SOUTHERN STATES. 



277 



•ivers of the Southern States flow southerly or easterly into the Atlantic, or, Gulf of Mexico 

 They mostly have their origin in the elevated region of the Appalachian Mountains. 



4. Bays, Sounds, ^c. The largest are in the northern part of this region. Chesapeake 

 Bay is the deepest and most convenient for navigation in the country. Southward of Pamlico 

 Sound, there are no large bays on the Atlantic ; the coast is uniform to the Gulf of Mexico. 

 The largest navigable bay in this quarter, is that of Mobile. The lakes of Louisiana are shal- 

 low, and little available for the purposes of navigation. 



5. Shores and Capes. Every part of the coast is low and flat, without a single lofty head- 

 land, to warn the navigator of his approach to the land. The capes of North Carolina do not 

 project far into the sea, but they are beset with shoals, and are the most dangerous spots upon 

 our coast, south of Nantucket. The peninsula of East Florida may be considered as an im- 

 mense cape, and much the largest in the United States. The jMississippi has formed at its 

 mouth, by the mud brought down in its waters, a cape 40 miles in extent, the extreme point of 

 which is called the Balize, through which the river passes into the Gulf of IMexico. 



6. Climate. In the northern and mountainous parts, the climate is temperate and healthy ; 

 but the far greater portion of this territory may be characterized as subjected to a climate, h::: _ 

 moist, and insalubrious. 



7. Soil. Some of the richest soils in our country are in the Southern States. Almost 

 all the good lands are alluvial ; their peculiarities are elsewhere described. The poor soils 

 are commonly sandy, and these tracts occupy the greatest portion of the suiface. 



8. Minerals. Over so great a tract, the minerals are, of course, various ; yet there is less 

 diversity than might be expected, on account of the great uniformity of the geological formations. 

 Coal, iron, lime, and salt abound in different districts ; good marble, granite, freestone, slate, 

 and valuable clays also occur ; but little attention has hitherto been paid to these sources of 

 wealth. Gold is found from the Potomac to the sources of the Alabama, in the hilly dis- 

 trict at the eastern foot of the Blue Ridge. Some mines have been worked, but the precious 

 metal has been chiefly obtained from washings, or deposit mines, having been transported from its 

 native beds by running water. In some cases, large returns have been made for the labor and 

 capital employed ; but in many, great losses have been sustained. Some large lumps of virgin ore 

 have been found here, one of which weighed 28 pounds. Some of the gold has been sent to the 

 mint and coined, some has been manufactured, and some, either cast into small plates or put up 

 in quills in a state of dust, passes current in the gold reeion, instead of the coin of the countrj'. 



