Geography

Front matter

A GEOGRAPHICAL CLOCK. NOCCJ >riGUT By turiTing the revolving disc, so that LONDON is opposite to any hour of the day or-night represented on the clock, the exact time is shown, ofthe various places named onthe revolving disc, by the hours opposite to them. e.g.T.urn the revolving disc so that London is opposite 12 O'clock (noon);then by the Geographical Glock it is 12 O'clock (night) in NewZealand; 7 O'clock (evening) at (Santon; 10 O'clock(morning ) in the Azores, etc. etc. THE LOCAL EXAM. SERIES. GEOGRAPHY BY D. WOODHALL, F.R.G.S., HEAD MASTER OF THE POLYTECHNIC INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL. LONDON *. ALLMAN & SON (Ltd.), 67, NEW OXFORD STREET. PAET I.

Introduction

The complete surface of the globe upon which we dwell has been estimated to contain about 197 millions of square miles. This surface consists of land and water, and has been roughly divided in the following proportions : Land, 51$ millions square miles (about \). Water, H5£ „ „ „ ( „ |). This division shows that the land occupies one-quarter, and the water three-quarters of the surface of our planet. Ou reference to a map of the world, it will be seen that the land and water are unequally distributed, most of the land being situated in the northern half of the world, whilst the southern half consists almost entirely of water. Geography. The study of geography gives us a description of the entire surface of the earth. It embraces two divisions, viz. — (1) Physical Geography, which gives us a knowledge of the size, shape, and movements of the earth, and the distribution of the land and water upon its surface.

(2) Political Geography, which gives us an account of the continents and countries into which the land of the earth is divided, the great centres of life and industry of the cities and towns in these countries, and also provides us with a knowledge of the great waterways which separate the various countries irom each other. THE EAETH. The Earth on which we live is a Planet, i.e. it is one of a system of heavenly bodies that travel round the sun. The sun and its planets A are called the Solar System. Mercury is the smallest planet, being about one-eighteenth the size of the earth, and Jupiter the largest, it being more than 1,300 times larger than the earth. The Horizon is the boundary of our vision, formed by the apparent meeting of the earth and sky. When the sun appears above the horizon in the morning we say it rises, and day has begun.

When it sinks below the horizon at night we say it sets, and we know that the day is done. Erom this rising and setting of the sun we get two points of direction, viz. East and "West. We say the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. At mid-day the sun is seen at a point exactly between east and west. This is called the South. Opposite the south is the North, and thus we get what are called the four Cardinal (principal) Points of the compass. Between these points we get North-east, South-east, North-west, and South-west. These are again divided and sub-divided until we get ah the points of the compass, thirty-two in number. Shape of the Earth. The earth in shape is hke an orange. It is not a perfect ball or globe or sphere, bnt is a sphere flattened at opposite points. Its shape is correctly described as an Oblate Spheroid (flattened or depressed sphere).

We know the earth to be round, for the foUowing reasons : — (1) By travelling in one direction, either due east or due west, we return to the same point from which we started. (2) When ships are sailing towards the land the masts are seen before the hull comes into view. (3) In an eclipse of the moon the shadow cast by the earth upon that body is always a part of a circle. (4) In cutting canals at a uniform depth throughout, eight inches is allowed in every mi'e for the rotundity of the earth. This is called the earth's dip. (5) By the sun rising later the further we go west. (0) In travelling from the Equator to ihe Poles new stars appear, whilst those previously over our heads disappear from view. Size of the Earth. The greatest distance round our earth is 25,000 miles. This is called the circumference, and is measured on a circle drawn exactly midway between the North and South Poles, called thc Equator.

