A N A D VA N C E D PR A C TI C A L PHY S I C A L

G E O GR A PH Y F O R PUBL IC A ND

S E C O N D A RY S C H O O L S
 AN ADVANCED
A
PRACTICAL PHYSICAL GEOG R Y
PH

PUBLIC AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

C A PT F RE D ERI C K
. M O RR O W M C , . B A .

H EAD AST E R CO UN T Y B OYS S CH OO L W INDS O R

M ,
’

A L TH OR O F
‘ “
A P RA CTICA L A ND EXP ER IMEN TA L GE OG R AP H Y ,

CO N T O UR S A ND M APS —E X P L A INED A ND I LL US TR A T ED

A ND

ER N E S T L A M B ERT , In t e r . B A . L C P
. . .

P R IN CIPA L AS H L E Y
,
H OU S E S CHOO L W OR K S O P
,

A UTH O R OF A P R A CT ICA L
“
A N D E X P E R IM EN TA L G E OG R AP H Y

W I TH ON E H UN RE D D
A N D S IX T Y T W O IA GRA M S -
D
V
A ND O ER F I E H UN RE V
EX E R C I S E S D D

“ Sa t 6
3

L O ND O N
M EIK LEJ O H N A ND S O N, LT D .

1 1 , PA T ERN O S T ER S Q UA RE, EC .

1 9 20
 PR I N T ED B Y
HAZE“ ,
W A T S O N A ND VIN E Y ,
LIZ

LO ND O N A YLE S B U RY .

a mad;
4 13 v
. .
°g
 P R EF A C E

IN writing thi s b o ok it has been the aim of the authors

to present a clear and l o gica l account of geographical
phenomena To do this it has been found necessary to
.

touch lightly some of the main principles of other sciences ,

such as astronomy mathematics geology and biology

, , ,
.

Moreover in order to comply with and help forward the

,

growing tendency to consider geography a s the science

which above al l others is full of every phase of human
interest the authors have made a definite attempt
,

to show the relation that exists between ma n and the

chief phenomena of nature Not the l e a St fa c t o r in thi s
. .

attempt is the choice of ex periments and p ractical ex e r

cises w hi ch are for the most part based upon common
,

experience A t the same time the authors h ave been

.

careful not to include any such ex ercises as would be un

sui table o r inconvenient in schools It is intended that.

the book shall be a standard text book for students in -

training colleges ; fo r t h o s e i n the middle and high er forms

-

in secondary schools and more especially fo r pupils taking

,

—
the A dvanced Course recognized by the B oard o f Educa
tion —in Geography .

The suggestions of the B oard of Education on th e

teaching of geography the syllabuses of the Ox ford and
,

Cambridge Local examiners and those o f m a ny o t h e r

'

,
'

public examining bodies hav e been constantly b e fo re t h e

'
Vi PRE FA CE

minds of the authors during the compilation of this work .

It is therefore with considerable confi dence that the book

is recommended as containing all that is essential for such
examinations as— Cambridge Junior and S enior Locals ;
Oxford Junior and S enior Locals ; Ox f ord and Cambridge
Joint B oard Higher and Lower Certificates ; Central
,

Wels h B oard Junior and S enior Certificates ; Higher and

Intermediate Examinations of the S cottish Education
D epartment ; Irish Junior Intermediate and S enior Grade
, ,

Examinations ; L C C Clerkships ; Civil S ervice Clerk

. . .

ships ; London Matriculation ; Northern U niversities ’

Matriculation ; A rmy and Navy Entrance ; National

F roebel Union ; the various examinations of the College
of Preceptors etc , .

A t t h e close of each chapter are numerous questions

selected from recent examination papers Candidates .

preparing fo r examinations will do well to work carefull y

through these .

The whole range of physical geography is dealt with in

five parts : i Introduction ; ii the A tmosphere ; iii
. . .

the Hydrosphere ; iv the Lithosphere ; V Maps and

. .

Ma p making Each part is complete in itsel f Great care

-
. .

has been taken to secure an orderly and lucid treatment

of the subj ects throughout the book and due prominence ,

is everywhere given to the relation of cause to e ffect If .

,

In some parts it m a y be thought that the book assumes

,

to o much knowledge on the part of the a v erage student ,

it must be remembered that the authors take it for

granted that the reader is already acquainted with their
text book on P ra ctica l a n d Exp erim en ta l Geograp hy
-
.

N umerous maps and diagrams have been included to

il lustrate t he text where it was considered that their
,

introduction would assist the student to grasp the subj ect

m ore readily ; but these di a grams are n ot intended to
 PRE F ACE v ii

enable the student to dispense with his atlas The authors .

woul d emphasize the fact that the profitable and suc

c e s s fu l study of geography involves the conj oint use of

the atlas and text book that no good work can be done -
,

if the text book is used without the atlas and that no

-
,

text book illustrations can compensate for the neglect of

-

a good atlas .

Mr Lambert desires to record hi s gratitude to the

.

Rev T Gough B S c the Headmaster of the Retford

. .
, . .
,

Grammar S chool for his many useful suggestions during

,

the preparation of the book for the unlimited use of his ,

valuable geographical library and f o r his help in cor ,

re c t ing the proo f s to Mr G R D avies B S c and to Mr . . .

, . .
, .

F H B utler M A for so kindly reading portions of the

. .
, . .
,

MS and making noteworthy additions Capt Morrow

. . .

d esires to express his thanks to the Rev S S irco m of S t . .

, .

Xavier s College Liverpool ; and to the Rev W Mayo

’
,
. .
,

of B eaumont College f o r the able assistance they have ,

gi v en in revising the proof sheets An d both authors -

.

wi sh to thank Mr M J C Me ikl e j o h n for his untiring

. . . .

a n d unstinted guidance of the general design accuracy , ,

and interest of the work .

F RED ERIC K MO RRO W .

ER NE ST LA M B E RT .

J un w ry 1 92 0 .
 C O N T EN T S

P A RT I

1 N TROD UCTI ON

CHA PTER I
D E FI NITI O N A ND S C OPE OF P HY SIC A L GE O GRA PHY

CHA PTER II
P R O P E RTI E S OF MA TT E R

CHA PTER III

HE A T A ND L IG H T

CHAPTER IV
REF LECT IO N A ND REF R A CTI O N OF L IG H T

CHA PTER V

E LE CTRICIT Y A ND MA G NETIS M
X CONTENT S

CH A PTER VI
T H E S O L A R S Y STE M AN D T H E UNI VE RS E

CHA PTER VII

R O TA TI O N RE VO L U TI O N AN D T H E
, , S EA S O N S

CH A PTER VIII
LA TIT U D E

CH A PTER IX
L O NGIT UDE AN D TIM E

CHA PTER X

S H A P E AN D S I Z E OF T H E E A RT H

P A RT I I

TH E A TM OS P H ERE

CH A PTER XI
NA T U R E AN D CO N STIT U TI O N OF T H E A TM O S PH E RE

CH A PTER X II
TE M P E RAT U R E AN D P RE SS U RE OF AI R
 CONTENT S xi

CHA PTER X III

‘

WI N DS

CH A PTER X IV
T H E M O IST U RE I N T H E A TM O S PH E RE

CHA PTER XV
C LIM A TE

CHA PTER X VI
D IST RI B UTI O N OF RAI N F A LL

PA RT I I I

THE H YD ROS P HERE

CHA PTER X VII

THE OC EAN S

CH A PTER XVIII
WA VE S AN D TID Es

CHA PTER X IX

OC EAN C U RRENT S
 CHA PTER XX
PAGE

SEA -
D E P T H S AN D O C EAN B ED

CHA PTER XX I
S A LI N IT Y AN D TE M PE R AT U RE OF T H E SEA

CHA PTER XX II
E LEVA T E D SEA B E DS AN D SU B M E RG E D LAN D
-

PA RT IV

TH E LI TH OS P H ERE

CHA PTE R XXIII

L AN D F O RMS

CHA PTER XX IV
TH E RO CK S OF THE E A RT H S GR U S I
’ '‘

CHA PTER XXV

WEA T H E RI N G
 C ON TENTS xiii

CHA PTER XX VI
VO L C A N O E S AN D E A RTH Q UA K ES

CH A PTER XX VII
S P R INGS

CH A PTER XX VIII
AN D T H E IR WO RK

CH A PTER

CHA PTER XXX

CO RA L I S LAN DS

CHAPTER XXX I
G LA CIE RS

CHA PTER XXX II

DISTRI B U TI O N OF P L AN TS A N D A NI MA L S

CHA PTE R XXX II I

RA C E S OF MAN K I N D
x iv CONTENT S

PART V .

MA PS A ND M A P M A K IN G
-

CH APTER XXX IV
MA PP I N G OF A REA S

CHA PTER
f XXXV
HE I GH TS AN D D IST AN C E S

CH A PTER XXX VI
CO NTO U RS

CH A PTER XXX VI ]
T H E MA K I N G OF MA P S
 L IS T A ND NUMB ER S OF D IA GR A MS

1 . TH E SPE C TRUM
2 . P ASSA GE O F L IGHT THR OU GH THE AT MOS PHERE
R E F RAC TI O N O F THE S UN S L IGHT
’
3 .

T HE C RITI CA L ANGLE AT WH IC H R E F R AC TI O N
C H ANGE S T o R EFL EC T IO N
5 D I A GRAM ILL US TR ATING L ENGTH O F D AY
6 . T HE C O MP ASS NEEDLE
7 . D I A GR AM ILL US TR AT ING THE S O LA R S YS TE M
8 D I A GRAM ILL US TR ATING THE M O VE M ENT S O F
THE H E AVENL Y B O DIE S
9 . D I A GRAM ILL US TR ATING B O DIE S MO VING IN D IF
F ER EN T P L A NE S

10 . P H AS E S O F THE M OO N
11 . I N C LIN A TI O N O P L A NE O F M OO N S O R B IT T o P LA NE
F
’

O F EARTH S O R B IT
’

12 . D I A GRAM E X PL AIN ING L U NA R EC LIP S E S

13 . D I A GR AM E X P LA IN ING THE D EGREE O F A LU NA R
EC LIP S E
14 . BRE AD TH O F THE L UNA R U MB RA
15 . AN A NN UL A R EC LIP S E
16 . A P ARTIA L EC LIP S E
17 . D IA GRAM I LL US TR ATING THE NE BULAR H Y P O THE S IS
18 . D IAGR AM ILLUS TR ATING T H E APP AR ENT M OVE M ENT
O F THE S UN TH R OU GH THE S IGN S O F T H E Z O DI AC

b
xv i LIST A ND N U MB ER S OF D I A GR A MS

D IA G R AM E X PLA INING PA RALLAX

D I AGRAM S H O WING TH AT P AR AL L AX I S A P R OOF O F
R EV O LU TI O N
EX PERI M ENT ILL US TR ATING THE C AUS E OF THE
SE ASO N S
I LL US TRA TI O N OF THE V ARY ING I N C IDEN C E OF THE
S UN S R A Y S
’

A SE X TANT
D IAGRAM ILLUS TRATING THE P RIN CIPLE O F THE
C O N S TRUCTI O N OF A S E X TANT
D IA GRAM OF THE EARTH S H O WING Z ENITH NA DIR , ,

ET C
.

D IA GRAM E XPLA INING THE D ETERM INATI O N OF

L ATIT UDE AT THE EQU IN O X E S
METH O D OF US ING A N ARTIF I C I AL H O RIZ O N
D IA GRAM E XPLA INING THE D ETERM INATI O N O F
L ATIT UDE IN S UM M ER
D I A GRAM E X PLA INING THE D ETERM IN ATI O N OF
L ATIT U DE IN WINTER
D IA GRAM E X PLA INING THE D ETERMINA TI O N OF
L A TITU DE B Y THE P O LE S T A R
D IAGRAM E XPLA INING THE D ETERM INA TI O N OF
L ATIT UDE B Y AN Y S TA R
A TH E O D O LITE
I LLUS TR ATI O N OF THE C OS INE R U LE FO R DE
T ER M IN IN G D I S T AN C E

I LLUS TRATI O N OF THE MID L ATITU DE R U LE FO R

-

DETERMINING D I S T AN C E
I LL US TR ATI O N OF METH O D E M PL O Y ED T o DETERM INE
EQ UAT O RI AL C IR CUMF EREN C E
EX PERIM ENT OF ER A T OS THENE S
APP AR AT US OF ERAT OS THENE S
D IP OF T H E VI S I B LE H O RI Z O N
XV III L I S T AND NUMB ERS OF D I A G R A MS
P AGE

D I A GRAM E X PLAINING THE F O RMATI O N OF THE

C UMULUS C L OU D
CLIMA TI C Z O NE S IN THE AL P S
63 . T HE O RETI CA L I SO THER MS OF THE W O RLD

64 . M AP S H O WING J A N UAR Y I SO THERMS OF THE BRITI S H

I S LE S
65 . M AP S H O WING J ULY I SO THERMS OF THE BRITI S H
I S LE S
66 . M AP OF THE L AND H E M I S PHERE
67 . D I A GRAM ILL US TRAT ING TH E TID AL R ANGE
68 . D I A GR AM ILLUS TR ATING THE T ID AL R ANGE O N A
R OC K Y C OAS T
69 . D I A GR AM ILLUS TRA TING SPRING A ND NE AP TIDE S
70 . Co TID A L M AP OF THE BRITI S H I S LE S
-

71 . EXPERI M ENT ILL US TR ATING F L O W OF C U RRENT S IN

THE ATLANTI C
72 . M AP OF C URRENT S OF THE ATLANTI C O C E A N
73 . MA P OF CU RRENT S OF I NDIA N O C E A N D U RING
S UMM ER
74 . M AP OF C URRENT S OF I NDIAN O C E AN D URIN G
W INTER
75 . M AP OF W O RLD S H O WING D EPTH S OF O C E AN
76 . D IA GRAM S H O WING T ERRIGEN OUS AND P ELA GI C
D EP OS IT S
77 D I AGR AM OF A L AKE S H O WING T E MPERATU RE S A T
D I FF ERENT D EPTH S
78 . D I A GRAM OF A L AK E S H O WING C HAN GE S OF T E M
P ER A T U R E D U E T O W IND A C TI O N

79 . GR APH S H O WING V ERTI CA L D I S TRI BUTI O N OF

T E M PERA T U RE IN THE S OUTH ATLANTI C
O C E AN
80 . EX PERI M ENT ILLUS TRATING T E M PERAT URE IN
EN C L OS ED SE AS
 LI S T AND N UMB ERS OF D I A G RA MS x ix

P AGE

81 . D I A GRAM E X PLA INING D IFF EREN C E S IN T E M

P ER A T U R E OF THE ATL AN TI C O C E A N A ND THE
MEDIT ERRANE AN SE A
82 . D IA GRAM E X PLA INING D IFF EREN C E S IN T E MPERA
T URE OF THE I NDI AN O C E AN AND T H E R ED SE A
83 . D IA GRAMMATI C SE C TI O N OF THE W E ALD
84 . EX PERIM ENT ILLUS TR A TING THE F O RMA TI O N OF
F O LDED M OUNT A IN S
85 . SERRATED T YPE OF C OAS T
86 a nd 8 7 . T HE C O N CAVE T YPE OF C OAS T
88 . T HE C O N VE X T Y PE OF C OAS T
89 . SK ET C H MAP ILLUS TRATING THE EFF E C T OF
-

C URRENT S O N C OAS T LINE -

90 . D I A GRAM ILLUS TRATING THE T HE O RETI C AL R ELA

TION O F I GNE OUS A ND SEDI M ENT A R Y R OCK S
91 . D I A GRAM ILLUS TR ATING D IP O UT C R O P A ND STRIKE
, ,

92 . SE C TION OF A V O L CANI C C O NE WITH D ET AILS OF

C O NE STRUC T URE
93 . B UN S EN
’
S EX P ER IM EN T IL LU S TRA T IN G GEY S ER A CT IO N
94 . T HE W A TER T AB LE
95 . T H E WA TER T AB LE A N D P ER MA NENT SPR ING S

96 . A P ERMA NENT A ND A N I NTERM ITTENT SPRING

97 . D I A GRAM S H O WING P ERMA NENT S AT U RATI O N OF
R OC K BU T N o SPRING
98 . D I A GR AM S H O WING A N I NTER M ITTENT SPRING
99 . D I A GRAM OF AN ARTE S I AN W ELL
1 00 . D I A GR AM S H O WING H O W A R IVER D EEPEN S A N D
CUT S B A C K IT S BED
101 . D I AGRAM S H O WING THE EFF E C T OF A LTERN ATE
BED S OF H ARD A ND S OF T R OC K UP O N A R IVE R S ’

C OUR S E
1 02 . D I A GRA M S H O WING A L ATER ST A GE TH AN IN
F IG 1 0 1 WITH ESCARP M ENT F O R M ATI O N
.
,
xx L IST AND N UMB E R S OF D I A G R A MS
P AGE

1 03 D IA GRAM ILL US TR ATING THE F O RM A TI O N OF WATER

FALL S
D IA GRAM S H O WING THE F L OO D P LAIN OF A R IVER
-

AND L EV EE S
F O RMATI O N O F R IVER TERR AC E S
-

D I A GRAM ILLUS TR ATING R IVERINE ER OS I O N OF

C O N CAVE A N D C O NVE X B AN K S
AN OX B O W
D I A GRAM ILLUS TR ATING EARL Y F O R M OF R IVER
DEVEL O P M ENT
1 0 9 I LL US TR A TI O N OF S I M PLE R IVER DEVEL O P M ENT
.
-

1 1 0 D I A GRAM ILL US TR ATING R IVER CA PT URE

.
-

1 1 1 R IVER S OF N O R T H U M B ER LA N D A ND R IVER CA PT U RE
.
-

1 1 2 EXPERI M ENT ILL US TR A TING THE R EL A TI O N B E

’

TWEEN THE V EL OC IT Y OF A R IVER A N D THE

SEDIM ENT CARRIED D O WN B Y IT
I1 3A a n d B EX PERI M ENT S H O WING THE V EL OC IT Y OF
.

A R IVER AT VA RI OUS D EPTH S

1 1 4 D I A GR AM ILL US TR A TING D A RWIN S C O RA L I S L AND
’
-
.

T HE O R Y
1 1 5 D I A GR AM ILL US TR A TING M U RR A Y S C O R A L I S LAND
’
-
.

T HE O R Y
1 1 6 EX PER I M ENT ILL US TR A TING M O TI O N OF GLAC IERS
.

1 1 7 M O R A INE S — L A TER A L AND MEDI A L

.

1 1 8 T HE P LA NE T AB LE
.

1 1 9 P L AN OF ARE A SU RVE Y ED WITH THE PL A NE T AB LE

.

1 2 0 M A P OF S CH O o L A ND S UR R O UN D I N G S S U R VE Y E D B Y
’

THE P LANE T AB LE
1 2 1 A PR I SMA TI C C OM P ASS
“

1 2 2 A S U RVE Y OF A D I S TRI C T MA DE WITH P RI S M A TI C

. -

C OMP ASS
1 2 3 D IA GRA M E XPL A I NING THE D ETER M IN A TI O N OF
.

AZ I MUTH
 LIST AND NUM B E RS OF D I A GR A M S x xi

P AGE

D IA GRAM I LLUS TRA T ING METH O D OF F INDING T H E

H EIGHT OF AN I N ACC E SS I B LE O B JE C T W ITH
THE T HE O D O LITE
‘

D IA GRAM E X P LA ININ G THE CAL CUL ATI O N OF THE

H EIGHT OF A T O WER
D IA GRAM ILLUS TR ATIN G METH O D OF F INDING THE
H EIGHT OF A N O B JE C T WHEN THE B AS E LINE -

CANN O T B E DR AWN T O WA RD S THE B AS E OF THE

O B JE C T
ME ASURE M ENT OF THE D I S T AN C E OF A N IN A CCES
S I B LE O B JE C T
D IA GRAM ILL US TR ATING A SE CO ND METH O D FO R
F INDING THE D I S TA N C E OF AN I NACC E SS I B LE
O B JE C T
D I AGRAM ILLUS TR ATING A METH O D FO R F INDING
THE D I S TAN C E B ETWEEN TW O I NACC E SS IB LE
O B JE C T S
C O NT OUR M AP OF C O NI CAL P E AK
C ONT OUR M AP OF A S A DDLE B AC K PASS
-

A SP UB
A VA LLE Y
A R IVER G O RGE
-

A R IDGE OR P LA TE AU
C ONT O URED M A P DR A WN F R OM V E RBA L D E
SC RIPTI O N
SE C TI O N OF A VA LLE Y
A H A CH UR ED M A P OF A P E A K
'

OR O S C O P I C M A P OF I S LE OF W IGHT

T HE C LIN OM ETER
D IA GR AM ILLUS TRATING THE U S E OF CLIN O ME TER
. IN C O NT OUR D R A WING

D IA GRAM EX PLAIN ING H O RIZ O NTA L EQ U IV ALENT

AND VERTI CA L I NTERVAL
P L O TTED C O NT OU R M AP OF P ART OF A H ILL
 X II A ND OF D I A GR A MS
'

X LIST N UM B E RS

14 4 .D I A GR AM ILL US TRA TING THE P L O TTING OF SL O PE S

1 4 5 A C O NT OU R MA P
.

1 4 6 A C O NT OUR M A P
.

1 4 7 P R O JE C TI O N OF L INE S DRA WN O N A GL OB E
.

1 4 8 I LLUS TR A TI O N OF STERE O GRAPHI C PR O JE C TI O N

.

1 4 9A a n d B EXPERI M ENT ILLUS TR A TING O RTH O GRA PHI C

. .

P R O JE C TI O N
1 5 0 I LLUS TR A TI O N OF A METH O D FO R M A PPING A
.

C OUNTRY O N O RTH O GRA PHI C PR O JE CTI O N

1 5 1 I LLUS TR A TI O N
. OF GL OBULA R O R EQU IDI S T A NT
PR O JE C TI O N
1 5 2 I LLUS TR A TI O N OF C Y LINDRI CA L P R O JE C TI O N
.

1 5 3 D IA GRAM ILL US TRA TING A P R A C TI CA L EX ER C I S E

.

O N CY LINDRI CA L P R O JE C TI O N
1 5 4 A a n d B EX PERI M ENT ILLUS TR A TIN G MER CA T O R S
’
. .

P R O JE C TI O N
1 5 5 I LL US TR A TI O N OF THE ME ASURE M ENT OF THE
.

SH O RTE S T D I S TA N C E B ETWEEN T W O P O INT S O N

A SPHERE ( O N MER C AT O R S P R O JE CTI O N ) ’

1 5 6 D I A GR AM
. ILLUS TRA TING THE AD VANTA GE S OF
MER CA T O R S P R O JE C TION T o NA VIGAT O RS
’

1 5 7 I LL US TR A TI O N OF C O NI CA L P R O JE C TI O N
.

1 5 8 N ETW O RK DR A WN O N C O NI C A L P R O JE C TI O N
.

1 5 9 D IA GR AM ILL US TR A T ING M O DIF IED C O NI CA L P R O

.

J E CT I O N

IGOA . a nd B D I A GRAMS ILLUS TRA TING THE P RAC TI CAL

.

APPLI CATI O N OF THE P RIN C IPLE OF C ONI CA L

P R O JE C TI O N
1 61 . I LL US TR ATI O N OF EQUA L AR E A C Y LIND RI C AL
-

P R O JE C TI O N
1 62 . I LL US TR A TI O N OF MO L L W EID E S EQUA L ARE A
’
-

P R O JE C TI O N
 A n A dv a n ce d Pra c tica l
Ph y s ic a l G e o gra p h y

P A RT I

IN TROD UCTI ON

C HA PT ER I
Defini ti on a nd S cop e of Ph ys ica l Geogra p h y

Definition — Physical Geography is the science of cause

and effect applied to the phenomena o f nature B y .

“ ”
nature i s meant the whole universe so far as we
k now it ; ; b y phenomena are meant appeara n ces
a nd occurrences , especially those that are scientifically
O bserved . The early name o f the science was Earth
knowledge , a name that was intended to connote
general views of all visible c reated things including ,

their c onstitution and properties Later the science .

”
; was called Physi ography and it was intended to
“

cover the general knowledge of the earth what is on it , , ,

i n it a n d about it in spa ce A s physiogr aphy howe ver

, .
, ,

th e subj ect was looked upon as more or less sep a rat e

"

Iro m g eography p er s e ; a nd not until it was realised

'

t hat t h e ; s o ; ca l l e d phy sio graphy was the essential fo un d a

~

iti ou for political wo rld geography was it incorp orated

-

with and made a subdi vi si on of that subj ect .

2 PR A C TI C A L PH YSI CA L GE O GR A P HY
Physical Geography is so wide in its scope that it
requires a working knowledge of many other branches of
science The student of physical geography makes use
.

of the theories and conclusions of specialists in physics ,

chemistry geology astronomy mathematics and even

, , , ,

biology F rom astronomy the student obtains know

.

ledge O f the earth as a member of the solar system ;

from physics he obtains knowledge Of light heat magnet , ,

ism electricity and mechanics and their application to

, , ,

the earth and its functions ; from chemistry knowledge ,

of the composition of the sub st a n ce S fo rm ing air water '

, ,
’
and the earth s crust and their mutual interaction ;
,

from geology knowledge of the history and arrangement

,

of the rocks o f the crust ; from mathematics knowledge ,

of how to calculate heights and distances and how to ,

construct maps ; and from biology knowledge of animal ,

and plant li f e and work .

— It is a quite nat u
‘

Ca se a nd Eff ect
u ral tendency fo r
us to seek after the causes of things B y cause we .

mean the circumstance which precedes an effect and ,

without which that e ffect would not occur If an earth .

quake happened and our houses were shaken we should ,

s a y that the earthquake was the ca us e of the houses

s haking and the shaking O f the houses we should call

,

t h e efi eci of such cause S o again if a man falls into

.
, ,

a river and is drowned we might say that the caus e Of

,

his death Wa s hi s inability to swi m W he n we have .

d iscovered the cause of any phenomenon we conside r ,

we ha v e explained that phenomenon S cientists take .

it for granted that every phenomenon has a cause and ,

that the same cause always produces the same effect ; ‘

although the same e ffect i s not always due to the same

c au se The ex planation or statement of the cause of a n
effect in na ture is c alled a l a wof na ture
.

.
 C H AP TE R II

Prop erti es Of Ma tter

Ma tte rs k nowledge of t he world around us comes to

us throug h our senses A n d anything Which ca n affect
’
~
.

any of o ur l s e n se s whi ch has weight and occupies S pace

, , ,

a
we call m a tter Light and sound a ffe Ct o ur se n se s b u t
.
z '
,

-
they a re n o t matter T h e ground soil Or rock o n wh ic h
.
, ,
- '

we walk the water we drink and the air we breathe

, , ,

since they have weight and occupy space are all forms ,

of matter To a person who had lost the power of using

.

his senses who could neither see feel hear taste nor
, , , , ,

smell matter would not exist If moreover the qualities

,
.
, ,

of solidity sweetness and whitenes s could be taken

, ,

away from a lump of sugar it is di ffi cult to say what ,

would be left To discover what matter is from thi s

.

p o in t o f V iew is
l however the province
, of M etaphysics
, ,

not of Physics The most that the student of physical

.

science needs to know Is that matter i s that which gives

rise to the phenomena in nature which are perceived
by our senses The words thing obj ect body s u bsta nce
.
, , , ,

are sometimes used instead of the word matter .

r l
Gene a Prop erties —Every material obj ect possesses
.

certain qualities or properties which we get to know o f

through one or more of our senses— aided sometimes
by instruments A piece o f W ood for example has its
.
, ,

special colour ; it has size weight and hardness ; and , ,

i t will b urn Hence we say that its properties are redness

.
,

4
 PR OP ERTI E S OF M A TT E R 5:

hardness combustibility etc Or again a piece of

, , .
,
,

sponge has the properties o f porosity so ftness ; com ,

re s sibil it y etc C ertain en era l properties belong to all

p g , .

kinds o f matter ; other properties C alled sp ecific o r , A

~

a rticu la r belong only to s ome kinds of matter Thus

p
'

, .

sweetness is a speci fi c property of suga r but not of ,

‘

p ara ffin O il though both have ,the general property of

weight The general properties of matter are : Ex

.
,

tension Impenetrabi lity Inerti a Porosity C ompressi

, , , ,

bilit y Elasticity, D ivisibility Indestructibility and

, .
, ,

Weight .

Extens i on a nd Im p ene tra bili ty —F ill a gla ss with water .

,

and into it drop a large stone S ome o f the water over .

flows from the glass showing that room ha d to be made ,

for the stone Every kind of ma t ter must occupy a .

certa i n amoun t of space or room : that is— ever y sub ,

stance h a s it s own length breadth and thickne ss however , , ,

small * . That which does not occupy space is n ot m a t t e r ,

~

This property of filling a certain amount of space i s .

.

called extensi on B u t because o f thi s prop ert y it easily

. ,

fo llows t hat: no two bodies can occupy t h e sa m e space

'
.

You cannot put a brick into a brick

“

a t the s ame time . , . . .

This secon d p roper ty which is really onl y a factor of ,

extension is s ometimes spoken of as a sep arate prop erty

, ,

and named im p ene tra bi l i ty .

Inertia If you are ri di ng in a carriage a n d it sudde nly

.
- .

stops you will be thrown forward because your body

,
-
,

continues its motion after the stoppi ng o f the carriag e .

In the same way when the carriage suddenly starts , ,

your body is t h rown b ackwards b ecause it tends to ,

continue i n a state of rest Every particle o f matter .

in the world Is either at rest or in motion and no p article ,

T h o ug h we ca n n o t S p e a k of t h e d im e n s ion s of a gas , y e t e a ch

mo l e ul
c e of a
, g s a n e c es s ar ily o c cu
p ie s its o wn tin y '
a m o un t o f s p ac e ;
6 PR AC TI CA L PHY SI CA L GE OGR A PHY
has the power i n itself either to move or to stop orto , ,

change its direction The property of resistance to cha nge

.

i s called inertia Notice nex t time you see one which

.
, ,

way a cycle rider leans when he turns a sharp corner

‘

-
,

especially if he is going at a great rate Then remember .

,

ing the property of inertia explain to yourself the reaso n , .

Try also to account for the high banks: at the bends of

a cycle racing track
‘

-
.

Porosi ty
‘

—In some O bj ects

. such as bread sp o ng e fi , ,

pumice ston e cane etc the holes or p ores can be seen

-
, , .
, .

These are called sens ible pores In other sub stances .

the pores cannot b e seen though they can easily b e ,

proved to exist It i s well known that paraffin swe at s

.

through the metal ves sel of a lamp Or again if a piece .

,

o f chalk b e placed in a vessel o f water air bubbles ri se ,

-

to the sur f ace as t h e a ir is driven out o f the pores of s

the chalk by the ab sorption of the water The porosity .

of metal can be proved by a simple experiment with a

metal ring through which a steel ball when cold will , ,

j ust exactly pass Heat the ball in an oven and you

. .

will find that it will not then pass through the ring ;
but when cooled to its original temperature it will again
pass through Theref ore in changing from the heated
.
,

condition to the cool Condition shrinkage or c o n t ra c t ibn ,

must have taken place ; that is the molecules have ,

come closer together which could not happen if there ,

were no pores These invisible pores or in ters tices

.
, ,

are called p hys ica l pores -

.

Comp ressibility This property follows from that o f

.
-

por osity ; for naturally the more porous a body is the ,

more compressible it must b e : or j ust as sub stances ,

v ary in porosity so do they vary in compressibility

, .

When you squeeze the water out o f your sponge you

have an excellent ex ample of the great compressibility
 PR OP E RTI E S OF MA TT E R 7

of a very porous substa nce Gases because their mole .

,

cules are at a considerable distance from one ano ther ,

are the most compressible of all matter It is in fact .

, ,

possible to compress 1 0 0 cubi c feet of air int o the bulk

of one single cubic foot The compressibility of liq uids .
,

though small is quite appreciable and can be measured

, ,

with suitable apparatus In the case of water the .

,
'
compressibility decreases as the temperature ri ses and ,

f resh water i s more compressible than sea water S oli d s -

.

vary greatly in compressibi lity : glass under pressure , ,

soon gives way and becomes powder but wood cork , , ,

a n d bread are very compressible In the case of metals .

,

the impression upon a coin shows the gold silver or , ,

bronze to b e compressible *
because the imp ression is ,

made b y pressing the molecules closer together .

El astici ty S mear a smooth poli shed , flat stone W i th

.
~ -
,
‘

ink and let fall on it a marble catching it as it ri ses

, ,
'

again The marble touches t h e s t o n e at only on e li ttle

.

spot yet when we e x amine th e ink on the slab we fi nd

, ,

that t here is a large ci rcul ar mark The truth is that .

,

when the marble struck the stone it became flattened , ,

and th e m a rk was made on the i nked slab while the

marble was in that flattened condition The marble .
,

however possesses the property of S pringing back ih

,

st a n tl y to its original shape and this springing back .

,

gives it its upward rebound All bodies have the property .

of springing back to their former shape after release

from compression B u t j ust as they vary in c o m p re s si
.
e

b ilit y so do they vary in this property of e l as ticity

, S om e .

sub stances like sponge S how elasticity a fter being

, ,

s queezed ; some like india rubber a fter being pulled

,
-
,

or stretched ; some 1ike whalebone after being bent ,

'

,
.

T h e im p ress io n up o n a c o in a sol sh o ws t h e s l igh t p l as t ic ity o f

th e m e ta l ,
a d is p l a ce m e n t o f mo l ec u l es a s we ll a s c o m p ress io n .
81 PR AC TICA L PHY SI CA L G E O GRAP H Y
Liquids aré p e rf e c tl y elastic as they a t once resume thei r
'

original bulk when pressure is removed .

u li
Ind estr ctibi ty — Matter can b e changed in f orm but
.

it cannot be destroyed S alt dissolved in water has not .

~

been destroye d F or if you take a known quantity ( by.

Weight ) of salt and dissolve it in a known quanti ty o f

~

water y o u wi ll find upon weighing the solution that

, ; ,
'

,
.

it is equ al to the weight of the water plus the weight

‘

of the s a lt dissolved A given weight o f ice melt s to

'

the same weight of water Place a f e w s mall lumps o f .

ice in a flask and stand the flask on one of the pans of

a balance Counterp oise with shot in the other pan
’

-
. .

A s the ice melts no t ice that there Is no change Of weight

, .

A lso a g i ve n weight o f distilled water can be changed

,

to steam the steam passed through a Liebig s co ndenser

,
’

,
.

and if the experiment has been care fully done the dis
tillat e will weigh exactly as much as the Original distilled
water Thi s property o f persistence in S pite of apparent
’

d estru ction is called i nd estructibili ty

'

i vi i
D s b l tyi i — Matter o f all kinds is composed of minute
.

particles called mol ecul es A molecule i s the smallest .

cluster of chemical a toms that can exist by itself Thus .

.
,

a piece o f chalk co nsi sts O f molecules o f calcium carbonate

but each molecule o f c alcium carbonate consists of atoms ‘

of c arbon Calcium and oxygen S O that though all

, , .
,

matter is extremely divisible the physical limit is the ,

molecule and the chemical l i mit the atom

~

* D rop a .

s mall piece of some powerful dye into a vessel of water ,

a n d t he whole O f the liqui d may soon by st irrin g b e

'

, y

coloured The le ast drop of the water if removed from

.
,
,

the rest wo ul d re t a in the colour If the vessel contained

‘

,
‘
.

l l im it l nce r th e
.

Th e c h e m ic a is n ot fin a ,
si t h e re is t h e f u r

b re a kin g u p o f a to m S v
in t o io ns , wh ic h m a y b e ca ll ed th e l
e e c t rica l
l im it '

.
 P R OP E RTI E S OF MA TT ER 9

drops of water the piece of dye must hav e been ,

divided into at least particles B y this property .

of divisibili ty we are able to reduce bodies to a required

size It is by this property too that rocks are caused t O
.
, ,
’

wear away a nd become mere particles of dust .

Weigh t —There is no need to prove that solids and

. . .

liquids possess this property I t may however be .

, ,
.

diffi cul t to accept the same truth about gases Take .

an air tight s toppered glass bottle ; exhaust all t h e a ir

-
,
: .

fro m it b y the air pump and then weigh Remove the

~ -
, . .

stopper and allow air to enter the bo t tl e Weigh again

, .
-

,
.

and you will find it heavier than when exhausted What .

makes it heavier is the weight of the air in the bottle .

If the b ottle holds exactly 1 0 0 cubic in c hes the increase , ,

.

o f weight Would be j ust 2 9 grains If we had all owed ‘

.
.

hydrogen to enter instead of air the increase in Weight ,

would have b e e n o nly 2 grains F ro m t his we see that

'

,
. ,
.

even hydrogen though the lightest of all bodies h a s

, ,

weight .This prope rty o f weigh t is not ex actly inhe re nt

i n the b ody p o s Se ssing t h e p ro p e rty bu t dep ends u pon , ;

the presence o f o ther bodies in the u niverse Every .

"

mat erial b o dy ex ert s an a ttracti v e fo rce upon every

‘

oth er material b ody and a body having more matter in ,

it than another body will pull the small er mass to wards

it self Thus all bodies near th e earth being l ess in m ass
.
,
‘

than the earth are pulled towards the earth and it is

,
.
,

this pull tha t gives to a body the property of weight .

T hr ow a stone up in the air as high as you c a n I t come s .

down again You say that it comes down by its own

.

weight True , but that is only another way of say ing

that it co mes down because att racted by the gre ater
mass o f t h e e a rt h ‘

n
.

For ces of Na tur e — Weight t hen IS the pu ll of the earth

. , ,

upon a body The amo un t of m atte r in the body i s

.
. .
10 PR AC TI CA L PH Y S I CA L GEO GR A PH Y
known as its m ass The strength of the p ul l depends
.

upon two things : ( 1 ) mass ( 2 ) distance The greater

_
, .

the mass the greater the attractive force ; the greater

,

the distance the less the attractive force This uni f ormity
, .

O f attracti v e force is known as the Law O f Gravita tion ,

a n d the force itself as the force of Gravity * Mass and .

weight are not the same thing ; for the same mass in
crea ses in weight as it nears the centre of the earth and '
_
-

decrea ses in weight as it i s removed from tha t p oint .

If e v er you have a chance to go up in a balloon or an

aeroplane take with you a small spring balance and
,

something of kno wn weight say an iron ring weighing , ,

ex actly 1 lb You will find that at a good height above

.

the earth the ring wi ll cease to weigh 1 lb T Take with .

you the same things if ever you get a chance to go down

a coal mine and see what happens to the weight of the
-
,
'

ring at the bottom of the shaft B ut re m e m b er that .

the mass of the ring remains unchanged The force .

of gravity acts between bodies at whatever d istance

apart and of whatever kind There i s another force
, .

that a cts between particles of t h e s a me kind when they '

are in close contact In the manufacture of black lead .

-

pencils when the powdered plumbago is subj ected to

,

great pressure the particles cohe re to form a solid

,
.

This force is called coh esi on If the particles of the one .

b ody b e u nl ike those of the other body the f Orce that ,

causes them to stick or adhere is calle d a dh esi on The .

sticking of gum to paper or varnish to wood are ex amples

T h e La w ll
Gra v it a tio n is us u a y s t a t e d a s f o o ws : Ev e ry
of ll
p l
a r t ic e o f m a t t er in t h e u n iv e rse a t tra c ts e v e ry o t h er p a rt ic e l
l
wit h a f o rce whi c h v a ries d ir e c t y a s t h e p ro d uc t o f t h e ir m a s s e s
l
a n d in v e rs e y a s t h e s qu a re o f t h e d is t a n c e b e t w e e n t h e m .

1 S c a e p aln s w o u d n o t s e r v e t hle p ur p o se o f s h o win g t h e c h a n ge

of weigh t , as t h e we igh t s t h e m s e l v es wo u d l l
a s o ch a n ge .
 PR AC TI CA L PH Y SI CA L GE OGR A PH Y
7

12

m ay however be st ated as a probability that a l l p l a tter

, ,

i s cap a ble of exis ting in either the s oli d the liquid or the }
~

, ,

a seou s m
g f or .

l —
So id s S olids have a fixed shape and they resis t any ,

attempt to alter that shape ; any alteration in shape is

. .

always the result of the application of f orce This may .

b e easily e Xe m p l ifie d by t h e a c t o f driving a screw into

'
'
.

a piece of wood or by trying to force a wedge of wood ,

betwee n t wo b ricks in a wall or by squeezing a lump '

,

of lead in a vice a n d s o on The quality of a s olid that

'
f
.
,
, .

causes it to resist change of form is called rigid ity which

"

is a f ter all but another name for s olid ity It i s due to

, ,
.

'

the c ohesion Oi the part icles and the force of this c o ,

h e sio n has to b e overcome w hen a solid body is broken ,

S plit or c ut The f act that l ead is more easily broken

, . ,

than s t e el s h o ws that the force of cohesion is not equally

strong in all solids The f Orce Of cohesion is du e to the .
I

attraction between molecules a n d it increases as the ,

m o l e cu l es g e t cl o se r to one another In so l id s cohe sion

‘
. . . ,

is greater than in liquids and in liquids greater than in

:
,

gases .

Liq ui ds —Liquids have no S hape of their own ; they

t ake the s hape o f the vessel which holds them and except , ,

at t h e edges of t he vessel always have a level surface , .

The force of cohesion in liquids is slight compared with

that in s olids and so t h e molecules easily move over and
, .

away from one another Hence li quids flow when their

, . .

support is r emoved or to put it another way they , ,

‘
.
,

ha ve n o rigidity Take a number of clean glass tubes . .

o f fine bore
. each open at both ,

in wa t e r o r any other liquid capable Of wetting t h e glass

‘

You will see tha t the water in each t u b e ris es to a level '

higher than that at Which it stands outside a n d t h a t it

.

,
'

ris e s h igh e s t in the tube with the finest bore

. . If you .
 P R OP E RTI E S OF M A TT E R 13

p lace tw o plates o f glass v erticall y par a l lel in a 3 lea n

c

d ish of water you will see the water ri se between the

p l ates higher o r lower according as the plates are nearer

or farth er apart The liquid rises b etween t h e plates .

o nly h alf the height that it rises in a tube whose bore is .

the same in diameter as the di stance th e p l a t e s are apart

'

T his property Of l iquid s is called c apill arity and t h e liquid e

i s said t o ri se by c ap ill ary a ttra cti on The explanati o n

‘

of th e phenomenon lies in the fact that o n the surfa ce of “

'

l iquids th ere is a kind Of el a st ic skin of liquid which acts

in a way quite different from the li quid below The . .

stretc h O f this surface skin is due to what is called surface

tension the importance of which wi ll be noticed later
,
-

i n d escribing thermometers This elastic surface skin .

-

sticks t o the inside of the tube and pulls t h e w ater Up

‘

the tube until the weight of wa ter raised abov e the level
outside the tube is equal to the force ex erted by t h e
“

skin Hence as only li quids that wet t h e glass can stick

.
,

to the i nsi d e of the tube it is o nly such liquids that can

'
“

,
.

s u ffe r t h is c apillary attraction

a
Mercury which t hough .
, ,

s
liquid does not wet the glass is an ex ception
,
*
Liquid s ; ,
.

like solids vary as to the amount of cohesion their mole

,

cules possess It is easier to push the hand int o a basin. ,

of water t h a n i n t o a b a sin of treacle because the mole '

,
”

cules of t h e g l a t t er have more imperfect mobility t han

.

t h ose of the former Tar is less m obile than treacle .

.
,
'

and mercury less mobile than tar In so m e liqu id s the .

mobility of the molecules is so imperfec t that they may

M e rcury is a n e x ce p t io n so fa r as a g l a s s t ub e is c o n ce rn e d fo r
t h o ug h it d o e s n ot we t t h e ins id e of a _
gl a ss t u b e , it d o es we t th e
ins id e of a c o p p er tub e , a nd so , in t h e l a t te r c a s e , r is es in t h e t u b e
by ca p i ll a ry a tt ra c
tion . In s t u d yin g th e ca p i ll a
ry p rp
p ert ies of

a ny l iqui d t hr ee f a c t o rs m
us t b e c o ns id ere
d (: 1 ) t h e lq
i uid , ( )
2 t h e

l
S o id , ( 3) th e g a s i n w hi ch t h e p h e n o m,
e n o n t a es p k l a ce . S ee a ny

go o d te x t b o o k
-
on P h ys ics .
“
14 PRACTI CA L PHY SI CA L G EO GRA PH Y
be te mporarily heaped up t hough in time their surfac es
'

will become horizontal These like v aseline thin j elly .

, , ,

or pitch are called viscous li qui ds They must b e distin

, .

g u is h e d from soft or p l astic solids whose shape is easily ,

Chang ed such as clay putty etc , A soft solid does not

, , .

fl ow a viscous
, liquid does .

Gases The molecules of a gas are so far from one

.
-

another that t h e attraction between them is a minimum .

This is why there seems to be no force of cohesion in a

gas a rid why the molecules are sometimes said to repel
,

one another The power of spreading so characteristic

.
,

of a gas and so apparent when an escape of coal gas in

.

,
-

the kitchen can be detected in the attic is called diff usi on , .

Gases di ffuse much more easily than liquids and liquids ,

more easily than solids In fact diffusion varies inversely .

,

as cohesion Gases may b e poured from o n e vessel to

.

another i e they fl ow , Therefore both liquids a n d

. . .

gases are fl uids .

Stress a nd Stra in — A force acting upon a b ody tends

.

either to stretch it bend it compress it or twist it The , , , .

body in its turn resists this force The applied forc e .

togeth er with t h e resistance O ffered by the b ody is called

'

a stress A n y result of such a stress however little may

. ,

be the def ormation of the body acted on is c al led a

‘

strain S tress is a ca use

. s tra in is a n efi ect There .

may be st re s without strain as in the attempt to twist ,

a W Ire w hich effectually resists ; but there cannot b e .

strain without stress .

E XERCIS E S
1 . Ho w can it be
shown that there is no loss of matt er
Ic e m elts ( )
b when sugar melts ( )
0 , ,

when water boils away

 PR O P E RTI E S OF MA TT E R 15

Explain the terms v ertica l h orizon ta l up d own

, , , .

Why does a piece of iron sink in water and float in

mercury A n d why does an iron s hi p float in the
sea
Explain cohes i on s urf a ce tens ion cap illa rity
, , .

D escribe two ex periments to show that substances do

not lose in weight when they undergo a change of
state.

How can it be shown that a glass marble undergoes

compression when it is allowed to fall upon a hard
slab
'

D escribe an experiment to show the p o ro sit y o f a

liquid .

What is the difference b etween adhesion and cohesion

If the sun attracts the earth why does not the earth
,

fall into the Su n ? ( Camb Jun Loc )

. . .

D istinguish between vi scosity and plasticity a n d ,

between stres s and strain .

What a re t h e other physical forces of attraction

b esides gravitation ?
 C H A P TE R I II

Hea t a nd Li gh t

Conduction — Put a poker in the fire Very soon the .

end in the fire becomes red hot B u t the other end has
”

also b ecome hot This is because the heat of the fire

.

t ra Vel s along t h e poker from particle to p a rticl e p u nt il

i t r eaches t h e opposite end .

Put an ir on rod and a cop p er rod in the fire with ends

;
'

proj ecti ng Hold an o rdinary phosphorus match at

.

the proj ecting end of e ach rod The match touching

. . .

t h e en d o f t h e COp p e r ro d fires first This is b ecause the

'

, .

heat from the fire is more readily transmitted al ong the

copper rod than it is along the iron rod .

Place a strip of C opper and a strip of bone in a vessel

of boiling water A fter a few minutes the proj ecting
.

end of the copper strip is too hot to hold while the bone ,

stri p 1 8 not sensibly heated at all This is because the .

heat from the boiling water travels along to the end o f

the copper strip but not appreciably along the bone
,

strip.

When heat travels along a substance by moving in all

directions from particle to particle it is said to b e con ,

d ucted or that it moves by cond uction

,
S ubstances along .

which it mo v es easily like metals are called good con

, ,

d uctors ; those al ong which it moves slowly li ke glass or ,

earthenware are called ba d con d uctors ; and those along

,

16
 HEAT AND LIGHT 1 7
“

Which it sca rcely moves at all like bone are c a lled

“

, ,

n oc on d u ctors A S a rule liquids are not such good

.
,
'

conductors o f heat as solids are A n d among soli d s .

,
'

generally speaking dense sub stances are good con ,

d u c t ors light porou s sub stances are bad co nd u

, ctors .

In conduction of heat the molecules do no t move bodily

through the sub stance but merely pass on the heat ,

from one to another .

v
Con ection — T ake a long test tube nearly fill it with
.
-
,

water and drop a piece of ice to t h e bottom The ice

,
’

.
,

must first b e b oun d lightl y with wi re to make it h eavy

en ough to stay a t t h e b o tt o m o f the tube Hold the '
.

upper part of the test tub e in a gas fl a m e S oon t h e water - -

.

'

at the top will b oil but t h e ice remains at the bottom ,

un melted If heat travelled through water by conduction

’

.
,
' ' i

t h e bottom w ater would have b ecome as ho t a s t h e t o p

water ; for conduction acts downwards as w ell as up w ards .

Nearly fill a large flask with water and into it drop a ,

small piece or: two O f solid blue litmus A pply heat ( b y ‘

me ans Of a B unsen b u rn er o r spirit lamp ) to the bottom '

o f the flask S oon you w ill see an upward central current

. .

in the water re n d e re d quite easily v is ibl ef b y t h e blu e

'
‘
'
l i
,

colouring from the litmus O n reaching the su rface

‘

this upward current bends ov er in e v ery d ire c tio n and ‘

e

forms descending c urrents alo ng the inner side of t h e

flask Whe n thes e reach the heated low
.

er portio n of the
fl a s k t h ey b egin to asce nd a gain as b efor e as an U pward
‘

-
.

c entr a l Curr ent Th e u p wa rd cu rre n t oc curs because the

.

flame heats the molecules of water at t h e b o t t o m o f t h e

.
o

flask , a nd b ec o m ing l igh t er as they ex p and t h e y rise to

‘

'
‘

the surface That in a liquid, t h e m olecules them

. '

selves move bodily throu gh t h e sub st a n c e o f th e liquid .

. .

—
B u t if t hes e h e a t ed m ol ecules rise t o the sur face t h e
'

, ,

colder molecules from the surface must sink to t h e bottom

2
18 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I C A L GEO G RA PH Y
to take their place The heated molecules give out their
.

heat as they rise and become cold by the time they

,

reach the surface to return again to the bottom and

, .

t a ke the place of some more heated molecules t h at are

still rising B y and by the temperature of the whole
.

of the water has risen and the rising molecules of water ,

begin to b e changed into molecules o f steam which now

move to the surface more rapidly as aggregations of
steam molecules in the form o f tiny bubbles When .

these tiny bubbles o f steam reach the surface without

bursting the water is said to boil When heat is carried
, .

by heated particles moving through the whole mass ,

the process is called conv ection ( S e e p . .

B oi l in g p oint
- — B oil some water in a beaker and wi t h
. ,
°
a thermometer test the temperature I t w ill be 2 1 2 F . .

B oil some alcohol and test in the same way This time .

the thermometer will not register much more than 1 7 0 F °

.

Now boil a solution o f salt and water adding a little ,

more salt a fter each test You will find that the more .

salt you put in the solution the higher the boilin g ,

temperature will rise above 2 1 2 F In fact a solution °

.

containing as much salt as will dissolve in a certain

quantity O f water ( a saturated solution ) would register
nearly 2 30 F °
Mercury boils at over 6 0 0 F
. From °
.

this you may deduce the law that the d en ser th e li qu id ,

th e high er the boi ling p oi t n *

Now take a flask and h a lf
-
.

fill it with water Let the water boil over a gas fl a m e

.
-

until the space in the flask above the water is filled with
steam Then cork up the flask and turn it upside down
.
-
.

When the ebullition has ceased S prinkle some cold water ,

over the bottom of th e flask The water in the flask .

actually starts boiling again The cold water on the out .

A f e w l i qu id s a r e a n e x c e p t io n to this rul e e g c a rb o n dis ul , . .

p h id e a nd l
c h o ro fo rm .
20 PR AC T I CA L PHY SI CA L GEO G RA PH Y
us and the sun an d we might possibly hear the ex plosi ons
,

o f gases that take place th ere

’

r w v -—
Eth e a es D ro p or throw a sto ne into water and
.
,

notic e that it forms a centre of disturbance from which .

wav es may be seen passing in all directions While the .

wave m otion continues throw a cork into the water

-
, ,

a n d notice that it does not move onward but merely ,

bobs up and down This shows that wave motion is .

-

not a n onward movement of particles Al l sound s are

’

impressions made upon t h e brai n b y wave tra nsmis s ion , - -

but s ound waves move onl y through matter su ch a s air

-
,

wa ter, and rock Light and heat from t h e sun also .

reach us as wavy rays but these travel through the ,

ether o nl y which i s in a co n s t a nt state of pulsation with

,
»

vibrations so minute that they scarcely affect the straight 1 -

nes s of the rays The et h er waves or ripples so i nfinitely

.
-
,

tiny are not all the same size al t h o ugh t h e y all move
, ,
'

at the sam e r at e If a little child wishes to keep up with

.

a b ig tall man wal king he c a n do so but the child m ust

"

, ,

take five or six step s to the m an s one ; E the r waves

"

’
-

t ake eight and a half minutes to reach us from the sun ;

s ome c ome with relatively big steps other s with v ery .
,

much small er steps Now change the idea of a step into .

on
'

e o f a ripple o r a vibratio n and you hav e the two

'

points of view from which to consider the ether waves -

'

I
( ) t h e ir t ra t e o f t ravel f rom sou rce t o destination
;
the rat e of their vibrat i ons as they travel They all .

tra v e l t hro u gh space a t o v er mil e s p er second '

‘

but t he number of wav y vibrations along each ray varies .

consider ably and the ether waves are classified according

,
- .

to their v ibrations p e r s e co nd because upon this number '

,
'

of v ib ra tio n s depend t h e fu n ct io n s of t h e ra ys l That

‘

.
.

is they may come as light rays heat rays or X rays

'

- - -
.
, , ,
‘ .

- —
Ligh t ra ys é If e ther wa v es reach o ur eyes v ibratin g -
 H EA T AND LIGHT
‘
“

21

mill ion million time s per second we get an i mpre s

'

4 00 ,

si on of red ; a faster vibration would give us yell ow ,

faster still ; blu e and the fastest we can see at all woul d
,

gi ve us v i olet If the vibrations were slower than those

.

that give us red light or faster than those that give us

‘

v iolet l ig h t we should cease to see any kind o f light at all

'
1
, .

The rays of light that come from the sun com e as a white

P R l S M
‘

F IG . 1 .

light To find out what white light is take a three sided

.
,
-

pie ce of gl ass call ed a p rism a nd hold it in the pat h ,

’

of a ray of white light The w hi te light will pass t h ro ugh

.

the prism and shine up on the wall or screen as a band of

c ol ours ranging from red to violet thro ugh Orange yellow; ,

green blue and indigo This band of colours is cal led

‘ ‘

.
, ,

t h e sp ectrum and it shows that white l ight is si m ply a

,

mi x ture of e th e r wa v es of Jv ariou s ra tes ( if

v
 22 PR AC TI CA L PH Y S I CA L G E OGRA PHY
S ometimes all the ether waves that make white light -

do not reach us In that case we see colours according

.

to the wav e s that d o reach us In a dense atmosphere .

,

for example red rays penetrate most easily and that is

'
, ,

the re a so n we get white light from the sun through the

atmosphere at A and a sunset or sunrise light that is
,

r e d t hrough the thicker atmosphere at B or C

, ( fig .

S e t up a lantern and get as strong and as white a light

as possible Inste ad of a lantern slide introduce a
.
-
,

glass cell containing a 2 0 per cent solution of hyposulphite .

FIG . 2 .

of soda to which has been added a few drops of 30 per

cent strength hydroc hl ori c acid
. Let the light pass .

through this solution to the screen and as the solution ,

becomes more and more turbid by the precipitation of

sulphur the white light changes to yellow then to orange
”

, , ,

then to red according to the increasing opacity of the

,

solution The white light on the screen represents the

.

white light from the sun the yell ow orange and red , , ,

represent the light f rom the sun seen through the thicker
atmosphere at sunrise or sunset .

Hea t ra ys- —The ether waves that vibrate too slowl y

.
-
“

t o give re d light a re the heat w a ves Th es e slow v ibra t: -

.
-
 HE AT A ND LIGHT 23

ing waves come to us from the sun mi x ed with the light

waves B oth rays of heat waves ( heat rays ) and rays of
.
- -

light wa v es ( light rays ) are forms of radiant energy S o

- -
.

that ra di a tion may be de fi ned as energy propagated by

vibrations of ether the ether being set in V ibration by
,

heated bodies The invisible slow vibrating radiant

.
-

energy is kno wn as d ark h ea t-ra ys the quick vibrating -

,

visible radiant energy is known a s l igh t h ea t-rays

, .

Ra d i a ti on a nd Absorp tion — A radiator is a heated body

.

which cools by giving off heat rays B oiling water will -

.

cool more quickly if placed in a vessel painted black on

the outside than it will if placed in a v essel painted
,

white on the outside This may be easily tested a nd .

pro v ed A gain hold two sheets of tin before the fire

.
, ,

one piece polished bright and the other piece painted

black or some dark colour The radiant energy from the .

fire will be absorbed by both the metal sheets and con

v erted into heat B u t by simply feeling them afte r
.

a short time it may b e easily ascertained that the dark

sheet is hotter than the polished one This is b ecause .

the dark colour absorbed all the heat rays that came -

to it while the polished surface sent them back or

, ,

refl ected them Hence we conclude that dark coloured

.
-

bodies and rough surfaces are the best radiators and

the best absorbers of heat and vice versa That is ,
.
,

good absorbers are good radiators and bad absorbers ,

are bad radiators .

Sp ec fic Hea t
i — Mix two equal quantities of water
. ,

one being at boiling point and the other at freezing -

p oint . Take the temperature of the mixture It will .

be 1 2 2 F That is the boiling water has given up 9 0

° °
.
,

and the cold water has gained the same Take now
two equal weights of mercury and water the mercury ,

at 2 1 2 F and the wa ter at 32 F Mix them and tak e

'
° °
. . ,
24 PR AC TI CA L PH Y SI CA L G EO GR A PH Y
the temperature of the mixture It will be 38 F That .
°
.

°
is the mercury has fallen 1 7 4 in temperature whereas the
, ,

temperature of the water has risen only If the water

had been 2 1 2 F and the mercury 32 F the tempera
°
.
°

ture o f the mixture would have been 2 0 6 F That is °

.
,

the heat given up by the water would have raised the

mercury 1 7 though the water fell onl y This shows
-

°
that the quantity of heat wh ich will raise mercury 1 7 4 '

will raise an equal quantity o f water only Hence

mercury can reach a certain temperature much mor e
quickly tha n water and can cool much more quickly ,
.

This is because the m ercury cannot hold so much heat

-

as the water and so can reach the required temperature

,

q uicker and having

, for the same reason les s heat to part
,

with in cooling can cool more quickly You can under

-

’
stand this more easily if you remember that a boy s
’
stomach has not so great a capacity for food as a man s ,

and there f ore it gets full quicker Now you will easily .

see the meaning of the statement that a little heat sends

up the temperature of the mercury a long way ; whereas
much heat sends up the temperature of water o nl y a
little way A n d so we say that the sp eci fic h ea t of w a te r
.

is higher than that of mercury In the s ame way iron .

,

can receive much heat without rising so high in tempera

ture as lead which has received the same quantity of
heat Hence
. has a higher specific heat than lea d .

B odies like water that have high specific heat take

, , ,

longer to get hot can hold more h eat and take longe r
, ,

to get cool than other bodies B odies like mercury

, .
, ,

t hat have a low specific heat r i se i n temperature very

quickly with a very small quantity o f heat ca n hol d ,

little heat and cool rapidly

, .

La tent Hea t When water freezes it ch a nges from a

.
-

, ,

warm er tQ fl FP Q IH state, a nd t he W armth it ha d is gi v e n :

 H E AT A ND LI GHT
'

25
“

c ut to the atmosphere This is true always when any

'
.
‘

li quid changes to a solid When a thaw sets in after .

a frost warmth is absorbed by the solid ice as it changes

,

t o water and this warmth is drawn from everything

,

i n the neighbourhood of the ice that has any warmth

to give it This i s true always when any solid changes
-

t o the liquid state S o too when a gas becomes a liquid .

, , ,

heat is evolved and when a liquid pa sses to the gaseous

state it absorbs heat from neighbouring obj ects making
, ,

them correspondingly cooler You wil l n o w u nd e rs t a nd .

*

why during a frosty night a bucket of water placed in

, _
,
‘

a room will warm the room as the water freezes You .

will also understand why allowing damp clothes to dry

upon your body ( t e liquid becoming vapour ) draws
,
. .

sufficient heat from your body to give you cold The .

heat which is hidden in a substance ; and which becomes

manifested by change of state is known as l a tent h ea t , .

E XE RCI S E S
1 . D istinguish between temperatur e a n d qua ntity of .

heat and illustrate the distinction by an e x p e ri

,

ment .

2 . Why are double windows often used In cold countries ,

and why 1 8 a double tent often use d 1 n the Tropic s

instead o f a single one
3 . Why does boiling Ja m s c ald o rse than boiling water ? w
4 . Why are several thin layers of clot hing better tha n
a single layer equal in thick ness to the sum of t h e
thin layers
5 . How c a n warm water be made to boil without heat

6 Disti nguish be twee n s e c ific h ea t d la tent heat

p i a ll ‘

. .
 26 PR AC TI CA L PHY SI CA L G EO GRA PHY
What important e ffects in the economy of nature
result from the great specific heat and the great .

latent heat o f w ater ?

7 . Why does a cold plate soon become hot whe n steam
from a kettle condenses upon it
8 . Explain why cold water cannot be raised to boiling
point by the addition of b o il ing wa t e r but can be ,

raised to b oiling point by the addition of st eam

-

at the temperature of boiling water .

9 . Which is correct to say and why ( a ) t h ere are differ

,
'

ent kinds of radiations or ( b) different kinds o f

,

rays from an incandescent body ?

,

10 . How would you prove that when ice is melte d heat ,

is absorbed without raising the temperature

11 . Take 2 ounces of lead and 2 ounces of water ,

place them in a beaker and heat the beaker

,

over a B unsen flame Take two other beakers ;

.

each containing 2 ounces of cold water and add ,

the hot lead to the one and the hot water to the
other S tir and with a thermometer note the
.
,

temperature in each case S tate how the ther

.

m o m et e r readings differ and the cause of the

d ifference .

12 . Why is the sun considered as the ul timate source of

terrestrial energy
13 . D escribe the three methods of heat transmission .

14 . What is meant by the expression glass is trans

parent
I5 . What are meant by d ia therma n ous and a therm a n ou s
substa nces Give a good example of each How .

does the earth behave with regard to radiant energy

incident upon it ( Ox f.J un Loc ) ( S
. e e p . .

16 .
How would you show that a n iron b a r become s lo nger
wh e n it is h eated
 C H A PT E R IV
Reflecti on and Refra cti on of Li gh t

Refl ecti on of Li gh t — Everyone is conversant with the

fact that after the sun has disappeared below the horizon
and its rays cease to reach us there follows a period ,

’
of half light called twilight This is because the sun s
-
.

rays still continue to pass through the upper layers of

air above us and are there scattered and reflected by
,

the clouds and dust particles This diffused light in time.

reaches the earth and constitutes twiligh t The dura .

tion of twilight depends upon the height of the atmo

’
sphere and the obliquity of the sun s rays to it It .

will be seen later on that because of the obliquity of

’
the sun s rays the length of twilight also varies with the
latitude It lasts in our islands until the sun is from
.

° °
1 6 to 1 8 below the horizon In the tropics where t h e .

sun s rays are more vertical twilight is naturally much

’
,

shorter while at the Poles there is onl y a slight glimmer

,

of twilight each day The phenomenon of twilight has

.

assisted astronomers in estimating the height o f the

atmosphere B y means of it they have calculated that
.

the atmosphere extends for 4 5 miles but we know from ,

the course of meteors in the heavens that it extends to

a fa r greater distance possibly 2 0 0 miles although at
, ,

such a height it may be in a very rarefied form ( S e e .

In dealing with the length of d a we S houl d be

p.
y ,

28 ,
 R EF L E C T I ON A ND R EF R AC TI ON OF L IGHT 2 9

v ery care ful not to con fuse reflection with refraction

.

( ) y fl
a B re ec ti on ( even in the higher latitudes ) the rays
of t h e su n are received after it has disappeared from
l

V iew ( b) B y ref ra cti on the sun is seen apparently above

.
~

the horizon when it is below .

Refr action of Li gh t Light travels in virt ually straight .

-

lines called rays B u t t h is is only tru e if the medium .

th ro ugh w h ic h the rays pass 1 s of a uniform nature through

.

ou t If a r a y leaves one m e dium a nd enters ano ther it

.
.

bends o nen t ering the second medium T his bending due

"

.
,

to the altered rat e of travelling o f the ray l S called refra cti on , .

The fact that We can see obj ects at all is d u e to the rays
’

of light being reflect e d from t h e obj ects to our eyes .

D ifferent coloured obj ects absorb more or less light accord

ing to their colour and what they do not absorb they ,

reflect to White obj ects absorb nothing while black ,

obj ects absorb a ll ; It is for this reason that we are able .

t o recognise the colours of things In the case of the .

film of a— p hotographic plate the reflected rays of light

‘ ‘

act with more or less intensity u p on the silver salts i n

the film thereby giving less or more transparency to
, ‘

the negative after the a ffected salts h ave b een acted .

upon by the developer Light is p ropagated by rays

‘

(p . 1 9 ) through
. our at m osphere , and the directi on in
which a m y travels on its way towards the earth
: .

depends upon the density of tha t medium That rays . .

become brok e n o n leaving one medium a nd fle n t e ring

' '

another of greate r density may b e p r oved a s f ollows

‘
‘
' -

Plunge a pencil into a ub a s in of water and h old it in a

s l anting position The pencil wil l appear to be broken
’

al o ng t h a t line w here it leaves the water and enters the

air This phenomenon is due to the refra cti on of lig h t
. .

The rays f rom the bottom o f the pencil on travel ling ,

through t h e wa t e r into the air pass from a denser medium

'

,
30 PRA C TI CA L PHYS I CAL GE OGRA PHY

in to one les s d ense and are therefore be nt S uppose a .

perpendicular be now drawn to the surface of the water

where the pencil enters it this line is known as the n orm a l
, ,

and the rays on emerging from the water will be bent

away from it If however the pencil be placed in the
.
, ,

water so as to coincide with the normal that is in a

, ,

vertic a l position there wil l appear to be no cleavag e

,
'
,

and the degree of refraction wil l be n il We may .

,

therefore conclude that rays of light travel in a straight

,

direction so long as they co ntinue in the same medi um but ,

on meeting a new
medium they u n
d e rg o a change in
direction the ,

nature o f t h e
change depending
on the density of
the medium On .

entering a rarer
medium the degree
of bending away
F IG 3 . .
from the normal to
the common sur
face is greater than that o n entering a denser medium .

Eff ect of Refra ction o f Sun s Lig t

h — Ou r atmosphere is
’

composed of layers of air the upper ones being mor e

,

rarefied than those underneath Rays of light p roceedin g

.

from the sun will therefore become more and more re

fracted as they travel through the denser media unti l
they near the earth where the maximum bending is
,
'

obtained Consider the diagram ( fig

. The line S IX
.

represents a solar ray refracted as it passes through the

atmosphere on its way towards the earth To an observer .

at X the position of the sun appears to be in the same

,
 R E FL E C T I ON A ND REFR AC T I ON OF L I GHT 8 1

direction from which the ray of light seems to come .

’
He woul d there fore conclude that the sun s di rection lay
, ,

n ot i n the direction o f S 1 but in that o f S It is because

,
.

of this we are enabled to explain why the sun may be

obs erved in the heavens for some time a fter it has
actually gone down below the visible hori zon The pro .

l on g a t io n of the length of day is likewise explained .

B efore the sun is visible to us light is obtained from it ; ,

this period of
the day is
called the
d a wn .

Dura ti on of:

Twiligh t — Let
AO ( fig . 1 4 )
re re s e n t l igh t
p .

t r a v e 111 n g
from the dense
medium with
an angle of in
c id e n c e A ON .

A little is re

fl e ct e d , but
most of it con F IG 4 . .

ti n u e s into the
rare medium in a new direction 0 B so that the angl e ,

of re fraction N IOB is greater than the angle o f in

cid e n c e A ON Now let the angle of incidence be
.

increased to CON Then the angle of refraction

.

N1 0 D is greater than CON A s the angle o f incidence

.

increases the angle o f re fraction increases still more and ,

a position will finally be reached ( say E0 ) when t h e

re fracted ray would make an angle o f 9 0 with N 1 0 t e °
, . .

would be re fracted along the common sur face t e woul d , . .

32 PR AC T I CA L PHY S I C A L GEOGR A PHY I

not pass beyond the common surface In this c ase it .

woul d underg o tota l refl ection along OF so that the angle ,

'

o f r e fl e c t io n N OF the angle o f incid ence EON If a *

ray m a kes an angle with ON less than EON then it is

’
"

refracted and continues in the new medium ; b ut if it .

makes an angle with ON greater th an EON then n one get s ,

t h ro u gh b u t it u ndergoes total reflection comin g back

'

, ,

into the denser medium again The angle EON is called .

the critica l a ngle for these particular media Now the .

,

m ore remote the a tmosphere from the earth is the

,

, ,

more it d iminishes i n density Hence when the sun is .

,

below the horizon its rays passing upwards t o wa rd s t h e

, , .

zenith of a n observer from the lower dense layers t o the

,

higher rare layers undergo continuous refractio n and

, ,

have therefore an inclination to t h e normal increasingly .

greater than the critical angle The rays t herefore undergo .

total reflection and give light to parts of the earth “

when the sun to those parts is below the horizon Thi s

, ,
.

°
e ffect ceases when the sun is more than 1 8 below the
horizon .

Leng th of Da y
‘

— The duration of daylight for any place is

.

determined thus : A ( fig 5 ) is a given place EQ t h e

'

Equator NS the earth s axis A B the parallel o f latitud e ’

through A N OG the sun s declination ’

.

S uppose the hem i sphere F EA N G be now in s unlight ;

'

AS: t h e earth rotates the po in t wh ic h is a t A at midday

,

is carried from A towards B which it reaches at midnight

g

,
.

H will be r eached at 6 p m K at sunset B u t this period

. .
, .

of ligh t is increased by a tmospheric re fraction and re ‘

fl e ct io n Whe n the disc of the setting sun first s eems to

. :

touc h the horizon i t is really below it altogether and i s

,

o nl y seen by re fract ion A ft e r t h e su n has wholly set .

-
'

at any give n pla ce its light still continues to illuminate

,

the upper p ortio n o f the a tmosphere at that place so

.

,
 R EF L E C TI ON A ND REF R AC TI ON OF LIGHT 83

that instead of endi n g abruptly daylight gradually fades,

away until the sun is 1 8 below the horizon which takes

°

longer as the latitude increases Now draw M I parallel .

to GF a t a distance from it equ al to sine 1 8

.
T h en °
,

GB F being t h e
u nilluminated
hemisphere
GM IF wil l re p re
sent the twiligh t
zone The point
.

A as it moves
along the parallel
A B loses sight of
the sun at K
and is in twilight
till it reaches the
small circle
M LI when the ,
’
sun s zenith dis
°
tance is 1 0 8 ,

The F IG 5 . .

duration o f twi
light corresponds to the portion K L of A B and the ,

time taken to rotate through this will be shorter in low

latitudes than in high .

F rom what has been said it is clear that as we proceed

north or south of the equator reflection changes to re ,

fraction and the length of day is thereby increased whi le

the length of night is correspondingly diminished With .

in the A rct ic and A ntarctic circles at the summer and

winter solstices respectively the sun does not sink below
,

the horizon at all A t latitude . although near mid

summer the sun sinks below the horizon it never gets
'
,
°
1 8 below consequently twil ight there lasts from sunset
,

3
34 PR AC TI CA L PH YSI CA L G E O GR A PHY
to sun ris e A t L on d on in latitude
. twilight con
t inue s all night from Ma y 2 3 to July 2 0 It is shortest .

about t h ree weeks a fter the autumnal and three weeks

be fore the vernal equinox when its duration is 1 hr 5 0 min , . .

°
A t latitude 30
°
the sun is more than 1 8 below the
horizon at midnight so that there is a period of total
,

darkness between sunset and sunrise A t the equator .

the shortest twilight occurs at the equin ox when it i s

1 hr 1 2 min
. .

It is of so m e in t e re s t t o n o te t h a t in En g l a nd l
t wi ig h t is l ega lly
r e c o g n is e d to en d on e h our a ft er sun se t . F or v e h ic es , l e tc .
,
t h is
is sp o k en of as l igh tin g —u p t im e .
”

—
Mirag e A nother phenomenon d ue to refraction may be
.

o b served in very warm and in very cool climates and even ,

in our own country during a hot summer Travellers in the .

S ahara D esert have fre quently been mystified by seeing

in the distance what appeared to them as an oasis On .
‘

reaching the point where they believed it to be they have

f ound to their ama zement that it did not exist
, S uch a ,
.

phenomenon is the result o f great di fferences in density in

the atmospheric layers due to a great range o f day and
night temperatures suppose first that the layer of air near
.

the earth is unifo rmly dense and that a warm stratum ,

lies above it in which the density rapidly dim inishes

.
,
.

Obliquely ascending rays from some distant obj ect w ill by

refractio n become nearly horizontal and so being incident , ,

upon the upper layers of less de nse air at angles greater

than the critical angle such rays will be totally reflected
,

and will reach the earth at some distant point B ut o f ten .

the rays from the top and the bottom o f the obj ect cross
one another in the warmer stratum so that the observer ,

at the distant point seems to see the obj ect suspended in

the air upside down This may happen while the
”

-
.
36 PR A C TI CA L PH Y SI CA L G EO GR A PHY

horizontal pla ne we should then h ave the obj ect magni

‘

fie d both vertically and horizontally This is frequently .

the case at sea in foggy or misty weather and t h e ,

phenomenon which results is known as l oom ing .

EX E RCI S E S

1 . How are the images o f trees houses clouds etc, , , .

,

formed in smooth water

2 . Why is it that when you look vertically down into
transparent water it appears shallower than it
,

really is
How is it that in the daytime we are able to see
'

3 . ,

obj ects that receive no direct sunli ght ?

Prove that when a mirror rotates the angle through ,

which the image moves is twice the angle through

which the mirror moves What is the practical
.

value of th 1 s proof ? ( see Chap VIII ) . .

5 . W h y do grapes out o f doors in England grow best

on a black wall facing south ?
6 Twil ight lasts all night in London frb m Ma y 2 3
‘

until July 2 0 Explain fully the meaning of this

.

statement and account for the facts Compare it

,
.

with what happens at ( a ) Madeira and ( b) the

S hetland Islands (
. O x f and C
.amb Lower Cert ) . .

7 . E x plain the cause of twilight A t what period o f

.

the year is there no true night in London Why is

this How does the phenomenon of twilight di ff er
in tropical and temperate regions ? ( Ox f S e n . .

Loc ).

8 . Explain why the days are longer in the north o f

S cotland than in the south o f Ireland during
summer and shorter in winter
, .
 C H A PT E R V

Electri ci ty and Magnetism

El ectri ca l Energy .
—W e have learned in Chapter II I that
~

the sun sends out wavy rays of light and heat which ,

wavy rays are so near being straight lines — t h e u n d ul a

—
tions or vibrations are so minute that they are always
regarded as straight rays We have now to consider .

some other rays t hat ripple with their tiny pulsations

through the e t h e r f ro m the sun to the earth There are .

rays called X rays that have faster vibrations than those

,
-
,

of light and heat and there are others whose vibratio ns

,

are slower It is those which have the slowest vibrations

.

of all that we are now to consider T h ey are c al led .

Her tzian waves a fter their discoverer Their energy

, .
,

quite distinct from heat or light is electrical and they , ,

are sometimes named electrical rays Remember that .

the time taken f or either X rays light rays heat rays or -

,
-
,
-
,

electrical rays to reach the earth from the s un is the

same about 8 5 minutes The X rays make most vibra
, .
-

tions in the j ourney and therefore their vibrations are

,

inconceivably minute Rays o f light have vibrations .

less than s n yo f an inch in length The Hertzian .

,

or electrical rays have vibrations thousands o f feet in

,

length Electricity is often spoken o f as a fluid This

. .

i s of course a mistake Electricity is no more a fluid

, , .

than is light or heat but like light and heat is a form o f

, , ,

37
38 PRAC TI CA L PH Y SI CA L G EOGR A PH Y
radiant energy Heat may be transmitted from matter
.

at a high temperature to m a tter at a low temperature .

In the same way electricity may pass from a body highly ,

charged with it to another body less highly charged In .

such a case the electricity is said to pass from a high

potential to a lower potential Moreover j ust as heat .
,

is transmitted more readily through one substance than

through another so is electricity Thus t h ere are go o d,
.

conductors bad conductors and non conductors o f elec

, ,
-

t ric it y as well as o f heat

,
The passage o f electricity .
,

whether along a wire or through the air along the

Hertzian rays is called an electric current Electrical
,
.

energy can decompose chemical compounds into elements ,

and can also unite chemical elements into compounds .

El ec tri ci ty —Nothing is known with certainty as to t h e

.

'

true nature o f e l e ct ric it y b ey o n d the fact that it is a f orm

of energy We know that electricity can be neither
.

created nor destroyed that the world is full o f it that

more may be caused to appear at one place and less at
'
another that is that its distribution in the world may
, ,

be altered and that it may be changed f rom a condition

of rest to one o f motion Many appliances such as .
,

batteries dynamos and frictional machines are said to

, , ,

m a ke electricity ; but they do not make they merely ,

col lect by f riction or by chemical action

,
the electricity ,

th at already exists When the amount o f electricity .

collected on the sur f ace o f a body— electricity always

resides on the surface— increases that body is said to ,
‘

rise in potential and when the potential is su fficiently

‘

,
'

high the electricity may be transmitted to some other

,

body whose potential is lower D ry a i r 1 8 such a bad .

conductor o f electricity that it is called a non conductor _

-
.

Yet ,given a s ufli cie n t di fference o f potential electri city ,

can f or c e its way across an int erval of dry air In Such

‘

.
 EL E C TRI C IT Y A ND MA G NE TISM 39

a c a s e t h e energy o f the electricity is expended in over

,

coming the re sistance o f the air and is converted in to heat ,

or light according to the less or greater e ffecti v eness o f

the resistance .

Ligh tning a nd Th un d er —If between two points o f di ffer

.

ent potential a non conductor or insulator be interposed

-
,

there is no transference o f current If the insulating .

material bre aks down or is removed sparking takes place , .

The best known insulator is dry air and when under

'
.
, ,

high pressure of potential this breaks down the spark , ,

is visible as a flash of light Lightning is a good example .

of this The electric potential o f a cloud increases as

.

more and more particles of cloud moisture unite to form -

the rain drops ; for the surface of a big rain drop is

-
“
-

smaller than the u nited surface of the particles that

aggregate to f o rm it and there is as mu c h electricity on
,

the one drop as there was on the tiny globules of water

dust *
. When therefore there is a heavy rain cloud in
, ,
-

the sky with dry air between it and the earth we have ,

all the elements necessary fo r sparking on a grand scale .

If the di fference of potential between the earth and the

cloud is su fficiently high to break through the resistance
of the a 1 r the current will be converted into heat and
, ,

the air particles in the track o f the current w ill become

-

w hi te hot The current passes so rapidly from the high

.

potential ( cloud ) to the low potential ( earth ) that the ,

S parking takes t h e form of a flash of lightning The .

intensely heated air expands as the flash passes through ,

contracting again immediately This sudden expansion .

a n d contraction sets up in the air waves o f great ampli

tude along the line o f the flash B u t waves o f alternate .

l l
It is p ro b a b e t h a t t h e e e c t r ic it y w it h w h ic h t h e c o u d s a re
’

l
c h a rg e d is d e r iv e d f ro m e v a a r t h s s ur f a c e ,
’

p o ra t io n g o in g o n a t t h e e

th e v a p o u r a c t in g a s a c o n d u c t o r fro m t h e e a r th to t h e l
c o ud -
l o c us .
40 PRAC TI CA L PH Y SI CA L G E OGR A PHY
compression and expansion produce the sensation of
sound on s triking the ear T h is sound is called th under
. .

S ometimes the S parking takes place from cloud to cl oud ,

giving a di ff er ent direction to the flash The kind o f .

sound the thunder gives d e p e n d S up o n the directio n o f

‘

the fl a sh with regard to the hearer and also upon his

'

distance from the line of flash A s sound travels d u ring

.

a thu n d erstorm at ordinary temperature at about

feet per second and as the fraction of a second that
,

light takes to travel a few miles may be neglected t h e ,

number o f seconds between the flash and the arrival

of the sound is a fair indication of the distance of the
storm centre from the point of observation
-
A fi fth .

of a mile f o r every second b e t we e n t h e flash and the '

thunder is a n ear enough estimate Rain falling from .

a cloud brings down the electricity from the cloud to

the earth again and so equalises the potentials Hence
, .

thunderstorms with heavy rain are usually S hort

Lod esto en —The metal iron in combinatio n with the
.

gas oxygen forms iron oxide There are several oxides

.

of iron each containing the two elemen t s in di fferent

,

proportions On e is the black oxide known as m ag ne tite

.

or l odestone Magnetite is the general name f o r all black

.

oxide o f iron ; but when the magnetite is f ound to have

magnetic properties it is called lodestone Lodestone
, .

IS V e
’

plenti ful in S candinavia and S pain If a bar o t .

‘

lodestone is cut or s h aped so that there is no V isible

di fference between one end and the other the ends will ,

nevertheless differ considerably Take such a bar and

.
'

suspend it by a thread tied round the middle Notice .

that however you arrange the bar or however you swing

, ,

it about it a l ways comes to rest along a c e rt a in l in e

,
'
.

Notice also that if you mark one of the ends with chalk ,

that end always points in the same direction This .

 E L E C TRI C IT Y A ND MA GNETISM 41

line of direction is a north south line and we will suppo s e

-
,

that t h e marked end is the one pointing to the north ,

hence called the north pointing end Now take a second-

.

bar o f lodestone suspend it and find and mark its north

, ,

pointing end S uspend the two marked bars together

.
,

bringing the marked end of one towards the marked end

of the other ; then bring together the unmarked ends o f
.

both ; then the marked end o f one and the unmarked end ,

o f t h e other Notice that in the first and s econd cases

.
,

a s soon as the ends are near enough it requires a distinct ,

effort on your par t to make the bars touch each other .

There is a f orce driving the one away from the other .

We say that the one rep els the other In the third case .
,

however as soon as the ends are near enough you feel

, ,

the bars make a distinct j ump towards each other and

stick together Here then is no repulsion ; f o r this time
.
, ,

an e ffort will be required to separate them U nlike .

ends have the tendency to attract each other to leap ,

towards each other like ends have the tendency to repel

each other to get as fa r from each other as possible
, ,
.

This uniformity of action that unlike ends or poles ,

attract and like poles repel is called the Law of Mag netic
-
,

Attra cti on .

r
A tfi i cial M n
ag e ts — The magnetic properties of the
lodestone may be trans ferred to any piece of steel Take .

a large darning needle and stroke it from point to eye

-

with the lodestone S troking from eye to point will

.

do j ust as well but stroking both ways will be no good

, ,

so take care to lift the lodestone at the end of each

stroke Then by doing with the needle what you have
.

j ust done with the lodestone get its permanent

line of direction ; ( 2 ) mark its north pointing end ; ( 3 ) -

bring it end to end in the several ways with a lodestone

bar— you will find that you have made the needle into a
42 PR AC TI CA L PH Y SI CA L G EO GR A PH Y
magnet remember that attraction alone is not the
. B ut
test for a magnet ; there must be repulsion of like poles * .

Th e Com p a ss need l e —
Procure a compass needle This
-
.
-
.

is merely a magnetised strip o f steel pointed at both ,

ends with the north pointing end marked : Tes t the

,
-

n eedle by the instructions in the last paragr aph ; y o u

will notice that its north pointing end is repelled by t he -

north pointing end o f t h e magnet and attracted by the

-
,

south pointing en d and vice versa Now lay a bar

-
, .

magnet on a table and arrange the compass needle upon

' -

it ( fig .Change the direction of the n e e d le s e v e ra l '

times and notice that it always returns to rest along the

,

F IG . 6 .

line o f the magnet but with its marked end over the
,

unmarked end o f the magnet .

rr ri
Te est a l n i —
Mag e t sm B ecaus e o f its rotation the.

eart h possesses the properties of a huge magnet and ,

so acts upon a compass needle exactly in the same way -

as the bar magnet did in the last experiment The .

poles of the earth magnet do not coincide with the poles

-

o f the a xis of rotation ; or to put it another way the ,

magnetic poles do not coincide with the geographical

poles though they are very near
,
.

l i
Dec ina t o n oi t e C
h om p ass ne
_ e d l e —Take a good sized -
.
-

A m a gn e t is e d b a r of ste e l is s o m e t im e s b en t ro u n d in t o t h e
f o rm o f a h or s e s h o e -
.
44 PR AC TI C AL PH Y SI CA L GEO GRA PH Y
left ( west ) The other is that the angle v a ries in size being
.
,

sometimes actually The conclusion is that the eart h

may be considered as consisting of two magnetic portions
( not exactly h emispheres S ince the straight line j oining ,

the magnetic poles is not a diameter ) in one o f which the ,

compass needle is deflected eastwards and in the other

-

westwards The boundary line between these two parts

.

is not exactly a circle although it passes round the earth

,

from one magnetic pole to the other It is called the .

a g oni c line and along it there is no variation o f the

*
, .

needle S o you will s e e fro m your globe that roug hl y

'

.
,

S peaking ,
Europe A frica and the A tlantic form the
, ,
‘

region of westerly variation ; while A sia the A mericas , ,

and the Pacific f orm the region o f easterly variation .

Lines on a map j oining the places that have the same

variation o f the needle are called isog onic l ines .

Ma gne t c Dip
i —B esid es the eastward or westward
.

declination of the needle there is another Lay a large

.
, .
-

ba r magnet on a table and above it suspend by a silke n,

thread a smal l magnetised needle F irst allow the n eed le .

to hang over the centre of the bar at a height above it

.

a trifle more than hal f the length o f the needle in which ,

po sition the needle will be horizontal Then move the .

suspended needle towards one end o f the bar magnet ,

and notice that one end o f the needle b e gin s t o dip down
until at the end of the magnet the needle is vertical If .

the movement was towards the north pointing end of the -

bar it wo ul d be the south pointing end of t h e needle

,
-

that dipped and vic e versa The same e ffect can be

, ,
.

produced by moving the bar magnet under the suspended

needle Now let the earth take t h e place of the magnet
.
,

and suppose a compass needle to be moved from some -

where near the equator towards the north magnetic pole .

A go n ic wit h o u t an ang e. l
 EL E CTRI CIT Y AND MA GNE TIS M 45

‘
In mos t o f the northern hemisphere the north pointing
' -

end of the needle dips down and in the southern hemi ,

s h e re t h e south pointing end o f the needle dips down

p
r ~ -
.

A t the magnetic poles the needle will dip vertical ly with

“

t h e a p p ro p ria t e end downwards the dip becoming less

~

and less as the needle is brought farther and f art h er from

these poles There is a line lying between the north
.

dipping and the south dipping parts of the earth along -

.

which neither end o f the needle dips a line answering ,

exactly to t h e c e nt re o f the bar magnet T h is line is

s
.

the m agne tic e qua tor F or certain reasons partly a slight .

,

m ovement of the magnetic poles and partly geological ‘

’
changes in the earth s crust the amount o f declination
‘

and of dip varies from time to time at the same place

‘

It is by the dip of the needle that the position o f the

magnetic poles is indicated .

Th e Mag neti c Po l es — The north magnetic p ole was in .

‘

1 8 3 1 discovered by S ir James Ross in the peninsula o f

"B oothia North A merica in lat 7 0 N long 9 7 W
, , .
°
.
, .
°
.
,

j ust ove r 1 0 0 0 miles from the ,

north geog
‘

r aphical p ole .

The south magnetic pole was discovered by S ir Ernest

S h a ckl e t o n s n o rt h e rn s l e d g e party on January 1 6 1 9 0 9
‘ ’ '
-
, ,

in lat 7 2 S l ong 1 5 5 E the U nion Jack be ing

.
°
.
° ‘

hoisted there at m on t hat day A t the north “

p . .

magnetic pole it is the north pointing en d of the needl e that -

dips therefore the magnetism of that pole must be south

,

pointing Contradictory as this may seem it doe s not

.
,

really matter what k in d o f magnetism it may be at the

pole ; it only matters that you should remember that
the pole towards which the north pointing end o f the -

needle is always directed is ca lled the North Magnetic

Pole and the other is call e d the S outh Magnetic Pole
, .

T h ere fore although at the north m agnetic pole there is

,

south seeking magnetism the north end o f the needle

-
,
 46 PR AC TI CA L PH Y SI CA L G EOGRA PH Y

oints to the north ; and similarly with the south magnetic

p
p ole .

Th e A ur or ae In the polar regions occurs a beautiful

.
-

magnetic phenomenon known as the A urora * In the .

northern latitudes it is called A urora B orea lis in the , ,

southern the A u rora A u s tra lis It has the appearance .

of a dark segment of thick cloud rainbow S haped resting ,

-
,

o n th e horizon This dark segment is fringed along its

'

upper edg e wit h a lum i nous a rch o f white tinted w

.

ith ,

g ree n crimson, vio l et and other colours

,
This luminous
, .

arch is p a rt of a luminous ring the lower part o f whic h

~

, ~ ,

is hidden behind the horizon The centre or vertex o f .

,

this ring is exactly over the magnetic pole is sharp ,

edged on t h e inside a n d on the outside expands and

,

s hrinks giving o ff rays o f coloured light which fl utter

, ,

wave and S himmer in all directions o utwards forming

, ,

m ost beauti ful ribbons d ra p ing s and streamers , The , . “

'
auroral displays sometimes last fo r several hours a ri d , _

are of course best and most easily seen in those regions

, ,

that lie nearest the magnetic poles In North A merica .

eas t o f t h e Rockies they are quite easily seen as fa r S outh

as t h e fi ftieth parallel of latitude and the average number ,

observed is about three good displays per f ortnight In .

Northern Europe and A sia the same average o f g o o d i

d isplays is to be seen but only a t p l a c e s within t h e A rctic

’

, ;

Circle In North S cotland a nd in Northern Europe a nd

.

A sia generally as f a r south as the sixtieth p arallel a f e w

‘

good displays may be seen but at t h is d is t a n c e fro m the ,

centre o f activity much o f the brilliance is lost The .

a v erage for this more southerly belt is about forty dis

plays per year The best place in the B ritish Isles f o r
.

seeing the displays is the S hetland Islands ( where they

are called the merry dancers and the b e s t t im e to
“

P l ur a l , a u ro rae .
 ELE CTRI CITY A ND MA GNETI S M 47

see them is the month of O ctober They are sometimes .

dimly visible as f a r south as London ( where they are

call ed the northern lights with occasional displays
of some brilliance to the extent of an average o f two
‘

per year .

Aur oral Th e ory — There can be no doubt now that the

.

auror ae are electri cal manifestations of some kind O f

,
“

the many theories propounded to account for them the ,

following two are the most important In the first .

theory electricity is supposed to ascend in the torrid

zone during inter tropical evaporation and flow to the
-

poles Here it comes in contact at the magnetic poles

.

with electri city of a di fferent potential and this gives ,

rise in the rarefied atmosphere which prevails there to

the electric discharges known as auror ae The second .

theory is that they are due to solar radiation Thi s .

explanation is more generally accepted though it is ,

quite likely that t h e real tr uth is a compound of the

two theori es If you have ever seen a display of radiant
.

energy by a speck of radium you will very easily under

,

stand the second theory This rare metal radium has

.
, ,

the property of sending forth from itsel f a continuous

shower of invisible particles more minute than anything
else in n atur e Though ordinarily invisible they affect
.
,

a photographic plate j ust as sunlight does and they ,

may be m ade V isible by placing in their path a piece

of zinc sulphide S imilar minute particles are flashed
.

off from incandescent carbon and such showers of them

,

are shot off from the glowing carbon in the mass o f the
sun that the whole of space is fil led with them and
, ,

our earth is bathed in them or perhaps more accur , ,

ately is bombarded by them f o r they rush at the earth

,

and past it at the rate o f several t h ousand miles per

—
second These marvellous lit tle particles a thousand
.
48 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

together are scarcely equal in size to an atom of hydrogen

— because they are e lectrical and are attracted by t h e ,
'
common magnet are called e l ectrons , These s olar .

electrons as they enter our atmosphere become visible ;

'

, ,

fo r when they strike the upper layers they are drawn

towards the t wo magnetic poles where they act upon ,

certa in mysterious gases that exist only there and so .

produce the coloured lights o f the auror ae .

E X ER CIS ES
1 . What reasons have we fo r believing that the earth
is a magnet ?
2 . If a magnetic needle be supported so as to move o nl y -

in a vertical plane what changes would be noticed

,

if it were carried from the south to the north pole

and always kept in the plane of the m agnetic
meridian
’
3 . D escribe the mariner s compass and its chief uses .

Wha t do you suppose would happen to the com

pass needle if you held the compass tightly in
-

your hand as you walked up a spiral staircase

-

4 . What is the aurora borealis ? Where is it best seen

and what is its general appearance
5 . What is the cause of lightning and thunder ? D e
scribe a lightning conduc t or -
.

6 . Give an account of the variation of the compass in

di fferent pa rts of the northern hemisphere ( Ox f . .

a nd C a m b High Cert )
. . .

7 . D efine the magnetic meridian at a gi v en place

~
.

°
A t what places is the dip ( a ) zero 90 ( Ox f , .

