Part 2 (1/2)

The valley of the Red River of the North is an example, and its wheat is of a very high quality.

Fertile coast-plains and lowlands that are adjacent to good harbors, as a rule are the most thickly peopled regions of the world. In many such regions the density of population exceeds two hundred or more per square mile. The reason is obvious. Life seeks that environment which yields the greatest amount of nutrition with the least expenditure of energy.

The study of a good relief map shows that, as a rule, the Pacific Ocean is bordered by a rugged highland, which has a more or less abrupt slope, and a narrow coast-plain. Indeed, the latter is absent for the greater part. The slopes of the Atlantic, on the other hand, are long and gentle--being a thousand miles or more in width throughout the greater part of their extent. The area of productive land is correspondingly great, and the character of the surface features is such that intercommunication is easy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A RIVER FLOOD-PLAIN--A REGION ADAPTED TO CULTIVATION]

The result of these conditions is evident. The Atlantic slopes, though not everywhere the most densely peopled areas, contain the great centres of the world's activities and economies. In the past 400 years they have not only overtaken the Pacific coast races, but have far surpa.s.sed them.

They are now entering upon a commercial invasion of the Pacific nations that is resulting in a reorganization of the entire industrial world.

=Topography and Trade Routes.=--As the settlement and commerce of a country grow, roads succeed trails, and trails are apt to follow the paths of migrating animals. Until the time of the Civil War in the United States, most of the great highways of the country were the direct descendants of ”buffalo roads,” as they were formerly called.

In the crossing of divides from one river-valley to another, the mountain-sections of the railways for the greater part follow the trails of the bison. This is especially marked in the Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Chesapeake and Ohio railways; in some instances the tunnels through ranges have been constructed directly under the trails. The reason is obvious; the instinct of the bison led him along routes having the minimum of grade.

Throughout the Mississippi Valley and the great plains the Indian trails usually avoided the bottom-lands of the river-valleys, following the divides and portages instead. This selection of routes was probably due to the fact that the lowlands were swampy and subject to overflow; the portages and divides offered no steep grades, and were therefore more easily traversed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHERE COMMODITIES ARE EXCHANGED--NEW YORK CITY WATER-FRONT]

=Harbors.=--Coast outlines have much to do with the commercial possibilities of a region. The ”drowned valleys” and similar inlets along the North Atlantic coast, both of Europe and America, form harbors in which vessels ride at anchor in safety, no matter what the existing conditions outside may be. As a result, the two greatest centres of commerce in the world are found at these harbors--one on the American, the other on the European coast.

From New York Bay southward along the Atlantic seaboard there are but few harbors, and this accounts for the enormous development of commerce in the stretch of coast between Portland and Baltimore. San Francis...o...b..y and the harbors of Puget Sound monopolize most of the commerce of the Pacific coast of the United States. South America has several good harbors on the Atlantic seaboard, and in consequence a large city has grown at the site of each. On the Pacific coast the good harbors are very few in number, and they are not situated near productive regions.

Asiatic peoples, as a rule, are not promoters of foreign commerce, and, those of j.a.pan excepted, the only good harbors are those that have been improved by European governments. These are confined mainly to India and China. The many possible harbors make certain a tremendous commerce in the future. Africa has but very few good harbors. There are excellent harbors in the islands of the Pacific, and many of them are of great strategic value as coaling stations and bases of supply to the various maritime powers.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

The Pennsylvania Railroad has found it more economical to tunnel the mountain-range under Horseshoe Curve, near Altoona, than to haul the trains over the mountains; discuss the details in which there will be a saving.

Why are rugged and mountainous regions apt to be spa.r.s.ely peopled?

The first valuable discovery in the Rocky Mountains was gold; what were the chief effects that resulted?

Would the industries of the Pacific coast of the United States be benefited or impaired by the existence of a coast-plain?

Which are more conducive to commerce--the large mediterraneans, such as the Gulf of Mexico, or the small estuaries, such as New York Bay?

Discuss the merits or demerits of each.

What are the chief products of mountains, of plateaus, of lowland plains?

COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Adams's New Empire--Chapter I.

Redway's Physical Geography--Chapter IV.

A topographic map of the United States.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL]