THE UNITED STATES.
LESSON XXIII.
The Falls of Niagara.
1. Name.—Look at the map of the United States. You will find that it shows a large country made up of many parts. These parts are states; and because they are united into one country, they are called the United States. Our country is sometimes called the Union.
2. Size.—The United States reaches from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific ocean. Nearly a week is required to go by rail from New York, on the Atlantic shore, to San Francisco, on the Pacific shore. The distance from east to west across the United States is about 2,800 miles. From north to south the distance is about 1,700 miles.
3. Rank.—The United States has more people than all the other countries of the Western hemisphere together. The products of its farms, mines, and forests are greater than those of any other country in the world. In wealth and power it also ranks among the greatest countries.
For Recitation.—Why is our country called the United States? What is the greatest distance across the United States from east to west? What is the greatest distance from north to south? What rank has the United States among the Countries of the world?
LESSON XXIV.
1. Where do we find mountains in our country, and where is the land level?
A Canyon in Colorado.
2. Appalachian Mountains.—Several mountain ranges are near the Atlantic coast. They extend nearly from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Taken together, they are called the Appalachian mountains.
From them we get much of the coal that we burn in our stoves, and iron from which the stoves are made. The sides of these mountains are covered with forests. In the long valleys between the ranges are rich farming regions.
On the east of the Appalachian ranges are foot-hills known as the Piedmont Belt. Between the Piedmont Belt and the Atlantic ocean is a strip of lowland called the Atlantic Coastal plain. West of the mountains are plateaus which slope down to the Great Central plain.
3. Rocky Mountains.—In the western part of the United States are the Rocky mountains. They cross the country from north to south. They are grander than the Appalachians. Many of them are more than two miles high.
The largest rivers in our country have their sources among these mountains.
4. Canyons (can'yons).—In the Rocky mountain region are the wonderful gorges called canyons. They are passages worn through the rocks by rivers. The canyons of the Colorado river are more than a mile deep.
