THE LARGEST.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 8819, 14 June 1889, Page 3

THE LARGEST.

The highest mountain range is the Himalayas, the mean elevation being estimated at 18,000 ft. The loftiest mountain is Mount Everest, or Guarisauker, of the Himalaya range, having an elevation of 29,002 ft above the sea level.

The largest city in the world is London. Its population numbers 4,021,875 souls. New York, with a population of 1,550,000, comes fifth in the list of great cities. The largest theatre is the new Opera House in Paris. It covers nearly three acres of ground. Its cubic mass is 4,287,000 ft. It cost 63,000,000 francs. Tbe loftiest active volcano is Popocatepetl (Smoking Mountain) thirty-five miles south-west of Puebla, Mexico. It is 17,784 ft above the sea level, and has a crater three miles in circumference and 1000 ft deep. The largest island in the world—which is also regarded as a continent—is Australia. It is 2500 miles in length from East and West, and measures 1950 miles from North to South. Its area is 2,984,287 square miles. The largest span of wire in the world is used for a telegraph in India over the river Kistuah between Bezorah and Sectauagrum. It is more than 6000 ft long, and is stretched between two hills, each of which is 1200 ft high. The largest ship in the world is the Great Eastern. She is 680 ft lonsr, 83ft broad, and 60ft deep, being 22,927 tons builder’s, 18,915 tons gross, and 13,344 tons net register. She was built at Millwall on the Thames, and was launched Jan. 31, 1857.

The largest university is Oxford, in Eo gland, in the city of the same name, fifty-five miles from London. It consists of twenty-one colleges and five halls. Oxford was a seat of learning as early as the time of Edward the Confessor. University College claims to have been founded by Alfred. The largest body of fresh water on the globe is Lake Superior—4oo miles long, 160 miles wide at its greatest breadth and having an area of 32,000 square miles. Its mean depth is said to be 100 and its greatest depth 200 I>. thorns. Its surface is about 635 ft above the level of the sea.

The most extensive park is Deer Park, in the environs of Copenhagen, in Denmark.

The in closure contains 4200 acres, and is divided by a -mall river. The largest pleasure ground in the United States, and one of the largest in the world, is Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, which contains 2745 acres. The largest cavern is Mammoth Cave, in Edmondson County, Kentucky. It is near Green river, six miles from Cave City, and about twenty-eight miles from Bowling Green. The- cave consists of a succession of irregular chambers, some ox which are large, situated on differen levels. Some of these are traversed by navigable branches of the subterranean Echo river. Blind fish aie found m its waters.

The longest tunnel in the world is that of St Gothfird, on the line of railroad between Lucerne and Milan. The summit of the tunnel ia 990 ft below tbe surface at Andermatt, and GGuOft beneath the peak of Ivaetelhorn, of tbe St Gothard group. The tunnel is 26&ft wide, and 19ft 10m from the floor to the crown of the arched roof. It ia nine and a half miles lon r—a little over a mile longer than the Mont Cenis tunnel.

The biggest trees in the world are the mammoth trees of California. One of a grove in Tulare County, according to measurement made by members of tbe State Geological Survey, was shown to be 276 ft high, 106 ft in circumference at base, and 76ft at a point 12ft above the ground. Some of the trees are 380 ft high and 35ft in diameter. Some of the largest that have been felled indicate an age of from 2000 to 2500 years. The largest inland sea is the Caspian, lying between Europe and Asia. Its greatest length is 760 miles, its greatest breadth 270 miles, and its area 180,000 square miles. The Great Salt Lake in Utah, which may be properly termed an inland sea, is about ninety miles long and has a varying breadth of from twenty to thirty-five miles. Its surface is 4200 ft above the sea, whereas the surface of the Caspian is 84ft below the level of the ocean. The largest Empire in the world is that of Great Britain, comprising 8,567,658 square miles —more than a sixth part of the land of the srlobe, and embracing under its rule nearly a sixth part of the population of the world. In territorial extent the United States ranks third, containing 3,581,243 square miles, including Alaska. In population it ranks fourth, with its 60,000‘0g0 of people. Russia ranks second, having 8,352.94.0 square miles. The highest monolith is tbe obelisk at Karnak, in Egypt. Karnak ia on the East bank of the Nile, near Luxor, and occupies a part of the site of ancient Thebes. The obelisk is ascribed to Hatasu, sister of Pharaoh Thothmes 111., who reigned about 1600 b.c. Its whole length is 120 ft, and it weighs 400 tons. Its height, without pedestal, is 108 ft 10iu. The height of the obelisk in Central Park, New York city, without pedestal, is 68ft llin, its weight about 169 tons.

