circumference of the globe. In the New World, the land is developed along an axis running nearly north and south, through more than two-thirds of the circumference. On the north both have a comparatively smooth outline, almost coinciding with the 70th parallel; while on the opposite side they run far down into the southern body of waters in great pyramidal prolongations, with extensions beneath the sea, as indicated by islands or banks. South America is continued in the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego; Africa is flanked by a great submarine plateau, called the Lagullas Bank; while Australia has a like extension in Tasmania and its connected islets. In both directions the most prominent points are nearly under the same meridian. Thus, though the principal mass of South America lies to the east of the meridian of 70° W., and that of North America to the west of it, yet it is under this meridian that we find the most northerly and southerly points of the continent, the north-west point of Greenland in 83° N. and Cape Horn in 56° S. The north Cape of Europe, and the Cape of Good Hope are both on the meridian of 20 E.; and Cape Taimura, or the north-east Cape of Siberia, and the extremity of Malaya, on that of 100° E.--Proceeding eastwards from the Atlantic we find three great promontories successively nearer to the pole: Africa terminates in lat. 34°, Australia in lat. 40°, and South America in lat. 56°. The tendency to repeat these pyramidal terminations on their southern sides is seen in Asia, Europe, and North America. Asia presents towards the ocean on its southern side from Behring Strait to Suez, a succession of great peninsulas and promontories, while its outline on the north is almost unbroken by projecting points of land. Europe fronts the Mediterranean with a like series of salient lands and re-entrant bays; and in North America, Greenland, and three large peninsulas taper off in the same manner towards the body of water on the south. The only notable exceptions to this tendency are found in Labrador and Yucatan in America, and Jutland in Europe, all of which are directed northwards. In singular contrast to these broken outlines are the smooth coast profiles of the great southern masses of land, Africa, Australia, and South America. The latter has a compensation in the most magnificent river-system on the surface of the globe, by means of which the continent can be traversed in every direction through almost its entire breadth. The want of such a system, and their unvaried contours seem almost to close up the two former against all influences from without. They have climates of a peculiar character, and civilization and commerce are as yet confined to a few favoured spots along their margins. Europe is placed, in this respect, under more favoured conditions than any other of the continents. Not only is its principal mass characterized by an extraordinary complicity of bay, gulf, and inland sea; but its separate limbs or members thus

formed, are again divided in endless variety of prominence and indentation. The facilities thus provided for intercourse among the various races that from time to time have occupied its shores, cannot be regarded as fortuitous-they are obviously parts of a great design for the diffusion of Christianity and the growth of civilization.-The differences of configuration, and the relative accessibility of the continents, have been reduced to numerical expression by comparing the areas and extent of sea coast. These are given in the following table, which is calculated for minutes of a degree or geographical miles :

Continents.

Europe,
N. America,
Australia,

S. America,
Asia,
Africa,

Square miles to one mile of coast.

2,688,000 5,472,000

17,200

156

- 2,208,000

623

8,720,000 14,000

estimate; their introduction would greatly modify The river systems are of course omitted in this the ratios of accessibility, at least as regards North and South America.

To some less important analogies and contrasts in the horizontal profiles Humboldt long ago called attention, but without professing to have ascertained any "causal connection." Of these we may mention the convexity of Brazil opposite to the deep concavity of the Gulf of Guinea; the convexity of Africa, fronting the deeply indented coast of Central America; the correspondence of the salient and re-entering angles on the west coasts of Africa and South America, and the parallelism of their eastern shores; the opposition of indented and island-fringed coasts to those having an outline smooth and free from islands, and the fiord character of Norway and Scotland repeated in corresponding south latitudes on the west coast of America.

FRAMNAES FIORD, NORWAY.