The diameter is the distance through the middle of the earth. We speak of two diameters of the earth, viz. the Polar diameter from north to south, and the Equatorial diameter from east to west, at the Equator. The Equatorial diameter is about 8,000 miles, while the Polar diameter is 26 miles shorter, or only 7,974 miles. This is owing to the slight flatness of the earth at the poles, Motions of the Earth. The earth has two motions, a daily or diurnal motion, and a yearly or annual motion. The earth in its diurnal motion rotates once in every twenty-four hours upon an imaginary line, called its axis. This causes day and night. In this motion the earth revolves from west to east, thus causing the apparent movement of the sun from east to west, The earth in its annual motion travels round the sun, once in about 365} days in an elliptical path called its orbit.

This revolution of the earth in its orbit causes the four seasons, viz. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The diagram below shows the position of the earth in its orbit at these different times, and if you look carefully at the diagram, you will notice that the axis of the earth is not perpendicular to the plane of its orbit, but is inclined at an angle of 23 J degrees. It is owing to this inclination of the axis of the earth that we get our varying length of day and night, and also the difference of temperature in our seasons. The Orbit is the path of the earth round the sun, and the line drawn on maps and globes to mark this path is called the Ecliptic. This line forms an ellipse, cutting the Equator at two opposite points. It touches the Tropic of Cancer on the north, and the Tropic of Capricorn on the south.

The Axis of the Earth is the imaginary straight line passing through its centre from north to south and upon which it rotates. The ends of the earth's axis are called the Poles, There are two poles, the North and the South. MAPS AND GLOBES A Map is a drawing or plan of the world, or a part of it, drawn to scale upon a flat surface. A Globe is a sphere representing the earth, upon the surface of which the whole map of the world is drawn. Circles in geography are lines drawn upon maps and globes, representing imaginary circles drawn round the world. The object of these circles is to accurately define the position of places on the earth's surface. They may be classified as — Great Circles and Small Circles (1) Great Circles are those lines drawn upon globes, and dividing them into two hemispheres— as the Meridians, or Lines of Longitude, and the Equator.

It may therefore be said that— GREAT CIRCLF6 (a) The Meridians are great circles passing through the poles, and cutting the Equator at right angles. All places on the same meridian have mid-day, or noon, at the same time. (b) The Equator is a great circle drawn round a globe midway between the poles, and at right angles to the meridians. Small Circles are those lines drawn upon globes, and dividing them into two unequal parts— as the Parallels, or Lines SMALL CIRCLES of Latitude. Parallels, or Lines of Latitude, are small circles drawn parallel to the Equator. The most important parallels are the Tropics and the Polar Circles, and of which it may be said that — (a) The Tropics are two small circles drawn one on each side of the Equator, parallel to, and 23£° from it. The one north of the Equator is called the Tropic of Cancer, and thc one south of the Equator the Tropic of Capricorn.

The land lying between these two circles is also often called the Tropics, or Tropical Region. (b) The Polar Circles are two small circles drawn one round each pole, 23£° from them, and parallel to the Tropics. The one drawn round the North Pole is called the Arctic Circle, and that drawn round the South Pole the Antarctic Circle. LONGITUDE AND LATITUDE. Longitude is distance measured east or west of a fixed meridian. In England longitude is measured from the meridian passing through Greenwich, which is marked 0. Latitude is distance north or south of the Equator. Every place on the earth's surface has a latitude and longitude, and by knowing what these are, their exact position can be at once found on a map or globe. THE FIVE ZONES. The Zones of the Earth. — The entire surface of the earth is divided into five zones, or belts, viz. two Frigid Zones, two Temperate Zones, and one Torrid Zone.

The Torrid Zone embraces all that region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, extending on either side of the Equator for the distance of 23J°, thus making it 47° broad, and this embraces the hottest region of the earth. THEFIVEZ0NES The North Temperate Zone includes chat part of the surface of the earth which lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle, while the South Temperate Zone includes that part of the surface of the earth that lies between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. These embrace the temperate or mild regions of the earth. The Frigid Zones embrace all those portions of the earth's surface which lie between the polar circles and the poles, extending for 23J° from either pole. The northern zone is known as the North Frigid Zone, or Arctic Regions, and the southern zone as the South Frigid Zone, or Antarctic Regions.

