, map, 103 Manchester, 475 Manchuria, 551 Mantle rock, 6 Manufacturing, and climate, 404 and rivers, 131 and transportation, 403 and water power, 403 Manufacturing by states, map, 422 Manufacturing cities, of New England, 408 of United States, map, 407 Manufacturing, cost of fuel, 403 factors affecting growth of, 403 four essentials of, 400 importance of coal, 400 importance of machinery, 401 relations to markets, 404 Manufacturing, in Chicago, 414 in Great Lakes Region, 414 in metropolitan district, New York, 409 in New England, 406, 407 in north central states, 413 in northeastern states, 406 in the South, 417 in United Kingdom, 473 in United States, 400-424 in United States, government en- couragement, 405 in United States, leading section, 413 in United States, reasons for great development, 404 in United States, summary, 423 in western United States, 422 Marseille, 520 Maryland, 94 Massachusetts, 340, 403, 406 Materials of the earth’s crust, 22 Mature rivers, 112, 113 Mauna Loa, 220 Meanders, 111 Meat-packing and slaughtering, 414 Meat-packing in central states, 414 Mechanical weathering, 59 Mediterranean climate, 534 Mediterranean countries, agricultural products, 535 cities, 538 general conditions, 536 minerals, 534 topography, 534 of Europe, 534-538 Melbourne, 494 Meridians, 13 Merrimac River, 150 Mesabi range, 38, 41 Mesopotamia, 489 Messina earthquake, 215 Metamorphic rocks, 25, 27 Meteorites, 18 Metropolitan district of New York, map, 408, 409 INDEX 571 Mexico, 428-433 agriculture, 431 cities of, map, 431 foreign trade, 432 industries, 431 people, 428 petroleum, 45, 46, 429 resources, 429 silver, 50 summary, 432 surface map, 428 transportation in, 432 Michigan, 38, 41, 42, 43, 67, 82, 83, 151, 407, 414 Milwaukee, 415, 416 Mineral products by states, 39 Mineral products of Canada, map, 479, 480 Mineral resources, Great Britain, 469, 472 South America, 447 United States, 30 Mineral substances, classes of, 27 Mineral veins, origin, 100 Mineral waters, 97 Minerals, 23, importance of, 30 Mining and mountains, 237 Minneapolis, 206, 417 Minnesota, 38, 41, 79 Mississippi River, 134-146 Mississippi and Amazon valleys com- pared, 162 Mississippi, control of, 137 delta and jetties of, 353 floods, 123 navigation, 142, 143, 145 sediment carried by, 122 valley, climate, 308 Missouri, 50, 238 Missouri River, 140 Mobile, 351 Mongolia, 551 Monsoons, importance to India, 270, 272 Montana, 42, 43, 50, 85, 237, 422 Montenegro, 540 Montevideo, 463 Montreal ice palace, 299 Moon, 54 Moon’s surface, 9 Moraines, 190, 198, 203 Mountain passes and railways, 386 Mountain peaks and passes, 231 Mountain peoples, 240 Mountain ranges, origin, 228 Mountaineers of South, 241 Mountains and climate, 292 and grazing, 237 and man, 233 and mining, 237 and plains, contrasted, 248 and population, 239 and rainfall, 293 as barriers, 238 as forest reserves, 235 as skeletons of continents, 228 influence of, summary, 250 old and young, 233 sculpturing of, 229 volcanic activity in, 228 Mount Pelee eruption, 219 Movements of the earth’s crust, 213 Narragansett Bay, 342 National Road, 338 Naval stores, 371, 372, 373 Nebraska, 66, 76 Nebulae, 19 Netherlands, 526 Nevada, 42, 50 New Bedford, 343 New England, 150, 151, 207, 233 coast, 342 cotton-manufacturing cities, 408 fisheries, 343 manufactures, 406, 407 manufacturing cities, 408, 409 Newfoundland, iron, 480 New Hampshire, 22, 370 New Haven, 