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Among the Giant Redwoods of the Coast Ranges 
 
THE NEW PROGRESSIVE GEOGRAPHIES 
 
 DEVELOPED ACCORDING TO THE PROBLEM METHOD 
 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 BY 
 
 HAROLD W. FAIRBANKS, PH. D. 
 
 Author ot 
 Home and Its Relation to the World 
 Topical Outlines of the Geography of the Continents 
 Developed According to the Problem Method 
 
 
 Copyright 
 
 1920 
 
 H. W. Fairbanks 
 
 1921 
 
 HARR WAGNER PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
;^. ^^^- ju-y^^^'^^^ 
 
 ETUCATTON LTBR; 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The new series of Elementary School Geographies of which 
 this volume forms a part has been worked out along lines entirely 
 different from any other American text. 
 
 The two-time-over plan has been abandoned for a progressive 
 course in which each country is studied but once. The descriptive 
 method in which the memory plays the chief role has been replaced 
 by one in which reason and thought, based on experience, are the 
 moving forces. 
 
 The aim of this, the second book in the New Series, is two- 
 fold: first, is to give the child such a conception of his own state 
 as will be of some real use to him in daily life; and second, to 
 afford a foundation for an intelligent study of the world at large. 
 When the child understands how people about him are influenced 
 by their environment he has acquired the ability, with the aid of 
 a good physical map, to form conclusions as to how people in dis- 
 tant lands are affected by their environments. This view leads us 
 to look upon facts not as the aim but rather the tools by the aid 
 of which true geographic understanding is reached. 
 
 To accomplish this aim, a readjustment of emphasis is neces- 
 sary. Instead of giving a few weeks here and there in the course 
 to the home, state or natural region in which the child lives, and 
 thus making the home region incidental to world geography, the 
 method employed in the present series assumes that an understand- 
 ing of the home is the indispensable prerequisite to a real know- 
 ledge of the world. 
 
 Working the above out by means of the problem method, the 
 study appears to the child to take on a definite purpose. It be- 
 comes intensely interesting and leaves a permanent impression. 
 
 From the point of view outlined, no apology need be offered 
 for putting within reach of the children of California this book, 
 which is intended as a basis for a year's study. Such a study nat- 
 urally falls in the fifth year and before formal world geography is 
 
 commenced. 
 
 H. W. FAIRBANKS. 
 Berkeley, Cal., April, 1920. 
 
\Q- D 
 CONTENTS r I 
 
 i Page 
 
 Preface 3 
 
 Chapter I 7 
 
 Topic I. A Land of Gold 7 
 
 Topic II. California, a Land of Fruitful Gardens 8 
 
 Topic III. California as the Home of the Indian 13 
 
 Topic IV. California as the Home of the Spaniard 14 
 
 Summary 18 
 
 Review Questions 19 
 
 Practical Lessons 19 
 
 Chapter II 21 
 
 Topic I. The Main Routes by Which the Pioneers Reached 
 
 California 21 
 
 Topic II. The California Coast Presented Many Difficul- 
 ties to the Early Explorers 23 
 
 Summary 38 
 
 Review Questions 38 
 
 Practical Lessons 39 
 
 Chapter III 41 
 
 Topic I. The Natural Resources of Our California Garden 41 
 Topic II. The Natural Resources of Our California Gar- 
 den Are Very Rich, But They Will Not Last Unless 
 
 We Take Care of Them 48 
 
 Topic III. How the Growth of California Has Been Af- 
 fected by the Character of Its Surface, Its Streams, 
 
 and Its Climate 55 
 
 Topic IV. California Has Such Wonderful Scenery that 
 
 People Come from All Parts of Our Country to See It.. 64 
 
 Topic V. Some Thoughts on the Study of California 69 
 
 Summary 73 
 
 Review Questions - 73 
 
 Practical Lessons - - 75 
 
 Chapter IV 77 
 
 The Great Valley : The Granary and Future Garden of 
 
 California 77 
 
 Summary 91 
 
 Review Questions 92 
 
 Practical Lessons 92 
 
 M58705a 
 
Page 
 
 Chapter V 95 
 
 The Coast Ranges : A Region of Mountains and Innumer- 
 able Park-Like Valleys Whose Fertile Soil and Agree- 
 able Climate Make This An Attractive Land 95 
 
 The Northern Coast Ranges 98 
 
 The Clear Lake District 104 
 
 The Southern Coast Ranges 106 
 
 The San Francisco Bay and Region About 113 
 
 Summary 134 
 
 Review Exercises 136 
 
 Practical Lessons 137 
 
 Chapter VI 139 
 
 The Sierra Nevada Mountains 139 
 
 Summary 156 
 
 Review Exercises 156 
 
 Practical Lessons 157 
 
 Chapter VII 159 
 
 Southern California 159 
 
 Summary 205 
 
 Review Exercises 206 
 
 Practical Lessons 207 
 
 Chapter VIII 209 
 
 The 'Great Basin 209 
 
 Summary 217 
 
 Review Exercises 218 
 
 Practical Lessons 219 
 
 Chapter IX 221 
 
 The Klamath Mountains 221 
 
 Summary 227 
 
 Review Exercises 227 
 
 Practical Lessons 228 
 
 Chapter X 229 
 
 The Volcanic Plateau 229 
 
 Summary 235 
 
 Review Exercises 236 
 
 Practical Lessons 236 
 
 Index 237 
 
ARGUMENT 
 
 FOR 
 
 THE NEW PROGRESSIVE GEOGRAPHIES DEVELOPED 
 ACCORDING TO THE PROBLEM METHOD 
 
 BY 
 Dr. H. W. Fairbanks 
 
 The following plan of a new series of school geographies has been 
 worked out as a result of the conviction on the part of the author that the 
 subject of school geographj' needs remodeling along new and wholly differ- 
 ent lines and that none of the present text-books meet the demand of this 
 more modern and rational view of the subject. 
 
 The proposed geographies diflfer from those now in use in three impor- 
 tant particulars, namely: — in method, in distribution of emphasis, and in the 
 handling of the map question. 
 
 1. Method. — The current texts are based in great part on the idea that 
 geographv is a study of facts about the earth. These books are filled wnth 
 an almos't innumerable number of facts which according to the method 
 usually followed are acquired through memorizing with little inquiry into 
 the matter as to whether these facts are really understood. 
 
 In the New Series an attempt is made to practically do away with the 
 memorizing of facts as facts. The vast amount of detail found in all the 
 current texts is dispensed with. The thinking powers of the pupils are 
 aroused through the development of the causal relationship which exists 
 among facts, and which relationship alone leads to true geographic knowl- 
 edge. . , J • 
 
 One of the primary objects in the method of presentation employed in 
 the new texts is to develop the interest of the pupils through the use of 
 "problems." By this means the otherwise dead facts are clothed with life. 
 
 The method of presenting all facts in the light of their natural associa- 
 t'ons and from the point of view of their influence upon life might be called 
 the "biological method." It not only makes the subject matter of the geog- 
 raphy seem worth while to the pupils, a very important thing in itself but it 
 brings out clearly the scope and bounds of geography, a notion which is 
 lacking in the current texts as well as actual school-room practice. 
 
 In the biological method of approach all materials are presented from 
 the standpoint of their relation to the earth as a living organism. A moun- 
 tain for example, is not studied merely as a physical feature of the earth 
 but 'from the point of view of its relation to the people who live at its base. 
 Every fact that has any vital relation to elementary school geography is 
 thus made significant. 
 
 The two-time-over plan in current use is discarded as it is believed to 
 be wasteful of time and effort and not to lead to the best results. A 
 progressive course is substituted for the present one and in this course the 
 world is gone over in a formal manner but once. The objection sometimes 
 raised to this plan that some children may leave school before the con- 
 tinents have all been studied is met by the statement that m the latter half 
 of the fourth vear there is a general survey of the world, and that it is 
 of far greater importance that such children should have a working knowl- 
 edge of their home, state and native land than that this should have been 
 neglected and their time spent in memorizing meaningless facts about distant 
 
 ^2 ^Distribution of emphasis:— To make geographical relations in distant 
 lands really intelligible the new plan not only emphasizes home geography, 
 but goes much farther and assumes that an understandmg of the home is 
 the indispensable pre-requisite to a real knowledge of the world. It is only 
 
when the pupils have gained a working knowledge of the relation botween 
 the people about them and their environment that they are able to under- 
 stand the environments of peoples in distant lands. 
 
 The extended study of the home called for by the plan of the New 
 Series results in remarkably rapid and intelligent progress when the pupils 
 reach the study of distant lands. The knowledge gained of life relations in 
 the home is carried directly over to the new land, no matter in what part 
 of the world it is situated. When a good map is furnished the pupils they 
 are able to reason out conclusions as to life conditions wherever life is 
 studied. 
 
 3. The problem of map study: — The New Series of Geographies is to 
 be illustrated with half tones and colored plates but maps are to be excluded 
 from the text-books and bound in a separate volume or Atlas. This has 
 long been the established custom in the leading foreign countries, and is 
 likely soon to be the rule in the United States. One of the most serious 
 defects of the current geographical texts is not only the small size of the 
 maps but their usually poor character. 
 
 The advantages of an atlas might be stated as follows: — 
 
 1. The maps can be printed on a scale large enough to make 
 them clear and comprehensible. 
 
 2. The atlas can more easily be preserved as a handy book of 
 reference when not encumbered with the text. 
 
 3. The text can be bound in a more conveniently sized volume 
 than when an attempt is made to adapt it to the needs of maps. 
 
 4. An atlas bound in one or two parts could be made to last 
 for the whole school course. 
 
 The New Geographies can be divided conveniently into four volumes 
 
 as follows: . tt ^ i i • . 
 
 Vol I. Fourth Grade: — An elementary text in Home Geography which 
 includes iii the latter half a discussion of the peoples of other parts of the 
 world through the interchange of products between them and the people of 
 the California home. This introductory work is made as real as possible 
 through the use of pictures and the globe or map of the hemispheres. 
 
 Vol II. Fifth Grade:— California and other parts of our country as they 
 are related to California. A good wall map or relief model a necessity. (A 
 small atlas of California is to be prepared to accompany this Volume.) 
 
 Vol. III. Sixth Grade: — North America with emphasis laid upon the 
 United States. Physical wall maps a necessity. 
 
 Vol IV. Seventh and Eighth Grades:— The remaining portions of the 
 world taken up in that order which brings the most important regions early 
 in the course. North America is naturally followed by South America, 
 Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. . . , . . , • j- ,, 
 
 The Geography of Current Events should be introduced periodically 
 throughout the course. . , c- .u r- j ^ 
 
 It is not at all essential that Europe be taught in the Sixth Grade to 
 meet the needs of Sixth Grade history. All the geography which is needed 
 for the history can better be given as a part of the history. 
 
 The author has employed the historical development of the different 
 lands as a motive through the series but this does not imply that geography 
 should be made subservient to history as is often done. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 Topic I. — A Land of Gold. 
 
 A Land of Fabulous Riches to Reach Which the "Gold Seekers" or 
 "Argonauts" Suffered Untold Dangers and Hardships. 
 
 How were the Pioneers of California like the Argonauts of 
 
 the Old Legend? 
 
 According to the ancient Greek story, Jason and his comrades 
 set sail on an expedition to a distant region in search of the Golden 
 Fleece. These adventurers are known as Argonauts. So it came 
 about that the Pioneers who started out from the Eastern States 
 to find the hidden gold in far away California were called "Argo- 
 nauts." 
 
 Was there much known about California at the time of the 
 
 discovery of gold in 1848? 
 
 Although explorers had described California as an attractive 
 land blest wnth perpetual spring, it had at the time of the discovery 
 of gold few inhabitants besides Indians and easy-going Spaniards. 
 
 Southern California and the valleys of the Coast Ranges had 
 been occupied for many years by the Missions and scattered Spanish 
 ranches. Daring American explorers had crossed the mountains and 
 deserts to the Great Valley. Captain Sutter had built a fort near 
 the junction of the American river with the Sacramento and had 
 commenced to raise stock and cultivate the land. 
 
 General Fremont, known as the "Path Finder," had explored 
 much of the interior and had nearly lost his life in crossing the Sierra 
 Nevada Mountains in midwinter. 
 
 How did the discovery of gold affect the story of California? 
 
 1. The land filled quickly with thousands of people: The Mexi- 
 can War had just ended and California had become a part of our 
 country when Marshall made his great discovery of gold in a mill 
 race in El Dorado county. 
 
 The news spread quickly and in a few months thousands of peo- 
 ple were on their way to the land where the stream gravels were 
 reported to be full of gold which w^as to be had merely for the 
 digging. 
 
 In less than a year San Francisco Bay had filled with ships from 
 all parts of the world and an almost continuous line of ox-wagons 
 filled with gold seekers marked the newly opened road across the 
 continent. 
 
 Soon prospectors spread through the foothills of the Sierra 
 Nevada and Klamath Mountains. Their camps were scattered all 
 along the streams, while little towns sprang up where the "bars" 
 were richest in gold. Thus life and bustle suddenly replaced the 
 quiet which had ruled in California for so long. 
 
8 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 2. If it had not been for the golden magnet, California would 
 have settled slowly, as did Oregon and Washington: Before the 
 discovery of gold, Marcus Whitman had led the way to the rich 
 farming lands of Eastern Oregon, but because this region was so 
 far removed from the Eastern settlements, and the dangers of the 
 journey to the Far West were so great, the country settled slowly. 
 
 It was very different in the case of California. The tales of gold 
 aroused a great excitement over the whole country The journey 
 to this region, although more difficult than the one to Oregon, did 
 not, nevertheless, prevent thousands from attempting it, and so the 
 population increased rapidly. 
 
 3. The growth of other industries: For a time mining was the 
 only thing thought of. Ships were deserted by their crews; clerks 
 left their stores and farmers abandoned their fields. But there were 
 many who did not "strike it rich" and soon returned to their pre- 
 vious occupations. 
 
 Stock raising had been the leading industry of this region from 
 the earliest days of the Spanish settlement, but hides, wool and tal- 
 low were the only products for which there was any sale. With 
 the coming of thousands of emigrants there arose a great demand 
 for meat. The growing of grain, fruit and vegetables also became 
 important, for all farm products brought fabulous prices. 
 
 The great distance of California from any point where manu- 
 factured products could be obtained soon led to the establishment 
 of many industries to supply the needs of the growing population. 
 
 Topic II. — California, a Land of Fruitful Gardens. 
 
 A Pleasant Land of Mountains and Valleys in Which is Found 
 
 Every Sort of Climate and Where Grows Almost 
 
 Everything That One Could Wish. 
 
 How California received its name. 
 
 A Spanish story written long ago tells of a fabulous island in 
 the "South Seas." This island was called California. It was said 
 in the story to be inhabited by Griffins and to abound with gold. 
 
 Spanish sailors sailing westward from Mexico came to what 
 they thought was an island lying far out in the Pacific Ocean. To 
 this land they gave the name of California, although no Griffins 
 were found in it, and many years passed before its golden treas- 
 ures came to light. 
 
 The land thus discovered is now called Lower California, but 
 Upper California, the land in which we live, was not visited until 
 many years later. 
 
 Lower California is really a peninsula, as you can see from the 
 map, instead of an island, and extends south from our California. 
 Upon the old Spanish maps the whole of California is pictured as 
 an island with a long, narrow strait separating it from the main- 
 land. We now know that this land is not an island. The southern 
 end of the supposed strait is the Gulf of California, and the upper 
 end is Fuget Sound. 
 
California 9 
 
 Where lies California? 
 
 Our California home is far away to the westward of where the 
 Pilgrims landed and upon the opposite side of North America. It 
 faces west toward the broad Pacific Ocean, along which it stretches 
 for nearly one thousand miles. The boundaries of California were 
 once very indefinite, but much greater than they are now. It in- 
 cluded all that land reaching from Mexico on the south to Oregon 
 on the north and from the Pacific Ocean east to the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 The states of Utah, Nevada and a part of Arizona have been 
 
 -Auto Club of .Southern California. 
 
 Giant breakers in Santa Monica Bay. 
 
 made out of this vast territory and what remains forms the Cali- 
 fornia of today which we are going to study. 
 
 What sort of land is California? 
 
 If we sail along the coast of California, as did the early navi- 
 gators, we find that it has a very even shore line and apparently few 
 bays that oflfer protection from storm. Viewed from the sea this 
 land appears to be mostly mountains through which occasional val- 
 leys open, and we are thus at first led to believe that its surface is 
 too rough to support many people. 
 
 We discover finally that there are more bays than we at first 
 supposed and that in and behind the coast mountains there are many 
 great valleys. Entering San Francisco Bay we are led through the 
 mountains that guard the coast and far into the interior. 
 
 Rich and beautiful valleys lie among the mountains, but it is 
 
10 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 not until we have passed the strait of Carquinez that the largest one 
 comes in sight. 
 
 An almost boundless plain, known as the Great Valley, now 
 stretches out before us. Far to the east we get a view of the snow- 
 covered Sierra Nevada Mountains. To the north we may be able 
 to see Mt. Shasta, one of the highest volcanic peaks in the United 
 States. To the south are other mountains, but too far away to be 
 seen. Thus this great valley is inclosed upon all sides except for 
 the opening through which we enter. It is so rich and of so vast 
 an extent that even if there were no others California would never- 
 theless be a wonderful land capable of supporting many millions 
 of people. 
 
 But this is far from being all of the land that we are studying. 
 Away to the south, beyond mountains and desert, lies the Los An- 
 geles-San Bernardino Valley. This is another vast lowland which, 
 unlike the Great Valley, is open to the sea and is broken by hills 
 and mountains. 
 
 This valley is shut in on the north and east by lofty mountains. 
 From the summit of San Gorgonio, the highest of their snow-clad 
 peaks, we see that these mountains separate the fertile valleys of 
 Southern California from trackless deserts which extend farther than 
 our eyes can reach. 
 
 The strange thing which we note about these deserts is that 
 their slopes do not lead to the sea but form basins instead. None 
 of the rain which falls in these basins ever reaches the sea. 
 
 Why is California such a pleasant and fruitful land? 
 
 California is, then, a land of mountains, valleys and desert plains. 
 Each of these slopes has its own climate and each has its own pro- 
 ductions which are different from the others. 
 
 So agreeable is the climate in most parts; so varied are the 
 natural resources, and so attractive is the scenery, that w^e speak 
 of this land as a pleasant and fruitful garden. 
 
 How has Nature made a garden of California? 
 
 1. California has a fertile soil: The soil is formed from the 
 rocks, and since there are in California many kinds of rocks, there 
 are also many kinds of soil, each suited to growing certain plants best. 
 
 The rocks are slowly crumbling, and everywhere, except upon 
 the steepest slopes, a mantle of soil has accumulated over them, 
 forming the smooth surface of the land. The soil is richest and 
 deepest in the valleys, where the rains have washed the finer par- 
 ticles from the steepest slopes. 
 
 2. California has a favorable climate: A favorable climate is 
 the first thing that Nature requires for a garden. The soil may be 
 rich but, unless there is the right amount of water and a warm sun, 
 plants will not thrive. 
 
 We have taken the natural gardens of this region, cultivated 
 the soil, added water where it was needed, set out in them plants 
 from many other parts of the world, and now, because of the many 
 
California 11 
 
 sorts of climate which they possess, we raise almost everything 
 which one could wish. 
 
 We can say then truly, that, with the exception of the very 
 hot and moist tropics, we grow in California food products native 
 to all the climates and countries of the world. 
 
 The valleys along the coast are cool and moist and the temper- 
 ature varies but little between winter and summer. 
 
 The climate of the mountains is warm in summer and cold and 
 snowy in winter. 
 
 Behind the mountains, where the sea winds do not reach, the 
 summer is very hot and the rainfall is small, while still farther in 
 the interior are dry and burning deserts. 
 
 3. California has a rich plant and animal life: When first dis- 
 covered by white people California was found to support a won- 
 derful variety of plant and animal life. The forests were not sur- 
 passed by any others in the whole world. The mountains and val- 
 leys were alive with animals and land birds, while the marshes, lakes 
 and shores were covered with water birds. 
 
 Is all of California a luxuriant garden? 
 
 A favorable climate and fertile soil are needed to make a gar- 
 den. Nature has not given these equally to all parts of California. 
 As we journey through the valleys and over the mountains we see 
 that the animals are more abundant and the vegetation richer in 
 some places than in others. 
 
 It rains more toward the north, so that in that direction the 
 forests are heavier. The valleys near the coast receive more rain 
 than those of the interior. The mountains receive more rain than 
 the valleys. 
 
 If we climb to the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains we 
 find that it steadily becomes colder. We reach a region at last 
 where it is so cold that the trees grow only to the size of bushes 
 or disappear entirely. Here there are few animals and no vegeta- 
 tion but Arctic flowers and mosses. 
 
 From the summits of the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre Moun- 
 tains we can look down upon vast desert plains shut off from the 
 cool, moist winds of the coast. The animals and plants that inhabit 
 this region are curious and unfamiliar, for they have become changed 
 by living where there is little rain. 
 
 We learn, then, that Nature has bestowed her gifts very un- 
 evenly over California. Certain parts are barren because of too little 
 rain, while other parts are barren because of too great cold. The 
 larger part, however, has a climate suited to the making of a vast' 
 and fruitful garden. 
 
 What led to the settlement and cultivation of this garden? 
 
 1. Our California Garden remained for many years much as 
 Nature made it: The Indians inhabited California for hundreds of 
 years, but they had no use for the forests, nor did they cultivate 
 
12 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 the soil. Wild game, fish, roots and nuts furnished enough for their 
 simple needs. 
 
 When the Spanish came they, too, found little need for work. 
 From the fertile soil and from the increase of their herds they ob- 
 tained, with little exertion, all that they required. 
 
 2. The discovery of gold and the coming of an energetic and 
 industrious people: When gold was discovered everything was sud- 
 denly changed. Thousands of brave, active and energetic men poured 
 into California from the Eastern States. They overcame untold dan- 
 gers on the long journey and suffered many hardships in the new 
 land. Thus it came about that, after many years of quiet, the great 
 state of California was born almost in a day and is now one of the 
 most important in our country. 
 
 3. The growth of a market for produce and the opening of a 
 
 Placer miners panning the gravel for gold. 
 
 way to reach this market: The greater part of the people of the 
 United States live east of the Rocky Mountains, far from California. 
 The mild climate of the valleys of our state permit the growing here 
 of manv things which cannot be grown in the East and which the 
 people there are glad to get. But until we had secured a cheap and 
 easy means of sending our produce to this market, there was no use 
 in raising more than we needed at home. 
 
 Hides and tallow had been shipped away by water since the 
 earliest days. After the discovery of gold the growing of wheat, 
 
California 13 
 
 oats and barley became, next to the raising of cattle and sheep, the 
 most important farm industry, for they, too, could be shipped by 
 water. The building of the railroads finally opened the Eastern mar- 
 ket and led to the rapid settlement of the fertile valleys. Many thou- 
 sands of carloads of fruit and vegetables are now sent East across 
 the continent every year, while the opening of the Panama Canal 
 affords still other markets. 
 
 Topic III. — California as the Home of the Indian. 
 
 Where did the Indians come from, and have they been 
 here long? 
 
 When white people first visited California they found it settled 
 thickly with Indians. There were many different tribes, each speak- 
 ing a different language, but their features, their habits and cus- 
 toms were much alike. 
 
 It is believed from the resemblance of the features and customs 
 of the Indians to those of the natives of Northeastern Asia (Siberia) 
 that their ancestors came from that region. They could reach Alaska 
 across Behring Strait, and then it was easy to migrate southward. 
 
 There are several reasons for believing that the Indians have 
 been here thousands of years. One is that they speak so many dif- 
 ferent languages. It must have taken many thousands of years for 
 languages so distinct to grow out of the common language which 
 their ancestors probably spoke. 
 
 Another reason is furnished by the shell mounds. The Indians 
 used to gather along the shores of the ocean and bays for feasts of 
 shell-fish. The refuse from these feasts slowly accumulated and 
 finally formed mounds ; the largest of these are at Shell Mound Park 
 and at Richmond on the shore of San Francisco Bay. These mounds 
 were begun so long ago that since that time there have been changes 
 in the level of the sea and land. The bases of these mounds are 
 now sunken below the level of the bay. 
 
 Something about the life of the Indians. 
 
 The climate of much of California is so mild that the Indians 
 wore little clothing. Their huts were very simple and easily made. 
 A common form was a circular one, made by placing poles in the 
 ground and bending them over and tying them at the top. These 
 poles were covered with skins, bark, reeds or branches, and then 
 sometimes plastered with mud on the outside. 
 
 They did not cultivate the soil, but had no difficulty in getting 
 what they wanted to eat. The water was full of fish and the land 
 abounded with game. Besides these, there were berries, nuts, acorns 
 and many kinds of roots. Because of their custom of digging roots, 
 these Indians have often been called "Diggers." 
 
 They made no pottery or cloth, but wove beautiful baskets 
 which we now prize very highly. They crushed their food in stone 
 mortars, which were sometimes mere hollows worn in a large flat rock. 
 
14 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Why have the Indians so nearly disappeared? 
 
 Once the villages 
 of the Indians could 
 be seen thickly scat- 
 tered along the 
 streams and about 
 the springs. We 
 can still tell where 
 they were by the 
 dark rich soil filled 
 with fragments of 
 bone, shells and 
 flint arrow points. 
 
 Xow we seldom 
 see an Indian except 
 in the wilder and 
 less settled parts of 
 the state. The Padres 
 tried to civilize them 
 and make them live 
 in houses, but they 
 became sickly and 
 rapidly died off. The 
 most of those that 
 still remain live upon 
 lands called Reser- 
 vations, which are 
 held by the Govern- 
 ment for their use. 
 They get a part of 
 their living from 
 cultivating the land 
 and a part from hir- 
 ing out to white 
 farmers. 
 
 Our treatment of 
 the Indians has not 
 always been just or 
 wise. We should 
 protect them and al- 
 low them to live the 
 sort of life for which 
 Xature has fitted 
 them. 
 
 Topic IV. — California as the Home of the Spaniard. 
 
 How was it that California was settled first by the Spaniards? 
 1. Because of nearness to Mexico with a direct route by sea: 
 When Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean he claimed for Spain all 
 the lands bordering upon it. 
 
 A Digger pine, so named because the nuts are 
 used by the Digger Indians. 
 
 Found in the Coast Ranges and foothills of the 
 Sierras. 
 
California 
 
 15 
 
 After the conquest of Mexico the Spaniards embarked upon the 
 new ocean for the purpose of taking possession of its lands and 
 converting the natives to the Catholic religion. 
 
 They- first landed upon Lower or Baja California, which they 
 took to be an island. Then they sailed northward and reached the 
 land about which we are studying and called it Upper or Alta 
 California. 
 
 2. Because the American colonies were far away and separated 
 by hostile Indians, mountains and deserts: The first American set- 
 tlers had all they could do to establish their homes upon the At- 
 lantic Coast without attempting to explore and settle the vast land 
 which extended away into the interior of the continent. 
 
 Besides this there were many more barriers in the way of such 
 explorations than lay in the paths of the Spaniards. In the first 
 place, forests inhabited by savage Indians stretched westward over 
 the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi Valley. Beyond this 
 valley were broad plains reaching to the Rocky Alountains; then 
 
 A Klamath River Indian. 
 
16 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 hundreds of miles of deserts, and, last of all, the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains. 
 
 Our New England forefathers knew nothing of all this region, 
 nor had they heard of California and its attractions. Even as late 
 as the Mexican War and the conquest of California, many of the 
 people in the East thought the Far West was a worthless, barren 
 region which it would never pay to bother about. 
 
 Why was it that most of the Spaniards settled near the Coast 
 of CaHfornia? 
 
 It was easier to reach California by sea than by land, for many 
 hundreds of miles of sandy desert lay between this region and Mex- 
 ico. For this reason the land journey was not only dangerous but 
 required a long time. 
 
 It was but natural, then, that the first settlements should be 
 made at those places upon the coast, such as San Diego and Mon- 
 terey, where there was protection for ships. 
 
 The valleys near the sea offered attractive places for settle- 
 ments. Here there was water for irrigation and large areas of rich 
 land. Inland the climate was found to be drier and besides there 
 was more danger of attack by Indians. 
 
 What influenced the Padres in their selection of Mission sites 
 and towns? 
 
 The Padres soon learned that the new land had long, dry sum- 
 mers, like those to which they had been accustomed in Mexico and 
 Spain. To grow successful gardens in such a climate it would be 
 necessary to irrigate them, and hence their settlements were made 
 where there was plenty of water. The Padres also had in mind the 
 quality of the soil. 
 
 Hence every Mission was placed in a rich and well-watered val- 
 ley. The places selected were also determined, in part, by their 
 nearness to the villages of large numbers of Indians, so that they 
 could be more easily induced to attend religious services. 
 
 Why did the Spanish settlers cultivate so little of these rich 
 
 lands ? 
 
 Each mission or rancho had its own carefully-kept garden and 
 grain-fields to supply the home needs, but it was useless to raise 
 more, for there was no market. 
 
 As a result most of the land remained unplowed and covered 
 with its natural carpet of wild grasses. On these pasture lands 
 countless thousands of cattle and sheep fed. However, even they 
 were of little value, for hides, tallow and wool were the only pro- 
 ducts for which there was a market. Trading vessels, which occa- 
 sionally visited the coast, took these things in exchange for various 
 manufactured articles. 
 
Santa Barbara. A Typical Mission Scene 
 
California 17 
 
 How the geography of Northern Cahfornia hindered that 
 region from becoming a Russian province. 
 
 The Russians discovered and claimed Alaska and built trading 
 posts along its shores. They had great need of fresh meat and veg- 
 etables in this far northern region, and, searching for a place in 
 which they could supply themselves with these things, sailed down 
 the coast to California. 
 
 Finding the land unoccupied they landed a few miles north of 
 the mouth of Russian River and built a stockade to which they gave 
 the name of Fort Ross. They explored the adjoining country, went 
 on hunting expeditions to the Farallone Islands, and even entered 
 San Francisco Bay. They would have liked to have taken possession 
 of this fair region, but feared to disturb the Spanish, who had already 
 established the Presidio of San Francisco and laid claim to all the 
 surrounding region. 
 
 The Russians never extended their territory inland from Fort 
 Ross, for the unbroken Coast Ranges, steep and difficult to cross, 
 shut away from them the warm and fertile valleys of the interior. 
 
 As a direct result of the obstacles which Nature had placed in 
 the way of the Russians enlarging their holdings, they finally aban- 
 doned the fort and sailed away. 
 
 How did Cahfornia appear when in 1848 it became a part of 
 our country? 
 
 If we could have visited California at this time we should have 
 looked upon a vast region of forested mountains, oak-dotted valleys 
 and almost boundless plains. The whole country still remained 
 almost as Nature made it. 
 
 A few white settlers occupied the valleys near the coast. A 
 string of missions stretched from San Diego to Sonoma and close 
 to them had grown up a few small towns. The chief of these were 
 San Diego, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, 
 Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Jose. 
 
 As the Spanish settlers came they were given grants of land by 
 the Mexican government. Nearly all the best lands of the coast 
 region were thus divided into ranchos which were often many miles 
 in extent. 
 
 Here and there were the white-washed adobe ranch houses with 
 their many outbuildings and corrals. There were no fences, but 
 each man's cattle were known by the "brand." 
 
 Twice a year each man held what was called a Rodeo or 
 "Round Up," which simply meant the gathering of all his cattle. 
 The spring round-up was for the purpose of branding the calves, 
 while that of the fall was for separating the stock intended for 
 market. 
 
 The Rodeo, as well as the sheep-shearing time, were the occa- 
 sions of merriment and festivity. 
 
 Antelope, elk and deer abounded. The thickets were filled with 
 
18 
 
 New Progrkssive Geographies 
 
 Fort Ross — Coast Ranges in background. Boat loading by 
 cable in foreground. 
 
 bear and other predatory animals. The forests were almost un* 
 touched and most of the land was unplowed. In the spring the 
 valleys and plains were covered with the brilliant poppy and other 
 wild flowers. 
 
 The end of the quiet California days. 
 
 The discovery of gold a few months after the conquest of Cali- 
 fornia made a wonderful change. Gold seekers began to pour into 
 California from every direction. They came in through the Golden 
 Gate and passed up the Sacramento River. They crossed the moun, 
 tains and deserts in their ox-wagons by way of Oregon, by way of 
 Arizona, but, in greatest numbers, by the main overland trail through 
 Nevada and across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
 
 They came by the thousands and scattered through the foot- 
 hills of the gold belt and then spread into the fertile valleys. Life 
 and bustle succeeded the quiet which had reigned here so long. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The discovery of gold in California led to the rapid settlement 
 of a region remote and difficult to reach. 
 
 When mining became less profitable the pioneers turned to the 
 cultivation of the fertile valleys, and soon this state, which first be- 
 came widely known as a land of gold, became even more celebrated 
 for its golden fruits and agreeable climate. 
 
 Neither the Indians nor the Spanish made use of the natural 
 
California 19 
 
 resources of California. In a short time after the coming of the 
 Americans these were developed more than they had been during 
 all the past history of the region. 
 
 REVIEW QUESTIONS. -•,. 
 
 Why is gold so earnestly sought after? ~ <<^v ^ 
 
 Why was it so difficult to reach California in the early days? 
 
 Describe any Indians which you have seen. 
 
 Tell what you can about their w^eapons and utensils. 
 
 Why did the Indians disappear so quickly from the most of Cali- 
 fornia? 
 
 Did any American Indians cultivate the soil before the whites came? 
 
 Why did the Spanish settlers give the most of their attention to 
 stock raising? 
 
 Why did they not settle the interior valleys? 
 
 By what routes and by what means is produce now shipped out 
 of California? 
 
 Mention some of the most important things which w^e export. 
 
 What other country besides Russia would have liked to obtain 
 California? 
 
 Tell from your own observations something about the differences 
 in the climate of the coast, the mountains, and the interior. 
 
 Tell what is needed in order to raise a good garden. 
 
 How are lands, in those parts of California w^here the rainfall is 
 not sufficient, made to produce abundantly? 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 A country of mountains and valleys has a more varied climate 
 than a level country. 
 
 Men W'ill undergo the greatest hardships and dangers and go to 
 the most distant regions in the hope of getting gold. 
 
 If the geography of California had been different it might never 
 have become a part of the United States. 
 
 A garden may be ever so rich, but it will produce little but use- 
 less weeds if not cultivated. 
 
 California w-as so far aw^ay and so difficult to reach that if it had 
 not been for gold it would have settled up slowly. 
 
 Civilized people make much more use of the natural resources of 
 a country than do savages. 
 

 PHYSICAL MAP 
 
 * OF 
 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
CHAPTER IT. 
 
 Topic I. — The Main Routes by Which the Pioneers 
 Reached CaHfornia. 
 
 Did the Pioneers have maps to guide them in tlieir journey 
 across the continent to the new land? 
 
 Before the discovery of gold little was known of all that vast 
 region between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast. The 
 first men to penetrate the recesses of the Rocky Mountains were 
 the trappers and traders in search of furs. Then came the noted 
 expedition of Lewis and Clark which was the first to cross the 
 Rocky Mountains and reach the Pacific. The route followed was, 
 however, far to the north of that used by the gold seekers, lying 
 as it did much of the distance along the Missouri, Snake and Co- 
 lumbia Rivers. 
 
 General Fremont did more than any one else to make known 
 the routes to California, and for that reason has been called the 
 "Pathfinder." He and his party nearly perished in mid-winter on 
 the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains while trying to find a 
 river which they supposed rose in the Rocky Mountains and flowed 
 westward into San Francisco Bay. They found, instead of a river, 
 a lofty snow-covered range of mountains called by the Spanish 
 Sierra Nevada, meaning snowy range. 
 
 If such a river had really existed it would have been easy for 
 the pioneers after crossing the Rocky Mountains to follow it down 
 to California. Many perished while seeking out new trails, for they 
 did not know of the dangers ahead of them. The first maps of this 
 region, as in the case of that used by General Fremont, were worse 
 than no maps, for they were so incorrect. 
 
 The water routes to California. 
 
 There were two ways of reaching California by water. The 
 shorter way was down the Atlantic Coast to the Isthmus of Panama, 
 and then up the Pacific to San Francisco. Thousands came this way, 
 but many died of fevers while crossing the Isthmus. 
 
 The longer water route was around Cape Horn, the southern 
 point of South America. This journey took six months and was 
 also dangerous because of the frequent and severe storms around 
 the cape. 
 
 A large part of the supplies for California came around Cape 
 Horn in the early days, and continued to do so down to the time 
 of the opening of the Panama Canal. 
 
 The land routes to California. 
 
 We must remember in the first place that the vast region which 
 lay between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean was almost 
 unknown at the time of the gold excitement. It was made up of 
 
22 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 broad plains, mountain ranges and deserts. The mountains were 
 difficult to cross, while the deserts were almost without water and 
 forage. The roads or "trails" must for these reasons follow cer- 
 tain routes where there were streams or springs and cross the moun- 
 tains at points where they were lowest — that is, through mountain 
 passes. There were a number of different routes which we ought 
 to know something about. 
 
 A. The Great Salt Lake and Carson Trail : This was the direct 
 route used by most of the emigrants. It started at St, Louis and 
 followed the Platte River much of the way across the plains. Pass- 
 ing through the Rocky Mountains a little north of Great Salt Lake, 
 it crossed the deserts of Utah until, reaching the Humboldt River 
 in what is- now Nevada, it descended this river to the "Sink of the 
 Carson." Here was the broad, much dreaded, desert in which the 
 waters of the Carson River sink. 
 
 After the crossing of the desert came the Sierra Nevadas. If 
 it was summer their cool forests and refreshing waters were greatly 
 enjoyed. At other seasons its winds were icy and snows blocked 
 the trails. When once these mountains were passed it was easy 
 to reach the gold fields which lay along their western base. 
 
 B. The Santa Fe Trail: The Santa Fe Trail was the old trad- 
 ing route from St. Louis to New Mexico and Old Mexico. The 
 emigrants followed this trail to Santa Fe and then turned west 
 across Arizona toward Southern California. This route was more 
 dangerous than the northern one because there were more deserts 
 and the Indians were more savage. After reaching Fort Yuma, on 
 the border of California, they had still the dreaded Colorado Desert 
 to cross before reaching San Diego or Los Angeles. 
 
 Strange work of the waves at Point Buchon near San Luis Obispo. 
 
California 
 
 23 
 
 C. The Oregon Trail: It was difficult to go from Oregon into 
 California in the early days. The steep mountains and deep, nar- 
 row canons which lay in the way could not be traversed until 
 years later, when costly roads had been built. 
 
 Peter Lassen opened a rough road across the volcanic plateau 
 of Northeastern California. It passed near the great volcano now- 
 called Lassen Peak. Few emigrants came by this route. 
 
 D. The old Mormon Trail: A trail used by some of the early 
 Mormon settlers of Southern California started at Salt Lake City 
 and led in a southwesterly direction across Southern Nevada. It 
 crossed the broad Mohave Desert and ended in the Valley of San 
 Bernardino. This route was not used much because of the almost 
 continuous desert with little water and feed for cattle. 
 
 Topic II. — The California Coast Presented Many Dififi- 
 culties to the Early Explorers. 
 
 The difficulties of the early navigators. 
 
 We read in the tales of the early navigators who sailed along 
 the California coast that they found the shore rocky and mountain- 
 ous with few places where they could anchor their ships in safety. 
 They also report many storms and head winds which continually beat 
 them back. None of them got farther north than Cape Mendocino. 
 
 Both Drake and Vizcaino sailed past the Golden Gate, and, 
 probably because of fog, did not see the narrow entrance to the 
 magnificent Bay of San Francisco. 
 
 How did the mountainous coast hinder exploration by land? 
 
 There would have been little difficulty in going from San Diego 
 
 to San Francisco and northward even to Oregon if the explorers 
 
 Morro Rock — nearly 600 feet high. The grandest monument on the 
 coast of California. 
 
24 New Procressive Geographies 
 
 could have followed the shore all the way. This was impossible, 
 however, because in many places the mountains come directly down 
 to the sea so that there is not room for a road or even a trail be- 
 tween the rocky clififs of the ocean and the steep slopes of the 
 mountains. 
 
 How would travel along the shore be made easier if the land 
 should rise a little, exposing a strip of the ocean floor? 
 
 Many soundings have been made in the ocean along the coast 
 so that we know much about the bottom. The water has been found 
 to be shallow in most places and the bottom almost as even as a 
 floor. If the land now stood as high as it did once the shore would 
 be many miles out under the blue waters of the Pacific. 
 
 The smooth floor of the ocean thus exposed would have ofifered 
 an open highway for travel the whole length of California if peo- 
 ple had only been here to make use of it. Unfortunately the land 
 sank long before any one came to these shores. Now mountains 
 and deserts form a serious barrier betw^een Southern and Northern 
 California. 
 
 What more can we learn from the soundings along the Cali- 
 fornia Coast? 
 
 The soundings tell us also that the bottom of the ocean along 
 our coast is quite like a plain in most places and that the w^ater 
 is shallow for some distance out from the shore. The strip of shal- 
 low water is about ten. miles wide along the coast of Northern Cali- 
 fornia, but broadens toward the south until it finally becomes nearly 
 tw^o hundred miles across. 
 
 Outside of the shallows the bottom of the ocean floor descends 
 very steeply to the deep Pacific, so that if the water could be taken 
 away and we could see the bottom it would appear like a shoulder 
 along the border of the land. 
 
 This shoulder, although now below the sea, marks the western 
 edge of the continent. It has the form of a plateau beneath the 
 sea and so we call it the submerged continental plateau. 
 
 How would the shore be afl:'ected if the land should rise one 
 thousand feet? 
 
 The change in the shore line would be so great that we would 
 hardly recognize the new land as California. The present bays 
 would all become dry land, while new ones far out under the pres- 
 ent water would take their place. Thousands of acres of fertile 
 valley land would be added to the state. 
 
 The new shore would lie outside the Farallone Islands which 
 would become a part of the mainland. A long, narrow bay extend- 
 ing up nearly to the present mouth of the Salinas River w^ould take 
 the place of Monterey Bay. The Santa Barbara Islands would be- 
 come a part of the mainland also and have a great bay behind them. 
 Farther south Santa Catalina and San Clemente would still remain 
 
California 
 
 25 
 
 islands and many shoals forming new islands would appear above 
 the water. 
 
 What reason have we for beheving that most of the islands 
 have been a part of the mainland? 
 
 Upon the Santa Barbara Islands have been found the bones of 
 animals that once lived in California but which are now extinct. 
 Among- these were the mastodon and horse. These animals could 
 have reached the islands only when they were connected with the 
 mainland. 
 
 Topic III. — The Slopes of the Land, and the Position of the 
 Mountains and Rivers of California Made it Dif- 
 ficult for the Pioneers to Reach the 
 Mines by All but One Route. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 Nature has placed many obstacles in the way of our getting 
 those things which we prize most, and we shall now see how true 
 this was of our California gold. 
 
 The most important placer mines were found in the foothills 
 of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the eastern side of the San 
 
 A wave-cut terrace and caves near Port Harford. Made when the ocean 
 stood ten feet higher, 
 
26 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Joaquin-Sacramento Valley, and in the Klamath Mountains at the 
 north end of this valley. 
 
 Except for the single 'outlet through which flows the Sacra- 
 mento River, this great valley is rimmed all about by mountains, 
 while beyond these are other mountains and deserts. 
 
 How did those who came by water reach the mines? 
 
 1. The Colorado River could not be used as a route to the 
 mines: Why could not the "gold seekers" coming by ship to Cali- 
 fornia have sailed up the Gulf of California and have entered the 
 Colorado River? This great stream, as the map shows us, forms 
 the southeastern boundary of California and appears to offer an easy 
 way far inland toward the north. 
 
 In reality, however, the Colorado River is almost impassable 
 for boats except the smallest flat-bottomed ones. The current is 
 rapid and the water shallow and full of ever shifting sand-bars. 
 The lower course of the river is through deserts, while its middle 
 part is in a mighty canon. 
 
 2. What can we say of the Klamath River as a possible route 
 from the coast to the mines? Our map shows that the Klamath is 
 a large river rising in Oregon and following westerly across North- 
 ern California. 
 
 If we could visit this region we should discover that its course 
 is through the Klamath Mountains in a deep canon and that there 
 is no harbor or landing place at its mouth. 
 
 The Klamath River and tributary streams were rich in placer 
 gold, but the stream was no use to the miners in reaching this 
 region. They had to cross the very rugged country which lay be- 
 tween its basin and the Sacramento Valley. 
 
 3. San Francisco Bay and Sacramento River route: After hav- 
 ing searched in vain along the coast of California for any other prac- 
 tical route to the mines, we turn to San Francisco Bay and the great 
 river which empties into it. 
 
 We now learn why all the ships with their loads of gold seek- 
 ers from all parts of the world came to San Francisco. Here was 
 perfect protection from the storms. Here was a great bay opening 
 far into the interior. From the head of this bay a navigable river 
 led almost to the mining camps. 
 
 Once at San Francisco all the gold seekers had to do was to 
 embark on river boats. This took them up through San Pablo Bay, 
 the Strait of Carquinez and into Suisun Bay. Here they were in 
 the delta region of the Great Central Valley. 
 
 In this delta two streams were found coming together. The 
 one from the northern arm of the Great Valley was called the Sac- 
 ramento, the one from the southern arm of the valley was called 
 the San Joaquin. 
 
 Following up the river which came from the north they came 
 to the town of Sacramento, which had grown up near Sutter's Fort. 
 It was an important point for distributing supplies and was also 
 the end of the overland trail. 
 
California 
 
 27 
 
 Farther up the Sacramento River was Red Bluff at the head of 
 navigation. This tov^n w^as an important supply point for the north- 
 ern mines in Shasta and Siskiyou Counties. 
 
 The farthest point reached by boats on the Feather River, a 
 branch of the Sacramento, determined the site of Marysville, an- 
 other distributing point close to the mines. 
 
 The miners who wished to go to the southern mines took a boat 
 for Stockton, a town which had sprung up at the head of navigation 
 on a branch of the San Joaquin River. 
 
 What difficulties still lay in the way of those who came over- 
 land after they had at last reached the boundaries of 
 California? 
 
 1. The Sierra Nevada Mountains: The mighty Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains could not be avoided, for they stretched north and south 
 for four hundred miles directly in the path of the Salt Lake trail 
 by which most of the emigrants came. After they had crossed the 
 Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the deserts of Utah and 
 Nevada, the Sierras had to be passed before they could enter the 
 Golden Land. 
 
 The Sierra Nevadas are covered with heavy snows during a 
 large part of the year and so the journey had to be planned to reach 
 them in summer or early fall. We must remember also that the 
 emigrants who came first had to make their own roads. They had 
 to get over sharp, rocky ridges and across precipitous caiions where 
 sometimes the wagons had to be taken apart and pulled up or let 
 down with ropes. 
 
 Freighting on the Sacramento River. 
 
28 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 2. The deserts and mountains between Southern California and 
 the Great Valley: The route to the mines by the Santa Fe trail 
 was much longer and offered difficulties even after San Diego or 
 Los Angeles had been reached. 
 
 Nature has placed many obstacles in the way of travel between 
 Southern and Northern California. To understand what these are 
 let us take a train from Los Angeles to Bakersfield. We shall have 
 to cross three mountain ranges, two of them by "passes" and one 
 by tunnel. Altogether there are fifty miles of mountains and then 
 the Mohave Desert covering fifty miles more. If we travel over 
 the old stage road we find the country equally difficult to cross. 
 
 The Mohave Desert forms a wedge pointing westward and with 
 its inclosing mountains divides California into two parts, and for 
 a long time formed a serious barrier to travel and trade. 
 
 The only way by which the early traveler could escape this 
 barrier was by taking the old trail used by the Padres and known 
 as the Camino Real. 
 
 This trail lies through the valleys near the coast, but it also 
 had to cross several mountain ranges. 
 
 To avoid the mountains between Ventura and Santa Barbara 
 the trail descended at one point to the base of lofty ocean cliffs 
 beneath which the traveler could pass only at low tide. 
 
 3. The mountains shutting off Oregon: The northern end of 
 the Sacramento Valley is inclosed by mountains which are many 
 miles across and were almost impassable in the early days. This 
 difficulty of making a wagon road from Redding to Shasta Valley 
 was very great. When this road was finally opened there remained 
 still the Siskiyou Mountains to be crossed before Oregon could be 
 reached. Those who tried to escape these mountains by entering 
 California over the Lassen trail found that they had many miles of 
 rough lava fields to cross. 
 
 Topic IV.— Climate Has Had Much to Do With the Settle- 
 ment and Development of Our California Garden. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 The discovery of gold led to the rapid settlement of California, 
 but it is its climate which has had more to do with its permanent 
 growth and present importance than anything else. 
 
 Because the surface of California is so varied, because there 
 are many high mountains whose tops are cold, because there are 
 lowland valleys where the sun strikes very hot in summer, because 
 there are coast lands cool and moist from the sea winds, one may 
 find here almost any sort of climate he wishes. 
 
 As a result of the many sorts of climate there is grown here 
 a greater variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables and grains than in any 
 other country of the same size in the whole world. 
 
 We find heavy forests in the north and upon the mountains. In 
 the southeast there are deserts where little grows. In the warmer 
 
California 
 
 29 
 
 valleys we find oranges, and even dates, and in the cooler ones all 
 the fruits of the temperate climes. 
 
 How is it that the early Spanish settlers found themselves 
 at home in the climate of this region? 
 
 These early settlers came from Mexico and Spain. In both 
 countries they were used to long, dry summers and had learned the 
 need of irrigating their gardens with water from the streams. 
 
 MAP SHOWTNa 
 
 rusxRiBtrxiON 
 
 or 
 RAINFALL 
 
 IN 
 
 CALIFOKXIA 
 
 I I 0-10 Inches 
 10-20 •< 
 
 [ j 20-30 .' 
 30-40 " 
 40-80 •« 
 
 Thus it was natural that in California with a similar dry sum- 
 mer they should know what to do and should pick places for the 
 mission settlements and for the ranch houses where water could 
 be had for the all-important gardens. 
 
 In how far was the climate of California new to the emigrants 
 from the Eastern States? 
 
 As a usual thing rains fall frequently enough in the Eastern 
 States to keep the gardens fresh so that irrigation is not neces- 
 
30 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 sary. There arc seasons, however, when the rains do not come 
 and the gardens dry up. 
 
 It took the newcomers some time to understand the climate of 
 California. The summer season w^as found to be without rain for 
 from three to five months. During this time the interior valleys be- 
 came very hot, but the air was so dry that they did not feel the 
 heat so much as they did in the East. 
 
 The valleys did not usually get cold enough in winter for snow 
 to fall, although ice sometimes formed at night. On the mountains 
 only a few miles from the valleys the climate was found to be cold 
 with deep snows in winter. 
 
 In all the lowlands of the state, excepting the deserts of the 
 southeastern part, there was usually rain enough to grow the com- 
 mon farm crops. Irrigation seemed a clumsy way of helping Nature 
 supply a sufficient amount of water and besides it required much 
 work. It was a long time before the emigrants came to appreciate 
 the advantages of irrigation and to use it on a large scale. 
 
 How can we account for the vast deserts which the emigrants 
 
 had to cross to reach CaHfornia? 
 
 1. The farther the valleys lie from the coast, and the more 
 mountains there are between, the drier they are: We will take an 
 imaginary journey, starting at Monterey and going east, to learn 
 what we can about this. 
 
 Monterey, like other coast places, has a mild even climate with 
 cool, foggy winds from the sea in summer. We go but a few miles 
 across the hills to the Salinas Valley and find ourselves already in a 
 climate which is drier and much warmer. 
 
 A scene on the new State Highway (the Camino Real) in a beautiful valley 
 of the Central Coast Ranges. 
 
California 31 
 
 We next cross the Gavilan and Mt. Diablo Ranges, and de- 
 scending from this elevated region, where there is an abundant rain- 
 fall, reach the western side of the San Joaquin Valley. So little rain 
 falls here that the countr)^ has much the appearance of a desert. 
 The reason for this is that the mountains offer a barrier to the 
 storm clouds and winds, and take so much of their moisture that 
 little remains for the valley behind them. We now cross the San 
 Joaquin Valley and begin to climb the Sierra Nevadas. 
 
 The higher we go the cooler it becomes, and we can tell by 
 the forests of great trees that much more rain falls here than in 
 the valley. 
 
 As we approach the summit of the mountains the trees become 
 smaller and finally disappear, leaving bare earth and rocks. The 
 winters are as cold as in the far north and the snow lasts eight 
 months of the year. 
 
 Far below to the east lies Owen Valley, to which we descend. 
 Here we are behind the great mountain wall of the Sierras. The 
 summers are hot and the rainfall is very small. 
 
 Now the Inyo-White Mountain Range has to be crossed, but 
 the few stunted trees even on its lofty summit tell us that the 
 Sierra Nevadas take so much of the moisture from the air that little 
 remains for the country to the eastward. 
 
 We continue our journey and soon pass from California into 
 Nevada. Before us for hundreds of miles stretch desert valleys and 
 barren mountains. We have now crossed so many mountain ranges 
 and have gone so far from the ocean that we have lost the sea winds 
 loaded with water particles. 
 
 Unless we carry water with us we shall be obliged to turn aside 
 in search of some one of the few scattered springs hidden away 
 in the canons. In some parts, especially in Death Valley, the heat 
 of summer is so great that it is hardly safe to undertake a journey 
 except at night. 
 
 Although we call this region a desert there is no place that 
 does not receive a little rain. There are many curious plants and 
 animals that have become accustomed to living with very little water. 
 
 Occasionally summer thunder storms occur and then the rain 
 pours down so fiercely that we call them "cloudbursts." Torrents 
 of water laden with mud, sand and even boulders sweep down the 
 caiions for a few hours and then dry up, while their waters sink 
 in the sands of the desert valleys. 
 
 There is no desert in California as dry as the Sahara of North 
 Africa. 
 
 2. Most of the storms come from a westerly direction: We 
 must remember in studying the climate of our state that, although 
 there is much fog and cloud along the coast in the summer, nearly 
 all the rain falls during the winter months. 
 
 We shall discover, if we watch carefully, that the storms gen- 
 erally come from the west, for in that direction the clouds first 
 appear, but that the wind which brings the rain is a southerly one. 
 We shall learn the reason for this a little later, but want to re- 
 
2i2 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 member now that throughout most of the year the wind blows from 
 a westerly direction — that is, from the sea — toward the land. 
 
 The fog which is brought in with the west wind in summer 
 buries the coast lands and the west slope of the first range of 
 mountains in a cool blanket, through which the sun may not shine 
 for days, while the country on the eastern side of these mountains 
 enjoys warm, bright sunshine. 
 
 The storms of winter also strike the western side of the moun- 
 tains more severely, giving heavier rain there than they do in the 
 valleys on the eastern side. 
 
 The storms are heavier also high on the mountains because of 
 the cold air there, which changes more of the fine water particles 
 to rain-drops. The farmer there may get all the rain he needs, while 
 another farmer at the base of the mountains receives very little. 
 
