New National Fourth Reader eBook


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Language Lesson.—­Let pupils point out and explain the unusual expressions found in the first two stanzas, writing out a list of the changes made.

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ver’tic al, upright.

cat’a ract, a great fall of water over a precipice.

pro vis’ions, stock of food.

con struct’ed, made; formed.

in cred’i ble, not easily believed.

sta’tion a ry, not moving; fixed.

ex tinct’, inactive; dead.

de pos’it, that which is laid or thrown down.

ap’er ture, an opening.

di am’e ter, distance across or through.

com pris’es, includes; contains.

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Within the vast extent of territory belonging to the United States, there are many wonderful natural curiosities which attract visitors from all parts of the world.

A short description of some of the principal attractions is here given, with the hope that many who read this lesson, may at some time visit a part or all that are noticed.


The Yellowstone Park is a tract of country fifty-five by sixty-five miles in extent, lying mainly in the northwest corner of the Territory of Wyoming, but including a narrow belt in southern Montana.  It contains nearly thirty-six hundred square miles, and is nearly three times as large as the State of Rhode Island.  No equal extent of country on the globe comprises such a union of grand and wonderful scenery.

Numerous hot springs, steam jets, and extinct geyser cones exist in the Yellowstone basin.  Just beyond the western rim of the basin, lies the grand geyser region of Fire-Hole River.

Scattered along both banks of this stream are boiling springs from two to twelve feet across, all in active operation.

One of the most noted geysers of this district is “Old Faithful.”  It stands on a mound thirty feet high, the crater rising some six feet higher still.

The eruptions take place about once an hour, and continue fifteen or twenty minutes, the column of water shooting upward with terrific force, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet.

The great mass of water falls directly back into the basin, flowing over the edges and down the sides in large streams.  When the action ceases, the water recedes from sight, and nothing is heard but an occasional escape of steam until another eruption occurs.


Just across the river and close to the margin, a small conical mound is observed, about three feet high, and five feet in diameter at the base.

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New National Fourth Reader from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
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