Page:Maury's New Elements of Geography, 1907.djvu/59

 LESSON XXXV.

1. Southern States.—Leaving the Middle Atlantic states, and journeying south, we enter the Southern states.

They are North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Texas is the largest state in the Union. It is about six times the size of New York state.



Picking cotton near Anniston, Ala. The frost has killed the leaves.

2. Early Settlements.—The first attempt to form a settlement in North Carolina was made in 1585, by Sir Walter Raleigh, after whom the capital is named.

The first permanent settlement in South Carolina was made by English people in 1670. Georgia was colonized by English settlers, who founded Savaannah in 1733.

Florida was settled by Spaniards, and purchased from Spain by the United States. Saint Augustine, in Florida, is the oldest town in the United States. It was founded in 1565.

Louisiana is so called from the French king, Louis XIV. With Arkansas and a large tract lying to the north and northwest, it was bought by the United States from France.

Texas was once a part of Mexico. We are reminded of this by the number of Spanish names in the state—San Antonio, Rio Grande, etc. San means saint; Rio, river; Grande, great. After a hard fight Texas gained its independence. It was a republic from 1836 to 1845, when it was made one of the United States.

For Recitation.—Name the Southern states, with their capitals. Who first settled North Carolina? Who settled South Carolina? Who colonized Georgia? Who settled Florida? Which of the Southern states was settled by the French? To what country did Texas once belong?

LESSON XXXVI.

1. Surface.—The land of the Southern states is mostly level. Along the coast it is low. In some parts of Mississippi and Louisiana it is below the surface of the Mississippi. The country would be flooded but for the great banks, or levees, built on both sides of the river.

The nearly level land is the coastal plain and extends to the Piedmont region at the foot of the mountains.

The Cumberland mountains, the Blue Ridge, and the Alleghenies extend into this section.

Mt. Mitchell, in North Carolina, is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi.

2. Swamps.—If we should travel along the shores of the Southern states, we should often find ourselves in the midst of swampy lands, where the vegetation is most luxuriant and beautiful.

Mosses hang from the trees. The magnolia, the jessamine and many gay-colored flowers fill the air with fragrance.

3. Climate.—The Southern states have a warm climate. In those which lie south of Tennessee the winters are scarcely colder than early autumn in the Middle Atlantic states. In Florida the orange tree blossoms all the year around. Florida means flowery.