These embrace the coldest parts of the earth. These Zones form a rough general division of the surface of the earth in regard to its climate. DEFINITIONS. LAND. Continents are the largest divisions of land, as Asia, Europe, America. They are five in number. Europe, Asia, and Africa forming what is called the Old World, in the Eastern Hemisphere ; America, forming what is called thp New World, in the Western Hemisphere, and comprising two great masses of land— North and South America ; and AustraUa, the largest island con tinent in the world ; this, together with the numerous islands near it in the Pacific Ocean, is often called Oceania. Countries are the divisions of the continents, as England, Ger many, Persia, Egypt, and Brazil. The countries of the world are again divided— some into Counties, as in England; States, as in America; Provinces, as in India; Cantons, as in Switzerland ; and Departments, as in France.

Islands are pieces of land entirely surrounded by water, as Great Britain. Islands are of two kinds, viz. Continental and Oceanic. The sormer comprise those situated nea*» the great masses of land, and which at one tune were united to the main land, but by some physical change in the earth's surface have become disconnected. Madagascar, Ceylon, and Tasmania axe islands of this kind. The latter consist of those islands situated far away from the great land masses, and are mostly of volcanic origin, having been formed by volcanic agency, aided by the coral Insect. Many islands in the Pacific Ocean are of this nature. A number of islands situated near to each other are called a Group, as tbe Orkneys and the Shetlands. Several such groups of islands are found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Peninsulas are portions of land that are nearly surrounded by water, or, as we say, are nearly islands, as Spain and CornwaU.

They are mostly mountainous, and generally have a southern direction. At their extremities islands are often found. The chief peninsulas having a northern direction are Denmark, Labrador, and Yucatan. An Isthmus is a narrow neck of land joining two larger portions, as the Isthmus of Panama, joining North and South America. Often a peninsula is joined by an isthmus to the mainland, as the Isthmus of Corinth joins the Morea Peninsula to Greece. A Cape is a piece of land jutting out into the sea, as Cape Clear in Ireland. A Cape is sometimes bold and rocky ; o*n this account it is called a Promontory. Many other terms are used for a cape, aH of which express the idea of standing boldly out, as Head or Headland, as St. Bee's Head ; Point, as Start Point ; Bill, as Portland Bill ; Ness, Naze, or Nose, as Dungeness, the Naze, and Dunnose ; Butt, as the Butt of Lewis, the northern point of the Island of Lewis ; Mull, as the Mull of Cantyre, on the south-western coast of Scotland.

A low level piece of land stretching out into the sea is often called a Tongue or Spit of land. An Oasis is a fertile tract of land in a sandy desert, as The Great Oasis to the west of Thebes, containing the town of Eh Rharjeb, with 2,000 inhabitants. South of Tripoli, in Africa, are many of these oases, as that of Mourzouk, a stopping place for caravans crossing the African Desert. A Plain is a large tract of level land, as Siberia in Russia, and the Fens in England. When such a tract of land consists of barren, sandy waste, it is called a Desert, as the Sahara in Africa. The plains in the south-east of Europe are for the most part desert, and are called Steppes. In North America the great grassy plains are termed Prairies or Savannahs, while in South America three terms are used. The plains in the north are called Llanos, those in the south arc called Pampas, while the forest plains of the centre are termed .

Silvas. Near the sea-shore, and inland below the level of the sea, low tracts of land are often found, covered with water ; and to these are given the names of Marsh, Morass, Bog, and Swamp. Bogs are common in Leiand, swamps in the west of Russia. Mountains are elevations of land rising more than 1,000 feet above the sea level, as Mount Everest. Mountains have been formed mostly by volcanic agency, and thus their sides are often found to consist of hard igneous rocks. The top of a mountain GEOGKAPHY. is called the Summit, the bottom is called the Foot or Base, and the sides are termed Slopes. Peaks are pointed mountains, and many summits receive their names from their shape, as pike, saddle, tor, beacon, horn, and dome. Many peaks in a row are called Sierras. When mountains are connected and take the same general direction, they form a Chain or Range, as the Pennine Chain in England.

