NEW YORK. 



CHAPTER XII. NEW YORK. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. New York is bounded N. by Lake Ontario, the river St. Law- 

 rence, and Lower Canada ; E. by Vermont, Massacbusetts, and Connecticut ; S. by Penn- 

 sylvania and New Jersey ; W. by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and Niagara River. It lies be- 

 tween 40^ 30' and 45'-' N. lat., and between 72^ and 79^ .55' W. Ion. It is 340 miles in length 

 from east to west, and 304 in breadth. It contains, including Long Island, 49,000 square miles. 



2. Mountains. The eastern part of this State only is mountainous. Tlie Appalachian chain 

 enters from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and extends northeasterly across the State to Con- 

 necticut and Massachusetts. The 

 chief branch of this chain is called 

 the Shawangunk Ridge. This 

 is broken through by the Hudson 

 River, 50 miles above New York, 

 where the mountains are known 

 by the name of the Highlands. 

 At this place they form a chain 

 16 miles in breadth, and send off" 

 a branch to the north, called 

 the Catskill Mountains. This 

 branch afterwards makes a bend 

 to the west, and then returns in a 

 northerly direction, and finally 

 crosses the St. Lawrence into 

 Canada. The general height of 

 these eminences is about 3,000 

 feet, where they first leave the 

 Hudson ; after this, they consti- 

 tute an irregular range of hills, 

 called the Helderherg Hills, 



which is an elevated plain of uniform altitude, with rugged and precipitous sides. 



The U'shlinuh. 



