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V 



II. 



GENEEAL EEATUEES OF THE MISSISSIPPI BASIN, AND OE THE 



WATERSHED OE THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 



The Country east of tlie Mississippi.— The Basin taken as a whole, — ^The rise 

 of the Country from South to North ; from East to West.— The *' Summit 

 Plateau."— The Table-lands lying between the Summit Plateau and the 

 Sierra Nevada.— Physical Geography of California.— The Eocty Mountains. 

 —The Dual Main Chains.— The Central Parks,— Primary ** Divides "_ or 

 Water-partings.—Sources of the Great Eivers, the Missouri and Tributaries, 

 the Columbia, Eio Colorado, Arkansas, Eio Grande del Norte.— The General 

 Peatixres of the Districts through which the Ttree Great Eailways are to 

 pass are especially noticed, — The term Eocky Mountains ought to be limited 

 to the Mountain Eanges only which rise from the " Summit Plateau.' 



The United States, or rather the great central division of 

 North America, is divided into three nearly equal parts by 

 the Mississippi Eivcr and the so-called Eocky IVTonntains. 

 The average width of each division is about 15*^, or lfi4M 

 miles ; so that the Atlantic is separated jfrom the Mississippi? I 

 which runs nearly north and south, by a belt of country 

 usually not much more than 1,000 miles across, while the 

 Pacific Ocean is double that distance from the Mississippi- 

 The entire Central third of the country, with the small excep- 

 tion of Southern Texas and part of New Mexico, is drained by 

 Western branches of the Mississippi, viz., the Minnesota, T)& 

 Moins, Missouri, Arkansas, Eed Eiver, and their tributaries- 

 The area of territory thus di-ained is about 1,231,000 sqniXtQ 

 miles (geographical), an extent of surface six times as largq aS 

 France. Of the Eastern third scarcely a quai-teris drained^ by 

 tributaries of the Mississippi ; for the Appalachian range li 

 its basin on the south-east, and the highlands parallel to Itl- 



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