Australia, with the East Indian Archipelago on the east, and the peninsula of Hindostăn' on the west.

395. A great difference prevails among the several continents respecting the extent of their coast line. Some, being deeply indented with gulfs and inland seas, and having several peninsulas, have a very extended coast line; while others, more compact, and with few indentations or projections, have a comparatively short line of coast. The following table exhibits these differences :

396. Europe is more varied in its outline than either of the other continents. It is deeply indented in all parts by the ocean and by inland seas, and seems almost entirely made up of peninsulas. Nearly half its surface is occupied by waters within its limits, rendering it the most accessible of all the continents.

397. Asia has the large peninsulas of Ara'bia, Hindostǎn', and In'do-Chi'na on the south, Core'a and Kamtchǎt'ka on the east, with Chi'na and Mantchôu'ria projecting forward into the ocean. These, however, comprise only one fifth of its entire mass.

398. Africa is the most simple in its outline, having an oval form, with no important peninsulas, and nowhere admitting the sea.

399. North America resembles Europe more nearly in its extensive and irregular coast line. The Arctic coast is very much broken with gulfs and inlets, and the Atlantic coast has several important bays and gulfs.

400. South America is but slightly indented by the sea, excepting its south and south-west portion, where the coast is broken by sounds and fiords which run far into the land.

401. Remarkable resemblances and differences in the reliefs of the continents also present themselves to view. All

Of Europe and Africa. Of Asia and Australia. - 395. Difference in extent of coast line. Table. 396. Describe Europe in its coast line. -397. Asia. 398. Africa. 399. North America. 400. South America. -401. Remark on the reliefs of the continents. Line of highest elevation. Relative position

the continents rise gradually from the sea shores towards the interior, to a line of highest elevation. This line of greatest elevation is not placed midway between the sea shores, but runs nearer to one than to the other; hence there are two slopes, unequal in length and inclination. In the Old World the long slopes are towards the north, and short slopes towards the south. In the New World the long slopes are towards the east, and the short slopes towards the west.

402. In this line of highest elevation itself we observe a gradual descent from the highest or culminating point towards the extremities, in two unequal inclinations. In the Old World the highest elevation is in the Himalay'a, the long descent extending towards the west, and the short towards the east. In the New World the highest elevation is in the Andes, in Chî'le, the long descent extending towards the north, and the short towards the south.

403. Thus all the long and gentle slopes descend towards the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans; and all the short and rapid slopes descend towards the Pacific and Indian Oceans. "In this point of view," says Professor Guyot, "these two great oceans appear as two basins of different geological character. The Pacific seems an immense basin which has sunk down, and whose high and ragged edges present on all sides the abrupt terminations of the continents. It is on this great line of fractures, on the borders and all round this ocean, that we behold the great majority of the active volcanoes of our globe, arranged like an immense burning crown. The Atlantic, on the contrary, seems a simple depression in the form of a trough, owing, perhaps, to a lateral pressure, and partly to the tilting motion which lifted up the lands in the neighborhood of the Pacific. Hence its narrow breadth, the valley form, the absence of numerous islands in the interior of its basin, and the descent of all the neighboring continents by gentle slopes."

404. In the distribution of mountains, plateaus, and plains, we also perceive remarkable differences between the two great continents. In the Old World mountains and plateaus predominate. Central Asia is traversed by four immense chains of mountains, supporting vast table lands, which are more than 2400 miles long and 1500 miles wide, and from 5000 to 14,000 feet in elevation. Here are also the loftiest summits on the globe. The principal mass of Western Asia is a plateau of this line. Long and short slopes of the Old and New World. 402. Fact observable in this line of highest elevation itself. Where is the culminating point in the Old World? Where in the New?-403. Summary view of the slopes. Remark on the Pacific Ocean. 404. Distribution of mountains,

from 3000 to 6000 feet in elevation. Africa, south of the Sahä'ra, is an enormous pile of uplifted lands. Mountains and plateaus cover five sevenths of Asia and two thirds of Africa.

