228. The Great Falls of the Missouri are the grandest in all North America, those of Niagara excepted; and although the latter exceed the former with respect to volume of water, depth of descent, and awful grandeur, yet the former are far more diversified and beautiful. These falls are within sixty geographical miles of the easternmost range of the Rocky Mountains. They were discovered by Captain Lewis while engaged in exploring the Missouri. Hearing a sound like that of a fall of water, he proceeded in the direction of it. "As he advanced, a spray arose above the plain like a column of smoke, and vanished in an instant. Toward this point he directed his steps; and having traveled seven miles after first hearing the sound, he reached the falls about mid-day. The hills as he approached were difficult of access, and 200 feet high. Down these he hurried with impatience, and seating himself on some rocks under the center of the falls, enjoyed the sublime spectacle of this stupendous cataract, which since the creation has been lavishing its magnificence on the desert, unknown to civilization."

229. The most noted falls of the Eastern Continent are Terni, Italy, a fall of the Velino, of 300 feet, usually regarded as the finest European cataract; Staubach, near Lauterbrunnen, in Switzerland, a perpendicular descent of 800 feet; Rhinefall, near Schaffhausen, a fall of the river Rhine in three distinct branches over a precipice upward ward of 80 feet high; Reichenbach, canton of Bern, a series of six falls, amounting to 1,000 feet; Ache, a small river of Bavaria, descending in five falls 2,000 feet; Evanson, a torrent of Mount Rosa, 1,100 feet; Cauvery, southern India, two grand falls near Seringapatam 810 feet; Girsupah, near a town of that name in the western Ghauts, a single fall of a considerable stream, 872 feet; the cataracts of the Nile, in Nubia and southern Egypt, of ancient celebrity; and Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi, which are described as scarcely less grand than Niagara.

REICHENBACH.

Hoogly

Calcutta

Dacca

233. The waters of the Ganges contain a much greater proportion of sedimentary matter, particularly during the season of the rains, which lasts about four months. The average quantity of solid matter suspended in the water during such times was by weightth part; and the solid matter discharged is th part in bulk, or 577 cubic feet per second. The total annual amount of mud discharged is estimated at 6,368,077,440 cubic feet, a mass equal in weight and bulk, it has been calculated, to eighty-two of the great pyramids of Egypt. The Hoang-Ho, which traverses the great alluvial plain of China, is supposed to bring down in one hour 2,000,000 cubic feet of earth, which so thickens and colors the ocean by its discharges as to originate the name of the Yellow Sea.

DELTA OF THE GANGES.

234. Rivers are grouped into two grand classes, the oceanic and the continental. Oceanic rivers are those which flow direct into the ocean, or into waters communicating with it. They form four distinct systems, belonging respectively to the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans.

I. SYSTEM OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN.

Course.

230. THE termination of rivers is commonly by a single mouth, as in the instances of the St. Lawrence and the Hudson; but many streams, flowing through alluvial regions, carry along

Questions.-228. The Great Falls of the Missouri? Give an account of its discovery. 229. Give the particulars of the following falls and rapids: Terni, Staubach, Rhinefall, Reichenbach, Ache, Evanson, Cauvery, Girsupah, Nile, Victoria. 230. Termination of rivers? Sedimentary accumulations? Deltas? 231. Delta of the Mississippi? The rate of its formation? 232. Proportion of the sedimentary matter? Amount annually brought down? 233. Sedimentary matter in the Ganges?

Rivers. Lena... Olenek Yenesei

Termination.

Length in English miles. ...2,400

Questions.-Total annual amount? The Hoang-Ho? 234. Rivers, how grouped? Oceanic rivers? Systems? Name the principal rivers belonging to the system of the Arctic Ocean. Atlantic Ocean. Pacific Ocean. Indian Ocean.

Sir Charles Lyell.

with the mighty dynasties of Assyria and Babylon, the captivity of God's chosen people, and that momentous hour when the hand of retributive justice unfolded the doom of monarch and of nation at a profane festivity of the royal house; while the Jordan is imperishably linked with far more stupendous transactions: the miracle which divided its waters at the ingress of Israel into the land of promise; and that voice from heaven which proclaimed the character of the Messiah at his baptism in the stream, placing his right to the universal homage of man, supported by the design of his mission, on the firm ground of his Divine nature: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."""

LESSON VI.

RIVER SYSTEMS OF THE WESTERN CONTINENT.

