The Western United States

Western United States, by
Harold Wellman Fairbanks

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Title: The Western United States A Geographical Reader
Author: Harold Wellman Fairbanks
Release Date: August 13, 2007 [EBook #22302]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
WESTERN UNITED STATES ***

Produced by Robert J. Hall

[Illustration: THE TWINS, BLUFF CITY, UTAH
The distance from the bottom of the cliff to the top of the erosion
columns is 275 feet.

Frontispiece]

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

SOMETHING ABOUT IRRIGATION
THE LOCATION OF THE CITIES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE
THE FOREST BELT OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS
THE NATIONAL PARKS AND FOREST RESERVES

THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
THE WORK OF THE COLORADO RIVER
The Colorado River is not old, as we estimate the age of rivers. It was
born when the Rocky Mountains were first uplifted to the sky, when
their lofty peaks, collecting the moisture of the storms, sent streams
dashing down to the plains below. Upon the western slope of the
mountains a number of these streams united in one great river, which
wound here and there, seeking the easiest route across the plateau to the
Gulf of California.
At first the banks of the river were low, and its course was easily turned
one way or another. From the base of the mountains to the level of the
ocean there is a fall of more than a mile, so that the river ran swiftly
and was not long in making for itself a definite channel.
Many thousands of years passed. America was discovered. The
Spaniards conquered Mexico and sent expeditions northward in search
of the cities of Cibola, where it was said that gold and silver were
abundant. One of these parties is reported