war became imminent in 1866, the archduke took command of the field army in Italy. The story of the campaign of 1866 in Italy will be found under ITALIAN WARS (1848-1870); the operations of the archduke, who disposed of greatly inferior forces, were crowned with success in the brilliant victory of Custozza (June 23), and his reputation as a general-in-chief was firmly established by only eight days of field operations, though it is possible that his chief of staff, Lieut. Field-Marshal von John, contributed not a little to the success of the Austrian arms. The result of Custozza was the retreat and complete immobilization of the whole Italian army, so that Albert was able to despatch the greater part of his troops to reinforce the Bohemian army, when, after being defeated by the Prussians, it fell back on Vienna. On the 10th of July the archduke was summoned to Vienna to take supreme command of the forces which were being collected to defend the capital, but peace was made before further hostilities took place. From this time, under various titles, he acted as inspector-general of the army. Like his father, and with better fortune, he was called upon to reorganize the military system of his country on an entirely new plan, learned, as before, by defeat. The principle of universal short service, and the theory of the armed nation, were necessarily the groundwork of the reforms, and the consequent preparation of all the national resources for their task in war, by the superintendence of peace administration, by the skilful conduct of manœuvres, was thenceforward the task of his lifetime. In 1870 he conducted the military negotiations preparatory to an alliance with France, which, however, was not concluded. The tragic death of his daughter, Princess Mathilde, in 1867, and the death of his brother, Archduke Karl Ferdinand, in 1874, narrowed still further his family circle, and impelled him to even greater activity in his military duties, and to effective participation in the work of many military charities. He retained personal control of the army until his last illness, which he contracted at the funeral of his nephew Francis, ex-king of Naples. His only remaining brother, the archduke Wilhelm, had died a few months before, as the result of an accident. He himself died on the 18th of February 1895. His only son died in childhood, and his nephew Archduke Frederick (born 1856) inherited his great possessions, including the Albertina, a famous collection of books, manuscripts, engravings and maps, founded by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen.

Amongst the military works of the Archduke Albert may be named Über die Verantwortlichkeit im Kriege (a work which created a great sensation, and was translated into English and French), Gedanken über dem Militärgeist, Über die höhere Leitung im Kriege, and Kritische Betrachtungen über den Feldzug 1866 in Italien. He also was the principal editor of the military works of his father.

See Duncker, F. M. Erzherzog Albrecht (Vienna and Prague, 1897); Mathes v. Bilabrück," Gedenkrede auf Weiland Sr. K. u. K. H. Erzh. Albrecht," Mil.-Wissenschaftl. Verein, 1895; Teuber, F. M. Erzh. Albrecht, ein Lebensbild (Vienna, 1895).

ALBERT, MADAME (c. 1805-1846), French actress, whose maiden name was Thérèse Vernet, was born of a family of players. She first appeared in children's and ingénue parts, and in comic opera, and it was not until 1827, two years after her Paris début, that her great talents were seen and appreciated. In Caleb Valentine, Henry V., Madame Dubarry, Catherine II., Leontine, Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu, and many other plays, her grace, beauty and distinction of manner made her the idol of Paris, and her circle of admirers was widened by long tours of the provinces and abroad. Ill-health compelled her to retire in 1846. She was twice married, about 1825 to Albert Rodrigues, an actor who played under his Christian name, and in 1846 to Eugène Bignon (1812-1858), the actor and playwright.

ALBERT OF AIX (fl. c. A.D. 1100), historian of the first crusade, was born during the later part of the 11th century, and afterwards became canon and custos of the church of Aix-laChapelle. Nothing else is known of his life except that he was the author of a Historia Hierosolymitanae expeditionis, or Chronicon Hierosolymitanum de bello sacro, a work in twelve books,

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written between 1125 and 1150. This history begins at the time of the council of Clermont, deals with the fortunes of the first crusade and the earlier history of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, and ends somewhat abruptly in 1121. It was well known during the middle ages, and was largely used by William, archbishop of Tyre, for the first six books of his Belli sacri historia. In modern times its historical value has been seriously impugned, but the verdict of the best scholarship seems to be that in general it forms a true record of the events of the first crusade, although containing some legendary matter. Albert never visited the Holy Land, but he appears to have had a considerable amount of intercourse with returned crusaders, and to have had access to valuable correspondence. The first edition of the history was published at Helmstadt in 1584, and a good edition is in the Recueil des historiens des croisades, tome iv. (Paris, 1841-1887).

