Produced by Robert J. Hall [Illustration: THE TWINS, BLUFF CITY, UTAH The distance from the bottom of the cliff to the top of the erosion columns is 275 feet. _Frontispiece_] THE WESTERN UNITED STATES _A GEOGRAPHICAL READER_ BY HAROLD WELLMAN FAIRBANKS, PH.D. AUTHOR OF "STORIES OF OUR MOTHER EARTH," "HOME GEOGRAPHY," "STORIES OF ROCKS AND MINERALS," "PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA," ETC. BOSTON, U.S.A. D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 1904 PREFACE In the preparation of this book the author has had in mind the needs of the upper grammar grades. The subject matter has not been selected with the object of covering the field of Western geography in a systematic manner, but instead the attempt has been made to picture as graphically as may be some of its more striking and interesting physical features, and the influence which these features have exerted upon its discovery and settlement. Those subjects have been presented which have more than local interest and are illustrative of world-wide principles. Clear conceptions of the earth and man's relation to it are not gained by general statements as readily as by the comprehensive study of concrete examples. Nowhere outside of the Cordilleran region are to be found so remarkable illustrations of the growth and destruction of physical features, or so clear examples of the control which physical features exercise over the paths of exploration, settlement, and industrial development. The fact that the West furnishes a wealth of material for geography teaching has long been recognized in a general way, although there has been but little attempt to present this material in a form suitable for the use of schools. The illustrations are, with few exceptions, from the author's own photographs, and the descriptions are made up from his personal observations. Since the illustrations are numerous and have been selected with much care, it is hoped that they will add greatly to the value of the text. They should be _used_, and a proper understanding of the pictures made a part of every lesson. CONTENTS THE WORK OF THE COLORADO RIVER A TRIP INTO THE GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO HOW THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU WAS MADE THE CANONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS AN OREGON GLACIER SOMETHING ABOUT EARTHQUAKES AND MOUNTAIN BUILDING THE LAST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES THE MUD VOLCANOES OF THE COLORADO DESERT THE HISTORY OF A COAST LINE THE DISCOVERY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER THE GREAT BASIN AND ITS PECULIAR LAKES FREMONT'S ADVENTURES IN THE GREAT BASIN THE STORY OF GREAT SALT LAKE THE SKAGIT RIVER THE STORY OF LAKE CHELAN THE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE THE STORY OF LEWIS AND CLARK THE RUSSIANS IN CALIFORNIA DEATH VALLEY THE CLIFF DWELLERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS THE LIFE OF THE DESERT THE PONY EXPRESS HOW CLIMATE AND PHYSICAL FEATURES INFLUENCED THE SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST THE LIFE OF THE PROSPECTOR GOLD AND GOLD-MINING COPPER-MINING COAL AND PETROLEUM