292 GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN 1869. 



New Mexico, Arizona, etc., since his return to 

 England, has communicated several papers to 

 the Geographical Society, on Arizona and New 

 Mexico, and has a volume of travels in that 

 region now ready for publication. He de- 

 scribes with great vividness the condition of 

 these elevated plateaus and the ruins of great 

 towns. Ho visited Zuni, a fortified town built 

 upon one of the small but lofty table-lands of 

 that region, and which was carried by the 

 Spaniards by assault, though with heavy loss, 

 at. the time they first invaded this region. ^ Its 

 inhabitants were then, as now, Pueblo Indians, 

 or Aztecs. The town or fortress is, he says, 

 one vast building with massive walls, six sto- 

 ries high, and contains hundreds of rooms. The 

 first story is lighted only from within, present- 

 ing on its external face only blank walls. The 

 second story is reached by ladders, which can 

 bo readily withdrawn, and the inhabitants de- 

 scend to the floor of the first story by openings 

 and steps from the floor of the second story. 



The valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi 

 Rivers have been explored at various points in 

 the interests of science during the last two 

 years. The head-waters of the Missouri in 

 Montana have been traced, and are found to 

 be in a region of great mineral wealth. Around 

 the small streams which form the sources of 

 this magnificent river are found numerous 

 lodes of gold and silver, copper and lead ; and 



mineral waters, chalybeate, sulphurous, and 

 magnesian, hot, warm, and cold, as well as 

 geysers of great beauty and power, are found 

 in that hitherto unknown region. Within less 

 than a mile of one of these ultimate sources 

 of the great river, a small stream is found 

 flowing westward, though by a devious route. 

 This is one of the sources of the Columbia, 

 and its waters flow into the Pacific Ocean. 



A most valuable contribution to our knowl- 

 edge of the physical geography of the United 

 States was made in 1869, by the publication of 

 "The Mississippi Valley: its Physical Geog- 

 raphy, including Sketches of the Topography, 

 Botany, Climate, Geology, and Mineral Re- 

 sources ; and of the Progress of Development 

 in Population and Material Wealth. By J. W. 

 Foster, LL. D., President of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science," 

 etc., etc.* Dr. Foster is well known as one of 

 our ablest geologists, and in this work he has 

 not confined himself to the Valley of the Mis- 

 sissippi, but has brought together a vast num- 

 ber of facts in the physical geography of the 

 whole North American Continent, which can- 

 not fail to be of great value to all who are in- 

 terested in geognostic and geographical studies. 

 We annex two tables compiled by Dr. Foster, 

 and found on pp. 207 and 208 of his work, which 

 are of great interest in its bearing upon the cli- 

 mate of various portions of North America. 



ANNUAL PRECIPITATION OF RAIN AT SEVERAL STATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA,! IN INCHES AND HUNDREDTHS. 