 The air as it comes from the sea can carry only a certain quan- 
 tity of water particles, and the more mountains there are in the 
 way, and the higher and colder these mountains are, the more com- 
 pletely will it be robbed of these water particles. 
 
 The farther the moist sea air goes inland the more water it loses, 
 until finally there is so little left that no more rain falls and the 
 clouds disappear. This is one of the reasons why there are vast 
 deserts in the heart of our continent. 
 
 3. Near the coast the summers are very little warmer than the 
 winters, but in the interior they are very hot: The land warms 
 quickly under the bright summer sun and cools ofif again when win- 
 ter approaches. The great ocean behaves very differently, as you 
 would learn if you could bathe in it some miles off the California 
 
 A glacier on the north slope of Shastina. 
 
California 33 
 
 coast. You would there find the water uncomfortably cool at all 
 times of the year. 
 
 Because the ocean remains at so nearly the same temperature 
 the winds that blow across it and onto the land also have an even 
 temperature. They make the winters warmer than they otherwise 
 would be and the summers cooler. 
 
 As the winds pass over the land they are warmed in summer 
 and chilled in winter. The farther they reach into the interior the 
 hotter and drier the air becomes in summer. Thus it is that the 
 valleys of this region that lie far from the ocean, and separated from 
 it by lofty mountains, are not only very dry but exceedingly hot. 
 
 4. The mountain ranges extend across the course of the winds 
 and storms: We have already learned that the great deserts lie be- 
 hind the mountains, where the cool, moist winds do not reach. This 
 means that the storms do not have a free passage toward the east, 
 but that the mountains block them and make them drop so much of 
 their moisture that the lands to the eastward are desert. 
 
 If the mountain ranges extended in the same direction as that 
 in which the storms move, the interior valleys would be cooler and 
 would also receive more rain. There would then be no great des- 
 erts and the pioneers would have had a much easier time in reach- 
 ing California. 
 
 5. Toward the south the mountains are higher and the storms 
 less frequent: If we should go northward along the coast from San 
 L>ancisco through Oregon and A\"ashington we would find that the 
 rainfall increases and the rainy season becomes longer. 
 
 The Cascade Range lying back of this part of the coast is not 
 high enough to break the force of the storms and the valleys of 
 Central Oregon and Washington receive a moderate amount of rain. 
 
 If we should go southward toward San Diego we would find 
 that it rains much less, for the winter storms are fewer in number. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada ^Mountains extend north and south through 
 Eastern California for nearly four hundred miles and for much of 
 this distance are more than tw^elve thousand feet high. 
 
 To the east and south of this range, which, together with other 
 mountains, cuts off the sea winds and storms, are the driest and 
 hottest deserts in the United States. Death Valley, the Mohave, 
 and Colorado Deserts could tell many stories of suffering and death. 
 
 \\'hy the south wind brings rain. 
 
 We have learned that the winds commonly blow from the ocean 
 toward the land and that the storms come from the same direction. 
 Then why do we say that it is going to rain when the south wind 
 blows, since the storms come from the west? 
 
 The ocean of air at the bottom of which we live is always in 
 motion. The main current in this ocean over California is from the 
 sea toward the land. W^hen a storm appears drifting in from the 
 ocean with this air current the air about this storm is very much 
 
34 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 disturbed and blows from different directions. It has a whirling 
 motion similar to the motion of a dust whirl. 
 
 The whirling air which sucks up the column of dust behaves 
 exactly like one of our winter storms. The only difference is that 
 the dust whirl is small and carries dust, while the storm carries 
 rain and spreads over many hundreds of miles. 
 
 We say it is going to rain when the "south wind" blows because 
 we feel the wind first from that direction as a storm approaches. 
 
 The rainy season is longer and the storms more frecjuent in 
 the north than in the south. 
 
 Why is it that latitude has so little to do with the climate 
 of California? 
 
 The latitude of a place is its distance north or south of the equa- 
 tor. The farther we go from the equator the cooler the climate 
 ordinarily becomes, because the sun does not rise so high and thus 
 gives less heat to the land. 
 
 California stretches a long distance from north to south, cov- 
 ering many degrees of latitude. We should expect for this reason 
 that the northern part would be much colder than the southern, 
 but this is not so. Oranges grow as well in the northern end of 
 the Sacramento Valley as they do at San Diego. 
 
 This is because the winds that blow across the Japan Current 
 and onto the land have almost the same temperature the whole 
 length of the state. They make the lands of the south cooler and 
 those of the north warmer than they otherwise would be. 
 
 One of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevadas; Mt. Ritter, from 
 near the timber line. 
 
California 35 
 
 If we should measure along the Atlantic Coast southward from 
 New York a distance equal to the length of California we should 
 find that, while in New York it is very cold in winter, at the southern 
 end of the line oranges and vegetables are growing in the open air. 
 
 This is because the Eastern States do not have the tempering 
 winds from the sea to modify the natural climate which latitude gives. 
 
 Why do we give the name "Great Basin" to the deserts of 
 Eastern Cahfornia and Nevada? 
 
 When the early explorers first entered the desert region between 
 the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas they were surprised to 
 find the lakes with no outlets and the water filled with salt and soda. 
 
 We speak of a river basin as including all the land that slopes 
 toward one river, but such is not a true basin, for the water flows 
 out at one side. In this strange desert the explorers found hundreds 
 of true basins, each with a rim of high land all around it. 
 
 General Fremont gave the name "Great Basin" to all this desert 
 region, because he found it to be a true basin with a rim of higher 
 land extending completely around it. No rain that fell wuthin the 
 slopes of this basin could ever reach the ocean. 
 
 If it should rain in the Great Basin as much as it does along the 
 coast of California the little basins would fill up and form lakes. 
 The higher lakes would overflow into the lower ones and finally 
 so much water would gather in the latter that they would break 
 over the outer rim of land and send rivers away to the sea. 
 
 It rains enough now to form a number of lakes, such as Honey, 
 Mono and Owens, but not enough to make them overflow. Because 
 they have no outlets the most of them contain so much salt, soda and 
 other minerals that no fish can live in their waters. 
 
 Long ago it rained more than it does now and some of the 
 lakes overflowed and their waters became fresh. The largest of 
 these was Great Salt Lake, which overflowed into the Snake River 
 in Idaho. 
 
 What can we learn as to the dangers of the desert from the 
 Death Valley expedition? 
 
 In 1849 a party of emigrants, thinking they could reach Cali- 
 fornia and escape crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains, sought out 
 a new way, far to the south of the main overland trail. They turned 
 south of Great Salt Lake and made their way across Southern Ne- 
 vada. They knew nothing of the mountains and deserts to be crossed 
 or where they could obtain water and forage for their stock. 
 
 At last they reached what we now call Death Valley in a fam- 
 ishing condition. The most of their cattle had died and they could 
 go no further without help. They thought the mighty Panamint 
 Range which rose in front of them might be the Sierra Nevadas. 
 If so they would soon come to water and green meadows, while the 
 fertile valleys of California would lie just beyond. 
 
36 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Men went ahead to explore, but found that two rugged moun- 
 tain ranges still remained to be crossed before reaching the longed- 
 for Sierras. One man finally reached a ranch in the mountains far 
 to the southwest in the direction of Los Angeles and came back 
 with help to rescue those remaining alive. 
 
 What do the troubles of the Donner Party tell us as to the 
 climate of the high mountains? 
 
 In the late fall of 1850 a party of emigrants reached what we 
 now know as Donner Lake, high on the eastern slope of the Sierra 
 Nevada Mountains. Their farther progress was blocked by cold 
 and snow and so they made a permanent camp, hoping to be res- 
 cued or that they might live through the winter until spring. Fifty 
 miles more and they would have reached the sunny valley of Cali- 
 fornia where snow and cold were unknown. Their food gave out 
 and before rescuers reached them many had perished. 
 
 Thus we learn that on the high mountains of California, within 
 a few miles of where oranges are hanging on the trees, there is an 
 almost Arctic climate. 
 
 To be caught unprepared in the cold and snow of the mountains 
 is almost as dangerous as to attempt to cross the deserts of the 
 Great Basin without first learning where the springs of water are. 
 
 Although the mountains formed a serious barrier to the early 
 settlers, yet they have such an important influence upon 
 the climate that without them California could never have 
 become a rich garden. 
 
 1. The mountains give variety to the climate and productions: 
 
 We have already learned that the high mountains of California have 
 a cold Arctic climate, while the valleys at their base are almost 
 tropical. Part way up the slopes the climate is neither hot nor cold 
 and is the most healthful and delightful in all the world. 
 
 In ascending the mountains we pass through all the different 
 kinds of climate which we would in the long journey from Southern 
 California to Alaska. The many sorts of cHmate enable us to grow 
 a wonderful variety of products. 
 
 2. Because the mountains cut off the cool ocean winds the 
 interior valleys are very warm: On the coast there is but little 
 difference in the temperature between summer and winter. The 
 farther we go from the ocean and the more mountains we cross 
 the hotter the valleys become in summer and colder in winter. This 
 also adds to the variety of products which can be grown in Cali- 
 fornia. Many plants do not thrive near the coast, while they do well 
 in the interior. 
 
 3. The mountains take so much rain from the clouds that the 
 far interior valleys are deserts: The mountains affect the rainfall 
 as well as the temperature of the air. There would, perhaps, be 
 no deserts if the mountains lay parallel with the direction of the 
 winds and storms instead of across it. 
 
California 
 
 37 
 
 A mountain lake of glacial origin on the head of the South Fork 
 of the Merced River. 
 
 The deserts are, however, not waste and useless land. Where 
 water can be obtained for irrigation they produce abundantly. 
 
 4. The mountains add much to the yearly rainfall: We have 
 doubtless all discovered that storms are heavier on the mountains 
 than in the valleys. The cold air of the high lands changes to rain 
 or snow water particles which, if it were not for the mountains, 
 would float on easterly and give little or no rain. 
 
 The mountains, then, add greatly to the rain or snowfall and 
 this in turn supplies the streams whose waters are so much needed 
 for irrigation in the lower valleys. 
 
 5. More rain falls on the v^^estern than on the eastern slopes 
 of the mountains: Since the storms come from the ocean the west- 
 ern slopes of the mountains receive the most rain. This is a for- 
 tunate thing, as the western slopes of nearly all the ranges are long 
 and gentle, affording much more land suitable for farming than the 
 eastern slopes. 
 
 6. If there were no mountains a large part of California would 
 be an uninhabitable desert: Just how important our mountains are 
 we learn most clearly from a study of Southern and Eastern Cali- 
 fornia. The rain and snowfall upon the higher mountains of this 
 region is very heavy, and numerous permanent streams fed by springs 
 and melting snows flow down their slopes. 
 
 The rainfall in many of the valleys is so small that most crops 
 do not grow well without irrigation. If it were not for the moun- 
 
38 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 tain streams we would find in place of the hundreds of square 
 miles of luxuriant gardens and orchards only the uncultivated des- 
 ert wastes. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The journey to California either by water or land, was long 
 and dangerous. The explorers and pioneers endured great hard- 
 ships in opening new trails through a vast unknown land of deserts 
 and mountains. There were four main overland trails whose routes 
 were determined by the mountain passes, the springs and forage 
 for stock. 
 
 The early navigators had difficulty in exploring the California 
 coast. The land traveler was equally hindered by the fact that the 
 mountains came close to the ocean. The coast has, however, not 
 always offered the present obstacles. The land has been moving 
 up and down and was once so much higher than now that most of 
 the present islands, which rise from a submerged plateau, formed 
 a part of the mainland. 
 
 The two main routes to the mines were the Great Salt Lake 
 trail, used by those who crossed the continent, and the Sacramento 
 River, used by those who came by water and landed at San Fran- 
 cisco. Nature had made It so difficult to reach the mines by other 
 routes that few attempted them. 
 
 As a result of the presence of many lofty mountains, the posi- 
 tion and direction of these mountains, and the fact that the winds 
 and storms generally come from the ocean, California has a more 
 varied climate than any other land of equal size. 
 
 The climate has been an important factor in the development 
 of the state. The long, dry summers made irrigation necessary in 
 many parts, and as soon as its advantages were understood luxuri- 
 ant gardens spread over the valleys which Nature had left so dry 
 and desert-like. 
 
 REVIEW QUESTIONS. 
 
 Why is exploration of the desert particularly dangerous? 
 What difficulties are met with in exploring in the mountains? 
 Read and tell the story of General Fremont's journey in mid-winter 
 
 across the Sierra Nevadas. 
 Why do trails and wagon roads use mountain passes? 
 Describe the route of the Great Salt Lake trail. 
 In what way was the Santa Fe trail more difficult? 
 Why is the entrance to San Francisco Bay difficult to discover 
 
 from the ocean? 
 Why is the bottom of the ocean so much smoother than the land? 
 What parts of California would be flooded if the land should sink 
 
 one thousand feet? 
 Using the relief map, make a sketch of the California coast when 
 
 the land stood one thousand feet higher than now. 
 Describe some delta that you have seen. 
 
California 39 
 
 Describe a journey from Los Angeles to Bakersfield. 
 
 Why was it so difficult to reach California from Oregon? 
 
 Tell from your own observations if the rains always fall when the 
 
 garden needs them. 
 What are some of the advantages of irrigation? 
 Mention some of the diflferences between the climate of California 
 
 and that of the Eastern States. 
 Tell what you can about the climate of the mountains of California. 
 Describe some desert that you have seen or read about. 
 Tell what you can about a "cloudburst." 
 
 How do people manage to live in the desert where there is no water? 
 Tell how the sky changes as a storm approaches. 
 What is the difference betw^een fog and clouds? 
 What time of the year is there the most fog on the coast? 
 Is there any fog in the interior valleys, and when? 
 In what general direction do the California mountains extend? 
 How would the climate of Death Valley change if there were no 
 
 high mountains between it and the ocean? 
 Where are the highest mountains in California? 
 If the highest mountains were near the coast, what would be the 
 
 effect on the climate of the Great Valley? 
 If the winds blew from the land, would there be any oranges raised 
 
 in Northern California? 
 What part of California receives the most rain? What the least? 
 
 Describe the vegetation in each of these places. 
 Describe some dust whirl that you have seen. 
 What is meant by the "equator"? And point out on a globe the 
 
 position of California with reference to it. 
 Describe some stream basin that you have seen. 
 How does the Great Basin differ from a stream basin? 
 What becomes of the water that is flowing into lakes without outlet? 
 In what part of California do oranges grow at the foot of snow- 
 capped mountains? 
 Mention different ways in which mountains affect the climate of 
 
 your home. 
 How does the ocean affect the climate where you live? 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 It is dangerous to depend upon a map which is not correct. 
 
 A coast with few bays is more difficult to explore than one with 
 
 many bays and islands. 
 A new land Is more easily reached if there are waterways leading 
 
 to it than if the journey has to be made by land. 
 Deserts, lofty snow-covered mountains and dense forest jungles 
 
 form the greatest obstacles to travel. 
 The shore line is not always the true edge of a continent. 
 One is much surer of raising a crop if he depends upon irrigation 
 
 than if he depends upon irregular rains. 
 
40 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 A land over which the ocean winds blow has a more even climate 
 
 than one where the winds blow from the land to the ocean. 
 A mountainous land has a much more varied climate than a level land. 
 True basins are found only in those lands where little rain falls. 
 Nearly all deserts receive some rain and contain plants and animals. 
 
 Oak forest in the Coast Ranges south of San Francisco, 
 ground at Crystal Springs. 
 
 Camp 
 
CHAPTER ITT. 
 
 Topic I. — The NatiiraT Resources of Onr 
 California Garden. 
 Introduction. 
 
 By Natural Resources we mean the soil, the minerals, the for- 
 ests, the water and the animal and bird life. We mean, in other 
 words, those gifts of Nature which make it possible for the people 
 of a country to become rich and prosperous. 
 
 The land was filled with wild animals and birds. 
 
 When the pioneers came they found California filled with a 
 great variety of wild animals and birds. Now the larger animals 
 have become so scarce that most of us have never seen them in 
 their homes. 
 
 The grizzly bears have gone from the thickets where they used 
 to be so abundant and no wild ones are known to exist in the state 
 today. To see even a brown bear we have to go into the remoter 
 parts of the mountains. 
 
 The antelopes no longer roam the valleys w^here the early set- 
 tlers saw them in countless numbers. At the present time only one 
 small band remains in western Fresno County. 
 
 The elk were once abundant over much of the state. A few 
 still roam the walder parts of the Northern Coast Ranges, while a 
 partly domesticated band has been protected in the hills west of 
 Bakersfield. 
 
 In the Spanish days the deer were very thick and were easier 
 to approach than the range cattle. The deer are still found in the 
 mountains, but their numbers, except in the National Parks, where 
 they are protected, are decreasing year by year. 
 
 There are many predatory animals, such as the mountain lion, 
 wildcat, coyote, fox, coon, etc. The mountain lion is one of the 
 worse enemies of the deer and young stock and a bounty has been 
 placed upon its head. 
 
 The coyote kills many young stock, but is too cunning to be 
 exterminated. Since its numbers have been reduced, the jack rab- 
 bits and ground squirrels have become numerous and very destruc- 
 tive to crops. 
 
 Wild geese and ducks once stopped in California in such count- 
 less thousands during their migrations that it was thought hunters 
 would never reduce their numbers. Although they are numerous 
 still, especially in the Sacramento Valley, where they are attracted 
 by the rice fields, they must be protected or they will eventually 
 become extinct. 
 
 Most of the game birds, song birds and shore birds are still with 
 us, and are so well protected by law that we shall not lose them. 
 
 A few thousand years ago California was inhabited by many 
 strange animals and birds diiTerent from any living here now. Some 
 
42 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 of the animals were huge and fierce, like those of the tropic jun- 
 gles in distant parts of the world. 
 
 We should never have known much about these if it had not 
 been for a group of tar springs near Los Angeles. The animals used 
 to come to these springs long ago to taste the salty and alkaline 
 water. Many of them fell into the sticky tar and died. The tar 
 preserved the bones and now thousands of skeletons have been dug 
 out, many of them in an almost perfect condition. 
 
 Among the animals that have been found are the elephant, 
 mastodon, camel, llama, tapir, buffalo, lion, tiger, and rhinoceros, 
 besides many smaller ones, and some birds. 
 
 Our forests are uneqiialed in all the world. 
 
 Every one has seen or read about the "Big Trees" of the 
 Sierras and the redwoods of the Coast Ranges. But these are only 
 two of the many kinds of cone-bearing trees forming the magnifi- 
 cent forests of California. Among our important trees are the sugar 
 pine, yellow pine, spruce, fir, and cedar. Forests cover all the moun- 
 tain slopes except the higher ones, where it is too cold, and the 
 lower ones, where it is too dry. 
 
 There are two main arms of the forest belt. One covers the 
 Sierra Nevadas, the other the Coast Ranges north of Santa Cruz. 
 The two arms unite in Shasta County and extend through Oregon 
 and Washington into the fax north. 
 
 The lower mountains and valleys, where there is rain enough, 
 are covered with a scattered growth of beautiful oaks of different 
 kinds. The oaks give the valleys a park-like appearance. 
 
 The wild flowers are remarkable for their variety and brilliancy. 
 The unplowed valleys are covered in spring with flowers of many 
 colors. Most prominent among these is the orange poppy, the 
 state flower. 
 
 Why is it that California has such a variety of plant and 
 animal life? 
 
 1. California lies between very warm and very cold lands: We 
 have learned that Northwestern California has a very heavy rain- 
 fall and a dense vegetation, and that the southeastern part is a 
 desert, because it has so little rain. We have also learned that the 
 coast climate is mild, both w'inter and summer; that the interior 
 valleys are hot in the summer, and that the higher we go on the 
 mountains the colder it becomes. 
 
 The greater part of California has the climate of the warm tem- 
 perate belt. By this we mean that it is neither too hot nor too cold, 
 but that the temperature and rainfall are suited to the most com- 
 fortable, healthful life and the growing of the greatest variety of 
 products. 
 
 2. California stretches for many hundred miles along the Pa- 
 cific Ocean: The length of California is about three times its width, 
 and it stretches from northwest to southeast through ten degrees 
 
California 
 
 43 
 
 of latitude. Because it is so long from north to south we should 
 expect the climate of the north to be much colder than that of the 
 south, but in reality there is little difference. 
 
 3. The prevailing winds blow from off the ocean: The mild 
 climate of California is due to the fact that the prevailing winds 
 blow off the ocean. The ocean changes very little in temperature 
 throughout the year, and therefore the w^inds which blow from it 
 have a mild and uniform temperature. The cool Japan Current 
 which flow^s southerly along the coast warms very slowly, so that 
 the average temperature at San Diego is only little above that at 
 Eureka. 
 
 Because California lies lengthwise to the ocean, a larger part 
 is affected by the ocean winds than if it were narrow on the sea 
 and long from east to west. The many mountain barriers, however, 
 which the winds encounter make their influence felt a much less dis- 
 tance inland than it otherwise would be. 
 
 If the winds blew from the land toward the ocean, as the pre- 
 vailing winds do in the Eastern States, we should have a climate 
 hot in summer and cold in winter. We should have a continental 
 climate instead of a sea-coast climate. 
 
 4. California has a varied surface: There are valleys like the 
 Sacramento - San Joaquin, so large that we might truly call them 
 plains, where an abundance of w^ater produces a luxuriant vegeta- 
 tion. There are desert plains which for lack of water must always 
 remain barren. 
 
 There are gentle hill slopes, inclosing thousands of beautiful val- 
 
 A party of teachers on the summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest land in 
 the United States outside of Alaska. 
 
44 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 leys blest with everything that Nature has to offer. There are 
 coastal plains and mesas with a character of their own. 
 
 There are steep hills and mountain slopes, the home. of our 
 magnificent forests. There are mountain valleys, plateaus and table 
 lands suited either for pastures or farms. There are high mountain 
 valleys where it is so cold that only grasses will grow. 
 
 Over all, bare rocks and picturesque crags rise thousands of 
 feet in a clear, cold, arctic region with an arctic climate. 
 
 5. California has the highest land in the United States outside 
 of Alaska: Mount Whitney, the highest peak of the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains, rises 14,502 feet above the sea. There are many other 
 peaks almost as lofty. At this great height only a few stunted arc- 
 tic plants are found. 
 
 6. California has the lowest land in the United States: From 
 the top of Mount A\'hitney, the highest land, we can almost look 
 into Death Valley, the lowest and hottest land in our country. This 
 valley is 276 feet below the level of the sea. Only one other desert 
 in the world is lower and that is the Valley of the Dead Sea in 
 Palestine. 
 
 Far to the south of Death Valley lies the Colorado Desert, the 
 lowest part of which is known as the Salton Sink, 260 feet below 
 the sea level. This sink, which was once occupied by a salt marsh, 
 has been flooded by an overflow from the Colorado River and is 
 now a large lake. 
 
 The heat of these deserts which lie below the level of the sea 
 is almost unbearable in the summer and many people have perished 
 attempting to cross them at that season. 
 
 7. California has many kinds of rich soil: The soil comes in 
 the first place from the crumbling of the rocks. There are so many 
 kinds of rocks in our state that we should expect to find many kinds 
 of soil. Among these we may mention red volcanic soil, sandy gran- 
 ite soil, sandy loam and heavy clay or adobe soil. 
 
 There is the soil formed directly from the crumbling rocks on 
 the hill and mountain sides. There is the soil in the valleys which 
 has been washed from the steeper slopes and is deeper and richer. 
 There is the soil of the deltas of inexhaustible fertility. There is 
 the soil formed on what was once the bed of the ocean or of dried 
 up lakes which often contains much salt, soda and other alkalies. 
 
 How has the distribution of the rainfall and vegetation influ- 
 enced the settlement of California? 
 
 The early Spanish ranchers came from Mexico, where they were 
 dependent upon irrigation to raise their crops. That country has 
 few trees and they lived in homes made of "adobe" bricks or stone. 
 
 These people felt at home in the drier valleys of California, not 
 minding the absence of trees if there were only water for irrigation. 
 
 The emigrants from the East were accustomed to summer rains 
 and to homes built of logs or lumber. They distrusted the treeless 
 parts of California and settled for the most part in the northern val- 
 leys where there was more rain and timber. It was not necessary 
 
California 
 
 45 
 
 for them, however, to clear the forests, as their ancestors liad done 
 in the East, for there was an abundance of open land. 
 
 How the distribution of vegetation affected the industries. 
 
 The hilly and mountainous part of the state outside the main 
 forest belt was found to offer the best pasturage for cattle. For 
 many years the Coast Range region was one vast cattle range, for 
 it is well supplied with wild grasses and other forage plants. 
 
 Sheep were ranged in great bands all over the state from the 
 forest regions to the deserts and from the valleys to the summits 
 
 of the mountains. 
 After a time it was 
 found that the sheep 
 were doing great in- 
 jury to the young 
 trees and destroying 
 the protecting cover 
 of the soil so that 
 it began to wash. 
 Now their ranges 
 are much restricted. 
 
 Dairying first be- 
 came important in 
 the cool, moist val- 
 leys of the Coast 
 Region where the 
 grasses remain green 
 longest. The moun- 
 tain valleys were 
 also valued by the 
 dairymen, for there 
 the meadows were 
 green all summer 
 and the cool air is 
 favorable to butter 
 making. 
 
 There are now 
 many dairies in the 
 warm, dry valleys 
 where alfalfa is kept 
 green by irrigation 
 and the air of the 
 dairy-houses is 
 cooled with ice. 
 
 The grain farm- 
 er sought the great 
 open valleys where 
 A forest of white fir on the slope of Mt. Shasta. lie did not have to 
 
46 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 do any clearing of the land and he could plow furrows miles in 
 length. 
 
 The first saw-mills were built in the Coast Ranges where boats 
 could carry the lumber to San Francisco, and in the Sierras at 
 points near the mines. For a long time there were few roads and 
 the mountain streams were generally too rocky and swift to float the 
 logs down to the valleys, and so it was only the easily accessible 
 timber that was cut. 
 
 Saw-mills have now been built far back in the mountains. Rail- 
 roads bring the logs to the mills, and flumes float the lumber down 
 to shipping points in the valleys. 
 
 Has mining or farming helped most to build up California 
 as a land of pleasant homes and gardens? 
 
 Most of the pioneers came expecting to get rich quickly and 
 then go back to their old homes in the East. Having no idea of 
 staying in this far-away land they put up cheap and temporary 
 habitations. 
 
 The mining settlements changed from month to month. As soon 
 as the placers in the vicinity of any town were worked out, most 
 of the people moved away to other places. 
 
 Many of the old-time mining towns have completely disap- 
 peared. We find everywhere tumbled-down houses and stone chim- 
 neys standing alone. The population of the foothill counties of the 
 gold belt, although now increasing, is still much less than it was 
 during the mining excitement fifty years ago. 
 
 In the search for gold the value of the soil was not thought of. 
 Thousands of acres of rich bottom land along the streams were 
 turned upside down and left a mass of barren boulders. 
 
 Finally the importance of mining became less and that of agri- 
 culture increased. The wonderful richness of the soil and the health- 
 ful and agreeable climate led more and more of the new-comers to 
 take up farming and make their homes in the new land. 
 
 The miner and lumberman go to a new country with a different 
 purpose from that of the farmer. They expect to remain only so 
 long as there are minerals in the ground or trees to be cut. The 
 farmer builds a permanent home and surrounds himself with as 
 many comforts as he can, for he expects to remain. The farmer 
 tries to improve the fertility of the soil, instead of robbing it of its 
 plant food, for his living depends upon it. 
 
 Although mining has been, and still is, the source of much of 
 our wealth, yet it is not such a lasting industry as farming. It does 
 not leave the country permanently richer as farming does. 
 
 What are the most important minerals found in California? 
 
 For many years California was known only as the "Land of 
 Gold." Finally many other valuable minerals were discovered and 
 now the production of petroleum is so great that we might truly 
 call it the Land of Oil. 
 
California 
 
 47 
 
 There are several methods by which gold is obtained. The first 
 used is the simplest. It required only a pick and shovel, a few 
 pieces of board, some nails and quicksilver. This method is called 
 "placer mining." 
 
 Most of the gold was found on the "bedrock," at the bottom of 
 the stream beds. To get it the top gravel was shoveled off and that 
 at the bottom put through a rocker or sluice and the gold which it 
 contained was collected by the aid of quicksilver. 
 
 After a time gold was found at the bottom of very thick beds 
 of gravel which formed the channels of streams that flowed long 
 ago. This gold was too deep to be reached with pick and shovel 
 and so the miners made use of water. They brought it in pipes 
 under great pressure and turned it against the banks of gravel. The 
 stream was larger and more powerful than that from a fire engine 
 and rapidly washed away the gravel so that the gold could be ob- 
 tained. This process is called hydraulic mining. 
 
 Last of all came quartz mining, by means of which most of the 
 o-old is now gotten from the earth. The miners traced the gold 
 found in the placers back to its original home in veins of quartz ex- 
 tending through the rocks. To reach this gold shafts have to be 
 sunk or tunnels run into the hillsides. Some of them extend nearly 
 a mile into the earth. 
 
 When gold became more difficult to find, other minerals were 
 sought for. Through nearly all the mountains of Eastern California 
 veins of silver and lead weVe discovered. Great beds of copper ore 
 were found in many places, particularly in Shasta County. Here 
 also are beds of iron. In the Coast Ranges valuable quicksilver de- 
 
 In the Kern River oil fields. 
 
48 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 posits have been worked for many years. Valuable deposits of salt, 
 soda and borax occupy the beds of the dried-up lakes in the deserts. 
 
 How is it that California has so Httle coal, but such valuable 
 deposits of petroleum? 
 
 The story of coal is not at all like that of petroleum. Where 
 we find beds of coal there were once marshes and swamps in which 
 vegetation grew rankly. The decaying leaves and stems collected 
 in thick layers, which after a time were deeply buried in the earth 
 and there changed to coal. California has but little coal and that 
 not of the best quality. 
 
 Petroleum comes from bodies of minute sea animals and plants 
 which collected on the bottom of the ancient ocean once covering 
 Western California. When after a long time the beds containing 
 these bodies had been turned to rock, they were lifted above the 
 ocean to form dry land.- 
 
 Then, when prospectors found springs of gas and oil issuing 
 from these rocks, they drilled deep holes in the earth nearby and 
 struck the deposits of these valuable substances buried far beneath 
 the surface. 
 
 Petroleum, or oil, as it is commonly called, is obtained at many 
 points in the Coast Ranges, along the borders of the San Joaquin 
 Valley, and in Southern California. It now forms the most impor- 
 tant mineral product of the state. Single wells have produced as 
 much as fifty thousand barrels of oil in a day. 
 
 What efifect did the discovery of oil have on manufacturing? 
 
 The growth of manufacturing in California has been slow. One 
 of the chief reasons for this is the lack of cheap coal of good quality. 
 Most of the coal used had to be brought a long distance either by 
 ship or railroad. This made the price so high that it was difficult 
 to carry on many kinds of manufacturing and compete with the 
 Eastern States, where coal and labor w^ere cheaper. 
 
 The discovery of vast deposits of oil suitable for fuel has made 
 a great change. Oil has replaced coal in engines of all kinds be- 
 cause it is cheap and can be used for nearly every purpose where 
 coal is used. 
 
 Topic II. — The Natural Resources of Our California Garden 
 
 Are Very Rich, But They \\'ill Not Last Unless 
 
 We Take Care of Them. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 California is becoming one of the most important states in the 
 Union because of its great area and the richness and variety of its 
 resources. We must, however, learn to use these gifts more wisely 
 than we have been doing. We have cut and burned the forests; 
 we have overstocked the slopes, causing the soil to wash away, and 
 w^e have almost exterminated some of the useful animals and birds. 
 We have done these things not thinking of what the results will be. 
 
California 49 
 
 We shall have to learn to do differently or Xature will punish us, 
 as she has punished people of other parts of the world who have 
 wasted their resources. 
 
 What do we mean by Conservation, and why is it of special 
 importance to Cahfornia? 
 
 By Conservation we mean the careful use of our natural re- 
 sources so that they will remain as rich and abundant for our chil- 
 dren as they are for us. 
 
 Conservation is especiall}- important in California because of the 
 long rainless summers, which make it necessary to save the water, 
 to guard against forest fires and protect the surface from being 
 washed by the rains. 
 
 The need of water in the summer. 
 
 We know that when it rains the water runs away quickly from 
 bare, rocky slopes and almost as quickly from hard, bare ground. 
 Where there is soft earth covering the rocks a part of the rain- 
 water sinks in and less runs away. If the surface is covered with 
 a growth of bushes and trees a still smaller amount of water runs 
 away, for the decaying leaves and branches form a carpet over the 
 surface like a sponge. This decaying vegetation we call humus. 
 The water which the humus holds finally sinks down into the crev- 
 ices in the rocks and feeds the springs. 
 
 The high mountains are the homes of the heaviest storms. The 
 amount of rain or snow that falls upon them is much greater than 
 that which falls in the valleys. 
 
 If we would have water for summer use we must leave these 
 mountain slopes undisturbed. We must see that the forests are not 
 cut away. We must see that the meadows are not destroyed by cattle 
 and sheep. We must take care in plowing and cultivating the soil 
 that we leave it in such shape that it does not wash during the win- 
 ter storms, or our country will become dry and barren. 
 
 What is the result of the careless treatment of the surface 
 of our California Garden? 
 
 1. The rains wash the soil from pastures where there are too 
 many cattle: In our walks over the hills we have seen here and 
 there how the rain-water is cutting deep gullies in the soil. Some 
 of the gullies start in old roads and trails. Alany others appear in 
 the pasture lands where there are so many cattle that the grass is 
 eaten into the ground and the surface tramped hard. The destruc- 
 tion of the grass permits the water to get at the soil and it soon 
 begins to cut channels which grow larger with every rain. The 
 muddy torrents which we see during a heavy storm tell us that the 
 soil is being carried away. 
 
 2. Careless farming of the hillsides causes loss of the soil: 
 When we clear the trees and bushes away and plow the hillsides 
 \\t must use care to keep the soil from washing. We should either 
 
50 
 
 New pRodKESsivE Geographies 
 
 keep the surface loose so that the water will soak in or grow some 
 crop upon it which will prevent the water from carrying away the 
 soil. 
 
 It would be better if we left the steeper hillsides covered with 
 the protecting plants which Nature placed there. 
 
 3. The earth washed from the slopes fills up the streams and 
 bays: When too much sand and mud are washed into the streams 
 they cannot carry it all away and their channels begin to fill up; 
 we can learn this from any Httle torrent formed during a rain. When 
 the channels become filled the waters overflow their banks and wash 
 mud and sand onto the adjoining fields. 
 
 Navigation of the Sacramento River is more difficult than it 
 used to be because of the earth washed into it from the hydraulic 
 mines. 
 
 Many little arms of San Francisco Bay are slowly being filled 
 by the mud brought down by the streams that enter them. 
 
 Some of the small bays along the coast have been nearly filled 
 in this manner since the state was settled. Morro Bay is a good 
 example. 
 
 What is the final result of wasting the soil? 
 
 The loss of soil finally changes a fruitful land into one which 
 is barren and desert-like. When the vegetation which once clothed 
 the surface has been destroyed, the soil is left unprotected. The 
 water gathers in rivulets and runs away quickly, tearing out gullies. 
 The ground dries and the springs become smaller. 
 
 We can see all over California how water has been at work 
 upon the soil. Our careless plowing, thoughtless waste of the for- 
 
 Scene in the San Mateo hills south of San Francisco showing how the rain 
 washes the soil when cattle kill the grass covering. 
 
California 51 
 
 ests and over-stocking of the ranges has not only injured the soil 
 upon which the most of us depend for a living, but has in some 
 places decreased the summer water supply. 
 
 Where are our forests mostly found? 
 
 Our forests are found wherever there is an abundant rain or 
 snow-fall and the climate is not too cold. If we study the rainfall 
 map of California and trace the boundaries of that color which marks 
 thirty inches or more rain we shall obtain a pretty good idea of 
 where our forests lie. 
 
 In the northern part of the state the lowlands receive thirty 
 inches or more rain and are covered with forest trees. As we go 
 south the rainfall in the valleys becomes less and we have to ascend 
 the mountains to find a region where it rains enough to grow forests. 
 
 In Shasta County the yellow pine, one of the most important 
 of the lumber trees, grows as low as 1000 feet above the sea. When 
 we have gone as far south as San Bernardino County we find that 
 we have to climb up to an elevation of 5000 feet to reach the yel- 
 low pine forests. 
 
 The distribution of our forests is, therefore, determined by the 
 rainfall. The rainfall is so small in the valleys of the southern half 
 of the state that there would be no forests in this region if it were 
 not for the lofty mountains. 
 
 The value of our forests as sources of lumber and fuel. 
 
 The forests of California are among its most important re- 
 sources. If we use these forests with care we shall have not only 
 enough for ourselves and our children, but to sell to the people of 
 other countries. 
 
 The waste in our forests from fire and careless cutting amounts 
 to a very large sum every year. \\'e waste more than we use. If 
 we could only see how people in many other parts of the world 
 sufifer from the lack of both fuel and material for building their 
 homes, we would appreciate more the wealth which we have in our 
 forests. 
 
 How our forests protect the soil and aid in holding back the 
 rainwater for summer use. 
 
 1. Roots hold the soil so that it does not easily wash away: 
 If you will examine any bank by the side of a road or along a stream 
 you will find that the roots of the trees and smaller plants form a 
 perfect network for perhaps two feet downward from the surface. 
 In some places you will see that the earth beneath the root layer 
 has crumbled and fallen away, leaving the top overhanging. This 
 shows how strongly the roots protect the surface. In places where 
 there is no vegetation at the top of the bank you will notice that 
 it is no longer steep, for the top has washed away. 
 
 2. The leaf mold and humus aid in holding the water: If dur- 
 ing a rain you will walk out into the open fields and then into the 
 woods, you will see that there is much less water running down the 
 
52 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 slopes ill the woods than there is in the open fields. The water that 
 does run away from the wooded slopes is clear, while that which 
 runs off of the cultivated lands is muddy. The layer of decaying 
 wood and leaves lying under the trees takes up the water like a 
 sponge. 
 
 3. Where there are forests the flow of the springs is larger and 
 more even: If we will go into the hills we shall see that the streams 
 start in little springs at the head of small ravines. These springs 
 are fed by the water which seeps down through the crevices in the 
 rocks from the layer of humus and soft earth spread over the surface. 
 
 Where there is little rain, as in the desert, there is only a small 
 amount of humus and soil over the rocks. When the rain comes the 
 water runs quickly off and gathers in torrents in the cafions. There 
 are few springs in the mountains of the desert partly because there 
 is so little covering over the rocks. 
 
 4. If the mountain slopes are left as Nature made them, the 
 danger of floods is less and the flow of the streams is more even: 
 We suffer from floods in the winter and early spring in nearly all 
 parts of the state. These floods have their start in the mountains 
 where the slopes are steep and the storms heavy. Anything which 
 disturbs the surface so that the water will run away more quickly 
 will make the floods worse and leave less water for summer use. 
 The more perfect the sponge-like covering which the forest helps 
 to form, the less danger there is of sudden flood. 
 
 We should, then, use every care in the management of our moun- 
 tains. We should take care of the forests that we may always have 
 
 What the water has done to the soil in Southern CaHfornia where the 
 protecting bushes have been killed. 
 
California 53 
 
 lumber and fuel. We should see that the layer of humus, or leaf 
 mold, is not destroyed through the stripping off of the forests or 
 pasturing the slopes too closely. The time may come when, if we 
 are careless, as people have been in other countries, our California 
 garden will be poor and barren. 
 
 What has happened in other countries where the forests have 
 been destroyed? 
 
 We will take an imaginary journey to some far-away countries 
 on the other side of the world and see how poor the people are in 
 many places. We will visit Spain, Italy, Palestine and China. The 
 people in these lands have been cutting down their trees for thou- 
 sands of years regardless of the troubles which they were bringing 
 upon themselves. Their forests are nearly gone and the best of the 
 soil has been washed from the slopes, which are gullied and torn ; 
 and the valley lands have been injured by the mud, sand and boul- 
 ders which the floods have left upon them. 
 
 Fuel is so high in price and so scarce that it cannot be used 
 to keep the homes warm in winter, but only for the needs of cook- 
 ing. Women and children have to wander miles gathering twigs 
 and small brush which they bring home on their backs. 
 
 The vakte of our mountain forests as parks for summer rec- 
 reation. 
 
 No other part of the world has a finer climate than the moun- 
 tains of California. There are many months of beautiful weather. 
 The air is warm, but not too w^arm. There is an abundance of pure 
 water and magnificent scenery. In the shady forests of these re- 
 gions are the most delightful summer camp grounds. 
 
 The map shoW'S what a large area in California our Government 
 has included in the National Forests and reserved from sale. These 
 are free for us to camp in if we are careful about fire. 
 
 There are in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in addition to the 
 National Forests, the Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant National 
 Parks where no trees can be cut nor wild game killed. 
 
 In the Coast Ranges we have Sempervirens Park and Muir 
 Woods, and other beautiful camp grounds where the primeval for- 
 ests will be left as Nature made them. 
 
 If it were not for the forests our mountains would be without 
 much of their present attractiveness and w^e would not care to spend 
 our vacations in them. 
 
 We may say, then, that for the encouragement of healthful out- 
 door life, if for nothing else, large areas of our forests should be left 
 in their wild beauty. To the many thousands of people who go into 
 the mountains in the summer, the forests are of far more value than 
 if they were cut down and made into lumber. 
 
 The vahie of the trees as homes for the birds. 
 
 Many kinds of birds use the trees for nesting places. If most 
 of the trees were cut down the birds would leave us. Although a 
 
54 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 few birds are destructive, almost all of them do far more good than 
 harm. They eat large numbers of insects which injure our fruit 
 trees and gardens. Besides this, the birds make beautiful music 
 which we should miss sadly if they were gone. 
 
 The wild life of our State. 
 
 1. Shall we permit the wild animals to be exterminated? There 
 
 are many wild animals, such as the deer, antelope, elk and mountain 
 sheep, which do no harm, while they add much to the pleasure of 
 out-door life. Laws have been passed to protect these animals and 
 we should see that they are strictly enforced. 
 
 The numbers of the predatory animals, among which are the 
 California lion or cougar, the coyote, wildcat, besides other smaller 
 ones, can be easily kept down by hunting, so they can do little harm. 
 
 In order to prevent the extinction of wild life still remaining, 
 the National Parks have been made game preserves. No guns are 
 allowed in them and the animals live their natural lives without 
 fear from men. 
 
 The wild life has been further protected by the establishing of 
 closed seasons. Deer, for example, can be hunted only two months 
 in the year, and the number that can be killed by one person is lim- 
 ited to two bucks. 
 
 The fish of the streams, lakes and ocean are an important source 
 of food, but because of the selfish and destructive methods employed 
 by many fishermen laws have been made governing the time and 
 manner in which fish may be taken. 
 
 The effect of fires on the forests at the head of Tejunga River, San 
 Gabriel Mountains, Southern California. 
 
California 55 
 
 The great value of bird life. 
 
 Because of the thoughtless, selfish and cruel treatment which 
 many people give the birds, it has been found necessary to protect 
 them also, by very strict lav^s, to prevent many species from being 
 exterminated. 
 
 Ducks, geese, quail and some others are known as game birds 
 and are hunted for food. Many of the water and shore birds have 
 been hunted for their plumage. The owls, hawks and some of the 
 song birds have been hunted because of the damage they were sup- 
 posed to do. 
 
 As a result of the examination of the crops of many different 
 kinds of birds it has been learned what sort of food each takes. 
 Many live almost wholly upon insects. Others live partly upon in- 
 sects and partly upon fruit and grain. The birds destroy enormous 
 quantities of insects which if left alive would do great damage to 
 our fruit trees and gardens. Many even of the hawks and owls, 
 which were once thought to be harmful, have been found to be very 
 beneficial because of the mice, rats and other rodents that they 
 destroy. 
 
 We must not forget also how much pleasure we take in the 
 companionship of the birds. The world would be less attractive 
 without their music. 
 
 We should take care also of our mineral resources. 
 
 Nature was a very long time in making the veins of gold, sil- 
 ver, copper, lead and quicksilver which we find in our state. In a 
 few places where there are hot springs, these minerals are still being 
 formed, but most of them were deposited long ago. When we have 
 dug out and used all that we can discover of these valuable sub- 
 stances, we shall either have to do without or go elsewhere for them. 
 
 It is in the oil fields that the most mineral waste occurs. Some- 
 times wells cannot be controlled and large quantities of oil are lost. 
 For many years the gas, that comes out of the earth with the oil, 
 and is so valuable for hghting and heating purposes, was allowed to 
 escape into the air. The loss has been more than we could calculate 
 and can never be replaced. 
 
 Topic III. — How the Growth of California Has Been Af- 
 fected by the Character of Its Surface, Its 
 Streams and Its Climate. 
 
 There was little farming in the old Spanish days. 
 
 Each mission and ranch had its own garden and grain fields, 
 but these were only large enough to supply home needs. There was 
 no market for any products of the soil. 
 
 The vast herds of cattle and sheep which roamed the hills 
 formed the wealth of the people. The climate was so mild and 
 grasses so abundant that they required little attention except at 
 branding time. 
 
56 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The only parts of the animals that had any value were the hides, 
 tallow and wool. These were shipped by occasional trading vessels 
 which brought much prized luxuries in return. 
 
 Travel was slow and difficult before the building of wagon- 
 roads. 
 
 Travel is now so easy between most parts of California that we 
 do not realize how difficult the numerous mountain ranges made 
 a long journey in the early days. There were then no roads across 
 the mountains which lay between the diiTerent valleys and travel 
 had to be on foot or horseback, over rough paths or trails. Many 
 of these were old Indian trails. The Indians on their part often 
 made use of the trails of the wild animals which in their wanderings 
 naturally sought the easiest routes over the mountains. 
 
 Trails are much more easily built than wagon roads and can 
 be made where the mountains are too steep and rocky for roads. 
 Even now they are the only means by which we can travel through 
 the higher and more rugged mountains of California. Although 
 trails seem ill suited to freighting, yet large quantities of goods are 
 taken over them on pack horses or mules to remote mmmg settle- 
 ments which can be reached in no other way. 
 
 The "overland trails" were really wagon roads, although usually 
 very rough and steep. The Camino Real, the name which we give 
 to the great highway leading north from San Diego through the 
 whole length of the Coast Ranges to Sonoma, was for many years 
 merely a trail not suited for wagons. 
 
 The destructive effect of avalanches in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
 
California 57 
 
 There are two vast mountain regions in the state into which 
 no roads have yet been built, and if you wish to see their wild 
 and picturesque scenery you will have to go through them either a- 
 foot or on horseback. 
 
 So rugged are the Northern Coast Ranges that the first wagon 
 road across them was not finished until 1914. This road runs from 
 Eureka to Red Blufif. 
 
 How did mountain passes make possible the settlement of 
 California? 
 
 If you will look at a range of hills or mountains you will notice 
 that its crest is very uneven. There are high points, called peaks, 
 which are often very steep. Between the peaks you will see saddle- 
 like depressions where the slopes are less steep and often easy to 
 cross. Low places of this kind we call mountain passes, or simply 
 passes. 
 
 If there had been no passes in the lofty, rugged mountains which 
 shut ofif California from the East, or in those mountains which break 
 up its surface into so many separate valleys, it would have been 
 much more difficult to build wagon roads and railroads, and our 
 state would have remained unsettled much longer. 
 
 If there had been no gaps in the mountains separating South- 
 ern from Northern California, there would probably have been two 
 states instead of one. 
 
 What are the mountain passes which proved of so much im- 
 portance in the early days? 
 
 If we were placed aniQng the mountains of a land that was 
 strange to us and our lives depended upon finding a way through 
 them, we could then understand with what anxiety the pioneers 
 hunted for passes through the mountain ranges that blocked their 
 paths. 
 
 The easiest and most direct route across the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains, although not the lowest, proved to be that by Donner 
 Pass, and so most of the emigrants came that way. 
 
 A little to the south of Donner Pass is Carson Pass, by which 
 some of the pioneers came, and to the north is Beckwith Pass, which 
 was used to some extent. Although the latter is one of the easiest 
 passes in the Sierras, yet the rough mountains between it and the 
 Sacramento Valley offered as great obstacles to the building of a 
 wagon road in the early days as they did later to the building of 
 a railroad. 
 
 The lowest and easiest crossing of the Sierra Nevadas is Walker 
 Pass, away to the south. This pass was named after a noted trapper 
 and explorer. No emigrants came this way because of the vast Mo- 
 have Desert on the east and the impassable canon of the Kern River 
 on the w'est. 
 
 The Santa Fe trail led, for the most part, through an open but 
 desert country. At Fort Yuma it divided; one branch going north- 
 west across the Colorado Desert and through the San Gorgonio 
 
58 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Pass, and the other branch going west across the Peninsula Range 
 to San Diego. The San Gorgonio Pass is a remarkable gateway be- 
 tween two of the loftiest mountains of Southern California. The 
 Peninsula Range is rugged, with no low passes. San Diego has 
 recently been benefited by a railroad constructed along the border 
 from San Diego to Yuma. 
 
 The old Mormon Trail across Southern Nevada reached South- 
 ern California through the Cajon Pass. This route was but little 
 used, for it did not lead to the mines. Although the pass is 4000 feet 
 high' it forms a great gap between the San Bernardino and San 
 Gabriel Ranges, two of the most difficult mountain ranges to cross 
 in the south. 
 How the railroads made use of the mountain passes. 
 
 If there had been no mountain passes, the building of the over- 
 land railroads would have 
 been delayed for many 
 years. Without the rail- 
 roads the fruit and agricul- 
 tural industries would not 
 have developed because of 
 the impossibility of sending 
 their products to market. 
 
 As we might expect, the 
 first railroad to California 
 was built through Donner 
 Pass ; the one which the 
 pioneers had found easiest 
 and most direct. It is so 
 high, however, that the 
 snow falls very deep and 
 lasts many months. In or- 
 der that the trains may be 
 kept running throughout the 
 winter, it has been found 
 necessary to build many 
 miles of snowsheds. It is 
 now proposed to tunnel the 
 mountains and so escape the 
 snow as well as the steep 
 grade over the summit. 
 
 Beckwith Pass is now 
 used by the Western Pacific 
 Railroad and has the ad- 
 vantage of being much less 
 snowy. 
 
 Siskiyou Pass has been 
 found to be the only prac- 
 tical route for a railroad 
 The new State Highway in Gaviota Pass, through the mountains to 
 Santa Barbara County. Oregon. Both of the passes. 
 
California 
 
 59 
 
 giving access to San Bernardino Valley from the east, are used by 
 railroads. The San Gorgonio is used by the Southern Pacific Rail- 
 road and is the broadest and easiest pass leading to the Pacific 
 Slope, for it is only 2000 feet high. 
 
 The Cajon Pass is used by Santa Fe and Salt Lake Railroads 
 and is of much more importance now than it was in the early days. 
 
 How was the exploration of the Cahfornia region affected 
 by the fact that there are few navigable streams? 
 
 If we were exploring a new country in which there were no 
 roads or even trails, we would find that if there were rivers and 
 lakes upon which we could travel in boat or canoe we would make 
 much better progress than if we had to make our way across the land. 
 
 When we study the different trails to California, that were 
 traveled in the early days, we see that none of them made any use 
 of lakes or rivers. The early trappers ascended the Missouri and 
 Yellowstone Rivers, but these do not lead in the direction of Cali- 
 fornia. The Arkansas River was too shallow and swift. In some 
 places the Snake and Columbia Rivers offered opportunity for the 
 use of rafts or boats, but they were not on the route to California. 
 
 The ocean, of course, offered an open highway to California. 
 But for the people of the East the long sea voyage around Cape 
 Horn, or the shorter one by the Isthmus of Panama, was more to 
 be dreaded than the overland route. 
 
 The only navigable water ways within the state are San Fran- 
 cisco Bay and its branches, the short tidal streams entering these 
 branches, the Sacramento River and its tributaries, and the San 
 Joaquin River. These waterways made travel to the mines from 
 San Francisco very easy, but are of no advantage to the most of 
 the state. 
 
 We can say in conclusion, then, that the settlement and growth 
 
 Freighting on the desert before the time of the railroad. 
 
60 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 of most of California has been much slower than it would have been 
 had it possessed many deep bays, navigable rivers and lakes. 
 
 Farming could not become an important industry until there 
 was some means of getting produce to market. 
 
 There would be no use in raising large quantities of fruit and 
 vegetables if we had no means of shipping them where they were 
 needed. 
 
 Until the building of the railroads farming and fruit growing 
 could not become an important industry. The home market re- 
 quired but a small part of what the soil could be made to produce. 
 The navigable streams emptying into San Francisco Bay reached 
 only a short distance into the interior. Even the ocean could not 
 be used for shipping perishable products because of the long time 
 required to reach the eastern market. 
 
 The lack of summer rains also delayed the development of 
 farming. 
 
 Stock raising continued for a long time to be the most impor- 
 tant industry next to mining, partly because of a lack of market for 
 produce and partly because large areas of the state which furnished 
 wild forage suitable for cattle were thought to be too dry for cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 The open ranges finally, however, began to be fenced; farmers 
 spread into the drier valleys and found that good crops of grain 
 could be grown if the seed was put into the ground early enough 
 to get the winter rains. But it was not until the advantages of irri- 
 gation were understood that the desert valleys of Eastern and South- 
 ern California were considered of any value. In these dry regions, 
 under an almost cloudless sky, the farmers, by the aid of irrigation, 
 have been able to build up comfortable homes surrounded with 
 green fields and orchards. 
 
 The period of the great grain ranches. 
 
 In studying the growth of California, we find that as stock 
 raising became less important, the production of wheat, barley and 
 oats increased. The larger valleys throughout the whole length of 
 the state, wherever the rainfall was sufficient, were turned from 
 cattle ranges into vast grain fields. In the Sacramento and San 
 Joaquin Valleys one could ride in the spring for many miles through 
 fields of waving wheat. 
 
 The growing of grain is still an important industry, but many 
 of the great ranches are being cut up into smaller ones where diver- 
 sified farming is now carried on. 
 
 The growing of grain did little more than cattle raising to fill 
 our great valleys with comfortable homes. The grain ranches were 
 large, like the stock ranches, and the homes were usually surrounded 
 with few comforts because of the lack of water. 
 
 Farm life in California did not begin to be attractive, as Nature 
 intended it should be, until people learned how to preserve and 
 
California 61 
 
 make use of water for irrigating the dry fields. The careful culti- 
 vation of a small piece of land with the aid of water brings a better 
 and surer living than the poor cultivation of a large piece and de- 
 pendence upon chance rains. 
 
 Irrigation has made farming the most important industry in 
 California. 
 
 The early emigrants from the East looked upon the long, dry 
 summers as a great drawback to farming in California. We now 
 know, however, that this was a mistake, for they are really an 
 advantage. 
 