See F. Krebs, Zur Kritik Alberts von Aachen (Münster, 1881); Le Cycle de la croisade et de la famille de Bouillon (Paris, 1877); H. von B. Kugler, Albert von Aachen (Stuttgart, 1885); M. Pigeonneau, Sybel, Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges (Leipzig, 1881); F. Vercruysse, Essai critique sur la chronique d'Albert d'Aix (Liége, 1889).

ALBERTA, a province of western Canada, established in 1905. Area 260,000 sq. m. It is bounded S. by the United States boundary line, 49° N.; E. by 110° W., which divides it from the province of Saskatchewan; N. by 60° N., which separates it from the North-West Territories; and W. by the line of peaks of the Rocky Mountains range, which runs northwesterly, and divides it from British Columbia. A fertile province, in the eastern and southern portions its surface consists chiefly of plains almost entirely treeless. As the slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the west are reached more trees are found, until in the foot-hills of the mountains bodies of forest timber occur. Trees become more numerous also northward in the province, until in the region north of the North Saskatchewan river forests are again met with. From the southern boundary line for two and a half degrees north the prairie is dry, but of good soil, which grows excellent crops when irrigated. North of this region the surface of the province is of most fertile soil, the ordinary rainfall sufficing for agriculture. The appearance of the prairie section of the province is that of undulating meadows, with rounded sloping ridges covered with shorter grasses, which serve for the support of great herds of cattle and horses. The wooded portions of the terrain are dotted with clumps and belts of trees of moderate size, giving them a parklike appearance. In winter the snowfall is very light, and even this is frequently removed by warm winds from the west. Within a hundred miles of the mountains there is constantly in view, in clear weather, the beautiful line of snowy peaks along the western horizon. This continues for hundreds of miles north-westward. The Rocky Mountains, which give its charm to Alberta, are ascended by a gradual approach from the east, but are exceedingly abrupt on their transalpine slope in British Columbia. The peaks of these mountains are majestic, many of them reaching a height of more than two miles above Among the more notable of these are Robson peak, 13,700 ft.; Athabasca, 13,700; Assiniboine, 11,830; Lyell, 12,000; Mummery, 12,000; Temple, 11,658; and Geikie, 11,000. Mt. Brown reaches 9050.

the sea.

Through these Rocky Mountains the explorers and furtraders, by ascending the streams running down the eastern declivities of the mountains, and crossing by short portages to the streams of the western slope, have succeeded in discovering passes by which the mountain chain can be crossed, the range rarely exceeding 60 m. in breadth. The most noted of the Alberta passes are (1) the Crow's Nest Pass, near the southern boundary line, through which a branch of the Canadian Pacific railway runs; (2) the Kicking Horse Pass, through which the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway is built; 40 m. from the eastern end of this pass is the Rocky Mountains Park, with the famous watering-place of Banff as its centre; (3) the Yellow Head Pass, running west from the northern branch of the Saskatchewan river; this pass was discovered by Capt. Palliser (1858), was crossed by Lord Milton and Dr W. B. Cheadle (1861), and by Sandford Fleming (1871-1872) in the Ocean to Ocean

the river Athabasca runs north and empties into Lake Athabasca near 58° N. North of 56° N. flows through and from the Rocky Mountains the Peace river. After descending north-eastward to within a few miles of Lake Athabasca, it is met by a stream emerging from that lake. The united river carrying down the waters of the Athabasca slope is called the Slave river, which, passing through Great Slave Lake, emerges as the great Mackenzie river, which falls into the Arctic Sea. Alberta thus gives rise to the two great rivers Saskatchewan and Mackenzie. While a number of fresh-water, or in some cases brackish, lakes each less than 100 sq. m. in extent are situated in Alberta, two of more considerable size are found. These are Lake Athabasca, 3085 sq. m. in extent, of which a part is in the province of Saskatchewan, and the other Lesser Slave Lake some 600 sq. m. in area.

