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 ' REPRINTED FROM THK 
 
 Bulletin of the American Bureau oe Geography 
 
 Vol.. II, September and Dkcembbk, 1901 
 
 The Physiography of California 
 
 HAROLD W. FAIRBANKS, Ph. D. 
 
 WINONA, MINN. 
 
 JONES & KROEGER PRINTERS 
 1901
 
 Ci F( 
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 BY HAROLD W. FAIEBANKS, PH. D. 
 
 That portion of the Paeilic Coast region embraced within the 
 state of California is characterized by a remarkable diversity in its 
 topographic features. The relative position of the mountain 
 ranges, valleys, and plains, and the direction of the prevailing 
 winds have given rise to great contrasts in climatic conditions as 
 well as a variety of productions. Regions of excessive heat con- 
 trast with those of perpetual snow; regions of humidity with those 
 of aridity; while broad valleys devoted to fruit and grain adjoin 
 mountains tilled with the precious metals. 
 
 For the full understanding of the physiography of a region, 
 the student must know something of its geological history. How 
 especially true this is of California will appear in the course of 
 this paper. 
 
 Physiographically, California cannot be treated as a whole. It 
 is divided often by sharp lines into strongly contrasting provinces 
 ;^ which have been subjected to ditferent conditions, and exhibit dif- 
 I^ ferent types and phases of physiographic development. In one 
 portion volcanic features, often but slightly modified by erosion, 
 predominate; in another those characteristic of recently uplifted 
 1 mountain blocks; in another forms of mature or far advanced 
 ^ topograjjliy; and in still another those resulting from coastal eleva- 
 tion or submergence. 
 V No other state in the Union contains more interesting material' 
 
 < for the study of physiography, and for observing the l)earing of 
 j this upon human life, than does California. Greography should 
 here attain a full and symmetrical development. 
 
 GENERAL PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 
 
 The important features of relief of the Pacific coast region 
 have a general north and south direction varying in places near the 
 coast to northwest and southeast. These are a result of structural 
 conditions.
 
 2 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 We may distinguish in a broad way four physiographic divi- 
 sions as we pass from the Rocky Mountains westward to the Pacific 
 ocean. 
 
 (1) The Great Basin and Plateau region. Nevada and the 
 eastern portion of California lie in the Great Basin, while eastern 
 Oregon and Washington is occupied by a vast elevated tract con- 
 tinuous with the Great Basin and known as th(- Columbian plateau. 
 
 (2) These areas are bordered upon the west by an almost con- 
 tinuous mountain block of great magnitude, embracing many of 
 the highest peaks in the United States. In California where this 
 range reaches its greatest elevation it is known as the Sierra Nevada. 
 In northern California, Oregon and Washington it is termed the 
 Cascade Range. 
 
 (3) West of this line of mountains lie the most important 
 valleys of the Pacific Slope. The largest of these embraces the 
 San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, known altogether as The 
 Great Valley of California. This valley extends in a direction a 
 little west of north thru the heart of the state. Similarly situ- 
 ated in Oregon is the Willamette valley; and in Washington, the 
 large valley partly submerged by the waters of Puget Sound. 
 
 (4) Separating this line of valleys from the Pacific ocean 
 there is another series of mountains fully as continuous as the 
 Sierra Nevada-Cascade block, tho less elevated, and designated in 
 general terms as the Coast Ranges. 
 
 Different ptortions of the Coast Ranges are known under dif- 
 ferent names. In Washington there are the Olympic mountains; 
 in northern California and Oregon the Klamath mountains; and 
 thru California many other local terms which will be given later. 
 
 At the southern end of the Great Valley the Sierra Nevada 
 mountains blend with the Coast Ranges in a complex group. Con- 
 tinuing easterly beyond this point the Coast Range axis is known 
 in a broad way as the Sierra Madre mountains. South of San 
 Bernardino the designation Peninsula Range is applied to those 
 mountains which extend southerly into the peninsula of Lower 
 California. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL HISTORY AS RELATED TO THE PRESENT TOPOGRAPHY 
 
 We trace the beginnings of the broader features of the present 
 topography far back in Tt^rtiary time. Altho tlic mountain axes 
 of the California region were outlined at a much more remote
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 3 
 
 period yet those processes which developed the penei)l;iin, the rem- 
 nants of which are to be distinguished uiJon the mountain summits 
 over much of the state, seem to have carried on their work thru 
 the middle and late Tertiary. 
 
 The geography of the state near the close of the Miocene was 
 very different from that of the present day. The ocean filled the 
 Great Valley and spread over large portions of the Coast Ranges. 
 The Lassen's peak volcanic ridge which now connects the Sierra 
 Nevadas with the Cascade Range was not in existence at that time 
 and the Sacramento valley was consecpiently oj)en at the north. A 
 series of more or less connected hikes of fresh water stretched at 
 about ocean level across northeastern California into southern 
 Oregon. Thru a protracted j^eriod of erosion, not without inter- 
 ruptions, the Sierra Nevada Range had been reduced to one of low 
 relief. The streams flowed sluggishly in broad valleys, and the 
 climate and vegetation were quite different from that of the pres- 
 ent day. 
 
 The Klamath mountain region was probably an island at this 
 time. It had also been worn down and a peneplain similar to that 
 in the Sierra Nevadas extended over much of it. 
 
 Remnants of an ancient peneplain also appear upon the moun- 
 tains of southern California. They exhibit about the same degree 
 of degradation and are to the best of our present knowledge refer- 
 able to the same period as those in northern California. 
 
 Toward the close of the Miocene period important mountain 
 making movements affected the region of the Coast ranges. Pro- 
 tracted erosion followed the uplift. Then subsidence took place 
 with the deposition of extensive beds whose position is on the bor- 
 der land between the Miocene and Pliocene. After the deposition 
 of these beds uplift and folding again occurred. Then the Coast 
 ranges app(nAr to have been submerged again with the deposition 
 of beds, both fresh water and marine of Pliocene age. 
 
 The movements of the central Coast ranges were undoubtedly 
 felt in the Klamath mountains and in the Sierra Nevadas, but we 
 have not there the criteria to distinguish them as certainly. There 
 were intervals of renewed canon cutting in these latter regions but 
 the sum total of the results seems to have been a continuation of 
 the base leveling. 
 
 A large part of the Pliocene was probably a period of depres- 
 sion in the whole Pacific coast region. The Coast ranges were
 
 4 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 however not as completely submerged as in the Miocene, and there 
 are reasons for believing that the oldest recognizable peneplain rem- 
 nants date from this time. 
 
 Extending south from the Klamath mountains nearly to San 
 Francisco bay there is an ancient plain truncating the mountains. 
 During the Pliocene it received the finishing touches as did also 
 that upon the Sierra Nevadas and in Southern California. 
 
