POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY[6]
[6] As stated in the preface, several chapters have been omitted from
this book on account of limitations of space. The portions of the
original manuscript referred to relate to the geography of fisheries,
forestry, mining, commerce, agriculture, etc. In discussing each of
these themes, the control exerted by natural conditions or environment
on human affairs made itself prominent because of the immediate
influence of corrective failures when nature's laws are disregarded. A
less attractive phase of the study of the relation of man to nature is
furnished by political geography, in which the influence of something
opposed to environment becomes prominent, and as history shows has in
the main exerted a major control over the geography of nations. That
something, as is well known, is the greed of peoples. Space is here
claimed for a part of my original manuscript for the reason that it
presents a view of political adjustments not usually taken and in a way
perhaps pessimistical, which may awaken opposition, and also because it
contains a summary of the results of a long series of struggles among
various nations for the possession of the North American continent. Of
greater moment than the rivalries of nations for territory, as is also
outlined, is the conflict between two radically different principles of
government--the monarchical and the republican--in which this continent
has furnished the chief battle-grounds. Did space permit, the influence
of geographical conditions on the growth and development of the
fundamental ideas of government could be illustrated by American
history, and the probability that environment will in the end gain
ascendency over local self-interests in the establishing of national
boundaries made prominent.
Among the prominent facts dealt with in the study of political geography
and of history are the territorial limits of nations. For this reason
the characteristics of boundaries are of fundamental importance, and a
classification of them is convenient, if not essential.
CLASSIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES
The boundaries between nations, states, provinces, etc., established in
various ways, may be classified, at least provisionally, in six
groups. We may term these groups _coast boundaries_, _astronomical
boundaries_, _water boundaries_, _mountain boundaries_, _divide
boundaries_, and _arbitrary boundaries_.
_Coast Boundaries._--The junction of the sea and land on the borders of
continents and islands furnishes natural and sharply defined lines,
which are clearly the most desirable of any of the various classes of
boundaries for defining political limits. By international consent the
jurisdiction of a country bordering on the "high seas" is a line one
marine league seaward from the margin of the land, and following its
meanders. As an international dividing line the one-league limit seldom,
if ever, becomes important, since the nice adjustment of the width of an
arm of the sea necessary for such a purpose rarely occurs. When an
extension of the ocean's waters intervening between two nations is less
than two marine leagues wide the boundary between them commonly follows
its medial line, and has all the essential features of a water boundary,
described below.
_Astronomical Boundaries._--The shape of the earth and its motions in
reference to the sun are such that certain imaginary lines on its
surface may be located with precision by astronomers, and if the
monuments or other marks employed to show the positions of such lines
are removed they can be accurately relocated. The lines referred to are
principally parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude, and
boundaries, so far as they coincide with these lines, may for
convenience be classed as astronomical boundaries.
Examples of the class of boundaries here indicated are furnished by the
one defining the east border of the main body of Alaska, which, as
defined in a treaty made in 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, is
the one hundred and forty-first meridian west of Greenwich; and by the
boundary between Canada and the continental portion of the United States
from near the Lake of the Woods westward to the coast of the continent,
which, as finally decided in a treaty between Great Britain and the
United States in 1846, is the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude.
The boundaries of a number of the States of the United States and of
several of the provinces of Canada are either wholly or in part
parallels of latitude or meridians of longitude, and furnish good
examples of what are here termed astronomical boundaries.
The most conspicuous advantages of astronomical boundaries are that they
may be accurately described without a knowledge of the country through
which they pass. They can be located with precision and their courses
accurately marked by monuments. For these reasons astronomical
boundaries, when clearly defined in treaties between nations or in laws
concerning the territorial limits of states or provinces, leave no room
for contention as to their positions.
The leading objections to the use of astronomical boundaries,
particularly as international dividing lines, are: The temptation they
offer to diplomats and others, who may be interested in the speedy
conclusion of a treaty, to make hasty divisions of territory without
knowing its resources or commercial and other possibilities. Then, too,
such boundaries cross the land without reference to its topography, and
have no essential relations to the courses of streams or the directions
of coast-lines, etc. They may divide a fruitful valley in a most
arbitrary and inconvenient manner between two nations with widely
different laws and customs, or cross a navigable river at several
localities, and intersect a coast or lake shore so as to initiate
complex conditions in respect to harbours, navigation, customs duties,
etc. In these and still other ways boundaries coinciding with lines of
latitude and longitude are apt to bring about detrimental commercial and
other relations between adjacent nations, states, and provinces. A
region which is an industrial unit--as the gold fields of the Klondike
district, the iron-bearing tracts to the west of Lake Superior, the
wheat-lands of the Red River Valley, the forested lands of the northwest
coast, etc.--when divided between two or more countries with different
laws is deprived of the advantages that should follow from the natural
course of industrial development, and one part or the other suffers in
consequence.
[Illustration: PLATE VII.--Distribution of governments in North
America.]
Again, until an astronomical boundary is surveyed and marked on
the ground by skilled geodesists, it cannot be located even
approximately by miners, trappers, foresters, and others, and many
difficulties are apt to arise in this connection.
Although an astronomical boundary once decided on and formally recorded
in a treaty leaves no excuse for national quarrels as to its position,
it is evident that its far-reaching and perhaps highly complex
influences on the development of neighbouring peoples are likely to be
such that the natural resources, conditions affecting transportation,
etc., of the region through which it passes should be thoroughly
understood before a final decision is reached.
_Water Boundaries._--In numerous instances the medial line or one shore
of a stream, lake, estuary, strait, or other water body not recognised
as a part of the "high seas" has been selected to serve as a fence
between nations and states; collectively, such boundaries, typically
represented by a river without islands, flowing between well-defined and
permanent banks, may conveniently be termed water boundaries. In
general, when a stream, lake, etc., is a national or state boundary, its
medial line, or the centre of the deepest channel when there is more
than one, is defined as the precise line of demarcation.
The leading features of water boundaries are illustrated by a portion of
the line separating the United States from Canada, which traverses the
middle of the St. Lawrence River, and divides medially several of the
Great Lakes and their connecting streams. The south boundary of the
United States is also in part a water boundary, and is defined by treaty
as "the middle line of the Rio Grande, or its deepest channel where
there is more than one."