Climate. As Alberta extends for 750 m. from north to south-as great a distance as from Land's End in England to the north of the Shetland Isles-it is natural that the climate should vary considerably between parallels of 49° and 60° N., and also between 110° and 120° W. It is also further influenced by the different altitudes above the sea of the several parts of the province. Dividing the province into three equal parts of 250 m. each from north to south, these may be called (A) the south, (B) the centre, (C) the north. The following data may be considered:

flow on under the name of the South Saskatchewan river. North of 52° N. many small streams unite to form the Red Deer river, which flowing south-eastward joins the South Saskatchewan near 110° W. Between 52° and 53° N. rises the great river, the North Saskatchewan. It receives a southern tributary, the Battle river, which joins it about 108° W. Pursuing their courses eastward the North and South Saskatchewan rivers unite in the Saskatchewan (Cree, rapid-flowing river), which finds its way to Lake Winnipeg, and thence by way of Nelson river to Hudson Bay. It is one of the mightiest rivers of the continent.

Between 53° and 54° N. begins the height of land running north-easterly, north of which all the waters of Alberta flow toward the Arctic Sea. In northern Alberta, on the northern

Climate.

(A) Moderate and changeable

(C) Severe

Edmonton, lat. 53° 2210,, 10.3°

Fort Chipewyan, lat. 59° N.

600,,

7.2°

Climate (A) allows, in what is a great ranching district, cattle and horses to run at large through the whole winter. Through the mountain passes come at times dry winds from the Pacific coast, which lick up the snow in a few hours. These winds are known as Chinook winds. While elevating the temperature they bring more moisture into the air and produce a change not entirely desirable.

Climate (B) is the steady winter climate of Edmonton district. This while averaging a lower temperature than (A) is not so subject to change; it retains the snow for sleighing, which is a boon to the farmer. This climate is much less influenced by the Pacific winds than (A).

Climate (C), that of Fort Chipewyan, having a mean winter temperature of 22.6° lower than Calgary, is a decidedly sub-arctic climate. It is the region in winter of constant ice and snow, but its lower altitude gives it a summer climate with a mean temperature of only 1.6° less than Calgary, and 1-8° less than Edmonton. It will thus be seen that the agricultural capabilities of the Athabasca and Peace river districts, not yet fully known, are full of promise.

Fauna. The three climatic regions of Alberta have naturally a varying fauna. The south and central region was the land of the bison, its grasses affording a great pasture ground for tens of thousands of "buffaloes." They were destroyed by whites and Indians in 1879-1882 on the approach of the Canadian Pacific railway. Grizzly, black and cinnamon bears are found in the mountains and wooded districts. The coyote or small wolf, here and there the grey wolf, the fox and the mountain lion (panther) occur. The moose and red deer are found in the wooded regions, and the jumping deer and antelope on the prairies. Wild sheep and goats live in the Rocky Mountains. The lynx, wolverine, porcupine, skunk, hare, squirrel and mouse are met. The gopher is a resident of the dry plains. District (C) is the fur-trader's

