26 



INTRODUCTION. 



commonly disposea m cnains ; a chain is a series of mountains, the bases of which are con 

 tinuous. Several chains are often connected with each other, forming a group ; and several 

 groups in the same manner form a system. 



The height of mountains is their elevation above the level of the sea, and as the bases are 

 often situated upon elevated plains, the apparent height of the mountainous peaks is much less 

 than their absolute height. Cols or necks are depressions in mountainous chains affording a 

 passage from one declivity of the ridge to the opposite ; they are sometimes called gates, 

 gaps, or passes. 



Heights of Principal Mountains. 



Europe 



Feet. 



Mont Blanc (Alps), 15,781 

 Mont Rosa " 15,5.55 

 Jungfrau " 13,720 



Mont Perdu (Pyrenees), 11,283 

 Mulahacen (Sierra Nevada), 11,C73 

 .^tna (Sicily), 10,963 

 Parnassus (Greece), 8,000 

 Ben Macdiu (Scotland) 4,418 

 Snowdon (Wales), 3,571 

 Helvelyn (England), 3,055 



j]sia. 



Dhawalagiri (Hinmla), 

 Janiautri " 

 Elburz (Caucasus), 

 Ararat (Armenia), 

 Demavend (Persia), 

 Lebanon (Syria), 



Jifiica. 

 Geesh (Abyssinia), 

 Tcneriffe Peak (Canaries), 

 Lupata (South Africa), 

 Atlas (Morocco), 



Ocranica. 

 Mouna Koah (Sandwich 1.), 

 Ophir (Sumatra), 



Feet. 

 26,862 

 25,500 

 18,500 

 17,266 

 14,700 

 9,520 



15,000 

 12,236 

 12,000 

 11,400 



18,400 

 13,842 



Jlmerica. 



Feet. 

 25,000 

 2-1,450 

 21,440 

 18,890 



Sorata (Bolivia), 

 lllimani, " 

 Chimborazo (Peru), 

 Cotopaxi (Peru), 



Mt. Hooker (British America), 20,000 



Popocatepetl (Mexico), 17,716 



Orizaba " 17,370 



Mt. St. Elias " 17,670 



Long's Peak (United States), 13,4,30 

 Black Mountain (N. Carolina), 6,426 

 Mt. Washington (N. Hampshire) 6,428 



3. Forms and Use of Mountains. Mountains, in their exterior forms, exhibit some varie- 

 ties, which strike the most inattentive observer. The highest mountains most frequently 

 present a surface of naked rock. In some places they shoot up in the form of enormous 

 crystals with sharp angles. Sometimes there appears an immense, steep, and abrupt surface, 

 which seems to lay open to view the bowels of the mountain itself. These appearances are 

 described under the names of needles, peaks, &c. There are other mountains, the tops of 

 which present circular outlines, which give them an air of tranquillit)'. The mountains of New 

 England and the Appalachian chain generally, are of this character. Some mountains rise in 

 majestic and regular gradations, like a vast amphitheatre ; others present a large mass cut 

 perpendicularly in the form of an altar, hke the Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Hope. 

 There are mountains in China which resemble the heads of dragons, tigers, and bears. In 

 other places there are labyrinths of rocks, which rise in the form of pillars. In the south- 

 eastern part of France, there is a mountain in a single mass in the form of a large nine-pin. 

 In another part of France, there are mountains which are described as resembling the old- 

 fashioned frizzled wigs. In short, the varieties in the form of mountains, as described by 

 travellers, seem to be almost infinite. Some of them are highly picturesque and beautiful, and 

 fill the mind of the beholder with pleasing emotions. Others are lofty, rugged, and sublime, 

 and awaken feelings of awe and astonishment. 



The utility of mountains is very great. They attract the clouds and vapors, which become 

 condensed by cold, and fall in the shape of snow and rain, thus giving birth to innumerable 

 streams, which descend and spread fertihty and beauty over the surface of the earth. 



4. Volcanoes. Tl)ose mountains 



which send forth from their summits 

 or sides, flame, smoke, ashes, and 

 streams of melted matter or lava, 

 are called volcanoes. The deep 

 hollow from which these substances 

 are emitted is called a crater. Some 

 elevations merely discharge mud or 

 air, and have received the name of 

 air or mud volcanoes. 



Many mountains present appear- 

 ances, which prove that at some 

 former time they must have been 

 outlets of fire, although they have 

 long ceased to have any volcanic 

 action ; these are called extinct 

 volcanoes. 



Volca7iic Mountain ; Vesuvius. 



