Do you live where the land is smooth almost as far as you can see? Your home, then, is upon a plain.

The plain seems as level as a floor. But is this really so? If the plain were perfectly level the rain which falls upon it would not run off. The land might then be flooded.

Can the river tell us of the land? Let us see.

anything about the slope Stand upon the bank for

a time and watch the water. Does it stand still like the water in the pond or does it move? Watch that little stick upon the water and you soon can tell. See, the stick is moving. It comes nearer.

in front of you, and soon it is out of sight.

It floats

This shows us that the water in the river is moving. It is flowing across the plain on which you live. The plain must slope a little. The slope is in the direction in which the river flows.

Is your home in a valley? Then you live on the lowland between hills or mountains. The valley is long and narrow like a great trough. A river flows into the valley at one end and out at the other end. You can easily see that the valley slopes in the direction in which the river is flowing. The steeper slopes are upon the sides of the valley where the little brooks trickle down to the river.

Your home may be far above the valley and in the mountains. Then there must be rough rocks and steep slopes all around your home. There is just enough smooth land upon which to make a little garden. Here you have no trouble in telling which way the land slopes. The land is so steep that if you are not careful you will fall and get hurt.

The water of the mountain brook does not flow quietly like the river in the plain. It tumbles noisily

over the rocks. It will at last join the river by the easiest path it can find.

Wherever we go we shall find the land sloping in some direction. The broad, gentle slopes we may

call plains; the open hollows between the hills or mountains are valleys; while the deep gashes which the rivers cut in the mountains are cañons.

If we follow the river to its head we shall see

these three different land surfaces. In its lower course the river winds here and there over a broad plain. It seems as if it hardly knew which way it wanted to go.

After passing the plain we find hills beginning to rise on either side of the river. We pass up the valley which the river follows between the hills. The land along the river is rich and we see many

farms.

flows more swiftly. At last we come to a place where the hills come close to the river. There is no land between the rocky slopes and the river. The river rushes along between steep cliffs which almost shut out the sun. Now we are in a cañon. We

follow the cañon far back into the mountains until it splits up into many little ravines. Each of these has been formed by the waters of many springs.

QUESTIONS.

Describe the country about your home. Is it a plain, a valley or a mountain on which you live?

Where do you find swampy places?

Have you seen the river flood the lowland along its banks?
What makes the flood? Does it do any harm?

How do you think the valleys were made?

Do you think that water had anything to do with making the valleys? Why?

How does a valley differ from a plain?

Have you ever been in a cañon or ravine? If so, describe it.
What is the difference between a hill and a mountain?

Where do the streams run quietly, in the valley or high in the mountains?

falls?

Where do the rough rocks stick up and form cliffs for water

Is there much level land in the mountains?

Where are there the most farms, in the valley or in the mountains?
Where does the water of the river go to?