In certain instances, when a river, lake, bay, etc., separates two
political organizations, one shore or the other may be defined by treaty
or by law as the actual line of separation, and even complex relations
may exist, in reference to jurisdiction over the dividing waters. The
water boundary between New York and New Jersey, for example, is, in
part, the middle line of the Hudson and of New York Bay, etc., with
several qualifications, including exclusive jurisdiction by New
York over all the waters of the Hudson to the west of Manhattan Island
to the low-water line on the New Jersey shore, subject, however, to
certain rights of property and of jurisdiction of the State of New
Jersey, etc. The waters of Delaware River are, by agreement between New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, a common highway, over which each State "shall
enjoy and exercise a concurrent jurisdiction within and upon the water,
and not upon the dry land between the shores of said river"; the islands
in the river being specifically assigned to the one or the other State.
The advantages of a water boundary are suggested by the fact that in
most instances they may be easily located, even by persons inexperienced
in the method of surveying. Coinciding, as they generally do, with
definite geographical divisions, they do not lead in a conspicuous
manner to complications in the industrial development of the countries
or States separated by them.
The difficulties to which water boundaries may give rise are indicated
by the fact that streams, more particularly than the other water bodies
in question, frequently divide so as to inclose islands, and in certain
instances on nearing the sea send off, perhaps, several distributaries,
which discharge through independent mouths. When a stream divides so as
to inclose an island, even if the main or the deepest channel is
specified by treaty or by law as the one chosen as a boundary, the
question as to which of two channels is really the larger or the deeper
may not permit of definite answer. Streams are subject to many changes,
and what is the main channel one year may become of secondary rank the
next year, or a river, as not infrequently happens, may shift its course
bodily, and thus furnish grounds for contention as to the ownership of
the territory transferred from one of its banks to the other. The
distributaries of streams, or the separate channels into which they
divide on deltas, etc., are also subject to conspicuous and sometimes
sudden changes. Who could decide, for instance, which is the main
channel of such rivers as the Mississippi, the Nile, or the Ganges, in
the delta portions of their courses; or if a choice seemed practicable,
is there any assurance that the distributary largest to-day will
maintain its supremacy for a decade to come, or even be in existence a
century hence?
The controversies that may arise in reference to which of two channels
in a designated water body is the main one, are illustrated by the
well-known "San Juan episode," which came near bringing on hostilities
between Great Britain and the United States in reference to the
ownership of certain islands in the Strait of Georgia; the immediate
subject of contention being whether "the channel which separates the
continent from Vancouvers Island," as the statement reads in the
Webster-Ashburton treaty, 1846, passes to the east or to the west of the
San Juan Islands. The Emperor of Germany, as is well known, acting as
arbitrator, decided that the islands belong to the United States. Thus,
in 1872, a series of disputes as to the Canadian-United-States boundary,
which had been carried on for ninety years, was closed.
While water boundaries, and especially rivers, in certain instances,
have furnished almost ideal dividing lines between nations, in other
instances they have proved to be objectionable. The difference lies in
the nature of the streams themselves, and illustrates the fact that,
with water boundaries as with other classes of dividing lines between
nations, a critical knowledge of the geography of the region through
which they pass is a prerequisite of treaty making, if subsequent
boundary disputes are to be avoided.
_Mountain Boundaries._--The crests of mountain ranges, or mountain
chains, are sometimes specified in treaties as defining territorial
limits. The ideal mountain range is one having a generally straight
alignment and a continuous and sharply defined crest, but in nature this
ideal is seldom attained. Modern geographical studies have shown that
many so-called mountains, which from a distance appear to be
well-defined uplifts with sharp crest-lines, are in reality broad
plateaus or great domes, deeply dissected by stream erosion. In such
instances it is frequently difficult to decide where the crest of the
range is located. Indeed, as is not infrequently the case, there is no
definite and tangible crest-line. Although it is sometimes assumed that
the crest-line coincides with the water-parting, or the divide, between
the head branches of streams flowing in opposite directions from
a mountain-like uplift, it is well known that a mountain range, even
when bold and sharply defined, may not be a divide for the principal
streams of the region where it is situated. An illustration in point is
furnished by the Appalachian Mountains, through which the Susquehanna,
Delaware, and other important rivers rising in the plateau to the west
flow transversely in deep valleys and empty into the Atlantic.
The recent controversy between Argentina and Chile was due to an
assumption in a treaty between them that the crest-line of the southern
Andes coincides with the water-parting between the streams flowing to
the Atlantic and those discharging into the Pacific. Post-treaty
surveys, as they may suggestively be termed, have shown that in the
portion of the Andes in question streams rising well to the east of the
mountains flow westward through them in deep transverse canyons, and that
there is a wide discrepancy between the continental water-parting and
the topographic crest-line of the continent.
A mountain boundary, if defined as the line along which the upward
slopes on the opposite sides of a prominent uplift meet in its summit
portion, would in most instances be irregular and perhaps conspicuously
intricate, for the reason that mountain crests are modified and shaped
by erosion and migrate in one direction or another according to the
strength and other qualifying conditions of the opposite-flowing
streams. Then, too, an uplift which seems to a casual observer to be a
single mountain range, may in reality be highly complex, and no
continuous crest-line be discoverable. In short, the sweeping statements
sometimes embodied in treaties, to the effect that the line of
demarcation between contiguous countries shall be the crest-line of a
certain indicated mountain range are fraught with uncertainties and
difficulties, which are likely to prove a source of discontent and
costly arbitration, or even lead to war.
_Divide Boundaries._--A boundary which is defined as following a
specified water-parting or divide, from which streams flow in opposite
directions, would in most instances be easily traceable on the ground
even by persons unskilled in the art of surveying, and for this
and other reasons has much to commend it; yet, without an accurate
knowledge, and most of all an accurate topographic map of the region
through which such a boundary is to pass, its selection on general
principles, however nicely worded, is open to dangers of the same nature
as those pertaining to a similar choice of a mountain boundary.
In arid regions broad plateaus may form divides, and even an approximate
location of the line of water-parting, if one exists, be a matter of
difficulty and uncertainty. Then, too, the process of head-water
corrasion pertaining to essentially all streams, and of stream capture,
or the acquiring by one stream, through the process of stream
development, of the territory formerly drained by its neighbour, leads
to a migration and sometimes a sudden and perhaps extensive shifting of
a water-parting.
Examples of divide boundaries are furnished by the one separating Idaho
and Montana, which in part coincides with the continental divide, and
serves its purpose well; but the satisfaction it has given is to be
qualified by the fact that, for the most part, it is situated in a
rugged region, where there is but slight probability of the property
interests of the communities parted by it coming into direct contact.
Boundaries which are made to coincide with the courses of rivers, with
the crest-lines of mountains, or with water-partings, have certain
commendable features in common; they are easily located, readily defined
by natural features of the earth's surface, and in general do not
require to be accurately surveyed and marked by monuments before they
serve their purpose as international or interstate fences.
