MARTIN ROWAN CHAFFIN COLLECTION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL TEXT-BOOKS PRESENTED TO Duke University Library MfcNGUM TOWNSHIP H. S. bmmm> n. C, library no, Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/geographicreader43merr • t$rnw" V \u-(r o GEOGRAPHIC READERS BOOK FOUR OUR COUNTRY BY F. A. MERRILL, B.Sc. HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY STATE NORMAL SCHOOL ATHENS, GA. r- A. C. WEBB & COMPANY NASHVILLE, TENN. Copyright by F. A. MERRILL 1915 BeC KTOLD Printing ano Book Mfg. Co, St. Louis. Mo. C'C- H-T-Z.LK /A f7 ( Q PREFACE BA lf- (A/, 3 The basis of civilization and development is industry. The relationship between industrial development and nat- ural resources is close and important. These geographic readers stress at all times this relationship. Whatever geography textbook is used in the elementary schools, it is essential that many of the important facts found in the text be further elaborated for the benefit of the pupil. To accomplish this, good geographic readers should be used. Such readers should be carefully graded and adapted to the child’s mental growth as he advances from grade to grade. I The purpose of this series of Geographic Readers is to supplement the work of the ordinary geography text with a more detailed treatment of geographic conditions and development. The scope of geography teaching is con- tinually widening and the progressive teacher feels the need of more concrete material than is to be found in any geography text for the elementary schools. The prosperity of our own country, as well as that of 404751 4 The Industries of Man other countries, is based upon its industrial, economic and social activities. These activities in turn are influenced by geographic environment. A thorough knowledge of the physical structure of any country will give a clearer under- standing of its industrial progress and prosperity. Modern geography teaching is based upon type lessons. These type lessons should treat of the industrial growth of a country. For this reason the main aim of the present series is to establish a more thorough acquaintanceship with the influences that geographic structure has had upon the industrial activities of man. The books of this series of readers are carefully graded and are intended to be used in sequence as the preparation of the student makes it feasible. They are not intended to supplant the geography text used but rather to supple- ment it. They are also planned to correlate closely with other school subjects, such as agriculture, history, etc. It is hoped that a careful reading of these books will give the student a clearer conception of his own country and its growth than could otherwise be obtained. The following suggestions are made to the teachers Preface 5 of this series: A careful reading of each lesson text should be undertaken by the class. As much illustrative mate- rial as possible should be used by the teacher. This mate- rial may consist of post cards, photographs or pictures of any sort that will illustrate the lessons in the text. Maps should be consulted frequently and a definite conception of place location should be obtained on the part of the student. After the lesson has been carefully read by the class, it should be discussed in detail by teacher and stu- dents. The teacher will find great benefit in questioning the students closely as to what they have read. Short compositions or essays should be developed from thoughts suggested in the lessons. The author is indebted to many sources for his supply of illustrative material. He wishes to express his appre- ciation for the many courtesies shown him by the differ- ent departments of our Federal Government. He has met with a ready response from various Chambers of Com- merce throughout the country and these have materially aided him in obtaining illustrative material. The follow- ing firms have furnished this series of books with many 404751 6 The Industries of Man excellent pictures: Detroit Publishing Co., International Harvester Co., Boston and Maine R. R., American Woolen Co., Macbeth Glass Co., and many others to whom acknowl- edgment is made. The outline maps appearing in the texts have been used with the permission of D. C. Heath & Co. The Uni- versity of Illinois and Cornell University have also kindly loaned photographs for illustrative purposes. Many other sources have been drawn upon and opportunity is now taken of acknowledging the indebtedness of the author for the courtesies shown. He has met with such a ready re- sponse that it encourages him to hope other teachers may be similarly fortunate in producing illustrative material in the teaching of Geography. Wherever special acknowl- edgment of pictures must be made, such acknowledgment appears in the texts. THE AUTHOR Athens, Georgia CONTENTS Page Where We Live 11 How Our Country Has Grown 21 The Appalachian Highlands 31 The Great Mississippi Valley 41 The Rocky Mountain Highlands 51 Our Rivers and Lakes 61 Our Harbors 71 Our Agricultural Areas 82 Our Mining Areas 91 Our Great Forests 101 Where Corn is Grown 110 Where Cotton is Grown 119 Where Wheat is Grown 127 Manufacturing Centers 136 Locations of Our Great Cities 143 The New England States 156 The Central States 167 The Southern States 177 The Plateau States 188 The Pacific States 198 Our Island Possessions 208 The Capital of Our Country 217 Our Largest City 227 The Panama Canal 241 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Capitol at Washington Frontispiece Location of Our Country (map) 12 The Louisiana Purchase (map) 27 View in Appalachian High- lands 32 Mississippi River 42 A Scene in the Rocky Moun- tains 52 Colorado Canyon 56 Hudson River at West Point. . 63 Along the Great Lakes 69 New York Harbor 78 Our Agricultural Areas (map) 83 Coal Areas of Ou-r Country (map) 92 Forest Areas of Our Country (map) 102 The Corn Area of Our Coun- try (map) Ill A Corn Field 115 The Cotton Area of Our Coun- try (map) 120 A Field of Cotton .* 124 Wheat Areas of Our Country (map) 128 Page A Wheat Field 131 A Manufacturing District 137 Iron Mill 139 Chicago Lake Front ,146 Boston Harbor 148 Cotton on the Wharf at New Orleans 151 The Golden Gate 154 Along the New England Coast 161 Scene in the White Mountains. 163 A Farm in the Central States. 169 Stock Farm 171 Picking Cotton 178 A Pine Forest 183 An Irrigation Plant 196 A California Fruit Orchard. . .202 A Sawmill 203 Scene in Manila 213 The Washington Monument. . .218 Library of Congress 224 New York from the Harbor... 228 Skyscrapers 233 Street Cleaning 235 Skating in Central Park 237 A Lock in the Panama Canal.. 246 Boat Passing through Canal. .249 CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON OUR COUNTRY WHERE WE LIVE Everyone should know about the country in which he lives. The more we know about our country the more we appreciate living in it and the more we can help our fellow countrymen. We should also know about the other countries in the world. Every country has its own peculiar cus- toms and conditions of life, and we can better understand how other people live if we know something about the country in which they live. Our country is called The United States of America because it is composed of a number of individual states. These states have their own governments, but they are all under what we call our national government. The United States is located in the central portion of the North Ameri- can continent. It is in the temperate zone, and extends from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. It is one of the largest nations in the world, and is well located for the advancement and civilization of its people. On the north of the United States is the Dominion of Canada, one of the colonies of the British Empire. On the south is the Republic of Mexico. The United States extends from about the twenty-fifth parallel 12 Our Country of latitude to the forty-ninth. This range of territory, north and south, gives to our country a great variety of climate. Before the white man came to North America, the coun- try was inhabited by many tribes of Indians. On the 12th of October, 1492, Columbus landed on one of the small islands southeast of what is now the state of Florida. Because he thought he had reached the coast of India, he Where We Live 13 called the native people he found there Indians, and they have been known by that name ever since. Columbus did not reach the mainland of North America, but later ex- plorers from France, Spain and England came into what is now the United States. When these adventurous sailors went back to Europe, they told the people at home about the wonderfully rich land that they had discovered, and it was not long before many of the nations made settlements on our coasts. The first colonies were established along the Atlantic seacoast, but as these colonies grew in size the peo- ple gradually spread to the west until every portion of the United States was settled. Two large mountain ranges stretch across our coun- try. On the east are the Appalachian Mountains and on the west are the Rocky Mountains. Between these two mountain systems is an enormous valley drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries. East of the Appa- lachian Mountains is a slope called the Atlantic Slope. To the west of the Rocky Mountain system is another slope called the Pacific Slope. These five sections of our country are known as its five great physiographic divisions. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is one of the subdivisions of the Atlantic Slope and extends from New York south to Florida. The coastal plain is generally low and level and very marshy at the ocean’s shore. Running parallel with this plain and east of the Appalachian system is a narrow •itory known as the Piedmont Plateau. This 14 Our Country Piedmont region consists of low rolling hills that have been carved out of the old plateau by the rains and rivers. Where the Piedmont section meets the Coastal Plain is the Fall Line. This line gets its name from the waterfalls in the rivers where they leave the higher Piedmont section and enter the lower coastal plain. The Appalachian Highlands extend from the northern part of Maine in a southwesterly direction to the northern parts of Georgia and Alabama. There are several ranges of mountains in this system, some of them extending in parallel lines. In the northern part of the system the mountains are more irregular in their direction. In the New England States they stretch in a north and south direction. Between the ranges are many beautiful valleys that are rich and fertile. Upon the western slope of the highlands is a plateau known as the Alleghany Plateau. From this plateau the land slopes gradually to the west until it reaches the Mississippi River. West of this river the land gradually rises until it reaches the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. This great valley extends from the border of Canada on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south and is one of the most productive areas to be found anywhere in the world. Thousands of years ago the northern section of this valley was covered by a great ice sheet that pushed down from the north and stretched over all the land as far south as the Missouri and Ohio rivers. This ice sheet ground Where We Live 15 up the rocks, pulverized the soil, and changed the courses of many of our northern rivers. After the ice sheet had melted, the soil was left in fine condition for the growing of crops. Wheat is the grain that is specially adapted to this area. South of this region extend large tree- less plains called prairies. Most of the soil in this sec- tion of the valley is known as drift soil. Drift soils are formed by wind blowing the dirt from place to place. Corn is the principal food crop of the prairie plains. South of these plains is a section that has been built up by rivers washing down the soils from the north. These soils have been deposited in the southern part of the Mississippi Valley and are known as alluvial t soils. It is in the alluvial soil section that so much cotton is raised. In the extreme south, along the borders of the Gulf of Mexico, are plains built up by the ocean and by the rivers. Some of these plains are still under water. They are known as the tide- water plains. Rice is the principal crop found in this region. The Rocky Mountain Highlands consist of a series of mountain ranges and high plateaus. The Rocky Mountains proper extend along the eastern border of these highlands and comprise several detached chains of mountains that contain the highest peaks to be found in our country. They are very rugged in structure. West of the Rocky Moun- tains is a series of plateaus. The most famous of these are the Colorado plateau in the south and the Columbia 16 Our Country plateau in the north. Between these two plateaus is a sec- tion called the Great Basin. This great basin covers the whole of the state of Nevada, about half of Utah and a part of Oregon. West of the plateaus and basin are the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains. These two moun- tain ranges form the western boundary of the Rocky Moun- tain Highlands. West of these great highlands are situated two valleys. The northern one extends across the states of Washing- ton and Oregon. The other is located in the state of California. To the west of these valleys are several moun- tain ranges known as the Coast Range. Along the Pacific coast is a narrow coastal plain. Upon the northern border, between our country and Canada, are five lakes, known as the Great Lakes. These lakes vary in size and depth, and, being connected, all drain into the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence River. Only one of these, Lake Michigan, is wholly within our country. Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are owned by both Canada and the United States. These bodies of water form important commercial routes for many of the products of the Middle West that are shipped to the East. Around the western end of Lake Superior are important copper and iron ores. The timber about this lake is also very valuable. These products are shipped in vessels across Lake Superior, through a canal into Lake Huron and thence by rivers into Lake Erie. At Where We Live 17 Buffalo the cargoes are loaded into canal boats and sent down the Erie Canal to the Hudson River. The Erie Canal extends across the state of New York and makes an im- portant waterway to the cities of the east coast. All the rivers along the Atlantic coast are short and swift. Many of them are navigable as far as the Fall Line. These rivers are important for the water-power they fur- nish. On the banks of such rivers as the Merrimac, Dela- ware, Susquehanna, Potomac, Savannah and Altamaha are many mills. The rivers of the great central plain are long and sluggish. The territory that they drain is large, and it slopes so little that the rivers move slowly. All the larger rivers, such as the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio, are navigable for hundreds of miles. Large boats can pass up the Mississippi River as far as St. Paul. The Ohio River is navigable as far as Pittsburg. The rivers on the western coast are few in number and not navigable for any great distance. They rise in the mountains of the highlands and flow to the ocean over rapids and water- falls. The Columbia River in the north and the Colorado River in the south are the most noted of these rivers. When the first settlements were made along our east- ern shores, the colonists did not realize the immense wealth that was to be found in the country. Owing to differences in climate and in soil, the people who settled in the North became a manufacturing people, while those who built their homes in the South became an agricultural people. 