Excerpt from A Statistical, Political, and Historical Account of the United States of North America, Vol. 1: From the Period of Their First Colonization to the Present Day
The Alleghany chain is more remarkable for its length and breadth than its height. Perhaps there is no tract of country in the world, that preserves the mountain character over so great a space, with so small an elevation. The mean height of the Alleg hanies Proper, is only from 2000 to 8000 feet, about one-half of which consists of the elevation of the mountains above their base and the other half, of the elevation of the adjoining country above the sea. To this height, the country rises by an irregular but al most imperceptible acclivity, from the ocean, at the distance of qoo or 800 miles on the one side, and from the channel of the Mississippi, at an equal distance, and by a still more gentle acclivity, on the other. A gra dual elevation of i 1000 or iqoo feet, upon a horizon tal surface of qoq or 800 miles, would give the sur face of the country, on the eastern side, an average rise of from three to four feet in the mile, and from two to three feet on the Western side, making allow ance for; the height of the channel of the Mississippi. This small degree of inclination accounts for the great extent of inland navigation which the United States enjoy. Besides, the beds of the rivers are generally lower than the country near-their banks, and their winding course also lessens the rapidity of their 'deu scent. In the northern parts of the Unionyhowever.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.