+-----------------+---------------+--------+----------------------+
| =NAME= | =Location= |=Area in| =Mean Elevation |
| | | Square | in Feet= |
| | | Miles= | |
+-----------------+---------------+--------+----------------------+
|Superior |North America | 31,200 | 601 above sea-level |
|Victoria Nyanza |Africa | 26,500 |3,300 above sea-level |
|Huron |North America | 23,800 | 581 above sea-level |
|Michigan |North America | 22,450 | 581 above sea-level |
|Baikal |Asia | 13,200 |1,542 above sea-level |
|Tanganyika |Africa | 12,000 |2,756 above sea-level |
|Great Bear |North America | 11,200 | 391 above sea-level |
|Nyassa |Africa | 10,230 |1,706 above sea-level |
|Great Slave |North America | 10,200 | 520 above sea-level |
|Erie |North America | 9,960 | 573 above sea-level |
|Winnipeg |North America | 9,400 | 710 above sea-level |
|Lake of the Woods|North America | 7,650 |1,060 above sea-level |
|Ontario |North America | 7,240 | 247 above sea-level |
|Ladoga |Europe | 6,998 | 49 above sea-level |
|Tchad |Africa | 6,000 |1,150 above sea-level |
| | | to | |
| | | 40,000 | |
|Athabasca |North America | 4,400 | 690 above sea-level |
|Onega |Europe | 3,760 | 237 above sea-level |
|Nicaragua |Central America| 2,972 | 131 above sea-level |
|Wener |Europe | 2,400 | 147 above sea-level |
|Albert Nyanza |Africa | 1,730 |2,230 above sea-level |
|Dembea |Africa | 1,000 |6,100 above sea-level |
|Wetter |Europe | 936 | 288 above sea-level |
|Champlain |North America | 750 | 96 above sea-level |
|Managua |North America | 560 | 154 above sea-level |
|Bangweolo |Africa | 400 |3,690 above sea-level |
| | | to | |
| | | 5,800 | |
|St. Clair |North America | 396 | 576 above sea-level |
|Balaton (Platten |Europe | 266 | 426 above sea-level |
|See) | | | |
|Geneva (or Leman)|Europe | 214 |1,220 above sea-level |
|Constance (or |Europe | 208 |1,308 above sea-level |
|Boden See) | | | |
|Garda |Europe | 136 | 213 above sea-level |
|Neuchatel |Europe | 90 |1,424 above sea-level |
|Maggiore |Europe | 78 | 646 above sea-level |
|Cayuga |North America | 76 | 381 above sea-level |
|George |North America | 61 | 323 above sea-level |
|Como |Europe | 56 | 649 above sea-level |
|Lucerne |Europe | 40 |1,435 above sea-level |
|Zurich |Europe | 37-1/2 |1,340 above sea-level |
+-----------------+---------------+--------+----------------------+
AFRICA. The great plateau lakes are typical of the continent. The
Victoria Nyanza and Albert Nyanza, feeding the White Nile; Tanganyika,
whose outlet is unknown; Tzana, at the head of the Blue Nile; and Lake
Nyassa, in the Zambezi basin, all rest on the high plateaus of Central
Africa. Lake Tchad alone, among large African lakes, is surrounded by
low plains.
WATERFALLS AND RAPIDS. The variations in the slope of a river-bed,
arising from unequal erosion, or from the original irregularities in the
surface, give rise to rapids and falls.
The first occur where an increased slope causes the stream to flow with
more than its average velocity. The second are caused by nearly
perpendicular rocky walls, down which the foaming water descends in
picturesque cascades, or imposing cataracts.
The famous “Cataracts of the Nile” are merely rapids which impede but do
not entirely obstruct, the navigation as cataracts must. The so-called
Falls of St. Anthony, in the upper Mississippi, and the rapids of the
St. Lawrence, above Montreal, are among the finest rapids in American
rivers.
The highest falls are in the upper course of rivers, in mountainous
regions; the greatest and most imposing, in their middle course.
The Niagara Falls exhibit a most important industrial utilization of
water power. The Falls of St. Anthony in the Mississippi, the Falls of
Foyers in Scotland, the Rhine falls, the Rhone falls of Bellegarde, and
the innumerable waterfalls of Scandinavia, Switzerland, and similar
mountainous lands, are all utilized in this way. It has been proposed to
convey power generated at the Victoria falls of the Zambezi to the Rand
goldfield of the Transvaal, and a scheme for this is now being prepared.
=FAMOUS WATERFALLS OF THE WORLD=
NAME LOCATION HEIGHT
(FEET)
=Bridal Veil= California 900
=Foyers= Great Britain 205
=Gastein Falls= Austria 469
=Gavarnie= Pyrenees 1,400
=Genesee= New York 95
=Grand Falls= Labrador 2,000
=Great Falls= Montana 500
=Hay River= Alaska 200
=Kaieteur Falls= Guiana 740
=Krimmler Falls= Austria 1,300
=Kukenam Fall= Guiana 1,500
=Maanelvan= Norway 940
=Minnehaha= Minnesota 50
=Missouri= Montana 90
=Montmorenci= Quebec 265
=Multnomah= Oregon 850
=Murchison= Africa 120
=Nevada Falls= California 600
=Niagara= New York 165
=Oroco Falls= Monte Rosa 2,400
=Rjukanfos= Norway 804
=Roraima Fall= Guiana 2,000
=Rukaufos= Norway 513
=St. Anthony= Minnesota 80
=Schaffhausen= Switzerland 100
=Seven Falls= Colorado 266
=Shoshone= Idaho 210
=Skykjefos= Norway 700
=Snoqualmie= Washington 268
=Staubbach= Switzerland 1,000
=Stirling= New Zealand 500
=Sutherland= New Zealand 1,904
=Takkakaw= British Columbia 1,200
=Tequendama= Colombia 475
=Tessa Falls= Austria 541
=Twin= Idaho 180
=Velino Falls= Italy 591
=Vermafos= Norway 984
=Vettisfos= Norway 950
=Victoria Falls= Zambezi 400
=Voringsfos= Norway 600
=Yellowstone (upper)= Montana 110
=Yellowstone (lower)= Montana 310
=Yguazu or Iguazu= Brazil 210
=Yosemite (upper)= California 1,436
=Yosemite (middle)= California 626
=Yosemite (lower)= California 400
[Illustration: =FAMOUS WATER PICTURES OF THE NEW AND OLD WORLD=
Niagara in winter presents a picture of frozen grandeur equaled nowhere
else in the world.]