18 Our Country The broader coastal lands of the South offered good op- portunities for the cultivation of large farms. The un- even lands in the Northeast were not suitable for large farms but were adapted for raising small fruits and for grazing. The rivers of that section, on the other hand, offered excellent manufacturing power. The people of the South began to raise cotton, as this crop could easily be grown in the climate found there. The people of the North- east began to manufacture into cloth the cotton raised in the South and these two forms of industry developed in these two sections of our country. At first, the Appalachian Highlands formed a barrier to western migration. It was some time before the col- onists on the coast succeeded in finding passes through which they could travel to the West. In the state of New York the Mohawk Valley was the greatest of these natural passes, but that valley was occupied by hostile Indians and the white man was unable to enter it. George Washing- ton and several other early settlers endeavored to cross the mountains through some gaps in Virginia. The French, who had settled in the St. Lawrence region, advanced southward and offered resistance to this westward move- ment of English settlers. During the French and Indian War the English forced the French from the Ohio Valley and took possession of that section. The movement of our people toward the West received a great impetus from the Louisiana Purchase. This purchase was made by the United Where We Live 19 States from France and included most of the territory west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. With the opening of these western lands the center of food produc- tion shifted westward and the states of the north-central part of our country became the leading states in the pro- duction of wheat, corn and oats. With the settlement of the Rocky Mountain Highlands the mining industry was developed. Gold, silver and lead were discovered and mining cities grew up rapidly. Most of our precious metals come from this section of our coun- try, whereas the coal we burn and the iron we use come from the eastern and central sections. The western high- lands, besides having good mining industries, have become great sheep-raising areas. The climate is arid, not enough rain falling yearly for agricultural purposes, but the moun- tain slopes have excellent grass for sheep and cattle grazing. As the northeastern section of our country was settled, before any other section, it early became the center of cul- ture and refinement. In most of the large cities of the East fine educational institutions have flourished for years. Within recent times the state colleges of the West have taken a leading rank. Much of the financial wealth of our people is still centered about the city of New York. As the country was settled westward, many railroads were constructed. This railroad building has progressed rapidly and now we have more miles of track in our country than in any other country in the world. Besides the railroads. 20 Our Country there are thousands of vessels engaged in coastwise trade between the large seaports of the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts. There are large commercial cities scattered all over the country from the eastern to the western shores. The United States is composed of forty-eight sovereign states. Each of these states has its own local government, but each of them has given up some of its rights to the cen- tral government of the nation. Each state has its own capital city where its lawmakers meet and where its gov- ernor lives. Each state also sends representatives to the national government. These representatives meet in the city of Washington, which is the capital of the whole United States. Washington is located on the left bank of the Potomac River, in the District of Columbia. HOW OUR COUNTRY HAS GROWN The first settlements made by Europeans in this country were along the Atlantic coast. This was the first land they reached after their long voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, and they built their small towns wherever they could find convenient places. During the first hundred years very little extension toward the west was made, and the settlers were so busy getting their livelihood from the soil that they did not have the time to explore the interior of the country. Then, again, the Appalachian Highlands formed a barrier to westward migration. It was difficult for the settlers to cross these mountains, as there were so few passes. Those who were hunters and trappers penetrated the mountain wildernesses to get the skins of wild animals, but the dangers they encountered prevented other settlers from making any effort toward moving westward. The first permanent settlement in our country was made in Florida by the Spaniards. In 1607 Jamestown in Vir- ginia was founded by English colonists. The people who settled at Jamestown were known as Cavaliers. The next settlement was established in 1620 at Plymouth in Massachusetts. This settlement was made by a body of Pilgrims who had left England in search of a home where they could conduct their religious worship in the manner 22 Our Country they believed to be right. Other towns were built along the Atlantic coast and the strip of our country extending from Maine to Georgia was gradually settled by the English and the Dutch people. When the Europeans began to realize the richness of the country to which they had come, they wrote home glowing letters that brought others of their countrymen to our shores. As the English colonies grew larger with the com- ing of so many people, they received grants of large sec- tions of land from the King of England. Each of these colo- nies became known by the name given the original settle- ment. Thus in the North was the Massachusetts Bay colony, in the middle part was the colony of Pennsylvania and in the South was the colony of Georgia. The people who settled in these various colonies were different in their habits and customs, but by being thrown together in the same distant country they gradually formed a compact union. All of the colonies were established upon what is called the Atlantic Slope. This slope consists of two divisions, known as the Piedmont Plateau and the Coastal Plain. The word Piedmont is a French word that means foot- hills. In Massachusetts and Maine this Piedmont region reaches to the ocean, but in the South there is a broad coastal plain extending from the Piedmont to the sea. The Piedmont section consists of low rolling hills much cut up by rivers. The soil is rich and fertile in the valleys, How Our Country Has Grown 23 but there are no large level areas suitable for extensive agricultural pursuits. Fruit trees and vegetables grow well, but the food crops that require more land area cannot be so profitably cultivated. The Atlantic Coastal Plain spreads from the state of New Jersey southward. This plain broadens out in Vir- ginia and farther south to form a very important agri- cultural section. The settlers of Jamestown were men who were accustomed to large landed estates at home, and the coastal plain about their city offered them numerous advantages for the cultivation of large crops. The land was level, fertile and well-drained. Large rivers flowed through the territory and offered easy means of communication. The climate was delightful and well adapted for growing some of the staple crops. So the settlers in Virginia owned large plantations on which they raised corn and tobacco. The plantation way of living created a land aristocracy and we find in Virginia today many examples of beautiful old colonial homes. Owing to the fact that the farms were large, negro labor was profitable and slaves were used to cultivate the crops. In the North where the farms were smaller, slave labor was unprofitable, and so the northern states seldom used the negro as a farm servant. When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth they found a bleak and barren coast. The winters were extremely severe and the summers short. They were obliged to build warmer 24 Our Country houses than their neighbors in the South and to live in closer communities for their own protection. Numerous Indian tribes, living throughout the country, caused the colonists a great deal of trouble. Frequent wars occurred and horrible murders were committed. It soon became necessary to drive the Indians westward if the white men were to live in peace. As the country grew older and its population increased, many of the settlers turned their eyes toward the West. Adventurous discoverers had come back to the coast towns with stories of the wonderful land to be found west of the mountains. Trappers from New York and Pennsylvania had penetrated into these western lands and brought back tales of the astonishing fertility of the Ohio Valley. A few of the hardier settlers pushed their way westward and cleared small farms upon the western slopes of the Alle- ghany Mountains. There was one good passageway made by nature through the mountains, the Mohawk Valley, in the state of New York. The Mohawk is the most important valley in the world. Nature has made it a great natural gateway from the wheat fields of the Middle West to the seaport towns along our eastern coast. Not until the southern limit of the Appalachian Highlands is reached, do we find any other pass to be compared with it. The colonists of New England and New York soon realized the importance of How Our Country Has Grown 25 this great gateway, but they were unable to use it because the French occupied the western country. The French had settled in Canada along the St. Law- rence River. These men explored the territory around the Great Lakes and built important trading posts in what is now the state of Ohio. Although the French and Indians at first were friends, the red men were obliged in the end to yield their territory to the superior race. They then found themselves between two white nations and could not survive under such conditions. When the English overcame the French, in the French and Indian War, the valley of the Mohawk was opened to western migration. In the South much the same condition prevailed. A tribe of Indians, called the Cherokees, held the land to the west of the settlement in Georgia. It was long after this coun- try attained its independence before these Indians were removed from the land they occupied. After our country became independent of Great Britain, an exodus of people took place into the lands between the mountains and the Mississippi River. All the territory south of the Great Lakes, with the exception of a narrow strip along the Gulf of Mexico, had been ceded to the United States by Great Britain. The new lands that were now opened to the settlers proved to be very rich in min- eral deposits and excellent for farming. The Ohio River, with its many branches, and the rivers running toward the 26 Our Country south and into the Gulf of Mexico, offered easy means of communication with the seaport towns. Only the Mis- sissippi River was closed to our commerce. This river and most of the territory west of it was held by Spain. With the natural increase in our population, and the rapid spread of our people westward, it was soon seen that the land east of the Mississippi was not large enough for our growth. Spain had ceded all her rights to this western terri- tory to Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, and it was from him that the land was bought. The story of the purchase of this area is one of much interest. Certain representatives of our country had been commissioned by President Jefferson to purchase from Napoleon a few islands at the mouth of the Mississippi River. If we could secure these islands the navigation of the Mississippi would be open to us.. When the representatives approached the French Emperor they found that he was willing to sell not only these islands but all the French possessions west of the Mississippi River for the sum of $15,000,000. With- out waiting to consult their home government, the repre- sentatives bought the land and then notified President Jefferson of what they had done. Jefferson appreciated the importance of these possessions and through his in- fluence the deal was closed. In this way we acquired an area larger than that already occupied by our people. The How Our Country Has Grown 27 THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE Louisiana Purchase gave us complete control of the Mis- sissippi River and all its tributaries and brought us some of the most important lands to be found anywhere in our country. Through the energy of two explorers, Lewis and Clark, sent out by our government, the area known as the North- west Territory was explored and claimed for our country. Lewis and Clark went up the Missouri River to its head- waters, crossed the high, rough mountain ranges found in Montana and Idaho, and descended the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. As no white man had ever been in this region before, they claimed the country by right of exploration. 