Smaller chains thrown off from the main range are called Spurs, while a number of connected ranges form a Mountain System. "Where mountains are found clustered together they form a Group, as the Cumbrian Group in Cumberland. Hills are elevations rising less than 1,000 feet above the level of the sea, as the Cotswold Hills. Hills have been formed by the agency of water, and hence they are found to consist of matter of the nature of the surrounding country. The heights of mountains and hills are all measured from the level of the sea, and not from the level of the surrounding country. Hills of no great elevation are called Hillocks, while those of round appearance are known as Knolls. The rounded chalk hills of the south of England are called the Downs, while the low sand hills found near the sea-shore are known as Dunes, as those of France.

A Volcano is an opening in the surface of the earth, from which portions of the heated interior are ejected. A volcano is generally in the shape of a mountain, and the opening at its summit is called the Crater. Volcanoes are very widely distributed over the surface of the earth, generally in mountain ranges near the sea; and they eject from their craters, lava, steam, ashes, and hot water. Volcanoes are of four classes, viz., Active, Intermittent, Extinct, and Semi-extinct. Active volcanoes, as their name indicates, are nearly always in an active state. A good example of this kind is Stromboli. Intermittent volcanoes are those that are active and quiet in turn, as Etna in Sicily. Extinct volcanoes are those of which there is no record of activity in modern times, as those of Auvergne in France ; while semi-extinct volcanoes are those which eject only vapours and gases.

Among these may be classed the Mud volcanoes of Sicily Java and Trinidad. An Earthquake is a shaking of the earth. It is caused by steam generated in the heated interior of the earth effecting an escape. The action of volcanoes and earthquakes counteracts the denudation of the land by the action of the water upon the surface of the globe, and also effects great changes in the appearance of the district where they occur. Land in some parts of the world is depressed, while in other parts it is elevated. A Valley is a depression of the land lying between two ranges of hills or mountains, as the Valley of the Severn. When very deep and narrow they are known as Gorges, Ravines, and Canons. In Scotland they are known either as Strath, Dale, Carse, or Glen. A Table-land or Plateau is an elevated plain, as the Plateau of Thibet in Asia aud Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

The Coast, Shore, or Sea-board, is the land bordering on, or washed by the sea. The part between high and low water mark is termed the Beach. When a coast contains many inlets it is said to be indented, as the west coast of Ireland ; and when a coast has few openings it is said to bc iron-bound, as the north-west coast of Africa. Commerce is facilitated by an indented coast. The boundaries of a country are the lands or seas that surround it. WATER The Ocean is the vast body of salt water which surrounds the land. It occupies an area of 145A millions of square miles, and though really one great mass, it is divided, for convenience, into five parts. (1) The Pacific Ocean, between America on the east and Asia and Australia on the west. (2) The Atlantic Ocean, between America on the west and Europe and Africa on the east.

(3) The Indian Ocean, near India, having Africa on the west, Asia on the north, and Australia on the east. (4) The Arctic Ocean, round the North Pole, bounded by the northern shores of America, Europe, and Asia. (5) The Antarctic Ocean, round the South Pole, situated within the Antarctic Circle. A Sea is a part of the ocean, as the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. When a sea is nearly surrounded by the land it is termed an inland sea, as the Caspian Sea, but when it is separated from the ocean by a chain of islands and peninsulas it is called a land locked sea, as the Sea of Okhotsk. A sea studded with islands is called an Archipelago, as the Grecian Archipelago. Those portions of a sea which penetrate into the land are called the arms of the sea. Very small openings of this kind are known by the name of inlets.

