Territory no timber grows at an altitude greater than 1000 feet above the sea. Turnips, potatoes, and radishes have been cultivated in southern portions of the Territory with fair success. 429, Animal Life—tThe rivers are visited dur- ing the breeding season by myriads of salmon. This fish forms the principal food of the inhabit- ants, who, at the beginning of the season, desert the interior for the banks of the rivers. Halibut, herring, codfish, and mackerel, are caught off the coasts of the Territory . The fur seal, the walrus, and the sea-otter are caught in great numbers for their valuable fur. The whale is found in the Arctic waters of the northern coast. The polar bear, the brown bear, the mink, the black or silver fox, the moose, and SYLLABUS. 161 the reindeer are also found in the Territory. Dense swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes and black flies occur in nearly all parts of the country. 430, Minerals—Beds of coal of an inferior quality have been discovered in various parts of the country. Deposits of silver, gold, cop- per, lead, and cinnabar also occur. 431, Inhabitants—The inhabitants of Alaska consist principally of the Esquimaux or Innuit, the Indians, and sthe Aleuts, or the inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands, the Creoles or Russian half-breeds, and the inhabitants of the remaining archipelagoes, together with a few whites. Sitka, on Baranoff Island, is the principal set- tlement. SYLLABUS. ——0585 co. The area of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, is about 3,000,000 square miles. The coast line is comparatively simple and unbroken. The principal indentations on the east are Long Island Sound, Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds; on the west, the Gulf of Georgia and the Bay of San Francisco. The slope of the Atlantic shores is gradual; that of the Pacific shores is abrupt. On the Atlantic coast, the islands north of Cape Cod are for the most part rocky; those south of Cape Cod are gen- erally low and sandy. Mangrove islands are formed by sediment collecting around the closely intertwined roots of mangrove trees. These islands occur in the shallow waters off the coast of Florida. Nearly all of Florida, south’ of the. Everglades, and probably as far north on the eastern coast as St. Augus- tine, consists of a peculiar variety of coral formation. The Pacific system is the predominant mountain-system ; the Appalachian system is the secondary system. The Pacific system consists of the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade, and the Coast Mountains. The highest peaks are found in the Cascade Mountains. Portions of the Pacific Mountain ranges contain extinct volcanoes. The Appalachian system, or the system of the Allegha- nies, includes the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, the Adirondacks, the Catskills, the Blue Ridge, and the Cumberland Mountains. There are two great low plains in the United States: the Atlantic Coast Plain and the Plain of the Mississippi Valley. The principal rivers draining into the Atlantic Ocean are the Penobscot, Merrimac, Connecticut, Hudson, Dela- ware, Susquehanna, Roanoke, Cape Fear, Santee, Savan- nah, Altamaha, and St. John’s. The principal rivers draining into the Mexican Gulf are the Appalachicola, Alabama, Mississippi, Sabine, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado, and the Rio Grande. The principal rivers draining into the Pacific Ocean are the Columbia, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and the Colorado. The Great Basin, between the Wahsatch and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, has an inland drainage. Soda Valley, in Southern California, and Death Valley, in Eastern California, are below the level of the sea. The Great Lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, form the largest system of fresh-water lakes in the world. The United States extends from the isotherm of 40° Fahr. to 77° Fahr., and therefore lies in the physical north tem- perate and the torrid zones. A marked contrast exists between the temperature of the eastern and the western coasts of the northern half of the country. The eastern coasts are colder than the western. The greater warmth of the western coasts is caused by warm ocean currents, westerly winds, and heavy rainfalls. The Atlantic seaboard is colder than corresponding lati- tudes on the western shores of Europe or on the western shores of the United States. From observations dating back to the year 1738 it ap- pears that from that.time the climate of the United States has undergone no decided change. The United States lies in the zone of the variable winds; westerly winds predominate. The heaviest annual rainfall is 65inches. It occurs near the borders of the Gulf States and along the Pacific sea- board in Washington and Oregon. The smallest annual rainfall is found in the Great Basin, it varies from 5 to 10 inches. East of the 100th meridian from Greenwich the average fall is 40 inches. On the Atlantic coast rain is especially abundant during spring; on most of the Pacific coast, during winter.