Jun Loc )
. - :
 CH A PTER VI

Th e So l ar Sys tem a nd th e Universe

TH E whole universe o f sun moon stars and planets is

, , ,

mighty almost beyond comprehension B u t take a large .

sheet o f dra wing paper and upon it draw the f ollowing

-

scheme ( fig . F rom it you may get a working notion

of the meaning o f the things you see in the sky day by
day and night by night together with some idea o f the
,

reasons for their many temporary changes and d is a p

p e a ra n c e s
. F irst divide the paper into squares by f aint

l6

-
I

r
LO —
O

/ I
l Q1 x /
m
I
I

22 I ]
I I
50 P RACTI CA L PHY SI CAL GE OGR APHY

pencil lines 2 inches apart ,

"
i i? x and consider
“
each square
to represent a field or
l
meadow i n the m i ddle of

fi
I

H [ f W t h a b ig bon re ls

1 l
‘
burn i ng M ark t h e b o n .

fires wi t h dots In the ’

x

/ //
A

m i ddle o f each field and

I

n u mber them
a
,
S elect the .

field in the middle o f the

paper and imagine that ,
F IG 8
you and seven other boys
. .

: are going to play in that field S uppose No 2 3 to . .

be the field selected You and your companions each .

,

accompanied by one or more dogs will go into that ,

field and will draw eight circles round the bonfire at

di fferent distances from it Then you w ill all take up .

positions ( B ) as in the diagram above ( fig You .

are to imagine that you have received instructions to

spin on your toes ( walt z) round the bonfire along your
own circle and to train your little dog to run round your
feet all the time Those boys who can man a ge them .

may have two or three dogs You see o f cou rse what .
, ,

a l l this represents The b o nfire in yo u r field represents

.

your own sun those in the other fields other suns You
, .

and your companions waltzing al o ng your circles round

the bonfire represent the earth and the other planets
S pinning along their orbits round the sun Th e little .

dogs that run round your feet as you go along represent

moons You representing t h e earth will have one dog
.
, ,

only A s you spin round you will sometimes have your

.

face to your bonfire ( day position ) and sometimes you

wi l l have your back to your bonfire ( night position ) In .

the day position you will see nothing but your own s u n
52 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GEOGR A PHY
and the ocean currents ( as we shall see later ) The light .

of the sun gives to plants the power o f using the carbon

from the carbonic acid gas that we breathe out and of ,

giving back to us fresh oxygen to breathe in In fact .

we owe to the sun all our food clothing light heat and , , , ,

every form o f energy .

The Plan e ts — Revolving round the sun at di fferent

.

distances all in t h e same direction counter clockwise

, ,
-
,

are a number o f bodies like our earth called planets * , .

Counting f rom the sun outwards they are Mercury , ,

Venus Earth Ma rs TJupiter S aturn Ur anus and Nep

, , , , , ,

tune Each planet rotates o u an axis as the earth does

.
,

and each except Mercury and Venus has one or more

moons revolving round it Mer cury and Venus being .

between the orbit o f the earth and the sun are called
interior or in f erior planets the others are called exterior
or superior B oth Mercury and Venus may sometimes
.

come in a direct line between the earth and the sun ,

and at such times by means o f a telescope with a darkened

,

glass they may be seen to cross the disc o f the sun as a

,

small black spot T h is i s called a transit o f Mercury or

.

o f Venus Mars is a planet not unlike our earth but it

.
,

has been losing its atmosphere and its water much f aster
than our earth has It is sometimes supposed that some
.

kind o f intelligent beings inhabit this planet and that ,

these beings preserve and use their scanty water supply -

by means o f a wonder ful system o f channels or canals

which f orm a complete network over the whole sur face
o f the planet J up i ter is t h e largest o f all the planets
. ,

has eight satellites ( moons ) and takes twelve o f our years ,

Fro m t h e Gre e k p l a n é té s , a wa n d e re r b e c a u s e p l a n e t s
,
ap p ear
t o wa n d er a m on g th e fi x e d s t a rs .

T B e t we e n M a rs a nd J u p it er is a r in g o f a b o u t 30 0 sm a ll p l a n e ts

o r a s t e ro id s .
 THE S OL A R S Y S TE M A ND THE UNIVER S E 53

t o complete a revolution round the sun When seen .

through a telescope belts o f cloud are visible on its sur

,

face parallel with its equator These indicate that the .

planet has not yet cooled down to the temperature o f the

earth Sa turn takes over twenty nine of our years to make
.
-

a revolution o f the sun In addition to having ten .

satellites it is surrounded by a system of rings consisting

,

of a swarm of meteorites revolving round it Ura nus and .

Nep tune take 8 4 and 1 6 4 of our years respectively to

r evolve once round the sun .

Com ets a nd Meteors —The whole o f space is filled with

.

fragments of solid matter varying greatly in size but on ,

the average somewhat larger than a good sized pea A s -

.

the earth revolves round the sun many o f these fragments ,

enter the earth s atmosphere with enormous velocity

’
.

The f riction of the air upon the rushing particles ( meteors )

develops e nough heat to render them luminous They .

begin to glow at a height of about 2 0 0 miles and die out ,

at a height of about 5 0 miles above the earth S ome .

times when a fragment is rather larger than usual it

, ,

does not wholly melt and vaporise but a portion of it ,

known as a m eteori te reaches the earth Meteors revolve

, .

around the sun in swarms along very eccentric orbits ,

and the earth sometimes passes right through a swarm .

This occurred on November 1 3 1 8 6 6 and the only sign , ,

we on the earth had o f the fact was an unusually fine

, ,

”
shower of sh ooting s tars as these meteors are o ften
“
,

called If in a swarm of meteors there is a part where

.
, ,

the particles are packed very thickly together to form a

sort of head such a swarm is called a Com et
,
*
.

Hundreds of meteoric swarms are always revolving

round the sun sometimes in the same direction as the
,

F ro m t h e L a t in co mé tes
'

, a co m e t, f ro m t h e Gre e k '

k o m e, h a ir .

Th e n a m e re f e r s to th e s o - ca ll e d
“
t a il or h a ir
”
of th e co m e t .
54 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

revolution o f the planets ( d irect or counter clockwise ) -

,

and sometimes in t h e opposite direction ( retrogra d e or

clockwise ) O nly those swarms with the distinctly bright
.

dot of condensed light fo r the head and with the dimly ,

l uminous cloud trailing behind f o r a tail are called comets , .

They travel in long ellipses inclined at all sorts o f angles

to the plane o f the earth s orbit Many enter our system
’
.
,

are seen by us for a short time and then disappear for ever
, .

A fe w have their orbits calcul ated and can be depended

upon to return at definite intervals A t the greatest .

distance from the sun at which they a re visible they are

very little more than an indefinite mass of luminous
mist A s they approach the sun the characteristic
.
,

structure of the comet seems to develop in them the ,

head is seen to shine brilliantly and the tail to stream

out away from the sun fo r millions o f miles the whole ,

making some such appearance as would be made by a

mighty rocket rushing through the a ir so far away that
it looked like a slowly moving long streak of light Most
,
.

of the comets whose appearance can be predicted have

names from their discoverers Halley s Comet was the
,
.
’

first to effect a predicted return in 1 7 5 9 it appeared ,

again in 1 8 35 and again as lately as 1 9 1 0

,
.

r
Th e Sta s — The sun with its family o f planets and
.

their satellites plus the swarms o f meteors and comets

, ,

f orms one system B eyond i n the f a r outer expanses

.
,

o f space ( reme m ber the bonfires in the other fields ) are ,

other suns but so tremendously distant that the most

,

powerful telescope cannot magni fy the nearest o f them to

anything more than a big dot o f light These are the stars .

that twinkle in the sky planets being so much nearer ,

to us and not being incandescent bodies do not twinkle

, , .

l
P a nes —.A plane sur face is one such that a straight
line j oining any two points in it lie s wholly in that sur
 THE SOLA R S Y S TE M A ND THE U NIVER S E 55

f ace . Th e
instrument that makes sur faces plane is
called a plane The top of a billiard table is a good
.
-

example of a plane surface so is a shee t of ice on a still

,

pond so ( usually ) is the sheet o f glass forming a shop

,

front It is o ften necessary howe ver to imagine a sur face

. , ,

upon or in which some body moves F or example when a . ,

pendulum swings it swings in a vertical plane i e cuts

, , . .

through t h e air in an im a gin a ry plane sur face If you .

move your arms up and down like railway signals you wil l ,

be moving them in a vertical plane ; if you move them as

”
you would in swimming the breast stroke you wil l be -
,

m o v m g them in a horizontal plane If you fasten a stone .

at the end of a string you may swing it with a circular

F IG . 9 .

mo v ement in any o f the directions shown above ( fig .

In the case of a you would be swinging your stone

in a vertical plane in the case of b in a horizontal plane
, ,

in c and d in oblique planes .

Th e Mo o n — The earth has but one satellite which we

. ,

call the moon We see the moon as a luminous body

.
‘

because it reflects back to the earth the light it receives

fro m the sun ; if we were on the moon we should probably
’
see the earth as a luminous body reflecting the sun s light
in the same way The moon is much smaller than the
.

earth its diameter being to that o f the earth as 1 is to 4

, ,

and its bulk to that o f the earth as 1 is to 6 4 It h a s .

no atmosphere ; for if it had its outer edge would be ,

blurred instead of sharp ; and further it has no water ,

.

It re vol v e s roun d the e a rth a month Th e n umber

56 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

of days in one revolution depends upon whether we time

it from one star round to the same star again or whether ,

we time it from t h e sun In t h e former case we have the

.

si d er eal month o f 2 7 i s
days
“
in the latter case
,
we have the
luna r or syn od i c month o f 2 9 % days The cal end ar month .

is an arbitrary grouping of days so that 1 2 such groups

shall make up 3 6 5 days .

Revol uti on of th e Mo on — A n y night when the moon rises

. ,

note its position with respect to s ome star Next night .

and on following nights again note its position with ,

respect to the same star You will notice that each .

night it gets farther and farther from that star towards

t h e eastern quarter of the heavens This is the proof
.

t h at the moon revolves round the earth .

Place one o f your companions in the middle of an

empty fl o o r— space and then by a shu ffling side step
,
-

move completely round him with your f ace towards him

all the time You must then note the following things :
.

. 1 You have revolved once round him .

. 2 You have in turn f aced every point of the

compass That is you have done something which
.
,

is equivalent to rotating on your own axis once ,

while revolving rou nd your companion once .

. 3 Your companion never had a ba ck view o f you .

This experiment will make you understan d that the

.

moon rotates once while re v olving once round the e arth

and the fact that we always see the same sid e of th e moon
is the proof of it .

Ph ases of th e Moon The different changes in the a p

.
-

e a ra n c e of the moon as it goes round the earth are calle d

p
the p h ases o f the moon Take a cricket ball and paint;
,

one half o f it white and let the white hemisphere re p re

-
,
q

sent that side o f the m o o n re ce iv ing light from the s u n

_

Let th is a i nte d bal l be move d rou nd t h e

( fig .

p
 THE S OLA R S Y S TE M A ND THE UN IVER S E
'

57

class with its painted face always in the direction o f

some obj ect representing the sun While this is being
.

done the boys of the class should during a pause of

, ,

the ball in each of the eight positions draw in succession ,

F IG . 10 .

along a circular orbit the shape o f the painted face they

can see It will be found that the shapes so drawn are
.

like the figures shown in the diagram This experiment .

will explain the changes in appearance from one n e w

moon to another A t position H the sun and moon are
.

said to b e in c onj unc ti on In t h is case the observer on

.

the earth ( represented by the class ) is unable to see the

moon because its d ark s ide is turned tow a r d s him W e .
58 PR A CTI CA L PHYS I CAL GE O GR A PHY

say it is then new m oon A bout four days after it reaches

.
,

position A and t h e earth observer sees the moon as a

,
-

crescent F rom night to night the luminous portion

.

seen grows bigger and bigger ( waxing ) A t position B .

it is in qua dra tur e A t C more than hal f will be visible

.
,

and this is called a gibbous or hump backed moon A -

.

fortnight after new moon ( H ) the moon will be i n ,

position D Sh e is now a full m oon This position is

. .

called op p osi ti on because the sun is on one side of the

,

moon and the earth on t he other F rom this position .

she shows les s and less of her luminous face ( waning ) ,

until at F she is again in quadrature the position known ,

as third or last quarter .

Ec ip ses
l —.Ii the moon revolved round the earth in
the plane of the earth s orbit at position H ( fig 1 0 ) she
’
, .

would be between the earth and the sun she would hide ,

’
the sun s light from the earth and there would be an ,

eclipse of the sun A lso under the same conditio n at

.
,

position D the shadow of the earth would be thrown by

,

the sun upon the moon and there would be an eclipse of ,

the moon B u t the plane of the moon s orbit is inclined

.
’

°
to the plane o f the earth s orbit at an angle of 5 ( fig ’
.

Hence at o p p o s it io n EM l the moon receives and reflects ,

Fl a m e o f eart hs ’
" in ?

F IG . 11 .

to the earth the ligh t o f the sun because it is above the

earth plane and at conj unction the moon being below
-
, ,

the earth plane does not come between the e a rth and
-
,

“
g h a rd .
60 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
takes to pass along its orbit through the umbra cone .

It is obvious that the nearer the moon is to the earth

at the time o f the eclipse the longer will she take to pass

no e cl i s e M l p se
ec i
p .

through the shadow The diagram above ( fig 1 3 )

. .

explains why the O pposition node gives a total eclipse of

the moon ; O pposition nearly at a node gives a partial
eclipse and O ppos ition not near a node gives no eclipse
, .

So ar Ec p ses
l li —Th e sun is eclipsed when the moon in
.

Ec l ips e of S un

Ea rt h

passing direc tly between us and t h e sun temporarily screens

o ff the sun s rays It will be seen from the diagram ( fig 1 4 )
’
. .

that the lunar umbra does not co v er the whole earth .

 THE S OL A R S Y S TE M A ND THE UNI V ER S E 61

The breadth of the

belt that it does
cover varies a c
cording to the dis
tance o f the moon
from the earth at
the time It never
.

exceeds 1 8 0 miles *
.

’
The moon s orbit
is slightly elliptical ,

so that h e r dis
tance from the
earth does vary
slightly ( He r p o s i
.

tion at the nearest F IG 1 5 . .

approach is called her p eri gee her position at the farthest

,

distance her ap og ee ) If the moon at a solar eclipse were

.

in apogee the lunar u m bra wo ul d come to a point be fore

,

it reached the earth and so only the central portion O f the

,

sun would be eclipsed leaving a ring O f light around the

,
’
moon s shadow ( fig This form of eclipse is called
.

the a nnular or ring eclipse Of course only those observers

.
,

situated on a line with the centre

of the shadow see the total and
the annular eclipses Observers .

outside the central line o f the

u m bra belt see only a p ar ti a l
eclipse ( fig It should be .

remembered that since the ,

earth s orbit round the sun is an ’

ellipse the sun as well as the ,

moon is not always the same

FIG 1 6 . . distance fr om the earth W h en .

l
In 1 9 0 5 t h e b e t wa s 1 2 0 m i l es wid e in 1 9 1 2 it wa s
,
on ly h lfa a l
mi e .
62 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRAPHY

the earth is nearest the sun the earth is said to be ,

In p eri h e li on and when f arthest away

, the earth is said ,

to be in a p h eli on Th e earth is in aphelion in June and

.
,

in perihelion in D ecember The di ff erence o f distance .

f rom the sun is about 3 million miles In the early ages .

o f the earth the di ff erence was much greater .

Th e Ear th — The earth is a S pherical body consisting of

.

four di fferent portions In the interior is the practically

.

unknown heavy mass called the cen trosp h ere which f orms
, ,

more than nine tenths O f the total o f the solid globe

-
.

Though very little is known of this centrosphere two ,

things are certain : ( 1 ) it is neither liquid nor in c a n d e s

cent ( 2 ) it is the heaviest and densest portion of the earth
, .

Its composition is entirely conj ectural it being supposed ,

to be much the same as that O f the meteorites ( see p 5 3 ) .

that fall upon the earth from outer space v iz mainly ,

.

nickel and iron Though not actually liquid while con

.

fined within the interior it quickly becomes S O up on ,

removal of the pressure o f the overlyi ng rocks A round .

the centrosphere is a rocky crust o f less than twenty

miles in thickness called the li th osp h ere U pon this .

lies the h ydrosp h ere which consists o f all the waters of

,

the earth the oceans seas lakes ri vers and the waters
, , , , ,

held within the porous substance o f the rocky lithosphere .

A bove the hydrosphere and surrounding the whole

earth is the envelope O f gases called the a tm osp h ere .

Th e Nebul ar Hyp oth esis —

A mong the stars beyond . ,

our solar system are certain cloudy patches O f light

,

called neb ul ae S ome such as the one in the constella

.
,

tion o f Ori on are visible to the naked eye but most can
,

be detected only through a power ful telescope S ome have .

the appearance o f irregular masses o f glowing gas Others

seem to consist of a cloud o f solid particles definitely ar
ranged as spiral arms springing from a central knot ( CK ,
 THE S OL A R S Y S TE M AND THE UNI VE RS E 63

fig . The theory or supposition that our solar system

originated from such a nebulous mass is called the
Nebul ar Hyp oth esis The arms S pringing from the central.

knot ( fig 1 7 ) S how by their spiral formation that t h e

.

whole nebulous mass is rotating about the knot This knot .

is probably a sun in the process o f formation and by a , ,

segregation o f particles into knots in the arms revolving ,

a n d rotating planets may arise A ccording to this theory .

,

our solar sys

°

tem in the be
ginning was
such a nebu
lous m ass o f
gl o w ing gas ,

having its cen

tre where the
'

sun now is ;
extending fa r
beyond the far
t h e s t limit o f
Nep t u n e is
O rbit and
rotating in the F IG 1 7 . .

same direction as our planets now rotate as they revolv e

round the sun Cooling by the radiation O f heat into S pace
.

took place j ust as the earth and the su n are now still losing
,

S p e c t ru m ana ly s is ( se e p . 21) l l igh t g i

Of n e bu a r v es t w o d iff e re n t
a nd d is t in c t re s u lt s, th e c o n t in u o u s ba nd a nd t h e is o l a te d b rig h t
lin es . The c o n t in u o us ba n d wo u d l see m t o in d ic a t e t h a t an a
p p a re n t
nebu a l is re a lly a d ens e —l
s t a r c us t e r : t h e is o l a t e d b rig h t l i n es un

d o u b t e dl y d e m o n s t r a t e the ga seo u s c o n s t it u t io n o f t h e t r ue n e b u ae l .

Th e l a tt er g a s e o us n e b u ae l fl
c o n s is t c h ie y o f n e b u iu m
( a l
n un n o wn k
g a s ) a n d h y d ro ge n .

. . . l
D r V M S ip h e r , in Ma y 1 9 1 4 , s u c c e e d e d in O b t a in in g p h o t o g ra p h s

l
o f n e b u a r s p e c tr a ( in V irg o ) wh ic h s h o w t h e n ebu a l to be ro t a t in g .
64 PRACTI CAL PHY S I CAL GEOGR APHY
heat This cooling led to contraction and in the course
.
,

of time the parent mass threw O ff from its outer parts

successive portions which continued to rotate and revolve
in the original direction Gravity gradually drew the .

mass of the detached portions together into spherical

bodies and these became planets The sun is the re
, .

m a in d e r o f the original glowing nebula round which ,

the various detached planets continue to revolve S ome .

of these planetary sp h eres have themselves thrown O ff

rings which by cooling contraction and concentration
, , ,

became spheres revolving round the parent planet j ust ,

as the moon revolves round our earth In course of .

time the planetary masses o f gas began to solidi fy The .

first to reach the solid stage were ( 1 ) the first portions

detached ( 2 ) the smallest portions detached from primary
,

portions Hence Ne p tune the f arthest distant o f the

.
,

planets and our moon a small secondary body are both

, , ,

cooler than the earth This hypothesis accounts for the

.

intimate relation that exists between the planets and

the sun ; it also accounts fo r the internal heat o f the
earth I f the theory is correct the time will come when
.
,

the earth will be dead and cold like the moon and w h en ,

the sun will hav e lost all its heat .

Revolu ti on of th e Plane ts — When a stone is thrown

into the air it does not rush O ff into space ; it falls back
,

again to the ground The fact is it is pulled back .

,
.

Everything in on and over the surface o f the earth is

, ,

pulled down towards the centre by the attracting f orce

o f gravity Chap II There is the same pull between
( ) . .

the earth and the moon between t h e sun and the earth ,

and other planets as there is between the earth and

,

the thrown u p stone T h is pull really acts both ways ;

-
.

the moon pulls the eart h and the eart h also pulls the ,

moon It is the great di fference in mass between the

.
 TH E S O LA R S Y S TE M A ND THE UNIVER S E 65

earth and t h e moon that gives to the earth the effective

“ '

pull The thrown u p stone pulls the earth j ust as the

.
-
,

earth also pul ls the stone ; but the pull o f the stone is
very insignificant compared with the p ul l o f the earth .

When the planets were first detac h ed from the con

tracting nebula they were so to speak t h rown O ff into
, , ,

space This tendency to fly away from a central point

.

is called centrifug al force They would indeed have gone

.
, ,
‘

right O ff into space had they not b een held in check

by the force o f gravity drawing them to wards the central
knot Here comes in gravity a c entrip e ta l f orce which
.
,
'

compels bodi es to fly towards instead o f away from a , ,

common centre When a horse breaker is training a

.
-

young c Ol t he makes the animal trot round him in a

,

circle at the end of a rope Why does the colt thus

.

re v o l v e a ro u n d the man in a circular orbit The colt

'

w ould naturally like to get away in f act is trying to,

do
so all the time This illustrates centri fugal f orce He
. .

is re st ra in e d b y the rope which repres ents the centripetal

,

force O f gravity Hence he m u s t describe a circle The

. .

same sort of reasoning explains why the moon revolves -

round the earth and the earth and other planets round
,

the sun .

E X E R C IS ES
1 . What different kinds of solar eclipses are possible ,

and how are the di fferent kinds produced

2 . Why do eclipses o f the sun occur so rarely and why ,

are those that do occur so frequently invisible at

Greenwich
Give some account of the nebular hypothesis .

Explain why it is that sometimes one planet is visible

in the sky and sometimes another A re two planets .

ever visible in the S k y at the same time

5
66 PR ACT ICA L PH YS I CA L GE OGR A PH Y

Why is the su n some times red at rising and setti ng

Is a re d sun ever seen in the zenith ?
Why is there not a lunar eclipse every month
D raw diagrams to S how the appearance of any of
the constellations with which you are acquainted
give their names and state in each case the seasons
,

of the year in which they ma y be seen in England .

How are eclipses of the sun caused and why do they ,

o ccur so rarely ? D escribe the appearance of an

eclipse of the sun as seen by an observer on the
earth ( Camb S en Loc )
. . . .

It was full moon on March 1 0 ; on what date

will the next new moon occur ? A t what
hour did the full moon rise on March 1 0 '

and at what hour did it set ? Is the time of the

“
rising and of the setting of the full moon the '

'

same for all seasons of the year If n o t s t a t e the ,

differences .

Explain and illust rate by a diagram ( a ) the p h ases

of the moon ( b) the s uccession of the seasons ( 0 )
, ,

the variation in the lengths of day and night .

If the m oon rises at 6 p m to day about what time

. .
-
,
*

will it rise to morrow

-
How can you tell whethe r
a half moon is at its first or its last quarter ?
What is meant by the terms horizontal plane ,

oblique plane and vertical plane

,
es PR A CTI CA L PH Y S I CA L GE OGR A PH Y

and all the other planets rotate round an axis which is

always the shortest diameter so that ( arguing by ,

analogy ) we may fairly con clude that the earth must

be doing what the others are doing Many experiments .

have been performed w h ich prove the truth of the earth

rotation theory the chie f and most convincing o f which
,

are known as ( 1 ) the pendulum experiment and ( 2 ) the

f alling ball experiment .

m E m —
( )
1 Th e P en d ulu xp e ri en t This was . first do n e by
Jean B ernard F oucault an eminent F rench scientist
, ,

in 1 8 5 1 .B u t the same experiment may b e per form ed

.

by anybody F orm a pen d ulum by attac hi ng a heavy

.

ball to one end o f a long wire and fa stening the Other

,

end of the wire to a ring which is then hung upon a

hook in the ceiling o f the class room U nderneath the
-
.

pendulum as it hangs vertically from the ceiling place

a table To start the pendulum swinging s t e a d ily t ie
.
, _

the weight with thread to the wall and when ready ,

,

fo r the experiment burn the thread

,
F ace the pendulum .

a s it swings so that it swings straight at you and lay a ,

long flat rod on the table exactly in a line with the swing
, .

No w a pendulum once set swinging has no power to

,

change the direction of its swing whatever may happen ,

to the beam or ceiling from which it is suspended B u t .

you will soon find that the swing leaves t h e flat rod and
begins to make an angle with it In hal f an hour the .

angle will be about There fore it must be the table

that is moving and therefore also the earth is moving
,
.

B y dividing t h e number of degrees moved t hrough into

t h e number O f minutes taken you will find that the
,

pendulum changes its plane O f s wm g at t h e rate o f about

1
°
in 5 minutes A n d this if continued woul d mean a
.
, ,

complete rotation o f t h e table In about twenty four hours -

.

To show that it is the earth that is rotating and not th e

 R O TA TI O N , REV O L U TI ON , A ND S E A S O N S 69

pendulum changing the plane of its swing take a teac up ,

‘

or a tumbler o f water and carefully place a wooden

,

match upon the s urface of the water Turn the cup .

round once without shaking the water and it will be ,

seen that the match does not change its original direction .

Hence the rotation of the table made the pendulum

appear to change its swing To show that the rotation
.

of the table means the rotation O f the eart h take a globe ,

and over the B ritish Isles paste a slip of paper marked

with an arrow pointing to the north pole This piece of .

paper may be taken to represent a huge table standing

on the B ritish Isles Now rotate the globe slowly
. .

N otice that the arrow at starting pointed to one wall of

the room and that when the globe has made hal f a rota
,

tion the arrow is pointing to the other side of the room

, .

A t the en d o f a complete rotation the arrow points

aga i n in the original direction Hence we see that the .

r ota tion of the earth means the rotation of the table

’

that stands upon it and vice versa

,
.

l in all Ex ri m n —I has been f ound that

( )
2 Th e F a l g B p e e t t .
~

things dropped down a pit S ha ft do not directly reach t h e

bottom but lodge somewhere against the eastern side The .

explanation is that by the rotation o f the earth all things

at the sur f ace h ave an eastward velocity o f a thousan d
or more f eet per second while nearer the centre the
,

velocity becomes proportionally less and at the centre

‘

nil The falling body as it falls continues its eastwar d

.
, ,

movement with the rotating ear th and not o nly keeps ,

its original velocity but increases it by gravity The

‘

.
,

walls and timbers in the depths o f the sha ft are travelling

more and more slowly eastward than the falling body and ,

there f ore t h e f alling body overtakes the s id e o f t h e sha ft

'

that is east o f it Th e same e ffect may be seen by

.

throwing a ball outwards f rom the western side o f a

70 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

su fficiently high tower The rotation of the earth is

.

the only feasible explanation of this phenomenon .

Da y a nd Nigh t —A s the earth rotate s before the sun

. ,
’
o n e side receives the sun s light the other being in outer ,

darkness The part of the sphere illuminated is havin g

.

day the other part is having night O nly one side of

, .

the earth can be turned towards the sun at once but t he ,

rotation of the earth brings a l l p a rt s in succession into ,

the sunlight The vertical line down the middle O f the

.

illuminated hemisphere is the mid day line and a l l places -

,

on that line have their noon at the same moment Th e .

period of rotation has been divided into twenty four equal -

parts called hours S O that the definition O f an h Ou r is

,

the twenty fourth part of the time taken by the earth

-

to rotate once on its axis .

Rev ol uti on .
—S o far the revolution of the earth round
,

the sun has been taken fo r granted Let us now try a .

simple experiment to illus

trate a method of proving
it A rrange a class of boys
.

in a circle A B C etc , , , ,
.
,

with two boys 0 and P

inside 0 remains station .

ary in the middle of the

ring P walks round 0 ( fig ,
.

A s P who represents ,

the earth walks round 0 ,

-
,

who represents the sun let ,

F IG 1 8
. .
him call out in turn the
names o f the boys A B C , , ,

etc in line with whom he .

,

sees 0 as he moves from P I to P to P 3 etc Al l must 2 ,

.

see at once that if P at P I sees 0 in front o f A at P 0 , 2,

in fro nt of B ,at P , 0 in front of C he must be walking

, ,
 R OTA TI ON , R EV OLU TI ON AND , S E AS ON S 7 1

round 0 . The experiment shows why th e sun observed ,

fro m the earth appears to move in a circle in the heavens

,

amon g the groups o f stars .

Th e Z od i a c and th e Year — The stars Of the sky have

.

from the earliest times bee n divided into groups called

con s te l la tions which have received names from fancy or
,

fable according to their supposed resemblance to certai n

persons animals or things The constellations of the
, , .

northern hemisphere are quite distinct from those of

the southern B etween these and lying along the outer
.

edge of the e x tended plane of the ecl iptic is a ring of

twelve constellations known as the zodia c It is through .

thes e zodiacal constellations that the sun O bserve d from

the earth appears to move B y foll owing this apparent .

path of the sun through these constellations or signs of

th e zod i ac astronomers are able to tell exactly where
,

one year ends and another begins The constellations .

in their proper order appear in the following rime

T h e R a m , th e B u ll ,
th e H e a ve n y T win s ,l
A n d n e x t t h e Cr a b t h e L io n s h in es ,
T h e V irgin and t h e Sc a l es ,

T h e S c o rp io n , A rc h e r, a nd H e Go a t ,
-

Th e Ma n t h a t b e a r s t h e wa t e rin g p o t , -

Th e l
F is h wit h g it t e rin g t a i s l .

The sun enters the Ram on March 2 1 and takes about ,

a month to move through each constellation Un .

fortunately however the sun does not take an even

, ,

number of solar or rotation days to complete his round .

In 36 5 days he has not arrive d quite at his starting point -

,

and it takes about 6 hours extra to finish the course .

We therefore finish our year at the end of 36 5 days and

ignore the e x tra ho urs A t the end of another year we
.

have a further 6 hours ; at the end of 4 years nearly ,

2 4 e x tra hours S O we make every fourth year contain

.
72 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY
36 6 days and call it l eap year The 2 4 hours every
.

4 years is really a trifle too much and to correct this ,

we omit the extra day whenever the leap year falls in

'

the first year of a century whose first t wo digits are n o t

_

exactly divisible b y 4 1 7 00 1 800 , ,

Now either the sun does move eastwards ( as seen

,

from the earth ) among the stars or the earth moves ,

round the sun westwards . Transits of Venus and

Mercury ( see p 5 2 ) indicate the revolution of these
.

planets rou n d t h e sun B y analogy therefore we m a y

'

.
, ,

conclude that t h e earth also revolves round the sun .

Para ll a x —
. On a portion of railway line from A to B '

( g
fi 1 9
.
) let a trolley travel backwards and forwards On .
'

F IG . 19 .

the trolley let there be fixed a t e l e s co p e capable O f rotary

‘

movement in a horizontal plane A t A in o rder to sight

.

t he tower the telesco p e must be turned in the direction

‘
 R OTA TI O N ,
REV O LU TI ON , A ND S E ASON S 73

T I, at B it must be in the direction T TO the observer 2.

on the troll ey as he moves from A to B or from B to A the

tower will s eem to shi ft its position because it is necessary ,

to shi ft the position o f the telesc ope It will be noticed .

‘

that the angle through which the telescope moves is

equal to the angle X formed by the c onverging lines of
direction at th e tower This apparent displacement .

measured by the angle is called the p arallax o f t h et Owe r .

If we know the tower to be a fixture the angle of parallax

is proo f o f the movement of the telescope either f ro m
,

A to B or from B to A .

Pa r a llax a s a Pr oof of Rev olu ti on —

In place o f t h e fixed .
f

tower astronomers make use O f some fixed star Two

, .

quite distinct angles may be measured for parallax The .

’
angle subtended by the earth s diameter at a point in the
heavens is the d iu rn a l parallax of that point ; the angle
subtended by the diameter of the earth s orbit is the ’

a nnua l paralla x Observations o f a star made at O ppo

.

site ends o i a diameter O f the earth S how no diurnal

parallax so vastly distant are the stars from the earth
, .

Even the sun shows no greater diurnal p arallax than

B ut if a star be O bserved at a certain date and agai n
‘

s ix months later it is f ound to su ffer displacement o r

,

parallax ( annual ) F rom the fi rst observation the star

.

continues to move until the maximum displacement

has occurred six months later and then it appears ,

to move back to its former position which it reaches ,

twelve months after the first observation From the .

'

diagram ( fig 2 0 ) it will b e seen that this is not onl y

'

'
a proof t h a t t h e earth re v olves round the sun but also ,

Co m p a ra t iv e ly f e w s t a rs a re s uffi c ie n t ly nea r th e e a rt h to h a v e

ev en an a nn u a l p a ra ll ax . T h e d is t a n c e s o f s t a rs a re e s t im a te d in
l ig h t y
-
e a rs ,
”
a l ig h t y e -
ar b e in g t h e d is t a n c e t ra v e rse d by a

S i d e r e a l ra
y
of l igh t i n a
y ear a t th e ra t e o f
l
m i es p e r s e c o n d .
74 -
PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

veri fi es the time taken F or it is quite clear that the

,
.

eart h moves from E1 to E2 in the s ix months and it ,

must either move in a straight line or along a curve .

B ut if it moved along a straight line it would h ave to

pass either right through the sun or at least quite close ,

thereto We know that this do es not happen We

.
.

know that the earth is never more than miles

nearer to the sun at one time than at another i e 3517 of
‘
1
, . .

the radius of its orbit A n d so the concl usion is that

.

the earth moves from E1 to E2 and back again along a

closed curve .

F IG . 20 .

(FS F ix e d S ta r)

Th e Seasons a nd th e Eff ect a round flat

of Axis til t -
.
-
In ,
°
board bore sockets at an angle of 2 3 5 from the vertical
in the positions marked 1 2 3 4 ( fig , A t S in , , .

t he centre of the board bore a verti c al candle s o cket -

.

A lighted candle placed in this socket will represent the

sun ; a ball painted white with a pin thrus t through as ,

at B will represent the earth and by moving this ball

, ,

from socket to socket through 1 2 3 and 4 the four , , , ,

c h ie f o s it io n s of the earth in its orbit may be S hown

p
‘

The experiment sho ul d always take place in a semi

76 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY ”
t

S phere do the rays have to shine t h rOixgh and there ,

f ore the smaller is the amount o f heat absorbed b y

the atmosphere before the rays reach the earth .

2 The higher does the noon day sun climb into

.
-

the heavens and there fore the more is the light and
,

heat received by the earth .

3 The greater is the cosine of the angle of incidence

.

o f the rays and there f ore the greater is the intensity

,

O f the heat received by the earth

*
This is wh y .
,

when the north pole is at its full t ilt towards the sun
( position it is summer in the nor thern hemisphere
and why smee at the same time the south pole is at
,

its f ull tilt away from the sun it is winter i n the ,

southern hemisphere When we move the mod el .

earth from position 1 to position 3 i e to the oppo , . .

Site point O f its orbit , we noti ce that the poles have

changed their p o s it io n wit h respect to t h e sun The ‘

north pole is now turned away from the sun and is

pointing into space ; while the south pole is pointing
towards the sun What was true O f the northern
.

hemisp here in position 1 is now true O f the southern

=

an d vice versa T h e whole revolution round the sun

.

takes twelve months There f ore Six months a fter .

'

the northern midsummer day and southern mid

winter day come the southern midsummer day and
northern midwinter day Midway between these .

t w o positions i e at positions
,
2 and 4 on opposite
. .
,

sides O f the orbit are the intermediate seasons of

,
'
spring and autumn spring to the hemisphere passing ,

f rom winter to summer and autumn to the hemi ,

sphere that IS passing from summer to win t e ru

Th e Sea sons —The seasons comm en ce at the solstices
.
‘

Th e l a w of i ll um i n a t io n is t h a t il l u m in a t io n is
’

p ro p o rt io na l
to th e c os in e o f th e a ng e ofl in c id e n ce ,
”
z
 ROTA TI ON , R EVOLUTI ON AND , S E A S ON S 77

and equinoxes B y common usage however June 2 1

.
,
.

, ,

which is really the beginning o f the astronomical summer ,

is called midsummer day probably because it falls about ,

the middle of the year D ecember 2 2 is called mid .

winter day whereas astronomically it is the firs t day

,
.

o f winter .

A t the equinoxes ( fig 2 1 positions 2 and 4 ) we see that .

,

the light dark line i e the line dividing the light hemi
-
, . .

sphere from the dark lies along a circle passing through both
,

poles ( This is not easily seen except in a semi darkened

.
-

room ) This means that at the equinoxes every place on

.

the earth gets twelve hours day and twelve hours night
at one rotation This equ al ity howe v er does not con
.
, ,
.

t in u e ; for as soon as the earth has passed these points

in its orbit ; the inequality of day and night recommences .

The changing O f the seasons then is due not alone to , , ,

the revolution of the earth round the sun but to the ,

revolution combined with the m p e Of the earth s axis ’

.

The least variation between hot and cold seasons occurs -

within the tropics the greatest amount in regions beyo nd

,

the tropics Within the tropics the variations are not

.

between a summer and a winter but ( usually ) betwee n a ,

wet and a dry season If the axis were upright the only .
,

change in season anywhere on the earth would be the

change caused by the earth being farther from the sun
in one part of its orbit than in another This di fference .

does exist ; f o r the sun is in aphelion on July 1 and in ,

perihelion on January 1 The inclination o f the axis .

more than makes up f o r the farther distance of the earth

when our pole is tilted towards the sun and so we get ,

our summer in aphelion B u t the southern hemi sphere .

will get its summer in perihelion What di fference does .

this make to the southern summers ?

TO sum u p — Rota ti on causes the apparent rIs m g s
.
78 PRACTI CA L P HY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
and settings of the sun each day and thus causes day a nd ,

n ight Revolution alone cau ses the sun to ap p ear to

.
‘

move eastwards a mong the fiXe d stars and the annual ,

parallax o f certa in fixed stars ; revolution p lus the in ~

clina tion of th e earth s a xis causes different lengths of d a y

’

and night and the succession of the seasons through

,

the year .

E X ER C IS ES
1 . Why is it colder in winter than in summer
2 . D escribe fully an experiment by which t h e rotation
O f the earth can be demonstrated .

3 . Give an account of the variations in the length

of a day experienced at the north pole London , ,

and the equator throughout one ye a r , D raw .

diagrams illustrating the apparent path O f t h e

sun during midsummer day at each of these places .

4 . Give an account of the apparent movement of the

—
stars depending upon ( a ) the earth s rotation on ’

’
its axis ( b) the earth s revolution round the sun
, .

Ro t a t io n g iv e s day and night ; revolution gives

'

5 .

”
the s easons S how that this statement does
.

not contain the whole truth .

6 . Explain why in our islands there are long nights a nd

short days in th e winter m onths but short nights ,

and long days in the summer When are the hours .

of daylight and of darkness equal in number ?

7 . Point out how the movements of the earth enable
us to measure days seasons and years S how , ,
‘

how the length of daylight varies at the A rctic

Circl e in the course of a year ( O
'
x f a n d Camb . . .

Lower Cert ) .

8 . Explain as clearly as you can how the apparent

height of the noonday sun abo v e the southern
 PR A CTI CA L PH Y S I CA L GE OG RA PH Y .

( i the number o f hours the sun is above the

. e . .

horizon ) on D ecember 2 2 and June 2 1 at the

f ollowi n g places ( a ) A berdeen ( latitude 5 7 N )
°
.

D
°
b
( ) unedin ( latitude 4 6 A ccount f o r the
di fferences O bserved ( Ox f S e n Loc )
. . . .

Explain each of t h e following : ( a ) How day b e

comes night ; ( b) how winter becomes summer
( )
0 how two places on,
the same meridian may
h a v e d iffe re n t times at the same moment ( College
. .

o f Preceptors ) .
 CH A PTER VIII
La titud e

Determ ina ti on of La titud e .

—D istance is always measured
’
on the earth s surface in degrees and therefore the , ,

latitude or the distance of a place north or south O f

,

the equator is always reckoned in this way TO deter

, .

’
mine one s latitude it will be found necessary to have
s om e instrument
whi ch will measure
the angular dis
tance of the sun
above the visible
horizon F or this
.

purpose a sexta nt is
g e n e ra ll y e m p l o ye d .

There are several

modified forms of
the se x tant suitable A
for school work .

A mong these is the

A nglemeter w h ich ,

has only one re

fle ctor With it
.

F IG . 23
.

readings may be
taken to one de
l
Th e An g e m e t e r is m a n u f a c t ur e d a n d Z s o l d by Me ss rs W
. .

3 . . l
Ge o rge , L t d , Gre a t Ch a r es S t re e t , B ir m i n gh a m .

6 81
82 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY
gree . F or those who want to obtain more accurate O b s er

a more e x p e n sIv e instrument fitted with two

v a t io n s ,

mirrors may be O btained ( see fig This consists of a .

rotary arm EG free to move about the sector A B C which

, , ,
°
is graduated in degrees fro m 0 to A vernier scale is
attached to the rotary arm at G by whic h readings to a ,

minute may be rec orded To use this instrumen t some

.

“ o r i zo n l a l‘

be a m f ro m
l a n te rn

FIG . 24 .

'

kno wledge O f the principles of O ptics is required If a .

h orizO nt a l beam o f light is c ast upon a mirror resting

in a vertical position the ray o f light will be seen to be
,

sent back horizontall y Tilt the mirror until the in

.

d ic a t o r I ( fig 2 4 ) has rotated through

. as shown in
the diagram and the beam will now be seen to be reflected
,
°
along 6 0 on the graduated a re It is clear that the .

of a d e g re e .
84 PR ACTI CAL P HYS I CA L GE OGR A PH Y

along it to coincide with another divisio n on the a rc of

the sector If the vernier reads to a tenth of a degree
.

on the arc of the sector then the angle observed is that

,

marked on the arc Of the sector plus fif th Of a degree If .

the second vernier division coincides with a division

on the arc of the sector then the angle is that m arked ,

on the arc plus fif ths of a degree and so on for all the ,

divisions on the vernier .

With an artificial horizon ( see p 8 7 ) the altitude of .

the Pole S tar at night and the sun at mid day may be
,
-
,

measured Knowing these angles the latitude o f any

.
,

place may be found by applying the rules proved later

on in this chapter .

Determina ti on of La ti tude a t th e Equinoxes A t the .

-

equinoxes ( March 2 1 S eptember 2 3 ) the sun s position

,
’

at noon is directly over the equator To an O bserver .

standing on the equator ( latitude zero ) the sun woul d

appear in his zen ith that is directly overhead and the
, ,

angle of its elevation above the horizon would therefore

be To an observer at either pole ( latitude
the sun woul d appear on the same date low do wn on the
horizon and its altitude Would be zero Reasoning in
, .

°
the same way an observer in latitude 8 9 would see the
,

sun at noon 1 above the horizon F rom thi s it is clear

°
.
,

that if the sun s altitude at noon above the horizon for

’

any place be known and subtracted from the latitude

of the place will have been thus obtained We may easily .

adduce a geometrical proof of this rule but be fore doing ,

so we must have a clear idea of certain geographical

terms In the diagram ( fig 2 5 ) if W represents our
. .

position on the earth s surf ace then the point Z is termed

’
,

our zeni th and Z W on being produced through the earth s

,
’

centre ( 0 ) points towards our na dir The tangent S V .

represents our hori zon that is the plane through the

, ,
 L A TIT UD E 85

place parallel to the surface of standing water or per

,

p e n d ic ul a r to a plumb line.The latitude of W is the

number of degrees in the arc WT the angl e WOT .

’
The sun s alti
tude is shown
b y the angle
the line drawn
in its direction
m ake s with
W V and the
,

angul ar dis
t a n ce b e t we e n
the sun and
the zenith is
called ze n i th
dista nce .

The path
that the earth
follows in its
course in the
heavens dur
ing the year
is call e d its
orbi t and the
,

plane in which
t h e earth s ’

orbit lies cuts

the plane o f
t he e qu ator
at an angle
of 2 3 g This
.

plane is called the p l a n e o f the ec lip ti c B ecause the

'

plane of the ecliptic does not coincide with the equator ,

the inclination o f the earth s a xis toward s the sun change s

’
86 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

from time to time during the year so that the sun ,

appears to move some distance north and south o f the

equator The points on the ecliptic where the sun seem s
.

to make his turn and come back towards the equator are
called the s ol sti ces and the points where the sun crosses
,

the equator are called the equinoxes .

Imagine F ig 2 6 to represent the earth and tha t X

.
,

is a point on its surface the tangent TT l represents the

F IG . 26 .

horizon at X and QQI the equator The lines .

QIS ,

which are assumed to be parallel because of the great

distance of the sun from the earth represent the directi o n
,

O f the sun as seen from X and Q r espectively at the equ i

noxes Now since XS is parallel to QLS or OS and CX

.
,
1
,

intersects them the angle Z XS the angle XOS t h a t

“

1
,

is the zenith d Is t a n ce of the sun equals the latitude of

X We cannot in practice t ake an obs er v ation of o ur
.
88 PR A CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE O GR A PHY

diagram the angle S XZ the a n gle YXZ Therefore .

the angle S XZ e quals half the angle S XY On the se x .

'
S un s
a l t i t ud e

FIG . 27 .

tant described on pp 8 1 —4 however the graduations are

.
, ,

a lr eady marked as do u ble the angle between the mirrors ,

°
so that if the arm is turned fr om the 0 position through
it will be f ound that the reading on the scale is
— It l k
’

Ca u ti on is d a n g e ro us t o oo a t th e s un with t h e n a ke d eye ,

A sm a ll l l l
p ie c e o f c o o ure d g a s s s h o u d a wa y s b e l p l a ce d o ve r th e

p in h o
-
le k
o r s igh t wh e n t a in g O b s e rv a t io n s .

Lat itude a t t e Solsti ces ,

h —
T h is will d iffer ac cordi ng a s the
sun is ( a ) nort h or ( b) south of the equator .

( ) A
’
a t the summer solstice the sun s declinatio n or
its distance north of the equator is Its directio n
a s seen from X and P ( fig 2 8 ) will be represented by
‘

th e lin es XS a n d PS respectively Th ese lines a re

1
.
 L ATIT UD E 89

assumed to be parallel because of the great distance

the sun from the earth .

The la titude of X x oo,l ( fig . 28 )

P oo1 XOP

a P OQl Z XS (
1
since X S 1

p arallel to OS , and OZ intersects them ) .

Also S XT, zx s
°
I
90 1

Z X‘S
'
S XT I
1 °
2
"

90 I

S XT 1
°
The latitude of X 90 l
POQI
Hence the latitude of X at the su mm er sol stice equals
° ’
9 0 m in us the sun s altitude p lus the sun s declination
’
.

This rule holds any day in summer and the ,

F IG . 28 .
90 PR ACTI CAL PHY S I CAL GE OGR APHY
’
sun s declination may be found by consulting Whitaker s ’

”
Almanack If such an almanack is not available a very
.
,

n ear appro x imation can be arrived at by assuming that

there is a change of declinat i on of in about 9 1 days ,

gg g 47 o
t e
. the change per day
.
,
very nearly i
91 1 82
Fo r e x ample the declination
, 2 days after the s ummer

4 2

FIG . 29 .

sols tice ( 2
2 3 3 2 x i) n
f or 4 days b e f ore the
winter solstice the declination ( %
2 3 4 x i)
T h is fails as an accurate guide because ( owing to the
’ ’
ellip tical S h ape O f the earth s orbit and the earth s unequal
velocity in di fferent parts of its course ) the di fference per
day is very slight as the sun nears the sols t i ces and is corre ,

sp o n d in gl y greater near the equator .

92 PR ACTICAL PHYS I CA L GE O GR A PHY

F IG . 30 .

and since th e angle TXS ] represents the Pole S tar s ’

altitude above the horizon the angl e S IXZ represents

,

its zenith distance.

No w the latitude of X XOQl

S OX
°
90

B u t S OX S IXZ ( since
. 0 X intersects
the parallels OS and XS l ) .

S IXZ
°
the latitu d e O f X 90

S l XT the Pole S tar s ’

altitude above hori zon .

 LA TIT UD E 93

Hence the latitude of X is equal t o t he alt itud e o f th e

Pole S tar above the horizon This angle may be deter
.

mined with the sextant in the same way as that described

in taking observations of th e sun .

( )
ii If it be desired the,
latitude of any place m a y b e

found equally well by t aking O bservations of any star ”

with the se x tant In fig 3 1 let X represent a place in

. .

a n y latitude Z the zenith o f the place and the parallel s

, ,

XS I OS the direction of the star as seen at X and 0

,

respectively .

Then the latitude Of X X0 Q1

X OS S OQl

Z XS l S OQI

F IG . 31 .

P rovid e d th e s t a r c h os e n is on t h e m e rid ia n .
94 .
PR A CTI CA L P H Y S I CA L GE OGR A P H Y

Therefore the latitude O f X is equal to the zenith

distance o f the star p lus the star s declination The ’
.

zenith distance may be obtained with the sextant by

’
observing the star s altitude above the horizon and sub
tracting it from The declination of the star may be
”
O btained by consulting Whitaker s Almanack in which ’
,

the declination is given to the fraction o f a second .

La ti tud e Di agra m s — It is well to have some definite

method for drawing latit ude diagrams in order to prevent
con fusion The following suggestions obviate possible
.

errors .

1 F irst draw LD ( see figs

. 28 the light d a rk .
-

line v ertically through the centre O f the circle ~

2 Then draw the axis either thus

. f o r the northern
winter solstice or thus fo r the northern summer
,

solstice bu t making an angle o f 2 3 5 with LD

,
°
.

3 Then the equator at right angles to the axis

.
,

A n d the ecliptic at right angles to the LD .

4 With this con v en ti on always mark t he sun s rays

’
.

o n the ri h t O f the circle

g .

5 However if the axis be drawn indi fferently thus

.
,

or thus mark the sun s rays in the f ormer case lef t ’

for summer right for winter in the latter case righ t f o r

,

S ummer and lef t for winter always counting northern ,

seasons .

EX ER C IS ES
L A TIT U D E
“

ON

1 Draw a graph to g ive the sun s declinatio n fo r ’

‘

any day in the year by choosing two ordinates

On e o f w
-
hich is d ivided into 1 2 equal divisions
re p resenting t h e mo nths of the year ; the other
into div isions representing the sun s maximum ’

dista nce above and below the equator To .

draw the curve the sun s declination fo r the first day

’
96 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

Where are the TrOp ic o f Cancer and the A rctic

Circle What do they indicate
What di fference would be made to the climate
’
of Londo n if the earth s axis were inclined to the
°
ecliptic at an angle of 4 5 instead of
What deductions can be made from O bserving
throughout the year the positions and lengths o f
the shadow ( cast by the sun ) o f a vertical stick
placed on a horizontal stand ?

E XERC IS ES O N THE US E OF TH E S EX T A N T
Draw a plan of your playground by means of the
sextant and a chain and thence calculate its area
,
.

O f the play
[ A ngles f ormed by the boundaries
ground should be measured by the sextant a t each
corner and the lengths of the boundary fences
,

chained ] .

Choose a convenien t base li ne a nd determi ne the

-

distance betwe en two inaccessible O b j ects visible

at its extremities by aid of the se xtant .

[ D raw i n g to s cale or using trigonometrical formul ae

ma y be employed ] .

Find the latitude o f your school ( a ) at night by

Ob ser v atio n O f the Pole S tar ( b) during the day by
,

O bse rv ation of the sun at twelve O clock

’
In the .

l a tter ea s e use a n artificial horizon .

D etermine the height of your school bu ildings by

choosing a base line drawn at right angles to the
-

school Wall and finding the angles of elevation o f

,

the t o p of the school as seen at bot h ends of the

line .
 CH A PTER IX

Lon g i tud e a nd Time

Determ ina ti on of Longi tu d e —

Th c longitude
a p la ce
. Of

is the angle between the plane O f its meridian and that

of the meridian of Greenwich It is measured by the .

angle subtended at the centre O f the earth by the a re

cut off by these planes on the equator We are enabled .

to calculate this distance at any place on t h e earth s ’

surface because O f the relation existing between time and

longitude Time is reckoned by observing the sun F or
. .

example when the sun appears directly over any meridian

, .

I
it is noon at all places S ituated on that meridian In other .

words every place may take it s time from the appearance

,

o f the sun over its meridian Time thus calculated is.

styled l oc a l time We know that the earth rotates on its

.

axis once every 2 4 hours so that any p l a c e on its sur face

,

will describe a circle in that time F rom this it is clear .

that 3 6 0 degrees rotate in 2 4 hours or 1 degree in 4 ,

minutes A ssuming that the di fference in time between

.

any two places is known their a ngular distance apart

,

may be ea sily calculated by using this knowledge The .

only diffic ul t mat t er is the practical determination of the

—
times of the two places a di fficulty that is increased
l ock
because every place has two distinct times ( )
a c

tim e
,
b
( ) l oca l time Clock time is
. also spoken of as
Gr eenwich m ea n tim e . while local time at Green
wich which is taken from solar observations a n d known
, ,

7 97
98 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRAP HY

as Greenwich ap p aren t ( or real ) tim e di ff ers from

the local time at any other place by the time corre
s p o n d ing to the longitude
* These times di ffer because o f
.

the obliquity
of the e cl ip
tic and the ,

elliptical
S hape o f the

eart h s orbit ’
.

The di fference
between the
two is called
the equati on
of tim e It is .

cl e ar h ow ,

e v e r ,
th a t
when we are
engaged fin d
ing local noon
from observa
tion o f the
sun we can ,

only express
the ex a c t
moment Of
local noon by
F I G 32
aid O f a watch
. .

whic h records
Greenwich mean time This time must be converted by
.
‘

using the equation of time into Greenwich sun time or

In 1 9 1 6 P a rl ia m e n t p a s s e d a n A c t ( re n e we d in 1 9 1 7 a n d 1 9 1 8 )
d e cre e in g t h a t in t h e p l
s u m m e r m o n t h s ( A ri 1 t o S e t 30
p ) C iv i.t im e l
s h ou ld be one h o ur in a d v a nce o f GMT
. . . In o th e r w o rd s ,
n o on sh o u ld
b e fix e d b y t h e m o m e n t t h e s u n c ro s s e s th e m e rid ia n o f 15
°
E .
10 0 PR A CTI CA L PHYS I CA L G EOGR A PHY
The mean of equal altitudes
9 hr . 5 0 min 1 0 s e c . . 14 hr . 34 min . 30 se c .

hr 1 2 min 2 0 se c
12 . . .

O ur watch was f ast by Post Office time 4 m in

Noon by G M TZ 1 2 hr 8 m in 2 0 sec 3
“

. .
: -
. . .

Equation of time (J a n 1 s t ) “
m in . .

Noon b y . 1 2 hr 5 min 2 0 Se c i e t he . . .
,
.
‘

G reenwich time when the sun appeared directly over

t h e meridian o f Newbury In other w ords Gree nwich . .

noon is later than local noon by 5 minutes 2 0 seconds :

”

Hen ce the longitude O f Newbury is wes t o f Green wich

'

A di fference in times o f 5 min 2 0 sec . .

di fference In l o ngi t ud e,
°
since _
longitude
1 4 minutes di fference in time
20 W
' °
Longitude o f Newbury 1 ,

Determm a tion of Long i tud e —

( ii ) Every large ocean
‘
~
.

going vessel carries three chronometers keeping Gree n?

.
wich mean time to ensure the correct reading Of t h e
times . Th e purpose served in carrying t h ree is to
‘ -

enable the navigating O fficer O f the S hip to detect the

slightest error in the time kept by any one o f them by ,

comparing it with the o t h e r t Wo If b y any p ossibl e

‘

-
'
.

han e they all t out f d he can as a last resourc e “

c c ge o o r e r ~

d eterm i ne h is longitude fro m O b S GI V Rt IO Il o f the rmo on

'
' ‘
f

with the sextant The moon makes a com p lete c ir cui t

.

in the heaven s from east to west in days Th e "

“

an gular distance it is away from a ny important st a r on

any night may be obta ined f rom the n autical a lm anac ,
“

the Green wic h apparent time c orresponding to I the .

angular distance being placed in a column o pposite Now ,

.
,

if the angular distance between the moon and the star ,

be ascertained with the se xtant th e Green wich app arent ,

 L ONGIT UD E A ND TI ME 101

time at the time and place o f obser vati on is readil y

"

ob t ai ned by noting the time g i ven i n the column opp osite

this angle in the almanac : The longitude of the pl ace
is t hen cal culated in t h e ordinary way by subtracting
the two times and conver ting the difference into angular
measurement .

Dete m a ti o
r in n i
of D s tanc es — S ince t h e m e rid ia n s co n
.

V erge towards the poles the length o f a d egre e of

.
,

lo ngitude bec omes less as we le ave t he equator a n d .

ap proac h A t the equator t h e le ngth o f one

d e g re e o f longitude is about 6 9 1 5 s tat ute mile s, at
,

°
latitude 5 0 the length of one degree is a b o u t z4 4 55 statute '

miles while at the poles it is zero It is clear therefore

that we should have so m
, .
, ,

e method o f calcul a ting i n miles

the distance b e tween two places when their latitude
and longitude are given In such cal culations we may
.

consider the earth to be a p erfect sphere and that t he

length of a de
f latitude
‘

g rc e o

in miles is con
s tant A ssuming
.

this to be so we
'

need only con

sider two cases
in determining
t h e distance b e
tween any two
places o n the
’
earth s surface .

— i when t h e
( )
two places are
»

situated on t h e
same parallel o f
latitude but a re F IG 33 . .
102 PR A CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE OGRA PHY

in different longitude ( 1 1 ) when the two places are not ,

on the same parallel of latitude nor on the same meridian .

( i ) A ssume that the earth is a true sphere with 0 as

centre ( fig N A S and N B S two meridians cutting
.

the planes a bD and A B C at right angles The angle p .

subtended at E by the arc a b is equal to the arc a b and ,

the angle r subtended at 0 equals the arc A B S ince .

the plane A B C represents the Equator the length o f the ,

arcs NA N B is each , A lso the lengths of the cir

c u m fe re n c e of any two circles are proportional to their

radii There fore

.

ab bE AB BO

2; 23 if;
1
sin bOE

bN ) bN
°
sin cos ( 9 0
of cos bB
arc
ab A B cos bB
That is the distance between two places situated on
,

the same parallel of latitude equals their difference in

longitude ( A B ) as measured along the Equator multi
,

plied by the cosine of their latitude ( cos bB ) measured

along a meridian In order to arrive at the distance .

between the two places in statute miles the result obtained ,

on solving this equation should be multiplied by 6 9 1 5

—
miles the length o f a degree o f longitude at the E quator .

The rule which we have j ust enunciated is called the

Cos in e Ru le and its use may be clearly seen from the
,

following exercise .

D e t e rm in e t h e d is t a n c e in s ta tu t e mi l es b e t w e e n Ca r is l l e and

Vi l na . Th e l o n g it u d e o f l l
Ca r is e is 3
°
W .
,
of Vi l na 25
°
E .
,
l
wh i e

b o t h t o wn s a r e s it u a te d on ll l
t h e p a ra e o f 5 5
°
N . l a t it u d e .

T h e d iff e re n c e of l o n g it u d e b e t w e e n Ca r is e l l and Vi l na 3
°
25
°

T h e ir l a t it u d e 55
°

T h e d is t a n c e b e t we e n t h e m d iff . of l on g . x co s la t .

°
28 co s
104 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

The distance cos L ) x/l ( D

z
2 2

where l di fference in latitude in degrees

D 2 di ff erence in longitude in degrees
L average latitude .

In the triangle ABC ( fig ) AB AC BC or

2 z
. 34 ,

AB 2
BD AD BD 2 2
cos ll B B 2
BC 2
. AC A IB 1 ,

2 A I B 1 cos Z2 where ll 12
are the latitudes of A and B
, , .

A nearer approxim ation to A B is given by taking th e mean 2

v a lue between A C and B D t e A , B 1 cos L or D cos L ,

. . .

Calculate the dis tance in st atute miles between Notting

ham and Neuch atel Nottingham is situated in latitude
.

5 3 N l ong itude 1
°
.
,
W ; Neuch atel in latitude 4 7 N
°
.
°
.
,
°
longitude 7 E .

°
D i ff erence in latitude 53
° °
D iff erence in longitude 1 7
53 47 °
‘

A verage latitude A

50
2
Cosine 5 0
°
0 64 28 .

D istance between Nottingham and Neuch atel

( 8 cos antilog ( 9 0 31 18 081 )

antilog

D istance in miles between Notting h am and

ch atel antilog ( 1 8 39 8 5 x
antilog ( 2 7 37 5 5 )
5 4 6 5 miles .

The distance between Nottingham and N euch atel

5 4 7 miles ( appro x )
 L ONGIT UD E AND TI ME 1 05

E X E R C I S ES ON L O N GIT UD E
A scertain the longitude of your sch o ol by the metho d
explai ned in the chapter .

Calculate accurately the length of a degree of longitude

in miles a t London ( lat 5 1 5 .
°

F ind the approximate distance of two places one ,

on the Equator in east longitude and the

°
other in north latitude 33 and east longitud e
( Coll o f Preceptors )
. .

Cairo ( Egypt ) is 30 N lat 3 0 E long

° °
How far
. . .

is Cairo from the Equator and what is the clock ,

time there when it is noon at Greenwich ?

'

Why does th e length of a degree o f longitude di ffer

so much in various parts o f the world ?
A rrange the f ollowing places in two columns : ( 1 )
th ose having noon before Greenwich ( 2 ) those ,

having noon after Greenwich D o not look at .

your atlas till the columns are complete A ber .

deen Ipswich B arcelona P e t ro p a u l o v sk F ij i

, , , ,

Islands Gibraltar Honolulu Lagos S t Helena

, , , ,
. .

Explain using one or more diagrams

,
correction ,

”
for parallax E
[ g .l n taking observations
. . of
the moon for longitud e ]
When it is p m on the meridian
. .of S ydney
( C ape B reton ) what is the
,
time at Greenwich ?
Explain the following terms making the distinctions ,

between terms in the same group quite clear

( 1 ) S olar d a y m ean solar day sidereal day
-
.
, ,

( )
2 M ean time apparent time
,
local time ( 3 ) ,
.

Clock time Greenwich time sundial time

, ,
.

Calculate the approximate distance o f two places in

°
miles one o f which is in nort h latitude 2 0 and
,

east longitude while the other is in south

106 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CAL GE O GR A PHY
°
latitude 30 and ea st longitude ( Coll of .

Preceptors ) .

If the tim e at Vienna be p m where is it . .

,

midnight and if at Constantinople the time be

,

a m . where is it noon
.
,

A steamer sails from S a n F ra n 0 1 sc o to Yokohama

in 8 0 0 hours At W hat rate will a watch on board
.

gain
Wh at is the equa tion of tim e and what use is made ,

o f it
”
What is meant by the expression standard time
Explain why ships carry chronometers keeping
a standard time for the purpose o f determining
their longitude ( Ox f and Camb S c h Cert .) . . . .

’
When it is 1 2 o clock in London what is the time ,
°
in two places one o f which is in 4 5 east longitude
, ,
' °
and the other in 7 5 3 6 west longitude Explain
the reason f o r this difference .

D efine
“
latitude and longitude What in st ru “
.

ments are used on board ship to determine latitude

Explain ( in their simplest f orm ) the observations
which are taken and the calculations which have ,

to be made ( Royal Irish Constabulary Cadets )

. .

17 . The result o f a cricket match played by an English

team at Melbourne in A ustralia ( longitude about
145
°
which only finished at 6 p m was known . .
,

here early in the same a fternoon Explain this . .

( Camb Jun .Loc ) . .

18 . How c an the length of a degree of longitude be found

mathematically say at a latitude o f 6 0 degrees ? ,

What is the distance round t h e earth along the

parallel o f 6 0 degrees ? ( Coll o f Preceptors ) . .

19 . Explain what is meant by saying : ( a ) Naples and

Prague have the same longitu de ( b) B irmingham .
108 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
and eas t lon gitude while the other is in south
latitude 3 0 and east longitud e
°
( C oll of .

Preceptors ) .

What do you understand ( a ) by th e sun cro ssing -

the meridian ( b) by Greenwich time ?

,

A man tra v elling from London to B e rl in no t ice s

on his arrival that there is a di ff erence of o ne hour .

between his watch and German ti me How is this

"

The longitude o f B ombay is 7 5 2 0 E o f °

.
’
.

Charlestown 8 0 4 0 W What ti me is i t at each

° ’
.

o f these places when it is noon a t Gree nwich ? .

( Civil S er v ice ) .

F ind the approximate distance in mile s between ‘

two places one in 4 0 N l atitu d e an d 3 E

,
°
.
°
.

longitude and the other in 5 0 S latitude and

,
°
.

C o f Prec ep to r
°
1 5 0 W longitude
.
( oll s ) . . .

Explain why the le n gth of a degree o f latitude is

nearly the same in all latitudes while that o f a ,

degree o f longitude dimini shes as latitude in

creases ( Ox f Jun Loc )
. . . .

Explain how one s position may be determined b y

’

observation of the moon .

How can the distance in miles near Lon don be found

between ( a ) one parallel o f latitude and the next ,

( )
b one meridian and the next ? What are the
approximate distances ? ( Coll o f Preceptors ) . .

What is longitude an d how does it a ff ect time ? ,

’

What would be the local time and day in Japan

“

°
( )
°
( time of 1 4 5 E ) and Jamaica time o.f 7 5 W .

corresponding to Greenwich mean time 6 p m . .

Monday ? ( Camb Jun Loc ) . . .

Explain how you would find t h e Pole S tar ; and how ,

having f ound it you could determine your ,

latitude ( Camb S e n Loc )

. . . .
 LONGIT UD E A ND TI ME 109

When it is noon at Greenwich what time will it be ,

at 3 0 S 30 W and at
°
.
, N 1 60 E
°
.
, W h at .
,
°
.

will be the height o f the sun at local noon at these

two S pots on June 2 2 ( O x f and C amb Sch . . .

Cert )
.

If the time on the top of a hill be 6 p m when it is . .

noon at Greenwich in what longitude is it ? If ,

t h e sun be v ertically overhead on June 2 0 what ,

is its latitude ?
( Civil S ervice ) .

A t a certain place on D ecember 2 5 the sun attained

its maximum altitude which was at p,
m .

Greenwich mean time The declination o f the .

sun on th e day in question was 2 3 5 S F ind the 0

.

latitude a n d the long itude of the place where the

observations were made ( Camb S e n Loc ) . . . .

D escribe any simple method by which you could

determine approximately the latitude o f the place
you live in What is the highest point above t h e
.

horizon reached by the sun in latitude at ( a )

midsummer ( b) midwinter ? ( Camb S e n Loc )
,
. . .

What is meant by the terms nadir and zenith

A t what part o f the earth would an observer see
the Pole S tar in his zenith ? ( Ox f Jun Loc ) . . .

A ship which sails from London to New Z ealand

,

round the Cape of Good Hope makes no change

in its calendar but while returning to London
,

round Cape Horn the calendar is altered by one

day so as to agree with the English reckoning °

Why is this done ? ( Camb Jun Loc ) . . .

4 0 ; On June 2 1 the altitude of the sun is t h e direction

sout h What is the latitude and what woul d be
‘

the altitude at noon on D ecember 2 1 ? ( Camb .

J u m Loc )
.
~

.
 CHA PTER X

Sh ap e a nd Size of th e Ear th

TH E earth is a round or spherical body Many well .

known proo fs h ave been advanced to prove t h is Of .

these that which appears to be the most conclusive is

,

the result of an experiment actually performed on a

s ix mile section of the Old B ed ford Level which j oins
-

Earith on the Great O use to D enver This Ol d Level .

is a strai ght stretch o f still water and most suitable ,

fo r the test of the sphericity of the earth Midway .

between D enver and Welney a pole ( 1 5 feet ) of the ,

Same heig h t as the parapet o f Welney B ridge was fitted ,

On a raft . B y t h e aid o f a tel escope a mark o f the same ,

height on D enver B ridge was sig h ted from the top of

,

Welney B ridge a nd the pole was found to be 6 f eet

,

above the line of vision That is the top of the pole

.
—

did not come into the line o f vision till it was lowered
6 f eet below the level o f the telescope .

Ear th an Obl a te Sp h eroi d — A lthough the above e xp e ri

.

’
ment establishes the earth s rotundity it does not in any ,

Wa y give us a clear idea o f its exact shape From the .

triangulation o f geodetic surveys arcs o f meridians have

been measured in di fferent latitudes and from the ,

di fferent lengths on the surface o f the earth of arcs o f

1 it has been concluded that the true shape is that o f an
°

obla te sp h er oi d
. Geologists account for this by su pposing
that the earth in its earliest st a g es was a viscous body
1 10
112 PR A CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE O GRA PHY

N . p o LE along the Equator ,

( )
b along a meridian .

In computing the
length o f the equa
t o ria l circum f erence of
the earth two points
A and B ( fig 3 5 ) were .

chosen some distanc e

apart on the Equator .

The times when a

certain star appeared
over the meridians ,

NA S NB S ,
were ,

noted This was done .

by taking observ a
tions of the star with
the theodolite Now .

from the difference b etween the times o f each observatio n ,

the number o f degrees in the arc A B was readily com ;

p u t e d and
,
the distance in statute miles between the point s
A and B was then measured by the theodolite by mean s
of triangulation In the diagram it is seen that
.

A re A B length o f A B in miles
360 length o f E quator in miles
°

A
f : 3B
6)
Hence the Equator r
m l les .

The actual calculation resulted in t h e l ength of the

e quatorial circumference being thus f ound to be about
miles Co nsequently t h e length o f the equatorial
.

diameter ”
miles approximately or more ,
71

accur a tely miles .

Exp erim en t r n
o f E a tosth e es —
Eratosth enes a librarian
. ,

of Al e x a n d ria ( 2 7 6 —1 9 6 one o f the most l earned

‘
 S H A PE A ND S I ZE OF THE E A RTH 113

men of antiquity was practically the fo u nder o f scien tific

,

geography He was t h e first to attempt the accurate

.

measurement o f the size o f t h e eart h B e fore h is time .

it had been shown by Eudoxus ( called by Cicero t h e

Prince o f A stronomers and other astronomers that
the earth was globular They pointed out that when a .
,

man travelled northwards stars w h ich when he star ted , ,

had been low on the horizon were seen to rise hig h er ,

and higher in the sky and stars which to start with ,

were overh ead appeared to go down and occupy a lower

,

position towards the south T h is they rig h tly too k .

to be a clear proo f that the sur f ac e o f the earth was

curved They however made the earth t h e fixed
.
, ,

centre o f the universe Many guesses were made at .

the circum ference o f the sphere A ristotle fo r ex .

,

ample mentions the conclusion arrived a t by a certain

,

mathematician whom he does not name to the e ff ect

, ,

that the circumference was stadia which at 1 0 ,

stadia to the mile is miles B u t Eratosthenes .

attempted something more than a guess He made .

careful measurements and care ful calculations B eing .

*
in formed that at S yene ( now A ssouan ) a certain well
was at noon on the day of the summer solstice always
, ,

completely lit up from top to bottom he concluded ,

that S yene was on t he northern tropic and that there fore ,

’
the sun s zenith distance at that time would be zero .

He measured at the hour o f noon of the summer solstice

the zen ith distance of the sun at A lexandria and found
it to be 7 That is the arc o f the angle M ( 7
°
,
°

P r o fe s s o r J o h n G a rs t a n g f e w y e a rs a g o d is c o e re d in Eg yp t
a v
a n o bser va t o ry a t th e b o tt o m o f a n u n d e rgr o u n d b a t hi n g e s t a b is h l
m en t . I t wa s a co p y of th e we ll a t A s s o ua n . On th e W a ll s the

a s t ro n o m e r h ad l e ft som e of h is l l
ca cu a t io n s , a nd h is s e rv a n t had
l eft s om e d ra w in g s of h is m a s t e r a t wo r k .

8
11 4 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
arc of
the angle B OZ S ( fig .which represented t h e
stadia from A lexandria to S yene Hence by pro .

portion

a t A l e xa n d r ia
Z e n it h a t S ye n e
FIG . 36 .

x 36 0
Circumference of earth stadia
e
x 36 0 x 5
stadia
36
stadia x 50
stadi a
miles ( 1 0 s ta dia
1 mile ) .

This was indeed a result very striking in its gen eral

accuracy when it is remembered t h at his calculation
involved several errors
i His angle was too large ( S e e diagram o f
. .

apparatus fig , .
116 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
observed by Eratosthenes A later estimate made by the
.

Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy about 1 6 0 A D gave the . .

circum f erence o f the world as miles Th e error was .

caused by his taking 5 0 geographical miles as the length

o f a degree instead o f 6 0 That is if he w a s in f ormed
.
,

by sailors merchants explorers etc that the distance

, , ,
.
,

between two places was 5 0 miles he would mark those ,

places on his map as one degree apart The consequence .

o f this was that the distance on Ptolemy s map — which

’

Columbus used — between Western Europe we s t wa rd s t o /

Eastern A sia was reduced to about one third of the total -

circum ference of the earth whereas it should have been

,

two thirds
-
This is why Columbus so naturally con
.

cluded t h at after his voyage o f about miles he had

reac h ed India .

Th e Polar Circ um f erence — The polar circum ference of

t h e earth has been thus calculated : The di fference in
altitude of two places X and Y ( fig 3 5 ) situated on the .

same meridian was first of all determined by means of

—
taking observations o f a certain star say the Pole S tar
with the theodolite at each place The dis tance in .

statute miles between X and Y was next measured with

the theodolite by means o f triangulation .

arc X Y length o f X Y in miles

Th en °
meridian 3 6 0 length o f meridian in miles .

X Y >< 3 6 0 °

Length of m e rl d i a n m l les
arc X Y
.

Thus the length of the p o l a r d ia m e t e r has been com

i

p u t e d to be 7 8 9 9 6 miles an d the di fference between t h e

,

e quatorial and polar dia meters is there fore , ,

2 7 miles .

Ear th Mea sur em ents — Knowing the radius of the earth

.
,

l
T h e m a p us e d b y Co u m b u s w a s re a lly th a t of T o sc a n e ll i , wh ich
wa s b a s e d u p o n t h e e rro r o f P t o e m y l .
 S HA PE A ND S I ZE OF THE E A RTH 1 17

and neglecting the small di fference between t h e equatorial

and the polar diameters we are thereby enabled to make
,
’
some interesting calculations respecting the earth s di
’
m e n s io n s If we assume the earth s radius to be
.

m iles then the area o f its sur face

,
4 7 4 (4 000 ) 7r
° 2
7r ,
2

16 x 10 6
square miles T h e area o f a .

hemisphere 1 8 there fore 2 x x 1 6 x 1 0 square 6

m iles.

O n every globe representing the earth we find meridians

and parallels o f latitude drawn thereon These lines .

assis t us in determining positions on the sphere and ,

facilitate measurements and calculations F or example .

,

any two meridians enclose an area called a l un e whose ,

sur face area may be determined from the following

proportion
The area o f lune area o f sphere angle o f l une 36 0 °

area of S p h e r n gl e o f lune
Hence area o f lune a gg o
c

( The angle o f the lune is the angle between the planes o f

the two meridians bounding the l une It is measured .

by the angle subtended at the centre o f the sphere by

the arc o f the e q uator between the two meridians ) .

The value o f this formula may be seen in the

f ollowing exercise S uppose we are asked to find the
.

area o f that portion o f t h e earth s surface enc lose d ’

°
between two meridians 1 5 apart Then the area o f .

surface required
X 15 '

sq . m i l es
36 0
4 x x 16 x 15
sq m i les
0

36 0
.

4 x X 2 X 10 6

sq . l l l l l CS
3
x 10
6
) sq . m iles .
118 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

O ther eart h measurements which depend upon the

determination o f its radius are its volume and it s mass .

The volume o f a sphere There fore the volum e

of the earth 3
,
2 x < 6 4 x 1 0 9

about cubic miles .

B u t since the mass d e n s it y x volume we can find ,

the earth s mass when we have determined its density

’
.

Th e Densi ty a nd W ei gh t of th e Earth — A bout one hundred

years ago Cavendish determined the earth s density by ’

what is styled as the torsion balance experiment He -

.

fix ed two small leaden balls to the ends o f a light rigid ,

rod a nd suspended the rod by a fine silver wire attached

,

to its centre Two large leaden balls a foot in diameter

.

were then brough t close to t h e small balls so that their

attraction tended to twist the fine wire In this way .

the small balls were pulled out o f their original position

and the amount o f deviation measured The weight .

o f the small balls was a measure o f the earth s attraction

’

upon them and since t h e distance o f the small balls

,

from the earth s centre was known the mass o f the

'
’
,

earth was estimated from the known mass o f the two ‘

large leaden balls Experimenting in this way Cavendish

.
,

calculated the earth s density to be ’

that is , slightly
over 5 4 times an e qual volume o f water The experiment .

of Cavendish has been repeated many times by sub

sequent physicists and it is important to note how
,

remarkably consistent are the values obtained The .

average o f the nine most reliable values is which

di ffer s by very little indeed from Cavendish s result ’
.

Now the volume o f the earth has been sta ted to be about
cubic miles and the weight o f a cubic
,

mile o f water is about tons There fore .

the earth s weig h t’

tons .
 1 20 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
‘

diameter o f the earth its va lue may be neglected when

,

taken with it T h en
.

AT 2
AP 27 °

AT Vii
The value o f 7 is in miles and°

of h in feet so that the

,

equation may be stated

h
32 8 6
h
— X 8000
BEE0

/
3h
AT 2
N 2 ( approximately ) .

F rom t h is we obtain the f ollowing rule and a : One

h al f times the height in f eet o f the place of observation
above sea level is equal to the square o f the distance o f
-

the horizon in miles .

To find the dip o f the horizon as seen from a given

w
elevation

Tan 0 .

Tan a
e
N/
3h
( approximately ) .

E X ER C IS E S
1 . D escribe t h echange in t h e apparent positions o f the
Pole S tar as an observer moves from the Equator
to the North Pole How does the change o f position
.

help us to determine the S ize of the earth

 SHA PE A ND S IZE o r TH E E A RTH 121

If with the naked eye an observer can s e e an obj ect

three miles distant with a suffi ciently power ful
,

telescope he could from the same point o f observa

”
tion see an obj ect six miles distant IS this
.

statement true ? If it is what bearing has it

,

upon the theory of the earth s S phericity ?

’

3 . If two plumb lines were suspended from a horizontal

-

pole at a distance apart o f 6 feet would they be

,

parallel
i
iv D escribe a method of measuring the C i rcum ference
of the earth .

5 . The earth s S hape is an oblate spheroid Give at least

’
.

two scientific proo fs to establish the truth o f this

statement .

6 . How may it be determined by measurement that t h e

earth is not S pherical ?
 P A RT II

THE A TM OS P HERE

CH A PTER XI

Na tur e a nd Consti tu ti on of th e Atm osp h er e

Hei gh t of —
th e Ai m B y
atmosphere we mean the world
of vapour The common nam e f o r atmosphere is air
. .

The a i r surrounds the whole earth covering both land ,

and sea and reaching upwards to an unknown height

, .

This atmospheric envelope is the region in which are

formed the clouds where occur the lightning and the
,

thunder and where originate winds storms and tempests

, , , .

No limit of height can be fixed for it indeed its height

above the earth may be considered to vary accordi ng
to the point o f view To the aviator seven miles seems
.
,

to be about the limit since beyond that height it is so

,

thin that it will not support life B etween 1 8 6 2 and .

1 8 6 6 James Glaisher an English meteorologist made

, ,

twenty eight balloon ascents fo r the purpose o f studying

-

the upper air and on one occasion reached a height o f

,

over seven miles In June 1 9 1 3 Messrs B ie n a im é and

.

S chneider wearing an oxygen apparatus ascended more

, ,

than six miles D uration o f twilight depends partly

.

up on the angle at which the sun s rays strike the atmo ’

122
 1 24 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

by touching it with a re d h o t wire Replace the stopper

s
.

immediately and watch fo r a rise o f water under the :

bell j ar A t first the water will S ink a little because the
-
.
,

air expands under the heat o f the burning phosphor us .

S oon it will commence to rise steadily A s soon as the

’

phosphorus has ceased to burn and the j a r has become

cool measure how much o f the former air S pace inside
,
-

the Ja r is now filled by the risen water You will find .

it to be about one fift h F rom t h is you will see that

-
.

something has been taken from the air and that this ,

something ( which was a gas that supported the combustion

o f the phosphorus
) occupied one fif t h f the volume of
‘

o -

the air The gas in question was oxyg en Let the bell
. .
'

j ar stand till all the white fumes ( phosphorus pentoxide )

have disappeared from view F our fift h s o f the S pace
.
-

1 n s 1 d e the j ar is still occupied by an invisible gas Pour .

water into the trough outside the j ar until it re a ches

the level o f the water inside the j ar Remove the stopper .

and with a d e fl a gra t ing spoon introduce a fresh piece o f

b urning phosphorus .It ceases to burn Put a lighted .

match care fully inside the j ar It at once goes out It . .

is plain then that the gas that occupies t h e remaining

, ,
'

four fift h s o f the s p a c e in s id e the j ar will not support

-

combustion This gas is ni trogen

. More accurately .
,

the proportion of the one gas to the other is

parts by volume o f oxygen to parts by volume
o f nitr o gen in every 1 0 0 parts by volume of air The .

remaining parts consist o f carbo n i c acid gas water ,

vapour together with traces o f other gases

,
There .

is a S light variation in the ratio o f nitrogen to oxygen

in di fferent localities There is a diminution in the
.

percentage o f o x yge n in large towns because o f the in

creased percentage o f other gases such as carbonic acid ,

gas breathed out by the inhabitants and such as the

, ,
 CON S TIT U TI ON OF THE A T MOS PHERE 1 25

fumes from factory chimneys In crowded rooms t h e .

carbonic acid gas breathed out by those present lowers

t h e percentage o f oxygen as does the e Sc a p c o f imprisoned ,

rock gases in caves and mines In foggy weat h er the .

large amount of water v a pour present has the same e ffect -

.

The function o f the nitrogen is to modi fy or dilute the

action of the oxygen which if present alone would be , , ,

too power f ul fo r the support o f animal li fe .

B esides these two chie f gaseous ingredients there is ,

in the air a varying small quantity of carbonic a ci d g as

( carbon dioxide ) which though small in ,
quantity is of
great importance In 1 8 9 4 it was discovered by Lord
.

Rayleigh and Pro fessor ( now S ir William ) Ramsay that

about 1 per cent o f what in the air was supposed to .

be nitrogen is really a new substance so much like nitrogen

in every respect that until then it had e scaped detection .

This gas they named argon In 1 8 9 8 Pro fessor Ramsay .

announced the discovery of traces of a further new con

s t it u e n t in the atmosphere This he called krypton . .

This like argon and nitrogen is a very inert gas S ince

, , .

then small traces o f other gases such as helium neon , , ,

xenon and niton ,

have been discovered but their ,

f unctions are not yet clearly known .

It wo u d l s ee m fro m t h e p a p e r re a d a t R o m e in J u n e 1 9 1 3 b y
S ir W ill ia m R a m s a y t h a t t h es e m o re r e c en t ly d is c o ve re d con

s t it u e n t s o f th e a t m o sp h e re a re l
in t im a t e y c o n n e c t e d wi t h h y d ro g e n .

l
A t h o u gh t h e y h a v e h it h e r t o l
b e e n re g a rd e d a s e e m e n ts , t h e y s h o u d l
be l k
oo ed up on as com p oun d s of h y d ro g e n w it h o th er l
e e m e n ts .

F or ex a m pl e, h e h as o b t a in e d a rg o n f ro m h y d r o ge n a n d s ul p h ur
by sub m it t in g t h e m , in c o n ta c t , to t h e a c t io n o f t h e c a t h o d e r a y s .

S im i l ly
ar h e h as m a d e k ryp t o n f ro m h y d ro g e n a nd l
s e e n ium ,
a nd

Th e n a m es of t h e s e g a s e s in d ic a t e t h e u n c e rt a in s t a t e o f o u r
k l
n o w e d ge of th e m n e on , s o m e t h in g new ; a rg o n , s o m e t h in g

in a c t i v e ; kryp to n , h id d e n ; x en on , s o m e t h in g s t ra n g e
s o m e t hi n g

n i ton , wh ic h is p o ss ib y in t eln d e d t o m e a n s o m e t h in g s h in in g .
1 26 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
h as c a us e d h y d ro ge n y g a nd
e n t o u ni t e t o f o r m n e o n
ox H e iu m . l
l
in a l l p ro b a b i i t y m u s t b e r e g a rd e d a s a p o y m e r o f h y d ro g e n , l
t h a t is , i t c o n s is t s o f t h e s a m e k
in d o f s t u ff b u t w it h d iff e re n t p ro
p e r t ie s wh ic h m us t b e a t t rib u t e d e it h e r t o t h e d iff e re n t d e n s it ie s
l
( h e ium b e in g f o ur t im e s a s d e n s e a s h y d ro g e n ) o r t o in cre a s e d
m l
o e cu a r l co m p l e x it y .

r n i
Ca bo D o d exi — Carbon dioxide is a tasteless odour
.
,

less gas t h a t n e it h e r burns nor supports combustion

,
.

It is the same as the choke damp so o ften present in -

mines It is present in the atmosphere to the extent

.

o f about 0 4 per cent Air containing over 7 per cent

. .

o f this gas would be a fatal poison and would produ c e in

sensibility and death The presence o f t h e gas in the air

.

may be proved by experiment Place a shallow dish o f .

lime water in the open air fo r a fe w hours A t the end

-
.

o f t h is time there will have f ormed a thin solid film of ,

carbonate o f lime upon the surface o f the water The .

c arbon dioxide of the a ir has combined with the lime

in the water to f orm this solid Take a tumbler of lime .

water and breat h e into it through a glass tube The .

water instantly becomes milky and this condition is ,

due to the f ormation o f carbonate of lime and proves ,

the presence of carbon dioxide in the air breathed from

our lungs Place a growing plant ( a small lettuce pl a nt
.

will do ) in a shallow dish o f water and c over it with a ,

stoppered bell ] ar F ill the j ar with carbon dioxide

-
.
,

and be fore replacing t h e stopper introduce a lighted ,

—
taper it is instantly extingu is h ed Expose the apparatus .

fo r a few hours to the suns h ine

-

A gain introduce the .

lighted taper This time it will burn in the j a r This

. .

shows t h at t h e growing plant has used up some o f the

original carbon dioxide and has giv en out in exchange ,

some oxygen Hence growing plants puri fy t h e atmo j

.
,
-

s phere by extracting the carb on dioxide and by reta ining ,

1 28 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
and seas especially in warm latitudes the conditions
, ,

are f avourable to saturation o f the atmosphere B u t .

into regions where the air would otherwise be dry moisture ,

may be brought by winds that bl ow from the ocean .

The presence o f water vapour in t h e air can be easily

-

detected and the vapour itsel f removed by the following

,

method Place a little dry chloride of cac um In a watch

.

glass and balance it in a pair o f scales The chloride

,
.

o f calcium absorbs water vapour f reely from the air The

-
.

gradual f alling o f the scale pan S hows that the chloride of -

calci u m is becoming heavier by this absorption o f vapour .

S ubstances like chloride o f calcium and sulphuric acid that

are capable o f taking up moisture from the air are called
h ygro s c 0 p ic The presence o f water vapour in the air
.
-

has the e ffect of keeping the earth warmer than it would

be if there were none F or although the vapour acts as
.

a screen between the earth and the sun during the day ,

at night this same screen prevents the earth from giving

o ff its heat into space .

If saturated air be cooled it can no longer hold all its

V apour and a portion o f it changes back to water
,
This .

process is called cond ensa ti on If condensation takes .

place at a temperature above freezing point tiny globules -

,
'
o f water are formed ; but if the temperature be low
enough m i nute crystals o f ice are formed instead If
,
.

it were not for this process o f condensation not only ,

would the whole atmosphere be in a state o f permanent

saturation but there would also be a permanent d im in u
,

tion of t h e sur face waters of the earth corresponding

-
,

to the amount permanently in t h e atmosphere : Evapora

tion and condensation are h owever t h e two processes , ,

which underlie the great circulation o f the waters o f the

earth . B y evaporation water is taken up f rom every
ocean sea lake and river as vapour ; by condensation
, , ,
 CONSTIT UTI ON OF THE A TMOS PH ERE 1 29

f ollowed by precipitation as rain sn ow and hail it returns , ,

to the earth to fill again the rivers lakes and seas , , .

—
Dus t in th e Aim B esides th e gaseous matter in t h e air
there is a solid constituent w h ich is present in such ,

minute particles that its presence is us ually overlooked .

The general name for these solid particles is d ust B ut .

when we speak of the dust o f t h e air we do not re fer ,

to t h e temporary clouds o f V isible and o ffensive frag »

ments stirred up by motor cars hig h winds carpet -

, ,

beaters and ot h er unpleasant agencies There is b e

, .
,

sides this a fairly constant invisible solid con s tituent

, , ,

o f the air whic h may be called m ic rO S CO ic dust or dust

p ,

motes The sources of this dust are many W h en wood

. .
,

coal or vegetable refuse o f any kind are bu rned t h eir

, ,

carbon disappears as carbon dioxide but not quite all , .

S ome particles of carbon rise in the air and float away in

the form o f smoke Hold a piece o f glass over the flame
.

of a candle and watch it become covered with black

particles of solid carbon ( soot ) A volcanic eruption .

( see C hap XXVI ) fills

. the air f o r thousands o f miles
with m icro s c O p ic dust Many flowers disc h arge large
.

quantities o f microscopic p ollen dust into the air Millions -

.

o f meteors
( see Chap VI ) enter the atmosp
. h ere every
day and broken up by frictional combustion become
, , ,

invisible dust This extra terrestrial dust has the special

.
-

name of cosm i c dus t The air dust from various sources

.
-
,

but especially from coal consumption accumulates in ,

’
large towns to such an extent that the sun s rays are
O ften effectually obscured Its dangerous accum ulation
.

is however stopped by ( 1 ) its settling down by gravity

, , ,

( 2 ) showers o f rain which by removing the dust freshen

, , ,

and puri fy the air Over the ocean t h ere is generall y

.

less of this dust than over the land ; over highl ands
t h ere is generally less than over lowlands .

9
1 30 P RA CTI CAL PH Y S I CAL G EOGR APH Y

E X E R C IS E S
1 . F rom what sources is carbon diox ide passing into the
air ? How do you explain the fact that the
average quantity o f carbon dioxide in the air
d oes not increase ?
2 Why is it dangerous to re m a in n e a r the mouth o f a’
’

lime kiln
-

3 . What is the d ifference between a compou nd and a .

°

mixture What reasons are there fo r believing

~

that the oxygen and nitrogen o f t h e air are merely

mi xed together ?
4 D es cribe four experiments : one to prove tha t air .

contains oxyg en a second that it contains nitrogen ;

,

another that it contains carbon dioxide and a ,

fourth that it contains water vapour

-
.

5 . What are the chief sources of dust motes in the air

-
1 32 PRA CTI CA L P H Y S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

venting the too rapid loss of dark heat radiated from

t h e eart h ( see p The air itself is mainly
.

warmed indirectly from t h e sun by the dark heat

rays radiated from the earth and in part by direct ,

contact with the warm sur face o f the earth The air .

heated by contact expands rises and mixes with the , ,

cooler air above warming the upper air by convection

‘

, .

The air Inside a glass house is heated almost entirely by

-

radiation Luminous heat rays from the sun pass through

.
-

the air to the glass which may be considered to act to

,

t h e interior o f the house as the screen o f water vapour -

does to the lower air above the earth then through the ,

glass to t he floor o f the house There they are absorbed .

and radiated as dark heat rays which because th e g l ass is

,
-
, ,

a th erm a nous are kept imprisoned in the house and warm

,

t h e air within The land surface of the earth is a better

.

absorber and a better radiator than the water surface

°

so that while the summer sun is shini ng the air o ver all ,

land surfaces is warmer than that over the water surfaces ,

and at night the air o v er wat er surfaces is warmer th a n

that over the land surfaces In winter the conditions are .

reversed D uring the long days o f summer in temperate

.

l atitudes the heat absorbed by the continental masses is

far in excess of what is radiated during the short nights .

S o that towards the end o f summer there is a stored u p

,
-

accumulation of heat which makes the end of summer

hotter than the middle The opposite process of chilling .

by radiation is even more marked towards the end of the

long days of winter especially over the land mass of,
‘

t h e Eurasian continent resulting in severely low tempera ,

tures in Eastern S iberia ( see p A ll the light heat .

rays that reach the l and sur face are not absorbed some
are reflected as light rays which may be absorbed a n d -
,

ch anged to heat by other bodies after reflection Thus .

,
 TE MPER A T U RE A ND PRE SS U RE O F A IR 1 33

S ince dark coloured rocks and soils are go o d absorbers

-

a nd radiators ( see p the air itself over regions

.

like the south west o f Russia and the D eccan of India is

-

warmed by radiation of heat from the black soil *

B ut .

the air over light coloured soils such as sandy deserts

-

and chalky and limestone regions is not much warmed

by radiation because most of the solar light radiation
,

is reflected from such surfaces as light A pers on .

travelling in such a district in bright sunshine would be

almost blinded by the reflected light and if clothed in ,

dark coloured material would feel great heat not S O much

-
,

from hot air as from the absorption by his clothes of

radiated light reflected from the light coloured soil
,
-
.

B ecause of this di fference between the radiation of dark

’
heat and the reflection of light heat from the earth s sur
fa ce atmospheric temperatures should always be taken in
,

th e s h a d e so as to get the actual temperature of the air

,

without complicating the result by the e ffect of reflected

li ght rays that might be absorbed by the thermometer
-

itsel f .

Eff ect of La ti tu d e a nd El eva ti on — S ince the solar rays

are nearly vertical within the tropics that belt of the ,

earth will obviously have the most heated atmosphere .

