=Harbors.=--Coast outlines have much to do with the commercial
possibilities of a region. The "drowned valleys" and similar inlets
along the North Atlantic coast, both of Europe and America, form harbors
in which vessels ride at anchor in safety, no matter what the existing
conditions outside may be. As a result, the two greatest centres of
commerce in the world are found at these harbors--one on the American,
the other on the European coast.

From New York Bay southward along the Atlantic seaboard there are but
few harbors, and this accounts for the enormous development of commerce
in the stretch of coast between Portland and Baltimore. San Francisco
Bay and the harbors of Puget Sound monopolize most of the commerce of
the Pacific coast of the United States. South America has several good
harbors on the Atlantic seaboard, and in consequence a large city has
grown at the site of each. On the Pacific coast the good harbors are
very few in number, and they are not situated near productive regions.

Asiatic peoples, as a rule, are not promoters of foreign commerce, and,
those of Japan excepted, the only good harbors are those that have been
improved by European governments. These are confined mainly to India and
China. The many possible harbors make certain a tremendous commerce in
the future. Africa has but very few good harbors. There are excellent
harbors in the islands of the Pacific, and many of them are of great
strategic value as coaling stations and bases of supply to the various
maritime powers.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

The Pennsylvania Railroad has found it more economical to tunnel the
mountain-range under Horseshoe Curve, near Altoona, than to haul the
trains over the mountains; discuss the details in which there will be a
saving.

Why are rugged and mountainous regions apt to be sparsely peopled?

The first valuable discovery in the Rocky Mountains was gold; what were
the chief effects that resulted?

Would the industries of the Pacific coast of the United States be
benefited or impaired by the existence of a coast-plain?

Which are more conducive to commerce--the large mediterraneans, such as
the Gulf of Mexico, or the small estuaries, such as New York Bay?
Discuss the merits or demerits of each.

What are the chief products of mountains, of plateaus, of lowland
plains?

COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Adams's New Empire--Chapter I.

Redway's Physical Geography--Chapter IV.

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