lopes
about Puget Sound can be fully developed.

The natural outlet for the great wheat-fields of central Washington
is by way of the Columbia River to the ocean, but the tunnelling
of the Cascades partly diverts their products to the sound region.

[Illustration: FIG. 119.--FALLS OF SPOKANE RIVER

Location of the city of Spokane]

The city of Spokane, in eastern Washington, clearly illustrates
the control which physical features exert upon the settlements
and industries of men. The Spokane River, soon after issuing from
Coeur d'Alene Lake, flows out over the volcanic plains of Washington.
In the course of a few miles it descends into a shallow canon by
a series of cascades and waterfalls. The water-power furnished by
these falls has determined the position and growth of Spokane.
The falls brought sawmills and manufacturing plants, and these in
turn brought people and railroads. The city has become a great
commercial centre for all the region round about. The extensive and
rich mineral district upon the north, extending even into British
Columbia, finds its most convenient source of supplies at Spokane.
East of the city is the Coeur d'Alene mining region, while south
and west are large areas devoted to the cultivation of fruit and
grain.

[Illustration: FIG. 120.--VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA

Supported entirely by mining]

The city of Great Falls, Montana, in the Missouri River basin,
is destined to become a great industrial centre, because of the
presence of unlimited water-power afforded by the Great Falls of
the Missouri River. No other reason would lead to the growth of
a settlement at this particular spot, for boundless plains extend
about it in every direction.

[Illustration: FIG. 121.--BUTTE, MONTANA

A city of smelters]

The mining cities of the West, such as Butte, Virginia City, and
Leadville, illustrate the growth of important centres of population
in the vicinity of large deposits of minerals. In the case of these
cities, as well as many others, there are no agricultural resources
in the surrounding country to support the people gathered together
here. Nearly all their food has to be shipped hundreds of miles.
Cities supported by mining are less likely to be permanent than
those supported by an agricultural community, by commerce, or by
manufacturing.

THE FOREST BELT OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS

No other coniferous forests in the world can compare with those
covering the western slope