405. In the New World the plains predominate, forming two thirds of its surface. The highlands, in a narrow band, run along the western border of the two Americas, while almost the whole east extends in immense plains. If we compare the plains of the Mississippi and the Amazon with those of Sibe'ria and Sahä'ra, we shall perceive a very striking contrast. In the former we find a happy climate, a rich and fertile soil, a luxuriant vegetation, and inexhaustible resources, thus combining all the requisites for the prosperity of a country. In the latter we have a frozen waste in Sibe'ria, and a burning sandy desert in Sahä'ra, both alike useless.

to man.

406. A characteristic feature of Western Europe (not including Rus'sia) is that of mountains without plateaus at their base. From one end of Europe to the other, whether over its central mass or its peninsulas, its surface is modified, cut in all directions, by mountain chains intersecting each other. In all this part of the continent, the largest plain that of Northern Germany and Poland — is only 600 miles long by 200 broad; and the plains of France, Hungary, and Lom'bardy are smaller in extent.

407. The mean height of the continents, or their elevation above the level of the sea, depends not so much on the mountain chains as on the gentle but extensive and compact swellings of the plains, and the development of the table lands. Humboldt has calculated that the Pyrenees Mountains would produce upon the whole of Europe, if spread over its surface, scarcely the effect of 6 feet elevation, and the Alps about 22 feet, while the plateau of Spain would produce an effect of 76 feet. If the vast range of the An'des were pulverized and spread evenly over the eastern plain of South America, it would raise the surface only about 500 feet. The mean height of Europe is estimated at 670 feet; North America, 750 feet; South America, 1130 feet; and Asia, 1150 feet. The mean elevation of the whole land plateaus, and plains. Which predominate in the Old World? Of Western Asia. Of Africa south of the desert. Extent of Mountains and plateaus in Asia and Africa. 405. Extent of plains in America. Relative position of plains and highlands. Comparison of the plains of the western with those of the eastern continent.. Characteristics of the former. Of the latter. 406. Characteristic feature of Western Europe. Limited extent of the European plains. 407. On what does the mean height of the continents depend? Cal

surface of the earth is 920 feet. The culminating point of Europe is Mont Blanc, 15,739 feet; of North America, Mount St. Elias, 17,860 feet; of South America, Mount Aconcagua, 23,910 feet; of Asia, Mount Kunchingin'ga, 28,178 feet; and of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, 20,000 feet.

culation of Humboldt with regard to the Pyrenees, Alps, and the plateau of Spain. Also of the Andes. Estimates of the mean height of the continents, and of the whole land surface of the earth. Culminating point of each continent.

CHAPTER XIII.

GENERAL AND COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE OCEANS.

"For he hath founded it upon the seas, seas, and established it upon the floods."

Ps. xxiv. 2.

408. THE CONTINENTS determine the general outlines of the great ocean basins. The Pacific and Atlantic almost surround the principal masses of land. The Pacific, the Indian, and the Atlantic Oceans correspond to the three double continents, and separate them from one another. Each of them is also divided into a northern and southern basin, except the Indian Ocean, which is only a half ocean. These oceans have a broad opening at the south, and are narrowed to a point at the north, which is the reverse of the continents.

409. The Pacific is an oval form, wide at the south, the sides nearly meeting at the north, being only separated by Behr'ing's Strait, which leads into the Arctic. The Indian Ocean has the form of a triangle, with the vertex towards the north. The Atlantic has the form of a valley, with nearly parallel sides.

410. The oceans differ in the indentations of their shores. The forms may be classified under three species, viz.: first, land-locked seas, being cut off from the body of the ocean by peninsulas and chains of islands; second, open seas or gulfs; and third, inland seas, being nearly surrounded by land in a continuous shore.

411. In the Pacific we find the land-locked seas. There are no less than five along the Asiatic coast― the Sea of Kamtchǎt'ka, closed in by the peninsula of Aliăs'ka and the chain of the Aleū'tian Islands; the Sea of Okhotsk', enclosed by the peninsula of Kamtchat'ka and the Kú'rile Islands; the Sea of Japan', enclosed by the Japan Islands; the Yěl'408. Outlines of the ocean basins. Correspondence between the oceans and continents. Reverse contours of the oceans. 409. Describe the Pacific Ocean. The Indian Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean. 410. Indentations of their shores. Three species of indentations. -411. Prevailing form in the Pacific. Sea of Kamtchatka. Sea of Okhotsk. Sea of Japan. Yellow Sea. China 12* (137)