Page:Notes on the State of Virginia (1853).djvu/35

Rh {|align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" The Eastern base of the Blue Ridge subjacent to Rockfish Gap, Summit of the mountain adjacent to that Gap, The valley constituting the Eastern basis of the Warm Spring Mountain, Summit of the Warm Spring Mountain, The Western valley of the Warm Spring Mountain, being the Eastern base of the Alleghaney, Summit of the Alleghaney, 6 miles Southwest of the Red Springs, In November, 1815, with a Ramsden's theodolite of 3½ inches radius, with nonius divisions to 3′, and a base of 1¼ mile on the low grounds of Otter River, distant 4 miles from the summits of the two peaks of Otter, I measured geometrically their heights above the water of the river at its base, and found that of the sharp or South peak That of the flat or North peak As we may with confidence say that the base of the peaks is at least as high above the tide-water at Richmond as that of the Blue Ridge at Rockfish Gap, (being 40 miles farther westward,) and their highest summit of course 3,203½ feet above that tide-water, it follows that the summit of the highest peak is 343½ feet higher than that of the Alleghaney, as measured by General Williams.
 * align="right"|Feet.
 * -valign="bottom"
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|100&emsp;
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|1,822&emsp;
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|943&emsp;
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|2,247&emsp;
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|949&emsp;
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|2,760&emsp;
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|2,946½
 * -valign="bottom"
 * align="right"|3,103½
 * }

The highest of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, by barometrical estimate made by Captain Partridge, was found to be 4,885 feet from its base, and the highest of the Catskill mountains in New York 3,105 feet.

Two observations, with an excellent pocket sextant, gave a mean of 37° 28′ 50″ for the latitude of the sharp peak of Otter.

Baron Humboldt states that in latitude 37°, (which is nearly over medium parallel,) perpetual snow is no where known so low as 1,200 toises=7,671 feet above the level of the sea, and in sesquialtoral ratio nearly to the highest peak of Otter.]