paradise. The buffalo is replaced by the mountain buffaloes, of which a few survive. The musk-ox comes in thousands every year to the great northern lakes, while the mink, marten, beaver, otter, ermine and musk-rat are sought by the fur-trader. Fort Chipewyan was long known in Hudson's Bay Company history as the great depôt of the Mackenzie river district. Northern Alberta and the region farther north is the nesting-ground of the migratory birds. Here vast numbers of ducks, geese, swans and pelicans resort every year. Cranes, partridges and varieties of singing birds abound. The eagle, hawk, owl and crow are plentiful. Mosquitoes and flies are everywhere, and the wasp and wild bee also. In the rivers and lakes pike, pickerel, white fish and sturgeon supply food for the natives, and the brook trout is found in the small mountain streams. The turtle and frog also appear. Flora.-In central and northern Alberta the opening spring brings in the prairie anemone, the avens and other early flowers. The advancing summer introduces many flowers of the sunflower family, until in August the plains are one blaze of yellow and purple. The southern part of Alberta is covered by a short grass, very nutritive, but drying up in the middle of summer until the whole prairie is brown and unattractive. The trees in the wooded sections of the province are seen in clumps and belts on the hillsides. These are largely deciduous. On the north side of the Saskatchewan river forests prevail for scores and even hundreds of miles. They contain the poplar or aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), and paper or canoe birch (Betula papyrifera). The Coniferae are found northward and in the mountain valleys. Some of these are: Jack pine (Pinus Banksiana), Rocky Mountain pine (Pinus flexilis), black pine (Pinus Murrayana), white spruce (Picea alba), black spruce (Picea nigra), Engelman's spruce (Picea Engelmanni), mountain balsam (Abies subalpina), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga Douglasii), mountain larch (Larix Lyallis).

Population. By the census of 1906 the population of Alberta was found to be 185,412. It has grown from 73,022 in 1901 (the area of Alberta being then slightly different). The basis of the population is Canadian, and the immigration has been chiefly from (1) the British Isles, (2) United States, (3) continent of Europe (chiefly Austria, Hungary and Russia). Of the population in 1901, 17,245 had immigrated thither from the three mentioned sources. The following table shows the percentages of origins:

Of the Indian and Indian half-breed population there were in 1901, 14,669 of the former and 11,635 of the latter. The Indians of central Alberta are chiefly plain Crees, a tribe of Algonquin stock. In southern Alberta are several thousands of Indians on reserves south and west of Calgary, consisting of the Blackfoots of Algonquin stock, Sarcees, Piegans and a few Assiniboins.

The chief cities and towns of Alberta are Edmonton (11,167), Calgary (11,967), Medicine Hat (3020), Lethbridge (2948) and Strathcona (2927).

Industries. The chief industries of the people are farming and ranching. Cattle, horses and sheep are largely reared in the southern prairie region on ranches or smaller holdings. In this region irrigation is widely used. Red winter wheat is now produced to a considerable degree. In the town of Raymond is a large beet sugar manufactory, and in the vicinity great quantities of beets are grown by irrigation. In central Alberta coarse grains oats and barley-and some wheat are grown, in conjunction with mixed farming. While washing out the sands of the North Saskatchewan for gold is still somewhat resorted to, the only real mining in Alberta is that for coal. Vast beds of coal are found extending for hundreds of miles, a short distance below the surface of the plains. The coal belongs to the Cretaceous beds, and while not so heavy as that of the Coal Measures is of excellent quality. In the valley of the Bow river, alongside the Canadian

Pacific railway, valuable beds of anthracite coal are worked, and the coal is carried by railway as far cast as Winnipeg. The usual coal deposits of Alberta are of bituminous or semi-bituminous coal. These are largely worked at Lethbridge in southern Alberta and Edmonton in the centre of the province. Many other parts of the province have pits for private use. The Athabasca river region, as well as localities far north on the Mackenzie river, has decided indications of petroleum, though it is not yet developed. Natural gas has been found at several points. The most notable gas discovery is that at Medicine Hat, which has wells with unlimited quantities. The gas is excellent, is used for lighting the town, supplies light and fuel for the people, and a number of industries are using the gas for manufacturing. Communications.-For transportation the North Saskatchewan is to some extent depended on for carrying freight by steamboats, but railways are widespread in the province. The Canadian Pacific railway has its main line running from east to west chiefly between 50 and 51° N. Over this line passes an enormous trade from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean-the railway with its "Empress steamers on the Pacific and also on the Atlantic Ocean claiming to have as its termini Liverpool and Yokohama. A branch line of the Canadian Pacific railway runs from Medicine Hat between 49° and 50° N., passing through the Crow's Nest Pass of the Rocky Mountains and carrying on trade with British Columbia. Another branch from Calgary runs southward to Macleod, and to Lethbridge there comes from the south a branch of the Great Northern railway of the United States, connecting with the state of Montana. From Calgary to Edmonton northward runs a line under the control of the Canadian Pacific railway. From this railway also run, eastward from Lacombe and Wetaskiwin, branch lines to complete the system. In 1906 the new line of the Canadian Northern railway was opened, connecting Winnipeg, 1000 m. to the east, along the North Saskatchewan river, with Edmonton. The Grand Trunk Pacific railway, backed by the Canadian government, forms a new transcontinental line; the prairie section from Winnipeg to Edmonton was in 1908 under contract.

