Fascinating Facts • American writer Mark Twain described the shape of the Mississippi River as “a long, pliant [easily bent] apple-paring [peeling].” • Each of the Great Lakes ranks among the fourteen largest lakes in the world • Rain forests grow in parts of the West near the Pacific coast Genre Nonfiction Comprehension Skill Compare and Contrast Text Features • Maps • Captions Earth and Water, High and Low by Scott Foresman Social Studies ISBN 0-328-14840-7 ì