GEOGRAPHIC CONGRESS ABSTRACTS 



THE TOWER OF PELEE 



BY PROF. ANGEEO HEIEPRIN 



The speaker detailed the general features of 

 this remarkable structure, supplementing his 

 observations with photographic views taken by 

 him on June 13, 1903, from the crater-rim. At 

 that time the giant obelisk rose out from the 

 new crateral summit (the " cone " or " dome ") 

 to a height of about S40 feet. The speaker dis- 

 sented from the generally accepted view that 

 this Tower represented a rapidly cooling lava, 

 whose solidification was effected at the time of 

 extrusion, and expressed his belief that in all 

 probability it was an ancient volcanic core, 

 which had been dislodged and lifted out as the 

 result of Pelee's forceful activity. Many facts 

 connected with the structure of the Tower, as 

 well as its general cork-like aspect, supported 

 this conclusion. 



older drift-filled gorges upon the outline of the 

 gorge walls and the waterfalls was described. 



THE SCULPTURE OF MASSIVE ROCKS 



BY G. K. GILBERT 



The general principle that rock partings 

 facilitate erosion is sufficiently familiar, but 

 the correlative principle that massive rocks 

 are peculiarly resistant has received less atten- 

 tion. The granite districts of the Sierra Ne- 

 vada afford exceptional opportunities for the 

 study of the control of sculpture by phenomena 

 of continuity and discontinuity, because rock 

 of uniform composition and texture is in some 

 places massive and elsewhere jointed. In the 

 massive condition it is comparatively resistant 

 to all forms of atmosphere, aqueous and glacial 

 attack, except abrasion. 



GORGES AND WATERFALLS OF CEN- 

 TRAL NEW YORK 



BY PROPESSOR R. S. TARE, CORNEEE UNI- 

 VERSITY, NEW YORK 



Near head of Cayuga and Seneca lakes, two 

 of the Finger lakes of central New York, there 

 are numerous gorges and waterfalls, of which 

 Watkins Glen is the most widely known. 

 The paper describe some of these gorges and 

 falls, showing that their abundance depends 

 upon the presence of a series of hanging val- 

 leys, tributary to the main valleys, which are 

 occupied by Lakes Cayuga and Seneca. In 

 descending from these hanging valleys the 

 streams have cut gorges in the Devonian shales, 

 in which are numerous falls, especially where 

 the water passes from stronger to weaker layers. 

 The influence of joint planes and of a series of 



MOTHER MAPS OF THE UNITED 

 STATES 



BY HENRY GANNETT 



This is a revision of an article published by 

 me under the same title in the National Geo- 

 graphic Magazine in March, 1892, bringing 

 the subject up to the present date. It is a 

 summary of the sources of geographic informa- 

 tion concerning the main body of the United 

 States ; characterizing the work of the U. S. 

 Geological Survey, Coast and Geodetic Survey > 

 Land Office, and other geographic organiza- 

 tions ; showing the extent and relative value 

 of their contributions, and rating them in ac- 

 cordance with the scale for which they are 

 fitted. 



SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED 

 STATES 



BY MARTHA KRUG GENTHE 



School geography at present represents the 

 larger part of the geographic work done in the 

 United States. This is partly so because at the 

 elementary school the choice' of studies does 

 not depend upon the student, as in the higher 

 institutions, partly because under the name of 

 geography a great many kindred subjects are 

 taught, especially in the lower classes. A more 

 definite separation between these subjects and 

 geography proper seems desirable. 



The progress of teaching in the last years has 

 brought about a more and more pronounced 

 tendency to replace mere text-book informa- 

 tion by oral instruction, and this requires a 

 higher standard of preparation of the teacher. 



A most important aid to develop the power 

 of reasoning and of observation in the child 

 are the practical exercises indoors and out- 

 doors, representing the application beyond the 

 kindergarten stage of the principles of Frobel 

 and his school. The numerous illustrations in 

 the text-books serve the same purpose. Care 

 must be taken, however, not to overdo in this 

 line. 



The multitude of geographical subjects is 

 greatly simplified by reducing the instruction 

 to a study of typical forms. The type idea 

 must be presented to the child after, not before, 

 the study of the individual objects. 



Map-making, and consequently map study, 

 are the lines along which much improvement 

 is still desirable. In view of the facilities 