Administration, &c.-The local government of Alberta is carried on by a provincial organization resembling that of the other Canadian provinces. The capital of the province is Edmonton, and here reside the lieutenant-governor and cabinet. The legislature consists of one house-the Legislative Assembly-of twenty-five members. Responsible government after the British model is followed, and the revenue is chiefly derived from grants from the Dominion government. Alberta has a system of municipal government similar to that of the other provinces.

Education is given by a public-school system, which, while nominally providing for separate schools for Catholics and Protestants, makes it practically impossible at most points to carry on such schools. A normal school is situated at Calgary. There is a college for secondary education in Calgary and another in Edmonton.

The following are the leading denominations in Alberta:

The Mormons of Alberta are in the most southerly part of the province, and are a colony from the Mormon settlements in Utah, U.S. On coming to Canada they were given lands by the Dominion of Canada. The organization adopted in Utah among the Mormons is found also in Alberta, but the Canadian Mormons profess to have received a later revelation condemning polygamy.

History. The present province of Alberta as far north as the height of land (53° N.) was from the time of the incorporation of the Hudson's Bay Company (1670) a part of Rupert's Land. After the discovery of the north-west by the French in 1731 and succeeding years the prairies of the west were occupied by

NYANZA.

As part of the North-West Territories the district of Alberta was organized in 1875. Additional privileges and a local legislature were added from time to time. At length in 1905 the district of Alberta was enlarged and the present province formed by the Dominion parliament. (G. BR.)

ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA, a lake of Central Africa, the southern of the two western reservoirs of the Nile. It lies in the Albertine rift-valley between o° 8' and o° 40′ S. and 29° 28′ and 29° 52′ E., at an elevation of 3004 ft. above the sea. It is roughly oval in shape and has no deep indentations. On its N.E. side it is connected by a winding channel, 25 m. long and from a quarter of a mile to a mile wide, flowing between high banks, with a smaller sheet of water, Lake Dweru, which extends north of the equator. Albert Edward Nyanza has a length of 44 m. and a breadth of 32 m. (maximum measurement). Dweru is about 20 m. long and 10 across at its widest part. The area of the two lakes is approximately 820 sq. m., or about the size of Leicestershire, England. A swampy plain, traversed by the Ruchuru and other rivers, extends south of the Nyanza and was once covered by its waters. The plain contains several salt-pans, and at the S.E. corner are numerous geysers. Along the eastern shore the low land extends to Kamarangu, a point about midway between the south and north ends of the lake, a considerable stretch of ground intervening between the wall of the rift-valley and the water, two terraces being clearly defined. The euphorbia trees and other vegetation on the lower terrace are of small size and apparently of recent origin. At some distance from the lake runs a belt of forest. North of Kamarangu the wall of the valley approaches the water in a series of bluffs some 300 to 350 ft. high. At the N.E. end the hills again recede and the plain widens to include Dweru. On the west side of the Nyanza the wall of the rift-valley runs close to the lake shore and at the N.W. corner the mountains close in on the water. North of the lake a high alluvial plain stretches to the southern slopes of the Ruwenzori mountains. From Ruwenzori a subsidiary range, known as the Kipura mountains, runs due south to the lake shore, where it ends in a low rounded hill. In general, the plain rises above the lake in a series of bold bluffs, a wide | margin of swamp separating them from the water. The Semliki, the only outlet of the lake, issues from its N.W. end. Round the north-eastern shore of the lake are numerous crater lakes, many salt, the most remarkable being that of Katwe. This lake lies west of the Dweru channel and is separated from Albert Edward Nyanza by a ridge of land, not more than 160 ft. in breadth. The sides of this ridge run down steeply to the water on either side. The waters of the Katwe lake have a beautiful rose colour which becomes crimson in the shadows. The salt is highly prized and is exported to great distances.