Generally speaking the atmosphere becomes cooler as

,

we go farther from the Equator because of the diminishing

angle o f the solar rays This is otherwise stated by saying
.

that temperature varies with the latitude ; but as we ,

S hall see that is a very imper fect account of the conditions

,

of varying temperatures In fig 2 2 the heating power . .

of beam A being more vertical is much more coneen

, ,

t ra t e d than that of B The same diagram S hows t h e .

di fference between t h e concentrated heat of noonday

T h is e ffe ct is a p p a re n t e v e n th ou
gh t h e d ar kc l-
o o ure d 8 0 11 be
co vered wit h vege ta tio n .
j 1 34 PR A CTI CA L PHY S ICA L GE O GR A PHY

( A ) and t h e dispersed heat o f evening ( B ) The differ

“

ence between the temperature in equatorial regions

and that at the poles is a case of h orizon ta l d is tribu tion .

There is also a v ertica l d is tribu tion The layers o f the .

atmosphere nearest the earth are naturally the warmest

for three reasons F irs tly because the lowest layers
.
,

are in nearest contact with the warming sur face of the

earth and so have a source o f warmth t h at t h e upper
,

layers benefit by o n ly through the c o nvection of this

heat S econ d ly on high mountains a traveller b eing
.
,

nearer to the sun receives t h e light heat radiations from -

the sun more intensely than he would down in the valley .

He gets more easily sunburnt there and photographic ,

plates require less exposure there In spite o f this how .

,

ever the a ir in these upper regions is colder than down in

,

the valley for the air at a h eight being rarer and lighter
allows a more rapid loss of radiated dark heat rays ( see -

p. The air there f o r the same reason o f rarity con

, ,

tains less water vapour ; therefore less of the dark solar

-

rays are d irectly absorbed and there is less screen checking

‘
-
,

o f heat rays escaping from the eart h

-
The air in a plain
.

on the Equator S ide of a high mountain range such as ,

the Indo Gangetic plain south o f the Himalayas is

-
,
‘

warmer than it would be away from the mountain range ;

partly because it receives from t h e mountains some
reflected solar light rays in addition to those received
-

directly from the sun and partly because the mount a ins
,

check sligh tly the radiation o f heat from the plain .

T h ird ly w h en air rises it expands and its latent heat

, , ,

being used up in the expansion it c o ols as it expands ,

.

S o f o r these th ree reasons upper layers of the atmos

, ,

h e re are always cooler than the lower This is S p o ken

p .

np era tu re Thus ,when

o f as the v ertica l d is tribu tion of te r .
,

t h e tem p erature of t h e a ir in t he p lain o f Lo mbardy

1 36 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
respectively, the instrument is called a Cen tigra d e ther
m om e ter * It is important always to state the kind of
.
.

'

thermometer used for making observations F o r c o n .

verting F a h re nheit to Centigrade a simple table ( see ,

previous page ) should be prepared and kept fo r re ference .

Ra ng e of Tem p era ture — The highest temperature

reached during any day is called t h é m a wim um tempera a

' '
ture fo r that day ; the lowest temperature reached is
called the m in im u m temperature The di fference between .

the two is called the d a il y r a nge The di fference b e .

tween the maximum summer and the minimum winter

tem peratures is called t h e a nnua l ra ngé Hal f the sum
'
‘

of the maximum and minimum temperatures gives the

d ai l y m ean o r the annu a l m ea n The mean f o r any period .

( say a m on th ) can be f ound by taking the average of the

daily means o f the period Temperatures taken on the .

Ei ffel Tower at di fferen t heights give the following

summer and winter aver ages
at
J ul y m e a n 30 2 m et res Dec e m b e r m e a n
e l ev a t i o n .

1 2 m id n ig h t .
°
58 F 59i
o
F . 1 2 m id n igh t
°
34 F .

4 a m
o ° ° °
4 a m . 5 5 7} 57 5 . . 33 34
8 a m 8 a m
° ° °
. . 63i 58i ~

. . 333
° °
1 2 n o on 70 1 2 n o on 38
° °
4 p m 4 p m
° °
. . 70 6 55 . . 37 5 35 5
° ° ° °
8 p m . . 6 35 62 8 p m . . 35 35

Me a n 61
°

An examination of the table reveals the following f acts

The minimum temperature is always at sunrise .

( )
b The maximum a t the upper station is two hours
B o il in g—
°
p o in t v a ries with t h e b a ro m e tric p re s sure . 1 00 C is.

d e fin e d as l
t h e b o i in g -

p o in t o f wat er at a
p r e ss ure o f 76 e ‘
 TE MPER AT UR E A ND PRE S S U RE O F A IR 1 37

later than at the lower ( The maximum at the lower .

station occurred at 2 p m and is not shown in the table ). .

, .

( )
0 Rise of temperature begins at t h e surface of ea rth
and takes two hours to rise feet .

d
( ) The upper station temperature is never so high as
that of the lower .

( 6 ) The upper station temperature is nev e r so low as

that o f the lower .

f ) The maximum temperature is never exactly at

noon .

Many other interesting and useful facts m a y easily be

gathered by studying the figures of the table Those '

given w ill serve as a guide to inquirers .

D aily range on land is much greater than at sea ; and

not only that but the air over land is warmer in summer
,

and colder in W inter than the air over sea in the same
latitudes H ence as we shall find later the temperature
.
, ,

o f places f a r i nla nd has a much greater range than the

temperature o f islands or continen t al borders On land .

the range increases with the dryness of the atmosphere ,

since with a dry atmosphere there is an easier escape

for the radiated dark heat rays Over the sea in the -
.

torrid zone the annual range is commonly less than

°
and less than 2 0 over the maj ority o f seas within the
temperate zones B u t the annual range on land is
.

very much more marked The S ahara and Central .

A ustralia have ranges o f over 3 0 in the U nited S tates °

° °
the range varies from 30 to 6 0 over most of Europ e

T h is va r ia t io n in t e m p era t ure is g ra p h ic a y i ll ll us t ra t e d by
th e re m a r k t h a t t h e b es t c o s tu m e fo r S a n F ra n c is c o is a li
nen co a t

w it h a f ur co llar . In W a s h in g t o n ,
on th e ea s t , th e g l a ss h a s be e n
k n o wn t o fa ll 30 °
in on e h o ur . The o b s erve r s t a tes t h a t i t wa s
h ot s um m er wh e n h e l e ft t h e h o us e ; it wa s n e a r fre e in g p o in tz -

”
wh e n he re turne d i
W t h in t h e h o ur .
 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY 1

and A sia it passes and in North eastern S iberia the

-

annual range exceeds If the annual range is gre a t

the climate of a place is called extr em e ; if the range is
small the climate is called equable .

Maxim um a nd Minimum Th erm om eters — These are in .

s t ru m e n t s t h a t record automatically the maximum and

’

mini m um temperatures for the period ( usually a day )

between one setting and the next B oth instruments . .

are set horizontally In the maximum thermometer

.

there is introduced into the stem be fore sealing above ,

the mercu ry a small piece of iron wire with beaded

,

ends which works loosely in the tube When the mercu ry

, .

expands it pushes this wire marker be f ore it and on con ,

tracting leaves it at the h ighest place to which it has been

pushed . The reading at the end of the marker nearest
the mercury is the maximum temperature for the period .

The instrument is reset by drawing the marker back to

the m ercury with a magnet The minimum thermometer
.

contains coloured alcohol instead o f mercury and a ,

beaded glass marker within the liquid instead of outside .

When temperature falls the marker is dragged bac k by

,

the sur face tension o f the alcohol When temperature .

rises the marker remains stationary while the alcohol

,

flows past leaving the m a rker at the lowest point to

,

which it has been dragged The end of the marker

.

f arthest from the bulb gives the reading of the minimum

tem perature reached The instrument is re set by shak
.
-

ing the marker up the stem to the end of the alcohol

column .

r r —
P essu e of Aim Air has weight and presses down
upon the earth If it were solid it would press only
.

downwards ; but being a gas it exerts its pressure in all

directions The upward pressure may be shown i n the
. ,

followin g way .F ill a s mooth edged t um ble r f ull to th e

- i
-
i
140 PR A CTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
as shown by the arrows Hence the height of the .

merc ury in the tube will depend upon how heav ily the
air presses down upon the mercury in the vessel In .

other words the height of the mercury in the tube in

,

inches is a means o f estimating the pressure of the

'

atmosphere Thirty inches of mercury in the tube is

.

the average height at sea level O ther liquid subs t ances -

.

besides mercury could be used fo r the barometer B ut .

mercury is the most convenient because o f its great ,

weight compared with other liquids Water is 1 3 % times .

as light as mercury Therefore if the pressure of air .

,
.

were measured by a water column this column would ,

be 30 x 1 3 % inches high i e about 34 feet Glycerine ,

. . .

is 1 1 times lighter than mercury There fore a glyce rm e .

column wo ul d be about 2 7 f eet high Hence though .

,

these lighter liquids would show a great alteration of level

in the tube for small variations of pressure the great ,

length o f tube necessary renders them inconvenient

for ordinary purposes F urthermore mercury is easily .
,

seen does not wet the glass and is practically non

, ,

v olatil e There is a form of barometer which contains

.

”
no liquid at all This is called aneroid a word which
.
,

means n ot wet
“
It consists o f a thin metal air tight
.
-

box or case nearly exhausted of air A s the pressure

,
.

o f the air outside the case increases the lid of the case 1 s ,

depressed because there is not su ffi cient air inside to with

,

stand the increased pressure outside When the outside .

p ressure decreases the lid being elastic,regains its f ormer

position This movement of the lid is communicated by
.
'

levers to a dial hand which thus registers the air pressure

-
,
-

on a graduated dial The aneroid barometer is the o ne

.

used in determining heights because it is easily carried , .

D i ff erence of Pr essure — The pressure of the air can be

m easured in pounds a nd ounce s a v oirdupois A cub ic .
 TE MPER A T URE A ND PRE SS UR E or A IR 1 4 1

foot of air at sea level weighs about 1 % o z and at sea

-
.
,

level the pressure o f a vertical column of air 1 squa re

inch in cross section is-
lb T h ere is this pressure .

upon every part of our bodies nearly 1 5 lb upon every , .

square inch o f our outer surface compensated however , , ,

by the same pressure from within outwards If you go ,

.

rapidly down a coal mine you will find that the pressure
-

o f the air has become greater than it was at the sur face ,

and until you have breathed in enough of this high

pressure air to give you the same pressure inside you
as you have outside you the drum of your ear will seem ,

likely to burst inwards A t sea level when the barometer.

-
,

stands at less than inches we speak of the pressure

as being l ow ; if it stands at o v er 30 inches we say the
pressure is h igh 299 . inches is considered a typic a l
mean press ure and the isobar ( see p 1 4 6 ) of that pres
, .

”
sure is called the normal The three chief ca uses of
.

vari a ti ons in p ressure are ( a ) temp era tur e ( b) wa ter -vap our , ,

and ( 0 ) ch a nge of a l ti tud e .

( )
a Air -
p r essu re a n d Tem p er a tu r e —
A ir like other forms .
~

of matter e x pands and becomes lighter with i ncrease

,

of temperature ; it contracts and becomes heavier with

a decrease of temperature Therefore as air becomes .
,

warmer the pressure is lessened and the barometer falls

, .

In the nort h ern summer Central A sia ( see p 1 5 6 ) is .

greatly heated by solar radiation and the atmospheric

pressure there is lowered during the hot months o f t h e
year from an average of 3 0 5 to one o f 2 9 5 inches .

( b) Ai r p
-
r ess ure a n d W a ter v a p o ur —M oist air is lighte
- r .

than dry air in f act in any given volume of air saturated

,

with moisture at say 5 0 F the air without the

, , ,
°
.
,

water vapour would weigh over 1 0 0 times the weigh t

-

o f the water vapour present in that air

-
It may be a .

little di fficul t at first to understand why air should be

 14 2 PRA CTI CAL PH Y SI CAL GE OGR A PH Y
“

lighter when something ( moisture ) is added to it .

Note however that the density of air compare d with

, ,

that o f h yd ro ge n ( t h e standard o f density f o r gases )

'

is as 1 4 5 to 1 B u t water V apour has a density o f 9

.
-
.

That is bein g co m p osed of two molecules o f h ydrogen

,
'

a n d one o f o xygen a n d oxygen being 1 6 times as de nse

,

as hydrogen its de n sity is ( 2 X + (1 6 x 1 )

,

There fore the density of dry a ir compared w ith that ,

'

of water vapour is as 1 4 5 is to 9 Hence t h e ‘

-
.
, ,

addition o f water vapour to t h e a 1 r b y lessening the

-

density lessens the pressure of the air and the larg er 3 “

, ,

the proportion of water vapour in the air the mor e will

.
-
‘

the pressure be diminished The daily local vari ati on s .

o f pressure due to the variation s o f the u a n t it f water

q y o

vapour in the air are more frequent than those due t o e

variations of temperature especially in the coastal regions ,

of the world ; but the seasonal continental variations ,

such as the movement of the low pressure area from -

.

S outh A frica during the southern summer to North east -

'

A fric a d u rin g the northern summer are mainly thermal , .

Although t h e presence of water vapour in the air depen d s -

*

upon the process o f evaporation which again is regulated ,

by temperature it is necessary to keep distinct t he

,

changes o f pressure due to thermal changes only and ,

those due to distribution o f water vapour depending upon -

thermal ch anges .

( )
0 A ir p r es-
sur e a nd A l ti tud e —
The higher we go above .

sea level the less is t h e p re s s ure of the atmosphere j ust

-
,
. .
,

for the same reason that the hay at the t Op of a stack

is less tightly pressed together than t he hay at the bottom .

Th ere fore a low baro meter may indicate either very warm
,

air or very moist air or a certain heigh t above sea level

, ,
-
.

The pressure of the air is 1 i nch l e s s f o r every 9 6 0 f eet .

14 4 PRA CTI CAL PH Y SI CA L GE OGRA PH Y

air ; ( 0 ) increased warmth of the air ? ( Ox f Loc . .

Jun ) .

2 . D escribe the arrangements which are made for

observing the temperature of the air A t what .

time of day are the readings of the thermometer

usually taken ? ( Ox f and Camb Lower
. .

3 . Explain why changes of weather in this country are

usually accompanied by a rise or fall of the baro
meter ( Ox f a n d Camb Lower Cert )
'

. . . .

4 . What are the uses o f a barometer ? Make a sketch

of the instrument and explain how it works .

5 . What is meant by m ea n a n n u a l temp era ture ? How

is it determined from observations Mention a ny
place you know of which has a mean annual
temperatur e of about 4 0 F ( Ox f Loc Jun )
°
. . . .

6 . Why is it necessary to correct the readings of a

barometer for the height of the place above sea
level ( S e e p.

7 . E x plain the chief causes which determine the dis

t rib u t io n of temperature in the atmosp h ere Ho w .

do you account f o r the low temperature in the

higher regions o f the atmosphere ?
8 . How is the heat of the sun imparted to the atmo
sphere
9 . Why is mercury the liquid usually employed in the
construction o f barometers and thermometers
10 . How c a n it be proved that air has weight
11 . What is meant by the p ress ure of th e a tm osp here ?
Explain the effect of ( 1 ) heat and ( 2 ) water vapour -

on atmospheric pressure .

12 . What are the principal causes of the vari ations in

the pressure of the air at any one place and wh y ,

do they produce such v ariations ? ( Camb Loc . .

Sen )
.
 TEMPER A T URE AND PRE S S URE OF A IR 145

13 . Give an account o f the annual variation o f tempera

ture at different points on the latitude of Greenwich .

( O x f
. and C amb S c h
. C ert )
. .

F our similar thermometers are placed as follows

No 1 on grass ; No 2 above ground screened
. .
, ,

but with free access to the air No 3 above ground .

unscreened No 4 on a wall facing south west

.
-
.

How woul d you expect their readings taken ( a )

shortly after sunset ; ( b) at noon the sky being ,

cloudless to di ff er
,
A ccount fo r the di fferences
in the readings ( Ox f Loc Jun )
W rite an essay on the follo w
. . . .

15 . ing subj ect

The relation between the distribution of tempera
ture a n d the distribution o f atmospheric pressure
over the earth s surface ( Civil S ervice )
’
. .
 CHA PTER XIII '

Winds

Barom etri c Gra d i ent — If upon a m a p a number of stations

are indicated and the height of the barometer at each
“ ‘

'

station at a certain t im e m a rk e d against each station

it w
,

ould be possible to draw lines j oining a ll th o se stations

' ’

that had the same pressure These lines a re called isobars

. .

In suc h a case the pressures be f ore being placed on the

, ,

map are corrected to sea level i e if a station were on

,
-
, . .

a bill 9 6 0 feet high one inch would be added to the

,

reading at that station before marki ng it on the map .

Now j ust as water flows from a high level to a low

,

level so air moves from a place W here pressure is high

,

towards a place where pressure is low Just as the .

velocity of the flow o f water is greater in proportion as

the gradient or slope down which it flows is steeper ;
so the greater is the speed o f the moving air the ,

grea t er the difference between the high p ressure and

the low The moving air is called Wi nd and when the
.
,

adj acent isobars are drawn clos e to each other then the ,

steeper is the pres sure gradient and the harder we say

-

the wind blows Thus in fig 4 1 the winds blowing

.
,
.
,

in the region marked B are gentler than those bl o wm g

in the region marked C and these again gentler than
, ,

thos e blowing at A When the isobars on the map are

.

14 6
148 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR APHY

stations being understood to lie squarely on their respective

isobars .

Wi nd vel oci ty —
-
The direction o f the wind is shown by
.

a weather vane the velocity is measured by an in st ru

-
,

ment called an anemomet e r It consists o f four hemi .

S pheres or cups attached to the ends o f two horizontal

rods o f metal which cross each other at right angles .

The whole o f this is f astened to a vertical axis which spi ns

in a socket as the wind by blowing into the cups sends
the horizontal arms round and round The cups revolve .

only when placed to c atch the wind and the horizontal ,

arms are such a length that when a mile o f wind has

passed over the apparatus the vertical axis by its spinning
,
‘

has caused a dial hand to make 5 0 0 revolutions The

-
.

dial may register up to or more revolutions and ,

the reading is quite simple If in three hours .

revolutions are recorded the wind has been blowing ,

with a velocity of 1 0 miles per hour The velocity of the .

wind IS usuall y greatest at mid day and least during -

the night On mountains however the velocity is

.
, ,

least in the day and the direction uphill ; at night the

velocity is greatest and the direction downhill D uring .

gales the wind attains a high velocity even as much as ,

8 0 miles an hour A t Pendennis Castle F almouth ; on

.
,

one occasion the anemometer recorded a gust at the rat e

,

o f 1 0 3 miles an hour S ome anemometers record the

.

wind pressure as well as the wind velocity Wind pressure

- -
.
-

i s quite di fferent from air pressure ; the f ormer is a -

lateral pressure the latter is understood as vertical

, ,

t h ough really exerted in all directions A win d havi n g .

a velocity o f 5 miles per hour presses laterally with a

:

force o f about 2 oz per square f oot 2 0 miles per hour

.
,

2 lb . 4 0 miles per hour 8 l b

,
6 0 miles per hour 1 8 lb .
,
.
,

Gre e k a n em os , win d ; m etron ,

a me a s u re .
 WIN D S 149

80 miles p e r hour 32 lb and 1 0 0 miles per hour 5 0 lb

.
, .

The wind that caused the Tay B ridge d isaster in D e

c e m b e r 1 8 7 9 averaged 7 0 miles per hour with a pressure

of 2 4 l b to t h e square foot and some gusts in that

.
,

storm had a velocity of from 1 0 0 to 1 5 0 miles per hour

with a pressure o f from 5 0 to 1 1 2 lb per square foot . .

Ferr e l s La w —The wind however does not blow

’
. , ,

straight down the gradient ; nor indeed does water , ,

ever flow straight down a slope A t the surface of .

the earth there is a tendency o n the part of all easily

'

moving bodies especially air and water to be deflected

, , ,

as they move in a constant direction This g e n e ra l is a

,
.

tion was first propounded by Professor F errel of the ,

United S tates as follows,

The deflecting force exerted
’
on the winds of the globe by the earth s rotation is
”
inversely proportionate to the velocity of motion As .

the velocity o f rotation is greatest at the equator the ,

amount o f constant deflection there will be least That is .

,

the deflecting f orce is zero at the equator and at its maxi

mum a t the poles In the northern hemisp h ere winds
.

are deflected to the ri ght looking in the direction to ,

wards which the wind is blowing i e clockwise ; in , . .

the southern hemisphere to t h e le ft i e counter clock , . .

-

wise A t ( a ) ( fig 4 2 ) the arrows show the direction

. .

that would be taken by winds if it were not for the rota

tion o f the earth at ( b) the arrows show the direction
,

actually taken by the winds in the northern hemisphere .

The statement o f this uni f ormity o f deflection is called

Ferr e l s La w
’
While currents are n amed by t h e directio n
.

towards which they flow winds are nam e d by t h e ,

direction f rom which they blow A land breeze is a .

breeze blowing from the land or a north wind is one ,

blowing from the north .

B a ll ot s Law — D r B uys B allot a D utch meteorologist

’
. .
, ,
1 50 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY
made the following valuable generalisation It is a fact
above all doubt that the wind that comes is n ea rly a t -

Nash Pre s s ur e

right angles to the line between the places o f highest and

lowest barometer readings The wind has the place of .

lowest barometer at its le ft hand and is stronger in pro ,

”
por tion as the di ff erence in barometer readings is greater .

Various subsequent writers attempting to simpli fy this ,

state ment have given it as

, S tand with your back to
the wind and the barometer will be lower o n your le ft
.
,

”
hand than on your right or When you face the wind
‘

, , ,
”
the centre o f d e p re s sm n bears in the right hand direction -
.

B allot s law states the f act of which the barometric

’
.

gradient is the explanation Combining F errel s law

’
.

’
with B allot s we get the f ollowing new generalisations
, .

In the diagram ( fig 4 3 ) the gradient is from W to E. .

but by F errel s law the wind is deflected from the W

’
.

t o the N W and instead o f travelling due E it travels

. .
, .
,

S E
. .Hence
Th e it a l ics a u th o rs
‘
’
a re th e .
1 52 PR A CTI CA L PHYS I CAL GE O GRA PHY

7 a . m t he i ba r o meter was all alo ng the south coast 29 6 .

,

o f England and 2 9 5 at the f oot o f the Che v iots A wes t

'

win d wgs then b lowing over the whole o f En gl a n d and _ ,

Wales except in Cardigan B a y where it ble wfrom t he ; S W , .

,
”
C h ang es in th e B arom eter
,
The words Fair .
-
, ,

Change etc o ften f ound on barometers are of very

,
.
, ,

little value and it is really a mistake to r egard the b aro

, ,

”
meter as a weather glass T h e con ditio n o f th e -
.

b arometer at any one place c a n t el l us v e ry gl ittl e about

‘

u ,

t h e we a t h e r Reliable forecasts require t h e comparison

.

o f re a dings from many places j The f ol l owin g summary .

m a y he lp in int erpreting t h e g l o ca l baromet er

21 The baro m eter is usually high in cold weather
.
-

~ ,

since col d air is hea v ier than war m a 1 r Thus t h e ,

.

sum mer isob a rs of the B ritish Isles nearly coi nci de .

with the parallels o f latit u de because the east coasts

have almost the sam e temperature as the west
coasts B u t the winter isobars lie in a S W to
. . .

N E direction showing that the colder east coasts

. .
,

at all points have a h igher average pressure than

points in the same latitude on the warmer west coasts .

2 The barometer is usually h i gh in dry weather

.
,

since dry air is heavier than moist air [ Ih illus t ra . _

t i on o f this general rule only winter isobars should ,

be noted ; since in summer the pressures over dry ,

rainless regions are lowered not by the presence o f

moisture but by the diminished density o f the warm
a ir Th e winter isobars f o r instance o f Eurasia or
.
, , ,

o f North A merica or o f A ustralia show t h e hig h est

, ,

average pressure over rainless or desert region s ]

3 Hence a h igh ba rometer say 3 0 inc h es or more
.
, , ,

indicates ( a ) that it is too cold f o r rain or too dry ;

( )
b t h a t,t h e wind if any is tb l o win
g over Europe
, , , ,

it e m a co ld or a dry qu a rter e g N E
l _ ,
, . . . .
 WIND S 1 53

4 . So, low barometer in western Europe indicates

-
a

the a rrl v a l o f moisture la d en winds e g S W If -

,
. . . .

very low it indicates that the air is both warm and

,

moist and heavy showers will fall

,
.

n
La d a d Sea
n B r e ezes —Inequalities o f temperature are
.

the chie f cause of differences o f atmospheric pressure .

On an ordinary sunny day solar rays fall equally on the

sea and the land B u t owing to the greater specific heat
.

of water t h e temperature o f the sea rises more slowly

that of the lan d ( s e e Chap III ) The temperature . .

( b ) Ev e n i n g
FI G 4 4. .
1 54 PRACTI CAL PHY S I CAL GE OGRAPHY

of the air ( except where hot winds blow in f ro m other

regions ) d e p e nd s u p on the temperature of the land or
'

s ea beneath it Hence during the day the air over the

.

land becomes warm er than that over the sea and so ,

e xpands more and rises This is called an upcast

.
“

of the air over t h e l a nd To take the place of the a ir

‘

rising up from the land there is an indraught of air f rond

the sea Or to put it another way the expanding rising
.
, ,

air over the land is at low pressure the co o l er a ir o v er

‘
'

the sea is at high pressure and the flow must be from ,

the high pressure region to the low Hence in the day

-
.
.

time a low level bl egtze m all e d a L l

-
_ r
‘

ze will blow
from the sea towards the land ( fi g 4 4 a ) A fter sunset the . .

temperature of both land and sea falls ; but as the s e a

gives out more heat in cooling than the land does the ,

sea air is now warmer than the land air and the day ,

conditions are reversed A t night the upcast is over

.

the sea the downcast over the land and therefore the
, ,

indraught is from land to sea and the breeze is a land ,

“

breeze ( fi g 4 4 b ) These land and sea breezes are only felt

”
. .

strongly along the coast itsel f Ten miles from the coast .
,

either out at sea or inland they cease to be percepti ble , .

They are most marked in tropical regions .

—
Mons oons The daily alternations which occur on a
.

small scale in the case o f the land and sea breeze s

occur on a large scale in what are known as m onsoons *
.

These are seasonal winds which owe their origin to

ex actly the same principle as the land and sea breezes
3 4 t h§ u1
f
W W t in e n t s and
o c e ag s
, D uring the northern winter the land mass o f -

Central A sia cools very rapidly more rapidly than the ,

waters of the Indi an O cean Hence during this season .

the upcast o f the air is over the ocean and d ry winds ,

Frem t h e Ma l a y wo rd m us im , a t im e or s e as o n .
 1 56 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

western coast ) and to parts of eastern A sia A ssam is .

said to average nearly 2 inches o f rain fall per day .

The burst of t h e south west monsoon In India at the end -

o f Ma y takes place in a succession o f tremendous thunder

storms and so violent is the south west wind that it

,
-

actually closes the harbours of the west coast D uring .

June July A ugust and S eptember the rainy season

, ,
.
,

continues O n the coastal strip between the We stern

“

Ghats and the sea t h e annual rain fall is over 1 0 0 i nches .

In passing over the Ghats this wind gives up near ly all ,

its moisture and nothing b u t a ra in s ha d ow is carried

,
-

over to t h e D eccan A t a distance of only a few miles .

inland on the D eccan the rainfall drops to 2 5 inches a

‘

year w ,
hile the central parts of the plateau are almost
rai nl ess On t he coast between Cambay and Karachi
.

”
there are no hills to call the rain and consequently ,

the moi sture laden wind sweeps along between the S u h -

man Hills and the A ra v a l l i Hills meeting no obstruction ,

until t h e Himalayas are encountered Hence the Th ar .

D esert and the necessity for irrigation in the Punj ab

, .

S cinde averages 1 0 inches o f rain per year but some parts ,

receive as little as 3 inches TL h s

e o u t h west monsoon .
-
,

W
g

i
because of the li fe giv in g ra n it brings to estern Ind ia -

_ w _ _ ,

5 1 3 1153 the
“

a n d sometimes
"

the summer
”
monsoon It blows from the equator north eastwards
.
-
,

and is strong enough to counteract completely the north

east trades that blow in all other parts o f the northern
tropics The winter monsoon is really the north east
.
-

trade W i nd and this blowing across the B a y o f B engal

,

picks up su ffi cient moisture to bring light rains to the ,

eastern coast to the S outh D eccan and to Ceylon S o

, , .

that the S outh D eccan and Ceylon benefit by both mon

sooms ; N orth west India benefits by the south west - -

monsoon only and very little even from that Monsoon ,

.
~
 WIN D S 1 57

conditions are also well develo ped in A ustralia fo r i n ,

summer the south east trades bring rain to the nort h

-

and the east coasts ; in winter they bl ow off the land .

The Gul f o f Mexico also has its monsoonal seasons .

Perm an en t W inds — Permanent winds are produced

.

in precisely the same way as the land and sea breezes

\
H 1

F I G 4 5A
. .

and the monsoons The di fference is that in the latter

.

cases the high and low pressure regions change places

-

seasonally or periodically while in the former the high ‘

and low pressure regions a re p e rm a n e n t becau se they are

-
'

due to the permanent di fferences in temperatu re between

the equatorial and other zonal regions The earth is
.

'

divided into zones there is a cold or frigid zo ne about

the poles and a hot or torrid belt at the equator
,
.

T h ere fore the equator will be a region o f low pres

.
1 58 PR ACTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE O GRAPHY

sure and the poles regions of high pressure

, . Hence .

there will be a steady flow o f air from polar parts

towards the equator to take the place of the air ex ;

panding and rising there This movement o f the air

. .

is called the p l anetary circul a ti on O pen the window

.

slightly at both t 0 p and bottom when the room is fairly

warm and hold a lighted candle first at the bottom
,

opening afterwards at the t 0 p

,
The flame o f the candle
.

will be drawn inwards at the bottom and drawn outwards

at the top The warm air is rising and moving away
.

outwards the cooler air is coming in at the bott om to

,

take it s place The planetary circulation is the same

.

thing on a large scale But all the upper current o f air

.

moving towards the poles does not reach there Pro .

fe s s o r F errel calculated theoretically that there should be

°
a region o f down cast hi gh pressure at about latitude 30 N
-
.

and S Observed facts agree with this theory

. Co n s e .

quently the planetary circulation takes the following form

North Po l e
 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PH Y
1
( see p 3 8.0 ) in 1 8 8 3 the larger dust was carried in the
direction of the trade wind i e westwards ; but the finer , . .

dust was carried t hrough the upper air strata eastwards -

,

large quantities comi ng down at Timor miles t o ,

the east The z ones o f calms are not quite constant in

.

position because the th erm a l equa tor i e the lin e o f

'

. .
, ,

m aximum tropical temperature lies slightly north of ,

the geographical equator during the northern summer ; “

and slightly south during the southern summer With .

the shi fting of the thermal equator the complet e system ,

o f planetary circulation moves also .

Th e Tr a d e W inds —Th e chief o f these are the n orth

.

east trades and the south east trades ( fig ; The -

derivation of the name o f these winds is not from thei r

usefulness to commerce but from the A nglo S axon word ,
-

tre d a n to tread
,
They simply mean a wind blowing in
.

a constant direction formed from the phrase to blow ,

”
trade to blow always In the same course In fact the
,
.
,
_

name tra d e winds originated before it was known

-

that the winds would assist navigation Nevertheless .

,

because the trade winds have for centuries helped vessels

-

sailing from the Ol d World to the New the name has ,

become so associated with the idea o f commerce that it is l ,

now d ifi cul t to divorce it The equatorial belt o f calms .

the D oldrums— is about 1 5 wide and from this to about °

,

3 0 north and south the trade winds prevail The south

°
.

east trades because o f the smaller amount o f land inter

,

ference are rather more constant and well defined th a n

,

the north east tr ades In both cases the velocity of the

-
.

wind 1 s from 1 5 to 2 0 miles per hour and sailing vessels ,

tr avel with ease in these winds 1 5 0 miles a day In the .

northern hemisphere sailing vessels returning from t h ,

e _

New World to the Ol d make use o f the south west anti t

trades or return trades In the southern hemisphere t he .

 WIN DS 161

north west anti trades are the return winds for the eastward
- -

j ourney The north west anti trades are very regular and
.
- -

strong ; they blow rather more west than north west and -
,

so they are known as the B rave West Winds The belt .

of ocean between 4 0 and 5 0 south latitude is called

° °

the Roaring F orties ”

Except for the toe o f S outh
.

A merica no land inter f eres with the steady blowing o f

,

the B rave West Winds and sailing vessels can start ,

from say Cape Town

, ,
travel to New Zealand and
,

back round the other side of the world carried all the ,

way by these winds and beat the steamers that return

,

from New Zealand to the Cape in the teeth of the west

winds .

Pressure Systems —It is generally a surprise to discover

.

that weather forecasting is not done at the Royal Ob s e r

v a t o ry at Greenwich but at the Meteorological Office
, ,

S outh Kensington This o ffi ce was started in 1 8 5 5 by

.

A dmiral Robert F itzroy S ince that time vast strides

.

have been made in the knowledge of the laws of weather

changes e g the old star forecasting has been abandoned
, . .
-
.

S o systematically and easily is the work done now that ,

”
anyone may telegraph to Weather London and for a , ,

small sum obtain a forecast of nine days weather in ally ’

neighbourhood or a detailed statement as to the conditio n

,

of the sea in the Irish S e a the North S e a or the English , ,

Channel .In the forecasting room at the Meteorological

Office there are no instruments ( beyond one barometer )
but instead there is an immense number of maps each
, ,

as large as the page of a newspaper showing various ,

portions o f Western Europe and of the Eastern A tlantic .

B y international arrangement observations of the wind , ,

barometer and thermometer are taken at a large number

,

of stations every day at fixed hours and the di fferent ,

c ountries exchange their observations In the B ritish .

l l
162 PR A CTI CAL P H Y S I CAL GEOGR A PH Y

Isles there are thirty stations at which observations a re

taken at 7 a m every day ; these are telegraphed to
.

London where they are all received be fore 8 a m The

, . .

messages are in numeric code a string of figures ( about 1 5 ) ,

conveying quantities of information concerning the atmo

spheric conditions at each station Wireless messages .

from the A tlantic are in the same form except that a f e w ,

extra figures are required to indicate the latitude and

’
longitude o f the dispatching boat B y 9 o clock all the .

information is received de coded charted and isobars

,
-
, ,

are then drawn through all points having equal barometer

readings These isobars always form some perfectly
.

symmetrical arrangement and all the possible arrange,

ments or systems have been classified and named The .

forecast e r having mapped the complete system of pres

,

sures winds and temperatures has now a sort of picture

, , ,

of what is happening in the air all around A n d as he .

has also a succession of similar maps giving the situations

at various hours on previous days he has a clue to the ,

direction in which the di fferent p ressure system s are

moving and what type of weather is accompanying them .

I t i s quite possible that future forecasters will by obtaining ,

obififrv a t io n s at g reat heights in the upper air be able to ,

produce predictions that are perfectly accurate and

undeviatingly certain The pressure systems ( that is _
. ,

t he groupings o f isobars ) are not always the same in form

Pr es su re o r

F IG . 48 .
 1 64 PR A CTI CA L P H YS I CA L GE OGR A PHY

B ritishIsles the cyclones generally move in the direction

S W to N E the direction o f the prevailing wind at
. . . .
, ,

v arying rates from 1 0 miles an hour to over 7 0 A n .

approximate average is about 2 0 miles per hour A s the .

syst em moves the whole of the spi rally in blowing winds

,
-

move with it It will be noticed that the winds do not

.

blow square from isobar to isobar but a re deflecte d to ,

Front If of Cycl one

a nd Muggy

Ba ck h a l Fo FCycl o ne
Cool a nd Fre s h
FIG . 50 .

the right and this deflection gives the winds of the system
,

a spiral movement towards the centre The line A B .

( fig . which is drawn at right angles to the direction

o f travel ( path ) is called the trough
,
it divides the
system into a f ron t ha lf and a ba ck h a lf The front hal f .

is the region o f dense clouds and heavy rain fal l the back
hal f is the region o f light clearing u p showers fl e e cy clouds
-
, ,
 WIND S 1 65

with bright sky between showers The advent of a cyclone.

in the temp erate zones is heralded by a darkening of the

sky in the S W the darkening gradually spreading over
. .
,

the whole sky A s the darkening spreads it drives in front

.
,

of it light wisps of feathery clouds The air is peculiarly .

close and muggy When the front half has passed over
.
,

the air becomes

very fresh and ex
hil a ra t in g
. A s the
D

front half passes ,

the winds blow ( in

the northern hemi
S phere ) more or
less from the east
then as the storm
centre or the
trough passes there
is a period of calm ;
and then in the
back half the winds
commence to blow
more or less from
the west In the
.

s o u t h e r n h e m is
p h e re the wind di

rections wo ul d be
reversed .The
steepest gradients
in a cyclone are in the northern hemisphere usually south
, ,

of the centre There is a tendency fo r the centres to

.

follow a coast line rather than to strike inlan d

-
The .

cyclone then may be defined as a system o f winds

, ,

blowing over a large area from a high pressur e b elt on -

the outside towards a low pressure region within The-

.
1 66 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

deflection o f the w inds due to the earth s rotatio n causes ’

them to blow sp ira lly— coun ter clockwise in the n orth ern
-

—
he m isp here towa rd s the r
cen t e .

Th e Anticycl one —In

'

t h is system the high pressure

.
-

region is w ithin and the low pressure region outside

-

( fig . The winds there f ore blow sp ira lly cl ockwise

f rom th e cen tre ou twa rd s Thi s system unlike th e cy
.
,

clone may last for days or even weeks without moving ;

,

when the anticyclone is stationary there are generally ,

no winds at all the air being quiescent

,
The isobars .

are slightly oval and the gradients very ge n t l e fi The

centre is always a dead calm Under an anticyclone
.

the temperature during the day is high and o f ten above

the average of the season ; at nights owing to rapid ,

radiation of dark rays due to absence of cloud the ,

temperature is often b elow the average This .

FIG 5 2
. .
168 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

on the side of a larger one ( the primary ) and it travels

,

in the same direction The important feature of a second

.

ary is the deflection o f the isobars o f the primary and

the consequent alteration o f the gradients The sudden .

f ormation of a secondary within a primary cyclone com

p l e t e l y upsets all forecast calculations
. The steady down
pours under a
s e c o n da r y a r e
the heaviest
rains we get .

In fig 5 4 are .

shown the pres

sure conditions
that p r e v a i l e d
over the B ritish
Isles at 6 p m . .

on O ctober 6 ,

1 91 3 The
.

isobar being the ,

“ ”
normal which
divides the hi gh
pressures from
the low is drawn ,

thicker than the

others The pres .

F I G 54
. . sure system was
a typical cyclone
with its centre in the outer waters of the B a y o f B iscay .

Towards this centre all the winds over the B ritish Isles and
western F rance were t h en blowing A s might be expect ed
.

i n a region covered by the front half of a cyclone rain ,

was falling everyw h ere and cold easterly winds were

,

blowing T h ere was no great variation in W ind f orce

.
,

as th e barometric gradients were uni formly gentle .

 WIN D S 1 69

North o f the normal towards Iceland the barometer , , ,

though h igh was steadily falling an indication that the

, ,

cyclone was moving in a more or less northerly direction .

A t 6 p m on O ctober 7 the 2 9 7 isobar had moved from

. .
,

the p o sit io n in fig 5 4 to the position occupied on the 6 t h

’

by the normal which means that all along that

line the barometer had dropped two tenths of an inch -

in twenty four hours In that twenty four hours the

-
.
-

normal had moved up to Iceland and the storm ,

ce ntre had moved from the B a y of B iscay to Cornw al l ,

where the barometer had f allen from 2 9 5 to 2 9 3 The .

winds continued easterly in front of the trough and

rain continued falling everywhere Most of the south .

coast stations registered over 1 inch of rain on that

day and very few Engl is h s t a t io n s registered less than
,
r

inch O n October 8 the storm centre was in the F en

4 .
-

district and the trough was then across the middle

,

of Ireland and England with the barometer rapi dl y

rising and westerly winds blowing in the back half of the
cyclone A s the norma . moved slightly southwards
on the 8 th and the 2 9 7 isobar remained stationary
, ,

while the storm centre was moving northwards the gra di

-
,

ents in northern England and southern S cotland became

slightly steeper and the winds correspondingly stronger
than during the two previous d ays On October 9 the .

trough had moved sufficie n tl y far north that most of

the B ritish Isles then lay under the b a ck h a lf of the
cyclone and suffered from only small intermittent
, , ,

clearing u p showers The rainfa ll during the f our days

-
.

o f the p a ssing of the front half o f this cyclone was in

Ret ford l % in In B at h

1 4 1m in Margate 1 4 in in Yarmouth I } in in Harrogate

, .
, .
,

I } ih .in B lackpool only in and in Rhyl only 4 in

,
.
,
.

Varia bl e Winds —S pecial physical features o f certai n

.
 170 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
regions give rise to special variations of the permanent
or planetary winds A s a rule in the tropics the per
.
, ,

t
m a n e n t winds blow with such stea d y persistent reg ularity
that local geographical conditions seldom disturb them .

O utside the tropics where great atmospheric changes of

,

temperature occur over comparatively small areas vari ,

able winds are common the chie f o f which are

,

The B ora or Tra m ontana is a sharp dry cold north

, , , , ,

wind ( Latin borea s) which blows with fierce gusts fro m

,

the Karst country at the head o f the A driatic along the

coast of D almati a It is caused by the proximity of the
.

A lpine glaciers to the warm Mediterranean The B ora .

is a wind o f such extreme violence that it endangers the

shipping in Trieste harbour and in exposed spots in ,

Trieste only stretched ropes can keep pedestrians from

being blown d own The Scirocco ( see p 1 7 3 ) is the wind
. .

that blows up the A driatic in the direction opposite to

t h e B ora . On B ora days the maximum velocity of the
wind occurs at 9 a m on S cirocco days the maxi mum
. .

velocity occurs at 6 p m A B ora storm sometimes lasts

. .

a week and in January 1 9 0 6 created a record by blowing

,

at 8 0 miles per hour .

The Bise of S witzerland is a north or north east wind .

-

which has the same cause as the B ora .

1

The Ch inook is a warm westerly wind from the Pacific

'

which reaches the Canad ian Rockies as a saturated ,

moisture laden wind The moisture being precipitated

-
.

on the we stern slopes of the Rockies the wind blows ,

down the eastern slopes as a dry wind B ecause of the .

change from saturation to dryness which sets free the

latent heat o f the moisture ; because of increasing com
pression as t h e air is drawn down from the heights into
the valleys ; and because o f its southern origin this W ind ,

has a temperature from 30 to 4 0 F higher in t h e eastern

° °
.
172 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

dust It s o m e t ime s causes the skin to peel o ff ; but it

.
‘

stops epidemics It is in this respect like the south e ast

.
-

wind of Capetown which blowing from over thousands

, ,

”
of miles of ocean is locally known as the Cape D octor
, .

The Mistr a l is a strong north west wind peculiar to -

the south east of F rance It is produced from the end

-
.

of autumn to the beginning of S pring by the proximity

of the warm Mediterranean to the comparatively cold
Cevennes Mountains The mistral is a violent piercing
.
,

W ind which however purifies a somewhat enervating

, , ,

climate It is because of the mistral ( the master

.

wind ) that the old streets in Proven cal towns are b uilt
very narrow and winding so as to check its sweeping ,

gusts This W ind unseasonable and cold sometimes

.
, ,

prevails even in the Riviera .

The Pa m p ero is a fierce north west wind blowing in the -

summer from the pampas round B uenos A ires It is ‘

much dreaded by sailors in the Plate Estuary .

The Puna winds blow fo r half the year over the barr en
Puna table land of Peru and B olivia which lies between
-

the central and the maritime chains of the A ndes They .

are the last remains of the south east trade winds and - -
,

are therefore at first moisture lad en but having been -

,

s queezed of their last particle of mo isture by the lofty ,

eastern wall o f the A ndes they arrive in Peru as dry hot

, , ,

and parching winds A ccording to Prescott the ancient

.
,

Peruvi ans preserved their dead by merely exposing the

bodies to the action of this wind .

The Sim oom Tis peculiar to the hot deserts of A rabia

and Africa It is a su ffocating wind w h ich sometimes
.

lasts no longer than ten minutes and whic h raising great , ,

wh irl wi nds of sand is very dangerous to desert caravans

, .

L a t i n , m a gis ter , m as t e r .

T Ara b ic , s a m um , f ro m s a mm , p o is o n in g ,
 WIND S 173

It is essentially of the same nature as a tornado or cyclone

there is a central tract o f calm which is surrounded by ,

violent eddies o f intensely heated air .

The Scir oc co ( or Sir occo ) is a hot south wind which

blows over S icily S outh Italy and the A driatic It is
, ,
.

a wind which is occasioned when a low atmospheric

pressure happens to arise on the borders o f a hot desert
region ( Geikie ) In S outh Italy and S icily it is hot
.
,

dry and parc hi ng a temperature of 1 1 0 F having been

, ,
°
.

recorded for it in S icily F arther north it becomes moist .

and cloudy B oth the dry and the moist scirocco give rise
.

to giddiness or f ainting by reason o f their sultry and O p p re s

sive heat In the B alkan peninsul a it is called the Sam i el
. .

The Sol a no is a hot south wind which prev a il s at

certain seasons in the south of S pain It is identical in .

character and origin with the s cirocco In northern .

S pain a cold moist wind called the Ga ll eg o blows from , ,

Galicia in the north west over the plateau of Ol d Castile

~ -
.

Its origin is similar to that of the mistral .

Hurric a n es are violent stormy whirlwi nds that occur ,

in the tropical North A tlantic In the tropical North .

Pacific they are called Typ h o ons They never originate .

on the land though they o ften pass over oceanic islands

,

and low lying coasts B ut wherever they pass they deal

-
.

destruction : on the sea shipping is destroyed as in the , ,

case of the German and A merican men o war at S amoa -

’
-

in on the land trees are uprooted buildings , ,

thrown down and often there is great loss of life

,
.

On t h is o c c a s io n fiv e v es s e s l we re s tr a n d e d o r l os t ; b ut t h e on ly
B rit is h ve sse l , cor ve t t e Ca l l i op e , s ucc e e d ed in k
wo r in g
h e r wa y in t h e t ee t h o f t h e s t o rm o u t in t o t h e o p e n s e a A s th e .

Ca l l i op e p a s s e d t h e A m e r ic a n s h ip T ren to n , t h e T ren ton s c re w ,

’

q l
4 5 0 s t ro n g ( m o s t o f wh o m s u b s e u e n t y p e ris h e d ) , g a v e t h r ee c h e e rs
W e ll
”
f o r t h e B rit is h s h ip ,
a nd s h o u te d ,
“
d o n e , Ca l l io p e " The
Ca l l i op e a n s we r e d th e c h e e rs .
174 PRA CTI CA L PH Y S I CA L GE O GRA P H Y
TY
are violent whirlwinds t h a t gp a s s eastward
Torna d oes ‘

along the Mississippi valley They are sometimes a mile .

in width ; they have the appearance o f a funnel shaped -

column of black cloud ; they are accompanied by rain

or hail and o ften the air pressure within the whirlwind
-

is so low that there is actually a partial vacuum These .

whirlwinds do almost incredible damage as when the ,

town of Law rence in Massachusetts was nearly destroyed

in July 1 8 9 0 When a tornado develops over the sea
.

it t akes the form of a waterspout A s the column of .

black cloud approaches the surface of the sea sea water ,

-

is drawn up to a Slight extent by the low pressure within

the whirl The gre ater part o f the water i n a waterspout
.

is however due to the condensation of water vapour in

, ,
-

the air and not to the upl ift of water from the sea
,
.

Bl izzards or Nor th ers are violent cold north winds , , ,

accompanied by terrible snowstorms that blow in winter ,

over the western plains of the U nited S tates A s th e .

‘

mountains of North A merica tr e nd north and south ,

there is nothing to check the onrush of these winds .

They sometimes blow in the eastern regions even east o f ,

the A lleghany plateau but in this case they are some

,

what mil der in character than the true blizzard of the

north west In 1 8 8 8 a blizzard killed 2 0 0 persons in
-
.

D akota In D evonshire in March 1 8 9 1 occurred what

.
'

—
is very rare in England a snowstorm of this type always ,
”
S poken o f as the blizzard in the west Trains were .

snowed up all over the county Horses with drivers .

and riders perished within S hort distances of their homes ,

a nd there was great loss o f li f e in various parts of the

county Thousands of trees were uprooted

. The snow .

Th e u p ro o t in g o f t h e tre es wa s d ue t o t h e res is t a n c e o ff e re d to th e
fier c e win d s b y t h e m a s s e s o f s n o w a c c um u l a te d a m o n
g t h e b ra n ch es .

k
M o un t Ed g ecum b e P a r , n e a r P ym o u t h , l s u ff e re d v er
y s e ve re l y .
176 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
rock the dust or filings having been blown away and
,

deposited on lower lands Thus the wind is alwa ys .

adding to the amount of sand in the desert In Kerguelen .

Island in the Roaring F orties wind driven sand has

, ,
-

actually cut west to east grooves in the exposed rock

surfaces B u t the work of wind is even more marked
.

’
in transportation A s the tropical sun s heat by
.

day alternately with the cooler nights loosens frag

, ,

ments from the surface of a rock the wind comes and ,

removes them and thus continual ly keeps the surface

,

smooth and constantly exposed to the at tacks of de

structive acti on It is this destructive energy coupled
.
,

with the mechanical r a sping action of the wind itself ,

that tends in every desert region to increase the amount

of sand In the S ahara there was sand already for in
.
,

all probability it was an old sea bed but owing to the -

,

combined action of sun and wind there would have b een

sand anyho w It is also the wind which piles up d unes
.

or sandhills and it is the wind which by blowing up the

, ,

sand on the windward side of the dune over to the leeward ,

actu al l y causes the dune in some instances to al ter both

its shape and its position It IS In part this drifting sand
.

which makes travelling in the desert so slow and so

f atiguing D unes on the sea coast on the other hand
.
~
, ,

may prove of valu e against the inroads of the sea as is ,

the case in places along the eastern coast o f Great B ritain ,

t h e celebrated golf links of S t A ndrews f or instance

-
.
, ,

being protected against the sea by a range o f high dunes .

In the B ermudas the wind has covered the surf ace o f the
island with a fertile deposit o f coral sand which is favour -
,

able to the growth o f potatoes S ometimes however .

, ,

the transporting power o f wind has been directly de

structive of human enterprise and en d eavour That has .

b e en so in Egypt in Central A si a and in Mesopotamia

, , ,
 WI NDS 177

where buried cities and the remnants of many successive ,

.

civilisations are concealed beneath hundreds o f feet o f

.
.

dri fted dust and sand In Central A sia is a desert stretch

.

ing for thousands o f miles The larger part of it is called .

the D esert of Gob i ; a smaller part larger than the ,

B ritish Isles lying between the Thian S han Mountains

,

and the Kwen Lun is called the Takla Makan D esert

,
.

This is more dreary and desolate than any other region

on the face of the earth The red sand of t h is desert is .

blown by the wind into huge dunes two or t h ree hundred

feet high and more than a mil e long wh ich moved by , ,
.

the force of the wind flow across the desert as waves o f

,

a mighty ocean of sand D r S ven Hedin the great . .

,

S wedish traveller and explorer in his j ourne y across ,

9 —
these deserts in 1 8 9 1 9 0 2 discov ere d under the sand '

of the Takla Makan not o nl y buried forests b ut also the

.

ruins of a great city the t 0 ps of whose temples were ,

showing above the shifting sand hills On the Kurische -

.

Nehrung at a point O pposite the arrow in fig 5 5 there .

used to be in the last years of the nineteenth century the

remains of an ancient forest on the landward side o f the
Nehrung —the belt or spit of land which separates the
lagoon or hafi fro m the B altic B u t the dunes which
“
.
,

travel annually about 2 0 f eet eastward ; flowed over t h e .

forest and the trees reappeared— dead of c o u rs e é —o n the ,

seaward side of the Nehrung A t one time there were .

forests covering the whole length of the Nehrung and ,

they sheltered flouris h ing villages on the landward side .

B u t during the S even Years War ( 1 7 5 6 63 ) the trees

’
-

were destroyed the dunes began to tra v el the fields w ere

, ,

overwh elmed and the inhabitants fled O n the line

,
.

A B in the same figure about one third o f the lengt h -

O ff Ve n ic e a nd in t h e A d ria t ic t h is l a go o n - b re a kw a t e r is k n o wn

as a l id o .

12
17 8 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APH Y

of the spit from the southern e n d there stood in

, 1 8 0 9,

accor d ing to B ere n d t s G é ologie d e s Kurischen

’ “

“ bo wl

the church of the village of K u n ze n At that time a sand

.

dune had f ormed on the seaward or south western side -

o f the chur c h ( fig .In 1 8 39 the sand dune travelling

-
,

along A B ( fig . had completely covered the church .

In 1 8 6 9 the dune had passed to the landward side of the ‘

s p it leaving exposed the crushed remains of the church

, .

In the last years o f the seventeenth century D ownham ,

in Cambridgeshire was partly destroyed by a sa nd fl o o d

,
-

that covered more than acres o f land On many .

sea coasts sand drifts sometimes advance inland and

-
,
-

cover up f ertile districts with barren sand Along the .

shores o f the B a y o f B iscay the sands used to advance

1 80 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L G EOGR A PHY

rich yellow e a rt h i k n o wn as l oess This is a fine c a l .

* fl

earcon s clay first discovered to the nort h o f the A lps

and among the Carpathians but huge deposits o f it ,

occur in the north o f China where it is found to t h e ,

depth o f feet Millions of Chinese live o n thes e .

' '

loess lands for the yellow earth is very fertile when well
watered This loess is a formation or accumulation of
.

wind borne dust of su fficient firmness to be excavated

-
,

and in parts o f China ( e g the province o f S han si ) dwell . .

-

Ings have been cut out in tiers along the faces of the steep

slopes o f the clay This yellow earth gives its name to .

the great river o f North China and to the sea into which
it flows .

E X ER C IS ES
’
1 . S tate how the motion o f a body on the earth s surface
is a ffe cted by the earth s rotation on its axis ’

( F e rre t s L a w) and discuss

’
e x amples of the
,
applica
tion of this law to geographical phenomena ( Ox f . .

Loc S e n ) . .

2 . Give a general account of the form and movements

of the cyclones w h ich cross the B ritish Isles and ,

describe the weather experienced during their

passage .

Explain why t h e reporting o f readings o f the

barometer in t h e North A tlantic by means o f
wireless telegraphy is likely to be o f special use
in f orecasting B ritish weather ( Ox f and Camb . . .

S c h Cert ) . .

3 . D escribe the mean annual distribution o f atmospheric

pressure over the North A tlantic and S how how ,

Th e wo r d is Ge rm a n , m e a n in g l o ose . P ro n o un c e so me
t h in g l ik e l es s .
 WIND S 181

this is related to the prevailing winds ( Ox f and . .

Camb S c h Cert )
. . .

S ome parts o f Canada experience f ohn or -

chi nook winds What are these winds ?

.

Where do they blow ? How do they benefit the

regions exposed to them ? ( Ox f and Camb S c h . . .

Cert )
.

D raw isobars showing ( a ) a cyclonic system in which

the winds are strong and ( b) one of the same S ize
,

in which the winds are light Insert arrows show .

ing the direction of the winds ( Ox f and Camb . . .

Lower Cert ) .

Name the most important p erm a nen t and p eriod ic

winds Give an account of their origin and say
.
,

over what part of the globe they prevail ( Civil .

S ervice ) .

Write as full an account as you can of the trade

winds In what parts of the earth do they blow
.
,

and in what directions ? How do they change

with the seasons A pply your answer to explain
the course taken by a sailing ship on a voyage
from Liverpool to S outh A frica ( Civil S ervice ) . .

Explain the character of the storms that come to us

across the A tlantic How can we f oretell the
.

approac h of one of them ?

Explain why in summer a sea breeze springs up at
the seaside in the m or ning and dies away in the
afternoon .

Whi ch are the two most regular systems of winds

on the globe ? Where do we meet with irregular
systems and with periodical winds S a y what you
know about the last named .

Give the causes for the di rection o f the chie f per

manent and periodic winds En um e ra t e t h e winds
.
 1 82 PRACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

and calms that a clipper would encounter going

fr om London to Melbourne ( Civil S ervice ) . .

1 2 What are the monsoons and how do they differ from

.

the trade winds ? A ccount f or their change in

direction at the diff erent seasons of the year .

( Naval Cadets ) .

1 3 D raw a map to show isobars and winds in a low

.

pressure system ( cyclone ), the centre of which

( inch ) is over the heart of England while the
2 9 ,

pressure in Kerry is 2 9 7 inch in Caithness 2 9 9 ,

inch and in D over 2 9 5 inch If it is moving due

, .

eastwards explain the changes of wind during the

,

next twenty four hours at D over ( Coll of Pre

-
. .

c e p t o rs ) .

14 Give as complete an explanation as you can of the

.

origin o f land and sea breezes obs e rve d on

the coasts o f c ountries in low latitudes .

Would this phenomenon be observed in an island

in the trade wind belt ? Give reasons fo r your
-

answer ( Dx i Loc Jun )

. . . .

15 E . xplain how our Meteorological D epartment forecasts

weather What areas have we of consistent high
.

or low pressure in the North A tlantic ? ( Coll of .

Preceptors ) .

1 6 D raw a series of isobars s h o w1 ng the form of a typical

.

cyclone and insert arrows showing the direction

of the wind in different parts ( Ox f Loc S e n ) . . . .

1 7 D escribe f ul ly the measurements that woul d have

.

to be taken and the calc ul ations that wo ul d have

to be made to construct an isobaric chart of a
region at some particul ar date .

What would be the use o f such a chart ( O xf .

Loc S e n )
. .

1 8 Ex plain what is meant by an isobar

. Compare t h e .
. 1 84 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
Ex plain the reasons f o r these facts and give
amples in illustration o f them ; ( Oxf Loc
. . .

Jun ) .

27 The trade winds help to cause drought in some regions

a nd heavy rainf all in others Explai n this and . . ,

g Iv e e xample s ( O x f Loc . .

28 . What is meant by a monsoon wind ? D escribe in

particul ar the cond itions of temperature pressure ; ,

an d rainfall during the summer monsoon in the ,

I ndian area ( Manch U niv Matric )

. . . .

Po int out the connection be t we en areas o f high and

'

o f low pressur e and the d irecti on of the wind .

.

What i nfluence h a s the rotation o f the earth o n ,

the winds ? In what direction do winds blow that

are mo st altered in direction thereby ? ( Coll o f .

Preceptors ) .

30 . Explain how by means o f a map on w hi ch isobars '

are dr a wn we can a p p ro x im a t e l ye stim a t e the fo rc e

-

and di rection of the wind Why is it preferable .

to have isobars drawn for January and f or July

.

than f o r the whole year ? ( Coll of Preceptors ) . .

31 D escribe a d is t rib u t io n o f barometric pressure which

_ .
- /

wo uld gl v e rise to easterly wind s in th e north of

_
. .

S cotland S upposing t his d is t ribut io n to occur

.
,
.

during the winter what part of the B ritish Isles

,

would be like ly to have the warmest weather ?

( O x f ; and Ca mb S c h Cert ) . . .
 CH A PTER XIV

Th e Mois ture in th e A tm osp h ere

Measur em ent of Hum i d i ty — There is a lways water vapour .

-

in the air even over the S ahara D esert

,
* The amount .

present depends upon ( 1 ) the amount o f water in the

neighbourhood ( 2 ) the temperature of the air Most
, .

water vapour exists in warm regions over the ocean ;

-

least in cold regions over the land The actual amount .

in the air repres ents the a bs olute h umidity ; but as t h e

same amount In a1 r at different temperatures has different
e ffects absolute humidi ty is much less important than
,

re l a tive h um i di ty Which is expressed by the proportion

,

amount o f water vapour present

relative hu
-
.

midity
amount possible at the temperature .

Thus air at 5 0 F is saturated with

,
°
grains per .

cubic foot Therefore if air at 5 0 F contains 2 grains

.
,
-
°
.

2 20 0 1 00
per cub l c foot It s relat i ve h um 1 d 1 t y IS
4 06 203
or ro ug hly 5 or 5 0 per cent
°
4 9, Again if air at , .
,

50 F Sat urated with

°
grains per cubic foot were “

,
°
raised to a temperature o f 6 8 F it could then hold .
,

T h e S a h a ra , l ik e som e p a r ts of Ce n t ra l A s ia wh ic h o nce co n

t a in e d l a rg e c it ie s and a re n ow d es e rt , h a d o n ce a m u c h m o is te r
c l im a te . It s wa d i es or d ry riv e r- v lle ys
a a nd t h e wa t er wo rn p e b b es
-
l
wh ic h t h e y c o n t a in , a re e v id e n c e of th e on e- t im e p res e n ce o f a rge l
a nd c o n s ta n t ly fl o win g riv e rs .
1 86 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
grains per cubic foot but with the grains per cubic ,

f oot its absolute humidity would remain unchanged ,

9
while its relative humidity would change from 1 to
$ 2
4 ,

i . e . to about 4
from 1 That is the same absolute .
,

humidity may be saturation f o r air at one temperature ,

but a small relative humidity

at another temperature The .

weight o f water vapour per -

cubic f oot o f air is measured by

drawing the air through tubes
containing pumice stone satur -

ated with sulphuric acid and ,

then finding the increase in

weight o f the pumice stone fo r -

every cubic f oot o f air drawn

through The degree o f h u .

m id it y is measured by in s t ru
ments called hygrometers The .

one in most common use is

Mason s wet a nd dry bulb th er ’

m om eter ( fig Round the .

bulb o f the wet thermometer

is a piece o f fine muslin with
an attached wick dippin g f

F ro 5 7 into a small vessel o f water

. . ,

wh ich by capillary action

keeps the muslin constantly wet The drier the air . ,

the more rapidly will the water evaporate from the

muslin the more rapid the evaporation from the muslin ,

*
the more will the temperature o f the wet bulb be lowered ,

and consequently the greater will be the differen ce b e

T h e m e rcu r y in t h e we t b ul b c o n t ra c t s b e c a us e i t g iv e s up i ts

h ea t to c a us e th e e v a p ora t io n fro m t h e s a t ur a ted m us in l .

 1 88 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O G RA PHY

A ustralia with the dry bulb thermometer at 1 1 0 F °

we cannot conclude th at the thermal conditions were at

all inconvenie nt unless we know at what height the wet
bulb stood To an invalid it is often much more import
.

ant to know the relative humidity of the atmosphere

than to know its temperature The relative humidity .

o f the warm air in a greenhouse is an important f actor

in success ful fl o ric ul t ure The use o f the wet and dry
.

bulb thermometer is compulsory in the cotton spinning -

f actories o f Lancashire W here moisture in the air is

,

essential for success ful spinnin g and weaving .

Cond ensed Wa ter v a p our —U ntil condensation takes.

place the water vapour is invisible and condensation does

-
,

not take place even when the air is saturated with water
vapour unless there is a lowering o f temperature The .
“

necessary lowering o f temperature may take place in many

ways e g by radiation by contact with a cold surf ace
, . .
, ,

or by rising into hi gher regions When condensation takes .

place the vapour changes to minute particles o f wate r .

Air which is saturated with water vapour ceases to be -

saturated if the temperature o f the air be raised since at ,

the h igher temperature the air can hold more vapour .

Conversely air which is not saturated at any given

,

temperature becomes saturated if the temperature be

l owere d to a certain definite point This point is called
'

the limit of saturation or d ew p oi nt because if cooling

,
-
, ,
'

proceeds to the least possible extent below this point ,

condens ation commences and dew is produ ced D e w , .

point the n is tha t temp era ture of the a ir a t wh ich d ew

, ,

s ta rts being f orm ed or at which condensation com

,

menees The various forms that condensed water v apour

.
-

may assume are

1 D e w or hoar frost
.
-
.

2 F og or mist . .
 T H E MO I S T UR E IN T H E A T MO S P H ER E 1 89

3 . Cloud
4 . Rain or h ail or snow .

What f orm is assumed depends upon how and where

the condensation takes place .

Dew and Hoa r frost — D e w is a deposition o f moisture

-
.

from the air resulting f rom the condensation o f that

moisture on substances that have become cooled by the
radiation o f their heat There are many f amiliar in
.

stances o f the f ormation of dew e g breathi ng warm , . .

m oist breath on a cold pane o f glass the tumbler o f ,

cold water brought into a warm room the blurring o f ,

S pectacles when the wearer comes into a warm room

out o f a frosty air F or the f ormation o f dew there

.

must be water vapour in the air and the solid body

-
,

FIG . 58 .

with which the air is in contact must be cooled to

dew p o m t S ome o f the water vapour fo r f orming dew
-
.
-

com es up f rom the grou n d as well as f ro m the air .

Place a sheet o f glass ( X Y fig 5 8 ) over the ground on,

.

four pegs or corks in the evening be f ore dew f orms ,

.

Af ter the f ormation o f dew examine the glass ; there

is dew on the glass but it is mostly u n der the glass A gain
, .
,

when dew forms on stones by the wayside it is the under

side o f the stones t hat is wettest There f ore s ome a t .
,

le a s t of the water vapour required f o r the f ormation o f

-

dew comes up from the ground The temperature of .

’
the earth s surface is usually on a clear still night lowered
by radiation and the water vapour in contact with the
,
-

cooled sur face or the water vapour in t h e air am ong t h e

,
-

constituent particles o f the soil becomes chilled until it ,

 1 90 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GEO GRA PHY
forms
on the ground into droplets o f dew In the tropics .
,

where t h e air is very warm and moist dew forms at night ,

in very large quantities In our own country a f ter a .

,
’
warm summer s day if the evening is cool grass becomes , ,

quite wet with dew be fore it is dark *

D e w f orms most .

readily on those b odies that radiate their heat most

quickly This is why grass wool leaves etc which are
.
, , , .
,

bad conductors but good radiators are covered with dew ,

more quickly than the soil below them The air in .

contact with the ground may be prevented from f alling

in temperature to dew point if it is constantly renewed by -

winds blowing over the ground and if the wind is warm

and dry it will cause to evaporate and will pick up any
dew f ormed be f ore the wind began to blow If the night .

be cloudy the clouds check the radiation o f heat from

,

the earth s o t h a t the earth does not become su fficiently

'

There is most dew f ormation m autumn because ,

the surface o f the earth is then warm to some depth and the
air on the surf ace cooler The heat down in the ground .

causes evaporation and this evaporated vapour condenses ,

in the cool air at the surf ace o f the ground In spring as .

well as in autumn the di fferences in temperature between

.

day a nd night are greater than at other seasons and the ,

dew point in both these seasons is there fore more quickly

-

and more certainly reached It is importa n t to remember .

the distinction between dew and other f orms o f condensed

water vapour D e w is f ormed upon a solid body whose
-
.

temperature is below dew point ; if condensation takes -

place in the air b e c a u se it s temperature f alls f o g mist '

, , ,

or cloud is f ormed Hoar frost is the same as dew but .

‘

-
,

In S o u t h A f ric a , K a fir sto c k th i -
ev es a re s o m e t im e s t ra c e d b y
th e de w s p oor
- — i e b y t h e tra c
. . k th e o x en o r sh eep l e a v e a s th ey

a re d r iv e n t h r o u g h d e w a d e n gr a s s -
l or h e rb a g e .

T Th e r e v e rs e is , of c o u rs e , th e ca s e on a l
c e a r, s t a r ry n ig h t .
1 92 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

2 cubic f eet o f air at 5 0 F contain 9 6 1 grains water °

.

vapour .

1 cubic f oot o f air at 5 0 F contains 4 8 0 5 grains °

.

water vapour
-
.

B u t 1 cubic f oot can only contain grains ,

4 06) 7 4 5 grains which must condense out

°
.

A nother theory is that f ogs are produced by cool air

moving into warm moist regions In the warm regions .

the ground gives off water vapour and the cool air reach -
,

ing this condenses it j ust as cool air will condense the

,

steam over a warm bath In November a n d D e c e m b e r.

,

while the ground is still warm from the s um mer heating ,

the cool east winds reach London and produce the f amous
London f ogs B ut in January and F ebruary when the
.
,

ground is cool the fogs do not appear These two theories

,
.
~

also account for the f ogs on the banks o f New f oundland .

Here the warm Gul f S tream is side by side with the cold
Labrador current ( see p and the f ogs are produced
.

both when the cold air over the one stream mingles along
the line o f contact with the warm air ov er the other and ,

when the cold air o f the northern current blows over the
warm stream Re ikj a v ik the name o f the capital o f
.
,

Iceland means
,
smoky or f oggy bay and th e ,

f ogs are the result o f the meeting o f the cold air which
hangs over the Greenland current and the warm air
w h ich accompanies the Gul f S tream drif t current The .

third theory that f ogs are caused by warm air blowing

,

into a cool region seems unsound This cannot f orm

, .

f o g f or the same reason that you cannot have steam

,

over a cold bath The warm air may bring water vapour
.
-
,

but this would condense on solid obj ects and f orm dew .

l
C ouds .
—A cloud is a mist high up in t h e atmosphere
m ist or f o g is a cloud near the earth The thinn e st and .

lightest clouds are highest up the darkest and h eaviest ,

 THE MO I S T U RE IN THE A T MOS PHERE 1 93

clouds are only a short distance up Clouds are not .

always composed o f water particles ; f o r the highest

kind o f clouds is composed o f tiny ice spicules or needles .

The re a s o n s f o r believing that the highest clouds are

thus composed o f ice particles are first that at such a , ,

height ( 6 to 1 0 miles ) water could not exist in the liquid

state and secondly that light passes through them
, ,
“

and throws no shadows A study o f the higher clouds .

teaches us a good deal as to the movements o f the upper

atmosphere while the clouds lower down act as heat
,

curtains they neutralise the excessive heat o f the sun

by day and at night they condense the heat o f the earth
,

by checking radiation .

The f our chie f types o f cloud are the s tra tu s the cu ,

»

c ol d Cu rr e n t

c o nd

W a rm C urr e n t

F IG . 59 .

m u lus ,the a rm s and the n im bus When once the four

,
.

chief types are grasped names can be easily invented

’

fo r intermediate types — e g cirro cumulus cumulo . .

-
,
'

stratus etc The s tra tu s or streaky cloud is formed by

, .

one air current passing over another at a di fferent tempera

- ~

ture as in fig 5 9 B etween the two currents o f air a flat

,
. .

stratu s cloud X Y would be f o rmed S ometimes the

, ,
.

condensing layer is not flat but crumpled ; t h en b ars o f

s tratus cloud are f ormed across the sky at those points

o f the crumpling nearest the cold current at XXX ( fig .

”
This is called mackerel sky The mackerel sky is .

also caused by rapid and choppy dynamical coolin g

13
 1 94 PR A CTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

(i cooling by rising and expansion ) in the upper atmo

. e .

s phere The cumu lu s o r woolpack cloud IS a rounded

.

billowy cloud somewhat hemispherical in shape and ,

co ld cu r ren t

W a rm c u r r en t

F IG . 60 .

having the appearance o f masses o f steam and smoke

f rom a steam engine It is produced by an ascending
-
.

cu rrent o f warm air t h e vapour o f w h ich is cooled

quickly by expansion at an average heig h t o f about
one mil e ( lower in mountainous country ) ( fig .

These cumulus clouds have a definite flat base becaus e ,

i t is at a definite level t h at the dew point is reached -

.

A bove the flat base the billowy masses take all kinds o f
f antastic shapes with conspicuous light and shade e ffect
,
- -
,

made especially beauti ful wh en lighted up by t h e rays

o f the setting sun The cirru s or mar é s tail is a light
.
’

wispy f eathery cloud f ormed at very great heights ( up to

,

ten miles or more ) at a temperature below freezing point -

It c o ns is t s o f ice particles is very transparent and con , ,

tains no light and shade as do the masses o f cumulus

cloud In a cyclonic system of winds the air is always
.

blowing towards the inside and it would seem that t h e ,

low pressure area within ought to get filled up

-
B ut .

the f act t hat cirrus clouds are to be seen streaming out

above and in front o f the bank o f dull cloud whose a p ~

proac h from the S W heralds the coming of the cyclone .

. ,

shows that the in blowing air is escaping in t h e upper -

—
regions Hence if on a summer morning at or soon
. , , ,
1 96 PR A CTI CA L PH Y SI CAL GE O GRA PHY

not t h e particl es on nearing the base of the cloud begin

,

to unite and form d rop s o f water The mass of the new

“
.

drop is of cours e equal to the sum o f the droplets that

, ,

form it ; but the surf ace o f the new d rop is not equal
to the s um o f the surfaces of t h e dr oplets that f orm
H ence the d ro p is heavier in proportion to its size th an
'

its composing particles were and the new drops— th at

’

Is,
—
the raindrops f all much more rapidly through the
cloud A gain their proportionally small sur face ( wi th
.
,

respect to their incre a sed weig h t ) a ffords less opportunity

for re evaporation and consequently they now as rain ?
-
, ,

drop s first tend simply to remain at t h e base o f the cloud

’

.
,

Reinf orcements o f similarly increased dro ps finally in

crease the mass o f the drops at the base until it begins
to sink and if the air upon which the cloud rests is satur
,

ated the base gives way and the drops reach the earth
,

as r ain If the air should be very dry re eva porati on

.
,
-

may tak e place before the drops reach the earth Rain .

drops o ften increase In s 1 ze as they fall either by aggreg a ,

tion or by condensing on their cool surfaces the water

vapour o f the air through which they f all Rain is also .

caused to fall when warm moisture laden winds from -

over the sea blow over coastal mountain ranges These .

wi nds are f orced up the mountain side by pressure of winds

behind and c hi lled partly by contact with the cool sur
, ,

f ace o i the mountain itsel f partly by expanding as they ,

rise and partly by reaching the upper and cooler layers

,

of air This rapid cooling o f the moisture with no

. ,

opportunity for re evaporation gives to the windward -

,

slopes of the mountains a fairly continuous and heavy

rainf all The winds having given up their moisture on
.

the windward side have none le ft f o r precipitation on ,

T h is is e asily s e en by c o m p a rin g t h e f or m ul a f or fin d in g t h e
a re a of th e s ur f a c e o f a s p h ere wit h t h a t f o r fin d in g it s v o um el .
 THE MO I S T U RE IN THE A T MO S PHERE 1 97

the leeward side The dryness on the leeward slopes of

.

coastal ranges is called the ra in sh a d ow In Great B ritain -

.

the influence of cyclones tends to a more equal and gener a l

distribution of rain and even the leeward slopes of moun
,

tains receive plenti ful moisture B u t all the same t h e .

, ,

prevailing westerly or south westerly winds whi ch bring -

moisture from the A tlantic set up a very marked rain

shadow in districts which lie to the immediate eastward
of mountainous regions The rain shadow is very pro .
-

n o u n c e d behind the high barrier o f the Central Gra m

pians to the le e o f Cairngorm B e n Ma c d h u i and Loch , ,

nagar It is for this reason that in the neighbourhood

.

of these mountains it is possible to enj oy a cool summer

t emperature without the torrential rain that characterises
mountain districts almost everywhere else l n Great
B ritain This accounts fo r the popularity as su m mer
.

resorts o f B allater B raemar and other places in the , ,

valleys o f the D e e and the D o n Winds laden with .

moisture may sweep over such regions as the D esert o f

S ahara the A rabian D esert or the Thar D esert without
, , ,

having their vapour condensed In f act t h e hot sandy .

,

soil produces the opposite e ffect and renders the air ,

capable of taking up more moisture Many o f the arid .

deserts of the world are the resul t of rain bearing winds -

being forced to deposit t h eir moisture through having

to cross some range or ranges o f mountains before reaching
the desert area S ome notable examples of this fact are
.

the Kalahari D esert in S outh A frica and the Atacama ,

T h e t e rm d e s e rt as ap p l ed
i t o th e K a l a h a r i is s o m e wh a t o f

a m is n o m e r, f o r m u c h of it s s u rf a ce is a l
f a ir y g o o d c a t t e - ra is in gl
c o u n t ry . A d e s e r t in d e e d , is
,
not a lw a y s o r e v e ry wh e re t o be t h o ug h t

of a s a d re a ry w a s te of sa nd . In p a rts o f t h e S a h a ra e ve n ,
a wa y
fro m th e o a s es , th e soi l ca n p r o d u c e a s c a n t y gr o wt h of
gra ss .

e n o ug h to s up p o rt t h e h orses a n d ca m e s o f l th e wa n d erin g B ed o uin .

1 98 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
D esert in S outh A merica , both of which are situated near
t h e sea coast In S outh A frica
-
. the Kalahari D esert is '

due to the south east winds being robbed o f their moisture

-

while crossing the D rakensberg Mountains in the east ;

in S outh A merica the A tacama D esert is caused through
the south east trade winds precipitating their moisture
-

on the eastern slopes of the A ndes B ut the south west .

-

anti trade blowing to the Rockies brings rain all the year
-

round to the coastal regions o f western Canada and also to ,

the western U nited S tates coasts when it blows farther ,

south in the winter S outhern Chile is exposed all the year

.

round to the B rave West Winds f rom the Pacific and so ,

enj oys a temperate moist climate t h roughout the year .

The prevailing wind o f Europe is the south west anti -

trade and this explains why the southern and wes t ern
,

slopes of the mountain ranges are in Europe more rainy

than districts lying to the north and east o f them Thus .

B ergen has an annual rain f all o f 9 0 in S tockholm only .

,

17 Genoa has 5 2 in B erlin only 2 3 Trieste has 4 3 in

.
,
.
,

B udapest only 2 4 ; S myrna has 2 6 in A strakhan only .

,

6 Lisbon has 30 in Madrid only 1 6 Galway has 5 2 in

.
,
.
,

D ublin only 30 ; S kye has 1 0 3 in A berdeen only 30 .

,

Penzance has 4 2 in London only 2 5 ; and so on In

.
,
.

the B ritish Isles Ireland is the first to receive the rain

,

bearing winds from the A tlantic and many places on the ,

wes t coast have 8 0 in of rain in the year S carcely any

. .

part receives less than 3 0 in and as a consequence the .

,

island is so covered with rich grass that it well deserves

its name of Emerald Isle In England the western and .

s outh western coasts have abundant rains

-
D evonshire .

and Cornwall have 5 0 ih some parts o f Wales 7 0 in a n d.

,
.
,

the Lake D istrict 1 30 in o f rain per year He nce we . .

find that western England is the part most largely devoted

to pasturage and dairy work and D e v onshir e c ream , ,
20 0 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
A rctic regions and in Northern S iberi a though the fall ,

is not much greater than this the snow lies a much longer ,

time unmelted In the torrid zone except on the tops

.
,

o f high mountains snow is almost impossible though

, ,

not unknown The sudden melting o f snow often causes

.

dangerous floods such a s occur when the f ohn wind

,

blows over the A lps ; but the gradual melting of hill

top s nows is a common source of water supply for rivers -
.

Th e Nile floods are partly due to the melting of A byssinian

snows The loose texture of freshly fallen snow makes
. _

it such an admirabl e non conductor of heat that in the -

,

valleys and plains of the temperate and sub arctic regions -

snow o ften pres erves the ground from t h e chilling action

o f spells of severe cold and so enables to survive much
,

plant li fe that would otherwise die .

Ha il S ometimes the condensed water vapour reaches

.
-

the earth as ball s of ice known as h a ilstones B ecause .

hailstones frequently precede thunderstorms and violent

winds torms like the tornadoes o f the Mississippi valley;
they are believed to be in some way connected with the
electrical sta te of the atmosphere Contrary to popular
,
.

op i n i on true h ail as distinct from snow pellets which

, ,

often f all in winter is almost entirely a summer occurrence

, ,

though hailstorm s d o occur sometimes in the late spring .

The conditions f avourable to the form ation o f hail of the

ordinary s mall type seem to be great heat a still atmo ,

sphere t h e production of strong local convection currents

, ,

and the passage overhead of a cold upper air drift The ,

-
.

hailstones are probably formed by frozen particles o f

moisture first descending into a warmer cloud and re,

c e iv in g a f resh coating of water vapour T h ence they are -

.

carried upwards by the ascending convection currents

_

i nto the cold up p er dri ft where a fresh coating of water

,

vapou r is frozen upon the original particles This process

,
.
 THE MO I S T U RE IN THE A T MOS PHERE 20 1

is repeated and the hailstone grows until it falls to the

,

ground A t times several hailstones are f rozen together

.

until rugged masses of ice are formed occasionally reach ,

In g huge dimensions Very large single hailstones are

.
,

also formed when the hailstorm is attendant upon vio lent

whirlwinds since their powerful ascending currents are
, ,

able to carry alo f t i nto the freezing r egio n stones o f

'

extraordinary size The stratifie d structure of hail

.

stones is easily seen when the ma s s has been cut through ,

the successive coatings of ice or alternate coatings o f

ice and snow indicating the method of formation In .

the s u mmer of 1 8 8 9 hailstones were unusually destructive

on the continent o f Europe In Moravia fo r example.
, ,

hailstones f ell whi ch weighed 3 lb and many people as .

,

they worked in the fields were killed by them In S outh .

A frica hailstones have been known to pierce the corr u gated

iron sheeting o f huts and barns The great h ailstorm .

of 1 7 8 8 which travelled across F rance from the Pyrenees

,

towards Holland is the most disastrous on record Over

,
.

towns and villages were devastated and damage ,

was done to the extent of a million pounds st erling .

E X E R C IS ES
1 . D istinguish between a s a tu ra ted and an u n sa tu ra ted
vapour and define the term re la tiv e hum id ity
,
.

How is the relative hum i dity a ffected when

moist air moves over land
( a ) from a higher to a lower latitude
b
( ) f rom a lower to a h i gher al titude
Give geographical instances o f important
climatic e ffects produced by c urrents o f moist
air moving under t h e con d itions cited above .

( Ox f Jun Lo c )
. . .
202 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

2 . The capacity of the air for vapour is regulated by

”
its temperature . Explain this How can the
.

height of the atmosphere be approximately de

t e rm in e d ? What are the main causes of the
variations of atmospheric pressure at a given
place
3 . The basins of the Nile and Mississippi are each about
13 million square miles or about
,

million square f eet in area The average daily

.

rainfall is about 0 0 1 f oot in the Nile basin and ,

0 0 0 8 foot in the Mississippi basin The average

.

daily discharge o f the Nile is about million

cubic feet and o f the Mississippi
, million
cubic f eet.

F ind what fraction o f the rain w h ich f alls if)

each basin is discharged to the sea and account ,

as f ully as you can f o r t h e di fferences betwee n

the two results ( Civil S ervice )
. .

4 . D escribe the mode o f f ormation o f hoar frost and -

,

the conditions under which it takes place .

5 . What becomes o f the water o f puddles when the y

dry up and what conditions of the air are most
,

f avourable to the process ?

6 . Why is water sometimes called the universal sol
”
vent ?
7 . What are the general conditions that lead to the
f ormation o f rain ? What are the chie f ways i n
which the upward movement of the air is brought
about ?
8 . What is the snow line-
How is t h e indefinite accu
m ul a t io n o f snow above t h e snow line c h ecked
-

9 . Explain the origin o f sea f ogs and o f black f ogs

-
.

10 . D escribe a wet and dry bulb t h ermometer and state ,

what inference can be drawn from its reading s .

 CH A PTER XV

Cl im a te

Clim a te Wea th er —Climate means t he aver a ge state of

a nd .

the weather Weather means the present conditions

.

of the at mosphere with respect to t emperature pressure , ,

winds and rain Climate denotes what we may expect to

,
.

have weather denotes what we are getting The climate .

of a region can be ascertained only by taking the average

of a great number of observatio n s each year for many
years ; or putt ing it another way climate is the sum
, ,

of different sorts of weather conditions When weather .

has been thus summarised or averaged it is usually easy ,

to discover the causes that produce these average con

di t io n s The local changes and di fferences over small
.

areas when taken together make up the climate of a

, ,

larger region The chie f causes determining or a ffecting

. .

the climate of any region are ( 1 ) the latitude or distance ,

from the equator ( 2 ) the altitude or height above sea

,

level ( 3 ) the distance from oceanic waters ( 4 ) the pre

, ,

vailing winds with the currents d e pendent upon them

, .

La ti tud e —The earth is considered as being divided

.

in to the f ollowing climatic belts or zones

1 The torri d zone , lyin g Within the tropics from
.

°
2 39
0

5 N to 2 3 5 S . .

2 and 3 Two tem p era te zones. the north and ,

south lying between 2 3 5 N or S and

, N or S 9
. . . .

2 04
 CLIMATE 20 5

4 and 5 Two belts or caps called t h e nort h and

.

i
the south frig i d zo n e s lying round the poles at a ,
°
distance of 2 3 é from each pole .

A s the sun is the primary f actor in the climate of a

'

region and between the tropics the sun s rays a re a l wa ys

,
’

'

vertical a t s o m e p o int or another the torrid or tropical ,

zone is the hottest Where the rays of the sun fal l most
.

o bliquely upon the earth s Surface— in the frigid or polar ’

—
zones the amount o f heat coming from the sun is least .

( S e e law o f illuminat ion p The torrid zone ,

is .

characterised by high temperature the frigid zones by ,

low temperature throughout the year The temperat e

, .

zones receive a f air amount of the heat o f the sun and ,

are characterised by a marked di ffer ence in the average

temperature o f the opposite seasons of summer and
winter . T h ere fore speaking generally the e ffect o f
, ,

latitude on climate is a progressive diminution o f tem

-

p e ra t u re the farther you get away f rom the equator .

’
If the earth s surface were all land at a uniform level
.
,

or all water and there were no w inds the locus of a

, ,

di fference of cli mate would always be a parallel of

latitude .

Th e Po l a r Clima te —A t the north pole is the Ar ctic

.

O cean almost surrounded by land ; at the south pole is

"

the A ntarctic continent surrounded by ocean Within the .

Ar ctic circ le all the land fringing t h e ocean and a ll t he

islands in the ocean are frozen deserts in
summer the sur face thaws to the depth o f a f ew inc h es ‘

an d shallow rooted stunted plants appea r

-
,
It is here .

th a t the tundra regi on occurs In all tundr a regions .

the characteristic vegetation is mosses o f all kinds which

lie dormant under t h e snow during t h e eight mont h s of
winter and produce their spores in the short hot summer
, ,
.

The barren lands of the A merican A rctic shores are much

'
 2 06 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

more inhospitable than the corresponding tundras of the

Eurasian A rctic shores D uring t h e brie f intense summer
.
,

of northern S iberia berry bearing bushes that grow in the -

moss covered ground ripen their berries brilliant flowers

-
, ,

s uch as gentians poppies and anemones flourish for the

, , ,

moment and mosquitoes abound The Eskimos of the

, .

New World are able to live under conditions much more

severe than the tundra people of the Ol d World They .

live entirely by hunting and fishing but being almost ,

exclusively a coastal people fishing is the main oc cupa ,

tion The Lapps and S amoyedes with their herds o f rein

.

deer are better o ff than the Eskimos though in Labrador ,

( which albeit south o f the A r ctic circle is a tundra region )

, ,

D r Gren f ell is teaching the Eskimos to make use o f the

.

reindeer both as a milk and flesh provider and as a

,

substitute f o r t h e sledge dog A t the other pole on the -

.
,

A ntarctic continent there are no S igns o f vegetation

and no human inhabitants Within the frigid zones the .

climate is throug h out the year intensely cold and dry .

Th e Trop ica l Cl im a te Within the tropics t h roughout the

‘

-
.

year the climate is extremely hot and fo r the most part , ,

‘

moist The torrid zone is not only the hottest part o f the
.

earth becauseo f the vertical sun but it is also from about , ,

°
S the wettest because o f its almost daily
°
1 0 N to 1 0 . .
,

heavy rain f all ( see p In this belt o f the torrid zone

.
,

then there exist the very conditions that f avour the eas y
‘

and ra pid growth o f vegetation so that forests o f gigantic ,

trees o f maximum hardness with a thick undergrowth

o f S hrubs and creepers f orm the characteristic f eature o f

the equatorial belt o f tropical lands T h ese dense hot . , ,

tropical f orests occur in B razil Venezuela Honduras , , ,

Congo S tate and Central A f rica Madagascar Malaysia , , ,

and the East Indies In the West Indies and Ceylon t h e

.

original f orest is being cleared for the purposes o f culti

 208 PRA CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE O GRA PHY
marked by f our regularly recurring seasons with a fairly
abundant a nd r egularly distributed rain fall The summer .

temperature is well suited to the growth o f grass and

decid uous trees ; the winter temperature is never such
“

as to k ill plant li f e which merely lies dormant being

, ,

well protected by nature till the f ollowing S pring

.
Those .

parts o f t h e t emperate zone lying on the borders o f the

,

des erts that have dry summers and fairly wet cool
, ,

winters are called Mediterranean regions because that ,

is t h e general character o f the climate o f countries that

border the Mediterranean S e a The B arbary S tates o f .

A frica southern Europe Cali fornia Victoria in A u s

, , ,

tr a lia and the Cape o f Good Hope are examples o f this

,

type o f climate In Mediterranean regions the typical

.

trees and plants are the mulberry orange lemon fig , , , ,

olive and lime fruit plants with leathery or tough

,
-
,

leaves like the laurel or esparto grass and plants which ,

have long roots to find moisture deep down during the

hot summer The parts o f the tempera t e zone nearer
.

the tundra regions are characterised by cone bearing -

tre es suc h as pines and firs In A laska because o f the .

,

warming e ffect o f the Kuro S iwo current f orests o f thes e ,

trees are f ound considerably north o f the A rctic circle ;

in Labrador because o f the chilling e ffect of t h e c ol d
,
'

current from D avis S trait the barren lands lie consider

,

ably south o f it In Norway and Lapland als o temperate

.
-

f orests are f ound nort h o f the circle in North Russia ,

'

the t u n d ra e x t e n d s well south o f it In t h e temperate .

zone even near the tundra the summer temperature is

, ,

always h igh enough a n d lasts long enough to allow such

, ,

plants a s barley oats , rye flax hemp and beet to ripen }

, , , ,

S ituated in t h e heart o f the land mass o f the north tem -

perate z one a re the step p es — great rolling plains covered

with grass f amous f o r t h e cattle reared upon them
,
.
 CLI MA TE 209

These grass lands are mainly S ituated in S outh ea s t -

Russia to the north o f the Caucasus and in A siatic ,

Russia ( K h irgiz S teppes ) to the north o f the Pamir .

They are inhabited by nomadic tribes who live in tents , ,

and herd great flocks o f S heep and cattle driving them ,

from place to place in search o f good pasture .

A l ti tud e —
.In the same latitude climate varies accord
ing to the height o f a region above sea level The summits -
.

o f hi gh snow capped mountains have a dry and cold

-

climate corresponding
to that o f the f rigid
zones . S o that the
progressive d im in u
tion o f temperature
due to ascent at any
latitude above sea
level corresponds to
the progressive dimin
u t io n due to a pole

ward movement from

that latitude F ig 6 2. .
,

which gives the gamut F IG 6 2 . .

o f vegetation in S wit

z e rl a n d exemplifies
,

this ; fo r there is no more decisive test fo r types o f

climate than characteristic vegetation In the figure . ,

the vertical climatic zones o f the A lps correspond to

the horizontal climatic zones o f Europe between latitude
If a country has many a n d
°
4 2 and the A rctic circle .

great di ff erences o f level it will enj oy much variety

of climate ; on low lying level land there is great
-
,

uni formity of climate B razil a country larger than t h e

.
,

U nited S tates contains lands at all elevations grassy—

—
,

plains high table lands and lo f ty mountains and h a s

,
-
,
“
I
1 4
21 0 PR A CTI CA L P H Y S I CA L G EOGR A PHY

consequently within its borders almost eve ry type o f

climate Mexico has three well marked vertical zones
.
* -
,
(

o f climate which pass gradually into one another The .

lowlands along the coast being hot and moist are scourged , ,

by yellow f ever the hill slopes from about to -

,

f e et f orm the mild and dry t e m p e a t e zone in which yellow

,
g
f ever does not occur ; the high sur f ace o f the plateau is
t h e cool zone The low ground o f the hot zone is covered
.

with dense tropical f orest in the clearings o f which sugar ,

cane cacao and bananas are grown ; on the temperate

, ,

slopes deciduous and evergreen f orests occur and tobac co ,

and maize are grown ; and on the cool land s are found
coni ferous forests and wheat and barley are the chief ,

crops Opposite S lopes o f high mountain ranges have

.

di fferent climates the di fference depending u p o n wh ich

'

slope is exposed to the prevailing wind or to the s un s ’

rays A S lope which receives both abundant ra In a nd

.

abundant sunshine is called the f a v ou red S lope In those .

o f the valleys o f the A ustrian A lps and the Carpathians

,

fo r instance which open southwards the vine is largely

,

grown Onthe leeward slope o f a mountain range desert

.
,

conditions of ten prevail In general however the e ffect .

, ,

o f altitude i s much the same as that o f latitude i e the . .

,

higher the altitude the colder the climate .

Dista nc e fr om th e Sea —Water h a s a very high S pecific .

heat there f ore it rises in t emperature very S lowly and give s

up its heat very S lowly ( see p D uring hot seasons the .

sea and ot h er bodies o f water become warm very S lowly ,

because a great amount o f heat is required to p ro d u ce e v e n

'

a s mall rise in temperature The result of the slow loss o f

’

K n o wn
'
as t ie rra ca l i en te , ti erra tem p la d a , a nd ti erra fr za r es p e c

t iv e ly . Of c o u rs e t h is z on a l d is t r ib u t io n d iff e rs c o n s id e r a b ly for
th e n or t h a n d s o u t h o f th e c o u n t ry . It is b es t m ar k ed in t h e s o u th

wh e re t h e a s c e n d in g
p h y s ic a l s t ep s a re l
a so b es t m a r k ed .
21 2 PRA CTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE O GRAPHY

equator On the other hand latitude alone wo ul d give

.
,

Norway a cold climate but as the country lies on the ,

west side o f the penins ul a it gets the benefit of the ,

genial moist south west winds and o f the warm A tlantic

, ,
-

dri ft . The S wedish coast has no such advantage as

this ; indeed it is swept by cold north east winds Hence -
.

the Norwegian harbours are Open all the year round while ,

the S wedish harbours are frozen f o r six months o f the

year .

