RIVERS

OF Europe flow from two great centres— the Alps and the Valdai Hills. The Alps are very high they have seas near them on every side except one; and therefore they have a very heavy rainfall. RlZZIO, The; Valdai Hills are very low; they are very far from the sea except on one side and therefore they have a very light rainfall. The; rivers which flow ROADS, from the Valdai area are very long and very slow the rivers Danube—shorter which flow from the Alpine area are— except the and much more rapid. for several reasons. The rivers generally run parallel with the mountains, and do not try to break acro them. There are two important exceptions to this the Elbe in the north-west corner of Austria, and the Danube in the south-east corner. Consequently, Robert they are oourse—the generally navigable for the greater part of ROBERT their Seine for 350 out of 470 miles, the etc. Loire They for 400 radiate out of 540. m all the directions Rhine for from s6o out common of 760, Roberts, centres, and the character of the surface allows their lower courses to be interconnected by canals. For instance, the Rhine, Rhone, Ticino (= Po), and Inn (= Danube), all rise within 40 miles of each other, and empty hundreds of miles apart. Both thus—by the Black Sea ana the Caspian are connected river and canal—with the Baltic both the Black Sea and the Baltic with the North Sea;; both the North Sea and the Caspian with the Mediterranean. ROBERTSON, general excellence. The rivers in the south get very fittle rain in summer, and those in. the east get very hard frost in winter. The increase in the size of modem ships nece itates constant dredging, even in rivers that enjoy the ‘scouring’ advantage of a ROBERTSON, tide. Many of the short rivers, and some even of the long ones, especially in the Alpine area, are too quick for navigation. In the latter case they may still be useful—(1) for irrigation, as in Spain; (2) for Robes pierre, mechanical power, as in Switzerland; (3) for timber floating, as in Sweden. the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Danube. The Seine is so useful that Rouen has the best position for trade of any single city in continental Europe. The Rob reasons for this are—(1) the river rises at a low level, and therefore is slow; (2) it flows through porous soil, which is able to moderate its flood and regulate its volume; (3) it is connected by canal with the ROCHDALE waterways of neighbouring countries at more than a dozen separate points. through Holland but it is e entially a German river. It is, however,; really an international highway of commerce, and it has along its banks probably a greater number of important cities than any other river in the world. The reasons for this arc— (1) it is valuable for navigation (2) its upper and middle course is so beautiful; (3); its basin is so fertile. The older cities, such as Coblenz and Cologne, are all on the left bank, which had the protection of the river itself against the Teutonic hordes of Central Europe. Rhine. It is extremely valuable for commerce, being navigable up to Prague via the Moldau. It does not rise in Germany, but is e entially a German river. Its upper and middle course is beautiful, while its lower course is dull and uninteresting. the Volga, being four times as long as the Seine. It rises in the Black Forest, and empties into the Black