The largest bell is the great bell of Moscow at the foot of the Kremlin. Its circumference at the bottom is nearly 6Stt, and its height a little more than 21ft. In its stoutest part it is 23in thick, and its weight has been computed to be 443,7721 b. It has never been hung, and was probably cast on the spot where it now stands. A piece of the bell is broken off. The fracture is supposed to have been occasioned by water having been thrown upon it when heated by the building erected over it being on tire. The greatest wall in the world is the Chinese Wall, built by the first Emperor of the Tsin dynasty, about 221 b.c., as a protection against Tartars. It traverses the northern boundary of China and is carried over the highest hills, through the deepest valleys, across rivers and every other natural obstacle. Its length is 1250 miles. Including a parapet of sft, the total height of the wall is 20 ft; thickness at the base, 25ft, and at the top, 15ft. Towers or bastions occur at intervals of about 100 yards. The largest passenger engine in the world was built by the Rhode Island Locomotive Works for the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad Company. The main driving wheels are Oft in diameter and set but 7ft Gin apart. The cylinders are 18in in diameter, with 24-inch stroke. The boiler is 54in in diameter at the smokestack, with a waggon top. It extends to the very end of the cab, and necessitates the elevation of the engineer’s seat to a height far above the fire door. Three tons of coal are consumed before the engine will move, and four tons are carried on the tender. The tank of the latter will hold 4000 gallons of water. The total weight of the engine proper is 95,0001 b. The weight on the driving wheels is 66,0001 b. Everything about the engine is steel. There is not a particle of brass or bright work about her. She made a run of 62*5 miles in 62 , 5 min, palling at the same time eight cars, four of which were Pullmans. The largest statue in the world is Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty. This colossal statue was given by the people of the Republic of Prance to the people of the Republic of the United States as a monument of ancient friendship, and as an expression of the sympathy of Prance in the centennial of American independence. It has been placed upon Bedloe’s Island in the harbour of New York, and in the face of the great cities of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey City and Hoboken. The Government has promised to maintain it in perpetuity as a lighthouse and beacon. The statue is 150 ft in height and cost 250,000 dola. For the purposes of transportation the statue was divided into 300 distinct parts. The pedestal, including the foundation, is 182Jft above low water. The pedestal proper is 62ft square at the base, 41§ft square at the top, and is 117 ft to the base of the statue. The entire structure is 329 ft above low water. On the face of the pedestal are bronze shields which display the coats-of-arms of the different States and Territories: Prom base of figure to top of torch, 151T4ft; from base of figure to top of diadem, 116 - 44 f t; from the heel to the top of the head, 111-52 ft; length of index finger, 8 03ft; circumference of the same at second joint, 4-721 t; the finger nail is I‘l4ft x 85ft; height of head, 14’43ft; width of eye, 2T3ft; length of nose, 3.67 ft. The statue is provided with an electric light, which is visible fifty miles at sea. Among the most remarkable natural echoes are that of Eagle’s Nest on the banks of Killarney, in Ireland, which repeats a bugle call until it seems to be sounded from a hundred instruments, and that on the banks of the Naha, between Bingen and Coblentz, which repeats a sound seventeen times. The most remarkable artificial echo known is that in the castle of Simonetfca, about two miles from Milan. It is occasioned by the existence 6f two parallel walls of considerable length. It repeats the report of a pistol sixty times. 'The most remarkable whirlpool is the Maelstrom off the North-west coast of Norway and South-west of Moskenasol, the most southerly of the Lafodeu Isles. It was once supposed to be unfathomable, but the depth has been shown not to exceed twenty fathoms. The whirlpool is navigable under ordinary circumstances, but when the wind is North-west it often attains great fury and becomes extremely dangerous. Under strong gales the Maelstrom has been shown by official statistics to run at the rate of twenty-six miles an hour.

