Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/352

CONNECTICUT. Norfolk; Above All Mountain, 1456, in Warren; iy Mountain, in Goshen, 1640 feet; and Ellsworth Hill, 1580 feel, in Sharon. The coast of Connecticut is very broken and irregular, and consists of a succession of rocky points and gravel or sandy beaches. It possesses a number of good harbors, and the larger rivers have estuary-like mouths. The coast waters are shallow, but usually deep enough to permit the near approach to land of vessels. Numerous small rocky islands skirt the shores; the largest island on this coast being Fishers Island, off the mouth of the Thames, which, while geographically belonging to the Connecticut coast, politically belongs to New York.

The hydrography of Connecticut is simple in general outline, the streams as a whole following the slope of land from the north toward the south. Since this slope is but a continuation from the higher land to the north, the main streams rise north of the Connecticut boundary and the waters flow in a generally southerly direction across the State and empty into Long Island Sound. There are three main river systems: the Housatonic-Naugatuck in the west; the Connecticut in the middle; and the Thames in the east. The streams tributary to these main rivers are numerous, and some of them of considerable size. In the southern part of the State there are many small streams which have a southerly direction and flow straight to the Sound. The three main rivers receive the drainage of a comparatively small portion of this coast area. The small streams are in few cases more than 25 miles in length in a direct course, except the Quinnipiac, which enters New Haven Harbor, and which has its source well within the Connecticut depression. The Connecticut water-courses have in general deeply cut their path through the highlands, so that on the main streams the fall is less than might be expected from the neighboring elevations. The smaller streams, however, and the larger ones in their upper courses, furnish an enormous water-power.  In Connecticut the average annual temperature decreases from about 50° F. on the southern coast to about 48° in the northeastern part and 46° in the northwest. In midwinter the average temperatures decrease from about 30° along the southern coast to 24° in the northern part. In all portions of the State the temperature usually descends below zero at times during the winter, and may even fall as low as -10° or -15° F. In midsummer the average temperature is about 72° along the southern coast, but increases to 74° in the middle interior, and decreases again to about 70° in the northwest. During the summer extreme temperatures ranging from 90° to 100° F. may be expected in all parts of the State.

The prevailing winds in Connecticut are from the westward. In the winter the prevailing wind throughout most of the State is from the northwest, and in midsummer from the southwest throughout the State. The general or prevailing southwest winds during the summer months considerably lessen the land temperatures on the southern coast and to some distance inland, while the prevailing northwest winds during the winter carry the inland cold air to the coast. The relative humidity varies from 70 to 80 per

cent., and is greater in winter and less in the spring than at other times of year. Throughout most of the State the average rainfall during the year is from 45 to 50 inches. The precipitation is quite evenly distributed over the entire year; on the average a little more than 5 inches falls during each of the spring and summer months and a little over 4 inches during each of the fall and winter months. The snowfall varies very much from year to year, but on an average for a series of years about 40 inches fall on the southern coast, and there is a rather regular increase toward the northern part of the State to 50 inches in the northeast corner and to 60 inches in the northwest corner.

The valley land of Connecticut is usually a rich alluvial deposit, which has left the hill land rather thin in soil and barren, but nevertheless still of great value for fruit, grass, and pasture. The northern part of the Connecticut River Valley, as far south as Middletown, has a rich, deep, loamy soil, often with a clay subsoil. In the southern part of the State, however, and along the coast, the soil is sandy. In the southwest there is a dark argillaceous soil, and in the northeast a light gray loam.

For flora and fauna, see paragraphs under .

The great valley which extends northward from New Haven to the Massachusetts boundary is occupied by a belt 5 to 18 miles in width, of Triassic sandstone, broken through in places by trap-rocks. East and west of this valley crystalline rocks, including granite, gneiss, schist, slate, and limestone, predominate. In the northwestern part of the State these rocks are of metamorphic origin and represent the altered product of Ordovician strata, while the granite and gneiss in the eastern and southern parts probably belong to the Archæan. The whole State lies within the region of glacial drift, and a heavy mantle of sands, gravels, and boulder clay rests upon the rock formations.

Tungsten ore is mined near Long Hill, in Trumbull township, but there are no other metallic mines in operation at present, although copper, lead, and iron ores are known to occur. The granite outcrops on Long Island Sound yield a good quality of building-stone, and feldspar is produced at Branchville and South Glastonbury. Portland is noted for its quarries of brownstone (sandstone), large quantities of which have been consumed for building purposes in the large cities on the Atlantic Coast. Marble, limestone, and clay are also produced at various localities. For a long series of years Connecticut has produced granite, limestone, and sandstone in quantities varying in aggregate value from a half-million to a million dollars per annum. Connecticut contains the oldest iron-mines in the United States, the Salisbury Mine having been opened in 1732. The Connecticut mines and furnaces furnished valuable supplies of cannon-balls, shells, etc., for the Continental forces during the War of the Revolution.

The State ranks third among the New England States in the value of its fisheries. Their importance has changed but little in recent years, the product remaining about constant at $1,500,000, while the number of men engaged—2470 in 1897—has decreased as a result of improved methods. There has been a decided 