_Arbitrary Boundaries._--A class of boundaries not otherwise readily
definable may be conveniently designated as arbitrary boundaries, since,
as a rule, they are not described in terms such as pertain to
astronomical boundaries, and bear no necessary relation to topographic
or other features of the regions they traverse. Like astronomical
boundaries, the ones here considered are imaginary lines, and, in part,
might with propriety be included in that class, since they are capable
of being located by astronomical methods; but they serve our
purpose better if considered in a group by themselves. The class of
boundaries here referred to includes straight lines connecting two
points; lines defined as running in a given direction (azimuth) and for
certain distances; arcs of circles; tangents to circles, etc. In brief,
arbitrary boundaries may be defined as straight or curved lines or
combinations of such lines, and are similar to the lines employed by
surveyors in marking the boundaries of a farm, locating a railroad, etc.
An example of what is meant by an arbitrary boundary is furnished by the
line separating Delaware from Pennsylvania, which is an arc of a circle
12 miles in radius, with the steeple of the old court-house in
Newcastle, Delaware, as a centre. Again, in the establishment of the
District of Columbia, a rectangle 10 miles square was chosen and marked
on the ground by means of monuments as the site of the capital of the
United States. Another illustration is furnished by the eastern boundary
of California, as defined in its constitution. This boundary runs from
the intersection of 120 degrees of west longitude with the thirty-ninth
degree of north latitude in a straight line in a southeasterly direction
to the River Colorado, at a point where it intersects the thirty-fifth
degree of north latitude.
Boundaries of the nature just cited can only be recognised when actually
marked on the ground, and except in the case of straight lines, not of
great length, or small geometrical figures, are difficult of precise
location, even by skilled surveyors. Should the monuments used to define
their positions be destroyed, their replacement is an arduous task.
An interesting example of a change from an astronomical to an arbitrary
boundary is furnished by the line of demarcation between Texas and New
Mexico, which in part, as originally defined by law, was the one hundred
and third meridian of west longitude, but owing to errors in the first
survey was wrongly marked on the ground by monuments. The monuments,
however, having been accepted as indicating the position of the true
line of division, became points in an arbitrary boundary. Other similar
examples of the acceptance of an arbitrary in place of an
astronomical boundary are not uncommon.
_Impracticable Boundaries._--There are certain dividing lines which are
defined in treaties, decrees, etc., as running parallel to some natural
feature, as a coast or a river, and at a given distance from it, that
might with propriety be classed as arbitrary boundaries, since no effort
is made to adjust them to the natural conditions of the immediate
territory they traverse; but, for the purpose of expressing a still
greater weakness inherent in them, they are here specially designated as
_impracticable boundaries_. This, as is to be hoped, temporary class of
boundaries includes the proposed lines of demarcation sometimes inserted
in treaties, etc., which it is impossible, or at least impracticable,
without great and for the most part useless expense of time and money,
to mark on the ground, and thus seek to make serviceable.
In this connection reference may be made to the boundary between
southeastern Alaska and Canada, which, as stated in the treaty between
Great Britain and Russia previously referred to, in the absence of a
mountain range parallel with the coast and not over 10 marine leagues
inland--and as subsequent explorations and surveys have shown such is
the case--"shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the
coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of 10 marine leagues
therefrom." The region through which the line described would pass, if
surveyed, was almost entirely unknown at the time the treaty referred to
was made, but, as has since been discovered, it is exceedingly rugged,
and contains many mountains ranging from 10,000 to 18,000 feet high,
besides a multitude of glaciers and many extensive fields of perpetual
snow. To survey and mark on the ground the boundary indicated in the
treaty would be what may be justly termed an impossible task; and,
besides, if the line as defined by treaty should be established, it
would be intricate, and much less serviceable as a national fence than
any one of several possible boundaries that could have been chosen, with
essentially the same end in view, at the time the original treaty was
entered into, had a geographer been employed to make even a hasty
reconnaissance of the region in question.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--Characteristic vegetation.]
Another example of a boundary being defined as running parallel to and
at a specified distance from an irregular geographical feature is
furnished by a part of the boundary between Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, which is a line parallel to the Merrimac River, and distant
from it 3 miles on the north. In this case, although the distance of the
line designated from the one to which it is to be drawn parallel is but
3 miles, and the country between only mildly undulating or hilly, the
boundary as now marked on the ground and accepted as an interstate
boundary is but a rude approximation to the one originally defined.
These examples, and others that might with propriety be classified as
impracticable boundaries, illustrate again the desirability of accurate
geographical knowledge, and still more of an adequate appreciation of
the difficulties and limitations met with by the surveyor, on the part
of those who attend to the real-estate business of nations.
* * * * *
The line of separation between Canada and the United States, as defined
by the Treaty of Ghent, 1814, and after several subsequent adjustments,
was determined as indicated roughly on the accompanying map. Throughout
the greater part of its eastern half it is a river boundary, and in its
western half an astronomical boundary.
In 1876 the English Government granted Newfoundland jurisdiction over
Labrador, and in letters patent defined that dependency as "all the
coast of Labrador, from the entrance of Hudson Straits to a line to be
drawn due north and south from Ause Sableu on the said coast to the
fifty-second degree of north latitude, and all the islands adjacent to
that part of the said coast of Labrador." This line is still unsurveyed.
From the fifty-second parallel to the Strait of Belle Isle, a distance
of about 40 miles, the boundary is a north-and-south line situated about
7 miles west of the fifty-seventh meridian, as is indicated on the best
maps available.
The southern boundary of the United States, as finally determined in
1853 by treaty with Mexico, is, beginning at the east, a river
boundary for some 900 miles, namely, the middle of the Rio Grande, or
its deepest channel, when there is more than one, to where the river
crosses the parallel of latitude 31 deg. 47'; continuing westward, the line
is in part an astronomical and in part an arbitrary boundary to the
Pacific.
The nature of the boundaries separating the several provinces of Canada,
the various States of the United States and of Mexico, the republics of
Central America, etc., are indicated approximately on the accompanying
map. These lines when studied on larger-scale maps on which the drainage
and relief are also shown reveal many features of interest.
POLITICAL CONTROL
The political subdivisions of North America in 1900 are too well known
to require specific description at this time. The long-continued
struggles and rivalries that have led to the present subdivision of
territory pertain to history, and although full of interest from the
point of view of the geographer, cannot be discussed in the present
treatise. Among the conspicuous events that might be shown by a series
of political maps is the contraction and final disappearance of Spanish
and French dominion from the continental mainland. The broad, indefinite
territory once belonging to Spain, which in the sixteenth century seemed
destined to expand still more and possibly embrace the whole of the two
Americas, has been diminished from time to time, until as a result of
the recent Spanish-American War her flag no longer waves over any
portion of the New World. The French territory, once embracing a large
portion of what is now Canada and the United States, is at present
represented by the islands Martinique and Guadeloupe with its
dependencies, in the West Indies, and the islands Miquelon and St.
