MIDDLE STATES. 



211 



S TATE 



lant of these streams are the 

 Hudson^ the Susquehanna, 

 and the Delaware ; the Sus- 

 quehanna has tl)e longest 

 course, but is so uuich bro- 

 ken by its passage through the 

 mountains as to afiord little 

 advantage for navigation with- 

 out artificial aid ; it drains 

 about 28,600 square miles. 

 The Delaware and Hudson 

 are fine navigable rivers ; the 

 latter will be elsewhere de- 

 scribed. The former rises in 

 the Catskill Mountains, takes 

 a southerly course, pierces the 

 Blue Ridge and the Southeast 

 Mountain, and meets the tide 

 at Trenton. Its principal trib- 

 utaries are the Lehigh and 

 Schuylkill, from the west. Its 

 whole course to the ocean is 

 317 miles, its estuary forming 

 a wide and deep bay. The 

 basin of the Delaware is an 

 inclined plane, rising from the 

 alluvial region on the level of 

 the tide to the height of nearly 

 2,000 feet, with an area of 

 upwards of 1 1 ,000 square 

 miles. Small vessels go up 

 to Trenton, 132 miles ; above 

 that point the navigation is 

 impeded by shoals, but there 

 are no falls, and the river is, therefore, navigable downward for boats, from near its source. 

 The numerous canals, which are connected with various points of the stream, and the working 

 of the coal mines, have greatly increased the navigation on its waters. 



5. Shores and Bays. The whole seacoast from Karitan Bay is a low, sandy level, indented 

 by shallow inlets, but affording few harbors. The principal bays are Raritan^ Chesapeake.^ and 

 Delaware. The river Delaware, 50 miles from its mouth, gradually expands into a wide bay, 

 from 10 miles to 30 in width, the navigation of which is rendered somewhat difficult by shoals. 

 Chesapeake Bay, or the estuary of the Susquehanna, is a broad and deep basin, 185 miles in 

 length, and, for a distance of 70 miles from the ocean, varying from 15 to 40, and above that 

 point to the mouth of the Susquehanna, from five to ten tniles in breadth. It receives a 

 number of large rivers, which open into it with broad, bay-like mouths, and are navigable for 

 large vessels ; the principal are the Patapsco, Patuxent, Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and 

 James. In the main bay the depth of water is sufficient for the largest ships to the mouth of 

 the Susquehanna. It affords many commodious harbors, and a safe and easy navigation. 



6. Lakes. The great lakes, Erie and Ontario, are important features in the physical char- 

 acter of this region, but have been noticed in our description of North America. The small 

 lakes of New York give an additional charm to the scenery of that State, and afford some 

 advantages for navigation. 



7. Climate. Although this section extends through seven degrees of latitude, the elevated 

 poshion of the great central mass, from 800 to 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, render.s 

 the temperature of that portion litde different from that of the Northern States. The winters 

 are cold, but less severe than in New England, and of not so long continuance. In the lower 

 region of the southeast, the summers are hotter, and the winters milder. The gieat staple 

 of the Middle States is wheat 