28 Our Country This new territory gave us an almost direct boundary line from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean. It was some time before this line was finally agreed on by the United States and Great Britain, but it became fully established at last and is now well marked. In the southwestern part of what is now the United States was a strip of territory that was not included in the Louisiana Purchase. This belonged to Mexico. Owing to certain troubles, the people of a part of it revolted and es- tablished an independent republic known as the Republic of Texas. After some years of unsettled conditions, this little nation applied for admittance into the union and was ac- cepted as the state of Texas. Because the boundary between Texas and Mexico was in dispute, the United States entered into a war with the latter country. The outcome of this war was the establishment of the Rio Grande as the southwest- ern border of the United States and the ceding to us by Mexico of a large part of what is now California, Arizona and New Mexico. This constituted, with a few modifications, what is now known as the United States. Since that time we have pur- chased Alaska from Russia. This territory is situated in the northwestern part of North America and lies almost wholly north of the sixtieth parallel of latitude. Although it is far north, its climate is not very severe, this being due to the Japan Current, which modifies the severity of its win- How Our Country Has. Grown 29 ters. Alaska’s yield of minerals and fur-bearing animals has paid us many times over what it originally cost. Within recent years our country has acquired several outlying possessions. These consist of certain islands found in the Caribbean Sea and in the Pacific Ocean. We call these islands our Insular Possessions. They consist of Porto Rico in the Atlantic, and the Philippine, the Hawaiian and a few smaller islands in the Pacific. These islands do not all have the territorial form of government, for some of them are governed by representatives sent to them by our President. We are holding certain of these islands in trust for the native people, hoping that some day they will be- come educated enough to govern themselves. Thus from small beginnings on a rock-bound and uninviting coast, our country has stretched out until it oc- cupies lands from the frozen north to the tropical south. From a population of a few hundred we have grown to over one hundred million, and from a nation of one race we have developed into a nation made up of nearly every race on the face of the earth. Year by year thousands of immigrants come to our shores and we take them in and make American citizens of them. The ideals which prompted the early settlers to establish their government and social relations are the same ideals that we still hold as being true for American life. Justice, freedom and safety in the pursuit of personal happiness, have been the 30 Our Country corner-stones of our growth. However much our politics have changed, we preserve unimpaired the ideals that our ancestors gave us. It is this wonderful vitality of our ideals and of our institutions that has given us our prominence among the leading nations of today. THE APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS The Appalachian Highlands lie along the eastern bor- der of our country. These highlands consist of several different ranges of mountains extending from the New England states in a southwest direction to central Ala- bama. In the North they consist of distinct groups of moun- tains scattered in a north and south direction. South of these groups the system extends southwestward in a series of parallel ranges. The Hudson River in New York divides the northeast group from the parallel ranges of the South. One of these groups of mountains in the northern part of New York is called the Adirondacks. The Adiron- dacks are noted for their beautiful scenery and for the hunting facilities they afford. Many wealthy New Yorkers have summer homes on the sides of these moun- tains. Stretching across the western part of the state of Vermont, from north to south, are the Green Mountains. The name, Green Mountains, was given them on account of the thick, green forests that cover their slopes. In Massa- chusetts they are known as the Hoosac Mountains and the Berkshire Hills. In northern New Hampshire the White Mountains form a part of this system. These are the high- est mountains in the Appalachian system with the excep- tion of a few peaks found in the South. In the White 32 Our Country VIEW IN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS (Courtesy N. Y. C. R. R.) Mountain region are many noted summer resorts. One of the ranges in this group is known as the Presidential Range. The highest peak is called Mount Washington, and some of the others are named Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. In the state of Maine the mountains consist of indi- vidual peaks. The most prominent of these is Katahdin. Near Mount Katahdin is the beautiful Moose Head Lake. There are many camps in the Maine mountains that are used by hunting and fishing parties. A great deal of wild game still abounds in these forests. Much of this section is densely covered with hardwood and soft pine trees. The Appalachian Highlands 33 The main part of the Appalachian system lies south- west of the Hudson River. The highlands begin with the Catskill Mountains in the southeastern part of New York and stretch south westward into Alabama. The Blue Ridge Mountains is a very old mountain chain form- ing the eastern boundary of the Appalachian Highlands. Its sky-line has been well rounded by rains and rivers. Thousands of years ago its mountain peaks were much rougher and higher than they are today, but the erosion of many centuries has worn the sides and tops almost smooth. Today these tops are covered with a heavy growth of pine and hardwood trees. Farther south, in North Carolina, there is much irregularity in the sky-line. The widest division of the Appalachian Highlands is not a chain of mountains, but a broad valley, ribbed with low mountain chains. This is known as the Great Valley. It does not present the features that we generally associate with valleys. On the east are the high Blue Ridge Mountains and on the west is the Alleghany Plateau. Be- tween these two boundaries lies a series of broken parallel ridges that divide the main valley into many smaller valleys. These ridges cause us to lose sight of the great valley itself. The present valley is formed as if the surface of the large valley had been wrinkled into new hills and ridges. Two parts of this valley, the Shenandoah and Tennessee valleys, are noted in the history of our country. The smaller ridges in the main valley take the same general direction as 34 Our Country the entire system ; that is, they stretch from the northeast to the southwest. The streams in this area generally flow between the ridges, but they frequently turn and cut their way across them, making important water-gaps. The rocks of which these ridges are made differ greatly from those found in other sections of the highlands. Granite predominates in the hills, while in the valleys there is much limestone and shale. The presence of the latter rock made it easy for the rivers to carve out their beds. The western section of this highland is known as the -Plateau Region. It stretches along the western side from the Catskill in the north to Alabama in the south. This plateau along its eastern extent presents a very broken surface, and is frequently called the Alleghany Mountains. They, however, are not real mountains, but are parts of the plateau that have been cut into irregular peaks by erosion. The action of streams has cut up this section* of the plateau so that it looks very much like mountains. Lookout Moun- tain in Tennessee is a part of this plateau that has been cut off by rivers. The only prominent pass in this plateau is the Cumberland Gap. This gap is in southwestern Virginia and affords a direct passageway into Tennessee and Kentucky. Some of the river systems show very strange forma- tions. The Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania is, per- haps, the most important and largest waterway crossing The Appalachian Highlands 35 the highlands. This river, together with the Delaware and a few smaller rivers, rises upon the western slope of the highlands and crosses the mountain ranges through a series of important water-gaps. To the south, the Kan- awha drains the highlands in the opposite direction. This river rises in and drains part of the eastern slope, passing across the ranges to the west. The Tennessee River also rises in the east, runs south and then turns west through a gap in the plateau. The general trend of the northern rivers is from west to east, while that of the southern rivers is from east to west. The climate of this mountain area varies greatly. Ex- tending many degrees north and south, it experiences the cold winters of Maine and the mild winters of Georgia. In the North the mountain tops are frequently covered with snow, although the snow does not stay on them very long. Because of their altitude all the mountains offer a cooler climate than is to be found in the lowlands at their base. The Appalachian Highlands are not an important factor in climate of the eastern part of our country because they are not high enough to intercept many of the winds. The east and west sides of the mountains have about the same cli- matic conditions, although the east side is a trifle milder and more humid. This is due to the nearness of the At- lantic Ocean and to the local winds that blow from that body of water. The prevailing wind that reaches the western sides of the mountains is generally a dry wind. It 36 \ l ; \ A U I ' ; Our Country has passed the plains of our country and lost its moisture before it has reached the mountain sides. One of the winds that passes across the Southern States and touches the Gulf of Mexico turns to the north and deposits much moisture on the southeast slopes of the mountains in North and South Carolina. This section receives a greater rainfall than any other area in the eastern part of our country. The Appalachian system has been an important factor in the development of our country. For one hundred and fifty years it formed a barrier, but now it is crossed in sev- eral places by railroads. The mountains are not high, but being located in parallel ranges, covered with heavy timber and underbrush, they once formed a serious obstacle to westward migration. All of the river valleys known to the early settlers extended in the wrong direction for easy mi- gration toward the west. If the valleys had extended east- ward and westward it would not have been difficult to pass the mountains. On the western slopes of all of these moun- tains there once lived many Indian tribes that were un- friendly to the English. In the few passes which were known, such as the Mohawk Valley and the gap near At- lanta, were located the homes of hostile Indian, tribes. For many years it was impossible for the colonists to force their way through these openings. Although the mountains retarded westward migration, they were of advantage to the colonists in causing the people MANGUM TOWNSHIP H. S, The Appalachian HIphlaisjds 37 to become more compact in their. settlements. iThe narrow strip of land between the mountains and the ocean became in time densely populated and the settlers became closely associated in their habits and customs. This restriction to a limited territory proved to be of great advantage in the end, because it made our people a strong nation when they finally united. Three good routes were at last established through this mountain system. These were opened for travel only after many battles had been fought and much blood shed. The colonists suffered much, and an army from England, the mother country, was almost annihilated before these three passageways were finally opened. One of these passes, known as the Old Braddock Road, is the trail that was used by Braddock’s army on its march to Ft. Duquesne, where Pittsburg now is. Another was along the west bank of the Susquehanna River. There is no important break in the mountains south of Pennsylvania until the Cumber- land Gap is reached. Through this mountain gap the Wil- derness Road was built and over it immigrants immedi- ately flocked into the rich lands of the Ohio Valley. When the settlers first crossed the mountains they had no idea of the natural riches to be found in them. Their eyes were turned toward the fertile plains of the West and they had neither the time nor the inclination to seek wealth in the rugged hills. It was many years after the Middle West was settled before the wealth of the forests and mines 38 Our Country of the Appalachian Highlands was at the disposal of our people. One of the chief sources of revenue derived from these mountains has been the forests. Everywhere the mountain tops and sides were covered with the finest timber. Pine, spruce, hemlock, chestnut and oak were cut from the slopes and the lumber industry soon became very important. Be- sides the use of the trees for lumber, the bark of the hem- lock was used for tanning leather. At first much of the timber was sent to the seaports of Maine and Massachusetts to be built into vessels. At one time the commerce of the United States was carried on almost entirely in American built ships. Today our ships are few in number and most of our commerce is carried on in foreign built vessels. Besides the forests, large and valuable coal fields were discovered. These are of immense importance to us. Both the soft and the hard coal are found in abundance. The hard coal comes from northeastern Pennsylvania and the soft coal is found in the plateau region, principally in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Alabama. South of the city of Pittsburg there are large deposits of coke- coal. Oil deposits have also been discovered in the coal areas that furnish an illuminating oil called petroleum, from which coal oil, gasoline and many other products are derived. Beds of clay and sand which are valuable for the manu- facture of brick and glass are found in the valleys and The Appalachian Highlands 39 along the plateau section. Certain deposits of sand found near Pittsburg are used in the making of a fine quality of glass. This city has become our largest glass-making center. Granite and marble are quarried throughout this region. These stones are much used for building purposes. The granites and marbles of Vermont, Tennessee and Georgia are used in some of our most beautiful homes and office buildings. The granite which comes from the New England states is the most noted in our country. These states furnish more than half of all the granite used for building purposes. New Hampshire is sometimes called the Granite State because of the large deposits of this rock which are found there. Another important mineral found in the southern part of these highlands is iron. Iron is not mined in the Ap- palachians in as great quantities as about Lake Superior, but it is important enough to be used for many manufactur- ing purposes. Alabama, Pennsylvania and New York are the leading iron producing states. Because of the presence of so much coal, the iron ore from other areas is brought to these states to be manufactured. Both Alabama and Pennsylvania have important iron mills. These highlands offer good agricultural opportunities. The valleys are especially fertile and the climate is suitable for the cultivation of most crops.. Corn and tobacco are 40 Our Country grown throughout the region and most of the fruits are raised. Many valuable market gardens are cultivated. The sides of the mountains form excellent orchard lands for apples and peaches. Good pasture lands also abound, and horses, sheep and cattle are raised to advantage. There are many important cities located in these high- lands. Most of these cities are large manufacturing cen- ters, such as Pittsburg, Wheeling, Atlanta and Birming- ham. This section also offers excellent sites for summer resorts. The White, Adirondack and Catskill mountains in the North have many large and fine hotels to accommodate their summer visitors. The water-gaps of the Delaware, the natural springs of Virginia and some of the highlands of West Virginia are well patronized. Asheville in North Carolina and Lookout Mountain in Tennessee are two noted resorts in the South. THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI VALLEY The Mississippi Valley occupies the larger part of our country. It includes all the land drained by the Missis- sippi River and its tributaries. This area is bounded on the east by the Appalachian Highlands and on