Pierre, adjacent to the south coast of Newfoundland; in all, comprising
about 1,161 square miles. The French have, in addition, certain treaty
rights pertaining to fisheries on the northern and western shores of
Newfoundland.
Between the two forms of government, monarchical and republican,
North America is somewhat equally divided, so far as extent of territory
is concerned (Plate VII), but not as respects population. The people
under republican organization far outnumber those still acknowledging
allegiance to hereditary rulers. The countries self-governed, or forming
parts of American republics, embraced in 1900 all of the continental
mainland south of the United-States-Canadian boundary, together with
Alaska, Cuba, San Domingo and Haiti, and Porto Rico. The provinces,
islands, etc., still controlled by European powers are Canada,
Newfoundland, Bermuda, and all of the West Indies except the islands
just referred to, which are more definitely designated in the table on
page 424. The population of the American republics is in the
neighbourhood of 97,000,000, and of the European dependencies somewhat
less than 7,000,000. A republican form of government, more or less
definitely foreshadowed by the tribal confederations of the aborigines,
the most conspicuous example of which is furnished by the Iroquois or
"Six Nations," has thus become the characteristic feature of the
political organizations of North America; the same is true also of South
America. The New World is thus conspicuously republican, in distinction
from the Old World, which is characteristically monarchical.
The immigration to North America since its discovery by Columbus has
been from all the nations of the Old World, but most largely from
Europe. Negroes were brought as slaves, and their descendants, now free,
form a large percentage of the population, especially in the
southeastern part of the United States and the West Indies. Chinese,
since about 1870, have arrived in large numbers, but their immigration
to the United States is now restricted. Of the nations of Europe, the
strongest influx has come from Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain,
and Italy. To a marked degree this westward migration has been along
parallels of latitude, but the migratory streams on reaching North
America subdivided into many distributaries, and a mingling of
nationalities on a vast scale has resulted. This amalgamation has been
so great and so long-continued that several new and somewhat strongly
individualized nationalities have arisen, the most instructive
being in the temperate portion of the continent.
The dominant language, as in the case of political control, has been
inherited from Great Britain. English is the universal language to the
northward of Mexico and on certain of the West Indian islands. To the
south of the United-States-Mexican boundary, but beginning in the
southwestern portion of the United States, and including also the
greater part of the population of the West Indies, Spanish is the
current language, except among the uncivilized aborigines. French is
commonly spoken by many thousands of people in the province of Quebec,
Canada, and in certain of the West Indies.
The ideal nation, from the point of view of the geographer, is one so
situated that it is self-sustaining--that is, contains within its own
domain all the conditions necessary for its life and growth. It should
have favourable climatic conditions, agricultural land, forests, mines,
fisheries, etc. More than this, even if all material wants are supplied
from within its own border, intellectual desires demand outside stimuli.
The ideal nation should therefore touch the ocean, in order to have
avenues for travel open to its people. I am well aware that a more
commanding, or, perhaps better, a more modern view, would show that
improved methods of transportation have made the whole world
commercially one; but invisible tariff walls still separate peoples and
wars break lines of communication.
It might be expected that in the New World, conditions being also new
and room for development abundant, civilized nations would have adjusted
their boundaries so as to make an ideal subdivision of territory in
accord with natural conditions. A study of the boundaries separating the
nations of North America, however, fails to furnish evidence of such an
adjustment. On the contrary, even between the most highly civilized
countries, in which the people speak the same language, the dividing
lines are entirely arbitrary, so far as relation to soil, climate,
mineral and timber resources, fisheries, etc., are concerned. The line
separating Alaska and Canada is mainly a meridian of longitude, which
passes through a rich mining district. The southern boundary of
Canada is for the most part a parallel of latitude dividing
agricultural, mining, and timber lands. The material advancement of the
inhabitants on the opposite sides of these unnatural dividing lines is
retarded by them and the progress of civilization delayed. The same is
true of the invisible wall separating the United States from Mexico, and
the various partitions intersecting Central America. There has evidently
been but little, if any, tendency to draw the boundaries referred to in
conformity with natural conditions. What, then, is the force which sets
nature at naught? The reply is not obscure. In one word, it is _greed_.
"To have and to hold" is the unwritten motto of republics as well as of
monarchies.
The absurdity of disregarding geographical relations, and in consequence
checking national development, and leading to stagnation and to material
and intellectual decline, is sadly illustrated by the subdivision of the
West Indies. In an admirable account of the Caribbean region by R. T.
Hill, in which its present commercial depression is described and the
reasons for it judiciously analyzed, occurs the following passage
relative to the case in point:
"A greater drawback to the West Indies than the one-sided
agriculture--the raising of sugar-cane--is their political condition.
Their distribution among too many nationalities necessitates the support
of expensive and useless administrations, and prevents federation of
interests and the development of trade among themselves and with the
United States, the nearest and largest natural consumer of their
products. Very ridiculous some of these political conditions seem. The
island of St. Martin, not as large as an average county in the United
States, is divided into two principalities, the French and the Dutch,
each of which maintains an administrative force as large as that of the
State of Texas. Then, as we sail down the eastern islands, hardly a
score in number, and within sight of one another, aggregating in area
less than our little State of Delaware, about 2,000 square miles, we
find five foreign and no less than a dozen distinct colonial
governments, each responsible to Europe, with no shadow of
federation between them, or even cooperation of any kind--a condition
not only pitiable, but absurd. Why should Dominica, whose people are
French in language and institutions, be sandwiched in between Martinique
and Guadeloupe, and within easy sight of both, yet so cut off from them
by quarantine and tariff laws that it is commercially nearer England,
some 3,000 miles distant, than to its neighbours?"
