Climate.—The vast area of the United States necessarily exhibits a great variety of climate. New York has the summer of Copenhagen and the winter of Rome, the minimum range of the mercury being 5° in winter, and the max imum 98° in summer. The States border ing on Canada exceed both of these ex tremes, but throughout the Middle States, lat. 37°-41°, the climate is agreeable and often delightful throughout most of the year. The main peculiarity of the North American seasons is the almost total ab sence of spring. Mason and Dixon's Line, with its W. extension along the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri, has a historical interest, but is also of climatic importance in the geography of the cis Missouri States. N. of it, sleighs are in frequent use during winter; S. of it, they are seen rarely. To the N. the pro ductions are those of the temperate zone, and the States were always free; to the S., the country becomes more and more tropical as one advances. From meridians 98° to 100° the climate is still variable from year to year, seasons of rain and plenty being followed by others in which drought is the forerunner of scarcity. But the planting of forest trees and the cultivation of the soil, at first by irri gation, has largely increased the amount of rainfall. Along the Pacific seaboard, especially in California, the climate re sembles that of S. Europe. The isother mal lines, roughly stated, show a mean temperature of 72° for Florida, the Gulf Shores, and Arizona; of from to 60° for S. of Pennsylvania, Virginia, the N. border of the Carolinas, Tennessee, Mis souri, Kansas, S. of Utah and Nevada, and the greater part of California; from 44° to 52° for Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, northern Illinois, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington; and from 36° to 44° for Maine, parts of New Hamp shire and Vermont, Wisconsin, Minne sota, the whole crest of the Rocky Moun tains, and parts of Oregon and California along the Sierras. The annual rainfall ranges from 56 to 64 inches in the S. of Florida and along the N. W. Pacific coast; 44 to 56 inches over the New En land coast and the greater part of the Southern States, while in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, etc., it is 32-44 inches. In Texas, Indian Territory, eastern Kansas and Nebraska, Dakota and Minnesota, and western California, it is 20-32 inches, while in the tract be tween 98° and 118° it ranges from 18 to 4 inches. Malarial diseases prevail in the lowlands of most of the Southern States, as also in the new and marshy portions of the Western States below lat. 40° N. Consumption and chest dis eases prevail in New England and in the Middle States. Minnesota, Colorado, California, Arkansas, Georgia, and Florida are favorite resorts for persons with weak lungs. On the whole, the climate of the United States may be called healthy, malarious and deadly spots being very few; while certain dis tricts, especially of Florida, the central plains, and the Pacific coast, are among the most salubrious in the world.
Geology and Mineralogy.—Geologically as well as geographically the United States is divided into two great sections by the Rocky Mountains, along whose whole extent, in a wide belt from N. to S., Cretaceous formations predominate, with occasional stretches of Carbon iferous strata. Tertiary formations em brace almost the whole of the basin be tween the Rocky Mountains and the Coast Range, broken by igneous rocks in Washington and in Oregon, and by Metamorphic strata along the Sierras; in the E. section Tertiary formations stretch along the coast from the Rio Grande almost to the Hudson. Metamor phic, igneous, and Devonian rocks pre vail in New England, and along the shores of the Great Lakes the Middle Devonian or Old Red Sandstone. Older Pala aozoic groups occur in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Tennessee, and run side by side with Metamorphic strata along the Ap palachians, while a large proportion of the interior is occupied by great Carbon iferous deposits. Anthracite coal occurs in the basins of Pennsylvania, which em brace about 472 square miles, and ex tend to a depth of from 60 to 100 feet. The Eastern coal fields embrace an area of over 69,000 square miles; the interior, 132,000 square miles; the Gulf, 2,100; the Northern, 88,590; the Rocky Mountain, 37,000, and the Pacific coast, 1,900. (See
COAL). The ores of iron abound in the States, and include all known ores. The ore beds most largely worked are in Minnesota, Michigan, Alabama, Wiscon sin, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, and New Jersey. Copper ore is found chiefly in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Ten nessee, Alaska, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma; lead ores (galena) in Mis souri, Idaho, Utah, etc., quicksilver in California and Nevada. Gold and silver are widely distributed, 24 States and Territories reporting them; but Cali fornia, Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Arizona, South Dakota, and Utah pro duce the larger part; Nevada alone about one-half. Nevada, Utah, and Arizona yield more silver than gold.
Flora and Fauna.—The indigenous plants of the United States are estimated at about 5,000 species, California alone producing at least 2,500. The potato, the tobacco plant, and maize, now so familiar in Europe, have all been in troduced from the United States or Mex ico. The United States is especially rich in valuable timber trees, of which no less than 120 species, growing in sufficient quantities to be of commercial im portance, attain a height of 100 feet and upward. Of these 12 species reach an altitude of 200 feet, and 5 or 6 exceed 300 feet. Hickory, magnolia, liquid amber, sassafras, and sequoia trees (to which species belong the giant trees of California), found only in a fossil state in the Old World, abound in the United States, as well as palmetto, tulip tree, cypress, cottonwood, live oak, and other oaks, and a number of trees more or less closely resembling the common species of western Europe, to which the same names have been given.
Agriculture and. Live Stock.—For the aggregate acreage, production, and values of the principal agricultural crops, see AGRICULTURE, the several State and Territorial articles, and the individual crop articles. For the production and manufacture of COTTON see article thereon. Manufactures in respect to product constitute the leading industry of the United States, and their impor tance is increasing more rapidly than that of agriculture. The manufacturing section is situated mainly in the North Atlantic States, spreading with diminish ing importance W., following closely the distribution of the urban population. About half of the manufactured product comes from the nine States included in the North Atlantic group, and about one third from the North Central States.
Manufactures.—The following table presents a summary of the manufactur ing interests of the United States in 1899, 1904, 1909 and 1914: Religion and Education.—There is no State or officially recognized religion in the United States. Every form of re ligious belief is tolerated by National and State laws, but no sectarian distinctions are permitted to be considered in public legislation, the prevailing sentiment of the country being that each sect or de nomination must maintain itself without any public aid. The Roman Catholic is the most powerful religious body. Its membership as reported represents the entire Roman Catholic population as compared with the communicant mem bers of other denominations. It is de rived from various sources spread widely over the country. In the Northeastern States it is made up largely of Irish and French-Canadian stock, while further W. along the shores of the Great Lakes the Roman Catholics are chiefly French Canadians by birth or extraction. The Methodist and Baptist denominations are strongest in the Southern States; the Presbyterian in the Middle and Southern States and the upper Mississippi valley; the Episcopalian in the Northeastern States; and the Congregational mostly in New England. The educational estab lishment is treated very fully under titles that will readily suggest them selves to the reader, covering the public or common schools, the secondary, and the advanced and professional institu tions.