The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers

by Unknown

Basin. The portion of country drained by a river and its tributary streams is called its basin, from its catching the rains which fall within its circuit, and which the river carries to the sea. The largest river-basin in Europe is that of the Volga, in Asia, that of the Ganges, in Africa that of the Nile, in North America that of the Mississippi, and in South America that of the Amazon.

THE GREAT RIVERS OF THE WORLD

RIVER	Length in Miles	Emptying Into	Area of Drainage in Square Miles, etc.
Mississippi-Missouri (United States)	4,330	Gulf of Mexico	1,245,000
Nile (Egypt)	3,500	Mediterranean	1,050,000
Amazon (Brazil): the only large river with direct latitudinal course	3,300	At Ocean on the Equator	2,700,000
Yangtze-Kiang (China)	3,000	Yellow Sea	548,000
Congo (Central Africa)	2,900	Atlantic Ocean	1,430,000
Lena (Russia in Asia)	2,800	Arctic Ocean	856,000
Amur (Russia in Asia)	2,800	Gulf of Saghalin	772,000
Mekong (Indo-China)[71]	2,800	China Sea	Nav. 200 miles
Yenisei (Russia in Asia)	2,700	Bay of Yenisei	1,000,000
Niger (West Africa)	2,600	Atlantic Ocean	808,000
Hoangho (China)	2,500	Gulf of Pe-Chi-Li	376,400
Obi (Russia in Asia)	2,300	Gulf of Obi	1,125,000
Plata-Parana (Argentina and Brazil)	2,300	Atlantic Ocean	2,300,000
Mackenzie (Canada)	2,300	Arctic Ocean	676,000
Volga (Russia in Europe)	2,200	Caspian Sea	560,000
St. Lawrence (United States and Canada)	2,200	Gulf of St. Lawrence	500,000
Yukon (Alaska)	2,200	Behring Sea	500,000
Indus (India)	2,000	Arabian Sea	373,000
Sao Francisco (Brazil)	1,800	Atlantic Ocean	249,000
Sir Daria (Turkestan)	1,800	Sea of Aral	175,000
Brahmaputra or Burrampooter (India)	1,800	Bay of Bengal	Nav. 800 miles
Rio Grande del Norte (U. S. and Mexico)	1,800	Gulf of Mexico	240,000
Danube (Austria-Hungary)	1,780	Black Sea	311,000
Saskatchewan-Nelson (Canada)	1,732	Hudson Bay	730,000
Euphrates (Turkey in Asia)	1,700	Persian Gulf	260,000
Zambesi (East Africa)	1,600	Indian Ocean	800,000
Ural (Russia in Europe)	1,500	Caspian Sea	85,000
Arkansas (United States)	1,500	Mississippi River	181,000
Orinoco (Colombia and Venezuela)	1,500	Atlantic Ocean	364,000
Ganges (India)	1,500	Bay of Bengal	409,000
Amu (Turkestan)	1,400	Sea of Aral	174,000
Columbia (United States)	1,400	Pacific Ocean	260,000
Dnieper (Russia in Europe)	1,400	Black Sea	203,000
Murray (Australia)	1,400	Indian Ocean	351,000
Don (Russia in Europe)	1,300	Sea of Azov	166,000
Orange (S. W. Africa)	1,200	Atlantic Ocean	370,000
Irawaddy (East India)	1,200	Indian Ocean	Nav. 800 miles
Colorado (United States)	1,100	Gulf of California	250,000
Senegal (West Africa)	1,100	Atlantic Ocean	270,000
Tigris (Turkey in Asia)	1,000	Euphrates and Persian Gulf	Nav. generally for small boats
Ohio (United States)	970	Mississippi River	201,000
Churchill (Canada)	900	Hudson Bay	Nav. by canoes
Magdalena (Colombia)	840	Caribbean Sea	Nav. 600 miles
Rhine (Germany)	800	North Sea	76,000
Cambia (West Africa)	750	Atlantic Ocean	Nav. 300 miles
Elbe (Germany)	720	North Sea	57,000
Fraser (British Columbia)	650	Gulf of Georgia	Nav. generally for small boats
Vistula (Germany, Poland)	600	Baltic Sea	120,000
Sacramento (United States)	600	Pacific Ocean	Nav. 300 miles
Tagus (Portugal)	570	Atlantic Ocean	32,000
Paranahiba (Brazil)	530	Atlantic Ocean	Nav. 400 miles
Guadiana (Spain)	510	Mediterranean Sea	32,000
Rhone (France)	500	Gulf of Lyons	38,000
Seine (France)	480	English Channel	30,000
Ebro (Spain)	470	Mediterranean Sea	32,000
Susquehanna (United States)	450	Chesapeake Bay	Not navigable
Potomac (United States)	450	Chesapeake Bay	Nav. to Washington, D. C.
Oder (Germany)	440	Baltic Sea	43,000
Po (Italy)	420	Adriatic Sea	29,000
Garonne (France)	380	Bay of Biscay	33,000
Hudson (United States)	350	New York Bay	Nav. to Troy; 150 miles
Loire (France)	200	Bay of Biscay	25,000
Thames (England)	200	North Sea	5,250

Deltas and Estuaries. Owing to local peculiarities at the mouths of rivers, accumulations of sedimentary matter take place in the middle of the stream, dividing it into two or more branches. By these depositions deltas (so called from the Greek letter (Δ) delta) are formed—many of them, as those of the Mississippi and Orinoco and of the Rhine and the Ganges, being of great extent. Some rivers fall into the ocean through estuaries or wide channels, and are subject to a great swell or sudden rise of the waters when the tide enters.

PICTURE DIAGRAM GIVING A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF
THE WORLD’S FAMOUS RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS

FIRST: Showing the comparative length of the rivers; where and how they take their rise; where and how they empty; their chief branches and connected lakes; and the principal cities located on their banks.

SECOND: Comparative height of mountains, arranged in groups by continents, showing the relative height of both mountains and continents. See [next page] for LOCATION and HEIGHT IN FEET of the various mountain peaks.

Large illustrations:
[Rivers (left-hand side)] (480 kB)
[Rivers (right-hand side)] (137 kB)
[Moutains (left-hand side)] (187 kB)
[Moutains (right-hand side)] (554 kB)