GEOGRAPHY, TRAVEL, ARCHITECTURE 



509 



(14,835). V. The Lepontine or Helvetian Alps, 

 including the divergent chain known as the 

 Bernese Alps. This division covers West Switz- 

 erland, extending on both sides of the Rhone, 

 dividing Lombardy from Switzerland, one 

 branch terminating at Monte Bernardino, the 

 other extending to and uniting with the Jura, 

 north of the lake of Geneva. This comprises the 

 finest scenery, and includes the Finsteraarhorn 

 . 1 l.nif, feet '. Furca l l.n:*7>. .Juntfrau (13,718), 

 h i:;.l98), Schreckhorn (13,386), and 

 llonte Leon on the Simplon(l 1,641). VI. The 

 Kha-tian Alps, commencing at Monte Bernardino 



nding along the confines of Switzerland, 

 Italy, and Germany, and terminating at the 

 aortheasJ end of Tyrol. VII. The Noric Alps, 



:idiniz through Salzburg, North C'arinthia. 

 a. and I'pper and Lower Austria; highest 



.. Gross-Glockner ( 12,776 feet). VIII. The 

 ( arnie Alps, extending on the confines of Venetia 

 anl Carinthia, from Pellegrino to Terglou. ' 

 IX. I nun the last-named place this chain is 

 prolonged through Gorz and Carniola, to Mt. 

 Klerk, under the name of the Julian or Panno- 

 nian Alp-. X. A southern continuation, called 

 Dinar ic Alp>. extends from Mt. Kleck through 

 Croatia. Dalmatia, and Herzegovina, to tne 

 vicinity of the Balkan. Among the most cele- 

 brated passes are those of the Great and Little 



'ernanl. St. (lot hard, Simplon, and Spliigen. 

 \. r the Simplon Pass (6,628 feet high), Napo- 

 leon constructed a road extending from Brieg 

 1 >omp d'Ossola, forty-six and one-half miles, 

 connecting Geneva with Milan. Railway tun- 

 nels have been cut through Mont Cenis, St. Goth- 

 ard. and the Simplon. Ascents, promoted by 

 Alpine clubs, have greatly increased in numbers 

 and daring, despite whirlwinds, avalanches, 

 and glaciers. The vegetation diminishes in 

 beauty, if not in abundance, at an elevation of 

 1,600 to 1,700 feet, and almost disappears at 

 6,500 feet, though pasturage, and peculiar genera 

 olf plants distinctively known as the "Alpine 

 flora," flourish as high as 8,500 feet. Agassiz 

 di-tinguished lichen even amid the eternal snows. 

 The fauna includes the chamois, lammergeyer, 

 eagle, wolf, fox, lynx, wild cat, and bear. The 

 Alps are not only remarkable for wonderful 

 mountain masses and freaks of nature, but also 



ln-ir mineralogy, and for their dairies and 



. raising. 



Ama/.on. >Iararion. or OrHlana, 

 a river which traverses nearly the whole extent 

 of the equatorial region of South America, run- 

 ning chiefly from west to east, and entering t In- 

 Atlantic almost at the equator. It is one of the 

 largest rivers in the world, running a course, 

 windings, of nearly I.IMMI mil.-. The 



> of its current is so great that it over 



ocean to a distance of more than 

 from the shore. \\ith it- enormous tributaries 

 the liio Negro, the Madeira, the .Fapuru, and 



i v others it is estimate. I that it affords an 

 inland navigation of fli.ono miles. The area 



med by its waters is probably not less than 

 > square miles. The width of its mouth, 

 or mouth-*, is nearly L'on i 



\ miens (dA'-me-dn), an ancient city of 



11 the department of Somme, about 



seventy miles north of Paris. Its cathedral, 



commenced in 1220 and finished in 1288, is 

 a magnificent specimen of Gothic architecture, 

 and one of the finest cathedrals in Europe. 

 Amiens was the birthplace of Peter the Hermit. 

 It is chiefly celebrated for the Treaty of Pt 

 between Great Britain, France. Spain, and Hol- 

 land, which was signed at Amiens, March -7. 

 1802. During the war between France and 

 Germany, in 1870, Amiens was taken by the 

 Germans under General MunteufTel, an event 

 which contributed to the subsequent fall of 

 Paris. Amiens has many imjHrtant manufac- 

 tures, including cotton-velvets kerseymeres. 

 Population. '.JJ.oii.v 



Amsterdam, the metropolis of the Nether- 

 lands, in the province of North Holland, on 

 the river Amstel. is divided into small island- 

 connected by bridges, and is almost wholly built 

 upon piles. The site of Amsterdam was* origi- 

 nally a peat-bog. About A. D. 1200 it was a 

 small fishing village. It was formerly very 

 strongly fortified, but now its only defense con- 

 sists in its sluices, which can flood in a 

 hours the surrounding land. The approach to 

 the city from the Zuyder Zee is intricate and 

 dangerous, owing to the numerous shallows. 

 In the Seventeenth Century Amsterdam was the 

 center of the banking transactions of the world. 

 It is still the chief commercial city of the Nether- 

 lands, and has a large trade with both the East 

 and the West Indies. The diamond-cutters of 

 Amsterdam are greatlv celebrated. Population, 

 557,611. 



Andes, the great mountain system of South 

 America, extends along its west coast from Cape 

 Horn to the Isthmus of Panama, with a breadth 

 of from forty to four hundred miles, and covers 

 with its offshoots, plateaux, and declivities. 

 nearly a sixth part of that continent. The 

 highest summit is Aconcagua, in Chile, 23,910 

 feet high. The Andes are composed partly of 

 granite, gneiss, mica, and clay slate, but chiefly 

 of greenstone, porphyry, and basalt, with lime- 

 stone, red sandstone, and conglomerate. Vol- 

 canoes are numerous in the Chilean Andes, where 

 there are no less than nineteen in a state of 

 activity; and the mountains of Ecuador con- 

 sist almost altogether of volcanic summits, 

 either now or formerlv in active ignition. 

 these, the most dreaded is Cotopaxi. The Andes 

 are celebrated for thoir mineral riches pro- 

 ducing gold and silver in largo quantities, \\ith 

 platina, mercury. cop|>er. lead. tin. and iron. 

 Thelimitofperpetii.il s|,,,\ v in the Andes re.,. 

 the height ot 18,300 feet in the West Cordillera 



lie; near the equator it is I :,.(HX) foot . 



potato is cultivated at an elevation of 9,800 to 

 nileet; \\heat Arrows luxuriantly at 10. (MX) 

 and oats ri|M-n in the vicinity of Lake 

 Titicaca at an elevation of IJ.795 feet. 



Antloch, a n tho eyalet of 



M.-ppo. on the left bank of the .\sj. formerly 

 the Orontes. It derive.! its name from Antio- 

 chus. a distinguished officer in I ho nervice of 

 Philip of Marctlon, and was one of the siv 

 cities bmlt by bfa HOD, Seleucua Nicator. A 

 och was a city of great magnificence. It was 

 the residence of the Syrian monarch 

 said to have been then . largest 



in the world. In Komantinx-s.it was the seat of 



