Wealth of the World's Waste Places and Oceania

Although the term "Waste Places" carries an implied meaning of "worthless," yet, interpreted in the light of Nature's methods, each region described, useless as it may apparently seem, possesses a definite relation to the rest of the world, and therefore to the well-being of man. The Sahara is the track of the winds whose moisture fertilizes the flood-plains of the Nile. The Himalaya Mountains condense the rain that gives life to India. From the inhospitable polar regions come the winds and currents that temper the heat of the tropics. Nature has secreted many of her most useful treasures in most forbidding places. The nitrates which fertilize so much of Europe are drawn from the fiercest of South American deserts, and the gold which measures American commerce is mined in the arctic wilds of Alaska or in the almost inaccessible scarps of the western highlands. The description of these regions and the portrayal of their relation to the rest of the world is the purpose of Part I of this book. Part II of the book deals with Oceania—more especially with our island possessions in the Pacific Ocean. It presents the salient features of the ocean grand division in the light of most recent knowledge. The author wishes to give credit to Mr. Jacques W. Redway, F.R.G.S., for suggesting the subject of Part I and for the inspiration he received from the distinguished geographer in developing the subject. J. C. G. Oakland, California , December 25, 1912 . CONTENTS PART I WEALTH OF THE WORLD'S WASTE PLACES PAGE Introduction 1 I. The Wealth of the Arid Southwest 4 II. The Grand Canyon of the Colorado 27 III. Yellowstone Park 35 IV. Two Prehistoric Cemeteries—Giant Reptiles and Giant Trees 51 V. Death Valley 58 VI. The Mineral Wealth of the Andes 67 VII. The Czar's Greater Domain 82 VIII. The Mystic Highlands of Asia 97 IX. The Primal Home of the Saracen 105 X. The Sahara 115 XI. Polar Regions—the Conquest of the Arctic 128 XII. Polar Regions—Antarctica 147 XIII. Iceland, the Maid of the North 160 XIV. Greenland 170 XV. Where the Two Great Oceans Meet 175 XVI. Reclaimable Swamp Regions 183 XVII. Strange Rock Formations—Natural Bridges 190 XVIII. Strange Rock Formations—Table Mountain of California 195 XIX. Strange Rock Formations—Gibraltar 199 XX. The Baku Oil Fields 206 XXI. The South African Diamond Fields 211 XXII. The Islands of the Pacific 226…