. The first [-fifth] reader of the school and family series. tic, and spreads its warm waters aroiuid the coasts ofthe British Isles. It is the influence of this stream uponclimates, says Lieutenant Maury, that makes Erin theEmerald Isle, and clothes the shores of Albion with evergreenrobes; while, in the satue latitude on the other side, theshores of Labrador are fast bound in fetters of ice. Anyconvulsion of the globe that should open a broad channelthrough the isthmus of Panama would direct this stream intothe Pacific, and change the British Isles into a scene of steril-ity and desolation.
. The first [-fifth] reader of the school and family series. tic, and spreads its warm waters aroiuid the coasts ofthe British Isles. It is the influence of this stream uponclimates, says Lieutenant Maury, that makes Erin theEmerald Isle, and clothes the shores of Albion with evergreenrobes; while, in the satue latitude on the other side, theshores of Labrador are fast bound in fetters of ice. Anyconvulsion of the globe that should open a broad channelthrough the isthmus of Panama would direct this stream intothe Pacific, and change the British Isles into a scene of steril-ity and desolation. 6. It is very important for navigators to study the courseand velocity of the ocean currents, as the length and safetyof the voyage depend upon them. So much does this circu-lation of the ocean resemble the circulation of fluids in thehuman system, that our distinguished countryman, Ca]itainMaury, who has so successfully studied and described them,has been appropriately called the Harvey of the seas. 1st DlV. OF PHYSICAL GEOGltAlUV. 401 LESSON XX.— 1. The depressions on the surface of tlie earth, caused byearthquakes, volcanoes, or other means, are frequently filledAAith water, and constitute what are termed lakes. Riversmeeting with obstructions of hills and rocky ridges oftenform a lake, or chains of lakes, which serve the jDuriJoses ofnavigation, and give Aariety to the inland landscape. 2. Many lakes are fed by springs, and sometimes they arethe sources of large rivers. It is estimated that more thanhalf the fresh water on the globe is contained in the greatAmerican lakes, the largest of which is nearly as large in areaas England. Lakes are most numerous in high latitudes,where there is abundant rain and but little evaporation. 3. The five great American lakes, Superior, Huron, Erie,Michigan, and Ontario, are much higher than the level of theocean. Lake Superior has an elevation of more than sixhundred feet, and Lake Ontario two hundred and thirty-lourfeet. The Gre
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