The conditions necessary for an ideal, self-contained government were
briefly referred to above. In North America, perhaps, several such
eligible sites for a definite number of people might be chosen, but in
no case without the drawing of unnatural boundaries. The continent, as
is shown by its geology and geography, is a unit, and the most typical
of comparable size of any on the earth. These same conditions point to a
single political unit. Arguing from geographical relations simply, and
not considering the racial differences and local self-interests, the one
boundary in North America should be the shore boundary, except at the
30-mile-wide Isthmus of Panama. To the geographer North America presents
an example of a region containing within itself essentially all of the
elements necessary to a high industrial, social, educational, and
ethical development of its inhabitants. The industrial needs are met by
a range of products, whether of soils, mines, forests, or fisheries, as
varied or nearly so as is presented by the entire earth. Although the
continent is broadest at the far north, where climatic extremes prohibit
a dense population, yet in the temperate region, or between the mean
annual isotherms of 45 and 75, a space of some 1,200 miles in latitude,
it is from 2,500 to 4,000 miles wide. In this temperate region there is
at present greater commercial and mental activity than elsewhere on the
continent, and it is here that the dominant power of the future will be
located. Supplementing the agriculture, manufactures, etc., of the
temperate belt are the vast forested and fur-bearing regions on the
north and the exuberant tropical countries on the south. Each of these
three great regions are parts of a whole and mutually supplement each
other.
The distribution of the population of North America, in respect to
political subdivisions during the year 1900, is indicated, as nearly as
it has been found practicable to ascertain it, in the following table:
POPULATION OF NORTH AMERICA IN 1900
--------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
Government. |Area in square|Population.
| miles. |
--------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
_American Governments_ | |
| |
United States (inclusive of Alaska | 3,626,533 | 76,265,469
and Porto Rico)[7] | |
Mexico | 767,005 | 13,570,545
Guatemala[8] | 63,400 | 1,574,338
Salvador[9] | 7,225 | 803,534
Nicaragua | 49,200 | 420,000
Honduras[10] | 45,250 | 407,000
Costa Rica[11] | 23,000 | 310,000
Panama (Department of Colombia) | 32,380 | 290,000
San Domingo[13] | 20,596 | 1,244,650
Haiti[13] | 9,242 | 500,000
Cuba | 44,000 | 1,572,797
+--------------+-----------
Total for American governments | 4,687,831 | 96,958,333
| |
_Possessions still held by | |
European Governments_ | |
United Kingdom of Great Britain | |
and Ireland:[12] | |
Canada | 3,653,946 | 4,846,377
Newfoundland and Labrador | 49,734 | 201,934
Bermuda | 19 | 15,013
West Indies (Bahamas, Jamaica, etc.) | 12,059 | 1,357,254
British Honduras | 7,562 | 31,471
+--------------+-----------
Total for the United Kingdom | 3,723,320 | 6,452,049
France: | |
Miquelon and St. Pierre | 93 | 6,250
West Indies (Guadeloupe, | |
Martinique, etc.) | 1,068 | 354,790
+--------------+-----------
Total for France | 1,161 | 361,040
Denmark: | |
West Indies (St. Thomas, St. John, | |
and St. Croix) | 149 | 35,900
Holland: | |
West Indies (St. Martin in part, St. | |
Eustace, and Saba) | 29 | 7,236
+--------------+-----------
Total for European governments | 3,724,659 | 6,856,225
+--------------+-----------
Total for North America | 8,412,490 |103,814,558
--------------------------------------------+--------------+-----------
[7] The area of Alaska is 590,884 square miles; its population, 63,592.
The area of Porto Rico is 3,600 square miles; its population (1899),
953,243. Hawaii, not included above, has an area of 6,449 square miles
and a population of 154,000.
[8] In 1894.
[9] In 1896.
[10] In 1899.
[11] In 1891.
[12] In 1898.
[13] Together occupying the island Santo Domingo or Haiti.
LITERATURE
Twelfth Census of the United States.
_British America._ By several authors. Published by Kegan Paul,
Trench, Trubner & Co., London, 1900.
_Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel._ North America.
Vol. i, Canada and Newfoundland, by S. E. Dawson. Vol. ii, The
United States, by Henry Gannett; Central America and the West
Indies, by A. H. Keane.
HILL, R. T. _Cuba, Porto Rico, and the other West India Islands._
The Century Company, New York, 1899.
GANNETT, H. _Boundaries of the United States._ United States
Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 171, second edition, Washington,
1900.
INDEX
Aborigines, 355-407.
Adams, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
Adirondack Mountains, brief account of, 83-84.
Adobe used for bricks, 389.
Agassiz, A., cited, 12, 21. Work of, in Caribbean region, 16.
Alaska, area and population of, 424.
Boundary of, 416.
Coast topography of, 45-46.
Indians of, 397.
Map of coast of, 47.
Alaska Commercial Company, 375.
Albemarle Sound, origin of, 42.
Aleutian Islands, topography of, 40.
Aleutians, brief account of, 373-376.
Aleuts, brief account of, 373-376.
Algonkian system, 310.
Allen, J. A., cited, 260, 290.
Alpine flora, 254-257.
American governments, enumeration of, 424.
Animal life, 258-298.
Anticlinal valleys, 78.
Antillean Mountains, brief account of, 169-171.
Antiquity of the aborigines, 357-363.
Apatite, 350.
Appalachian Mountains, description of, 74-82.
Map of, 74.
Archean period, 308-310.
Arches in Maya houses, 392.
Arctic climatic province, 203.
Arctogaeic life realm, 259.
Areas of various governments, 424.
Arkansas Plateau, brief account of, 109-110.
Asbestos, 349-350.
Astronomical boundaries, 409-411.
Atlantic coastal plain, 62-64.
Forest, brief account of, 227.
Mountains, 60, 73-89.
Austral climatic provinces, 191-197.
Aves, orders of, 289.
Aztecs, advancement of, 364.
Badlands, brief account of, 110-111.
Bahama Islands, topography of, 19.
Baker, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
Bald, Mt., N. B., height of, 85.
Bancroft, George, reference to, 395.
Barren grounds, absence of trees on, 253.
Bartlett Deep, 20.
Basement complex, 310.
Bay of Fundy, tides in, 29.
Bear, Polar, 266.
Bears, brief account of, 279, 282-284.
Bell, R., exploration by, 88.
Bermuda, area and population of, 424.
"Bermuda Mountain," 4.
Bering Sea, depth of, 2.
Bighorn, brief account of, 272-273.
Big trees of California, 242-246.
Bird migrations, 292-296.
Birds, brief account of, 289-298.
Bison, brief account of, 275-278.
Map showing range of, 276.
Blackfoot Indians, lodge of, 387.
Black Hills of Dakota, 116-119.
Boreal climatic province, 201-203.
Forest, 235-237.
Boston, Mt., Mo., height of, 92.
Boundaries, classification of, 408-418.
British Honduras, area and population of, 424.
Brownson Deep, 20.
Buffalo, brief account of, 275-277.
Cacti, 225-226.
California, boundary of, 416.
Cambrian system, 310-312.