A Gulf, or Bay, is a portion of water running into the land, as the Gulf of Venice, the Bay of Biscay. A Bay is wider than a Gulf, and does not run so far into the land. These two terms, however, are not strictly adhered to, one being as often used as the other. A Bight is wider than a bay and extends a less distance into the land, as the Bight of AustraUa. OP GEOGRAPHY. A Creek or Sound is a narrow piece of water running some distance into the land, as Plymouth Sound. In Norway, openings of this kind are very numerous, and are termed Fiords. In Australia, too, the term creek is sometimes apphed to a river. A Haven, Harbour, Cove, or Port are openings into the land, affording safe anchorage for ships, as Miiford Haven and Falmouth Harbour in England, and Sydney Cove and Port Jackson in Australia.

The term Port is also used to designate a town engaged in shipping goods. Hull and Hamburg are such ports. A Strait is a narrow passage of water connecting two parts of the sea, as the Strait of Dover, joining the Enghsh Channel to the North Sea. A Strait is often called a Sound, as The Sound connecting the Cattegat with the Baltic Sea. A Channel is a passage of water wider and longer than a strait, as the St. George's Channel, joining the Irish Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. A Road or Roadstead is a part of the sea, somewhat less protected than a harbour, but giving safe anchorage for vessels, as the Yarmouth Roads, o2 Norfolk, and the Downs, off the Coast of Kent. Sandbanks and Shoals are places where the bed of the sea rises nearly to the surface of the water. They are often found, too, near the mouths of rivers, and in these cases are formed by the silt carried down by the river in its course.

The Goodwin Sands, near Kent, and the Dogger Bank in the North Sea, are examples of sandbanks. A Lake is a body of water entirely surrounded by the land, as Lake Superior in* North America. The water of lakes is generally fresh, though in some few it is salt, as in the Caspian Sea. A Tarn is the name given to a small mountain lake. In Scotland lakes are called Lochs, and in Ireland Loughs. These terms are sometimes applied to arms of the sea. Lagoons are shallow lakes of Sea Water. They are found encircled in those coral islands called Atolls, and along low lying coasts, as on the South Coast of France. A River is a body of fresh water running over the land and draining it, as the River Rhone draining the South of France. A small river is called a Brook or Rivulet. A Tributary, Affluent, or Feeder is a stream which joins a river in its course, as the Cherwell joins the Thames.

The Confluence of a river is the point at which a tributary joins the main stream, as the confluence of the Saone and Rhone at Lyons, in France. the The Source of a river is its beginning. Rivers usually rise in springs or lakes situated in highlands from which they find their way 3 through the lower grounds to the sea. Some streams empty into lakes, others are lost in sands, as some rising in the Atlas Mountains, or in marshes, as those of Damascus. The Bed of a river is the ground over which the river flows, or on which it is said to lie or recline. The depth of a river depends on the rapidity of the stream and the nature of the soil over which it flows. The Banks are the lands along the sides of the bed, confining its waters. The Right Bank is on your right hand as you face the mouth, and the Left Bank on your left hand.

The Course of the River is the part of the river between its source and mouth. The direction of the course will be in the opposite direction to its elevated grounds. Rapids are sudden rushings of the waters of a stream caused by a rapid slope of the river's bed. Cataracts or Waterfalls are the sudden descents of the waters of a river over a precipice or ledge of rock, as the Falls of Niagara in Canada. The Mouth of a River is that part where it empties its waters. A wide mouth of a river is called an Estuary or Firth. A Delta is a low tri angularshap ed island formed at the mouth of a river by the mud washed down in its course. It is so called on account of its shape resembling the Greek " D " ( A Delta). A River Basin is the land drained by a river and its tributaries, and is so called because the land slopes down on all sides to the principal stream, like the sides of a basin.

A River System consists of all the rivers and their tributaries which follow the same general slope of the land. Rivers rising at a great elevation and having short courses are very rapid, whilst those rising at a lower elevation and having longer courses are slower and more navigable. A Water-shed or Water-parting is the elevated ground which divides one river basin from another. The water-shed of a country will decide the direction of its rivers' courses. A Glacier is an immense mass of ice formed above the snow-line and sliding slowly down the slopes of the mountains on which it is formed, as the Mer-du-Glaee of Mont Blanc. In the Alps alone no less than 400 glaciers are to be found, covering an area of upwards of 1^000 square miles and varying from 3 to 25 miles in length. An Iceberg is a mass of ice floating in the ocean.