Con tinen ta l Cl im a te In those regions ( outside the .

-

tropics ) that are fa r away f rom the modi fying influence

o f the sea both the daily and the annual range become
,

very great A climate with a great range is c al led

.

extrem e or as it is usually f ound in the interiors o f

, ,

continental masses continenta l , .

The following set of figures will illustrate the di fference

between continental and ins ul ar climates :

Me a n Me a n
L a t i t ud e . W m t er S u m m er Ran g e .

Tem p . Tem p .

l
Ic e a n d
ll
L e n a V a e y ( S ib e r ia )
l l
Va e n t ia ( Ire a n d )
k
N e rchin s ( S S ib e ria ) .

In f act the whole of A sia except the monsoon regions

, , ,

has a continental climate ; the monsoon regions being ,

withi n the tropics have a very hot and moist climate

,
.

On the Iranian plateau in summer the highlands are

bitterly cold while in t h e valleys a n d lowlands the heat
,

is su ffocating S iberi a has o f all countries in the world the

.

most continental climate The whole o f the great plain .

S lopes towards the north away f rom the sun There f ore , .
 CLI MA TE 21 3

during the long winter S iberia is swept by the freezing

polar winds and kept from warm southern influences by
the tablelands o f Central A sia and during the short ,

summer it receives the f ull effect o f the northern summer

sunshine and becomes intensely hot in places In winter .

the mercury in the thermometers freezes in summer the ,

land sur f ace is in places almost too hot to walk on .

The palm for extremes in temperature iS t a k e n by Verk

'

h o ya n sk a town in S iberia within the Arc t ic circle and

,

about 4 0 0 miles northward o f Yakutsk The winter .

minimum has been taken as low as 8 8 8 F ( January °

.

1 886) the summer maximum has been recorded as high

°
as 1 1 0 F a range of nearly
.
,
The — 8 8 8 j ust °

mentioned is the lowest natural temperature e ver yet

‘

registered hence Verkhoyansk is known as the p ole of

,
”
maximum cold In North A merica the climate is mostly
.

more continental than in corresponding Europe a n lati

tudes This is due partly to the f ewer great i nl and seas
.
,

and partly to the fact that the south west trades from the -

Pacific are kept by the Rockies from reaching the eastern

plains which have a climate of a most pronounced conti
,

n e n t a l type .

Annual Ra ng e of Tem p era ture —The annual range of .

temperature depends upon latitude and elevation as well

as upon proximity to or distance from the sea The .

annual range o f London is Edinburgh is only

Moscow is Yakutsk the capital of S iberia has a range , ,

of and S amoa the island home o f the late Robert ,

Louis S tevenson has a range as small as ,

In the
° °
temperate zones a range o f 1 5 to 2 0 would be considered
° ° ° °
equable 6 0 to 9 0 extreme and 2 0 to 4 0 fairly equable
, , .

°
In the tropics a range o f 3 0 would be considered ext reme
, ,

a common range being about It should be noted that

‘

the mean annual t em p erature a t a n y p lace is guid e

214 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

to the climate The mean temperatures both of summer

.

and winter are necessary in order to know the range .

Me a n f or Me a n f or Me a n f o r Ann ua l
y ea r. J an . J u ly . ra n g e .

The first column would seem to indicate that Greenwich

and S aratov had about the same sort of climate ; but
the other figures S how the true state of the case .

r v
P e a iling W in ds —
O n shore winds are always warmer
.
-

than o ff shore winds in the same latitude The warm sur

-
.

f ace water of the ocean is blown o n shore by the prevailing -

wind o f that reg i on and the cooler water comes up from

,

the deeper parts cooling the off S hore wind ( see p -

.

The east coast of A frica for in st a h c e is warmer than the

, ,

west coast because the west coast has for its prevailing
,
'

wind the north east t ra d e s a n d the south east trades

- -
,

which on that coast are off shore winds whereas on the -

east coast the same winds are o n S hore This e ffect is -

.

most marked in temperate regions in winter when the ,

surface waters o f the sea are warmer than the land It

-
.

is f o r this reason that in winter the whole west coast o f

, ,

Great B ritain is much warmer than the east coast On .

shore winds not only bring warm current water to the -

coasts they are also the rain bearing winds and the con
,
-
,

densation of water as rain and its fall thr ough the air have
an important modi fying effect upon climate D uring con .

densation of the water vapour into rain latent heat is set

-
,

free to raise the temperature o f the air ( see p Hence .

,

the warm climate o f certain coastal regions is partly due

to the o n shore currents and partly to the rains broug ht
-
,

by t he O n Sh ore winds
-
The excep tion to the rule o f
.
216 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

remaining moisture is re evaporated by the great heat s o

-

that the interior has the driest o f ra i n S hadows In S outh -

.

America on the other hand the mountains are as far

, ,

away as they can be from the o h S hore coasts Couse -

.

quently all the cou ntry north of the Patagonian desert

benefits by all the rain brought by the trade winds Th e .

Iber ian peninsula is a further example of coastal plains

stealing all the rain The eastern coastal plain receives
.

the usual Mediterranean winter rains in abundance the

west and north west coastal plains receive rain through
-

out the year and have mild winters On the Mes eta .
,

in the interior the climate is very extreme and specially

,

dry with a rainfall of less than 2 0 inches a year

,
.

T eh N r
a tu e o f h
t e S oi1 — Different soils and rocks have
.

varying powers of absorbing and radiating heat S andy .

s oil f o r example absorbs heat readily d uring the day

, , ,

and radiates it j ust as readily after sunset and thus ,

regions like th e S ahara e x perience an e xtreme daily

range of temperature It was the same phenomenon that
.

So severely tried our soldiers in S outh A frica during the

war o f 1 8 9 9 1 9 0 2 We t marshy ground lowers the mean
— .

temperature because the water conveys the heat which

, .

it absorbs down into the ground Holland for example .

, ,

is a country which is everywhere low and moist Indeed .

,

one t hi rd at least of the surface is below sea level Th e

- -
.

climate of Holland is much affected by this lowness a n d

the consequent dampness of the s oil F ogs and mist s .

are very common and ague is very prevalent In fa ct

, .
,

Hol land amply bears out the truth of the old adage ,
soil boggy climate foggy
, .

Degree o f t
C l i a ti on
u v — F orests growing at liberty ten d
t o check free access of solar rays to the soil prevent a free ,

circulat ion of air and thus favour a swampy damp and

, , ,

0 0 1 cl imate The naturally growing forests on hill slopes

9 , ,
 CLI MA TE 217

serve to prevent rapid flooding of the rivers flowing down

those slopes The leaves and moss f orming the f orest
.

mat form a sort of sponge which holds the waters back ,

as is the case with the Rivers Congo and A mazon whi ch ,

are situated in a great forest zone This is also true of .

vegetation of lesser gro wth than forest trees S o th a t it .

may be laid down as a dependable generalisation that

much vegetation gives a moist climate and little vegeta ,

tion a drier climate Where there is too great destruction

.

of plant growth not only is there no

,
mat to hold
back excess of rain waters but the quantity o f moisture
,

in the air is reduced f o r rain is al ways abundant where

vegetation is plentiful since foliage not onl y chills the
,

m oist air and acts as a rain producer but also helps to -

,

saturate the surrounding air by transpiration The f orest .

covering on the hill S lopes has another important e ffect

it protects the soil holding it in its place and preventing
, ,

its removal by heavy rains Hence where f orests have .

,

been stripped from mountain S ides and from plateau tops ,

not only has the climate o f the district been changed but ,

the top soil has also be en removed and the underlying

rock laid bare The dry climate of Palestine is said to
.

be in some measure due to the promiscuous de forestation

of the country The S eine floods are probably largely
.

due to the wholesale cutting down o f the f orests on the

Langres plateau and the Rhone floods to a S imilar cause
,
.

The sudden flooding of rivers due to absence of vegeta

tion is well exemplified in the Murray D arling system -

of south eastern Australia Here the scarcity of all

-
.

vegetation except brushwood allows the dried u p water -

courses suddenly to become rushing and roaring torrents .

In the Riv e rina district the fl o o d ings occur so suddenly

that fl o ck masters find considerable di ffic ulty in guarding
-

their sheep agains t d es truc tion .

 21 8 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

Isoth erms —Lines

drawn on a map connecting places
.

having the same mean temperature s are called isoth erm sfi ‘

or equal temperature l in e s j
-
The commonest isotherms ‘

found on maps are those of monthly and those o f yearly

average temperatures The most interesting and in .

structive isotherm maps are those f o r the months o f

January and July as they represent the average W inter ,

and summer conditions respectively The isotherms are .

numbered to indicate the mean temperature of the places

through which they pass The F ahrenheit scale is the .

one used in the B ritish Isles and all temperatures are ,

reduced to sea level before being marked on the map -

.

0
The allowance is 1 f o r every 3 0 0 f eet o f height above
sea level -
Thus if the daily mean at the top o f a hill
.

°
f eet high were 4 0 F 5 would be a dd e d to this
°
.
, ,

°
and the 4 5 marked on the map If an isotherm map .

be studied the first striking f eatur e noticed is the way

,

the isotherms curl about Remembering that in high .

latitudes the water is warmer than the land and t h at ,

in the tropics the reverse is the case t h e t h eoretical ,

isotherms o f the world may be diagrammatically re p re

sented ( F ig .

°
The isotherm o f 32 is below t h e 6 ot h parallel on land
but over the ocean W h ere t h e water is above t h e tempera ,

ture of the isotherm has to bend towards t h e pole

N E
.
— It is
. a b s o u te l ly n e c e s s a ry th a t th e s tu d en t sh ou ld
c o n su lt an a t l as in s t u d y in g i s o t h e r m s ( v id e P l a te 6 in Me ik l e j o h n ’
s

Co m p a r a t iv e At l as .
)
Is o t h e rm s and is o b a rs h a v e s o m e a ffi n it y to c o n t o ur s Co n t o u rs
1
“
.

a re li nes of e qu l a h e igh ts , and so is o t h e rm s a re li

n es of e qu a l tem

p e r a t ur e s , a n d is o b a rs in e s l of e qu l a a tm o sp h e r ic p r e s s u re s P a ces
. l
a t wh ic h th e s e v e r it y of an e a r th qu a k e sh oc k is o f t h e s a m e
i n t e n s i ty m ay be j o in e d by zs os e is m zc
’

li
n es , pl a ces h a v in g t h e sa me

a v e r a g e r a in f a ll b y l i n e s ca ll ed i s oh ye ts , an d pl a ce s h a v in g t h e s a m e,

a v e ra g e d ura t io n o f s un sh in e b y i s oh é ls .
2 20 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRAPHY

ture decreases as you travel northwards since the so uth ,

coast has the i sotherm of 6 2 and the north o f S cotland °

the isotherm o f Notice however t h at in winter , ,

T h e38 with in th e c l os ed
°
B ritis h I s l es I s o th errnsfo r J a n u a ry .

tem p era tu re of 38 a n d un d er
°
c u rv e i n d ica tes a .

F IG . 64 .

the whole o f the west co ast o f S cotland has the same

average temperature as the Isle f Wight ( F —that °
o 4 0 ) .

is to say average temperature in winter decreases not

,

from s outh to north but from we st to ea st No t onl y .

 CLI MA TE 221

so but if you turn to a Janu ary isotherm map of Europe

,

and follow the isotherm of you will find that the

S hetland Is lands have actually the same average tempera
ture as Constantinople In July London is the warmest
.
,

cl o s ed
°
B ri tis h I s l es Is o th erm s f or J u ly . Th e 64 wi th i n th e
°
c urv e in d ica tes a tem p e ra tu re o f 64 a nd o v er.

F IG . 65 .

part of the B ritish Isles and the Outer Hebrides t h e

,

coolest ; i n January the south west corner o f Ireland

,
-

and Cornwall are the warmest parts and the east coast ,

o f S cotland and the F en D istrict the coldes t If yo u .

222 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

f ollow the J ul y is o t h e rm o f you will see that the

'

east coast of England is warmer than the corresponding

latitudes on the west coast This is more pronounced .

in S cotland as you may see by f ollowing the isoth erm of

,

From the two i sotherm maps a table may easily b e

drawn up showing the annual range at any place i n the
B ritish Isles In fact from an isotherm map of any
.
,

region if the contours and parallels of latitude are marked

, ,
"

it is possible to write a f a irl y accurate description of the

climate o f that region There is a very interesting f act
.

to be noticed on a January is otherm map of the North

east A tlantic The isotherms there bear an e x t ra o rd i
.

nary likeness to the contours o f a river valley ( see -

p. A ctually there is a river of warm water there ,

pushing its way north eastwards along the coast of -

Norway a river with the ocean for its bed and bank s
, .

S imilar isotherm formations may be seen wherever a

warm surface current pushes its way over cooler water
or where a cold current pushes its way through warm er
water e g the Chile current ( chilly in another sense a l s q)
,
. .

along the west c oast of S outh A merica .

E X E R C IS E S
1 . Compare and contrast the climates of Cumberland
and of East Yorkshire explaining the reason f o r ,

the di fferen ces observed ( Ox f and Camb Lower . . .

Cert ) .

2 . Compare the rain fall on the west and east of Great

B ritain with the rainf all on the west and east
of New Z ealand In w h at wind belts do these
.

countries lie How f a r can you explain similarities

in t h e rainfall by similarities in the winds o f
224 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

regions where this type prevails What are the .

most characteristic products o f t h ose regions ?

( O x f and . Camb S c h Cert ) . . .

What part of A ustralia has a moist tropical climate

Explain how the climate comes to have this
character and give some account of the chief
,

products of the region ( Ox f and Camb S ch . . . .

Cert ) .

Vladivostok is in nearly the same latitude as Ma r

seilles Explain the di fference i n climate ( Camb
. . .

S e n Loc )
. .

How do the climates of England Newfoundland , ,

and Mani toba di ffer f rom one another ? What

explanations can you gi v e o f the di fferences ?
( C amb Jun Loc
.
) . .

Explain f ully with examples the following stat e

, ,

ment The climate o f a country is a ffected

by the position of its mountain ranges and the
direction of its slope ( Civil S ervice ) . .

Explain and illustrate the f ollowing statement

Extremes o f temperature in summer and winter ,

as well as a low yearly average of temperature ,

distinguish the eastern side of the continent of

Europe and A sia as compared with its western ,
”
side .
( Civil S ervice ) .

A c c ount as fully as you can for the fact that the

, ,

isothermal line which runs through London ( lat .

5 1 30 N ) r uns through New York ( lat 4 0 4 9

° ' ' °
. .

If isothermal lines are drawn on the globe f o r t h e

win ter months ( isochi menal ) and others f o r the ,

s u mm er mont h s ( isotheral ) point out some o f t h e ,

c h ief di fferences between the two systems of lines .

( Civil S ervice ) .

Wha t is an isotherm ? Explain how an annual

 CLI MA TE 225

isothermal chart is constructed stating what o b s e r ,

v a t io n s have to be made .

On such a chart of the whole world it is noticed

that the isotherms run approximately in the
direction o f the parallels o f latitude Explain .

t h is f act and state ( with reasons ) any marked

,

exception to it t h at you know o f ( Ox f S e n . . .

Loc )
.

How do the direction o f isothermal and isobaric

lines alter i n the northern hemisphere as we pass
f rom winter to summer and why ? ( Coll o f Pre ,
.

c e p t o rs ) .

Why h a s Turkestan a hotter July temperature than

S umatra
If the earth rotated from east to west what would ,

happen to the S ahara D esert ?

Explain the terms Mediterranean climate scirocco , ,

weather antipodes fohn e ff ects sea breeze

, , ,
.

From an inspection o f a mean annual isotherm map

of the world compare the f ollowing places with
respect to latitude and mean annual temperature
Copenhagen and S t John s ( New f oundland ) Edi n
’
.
,

burgh and Hali fax N S London and Philadelp h ia

,
. .
, ,

Lisbon and Charleston U S A Give a reason ,

. . .

for any striking di fferences .

Write short notes on the climate of the following

parts o f the world : Tasm a nia Eastern Russia , ,

Tibet Icel and Lombardy

, ,
.

23 . D ivide North A merica north of Mexico into climatic

regions and point out the c h ie f c h aracteristic o f
,

each ( Ox f and Camb Lower Cert )

. . . .

24 . What is meant by the m ea n a nnua l temp era ture o f a

place ? How is it determined from observations
Mention any place you know o f which has a mean
22 6 PR ACTI CA L PHYS ICA L GE O GR A PHY

annual temp eratu re o f a b out 4 0 F ( Ox f Jun

°
. . .

Loc )
.

What a re which influence the

climate o f a country
«
Give examples in illustra
tion of your a nswer ( Ox f J un Loo )
. . . .

S tate and account for the chief chara c terist ics of a

land climate as regards variation of te mperature ,

amount of rainfall and distribution of wet a n d

,

dry seasons Give examples ( Ox f Jun Loc )

. . . . .
228 PR ACTI CA L P H Y S ICA L GE OGRAPH Y

m oist air of
the westerly winds with the cooler lands over
which they blow On those coasts of the temperate
.

lands where these winds are f orced to ascend mountain

slopes t h ere will be specially heavy rain fall often nearly ,

as heavy as tropical rains S eathwaite in Cumberland .

,

S nowdon in Wales and Coimbra in Portugal for instance

, , ,

have exceptionally heavy rain falls .

Rains of th e New W orl d — The important feature of .

—
the trades is that they are easterly north east north of -

'

the equator and sout h east south of the equator In the -

.

Ne w World these winds are o u shore to the whole o f Ce n -

tral A merica the West Indies Venezuela the Guianas

, , , ,
‘

and B razil In Central A merica these winds bring rain

.

to the eastern slopes o f the plateau of Mexico and to

those o f the central ridge f arther south all the year round .

The western slopes in winter get nothing more than a

very dry rain shadow in summer the south east trades
-
,
-

blow nearly south west near the west coast becoming - *

,

o n shore winds and bringing su fficient rain to prevent that

-

coast from becoming desert In Venezuela Guiana .

, ,

and B razil both the trade winds warm and wet are , ,

blown f rom t h e equatorial A tlantic into the A mazon

basin There they give up their moisture to the high
.

lands north and sout h o f t h is basin to t h e extent o f over

1 0 0 inc h es a year T h e eastern slopes o f the A ndes extract
.

the last drop o f this moisture so t h at the winds are ,

absolutely dry when they reach the western slopes and ,

a large part of the Pacific coast is desert .

Ra ins of th e Ol d W or l d —In the Ol d World the north .

east trades are an o ff shore wind to the west coast o f -

A frica north of the S udan and although on the opposite ,

A ra in f a ll m ap of th e l
wor d m u s t be consu lt ed d ur in g t h e
ch a p ( v id e P l a t e 7 Me ik l e j o h n C o m p a ra t i v
’
re a d in g of t h is te r of s e

At l as ) .
 D I S TRI B U TI ON OF R A IN FA LL 229

side of the continent they are an o n shore wind they -

,

bring no moisture because they blow over southern

Eurasia and there fore the region north o f the S udan
,

is a desert The south east trades are an o n shore

.
- -

wind to the southern coast o f East A frica ; but during

the southern winter they are s o drawn into the current
of the south west monsoon that they give up a very
-

uncertain quantity of rain to A frica the east coast o f ,

Madagascar and the district round Z anzibar being the

only parts that be n efit to any great extent D uring .

the southern summer however the north east monsoon

, ,
-

winds press down upon the south east trades and force -

them into S outh east A frica They give CO p io u s rain to

-
.

feed the Nile and the Congo head waters and the Z ambesi -
,

but are quite dry when they reach the D esert of Kalahari .

O n the west coast of A frica the south east trades blow -

back from the south west during the southern winter into
-

t h e shores o f t h e Gulf of Guinea and carry their rains

across the continent as far as the mountains o f A byssinia .

S outh of the Gulf of Guinea the south east trades are -

entirely off shore which further accounts f o r the barren

-
,

ness of the Kalahari region W a l fis c h B a y is said to .

average one third of an inch o f rain per annum The

-
.

monsoon region o f southern A sia has already been dealt

with under winds ( see p I n S outh east A sia
.
-

the n orth east trades blow during the northern winter

-
,

almost ignoring the S iamese peninsula but giving abun ,

dant rain to the East Indies ; then passing over these

islands they turn and blow as a north west monsoon -
,

bringing rains to the north o f A ustralia D uring t h e .

northern summer the north east trades become t h e sout h

-

east monsoon and give to China and the S iamese penin

sula plenti ful rains B u t not o ne vestige o f moisture
.

from either the south west monsoon blowing across India

-
2 30 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
or the south east monsoon blowing across China ever
-

reaches the D esert o f Gobi Persia also receives a minimum.

qu antity of rain fo r its pre vailing winds come from t h e

,

south west across African and A rabian sands or from

-
,

the continental land area o f the north east To supply

- -
.

the want of a su ffi cient rainf all the peasantry have

devised a wonder ful system o f underground irrigating
canals A rabia obtains what little moisture it enj oys
.

from the south west monsoon B u t only the lo fty

-
.

highlands receive enough rain to feed intermittent

torrents and in a few cases permanent streams More
, , .

over t h e south west monsoon having j ust trave rsed or

,
-
,

at least skirted the A frican continent , has been robbed

of most o f its moisture Th e central districts of Arabia
.

are mainly rainless deserts .

Nor th ing a nd Sou th ing of th e Dol drum s — D uring the .

northern summer the line o f maximum heat or therm al ,

equator lies considerably north o f the geographical

,

e quator be cause in t h e northern hemisphere land sur face

,
-

preponderates ; during the southern summer it lies slightly

south because in the southern hemisphere water sur face
,
-

predominates The whole system of planetary winds

.

r
n o v e s with this movement of the thermal equator and ,

th e movement is sometimes S poken o f as the northing

and southing o f the D oldrums It is the nort h ing o f the .

doldrums during the northern summer that turns t h e

south east trades into the Gul f o f Guinea and towards
-

western Central A merica This northing also moves .

the A mazon rai nf all S lightly northward and gives abun

dant rains during the northern summer to t h e l la n os o f
the Orinoco ; the sout h ing t h at f ollows during the
southern summer diminis h es considerably the rainf all
of the Orinoco but gives correspondingly more to t h e
,

Am azon and to the Paran a .

2 32 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

east of a line drawn from Montrose through D undee , ,

A lloa F lodden D urham S tockton H o d s o ck Le ic e s t e r '

, . , , , ,

O x f ord and Tunbridge Wells to t h e south coast at

,

B eachy Head it is everywhere under 3 0 in The driest .

pa rt o f the islands is Lincolnshire ( except on the Wolds )

and the F en D istrict which have an average of less than
,

25 in There is no seasonal rain fall in the B ritish Isles

.
,

as the rains are fairly evenly distributed throughout the

year a distribution that characterises the West European
,

climate [ Winter rains characterise the Mediterranean

.

climate and smal l rain fall with m o st rain in summer

,

characterises t h e extreme climate of eastern Europ e ]

D ecember and January are the wettest months in the
western districts where the average rain f all is high ; in
,

other parts October is the month of most rain The .

B ritish Isles may be divided into f our parts b y two

straight lines drawn from Cape Wrath to the Isle of
Wight and from Galway to Grimsby The N W quarter . . .

is the cool rainy region the S W quarter the warm rainy

,
. .

region the N E quarter the cool dry region and the S E

, . .
, .

quarter the warm dry region .

The following table illustrates the vari ation o f rain fall

in inches on the west and east o f the B ritish Isles :
52 Pen za nce 42 k
S ye
30 L o n d on 25 A b e rd e e n

The varying incidence o f the rain fro m the south west -

winds is illustrated by the rainfalls of :

N e wp or t 50 Ch e p s t o w 35 T e wk e s b ur y 27

Ra i n a nd r iv r
G ea t R e s —
Every river which rises W i thin
.

the tropics annually overflows its banks The incessant .

torrents o f rain which attend the vertical sun swell the se

rivers and flood the low lying lands T h i s is the case
-
.
 D I S TRI B U TI ON OF RA INFA LL 2 33

with the A mazon the Paran a and the Nile and in fact
, , ,

with every considerable river whose source is not far

from the equator The annual summer flooding o f the
.

Nile occurs a fter the heavy spring rains in A byssinia

which are brought by the north east monsoon and the -

south east trades ( see p

-
These spring rains do
.

not reach Egypt till months after they have fallen in

A byssinia . The Congo receives its flush of flood waters
at the same time from the moisture laden south east - -

trades and except in very dry years it also receives the

,

overflow from Lake Tanganyika through the Luk uga

River The A mazon though not the longest river in the
.
,

world carries a greater volume of water to the sea than

,

any other river because it is f e d by tropical rains alter

,

n a t e l y f rom the northern heights at the northing of the

doldrums and from the southern heights at their southing .

The Ganges receives its constant supply of water from

the snows of the Himalayas which descend as glaciers to
about f t a bove sea level
. From the snout of
-
.

one of these glaciers issues the head stream o f the river ,

from another the companion stream the Jumna and ,

f rom others the le ft — bank tributaries B u t over and .

above this glacial f eed the river receives summer flood

,

waters from the south west monsoon rains A n d because

-
.

of its never failing it is to the Hindus a holy river and

by them worshipped and honoured The Mississippi .

is not a tropical river It rises in Lake Itasca at a height

.

of onl y about 8 0 0 ft above sea level The long tributary

.
-
.

the Missouri flows from the Rockies and the large tribu ,

tary the O hio from the Alleghany plateau These rivers .

flow through an area of small rain fall and their volumes ,

are small compared with their length and with the bigness
o f their drainage area The north east trades give no rain
.
-

to the Pacific coast being o ff shore winds The south

,
-
.
2 34 PRA CT ICA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
' "

westerly anti trades give over 6 0 in of rainf all on the

-
.

Pacific side of the Rockies but on the eastern S lo p es ,

the same wind feeds t h e Missouri the Red River and the , ,

A rkansas with o nl y 1 0 in per annum B ut du r ing the

. .

northern summer the north east trades that blow across -

the A tlantic swing round in the Gulf of Mexico and blow

up the Mississippi Valley contribute somet hi ng to the ,

rainfall o f the western plains and give to the A ppal ac h ian ,

belt a rainfall o f from 5 0 to 6 0 in a year . .

Rainfa ll a nd A gri cul tur e —In temperate climates a rain

“

. .

fall o f less than 1 2 in per annum produces semi desert

.
-

conditions e g the steppes in S outh east Russia near the

,
. .
- ,

Caspian and the K h irg iz S teppes at the foot o f t h e Pamir

,

Plateau With a rainf all o f 1 2 to 2 0 in grass will flourish

. .

su fficiently well f or grazing purposes ; with a rainf all of

over 2 0 in agricul ture becomes possible Wit hi n the
. .

tropics the best average is between 3 0 and 6 0 in ab o ve .

,

8 0 in vegetation becomes too luxuriant and rank

.
.
In .

the B ritish Isles the wheat harvests are found to b e best

when the previous autumn rai n s were not too heavy the ,

following winter frosts not too severe the f ollowing ,

S pring cool and f airly wet and then a dry summer ,

D uri n g .

a period of 30 years from 1 8 54 to 1 8 8 3 it was f ound that

when the yield o f wheat wa s above the average the ,

r a inf all of the pr e vious autumn was below the average ‘

a n d that f urther rains came in the late spring and ear l y

s ummer In Mediterranean regions the winter rains

.

and hot summers seem to be very favourable to prolific

fr uit crops and th ese regions are usual ly wine produci ng
,
-

countries The late spring and early summer rains o f

.

North A merica are very f avourable to the growth o f wheat

and maize Th e A rgentine w h eat cr e ps and those of
.

S outh Russia also depend upon late spring and early

summer rains In the tropics the grea t heat and moisture
.
2 36 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
lines are drawn ( isohyets ) connecting those places that
have the same annual rainfall the deserts may be more ,

acc urately located The latitude limit must be fixed

.

at about as beyond that the barrenness of the land ,

is due to frost and snow The hot deserts will be f ound .

to lie within the 1 0 in isohyet ; the region from the

-
.

1 0 in line to the 5 in line may be regarded as desert

-
.
-
.

border or sub desert within the 5 in line lies the desert

- -
.

p rO p e r ; and outside the 1 0 in line desert conditions do -

.

not prevail The largest deserts of the world are those

.

lying in the trade winds belt Pro fessor D avis says

-
.

Low lands over which the trade winds blow are made
desert by the d rying action of their warm air The S ahara .

”
and the central A ustralian deserts are thus explained .

The same explanation holds good f o r the A rabian and

f o r the Great Indian deserts The deserts o f Persia .
,

Turkestan and Gobi are in the belt o f the anti trades

,
-
,

and are subj ect to the influence o f the pressure systems

that bring about the monsoonal changes in southern ,

A sia . In the northern summer when the centre of low

pressure system lies in the south east corner o f Persia -
,

cold dry winds are drawn down in to the desert region

from the north and moist winds are drawn towa rd s the
,

desert region from the Indian O cean ; but as all the

moisture is given up to the western Ghats the Himalayas , ,

and the mountains o f B urmah the desert re giOn receives ,

no more benefit from these winds than from those from

t h e north In the northern winter when the centre of
.

high pressure lies j us t south o f Lake B aikal the winds ,

bl ow f rom the desert region in all directions Thus in .

,

summer no winds arrive but dry winds and in winter ,

no winds arrive at all H e nce the broad belt of desert .

stretching across A sia from A rabia nearly to the Pacific

Ocean Th e Gr e at B asin of t h e Rocki e s is s erv e d in
.
 DI ST RI B U TI ON OF RA I NFA L L 2 37

precisely the same way as is also the Gila D esert in the

,

West Colorado basin The A tlantic N E trades swing

. . .

round in the Gulf of Mexico and blow up the Mississippi

va lley and into the desert valleys but after they cross ,

the mountains o f New Mexico there is no moisture left ,

f o r either the Gila basin or the S alt Lake basin The .

Pacific trades do not blow towards these regions at all .

The desert of Atacama in Chile on the Pacific side o f

the A ndes is explained in the very same way .

Deser t Cli m a te a nd Veg eta ti on — The climate in deserts

is exceptionally extreme The annual range is as much .

°
as 9 0 F the daily range is sometimes even greater
.
, ,

e x tending from 1 5 0 F during the day to be l ow 32 F

°
.
°
.

during the night A griculture is of course possible only

.
, ,

in the spots called oases where a spring bubbles up ,

through the sand and in those parts where irrigation

,

can be employed The characteristic tree of these oases

.

is the date palm and most of our dates come from

,

desert or semi desert regions like the country round

-

B aghdad and certain S aharan oases A bsolutely plantless .

areas are comparatively few and they exist only among ,

the moving sand dunes and in the stony places There

-
.

is a vegetation that is able to suit itself to arid and

extreme desert conditions j ust as mosses and lichens ,
'
suit themselves to the cold desert conditions The chief .

are the cactuses and the spinifex or porcupine grass .

The general name for desert vegetation is scrub and scrub ,

land is always f ound bordering the sand deserts of t he -

world These desert plants are characterised by coarse

.
,

hard gla zed surfaces of both stems and leaves which

, ,

allow the minimum e x halation o f the hardly won moisture .

Deser t Irriga tion r —The desert lands require nothi ng but -

water to become f ertile and artificial supplies are some

,

times tran sported to parts o f the deserts by mean s o f

 PR ACTI CA L PHYS I CAL GE OGRA PHY

there is a ri v er s u fficiently near to serve as a

c a n a l s t if

mai n supply Extensive w o rks intended for the irrigation

.

o f large districts existed in times of remote antiquity in

'

Mesopotamia Persia India and Chin a and where such

, , , ,

works s till exist t h e countries have not entirely lost their

ancient prosperity F or the irrigation o f any large sarea
.
‘

main c anals have to be cut to supply innumerable branch .

canal s through an incredible number o f S luices and these ,

canals cat ch regul ate and distribut e the water from

, ,

s ome main Supply usually a river In Upper Egypt ,

.

'

t here a re thousands o f these can als at work many o f ~ ,

'

them extremely old and o f great interest The B ahr e l .

-

You ssouf Water o f Joseph is said to have been con

structed under the orders o f J oseph Pharaoh s V iceroy i n ,
’

Egypt It runs parallel to the Nile fo r 1 4 0 miles along

.
.

t h e l e ft b a n k The underground canals o f Persia enab le

’
‘

the t obacco : plant to be cultiva t ed in th a t country Th e .

dry Pu nj ab in India is admirably irrigated by water

,

taken out o f its various rivers and excellent wheat is

.
,

now regularl y rai sed from lands where f ormerly little but
semi desert conditions prevailed and the B uckingham
-
,

Canal ; r enders th e Coromandel coast f ertile In t h e

'

di ffe rent S t a tes o f the A ustralian Commonwealth w hi ch ,

have on the whole a dry climate irrigation b oth from

, ,
-
, ,

arte s ian wells and impounded river water has been con -
,

s ic u o u sl y success ful
p .

E XER C ISE S
:It is found on the whol e the greatest annual rainfall

occurs near the equator and the amount is less “

t h e higher the latitude .

Th e a n c ie n t irrig a t io n s ys t e m s of Mes op o t a m ia w e re in 1 914

b ein g re v iv e d , a nd
‘

l
a re a d y s o m e t h o us a n d s o f a cre s th a t h a v e be en
l y in g w a s te f o r c e n t uri es h a v e b e e n b r o ug h t with in re a ch o f t h e A ra b
c u l ti t v a o rs .
24 0 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

8 . D escribe the main f eatures o f the rain fall of the

B ritish Isles Where are the wettest and driest
.

regions ? Which are the seasons o f the greatest

and least ra i nf all ? Give reasons to account for
f acts ( Ox
. f and Camb Lower Cert )
. . .

9 . What parts of the world receive f air or heavy rains

in the winter hal f year but hardly any rain in
-

summer ? Explain this Point out how this .

a ffects the vegetation ( Ox f and Camb Low

. er . .

Cert ) .

Give examples ( one of each typ e ) of regions ( a ) with

summer rainf all ( b) with winter rainfall ( c) with
, ,

rainfall at all seasons of the year In each case .

give what explanations you can ( Civil S ervice ) . .

Mention examples of regions which hav e a large

rainfall ( over 7 0 inches per annum ) What ex .

planation can you give o f each example C

( amb .

Jun Loc )
. .

Explain exactly what is meant by the statement ,

The average rainf all o f the Thames basin is

”
2 6 inches What are the chief causes w h ic h
.

determine the distribution o f rain ? ( Coll o f .

Preceptors ) .

Name three very wet and three very dry regions

of the earth and state i n each case the cause of
,

the prevailing condition .

What are the conditions which may determine the

annual rainfall o f a district ? Illustrate your
answer by re f erence to districts with a very low
and others with a very high rai nf all .

D raw and d e scribe a rain gauge Why is the water -

.

o f a rain gauge transferred to another vessel for

-

measuring ? What is meant by an inch o f rain

fall
 DI STRI B U TI ON OF R AIN F A LL 24 1

What is a ra in -
s ha d owHow is it produced Give
e x amples from continental Europe ( London .

Matric ).

17 . From the examination of isotherm and rainfall maps

establish the connection between range of tem
e ra t u re and distribution of rainfall in the Iberian
p
peninsula .

18 . Why is the rainfall on the north side of the Khasia

Hills so much less than on the south side
19 . S tate which parts o f England get the most rain fall
during the year and which parts get the least
, .

Give fully the reasons fo r the di fference ( London .

Matric )
.

20 . The mean annual rainfall at Glasgow is 4 0 inches .

Explain fully the meaning of t h is statement .

S tate the districts in S cotland which have t h e

greatest and least annual rai nfall and account for ,

the f acts ( Ox f Jun Le e )

. . . .

21 . The area of the funnel o f a rain gauge is 2 4 square -

inches and af ter a rainstorm 6 cubic inches o f

,

water were found in the vessel What rainf all .

was represented by the water collected ?

22 . What causes determine rain fall ? Why have some
places more rain than others and at a di fferent ,

time of the year Give examples from any part o f

the B ritish Isles or Europe ( Coll o f Preceptors )
. . .

23 . W h y has Lancashire more rain than Yorkshi re and

Ar gyllshire more than Lancashire ?
24 . W h y is B iarrit z one o f the rainiest places in France
25 . S h ow how rain f all a ffects the distribution o f p o p ul a
tion in Africa and explain also wh y Morocco is
,

more f ertile than Tripoli .

Why does A ustralia re c e iv e m o s t o f its rain from t h e

'

26 .

east and New Z ealand most o f its rain from t h e

24 2 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
west ? What part of New Z ealand receives rain
from the east and when ?
,

Why a re D ecember and January the wettest months

in the west o f the B ritish Isles and A ugust the
,

wettest month in the east

A t what season of the year does the greatest amount
o f ra l n f a ll take place in the greater part of t h e

Indian Empire and to what is t h e rainy season

,

due ? Ca n you mention any exception to the

g eneral rule (.O x f and Camb
. Lower Cert )
.
24 4 PRA CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE OGRA P H Y
mass surrounds the S outh Pole— a n assumption which
recent A ntarctic expeditions have verified To this land .

mass the name o f A ntarctica has been applied The .

North Pole however is completely surrounded with

, ,

water a n d to this water we give the name of the A rctic

,

O cean .

m
Th e For a ti on of Seas —The A rctic as well as the other
.

oceans has seas which may be divided into two classes

( )
i those almost w h olly enclosed and only connected
with the ocean by one or more narrow passages o f water
termed straits ( ii ) those partially enclosed and generally
,

separated from the ocean by a group o f islands In the .

first case the origin o f such seas may be attributed to

the subsidence o f the land and the overflowing o f the
depression thus formed by the waters o f the ocean In .

t h e second case two agents may have been at work :

the land may have subsided but the e ffect of the force
,

o f the o cean water may also have aided in breaking

through and carving out f o r itsel f a series o f more or
less wide passages The North S e a provides us with
.

an excellent example o f t h e work o f both agents In .

most seas gul f s are to be f ou n d These have been .

caused by fractures o f the earth s crust or by the s e a ’

overflowing subsided land While the Gul f o f Genoa

.

and the B a y o f B engal are examples of the former class ,

the B a y of F undy provides us with an example of

the latter S ometimes a gulf is formed by both agents
. .

O ne o f this kind is t h e B a y o f B iscay Al though the .

’
earth s crust has reached a stage when the moving process
no longer seems to continue it must not be assumed ,

that this action is at an end On the contrary m any .

,

p arts o f the earth s sur face are now undergoing a pro cess
’

of gradual upheaval while others are subsidi ng Th e

,
.

west coast o f S candinavia is slowly rising whereas t h e ,

 THE OCE A N S 24 5

east coast is gradually subsiding The ocean floor like .

,

the land mass is subj ect to like changes and the e ffect o f
, ,

these is to cause variations to take place in the depths a n d

shapes of the large seas and oceans .

Re l a tion of Lan d a nd Wa ter Almost four fi ft h s of

.
- -

the whole are a of t h e earth s surface is covered with

’

F IG . 66 .

water The distribution o f land and water is not how

. ,

ever uniform Examine a map o f the worl d and you

,
. ,

will obser v e that nearly all the large land masses o f t h e

globe lie north o f the equator w h ile a very large per
,

centage o f the area south o f thi s line is composed o f

water Except for Australia S outh Am e rica and Africa
. , , ,
24 6 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
a large belt o f water encircles the southern hemisphere .

°
O f this expanse that lying between 3 5 S and 6 0 S
°
. .
,

latitude is called the S outhern O cean .

The world may be divided into two great divisions

namely the water h em is p h ere and the land h em isp h ere .

Of the water hemis p here the pole is near New Z ealand ,

but near the pole o f the land hemisp h ere stands London
the greatest cit y in the world and the capital
'

( fig .

of an empire whose dominions are flung wide over

both hemispheres Note t h at much o f t h e land within
.

the land hemisphere is situated within the temperate

zone and that it tapers southwards in a seri es o f penin
,

sulas .

Th e Oc eans — Th e expanse o f water on the globe is

.
‘

divided into five large divisions ( 1 ) the A tlantic O cean

( )
2 the Pacific O cean ; ( )
3 the Indian O cean ; the
A rctic O cean ; ( 5 ) the A ntarctic O cean The first two .

o f these oceans separate the Ol d World from t h e New on

both sides F or us the A tlantic O cean has always proved

.

o f great interest because it f orms the great h ighway f o r

,

our commerce with the A mericas The A ntarctic Ocean .

lies between the A ntarctic circle and the A ntarctic con

t in e n t and its waters mingle with those o f the S outhern
,

O cean which encircles it .

Th e A tlan tic Ocean — A ltho u gh the A tlantic O cean

.

is only hal f the size o f the Pacific it is the most important

,

of all the oceans on the surf ace o f the globe f or it is a ,

sea canal between t he Ol d and New Worlds It has a

-
.

l onger coast line with more and large r i nl a nd seas b a ys

-
, , ,

and gulfs ; its S hores are bordered by m o r e ; fe rt ile _

countries and hen ce it has always possessed a far larger

commerce than any other ocean Its shape is li ke th e .

letter S— a longitudinal valley a long winding be l t of , , , .

wa ter run ning t hro ugh t hree zo nes B ot h s ides of t his .

24 8 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

Chi na S e a . Its A merican

coast presents a striking con
trast to the A siatic There the only indentations of
.
,

importance are the submerged valley called the Gulf of “

Cali f ornia and the numerous fio rd s along the submerged

( or drowned mountainous coasts of Canada and C hile .

On t h e south the ocean is open to the cold waters of

the S outhern Ocean but on the north it is S heltered
,

by land masses which proj ect from the A siatic and

A merican continents B ering S trait
.
— a narrow passage

o f water— alone connects it with the A rctic O cean It .

is girt by an almost unbroken belt o f volcanic activity

known as the Girdle o f F ire ( see p The river . “

drainage of the Pacific is in proportion to its s ize re

, ,

m a rk a bl y small This is in no small measure d u e to

.

the very mountainous coast of the A merican c ontinent ,

through which it receives only a very small contribution

of water . The drai nage area that contributes water to
t h e Pacific is only about square miles and ,

it i s mainl y from the A siatic slopes that the oc ean

receives its chief supply A ustralia like A meric a sends
.
, ,

forth very few rivers w h ich are for the most part o nl y
small mountain tor rents
,

-
The commercial importance
.

of this ocean and t h at o f the A tlantic will rapidly '

increase now that the Panama Canal has been opened .

Th e In d ian Ocea n —The Indian Ocean

s the region ,
”
o f t h e monsoons lies mostly in t h e
( see pp 1 5 4 .

southern hemisphere withi n the torrid zone and b e

, ,

tween the three continents o f A frica A sia and A ustral ia , , .

It s area 1 8 about square miles U nlike t h e .

A tlan tic Ocean it is land locked on the north

,
-
To .

th e so uth it presents an O pen front to t h e waters of the

S outhern O cean Like the Pacific it sends f orth m a ny
.
,

br anches into the A siatic continent the chief o f whi c h ,

are the Re d Se a , th e PerS ia n Gul f, t h e Ara b i a n S ea ,

,
,
 THE OCE AN S 24 9

and the B a y o f B engal A noteworthy fact is that there

.

are no openings of any S ize either along the West

Australian or East A frican coasts It possesses a very .

large drainage basin and several of the largest rivers

-
,

in the world bring to it their contributions Most of .

this supply is brought down by the rivers o f A sia The .

Red S e a receives no large river and the Persian Gul f ,

only one the S hat e l A rab The Indus the Ganges the
, .
, ,

B rahmaputra and the Irrawaddy with their a fflu e n t s

,

carry down to the sea the melted snow from t h e high

lands o f the interior of the continent Comparatively .

little water is contribut e d either by the A frican or

A ustralian rivers Like the A tlantic and Pacific the
.
,

Indian Ocean is an important highway o f com

merce .

h
T e Ar cti Ocea
c n —Thi s ocean is connected with the
.

A tlantic by a broad O pening and with the Pacific by a ,

very narrow one It has one important branch the

.
,

White S e a which pen e trates f or some considerable

,

distance into northern Europe This sea is blocked with .

ice for many months during the year because it is shut ,

off by the S candinavian Peninsula from the warm waters

of the A tlantic D rift The drainage area o f the A rctic
.

i s also considerable Numerous large rivers send down

.

into it an enormous supply of fresh water from the ,

S iberian Plain the north of Europe and the great northern

, ,

plain of North A merica The whole ocean is almost .

entirely covered by ice fiel d s which vary from 5 to 5 0

-

f eet in thickness Round the coast are many islands

. ,

of which Greenl and is the largest O n the west coast .

o f Greenl and are numerous glaciers the best known o f ,

whi ch is the Humboldt Glacier in 7 9 north latitude ,

°
.

When these glaciers reach the sea the ends break o ff ,

u nder the li f ting swell of the waves ; a nd the se brok e n

2 50 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

ends f orm icebergs ( see p T h is process is called .

“
the c a lving of the glaciers The waters o f the A rctic .

have been found to be o f gr eater s alinity than those

o f the oth er great oceans T h is is because wh en water .
,

freezes the salt which it contains in solution crystal

,

lises out and f alls into the sur face layers underne a th
the ice Take a small vessel o f salt solution and place
.

it in a freezing mixture composed o f finely pounded ice ,

to which has been added one third o f the same quantity -

of salt When the first coating o f ice f orms on the water

.

in the vessel take it o ff and place it in a saucer before

, ,

a fire until the ice thaws and the water evaporates No .

salt will be f ound to remain behind on the saucer In

"

other words the water that evaporates is f res h water

,

which before freezing held salt in solution If however

, , .
, ,

furt her ice c oats are allowed to f orm in the v essel and a re
-

removed and evaporated a slight deposit will be found ,

'

o n the sauc e r This is due to the increased d e n s it y o f

'

t h e water in t h e v e s se l Al ong the S hores o f the A rctic

_ .
,

in S iberia the S amoyedes obtain t h eir supply o f salt

,

by br eaking the sur face co a tings o f ice which have

form e d over the frozen marshes and so collecting the ,
‘

salt which on crystallising out h a s f allen upon t h e

, ,

ground .

Th e An tarc ti c Ocea n Th e A ntarctic Ocean surroun d s the

.
-

newly f ound contine nt Antarctic a It has o nly southern .

-

S hores a nd the thr ee gr e at oceans may almost be regard e

, d
4
as mighty gul f s radiating from it O n the continent is .
-

to be seen a lofty range o f m ounta i ns , from w h ic h t wo

'

—
volcanoes Mount Erebus and Mount Terror arise : —
.

Thi s land has not always been covered with ice as has ,

be en proved b y the existence o f coal deposits Th e A n t

'
-
.

arctic is a much colder o c e a n th a n the A rctic an d se nds ,

out into wa rmer s e a s a la rger n umber of larg e icebe rgs -

2 52 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

E X E R C I S ES
1 . D escribe the distribution o f ( a ) land and water ,

mountains and plains as they might be seen from

,

a p o int far above the North Pole ( O

.x f and Camb
. .

Lower Cert ) .

Compare the distribution o f l a n d and sea in the northern

and i n the southern hemispheres S tate some of
.

the conse quences o f these facts ( Ox f S e n Loc )

. . . .
 CH A PTER XVIII

Wav es a nd Ti d es

Movements of Sea wa ter —There are three distinct kinds

-
.

o f movement in the waters o f the sea F irst there are .

waves caused by the wind and usually named wind wa ves ,

-
,

to distinguish them from other waves such as tidal

waves These at the sea margins do the work of de
.
-

nudation along the co a sts D ependi ng as they do upon .

winds varying in both force and direction wind waves ,

-

are very irregular and variable S econdly there are .

,

ti d es caused by the regular unvarying f orecastable

, , ,

influences of the sun and moon upon the waters These .

tides by lifting up the waters of the ocean allow the

, ,

wind wa v es to play over a larger vertical surface o f cli ff

-

coast Thirdly there are currents or surface drifts also

.
, ,

regular easily traceable and even mappable actual

, , ,

rivers in the ocean Currents act as a transporting

.

agent o f any detritus that may come in their path Tidal .

waves help in the work of both denudation and transport .

Wind wa ves —Take a bowl o f water and blow gently

-
.

U pon the water Notice the little ripples s e t up B low

. .

harder and harder and you will see that the s ur face
,

disturbance becomes more intensified T h is shows that .

the greater the wind f orce the more violent the agitation ,

o f the water and the bigger the waves produced

,
Tie a .

2 53
2 54 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

good length of clothes line to a gate post or other fixture - -

and take the free end o f the line nearly as far as its length
will allow Keep this end in your hand and let the r e pe
.

lie slack upon the ground Then with a sharp u p and .

-

down movement of the hand propel a series of waves

along the lin e You will see that t h e wa v e m ov es f orwa rd
.
,

bu t th e rap e d oes n ot Watch a field o f ripe corn as the .

breezes blow over it Al t h ou gh wa v e s are seen to pass .

right over the field yet you know quite well that the
ears of corn merely bend up a nd down In the w
,

ind .

waves o f the sea the same t h ing happens : th e wa v e

m ov es f orwa rd bu t tke wa ter d oes n ot
,
'
A b e a t out on t h e .
~

open sea is li fted u p by a wave it d rops again when t h e

_ ,

wave has gone it is li fted up again by the next w ave

, ,

and so on S o though wav e a fter wave passes on under

.

the boat the boat is not carried f orward by the water

, .

T h e t o p o f a w a v e is c a ll e d t h e crest t h e d e p r es s io n b e t we en ,

t wo cre s t s t h e trough , t h e v e rt ic a l d is t a nc e fro m cres t t o t ro u gh

t h e h eigh t, and th e h o ri z on ta l ’

d is t a n c e f ro m cr e s t to c re s t th e
l ength .

K i nd s Waves
of you watch the sea from t h e
.
—A s
S hore on a calm breezeless day you a re p o s sibl y sur ,
e

prised to see the w aters h e av m g and rolling heavil y‘

upon t h e shore If waves a re win d c a used and n o win d

.
_
: -
, ,

is b lowing the re how a re t hese S l ow heavi ngs brought

, ,

about W h e n y ou thro w a stone i nto a pond the ripple s

‘

are pr olon ged f a r beyond t h e point o f di sturba nce ; S o

these roll ings o f the S e a under a calm air a re the eff ect
‘

-
_

o f d isturbanc e d u e to a f a r o ff s t orm S uc h rolling waves -

.

are k n own as ground-swell The lin es O i m o re o r gl e s s

’

. .

paral l el waves f orm ed wh e n t h e gr ound swell reaches u

-

shall ow wate r on a slop ing b each are called rol l ers When .

a wave nears t h e shore its wave f orm is destroy ed and -

there is an actual f orwa rd mov emen t of the water F or .

2 56 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

third of that strength The power of these waves is so

.

great that huge blocks are torn from their beds and hurled
f orward coastwards On the beaches these blocks are
.

shattered into smaller fragments and finally ground to

small pebbles F rom both boulders and pebbles by
.
,

their rubbing together particles are worn o ff so fine that

,

they can float away in the receding water The pebble s .

and shingle so f ormed are the n used as the tools by which

the waves cut their way into the land ; f o r it is not t he
direct action o f water that undercuts the cli ffs but r ather ,

the bombardment of the pebbles and shingle hurled by

the waves against the shore .

Ti d es .
— A t the s easide o n e o f t h e most f amiliar o f all
phenomena is that th e beach is sometimes covered by
the S e a and at other times it is a str e tch of bare sand
, .

When the beach is covered right up to the promenade

you will have heard the remark that it is h igh wa ter ;
when the waters have receded as f a r as they will go you ,

will h ave heard the remark that it is l ow wa ter More

'

over you will have noticed that the success i on o f high

,

wa t e r a n d low water takes place at regular intervals

'
.

To you it will have seemed that the water flowed in wave

w a te r

F IG . 67 .
 WAVE S AND TI DE S 57

L ow W a te r

by wave to the top of the beach and then wave by wave

,

flowed out again A n d this fl o wing in and fl o wing out

.
- -

of the water you have called the tid e com ing in and the
tide going ou t F ig 6 7 is a diagram of a sloping sea
. .

beach showing the different levels between high water

at H and low water at L You will see from this diagram
.

that there is a lif ting of the lev el of the wa ter rather than a
flowing in The water level is raised bit by bit and after
.
-
,

each S light rise there is a slightly less subsidence B u t .

as each rise is greater than each succeeding subsidence ,

the rise in level works up the beach f rom L to H .

A t this point the p ower that was raising the water

level gradually ceases to act and subsidence b egins to
,

gain on rise till the waters fal l back to their old level
,

at L The difference between the highest high water

.

and‘the lowest low water is called the ti d a l ra ng e Where .

no beach is exposed even at low water the li fting of the

, ,

level o f the water is more easily p erceived as in fig 6 8 , . .

Ca uses of th e Ti d es — Imagin e a huge steel spring

.
~

mattress stretched from one end to the other of your

17
2 58 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

schoolroom about a yard above the floor Imagine .

also a powerful magnet suspended from above to within

a f oot of the mattress If this magnet could be made
.

t o travel by means O f a grooved wheel upon a rail from

one end of the room to the other at that distance above
the m a tt re s s y o u would see a sort of wave o f mattress
, ,

rising up and f ollowing the magnet as it moved a l Ong ,

the mattress again subsiding a fter the passing of the

m agnet . The same thing would also happen if a similar
mattress could be made to move along under a suspended
magnet which was stationary Now consider the earth .

as the mattr e ss moving as it rotates in front of the moon

, ,

which acts as the magnet The whole earth is drawn .

towards the moon a f e w feet leaving the waters of the ,

oceans and seas bulging out on the side of the earth

’
remote from the moon s influence because they a re too ,
.

far from the moon to suffe r any attraction B u t not .

o nl y is the solid earth thus slightly drawn towards the

moon ; the waters o f the oceans and seas on the side of
the ear th nearer the moon being more mobile are also , ,

drawn a fe w feet nearer the moon than the solid earth .

In this way are formed on Opposite sides of the eart h

two waves Which travel round the earth as it rotates
These waves are the ti da l waves that
'

be f o re t h e moon .

appear along the shores of all seas and oceans twice duri ng
each rotation of the earth Thus you say . The tide is ,
”
coming in wh en the tidal wave is approaching t h e
,
”
s h ore ; and you say The tide is going out when the
, ,

sea is subsiding a fter the passing o f the tidal wave Th e . .

tide is said to be fl owing as it comes in and ebbing as it , .

goes out If the eart h were rotating and the moon were
.

stationary the re would be a high tide every twelve hours

, .

B u t t h e moon is slowly revolving around the earth in

t h e same di rection as the earth s rotation once a month
’
.
2 60 PRACTI CAL P HY S I CAL GE O GRA PH Y
the solar tides and the lunar tides coincide A t these .

times the high tide is the highest possible and the low tide
is the lowest possible ( sp ring ti d es ) When the sun .

and moon are in quadrature that is when the moon is in

, ,

its first and last quarters the solar tides do not coincide
,

with the lunar tides f o r the low water of the one then
agrees with the high water of the other and the total
effect is diminished A t these times neither is the h igh
.

tide so high as at spring tides nor the low tide so low ,

.

Tides of this kind are known as neap or nipped tid es .

The height o f the tides also varies with the distance O f

the sun and moon from the earth ( fig .

Effe ct of Land Masses on Ti d es —A S the earth rotates .

from west to east the tidal wave if the waters Of the earth
, ,

were not interf ered with by land masses wo ul d p a s s

'

round the earth from east to west the crest o f the wave ,

always lying in the direction O f the lines o f longitude .

A s it is in the southern hemisphere the west moving tidal

,
-

wave IS well developed and travels across the Pacific at

,

the rate Of about miles per hour S uppose the tidal .

wave appears O ff the west coast o f S outh A merica at 9 a m . .

on any date its rate of flow across the Pacific may be

,

j udged from the fact that in about ten hours ( i e 7 p m . . . .

the same day ) it will arrive O ff the coasts of New

Z ealand and K a m t c h a t k a A cross the Indian Ocean
.

the wave moves from south east to north west travelling

- -
,

more rapidly in deep than in shallow water until it arrives ,

O ff S outh A frica at someti m e about noon on the following

d ay On entering the A tlantic however the wave

.
, ,

swings round the Cape o f Good Hope and passes up this

ocean as a north moving wave at the rate o f about 7 0 0
-

miles an hour Then advancing more rapidly in mid

.
,

ocean than on the margins it swings round again a fter,

p a ssing the equator and reaches the B ritish Isles at abou t

,
 WA VE S A ND TI D E S 2 61

4 a . m
on the next day actually moving from the south
.
,

west towards the north east In the Pacific its tendency -

.

is generally westwards When the tidal wave reaches

.

the shallow water near the S hores o f any country its ,

f orm and velocity become greatly modified by f riction ,

and ti da l stream s are set up .

Ti d e ra c es a nd B or es
- In narrow channels between
.
~ -

two islands or between islands and the mainl and these

tidal streams acquire great speed and are then known ,

as ra c es e g the Race o f Al derney in the Channel

, . .

Islands and the tidal race in the Pentland F irth in the

,

north of S cotland The meeting o f two tidal waves in

.

a confined passage will O ften give rise to a wh irl p ool as ,

also will a race when it rushes upon a line o f sunken

rocks or even upon the groynes which are commonly
,

built along the eastern English coast to protect the

beaches and prevent the excessive drifting o f sand or
s hingle There is a f amous whirlpool called Co rrie v re k in
.

( the cauldron of B recan ) O ff the west coast o f A rgyllshire

It is caused by the meeting o f tides ( running thirteen
miles an hour ) from the north and west in a narrow
passage between two small islands in the sound o f J u ra .

The tidal race rushes upon a pyramid shaped rock which -

,

rises with a rapid S lope from a depth of 1 0 0 fathoms to

within 1 5 f eet of the surface A nother f amous whirlpool is .

the Ma e l s t rOm ( the grinding stream ) near the west coast

“
,

o f Norway between two islands of the Lo fo d e n group

,
.

If a tidal wave flows into a shallow narrowing inl et like

the estuary O f a river it gathers height as it advances
,

between the converging banks S uch a h igh tidal wave .

advancing up any narrowing gul f is known as a bore .

In the case o f an estuary the energy o f the bore is gradu ,

ally decreased by the d o wn fl o w o f the river The most .

celebrat e d b or e s are those of the Ganges the Indus and , ,

2 62 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRAPHY

the B rahmaputra In t h e H figl i branch O f the Ganges

.

the bore travels 7 0 miles in 4 hours as a wall of water

7 f eet high . In the B a y o f F undy the bore occurs on a
very gigantic scale ; f or between low a n d hi gh water '

there is a di fference as great as 7 0 f eet S teamers at some .

o f the villages on this bay lie stranded on the sand with

steam up ready to start the moment the tide catche s

them . Many English estuaries have bores e g the ,
. .
-

S olway F irth the S evern and the Trent

, ,
A t Chepstow .
,

on the Wye occurs the highest tide in the B ritish Isles

,
.

The S evern bore as it passes the mouth of the Wye is

sometimes as much as 4 0 f eet above mean sea level -
.

The bore of the Trent is called the ZEgir *

A sea with .

a narrow entrance blocks out the full f orce O f the tidal

wave and this is the reason why seas like the Mediterranean
,
-

and the B altic are very little subj ect to tidal rise and f all .

Co ti dal Lin es
- — Generally speaki ng in the northern
. ,

hemisphere the moon is due south O f every place on

,

any meridian as by the rotation o f the earth that

, ,

meridian passes under the moon In theory the time .

,

o f high water at any place should agree with the time

when the moon is due south of ( i e: southing at ) tha t .

place B ut a fter the southing o f the moon there is

.
, ,

always an interval o f delay in the arrival o f the tidal

wave The causes of the delay a re the unequal depths
.

of the sea at di fferent places the irregular shape bf ,

the land masses the varying widths and lengths of the

,

channels through which the tidal wave may pass the ,

action Of t h e wind and so on ,

Not only do these .

things cause delay at all places but they also cause the ,

amount o f delay to vary from place to place o r from—

port to port since it is naturally at seaports that most
,

tidal Observations are made The interval f o r any port

.

F ro m A egir, t h e n a m e o f a n Ol d N ors e s e a - go d .
2 64 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
branches one to S outhampton v ia the S olent the other
, ,

Vi a the S pithead t h ree hours later thus giving S outh

,

F IG . 70 .

ampton the enormous c o m m erc1 a l advantage of four high

tides every twenty four hours inst e a d of t h e normal two
-
.
 WA VE S A ND TI D E S 265

At Havre two high tides appear together with the res ul t ,

that high tide at that port lasts much lo nger than

usual a phenomenon that is o f considerable advantage
,

to Havre s A tlantic tra ffic D ouble tides also occur at

’
.

Poole and at Weymouth The c o tidal line marked IV .

-

’ ’
O clock off south west Land s End represents the same
-

wave that le ft the Cape of Good Hope fi fteen hours

previously ( see a c o tidal map o f the world ) -

ic
S e h es —A mobile substance like water must be
.

a ffected more or less by the variations in pressure of

the atmosphere above it Where air pressu re is high the .
-
,

surface O f a sea or lake will be depressed ; where the

air pressure is low the water surface will stand higher
-
,

than usual This alternation o f high and low water

.

corresponding to low and high air pressure is called a -

*
se i ch e The name was given to this phenomenon by
.

Prof essor F orel who by his observations on Lake Geneva

,

in 1 8 6 9 laid the foundations of our present knowledge

O f the laws of seiches This particular kind of rise and
.

f all probably takes place on the surface o f all b odies of

water ; but it can be O bserved with ease and accur acy
onl y on comparatively small bodies such as lakes and
inland seas The seiche is not a simultaneous rise and
.

fall of the whole O f a lake surface but a fall of one or ,

more portions of the surface with a corresponding rise

of the others f ollowed by the rise and f all o f those por
,

tions Take an ordinary pudding basin and fill it three

.
-

quarters full o f water ; stand it 0 11 a table tilt it slightly ,

sideways and then j erk it back to its position o f rest

,

upon the table If you watch the surface o f the water

.
,

you will see it oscillate from side to side o f the basin ,

with alternate rises and falls at the opposite margins ,

W in d s a nd e ar t h t re m o rs a re l
a so c re d i te d w it h p ro d u c in g
s e ic h e s .
 "
2 66 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

with pract ically no di fference o f level in the middle

b ut ‘
.

Th is e x a ct l y illustrates the S im p l e s t fo rm of t h e seiche

’ ' '

in wh ic h d e p re s s io n o f the sur face occurs in o nl y On e

‘ '
'

'
l at a time The more complicated f orms O cc ur
‘

a Ce
p .

when there a re t wo or more re gions o f depression a t the

'
-

S a me time In Lake G e neva the rise of th e s e ich e s ome

“ ‘

‘
‘

t iin e s rea ch es 6 f eet S mall seiches are known to O ccur

‘ ’

on Lochs Katrine Ness Earn and other S cotch lakes , , ,

.

At Lake Michigan and at D ul uth o n La k e '

‘

‘
S up eri or there is also a range of a f e w inches
'

f
Tida l —
The rise a n d fa ll o f the tide s is a force S O '

con stant a nd powerful that it seems a pity man does not

m a ke more use of it S mall uses are already f o u n d fo r
‘
‘ ‘

this g e at f or ce but a common and extensive use

r O f l it,

is yet to co me A t some seaside towns in England e g

"

. .
.
,

at Fil e y bathing places are so built that S e a water can

,
-
‘
-

e nter at each high tide and be emptied out again at each

low tide On the New England and Nova S cotian coas t s
.

similar st ructures have been built and a fter they have ,

b e e n fil l e d automatically at high tide t h e water is allowe d

'

t o e sca p e through s l uice gates at low t ide in such a way -

that i t turns a wheel geared to a corn mill La nd -

.
‘

warp i ng is done b y tidal gates at many places on the ‘

east coast O f England A t F erriby Sluice in Lincolnshir e

’
.

t h e m uddy co ffee coloured tidal w aters a re allowed to ,

-

cover the l and within t h e required area at high tide ,

and b ef ore this water is released at a subsequ e nt low

tide a deposit O f fine mud has been laid down
,
*

Just .

T h is na m e l
is gi v e n t o t h e e n c o s in g o f a b o d y o r s h e e t o f
wa t e r t i ll th e l
s e di m e n t i t h o d s in s us p e ns io n h a s b e e n d e p o s i t e d .

Th e O p e ra t io n ca n on ly be c a rrie d out on -
l
fl a t , l o w y in g t r a c t s
ly l
l

whi ch be s u b m e rg e d Th e t is t h e s a m e a s t h a t
‘

ca n re a d i . r es u

e ff ec t e d b y t h e in un d a t io n Of th e N il e : th e l a nd is c o v er e d wit h
a t o p d ress in g
-
o f n a t u ra l m a n ur e .
2 68 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

Cambridge , 5 0 miles from the sea is only 2 5 f eet abov e

.

sea level and with such a slight fall it was quite easy for
-
,

the tide to back up as f a r as Earith twice a day To .

prevent this flooding o f the F ens a drain 4 0 f eet wide

was cut from D enver to Earith to receive the tidal back ,

wash The drain named a fter the nobleman who und er

.
,

took the work was called the B ed f ord Level It relieved

, .

the flooding o f t h e F ens but did not succeed in draining

,

them properly In 1 6 5 0 another drain was cut parallel

.

with the first and named the New B ed f ord Level although
, ,

the work had or iginally been planned by his Maj esty

Charl e s I The New B ed f ord Level was 1 0 0 f e et wide
.
,

and a sluice was built across the Great Ouse at D enver

to turn the incoming tide up the New D rain leaving ,

nothing but normal water between D enver and Earith .

The New B ed f ord Level is now the main bed o f the Ouse ,

and the old bed from E arith to D enver is known as the

Old West River ( which is a mere ditch till the Ca m
enters it ) .

E X ER C I S E S
1 . the east coast o f England rock material is con
On
t in u a l l y f alling from the cli ffs What becomes of .

this
2 . What are the conditions necessary for the f ormation
of a tidal bor e Quote examples .

The tide raising power o f the moon is not the

-

absolute attraction on the eart h as a whole but ,

its di fferential attraction Explain this . .

4 Give some account o f the movements due to the tides

.

around the shores of Great B ritain ( Ox f a nd . .

Camb S ch Cert ) . . .
 WA VES A ND TIDES 269

Give an account of t h e movement the tide in the of

A tlantic O cean calling attention to any places

,

where its rise and f all is unusually great or where

its direction o f movement is abnormal ( Ox f . .

and Camb Lower Cert ). .

The tidal wave in the S outhern Ocean moves from

east to west in the Indian O cean it moves from
,

south to north it approaches the west and south

shores of the B ritish Isles speaking generally from ,

the west and on the east coast of the B ritish

,

Isles it travels from north to south A ccount f o r .

these changes in direction and mention any result ,

of the various directions o f the tides round the

B ritish Isles .

D escribe the Maelstrom and explain how eddies and

,

W hirlpools are caused .

What are c o tidal lines What is proved by the form

-

of these lines as to the heights of tides Name

some places which have high tides and some which
are nearly ti d eless Why is th ere no tide in the
.

Mediterranean S e a ? ( Civil S ervice ) .

S pring tides at Liverpool rise to a height o f about

2 6 feet at B ristol to 33 f eet at Greenock to 1 0
, ,

f eet and at D ublin to 1 4 feet

,
When high tide .

occurs at noon at D ublin there is high tide at ,

Liverpool at p m at B ristol at
.
p m .
, . .
,

and at Greenock at p m Explain why the . .

times and the heights o f the tides at these places

are so d i fferent ( Civil S ervice )
. .

10 . What changes would be observed in the hour and

the height o f high tide if t h e observations were ,

continued at a place fo r one month S tate briefly

the cause o f each di fference that would be noticed .

( Northern U niv M atr i c ) . .

 27 0 «
PR ACTI CA L PHY SICAL GE OGRAPHY

11, Upon wha t principles doe s the formation of the tides

depen d ? D escribe the di fferences between tidal
phe nomena ( a ) i n the O pen ocean ( b) in shallow ,

in estuaries ( Ox f S e n Loc ) . . . .

12 . Explain the course of the tidal wav e around the :

B rit is h Isles I
Explain any peculiarities in the
,

tides of di fferent parts of the B ritish coasts ( Lond . .

U niv Matric ) . .

13 . What geographical considerations have favoured the

recent marked increase in the importance o f
S outhampton as a port of call f or A tlantic liners
( O x f and
. C amb S ch Cert ) . . .

14 . The hours o f high and low water at a seaport and ,

the di ff erence of level b e tween them vary from ,

day to day .

Give a general account of the changes which

take pl ace Ca n you connect t h e changes with
.

t h e p h a s e s of the moon ?
‘

Explain why there 1 s a diff erence in the rise and

fal l of the tides on the same day in the B ristol
Channel and the Gulf o f Genoa ( Ox f S e n . . .

Lo o ) .

15 . Give a short accou nt of the chie f phenomena o f the

,

tides describing the principal movements of oceani c

,

w a ters which are d u e to tidal influence U nder .

what conditions do tid a l cu rren ts occur ? Give

and explain instances in which tidal movements
are ( a ) f avourable and ( b) unfavourabl e t o n a v ig a
, ,

tion ( Ox f S e n Loc )
. . . .

16 . What is meant by hig h tide low tide and f oreshore , ,

Why do the heig h t o f t h e tide and the ext e nt o f

t h e f oreshore vary at di fferent places ? ( Camb .

Jun Loc )
. .

17 . What comm ercial advantag e s are to be gained from

 CH A PTE R g
xrx

Ocea n Currents

Defini ti on an d Ca use .
—There are perceptible movements
of the water from one part to another in all the larg e
oceans Th ese movements take the form of streams
.

or rivers in the ocean flow at the rate of nearly f our miles

,

per hour and are called currents Their direction is

, .

always constant and their circulation is closely associated

,

with the cyclonic circulation o f the atmosphere In the .

attempt to ascertain the causes of these currents much

has been attributed to t h e effects of the prevailing winds ,

the configuration o f the coast and its submarine approaches ,

the di fferenc e s in t e mperature and density o f t h e sea and ,

indirectly the earth s rotation Al l o f these assist in

’
.

the f ormation o f currents but it is now generally accepted, ,

from the close resemblance which the atmospheric circula

tion bears to the oceanic circulation that the pr e vailing ,

winds constitute the most powerful age nt in t h e pro

duction o f these movements .

Prevaili ng Wi nds a nd Currents — Within a belt round .

° °
the globe bounded by the parallels 30 N and 3 0 S
,
. .

latitude the prevailing winds known as the north east

, ,
-

and south east trades blow towards the equator North

-
,
.

o f this belt blow the south west anti trades and south - -
,

of it the north west anti trades ( see p

-
B e twe e n
-
.

°
4 0 S and 6 0 S latitude the variabl e and strong west
°
. .

2 72
 OCEAN CURR EN TS 27 3

wi nd s which have a great effect on the waters o f the

,

S outhern Ocean blow all the year round

, . The result
of a system o f winds like the last on a large expanse o f
water may be shown by perf orming a simple experiment ,

which will go a long way to explain the causation a n d

FIG . 71 .

circulation of the main ocean currents : O n a square

tray model in clay a rough outline o f the land bordering
,

the A tlantic Ocean as shown in t h e diagram fig 7 1

. .Le t
the clay be about an inch deep throughout Fi ll up the
.

hollow intervening between the two patches of clay with

18
274 PR ACTI CA L PH Y S I CAL GE OGR APHY

water till it r eaches nearly to the level of the clay .

S prinkle on the surface o f the water a small quantity of

bran or sawdust and blow with a tube at A in the direction
,

of X Immediately there will be seen to take place a

.

movement of the surface water towards X its move ,

ment be i ng show nby a corresponding motion of the bran

or sawdust in the same direction This circulation will .

be seen not to finish at X but because of the shape of ,

the clay at that place it is continued back across the

,

water till it reaches a point Y on the same side but ,

north o f t h a t from which you are blowing Here the .

sawdust is se en to divide into two streams one going ,

northwards in the direction shown by the dotted line ,

the other returning southwards to A In fact a more .

or l ess exact representation of the direction of flow o f the

chie f ocean currents of the A tlantic may b e obtained
in this way F ro m this we may conclude that one o f the
.
v

chie f factors in the causation of ocean currents is wind .

A fu rther proo f is adduced by t h e fact that the great

ocean currents in the monsoon areas o f the A tlantic and
Pacific Oceans change their d irections with the change
of the monso ons ( see pp 1 5 4 6 ) A clear distinction
.
h .

must however be made between a surface d rif t which

,
-

,
—
is merely a general f orward movement of the surface
’

'

water due entirely to the action o f the wind— and a

great ocean current— which is a stream o f conside rable
depth due to di fference in density o f the water in addition
-

to the action o f the syst e m of prevailing winds F or .

example it would be entirely wrong to speak o f the Gulf

,

S tream a fter i t has passed the parallel

,
N latitude .
,

as an ocean current because its direction and very

,

e xistence depend upon the south west anti trade W inds - -

a nd upon nothing else Its corr ect name then is t h e

.
, ,

Gul f Strea in Drif t, or better the Nor th A tl a nti c Drift

, .
27 6 PR ACTI CAL PHYS I CAL GE OGRAPHY

up i n the O pposite direction t e from t h e tropics towards

, . .

the poles The underneath flow o f this circ ul ation;

.

”
called the polar creep is strengthened by the need
,

there is to supply the deficiency lost in t h e tropics through

evaporation That there is a sinking of cooler waters
.

as they flow equatorwards and a flowing over them of

warmer waters from the equator polewards is proved
by the fact that the sea bottom is inhabited Without
-
.

a fresh supply o f oxygen there could be no li fe near the

ocean bed The sinking of the water flowing equator
.

wards begins a t about the parallels 4 0 N and 4 0 S °

.
.
°
.

latitude This sinking is due to the f act that the flow is

.

entering a region o f warmer and t h ere f ore of less dense

water This circulation is now called n ot a convection
.
,

current but t h e p l ane tary circul a ti on It differs from

, .

the ocean currents in that its circul ation is v ertica l .

O cean currents a re a h ori zon ta l circul a ti on although ,

the constant winds that cause the ocean currents are

the planetary circulation o f the atmosphere ( see p 1 5 8 ) . .
l

These vertical movements in the oceans are very f eeble

compared with the e ffect o f winds fo r below ,

fathoms the di fference in temperature between the waters

at the tropics and those at t h e poles is almost negligible .

We can show this clearly by comparing the ocean floor

in those parts in which a strong deep current prevails
, ,

with the ocean bed l n other places Al ong the Wyville .

Thomson Ridge in the A rctic O cean across which a , ,

strong current flows from the poles scarcely a singl e ,

particle o f sediment is to be f ound If the currents set .

up by thermal di fferen ces were strong t h e plat e aux and ,

ridges o f other parts o f the ocean bed would be swept

cl e ar o f marine deposits O f all kinds That this is not .

so proves that the circul ation is a very gentle one and ,

that thermal di fferences merely aid in a slight mea sure the

 OCE A N CU RRENT S

oceanic circulation D i fferences o f temperature in the

.

oceans however give rise to dense f ogs and frequently

, ,

to sudden and terrific storms Warm currents raise the .

temperature O f the air which is in contact with the ocean ,

while cool currents lower it The result is to cause great .

differences in atmospheric temperature over small a n d

large areas and thus create cyclonic disturbances of more
,

or less intens ity ( see p High temperatures cause.

much evaporation but in the great oceans their e ffect

,

in this respect is small In enclosed seas however they .

, ,

provide us with one of the chief causes o f currents .

Th e Ea r th s Ro ta ti on a nd Curr en ts
’ — In accordance with
F e rrel s Law ( p
’
all m o v m g bodies on the earth s
.
’

S urface suffer deflection or deviation from their course ,

’
because of the earth s rotation This is as true f o r .

currents as for winds Al l water particles when set in .

,

motion by the prevailing winds undergo a deviation ,

-

from a straight path towards the right as they move in

the northern he m isphere and towards the left in the
southern If we examine a map of the currents of the
.

A tlantic O cean we shall find that the North Equatori al

,

Current on nearing the West Indies sweeps northwards

along the coast o f A merica while the S outh Equatorial ,

Current on nearing the B razilian coast sweeps south

°
wards The degree o f deviation is about 4 5 to the
.

right of the direction of the wind in the northern hemi

S phere and to the le f t in the southern It is clearly .

apparent that the e ffect of the earth s rotation is to cause ’

all the moving particles o f wat er to lag behind In the .

tropics where the rate of rotation is at a maximum

, ,

there the lagging is greatest Thi s tendency of the water .

to keep back while the earth is going on enables the pre

, ,

v ailin g winds to f orm the equatorial currents which flow

westwards A gain the d e e p e r l a ye rs l a g behi nd t he uppe r
.
,
l
278 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

in deflection and the velocity of the current rapidly

,

diminishes in consequence *
The Gul f S tr e am D rift
.
,

while on its way northwards from the coast o f F lorida

to the banks o f New f oundland decreases from a velocity , \

o f about five miles an hour to one mile and a hal f per

hour The same thing is true o f the B razilian current

.

in the southern hemisphere its velocity decreases as it

moves southwards and it becomes more and more de,

fl e ct e d to w ards the lef t The same remarks apply t o th e .

chie f currents in the other oceans .

Cu r r n
e ts o f h
t e A tl a n tic — S out h of S outh A merica in
.

the S outhern O cean the west wind causes a drift stream

to be set up that traverses the S outh A t l a n t ic in an easterl y
direction ( fig O n reaching the shores of S outh
.

Af rica it becomes merged in an A ntarctic dri f t f orming

the B enguela Current which being deflected by the land , , ,

fl o Ws northwards The B enguela Current like most

.
,

currents takes its name from the country by which it

,

flows A s it goes north it comes under the influence of

.

the south east trades which in time cause it to flow

-
,

farther away from the African coast till in its turn it ,

becomes the S outh Equatorial Current This current .

is driven north westwards by the same winds and con

-

t in u e s to flow almost parallel to a similar current call e d

the North Equatorial Current The flow of both across .

the ocean is a ffected not only by the earth s rota tion ’

,

bu t also by the direction of the W inds which are being

slightly deflected to the right in the nort h ern hemisphere
.

—
and to the le ft in the southern that is assuming you ,

are looking in the direction in which the wind is

.

blowing .The northern c ur rent is the re f ore being , ,

deflected towards the north west ; whil e the s outhern -

Th is l gg n g o f t h e wa t e rs s e t s up a f ic t io n wh ic h is th e m a in
a i r

th e d iminut ion of t he ra te o f th e
’
ca us e of e ar t h s r o t a t io n .
280 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

flows northward s along the east coast o f America till ,

on reaching Cape Hatteras it is no longer called a current

, ,

but the Gulf S tream D ri ft .

B etween the North and S outh Equatorial Currents there

is a counter equatorial current flowing eastwards d u e to
-
,

the heaping u p of the water in the Gulf o f Mexico This

-
.

current on reaching the Guinea coast of Africa becomes

the Guinea Current .

The S outh Equatorial Current on arriving o ff Cape

S t
. Roque ( razil ) undergoes a bi furcation a n e ffect
B — ,

no doubt due to the shape of the land which it meets

, .

On e division flows north and enters the Caribbean S e a ,

mingling its waters with those of the North Equatorial

Current the other part goes south flowing off the coast ,

of B razil under the name of the B razilian Current When .

°
it reaches the parallel 30 S latitude a portion of it is
.
,

driven eastwards by the north west anti trades while the

'
- -
,

remaining part continues t o fl o w along the lower coast

of S outh A merica till it meets with the A ntarctic Drift
flowing from the polar seas .

Th e Gul f Strea m —North of F lorida the G ulf S tream

.

may be easily distinguished from the water Of the sur

ro unding ocean At night its waters sparkle brilliantly
.

and give O ff a phosphorescent glow ( see p W hile .

during the daytime they appear to have a very deep

bluish tint because of their great salinity A t this point
, .

their t e mperature is about 8 0 F In the Gulf of Mexico

0
.

t h e water of the ocean suff ers concentration and so in ,

creases its rate In the S trait of Yucatan the Equatorial

.

Current is 9 0 miles wide and fathoms deep but at ,

K ey West the Gulf S tre a m is o nly 5 0 miles wide and

8 5 0 fathoms deep Hence its rat e o f flo w a t the latter
.

lace is from —
4 to 5 miles per hou r t h at is nea rly fi ve
p ,

tim es fa s ter t h a n t h e Equ a to rial Curre nt e nte rs t he Gulf

 OCE A N CU RREN TS 281

of Mexico A s the Gul f S tream flows northwards it ex

.

pands slackens its spee d and gradually loses its very h igh
, ,

temperature When o ff Cape Hatteras the influence of

.

the anti trade winds makes itsel f f elt and its course is
-
,

then across the North A tlantic It makes its way east as .

a d rif t and a dri ft only ; and on reaching the west coast

,

o f Europe the dri ft bi furcates On e part now fl ow s .

southwards towards t h e Canaries and Cape Verde Islands

the other portion reaches the west coas t o f the B ritish
Isles A fter drifti n g past the western shores o f our islands
.
,

this portion divides ; one d ivision flows along the coast '

o f Norway the other bends round and washes the south

,

A t latitude 4 5 N where the main

°
coast o f Iceland . .
,

dri ft bi furc a tes commences the North A tlantic S wirl

.

f orm e d by the D ri ft S tream the Canaries Current , and ,

the North Equatorial Current Within this circle li e s .

a very large ar e a o f the ocean covered with sea weed ,

-
,

wreckage and marine matter on which a large number

, ,

of peculiar animals live This part o f the ocean is

. .

called the Sar gasso Sea It will be noticed on referring

. ,

to a map o f ocean currents that there is a swirl Or

'
-

vortex of this kind in each o f t h e oceans The in .

fl u e n c e of the Gul f S tream and o f the Gulf S tream D ri f t

on the climate o f those countries it washes is O f immense
importance The equable climate enj oyed in our islands
.

is due to the high average temperature of the sea that

surrounds us and to the fact that we r e ceive an o n shore -

wind ( see p 3 1 0 ) that always brings warmth

. The .

e ffect o f the G ulf S tream D rift on t h e climate o f the

B ritish Isles may w e ll be seen on comparison with that
of another country like Labrador which is situated wit h in
the same degree s of latitude .

Ar ctic Curr en ts — From the A rctic O cean a well marked

.
-

c u rre n t O f Ve ry co l d w a t er sets d o wnwards alon g t h e w e st

2 82 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

coast of G reenland This current carri e s huge masses

.

o f ice along with it and j oins a very powerful current .

which flows down through D avis S trait known as the

La bra d or Curr en t When o ff the coast of Newfoundland
.
,

this stream of very cold water meets with the Gul f S trea m
D ri ft . Th e result is to melt the icebergs that have been
carried down from the polar seas and these deposit their
load in the ocean bed In this way constant additions .

are always being made to the f amous fishing B anks of

Newf oundland and it is possible that the whole of the
,

B ank s owe their origin to the same cause This part .

of the A tlantic is very dangerous to navigat e because

of t h e prevalence o f dense f ogs caused by the co n d e n ,

sation O f the moisture held by the warm atmosphere

above the Gul f S tream D ri ft wh en it com e s in contact
with the cool layers that are above t h e cold Labrador
current ( see p From Newfoundland part o f this
.

cold current makes its way sout h flowing between the

‘

Gul f S tream and the A merican coast Near Cape Hat .

teras it is no longer discernible and its waters gradually ,

sink becaus e o f their greater density The name given .

to this part of the current is the Col d Wa ll since it ,

exerts a cooling influence on the east coast of A merica .

*—
Curr en ts of th e Pa cific Little di ffi culty can be ex
.

e rie n c e d in understanding the circulation o f the currents

p
o f this ocean if t h ose o f the A tlantic have been grasped
, .

S outh of the S outh Island o f New Z ealand there may be ,

seen an easterly dri ft flowing across t h e ocean driven

by the brave w e st w inds ”
T h is dri ft on reaching the .
,

west coast o f S outh A merica is rein forced by an A n ,

t a rc t ic dri f t flows nort h along that coast and t ogether

.

, ,

'

t h is m ap Of th e s h o ul d
'

In r e a di n g ch a p ter a o ce a n c u rre n t s

be
’

c o ns t an t l y c o n su l te d ( v id e Meikl e j o h n
’
s Co m p a ra t iv e At l as ,
284 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

FIG . 73 .

flowing south fro m the Kuro siwo D ri ft completes the

-

circular whirl o f the North Pacific .

Curr en ts of th e Ind ian Ocean —A s in the other oceans

.
,

the west erly wind o f the S outh ern Ocean f orms a dri ft
that travers e s the southern part of the Indian O c e an in
an e asterly direction This dri f t on arriving o ff the south
.
,

co ast o f West A ustralia is strengthened by a flow o f cold

,

water from t h e A ntarctic and the two on uniting flow

,

northwar ds and form the W e st Au s tra l ia n Current ( fig 7

.
 OCE AN CU RRENT S 28 5

In its turn this current on being reinforce d by a supply

,

O f water that enters from the Pacific between Java and

A ustralia assists in causing the S outh Equatorial to be

,

formed The course o f this stream is now south west

. -
,

flowing across the ocean till on reaching t h e north coast

,

of Madagascar it bi furcates one part flowing through the

,

Mozambique Channel whil e the other portion rej oins it

,

n e a r t h e Natal coast under the name o f the A gulhas Current

,

so called because t h e A gulhas B ank deflects the current to

F IG . 74 .
286 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

the east thus preventing it from continuing to flow in its

,

sout h westerly direction The currents of the northern

-
. .

part o f the Indian Ocean are not so clearly marked no r

is their circulation quite t h e same as those of the other
oceans This is due to the e ffect o f t h e Monsoons Th e
. .

North Equatorial Current is at times almost indiscernibl e .

In summer wh e n the south west monsoon is b l o wm g

,
-
,

there is set up a S outh w e st Monsoon D ri ft ( fig 7 that

-
.

eddies round the A rabian S e a and the B a y o f B eng a l ,

and af terwards enters into the Pacific circulati on A t .

the same time th e Nort h Equatorial Curr e nt s c a rc e lj

‘

exists whereas the Counter equatorial Current that flows

,
-

eastwards is much strengthened In winter when t h e .

,

north east monsoon prevails there is an almost com

-
, (

l e t e reversal o f these conditions The North Equatorial

p .

Current ( fig 7 3 ) is then flowing strongly west and along

.
,

the coast o f t h e B a y o f B e ngal and A rabian S e a is fl o w

ing the D ri f t due to the north east monsoons O ff t h e
'

-
.

east coast o f A frica it is deflected southwards and j oins

the Mozambique Current From this point it is wa fted
.

across the ocean by t h e strong west winds A t this time .

of the year there is also a strong equatorial current ,

flowing w e st across the ocean slightly to the south O f the

equator .

Th e Im p orta nce of Ocean Curr ents — A s well as having a .

moderating influence on t h e climate of countries situ

ated in the temperate zones ( see pp 2 1 4 currents .

are also an important f actor to be reckoned with by

marine navigators In the old days when sailing vessels
.
,

were the chief means b y which communication was '

establishe d between the New and Old Worlds it was ,

essential f or the mariner to have a thorough knowledge

Of the direction of the main ocean currents and the pre
vailing winds A s has be en shown th ere is a very marked
.
,
288
.
PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

once more reach the equator From this point north .

wards t h e vessel would be O pposed by the n orth east -

trade winds against which she would need to tack

,

across the A tlantic until she arrived within the r egion of

t h e south west anti trade winds which with the Gulf
- -
,

S tream D ri ft would in due course assist her in getting

back home again The possible course taken by sailing
.

s hips in navigating other parts o f the oceans may be

readily deduced by s t u d yin g a chart o f the currents and '

prevailing winds f o r the region .

Curr en ts in Encl osed Seas —In the great inland s eas

.

o f the globe there is no well d e fin e d system of circulation

-

o f the waters like that explained for the gr eat oceans .

This is because o f their comparatively small area There .

is however a c o n s t a n t flow either inwards if the sea

, , ,

needs replenishing or outwards if the supply it receives ,

f rom the land is in excess of that lost by evaporation .

The two most important enclosed European seas are the

B altic and the Mediterranean .

r n al
Cur e ts of t e B t
h ic —The B altic S e a is very shallow
. .

Its average depth is only 2 0 fathoms and on its ,

southern shores its extreme shallowness makes naviga

tion very di fficult In these parts the coast is ver y
.

sandy and most of the large German rivers enter it

,
.

through great lagoons The deepest part of the sea l ies

,

to the east o f the island o f Go t hl a n d Its Waters are .

'

almo st fresh since a very large proportion of the land

,

mass O f Central and North east Europe is drained int o

-

its basin . F urthermore owing to its situation in the

,

north temperate zone the amount o f evaporation from

,

its surface is small compared with the river supply

.

,
-
.

F or these reasons its density is low when compared ,

. with sea water ; the density o f the water at t h e hea d

- . .

of the Gul f o f B othnia is only — almost equivalent

 OCE A N CURRENT S 289

to that of fresh water There is therefore a n outward

.
, ,

surface flow of the less dense surplus water through the

narrow passages leading into the Cattegat while a weak ,

under current due to the greater density and salinity

-
,

o f the Cattegat makes its way inwards

,
Its low density .

—
and placid nature fo r the tidal wave never reaches
farther inwards than Go t h l a n d — cause it frequently to
be frozen over in hard winters If the B altic were as .

saline as the Mediterranean it would probably never,

freeze .

Curr en ts of th e Med i terranean —The waters of t h e Me d i

‘

terranean the largest inland sea in the world are of great

, ,

salinity ; because ( a ) it receives very fe w rivers in com

parison with its size and ( b) the evaporation by hot winds
,

is very great ( see p .The evaporation carries o ff

’

three times as much water as the rivers bri n g down .

Moreover the rainfall in its basin is very small Its density

,
.

is there f ore greater than that o f th e A tlantic so that

, , ,

it possesses two strong sur face currents o f water o f less

—
density one entering it through the S trait O f Gibraltar
—
and the oth er through the ardanelles to make up for
D
the deficiency lost through evaporation S light outwa rd .

mo v ements of the denser water of the Mediterranean set

in underneath these two surface streams A further .

result of the narrow entrance to the Mediterranean at

’

t h e A tlantic end is that the ti des in this sea are hardly

perceptibl e they rise a s a rule o nl y a few inches and s o ,

allow the in fl o wm g r1 v e rs to form large d eltas ( see p .

E X E RC IS ES
1 . Write a short n ote on each of the follo wing and show
that you understa nd thei r distinguishing charac ‘

t e rist ic S : waves tides dri fts a nd Currents

‘

.
, , ,
290 . PRACTI CA L PH YS I CA L GE OGR A PH Y

2 A c c ount f o r th e clockwise dire ction of t h e ocea n

.

currents in th e nor t he rn h emisp he re , a n d t he

anti clockwise direction in t he so uthern he mi s phere
-
,
.

Give also examples of land m asses t hat c aus e

.

deflection o r bifurcation o f current s ,

3 .The br ave west winds give rise to a n ea sterly

‘ ’

dri ft right round t he worl d cross ed in many ,

places b y tongues of cold wate r sho t out from t h e

i c y reg i ons of the A ntarctic Expand thi s .
,

4 D escribe separately the vertical and the horiz on tal

.

c irc ul ation o f th e oce an S tate the causes in e a ch .

c ase .

5 D es crib e the currents of the A tlanti c Oc ea n ; a n d

.

ex p l a in how oc ean c u rrents a re supposed to be .

ca u sed ( Cam b S.e n Loc ) . . .

6 How are t he chie f ocean curr e nts affect ed by t he

. ,
.

prevaili n g win ds ? Illust rate your an sw e r by a

d iagra m showing t he ocean curr ents a nd t h e ,

p rev a iling winds of t h e A tlant ic .

7 Giv e a description o f t he stream and dri ft currents

.

o f eith er t he Indian O cean or t h e Pacific O ce

.

an ,

nort h of the equator ( Ox f a nd Camb Lower . .

, ._

Cer t ) .

8 D escribe th e cause of any one o f t he gre a t col d

.

curren t s Of the oceans and its influence o n the

, , .

climate o f the reg ions a ffected by it ( Oxf a nd . .

,
.

Cam b Lowe r Ce rt ) . .

9 Desc ribe the win d s a nd c u rre nts O f t he India n Ocea n

. .
,

in July Point out how they a ffect the course

.

of sailing vessels travelling from S outh A frica

to Calcutta ( Ox f a nd Camb Lower Cert ) . . . .

1 0 D escri be the s tream and dri ft currents of the South

.

A tlantic pointing out t heir influ en ce up on the

,
.

c l imates Of its coas ts ( Ox f a n d Camb L ower Cert ) . .

,
. .
 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CAL GEOGRAPHY
"

2 92

18 . S ailing ships go from England to New Zealand by

the Cape of Good Hope but return from New ,

Z ealand to England by Cap e Horn What are .

the geographical reasons which account f or this

di fference in t h e outward and homeward routes
( O x f Jun. Loc )
. .

19 . Give some account of the present state of knowledge

with reference to the relation existing between
prevailing winds and surface currents in the
open seas ( Civil S erv Ice Eastern Cadets )
.
,
.

20 . D escribe the extent and course of the ocean current

commo nl y known as the Gulf S tream S tate why .

it is so named whether the reason is in accordanc e

,

with f act and if not how it is at variance with

, ,

fact ( Camb Jun Loc )

. . . .

21 . Give a list of the principal ocean currents S tate .

t h e causes of them and discuss their influence

upon climate and on commerce ( King s S cholar .
’

ship ) .
 CH A PTER XX

Sea - d ep th s a nd Oc ea n -bed

r
Ocea nog a p h y —Of lat e years much has been discovered
.

respecting the great o ceans The information gathered .

by survey ships fitted with the most modern appliances

-
,

for survey work has been recorded and tabulated o n

,

charts whi ch show ( a ) the depths ( b) the charact er of the ,

ocean fl o o r ( c) the temperature of the sea in different

-
,

parts and at various depths ( d ) the prevailing currents ,

of the great oceans The nations that have borne a .

prominent part in this very important work known as ,

Ocea nograp h y are Great B ritain the U nited S tates and

, , ,

latterly Germany On e of the first surveys made was

.

undertaken by H M S Cha llenger in 1 8 7 2 —6 This . . . .

vessel wa s sent out and equipped at the expense o f the

B ritish Government and the knowledge gained respecting
,

—
the great oceans especially the A tlantic and Pacific
more than j ustified the need of such an expedition .