The main feeder of Albert Edward Nyanza, and western head-stream of the Nile, the Ruchuru, rises on the north side of the volcanoes north of Lake Kivu (see MFUMBIRO). On reaching the level plain 15 m. from the lake its waters become brackish, and the vegetation on its banks is scanty. The reedy marshes near its mouth form a retreat for a primitive race of fishermen. Lake Dweru, the shores of which are generally high, is fed by the streams from the eastern slopes of the Ruwenzori range. One of these, the Mpango, is a larger river than the Ruchuru.

A feature of Lake Albert Edward Nyanza is the thick haze which overhangs the water during the dry season, blotting out from view the mountains. In the rains, when the sky is clear, the magnificent panorama of hills encircling the lake on the west and north-west is revealed. The lake water is clear of a light green colour, and distinctly brackish. Fish abound, as do waterfowl, crocodiles and, in the southern swamps, hippopotami. In the rainy season the lake is subject to violent storms.

The entire area of Albert Edward Nyanza was found, by the work of the Anglo-German Boundary Commission of 1902-1904, to lie within the limits of the sphere of influence of the Congo Free State as defined in the agreement of the 12th of May 1894 between that state and Great Britain. Dweru was discovered in 1875 by H. M. Stanley, then travelling westward from Uganda, and by him was named Beatrice Gulf in the belief that it was part of Albert Nyanza. In 1888-1889 Stanley, approaching the Nile region from the west, traced the Semliki to its source in Albert Edward Nyanza, which lake he discovered, naming it after Albert Edward, prince of Wales, afterwards Edward VII. Stanley also discovered the connecting channel between the larger lake and Dweru. The accurate mapping of the lake was mainly the work of British officials and travellers, such as Scott Elliott, Sir F. D. Lugard, Ewart Grogan, J. E. Moore and Sir H. Johnston; while Emin Pasha and Franz Stuhlmann, deputygovernor (1891) of German East Africa, explored its southern shores. (See ALBERT NYANZA and NILE, and the authorities there quoted.) (W. E. G.; F. R. C.)

ALBERTI, DOMENICO (c. 1710-1740), Italian musician, is known in musical history as the writer of dozens of sonatas in which the melody is supported from beginning to end by an extremely familiar formula of arpeggio accompaniment, consequently known as the Alberti bass. He thus shows how advanced was the decay of polyphonic sensibility (as a negative preparation for the advent of the sonata-style) already during the lifetime of Bach. His works have no other special qualities, though it is probable that Mozart's first violin sonatas, written at the age of seven, were modelled on Alberti in spite of their superior cleverness.

ALBERTI, LEONE BATTISTA (1404-1472), Italian painter, poet, phílosopher, musician and architect, was born in Venice on the 18th of February 1404. He was so skilled in Latin verse that a comedy he wrote in his twentieth year, entitled Philodoxius, deceived the younger Aldus, who edited and published it as the genuine work of Lepidus. In music he was reputed one of the first organists of the age. He held the appointment of canon in the metropolitan church of Florence, and thus had leisure to devote himself to his favourite art. He is generally regarded as one of the restorers of the ancient style of architecture. At Rome he was employed by Pope Nicholas V. in the restoration of the papal palace and of the foundation of Acqua Vergine, and in the ornamentation of the magnificent fountain of Trevi. At Mantua he designed the church of Sant' Andrea and at Rimini the celebrated church of San Francesco, which is generally esteemed his finest work. On a commission from Rucellai he designed the principal façade of the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, as well as the family palace in the Via della Scala, now known as the Palazzo Strozzi. Alberti wrote works on sculpture, Della Statua, and on painting, De Pictura, which are highly esteemed; but his most celebrated treatise is that on architecture, De Re Aedificatoria, which has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and English. Alberti died at Rome in the April of 1472.

