The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-12-17
Tho Biggest Things.

Tho Biggest Things.
The largest theatre in the world is
the new Opera House in P,.ris. 1t
covers nearly three acres OF ground;
it's cubic mass is 4,2S7, 900 feet; it
cost about 100, 100000 francs. The
largest suspension bridge is the one
between New York city and Brooklyn;
the length of the main span is i ,595
feet 6 inches; the entire length of the
bridge is $3.50 feet. The loftiest act
i've volcano is Popocatapetl-"smok-
ing mountain"-thirty- miles
southwest OF Puebla, Mexico. it is
l7,749 feet above the sea level and
has a crater three miles in circumfer-
ence and a thousand feet deep. The
longest span OF wire in the world is
used for telegraph in India over the
river Kistnah. It's more than 5000
feet in length and is 1,2oO feet high.
The largest ship in the world is the
Great Eastern. She is $50 feet long,
s3 feet broad and 60 feet deep, being
2S,627 tons burden, 1875 gross and
1894 net register.
The greatest fortress, from strate-
gical point OF view. is the famous
stronghold of Gibraltar. IL occupies
rocky peninsula jutting out into the
sea, about three miles long and three
| quarters of mile wide. One central
rock rises to q height OF l ,435 feet
| above the sea level Its northern face
IS almost perpendicular, while its east
side is full OF tremendous precipices.
On the south it terminates in what is
called Europa Point. The west side
is less steep than the east, and be-
tween it's base and the sea is the mar
row, almost level span on which the
town OF Gibraltar is built. The for.
tress is considered lmpregnable to mil
itary assault. The regular garrison
in time OF peace numbers about seven
thousand.
The biggest cavern is the Mammoth
Cave in Edmonson county, Kentucky.
1t is near Green river, about six miles
from Cave City, and twenty-eight from
| Bowling Green. The cave consists of
q succession OF irregular chambers,
some OF which are large, situated on
different levels. Some of these are
traVersed bynavigable branches of the
subterranean Echo river. Blind fish
are found in Its waters.
The longest tunnel in the world is
that of the st. Gothard, on the line
ofrailroad between Lucerne and Milan.
The summit OF the tunnel is 900 feet
below the surface at Andermatt, and
$500 feet beneath the peak of Kastel-
horn OF the St. Gothard group. The
tunnel is 26 1-2 feet wide and is IS
feet 20 inches from the floor to the
crown OF the arched roof 1t is nine
1-2 miles longer than the Mount Cents
Tunnel.
The biggest trees in the world are
the mammoth trees OF California.
One OF a grove in Tulare county, ac.
cording to measurements made by
members of the State Geological Sur.
vey, was shown to be 276 feet in
height, los feet in circumference at
base, and 76 feet at a point l2 feet
above the ground. Some OF the trees
are 376 feet high and "a feet in diam
eter. Some Of the largest that have
been felled indicate an age OF from
1000 to $500 years.
The largest library is the Biblio-
theque National in Paris, founded by
Louis XIV. 1t contains 1,4oO, 900
volumes, 3OO,O ,OO0pamphlets, 175, 900
manuscripts, 100000 maps and
charts, and 15O, 900 coins and medals.
The collection of engrayings exceeds
100000, contained in some 10000
volumes. Theportraits number about
100000
The largest desert is that OF Sahara,
a vast region of Northern Africa, ex-
tending from the Atlantic Ocean on
the west to the valley of the Nile on
the east. The length from east to
west is about 5000 miles, its average
breadth about 900 miles, it's area
about 100000 square miles. Rain
falls in torrents IN the Sahara at in
tervals OF five, ten and twenty years.
In sumner the heat during the day is
excessive, but the nights are often
cold. In winter the temperature is
sometimes below freezing point. The
greatest pyramid is that OF Cheops,
one OF the three pyramids forming the
Memphis Group, situated on plateau
about 1877 feet above the level of the
highest rise in the Nile. Its dimen-
sions have been reduced by the re-
moval OF its outer portions to furnish
stone for the city OF Cairo. Its ma
sonry consisted originally OF s9,O2s,-
600 cubic feet and still amounts to
80, 111,OO0 feet. The present verti-
cal height is $50 feet, against 479 feet
originally. The total weight of the
stone is estimated at 6,316, 900 tons.
The largest bell in the world is the
great bell of Moscow, at the foot of
the Kremlin. Its circumference at
the bottom is nearly So feet and its
height more than 81 feet. In it's stout
est part it is % inches thick and it's
weight has been computed to be 443,-
722 pounds. 1t has never been hung.