3. Vertical Contours. The horizontal profiles, which we have thus briefly sketched, have an intimate dependence upon the vertical contour; that is, upon the direction and height of the mountain ranges, and the situation of the plains. Horizontal extent, and the forms even into which the horizontal outlines are broken, are in most cases determined by the direction of the greatest length of high ground in the interior,-in other words, the development of the land is in the same direction as the greater axis of a mountain chain or hill range; and this is true alike of the continents, as of most of the islands, peninsulas, and promontories. The length of America is determined by a vast chain, the longest and most continuously elevated on the surface of the globe. The great breadth of the continent in Brazil, the United States, and Labrador, is obviously connected with the considerable, but much less elevated mountain ranges flanking these plains on the east, and having a general parallelism to one another, and to the shores of the Atlantic.

In the eastern continent a like dependence is observable; the land has its greatest extent nearly from east to west, and this is also the general direction of the principal axes of all its elevated masses; they present undulations much more considerable than those of the New World, but no wide interruption in continuity from the west of Spain to the Sea of Okhotsk and Behring Strait. Here the chains of the two continents are brought into close connection. Together they form a vast girdle encircling the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and surrounding the Mediterranean,-for the Atlas is part of the system. Abrupt towards these oceans, its gradual slopes are directed northwards to the Arctic basin, and in America eastward towards the Atlantic.

The structure of Africa and Australia is essentially different from that of the other continents. They have elevated borders and a comparatively low interior, and are without any single high chain determining the outlines, as in America and Asia. Of Australia we know too little to be able to speak positively, the east border is formed by a high persistent chain; the west by one less elevated and less continuous. The interior between them is comparatively level, and in many parts desert. Of the Antarctic continent, we only know that it has an ice-bound coast and lofty volcanic peaks in its interior. It has not been, and probably never can be explored.

4. Mean Height of Land.-Mountain chains and table-lands influence in the most remarkable way all terrestrial phenomena, and to some extent the political and social relations of all the adjoining nations. Yet is their mass insignificant in comparison to the low and level tracts. To reduce this to numerical expression, Humboldt made approximate estimates of the quantity of matter in chains and plateaux, calculating that of the former as triangular prisms, that of the latter as parallelopipeds, with due allowance for irregularities of outline, and departure from these exact figures. Thus, taking the area of the base of the Pyrenees at 1720 square miles (statute), and the mean height of the 48 passes over

the crest (excluding the two roads at the end of the chain) at 7990 feet, the quantity of matter in the chain is such as, if spread equally over Europe, would raise its surface 6 feet, and if spread over France, would raise it 115 feet. The Alps cover a base four times greater than that of the Pyrenees, but the passes have a mean height 300 feet less. The matter distributed, would raise the mean level of Europe 22 feet; that of the Spanish plateau, whose mean height is 1920 feet, would raise Europe 36 feet. The plateau of Tibet, with its great bounding chains, would raise Asia 358 feet. Taking in this way the means between all the high lands and all the low lands, the mean elevations of the continents have been found approximately as follows:-Europe, 671 feet; North America, 784; South America, 1132; Asia, 1152. The mean elevation of Asia is so small, notwithstanding its vast chains and tablelands, on account of the great extent of the Siberian plains, and the depression about the Caspian, which form together one-third of the continent, and have a mean elevation of no more than 255 feet. This fact, in connection with the slight elevation of North Europe and North America, places in a striking light the low level of the Arctic regions. The mean height of all the land on the globe is estimated at 1000 feet of the New World, at 930 feet; and of the Old, at 1010.

The

5. Islands. The islands of the globe have been estimated to contain about one-twenty-third of the area of all the continents. They are divided into two groups, the continental and pelagic. former are those which are closely connected with continents, like the adjoining mainland in physical aspect, in their fauna and flora; the latter, those dotting the surface of the ocean far away from land. Taking their features from an axial chain parallel to, or in continuation of one upon the mainland, continental islands are generally much extended in one particular direction; while pelagic isles are either without mountains, or receive their form and outline from a central peak or group. Pelagic isles occur in countless multitudes over the surface of the central and western Pacific, and there are a few in the Atlantic, Indian, and Southern Oceans. With a very few exceptions, these are all either of volcanic or coralline formation, or have been produced by the joint action of volcanic forces and the coral-building polypi. The few exceptions to this rule are the Seychelles in the North Indian Ocean, which consist chiefly of granite and quartz rock, Kerguelen's Land in the southern part of the same ocean, having an axis of primary rocks, with a volcanic group in the north, and New Caledonia, 1000 miles north of New Zealand, which has a central ridge of old rocks, and fringing reefs of coral.

