144 
THE GUIDE TO NATURE 
ance of the rings puzzled the astron- 
omers of former times greatly. 
This is the time of year to observe 
the zodiacal light. This phenomenon 
has been explained several times in 
these articles. It may be noticed that 
calendars show but three phases of the 
moon this month. There is no last 
quarter. 
Note. — A new comet was discov- 
ered in Hydra December 13. The 
comet was only visible in large 
telescopes at that time and has 
since been growing fainter as it is 
receding from the sun. 
Terrestrial Altitudes. 
BY CHARLES NEVERS HOLMES, NEWTON, 
MASSACHUSETTS. 
It has been estimated that the av- 
erage elevation of our earth’s surface 
above sea level approximates 2,300 feet. 
That is a little more than four-tenths 
feet). Of course we all of us know 
that Mount Everest is the highest ele- 
vation upon our earth (29,000 feet) but, 
besides Mount Everest, there are sev- 
eral hundred peaks in the Himalaya 
Mountains which are 20,000 feet or 
over in altitude. This gigantic Hima- 
layan range is in some places 500 miles 
wide. 
There are, however, other high 
mountains besides those in the Hima- 
layan range. For example, there are 
Aconcagua in Chili (23,000 feet), Mc- 
Kinley in Alaska (20,000 feet), Kilima- 
Njaro in Africa (20,000 feet), Mount 
Blanc in Europe (almost 16,000 feet), 
and Mount Whitney in California (15,- 
000 feet). In addition to these terres- 
trial giants, there are the famous Pike’s 
Peak in Colorado (14,000 feet), Mauna 
Kea in Hawaii (14,000 feet), and the 
Jungfrau in Switzerland (13.600 feet). 
From the summit of Mount Everest to 
MOUNT EVEREST . EARTH ' S HIGHEST ELEVATION. COMPARED TZITH THE HIGHEST ALTITUDES 
0? SOUTH AMS 0 ! CA , NORTH AMERICA, A ROICA, EUROPE, UNI TED STATES A HU AUSTRALIA. 
&%OOC FT. ASIA HovhT eVtfrEST ASIA 
< 9 . 9,00 0 ft. 
of a mile, and we should compare this 
average elevation of 2,300 feet with 
the average depth of the oceans, 12,600 
feet. Thus, it is evident that the av- 
erage height above sea level approxi- 
mates only one-fifth of the average 
depth below sea level. 
Most of us dwell below a terrestrial 
altitude of 2,300 feet, although thou- 
sands of people live in the city of 
Quito, in Ecuador, which has an eleva- 
tion of more than 9.000 feet. Indeed, 
there are many people who dwell amid 
altitudes higher than a mile — for ex- 
ample, in Thibet (11.000 feet to 16,000 
the lowest depth below the ocean’s 
surface, there is certainly quite a de- 
scent. This descent from the top of 
the land to the bottom of the sea 
amounts to more than eleven miles. 
The highest point reached by any of 
our forty-eight states is 14,501 feet, the 
summit of Mt. Whitney in California. 
However, the states of Washington 
and Colorado almost attain that height 
Mt. Rainier in Washington and Mt. 
Elbert in Colorado. Other lofty peaks 
in the United States are Gannett Peak 
in Wyoming (13.7S5), Kings Peak in 
Utah (13,498), East Peak, Nevada (13,- 