240. In no portion of the world are rivers found upon so magnificent a scale as on the continent of North and South America. The magnitude of these streams is owing to a variety of causes, some of which have been described; as the situation and direction of the great mountain ranges, the extent of the river-basins, etc.: others will be explained in a subsequent part, which treats of wind, rain, etc.

241. NORTH AMERICAN RIVERS.-The continent of North America may, with reference to its drainage, be divided into four grand divisions: (1) The Atlantic slope, or that part which is drained by the rivers tributary to the Atlantic Ocean; (2) the Valley of the Mississippi, lying between the Rocky and Alleghany mountains; (3) the region to the west of the Rocky Mountains, the streams of which are tributary to the Pacific Ocean; (4) the northern slope drained by streams tributary to Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean.

242. The Mississippi is the largest of the North American rivers; it waters the southern half of the great plain, and brings to the sea the drainage of upward of a million of square miles. It rises in the small lake of Itasca, at an elevation of only 1,490 feet above the level of the sea, and flows in a southerly direction to its termination in the Gulf of Mexico, after a course of 2,400 miles. The Mississippi is navigable for 2,000 miles to the Falls of St. Anthony, a distance of about 400 miles below its source.

VIEW ON THE OHIO.

Questions.-240. Magnitude of the American rivers? To what owing? 241. How may the continent of North America be divided with reference to its drainage? First division? Second? Third? Fourth? 242. The Mississippi? Its source, direction, and termination? How far navigable? 248. The Missouri? How far navigable?

Rev. Thomas Milner.

243. The Missouri has its origin in the Rocky Mountains, and runs for 2,500 miles in a southeasterly direction before it joins the Mississippi, making a total distance, from its source to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico, of more than 4,000 miles. It is navigable from the point where it unites with the Mississippi up to the base of the Rocky Mountains, where the Great Falls occur (in latitude 46° 50′).

244. During the period of the annual floods, large tracts of the adjoining country are overflowed, and immense damage done to property. Artificial embankments, called levees, are constructed along the lower course of the Mississippi to prevent inundation; but in seasons of high floods they are often broken through by the force of the waters, forming what are known as crevasses. About one fifth of the whole surface of the State of Louisiana is periodically overflowed.

245. The Ohio is, next to the Missouri, the most important of the tributaries of the Mississippi; it is formed by the junction of the Monongahela and the Alleghany rivers, which unite their waters at Pittsburg, where the river becomes navigable. The Ohio, about 950 miles in length, and from four hundred yards to upward of three quarters of a mile in breadth, flows through one of the most fertile portions of the Mississippi Valley. It has no fall, except a rocky rapid of 22 feet descent at Louisville, around which a canal has been constructed sufficiently capacious to admit steamboats, though not of the largest class. 246. Among the other principal streams in the Valley of the Mississippi are the following: the St. Peters, Iowa, Des Moines, St. Croix, Wisconsin, and Illinois rivers, tributaries to the Mississippi above, and the Ohio, Arkansas, and Red rivers below, the junction of the Missouri; the Yellow Stone, Platte, Kansas, and Osage rivers, tributaries to the Missouri; and the Scioto, Miami, Wabash, Kanawha, Licking, Kentucky, Green, Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers, tributaries to the Ohio.

247. The St. Lawrence is the second great river of the North American continent, and by far the largest of the streams draining the Atlantic slope. Its channel from Lake Ontario to the sea is about 700 miles long, but (including the great chain of the lakes from which it derives its waters) the whole length, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the western extremity of Lake Superior, is 1,880 miles. Above Montreal, rapids occur which interrupt its navigation. During four months of the year the navigation is completely stopped by the ice.

248. Of the other streams draining the Atlantic slope, the principal are the Connecticut (400 miles), the Hudson (325 miles), the Delaware (300 miles), the Susquehanna (450 miles), the Potomac (400 miles), the James (450 miles), the Roanoke (350 miles), the Pedee (350 miles), the Santee (350 miles), the Savannah (400 miles), and the Altamaha (400 miles),-all of which flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The Appalachicola (600 miles) and the Mobile, farther to the westward,

Questions.-244. Floods? Artificial embankments? 245. The Ohio? Its length, etc.? Falls? 246. Tributaries to the Mississippi above the junction of the Missouri? Below the junction of the Missouri? Tributaries to the Missouri? Toe Ohio? 247. The St. Lawrence? Its length from Lake Ontario? Its whole length, including the lakes? Rapids? Ice? 248. Other streams draining the Atlantic slope? Their navigability? The Hudson, how far navigable for the largest ships? For steamers?

flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Most of these rivers are navigable for a considerable distance inland, and the Hudson (at the mouth of which stands the city of New York) can be ascended by the largest merchant ships 120 miles, and steamers nearly 160 miles.

