I S L 



partmsnt of Vauclufe, and chief place of a canton, in the 

 diftriciof Avignon. The place contains 5155, and the can- 

 ton 11,099 inhabitants, on a territory of 173 1 kihometres, 



IsLE-JJam, L', a town of France, in the department 

 of the Seine and Oife, and chief place of a canton, in the 

 diftria of Pontoife, 6 miles N.N.E. of Pontoife. The place 

 contains 13S1, and the canton 1 1,965 inhabitants, on a ter- 

 ritory of 147.1 kiliometres, in 23 communes. 



Isle- SoitchardfL', a town of Franco, in the department 

 of the Indre and Loire, and chief place of a canton, in 

 the diftritt of Chinon, furrounded by the Vienne ; 9 miles 

 E.S.E. of Chinon. The place contains 1000, and the can- 

 ton 10,437 inhabitants, on a territory of 240 kiliometres, in 

 20 communes. 



Isl.t.-BouJou'm, L', or IJle-Bouen, a town of France, in 

 the department of the Vendee, fitnated on an iflaud of the 

 fame name, about 5 miles long, on the coaft ; 9 miles N. W. 

 of Challons. 



I.sLE of Cerf, a fmall ifland in the En^Ufh channel, near 

 the coall of France. N. lat. 48- 53'. W. long. 3° 25'. 



IsLE-Difit, L', a town of France, in the department of 

 the Vendee, and cliief place of a canton, in the diftricl of 

 Les Sables d'Oionne. The placi; contains 1049, and the 

 canton 2053 inhabitants, on a territory of 65 kiliometres, in 

 2 communes. 



IsLE-d'Otif^ant, L', a town of France, in the department 

 of Finifterre, and chief place of a canton, in the diilrift 

 of Brefl. The place contains 1 645 inhabitants, on a terri- 

 tory of 22 kiliometres, in i commune. 



IsLE-en-DoJan, L\ a town of France, in the department 

 of the Upper Garonne, and chief place of a canton, in the 

 diftria of St. Gaudens ; 18 miles N.N.E. of St. Gaudens. 

 The place contains iioo, and the canton 10,832 inhabitants, 

 on a territory of 2325 kiliometres, in 24 communes. 



lfii.E-JourJmn, L', a town of France, in the department 

 of the Gers, and chief place of a canton, in the dillria of 

 Lombes, fituated on the Save; 7 miles E. of Auch. The 

 place contains 4686, and the canton 1 1,634 inhabitants, on 

 a territory of 2625 kihometres, in 23 communes. N. lat. 43^ 

 37'. E. long. I' 10'. — Alfo, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the Vienne, and chief place of a canton, in 

 the diftria of Montmorillon, 24 miles S.E. of Poitiers, 

 The place contains 448, and the canton 7 J53 inhabitants, on 

 a territory of 37 j kiliometres, in 1 1 communes. N. lat. 46' 

 ic'. E.lo 



ment of the Doubs, and chief place of a canton, in the dif- 



iig. o i^ . ^ 



l^h'E-fur-k-Doubs, L' , a town of France, in the depart- 

 oftt " . - ..- 



triaof Baume; 11 miles N.E. of Baume. The place 

 tains 685, and the canton 7048 inhabitants, on a territory 

 of 167^ kiliometres, in 24 communes. 



I'iLE-/ur-/e-Serrein, L', a town of France, in the depart- 

 ment of the Yonne, and chief place of a canton, in the dif- 

 tria of Avallon. The place contains 47S, and the canton 

 8766 inhabitants, on a territory of 250 kihometres, in 23 

 communes. 



I.SLE Jei Mollis, an i3and of France, in lake Morbihan, 

 with a tower ; j miles S.S.W. of Vanncs. 



Isle Grande, or La Rochs, an ifland in the South Pacific 

 ocean, feen by Anthony de la Roche, in 1675. S. lat. 



45"- 



Isle Royale, an ifland on the N.W. fide of lake Supe- 

 rior, within the territory of the United States, N.W. of the 

 Ohio ; about 100 miles long, juid, in many places, about 40 

 broad. The natives fuppofe that this and the other iflands 

 on the lake are the refidencc of the Great Spirit. 