 The north and south mountain lilocks of the Great Basin region 
 may have originated during Cretaceous time; but toward the close 
 of the Tertiary renewed movements affected them. The Sierra 
 Nevadas were raised Isy a tilting of the block until it reached a 
 hight perhaps as great as the present. Similar fault movements 
 must also have disturbed the Coast ranges, in places breaking up 
 the Pliocene peneplain. Volcanic outbreaks were associated with 
 the movements of late Tertiary time. At the northern end of the 
 Sierra Nevadas the outpouring lava filled up the depressed basin 
 and formed the Lassen's peak volcanic ridge. Farther north they 
 built up the great Cascade platform. 
 
 Volcanic action at several distinct periods filled up the ancient 
 river channels of the northern Sierra Nevadas forcing the streams 
 to seek new ones. Volcanic action also occurred in portions of the 
 Coast ranges upon an extensive scale and upon the coast islands. 
 Thus we find that near the close of the Tertiary period the geographic 
 features of the Pacific slo^je underwent a radical transformation. 
 
 Erosion actively took up the task of destroying the newly ele- 
 vated mountain blocks. In the Sierra Nevadas. Klamath mountains, 
 and in the Sierra Madre of southern California the great canons of 
 the present day were begun. Erosion went on actively also in the 
 Coast ranges and the details of the present drainage were worked 
 out, but here the larger valleys of the present day were already in 
 existence. They originated in part during the folding at the close 
 of the Pliocene, and in part earlier as a result of the combined 
 influence of structure and erosion. The whole region under dis- 
 cussion must have attained an elevation greater than the present 
 and maintained this elevation until the canons had attained nearly 
 their present proportions. 
 
 Concomitant with this elevation, and perhaps as a result of it, 
 the Sierra Nevadas. Klamath mountains and Cascade range became 
 glaciated. The scouring of the ice modified the mountain topog- 
 raphy somewhat, especially the canons, leaving as a heritage to the
 
 THE PHYSKHHiAPHY OF (•ALIF(JRNIA O 
 
 present day the hundreds of basins in which lie the heautiful hikes 
 so thickly scattered thru the hit;h Sierras. 
 
 The Glacial period was followed l)y a treneral depression until 
 the Coast ran<ies were submeriijed 1,000 to l.oOOfeet below the level 
 now existintJ^. During the period of submergence partial peneplains 
 were formed in different portions of tlie Coast ranges where the 
 conditions W(^re favorable. As the country began to rise the ter- 
 races wdiich are so characteristic of the ocean front and of many of 
 the river valleys came into existence. The movement continued 
 until the coast was again several hundred feet higher than now. 
 Finally came the last submergence drowning the mouths of the 
 streams and giving rise to San Francisco bay. 
 
 These are, as far as they are known, the chief events which 
 have left their impress upon the topography. From this brief out- 
 line it is not difficult to see that the topographic features of Cali- 
 fornia are the result of many and diverse physical conditions. At 
 the present time a discussion of the topography in all its phases 
 can only be tentative. Much more investigation is necessary before 
 we can be sure that we have a true story of even the recent geolog- 
 ical events upon the Pacific coast. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHIC PROVINCES 
 
 For convenience of discussion the state will l)e divided into the 
 following provinces: (1) The Sierra Nevada mountains, (2) The 
 Great Basin region, (3) The Volcanic Plateau region, (4) The 
 Great Valley of California. (5) The Coast ranges, (6) The Klamath 
 mountains. (7) The Sierra Madre and Peninsula ranges, (8) 
 Coastal features. 
 
 Some of the divisions here made are natural ones, others are 
 assumed for convenience. For instance, the Klamath mountains. 
 Coast ranges and Sierra Madre mountains constitute a continuous 
 mountain axis the whole length of the state. The drainage features 
 also are not defined by the boundaries of the different provinc(^s. 
 The Pitt river rises in the volcanic plateau region and crossing the 
 axis of the Sierra Nevada -Cascade block joins the Sacramento in 
 the Great Valley. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Sierra Nevada mountains 
 extend from about thirty-five degrees north latitude in a northerly 
 direction, and finally a little northwesterly nearly to Lassen"s peak 
 in latitude forty degrees, thirty minutes; thus having a length of
 
 t) THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 about four Imiulred miles and a width aA-eraijing nearly eighty miles. 
 The highest i)orti()n of the range, and that which forms its water- 
 shed, lies very close to its eastern edge. For fully two hundred 
 miles thru the central portion of the range this divide is seldom 
 lower than 11,000 feet and scores of peaks attain an elevation of 
 nearly 14,000 feet, Mount Whitney reaching 14,522 feet. 
 
 The range rises very slowly from the Great Valley upon the 
 west but breaks otf with exceeding ruggedness upon the east. 
 Except toward its northern end this mountain range is practically 
 a unit so far as its history is concerned. The elevation to the i^res- 
 ent great liight has l)een brought about thru the formation of a fis- 
 sure or series of fissures at its eastern base. Upon their western 
 side the mountain ridges descend practically to sea level, but owing 
 to the long gentle slope the elevation of the range cannot be appre- 
 ciated from that side. It is only wdien seen from the valleys at the 
 base of the fault scarp that the magnitude of the range can be 
 appreciated. Altlio these valleys vary from 2,500 to 6,000 feet in 
 altitude, yet the wall of rock forming the scarp rises so abruptly 
 and with such colossal proportions that it is almost overpowering 
 in its grandeur. 
 
 Upon the south the range has often been considered as termi- 
 nating at Tehachapai 'i^ass with an elevation of 8800 feet, the 
 mountains continuing to the west of the i^ass and connecting with 
 the Coast ranges, being known as the Tehachapai range. The dis- 
 tinction thus made is immaterial to the main fact that topographic- 
 ally the Sierra Nevada mountains bend around the southern end of 
 the Great Valley and connect with the Coast ranges. 
 
 The mighty eastern fault scarp in all its distinctness may be 
 considered as beginning in the vicinity of Walker's pass, a low por- 
 tion of the divide east of Kern Valley. With a gentle curve the 
 mountain wall sweeps toward the north rising higher and higher 
 for one hundred miles until culnnnating northwest of Owen's lake 
 in jagged peaks of the Mount Whitney region. From this point 
 for another one hundred miles northerly there is but a slight low- 
 ering of the crest of the range, altho the displacement by faulting 
 which at the lower end of Owen's valley is as much as 10,000 feet, 
 decreases to not more than 5,000 or (5,000 feet in the Mono lake 
 basin. 
 
 As we approach Lake Tahoe the single fault zone is replaced 
 by two. the ruggedness of the range gradually decreasing as Mt.
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 7 
 
 Lassen is a^jproached. Lake Tahoe lies in a depression due to the 
 formation of two fault scarps and the dropping of the eastern block. 
 South of Honey Lake valley the scarp of the eastern l)lock presents 
 a bold front to the northeast fully -iSM) feet hi<ih. 
 
 As we approach Mt. Lassen the older crystalline rocks of the 
 Sierra Nevada mountains disappear under the comparatively 
 modern lavas of the volcanic plateau of northeastern California. 
 
