Page:Maury's New Elements of Geography, 1907.djvu/98

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LESSON LI.

1. Europe.—Columbus sailed westward and found the New World; let us sail eastward and visit the Old World. Europe shall be our first landing-place. It is only a little larger than the United States, and so is one of the smallest of the continents.

The Monastery of St. Bernard.

Still it has a far larger population than any other continent except Asia. It is very much more thickly settled than the United States, and thousands of people come every year from its crowded countries to find new homes with us.

2. Seas, Bays and Gulfs.—The first thing that attracts the eye of a sailor as his vessel approaches the land, is the coast. That of Europe is remarkably well provided with safe harbors. Look at the map. See how jagged, or as we say indented, the coast line is. Everywhere we find seas, bays and gulfs.

Central plateau, Germany.—The falls of the Rhine, St. Goar. It is no wonder that Europe, having so many harbors, sends out more ships and has more commerce than any other part of the world.

Southern mountains.—The Alps, Switzerland. Notice great glacier.

3. The Surface of Europe may be divided into two parts, the one a vast plain in the northeast; the other a mountainous region in the southwest.

4. Mountains.— The Alps are the most celebrated mountains of Europe. Their loftiest peaks are always covered with snow. Many of the high valleys are filled with the wonderful ice-streams called glaciers. There are as many as four hundred. Some of them are twenty miles long and three miles broad.

Northern coastal plain, Netherlands. Notice flat country, canal, windmills.

There are many natural roads, or passes, across the Alps. On one of them is the Monastery of St. Bernard. Here, amid everlasting winter, live some pious monks. They have taught the celebrated dogs of St. Bernard to hunt for persons who have lost their way in the snow. These animals are seat out during snowstorms, with