 In the first place the lack of rain makes the hot climate of the 
 interior valleys much more healthful than it otherwise would be. 
 In the second place it is a great advantage, as we have already 
 learned, to be able to turn the water onto the fields just when they 
 need it. It almost seems as if Nature had arranged purposely a 
 supply of water at a time when there are no rains. She has placed 
 high mountains all about the valleys. The heavy storms on their 
 summits and the snowbanks which melt slowly furnish the water 
 needed for summer use in the valleys. 
 
 All the California farmer has to do is to build reservoirs and 
 ditches and he can have water whenever he wishes it. 
 
 California now ships farm produce to all the world. 
 
 California offers everything to make farm life within its boun- 
 dary happy and prosperous; sunny skies, water for irrigation, and 
 a world market. It has so many sorts of climate that everyone can 
 find a place to suit and in which he can grow what he likes best. 
 It has thousands of square miles of the richest soil in which will 
 grow plants from all parts of the world except the tropics. 
 
 All the markets of the world can now be reached from Califor- 
 nia. Six lines of railroad connect it with the Eastern States. The 
 water route through the Panama Canal now leads to the East and 
 to Europe. About the shores of the Pacific Ocean upon which Cali- 
 fornia faces are half the countries of the world. 
 
 California fruits are known all over our country and in Europe. 
 There is little danger of raising more than we can sell. The climate 
 of half of our country is cold and the people in those parts are glad 
 to get our semi-tropical fruits. Besides this we can supply them 
 with other fruits and vegetables earlier in the spring than they can 
 raise them. 
 
 Does our California garden yet produce all that it might? 
 
 Although we raise immense quantities of fruits and vegetables 
 both for home use and for export to other states and countries, yet 
 only a small part of the fertile lands of California are carefully 
 
 cultivated. r i i n j 
 
 We can travel for many miles m some of the larger valleys and 
 see only a few well cultivated farms, where there might be thou- 
 sands with comfortable and attractive homes. When the rich lands 
 
62 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 are all improved and the waters which now run useless to the sea 
 are caught in reservoirs and turned on these lands, California will 
 support many times its present population. 
 
 How a great aqueduct brought water to Southern CaHfornia. 
 
 Stories of the ancient Roman Empire tell of great aqueducts 
 built to supply the cities with water, but the greatest aqueduct of 
 all time has been built in Southern California. Water is the single 
 thing of importance which Nature has given sparingly to this region.- 
 As Los Angeles and the country about increased in population, it 
 was seen that more water would soon be needed than could be sup- 
 plied by the streams of the San Gabriel Mountains. 
 
 To obtain more water the engineers turned to Owens River, 
 far to the northward, beyond both the San Gabriel Mountains and 
 the Mohave Desert. This river rises in the snowbanks and lakes 
 of the highest part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is finally 
 lost in Owens Lake. 
 
 It is 260 miles from Los Angeles to the point in the river where 
 it was decided to take out the water. The desert had to be crossed 
 and tunnels several miles in length made through the San Gabriel 
 Mountains. To prevent the loss of water the aqueduct was made 
 of cement in the form of a huge tube. 
 
 With the completion of this aqueduct, the greatest in the world, 
 Southern California will support many more people than it other- 
 wise could. 
 
 Is there water enough to turn all our deserts into fruitful 
 
 gardens ? 
 
 We often think of a desert as being formed of sand and rocks, 
 but this is only partly true. The most of the surface of our Cali- 
 fornia deserts is formed of good soil which only needs water to pro- 
 duce abundantly. The Colorado Desert, where once travelers some- 
 times died of thirst, has been changed by the water brought from 
 the Colorado River, into a luxuriant garden. 
 
 In some of the desert valleys water is found by diggmg wells. 
 
 Branding cattle on a desert range. 
 
California 
 
 63 
 
 The lofty mountains along the western border of the Great Basin 
 send down streams which supply a fringe of settlements, but the 
 larger part of this desert region must remain a barren waste for 
 lack of water. 
 
 The advantages of country life in California. 
 
 Country life in California has many attractions. The weather 
 is pleasant most of the time and so mild that one can sleep out 
 of doors throughout the whole year. Each of these three regions, 
 the sea -shore, the park - like valleys, and the mountains, has its 
 own charms. 
 
 California is spending a large amount of money building state 
 highways leading through the principal valleys with a branch to 
 each county seat. Rural delivery of mail and the telephone, together 
 with good schools, draw people to the country. 
 
 The scenery and climate attract thousands of visitors yearly. 
 
 The renown of our mild and healthful climate has gone every- 
 where. The climate and the wonderful mountain scenery attract 
 people from all over the world. There is no scenery finer than that 
 of the great volcanoes or the gorges of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
 The Yosemite Valley is the best known of these attractions. 
 
 California is well situated for trade and commerce with all 
 
 the world. 
 
 We see from the map that California occupies about one-half 
 of the whole Pacific Coast of our country. The Great Bay of San 
 Francisco lies a little south of the middle of this coast line. 
 
 The Pinnacles, Monterey County, one of the smaller National Parks. 
 
64 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 San Francisco Bay receives the drainage and is the natural com- 
 mercial center of about half of the state. San Pedro and San Diego 
 Harbors form other important shipping points. The overland rail- 
 roads connect with ocean steamers, opening trade and travel routes 
 across the continent to all parts of the world. 
 
 Topic IV. — California Has Such Wonderful Scenery that 
 People Come from All Parts of Our Country to See It. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 ■ Nature is everywhere at work on the surface of the earth. The 
 muddy rills on the hillside or by the road during a heavy rain teach 
 us this fact. The rills carry away so much earth and cut such deep 
 gullies that sometimes the roads become impassable. It is easy to 
 understand that if Nature has time enough she can in this manner 
 tear down the loftiest mountains. 
 
 In some deserts the winds blow so fiercely over the surface 
 that particles of dust and sand are picked up and carried to some 
 distant region. In the north the ice which gathers on the slopes 
 moves slowly downward, carrying away the loose earth and even 
 grinding off the solid rocks. But it has taken more than water, 
 wind and ice to make the grand scenery of California, although, as 
 we shall learn later, these have all helped. 
 
 Nature is also at work within the earth, and, although in some 
 parts of the earth she does not seem to have done much in a long 
 time, yet in our California region she has never taken a rest. 
 
 She has built many of our lofty mountains by lifting up the 
 solid earth. Whenever it breaks or slips a little we feel an earth- 
 quake, and we say that our mountains are growing. 
 
 Only a few of the earthquakes that have occurred since the 
 Pacific Coast has been settled have done much injury, but little by 
 little, through long ages, these earthquakes have made the highest 
 mountains in our state. 
 
 In addition to earthquake mountains, California has many vol- 
 canic mountains which add much to its attractive scenery. North- 
 eastern California is one vast lava field and the eruptions of Lassen 
 Peak tell us that Nature is still at work. 
 
 These are not the only ways in which our mountains have been 
 made. Many great peaks stand out all alone because the rocks of 
 which they are formed are hard and do not crumble easily like the 
 rocks about them. These we sometimes call erosion mountains. 
 
 In what way does the great earthquake of 1906 help us to 
 understand the story of our mountains? 
 
 The earthquake of 1906 was the most destructive one since Cali- 
 fornia has been settled. One morning the earth suddenly broke and 
 slipped along a fissure hundreds of miles in length, throwing down 
 buildings and killing many people. 
 
 This fissure or crack in the earth began on the north beneath 
 the ocean and where it appeared on the land near Point Arena it 
 
California 
 
 65 
 
 upper Yosemite Fall. This gauzy waterfall is 
 more than 1000 feet high. 
 
 showed by the fences 
 and roads that 
 crossed it that the 
 earth had sUpped 
 sixteen feet. 
 
 We can follow 
 the line of the earth- 
 quake by the broken 
 ground, the hollows, 
 and ridges for 400 
 miles, to San Juan 
 in San Benito Coun- 
 ty. From here a 
 line of fissures made 
 by older earthquakes 
 leads us on through 
 the Coast Ranges, 
 along the southern 
 side of the Mohave 
 Desert, over the San 
 Gabriel Range to the 
 \'alley of San Ber- 
 nardino, and finally 
 into the Colorado 
 Desert, where we 
 lose it. The total 
 length of the great 
 earthquake crack or 
 fissure is more than 
 700 miles. It is the 
 most remarkable 
 thing of its kind in 
 the whole world. 
 
 There are in 
 places upon this fis- 
 sure blufifs 200 to 
 300 feet high made 
 by the rising of the 
 land upon one side 
 during some ancient 
 earthquake. These 
 blufifs are miniature 
 mountain slopes and 
 
 tell us very clearly how some of our great mountain ranges, such as 
 the Sierra Nevada, were made. 
 
 What earthquakes have had to do with the making of oiir 
 
 California scenery. 
 
 \\'e must remember, in spite of the fact that earthquakes are 
 reallv to be feared, for they sometimes do serious damage, that 
 
66 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 many of the things which make California such a rich and dcHght- 
 ful land are due to them. 
 
 If there had been no earthquakes there would be few high 
 mountains ; there would be little picturesque scenery, the rainfall 
 would be so small toward the south that there would be no water 
 for irrigation and the country would forever remain poor and 
 thinly settled. 
 
 Even the golden riches of California, which first drew the pio- 
 neers, owe their presence in the rocks to fissures made by earth- 
 quakes which happened long ago. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada is our greatest range of earthquake moun- 
 tains. It contains some of the finest scenery in all our country. 
 It is covered with valuable forests and affords an abundance of 
 water for irrigation. These mountains have been lifted along a 
 fissure or crack until they now show a w^onderful eastern wall more 
 than two miles high. They are still growing, for in 1870 there 
 occurred a severe earthquake in Owens Valley, where the earth 
 slipped in places as much as fifty feet. 
 
 The San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains are also due 
 to earthquakes. Their grand scenery adds greatly to the attrac- 
 tions of Southern California, and the water which they supply makes 
 possible thousands of pleasant homes. 
 
 Great volcanoes add much to the scenery of California. 
 
 Mt. Shasta is a volcano and the grandest mountain in California, 
 rising 14,380 feet above the ocean and standing all alone. It is 
 white with snow most of the year and on the north side are large 
 glaciers. 
 
 What the great earthquake of 1906 did to the road near Pt. Reyes. The road 
 was broken and the parts shoved past each other twelve feet. 
 
California 
 
 67 
 
 To understand how this mountain began and finally became so 
 great, we will visit the Mt. Lassen region where Nature is starting 
 anew her fires far beneath the surface. Here there are boiling 
 springs, mud volcanoes, and a steaming lake, and not far away a 
 cinder cone, lava flow, and ash almost as fresh as though formed 
 yesterday. 
 
 Far beneath the surface it is very hot. In those regions where 
 the myths say that Vulcan is at work, it often becomes so hot that 
 the rocks are melted and some of this liquid material is squeezed 
 out through cracks in the earth, forming lava. Sometimes water 
 flows down through the cracks to where it is hot and so much 
 steam is suddenly formed that a violent explosion takes place. These 
 explosions throw out clouds of steam, ashes, red hot lava, and be- 
 tween the explosions there may be quiet flows of molten lava which 
 spread over the surrounding country like a sheet. The ashes, cin- 
 ders and coarse fragments gather i-ound the crater and in time 
 build up a cinder cone. This is the way Mt. Shasta started, but it 
 did not always remain a cinder cone. Eruptions followed one an- 
 other through thousands of years until the mighty mountain was 
 at last built up. 
 
 How water and ice have helped make our scenery attractive. 
 
 Water is doing work all around us, as we can see every time it 
 rains, for we can find its channels upon almost every hillside. Be- 
 fore water could begin this work it was first necessary, however, 
 
 <i 
 
 Volcanic Bombs hurled out of Cinder Cone which rises on the right 
 east of Mt. Lassen. 
 
68 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 to raise lofty mountain peaks and ridges, for without their high and 
 steep slopes water and ice could have done little. 
 
 As the mountains of California slowly grew into the great giants 
 which they now are, the streams began to wash away the crumbling 
 rocks and cut channels in them. Sharp, picturesque peaks appeared 
 where the rocks were hard, and where they were soft valleys were 
 formed. 
 
 In places the streams cut deep, narrow channels which finally 
 became the mighty cafions which make our mountain scenery so 
 celebrated. In this way arose the wonderful canons of the Tuol- 
 umne, Merced, Kings and Kern Rivers. Among these the Yosemite, 
 formed by the Merced River, is the most renowned. 
 
 Now, how could ice have had to do with the making of our 
 scenery, since most of the state has such a mild climate? We would 
 hardly expect ice to be of much importance where oranges hang 
 in the open air all winter. 
 
 We must not forget that the climate of the lofty mountains 
 is very cold, and, besides, more snow fell upon them long ago_ than 
 falls now. In fact, there was so much snow that much of it did 
 not melt, but became hard and solid like ice. 
 
 Streams of this ice moved slowly down from the high peaks 
 and filled the cations, but melted before reaching the warm lowland 
 valleys. These streams of ice helped carve the mountains into pic- 
 turesque shapes. They dug out many basins in which lie the beau- 
 tiful lakes that reflect in their clear waters the granite clifTs above 
 them. The lakes aid in holding back the water for summer use 
 and their shores made pleasant camping places. 
 
 At the present time only a few glaciers remain and these are 
 found on the shady slopes of the Sierra Nevadas, Cascade Range, 
 and Klamath Mountains. 
 
 Nature has made many changes in California, and has not 
 
 yet finished. 
 
 We have learned that the mountains are slowly being worn 
 down. We have learned also that Nature is making new ones by 
 means of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 
 
 We have found sea shells high on the hills and far from the 
 ocean, and we wonder how they came there. Must it not be that 
 what is now dry land was once beneath the sea? 
 
 Along the coast we find old beaches with pebbles on them hun- 
 dreds of feet above the present sea. At Port Harford there are 
 caves worn by the waves, but now many feet above their reach. 
 
 All the bays have been made by the sinking of the land and 
 the flooding of river valleys by the sea. The Sacramento River once 
 flowed through the rich valley now occupied by San Francisco Bay 
 and emptied into the ocean outside the Farallone Islands. 
 
 Long ago the land sank so much that the valleys were flooded 
 and the^Coast Ranges changed into islands and peninsulas. At 
 another time nearly all the islands along our coast formed a part 
 of the mainland. 
 
California 
 
 69 
 
 Topic V. — Some Thoughts on the Study of Cahfornia 
 
 Geography. 
 
 We have all kinds of climate, from the very cold to the very 
 warm, and from the very wet to the very dry. We have mountains 
 made by erosion of running water, earthquake mountains and vol- 
 canoes, plains, valleys and cafions with wonderful scenery. We 
 have islands and bays and hundreds of beautiful lakes and water- 
 falls. We raise almost every sort of product except those which 
 grow only in the tropics, and our situation is such that a large part 
 of the commerce of the Pacific Ocean must come to us. 
 
 Why we should know our own State well 
 
 It is important that we know our own state well, for the most 
 of us will live here all our lives. For us this is the most impor- 
 tant part of the whole world. We need to know our own state bet- 
 ter than any other because this knowledge will be of advantage to 
 us in every business we undertake. A good acquaintance with the 
 region in which we live gives us a key with which we can unlock 
 the geography of the whole world. 
 
 Why the geography of our State includes so much that we 
 ought to know: A review. 
 1. California is of great extent: With the exception of Texas, 
 
 The wonderful Buttes near San Luis Obispo. Brothers to Morro Rock. 
 Carved out by erosion of the softer rocks around them. 
 
70 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 California is the largest state in the Union, containing, as it does, 
 156,092 square miles. 
 
 It is impossible for you to realize how large it is, and what a va- 
 riety it contains, unless you travel across it from the deserts of the 
 southeast over the snow-covered mountains and across the broad 
 valleys to the dense forests of the northwest. 
 
 2. California has many river basins, mountains, valleys, lakes, 
 etc.: The surface of California is not as simple as that of most 
 of the other states, but is so broken and varied and has so many 
 sorts of climate and productions that it might form a whole coun- 
 try independent of the rest of the world. 
 
 Mountain ranges divide the state into distinct portions, each 
 with its own climate and productions. 
 
 Most of the streams flow into the Pacific Ocean, some sink in 
 the deserts of the Great Basin, while one empties into the Gulf of 
 California. 
 
 There are plains formed long ago beneath the ocean. There 
 are great desert valleys which once held lakes ; there are countless 
 valleys formed by running water, and there is the Great Valley 
 with its vast plain-like surface. 
 
 3. California has many kinds of climate because of: 
 
 A. Extent from north to south : California extends over ten 
 degrees of latitude, which, if it were not for other causes of which 
 we have learned, would make the north very much colder than 
 the south. 
 
 B. Nearness to the Pacific Ocean : The temperature of the 
 Japan drift changes but little from summer to winter. The winds 
 which blow across it and the cold water near the shore and then 
 over California make the climate of all the coast valleys milder and 
 more even than it otherwise would be. 
 
 C. The position of the mountains : The mountains lie across 
 the path of the westerly winds which blow from the Pacific Ocean. 
 The seaward slopes of the Coast Ranges are cooler and more moist 
 than the landward slopes. 
 
 The opening in these mountains at San Francisco Bay permits 
 the sea winds to temper the heat of much of the Great Valley. The 
 Los Angeles-San Bernardino Valley is open to the sea so that the 
 cool fog-bearing winds reach far inland and cause the oranges to 
 ripen later than in Northern California. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel, San Bernardino and Peninsula 
 Mountains are so high that they form a barrier to the moist west- 
 erly winds. Thus there is formed to the southeast of these moun- 
 tains the driest and hottest deserts in the United States. 
 
 D. The height of the mountains : The mountains have still 
 another most important efifect upon our climate. While oranges 
 grow at their bases, their summits are very cold. Between these two 
 regions there is almost every sort of climate which one could wish. 
 
 E. More frequent storms toward the north : The mountains 
 are not the only cause for the deserts in Eastern and Southeastern 
 California. The storms are far more frequent toward the north. In 
 
California 
 
 71 
 
 Oregon and Washington the storms are more frequent and the rainy 
 season is longer than in California. 
 
 F. Summer thunder-storms partly make up for the lack of rain 
 where the winter rains are light. These storms occur upon the 
 deserts as well as the mountains of California, Nevada and Arizona. 
 When the downpour is sudden and severe they are called cloud- 
 bursts. The floods often do great damage to roads and railroads. 
 
 4. California has a wonderful variety of natural products: Be- 
 cause of all the things which have just been mentioned, we can 
 grow in California a remarkable variety of fruit, garden and farm 
 products. Each district has a climate of its own, and the chief 
 product of each is dififerent from that of the others. 
 
 We can divide California into natural districts or provinces 
 and thus make its geography more simple and easy to 
 remember. 
 
 From what has already been said, we now see how much there 
 is to learn about the geography of our state if w^e would understand 
 it as we ought. 
 
 The relief map shows, if we examine it carefully, that we can 
 divide California into a number of natural districts or provinces. 
 Each district or province differs from the others in the sort of sur- 
 face which it possesses and also in its climate and in its produc- 
 tions. If we take up the study of each province by itself, our task 
 will be much easier. 
 
 The seven natural provinces of California. 
 
 1. The Great Valley of California: This is also known as the 
 
 The rugged eastern front of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Owens Valley. 
 
72 
 
 Nkw Progressive Geographies 
 
 Great Central Valley, or the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. The 
 relief map or model shows that this valley extends north and south 
 for four hundred miles through the heart of California. The sur- 
 face, climate and industries make this a natural region. 
 
 2. The Coast Ranges: These mountains lie between the Great 
 Valley and the ocean. They include many ranges and thus form a 
 mountain system. Between the different ranges are many beautiful 
 and fertile valleys. 
 
 3. The Sierra Nevada Mountains: These mountains form the 
 great barrier which the pioneers had to cross before they could 
 reach the Land of Gold. They form a picturesque region of granite 
 peaks, deep canons and dense forests. Here rise the greater num- 
 ber of the important rivers of California. 
 
 4. Southern California: This region first made California fa- 
 mous for its oranges. It is known for its mild winter climate and 
 attractive scenery. 
 
 5. The Great Basin: A region of mountains and deserts, alka- 
 line lakes and strange animals and plants. 
 
 6. The Klamath Mountains: A picturesque region of forest- 
 covered mountains and caiions, occupying the northwest corner of 
 the state. 
 
 7. The Volcanic Plateau: An elevated region of ancient vol- 
 canoes, extensi\'e plateau valleys and forests. 
 
 Bullfrog Lake at the head of Kings River, Sierra Nevada Mountains. This 
 
 lake is due to a hollow in the rocks which was scraped out 
 
 by an ancient glacier. 
 
California 73 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 When California was discovered it was one of the fairest lands 
 ever looked upon. 
 
 Owing to its position, extent, varied surface, and to the direc- 
 tion of the winds which blow over it, California has such a variety 
 of climates that every one can find within its boundaries that which 
 is most agreeable to him, and engage in the sort of farming that 
 he likes best. 
 
 Nature's gifts are, however, unevenly distributed, w^hich fact 
 caused the settlement of the more favored portions long in advance 
 of the less favored. People rushed to the gold regions first. Then 
 they spread to the fertile valleys which had an abundance of rain, 
 and when they had learned the advantages of irrigation settled the 
 drier parts of the state. 
 
 Manufacturing is becoming an important industry as a result 
 of the discovery of vast deposits of oil, but agriculture will always 
 remain as the foundation of the wealth of California. 
 
 The natural resources of our state, so rich when people first 
 came, wnll disappear as they have in other countries if we do not 
 use them carefully. 
 
 We must see that the soil is not washed away from our fields 
 and that the mountain slopes remain protected by the forests so 
 that the water supply is not lessened. 
 
 The forests form one of our most important resources, and if 
 the trees are not cut or burned faster than they grow, these forests 
 will always remain to furnish lumber and fuel and enrich us in 
 many other ways. 
 
 The wild creatures should not be wantonly destroyed, for many 
 of them are very useful. The birds in particular are among our 
 very best friends. 
 
 Because of the mountainous surface and few navigable streams, 
 travel through California was difficult in the early days. 
 
 After the gold excitement the population did not again increase 
 rapidly until the railroads were built connecting wath the East and 
 the value of irrigation had become known. 
 
 The careless farming of large ranches is giving place to the care- 
 ful cultivation of small ones. 
 
 REVIEW QUESTIONS. 
 
 Mention the important natural resources of California. 
 
 Describe any of the wild animals of California that you have seen. 
 
 Describe any of the forests that you have visited. 
 
 What is needed to make trees grow to a great size? 
 
 Mention some of the reasons why California has a great variety of 
 
 plant and animal life. 
 What parts of the state were first settled? Why? 
 W'hy does the farmer usually take more pains with his home than 
 
 the miner? 
 
74 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Mention some of the minerals found in California, beginning with 
 the most important. 
 
 In what way does the story of oil or petroleum differ from that 
 of coal? 
 
 In what way have we been careless of our natural resources? 
 
 Why do w^e need water so much in the summer? 
 
 What is the result of the washing away of the soil by the rains? 
 
 How does Nature protect the soil? 
 
 Why should we be careful not to injure the mountain slopes about 
 the heads of the streams? 
 
 How do the forests aid in holding water for use in summer? 
 
 Mention all of the uses of the forests that you can think of. 
 
 Tell what you can about the condition of those people who have 
 cut down their forests. 
 
 Give all the reasons you can for preserving the birds. 
 
 Which of our resources will never be replaced by Nature when we 
 have used them up? 
 
 Why was there little land cultivated in the old Spanish days? 
 
 Describe any pass that you have seen between the hills or moun- 
 tains, and tell if it is made use of. 
 
 Mention the important passes leading into California. 
 
 How could the coastal slope of California have been settled if no 
 passes had been found? 
 
 What is usually the easiest means of travel in exploring a new 
 country? 
 
 What were the chief products raised in California before the build- 
 ing of the railroads? 
 
 What are now the chief products? 
 
 By what routes are these products now shipped to Eastern and for- 
 eign markets? 
 
 What means have we now of preserving perishable products until 
 they reach market? 
 
 Tell something about the advantages of irrigation. 
 
 In what parts of California is irrigation most necessary? Why? 
 
 Tell what you can about the Los Angeles aqueduct. 
 
 What are the advantages of country life in California? 
 
 Tell what you can about the earthquake of 1906. 
 
 How docs this earthquake help us to understand the making of our 
 great mountains? 
 
 Tell what you have read about the eruptions of Mt. Lassen. 
 
 Mention some of the great volcanic peaks in California. 
 
 Tell what you can about the beginning of a cafion, basing your de- 
 scription on what you have seen during a heavy rain. 
 
 Why are the glaciers in the mountains of California few and small 
 at the present time? 
 
 Why should we know the geography of our home and state better 
 than that of other countries? 
 
 Why is the geography of California so difficult? Give all the rea- 
 sons that you can think of. 
 
 In what way can we make its study more simple? 
 
California 
 
 75 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 For the growth of great coniferous forests there is needed a moist 
 
 air and mild temperature like that of the middle slopes of our 
 
 California mountains. 
 A mountainous country has a much more varied climate than a level 
 
 country. 
 A country over which ocean winds blow has a more mild and even 
 
 climate than one whose winds come from the lands. 
 A new country is ordinarily settled first along the waterways. 
 People will go to any sort of country, even though it be a desert 
 
 or have an arctic climate, for the sake of gold. 
 Manufacturing will not become important in any place unless it 
 
 has w^ater power or cheap fuel. 
 A country whose resources are used up faster than Nature increases 
 
 them will in time become poor. 
 The farmer who takes no care of his soil will never be prosperous. 
 The inhabitants of a country whose forests have been destroyed 
 
 have a hard time to make a living. 
 Our national parks and forest playgrounds are worth far more to 
 
 us left as Nature made them than if the forests were cut down 
 
 and the land cultivated. 
 We should study carefully the habits of the wild creatures and pro- 
 tect all that are not harmful. 
 Mountain passes make possible the settlement of a country which 
 
 without them would long remain uninhabited. 
 Before we raise a crop we should first.be sure of a market. 
 Crops are much more certain when irrigation is used than w^hen we 
 
 depend upon chance showers. 
 
 An irrigation canal. 
 
76 
 
 New Procressive Geographies 
 
 Earthquakes are often blessings in disguise. 
 
 Nature is ever changing the surface of the earth, but in mountain- 
 ous regions is working much faster than upon gentle low- 
 land slopes. 
 
 People can now control Nature's way of doing things and over- 
 come the obstacles she has put in the way far easier than they 
 could long ago. 
 
 If we do not first know the country we live in, we have no means 
 of knowing other countries. 
 
 ^m^. 
 
 
 rtf'?;?.". !f' ; ^'J ' wij ' *". v-i .ifyj ¥'/•'''• %'-^M^i'jr^viB«!' -aa'^*. k 
 
 The Sacramento Valley, level as a floor, supports vast fields of wheat. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 The Great Valley— The Granary and Future Garden of California. 
 
 Where lies the valley of which we are going to learn, and 
 
 why is it so named? 
 
 In the heart of California is a lowland region of such vast extent 
 that all the other valleys might be spread out in it and then not 
 cover it. The valley is entirely inclosed by two great lines of moun- 
 tains, the Sierra Nevadas on the east and the Coast Ranges on the 
 west. If we should draw a line along the summits of these moun- 
 tains, the space thus included would equal about half the area of 
 the state. 
 
 This lowland is fully 400 miles long from north to south and 
 in places fifty miles wide, and much of the surface is almost as even 
 as a floor. We might call it a plain, as has sornetimes been done, 
 but it is a true valley, being surrounded on all sides by mountains. 
 Because of its size It has become known as the Great Valley of 
 California. 
 By what names are parts of the Great Valley commonly 
 
 known ? 
 
 The Great Valley is really formed of two valleys placed end 
 to end. The northern one is called the Sacramento Valley, the 
 southern one the San Joaquin. The valleys slope toward each other 
 and in traveling through them we cannot tell when we leave the 
 one and enter the other. 
 
 The river which drains the northern valley is known as the 
 Sacramento. The main river of the southern valley is the San Joa- 
 quin. These rivers come together in the form of the letter "Y"_ in 
 a. delta region of marshes, and then enter Suisun Bay. Continuing 
 westward the waters of the united rivers break through the Coast 
 Ranges at the strait of Carquinez and enter the ocean through San 
 Pablo and San Francisco Bays. 
 How is it that the Sacramento, thotigh much the smaller of 
 
 the two arms of the Great Valley, is drained by the 
 
 larger river? 
 
 The Sacramento Valley extends toward the north, so that it 
 and the surrounding mountains have a greater rainfall than the 
 San Joaquin Valley, which extends toward the south. In truth, so 
 little rain falls in the southwestern part of the San Joaquin Valley 
 that this region is almost a desert. 
 
 If we follow the Sacramento River and its main branches, the 
 Pitt, Feather and American Rivers, to their sources, we shall find 
 that all flow through regions of heavy rainfall and all but the last 
 rise outside of the rim of encircling mountains. They carry a large 
 amount of w^ater throughout most of the year. 
 
 The rivers oi the San Joaquin Valley also rise \n lofty moun- 
 
78 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 tains, but they do not all unite in the San Joaquin River. Its chief 
 tributaries are the Merced, Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Mokolumne 
 Rivers, which enter the northern part of the valley. 
 
 What becomes of the Kings, Kern and Kaweah Rivers, which 
 carry great floods of water into the valley in the spring, but whose 
 waters rarely enter the San Joaquin River? 
 
 If we could follow the Kings River downward from the point 
 where it leaves the mountains, we would see that it spreads out 
 over a large extent of country in many branching channels, form- 
 ing a true delta. On this delta are situated the luxuriant gardens, 
 orchards and vineyards of the Fresno region. 
 
 The river has through many, many years been bringing soil and 
 sand from the mountains and has at last built up its delta so that it 
 now forms a low ridge entirely across the valley. This ridge or water 
 parting turns the waters of the Kings as well as of the Kaweah 
 and Kern Rivers southward away from the San Joaquin. 
 
 The waters of the Kings River thus gather in a basin and form 
 Tulare Lake, which was in early days one of the largest bodies of 
 water in the state. Farther south the water of the Kern River col- 
 lects in another basin, forming Buena Vista and Kern Lakes. 
 
 So much of the water of Kings River is now used for irrigation 
 that Tulare Lake has nearly disappeared. After a time, as more 
 settlers come to this region, the water will all be used for irriga- 
 tion and the once great lake will appear no more upon our maps. 
 
 Who were the first settlers in the Great Valley? 
 
 The Spaniards never spread into the Great Valley, for they were 
 comparatively few in number and the region lay far from the coast. 
 
 The first white man to make his home here was Capt. Sutter, 
 a Swiss, who came in 1839. He obtained a large grant of land and 
 built his celebrated fort near the mouth of the American River. 
 
 When gold was discovered and people from the East began to 
 pour across the Sierra Nevada IMountains, they found at Sutter's 
 Fort a chance to rest and renew their supplies and obtain directions 
 for reaching the newly discovered mines. 
 
 The town of Sacramento soon sprang up on the Sacramento 
 River near the fort and became the terminus of all the emigrant 
 trails across the Sierras. 
 
 To Sacramento came, also, man}^ of those who landed in San 
 Francisco, for this was a central point easily reached by water. 
 From there the Great Valley, stretching north and south as far as 
 the eye could reach, formed an open highway to the foothills where 
 the gravels were waiting to give up their golden treasures. 
 
 Among the most noted of the early emigrants who settled in 
 the Sacramento Valley was General Bidwell, whose ranch and orch- 
 ards were widely known. 
 
 Why do we call this valley the granary and fntnre garden 
 of California? 
 Do you not think that the word granary is a suitable name 
 
California 
 
 79 
 
 for a valley in which you can travel for days through fields of wav- 
 ing grain? For many years the Great Valley has been one almost 
 continuous field of wheat, barley and oats. California has been 
 known as one of the great grain producing states. We have ship- 
 ped wheat and flour to all parts of the world. The most of this 
 was grown in the valley of which we are speaking. 
 
 The Great Valley was first given over largely to the raising of 
 cattle, horses and sheep. Then it became the granary of the state, 
 and although large quantities of grain are still raised, it is slowly 
 being transformed into a garden. The great ranches which were 
 usually poorly cultivated and whose owners had few of the com- 
 forts of life are being cut up into small ones, which under careful 
 cultivation produce everything that can be desired. 
 
 To make a garden three things are needed : rich soil, water and 
 a suitable climate. The most of the valley has a rich soil. An 
 abundance of water for irrigation is supplied by the many rivers 
 which flow from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. To those parts not 
 supplied by Nature we carry water by means of many canals. The 
 climate is adapted to the growing of a great variety of products. 
 When enough people have come to make use of all these gifts, the 
 Great Valley will become the garden of California. 
 
 Is the situation of the valley favorable to its becoming the 
 home of a great farming people? 
 
 In order that the Great Valley may become thickly settled, there 
 must be a market for what is grown there. If we look at the map 
 we shall see how Nature has arranged the outlets of the valley. 
 
 Stockton water front. 
 
80 New Progressiv]-: Geographies 
 
 The streams and slopes all lead toward the point where the 
 two main rivers unite and flow down through the Coast Ranges 
 to the city of San Francisco. This city is one of the markets of the 
 valley, and it has the farther advantage of being connected with all 
 the world by water. 
 
 Four railroads lead out of the state through mountain passes. 
 One extends north, two east and one southeast, connecting the val- 
 ley with other parts of our country whose people are looking for 
 the many things grown here which they cannot grow. 
 
 Has the situation of the Great Valley any disadvantages? 
 
 Our relief map tells us that there is a rim of mountains all 
 about the valley, and that these mountains are in most places high 
 and difficult to cross. The gold seekers found them the worst ob- 
 stacles in all their long journey across the continent. 
 
 There are few roads over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and 
 these are passable only a part of the year because of the snow. 
 Beyond the mountains are deserts which also help to separate the 
 people of the Great Valley from other valleys. 
 
 Only one wagon road has been built across the higher part of 
 the Coast Ranges north of San Francisco, and that extends from 
 Redding to Eureka. South of San Francisco there are several passes 
 leading through the Coast Ranges, but there is little travel over 
 them because the country bordering upon the San Joaquin Valley 
 is very dry and thinly settled. 
 
 What makes the climate of the valley so warm? 
 
 We have already learned that the Great Valley is separated from 
 the ocean by a mountain system which we call the Coast Ranges. 
 If we should leave the coast on a summer day, when the cool winds 
 from the sea are burying all the adjacent valleys in fog, and should 
 cross the mountains to the Great Valley, we would find the sun shin- 
 ing brightly and the air hot and dry. In spite of the heat we would 
 not suffer because the air is so dry. 
 
 At the Strait of Carquinez, where there is a gap in the moun- 
 tains, there is such a strong draught of cool air into the valley that 
 a little sea fog sometimes creeps in, cooling all the delta region as 
 far as Sacramento and Stockton. The summer heat is not unhealth- 
 ful and sunstrokes are rare. Without the heat and the many months 
 of bright, sunny weather, we would not find there such sweet oranges 
 and raisins. 
 
 The Coast Ranges make the Great Valley so much warmer than 
 it would be if open to the sea winds that oranges as far north as 
 Oroville ripen much earlier than they do in the San Bernardino 
 Valley, which is 400 miles farther south. 
 
 The earliest spring fruits, such as cherries and apricots, do not 
 come from the south, as we might expect, but are produced in the 
 region about Vacaville on the western side of the Sacramento Valley 
 close under the protecting shelter of the Coast Ranges. 
 
A Typical Scene in Llie L»reat Valley ol California 
 

 k 
 
California 
 
 81 
 
 Another interesting thing about the Great Valley is that it has 
 fogs in winter when there is little fog on the coast. The winter fog 
 is called tule fog, because it is heaviest in the low delta region, where 
 the tules grow. It is caused by the moisture from the ground rising 
 into the cold winter air. 
 
 How is it that parts of the Great Valley are so thinly settled? 
 
 The western side of the San Joaquin Valley is very dry and 
 toward the southern end it is like a desert. No streams How down 
 from the Coast Ranges, and as there is neither enough rain nor 
 w^ater for irrigation, this region is almost uninhabited by farmers. 
 
 We are learning from our study of California how mountains 
 by furnishing a supply of water make it possible for people to set- 
 tle and have comfortable homes in many of the valleys where 
 little rain falls. We must remember, however, that most of the 
 storms come from the west, striking most severely on the slopes 
 of the mountains which face the ocean. On the opposite or eastern 
 side of the mountains there is less rain than if there were no moun- 
 tains at all. 
 
 This is why the western side of the Sacramento and San Joa- 
 quin Valleys, close to the Coast Ranges, is so dry. These moun- 
 tains not only cut off the cool winds, making the valley hot in sum- 
 mer, but they also break the force of the storms. 
 
 The cool air of the slopes toward the ocean causes heavy rain 
 to fall as the storms pass over them. By the time the clouds have 
 reached the Great Valley they have lost so much water that in the 
 
 ^feltg^^ 
 
 
 Picking cantaloupes in the San Joaquin Valley. 
 
82 New Progressive Geographies : 
 
 warmer air of this region the rain may cease to fall and the sun 
 shine out. 
 
 As the air moves still farther eastward it reaches the high 
 Sierras. Here it becomes chilled again. The clouds grow thick and 
 heavy and finally afiford rain or snow. 
 
 In this way the mountain streams are fed that supply water to 
 the farmers to irrigate their fields in the valleys where, perhaps, 
 no rain has fallen. 
 
 The reason why the San Joaquin climate is drier than that of 
 the Sacramento is that many storms pass across the northern part 
 of our state without reaching the southern valleys. There may be 
 days of rainy weather in the Sacramento Valley, while in the San 
 Joaquin there are only clouds in the sky. 
 
 How^ is it that the Great Valley, although it has such a dry 
 climate, is so well supplied with water that it will some 
 day support millions of people? 
 
 If you should journey up the west side of the San Joaquin Val- 
 ley in summer you would not come to a single stream of running- 
 water. Upon the west side of the Sacramento Valley you would 
 find a few small ones. If you should now take a similar journey 
 along the east side of the Great Valley you would find many rivers 
 which in the spring and early summer are so large that you would 
 have difficulty in crossing them. They pour such a flood of water 
 into the valley that the lowlands are sometimes flooded. and travel 
 is interfered with. 
 
 All these rivers take their rise in the snow banks, springs and 
 lakes of the mighty mountains lying to the east and north. They 
 furnish water enough to irrigate not only the whole of the eastern 
 side of the valley, but the western side as well. The building of 
 reservoirs and canals will enable us to hold the flood waters and 
 
 Drying apricots in San Joaquin Valley. 
 
California 
 
 83 
 
 distribute them to thousands of square miles of the richest soil 
 which Nature left dry and barren. 
 
 How is it that the Sierra Nevada Mountains, though they 
 make communication with the East so difficult, are nev- 
 ertheless of the greatest importance to the people who 
 dwell in the Great Valley? 
 
 1. The mountains are useful because they supply water for 
 irrigation: Without the Sierra Nevadas the rivers of the Great Val- 
 ley would be few and small. The southern part of the valley would 
 be so dry that it would be useful only as pasture for cattle and 
 sheep. Farther north the heavier rains would make possible the 
 growing of grain. Without water the population must have re- 
 mained small and scattering. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada mountains have so great an extent and are 
 so lofty and cold that the clouds which passed over the Coast Ranges 
 without losing their water particles are here compelled to give up 
 nearly all that they have in the form of heavy rains and snows. 
 
 ' 2. The mountain streams furnish water power: The people of 
 the Great Valley need electricity for lighting their homes. It is 
 needed for running cars and for manufacturing. The mountain 
 streams flow^ swiftly down through their canons and furnish un- 
 
 A flooded rice field in the Sacramento Valley. 
 
84 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 limited power, when turned into electricity, for doing all kinds 
 of work. 
 
 3. The mountains furnish fire-wood and lumber: The moun- 
 tain slopes are covered with forests because of the heavy rains and 
 snows. These forests contain a great variety of trees suitable for 
 
 "fire-wood and lumber. The wood is usually brought to the valley 
 in wagons. The lumber is sawed in the mountains and floated down 
 to the valley in flumes. 
 
 4. The mountains furnish summer camp grounds: In the sum- 
 mer the people of the Great Valley delight to make excursions into 
 the mountains, where the cool, shady slopes, pure water and grand 
 scenery make living out of doors pleasant and healthful. 
 
 What was the appearance of the Great Valley when people 
 first came? 
 
 Fremont, the first explorer, speaks of the country about Sut- 
 ter's Fort as surpassingly beautiful with rich grasses, flowers and 
 groves of oak trees. There were deer, antelope and elk in the open 
 and bear in the thickets along the streams. 
 
 Majestic oak trees give parts of the Sacramento Valley the ap- 
 pearance of a park. As we go south there is less rain, the trees 
 disappear except for those on the bottom lands along the streams. 
 Far to the south on the deltas of the Kings, Kern and Kaweah 
 Rivers are scattered cottonwood trees. 
 
 It was in the spring that the valley appeared so beautiful to 
 the emigrants. Flowers of many colors made brilliant the open 
 plains as far as the eye could reach. Most prominent among them 
 was the orange-colored poppy, now the state flower. 
 
 A group of ancient volcanoes. 
 
 How there came to be volcanoes in the Sacramento Valley we 
 cannot tell. A few miles northwest of Marysville, in the middle 
 of the valley, rise the sharp points of the Marysville Buttes. Long 
 ago these buttes threw out ashes and lava, but now they are quiet 
 and are slowly crumbling away. 
 
 Why are the rivers of the Great Valley so little used by boats ? 
 
 The Sacramento River forms an important highway as far as 
 the city of Sacramento. The San Joaquin River is of equal impor- 
 tance for the transportation of freight and passengers as far as the 
 city of Stockton. 
 
 Before the building of the railroads, these rivers offered the 
 only easy means of reaching the interior of the state. Boats once 
 went up the Sacramento as far as Red Bluff and the Feather River 
 to Marysville, but hydraulic mining has so filled the channels that 
 these portions are now too shallow for boats of any size except 
 during spring floods. When the valley becomes more thickly set- 
 tled the rivers will be dredged so that freight boats wall go as far 
 north as Redding. 
 
California 
 
 85 
 
 Some time the San Joaquin River and its tributaries will be 
 deepened and we shall probably see a long canal dug southward 
 through the whole length of the valley to Buena Vista Lake. When 
 that time comes, the lands which are now unfruitful because of the 
 lack of water will be thickly settled. The farmers along the canal 
 will have a cheap and easy means of sending their produce to mar- 
 ket, and the vast oil fields of this region will be able to get their 
 supplies with much less difficulty. 
 
 How is it that the "Delta Region" has such rich soil? 
 
 As we cross the Great Valley on our way from San Francisco 
 to Sacramento or Stockton, we ride over miles of marsh lands cov- 
 ered with waving tules. If we happen to cross this region in the 
 spring, we find that a vast lake has covered the tules, for the streams 
 bring so much water during their floods that it cannot at once es- 
 cape through the Strait of Carquinez to San Francisco Bay. 
 
 Long ago there were no marshes here nor any delta, for the 
 land stood higher than now and the San Joaquin-Sacramento River 
 emptied into the ocean outside of the Golden Gate. Finally the land 
 began to sink and soon the ocean water swept in and flooded the 
 lower valleys of the river, making San Francisco, San Pablo and 
 Suisun Bays. 
 
 Suisun Bay became a great body of water, reaching probably 
 as far as Sacramento and Stockton. Into this bay the rivers of the 
 Great Valley emptied. Year by year they brought down the richest 
 particles of soil, as the rains washed them from all the mountain 
 
 The result of the farmer's toil on the rich delta lands of the 
 Sacramento-San Joaquin rivers, 
 
86 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 slopes about the valley. This fine, muddy material slowly filled the 
 bay until the most of it was turned into the marsh of today. Some 
 time Suisun Bay will be entirely filled. 
 
 Beneath the tules of the marshes the soil is deep and dark and 
 rich. Dikes of earth are now being built to protect from the floods, 
 and powerful machinery is used to pump out the water as fast as 
 the dikes are completed. 
 
 Many thousands of acres have already been reclaimed and pro- 
 duce luxuriant crops. The fertility of the soil tells us why in other 
 parts of the world deltas have been inhabited by such rich and 
 prosperous peoples. 
 
 How irrigation will make homes for millions of people. 
 
 We have seen how water is the life of the land ; without it 
 there can be neither plants nor animals nor people. The lack of 
 water in many parts of the earth leaves them uninhabited, or if peo- 
 ple do manage to live in them they have to move from place to 
 place to obtain feed for their cattle. They build no permanent 
 homes nor do they have many comforts. 
 
 Few settlers occupied the drier parts of the Great Valley be- 
 fore the introduction of irrigation. Their ranches were large and 
 the towns were far apart. This was the time when cattle and grain 
 were the chief products. It took thousands of acres of this dry 
 land to support one family. 
 
 Now great reservoirs have been built in the mountains to hold 
 the water for summer use, and many canals lead this water to the 
 thirsty land. Green fields of alfalfa, orchards and vineyards are 
 spreading over the valley and comfortable homes are springing up. 
 
 Why do we call this valley the ''Garden of California"? 
 
 The Great Valley contains the largest area of rich land in Cali- 
 fornia. It has also a climate which will grow almost everything 
 that can be desired, and finally it has an abundance of water for 
 irrigation. 
 
 Much of the area of the valley is yet uncultivated, much is 
 still devoted to grain, but wherever water has been carried orchards 
 and vineyards and thickly clustered homes with every comfort are 
 turning it into a garden. 
 
 The successful growing of alfalfa has led to the developm.ent 
 of dairying and hog raising until they have become important in- 
 dustries. 
 
 Oranges, lemons, figs and olives are grown everywhere, but the 
 two first do best about the borders of the valley, where the land 
 rises to meet the foothills, for here it is less frosty. 
 
 The growing of table grapes is an important industry. The cli- 
 mate and soil of the Fresno district have been found especially 
 suited to the raisin grape and so this has become the center of the 
 raisin industry of the state. 
 
 Peaches, apricots and pears are raised in great quantities. These 
 
California 87 
 
 together with cherries reach the market first from the Vacaville 
 region. 
 
 The "delta" about which we have just learned is remarkable 
 for the variety and richness of its productions. If we take the 
 steamer down the river from Sacramento in the summer, we see 
 the boat taking on fruit and melons at every landing. If we go 
 up the San Joaquin River to Stockton, we see men taking care of 
 great fields of potatoes, celery, asparagus and onions. 
 
 The growing of rice along the lowlands has become one of the 
 most important industries of the Sacramento Valley. If it were 
 not for the absence of the curious costumes of the people of the 
 East we might almost imagine, when we look at these great fields 
 of rice, that we were in Japan, China or Java. Cotton growing is 
 being tried in the San Joaquin Valley, where the great heat and 
 long growing season of¥er favorable conditions. 
 
 How do the people of the valley dispose of the vast quantities 
 of fruit which they raise? 
 
 Thousands of carloads of fresh fruit and vegetables are sent to 
 the Eastern market from Sacramento, which has become the central 
 shipping point. The use of refrigerator cars enables these products 
 to reach the East in a fresh condition. 
 
 Many canneries use up a large part of the fresh fruit, while 
 immense quantities are dried. Dried fruits \^ill keep a long time 
 and can be sent to any part of the world. 
 
 Does the Great Valley supply any minerals? 
 
 We do not look for minerals in a valley because they are usu- 
 ally found in rocks. In the valleys the rocks are buried deeply by 
 the soil, but they appear everywhere in the hills and mountains 
 which inclose the valleys. 
 
 In the hills about the borders of the southern San Joaquin Val- 
 ley, and in some places extending into the valley, are some of the 
 most wonderful petroleum deposits known in all the world. 
 
 Nature seems to have placed the oil fields in the driest and 
 most desert-hke portion of the valley, as though she wished to 
 have all the land useful for something. 
 
 The most important fields are the Kern, near Bakersfield ; the 
 Sunset, Midway and McKittrick, on the west side of the valley op- 
 posite Bakersfield, and the Coalinga field, on the opposite side of the 
 valley from Fresno. 
 
 The oil is obtained by drilling wells in the earth, sonie of them 
 being nearly a mile deep. The oil is dark and some of it is quite 
 thick before it is refined. The dark oil is valuable as fuel for en- 
 gines of all kinds. It has largely taken the place of wood and coal 
 upon the railroads of the West and upon the boats plying the Pacific 
 Ocean. 
 
 There are many wonderful wells in the Sunset district. Two 
 wells spouted oil high in the air for many months, and produced 
 as much as 50,000 barrels of oil each per day. 
 
88 
 
 New Progressive GEOGRAPHifiS 
 
 Immense quantities of gas, suitable for lighting and for running 
 engines, comes out with the oil. Much of this gas was at first 
 wasted, but now it is piped to Los Angeles, where it is used for 
 many purposes. 
 
 An important mining . industry in the Sacramento Valley is 
 dredging for gold in the beds of the rivers. The center of this 
 mining is the Feather River bottom lands near Oroville. 
 
 Thousands of acres of rich lands have been turned upside down 
 and ruined in the search for gold. The cultivation of oranges and 
 olives, which are now produced in large quantities about Oroville, 
 is, however, a far more permanent source of wealth than this sort 
 of mining, which has destroyed so much fertile land. 
 
 The towns that grew up in the Great Valley in the pioneer 
 days. 
 
 In the early days all the supplies for the mines had to be brought 
 from San Francisco, for, before the railroads were built, it was im- 
 possible to transport them across the continent. 
 
 Freighting on the rivers of the Great Valley became an impor- 
 tant business, for they were deeper and easier to navigate than they 
 are now. The loads were discharged at points nearest the different 
 mining camps and at a number of these points important towns 
 
 A busy river scene at Sacramento. 
 
California 
 
 89 
 
 grew up. The supplies were carried to the mines from the landing 
 places upon huge freight wagons drawn by long strings of mules. 
 
 Just below Sutter's Fort a town sprang up which has since be- 
 come an important city and capital of the state. Sutter's Fort first 
 attracted people to this point because it was in the foothills nearby 
 that gold was first discovered. 
 
 The new town of Sacramento was found to be centrally located 
 and so all the overland emigrants came here first before scattering 
 to the different mining camps. 
 
 The situation of Sacramento was, then, favorable for it to grow 
 into an important city. Large boats came up the river as far as this 
 point. From here the first railroad was built to Folsom, a mining 
 town in the foothills. The most important overland trails termi- 
 nated here, and here came also the Central Pacific, the first over- 
 land railroad. 
 
 With the building of the railroads through the Sacramento and 
 San Joaquin Valleys, Sacramento became more important still as a 
 distributing point. It is now the center of a rich fruit-growing dis- 
 trict and the point from which thousands of carloads of produce are 
 sent East. 
 
 Marysville sprang up at the head of navigation on Feather 
 River. It soon became an important place, for there were many 
 rich mines that were easiest reached from here. After a few years 
 
 The beautiful grounds of the state capitol at Sacramento. 
 
90 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 the hydraulic mines washed so much sand and gravel into Feather 
 River that its channel was filled up. During the spring floods it 
 overflowed and covered hundreds of acres of rich bottom lands with 
 barren sand. Marysville would have been flooded also if strong 
 dikes of earth had not been thrown up. Now the bed of the river 
 is higher than the streets of the town. 
 
 At a point near the limit of navigation on the Sacramento a 
 reddish colored blufif overhung the river and so the town which 
 grew up here came to be known as Red Blufif. All the northern 
 mines in Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou Counties were reached from 
 Red Blufif. 
 
 When the railroad was built to Redding, it m turn became the 
 distributing point for the north. Boats cannot now go to Red Blufif, 
 but some time the river will be dredged and freighting on the upper 
 Sacramento will again become important. 
 
 It was a long land journey from Sacramento to the southern 
 mines and so an easier route was sought. This led to the establish- 
 ment of a town on a branch of the San Joaquin River, where now 
 is the city of Stockton. 
 
 The present city owes its importance partly to the fact that it 
 is in the center of a rich and highly cultivated region and partly to 
 its being at the outlet of the great San Joaquin Valley. To this 
 point produce can be brought from all parts of the valley by rail- 
 road and then transferred to boats. Important flour and other mills 
 are located here. 
 
 The settlement of the valley has led to the growth of new 
 
 cities and towns. 
 
 Fresno is the most important of the newer cities and is des- 
 tined to become the metropolis of the San Joaquin Valley. It looks 
 as if Nature intended that there should be a city here in the center 
 of the great fertile delta of the Kings River. 
 
 This delta is not marshy hke that of which we have recently 
 learned. It is, instead, a vast, gently sloping plain built up by the 
 sand, gravel and soil brought down by the Kings River. The river 
 splits up into many branches on the delta and these have been far- 
 ther increased by the building of canals so that the whole is thor- 
 oughly watered. 
 
 Orchards and vineyards extend out many miles in every direc- 
 tion from the city of Fresno. The growing of the raisin grape has 
 become such an important industry here that Fresno has become 
 known as the raisin center of California. 
 
 Bakersfield is situated in the southern end of the valley on the 
 Kern River. Although the city is surrounded by many miles of the 
 richest lands, these are as yet but thinly settled. When the name 
 Bakersfield is mentioned, we think of the oil fields and their many 
 miles of derricks where the oil is being pumped out of the earth. 
 The city is the center for the most important oil districts in the state. 
 
 Taft and Coalinga on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley 
 have become important towns in a dry and desert-like region where 
 
California 
 
 91 
 
 there is neither a farmhouse nor any cultivated land to be seen. 
 They depend solely on the oil business, and if the wells should cease 
 to produce, every one would leave. 
 
 Tulare and Visalia owe their situation to the delta of the Ka- 
 weah River. To the east of these places in the edge of the foothills 
 are the most important orange growing districts of the San Joaquin 
 Valley. 
 
 View of Fresno from an aeroplane. 
 
 There are many other towns in the Great Valley, such as Merced, 
 Modesto and Chico, each of which forms a center for orchards and 
 green fields of alfalfa, but there are still hundreds of thousands of 
 acres of uncultivated land upon which the wild flowers bloom a^ 
 they did when the state was first explored. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The Great Valley includes a vast area of almost level land in 
 the heart of California. It is surrounded on all sides by mountains 
 which makes access difficult except by the single outlet to San Fran 
 cisco Bay. 
 
 The climate is hot in summer and in the southern part ver^- 
 dry. Although possessing a soil deep and rich and abundantly sup- 
 plied with water by the rivers that come down from the Sierra Ne- 
 
92 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 vada Mountains, the valley remained poorly cultivated for many 
 years. 
 
 It was not until the railroads were built and the value of irri- 
 gation understood that many people began to settle here. Then the 
 great ranches which had been devoted to stock and grain began to 
 be cut up into small ones; orchards began to be set out and new 
 towns to spring up here and there. 
 
 While the valley has been known as the "granary" of Califor- 
 nia," it is fast becoming a garden in which millions of people will 
 some time find comfortable and happy homes. 
 
 REVIEW QUESTIONS. 
 
