What are its chief industries?

What are the two most important cities in the state of Washington? Locate them. Why have these cities grown?

Locate and describe Denver.

What business is carried on in Denver?

Tell what you can of other cities.

LESSON XV

NOTED PLACES IN THE WEST

NOTE TO TEACHER.

Name and locate any natural wonders or

places of interest in your city or state. Lead the pupils to tell of any such in their native land.

The Rocky Mountain region is gifted by Nature.

It is a wonderland of natural beauty.

On a trip through this section magnificent snow-capped mountains may be seen. Sparkling lakes and tumbling waterfalls shine in the sunlight.

Beautiful valleys and deep forests meet the view.

The beauty and grandeur is like that of Switzerland. Among the most noted places in this land of beautiful scenery are Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, and the Yosemite National Park.

Yellowstone Park

Yellowstone Park is chiefly in northern Wyoming. It contains over a thousand hot springs and geysers. Boiling water flows from the springs in the hillsides. As the water flows down the hillsides it cools, leaving a deposit of many beautiful colors. Some of the springs are of boiling mud which is also of many colors.

The most wonderful objects in the park are the geysers.

Streams of boiling water and steam burst from the hot rocks beneath the earth. They rise to a height of one or two hundred feet in the air.

"Old Faithful" is one of the most regular of these geysers. Its streams shoot into the air every sixty-five minutes. The Grand Geyser is the greatest in the world. It throws its stream more than three hundred feet high. Yellowstone Lake nestles among the mountains. From it flows the Yellowstone River with its wonderful falls.

They tumble nearly four hundred feet through narrow gorges, the walls of which are very beautiful in their variety of colors.

The Grand Canyon

Another wonderful feature of the West is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. The river has cut its way through the rocks for thousands of years.

A canyon more than a mile deep is the result.

Its walls consist of layer after layer of rocks which have been wonderfully carved by the river and are of many colors.

The Colorado River flows through the canyon for more than three hundred miles. To get from one side to the other it is necessary to travel hundreds of miles, for there are no bridges or railroads across it.

The Yosemite National Park

The Yosemite Valley is another wonderful public park. It is on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

VIEW IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Here we find the highest mountain peaks in the United States and falls that leap almost fifteen hundred feet.

Not far away are the giant trees of the world, some of which are three hundred feet high and thirty-five feet through.

There are many other wonderful scenes and points of interest in the Western Section.

Find a book in the Public Library which tells about them. You will enjoy reading it.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

What can you say of the Rocky Mountain region?
What would we see on a trip through this section?
Describe Yellowstone Park.

Have you ever seen hot springs or geysers? Where?
What causes them?

Describe "Old Faithful" and the Grand Geyser.

How was the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River made?
How deep is the Canyon?

Describe the Yosemite National Park. How high are its falls?
Tell the class about any interesting places in your native land.
Write a list of the interesting places in the United States.
Which would you prefer to visit? Why?

LESSON XVI

OUR GREAT INTERNAL TRADE

NOTE TO TEACHER. Have the pupil compare the internal trade of the United States with that of his native country. Bring out the geographical and other reasons for the difference which exists.

Before leaving the study of the geography of the United States, we shall take up two more very important subjects. One of these is our great internal trade. This trade has developed as a result of the many favorable conditions which exist throughout the country.

Of these conditions you have already read in the previous lessons.

We have seen that the country is very large.

The products and occupations of the various regions are different.

Great quantities of food are raised in one place, clothing is produced in another, and fuel in another.

Each part of our country produces more than it needs of its own particular product.

The great ranches of the West raise far more cattle and sheep than they could possibly use.

Our enormous farm lands produce millions of bushels of wheat and corn.

California has a great surplus of fruit.

The eastern manufactures are tremendous.

The South raises millions of bales of cotton.

These products are, however, needed in other sections. The workers in the Fall River cotton mills cannot get along without western wheat, any more than the workers in the Minneapolis flour mills can get along without cotton cloth.

The cotton fields of the South must yield the cotton for the New England mills.

The lumberman on the shores of Lake Michigan uses an ax and saw made of Pittsburgh steel.

The wooden house of the steel worker was once part of the Michigan forests.

The people of each section of the country produce and make all they can of whatever can be done best in their region. They depend on other sections for other products.

Therefore, an exchange of products is constantly necessary. It is this exchange of food, metals, and manufactures between the different parts of the country which makes our great internal trade.

The country as a whole is, therefore, interested in the prosperity of every one of its parts, because each part produces something that the other parts need.

Much of the business of the United States consists of taking the products of one place to other places where they are wanted.

To carry on this business, many trade routes are necessary.