20 GREAT RIVERS. 



the Catskill Mountains in the State of New York, the Green 

 Mountains in the State of Vermont, the highlands eastward 

 of the Hudson River, and the White Mountains in New 

 Hampshire. Mount Washington, which rises to an elevation 

 of 6634 feet out of the last-named range, is the highest peak 

 of the whole system. To the north of the St. Lawrence the 

 lofty range of the Wotchish Mountains extends towards the 

 coast of Labrador; while the whole region west and north of 

 that river and the great Canadian lakes is of considerable 

 length, the best-known range being that which contains the 

 Lacloche Mountains, which appear to the north of Lake Huron, 

 and extend towards the Ottawa River. These two great ranges 

 of mountains divide the North American continent into three 

 portions. 



GREAT RIVERS. 



The rivers which rise on the eastern side of the Appal- 

 achian range run into the Atlantic ; those which rise west of 

 the Rocky Mountains empty themselves into the Pacific ; 

 while the mighty streams which flow between the two, pass 

 through the great basin of the Mississippi, and swell the 

 waters of that mother of rivers. The great valley of the 

 Mississippi, indeed, drains a surface greater than that of any 

 other river on the globe, with the exception perhaps of the 

 Amazon. The Missouri, even before it reaches it, runs a 

 course of 1300 miles, while the Mississippi itself, before its 

 confluence with the Missouri, has already passed over a dis- 

 tance of 1200 miles; thence to its mouth its course is 

 upwards of 1200 miles more. The Arkansas, which flows 

 into it, is 2000 miles long, and the Red River of the south 

 1500 miles in length; while the Ohio, to its junction with 

 the Mississippi, is nearly 1000 miles long. 



