00000490 |
Previous | 490 of 595 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
TABLE-LANDS. 445
CHAPTER XVI.
INFLUENCE OF THE RAISED OUTLINE OF THE EARTH ON MANKIND.—
TABLE-LANDS, MOUNTAINS, HILLS, AND PLAINS.
Throughout the globe the inequalities in level of the various continents have a singular influence upon climate, and consequently, also, modify in the rhost varied manner the destinies of nations. Instead of following one another regularly from the equator to the poles according to the
lines of latitude, the zones of temperature intersect and rise one above another; the surrounding conditions here and there are abruptly varied, and
with these conditions the populations also vary.
Taking the mighty fabric of continents, there are some table-lands
which are of the greatest importance in the history of mankind. Rising
up in the midst of plains, with a system of mountains, rivers, and lakes peculiar to themselves, with a flora and fauna belonging exclusively to them,
and a particular climate, always colder, and generally much drier, than
that of the lower lands, table-lands offer the most difficult barrier to the
migration of nations**for the wide seas, formerly quite impassable, are
now easily crossed by ships, and nations of the same origin settle on opposite shores, and become more and more united by voyages and commerce. Table-lands in cold or even temperate regions are not merely
boundaries between nations; numbers of them are, indeed, nothing but
deserts, on account of the dryness of the soil, the rigor of the weather, the
violence ofthe winds, and the snow-storms. In South America, travelers
can never venture without danger on the table-lands of the Andes, between Chili and the Argentine Republic; even in France, the almost uninhabited causses of Levezon, Cavalerie, and Severac are very dangerous
to cross in winter-time, and not unfrequently carriages are left there buried in the snow. Most of the table-lands of the torrid zone are equally
desert, owing to the dryness ofthe air and the soil, and also on account
of the thick saline beds with which the ground is covered; but by a remarkable contrast, there are also certain table-lands which, in the region
of intense heat, are the most favorably situated countries for the progress
of man. Like rich, hanging gardens, rising to a height of 3000, 6000, or
8000 feet in the air, these table-lands bear on their marble or granite pillars a fragment, as it were, of the temperate zone, with its climate, its
products, and its comparatively prosperous people. Thus, the table-land
of Ethiopia, peopled by a race distinguished from all others in Africa for
its intellect, dignity, bravery, attainments, and progress, rises, like an enormous citadel, between the deserts of the west, the marshy valleys of the
north and south, and the burning shores of the Red Sea. In the same
way in America, the great Peruvian table-land once inhabited by the In-
| Title | The ocean, atmosphere, and life |
| Creator | Reclus, Elisée |
| Publisher | Harper |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1873 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000490 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | TABLE-LANDS. 445 CHAPTER XVI. INFLUENCE OF THE RAISED OUTLINE OF THE EARTH ON MANKIND.— TABLE-LANDS, MOUNTAINS, HILLS, AND PLAINS. Throughout the globe the inequalities in level of the various continents have a singular influence upon climate, and consequently, also, modify in the rhost varied manner the destinies of nations. Instead of following one another regularly from the equator to the poles according to the lines of latitude, the zones of temperature intersect and rise one above another; the surrounding conditions here and there are abruptly varied, and with these conditions the populations also vary. Taking the mighty fabric of continents, there are some table-lands which are of the greatest importance in the history of mankind. Rising up in the midst of plains, with a system of mountains, rivers, and lakes peculiar to themselves, with a flora and fauna belonging exclusively to them, and a particular climate, always colder, and generally much drier, than that of the lower lands, table-lands offer the most difficult barrier to the migration of nations**for the wide seas, formerly quite impassable, are now easily crossed by ships, and nations of the same origin settle on opposite shores, and become more and more united by voyages and commerce. Table-lands in cold or even temperate regions are not merely boundaries between nations; numbers of them are, indeed, nothing but deserts, on account of the dryness of the soil, the rigor of the weather, the violence ofthe winds, and the snow-storms. In South America, travelers can never venture without danger on the table-lands of the Andes, between Chili and the Argentine Republic; even in France, the almost uninhabited causses of Levezon, Cavalerie, and Severac are very dangerous to cross in winter-time, and not unfrequently carriages are left there buried in the snow. Most of the table-lands of the torrid zone are equally desert, owing to the dryness ofthe air and the soil, and also on account of the thick saline beds with which the ground is covered; but by a remarkable contrast, there are also certain table-lands which, in the region of intense heat, are the most favorably situated countries for the progress of man. Like rich, hanging gardens, rising to a height of 3000, 6000, or 8000 feet in the air, these table-lands bear on their marble or granite pillars a fragment, as it were, of the temperate zone, with its climate, its products, and its comparatively prosperous people. Thus, the table-land of Ethiopia, peopled by a race distinguished from all others in Africa for its intellect, dignity, bravery, attainments, and progress, rises, like an enormous citadel, between the deserts of the west, the marshy valleys of the north and south, and the burning shores of the Red Sea. In the same way in America, the great Peruvian table-land once inhabited by the In- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| B |
|
| C |
|
| G |
|
| H |
|
| M |
|
| T |
|
| U |
|
| Y |
|
|
|
