LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



191 



the eyo in the face is encircled with the eyelids and the tar- 

 ling kin. 



Thn (,!!!! ,; -itiimnli', from the Latin pene, almost, and insula, 

 originally signified land newly surrounded by water ; that is, 

 . the etymology, almost an island : but it is now 

 more frequently api>. 

 to the trian^ular-shuped 

 portions of land which 

 in any direction, 

 and jut out from the great 

 continents, as in the three 

 onion above mentioned in 

 The great Euro- 

 pean peninsulas have also 

 mentioned; namely, 

 Greece, Italy, and Spain 

 and Portugal combined ; 

 to these may be added 

 the largo peninsula of 

 Sweden and Norway, and 

 the smaller peninsula of 

 Jutland or Denmark, the 

 latter of which is on ex- 

 ception to the general 



the north-cant, and Polynesia, in the south-west. Without 

 regarding artificial division*, the land on the mi-face of the 

 globe in naturally divided into three great Motions, namely, 

 1st. The Old World, in the eastern hemisphere, comprehending 

 the vast, united, triple continent of Europe, Ana, and Africa, 



which extends from Cap* 

 Severe, or North-east 

 Cape, the most northerly 

 point of Siberia, in the 

 Arctic Ocean, to the Cape 

 of Good Hope in the 

 South Atlantic Ocean, a 

 distance of 8,400 miles ; 

 and from Cape Verd, the 

 moat westerly ho^limj 

 of Africa, in the North 

 Atlantic Ocean, across 

 the Isthmus of Suez to 

 the east coast of China 

 on the Pacific Ocean, a 

 distance of about 9,000 

 miles. 2nd. The New 

 World, in the western 

 hemisphere, comprehend- 



rule, as it points northward. The continents of South America j ing the great, united, double continent of North and South 

 and Africa are justly entitled to the name of peninsulas ; the I America, with the neighbouring islands, extending from still 

 former being attached to North America by the Isthmus of undefined limits in the Arctic Ocean to Cape Horn, a distance 

 Panama or Darien, and the latter to Asia by the Isthmus of of about 9,000 miles ; and from the western shores of the 

 Suez. Prom the consideration of the series of islands which lies Atlantic Ocean to the eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean, 



between the peninsula of 

 Malacca and the small 

 continent of Australia, 

 there is reason to believe 

 that the latter was in 

 former ages connected 

 with Asia, as South 

 America now is with 

 North America; Austra- 

 lia, and the island of 

 Tasmania, to the south 

 of it (and no doubt ori- 

 ginally forming a part of 

 it), then most probably 

 constituting the apex of 

 the great triangular- 

 shaped peninsula (taper- 

 ing to the south, accord- 

 ing to the general law) 



in which this vast southern continent once terminated. It is 

 further worthy of remark, in speaking of the great continents 

 which become pointed as they approach the south, that their 

 projections most generally terminate abruptly in lofty mountain 

 chains, which there dip beneath the waters of the ocean. 



In regard to the divi- 

 sions of the land on the 

 surface of the globe, we 

 find that by the older geo- 

 graphical writers it was 

 divided into four great 

 parts, called quarters 

 of the world; namely, 

 Europe, Asia, Africa, and 

 America. This division, 

 however, is very incor- 

 rect, inasmuch as it leaves 

 out the continent of Aus- 

 tralia, the great island 

 of Borneo, etc., and vast 

 groups of smaller islands 

 scattered through the 

 ocean, and valuable for 

 their population and pro- 

 duce. A more common and more accurate division is that of 

 Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Oceania, 

 six great portions, of which the first five are coi' 

 and the sixth continental and insular. Oceania is further sub- 

 divided by geographers into four parts, namely, Malaysia in 

 the north-west, Australasia in the south-west. Micronesia in 



a distance varying in 

 breadth from 40 to 3,500 

 miles. 3rd. Oceania, 

 comprehending the con- 

 tinent of Australia and 

 the groups of islands in 

 the East Indian Archi- 

 pelago or Malaysia, Aus- 

 tralasia, Micronesia, and 

 Polynesia, the principal 

 of which are the Snnda 

 Isles, the Philippines, 

 Borneo, Papua or New 

 Guinea, Tasmania, New 

 Zealand, and the various 

 clusters of isles scattered 

 far and wide over the 

 Pacific. 



The Old World, so 



called because its history is known for a period of nearly 

 6,000 years, is composed of the three great sections denominated 

 continents, namely, Europe in the north-west, Asia in the 

 north-east, and Africa in the south-west, taking Jerusalem as 

 the central point. Europe is separated from Asia by a boun- 

 dary composed of a 

 mountain chain called 

 the Oural or Ural Moun- 

 tains; the river Oural or 

 Ural; the Caspian Sea; 

 Mount Caucasus, a range 

 of mountains stretching 

 from the Caspian Sea to 

 the Black Sea; and a 

 chain of inland seas, the 

 Sea of Azov, the Black 

 Sea, the Sea of Marmora, 

 and the Archipelago, the 

 north-eastern arm of the 

 Mediterranean. These 

 four bodies of water are 

 connected by the Strait 

 of Eertch or Yenikale, 

 the Bosphorus, and the 



Dardanelles. Asia is separated from Africa by the Arabian 

 Gulf and the Isthmus of Suez. Europe is separated from Africa 

 by the Mediterranean Sea. 



The New World, so called because its history is known only 

 for a period of rather more than 350 years, is composed of two 

 great sections denominated continents, namely, North America 