Th e Lea d l ine
- —The depths of the ocean were deter
.

mined o u the Ch a lle nger expedition by means of an

“
apparatus called the Hydra sounder A n elaborate .

appliance of this kind is not essential to plumb the depths

of shallow seas o r to take soundings as it is called
,
-

,
.

A simple line marked in f athoms is su fficient To this .

line is attached a lead weight— lighter or heavier accord

ing to t he depth to be plumbed and in t h e bo ttom o f ,

293
2 94 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

the lead is cut a hollow which is filled with tallow to ,

which the various substances at the sea bottom adhere -

.

This method of determining depths may be employed

for depths up to f athoms F or example it might
.
,

be used for finding the depths of the Nort h S e a or the

S e a of A zov ( average depth 4 2 f eet ) an d give good results .

F or greater depths it is not suitable because of the effect ,

o f currents , and the difficulty experienced in making a

weight o f this kind sink Even if a sufficiently heavy
.

weight is let down to keep the line taut it is di ffi t to ,

bring it back again Hence the sinker system de

.

s crib e d in the next paragraph If a lake or river is within

.

easy a c cess an intere sting e x e rCISe Is to make a lead

,
.

line like that descri b ed and by means of it take soundings

,

from a b oat at di fferent po ints The n draw a map o f the

’

'
.

lake and insert the depths thus obtained in their relative

positions Contour lines ( see Chap XXXVI ) might the n be
. .

drawn o n the map at intervals of 5 or 1 0 feet vertical depth ,

( f atho m measurements are only appli e d to sea depths ) -

,

and the spa c e between each successive pair o f contours

coloured accord ing to the method employed in b a t h y
graphical maps A section may then be constructed to
.

show t h e rise and fall o f the bottom of the lake .

Deep sea Soundings — The

- Hydra apparatus us ed
on the Cha l lenger expedition consists of a brass tube with
cylindrical weights called sinkers attached The .

tube is hollow and fitted with valves so that when it ,

strikes the bottom o f the ocean the valves O pen and

matter from the ocean bed enters On the instrument
-
.

bei ng withdrawn t h e valves close automatically and

,

the matter remains within the tube until it is taken

out for analysis on reaching the surface Th e in St ru .

ment is also provided with a deep sea water bottle - -

fitted with automatic stop cocks which o p en and a ll o w

-
 2 96 PR ACTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE O GRA PHY

water to enter while the instru ment rests on the ocean

floor On the apparatus being raised the s top cocks
.
,
-

close and thus prevent the water that has entered from
escaping In this way a sample of water from the sea
.

bottom is obtained for examination A maximum a n d .

m In Im u m thermometer is also attached to the apparatus

to determin e the range o f temperature o f sea water at -

the plac e selected Much v al uable knowledge o f a .

Sci e nt ific kind is therefore gamed by the use of this

:
, ,

instrument .

Dep th s in th e A tl a n ti c —D uring the survey made by .

the Ch a llenger e xpedition two important plat e au x or

ridges w ere found in the A tlantic O cean These ocean fl o o r .
-

ridges are not sharp and bold lik e t h ose on t h e earth s ’

surface but smooth and covered with deposits The valleys

, .

or hollows between them are being gradu a lly filled up by

these d e posits The two ridges are practically connected
.

and extend in mid ocean from the Arctic to the S out hern -

Ocean ( fig Th e north e rn ridge is called the Dolphin

.

Ridge while that in the S outh A tlant ic is named the Chal

,

lenger Ridge F rom this el e v a ted portion o f t h e ocean

.
‘

floor rise up a few v olcanic islands t he most important

, ,

being the A zores A scension and f a r off Tristan d A c u n h a

, , , ,
’
u

The s u b m a rl n e cable connecting Valentia in Ireland and

’
S t John ( Newfoundland ) crosses the northern part of t h e
.

Dolphin Ridge and this portion of it is in consequ ence

,
“

som e tim e s known as t h e Telegraph Plateau A not h er .

ridge named the Wyville Thomson Ridge divides t h e -

No rt h A tlantic f rom th e A rctic O cean This ridge acts .

as a connecting link between Norw ay the B ritish Isle s

’ ’
, ,
:
t h e F a ro e Islands and Iceland and it is in all probability ,

of volcanic f ormation The e ffect of the central plateaux .

is t o divide the A tlantic into f our great hollows or

basins lying O ff the coast o f each continent These .
 S EA D EPTH S A ND O CE A N B ED
- -
297

hollows have a mean depth of fathoms but ,

i n certain parts are much deep er In each basin there .

_

” ”
is a large trough or deep The deepest of these .

is t he Interna ti on a l Deep situated to the east o f the ,

.

West Indies It was here not far from the island o f

S t Tho m
.
,

. as that the Ch a llenger recorded the deepest

,

u —
A tlantic so nding one of fathoms .

Dep th s in th e Pa cific —The depths of this ocean have .

n ot been explored to the same extent as the A tlantic .

We know however that there are two great longitudinal

, ,

ridges traversing it both starting from the S outhern ,

Ocean and running northwards ( fig O n e is called .

the Eastern World Ridge the other the Western World ,

Ridge These ridges enclose a

. hollow or basin “

of great extent having a mean average depth of about

,

fathoms Here and there within this basin are

.

wide tro ughs descending to enormous depths On e of .

these troughs — the Tuscar or a Deep — is situated o ff the

east coast o f Japan and it was here that the A merican
.
,

surve y ship Tu sca rora sounded a depth o f

-
fathoms .

H M S P engu in discovered another trough off the Ker

. . .

m a d e c Islands and recorded a depth of ,

fathoms .

Up to 1 9 1 2 it was thought that the sounding of

fathoms made by the A merican vessel N ero in 1 9 0 6 '

near Guam off the Ladrones was the deepest part of the
ocean but this depth was in that year exceeded by ov e r
,

8 0 f athoms in a sounding recorded by the German survey

ve ssel P la n et 4 0 nautical miles north east o f Mindanao
,
-
.

This depression known as the Pl a n et Deep is probably

, ,

the continuation of another great trough in this part

of the Pacific discovered by the same ship in the early
part o f the same year On the north B ering S trait .
,

which is very shallow—r outs o ff the Paci fi c basin from

t h e A rctic .
2 98 PR ACTICA L PHYS I CA L GE OGRA PHY

Dep th s in th e Indi a n Ocean —

This ocean consists of On e ‘

”
great basin almost e qually divided into two p arts by a .

narrow ridge running from Ceylon to Madagascar ( fig .

Fro m this ridge ris e several grou p s of small isla nds ,

including the S eychelles and Isle de R éuni on A t the .

extreme end of S outh A frica is another ridge that s tr e tches

eastward narrow at first but e x pandin g as it proce ed s till
, , ,

o n reaching about the meridian of 9 0 E it attain s its °

.
,

g reat e st breadth F rom

. where this ridge ends t o t h e
‘

coast o f A ustralia the central basin exten d s south wa rds

‘

The greatest depression o f the ocean is found to th e

“

west of Java F rom here a tro ugh extends southwards

‘

almost to the no rth west coast of A ustral ia and then

'
-
,

by a series of pits among the isl a nds o f the East I ndies “

continues into the Pacific O cean Th e contours of t hi s

.

ocea n suggest a f o rmer connection between India Mada ,

gasear and the m a irfl a n d o f A frica

, .

i
Ocea n Dep os ts — S e a wate r contains in solutio n sm all
.
-

quantitie s o f oxygen a nd carbonic acid ga s U pon the .

latter o f these and upon some of the salts in t h e water

marine plants live changing these simpl e s ubstances
,

into v ery com p lex plant material The smaller ma ri ne

.

animals then f eed upon this plant material at the sam e , ,

time either extracting sulphate of l ime from the s ea

water and changing it to carbo na te of lime or takin g '
,

carbonate o f lime direct from the sea water Th e c a r -

.

bonate o f lime ( chalk ) appears in the bod ies o f th ese

animals in the solid f orm usua lly called th e skeleton b ut
‘

much more p roperly called the fra m e tv o rk or the shell

'

Whatever form the solid pa rt takes W hether a n enclosi ng

,

shell arm e d with spicules or a shell p erforat ed by tiny

,
'

apertures or a framework without a n e nclosing shell ,

,

t h e general name o f tes t applies to every o n e Th e tes t s .

a lways remain after t h e animal has di e d and d ec a ye dz

30 0 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR APHY

le v e l w i th Pla n kto n
l .“ Tf
fi
a l
i l
Hi
:
“

"I
“ l
l l
"
f : '

”l “
:
s '“
i
n " .

F IG . 76 .

and meteoric dust which is a lways settling down in

clouds all over the o cean sur face and thence slowly
-
,

sinking down to the very deepest depths The amount .

of carbonic acid in the o cean waters increases with-

depth A t a certain depth ( about

. f athoms ) ,

there f ore there is su fficient carbonic a c1 d to dissolve the

,

calcium carbonate of the globigerina tests S o that .

beyond that depth globigerina ooze ceases S ilica ca n .

remain as a solid at a greater depth than carbonate of

lime but it also dissolves back into the water be fore
,

reaching the deepest basins Hence in the deepest parts

’

of the ocean the only ooze constituents are the volcanic

d ust , and a small quantit y of oxide of iro n an d o xid e o f
 SEA DEPTHS AND OCE AN BED
- -
30 1

manganese Hence the oozes found upon the ocean fl o o r

.
-

are roug h ly speaking distributed as follows ( fig 7 6 )

, , .

1 In the shallower parts of the ocean deeps a

.

mixture o f globigerina ( limey ) radiolarian ( siliceous ) , ,

and volcanic dust This is call e d globigerin a ooze . .

2 In the deeper parts the globigerina tests

.

practically disappear leaving only radiolaria and ,

dust fragments This is called radiolarian ooze

. .

3 In the deepest abysses only the volcanic and

.

’
meteoric dust mixed with sharks teeth o x ides of ,

iron and manganese is found This is called abyssal .

red clay .

Round the margins of the oceans upon the continental

shelf ( see p 324 ) is found a totally di fferent kind of de
.

posit derived from the land and consisting of fine clay

, ,

mud sand shingle gravel and sometimes coral fragments

, , , ,
.

The finest mud and clay being the last to settle are , ,

carried farthest out The most abundant of the finer .

deposits is blue mud the blueness Of which is due to ,

the presence of sulphide of iron The coarser material .

is usually heaped up along the actual coast line in the -

form of the well known sand and shingl e of the shore

-
.

These deposits brought down from t h e land by rivers

.

are called terrig enous the oozes deposit e d in the deep

ocean are called p el ag ic .

E X ERC IS ES
1 . Rivers bring down stones sand and clay in suspension , , ,

and lime in solution How are thes e various .

materials deposited on the ocean fl o o rs ? -

2 . D escribe two deep sea deposits which are being f ormed

-

of the remains o f animals or plant s ( Camb Jun . . .

Loo ) .
30 2 PR ACTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

3 . Giv e a general description of the deposits which cover

t he bottom of the sea .
( Ox f and Camb . S c h . .

Cert ) .

Co mpare a nd co ntrast the leading features of the

A tlantic and Pacific Oc e ans in r elation to dept h ,

sea bed contour o utline and nature o f land margins

-
, ,

and receipt o f riv e rs ( Lond U ni v Inter Sc ience )

. . . . .

D escribe the fo rm of t h e deep sea bottom as com

-

p ared with that o f dry land ( Camb

. Jun Loc ) . . .

What is shi ngl e ? W he re is it generally foun d and ,

how is it forme d ? ( Camb Jun Loc ) . . .

D escribe t h e form of the floor of the North A tlantic .

How do the de posits fo rme d in t he centre of the

ocean differ from thos e form e d on it s margin ?
De scribe the co n figuration of the floor of the A tlantic ,

and illustrate by a sk e tch map and vertic al section

-
.

( Cen tral Welsh B oard

.
)
What are the mean d e p t h s o f the A tlantic Pacific and
,
, ,

Ind ian Oceans Which o f these oceans is said '

to be the deepest
30 4. PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OG RA P HY

On analysis sea water has been found to co

fi
-

er cent . fie
calc i um 1
Carbonates
{m a gn e sm m 2
calcium
S Od l uH
S ulphates i
ot a s s m m
p
sium

Very in t h analyses l n very Q

small quantities .

A comparison of the two tables shows us ( )

a that
‘
.

all the silica and nearly all the calcium carbonat e in

river water have disappeared in sea water
-
What has -
.

become of them ? The countless organism s of both

animal and plant li fe that exist in the ocean hav e used
them up to build their shells ( )
b The sul ph a tes show .

a small change ; but the great di fference is ( c ) that in

river water the carbonates predominate and c ov er or
-

disguise the sodium chloride whereas in sea water the ,

-

carbonates are practically gone the silica is gone and , ,

common salt predominates To state this in another way .

river water cont ains samples of many solids with much

-

of some ; sea water contains much of sodium chlorid e

-
,

with little of others Or sea wat er is river water with

.
- -

”
the fre sh salts us ed up e x cept one whi ch grows in ,

proportion e g common salt It is estimated that sea

,
. . .

water salts av erage about per cent that is to say in .

, ,

every 1 0 0 lb o f sea water there are 3 5 lb of dissolved

.
-
.

salts F urth ermor e it is clear that t h e salinity of the

.
,

sea is m ainly due to t h e salts it recei v es from the riv e rs

flowing into it Th e great percentage o f common salt in
.

sea wate r increases its density as compar e d with river

- a
 S A LINITY AND TEMPERA T UR E OF THE S EA 30 5

water but becaus e of the effects of ( a ) e v aporation and

,

( b) temperature the density of the ocean is not the same

,

in all parts .

E ap o a t
v r i on a d Dens ty
n i o f h
t e Sea —Take a s a uc e r o f .
‘

salt water and evaporate the water S alt crystal s will

,
.

be Observe d to have been left behind on the su rf a ce of

the saucer Now take a saucer of muddy water and
.

evaporate t h e water : A thin coating of matter is seen

to lie on the surf ace o f the saucer This is the mud that .

was h eld in suspension by the water but has been left ,

behind through the action of evaporation Evaporation .

is constantly taking pla ce over t h e oceans and the matter ,

held in suspension and in solution by the water is after ,

evaporation) le ft behind and the density o f the ocean is,

thus increased The salinity of the sea is there f ore

.
, ,

more marked where evaporation is greatest It is clea r .

that the greater the salinity the greater the density , ,

provided that the sea water is measured at a certain -

standard temperature The standard temperature at .

which the de nsity of sea water is generally mea sured is -

60
9
F When a number o f samples o f sea water have
.
-

bee n taken from di fferent parts of the ocean and their

densities f ound the mean o f all the results is spoken o f
,

as the mean density o f s e a water This is usually reckoned

' -
.

as 01 2 7 5 It means that i a f el w
5 e re to contain
’

. v e s s ~

exactly grains of pure wa t e r a t a temperature of .

60 F
°
the same vessel would hold 1 0 2 7 5 grains o f sea '

water in which there would be 3 5 per cent o f salts in

, .

solution In enclosed seas situated in warm climates

.
,

like the Mediterranean the water is o f great salinity and

,

o f high density B u t seas in cool climates especially

.
,

those receiving much river water have small salinity and -

,

low density The water o f the Gul f o f B ot h nia h a s a

.

density o f only 1 0 0 2 ; hence the rapidity wit h whic h its

20
 PRA CTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY
"

30 6

surf ace freezes in winter In the tropics in the O pen .

,

ocean the salinity o f the water is not s o high because

, ,

the water expands on being heated and its density is

thereby decreased A gain the tropics are situat e d in a
.
,

great rain zone and the density o f the surface water is

-
,

relatively small owing to the excessive rainfall This is .

especially the case in the region known as the D old rum s ,

which extends some distance north and south o f the

equator In t h e t emp erate zones there are certain belts
.

of heavy rainfall ( see Ch a p XVI ) in which the salinity .

o f the ocean is similarly a ffe cted The result o f freezing .

water is to cause the salt to be crystallised out and de ,

-

posited in the same way as that explained in the case of

evaporation ( see p The masses of ice to be met
.

with in the polar seas contain very little salt and along ,

the northern shores of S iberia where the marshy tun ,

dras are frozen over a deposit of salt may be obtained ,

on the sur face o f the ground by breaking t h rough the

coating of ice D uring the summer months there is in
.

the northern hemisphere a constant flow southwards o f

icebergs and ice fl o e s These reach the border of the
-
.

temperate zone where they are melted This fresh water

,
.
-

supply and the rain keep the ocean salinity down in those
parts Most i nland seas are very saline the D ead S e a and
.
,

Lake Uru m ia h in Persia being especially noteworthy in this

respect ( see pp 4 5 1 These lak e s receive little river water
.
-

to compensate f o r the ir loss t hr ough evaporation T hi s is .

likewise the case with the Mediterranean and Red S eas ,

but here the deficiency is made up by a constant supply

of ocean water which flows inwards a s a surface current
-
,
.

T h ere is also in both seas an under current o f great salinity -

That o f the Mediterranean can be

’

flowing outwards .

trac ed in the A tlantic as f a r west as Madeira .

Pr essure of Sea wa ter —From the fact that as in the

-
. ,
30 8 PR A CTICA L PHYS I CA L GE O GRA PHY

( )
b S alt water is denser t h an fresh water and therefore ,

heavier .

( )
0 Warm fresh water is much lighter th an cold salt
water .

Hori zon tal Distri buti on of Temp era ture — The n orma l
distribution depends primarily on la ti tude although
'

the re are many irregularities due to winds currents , ,

and rivers In sum mer the temperature o f the sur face

'

water in the northern hemisphere is much higher than

in wint e r F or example a di fference of at least 2 0 F ° ’

. .
,

has b e en recorded o ff t h e coast o f Newfoundland between

the summer and winter temperatures T hi s di fference .

is not wholly due to the seasons for the G ul f S tream ,

and the Labrador Current have an important effect on

the temperature of the water In a more northerly .

latitude near the A rctic circle the sea is almost frozen

during the d e pth of wint e r while in the su mmer it is ,

entirely free from ice except for icebergs p assing on their

way southwards Th e rang e betw e en summer and
.

winter temperatures in the southern hemisphere is not

so marked because o f t h e absence o f any great land mass
that might prevent the water of the S outhern Ocean
from entering the other large oceans In t h e tropics .

t h e least variation is to be obs e rved Here the surface .

temperature is almost the same f o r all the year round—4

the m e an sur face reading being about 8 0 F The area 0
. . .

over which t h is mean av erage temperature extends

stretches from about 2 0 N to 2 0 S latitude in the Pacific
0
.
0
.

a n d f rom 1 0 N to 1 0 S latitude in the A tlantic No

0
.
°
. .

where in the op e n sea does the sur fac e temperature exceed

this point although the surf ace water o f some enclosed
,

seas rises to 9 0 F or eve n 1 0 0 F

o
.
0
.

Tem p era tur e a nd La ti tu d e —The warmest part s of t h e .

ocean a re obviously those within the tropics North

, , “
 SA LINITY AND TE MPER A T URE OF THE S EA 30 9
‘

and south of t h e tropical zone there extends in each

ocean anothe r large belt in which the surface tempera
tur e decreases from 8 0 F to 6 0 F This belt in the
°
.
°
.

°
North A tlantic lies between the parall els of 1 0 N and .

°
40 .N latitude ; in the S outh A tlantic between the
0 °
parallels of 1 0 S and 30 S latitude It must be re
. . .

membered that although there is a gradual decrease

'

from these belts to the poles t h e decrease is not propor ,

t io n a l to the latitude Many irregularities such as ( a )

.
,

prevailing winds ( b) the di fference of density of the water

, ,

( )
0 currents ,
and ( )
d rivers account f o r this variation
,
.

Surfac e Temp eratur e a nd W in ds — It will have been .

°
noticed from the figures given that the 6 0 limit of
surface temperature is nearer the e quator in the S outh
A tlant ic than in the North A tlantic This is explained .

by the fact that the south easterly winds cause the -

North A tlantic currents to move from the warmer regions

across the equator and thus the temperature of the
,

northern part o f the ocean is raised A nother remarkable .

feature due to the action of wind is that the water that

-

washes the east coast of the large continents in the tropics

is of a higher temperature than the water that washes the
west coast We may best explain this by supposing that
‘

the diagram ( fig 7 7 ) represents a lake o f which the surface

.

water is perfectly still there being no wind to disturb

,

A La k e . Firs t sta ge .

FIG . 77 .
31 0 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

it A ssume that while in this stat e the temperature of

.

its water at X is taken and found to be 6 0 F on the °

.

A L Q KQ S d S ta e
e co n
g
FIG . 78 .

surface 5 0 F farther down and 4 0 F at the bottom

,
°
.
,
°
. .

Now let a wind blow on its surface in the direction of

the arrow ( fig . The e ffect o f this will be to blow
the warm surface water across towards W To take the .

place of the water thus removed there is a rise o f the

lower and cooler layers These in their turn become
.

warmed and are blown across towards W Thus the .

system of temperatures becomes a s seen in fig 7 8 . .

Hence an on s h ore wind warms the land and an ofi sh ore

- -

wind cools the land In like manner the north east

.
-

and south east trade winds assist in causing t h e warm

-

current s near the e quator to flow towards the east

coast of the large continents and so raise the tem ,

p e ra t ure of the ocean in those parts F or example in .

,

S outh A merica and A frica the tropical east coasts are

considerably warmer than the west That is the effe ct .

o f wind on t e mp erature on a large scale Exactly the .

same thing takes place on a small scal e Ev e ry s e a

’

.
fl

bather has noticed that in t h e summer time during an

o ff shor e wind the water is cooler
-
and warm e r when ,
.
.

an o u shore W l nd is blowing
-
The reason is that the
.
31 2 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
°
north in the sout h ern hemisphere as the parallel 4 0 S .

latitude On reac h ing these limits they descend becaus e

.
,

they meet warmer waters which are of less density because ,

o f t heir warmth O n the contrary w a rm dri ft currents

.
-
,

l ike the Gul f S tream in the North A tlantic and the Kuro
siwo in the North Pacific te n d to raise the temperature .

of those parts o f the o ceans through which they fl o w .

The influ e nce of the Gulf S tream D ri ft is best seen o n

the surface water surrounding the B ritish Isles Off t h e .

we st coast of Ir eland the average temperature of t h e

sea is over 4 0 F °
.

Tem p era tur e a nd Rivers — Rivers in summer have the

same temperature as the land over which they flow .

Therefore river water has during that period of the year

,
-

a higher temperature than the sea In winter the .

temperature of the land is lower than that of the sea ( see

p . Hence river water is then colder than the sea
-
.

Large and swi ft rivers like the A mazon Mississippi and , ,

Congo send f ort h their waters into the sea f o r many

miles from the land The riv e r water being fresh e r and
.
-
,

less dens e than the surrounding s e a may from its muddy ,

appearanc e b e e asily discerned floating on the surf ac e

until it is lost through evaporation or mixes with t h e
oc e an .

Vertical Distribu ti on of Temp era ture — A definite know ~

l e dge o f t h e v ertical distribution of temp e rature o f the

oceans is even more important than a knowledg e of the '

horizontal It is obvious to e veryone that the temperatur e

.

of a large volume o f water v a ries with th e d ep th Consider .

a lake in which the surf ac e water is exposed to t h e sun s ’

ry ,
a s Now sinc e water, is a bad conductor of h e at t h e ,
’
sun s rays do no t penetrate far downwards so that only ,

t hose layers that are near t h e sur f ace can be a ffecte d

by them F or
. th is re a son t h e sur fac e lay e rs a re warm e r
 SA LINITY A ND TE MPER AT U RE OF THE S EA 3 1 3

and l e ss dens e than thos e underneath It is so with the .

ocean as can be seen from a study o f the graph ( fig

,
.

This was made on the Ch a l le nger expedit ion and shows ,

the decrease o f temperature f o r vertical depths at vary

ing intervals in the S outh A tlantic From it we see
.

quite plainly that there is ( a ) a ra p id f all f rom 5 8 F to °

.

4 8 F in the first 2 0 0 f athoms down ; ( b) a further f all

°
.

to 4 0 F at 5 0 0 f athoms ( c) a constant gra d u a l f all to

'
°
.

35 F a fter 6 0 0 f athoms th e n very little change From

°
. .
,

this we may gather that the temperature o f the bulk of

the ocean is below
°
40 F and that
.
,

the ocean really

consists of a thin
layer of warm
wat er lying on t h e d4

top o f a vast
volume of cold
water . Th e de
crease in temper
ature from the
s urfa ce down
wards is nearly
the sam e f or all
latitudes but is most rapid in the warmer parts o f
,

the glob e In the case o f the lake j ust cited ( fig

. .

suppose that it was only 2 0 feet deep In summer .

its waters might well be warmed throughout by the

sun Reasoning thus you may be inclined to suggest
.
,

that as t h e sun has been shi ning on the surf ace

o f th e sea f o r millions o f years the warmth o f its rays
,

s h ould have reac h ed t h e bottom by this time B ut .

this is not so and the explanation is to be f ound in

,
’

t h e existe n ce f n ti n u nt — ometimes s ok n
p co v ec o c rre s s
p e
31 4 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

of as the Col d Pol ar Creep — that slowly make their way ,

near the ocean fl o o r flowing from the poles towards the

-
,

e quator ( s ee p . and constantly cooling the under

layers of the ocean .

Temp era tur e of Encl osed Sea s — i

( ) Procure a small
.

rectangular trough fitted with a gauz e net as in fig 8 0

,
.
,

and plac e a ridge of clay ( C) in the form o f a trian

gular prism across it so as to allow the sur face water
to flow over F ill .

the trough with

warm wat e r and
place ice in the
g a u ze n e t ( )
I Next.

take the tempera

tur e o f the water
at X X1 X X3
, , 2, ,

and compar e the

readings You will
.

obs e rve that the

di fference in the
readings betwe e n X
and X1 is much
greater than the
Fm 80
. ,
di fferenc e betw een
those taken at X2
and X3 . In other words the cold water from the ice
,

has crept along the floor o f the trough but has not b e en
,

abl e because o f the greater density of the cold water

, ,

to surmount t h e barrier o f clay and reach X3 T hi s .

experiment is help ful in illustrating two important f acts

r e sp e cting t h e movem e nts o f waters in the oceans : ( 1 )
It explains why there is such a marked di fferenc e b e
tw e e n t h e v e rtical distribution o f temperature in ( a )
enclo sed seas Sh ut off fro m th e oc ea n by a sill and ( b)
 31 6 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

ind ic n Oce a n Re d S ea .
S e c iev

FIG . 82 .

but the temperature o f the Mediterranean continues at

A gai n at the S trait o f B a b e l Mandeb
°
5 5 to the bottom .
,
- -
,
~

the sill o f the Red S e a is 2 0 0 fathoms deep The sur face .

temperature o f both the Red S e a and the Indian Ocean

°
ranges from 8 0 upwards A t 2 0 0 f athoms the tempera
.

ture o f both has dropped to 7 Then while the Indian

Ocean continues to decrease to the minimum o f the
°
Red S e a remains at 7 0 to the bottom ( fig .

E X ER C IS E S
1 . S how how and to what ext e nt t h e t emp e rature o f
, ,

t h e oc e an waters vari e s ( a ) at the sur f ace and ( b) ,

with t h e depth ( Central Welsh B oard )

. .

2 . Give a bri e f description of the temperature of t h e

ocean .

’
3 . How does t h e sun s heat a ffe ct the oc e ans and how ,

do we benefit by t h at on land ? ( Civil S ervice ) .

Explain wh y t h e oc e ans generally speaking a re never

, ,

frozen .

5 . Why is sea water heavier than fr e sh wat e r ? How

-

ca n fresh wat e r be o b tain e d fro m s ea water ? -

SA LINITY AND TE MPER A T URE OF THE S EA 31 7

6 . Compare the temp erature and salinity o f the surface

waters o f the o cean west and east of Africa south
of the equator and explain any di ffere nce How
, .

fa r are similar di fferences obs erved in the wat e rs

o ff the west and east of S outh A merica in similar

latitudes ? ( Ox f and Camb High Ce rt )

. . . .

7 . D escrib e and account for the distribution of tempera

ture and salinity in t h e North A tlantic Ocean .

( O x.f S e n
. Loc
.

8 . D escribe the nature and direction o f t h e currents flowing

through ( a ) the S trait o f Gibraltar ( b) the S ound
, ,

( )
0 the D ardanelles ( )
,
d the S trait o f B a b el
-

Mandeb .
 CH APTER XXII

El ev a ted Sea -beds a nd Subm erg ed La nd

El ev a ted Sea beds-

.
—The ocean fl o o r is constantly chang
-

ing S om e portions o f it a re undergoing a proc ess of

.

elevation other parts are subsiding Thes e changes are

, .

due to : ( a ) seismic disturbanc e s slow or sudden which

, ,

may either e l e vate or depress ; ( b) the f ormation of new

matter in the f orm of oozes ( see p caused by t h e
.

constant deposition o f d e ad plankton remains which ,

clearly must elevate Of these agents S eismic dis

.
,

t u rb a n c e s are most successful in e levating the sea bed -

.

Marine oozes that once covered t h e ocean fl o or have -

be e n slowly li fted up cl e ar o f t h e surrounding water

an d now form dry land The internal forc e that has
.

accomplished this change is still at work and the gradual

elevating process is now in progress in many parts o f
the land masses of t h e globe The geological f ormation
.

o f our own country illustrates the changes that it has

undergone . F or example Windsor Castle is built on

,

a solid mass of chalk ( a sea bed f ormation ) which rises

-

abruptly from t h e River Tham e s A chalk or cretaceous

.

escarpm e nt may b e clearly traced along a line from

D orset through t h e Chilterns to the e ast o f the Wash
on the Norf olk coast F ossils and remains o f marine
.

animals are fr e quently f ound in chalk f ormation thus ,

showing that t h e chalk once formed an ooze on the

31 8
32 0 PR A CTI CA L PHYS ICA L GE OGR APHY
‘

onc e formed part of the mainland although there is ,

nothing to support t h e ass e rtion that the latter f ormed

part o f t h e estates of Earl Godwin On t h e contrary .
,

there is strong e videnc e that they were taken poss e ssion

’
of by the sea long bef ore the Earl s time It is said .

that the island of Heligoland possessed in the ninth cen

tury in the time o f King A l fred a circumf erenc e of 1 2 0
, ,

miles by the year 1 30 0 that dwindled dow n to 4 5 miles ,

while t o da y its circum f er e nc e is not much over 8 miles .

A nother good exampl e which gives evidence both of

subsidence and el e vation is the Templ e o f Jupiter S erapis ,

the remains o f whic h stand on the shore o f the B a y o f

Napl e s Wh e n the temple was built by the Romans
.

it was o f course above sea l evel B u t thr e e of its marble

-
.

columns at about 1 2 f eet from the base are filled with

ho les in which were f ound the two valves of a marin e
shell fis h not unlike the common mussel
-
Th e shell .

fish had bor e d its way into the marbl e j ust as a ship ,

worm bores into timber but it could hav e done so only

,

when the columns were under water It is thus plain that .

within historical times this temple stood ( 1 ) abov e sea 2

level ( 2 ) below s ea l ev el and ( 3 ) above s e a level again
,
f ,
-
.

The gradual subsid e nc e of our own e astern coast has

b e com e so s eri ous that t h e Government has taken steps
to inquir e into it and if possible find means to pre v e nt
,
’
the sea s e ncroac h ment in several parts The subsidence .

which is now actually taking place may possibly extend

across the North S e a floor to south eastern S candinavia -
,

which country is also subsiding thoug h curiously enough

, , ,

the e astern and western coasts are rising In fact t h e .

‘

wh ole plat f orm upon which the B ritish Isles stand h a s

subsid e d and it was thus that t h e North S e a was formed
,
.

This sea in all probability formed a huge river basin -

,

and t h e main stream that ran through it fl owe d in a

 EL EVA TE D SEA B ED S S U B MERGE D LAND-
, 32 1

northerly direction had the Elbe and the Rhine for

,
'

its headwaters and the Thames and Yorkshire O us e

,

among its left bank tributaries On the right bank j us t

-
.
,

opposit e wher e the Ous e j oin e d the main river stood ,

the low D ogger Hills .

Ch a ng es d ue to Vol ca ni c 0 utbursts — Volcanic eruptions .

and earthquakes have also contribut e d their share t o the

g e neral changes in the configu ration of the sea bed in -

certain regions New islands have sudde nl y appear e d

.

i n Vi ew In parts of the Pacific often to disappear as ,

quickly as they appeared while whole masses of land ,

have been swept away by volcanic outbursts ( see

p. A fter s e vere earthquake shocks and volcanic
e ruptions large ar e as of the oc e an bed in the vicinity of -

the disturbance h av e b ee n completely alt ered in form ,

hollows hav e been changed into ri d ges and ridges into ,

hollows The great earthquak e which al most destroyed

.

Lisbon in the latter hal f of the ninete e nth century ent irely
altered the configuration of the A tlantic floor o ff the
Portuguese coast On e of the most terrific volcanic crup
.

tions in modern times occurred in A ugust 1 8 8 3 when a ,

considerable portion of t h e island of K ra k a t in the

East Indies disappeared from view ( see p B ut t h e .

sea bed has been also added to by volcanic action In

-
.

1 8 6 7 a shoal was discovered among the Tonga Islands in

the Pacific at a point wh ere the surrounding sea was about
fathoms deep In 1 8 7 7 smoke was seen asc e nding
.

from the surface o f the sea over the shoal B y 1 8 8 5 an .

island two mil e s long and 2 0 0 feet high had been formed .

The island was formed principally o f ashes and was in ,

n o long time washed away again by the waves .

Fi ord s Excellent examples o f subm erged land are

.
-

provided fo r us in fio rd s There are two great fio rd belts

.

in the world one in each hemisphere and each some

, ,

21
 32 2 PRA CTI CA L PHYS I CA L G EOGR AP HY

The norther nb elt in cludes tl ie

is t anc e fro m t he t ro p ic s
’

id ‘ '

c oast s of A l a sk a f B rit ish Columbia Greenl an d

“ ‘

, ,

IIS COtl a n d a nd Norway The southern belt i ncludes

’
’

.
,

S outhern Chile Patagonia and S outh New Z eal and , ,

.

In these districts the gradual subside nce Of the la nd h as

a ll O we d t h e sea to enter and connect up by narrow gorge
‘

shaped chann els wh at were f ormerly i nl and lakes A t ,

.

the entrance o f e ach fi or d IS a submerg e d s ill or barrier ,

where t h e water is comparatively shallow Within the .

sill t h e water is v ery d e ep The S ogne Fio rd in N o rw ay

‘

runs for 1 0 0 miles right into the heart o f the Count ry

'

and its many branching arms give us assurance that i t

“
is a Submerged river or lake v a ll e y ; The depth Of this
a nd other Norwegian fio rd s is supp osed to have been
‘

. incr ea se d by t h e action o f glaciers during the glacial

~
period digging out a still deeper bed The walls o f these .

fi o rd s are as a rule so sheer that they prevent all c o m

m u nic a t io n from one fio rd to another except b y b o a t
" '

S uch settlements as occur are f ound generally at the

'

he ad o f t h e fio rd s and are built on deltas which have '

be e n m a d e by infl o win g rivers Th e s a m e phenom e non

' ‘

'
.

a l So o ccurs inthe fio rd s o f B ritish Columbia and Southern

’ ‘

'

: Al aska where the mountain S ides d e sc ending steeply

, ,

e sea o ffer no flat ground for settle ments an d h e n c e

l

it o t h
, ,

the towns or villag e s are built on the delta plains where

'
’

On th e c Oa St o i
'

r 1 v e rs ent e r the h e ad o f the fio rd s .

s ou thern Chile the sides o f the fio rd s are so st e ep that

Canoe Indians wh o live t h ere mak e th e ir canoes
-

th eir hous e s and possess no fixed habitation w h atev er on

t he land Most Of the fio rd coasts are protected by a line
.

o f rocky islands the tops o f partially submerged hig h lands ,

.

In Norway this line o f islands is called the S kerry

’

”
F enc e B etw e e n it and the coast is a road called
.

t h e l ea d which is sheltered and navigable at all seasons .

32 4 PR ACTI CAL PHYS I CA L GE OGR APHY

teet its shore line by an elaborate system of dyk es and

-

walls Wh ere t h e coast O ffers little r esistanc e to the de

.

structive action of the s e a ther e t h e sea is shallow T h is

, .

is due to the rapidity with which the s ea makes its way

up the beach and the eas e with which it carri e s back
,

with it on receding the small particles of sand or loos e

material which composed the coast S uch a coast is .

generally dotted with sandbanks and is di fficult to ,

navigate .

Con tinen ta l Sh el f —The area adj acent to the coast

.

line o f any o f the continents which is covered by the sea

to a depth o f from about 1 0 0 to 30 0 f athoms is called the
conti nen ta l sh e l f Like the ocean fl o o r it is fairly smooth
.
-
,

and has a gentle m p e from the land outwards until its

limit is reached Here there is a very abrupt increase
.

in the steepness of the m p e and the ocean bed descends ,

-

s u d d e n l y in most cases to a depth o f at least f athoms .

B elow this depth the ocean fl o o r is spoken O f as the -

A bys m a l A rea The. fathom contour encloses an

-

area between it and the coast line o f what at some past -

period O f the world s history f ormed part o f the dry litho

’

sphere Nearly every continental shel f on examination

.

provides evidenc e of this f act in the numerous Ol d river ,

valleys and furrows which lie entrenched upon the shel f .

A mong the best known o f these furrows are the B ottom

less Pit O ff t h e Niger D elta the submerged valleys in the
,

F irths Of F orth and Moray and those outside the Nor

we gia n F i ords A narrow sh el f presupposes a rocky coast
.
,

a wid e shel f a flat one Thus t h e low plain round B uenos

.

A yr e s slips almost imperc e ptibly beneath the sea and ,

t he depth o f water is so shallow for many miles from the

actual s h ore line that large v e ss els coul d not r each t h e
-

land if an artificial harbour h a d not b een dredged out

,
.

On the other hand in the e x treme north east of A sia

,
-
,
 ELEVA TE D S EA B E D S, S U B MERGE D
-
LAND 32 5

along the shores Of the B ering S e a the re is no continental ,

shel f and t h e rocky coast d es cend S in bold cli ffs to a

,
'

surf beaten b e ach On such a coast harbours are fe w

-
. .

Th e Con tinen ta l Sh e l f a nd Fish —It is on t h e continent al

shelf in various parts of the world that t h e fishing in
d u s t ry is carried on We are indebted in no small
.

measure to the sea for a co nsiderable portion of our food

supply In fact quite a larg e proportion of t h e p o p ul a
.
,

tion living in the outlying districts O f the B ritish Isles

and those parts o f Europ e situated near the coast but ,

otherwise d iffiCul t o f access subsists almost entirely on ,

fish These p eople always reckon on providing their

.

'

winter s s u p p l y o f food in the fishing season which about

’
,

our islands is during the summ e r and autumn months .

The hom e of the Ol d World s fisheri e s has for its c e ntre ’

the continental shelf on which the B ritish Isles stand .

Her e the D ogger B ank the Goodwin S ands and the Long , ,

F orties are the favourit e fishing grounds for all European

nations Rou nd Iceland too and among t h e Lof o d e n
.
, ,

Islands o ff the Norwegian coast prolific fisheries are

carri e d on In North A merica the B anks of Newf ound
.
,

land and Nova S cotia and the contin e ntal shelf on the
'

west coast O f the contin e nt on which Vancouver and ,

Queen Charlott e Islands are situated are the most ,

im p o rtant centr e s B ass S trait separating Tasmania

.
,
'

from Victoria and the sea around the Japanese Islands

,

are also well known for their wealth of e dible fish A l l .

fish depend for their e xistence upon the presence of

vegetable a n d animal organisms in the sea upon which ,

th e y feed ( although many species O btain their f ood by

devouring smaller species ) and it is in the shallow seas ,

that these orga nisms fl o u ris h to b e st advantage -

.

Fish eries of th e Worl d — The herring is the most im

.

portant fish caught about the B ritish Isl e s and the ,

32 6 P R A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

numb er O f p eople e ngaged in this branch O f t h e fis hi ng

'

industry probably exc e e ds all t h e rest together The .

chie f towns engag e d in the industry a re Youghal Kinsale , ,

Cli fden S tornoway Wick Peterhead A b e rd e en Grims by

, , , , , ,

Yarmouth and Lowestof t Other fish caught o ff the

,
.

B ritish Isles include hake turbot sole lobster mackerel , , , , ,

whiting haddock and halibut Off t h e coast o f Iceland

, ,
.

and the New f oundland B anks are t h e chie f cod fis hing -

centres in the world .

In the Medit erranean the most important fishing centres

lie O ff the Italian and S icilian coasts The s e districts .

a re noted for their tunny sardine and pilchard fisheri e s , ,

.

The Gulf of O tranto has important oyster beds This -

.

s h el l fis h
f
thriv e s best in estuaries where the wat e r is
muddy and shallow O ysters are accordingly O btained .

at the mouth of the Tham es O ff the estuarine 1 sl a n d s ,

O f the Du tch coast and along the east coast of North

,

A merica e specially in Ch e sapeake B a y

, S ponges whi ch .
,

are marine animals are to be obtained in the Levant, .

Coral and pearls are also procured from t h e sea in warm

regions The Gulf Of Manaar IS the rich e st p e arl fish ing
.
-

centre in the world t h e p e arls being extracted from ,

shell fish which are brought to t h e surfac e by nativ e

-

divers . The whale ( which is a mammal not a g fis h ) ,

provides us with e xcellent Oil which is procur e d from ,

'

its blubb er and also with whal ebone which is taken

, ,

from its upper j aw F or whaling in northern r egions

‘
.
,

the whalers start f rom the northerly ports o f D undee ,

Aberdeen and Lerwick ,

The sperm whale is found in .
-

the S outh A tlantic and especially in the S outh Pacific ;

There are many permanent whaling stations whence -
,

launches go out in pursuit o f whale of various species ,

round the coasts O f S outh A fric a Australia and New , ,

Zeal a nd ( see pp .
32 8 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

Of Great B ritain would be submerged D escribe

.

shortly or S how by a sketch what the map of

, ,

Great B ritain would look like ( Ox f Jun Lo c )

. . .
‘

What evidence is ther e that certain coasts are rising

and others S inking ? ( Civil S ervice )
.

D escribe and account f o r the difference in the outlines

o f the coasts on the east and the west O f S cotland .

( O x.f and C amb. Lower C ert

.
)
 PA RT IV

TH E LITH OS P H ERE

CH AP TER XXII I

Land Form s

Ma in Fea tures If the earth coul d be deprived O f all its

.
-

hydrosphere j ust long enoug h for O bservations to be

taken O f t h e surface r e maining the result would probably ,

be surprising The Al ps of S witzerland the Himalayas

.
,

of A sia the Rockies and the A ndes O f A meric a would

, ,

no longer constitute t h e most striking featur e s What we .

call continents would instead stand out as hug e uplifted

, ,

mass e s between which would be t h e enormous d epressions

,

that at present contain the oceans Hence the mountains .

and the plateau x are not really the chief of the world
features but ( when you consider the world in mass )
,

quite s e condary Th e p rim a ry topographi cal fe atur e s

.

Of, the earth then are t h e continental masses Al l

, , .

separable f e atur e s O f thes e such as plains plateaux , , ,

mountain systems and basins are secon d a ry topographi cal

, ,

feature s S maller features such as individual peaks

.
,

cap e s cliffs valleys which form parts of secondary

, , ,

features a re the minor topographi cal fe atures A

, .

g eogra p hica l uni t is usuall y a s e condary topographical

feature since it embrac e s an are a or region ov e r which
,

similar c ondi tions O f rainfall temp e rature veg e tation , , ,

32 9
3 30 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

and agricultural or industrial possibilities prevail Wh ere .

t h e s e condary topographical f e ature is O f extraordinary

extent as f o r e xample t h e basin Of the Mississippi it
, ,

becomes n e c e ssary to divide it into two or more geo

graphical units such as the Ohio Valley the Lower
, ,

Mississippi the Upper Mississippi and so f orth

, ,
.

Th e TW O A c ting Forc es —Topographical f eatures owe

th eir e xist enc e to the action O f two f orc e s one internal , ,

to which are due all mov e ments Of u plifting or subsidence ,

the other external to which a re due all the wasting , ,

carving and other works of d e nudation The first

“

, .

agency builds up s e condary features for the second

agency to act upon and carv e into minor f eatures A .

plat e au might b e the outcome o f an uplift o f the s e a

floor ( internal agency ) glaciers runni ng water; fros t , ,

a nd sunshine mig h t diss e ct this plateau into a gro up

,
' '

o f isolat e d hills external agency Th re ore we may

( ) e f .
,

say that the internal ag e ncy is chiefly mov em e nt a nd is

constructiv e while t h e external agency is chi e fly d e
,

nudation and is destructive t h e f ormer tends to p roduce

elevations and depr e ssions the lat t er to reduce every ,

thing to a common l e vel .

Denud a ti on —D enudation may be e ither marginal or

. -

superficial : the f ormer is t h e work o f tides and waves ,

on the coast s of the la nd ; t h e latt e r sometimes called

‘

sub aerial is the work O f rain running water frost ice ,

-
,
-
, , ,

and air on t h e surf ace rocks Of t h e crust Marginal d e

'

nud ation works at the e d g e s o f t h e land masses j ust as ‘

a m o us e eats its way laterall y into the mass of a sl ic e

'
'

O f bread and butter ; sub aerial denudation works on -

the top of t h e land mass e s j ust as a cat licks ‘a wa y

.
r

the butt er from the top o f the bread The pi e cemeal .

Th e w o r k Of t id e s , w a v es , win d s , g l a c iers , and r iv e rs is d e a tl

with in t h e ir
. res p e c t iv e c h a p t ers .
332 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

way First we divide the world into two parts the one
.
,
—
containing what was tolerably well known pri or to the
famous voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1 4 9 2 the ,

oth e r comprising what became known as the r e sult of

that voyage the f orm e r we call the Ol d Worl d the latter ,

the New World In the Ol d World the continental masses

.

are Eurasia consisting of the two quasi continents Europe

,
-

and A sia Afri ca and Aus tra lia ; in the New World are
, ,

North Am eri ca and South Am erica really o n e mass

but so nipped at the Isthmus O f Panama that it m
, ,

ay

quite well be considered as two separat e masses Roun d .

the S outh Pole it is now known that there lies another

continental mass— Antarctica Greenl a nd which though . , ,

a quite independent land mass is reck oned to f orm part ,

.

o f North A me r ica is a large island about one third the

,
-

size o f A ustralia A rranged according to size the c On .

,

t in e n t s stand as f ollows : A sia A f rica North A merica ; , ,

S o u t h A m e ric a Europ e A ustralia Eurasia IS a con

’

.
, ,

t in e n t consisting o f an immense low plain in the north ,

somewhat f aintly divided by the Urals and f ringed by ,

a line o f highlands which sweeps round f rom the extreme

south west to the extreme nort h east ( t e from S pain to
- -
. .

the B ering S e a) A frica is a tableland with a fringe o f

.

coastal plain Nort h and S outh A merica have mountain

.

ranges in the east and in the west with central plains

between A ustralia has highland in the west a moun
.
,

t a in o u s east with lower land in between

, If all the .

high land o f a continent w ere levelled down and the

valleys filled up till the continental mass became quit e
flat the height O f the then level su rf a c e a b ov e the sea
,
‘

would be the average height or t h e mean level o f the

continent The mean level o f A sia would be ab out
.

f eet O f A f rica North A merica and S outh A merica

, , , ,

about f eet o f Europe and Au str a lia about,

 L AND F OR MS 333

f eet . The tru e coastal shape o f the continental masses

is not that shown by the coast line at sea level The - -
.

outer edge O f these masses is the edge o f the con

t ine n t a l shel f ( see p and it is this which defines
.

the true coastal outline O f a continental mass A n y land .

ri sIn g up on a continent to a height o f over f eet

above sea level may be termed the continental crest all
-
,

land dipping from f eet to 5 0 0 f eet may b e spoken

o f as the continent al slopes and any par t not reaching
,

5 0 0 feet may b e
regarded as a plain .

S ec on d a r y F ea
tures —Syncline a nd
.

Antic li n e —
Of sec
.

o n d a ry f eatures the

fi rst in importance
is undoubtedly the
m ounta in ch a ins or
m ounta in sys tems .

Each continent has

its own system o f
elevated lands and F IG 8 4
, . .

in almost every case

they are primarily
due to the crump ling o f the crust by lateral pressure .

S ingle peaks or groups o f peaks are usually due either

, ,

to the di ssection o f a plateau or to volcanic action .

TO understand the f ormation o f a system o f f old e d

mountains perf orm the f ollowing S imple experiment
,

Cover a table with a thick baize cloth and upon the ,

cloth lay f our heavy volumes e g early editions o f , . .

the Encycl op aed ia B rita nn ica as s h own in the diagram ,

( fig . Vol I represents the A uvergne

. Plateau of
F ran ce Vol II the Vosges Mountai ns Vol III t h e B lack
, .
,
.
334 PRA CTI CA L PH Y S I CA L GE OGRA P HY
F orest Mountains and Vol IV the Plateau
, . B ohemian .

Al l these are igneous protrusions and act as gigantic ,

p osts sunk t h ro u gh t h e crust to the centrosphere Now .

push the tablecloth upon the table towards the volumes ,

when three f olds or creases will appear along the lines '

marked A B and C F old A represents the Jura fold

, , . ,

B and C the parallel f olds Of the F rench S wiss and , ,

A ustrian A lps The trough o f a f old is called a syncline

.
,

the arch an a nticline T With a double or treble f old .

there must be both a nticlines and synclines .

Va ll eys The synclinal valley between two f olds i s called

.
-

a primary or l ongi tudina l v a ll ey The Juras the B ernese . ,

Oberland and the Pennine A lps are three anticlinal

,

ridges having between them the synclinal valleys o f the

,

A a r the Rhine and the Rhone

, The anticlines are cut
, .

through here and there by valleys ( not synclines ) affording

commu ni cation between the longitudinal valleys Thes e .

are tra nsverse vall eys A transverse valley may be cut .

back either partly or wholly through the anticline ; the

work o f cutting back being done by either a river or a
glacier ( see Chap XXXI ) It is this combination o f . .

longitudinal and transverse valleys which so gr eatly adds

to the commercial value o f the A lpine passes a nd the ,

A lps may be contrasted in this respect with the Pyrene es ,

the peaks o f which are much lower but the passes much ,

m ore inaccessible S ometimes there is a single bend .

or f old without a trough S uch a S i mple anticline occurs .

upon the Colorado plateau Of Utah and A rizona The

'

plateau has an a v erage height o f about f eet and ,

breaks off suddenly with the long line o f cli ffs known as
Ma d e by or t h ro u g h t h e a g e n cy O f fir e .

T Th e d iffi c ul ty O f re m e m b e rin g whi ch is t h e a n t ic li n e and wh ich

t h e s ync l in e m a y b e o v erco m e by n o t in g th a t A s ta n d s f or a rc h as

We ll as for a n t ic l in e .
336 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CAL GE OGR APHY

f rom the coast to the interi or but al so Of hi ndering th e

,

complete navigation o f the great A frican rivers b ecaus e

o f t h e water f alls that are bound to occur on the lower

courses though the upper courses are quite navigable

, .

The Congo f o r instance i s navigable fo r

, ,
miles from
S tanley P 0 0 1 to S tanley F alls but the f alls o f the lower
,

river prevent communication with the sea and a railway ,

has had to be constructed to overcome this Obstacle The .

southern buttress o f this plateau in Cape Colony is a

f olded range pressed against the plateau The D eccan
.

O f India i s a plateau o f similar f ormation the terraces ,

O f the Western Ghats being specially well marked An .

upli f ted plain with the strata almost horizontal is of a

f ormation similar to the upli f ted plateau but as the ,

upli f ting h a s not proceeded f a r above sea level there is -

no faulting on the outskirts and consequently no terracing .

Western S iberia is a plain o f this kind This plain was.

once below the sea level and the Caspian and the Aral
-
,

are the last remains O f the shut off and pent u p sea waters
- - -
.

Coastal plains due to deposition f ollowed by uplif ting

, ,

are not bound to enclose porti ons of the sea waters the -
,

plain o f East A nglia being a case in point S ometimes .

marine denudation occurs bef ore the upli fting as was ,

the case with the small area in Pembrokeshire south o f

Mil f ord Haven The plain o f B elgium and North east
.
-

F rance lying west o f the A rdennes plateau was once a

region of f ol ded and f aul ted mountains v ery much
crumpled and broken The whole o f this region is now
.

worn so flat that scarcely a trace O f the high land remains .

The cross faulting that must have been common easily

-

accounts f or the su dden disappearance and unexpected

reappearance o f the coal seam s Of this region S uch a
-
.

plain might be called a plain o f denudation D rainage .

basins may be either plains or plateau x the Great B asin

 LAND FORMS 337

of the Rockies i s a plateau basin th ose Of the Ganges ,

'

and the Mississippi are plain basins Where rivers cut .

deep and wide valleys through a plateau ridges and ,

isolated peaks are the res ul t A plateau dissected in .

this way presents a highland region o f a very irregular

and rugged character The mountains o f the English
.

Lake D istrict are the remains of a dissected plateau ;

in fact the characteristic feature o f B ritish mountains
,

is that they have been dissected into their present group

f ormation f rom an ancient level topped plateau Th e -
.

truth o f this i s specially evident in the Highlands o f

S cotland where the resi dual ridges and peaks reach
,

approx imately the same l evel The central Lowlands o f

.

S cotland i s a rift valley between two faults one stretching

-
,

from the F irth of Clyde to S tonehaven the other f rom ,

Gir v an to D unbar The termination o f the Highlands

.

along the former fault line is very clearly defined ; for

-
,

seen f rom the plain o f the ri f t valley the front has a -

,

distinctly wall like appearance A nother fault right

-
.

across this northern plateau formed the ri f t O f Glenmore ,

now utilised by the Caledonian Canal S candinavia is .

also a dissected plateau The B alkan Peninsula is made

.

up O f two system s of f olded mountains between which is ,

a high rugged dissected plateau The Iberian peninsula

, ,
.

is a curious f ormation Most of the interior consists o f

.

a high rugged plateau called the Meset a varying from ,

to f eet in height above the level O f which

,

rise several saw toothed ridges called S i err a s

-
North .

o f the Meseta lie the parallel f olds O f the Pyrenees and ,

on the south are the f olded ranges o f the S ierra Nevada ,

detached portions o f the latter f olds reappearing in the

Medi terranean as the B alearic Islands .

Crus t bl ocks —B esides t h e f olded mountain systems

-
.
-
,

the di ssected plateaux or residual mountains and isolated ,

22
338 PR ACTI CA L P H YS I CAL GE OGR APHY

volcanic peaks there are isolated mountains that owe

,

their origin to a network o f cross faulting Intersecting -

.

f racture lines f orm irregular quadrilateral and polygonal

’

figures If one o f these remains in s itu while t h o s e s ur

.
, ,

rounding su ffer subsidence or depression the surviving ,

rock mass becomes w h at i s known as a crus t bl ock or an

- -

e ar th bl ock
- The Peninsula o f Korea is an example o f such
.

an earth block If h owever the outstanding block is

-
.
, ,

the result o f t h e denudation o f the surrounding parts ,

it is called a butte or a m esa- *

Table Mount ai n which . ,

overlooks Cape Town in S outh A f rica is such a hill and , ,

t h ere are many other examples o f the same f ormation in

o ther parts o f the same country all rimmed round by ,

u n s ca l e a b l e cli ff s rising out o f long slopes Of weathered

rock waste which are called

-
,
screes or ta lus slopes .

E arth blocks may b e said to be the result O f c i rcum

-

depression buttes o f circumdenudation

,
.

Vari ous Kinds of Plains — In r a inless regions plateaux ,

generally remain level and it is only their borders that ,

become dissected as Is the case in Western A ustral ia

, .

Many plains in di fferent parts O f the world have S pecial

c h aracteristics and special names Round the A ral S ea .

and stretching northward into A sia lie loamy plains

f rozen in winter green with rich grass in spring and
, ,

scorched and wit h ered in summ er These are called .

s tep p es . T h ey are t h e home o f nomads or wanderers ,

who are compelled to lead their kind O f li fe in order

to procure f resh pasture f o r their flocks The northern .

wastes o f Eurasia with nearly barren frozen soil are

, ,

called tundras w h ich in t h e summer time thaw on t h e

,
-

surface and carry a growth O f stunted shrubs thin grass , ,

and a prof usion o f bright coloured flowers In North -

.

A merica the same kind Of f rozen plain is called the B arren

Pr o n o u n c e bewt and m a ys a .
 PR A CTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

the D ecc a n f or example is j oined by a broad base to th e

, ,

continental line ; the Morea however is j oined by the , ,

true narrow necked Isthmus o f Corinth to its parent

-

peninsula , and the Crimea is sim ilarly j oined to the

Russian mainland by the Isthmus of Perekop O ther .

well d e fin e d isthmuses are those o f S uez and Panama

- ‘
,

both cut through by canals .

Is l a nds are o f two kinds : ( 1 ) those rising from the

c o ntinental S hel f are called con tinenta l ( 2 ) tho se rising ,

f rom the floor o f the ocean abyss are called oceanic .

Continental islands are O f ten a line or f estoon o f peaks

of submerged mountain ranges such as t h e Ionian ,

Islands on the west o f the B alkan peninsula the S unda ,

Islands O f the East Indies and the Greater and Lesser

,

A ntilles O f the West Indi es They are Of ten also peaks

.

o f a submerged dissected plateau as in the case o f the

, ,

Cyclades o f the ZEg e a n S e a ( such a grouping O f islands

b eing called an arch ip elag o ) ; or S ingle peaks such as the
I sle o f Ma n which is a detached fragment o f the Lake D is
,

triet ; or again they are remains Of contin ental areas whose

, ,

surroundings or intervening parts have f oundered such ,

as the B ritis h Isles Madagascar Greenland a n d t h e

, , ,

man y large islands north O f Canada and lastly they m a y , ,

b e mere stacks o f hard rock that have so f a r resisted the

attacks O f t h e waves suc h as Heligoland the B ass Rock
in the F irth O f F orth or A ilsa Craig o ff the south w
, ,

, est ‘
-

coast O f S cotland .O ceanic islands have never been

j oined to a continent but have been built up from
,

t h e ocean fl o o r either by coral polyps or by volcano es

-
.

( F or f ul ler de t ails o f coral f ormations see Chap XXX ) ,

. .

Th e islands o f t h e Central Pacific are oceanic and they ,

contain none o f the typical rocks O f t h e continental masses ,

such as granite and sandstone and clay Oceanic islands .

generally have plants and animals pec ul iar to themselves ,

 LA ND F OR MS 34 1

while continental isl a nds contain the faunal and flora]

features Of the neighbouring continent New Zealan d .

is for instance an oceanic island with peculiar plants

, ,

and animals Many oceanic islands in the A tlantic a re

.

volcanic such as Teneriffe the A zores and the Cape

, , ,

Verde Islands .

Typ es of Coa st li ne — Capes ( called also points f ore

-
.
,

lands nesses heads and bills ) are coastal corners

, , , ,

coastal tongues or miniature peninsulas A bold high

, .
,

and outstanding cape

is called a p ro m o n
tory A good study
.

O f capes may be made

from the coasts of our

own islands ; for we
have three quite dis
tinct types of coast
line giving rise to
,

three distinct types of

capes These types O f
.

coast l ine may b e

-

called the serrated ,

FIG 8 5
the concave and the ,
. .

convex .

F ig 8 5 shows the serrated type found on the west

.

coasts especially on the west coast of S cotland and in

, ,

its most pronounced form on the south west coast o f -

Ireland The serrations are n ot due to the erosion of

.

soft rock but to the subsidence O f valleys The concave

,
.

type is found well shown on the south coast O f England ,

where each proj ecting point ( fig 8 6 ) is a hard band .

Of rock j utting out into the sea There is a limit beyond .

w hi ch the gul f Of sea water does not penetrate ; f o r -

the in ne r p a rt s beyo nd th e l in e XY ( fig 8 7 ) a re shel tered .

34 2 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

from t he violent action of waves and the consequent ,

tendency to deposition gives the fixed concave characte r

to the coast Th e convex type is well shown on the east
.

coast of Great B ritain but best of all in England This

, .

form ( fig 8 8 ) is due to a growth Of coast caused by a tidal

.

current flowing southwards along the east coast Of Great

FIG . 86 .

FIG . 87 .

o f D enmark and
B ritain ( or similarly along the west coast
Germany ) This current tends to carry everything south
.

ward and so brings down sand which blocks the mouths of

,

the rivers and deflects them ( e g the A lde the Yare etc ) so
. .
, , .

that one Of t h e m instead of entering the sea at X ( fig

_ ,
.

e nt ers a t Y Whatev er ma y h a v e b ee n the origina l

.
 34 4 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

coastal mountain range it will flow in a narrow gorge

,

through the mountains but will O ften hav e a good harbour

,

in one o f the vall e ys on the other side of the mountains .

A good example is t h e B a y of S a n Francisco which is e n

t e re d through the Golden Gate The Pac ific Ocean has on .

th e whole the type of coast due to the p a rallel mountains

and the fault cli ffs ; t h e A tlantic has the more irregul a r
-

coasts due to submerg e nce Of butt ending m ou ntains -

a n d plateau x with intervening low lands .

E XER C IS ES
1 Writ e a description of the Central Lowlands O f S cot
.

land dealing with the following points : climat e

, ,

fertility o f soil accessibility from S e a coal field s

, ,
-
,

and account for the position of S tirling D um ,

barton and Perth, .

2 Plains O ft e n coincide in great part with river v al leys

.
-
.

S tate with what river valleys the following plains -

coincide and give six furthe r examples— Lan gue doc ,

A ndalusia Lombardy ,
.

3 A ccount for the directions taken by the rivers flowing

.

to the south coast of Ireland .

4 What is meant by a Pacific type of coast and h o w

.
,

does it di ffer from t h e Atlantic type

5 Write a S hort descri tion of each Of the follow ing
.
p
the Great B asin t he Pamir Plateau Gr ee nland
, , ,

the A nd e s .

6 Compare the general build of Eurasia w ith that O f th e

,

A meri cas and of A frica with that o f A ustralia

, ,

7 What land is there in the southe rn hem isp h er e ?

.

( O x f Jun
. Loc ) . .

8. What is meant by classing islands as co nt inenta l, ”

”
volcanic and , coral ? Explain t h e d i ffe r s

ence .
( A rm y E ntr a nce ) .
 CH A PTER XXIV

Th e Rocks of th e Ea r th ’
s Crus t

Rock — B y the crust of the earth we mean the outer

solid part which by Observation or reasoning may b e
c onsidere d a s kn own to some extent D irect O bservations .

made in wells mine S hafts cuttings cliffs ravines

,
-
, , , ,

ca nons e t c carry knowledge O f the crust no farther than

,
.
,

a few thousand feet from the surfac e Reasoning by .

inference may carry our knowl e dge farther perhaps nearly ,

forty miles from the surface but even this knowledge ,

embrac e s no more than one hundredth of the distance -

from the surface to t h e centre A ny portion of natural .

substance forming part of thi s crust is to a geologist .

, ,

rock. In popular language rock signifi e s mass e s of

hard stone and does not include loose soil a distinction
, ,

of much convenience ; for allowing the distinction we ,

can speak of the solid rock of the crust b e ing cov e red
with a softer looser material called soil which is nothing
, ,

but the result of the decomposition Of expos e d rock

surface In composition rock is commonly an aggregate
.

Of different mineral substances not combined in any ,

constant way but varying in detail in different localities

, .

” “
Thus the name mineral generally signifi e s something
simpler than a rock Mine rals have a d e finite chemical
.

composition and definite physical properties but the ,

a re
gg g ate of minerals in a c omp o site ro ck h a s no

34 5
34 6 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

constant composition If from any min e ral there can .

be extracted one Of the use ful m e tals such a mi neral ,

is call e d an ore Those metals such as gold silver and

. , , ,

platinum ( precious metals ) and some othe rs when they , ,

a re found pure and have not to be extract e d from an

ore are call e d na tive

, .

* —
Comm on Rock f orm ing Minera ls The most abundant
-
.

’
mineral in the e arth s crust is silica a compound O f silicon ,

and oxygen It occurs in many f orms from t h e bright

.
, ,

clear transparent hexagonal crystals O f quartz or rock

, ,

crystal to the dull looking dark coloured flint O the r -

,
-
.

well known forms O f silica are purple quartz or amethyst

-
,

smoky quartz Opal and agate When S ilica combines

, , .

with certain metallic substances it forms compounds

known as sil i cates t h e commone st of which are t h e ,

f p
e l s a rs Typical . f elspars are the pink c rystals that
give the characteristic colour to red granite or the ,

nearly white crystals O f grey granite A nother well .

known silicate is m ica easily recognised as dark sp ecks ,

in common granit e s There are many forms Of mica .

,

but they all agree in being su fficiently soft to be ‘

scratched by the finger n a il and in being splittabl e into -

,

thin flexible plates or leaves ( la m in ae ) One form O f .

mica called muscovite ( O ften wrongly called talc ) S plits

into large thin transparent sheets o ften used in the place
, ,

O f glass A nother important mineral is the compound of

.

carbon oxygen and calcium known as ca l cium carbona te

, , .

This exists in many forms t h e commonest O f which are ,

ch a lk lim estone statuary marbl e and ca l ci te

, ,
Crystals Of , .

Th e s tu d en t s h o u ld co ll e ct or in s p e c t s p e c im e n s o f t h e m in e ra l s

m e n t ion e d . Mere re a d in g a b ou t th em is v e ry l itt l e go od . Th e

M a nd L ca se of s p e c im e n s ll
t o i u s t ra t e t h is ch a p t er ca n be
O b t a in e d fr o m Mr . F H . . B ut l er, th e N a t ur a l H is tory A g ency ,

W W
l l

B ro m p t on Ro a d , L ond en , S . . Price 1 0 8 . .
 34 8 PRACTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE OGRA PHY

which has its origin In former animal life a re orga n ic ,

rock materials
-
.

First Cl a ssifica tion — In t h e beginning t h e whol e crust

o f t h e earth solidified thr ough gaseous and liquid stag e s .

This first solid crust consisting of rock that had pass e d

,

t hrough t h e molt e n state is called i gneous rock This

, .

original crust O f the earth was full of wide and d ee p

hollows into which as tim e went on the worn down dust
, ,
-

and f ragments O f the more e levat e d parts O f the igne ous

rocks made their way Al l such lay e rs which o we their
.

origin to the destruction Of t h e ign e ous r o cks a re call e d

sedim enta ry r ocks In fig 9 0 it will b e seen how the
. .

sedime ntary ro cks ( S ) always lie on a f o un d a t io n o f '

igne ous rocks and how here and there portions Of igneous
,

rock ( P ) protrude b eyond the layers of sedimentary .

Furth er Cl a ssifica tion — .

—
S edim e ntary rocks that is ,

rocks which have been reduced to s e dim e nt by erosive

wat e r powe r and ha v e b ee n carried away by wat er to
-
,

—
be deposited in another place a re sometimes called
a q ue ous b e cause they owe their deposition to water
,
It is .

in this sort Of rock ( call e d theref ore also fossili ferous )

t hat orga ni c re ma ins o r fossil s a re fo un d In the origi nal
.
 THE OF THE E ARTH S CRUST
’
R OCK S 34 9

crust of t h e earth or in volcanic material traces of life

, ,

could not b e expected to exist .

Igneous rock a s might be expected from its Origin ;

,

commo nl y occurs in an u n st ra t ified condition ; and it

'

is also O ften found in a crysta llin e condition If t h eigne ous .

rock solidified in t h e d e pths Of the e arth e ach mineral ,

crystallising out slowly and separately it is call e d p lutoni c ,

granite is the best known o f t h is class If the igneous .

’
rock is the result of an ej ection of lava on the earth s
“

sur f ace it is call e d vol ca nic T hus t h e term volcanic is

, .

”
distinguished from plutonic in tha t the f ormer d e s ig ,

nat e s ign e ous rocks o f superfi cial f ormation whil e the ,

latter is applied to rocks formed under conditions O f depth

and pressure S ome lavas having t he same mineral compo
.

s it io n as granite and others that sol di f y as black glass

, i ,

are called O bsidian Glassy lava th a t solidifies full o f air

.

bubbles is called pumice S tratifie d rocks may be first

.

classifi e d according to the material O f which they a re com

posed and again according to their age Arena ceous or
, .

sandy rocks consist of small fragments O f mineral mostly ,

quartz broken up into fine particles and cemented

,

tog ether by various substanc e s such as iron oxide or ,

carbonate Of lime Argi ll a ceous or clayey rock consist s

.

o f finely p ul v erized rock f orming minerals or the products

-

o f their alteration If t h e argillac e ous rock is not fissile it

.

is called clay or mudstone if fissile and n o t v e ry hard ‘

shal e ; if fissile and very hard S lat e If a rock con , .

tains calcite in any form it is call e d ca l careous Th e , .

sp ecial charact e ristic of such rock e g chalk common ,

. .
,

limestone and statuary marble is that it e ffervesces unde r

‘

, ,

acid S tratified rocks containing carbon bear ing or coaly

.
,
-

matter owing to the incorporati on o f plant remains

, ,

are call e d carbonac eous If soft and f ormed O f compacted

.

and little altered plant rem ains the rock is called ,

’
350 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

lignite if hard and still more altered approaching ,

pure carbon in c o m p o sit l o n bituminous coal ; if N ery

,

hard and much altered anthracit e At first al l stratifi e d

,
.

rocks we re approximately hori zontal ; but so much tilting ,

fold ing bending crumpling and other f orms of distortion

, , ,

of t h e crust hav e taken place since t h en d eposition t ha t ,

a ne arly horizon tal be d is now the ex ception and n ot

the rule The d ire ction down the slop e Of a bed of
.

str atified rock is t h e dip the dir e ction along t h e m p e

at right angles to t h e dip is the strik e ; t h e li ne a lo ng

F IG . 91 .

which bed comes up at the surfac e is the outcrop

and a of br eak in the bed is a faul t D ip outcrop .
, ,

and strike may be illustrated with a few books plac e d ‘

as in fig 9 1 . . S ometimes the strata of t h e rocks are

broken through by mass e s Of igneous rock in a molt e n
s tate from the int erior These masses by their intrusion
.

hard e n by pressure or bake by heat or chemically alter

, ,

the sedim entary rocks into which they have e ntered .

S u ch alter e d rocks are said to have been metamorphosed

( i
. e chang
. e d ) and a r e called m e ta m orp h i c

P e a t ( th o ugh it c a n ha rd l y b e c a ll e d ro ck m a y b e r e g a rd e d
as th e firs t s ta ge in th e f o rm a t io n of coa l l
o u t O f v e g e t a b e re m a in s .
35 2 PR A CTI CA L PH Y SICA L GE OGRAPHY

Ep och . F o rm a tion .
Lif e f o rms as S h o w“ Exa mp l es o f rocks .

Qu a t e rn a ry G l a cia lp e rio d B ou d er cl
l a y, s a n d s ,
Ca in o z o ic o r
g l ra v e s , a n d a ll u
l a te l if e Vi l il a so

[ T e rt ia ry T e rt ia ry Ma m m a l s d ev e opl S and l s, c a ys , and

s t ra t a ] in g re a t v a rie t y . cra g
MA N a p p e a rs
Cre t a c e o u s H igh e r m a m m a l s Ch a k , m a rl l
b e gin ; l nd a

p l a n ts an d in
s e ct s d ev e ol p
M es o z o ic l
O o it ic R ep ti l a nd am L im
’

or es e s t o n e s ,

l l
m id d e if e J ur a ss ic p hi b ia p re d o m fu ll er s
’
e a rt h

[ S e c o n d a ry in a t e ; b ird s a p
s t ra t a ] p ear
Tr ia s s ic l
R e p t i es in gr e a t Ne w re d sa n d s t o n e
v a rie ty ; low a n d gyp s u m

f o rm s o f m a m
l
m a s a p p e ar

P e rm ia n R e p ti l es a p p ear Ne w re d s a n d st on e

a nd m ar l
Ca rb o n ife ro us L a n d p a n ts l am Co a l a nd mi ll s t on e
P a l ae o z o ic p h ib ia n s g rit
or ea r ly D e v o n ia n F is h e s a b un d a n t Ol d re d s a n d s t on e
l if e l
S i u ria n In v e rt e b ra t e s s t i ll F l a gs t on e s and

[ P rim a ry p re v a i l l
s a te s
s t ra t a ] N o t h in g b e y o n d S l a te s a n d grits
in v e r t e b ra t e s
Ob s cure t ra c e s S ch is t s , an d cry

s t a in e ll ro c k s

A z o ic o r n o M e t a m o rp h ic Non e Gn e is s a nd s a l t e

l if e ( A l l ign eous rocks

c o n s o l i d a te d fro m
fu s i on a re n ecas

In 1 9 1 2 in t h e t e r t ia ry b e d s at P il t d o wn Co m m o n in S us s e x
wa s f o un d a s kull ,
wh ic h is t h e ear li
est in d ica t io n h u m a n if e y e t
of l
d is e n t o m b e d fro m a ny s t ra t um of th e e ar t h s
’
c rus t It b e o n gs
. l
to a n e a rlie r p erio d ev en th a n th e jaw f o un d at l
H e id e b erg in 1 90 7 .

Th e c h a r a c t e ris t ics of th e P il t d o wn sku ll a re sm a ll b r a in -

c a p a c it y ,

h eav y u n d er- a w, j and l a rg e

p o we rf ul t e e th . A m od e l of th e s k ll u

m a y be s e en in t h e N a t u ra l H is t ory M us e um ,
S o u th K e ns in g t o n .
 THE R OCK S OF THE E ARTH ’
S CR UST 3 58
I

as yet known were of a low type and when the pre ,

dominating for tus of animal life were those of huge

a fii h ibia and reptilian mons t ers
p .

—
Th e Rocks of th e B ri tish Isl esé Prima ry Stra ta — When
‘

we say that the proportion of igneous rock in the

B ritish Isles is very small it must be understood to mean ,

th a t compared with the total surface area of the islands

t h e outcrop o f igneous rock is V ery small The basaltic .

plai n in North east Ireland is volcanic in origin and

* -
,

similar rocks appear in the islands of Mull S taffa Iona , , ,

a nd S kye and in odd detached places on the Lowlan d

‘

plain U nder these volcanic outpourings in many places

.

lies a foundation of crystall ine schists of A rch aean forma

tion The A rch aean rocks the oldest rocks of the B ritish
.
,

Isles are mainly represented north of a line drawn from

,

S tonehaven in S cotland to S ligo in Ireland S mall .

'

exposures of A rch aean rocks occur in England where

later rocks that on ce covered them have been worn
away e g in Cornwall in the Malvern Hills and near
,
. .
, ,

Leicester Cambrian and S ilurian slates and grits cover

.

most of the southern uplands of S cotland the south ,

east o f Ire l a n d T much of the Lake D istrict of West

,

morland a portion of North east Ir eland south of the

,
-

bas a ltic plateau and all Wales except the south east ,
-

corner The Old Red S andstone outcrops in the south

.

west corner of Ir eland in S outh east Wal es the coastal ,

-
,

regions of Moray F irth the whole of Caithness and the , ,

northern parts of the central Lowlands of S cotland

“

T h e Gia n t
’
s Ca us e wa y is a sm a ll l oca l p o r tio n o f . t h is b as a tic l
T In t h e e a s t a n d s o u th - e as t of Ire l a nd is fo u n d gra n it e of ev e n

gre a t e r h a rd n es s a nd l
d u ra b i ity t h a n t h e gr e y gra n it e of A b e rd e e n .

L a rg e qua n t it ies o f t h is s t o n e in t h e f o rm o f b o c l k s hav e b ee n

s h ip p ed f ro m K in g s t own t o A us t ra ia f o r t h e b u i d in g l l of p ie rs .

23
35 4 PR A CTI CA L P H Y S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

U nder the Ol d
R ed S andstone beds lie the S ilurian rock s,
and later in succession are shales and limestone that under
lie the coal seams i e the carboni f erous limestone This
-
,
. . .

carboni f erous limestone is now well seen in the southern

parts of the central Lowlands o f S cotland down to the ,

Pennine backbone o f England over the whole of central ,

Ireland and along the coast of S outh Wales I n the

, .

ab o v e f ormatio n is f ound the coal that gives the formation

its name In Ireland the upper coal bearing beds have
.
-

b een worn away In S cotland

, the carboni f erous rock s

bear such ric h stores o f coal iron ore and oil shale that , , ,

the central val ley is the most prosperous and important

p art o f S cotland In England the sequence o f formations
.

may be seen exposed upon the flanks o f the tiny plateau

o f the F orest o f D ean O n all sides you may climb u p
.

from Sil u ria n sl a t e s to D evonian sandstone thence from

’

the carboni f erous limestone t o the cap o f shales and coal

seams Th e disappear a nce of t h e up p e r coal beds from c
-

the Pennines h a s alr eady been mentioned ( see p .

—
Second ary Stra ta Resting upon the Permian and other
rocks are the Triass ic beds o f re d s a n d s t o n e marl and , ,

gypsum This formation which occurs over the midland

, ,

l a in b e t we e n the Penn i nes and the Welsh hills and on

p ,

the east flank of the Pennines up to the River Wear con ,

ta ins beds o f common salt F rom the mouth of t he Tees .

t o the m outh of the Exe runs an irregular band o f

“

Ju rassi c d eposits which dip

,
eastward and st rike in th e

d ire ctio n of the outcrop and also divide England into ,

two distinct regions The outcrop o f these beds is called

.

t h e Ooli tic esc a rpm ent and is called by various names in

,

di ff er ent parts su ch as Nort h York Moo rs Northampton

, ,

Hei gh ts; a n d Cots wold Hills East o f this escarpment .

isag r ic u lt ura l England

. wes t o f it is industrial
,
England
a

A b o v e t h e s e Oolitic limestones ( sometimes called ro e

‘
35 6 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

( b) according to their co m p osition ( siliceous ,

argillaceous calcareous carbonaceous )

, , .

5 . D istinguish between a mineral and a rock D escribe .

three common rocks and e x plain their origin .

( C amb Jun
. Loc ) . .

6 . Of what is coal made ? How and in what sort o f

places was it f ormed ? How is our knowledge o f
its history and origin obtained ?
7 . S tate what is meant by ou tcrop and f a u lt and illustrate ,

your answer with diagrams ( Camb S e n Loc )

. . . .

8 . Give some account of the origin o f chalk ( Camb . .

Jun Loc )
. .

9 . Name three useful minerals which are gener al ly found

as veins filling cracks and fissur es in h a rd rock '
,

and three which are found in layers between

deposits of sand and clay In each case name .

some locality where the mineral is abundant }

( O x f and
. Camb S c h C ert
.
) . .

D iscuss carefully the position and the charact er of

the chalk ranges of England east o f 1 W showing °
.
,

their past and present importance ( Lond U niv. . .

Matric ) .
 CH A PTER XXV

Wea th ering

Exp ans on a d C
i n on tra c ti on —Most solids expand when
.

heated and contract when cooled Take a small bras s .

ball which w ill j ust pass through a metal ring when both
ball and ring are cold Heat the ball in the flame o f a
.

spirit lamp and you will find that it will then not pas s
-
,

through the ring but will rest upon it A s the ball cool s
, .
,

it contracts but the ring being warmed by contact

, , ,

expands a little There fore it will take a few minutes fo r

.

the ball again to drop through the ring This e x p e ri .

ment shows the principle o f the expansion of a solid upon

the application of heat and the subsequent contraction
,

due to loss of heat Al l solids do not however expand

.
, ,

and contract in the same degree The amount of e x p a n .

sion or contraction depends upon the substan c e of w hi ch

the solid is composed and the amount of heat or cold
applied . It is said that owing to the expansion and
,

the filling u p of the interstices between the railway metals

- -

on the line between London and Edinb urgh a n additional ~

mile of metals is added during the summer Water does .

not expand and contract regu larly under the application

o f heat and cold as a solid does While wa ter is being .

°
cooled gradually down to 39 2 F it contracts normally .
,
.

A t that temperature it commences to expand and con ,

tin nes to do so until the temperature reaches 32 F °

.

35 7
35 8 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

At this point the water becomes solid ice a n d therea fter ,

acts as a solid B ut at the point of solidification the

.

water undergoes such expansion that the ice f orm ed

occupies h} of the space previously occupied by the water
a .

There fore water not only expands on freezing but ice

, , ,

being the solid f orm o f expanded water is lighter than ,

its equivalent bulk o f unexpanded water This is why .

ice floats in water with about o n e tenth o f its bulk -

above the surface That water expands on freezing

.

may be easily understood by observing the e ffect it

has upon the pipes through which it flows during the
winter To test the expansive power of water in f orming
.

'

i ce large bomb shells were filled with water and plugged

,
-

tightly These were the n placed out in the open during

.

the night in northern Canada and on inspection on the ,

following morning were found either to be cracked or to

have had the plug forced out and ej ected a considerabl e
distance away .

Denud a tion — The chief e ffect of the varying climatic

.

changes on the earth s surf ace is to cause a general ’

denuding and disintegration of the rocks o f which it is

composed The natural agencies that assist in this
.

work are air rain f rost rivers glaciers wind and the
, , , , , ,

oceans Al l of these are destructive in character and

. ,
'

are constantly engaged ( although not all in the same

regions ) in wearing down the rocks of the globe and trans
porting their particles to places of lower level F or this .

reason they have been named agents or forces o f denuda

—
tion Of denudation there are two kinds ( a ) ch em ic a l
.

and ( b) m ech a ni ca l That is the destructive agents

;
,

some times exert a f orce which has a solvent action on t h e «

earth s surf ace ; and sometimes they grind it away by

’

brute force as it were Th e agents c h iefly engaged in

, .

chemical action a re a l r ram a nd wind Some t im es

A , ,
.
36 0 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

action of the atmosphere can do on its own a cco rm t In .

this e x cee dingly dry region the river has carve d out it s
bed to a depth of at l east feet b e IOW the surface
level of the surrounding country ; its sinuous course is
walled in by beds of rock that have withstood for age s
al l attempts of the d r y atmosphere to create any per

c e p t ibl e c hange S uch a phenomenon as the C olorado

.

c a fio n would be found only in a dry country in a damp

climate such as that of the B ritish Isles the sides of the
, ,

c a fi o n wo ul d never have been perpendic ul ar at a ll but ,

would have weathered into the sloping fo rm a tion of the ‘

ordinary river valley -

.

Ch em i ca l W ea th ering —The action of rain upon all r ocks

. _

i s twofold . Together with the mechanic al there is also a

chemical wearing away In s om e cases the chemi ca l
.

acti on is greater than the mecha nical T h is may be

.

specially noted in limestone districts in whi ch t he ,

solvent powers of the water have hollowed o ut huge

underground caverns In other cases the mech a nica l
.

is greater than the chemical action This is the case in .

regions in which the rocks are less soluble and wh e re ,

frost and t haw are t h e more powerful weath e ring a gents .

A very excellent example of the solvent power o f r a in

is to be observed i n the Yorkshire h ills where the c hi ef ,

rock is carboniferous limestone Here are to be see n .

huge m a sses of erratic blocks of hard gri t based on a

l in e s t o ne stratum The grit has resisted the atmospheric
.

agenc i es but the great thickness of the l imesto ne layer

,
“

underneath which the block has protected from th e

,

destructive work of these agents shows clearly the ,

sc ul pturing action which has been at work from year

to year The earth pillars of the Tyrol and those at
.
-

F ochabers in Elgin a re co m p o se d of clay and slate which

_

have been in like manner preserved from the weathering

 WE ATHERING 36 1
'

process by the caps of stone which surmount them .

Agai n the sa ucer formation of Ireland is partly due to

,

t h e so l v e nt power of rain upon the limestone rock of which

.

much of t h e interior is co mposed and partly due to the ,

scoopi ng out action of glaciers during the later stages

-

of the gl acial period ( see p .Large ho llows so formed

h ave now been filled up with water or vegetable matter It .

is be lieved that the B og of Al len had its origin in this way .

T h e famous C heddar caves in S omerset have also been

f ormed through the solvent action of water In fact .
,

wherever limestone is found there swallow holes ,

or
sink holes .
and subterranean channels o r caverns
cau sed by the dissolving of the rock are to be met wit h .

In other countries very famous caverns of t hi s kind are

the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky and the J e n o l a n Caves
in New So uth Wales So me species of a ni mals ( and fish )
.

that live in th e utter darkness of these caves are blind ,

but on the other hand their powers of hearing and touch

, ,

are strongly developed ( see p .

—
Wea th ering by Insol a ti on Al though c ertain places
.

situ a ted in the temperate zo nes have a fairly wide dail y

a nd annual range ( se e p . it is in arid regi ons like

the S ahara D e s ert that the da ily ran e is greatest In
g
.

t he B ritish Isles the daily range var i es from 3 0 F to °

F —not a great deal when compared with that of

.

°
40 .

the S ahar a which sometimes reaches 1 4 0 F

, In °
.

hig h l atitudes the greatest extremes of temperature bo th ,

for the day a nd the seasons are experienced in those ,

places situated at great elevations or i n t h e central p a rts

of the great continental masses The effects of a wide .

daily range of temperature are very marked upon the sur

face rocks which ex pand rapidly when subj ected to the
,

great heat during the day and contract equally quickly

, ,

as the heat is radiated i nto the atmosphere during the

36 2 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

cool night In contracting the inner layers of the bed of

.
,

rock give o ff their heat more slowly and consequently do,

'

not contract s o rapidly as the o ut er l a ye rs This alternat e.

and unequal expansion and contraction of the surface rocks

causes them to split asunder and peel o ff into thin l ayers ,
'

and to this change in the rocks due t o d iffe re n ce s in atmos

p h e ric temperatur e s the name in s ola ti on has been given .

From what has been said it might appear that there i s mor e
weathering of the rocks i n arid than i n temperate regions .

This is not the case On the contrary the prevalence

.
,

of moisture in the atmosphere in temperate r egions mor e .

than counterbalances the comparatively small daily

range of temperature but the weathering due to moisture .

proceeds in a way quite di fferent from that due to ran ge

of temperature The disintegration of rocks in arid
.
.

regions takes the f orm o f splitting into thin sheets The .

lack of moisture in those regions reduces to a minimu m

that other form o f weathering in which water percolates
through the cle fts of the rock and washes away the finer
particles o f rock In mountainous districts and in
.

t ropical regions the layers o f rock that are split off by

insolation sometimes f all down the face of the rock and
so f orm a slope of debris called a scree or ta lus ( se e
p.

Wea th ering by Fr ost —In cold and temperate regions

. ,

where moisture is abundant in the air frost is the im ,

portant agent in the process of weathering F irst of .

all water makes its way into the clefts and pores o f the
,

rock where on freezing it expands and exerts a pres

,

sure o n the surface rock in all directions The result .

is that small fragments are f orced to break o ff whe nt he

thaw sets in These are in due course exposed to the
.

f ull e ffects of the atmosphere or are washed away b y

'

succeeding downpours of rain and so make room for

,
36 4 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

clouds of sand are also borne by the wind and hurled

a gainst rocks with the result that small particles o f the
,

rocks are broken o ff w hi ch go to swell the next sand

,

cloud that is swept onwards D eposits of fine grit and .

matter have been thus carried from place to place to fil l

’
up depressio n s and create mounds or hills on the earth s
surface S uch accumulations o f wind driven deposits are
.
-

to be found in the Landes on the south west of F rance ,

-
,

and in the S ahara ( see p 1 7 9 ) .

Transp or ting Agen ts — Wa ter a nd Glaci ers —The chemical

. .

and mechanical powers o f rain disintegrate particles of

r o ck surf ace With succeeding downpours o f rain these
-
.

particles are mechanically carried away to the lower

lying districts by rivulets and so the surface rock is again
,

laid ba re to be acted upon by the same agencies once

,
'

more Thus rain acts as a transporting agent and also

.
'

assists in making the soil o f valleys fertile for the debri s ,

so transported generally forms a rich alluvial plai n .

Obv i ously the work of rivers and glaciers is to transport

,

matter on a greater scale In fl o o d time rivers carry . -

-

their maximum load in suspension which they deposit ,

partly in their basins and partly as a delta at their

mouths The Plain of Holland has been formed b y
.
~

the detritus carried down from the Al ps by the Rhine ,

which is fe d near its source by over 4 0 0 glaciers and -

s n o wfie l d s Th e Plain o f Lombardy the Valley o f the

.
,

Ganges and the B asin o f the Nile also owe t h eir remark
, _

able fertility to t h e rivers that traverse them .

Gla ci ers are in like manner engaged in transpo rting

downwards rocks torn from the slopes of the valleys
through w h ich t h ey flow ( see Chap XXXI ) These are . .

ground and crushed into sm aller particles as the glacier

moves onwards and in this way a fine silt is deposite d
,

in the v a ll e y b e l o w .
 WE A THERING 65

Th e
’

also helps in the process of denuding the land

sea .

The constant action of the waves in beating upon the

coastal rocks and in hurling loose stones upon them
results in splitting them asunder and washing away to
sea the smaller particles which the atmospheric agents
have succeeded in loos ening With this there is also .

going on another action the waves and breakers throw

,

ing up the shingle against the partly eaten coast and

grinding pebble against pebble until fine sand is pro
d u ce d Where the rocks are hard there the e ffect of
.
,

sea action is less apparent than where they are more

-

permeable or loose in structure .

Th e Dura bili ty of Rocks — Rocks are of varying degrees

.

of hardness or durability and all rocks partake o f the ,

characters o f their constituent minerals whether so f t or ,

hard cleavable or non cleavable and coarse or fine in

,
-
,

grain Granite is possibly the hardest rock to be found

.

in the B ritish Isles Quartz which is one of the in

.
,

g re d ie n t s of granite is not
,
greatly a ffected by weathering ;
but the felspar in it is and the f elspar by decomposition
,

becomes kaol in or c hi n a clay which in England is sent to

,
-
,

the S ta ffordshire potteries from the granite district s in

Cornwall and D evon The durability o f granite is clearly
.

seen along the east coast o f A berdee n shire Here an almost .

,

unbroken line of coast of a remarkably rocky character

stretches from S tonehaven to Peterhead while some dis ,
~

tance south the softer and less durable carbo niferous

limestone o f F ifes hi re and the Lothians has given way
be fore the combined forces of sea and river and con
s id e ra b l
y widened the F irth of F orth B asalt — a hard .
,

—
dense kind of lava r ock is also o f great resistive power .

Much o f the county of A ntrim is composed of thi s kind

of rock and the bas al t pillars whi ch f orm the entran c e
,

to the Giant s Causeway bear little trace o f the e rosive

’
36 6 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

action of the sea or the destructive power of the weather .

S andstone also has great resistive power when the grains ,

of sand are well cemented together .

il
So s —.
From weathering results soil and on s oil grow ,

the plants on which the very existence of man depends .

It is from the finer particles o f rock that soil is produce d ,

and the depth of the surface coating depends upon two

factors ( a ) the elevation ( b) th e extent of denudation :
,

In valleys or on slightly inclined plains soil accum ul ates in

many cases to great depths because the particles of rock
, ,

denuded from the more elevated regions could be carried ,

no f urther by the many transporting agents in nature .

S oils thus formed are extremely fertile and productive ,

since they contain a very high percentage of rich mineral

substances which provide much food for all plant li fe .

On very elevated ground where the bare rock is not ex

,

posed o nly a thin covering of soil is to be found and this

, ,

coating is usually non productive because of its shallow

-

depth Mosses and f erns are the only f orms o f plant li fe

.

that can exist in such regions In districts of heavy

“

rainfall where there is much weathering of the rocks

, ,

the layer of surface soil is of greatest depth and o f great

fertility In regions of little rainfall weathering is at
.

a minimum and therefore there is little or no soil to

,

cover the rocks In some cases where the rocks a re

.

composed of qu a rt zo ze material the soil is m erely sand

, ,

and a region o f low f ertility results A ny rain that f alls .

in such districts makes its way easily undergroun d

t h rough the permeable sand and thus the absence o f ,

moisture in the groun d leads to barre nness Most of the .

great arid deserts o f the world provide e x amples of this .

Varieti es of Soil —S oils may be found either lying on

.

the rock from which they have been formed by weathering

and decay ; or they may have been carried from a dis
36 8 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CAL GE OGRA PHY

of the tropics ( e g the selvas of the A maz on a n d the

. .
,

forest zone of the Congo B asin ) where weathering go e s on ,

very quickly the decay of vegetation grea tly helps to

,
'

increase the soil s fertility B ut growing vegetation is

’
.

also a destructive ag e nt The roots of trees and plant s

.

penetrate the crevices and cracks of the underg round

'

rocks and expanding as the trees grow they S plit t h e

, , ,

rocks asunder or f orce them upwards to the surface to ,

be in due course acted upon by the chief weather ing

agencies Earth worms termites ( the white ants o f
’

-
.
,

A frica ) rabbits moles boring molluscs e tc all do thei r

, , , ,

share in assisting in the formation of soil They carry .

decayed vegetation into their homes underground and ,

turn up the lower layers o f soil to the surface They .

break up the soil in scooping out their burrows or in

’

casting up the earth as worm castings on the surface -

:

E X ER C I S ES
1 . To what e x tent is the process of weathering res p onsibl e
for the diversity of form ex h ibited by mountains
D oes the form of the mountain ever depend solel y
upon geological structure
2 . Give an account of t h e means by which the sea wears
away the land ( Camb Jun Loc ) . . . .

3 . What e ffects does frost produce on the surfac e of t h e

earth Explain these e ffects and describe any ,

experiment that w o uld show this particular action

of frost .

4 . Mention the principal agents that wear away the land ;

and describe their action ( Civil S ervice ) . .

5 . What are the chie f varieties of soils How are they

produced , and what a re t h e y goo d for ? ‘
 WE A THERING 36 9

6 . Under what conditions is frost an active denuding

agent and how may the res ul ts of its action be
,

detected in sedimentary rocks ? ( Lond U niv. .

Inter S c )
. .

7 . Give a short account of the action of rain as an agent

of denudation ( Civil S ervice )
. .