These are in reality detached portions of glaciers formed in the Polar Regions. A Spring1 is a natural bursting of the water from the surface of : earth. There are many kinds of springs. (a) Thermal, or Hot Springs are those whose waters are heated, and which come to the surface from a very great depth. They are common in New Zealand, and contain, in many cases, mineral matter held in solution. The Geysers of Iceland and the giant Geyser of the Yosemite Valley in the United States are good examples of Thermal Springs. (b) Mineral Springs, as their name implies, are those whose waters contain mineral matter in solution. They are named according to the matter which they contain, as saline or salt springs, sulphurous or sulphur springs. (c) Oil Springs, or as they are sometimes called Petroleum Springs, are those which throw up oil from the inner recesses of the earth.

These are found in Pennsylvania, the borders of the Caspian Sea, Trinidad, Cuba and many other places. The Tides are the alternate rising and falling of the water of the ocean and its parts at regular intervals. The tides are caused by the joint action of the sun and moon, but chiefly by the latter, upon the waters of our globe. When the tide is rising at any place it is generally spoken of as the flow of the water, and when the tide is falling it is known as the ebb. There are two high tides ah over the earth every twenty-four hours. Tides are of two kinds — Spring Tides and Neap Tides. The former are caused by the sun and moon when they are in conjunction, or opposition, at the periods of new and full moon, while the latter are caused when the sun and moon are in quadrature, at the periods of the first and third quarters.

A Co-tidal Line is a line drawn round the world, uniting all places on its surface where high water occurs at the same time. Some places have very high tides, as at Panama (23 feet), China Sea (36 feet), and the Mouth of the Severn (46 feet) ; whilst at other places no tide is perceptible, as in the mouths of the La Plata and Mississippi, Gulf of Tonquin, the Mediterranean and the White Seas. When the tidal wave enters an opening in the land with sufficient power to raise as it were a bank of water, it is called a Tidal Bore. This occurs in the mouths' of such rivers as the Amazon, Orinoco, Seine, Ganges, and Severn. A Current is a stream of water in the ocean flowing in a particular direction. There are two kinds of currents, Permanent and Periodical, or Variable. The first are those which always flow in the same direction, while the second are subject to the variations of wind or tide.

Currents are caused by the unequal distribution of heat producing a difference in thc density in the water of the ocean, and by the action of strong winds. The chief currents in the Atlantic Ocean are thc Equatorial Current, the Gulf Stream, and the Brazil Current. The Equatorial Current flows from the west shores of Africa towards the east coast of Brazil across the Atlantic, where it divides into two parts. One part flows southwards, turning gradually towards the east, while by far the longer branch turns northward through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, from whence it issues as the famous Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream, after leaving the Gulf of Mexico by the Florida Strait, flows first northward along the American coast, but on reaching Cape Hatteras it bends gradually to the east, and finally spreads itself among the waters of Northern Europe, and modifies to some extent the severity of the climate in the countries to the west of that continent.

The chief currents in the Pacific Ocean are the Equatorial Current, the Japan Current, and the Antarctic Drift Current. One branch of the Equatorial Current, on nearing the East Indian Archipelago, flows northward along the coast of China, and then, under the new name of the Japan Current, flows eastward to the coast of North America, where it turns to the south and again feeds the Equatorial Current, thus completing its circuit. The other branch of the Equatorial Current flows towards Australia, and, being deflected by its shores, flows south, as the New South Wales Current ; and, passing New Zealand, finally becomes absorbed in the waters of the southern seas. The chief current in the Indian Ocean is Mosambique Current. This is a branch of the Equatorial, which, striking the African coast, turns south between Madagascar and Africa.