 Viewed from the summit of the Inyo range lying to the east of 
 the highest portion of the Sierra Nevada fault scarp the evenness 
 of the crest of the latter is most remarkable. The great peaks 
 like Whitney are not isolated as are those of the Cascade range but 
 lose their individuality in the mass etfect. This uniform sky line 
 which appears as we view the mountains from a distance, becomes, 
 as we investigate them more closely, but a cover for a complexity 
 of canons and gorges of great depth and jjicturesqueness. 
 
 If we discard the deep canons, the peneplain character, of tlie 
 crest of the Sierra Nevadas. appears most strikingly from almost 
 any point giving a good view over extensive areas. Many of the 
 highest peaks including Mount Whitney have flat or gently sloping 
 summits bordered by precipitous walls. As one ascends the long 
 gently inclined ridges of the western slope he is constantly reminded 
 of an ancient plain now elevated and undergoing degradation. The 
 evenness of this plain is often enhanced by the comparatively uni- 
 form surface of the old river beds which cap the ridges between 
 many of the canons of the central and northern Sierras. 
 
 The streams of the old peneplain before the re-elevation of the 
 mountains, were choked with waste and mingled in this waste was 
 the gold from the broken down quartz veins. Toward their head- 
 waters the topography was undoubtedly quite rugged in places, but 
 by far the greater portion of the western slope, thru continued 
 erosion and the choking of the streams, was destitute of any marked 
 relief. The older gravels date from the Miocene or earlier times 
 and the discordance ])etween these and the more recent ones indi- 
 cated periods of disturbance. 
 
 The volcanic outbreaks inaugurated in late Pliocene were con- 
 tinued thru a considerable interval of time. The lavas flowed from 
 fissures along the crest of the range near lines of disturbance. 
 They increased in amount toward the northern portion of the range 
 where the eruptions of mud. ashes, and lava flowing down the val- 
 leys completely buried them. The most remarkable flow remaining
 
 8 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 is that known as Tal)l(Mnountain. This is found in Tuolumne 
 county and extends from the high mountains many miles down into 
 the foothills. The country about it is now lower and many tunnels 
 have been run under it to obtain the Q;old in the buried gravels. 
 
 The volcanic material deposited in the river beds whether frag- 
 mental or massive appears to have been quite resistant to erosion 
 and so in many cases pc^nnanently displaced the old streams. In 
 the southern portion of the Sierras there was little or no volcanic 
 capf)ing and the old channels have been practically removed since 
 the uplift of the mountains. It is prol^able also that thru the cen- 
 tral Sierras the uplift was greater than farther north, so that 
 erosion would be more* vigorous. 
 
 In the region of the high Sierras rise those streams whose 
 canons have made the scenery of these mountains famous. The 
 Tuolumne, Merced, San Joaquin, Kings, and Kern rivers have 
 eroded canons 3,000-5,000 feet deep. The most noted of these are 
 the Yosemite valley, Hetch-Hetchy valley, and Kings river canon. 
 
 The most of the streams which have cut the great canons have 
 not yet reached a graded condition unless it be near the borders of 
 the mountains where they emerge upon the [)lains of the Great 
 Valley. Their banks are generally steep and but little bottomland 
 exists along them. Near the southern end of the Sierras, however, 
 as well as at the north, there are valleys of considerable extent 
 seemingly pointing towards a longer existence of the present con- 
 ditions in those regions coupled with a lesser amount of uplift. At 
 the south the Kern valley is a notable example, while the Sierra 
 valley at the north is even larger in extent. 
 
 The drainage of th(» eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada moun- 
 tains is short, but the streams descend with great velocity to the 
 valleys of the interior basin. The larger ones are Owens, Walker, 
 Carson, and Truckee rivci's. 
 
 The formation of a double fault block from a point a little 
 south of Lake Tahoe has given rise to the Tahoe-Sierra valley thru 
 a partial dropping of the eastern l)lock. The eastern face of the 
 latter block gives rise to the bold niouri tains southwest of Honey 
 Lake valley. In the Ta,ho(^-Sierra valley, close under the fault 
 scarp of tlie western l)lock. lie Lakes Tahoe, Donner, Independence 
 and Wel)er. These nve all drained by the Truckee river which 
 flows easterly and northerly across the dro^jped block, reaching 
 finally to pyramid lake in the Great Basin.
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF rAI,IF< )KNIA 
 
 TH 1: Vi iS1-;M 1 I 1. 1 A 1. l.>. 
 
 LakcTalior is the larL^est of the bodiesof ^vat('l• aloii<j,- \\\v l)as<> 
 of the fault sc-arp. It is one of the most beautiful lakes alsoof the 
 whole Sierras. It o%ves its existence to a lava dam formed across 
 the ancient valley of the upper Truckee river. This fault scarp 
 extends north of the lakes l)oundinii- Sicn-ra and jNIohawk valleys 
 iipon the west, but t;radually disappears. This has permitted
 
 10 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 FeathtT river to extend its Lasiii eastward so as to drain both the 
 valleys mentioned westward into the Sacramento. 
 
 Waterfalls of threat hit^ht and l)eaiity are frequently found 
 where the smaller streams join the main rivers, as in the case of 
 those in the Yosemite valley. The fairly uniform hardness of the 
 rocks, chiefly granitic over large areas, has resulted more often in 
 swift rapids than in waterfalls. 
 
 The gold bearing belt upon the western slope of the Sierra 
 Nevada mountains is known world-wide. The Mother Lode, a 
 series of gold bearing (juartz veins extending for more than 100 
 miles thru the foothills, exhibits in i^laces such large bodies of 
 quartz as to have had considerable effect upon the topography. The 
 system of fault plains running parallel to the range thru the 
 mineral region has, in connection with dikes of igneous and meta- 
 morphic rocks of varying hardness, determined in great measure 
 the courses of the smaller streams in the western or foothill l)elt. 
 They exhibit a fairly complete adjustment to such conditions, but 
 the main courses of all the larger streams are consequent upon the 
 slope of the mountains. 
 
 From the relation of the glaciated surfaces to the present 
 canons it is believed that the latter were largely excavated before 
 the Glacial i^eriod. It is probable that the ice during this time 
 nowhere reached much below 1,000 feet in the Sierras, while toward 
 their southern end 8,000 feet was the limit. 
 
 Th(^ higher portions of the mountains were swept bare of all 
 loose and disintegrated material by the ice, and the harder rocks, 
 generally granitic, were finely grooved and polished. Glacial 
 moraines are particularly well shown upon the eastern slope where 
 the ice streams passed out of the canons on to the edge of the des- 
 ert basins. Vast quantities of fragmental material thus encumber 
 the mouths of many canons and in some cases have given rise to 
 beautiful lakes. The basins at the heads of the streams often 
 exhibit very finely the characters of glacial cirques, being walled 
 in upon their upper sides by nearly precipitous cliffs 1.000-2,000 
 feet high. The canons descend by successive steps from these 
 cirques at their head to a point near the foot of the fault scarp. 
 Many of the basins are occupied by lakes wdiich are either entirely 
 rock rimmed or inclosed upon their lower edges by morainal walls. 
 