8 . What does a farmer mean when he speaks o f light

”
land and heavy land 9
9 . D escribe the changes that take place in the densi ty of
water as it cools from 5 0 F to freezing point
°
.
-
.
 CH A PTER XXVI

Vol ca noes a nd Ear th quak es

Temp era ture of Ear th ’

s Crust — A
considerable rise in
temperature is observed when a descent is made into a
mine or in a deep well boring This increase is due partly
,
-
.

to the intense residual heat o f the core and partly to the ,

pressure of rock overhead which gives rise to what is known

as dynamical heating A diminution in temperature due
.

to the release o f pressure is spoken o f as dynamical cooling .

To understand the causation of dynamical heating we

o nl y need to work an ordinary bicycle pump A s the .

pumping progresses the tube is f elt to become warmer

and warmer because the air within the cylinder is b e
,

coming more and more compressed A gain the steam that .

,

arises from a newly made hayrick is partly generated by

the pressure of the upper upon the moisture laden lower -

layers and partly also by the process o f f ermentation ;

,

sometimes t h e heat thus caused is su fficient to fire the

’
rick It is so with the earth s interior That there is
. .

great internal heat is proved beyond doubt by an ex

amination o f the water and solid matter t h at is belched
f orth from within .

In crea se of Temp era tur e with Dep th —Up to a certain .

depth the influence o f summer and wm t e r temperatures

penetrates into the earth This limit is known as the
.

l in e of in v a ria ble temp era ture and it is deepest in regions

,

wher e the an n ual ra n ge is greatest A fter this l ine the.

37 0
37 2 P RACTICAL PH Y S I CAL GEOGRAPH Y

and subsides into these hollows with much strai ni ng and

crushing This straining gives rise to earth tremors to
.
-
,

earthquakes with fractures of the crust and to volcanic ,

’
eruptions In some parts where the earth s crust is
.
,

weak and pierced by deep fissures the molten mass wells ,

up through the fissures and floods large areas F urther .

,
'

the rocks of the crust are a l wa ys m o re or less saturated

with water In the depths of the crust this water can
‘

become no more than potential steam The opening .

o f a crack due to the crushing and straining j ust men

t io n e d relieves the pressure and this potential steam ,

flashes into superheated steam with explosive action .

Defini tion of a Vo l cano A volcano then is a vent in

.
-

, ,
’
the earth s crust out o f which steam gases and hot , ,

rock issue either occasionally or continuously The hot .

rock may be in a molten state and is then called lav a ; ,

it may be in the f orm of pieces or dust The d u st is .

often spoken o f as ash a term not to be understoo d a s

,
-
g

indicating that it is the product of burning The solid .

and liquid matter ej ected from the vent is mostly piled up

around in the f orm o f a mound or cone but this mound
*
or cone is n ot the volcano .

Cl a ssificati on of Volc a noes — There are several ways of

classi fying the various mani f estations o f volcanic energy
and phenomena The three most important are grouped
.

under the f ollowing heads

— f
( )
a P re s e n t Co n di ti o n This classification is three old ,

and regards all volcanoes as either ( 1 ) active ( 2 ) d ormant ,

or intermittent ( 3 ) extinct ,
In the case o f extinct
.

volcanoes there are often clear traces left of former

activity as in the
,
puys or dome shaped peaks in -

the A uvergne district o f F rance where although no , ,

A vo l c a n o h a s b e e n d e fin e d a s a
”
b u rn in g m o un t a in B ut .

i t is o f ten n o t a m o u n t a in and it d o es n ot b u rn .
 VOL CA N OE S A ND E A RTH QUA KE S 37 3

active phenomena have taken place within historic

times the cones have a quite recent appearance
,
In .

most cases however the usual agents of denudation

, ,

have removed all superficial evidence and only trained ,

and systematic searchers can find traces o f the volcanic

energy of past ages The basalt plateau o f the north of .

Ireland F ingal s Cave in the west of S cotland and some

,
’
,

o f the Lake D istrict hills in Cumberland and W e s t m o r

land are volcanic in origin S nowdon in Wales is an old .

volcanic lava cone D ormant volcanoes though showing

-
.
,

no S ign o f present activity may give ample evidence in ,

the form of tremblings and steam escapes that they are

not extinct Vesuvius was considered dormant up to
.

A D
. . 7 9 when i t overwhelmed Herculaneum beneath a
,

deluge of mud since which time it has been In an active

,

condition S tromboli a little island to the north of

.
,

S icily is a good instance of a continuously active volcano

, ,

so much so that it acts both as a natural lighthouse and a

natural weather glass for when wind is threatened under -
,

low atmospheric pressure its activity is strongest but , ,

grows much less in fair weather as atmospheric pressure

becomes higher The distinction between active and .

dormant volcanoes is not easy ; for s o called active v o l -

canoes may be quiescent for long periods sometimes even ,

for years A s time passes by soil is formed on the

.
,

weathered ashes and lava of the dormant volcano plants ,

grow and man com es to build farms and villages on S lopes

,

that were once rent and swept by the eruption Volcanic .

soil is extremely f ertile ( especially suited to vine growi ng ) -

,

and it is f o r this reason that the west side o f S outh Italy ,

which is volcanic is much more fertile than the east , ,

which is not Thi s it is which tempts the coming o f

.

man ; but he almost invariably pays for his coming in

the end Etna in S icily has rolle d stre a m s of lava over
.
37 4 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

the country at intervals for centuries ; in 1 6 6 9 f o r insta nce , ,

tens of thousands of persons p erished in a lava inundation

which lasted for forty days Hecla in Iceland with a
.
,

lava stream 1 5 miles broad had its ,

victims
in the eruption o f 1 7 8 3 5 ; and in more modern times
-

certain islands in the West Indies in the S outh S eas and ,

parts of Japan have been awfully devastated by volcanoes .

B u t man in the long run is a heedless animal and the ,

prospect of natural terrors has never deterred him from

s ettling in districts that are otherwise desirable .

M Erup ted — Regarding volcanic phenomena

( )
b a tter .

from this point of view we must take account of several

,

manifestations not ordinarily thought o f as volcanoes

at all S peaking generally of volcanoes we mean only
.
,
“

those ej ecting lava dust steam and rock fragments

, , , .

The springs in old volcanic districts that violently

ej ect hot water and steam are call ed g eysers ( see pp .

38 2 et Sa l ses or mud volcanoes are f ound where

geysers act through beds o f a muddy or clayey nature .

When this is the case instead o f comparatively clear

,

water being erupted we have mud from which are

,

formed small cones like those in the Crimea There are .

mud vol canoes in Iceland in Java and in the Yellow, ,

stone region o f the U nited S tates Mount S t Elias .

,

on the borders o f Alaska is a volcano o f this type .

When from the earth nothing comes f orth but steam

and gases the vent is called a fum ar ole The develop
, .

ment o f these is always a S ign that the volcanic energy

of a region is dying out Near Naples is a volcano called
.

S ol fatara whi c h has been dormant for centuries but

, ,

which still emits steam and sulphurous acid vapours .

Hence if from a f umarole the vapours are largely sul

,
- r

h u ro u s it is considered as a special var iety and called

p
'

a so lfa tara Large de p osi ts o f sulphur may therefore

, .
37 6 PRACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
the steam are blown out dust rock fragments and , ,

pieces o f lava w h ich descend again to the earth as a

,

rain of mud stones and volcanic bombs

,
The area
,
.

covered by this devastating rain and the destruction

caused will be made clear in the description of particular
eruptions Wherever there exists a line o f fracture in
.

the earth s crust there may be at any time wellings up of

’ -

lava anywhere along the line If the lava spreads out as .

'

a thick slaggy sheet a lava plateau is f ormed such as

, , ,

that o f which the Giant s Causeway f orm s a part or the ’

,

plateau o f Cali fornia If the lava emerges at detached .

points along the line a series of lava piles will be b uilt ,

up The Islands of S tromboli Panaria S alina Filicu d i

.
, , , ,

and Al icu d i in the Tyrrhenian S e a f orm such a series of

, ,

lava cones but high enough to proj ect above sea level as
,
-

volcanic islands A fissure eruption may be as explosive

.

and as destructive as a pipe eruption as was the case in ,

New Z ealand in 1 8 8 6 when the famous pink and white ,

- -

terraces o f R o t o m a h a n a were destroyed * The rough .

,

vesicular cindery material sent out during an eruption

,

is called s coriae or cinders The same name is given to

,
.

the scum f orming on the sur f ace of a lava stream L ava .

rapidly cooled under pressure is glassy in appearance ,

and one variety is called obsidian j ; cooled at the s ur f a ce ‘

and f ull of air holes it is called pumice

-
.

n
Th e Co e — In a volcanic pile radiating from the
.
,

central pipe ( fig there sometimes occur cracks into

.

which flows lava and this consolidating there forms , , ,

dyk es These dykes may lie In the cone horizontally

.

in the form of thick plates or they may stand in the cone ,

more or less vertically in the form of t hi ck walls The .

Th ese t e rra ce s a re in t h e p r o c e s s o f re f o rm a tio n -

.

j
'
O b s idi a n is in f a ct a k
in d o f n a t u ra g a ss l l
T h e A t e cs . z of

Mexico :us e d it as a l
m a t e ria f o r m a k in g s a crifi c ia kni e s l v ,
 V OL CA N OE S A ND E A RTH QUA KE S 37 7

other parts o f the pile— dust pumice broken stones etc

—c ompacted by the pressure of their own weight and
, , ,

cemented by rain form the rock known as volcanic tuff

,
.

4 S u c ces s iv e s ta m th e b m l d m f the m o u n ta i n by m to
ge s g o co n c e
,
t
i s re s e n t . d sm e n s no n s Th e o n e of th e mou ntnm m a be ud d by the fa t
P .

y j g
e

the c ra te r o f the o ri i na
g l pi pe v e nt i s 1 0 0 0 fe et d e e p .
( a ft e r MORRELL
)
F IG . 92 .

S ometimes ,the central pipe having become plugged with

cooled lava and scori ae eruptions take p lace thr ough ,

subsidiary ch a nnel s for me d alo ng any line of weakness in

37 8 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

the old cone These give rise to lateral craters and cones
.

called parasitic .

Dis tribu ti on of : Vol canoes — A remarkable fact in the .

distribution of volcanoes is their proximity to the sea .

Of the three or four hundred active volcanoes in the world ,

all except a f e w in A merica and a f e w in Central A sia and

A f rica are within a short distance of the ocean Certain .

lines on the sur face o f the earth may be traced out along
which active vents— the safety valves o f the earth— are -

distributed at intervals and in the intervening spaces there,

is evidence to show that the subterranean forces are not

wholly extinct This linear arrangement 18 well marked
.
’

along the coast o f the Pacific O cean and has been called ,

a girdle of fire round the world S tarting from the .

southern end of South A merica we find in the A ndes a ,

continuous line o f Chilean volcanoes the chief of which ,

are A concagua Villarica and A tacama Through Peru

, , .

t h e line is continued into Ecuador where we find a knot

o f very lo f ty cones including Chimborazo A ntisana and
, , ,

Cotopaxi The great tableland of Mexico is entirely v o l

.

c a n ic O n thi s tableland along the eighteenth parallel

. , ,

there stretches from west to east a line of five active

*
volcanoes Colima Jorullo Popocatepetl Orizaba and
, , , , ,

Tuxtla This line is the commencement of a branch that

.

passes through the West Indies and probably crosses the

Atlantic to the A zores In North A merica scattered .

vents are f ound in the Rockies such as Fremont s Peak ,

’
,

Pike s Peak Mount B rown Mount S t Elias etc Then

’
, , .
, .

through Al aska and the A leutian Islands the line is con

t in u e d to K a m s t c h a t k a at the sout hern end o f whi ch
,

peninsul a there is a gloriously imposing group o f seven

active volcanoes all between ,and f ee t high .

Th e Kurile Ch a in is the pro longation o f the line s outhward s

Fo rm e d in on e n i
g h t, Pro n o un ce H wo olyo,
38 0 PRA CT ICA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

main cone feet high The present cone rises within .

the area of an old crater B efore 7 9 A D Vesuvius was . . .

,

so far as then k nown merely a conical mountain in ,

whose summit was a deep crater 3 miles in diameter ,

the s 10 pes and bottom o f which were covered with vegeta

tion In the eruption o f 7 9 A D half the ri m of the old
. . .

crater was blown away The erupted matter was mainly

.

dust which mingled with rain produced devastating

, , ,

streams o f h o t mud Pompeii was buried in from 2 5

.

to 30 f eet o f t h is cementing mud Hercul aneum to a ,

depth o f 6 0 f eet The 1 6 3 1 eruption was very violent

.
,

and lives were lost Other eruptions have taken .

place in 1 7 37 1 7 9 4 1 8 2 2 1 8 7 2 and 1 9 0 6 In the floor

, , , ,
.

o f the present crater are cracks like those in the floor of

S tromboli and in these cracks during eruptions explosions

, , ,

may occur as frequently as three times a minute .

r a
K a k to a —
This was a small volcanic island in the
.

S trait o f S unda between S umatra and Java The .

eruption o f A ugust 2 7 1 8 8 3 was one o f the most violent

, ,

and destructive on record Two thirds o f the island .

-

were blown away There had been earthquakes and

.

small explosions for some years Then came the mighty .

catastrophe in which lives were lost The three .

chief accompanying phenomena were the sea waves the -

,

air waves and the dust clouds The sea waves were so
-
,
-
.
-

enormous that they travelled hal f way round the world -

.

The clouds o f dust and steam were shot up 2 0 miles high ,

rendering the sky as black as at night The air waves .

-

carrying with them the fine volcanic dust travel led more ,

than t hr ee times round the world t h eir passage being ,

recorded by the barometers at various stations The .

course o f the fine dust in t h e air was traced by its colour

ing e ffects upon sunsets and some o f the dust was still
’

in the a ir in Queen Victoria s J ubilee year The caus e ’

.
 V OL CA N OES AND E A RTHQUAK ES 38 1

o f the explosion was probably the same as that of the

milder explosions of S tromboli i e the sudden escape of ,
. .

superheated steam The Krakatoa eruption was a c c o m

.

a n ie d by a violent outburst of K l u c h e f s k a a the highest

p y ,

of the K a m st c h a t k a n volcanoes The light from this .

volcano was visible for 2 5 0 miles Earlier ( about A pril ) .

in the same year the ice in the neighbourhood of the Kurile

Islands was discoloured with volcanic ash for miles in
every direction These phenomena are all indications
.

of the closely associated nature of volcanic eruptions in

di fferent parts of the world .

Mon t Pe l ée —This volcano is on the island of Martinique

.

in the Lesser A ntilles B efore 1 9 0 2 the crater was half

.

a mile in diameter and a lake occupied the crater basin

,

feet below the rim O n the plain 5 miles south .

of the volcano stood the town of S t Pierre with a p o p ul a .

,

tion of In A pril 1 9 0 2 sulphurous vapours from

the crater beca m e so ab undant that horses dropped dead
in the streets of S t Pierre Later in A pril the tra ffi c
. .
,

in the streets was obstructed by volcanic dust On .

Ma y 5 mud flowed over the lip o f the crater like porridge

boiling over the edge of a saucepan and poured down ,

the valley On Ma y 8 a heavy black cloud o f dust

.
,

steam and gases swept down from the crater over the
,

plain and in two minutes struck S t Pierre Instantly

, . .
,

buildings were overt h rown trees torn up and the city , ,

burst into flames A few minutes later a deluge o f rain

.
,

mud and stones fell completing the devastation and

, ,

W i p i ng out the entire popul ation The temperature .

o f the steam vapours and white hot dust is estimated

, ,
-

to have been over F The c h ief cause of death .

was su ffocation There were f urther eruptions on

.

Ma y 2 0 Ma y 2 6 June 6 July 9 and A ugust 30 o f the

, , , ,

same year .
38 2 PR ACTI CAL PH YS I CA L GE OGR APH Y

Soufri ere — This volcano is on the island of S t Vince nt

. .
,

9 0 miles south of Martinique The eruption of Ma y 7 .

,

1 9 0 2 was in sympat h etic action with that o f Mont Pel é e

, ,

and was in eve ry way similar to it except that f ortun , ,

ately no large town lay in the path of t h e steam cloud

,
-
.

Of t h is volcano also there were f urther eruptions on

May l 8 and S eptember 3 o f the same year D ust bed s
o
.
-

on the island a fter the eruption were f ound to be in some

, ,

places as much as 6 0 f eet thick There was no lava flow . .

Hawaii — This island built up of lava from the s ea

.
,

bottom consists really o f four volcanic cones massed

,

together Th e eruptions from these cones are relatively

.

quiet The largest o f the f our craters Mauna Loa is

.
, ,

3 miles long and 2 miles wide The crater fl o o r .

-
,

feet below the lip is hard but hot and crossed by , ,

cracks Eruptions are her al ded by the rising of the

.

crater fl o or and the consequent e nl arging of the cracks

-
,

in which can then be seen l a kes of S welling lava F oun .

tains o f lava rise some hundreds o f f eet above the floor ,

but none flows over the crater rim What lava escapes -
.

passes through cracks in the moun tain side forming -

,

streams as much as hal f a mile wide and 5 0 miles long .

These streams flow faster than a glacier but slower t h an ,

ordinary rivers From these craters there is very little

.

steam emitted ; there are no rumblings no explosions n o , ,

dust and earthquakes are very rare

, .

Geysers —Th e word geyser

. is derived from the
Icelandic geysa to g ush so that the word means a gu s her
, , .

We apply the term to a n a t u ra l spring or f ountain which

'

spouts f orth explosive gushes o f steam and boiling water

at more or less reg ul ar intervals of time ; consequently
geysers may be regarded as intermittent hot s p l ings .

They are commo nly found in regions o f volcanic activity .

Ca usa ti on of Geysers — To gain a clear i d ea o f the

.
38 4 PRACTI CA L P HY S I CA L G EOGRA PHY

belches f orth the superincumbent water high i nto th e

air Thus geyser action is caused Not all geysers are c o n
. .

t inu a l l y or continuously active In some the explosions

.

take place o nl y at varying intervals and the time that

,

elapses between successive eruptions varies f o r di fferent

geysers With some they occur at interval s of a few
.

minutes ; with others at intervals of several hours .

Ol d F aithful —a geyser in Yellowstone Park North ,

A merica which is noted f o r the regularity o f its e ru p

,

—
tions is in a state of activity at intervals of about an
’
hour s duration while the period of eruption generally
,

lasts for about five minutes . The Giant a geyser -

in the same district— has been known to remain in a

continuous state of activity for nearly three hours and a
hal f The intermittent character of many geysers suggests
.

that a certain period is necessary to heat up the new

supply of water which enters the pipe af ter the last lot
has been spouted out The celebrated scientist B unsen
.
,

to whom we are indebted for the theory of geyser action ,

submitted it after taking numerou s observations at

various depths of the Great Icelandic Geyser He found .

that the temperature of th e column of water de creased

more or less regularly from the bottom upwards and ,

that there wa s a steady increase in temperature all down

the column during the interval o f time which elapsed
betwee n an eruption and the one f ollowing ; also that
the nearest approach to boiling point ( taking into con
-

sideration the pressure of the water column ) was not at

-

the bottom but at a point about hal f way down the -

pipe Relying upon t h ese observations he perf ormed

.
,

a simple experiment to illustrate geyser action .

B unsen s Exp erim en t

’ — A tube A ( fig 9 3 ) is fil led with
.

water and heat is applied at two points A and B When ,

.

the water at A begins to boil it expands and raises the

,
 V OL CA N OE S AND E A RTH QUA K E S 38 5
’

column of water in the

tube . The water at B ,

which was on the point of

boiling is thus raised to a
,

point where the pressure is

l ess than it was at B con
sequently the water there is
changed into steam which ,

by its expansive force

ej ects the column of water
B D from the tube A fter
.

the eruption the water f alls

back into the basin C at the
t 0 p of the tube from which
,

it flows back as a cool

stream again into the tube ,

cooling the whole column .

S ome minutes will elapse

until the lower layers of
water in the tube are
sufficiently heated before
the next explosion and
ej ection of water occurs .

Geyser Wa ter a nd Ho t
Sp rings . Geyser water h a s
-

F I G 93
at al l times been famous fo r . .

its medicinal prop erties Es .

p e c ia l l y has this been so with the water of the geysers in

North Island New Z ealand These medicin a l properties
, .

are derived from the minerals of the rocks exposed to

the ac t ion o f water during its course underground The .

chief substances di ssolved are silica and compounds o f

sodium magnesium and other alkaline metals A very
, ,
.

large percentage of silica is usually held i n solution by

25
 13 8 6 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

geyser water and great beds of sili ca are formed around

,

the edges of every geyser This depos it is called sinte r Or

'

geyserite and is due to the evaporation and cooling of

,

the siliceous waters Minute plant organisms called

.

a lgae also assist in the formati on of the deposit Where .

a volcanic hot spring deposits matter of this kind it is ,

gradually transforming itsel f into a geyser T he silica is .

deposited around the edges and all along the bed of the
basin of t h e spring until in time it builds up for itself a
,

c i rcular mound with a central tube in much the same way

as a volc ano builds its cone S ometimes the effect of this
.

deposition of siliceous matter is to pile up such a large

mound that the i ncreased pressure of w ater in the p ipe is so
great as to prevent it from working In Iceland t h e re a re .
'

to be seen many examples o f f ormer geyser action Large .

pools of hot water called by the natives la ugs diversi fy

, ,

the island in many o f which may still be observed the

,

central pipe that at one time was the scene of great

activity In these districts thermal springs may also be
.

seen engaged in the work o f constructing the pipe

through which at some future date steam and boiling
water will be ej ected . _

Dis tri bu ti on of Geysers a nd Hot Sp rings — The chief

centres o f geyser activit y are to be found in volcanic
—
regions notably in Ic e l and Yellowstone Park in the ,

Rockies Mexico t h e IVe s t In d ies the A zores Japan an d

, , , , ,

North Island ( New Z ealand ) In all t h ose regions both .

geysers and hot springs are to be seen On e o f the f e w .

swimming baths heated by natural means from boiling

-

springs a mile away is that in Re ik j a v ik in Iceland In .

t h e district surrounding t h e Great Geyser whic h is situ

‘

ated about 30 miles north west of Hecla a re about one

-
,

h u n d re d h o t springs within a very small radius

u
S ome .
-

o f th e
. se have a depth o f fr om 20 to 3 0 feet the largest ,
38 8 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRAPHY

of the earth caused by some disturbance deep down in

the crust The disturbance is one of sudden movement or
.

fracture at a definite point or along a defi nite line and ,

whatever may be the cause o f the disturbance the rocks ,

in the neighbourhood are shaken and vibrations travel ,

away from the centre of disturbance as an earthquake

shock Even dynamite blasting O perations in quarri es -

will start a shock that may be f elt miles away The t w

.

o .

commonest causes of these sudden movements are ( 1 ) the

relief of tension at some weak spot in a set of slowly fold
ing strata and ( 2 ) the explosion of confined accumulated
,

steam either because pressure overcomes an unaltered

resistance or because resistance is in some way lessened .

Earthquakes due to the former of these causes are those

that cause permanent changes In the relief of the land '

surface Other minor causes of earth shocks are the

.
-

slipping of strata alon g fa ult planes previously formed -

,

and underground fl o o d ing s which undermine and render

unstable the overlying strata The fact that the earth ,

quake V ibrations however set up can be followed, , ,

*
recorded and even timed forms an excellent proof of
, ,
’
the great elasticity of the earth s crust ; f o r however rigid
rocks may se em to be they are capable of compression , ,

stretching and bending The wave movement of the

, .
-

earthquake proves the elasticity of the rocks affected ;

the cause of the wave movement i e a fracture proves -
, . .
,

that the elasticity has a limit .

Distributi on of Earth q ua k e Area s — Earthquakes mostly .

In t h e l a te Pro fes s or Miln e ’

s l a b ora t ory a t Shi d e in t h e Is l e of

W igh t a re l l
d e ic a te y p o is e d ins trum e n ts wh i c h t e wh en a n e art h ll
qu a k e h a s o c c urre d , a n d d r a w a g ra p h s h o win g it s in t ens it
y e v e n wh en
it o c curs o n th e o t h e r s id e o f t h e g ob e Th e l . a p p a ra t us is ca ll ed a

s e is m o m e te r, a nd t h e re a re a b o u t a h un d red s e is m ic o b s e rv a t ories

i n d iff eren t p a rts of t h e wo r dl .

 VOL CA N OE S AND E A RTH QUA KE S 38 9

happen along the chief lines of earth movements of eleva

tion and subsidence and often occur in the same areas as
,

v olcanic eruptions though so fa r as we know there is

, , ,

no necessary connection between the two phenomena

beyond the assumption that an eruption is an extreme
form of earthquake . The shores of the Mediterranean
are subj ect to sudden earthquake movements as well
as to slow crust movements ; and the centre of that
sea is a regio n of volcanic activity Japan is a land .

where both phenomena are not only common but even

carelessly disregarded S outh A merica too is a land of
.
, ,

earthquakes and volcanoes Great B ritain is not free

.

from earthquakes though free from volcanoes Frequent

, .

slight shocks are felt in the little Perthshire v illage of

Comrie . D uring the Christmas week of 1 8 9 6 a con
s id era bl e shock attended by some inj ury and damage

was felt along the Welsh marches the seismic centre ,

b eing somewhere in the crust below Hereford Even .

Ireland is not free from such disturbances Minor shocks .

are often felt in the counties of Wicklow and D onegal .

Res ul ts of Earth q ua k es — When an eart hquake affects

the sea fl o o r especially when its origin is below the sea
-
,

floor the sea is violently agitated and mighty oscilla

,

tions of the waters are set up which when they reach ,

the shore become huge breakers and do much more

,

damage than the earth waves upon which they attend

-
.

In the great earthquake of Lisbon on November 1 ,

1 7 55 the shock of the j ar in the crust was sufficient

,

to bring the city to a heap of ruins in ten minutes ,

but it was the huge sea waves that brought about the
-

death of peopl e The same form of double de

.

struction was dealt out to Messina and Reggio in 1 9 0 8 .

B esides the destruction to life and property earthquakes ,

Th e c e n t re o f s h a ki
ng .
39 0 PRA CTI CA L P H YS I CA L GE O GRA P H Y

produce results that may modify the phys ical geography

of a region S ur f ace cracks appear whi ch af terwards
.

become permanent waterways the s10 pe of t h e land ,

may be changed and the courses and rates of flow of

,

streams may be altered These results actually f ollowed .

the great Japanese eart h quake of 1 8 9 1 the A ssam ,

earthquake of 1 8 9 7 and the Cutch eart h quake of 1 8 1 9

,
.

The great Japanese earthquake o f 1 8 9 1 caused a split

4 0 miles long in the ground in the valley o f the Neo On .

o n e side o f this fault the g round subsided as much as

from 1 5 to 2 0 f eet .

Ma n a nd Ear th Dis turbanc es — Th e regi o ns of earth dis .

t urb a n c e s are by no means shunned by man In Japan .

and in S outh A merica earthquakes are regarded as nothing

more than the ordinary risks o f li f e B y building S pecial .

kinds of houses and bridges the people endeavour t o

minimise the possible destruction and loss but the possi ,

bil it y of loss o f either property or li f e does not drive them

“

'

to f orsake even the mo s t menacing areas Lisbon .

,

Kingston ( Jamaica ) S a n Francisco and Messina a re , ,

still flourishing centres of population and wealth in spite ,

o f many t h reats of extinction There is no soil so .

f ertile as that f ormed of volcanic lava and dust and ,

thi s to gether with the f act t h at man quickly forgets

,

disagreeable t h ings easily accounts f o r the dense p Op u l a

,

tion in the neighbourhood o f Pompeii and Herculaneum .

EXER CIS ES
1 . S tate the cause s of
( )
a The violent explosions that occur d u rm g
a volcanic eruption ;
Th e l igh tly l
b u i t wo o d e n h o us e of J a p a n h a s b e en ca ll ed th e
ch i ld of th e e a rt h qu a k e .
”
39 2 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

surface D escribe the principal effects of volcanic

.

action on the f orm of the land ( Ox f S e n Loc )

. . . .

D escribe mud volcanoes -

and eru ptions o f mud ,

and explain their causes and effects ( Lond . .

U niv Inter S cience )

. . .

What are the principal products given out by an

active volcano ? D escribe the structure of a
typical volcanic cone ( Camb Jun Loc )
. . . .

D escribe the effects of an earthquake near a sea

coast What regions of the globe are specially
.

subj ect to earthquakes ( Civil S ervice ) .

How wo ul d you recognise a region of volcanic form a

tion if you were travelling through it
, ( Ox f .

Jun Loc )
. .
 CH A PTER XXVII

i
Ca usa t on —.Of the rain water that sinks into the ground
-
,

a certain proportion reappears on the surface It oozes .

out through clefts in the rock and so forms a sp ring

, .

Why t hi s is so will be readily grasped by performing a

simple experiment Take a few handfuls of fine sand
.

and pile them on a layer of hard clay or plasticine Mould .

up with your hand a small circ ul ar ope ni ng on the summit

o f the sand and pour some water gently into it S hortly .
,

little streams of water will be observed to trickle out on ‘

the surface of the mound along the line that marks the
meeting of the clay and sand The clay is less per
.

v io u s— that is,
it is more di fficult for the water to get
through it — because it is more compact and composed of
'

finer particles than the sand On the summit or S lopes of a

.

hill the rain that f alls and soaks into the ground makes
its way easily enough through pervious rock but only a ,

relatively small amount can penetrate a slightly pervious

rock The rocks t hat are most pervious to water may
.

be classed in order of porosity as : ( i ) loose sandstone ;

,

( )
ii limestone with cleavages and cracks ; iii
( ) rocks with
cavities mechanically o r chemically produced We may .

easily test f o r ourselves the degree o f permeability o f

rocks by taking various marked samples such as granite , ,

limestone sandstone marble etc and drying them

, , , .
,

39 3
39 4 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

caref ul ly for some hours in an oven We then weigh .

and note the weight of each soak them in water for an ,

hour or two and weigh again comparing the second ,

weight with the first in each case The di fference in .

weights will show us the relative permeability of the rocks .

If all strata were of the same degree of permeability as the

harder rocks and did not absorb the water that fell upon
them rivers would become violently flooded after each
,

downpour of rain and would then go dry till the next

,

rain In fact the very serious fl o o d in gs o f the Murray

.
,

and D arling Rivers in A ustralia and the welcome but

lesser fl o o d ings of the Nile in Egypt are partly explained
by the impervious beds of rock that bound their basins ( see
also p . The same conditions obtain on a smaller scale
in S outh A frica In a drought the surface of the Karo o
.
‘

Plain is baked as hard as a brick and rain if a sudden .

, ,

thunder shower chances to f all runs off it as does the

-
,

water o ff a fis h m o n ge r s slab This causes very f o rm id

’
.

able and sudden floods o f extremely short duration , ,

however if the flood is due only to a passing shower

, .

A S outh A frican river bed may be dry at one minute and

-

may literally in the next five be changed into a roaring

-

torrent Hence a traveller in S outh Africa on arrival

.
,

at the bank of a river never c a mps on the near but on the

,

far side whether that river has water in it or not

, .

The proportion o f water theref ore that si nks in at any , ,

’
place on the earth s surf ace depends upon the hardness of ,

the rock it meets with F urther it s h ould be noted that

.
,

when we use the terms pervious and impervio us as applied

to rocks we use them in a relative sense f o r no rock is
, ,

absolutely impervious It is however clear that water

.
, ,

that has travelled more or less readily thr ough a pervi ous
s tratum underground will be prevented from continuing
:its course on meeting with a more or less impervious one ,
39 6 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

the rock until it reaches the level of X Y ; but when t h e

curve o f the water table is s ufficiently great there will
-
,

be a movement of the water from the higher to the lower

part ( modified only by capillary attraction wh ich is
‘

responsible for a certain permanent level in every rock ) .

Theref ore in ( a ) the spring at X is permanent and at Y ‘

—
intermittent that is it flows onl y when the surface of
,
’

the water reaches a point M sufficiently above the level

of Y ; and in ( b ) it is permanent at X and Y b e ca us e ther e
is a sufficient head of water above both points .

Vari ous Form s of Sp rings — Consider that the horizont a l

.

line XXI ( fig 9 5 ) marks the division between a pervious

.

bed of sandstone and an impervious bed of clay beneath

it The water makes its way readily through the softer to
.
-

FIG . 94 .

the harder rock at XXI and the upper layers of sandstone

,

contain less water than those underneath the layer next ,

to XXI contai ni ng most of all This layer is then s a id t o .

'

be saturated In wet weather the limit of saturation rises

.
,

whereas in dry weather it f alls When it f alls to such .

an extent that its level is barely above XXI then the ,

spring runs dry This can h appen onl y during the summer
.

months In winter however the heavy rains frequently

.
, ,

cause the level o f saturation to rise above the water

table and during these months it seldom f alls below it
, .

A glance at the diagram ( fig 9 5 ) shows that there is more

.

water at Y than anywhere else on the water table Thi s -

.

is because sufficient Water must accumulate all along the

impervious bed of clay to overcome the friction whic h
is entailed by its flow
as it attempts to make
its exit The greater
.

the distance the water

is away from the point
of exit the more pres
,

sure is necessary to
enable it to force its
way outwards so that ,

the column of water

at Y will be higher
above th e level of the
imper vious bed tha n
?

at any other point on

the tabl e A ssuming .

that suffi cient water

has accumul ated at Y
to overcome friction a ,

flow of water will be

set up all along the
line XX] and perma ,

nent springs will be

formed all around the
hill since the point Y
,

is higher than either X

or X1 .

A n examination of
fig 9 6 shows an im
.

pervious bed meeting

a pervious at an in
cl in a t io n to the hori
zo n t a l plane Here the .

height of the water

table X YXI above X
39 8 P R A CT I CA T
‘
P HY S TGAT ( m o o n A P HY

d sl o h e
'

F IG . 96 .

clearly explains the reason for the existence o f a per

manent S pring at that point B ut since the level of Y
.

is lower than X1 no water can flow o u t at X1 unless the ‘

level of saturation rises above the level of X1 If this .

occurs an intermittent spring will be f ormed at X1 for

,
'

water will cease to flow when the level o f saturation again

falls to Y .

"

In fig 9 7 the pervious bed of sandstone is wedged

.

F IG . 97
4 00 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

its way out thr ough curved passages that act as siphon s .

When t h e wa t e r in the reservoir rises above the b end o f

'

the sip h o n it begins to flow and continues to do so till

,
’

the level o f the water is reduced below the bend when ,

it ceases to flow and allows the reservoir to fill again

,
.

S ometimes thi s filling and emptying takes place ve ry

rapidly A spring at Colmar in A lsace rises and f alls
.

several times within the hour in other cases weeks

intervene between the two st ates .

—
Wells When a boring is made of suffi cient depth to
.

reach the le v el of saturation water will from that moment

,

begin to flow into the shaft on all sides and thus a well is ,

formed A s the level of saturation rises and falls in

.

proportion as there is more or less rain so will the depth ,

of the water in the well vary since it depends chiefly ,

upon the level of the limit o f saturation at any time .

In wet weather the shaf t is well filled because the level ,

of saturation rises In dry weather the well may be

.

empty if the level of saturation f alls to any appreciable

,

degree The depth of water in the well also depends

.

to some extent upon the depth and position o f the

boring with respect to the water table The porous -
.

rock becomes more nearly saturated by absorbing water ,

and retains this water until sufficient has been a ccum u

lated to generate enough pressure to cause it to flow F or .

thi s reason ( see p 39 6 ) the water table natur al ly takes

.
-

the form o f a curve so that if a well i s sunk at A ( fig 9 5 )

, .

it pierces the head of the curve and will theref ore have
a higher water level than one sunk at B which is nearer X
-
,
.

Wells ( like B ) that are situated near the point at w h ich the
impervious bed outcrops are likely to run dry in warm
,

weather whereas wells sunk so that they pierce the summit

,

of the water table are not liable to do so

-
.

Artesia n W el ls — Frequently borings are made to

.
 S PRING S 4 01

considerable depths b e
fore the point o f satura
tion is reached and even
,

impervious rocks have to

be pierced before water is
found Where very deep
.

borings have been drilled ,

the water f ound must

have travelled under
ground f o r several miles .

Now suppose a hose

pipe is a ffixed to a water
tap in your garden and
the water is turned on .

B y holding the hose pipe -

in a vertical p osition a
spray o f water may be
sent upwards to a con
s id e ra b l e height .The
height to which the water
rises is due partly to the
concentration o f water
_

be hind the nozzle o f the

pipe and partly t o the
pressure o f the water ,

derived from the height

of the reser v oir from
which it comes Reser
.

v o irs are always con

structed on some height
overlooking t h e towns they supply so that the pressure
,

may be su ffi cient to drive the water up to the highest

points within t h e town S o too i t is essential f o r t h e
.
, ,

sinking o f artesian wells that t h e water bearing strata

-

26
4 02 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

should outcrop and receive their rainfall at a higher level

than the top of the well which taps them .

Now imagine that an impe rvious bed of rock outcrops

at two places A and B ( fig and that above it but.
,

separated by a pervious bed EF is another impe rvious bed ,

CD The rain that soaks in at E and F flows down along t he

.

impervious bed A B until it reaches the lowest level o f the

bed at G Here the porous chalk bed will become saturated
.

and the water table will be represented by the broken

-

line A B If now a boring be made at H it will be found

.

that when it reaches G the water will burst upwards as f a r

as the level o f the water table because of the great pres
-
,

sure of water from behind ( j ust as it does in issuing from

the hose pipe ) the level of its discharge b eing lower than
-
,

the level of its supply B orings of this kind are called

.

artesi a n wells On e of the best known in this country

.

is that to be seen in Trafalgar S quare London Part of , .

the water comes from the Gog Magog Hills in Cambridge

shire and Lincolnshire ; the other part from the North
D owns in S urrey ( fig A nother arrangemen t o f
.

beds that favours the making o f artesian wells is such as

is found at B ourn in S outh Lincolnshire The water .

bearing bed is a limestone o f considerable thickness ,

covering a large area at its outcrop It dips in the .

direction o f B ourn and grows thinner as it dips At .

B ourn it is 9 0 f eet below the surface The water perco .

lating down through t h e limestone becomes pent up

as the bed grows t hinner and when it was pierced in ,

1 8 7 0 to procure a water supply fo r S palding the pent ,

u p water rose with such f orce as to damage the boring

apparatus In A ustralia ( especially in Queensland New

.
,

S outh Wales and S outh A ustralia ) artesian wells have

,

be e n bored in many places In the dry Riv erin a .

F re m A rt o is in F r s n cc , a d is tr - ct in wh ich t h e y wcre firs t su nk .

4 04 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

and We st S omerset have this property and are termed

calcareous springs A l l mineral springs are named after the
.
~

mineral h eld in solution S prings that contain in solution

“

a f airly large amount o f iron mainly f errous carbonate , ,

are called ferruginous or chalybeate These springs are .

f amous f o r their medicinal qualities S ome of the best .

known in England are those o f Tunbridge in Kent .

When water percolates to great dept h s i t becomes ,

heated and issues out on the surf ace as a hot or t h ermal

spring These springs contain a large percentage of
.

mineral substances owing to the depth o f their source and ,

the nature o f the rocks traversed A t B ath t h e tempera .

ture of the water reaches 1 1 5 F Thermal springs are ; °

.

however as mig h t be expected most common in volcanic

, ,

dis t ricts S everal towns in England and on the continent

.

”
are noted f o r the quality o f t h eir waters
'
A mong the .

best known are Cheltenham Leamin gton and Harrogate , ,

‘

in Engl and and Carlsbad Mari enbad and Vichy abroad

, , ,
.

Th e water o f t h e springs in these places contains many

substances in solution such as salt sulphur carbonate , , ,

o f lime iron etc ,

all valuable medicinal agents Petro
, .
,
.

l e um is discharged with the waters o f many springs

'

as in t h e A uvergne ; but in some cases t h e oil itsel f

rises in S prings as in t h e ease o f the f amous oil wells
,
-

o f North A merica and o f Trans Caucasia In the well -

.

known Pitc h Lake o f Trinidad t h ere is an enormous

supply o f asphalt .

Saline Sp rings —S prings that contain salts in solu

.
~

tion are known as saline S prings They are very numerous .

in Ches h ire W orcesters h ire and S outh D urham Opposite

'

, ,

Middlesbro u gh W here because o f t h e large percentag e

, ,

o f common salt held in solution they are called brine ,

P e t ro l e u m a n d a sp ha tl a re l iq u id a n d s o l id v a r ie t ie s r e s p e c t iv e ly
of b it u m e n .
 S PRI NG S 4 05 .

S prings The manufacture o f s a l t is an important in

.
‘

d u s t ry in these districts *
and the method by which the ,

salt is obtained at the d i fferent centres is to pump water

into the mines until it is saturated when it is again ,

pumped back to the surface and the salt extracted by

artificial evaporation of the water .

Pe trifac tion — Rain water in f alling through the air

.
-

dissolves carbonic acid gas and so becomes acid to some

small extent Water exposed to the air will also for the
.

same reason become slightly acid Therefore all natural .

waters are able to dissolve some portion o f the limestone ,

rocks through whi ch t h ey pass the dissolved limestone ,

becoming hydrated carbonate o f lime Thus at Matlock .

in Derbyshire the water contains s o much carbonate of

lime that obj ects allowed to lie in it f o r some time become
coated with it The water o f Lough Neagh in Ireland
.
~

has this petrifying power A s a result o f the ease with .

w hi ch water containing carbonic acid dissolves limestone ,

rocks composed o f this substance are o ften worn into

caves and hollows S ometimes the carbonated water .

filters through the top o f a cave and f alls to the floor ,

leaving on both roof and floor some o f the li mestone it

held in solution These deposits increase in quantity in
.

the course o f time until icicle shaped spears of limestone

,
-

called s ta lac ti tes hang f rom the roof a n d rounded masses ,

c al led stal agm i tes form and ri se up f rom the floor When .

these meet solid columns reach from the top to the

,

bottom of the cavern Columns like these m a v be seen .

No te d sa lt -
c e n t re s a r e N a n t wic h M id d l e wich
, ,
a nd N o r th wic h
in Ch es h ir e , and D ro it wic h in W o r c es t e rs h ir e —a ll n a m e s e n di n g in
wich . Now ,
sa lt us e d t o be o b t a in e d by e v a p o ra t io n o f se a - wa t e r

in sh a ll ow wic h es or b a ys , as th e w o rd ba y -
salt re m a in s to
t e s t ify . H en ce a ny p l a ce k
f o r m a in g s a t w a s c a e l
a w ic h a nd ll d ,

t h us it is t h a t t h e f o ur l l k
in a n d s a t m a in g t o wns h a v e a c uire d
-
q
t h e ir n am es . .
4 06 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

in course of construction in nearly all limestone caverns .

A specially fine e x ample exists in a ca v e on the Isl e o f

‘

Ca l d e y near Tenby S outh Wales, .

Hard a nd Sof t Wa ter — Pour some water containing

.

carbonate of lime into a basin and try to wash your hands

in it with a piece of soap The soap curdles in the water
.
,

and a lather can be produced o nl y with diffi cul ty Th e lime .

in the water produces with the soap insoluble curds of stear

ate o f lime and until enough soap has b een used to re move
,

the carbonate o f lime the water will not give a lather .

”
S uch water is called hard while water in which soap dis
,

”
solves freely and produces a lather readily is called soft .

B oil some o f this hard water and when it is cool wash again ,

with soap This time the soap dissolves and a lather is

.

produced Therefore water which is m ade hard by

.
,

carbonate of lime can be softened by boiling If you .

look inside a kettle in which hard water is constantly

being boiled you will see there the deposits of carbonate
o f lime adhering to the S ides and bottom Hardness of .

water due to the presence o f carbonate o f lime is called

temporary hardness D istilled water and rain water are
.
-

both soft . If you harden some water by adding a pinch

of powdered gyp sum ( sulphate o f lime ) you will find that ,

boiling will not soften it This kind of hardness is called

.

permanent hardness .

E X E R C I S ES
—
1 . What is the c ause o f the intermittent action o f geysers ?
How is it that obj ects thrown down the tube of
a geyser will sometimes give rise to an e ruption
Explain with diagrams the mode o f origin of the
, ,

diff erent kinds of springs How does the water .

o f S prings di ffer in composition from rai n wa t er -

,

a nd w h a t is t h e cause of the difference

 CH A PTER XXVII I

Rivers a nd th e ir W ork

O ig of R e s The rain and the snow that f all upon

r in iv r —
.

t he land are drained away by streams and rivers fl o w

ing t owards the sea . A river consists o f a m ain stream ,

into which flow fro m all parts o f the drainage area -

numbers o f subsidiary streams called tri bu tari es The .

place where a stream commences is called the source .

In a very mountainous region the mai n stream or its

tributaries may originate at the snout o f a glacier as is ,

the case o f little riv ul ets that u n it e n e a r Mount S t Gothard

’

to f orm the s ource o f the Rhine in a country of lesser

elevation the source o f a stream may b e a lak e among the
hills as is the case with many small rivers in t h e north
,

of S cotland ; or it may be a hillside S pring or sp rings as ,

i s the case in the f our head streams o f the Thames

-
A .

good deal o f t h e water that sinks into the ground is s ues

agai n as springs and finds its way into river valleys after -

an underground course Thus river valleys carry to the

.
-

sea the water both of underground and of surface

drainage The region drained by a river a n d its contri
.

buting streams i s called the ba sin o f that river Which .

of t h e Streams m a basin shall be called the main stream

is a question gene rally settled by the people living in the
basin ; but when one stream has been selected as the
mai n stream all the o ther stream s are ca ll ed tributari es
, .

408
 RIVER S A ND THEIR W ORK 09

Fo r convenience geographers have agreed to name the ,

“

banks o f a river right and le f t according as they are so

W hen the observer s tands with his back to the source and
l ooks in the direction the river is flowing D ividing o n e .

basin fro m another there is always some land more or , ,

less high that causes the falling rain or melted snow

,

to go in to either the one basin or the other This high .

*
ground is called the wa tersh ed wa ter p arting or d ivi d e ,
-
, .

Ther e is fo r instance a slight ridge a f e w hundreds

?
, , ,

o f feet hi gh which crosses the plain of North A merica .

This ridge on its northern edge is called the Height

,

of Land and on its southern the Great D ivide and

, ,

it divides or part s the sources o f the Mississippi the

, ,

S t Lawrence and the Red River o f the nort h

. In Europe
,
.

a belt of highl ands and mountain ranges crosses the

continent roughly S peaking from the south west to the
, ,
-

north east and f orms the continental water parting

-
,
-
.

How to Draw a Wa ter p ar ti ng —

Draw a map of Europe -
.
,

and mark with fine pencil lines the main streams of

all the larger rivers Join by a straight li ne in ink the .

source o f each r i ver to its mouth and mark all the

'
,

sources with large dots You w ill then have a double .

row o f dots crossing the continent along the line o f

the main water parting Where t h e two rows come -
.

close together the divide is a narrow ridge where they ,

separate widely the di vide is a more or less broad plateau .

S candinavia has a detached water parting o f its own -

.

D raw a S imilar map o f the o ther continents and note ,

A di s t in c t io n is s o m e t im e s m a d e b e t we e n wa t e rs h e d a nd wa te r
p a rt in g by c o ns id e rin g t h e w a t e r p a r t in g a s a p a r t ic ul a r y di s t in c t
-
l
and we ll m k
-
ar e d wa t e rs h e d T h us t h e P e nn in es w o u d b e c a e d a
. l ll
wa te r p a r t in g a n d t h e P e nn in e s p u rs t h a t s e p a ra t e t h e t rib u t a rie s o f
-
,

k
t h e Y o r s h ire O use w o ul d b e c a e d wa t e r s h e d s ll
Pr o f e ss or H ux e y . l
s u gg e s t e d t h a t w a t e rs h e d s h o ul d d e n o t e t h e S o p e a o n g whi c h t h e l l
wa te r fl o ws , a n d l
wa t e r p ar t in g s h o u d d e n o te t h e
-
s u m m it o f t his l
s op e.
4 10 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

such remarkable features as the long S lope of the northern

rivers o f A sia the great breadth in places o f the divide
,

in the same continent the closeness to the west coast of

,

the divide in both North and S outh A merica and so on , .

The exercise may be extended and subsidiary watersheds

indicated by drawing straight lines from the s ource of
chief tributaries to their co n fl u e n ce s with the main Stream ,

and putting the big dot at each source .

Rivers a s Drains That rivers eff ect the chief drainage

.
-

of a region is true only o f the less civilised countries ;

and the more civilised a country becomes the more is th e
drainage helped by artificial means It is a commo nl y .

known fact that farmers place drain pipes in their fields -

and meadows so that when the wat er in the soil rises

,

to the level of these pipes it may flow along them i nto a

ditch at the lower end of the field S omewhere in the .

neighbourhood will be cut what is called a ca tch wa ter -

or a ca tch m ent dra in into which all the ditch water flows
,
-

the catchment drain carries its water to the nearest

stream which may be either the main stream of the basi n
,

or one of the tributaries You have also seen the rain

.

fall in the streets of a town and flow off the camber or

crown of the street to the gutters finally disappearing ,

down a grating This sur f ace drainage water i s carried

.
-

by pipes to the nearest stream which takes it to the sea .

The drainage of sur face water o ff country roads into the

-

side ditches follows the same plan .

Th e W ork a Ri v er Does — B esides the general work of

.

dr aining the land which is done by the river as a whol e ,

there is other work do n e by various parts of the river

which may be called the departmental work S uch work .

may be conveniently divided as f ollows : ( 1 ) Wearing

away its banks and bed ; this is the work of d enuda tion .

( 2 ) C arr ying awa y th e worn o ff material -

t h i s is t h e wo rk
4 12 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
to the load and whe n a river is carrying all possible it
, ,

is said to have its m a xim u m l oa d The maximum load .

depend s upon ( 1 ) t h e velocity o f the rive r ( 2 ) the volume ,

o f the river h e fineness o f the material com p osing

( )
3 t i

the load Whe n a r1 v e r h a s a full load and its velocity

.

is checked some part o f its loa d is deposited

,
When .

a river h a s a f ull load and its veloc ity increases

,
it . ,

wears away its bed increasing the load towards the ,

maximum possible with t h e ne w v elocity Let A B C ( the .

unbroken li ne fig 1 0 0 ) represent t h e original S lope of

,
.

a river flowing over a uni f orm bed from A to C A t ,

A there is no load there f ore no erosion B etween A

,
. .

F IG . 1 00 .
( T h e l
S op e is e x a gge ra te d .
)

and B a load is collected— through t h e w1 n d blowing

dust into the water through t h e weathering o f the ,

banks through rain beating soil into the w ater and

, ,

so on A t B t h ere is s om e load but if not a f u ll load

.
, ,

then erosion takes place and the S lope increases down

the dotted lines If however there is a f ul l load by
.
, ,

the time the r1 v e r reaches B erosion must h ave taken ,

place along the steeper S lope from A to B consequently

at B t h er e will be a check in velocity some o f the load ,

will be deposited and the slope will be lessened He nce

, .

t h e bed o f t h e river tends to assume the S hape o f the

lower dotted line A horizontal line drawn backwards .

f rom C represents the lowest level along which the rive r

finally flow s ( i e sea le v el ) Th is is calle d the base
. .
-
. ,
.
 RIVER S -
A ND THEI R W O R K 413

‘
S ofl roc k

F IG . 10 1 .

l eve l and it is towards this level that the curve of erosion

,

( shown by the dotted lines ) is al ways tending The curve .

of erosion seldom f alls below the base level and so as -

, ,

the point A is being continually lowered by erosion t h e ,

erosion curve tends to coincide with the base level That

- -
.

is the base level works backwards from C towards A

,
-
.

This is spoken of as the river cutting its way back into

the hill Rivers o f this type flowing over a uniform
.
,

bed are not common The short rivers flowing over

,
.

’
the bo u lder clay plain into Robin Hood s B a y are ex
-

amples *
B ut beds of a clayey nature or of s of t sand
.

stone are more easily worn away tha n slate limestone , ,

or grit and so if the slope and the arrangement of the

,

beds should be as in fig 1 0 1 then a river fl o w mg from .

,

FIG . 102 .

Th e b ou d e r l -
l
c ay pl a in b e h in d R o b in H o o d
’
s B a y , in Y o r k s h ir e ,

is a p l a in o f d e p o s it io n th e coa sta l pl a in o n th e s ou th of t h e Gu f l
of M e x ic o is a n ew ly up l ift ed p l a in and is d r a i n e d b y r iv e rs o f thi s
s im p e l ty p e .
4 14 PRA CTI CAL PHY S I CAL G EOGRAPHY

A to C wo uld have its velocity checked by the beds of

hard rock Later its course would be turned and ridges
.

or escarpments f ormed as in fig 1 0 2 In this case the . .

beds o f hard rock S lope or dip in the same sense as the

upper ground surf ace i e they dip down stream as do ,
. .
-

the east dipping beds of limestone that form at their

-

ou tcro
p the limestone escarpments traversing England
from the south coast to the n orthern parts of the east
coast The Trent and the Great Ouse are examples of
.

rivers turned to flow by the side of instead of over beds , ,

of hard rock B ut if the hard beds dipped in the other

.

sense i e u p stream as at B in fig 1 0 3 the stream

, . .
-
, .
,

S o ft ro c k

S o ft roc k

F IG . 103
.

flowing from A to C would not begin to deepen bed

until it passed B When this hard bed ( B ) was passed the
.
,

river would encounter the soft bed at C and commence

to cut into it and to undercut the hard bed This bed
, .
,

when su fficiently undercut would break o ff and finally ,

allow the formation o f a waterfall along the dotted lines .

The work o f erosion is usually gradual and continuous ,

but in fl o o d time it becomes much intensified and often

-
,

one S hort period of heavy rainstorms will do the denuding

work of many years of ordinary rains .

Transp orta ti on —The matter transported by a river may

.

be either invisible as is the case with substances in solution

, ,
416 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

D eposition begins inthe lower course o f a river as soon

as ever the river begins to move along the almost level
plain bordering the sea ; where the river meets the sea the
remai nder o f the load is deposited This part of the river .

is called the m ou th and here if the sediment is not , ,

swept away by currents t h e accumulated detritus called , ,

a lluvi um or alluvial deposit f orms a d e l ta D uring , .

flood times the lower course o f a river o ften overflows

-

its banks and w h en the fl o o d waters subside by sinking

,
-

into t h e earth the load held by the fl o o d waters is left

,
-

deposited on the lately flooded fields This takes place .

on a large scale in the lower valley o f the Nil e In t h e .

lower course o f those rivers t h at are subj ect to floods ,

the level tract upon whi ch the flood waters lie is -

called the fl ood p lain or fl o o d area In the upper course

- -
.

where the current is f astest the tendency of the river ,

is to flow straightest ; in the lower course where the

current is slowest the tendency o f the river is to swing
,

from side to S ide f orming bends and cur ves These

, .

bends are called meanders and the serpentine method ,

o f flow is called m eand ering *

The River F orth affords .

a good instance o f this From S tirling to Alloa the .

distance in a straight line is only 5 g miles ; but the

snake like windings o f the river through the Links T
-

of F orth measure 1 2 3 miles The Mississippi in its .

lower course also ex h ibits meanders Th e flatter the .

fl o o d plain the greater is the arc o f the meander

-
AS .

the river meanders t h roug h the fl o o d plain during fl o o d -

So ll d f
ca e ro m th e n a m e o f a r iv e r in A s ia Mm o r ,
th e M e n d e re s
i t ly t h
a n c en e M ae a n d e r ,
w h o s e win d in g s a re a ft er a ll n o t h in g

re m a r k bl a e .

T T h e w o rd li kn s is a S co t c h wo r d m e a n in g s im l
p y flat or

s l igh tl y d ul a t in g g r o un d n e a r t h e s e a s h o re
un o r a riv e r . Or ig in a ll y
,

th e t e rm h a s n o t hin g t o d o with t h e g a m e of g o lf , a nd t h e re a re

l ink s in S c o t l and w h e r e g o f is l n ev er p l a yed .

 RIVER S AND THEIR W ORK 4 17

F IG . 104 .

time the waters at A ( fig 1 0 4 ) have little velocity the

,
.
,

river at B has a much greater velocity A t LI and L2 the .

velocity of the bed stream is slightly checked on both

-

S ides by the S lower fl o o d water Hence the banks of t h e

-
.

river become raised at LI and L by some of the load being 2

deposited there These raised banks are called lev ees

. .

The lower valley of the Mississippi though of unsurpassed ,

fertility was until comparatively recent times le ft almost

,

unc ul tivated owing to the dangers of the annual flooding .

B ut nearly miles of artificial levees now protect the

lands These were built by the Government in imitation
.

of the natural levees which were f ound to be insu ffi cient to

stem the extraordinary flooding that occurred every year .

A fl o o d plain is really a wide flat valley thr ough which

-
,

any river meanders the high land bounding the vall ey

,

marking the limit of the lateral spread o f the fl o o d water -

.

: mag“ f
o or ii l
g n a floo d plai n .

p La te r lev el o f m ce u c rt f l o od pla in
u
q .

s Lev el of r e a d fl OOd fla i n .

F IG . l05 .
—
Th e h e igh t of on e flood p -
l a in
"

a bo v e th e other 1 5

e x a g ge ra t e d ,
4 18
‘
PRACTI CAL PH YS I CA L GE OGRA PHY

B ut if each flood adds to the height of the flood plain -

,

even if only half an inch the time must co m e when the ,

flood waters can no longer overspread the p l a l n

-
B ut .

the river continues to deepen its channel by the scour

o f its loaded waters and soon even fl o o d waters cannot
,
.
-

reach the original height S o floods now cut into the old .

alluvium and f orm a new fl o o d plain at a l ower level In -

.

this way the river valley comes to S how a series of terra ces
-

formed o f alluvium known as ri v er terra ces If No 3 -

. .

( fig 1.0 5 ) represents a present level No 1 must be many ,

.

thousands o f years old and it is in such ancient f orma ,

tions as these river terraces that remains of prehistoric

-

man are of ten f ound .

l
De ta s — The most f avourable pos ition f o r the depo sit
; .

of river sediment is where the stream encounters a di fferent

body o f water e g a sea ocean or lake which checks the
,
. .
, ,

river s flow A ll rivers on entering the sea do not f orm

’
.
, ,

deltas S ometimes this is because the river does not

.

b ring down su fficient load f o r the purpose as is the case ,

with many S cotch rivers flowing through granite bed s .

S ometimes it is because the sediment brought down is

'

s wept away by ocean currents or tidal currents as is the

'

case with the Thames which deposits a large quantity ,

o f sediment in its mouth at every rise o f the tide only to ,

hav e it cleared away agai n by the out fl o wm g tide -

.

S ometimes it is because the velocity o f the river at its

mouth is suffi cient to carry its load well out to sea be fore
deposition commences as is the case with the A mazon , ,

the Plate River and the Congo Rap id f ormation of

,
'
.

deltas is favoured by a steady or by a rising sea bed but -

.

if t h e sea be d at the river mouth is sinking the valley

- -
,

mouth is widened giving access to a tidal wave which,

will p revent delta f ormation Estuaries are exampl es

1
.

of such submerged river mouths In an estuar y t he -

.
4 20 PRACTI CAL PHY SI CA L GE OGRAP HY

cataract being what is called U pper Egypt The Ganges .

D elta in the formation o f which the B rahmaputra has taken

,

part is a district several thousand square miles in extent

,

( nearly as large as Ireland ) called the S u n d e rbun d s The .

whole district is covered with swampy malarial j ungle ,

infested by wild animals and venomous reptiles The deltas .

of the Go d a v e ry the Ma h a n a d y and the Cauvery are like

, , ,

the Nile D elta intersected by a network of irrigation canals

, ,

and produce immense cr e ps of rice The most favourable .

conditions for delta formation are found in lakes where

there are no tides and o nl y moderate waves The lake .

indeed acts as a filter removing from the streams as they , ,

flow t h rough all their load of sediment and depositing it

, ,

on the lake fl o or S uch a delta is called a l a custrine d e l ta

-
. .

A good example is the fan shaped delta in Lake Geneva -

,

where the Rhone enters A n ancient Roman town .

,

Port Valais once on the shore of the lake is now nearly

, ,
,

a mile inland so that during the last ,

years all the
alluvial tract between the port and the lake must have
been deposited .

A s im i a rl p h e n o m e n o n is l
a s o o b s erv a b e l in h i ll l
-
a kes wh ic h h a ve
a b urn or b ro o k fl o win g in t o t h e m . A t th e m o uth of t h e b urn
t h e wa t e r is v e ry sh a ll o w, a nd re m a ins so or l
g e n t y s h e v in g f or l
s e v era ly a rd s out in t o t h e l k
a e, till th e d e p t h s u d d e nl y in cre a s e s
a nd th e sh e lf g oes a lm o s t s h e er d o wn . It is a t t h is p o in t th a t th e
b ro o kh a s d e p o s it e d a l l it s l oa d . F is h in g and wa d in g in a l a k e o ff

th e m o u t h o f s u ch a s t re a m is f or t h is re a s o n v e ry d a n g e ro us , as th e
d r op of th e b e d c o m e s v e ry a b ru p l
t y .

Ri v er-va ll eys —The

oldest part of a river course is
.
-

the mouth that being naturally the first developed

, .

The head waters in the upper course are always cutting

their way backwards ( see p and consequently these .

are the newest parts o f both the main stream and the
tributary streams While the upper course is new and .
 RIVER S A ND THEIR W ORK 421

h a s not suffered much weathering the head water valleys ,

-

are U S haped that is narrow and gorge like and in the

-
, ,
-
,

lower course V shaped that is more broadened out at

-
, ,

the t 0 p by weathering In other words the younger a .

,

valley is the more will erosion exceed weathering while

, ,

the older a valley is the more will weathering exceed,

erosion In rai nless regions where no weathering occurs

.
,

and erosion downwards is the only form of denudation

at work deep vertical gorges called c a fio n s are cut by
,

the rivers e g the Grand Ca fi o n of Colorado S o S heer

,
. . .

are the nearly perpendicular walls of the c a fio n s that it

used to be tho ught they were great rents in the earth
into which the rivers had found their way Careful .

observation however goes to S how that they are the

, ,

same thing on a large scale as the gullies that occur in

any mountain streamlet The water has l aid hold of
so me line of weakness in the rocks and worn out its
”
channel energetic al ly along it ( Cole ) The ca non of .

the Colorado is the longest and the deepest in the world

it is 3 0 0 miles long and in places its walls are fee t
high Other rivers on the same S l e p e such as the F raser
.
,

and the Columbia have carved for themselves S imilar

,

deep vertical gorges If rain fell in such regions or if

,
.
,

many tributaries broke through the banks of the mai n

stream the S ides of the c a fio n coul d not retain their
,

position as vertical walls They woul d then be weathered .

into sl e p m g sides like any o rd ina ry r iv e r valley In early -

Victorian days it was believed that valleys existed first

as cru st wrinkles that rivers flowed into the valleys and
-
, ,

then followed the course al lowed to them B u t this is .

o nly partly true It is true in the case of the longitudinal

.

valleys ( see p 334 ) that lie between f olded ranges such

.

as the B ernese Oberland and the Pennine Range in t h e

Al p s
. Through such a valley flo w the u p per courses of
4 22 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
the Rhi ne and the Rhone It is true also of rift v all e ys i .
-
.

S uch a valley is f ound in the middle course o f the Rhine

‘

where a strip o f crust 2 0 miles broad and 2 0 0 miles l ong "

”

has sunk between two parallel cracks or f aults The ? .

Jordan also flows through a rift valley In Ea st A fric a

°

'
-
.

is a ri ft v al ley extending from Lake Tanganyika to Lak e

-

Al bert in the fl o o r of whi ch are cross f aults which give

,
-

rise to transverse ridges higher than the mor e sunken

“

parts In t h e deepest hollows are lakes B u t it is no t

. .

true of the transverse valleys that cut through rid ges b y 1

the backward erosion o f river — heads no r is it true o f young ,

ri v ers flowing down recently upli fted S l ope s ( see footnote “

‘
p. W h en a surface f ormerly level undergoes t il t irig
or f olding the young rivers as a rul e f ollow t h e lie o f
'

’
,

t h e new slopes S oon they proceed to d e e p en l their

.
.

channels if the S l e p e be great enough to g ive them an

,

active current T h ese cha nnel s will in time become main

.

V alleys with subsidiary or transverse valleys cut down to '

t hem by subsequent streams In all valleys o f erosio n t h e .

'

torrential h ead waters of the streams rush do wn a narr ow

- .

gorge and in time cut their way back f art h er and f arther
,

,
’

into the hills until the f ormer gorge has be come the
,

broadened valley of the stream s middle course ’

.

0 xbows — In the fl o o d plain where the river meanders

.
-

leisu rely there is always in progress the Work of

,

augmenting the meanders It will be seen by re f e rring

“

t o fig 1 0 6 that t h e current always works mor e on t h e :

.

concave bank than on the convex A s a result of thi s

’

'

the c oncave bank becomes undercut and always shows

’

a steeper side than the conve x bank ; whereas f t h e

convex bank receives the deposit of the slower waters .

Fig 1 0 7 S hows what a strongl y c ur v ed meander becomes

.

with only a narrow neck to be cut t h rough to f orm a:

,
(

new channel When the neck is broken t hr ough t h e

. f
4 24 PR A CTI CA L P HY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

scattered far and wide over the fl o o d plain of the Missis -

sippi The greater number lie on the right ba nk but

.
,

some are on t h e le ft and all bear testimony to the exten

,

sive wanderings of that great stream in former ages On e .

of the best known is H ors e shoe Lake in A rkansas S mall

-
.

oxbows are to be found in the fl o o d plains of most rivers -

,

and gener al ly speaking the smaller the river the s malle r

, ,

and the more di fficult to trace are t h e o x b o ws as f o r z

, , -

example the numerous small oxbows of S outh W al es

, . .

d ir e c t i o n a nd c ou r s e o f ( wa r

F IG . 107 .

The Isle of D ogs in the east of London is a good example

of a nearly complete oxbow ; for the neck has been made
permanent by being protected by artificial embankments .

ll —
W a terfa s A wa ter f all is a body of water that owing ,

to a break in its channel o f flow makes a more or less ,

vertical descent They are al so called cascades and

.

cataracts They occur most frequently in mountainous

.

countries Here the configuration o f the land is S uch

.

that long and deep river valleys ha v e tributary s trea m s

,
-

whose harder beds have not been eroded down to the .

 RIVER S A ND THEIR W ORK 5

level of t h e m a in stream In such cases the tributaries

‘

enter the main stream over waterfalls These mountain .

Waterfalls change their aspect with the seasons In .

winter the water pours over and plunges headlong as a

torrent into the depths below ; in summer there is often
no more t h a n a m e re film of water trickling down the fac e
of the precipice On a stream running into Lo ch Ness in
.

Invernes s are the two F alls of F oyers the highest in ,

Great B ritain with an aggregate drop o f 2 0 5 feet The

, .

S utherland F alls in New Zealand drop feet with

three leaps ; the Yos emite F alls in California al so make
t hree plunges in a descent of feet and the K u ke n a m ,

F alls in Gui a n a make a sheer drop of feet The .

Roraima F al ls in B ritish Guiana fall from a stupendous

cliff feet above sea level and are the highest fal l s
-
,

in the world In relatively flat districts waterfalls are

.

not so common yet some of the finest and grandest falls

,

of the world such as t h e F alls of Niagara in North A merica

,

and the Victoria F alls of the Z ambesi are to be found ,

in comparatively level regions In these flatter areas .

the fall of the water is usually due to the existence in .

the river bed of rocks of di ffering powers of resistance

-

to erosion lying either horizontally or dipping u p stream

,
-

( see p . In these waterfalls there is a greater volume

o f water than in the mountain type that is they make
, ,

up in breadth what they lack in height There is a steady , ,

even flow of t h e river to the head of the precipice and a ,

thundering plunge of the mighty wall of water as it

descends t o the lower level The Niagara F alls only.
,

1 7 0 feet high are due to a resistant layer of compact

,

limestone 9 0 feet thick covering layers of more easily

eroded so ft shales Th e bed of sof t s hales is being con
.

t inu a l l y undermined by S pray wind blown water and

,
-
,

frost le a ving t h e lim e stone p ro e j ct in g until it can no

,
4 26 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

lo nge r remain unsupported T hi s work of backward

‘

?
.

was te is continuous an d conj ectures put the rate o f

,
’

a v erage recession at a foot per ye ar The f alls probably .

began at the escarpme nt called the Heights of Queens

town 7 miles f rom the present f alls Therefore at le ast
’

.
, ,

years must h ave b een occupied in cutting back i

'

'

to the present position .

Utili ty of Wa terfa l ls — A f
long ault line cutting trans S -
‘

_
-
'

v e rs e l
y the beds of man y streams may caus e w aterfalls ‘

in every stream it crosses A n example of s uch E . a l ine :

'

o f f alls exists j ust inl and f rom the east c oast o f the

United S tates and in most cases a town has grown up

,
‘

at the f alls — primarily because the fa ll marked t h e head .

o f navigation — and has grown in importance because of

the additional advantage of water power p rocured f rom - »

the f alls S uch t owns are Philadelphia B altimore and

' '

.
, ,

Washington A similar fall line is to be fo u n d b o t h north

.
-
.

and south o f the Am azon Waterfalls b esides being

.
,

breathl essly beauti ful and awe inspiring have an indus -

,

trial value They may supply energy either directly by

.

turning a wheel or a turbine or indirectly thr oug h the ,

e l ectricity generated in dynamos worked by turbines .

From the dynamos the electric current at a high p otential

may be transmitted by wires t o distant station s a n d t h e re g

tra ns f or med into a current at a lower potential fo r lighting ,

heating or driving a motor and keeping a whole f actory

,

in operati on A very common industry carried on by elec

.

t ric a l processes at o r near waterf al l s is t h e extr a ction o f

'

aluminium from bauxite ( a hydrate ) and cryolite ( a fluoride

containing sodium ) S uch wo rk is d one at Ne u h a u s e n near
.
’

the S c h a ffhausen F alls o f the Rhine ; the Niagara F alls

are used in the same way F or the aluminium smelting
. .

done at F oyers and at Kinlochleven material is brought ,

from the north o f Irelan d ; b u t at the latter p l a c e t h c '

,
4 28 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

FIG . 109 .

valleys the high ground between their courses takes the

,

f orm of secondary ridges ( S R) down which subsequent

streams ( a b c d ) flow These subsequent streams cut
, , , .

their valleys backwards and downwards and soon receive

,

other subsequent streams and so on till a complete river

,

system is unf olded B ut scarcely ever is a river system

.

developed as simply as this A typical variety occ urs in

.

such a case as the following

Let A B CD E ( fig 1 0 9 ) be a uniform S l e p e towards the
.

sea with alternate soft and hard beds of rock S uppose

.

S oft
 RIVER S A ND TH EIR W OR K 4 29

j ust lifted up from the sea and therefore almost at

t h e sl o p e
a dead level Consequent streams woul d flow to the sea
.

at X Y and Z A S these streams deepened their valleys

, , . ,

subsequent streams would flow in at a b c d e and f , , , , ,

.

Now suppo se the valley of X deepened more than those of Y

and Z X would then ha v e a greater volume o f water and
.

F IG . 111 .

be swi f ter Its subsequent b would cut its way back and
.

draw off the waters of c and later of Y and so on until all

'

, , ,

the water flowing down the ridge B C was caught and drawn
off by the stro nger stream b into X The subsequent .

is then said to have cut ofi the he a d s of or cap tured the

‘

, ,

other rivers When t h is stage is reached the plan of the

.

ri vers on the S l e p e will be as in fig 1 1 0 . .

4 30 PRA CTI CA L PHYS I CAL GEO GRA PHY

T hi s process o f river capture is going on o r h a s been

-
,

going o n in most river basins A very good example is

,
-
.

to be f ound in Northumberland The arrangement of .

the rivers in the diagram ( fig 1 1 1 ) is self explanatory .

-
.

A f urther example is the Yorkshire Ouse The Humber .

is a direct continuation of the A ire and Calder The .

Ouse is a subsequent stream that has captured the head

waters o f the S wale the U re the Nidd and the Whar f e
, , , ,

which were originally consequent streams flowing straight

to the sea Th e D erwent is the result of the remaining
.

consequents after they had lost their head waters Rivers -

.

like the North Tyne and the Yorkshire Ouse are called
cut ba cks
- The Trent is also a cut back
.
-
.

Und erground Dra ina g e — In those districts where lime

stone rock lies exposed at the surf ace rain and streams in ,

many cases disappear a l o n g j o m t planes in the rock e nl a rg -

,

ing them by solution and making them shaft like by -

w h irling fragments of rock round and round in them .

Then working along the bedding planes of the lim e

,
‘

stone blocks the streams eat out subterranean pas

,

sages from which they finally issue as torrential rivers ,

flowing at the bottom of deep gorges The holes down .

which the streams disappear are called swa ll ow h ol es -

.

Near Trieste on the A ustrian sea board is a bare desert -

,

like district o f this stream worn limestone known as the -

,

Karst and t his name is o ften used to describe similar

,

landscapes elsewhere S wallow holes are common in .

-

the West Yorkshire Pen nines many o f them being several ,

hundred yards i n diameter a nd often leading down into

underground caverns Those o f the B lue John mine the
.
,

S peedwell mine and the Peak Cavern near Castleton

, ,

in the Peak district o f D erbyshire are e xamples o f caver ns ,

f ormed by dissolution and erosion B radwell and Eyam .

,

quite close b y have s om e fine though very little kno wn

,
.
 4 32 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
about fourteen miles of porterage the rivers of S iberia ,

make it possible to send goods from the U rals to Lake

B aikal Canada also is able to profit by her exc e llent
.

river systems B y means o f the S t Lawrence and its

. .

canals goods may be transport ed from Port A rthur

,

on Lake S uperior to Montreal or by the Erie Canal ,

and Hudson River to New York Or again boats can .

,

carry their loads from Hudson B a y to Calgary v ia the

Nelson River Lake Winnipeg and the S askatchewan
, , .

The river system of Centr al Europe has been hig hl y

developed B y means of the Ludwig Canal
. which ,

connects the Al tmuhl ( a tributary of the Main ) with the

Regnitz ( a tributary of the D anube ) a complete waterway ,

from the B lack S e a to the North S e a is secu red v ia the

Rivers D anube and Rhine The Rhine in its turn is .
, ,

likewise linked up by the Rhine and Marne and Rhine

and Rhone canals with the S eine and Rhone
Rivers a nd Cul tiva ti on —Rivers render service to m a n
.

as sur f ace drainage systems They are sometimes made

-
.

to act as sewers but this should not be their use in a

,

scientific age In countries like Egypt subj ect to long

.
,

droughts a river is the very life of the country ; for

,

c ul tivation can be successful only within reach of its .

water S ince early times by means of water wheels and

.
,
-
,

by leathern basins called s h a d uf s water has been raised ,

f rom the Nile and used to irrigate small portions of country

at all times of the year F or irrigating large areas t h e
.

fl o o d waters used to be led o ff from the river to the fields

-

by l ong canals during the fl o o d season ( July A ugust -

, ,

and S eptember ) and then were allowed to drain back

,

to the river af ter saturating t h e ground and depositing

their l e a d of f ertile silt B ut this meant barren land after
.

the winter cr 0 p had been harvested until the next autumn ,

flood Now barrages have been b u ilt at the he ad o f

.
,
.
 RI V ER S AND TH EIR WORK 3

at S iut and at A ssouan and these hold back

t h e D elta , , ,

*
the waters to be used as required The fly in the oint .

ment lies in the f act that when the dammed u p waters -

are led off from the reservoirs o v er the land they leave
their mud in the reservoirs and the fields must be ,

manured as a separate operation The P 0 and the

'

Hoang Ho are examples o f rivers that flowing above the

-
,

level of the surrounding district may be tapped b y the ,

-

natives to provide irrigation for parts of their basins .

Rivers as B ound aries a nd W a ter sup p li ers —Rivers make -

.

e x cellent and unmistakable natural bo u ndaries between

either parish and parish or country and country except ,

in those cases where the lower river is constantly

changing its course They also provide a supply of .

drinking water for large cities

-
London obtains most .

of its water from the Thames and its tributaries ; for

B irmingham s needs the River Elan a tributary of the
’
,

Wye is bank ed up and made into a reservoir ( the Cwm

,

Elan ) ; Lake Vyrnwy the natural reservoir of the river ,

of the same name supplies Liverpool ; T h irlmere supplies ,

Manchester Loch Katrine supplies Glasgow t h e Va rt ry sup

, ,

plies D ublin the Trent supplies Gainsborough and so on

, ,
.

Vari ous Da ng ers a nd Uses of Rivers Rivers however .

-
, ,

Th e r is e of N il e wa t e rs b e fo re t h e
th e , co n s t ru c t io n of the
b a rra g es , wa s rec o rd e d b y t h e N il o m e t e r b u il t b y t h e K h a if l Mu t a
wa k h ul m o re t h a n t e n ce n t ur ies a g o , o n t h e is l a nd of Rod a , op p o s it e
Ca ir o . A s qu a re we ll ,
f ro m th e wa t e r of wh ic h r is es a m a rb e l
c o umn, l is c o nn e c t e d w it h t h e r iv e r by a ca n a l. As t h e ri v e r ro s e ,

m o re a nd m o re of th e p i ll ar w a s h id d e n . Th e r e a c h in g of th e
18 c u bit ( c u bit 2 0 in c h es ) m a r k m e a n t th e v a n is h in g of th e
s t a rv a t io n s p e c t re , 22 c u bits m ea n t co m p l e te s a t is f a c t io n . B ut

p a ss in g th e 2 4 -
c u b it
‘
m ar km ea nt d ev a s t a t io n . B e f o re t h e b u i d in g l
of th e N il o m e te r ,
fl o od -
re g is t e rs we re a c c ur a t e ly k p t e as fa r b a c k
as 360 0 B C
. .
,
so th a t th e N il e b arra g es m a y w ll b
e e s a id to h a v e

m it ig a t e d t h e a n x ie t y of
“

y e a rs .

28
4 34 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

g ood servants though they be can also be bad master s , .

S erious or dangerous flooding does not usually occur in

t hose rivers that pass t h rough many lakes f o r the lakes , ,

acting as natural reservoirs check the violence o f their ,

flow ; but other rivers o ften work terrible havoc during

fl o o d seasons
-
The Yellow River in China on account of
.
,

its devastating floods has been called China s Millions

,
’

o f S orrow
”
Millions o f lives were lost in 1 8 8 7 by the
.

flooding o f the S h antung Peninsula by this river In the .

United S tates flood predictions are now regularly issued

f o r several of the principal rivers Tidal rivers allow .

navigation to proceed f urther up f rom the sea than would

be possible without the tides O cean liners are able by .
,

taking advantage o f the tides to reach Tilbury on the ,

Tham e s and other vessels can make use o f the tides as

,

f a r up as Teddington seventy miles f rom the sea

, .

B en efit of River p l a i ns to Ma m— S e many are the

-

advantages commercial agricultural industrial and

, , , ,

salubrious of the lowlands through which rive rs flow

, ,

that t he broad river valleys of the world have always

-

been considered the most attractive sites for human

s ettlement Every S hower of rain as well as the river
,
,

flo o d s brings down from the highlands new soil to enric h

,

the lower land in the valleys so that valleys are floored ,

with deep and f ertile soil as for example the valleys of

,

the Ganges and the Po Movement is di fficul t across.

mountains ; in the broad flat valleys it is easy Hence .

main roads and railways because of the easy gradients , ,

usu al ly follow the valleys The mountains or hills .

bordering the valleys also a fford considerable protection

to the valleys from inclement weather Th e valle ys of .

the Ganges and the Po again are good ex amples , The

climate o f the Trans Himalayan uplands with its northern
-

aspect is in striking contrast to that of the Gang es Valley .

4 36 PR A CTI CAL PHY S I CAL GE OGRA PHY

Contrast the character of the river mouths i n southern -

and western Europe Explain the differences and

.

S h ow how sites o f ports and commercial faciliti es

are a ffected .

D escribe the gradual f ormation and present character

is t ic s physical and industrial of any one alluvial
, ,

plain in the B ritish Isles .

Explain the meaning o f the terms fl o od p la in and -

riv er d e lta
-
. How are these formed and what are ,

their special characteristics ? Give examples .

( Ox f and Camb Lower Cert )

. . .

I mportant ports are generally some distance from

the open sea on the estuary of some river Explain
,
.

why this is S o ( Ox f and Camb S c h Cert )

. . . . . .

( )
a Why does the Ganges rise from M a y to S eptember
( )
b Why does the Rhone enter the Lake of Ge neva
as a swift and turbid stream and l e ave it clear
and transparent ?
( )
c How is it that deltas are common at the mouths
o f rivers falling into the Mediterranean and that ,

large rivers in S outh A merica form no deltas

D escribe with examples the action of rivers ( a ) in
f orming new land ( b) in shaping the general surface
,

o f the country ( Ox f Jun Loc )

. . . .

D escribe a typical delta Point out and explain the

.

di fferences ( a ) in the time of flooding ( b) in the ,

useful ness o f the deltas on the foll owing rivers

Nile Niger Macke n zie ( Ox f and Camb S c h Cert )
, , . . . . .

What is meant by the basin or drainage area of a

river Compare the regions drained b y rivers
flowing to the A tlantic with the regions drained
by rivers flowing to the Pacific ( i ) in size ( ii ) in , _

e c o n o m l c Importance ( O x f and .C amb Lower .

.

Cert )
.
 RIVER S A ND THEIR W O RK 4 37

Explain the meaning of the terms l ongitud ina l

v a l ley tra n sv ers e v a l ley col
,
Give one e x ample , .

of each .

Why is the arrangement of transverse valleys

and cols speci al ly important in determining the
positions of roads or railways in a mountainous
region ? ( Ox f Jun Loc ) . . .

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of rivers

as political frontiers Give examples ( Ox f Jun . . . .

Loc ) .

In some drainage areas the upper streams flow into

a lake which is drained by the main river into the
sea What are the chief effects of the existence
.

of the lake 0 11 the area ? Give e x amples ( Oxf . .

S e n Loc ) . .

What is a water parting ? -

Give ( a ) an example of a water parting which -

is very clearly marked and ( b) an example of an ,

ill d e fin e d water parting D raw sketch maps illus

- -
.
-

t ra t ing your examples ( O x f Jun Loc ) . . . .

Compare the characteristic features of the river

systems in regions where the surface consists of
( )
a clay and ( )
b limestone A ccount for the di ffer .

e n ce s Give examples of each type and region

. .

( O x f S en . Loc ) . .

What is meant by the d e lta of a river and how is it

f ormed ? Give an example o f an important river
which forms a delta and o f one which does not ,

and explain the reasons fo r the difference .

Why are river deltas usually thickly pop ulated ? -

O
( f Jun Loc )
x . . .

25 . Explain what is meant by the expressions water

parting river basin delta U pon what co n dition s
,
-
, .

d oes the na v igability of a ri v er d e p e nd Z

‘
4 38 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

26 . Explain t h e following geo graphical facts

( )
a The Nile overflows its banks at approximately
the same period every year .

( )
b O n the right bank of the Volga there are
high cli ffs while the left bank is in general low
, , , .

( O x f Loc
. S en ) . .

[ A ccording to F errel s law rivers in the ’

northern ,

hemisphere tend to erode their right banks more

than their le ft banks ( see also p .

27 . D escribe care fully how rivers act ( i ) as d enu d ing

agents ( ii ) as d ep os iting agents Illustrate you r
,
.

answer by reference to some on e continent whose

geography is known to you ( Coll of Preceptors ) . . .

28 . What natural conditions lessen the value of rivers

to man S how how some o f these conditions may
be artificially improved In every case giv e a .
-

particular example drawn from some great river .

( Civil S ervice ) .

29 . What is a water parting S how by means of a map

-

how the A lps determine the courses of the rivers

of S E F rance W Germany and N Italy ( 0 f
.
, .
,
. .

Jun Le e )
. .

30 . If the bed o f a river is made o f rounded pebbles how ,

did they get there and how is it that they are ,

rounded ? ( Coll of Preceptors ) . .

31 . D escribe the e ffects produced by a river ( a ) in the

upper and steeper part o f the course ( b) in the ,

lower and flatter part o f the course ( Civil S ervice ) . .

EX P E RIM EN T S ON MU D A ND R IV ER V ELO CITY -

Mud —a
An a l ysis ( ) You may analyse the mud
of .

’
found on a river s banks as f ollows : Obtain a small
quantit y o f it a nd allo w it to d ry The n wei gh a n d .
440 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
vessels by glass tubing as ,

seen in diagram ( fig .

A ttach with a piece of

rubber tubing the glass tube
leading from A to a water
tap and turn on the water to
flow in the direction o f the
arrow Where the width .

o f the vessels is least the ,

F IG 1 1 2
.

velocity of the water IS

.

greatest ; it pours into tube

A faster than it enters tube B and enters the j ar C ,

slowest of all When the water is observed to have risen up

.

well in C turn off the tap and examine the material left
, ,

in each vessel You will find that coa rse particles are left
.

in A where the velocity of the water has been greatest ;

m ed ium have been carried to B ; and the fin es t to C ,

where the velocity o f the water has been least of all

( )
b A river flows faster in the middle than at it s

sides because the water there is not checked in the

,

same way as it is near the edges by the banks To .

S how that this is so set up two poles A and B about

,

5 0 yards apart along the bank of a river and place ,

three small blocks of wood o f the same S ize in the river

j ust above the pole A — one a few yards distant f rom
the right b a nk another a f e w yards away from the left
,

ba nk and the third in the middle o f the river Not e

, .

the respective times taken for each block to reach in

line with the pole B You will find that the block
.

in mid river covers the distance in the shortest time

-
,

w hich proves that the velocity of t he r1 v e r is greate st

i n the middle .

The surface water o f a river has a greater velocity

t ha n t he water near t h e riv e r bed fo r the same rea s on
'
-
,
 RIVER S A ND THEIR W ORK 41

as that given above v iz it su ffers retardation in a lesser

, .

degree because it is farther away from the bed that o ffers

the resistance to the flow To prove that this is the case
.
,

weight a stick so that it stands up in water Throw it .

into the river so that it takes up this position

S urfa c e o f riv e r

F IG . 1 1 3A .

Presently it will assume another form like this ,

S f
ur a c e o f riv e r

F IG . 1 1 33 .

The change from a vertical to a slanting position is

due to the surface water h a v m g a greater velocity than
the water underneath F lowing at a f aster rate it tries
.
,

to carry the upper part of the stick with it but is pre ,

vented from so doing by the S lower movement of the

under part of the stick Hence the slanting form
. .

( )
0 The r a te of fl ow of a river is calculated in the
following way : Obtain a small block of wood to act as
a float and choose a reach of a river where the cour se
,

is fairly straight .Erect as in the former experiment

, ,

two poles A and B 5 0 yards apart along the bank o f

the river Throw the float into the river a few yards
.

distant from the near bank above A and time with a stop ,

watch how long it takes to pass from pole A to pole

B without inter f erence Next time it f o r the same dis
.
,

tance in the middle of the ri v er and lastly for a p oi nt a fe w

,
442 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
yards away from t h e farther bank The average of these .

times gives the average time of flow of the river for a dis
tance of 5 0 yards S uppose the times thus obtained to be
.

75 8 0 ,
and 7 0 seconds respectively — a n average o f 5 0
,

yards in 7 5 seconds T h is works out at a rate o f flow

.

of l
rr
i
miles per hour wh i ch is about the
,
rate of flow of
an ordinary river It is unusual f o r a river to flow at
.

a greater rate than 4 miles per hour Rivers flowing .

at a greater rate than that are unnavigable extremely ,

destructive in their character and are capable of carrying ,

stones weighing almost a hundredweight with them .

d
( ) The a m o un t o f m a tter brought down by a river
may be found a s f ollows : Choose any section of the
river where the depth is more or less uni form and at ,

that point calculate its rate o f flow Next make a set of .

soundings across the river with a lead line ( see p -

.

Take an average o f these soundings and so determine

the mean depth of the river The amount of solid matter .

in suspension per gallon may be obtained by the method

previously explained ( see p .

The area of the section o f ri v er mean depth

breadth of river .

The volume of water carried down by the river in a day

2 4 x ra t e of fl o w ( in f t .
p e r h o ur ) x a re a o f s e ct .
( in s q f t )
. . x 10

1 0 00

Since cubic feet contain 1 0 gallons o f water .

The number o f gallons of water carried down per diem

being thus f ound it only remains to mul tiply the result
,

by the number o f grains of matter held in solution per

gall on to obtain the amount of matter that passes down
with the ri v e r at a n y p oint ,
 444 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
L a kes ( besides their supply rain showers ) receive
f rom -

their water in several ways the most important of these

,

being ( a ) from tributary streams ( rivers ) ( b) fr om glaciers

, ,

( )
c from springs in the basin The presence
. of lakes
may be generally taken to indicate a young drainage
system— t hat is one in which the land surf ace has been
,

recently folded or tilted not one in which the rivers

,

have carved out a valley or trough for themselves as

distinct from the lakes which may form part of their
course A lake is really only an ephemeral feature in
.

the li fe of the river system to which it belongs An .

in fl o wing river may silt it up ; an o ut fl o wing river may

deepen and widen its outlet and so drain the whole lake
away ; but though the lake disappears the river often
, ,

remains Many of the S cottish plains or straths have

.

been so formed the lakes giving place to marshes which

,

in turn have be come fertile plains .

m i f
For a t on o La k es — Lakes owe their origin to many
causes S ometimes an accumulation of matter is thrown
.

acros s a river valley with the result that the water in

-
,

the river is dammed up and so forms a natural reservoir

or lake . The barrier or obstruction is generally the result
o f a landslip or of a lava deposit or is due to glacial action
, .

In the latter case the glacier has traversed the river basin -

transversely and deposited moraines a cros s the river

valley and thus prevented the river from flowing o u
,

wards Many examples o f lakes which have been formed

.

in this way are to be found in Cumberland and Central

Wales Glaciers have also scooped out basins from the
.

rocks over w hich they flow through t h e grinding and

,

erosive action o f their ground moraines The lakes o f .

Finland and o f the S cottish Highlands are good instances

-
o f this scooping action of glaciers A n examination of
.

h e v alleys in th e S co ttish Hi hlan d s rov d es

, t g p i u s w it h
 LAKES 445

clear evi d ence o f glacial erosion Many of them are .

U shaped in form having their rocky sides polished and

-
,

scraped by the lateral moraines which once passed over

them S eismic disturbances have also been active agents
.

in lake formation The gradu a l but constant changes

. ,

that have taken place and are still taking place through
,

undergr ound movements of this kind have played their ,

part in the production of lakes as well as in al tering

the c o n figu ra t io n o f the land surface and the ocean fl o o r
- -

( see p . Rock Lake in Columbia D istrict ,

was formed by the fil lin g up of a fissure formed during an

-

earthquake There is to this lake neither in fl o wing nor

.
~

o u t fl o win g river and the water supply comes from an

,
-

underground spring Where subsid ence has caused a de

.

’
pression to be formed on the earth s surface there a lake is ,

almost sure to be formed In some cases subsidence is due

.

not entirely to seismic disturbances but to a collapse of the ,

’
earth s crust from the dissolving power of the water that
flows over underground rocks In limestone districts
.

lakes of this class are very common Most of the Irish .

lakes includi ng the lakes of the central plain Lough

, ,

Mask and Lough Neagh have had their origin in thi s ,

.

way Volcanic craters also form a convenient site for

.

the formatio n of lakes which may be fed by underground

,

S pri n gs or b rainfall Lake A vernus near Naples and

y .

t h e famous Crater Lake in Oregon are examples ,

.

The disappearan ce of the immense ice sheet which at -

on e period covered nort hern Europe also assisted in

lake formation by causing accumulations of matter to be ‘

’
deposited in i rre g ular quantities on the e arth s surf ace .

In Ireland the glacial action of this period is very markedly

shown in the absence of any bituminous coal deposits and
t h e many hollows that have been formed on its surface .

These hollows have been in time filled with wat e r a nd a re

 446 PRACTI CAL PHY S I CAL GE OGRAPHY

remarkable for their shallowness Each of these lakes .

,

like the tarns in the Cumbrian Mountains and the lakes

o f F i nl and is sur rounded by a ba nk o f gravel which has
,

been depos ited by glacial action .

La kes wi th Inl e t a nd Outl et — A very large number o f

.

lakes come under this class A lmost all those in Great

.

B ritain have rivers flowing into them with another river ,

to carry o ff the superfluous water S uch lakes act as

.

filters . In S wi tzerland the Rhon e comes in at the

,

eastern e nd o f La k e Geneva as a muddy stream ; but

’

it leaves the lake as a clear stre a m a fter covering ,

the lake bottom with a layer of fine silt This filtering

-
.

action of lakes may be seen in progress if we examine

any lake in our neighbourhood af ter a heavy rain
storm . The water of the l a k e —especially that near L

its shores— may be observed to be much disturbed and .

discoloured with the sed i ment carried down by in fl o win g

’

streams . B u t at t h e point W here the supe rfluous

water is being discharged t h e water presents a fairly
It is there f ore obvious that t h e
.

clear appearance .
, ,

sediment of the in flo win g river water has b een deposited -

in the bed of the lake A t the mouths of al l in fl o wing

.

streams a constructive action in all resp e cts similar to ,

that seen at the mouths of rivers ent ering t h e s e a _

z
,

is in progress A miniature form o f delta k n own a s

.
.

a l a custrine d el ta is thus being f ormed ( see p

°

The in fl o win g stream may push the delta out f rom the '

shore until it stretches across the lake and so cuts it

into two parts In this way the delta o f S ail B eck
.

in Cumberland has cut off Crummock Water from

B uttermere B y this process o f deposition any lake
‘

.
,
'

will in course o f time disappear In its place vn ll be .

a f ertile alluvial flat over which the stream will wander;

A l a k e m a y h a ve m a n y in l e t s b u t u s u a ll y h a s b u t o n e o u tl e t
’

, .
448 PR ACTI CAL PHY S I CAL GE OGR A PHY

which enclose them are known as n ehru ngs The Gipp s .

land Lakes ( off the coast of Victoria A u st ra l ia ) a re almost ,

‘

o f identical formation as also are the ,

backwaters
of Cochin and Malab ar in S outh west India These are a -
.

connected series of lagoons strung along the coast with

occasional outlets to the sea s To a certain extent for —
small craft and raf ts— they are important waterways .