See Passerini, Gli Alberti di Firenze (1869, 1870); Mancini, Vita di Alberti (Firenze, 1882); V. Hoffmann, Studien zu Leon Battista Alberti's zehn Büchern: De Re Aedificatoria (Frankenberg, 1883).

ALBERTINELLI, MARIOTTO (1474-1515), Italian painter, was born in Florence, and was a fellow-pupil and partner of Fra Bartolommeo, with whom he painted many works. His

It softens slightly in boiling water, but only fuses imperfectly when further heated, and it is less soluble than ordinary asphalt in oil of turpentine.

ALBERT LEA, a city and the county-seat of Freeborn county, Minnesota, U.S.A., about 97 m. S. of St Paul. Pop. (1890) 3305; (1900) 4500; (1905, state census) 5657, 1206 being foreign-born (461 Norwegians, 411 Danes, 98 Swedes); (1910, U. S. census) 6192. It is served by two branches of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul, by the main line and one branch of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, by the Illinois Central, by the Iowa Central, and by the Minneapolis & St Louis railways. It is attractively situated between Fountain Lake and Albert Lea Lake, and is a summer resort. It has a public library and the Freeborn County Court House, and is the seat of Albert Lea College (Presbyterian, for women), founded in 1884, and of Luther Academy (Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran), founded in 1888. Albert Lea is a railway and manufacturing centre of considerable importance, has grain elevators and foundries and machine shops, and manufactures bricks, tiles, carriages, wagons, flour, corsets, refrigerators and woollen goods. The city is also the centre of large dairy interests, and there are many creameries in the county. Numerous artesian wells furnish the city with an ample supply of water of unusual excellence. Albert Lea was settled in 1855 and received a city charter in 1878. The city and the lake were named in honour of Lieutenant Albert Miller Lea (1808-1891), a West Point graduate (1831) who, on behalf of the United States government, first surveyed the region and described it in a report published in 1836. He was a lieutenant-colonel of engineers in the Confederate army during the Civil War.

ALBERT NYANZA, a lake of Central Africa, the northern of the two western reservoirs of the Nile, lying in the western (Albertine) rift-valley, near its north end. The southern reservoir is Albert Edward Nyanza (q.v.). Lake Albert lies between 1° 9′ and 2° 17′ N. and 30° 30' and 31° 35′ E., at an elevation of about 2000 ft. above the sea. Its greatest length is about 100 m., its greatest width 22 m., its area being approximately 1640 sq. m., about the size of Lancashire, England. South of the lake is a wide plain, traversed by the Semliki river, which enters the Nyanza through a swamp of tall weeds, chiefly ambach and papyrus. Both east and west the walls of the rift-valley are close to the lake, the water in many places washing the base of the cliffs. Elsewhere the narrow foreshore is thickly wooded. The ascent to the plateaus is generally by three tiers of hills rising one behind the other. On the west side the mountains present many pointed and conical summits; on the east the cliffs rise abruptly 1000 to 2000 ft. On either coast wild gorges and ravines, densely wooded, break the outline of the mountains. Through these gorges dash magnificent cascades, others leaping the escarpments of the plateaus in waterfalls of great volume and depth. Towards the north the hills recede from the coast and on both sides flats extend for distances varying from 5 to 15 m. On the eastern side, 92 m. from the southern end of the Nyanza, the Victoria Nile enters the lake, here not more than 6 m. across, through a wilderness of woods, the delta of the Nile extending over 4 m. The mouth of the main stream is obstructed by a bar of its own formation; the current is sluggish; there are many side channels, and the appearance of the lake gives no hint that a great river has joined its waters. For 5 or 6 m. north of the junction of the Victoria Nile the lake suffers no material diminution in width. Then, however, the eastern and western shores approach each other, and a current is perceptible flowing north. The lake has become |

is called. Throughout its extent Albert Nyanza is shallow; at its southern end the water for a considerable distance is not more than 3 ft. deep. The deepest soundings give only 50 to 55 ft., the average depth being 30 to 40 ft.