 The rolling, rock-ribbed surface of the high Sierras is fairly 
 (lotted with glacial lakes. These elevated regions with their bare and
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CAMFoKMA 
 
 11 
 
 polish(j(l rocks appear to have beou f,'laciate(l so recently that it 
 lias been thought that the Glacial period was later here than in the 
 eastern portion of the continent. 
 
 Various exphinations have been <:;iven to account for the 
 remarkable features of the Yosemite valley. This valley lies in 
 the heart of the Sierras and is traversed l)y the Merced river which 
 
 EL CAl'ilAN, VUSEMiii,. 
 
 enters it by a series of rapids and waterfalls, and leaves by a nar- 
 row canon. The valley floor, which is about three-fourths of a mile 
 wide and ei^ht miles lonu. has an elevation of 4.000 feet, while the 
 mountains enclosing it rise 3,000-5,000 feet more. Some portions 
 of the inclosint; wall are practically vertical to hights varying from 
 3.000-4,000 f(H^t. The Yosemite creek enters the valley in three 
 falls measuring altogether 2,700 feet.
 
 12 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 A study of the structure of the cjranitic rock of the region 
 shows that it is traversed l)y systems of joint-planes. Where these 
 are inclined the walls are slopint?, but where the main system is 
 vertical the atjentsof erosion, water and ice. have widened the canon 
 to a valley with steep or vertical walls. It is also probable that 
 where the valley lies the rocks were exceptionally fissured and thus 
 more readily disinte<i;rated and eroded. This joint structure in the 
 .granite has controlled much of the detail in the scenery of the whole 
 Sierra Nevada range. 
 
 Portions of the granite of the high Sierras, especially in the 
 vicinity of the Yosemite and Kings river canon, weathers out in 
 great dome-like forms. This is undoubtedly produced thru concen- 
 tric weathering in portions of the rock not so permeated with joint 
 planes. The great south dome of the Yosemite is a typical example. 
 
 The same agents then which have produced the great canons 
 have given rise to the Yosemite, only here they have been aided by 
 exceptional conditions in the rocks. 
 
 The Great Basin Region. In the early Cretaceous the Sierra 
 Nevada and Great Basin ranges were not in existence. It is 
 believed however that the region as a whole was consideral^ly ele- 
 vated l)ut owing to earth strains was at last brought into a condition 
 of unstable ecpiilibrium. This resulted in the formation of north 
 and south fissures and the whole region between the present 
 Sierras and the Wasatch range broke up into a series of crust 
 blocks. Tli(^ crust blocks moved upon each other, some sinking, 
 others rising. The depressed one gave rise to the valleys, the 
 uplifted ones to the mountain ranges. Movements along these 
 fault fissures have continued at times to be manifested down even 
 to the recent period. As late as 1872 displacements as great as 
 forty feet took place in Owen's valley and at other points thru 
 western Nevada. 
 
 The disturbances which elevated the Sierra Nevada mountains 
 at or near the close of the Pliocene probably also affected many 
 other ranges of the Great Basin, for the fault scarps of many of 
 them are fully as abrupt as that of the eastern face of the Sierras. 
 
 The valleys of the Great Basin are generally hot and arid. 
 They range in elevation from that of Death valley, about sixty-nine 
 feet below sea level to 6,000 feet above. The mountain ranges are 
 high, many of them reaching an elevation of 10,000 feet. The Inyo 
 and Wliitc mountain ranges attain an elevation in places nearly
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 18 
 
 equal to that ot" the Sierra Nevada, White moimtaiu peak at the 
 extreme northern end of the latter ran}i;e towering to 1-4,000 feet. 
 
 That portion of the Great Basin within California exhibits two 
 distinct phases of topographic development. (1 ) That lyin^ east 
 of the Sierra Nevada. This is typical of the Great Basin as a 
 whole; that is, it is characterized by arid or semi-arid valleys 
 inclosed between hi^^h and rugged north and south mountain ranges. 
 (2) That in southeastern California lying between the Sierra 
 Nevada and Sierra Madre ranges, and including the Colorado desert. 
 The northern part is an elevated region known in general terms as 
 the Mojave desert. It is characterized by a lack of recently faulted 
 crustal blocks and has an irregular mountain structure. The 
 mountains are low and nearly buried in their own waste, which 
 has accumulated for a long time in the inclosed basins. This latter 
 region is typical of an old topography and may with reason be con- 
 sidered as an illustration of how the Great Basin would a])])ear as 
 a whole if it had not been broken up by faulting. 
 
 In discussing the features of the Great Basin in detail, the 
 portion exhibiting low relief will be taken up first. The basin of 
 the Colorado desert is separated from the Mojave desert by a low 
 range of mountains forming the southeastern continuation of the 
 San Bernardino range. The Colorado desert is in simjole terms the 
 northern portion of the dej)ressed area occupied by the Gulf of 
 California. It has been gradually cut off from the gulf by the 
 delta material brought down by the Colorado river. The lowest 
 portion at Salton lies 260 feet below the level of the sea. A j^or- 
 tion of the Colorado river during stages of high water is frequently 
 diverted thru a channel known as New river. This latter river 
 runs northerly and if the water is sufficient reaches the Salton 
 basin, forming a broad and shallow lake. It cannot have been a 
 very long joeriod since the basin was occupied by a permanent 
 sheet of water, for the old shore lines are very distinct. Extensive 
 salt works are situated at Salton, the salt being scraped up from 
 the deposit covering the surface of the basin. 
 
 The area of the Mojave desert is somewhat triangular in sliape. 
 It is between 200 and )500 miles wide from north to south along the 
 eastern border of the state, but gradually narrows westward as the 
 Sierra Nevadas and Sierra Madre approach each other, and termi- 
 nates at their meeting point. The area is sharply marked off upon 
 the south by the Sierra Madre mountains, but upon the north the
 
 14 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 irregular ranges gradually give place to the north and south fault 
 ranges. This region is hot and exceedingly arid except toward the 
 western end, where a portion known a^ Antelope valley receives 
 some rainfall. 
 
 Many lake basins dot the surface of the Mojave desert. Dur- 
 ing the Glacial period these were filled with shallow bodies of 
 water, but now they are dry and expose vast stretches of yellow 
 clay. The only stream which penetrates the desert is the Mojave 
 river. It rises upon the northern slojDe of the San Bernardino 
 range and finally sinks in the center of the desert. 
 
 The most impressive feature of this region is that of the long 
 waste slopes which center about the scattered mountain peaks and 
 slope away for miles in every direction, terminating ujDon the 
 borders of the ancient lake beds. Over wide stretches the moun- 
 tains have nearly disai^peared beneath these waste slopes, rising 
 only as small rocky knobs browned under the influence of the 
 intense heat of summer. Toward the eastern edge of the area there 
 are higher mountains, but the waste slopes are fully as prominent. 
 Pilot knob reaches a hight of 5,500 feet, but the most of the val- 
 leys vary between 1,800 and 2,500 feet. 
 
