THE BUILDING OF THE LAND 5 



the sea by a folding of the earth's crust at the south- 

 eastern corner of the North American continent. 

 This plateau has an average width of about three 

 hundred miles and is of very nearly the same 

 length. Its borders everywhere slope rapidly 

 down into the abysses of the ocean. The eastern 

 half of this plateau, which is the more elevated 

 portion and now projects above the sea, is the 

 present peninsula of Florida. This peninsula is 

 shaped very much like the handle of an old- 

 fashioned pistol. The northern or "continental" 

 part of the State somewhat resembles the short 

 barrel of the same, which is pointed directly at the 

 States lying to the westward. The tract of land 

 at the mouth of the Apalachicola River might 

 answer for a trigger case. I once called the atten- 

 tion of an old Georgia cracker to this peculiar 

 form, and after looking closely at the map for a 

 minute while he slowly traced the outline with his 

 finger he remarked: "Hit shore does look some 

 like a pistol. Y'all don't reckon they wanted to 

 fight, do ye, when they laid hit but thataway?" 



The surface or topography of the State is, 

 geologically speaking, quite new, there being 

 within its borders no rocks observable older than 



