216 INFLUENCE OF GEOLOGY ON SCENERY. 



accustomed their minds to the habit of reasoning, 

 that they certainly, as a mass, greatly exceed in in- 

 telhgence the other labouring population of the 

 district, which, with the exception of the fishermen 

 and the sailors, is chiefly agriculture," &c.* 



Influence of the Geological Structure of the United 

 States on its Scenery, 



That the peculiar scenery of any country is de- 

 pendant on its geological formation, is too evident 

 to need remark. Thus, in an alluvial or tertiary 

 district, we expect to see the face of the country 

 level and monotonous; in a secondary region we 

 look for a surface, if not uniformly level, yet not 

 characterized by lofty hills or abrupt mountains ; 

 in a transition country we look for a surface of 

 great irregularity, now swelling into lofty hills 

 and moderately elevated mountains, traversed by 

 frequent valleys and gentle slopes, combining gre^Tt 

 variety and beauty in its scenery ; as among the 

 table-land of the Alleghanies and the Blue Ridge. 

 In a primitive region we expect to see abrupt and 

 lofty mountains; the strata thrown into every de- 

 gree of elevation and the greatest confusion ; sharp 

 towering peaks ; craggy and overhanging cliffs ; 

 roaring torrents; all that is wild, and rugged, and 

 sublime, meet the eye and challenge admiration I 

 Owing to the variety of geological structure, no 

 country in the world presents a more varied sce- 

 nery than our own. No valleys on the face of 

 the globe exceed in fertility and beauty those of 

 the Housatonic, Connecticut, the Susquehanna, the 

 Ohio, and the Mississippi. No villages ever built 

 by man combine in their location greater advanta- 

 ges and beauties than those of Springfield, North- 

 ampton, Amherst, Pittsfield, Stockbridge, Sheffield, 

 and numerous others which sprinkle and adorn the 



* Geological Report on Cornw^all, Devon, &c., p. 462. 