The Albertine Basin of the Nile.-Albert Nyanza receives the whole of the drainage of Albert Edward Nyanza and the Semliki river, and with them and its own basin forms the "Albertine " Nile system. Its waters, as stated above, mingle with those of the Victoria Nile, their united volume flowing north towards the Mediterranean. A study of the changes going on in the riftvalley in which the lakes lie leads, however, to the belief that the Albert Edward and Albert Nyanzas are drying up, a process which the nature of the drainage areas is helping to bring about. That the Albert Edward Nyanza once covered a much larger area than it does at present is certain. At that time, recent from a geological standpoint, the valley to the north, through which now flows the Semliki river, was blocked. The removal of the block led to the shrinkage of the lake and the formation of the Semliki, which found its way to the more northern lake— Albert Nyanza. Gradually the Semliki eroded its bed, and consequently the level of Albert Edward Nyanza continued to fall. The process continues but is checked by the existence of the rock barrier which stretches across the Semliki. This stream leaves Albert Edward Nyanza at its N.W. end in o° 8′ 30′′ S., and after a course of about 160 m. enters Albert Nyanza in 1° 9' N. In its upper and in its lower course the river flows either through high alluvial plains, in which it has scored a deep channel, or across swamp land. In the middle section, which has a length of some 75 m., the river runs in a deep narrow valley covered with the densest forest. On the west this valley is bounded by the Congo mountains, which form the wall of the rift-valley, on the east by the mighty range of Ruwenzori, whose heights tower over 16,000 ft. above sea-level. In this length of 75 m. the river falls in cataracts and rapids over 800 ft. This rocky barrier acts as a regulator for the water received from Albert Edward Nyanza and, by checking the erosion of the river bed, tends to maintain the level of the lake. When this bar wears away Albert Edward Nyanza will, in all probability, disappear as a lake and will become a river, a continuation of its present most southern affluent, the Ruchuru.

Albert Nyanza, on the other hand, is threatened in the distant future with destruction from another cause- -the filling of its bed by the alluvium poured into it by the Semliki, the Victoria Nile and, in a lesser degree, by other streams. The Semliki receives directly or indirectly the whole of the drainage of Ruwenzori, and also that of the eastern face of the Congo mountains as well as the drainage basin of Albert Edward Nyanza. The amount of alluvial matter carried is enormous; from Ruwenzori alone the detritus is very great. Charged with all this matter, the Semliki, as it emerges from the region of forest and cataracts (in which, often closely confined by its mountain barriers, the stream is deep and rapid), becomes sluggish, its slope flattens out, and its waters, unable to carry their burden, deposit much of it upon the land. This process, continually going on, has formed a large plain at the south end of Albert Nyanza, which has seriously encroached upon the lake. At the northern end of the lake the sediment brought down by the Victoria Nile is producing a similar effect. Albert Nyanza has indeed shrunk in its dimensions during the comparatively few years it has been known to Europeans. Thus at the S. W. end, Nyamsasi, which was an island in 1889, has become a peninsula. Islands which in 1876 were on the east coast no longer exist; they now form part of the foreshore. On the other hand, the shrinkage of the lake level caused the appearance in 1885 of an island where in 1879 there had been an expanse of shallow water. It seems probable that, in a period geologically not very remote, the "Albertine " system will consist of one great river, extending from the northern slopes of the Kivu range, where the Ruchuru has its rise, to the existing junction of the Victoria Nile with Albert Nyanza.

The combined drainage area, including the water surface of Albert Edward Nyanza, the Semliki and Albert Nyanza, is some