On the western side of the continent rises gradually from the Polar
regions the mighty chain which runs throughout its whole length--a
distance of altogether 10,000 miles. The northern portion, known as the
Rocky Mountains, runs for 3000 miles, in two parallel chains, to the
plains of Mexico, flanked by two other parallel ranges on the west,--the
most northern of which are the Sea Alps of the north-west coast, and on
the southern, the mountains of California. At the north-western end of
the Sea Alps rises the lofty mountain of Mount Elias, 17,000 feet in
height--the highest mountain in North America--not far from Behring Bay;
while another range, the Chippewayan, stretches eastward, culminating in
Mount Brown, 10,000 feet in height, and gradually diminishing, till it
sinks into insignificance towards the Arctic Circle. Point Barrow is
the most northern point of America on the western side. It consists of
a long narrow spit, composed of gravel and loose sand, which the
pressure of the ice has forced up into numerous masses, having the
appearance of rocks. From this point eastward to the mouth of the
Mackenzie River the coast declines a little south of east. The various
mountain ranges existing on the eastern side of the continent, including
the chain of the Alleghanies, form what is called the Appalachian
system. It consists of numerous parallel chains, some of which form
detached ridges, the whole running from the north-east to the
south-west, and it extends about 1200 miles in length--from Maine to
Alabama. Besides the Alleghany Mountains in the western part of
Virginia and the central parts of Pennsylvania, it embraces the Catskill
Mountains in the State of New York, the Green Mountains in the State of
Vermont, the highlands eastward of the Hudson River, and the White
Mountains in New Hampshire. Mount Washington, which rises to an
elevation of 6634 feet out of the last-named range, is the highest peak,
of the whole system. To the north of the Saint Lawrence the lofty range
of the Wotchish Mountains extends towards the coast of Labrador; while
the whole region west and north of that river and the great Canadian
lakes is of considerable length, the best-known range being that which
contains the Lacloche Mountains, which appear to the north of Lake
Huron, and extend towards the Ottawa River. These two great ranges of
mountains divide the North American continent into three portions.