New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-02
OUR MOUNTAIN PEAKS.
WHAT AMERICA CAN CLAIM OF NATURES
MOST STUPENDoUS WORKS.

Mr.: I. c. RUSSELL TELLS WHERE OUR GREAT
EST MOUNTAINS RISE, HOW THEY WE'RE
CREATED, AND WHAT SCENIC EFFECTS
THEY PRODUCE.
c.,,rioht. 1890 By The Nes- York Tribune.
WIN near and remote objects enter the mental
vis;on the laws of perspective are many times re-
~s.a .nd what is distant and but imperfectly
understood is exaggerated and given an undue
,urorance Being aware Of this, let us endeaVor
IN discussing our mountain scenery to remove our
,oirt Of view sufficiently to compare WITHOUT
preindice the various high peaks OF the United
S,arcs one with another, and then contrast tne
,oftiest and most impressive of these with natures
masterpieces in other lands. The elevation OF a
mountain peak may be considered either as to the
height Of its summit above the sea, or as TO the
height of the mountain proper above the country
at it's elevation" as commonly understood, While
the latter for copvepience may be termed us
avisual height Attitudes above the sea and not
above mountain base are used by geographefs
In the prosaic comparison of elevations, but visual
heights alone appeal to the artistic and poetc
sides of our natures. Mount Washington rises
somewhat more than 5000 feet above the sea-
saws the geographer An artist sketchlng the
mountain from the banks of the Ammonoosuc'
however is himself over thousand feet apove
scs-level, and the part Of the mountain "hlch
appears in his sketch and shows Its VISUAL neght'
is only about 5000 feet in altitude Inc dlueN
enoc between the actual and visual heights Of the
high peaks along the cast face OF the
Rocky Mountains is in general ABOUT
5000 feet The actual and visual eleva-
tions Of Mount Tacoma, when viewed from fuget
Sound. are the same. The reader. fancy. Will
agree with me that no comparison OF mountains
is lust that does not consider their elevations
above adjacent valleys and plateaus as well as
their attitudes above the sea-
ITO avoid confusion, it may be we'll Estate
that the majestic mountain referred to here and
hereafter by Mr.. Russell as Mount Tacoma,
is and has been for century known as Mount
Rainier and is so named upon the maps.-Eo)
The Appalachians have two regions OF maxamum
elevation One eliminates in Mount Washington'
New-Hampshire, at an altitude of 6,293 feet; the
other in Mount Mitchell, North Carolina, which
attains an elevation Of 6,6ss feet. and Is tho
highest point east of the Mississippi. About
Mount Washington are grouped In maxnlncent
array the majestic SUBMITS Of the far-famed
Presidential Range. The immediate surroundings
of Mount Mitchell are less impressive than those
of its Northern rival, but Roam Mountain. only
twenty miles away, is higher than Mount Wash
IN.
Atlantic coast Owing to the humid climate
~ the Eastern States the mountains of that re-
pion are densely forest-covered from base to sum
NIT and a very large part of their attractiveness
and beauty is due to the varying tints Of their
1eafv covering Some of the great domes at the
Seuth are thickly covered with rhododendrons,
md in early summer the purple flame OF millions
Of blossoms tints the mountain SUBMITS Ike
sunset glow. The long, curving ridges ana grace
fullv swelling domes Of the Appalachians, with
shaded valleys and fruitful farms between, have
charm in their flowing outlines delicate trans
parent tints and ever-changing shadows that is
entirely their own. Although not lofty, and
perhaps only to be considered as hills IN COM
parison with many other ranges. their beauty
\ is uuexcellcd None OF the mountains Of the
\ Atlantic border approach either IN actual or In
visual elevation, the great peaks west Of the
Mississippi Valley. Mountains. like men and
races Of men, have their varying phases of youth,
maturity and old age.
"They are raised for ever and ever,
And sink again into sleep"
The Appalaohans old What remains to-day
are but the crumblng ruins Of former greatness.
When we look to the West, beyond the broad
prairies, we see mountains that are still young
end In some instances yet growing
PEAKS AMONG THE ROCKIES.
Toe Rocky Mountain system is composed OF
many Independent ranges and separate plateaus,
which form extremely rugged belt from 800
to 200 miles broad, that reaches far beyond the
limits of the United States both to the north and
south. The east border of the system is exceed
ingly rugged and rises abruptly from the Great
Plains. The mountains really stand on vast
table-land, tie general elevation of which is
about 5000 feet. An observer near Denver or
anywhere along the east base of the system where
its greatest elevations are in view is more than
mile above the sea, and therefore, has only some
what more than hall of the actual height of the
dominant peaks in sight. These mountains have
their greatest development in Colorado. In that
State alone there nearly forty peaks that
have been measured the heights of which exceed
$4,000 feet. Probably more than three times
this number are upward of 5000 feet in eleva-
ton. Various claims have been made from time
to time for individual supremacy among the
higher peaks, but many of their elevations have
been determined by baroh.etric measurement not
always under the most favorable conditions, it
is scarcely TO he expected that iEal results have
been reached.
At present Mount Harvard leads the list with
an elevation of 4,452 feet, as determined by
Professor j. D. Whitney. Its nearest rivals are
Mount Ebert, l4,415: Sierra Blanca, 14,413;
and Uncompahgre. l4,40s. Following these are
Mount Lincoln, 1875; Torrey's Peak, 1875;
Gray's Peak, 14,34l; Mount Rosaline, 1890 ;
Longs Peak l4,271; Pixies Peak 14,2lS; Mount
Princeton, AL &C. Mount Yale, l4,ls7, and very
many others of equal magnifcencc. These eleva-
tons have been determined almost entirely by
members Of various Government surveys, prlnci-
pally those under the direction of Professor f. "
Hayden and Captain G. NJ Wheeler. One Of
the most beautiful and most symmetrical
mountains IN this series, and at the same time
one OF the highest is Sierra Blanca, in the south
east portion of Colorado Its elevation. as shown
above, is second to but one peak in the Rocky
Mountains. It's visual height from many points
of view about its immediate base to the east,
soutb and west is upward of 5000 feet. The