162 Guyot on the Contrast in the Physical Features 
Prof. Guyot commences by explaining Physical Geography as 
a description of the earth and of its relation to the life upon it. He 
says, in the course of his illustrations of the subject, “If the 
Rocky Mountains bordered the eastern coast of North America, 
and closed against the nations of the East and of Europe the 
entrance to the rich valley of the Mississippi; or if this immense 
chain extended from east to west across the northern part of this 
continent and barred the passage of the polar winds which now 
rush unobstructed over these vast plains; let us say even less— 
if, preserving all the great present features of this continent, we 
suppose only that the interior plains were more slightly inclined 
towards the north, and that the Te emptied into the 
zen Ocean -—who does not see that in these various cases, a st 
lations of warmth and moisture, jhe pia in a word, and with 
it, the vegetation and the animal world would undergo the most 
important modifications, and that these changes of form and of 
relative position would have an influence greater still upon the 
destinies of human societies, both in the present and in the fu- 
ture?” This paragraph exhibits the aim of the work, which the 
author afterwards more explicitly states as follows—after men- 
tioning the gréat- problems which physical geography offers for 
ie investigation: He says, “‘ We shall endeavor to solve these prob- 
ems, sey studying first, the characteristic forms of the continents, 
> 
Vee 
tae C ds That the cca the siechigdenant and the distribution of — 
fthe terrestrial masses on the surface of the globe, accidental in 
V appearance, yet reveala ota whic h we ate. enabled to understand 
) ore wel atignmot history. 
ss, 2.-Thatthe continents are iii for ae societies, as ihe 
am “boa jade for the’ sgul. 
ee Fhat each of the a or Bianranal cons 
ne a ality adapted. by its nature, tp perform a gpecial spark: - 
2 cress! the wants of,: cumies in one. o “g eit 
. » aw its Histo = 7 %, 
-«'Phus nagiteng hina the, earth ate | 
pea oe gg: ‘to each other, and hee 0 
se 
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