88 Topographical Sketch of the State of New- York. 



Mohawk ; but it soon rises again on the north side of the river, 

 and forms the mountain district between Ontario and Champlain ; 

 is afterwards cut through by the valley of the latter, and then pass- 

 es on towards the sources of the Connecticut. The remaining 

 ridge of the four parallel ones continues separate from the others, 

 and suddenly turns to the east in Pennsylvania, crosses the state 

 of New-Jersey, and is deeply cut through by the Hudson at West- 

 Point, where it forms the highlands of that river : It afterwards 

 passes to the north in nearly a straight line, and forms the divid- 

 ing ridge between the waters of the Hudson and those of the Con- 

 necticut : at the sources of the latter, it mingles with the other 

 mountain chain, and they then together pass on to the northeast, 

 and may be traced even to the coast of Labrador. The opening 

 between these ridges forms a long, deep, and narrow valley, in 

 which is situated the part of the Hudson river between West- 

 Point and Glen's Falls, and the whole of Lake Champlain. South 

 of this state, the several collateral ridges are cut through by the 

 Susquehanna, the Potomac, and several other streams of less 

 magnitude, which rise near the crest of the water shed, and flow 

 with a rapid descent to the ocean. This fact has been stated as 

 something peculiar in the topography of our country, and has giv- 

 en rise to the fallacious hope of finding practicable canal passes 

 through the river vallies from the waters of the Atlantic to those 

 of the Mississippi ; but the water shed, in its uninterrupted con- 

 tinuity, every where rises as an insuperable barrier, and the lowest 

 pass yet found south of New- York is elevated more than 2000 feet 

 above the ocean. As a whole, these mountains are known by the 

 name of the Appalachian system ; but the parallel ridges are perhaps 

 most generally referred to as the Alleganies ; and these again, in 

 their course, have received different local names, such as the Blue 

 Ridge in Virginia, the Catskill in New- York, and the White 

 Mountains in New- Hampshire. From the above sketch of the 

 great mountain system of our country, the peculiar topographical 

 features of the state of New- York will be readily understood. 



The Appalachian system may be said to occupy the principal 

 part of the state ; and, indeed, through the whole district, the 

 mountains appear to be only partially interrupted by the vallies of 

 rivers, or depressed by the basins of lakes. The entire surface 

 may perhaps be best described as an elevated tract of country, 

 with indentations in various places below its general level. The 

 most important depressions of the surface are the great basins in 

 which are situated the lakes Erie and Ontario, and the long nar- 