 The topography illustrates most excellently the conditions 
 which flnally arise in the course of the degradation of a mountain- 
 ous region from which the waste cannot be removed l)ecause of the 
 lack of an outlet. It also illustrates the effects produced by erosion 
 in an arid climate. What little niiu there is comes in sudden and 
 severe storms at rare intervals. The rush of water sweeps the 
 debris from the mountain canons out upon the valleys at their 
 mouths. There the waters no longer confined spread out and drop 
 their load in the form of debris fans or cones. These coalescing 
 when the canons are near together give rise to the long and gentle 
 slopes. 
 
 The immense quantities of fragmental and rudely stratified 
 material forming the even slopes clustered about the peaks, and 
 leading down to the inclosed basins or sinks, impresses one with the 
 power of the destructive agents. Ev(>ryw]iere the desert seems a 
 region of waste and desolation. 
 
 Recent volcanic action has occurred at a number of points. 
 Finely shaix'd lapilli cones, and long winding flows of black basaltic 
 lava free from soil and unmodified l)y erosion, are characteristic 
 forms.
 
 THE rilYSKXiKAl'HV OF CALlFoKNlA 15 
 
 Till' lake basins upon the northern od^o of the area were sup- 
 plied ilurin^ the Glacial period with water from the melting snows 
 upon the Sierra Nevada mountains. The great Borax marsh, whose 
 surface is now whitened almost as far as the eye can reach by the 
 efflorescence of different salts from the moist clays beneath, was 
 then occupied l)y one of these lakes. The marsh is partly inclosed 
 by mountains upon whose sIojdcs are still well defined beach lines 
 of the ancient lake. 
 
 We pass by degrees from the structureless region of old topo- 
 graphic forms to that upon the north, where the north and south 
 fault lines give place to rugged and often youthful forms. At the 
 southern portion of the latter region are the Panamint, Amaragosa, 
 Coso, and Slate ranges. The highest of these is the Panamint, 
 which at one point reaches an elevation of 10,000 feet. These 
 mountains do not occur as isolated blocks, but sending oflP s^jurs 
 interlace so as to give rise to valleys more or less separated from 
 each other. The mountains rise to a hight sufficient to give them 
 a light rain or snowfall and are covered, about their summits, with 
 a scanty growth of nut pine. There is scarcely any precijDitation 
 in the valleys but occasional springs occur near the edges of the 
 valleys. They are undoubtedly connected with the fault fissures. 
 Death valley is the most widely known of all these depressions. It 
 has a length of about fifty miles and a width of ten. The center of 
 the valley lies below the level of the sea. The great stretches of 
 alkali flats in this valley acquire an intense heat during the sum- 
 mer days, and have proved disastrous to many a prospector. 
 
 Panamint valley, upon the opposite side of Panamint range 
 fi'om Death valley, is nearly as large, but has an elevation of 1.300 
 feet. Farther west and across the Argus range is Salt Wells des- 
 ert, reaching up to the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 
 waste slopes in some of these valleys have spread out so far as to 
 nearly or quite ol)literate the alkali beds of the former lakes. 
 
 Toward the southern end of the area under discussion the 
 mountain slopes are more dissected and do not show such marked 
 indications of recent movement. To the north, however, lies the 
 Inyo- White mountain range, having a length of nearly 100 miles. 
 Thruout much of its length, especially upon its eastern side, 
 this mountain block presents a fault scarp nearly as high and fully 
 as precipitous as that of the Sierra Nevada mountains. I'pon the 
 western border of Saline vallev. which lies at the eastern base of
 
 16 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 the Inyo ran^e, the hitter apiDears to have undergone marked eleva- 
 tion in very recent times. The borax marsh in the bed of the 
 valley lies close under the bold eastern front of the range. The 
 disj^lacement here must be l)et\veen 8,000 and 10.000 feet. 
 
 Owens valley is one of the most interesting basins of eastern 
 California. It occupies the enormous sunken area lying between 
 the Sierra Nevada range and the Inyo- White mountain range. At 
 the southern end of the valley is Owens lake, one of the largest of 
 the remaining basin lakes of California. It has an elevation of 
 3,700 feet and lies close under the fault scarp of the Sierra Nevada 
 range. The depressed crustal block, or rather blocks, forming the 
 valley extend northerly from the lake for about 80 miles with a 
 width of 10 miles. Owens river traverses the valley, rising in the 
 Sierras opposite its northern end and emptying into the lake. 
 Many small streams enter the valley from the west and are used 
 for irrigation. How completely the Sierras cut off the moist winds 
 is shown by the fact that altlio the Inyo and White mountain 
 ranges in places rise nearly as high, yet the precipitation upon 
 them is very light. 
 
 During the high water stage of the Grlacial period Owens lake 
 overflowed its basin. The waters poured thru the long depression 
 extending southerly from the lake and close under the Sierras, and 
 passing the narrow gap where the Coso mountains come so close 
 to the Sierras, emptied into Salt Wells desert. From the latter 
 region they spread to the borax marsh already described. The 
 ancient bed of this now dry river corresponds in liight to the 
 uppermost terrace of Owens lake. The river was fully 1,000 feet 
 wide and its ancient channel is now followed for thirty miles by 
 the wagon road from Mojave to Owens valley. 
 
 Running thru the middle of the Owens valley depression and 
 toward its southern end there is a line of hills called the Alabama 
 hills. These have an abrupt front to the east rising 200-300 feet 
 above the sandy river bottom. This shows that the valley is divided 
 into at least two longitudinal blocks, the eastern one having been 
 dropped more than the other. As a feature of the earthquake of 
 1872 a new fault line w^as formed in the valley near this scarp, the 
 valley drojjping 10-40 feet more. 
 
 Volcanic flows and cinder cones mark the line of displacement 
 in Owens valley at several points. North of the town of Bishop 
 at the upper end of the valley a broad tal)le land of volcanic ash
 
 THE I'I1Vsio(;i;aimin oi' cai-H'oknta 17 
 
 commcHfcs niul cxtciids iii.niy miles in llic direction of Mono lake. 
 Tlio tal)]e land .gradually rises to a low divide and is then replaced 
 by low rid,(:;es of rhyolitic lavas, between which are extensive plain- 
 like valleys covered with loose volcanic ashes. 
 
 Owens river has cnt a canon thru this plateau fully l.OOO feet 
 deep. Alonii- the snnnnit of the valley, between Owens valley and 
 Mono lake, the lavas have been i)iled up so as to nearly ol)literate 
 the fanlt scarp. As we approach Mono lake it a,u-aiii conies out 
 very boldly, and at the lake the fault scarj). tho nmch eroded, is 
 about 5,000 feet hi.u'h. The settlin.L^ of the basin in wliich Mono 
 lake lies has forced the water close up nnder the scarp. Here also 
 a recent movement has occurred, as shown at the mouth of Mill 
 canon by a wall of earth 40 feet hii^h. 
 
 The region about Mono lake has been tho theater of many 
 volcanic outbreaks and earthquake disturbances. The islands in 
 the lake are fissured and shattered, while upon the north shore of 
 the lake at Black point there are open earthquake fissures. 
 