6. Rivers.-The declivities of the land determine the fall of rivers, the direction being usually at right angles to the axis of the ranges, which send them off, and in most cases the size of the river depends on the length of its course; usually also, the countries with a great rainfall are those in which the largest rivers are found. The Shannon in Ireland is an exception to the first, there being perhaps no river with so short a course and so great a

body of water, while it is otherwise exceptional as running parallel to the sea coast, and at no great distance from it, instead of issuing from the centre of the country. The Nile is a striking exception -its course being certainly the longest in the world, but the body of water by no means comparable to that of many shorter streams. In or near the tropical regions, the larger rivers ought to be found, as the rain-fall is greatest; and we find it thus in South America, where the Amazons, the largest of the globe, is also the only one whose course is almost wholly along the equator. The Missouri-Mississippi is indeed no doubt longer, but its discharge is less. The two greatest rivers of the world, then, are on the American continent, and they form a pair almost exactly equal in all their main features-both are navigable through nearly 2000 miles. Comparable to the two great streams of America, are the two great rivers of Asia-the Yang-tse and the Whangho, which have their sources in the ice caves of the vast central plateau, have immense volumes of water, and are navigable without hindrance through nearly 2000 miles. One river of Asia, the Burrampooter, presents the marvellous anomaly of having the principal part of its course at the height of 11 to 13 thousand feet above the sea, and being

here navigated for many hundreds of miles. But an account of the other streams would lead into long details, for which there is no space; it must suffice here to refer to the scheme upon the map.

7. Mountains. The diagram in the map brings the principal mountains of the continents into close comparison, and an examination of it will serve the purpose of a detailed description. As the various chains fall more naturally to be described under the accounts of the physical structure of the various continents, it will be unnecessary to do more here than refer the reader to the scheme. Asia, in its Indian Himalaya, has the loftiest mountain, Deodhunga or Gaurisankar; and in a circuit of two or three hundred miles from it on this and the connected chains, there is a greater number of lofty peaks than in any other part of the world-a vast assemblage, the height of all of which much passes the heights even of the loftiest Andes, which come next to these giant peaks of Asia. Wondrous, impressive, awe-inspiring as they are, and fitted to raise the soul in adoration of the power and majesty of the Creator, yet are they withal less picturesque and pleasing than lesser chains, amid which we have the added charm of winding lake, rugged crag, embosomed isle, and hanging wood.

to that contained in any other continent, so deeply intersected is it on all sides by gulfs and bays. This is at once made apparent by laying off upon a map an elliptic area from the northern point of

Moravia as a centre, with the semi-axis major reaching to the mouth of the Danube, while the semi-axis minor reaches the head of the Adriatic.— Access to the heart of the continent is thus had on all sides; and this structure, in connection with the great number of large navigable rivers, has contributed immensely to the intercourse of its people and the development of its resources. Though but one-third the size of Africa, the coast line of the inland seas, estuaries, and oceanic boundaries, makes a greater total water-boundary than that of this continent (Art. 19).