the west by the Rocky Mountain Highlands. It extends northward almost to the Great Lakes and its southern boundary is the Gulf of Mexico. Although this section is cut off from the westerly winds that bring rain from the Pacific Ocean, it has a great rainfall. It is open at its southern or Gulf end to the cyclonic winds that originate in the southwestern part of our country and turn to the north, bringing rain to the valley from the waters of the Gulf. The climate is more changeable than it would be if westerly winds pre- vailed, because the Mississippi Valley lies within the great medial plains extending southward from the Arctic Ocean, across which sometimes sweep northern winds. The Mississippi River proper rises in northern Minne- sota in Lake Itasca and flows in a southerly direction, about two thousand miles, to the Gulf of Mexico. The headwa- ters of this river start on a small ridge which divides the drainage systems of the south from those which flow into the Great Lakes and north into Hudson Bay. The source of the Mississippi has an altitude of about 1,500 feet, which 42 Our Country MISSISSIPPI RIVER (Courtesy Mississippi River Commission) gives an average fall to the river of only nine inches to the mile. More than half of this fall takes place between the source and the city of St. Paul, Minnesota. From that city south the fall is very slight and the river flows between low bluffs until it reaches the plains of the Gulf. The region in which Lake Itasca is found contains many small lakes. It has no good drainage system, with the exception of the Mississippi River, and much of the land is still marshy. The numerous lakes have been modi- fied in shape by the ice sheets that once covered the country and the slope of the land is so slight that tributary rivers The- Great Mississippi Valley 43 have not been formed. At St. Paul and Minneapolis are located the Falls of St. Anthony that are important for the water power they furnish. From these cities, to the Gulf the navigation of the river is open. South of St. Paul the banks of the river were once covered with hardwood trees. The upper part of the Mississippi flows through a valley that is from three to seven miles wide. In order to reach the cities along the banks, the railroads must climb to the high bluffs. Communication between the North and South by railroad is generally obtained along the river. Below the city of St. Louis, the river flows in a broader valley, and when the states of Louisiana and Mississippi are reached, it is confined to its bed by levees or banks to prevent the overflow of the surrounding country. In some parts of the state of Louisiana the surface of the river is several feet higher than the surrounding land. The northern course of the Mississippi flows through what is known as the Lake Plains. The soil of these plains has been modified by the action of the ice sheet that once covered them and is well adapted to the growing of the hardier grains. Wheat is the most important crop of this area, and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are noted wheat centers. The central course of the Mississippi flows through prairies. This section, made up of wind-driven soils, is practically free from forests and is well adapted to 44 Our Country the growing of corn. From the city of Memphis, Tennessee, the river flows south through the Gulf Plains. These plains contain what is known as alluvial soils. An alluvial soil is one which has been made by river deposits and is generally very fertile. The Gulf Plains, on account of their climate and the richness of their soils, produce large cotton crops. Near its mouth the Mississippi passes through the Tide- water Plains of the Gulf. These are low and wet, and well adapted to the growing of rice. Thus the Mississippi River passes through four agricultural areas of our country, each area producing either an important food or fiber crop. All of the southern section of the state of Louisiana is delta formation. The Mississippi and its tributaries have brought down from the northern lands quantities of soil that have been deposited and built into a great peninsula stretching into the Gulf of Mexico. The immediate mouth of the river is one of the best examples of delta formation to be found in the world. Owing to the fact that the plains in Louisiana are so low, it is necessary to confine the waters of the river be- tween high banks called levees. From the city of Vicks- burg south there are many miles of these levees. During the spring they must be watched carefully so that the river will not break through them. Whenever the Mississippi River breaks through one of these levees, the surrounding country is flooded with water and much damage is done to The Great Mississippi Valley 45 the crops of that section. Entering the lower Mississippi River from the east is a small river called the Yazoo. This river flows through fertile plains that are noted for the fine crops they produce. The Mississippi River has many large tributaries. The four largest ones are the Missouri, the Ohio, the Arkansas and the Red. All of these except the Ohio enter the Mis- sissippi from the west. The Ohio enters from the east. The Missouri rises in the highlands of the Rocky Mountains in the state of Montana, flows easterly into North Dakota and then turns south, entering the Mississippi River about the middle of the eastern boundary of the state of Missouri. This river is really a part of the main stream, but is men- tioned in most of our geographies as a tributary stream. The Missouri River is exceedingly muddy because it flows through lands having soils that are easily washed. It is often called The River of Muddy Waters. On the upper parts of the river there are dense forests that contain much valuable timber. The lower half of the river flows through the fertile plains of the prairie section. South of the Missouri and almost parallel with it, flows the Arkansas. The source of this river is in the central part of the state of Colorado. It rises in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, flows eastward into Kansas, turns south across the state of Oklahoma and empties into the Missis- sippi River in the southeastern part of the state of Arkan- Our Country . A 46 sas. By far the larger part of this stream passes through the Great Plains and Prairies of our country. South of the Arkansas River is the Red River. This river rises in northern Texas, flows eastward and enters the Mississippi River north of the city of New Orleans. On the east is the Ohio River, which is the largest tributary of the Mississippi entering from that direction. The Ohio is formed by the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers in the western part of Pennsylvania. These two small rivers rise in the northern Appalachians and flow together to make the larger Ohio. The city of Pittsburg is situated at the junction of these two rivers. The Ohio flows in a southwesterly direction and enters the Mississippi at the southern limit of the state of Illinois. There are several important tributaries of the Ohio River. Two of these, the Cumberland and the Tennessee, are noted in the history of the South. These rivers rise in the south- ern Appalachians, flow southwest, then turn directly north, and enter the Ohio River in the western part of Kentucky. The Mississippi Valley extends from the subtropical regions of the Gulf to the colder regions of the North. Its fertile soils produce many kinds of agricultural products on account of differences in its climate. In order that, crops may grow successfully there must be at least twenty inches of rainfall every year. The high Rocky Mountains cut off most of the westerly rain-bearing winds from this area The Great Mississippi Valley 47 -but the warm winds from the Gulf can pass unobstructed over this part of our country. The colder north winds also sweep down over the area and temper the northern summers. In the northern part, the winters are frequently severe. During the winter months the temperature is often twenty degrees below zero and the snowfall heavy. In the southern part there are not such extremes of temperature and the growing season for crops is much longer. The northern part of the Mississippi Valley has few trees. The largest forest regions are located near the Ohio River and along the banks of the lower Mississippi. A small area near the Missouri River in the state of Missouri is also covered with trees. The black soil of the prairies does not permit of rapid tree growth. Wherever forests abound, lumber industries have been established. There are large deposits of coal found in the Mississippi Valley. The largest of these deposits extends along the western side of the Appalachian Highlands from New York to Alabama. This section produces the greater part of the coal used in commerce. In the states of Indiana and Illinois is a large field known as the Illinois Coal Area. This area embraces about sixty thousand square miles. Directly across the Mississippi in the states of Iowa and Missouri is another field of about the same size known as the Mis- souri Coal Field. These two areas produce a bituminous coal that is used for manufacturing purposes. Aside from 48 Our Country these areas, smaller coal deposits are found in the states of Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and the Dakotas. South of the city of Cairo, Illinois, the Mississippi Val- ley is mostly new land, that is, has been made by the river deposits. An arm of the Gulf of Mexico once penetrated the central part of our country as far north as Cairo. The Mississippi River has built most of this southern area with the soil it has brought from the northern sec- tions. Areas built up by river deposits are called flood plains, and this southern part of the Mississippi Valley is the most important flood plain in the world. From Cairo south, the Mississippi River makes many bends and turns, continually cutting its banks and filling up its bed. Much of the land in the immediate vicinity of the southern part of the river is swampy and covered with a dense growth of subtropical vegetation. This valley is the principal food producing section of our country. The wealth of its crops is unrivalled by any like area in the world. All kinds of grasses and grains are cultivated. Cotton, rice, sugar cane and vegetables of all kinds are profitably grown. Where the lands were too wet, drainage has made them favorable for the cultivation of crops. In some sections along the Arkansas River, irriga- tion has been used for the production of sugar beets, and within recent years much of the sugar we use on our tables is manufactured from these beets. Tobacco is grown in The Great Mississippi Valley 49 the valley of the Ohio and grapes have become an important crop there. The mining industries of the Mississippi Valley are second in importance to its crops. The presence of coal has developed many large manufacturing plants. The mills in western Pennsylvania make steel from the iron ore that is obtained from the Lake Superior region, and the mills in Northern Alabama make steel from iron ore found in that section. The lead that comes from Missouri is manu- factured into articles of commerce. Copper from Montana and silver from Colorado are also used in manufacturing. The oil wells in the Ohio Valley and in Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Kentucky have proven very valuable for lighting and power purposes. Throughout the corn producing areas are large numbers of hogs and the production of pork has become a staple industry. Thousands of cattle roam over the plains and are killed to supply us with meat. In some areas of the northwest there are large sheep ranches. Wild game abounds in the wilderness that has not yet been cleared for settlement. In order to transport the products of this valley, numer- ous railroads have been built, crossing it in all directions. These railroads have developed to so great an extent that inland cities are no longer isolated. Long freight trains pass continually across the valley carrying the products to 50 Our Country the Atlantic coast. Much of the commerce of this section is still carried on by means of the rivers and lakes which form important waterways. Many river boats pass up and down the Mississippi and carry to the seaports the products of the interior. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGHLANDS The Rocky Mountain Highlands extend across the west- ern part of our country from north to south. These high- lands occupy about one-third of the land area of the United States and form a section of the great mountain system that extends from Alaska to the southernmost point of South America. The entire system is sometimes called the Cordilleras and the Rocky Mountain section in our country is sometimes spoken of as the Cordilleran Highlands. Various mountain ranges make up these highlands and the names given to these ranges are mostly of Spanish origin. In South America there is a single chain of moun- tains of this system called the Andes. In Mexico and the Central American states, there are many detached ranges with various names. In the United States the Rocky Moun- tains are a series of broken ranges extending along the eastern edge of the Highlands. The Highlands take their name from these mountains because they are the highest ranges to be found in the West. The widest part of the Rocky Mountain Highlands is on the parallel of the city of Denver. The region is about one thousand miles wide on this line. The highlands in- cluded within the limits of our country are about twelve hundred miles long. This highland area consists of many mountain ranges, several plateaus and a number of basins. A SCENE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS (Courtesy Denver & Rio Grande R. R.) The region extends from the middle of the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico west to the states of California, Oregon and Washington. The west- ern part includes many high mountains that cut off the westerly rain-bearing winds that blow from the Pacific Ocean. The rivers in these highlands, with the exception of the Columbia and Colorado, are small and drain into in- terior lakes. Some of the rivers rise on the mountain sides and flow into the arid valleys, only to disappear by sinking into the ground. All the lakes are salt because they have no outlets. The large Columbia River in the north cuts through the northern plateau and empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Colorado River in the south rises in the heights Our Country The Rocky Mountain Highlands 53 of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, cuts deep gorges through the southern plateau and empties into the Gulf of California. The Rocky Mountains are distinctly different from those found in the East. These western mountains are very high and rugged. Most of the tops are rocky. Snow is found on many of the peaks all the year. The ranges are very irregular and do not show the same formation as that of the more eastern mountains. There is no uniformity of direction as was noted in our study of the Appalachians. Most of the mountains have been made by forces pushing the land’s surface directly upward or by the building