 Extending- south of the lake for a distance of 10 miles there is 
 a t;-roup of remarkable volcanoes known as the Mono craters. These 
 have been formed thru the jnlin^ up of viscid lavas and vastcpian- 
 tities of pumiceous ash. There are craters here formed ])y explo- 
 sions merely, by the piling up of ashes about an orifice, and by the 
 upwellino- of viscid lavas. Several of the craters from which 
 pumice was at first blown were afterward the scene of outpouring; 
 lava. In two or more instances the lava cooled l)efore overfiowinii" 
 the older crater of asli. These features have been unaffected by 
 erosion and remain almost as perfect as when formed, makini;- the 
 region one of exceptional interest. 
 
 The waters of Mono lak<'. like those of Owens lake, are 
 intensely alkaline. Judging from the terraces, the lake did not 
 overflow its basin during the Glacial period. 
 
 For some distance north of Mono lake the fault scarp of the 
 Sierras is less bold and the region is largely covered with andesitic 
 lavas. In these lavas occur the noted gold-sliver deposits of Bodie. 
 Continuing toward Lake Tahoe w^e cross the valleys of the Walker 
 and Carson rivers, which near thv mountains are well watered and 
 highly cultivated. After traversing a nund)er of valleys the Walker 
 river empties into Walker lake and the Carson spreads out in a 
 sandv waste kjiown as the Siuk of the Carson in west central
 
 18 THE T'HYSIOC.HAI'HV OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Nevada. The Carson valley just over the liiu> in Nevada is one of 
 the lar^•est and most fertile of the farniino- regions of Nevada. 
 
 Lake Tahoe has already been deseril)ed in connection with the 
 Sierra Nevada mountains, altho its drainage thru the Truckee river 
 is into the (Ireat l^asin. This lake, with an elevation of 0,225 feet, 
 but 200 mort! than Mono lake, is a sheet of pure cold water, con- 
 trasting strongly with the latter. 
 
 During the Glacial period a great lake called Lahontan spread 
 over the now desert basins of northwestern Nin'ada and into the 
 edge of California. A large remnant of this lake remains to the 
 present day at the foot of the fault scarp in northeastern Califor- 
 nia. This body of water is known as Honey lake and has an eleva- 
 tion (jf about 4,000 feet. At present it has no outlet and is of 
 c-ourse alkaliiu". 
 
 The Volcacic Plateni Region. The northeastern part of Cali- 
 fornia is ail extensiv(^ plateau region broken by numerous ranges 
 of mountains. Under the above head wnll l)e discussed all that 
 area lying east of a line connecting Shasta valley with the north- 
 ern end of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Lassens peak ridge 
 and the line of extinct volcanoes reaching north to Mount Shasta 
 and connecting with the Cascade range of Oregon have been 
 included l)y some, and jaerhaps justly, in the Cascade range. The 
 volcanic peaks undoubtedly do form a continuation of those of the 
 Cascade range in Oregon, but thru northern California this range, 
 aside from the scattered peaks, can scarcely be distinguished from 
 the volcanic plateau region to the east. It is, in fact, continuous with 
 that plateaii. 
 
 The plains and valleys of this region have an elevation of 8,300 
 to 5,000 feet, while some of the mountains, exclusive of the volcanic 
 peaks, attain a liight of 10,000 feet. The region is made up almost 
 wholly of volcanic rocks, and is structurally as well as historicall}^ 
 closely rehited to the northern portion of the Great Basin and the 
 plateau region of eastern Oregon. 
 
 I'he greater portion of the area is fairly well watered, for the 
 moiiiit.iiiis on the west are not high enough to cut otf the moist 
 winds from the Pacific. Irrigation is, however, often resorted to, 
 and in the extreme northeastern \r,\vt the long fertile valley known 
 as Surprise valley is largely dependent upon irrigation. 
 
 Nmnerous lakes, some of them of large size, are scattered over 
 this region, They are reiniuviits of much larger ones of the early
 
 THE rTIYSIOORAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 19 
 
 part of the Pleistocene period. Upon the borders of tlie area are 
 several lakes without outlet, which mi<j;ht properly be included in 
 the area of the Great Basin. These areTule lake upon the borders 
 of Ore<i;{)n. aiid tlie Surprise valley lakes. 
 
 Th(» major portion of the area is drained by Pitt river, tin; 
 most important tributary of the upper Sacramento. Many of the 
 valleys which Pitt river traverses, such as Fall River, were once 
 occuj)ied by lakers. The lakes were finally drained, partly perhaps 
 as a result of mountain movements, and jjartly thru stream action. 
 Pitt river in its ujjper course passes alternately thru broad 
 plain-like valleys and deep canons. The lake of Fall River valley 
 had apparently no very hi<>-h barrier upon the west. The lowest 
 portion of this barrier is now traversed by Pitt river in a f^orge of 
 considerable dejjth and ruggedness. The extreme source of this 
 river has be(ni Goose lake, a lar*i;e l)()dy of water lyinu; partly in 
 Oreg-on, but at the present time the waters of the lake seldom rise 
 sufficiently to cause an overflow. 
 
 The Surprise valley lakes are shallow, and during- some seasons 
 almost wholly dry up. Eagle lake, in the southern portion of the 
 area, has no surface outlet, but there must be one underground, for 
 the water is perfectly pure. 
 
 Tule or Rhett lake is interesting in many respects. It together 
 with the Klamath lakes formed one large body of water until Kla- 
 math river cut its present canon and partly drained the old basin. 
 Tule lake now has no surface outlet, but the waters are fairly fresh. 
 Klamath river during stages of high water has until recently been 
 partly diverted to Rhett lake, but this no longer haj)pens. The 
 region about the lake is (piite arid and few streams enter it. 
 
 Interesting drainage features are associated with the recent 
 extensive flows of lava. In such areas there is generally little sur- 
 face water, but underground streams are frequent. Rugged lava 
 fields stretch from Tide lake south into the upper end of Fall River 
 valley. Much of this lava at least was formed since the lake period 
 and altho vegetation has gained a foothold upon its surface, yet 
 the rocks are quite free from soil and exceedingly rough. The 
 surface of the flow contrasts strongly with the deep soil and heavy 
 forests about it. Fall river bursts out in numerous large springs 
 from beneath the end of the lava flow, and after winding sluggishly 
 thru the valley for 15 miles enters Pitt river thru a series of swift 
 rapids. The river has a very snudl local drainagt> and never varies
 
 20 THE I'll VSKHiIJA I'll V OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 in size between winter ;iii(l smniner. Ifat ereek is a similar stream, 
 which eiitiTS Pitt I'iver from the direction of Lassens i^eak. 
 
 The mountains risintj; from this plateau region are mostly due 
 to one of two causes, either th(> i)ilinLi- u]) of eruptive material or 
 faultiiiL;-. The ])hysioL!,-raphic liistoiw lias certaiidy been a compli- 
 cated one. The older mountains of the region exhibit no reo'ular 
 arrane-ement and have been much modified by erosion. The War- 
 ner niomitaiiis bounding- Surprise valley upon the west constitute 
 the l)est example of the (Ireat Basin type of elevations in north- 
 eastern California. Th(\y extend north and south for about 70 
 miles, risine- to about lO.OOO feet elevation in the highest i^ortion. 
 They present a bold scarp to the east and a font;- gentle slope upon 
 the west. This fault scarp has been deeply sculptured by erosion, 
 and owiiiu; to the tutfaceous character of a portion of the lavas of 
 which it is composed, often presents picturesque castellated forms. 
 