343 New Jersey, 50, 94, 344, 345, 346, 409 New London, 343 New Mexico, 42 New Orleans, 137, 145, 353 Newport, 342 Newport News, 349 New York, 49, 70, 83, 87, 151, 290, 370, 371, 381, 382, 406 New York City, 409 and surroundings, map, 408 manufacturing, 409 metropolitan district, 409 view of lower, 412 New York harbor, 342, 344, map, 340 New Zealand, 494 sheep, 493 Niagara Falls, 117, 118, 121, 127, 134, 206 572 INDEX Nicaragua, 433 Nickel, Canada, 480 Nile, 66, 174-178 as a waterway, 177 map, 174, 176 Nimbus clouds, 261 Nitrates, 65 Nitrogen, 53, 253 Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, 65 Norfolk, 349 North America contrasted with South America, 440-444 North American ice sheet, 198, 200, 201 North Carolina, 82, 420 North central states, farming, 74 manufacturing, 413 North Dakota, 78, 94 North temperate zone, climates of, 303 Norway, 326, 327, 329, 528 Nova Scotia, coal, 480 Oakland, 356 Oats, in United States, 80 Ocean and its shores, 314-336 Ocean basins, 5, 314 Ocean basins and continents, 213 Ocean bottom, 315 Ocean currents, 319 Ocean currents and climate, 292 Ocean currents, causes, 322 Ocean currents of world, map, 320 Ocean depths, 5 Ocean, extent of, 314 Ocean fisheries, 343 Ocean, life in, 317 temperatures of, 317 Ocean water, composition, 316 Ocean waters, 5 movements of, 319 Oceanic climate, 290 Oceans as boundaries, 324 and commerce, 324 and mankind, 324 Ohio, 41, 48, 85, 406, 407 Ohio River, 140 Oil wells, 45 Oklahoma, 46, 48, 50 Old rivers, 112, 114 Olive production, map, 535 Omaha, 416 Ontario, agriculture, 481 fruit, 290 minerals, 481 Oranges, 84 Orbit of the earth, 289 Oregon, 79, 83, 222, 306, 364, 368, 422 Ores, 23 Orinoco River, 440 Outwash plains, 204 Oxygen, 53, 253 Pacific coast, 354 of United States, climate, 304, map, 305 salmon fisheries, 357 Pacific, currents of, 321 Pampas of Argentina, 248, 453 Panama, 433 Panama Canal, 435, 436 Paper manufacture and water power, 151 Para, 463 Paraguay, 458 Parallels of latitude, 13 Parana River, 440 Passes, mountain, 231 Paterson, 150 Peat, 32 Peking, 552 Peneplains, 233 Pennsylvania, 7, 34, 46, 83, 148, 347, 370. 406 Pennsylvania railroad system, map, 396 Pensacola, 351 Peru, cotton, 449 irrigation, 449, 450 minerals, 447 petroleum, 451 Petrifaction, 101 Petroleum, 45 by-products, 47 in Mexico, 429 in Russia, 531 in United States, map, 45 in western South America, 451 origin of, 45 pipe lines, map, 47 refining, 46 transportation, 46 uses, 46 Philadelphia, 347, 410 Philadelphia-Baltimore, manufacturing district, 410 Piedmont glaciers, 194 Piedmont Plateau, 243 Pipe lines, map, 47 Pittsburgh, 413 Placer deposits, 44 Plains, 245 INDEX 573 and mankind, 248 and mountains, contrasted, 248 and plateaus, summary, 249 Plains, alluvial, 245 coastal, 245 glacial, 246 interior, 245 lake, 246 outwash, 204 Planets, 14 and stars, 16 habitability, 17 orbits, 15 relative sizes, 15 Plant food, 65 Plant and animals, work of, 58 Plateaus, 242 life on, 243 Platinum, 445 Poland, 531 Poles of the earth, 13 Population of South America, map, 443 Population of world, density, map, 551 Po River, 122 Portland, Maine, 339 Portland, Oregon, 356 Port of entry, equipment of, 345 Porto Rico, 438 Portugal, 537 Potatoes, in Europe, map, 523 in Germany, 523 in United States, 79, map, 80 Prairies, 246 Precipitation, 264 Pressure, atmospheric, 269 Prevailing westerlies, 275 Prime meridian, 13 Providence, 