Tlie largest library is the Bibliothique Nationalo in Paris, founded by Louis XIV It contains 1,400,000 volumes, 300,000 pamphlets, 175,000 manuscripts, 300,000 maps and charts, and 150,000 coins and medals. The collection of engravings exceeds 1,300,000, contained in some 10,000 volumes. The portraits number about 100,000. The building which contains these treasures is situated on the Rue Richelieu. Its length is 540 f t; its breadth 130 ft. The largest library in New York in respect of separate works is the Astor; about 195,000 volumes are on its shelves.

The largest desert is that of Sahara, a vast region of Northern Africa, extending from the Atlantic ocean on the West to the valley of the Nile on the East. The length from East to West is about 3000 miles, its average breadth about 900 miles, its area 2,000,000 square miles. Rain falls in torrents in the Sahara at intervals of five, ten and twenty years. In summer the

heat during the day is excessive, but the nights are often cold. In winter the temperature is sometimes below freezing point. The most remarkable natural bridge ia probably the Jisrel Hajar, which spans a gorge not far from the ruins of the Temple of Adonis, in the province of the Lebanon in Syria. It is a flat piece of limestone rock, from ten to fifteen feet thick, perfectly arched on the under side. The gorge is about 150 ft across, and the bridge is about 100 ft from the bed of the torrent below. The bridge is so broad and level that a good carriage road might be made over it. This bridge is surpassed in height by the natural bridge in Rockbridge County Virginia, about 125 miles west of Richmond and about two miles from the James river. It extends over Cedar creek. The height of the arch is 200 ft, and the upper surface fofthe bridge is 240 ft above the stream.

The largest suspension bridge in tbe world is the New York and Brooklyn bridge. It was commenced under the direction of J. Eoebling in 1870, and completed in about thirteen years. The cost of building was 15,000,000d01. Construction commenced Jan. 3, 1870; size of New York caisson, 172 by 102 ft; size of Brooklyn caisson, 168 by 102 ft; timber and irons in caissons, 5253 cubic yards; concrete in well-holes, chambers, &o 5669 cubic feet; weight of New York caisson, 7000 tons; weight of concrete filling, 8000 tons; New York tower contains 46,945 cubic yards masonry; Brooklyn tower contains 38,214 cubic yards masonry; length of river span, 1595 ft; Gin; length of each land span, 809 ft and ISGOfc; length of Brooklyn approach, 971 ft; length of New York approach, 1562 ft 6in; total length of, bridge, 5989 ft width of bridge, 86ft; number of cables, 4; diameter of each, 15|in ; height of tower above roadway, 159 ft; weight of each anchorplate, 23 tons; height of bridge above highwater, 135 ft The highest tower in the world will bo the Eiffel Tower when completed. The iron tower which the engineer Eiffel proposes to erect on the banks of the Seine, ■ opposite the Trocadero Palace, as a feature of tbe Paris Exposition of 1889, will if completed dwarf all other structures yet reared by human hands. Its height is to he nominally 1000 ft—actually about 950 ft. The commission controlling the finances of the Exposition have voted the subvention of 1,125,000 francs asked by the inventor. ; The largest church in the world is the Basilica of St Peter’s in Borne. Its dimensions are as follow: Length of interior, 613 ft; breadth of the nave and aisles,. 197Jft; height of the nave, 152 f t; length of the transepts, 446££t; diainetec of the dome, including the walls, 196 ft, or nearly two feet more than that of the Pantheon; diameter of the interior, 139 f t; height from the pavement to the base of the lantern,' 405 f t; to the summit of the cross outside, 448 ft. The whole of St Paul’s Cathedral in London might stand within the shell of St Peter’s with room to spare. The towers of the Cologne Cathedral when completed. will be the highest church towers in the world—sllft—which is the length of the Cathedral. The breadth of this edifice is 231 ft.