249. The principal rivers draining the region to the west of the Rocky Mountains-forming the third division-are the Fraser (600 miles), Oregon or Columbus (750 miles), Sacramento (420 miles), and the Colorado (840 miles). Columbia, the most considerable of these, receives several important tributaries, the largest of which is the Lewis. The river Sacramento waters the northern half of the valley lying between the Sierra Nevada and the coast range of California, and forms at its mouth the harbor of San Francisco: immediately above this outlet it is joined by the San Joaquin, which drains the southern half of the valley, and carries off the waters of Lake Tulare. The streams tributary to the Sacramento and San Joaquin, which flow in from the west, drain the gold regions of California.

250. Of the streams draining the northern slope of North America two divisions may be made,-one embracing the Nelson, Churchill, and other rivers flowing into Hudson Bay; and the other, the Mackenzie, Coppermine, and other streams flowing into the Arctic Ocean. The most considerable of these streams is the Mackenzie, which issues from the western extremity of the Great Slave Lake. During the summer it pours a vast flood of waters into the sea, but is obstructed by ice during nine months of the year. 251. The Rio del Norte is a considerable stream of 1,400 miles in length, which rises in the southern part of the Rocky Mountains and runs southwesterly into the Gulf of Mexico. To the south of this stream are few rivers of any considerable length. The San Juan, in Central America, possesses considerable interest from its having afforded, since the discovery of gold in California, the principal channel of communication be

FALLS OF THE MADEIRA.

Questions.-249. The principal rivers draining the third division? The Columbia ? Sacramento? San Joaquin? Gold regions, how drained? 250. What two divisions of the streams draining the northern slope? The Mackenzie? 251. The Rio del Norte? San Juan? 252. The three principal rivers of South America? 253. The Orinoco? Casiquiare? 354. The principal tributaries of the Orinoco? Its navigability? 255. The Amazon?

tween the opposite shores of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It has its origin in the lake of Nicaragua, on the southern portion of the plateau of Guatemala, and after a course of 120 miles empties itself into the Caribbean Sea.

LESSON VII.

RIVER SYSTEMS OF THE WESTERN CONTINENT-(CONTINUED). 252. SOUTH AMERICAN RIVERS.-The three principal rivers of South America are the Orinoco, the Amazon, and the La Plata, which drain respectively the northern, middle, and southern portions of the great plain.

253. The Orinoco (about 1,200 miles long) rises in the mountains of Guiana. About 130 miles below its source it sends off to the southward a branch called the Casiquiare (200 miles in length), which joins the river Negro, a tributary of the Amazon, and thus effects a natural communication (navigable for boats) between the basins of these two great rivers.

254. The principal tributaries of the Orinoco are the Guaviare, Meta, and Apure (rising in the Andes), on its left bank; the Ventuari, Caura, and Caroni, on the right. Below the village of Angostura, 280 miles from the mouth of the Orinoco, no impediments to its navigation occur: above this its course is occasionally interrupted by rapids, but in general it presents a deep and navigable channel nearly to its source.

255. The Amazon (called the Maranon in the upper portion of its course) rises in the small lake of Lauriococha, upon the table-land of Pasco, amid the highest parts of the Peruvian Andes. Thence it flows in a northerly course until it leaves the mountains, and afterward crosses the great plain in an easterly direction to the Atlantic Ocean. The whole length of the Amazon is a little short of 3,900 miles. 256. The tributaries of the Amazon are numerous and on a grand scale, some of them being equal to the largest streams of the Old World. The principal are the Napo, Putumayo or Ica, Japura, and Negro, on the left bank; the Huallaja, Ucayali, Javary, Jutay, Jura or Hyaruha, Teffe, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu or Chingua, and Tocantins, upon the right. The Madeira has a course of more than 2,000 miles before it joins the Amazon.

257. At the distance of 700 miles below its source the Amazon has a width of 800 yards, and during the last 450 miles of its course it is nowhere less than four miles in width, and at its mouth the channel is fifty miles across. A recent exploration of this river* has proved that it is navigable for vessels of the largest class, during a considerable part of the year, from its mouth to the very foot of the Andes, a distance of about 3,500 miles. So great is the amount of water which it brings down that its freshness is perceptible at a distance of more than 500 miles from the coast.

