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Show i9oo] PHYSIOGRAPHY 5 portance with the development of civilization and the growth of commerce. Hence the discussion of that coast is a convenient avenue of approach to the task of this volume. In general, the Nprth American fip* s* « ifpyjiUr afjfl ^ Irpn, AQp^ ia^ ly on the Atlantic shore/ ^ eep bays and consequent penmsuias are common; yet of Labrador, Nova Scotia, Florida, Yucatan, Lower California, and Alaska, only Nova Scotia and Florida have lain within the main tracks ot conqu^ tland immigration. Yucatan is of interest chiefly as the seat of a remarkable native culture in pre- Columbian times; Labrador and Lower California have always remained little more than names upon the map; and Alaska is just beginning to play a part injjistory. The indentations of the coast are of far greater historical importance. JIudson Bay, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy, Massachusetts Bay, Buzzards Bay, Long Island Sound, Delaware and Chesapeake bays, Albemarle and Bfhriico sounds, and the Gulf of Mexico with its branches, represent the great breaks of the Atlantic coastline; while, in contrast, the Gulf of California and Puget Sound are the only considerable interruptions of the Pacific shore. The same difference marks the smaller bays and harbors. At frequent intervals along its stretch the Atlantic coast offers admirable • protection for shipping; while on the entire Pacific coast of the United States there are practically but two natural harbors, that of San Francisco and the |
