THE UNITED STATES.

MOUNTAIN RANGES, WATERWAYS, AND CLIMATE.

HE territory of the United States occupies the

THE

greater portion of the continent of North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west, and from the chain of great lakes, to the north of which lies Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. The area of this vast country is more than 3 million square miles; its greatest length being 2,650 miles, and its greatest breadth 1,600. The extent of the Atlantic coast line is 7,000 miles, it being indented by several inlets of the sea, such as the Chesapeake, Delaware, and Massachusetts bays, and Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, while the projections of the land seaward consist of Cape Cod, and a large proportion of the State of Florida, which acts as a huge bulwark between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. The coast line on this side is 3,400 miles, and on the Pacific side 3,700, as the latter coast is much more regular in its outline, presenting but very few inlets or projections.

The Bay of San Francisco is the largest of these, though even this is of no great size.

Like most of the natural dispositions of the United States, the mountain ranges are on a very grand scale, though they all belong to two or three well-defined systems. In the Eastern States the great system is that of the Alleghany or Appalachian range, which, under one name or another, runs north-east to southwest through three-fourths of the whole country; in some parts consisting of one chain, in others of several parallel chains, with beautiful valleys between. In the extreme north-eastern State, that of Maine, the range is known as the Maine Highlands, of which the highest point is Mount Katahdin, 3,585 feet. In New Hampshire they form the White Mountains, noted for their grand scenery, Mount Washington rising to 6,234 feet, and Mount Adams to 5,960, while in the adjoining State of Vermont they are called the Green Mountains. To the south, in the State of New York, they are known as the Adirondacks (highest point, Mount Marcy, 5,402 feet), and the Catskill Mountains. South of Pennsylvania, where are the Blue Mountains, the Tuscarora Hills and other smaller ranges, commence the Alleghanies proper, which extend for some 1,300 miles, with an average breadth of 70 miles. In Virginia State the principal heights are those of the Blue Ridge, the most lofty peak of the whole range being Mount Clingman, 6,941 feet, in North Carolina, though Mount Mitchell is not far short of it at 6,732 feet. The Alleghanies finally die out in Alabama.

The next large system, that of the Rocky Mountains,

is on a far more extensive scale, running the whole length of the United States, and forming the chief watershed between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The term Rocky Mountains more properly belongs to that portion between British North America and lat. 38°, being from thence to Mexico known as the Sierra Madre, or Mother range. An important range called the Black Hills, branches off at about 40° lat., extending nearly to the Missouri river. The heights of the Rocky Mountains are very lofty, the chief being Fremont's Peak, 13,750 feet, in Wyoming; Long's Peak, 14,270; and Pike's Peak, 14, 147 feet. The Pacific, the third and last great system, lies westward of these ranges, and is grouped into the Coast Mountains, extending alongside the Pacific from the south of California to Vancouver's Island; the Sierra Nevada, lying between 35° and 42° lat. ; and the Cascade Ranges to the north, which contain the highest peaks in the whole States, reaching, in Mount Elias (Alaska) to 17,900 feet; Mount Fairweather (Alaska), 14,700 feet; Mount Hood (Oregon), 14,000 feet; Mount Shasta (California), 14,000 feet; Mount St. Helen's (Washington), 13,300 feet. The great importance of these mountain ranges to the States is very evident, partly from the enormous volume of the rivers to which they give birth, but mainly from the extraordinary richness and variety of the mineral treasures that they contain, surpassing those of any other country.

The river systems are on the same colossal scale as those of the mountains, and are of very great value to the States, both from the extensive areas fertilised

by them, and the convenience of transportation. Before specifying, however, the river basins, previous mention ought to be made of the lake series, those vast reservoirs of inland waters, which in extent surpass any similar system in the world. The great chain of lakes, known as Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, constitutes the boundary between British North America and the United States, the dividing line running lengthways through the middle. of all of them excepting Michigan, which belongs entirely to the latter. The following are the areas and volumes of these inland seas :

Lake Superior, 31,500 square miles, 480 miles, 1000 feet.

By means of this chain of lakes, which find their outlet by the St. Lawrence River, a water channel, capable of accommodating large vessels, is provided from the very heart of the grain and provision supplying States, so that a ship loaded at Chicago, on Lake Michigan, can proceed without change or hindrance direct to the docks at Liverpool, the Niagara Falls being avoided by the Welland Canal.

The river basins are as follows:

1. The St. Lawrence, which conveys the waters of the lakes to the Atlantic, drains portions of the States of Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the whole of Michigan, and is marked by a paucity of tributaries all along its southern or American course.

2. The Atlantic basin comprises the system of rivers which, for the most part, rise in the Alleghany Mountains, and flow eastward into the Atlantic, after a not very long career. These rivers consequently do not rank amongst the largest in America, and from the character of the country have the earliest portions of their course through hilly ground, giving rise to flourishing manufacturing towns, while the latter portion lies in the more level coast districts, affording more or less facilities for navigation. The chief of these rivers is the Hudson, which rises 4,000 feet above the sea amongst the Adirondack Mountains, in New York State, and has a course of 300 miles, being navigable for 150 miles, as far up as Troy. The Delaware rises in the Catskill Mountains, and, after receiving the Lehigh and Schuylkill rivers, falls into Delaware Bay below Philadelphia. The Susquehanna and the Potomac both fall into Chesapeake Bay, the one below Baltimore, the other below Washington, to both which places they are navigable. The James River rises in the Alleghanies, and has the same outlet as the two preceding ones, some distance below Richmond.

3. The Mississippi basin is a gigantic river system, occupying more than one-third of the entire area of the United States, and covering over 1,300,000 square miles. The Mississippi itself rises in Itasca Lake in Minnesota, very near the source of the Red River, and falls into the Gulf of Mexico below New Orleans, after a course of 2,900 miles, of which enormous distance 2,200 miles are navigable as far as the Falls of St. Anthony. Notwithstanding the volume of this mighty waterway, that of its so-called tributary, the