action of volcanoes. Some ranges found in the state of Oregon have been made by the tilting of a part of the earth’s crust. All of these western mountains are rich in mineral de- posits. The Rocky Mountains proper contain valuable sil- ver and copper mines. The state of Colorado is one of the great silver-producing states of our union. Much gold is found; also iron and other minerals that are useful to man. Many important mineral springs are located in the Rocky Mountains. The most important of these are on the eastern slopes of the range. At the base of the moun- tains on the east are several health resorts that are popular with eastern tourists. These resorts are frequently located near the mineral springs which abound in the region. In some sections are hot geysers that bubble or shoot up 54 Our Country from fhe ground. Many geysers and hot springs are located in the state of Wyoming. The scenery which these mountains present is much grander than that of the Appalachian Highlands. Every- thing in the Rocky Mountains seems built upon a larger scale than in the mountains of the East. Some of the canyons are a mile deep while the peaks are three or four miles high. Vast stretches of plateaus cover large areas in the interior states and offer to tourists a different land- scape from any found elsewhere in our country. West of the Rocky Mountains are two important plateaus. One known as the Columbia Plateau occupies the area in the north about the Columbia and Snake rivers. The other in the south lies along the Colorado River. The northern plateau is composed mostly of intruded lava. This lava is not the product of an active volcano, but came to the surface by slowly oozing from fissures in the earth’s crust. Through this lava bed the Snake River has cut a very interesting and picturesque canyon. This river is a tributary of the Columbia, entering the larger river from the south. In the Snake River are the Shoshone Falls, one of the scenic wonders of the West. These are the second largest falls in our country, being surpassed only by Niagara in western New York. This lava plateau is now covered with trees and vegetation of all kinds. Since the lava covered the region it has had time to change into soil and to produce a luxuriant crop of vegetation. The Rocky Mountain Highlands 55 The Colorado River has also cut a canyon through the southern plateau. In some places this canyon is a mile deep. The Colorado has cut several canyons in the states of New Mexico and Arizona. All of these cuts are inter- esting, but the deepest one, the Grand Canyon, is one of the natural wonders of our country. All of these canyons have been cut through solid rock by aid of the rock waste that the river has brought down from the moun- tains. The river has really never changed its present level, but the plateau has been slowly raised, the river cutting its bed just as fast as the plateau was lifted. This plateau is not well suited for agriculture because the climate is arid. Within recent years many sections have been irrigated and now produce good crops. Expensive dams have been built across the river and artificial lakes have been formed. Water thus stored up is taken to the dry areas through ditches and canals. The soil contains plenty of plant food that becomes available when water is added to it. North of the Colorado Plateau is located the Great Basin of our country. This is a depressed area occupying the larger part of the state of Nevada and much of the state of Utah. The Great Basin is really a saucer-like depression in the plateau section. Most of the land in it is useless for cultivation unless irrigated. The rivers of the basin area are all small and unimportant. Many of them disappear into the ground, others flow into the salt 56 Our Country COLORADO CANYON (Copyright Detroit Pub. Co.) lakes found here. The largest of these lakes is Great Salt Lake, near Salt Lake City, Utah. It is what remains of a once larger lake known as Lake Bonneville. West of the Great Basin are the California mountain ranges. These ranges are called the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. They are high enough to intercept the rain-bearing winds from the Pacific Ocean and to cause the Basin area -to be very arid. The moisture in these westerly winds is condensed upon the western slopes of these ranges, thus leaving the eastern slopes deficient in rainfall. Within the Rocky Mountain Highlands are several The Rocky Mountain Highlands 57 areas owned by the United States Government. These are held as national parks or as forest reservations. Yellow- stone National Park is located in the northwestern corner of the state of Wyoming. This reservation is held as the common property of all our citizens. It contains some of the most beautiful scenery to be found anywhere in the United States. There are many hot springs and geysers within its boundaries. Yellowstone Lake in this park is a beautiful body of water. In other sections of this highland are reservations set aside for the conservation of forests or as homes for Indian tribes. The most important products that come from this area are the minerals deposited in the mountains. In many places extensive mining industries are carried on and the various ores taken from the earth are very valuable. In the northern and eastern sections sheep raising is carried on profitably. The slopes of many of the mountains pro- duce good grass for grazing and there are many sheep ranches here. Much salt is obtained from the regions about the salt lakes and shipped to other parts of our country. Great Salt Lake in Utah is rich in salt deposits and water from this lake is evaporated to get the salt. Sulphur is mined in the states of Arizona and New Mexico. Borax also is obtained from some sections of the plateau. In the mountains of the north, especially in the states of Montana and Idaho, are important copper mines. This mineral is largely used in the manufacture of wire to 58 Our Country conduct electricity. The cities of Anaconda and Butte have large copper smelters where this metal is separated from the ore in which it is found. The Coeur d’ Alene region in the mountains of Montana and Idaho has impor- tant copper deposits. Several railroads cross this section of our country. In the north, the Northern Pacific Railroad with its tributary lines crosses the mountains through the natural passes. This road has done much toward developing that part of the country. In the central section, the Union Pacific Railroad transports quantities of goods that are needed in that region. Across the southern area extends the Southern Pacific which is the outlet for the southern highlands. All these railroad lines extend to principal Pacific ports. Some of the railroad companies own and operate large ocean steamers that carry trade from the western seaports to the cities of Asia. Besides the main lines of railroad there are many smaller tributary lines that con- nect interior parts of the highlands. This region is not as well supplied with railroads as the eastern parts of our country, but new lines are being built continually. The building of large irrigating plants has done much to open great sections of the country to cultivation. As agricul- tural industries increase, there will be a greater demand for transportation and railroads will be built to meet it. The Rocky Mountain Highlands contain many peaks The Rocky Mountain Highlands 59 that once were active volcanoes. The most important of these is Mt. Shasta in northern California. This moun- tain is a part of the Cascade Range and belongs to the highland section. Mt. Shasta is one of the best examples of volcanic formation in our country. It is an extinct volcano that has been built up by successive eruptions. Since the volcano ceased its active work, the mountain top has become covered with snow and ice. There are several well developed glaciers near the top that supply water for small streams running down its sides. The western side of the mountain has been eroded by the moisture condensed from the westerly rain-bearing winds that come from the Pacific Ocean. Surrounding the main peak of Shasta are a number of smaller volcanic cones. Another interesting volcanic mountain is Mt. Mazama in Oregon. Its old crater is filled with a lake known as Crater Lake. A smaller cone has been built up within the main crater and now appears as an island above the i surface of Crater Lake. Mt. Hood in northern Oregon and | Mt. Ranier in Washington are two other volcanic peaks in this region. Pike’s Peak in Colorado is the highest point in the eastern ranges of the Highlands and is a noted resort for tourists. Its top is reached by an incline railroad, but many people prefer to climb its steep sides on foot. Before the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, this section of our country was little known to the eastern settlers. When Lewis and Clark crossed the mountains of 60 Our Country Montana and descended the Columbia River, our people first began to realize the great possibilities that lay dormant in this western country. Some years later, Fremont crossed the highlands from Salt Lake to California and gave his countrymen the first good description of this area. After Fremont made his explorations, Powell descended through the canyon of the Colorado and opened up the southern section. These explorations were the beginning of the develop- ment of the West. When gold was discovered in California in 1849, thousands of our eastern people crossed the moun- tains and arid plains to the Pacific coastal regions. Many of the gold seekers did not live to reach California, but per- ished, leaving their bones in the deserts through which they attempted to pass. The discovery of the precious metals was the second step in the development of the West. The third step was the construction of railroads to the western coast. The first road was finished in 1869 and the develop- ment of this western territory from that time has been rapid. OUR RIVERS AND LAKES The rivers and lakes of our country are important physical features. Besides being natural drainage basins, they influence the climate and offer easy communication between different parts of the country. There are many large rivers in the United States. Each large river with all its tributaries forms what is called a river system. All the land a system drains is called a river basin. All the systems draining in the same general direction and into the same body of water are called drainage areas. There are five great drainage areas in the United States. All the rivers in the eastern part of the country that drain into the Atlantic Ocean belong to the Atlantic drainage area. The large Mississippi River with all its tributaries and all the other rivers that drain into the Gulf of Mexico belong to the Gulf drainage area. In the Plateau section of our country are numerous small rivers that either drain into the inland lakes or else disappear by sinking into the ground. These rivers drain what is known as the Plateau drainage area. Another area, known as the Pacific drain- age area, is drained by those rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean. All those rivers that empty into the Great Lakes or into the St. Lawrence River drain another area known as the Lake drainage area. Besides these there 62 Our Country are a few small rivers that drain into Canada and eventually reach Hudson Bay. Most of the rivers of the Atlantic drainage area rise in the mountains of the Appalachian Highlands. These rivers are comparatively small, but swift flowing. With the exception of the rivers of the South, their waters are clear and sparkling. None of them are navigable for many miles up their courses, but they are important on account of their waterfalls. These waterfalls supply excellent power for manufacturing purposes. Some of these rivers furnish drinking water for the cities located on their banks. Within recent years the power derived from these rivers has been converted into electricity which is transmitted by means of copper cables to distant towns for power and light. Such rivers as the Androscoggin in Maine, the Merrimac in New Hampshire, the Delaware in Pennsylvania and many of the rivers of the South furnish valuable water-power for the manufacturing plants located near them. The Con- necticut River, which rises in the northern part of New Hampshire and flows between that state and Vermont, is one of the most beautiful rivers found in the northeastern part of our country. It flows through a rich, fertile valley known as the Connecticut Valley. It crosses the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut and empties into Long Island Sound. The soil this river has brought down from the north has made the farms along its banks very fertile. Our Rivers and Lakes 63 THE HUDSON RIVER AT WEST POINT (Courtesy N. Y. C. R. R.) The southern portion of the Connecticut Valley produces a fine quality of tobacco. In New York the famous Hudson River flows through the eastern part of the state. It rises in the highlands of the Adirondacks and drops rapidly until it reaches the city of Troy, which is only a few feet above sea level. From 1 this city south to New York City it flows very slowly I because its valley is nearly level. In the southern part | of its course the river passes through the highlands of the Hudson. These highlands consist of high, plateau- like cliffs made of a lava deposit. Just north of the city of New York, these cliffs have been cut into a perpendicular face by the river. This cut in the plateau is known as the 64 Our Country Palisades. The most important tributary of the Hudson is the Mohawk River which enters the main stream from the west. The Mohawk comes from the western part of New York through one of the most important valleys in the world. This Mohawk Valley is a very valuable gateway for trade and is the natural outlet from the western wheat fields to the seaport towns of the Atlantic coast. Both the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers cut their channels across the Appalachian Highlands. These rivers form noted and impoi'tant water-gaps in the mountains. South of the Susquehanna, the Potomac cuts a gap in the western mountains of these highlands. The water-gap at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, is noted in the history of our country. South of the Potomac most of the rivers rise in the highlands, cross the Piedmont Plateau and drop to the Coastal Plain over numerous waterfalls. The location of these falls determines the Fall Line. From this Fall Line to the sea the rivers flow sluggishly across the level Coastal Plain, carving their beds out of the sand of which this plain is made. The rivers of Florida are noted more for their beautiful scenery than for any advantages they offer for manufacturing purposes. Besides the 'great Mississippi River and its tributaries, there are many small rivers that belong to the Gulf drain- age area. Of these smaller rivers, the largest and most important is the Rio Grande which forms the southwestern boundary of Texas. The mouths of all of the Gulf rivers Our Rivers and Lakes 65 are low and swampy, and are often fringed with sand bars built up by river deposits and the currents of