CHAPTER III 

 LAND 



LAND .is the basis of all landscape endeavor. It 

 supports vegetation and holds in its hollow places 

 bodies of water of all shapes and sizes (Fig. 7). 

 From its declivities issue springs and through its 

 valleys flow great rivers. 



Land consists of decomposed or disintegrated 

 rock or decomposed organic matter, or both 

 combined. Rocks may be decomposed in place 

 and form soil on the surface, as in Kentucky and 

 Tennessee, or they may be torn to pieces through 

 the action of frost, ice, and water and moved long 

 distances, often hundreds of miles, as in large por- 

 tions of all the states north of the Ohio River. The 

 rock that has been crushed and ground by force of 

 glaciers may be separated by the action of water 

 into gravel, clay, and sand and the finer particles of 

 the latter may be blown into great hills by the wind. 



The forces of nature have by their action gouged out 



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