INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONGRESS 



AT a conference of representatives 

 from the several Geographic So- 

 cieties in the United States, held 

 Saturday, June 20, 1903, in the Ameri- 

 can Geographical Society Building, 

 15 West Eighty-first street, New York 

 city, to arrange for the meeting of the 

 Eighth International Geographic Con- 

 gress, to be held in this country in 1904, 

 the organization of the Committee of 

 Arrangements was perfected by the 

 election of Prof. W J McGee, of the 

 National Geographic Society, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, chairman, and Dr J. H. 

 McCormick, secretary. It was formally 

 voted to hold the Congress in Wash- 

 ington in September, 1904, adjourn- 

 ing to St Louis, Missouri, to meet 

 in connection with the International 

 Congress of Arts and Science. In 

 addition to the formal sessions of the 

 Congress in Washington, it is planned 



to hold informal sessions or social meet- 

 ings in other cities. After the final 

 session in St Louis, a trip is planned to 

 the City of Mexico, the Grand Canyon, 

 Yosemite Valley, Yellowstone Park, 

 and other points of interest to the mem- 

 bers of the Congress. The following 

 subcommittees were appointed : Pro- 

 gram, Mr C. C. Adams, of the American 

 Geographical Society ; Exhibits, Mr 

 Henry G. Bryant, of the Geographical 

 Society of Philadelphia ; Invitations, 

 Prof. A. L. Rotch, of the Appalachian 

 Mountain Club ; Transportation, Dr 

 G. B. Shattuck, of the Geographic 

 Society of Baltimore ; Finance, Messrs 

 C. J. Bell, David T. Day, and Jno. Joy 

 Edson. The appointment of other com- 

 mittees was deferred till the next meet- 

 ing of the Committee of Arrangements. 

 A formal prospectus will be issued in a 

 few days. 



GEOGRAPHIC NOTES 



GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION IN 

 EASTERN ASIA 



CHINA, the land which so deeply 

 interests us politically and com- 

 mercially, has also its scientific interest. 

 Geographically it is a region of great 

 diversity of aspects — along the Hoang- 

 ho and Yangtze having great flood 

 plains, more extensive than those of the 

 Mississippi ; along portions of its coast 

 presenting bold promontories like the 

 coast of the Pacific ; throughout the cen- 

 tral region exhibiting mountain ranges 

 which the rivers traverse in deep can- 

 yons, and in its northwestern portion 

 consisting of extensive plateaus and 

 deserts, which extend to the heights of 

 the Tibetan ranges. Geologically the 

 rocks of China comprise representatives 



of every known geological period, and 

 the record of the earth's history appears 

 to be as full and as interestingly ex- 

 hibited in the Middle Kingdom as in the 

 United States. It is natural that geog- 

 raphers and geologists should take a 

 lively interest in exploration of any un- 

 known countr} 7 , but with reference to 

 China their appetite has been whetted 

 by the suggestions of explorers who 

 have had opportunity to travel hastily, 

 but rarely have been able to do more 

 than glance at the problems which pre- 

 sented themselves. 



The Carnegie Institution of Wash- 

 ington, recognizing that China is a rich 

 field of investigation, has made a grant 

 for exploration in eastern Asia, and 

 plans have been developed, based upon 

 the results of extensive researches car- 



