. Europe and other continents . ch are re-placed higher up by beech, maple, and other trees of the cooltemperate zones, and still higher by a belt of these come dwarfed trees, shrubs, grass, etc.; andhigher still, at an average elevation of about nine thou-sand feet above sea level, the snow line is reached. 301 302 EUROPE The numerous lofty mountains, rising in the path of the pre-vailing westerlies, cause Switzerland to be one of the wettest countries on thecontinent. Onthe higher moun-tains much snowfalls, and, slidingdown the moun-tain sides in theform of ava-lanches, it g
. Europe and other continents . ch are re-placed higher up by beech, maple, and other trees of the cooltemperate zones, and still higher by a belt of these come dwarfed trees, shrubs, grass, etc.; andhigher still, at an average elevation of about nine thou-sand feet above sea level, the snow line is reached. 301 302 EUROPE The numerous lofty mountains, rising in the path of the pre-vailing westerlies, cause Switzerland to be one of the wettest countries on thecontinent. Onthe higher moun-tains much snowfalls, and, slidingdown the moun-tain sides in theform of ava-lanches, it gath-ers in the valleysto producestreams of ice, orglaciers (). These moveslowly down thevalleys until theyreach a point be-low the snow linewhere the icemelts. TheyFig. 201. there deposit A glacier in the Swiss Alps. terminal mo- raines, which,though smaller, resemble the moraines made by the conti-nental glaciers of the Ice Age. The Rhone and many otherrivers are supplied with water by the melting of the People and Government. — People who dwell amongmountains develop a spirit of independence, as is illus-trated by the story of William Tell. Thus we find that,as early as 1291, an agreement was made among a few ofthe small Swiss states, or cantons, for mutual protectionagainst oppression. Many a time since then foreigners SWITZERLAND 303 have attempted to conquer the Swiss ; but aided by the difficult approaches to their country, and by the mountain fastnesses to which they could retreat, they have been able to maintain their freedom, although the entire area of the country is only one-third that of Pennsylvania. Their twenty-two, cantons, united somewhat as are our own states, now constitute a republic, whose neutrality is guaranteed by the Great Powers of Europe. But while there is one stablegovernment, there is not one com-mon language. The country ismost open toward the north, forthe plateau of Switzerland mergesinto that of Germany. Naturally,ther
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