 Tell what you can about the mountains that surround the Great 
 
 Valley, and trace its watershed on the map. 
 Through what gap is the valley easily reached? 
 Describe the formation of the deltas of the valley. Which is the 
 
 most important one and what are its productions? 
 What do the mountains afford the people of the valley that they 
 
 could not do without? 
 At what point was the first settlement made ? What city afterward 
 
 sprang up here? 
 Why are the rivers navigable for so short a distance? 
 Explain from the map where a canal could be easily dug through 
 
 the San Joaquin Valley. 
 Why is the western side of the valley less thickly settled than 
 
 the eastern? 
 How is it that so little rain falls in the southern part? 
 How would the climate be aiTected if the Coast Ranges were taken 
 
 away? What effect would this have upon the industries? 
 Why were the large ranches necessary before the coming of irri- 
 gation? 
 Mention the most important fruits and tell how they are marketed. 
 What sort of a climate is needed for making good raisins? 
 Describe the methods employed in the growing of rice. Can rice 
 
 be grown where there is little water? 
 For what different purposes do the people of the valley use the 
 
 mountain streams? 
 How would the deepening of the rivers and the building of canals 
 
 help the Great Valley? 
 What mining industries are carried on here? 
 Give reasons for the situation of Sacramento, Stockton, Redding,^ 
 
 Fresno. 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 A valley surrounded by mountains is difficult to reach, but these 
 mountains may at the same time be of such value that it would 
 not be habitable without them. 
 
 Mountains afford attractions and resources of many kinds which add 
 greatly to the wealth of the neighboring valleys. 
 
California 93 
 
 A region which is cut off from the ocean winds by mountains is 
 hotter in summer and colder in winter than it otherwise would 
 be. It has ordinarily also less rainfall. 
 
 The careful cultivation of a small piece of land is more profitable 
 than the careless cultivation of a large piece. 
 
 Cities and towns spring up at those points where Nature has made 
 it convenient for men to meet for various purposes. 
 
 A land which has rivers and canals for carrying goods has an ad- 
 vantage over one dependent upon wagon roads and railroads. 
 
 Wherever water can be obtained for irrigation, a dry and desert 
 country can be turned into the most productive of gardens. 
 
The rocky shore of Carmelo Bay — back of which rise the 
 rugged Coast Ranges. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Coast Ranges: A Region of Mountains and Innumerable Park- 
 Like Valleys Whose Fertile Soil and Agreeable Climate 
 Make This An Attractive Land. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 The name "Coast Ranges" tells us at once in what part of Cali- 
 fornia the mountain region which we are going to study is situated. 
 We must remember, however, that the mountains which we call the 
 Coast Ranges do not include all those near the coast, but only such 
 as are situated between the Great Valley and the ocean. 
 
 Both to the north and south of those mountains which we agree 
 to call the Coast Ranges are others bordering the ocean but which 
 have different names. 
 
 The relief map shows us that the Coast Ranges are not, like 
 the Sierra Nevadas, formed of one great and lofty range, but of 
 many ranges of much less height. We call the Coast Ranges a 
 mountain system because they consist of a number of ranges grouped 
 together. 
 
 We learn farther from the relief map that these ranges extend 
 parallel with each other and nearly parallel with the general line of 
 the coast. They lap past each other like the shingles on a roof. 
 Where a range ends there is a headland or cape, and where there 
 is an opening through a range or between two ranges there is a 
 bay. Most of the bays are, however, not well protected because 
 of the direction of the mountains. 
 
 The region of the Coast Ranges includes about the same area 
 as the Great Valley, but a large part of it is so rough that it will 
 always be sparsely inhabited. Toward the north the rainfall is 
 heavy and there is much valuable timber, but southward the tim- 
 ber is scattering and the mountain slopes are mostly covered with 
 brush. 
 
 Why was it that the early navigators learned so little of the 
 land lying back of the Coast? 
 
 The first navigators who visited the coast encountered many 
 storms and found few places in which they could anchor safely. 
 Much of the shore was rocky and behind it rose steep mountains 
 which barred the way into the interior. Where there were sandy 
 beaches the breaking waves and lack of protection from storm kept 
 them from landing. 
 
 If the mountains had extended out into the ocean instead of 
 being nearly parallel with the shore, there would have been prom- 
 inent headlands with deep bays between them in which to anchor 
 and valleys which could have been followed back into the un- 
 known land. 
 
96 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 How did the direction of the Coast Ranges make exploration 
 by land easy? 
 
 The Spanish explorers who went northward through the Coast 
 Ranges found few difficulties because of the long, open valleys be- 
 tween the ranges leading almost in the direction in which they 
 wished to go ; but since the ranges do not run quite parallel with 
 the coast, it was necessary to cross several of them. 
 
 North of Santa Barbara rises the great wall of the Santa Ynez 
 Mountains, blocking the way. The explorers followed the coast 
 until they came to a gap in the mountains which is known as the 
 Gaviota Pass. Then. they passed through a country of rolling hills 
 and valleys until they came to the Santa Lucia Range. They crossed 
 this through a low place called Cuesta Pass. 
 
 They were now in the Salinas Valley, which led them north- 
 westward as straight as an arrow for one hundred miles. This 
 brought them to the Bay of Monterey. To reach San Francisco 
 another range, known as the Gavilan, had to be crossed; after which 
 a beautiful valley led through to San Jose and San Francisco. This 
 route from San Diego and Los Angeles to San Francisco came to 
 be known as the Camino Real, meaning the King's Highway. 
 
 Can we explain why San Francisco Bay is the only good har- 
 bor in this region? 
 
 On the eastern coast of our country there are good bays ex- 
 tending far into the land where large rivers enter the ocean. This 
 is because the land has sunk so that their mouths are now flooded. 
 
 The coast of California has also sunken, but not enough to 
 make deep bays at the mouths of any of the rivers except the Sac- 
 ramento. At the mouth of the Klamath, the second largest river 
 on the coast of California, there is no bay at all. The Sacramento 
 River flow^s through a broad, low valley to the ocean, and that is 
 the reason that a slight sinking of the land formed a great bay ex- 
 tending far into the interior. 
 
 If the land should continue to sink, other valleys of the coast 
 region would be flooded and we would have many good harbors, 
 but would lose most of our rich valley lands. 
 
 San Francisco Bay forms one of the finest harbors in the world. 
 It is so hidden from the ocean that the early navigators sailed past 
 without suspecting that it was here. 
 
 How has the scarcity of good harbors and openings through 
 the Coast Mountains affected the growth of the cities of 
 this region? 
 
 Because San Francisco Bay forms the only safe deep-water har- 
 bor and has in addition easy communication with the interior, its 
 shores have become a great manufacturing and commercial center. 
 Here can be easily brought the products of a vast region for ship- 
 
California 
 
 97 
 
 ment to foreign countries, and from here their products can be dis- 
 tributed over our own country. 
 
 San Francisco has, then, advantages which no other place in 
 the Coast Range possesses. Other cities have sprung up along the 
 shores of this region where there are small harbors and bays. Be- 
 cause of the mountains lying back which interfere more or less with 
 travel into the interior, they are supported chiefly by the people of 
 the surrounding country and carry on trade only with San Francisco. 
 
 What can we learn as to the position of the watershed of the 
 Coast Ranges and its influence on their settlement? 
 
 Strange as it may be, the watershed or water-parting of this 
 region is near its eastern edge, although in places the highest moun- 
 tains are near the ocean. We have already learned that the main 
 force of the storms is felt on the westward or coastal slope and that 
 the eastern is much drier. Because of these two things the west- 
 ward slope has large and important rivers, while the eastern has 
 no stream large enough to be called a river. The western slope is, 
 then, well watered; it has many large and fertile valleys and con- 
 tains most of the population. The eastern slope is thinly settled 
 and poorly watered. 
 
 If the watershed of this region had been near the sea, the larger 
 part would have been dry and must always have remained thinly 
 settled. 
 
 The rocky coast of Northern Cahfornia is dangerous in stormy weather. 
 A boat moored off shore is being loaded by cable. 
 
98 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Why are the rivers of the Coast Ranges small in summer com- 
 pared with those of the Sierra Nevadas? 
 
 The rivers of the Sierras rise in regions so high and cold that 
 the clouds drop snow instead of rain. The snow melts slowly and 
 feeds the springs and rivulets far into the summer. 
 
 With the exception of a few peaks, the Coast Ranges rise 
 scarcely one-third as far into the sky as do the Sierras and more 
 rain than snow falls on them. 
 
 Because of this there are floods in the rivers of the Coast Ranges 
 during the winter or rainy season, while in summer they become 
 very low. In the Southern Coast Ranges the beds of the streams 
 are dry for months at a time. 
 
 What influence has the distribution of the rainfall and forests 
 had on the settlement of the Coast Ranges? 
 
 The valleys of the North Coast Ranges that lie near the ocean 
 receive so heavy a rainfall that they bear a heavy forest, mostly 
 of redwood trees. These forest lands cannot be settled and culti- 
 vated until the lumbermen have removed the trees. 
 
 The interior valleys of the Southern Coast Ranges are so dry 
 that crops cannot always be depended upon, and as a result are 
 thinly settled. 
 
 We learn then that while too much rain, with the heavy forests 
 that have resulted from it, has hindered settlement in one part, too 
 little rain has had a similar effect in another. 
 
 Besides these climatic influences, many valleys are far from 
 any market and without water or rail transportation so that ordi- 
 nary farming cannot be carried on. The people who have settled 
 in these valleys must depend upon raising stock, which can be 
 driven to market. 
 For what natural products are Coast Ranges most widely 
 
 known ? 
 
 We might mention two products which are known all over our 
 country. 
 
 The giant redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) are among the 
 wonders of our state. These trees grow to such great size and so 
 close together that the sun can hardly penetrate their forests. They 
 are very valuable for lumber, which is shipped to all parts of the 
 
 world. 
 
 The second important natural product is a mnieral. It is known 
 as quicksilver and is found in but a few places in our country out- 
 side of the Coast Ranges. We might mention also petroleum or oil 
 as another important natural product of this region. 
 
 The Northern Coast Ranges— The Home of the Giant 
 
 Redwoods. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 The Northern Coast Ranges form a sea of mountains between 
 
California 
 
 99 
 
 which are innumerable caiions and many small valleys. The cen- 
 tral part is drained by Eel River, the northern part by the Trinity 
 River, the southern part by Russian River and other smaller streams. 
 
 Along most of the coast is a strip of low land, generally quite 
 narrow and in places cut off by mountains, which here and there 
 rise directly from the ocean. Upon this coastal plain are situated 
 most of the inhabitants. The interior, except that part sloping to- 
 ward San Francisco Bay and Clear Lake, is thinly settled. 
 
 The watershed as well as the crest of the mountains lies close 
 to their eastern edge, overlooking the Sacramento Valley. Here the 
 Yallo Bally peaks rise over 8000 feet. 
 
 Why has the settlement and growth of this region been 
 so slow? 
 
 A. The rocky coast line made access by sea difficult: There 
 is but one safe harbor on the whole coast of Northern California 
 and that is Humboldt Bay. This was formed by the waves throw- 
 ing up a barrier beach across a bend in the shore at the last sink- 
 ing of the land. The bay is entered across a bar over which the 
 water is deep enough for large-sized coasting vessels. 
 
 Nearly all the coast line of Northern California is formed of 
 jagged cliffs, against which the waves beat continually. Except dur- 
 ing quiet summer weather, landing along this coast is quite uncertain, 
 
 Sawmill and log boom in a little cove on the Mendocino coast. The cove 
 
 was made by the sinking of the land and the flooding of the 
 
 mouth of a small river. 
 
ioo 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 so that the settlement and growth of industries have been greatly 
 hindered. 
 
 At many points supplies are taken ashore and produce shipped 
 out in the following manner: When the water is quiet a ship comes 
 as close to the clifit's as it can and anchors. A cable, which has pre- 
 viously been stretched from the shore to a buoy near by, is then 
 made use of to transfer goods to and from the top of the cliff. 
 
 B. The network of mountains has made the building of roads 
 and railroads difficult: It was not until 1914 that the first railroad 
 connecting Eureka with San Francisco was finished. Up to this 
 time the city of Eureka could be reached only by a long and tire- 
 some stage ride from the head of Russian River Valley down through 
 the basin of Eel River, or by coasting vessel upon the frequently 
 rough waters of the Pacific. 
 
 A wagon road extends up the coast from Eureka to Crescent 
 City and thence into Oregon, and another has just been built over 
 a difficult route across the mountains to Redding in the Sacra- 
 mento Valley. 
 
 Why were the first settlements made on the Coast? 
 
 Although landing was often difficult upon this rocky coast, yet 
 it was settled before the interior because of two reasons. In the 
 first place, the journey over the mountains was long and difficult ; 
 and in the second place, the making of lumber soon became the 
 leading industry. 
 
 The redwood forests form a belt a few miles back from the 
 shore, where they are protected from the harsh ocean winds. Short 
 railroads were built, and the logs were carried to the coast, where 
 mills were erected. The lumber was loaded on vessels in the way 
 which has already been described. 
 
 Point Arena lighthouse on the flat coastal plain. 
 
California 
 
 101 
 
 The coastal plain forms a strip of almost level land which is 
 in places crowded out entirely by the mountains, while in other 
 places it has a width of several miles. This is often an open, grassy 
 country, and because of the advantages for dairying offered by the 
 cool air and excellent grass it soon became one of the important 
 dairying sections of the state. The butter and cheese produced are 
 shipped to San Francisco by boat. 
 
 How does the interior differ from the Coast, and what de- 
 termined its settlement? 
 
 We will start at Eureka and take a journey eastward through 
 the basin of Eel River. We cross first a fertile plain miles in width 
 once covered with heavy redwood forests. Patches of forest still 
 remain and between them appear meadow lands stocked with dairy 
 cattle. For a long distance the valley of Eel River appears heavily 
 timbered, with here and there cleared land. Fruit orchards appear 
 and among them apple trees seem to take the lead. 
 
 After a time the redwoods disappear, for the air becomes too 
 dry for them. Spruce, madrone, laurel and oak take their place. 
 Beautiful groves of these trees are scattered over the plateau-like 
 uplands, while wild grasses cover the open spaces. 
 
 Here the climate is drier and more agreeable than it is upon 
 the coast, but we seldom see a farm house or cultivated land, since 
 the region is too inaccessible. There is no dairying in these moun- 
 tains because of the distance to market, but beef cattle and sheep 
 are to be seen everywhere. 
 
 Finally, after passing through pine forests, we reach the sum- 
 mit, from which we look down a short, steep slope into the Sacra- 
 mento Valley. The mountains are here so high that arctic vege- 
 tation abounds. There are snowbanks upon the shady slopes. 
 
 One of the great sawmills and lumber yards at Eureka. 
 
102 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Why are the rivers of this region of less use than those of 
 the Sierras? 
 
 The rivers of the Sierras flow rapidly down through deep can- 
 yons. The rivers of the Coast Ranges flow much more gently 
 throughout the most of their course to the ocean and afford little 
 water power. The Sierra streams are needed for irrigation and the 
 snowbanks keep them full far into the summer. In the North Coast 
 Ranges there is little need for irrigation because of the heavy rain- 
 fall and the streams become very low in summer because it is only 
 in the higher parts of these mountains that much snow falls. 
 
 In what way is the redwood tree very interesting? 
 
 The redwoods of the Coast Ranges and the "Big Trees" of the 
 Sierras are among the most wonderful trees in the world and are 
 found only in California. Once they spread over a wide area, but 
 now their only living relative is found in Japan. 
 
 The redwoods do not grow as large as the "big trees," nor do 
 they live as long, .but some are fully twenty feet in diameter and 
 reach an age of 2000 years. The scientific name of the redwood 
 is Sequoia sempervirens. The last word of the name means always 
 alive. It is given to the tree because it is so difficult to kill, for 
 sprouts always come up around the stump when the tree is cut. 
 
 It is a serious mistake to kill the stumps and clear those slopes 
 which are not needed for farming, for the new shoots grow rapidly 
 
 Schooners loading lumber at Eureka. 
 
California 103 
 
 and soon make trees large enough to cut. If we do not take care 
 there will be no redwood lumber in the future and the tree will 
 become extinct except in the parks where it has been protected. 
 
 What led the Russians to abandon their settlement at Fort 
 Ross? 
 
 The Russians, who once had fur-trading stations on the Alaska 
 Coast, wished to establish a colony far to the south, where they 
 could raise cattle and grow fresh vegetables. As the Spanish al- 
 ready had possession of San Francisco Bay, the Russians, in 1812, 
 landed at a little cove a few miles north of the mouth of Russian 
 River and built a fort. At this place there is a strip of land about 
 a mile wide, back of which rises range upon range of mountains 
 for fifty miles. 
 
 If there had been a river coming to the ocean at Fort Ross, 
 with valleys opening back through the mountains, thus giving the 
 Russians an opportunity to enlarge their settlement, the history 
 of Northern California would probably have been very different. 
 
 Because the lay of the land was unfavorable, they abandoned 
 the post after thirty years, and sold their guns and equipment to 
 Captain Sutter, who removed everything to his fort in the Sacra- 
 mento Valley. 
 
 How is it that Eureka has become the most important city 
 on the Northern Coast? 
 
 We have learned that for many years this region was accessible 
 only from the ocean. We have also learned that one of the first 
 industries was lumbering and that the valuable forests were near 
 the coast. 
 
 There is but one safe harbor upon all the northern coast, and 
 that is Humboldt Bay. Here the level coastal plain is wide and 
 there are many miles of fertile land of the highest value for dairy- 
 ing. Here also the redwood forests are the most extensive and 
 easiest to get at. 
 
 What is more natural, then, than that upon Humboldt Bay, 
 where ships can anchor in safety and take and bring cargoes, should 
 grow up the chief city of this northern region? Eureka is now con- 
 nected with San Francisco by a railroad which will some day be 
 extended northward into Oregon. The city can now be reached 
 easily and has an outlet by which produce can be sent to market 
 much more quickly. 
 
 Does "the lay of the land" lead us to look for any other cities 
 in this region? 
 
 At the head of the Russian River Valley is the city of Ukiah, 
 which, because it was for a long time the end of the railroad, be- 
 came an important distributing point for all the Northern Coast 
 Ranges. In all directions are picturesque valleys in which all sorts 
 
104 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 of fruit do well, while on the mountain slopes cattle and " sheep 
 are pastured. 
 
 Many people live along the coast west of Ukiah, some of whom 
 are engaged in dairying and stock raising and some in lumbering. 
 Towns have grown up at points where the mills have been built 
 and it is easiest to land supplies from the coasting vessels. The 
 most important of these are Pt. Arena, Mendocino City and Fort 
 Bragg. 
 
 The Clear Lake District: A Pleasant Land of Mineral Springs 
 and Health Resorts. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 The region which we are now going to study is a part of the 
 Northern Coast Ranges, but quite different in many ways from that 
 
 part which we have just 
 discussed. 
 
 In the center of the dis- 
 trict lies Clear Lake, the 
 largest body of water in the 
 Coast Ranges and one of 
 the largest in California. 
 All about it are picturesque 
 mountains, of which the 
 highest is Konocti, or Un- 
 cle Sam, rising over 4000 
 feet. Far to the south is 
 St. Helena, another volcanic 
 peak of about the same 
 height. 
 
 The basin of Clear Lake 
 is interesting, not only for 
 its beauty and its mineral 
 springs, but also because it 
 has really two outlets. Long- 
 ago the lake emptied into 
 Russian River by way of 
 the Blue Lakes. Now its 
 outlet is Cache Creek, which 
 flows east into the Sacra- 
 mento River. We might say 
 that the lake, which has an 
 elevation of 1300 feet, is on 
 the summit of the Coast 
 Ranges and looks both ways. 
 The agreeable climate, the pretty valleys, the extinct volcanoes 
 and the mineral springs with their health-giving waters, make this 
 region very interesting and it attracts thousands of visitors every 
 summer. 
 
 Eel River at low water. 
 
California 105 
 
 Why do we value mineral springs so highly? 
 
 Mineral substances which have great value as medicine are 
 found dissolved in the waters of many springs in California. Such 
 springs are called mineral springs. In the Eastern States and in 
 Europe are many such springs so renowned for their curative prop- 
 erties when used either for bathing or drinking that people travel 
 thousands of miles to visit them. 
 
 There are hundreds of springs of many different sorts in the 
 Clear Lake region, some being hot and some cold. Among them 
 are soda springs which contain the same gas made in soda foun- 
 tains. One large spring of this kind boils up in Soda Bay in Clear 
 Lake. 
 
 Why are mineral springs so abundant in this region? 
 
 If you will place salts of different kinds in cold water and then 
 in hot water you will find that they will dissolve much easier in 
 the hot water. This helps us to understand the origin of mineral 
 springs. Although only a few of them are hot or boiling when 
 they issue from the ground, we are sure that they all must have 
 been so at some point deep in the earth from whence the waters 
 came. 
 
 The extinct volcanoes south of Clear Lake tell us why there 
 are mineral springs in this region. The molten rock from which 
 volcanoes and lavas are made comes from deep in the earth where 
 it is very hot. 
 
 When water, which is everywhere creeping downward through 
 rock crevices, reaches these hot or molten rocks in the earth, it 
 also becomes very hot and is often turned to steam. Little by little 
 it dissolves some of the minerals contained in the rocks and carries 
 them along with it. In some places the steam pushes the hot water 
 back toward the surface, thus giving rise to mineral springs. 
 
 What is the story of the Petrified Forest? 
 
 In the mountains at the head of Napa Valley are some won- 
 derful hot springs and many broken trunks of trees that have been 
 turned to stone. Long ago there was a forest growing there. The 
 water of the springs contained silica, the substance of which quartz 
 is composed, and when the trees fell the water flowed over them 
 and caused them to turn to stone, or petrify, as we commonly say. 
 
 Is the quicksilver of this region also the result of volcanic 
 action ? 
 
 The silvery liquid of our thermometers is quicksilver. Nature 
 put it in the rocks in the form of a red ore which we have to roast 
 before we can get the silvery metal. 
 
 At the eastern end of Clear Lake, opposite Uncle Sam Mount, 
 is the noted Sulphur Bank Mine, where there are valuable deposits 
 of quicksilver and sulphur. Other mines of these minerals and one 
 of gold are found in various parts of this volcanic district. 
 
106 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 In one mine the workmen opened a crevice through which 
 boiling water was flowing and the steam and sulphurous vapors 
 almost suffocated them. The sides of the hollows in the rocks were 
 found to be lined with sparkling crystals of sulphur and other 
 minerals. 
 
 The quicksilver, sulphur and gold of the Clear Lake region were 
 all deposited from hot or boiling springs. 
 
 Why is this region thinly settled, notwithstanding its at- 
 tractions ? 
 
 The climate is suited to growing many kinds of fruits, includ- 
 ing pears, apples and grapes. Cattle and sheep are raised on the 
 mountain slopes that are too steep for cultivation. 
 
 The region is thinly settled, partly because much of it is moun- 
 tainous and partly because no railroad has yet been built into it. 
 The marketing of produce is difficult and expensive. 
 
 The Southern Coast Ranges: Once the Seat of Many Spanish Mis- 
 sions and Vast Ranches over Which Wandered Herds of 
 Half - Wild Cattle — Now Dotted with Comfortable 
 Homes, Orchards and Grain Fields, and Noted 
 for Valuable Deposits of Petroleum. 
 Introduction. 
 
 We are now going to take up that part of the Coast Ranges 
 lying far to the south. The Northern Coast Ranges, as we have 
 learned, consist of a confused sea of mountains. In the south there 
 are distinct ranges which extend in a regular northwest and south- 
 east direction with long, open valleys between them. 
 
 In the north it is very wet near the coast, so that there are 
 dense forests. In the south there is also a heavy rainfall on the 
 Santa Lucia and other of the higher ranges, but the surface is so 
 
 The Lower Salinas River showing the shallow channel and the broad 
 valley through which it flows. 
 
California 
 
 107 
 
 rugged that there are few forests valuable for lumber. In the inte- 
 rior valleys the climate is too dry for forests. 
 
 In the Northern Coast Ranges the highest land is near the east- 
 ern edge, while in the south the highest land is found in the Santa 
 Lucia Range, which rises very boldly from the ocean, reaching at 
 one point an elevation of about 6000 feet. 
 
 Why is it that a large part of the Southern Coast Ranges is 
 thinly settled? 
 
 1. Is the land too rough and mountainous for many people to 
 dwell there? This cannot be the reason, for there are many broad 
 valleys with thousands of acres of fertile land that might support 
 a large population. 
 
 2. Is it because the land is poor and covered with timber and 
 brush? No, for, on the contrary, nearly all the soil is good, and 
 the slopes which are adapted to farming are covered with wild 
 grasses. Neither do the beautiful oaks which dot the valleys near 
 the coast interfere with the cultivation of the soil. 
 
 3. Is it because of the difficulty of getting produce to market? 
 It is not difficult to get produce to market from this region, be- 
 cause of the long, narrow valleys extending northwest and south- 
 east throughout its whole length, some of which opened toward San 
 
 
 
 Artichoke fields in San Mateo County. The most important district for 
 this vegetable in California. 
 
108 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Francisco and others toward the ocean. The building of wagon 
 roads and the hauling of freight through such valleys is easy. Then, 
 in addition, most of the large valleys near the coast can ship pro- 
 duce by boat. Because the ocean is much less stormy here than 
 farther north, wharves have been built where there is some pro- 
 tection from the waves, and during a larger part of the year boats 
 load and unload from them without trouble. 
 
 4. The real reason for the backward development of the south- 
 ern coast lies in the small rainfall and almost desert climate of the 
 interior valleys : We have already learned that w'here the rainfall 
 is too light to grow crops that a few people can nevertheless make a 
 living by raising cattle. They lack many comforts and advantages, 
 for their homes must be far apart, since it takes thousands of acres 
 to support a herd of cattle in such a region. 
 
 How does the rainfall affect the distribution of the people > 
 
 The driest part of the Southern Coast Ranges is the Carrisa 
 Plain, which lies farthest from the ocean and is almost uninhab- 
 ited. This plain is very interesting because it is a true basin with 
 a rim of high land all about it, enclosing a salt marsh in the center. 
 It has never rained much in this region, or the basin would have 
 been turned into a lake and a stream would have flowed away tc 
 the ocean. 
 
 As we go toward the coast we find the rainfall increasing and 
 with it the number of settlers. The main river valleys which lead 
 down to the ocean contain more people than the immediate coast, 
 for here between the dry interior and the damp, cool lands next to 
 the ocean we find the most agreeable climate, adapted to the grow- 
 ing of a great variety of products. 
 
 How does the rainfall affect the occupations of the people? 
 
 Cattle raising was once the only occupation, because there was 
 no market for other products. Now the raising of beef cattle is 
 largely confined to the drier and more mountainous parts of the 
 Southern Coast Ranges. 
 
 Wheat fields have taken the place of herds of cattle in the vast 
 rolling hills and valleys of the upper Salinas River Basin, in the 
 Santa Ynez and other valleys, where irrigation has not yet been 
 developed, and there is scarcely rain enough for diversified farm- 
 ing and fruit grow'ing. 
 
 It is in the large valleys lying near the coast where there is 
 abundant rain, and yet protection from the fogs, that we find a cli- 
 mate which is not only very agreeable but adapted to the growing 
 of a great variety of products. Here, then, we find the densest pop- 
 ulation and most of the towns. 
 
 The San Benito, San Juan, Pajaro, Upper Salinas, San Luis, 
 Santa Maria and Lompoc Valleys produce large quantities of pears, 
 peaches, prunes and apples. 
 
 In the Pajaro Valley are produced great quantities of berries, 
 which are largely disposed of in the San Francisco markets. Wat- 
 
California 
 
 109 
 
 sonville is noted as the most important apple growing district in 
 California. The slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains lying back of 
 Watsonville are protected from the cool ocean winds and are espec- 
 ially suited to apples. 
 
 The bottom lands of the valleys between the fruit belt and the 
 ocean have a climate and soil adapted to the production of sugar 
 beets, potatoes and beans. Important beet sugar factories are lo- 
 cated in the SaHnas and Santa Maria Valleys. 
 
 The hills and smaller valleys bordering the coast are given over 
 largely to dairying. The abundant grasses of this region, the cool 
 air and the opportunity to ship butter to San Francisco by boat 
 make this industry profitable here. 
 
 Why are the rivers of this region almost dry for a large part 
 
 of the year? 
 
 The three most important rivers are the San Benito-Pajaro in 
 th(r north, the Cuyama-Santa Maria in the south, and the Salinas 
 in the middle. 
 
 The Salinas River drains an area as large as the basin of Eel 
 River, but during much of the year its broad bed throughout its 
 middle course is covered with drifting sand. The Santa Alaria River 
 is equally dry in summer. After the heavy rains of winter there 
 is a great change. Their channels become filled with a muddy flood 
 which sometimes does serious damage. 
 
 We judge, then, that the mountains in which these rivers rise 
 are not high enough to receive much snow ; and that when the rains 
 come the water gathers quickly and runs away to the ocean. We 
 judge also that the summers are long and dry, and that most of 
 the water which the streams then carry is evaporated by the hot sun. 
 
 Bridge across the Salinas River at King City. The channel is dry in summer, 
 
110 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 In what way can the interior valleys be made to support a 
 larger population? 
 
 It will be necessary, as in many other parts of California, to 
 build great reservoirs in order that the winter floods may be held 
 for summer use, and extensive canals to carry it to the parched 
 lands. The climate is healthful and the soil fertile, but more water 
 is needed if many people are to make comfortable homes in this 
 region. 
 
 What has the lofty Santa Lucia Range to do with the dry 
 interior? 
 
 The Santa Lucia is the boldest and loftiest range on the whole 
 coast of California. It rises so abruptly from the ocean that travel 
 along the seaward slope is possible only over the roughest trails. 
 
 These mountains form such a great storm barrier that nearly 
 all the region to the eastward across the whole Coast Range region 
 is very dry. 
 
 Why were the Missions built where they are? 
 
 The Padres as they explored the Coast Ranges were not look- 
 ing for mission sites which had commercial advantages. They sought, 
 rather, for places where there was water, fertile land, and oppor- 
 tunity to teach the Indians. 
 
 At this time California was far away from any source of sup- 
 plies. It was necessary to grow in the mission gardens everything 
 that was needed in the new settlements. To do this in the dry 
 summers of this region water for irrigation was a necessity. 
 
 Did towns grow up about all the Missions? 
 
 The sites of some of the missions proved to be of commercial 
 importance and towns grew up about them. 
 
 Santa Barbara is on the ocean near a partially protected bay 
 and in the midst of a fertile coastal plain. 
 
 San Luis Obispo lies in the midst of a beautiful valley and is 
 a natural site for a city. A few miles away is Port Harford, the 
 shipping point for this district, where a rocky point and breakwater 
 make it possible for boats to load at any time. 
 
 Monterey is situated upon the great Bay of Monterey and is 
 well protected from southerly gales. Until San Francisco Bay was 
 discovered, Monterey was the best known bay on the coast of Cali- 
 fornia north of San Diego. 
 
 Santa Cruz, also the site of a mission, lies on the opposite side 
 of the Bay of Monterey. It has now become a noted summer re- 
 sort. Back of it lies the Santa Cruz Mountains, whose groves of 
 redwoods form attractive resorts. 
 
 San Juan Mission occupies a fertile valley on the Camino Real 
 and a small town grew up about it. 
 
California 111 
 
 Santa Clara, which is favorably situated in the center of a large 
 valley now thickly settled, has grown into a city. 
 
 How is it that Monterey did not become the metropolis of 
 the new State of California? 
 
 Monterey lies to the west and some miles away from the Camino 
 Real. It has little farming land about it and is the shipping point 
 for only one valley (Carmelo). It has none of the advantages of 
 easy communication with the interior, or of a thoroughly protected 
 harbor such as San Francisco has. 
 
 Although Monterey was one of the two most important Spanish 
 towns, and the leading seaport at the time of the discovery of gold, 
 it was, for the reasons given above, very little afifected by the rapid 
 growth of California. 
 
 Monterey has, however, become the most noted summer and 
 winter resort upon the coast. Adjoining it is Pacific Grove, an at- 
 tractive camp ground in a forest of pines. One of the most beau- 
 tiful drives in California extends past the Point of Pines along the 
 rocky shore to Carmelo Bay. 
 
 What attractive scenery do we find in the Southern Coast 
 
 Ranges ? 
 
 The grandest natural monument upon either the Atlantic or 
 Pacific Coast of our country is Morro Rock, a few miles northwest 
 of San Luis Obispo. This is a precipitous island of bare rock, ris- 
 ing nearly 600 feet above the water of the ocean. 
 
 The rock is of volcanic origin and belongs with a series of 
 "buttes" which extend inland to the town of San Luis Obispo. 
 Though they are not more than 1500 feet high, these buttes form 
 very picturesque features of the landscape. 
 
 The grandest mountain scenery of the Southern Coast Ranges 
 is found along the seaward face of the Santa Lucia Range. Because 
 of the steepness of the slopes and the depth of the cafions, few 
 people hve in these mountains. 
 
 Many people are attracted to this region because of the min- 
 eral springs. 
 
 The Southern Coast Ranges contain numerous hot sulphur 
 springs which are highly prized. The waters of some of these 
 springs are used for bathing and of others for drinking. Most 
 noted are the hot springs and mud baths at Paso Robles. These 
 springs are due, not to volcanic action, as are those in the north, 
 but to chemical changes deep in the earth. That chemical changes 
 produce heat is shown when lime is being slaked in the process of 
 making plaster. 
 
 What can we learn of the story of this region from the great 
 oyster shells on the mountains? 
 Near Santa Margarita, and in many other places, there are 
 
112 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 beds of many kinds of ocean shells, among which are those of 
 giant oysters. 
 
 These shells tell us that long ago the Coast Ranges were be- 
 neath the ocean with only islands sticking up above the water. In 
 the shallows about the shores of the islands the oysters once lived. 
 Then the ocean bottom sank and they were buried in sand. After 
 long ages and many earthquakes the sea bottom was raised to form 
 the mountains w^hich we have been studying. The rains washed the 
 sands away and the oyster shells were exposed. 
 
 What do the caves in the ocean clifTs tell us? 
 
 Near Port Harford there are caves in the ocean clififs above the 
 present level of the water. In some of them there are water-worn 
 pebbles. The caves teach us that the level of the land is changing, 
 for they were made when it was not so high as it is now. 
 
 The tidal lagoons along the Coast tell another story. 
 
 At Morro Bay and Port Harford there are tidal lagoons reach- 
 ing back into the land. These occupy partly submerged valleys 
 and were made by a sinking of the land in the same manner as 
 was San Francisco Bay. If the land had sunk farther many land- 
 locked bays would have been formed upon the coast. 
 
 The Channel Islands. 
 
 The Channel Islands, lying ofif the coast of Santa Barbara, are, 
 as we have already learned, the remnants of a submerged mountain 
 range which was once a part of the mainland. 
 
 Sand dunes near San Francisco, showing how vegetation helps to 
 hold the soil from drifting. 
 
California 113 
 
 Because most of the surface of the islands is rough with little 
 good soil, and because water is very scarce, they have remained 
 uninhabited, and are used mainly as pastures for sheep. 
 
 When the whites first came, the islands were peopled with 
 many Indians, who lived mainly upon fish and shell fish, and were 
 in some ways superior to the Indians upon the mainland. 
 
 Why is there so nutch oil in the Coast Ranges and so little 
 coal? 
 
 The reason is that while oil or petroleum comes from rocks 
 which were formed in the deep ocean, coal is formed from the 
 vegetation which once collected in marshes on the land. 
 
 The ocean which, long ago, covered the region of the Coast 
 Ranges was filled with little organisms so small as to be_ hardly 
 visible. As these organisms died their bodies accumulated in beds 
 thousands of feet thick. Then the ocean currents washed mud and 
 sand over them and buried them deeply. After a time the beds 
 containing the bodies were made very warm and began to give ofif 
 oil and gas which collected in sandy layers. 
 
 The Santa Maria oil field in Western Santa Barbara County is 
 one of the most valuable in California. To reach the oil some of 
 the wells have been drilled 4000 feet into the earth. 
 
 In what different conditions is the oil fotmd? 
 
 The gas which comes from oil wells has great value as fuel for 
 steam engines, for running gas engines and for fuel. This gas con- 
 tains the more volatile parts of the oil, such as gasoline. _ 
 
 The oil which forms what is known as "tar springs" is dark and 
 thick. When oil becomes dried out to such a degree that itis hard 
 at ordinary temperatures, it is called asphaltum. It occurs in veins 
 in the earth and is also produced in the refining of oils. 
 
 Near San Luis Obispo there are great beds of what is known 
 as bituminous rock. This rock is formed by oil creeping into por- 
 ous sand rocks. Bituminous rock is quarried and used very widely 
 as a pavement for city streets. 
 
 What other minerals are fonnd in the Southern Coast Ranges ? 
 Valuable mines of quicksilver are worked at New Indria in San 
 Benito County and at New Almaden in Santa Clara County. Coal 
 is mined in the mountains west of Coalinga, and a little gold is 
 found in the Santa Lucia Range. 
 
 San Francisco Bay and the Region About: A Magnificent Land- 
 
 Locked Bay, the Gateway to California, with Arms 
 
 Reaching Out Into Fertile Valleys Set 
 
 Among Picturesque Mountains. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 San Francisco with its connecting bays occupies what was once 
 a group of valleys in the Coast Ranges through which flowed the 
 Sacramento River. 
 
114 New Progressive Geographies . 
 
 San Francisco Bay is more than fifty miles long from north 
 to south and in places is twelve miles mide. A part of the shore 
 is flat and marshy. In other places steep hills rise in a picturesque 
 manner from the shore, while here and there are rocky islands. 
 
 The largest ships can pass through the Golden Gate into the 
 bay, while the different arms permit the smaller river boats to reach 
 the great interior valleys. 
 
 What interesting thing about the history of San Francisco 
 Bay can we learn from the Indian shell mounds? 
 
 The Indian mounds are made up of refuse shells and bones 
 where the Indians used to gather for their feasts. The bottoms of 
 two of these, one in Shell Mound Park and the other known as the 
 Ellis Mound near Richmond, are about thirteen feet below high tide. 
 
 This interesting fact teaches us that since the Indians first came 
 here the land about San Francisco Bay has sunken. Long ago the 
 land stood so much higher that there was no bay at all, and the 
 Sacramento River flowed through fertile valleys out to sea. Its 
 mouth was then outside the Farallone Islands, for the water between 
 them and the shore is now so shallow that if the land should rise 
 200 feet they would become a part of the mainland. 
 
 How has the sinking of the land made San Francisco Bay 
 
 the Gateway to California? 
 
 We have already learned that the Sacramento is the largest 
 river wholly in California and that it drains all the central part. 
 When the land sank the sea came in through the Golden Gate and 
 flooded the river valley entirely across the Coast Ranges and into 
 the Great Valley so that the tide is now felt as far as Sacramento 
 and Stockton. 
 
 The sea also flooded the adjoining valleys of the Coast Ranges 
 so that boats can go to Petaluma, to Napa, and almost to San Jose. 
 Thus the sinking of the land opened a gate from the ocean through 
 the coast mountains into the heart of California, making nearly half 
 of the state easily accessible to trade and commerce. 
 
 Why was it that this great bay remained so long undiscovered ? 
 If you should sail along the coast on some foggy day when the 
 shore was indistinct, it would be the easiest thing in the world to 
 go past San Francisco Bay and not see its narrow entrance. This 
 is probably the reason why Drake in 1579, and Vizcaino in 1602, 
 sailed past the Golden Gate and anchored in a little bay a few miles 
 to the northwest, which is now known as Drake's Bay. 
 
 How is it that the Strait of Carquinez, although an obstacle 
 to land travel, is yet of great importance commercially? 
 The Strait of Carquinez, Suisun Bay, and the marshes to the 
 
 east are a serious barrier to rail and wagon roads. One of the 
 
 largest ferry boats in the world is used to carry trains across this 
 
 strait between Benicia and Port Costa. 
 
California 
 
 115 
 
 The strait is of great importance because the large sea-going 
 ships can come up through the bay as far as this point and receive 
 their cargoes direct from the vast grainfields of the Great Valley. 
 Here lumber is brought from the coast ports for trans-shipment to 
 the interior. Here grain is made into flour to be shipped abroad. 
 Here are sugar refineries and smelters. 
 
 No other place in all California is destined to become of so 
 great importance commercially because of the favorable situation 
 for interchange of foreign and home products and for manufac- 
 turing. 
 
 How can we account for the many different sorts of climate 
 
 within a few miles of San Francisco? 
 
 The gap in the mountains through which the Sacramento River 
 reaches the ocean permits its cool winds to reach far inland. Dur- 
 ing the long days of summer the air of the Great Valley becomes 
 very hot. The heat makes it so much lighter that the cool heavy 
 sea air rushes in and takes its place. This creates a strong wind 
 which in San Francisco and on the bay is so sharp that an overcoat 
 is sometimes comfortable in the middle of summer. This wind is 
 like the draught in a great fireplace. 
 
 Although the summer climate of San Francisco and the adjoin- 
 ing bay region is sometimes unpleasantly cool, it is nevertheless 
 healthful and invigorating. Most fruits and vegetables thrive in the 
 damp air, but some require more sunshine and warmth. 
 
 San Francisco Bay and Mt. Tamalpais from the Berkeley Hills. This bay 
 was formed by a sinking of the land. 
 
116 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 We will now take a train from San Francisco and go either 
 south behind the protecting ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, or 
 cross the bay to Sausalito and go north behind the Mt. Tamalpais 
 Ridge, or eastward from Oakland through the Contra Costa Hills, 
 and in less than an hour we are in a climate so different that we 
 are almost ready to believe that we have been suddenly transported 
 hundreds of miles. In the valleys which we have reached on our 
 short journeys there is often fog at night, but the days are warm 
 and sunny. Vineyards and orchards of many kinds of fruit are all 
 about us, and we even see orange trees with their golden fruit. 
 
 We must not expect the winters about San Francisco to be cold 
 because the summers are. The days of fall, winter and spring are 
 often warmer than those of summer, although the nights may be 
 frosty. 
 
 During the winter there is no strong sea wind. This is the 
 season for storm winds which blow from different directions. 
 
 What important effect did the making- of San Francisco Bay 
 have upon the bordering country? 
 
 1. Much fertile valley land was flooded: Several hundred 
 square miles of the best valley land was overflowed by the sea 
 when San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Bays were formed. The 
 value of the waterway opened for ships into the very heart of Cali- 
 
 Looking in through Golden Gate from Fort Point. 
 
California 
 
 117 
 
 fornia is, however, much greater than that of the land that was 
 lost. Besides this the remaining land was made more valuable be- 
 cause of the great population attracted here by the advantages for 
 manufacturing, trade and commerce. 
 
 2. The sinking of the land led to the building of river deltas: 
 The delta lands of the Great Valley which were made by the Sac- 
 ramento and San Joaquin Rivers as they filled up the ancient Sui- 
 sun Bay are larger in area than all three of the bays which we 
 have mentioned, and will some time support a great population. 
 
 The formation of this delta with all its rich acres is directly due 
 to the sinking of the land. If it had not been for the large body 
 of water forming the ancient bay, the mud or silt which the rivers 
 brought dowm from the mountains would not have been dropped 
 and the delta would not have been formed. The silt would have 
 been carried on to the ocean and lost to us. 
 
 The Columbia River pours its muddy flood directly into the 
 ocean, discoloring the water for many miles out, for it has no quiet 
 water in which to drop its load of silt. The Colorado, about which 
 w^e shall learn later, has formed thousands of square miles of the 
 richest land in the head of the ancient Gulf of California. 
 
 3. About San Francisco and San Pablo Bays are tidal marshes 
 where great numbers of ducks and other water birds are found: 
 Tidal marshes border much of the lowland about San Francisco and 
 San Pablo Bays, and fill their many coves and arms. A part of this 
 overflow land is bare mud at low tide and a part is covered with 
 salt water grasses. Some day the water will be shut out of the 
 marshes by dikes and the rich soil will be cultivated. 
 
 The vast stretch of the Suisun marshes — the delta of the Sacramento-San 
 
 Joaquin Rivers, 
 
118 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Untold numbers of ducks once stopped in the marshes upon 
 their migrations to the north or south. They have been hunted so 
 much that they are now nearly gone. Greater protection must be 
 extended to these game birds or we shall lose them entirely. 
 
 Tidal channels were formed which are very useful for the trans- 
 portation of produce to market from the surrounding valleys. If 
 you will examine the map of San Francisco and San Pablo Bays you 
 will see small streams leading through the marshes to Petaluma, 
 Napa, San Rafael and Alviso. Each of these is the water outlet of an 
 important valley or town. 
 
 These streams are, however, too small to be used by boats if 
 it were not for the tide. At high tide they are deep enough for 
 small steamers which carry on an important business, especially with 
 the two towns first mentioned. 
 
 How has the presence of San Francisco Bay influenced the 
 settlement and occupation of the people in tTie region 
 about ? 
 
 1. Since San Francisco Bay is so safe and commodious it has 
 become an important commercial center : San Francisco Bay lies 
 almost midway between San Diego in the south and Puget Sound 
 in the north. In most respects it is the best harbor upon the Pacific 
 Coast. Because of its position and character a large part of our 
 commerce with the countries of the Pacific Ocean must come here. 
 
 Since San Francisco Bay is such a favorable point for ships 
 to take and discharge cargoes, railroads were needed to bring freight 
 
 Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, one of the most beautiful 
 buildings in the world. 
 
California 119 
 
 and distribute it over the country. Then manufactured products of 
 many kinds found a market here as well as a distributing point 
 and so great plants were erected to do all kinds of work. 
 
 All these things required much labor and so thousands of peo- 
 ple came. Towns and cities sprang up, the largest of which is San 
 Francisco. 
 
 2. The growth of a great population on San Francisco Bay 
 is also favored by the open route into the interior: If there had 
 been a lofty mountain range between San Francisco Bay and the 
 interior it would not have become an important center of commerce. 
 As it is, however, large ocean boats can go up through the Coast 
 Ranges to the Strait of Carquinez, where they can receive direct 
 the produce of thousands of acres of fertile land. 
 
 3. The coming of a great population makes the bay region an 
 important market center: The people of the cities which are grow- 
 ing up about San Francisco Bay need large quantities of food. If 
 we turn either to the north, to the east, or to the south, we find rich 
 valleys branching out from the bay in which food supplies of all 
 sorts are grown. From these valleys produce can be quickly and 
 cheaply sent to market, either by boat or by railroad. 
 
 The needs of the cities determine also the sort of farming car- 
 ried on in the adjoining valleys. Vast quantities of fresh fruits 
 and vegetables are required every day by the cities of the bay 
 region and they must be raised near by so that they will be fresh 
 and cheap. 
 
 Consequently the most important farming carried on is garden- 
 ing and truck farming, the raising of chickens and the growing of 
 small fruits and berries of all sorts. 
 
 4. The marsh lands favor the making of salt: About Alva- 
 rado upon the eastern side of San Francisco Bay there are exten- 
 sive plants for the making of salt from sea water. At high tide the 
 water is allowed to flow into large, shallow ponds. Then the open- 
 ings are closed until the water has partly evaporated. This is re- 
 peated until a strong brine is formed. The salt finally crystallizes 
 on the bottom and is shoveled out. 
 
 5. The sinking of the land favored the growth of important 
 fishing industries: When the land stood so high that the shore 
 line was outside the Farallone Islands there was little shallow water 
 along the coast of California, for the bottom descended rapidly to 
 the deep Pacific. 
 
 When the land sank, the lowlands along the coast were sub- 
 merged, making the continental plateau or shelf over which the 
 water was shallow. 
 
 As nearly all the food fishes which the fishermen get either by 
 means of hooks and lines or by nets live in shallow water, the sink- 
 ing of the land gave an opportunity for a vast increase in the num- 
 bers of fish along our shores and in the bays which were formed. 
 
 Many hundreds of men are engaged in catching fish for the 
 San Francisco market and for shipment into the interior. 
 
120 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The Santa Clara-San Benito Valley : Once a Wild, Oak - Dotted 
 
 Park, But Now a Garden of Fruits and Flowers: The 
 
 Largest and Richest of All the Coast Range Valleys. 
 
 Santa Clara is sometimes called the Garden Valley. In the 
 spring a flower festival is held at which time hundreds of square 
 miles of blossoming prune trees present a wonderful sight. In 
 summer the vast seed farms with their many colored flowers present 
 an equally pretty sight. 
 
 The Santa Clara and San Benito Valleys are really one, for 
 as you go southeasterly from San Jose you cannot tell when you 
 leave Santa Clara and enter San Benito Valley. They lie end to 
 end just as do the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, but while 
 the two latter drain through one common outlet to the ocean, the 
 two former are separated by a slight watershed. Santa Clara Val- 
 ley drains into San Francisco Bay, and San Benito Valley empties 
 through the Pajaro River into Monterey Bay. 
 
 In the heart of Santa Clara Valley lies the Mission of Santa 
 Clara. For many years the park-like region about it served only 
 for grazing cattle. Then with the coming of more settlers grain 
 growing became the important industry. Now the valley has be- 
 come a garden of fruits and flowers. Three miles to the eastward 
 of the mission and town of Santa Clara lies the city of San Jose. 
 This city, like Los Angeles, was founded as a Spanish Presidio. 
 The city is only eight miles from the end of the southern arm of 
 San Francisco Bay, with which it will some day be connected by 
 canal. 
 
 Point Reyes; one of the most dangerous points on the coast of California. 
 
California 
 
 121 
 
 Near the northern end of the valley and on the west side of 
 San Francisco Bay is Stanford University, with its beautiful build- 
 ings in the old Spanish style. 
 
 The climate of the whole valley is agreeable, for the Santa 
 Cruz Mountains partly break the cool ocean wands, and we find 
 growing here almost every sort of fruit that California produces. 
 
 The Russian River and Santa Rosa Valleys: A Favored Region 
 
 Whose Beauty, Climate and Fertility Have Made It 
 
 Known Far and Wide. 
 
 The Russian River and Santa Rosa Valleys occupy about the 
 same position north of San Francisco Bay that the Santa Clara and 
 San Benito Valleys do on the south. The rainfall of these northern 
 valleys is, however, greater, but their climate is fully as mild be- 
 cause of the shelter offered by the Coast Range between them and 
 the ocean, 
 
 Upoif either side of the two main valleys are smaller ones, while 
 between and back of all are picturesque mountains. Some of their 
 slopes are open and grassy and used for grazing cattle and sheep; 
 others are covered wnth groves of oak, madrone, laurel and redwood. 
 
 The lower hills have been found best suited to the growing 
 of grapes, of which there are many thousands of acres. Upon both 
 the hill slopes and in the valleys fruits of almost every sort 
 found in California are grown in abundance. The lowlands of the 
 
 in a Hopiicld, Russian River Valley, 
 
122 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 middle part of the main valley are noted for their extensive hop 
 fields. 
 
 Vineyards, orchards and hop fields are three things for which 
 Russian River and Santa Rosa Valleys are famous. Almost equally 
 noted is Sebastopol and the region about for its spicy scented graven- 
 stine apples which here reach perfection. 
 
 So sunny and free from frost are portions of the lower Russian 
 River and Santa Rosa Valleys that oranges and lemons of a good 
 quality are now being grown here in commercial quantities. 
 
 Near Santa Rosa, with a favorable climate and soil, Luther 
 Burbank has developed his new and valuable plants. 
 
 Many w^ho do not have homes in this pleasant region come here 
 for the summer to drink and bathe in the waters of the mineral 
 springs, and to camp along the wooded mountain streams. 
 
 Russian River does not continue on southeasterly through Santa 
 Rosa Valley and empty into San Francisco Bay, as one would think 
 it should, but turns to the west through the hills and enfpties into 
 the ocean. Thus the city of Santa Rosa has grown up, not because 
 it has water connection with San Francisco, but because it is in 
 the midst of a large and thickly settled valley. The situation is 
 somewhat like that of San Jose, although the latter makes some use 
 of the port of Alviso, eight miles away. 
 
 At the lower end of Santa Rosa Valley there is a town which, 
 like Napa, has become important because it is situated on a creek 
 
 
 On the beach at Santa Cruz. 
 
California 123 
 
 navigable at high tide, thus affording an outlet for produce to San 
 Francisco. 
 
 This town, known as Petaluma, is noted as a center of the 
 poultry business in California. Cheap freights, a favorable climate 
 and well-drained soil have brought this about. 
 
 Sonoma Valley: Where Was Built the Most Northern of the 
 
 Missions. 
 
 If we go easterly from Santa Rosa around a range of moun- 
 tains, we come to another valley for which Nature has done much. 
 The Mission Fathers thought this a most favored spot and built 
 here the last and northernmost of the missions. They set an ex- 
 ample for the American farmer, who was to come later, in putting 
 out vineyards and orchards. 
 
 Sonoma is widest known for the fact that here in 1846 was 
 raised the "Bear Flag" in the first eft'ort to free California from 
 Mexican rule. 
 
 Napa Valley: Sometimes Called "The Beautiful Valley." 
 
 Continuing northeasterly from Sonoma we climb another range 
 of mountains and from its summit look down upon a region which 
 well deserves the name "Beautiful Valley." Vineyards and orchards 
 and comfortable homes lie scattered along the main valley and upon 
 the rolling hills which border it, while back of all rise partly for- 
 ested mountains. 
 
 The valley extends from San Pablo Bay in a northwesterly direc- 
 tion parallel to Russian River, and reaches to the foot of Mt. St. 
 Helena, almost half way to Clear Lake. To the northeast many 
 mountains and small valleys still have to be passed before we come 
 to the Sacramento Valley. 
 
 The attractive scenery, the pleasant climate, which is neither 
 too hot nor too cold, the many mineral springs in the mountains, 
 and the fact that almost every sort of fruit grows there, makes this 
 valley one of the best of the many happy vales of California. 
 
 Napa is the chief town because of its situation upon the Napa 
 River, by means of which it receives passengers and freight from 
 San Francisco. As we go down the river we pass upon the left the 
 towns of Benicia and Vallejo. Benicia was for a time the capital 
 of California. Upon the right of the river, where it enters the bay, 
 is Mare Island with its navy yard. 
 
 The valleys that lie under the shadow of Mount Diablo. 
 
 From Vallejo we will cross the Strait of Carquinez, and pass- 
 ing the town of Martinez, go up to Ygnacio Valley under the shadow 
 of Mt. Diablo. On the way we pass the spot where John Muir 
 lived, the man who has written so much about our mountains and 
 worked so long to preserve their beauty. 
 
 Continuing from Ygnacio Valley around the west side of Mt. 
 Diablo through an orchard country, we come to San Ramon Valley, 
 
124 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 and then the broad Livermore Valley, which Hes south of the moun- 
 tain. Now grainfields and orchards line our road until, turning down 
 through the picturesque Niles Caiion, we come out in the Santa 
 Clara Valley on the eastern side of the bay. Between this point 
 and Oakland we pass through several towns surrounded with veg- 
 etable gardens and orchards. 
 
 After the discovery of gold the main route from Southern Cali- 
 fornia to the mines was along the Camino Real to San Jose. From 
 this point it led through Niles Canon, Livermore Valley, and over 
 Livermore Pass. 
 
