THE WESTERN
UNITED STATES

A GEOGRAPHICAL READER

BY

HAROLD WELLMAN FAIRBANKS, PH.D.

AUTHOR OF "STORIES OF OUR MOTHER EARTH," "HOME GEOGRAPHY," "STORIES OF ROCKS AND MINERALS," "PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA," ETC.

BOSTON, U.S.A.
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS
1904

PREFACE

In the preparation of this book the author has had in mind the needs of the upper grammar grades. The subject matter has not been selected with the object of covering the field of Western geography in a systematic manner, but instead the attempt has been made to picture as graphically as may be some of its more striking and interesting physical features, and the influence which these features have exerted upon its discovery and settlement.

Those subjects have been presented which have more than local interest and are illustrative of world-wide principles. Clear conceptions of the earth and man's relation to it are not gained by general statements as readily as by the comprehensive study of concrete examples.

Nowhere outside of the Cordilleran region are to be found so remarkable illustrations of the growth and destruction of physical features, or so clear examples of the control which physical features exercise over the paths of exploration, settlement, and industrial development.

The fact that the West furnishes a wealth of material for geography teaching has long been recognized in a general way, although there has been but little attempt to present this material in a form suitable for the use of schools.

The illustrations are, with few exceptions, from the author's own photographs, and the descriptions are made up from his personal observations. Since the illustrations are numerous and have been selected with much care, it is hoped that they will add greatly to the value of the text. They should be used, and a proper understanding of the pictures made a part of every lesson.

CONTENTS

THE WORK OF THE COLORADO RIVER

A TRIP INTO THE GRAND CAÑON OF THE COLORADO

HOW THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU WAS MADE

THE CAÑONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS

AN OREGON GLACIER

SOMETHING ABOUT EARTHQUAKES AND MOUNTAIN BUILDING

THE LAST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

THE MUD VOLCANOES OF THE COLORADO DESERT

THE HISTORY OF A COAST LINE

THE DISCOVERY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER

THE GREAT BASIN AND ITS PECULIAR LAKES

FRÉMONT'S ADVENTURES IN THE GREAT BASIN

THE STORY OF GREAT SALT LAKE

THE SKAGIT RIVER

THE STORY OF LAKE CHELAN

THE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE

THE STORY OF LEWIS AND CLARK

THE RUSSIANS IN CALIFORNIA

DEATH VALLEY

THE CLIFF DWELLERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS

THE LIFE OF THE DESERT

THE PONY EXPRESS

HOW CLIMATE AND PHYSICAL FEATURES INFLUENCED THE SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST

THE LIFE OF THE PROSPECTOR

GOLD AND GOLD-MINING

COPPER-MINING

COAL AND PETROLEUM

THE CLIMATE OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE

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