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CONNECTICUT 



CHAPTER X CONNECTICUT. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. Connecticut is situated between 41° and 42° north lat. and 

 between 71° 50' and 73° 43' west Ion. Its average length from east to west is about 88 miles ; 

 its mean breadth from north to south 53 miles, comprising an area of 4,664 square miles. It 

 is bounded north by Massachusetts ; east by Rhode Island ; south by Long Island Sound, and 

 west by New York. 



2. JMountains. There are live distinct ranges. 1. The Housatonic mountains enter the 

 State in the northwest part, and continue southerly along the Housatonic river to the coast ; 

 this is not properly a continuous ridge, but a succession of eminences, spurs, and branches, 

 some of which are considerably elevated. Mount Tom, between Litchfield and Washington, 

 is 700 feet high. 2. The next, proceeding easterly, is the Grecnivoods Range, which is not 

 very elevated ; the summits in the northern parts are covered with evergreens ; the southern 

 division is more rugged and less lofty than the northern. 3. The third is a Greenstone Range, 

 and is broken and precipitous on its western face, with gentle declivities on the eastern ; this 

 range divides into branches toward the south, which end in East Rock and West Rock, near 

 New Plaven ; it abounds in minerals. 4. The fourth range extends fi'om Hartford to New 

 Haven, and is of the same geological character with the preceding, but is not continuous. It 

 is of only a moderate height, but has a few bold elevations, exhibiting the more prominent 

 features of the Greenstone Range. This range is called the Middletown Mountains, though 

 its separate parts have several distinct appellations. 5. Passing east of the Connecticut River, we 

 come to the fifth, called the Lyme Range, being the height of land which separates the waters 

 of the Connecticut from those of the Thames ; this range has also two branches toward the 

 south, but in the north is a distinct and continuous ridge, highest in the northern part. Bald 

 Mountain, between Somers and Slafi'ord, is the loftiest summit of this range. 



3. Valleys. The Valle}'- of the Connecticut begins at JMiddletown, and passes north 

 tnrough the State, being from 10 to 16 miles in width, and extending within the limits of this 

 State a length of 30 miles ; this is the richest agricultural section in the State. The Farming- 

 ton Valley, extending from New Haven north through the State, is 50 miles in length, and 

 from 3 to 5 wide. The Valley of the Quinipiack, in Wallingford, and North Haven, is 

 15 miles in length, and from 2 to 5 in breadth, and is generally fertile. On the borders of the 

 Housatonic are vales of considerable extent, from 1 to 5 miles in breadth, and of a rich soil. 



4. Rivers. The Connecticut enters this State from Massachusetts, and flov/s south into 

 Long Island Sound. Its mouth is barred with sand, but it admits of a sloop navigation to 

 Hartford, 50 miles. Its general course after entering the State, is S., but at Middletown it 

 bends to the S. E. and continues in that direction to its mouth. It receives no tributary in 

 Connecticut of importance. The largest is the Tunxis., or Farmington River, which rises in 

 Massachusetts, and joins the Connecticut on the western side, 5 miles above Hartford. The 

 Housatonic rises in the western part of Massachusetts, and enters this State near the north- 

 west corner, after which it runs in a southerly and southeasterly course, to the Sound, between 

 Milford and Stratford. The first part of its course is broken by cataracts, and its entrance i3 

 barred against large vessels. It has a sloop navigation of 12 miles. The Thames is formed 

 of two branches, one consisting of the Shetucket, and the other of the Yantic and Quinebaug ; 

 the last rises in Massachusetts. These streams unite at Norwich, and flow 14 miles to New 

 London, where they enter the Sound. It has a good ship navigation below the union of the 

 head streams. 



5. Marine Waters. The whole coast of the State lies upon Long Island Sound, which is, 

 m fact, an extensive Gulf or Channel, being 140 miles in length, and 25 miles broad in the 

 widest part. It is somewhat narrow at the eastern entrance, and expands in the middle. To- 

 ward the west it contracts gradually till it joins the harbor of New York by a narrow and 

 crooked strait. It admits of a free navigation throughout its whole extent, for the largest 

 ships, but in the western strait is a dangerous whirlpool at a spot called Hell Gate, where the 

 current is contracted by the rocky shores, and, at certain seasons of the tide, the navigation is 

 hazardous. 



6 Climate. Both the face of the country, and the local position of this State, correspond 