 Recinit fault movements appear to have taken place along the 
 base of the Warner range. The features produced by similar move- 
 ments are to be found over many other portions of this plateau 
 region. These consist of long lines of bluffs extending northerly 
 and southerly with scarps 100 to 200 feet high. These perhaps 
 more fre([uently face the west and traverse all but the most recent 
 of the lavas. 
 
 The volcanic rocks of the greater portion of this plateau region 
 have undoubtedly issued in a molten condition from fissures in the 
 crust and not from definite centers like those which result in vol- 
 canic peaks. The line of great volcanic peaks stretching from the 
 northern end of the Sierra Nevada range no7-tliward into Oregon 
 grew up toward the close of the long jjeric^d of igneous action, 
 probably in the later Pliocene. They undoubtedly vary in age and 
 have time and again been modified by new eruptions. Some are 
 greatly dissected by erosion while others are comparatively intact. 
 
 Under the gre;iter peaks we will include Mt. Lassen, Crater 
 peak, Magee peak. P)urney butte and Mt. Shasta. Lassen peak 
 rises to a liight of 10,437 feet and is the center of an exceedingly 
 interesting volcanic region. Cinder cone, a little to the northeast, 
 was the scene of what was pro])ably the most violent volcanic erup- 
 tion in ( ',ilif(u-nia. Judging from the tree trunks still standing in 
 a fiekl of volcanic ashes, this eru])1ion could not have been more 
 than two hundred years ago.
 
 THE I'HVSI()(ii;AI'll\ Ol- ( AI.II'dKNIA 21 
 
 Blimey Imtte is the most perfect of the lariiicr volcjiiiic peaks. 
 It rises to a lu,i,^ht of 7,880 feet. 
 
 Mount Shasta reaches an elevation of 14,350 feetbein*^ next to 
 Rainier, the loftiest peak of the Cascade range. Tho l)ut a little 
 lower than Mt. Whitney it presents a far more iniposint^ appear- 
 ance owing to the low mountains and open valleys which surround 
 it. Strawberry valley at its southwestern base has an elevation of 
 8,550 feet and from this valley as well as from others upon the west 
 and south the mountain presents an appearance so striking and 
 grand that when once seen it can never be forgotten. Its summit, 
 snow covered tliru the year, with the dark forest encircling it below, 
 is ever a feature of fascinating interest. Since the glacial period, 
 lavas have issued from its sides, and one stream flowed for more 
 than fifty miles down the canon of the Sacramento river. Small 
 glaciers still remain in sheltered depressions. The melting snows 
 furnish water for a number of underground streams which.break out 
 in the canons of the Sacramento and McCloud. 
 
 To the west of Shasta there rises a very perfect cone known as 
 Sugar Loaf or Black butte. It towers over 2,000 feet above the 
 valley. 
 
 In addition to the great volcanoes already described there are 
 hundreds of smaller ones scattered over this region. The large vol- 
 canoes have been built up thru a combination of massive flows and 
 fragmental material blown out. The smaller ones are almost all 
 lapilli cones and generally do not rise more than 100 to 500 feet. 
 They have steep slopes and crater-like depressions in their tops. 
 They represent the last expiring forces of tlu^ volcanic period. 
 
 THE GREAT VALLEY 
 
 The Great Valley of California lies in the very heart of the 
 state and is entirely enclosed by mountains save at the narrow out- 
 let thru which its drainage passes. The valley is practically a vast 
 plain about four hundred mih^s long and fifty miles wide. The 
 San Joaquin river with its tributaries drains the southern arm antl 
 the Sacramento, the northern. These streams unite a little north 
 of the central portion of the valley in a region of lowlands and 
 marshes and pour their united volume thru the straits of Karquines 
 into San Francisco bay. Tlu' two arms of the Great Valley rise 
 very gently towards their extremities where they attain an elevation 
 of not much over live hundred feet. Much of the lower portion of
 
 22 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 the vjillt'v Iviiit;- west of ;i line connecting Sacramento and Stockton 
 is tioodcd (luriiiiA- the sprin^- rise in the streams. As a result of the 
 recent coastal snlnners^ence much of this marshy land is subject to 
 tidal iiiHueiice. the tides beinj^ felt many miles up the sluggish 
 streams. Al)out Martinez the flat bottomed alluvial valleys with 
 the abruptly rising hills also support the view of a subsidence of 
 the region about'tlie outlet of the (Ireat Valley. 
 
 Owing to the light grade and the large amount of material 
 offered for transportation, some of the streams flow upon channels 
 elevated al)ove the surrounding country. For many miles the 
 Sacrameiiio river is bordered by narrow banks of dry land behind 
 whicli an' large stretches of marsh and overflow land. 
 
 The moist winds from the ocean pass inland across the Coast 
 Raiiues. so that the eastern slopes of the latter receive much less 
 rain than the western. The Sierra Nevada mountains being higher 
 than the Coast Ranges, their western slope is well watered while 
 the streams are nuiintaint^l thru the summer by the melting snows. 
 As a result of these conditions only few permanent streams enter 
 the Great Valley from the west, and these are confined to the 
 northern portion known as the Sacramento valley. The southwest- 
 ern portion of the San Joaquin receives a very scanty rainfall. 
 
 Tlie Creat Valley occupies a structural depression of consider- 
 able geological age. The greater portion has either been near the 
 sea level or beneath it for long periods of time while the surround- 
 ing mountains, particularly the Coast Ranges have undergone fold- 
 ing and faulting. 
 
 The sui-face of the valley is in part formed of delta deposits, 
 of the present streams, of recent lake beds, and of the slightly 
 eroded surface of uplifted beds of Pliocene age. The floor of 
 tlu^ valley ])lends imperceptibly in many places thru the foothills 
 into the anci(mt peneplain of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Upon 
 the Coast Rang(^ side the mountains rise more abruptly, and in the 
 San Joaquin valley in particular tlun-e are long waste slopes built 
 up by the action of th(^ wet weather streams. 
 
 Along the eastern edge of the central portion of the Ureat Val- 
 ley the streams are large and have cut down slightly into the 
 stratifi.id sedimentary deposits of an earlier depression. Waste 
 slopes and delta deposits nrv not prominent. Farther south how- 
 ever w(> find that the Kings and Kern rivers have formed large del- 
 tas which liave considerably modified the surface of the valley.
 