Canada, area and population of, 424.
Boundary of, 417, 418.
Mountains of Western, 167-169.
Treatment of Indians by, 397-399.
Canadian Coast Ranges, 168.
Rockies, 167-169.
Cape Cod, map of, 37.
Hatteras, continental shelf bordering, 2.
Lisburne, depth of water near, 2.
Sheridan, tides at, 30.
Capulin, Mt., N. M., height of, 119.
Carborundum, 351.
Caribbean region, submarine topography of, 16-23.
Caribou, brief account of, 266-269.
Cascade Mountains, brief account of, 147-158.
Igneous rocks of, 316-322.
_Castor canadensis_, 279.
Catlinite, 379, 380.
Cats, brief account of, 284-285.
Cedar trees in Pacific forest, 240.
Census of various nations, 424.
Of aborigines, 406.
Central America, Indians of, 403-405.
Chamberlin, T. C., cited, 316.
_Characeae_, lime secreted by, 335.
Chart of geological history, 309.
Chelan, Lake, Wash., 157-158.
Chesapeake Bay, origin of, 42.
Chickasaw plum, 385.
Chinook winds, 115, 204-205.
Classification of boundaries, 408-418.
Geological terranes, 308-309.
Clays, 345.
Climate, 173-214.
Elements of, 173-184.
Climatic provinces, 184-203.
Coal, 336-338.
Fields, map of, 336.
Coastal plains, 62-69.
Coast boundaries, 409.
Mountains, 162-169.
Topography of, 31-55.
Columbia River lava, 319-320.
Commercial geology, 328-353.
Communal dwellings of Indians, 388-389.
Concentration of mineral substances, 328-353.
Consequent drainage, examples of, 118.
Contact of aborigines with foreign people, 396-406.
Continental borer, description of, 89-120.
Shelf, 1-16.
Cope, E. D., cited, 260, 311, 312.
Coral growths on continental shelf, 6.
Reefs in the West Indies, 18.
Corundum, 351.
Costa Rica, area and population of, 424.
Crater Lake, Ore., brief account of, 153-155.
Map of, 153.
Cross, W., cited, 321.
Cuba, area and population of, 424.
Banks near, 20.
Culture of the aborigines, 363-365.
Currents, ocean, 23-27.
Cyclones, 208-212.
Cypresses, 233.
Dall, W. H., cited, 367, 373, 374.
Dana, J. D., cited, 300.
Davis, W. M., cited, 79.
Dawson, J. W., cited, 312.
Death Valley, Cal., 145.
Debris forming continental shelf, 5-8.
"Deeps" of the West Indies, 20-21.
Deer, brief account of, 271-272.
Delaware, boundary of, 416.
Bay, origin of, 42.
River, submerged channel of, 43.
Deltas, 52-55.
Denmark, possessions of, 424.
Dikes, 320.
Diller, J. S., cited, 152, 153, 164.
Dismal Swamp, brief account of, 63-64.
Divide boundaries, 414-415.
Dog, Eskimo, 266.
Drowned river-valleys, 43, 48, 49.
Dutton, C. E., cited, 134, 136, 153.
Economic geology, 328-352.
Edwards Plateau, Tex., brief account of, 107-108.
El Llano Estacado, brief account of, 106-109.
_Enhydra marina_, 278.
Eschscholtz Bay, Alaska, ice near, 68.
Eskimo, meaning of the word, 356.
Dog, 266.
Meaning of the term, 356.
Eskimos, brief account of, 365-376.
Census of, 406.
Estuaries, 55-58.
Ethnological studies, 394-396.
Evaporation, 212-213.
Fall line in Atlantic coast rivers, 66.
Ferns, 222.
Fir trees in Pacific forest, 240.
Flora, 215-257.
Florida, continental shelf bordering, 2.
Fontaine, W. M., cited, 312.
Food supply of Indians, 381-387.
Forests, description of, 217-249.
Map of, 215.
Fossil floras, 256.
France, possessions of, 419, 424.
Fur-bearing animals, 278-282.
Galveston, Tex., destruction of, 38.
Tides at, 27.
Gardens of the Indians, 384-387.
Gas, natural, 340.
Gaspe Peninsula, 84.
Geographical distribution of animals, 258-263.
Geology, 299-354.
Gilbert, G. K., cited, 118, 131, 321.
Glacial epoch, brief account of, 314-316.
Extent of glaciers during, 7-8.
Glacier Peak, Wash., height of, 156.
Glass sand, 333.
Glottoff, reference to, 374.
Gold, 345-346, 351-352.
Mountains, Canada, 168.
Governor's palace, Uxmal, 393, 394.
Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 134-135.
Sketch of, 135.
Gray, A., cited, 389.
Great Abaco, reference to, 18.
Great Bahama Bank, brief account of, 18.
Basin, brief account of, 136-146.
Basin, map of, 137.
Lakes, 99.
Plains, brief account of, 102-106.
Plateaus, brief account of, 102-106.
Salt Lake, Utah, 140-142.
Valley of California, 158-161.
"Greater St. Lawrence," 9.
Growth of the continent, 300-306.
Guatemala, area and population of, 424.
Gulf of California, 49.
of Mexico, continental shelf on border of, 1-2.
of Mexico, map of west coast of, 38.
Plains, brief account of, 94-95.
Stream, 16.
Stream, volume, etc., of, 24-25.
Haida Indians, 397.
Haiti, area and population of, 424.
Harbours, 53-58.
Harney Peak, S. D., elevation of, 116.
Hawaiian Islands, 4.
Hawaii, area and population of, 424.
Hayden, F. V., cited, 113.
Hayes, C. W., cited, 79.
Heilprin, A., cited, 260.
Henry Mountains, Utah, 131, 321.
Henshaw, W. H., cited, 395.
Hetch Hetchy Valley, Cal., 150.
High plateaus, brief account of, 132-134.
Hill, R. T., cited, 22, 169, 220, 422.
Map by, 17.
Holland, possessions of, 424.
Holmes, W. H., cited, 390, 392, 393, 394.
Honduras, area and population of, 424.
Hood, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
Hornaday, W. T., cited, 277.
Horticulture by Indians, 384-387.
Houses of Indians, 387-394.
Innuits, 368-369.
Hudson River, submerged channel of, 8-9, 43.
Humboldt, A. von, cited, 12.
Huxley, T. H., cited, 259.
Hydrocarbons, 338-342.
Ice, changes in coasts due to, 50-51.
Subsoil, in Alaska, 68.
Deposited debris on continental shelf, 6-7.
Palace, Montreal, 199.
Igneous rocks, brief account of, 316-326.