the Gulf. The Mississippi system consists of the great Mississippi River with its numerous tributaries. Besides being a river of great historic interest, the Mississippi is the most im- portant waterway lying wholly within our country. It is navigable for good sized vessels from its mouth to St. Paul in Minnesota. North of St. Paul small excursion steamers can ascend the river for a few miles. The first large tributary that enters the main river is the Missouri which flows in from the west. This tributary rises in the mountains of Montana, flows across a number of western states and enters the Mississippi about eleven miles north of the city of St. Louis. If the Mississippi and the Missouri are considered as one river from the source in Montana to the mouth in Louisiana, they form the longest river in the world. The next largest tributary entering the Mississippi is the Ohio River. This stream flows from the western slopes of the Appalachian Highlands and joins the main river about a hundred miles below the Missouri. The lands drained by the Ohio River and its tributaries are some of the richest to be found in our country. South of the Ohio is the Arkansas, which flows into the Mississippi from the west. Below the Arkansas, the Red River enters the main stream from the west. These two rivers drain many of the important southwestern states. From the Ohio River to its mouth the Mississippi is very 66 Our Country winding in its course. Rivers that bend and twist in their course are called meandering rivers. The origin of this term, meandering, is very interesting. There is a river in Asia Minor called the Meander. This river is very winding in its course. Whenever another river was found that wound about, it was said to be like the Meander. Gradually the term became common for all crooked rivers. At the mouth of the Mississippi River is one of the great deltas of the world. When a river washes down a great deal of soil from the upland country which it drains, and deposits this soil at its mouth, it forms a bed or plain called a delta. This name is given to these plains because the shape in which they are formed is like the Greek letter, “delta.” When the water flowing down the river bed meets the still water of the ocean it is checked and the soil par- ticles that it is carrying sink to the bottom and make the delta plains. As these plains are built up, the river water seeks channels through which it may pass. In this way the river is divided into several outlets called distributaries. Tributaries are the streams that flow into a river ; distribu- taries are the streams that flow out of a river. The Mississippi rises at about the forty-eighth parallel of north .latitude and empties into the. Gulf of Mexico at the twenty-eighth. Hence the river flows through twenty degrees of latitude. A river that flows through such an extensive range of territory must be an important river. As its flow is from north to south, there is a great Our Rivers and Lakes 67 variety of climatic conditions found along its course. The soils through which it passes are also varied and offer opportunities for the growing of many different kinds of crops. The Mississippi River passes from the great wheat fields of the North, through the corn areas of the central part of our country, across the cotton belt of the South and through the rice and sugar cane sections of the Gulf coast. Its tributaries stretch into the farthermost corners of the food producing areas of our country. The Mississippi and its tributaries drain the most important area to be found anywhere in the world. The rivers of the Plateau drainage area are all small and of little importance commercially. They lie in the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains. With the exception of the Colorado and Columbia rivers that pass through this area, but do not belong to it, there are no rivers of any great importance. Most of the streams drain into lakes that have no outlets. Many of these inland rivers flow along for several miles and then entirely disappear, either by evaporating in the arid atmosphere or by sinking into the earth and running off as underground rivers. Most of the larger rivers have their sources in the melting snows of the mountaintops. Some of the streams are intermittent; that is, they flow only at certain seasons of the year. Owing to the peculiar formation of the Pacific coast, there are few rivers that belong to the Pacific drainage 68 Our Country area. In the south the Colorado is the most interesting. This river rises high up in the mountains of Colorado and flows through a series of deep gorges and canyons into the Gulf of California. In Arizona the stream has cut a canyon one mile deep in the solid rock. This deep gorge is known as the Grand Canyon and is one of the scenic wonders of our country. All the valley land southwest of the city of Yuma has been built up by the deposits of soil and waste that the Colorado has brought down from the moun- tains. The small valley just north of the head of the Gulf of California is delta land built up by this river. In the northern part of the Pacific drainage area is the Columbia River, This river with its important tributary, the Snake River, drains the states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The main river rises in the highlands, cuts its way through a great lava plateau and enters the Pacific Ocean, forming the boundary between Washington and Ore- gon. The river is noted for the salmon that are caught in I its waters. Valuable forests are found along its banks. The St. Lawrence system consists of five great lakes, the St. Lawrence River and a few small tributary rivers located on the northeast border of our country. Most of the small rivers drain directly into the lakes, but some, like the Riche- lieu River from Lake Champlain, drain into the St. Lawrence. The five lakes constitute the largest and most important bodies of fresh water found anywhere in the world. They are, in order of their location from west to east, Superior, Our Rivers and Lakes 69 ALONG THE GREAT -LAKES Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. The lakes are con- nected by short rivers and canals, so transportation on their ■waters is easy. The canal connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron, called the Soo, is second in importance in the world. Through this canal are carried more tons of freight every year than are transported through any other canal. Between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario is the Niagara River. This river passes from the higher elevation of Lake Erie over a great waterfall to Lake Ontario. This waterfall is one of the two or three great falls of the world. The Niagara River drops more than one hundred and fifty feet into a narrow gorge and rushes along into the lower lake. Within recent years large electric plants have been built on the banks of this river near the falls. These are now utilizing the wonderful water power obtained there. Few of the other lakes of the United States have any commercial use, but they are valuable as sources of drink- 70 Our Country ing water and for the beautiful scenery with which they are surrounded. The lakes of the New England States are noted for their beauty and for the fine summer resorts on their shores. Moosehead in Maine, Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire and Champlain in Vermont are lakes that have wonderful natural settings. The water of these lakes is especially clear. Some of the New England lakes rank in beauty with those of Switzerland. In the western part of New York is a series of lakes known as the Finger Lakes. These lie near the cities of Syracuse and Rochester, and are what remains of an old lake that once covered that section of the state. Near these lakes are valuable deposits of salt that were left by the prehistoric lake. The vegetation that surrounds the lakes of the Southern States is subtropical. In Florida the lakes are fringed with palms and cypress, and some of them afford charming winter resorts. The lakes in the plateau section are all salt. In this area is located the Great Salt Lake of Utah. This lake is all that remains of a much greater body of water that once occupied a large part of the Great Basin. The borders of this prehistoric lake may still be traced along the sides of the highlands. OUR HARBORS It is a great advantage to any country to have a sea- coast. If the country is large and rich in natural products, it is desirable for that country to carry on trade with other countries. This trade is conveniently carried on by water. Both the eastern and western hemispheres have now be- come thickly settled and a very large trade is carried on between them. In order to transport the commodities of one country to another, numerous lines of steamships cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans regularly. If the seacoasts of a country have no good harbors, it is impossible to develop an important foreign trade, as such a trade depends entirely on boats for its transportation. A good harbor is the most important coastal formation that is to be found on the seacoast of any country. Our country is so large and produces such a quantity of the necessities of life that its harbors are of immense advantage to it. A harbor is a place in the coast of a country where vessels may load and unload their cargoes in safety. Har- bors that are used by vessels engaged in foreign trade are called ports. The location of these ports depends on many physical conditions. The harbor must be protected from the heavy waves and high tides of the ocean; it must have a good, deep channel that is open to navigation 72 Our Country throughout the year, and it must be a place where vessels can anchor easily and safely. It must have ample room to accommodate all the ships that wish to use the port. The water of the harbor must be deep enough to allow ves- sels to come near the shore and the coast line must be long enough to permit the erection of enough wharves to ac- commodate the ocean trade. The shore should also extend back a considerable distance so that vehicles used for carry- ing products to the ships may approach the wharves with- out difficulty. There should be a good bottom to the harbor so that vessels may anchor safely. There should not be strong river or tidal currents, as these are likely to injure the vessels while in port. The best of our harbors are also protected by interior highlands that break the force of the continental winds. It is seldom that any one harbor offers all of these advantages, but many harbors combine most of them and form excellent shipping ports for our country. Most of the large ports of the world are situated at or near the mouths of rivers. These ports are generally located as far up the river as ships can go. Savannah, Georgia, is an excellent example of a river harbor. New Orleans, Jacksonville and Philadelphia are other examples. Some harbors are situated at the estuaries of rivers. An estuary is a sort of bay which the ocean has washed out in the mouth of a river, flooding the lower river valley. The St. Lawrence River from Quebec to the seacoast is an Our Harbors 73 estuary and the mouth of the Mersey River in the western part of England is a fine example of this formation. New York is often spoken of as an estuary harbor, but it presents some features of a fiord harbor. A fiord harbor is made where the highlands of a country meet the seacoast and the ocean has flowed into a valley between the hills. There are many good fiord harbors on the coasts of Norway and Alaska. Another form of harbor is known as the delta harbor. This harbor is made by delta deposits at the mouths of rivers. Although New Orleans is now considered a. river harbor it is really a delta-built harbor, for the Mississippi has deposited all the land forming the southern part of Louisiana. Many sandy bars and reefs are built out from the shore line enclosing bodies of water that are well pro- tected from storms, but many are too shallow to admit any but smaller vessels. Such harbors are called lagoon harbors. Galveston, Texas, has a harbor that was orig- inally formed in this way, but it has been improved and enlarged by artificial means. When a volcanic cone sinks to sea level and the rim is broken in, the seawater will fill the crater. Such a harbor is called a crater harbor; an example of this kind is found in the Island of Ischia near the city of Naples in Italy. Coral reefs and atolls often form good harbors. The city of Hamilton in the Bermuda Islands has an atoll harbor. An atoll is built in the shape of a belt enclosing a lagoon of seawater. If 74 Our Country there is a break in this belt through which vessels may pass, the lagoon often offers excellent harbor facilities. The presence of harbors determines the location of our most important seaport cities. Wherever the coast is much broken by indentations of the ocean, harbors of some kind are likely to abound and those harbors which have easy communication with the interior parts of the continent will become great ports of trade. The locations of such cities as New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco are not accidental, but are directly due to cer- tain geographic conditions. The nearness of productive areas, the location of natural waterways and the ease with which railroads may be built largely determine our centers of export trade. As the Atlantic coast of our country is longer and more irregular than the Pacific coast there are many more harbors on it. In general, the harbors of the North are deeper and better than the harbors of the South, be- cause the coast is more irregular and not so low. Such cities in the North as Portland, Portsmouth, Boston, New York and Philadelphia have excellent harbors. The ports of the southern coasts are generally river ports. They are not so deep as the north Atlantic ports, nor are they so well situated for carrying on a foreign trade with the ports of Europe. Since the opening of the Panama Canal, all the ports of the Gulf and most of the ports of the south Our Harbors 75 Atlantic states are experiencing an increase of trade, and a greater prosperity will naturally follow this advantage. There are few good harbors on the Pacific coast be- cause the shore line is more regular than that of the east- ern border of our country. Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, and San Francisco are the leading ports of this coast. The harbors of Seattle and Tacoma are located on an arm of the Pacific Ocean that has overflowed a valley and formed a fiord. Portland is a river harbor. The harbor of San Francisco has been made by the ocean reaching through a gap in the coast range of mountains and overflowing a small valley east of the mountains. The mouth of this har- bor is called the Golden Gate. It is noted for its beautiful sunset effects. Sometimes harbors are built by man. Frequently it is inconvenient to take the products of an area to some nat- ural harbor, therefore artificial harbors are constructed near the area of production. Large stone breakwaters are built out into the ocean, enclosing a part of the sea. These ( breakwaters protect the harbor from the most severe storms and offer a fairly good shelter for anchored vessels. Both the cities of Colon and Panama have artificially built harbors. Many European cities also have harbors con- structed in this way. In California the city of San Pedro has an artificial harbor that is protected by a breakwater two miles long. 76 Our Country For a number of years the harbor of Portsmouth on the coast of New Hampshire was considered the best har- bor on the Atlantic seaboard, but it is now surpassed by many others. When the ship Great Eastern came to this country for the first time, the harbor of Portsmouth was the only one large enough for that vessel to enter. Now we have many ships larger than the Great East- ern that ply between many of our north Atlantic ports and Europe. Transatlantic steamship lines run regularly from Portland, Boston, New York and Philadelphia. These ships carry thousands of passengers and many tons of valuable freight. Most of the large railroads that cross the country terminate in these cities and bring the products of the West for export to foreign countries. Portland is the center of a large Canadian export trade. Boston and New York take the products of the Middle West and send them across the ocean in vessels that use their harbors for ports of call, while Philadelphia exports the ores found in the eastern mountains of our country. From the ports south of Baltimore a great deal of cotton and naval stores are shipped to European countries. From Savannah on the southeast coast, Mobile and Galveston on the Gulf and New Orleans on the Mississippi River there are many lines of steamers that carry the southern products to Liverpool, Manchester and the German ports. The trade of the ports of the Pacific is carried on mostly with China and Japan. Various manufactured articles, including machinery and Our Harbors 77 lumber, are shipped across the Pacific Ocean, and teas, spices and silks are brought back. Boston is the most important port in the New England States. It is the exporting center for the products of that region. The harbor is not very large, but it is well pro- tected by a series of skirting islands that shut off the severe storms of the north Atlantic. On the landward side the harbor is sheltered by a range of low hills that break the severe winds from the west. The harbor of New York is the most important one in our country. This port is located at the mouth of the Hud- son River and consists of two distinct parts, the upper and the lower bay. The city of New York is on the island of Manhattan, which is separated from the mainland by the Hudson River on the west and the Harlem River on the north, which extends from the Hudson River to the East River. East River is a strait between the cities of New York and Brooklyn that connects Long Island Sound with the harbor of New York. The upper bay lies west of Long Island and fur- nishes over fifty miles of wharfage. This large docking area extends northward on both sides of the city and is utilized every day in the year by the vessels that make New York their port of call. The lower bay is not so deep as the upper one, being a shallow indentation of the At- lantic Ocean. This bay is protected on the southeast by a sandy hook that has been built out from the New Jersey 78 Our Country NEW YORK HARBOR (Copyright Detroit Pub. Co.) coast into the Atlantic Ocean. The eastern side is pro- tected by another sand bar known as Coney Island. These two bars threaten to enclose the harbor, as they are con- tinually being built up by the washing of the ocean cur- rents. Many thousands of dollars are spent annually in deepening the channel of this harbor so that large vessels used in modern. commerce may have no trouble in entering the port. The harbor of Philadelphia is located on the Delaware River. The city is situated some distance from the mouth of the river because the lower river banks are so sandy that they do not form a good location for a large city. Our Harbors 79 Philadelphia is near the coal areas of the East and has ex- cellent railroad communication with the mines. The city has a good channel to the ocean and many large Atlantic liners use its wharves. As Philadelphia has no easy com- munication with the West it does not equal New York as a port of commerce. New York has a natural gateway in the Mohawk and Hudson valleys through which the heavy raw products of the West may be easily and cheaply trans- ported. Baltimore is situated on an arm of Chesapeake Bay. It is an important manufacturing center and has a large coastal and foreign trade. Chesapeake Bay is open through- out the year and furnishes access to the interior towns. Wilmington, the seaport of North Carolina, is located on Cape Fear River near its mouth. It has a good coastwise trade, but little foreign commerce. The city of Charles- ton is the port of South Carolina and has important coastal connections. Savannah is the principal port of Georgia. It is located on the river of the same name and has an exten- sive river harbor that has been greatly improved by dredg- ing. Savannah has the largest trade in naval stores of any city in the world and ranks high as a lumber and cotton ' port. As a cotton exporting city it ranks third in our coun- try. Jacksonville, on the St. Johns River in Florida, ex- ports a great deal of lumber and has important sawmill in- dustries. The country about Jacksonville is so low and the 80 Our Country river valley is so level that the tides of the ocean pass up the St. Johns River above the city. The six important ports on or near the Gulf coast are Key West, Tampa and Pensacola in Florida, Mobile in Ala- bama, New Orleans in Louisiana, and Galveston in Texas. New Orleans is the largest of these cities and is located on the left bank of the Mississippi River, about one hundred miles from its mouth. Large vessels pass up the Mississippi to the wharves of this city to take the products of the South to foreign markets. Galveston and New Orleans are large cotton shipping ports, New Orleans being the most impor- tant cotton port in the South. Mobile is situated on the west shore of Mobile Bay, in Alabama. This city has a large coastwise trade and sends many of its products to other sections of the country. Pensacola is the port of western Florida and has an excellent harbor. Tampa, on Tampa Bay, is the port of southwestern Florida. It imports tobacco, which is manufactured into cigars in the factories of the city. On one of the islands extending from the south- ern extremity of Florida is the city of Key West. This city is also a large tobacco importing center. Within recent years Key West' has been connected with the mainland by a railroad built over the Florida Keys. Extending part of its way over the open ocean, this road is one of the engineering feats of recent times and has opened the city to a large do- mestic trade. Our Harbors 81 The most important port on the Pacific coast is San Francisco. This city is situated on a peninsula stretching northward to the Golden Gate. San Francisco’s harbor has fine protection and plenty of wharfage. Most of the foreign trade of the city is carried on with China and Japan. The city imports sugar from the Hawaiian Islands. Fruits, lumber and some grain are exported. Along the north Pa- cific coast are three important seaports. Portland in Ore- gon is located on the Willamette River and has excellent river harbor facilities. The city is in a grain producing area and has also large lumber interests. Both of these products are exported from its harbor. Seattle and Tacoma are the seaports of the state of Washington. These two cities are located on Puget Sound and their foreign trade is carried on with Asiatic countries and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The city of Sitka is the seaport of southern Alaska, while Nome in the northwest is the center of trade for that section of this territory. The mineral and fishing products of Alaska pass through these ports on their way to the United States. As the agricultural interests of Alaska develop, large cargoes of grain will probably be shipped from these cities to ports in our country. OUR AGRICULTURAL AREAS The most important agricultural products raised in this country are the cereals and hay. Corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye and rice are the cereals in common use. The states com- prising the northern part of the Mississippi Valley produce the largest yields of these crops. Illinois has the largest acreage of any of these states, and Iowa, Indiana and Ohio follow closely. The corn crop is more generally distributed over the country than any of the other cereals. More than half the corn raised is produced east of the Mississippi River. On the other hand, the largest wheat yield is pro- duced west of the Mississippi. In New England and in the Middle Atlantic States the oat crop is more important than the corn crop. Barley is relatively unimportant as a cereal. More of this grain is raised along the Pacific coast than any- where else. Rye is also an unimportant crop, forming only about six and a half per cent of the total acreage given up to the cereals in the Mississippi Valley, and it forms a still lower acreage in other parts of the country. Rice is important in the southern and southwestern districts. The North Central States, owing to favorable location, have the largest cereal acreage of any section of the United States. Within recent years the acreage in corn has increased in Our Agricultural Areas 83 the South until now two-fifths of the corn acreage is located in this region. The great agricultural areas of our country will be found where the rainfall is at least twenty inches a year. Wherever the rainfall is less than this, either irrigation or dry farming must be practiced. The great transcontinental railroads have opened up the farming areas of the Middle West and made communication easy between the farms and the eastern markets. If farming lands are too arid for the production of crops, extensive irrigation plants are erected to supply water. Whenever irrigation is impossible, the farmers practice what is called dry farming. Dry farming is the process of conserving rainfall in order to raise a 84 Our Country single crop. Sometimes the rainfall of two or three years is used for the production of one crop. The method employed is the frequent cultivation of the surface soil, which keeps the top layer well pulverized and prevents the soil moisture from evaporating into the air. The introduction of those crops that require the least moist- ure has also been an important factor in developing agri- culture in the arid portions of the West. The factors necessary for the successful growing of corn are the proper soil, sufficient rainfall, abundant sunshine and the right temperature. These factors are absolutely necessary if this cereal is to be grown profitably. Tem- perature limits the corn producing areas to certain sections of the world. The presence or absence of rain influences the yield per acre. The most favorable conditions for the growth of corn are occasional rains, with intervening sun- shine. The best soil is that which can be easily drained. The great corn area of our country is located in the upper Mississippi Valley. This area lies south of the Great Lakes and contains an exceedingly rich soil, easily culti- vated and well. adapted to corn growing. Very little fer- tilizer is necessary to enrich the land and the rainfall is gen- erally sufficient for all growing purposes. Much of the rain that reaches this section of our country is brought by the cyclonic winds from the Gulf of Mexico. This corn area is not so far north that it has very cold winds nor so far south Our Agricultural Areas 85 that it comes within the influence of a subtropical climate. Corn demands a long, warm growing season, and the inte- rior states, with Ohio on the east and Nebraska on the west, offer almost ideal conditions for the growth of this cereal. Aside from its natural advantages of soil and climate, this area is well located for easy communication with the other parts of the country. By means of its water routes and its large railroads, all the markets of the East and West are within easy access. The topography of the coun- try is either level or slightly rolling and large farms can be cultivated without much labor and with little expense. The five leading states in the production of corn are Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska. While this region is the great corn producing section of the United States, crops of this cereal are cultivated in most of the other states of the union. The Plateau region, the Pacific States and the New England region have the smallest corn acreage of any sections of our country. All the South Atlantic and Gulf states have greatly increased their production of corn dur- ing the last decade. Both the northern and southern hemispheres produce wheat. The wheat area of the United States has decreased somewhat during the last ten years, but the production of wheat was greater in 1909 than it was in 1899. The wheat area is located in the north central part of the coun- try, the states producing the largest yields being North 86 Our Country Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. These states all lie west of the Mississippi and are parts of the Lake Plains and Great Plains of the West. North Dakota, the leading state in wheat acreage, lies within the valley of the Red River of the North, one of the most im- portant wheat sections in the whole world. One of the great wheat areas of North America is just north of the United States in Canada. The Manitoba wheat fields produce the largest yields of any wheat fields on the continent. Cali- fornia on the Pacific coast is also a good wheat state. Wash- ington in the northwestern corner of our country has re- cently forged ahead in the production of this food product. The best oats are grown under cooler climatic conditions than either corn or wheat demand. This grain also needs considerable moisture in order to mature well. Owing to its favorable geographic location, Europe produces the largest oat yield of any of the continents. The cool climate of the northern sections of that continent, together with the moist climate it enjoys, makes Europe almost an ideal place for the growing of oats. The production of this cereal nearly doubled in our country between the years 1879 and 1889. Since the latter date, the increase in production has been much less. All the states of the Middle North are good oat producing states. The New England States on the north- east and the Plateau States on the northwest produce some oats, but not enough for home consumption. Our Agricultural Areas 87 In the order named, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin have the largest acreage in oats of any states in the union; while Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota produce the greatest number of bushels of this crop. The climatic and soil conditions of these states are excellent for the growing of this grain. The increase in acreage of this crop has taken place in every state of the section west of the Mississippi and also in every state of the northeast part of the central division. In the other sections a decrease has been noted. The only southern state that shows an increase is South Carolina. The barley yield per acre is highest in the Plateau division. The largest yields for states as a whole come from Minnesota, California, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Barley is not a very important cereal crop with us and our farmers have never been able to compete with the European farmers in raising it. Rye is a northern crop. It demands a cooler growing season than is to be found in the southern states. During the last ten years the production of rye has increased con- siderably in the mountain division and in the central di- vision of the country, but the crop production has decreased in other parts of the United States. