88 THE EAKTH. 



Europe, southward by the Indian Ocean, and eastward by 

 the North Pacific, and contains about 17,500,000 square 

 miles ; the greater part is made up of two extensive tracts 

 of elevated land called table-lands, although these are often 

 varied by valleys and mountain chains of great extent, yet 

 as a whole, they are from 5000 to 10,000 feet above the 

 level of the sea. The eastern table-land is that of Thibet 

 and the Great Desert Grobi, and the western that of Persia. 



Asia contains many great mountain chains, the chief of 

 which are the Himalaya Mountains, which run along the 

 centre of its southern part and contain some of the highest 

 peaks in the world ; the Dhawalagiri is 28,072 feet high, 

 but there are some others supposed to be as high. 



The Altai or Grold Mountains, forming a boundary to the 

 lowlands of Siberia, the highest peak of which is called the 

 Katunia Pillars, and is 11,000 feet high. 



The Thain-schan or Celestial Mountains, the Kuen Lun, 

 and the Hindoo Coosh, all of which run pretty nearly east 

 and w r est, while the ranges called TJralian, Bolor, Khingan, 

 and Chinese chains run nearly north and south. 



Africa is somewhat triangular, with its base towards 

 Asia and its apex pointing southward. It is bounded 

 northwards by the Mediterranean Sea, and at its east side 

 by the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, while the Atlantic flows 

 on its south-west side. In Africa is the largest desert in 

 the world, the Great Desert of Sahara ; it occupies nearly 

 all the northern part, the southern has but few mountains 

 of great extent, but from their elevation and the amount of 

 waters brought down by rivers, it is supposed that the 

 centre has very high-table lands. At the north-western part 

 is an extensive mountain system (the Atlas) covering with 

 its branches nearly 500,000 square miles, and sending its 

 slopes to bound the great Desert northwards. 



The great tract of land comprising North and South 

 America extends in a longitudinal direction pretty nearly 

 north and south through 130 degrees of latitude, or nearly 

 8000 miles. This great tract is divided by a narrow neck 

 of land (the Isthmus of Panama) into tw r o pretty equal 

 portions ; the northern part is peculiar, from containing 



