THE EARTH SEEN FROM THE AIR [Illustration: FIG. 1--The National Capitol, Washington, D. C. A view obliquely downward from a position over the National Botanical Garden, showing the western front of the Capitol at the approach to it from Pennsylvania Avenue. In the background, at the right, can be seen a part of the Library of Congress and, at the left, a part of the Senate Office Building. The radiating avenues of approach are of interest as well as the character of the district surrounding the Capitol, as indicated by the apartment houses and tree-lined streets.] AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 4 W. L. G. JOERG, _Editor_ THE FACE OF THE EARTH AS SEEN FROM THE AIR A Study in the Application of Airplane Photography to Geography BY WILLIS T. LEE U. S. Geological Survey [Illustration] AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY BROADWAY AT 156TH STREET NEW YORK 1922 COPYRIGHT, 1922 BY THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK CONDÉ NAST PRESS GREENWICH, CONN. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION ix I THE VIEWPOINT 1 II FAMILIAR SCENES FROM A NEW ANGLE 7 III ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE GARDENING, AND ENGINEERING 11 IV THE MOSAIC 20 V GENERAL ASPECTS OF THE SURFACE AS SEEN FROM THE AIR 22 VI MARSHES AND MARSH DRAINAGE 27 VII COASTAL MUD FLATS 41 VIII SUBMERGED LAND FORMS 45 IX THE PLAIN FROM THE AIR 50 X MOUNTAIN FEATURES 57 XI AIR CRAFT IN THE STUDY OF ROCKS AND ORES 69 XII MAPPING AND CHARTING FROM THE AIR 72 INDEX 105 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS _(o) indicates an oblique_, _(v) a vertical airplane photograph_ FIG. PAGE THE VIEWPOINT, AND FAMILIAR SCENES FROM A NEW ANGLE 1 The National Capitol, Washington, D. C. (o) Frontispiece