Western HemisphereThe Western Hemisphere.
Western HemisphereThe Western Hemisphere.
The Western Hemisphere.
Geographyis that science which describes the earth on which we live; its lands and waters; its mountains and valleys; its hills and plains; its towns, cities, countries, nations, and inhabitants.
The above picture is a representation of one half of the earth, or what is called theWestern Hemisphere. On this you see thecontinentof America, the AtlanticOcean, the Pacific ocean, the Northern ocean, and the Southern ocean. About three fourths of the surface of the Western hemisphere is covered with water.
The continent of America consists of North America and South America. These are united by a narrow strip of land, called theisthmusof Darien. In the narrowest part, this isthmus is but about thirty-seven miles wide.
North America is separated from Asia at the north-west, by Behring’sStraits, which are about thirty-nine miles wide. North America is separated from Greenland, which is a greatisland, almost always covered with snow and ice, near the northpole.
The continent of North America isabout 9000 miles long, fromCapeHorn, to the Northern ocean. It has a vastrange of mountains, extending, in a bending line, nearly the whole length of it. This range is the longest in the world. In South America, some of the mountains are about five miles high, and are the loftiest in the world, except the peaks of the Himmaleh mountains, in Asia. It is supposed that there are two hundredvolcanoesin America.
The largestriverin the world is the Mississippi, which, including the Missouri, properly one of its branches, is about 4000 miles long. The river Amazon, in South America, though not quite as long, spreads its branches wider than any other river in the world, and carries more water to the sea than any other river.
The largest fresh water lake in the world, is that of Lake Superior, in North America.
The Eastern Hemisphere.The Eastern Hemisphere.
The Eastern Hemisphere.
The above picture represents theEastern Hemisphere. It includes the Eastern Continent, which is divided into Europe, Asia, and Africa. Africa is the south-western portion, Europe the north-western portion, and Asia the north-eastern portion. The eastern continent contains about twice as much land as the western continent.
Between Europe, Africa and Asia, is the Mediterranean sea, which is about 2000 miles long, from east to west. The Atlantic ocean lies west of Europe and Africa; the Indian ocean lies south of Asia, and south-east of Africa; the Pacific ocean lies east of Asia.
Between the Indian ocean and Pacific ocean, are many large islands. The largest is New Holland, which is about as extensive as all Europe. This island belongs to the British nation, who have settlements here, occupied by English, Scotch, and Irish people.
There are many curious things upon this island. The natives are a kind of negro, who live in a manner almost as rude and savage as wild bears. Among the animals, are the kangaroo, which goes forty feet at a leap, and the platypus, with fur like a beaver and a bill like a duck; swans which are black, and a kind of bird with a tail shaped like a harp.
Asia is the most populous part of the globe, and has more inhabitants than Europe, Africa, and America, all together. China alone has about three hundred and sixty millions of people.
In America there are only a few great cities, such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Orleans, in the United States; Havana, in the West Indies; Mexico, in the United States of Mexico; Lima, Buenos Ayres, Valparaiso, and Rio Janeiro, in South America.
In Europe there are many great cities, among which London and Paris are the largest; in Asia, Constantinople and Pekin are the largest; in Africa, Grand Cairo and Alexandria are the largest.
Asia was the first part of the globe inhabited by human beings; Africa was next inhabited, Europe next, and America last. America was not discovered by the Europeans, till about three hundred and fifty years ago.