THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 317 



periodic monsoons, it is traverst at short but irregular intervals 

 by the broad air whirls called cyclones, which bring with them 

 rapid alternations of warmth and coolness, sunshine and rain, 

 breeze and calm ; and the direction of the wind is continually 

 shifting. In other words, we are endowed with weather instead 

 of mere climatic monotony. 



In all parts of our land there is so much of winter that man 

 must provide himself with clothing, shelter, and fuel. Natural 

 fruits, to be had for the plucking, will not sustain him, and he is 

 compelled to earn his food. Thus Nature forces him to labor 

 and to contrive, and his physical and intellectual faculties are 

 developt, like the athlete's muscle, by exercise. From variety 

 of configuration, of mineral resources, and of climate, flow varied 

 and complementary industries. Agriculture flourishes in the 

 Atlantic and Central provinces, on the morainic hills and lacus- 

 trine plains of the Lake district, and, with irrigation, in intervales 

 of the Cordilleras. Its products range from the hardy apple to 

 the frost-shunning banana. Along the western borders of the 

 Central plain and in Cordilleran valleys the herdsman tends his 

 bands of horses, kine, and sheep. In the humid northwest, in 

 the recesses of the mountains, and on tracts of inferior or scanty 

 soil are forests for the lumberman. In mountains and roots of 

 mountains are ores for the miner, and from the hills he draws 

 fossil fuels. Manufacture finds natural power in waterfall, coal, 

 and gas, and the way of commerce is made easy by the harbors 

 of the coast. Thus Pluto and Apollo have prepared the land 

 for that diversity of product and industry which gives national 

 independence and have provided a commercial facility which 

 joins us to the brotherhood of nations. 



GEOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF 



COLUMBIA 



By W J McGee 



The District of Columbia lies on the boundary between two 

 great natural districts or provinces, the Piedmont plateau and 

 the Coastal plain. 



The Piedmont province is a low plateau composed of ancient 

 crystalline rocks, extending westward to the Blue Ridge and 

 stretching far northeastward and southeastward. This plateau 

 is trenched by Potomac and other rivers and their tributaries, 



