434 REVIEWS 



Volcanoes of North America : A readi?ig lesson for students of Geog- 

 raphy and Geology. By Israel C. Russell. The Macmillan 

 Company, New York, 1897. 



The object of this book is plainly stated by the author in the intro- 

 duction — "It is to the character and history of this vast volcanic belt, 

 reaching from the tropical shores of Costa Rica to the western extrem- 

 ity of the bleak and inhospitable Aleutian Islands, that the attention 

 of students of geology and geography is here invited. The object of 

 this book is to make clear the principal features of volcanoes in 

 general, and to place in the hands of students a concise account of its 

 leading facts thus far discovered concerning the physical features of 

 North America which can be traced directly to the influence of vol- 

 canic action." Its title indicates that it is not intended to be a 

 thorough treatise on the subject, but rather a readable account of the 

 leading features. It will undoubtedly prove satisfactory to those who 

 read it with this understanding. It has gathered together in an 

 attractive form many scattered descriptions of the volcanoes and 

 volcanic mountains of North America, and has placed the student in 

 the way of finding the original accounts. It will excite interest in 

 the volcanic phenomena to be found on this continent and will per- 

 form a helpful mission. The arrangement of the material is good and 

 the interest of the reader well sustained by the general style. The 

 illustrations are valuable and attractive. 



There are, however, numerous evidences of carelessness in the 

 work which are to be regretted. The section on the Characteristics 

 of Igneous Rocks is open to severe criticism. Its definitions are crude 

 and misleading, and incorrect arguments are presented in several 

 instances. The section should be carefully revised. 



The effort to connect the active volcanoes of Central America with 

 those of the Aleutian islands, as though they constituted one chain, is 

 not justified by the facts; the former being much more closely con- 

 nected with those of the Andes, and the Alaskan volcanoes with those 

 of the Japanese islands. 



The descriptions of the volcanoes within the United States are 

 somewhat unsatisfactory since they bear little relation to their relative 

 importance. Considerable space is devoted to detailed descriptions 

 of very insignificant craters in Utah and Nevada, and to the compara- 

 tively small volcanoes near Mono Lake, Nev., while much less is given 

 to that of the great mountains, Shasta, Rainier, and other volcanoes of 



