PENNSYLVANIA. 



257 



ncrth lat. ; and between 74° and 80° 40' west long. It is 307 miles long and 160 broad, and 

 contains 47,000 square miles. 



2. Mountains. The Appalachian chain here spreads to its widest limits, and covers with its 

 various ranges more than one half of the State. The greatest width of the chain equals 200 

 miles. It consists of parallel ridges sometimes little distant from each other, and at other times 

 with valleys 20 or 30 miles broad lying between them. The range nearest the coast is called 

 the South Mountain, and is a continuation of the Blue Ridge of Virginia. This, however, is 

 hardly a distinct ridge, but only an irregular series of rocky, broken eminences, sometimes dis- 

 appearing altogether, and at others spreading out several miles in breadth. These eminences 

 lie 150 or 200 miles from the sea, and their height does not exceed 1,200 feet above the sur- 

 rounding country. Beyond these are the Kittatinny or Blue Mountains, which extend from Ma- 

 ryland to New Jersey across the Susquehanna and Delaware. Further westward are the ridges 

 bearing the names of the Sideling Hills, Ragged Mountains, Great Warrior Mountain, East 

 WilVs Mountain till we come to the Jllleghany Ridge, the highest range, and from which this whole 

 chain has in common language received the name of the Jllleghany Mountains. The highest 

 summits are between 3 and 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. West of the Alleghany are 

 the Laurel and Chestnut Ridges. These mountains are in general covered with thick forests. 

 The Laurel Mountains are overgrown on their eastern front with tlie tree from which they are 

 named. The wide valleys between the great ridges are filled with a multitude of hills confus- 

 edly scattered up and down. The tops of the ridges sometimes exhibit lonig ranges of table 

 land, 2 or 3 miles broad ; some of them are steep on one side, and extend with a long slope 

 on the other. These mountains are traversed by the great stream of the Susquehanna and the 

 head waters of the Ohio. 



3. Valleys. The valleys of the Susquehanna and its branches are remarkably irregular. 

 These streams traverse the whole width of the Appalachian chain of mountains, sometimes flow- 

 ing in wide valleys between parallel ranges, for 50 or 60 miles in a pretty direct course, and at 

 other times breaking through the mountain ridges. The valleys between the different ranges of 

 the great chain extending throughout the whole State, are often 20 or 30 miles in width, with 

 a hilly or broken surface. 



4. Rivers. The Delaware washes the eastern limit of the State, and is navigable for ships 

 from the sea to Philadelphia. It receives the Lehigh at Easton, which flows 75 miles in a 

 southeasterly course, nearly half of it being navigable. Nearer the sea, and 6 miles below 

 Philadelphia, it receives the Schuylkill, which flows also sodtheastsrly 130 miles ; it is naviga- 

 ble for boats 90 miles, but at Philadelphia it is crossed by a dam belonging to the waterworks, 

 and there are falls 5 miles above. The Susquehanna rises from two sources ; the eastern 

 branch has its origin in Otsesro Lake, in New York ; the western branch rises in the most ele- 

 vated region of Pennsylvania, in the 

 western pt.rt of the Appalachian moun- 

 tains ; it passes through the great Alle- 

 ghany ridge, and the others which lie 

 east of it, and unites with the east branch 

 at Northumberland. The river then 

 flows southeast into Chesapeake Bay. 

 The Susquiehanna is the longest river of 

 the eastern and central States, and is a 

 mile and a quarter wide at its mouth ; 

 but it is much obstructed by falls and 

 rapids, which sometimes occur in a con- 

 tinual series for 50 miles together. That 

 part of Us course near the mouth affords 

 the fewest advantages for navigation. 

 This river abounds with fish, and vast 

 quantities of salmon and shad <nre yearly 

 taken in its waters. The Juniata, a 



branch from the west, which traverses the mountainous country, is a winding stream with broken 

 and rocky banks, and the scenery along its shores is very picturesque. This river rises in the 

 Alleghany mountains, and enters the Susquehanna 11 ni'les above Harrisburg : being 180 miles 

 long, and part of it navigable for boats. 