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Isle Plate, a fmall ifland in the Englifh channe', near 

 the coaft of France. N. lat. 48' ,3'. W. long. 3' 24'. 



Isle of Dogs Canal, is the name of a very wide and 

 deep canal for the paiiage of ihips acrofs the ifthmus called 

 the Hie of Dogs, in the river Thames, below London, of 

 which an account has been given under the head of that 

 river, in our article Canal, and a plan of tlie fame will be 

 found in our plate of Docks. 



LsLE of Wight, an infulated traa of land, fituated in the 

 Englifti channel, near the coaft of Kampfhire, from which 

 it is not more than three miles diftant at the neareft point, 

 and to which county it belongs in all political and civil mat- 

 ters. The form of the ifiand is that of an irregular lozenge ; 

 meafuring from the caftcrn to the wcllcrn angle nearly 

 twenty-tliree miles ; and about thirteen from the northern to 

 the fouthem point : its fuperficics is computed at 105,000 

 acres. I'hrough the middle, in the Icngeft direftion, ex- 

 tends a range of hills, affording excellent pafture for flieep, 

 and commanding views over every part of the iile, with the 

 ocean on the fouth fide, and the coalts of Hampfhire o;i the 

 north. The face of the country is much diveriified ; hill 

 and dale, the fwelling promontory and the lowly glen, ap- 

 pear in quick fuccafhon to animate, and give intereft to the 

 profpeas. The land round the coaft is, in fome parts, very 

 high, particularly on the fouth, or back of the ifland, as it 

 is commonly termed ; here the cliffs are very ftecp, and vaft 

 fragments of roek, undermined by the waves, lie fcattered 

 along the (hore : on the northern (ide, the ground Hopes to 

 the water in eafy declivities, excepting towards the Needles, 

 or weftern point, where the rocks are bare, broken, and 

 precipitous. The height of the cliffs, of wliich the Needle* 

 form the extreme point, is, in fome places, fix hundred feet 

 above the level of the fea, and when viewed fi-om the diftance 

 of about a quarter of a mile, have a grand and aJmoft fublime 

 and ftupendous effea. Thefe cliffs are frequented by immenfe 

 numbers of marine birds ; as puffins, razor-bills, willcocks, 

 gulls, cormorants, cornifli-choughs, daws, ftarlings, and 

 wild pigeons ; fome of which come, at ftated times, to lay 

 their eggs and breed ; while others remain there all the year. 

 The clifFi are in fome places perpendicular ; in others, tliey 

 projea and hang over, in a tremendous manner : the feveral 

 ftrata form many Ihelres ; which ferve as lodgments for the 

 birds, where they fit in thick rows, and difcover themfelves 

 by their motions and flight, though not individually viiible. 

 Here are many caverns and deep chafms, wliich feem to 

 enter far into the rocks ; and in fome places, the iiTuing of 

 fprings forms fmall cafcades of rippling walcr down to the 

 fea. The country people take the birds that harbour in 

 thefe rocks, by the perilous experiment of defcending by 

 ropes, which are fixed to iron crows, driven into the ground : 

 thus fufpended, they with fticks beat down the birds as they 

 fly out of their holes. A dozen birds generally yield one 

 pound weight of foft feathers, for which the merchants give 

 eight pence ; the carcafes are bought by the fifliermen at 

 fixpence per dozen, for tlie purpofe of baiting their crab- 

 pots. The rocks, called the Needles, derived their npme 

 from a lofty pointed one, refenibhng a needle in fhape, 

 which had been disjointed, with others, from the main land, 

 by the force of the waves : this was 1 30 feet above the low 

 water mark ; but about forty years ago, ilsbafe having been 

 excavated by the fea, it fell, and totally difappeared. 



All the higher parts of the iflaud are compofed of an im- 

 menfe mafs of calcareous matter, of a chalky nature, in- 

 cumbent on fchiftus, which runs under the wliole i.He, and 

 appears, at low water mark, on the coaft near Mottifton : 

 this becomes fo indurated by expofure to the air, as to make 

 very good whctftonei. The lime-ftooe is burnt for manure ; 

 3 P 2 and 



