102 Part II. Chapter ı. 
North of Lake Ontario, which finds its outlet in the St. Lawrence River, 
is an undulating plain without any prominent elevations to mark its surface 
and sloping down gradually to Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario on the 
south and west and to the Ottawa River on the north. The northern shores 
of lakes Huron and Superior are high and bold, but the shores of lakes Erie 
and Ontario are low. The province is drained by numerous streams, such as 
the Ottawa and the Trent. Lakes abound, large and small. Lake Erie finds 
its outlet into Lake Ontario through the Niagara River on which is situated 
Niagara Falls. Detroit River, which enlarges into Lake St. Clair, connects 
lakes Huron and Erie. Lake Huron is connected with Lake Michigan by 
the Strait of Mackinaw and with Lake Superior by River St. Mary. Lake 
Superior, 420 miles (676 km) long and 80 miles (129 km) wide, is the largest 
sheet of fresh water on the globe, encircled by steep rocky cliffs of Archaean 
age, interrupted by immense masses of granite and basalt. The water is clear 
and deep, 900 feet. St. Louis River falls in at the head of the lake. — Few 
rivers of importance drain into the Great Lakes from the United States, or 
south side. The Maumee drains from the State of Ohio into Lake Erie, while 
St. Joseph River and the Grand empty into Lake Michigan on its eastern side, 
3. Central Division. 
a. Eastern Section and Appalachian System. 
The eastern coast of the United States, north of the 35th parallel, is 
a broken one. That of Maine emphasizes this statement, as it may almost 
be called a fjord coast, so frequent are the embayments. Massachusetts Bay 
is formed by the projecting arm of Cape Cod. Narraghansett Bay is a large 
and deeply indented arm of the ocean projecting into the southern part of 
New England. Long Island, which encloses the sound of that name, is 120 miles 
(193 km) in length and extends east and west protecting part of New York Bay, 
the most important harbor in the United States, from the fury of the Atlantic 
Ocean. Smaller islands Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Block Island lie to 
the eastward and on the seaward side of Long Island. South of New York 
Bay, there are two indentations of importance Delaware and Chesapeake bays. 
This part of the coast is protected by sand islands and sand bars, which 
enclose shallow bays and extensive salt marshes. This character of coast 
extends south to the southern extremity of Florida and the sounds formed 
behind the sand barriers are even more accentuated on the coast of North 
Carolina, while on the Pacific side of the United States, there is only one 
important bay, that of San Francisco between Puget Sound and San Diego. 
The peninsula of Florida, forming the eastern boundary of the Gulf of 
Mexico, is in a considerable part of its surface low, consisting of sand, coral 
rock and rocks of recent geologic age. The Everglades and Lake Ochee- 
chobee are prominent physiographic features of the southern portion of the 