Terranes, economic importance of, 331-332.
Impracticable boundaries, 417-418.
Indians, account of, 376-406.
Census of, 406.
Treatment of, by United States and Canada, 397-403.
Innuit, meaning of the term, 356.
Innuits, brief account of, 366-372.
Intrusive sheets, 320-321.
Iron Mountain, Mo., 92.
Iron ores, 342-344.
Iroquois, houses of, 387-388.
Irrigation practised by Indians, 386.
Irving, W., reference to, 395.
Islands, 30-31.
Isobars, 173.
Isotherms, 173.
Jackson, S., reference to, 269.
Jamaica, terraces on, 22.
James River, Va., submerged channel of, 42.
Japan current, reference to, 25.
Jeff Davis Peak, Nev., height of, 146.
Jefferson, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
Johnson, W. D., cited, 109.
Judas-tree, 233.
Kamlayka, 370.
Kara Sea, life in, 14.
Katahdin, Mt., Me., height of, 85.
Kayaks, 370-371.
Kittatinny peneplain, 80.
Knowlton, F. H., cited, 312.
Kowak River, Alaska, ice near, 68.
Labrador, boundary of, 418.
Topography of, 71-72.
Laccoliths, 131, 321.
Lake plains, brief account of, 99-101.
Lakes, enclosed, 141.
Languages, 359-360.
Language spoken in America, 421.
Laurentian Highlands, brief account of, 87-88.
Lakes, 99.
Leidy, J., cited, 313-314.
Lesquereux, L., cited, 312.
Life on the continental shelf, 10-16.
Realms, 259-260.
Regions and life-zones, 260-262.
Limestones, 334-335.
Little Bahama Bank, brief account of, 18.
Llano Estacado, El, 106-109.
Lodge of Blackfoot Indians, 387.
Logan, Mt., Yukon, height of, 166.
Longhouse of Iroquois, 387-388.
Lookout Mountain, Tenn., section through, 78.
Lost mountains, 143.
Lower Austral climatic province, 191-194.
Luigi, Prince, ascent of Mt. St.
Elias, 166.
_Lutra canadensis_, 278.
Mackenzie River, delta of, 52.
McKinley, Mt., Alaska, height of, 166.
Magnolia, 230.
Maine, map of coast of, 45.
Mammalian families peculiar to America, 287-288.
Mammals, classification of, 262-264.
Mansfield, Mt., N. H., height of, 83.
Marcy, Mt., N. Y., height of, 84.
Marl, 335.
Marsh, O. C., cited, 312, 313, 314.
Massachusetts, boundary of, 418.
Mauvaises terres, 110.
Maya houses, 392.
Mayas, culture of, 364.
Mazama, Mt., Ore., 153-155.
Height of, 156.
_Mazama_, 273-275.
Mazamas, the, 273.
_Mephitis mephitica_, 280.
Merriam, C. H., cited, 185, 259, 260.
Merrimac River, boundary near, 418.
Metamorphic rocks, 323-324.
Terranes, economic importance of, 347-353.
Metamorphism, nature of, 324.
Mexico, area and population of, 424.
Boundary of, 418.
Indians of, 403.
Mica, 350.
Migration of birds, 292-296.
Miquelon, retained by France, 419.
Mississippi Delta, map of, 53.
River, delta of, 53-55.
Mobile Bay, 36.
Monadnock, definition of, 70.
Moose, brief account of, 269-270.
Morgan, L. H., cited, 388, 395.
Mountain boundaries, 413-414.
Sheep, brief account of, 272-273.
Goat, 273-275.
Muir, John, cited, 151, 244.
Musk-ox, 265-266.
Navidad Bank, reference to, 18.
Neogaeic life realm, 259.
Neolithic, 364.
Newark system, 320.
Newberry, J. S., cited, 312.
New Brunswick, mountains of, 84.
Newcastle, Del., boundary in reference to, 416.
New England, mountains of, 82-83.
Newfoundland, area and population of, 424.
Continental shelf bordering, 2.
French rights in, 419.
Jurisdiction over Labrador, 417.
New Hampshire, boundary of, 418.
New Jersey, boundary of, 411-412.
Subsidence of coast of, 63.
New York, boundary of, 411-412.
Mountains of, 83.
Nicaragua, area and population of, 424.
Nordenskioeld cited, 15.
Notogaeic life realm, 259.
Notre Dame Mountains, 84.
Olympic Mountains, Wash., 165.
Onyx marble, 335.
Oomiak, 370.
Ores, deposition of, 345.
Origin of the aborigines, 356-357.
Otter, 278.
Ouachita Mountains, 93.
Ozark Uplift, description of, 91-94.
Pacific forest, 238-249.
Mountains, 60, 120-136.
Paleolithic, 364.
Palms, 220-224.
Panama, area and population of, 424.
Park Mountains, 127-130.
Parkies, 370.
Peneplain, definition of, 69-70.
Pennsylvania, boundary of, 416.
Perry, W. A., cited, 270.
Petroleum, 338-340.
Physiographic divisions, map of, 61.
Piedmont plateau, 64, 69-70.
Pines, 232-233, 247-249.
Pitt, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
Planetary winds, 178-179.
Plant life, 215-257.
Plateaus, treeless, 252-253.
Platinum, 352.
Playas, characteristics of, 253.
Examples of, 141.
Description of, 121.
Plutonic plug, 321.
Point Barrow, Alaska, life in the sea near, 14.
Tides at, 30.
Polar bear, 266.
Political control, 419-424.
Geography, 408-426.
Population of North America, 424.
Porto Rico, area and population of, 424.
Possessions held by European governments, 424.
Potomac River, submerged channel of, 43.
Pourtales, L. F., work of in Caribbean region, 16.
Powell, J. W., cited, 90, 104, 124, 127, 251, 357, 359.
Prairies, brief account of, 250, 253.
Prairie plains, brief account of, 95-99.
Prescott, W. H., reference to, 395.
_Pteranodon_, 313.
Pueblo Indians, 390.
Pueblos, 388.
Puget Sound basin, 158-161.
Origin of, 47.
Map of, 161.
Pyramid Lake, Nev., 140.
Rainier, Mt., Wash., photograph of, 156.
Height of, 156.
Raton Mesa, N. M., 120.
Redwood forests of California, 242-246.
Reindeer in Alaska, 269.
Reptiles of the Mesozoic, 313.
Republics, American, 420.
Resources used by Indians, 379-387.
River deltas, 52-55.
Rocky Mountains, brief account of, 122-136.
Of Canada, 124.
Rogers, H. D., cited, 312.