 Livermore Pass is the lowest gap in the whole length of the 
 Coast Ranges except that at Carquinez. One branch of the Southern 
 Pacific Railroad now follows the route of the old stage road. 
 
 Mt. Tamalpais and the valleys that nestle about it. 
 
 If we would escape the cool fog of a summer day, all that we 
 have to do is to climb or take the scenic railway to the summit of 
 Mt. Tamalpais. On its top, 2586 feet above the sea, we are in the 
 clear, warm air, while the fog rolls below us like the waves on the 
 ocean. Most mountains are colder than the valleys at their base, 
 but it is just the reverse during the summer on all the high moun- 
 tains which rise along our coast. 
 
 When the fog has gone, the whole bay region lies spread out 
 before us like a map. We see the islands, the peninsulas, the coves 
 with their mud flats and winding tidal streams, the towns, boats and 
 other signs of the presence of men. 
 
 On the south of Mt. Tamalpais is Muir Woods, a national park 
 with its grove of great redwood trees. Close under the highest 
 
 Diablo, from Walnut Creek. 
 
California 125 
 
 peak are Ross and Mill Valleys with homes set among redwoods, 
 while farther away is San Rafael. 
 
 From the western shoulder of the mountain we look dow^n upon 
 the bay and town of Bolinas, and away beyond them Point Reyes 
 may be seen extending far out into the ocean. Southward are the 
 Marin Hills, covered with dairy cattle, and beyond them the Gol- 
 den Gate. 
 
 Mount Diablo: The great landmark of the Central Coast 
 Ranges. 
 
 As we cross the Great Valley in the direction of San Francisco, 
 the first thing that attracts our attention is Mt. Diablo with its dou- 
 ble peaks standing up all alone. From its top nearly 400O feet above 
 the sea there is a magnificent view' reaching to the snowy mountains 
 far to the east and north. 
 
 Mt. Diablo is also interesting because it is the point from which 
 all land measurements in Central and Northern California start. Mt. 
 San Bernardino is used as a base for measuring the lands of South- 
 ern California. 
 
 The Santa Cruz Mountain region: Renowned for its red- 
 wood forests and its agreeable summer climate. 
 
 When the Santa Cruz Mountains are mentioned, we think of 
 camping among the redwoods or of pleasant homes on the moun- 
 tain slopes with orchards of apples set about them. 
 
 The cutting of the redw^ood forests has been an important in- 
 dustry for many years in this region. Now people have come to 
 love these trees and the finest remaining forest has been set aside 
 by the state for public use and named Sempervirens Park. 
 
 Along the ocean side of the mountains the broad, grassy slopes 
 and cool air make dairying an important industry. Upon the east- 
 ern and southern slopes there are orchards of different kinds of fruit, 
 the apple being the most important. 
 
 The city of Santa Cruz attracts many summer visitors because 
 of the fine sea bathing. Others spend their summers in the redwoods 
 back of the city or at Half Moon Bay and Pescadero. 
 
 The Mt. Hamilton Range : The seat of the Lick Observatory. 
 
 Those who study the stars must have clear air for their work, 
 and as there is so much fog and haze in the air of the lowlands it 
 is better for them to resort to some mountain top. For this reason 
 the Lick Observatory was placed upon Mt. Hamilton, whose summit 
 is 4209 feet above the sea. 
 
 Mount Hamilton is the highest peak of the lofty range which 
 shuts in Santa Clara Valley on the east. From its summit we look 
 across a sea of mountains to the San Joaquin Valley. In this rugged 
 region the slopes are steep, the valleys are small and the rainfall 
 becomes less the farther we go from the ocean. For these reasons 
 few people live here and they are engaged in stock raising. 
 
126 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The islands of Sail Francisco Bay. 
 
 When the land sank and San Francisco Bay was formed, several 
 of the hills which rose in the valley of the ancient Sacramento River 
 were entirely surrounded by water and made into islands. Others 
 were just covered by the water and formed reefs very dangerous to 
 ships until they were blown out by powder. 
 
 Angel Island is the largest and is used as a quarantine station. 
 Here people infected with disease are landed from the ships and are 
 kept isolated until danger of contagion is past. Alcatraz lies di- 
 rectly in the middle of the entrance to the bay and is used as a 
 fort and military prison. Goat Island has a lighthouse and naval 
 training station. 
 
 The beginnings of San Francisco. 
 
 It was not until 1775, six years after Portola had looked down 
 from the Santa Cruz Mountains, that the first ship entered the bay. 
 The commander of the San Carlos made a camp on Angel Island 
 and explored the shores as far as the mouth of the Sacramento River. 
 
 In 1776, the very year of our Declaration of Independence, the 
 Spaniards chose a rocky point overlooking the bay for a presidio. 
 This place is now known as Fort Point. 
 
 A spot for the Mission Dolores was selected in a little valley 
 
 The San Francisco water front. 
 
California 127 
 
 lying two miles to the south and midway between the ocean and 
 the bay. 
 
 After a time a little settlement sprang up on the shore of a 
 cove on the eastern side of the peninsula about four miles from the 
 mission. This was named Yerba Buena, after a fragrant mint which 
 grew among the bushes on the sandy slopes. As late as the year 
 1846 the population amounted to less than two hundred. 
 
 Everything quickly changed after the discovery of gold. The 
 quiet bay became alive with the shipping of every nation and the 
 little village of Yerba Buena grew into the city of San Francisco 
 almost in a night. In July, 1848, five hundred square rigged ships 
 lay anchored ofif Montgomery street. 
 
 The appearance of the bay and city in 1849. 
 
 Bayard Taylor, a noted writer who came by the Isthmus, says : 
 "We are in front of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The moun- 
 tains on the northern side are 3000 feet high and come down boldly 
 to the sea. As the view opens through the splendid strait, three or 
 four miles in width, the island rock of Alcatraz appears glistening 
 in the distance. High through the vapor in front, and thirty miles 
 distant, rises the peak of Mt. Diablo, which overlooks everything 
 between the Sierra Nevadas and the ocean. At last w^e are through 
 the Golden Gate — fit name for such a magnificent portal to the com- 
 merce of the Pacific. Yerba Buena Island (now Goat Island) is in 
 front ; southward and westward opens the renowned harbor, crowded 
 with the shipping of the world, the flags of all nations fluttering in 
 the breeze. Around the curving shore of the bay and upon the sides 
 of three hills, the town is planted and seems scarcely yet to have 
 taken root, for tents, canvas, plank, mud and adobe houses are min- 
 gled together wdth the least apparent attempt at order and dura- 
 bility." 
 
 How San Francisco appeared in 1854. 
 
 A few years later another writer says of San Francisco : "]\Iany 
 parts of the city have now the appearance of an old town and, in 
 passing through them, one often forgets that he is not in New York 
 or Boston. The crowds on the sidewalk, the rattle of trays, the 
 display of hacks, the roll of omnibuses, the ringing of bells, the 
 fruit stands on the corners of the streets, the cries of various ped- 
 dlers of small wares and nicknacks, the long wharves loaded with 
 merchandise, and the spacious harbor dotted all over and alive with 
 the shipping of every clime, indicate a city the origin of which 
 might be covered with the dusts of time. But this is San Francisco 
 and these are the evidences of its energy and thrift, in the fifth year 
 of its existence." 
 
 Where did the people of San Francisco obtain their food 
 
 supplies during the gold excitement? 
 
 We have learned that during the Spanish period very little land 
 was cultivated because there was no market for produce. For some 
 time after the discovery of gold few people could be induced to work 
 
128 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 the farms or assist in the growing of fruits and vegetables, which 
 were so much needed. All who could do so, left their work, no mat- 
 ter what it was, and started for the mines where they hoped to 
 get rich. 
 
 Vegetables and tropical fruits were brought from the Sandwich 
 Islands, apples and pears from South America, butter, cheese, eggs 
 and bacon from New York and Boston, and a large variety of cured 
 provisions from China. Ice was brought from Boston and from the. 
 Alaskan Coast. Large quantities of gulls' eggs were collected along 
 the coast and used in the place of hens' eggs. 
 
 In the course of a few years, however, many men left mining 
 and went' back to farming. In the gardens of the Sacramento and 
 Santa Clara Valleys vegetables of all sorts began to be grown, al- 
 though prices remained high for a long time. 
 
 How is it that San Francisco, having so many natural ad- 
 vantages, had not become an important place before the 
 
 discovery of gold? 
 
 San Diego, Los Angeles, 
 Santa Barbara and Monte- 
 rey were old towns before 
 there was any settlement 
 except a mission and fort 
 where San Francisco now 
 stands. The bay region was 
 on the outskirts of the set- 
 tled portions of California 
 and, although there were 
 a few ranchos along its 
 shores, the vast country to 
 the north and east was al- 
 most uninhabited except for 
 the Indians. 
 
 There was here, then, 
 nothing to support a town ; 
 there was no business and 
 no occasion for ships to en- 
 ter the bay, since they could 
 neither dispose of goods nor 
 carry any away. The Span- 
 iards who lived comfortably 
 upon their great ranchos 
 were satisfied with things 
 as they were and did not 
 try to build up the set- 
 tlements or trade of 
 country. 
 
 When gold was 
 
 T ,• J iv/r , . o * covered everything 
 
 Looking down Market btreet, , i c„n Fr^n 
 
 o T-i • changed. i>anrran- 
 
 San Francisco, v. ii o. n j, v, ^ . 
 
 the 
 
 dis- 
 was 
 
California 
 
 129 
 
 Cisco was found to be the only large and safe harbor within reach 
 of the mines, and for thousands who came by water, the bay and 
 river offered a convenient way for continuing their journey almost 
 to their destination. 
 
 How is it that the most important city of the bay region is 
 
 situated upon a long, narrow peninsula instead of upon 
 
 the Contra Costa or Marin shores? 
 
 The Mission and Presidio were established upon the peninsula 
 because, in the first place, they could be reached directly by land 
 from the older settlements to the south, and in the second place, 
 the situation was a commanding one at the very entrance to the bay. 
 
 The little cove where the town of, Yerba Buena sprang up of- 
 fered the best landing for boats and was the most protected from 
 storms of any spot near by and was also close to the entrance to 
 the bay. Upon one side of the little bay the land rose very steeply 
 to Telegraph Hill, but upon the other sides the slopes were gentle 
 and suited to build upon. 
 
 Although the water is deep close to the Marin shore, there is 
 no room there upon the lowland for the growth of a great city, for 
 the hills rise steeply almost from the water's edge. 
 
 The Contra Costa shore is, on the contrary, broad and gently 
 sloping, but the w^ater is in most places very shallow for a long dis- 
 tance out and large boats cannot come close to the land. 
 
 What are the disadvantages in the situation of San Fran- 
 cisco and how can they be overcome? 
 San "Francisco lies at the northern end of a long, narrow pen- 
 
 Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. 
 
130 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 insula and can be reached by land only from the south. There is, 
 then, but one direction in which it can grow. Freight and passen- 
 gers coming and going in other directions have to be transferred 
 by ferries across the bay. To meet this need large and comfortable 
 boats are run to Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, Sausalito 
 and Tiburon. 
 
 In order that the thousands of people who have their homes 
 on the Contra Costa side, but whose business is in San Francisco, 
 may cross the bay more quickly and safely, it is proposed to build 
 a tunnel under the bay. That freight may reach and be sent from 
 the city more easily, a railroad has been built across the southern 
 arm of the bay. 
 
 For what is San Francisco particularly interesting? 
 
 City Hall, Oakland. 
 
 The rise of San 
 Francisco from a lit- 
 tle hamlet of a few 
 houses to a great 
 city during the gold 
 excitement is a story 
 more wonderful than 
 that of any other 
 city in our country. 
 
 San Francisco is 
 interesting because 
 of its commanding 
 and picturesque sit- 
 uation. From the 
 hills over whi^h it 
 has spread there is 
 a view of the sea, 
 of the bay and of 
 the mountains be- 
 yond. 
 
 Because of the 
 fresh sea winds the 
 climate of San Fran- 
 cisco is equable and 
 healthful. There is 
 but little difference 
 in the average tem- 
 perature between 
 winter and summer, 
 that of winter being 
 51 degrees and of 
 summer 59 degrees 
 Fahrenheit. 
 
 Because of the wa- 
 ter upon three sides, 
 the city cannot grow 
 
California 131 
 
 in those directions and so must expand toward the south. The excel- 
 lent suburban railways now permit people to work in the city and 
 yet have their homes in the beautiful region along the foot of the 
 Santa Cruz Mountains, a region of which San Mateo is the center. 
 
 Golden Gate Park is one of the largest and most attractive in 
 our country. It has an interesting museum and zoological garden. 
 On the south of the park are the buildings of the Affiliated Colleges 
 with a valuable museum of ethnology. On the north of the park 
 are the extensive grounds of the Presidio overlooking the Golden 
 Gate. 
 
 On the west is the ocean and Seal Rocks, Sutro Park and 
 Baths, and a fine stretch of sandy beach to which crowds of people 
 resort on warm days. 
 
 At the western end of the former grounds of the Panama Pa- 
 cific Exposition is situated the Palace of Fine Arts. This building, 
 with its magnificent colonnade and rotunda in front, is one of the 
 finest architectural monuments in the United States. 
 
 San Francisco is interesting also for the many races of people 
 wliich it contains and especially for its Chinese quarter. 
 
 The rebuilding of the city after the earthquake and fire 
 
 of 1906. 
 
 Few cities in the world have suflfered such destruction from 
 earthquake and fire as did San Francisco in 1906. Since that time 
 the city has risen again in a manner almost as wonderful as that 
 of the days of "49." Miles of magnificent buildings have taken the 
 place of those destroyed. They have been strongly built and there 
 is little danger to be feared from future earthquakes and fires. A 
 group of the finest of the new buildings, including the city hall, 
 library and civic auditorium, have been built about the new Civic 
 Center. 
 
 What are the most important industries of San Francisco? 
 
 San Francisco early became an important center for the manu- 
 facture of mining machinery because large quantities were needed 
 in the region which was tributary to it. 
 
 As we might expect, shipbuilding has been carried on exten- 
 sively because of the great demand for boats and the abundance 
 of suitable timber in the forests of the coast. The Union Iron 
 Works has built many of the battleships and cruisers for the United 
 States Navy. 
 
 Because San Francisco is advantageously situated for shipping 
 goods in every direction, many manufactories have sprung up. One 
 of the largest canning factories in the world is found here. 
 
 Although the bay region has already become a very important 
 manufacturing center, the future greatness of San Francisco will be 
 based mainly upon commerce, which wall some day rival in import- 
 ance that of the city of New York. 
 
132 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The cities of the Contra Costa shore. 
 
 In 1850, after San Francisco had become an important place, 
 attention was directed toward the Contra Costa shore, where an 
 old Spanish soldier by the name of Peralta had a grant of land of 
 many thousands of acres. 
 
 The water of the Contra Costa shore is so shallow that large 
 ships cannot approach it, but have to be accommodated by very 
 long wharves. There is, however, at one place an estuary extend- 
 ing some distance into the land in which the water was in the early 
 days deep enough for ships of modeate size. Back of the estuary 
 there was a broad expanse of gently sloping land, reaching to the 
 hills, which was covered with a picturesque grove of oaks. This 
 was believed to be a good situation for a town and because of the 
 oaks the new place was called Oakland. 
 
 Oakland did not become a place of importance until after the 
 building of the railroads. Then the need of a good harbor was felt 
 and the creek or estuary was deepened until it could accommodate 
 vessels of large size. Oakland harbor has now become important 
 and is lined with shipping and manufactories. 
 
 At the head of the estuary, in the edge of the hills, is a body 
 of water open to the tide and known as Lake Merritt. This has 
 been made the center of a beautiful park. 
 
 One of the most striking and attractive buildings in all the 
 West is the new city hall of Oakland, which towers above every- 
 thing else and can be seen for many miles. 
 
 On the opposite side of the estuary from Oakland is the city 
 of Alameda, situated upon what is now an island because of the cut- 
 ting of a canal across the neck of the peninsula. Alameda is dis- 
 tinguished as a city of homes. 
 
 Berkeley lies north of Oakland and directly opposite the Gold- 
 en Gate. It extends from the bay across a gently sloping plain 
 and part way up the Contra Costa hills. The city has grown up 
 
 The Civic Center, San Francisco. Library on left, 
 
California 
 
 133 
 
 about the State University, which has now become one of the larg- 
 est in the United States. 
 
 The situation of Berkeley was, then, determined by the Univer- 
 sity, and the University was located here because of the beautiful 
 oak-covered slope at the mouth of Strawberry Cafion, which faces 
 directly across the bay toward the Golden Gate and Mt. Tamalpais. 
 
 The most striking monuments upon the University grounds are 
 the great Campanile with its chime of bells, and the Greek Theatre. 
 
 Because of their pleasant situation and mild climate, Alameda, 
 Oakland and Berkeley all became noted early in their history as 
 cities of homes. The attractions of this region along the foot of 
 the Contra Costa Hills and the convenient local trains and ferries 
 have led thousands of people who do business in San Francisco to 
 make their homes on the east side of the bay. 
 
 The youngest city about the bay is Richmond, which is situated 
 north of Berkeley near Point Richmond. A city has grown up here 
 because of deep water near by and the coming of the Santa Fe Rail- 
 road. It is becoming an important manufacturing place. 
 
 What has made it possible for the region about San Fran- 
 cisco Bay to become the most important manufacturing 
 center in the ^ West? 
 
 We have already learned what important advantages San Fran- 
 cisco Bay ofifers for trade and commerce. For a city or region to 
 become noted for its manufactures it must first of all be easily ac- 
 cessible so that raw material can be shipped to it cheaply and the 
 finished products sent away to market. It must also have cheap 
 and abundant power for running machinery. 
 
 The fact that there is very little coal in California, and the long 
 distance that materials had to be brought, delayed the early growth 
 of manufacturing, but now^ all has changed. 
 
 
 Civic Auditorium in middle, and City Hall at right. 
 
134 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The opening of the Panama Canal now enables us to bring ma- 
 terials from the East and Europe cheaply and quickly. 
 
 We no longer need to depend upon coal for fuel, for crude oil, 
 which is cheaper and suitable for nearly every purpose for which 
 coal is used, is now brought hundreds of miles from the oil fields 
 and delivered upon the bay shore. 
 
 In order to use water power for running mills, it was once nec- 
 essary to place the mills by the streams. This would have been very 
 inconvenient in California, for most of the streams that furnish 
 power are far away in the mountains. 
 
 Now the unlimited power in the far-away cafions is turned into 
 electric energy and carried in copper cables to the points where it 
 is convenient to use it. Electricity from the mountains runs thou- 
 sands of street cars in the cities about the bay, furnishes lights in 
 our homes, and does much other work. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The Coast Ranges have had an important influence upon the 
 discovery, settlement and growth of Central California. 
 
 The direction of the mountains and valleys had made travel up 
 and down the coast easy, but in most places difficult from the coast 
 toward the interior. 
 
 The level of the land has always been changing. At one time 
 it was higher, at another time lower, than it is now. 
 
 The present position of the land has resulted in only one deep 
 
 Oakland business center from Lake Merritt. 
 
California 
 
 135 
 
 land-locked bay and harbor suited to foreign commerce, and that 
 one is San Francisco, situated where the Sacramento River has 
 broken through the mountains. 
 
 Because of the absence of other good harbors with openings 
 into the interior, population, trade and manufacturing have centered 
 about the bay region. 
 
 The climate, while generally agreeable, varies greatly. In the 
 northwest it is very wet. In the southeast it is very dry, partly be- 
 cause there are fewer severe storms and partly because the high 
 mountains near the coast cut off the moist w^inds. 
 
 The various kinds of climate and the extent of the fertile lands 
 suited to cultivation have determined the settlement and develop- 
 ment as well as the sort of industries carried on in the Coast Range 
 region. 
 
 On the coast dairying is the most important. Next comes a 
 broad belt in which fruit growing is the most important industry 
 and where the most people are found. Still farther toward_ the inte- 
 rior grain largely replaces fruit. In those valleys where it is very 
 dry, as well as upon the mountain slopes too steep for farming, 
 stock raising is the leading business. 
 
 The situation of San Francisco has natural advantages which 
 have made it the chief commercial and manufacturing city in Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 The valleys which extend back from San Francisco Bay have a 
 delightful climate and with their many advantages have become 
 thickly settled. 
 
 Shipping on Oakland water front. 
 
136 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 REVIEW EXERCISES. 
 
 ^^'hy was the exploration of the Coast Ranges difficult from the 
 
 ocean and easy from the land? 
 What things lead us to believe the level of the land has changed ? 
 How is produce shipped from the rocky north coast? 
 How do men often make harbors w^here Nature has made none? 
 Why do the mountain ranges near the coast affect the climate of 
 
 the interior? 
 In what part of the Coast Ranges are the most valleys? 
 In w'hat part are the fewest? 
 
 Tell where the most important forests are, and why. 
 W'hat are the most important trees? 
 
 Explain how the climate aft'ects the industries in different parts. 
 Why is the interior of the North Coast Ranges thinly settled? 
 Why are there few^ people in the interior of the Southern Coast 
 
 Ranges? 
 By what routes can one reach Eureka? What are the leading in- 
 dustries in the vicinity? 
 Trace the route of the Camino Real and tell what towns are situ- 
 ated on it. 
 Tell what you can about mineral springs. 
 What was "the important occupation in the early days? Why is 
 
 farming so different today? 
 Describe the two most important mineral substances found in the 
 
 Coast Ranges. 
 W^hy did not tow-ns grow up about all the missions? 
 How do we know that the land has been sinking recently about 
 San Francisco Bay? Where was the mouth of the Sacramento 
 River before the land sank? 
 Explain how the climate of San Francisco differs from that of the 
 valleys about the bay. Wliat is the cause of the cool winds on 
 the bay in summer? 
 Explain the importance of the Strait of Carquinez. 
 Why did not the Russians maintain their settlement in California? 
 What are the advantages and what the disadvantages of the posi- 
 tion of San Francisco? Why did the greatest city of the bay 
 region grow up here? 
 Why did not Monterey early become a great city? 
 What are the advantages of water transportation? What are the 
 
 advantages of the situation of Petaluma and Napa? 
 Tell how tidal marshes are formed. How do they finally become 
 
 dry land? 
 Mention some of the important food fishes and tell where each is 
 
 caught. 
 What determined the site of Oakland; of Berkeley; of Richmond? 
 How are buildings constructed in San Francisco to make them proof 
 
 against earthquakes? 
 Where does San Francisco obtain its fuel and electric powder? 
 How do the needs of the cities about the bay affect agriculture in 
 the surrounding valleys? 
 
California 
 
 137 
 
 What are the advantages of the region south of San Francisco for 
 suburban homes? What are the advantages of the Contra Costa 
 shore? 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 The sort of coast hne which a country has exerts a great influence 
 upon its settlement and development. 
 
 A sunken land has usually many good harbors. 
 
 Mountains extending along a coast break the ocean winds, making 
 the interior drier and hotter than if the mountains w'cre absent. 
 
 The climate of a country determines the sort of farming carried 
 on in it. 
 
 Cities grow up where there are opportunities for trade and man- 
 ufacture. 
 
 The needs of a great city determine the leading farming industries 
 in the vicinitv. 
 
 The Campanile on the University grounds 
 at Berkeley. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada Mountains: The Last Barrier Which the Gold 
 
 Seekers Had to Cross: A Region of Such Vast Importance 
 to California that Without it the State Could Never 
 Have Become What It Is. 
 Introduction. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada forms the greatest mountain range in the 
 United States. It is nearly 400 miles long with an average width 
 of 60 miles. It has many peaks over 14,000 feet high, and Mt. Whit- 
 ney, the highest in our country outside of Alaska, rises to 14,502 feet. 
 
 The range has a long, gentle w^estward slope, so that all the 
 large rivers flow toward the sea. The eastern slope is very abrupt 
 and the streams descend rapidly to the desert valleys of the Great 
 Basin. 
 
 Nearly all the rivers flow through deep caiions and the only 
 large valleys are near the northern end of the range. 
 
 The Sierras are noted for their gold deposits, for the wonderful 
 forests and for their grand scenery. 
 
 How Fremont found that there was a lofty mountain range 
 between the Great Central Valley of California and the 
 deserts of the interior. 
 
 We call General Fremont "The Pathfinder" because he made so 
 many discoveries in the West. Because of an incorrect map he 
 nearly lost his life while exploring what is now Nevada. The map 
 which he had showed a river rising in the Rocky Mountains and 
 flowing westward into San Francisco Bay. Thinking it would be 
 easy to follow down the river and spend the winter in the pleasant 
 valleys of California, he set out with his party to search for it. 
 
 For weeks they hunted in vain and at last gave up when they 
 found a range of snow-covered mountains extending across the 
 place where the river was supposed to be. After a long struggle 
 over the snowy summits of these mountains, and when nearly dead 
 from starvation and cold, they succeeded in reaching the green fields 
 of the Sacramento Valley. 
 
 How difl'erent the story of our state would have been if the 
 river that appeared upon the map Fremont used had really existed. 
 There would then have been no Carson Desert to cross. The Don- 
 ner party would not have been caught in the snows, and the Death 
 Valley expedition would have kept the main Salt Lake trail, for 
 they would have had no lofty snow-covered Sierras to fear. The 
 Central Pacific Railroad would have had an easy route to Sacra- 
 mento and would have escaped the long grades and the many miles 
 of snow sheds over the summit. 
 
 Could the emigrants seeking the gold fields have escaped the 
 Sierras by going around them? 
 Now let us see if the emigrants coming by the main overland 
 
140 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 trail could have reached the Sacramento Valley by any easier route 
 than that over Donner Pass. 
 
 As they approached California the wall of snowy mountains 
 rose directly across their path and extended to the north and south 
 as far as they could see. This was the last and most serious obsta- 
 cle on the whole journey from the Mississippi Valley to the Land 
 of Promise. 
 
 If the emigrants had turned northward they would have found 
 another gap in the mountains called Beckwith Pass. This is less 
 snowy, for it is only 5000 feet high, while Donner Pass is 7000 feet, 
 but their wagons could not have been taken over the rugged moun- 
 tains between the pass and the valley, nor through the canon of 
 Feather River. The Western Pacific Railroad, which makes use of 
 both the pass and the canon, found the latter very difficult to build 
 through. 
 
 If the emigrants had turned toward the south they w^ould have 
 found the Carson and Sonora Passes higher and more snowy, while 
 beyond them the Sierras increased in ruggedness and height for 
 300 miles. 
 
 At last, near the southern end of the Sierras, the hearts of the 
 travelers would have been gladdened by the sight of Walker Pass, 
 a low gap in the crest leading across to the South Fork of the Kern 
 River. The rugged cafion of the river would, however, have stop- 
 ped them just as did Feather River Canon far to the north. 
 
 Continuing their search they would have reached the Mohave 
 
 Tuolumne Table Mountain (lava) under which the miners found the gold- 
 bearing gravel of an ancient river, 
 
California 141 
 
 Desert where the Sierras bend toward the west and join the Coast 
 Ranges. Traveling" across its sandy wastes they would have come 
 at last to the Tehachapi and Tejon Passes, through which they could 
 without much difficulty reach the San Joaquin Valley. 
 
 After all this search for an easy and direct way over the moun- 
 tains, do you not think that the emigrants selected the best way 
 when they chose Donner Pass? 
 
 By what simple means did the early miners get their gold? 
 
 The discovery of gold was an accident. Marshall, while build- 
 ing a mill race in Eldorado County, saw the shining grains in the 
 sands of the ditch. Gold was found later in nearly all the creeks 
 and rivers flowing through the foothills of the Sierras. The miners 
 soon learned that as this metal is much heavier than the gravel 
 they must look for the shining yellow grains on the "bedrock" at 
 the bottom of the gravel. 
 
 The only tools needed were a pick, shovel and "rocker." The 
 gravel was shoveled into the rocker and, while the latter was moved 
 back and forth with a motion like that of a cradle, water was 
 poured in. In this way the lighter materials were washed away 
 and the gold was left upon the bottom. 
 
 If the miner had some quicksilver and boards he made some 
 "sluice boxes," nailed strips across the bottom and between them 
 put a little quicksilver. 
 
 Then he turned a stream of water through the boxes and shov- 
 eled in the gravel. The quicksilver seizes and holds the particles 
 of gold as they are being washed through. This process is called 
 "placer mining." 
 
 After placer mining had been carried on for some time and the 
 richest gravels had been dug over, the miners began to search for 
 the original home of the gold. They soon traced it to a hard, whit- 
 ish mineral called quartz, which forms veins extending through the 
 rocks. 
 
 As the rocks crumbled away and left the quartz exposed on the 
 surface, it also broke up and, together with the rock fragments, was 
 washed down the slopes into the streams. Nature had in this way 
 been collecting the placer gold through many thousands of years. 
 
 There was one vein in particular which drew attention because 
 of its size and length and this came to be known as the "^Mother 
 Lode." The vein can be traced for more than 100 miles and has 
 scores of mines located on it. 
 
 You can readily see that quartz mining is much more difficult 
 than placer mining^ Shafts are sunk in the veins or ledges, and 
 in this way they are followed far down into the earth. Some of 
 the mines on the Mother Lode are more than 3000 feet deep. Where 
 the veins are found upon the sides of steep hills, tunnels are run 
 and the ore is taken out in small cars instead of being hoisted up 
 a shaft by a cable. 
 
 In order to separate the gold the quartz is crushed with heavy 
 stamps, after which the yellow grains are collected by the aid of 
 
142 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 quicksilver on copper plates. When the gold is found in other min- 
 erals, such as iron pyrite, the ore is usually roasted in a furnace. 
 
 The large quartz mines employ hundreds of men. Some of 
 these men mine the ore, others tend the machinery which raises it 
 to the surface, or the mill which crushes it, or prepare the timbers 
 of which large numbers are needed to keep the openings from cav- 
 ing. Miners, engineers, electricians, chemists, carpenters, wood- 
 choppers, teamsters, cooks and store-keepers are needed. These men 
 and their families sometimes form a whole town. 
 
 How did the miners get the placer gold that was too deep 
 for pick and shovel? 
 
 In many parts of the Gold Belt beds of gravel were found which 
 were often as much as 100 feet in thickness. They were left by 
 great rivers which flowed there long ago. The gold at the bottom 
 of these could not be obtained with a pick and shovel and so an- 
 other method was tried. 
 
 Water was taken out of the rivers by means of ditches far back 
 in the mountains and carried around the hills on a gentle slope until 
 a point was reached above the mine to be worked. From there it 
 was taken down in an iron pipe at the end of which was a "giant" 
 with a nozzle. The water was thus directed against the bank with 
 such terrific force that it was rapidly washed down. The water car- 
 ried the boulders, gravel and sand through sluice boxes where the 
 gold was collected. This process is known as Hydraulic Mining. 
 
 As a result of hydraulic mining so much debris was washed into 
 the streams that they were choked. They overflowed their banks, 
 washing gravel and sand over thousands of acres of cultivated lands. 
 So much silt reached the Sacramento River that it also began to 
 
 A desert valley in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains; near Walker Pass. 
 
California 
 
 143 
 
 grow shallower and navigation was made difficult. A law was finally 
 passed prohibiting washing the debris into navigable streams. 
 
 What valuable minerals besides gold are found in the Sierras ? 
 
 Gold has always been the most important mineral product of the 
 Sierras. The silver mines which lie upon the eastern slope are next 
 in importance, and after the silver mines come those of copper. 
 
 The granite used in the cities of Central California comes from 
 Rocklyn and Raymond. Beautiful marble is found at Sonora and 
 quarries of roofing slate have been opened near Placerville. 
 
 What determined the situation of the cities and towns of the 
 early mining days? 
 
 The situation of the towns of the early mining days were not 
 determined by opportunities for trade or manufacturing, as is usually 
 the case ; nor was it because there were rich farming lands near-by. 
 
 Wherever rich "bars" or "diggings" were found, there the min- 
 ers rushed by the thousands and towns sprang up in a day. A town 
 might be started upon a steep hillside or in the bottom of a nar- 
 row gulch. 
 
 Towns which for a time were all bustle and excitement and 
 contained thousands of people, disappeared almost as quickly as 
 they had sprung up. Wherever valuable quartz veins were found, 
 there some of the miners remained and went to work upon them. 
 
 All through the mining belt are towns which have only a small 
 proportion of the inhabitants which they had in the early days. 
 Mariposa, Sonora, Angels Camp, San Andreas, Placerville, Grass 
 Valley, Nevada City and Downieville are among the most important 
 of the mining towns which still remain. They are supported now 
 largely by farming, and being situated in a region of many attrac- 
 tive and fertile valleys will some time again become important places. 
 
 Sierra Valley, the largest of the valleys in the northern Sierras. 
 
144 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 What eiwt did the rush for gold have upon other occupations ? 
 
 )ng- as plenty of gold could be had for the digging-, we must 
 not b^fe^urprised that few people could be found to do any other 
 woid^. Provisions of all kinds were very high because they had to 
 be. Drought such long distances, and often on pack animals over 
 riQ^h mountain trails. 
 
 ]_ As soon as the best diggings were worked out, many of the 
 miners returned to their homes in the East. Others who had not 
 succeeded in finding the riches they wished turned to farming and 
 often made more money. 
 
 Has mining been a good or a bad thing for the development 
 of the foothill region? 
 
 We may say that while mining made California a great and 
 prosperous state in a very short time, yet it left the gold regions 
 poor and thinly peopled. None of those who flocked to the mines 
 expected to make their homes there and so did not attempt perma- 
 nent improvements. 
 
 When miners began to leave by the thousands, business of all 
 kinds suffered. The merchant could not sell his goods. The farmer 
 could find few to take his produce. Although the quartz mines 
 finally came to employ a good many men, their number was small 
 compared with those who had been there. 
 
 The towns became almost empty, the cultivated fields were 
 turned into pastures, and the country took on a deserted look. Many 
 thousands of acres of the best land along the streams had been de- 
 stroyed in the search for gold and the barren rock piles added to 
 the desolate appearance of the country. Even now dredgers are at 
 work in the streams where they enter the Sacramento Valley turn- 
 ing upside down the fertile bottom lands. We need the minerals 
 which the miner digs from the earth, but the appearance of the 
 country in a mining district is never as fair and pleasant to look 
 upon as that of a farming district. The miner's work is not per- 
 manent. His success does not depend upon the preservation of Na- 
 ture's gifts, but upon how quickly and cheaply he can get hold of 
 her store. The work of the lumberman is similar, for he leaves the 
 .country desolate. 
 
 The success of the farmer, on the contrary, depends upon the 
 care which he takes of the trees, the water and the soil. He goes 
 to a country hoping to make his permanent home there and so does 
 everything he can to make his surroundings comfortable and at- 
 tractive. 
 
 What influence has lumbering upon the development of the 
 Sierra region? 
 
 Mining, lumbering, farming and stock raising are the four im- 
 portant industries of the Sierras. 
 
 Lumbering, like mining, often produces great wealth. Like 
 mining, also, it often leaves a country poor and backward. 
 
AxOi^c 
 
 California 
 
 145 
 
 No forests in the world are more valuable than those of the 
 Sierras and we should manage them with great care that they may 
 always remain to help hold the water from running away and to 
 furnish fuel and lumber. 
 
 Parts of the forest are now being lumbered, but often without 
 giving the necessary protection to the young trees. Other parts are 
 in the National Forest and will be lumbered carefully. 
 
 If lumbering is carried on properly by cutting only the mature 
 trees, the industry will benefit this mountain region and be a per- 
 manent one. 
 
 The mills are usually situated in the mountains near where the 
 trees are being cut. The sawed lumber is in most cases sent down 
 
 The wonderful Kings River Caiion. 
 
146 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 to the railroads in V-shaped flumes. This is because but few rail- 
 roads extend into the mountains and the rivers are too rocky and 
 swift for the logs to be floated down. 
 
 Although the foothill region is backward in its development, 
 it has been favored by Nature above most other regions. 
 
 The beautiful foothills, once filled with miners, are now thinly 
 populated and backward. Sometime they will again become one 
 of the most prosperous parts of CaHfornia. 
 
 The foothill region is nearly 400 miles long and from fifteen to 
 thirty miles wide. It contains most of the population of the Sierra 
 Nevada province. Much of the surface is rough, but there are in- 
 numerable little valleys where almost everything that is produced in 
 California will grow. 
 
 In the lower foothills oranges, lemons, olives, figs, raisin grapes, 
 peaches, pears and prunes thrive. The apples, pears and prunes 
 grown in the upper foothills cannot be excelled by any in our coun- 
 try, although there are as yet few orchards of any size. 
 
 The upper foothills have a heavier rainfall than the Great Val- 
 ley, an abundance of wood and water and a climate as agreeable 
 as any in the world. When good roads have been built and the slow 
 mule team has been replaced by railroads or trucks, produce can 
 be sent to market and orchards will take the place of uncultivated 
 fields. 
 
 Arctic flowers (asters) that blossom among the rocks on the bleak 
 mountains above timber line. 
 
California 
 
 147 
 
 Why is it so difficult to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains? 
 
 The Sierras are difficult to cross because we cannot, make use 
 of the rivers, because there are no low gaps or passes and because 
 heavy snows block the roads over the summit for fully six months 
 in the year. 
 
 Since the mountains are so rough, how did the emigrants get 
 across with their wagons before there were any good roads? The 
 highlands between the caiions have somewhat the character of a 
 plateau, and although they are very rocky it is possible to take 
 wagons over them in some places. 
 
 If all the slopes had been found to be steep, and to meet in 
 sharp crests like those of the San Gabriel Range which overlooks 
 the valleys of Southern California, the emigrants would have had to 
 leave their wagons and cross on foot or on horseback. 
 
 Why is it that the rivers flow in deep, rocky canons ? 
 
 Long ago the 
 Sierra Nevadas were 
 not so high as they 
 are now and the 
 rivers flowed quietly 
 through broad val- 
 leys. Then there 
 came earthquakes 
 and the mountains 
 were shaken and 
 lifted until the slopes 
 became much steep- 
 er. The water then 
 began to run swiftly 
 and to grind away 
 the rocks over which 
 it flowed. 
 
 After hundreds of 
 tliousands of years 
 the rivers have cut 
 such deep channels 
 that they are almost 
 l)uried from sight. 
 I'.ack of these chan- 
 nels or caiions, which 
 are very precipitous, 
 much of the old 
 gently sloping sur- 
 face remains, and it 
 is this which we have 
 called the plateau-like 
 upland, and \\hich, 
 as we shall see, is 
 of very great impor- 
 In the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. tance. 
 
 
 
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148 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 In what way is the plateau-Hke upland of so great importance? 
 
 The canons of the Sierras are so rocky and narrow that few 
 people live in them. If all the slopes were as steep as the sides 
 of the cations there could have been no heavy forests nor any land 
 that the farmer could cultivate. Mining would be the only indus- 
 try that could be carried on. 
 
 Much of the plateau-like upland is indeed very rough and many 
 peaks rise from it toward the summit of the range, but it contains 
 innumerable valleys with gentle slopes and rich soil. 
 
 Upon these gentle slopes grow the wonderful forests for which 
 the Sierra Nevadas are so noted. The higher valleys are too cold 
 for farming, but lower down, toward the foothills, they offer every 
 attraction. Here the climate is warm, but not too warm, the scen- 
 ery pleasing, the water pure and cool, while the soil, temperature 
 and rainfalls are suited to the growing of a great variety of fruits. 
 
 Can people make homes in all the highland valleys of the 
 Sierras ? 
 
 Although it is so hot in the Great Valley in the summer, we 
 find, if we ascend the mountains far enough, a region where it 
 freezes almost every night and the snow falls twelve to fifteen feet 
 deep in the winter. 
 
 This lofty region is, then, not suited to home making, but is 
 a delightful place in which to spend the summer. Most of this 
 region is included in the National Forest which the Government is 
 taking care of, partly to see that it is not wasted by fire or by the 
 careless cutting of lumbermen, and partly to protect the water supply. 
 
 How do the summer thunder storms serve the farmers in 
 the lower valleys? 
 
 On many hot summer days lofty masses of thunder clouds 
 gather over the high Sierras. They grow dark and flashes of light- 
 ning are seen, while here and there fall heavy showers. 
 
 These summer storms are due to the cold mountain tops which 
 turn the invisible moisture in the air, as it floats across them, into 
 clouds and rain. These storms may be so severe as to cause the 
 rivers to rise, thus furnishing the farmers in the distant valleys more 
 water for irrigation. 
 
 Why is it that the Western Slope has such heavy forests, 
 while the Eastern descends to a region of deserts? 
 
 The storms come from the Pacific Ocean, as we have already 
 learned, causing heavy snow and rain along the summit and over the 
 western slope. By the time the storms have passed the cool summits 
 of these lofty mountains, they have lost so much of their moisture 
 that their force quickly decreases, and in the course of a few miles 
 rain almost ceases to fall. 
 
 On the western slope of the Sierras there is a wide belt which 
 has a climate intermediate between the dry, hot lowlands and the 
 
California 149 
 
 cold, snowy summits. Here the conditions favor the growth of for- 
 ests of immense cone-bearing trees. 
 
 What dififerences do we observe in the dimate, productions 
 and industries at different elevations of the slope of the 
 Sierras? 
 
 1. The lower foothill or sub-tropical belt: This region lying 
 along the border of the Great Valley is covered with a scattering 
 growth of oaks. Here are orchards of oranges, lemons, olives and 
 figs which require a hot climate. Other fruits, such as pears, peaches, 
 apricots and grapes, flourish in this region. 
 
 2. The upper foothill belt: Here the climate is a little cooler 
 and more rain falls. Digger pines in addition to oaks are found in 
 the lower part, while in the upper part we are in the edge of the 
 yellow pine forest. The cooler climate is suited to the growing of 
 peaches, pears, cherries and apples. Stock raising through all the 
 foothills is an important industry because much of the land is too 
 rough for cultivation. 
 
 3. The great forest belt: In this region, at an elevation rang- 
 ing from 4000 to 7000 feet, are the finest coniferous forests in the 
 world. The yellow pine is the most important lumber tree in the 
 lower part. Cedar abounds here also and is used for rails and posts. 
 The tree of least value is the white fir, while that of most worth is 
 the sugar pine, which is used for doors, window sash, shelves and 
 other purposes requiring a fine grained wood. 
 
 The noted Sequoias or "Big Trees" occur in this belt and are 
 scattered along the mountains above 5000 feet. The most noted 
 groves are the Kaweah, Kings River, Fresno, Mariposa and Cala- 
 veras. These trees reach a height of 300 feet and a diameter of 
 30 feet, and some are believed to be 4000 years old. To our shame 
 and sorrow, many of these wonderful trees have been cut down and 
 made into lumber. 
 
 Much of this great forest belt is too high for farming, but the 
 many meadows are useful for grazing purposes. Dairying has long 
 been an important industry in the northern Sierras because there 
 the valleys are larger. The cool air and green grass favor the mak- 
 ing of the best butter and cheese. 
 
 4. The upper forest belt: As we go upward, the trees of the 
 region just described disappear, and the red fir, tamarack pine and 
 white pine take their places. These trees do not grow so large be- 
 cause of the increasing cold. 
 
 5. The timber line : We are now in a region which has an 
 almost arctic climate. The fierce winds and winter cold make the 
 trees gnarled and dwarfed. The struggle for life is a hard one and 
 they cling close to the rocks, sometimes rising not more than two 
 or three feet above the ground. 
 
 6. The arctic region of bare rocks : We have now reached an 
 elevation of more than two miles above the sea. The climate is too 
 severe for trees or shrubs. Snow lies under the shadow of the 
 
150 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 cliffs all summer long. In the sheltered nooks, however, we find 
 beautiful arctic flowers. 
 
 Thus we see that in climbing the lofty Sierra Nevada Mountains 
 we pass through all the different climates which we would find in 
 traveling from the tropics to the arctic regions, a distance of sev- 
 eral thousand miles. 
 
 Why is it that there are so many beautiful lakes in the high 
 Sierras? 
 
 If we should take a camp- 
 ing trip and travel the whole 
 length of the high Sierras, 
 scarcely a day would pass 
 when we could not see one or 
 more beautiful lakes set among 
 meadows, crags and forests. 
 
 Why are there so many 
 lakes in these mountains and 
 so few in other parts of Cali- 
 fornia? If we examine the 
 surface of the rocks about 
 these lakes we shall find the 
 answer to this question. They 
 are polished smooth, while here 
 and there the surface is marked 
 by grooves and scratches. 
 
 This work was done by 
 glaciers such as we still find 
 upon some of the higher moun- 
 tains in our state. Long ago 
 it was colder in the moun- 
 tains, more snow fell, and it 
 did not melt away rapidly. 
 The snow changed to ice and 
 moved slowly down the moun- 
 tains. The ice polished the 
 rocks, while the boulders which 
 it carried along scratched and 
 grooved them. Where the rocks 
 were soft they were ground 
 away faster and in this way 
 the rock basins were made. 
 
 When the ice of the 
 glaciers at last melted, the 
 water gathered in these basins 
 and formed lakes. Some of the 
 larger lakes do not occupy rock basins, but were made by dams of 
 boulders and gravel which the glaciers left piled across the canons. 
 
 This gnarled and twisted Foxtail 
 pine has struggled with the storms for 
 hundreds of years; near timber line 
 on Mt. Whitney. 
 
California 
 
 151 
 
 Why do so many people spend the summer about Lake Tahoe ? 
 
 Tahoe, although more than a mile above the sea, is the largest 
 and deepest of the California lakes. It has become famous as a 
 summer resort because of the pleasant wooded shores, cool, bracing 
 air and rugged mountains surrounding it. 
 
 Tahoe is not a glacial lake, but occupies the southern end of 
 a deep hollow almost on the summit of the mountains. In the op- 
 posite end of this hollow, far to the north of Truckee, lies Sierra 
 Valley, noted as a cattle and dairy region. 
 
 Long ago a flow of molten lava from some volcano made a dam 
 across the ancient valley and this, filling with water, gave us beau- 
 tiful Lake Tahoe. 
 
 Of what important use are the lakes in the high Sierras? 
 
 The lakes help to make the flow of the streams more even by 
 storing a part of the water when the snows are melting rapidly. 
 They thus lessen the danger of floods and save the water for sum- 
 mer use in the valleys below. 
 
 Lakes serve the same purpose as reservoirs, which we have to 
 build at great expense where there are no lakes, if we wish to save 
 the water of the winter storms for irrigation. 
 
 The little streams which feed the lakes are bringing sand and 
 mud and have completely filled many of them. Nature is in this 
 manner making the green mountain meadows which are bright with 
 flowers all summer long. 
 
 The cold and storms of timber line do not permit the trees to grow upright 
 but causes them to grow close to the ground. 
 
152 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 In how far is the settlement of the Great Valley dependent 
 upon the rivers of the Sierras? 
 
 We have learned that the need of the Great Valley is water. 
 The rainfall is so light in the southern part that it must remain 
 sparsely settled unless water is furnished from some other place 
 where there is plenty. It seems as if Nature had made the lofty 
 Sierras on purpose to furnish the needed water. 
 
 The Sierras tower so high and cover so many thousand square 
 miles that they take vast quantities of water from the clouds. The 
 rivers collect this and pour their mighty floods down through the 
 canons, bringing this life-giving substance to the very doors of the 
 valley farmers. 
 
 The rivers of the Sierras have another important work, and that 
 is supplying power to run machinery. Much of this power would 
 go to waste if it were not that we can turn it into electricity and 
 carry it in copper wires for 200 or more miles. The rivers, then, 
 furnish power for doing all kinds of work in the foothills as well 
 as in the Great Valley, Southern California and the coast region. 
 
 Since the value of the water furnished by the High Sierras 
 is so great, should we not be very careful that nothing 
 is done in this region which will lessen the supply? 
 
 Wherever we go in a hilly or mountainous region we see little 
 gullies made by running water. They appear by the roadside, in the 
 plowed fields and pastures. When we cut down the trees and bushes, 
 when we pasture the slopes too closely, and when we do not use 
 care in plowing, we leave the surface of the ground in such condi- 
 tion that the water not only runs off more rapidly, but it collects 
 in rivulets which cut channels and carry away the soil. 
 
 The effect of cutting the trees and pasturing the slopes of the 
 mountains is even worse than it is in the lower valley slopes where 
 people live, for the storms are much more severe at high altitudes 
 and the slopes are steeper. The result is to cause higher water in 
 the spring and less water in the summer. 
 
 We should not pasture the high Sierras ; we should not cut down 
 the trees or disturb the surface in any way, for Nature will surely 
 exact a penalty. She has clothed the mountains with vegetation so 
 that erosion was slow until men came to disturb her arrangements. 
 
 The mountain slopes in Spain, Italy, Palestine, China and Corea 
 are washed and gullied by the rains because they were not cared for. 
 Their rivers are low in summer, while in winter the people have to 
 work hard to keep the sand and gravel which washes down from the 
 mountains from burying the rich soil of their valleys. 
 
 For what are the Sierra Nevadas noted all over the world? 
 
 When the Sierra Nevadas are mentioned, we may think of the 
 excitement at the discovery of gold; we may think of the hardships 
 and dangers which the pioneers went through in crossing this lofty 
 region ; we may think of the dashing rivers so important to the 
 
California 
 
 153 
 
 farmer, or we may think of the wonderful forests and grand scen- 
 ery. The two things, however, which make the Sierras now most 
 widely known are the Yosemite Valley and the Big Trees. 
 
 The Yosemite is the most w'onderful valley in the world. It is 
 set deep in the mountains and surrounded by almost vertical cliffs 
 of granite whicfi rise from 2000 to nearly 4000 feet. The Merced 
 River, which comes tumbling down from the high mountains, enters 
 the valley by two great waterfalls, and after flowing for eight miles 
 through meadows and scattered forests, goes on down through its 
 canon to the Great Valley to furnish water for the farmers. On the 
 north side of the valley are the Yosemite Falls — the loftiest in the 
 world — and on the south side is the beautiful Bridal Veil Fall. 
 
 For thousands of years the river has been at work cutting this 
 valley out of the solid granite. At times the water was aided by the 
 glaciers which once partly filled the valley wdth ice. When the 
 last glacier melted it left a lake which the river has now turned 
 into a green meadow. 
 
 The cafions of the Tuolumne, Kings and Kern Rivers are also 
 noted for their grand and picturesque scenery. They are visited by 
 many camping parties, but can be reached only by means of rough 
 mountain trails. 
 
 A few miles north of the Yosemite is Hetch Hetchy, another 
 
 'l! 
 
 A perched boulder left by one of the ancient glaciers of the Sierras. 
 
154 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 mountain valley, with lofty cliffs and waterfalls. It is proposed 
 to turn this valley into a lake by building a dam across the canon 
 below and to carry the water to San Francisco. 
 
 What is the object of the national parks in the Sierra Nevadas? 
 
 We wish to preserve for all time the most attractive parts of 
 our mountains as public playgrounds. We wish our children to see 
 and enjoy the mighty trees, the cliffs and waterfalls just as they 
 appeared in their natural state when white people first saw them. 
 
 The Yosemite is the largest of the National parks in California, 
 and includes the mountains for many miles on every side of the 
 valley. Besides this park there are the Sequoia, General Grant and 
 Mt. Whitney Parks, which include some of the grandest scenery 
 and most important groves of Big Trees. 
 
 Every one is free to camp in the parks and enjoy all that Nature 
 has to offer, but one must obey the rules. All guns must be left 
 behind and great care must be taken about fire. No injury must 
 be done the trees, plants, wild animals or birds. 
 
 In what way do the national forests differ from the parks? 
 
 The lands of the National Forests belong to the Government 
 just as do the parks and are used also as camp and playgrounds. 
 It is not the plan to prohibit entirely the cutting of timber, but to 
 supervise the cutting so that the forests will be preserved, and not 
 destroyed selfishly, as they usually are when controlled by lumber 
 companies. 
 
 The Pinnacles, on the crest of the high Sierras. 
 Near the head of Kings River. 
 
Califokxia 
 
 155 
 
 The men who take care of the forests are called Forest Rangers. 
 They patrol the woods in summer to watch for fires, for these cause 
 almost as much destruction as the careless lumbermen. It is also 
 the business of the ranger to determine what trees are ripe and 
 ready to be cut for lumber and to see that this is done without 
 injury to the young trees. 
 
 Cattle and sheep are allowed to be pastured in the forest by 
 the payment of a small rental. The ranger sees that only a certain 
 number are allowed in a given area so as not to have the surface 
 injured in a way to cause erosion and loss of water. Before the 
 establishment of the National Forests sheep did enormous damage 
 upon the higher mountain slopes, destroying the meadows, killing 
 the young trees and causing the water to run ofif faster. We should 
 do all we can to help the forest ranger in his work, for he is guard- 
 ing the natural resources of our country for our benefit. 
 
 The Sierra Nevadas form the largest and most attractive 
 camp ground in all the world. 
 
 If we loved our mountains as much as the people of Europe 
 do the Alps, we would all wish to spend our vacations among them. 
 In the Alps no one can live entirely out of doors, for it is wet and 
 stormy, but in our mountains there are no summer rains except the 
 occasional thunder storms, and life in the open air is most delightful. 
 
 If we could all spend a few weeks each summer among the 
 mountains, we would be stronger and happier and better able to 
 study and work the rest of the year. 
 
 
 ^^^^' . ^ ' 
 
 :' *-i*Slf^^;;' '-i'' z"^':-^ 
 
 "- "^'r^Jf^ip^VV-' vi.- •■«flB 
 
 ayt%=--:v.- -'" ;>, ^^■c^;^:^7tff>«r^^'^^ itfi^-'^^^BP^^^^^™^' ' 
 
 :.,.■"" •J 
 
 
 Hetch Hetchy Valley, where San Francisco is building its great reservoir. 
 
156 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada Range formed a serious barrier to emigra- 
 tion from the East, but had to be crossed, as it was difficult to reach 
 the gold fields by any other land route. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada is the longest, broadest and highest moun- 
 tain range in California. Here we find the most extensive forest 
 area and the largest trees. Here are nearly all the lakes, and the 
 rivers afford more water for irrigation and more power for elec- 
 tricity than all the other rivers of the state. 
 
 The first gold fields were worked in the foothills, where many 
 towns sprang up. Placer mining lasted but a few years, giving place 
 to hydraulic mining and quartz mining. Many of the miners have 
 left these little foothill towns, so that the population is less today 
 than fifty years ago. 
 
 The backward condition of the foothill region, in which most 
 of the population is found, will not last. The quartz veins still pro- 
 duce millions of dollars in gold every year, while the valleys are 
 rich in agricultural resources. Some time the region will again be 
 thickly peopled and prosperous, but this prosperity will be perma- 
 nent, for it will be based on agriculture. 
 
 The scenery of the lofty peaks, deep canons and valleys has 
 made the Sierra Nevada Mountains renowned throughout the world. 
 Its attractions as a summer playground draw a greater number of 
 people every year. 
 
 REVIEW EXERCISES. 
 
