ii6 The National Geographic Magazine 



careful exploration and mapping of the 

 boundary for nearly 1,000 miles. The 

 decision of Edward VII is printed in 

 full in the " Bulletin of the Bureau of 

 the American Republics" for January, 

 1903. 



Hon. John W. Foster, at the request of 

 President Roosevelt and Secretary of 

 State Hay, has taken charge of the 

 presentation of the United States case 

 in the Alaskan boundary dispute. Mr 

 Foster will be assisted in the work by 

 Mr Robert Lansing, who was one of 

 the junior counsel in the Bering Sea 

 Arbitration at Paris in 1893 and asso- 

 ciate counsel of the United States in the 

 Bering Sea Claims Commission of 1896. 

 Secretary of War Root, Senator Lodge, 

 and Senator Turner, of Washington, 

 will represent the United States on the 

 Commission. 



"Wind Velocity and Fluctuations of 

 Water Level on Lake Erie " is the sub- 

 ject of a bulletin by Prof. A. J. Henry 

 issued by the U. S. Weather Bureau. 

 The heavy westerly winds that sweep 

 across Lake Erie from end to end pile 

 the water high up in the harbor of Buf- 

 falo and leave low water in the channel 

 at the mouth of the Detroit River at the 

 other end of the lake. Shipping is much 

 inconvenienced by such changes in level. 

 Professor Henry, as a result of his study 

 of the variations in the water level, be- 

 lieves that it is possible to predict ex- 

 treme high water at Buffalo, so that in 

 case of a severe seiche property-owners 

 along the wharves could be warned in 

 sufficient time to remove their goods. 

 A series of diagrams show the wind 

 velocity and water level hourly fluctua- 

 tions on the lake from December 1, 

 1899, to November 30, 1900. 



The Pittsburg- Coal District.— The first 

 of the series of new maps which are bein g 

 prepared by the Geological Survey in 

 cooperation with the State of Pennsyl- 

 vania, has recently appeared as the 



Masontown-Uniontown Geologic Folio, 

 No. 82. The area covered by this folio, 

 which is named from two of the lead- 

 ing towns in the district, includes 458 

 square miles and lies mainly in Fayette 

 County, although also including por- 

 tions of Greene and Washington coun- 

 ties. The folio includes 8 maps, show- 

 ing the hills, streams, roads, houses, 

 mines, coals, geologic formations, and 

 the details of geologic structure. In 

 addition to the maps, there are 21 large- 

 size pages of description written by Mr 

 Marius R. Campbell, in which the geol- 

 ogy of the region is described in detail. 

 Many sections showing thicknesses and 

 the character of the coals are given. 



Thomas Willing Balch, of the Phila- 

 delphia bar, will shortly have read}' a 

 monograph entitled, The Alaska Fron- 

 tier. He will give in it reproductions 

 of 28 maps, discuss the international 

 law bearing on the boundary question, 

 and bring out much new evidence. Mr 

 Balch has collected his facts in Alaska, 

 Saint Petersburg, Berlin, Paris, London, 

 Edinburgh, and many other places. 



In the London Times for December 

 16 and December 27, 1902, are pub- 

 lished two long letters from Edward 

 Whymper, the well-known mountaineer, 

 describing some explorations he made 

 among the Canadian Rockies in 1901 

 and 1902. 



The Division of Hydrology, a new di- 

 vision, has recently been organized in 

 the hydrographic branch of the United 

 States Geological Survey. The work of 

 this division will include the gathering 

 and filing of well records of all kinds, 

 the study of artesian and other problems 

 relating to underground waters, and 

 the investigation of the stratigraphy of 

 the water-bearing and associated rocks. 

 In addition to the gathering of statistics 

 relating to the flow, cost, etc., of the 

 wells, 'it is hoped in the future to give 

 especial attention to the geologic feat- 



