PHYSICAL FEATURES.—It would be difficult to conceive a species of soil or feature in nature not to be found in or on the border of New York. In giving a summary of the physiognomy of the United States (see page 261, &c.), so much has been said on the geography of New York, as very much to abridge what would otherwise have been necessary in the present article: it may suf fice to observe that the state rises from the Atlan tic ocean, by a long insular sea border, to which the name of Long Island has been given; through this selvage the Atlantic tides are borne inland, upwards of 150 miles, and passing numerous chains of mountains, reach the interior secondary form ation. On each side of this natural channel the country rises into mountains, of from 500 to 4000 feet, with extensive valleys of productive soil, and cultivated by an active people. Passing the tide channel and the mountainous region, the face of the earth becomes less imposing and stern, and the soil more fertile towards the west, but less so northward, from the Hudson and Mohawk rivers.
Comparatively the rather elevated tract north from the Mohawk, and west from Lakes George and Champlain, is a cold and sterile expanse remain ing much the most thinly peopled part of the state.
The State of New York may be fairly deemed the travelling ground of the United States. The city itself, the majestic Hudson, the canal and the great western country, the Niagara, Trenton, and Cahoes falls; Saratoga, Ballston, Lebanon and Avon Springs, the Catskill mountains, all these present a combination of interesting objects which amply repay the curiosity of the enlightened tra veller. The many scenes, too, connected with the revolutionary war and the war of 1812, can not fail to arouse patriotic feelings, as the vil lage of Tarry-Town, Saratoga, Plattsburgh, and the noble and romantic scenery of West. Point, with its admirable institution for military science.