Most lagoons e g the Cochin ba c kwaters receive drainage

,
. .
,

f rom the land but the salinity o f the water inside the
,

lagoon depends upon the width of the channel leading

out into the sea If the channel is small the water inside
.
,

the lagoon will be practically fresh water ; if large , .

the water inside will be brackish The largest haff in .

the B altic S e a is the Kurisches Haff ( see p It .

stretches from K onigsberg to Memel ; is sixty miles

long and about thirty miles wide .

Lak es wi th Inl e t and no Ou tl e t Many lakes of this .

-

clas s h ave possibly in the past formed part of some great

inland sea T h e A siatic D epression to the east of the
.

Caucasus contains several lakes o f t h is type Of these .

the largest are the Caspian Se a and the S e a of A ral .

S ince t h ese lakes have no outl et and t h e level o f the water

does not rise t h e surplus water must go off by evapora
,

tion This is clearly the case with the Caspian S e a

.

whose waters are shrinking fr om year to year S hrinking .

in such lakes is therefore the result of the small amount

, ,

of rain and river water they receive in comparison

-

with their great loss through evaporation F or this .

reason their salinity and consequently their density in

creases each year F or example the specific gravity of
.
,

t h e D ead S e a water is and 1 ounce of water from

this sea caref ully evaporated leaves about 1 ounce of
, ,

solid matter of which 2 5 per cent is common salt Lake

, . .

Van which contains 33 per cen t of salt and Lake Tuz Go l

, .
,
 LA K E S‘

.
9

in A siatic Turkey a re co nsidered to be the dens est bodie s ‘ “

of water kno wn Other v ery s a l t l a k e s are Lake Elton

.
.

z
-
.

in Russia a n d Uru m ia h in Persia

, .

Lak es wi th no Inl et but wi th Outl et —There are very

”

fe w lakes co mpar a tively S peaking w hich without a p

‘

, , ,

pearing to receive a n y in flo wing st re a m s s e n d forth a

‘ ‘
'

constant fl o w of water The s urplus water sent forth

.
.

by the discharging stream and that lost through evap ora

tion are derived in either of two ways : ( i ) from under
ground springs in the lake basin or ( 1 1 ) from sub
terranean river s Lakes of this class are f resh water
.
-

lakes and are commonly found in limestone regions in

,

which subterranean channels exist Lough Mask in .

Galway is said to be connected with Lough Co rrib in

thi s way .

La k es wi th n ei th er Ou tl et nor Inl et — A very small

"

’
number of the w orld s lakes belong to this class It is .

clear that although they have no visible i nl et they mu st

'
.

receive water by s o m e means otherwise in a short time ,

they woul d be dried up In all probability their main .

s upply is derived from underground springs Moreover .

,

the supply may equal but does not exceed that lost , ,

by evapor ation for if it exceeded t he surplus water would

, ,

flow out of the basin on its being filled S uch lakes are
.
,
.

chiefly found in h o t rainless regions and it often happen s , ,

in t hese districts that when the supply is least evapora

, ,

ti on is at a maximum This ever changing differenc e .

-

between supply and evaporation causes th e se lakes .

to vary frequently in size and e xtent Many of them .

\

are but c raters of ex tinct v olcanoes a n d as such stretch ,

over small areas Lake A lbano in Italy is o f this

.

cl ass .

Functi ons o f La k es —Lakes play an i mportant part in

. .

the prevention of floods In mountainous regions in .

.

29
4 50 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

which heavy rainfall or the melting of glaciers sends down

to the valleys below a large supply of water they act ,

as regulators of the outward flow A n excellent instance .

of the value of lakes in this respect is afforded by a com

parison of the S t Lawrence and O hio Rivers The S t . . .

Lawrence being regulated by the Great Lakes is not

, ,

subj ect to serious floods ; w hereas on the Ohio which ,

has no lakes to flow through floods occasionally rise to a ,

height of 5 0 or 6 0 feet and the river spreads to ten or ,

twenty times its usual width Lakes also equalise the tem .

e ra t u re of a region In summer their cool waters give

p .

rise to a temperate bree ze which blows as an o n shore ,

-

wind and thus modifies the intense heat that might other
wise be felt In winter the wat er being warmer than the
.
,

surrounding land creates a more e quable temperature

,
.

Thus the prox imity of the Great Lakes gives the Lake
Peninsula in the province of O ntario an almost maritime
—
climate a climate which is extremely favourable to
cheese making and also to the production of fr uit In the
-
.

Hamilton Peninsula o f Ontario splendid peaches and

grapes are produced and in the summer the ru by throated ,
-

humm i ng bird whose habitat is semi tropic al is con

-
,
-
,

s t a n t l y seen The mean temperatures for Toronto On

.
,

Lake Ontario are 2 4 F ( January ) and , F ( July ) °

. .

W hereas at Montreal about 2 degrees north east of ,

-

Toronto the corresponding temperatures are l 3 § F

,
o
.

and 7 l % F’ o
Lakes as well as furnishing the most
.
,

favourable c onditions f or the formation of deltas act ,

as filters a n d h a v e no tides Only on such huge bodies .

of water a s the Great Lakes of North A merica is there a

-

sl ightly percepti ble movement of the water which may

have the same origin as oceanic tides ( see p .

Here also waves which are o nly moderate in all other

,

A
a ke s resemble tho s e t o be seen at sea
, .
4 52 PRACTI CAL PHY S I CAL GE OGRA PHY

Se a feet below level ) Lake Uru m ia h in Persia s ea - , ,

a n d S al t Lake in U tah Nearly all saline lakes are to be .

found in warm districts A s evaporation gets rid of the .

“

water flowing into these lakes their area and dep t h vary ,

a ccording to the weather or seaso n B etween the wet and .

t h e dry season t h e shore li ne ( in most cases a flat one ) may -

alter several hundred feet and upon the expanse thus ,

left dry there gathers a saline ( and often fetid ) incrusta

tion The scenery round salt lakes is extremely uninviting
«
.

and settlements are seldom found on their shores They .

are generally surrounded by arid plains A n explorer .

describes Lake S h irwa in S outh east A frica as a shallow -

sheet of f oul salt water lying in the flat central depression ,

of extensive alluvial plains its margin occupied by great , ,

”
mal arial marshes Th e dismal shores of thi s torrid .

quagmire are frequented by crowds of fl a m ingo e s ,

cranes and screaming water birds j ostling one another

,
-

for roo m and only adding to the depressing nature of

”
the scene .

—
_

Dep th of Lak es Although most lakes are compar e . .

t iv e l y shallow yet there are a few that ha v e been formed

’

‘
,

in very deep depressions Lake B aikal in S iberia is t h e .

deepest in the world a sounding of nearly feet ,

having been obtained which as the lake lies feet , ,

a bove the sea means b elow sea level Lake B aik al

'
-
.

Th e D e a d Se a ( ca ll ed a so l B a h r Lut or Sea of Lo t ,
”
S ea of

Sa t, l ”
l
A s p h a tit e s L a k e l
p ro b a b y r ece iv e d it s n a m e from t h e
fa c t th a t c i t ie s a re fa b l ed to l ie e n g ul f e d 1 n it s d e th s It 18 a itt e
p . l l
l a rg e r th a n H un t in g d o n s h ir e . It li
es in a b a sin f o rm ed b y n k d
a e

l im es t p n e c liffs ; a nd it s wa t er is l
a s c ea r l
a n d b ue a s t h a t .
of th e
M e di t e rra n e a n l t l im y
‘

,
but sa ,
s ,
f e t id b e y o n d d e s crip t io n ,
a nd

l
ta s tin g ik e a m ix t ur e o f b rin e a n d ra n c id o il Th e h um a n b o d
.
y
ll k
wi n o t s in m i t , s trive a s t h e b a t h e r m a y .
”
Th e s t ep -
lik e terra ces
ro un d it a re old b e a ch es , wh ich c o n t a in the sh e ll s o f sp ec ies s ti ll
l iv ing in t h e M e d it erra n e a n . N o 'fis h li v e in t h e D e a d S ea .
 L A KE S 4 53

is the largest body of fresh water in A sia and is one of ,

the few lakes containing fresh water seals In the B ritish -

.

Isles Loch Morar situated in Inve rness on the west coas t

'

, ,

of S cotland and drained by a short river into the sea is

, ,

the deepes t Its elevation above sea level is about 30 fee t

.
-
,

and a sounding of feet has been obtained in it .

.T h e Caspian S e a with an area of ,

square mile s ,

is the largest lake in the world It is situated in an old

. .

sea bed ( confirmed by the fact that Caspian salts are very
-

similar to ocean salts ) and its level is 8 5 feet below the ,

.

ocean level The land lying between it and the B lack S e a

-
.

is extremely low lying to the north o f the Caucasus and

-
,

it has been estimated that if the waters o f t h e B lack

S e a were to be raised 1 4 feet above their p res ent level
a channel wo uld link up the two seas It is to be noted .

that the Caspian S e a lies in a region of small r ainfall ;

Hence the influe nce of evaporation is the more marked .

The D ead S e a too lies in a s im il a r r a inl es s region and

, , ,

it s bed like that of the Caspian is an ins tance of a su nk:

, ,

plain ( see p 4 2 2 ) .

Distribution of L a k es — Lakes seem to have a tendency .

to appear in groups A n examination o f a map o f each .

of the continents will sho w this peculiarity in thei r d is 4 -

t rib u t io n In the B ritish Isles the Lake D istrict in th e

.

north west of England where the lake s radiate from

-
,

D un m a il Raise like the S pokes of a wheel a ffords a familiar ,

example In Europe we find most of the large lakes

.

centred in the north west of Russia Here is the group -

.

'

which includes Lake Ladoga ( the largest fre sh water : -

lake in Europe ) Onega Peipus S aima and Ilmen all

, , , , ,

within a comparatively small area O utside thi s group .

a re the small mountain lakes of the A lps and the S can

d in a v ia n system and except fo r these there are Very fe w

,

lakes of any S ize on the continent The same phenomeno n .

4 54 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

of lakes occurring in groups is even more noticeable in

the fine lake system that occurs in North A merica There .

the central plateau divides each of the two distinct groups

from the other In one basin are Lakes Winnipeg
.
,

Winnipegosis and the Great B ear and Great S lave Lakes ;

,

Lake A thabasca Lake Wollaston and D eer Lake of the

, ,

Mackenzie basin ; in the other basin are the lakes of

the S t Lawrence — Lake S up e rio r
. square miles the ,

largest fresh water lake in the world ) Michigan Huron

-
, , ,

Erie and Ontario These lakes are important as a means

, .

o f communication with the interior o f the continent and ,

Chicago on Lake Michigan h a s all the appearance o f a

great ocean port with its quays and S hipping trade , .

Lake Winnipeg also has much S hipping carried on upon its

—
waters a navigable waterway being provided by means
of the Nelson and S askatchewan Rivers almost to the .

foot of the Rockies The Central A frican and Central .

Australian lakes also occur in groups ; but a notable

exception to the rul e is seen in Lake Tchad in Nigeria .

Other exceptions are Lake Titicaca in S outh A merica

and Lakes B a l k a sh and B aikal in S iberia All mountain .

ranges have of course their lake system but the Hima

, , ,

layas are remarkable f o r the fe w lakes o f any S ize they

contain .

EX ERC IS ES
1 . What are ri bbon la kes ? In what parts of the world
-

are they common ? What is their probable

origin
[ Lo n g narrow lakes like Tanganyika and Nyassa
o

, , ,

a re from their surface shape so called

] .

Explain why certain inland lakes are salt while others ,

are f resh Give instances of both ( Camb Jun

.
. . .

Loc ) .
 CH APTER xxx

Cora l Isl a nds

Th e Form a ti on of Cora l .
—In warm parts of the ocean there
exists a minute marine animal called the p olyp These .

animals live in small colonies and each one bu l ld s for

i t self a small cell in which it dwells The calcareous .

matter of which the cells are composed is derived fro ni

the sea water the polyp secreting the calcium so derived
-
,

as it works away at its task of rock b ui lding A s time -

.

progresses and the polyps d ie o ff which they do on re a c h ,

ing sea level banks of the limy skeletons are fo 1 m e d

-
, .

Having by slow accumulation re a ched the surface of the

sea these banks are exposed at low tide to the atmosphere
,

and the heat of the sun This exposure causes the mass .

to shrink and crack and break up into flakes and coral

dust . Each returning tide helps to bump and grind
this coral debris into a more and more solid mass which , ,

by reason of superincumbent pressure becomes in the ,

deeper parts o f the banks hard rock called cora l rock In , .

those parts of the ocean where the polyps are very active ,

coral accumulates rapidly ; but where the conditions a re

not favourable to the polyp the rock is o f very slow ,

*
growth .The polyp i s found to be the most active in
seas where the water is ( a ) of a fairly high temperature
( )
b not very deep and ( )
0 clear and very S alt ‘

T h e co ra l ro c k c o n t a in s a l s o s u ch d e b ris of m a rin e if e l as fis h
bo n e s , s h e s , ll a nd t h e h a rd p a r t s of l
c a c a re o u s s e a we e d s
-
.

4 56
 COR A L I S LAND S 4 57

( ) The polyp does not exis t except in rare cases in ' ‘

a , ,

water that has a lower temperature than 6 8 F F or °

.

this reason coral formations are chiefly to be found in the

tropics and they are particularly prevalent in the Gulf
,

of Me x ico off the south and west coasts of F lori d a a nd

, ,

in the western parts of the Pacific and Indian O ceans .

Outside the tropical regions coral is only formed in thos e

places where the influence of the warm currents flowing
from the equator raises the temperature of the ocean to
the required point The B erm udas illustrate this : they
.

are well outside the tropics but the Gulf S tream provides
'

a sufficient supply o f warm water for the coral polyp .

Th e Galapagos Islands on the other hand though near

, ,

th e equator in the Eastern Pacific are free from reefs , ,

because of the stream of cold wa t er b ro ugh t up b y the '

Pe ruvia n c urrent There is also another remarkable

.

feature in the dis trib ution of coral due to the direction

of ocean currents A larger amount of coral formation
.

may be obser v ed a ro u n d t h e i slan ds Situated off the east

'

coast of each continent than about those lying o ff the

west coast Thi s is because the direc tion o f the ocean
.
.

current s in t h e trOp ics is from east to west the result ,

of w h ich is to make the western portions of the great

.
'

oceans warmer than t h e eastern ( see p Roughly .

speaking coral formations are to be found on the wind

,

ward side of all coasts within the tropics pro vided the ,

depth and nature of the water satisfy the remaining

conditions .

The coral polyp seems to flourish in sh al low wat e r

( )
b .

a nd to be most active when the depth does not exceed

.

from t h irty to forty fathoms A t thi s depth the true

.

reef building polyp is commonly to be found at work

-
.

Of co ur s e the :p olyp can , and ac tually does live and ,

Pro n o un ce G al ah p ag o ss .
4 58 PRA CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE O GR A PHY

work at greater depths in some c a ses as much a s 1 0 0

,

fathoms S uch deep water corals in warm latitudes may

.
-

be covered by those living at intermediate depths and ,

“

these again by the true reef builders Hence a reef may -

.

be built up from a considerable depth .

( )
0 The polyp does not thrive in dirty water A map .

of the world will S how the total absence of coral formation

at or near the mouths of any of the great continental
rivers wit h in the tropics The fresh and muddy character
.

of the water in these places accounts for the n o n activity -

of the polyp A gain its greatest activity is seen where the

(
.
,

sea is of great salinity and where the supply of food is to

be obtained in large quantities Hence in enclosed seas .

like the Red S e a myriads of these minut e animals are

cons tantly at work .

C a
or l I l
s a ds
n — There are three distinct types of coral
.

formation ( a ) the fringing ree f ( b) the barrier reef , ,

( c) the atoll .

The fring ing reef is a narrow bed of coral rock that is

usually built on the platform round the shore of an island .

A s the reef grows it inclines outwards and forms a fringe

,

close to the shore The seaward edge of the reef is gener

.

ally higher than the inward S ince the coral polyp is more
,

active in those parts where food is more plentiful Inside .

the reef there is not the same activity present because the ,

sand and mud brought down by the streams o f the island

help to kill the polyp s The size and extent of the fringing
.

reef depends upon the degree of activity of the polyp

and the age of t h e reef In no case does the reef extend
.

for any con siderable distance from the S hore and its ,

width scarcely ever excee d s more than a few f eet at t h e

most When such a reef is built up to form a broad
.

s urface a deposit of sediment which is fatal to cora l

, ,

li fe begins to collect upon it and to kill off the polyps

,
.
4 60 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

S hallow lagoon whose bed is also formed of coral

,
.

Although the polyp is seen to be in a state of great

activity on the surrounding reef it is no longer at work ,

on the bed of the lagoon The explanation lies in the .

fact that as the reef increases in extent it p re v e nt s a ,

fresh supply of sea water from entering the lagoo n In -

.

this way the polyp is deprived of its f ood supply and -

dies off The ree f is generally very narrow and scarcely

.
,

ever reaches more than a few f eet above the level of

the surrounding sea The Maldives the Laccadives .
, ,

and the Chagos in the western Indian O cean and the ,

Paumotu or Low A rchipel a go in the Pacific provide

, , ,

typical examples of atolls In the P a u m o tu s onl y four .

islands rise to more than 1 2 feet above sea level These -

.

islands are generally higher on the windward ( east a nd

south east ) side where the wind and waves heap up
-
,

coral sand into ridges These ridges are o ft e n fo rm e d .

:

into a solid mass by water percolating into the sand ,

and the whole cemented together by a glue o f dissolved

,

carbonate of lime solidifies into firm rock , .

Darwin s Th e ory a s to Cora l Is l a nds

’ —Although the polyp .

flourishes in shallow water there are many coral reefs ,

.

where soundings have been taken on their seaward face

of over 1 5 0 fathoms from which depths masses of coral ,

have been brought to the surface by dredging apparatus .

D arwin accounted f or the existence of coral at such

'

depths by asserting that it was due to the subsidence o f

part of the ocean bed at that partic ul ar spot He there
-
.

fore f ormulated the theory that first o f all there f ormed .

round an island clo se to the shore a fringing ree f ;

, .
,

secondly that owing to the subsidence of the island the

, , ,

fringing reef became a barrier ree f with a lagoon between ‘

the reef and the shore ; and last of all the subsiden ce ,
'

still continuing that the isla n d s a nk o ut o f sight al to

,
 CORA L I SLAND S

—
S ea le v e l

F IG . 114 .

gether leaving an atoll —a mere ring of coral encircling

,

( with or without a break ) an inner lagoon The D arwinian .

theory may be more clearly understood if we imagine

that the di agram ( fig 1 1 4 ) represents an island sur
.

rounded by a fringing reef the sea level then being shown

,
-

by the broken line ( a ) A s the island slowly sub sided

.

into the ocean the growth of c oral woul d keep pace

with the subsidence with the result that a barrier reef
,

would be formed separated by a lagoon from the S hores

of the island At the same time subsidence woul d have
.

brought the sea level to the position represented by the

-

broken line ( b) F inally if the subsidence and t h e growth

.
,

o f coral continued the island would eventually disappear

,

—
beneath the surface and an atoll would result nothing
more then being seen above sea level than ( c) a somewhat -

circular ridge of coral enclosing a central lagoon .

Murra y s Th eory — D r Murra y who took a very acti v e

’
. .
,
4 62 PR ACTI CAL PHYS I CAL GEOGRAPHY

part in the research work carried out by the Cha llenger

expedition disagreed with the D arwinian theory and
,

revived an older theory which he based on observations

made on the coral islands of the West A tlantic He .

believes that the f oundation of coral islands is in every

‘

case supplied by submarine peaks which owe their ,

origin to volcanic action and he points out that the

,

surveys made of the oceans have proved the existence

of a large number of submarine elevations rising out of a
depth of fathoms or more to within a few hundred
fathoms of the surface .These peaks D r Murray main , .
‘

tains are utilised by the polyps ; but h e c o n s id ers that

,
,

they do not build upon them till by the deposition of globi:

'

gerina pteropod oozes and s 1 m il a r matters they have

, , ,

been raised to a suitable height at which the reef building -

corals can flourish ( fig . On the foundation thus

‘

Ma oo“

g LS VEL

FI G . l
I 5 .
4 64 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRAPHY

o f tro p ical vegetation then appear s oil is . A dditi onal

supplied by floating pumice the product of some volcanic ,

eruptions whi ch the natives in some islands gather and

,

pound into dust as a fe rt ilise r f o r their cr 0 ps S tone

.
, .

o f a denser texture t h a n co ra l rock for the pur p os e of

’

implement making is a great want but this too is supplied

-
,

by floating logs which carry stones among their roots .

S treams on atolls are of course non existent but rain -

,

water lodges in the hollows of the reef and is e v en found

below the surface B esides man birds inhabit all the
.
,

islands but no coral island ever possessed any mammals

,

till the W hite man brought rats and mice in his ships
a nd introduced the pig The inhabitants of such islands .

are naturally good swimmers and boatm en .

E X E R C IS ES
1 . The li m estones of S outh D evon contain great quanti
ties o f coral skeletons No polyp s are f ound living
-
.

there now W h at sort of climate must have existed

.

there when these limestones were first form ed

2 . Where are ree f building coral polyps found and under
-
,

what conditions do they flourish

D escribe the structure of a coral islan d and discuss
the mode o f format ion of such islands ( Ox f ’

. .

Jun Loc )
. .

4 . D escribe care fully the different forms of coral reefs

and i slands Explain how they are grouped in
.

the Pacific Ocean ( Camb S e n . . .

Explain with diagrams the meanings o f the te rm s :

atoll barrier reef fringing ree f
,
-
,
.

D escribe a theory to explain how an atoll is

‘

formed ( Ox f Jun Loc )

. . . .

6 . Write a brie f d escription o f th e three recognised type s

o f coral reef and their origin ( C mb Iun L oo )
’

. a . . . . .
 CH A PTER XXXI

Snow 1ine
- — —
There are two snow lines a n upper and a
.
-

lower A bove the upper snow practically never melts

.
,

between the two snow melts in summer except in sheltered

,

places ; below the lower snow melts whenever the sun

,

shines The upper snow line is known as the limit of

.
-

perpetual snow A bove the upper snow line the air

.
-

°
never has a higher temperature than 3 2 F no matter .
,

how great the amount of sun heat that passes through ; -

this is why so very little snow falling above that line can
melt. O ver the greatest part of the regions near the
poles this limit of perpetual snow is sea level It is -
.

about feet above sea level in Norway about -

,

feet in S witzerland and to

, feet at the
equator Our B ritish hills are not high enough to have
.

perpetual snows ; that is they are below the upper ,

snow line although quite high enough to be above the

-
,

lower D epressions on the higher slopes of mountains

.

and tablelands above the upper snow line act as -

gathering places for snow

-
These permanent sheets of
.

snow persisting from winter to winter are called snow

, ,

fie ld s and if Nature made no provision f o r the removal

,

of e xcess the snow would increase from year to year

,

indefinitely A S it is t h c snow on some snow fie ld s is

.
,
-

80 4 65
4 66 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRAPHY
several hundred feet thick S uch snow fie ld s rid them .
-

selves o f the surplus snow in three ways : ( 1 ) evapora

tion ( 2 ) avalanches ( 3 ) glaciers Even in frosty weather
, ,
.

snow often disappears S lowly by evaporation ; for j ust

as water vapour can change directly to snow so snow
-
,

can pass directly to water vapour without first melting -

.

S now fie l d s lying on the steeper s 10 pes of mountain sides

- -

or the edges of snow fie l d s overhanging a steep S lope -

,

are always tending to S lip or fall down with a crash into

the valleys below This sudden rush of masses of more
.

or less consolidated snow 1 s called an ava lanch e *

In .

Alpine countries a large amount of the annual snowfall is

removed in this way Hence any pine forests that lie .

on the S lope behind the upland villages and fields are

carefully preserved that they may ward off certain ruin
,

and devastation ; and on the Canadian Pacific Railway

”
snow sheds -
are built f o r miles along part s o f the
line as it passes through the R o ckies in order that the ,

snow may slide over them without blocking the line .

Form a ti on of Gl a ci ers — The chief means of removal

of surplus snow from above the snow line is the g l a ci er -
.

The snow that lies in the depressions between summits

of the high mountai ns becomes compacted for the same
reason that fl e e cy snow fl a k e s when squeezed to gether -

in the hand f orm a hard snowball the air between the ,

.

particles of snow being so to S peak squeezed out The , , .

pressure on the underlying snow increases with each

successive fall of snow and eventually the lower layers ,

are turned into ice This compacted snow is called by

-
.

t h e F rench name név é or by the German name firn .

U nder pressure from the upper layers the lower parts of ,

the név é begin to move slowly down the valleys leading

from the snow fie ld s It is chiefly during this movement
-
.

F ro m t h e Ol d F ren ch at v a l
,
t o th e v a ll e y, d o wn wa rd .
4 68 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY
obstruction the pressure of the ice from behind against
the obstruction lowers the melting point o f the ice at that -

place ( see p ( That. is the ice is able to melt at a ,

te m perature where without the pressure it would remain

frozen ) The wa ter from the melted ice fl ows p a s t the obs ta c le
.

a n d f reezes a ga in A n d so the glacier moves slowly on by

.

t h e continuous pressure from behind Another theory .

is that ice though it appears to be a brittle solid is

, ,

real ly plastic l ike warm sealing wax and can flow over ,

obstacles A gain the water that sinks down into the

.
,

cracks o f t h e glacier from the sur face freezes expands , ,

'

and subj ects the ice b elow to great stress Th is st re s s .

,

'

e D ire ch o n
o f mo v e m e n t

Fi r s t i
o s it o n S o me d og s fte r
p
a

F IG . 116 .

tending to split the ice vertically has the effect of ,

moving the ice and since gravity helps the movement

, ,

must be down the valley These theories together .

,

with t h e sliding due to gravity where the bed of the

channel allows it are probably all involved in the, ,

’
correct explanation of a glacier s movement .

Ra te of M v
o em n
e t —That a glacier really moves may
.

be easily demonstrated by fixing a row of stakes straight

across it marking the banks a t X and Y ( fig 1 1 6 ) to
,
'

S how where the row started In a few days the row .

will have become curved and a ll the stakes will be found ,

T h is t h e o ry wa s p u t f o rwa rd by Pr in cip a l F o rb es of St .

A n d re ws .
 GLA CIER S 4 69

lower down with respect to the starting marks on t h e

bank This new arrangement o f the stakes S hows that
.

the middle of the glacier moves faster than the sides .

B u t th e stakes were originally placed upright in the ice

at t h e second examination they are found oblique with
the top of the stakes inclined forward This shows that .

the movement like that of rivers is faster at the t o p

, ,

than at the bottom The rate of movement of glaciers .

varies A mong the A lpine glaciers the rate averag es

.

b etween 1 0 0 and 5 0 0 feet a year or roughly speaking , ,

about as quickly as the hour hand of a watch moves .

The Me r de Glace of Ch a m o u n ix moves on the average

an inch an hour along the middle line The summer .

movement is always greater and the winter movement

always less than this average The summer rate of .

movement of the U pernavik Glacier in Greenland is a

yard an hour D r He rbe rt s o n reckons that the speed
. .

of a glacier is roughly a thousand times less than that

of a river of the same size over the same S lope .

Th e End of th e Gl a ci er — S tarting f rom these reservoirs

.

of név é above the upper snow line glaciers move down -

,

until a point is reached where the ice is being continually

melted t e where the loss due to melting is exactly
,
. .

balanced by the supply from above The end of the .

glacier is called the s n out When the melting takes place .

rapidly the snout is tapering ; when the melting is S low

the end is cliff like and is call ed a Chin ese wa ll In the
-
.

Alps glaciers descend from points of varying height

,

above feet to points v arying from to

feet high *
.

Gl a ci ers a nd Rivers Comp ar ed — Glaciers are like rive s .

r

in the following respects

l
A g a c ie r m a y e v e n d e s cen d far b e l ow th e t ree -
l ine t o th e l evel
l
o f t h e c u t iv a te d fie d s. l
4 70 PR ACTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE O GRA PHY

a( ) They receive tributaries ; ( b) they flow over breaks

in the bed forming ice falls instead of waterfalls ; ( 0 )
,
-

they flow round corners ; ( d ) they flow faster in the

middle than at the sides ; ( e ) they flow f aster at the
surface than at the bottom ; (f ) they wear away their
banks and bed (g) they transport matter from a higher
to a lower level ( h ) they deposit their load at the lowest
level ; ( 6) they drain o ff superfluous water ( in the form
of snow ) .

They are unlike rivers in the following respects

( )
a T hey can move up an incline ; b
( ) they have no
towns on their banks ( 0 ) they carry most o f their load
resting on the surf ace ; ( d ) they are sometimes at their
lower end so covered with deposits of soil that grass grows
on them Thus on the lower ends of certain Himalayan
.

glacier s goats and sheep graze and some Alaskan glaciers ,

actually carry large forests on ice

Crev a sses a nd Sér a cs —. B ending f rom side to side ro u nd
corners and travelling over a rocky uneven floor the
, , ,

glacier becomes S plit by fissures called crev a s ses These .

rents sometimes open wide forming abrupt chasms reaching

,

to the bottom o f the glacier Where an ice fall is v ery

.

steep or irregular the ice cannot descend in one unbroken

S heet but becomes cracked and splintered into segments
,
.

and pinnacles called s era cs .

Tr a ns p orti ng a nd Er os ive Power of Gl a ci ers — Glaciers

carry their load both on the ice and in the ice F rag .

ments loosened by the frost from the cli ffs and mountain
,

slopes a s the ice moves past the steep valley walls f all ,

and find a resting place on the glacier This m aterial

-
.

lies along t h e s id e s of the glacier in long continuous ,

heaps called lateral m ora ines Where two glaciers me et

. ,

the two inner moraine s unite and move along the medial
line of th e combi ned glacie r Thu s lat er a l morai ne s . .
.
’
4 72 PR A CTI CA L P HY S I CA L GE O GR APHY
under the waters of a sea on which floated icebergs on
~

their way southward s A s these icebergs came south .

ward they dropped their ground moraine upon the bed -

of this icy sea Then this sea bed was upli fted bringing
.
-
,

with it the gravel clay and rock bo ul ders ; and the beds
, ,
-

of clay containing the scratched boulders ( boulder clay ) -

are to be found all over the country as far south as

Finch l e y near London Occasionally the boul ders are
,
.

very large and as coming from indefinite distances from

, ,

W here they are at present found they have no geological ,

connection with the underlying rock they are c al led ,

* ”
erratic blocks or simply erratics,
These erratic s .

are common all over the B ritish Isles and their presenc e ,

is a valuable clue to the movements of the glaciers a nd

icebergs of that remote age .

The waters flowing from the end of the melting glacier

are usually the source of a river and such a river will , ,

of course be more swollen in summer The Garonne the

, .
,

Rhine the Rhone the Po the Ganges the Indus and

, , , , ,

many other large rivers have their source in the muddy

water o f a melting glacier A s the ice melts the boulders .
, ,

fragments gravel sand and silt are deposited in irregular

, , ,

heaps together f orming the terminal moraine T h is

, .

debris o f the terminal morai ne is sorted out by the running

water the finer material being carried farther down t h e
,

va lley Glaciers bring down f rom the mountain tops

.
-

t h e potential water of the snow fie l d s S ome of this -

.

becomes water during the course o f the glacier towards

the snout Water from s ur face melting flows in irregu lar
.

ch annels on the surface of the glacier finally plungin g ,

F or a l on g t im e in S c o t l and t h e se e rr a t ic b l k oc s were a t trib ute d

z
to t h e a g e n cy o f w i a rd s , b ro wn ies , f a ir ies , a n d e v e n t o t he Ev i l
O n e h im s e f l
P u ttin g th e Ston e w a s s u p p o s e d t o h a v e b e e n on e of
.

th e f a vo urit e o ccu
p a t ion s of t h ese p erson a itie s l .
 GLA CIER S 4 73

down a cre v asse with a swirling movement If any .

erosive material be in this water a circular shaft is worn ,

down to the bottom of the glacier and even into the bed .

The S hafts are called m ou lin s the holes so wor n in the ,

”
A
“ ’
b e d are called pot holes or giant s kettles -
.

group of pot holes some of them of great S ize is one of

-
, ,

the curiosities of Lucerne T in S witzerland ; they have

been left behind by a glacier which once covered the site
of the town The water that falls to the bottom of the
.

glacier flows along underneath and emerges as a stream ,

of milky looking water from the ice cave that is usually

- -

found at the snout Th e m ilk y appearance of the water

.
,

is due to the suspension in it of the particles formed by

the grinding action of the glacier against the surface of
its bed Therefore somewhere up the valley there must
.
,

be great erosive waste going on to account for this

plentiful supply of mud .

Gl a ci er Evap or a ti on —Under the sun s rays all glaciers

.
’

suffer loss by evaporation from the surface This .

lowering of the surface is cal led a bla tion of the sur

face A blation is made manifest in the following way
.

Many large flat pieces of rock fall upon the sur fac e o f
the glacier The ice below the slab is protected from
.

loss by evaporation but the surrounding parts of the ,

glacier not so protected are insensibly wasted away

, , .

Thus the stone seems to rise as it were out of the , ,

glacier though really it is the ice around the rock that

,

is melting A fter a time t h e ice pedestal becomes too

.
-

Ex a c t l y th e sam e p h e n o m e n o n c a n b e o b s e rv e d in . ro c k s by
th e s id e o f a s tre a m . l
If a o o s e s t o n e o d g e s o n t h e r o cl k
it m a y
,

b e wo r k ed r o un d and ro u n d by th e a c t io n of th e s tr e a m a n d m a y

in t im e s co o p ou t a p o t- h o e l .

1
‘

In t h e G l e ts c h e rg a r t e n or gl a c ie r-
g a rd e n on e of t h e p o t h o es -
l
is 30 f ee t d ee p and 2 6 f e e t wid e .
4 74 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
slim to support the rock or p erched block as it is called
, ,

and it is dropped upon t h e ice to be raised up again ,

as formerly Curiously enough littl e isolated stones

.
,

have exactly the opposite e ffect They become heated .

by the rays o f the summer sun melt the ice around ,

and under them and so sink into the glacier instead

,

of rising ab o ve the surface on an ice table When loss -

.

due to evaporation and melting at the snout is greater

t han the supply the snout of the glacier retreat s up th e
,

valle y A s a glacier thus retreats a heap o f stones and

.

rubbish is left ( terminal moraine ) which dams up the

valley c a u s m g the water from the melting ice to form
,

a lake Lake Geneva is an example of this Whe n by

. .

a general increase of temperature a glacier as a whol e

melts the ground which it once occupied may sometimes
,

be seen to have assumed the form o f smooth undulating

prominences in appearance not unlike sheep l ying a t
,

rest on the ground These rounded mounds are c a lled

.

roch es m ou ton ne es .

Gl a ci er La k es —
The valley o f the glacier must of
necessity become gradually and sensibly deeper by the
continual removal of material A n d this d ee p e n m g 1 8 .

not uni form over the whole of the valley There are .

places where either the glacier exerts a grinding force

greater than usual or where the bed over wh ich it flows
,

is s o ft e r than usual He nce some parts are more deeply

.

scooped out than others A fter the disappearance of .

the glacier these rock basins become filled with water

,
-
.

S ome scientists believe that the rock basins existed -

before the glacier mo v ement and were filled with d e c o m

posed rock material which was scooped out by the moving
glacier The rock basins however formed are now lakes
.
-
, , ,

and a re regarded as characteristic of a glacier district

—
.

Distribution of Gl aciers Glacier s are of two ki nds - v

4 76 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY

ln the world The lower e nds of these enter a region of

.

subtropical forests where the tree ferns grow The Franz -

.

Josef in the southern Alps at about the same latitude

,

south as Florence is north is o nl y 8 % miles long ( the

,

Tasman in the same range is 1 8 miles long ) but it is ,

considered by some to be the most beauti f ul glacier in

the world by reason both of its wonderful ice f orms and
,
-

of its picturesque setting The F ox is another small but

.

beautiful gl acier in the same mountains .

The continental g laci ers are to be found in the Arctic

and the A ntarctic regions where the long winters allow
,

vast fields of snow and ice to accumulate It was the .

so ft snow in the lower reaches o f the f amous B eardmore

Glacier in A ntarctica that by reducing the pace of ,

the return party proved so disastrous to the S cott

,

—
Expedition o f 1 9 1 0 1 3 In fact most of th e lands in
.
,

A rctic regions like S pitzbergen and Gree nl and are

, ,

covered with immense sheets of ice thousands of fe et

thick In Greenland the movement o f the ice is from the
.

centre towards the sea in all directions so that there ,

seems to be an accumulation o f ice upon high ground

somewhere in the interior in the for m of an ice plateau -
.

Near the coast of the island mountain peaks proj ect -

through the ice cap and these the Eskimo call mm a ta ks

-
, .

The sheet of ice covering the continent of A ntarctica is

believed to be miles in thickness .

Evi d ences of Gl a cial A cti on —Glacie rs leave behind

.

them a fairly permanent record o f their existence and

work The chie f evidence s o f their presence are t h e f ollow
.

ing Glaciated hills are rounded not irregular in outline ;

.
,

glaciated valleys are flat bottomed or U shaped not

- -
,

V shaped like the typical river valley

-
A main valley -
.

recently deepened by a glacier is as a rule at a lower level

than its tributary valleys ( which a re th e re for e ca ll ed
 GLA CIER S 4 77

hang ing valleys The upper end o f a glaciated valley

has frequently a flat circus like area called a cirque corrie -
, , ,

c wm or com be in which a lake often occurs Glacial

, ,
.

deposits are easily recognised by the striated stones The .

rocks which f ormed the bed o f the glacier have striations

more or less parallel which show the direction o f the
glacier s flow Lastly perched blocks are often f ound on
’
.
,

what was originally the side o f the glacier They are quite .

dissimilar in nature from the rocks on whi ch they rest .

Icebergs — Continental glaciers have no terminal

.

moraine The end of the glacier is continually pushed

.

forward into the sea and as ice is lighter than water , ,

the upthrust o f the water forces the protruding sheet or

tongue of ice to break off upwards into huge fragments
which then drift away as icebergs These floating .

ice mountains or ice islands are carried by currents for

- -

hundreds of miles towards regions of warmer water and

atmosphere melting rapidly as they go and littering
, ,

the ocean fl o o r with the debris which escapes from its

- *

ice bondage
-
On one iceberg there may be a load of
.

rock and earth as great in weight as tons B ergs .

from the north come as far south in the A tlantic as

the A zores and those from the south come as f a r
,

north as the Cape of Good Hope Theref ore the area .

over which icebergs carry on their work of deposition

is very large B ergs occasionally become stranded on
.

island coasts and remaining fo r years materially aff ect

, ,

th e climate Most o f an iceberg is under the water fo r

.

every foot above water there are nearly 9 feet below .

S o that if a berg were 2 0 0 feet above the surf ace of the

sea it would have nearly
, feet of its total height
below the surface Icebergs have been seen more than
.

Th e d e b ris fro m an ic e b e rg is ca ll ed a l
t ra i in g m o ra in e or a

p re c ip i t a t e d m o ra in e .
 4 78 PR ACTI CA L PH YS I CAL GE OGRAP H Y

a mile long and 5 0 0 feet high ab ove the sea It wa s .

a fter entering a field o f ice with miles of be rgs and floes

that on A pril 1 5 1 9 1 2 the Tita n ic struck her side a
, , ,

glancing blow on a mass of ice below the water in

latitude 4 1 N longitude 5 0 W ° * °
.

Ice fioes B esides the iceberg there is another kind of

-
.
-

floating ice mass In the polar seas in winter the surf ace
-
.

becomes frozen over F irst thin flakes of ice are formed ; .

this is known as sludge When this has thickened a little .

it is called pancake ice ; and finally it f orms its e l f int o

c omplete covering called the ice fie l d which is however -
, , ,

not a smooth sheet o f ice like that found on an English

lake or river but is covered with hummocks of ice and
,

snow In summer the ice fie ld breaks up into fl a t t is h

.
- -

fra gments called ice fl o e s A number of these j umbled -

.

together forms pack ice and when two fields of pack -

,

ice dri ft together any ordinary ship that may be caught ,

between would be crushed by the grinding of the ice .

’
It was to meet this danger that N a n s e n s famous vessel ,

the F ra m was specially constructed so that it might be

, ,

able to resist the grinding and crushing action of the ice .

It was owing to the roughness of this same pack ice that -

Nansen had in 1 8 9 5 to turn back from his dash to the

,

Pole in latitude 8 6 1 3 N A n ice fl o e is re a lly a k ind ’

.
-

of iceberg but greater in superficial extent though

, ,

generally less in mass There is besides a very important .

distinction between t h e fl o e and the berg The berg .

,

being born on land carries out to sea masses o f rock and ,

beds of detritus ; the fl o e b eing born at sea carries no

.
, ,

such material There is another form of iceberg small

.
,

compared with either the true berg or fl o e which is in ,

In l ess th a n t h re e h o urs a f t er s trik in g t h e ic e , t h e Ti ta n ic ,

t h e fin es t o ce a n - li
n er o f t h e t im e , s a nk , wit h a l oss of l
s ou s

out of on b o a rd .
4 80 PRA CTI CAL PHY S I CA L GEOGRA PHY
northern Europe and as the first ice sheet was by f a r the
, ,
-

'

greatest o f a l l it is f ound f arther south than the younger

,

beds The rock surfaces on which the boulder clay rests

.
- -

are either smoothed and striated or very much crushed

and broken B etween this oldest boulder clay and the
.
-

youngest beds are the interglacial beds contai ni ng such

f ossils that prove the existence o f intervening genial
climates In Europe these morainic deposits called
.
,

post tertiary are f ound in Central France in the Pyrenees

-
, , ,

the S panish S ierras in Corsica the A pennines the Vosges

, , , ,

the Carpathians and all over Germany and most of

,

Russia In North A merica they are found on a very

.

large scale a n d in many other parts o f t h e world such as

,

New Z ealand Tierra del Fn ego are to be f ound evidences

, ,

o f f ormer excessive glacial conditions The most pro .

n o u n ce d f eatures of the results of these glacial periods

—
are three fold the formation of soils the formation of ,

lakes and the formation o f waterf alls The soil of the

, .

New England S tates and of the p ra i rl e s of A merica is

largely boulder In m any cases the boulder clay soil -

remains a fter the total or partial disappearance o f glacial

lakes as is the case in the w h eat la nds o f southern Canada
,
-
.

The whole o f the great wheat belt of the Red River Valley -

was formerly one huge lake of which Winnipeg and ,

W in n e p e go sis are the last remnants B efore the final .

disappearance of the last ice cap the drainage from this -

huge lake took a southward direction to the Gul f o f Mexico .

The lakes of F inland cover a region which is a labyrinth

of lakes marshes and hills T h ese lakes have been caused
, , .

by the alteration o f the natural river drainage due to de -

posits le ft by the great ice sheet In England the Vale -

.
‘

of Pickering ( Yorkshire ) was once filled with lakes formed

b y the advance of the ice sheet across the general slope -

S o m e t im e s l
a s o ca ll ed ti l l .
 GLACIER S 4 81

and the consequent damming up of the natural drainage .

/
In S cotland the many lakes that lie in the e ader valleys
are the result either of glacier erosion or of the damming
up of the valley necks by terminal moraines The Outer .

Hebrides are f ul l of small lakes lying in glacier eroded -

hollows here and there being found those formed by a

,

combination of eroded rock basin and morainic barrier

-
.

In Inverness are the famous parallel roads of Glenroy ,

consisting of a series of alluvial terraces running along

the sides of a valley at the three di fferent levels of 8 5 6 ,

and feet respectively They mark the .

m argins of a lake created by a morainic barrier F ormerly .

,

glaciers passing by the mouth of the valley prevented the

outflow of the accumulated waters and the three different ,

le v els show the beaches or wave cut shore lines o f the - -

lake during three different glacial epochs B ut while .

glacial action has in many cases laid down so il there is ,

evidence of cases where it has scraped away e v ery particle

of soil from a whole district e g some of the highlands of
,
. .

eastern Canada where large areas are covered with

,

not hi ng but bare rock or at most a ver y thin stony

, ,

soil Glacial action is also supposed to have scraped

.

fr om the surface of Ireland all the later o r upper co al seams , -

leaving only the earlier or deeper formations The upper .

seams consisted of the soft or bituminous coal ; t h e

deeper seams that are now mined in Queen s Co Kilkenny, ’
.
,

Tipperary Carlow and Co Tyrone are of the harde r

, , .

ant h racite .

Exs ncrss s
1 . How far ha v e ice action wind action or ri v er act io n
-
,
-
,
-

b ee n instrumental in characterising S wiss scenery

2 . Why do iceberg s float What proportion of an iceberg
is im m ersed when floating in sea water ? What -
 CA "
PRA CTI CA L PHY S I L GE OGRA PHY

is the height of an iceb erg of which a mass 7 0 '

feet high is s een abo v e the se a le v el

.

l Wh a t are the chief points of resembla nce an d of differ

e nce bet w een valley and continental glaciers ?
Name some facts which show that glaciers once
travell ed over districts where they are not now -

f ound .

Where are glaciers found ? In what ways do they

tr ans p ort material What are the characteristics
of that material ( C amb Jun Loc ) . . .

Write a short description of a glacier

Explain ( a ) how it is formed ( b) h o w a n d why ,
s

it m o v e s ( 0 ) what part it plays as a denuding

r
,

agent ( Ox f Jun Loc )

. . . .

Give an account of a glacier describing its formation ,

and physical fe atures What are the characters .

of a district over which a gl acier has formerly

m ov e d ? ( Ox f and Camb Lower Cer t ) . . .

What e v idences are there o f the existenc e of ancient ,

glaciers in Great B ritain ? ( Ox f Jun Loc )

‘

. . .

Give an account o f the glaciated districts of Europe ,

.

explaining the influence the glaciers hav e on the

rivers draining them and illustrating the depend ,

ence of the height of the snow line upon a spect -

'

and precipitati on ( Oxf and Camb Higher .

'

. .

Cer t ) .

D escribe as fully as you can t h e c o n d it io ns whi ch

‘

favour the formation of glaciers .

How do glaciers give rise to icebergs ?

Ca n you account for the distribution of ice b ergs
usually f ound in the North A tl antic ? ( Oxf S e n
“

'

. .

Loc ) .

D escribe an experiment to show that the mel ting

“

point of ice is l owered by increased press ure .

 CH APTE R XXXII

D istributi on of Pl ants and An im a ls

Introd ucti on The earth is the dwelling place of a -

vast and varied series o f living things which move through

”
the air and people both land and water The living .

things on the earth may be divided into two great king

doms — the animal and the vegetable The various .

animals ( and this includes the fishes ) living in and

common to any particular region are called the fa una of
that region and to the various trees shrubs herbs and
, , , ,

*
other f orms o f vegetable life the name fl ora is given .

The subj ect of the distribution of the flora and fauna

of the world is a most comple x one and it is especially ,

so in the case of the two v agrant f amilies — the birds and

the fishes The maj ority of birds since they have the
.
,

power of flight cannot very easily be apportioned to this

,

or that part of the world and later on it will be shown

,

that hard and fast rules cannot be definitely laid down

- -

concerning their distribution In the same sense there

.

can be fixed no limited distribution areas for a great

many of the fishes .

The great determining f actor governing the distribu

tion of flora and fauna in any regi on IS temperature but
it is only one of many If it were the only one then
.
,

lines of latitude or at least isotherms might be taken

, ,

F l ora m a y o f co urs e b e m a rin e as we ll as t e rres tria l .

4 84
 D I S TRI B U TI ON OF PLA NT S A ND A NI MA L S 4 8 5

as boundaries of zoological and botanical zones It is .

true that botanical zones have been mapped out ; but

though classification of distribution in this wa y succeeds
better with flora than with fauna it is far from ideal ,
.

Nor can the distribution be mapped by continents ; f or

what is true of northern S iberia is not true of southern
India and North A frica happens to agree with southern
,

Europe One of the best methods of dealing with the

.

distribution of plants and animals is to follow the natural

plan first suggested in 1 8 5 7 by D r P L S clater and . . .
,

afterwards adopted with modifications both by D r A . .

Russel Wallace in his Geogra p hica l D istri bution of A n im a ls ,

and by Professor A lfred Newton of Cambridge D r . .

Marion Ne wb igin in her book A n im a l Geogra p hy has sug

, ,

gested a plan whereby the climatic regions of the earth

are taken as the distinctive homes of certain character
is t ic fauna ; but this plan is O pen to many obj ections .

Th e Seven Regi ons

'

The world as divided zoologically

.
-

by Dr Wallace an d Professor Newton consisted of but

.

s ix regions ; but it is considered advisable here to combine

the two plans and increase the number to seven These

, .

seven regions are strictly speaking only zoological ; taken

, ,

as botanical regions they are too big and require a good

,

deal of subdivision The regions will however be dealt

.
, ,

with as both zoological and botanical The zone map of .

-

’
the world s flora wil l be specially mentioned afterwards .

The seven regions are

.1 Th e Pa l aearcti c including Europe
, tempe rate and ,

northern A sia and Mediterranean A frica

, .

.2 Th e Near cti c including the New World ( with Green

,

land ) as far south as the middle of Mexico .

.3 Th e Neotrop ica l including the New World from

,

the middle of Mexico southwards and the West Indies ,

.

.4 Th e Eth iop ia n including all A fr ica south o f the

,
4 86 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

Mountains S outh
A tlas , . A rabia , and Madagascar with
the Mascarene Islands .

5 . including India south of the Himalayas,

Th e Orienta l ,
s outhern China B orneo S umatra Java and the Philip , , , ,

pine Islands This region is separated from the next

.

by a narrow strait ( about 2 0 miles wide ) which lies

between the islands of B ali ( Oriental ) and Lombok
A
( ustralian ) The boundary that passes through this strait
.

is known zoologically as Wa ll a ce s l ine and is named after ’

,

D r A R Wallace who first called attention to the exist

. . .
,

ence of this important boundary .

6 Th e Austra lia n
. including Celebes New Guinea , ~
, ,

A ustralia and the Pacific Islands

, .

7 Th e New Z ea l a nd
. including the two large i sl ands ,

of that name and extending from Norfolk Island in the

,

north to Emeral d Island in the south .

Ge era :
n l C onditi ons of D i u i
is tr b t on —
The chief cause .

a ffecting the distribution of plants 1 8 undoubtedl y clim ate . .

A s a general rule transportation bein g granted s imilar , ,

climates produce simil ar S pecies This follows since .

three o i the four great factors for proper plant growth

~

are light h ea t and m ois ture and these depend upon the
, , , .

annual proportions of day and night o f summer and ,

,
—
winter of rainf all and drought o r in a word climate , ,
.

—
The other factor for proper plant growth a su fficient
supply o f —
suitable and soluble plant food is not so vital
as climate since plants are capable of much adaptability
,

to environment Al l the f actors being present and .

O perative there is no limit e x cept that of space to the

’

'

abundance of plant life The distribution of a nimals .

also depends upon climate but not to such a great extent ,

as in the case of plants A cold and wet climate is not

‘

favourable to animal life but a hot and dry on e or a , ,

hot a n d moist one is Thus the bulk o f S outh America , . ,

4 88 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

natural regions and the breaking down of al l natural -

boundaries He acts as the disturber o f the natural

.

order of things Ma n destroys in any given area both

.

animals and plants he does not want e g the wolf in Great ,

. .

B ritain and many animals that he afterwards finds he

,

does want e g the bison ,

of North A merica and the
. .

dodo of Mauritius O n the other hand he introduces .

,

plants and animals that he considers necessary for his

own development and comfort e g clover into New ,
. .

Zealand pigs into the S outh S e a Islands and the camel

, ,

into A ustralia Reversely he has introduced to other

.

countries creatures and plants that have proved very

destructive Thus the house sparrow has been acclima
.
-

t ise d in the U nited S tates A ustralia and New Zealand , , ,

where it has become a serious pest the European rabbit

has been introduced with dire results into Australia ;
and the prickly pear ( opun tia ) of Virginia has done great
damage in S outh A frica by overspreading and rendering
nearly useless large tracts of country .

1 Th e Pa l aea r ctic Reg i on —The f auna and flora of

. .

the northern parts of this region have so many feature s

in common with the corresponding parts of the Nearctic
region that Professor Newton boldly merged them into
one vast and continuous whole to which he gave the name ,

of Holarctic It is admitted that some of the northerly

.

forms in one region are represented in the other but the ,

southerly forms in the two regions differ greatly and are

d istinctive This is why it seems better to treat these
.

not a s one re g l o n but as two .

Th e c o u n t es sl ll
m i io n s of bis o n t h a t o n ce ro a m e d t h e p r a irie s o f
N o rt h A m e rica , d a r k e nin g th e l a n d s ca
p e a nd d e l a yin g t h e
p a s s a ge
o f ra i lway t ra in s , a re n o w re p re s e n t e d b y a s m a ll h e rd j e a l o us l y
p res erv e d in t h e f a m o us Y e ll o ws t o n e P a rk ,
a nd by a few s c a t te r e d

b a n d s in t h e re m o t er p a rt s o f th e N o rt h we s t T e rrit o ries
-
of Ca n a d a .
 D I STRI B U TI ON OF PLA NT S A ND A NI MA L S 4 8 9

A mong the forms common to both the Pal aearctic and

the Nearctic Regions the following may be ci ted as typical :
the polar bear the brown bear the aurochs ( A m erica n, ,

bison ) reindeer ( A m erica n

,
caribou ) elk ( A m erica n , ~

moose ) wolf A rctic fox walrus glutton ( A merica n

, , , ,

wolverine ) lynx beaver lemming sable osprey snowy

, , , , , ,

owl raven willow grouse etc In the same way among

, , , .

the flora the following trees though differing slightly in

, ,

variety are found in both regions : the oak beech

, , ,

b irch elm ash fir and maple

, , , , .

B ut the following may be cons idered typical of the

Pal aearctic fauna : the S iberian tiger otter j erboa of , ,

the Mediterranean littoral mu sk deer badger yak ( of ,

-
, ,

Tibet ) kiang or wild horse camel goat hamster rat

, , , , ,

mole and rabbit The birds are represented by the golden

,
.

eagle various kind of hawks grouse pheasants of many

, , ,

varieties thrush and starling D uring the summer months

, , .

the tundras of northern S iberia are the homes o f vast ‘

horde s of birds which on the break up of the ice migrate , ,

-
,

thither from every quarter of the globe for the purpose

*
of breeding Their numbers are countless and they
.
,

vary in size from th e maj estic wild swan to the u n o b tru

sive willow wren The mosquito is so extremely a b u n d
-
.

ant in the tundras during the summer as to be a perfect

scourge .

Of the vegetation of the tundras the following de ,

scription is given by the ornithologist S eebohm : The

vegetation on the d ry p a rt s of the tundra was ch ie fly s e d ge s ,

moss and lichen of which the familiar reindeer moss

, ,
-

As an in s t a n ce of t h e wid e ra n g e o f t h es e m 1 gra n ts t h e cur e w l

s a nd i
p p
-
er m a y b e m e n t io n ed T his . l l
it t e b ir d , a b ou t t h e s i e z
k l k
o f o ur S y a r , b re e d s in n o rt h e rn S ib e ria , a nd in win t e r is fo un d
in suc h wid l y e s e p a ra te d l
p a c es a s A us tra ia , S o u t h A fr ic a , l and

P a ta go n ia . T h e t u rn s t o n e ll
is a n o t h e r we k n o wn c o s m o p oit a n
-
l .
4 90 PR A CTI CAL PHY S I CA L GE OGRA P HY
was especially abundant In some place s there was an .
.

’
abundance of cranb erries with last year s fruit still
eatable preserve d by the frost and snow of winter Here
,
.
‘

a n d there we met wit h a dwarf shrub not unlike a rhodo _ ,

d endron a heath like pl ant w ith a pale red flower and

,
-
,

dwarf birch running on the gr ound almost like ivy The .

flat boggy places had e vidently been shallow lakes a few ,

weeks ago after the s udden thaw and were now black
, ,

swamps water in the middle grown over with yellow

, ,

green moss and sedges towards the edge They were

,
.

separated from each other by tussocky ridges of moor .

We crossed the wette st bogs with impunity seldom ,

sinking more than a foot before reaching a good fo un d a

”
tion a solid pavement of ice
, .

Coming so uthward from the tundras We pass through

the regio n of pine trees to that of the alder ash beech , , ,

birch; chestnut , elm m a p l e o a k sycamore, and walnut , ,

~

,
.

The pine tree region calle d also the Ta ig a is b y no means

-
, ,

dense forest Ther e are m any open spaces both natural

.
,

a n d artificial ( the latter due m ai nl y to devastation by

forest fires ) and in these clear spaces is to be found a

, ,

wealth of berry bearing bushes such as b il berrl e s cran

-
, ,

berries crowberrie s currants raspberri es and whortle

, , , ,

berries The characteristic grains of t h e Taiga belt are

.

rye and oats The extreme south of the Pal aearctic

.

R egion is the home of th e myrtle laurel holm oak palm

“

-
, , , ,

a nd other evergre ens The subtropical fruits of the south .

_

are almonds , figs g rapes and oranges A pples pears , , .

, ,

cherries and other temperate fruits also flo urish in the

, _ ,

south Wheat barley and oats can be cultivated in parts

.
, ,

o f this r e gion even up to the shores o f the A rctic Ocean .

Maize is one of the chie f crops o f the B a lk a n S t a t e s and ‘

such excel lent crops of wh eat are grown in the Hungarian

”
plain that it is called the granary of Europe
b
The .
4 92 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
Great Lakes Maize is the only grain indigenous to the
.

region In the south grow sugar cane yuccas cotton

.
-
, , ,

and tobacco every one of which except tobacco is , , ,

an importation fr om other regions Oa k poplar .

, ,

walnut ebony rosewood mahogany cedar and other

, , , , ,

hard woo d s like the lignum vit ae of Mexico are

common .

3 Th e Neotrop i ca l Regi on
.
— The flora of this region
is partic ul arly luxuriant the fauna characteristic and ,

varied The larger quadrupeds are not plentiful and

.
,

the cat tribe is represented by the j aguar and the puma .

The monkeys generally known as spider monkeys are

'

-
, ,

small and slender with long prehensile tails — a feature

which distinguishes them from their relatives of the Ol d
World The llama vicu na tapir peccary great ant
*
.
, , , ,

eater armadillo sloth marmoset maned wo lf j chinchilla

, , , , ,
'

vampire bat and the capybara the largest of living

-
, ,

rodents are characteristic of this region B esides the

, .

O possums there is one other marsupial the ra ton ra n ch o ,

or opossum rat of which at present very little is known

-
,
.

The birds of this region are remarkable either for their

great size or for their gay plumage A mong them may .

be mentioned the great condor of the A ndes ( the largest

of the birds of prey ) the toucans with their unwieldy and ,

brightly coloured bills the rhea or A merican ostrich , ,

blue and yellow macaws the peculiar guacharo or oil ,

bird the hoatzin the prairie owl ( which as in the north

, ,
-
, ,

shares the burrow of the vizcacha ) and many species of ,

humming birds all of brilliant met al lic hues To this

-
, .

Th e ll am a ( p r o n o u n c e d ya k-
ma ) and th e j a gu ar a re th e l e ss

p o wer fu l Ne w W o r d l r e p res e n t a t iv e s of th e Ol d W o rl d ’
s ca m e l
a nd t ig e r .

1 T h is
'
c re a t ure l
is b a d y m is n a m e d , f o r it is n e ith e r m a n e d n or

a w o lf ,
b u t is a l on
g e gge d ,
-
l l
o n g c a re d d o g ( Ca n i s fu ba tu s )
-
.
 DISTRI B UTI ON OF PLANTS AND ANI MALS 4 93

region may also be attributed some of the penguins the ,

nearly extinct sea elephant and the sea lions of the -

,
-

more southerly islands and coasts The estuaries rivers .

, ,

and coasts of the A tlantic shores of this region are fre

q u e n t e d by the curious aquatic mammal the manatee In .

t h e ri v e rs and lagoons alligators iguanas and the ana , , ,

conda or boa constrictor the mammoth among serpents

-
, ,

abound Insect l ife is very abundant the climate b eing

.
,

for the most part hot and moist and for the same reason ,

the tropical plains have the most luxuriant vegetation

of the world The ll a nos of the Orinoco basin are v ast
.

grass plains enriched in colour by many kinds of beautiful

flowers ; the selvas are the densely wooded plains of the
Am azon basin ; the p a mp as towards the southern parts
are onl y fairly luxuriant and in that direction merge ,

into the Patagonian D esert grass gradually giving way to ,

monster thistles In the selvas and on the eastern plains

.

there are j ungles of palms rubb er trees and tree ferns , ,

-
,

all matted together with lianas and ablaze with gorgeous

orchids while on the water pools floats the gigantic
,
-

V ictoria lily In these eastern plains also are e xtensively

.

c ul tivated coffee b ananas and oranges ; but these are

, ,

all importations —coffee from the Ethiopian and the ,

other two from the Oriental region The pine apple is a .

-

native as also are the cinchona ( quinine ) mahogany

, , ,

and rosewood which grow on the monta na or lower

,

mountain slopes that face the rain b earing wind s from

- -

the east .

4 Th e Eth i op i an Reg i on —
. A s this region is one of .

d ry heat it is favoura ble to the development of the

,

largest species of ma m mals though bears are entirely ,

absent The hippopotamus gorilla chimpanzee giraffe

.
, , , ,

ze b ra , Cape buffalo and the lately discovered okapi ( a

,

relative o f the giraffe but striped on the legs like a ze b r a )

,
 4 94 PR A CTI CAL PHYS I CA L GE OGRAPHY
' '

are pecul iar to this region The Other animals are the .

A fric an elephant ( t o be distinguished from his Indian

relative by his larger ears and greater si ze ) rhinoceros , ,

wart hog mandrill the lemurs of Madagascar; the A frican

-
, ,

manatee and antelopes of various kinds such as the

, ,

eland gnu koodoo a nd S pringbok The antelopes v ary

, , ,
.

in size from the eland which is larger than an o x to the , ,

little S outh A frican blue buck which is smaller than a hare , .

*
The birds include the ostrich guinea fowl grey parrot ,
-
, ,

many kinds of weaver bird the remarkable s h o e bill e d -

,

Stork ( ba loen icep s ) and the flamingo and amongst the , ,

reptil e s are the crocodile and the pu ff adder A s grass -

.

eating animals abound so also do the fl e s h eaters which -

,
-

prey upon them such as the lion leopard cheetah ,

~

, , ,

hyena j ackal and hunting dog Camels sheep and

‘

.
, , , ,

oxen a re importations A mong inse cts the tse t s e fly .

-
,

whose bite is fatal to horses o xen and dogs is the , , ,

best known S outh of the S ahara is a v ery wide belt of

.

dense forest containing oil pal ms rubber trees monkey -

, ,
‘

bread trees baobab s and many gum producing trees The

, ,
-
.

southern part of the region is characterised by ma ny "

kinds of h eath plant aloes fig marigolds geraniums and

-
, ,
-
, ,

proteas or sug ar bushes on whic h the sun birds ( t h e -

h uin m ing birds o f the Ol d Wo rl d ) feed

'

-
Coffee is n a t iv e to *

5 . Th e Ori enta l Regi on .

—This region has a very diversi
fie d f au n a,and its flora is also abundant a n d inte resting .

In many ways it overlaps with both the Pal aearctic a n d

the Ethiopian regio ns and many of its animals are ,
-

com mon to the one or the other Like the Ethiopian .

,

this region produce s the lion j ackal hyena cheetah , , , ,

rhinocer os etc but the most characteristic a nimal s are

,

Th e ma j o rity in t h is re gi o n a re d o m es tica t ed in S ou t h A frica

'

for t h e sa k e of t h e ir f e a t h e rs .
4 96 PRACTI CAL P HY SI CAL GE OGRA PHY

domestic animals with the e x ception perhaps of the

,

do
g Th e Austra li an Regi on
.
— This region with regard to . ,

its mammalian fauna is quite unlike any other Nearly , .

all the animals are m a rs up ia l s a type of mammal which ~

at one time extended throughout the whole world but ,

which with two exceptions has found its last stronghold in

, ,

this region There are several kinds of the marsupials

.

herbivorous like the kangaroo and the phalangers ( com

m o nl y known as O possums ) omnivorous like the bandi
coots ; carnivo rous like the Tasmanian wolf and the Tasma
nian devil B ut perhaps the strangest of all are the echidna
.

and the duck b ill ( ornith orhynchus ) or platypus which lay

-
,

eggs and al so suckle their young They form a connecting .

link between the mam mals and the reptiles and amphi
bians The most typical animals that are not marsupial
.

are the dingo or A ustralian wild dog the babirusa ( a wild ,

pig from Celebes ) and lemurs B irds are represented , .

by the birds o f paradise cockatoos lyre birds bower

- -
, ,
-
,

birds emus cassowaries k in gfis h e rs and doves remark

, , , ,

able for the great beauty of their coloration The cera .

todus or mud fis h which breathes by means of b oth gil ls

-
,

and lungs is the oldest form of fish known to science

, ,

having come down to us unaltered from Mesozoic times .

This extraordinary creature is one of the best instances

of discontinuous distribution since the related species ,

e x ist at such widely separated points as A frica S outh ,

A merica and A u stralia

, Typical A ustralian flora in .

e ludes the various species of eucalyptus or gum tree -

( like the blue gum red gum stringy

-
bark ) the j arrah
,
-
, ,

or S wan River mahogany yellow blossomed acacias or ,

-

wattles and the gorgeous flame trees of the eastern high

,
-

lands B read fruits and spices of various kinds are

.
-

c ommon in the north of the region .

 DIST RIB UTI ON OF PLA NT S AND A NI MA LS 4 9 7
“

7 . i —
Reg on Thi s region is as stro ngl y
Th e New Z ealand
divided from the A ustralian region both positively and
negatively as that is from the Oriental Its isolation .

from the rest of the land world must have most l ikely -

occurred be fore the appearance of terrestrial mammals ,

as none except a species of bat were originally found

anywhere in this region S ea ls of var i ous kinds abound .

along the rocky coasts and round the numerous islands .

The region is peculiar in possessing two fl ig h t l e s s birds the ,

weka rail and the better known apteryx or kiwi A nother

- -
.

typical bird is the kea parrot whi ch has taken to killing -

,

sheep by pecking the flesh of the loins A mong the .

most important timber trees is the kauri pine which is ,

valuable both for its timber and resin A plant peculiar .

to the region is the s o called New Zealand flax which -

,

really belongs to the lily tribe F erns and wonderful .

-

fern trees abound and fruit trees o f the temperate zone

-

thrive well .

Th e B o ta ni cal Z ones — S peaking ge nerally vegetation ,

is most rank and luxuriant within the tropics where

.
,

conditions of heat and moisture are most largely present ,

and diminishes in variety and abundance from the e quator

to the pol es where the zero of both plant and animal
,

existence is reached There is the same diminution in.

the direction of altitude starting from the base of a moun ,

tain at the e quator Thus in S witzerland the vegetation

.

may begin a t t h e f oot of a mountain with the vine— a

plant of the hot temperate region and ascend through -

successive stages of deciduous trees grains coniferous , ,

trees rhododendrons mosses and small shrubs of the

, , ,

A lpine region till the glacier line is reached where vegeta

,

tion ceases ( see fig 6 2 p .

, .

The S pace between the e quator and t h e poles was

divided by B aron Humboldt On e o f t h e world s greatest ,
’

32
4 98 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
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50 0 PRA CTI CAL PHY SI CA L GE OGR APHY

are crabs lobsters shrimps oysters ( fro m cultivated

,
*
, ,

beds ) a n d many kinds o f flat fish like soles turbot plaice

, , , ,

and halibut In the B altic S e a the herring and the

.

S prat fisheries are the most important the young herrings ,

and the S prats being largely preserved as anchovies

and sardines j The Mediterranean fisheries are chiefly
”
.
‘ ‘

concerned with tunny ( the chie f o f the mackerel f amily ) ,

s ardines anchovies and mullet ; but in the Levant at the

, ,

eastern end coral and sponge fishing are very valuable The
,
.

Canadian the Newfoundland and the Labrador fisheries

, ,

are the most extensive in the world The most important .

of the fish caug h t are cod lobsters herrings and mackerel , , , .

Most of the lobsters ( as well as the salmon caught in the

rivers and lakes ) are canned for export S ealing for the .

”
hair seal valuable fo r its hide and blubber is carried
, ,

on along the coasts o f Labrador and Newfoun dl and and ,

in the B ering S e a there are extensive fisheries of the

“
fur seal ”
In the U nited S tates the New England
.
,

fisheries are very rich in oysters and clams among shell

fish and in cod S had ( a kind o f herring ) mackerel
, , , ,

lobster ( twi ce the size o f the B ritish lobster ) haddock , ,

and halibut The tropical coasts of the A tlantic are the

.

home o f the green turtle whose flesh and the broth o f ,

whose flesh is so much esteeme d ; The absence o f an “

extensive continental shelf in the eastern Pacific accounts

for the lack o f fis h ing grounds o f any great importance -
.

B es id e s th e s wim m in g cra b s s u ch as a re f o un d ro un d th e
B rit is h c o a s ts a n d in t h e Ch in a and J a p a n S e a s , t h ere a re in t h e
W es t In d ies and o t h er
p a r t s o f t h e t r o p i c s a n d c ra b s , wh ic h , if l
c a ug h t a s t h ey com e ll
d o wn fro m t h e h i s t o d e p o s it t h e ir e ggs , f o rm
a gre a t d e ic a cy
v e ry l .

T h e n a m e s a rd in e h a s
T no s c ie n t i fi c v a u e l . It S im l
p y d en o t e s
a sm a ll fis h , g e n e ra y o f t h e c up e o id ll l ( h errin g ) ki d n , p re s e rv e d
in o il . T h e be s t s o r t o f s a rd in e is a sm a ll p il h c a rd .

1 M o ck t urt l e is m a d e fro m l
c a v es
’
h e ad s .
 D I S TRI B U TI ON OF PLANT S A ND ANI MA L S 5 0 1

The Western Pacific however with an ample continental

, ,

shelf has good fis h ing grounds especially in the S e a of

,
-
,

Okhotsk the China S eas and in Japanese waters

‘

,
The , .

chief fishes caught are herrings sardines crabs and , , ,

mackerel ; while oysters turtles and lobsters are culti

'

, ,

v a t e d on the S hores of Japan F arther south in the East .

,

Indi a n and A ustralian waters herrings mackerel king , , ,

fis h oysters crayfish and prawns are the chief fishes

, , ,

taken In Nort h and West A ustralian waters is carried

.

on the most important o f the A ustralian fisheries that for ,

'

pearls and pearl shell *

On the A gulhas B ank south of
-
.

the Cape of Good Hope is a fis h in g ground specially -

prolific in soles and crayfish and from this colony tinned ,

crayfish is becoming a more important export every year .

B esides these sea fisheries there are several important

and valuable lake and river fisheries Of these the most .

important is the salmon fis h e ry j This is carried on in .

'

the North A merican rivers of the West A tlantic and also

,
,

in the rivers of Norway Iceland and the B ritish Isles , , .

B ut i ncomparably the richest wealth of salmon is found

in the rivers o f the Northern Pacific both on the east ,

and on the west The rivers o f A laska and B ritish

.

Columbia are especially prolific and in K a m s ch a t k a the ,

abundance o f the fish is such that they sometimes stop

the course o f the rivers and cause them to overflow
t heir banks The rivers and lakes round the Canadian
.

Lake Pen i nsul a abound in salmon trout speckled trout -

, ,
”
an d the delicious
“
white fis h which is the principal -
,

feature of the Canadian Lake fishery A mong other fresh .

Th e o t h er l
g re a t p e a r fis h e rie s of t h e wo r d l a re c a rrie d on in
th e P e rs ia n Gu l l
f, in Ce y o n wa t e rs , a n d ro un d Ma d a gas ca r .

1 l
A t h o u gh t h e sa lm on fi s h ery is sp o k en of as a r iv e r fis h e ry, it
mus t b e n ote d t h a t a t c e rt a in s e a s o ns of t h e ye a r it is als o a see.
fis h ery n e a r t h e mo u t h s p f rivers .
 50 2 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
water fis h eries that o f the sturgeon o f the Ca sp ia n o f ,
‘

the B lack S e a of the D anube and the rivers o f S outh,

Russia o f the Great Lakes of North A merica and of the

,
,

east coast of S iberia is important The Caspian and .

the Great Lakes o f North A merica are also the seat of

an important herring fishery ( the herrings of the Great
Lakes being of course of the fresh water kind ) In, ,
-
.

most of the slow rivers o f Europe the eel is a c ommon

fish The carp family of fresh water fish which includes
.
-
,

barbel bream gudgeon dace roach chub etc although

, , , , , ,

plentiful in most of the rivers of the northern hemispher e

and aff ordi ng sport and recreation to anglers do not add ,
’
much to the world s food supply -
.

The fis hing grounds for the larger sea mammals are- -

mostly in the extreme northern and southern waters .

The Greenland or A rctic right whale has its home in all

latitudes higher than 6 0 N and the southern right whale 0
.
,

has its home in the c o rre s p o n d ing wa t ers of the south '
.

The rorqual longer and thinner than the Gree nl and

, ,

inhabiting the same waters though somewhat farther

south is much less valuable f o r whalebone and oil
, .

The sperm whale or cachalot is a toothed whale ( not

-

a whalebone producer ) and is found in most tropical

'

and sub tropical seas Of the remaining sea mammals

-
.
-

( cetaceans ) the dolphin occurs in all

, seas and sometimes
even in rivers the porpoise and the grampus ( or killer
,

whale ) are also found in all seas from Greenland to Ta s

m a nia the porpoise being the most familiar on the B ritish
,

c oasts The common oil seal is found in the A rctic nort h

.
-

of Eurasia on A merican S hores as f a r south as 4 0 N

,
°
.
,

in the Caspian and in the S e a of A ral A tropical species .

,

the monk seal is f ound in the West Indies and on the

-
,

Th e fl es h of th e s tu rg e o n is p l easa n t ly l
e di b e . F ro m th e a ir

b l a d d er is in g l a ss is m a d e , a nd fro m t h e ro e c a v ia re .
50 4 PRA CTI CA L PHYS I CAL GE OGR APHY
paradise hippopotamus eucalyptus ginger coffee
, , , , ,

reindeer . p
5 . Name the great timber producing regions of the -

world stating the sort of timber grown in e ach

,
.

( O x f
. Jun Loc ) . .

S tate in what part of the world the following are

found and fo r what purpose they are used :
,

B ananas cacao esparto grass india rubber oil

, ,
-
,
-
,

palm olive reindeer moss sugar beet sugar cane

, ,
-
,
-
,
-
.

B y what causes are the vegetable productions of a

country determined ? Illustrate by reference to
cocoa coffee copra currants rubber sago stating
, , , , , ,

carefully what they are ( Oxf S e n Loc ) . . . .

How would you subdivide the land of the eastern

hemisphere into region s characterised by peculiar
assemblages of terrestri al a nim al s How can t h e
distribution of such animals b e any guide as t o
the past history of land a nd se a ? ( Oxf S e n . .

Loc )
.

D escribe and explain the characteristic vegetation of

e ith er the countries bordering upon the Me d it e r

ra n e a n or that part of North A merica betwe e n

the 1 0 0 t h meridian of west l ongitude a nd the

Rocky Mountains ( Ci v il S ervice ) . .

S ome pastoral districts are situated in natur al grass

regions others in clearings of te mp erate fore sts
, .

Give an example of each of these a nd compare

the general conditions ( Ox f a nd Camb Sc h . . .
,

Cert )
.

Give an account o f the changes in vegetation yo u

'

wo ul d expect to see during the ascent of a tropical

mountain from sea level to the snow line De - -
.

scri be any part of Such changes which may be seen

in th e B riti sh Isl es ( O f d Cam b Lower C rt '

x a n e ,
) . . } .
D I S TRI B U TI ON OF PLA NT S AND A NI MA L S 5 0 5

12 . Where are forests found in the north temperate zone

What climatic conditions are necessary for their
growth ? ( Ox f and Ca mb Lower Cert ) . . .

What are the essential conditions of forest growt h

What are the important di fferences between
temperate and tropical conditions ( Lond U niv . .

Inter S cience )
. .

How f a r are the expressions temperate fauna ,

tropical flora ” —
correct i e does identity of
,
. . .

latitude with similarity of climate imply agreement

in the character of the flora and fauna ? Giv e
examples “

Write a short account of the world s fi sheries Ao ’

.

count for the fact that most of the fis h ing grounds -

are near the continents and not in mid ocean -

.

What parts of the Ol d World are grass lands ? A c

count for this Point out the di fferences between
.

the grass lands of Europe and A frica ( Ox f and . .

Camb S c h Cert ). . .

D escribe the di fferent kinds of vege tation that exist

in Canada state where each is found and give as
, ,

full explanations as you can of this distribution .

( O x f and
. Camb S c h Cert ) . . .

D e scri be and explain the distribution O f grass lands -

in A frica ( Ox f a n d Camb S ch Cert )

. . , . . .

Describe and ac count for the position of the great

fo re st b elt in S i beria What kinds of trees are .

commo nl y found in the different parts of this

belt ? ( Ox f Se n Loc ) . . .

Give two e xamples of important c ul tivated crops

which a re grown only in the tropics describing ,

the kind of climate which favours each and naming ,

a regio n in whic h each is p roduced ( Oxf J un . . .

L )
oo .
50 6 P RA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

21 . D escribe the conditions s uitable to the growth of ( a )

maize ( b) rice Give examples ( one fo r each ) of
,
.

reg ions where these crops are extensively c ul ti

v a te d,
and explain in each case the geographical
reasons whi ch make the regions suitable ( Ox f . .

Jun Loc )
. .

A nalyse and discuss the climatic conditions which

give rise to the occurrence o f ( a ) evergreen a nd ,

b
( ) deciduous forests A pply your
. answer to
account f or the distribution of such forests in
Europe ( Civil S ervice )
. .

Enumerate very briefly the chief character of the

type of forest f ound in equatorial and neighbouring
regions and al so the climatic conditions which
,

f avour its existence Name localities between

.

the tropics where such forests are not found and ,

in each case say why they are not found in that

district ( Civil S ervice )
. .

D escribe the vegetation o f ( a ) tundra ( b) steppes , ,

and descri be the conditions o f life of the inhabitants .

Where are such districts to be found ( College

of Preceptors ) .

Explain carefully the p h r ase trop ica l p rod ucts and

name six of the most important ( Ox f Jun Loc ) . . . .

How are the successive belts of vegetation arranged

On the west coast of A frica ? A ccou nt for their
character a n d d ist ribut ion ( Lond U niv Matric )
'

. . . .
50 8 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
than between the lowest savage and a gorilla The differ .

ence between man and the lower animals is that man

possesses what may be called h uma n a ttri butes such as ,

reasoning power power of language power o f using , ,

previous experience power of controlling conduct sense , ,

of religious duty and the like The more of these in ,

.

number and degree the more human or distinctly man ,

will the creature be ; the less of these in number and

degree the less human or distinctly man It is possible
,
.

that the highest of the higher animals i e the anthropoid ,

. .

apes and man had a common ancestor but at present

, ,
’
there is no definite knowledge of man s pre human -

ancestors A part from what may be called the intro

.

duction o f new causes the course of evolution was ,

probably in the following order F irst there would be .

developed on the part o f these ancestors an instinctive

desire to protect the young and weak This desire would .

by means o f accelerated variety o f type make for greater

di fferentiation f ollowed by fixture o f advantageous
,

variations The best types naturally developed the best

.

brains and S O further intensified existing progressive

,

types Lastly di fferentiation was complete when by

.
, ,

the assumption of the erect position the hands were ,

set free to be instruments for the still developing brain .

The first stage o f human culture usually spoken of as the ,

Old Stone a nd Sh e ll A ge *
takes for granted this general ,

human type f rom which during a period o f many thou

, ,

sands o i years were gradually evolved the four main ,

It s h o ul d a lw a ys be re m e m b e re d th a t th e v a r io u s a ges

in t o wh ic h t h e h is t o ry of m a n is d i v id e d ( t h e Ol d S t o n e A g e or

P a l ae o l it hi c , th e N e w S t on e A g e or N e o l it hic e t c ) m ark s t a g es
, . of

d ev l
e op m en t r a t h er th a n l
c h ro n o o g ic a lp e rio d s . At a l l t im e s t h e s e
a g es ov er a p
p l ed as t h e y d o t o d a y,
wh e n a m o n g t h e s a v -
a ge s of

l
A us t ra ia a n d S o u t h A m eric a y o u m e e t wit h S t o n e A e
g p eo
p
l es

liv ing ne ar civ i ised or Iron Age

“
leo
p e s,
p l
 R A CE S OF MAN K IND 50 9

divisions or groups o f the race D uring this stage the .

primitive man S pread in all directions from the warm

alluvial valleys o f southern A sia and north eastern Africa -
.

It is significant that the existi ng specimens of weapons

and implements belonging to this age c rude and rough ,

as they are do not suggest t h e h a n d icra ft of beginners

’

, ,

but rather the work of men behind whom lay a long

h istory Later came the stage called the New Stone
.

( the Neolithic ) A g e during which t h e four main types,

became fully established made considerable p rogress , ,

and drifted into more or less definite geographical centres

i n the temperate regions thence afterwards to spread ,

over the world The migrations sometimes hostile .

, ,

sometimes friendly soon became continuous and res ul ted, ,

in f res h race groupings and modifications .

W h en we re fl e ct on t h e m a n y g e o gra p h ic a l c h a n ge s th a t m a n
h as wit n es s e d — t h e s u b m e rg e n c e a nd re - e e lv a t io n of e n or m o us
t ra c ts —t h e e ro s io n of v a ll e ys and g e n e ra ll
o we rin g o f t h e s u rf a c e

b y d e n u d a t io n ; w h e n w e c o n s id e r t h a t h e h a s ive d t h r o u gh a l
s u cc e s s io n o f s t u p e n d o u s c im a t ic l l
r e v o u t io n s ; th a t h e h a s s e en

W id e y l c o n t ra s t e d fi o ra s a nd f a u n as a lt e rn a t e ly o c cu p yin g o ur

c o n t in e n t — t un d ra s s tep p es , and gre a t f o re s t s s u cc e e d in g e a ch

—w m u
,

o th e r a g a in a nd a ga in e st fe e l co nv inc e d t h a t t h e f e w t h o u
sa n d y e a rs th a t h a v e l p d
e a se s in c e t h e d o wn f a ll of B a by l o n ia n ,

A s s yr ia n , a nd Egy p t ia n Em p ire s a re as n o t h in g com p a re d wit h

th e l o n g ae o n s th a t s e p a ra t e th e ear li es t t im es of h is t o ry f ro m t h e
app a ri t i o n of P a l ae o l i th ic m an in Eu ro p e .
” —P ro f . - J . k
Ge i ie in
A n tiqu i ty o f Ma n i n Eu rop e .

Ra ce Dev e l op m en t —Whatever modifications in type .

have taken place there is really only one human species

, .

Race development signifies the acquirement of distin

g u is hi n g physical qualifications b y means of life spent
continuously under varying conditions o f geography ,

climate food exercise and habits Clothing modifies

, , , .

the colour of the skin ; the carriage of the body a n d

 51 0 PR ACTI CAL PHY SI CAL GEO GRAPHY

the general set o f the bony framework are influenced by

habits of posture the S hape of the skull and the exp res
sion o f the countenance change with the cultivation and
“
development of sel f given endowments whi ch owe -
,

their origin to the new demands o f changing c ircum

stances B ut the most important f actor is latitude
“ .
.

”
Character is a function of latitude Wit hi n the tropics .
,

man because he was man though a savage was superior

, , ,

in intelligence S kill and cunning to all other living

, ,

creatures B ut his mastery cost him so little effort

.
,

and he found his livelihood S O easy to secure that his

*
,

advance was not so rapid as that of those who found

themselves placed amid the greater d ifli cul t ie s o f the .

temperate zones In these temperate zones because

‘

.
,

constant e ff ort was necessary intelligence S kill and , , ,

cunning were better and more quickly developed There .

'
fore men of these regions by degrees outdistanced and
, .

became the masters o f not only other races of men but ,

also even of Nature hersel f In A rctic regions the .

,

s truggle of man against cold and starvation was too

severe there so little opportunity occurred fo r proving
,

t he pred ominance of one race among many ; there if ,

man wished to survive he must prove his ability to rise ,

superior to conditions of life almost inhuman there very

much e ffort brought proportionally so minute results ,

that devel opment was not more rapid than in the tropi cs .

S o nature in the tropics too kind and in the polar

, , ,

regions too cruel was at her best in regions that lay ,

Ev en n o w in s om e tr o p ica l re g io n s , in W es t A fric a f or ex a m p e , l
t h e r e is a s a yin g th a t on e o n ly n e e ds t o t ic kl e t h e gr o un d wit h a

h o e f o r it t o l a u gh w it h a har ve s t . Th e b a n a n a a m o n g s a v a g es ,

b e in g s o e a sy to c ul tiv a te a n d s o e x tra o rd in a ri l y p l ifi
ro c, is a gr e a t
obsta c e l to c iv l
i is a t io n , b e c a us e t h e f e r t i it y l of t h e t ro p ics r e d u ce s

n e ces s it y f or e ff o r t t o a m in im um .
51 2 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRAPHY

the hair whether black and curly black and smooth bl ac k

, , ,

and woolly brown and wavy red and curly and S O forth
, , , .

Th e Wh i te Ra ce This is also called Cauca si a n The

‘
-
. .

hair is of all S hades varying from black through brown , , ,

red or golden to fl a x e n it may be either str a ight wavy

, , , ,

or curl y The S kin is nearly as variable as the hair It

. .

may be even blackish ( as in the case o f Hindus and

Egyptians ) it is frequently brown or swarthy sometimes
, ,

pale but usually florid The j aws are straight and small
,
.
,

the cheek bones are also small the nose is straight or

-
,

arched and though large is narrow The eyes are always

,
.

straight and vary in colour from black through brown

, , ,

green or blue to light grey In temperament this race

, ,
.

varies from the seriousness and stolidity of the northern

varieties to the impulsiveness and inconstancy of the
southern *
A S a race all are active and enterprising and
.
, ,

everywhere highl y developed To this race belong the .

°
Egyptians and all A f rican tribes living north of 1 0
north latitude ; the Jew the A rab the Afghan and the , , ,

B aluchi ; the Hindu the Persian and the A rmenian ; , ,

and in Europe the Keltic the Romanic the Greek t h e , , , ,

Teutonic and the S lav peoples The chief representa

”

.
,

t iv e s of the Keltic peoples ( all pushed away into the

'

western corner o f Europe ) are the Irish the S cotch High ,

landers the inhabitants o f the Isle of Ma n the Welsh;

, ,

the people of Cornwall and Cumberland and the B retons

-
,

of B rittany The Romanic nations are the F re n c h Tthe

.
,

Ve ry s t ri ki n g ra c e c o n tr a s t s
-
ca n b e foun d ev en in t h e sa m e

c o un t ry . T h us
I ta ia n is t h r if t y , h a rd wo r in g , a n d
th e n o r t h e rn l k
e n t e rp ris in g ( it w a s ar g e y wit h n o rt h e rn I t a ia n l l
a b o ur t h a t t h e l l
l
F or t h B rid g e wa s b u i t ) b u t t h e s o u th e rn It a ia n is t hr if t ess , a y, l l l z
1 The Fre n ch ,
lik l
e o urs e v e s , a re a v e ry c om p o s it e p e op l e, b e in g
m ad e up of R o m a n ic , K e lti
c, a nd
(t o a sm a ll e x t en t ) T e u t o nic
l
e e m e n ts .
 RACE S OF MA NKIN D 51 3

It al ians Portuguese S panish Roumanians and Walloons

, , , ,

of B elgium With the Greeks go the A lbanians The

. .

Teutonic group includes the S candinavians Icelanders , ,

D utch Ge rmans the F lemings of B elgium the S wiss

, , , ,

and most of the inhabitants of the B ritish Isles In .

the S lav group are counted the Russians the Czechs ,

of B ohemia the Poles and the peoples of B ulgaria

, , ,

S ervia and Montenegro

,
.

Th e Ye ow Ra e
ll c —This is also called the Mongolian . .

The hair is coarse smooth straight and dull black The , , ,

.

skin is a dirty yellow brownish in the case o f the Malays ,

.

The j aws are straight and S lightly proj ecting the cheek ,

bones high and laterally prominent the nose small and ,

usually S lightly tip tilted The eyes are small black -

.
, ,

and oblique In temperament this race is sluggish a n d

.

sullen has little initiative a low moral standard but

,
*
, ,

great powers of endurance is frugal thrifty and only , , ,

moderately developed To it belong the Mongolians .

,

Manchurians S iberians Tartars Turks Magyars ( Hun

, , , ,

g a ria n s ) F inns
,
Lapps Koreans Japanese
,
Tibetans , , , ,

Ch inese B urmese S iamese Malays many of the Poly

, , , ,

n e s ia ns ( some Polynesian peoples e

g the Hawaiians , . .

and the S amoans are believed to belong to the w h ite ,

race ) and the Malagasies of Madagascar

, .

Th e Br own Ra c e This is also called the Am eri can .

-
.

The hair is exactly like that of the yellow race The skin .

is coppery yellowish and various shades o f brown The

, , .

j aws are massive and somewhat proj ecting the cheek ,

bones are moderately prominent the nose is arched large , , ,

and rather narrow The eyes are small straight black .

, , ,

and rather sunken In temperament the race is moody .

,

taciturn wary impassive and only moderately developed

, , ,
.

To this race belong the Eskimos all the s o called Red ,

-

F ro m a W e s t e rn s t a n d p o in t .
51 4 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

Indian tribes the A ztecs Incas and other native tribe s

, , ,

o f Mexico and Central A merica Caribbeans Patagonians , , ,

F uegians and all native tribes o f S outh A merica

,
.

Th e B l a ck Race — This is also called the Negro race

. .

The hair is S hort j et black and woolly The skin i s a

, , .

very dark brown or blackish The j aws are proj ecting .

,

the cheekbones small and slightly retreating the nose ,

flat small and broad at the base The eyes are large
, ,
.
,

round black and prominent In temperament this race

, ,
.

is indolent improvident fit ful with a small sense of

, , ,

dignity generally of low moral character and o nl y

, ,

S lightly developed To the race belong all the S udanese

.

and B antu tribes of Central East West and S outh , , ,

A f rica . The oceanic branch of the race includes the

Papuans the F ij ians the extinct aborigines of Tasmania
, , ,

and the aborigines of A ustralia The Hottentots a nd .

Bushmen of S outh A frica the A kkas and the B atwas of ,

Central A frica ( the smallest race known ) the natives of ,

the A ndaman Islands and the A etas of the Philippines are

,
“
o f the s o called Negrito or
-
little negro type and may ,

possibly represent the aboriginal element in those regions .

i v li i r i
C i s a t on a nd B a bar sm — The population of the earth .

is approximately millions of which S ix sevenths ,

-

are civilised ; the other seventh belongs to the lower or

barbarous orders of mankind This division coincides .

with that between nations that have some recorded

hi story and those that have none The first distribution .

o f man was probably by belts or zones divided from one ,

another by some strongly marked physical feature in ,

which zones the separated races became marked by

distinct characteristics passing from the lowest depths ,

of sa v agery thr ough certain well d e fin e d stages towards -

a state of c ul ture and civilisation F irst the savage .

hunted h is prey food by his own unaided cunning later

-
,
51 6 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRAPHY
mountains rivers and seas constituted serious difficul ties
, ,

to travel that what are called na tura l boun da ries were

fixed A n d not t il l these were to some extent conquered
.

could men be anything but slaves to their environment .

The progress o f civilisation means a combination of many

lines of progress It is progress in civilisation when
.

there come into existence possessions o f the community

as distinct from possessions o f the i ndividual ; whe n
commerce becomes the scientific interchange of different
’
regional commodities ; when the outcome of man s
natural impulse to play and imitate is f ound in music ,

dancing acting and painting ; when rattling and

, ,

drumming give way to concerted tuneful music ; when ,

rude scratched drawings give way to painting and sculp

ture ; or even when picture writing gives way to the use
-

o f an alphabet .

Ph ysi ca l Cond i ti ons and Ra ce Devel op m ent — S imilar

geographical conditions tend to develop similar modes
o f li f e even among di fferent races o f mankind
.

In the .

c ol d d eser ts o f the world agriculture is always impossible ,

because they are nearly rainless and the inhabitants ,

are and must remain nomadic hunters They are .

nomadic S in ce t h e y must f ollow their herds of reindeer as

~

they move from one feeding ground to a nother they are -

fishermen and hunters because flesh is almost their sole

article of diet and skins their sole article of clothing
,
.

Modern commercial enterprise has to a small extent

brought to these nomadic peoples some t a ste of vegetable
f o ods such as c o ffe e t e a tobacco and alcohol
,
~

,
In return
,
.
~

for these luxuries f urs are exchanged .

In the h ot d eserts the population is partly nomadic

and partly settled The settled population is to be
.

found in the oases where caravans call to trade in

,

dates and salt S mall industries of pottery and leather

.
 R A CE S OF MA NKIND 51 7

manu f acture are sometimes found in the villages o f the

oases and in towns of the western S udan like Kano
, ,

the great Hausa capital important manufactures of ,

cotton have even S prung up A cross the S ahara cara

.

vans carry cargoes o f ivory cotton oil seeds ostrich , ,

-
,

feathers and S pices from the fertile central regions

,

of the S udan to the Mediterranean seaboard ; and in the

same way trade is carried on across the A siatic deserts ,

where the staple of trade is principally brick tea -

( from China ) f urs and salt

, ( from
,
S iberia ) M ost of the .

desert inhabitants are expert robbers notable instances ,

being the Tua re k s of the S ahara and the Turcomans of

“

Central A sia .

