PHYSICAL AND CLIMATIC SETTING 11 



becomes more narrow and is progressively set off from 

 the highland region by a sharp steep slope. At the 

 west line of the State, the plain area is only a few 

 miles in width. The remainder of the plains region, 

 reaching well into the second tier of counties from 

 Lake Ontario, is made up of rolling hills easy to farm. 



Long Island should be associated with the up- 

 state lowland region in the discussion of surface fea- 

 tures. It is a long low ridge with smooth, and on 

 the south side, low shores bordered by sand reefs and 

 marshy tidal flats. The north sliore is for the most 

 part a steep bluff and is indented by a number of 

 shallow bays. In general the elevation is from sixty 

 to 150 feet above sea level but at several points in 

 the interior there are rough hills, one of which reaches 

 an extreme elevation of 380 feet. For the most part, 

 the island is made up of a series of undulating sandy 

 plains. 



Considered as a whole, the three lowland regions 

 embrace much the best agricultural and industrial 

 parts of the State. Their total area, about 15,000 

 square miles, is approximately one-third that of the 

 State. Exclusive of Long Island, which has an area 

 of 1500 square miles, these lowlands include part or 

 all of thirty-five counties. The high development in 

 these regions is due to a fortunate combination of 

 smooth topography, good soils, reasonably mild cli- 

 mate, and good transportation and market facilities. 



The highland areas may be described more briefly. 

 The boldest of these is the Adirondack Mountain dis- 

 trict, which is made up of a succession of mountain- 



