﻿Chapter 
  i 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  PRINCIPLES 
  AND 
  REFERENCE 
  TABLES 
  

  

  Few 
  states 
  present 
  a 
  more 
  wonderful 
  variety 
  of 
  physical 
  features 
  

   or 
  afford 
  a 
  more 
  excellent 
  opportunity 
  to 
  those 
  interested 
  in 
  the 
  

   study 
  and 
  teaching 
  of 
  geography 
  or 
  geology 
  than 
  does 
  New 
  York. 
  

   Here 
  are 
  rock 
  formations 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  more 
  important 
  types; 
  all 
  the 
  

   leading 
  types 
  of 
  mountains 
  (Adirondacks, 
  Catskills, 
  and 
  Taconics) 
  

   except 
  actual 
  volcanoes, 
  and 
  even 
  true 
  lavas 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  Adiron- 
  

   dacks 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Palisades 
  of 
  the 
  Hudson; 
  hundreds 
  of 
  lakes 
  of 
  

   various 
  shapes 
  and 
  kinds; 
  shore 
  outlines 
  ranging 
  from 
  the 
  great 
  

   sand 
  bars 
  and 
  beaches 
  of 
  Long 
  Island 
  to 
  wave-worn 
  cliffs 
  along 
  

   the 
  shores 
  of 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  and 
  Lake 
  Ontario; 
  typical 
  prairie 
  plains 
  

   like 
  that 
  south 
  of 
  Lake 
  Ontario; 
  a 
  great 
  plateau 
  in 
  the 
  south- 
  

   western 
  region; 
  valleys 
  and 
  gorges 
  of 
  varied 
  origin; 
  rivers 
  of 
  all 
  

   types 
  and 
  often 
  with 
  remarkable 
  histories; 
  a 
  striking 
  display 
  of 
  

   relief 
  features 
  ; 
  and 
  extensive 
  and 
  varied 
  deposits 
  of 
  glacial 
  origin. 
  

   Accordingly, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  an 
  exaggeration 
  to 
  say 
  that 
  examples 
  of 
  nearly 
  

   all 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  physical 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  are 
  repre- 
  

   sented 
  within 
  the 
  borders 
  of 
  this 
  State. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  observer 
  looks 
  out 
  over 
  the 
  State 
  he 
  sees 
  this 
  great 
  

   variety 
  of 
  physical 
  features 
  and, 
  unless 
  he 
  has 
  given 
  some 
  thought 
  

   to 
  the 
  subject, 
  is 
  very 
  likely 
  to 
  regard 
  these 
  as 
  practically 
  un- 
  

   changeable, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  now 
  essentially 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  in 
  

   the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  earth's 
  history. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  fundamental 
  

   ideas 
  taught 
  in 
  this 
  book 
  are 
  that 
  the 
  physical 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  

   as 
  we 
  behold 
  them 
  today, 
  represent 
  but 
  a 
  single 
  phase 
  of 
  a 
  very 
  

   long 
  continued 
  history; 
  that 
  significant 
  changes 
  are 
  now 
  going 
  on 
  

   all 
  around 
  us; 
  and 
  that 
  we 
  are 
  able 
  to 
  interpret 
  the 
  geography 
  of 
  

   the 
  present 
  only 
  by 
  an 
  understanding 
  of 
  its 
  changes 
  in 
  the 
  past. 
  

  

  Geology 
  is 
  concerned 
  with 
  the 
  evolution 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  and 
  of 
  its 
  

   inhabitants, 
  as 
  revealed 
  in 
  the 
  rocks. 
  This 
  science 
  is 
  very 
  broad 
  

   in 
  its 
  scope 
  and 
  treats 
  of 
  the 
  processes 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  earth 
  has 
  

   been, 
  and 
  is 
  now 
  being, 
  changed; 
  the 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  earth; 
  the 
  

   stages 
  through 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  passed, 
  and 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  

   organisms 
  which 
  have 
  lived 
  upon 
  it. 
  

  

  Geography 
  deals 
  with 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  earth's 
  physical 
  

   features, 
  in 
  their 
  relation 
  to 
  each 
  other, 
  to 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  sea 
  and 
  land 
  

   and 
  human 
  life 
  and 
  culture. 
  

  

  Geography 
  is 
  the 
  outward 
  and 
  present 
  expression 
  of 
  geological 
  

  

  [7] 
  

  

  