 Of what great importance are the Sierra Nevada Mountains to 
 
 California? 
 Why were the Sierras so difficult to cross in the early days? Why 
 
 are they still difficult to cross? 
 Tell what you can about the advantages ofifered by the passes. What 
 
 passes are now used by the railroads? 
 Why was it easier for the emigrants to follow the ridges than to 
 
 keep along the streams? 
 How did the placer gold become buried in the stream gravels? 
 Describe the different ways of getting the gold. 
 What determined the position of the mining towns of the Sierras? 
 Find out what you can about life in the mining camps in the early 
 
 days. 
 What happened when the placer mines began to give out? 
 Why do miners and lumbermen take less pains with their homes 
 
 than do farmers? 
 Which offers the surest means of a comfortable home, mining or 
 
 farming? 
 Why are the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains now so thinly 
 
 inhabited? 
 What advantages do the foothills offer for permanent homes? 
 In what part of the Sierras do we find the great forests? Why do 
 
California 157 
 
 they occupy a belt instead of covering all the western slope? 
 
 Describe the changing vegetation as one goes from the foothills to 
 the summit. 
 
 Why in lumbering are the logs usually sawed in the mountains in- 
 stead of being taken to the Great Valley? How is the lumber 
 carried to the valley? 
 
 What is the effect upon the water supply of clearing the forests 
 from the mountain slopes? W'hat is the effect upon the soil? 
 
 Why should we be particularly careful of the forests of the Sierra 
 Nevadas? 
 
 Explain how the lakes help protect against floods. Of what other 
 use are the lakes of the Sierras? 
 
 In what way may pasturing the mountain slopes injure the water 
 supply? 
 
 Tell what you can about the Yosemite Valley. 
 
 What was the purpose of the Government in establishing the Na- 
 tional Parks? 
 
 How is the government helping to save the timber for future use? 
 
 Tell what you can about the important lumber trees of the Sierras. 
 
 Why should we be very careful about setting fires in the mountains? 
 
 What injury do fires cause besides that of the loss of timber? 
 
 What are the advantages of the Sierras as a summer camp ground? 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 Mountains and deserts were once serious barriers to the spread of 
 people across our continent. Now we carry water into the des- 
 erts and make tunnels through the mountains. 
 
 Settlements and industries of most mining and lumbering regions 
 are less permanent than those in regions were farming is the 
 chief industry. 
 
 Mountains which have plateau-like uplands are of much greater 
 value than those with sharp-edged ridges. 
 
 In going up a high mountain one passes through many different 
 climates. 
 
 Lakes are numerous in all regions where there have been glaciers. 
 
 It is of the greatest importance for the development of California 
 that we do not cut off the timber or injure the surface of the 
 high mountains; 
 
 It is necessary for our health and progress that we have large tracts 
 of mountain country set aside for permanent summer play- 
 grounds. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Southern California: A Land Left by Nature Almost a Desert But 
 by Men Turned Into a Garden of Fruits and Flowers — A Land 
 Where Snow-Covered Mountains Look Down Upon Blos- 
 soming Orange Groves, Upon Valleys Whose Clear 
 Skies and Balmy Air Have Made Them Re- 
 nowned Throughout All Our Country. 
 Introduction. 
 
 We have learned how Nature has surrounded California on the 
 land side by mountains and deserts, and how difficult these were 
 to cross before the building of good wagon roads and railroads. 
 
 We are now coming to the study of another region which, al- 
 though it forms one of the most important divisions of our great 
 state, is almost as completely separated from the rest by mountains 
 and deserts as the whole state is from the outside world. Had it 
 not been for a narrow pass close to the ocean, the early explorers 
 might have been unable to* make their way northward, and in such 
 a case the story of California would have been different. 
 
 Southern California is not a simple region or one easy for us 
 to study. It has many kinds of climate, ranging from that of the 
 high mountains, where the winters are very cold and heavy rains 
 and snows fall, to the Colorado Desert, one of the driest and hottest 
 places in the United States. 
 
 Southern California has many kinds of mountains, valleys, soils 
 and minerals, and because of all this its people are engaged in a 
 great variety of occupations. It is less than one-sixth of the area 
 of the state, but contains fully one-third of the population. 
 
 What is the nature of the mountains and deserts that inclose 
 Southern California? 
 
 The Mohave Desert is a part of the Great Basin, as we shall 
 learn more fully later. It extends so far westward that it almost 
 cuts the state into two parts. What the desert lacked of doing has 
 been completed by the mountains. These lie between it and the 
 ocean, filling all eastern Santa Barbara County. They are so steep 
 and rugged that no wagon road has been made across them. 
 
 There is but one open route, then, between Southern and North- 
 ern California, and this lies close to the ocean. The traveler who 
 would go direct to the San Joacjuin Valley from Southern California 
 finds, blocking his path, two mountain ranges with the Mohave 
 Desert between them. In the early days of our state these were 
 far more difficult to cross than they are now. 
 
 The mountains which make difficult the way between Southern 
 and Northern California are a part of a great system of mountains 
 which are fully as important to the people of Southern California 
 as the Sierra Nevadas are to the people of Northern California. 
 Like the Sierras they form a serious obstacle to travel and trade, 
 but are indispensable to the people who live at their base. 
 
160 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The system of mountains of which we are going to speak ex- 
 tends wholly across the state, reaching from the ocean nearly to the 
 Colorado River. Their direction is more nearly east and west than 
 any other of our mountains except the Santa Monica Range. 
 
 The different portions of these mountains are known by differ- 
 ent names. The western part, extending through southern Santa 
 Barbara County, is called the Santa Ynez Range. Its western end 
 is in the ocean and forms Point Conception, the most prominent 
 cape on the whole coast of California. 
 
 Following the mountains eastward we shall not try to remem- 
 ber the names of the many different ranges which we pass until we 
 come to the highest and most important ones. These overlook the 
 Los Angeles - San Bernardino Valley and shut it away from the 
 deserts. 
 
 The first of these is the San Gabriel. It is often called the 
 Sierra Madre, meaning "mother mountains." It has very steep slopes 
 and sharp ridges, and San Antonio, the highest peak, rises 10,080 
 feet. The Spanish explorers rightly called this range Sierra Madre, 
 for it is the oldest of the high mountains of Southern California. 
 
 Continuing still farther eastward along the great system of 
 mountains bounding Southern California on the north, we cross 
 the Cajon Pass and come to the San Bernardino Range. We will 
 climb San Gorgonio, the highest peak in Southern California, and 
 from an elevation of 11,485 feet will obtain a wonderful view over 
 a vast extent of country. 
 
 To the north rises the sandy wastes- of the Mohave Desert, 
 whose bare, rocky mountains look like little hills. To the southeast 
 lies the Colorado Desert, where travelers have died of heat and 
 thirst. The desert has lost its fearsome character and in its very 
 heart there now stretches miles of green fields — a wonderful change 
 brought about through the discovery of artesian wells and the bring- 
 ing in of the water of the Colorado River. On the west lies the 
 green valley of San Bernardino, and away in the distance we may 
 see, with the aid of a good glass, Los Angeles and the ocean. 
 
 To the south of and opposite San Gorgonio lies its twin peak, 
 San Jacinto, which has a height of 10,805 feet. Between them is 
 San Gorgonio Pass, which forms the easiest gateway into Southern 
 California. 
 
 From San Jacinto we look over a sea of mountains which ex- 
 tends southward between the Colorado Desert and the ocean. These 
 mountains we shall call the Peninsula Range, for they form the 
 backbone of the peninsula of Southern California. 
 
 What can we say of the slopes and river basins of Southern 
 California? 
 
 We once thought of Southern California as that land lying 
 on the seaward slope of the mountains which we have just de- 
 scribed. That was because this slope contained practically all the 
 inhabitants. 
 
California 
 
 161 
 
 The seaward slope is, like the similar slopes of the Sierra Ne- 
 vadas and Coast Ranges, much the longer. It receives most of the 
 rainfall and contains the larger rivers. 
 
 Now we have come to think of Southern California as includ- 
 ing also the eastward or desert slope of the mountains. Because 
 of the bringing in of water from the Colorado River, and the boring 
 of many wells, thousands of people now dwell upon the desert slope. 
 
 Because the two main slopes of Southern California are some- 
 what like the two sides of a roof, there are no very large river 
 basins but many small ones instead. 
 
 The largest basins are those of the Santa Ana, Santa Clara and 
 Los Angeles Rivers. These rise in high mountains where the rain- 
 fall is heavy, but. they flow so far to reach the ocean that in sum- 
 mer their beds, in their lower courses, are dry. Much of the water 
 is lost in the dry air, a part sinks into the sand, and since the set- 
 tlement of the valleys all that can be obtained is carried away in 
 ditches for irrigation. 
 
 If you live in Southern California you should find out all you 
 can about the river that supplies your home district, for that is the 
 most important one to you. 
 
 Why do we often call Southern California the land of "Orange 
 
 Groves" ? 
 
 It was gold which first made California talked about and this 
 was for a long time its chief product. California became known as 
 the "land of gold." All eyes were turned in the direction of the 
 
 Auto Clulj of Southern California. 
 
 Among the orange orchards of Southern California. 
 
162 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 mines which had been opened in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains. No one thought of stopping in Southern California or 
 dreamed that the half desert slopes would one day be covered 
 with orchards. 
 
 Now miles of orange groves, the trees laden with fragrant blos- 
 soms and yellow fruit, have taken the place of the desert bushes. 
 Southern California has become one of the most important orange 
 growing districts in the world and is noted as widely for its golden 
 fruit as Northern California once was for its golden sands. For this 
 reason we call Southern California the "land of orange groves." 
 
 How was it that the Padres found it so difficult to reach this 
 
 region? 
 
 The Mission Fathers came from Mexico. The journey from 
 the City of Mexico overland to California was far more dangerous 
 than that followed by most of the "gold seekers," and so this pos- 
 sible route was not used. 
 
 The usual way to reach California was by ship from some Mex- 
 ican port, but the boats were small and frequently delayed by storms. 
 Because of the danger of travel by sea, parties sometimes came north 
 through the long and desert peninsula of Lower California, a jour- 
 ney which took many weeks. 
 
 How is it that this region, once believed to be almost worth- 
 less, has been transformed into a land of fruits and 
 flowers ? 
 
 Although the valleys of Southern California appeared very dry 
 in summer before they were cultivated, yet their climate is very far 
 from being that of a desert. They receive from twelve to fifteen 
 inches of rain yearly, while upon the mountains there is much more. 
 The reason that the land appears so desert-like is that the 
 rains fall mostly during the winter months and the long, hot sum- 
 mers, when it is so greatly needed, are without any. Thus the light 
 soil of the valley slopes becomes so dry that it supports a scanty 
 vegetation. Only those plants which have become accustomed to 
 going without water through the long, hot months could live and 
 thrive there under Nature's rule. 
 
 Some farm crops that ripen early, such as grain, can be grown 
 with only the moisture of the winter and early sprmg rams. If 
 we would grow fruits and vegetables with complete success, we 
 must water them artificially. Without a supply of water for sum- 
 mer use, Southern California could never have become a flourish- 
 ing, thickly settled country. 
 
 How was this needed supply obtained? The total rainfall could 
 not of course be changed, but could not a part of this water m some 
 manner be saved for summer use? 
 
 What becomes of all the water from the rams and snows on 
 the mountains, and of the springs and little streams which flow 
 all summer in the mountain cafions? 
 
California 
 
 163 
 
 If we follow a stream down from the mountains we shall find 
 that soon after reaching the valley the water disappears in its sandy 
 bed. A part is lost by evaporation in the dry, hot air, but another 
 
 part sinks between 
 the pebbles and 
 grains of sand and 
 flows on under- 
 ground across the 
 broad valley to the 
 ocean. So there is 
 water here, but it is 
 underground out of 
 sight. The rivers, 
 we say, flow upside 
 down in the summer 
 time. 
 
 After the severe 
 wdnter rains, muddy 
 floods sweep down 
 the dry channels. 
 Most of this water 
 is lost in the ocean, 
 but a part sinks in 
 the gravels and sands 
 underneath the val- 
 leys, where it forms 
 vast stores only wait- 
 ing to be pumped 
 out. 
 
 Thus we see that 
 Nature does supply 
 this region with an 
 abundance of water, 
 but not at the time 
 of the year when it 
 is most needed, and 
 besides she wastes a 
 large part of it. 
 
 Spanish Bayonet and Big Cone Spruce in the 
 San Gabriel Caiion. 
 
 The discovery of the vast stores of water underground and the 
 learning how to hold and use the winter floods, has enabled us to 
 change this region, apparently so dry and barren, into a garden of 
 fruits and flowers. 
 
 Is there any resemblance between Southern and Central 
 California? 
 
 Southern California has one large central basin, but this is 
 broken into two parts by a chain of hills. We call the two parts 
 the Los Angeles - San Bernardino Valley. There are no Coast 
 Ranges separating the valley from the ocean and it is drained by 
 
164 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 three independent rivers. These are, in order of their importance, 
 the Santa Ana, San Gabriel, and Los Angeles. 
 
 Three large valleys — the San Fernando, Temecula - Elsinore and 
 San Jacinto — open into the central basin, while many others open 
 directly to the ocean. The most important of the latter valleys are 
 the Santa Clara in the north and the San Luis Rey and San Diego 
 in the south. 
 
 Central California, as we have already learned, has one great 
 valley with mountains all around it, is almost unbroken by hills, and 
 is drained by one river which breaks through the Coast Ranges to 
 the ocean. 
 
 How is it that oranges ripen later in Southern California 
 than in the Great Central Valley of the north? 
 
 The Great Central Valley is so completely shut in by moun- 
 tains that the cool winds from the ocean reach it only at one point. 
 Thus this region is warmer than it otherwise would be during most 
 of the year. 
 
 The cool ocean winds blow inland, carrying fog across the whole 
 of the Los Angeles-San Bernardino Valley, because there are no 
 Coast Ranges to break them. For this reason the air of these south- 
 ern valleys is cooler than we would expect to find it, and oranges, 
 as well as other fruits, ripen fully a month later than they do in the 
 Great Central Valley, 500 miles farther north. 
 
 This is one of the many strange and curious things about our 
 California climate which teaches us that the temperature of a place 
 and the kinds of fruit which are produced in it do not depend upon 
 its distance from the tropics. 
 
 What was the first consideration of the early Spaniards when 
 seeking places for their settlements? 
 
 There is a reason for every town or settlement being where it 
 is, but these reasons are not always the same. A town may spring 
 up in a given place because of advantages for trade, because of water 
 power for manufacturing, because of rich farming lands about, or 
 because of mines near by. 
 
 In Southern California the most important thing which deter- 
 mined the locations of the early towns was water. Without water 
 there could be no gardens, and since it was such a long and dan- 
 gerous journey to any place where supplies could be obtained, it 
 was absolutely necessary to raise what was needed just as soon 
 as possible. 
 
 With their poor tools the pioneers could not build elaborate 
 water systems as we do now, so that they were compelled to locate 
 as near as possible to springs or permanent streams. The second 
 thing that the pioneers had in mind when locating their settlements 
 was fertile soil, for without that water would produce but little. The 
 presence of a bay or safe landing place was another thing which de- 
 termined the location of some of the settlements. 
 
California 165 
 
 Why did the discovery of gold have so Httle influence upon 
 the settlement of Southern California? 
 
 1. It was not at first known that gold occurred in Southern 
 CaHfornia: Placer gold had been found in the mountains of north- 
 ern Los Angeles County years before the discovery in the north, 
 but the Padres did not look with favor upon mining and it was soon 
 forgotten. 
 
 Those who passed through Southern California on their way to 
 the mines did not stop because the country, in its natural state, did 
 not offer so good inducements to the farmer as did the region of 
 greater rainfall to the north. 
 
 2. The region was remote from the main lines of travel which 
 led to the mines: Few of the gold seekers came through Southern 
 California, for the main trails crossed the continent farther north. 
 The southern trails were longer and more dangerous, but some peo- 
 ple came this way in winter when the northern routes were blocked 
 with snow. 
 
 3. The southern trails led for a much greater distance through 
 a desert country where feed and water were difficult to obtain: 
 The course of the old Santa Fe Trail was from St. Louis up the 
 Arkansas River and across the southern Rocky Mountains to Santa 
 Fe in New Mexico. From here it led through Southern Arizona 
 with its broad deserts and dangerous Apache Indians to Fort Yuma. 
 Then came the worst stretch of all, the Colorado Desert, which had 
 to be crossed before either Los Angeles or San Diego could be 
 reached. 
 
 The other route was known as the Spanish or Mormon Trail, 
 some Mormons having come this way and settled in the Valley of 
 San Bernardino. The course of this trail was south of Great Salt 
 Lake and across Southern Nevada and the Mohave Desert and 
 through the Cajon Pass to the Valley of San Bernardino. 
 
 When the emigrants who came by these routes had reached Los 
 Angeles they were still far from the mines. Two mountain ranges 
 and the Mohave Desert still lay in their path and would have to be 
 crossed before they could reach the San Joaquin Valley. From this 
 point the route lay over a vast plain, broken only by the rivers from 
 the Sierra Nevadas. In the spring these rivers were difficult to cross. 
 
 Why did agriculture develop more slowly in Southern than 
 Northern California? 
 
 1. Stock raising long remained the most important industry: 
 Few of the early emigrants stopped in the south and the life of the 
 Spanish inhabitants went on with little change long after the dis- 
 covery of gold. Much of the land continued to remain in the hands 
 of the original owners, who held large tracts called "grants," so 
 named because granted to them by the Mexican Government. 
 
 The wealth of the ranchos consisted largely of cattle, horses 
 and sheep. There was a market for hides and tallow, but for little 
 else. After the miners came there would have been a market for 
 
166 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 beef, but there were no refrigerators in those days, and it was too 
 far to drive the cattle. 
 
 2. There was no market for produce of any sort: Until there 
 was a market we could not expect agriculture to become an impor- 
 tant industry. The people of the Missions, towns and ranchos all 
 had their own gardens watered by ditches from some near-by stream. 
 
 The distance to the gold fields was so great that it was not pos- 
 sible to send fruit and vegetables there. Fruit could have been sent 
 to San Francisco by water, as it was from far more distant coun- 
 tries, but the old orchards no more than sufficed for the home pop- 
 ulation. The few new farmers from the East were slow in under- 
 standing the natural advantages which this region offered for grow- 
 ing fruit. 
 
 3. The country appeared dry and worthless to the emigrants 
 from the Eastern States, who did not understand what could be done 
 with irrigation: The first settlers who came to this region from 
 Spain and Mexico were used to a dry climate and to the methods 
 of irrigation. They saw quickly the similarity of the climate to 
 that of their old homes and so were able to choose wisely the places 
 for their gardens. They settled near permanent streams, built dams 
 and ditches to carry water to these gardens, and were at once suc- 
 cessful in making the land produce abundantly. 
 
 The Eastern emigrants knew nothing about irrigation. They 
 were used to summer rains, and this country, which was so dry in 
 the summer, did not attract them. It was a long time before they 
 learned the advantage of being able to water their lands just when 
 water was needed, instead of having to wait for a chance shower. 
 
 4. Water was not easily obtained for irrigation on a large scale : 
 While there was plenty of w^ater at hand for the gardens of the few 
 Spanish settlers, the problem of obtaining water to irrigate thousands 
 of acres was a much more difficult matter. 
 
 Irrigation canal near Riverside, 
 
California 
 
 167 
 
 It was some years after Americans began to settle in Southern 
 California before they discovered that there was really an abundance 
 of water in this region apparently so dry. The thick beds of gravel 
 and sand underlying the valleys proved to be vast reservoirs of wa- 
 ter which could be opened by means of wells. In most places the 
 water had to be pumped by means of wind mills or gas engines. In 
 some places it flowed out, forming artesian wells. 
 
 The spring flpods which came from the heavy rains and melt- 
 ing snows on the mountains showed the people that here was an- 
 other important supply of water which, if it could be made use of, 
 would be sufficient to irrigate all the valley lands. The flood waters 
 are now being partly held back in reservoirs and are turning the 
 barren slopes into gardens of tropical luxuriance. 
 
 - 5. The sandy soil with its scanty vegetation was believed to 
 be poor: Most of the mountains of Southern California are formed 
 of granite which contains, among other things, much quartz. As 
 the rocks crumble, a portion of this material is washed down into 
 the valleys, where it aids in making the soil. This soil is generally 
 light and more or less sandy, and as it supported only a scanty veg- 
 etation, it was believed to be poor and unsuited to growing profit- 
 able crops. It took the early settlers some time to learn that this 
 soil was really very rich and needed only water to make it produce 
 abundantly. 
 
 6. The mountain slopes are usually too steep and rocky for 
 farming: The rainfall is so much greater in the mountains than in 
 
 Mt. San Jacinto from Hemet Valley. 
 
168 New Proc.ressive Geographies 
 
 the valleys that if these high lands were otherwise suitable for 
 farming they would require no irrigation. 
 
 The greater part of the mountains of Southern CaUfornia rise 
 so steeply from the lowlands, and their slopes are so rocky, that it 
 is impossible to farm them. In the Peninsula Range in San Diego 
 County there, are, however, many mountain valleys, and a few in 
 other parts of this region where general farming and fruit raising 
 are carried on without irrigation. 
 
 What finally led to the rapid settlement of Southern California ? 
 
 1. Climate has been the most attractive feature: Little thought 
 was given to climate or scenery in the early days. Learning how 
 they could best make a living in the new land occupied all the at- 
 tention of the first settlers. 
 
 Finally, as it became known how well adapted Southern Cali- 
 fornia was to the growing of sub-tropical fruits, what a mild and 
 agreeable climate it had, and how picturesque were the surround- 
 ings, it began to attract visitors. People who wished to escape the 
 cold winters of the Eastern States went there to spend a part of 
 the year. This led to the building of great hotels to accommodate 
 tourists. 
 
 Many of the visitors were captivated by the mild climate and 
 beautiful surroundings, so that they remained and made their homes 
 there. Towns and cities sprang up very rapidly and orange groves 
 began to take the place of the desert bushes. 
 
 2. In what way has the climate proved attractive? There are 
 three distinct sorts of climate in Southern California : the climate 
 of the coast, of the interior valleys, and of the mountains. 
 
 Upon the coast the ocean winds and fogs make summer almost 
 as cool as winter, while changes in temperature between day and 
 night are very small. San Diego has the most even temperature 
 of any place in our country. 
 
 In the interior valleys, where the sea breezes do not reach, the 
 summer temperature is very high. Coachella and Imperial Valleys 
 are among the hottest places in the United States. However, the 
 air is so dry in these valleys that it is much less oppressive than it 
 otherwise would be, and sunstroke is rare. 
 
 The Los Angeles-San Bernardino Valley extends far inland, but 
 the climate over its whole extent is influenced by the ocean. Al- 
 though, as we have learned, it is divided into two parts by a chain 
 of hills, yet these hills are not high enough to break the ocean winds 
 and upon many summer mornings the valley is completely buried 
 under a blanket of fog. 
 
 Upon the mountains we find a very different climate. The win- 
 ters are cold and heavy snows fall. The summers are delightful for 
 camping and occasionally heavy thunder storms occur. 
 
 3. The discovery that the soil and climate were suited to grow- 
 ing a great variety of fruits: The old Mission garden showed what 
 a wealth of sub-tropical fruits could be raised in California, but it 
 was not learned until later that fruits of other climes would grow 
 
California 
 
 169 
 
 equally well in the hot lowland valleys. 
 
 In the same garden with the orange, pomelo, lemon, fig, olive 
 and raisin grape, we find the apple, pear, peach and plum, which 
 are natives of a more northern and colder region. 
 
 We must not forget, however, that each of the three climatic 
 regions which have been mentioned grows certain fruits better than 
 the others. Lemons do well near the coast, oranges and grapes are 
 best in the hot interior valleys, while apples excel in the high moun- 
 tain valleys. 
 
 4. The building of the railroads had a great influence upon the 
 growth of Southern California: In the early days it was useless to 
 set out groves of orange, lemon and olive trees, for there was no 
 market for the fruit. It was not possible to send produce overland 
 by wagon, nor even to Northern California. San Francisco and 
 other coast cities were within reach by water and these w^ere the 
 only places where fruit could be sold. 
 
 There was, however, a market for grain, which could be ship- 
 ped to distant lands by boat or made into flour. There are many 
 large valleys where in ordinary years the rainfall is sufficient to 
 grow grain without irrigation. Consequently grain and cattle and 
 sheep continued to be the chief productions until the coming of 
 the railroads. 
 
 Sacramento had been connected by railroad with the East many 
 years before Southern California had any outlet. When at last Los 
 Angeles was connected with Sacramento by railroad, and the South- 
 ern Pacific Railroad had been built east across Arizona and New 
 Mexico, a great market was opened. 
 
 Florida did not supply enough fruits and vegetables for the win- 
 ter markets of the Northern and Eastern States and California began 
 to furnish what was lacking. Soon the products of this region were 
 
 Bear Valley Reservoir, San Bernardino Mountains. 
 
170 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 in demand and the quantity shipped increased year by year. The 
 Santa Fe and Salt Lake Railroads when completed added new facil- 
 ities for sending- our products East and now many thousands of car- 
 loads are shipped each year. Refrigerator cars are used, so that 
 those fruits and vegetables which ordinarily keep but a short time 
 are landed in the East as fresh as when they left California. 
 
 The growing of citrus fruits has now become the leading in- 
 dustry of the coastal slope, and one can ride for miles through al- 
 most continuous groves of orange, pomelo and lemon trees. 
 
 The navel orange, large, sweet and seedless, had made Southern 
 California famous and is one of the finest in the world. 
 
 This orange was discovered, almost by accident, among some 
 trees which had been planted at Riverside, and which came from 
 Brazil through the Agricultural Department at Washington. 
 
 5. Irrigation is the chief factor in the making of Southern Cali- 
 fornia: Without irrigation, however, most of Southern California 
 w^ould have remained in large ranches on which few people could 
 make a living. Grain and cattle would have continued to be the 
 chief productions. 
 
 Those parts better favored by Nature would include the moun- 
 tain valleys, where the rainfall is sufficient for growing apples, 
 pears, peaches, prunes and cherries ; and the bottom lands along 
 the streams, where under careful cultivation the deep, rich soil will 
 grow certain fruits and other farm products without irrigation. 
 
 Picking Lemons. 
 
California 
 
 171 
 
 For the successful growing- of citrus fruits more water is needed 
 than Nature supplies, and Southern California could never have be- 
 come the "land of oranges" if it had not been possible to obtain 
 water for summer irrigation. 
 
 The lands best suited to the growing of sweet oranges are not 
 near the cool ocean, nor in the frosty river bottoms, nor the moun- 
 tain valleys. They are the broad, gentle slopes lying all about the 
 bases of the mountains. They include the higher slopes of the Los 
 Angeles-San Bernardino Valley, and numberless other smaller val- 
 leys w^here the soil and climate are similar. 
 
 Nature had supphed the proper soil and temperature, but not 
 the water needed to make the dry slopes bloom with orange groves. 
 
 The great stores of water placed in the gravels underneath the 
 valleys are drawn upon by means of thousands of wells. The flood 
 waters which once flowed unchecked to the ocean are held back by 
 dams in the mountains and turned into the ditches when needed. 
 
 When we have succeeded in saving all the flood waters, there 
 will without doubt be enough to supply all the valley lands and sup- 
 port millions of people in comfortable homes. 
 
 How much do we owe to the mountains for the growth in 
 population and weaUh of Southern CaUfornia? 
 Do you know how much the people of Southern California owe 
 the lofty mountains which look down upon this fertile and bloom- 
 ing region? We sometimes think the rough mountains are so much 
 
 y, :■'• ,.■-■ '^ V. 
 
 Irrigating an orchard by checks. 
 
172 Nkw Pro(U^essive Geoc.rapiiies 
 
 waste and useless ground and that if they were taken away the coun- 
 try would support many more people. 
 
 This may be true of the mountains in some countries, but it is 
 not true of those in California. If there were no mountains there 
 would be less water, and with less water there would be fewer peo- 
 ple, for water is the life of the soil and only by its aid can the soil 
 be made productive. 
 
 How do we know that the mountains are such valuable water 
 gatherers? We can see from the valleys that the clouds collect first 
 over the mountains as the storms approach, and stay there longest 
 when they depart. We know also that the storms aremore severe 
 on the mountains, for often when it has rained but slightly in the 
 valleys the mountain streams become muddy torrents from the down- 
 pours which occur there. 
 
 We who have been in the mountains know that the higher we 
 climb up their slopes the cooler the air becomes. The snows which 
 whiten them throughout the winter and spring tell the same thing. 
 It is, then, the cold air of the mountains which changes so much 
 of the moisture of the clouds into rain and causes the snow to fall 
 many feet deep. Thus they aid in supplying more water to the val- 
 leys, while the slowly melting snows keep up the flow of the streams 
 far into the summer. 
 
 We can say, then, that without the mountains the rainfall would 
 be so small there would be almost no streams. There would be few 
 springs and little water for summer use. Southern California would 
 be a desert and capable of supporting but few people. 
 
 Of what other uses are the mountains besides supplying water 
 
 to make gardens out of a desert? 
 
 1. The mountain slopes have a climate favorable to the growth 
 of forests: There are belts of vegetation on the mountain slopes 
 of Southern California as there are on the Sierra Nevadas, but, as 
 we shall see, they are different because the climate is not the same. 
 
 Few trees are found in the lowland valleys because of the light 
 rainfall. In their place are many sorts of low shrubs and cactuses. 
 
 About the bases of the mountains and upon their lower slopes, 
 the bushes grow larger and more dense. Among them are sage- 
 brush, scrub-oak, manzanita, California lilac or chaparral. 
 
 In the caiions appear beautiful spreading oaks and somctmies 
 cottonwoods and sycamores. 
 
 As we ascend to the plateau-like uplands and mountain valleys, 
 we reach a region of heavier rainfall. Upon the moister shady slopes 
 oaks abound, but upon the drier ones there is dense brush mmgled 
 with Spanish bayonet, which in the spring sends up a great stalk 
 bearing a cluster of waxy white flowers. 
 
 The first conifer which we meet in our upward journey is the 
 big cone spruce, which grows in the canons of the San Gabriel and 
 adjoining mountains. It is not until we reach an elevation of 5000 
 feet that we come to the main forest belt. The trees of this forest 
 
California 173 
 
 are largely yellow pine, the most widespread of all the lumber trees 
 of California. 
 
 Higher still we find the cedar, sugar pine, fir, and last of all 
 the dwarf white pine. The latter reaches almost to the summit of 
 the highest peak. 
 
 Each kind of bush or tree which we have passed lives in a dif- 
 ferent climatic belt, but similar belts do not have the same eleva- 
 tion all over the state. In Northern California the yellow pine 
 grows as low as 2000 feet, and its position in Southern California 
 at an elevation of 5000 feet shows that we have to ascend 3000 feet 
 higher to find a climate similar to that in the north. 
 
 The forests of the San Bernardino Mountains are the most ex- 
 tensive of any in this part of the state. In carrying on lumbering 
 it is necessary to use the greatest care to prevent injury to the 
 water supply. Already much harm has been done, for where the 
 lands have been swept clear of trees it has been proved that the 
 water runs ofi much more quickly than in the undisturbed forest. 
 
 All the timber lands of Southern California owned by the Gov- 
 ernment are now included in the National Forests and are carefully 
 watched that neither lumbermen, stock nor fires injure them. 
 
 2. The mountains afford summer pasture for cattle and sheep: 
 The mountain uplands, with their cool summer climate and abun- 
 dant rains, form a good summer pasture for cattle and sheep. They 
 have, however, been overstocked in past years and great damage 
 has been done to the covering of vegetation which protects the 
 slopes. This has been most serious in the San Gabriel Range be- 
 cause of its very steep slopes. 
 
 The overstocking results first in the killing of the grasses, other 
 small plants, and young trees. This permits the water to run off 
 more rapidly, thus affecting the springs, as well as cutting gullies 
 in the soil. 
 
 The rangers who now have charge of the National Forests shut 
 out all stock from the higher and steeper slopes. We can readily 
 see that it is necessary to guard with greatest care the flow of the 
 water or the orange orchards in the valley below may be ruined. 
 
 3. The lower slopes and cafions form an excellent bee pasture: 
 Honey is one of the products for which Southern California is noted. 
 The "bee ranches" are usually hidden away in the mountain canons 
 far from the settlements, for in such places is found the greatest 
 number of honey producing plants. The white sage is particularly 
 valuable for the quality of honey which it affords. 
 
 4. The mountains make it possible to grow here the best of 
 northern fruits: In the mountain valleys fruits of more northern 
 climes grow to perfection without irrigation. Apples are the most 
 important of these fruits, and at an elevation of about 4000 feet 
 are the equal of those raised in any other part of our country. Pears, 
 peaches, prunes and cherries are also at home in these valleys. 
 
 5. The mountain streams supply power for electricity: Many 
 of the mountain streams are large enough to be used for generat- 
 
174 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 ing electricity needed for lighting and power purposes in the val- 
 leys below. 
 
 6. The mountains furnish attractive scenery for the dwellers 
 in the valleys: There is no more attractive valley scenery in Cali- 
 fornia than that of the mountains viewed from the Los Angeles- 
 San Bernardino Valley. The lofty snow-capped peaks, rising: so 
 abruptly for many thousand feet, form a striking contrast with the 
 blossoming orange groves. 
 
 7. The mountains afford summer camp grounds: The health- 
 ful, bracing air among the pines attracts large numbers of people 
 during the summer months when the valleys are so warm. The value 
 of the mountains for this purpose is becoming greater every year. 
 
 8. The mountains contain veins of different minerals: Veins 
 of gold-bearing quartz and other minerals are found in the moun- 
 tains. If there were no mountains it would be much more difficult 
 to determine where the minerals are. The steep, rocky slopes make 
 it easy to discover them and to mine them by means of tunnels. 
 
 How can we save for summer use the largest possible amount 
 of the water which Nature furnishes this region? 
 
 We have learned that the productiveness of the valleys depends 
 upon the water from the mountains. If we could save all the rain 
 that falls, there would still be needed great care in its use that it 
 might reach to the many acres yet unplowed. Let us see now what 
 we must do to save this water. 
 
 1. The vegetation on the mountain slopes must be protected: 
 If you will go into the desert which lies beyond the mountains of 
 which we are speaking, you will find that the mountains there are 
 bare and rocky. Little soil gathers as the rocks slowly decay and 
 crumble, for plants are almost absent. The loose material, having 
 nothing to hold it, is at the mercy of the occasional heavy rain or 
 cloudburst. It is washed from the slopes down through the can- 
 ons and spread out on the vast desert plains. There is little to 
 hold the water back and it runs quickly away, leaving the slopes 
 almost as dry as they were before. 
 
 The lofty mountains of Southern California receive more rain 
 than those of the desert and so bear a growth of bushes and trees. 
 Their roots help hold the earth on the steep slopes, and the layer 
 of decaying leaves and stems aids further in holding back a part of 
 the water and so gives time for it to sink into the ground instead 
 of flowing away. The water seeps down through the rock crevices 
 and keeps alive the springs which feed the summer streams. 
 
 When fires destroy the brush and trees and the layer of humus, 
 when the lumberman clears off the surface, or when stock trample 
 and injure the surface, the water takes hold and washes the soil 
 away; floods become worse and there is less water in summer. 
 
 2. Great reservoirs must be built to hold the flood waters: 
 Water sufficient to irrigate many thousand acres still flows away 
 unused to the ocean after the heavy winter storms. Many more 
 
California 175 
 
 reservoirs must be built in order that all the valley lands may be 
 cultivated and dotted with homes. 
 
 3. The underground waters must be used v^^ith care : So many 
 wells have been bored throughout the valleys and the water has been 
 used so freely that the stores in the gravels beneath are being drawn 
 upon faster than Nature renews them. 
 
 When the top of the underground water layer is lowered, the 
 wells have to be deepened, and if this continues the water after a 
 time will be too far below the surface to be reached. We must be 
 careful about using this water carelessly or drilling too many arte- 
 sian wells and letting them flow unchecked. 
 
 How has Los Angeles added to its water supply? 
 
 We cannot increase the rainfall, and when we have used all 
 the water supplied by Nature in any place, we shall have to go 
 elsewhere for it if we wish more. The city of Los Angeles once 
 obtained water enough for its needs from the river and from springs 
 in the lower end of the San Fernando Valley. 
 
 As the city grew this supply became insufficient. No water 
 could be obtained from other nearby sources, for all had been ap- 
 propriated. But more must be had if the city and region about con- 
 tinued to increase in population. 
 
 We learn in our history stories of great water systems built 
 long ago by the Romans which carried water from the distant hills 
 to the cities, but none equaled that which has been built by the 
 people of Los Angeles. 
 
 Far to the north, across the San Gabriel Range and the broad 
 basin of the Mohave Desert, lies Owens Valley close under the east- 
 ern face of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Through this valley flows 
 a river of the same name, rising in the melting snows and glacial 
 lakes near the summit of the mountains and emptying into the alka- 
 line waters of Owens Lake. 
 
 The river carries much more water than was used by the ranch- 
 ers of the valley, and, though it was so far away, Los Angeles de- 
 cided to appropriate the surplus. But how was it to be taken across 
 the hot desert and through the mountains? A huge cement pipe 
 was built so that the water could not waste on the way and the 
 mountains were pierced by tunnels several miles long. The total 
 length of the aqueduct in its winding course is 260 miles. 
 
 Thus with infinite labor a river of water, sufficient to supply 
 two million people, was brought from its basin beyond the moun- 
 tains and deserts into another region where Nature never intended 
 it to go. 
 
 Are there any other rivers that can be brought into South- 
 ern California? 
 
 Imperial Valley, once a part of the Colorado Desert, is being 
 transformed into a garden of marvelous fertility by means of water 
 brought from the Colorado River. 
 
176 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The Mohave River flows into the desert from the northern slope 
 of the San Bernardino Mountains, but it would necessitate a tun- 
 nel many miles long to turn this back into the southern valleys. 
 
 Since the coastal slope of Southern California is so completely 
 shut in on the land side, how is it that rail and wagon 
 roads can reach it? 
 
 The mountains arc not high and steep at all points. There are 
 a number of gaps, or passes, as they are commonly called, and it 
 is through these that the railroads and wagon roads have been built. 
 
 If you had come over the Santa Fe Trail in the days before the 
 railroad and had gone westerly across the Colorado Desert from 
 Yuma, you would have found no gap in the Peninsula Range, for 
 it forms a continuous barrier between the desert and the ocean. 
 For this reason it was not until many years later, when Southern 
 California had become thickly settled, that a railroad was built from 
 San Diego to Yuma, giving direct Eastern connection for this im- 
 portant seaboard city. 
 
 If you had gone northwest from Yuma bound for Los Angeles, 
 you would, after having passed the Salton Salt Marsh, have at length 
 climbed upward through a broad, low gap until from a height of 
 only 2000 feet you would have looked down upon the valley of 
 San Bernardino. This is the San Gorgonio Pass and is the easiest 
 of all the routes across the mountains. Upon either hand of the 
 pass, like great guardians, stand the two lofty peaks, San Gorgonio 
 and San Jacinto. 
 
 If you had come over the Spanish Trail across the Mohave Des- 
 ert, you would have ascended slowly to the summit of the Cajon 
 Pass, which has an elevation of 4000 feet, and then have gone down 
 the Tejon Canon, which divides the San Gabriel from the San Ber- 
 nardino Range. 
 
 If, after reaching Los Angeles, you had wished to go to San 
 Francisco, you would have had the choice of several routes, each 
 one making use of low places in the mountains. 
 
 You could have followed the route now taken by the Southern 
 Pacific Railroad through the San Fernando Pass, up the Soledad 
 Cation and over its pass to the Mohave Desert. Then a journey 
 of fifty miles across the desert, followed by the Tehachapi Pass, 
 would lead you to Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley. 
 
 Or you could have followed the old stage road farther west. 
 This road went over the Francisquita Pass to Lake Elizabeth, 
 skirted the desert instead of crossing it, and reached Bakersfield 
 by the Tejon Pass. 
 
 The new state highway between Los Angeles and Bakersfield 
 follows the old stage road much of the way, but for twenty miles 
 it has been cut in the sides and along the crest of a mountain ridge. 
 This part is known as the "Ridge Road" and forms one of the most 
 scenic automobile highways in California. 
 
 If you had wished to avoid the desert entirely and most of the 
 mountains, you conld have followed the trail of the Padre's, the 
 
California 177 
 
 King's Highway, or Camino Real, through San Fernando Valley and 
 across the rolling hills to Ventura. Beyond which, in order to reach 
 Santa Barbara, you would have had to pass close to the ocean, and 
 perhaps get into the water if it were high tide. 
 
 Have earthquakes had anything to do with the making of 
 Southern California? 
 
 If Southern California had not been a land of earthquakes there 
 would have been no lofty mountains to condense the moisture of the 
 clouds and supply water as well as many other things necessary to 
 the prosperity of this region. 
 
 Long ago this part of California was dotted with low moun- 
 tains, such as remain in the Mohave Desert and about Riverside. 
 The whole region must have been dry and barren with no pictur- 
 esque scenery. 
 
 Then there came a time of earthquakes. Fissures like those of 
 the great earthquake of 1906 were formed in the earth and huge 
 blocks of the solid earth began to rise and take on the form of 
 mountains. 
 
 The San Gabriel is the oldest of these earthquake mountains. 
 It is so old that the streams have had time to carve a multitude of 
 deep, precipitous canons between which the ridges are so sharp 
 that there is often little more room than required by a trail. Such 
 is the steepness of the slopes and the narrowness of the cations that 
 there is not a single ranch throughout the main portion of the range. 
 
 The San Bernardino Range was not made until a later time. 
 It was lifted along a W'Onderful fissure which we find extending 
 through the orange orchards in the edge of the valley. The line 
 of this fissure is marked by springs, cienegas or meadows, and 
 low ridges. 
 
 We can follow this fissure far to the northwest until it con- 
 nects with the one that made the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. 
 This fissure was the scene of a severe earthquake in 1857, when the 
 ground opened and slipped, making ridges and hollows. The Mor- 
 mon settlers, who had then recently come to San Bernardino Val- 
 ley, reported that the earthquake threw their horses and cattle to 
 the ground. 
 
 The summit of the San Bernardino Range is not at all Uke that 
 of the San Gabriel. This range is so much younger that the streams 
 have not yet had time to cut deep cafions in the once gentle slopes. 
 A large part of the surface of this lofty region remains much as it 
 was when it was a lowland. There is a beautiful drive for many 
 miles along the flat top of the northern portion of the range, and 
 back of this are numerous valleys and green meadows. The Bear 
 Valley reservoir occupies one of these large valleys. 
 
 We will now visit the San Jacinto Valley, to the north of which 
 rises the steep slope of the San Jacinto Mountains. We know that 
 this range was also formed by earthquakes, for a fissure extends 
 along its base in the edge of the valley. Severe earthquakes have 
 occurred here since the valley was settled. 
 
178 New Proc.rkssive Geographies 
 
 We now will travel southwesterly across a country made up 
 of low and very old mountains which have been almost worn down. 
 We finally reach the pretty Temecula-Elsinore Valley. This is an 
 earthquake valley, but made long ago. The steep mountain wall, 
 beginning near Temecula and ending with the Santa Ana Moun- 
 tains, many miles to the northwest, was made by earthquakes. 
 
 Long ago the region of the Temecula-Elsinore Valley sank, leav- 
 ing a great mountain wall on the west. In a portion of this sunken 
 valley lies Lake Elsinore. The San Jacinto River, which feeds the 
 lake, once flowed directly west to the ocean across where now the 
 Elsinore Mountains rise 2000 feet above the valley. Is it not strange 
 and wonderful how Nature has broken and changed the surface of 
 the earth, lifting it in some places and dropping it in others? 
 
 From these things we learn that the mountain ranges of South- 
 ern California are great blocks of the earth's crust which were raised 
 high in the air during repeated earthquakes. We learn also that 
 since their uplift the mountains have been much worn away by run- 
 ning water, and that the newer ones have gentle upland slopes, 
 while the older ones have sharp ridges and deep, narrow canons. 
 If it were not for earthquakes, then, this region would be an almost 
 uninhabitable waste. 
 
 What other forces have aided the earthquakes in making the 
 
 scenery of this region? 
 
 The earthquakes made the lofty mountain ranges somewhat as 
 they would appear if all the caiions were filled up and the tops 
 of the ridges smoothed off. The picturesque appearance of these 
 mountains as they rise before us today is the result of many forces 
 of Nature which are quietly and invisibly working all about us. 
 
 Heat and cold and carbonic acid make the rocks crumble and 
 turn to clay and sand. The waters of the winter storms pick up 
 the little particles and carry them down to the valleys. They also 
 pick up larger fragments which grind along the bottom of the chan- 
 nels, ever wearing them deeper. Thus the deep carious and sharp, 
 jagged peaks have been made. 
 
 Mounts San Gorgonio and San Bernardino form the highest land 
 in Southern California. Upon their northern slopes there were once 
 small glaciers. These glaciers were the most southerly ones which 
 ever existed in the United States. They have left two little lakes 
 and long ridges of loose rock called moraines to show that they were 
 once here. This loose rock holds vast quantities of water, giving rise 
 to the great springs which form the chief source of the summer 
 flow of the Santa Ana River. 
 
 Long ago there were volcanoes in Southern California, but the 
 lava has mostly decayed and been washed away. A remnant of 
 lava is still to be seen upon the Santa Rosa Plateau west of Te- 
 mecula, where it forms a peculiar table mountain. 
 
 What mineral deposits has Southern California? 
 
 The two most important mineral products of California are 
 quite unlike. The first discovered was gold, which is found in many 
 
California 179 
 
 parts of the higher mountains. The second is petroleum, which is 
 found in the lower mountains and hills and sometimes in the valleys. 
 
 The oil deposits of Southern California are found in two belts. 
 One extends from Fullerton, past Whittier to Los Angeles and west 
 toward Santa Monica. The other extends nearly the whole length 
 of the Santa Clara Valley in Ventura County. 
 
 The oil is so deeply hidden in the earth that, although springs 
 of thick oil, often called brea, have been known from the earliest 
 days, it was many years before it was found in large quantities. 
 Thus Nature, having given this region small supplies of wood, and 
 only one coal deposit, that at Elsinore, has more than made up for 
 the lack of other fuels in the vast stores of oil. 
 
 The dark, thick oil is best for fuel purposes and is obtained 
 from the shallower wells. Some of the wells are 4000 feet deep 
 and the oil from these is light and thin. The gas which accompan- 
 ies the oil is used for lighting as well as for running machinery. 
 
 The light oil is best suited for refining. From it is produced 
 gasoline and the clear petroleum which is used in lamps. The heavy 
 residues from refining are used for innumerable purposes, such as 
 lubricating machinery, and making paraffine and dyes. 
 
 Near Los Angeles is a large area covered with springs and 
 pools of thick, tar-like oil or brea. These springs have existed for 
 thousands of years, and contain a most wonderful record of the 
 animals and birds that formerly inhabited California. 
 
 Attracted by the salty water, large numbers of animals and 
 birds fell or were crowded into the tar, where they died. This tar 
 preserved their skeletons in a remarkably perfect condition. Thou- 
 sands of specimens belonging to hundreds of different species have 
 been dug out and arranged for study. 
 
 The first placer gold known in California w^as found in the moun- 
 tains north of the upper Santa Clara River near the stage road run- 
 ning from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. 
 
 Gold-bearing quartz veins have been worked in many parts of 
 the Sierra Madre Mountains and in the Peninsula Range. 
 
 Other minerals of value in various industries are scattered 
 through the mountains. At Colton is a hill of limestone used in the 
 manufacture of quick-lime and cement. In Riverside County are beds 
 of clay used in making an excellent quality of sewer pipe. Another 
 quality of clay or kaolin found here is suitable for pottery and porcelain. 
 
 In Riverside County there are also deposits of asbestos, talc 
 and other minerals. In San Diego County are found beautiful tour- 
 malines, valu£,ble for jewelry. 
 
 Wnat fonr sorts of slopes has Southern California, each with 
 its own soil, climate and productions? 
 
 1. The mountains and highland valleys: The mountain slopes 
 are usually steep and rocky and but few people live upon them. 
 The valleys, which are above 4000 feet, are most numerous in the 
 San Bernardino Range. They are too cold for profitable farming 
 and are used as pasture lands. 
 
180 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The mountain valleys from 4000 feet down to 1500 feet are nu- 
 merous in San Diego and Riverside Counties. They support many 
 people who gain a livelihood from raising stock, grain and decidu- 
 ous fruits, among w^hich the apple is the most important. 
 
 2. The mesas and slopes about the bases of the mountains: 
 
 All about the bases of the mountains are broad, gently inclined 
 slopes which from a distance appear as even as a plain. Pasadena 
 is built upon a slope of this kind which extends along the base of 
 the mountains all around the northern and eastern sides of the Los 
 Angeles-San Bernardino Valley. We travel over this slope in going 
 from Pasadena to San Bernardino. 
 
 Back of San Bernardino and Redlands the streams have car- 
 ried away the lower parts of these slopes, so that they have the 
 appearance of mesas lying against the mountains. 
 
 These lands have a gentle, even slope, because they were built 
 up by water and are found always in regions of light rainfall. The 
 torrential streams of winter coming down through the mountain 
 canons loaded with rock fragments spread out upon reaching the 
 valleys and drop the greater part of their burdens. 
 
 The name debris fan is often given to a deposit built up in this 
 manner. If you will stop and think how deltas are formed, you will 
 see that a debris fan is really one kind of a delta. Many such debris 
 
 A wonderful spring which helps to keep up the summer flow of the Santa Ana 
 
 River. The water issues from elacial gravels on north 
 
 slope of S^" Goreonio, 
 
California 
 
 181 
 
 fans or cones joined together make the great plain of which we are 
 speaking, which lies about the bases of the mountains. 
 
 If you could visit the Tejunga River as it flows through the San 
 Fernando Valley in time of flood, you would see how the streams 
 build up these debris fans. They wander here and there without 
 any banks, cutting away the gravel in one place, building it up in 
 another, spreading out sometimes a mile or more in width. 
 
 The soil of these slopes and mesas is usually a sandy or grav- 
 elly loam, well drained and very fertile. Their soil and climate are 
 suited to growing the best and sweetest oranges, and so we find 
 upon them the most extensive groves in Southern California. They 
 are more free from frost than the lower land along the streams, and 
 are for that reason much sought after. 
 
 3. The hills and mountain valleys below 1500 feet: There are 
 large areas of land, including southern Ventura County, parts of the 
 San Fernando, Temecula-Elsinore, Ferris, San Jacinto and other 
 valleys, which are better adapted to diversified farming. In these 
 we find orchards of both citrus and deciduous fruits, large grain- 
 fields and thousands of cattle. 
 
 4. The lowland valleys and coastal region : The bottom lands 
 along the streams are more frosty than those of the two divisions 
 which have just been described. They are especially suited to dairy- 
 ing, the growing of alfalfa and sugar beets. A large sugar factory 
 is located at Chino. Corn and all sorts of vegetables do well upon 
 these lands. 
 
 The lowlands of the coastal region form one of the most impor- 
 
 Celery field on the rich bottom land of the Los Angeles plain. 
 
182 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 taut bean-growing districts of our country. The soil is a sandy 
 loam and is also suited to sugar beets. 
 
 Along the coast south of Los Angeles the soil contains much 
 humus and is known as peat land. Here are grown valuable crops 
 of celery and asparagus. 
 
 How Southern California looked when the ocean stood higher 
 than it does now. 
 
 On the slopes of San Pedro Hill, which rises all alone upon the 
 coast southwest of Los Angeles, there are ancient ocean cliffs, the 
 highest of which is 1200 feet above the present ocean. Since most 
 of the valleys of this region are not as high as that, they must have 
 been submerged at the time the waves beat against this cliff, and 
 the geography must have been very different from what it is now. 
 
 We will take the inclined railway back of Pasadena and ascend 
 to Mt. Lowe, from which point we look over a great stretch of coun- 
 try. Upon a summer morning when the fog covers all the lowlands, 
 we can form a picture of how the country looked when it was sub- 
 merged 1200 feet by imagining the fog with its waves to represent 
 the ocean. 
 
 On the north and northeast the San Gabriel and San Bernar- 
 dino Ranges rise boldly above the fog. On the east of this great 
 bay of fog appears San Jacinto and other scattering mountains. On 
 the southeast the Santa Ana Mountains rise all alone with a bay 
 of fog behind them. On the west the Santa Monica Range appears 
 as a long ridge, while the San Fernando Valley forms a great cir- 
 cular bay open to the ocean through the canon of the Los An- 
 geles River. 
 
 What valley is that across which we look from Mt. Lowe? 
 
 As the fog disappears we look over a vast lowland region 
 stretching from the ocean eastward to the base of the San Ber- 
 nardino Range. In the middle of this lowland and dividing it into 
 two parts appear the broad and low Puente Hills stretching away 
 to the Santa Ana Mountains. 
 
 The western part of this lowland, extending from the City of 
 Los Angeles south and west to the ocean, is the Valley of Los 
 Angeles, sometimes called the Plain of Los Angeles because of its 
 smooth and even surface. 
 
 The eastern part of the lowland lying beyond the Puente Hills 
 is the San Bernardino Valley. It contains a number of isolated 
 peaks, while branching valleys extend away to the south. 
 
 The two valleys are connected by the broad, gentle slope along 
 the base of the San Gabriel Range and by the Cafion of the Santa 
 Ana River. Because the hills which divide this region into two 
 parts are low, and the mountains which surround it are high, we 
 speak of it as one great valley, calling it the Los Angeles - San 
 Bernardino Valley. 
 
California 
 
 183 
 
 How is this valley watered? 
 
 Our study of California has already taught us that we cannot 
 tell how large a stream is by the area of its basin. The amount of 
 water which it carries is dependent far more upon the position, 
 height and extent of the mountains in which it takes its rise. 
 
 The Santa Ana has not only the largest basin of any river in 
 Southern California, but it also has the advantage of rising in the 
 highest mountains. Its summer flow is much increased by large 
 springs in the glacial gravels on the north slope of San Gorgonio 
 and San Bernardino Peaks and also by summer thunderstorms which 
 at times are very heavy. Bear Valley Reservoir, one of the largest 
 in Southern California, is also tributary to the Santa Ana River. 
 
 The Santa A*na River supplies water for irrigating the exten- 
 sive orange groves about Redlands and Riverside. Between the point 
 where the river breaks through the Santa Ana Mountains and the 
 ocean, it splits up into a number of channels which are dry most 
 of the year, although an abundance of water can be obtained from 
 shallow wells dug in the channels. 
 
 The San Gabriel is the next most important river. It rises 
 in the highest peaks of the San Gabriel Range, but it also is dry 
 long before reaching the ocean. The river carries a great volume 
 of water after the winter storms, but it flows through such deep, 
 narrow canons that no reservoirs have yet been built to save its 
 flood waters. 
 
 An ostrich farm near Los Angeles. 
 