Russian-American Company, 375.
Houses, 369.
St. Elias, Mt., Alaska, height of, 166.
Elevation of coast near, 46.
Not a volcano, 167.
St. Francois Mountains, Mo., height of, 92.
St. Helens, Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
St. John, N. B., tides at, 30.
St. Lawrence estuary, 55-56.
River, submerged channel of, 9.
St. Pierre, retained by France, 419.
Salt, 341-342.
Salvador, area and population of, 424.
San Clemente Island, Cal., 10.
San Domingo, area and population of, 424.
San Francisco Bay, Cal., origin of, 49.
San Juan Islands, Wash., 413.
San Louis Park, Col., 128.
Sand-hills, 112-113.
Sandstone, 332-333.
Santa Catalina Island, Cal., 10.
Santa Cruz Island, Cal., 10.
Santa Domingo, area and population of, 424.
Santa Rosa Island, Cal., 10.
Sargent, C. S., cited, 249.
Schaffner, D. C., maps compiled by, 301.
Schooley peneplain, 80-81.
Schools for Indians, 401-402.
Sclater, P. L., cited, 259.
Scott, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
Seasons, 179-182.
Section through Black Hills of Dakota, 117.
Lookout Mountain, Tenn., 78.
Sedimentary rocks, brief account of, 306-316.
Terranes, economic importance of, 331-346.
_Sequoia gigantea_, 242, 244-246.
_Sempervirens_, 242-244.
Shenandoah peneplain, 81.
Sierra Blanca, N. M., 129.
Sierran epoch, mention of, 315.
Sierra Nevada Mountains, Cal., brief account of, 147-158.
Sigsbee Deep, 20.
Silver, 346.
Pine, 248.
Six Nations of New York, 405.
Skunk, brief account of, 280-282.
Solovioff, I. M., reference to, 374.
Spain, former possessions of, 419.
_Sphagnum_, 67.
Spring-time music, 296-298.
Stony Mountains, 124-127.
Stream deposits, changes in coast-lines due to, 51-55.
Subarctic forest plains, 101-102.
Submerged river channels, 8-10.
Subsequent drainage, example of, 118.
Subsidences of coasts, 62-63.
Subtuberant mountains, 322.
Sugar-pine, 247.
Superimposed drainage, example of, 118.
Susquehanna River, submerged channel of, 43.
Sutton, Mt., N. B., height of, 84.
Synclinal mountains, 78.
Tahoe Lake, Cal.--Nev., 140.
Talc, 350.
Tarr, R. S., map of co-tidal lines by, 28.
Tepee of Indians, 387, 388.
Terraces on islands of California coast, 10.
Sea, 33-34.
Thomas, C, cited, 395.
Thunder-storms, 206-207.
Tides, 27-30.
in rivers, 44.
Timber-line, 254.
Tlingit Indians, 397.
Topography of coasts, 31-55.
Tornadoes, 207.
Transition climatic province, 197-201.
Treaty of Ghent, reference to, 418.
Treeless mountain tops, 254-257.
Plains, brief account of, 250-253.
Tropical climatic province, 186-191.
Forests, 219-227.
Tundra, brief account of, 67-68.
Turner, H. W., cited, 148.
Tyrrell, J. B., cited, 66, 268.
Union, Mt., Ore., height of, 156.
United Kingdom, possessions of, 424.
United States, area and population of, 424.
Boundaries of, 417-418.
Treatment of Indians by, 399-403.
Coast and Geodetic Survey, reference to work of, 16.
Fish Commission, reference to work of, 16.
Upper Austral climatic province, 194-197.
Uxmal, Yucatan, panorama of, 390.
Vancouver, B. C., firs of, 241.
Mountains, B. C., 165.
Van Hise, C. R., cited, 310.
"Vega," voyage of, 15.
Veniaminoff, reference to, 375.
Virginia creeper, 234.
Volcanic mountains, 120-121.
Volcanoes, 317-318.
Wallace, A. R., cited, 30, 259.
Wapiti, brief account of, 270-271.
Ward, L. F., cited, 312.
Washington, Mt., N. H., height of, 83.
Water boundaries, 411-413.
Mineral, 353.
West Indian hurricanes, 210.
West Indies, Danish, area and population of, 424.
French, area and population of, 424.
Indians of, 404.
Political division of, 422-423.
Whirlwinds, 203.
White, D., cited, 312.
White, I. C., cited, 312.
White, Mt., Nev., height of, 146.
White Mountains, N. H., forests of, 86.
Whiteface, Mt., N. Y., height of, 84.
Whitney, J. D., cited, 251.
Whitney, Mt., Cal., height of, 149.
Willis, Bailey, cited, 79.
Winds, planetary, 178-179.
Winnemucca Lake, Nev., 140.
Wolves, brief account of, 285-287.
Yellow pine, 248.
Yosemite Valley, Cal., 150.
Yucatan, continental shelf bordering, 2.
Topography of, 19.
Yukon River, delta of, 52.
Zuni, 389.
THE END
* * * * *
List Of Corrections
Transcriber's Note: Blank pages have been deleted. Some illustrations have
been moved. We have rendered consistent on a per-word-pair basis the
hyphenation or spacing of such pairs when repeated in the same grammatical
context. Detected publisher's errors were corrected as listed below:
Page Correction
5 both calcareous and silicious[siliceous]
12 Carribbean[Caribbean]
18 Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean[Caribbean] region:
60 Taking the better-known[better known] portions of North America
72 and are hard and resistent[resistant]
103 "Land oh[ho]!" is no more thrilling
105 where preciptation[precipitation] is abundant
126 Bamf[Banff], Lake Louise, Glacier House,
131 related to this phase of volcanism[vulcanism] is the
139 in Nevada and southestern[southeastern] California
150 hard rocks thus exposed [were] rounded
176 to take a more criticial[critical] view
179 wind blows with remarkable unformity[uniformity]
203 are cultivated with moderate successs[success].
263 the terra calente[caliente] of Mexico
271 from civilization is[are] great
281 skunks belong to the family Mustalidae[Mustelidae]
290 and the pecular[peculiar] hoazin, represented
363 the plating[plaiting] of baskets and the art
430 Sub-soil[Subsoil], in Alaska, 68.
431 Mephities[Mephitis] mephitica, 280.
431 Micquelon[Miquelon], retained by France, 419.
433 St. Francois[Francois] Mountains, Mo., height of,
433 Solovieff[Solovioff], I. M., reference to, 374
433 St. Helena[Helens], Mt., Wash., height of, 156.
434 Wapati[Wapiti], brief account of, 270-271.
* * * * *