When rivers flow down steep or perpendicular banks, they form falls or cataracts, as the falls of Niagara, the falls of the Passaic, and others. 39. What is a Canal?

A. It is a wide ditch or channel, filled with water, through which boats convey travellers and goods from one town to another.

40. Where are Canals most numerous ?

A. In the United States, Great Britain, and Holland. 41. Which is the largest Canal in the world?

A. The Imperial Canal, in China.

42. Which are the largest Canals in the United States?

A. The Erie Canal, in New York; and the Pennsylvania Canal, in the State of Pennsylvania.

4

NATURAL DIVISIONS OF LAND.

43. How is the land surface of the earth divided?.

A. Into two great divisions, the Eastern and Western continents.

44. What does the Eastern continent comprise? A. Europe, Asia, and Africa.

45. What does the Western continent comprise? A. North America and South America. 46. What other division is there on the earth?

A. Oceanica, which comprises the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

NORTHERN OCEAN.

SOUTHERN OCEAN.

47. What are the Eastern and Western continents sometimes

called?

A. The Eastern and Western Hemispheres. hemisphere signifies half a globe.

The word

The map of the world, No. 1., in the Atlas, shows the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

48. Into what division is the earth divided by the Equator? A. Into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

49. What does the Northern Hemisphere comprise ?

A. All that part of the earth between the Equator and the North Pole.

50. What does the Southern Hemisphere comprise?

A. All that part of the earth between the Equator and the South Pole.

The map of the world, No. 2., in the Atlas, shows the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

51. What are the natural divisions of the land surface of the earth?

A. Continents, Peninsulas, Isthmuses, Islands, Capes, Promontories, &c.

52. Why are these called natural divisions?

A. To distinguish them from political divisions, such as Empires, Kingdoms, Republics, &c.

53. What is a Continent?

A. It is a great extent of land, containing many countries. America is a continent.

54. What is a Peninsula ?

A. It is a portion of land, nearly surrounded by water. Africa and South America are peninsulas.

55. What is an Isthmus ?

A. It is a narrow neck of land, which joins two parts of a continent, or a peninsula to a continent; as the Isthmus of Darien, and the Isthmus of Suez.

56. What are Islands?

A. They are portions of land, entirely surrounded by water, as the British Islands, or Newfoundland.

57. What is a Cape?

A. It is a point of land extending into the sea, as the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, &c.

58. What is a Promontory ?

A. It is a high point of land, extending into the sea, the extreme end of which is sometimes called a cape, sometimes a point, and sometimes a headland.

A. It is a portion of land, raised up to a great height.

60. How high are the highest mountains in the world?

A. They are about five and a half miles high; others are two, three, and four miles high.

61. What is a chain or range of Mountains?

A. A number of mountains joined together, and extending many hundreds, and even thousands of miles in length.

A. It is a burning mountain, with an opening at the top, called a crater.

63. What rises from the crater of a Volcano?

C

A. Fire and smoke constantly rise from many Volcanoes. 64. What is sometimes thrown out by Volcanoes?

A. Melted lava, large stones, ashes, and often floods of water. 65. How many Volcanoes are there in the world?

A. More than 200: of which upwards of one-half are in America.

Cities and towns are sometimes set on fire by the burning lava which flows down the sides of volcanoes: others have been destroyed by floods of water; and some by vast showers of hot ashes.

Some mountains are so steep and rugged, that it is difficult to ascend to the top of them. The picture represents a party of men going up Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe. They were more than two days in getting to the top, and were almost frozen with cold. The summits of the highest mountains, even those in the hottest parts of the earth, are always covered with ice and snow.

66. What is a hill?

A. It is a portion of land raised up, but not so high as a

mountain.

67. What is a Valley?

A. It is a low portion of country between mountains or hills. 68. What is a Plain?

A. It is a portion of country nearly flat or level.

69. Are all plains alike in appearance?

A. No; some are covered with grass, some with trees, and some only with sand.