[Illustration: The Rhine at Schaffhausen, Switzerland, rushes over
rugged rocks on its way down from the highlands into the lovely and
historic valley it has carved for itself on its way to the sea.]
[Illustration: =FAR-FAMED WATERFALLS THAT HAVE INSPIRED TRAVELERS AND
WRITERS=
1. The NIAGARA FALLS and rapids form one of the most impressive
spectacles in the world. The Niagara River, which is the sole outlet of
the great lakes, pours itself in two vast sheets over a precipice about
160 feet high. Goat Island, which is situated on the lip of the falls,
divides the cataract into two sections--the Horseshoe, or Canadian fall,
which is by far the more majestic, and the America fall. It has a
descent of 158 feet and the American fall of 167 feet. The volume of
water which sweeps over this immense chasm is about 15,000,000 cubic
feet per minute. The limestone edge of both falls is wearing away in the
center, the Canadian fall now being V-shaped, and the American fall
showing the same tendency, although its process of recession has begun
more recently. For some distance below the falls there is smooth
current, the mass of water which pours over the precipice sinking and
only coming to the surface two miles below, where the rapids, more
magnificent and wilder than those above the falls, begin, and culminate
in the rapids of the Upper Whirlpool. Lower down the river is the
whirlpool itself, where a sharp turn sends the waters hurling against
the Canadian side; they then sweep round in a gigantic circle before
they find a vent at right angle with their former course. The sight of
the falls is equally awe-inspiring from the bridge on the lip of the
fall, from the boat which plies from shore to shore below the cataract,
or from the Cave of the Winds, reached from Goat Island. Although in
summer the magnificence of the sight is extraordinary, it is in winter,
when the wizardry of the frost is upon it, that it is superlatively
beautiful. The falls were first discovered by Father Hennepin in 1678.
2. The FALLS OF JUANACATLAN (_hoo-ă-nă-kwt-lăn_), Mexico, are located
near the island city of Guadalajara (guă-dă-lă-hă´ră) on the Rio Grande
de Santiago. Though only 70 feet in height they are more than 600 feet
wide, and as known as the “Niagara” of Mexico.
3. The CATARACTS OF IGUAZU (_e-gwă´soo_) on the frontiers of Brazil,
Argentina and Paraguay. These falls, situated in a remote wilderness,
far from civilization, are a veritable fortress in protecting the
peace-loving peoples on their borders. They constitute a series of falls
extending over three miles, and more than 200 feet in height, and of
magnificent scenic beauty. Their energy is estimated to be about
14,000,000 horse-power, or almost three times that of Niagara.
4. The YOSEMITE (_yo-sem´i-tee_) FALLS of California, are highest and
probably the most remarkable of their class. They descend on almost
perpendicular ledge of rocks 2,600 feet high to the bottom of the
Yosemite valley, forming three separate cataracts. The first fall is
1,600 feet sheer descent. Then comes a series of cascades, partly
hidden, 600 feet downward, and a final leap of 400 feet. Seen from afar,
the Yosemite Falls seem insignificant; but they are, in fact, 35 feet
wide, and the shock of their descent is observed a mile away.
5. The STAUBBACH (_stoub´băk_) FALLS, in the Swiss Alps near
Lauterbrunnen, descends a precipice of 980 feet, and is reduced to spray
like a misty veil before reaching the bottom. It is the highest unbroken
fall in Switzerland, and the most noted.
6. The GREAT FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE, though not so high, vie with the
Yosemite in striking beauty. These famous falls plunge from a height of
360 feet into the abyss of a mighty chasm. At the point of descent, the
waters of the Yellowstone suddenly contract from a width of 250 feet to
75 feet.
7. The BRIDAL VEIL FALLS of California, belong to the famous Yosemite
Valley. Its waters, over 30 feet wide, leap from the granite rocks on
the south wall of the Yosemite in two vertical descents aggregating over
900 feet. The first fall covers a distance of 600 feet, then the waters
rushing over a sloping pile of jagged rocks drops a perpendicular
distance of 300 feet more. From the chief points of view it seems to
make but one plunge, in an unbroken descent similar to the Staubbach,
but carrying a much greater volume of water. Frequently the wind swings
the great plume of water from the face of the cliff and waves it like a
scarf or veil. At sunset rainbows with an indescribable radiance bejewel
its foam and the glistening leaves surrounding it.
8. The REICHENBACH (_ri´ken-băk_) FALLS near Meiningen, Switzerland,
comprise five fine cascades in the Reichenbach River. The most gorgeous
of these, known as the Upper Fall, makes a huge leap of 300 feet into a
deep rocky basin, which then continues in several foaming and plunging
cascades in general aspect not unlike the Niagara gorge.]