516 



THK STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



120,000 to 180.000; and even after its occupa- west winds in the North Atlantic, the voyage 



tion by the Romans it continued to be a great from America to Europe, on an average of six 



and nourishing city, and one of the chief seats years' .-ailing between New York and Liverpool, 



<>t learning, till it was ravaged by the (Joths. in is performed in twenty-three days, while the 



the Fourth Century, falling ultimately, after return voyage requires forty days. Enormous 



many rhangrs into the hands of the Turks, in numbers of fish are found in the Atlantic Ocean, 



D it remained from A. D. 1456 to and herring and cod fishing are important 



Of the am-ient city, the principal remains branches of industry in Northern Europe and 



are the Parthenon, or Temple of Athena, and a America. In the higher latitudes of the North 



Temple of The>eus. both built also in the Fifth and South Atlantic, navigation is impeded by 



Century before Christ. There are also the re- immense icebergs, which are floated from the 



mains of a grand temple to Zeus (Jupiter), to the polar regions; and although these are generally 



southeast of the Acropolis, and a short distance to melted before reaching the frequented pans of 



M is the Areopagus. As the capital of the the ocean, they have occasionally been met with 



modern kingdom of Greece, the trade of Athens j as far south as latitude 40 45' in the North At- 



has considerably revived, and a railway now lantic, and in the vicinity of the Cape of Good 



connects the city with the port of the Piraeus, Hope in the South Atlantic Ocean. 



or Porto Leone. Population, 111,486. 



Australasia, a division of the globe 



Athos* a mountain on the coast of Mace- usually regarded as comprehending the islands 

 donia, at the extremity of_ the long peninsula | of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New 



Caledonia, the New Hebrides, the Solomon 



which projects into the ^Egean Sea, between 

 ilfs of Contessa and Monte Santo. The 

 mountain is now known as "Monte Santo," or 

 Hi'ly Mountain, from the large number of mon- 

 asteries, convents, chapels, and other sacred 

 spots, belonging to the Greek Church, that are 



Islands, New Ireland, New Britain, the Admir- 

 alty Islands, New Guinea, and the Arru Islands, 

 besides numerous other islands and island 

 groups; area, 3,259,199 square miles, popu- 

 lation about five millions. It forms one of 

 These foundations are three portions into which some geographers 



traced to the reign of the Emperor Constantine. have divided Oceania, the other two being 



The name " Athos " was, however, properly ap- Malaysia and Polynesia. 



plied to the whole mountainous peninsula, which j Australia (older name, New Holland), the 



is joined to the mainland by a low flat isthmus, largest island in the world, a sea-girt continent, 



1 ___ _ 1_ _.* At T 1 l -^ r* 



Mattered over its sides. 



not more than a mile and a half across, and only 

 about fifteen feet above the sea level. When 

 Xerxes invaded Greece (480 B. C.) he cut a 

 channel across this isthmus, traces of which are 

 still visible. 



Atlantic Ocean, one of the five great 

 hydrographical divisions of the globe, occupies 



lying between the Indian and Pacific oceans, 

 southeast of Asia; greatest length, from west 

 to east, 2,400 miles; greatest breadth from 

 north to south, 1,700 to 1,900 miles. It is sepa- 

 rated from New Guinea on the north by Torres 

 Strait, from Tasmania on the south by Bass 

 Strait. It is divided into two unequal parts by 



an immense longitudinal valley, and extends ! the Tropic of Capricorn, and is . occupied by 

 from the Arctic Circle on the north to the Ant- j what are known as the original states of the 

 arctic Circle on the south; bounded west by the | Commonwealth of Australia. 

 coast of America to Cape Horn, and thence by a j The area and the population (exclusive of 

 line continued on the same meridian to the Ant- I aborigines) of the different states composing 

 arctic Circle ; and east by the shores of Europe 



and Africa to the Cape of Good Hope, and thence 

 prolonged on the meridian of Cape Agulhas till 

 it meets the Antarctic Circle. Its extreme 

 breadth is about 5,000 miles, and its area 25,- 

 000,000 square miles. The North Sea, or Ger- 

 man Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Irish 

 Sea, form portions of the Atlantic ; but the Bal- 

 tic and Mediterranean, which communicate 

 with it by narrow channels, are properly con- 

 sidered separate seas. The chief islands are, in 

 Europe, the British Isles and Iceland ; in Africa, 

 the Azores, Madeira, and Canary Islands, and 

 the archipelago of the Gulf of Guinea; in Amer- 

 ica, the Antilles, Newfoundland, and the islands 

 of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The chief affluents 

 are, in Europe, the Rhine, Loire, and Tagus; 

 in Africa, the Senegal, Niger, and Congo; and 

 in America, the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, Ori- 

 noco, Amazons, and La Plata. The bed of the 

 Atlantic Ocean is very unequal in elevation, in 

 some places rising in immense sand-banks to 

 within a few fathoms of the surface, and in others 

 sinking to unfathomable depths. The trade- 

 winds blow regularly in the intertropical portion 

 of the Atlantic; beyond these limits the winds 

 are variable. From the prevalence of south- 



the Commonwealth of Australia in 1905 were as 

 follows: 



Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, 

 Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Adelaide, 

 the capital of South Australia, and Brisbane, 

 the capital of Queensland, are the chief towns. 

 Australia is a region containing a vast quantity 

 of mineral wealth. Foremost come its rich and 

 extensive deposits of gold, which, since the 

 precious metal was first discovered, in 1851, 

 have produced a total of more than $1,350,000,- 

 000. The greatest quantity has been obtained 

 in Victoria, but New Sguth Wales and Queens- 

 land have also yielded a considerable amount. 

 Probably there are rich stores of gold as yet un- 

 discovered. Australia also possesses silver, cop- 



