The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1860-01-25
The Deserts of the Earth and
their Causes.

There are three great Deserts on the
Globe, besides many minor ones.
Their cause is eternal it is want of
rain. From the creation of the world
until now no rain has ever fallen, no
dew moistened their surface, nor ever
will till the latest hour of time. All
vegetation is dependent on the winds,
which blow laden with moisture from
the Ocean, seas or great lakes. Wher-
ever lies tract of country inaccessi-
BILE to such winds. no rain falls, and
there must necessarily be desert. If
the ground is the nature of clay, it be-
comes to the consistency of burnt
bricks; if of sandy nature, it is loos-
ened by the winds, and blown into
vast heaps and mountains, only to be
shifted again by the next change Of
wind.
When traveller is once on a desert,
all sounds of life and nature cease +:
no stir of busy population, no lowing
of herds, not the sound of hammer is
heard, nor the song of bird no
murmur of brooks not even the chirp
Of an insect, nor the blessed sound of
falling rain-no verdure relieves the
dreariness of the scene no green trees,
grass or flowers break the lonely pros
pect. A profound, a dead silence
reigns in a desert. A thin haze floats
over the sands in which the thirsty
traveller sees lakes of water, running
streams, and buhhling fountains but
on his approach they float away and
beyond he sees vast hanging woods,
shady bowers and beautiful groves.
But while congratulating himself on a
cool retreat from the heat of the sun,
they too fade away, and vast, ragged
mountains rise before him. But they
also disappear, and the traveller is still
on the sands of the desert.
The Great African, or Desert of
Sahara is the largest on the globe it
is situated between the 18th and 3Oth
degrees of north latitude, and is 5000
miles long, by 1000 miles wide; it is
caused by the trade-winds blowing
continually to the west, and carrying
away the moisture of the Atlantic
Ocean from its western side; while
the moisture acquired by these winds
in crossing the Red Sea is evaporated
or rained out, in passing over Nubia
and Egypt before reaching its eastern
border, therefore it being inaccessible
to any Winds directly from the Ocean,
no rain fails from the beginning of one
century to another, and the earth be-
ing Of a sandy nature, it is continually
shifted by the winds, and rolled in
great pillows like the waves of the sea.
1t is needless to say it is perfectly un.
inhabitable by man or beast, as the
highest house ever built would be bu-
ried under the moving sands in less
than one hour
From the day the earth was set in
motion, and the trade winds blew, it
has been the sepuIchre of nature; I'M
til the Earth loses its daily motion it
must always remain so.
The Great American Desert is stu
ated between the 34th and 42d degrees
of north latitude +; it is on the east side
of the Rocky or Cordilleras range of
mountains; it is perfectly barren
waste, the ground in many places be-
ing almost as hard as stone. No
water is to be found, and it is entirely
destitute of vegetation Of any kind
huge rocks are scattered over its SUR
face in all directions, and more drea-
ry place is not to be found. 1t is
caused by the rain laden winds, which
come up from the Gulf of Mexico, be-
coming exhausted before reaching it
on the east, and on the west the high
mount aims condense the moisture con-
tanned in the winds, which arise from
the Pacific Ocean, which descending
in rain, fertilize California and Oregon
on the west side of the mountains, but
leave the winds, after passing these
mountains, too dry to ever bring rain
on the eastern side, therefore, being