343 Puget Sound, map, 358 ports, 356 Pulp and paper manufacturing, 370 Pyrenees Mountains, 241 Quartz, 30, 64 Quito, 300, 451 Railroad map, Harriman system, 392 Hill system, 393 of United States, 391, 395 Railroad systems of the United States, 392 Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, 394 Burlington, 393 Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, 394 Harriman lines, 393 Illinois Central, 394 Louisville and Nashville, 394 Morgan lines, 393 New York Central, 394 Pennsylvania, 394 Southern Pacific, 393 Southern Railway, 394 Union Pacific, 393 Vanderbilt system, 393 Western Pacific, 394 Railroads of United States, 388, extent, 390 Railways, and mountain passes, 386 and valleys, 382 in Europe, 512 Rain, cause of, 263 Rain work, 56 Rainfall, and agriculture, 235 and mountains, 293 Rainfall of United States, map, 294 of world, 307 Rainy days in United States, map, 309 Rapids and falls, 115 Reclamation service of United States, 156 Red River, 140 Red River of the North, 78, 207, 246 Reference books for school library, 559 Reindeer, 297 Relative humidity, 259 Relief model of the earth, 7 Relief of the earth’s surface, 8 Residual soil, 60, 66 Resources of United States, relation to manufactures, 405 Revolution of the earth, 13 Rhine River, 163-170 in the Middle Ages, 166 in the twentieth century, 167 Rhode Island, 408 Rice, in China, 555 in India, 486 in Japan, 546, 548, map, 546 in United States, 80, 81, map, 81 Rice lands, 68 Richmond, 349 Rio de Janeiro, 460, 466 Rio de La Plata, 440 Rising coasts, 327 Rivers, and colonial agriculture, 130 and early manufacturing, 131 and fur trade, 130 as sources of power, 149 574 INDEX at work, 108-128 deposits by, 123 drowned mouths of, 126 historic and economic aspects, 129, 158 in American history, 129 in a new country, 380 of Europe, 505 of Germany, 505 of South America, 440 of western United States, 151 River terraces, 125 River work, summary , 126 Roads, early, in United States, 388 Rochester, New York, 77, 206 Rock decay, 59, 60 Rock weathering and soil, 53 Rocks, classes of, 25 stratified, 26 Rocky Mountains, 242 Rotation of the earth, 13 Rotterdam, 528 Royal Gorge of Arkansas River, 139, 140, 287 Rubber, Brazil, 458, 462 Malay Peninsula, 489 Rumania, 540 oil field, 508 Russia, 530 and Volga, 170-173 forests, 531 minerals, 531 Rye, 68, 82 Salmon fisheries, British Columbia, 479 Pacific coast of United States, 357 Salmon, peculiarities of, 357 Salt beds, origin, 48 Salt in the ocean, 317 Salt, methods of obtaining, 49 occurrence, 48 Salvador, 433 Sand, 64 Sand bars, 123 San Diego, 355 Sandstone, 26, 28 San Francisco, 215, 354, 356 city and harbor, 355, 356 Santiago, Chile, 452 Santos, Brazil, 460, 463 Sao Paulo, 463 Saturation, 259 Sault Ste. Marie, map, 133 Savannah, 349, 373 Savannas, 301 Scandinavian countries, 528 Scotland, cities, 475 coal, 472 Sea island cotton, 77, 350 Seal fisheries of Alaska, 358 Seasons, change of, 12 Seattle, 356 Sedimentary rocks, 25 Sediment carried by rivers, 122 Semple, Ellen, description of life in Kentucky Mountains, 378 Serbia, 540 Shale, 26 Shanghai, 552 Shasta, Mount, 221 Sheep, Argentina, 453, 457 Australia, 491 Europe, map, 473 New Zealand, 493 South America, map, 457 United States, 84, 85, 86, 87 Ship building, Delaware River, 349, 410 Silk, China, 555 Italy, 535 Japan, 546 Silver, 50 Singapore, 489 Sink holes, 102 Sinking coasts, 325 Slaughtering