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New York are the leading rye producing states of the union. No states lying south of the Ohio River rank as rye producing states. 88 Our Country Rice is a crop that grows well in a warm climate where there is plenty of moisture. In the lowlands of our South- ern States, along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, the crop thrives well and large areas are given up to its production. South Carolina on the Atlantic coast and Louisiana and Texas on the Gulf coast are our great rice producing states. Louisiana ranks first in the acreage devoted to this crop, Texas second, Arkansas third and South Carolina fourth. In the total number of bushels produced the order of the states is the same. The Southern States bordering the At- lantic Ocean produce less rice now than they did ten years ago. Two of the Gulf States, Alabama and Mississippi, also show a decrease during the last decade. The change in location of the center of rice production has been caused by the use of the delta land about the Mississippi River and along the coast of Texas. The term hay includes numerous crops used for the feeding of animals. Most of the hay that is raised in this country is either grass or some leguminous crop. Of the legumes, clover and vetch are the best known and the most widely used. Alfalfa is a leguminous crop that is coming into general use for hay. The term forage includes all ani- mal foods, such as hay, straw, grass and roots. In general, the term applies to a plant that is fed green. If oats were cut and fed to animals when the plant is green, it would be termed a forage crop; if it is allowed to ripen and is then Our Agricultural Areas 89 used for food, it is called a cereal crop. During the last ten years there has been an increase of about twenty-three per cent in the amount of hay and forage raised in this country. The hay crop is one of the most valuable crops of our coun- try. Its value is about fifteen per cent of the value of all crops. The only two crops that are more important than hay are corn and cotton. Timothy and clover mixed, form the most valuable hay crop we raise. The great hay area of our country occupies much the same territory as the corn area, except that it extends a little farther east. All states raise some hay, but the five leading hay producing states are Iowa, New York, Nebraska, Kansas and Minne- sota. The arid sections of our country do not produce much hay. The Southern States are rapidly advancing in the value of the- hay products raised within their boundaries. In the North, hay that is to be used on the farm is generally stored in barns or silos, and is fed to the cattle whenever needed. In many parts of the country the stubble in the field is used for grazing purposes after the hay is cut. The value of the hay crop varies considerably on ac- count of the cost of transportation. This is a crop that can always be sold and is not a difficult one to raise. Much of the hay that comes from the northwest part of the central division of the country is composed of prairie grasses, while that which comes from the Pacific sections consists of 90 Our Country grasses that have been cut in a green state. The coarser kinds of forage come from the states west of the Mis- sissippi River. In many states the grasses grown in the fields are used for pasturage. On the slopes of the Rocky Mountains many sheep are pastured on the grasses that grow there. OUR MINING AREAS Mining is one of the most important industries in the United States. The mineral production of our country is valued at over one and one-half billion dollars yearly and is about equal in value to the mineral products of all the rest of the world. The mine products of the United States represent about one-tenth of the value of all other products. Minerals are generally divided into two classes; metal- lic and non-metallic. Metallic minerals, such as iron and silver, are those that have a luster; non-metallic minerals, such as coal, have no luster. The production of coal and iron amounts to more than one-half the total value of all our mineral products. The five most important metallic products are iron, cop- per, gold, silver and lead. Our country produces about one- third of all the iron mined in the world. The next most important iron producing country is Great Britain. Iron is found in all sections of our country, though not in suffi- cient quantities in all places to make mining profitable. Minnesota, Michigan and Alabama are three of the largest iron producing states. The mines in Minnesota and Wis- consin Me along the border of Lake Superior. Both these states have very valuable iron deposits. The most noted iron area in this part of our country is known as the Mesaba district. At this place the iron ore is dug out of the sur- £h K £ £3 O O K £3 O (u O M < M K < ►J < O (Courtesy U. S. Department of Commerce.) Our Mining Areas 93 face soil with large steam shovels and loaded directly on cars which carry it to the cities on Lake Superior for trans- portation to eastern manufacturing plants. Most of the iron mined in this area is taken to Pittsburg, Chicago and Cleveland to be manufactured into marketable products. When iron is dug from the ground it is generally found mixed with other elements, such as sulphur and phosphate. These mixtures are called ores. Iron to be used for manu- facturing purposes must be separated from other sub- stances. To make this separation, the ore is taken to large furnaces, where it is heated very hot. When the ore is melted, the liquid runs off into molds and cools in the form of pig iron. This pig iron is used in the manufacture of steel and other forms of commercial iron. The ore found in the Mesaba region is free from impurities and therefore easily manufactured into pig iron. The city of Duluth on Lake Superior is the port through which most of this iron ore is shipped to the eastern markets. The iron fields of Alabama are in the northeastern part of that state, and are very valuable. They lie along the ridges of the Appalachian Highlands and are close to the coal fields. The presence of coal and iron in the same area makes iron manufacturing especially profitable. Limestone, which is also used in the melting of iron ore, is abundant in this region. Iron ore is found in the states of New York and Penn- sylvania. The deposits are not so extensive as in the other 94 Our Country states mentioned, but some iron is mined and manufactured. On account of the fact that many iron smelters are located in northern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, the lake trans- portation of iron ore is heavy. Thousands of vessels pass annually through the Great Lakes carrying the iron ore of the western areas to the eastern manufacturing centers. The production of copper in our country ranks second in importance to that of iron. More than one-half the world’s copper comes from the United States. Most of the important copper mines are located in the West. Montana in the northwestern part of our country produces almost forty-five per cent of the copper mined. Michigan ranks second as a copper producing state, and Arizona third. The Anaconda mines in Montana are the most important cop- per mines in the world. The mines of Michigan produce an almost pure copper that is easily manufactured into com- mercial commodities. The most noted mine in the Michigan district is the Calumet on the Keweenaw Peninsula. This peninsula projects from the northern section of Michigan into Lake Superior. A small range of mountains that con- tains large copper deposits occupies this area. The United States is one of the important gold produc- ing countries of the world. In 1849 gold was discovered in California and immediately many people from the East flocked into that state. Today the states of California and Colorado produce most of the gold we use. In the early days of the gold fever many towns and settlements were Our Mining Areas 95 established in the mountains of eastern California. Gold is found in most of the states of the Rocky Mountain High- lands and in some of the states along the south Atlantic coast. The deposits found in these Atlantic States are not important or commercially valuable, but the gold deposits of the western highlands are very valuable. Within recent years, large gold deposits have been found in Alaska and in Canada. With the further development of Alaska, gold will probably be mined more extensively there than at present. The intrinsic value of gold has made it a standard for most monetary systems. All the leading countries of the world have their currency based on the gold standard, but the rareness of the metal prevents its very general use. Silver, which is the next most important precious metal, is used in coining most of our money. The relationship between the values of silver and gold establishes the in- trinsic value of our coins. The United States produces about one-third of the silver output of the world. Silver is found in the same areas in which gold is found. The profitable mining of silver takes place in all of the states of the Rocky Mountain region. In the order of their rank, Colorado, Montana, Utah and Idaho are the great silver producing states. This metal is mined as an ore, but it comes in such small quantities that it is not profitable to transport the ores a great distance. Most of the smelting of silver is done at the mines. After the first smelting, 96 Our Country the resulting material, called matte, is sometimes trans- ported to eastern markets for further smelting. In comparison with the other countries of the world, the United States does not produce as much lead as gold and silver. Lead and silver come from the same area. Most silver bearing ores contain a great deal of lead, so that lead is often an important by-product of the silver smelters. In Missouri and Kansas, and in the western districts of Wis- consin, lead is mined without reference to any silver de- posits. In these areas and in a small area in northwestern Illinois lead occurs in the soil as lead ore. Colorado and Idaho of the western states, and Missouri, Kansas and Wis- ■ consin of the central states, are the great lead producing states of our country. The non-metallic minerals of the United States in the order of their importance are coal, petroleum, building stone and natural gas. There are many other non-metallic minerals, such as the clays, gypsum, sulphur, etc., that are important commercial products. Coal is by far the most important non-metallic mineral. Its value is second only to that of our hay crop. Without our coal products very little manufacturing could be done. The coal beds of our country are situated in four sections. The first is located along the western slope of the Appalachian Highlands. The second occupies the lowlands of the Mississippi Valley and extends into the state of Texas. The third is a small area in southern Michigan and the fourth consists of scattered Our Mining Areas 97 areas throughout the eastern section of the Rocky Moun- tain Highlands. The coal mined in our country consists of two kinds, the anthracite and the bituminous. The first is known as hard coal and contains fewer impurities than the bituminous. It is generally found in the mountainous regions where the earth’s crust has undergone some form of pressure. Bitu- minous is the name given to soft coal. It is more easily mined than hard coal and is found in the plateau areas and in the lower level lands. Bituminous coal is much more im- pure than anthracite. The principal bituminous coal fields are: First, the area stretching from southwestern New York to northern Alabama along the western Appalachians; second, the cen- tral coal fields located in the states of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri ; third, the northern area found in Michigan ; fourth, the scattered areas of the Rocky Mountains, and fifth, a few isolated areas along the Pacific coast. About one-tenth of the bituminous coal mined is made into coke. Pennsylvania produces more than half of our coke and much of it is consumed in the production of iron and steel. The mines of Alabama produce coal which is used in the iron and steel mills of that state. The soft coal of the Mississippi Valley is transported to the manufac- turing cities of the Middle West. The coal areas of the Rocky Mountains supply the iron mills of that region. Soft coal is very valuable for manufacturing purposes because it 98 Our Country is cheaply mined and because it will ignite easily. The ob- jections to its use are the great amount of smoke and the large quantity of ashes left after burning. There are many impurities in this coal, but on account of cheapness it is generally used in large manufacturing plants. The anthracite coal fields are in the northeastern part of the state of Pennsylvania. The area of these fields is not extensive, but the deposits found beneath the surface are very large. Small deposits of hard coal are also found in Colorado and New Mexico. Pennsylvania furnishes prac- tically all the marketable product of this kind of coal. In spite of the small area in which it is found, anthracite is so much more abundant in this state than the bituminous that the total output is almost one-fourth the weight of all the soft coal mined throughout the country. Petroleum is an oil found in the earth and is valuable for its burning properties. It may be used for lighting or heating and is obtained by boring wells and tapping the oil below the surface of the ground. This oil is generally found in the coal regions. There are two areas in the world noted for the production of petroleum. One is located in .Russia and the other in the United States. These areas produce about equal amounts of this mineral, but the product found in the United States is purer than that found in Russia. The largest oil fields in the United States are located in the East, along the western borders of the Appalachian Our Mining Areas 99 Highlands. Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and east- ern Ohio have extensive oil fields. The second most impor- tant field is situated in the state of California on the Pacific coast. This state produced in 1914 the largest amount of petroleum of any one state in the union. In Oklahoma and in southeastern Texas are other important oil fields. An- other large oil producing section is found in western Ohio and eastern Indiana. The oil in this region is pumped from the wells directly into tanks o