184 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The Tejunga River, which furnished most of the water for the 
 City of Los Angeles before the building of the great aqueduct, is 
 a most curious stream. It rises in the San Gabriel Range and flows 
 west into the San Fernando Valley, where, during most of the year, 
 it sinks in its sandy bed. At the lower end of the valley it reap- 
 pears as springs and below these is known as the Los Angeles River. 
 
 The bed of a river which is dry throughout most of the year 
 and contains water only during times of flood is called a wash. 
 All streams of desert and semi-desert regions have channels of this 
 kind, marked by lines of pebbles and boulders. The wash has usu- 
 ally no distinct channel or banks, for its bed is often above the 
 level of the adjacent country. Such a torrential stream is difficult 
 for railroads to bridge because the waters are as likely to flow in 
 one place as in another. 
 
 The three rivers which we have mentioned flow across the 
 Plain of Los Angeles in channels which branch here and there and 
 are forever changing like those of the deltas of the Mississippi and 
 Colorado Rivers. 
 
 How is it that the Tejunga furnishes much less water in sum- 
 mer than it ought? 
 
 Many square miles of the mountain basin of the Tejunga River 
 have been burned over. Where once there was a pine forest now 
 appears chaparral. The bed of the stream is exposed to the hot 
 sun instead of being shaded, so that a large part of the summer 
 flow is evaporated in the air. 
 
 What determined the site of the Pueblo of Los Angeles? 
 
 Portola, in the journey northward which resulted in the dis- 
 covery of San Francisco Bay, passed the spot where Los Angeles 
 now stands. Some time later, in the year 1781, the place being 
 thought a favorable one for a settlement, a party of colonists was 
 brought from Mexico. The chief object in making a settlement here 
 was the raising of provisions for the soldiers in the presidios. 
 
 An abundance of water in the Los Angeles River at the point 
 where it breaks through the east end of the Santa Monica Range, 
 and the broad, fertile plain spreading out to the south and west, 
 were the two things which determined the position of the new set- 
 tlement. It is not likely that the founders saw in the location any 
 particular advantages for a great city, such as has sprung up here, 
 but rather the immediate needs of a young colony. 
 
 What are the advantages as well as disadvantages in the 
 
 situation of Los Angeles? 
 
 There were many things about the situation of Los Angeles 
 which favored the growth of the little pueblo into an important 
 place, when at last the attention of people began to be directed 
 toward Southern California and settlers commenced to come in. 
 
 The first of these advantages was its convenience of access from 
 all parts of the south. It was on the King's Highway from San 
 Diego to the North Coast Missions and settlements. In fact, no one 
 
Califorx 1A 
 
 185 
 
 could go northward without passing by Los Angeles. The Cahuenga 
 Pass to the northwest of the Pueblo and the Canon of the Los An- 
 geles River on the north offered the only two convenient routes to 
 the San Fernando Valley. From this valley two ways led north- 
 ward — the King's Highway 
 by way of the coast valleys, 
 and the other across the 
 mountains and desert to the 
 San Joaquin Valley. 
 
 All emigrants from the 
 East coming by way of 
 Southern California had first 
 to go to Los Angeles if they 
 washed to reach the mines. 
 Los Angeles w^as, then, the 
 terminus of both the Santa 
 Fe Trail by way of Yuma 
 and the Colorado Desert, 
 and the Spanish Trail which 
 led across the Mohave Des- 
 ert and through the Cajon 
 Pass to the Valley of San 
 Bernardino. From the lat- 
 ter place the traveler could 
 follow either the broad slope 
 along the base of the moun- 
 tains past the Mission of 
 San Gabriel or continue 
 down the Santa Ana River 
 through the mountains to 
 the Plain of Los Angeles. 
 
 Los Angeles was, even 
 in the early days, an impor- 
 tant meeting place for all 
 the trails and roads of this 
 region. For this reason it 
 A scene in the business district of was also an important trad- 
 
 Los Angeles. ing point. 
 
 There were, however, disadvantages in the situation of Los 
 Angeles. It Avas not on any navigable stream, nor had it any conven- 
 ient water power before the days of electricity. Its most important 
 disadvantage was its situation, sixteen miles inland from the sea. A 
 situation on the sea was particularly important in the early days, 
 when all freight and much of the travel had to come by water. San 
 Diego and Monterey were much better ofif in this regard, but they 
 were not on important land routes nor centrally located. 
 
 Why has Los Angeles outgrown the other cities of Southern 
 CaHfornia? 
 The central location of Los Angeles and the ease with which 
 
186 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 it could be reached, which were important thhigs in the early days, 
 have also been the chief causes of its growth in later years. 
 
 The railroads when they came naturally followed the easiest 
 routes, which were those of the old trails. They also found the 
 terminus of the trails their most convenient terminus, and so the 
 town became an important railroad center. For this reason it be- 
 came the business and commercial center of the whole region. 
 
 Every one of the old trails has been followed by a railroad ex- 
 cept the stage route from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, and it is cer- 
 tain that in time a railroad will follow this route a part of the way. 
 
 The Southern Pacific came across the Colorado Desert and 
 through the San Gorgonio Pass. The Santa Fe and Salt Lake Rail- 
 roads came by w^ay of the Cajon Pass and San Bernardino. The 
 Santa Fe followed the old route down the coast to San Diego. 
 The Southern Pacific went north across the mountains and desert 
 to the San Joaquin Valley, and up the coast near the path of the 
 King's Highway. 
 
 How did Los Angeles become a seaport? 
 
 As Los Angeles grew in commercial importance it began to feel 
 the need of a port on the sea. Sixteen miles to the southwest lay 
 the little harbor of San Pedro which could be entered only by small 
 coasting vessels. 
 
 To make it possible for large boats to discharge cargoes there 
 
 A scene in the residence district of Los Angeles. 
 
California 187 
 
 in safety, the Government has built a great breakwater two miles 
 long. Thus there has been created an artificial outer harbor, com- 
 modious and safe, in addition to the natural inner harbor, which 
 is being enlarged and deepened. 
 
 Los Angeles has become a deep-water port and can compete 
 with other cities in foreign commerce. It has become a port, not 
 by moving sixteen miles to the ocean, nor by digging a canal and 
 bringing the ocean to itself, but by simply enlarging its boundaries 
 to take in San Pedro. 
 
 What other causes have aided in making Los Angeles one 
 of the two largest cities in California? 
 
 Los Angeles lies in the midst of an agricultural and fruit-grow- 
 ing district of great extent and remarkable fertility. Upon all sides 
 lie broad valleys of the richest soil which are becoming more highly 
 cultivated and densely populated each year. Los Angeles is the 
 natural center for supplies and for shipping fruit and other products. 
 
 Los Angeles and the region about it has become renowned all 
 over the United States for its mild and agreeable climate. Every 
 winter sees Southern California filled with visitors. Many of these 
 people buy land and make their homes there. This has been one of 
 the most important reasons for the rapid growth of Los Angeles. 
 
 How is it that Los Angeles, which remained an unimportant 
 place for so long after San Francisco became a great 
 city, suddenly began to grow rapidly and in a few years 
 became its rival? 
 
 As we have already learned. Southern California was too remote 
 from the mines to be much afifected by the early emigration. After 
 the railroads came, and it was shown that this apparently dry region ' 
 really had a large supply of water, and was well suited to the grow- 
 ing of citrus fruits, and that it had in addition a mild and agree- 
 able climate and attractive scenery, then the tide of emigration 
 turned in this direction. 
 
 No city in our country, except San Francisco during the gold 
 excitement, ever grew so rapidly as Los Angeles. It became the 
 goal of thousands of people who wished to escape the cold winters 
 of the northern states. It has been the visitors and the settling 
 up of the rich surrounding valleys rather than its commercial inter- 
 ests that have made Los Angeles a great city. For this reason it 
 is a more desirable place for a home than is a city whose importance 
 is based upon manufacturing. 
 
 The industries and trade of Los Angeles. 
 
 The manufacturing industries and foreign commerce are of less 
 importance than those of San Francisco, because,_ as we have seen, 
 the growth of the city has been due to other things. 
 
 Los Angeles has, however, trade and manufacturing interests 
 which are growing in importance. This growth is due to the in- 
 
188 Xew Progressive Geographies 
 
 crease in population of all Southern California, to the unhmited 
 supplies of petroleum and natural gas for fuel and power, and to 
 the making of the deep-water harbor at San Pedro. 
 
 Los Angeles is the only city in our country that has an oil field 
 within its limits. Hundreds of wells were at one time in operation 
 in a thickly settled residence district. 
 
 For what is Los Angeles particularly noted? 
 
 Los Angeles is noted, first of all, for its climate. Its center is 
 sixteen miles from the ocean, so that it occupies an intermediate 
 position between the cool sea shore and the hot interior. 
 
 Los Angeles is noted for the bustle and activity of its streets, 
 and the energy of its people. The business section is now dotted 
 with huge office buildings or "skyscrapers," which have taken the 
 place of the smaller buildings of earlier days. 
 
 The city has an excellent system of parks, covering in all about 
 4000 acres. The largest of these is Griffith Park, which lies in the 
 picturesque hills upon the northern border. Elysian is another large 
 park and is given over to raising wild plants of all sorts. 
 
 The mountain and seaside resorts reached from Los Angeles. 
 
 A short ride takes one to Pasadena and the foot of the San Ga- 
 briel Range, from whence an inclined railway ascends to a pleasant 
 summer resort on a lofty spur of the mountains. Not far away is 
 Mt. Lowe and its noted astronomical observatory. 
 
 An hour's ride to the south brings one to Long Beach, an im- 
 portant city which owes its beginnings and rapid growth to the 
 attractions offered by its fine beach. The city is now developing 
 important manufacturing industries. 
 
 To the west is the picturesque city of Santa Monica, on Santa 
 Monica Bay. Immediately adjoining on the south are the important 
 summer resorts of Ocean Park and Venice, where during the height 
 of the summer the beach presents one of the most picturesque scenes 
 imaginable. Still farther along the beach toward the southward is 
 Redonda, another attractive resort. 
 
 Why are the lands about Los Angeles so fertile? 
 
 Long ago the Plain of Los Angeles and the adjacent valleys 
 were beneath the sea. The mountain streams brought mud and sand 
 and the currents spread these over the bottom. When the land rose 
 and the sea was pushed back to where it is today, a rich layer of 
 earth covered the whole valley region. 
 
 Back of the new shore line the land was low and marshy, with 
 here and there little lakes such as we now see, in which grew tules 
 and other water plants. These marshes after a time became the 
 peat lands, which grow luxuriant crops of celery and asparagus, 
 
 A large part of the vegetables and berries for the city market 
 are grown upon the lowland along the Los Angeles River, where 
 there is rich alluvial soil and plenty of water. 
 
California 
 
 189 
 
 What has made Pasadena the most famed winter resort in 
 our country? 
 
 Pasadena is situated 
 upon a gently sloping' plain 
 at the foot of the steep and 
 rugged San Gabriel Range. 
 Its situation gives it a most 
 agreeable and healthful cli- 
 mate. It is protected from 
 the desert winds and its ele- 
 vation of 800 feet places it 
 above the winter fogs which 
 settle in the lowlands. It 
 is less frosty in winter and 
 cooler in summer than the 
 lower valleys. 
 
 For many years after 
 San Francisco grew to be a 
 great city, the land on which 
 Pasadena stands continued 
 to be a cattle and sheep 
 range. When the winter 
 visitors began to come, the 
 value of this picturesque 
 location was seen and a 
 town sprang up. Today 
 Pasadena is a beautiful 
 city with its shaded streets 
 and comfortable homes set 
 among lawns and flower 
 gardens. On the new year 
 there is held a pageant and 
 San Pedro Harbor. Aower festival. 
 
 The country from Pasadena to San Bernardino. 
 
 Continuing eastward along the base of the mountains toward 
 San Bernardino we pass a continuous succession of orchards with 
 here and there a vineyard. Flourishing towns are scattered thickly 
 along the route. The largest of these is Pomona. 
 
 The Valley of San Bernardino. 
 
 The first settlers of this valley were Mormon emigrants from 
 Utah who were attracted by the extensive meadows near where the 
 city now stands. The Santa Ana River flows through the lower end 
 of the valley, which is circular in shape. San Bernardino is situated 
 in the center, while orange groves extend away toward the moun- 
 tains in almost every direction. 
 
190 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 What has made Redlands and Riverside famous? 
 
 Wherever the navel orange has gone, there we hear Riverside 
 and Redlands spoken of. It has made all this part of California 
 famous and every visitor wants to see the place where it originated. 
 
 Both cities are well built and attractive. They are especially 
 noted for the beautiful drives which extend out into the country in 
 every direction. The broad avenues are lined with different kinds 
 of trees, including palms, while back of them lie groves of orange, 
 pomelo and lemon trees, among which nestle pretty homes. 
 
 From the top of Mt. Rubidoux, near Riverside, we can get a good 
 idea of the geography of the valleys through which the Santa Ana 
 River flows. Here and there appear barren granite mountains, con- 
 trasting strangely with the green orange groves upon the smooth, 
 fertile slopes about their bases. If it is winter, the blossoming 
 trees make an interesting picture with the snow-covered mountains 
 in the background. 
 
 The San Jacinto, Perris and Elsinore-Temecula Valleys. 
 
 These are three interesting valleys, which lie between earth- 
 quake mountains. The San Jacinto, a very curious river, drains 
 these valleys. It rises in the lofty San Jacinto Mountains, but sinks 
 below the town of San Jacinto at the lower end of the valley. 
 
 A short distance to the west the river rises again and during 
 
 An avenue, Pasadena. 
 
California 
 
 191 
 
 the rainy season flows on through Ferris Valley to Lake Elsinore. 
 The climate is so dry now that this lake rarely overflows, but long 
 ago it was much wetter and a river ran out of the lake down the 
 Temescal Valley to the Santa Ana. How the earthquakes made the 
 Elsinore Mountains and the lake and turned the river away from 
 its course to the ocean is a story of which we have already heard 
 something. 
 
 The three valleys of which we are speaking are not too high for 
 oranges, which do well in parts of them, but the deciduous fruits 
 are more extensively grown. These include pears, peaches, apricots 
 and plums. Many olives are grown in the Temecula-Elsinore Val- 
 ley. Ferris Valley is largely devoted to grain and alfalfa, while fruit, 
 alfalfa and grain are grown in the San Jacinto Valley. 
 
 Why is the Santa Ana region so rich and productive? 
 
 The city of Santa Ana is situated upon the southern part of the 
 Flain of Los Angeles in the midst of a rich and fertile district, wa- 
 tered by the Santa Ana River. 
 
 This region has been the delta of the Santa Ana River for thou- 
 sands of years. The alluvial soil is deep and an abundance of water 
 is obtained at a slight depth. 
 
 Upon the higher lands of the district, oranges, lemons and olives 
 are grown. On the lowlands are orchards of walnuts, fields of corn 
 
 Mission Inn, Riverside. 
 
192 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 and alfalfa. Nearer the coast, where it is cooler and moister, are 
 extensive fields of lima beans, sugar beets, celery and asparagus. 
 
 W'hy has the growth of San Diego been much slower than 
 that of Los Angeles or San Francisco? 
 
 San Francisco became a great city almost in a night because 
 it had a good harbor and was near the gold mines with which it 
 had direct and easy communication. It was the natural center for 
 the distribution of supplies and the starting point for the mines of 
 all those who came to California by water. 
 
 A generation later Los Angeles, almost as quickly, became a 
 city and a rival of San Francisco. This sudden growth was due 
 to the coming of the railroads, to the central location, and the attrac- 
 tions of a mild and healthful climate. 
 
 San Diego is situated upon a bay of the same name in the ex- 
 treme southern part of California. Although having the second best 
 harbor upon the coast, it remained an unimportant place for many 
 years. This was due in part to its lack of a central location, in part 
 to the difficulty of building a railroad across the mountains which 
 lay behind it and thus obtaining direct connection with the East, 
 and partly to the belief that the country around the Bay of San 
 Diego was dry and worthless, with little water for irrigation. 
 
 What finally led to the growth of San Diego and the settle- 
 ment of the surrounding country? 
 
 The good harbor was of little use to San Diego until a railroad 
 came and connected it with the outside world by land, so that peo- 
 ple could reach the place easily, become acquainted with the pleas- 
 ant climate and discover the fertility of the dry lands when water 
 was taken to them. 
 
 The country east of San Diego rises through many valleys to 
 the summit of the broad Peninsula Range with its heavy rainfall 
 and forests of pine. Beyond the mountains lie the Colorado Desert, 
 
 Chula Vista grammar school near San Diego. 
 
California 193 
 
 and Imperial Valley. Although one branch of the old Santa Fe 
 Trail led over these mountains, yet it was some years after Los 
 Angeles had railroads before an attempt was made to build a rail- 
 road across them because of the absence of any easy pass like the 
 San Gorgonio. A railroad has now been completed across the Pen- 
 insula Range through Imperial Valley to Yuma, so that the city has 
 finally secured a direct eastern outlet. 
 
 The first railroad that reached San Diego came by way of San 
 Bernardino, Elsinore and the Temecula Cafion, because this was 
 the easiest route. Finally a line was built directly down the coast 
 following the trail of the Padres. The coast lands were found to 
 be so rough that many difficulties were encountered in its building. 
 For the first few miles the line south of San Juan Capistrano has 
 taken advantage of a strip of sandy beach underneath lofty cliffs. 
 This was made possible because the coast has recently risen a few 
 feet, so that the waves no longer beat against the old cliff. 
 
 With the railroad came winter visitors who found at San Diego 
 a remarkably mild winter and summer climate. Great hotels were 
 built, the finest being upon the peninsula in front of the bay. Upon 
 the ocean side of the hotel is fine surf bathing, while upon the other 
 side are the quiet waters of the bay, suitable for boating. 
 
 Mission Valley, like many others that cut through the mesa 
 lying between the mountains and the ocean, has been cultivated since 
 the days of the Padres. As the population grew in numbers and the 
 need of water increased, it was found that, by building reservoirs 
 in the mountains to retain the heavy rainfall on these high lands, 
 an abundance of water could be had. 
 
 When canals had been dug and water supplied to the mesas, 
 whose desert-like character had given the country a forbidding ap- 
 pearance, they proved to be rich and productive. 
 
 Easy means of access by steamer or cars, a delightful climate 
 
 Mt. San Antonio (Old Baldy) from near Santa Ana. 
 
194 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 and an abundance of water for irrigation brought many thousands 
 of visitors, large numbers of whom remained and made their homes. 
 San Diego has become the fourth largest city in the state, and 
 is growing rapidly. It has important commercial advantages, one 
 of which is the fact that it is the nearest city to the Panama Canal 
 upon the Pacific Coast of the United States. 
 
 The attractions of the San Diego Bay region. 
 
 San Diego has the safest bay on the coast for pleasure boating. 
 Directly in front of the bay and separating it from the ocean is the 
 Coronado Peninsula with its great hotel, beach and surf bathing. 
 Upon Point Loma, which incloses the bay upon the west, is a noted 
 theosophical school and naval station. 
 
 A few miles to the north are the famous La Jolla caves and 
 seaside resort. To the southeast is the Mexican town of Tia Juana 
 with its interesting inhabitants. In the edge of the mountains lies 
 the great Sweetwater reservoir and the beautiful Cajon Valley. 
 
 On the mesa back of the city is its great park, once covered 
 with sage brush but now turned into a beautiful garden, in the 
 midst of which has been built in old Spanish style the attractive 
 buildings of the Panama Exposition. 
 
 What has made possible the development here of a rich fruit 
 and agricultural district? 
 
 In the Peninsula Range which extends south through San Diego 
 County into Lower California, we find the source of the prosperity 
 
 The Plaza, San Diego. 
 
California 
 
 195 
 
 of the region. Without the mountains there would be no water for 
 irrigation, and the larger part of the thousands of acres of fertile 
 land along the coast, which receives only ten inches of rain annu- 
 ally, would have remained sparsely settled. 
 
 The winters are so mild near the ocean that the scanty rains 
 do more good than they would in most parts of the state. On ordi- 
 nary years they will produce grain and a good growth of natural 
 forage. Such products as grapes and almonds and walnuts can be 
 grown without irrigation if the land is well cultivated. 
 
 As we ascend the mountains from the coast, the rainfall in- 
 creases, and on their summits it is nearly as heavy as in the high 
 mountains lying back of the Los Angeles-San Bernardino Valley. 
 Many rivers rise in these mountains, but they ordinarily sink in 
 their sandy beds before reaching the ocean. Reservoirs are being 
 built near their sources and there will finally be enough water avail- 
 able to irrigate all the lands that need it. 
 
 In what way is the Peninsula Range of more importance than 
 the San Gabriel? 
 
 The San Gabriel Range rises very boldly from the Los Angeles- 
 San Bernardino Valley, and because of its narrow canons and steep 
 slopes contains almost no inhabitants. 
 
 The Peninsula Range, on the contrary, rises gradually and has 
 many valleys inhabited by people engaged in stock raising, general 
 farming, and fruit growing. 
 
 The lower mountain valleys grow citrus fruits of the best qual- 
 ity, as well as olives and figs, but are particularly noted for their 
 excellent raisins. The upper valleys are adapted to growing the de- 
 
 San Gorgonio Pass from the desert slope; the best of all the gateways from 
 the east to the coastal slope of California. 
 
196 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 ciduous fruits, the Julian district being especially noted for the qual- 
 ity of its apples. 
 
 The most of the mountain valleys are dotted with oaks. Above 
 5000 feet arc forests of pines, which are most extensive on Cuy- 
 amaca Mountain. 
 
 What four sorts of slopes, each with its own productions, do 
 we find in San Diego region? 
 
 The first slope is the rough granite mountains which, above 
 5000 feet, support forests of pine, cedar, sugar pine and fir. 
 
 The second slope includes the oak-dotted mountain valleys with 
 their orchards of different fruits. 
 
 The third slope is formed by the lower alluvial valleys which 
 extend down to the ocean. The soil of these valleys is very fertile. 
 The first cultivated lands were in these lower valleys, since water 
 for irrigation was easily obtained. 
 
 The fourth slope includes the mesas which rise to an elevation 
 of 1000 feet along the base of the mountains and slope toward the 
 ocean. They were left by nature dry and barren, but under the 
 influence of water they produce abundantly. 
 
 What gems have made San Diego famous? 
 
 Gold mines have been worked for many years in the Julian dis- 
 trict, but the minerals which have made San Diego famous are beau- 
 tiful gems known as tourmaline and Kunzite. These crystals, with 
 their clear, greenish and reddish tints, are prized very highly for 
 all kinds of jewelry, and by some people are admired almost as much 
 as diamonds. 
 
 Seventeen Palms Spring in the Borego Desert, west of Imperial Valley. 
 
California 197 
 
 How can we account for the salt lagoons which are found 
 
 along the coast? 
 
 This question leads to the interesting story of how the ocean 
 and the land have changed places. 
 
 Once the ocean stood high along the mountains as it did in the 
 Los Angeles region. The streams brought down sand and gravel 
 and distributed it over the bottom, making the gently sloping plain 
 which we know as the mesa. 
 
 Then the land began to rise and the shore retreated until it was 
 far out under the present ocean. The rivers ran down across the 
 mesa and cut cafions which finally widened to valleys. These are 
 the valleys in which the first missions and settlements were located. 
 
 After this the land sank again and the ocean flooded the lower 
 ends of the valleys. The ocean waves threw up pebbly beaches 
 across the fronts of these bays and formed the salty lagoons which 
 we find there today. 
 
 The land and ocean seem ever fighting for the mastery. The 
 last victory in this region has been won by the land, for the ocean 
 has abandoned the cliffs below San Juan and built a beach in front 
 which, as we have learned, is now used by the Santa Fe Railroad. 
 
 The story of Point Loma and San Diego Bay. 
 
 Point Loma was once an island behind which the waves and 
 currents made a long, shallow bar, which was the beginning of the 
 Coronado Peninsula. The San Diego River brought down so much 
 mud and sand during floods that it finally built a delta out to the 
 island, and in this way made San Diego Bay and False Bay. 
 
 The story of Point Loma is also interesting because long ago 
 it was visited by earthquakes so severe that the layers of rocks were 
 broken in hundreds of places and shoved past each other. This, as 
 we have learned, is one of Nature's ways of making mountains. 
 
 The country between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara where 
 gold and petroleum were first discovered. 
 
 Gold and petroleum are the most valuable minerals of Cali- 
 fornia, and both are found in the mountainous region which includes 
 Ventura and parts of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties. 
 
 If we could look down from an aeroplane upon this region, it 
 would appear at first sight to be covered almost wholly with moun- 
 tains ; a careful look, however, would show one long valley. This 
 is the Santa Clara, sunk deep among the mountains and widening 
 to form a plain as it approaches the ocean. North of Los Angeles 
 we could make out the San Fernando Valley, almost circular in 
 shape, and in the mountains north of the city of Ventura the beau- 
 tiful Ojai Valley. 
 
 The mountains of the northern part of this district are high 
 and rugged, for this is the meeting point of many ranges. The Te- 
 hachapi comes from the east, the Sierra Madre from the southeast, 
 and the Santa Ynez and Coast Ranges from the west. 
 
198 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The group formed by their meeting point is called the San Eme- 
 dio Mountains. From the summit of Pine Mountain, the highest 
 peak, nearly 10,000 feet above the ocean, we can look into four of 
 the seven California provinces. These are the Mohave Desert (a 
 part of the Great Basin), Southern California, the Coast Ranges, 
 and the San Joaquin Valley. 
 
 The few people who live in this remote mountainous district 
 depend upon mining and stock raising for a living. 
 
 The Santa Clara River has a basin next in size to that of the 
 Santa Ana River in Southern California. Most of the year the 
 Santa Clara River carries little water on the surface, for it flows a 
 long distance over a sandy bed. 
 
 How do the mountains and valleys determine the lines of 
 
 travel ? 
 
 The mountains north of the Santa Clara Valley are so rough 
 and steep and cut by so many deep caiions that no road has been 
 built across them. We have already learned that two main routes 
 were opened from Los Angeles northward— one, going to the east 
 of these mountains, has been described; the other, going to the 
 west, was known as the King's Highway. 
 
 The King's Highway led from Los Angeles through the Ca- 
 huenga Pass in the Santa Monica Range, skirted the San Fernando 
 Valley, crossed the high valleys of Ventura County (sometimes 
 
 The beautiful beach at Santa Barbara. 
 
California 199 
 
 called the Semi Plateau) to the mission town of San Buena Ven- 
 tura. Where the rugged mountains of which we have spoken come 
 down to the ocean, a few miles northwest of Ventura, the trail led 
 down to the beach under the cliffs. 
 
 There is one other route, in addition to the King's Highway, 
 by which we can go from Los Angeles to Ventura. That is by 
 the old Bakersfield stage route through the San Fernando Valley 
 and over the pass of the same name to the upper Santa Clara 
 River. From here there is an open valley leading all the way to 
 the ocean. This route has been used by the Southern Pacific Rail- 
 road, but as it was not direct, a new line was opened by tunneling 
 through the Santa Susana Mountains at the western end of the 
 San Fernando Valley. 
 
 How has the roughness of this region between Los Angeles 
 
 and Santa Barbara affected its settlement and industries? 
 
 Because the interior is made up almost wholly of mountains, 
 the larger part of the population lives in the valleys near the coast. 
 
 The higher mountain slopes support a growth of oak and pine. 
 The middle and lower slopes north of the Santa Clara Valley are 
 covered with brush, while south of the valley they are more open 
 and grassy. The raising of cattle and sheep was, then, the leadmg 
 industry until the discovery of large quantities of oil. 
 
 The mountains upon both sides of the Santa Clara Valley, 
 throughout nearly its whole length, have been found to contam 
 great stores of oil. In traveling through this valley one is hardly 
 ever out of sight of oil derricks. 
 
 The oil was first obtained from springs. Then tunnels were 
 run in the mountain sides and the oil was allowed to run out. Now 
 most of the oil is pumped from wells, some of which are nearly 
 4000 feet deep. 
 
 What is there about the Santa Clara Valley which makes it 
 excel in the production of sugar beets, beans and lemons? 
 The valley widens as it approaches the ocean and forms a fer- 
 tile plain of many miles' extent. This lower part, being exposed to 
 the cool, damp ocean winds, is not suited to growing fruits, but 
 does produce luxuriant crops of beets and beans. The quantities 
 of these two things raised here are in excess of any other district 
 in California. At Oxnard there is a factory for making sugar from 
 the beets. 
 
 A little farther up the valley from the ocean, the climate is 
 w^armer and suited to the growing of lemons. And so we find here 
 some of the largest lemon groves, and also orchards of walnuts 
 
 and olives. , i • i i i 
 
 If we continue up the valley we soon leave behind the cool 
 
 ocean winds and find that groves of orange and pomelo predominate. 
 The picturesque Ojai Valley, north of Ventura, produces a great 
 
 variety of fruits, and is also an important honey district. 
 
 How industries in this region are determined by the water sup- 
 
200 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 ply is shown in the San Fernando Valley. The eastern part is a 
 rich and highly cultivated fruit district, because there water has 
 been easily obtained for irrigation. The western end of the valley 
 has little water of its own for irrigation and was for years devoted 
 chiefly to stock and grain. Now the Los Angeles aqueduct sup- 
 plies water to this dry region, so that orchards and alfalfa fields and 
 comfortable homes are spreading over it. 
 
 The Santa Barbara coastal plain was once beneath the ocean. 
 
 If there had been no Santa Barbara coastal plain extending 
 along the base of the Santa Ynez Range, the early explorers would 
 probably not have been able to make their way northward and the 
 story of California would have been different. 
 
 We have learned how the shores of California have played see- 
 saw with the ocean. The Plain of Santa Barbara is a strip of rich 
 land which the ocean did not steal when last the coast sank. Like 
 the Plain of Los Angeles, it was formed beneath the water from 
 the mud and sand which the streams brought down from the land. 
 
 Although the climate is mild, few oranges are grown there, for 
 they do not thrive in the ocean air. The region is especially suited 
 to the growing of olives and walnuts, and some of the largest 
 orchards in the state are situated there. 
 
 Why is Santa Barbara attractive both in winter and summer? 
 
 The lofty mountain wall ' upon the north shuts off the cold 
 winds of winter. Point Conception, extending far out into the ocean, 
 and the islands lying opposite across the channel, aid in making the 
 summer warmer and less foggy than other places on the coast. 
 
 The old mission is well preserved and is much visited. There 
 are large tourist hotels and an attractive bathing beach. 
 
 Date palm grove at the experiment station, Coachella. 
 
California 
 
 201 
 
 The manner in which Santa Barbara gets its water shows us 
 again how men can overcome Nature, The Santa Ynez River is 
 on the north side of the Santa Ynez Range and flows far away to 
 the west through a thinly settled country. The city needed more 
 water and so it was brought by a tunnel, several miles long, which 
 was dug through the mountains, and now the river serves thou- 
 sands of people. 
 
 In what forms is petroleum found near Santa Barbara? 
 
 In the vicinity of Santa Barbara are valuable deposits of a dried 
 out oil which is solid at ordinary temperatures but becomes liquid 
 when heated. This is known as bitumen or asphaltum. It is quar- 
 ried, melted down to get rid of the impurities, and shipped for use 
 as street paving material. 
 
 At Summerland, oil wells have been drilled out in the edge 
 of the ocean. The tar which is continually washing ashore tells us 
 that somewhere out under the ocean in Santa Barbara Channel are 
 extensive deposits of oil. 
 
 Why are the islands off the coast of Southern California so 
 interesting? 
 
 A number of islands lie scattered 
 ofif the coast of Southern California, 
 two of them being nearly sixty 
 miles from the mainland. These 
 islands are interesting because they 
 are the tops of mountains which 
 were once a part of the continent. 
 Between them and the shore the 
 water is quite shallow in most 
 parts and the ocean floor is smooth 
 like the surface of the Los Angeles 
 and Santa Barbara Plains, which 
 were once beneath it. The sound- 
 ings show that outside of the is- 
 lands the bottom slopes down rap- 
 idly to the depths of the Pacific 
 Ocean. 
 
 The islands rise, then, from a 
 submerged part of the continent, 
 as we have already learned (page 
 200). If people had lived in Cal- 
 ifornia when the islands were con- 
 nected with the mainland, the 
 broad plains which would then 
 have been exposed would not only 
 have afforded a vast area of rich 
 An artesian well, Coachella Valley, farming land, but would have made 
 travel up and down the coast very much easier than it is now. 
 
202 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Why do so few people live upon these islands? 
 
 Many Indians once lived upon the islands, supporting them- 
 selves upon fish and molluscs, for the sea about them is full of life. 
 The islands are not suited to farming, for the slopes are generally 
 steep and dry. There are few springs and no trees except a few 
 oaks which grow in the canons. The main use to which the islands 
 are put is pasturing cattle, sheep and goats. 
 
 Santa Catalina Island has become noted as a resort. At Avalon 
 there has grown up one of the most popular seaside resorts. Bath- 
 ing, boating and fishing are the chief attractions. 
 
 Why is the fishing industry of Southern California important t 
 
 The catch of the fishermen comes from comparatively shallow 
 water. In the shallow water the fish find their food and a suitable 
 spawning ground. 
 
 The large area of shallow water along the coast of Southern 
 California about the islands and reefs favors the growth of immense 
 numbers of fish and the development of an important industry. 
 
 A fish preserve has been established about the shores of Santa 
 Catalina Island. Within a distance of three miles from the land, 
 no fish may be taken with a net or set hooks. This is an impor- 
 tant spawning ground and it was found that certain fish were in 
 danger of extinction unless they were protected. 
 
 Picking cotton, Imperial Valley. 
 
California 
 
 203 
 
 The magic transformation of the Colorado Desert into a land 
 of almost incredible riches. 
 
 Nature usually works so slowly that it takes hundreds of years 
 to bring about important changes on the surface of the earth, but in 
 the desert men have wrought a wonderful change almost in a night. 
 
 Prospectors who in early days crossed the Colorado Desert from 
 Yuma to San Diego passed over a broad plain where they often 
 suffered greatly from heat and thirst. The dark, rich soil supported 
 only thorny bushes and curious desert animals. Along the ancient 
 desert trail there are now miles upon miles of cultivated lands and 
 many thousands of people. 
 
 Those who followed the trail from Yuma to Los Angeles, or 
 who in later years rode in comfortable cars over the same route, 
 passed by a glistening salt marsh occupying a basin of 240 feet 
 below the level of the ocean. During the early part of one summer 
 this salt basin and the desert about it was, in the course of a few 
 months, changed into a lake forty miles in length. How have such 
 sudden changes come about? 
 
 The work of the Colorado River. 
 
 The Colorado River, when swollen with the water of the melt- 
 ing snows of the far-off Rocky Mountains, is yellow in color and 
 thick with mud. If a quart bottle is filled with the water and 
 allowed to settle, there will appear nearly a quarter of an inch 
 of sediment in the bottom. What has the river done with all this 
 mud which it has been bringing down for many thousands of years? 
 
 Long ago the Gulf of California extended north to where the 
 
 A natural cactus garden in the Borego Desert west of Imperial Valley. 
 
204 New ruocJUEssivK Geographies 
 
 town of Indio now stands. The mouth of the Colorado River was 
 then near Yuma. Year after year the fine silt or mud which the 
 river brought down was dropped in the gulf until a delta of solid 
 land had been built across it to the Peninsula of California. 
 
 The river ran here and there over the delta, continually chang- 
 ing its channel. Sometimes it flowed into the gulf to the south, 
 and sometimes into the lake which the delta had formed by cutting 
 off the northern end of the gulf. 
 
 As the years passed, the river emptied less frequently into the 
 lake and its waters began to dry up, leaving at last only a marsh 
 of glistening salt in its lowest part. This was known as the Sal- 
 ton Sink. 
 
 The making of Coachella and Imperial Valleys. 
 
 The channel by which the water of the Colorado River for- 
 merly emptied into the Salton Sink is known as New River. This 
 channel suggested the possibility of irrigating the desert. The soil 
 was believed to be hundreds of feet deep. It was dark and rich 
 and, under the influence of the hot semi-tropic sun, should produce 
 abundantly if water could be had. 
 
 A canal was dug from the Colorado River and water was 
 carried over the desert plain. The lands were cleared of brush, 
 plowed and planted. The desert has now become one of the richest 
 regions of California. All the sub-tropic fruits grow here and many 
 of them ripen much earlier than elsewhere because of the early 
 warm spring. 
 
 Here there are now thousands of acres of alfalfa, supporting 
 great herds of cattle. There are cotton fields, vineyards and orch- 
 ards and vast fields of cantaloupes which ripen and are gone before 
 summer comes in the north. 
 
 A large part of the desert yet remains to be irrigated. Upon 
 the delta of the Colorado River is growing up a community which 
 in time will rival in wealth those famous people of long ago who 
 dwelt upon the deltas of the Nile and Euphrates Rivers. 
 
 The Coachella Valley forms the northern arm of the Colorado 
 Desert, and Indio is its chief town. Here the Arab from North 
 Africa or from Arabia would find himself at home, for his favorite 
 
 Mud volcanoes, Imperial Valley. 
 
California 205 
 
 food is produced in abundance. More than a million date palms 
 have been set out and their fruit equals in every respect the dates 
 from Asia and Africa. 
 
 The Story of the Salton Sea. 
 
 During- a certain year, when the Colorado was very high, the 
 water broke through the head gates of the irrigating canal and 
 flowed in a mighty torrent down the old channel of New River 
 into the Salton "Basin. Before the water could be stopped, it had 
 done great damage to the farms along its course and had formed 
 a large lake, covering hundreds of square miles. It flooded the Sal- 
 ton Salt Works and compelled the railroad to move its tracks to 
 higher ground. The water also covered some interesting mud vol- 
 canoes in the midst of the desert. 
 
 Far above the present lake, on the borders of the mountains, 
 is an old beach and wave-cut cliff made long ago. Fresh-water 
 shells can still be picked up along this old beach. 
 
 Salton Sea will finally dry up and the salt marsh will reappear 
 unless the river breaks in again. 
 
 SUAOIARY. 
 
 Southern California is a land of mountains and valleys. It has 
 many sorts of climate and for that reason a great variety of pro- 
 ductions. 
 
 The valleys receive a light rainfall and could never have be- 
 come thickly settled if it had not been for the mountains on which 
 the rains and snows are heavy. 
 
 In no other part of our country are there such wonderful con- 
 trasts. Snow-covered mountains look down upon blossoming orange 
 groves, and forbidding deserts surround gardens of almost tropical 
 luxuriance. 
 
 Southern California was little influenced by the gold excitement 
 and its settlement was slow for many years. 
 
 As soon as the railroads were built into this region so that 
 it could be reached easily, and people had discovered what a mild 
 and healthful climate it^had, settlers and visitors began to come 
 by the thousands. 
 
 Irrigation systems were built and soon the dry slopes began 
 to be covered with orchards of every description. 
 
 Southern California is most noted for its climate, its scenery, 
 its navel oranges, its cotton and cantaloupe fields. To these must 
 soon be added dates, which are becoming one of its important 
 products. 
 
 Los Angeles, because of its favorable situation, has become the 
 metropolis of the south and one of the two largest cities of the state. 
 
206 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 REVIEW EXERCISES. 
 
 Why is Southern California difficult to study? 
 
 What barriers separate Southern from Central California? What 
 barriers separate it from the East? 
 
 Trace on the map the watershed. Where is the coastal slope the 
 widest? 
 
 Draw a line about the basins of the Santa Ana and Santa Clara 
 Rivers and tell which is the largest. 
 
 What is the reason for the largest rivers being on the coastal slope? 
 
 Why was this region once believed to be of little value for farming? 
 
 In what way have the mountains made it possible for Southern Cali- 
 fornia to support a great population? 
 
 How does the mountain climate differ from that of the coast? How 
 does it differ from that of the interior valleys? Which do you 
 prefer? 
 
 Tell the important products of each of the three regions just men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Why was Southern California little affected by the early mining 
 excitement? 
 
 Why did so few of the emigrants come by the southern routes? 
 
 Point out the leading mountain passes and tell what roads go 
 through each. 
 
 What are the advantages of irrigation? Are there any parts of the 
 South where it is not needed? How does the careful cultiva- 
 tion of the soil affect the need of irrigation? 
 
 Mention any farm products that can be grown in the valleys with- 
 out irrigation. 
 
 What sort of a place is selected for a reservoir? 
 
 What becomes of the rain and snow that fall upon the mountains? 
 
 Describe some of the different ways of watering the orchards and 
 vineyards. 
 
 Mention some of the things which do best upon the river bottoms. 
 Where are the best oranges raised? 
 
 What is the result of cutting the forests from the mountains? 
 
 If you owned a ranch in the San Bernardino Valley, would you ob- 
 ject to the lumbering of the mountains above? 
 
 If your home is in Southern California, describe the effects of any 
 earthquakes that you have felt. 
 
 Why are many fruits later in ripening than in Northern California? 
 
 Find out what is meant by "dry farming." 
 
 Why do so few people live in the San Gabriel Mountains? 
 
 Describe the climate needed by each of the following: sugar beets, 
 beans, oranges, lemons, raisin grapes, apples and cherries. 
 
 What are the advantages in the situation of Los Angeles? 
 
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of San Diego? 
 
 How did Los Angeles obtain a good harbor? 
 
 Describe the occupations in different parts of the region between 
 Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. 
 
 Point out upon a map the lines of travel between Southern and Cen- 
 tral California. 
 
California 207 
 
 How does the supply of water in different places affect the kind 
 
 of farming" carried on? 
 In what part are the best oranges grown? 
 Why is it so dangerous to get lost in the Colorado Desert? 
 \\^here did the salt come from that was in the Salton Sink before 
 
 the great lake was formed? 
 Mention some of the chief productions of Imperial Valley, with 
 
 reasons. 
 What is the most important crop of the Coachella Valley? 
 Why was the railroad between Imperial Valley and San Diego so 
 
 long in building although the distance is not great? 
 Why was it at first thought there was little fertile land about 
 
 San Diego? 
 What are the particular attractions of San Diego? 
 How do we know that the level of the land along the coast has 
 
 changed? 
 Why was San Diego Mission placed in Mission Valley, some miles 
 
 from the coast, rather than on the bay? 
 W^hat advantage is it to San Diego to have a railroad built east 
 
 across the mountains to Yuma? 
 Describe the attractions of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. 
 Why is it necessary to establish fish preserves, since the ocean is 
 
 so large? 
 How do we know the islands were once a part of the mainland? 
 If the land should sink 1200 feet to a point where it w^as once, 
 
 what would the eft'ect on the islands be? What would become 
 
 of fruit growing in Southern California? 
 Wliy has fruit growing developed more than manufacturing in 
 
 Southern California? 
 How has the discovery of large quantities of petroleum affected 
 
 manufacturing? 
 Tell anything that you know about the tar springs near Los An- 
 geles and how they trapped the animals and birds long ago. 
 Mention the chief attractions which have called people to South- 
 ern California. 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 Many a country which 'has been left by Nature apparently dry and 
 barren has been transformed by men into a luxuriant garden. 
 
 Valleys lying on the side of mountains from which moist winds 
 blow^ are better watered than they would be if there were no 
 mountains, while those on the opposite side are drier. 
 
 Mountains protect a country from invasion by an enemy, but at 
 the same time they stand in the way of people of that country 
 shipping their products to market. 
 
 Mountains and deserts once oft'ered serious obstacles to the settle- 
 ment of a country, but now we are able to carry water into the 
 deserts and to tunnel through mountains. 
 
208 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 No country can become rich and prosperous without a market for 
 
 its products. 
 Not all mountains contain minerals, but there are few found in 
 
 those countries where there are no mountains. 
 Men can lead water into a dry country and can drain one that 
 
 is marshy, but they cannot change the winds or the rainfall 
 
 or the temperature. 
 It is very necessary to take good care of the mountain slopes in 
 
 countries where the rainfall is light, and not permit fires, or 
 
 cattle, or lumbermen to injure them. 
 A mountainous country has a much greater' variety of productions 
 
 than a level one. 
 Each kind of plant, vegetable or fruit, requires the sort of climate 
 
 to which it has become accustomed. We cannot be successful 
 
 in raising dates in any but the hottest valleys of the desert, 
 
 for their climate is like that of the home of the date in North 
 
 Africa. 
 A coastal region over which the winds blow from the ocean has 
 
 a much more mild and even climate than it would have if the 
 
 winds blew from the land. 
 The situations of great cities are determined by Nature and not 
 
 by men. 1 -i u 
 
 The occupation of people is determined by the chmate, the soil, the 
 steepness of the slopes, and the markets. 
 
 Milk goat industry. A typical picture of the pure bred Swiss Toggen- 
 
 berg goat, Las Cabritas Montara. This is a new and 
 
 rapidly developing industry in California. 
 
fi^F 
 
 The Desert Transformed — Imperial Valley 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Great Basin: ^hat "^-^^0^^ te^Pio^e^^/ H^aTJ'""^ 
 
 *° *C^„'^rBe"-^rThry S^M^R^ch the Land of Gold. 
 What sort of country did Fremont discover in the inter.or of 
 
 Z:TZ^L. whi.e carrying ., ^t-Snt'^l^o 4" eM 
 vast unknown land west ot tlie KotKy 
 
 strange region. Wasatch Range of Utah and the 
 
 This region l^Y between the Wasatch Ka ^^^ ^^^ 
 
 Sierra Nevadas of California. It has on ^ ^^^^ ^.^^^^ ^^^^ 
 
 River with its deep canon and on the nortn 
 
 flowing in a deep canon. . , different from any which had 
 
 Fremont found this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ient it was extremely dry 
 
 ever before been known on our continent u g^^angest thing 
 
 Tnd inhabited by -rious^anima s and plaivts^ The^st ^.^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 about this region was \^f ^\ ^^P^^^^^^ rainwater that fell upon 
 
 l^t^s ^X^^coSd^L^TawryrthTo^e^n. Because of this he named 
 
 '' ^^^^^sf ^^derstand, however, th^the^C^eatB.^ 
 
 large desert waste, but consis^^s o "-^ basins ?here are lakes with 
 
 the desert. In summer the ^^^^ ^^^^^'^^ eoM w sweep over 
 
 the almost barren ground, while m ^Mnter coiQ 
 
 the surface. .^.,r+ pnH hidden in such out-of- 
 
 The springs are often so ^ar apart and hiciaen ^^^_ 
 
 the-way places that sufficient water ha to be car -d^to^^ ^^^^^^^ 
 eral days. Sometimes the ^^^ert traveler thm J ^.^ ^^.^^^ 
 
 of a lake overhung with trees ^^d leaves the trau .^ ^^^^^ 
 
 and fill his canteen, but this is only the desert mirage 
 him on to his death. addition to the danger of 
 
 t:^ rrs?4°t.'^^'"andoS : l-^s and the bones of o.en 
 and horses were strewn along the route. 
 How came this region to be a basin? 
 
 Our geographies speak of ^er basins b^'J 7/«. -'^*^- 
 Sf-pon-^t^ o^r-^^def t^rn^i'ttin tnf ^afn^ stream or river and 
 
210 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 flow away. 
 
 The region which Fremont called the Great Basin is a true 
 basin, for it has a rim all around it, like a plate or saucer. Each 
 of the many small desert basins or valleys has a rim of its own, 
 but outside of all is the great rim. 
 
 This strange land exists here because at no time since its val- 
 leys and mountains were formed has there been rain enough to form 
 river systems such as we find in other parts of our country. 
 
 If it should rain there as much as it does at San Francisco, very 
 soon every desert basin would be full of water. The higher basins 
 would overflow into the lower, and when the water had reached the 
 lowest ones and filled them, it would run over the lowest points 
 in the outer rim of the Great Basin and flow away to join either the 
 Colorado or Snake Rivers. 
 
 There would thus be formed many lakes throughout the Great 
 Basin. After a time, as the streams which ran out of them wore 
 away their channels and made them deeper, the lakes would be 
 drained. You can see how this would be from the behavior of the 
 'ittle pond when it has overflowed the dam that you made to hold it. 
 
 At one time long ago, when there was more rain than there is 
 now, some of the lakes in this desert region did overflow. Great 
 Salt Lake was then an immense lake, much larger than it is now, 
 and it overflowed its basin and emptied into the Snake River in 
 Idaho. 
 
 Owens Lake overflowed, and a large river ran south along the 
 base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and emptied into a lower basin 
 in the Mohave Desert. Here a lake was formed which has now 
 dried up. Its bed is known as Searls Borax Marsh and is filled 
 with valuable deposits of soda, borax and potash. 
 
 What has made a desert of the Great Basin? 
 
 We have already learned something of how the cool summits 
 of the lofty mountains aid in changing the moisture of the clouds 
 
 A volcanic crater in the Mohave Desert, 
 
California 
 
 211 
 
 into rain or snow. We have learned also that the storms usually 
 come from a westerly direction and that the Coast Ranges and the 
 still loftier Sierra Nevadas lie across their paths and take away most 
 of the moisture of the clouds before they let them go. 
 
 The three things which we have mentioned all work together 
 to make a desert of the Great Basin. So little moisture remains in 
 the air after it has passed the Sierra Nevadas that the Inyo-White 
 Mountain Range, which is in places almost as high as the Sierras, 
 receives but little rain and snow. East of these mountains in Ne- 
 vada it is drier still. 
 
 These things lead us to suspect what is really the case, and 
 that is, that the lowest valleys of the Great Basin which lie behind 
 these mountains, the highest in our country, form the hottest, driest 
 and most dangerous of deserts. Thus Death Valley, below the level 
 of the ocean, is the most dreaded of all. 
 
 How is it that there are lakes in this desert region? 
 
 Where there are lakes there must be streams to supply them 
 with water, and the streams must take their rise where it rains or 
 snows. How, then, can we account for lakes in the desert? 
 
 A study of the map will show that all the lakes of the Great 
 Basin lie near its borders, and that the streams which feed them 
 rise in the high mountains on the rim of the basin. Thus Great Salt 
 Lake on the eastern border of the basin receives its water from the 
 Wasatch Range. 
 
 Honey, Mono and Owens Lakes lie close to the western rim 
 
 - I »n » i^<t,'f ?S-^ 
 
 ^ ,: i'-«%ir 
 
 "*^x".i* 
 
 ;:.^ 
 
 The white salt and soda flats of Death Valley. 
 
212 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 and within the boundaries of CaHfornia. They receive their water 
 from the melting snows of the Sierra Nevadas. Walker and Pyra- 
 mid Lakes in Western Nevada also receive their supply from the 
 Sierras, but the streams w^hich feed them have to flow farther be- 
 fore they find a basin in which to stop. 
 
 Beautiful Lake Tahoe, although high in the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains, is really in the Great Basin. The water which flows 
 from it forms the Truckee River, which, after irrigating thousands 
 of acres of desert land, finally reaches Pyramid Lake. 
 
 Why are the lakes of the Great Basin so salty and alkaline? 
 
 If you will visit one of these lakes and taste the water, you 
 wall find it very nauseating. It is a disagreeable mixture of salt, 
 soda and other mineral substances. The water leaves a white, crusty 
 deposit around the shores when it evaporates, and is so dense that 
 one cannot sink in it. 
 
 These lakes, like the ocean, have no outlet. Year after year the 
 streams dissolve tiny particles of mineral substances from the rocks 
 and carry them to the lakes. Mineral springs also aid in this work. 
 No water ever flows away and that which evaporates into the air 
 cannot take the mineral substances with it. In this way the waters 
 of these lakes gradually become filled with salts of various kinds. 
 
 How are plants and animals able to live in this dry region? 
 
 We must not think that our deserts are entirely without rain 
 and that they are covered with bare rocks and sand like the Sahara 
 in North Africa. 
 
 Some rain falls in the deserts of California and they are alive 
 with many sorts of plants and animals which, through many thou- 
 sands of years, have become accustomed to doing with little water. 
 
 Many plants, such as the different kinds of cactus, are armed 
 with thorns. Others have very small leaves and are covered with 
 a resinous bark to keep them from losing the little moisture which 
 they are able to get from the earth. 
 
 Strange and interesting animals live in the desert. There is 
 the tortoise, which can go many months, and perhaps years, with- 
 out finding water, because of sacks in its body for holding a supply. 
 There is the horned toad with his spiny covering, the great lizard 
 called the Chuckawalla which the Indians eat, and many slender 
 lizards of bright color that race like a flash over the sand, and last, 
 the "side-winder," one of the most dangerous of rattlesnakes. 
 
 It sometimes happens that there are spring rains in the desert. 
 Its slopes are then quickly covered, as if by magic, with a carpet 
 of many kinds of beautiful flowers. These flowers mature their 
 seeds quickly and die. Soon all signs of their presence are swept 
 away by the winds and drifting sands. 
 
 The vegetation is not the same all over the desert. 
 
 There are belts of vegetation upon the desert just as upon the 
 
California 
 
 213 
 
 mountains, for it rains more in some places than in others, and is 
 hotter in some than in others. 
 
 Along the dry water courses in the Colorado and Mohave Des- 
 erts, we find the mesquite, a small, thorny tree bearing pods with 
 edible beans. 
 
 The most widespread plant upon the open desert is the Mexican 
 creosote bush, which has a resinous sap. 
 
 The Washington palm, seen so often in our gardens, grows in 
 the canons along the western border of the Colorado Desert. Beau- 
 tiful cactuses of various kinds abound and, in the region mentioned, 
 form most wondrous natural gardens. 
 
 Upon the Mohave Desert are vast groves of the giant yucca, 
 among which grow cactuses, creosote bush and other plants. 
 
 Higher up the slopes, where there is a little more rain, we 
 come upon the desert juniper. Above this, on the higher mountains, 
 we see the pinon pine. 
 
 Along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevadas and extending far 
 northward, the sagebrush is the chief desert plant and often grows 
 to a great size. 
 
 How much of California lies within the Great Basin? 
 
 If we begin in Northeastern California and draw a line along 
 the summits of the mountains dividing the sources of the rivers 
 which flow westerly into the ocean from those which flow easterly 
 and sink in the Great Basin, we shall find by the time we have 
 reached the southern part of the state that we have cut off about 
 one-third of its area. It will be noticed that the line is very irreg- 
 ular and that between Central and Southern California it extends 
 west almost to the ocean. 
 
 However, not all of the land included in the Great Basin is 
 desert, for along the base of the rim of mountains which we have 
 traced there arc large areas of land where there is a moderate rain- 
 fall and water for irrigation. 
 
 Sand dunes of the Colorado Desert. 
 
214 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 What calls people to the desert and how are they able to 
 live there? 
 
 The search for gold lakes people to the desert. The prospector 
 with his burros, his food and water kegs goes all through the bar- 
 ren land. Nearly all the mountains contain veins of gold and sil- 
 ver and lead, and in some places zinc. Because of the lack of water 
 many of these veins cannot be worked. If the mines appear to be 
 very valuable, water is sometimes piped to them from distant springs. 
 
 The Virginia City mines, in the edge of Nevada, and the Bodie 
 mines in California, are the most noted ones in the western part 
 of the Great Basin. At Virginia City there are springs of hot and 
 almost boiling water, which makes the workings of the mines dif- 
 ficult at great depths. 
 