and meat-packing, 414 Snake River Canon, 222 Snow, 264 Snow fields of glaciers, 188 Snow flakes, 263 Soil, and agriculture, 63 and crops, 67 and forests, 68 and weathering, 61-63 Soil bacteria, 65 Soil, components of, 64 Soil creep, 67 Soil erosion and deforestation, 374 Soil, glacial, 207 importance of, 63 residual, 66 transported, 66 Soil wash, 67 Solar system, 14 Solution, material carried in, 122 South Africa, 495 diamonds, 497 general description, 497 gold, 44, 497 INDEX 575 South, manufacturing in, 417-422 water power in, 150 South America, 439-465 cities of eastern, 463 climate, 441 coast line, 439 coffee, 444, 458, 459, map , 461 contrasted with North America, 440- 444 development of, 443 foreign trade, 462 governments, 442 manufactures, 461 mountains, 439, 440 people, 442 physical features, 439, 440 population, map, 443 productions, 442 relation to United States, 463 river systems, 440 sheep, map, 457 situation, 441 size, 440 southern, cattle production, map, 456 timber resources, map, 441 South America, west coast, 446 agriculture, 449 cities, 451, 452 commerce with United States, 452 foreign trade, 451 mineral resources, 447 transportation, 450 South America, wheat-growing, map, 455 South Carolina, 77, 81, 350, 420 South Dakota, 94, 227 Southern hemisphere, currents of, 321 Southern states, farming, 74 manufacturing in, 417-422 Spain, 536 Sponge-fishing, .350 Spring wheat, 78 Stalactites, 103 Stalagmites, 104 Standard time, 11 St. Anthony Falls, 119 Stars and planets, 16 Steel and iron manufacturing district of United States, 413 Steel-making, 40 Steppes, 248 St. Lawrence River system, historical, 132-134 St. Louis, 144, 145, 305, 414, 415 St. Mary’s falls, map, 133, 146 Stock raising in United States, 84 Stock yards, Chicago, 418 Storms, and weather changes, 276 and weather, summary, 283 and winds, 268, 285 Storm tracks across United States, 278, map, 280 St. Paul, 416 Stratified rocks, 24 weathering of, 60 Stratus clouds, 260, 261 Striae, glacial, 198 Suez Canal, 496 Sugar beets. United States, 82 Sugar cane, United States, 81 Cuba, map , 437 India, 486 Sugar mills in Cuba, map, 437 Sun, 14-17 Surface features of earth, 8 Surface features of the land, 227-252 Suspension, material carried in, 121 Swamps, causes, 206 Swamp lands, 71 Sweden, 529 Swine in United States, 85, 86 Switzerland, 532-534 industries, 533 people and government, 534 resources, 533 transportation, 533 Sydney, 494 Tacoma, 356 Talus, 57 Tampa, 351 Tampico, petroleum, 429 Tanning, 370 Tarr, R. S., description of New England fisherman, 344 description of life of Eskimos, 297 Tea, China, 555 India, 487 Temperature and altitude, 233 and latitude, 287 Temperatures, earth’s interior, 7 effects of changes, 57 Tennessee, 42, 150, 420 Terminal moraines, 190, 203 Terraces, river, 125 Texas, 81, 353, 354, 420 Thermometer, 6 Thunder storms, 281 Tibet. 243 INDEX 576 Tidal glaciers and icebergs, 192 Tides, 322 Time and longitude, 11 Time belts of United States, 11 Tin in Bolivia, 447 Malay Peninsula, 488 Tobacco, 82 in Cuba, 437, 438 Tobacco soils, 68 Tornadoes, 281 Trade wind belts, climate of, 300 Trade winds, 273, 274 Transandine Railroad, 451 Transportation, in the Andes, 450 by different methods, cost of, 394 by lake and river in United States, 382 dependence of modern life upon, 378 facilities, growth in United States, 387 geographical aspects, 378-399 in Brazil, 460 in Mexico, 