These peculiar features of Europe are intimately related to the disposition of the masses of high land on the continent. A broad and nearly continuous zone of mountains traverses it in a direction

which is approximately from east to west, or nearly perpendicular to the Atlantic coast, while on either side of this the surface is so low and level, that oceanic influences are freely admitted even to the central elliptic area most remote from any body of water. The two great inland seas opening off the Atlantic, and the great Northern plain, give ready access for the prevailing westerly currents of the atmosphere, charged with a load of moisture, to the interior of the continent. Hence arises the mild climate which most of the countries enjoy, even in the highest latitudes, and which stands in singular contrast to the character of the seasons in the same latitudes in the New World. If the direction of the elevated framework of high land had been meridional and near the west coast, and its elevation even no greater than we find it, the interior of the continent would have been very differently circumstanced as regards moisture and general temperature; and such an excessive climate might have reigned over very large portions of it as now prevails in the middle and eastern parts of Russia. Such a chain would have arrested the warm moist currents, and obliged them to deposit nearly all their load against the cool summits, as mountain ranges not so high do in other countries-notably India and Ceylon. The range itself would have been well watered, and would have been a storehouse for a persistent supply of perennial streams, parting off on both sides; but the central and eastern plains would have received from these winds but a scanty supply of moisture; and instead of latent heat being set free, caloric would have been absorbed and evaporation promoted. Over Central and East Russia, some such effect as this is really produced, even under the actual configuration of the surface of Europe. Before reaching so far, the westerly currents, which are the great source of moisture and mild climate in Europe, have lost to the mountain ranges, across which they must pass, nearly all their moisture-they are dry and cool, and promote evaporation. Besides, the country is completely open to the north and northeast, so that Arctic influences rule supreme. had the Ural been an abrupt chain of somewhat greater altitude and transverse to the meridian, the climate of the east of Europe would have been very different. Remarkably contrasted with it is the climate of the north-western part of the continent,

But

ocean.

which enjoys much milder seasons in latitudes considerably to the north. Here, and along the western coasts generally, the waters of the Gult Stream exercise a powerful influence over and above those effects which are due to the proximity of the The tepid waters warm the air, and milder temperatures are diffused than would otherwise prevail. It is also important to remark, that Europe lies wholly within the region of variable. winds, and thus becomes liable to many local influences not found on the other continents, which greatly modify the character of her climate.

9. Climates. With certain local exceptions, the following division of Europe into zones will convey a correct notion of the climates :

1. The sub-tropical zone, embracing the south of Portugal, as much of Spain as is bounded north by a line joining Cape St. Vincent to Cape St. Martin and the Balearic Isles, the southern half of Sicily, and the southern promontories of Italy. Sheltered by the high lands on the north, and open to the sea influences and to the warm winds of Africa, this zone forms one of the most delightful regions of Europe, and nourishes many vegetable forms found nowhere else on the continent, and usually confined to the tropics or their borders. It is also the only abode in Europe of a quadrumanous animal.

2. The southern zone, reaching from lat. 38° to 45° N., and embracing Spain, the south of France, Italy, Greece, and the south of Turkey. Here the summer temperature reaches 100° F.; winter is short, little snow falls, and spring is early. The weather is generally dry, with cloudless skies; the average rain-fall about 37 inches; number of rainy days 90 to 100. Local exceptions occur in Spain on the plateau of Castile, which, owing to its general elevation and the proximity of snow-clad mountains, has a temperature in winter much lower than is due to the latitude; and also in the mountain tracts in the north of Greece.

3. The middle zone, from lat. 45° to 55° N., embracing the central and northern parts of France, the Netherlands, Germany, and the southern parts of Russia. The summer temperature reaches 90° generally, except in the east of Europe, where it often attains 100° to 110° F. The snow-fall is considerable; winter is the longest season, autumn the shortest; rain-fall about 26 inches, except under peculiar local conditions; the number of days on which rain falls is on an average from 150 to 160. The most remarkable exception is South Russia; here the climate is excessive, from a cause already explained; snow lies for four or five months, the skies are clear as in Canada, and the cold very severe; the spring lasts for but two or three weeks, and vegetation rushes rapidly into summer luxuriance. On the west coast of France, in the same latitude, snow is almost unknown.

4. The northern zone, from lat. 55° to 70° N., embraces all the north of Europe, in which the contrasts are very great, especially towards the north, where the Sun does not set for months, and the heat is not dissipated by the occurrence of night; and for a like reason, the cold of winter is not moderated at the opposite season; the rain-fall, with