On the gra ss l a nd s of the world where rain is on the ,

whole scanty the steppes savannahs etc stock breeding

, , ,
.
,

is the chief occupation The dwellers on these lands

.
,

especially on the A siatic steppes depend f o r all the ,

necessaries o f life upon their flocks and herds F rom them .

they obtain wool or hair for tent coverings clothing , .

rugs and carpets ; hides and leather for saddlery foot

, ,

wear and bottles ; milk for drink ; butter and cheese

,

for food The nomads o f these steppes are proud in

.
,

depe ndent extremely conservative and generally of a

, ,

type higher than the nomads of the frozen or the hot

deserts The pastoral inhabitants of the A frican
.

savannahs live a settled and less primitive life than the

d wellers on the A siatic steppes On the A ustralian and .

the A merican grass lands the people are settlers who

have established large cattle and sheep runs ( A ustralia ) -

and cattle ranches ( A merica ) F rom these a great trade

-
.

is carried on in wool hides meat and tallow

, , ,
.

In the uncleared forest l a n ds of th e tem p er a te zon es such ,

as those of Canada and S iberia the chie f occupations are ,

those of hunting fishing and lumbering Most o f the

, ,
.
51 8 PRACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
lumbermen work in the forests only in the winter and ,

return to town or farm life at the end of the lumbering

season .

A S soon as the forest land is effectively cleared ag ricul ,

tur e commences permanent settled life becomes the r ul e

, ,

industries connected with farm work rapidl y develop ,

and there i s a general advance along lines of scientific

industry and appreciation of the comforts o f domestic
,

life and enj oyment .

In the solemn silent and gloomy trop ica l forests the

, ,

luxuriant growth of plant life leaves little favourable

opportunities for either human settlement or human
development Clearings are made by e xplorers and
.

visiting hunters onl y with the greatest di ffi c ulty in

the dense dark and inter tangled forest growt h
, ,
- .

The native races o f the A frican f orests are black _

dwarfs seldom exceeding 4 feet in height and known ,

as the Pygmies They neither make clearings nor

.

cul tivate the ground *

They are essentially hunters and
.
,

—
have a thorough knowledge of forest li e especial ly a
f
knowledge of vegetable poisons T h is knowledge they . .

make use o f in the m a nufacture o f poisoned arrows and ,

because of their unerring S kill with these they are very ,

formidable enemies to all but the whi te Other

forest tribes live on the edge of the forest lands where ,

maize potatoes bananas and yams are gr o wn by t h e

, , ,

women To these outskirt dweller s the pygmies b ring

.

hides ivory and vegetable poisons and exchange them

, , ,

f o r bananas kn ives and tobacco

,
These fringe tribes
, .

of the tropical f orest make their clearings by setting the

forest on fire and either c ul tivate the l and and grow
,

produce f o r barter or gather rubber resin and other

, , ,

tropica l products f o r the same purpose In the B razilian .

T h is is n ot t ru e of th e P y g m ies of Uga n d a .
520 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

it must be denser still A mountainous country is more

.

suited to pastoral occupations than to agriculture which ,

is best carried on in valleys and lowlands Hence valleys .

and lowlands will bear a denser population than very

hilly and mountainous districts Contrast f or e x ample .
, ,

the sheep walks o f the S cottish Highlands with the

-

carefully farmed lowlands o f the Lothians In long .

settled countries where to agricultural development has

,

been added the discovery the securing and application of

, ,

mineral wealt h the population reaches almost a maximum

,

density Th e coal and iron fie l d s o f Great B ritain and of

.
-

the eastern U nited S tates are examples of this D ensity .

o f popul ation is reckoned by the average number of

people living on each square mile o f available land .

London has persons to the square mile The .

density of England as a whole is over 6 6 8 to the square

mile S cotland 1 6 0 Ireland 1 36 and Wales 2 7 3 Norway
, , , .

has the scantiest population of any European country

( 1 1 to the square mile ) England the densest
, ; next to
England is industrial B elgium with 6 6 0 and next to ,

Norway are S weden with 3 1 and Russia in Europe with - -

69. This is what we should ex pect from the physical

character and human occupations of the last three
countries ; f o r Norway is very mountainous and is a
fis h ing country ; S weden except in the south is also
-
, ,

hilly and its predominant industries are connected with

,

forests w hi ch do not require many hands ; while the huge

flat stretches of Russia where little rain f alls favour
, ,

the pastoral industry Th e pastoral districts o f England

.

range f rom 4 6 in Central Wales to 2 6 9 in S o mersetshire .

The agric ul tural districts are o f course higher than the , ,

pastor al and S u ffolk with 2 4 4 may be taken as an

,

average In the mining and manufacturing areas the

.

dens ity becomes very great Lancashire having over ,

 R A CE S OF MA NKIND 52 1

and Lanark A striking contrast between

the density of an industrial and that of a pastoral county
is to be found in the fact that Glamorganshire with its
coal fie l d s has a density per square mile of
-
while
the sheep grazing county of Westmorland which is
-
,

about the same size has only 8 2 , .

In pre Victorian days when agric ul ture and textiles

-
,

woven by water power or in hand looms were the chief - -

occupation o f our people the densest population in England ,

lay between Nor folk and the B ristol Ch annel The .

discovery of steam motive power led to the growth of -

the big towns on those S pots where fuel was plentiful ,

i e on the coal fie l d s
. .
*
This led to the centralisation of
-
.

previously scattered industries a movement that is still ,

spreading even to such scattered industries as dairy

f arming The unfortunate result o f this overcrowding
.

of the industrial centres or worse still the amalgamation , ,

of overcrowded centres has led not only to the de ,

pop ul ation of the rural districts in our lands and the ,

consequent enforced decay of agricultural production ,

but also to the produc t ion of the pale an aemic factory

-

worker and the thr eatened decadence and degeneratio n

,
’
of the nation s manhood .

Gr ow th of Towns Wherever people having adopted a .

-

settled li fe grouped themselves in specially chosen and

,

presumably f avourable localities towns ultimately grew , .

In Europe and North Am erica especially the two greatest ,

areas of civilisation commerce lies at the root of the ,

growt h of most towns and in Europe for centuries a , ,

theatre of various wars the further element o f de fence ,

B e f o re t h e in d us t r ia l r e v o u t io nl i r o n wa s sm e lt ed by ch a rc o a l ,

a n d c e r t a in f o re s t a re a s w e r e i n d us t r i a l c e n t re s . Th e ra l
i in g s ro u n d
St . Pa ul ’
s Ca t h e d ra l we r e sm e lt ed wi t h c h a rc o a l on t h e W e a d in l
S us s e x , as a so l we re t h e guns us e d by N e ls o n at T ra fa l g a r .
52 2 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
was superadded F or towns that came thus into exist.

ence previous to the time of the English Tudors there

were three predominating circumstances that governed
the choice of site F irstly there was the circumstance .
,

of sea trade which led to the origin of towns on

-
,

the coasts of countries where there were good natural

harbours or convenient access to other trading centres .

S uch a circumstance as t hi s led to the founding of

ports like Al exandria Marseilles New York and Rio , , ,

de Janeiro Then there was the circumstance of an

.

easily defended position either on a commanding hill ,

like Edinburgh or in the bend of a river like D urham

,
, ,

or at the opening to a large plain like D ublin and so ,

forth Ease o f defence likewise gave origin to cities

.

l ike A thens Quebec and Prague ,

Lastly there was the, .
,

circum stance of inland trade which caused towns to ,

spring up at all points where two or more land or water

trade routes converged S uch a circumstance accounts .

f o r the origin of towns like Cologne Lyons B udapest , , ,

Al lahabad and Rome , .

Variations o f these three chief factors together with ,

subsidiary circumstances will account for most towns ,

that have come into existence during the last three

hundred years A t the mouths of most navigable rivers
.

there has also S prung up a port either at the l owest

possible bridging point or at the highest point of ocean ,

navigation or again at the highest point o f river naviga

,

t ion S uch towns are B ordeaux New Orleans Hankow

.
, , ,

Cal cutta London and Rome

,
There is usually in the
, .

district behi nd a port some definite product industrial or ,

agricul tural which necessitates an outlet such as Cardi ff

, , ,

the outlet f o r Welsh coal Hull the outlet fo r Yorkshire , ,

woollens or Rangoon which exports B urmese rice and

,

teak If there is no such ra is on d etre f o r the existence

.
’
52 4 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY
pencils imports the graphite from Ceylon and the cedar
from Florida The presence of coal and iron led to the
.

founding o f the groups o f towns in S outh Lancashire ,

the Potteries and the B lack Country O ther causes

, .

for the growth o f modern towns are the presence of

good water power like Minneapolis the necessity f o r an
-
,

outport for the largest ocean going v essels like B arry -

D ock and A vonmouth the presence of medicinal waters ,

as in the case of Matlock B uxton and Harrogate ( B ath , ,

is not a modern watering place ) or the growth o f the -

,

tourist industry as at A mbleside and Hammerfest The .

presence of railway j unctions may tend to develop

the S ize and importance of a town as in the case of ,

Carlisle S t Louis Chicago D elhi A gra and Cawnpore

, .
, , , , ,

the last three of which the railway rescued from decay .

F inally religion is a strongly attractive force in S welling

’
a town s population Examples o f pilgrim towns are .

Rome Cologne Canterbury ( where pilgrims ca me to

, ,

worship at the shrine of Thomas a B ecket ) and in the ,

East particularly we have many notable examples in

Jerusalem Mecca Al lahabad A mritsar Madura and
, , , , ,

B enares the wealth o f the last named depending almost

,
-

entirely on the constant influx of rich Hindu pilgrims

from every part o f India .

E X ER C IS ES
1 . Why i s the population in Ireland scattered and in
S cotland concentrated ?
Why is D enmark a purely pastoral country ?
What parts o f Russia are to day inhabited by ( a ) -

hunters ( b) nomads ( c) farmers ?

, ,

4 . In what parts of the world can we find the following

tribes or races or traces of their f ormer e x istence
,
 RA CE S OF MA NKIND 52 5

Maories , Hottentots A ztecs Malays

K a fli rs, , , ,

Eskimo ( Camb Jun Loc

.
) . .

What parts of A sia are inhabited by nomadic peoples

In what way do these nomadic pe oples make a
living In what kinds of lands are these nomadic
peoples found ? ( Ox f S e n Loc ) . . .

What parts of the world are inhabited by negroes ?

S a y in each case whether the negro was originally
a native of or has been brought to the regions you
, ,

name D escribe the appearance of a typical

.

negro ( Ox f and Camb Lower Cert )

. . . .

Write an essay on the influence of climate and

geographical environment on the national character
of Negroes D anes and S paniards
, , .

What are the great divisions of the peoples of Europe

according to race and l anguage Name the
countries w hi ch these races severally inhabit In .

what countries is the pop ul ation most dense .

( Civil S ervice ) .

Enumerate the chief divisions of the human race ,

mentioning their pec ul iar physical characteristics ,

and stating the portions of the world inhabited by

t hem .

Give an account of the distribution in Europe of the

peoples S peaking Teutonic Keltic Greek Latin and , ,
-
,

S cl a v o n ic languages ( O x f and
. Camb S c h Cert ) . . . .

Give a brief account of the different races ( other than

A nglo S axon ) which are to be found in the E uropean
-

and A siatic parts of the B ritish Empire S tate .

where each is to be found ( Oxf and Camb S c h . . .

Cert )
.

Mankind is commonly divided into fo ur races Give .

the names of these races and describe shortly ,

some of the distinguishing characterist ics of each .

52 6 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L G EOGRA PHY

the pri ncipal regions w

.

S tat e here each is found .

( O x f. S en L O
.c ) .

13 . Write an essay on the following subj ect

Environment versus Race in the interpretation
of national characteristics ( Civil S er v ice ) . .

What do you know of the native races of A ustralia

and New Zealand ? ( Camb Jun Loc ) .
. . .

Give an example of a region whi ch supports a dense

settled population engaged in agric ul ture Explain .

the conditions which make t his possible in the

region you s elect Name the most important .

crops c ul tivated ( Ox f S e n Loc ) . . . .

D is cuss the more important geographical causes which

lead to the foundation and growt h of towns .

Illustrate your answer by reference to towns in

’

Great B ritain and North A merica ( Civil S ervice ) . .

D escribe and account for the distribution Of population

in India or A ustralia ( Ox f and Camb Lower . . .

Cert ).

Compare the importance of ports situated ( a ) on a

"

fiord ( b) at the mouth of an estuary ( c) at the head

, ,

of an estuary ( d ) where an island lie s off a sand y

,

coast Give illustrations taken from the B ritish

.

Empire o f the importance of each of these S it ua :

tions for a port ( Ox f and Camb S c h Cert )
. . . . .

Wh at parts of Europe are most densely pop ul ated ?

What parts have fewest inhabitants ? Give e x
planatio ns ( Ox f and Camb Lower Cert )
. . . .

Explain as ful ly as you can why the l owland regions

’

of the tem p erate zone are t h e most suitable for

habitation by civilised man Give examples illus .

t ra t in g y our answe r
'

( Ox f Jun L oc ) . . . .

Give an e xample of a district in which there are many

fairly large towns S ituat ed cl ose together Mention .
 PA RT V
MA P S A ND M A P NIA K IN G-

CH A P T E R XXXIV

Th e Map p ing of Area s

IN the plotting and making of maps from actual surveys

there are at least three well known instruments tha t may
-

be employed viz ( 1 ) the Plane table ; ( 2 ) the Prismatic

, .
-

Compass ; the Theodolite Each of these has its .

own special purpose F or mapping small areas the

.

plane table is best suited and it has the advantage of

-
,

enabling one to measure distances fix the relative posi ,

tions of all obj ects and at the same time draw the
,

map as t he actual area is being surveyed When o nl y an .

approx imate survey is desired the prismatic compass is ,

generally employed F or military purposes this in s t ru

.

ment is of inestimable value although magnetic attractions

,

frequently endanger the accuracy of the observations .

The rapidity with which observations may be taken and .

noted in the fie l d book allows more ground to be covered

-

in a short time than woul d be the case with a plane table -

survey ; but it must be remembered that the map h a s

to be drawn afterwards from the note book Hence '
-
.

it is di ffi c ul t to veri f y or correct any error that may

have been made during the actual survey W ithout once
m ore going over the ground
.
The theodolite is however
.
, ,

the most suitable instrument o f all to use in surveying

52 8
 THE MA PPING o F A RE A S

work especially is this the case when a large area is

being surveyed F rom the nature o f its construction
.

the most accurate observations may be secured and ,

this is of much consequence in dealing with the positions

of ob j ects which are a considerable distance from the
place of observation when an error of one degree in an ,

angle may mean an error o f half a mile or more on the map .

F urthermore the theodolite permits the observer to take

,

observations of a i
t it u d e at the same
time as he is making
t h e s u r v e y an d ,

thus to determine
heights at di fferent
places on the map
f rom which he may
a f terwards draw in
the contour lines -
.

Th e Plane tabl e-
.

F IG 1 1 8 . .

The plane table ( fig

-
.

1 1 8 ) consists o f a
rectangular board fitted to tripod stand by a thumb
screw from underneath Inset in the board is a spirit .

level to assist in levelling the table before taking observa

tio n s A compass and a sighting ruler ( which consists o f
.
-

an ordinary ruler to each end o f which is attached a

,

sight ) are all that is required to make a survey .

To illustrate the manner in which it is used let us imagine ,

that the accompanying diagram ( fig 1 1 9 ) represents a .

plan of a small area to be surveyed The plane table .

-

is first erected at A then levelled and a sheet of drawing , ,

paper firmly pinned on it The compass is next placed .

T h is s h ou ld be a m a g n e t ic n eed e l in a l
re c t a n g u a r b ox , t h e
s id e o fwh ic h is p a ra ll l e to th e n e e d l e wh e n p o in t in g n o rt h .

34
5 30 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

H0 uS e
Q

Ch u r c h

FIG . 119 .

on the table and adj usted A line is then ruled along the
.

edge of the compass box This line is parallel to the

-
.

direction in which the needl e is pointing and there f ore ,

gives us the direction o f the magnetic north *

The length .

and breadth of the area to be mapped should now be

estimated by the eye and compared with the dimensions
,

o f the paper so that a suitable scale can be chosen .

A n y scale ranging from inch to 4 inches to the mile

An a ll o wa n ce m u s t b e m a d e fo r v a ria t io n if t h e t ru e n o rth

is re qu ire d (se e p . Lo n d on h a s 1 6
°
W . v ar .
5 32 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CAL GE OGR APHY

sight ed from them in like manner When the prominent .

features o f the district are plotted the lesser details may

be drawn in on the map by the eye A complete map of .

the district will then have been prepared .

F ig . 1 2 0 is a m ap of a b o ys
’
s ch o o l and s urr o u n di n g s th a t h a s
b e e n d ra wn b y m e a n s o f t h e p a n e t a e l
T h e p ro m in e n t f e a tur es -
bl .

l
s e e n fr o m t h e p a yg ro u n d , s u c h a s t h e
p o s it i o n o f t h e s c h o o b u i d l l
l
in gs , t h e c o rn e rs o f t h e s c h o o g r o u n d s , t h e c h ur c h , a rid t h e d ire c t io n
of th e m a in s tr e e t s , we re firs t d e t e rm in e d . Th e l e ss im p o r t a n t
j
f e a tu res we re dr a wn in b y u d gin g t h e ir re a t iv e p o s it io ns b y t h e e y e l .

I t is s ugg e s t e d t h a t n o t m o r e t h a n f o ur o r fi v e b o y s s h o u d b e l
p e rm it t e d t o wo r k a t e a ch ta b l e . M o re th a n th a t n um ber on ly
le a d s t o c o n fus io n . B e fo re a t t e m p t in g t o ma k e a s ur v e y on a

l a rg e s c a e l it is w e ll to c o m m e n ce b y m a in g p k l a ns of th e p o s it io n s

of j
o b e cts in th e s ch o o l gro un d s , so as to s e c u re e a se in th e
m a n a gem en t of th e t a b l e .

Th e Prism a ti c Com p a ss ) is .
—This instrument ( fig . 1 21
a much more simple instrument than the theodolite but ,

is o f delicate make and requires careful handling It .

consists o f a compass card to which is attached a compass -

needle The nee dl e is so fixed that the north mark on

.

the card is directly over the south pole of the nee dl e .

This explains why all readings taken by the instrument

are ea s t o f a magnetic north to south line B oth the - -
.

card and needle are enclosed in a circ ul ar metal case to

which a prism with an eye piece and a sight vane - -

( directly O pposite the prism ) are attached The sight .

vane is so fixed to the metal case that on raising it on

its hinge into a vertical position the card is free to rotat e
within Its rotatio n may be at any time prevented by
.

pressing a small button underneath the sight vane -

.

B y means of the prism two things may be seen at the

same glance ( at ) the distant obj ect whose direction is
required and ( b) the reflected image o f the degrees by
,

which that direction diverges from the north on the com

 THE MA PPING OF A RE A S 5 33

'
5 LEO NA RD S RM D

DORS ET R°
'

”OW L “.

A L MA ROA D

F IG 1 20 —Ma p of l
S ch o o Grou n d s s ur v e d b y P l a ne t a b le
y e
. . -
,
5 34 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
pass card It wil l be f ound rather difficult to obtain
-
.

accurate readings if the instrument is held in the hand

during the taking of observations since the compass card
,
-

does not easily come to rest Hence it is well to carry

.

a stake or tripod on which the compass may be placed

to allow the card to steady itself .

Survey wit t e Pris a ti c Co p ass

h h m m — F or the purpose .

of making a survey with the compass it is necessary to

F IG . 121 .

’
take with us a chain and a surveyor s note book in which -

each page is ruled into t hr ee columns All distances .

measured with the chain during the actual survey to ,

gether with the deviations east o f the magnetic north

o f the line along w hi ch observations are being made are ,

entered in the m id d le column from the bottom upwards ,

as seen in the table O pposite Th e angle of deviation of an

.

obj ect from the north to south line is entered in the righ t
- -

h a n d column O pposite the figure in the middle column ,

that shows the di stance of the point of observation

536 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

R0 a d

w < ”

10 0
y a r ds )
,

S ca l e

F IG . 1 22 .

be 2 5 yards These figures were noted down as shown

.

in the table S eventy yards from A the mansion was

.

again sighted and the angle ( 2 8 5 east o f north ) entered

,
°

in the le ft hand column The chapel was once more

-
.

sighted 9 0 yards from A and the angle 1 8 4 east o f

,
°

north entered When B was reached the total distanc e

.
,

of 1 1 5 yards from A was entered in the middle colum n .

An d so on to the end of the table

, .

The construction o f the map from the data in the tabl e

is an easy matter F irst choose a convenient scale ( say
.

1 inch to 1 0 0 yar d s ) a n d fix a point on the p aper to m ark

 THE MA PPING OF A RE A S 5 37

the station A Then draw a magnetic north to south line

.
- -

passing through A To the east of this line make an angle

.

of since the bearing o f B was found to be that angle ,

and mark o ff a part to represent a distance of 1 1 5 yards

according to the scale The end of this line gives the .

position of B A t their respective distances along A B

.

the angles of divergence obtained during the actual sur

vey are made to the right or left as the case may be and ,

the positions of the chapel and mansion are thus deter

mined S ince the cottage was not sighted but its distance
.

from the road measured its position is located by erecting ,

a perpendic ul ar to A B at a point 3 5 yards distant from

A and marking off a part equal to 2 5 yards in accordance
with the scale In like manner the positions o f all other
.

obj ects may be plotted until the map is complete .

Surveying wi th th e Th e od oli te — B efore making a survey .

o f a large or small area with the theodolite ( see fig a .

clear idea should be obtained of the method by which the

bearings of different obj ects are to be found In all cases a .

ba se lin e is first chosen Then the direction of the magnetic

-
.

north to south line is definitely fi xed by the instrument

- -
.

When this has been satisfactorily determined the bearing ,

of any obj ect is a lwa ys reckoned by the number of degrees

it lies west of south This is known as the a zimu th of
.

the obj ect Now if the azimuth of two obj ects is known
.
, ,

the angle subtended at the place of observation is equal

to the difference of the azimuths S ome practice is .

A b a s e in e is-
l a line m e a s u re d o u t a on g l t h e g r o u n d , fr o m t h e
end s of wh ich t h e b e a rin g o f e a ch o b e c t j is d e t e rm in e d . In t h e ca s e

of fin di n g t h e h e igh t of a n j
o b e ct , a li
ne is m e a s ure d ou t a on
g l th e

gr o u n d t o w a rd s t h e j
ob e ct a n d th e l l
a n g e s o f e e v a t io n o f th e j
o b ect

a re d e t e rm in e d f ro m it s e x t re m i t ies . T his li
ne is s o ca ll ed ,
b e c a us e
it f o rm s t h e b a s e of t h e t r ia n g l e f ro m wh ic h w e a re e n a b e d l to ca l

c ul a t e t h e di s t a n c e a wa y o r t h e h e ig h t of th e j
o b e ct , a n d th e m e th o d
of wo rkin g is t e rm e d su rv eying by tria ngu la tion .
5 38 PRA CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE O GRA PHY

necessary in finding azimut h s be fore proceeding to map

a district ,
so that it would be well to give a practical
e x ample o f the method followed In fig 1 2 3 A B C D . .
, , , ,

represent the positions o f the f our corners of any four

sided area At the corner A the theodolite was set up
.

to determine the azimuth of B C and D When t h e , , . .

instrument was levelled and the magnetic needle placed

on the pivo t in the
centre of the sighting
rod the rod was ro ,

t a t e d by m o v m g the
brass pillar until the
needle coincided with
the mark on the rod .

At the same time the

index on the hori
zo n t a l was made to
po int to zero A n o b .

Fm 1 23 , ,
s e rv e r s t a n d ing in posi

tion and sighting along

the rod would clearly be looking in the direction o f the
magnetic south and the sighting hole of the rod would
,
-

be turned towards the north This should always be the .

first position of the theodolite at any station prior to

making any observations To obtain the azimuth of
.

the corner B the rod was rotated to the right until B

,

came into view when the angle registered was read off
,

f rom the horizontal scale This angle being west o f south

.
, ,

gave the azimuth of B The rod was then rotated until

.

the corners C and D came into view and allowed the

angles to be noted In this way their azimut hs were
.

deter m ined The angles D A C and CA B were afterwards

.

obtained by finding the di ff erence be tween the a zimuths

of D and C, a n d t h os e of C a n d B .
 54 0 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR APHY

practice however it is generally su ffi cient to measure o n e

, ,

base line provided that care has been taken to obtain the
-
,

azimuths of all obj ects with a fair degree of accuracy In -

.

this case the theodolite may be removed from the second

station o f the base line to any one of the obj ects thus
-
'

sighted this obj ect being used as a third station for

,

making observations and so on Now our second base , .

,

line is clearly the distance of the obj ect from that end of
the base line which was chosen as our second station
-
.

T hi s distance may be readily calculated from our survey

map since it is obviously one side of the triangle drawn
,

in determining the position of the obj ect from the first

base line B y thus employing the sides of the triangles
-
.

drawn as new base lines we may save ourselves a con-

,

s id e ra b l e amount of time in making the actual survey .

l l i f
Ca cu a t on o Area s —When engaged in mapping districts
.

with the plane table prismatic compass or theodolite it

-
, , ,

may frequently happen that one is required to calculate the

*
areas o f certain peculiarly curved figure s Grass plots fo r .
,

e xample are o f ten either circular elliptical or parabolic

, , , ,

and we sho ul d therefore have a knowledge of the formul a:

, ,

by which the areas o f such figures are calculated .

The area of a circle 2

( where 7r is a constant value
'
7 7T

and r is the radius of the circle )

or 7 4 ( approximately )
2 2 2
.

The circumference of a circle 2 7 7r

'
.

The area of an ellipse 7 8 54 x D x d where D '

represents the longer diameter or maj or axis sometimes ,

c a lled the conj uga te and d the shorter or minor axis

, ,

s ometimes known as the tra n sv erse diameter .

The length o f the curve enclosing the ellipse

%( D d) x ( approximately ) .

D e fin i t i o n s and
p ro p e r t ie s o f curv l
i in e a r figu re s m a y b e f mm d
in any t e x t b oo k on g e o m e try
-
.
 THE MAPPI NG OF A REA S 54 1

The area of a parabola where b represents its

base and h its altitude .

The lengt h of the curve enclosing the parabola

2\/b 2
gh z
( approximately ) .

The area of a hyperbola may be found appro x imately

by S impson s Rule A number of ordinates are drawn at
’
.

equal intervals f rom the curve to the straight base line of -

the hyperbola Their lengths having been measured the

.
,

area may be calculated by the rule To the sum of the

first and last ordinates add twice the sum of all the other
,

odd ordinates and four times the sum of all the other
,

even ordinates multiply this resul t by one third of the -

”
common distance between two adj acent ordinates .

This rule may be frequently applied when we are dealing

with offsets or ordinates drawn from a base line to some -

curved line such as a fence or river F or example : .

A field is bounded on one side by a straight fence and ,

the opposite side follows the curved course of a river O rdin .

ates are drawn from the curve to the opposite fence at a

common distance o f 6 feet apart and are 9 in all measuring
, ,

respectively 4 0 3 5 4 1 4 5 4 4 4 8 4 7 4 3 and 4 9 yards

, , , , , , , .

To find the area o f the field

40 35
49 45
48
43

3 207 4

691 g
; square yards .

The common distance 2 y a rd s x

54 2 PR ACTI CAL PH YS I CA L GEOGR A PHY

E X ER C I S ES
1 . Use your cyclometer and prismatic compass t o make
a plan o f a district near your school .

2 . D raw a plan scale 1 inch to 1 0 0 feet from the

, ,

following table
0 2 7 0 y a rd s
W ood 65
°
2 64 y a rd s
2 2 0 y a rd s Hi ll 31 0 °

W ood 1 12
°
1 1 5 y a rd s
2 0 y a rd s H ill 2 2 4 °

°
1 60
B 30 5 y a rds
°
Ch u rc h 32 4 2 2 4 y a rd s
1 4 5 y a rd s Co tt a ge 2 2 y a rd s
°
Ch u rch 1 5 8 7 y a rd s
°
A 42

3 . Plot the roads house and c h urc h fro m the following notes
,

5 0

0 R oa d to X 19
°

°
Ch ur c h 2 5 1 0

°
5 0 31 5 0

107 12 H o us e 4 0 _ L
°
5 B 28 0

1 30 15
°
Ch u r c h 5 30
°
A 77 0

The curves represent bends in the road At .

B 1 0 7 the road is only 1 2 yards wide and the ,

house is at right angles to the transverse line .

Everywhere else the road is 1 5 yards wide .

At A 30 take first observation of church .

A 1 3 0 bend o f road is at maximum 1 7 7 is

length from A to B .

At B 4 0 bend of road is at maximum

B 1 0 7 take measurement to house 1 32 is lengt h .

from B to C .
 CH APTER XX XV

Heigh ts a nd Dista nces

To construct a complete map of any region which wil l

S how not only the relative positions o f di fferent obj ects ,

but also the elevations and depressions of the surface

mapped we must be able to calculate accurately heights
,

and distances In actual survey work there are many

.

kinds of apparatus which may be used for this purpose .

Of these the most suitable are the th eod oli te and sexta n t .

While the sextant is held in the hand like the hand ,

camera the theodolite can only be used when fixed on

,

a tripod and care fully adj usted like a stand camera

, .

Latterly many simplified f orms o f these instruments have

been designed for schools with which fairly accurate
,

results may be obtained B ecause o f the extreme use

.

fulness of the theodolite in determining heights and

distances in levelling and in astronomical work every
, , ,

student should be acquainted with the methods of using

it In the methods here described f o r the determination
.

o f heights and distances the theodolite to which re f erence

,

is made is that represented on page 9 8 .

Th e Th eod oli te a nd Hei gh ts — If the obj ect the height ,

of whi ch you wish to find is easily accessible the readiest

, ,

method of determining its height is to set the rod D

( fig 2 ) at an angle o f
.3 Then move the theodolite
backwards or f orwards in line with the obj ect until you
see the top of the obj ect through the two pin hole S ights -

54 4
 HEI GHT S AND D I S T AN CE S 54 5

that are attached to the ends of the rod Measure the .

distance between the theodolite and the obj ect and add to ,

this the height of the S ighting rod above the ground The -
.

res ul t thus obtained gives you the height of the ob j ect .

If however the obj ect is inaccessible one of two other

, , ,

methods may be employed In each case it will be .

necessary to measure out a line Of known length along the

ground called a base line from the extremities of which
,
-
,

observations of the obj ect should be made If it is possible .

,

FIG . 1 24 .

choose the base line on fairly level ground and in the d ire c
-

tion of the obj ect and proceed according to the method

,

described in the next paragraph Where this is found to be .

impossible the base line should be drawn in a line parallel

,
-

to the base of the obj ect like that shown in fig 1 2 6 . .

Measurem ent of a Heigh t —S uppose we want to

calculate the vertical height of a hill X Y ( fig F irst .

of all choose what seems to be a fairly level piece of ground

from which the top o f the hill is clearly visible and measure
out a base line A B *
S e t up the theodol ite at A and
-
.

Th e l e n g th o f t h e b a se -
li
ne d e p en d s up o n t h e d is t a n ce y o u a re
a wa y fr o m t h e j
o b e ct . Th e lo n ge r y o ur b a se -
l in e t h a m o r e a ccur a t e
wi ll b e y o ur c a c u a t io ns l l If y o u a re f a r. a wa y fr o m t h e j
o b e ct ,

th e -
l
b a s e in e m us t b e o f c o ns id e ra b e e n g t h l l if q ui t e n e a r , th e ba s e "

l in e ne ed on ly b e a c o up l e o f c h a in s le n gth .

35
54 6 PRA CTI CA L PHY S ICA L GE O GRAPHY
sight the top of the hill along the sighting ro d Re ad -
.

off from the vertical scale the angle of elevation thus

obtained This angle is represented on the diagram by
.

the angle XA Y Move the instrument to B and again

.

l e Ve l it
. Here In like manner determine the angle of ele
vation of the top o f the hill T h is angle is represented
’

on the figure by the angle XB Y The angles of elevation .

'

having been thus obtained the height of X may be found

,

by a figure drawn to scale or more accurately by

’

, , .
,

trigonometry .

Example : The angles of elevation of the top of a

church tower A were determined at each end o f a b ase
° ' °
line to be 2 9 1 2 ? and 36 30 respectively ( fig The .

length o f the b a Se line drawn in the direction of the tower

-

was 6 6 f eet What was the height o f the tower

.

FI G . 125 .

o
DC
Co t 36 30
AC

( )
a DC AC cot
°
BC
Co t
’
29 12
 54 8 PRACTI CAL PHY S I CAL GEOGRA PHY

determined from the vertical scale The theodolite is .

then removed to B at which station A and D are sighted , ,

the readings being taken on the horizontal scale The .

di fference o f these readings gives the h orizon ta l angle r .

CD
Tan q
=
AD
CD AD tan q
AB
°
sin 1 80 (p 7 )
AB sin r

sin (10
A B sin r tan 9
r)
l
S in
(p
B y substituting 1 11 this equation the values of the angles

'
determined and the length of A B as measured the height ,

o f the obj ect above the eye may be obtained To arrive .

at the total height o f CD it will be necessary to add to

this the height of the S ighting rod above the ground If .

we now know the height o f any of our stations above sea

level the height o f any hill or obj ect determined by
,

either of these methods should be added to it in order

to obtain the height o f the summit above sea level -
.

The sextant may be us ed in exactly the same way to

determine heights .

A very s im p el in s tru m e n t f o r m e a s ur in g l
a ng e s l
o f e e v a t io n is
th a t ca ll ed l
t h e A t i m e t e r , wh ich is m a d e and so ld by M essrs W . .

J . Ge o rg e , L t d .
,
Gre a t Ch a r l es S t re e t , B ir m in gh a m .

Th e Th e od oli te a nd Dista nces —

The di stance o f any
inaccessible o bj ect may be conveniently determined by
the theodolite A s in the determination o f heights when
.
,

the observations have been made and the necessary angles

found the required result may be obtained either by
,

drawing to scale or by trigonometrical calculations .

 HEI GHT S A ND D I S T A N CE S 54 9

S uppose we wish to
measure the distance o f
a tower T ( fig 1 2 7 ) .

which is visible from two

points A and B Set .

up the theodolite at A
and having levelled and
,

adj usted the instrument ,

direct the sighting rod -

towards T Take the .

reading on the horizontal FIG 1 2 7 . .

scale Rotate the sight

.

ing rod until it is seen to point in the d irection of B and

-

again take the reading on the horizontal scale The diff er .

ence between the two readings gives the angle T A B Next .

move the theodolite to B and in like manner determine

the angle TB A Measure the length of A B with the chain
. .

A similar figure may now be drawn to scale from these

data and the actual distance of T from A B may be o b
,

t a ine d by letting fall a perpendicular T C on A B and ,

reading off the actual distance this line represents according

to the scale chosen .

A nother simple method f o r ascertaining the distance

of an inaccessible obj ect is to S ight at A the obj ect T
( fig and take the
. reading on
T the horizontal scale Next rotate the .

°
sighting rod t hrough 9 0 and mark out -

a base line A B in the direction of W

-
.

Remove the theodolite to B and by ,

taking the horizontal readings of A and T ,

determine the value of the angle TB A .

AT

F ro . 1 28 . AT AB x tan TB A .
5 50 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

li i
Th e Th eod o te and D stances — The method of fin d
ing the distance between two inaccessible obj ec t s X and
Y ( fig 1 2 9 ) is slightly more di fficul t and t o ensure accur
.
,

ate res ul ts S hould be worked by trigonometry If how .

,

ever only an approximate estimate is desired drawing

, ,

to scale may be adopted .

Imagine X a n d Y are the positions of two inaccessible

obj ects the distance between which it is required to find
, .

S e t up the theodolite at A and measure Ou t a sui table

F IG . 129 .

base line A B S ight the point B and take the reading

-
.

on the horizontal scale Rotate the S ighting rod until

.
-

it points towards X and again take the reading on the

,

horizontal scale The di fference between the two read

.

'
ings g1 v e s the value of the a ngle p Continue to rotate .

the sighting rod u ntil Y comes into view and so deter

-

mine the angle q Next remove the theodolite to B

.

an d in like manner find the value of the angles r and s .

The length o f X Y may then be obtained by drawing

a similar figure to scale but more accurately as ,

follows
552 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY
the cli ff which also subtends from the boat an angle
of What is the height of the flagstaff ?

S olv e the f ol lowing exa mp les by trigon ome try

5 . A church spire 1 2 0 feet high subtends an angle of

How far distant is the spire
6 . The direction o f a lighthouse as seen from a l iner
°
makes an angle of 4 0 with the direction in whi ch
the liner is sailing When the liner has sailed two
.

miles the angle is f ound to be

,
How near
the lighthouse will the liner pass ?
7 . F rom a milestone the elevation of the top of a hill is
and that of the top of a tower beyond the hill
is The elevation of the tower as seen from
the hill is If the tower be 1 2 0 feet high ,

what is the distance between the milestone and

the hill
8 . To a man walking along a road that runs S E a . .
,

certain house is observed to lie due E When the .

man has gone 2 % miles he finds the house to lie

N N E What is the shortest distance from the
. . .

house to the road

9 . The mast o f a stationary ship which is lying east
o f the observer has an altitude of If the
observer now walks S E of his f ormer position for
.

a distance o f 5 0 yards he finds its altitude to be

,

Calculate the height o f the mast .

10 . The distance between two trees A and B is 2 1 0 feet .

From a point of observation C the angle CA B is ,

7 and the angle CB A What is the distance

from C to A
11 . A n aeroplane t ra v e ll l ng m a direction parallel with
t h e g round is observed by a person standing at
 HEI GHT S A ND D I S TA N CE S 5 53

Ato have an elevation o f Th e o b server

motors 5 mil e along a straight road in the same
direction as that in which the aeroplane is travelling
and there finds its elevation to be What is
the height of the aeroplane above the road
A boy with a sextant finds the angle made by an
obj ect on the O pposite bank of a river and another
°
obj ect on the same bank as he is standing to be 35
He now walks al ong the bank till he reaches the
second obj ect and finds the angle made b y the first '

°
obj ect and the direction he has walked to be 6 0
If the distance walked be 1 0 0 yards what is the ,

breadth of the river

X Y and Z are three ob j ects X is 4 miles distant
, ,

from Y and lies N W of it F rom Z X lies N

. . .
, .

30 E and Y N 6 0 E
°
.
, , . F ind the distance of
°
.

X and Y from Z .

Calculate the height of your school buildings by the

methods described in the chapter also use the theo ,

dolite to determine the distance of some inaccessible

obj ect and the distance between any two in
accessible ob j ects .

Calculate the area o f your playground by measuring ,

one of its sides and finding the angles at each

of its corners with the theodolite or circum meter -
.
 CHA PTER XXXVI
Contours

Defini tion of Contours fairly accurate representation .

—A
’
of any small portion of the eart h s surface can be obtained
from a relief model whi c h will repr o duce the unevenness
’
of the earth s sur face There are however other devices .
,
‘
,
’
by which the earth s profile may be graphically re p re
s ented O ne of the most important o f these is to draw
. .

certain lines on a chart or map known as contour lines .

Every contour line is drawn so as to denote that a ll p la ces

through wh ich it p a sses a re th e sa me height a bov e a certa in

fi xed le v el
The level f rom
. which all contour lines are
measured is sea l ev el B ecause of the varying changes
-
. ,

in level of the sea at di fferent periods an average level is

taken and that level is recognised as the d a tum line from
,
’
which elevations and depressions on the earth s surface
are measured In the B ritish Isles the datum line is the
.

a verage between high and low water mark at Liverpool -

.

We may there f ore define contour lines as lines conn ecting

, ,

a ll p la ces h a v ing th e s a m e elev a tion a bov e a ch os en m ea n

s ea lev el
-
On every contour map
. the vertical height ‘

above sea level is always marked on the contour line

-
.

The horizontal distance between the contour lines not ,

the slant height is represented on the map by the interval

,

between the contour lines .

A c o n t o ur m ap has s o m e t h in g in com m on wit h is o t h e rm a l and

is o b a ric m a p s ( se e pp . 14 6 a nd s in c e iso t h e rm s a re dr a wn
554
5 56 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRAPHY

Forms of Contours
—There are a few
.

prominent forms of
contours to be seen
on nearly every
Ordnance map and ,

with them it is well

to become f amiliar .

The s impl es t o f
these is n o doubt
the conica l p eak ( fig .

1 30 )
F I G 1 30 .

The conical peak

.

is represented by a
series of irregularly shaped rings These rings are almost
.

concentric— that is to say they give the impression of

,

having been drawn successively from the central point of

the figure towards the outside The figures on the contour
.

lines increase from the outside inwards and reach their

,

maximum elevation on the inside ring Imagine what .

would be the effect of reversing the figures i e making , . .

them increase from the inside outwards Ca n you f orm .

any idea as to what this type of contour wo ul d represent

A sa dd l e back p a ss ( also called a col ) is a pass between
-

t wo hill s . It is
represented by at
least one contour
( there may be more )
which surrounds the
contours represent
ing the two hills .

O n e hill C is seen
, ,

to rise to a height of
4 00 feet while the
, F I G 1 31
. .
 CONT OU R S 5 57

other is 1 0 0 feet higher The S pace between the hills may

.

or may not be level ground but it is elevated It has in

,
.

this instance ( fig 1 31 ) an elevation of between 2 0 0 and

.

30 0 feet but in no case does it rise higher than 30 0 feet

, ,

so that the pass ends when the 30 0 foot contour on either -

peak is reached The pass is approached on either side

.

by a fairly gradual slope .

If the contour lines marked on the diagram ( fig 1 31 ) .

as 5 0 0 and 4 0 0 feet at both B and C were altered to 2 0 0

and 1 0 0 feet respecti vely the form of the contour m
,
ap

would be com
p l e t e l y changed .

The two hills would

thereby be made to
appear as d e p re s
sions or lakes di ,

v id e d from one a n

other by a narrow
ridge of elevated
ground . A good
impression of the
change which a re
,
F1 0 1 32 . .

versal of the figures

wo uld entail may be o btained by imagining the hills
, ,

s hown on the diagram to be hollow cones that have

now become invert ed and embedded in the ground .

Two other typical forms of contours are the sp ur and the

va ll ey ( figs 1 32 and
. which are at first sight so much , ,

alike that we must be very careful not t o confuse them

, .

Whenever we observe a number of bends in the contours

tapering in the same direction these indicate either a ,

spur or valley The di fference b etween them is that in

.

the spur the contour lines run outwards f rom the highest
ground in the valley they run in wards towa rds the high
5 58 PRACTI CA L PHYS I CAL GEOGRA PHY

est ground The S pur therefore has the highest co ntour

.
, ,

lines inside
'

the valley has the lowest contour line s

insid e, A spur may be there f ore converted into s valley
, , ,

or a valley be trans formed i nto a spur by re v e rs m g the

figures marked on the contour lines .

If we had on our map three o r fo ur valleys like that in

.

the diagram ( fig converging one into another we

.
,

might ex pect t o find the main stream flowing down the

central valley j oined by tributaries coming from each of
,

the conve rgent v alleys Try to draw a cont our map

“

representing this and insert the river with its tributaries

, .

F IG . 1 33
.
 5 60 PRACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

degree of abruptness a slope may have b y reme mb ering ,

that where the con tours ap p roa ch m os t clos ely there the ,

s lap e is s teep es t wh ere f a rth es t a p a rt there m os t gen tle

, , .

iv - r
R er go g es — Gorges or ravines ( fig 1 34 ) are simply
. .

deep river valleys with one or both sides v ery steep In

-
.

a map of a mountainous coast line this form of contour -

grouping appears very frequently All ravines have .

their contour lines drawn very closely together to re p re

sent the steep S lope of the side or sides In fig 1 34 the . .

s lope is more abrupt on the south whilst at the head of ,

the ravine the S lope is fairly gradual westwards If we .

were fishing down a stream flowing t hrough this gorge ,

we would probably be able to walk on either bank as

far as the point A Then the northern bank would have
.

to be followed for on the so uth bank the sides slope s o

,

steeply that our course here and there woul d almost

certainly be barred by more or less precipitous rock which
ran almost straight down into the water .

On e more type of contour remains for notice the ri d g e—

or p l a teau ( fig . In this form the contour lines are
drawn almost parallel to each other and if the slope ,

towards the plateau from its base is gentle the contours ,

will be fairly wide apart It will be seen that there is

.
,

in the figure given a gradual ascent on both sides of the

,

ridge till the 5 0 0 foot contour line is reached Af ter that

-
.

t he ground may be a level plateau or it may rise over ,

5 0 0 feet and form a ridge ; but we know for certain that

it does not reach 6 0 0 feet— othe rwise a 60 0 foot contour -

line woul d appear within the 5 0 0 foot - .

How to Dra w a Con tour Ma p A ridge 4 0 0 feet high

.

connects a broad topped hill whose height is 6 0 0 feet

-
,

with a conical peak 7 0 0 f eet high situated to the ,

s outh east o f the hill

-
The hill is indented on its west
.

ll
T o fis h d o wn s tre a m wi t h fl y is g e n e ra y b a d p ra c t ice .
 CONT OUR S 5 61

si d e by a s teep ra v ine but its other sides are o f gentle

,

declivit y The side o f the peak which faces the hill is

.

of more gradual slope than its other sides which are ,

’

fairly steep the south east side being most so E x press

,
-
.

these relations by means of a map with contour lines

”
making intervals of 1 0 0 feet vertical height ( Ox f . .

Jun Loc )
. .

FIG . 1 35 .

The key to the q uestion IS f ound in d ra wm g the dirc e

t i on of the cardinal points o n y o u r paper before attempt
~

Ing to insert the contour lines Let us first draw them

.

as in th e diagram ( fig We may now d e t e rm m e

.

the relative positions of the hill and the conical peak by

drawing a north west to south east line Th e distance
k
- -
.

between the two is not stated so that we need n o t trouble

,

36
562 PRACTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE OGR APHY

ANo rrh

Ra v m e < _

-
> Ea s t
We s t

S outh .

FIG . 1 36 .

ourselves by choosing a scale Ha v m g fixed a point on.

the north west line we now proceed to draw in the contours

-

o f the hill Its height is given as 6 0 0 feet so that we

.
,

shall represent it by drawing two contours onl y since the ,

ridge itself is 4 0 0 f eet high and contours are at vertical

,

intervals of 1 0 0 feet It is to be indented on its west side

.

by a steep ravine To represent the abrupt slope of a

.
‘

ravine the two contour lines must be drawn closely

together and in such a way as to penetrate the hill
, .

In order to make the other S ides of the hill o f gentle

decli v ity we draw the contours far apart
, .
5 64 PRACTICA L PHY S I CAL GE O GRA P HY
'

give a clear impression o f the nature of the profil e o i

'

the land o r S e a fio o r along any direction The section is

' -
.

always drawn to an exaggerated vertical scale to mark

ou t clearly the changes o f gradie nt If the land iS f a irly '

level t h e vertical scale S houl d be more exaggerated

,

than w ould be t h e c a s e if the country were hilly other

.

wise the section will not give a good impression of the

slope To draw a section map a horizontal line CD is
.

first of a ll drawn and perpendicul ars from the points at

,

which the section line A B ( fig 1 37 ) intersects the 4 0 0 .

.

f oot contour are let f all on CD The vertical scale is then .

marked o ff along CB in accordance with the unit chosen ‘

The scale chosen is purely arbitrary but it should not be ,

too l a rge o r the exaggeration o f the gradient will be too

, ,

great At each point thus found on the vertical scale a

.

line is drawn parallel to CD and the points through ,

which t h e s e ction passes are determined by noting where

each of the horizontal parallel lines crosses the p e rp e n
d ic ul a r let f all from the contour line that bears the same
number F or example B is represented by B four
.
1
,

intervals distant from CD ; E by E three intervals from

‘
,

CD and so on Al l the points so f ound are then j oined -

‘

L
.
,

by a curved line and the section map is complete Exactly .

the same method is f ollowed in drawing se ctions from

bathygraphical maps which do the same for the sea that
orographical oroscopie and contour maps do for the
, ,

land with this di fference that whereas all heights S hown

, ,

on land contours are stated in f eet all depths m arked

-
,

on bathygraphical maps are expressed in f athoms .

On bathygraphical maps white and blue are the principal

colours used to distinguish changes l n depths Where .

t he bed o f the ocean is under 1 0 0 fathoms the sea is ,

generally coloured white under fath oms a light

blue is used ; and darker tints of blue mark the deepest
 CONT OU R S 56 5
'

parts S ection maps may be also drawn from b a t h y

.

graphical maps in the following way : D raw a pencil

line across the bathygraphical map in question to corre
s o n d with the section line that we should find traced
p
on an ordinary cont o ur map for the purpose of drawing
a section Next place a sheet of folded paper along this
.

pencil line and tick o ff on the f olded edge all point s

, ,

where there is a change o f colouring on the map The .

heights o f each of these points may be obtained on refer

ence to the colour index on the map If we now place
-
.

the paper on a page o f our note book and draw a straight

-

line along its edge m arking o ff on this line the positions

,

of all points with their heights corresponding to those on

the paper we can proceed to construct a section map in
,

the ordinary way .

Hach ur es —S till another method by which maps are

.

designed in order to show the varying changes of gradient

is by a system of shading known as hachuring The .

depth of shading entirely depends upon the character

o f the slope Where the contours are fa r apart and the
.

FIG 1 38
. .
566 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

slope is gentle the hachures or short shading lines a re

,
-

drawn very fine and also far apart from each other .

Where the contours are close together and the S lope is

steep the hachures are drawn more heavily and close
,

together The direction of the hachure always lies in

.

the di rection which water would take down the S lope ,

so that it corresponds with the stream line F or t h is -

.

reason hachures are all drawn as nearly as possible at

‘

right angles to the contour lines Peak summits platea ux .

-
, ,

and ridges are left blank Hachured maps present us .

with a general idea of the relative steepness of the slope ,

as may be seen in fig 1 38 but they fail to give us any

'

.
,

accurate ideas of the real elevation of a district F urther .

,

much o f the topographical value is taken away by t h e

amount o f S hading which appears on the map .

Th e Or oscop i e Me th od —
The coloured contour ( or
.

orographical ) maps and hachured maps have been devised

to assist a boy in his attempt to understand wh a t t h e .

character of the country may be like that is represente d

b y the map Many orographical and hachured maps
.

fail to fulfil the obj ect fo r which they are intended It .

is difficult for a learner to gain an accurate impression

of the relie f o f a district from an orographical map without
first drawing a section from it The many di fferent .

colours and the slight differences of tints in these colours ,

instead of assisting him very o ften mislead and confuse

,

him F urthermore be fore he is able to read the meaning

.
,

of the colours and while engaged in a study o f the map

, ,

he must have made himsel f conversant with the figures

that each tint o f colour represents This is a trouble .

some task and owing to the frequent references t h at

, ,

have to be made to the scale of figures often causes ,

confusion .

The ha chure d m a p wi t h its d el ic a te shading l ines d o es

 CONT OU R S 56 7

not suffer in the same way If well hachured the elevated .

,

portions of a region may be seen to stand out prominently ,

and the valleys may be traced on such a map with some

ease It has however one serious defect Owing to
.
, ,
.

the very fine shading detail is obscured and if the con

’

, ,

tours have been removed it is difficult to form any but ,

a very rough idea of the actual elevatio n of any place

above sea level -
.

The de fects outlined in these two classes of maps have

to a large extent been overcome by the system pursued
in the OrOS CO p ic S eries of Maps *
The value of a map .

drawn on this method will be best seen from a study of

th e map here shown of the Isle of Wight ( fig .

A glance at the map S hows that it has none o f the de fects

o f t he orographical map It gives one the impression ‘

that it consists of layers of cardboard or some like ,

material piled one on top of the other The effect

,
.

obtained in thus presenting the contour lines is to repro

d uce nature to raise up the hills and to make the valleys ,

seem what they are— real depressions on the s urface

of the map The most elevated parts of the island are
.

clearly seen at first sight while the height of any place ,

on the map may be determined by the f act ( 1 ) that land

under 5 0 f eet above the sea is shown as shaded and ( 2 ) ,

t hat the contour lines are drawn at intervals of 1 0 0 f eet

a
p a rt
T .

The rivers with their tributaries are clearly marked

and may be easily discerned as they flow d ownwards
through the valleys towards the sea In every case it . ,

P ub l is h e d by Mess rs . Me ikl e j o h n Son , 1 1, P a t e rn o s t e r

S qu a re , Lon d o n .

1 T h ough
"

t h e h ig h e s t c o n t o ur in e l re a c h e s 7 0 0 fe e t , t h e a c tu a l
( l
h ig h e s t p o in t in t h e is a n d wh ich ies l in th e s out h - e as t ) a t ta ins a n

l va tion of
e e 7 72 feet.
56 8 PRACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

will be observed they flow downwards at those points

,

where the contours are farthest apart and the slope most
gradual A rem a rkable e ffect of the shading o f the map is
.

se en in t h e r i ver valleys ; where the contour lines bounding

-

the main river valley are drawn close together an excellent

-
,

impression of the abrupt slope on one side is obtained .

h li m
T e C no e te r —The S implest means of drawing contour s
.

is by the use o f a clinometer This instrument ( fig 1 4 0 )

. .

is not di ffi cult to make Cu t out a block of wood of

.

dimensions 6 x 4 x 2 inches and plane the sur face o f the

,

block until its f aces are perfectly smooth S e e that the .

edge F E is parallel to the edge CD and test by placing ,

the block on a level table and laying flat on its top edge a
carpenter s level Now describe on a sheet of paper a semi
’
.

circle o f radius 2 g inches and divide with the protractor

»

, , ,

the a re into equal intervals o f 1 0 degrees Mark each of .

the points where the diameter touches the a re as

and continue to mark o ff every interval downwards on
°
each S ide o f the arc 1 0 less than the previous one till
°
you reach 0 at the lowest point o f the semicircle Y o u .
'

h ave now made a gradu a ted scale which should be glued

on one f ace o f the block o f wood The diameter o f the .

semicircle must coincide with or be parallel to the edge

CD and the centre o f the semicircle must be placed in
,

position equidistant from the points A and B The .

next step is to drive into the wood at the centre of the

semicircle a fine nail or piece of wire to which a lengt h
o f thin wire or silk thr ead is attached by a loop Ob tain .

a small disc o f lead Insert and fix a needle in the lead

.
,

a n d suspend the lead and needle f rom the end of the

thr ead Y our clinome ter 1 s now complete B e fore it is

.

used its accuracy should be tested by placing it agai n

“

on a lev el sur f ace If t h e nee dl e registers 0 o n the

.
°

radua t ed cale t h e i nstrume nt is corr ectl m d

g s , y a e .
'
57 0 PR A CTI CA L PH YS I CA L GE O GR A PHY

out many interesting exercises on heights In all these .

exercises you must first find the angle o f elevation o f an

obj ect This angle is d e t e rm l ne d by the clinometer in
the f ollo w
.

ing way : S uppose you desire to find the angle

of elevation of the top o f your school buildings from any ,

position in the playground F irst of all place your eye

.

at one o f the end edges C or D and sight the top o f the

-
,

building along this edge You will find that in order

. I

to get the top o f the building in line with the edge of the
clinometer you will have to tilt the instrument away
from the horizontal If you have another boy stan d ing
.

by your S ide when you are sighting he will be able to tell ,

you the angle the index needle registers when you have
-
,

the top of the building in line with the edge CD This .

angle is the angle of elevation .

The following is a good method of d e t e rm i m n g th e

height of any obj ect that is easily accessible Til t the .

clinometer until the angle made by the index needle is

,
-

Keep the instrument in that position with respect

to your eye and move backwards or f orwards towards
,

the obj ect until you get the top of it in line with the
,

edge CD of the instrument Mark on the ground the .

actual S pot where you find this to be the cas e Measure .

the distance you are now away from the obj ect This .

distance is equal to the height o f the building above the

level o f your eye To obtain the total height of the
.

building the height o f your eye above the ground should

be add ed to the distance measured .

The height o f an obj ect quite near you may be also

’

f ound by measuring out a base line in the direction of -

t h e obj ect finding the angles of elevati o n o f the obj e c t

,

at the ends of this base line a n d d ra wing a figure to scale

-
,
‘
,

in the same way as that explained in the case o f the

thifid do lit e ( see p. The same de gree o f a ccurac y
 CONT OU R S 57 1

cannot however be obtained because of the difficul ty

, ,

in maintaining the clinometer in a perfectly stationary

positi o n when sighting .

Th e Cl ino eter a nd Contour Dr a wing

m —The clinometer .

is however chiefly used to determine the direction of

, ,

contours D raw on a sheet of paper any right angled

.
-

triangle A B C having a right angle at B I n A B take .

any point D Join D C. You have now two right .

angled triangles A B C D B C having one common side

, , ,

BC . Measure the lengths o f the sides A C D C and , ,

compare them You will find that A C is longer than

.

DC . At the same time you will observe that the angle

CD B is greater than the angle CA B if you measu re
them with a protractor .

Imagine that the irregularly curved line A B CD E

( fig 1 4 1 ) represents the slope of a hill along which you ‘

wish to find contours at intervals of 1 0 f eet v ertica l

height .

F rom the exercise you have j ust d one you know that , ,

if you started from the top A t h e distance you would , ,

have to go down the slope to a point B 1 0 feet vertically ,

below A depends on the size of the angle A EG If the

, .

angle is small the slope A B will be gentle if large the

, ,

S lope wil l be an abrupt one and you will need to go down ,

a shorter distance to have a vertical fall of 1 0 f eet than

would be the case if the S lope were more gentle .

When the observer is standing at A the direction of ,

the horizon at A will be represented by a line A H drawn

parallel to the base of the hill EF EF is parallel to the .

base B G of the triangle A B C and the line A B representing ,

the S lope of the hill intersects the par al lels HA a n d B G ’

.

There fore the alternate angles HA B and A EG are equal .

Now if when standing at A you were to sight by means

, ,

Of the cl inome ter , a n obj ect a t B o f the s ame hei ght a s

57 2 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

HO RIZ ON .

that of your eye above the ground you wo ul d require

,

to lower the ins trument instead o f tilting it , as you did

.

when finding t h e a ngle o f elevation o f an obj ect This

~
.

'

is because you are now finding a n angle o f depression .

“
Th e value o f this angle will be e qual to the a ngle through
which you have lowered the clinometer f rom t he h o riw
zo nt a l — that is the angle HA B or the an gle AEQ
,
:
.
l j
57 4 PRACTI CAL PHYSICAII GE OGR APHY

DI S TAN C E A LO N G S L O PE A ND H O RIZ O N TA L E Q UIVA LENT

AT V E R T I C A L I N T ERV A L S '
OF 10 FEET 4 l b
'

f S l ope
‘
A ngl e of S l ap e. D is ta nc e o . H o rizon ta l Equ iv a l ent .

D eg re es . F ee t .

°
1 57 3 1 91
°
2 95
°
3 1 91 63
°
4 1 4 33 47
°
5 38
‘
°
6 95 7 31
°
7 82 27
no
°
8 23
°
9 639 21
°
10 57 6 19
‘

°
11 52 4 17
'

°
12 4 81 16
°
13 44 5 14
°
14 13
°
15 38 6 12

These values may be f ound more accurately ( see fig 1 4 2 ) .

by trigonometry t han by drawing to scale as follows ,

B E
jg
’ ’
( a ) Cos e c A
' ’
,

' '
A E A B E
’ ’ ’ ’ ’
A B x cose c
' '
A B E
’ ’ ’
A B 10 x c os e c

H e n ce b y s ub s t it u t in g a n y a n g e l f or c os ec A B E
' ’ '
t h e dista nce of
l
s op e m a y b e f o un d .

'
B E
"

( b) Co t a n A B E
A
’
E ’

” '
B E A E x A B E
’ ’ ’ ’ ’
co ta n

B E A B E
’ ’ ’ ’ ’
10 x co ta n

B y t h is m e a ns t h e h orizonta l equiv a ent l m ay be l l

c a cu a te d .

Determ ina ti on of Contour Li nes by th e Cl inom eter —To .

determine the d irection of contour lines by practical

observation out o f doors and to trace them on a map
'

,
-
,

we S hould take with us three surveying poles on which ,

each f oot is coloured black and white alternately a tape , ,

 CONT OU R S 57 5

a ompass and the clinometer

c , On e p ole should be .

first set up at S ( fig Here let one boy remain w h ile

.

anoth er proceeds with the remaining pol es down the

“

slope erecting one at some convenient distance from S

, ,

and the other in a direct line with it some dist ance fart her
down the hill The obj ect of the third pole is to secure
.

that observations shall be made in a direct line from

F IG . 14 3
.

Let the boy at S place the clinomete r so that one of its

faces touches the pole at S and so that the sighting edge
,
-

of the instrument coincides with any f oot mark on the

pole To sight the same height
.
on the intermediate
pole he must tilt the clinometer The angle marked by .

the plumb line sho ul d then be noted It is equal to the

-
.

ll
In p ra c tice it is we t o in a ie ce
p p of
p a p er on t h e in te rm e d ia te
po l e t o a c t a s a g ui d e in s i h t in
g g .
57 6 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR AP HY
angle HA B A B C ( fig Next refer to the tabl e
.
.
.

S uppose the angle so f ound was the table tells us t h at

we must go down the slope 5 2 4 feet to have a vertical fall
Measure off with the tape the required distance
”

o f 1 0 f e et
. .

This gives us the point E The distance S E is measured .

along a s lope b ut on maps drawn on a p lane sur face

,

we cannot represent the actual slope of the hill This .

can only be done on relief models on which would appear ,

a representation o f the hill as actually seen We there .

,

f ore must reduce to some extent the actual length o f S E

, ,

so that we represent it on the map by the horizontal

equivalent instead of by distance of S lope A re f erence .

to the table tells us that the H E for 1 1 is 1 7 yards . .

°
.

We sho uld there f ore draw a line representing this dis

, ,

tance to a suitable scale say 1 inch to 2 0 yards We are ,

.
’

still standing on the slope at E B efore proceeding any .

f arther down along it j udge the direct ion of the contour

,

line on the ground at this point and draw in its course ,

on the map Next sight the third pole l n the same way
.

as you did the second and determine the angle of slope ,

and the h orl zo nt a l equivalent Then draw in on your .

map the shape o f the contour at F We may continue .

in this way to find other points along the S lope and plot
, ,

the contours till the ba se of the hill is reached .

Now return to the top o f the hill and with the compass ,

determine the direction o f three or f our other lines drawn

along the slope Proceed to find the contours along each
.

of these lines and plot their positions on the map When .

.

this is done a complete conto ured map o f the hill may

,

b e obtained by connecting up all p arts o f each contour

so determined The height o f each contour line can then
.

be written in taking as the datum line the last contour

, ,

or finding its height above sea level from an Ordnance -

m ap o f the district .
57 8 PR ACTI CA L P HYS I CA L GE OGR APHY

D ivide the number of degrees of the slope into 6 0 ,

multiply the result by the vertical interval in feet and ,

the result will g1 v e the horizontal equivalent in feet .

This must be divided by 3 Si nce the horizontal e quiv a ,

lent is a l wa ys expressed in yards .

Or shortly
60
H E in feet
. . vert int. .

S lope In degrees
20
or H E . . In yards vert mt . .

slope

E XERC IS ES
1 . Two places are con nected by a road the distance is
a mile and a quarter and their heights above sea ,

le v el are 1 0 6 and 2 0 6 feet respecti v ely What is the .

average gradient between them ? ( Camb Jun Loc ) . . .

If you were given a contoured map on which the

summits of two hills are marked A and B and ,

were asked to d ra w a secti on along the straight line

j oining A B how wo uld you set about it
, What is
the use of a section of this kind ( O x f S e n L o e ) . . .

3 . A hill ,
feet high slopes gradually into the sea , ,

at an angle of about 30 on its N E and S E °

. . .

sides To the N N W it is connected by a ridge

. . . .
,

5 0 0 feet high at its lowest point with a conical peak ,

8 0 0 feet in height To the W it descends preci

. .

it o u sl f rom the summit to a height of 6 0 0 feet

p y
thence it falls with a more gradual slope of about
4 5 to a river which runs S E under a smaller
°
. .
,

peak due S under the larger hil l and winds

,
.
,

again to the S E round the base of the latter to

.
,

enter the sea Express these relations by a map

.

with contour lines at inter v als of 2 0 0 feet v ertical

height ; ( Ox f S e n Loc ) . . .
 CONT OU R S
'

[ Thi s question diffe rs from the ordinary type in

that angles of slope are give n The slope to the
.

north west and the south e ast is ab out

- -
and
t h e S lope for som e distance to the we st is a bo u t
580 PR ACTICAL PHY SI CA L GE OGR APHY

The former slope is therefore somewhat , ,

more gentle than the latter .

D raw two right angled triangles A B K CD E

-
, ,

having A B CD the angle B A K , and the

angle D CE These angles may be made
by placing your protractor along the lines A K ,

CE and reading o ff by its aid their respective

,

values .

Mark o ff with your ruler thr ee equal divisions

along A B and CD and drop perpendiculars on
,

A K and CE from these points A K and CE are

thereby divided into t hree equal parts S ince .

A M represents the S lope for an angle of and

CP f o r an angle of the proportion A M to
’
CP gives us the approximate closeness o f the
contour lines to indicate what is required This .

proportion may be applied by drawing three lines

radiating from the centre of the hill— one to the
north east another to the south east and the
-
,
-
,

third to the west Al ong the north east and south

.
-

east lines mark off five spaces equal to A M and

having drawn the contours to the level of 6 0 0 f eet
across the west line mark o ff one or more spaces
'
equal to CP Each of the points thus found gives
.

you the approximate closeness o f the contours .

The rest o f the question may be easily worked

out ] .

4 . D raw a sketch showing a piece of main road which

crosses a meadow ( road unfenced on both sides ) ,

then passes over a stream by means o f a bridge ,

next goes through a wood ( where both sides are

fenced ) and on coming out o f the wood passes
,

Th a t is , t h e p ro p o rt io n of On e h o riz o n t a l d is t a n c e t o t h e
ot her ( see p .
582 PRACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR APHY

draw contours at 5 0 foot interv als ( Oxf and -

‘

. .

Camb Cert ) . .

[ A precipice can only be represented on a con

toured map by one contour line In this case that .

line is a natural contour i e sea level so that the , . .

-
,

contour lines crossed on walking from the village

to the precipice sho ul d be drawn so as to touch
but not go beyond that line : ]
8 . You have a sheet of the Ordnance map showing a
football field and you wish t o mark the positions
,

of the goal posts How woul d you proceed ?

-
.

( Ox f and Camb Cert )

. . .

[ The O rdinance S urvey map that wil l give you a

detailed plan of a football field is the 2 5 inch To -
.

mark the positions o f the goal posts first of all -

,

convert the actual lengt h o f the touch lines and -

goal posts into their representative lengths on the

-

plan in accordance with the scale Al so convert .

the actual distance of either goal post from the -

nearest corner fl a g into its representative length

-

according to the scale D raw a rectangle re p re .

senting the playing area according to the scale of

measurements thus obtained and mark off the ,

distance each goal post is from the nearest corner ] -

.

line of railway running east and west crosses a

river which flows from north west to south east
,
- -
.

F arther to the west it enters a cutting and passes

under a bridge on which is a road run ning north
,

and south West of the bridge the railway goes

.

into a tunnel .

D raw a rough sketch map representing the facts -

described ( Oxf and . .

A man travels in a straight line from a town A to a , ,

village E which is N E of A A is a t the top

, , . . .
.
 CONT OUR S 583

Of a hill 4 0 0 feet high and his path slopes u niforml y

for a mile to a point B on the shor e of an estuary , , .

half a mile wide This he crosses b y a boat to .

.

C and then he climbs a ra nge of hi lls

,
feet
high the summit D of w h ich is 1 1} m iles from C
, , , .

From here he descends 4 0 0 feet in the ne xt half

mile and after crossing a river flowing westward
, , ,

he ascends 2 0 0 feet in the course of 5; mile and

reaches E which is at the edg e of a plateau,
.

D raw a sketch map of his ro ut e o n a scale o f - .

1 inch to a mile and a section illustrating the route ,

on a vertical scale of 133 inch to 2 0 0 feet and the

same horizontal scale .

B C D ; a nd E are five towns

, ,
A man travels .

N W from A to B 1 0 miles N E from B t o C

. .
, . .

1 5 miles E from C to D 1 2 miles S W from D to

, .
, . .

E 9 miles .

D raw a map of this route on a scale of 2 mile s

to 1 cm and measure the distances as the crow
.
,

flies ( a ) from A to E ( b) from A to C ( Civil

, , .

S er v ice ) .

A man cycles due N from a village A to another .

, ,

village B 8 miles away ; then due east 9 5 mil es

, ,

to a third village C ; and fi n al ly 6 miles S W to ,

"

. .

a fourth village D Draw a map on a scale of , .

} inch to a mile showing the village s and find in

7 , ,

miles the distance as the crow flies between A , ,

and D .

D raw a map on a scale of 4 inch to a mil e in accord

ance with the followi ng description :
X is a town situated on the centre of a large bay
on the east coast of a country A range of high .

hills runs 1 2 miles in a N W direction starting . .

,

from a point Z 4 mile s S of X At this point , . .

58 4 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

Z there is a distance of 1 % miles between the hill s

and the sea A nother town Y is situated S W
.
, ,
. .

of X and the towns are 1 0 miles from one another

in a direct line .

I nsert the probable course of a ra il wa y line

'

between X and Y .

F IG . 14 5 .

D escribe the surface configuration and drainage of

the district shown in the accompanying sketch
map ( fig . D raw a section along the line A B
to S how the profile of the country using a vertical ,

scale of 5 0 0 feet to an inch ( Central Welsh .

B oard ) .

[ O n reference to the map it will be seen that

contours are drawn at i ntervals o f 1 0 0 feet up to
58 6 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY

FIG . 14 6 .

crossing a mountain ridge that runs due east and

-

west The S lope upwards from the pass on the

.

east is a gradual one attaining an elevation o f

,

f eet from which point the land descends

,

p recipitously towards the sea To the west of

.

the pass the ascent is steep till it reaches a height

,

of f eet from which a gradual descent takes

;

place to the sea There are two ri vers flowing

.

from near the summit of the pass —o n e due north ,

the other south east

-
.

Insert contour lines at intervals of 5 0 0 feet .

 CH APTER XXXVII

Th e Making of Ma ps

IN
’ ’
mapping small areas of the earth s surface the earth s ,

sphericity is not taken into consideration ; but when

maps are drawn on which a comparatively large area like
that of England is represented an accurate representa
,

tion cannot be obtained unless the spherical form of

’
the eart h be taken into account A s the earth s shape
.

closely approaches that o f a sphere the only means by

,

which an accurate map of its sur face c a n be secured is

by representing it on a sphere or globe B ut such a .

globe would need to be Of enormous dimensions if it ,

were to S how the detail of every separate region so that ,

it has been necessary to devise other methods which will

give on a flat or plane surface as fair a representation
, ,
’
as possible The methods by which parts o f the eart h s
.

surface are mapped on a plane surface a re called p ro

j e ctions ; but not one of them entirely overcome s the
di ffi culty because it is clearly apparent that a spherical
,

sur face cannot be placed on a plane surface without

su ffering some distortion .

—
Meaning of Proj ection The word Proj ection means a
”
thr owing forward and the te rm as it is used in the
,

cartographical sense implies that the S hape of some

obj ect is thrown f orward by a lighted body F or example
.
,

the shadow of a tree cast on t h e ground by the su n might

58 7
588 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

be considered as a proj ection of the tree B etter still .

,

hold a rubber ball before a lamp in a semi darkened room -

and at the same time keep it close to one of the walls .

A shadow of the ball is cast on the wall and is said to

be proj ected by the light from the lamp If the ball be .

moved farther away from the wall the shadow will be

observed to grow larger and larger as the ball recedes
from the wall until a point is reached when it extends
over the whole wall On e more illustration : When a
.

picture S lide is placed in a lantern the light within the

,

lantern proj ects the picture on the screen In this case .

the size of the picture shown on the screen depends upon

the positions o f the lenses of the lantern and by changing,

their positions the picture may be increased or diminished

in size at will Imagine that the picture is made up of
.

a set of points A clear impression o f the meaning of

.

proj ection is gained by considering a s e t of lines to be

drawn from the flame within the lantern to all points
on the slide and then produced to reach the screen The .

relative positions of all points on the slide are thereby

correctly reproduced on the screen and are proj ected ,

b y straight lines drawn from the lantern flame In .

the reproduction the picture coincides in every respect

with that on the slide except in so f a r as it is magnified .

Now consider what would happen if instead of the S lide

, ,

a hollow semi globe of glass ( fig 1 4 7 ) on which the parallels

-
.

and meridians were marked in black on its convex sur face ,

were held immediately before the lantern The equator

'
.

and the central meridian would be proj ected to the screen

as straight lines not as semicircles which they actually
,

are The other semicircles would b e proj ected as slightly

.

curved lines but more nearly straight according as they

,

were nearer to the e quator or to the central meridian .

Different Form s of Pr oj ecti on — Many di fferent f orms

.
590 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGRA PHY

of the intervals will be observed to decrease somewhat ,

unt il a point is reached at which the distortion is at a

minimum If the light be placed at the centre of the
.

semi globe the inequality in the lengths of the proj ected

-
,

intervals woul d be more pronounced as may be seen ,

by producing the dotted lines from the centre to the

screen .

Stereogra p i c
h Proj ecti on — To illustrate thi s form of
proj ection the lantern should be placed with the light
at L ( fig . The conve x S urface of the semi globe -

will be thrown upon the screen and the lines of latitude ,

will appear as curves but the equator will be represented

,

by a straight line The meridians e x cept the central

.
,

one at 0 will likewise appear as curved lines but will

, ,

be noticed to approach each other more closely towards

the centre of the circle that represents the semi globe , -

and to be farthest apart near the edge In like manner .

the lines of latitude will be observed to be closest to

gether near the centre B ecause of this the angles formed
.

by the actual lines drawn on the globe are ba dl y distorted

in proj ection Hence countries situated near the centre
. ,

of a map dr awn on this proj ection su ffer compression ,

while those near the outside rim are e nl arged The .

distortion in either case is however not e x treme , ,

.

The foll owing is a practical exercise on this type of pro

j e ct io n : Draw a circle A OB L ( fig 1 4 8 ) of suitable radius .
,
’
say l é inches to represent a S phere on which the earth s
,

sur face is mapped Insert two diameters CL A B at

.
, ,

right angles to each other and intersecting at P S uppose .

that the surface o f the globe be proj ected so th at P re p re

sents a pole of the earth then the circumf erence of the
,

circle represents the equator D ivide the semicircle A OB .

°
into six equal parts each a re containing 30 longitude
,
.

Imagine the light to be placed at L and that a scree n ,

 THE MA KI NG OF MAP S 591

A OBI
touches the globe as a tangent at 0 ; then each of
1

the points R S 0 T and U may be proj ected on the

, , , ,

screen by producing the lines connecting these points

with L With centre 0 and radius 0 A describe a semi
.
1

C ircle A P B
.
l l l
If the lines LR LS L O LT and L U be
.
, , , ,

produced until they cut the semicircle the points R S 1 1

, , ,

P 1
T 1
, and U thus obtained will be the positions of
I
,

R S P T and U proj ected

, , , , Join S T R U by curved
l l I 1
.
,

F IG . 14 8 .

lines and likewise connect P by curved lines with each of I

the points previously obtained on the screen On the pro .

j e d semicircle P represents the pole S T R U lines

I l l I 1
e c t , ,

of latitude and all lines radiating from P are meridians

,
I
.

Or th ogra p h ic Proj ecti on —In this method of pro j ection ,

since the light must come from an infinite distance ( in

order that the rays may be parallel ) compared with the
distance between the hollow semi globe and the screen -
,

the light of the sun can be used to proj ect the lines
59 2 PRA CTI CAL PHY SI CA L GEOGRA PH Y

G lo be in la n te rn
F IG . 1 4 9A .

from the globe to a photographic plate ( fig 1 4 9 A ) . .

S uppose we have a lantern so made that a hollow semi

globe with black lines representing the lines of latitude
,

and meridians drawn on its convex surface can be placed ,

in position Y Y ( fig 1 4 9 3 ) and that a negative is inserted

.

in the S lot XX If the lantern be s o placed that the lens

.
’

is turned away from the sun the light from the sun would
,

Le ns

“ a llo w s e m i- 0 10 56
W ith b lu s h lin e s .

FIG . 1 4 9 13 .
59 4 PRACT ICAL PHY SI CAL GEOGRA PHY

th e polar regions are frequentl y dr awn on thi s pro

on .
1

A modification o f this pro j ection ca n be drawn in t he

”

f oll owing way S uppose we wish to draw S outh A meric a

.

on ort h ogr aphic proj ecti on F irst draw the centr al .

meridian F or S outh A m er1 ca this 1 s 6 0 W Then si nce

.
°
.

° °
the proposed map extends from 4 0 N latitude to 6 0 .

S latitude dr aw top and bottom parallel s to represent

.
,

these l in e s as seen in the diagram ( fig

t
D ivide the .

space between these lines into ten equal parts since they -
,

are l do apart Each space there f ore represents 1 0 of

° ~

.
, ,
°

latitude D raw parallels and number them Al ong the

.
~
.

°
equator mark off intervals equal to that chosen for 1 0 of
latitude With centre X and radius X0 describe an arc
.
~

On this arc set off ON 6 0 and draw NS

°
OP . parallel
to 0 X Next along the 6 0 th parallel starting from the
.
‘

point at which it intersects the central meridian mark off ,

intervals e qual to NS an d j oin each point W ith the corre

s p o n d in point set off along the equator In this way the
g .

meridia ns may be drawn for the southern part o f the map .

To draw them for the northern part measure the distance ,

A B on the 2 0 t h parallel south latitude and mark off e qual

in t e rxfa l s to this on the parallel of 2 0 north latitude °
’

The meridians may now be drawn in by connecting up the

points thus obtained This modified form of orthographic .

pro j ection is good only for continents .

Gl obul ar or Equi dis ta nt Proj ecti on

. It has bee n .
-

s hown that b oth the stereographic and orthogr aphic

“
“

s ystems result in distortion —one distorts the central

portion of the map the other the edges or margin , .

Hence it was s upposed that if the light were placed at “

NS ma k
"

If we re re qu ire d to be r e d on t h e 5 0 t h p a ra
’

l l l , th ac
e e r

ON wo ul d nd
'

b e 50 Q
,
a so on.
 THE MA K ING OF MA PS 595

some point intermediate between those chosen for these

proj ections there wo ul d be found a mean position that
,

would reduce the distortions in each case F or thi s .

purpose globular proj ection was devised In this method.

the semi globe is placed outside the lant ern and the e x
-

treme end of the lens is fixed in position at L ( fig .

so that the distance LT is half the chord S T of the

F IG . 1 51 .

quadrant TOS It will be observed that the interva ls

.

along the line X Y on the screen are approximately e qual ,

and that all lines on the globe are pro j ecte d upon the
screen in the same way as that described for stereographic
proj ection The exact position of the lantern in globular
.

ST
proj ection is determined by remembering that LT
2
The distance of the point L from the sphere . 1n terms
of the ra d ius is found as follows
-
5 96 PRACTI CAL PH Y S I CAL GEO G RAPH Y

ST 2
OS 2
OT Z

ST V5?
ST
S ince L T éS T

LT

Hence the actual distance chosen o f the point L from

the sphere is hal f the radius multiplied This
distance is approximately equal to half S T Maps .

drawn on this proj ection present a more accurate re p re

s e n t a t io n than either the stereographic or orthographic

form They must not howe ver be considered as per

.
, ,

f e ct l y accurate . T here is still s ome error tho the ,

amount of it is much reduced Most maps of . two

hemispheres are drawn on this principle .

Cylindri ca l Pr oj ecti on S o f a r the earth line s h a v e

.
- -

been proj ected upon a plane sur f ace In cylindrical .

“

proj ection we consider their proj ection upon a curved

surface which can be a fterwards fia t
tened out Imagine a hollow globe
.

representing the earth to be enclosed

in a hollow cylinder so that it j ust ,

touches the cylinder along the circum

ference o f a great circle A B ( fig .

and that a light is placed in the centre

L o f the globe The rays o f light will
'

proj ect the parallels as circles round

the inner surf ace o f t h e cylinder until
the cylinder is unrolled and whe n ,

this is done they will appear as parallel

straight lines The meridians will be
.

F ro 1 52
. ,
proj ected as v e rtical straight lin e s .
598 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GRA PHY

two tangents at the points R a nd P respectively to ,

represent the curved sur face of the cylinder At 0 .

divide the angle N OP into any number of equal parts ,

°
s a y 30 in each part and produce the lines thus f o rining
,

t h e angles to meet the tangent QT In like manner .

divide the angle S OP into the same number of equa l

parts and draw the lines to meet QT Produce the dia
‘

meter RP till the produced part P W is e qual to the

circumference of the sphere P W will then represent .

the equator Next draw a set of lines parallel to

.

" ' |
”
:
| i l l
l l
I I
.
I" i I
' 1
U . '
. l l 1 l i l
_ '
. r
u :.
l

: l ' i i

'L“
“ ui
l
'Il
4
l
r‘ W
i ' I
I u
n I i”i i
n '
I
[ I '1 I "H
l l
ll ul u
l
H
Il l

J J ”uLL'i L
-
.

F IG . 1 53 .

'

from all points along QT where t h a t l ine is met by the

lines radiating from the centre of the circle each of
these lines will represent a parallel of latit ude To .

obtain the points along P W where the meridians cross ,

divid e P W into thirty six equal divisio ns because there

-
,
'

a re 3 6 0 degrees m a circle and this would make the

interval b etween any pair of meridians A t each o f
th e points thus f ound erect a perpendicular to P W and
’

you will then have proj ected a network on which that

portion o f the earth s surface situated between the
’

°
parallels 6 0 N and 6 0 S latitude m a y be mapp e d
°
. .

a ccording t o c ylindrical p roj e ctio n .

 THE MAK ING OF MAP S 99

Merca tor s Proj ecti on — This system is a modified

’
,

form of cylin d rical proj ection In cylindrical proj e ction

.

It has been shown that enormous distortion t a k e s p l a c e

'

in countries far away from the equator F or e xample the .

,

impression given on such a map is that Greenland is

almost as 1a rge a s A frica To reduce this distortion
_ .
,

the F lemish geographer named Gerhard Kremer better ,

known as Mercator devised his system which first

, ,

appeared in a chart published by him in 1 5 5 6 A cle ar .

idea of the distortion that occurs in cylindrical proj ection

may be gained by taking the peel of half an orange
and making cuts in it at two opposite points as thus ,

FIG . 1 54 A .

The sli ts enable you to flatten the peel when it will ,

be
seen to assume this shape

F IG . 1 54 13 .

In the flattening process the whole surface of th e p eel

is preserve d and if the spaces XXXX be filled up a n
.
, ,

exact counterpart of what occurs in cylindrical p ro j e c

_
q

tion is thereby obtained Mercator modified cylind ric al

.
_

proj ection by reducing t he inte rvals between th e p a ral lels

”

Qi lfi itud e in hi gh at nthe sa me fi mfi
60 0 PR A CTI CA L PHYS I CA L GE OGR A PHY
preserving the true shape of the land masses so affect ed
-
a simil a r change to that undergone b y the peel of the

or a nge From what has been said it is obvious that

.

neit her distances nor areas should be calcul ated on map s

of t his kind o therwis e
,

gross inaccuracies will

result ; but if the true
bearing of one place
from another is re quired ,

this is the form of pro

e c t io n to use
j .

Use of Mer ca tor s Pre

’

j ection. Imagine the

circle with centre 0 ( fig .

1 5 5 ) to represent a sphere
and A and B any two
points on its surface If .

the distance between A

F ro 1 5 5
. . and B is to be measured ,

it may be done in two

ways : ( 1 ) by measuring their distance apart along the a re
of a great circle— that is a circle that divides the sphere
,

into two equal parts ; or ( 2 ) by measuring their distance

apart along the arc o f a small circle —that is one that ,

divides the sphere int o two unequal parts Consider .

which o f these two ways will give the shorter distance

between the two points It is obvious that the radius of a
.

great circle is greater than that of a small circle therefore ,

the degree of curvature along the circumference o f a grea t

'

circle is less than that along the c 1 rc u m fe re n ce o f a s m a ll

circle ( see p . If the two arcs A D B A GB be drawn
,
‘

on the S phere to represent t he difference in curvature o f a

great and s mall circle respectively then the distance
,

bt
e w e e n A a n d B as me a su red alon g the a r
c AD B wil l
602 PR ACTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
’
vessel s course would be first of all directed east by north
then when the maximum curvature of the arc o f the great
circle was reached it would be altered to a more or less
,

southerly direction This method of sailing is terme d

.

sa i ling by gr ea t cir cl es and a considerable distance is sa v ed

,

at sea by navigating vessels in this manner .

C oni ca l Pr o j e t
c i on —
F or mapping small areas of the
.

’
earth s surface this form of proj ection is the most suitable ,

because the error from distortion is very small indeed .

Imagine that a hollow cone is so pl aced over a transparent

sphere that it touches the cen
tral parallel o f latitude of the
area re quired to be mapped and ,

that a light is placed at the

centre of the sphere ( fig .

If the inside sur f ace o f the cone

touches the sphere along the
parallel D E the parallels F G and
,

B C which are equi distant fr om

,
-

D E may be proj ected upon the

,

inner surface of the cone by draw

ing a series of lines from the light
F I G“ 1 5 7
L to them and producing these
lines until they meet the surface of
the enveloping cbne In this way the parallels of latitude
.

will be proj ected on the c one as circles The m e rid ia n s will

.

however appear as straight lines converging towards the

,

parallel F G Now suppose the cone to be slit along a

.

straight line from B to the apex A and t h e n fl a tt e n e d

_ ,

out A network similar to that seen in fig 1 5 8 would thus

. .

be obtained The district mapped has for its centre the

.

arc D E and the limit o f the map is marked on the north -

by the arc F G ; on the south by the arc B C . The d ist o r

~

tio n is very sm all and de p end s on th e are a ma p p ed t he

 THE MA KING OF MA P S 603

larger the area ,

the greater the

d i s t ort i o n ; t he
smaller the area ,

the less the d is t o r

tion The great
.

feature of conical
proj ection is that
there is no d is t o r F ro 1 5 8 . .

tion at the edges

of the map If you re fer to your atlas you will notice
.

that a large number of maps ( especially those of single

countries ) are drawn on this method Maps of Europe .

and lesser areas on w hi ch the distance between the ex

,
°
treme parallels does not exceed 4 0 of latitude are fairl y ,

accurately represented .

This system like the cylindrical has undergone some

, ,

modification to reduce the degree of distortion Instead .

of imagining the cone to touch the intermediate parallel

o f the area mapped it is made to cut the sphere along
,

two parallels distant from each other by one third the -

total length o f the map from north

to south If N T ( fig 1 5 9 ) represents
.
.

the distance between the two out

side parallels of the map the cone ,

is made to cut the S phere at S and

P so that S T ,
SP PN 2 In .

this way the e rror of distortion is

more eve nl y distributed over the
whole area of the map .

Let us put this principle in to p ra c

tice by drawing a map of England o n
conical The m i d latitu de .
-

E fN ( p p rs m yt
‘

Fm. 1 6.9 of n gl a n d i5 5 3 a x i at s l -
60 4 PRA CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE OGR A PHY
a circle with cen D raw
tre L ( fig 1 6 0 A ) and of .

suitable radius *
At L .

°
make an angle QLT of 5 3
with the diameter RQ which
represents the equator T .

is therefore a p oint , ,

through which the parallel

°
of 53 N latitude passes . .

D raw another diameter NS

at right angles to RQ and
let f all a perpendicular to
it from T and produce the ,

F IG 1 60 A perpendicular to meet the

. .

circle again at U Next .

draw tangents at U and T respectively to meet at A S ince .

°
England is situated between the parallels 5 0 N and 5 6 N °
. .

latitude make the angles D LQ and ELQ e qual to 5 0 and

,
°

°
5 6 respectively Now measure A D A T and A E and
.
, , ,

describe arcs o f concentric circles each a re having for ,

its radius one o f these lines ( fig D raw a straight .

line A D from their common

I 1

centre to meet the outside

arc at D 1
This line will
.

r epresent a meridian and the ,

arcs the parallels o f latitude

N 5 3 N and 5 6 N
° ° °
50 .
,
.
, .

°
The total length o f 5 3 N -

latitude is the circum ference

o f the circle traced on the
g lobe passing through U and
T ( fig 1 6 0 A ) and the radius
.
, F I G 1 6 0 13 . .

of that circle is half the

A s uit a b e ra dius l wi ll be f o und t o be an
yt h in
g ov er 3 inche s.
60 6 PRA CTI CAL PH YSICAL G EO G RA PH Y

as th ose on the Mercator proj ection are often used a s ,

wind and current charts since they g 1 v e us a correct

,

representation o f the true magnitude o f these movements :

E qua l a r ea Cylin dric a l Pr oj ecti on
- — A s in the construe
.
’

t io n o f a map on the principle of the simple cylindrica l

' ‘

proj ection ( see fig a hollow cylinder is supposed t o

.

envelop the globe so that the cylinder touches the equator

, .

Th e parallels o f latitude and meridians are now proj ected

on t he surface o f the cylinder by a set of
parall el straight lines drawn from i nfinity;
and not a s in simple cylindrical p ro j e c
’
'

tion by straight lines drawn from the

centre o f the sphere When the cyl in .

der is unrolled ( the whole surface o f the

“

sphere will be represented as a rect

-

angle ( fig . and as before the

meridians w ill be shown as parallel
“

straight lines at equal distances apart .

The parallels of la titude will also b e

proj ected as para llel straight lines each ,

one being o f equal length to the equator ,

‘

as is the case in orthographic proj ection

. .

Fm 1 61 The res ul t o f this proj ection is that any

. - . .

belt on the sphere is equal in area to

the correspondi ng portion which represents it on the map . .

'

B y t h is we mean that if we were to choose a section

of th e s urface of the sphere bounded by meridians and

parallels it would be represented by a rectangle D
,

which is o f exactly the same area In other words t h e .

,

scale for areas is the same all over the map and this is ,
’

due to the fact that the scale from north to south decrease s
in the same proportion as the scale from east to west
 THE MAKING OF MAPS 60 7

Increases Although the areas on this proj ection a re

.

'
.
'

preserved the shapes are especially away from the

, ,
.

e quator much di storted

,
.

Mol lweid e s Equa l area Pr oj ecti on Mo ll we id e s e ( fig

’ — - .
’
.

1 6 2 ) is s o meti mes calle d ho malographic proj ection .

In this proj ection the whole earth may be m a p p e d f o n a n

ellipse whose area is equivalent to that of the sphere .

F or this reason it is sometimes styled the elliptical e qual

area proj ection The parallels of latitude are re p re
.

F IG 1 62
’

. .

sented as parallel s traight lines and th e meridians are

s hown as ellipses the zero meridian being drawn as a
,

straight line at right angles to the equator The maj or .

axis of the ellipse which represents t he equator is d ra wn

, ,
'

twic e the length of the minor axis which is the zero ,

‘

meridian Th e e qu a t o r is equally divided F or e x ample

. ,
.
,

if it is d e s ire d to show the meridians at intervals of

'

t hen the equator will need to be marked off into t h ir ty

six e qual distances a n d the zero meridian will be divided
,
-

i nto eighteen equal divisions to mark the points thro ug h

whic h the parallels of latitude will be dr awn In this .

Gre e k kama loe , e v en .

60 8 PR ACTI CAL PHY SI CAL GE OGR A PHY

way a map on Mol l we id e s proj ection may be obtained

’ ’

It will be remarked that each elliptical meridian has for

one a xis the central meridian and for the other the
,

intercepted portion of the e qually divided equator ; also

that the 9 ot b meridians east and west of the zero meridian
form a cir cle .

E X ERC IS ES
1 . What are the chief points of distinction b etween
Mercator s proj ection and a map of the world in
’

hemispheres Why can you not represent the

earth on a plane sur face
2 . If I draw a straight line j oining Cape Cle a r and Ne w
York on a chart of the North A tlantic Ocean ,

drawn on Mercator s proj ection t hi s line will

’

not represent the sh ortest route between the two

points although the bearing o f New York from
,

Cape Clear will be correctly shown .

Explain this How would the shortest route

.

be represented on the Mercator chart ? Ca n you

name any chart on which the S hortest route would
be a straight line ? ( Ox f and Camb Lower Cert )
. . .

map o f North A merica has the latitudes marked

by arcs of c on centric circles and the long itudes
,

are marked by curved lines except in the case of

,

the central one which is straight Explain the

, .

principles on which such a map is drawn and

‘

show to what extent the scale of miles provided

'

with it may be used for measuring distances .

4 . Give the construction o f a network o f latitudes and '

longitudes which will show areas tr ul y What ‘ '

are the advantages and disadvantages o f a map

61 0 PR A CTI CA L PHY S I CA L GE O GR A PHY
distance between two points on it Ca n a map of
the polar re gl o n s be constructed on the same
principle ? Give your reasons .

Explain the conical proj ection f o r making maps and

point out its advantages and disadvantages .

( C amb . S en Loc )
. .

What are the special advantages and disadvantage s

o f a map on an e qual area proj ection ? Me n
-

tion any purposes f or which you woul d prefer to

use such a map ( Ox f S e n Loc ) . . . .

What are the principles on wh ich maps on ort ho

graphic and stereographic proj ections are drawn ?
B y what means has the error of distortion in each
case been much reduced
Explain as f ully as you can the method by whic h a
map o f the world is drawn ( a ) on Mercator s pro ’

j e c t io n
, ( b ) on any other proj ection with the equator
running through the middle o f the map ( Ox f . .

and Camb S c h Cert ) . . .

D iscuss any method you know o f f o r representing a

considerable portion of the earth s surf ace upon ’

a plane e xplaining the di fficulty which has to be

,

overcome and pointing out the de fects of the

,

method which you select ( Ox f S e n Loc ) . . . .

D escribe a mode o f constructing an equal area net -

work f o r a map o f a large part o f the earth s sur ’

f ace . D iscuss the nature and extent o f the angular

distortion i n di fferent parts of the map ( Civil .

S ervice ) .

Pri nted by Ha zel l , Wa tson qt Vmey, Ld .

,
L ond o a cad Ayl esbury .