432 in United States, early difficulties, 129 relation to manufacturing, 405 summary, 398 Transporting power of a river, 121 Trenton, New Jersey, 410 Trinidad, 439 Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, 12 Tropics, life in, 298 Tundras, 248 Ukrainia, 531 Ulster, 472 Underground water, 91-107 summary, 105—106 United Kingdom, 468-476 cities, 475 climate, 469 coal, map, 471 commerce, 474 country and people, 468 government, 469 industries, 473 rainfall, map, 468 rivers, 505 summary, 475 United States, agriculture in, 70-90 agricultural provinces, map, 72 canals of, map, 381 cities, map, 404, 407 coal areas, map, 33 coast and coastal activities, 337-361 corn, map, 75 cotton, map, 76 dairy products, map, 88 farm properties, 70 farming methods, 73 farming regions, 74 forests of, 362-377, map, 363 glaciers in, 188-211 gold production, 44 growing season, map, 310 lead production, 50 lumbering industry, map, 367 manufacturing and manufacturing centers, 400-423 mineral resources and industries, 30-52 oil production, 46 petroleum fields, map, 45 principal crops, 75 railroads, map, 391, 395 rainfall, map, 294 rainy days in, map, 309 relations to South America, 463 rice production, map, 81 rivers of, 129-158 sheep, map, 86 silver production, 50 storm tracks, map, 280 swine, map, 86 transportation, 378—399 wheat, map, 78 Uruguay, 457 Utah, 48, 50 Valley glaciers, 188 decline of, 196 Valleys, cause of, 111 Valleys and railways, 382 Valparaiso, Chile, 452 Venezuela, 445 Vermont, 371 Victoria Falls, 119 Virgin Islands, 438 Virginia, 82, 97, 103, 420 Volcanic activity in mountains, 228 Volcanoes, causes, 223 distribution, map, 224 famous, 219 of Hawaii, 220 summary, 225 types of, 219 Volga River, 170, 173 Wales, coal, 472 Washington, D. C., 349 Washington, 83, 235, 306, 364, 368 422 INDEX 577 Waste, agents of, 55 Waterfalls due to glaciers, 206 Water in the atmosphere, 6, 258 Water power, and manufacturing. 149— 151 and paper manufacture, 151 Canada, 481 Water power centers, 150 Water power, in California, map, 152 in New England, 150 in the South, 150 of United States, map, 148 Water table, 91 relation to wells and swamps, 92 Water vapor, 6, 254 Waterways, Great Lakes, 146 Waterways problem, 145 Waves, wind, 319 Weather and agriculture, 70 and climate, 286 causes of frequent changes, 276 maps, 276, 277, 279 Weathering and erosion, 109 and soil, 53-68 injurious effects of, 61 summary, 62 Wedge work, 57 Welland Canal, 133 Wells, 94 economic value, 95 irrigation by, 95 West coast of South America, 446-452 West facing coasts, climate of, 303 West Indies, 436-439 Westerlies, 275 W r est Virginia, 48, 243 Wheat, 77 average yield, 78 exports, 79 (See a Iso under various countries ) Wheat-growing, Argentina, 454, map, 455 WheaDproduction, Canada, map, 481 United States, map, 78 Wheat, yield, 73 Wilmington, Del., 348, 411 Wilmington, N. C., 349 Wind belts of earth, map, 271 Wind belts, summary, 275 Wind-blown sand, 55 Wind-blown soil, 66 Winds, how named, 269 Winds in United States, map, 282 Winds and climate, 292 and storms, 268, 285 Wind waves, 319 Wind work, 55 Winter wheat, 78 Wisconsin, 50, 67, 87, 94, 151. 199, 238, 370, 414, 417 World War, boundary changes, Europe, 541 Wyoming, 85, 237 Yangtze River, 182-186 Yellowstone Park, 96-99 Young rivers, 112, 113 Yucatan, henequen, 429 Zinc, 50 Zones of the earth, 12, 13 Date Due JUN 2 5 43 Form 335— 40M— 6-39— S