 In some of the large basins of the Mohave Desert which were 
 once filled with lakes there are valuable deposits of soda, borax, 
 salt and gypsum. Rock salt as clear as glass is obtained from the 
 Danby Salt Marsh. At this place there is a curious cabin built of 
 blocks of salt. 
 
 The Searls Borax Marsh, which is the bed of an ancient lake, 
 contains the most valuable deposits of borax known in the world. 
 For years the borax was hauled across the desert to the town ot 
 Mohave in a wagon train drawn by twenty mules. 
 
 Soda has been obtained from the water of Owens Lake by run- 
 ning it into ponds and allowing it to evaporate. The soda settles 
 
 Yucca and creosote bushes in the Mohave Desert. 
 
California 
 
 215 
 
 to the bottom and is shoveled out before the water has evaporated 
 enough to make the salt separate. 
 
 In Death Valley there are also beds of salt and soda, but it 
 is difficult to work them during the heat of summer. In the mid- 
 dle of the day in summer it is hardly safe to attempt to cross the 
 glistening marshes, so great is the heat. 
 
 How is it that stock raising can be an important industry in 
 the desert? 
 
 Upon the mountains of the central and northern parts of the 
 Great Basin there is rainfall enough to grow the nutritious bunch 
 grass, but not enough for farming. In those parts the raising of 
 horses, cattle and sheep is an important industry. Many thousands 
 of sheep are pastured in places where there is not water or forage 
 for cattle. 
 
 Stock raising is also important in Surprise, Honey, Owens, 
 Mono and Antelope Valleys, where there is water for irrigation, for 
 there alfalfa furnishes a cheap forage. 
 
 To what extent can farming be carried on in the desert? 
 
 The soil of much of the desert is fertile, but only those parts 
 can be cultivated where water is to be had for irrigation. 
 
 Imperial Valley has an abundance of water brought from the 
 Colorado River. Coachella Valley, lying to the northwest, obtains 
 its water from artesian wells. 
 
 That part of the Mohave Desert lying against the north slope 
 of the Sierra Madre Mountains is called Antelope Valley, In this 
 valley are raised grain, almonds, alfalfa, apples. The water for 
 irrigation is obtained partly from the mountains and partly from 
 artesian wells. 
 
 Many fertile valleys are found along the eastern base of the 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains. They are supplied with water from the 
 
 
 Grazing sheep in the desert. 
 
216 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 melting snows upon the mountains. Owens Valley is the largest 
 of these. It is devoted largely to the raising of cattle and alfalfa, 
 but is becoming noted also for its fruits, especially apples. 
 
 About Mono Lake are cattle ranches with their irrigated mead- 
 ows. Hardy vegetables can be grown there, but as the region is 
 over 6000 feet it is too frosty for fruit. 
 
 Carson and Walker Valleys, still farther north, are chiefly given 
 over to cattle raising, although apples can be grown in them. 
 
 The Truckee River is the largest river flowing into the Great 
 Basin. It rises i,n Lake Tahoe in California, but its waters are used 
 chiefly in Nevada, where they irrigate many thousands of acres. 
 
 Honey Lake Valley, close under the northern Sierra Nevadas, 
 is noted for its apples, hay and cattle. 
 
 In far Northeastern California, at the eastern base of the War- 
 ner Range, lies Surprise Valley, a rich and highly cultivated region 
 with an abundance of water for irrigation. Fruit and all kinds of 
 farm produce are raised there. 
 
 What has determined the route of the roads and trails through 
 the desert? 
 
 If you had to cross the desert either with a team, on horseback 
 or on foot, would not your first question be as to where the springs 
 and water holes are? 
 
 As the springs are so far apart, you would have to direct your 
 course so as to reach water as frequently as possible. This might 
 make a very crooked road or trail, but every one would have to 
 
 The rugged surface of a recently cooled stream of lava in Northern California. 
 
California 217 
 
 follow it if he valued his life. We can say, then, that the position 
 of the springs is the first and most important thing determining the 
 routes of travel on the desert. 
 
 The wonderful extinct volcanoes of Eastern California. 
 
 We have learned that along the eastern base of the Sierra Ne- 
 vada Mountains there is a line of fissures in the earth where rht* 
 broken rocks when they slip give rise to earthquakes. 
 
 Through these cracks which extend far down into the interior 
 of the earth came molten rock once upon a time. This spread far 
 over the surface forming lava fields when it flowed out quietly. 
 
 When the lava was hurled out violently like the shot out of a 
 gun craters were formed, some of v^hich grew to be mountains. 
 
 If we make an exception of Cinder Cone, near Mt. Lassen, there 
 are no other craters in California so fresh and perfect as those south 
 of Mono Lake known as the Mono Craters. 
 
 Fierce eruptions from a number of craters spread fine ashes oyer 
 miles of country. After the ashes came streams of molten lava 
 which piled almost mountain high. Some of the lava cooled so 
 quickly that it formed glass. This volcanic glass or obsidian was 
 used by the Indians for arrows and spear points. In one of the craters 
 we can see their ancient quarries. 
 
 The islands in Mono Lake are w^orthy of a visit. They have 
 been almost shaken to pieces by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 
 Here there are hot springs, steaming rocks and some very interest- 
 ing craters. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 That part of our continent lying between the Wasatch Moun- 
 tains and the Sierra Nevadas is occupied by a vast desert which, 
 because it has a rim of higher land all about it is called the Great 
 Basin. 
 
 The Great Basin is of much interest to us because about one- 
 third of the area of California is included w^ithin it although the 
 number of people living there is small. It is also interesting be- 
 cause there occurs there the driest, hottest and lowest land in the 
 United States. 
 
 The driest part of the Great Basin is not without some rain 
 and so we find many animals and plants scattered through it. Some 
 of these have taken on strange and curious forms in their struggle 
 to live with little water. 
 
 Mining is an important industry, and wherever there is sufficient 
 rain to grow grasses there are cattle, horses and sheep. 
 
 The high mountains upon the eastern and western borders of 
 the Great Basin supply water for irrigating thousands of acres of 
 land, and in some of the valleys which nestle under them there are 
 rich a*nd prosperous settlements. 
 
218 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 REVIEW EXERCISES. 
 
 Trace on the map the boundaries of the Great Basin. 
 
 Point out the routes of the emigrants across the desert. 
 
 How docs the Great Basin differ from a river basin? 
 
 What would happen if the chmate should change and become 
 
 jvet? 
 
 Why is there so little rain in this region? 
 
 Why are the desert valleys so hot in summer? 
 
 What kind of an outfit would you buy for a journey across the 
 
 desert ? 
 
 How is it that salt, soda and borax are found in the desert and 
 not in the wetter parts of California? For what are these sub- 
 stances used? 
 
 Why are the desert lakes salty and those in other parts of Cali- 
 fornia fresh? 
 
 Describe any desert plants that you have seen. 
 
 What advantage have the animals of the desert over the plants? 
 
 The cabin of rock salt in the Danby Salt Marsh has stood many 
 years. What sort of a climate does this indicate? 
 
 Point out parts of the desert where farming is carried on and 
 give reasons. 
 
 Why is life in the desert most of the year very pleasant? 
 
 Find out what you can about the cloudbursts that occur in the 
 desert. Why are they so dangerous to railroads? 
 
 The giant sage brush of Honey Lake Valley shows the desert soil is rich. 
 
California 
 
 219 
 
 What can we learn from the earthquakes in Owens Valley 
 about the making- of the Sierra Nevadas? 
 
 Find out all that you can about Mono Lake and the Mono 
 Craters. 
 
 Point out parts where it is too dry for farming- and give your 
 reasons. 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 A region shut off from the ocean by lofty mountains is likely 
 to be desert and also to be very hot in the summer. 
 
 All lakes without outlets are alkaline and salty, and those with 
 outlets are fresh. 
 
 In no part of the earth has the climate always remained the 
 same. Animals and plants become adapted through many genera- 
 tions to slow changes of climate. If the changes in climate came 
 quickly they would be killed. 
 
 The Indians could not live where Nature had neglected to leave 
 any water. Civilized men can take water into the heart of the worst 
 of deserts and turn it into fruitful gardens. 
 
 Deserts add to the difficulty of traveling and seem at first 
 thought to be just so much waste land, but they supply many min- 
 erals which are not found elsewhere. 
 
 A glimpse of Westlake Park, Los Angeles. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Klamath Mountains: Whose Steep Slopes and Narrow Can- 
 ons for Many Years Interfered With Travel 
 Between California and Oregon, 
 
 Where are the Klanuth Mountains and what are their boun- 
 daries? 
 
 The extreme northern part of CaHfornia is occupied by two of 
 the seven districts or provinces into which we have divided the 
 state. Although these two districts lie side by side the character 
 of their slopes and the main occupations of their inhabitants are 
 quite unlike. 
 
 The district including the northwest corner we shall study first. 
 It is called the Klamath Mountains. It has few large valleys, its 
 slopes are generally steep and the people are largely engaged in 
 mining. 
 
 The other district forming the northeast corner we call the 
 Volcanic Plateau. It is formed of broad upland valleys with scat- 
 tered mountains and its inhabitants are mostly engaged in farming 
 and stock raising. 
 
 The Klamath Mountains lie north of the Coast Ranges. The 
 Volcanic Plateau lies north of the Sierra Nevadas. The two together 
 close in the northern end of the Sacramento Valley. They meet in 
 an irregular line extending in a northerly direction, from a point a 
 little east of Redding, west of Mount Shasta and through Shasta 
 Valley. 
 
 What is the character of the Klamath Mountains? 
 
 The Klamath Mountains are higher and more rugged than the 
 Coast Ranges and have many deep caiions. They are formed of 
 rocks which hold veins of gold and copper like those of the Sierra 
 Nevadas. 
 
 If we could look down upon this region as a bird does we should 
 see that it is formed of a group of many different ranges, each 
 range bearing a different name. Beginning at the south we have the 
 Hay Fork, Trinity, Salmon, Scott and Siskiyou mountains. 
 
 The Salmon Range is the highest and most rugged, several peaks 
 rising over 9000 feet. The heavy snows which fall there, the small 
 glaciers, glacial lakes, alpine forests and picturesque crags all remind 
 one of the High Sierras. 
 
 How is this region wat\ired? 
 
 The Klamath River, one of the largest streams of California, 
 flows through the heart of the Klamath Mountains. It rises far 
 away east of the Cascade Range in Oregon. Its waters have been 
 put to less use than any other of our California rivers for the most 
 of its course is in a canon through a rough and thinly settled country. 
 
222 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 There is no harbor at the mouth of the river and the opening which 
 it has made through the mountains is not in such a direction that 
 it is convenient to use it as a highway of travel. 
 
 The Sacramento is, on the countrary, a very useful river. It 
 rises in great springs near the base of Mt. Shasta upon the edge 
 of the Volcanic Plateau and flows in a deep cafion through the east- 
 ern part of the Klamath Mountains. 
 
 This canon ofifers a direct route through the mountains to Ore- 
 gon and is used by the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is, however, 
 so rough and difficult to traverse with wagons that the first road was 
 built by another route over the Trinity and Scott Mountains. The 
 roughness of the Sacramento River cation is due in part to a flow of 
 lava which came from Mt. Shasta and followed the caiion nearly to 
 Redding. 
 
 The Trinity is the largest river which rises in the Klamath 
 Mountains. There are some valley lands along its course but the 
 chief use to which its waters have been put is hydraulic and placer 
 mining. 
 
 Why were there no trails opened across these mountains in 
 pioneer days? 
 
 Between the Willamette Valley of Oregon and the Sacramento 
 Valley of California there lies a rough and wild country. The Klam- 
 ath Mountain region which we are now studying forms only a part 
 of this rough country. In addition to the difficulties of travel which 
 were great there was the danger of attack from the Klamath and 
 other Indians who were very numerous. 
 
 The beautiful and fertile Scott Valley in the Klamath Mountains. 
 
California 
 
 223 
 
 Because of the obstacles mentioned the Gold Seekers who came 
 through Oregon took a round-about way farther east across the 
 Volcanic Plateau. Although the surface of the country on this route 
 was very rough in places, there were few canons or steep mountain 
 slopes and the Indians were less feared. 
 
 What led to the early settlement of the Klamath Mountains? 
 
 It was the search for gold that first led people into this remote 
 and rugged region. The miners traced the golden sands northward 
 along the foothills of the Sierras. AVhen they reached the upper 
 end of the Sacramento Valley a new land of riches opened to them, 
 for all the streams coming from the Klamath Mountains were found 
 to be rich in gold. 
 
 No mountains were too steep nor cafions too rocky when gold 
 lay ahead and soon thousands of people spread all through this 
 region and towns sprang up at the rich bars. A wagon road was 
 built over the Trinity Mountains from the Sacramento Valley to 
 Weaverville, then up the Trinity River and finally across the Scott 
 Mountains. The road ended at Yreka, a rich camp. Most of the 
 camps were, however, reached only by long steep trails over which 
 everything had to be packed on horse or mule back. 
 
 When the gravels in the beds of the present streams ceased to 
 pay the miners began to work the gravels of the ancient streams, 
 portions of which remained in the form of benches along the sides 
 of the caiions. 
 
 These gravels were many feet thick and to get at the gold in 
 the bottom they used the same means as in the foothills of the 
 Sierra Nevadas. Water was brought in ditches around the hillsides 
 
 A beautiful glacial lake in the Klamath Mountains. 
 
224 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 until it was above the ground which was to be worked. From there 
 it was carried down in pipes and directed against the gravel bank 
 by means of a "giant." Thus hydraulic mining was begun and it 
 continued to be an important industry for many years. In places 
 this form of mining is still carried on. 
 
 Veins of gold-bearing quartz were discovered when the placer 
 mines began to fail but it required comparatively few men to work 
 them and the most of the population drifted away. 
 
 In what parts of the Klam^ah Mountains is mining now car- 
 ried on? 
 
 As we travel along the Sacramento River above Redding or 
 through the cafions of the Klamath, Trinity and Salmon Rivers we 
 see great piles of boulders and gravel which have been worked over 
 by the miners, and occasionally the ruins of once flourishing camps. 
 
 Huge gravel banks remain where there was too little gold, and 
 in a few places we find the miners still at work with a "giant" 
 through which a six-inch stream of water is being thrown with 
 terrific force against a high bank of gravel. 
 
 The gold quartz mines are mostly upon the mountain slopes 
 above the old placer mines. They are scattered all through the 
 Siskiyou, Scott and Trinity Mountains. 
 
 Great deposits of copper ore have been worked near Kennet on 
 the Sacramento River, and at Copper City on Squaw Creek, and 
 smelters have been built to extract the metallic copper from the ore. 
 The water which flows from these mines contains so much copper 
 in solution that if pieces of iron are placed in it they soon become 
 coated with deposits of bright metallic copper. 
 
 Valuable deposits of iron ore exist near Pitt River northeast 
 of Redding. 
 
 Is there much farming in the Klamath Mountain region? 
 
 Although most of the Klamath Mountain region is not suited 
 to cultivation there are a number of valleys of considerable- extent. 
 
 Shasta Valley lies on the boundary between the Klamath Moun- 
 tains and the Volcanic Plateau. This is a rich farming district. 
 Dairying and the raising of cattle and hay are the chief industries. 
 The climate is especially suited to the growing of apples for which 
 the valley has long been noted. Because of the high mountains 
 between it and the ocean the climate of the valley is rather dry 
 and irrigation is practiced wherever water is to be had. 
 
 Yreka is the largest town in this part of California. It was 
 once noted as a mining camp but is now^ chiefly supported by farming 
 and stock raising. 
 
 Scott Valley lies to the west of Shasta Valley wholly within 
 the Klamath Mountains, and hence has a moister climate. It is an 
 attractive and fertile region where dairying, raising of hay, grain 
 and cattle are carried on. Like Shasta Valley it produces the best 
 of apples. 
 
California 
 
 225 
 
 The Valley of the Trinity River of which Weaverville is the 
 chief place was once filled with miners, but general farming- and 
 stock raising are now the chief industries. Although the climate is 
 suited to the growing of many kinds of fruit the distance to market 
 is so great that only enough for home use is produced. 
 
 Hay Fork Valley lies in the extreme southern portion of the 
 Klamath Mountains and is devoted chiefly to stock raising. 
 
 About Crescent City, the most northern town upon the coast of 
 California, there are rich lowlands partly cleared and devoted to 
 dairying. The only outlet for produce is by steamer for, although 
 one road leads south to Eureka and another north to Oregon, the 
 distance to market is so great as to make them of no value com- 
 mercially. 
 
 Why does the interior of the Klamath Mountains contain so 
 
 few people? 
 
 Aside from the farming and mining districts which we have 
 mentioned the Klamath Mountains are almost uninhabited by white 
 people. There still remain a few Indians. No roads lead into the 
 heart of this rough region and the miners scattered along the rivers 
 pack their supplies over rough mountain trails. 
 
 Hydraulic mining on the Klamath River. 
 
226 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The mountain slopes which are level enough for farming have 
 a cold winter climate and are generally covered with forests. There 
 is no sale for timber or for farm produce. Consequently stock rais- 
 ing is, next to mining, the most important industry. 
 
 The Klamath Mountain region contains a number of attractive 
 valleys which can support many more people than now occupy them. 
 Since the early mining days it has remained in the present backward, 
 and undeveloped condition because of the lack of roads and railroads 
 and the great distance to market. 
 
 What is the nature of the forests of the Klamath Mountains? 
 
 The forests contain trees found in both the Coast Ranges and 
 the Sierra Nevadas. The most important tree of the lowlands near 
 the ocean is the redwood. As we go up the mountains we find the 
 spruce and yellow pine and scattered among them oaks of different 
 kinds. 
 
 Upon some of the dry warm cafion sides are digger pines which 
 belong far to the south, and, perhaps most interesting of all, there is 
 the Spanish bayonet whose natural home is upon the borders of the 
 deserts of Southern California. 
 
 Higher on the mountains there is the white fir, sugar pine, cedar 
 and white pine, the latter near the timber line. Upon the northern 
 slopes of the higher ridges there are forests of alpine hemlock, and 
 in some places patches of huckleberries. 
 
 Why is the lumber industry of little importance at present? 
 
 The forests of the Klamath Mountains possess great value, but 
 because transportation is so poor they have been cut chiefly upon the 
 eastern and western borders. 
 
 Crescent City is the most important shipping point for lumber, 
 redwood being the chief product. Along the upper Sacramento River 
 are mills which have cut the timber from adjacent slopes. 
 
 The larger part of the forested mountains is now included in 
 the National Forests. The timber will not be cut until it is really 
 needed and then without the waste which most lumber companies 
 permit. 
 
 The Sacramento River Cafion attracts many summer visitors. 
 
 The Sacramento River canon is important in many ways. In 
 the first place it opens a way through the mountains from the Sacra- 
 mento to Shasta valleys enabling us to reach a part of the state 
 which would otherwise be difficult to get at. 
 
 In the second place it offers many attractions as a summer camp 
 ground. The upper part of the Sacramento River canon is remark- 
 able for the many mineral springs of both sulphur and soda water. 
 The most noted are Shasta Springs at which all passenger trains stop 
 permitting the travelers to drink the pleasant sparkling water. 
 
 The springs, together with the agreeable summer climate, the 
 magnificent scenery of Castle Crags and Mt, Shasta attract thou- 
 
California 227 
 
 sands of visitors every summer to the canon and to Strawberry Val- 
 ley at its head. 
 
 In what way does the McCloud River differ from ordinary 
 rivers ? 
 
 The McCloud River has a small watershed but a large volume 
 of water. It has no branches of any consequence and is almost as 
 high in the late summer as it is in the spring. 
 
 This strange behavior is due to the fact that it is fed mostly by 
 springs, we might almost call them rivers, which come underground 
 from Mt. Shasta. These springs are supplied by water from the 
 melting snow and glaciers on the mountain and the water flows 
 under the lava and breaks out in the side of the cafion of the Mc- 
 Cloud river. 
 
 The water is clear and cold throughout the year and for that 
 reason the Government has located an important fish hatchery 
 upon it. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The northwest corner of California is occupied by a group of 
 mountain ranges all taken together being known as the Klamath 
 Mountains. They are loftier and more rugged than the Coast Ranges 
 to the south, and have steeper slopes and deeper cations than the 
 Volcanic Plateau to the east. 
 
 The discovery of gold first led to the settlement of this region, 
 but with the working out of the placers most of the people moved 
 away. 
 
 There are a number of fertile valleys but the greater part of 
 the region is unsuited to anything but -lumbering and mining. 
 
 The mining is now confined to gold quartz mining and hydraulic 
 mining. The valuable forests have been lumbered only along the 
 borders of the district. 
 
 Owing to the general roughness of the region and the distance 
 to market it remains thinly settled and in a backward condition. 
 
 REVIEW EXERCISES. 
 
 According to the relief map the Klamath Mountains appear to 
 be a northward extension of the Coast Ranges. Why, then, do we 
 call them by a different name? 
 
 How do these mountains resemble the Sierra Nevadas? 
 
 Why is the Klamath River of so little use to the inhabitants of 
 the region? 
 
 Point out the route of the first wagon road from the Sacramento 
 Valley to Yreka. Why did it not go up the Sacramento River 
 cafion? 
 
 What kinds of mining are now carried on? Which is the most 
 permanent kind of mining: placer, hydraulic or quartz mining? Give 
 your reasons? 
 
228 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 Point out the chief valleys in which farming is carried on. Is 
 fruit growing important? What disadvantages do the farmers labor 
 under? 
 
 What attractions are offered by the Sacramento River cation? 
 
 Explain why the McCloud River has such an even flow through- 
 out the year. 
 
 Tell what you can about the lumber industry. What are the 
 chief varieties of trees found in the Klamath Mountains? 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 River caiions to be useful as highways of travel through moun- 
 tains must extend in the direction in which people wish to go, thus 
 connecting one centre of business with another. (Compare in this 
 connection the cafions of the Klamath and Sacramento Rivers.) 
 
 The settlements and industries of a mining country are less per- 
 manent than those of an agricultural country. 
 
 A country may have many natural resources and yet be so far 
 from market that they cannot be developed. 
 
 The occupations which people carry on in any country are deter- 
 mined by Nature. 
 
 Any mountain region which is rich in attractions as summer 
 camp grounds should be preserved in its wild state with the greatest 
 care. 
 
 The Klamath River in the Klamath Mountains — a stream which runs away 
 
 to the ocean unused. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Volcanic Plateau: An Elevated Region of Broad, Plain-Like 
 Valleys, Lava Fields and Extinct Volcanoes, 
 
 V^olcanoes have had much to do with the making of California. 
 
 Volcanoes and lava eruptions occur, as we know, where there 
 are cracks in the earth formed by the making of mountains or the 
 sinking of land. 
 
 California is a country of many mountain ranges, some of 
 which are still growing as we can tell by the earthquakes, as well as 
 a country of many volcanoes. 
 
 If we should travel over California we would find extinct vol- 
 canoes in nearly every part, but it is only in the northeastern corner 
 that volcanoes and lava flows are so numerous as to change the 
 whole appearance of the country. 
 
 Long ago Northeastern California, instead of being a moun- 
 tainous plateau as it is at present, was a lowland of marshes and 
 lakes. 
 
 If we had been there in those days we could have traveled from 
 the Sacramento Valley northeastward into Oregon without meeting 
 any mountains. There was then no Mt. Lassen or Mt. Shasta. 
 
 The map shows us that now there is a continuous chain of moun- 
 tains reaching from the Sierra Nevadas to the Klamath Mountains 
 completely inclosing the Sacramento Valley. How did this great 
 change come about? 
 
 The building of the Volcanic Plateau. 
 
 There came a time ever so long ago when fissures opened in 
 the earth over a great extent of country now forming the north- 
 western portion of the United States. This region extended into 
 what is now northeastern California. From these fissures came lava 
 which spread out in vast thin sheets and cooled with a rough, jagged 
 surface. 
 
 From certain places in these fissures the lava was hurled out 
 with explosions. Some of it was in the form of fine ashes or pumice, 
 some of it was in the form of cinders or scoria, while occasionally 
 great masses many feet in diameter were thrown out. 
 
 We call these places where the explosions occurred craters. 
 The lava which was blown out and accumulated about them formed 
 cinder cones, and after a time if the explosions continued long enough 
 the cinder cones grew into mountains. 
 
 The eruptions took place here and there for hundreds of thou- 
 sands of years. There were times when the earth was as quiet as 
 it is today in this region. During these quiet times forests spread 
 over the country. Lakes filled the hollows of the lava and birds 
 and animals, dififerent from any living there today, occupied the 
 country, as we can tell by the bones that are in some places dug out 
 of the rocks. 
 
230 
 
 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 At last so much lava accumulated that it formed the plateau 
 which we are now studying. The lava is, in places, more than a 
 half mile deep, and not only covers all northeastern California but 
 much of Oregon, Idaho and Washington. It is one of the greatest 
 fields of lava in all the world. 
 
 What has led us to believe that the volcanoes of Northeastern 
 California are not dead but only sleeping? 
 
 There are many places upon the plateau where there are hot 
 or boiling springs. Hot Spring Valley, a few miles east of Lassen 
 Peak, is a most interesting region of this kind. Here there are 
 many hot springs. At one point is a boiling steaming .lake ; at an- 
 other place there are curious mud volcanoes where jets of steam have 
 brought up mud from the softened rocks. 
 
 These things lead us to believe that not far below the surface 
 the earth is very hot and perhaps molten. 
 
 The recent eruptions of Mt. Lassen show that the volcanoes 
 of this region are not all dead. 
 
 In Pioneer Days Peter 
 Lassen opened a trail from 
 Oregon across the Volcanic 
 Plateau and near a great 
 volcanic mountain. His name 
 was given to this peak which 
 has an elevation of 10,577 
 feet and marks the southern 
 end of the Cascade Range. 
 
 In the summer of 1914 
 
 Mt. Lassen commenced a 
 
 series of eruptions which 
 
 lasted through a period of 
 
 more than five years. Large 
 
 quantites of volcanic ashes 
 
 and scoria were thrown out 
 
 and half molten lava was 
 
 pushed up in the crater. 
 
 The eruption formed 
 
 a most interesting sight. 
 
 Clouds of ashes rose many 
 
 thousands of feet in the air 
 
 presenting an appearance 
 
 similar to that of Vesuvius, 
 
 ,, , . . ^, , , , the great Italian volcano, 
 
 Mt. Lassen in eruption. The smoke cloud , . . . 
 
 shows the features of a face. when it is in eruption. 
 
California 
 
 231 
 
 Cinder Cone in eruption less than 100 years ago. 
 
 If we should climb Mt. Lassen and look away toward the east 
 across the forested mountains we would see at a distance of about 
 20 miles a field of black rock with a cone-shaped mountain rising 
 from it. This mountain is Cinder Cone and the black rock around 
 it is lava. 
 
 It is believed that the eruption of volcanic ashes and the build- 
 ing of the cone-shaped hill occurred about 200 years ago, and that 
 the flow of black lava, which covers about ten square miles, took 
 place about 75 years ago. Thus the last eruption here was only a 
 few years before the first white people crossed the mountains into 
 California. 
 
 The story of Cinder Cone is very interesting. There were first 
 violent explosions. Great quantities of volcanic ashes were blown 
 into the air and carried by the wind over the surrounding country. 
 Near the crater the ashes fell four to six feet deep killing all the 
 surrounding trees. Many partly burned trunks still lie scattered 
 about on the surface of the ashes. 
 
 Many large masses of lava called volcanic bombs were blown 
 out and lie scattered thickly about the base of the cone. Some of 
 these bombs are almost round and weigh more than a ton. 
 
 The slope of the cone is so steep and the cinders lie so loosely 
 that it is difficult to climb it. From the summit one can look into a 
 wonderfully symmetrical crater about 100 feet deep. 
 
 The stream of molten lava which came last blocked up the 
 valley and formed a body of water called Snag Lake. 
 
 The Devil's Kitchen; steaming mud springs near the recent volcanic erup- 
 tions of cinder cone, east of Lassen Peak. 
 
232 New PuociRESSivE Geographies 
 
 The surface of this lava flow is still rough and jagged for the 
 rocks have not yet crumbled to form a soil for plants. 
 
 For what are the Modoc lava beds noted? 
 
 On the shore of Tule Lake near the Oregon line is another field 
 of new lava. To this lava field Capt. Jack, a Modoc Indian, once 
 retreated with his followers because it oiTered such secure hiding 
 places. There he was able for a long time to resist United States 
 soldiers. 
 
 The lava has a rough and jagged surface across which horses 
 cannot be taken. It is difficult even for men to climb over the 
 billows and hollows of the lava, for it is full of crevices, caverns and 
 tunnels. In some of the deepest hollows the snow remains all 
 summer. 
 
 Why was it easier to cross the plateau in the early days than 
 to go through the Klamath Mountains ^ 
 
 The Volcanic Plateau is easy to travel over because of its broad, 
 plain-like valleys. These valleys were once filled with lakes. They 
 have an elevation of 3000 to 4500 feet and although they are separated 
 by mountains there are no deep canons to be crossed. 
 
 The worst difficulties are caused by the fields of bare lava which 
 the traveler has to go around if possible. The building of the plateau 
 took a long time and it is only the newest streams of lava that are 
 still rough and impassable. 
 
 The lava as it slowly crumbles upon the surface becomes cov- 
 ered first with hardy bushes. Then, after a time, the seeds of 
 pines sprout and take root and a forest springs up. The trees were 
 at first small and stunted because of the thin soil, but as the years 
 passed it became deep and rich. As we wander through the forest 
 now with no rocks sticking out above the surface we can hardly 
 believe that it was once so rough. 
 
 Mt. Shasta: The queen of the great volcanoes. 
 
 Mt. Shasta is the most noted and majestic of all the mountain 
 peaks of California. It stands -alone, rising far above the surround- 
 ing mountains, and is capped with a white helmet of snow through- 
 out the year. 
 
 From the summit of Shasta, 14,380 feet above the ocean, we 
 obtain a view over all of Northern California. To the southeast 
 there appears a line of forest covered mountains extending to Mt. 
 Lassen. These were once active volcanoes. In the opposite direc- 
 tion we can see, if the air is clear, the lofty peaks of the Cascade 
 Range. These also were once active volcanoes. Looking toward the 
 east we can make out scores of little volcanic mountains, or cinder 
 cones as we usually call them. 
 
 Mt. Shasta began in the same way as did the cinder cones that 
 lie scattered over the plateau, but its story did not stop as did theirs. 
 For many thousands of years eruption followed eruption. Some- 
 times it was ashes and slag-like lava from the main crater; some- 
 
California 
 
 233 
 
 times it was a lava stream which broke out of the side far below 
 the summit. 
 
 Finally the mountain became so high that the craters broke out 
 upon the sides. In this way Shastina, the lower peak, was made. 
 Mt. Shasta is now probably extinct althoug-h there is a hot spnng 
 upon its summit. 
 
 Nature is at work tearing down the mountain. The rains and 
 the water of the melting snows have washed great gullies in the 
 loose materials. The glaciers, of which there are several, are also 
 helping along the work of tearing down the mountain. 
 
 The strange lakes of the Volcanic Plateau. 
 
 As the lava flowed over the country during the building of the 
 plateau it sometimes formed a dam across a valley, making a lake 
 in the part lying above the dam. Fall River Valley and Big Valley 
 were in this way once made to hold lakes. Tule Lake upon the 
 Oregon boundary was also formed in a hollow in the lava. 
 
 Near Hot Spring Valley, a few miles east of Mt. Lassen, is a 
 most peculiar lake. The water plants which abound in this region 
 have grown nearly over the lake and have formed a floating meadow. 
 This meadow is solid enough to support people who go out upon it 
 and fish through holes which they have cut in the sod. 
 
 Goose Lake, one of the largest lakes in California, once formed 
 the source of Pitt River. The climate of this region, like that of the 
 Great Basin, is now drier than it used to be and the lake does not 
 overflow its basin. 
 
 Mt. Shasta and Shastina from Shasta Valley— glaciers lie in the hollows 
 
 between the peaks. 
 
234 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The peculiar rivers of the Volcanic Plateau? 
 
 Pitt River is one of the largest streams of California. It flows 
 sluggishly through the valleys of the Plateau, but has cut a deep 
 canon upon its western edge where it rushes down to join the Sac- 
 ramento. 
 
 One of the things which strikes the traveler upon the Plateau 
 as very strange is the scarcity of springs and streams. Although 
 the rainfall is heavy upon the higher parts, yet the lava is so full of 
 pores and cracks that the water quickly disappears underground 
 instead of gathering in streams on the surface. Upon some parts 
 of the plateau there is as little surface water as is found in the 
 desert. 
 
 The water creeps down through the lava until it comes to cav- 
 erns or layers of gravel between different flows of lava. It flows 
 along these, gathering from various sides until it forms an under- 
 ground river. By and by this river reaches the edge of the lava flow 
 and then appears upon the surface as a great spring of pure cold 
 water. 
 
 Fall River is the largest and most remarkable river of this kind 
 in California. It boils up through the rocks in several great springs, 
 one of which supplies water enough to run a sawmill. This river 
 winds through the meadows of Fall River Valley in a stream 100 
 feet wide and finally empties into Pitt River. 
 
 Hat Creek is formed by another of these underground streams. 
 It bursts out of the rocks in g'reat springs whose volume of water 
 does not change through the year. 
 
 How does the climate of the plateau region compare with that 
 of other parts of California? 
 
 Since the valleys of the Plateau are so high and are shut away 
 from the ocean by mountains they are cold in winter and warm in 
 summer. The sub-tropical fruits of the lower valleys cannot of 
 course be grown here. In their place we find apples, peaches, pears, 
 plums and cherries of a cooler climate. 
 
 Thus we discover again the interesting fact that we do not 
 have to travel hundreds of miles toward the north to find a cooler 
 climate. We have merely to ascend the mountains a few miles to 
 the upland valleys where the climate, productions, and the occupa- 
 tions of the people are entirely different from those of the lower 
 valleys. 
 
 The western part of the Plateau, including the slopes of the 
 great volcanic peaks, receives a heavy rain and snowfall. It is, 
 therefore, covered with a dense and valuable forest of sugar pine, 
 yellow pine, spruce, fir and cedar. 
 
 The farther east we go. toward the Great Basin the drier the 
 climate becomes. The valleys are treeless while the mountains sup- 
 port a thin growth of pine and juniper. 
 
California 235 
 
 What are the occupations of the people of the plateau? 
 
 Lumbering is the chief occupation of the heavily forested west- 
 ern portion. The mills are situated in the forests and the lumber 
 is floated down to the railroads in flumes. Matches form one of the 
 important manufactured products of these forests. 
 
 The raising of cattle, sheep and horses forms the leading occu- 
 pations of the Plateau valleys. Hay and grain are also raised in 
 large quantities. Fruits such as apples do well except m the highest 
 
 valleys. . , , . , ,1 1 
 
 The lack of cheap transportation seriously hmders the develop- 
 ment of farming. This makes it more profitable to raise cattle for 
 they can easily be driven to market. 
 
 Why is it that there are no important mines in this region? 
 Except for the gold at Hayden Hill the lava rocks of the Plateau 
 region contain no valuable minerals. The gold-bearing rocks of the 
 Sierra Nevadas probably extend under the lava at a great depth, but 
 we shall never be able to reach them. 
 
 Why is the plateau so thinly settled.'' 
 
 The Plateau region, although containing many fertile and pro- 
 ductive valleys is thinly settled because it is remote from market 
 and has always been difficult to reach. All supplies brought in or 
 produce shipped out has to be freighted upon wagons over long and 
 rough mountain roads. 
 
 The eastern part of the Plateau is now reached by a railroad 
 which is being built from Reno in Nevada north into Oregon. 
 
 What is needed to develop the Volcanic Plateau? 
 
 Many of the valleys of the Plateau are beautiful and attractive 
 and possess an agreeable climate. It can, hoAvever, never be thickly 
 settled until there is easier communication with the markets of the 
 Sacramento Valley. 
 
 As long as stock raising C9ntinues to be the most profitable 
 industry the ranches must remain large and the population scat- 
 tered. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Northeastern California is occupied by a volcanic plateau which 
 is only a part of a greater plateau which extends over much of Ore- 
 gon, Washington and Idaho. 
 
 The western part is densely forested. The broad plain-like val- 
 leys toward the east are drier and have a cold winter climate. 
 
 The two m6st striking features of the Plateau are Mts. Shasta 
 and Lassen. The former presents the grandest scenery of any single 
 mountain in California. The latter is noted for its recent eruptions. 
 
 The region about Cinder Cone is remarkable for its fresh lava 
 field, mantle of volcanic ashes, and hot and boiling springs. 
 
236 New Progressive Geographies 
 
 The Volcanic Plateau, because it is far from market, is thinly 
 settled, and devoted chiefly to the raising of such products as cattle 
 that can be disposed of more profitably than other things. 
 
 REVIEW EXERCISES. 
 
 How do men harness steam and make it work? 
 
 What has steam to do with the making of cinder cones and vol- 
 canoes? 
 
 Describe the appearance of a piece of slag or lava. 
 
 What uses are made of pumice and volcanic ashes? What makes 
 sand soap clean so well? 
 
 What do we mean by an active volcano? An extinct volcano? 
 
 Describe the surface of a field of freshly cooled lava. 
 
 Why is it difficult to travel over fresh lava with horses and 
 wagons ? 
 
 How does Nature finally smooth ofif the surface? 
 
 Describe the country around Cinder Cone. (Study if possible 
 the Mt. Lassen Folio, U. S. Geological Survey, Wash.) 
 
 How do you account for the few streams and springs on the 
 Volcanic Plateau? What becomes of the rainwater? 
 
 How do Fall River and Hat Creek differ from ordinary streams? 
 
 Why is the Plateau thinly settled? From what directions can 
 it be most easily reached by railroad? 
 
 What are the disadvantages of farming on the Plateau? What 
 are the advantages of stock raising? 
 
 Why are the winters cold? What part of the Plateau contains 
 the forests and why? 
 
 What leads us to believe that there may be more volcanic erup- 
 tions in the Plateau region? 
 
 PRACTICAL LESSONS. 
 
 Volcanic regions are usually regions of earthquakes, but earth- 
 quakes may occur where there are no volcanoes. The great earth- 
 quake rift of the Coast Ranges has no volcanoes near it. 
 
 Volcanic eruptions have probably not ceased in regions where 
 there are hot and boiling springs. 
 
 Volcanic mountains are usually more picturesque, for example, 
 Mt. Shasta, than other mountains for they stand out by themselves. 
 Mt. Whitney is higher than Mt. Shasta but is far from being as 
 picturesque. 
 
 Volca^'ic regions have usually few surface streams; the water 
 flowing unaerground. Alany great springs abound in volcanic regions 
 where underground rivers come to the surface. 
 
 Regions covered with volcanic soil are very productive if there 
 is sufficient rainfall. 
 
 Regions left by Nature difficult of access settle up slowly until 
 railroads are built to them. 
 
 The occupations of a region are determined by many things, 
 chief among which are climate and accessibility. 
 
Ind 
 
 ex 
 
 Alameda, 132 
 
 Angel Island, 126 
 
 Aqueduct, Los Angeles, 62, 175 
 
 Berkeley, 132 
 
 California, in 1848, 7, 17; name, 8; situa- 
 tion, 9; described, 9, 10; plant and ani- 
 mal life, 11; climate, 11, 28, 29, 109, 115, 
 168 
 
 Camino Real, 28, 176, 198 
 
 Carquinez Strait, 80, 114 
 
 Channel Islands, 112. 201 
 
 Chico, 91 
 
 Cinder Cone, 23 
 
 Clear Lake, 104 
 
 Climate, 28, 22; influence of latitude upon, 
 34; influence of mountains upon, 36; 
 winds, 43 
 
 Coachella Valley, 204 
 
 Coal, 48, 113 
 
 Coalinga, 90 
 
 Coast, nature of, 23; soundings along; is- 
 lands, 25, 95, 112; tidal lagoons, 112, 197 
 
 Coast Ranges, 95; direction of, 96; settle- 
 ment of, 99; early towns, 110 
 
 Colorado Desert, 203 
 
 Colorado River, 26, 203 
 
 Conservation, 49-54, 55, 174 
 
 Crescent City, 225 
 
 Death Valley, 31; expedition, 35, 215 
 
 Deltas, 77, 86; soil of, 87, 117, 204 
 
 Deserts, how accounted for, 30, 210; life, 
 212, 213; minerals, 214 
 
 Diablo, Mt., 125 
 
 Donner Lake, 36 
 
 Donner Party, 36 
 
 Earthquakes, 64, 65 ; cause of mountains, 
 177, 178 
 
 Eureka, 101, 103 
 
 Exploration, affected by streams, 59 
 
 Farallone Islands, 119 
 
 Farming, 53; influence of markets on, 60; 
 influence of rain, 60, 61, 224 
 
 Fishing, 119, 202 
 
 Foothills, 146 
 
 Forests, 42; distribution, 51; value, 51-52; 
 eflPect of distribution, 53, 98, 148, 173, 226 
 
 Fremont, General, 7; the Pathfinder, 21, 35, 
 139, 209 
 
 Fresno, 90 
 
 Gavilan Range, 31 
 
 Gold, discovery of, 7, 18; effect on settle- 
 ment of California, 7-8 ; effect on other 
 industries, 8, 165 
 
 Grain Growing, 60 
 
 Great Basin, 35, 209-210; farming in, 216; 
 minerals, 214 
 
 Great Salt Lake, 35, 210 
 
 Great Valley, 10, 17; first settlers, 78; in- 
 dustries, 79; climate, 80, 82; situation, 
 80, 84; pioneer towns, 88; area, 91,152 
 
 Honey Lake, 35, 211 
 
 Hydraulic Mining, 142 
 
 Imperial Valley, 204 
 
 Indians, origin and life, 13 ; disappearance 
 of. 14 
 
 Industries, affected by destruction of vegeta- 
 tion, 45 
 Inyo-White Mountain Range, 31 
 Irrigation, influence on farming, 61, 82, 86; 
 
 effect on Southern California, 162, 170 
 Japan Current, 34 
 Kings River, 78 
 Klamath Mountains, 221, 227; ranges of, 221, 
 
 232 
 Klamath River, 26, 221 
 Lassen Trail, 28 
 Latitude, 34 
 Life, Plant and Animal 11, 41, 42; value of, 
 
 54, 55, 117, 212 
 Livermore Valley, 124 
 Long Beach, 188 
 Los Angeles, 184, 188 
 Los Angeles Valley, 182 
 Lower California, 8, 15 
 Lumbering, 141-145, 226 
 Manufacturing. 133 
 Marysville, 27, 89 
 Marysville Buttes, 84 
 McCloud River. 227 
 Merced, 91 
 Klines, routes to, 26 
 
 Minerals, 46, 48, 87, 105, 119, 179, 214 
 Mineral Springs, 105, 111, 227 
 Mining, influence upon California, 46, 47, 88, 
 
 141. 142; towns, 143, 144, 223, 224 
 Missions, situation, 16, 110 
 Modesto, 91 
 Modoc Lava Beds, 232 
 Mohave Desert, 26 
 Mono Lake, 35. 211 
 Monterey, 30, 111 
 Mountain Passes, 57, 58; advantages of, 57, 
 
 58, 176 
 Mountains, influence upon climate, 36. 38, 
 
 172 
 Mt. Hamilton Range, 125 
 Mt. Lassen, 230 
 Mt. Shasta, 232 
 Muir Woods, 124 
 Napa Valley, 123 
 National Forests, 53, 154 
 National Parks, 53, 154 
 Natural Regions, 71 
 Oakland, 132 
 Oranges, 34 
 Overland Trails, Salt Lake and Carson, 22; 
 
 Santa Fe, 22: Oregon, 23; Old Mormon, 
 
 23 
 Owens Lake, 35, 210 
 Owens Valley, 31 
 
 Padres, selection of town sites bv. 16 
 Pasadena, 189 
 Peninsula Range, 195 
 Petrified Forest, 105 
 Petroleum, 48, 113, 179, 197, 201 
 Pioneers, 7; routes used by, 21 
 Placer Mining, 141, 179 
 Products, 28; of Coast Ranges, 98 
 
Quartz Mining. 141 
 
 Quicksilver, 105. 113 
 
 Railroads, 58 
 
 Rainfall. 31, 34, 44; of Coast RariKes. 98. 
 108 
 
 Red BluflF, 27. 90 
 
 ReddinK, 90 
 
 Redlands, 190 
 
 Redwoods, 102 
 
 Resources, Natural, care of, 48 
 
 Richmond. 133 
 
 Riverside. 190 
 
 Rodeo. 17 
 
 Routes to California, 21, 162 
 
 Russian River Valley, 121 
 
 Russian Settlement, 17, 103 
 
 Sacramento. 26. 78. 89 
 
 Sacramento River, 26. 11 ; tributaries of, 11, 
 84, 222; canons, 226 
 
 Sacramento Valley. 11 
 
 Salinas Valley. 30 
 
 Salmon Range. 221 
 
 Salt Lake and Carson Trail. 22 
 
 Salton Sea, 205 
 
 San Benito Valley. 120 
 
 San Bernardino. 189 
 
 San Bernardino Mountains, 178 
 
 San Bernardino Valley, 10 
 
 San Diesfo, 192, 195 
 
 San DieKO Bay, 197 
 
 San Francisco, climate of, 115, 126; appear- 
 ance in 1848 and 1854, 127, 131 
 
 San Francisco Bay, 26, 64, 96, 114, 116, 117, 
 118 
 
 San Gabriel Range, 195 
 
 San Gorgonio Mountain, 178 
 
 San Joaquin River, 78 ; tributaries of, 78, 85 
 
 San Joaquin Valley. 31, 11 
 
 San Pedro. 186 
 
 Santa Ana, 191 
 
 Santa Barbara, 200 
 
 Santa Clara River Valley, 198 
 
 Santa Clara Valley, 120 
 
 Santa Cruz Mountains, 125 
 
 Santa Fe Trail. 22. 23, 28 
 
 Santa Lucia Range. 110 
 
 Santa Monica. 188 
 Santa Rosa Valley. 121 
 
 Scenery. 64; influenced by volcanoes, 66; 
 earthquakes. 65; water and ice. 67. 111. 
 
 153, 154 
 
 Searls Borax March, 214 
 
 Settlement of California, 11; influence of 
 rainfall upon vegetation, 44, 168 
 
 Shasta Valley, 224 
 
 Shell Mounds, 13, 114 
 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains, 27; value of, 83, 
 139; canons of, 147; thunder storms of, 
 148; lakes, 150-151 
 
 Snake River, 35 
 
 Soil, 44; effect of careless handling, 49, 50, 
 86, 167, 181 
 
 Sonoma Valley, 123 
 
 Southern California, deserts of, 10, 159; sur- 
 face, 159-161; rivers of, 164, 183; val- 
 leys, 164 ; railroads, 169 
 
 Southern Coast Ranges, 110 
 
 Spanish Settlements, 14, 17; ferants, 17; with 
 reference to climate, 29 
 
 Stock Raising, 165, 173 
 
 Stockton, 27. 90 
 
 Submerged Continental Plateau, 24 
 
 Suisun Bay, 85 
 
 Surface, 43, 44 
 
 Sutter's Fort, 26, 89 
 
 Taft, 90 
 
 Tahoe. Lake, 151, 212 
 
 Tamalpais, Mount, 124 
 
 Travel, early difficulties of, 28 
 
 Trinity River, 222 
 
 Tulare. 91 
 
 Tulare Lake, 78 
 
 Ukiah, 103 
 
 Vegetation, effect upon industries. 45 
 
 Visalia. 91 
 
 Volcanic Plateau, 229; making of. 229: lakes 
 of. 22l\ rivers of. 234; climate, 234 
 
 Volcanoes, 66, 67, 84, 105. 217, 229, 232 
 
 Water, need of, 49 
 
 Whitman, Marcus, 8 
 
 Winds, 43 
 
 Yerba Buena, 127 
 
 Yosemite Valley, 153 
 
Illustrations 
 
 Page 
 
 Among the Giant Redwoods Frontispiece 
 
 Breakers in Santa Monica Bay -.-■- - .2 
 
 Placer Miners Panning Gravel for Gold ^^ 
 
 A Digger Pine Tree ,r 
 
 A Klamath River Indian ^^ 
 
 Old Fort Ross from the Sea 2? 
 
 Work of the Waves at Pt. Buchon ^^ 
 
 Morro Rock --— - 25 
 
 Sea Caves near Port Harford 27 
 
 Freighting on the Sacramento River ' 
 
 Rainfall Map of California - - -;.- ----- ^. 
 
 Scene on the New State Highway m the Coast Ranges M 
 
 " Shastina ^^ 
 
 Mt Ritter in the High Sierras .^-...-.... -----: „ 
 
 Glacial Lake on Head of South Fork Me^rced _River ^/ 
 
 Glacier on the North Slope of Shastina ^ 
 
 Mt. Ritter in the High Sierras .^-...-.... -----: „ 
 
 Glacial Lake on Head of South Fork Merced River ^/ 
 
 Camp Grounds in Oak Forest at Crystal Springs ^^ 
 
 Party of Teachers on the Summit of Mt. Whitney Jc 
 
 Forest of White Fir on Slope of Mt. Shasta ^^ 
 
 Kern River Oil Fields -- ---- -"-.-- .,, 
 
 Erosion of Pasture Land in San Mateo Hills ^'J 
 
 Soil Erosion in Southern California .-- -.- ^J- 
 
 Effect of Fire upon Forests of San Gabriel Mountains l°< 
 
 Effects of Avalanches in the High Sierras ^o 
 
 Gaviota Pass in Santa Barbara County .- -.-;-- ^^ 
 
 Freighting on the Desert before the Railroads were built ^v 
 
 Branding Cattle on a Desert Range ^^ 
 
 The Pinnacles, Monterey County °^ 
 
 Upper Yosemite Falls .. 
 
 Effect of the Earthquake near Pt. Reyes - "" 
 
 Volcanic Bombs from Cinder Cone o/ 
 
 The San Luis Obispo Buttes --- .- ^ 
 
 Eastern Front of the Sierra Nevada Mountains 'i 
 
 Bullfrog Lake at the Head of Kings River - /| 
 
 An Irrigation Canal --■■—- ^^ 
 
 Level Floor of the Sacramento Valley ■- 1," 
 
 Stockton Water Front :-"4-;-,V 
 
 Picking Cantaloups in the San Joaquin Valley 
 
 Stockton Water Front :-";";"T, 81 
 
 Picking Cantaloups in the San Joaquin Valley ^ 
 
 Drying Apricots in the San Joaquin Valley. »^ 
 
 Rice Field in the Sacramento Valley -, °^ 
 
 A Potato Field in the San Joaquin Delta Region |3 
 
 Scene on the Sacramento River at City of Sacramento »» 
 
 Grounds of the State Capitol at Sacramento e^ 
 
 Fresno from an Aeroplane -L. 
 
 Rocky Shore of Carmelo Bay _- ^^ 
 
 Rocky Coast of Northern California. .- ^' 
 
 Sawmill and Log Boom on the Mendocino Coast v^ 
 
 Point Arena Lighthouse . -.. 
 
 A Great Sawmill at Eureka t^^ 
 
 Schooners Loading Lumber at Eureka j^^ 
 
 Eel River at Low Water I, 
 
 The Lower Salinas River „_ 
 
 Artichoke Fields of San Mateo County.. - ^/ 
 
 Bridge Across the Salinas River at King City u^ 
 
 Sand Dunes near San Francisco. -..--.- . 
 
 San Francisco Bay from the Berkeley Hills |i^ 
 
 Looking in Through the Golden Gate jjo 
 
 The Suisun Marshes •-- -.- ,,o 
 
 The Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco j^o 
 
 Point Reyes 
 
Page 
 
 Hop Field in the Russian River Valley 121 
 
 On the Beach at Santa Cruz 122 
 
 Mt. Diablo from Walnut Creek 124 
 
 San Francisco Water Front 126 
 
 Looking Down Market Street, San Francisco 128 
 
 Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park 129 
 
 City Hall, Oakland 130 
 
 The Civic Center, San Francisco 132-133 
 
 Oakland Business Center from Lake Merritt 134 
 
 Shipping on Oakland Water Front 135 
 
 The Caiiipanile on the University Grounds at Berkeley 137 
 
 Tuolumne Table Mountain 140 
 
 A Desert Valley in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains 142 
 
 Sierra Valley 143 
 
 Kings River Canon 145 
 
 Arctic Flowers 146 
 
 In the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees 147 
 
 A Gnarled and Twisted Fox-Tail Pine in the High Sierras 150 
 
 Trees at the Timber Line 151 
 
 Perched Boulder left by a Glacier 153 
 
 The Piimacles on the Crest of the High Sierras 154 
 
 Hetch Hetchy Valley 155 
 
 Among the Orange Orchards of Southern California 161 
 
 Spanish Bayonet and Big Cone Spruce, San Gabriel Mountains 163 
 
 Irrigation Canal near Riverside 166 
 
 Mt. San Jacinto from Hemet Valley 167 
 
 Bear Valley Reservoir, San Bernardino Mountains 169 
 
 Picking Lemons 170 
 
 Irrigating an Orchard by Checks ■ 171 
 
 A Wonderful Spring in the San Bernardino Mountains 180 
 
 Celery Field near Los Angeles 181 
 
 An Ostrich Farm near Los Angeles 183 
 
 Scene in the Business District of Los Angeles 185 
 
 Scene in the Residence District of Los Angeles 186 
 
 San Pedro Harbor 189 
 
 An Avenue, Pasadena 190 
 
 Mission Inn, Riverside 191 
 
 Chula Vista Grammar School near San Diego; 192 
 
 Mt. San Antonio from near Santa Ana 193 
 
 The Plaza, San Diego 194 
 
 San Gorgonio Pass from the Desert Slope 195 
 
 Seventeen Palms Spring in the Borego Desert 196 
 
 The Beach at Santa Barbara 198 
 
 Date Palm Grove at the E.xperiment Station, Coachella 200 
 
 An Artesian Well, Coachella Valley 201 
 
 Picking Cotton, 'Imperial Valley 202 
 
 A Cactus Garden in the Borego Desert 203 
 
 Mud Volcanoes, Imperial Valley • 204 
 
 A Volcanic Crater in the Mohave Desert 210 
 
 Death Valley 211 
 
 Sand Dunes of the Colorado Desert 213 
 
 Yuccas and Creosote Bushes in the Mohave Desert 214 
 
 Grazing Sheep in the Desert 21o 
 
 Rugged Surface of a Stream of Lava : 216 
 
 Giant Sagebrush of Honey Lake Valley 218 
 
 Westlake Park, Los Angeles 219 
 
 Scott's Valley in the Klamath Mountains 222 
 
 A Glacial Lake in the Klamath Mountains 223 
 
 Hydraulic Mining in the Klamath River -. 225 
 
 The Klamath River 228 
 
 Mt. Lassen in Eruption 230 
 
 The Devil's Kitchen 231 
 
 Mt. Shasta and Shastina from Shasta Valley 233 
 
 Colored Supplements 
 

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