The greatest fortress from a strategical point of view is the famous stronghold of Gibraltar, belonging to Great Britain, situated upon the most southern point of land upon the coast of southwestern Spain. It occupies a rocky peninsula jutting out into the sea, about three miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide. One central rock rises to a height of 1439 ft 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 Enropa Point. The West side is less steep than the East, and between its base and the sea is a narrow, almost level, span, on which the town of Gibraltar is built. The fortress is considered impregnable to military assault. The regular garrison in time of peace numbers about seven thousand men.

The greatest river of the world is the Amazon. It rises in the Peruvian Andes, about sixty miles from the Pacific Ocean, and flows including its windings, a distance of 4000 miles to the Atlantic, which it enters under the equator in Brazil. The average velocity of the current is three miles an hour. It is navigable for large ships 2200 miles from its month. The area drained by the Amazon and its tributaries is estimated at 2,000,000 square miles. The Amazon enters the sea through on estuary about 150 miles wide. So great are the volume and impetus of the river that its fresh water is carried unmixed into the sea about 200 miles. If the Missouri and lower Mississippi were considered one river, as many geographers claim they should he, it would exceed the length of the Amazon by about 300 miles. The length of the Mississippi from Itasca Lake to the Gulf of Mexico is estimated at 3160 miles.

The biggest diamond in the world—if indeed it be a diamond—is the Braganza, which forms part of the Porngnese crown jewels. It weighs 1880 carats. However, not a little doubt exists of its being a diamond, as the Government has never allowed it to be tested. It was found in Brazil in 1741. The largest tested but uncut diamond is the Mattam, belonging to the Eajah of Mattam, in Borneo. It is of pure water, weighs 367 carats, and is of pear shape, indented at the thick end. It was found about 1760 at Landak, in Borneo. It has been the cause of a sanguinary war. Before it was cut the Kohinoor, which is one of the English crown jewels, was the largest tested diamond. It then weighed 793 carats. When in the possession of Emperor Aurengebe it was reduced by unskilful cutting to 186 carats. During the fcJikh mutiny it was captured by British troops and presented to Queen Victoria. It was recut and now weighs 106 1-16 carats.

The greatest active volcano in respect of eruptive force is probably Hecla, on the Southwest coast of Iceland, though Vesuvius, on the East side of the Bay of Naples, may be said to dispute the palm with it. Hecla rises to a height of 5110 ft above the sea, and is surrounded by many much higher mountains. It has three peaks, and along its sides numerous craters, the seats of former eruptions. The crater of its principal peak is a little over 100 ft in depth. Since a.d. 900 forty-three of its eruptions have been recorded, five of which were simultaneous, or nearly so, with those of Vesuvius, and four with those of Etna, and one with those of both. Vesuvius rises 3948 ft above the sea level. Its crater is 1500 ft in diameter and 500 ft deep. The craters of both of these famous volcanoes are far exceeded in dimensions by that of the " mountain of fire” of Sicily, whose crater has been estimated to be four miles in circumference and 800 ft in depth. The greatest pyramid is that of Cheops, one of the three pyramids forming the Memphis group, situated on a plateau about 137 ft above the level of the highest rise in the Nile. Its dimensions have been reduced by the removal of the outer portions to furnish stone for the city of Cairo. Its masonry consisted originally of 89,028,000 cubic feet, and still Jamounts to 82,111,000 ft. The present vertical height is 450 ft, against 479 ft originally, and the present length of the sides is 746 ft, against 764 ft originally. The total weight of the stone is estimated at 6,316,000 tons. The only entrance is on the North face, 40ft above the base and about 24ft East of the central line. The passageway is only 3ft 9in high and Bft wide. It leads down a slope a distance of 320 ft lOin to the sepulchral chamber, and beyoiid this 52? t Sin into the rock. It is supposed that it was intended to excavate another chamber at the end of the passage. The sepulchral chamber is 46ft long by 27ft in width, and its height is llift.