Page 176 - Third Book of Reading Lessons

READING LESSONS. 175
commercial intercourse. The length of the coast­ line, commencing at the northern extremity of the Sea of Azof, and terminating at the mouth of the River Kara, is nearly equal to the earth's circum­ rence.
3. Nearly two-thirds of the sur ce of Europe con­ sist of au immense plain; the remainder is occupied by mountains of greater or less elevation, and these are principally extended along its ·southern and western shores. The plain stretches across the east­ ern ·boundary, from the shores of the Black Sea to those of the Northern Ocean; and, if smaller emi­ nences be not taken into account, it may be said to extend om the Ural Mountains, through Russia,
Poland, Prussia, and Holland, to the German Ocean, including an area of nearly three millions of square miles.
4. The islan_ds of Europe are numerous and im­ portant. G1:eat Britain and Ireland rm the most power l kingdom in the world. Iceland is ll of interest, whether we regard its history, or its natural phenomena. The Balearic Islands were as mous in ancient, as Corsica is in modern times; and the names of Sicily and Crete are closely connected with the histories of Greece and Rome.
5. The climate of Europe is much more temperate than that of any other portion of the globe of equal i extent. It may be divided into three zones; the northern, middle, and southern, the boundaries of which may be marked by the parallels of 46 and 58 degrees of north latitude. In the northern zone there are only two seasons; summer and winter. In the central or middle zone, the ur seasons are dis­ tinct; while in the southern, vegetation is very little