THE TWINS, BLUFF CITY, UTAHThe distance from the bottom of the cliff to thetop of the erosion columns is 275 feet.
Frontispiece
THE WESTERN
UNITED STATES
A GEOGRAPHICAL READER
BY
AUTHOR OF "STORIES OF OUR MOTHER EARTH," "HOME GEOGRAPHY," "STORIESOF ROCKS AND MINERALS," "PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA," ETC.
BOSTON, U.S.A.
D. C. HEATH & CO.,PUBLISHERS
1904
PREFACE
In the preparation of this book the author has had in mind theneeds of the upper grammar grades. The subject matter has not beenselected with the object of covering the field of Western geographyin a systematic manner, but instead the attempt has been made topicture as graphically as may be some of its more striking andinteresting physical features, and the influence which these featureshave exerted upon its discovery and settlement.
Those subjects have been presented which have more than local interestand are illustrative of world-wide principles. Clear conceptionsof the earth and man's relation to it are not gained by generalstatements as readily as by the comprehensive study of concreteexamples.
Nowhere outside of the Cordilleran region are to be found so remarkableillustrations of the growth and destruction of physical features, orso clear examples of the control which physical features exerciseover the paths of exploration, settlement, and industrial development.
The fact that the West furnishes a wealth of material for geographyteaching has long been recognized in a general way, although therehas been but little attempt to present this material in a formsuitable for the use of schools.
The illustrations are, with few exceptions, from the author's ownphotographs, and the descriptions are made up from his personalobservations. Since the illustrations are numerous and have beenselected with much care, it is hoped that they will add greatlyto the value of the text. They should be used, and a properunderstanding of the pictures made a part of every lesson.
CONTENTS
THE WORK OF THE COLORADO RIVER
A TRIP INTO THE GRAND CAÑON OF THECOLORADO
HOW THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU WAS MADE
THE CAÑONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS
SOMETHING ABOUT EARTHQUAKES AND MOUNTAIN BUILDING
THE LAST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
THE MUD VOLCANOES OF THE COLORADO DESERT