The law of the desert—The self-registering gauge of past climates—Some characteristics of the desert waste—Dry weathering: the red and brown desert varnish—The mechanical breakdown of the desert rocks—The natural sand blast—The dust carried out of the desert 197 CHAPTER XVI THE FEATURES IN DESERT LANDSCAPES The wandering dunes—The forms of dunes—The cloudburst in the desert—The zone of the dwindling river—Erosion in and about the desert—Characteristic features of the arid lands—The war of dune and oasis—The origin of the high plains which front the Rocky Mountains—Character profiles—Reading references 209 CHAPTER XVII REPEATING PATTERNS IN THE EARTH RELIEF The weathering processes under control of the fracture system—The fracture control of the drainage lines—The repeating pattern in drainage networks—The dividing lines of the relief patterns: lineaments—The composite repeating patterns of the higher orders—Reading references 223 CHAPTER XVIII THE FORMS CARVED AND MOLDED BY WAVES The motion of a water wave—Free waves and breakers—Effect of the breaking wave upon a steep, rocky shore: the notched cliff—Coves, sea arches, and stacks—The cut rock terrace—The cut and built terrace on a steep shore of loose materials—The work of the shore current—The sand beach—The shingle beach—Bar, spit, and barrier—The land-tied island—A barrier series—Character profiles—Reading references 231 CHAPTER XIX COAST RECORDS OF THE RISE OR FALL OF THE LAND The characters in which the record has been preserved—Even coast line the mark of uplift—A ragged coast line the mark of subsidence—Slow uplift of the coasts; the coastal plain and cuesta—The sudden uplifts of the coast—The upraised cliff—The uplifted barrier beach—Coast terraces—The sunk or embayed coast—Submerged river channels—Records of an oscillation of movement—Simultaneous contrary movements upon a coast—The contrasted islands of San Clemente and Santa Catalina—The Blue Grotto of Capri—Character profiles—Reading references 245 CHAPTER XX THE GLACIERS OF MOUNTAIN AND CONTINENT Conditions essential to glaciation—The snow-line—Importance of mountain barriers in initiating glaciers—Sensitiveness of glaciers to temperature changes—The cycle of glaciation—The advancing hemicycle—Continental and mountain glaciers contrasted—The nourishment of glaciers—The upper and lower cloud zones of the atmosphere 261 CHAPTER XXI THE CONTINENTAL GLACIERS OF POLAR REGIONS