Questions. Its course? Length? 256. What is said of the tributaries of the Amazon? The principal tributaries on the left bank? Upon the right bank? The Madeira? 257. Width of the Amazon? How far navigable? Illustrate the amount of water it brings down.

*By Lieut. Herndon.

258. The Rio de la Plata is a broad fresh-water estuary, which receives the waters of the Parana and Uruguay. The Parana has its rise in the mountains of Brazil, and, reckoning from its most distant source to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, is 2,350 miles in length. About 760 miles above the sea it receives the Paraguay, which has a course of about 1,260 miles. The Uruguay (1,000 miles long) flows nearly parallel to the lower course of the Parana. Both the Parana and Paraguay are navigable for vessels of considerable draft to a distance of nearly 1,000 miles.

259. Among the other principal rivers of South America are the Magdalena (860 miles), which flows into the Caribbean Sea, and the Atrato (300 miles), into the Gulf of Darien. The Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice, Corentyn, Surinam, Maroni, and Oyapok flow into the Atlantic to the eastward of the mouth of the Orinoco. To the east and south of the Amazon are the Maranhao, Parnahiba, St. Francisco (1,500 miles), and many others belonging to the Atlantic coast. The Colorado (600 miles) and the Negro (800 miles) flow into the Atlantic southwest of the Rio de la Plata.

260. The rivers on the western coast of South America are very short; among the longest are the Biobio, in Chile, about 150 miles, and a few streams of nearly equal length to the northward of the Gulf of Guayaquil.

RIVER SYSTEMS OF THE EASTERN CONTINENT.

261. EUROPEAN RIVERS.-Europe is divided into two principal river systems,-one embracing those streams which have a southerly direction, and flow into the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Black seas; the other comprising those which have a northerly course, and terminate in the North, Baltic, and White seas, and the Arctic Ocean.

262. In the west, these two systems are for the most part divided by the Alps and German mountains; but in the eastern part of Europe the division of the waters is merely a ridge of the great plain slightly elevated above the general level. This watershed begins on the northern declivity of the Carpathian Mountains, about the 23d meridian, in a low range of hills running between the sources of the Dnieper and the tributaries of the Vistula, from whence it winds in a tortuous course along the plain to the Valdai table-land, which is its highest point, 1,200 feet above the sea. It then declines northward toward the Onega, about the 60th parallel, and lastly turns in a very serpentine line to the Ural Mountains, near the 62d degree of north latitude.

263. The Volga, which is the largest river of Europe, rises in the plateau of Valdai, at the height of 1,100 feet above the sea; its entire course is 2,200 miles in length, and the area of its basin about 520,000 square miles, or nearly one seventh

Questions.-258. The Rio de la Plata? The Parana? Paraguay? Uruguay? How far are the Parana and Paraguay navigable? 259. Other principal rivers of South America? Rivers flowing into the Atlantic to the east of the mouth of the Orinoco? To the east and south of the Amazon? To the south of the Rio de la Plata? 260. The rivers of the western coast? Biobio? 261. Into what two river systems is Europe divided? 262. Division of the two systems in the western part?

of the whole surface of the continent. The Volga is navigable through nearly its whole length, and has considerable depth. During the greater part of winter it is frozen over, but at other times is the highway of a most extensive traffic.

264. The Danube, 1,630 miles, is the second of the rivers of Europe, both in length of course and in the area of its basin, which is 310,000 square miles in extent. It rises in the Black Forest, to the north of Switzerland, at a height of 2,200 feet above the level of the sea, and flows in an easterly direction across the plateau of Bavaria, through Austria, the plain of Hungary, and between Bulgaria and Wallachia, until it enters the Black Sea.

265. The Danube is navigable from its mouth up to Ulm (10° east longitude), or throughout nearly the whole length of its course, excepting between the towns of Moldova and Gladova, where it passes, for a space of 60 miles, through a succession of rapids and shallows. The principal tributaries are the Inn, the Drave, the Save, and the Morava, on the south (or right-hand) bank; and the March, the Theiss, the Aluta, and the Pruth, on the north side. All of these are rivers of conMerable magnitude.

266. The other principal streams which flow into the Black Sea are the Dniester (1,200 miles), the Dnieper (1,200 miles), and the Don (1,100 miles). The Dnieper is navigable from Smolensk to the sea, excepting for a distance of about 150 miles below Kiev, within which its navigation is impeded by rocks and cataracts.

267. The Rhine rises in the Alps, at an elevation of 6,580 feet, and flows in the upper portion of its course through Lake Constance. It has a length of 760 miles, and its basin is 70,000