 THE PHVSKXVHAI'HY OF CAI.IFOKXIA '2'A 
 
 All L'xaniiiiatioii of ;i relief map of California will sIkav that tlie 
 San Joaquin river lies inucli nearer the coast raii<;es than it does 
 the Sierras. The ,<i;reater watershed upon the east as well as vol- 
 ume of water and the large amount of waste brouf^ht from that 
 direction have forced the river to the western side of the valley, 
 The delta of Kint^s river has been extended across the valley so as 
 to form an inclosed basin of the southern portnon, from which 
 there is overflow only in seasons of exceptional rainfall. This gave 
 rise to Tulare lake, a large body of shallow water. With the 
 increase of land cultivation and use of water in irrigation the lake 
 is gradually disappearing. Kern and Buena Vista lakes are smaller 
 bodies of water lying to the south. They are fed by Ki^rn 
 river chiefly and are dry during some seasons. The delta of the 
 Kern river is dotted with cottonwood trees for miles, and altho 
 formed of sandy material is very productive under irrigation. 
 
 The San Joaquin valley is, as a rule, destitute of trees except 
 for fringes along the streams, but large portions of the Sacramento, 
 receiving a greater rainfall are dotted with oaks. The accumula- 
 tion of material in the Grreat Valley in recent times is enormous. 
 Well borings in the center of the valley show that it is filled to a 
 depth of more than two thousand feet with gravel and clay of lake or 
 liuvatile origin. Remains of trees and land animals of Pleistocene 
 age have been found in these deposits. The valley has either been 
 the scene of delta accumulation al)ov(^ water as at present, or its 
 siirface has been occupied by a body of fresh or salt water. It is 
 quite probable that at one time in its geological history tlit^ outlet 
 was to the south instead of west as at present. 
 
 We find the old peneplain already referred to, particularly well 
 developed upon the borders of the upper Sacramento valley. This 
 plain is not now continuous with that extended over much of the 
 Klamath mountains probably because^ of deformation which has 
 occurred since. The streams which enter the Sacramento from 
 the Klamath mountains have cut canons thru the plain. l)ut it is 
 nevertheless a striking feature of the landscape. 
 
 The Feather river, one of the largest tributaries of the Sacra- 
 mento, has, since hydraulic mining has been carrieMl on. built up its 
 bed to such a degree that it is now higher than the streets of 
 Marysville and has to be restrained by levees. 
 
 The only marked elevation in the whole of the region under 
 discussion is found in tlu^ center of tlie Sacramento vallev west of
 
 24 
 
 Tin: I'llVSIOdRAPHY OF CALIFOHNIA 
 
 Marysvillc. It is known as the Marysville buttes. Here is a 
 Ljroiip of serrated and i)ictnresque peaks rising about two thous- 
 and feet above the level and monotonous valley. They ai*e known 
 as the Marysvillc hnttcs and represent a deeply dissected, volcano 
 of late Tertiary time. 
 
 THE COAST KANCiES 
 
 The presence of a continuous line of mountains along the coast 
 of California has already been referred to. These mountains are 
 known as the Coast Kanges or Coast Range system. As the name 
 indicates, they are not made up of one dominant axis, but of sev- 
 eral extending side by side and often having broad valleys between 
 them. As we follow tlu^n northward toward the 40tli parallel this 
 
 
 ■:«^vv- .^„0im 
 
 
 1^^ 
 
 :^^^0^'^ 
 
 lil 
 
 C.\JON PASS IX THE SAN BERNARDINO RANGE. 
 
 composite character disap[)ears. The broad valleys give place to 
 canons, and the regular mountain ranges to a broad group of rugged 
 and irregular mountains. This lattt>r region, lying partly in Cali- 
 fornia and partly in Oregon forms the Klamath mountains. No 
 definite limit has been established for the boundary of the Coast 
 Ranges upon the north, and no natural one can be, unless it is upon 
 geological grounds, for the Coast Ranges blend gradually into the 
 higher and more rugged regions of the Klamath mountains. 
 
 T'])on the south the Coast Ranges may be considered as ter- 
 minating at the point where they meet the JSierra Nevada and Sierra 
 Madre ranges. Here are the San Emedio mountains the highest 
 15oint of which. Mount Pinos, reaches an elevation of over nine 
 thousand feet. In this region also the limit placed u[)on the appli- 
 cation of the term Coast Ranges is merely oneof convenience. The
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 25 
 
 Sierra Madro toticthcr with the Peiiinsuhi raii^e of southern Cali- 
 fornia lie farther l)aek from the coast, and the Sierra Madre in par- 
 ticular is separated from it by a complex structure of lesser 
 mountains. 
 
 Thruout the most of their length the Coast Ranjjjes have a very 
 regular northwest and southeast direction being nearly parallel 
 with the coast. The slight discrepancy in direction between shore 
 line and mountain range has given rise to the most important of 
 the shore-line irregularities. Where a mountain range comes out 
 to the ocean there is a more or less prominent cape, while between 
 that and the next range there is an indentation of the coast. 
 
 Toward the southern end the Coast Ranges change their course 
 and extend more nearly east and west. Point Arguello is the sea- 
 ward termination of the Santa Ynez range and marks a change in 
 the direction of the coast line corresponding with the east and west 
 structure of these mountains. 
 
 The geological structure of the Coast Ranges is exceedingly 
 complex. Repeated folding and faulting thru a long period of 
 geological time have followed a general northwest and southeast 
 direction. The structural conditions together with great variations 
 in resistance to erosion of different rock formations, and the fre- 
 quent movements of the land as a whole with reference to the ocean 
 level, have given us the complicated topography of the present day. 
 
 The drainage of the great interior region of the state passes 
 directly across the Coast Ranges thru the straits of Karquines, 
 San Pablo and San Francisco bays to the ocean. This gap in the 
 Coast Ranges with its tributary valleys does not appear to be of 
 structural origin but to represent what was a depression or sag in 
 the Coast Ranges subsequently enlarged by the concentration of 
 the drainage lines. 
 
 Thru the ctnitral Coast Ranges we cannot trace the same 
 ancient ixnieplain. which we find in the northern Coast Ranges, 
 the Klamath and Sierra Nevada mountains, unless it be in more 
 fragments here and there. The important structural features of 
 the Coast Ranges date far back, but diiferential movement in recent 
 geological times has been so marked as to mask or destroy topo- 
 graphic features which in more stable regions would have been 
 preserved. Some of the mountain axi'S we know wi're not in exist-
 
 20 THE PITY^^TOGEArHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 ence even as late as the Pliocene period. The Berkeley hills now 
 risin.fj nearly two thonsand feet have upon their summits folded 
 sediments of a fresh water lake of late Pliocene age. 
 
 Ill tlu' latitude of San Francisco bay the Coast Kanges appear as 
 three well defined mountain axes. Upon the east there is the 
 T^Iount Diablo range and its topographic continuation across Sui- 
 sun bay in the mountains east of Napa valley. In the middle 
 there is the northern prolongation of the Mount Hamilton range 
 corresponding on the opposite side of the bay to the mountain 
 ridge l)etween Napa and Sonoma valleys. Upon the west there 
 is the Santa Cruz range south of the Golden Gate and the range of 
 which Mount Tamalpais is the culminating peak. The valley 
 between these ranges opening out to San Pablo and San Francisco 
 bays are among the most fertile and highly cultivated in the state. 
 The Santa Clara valley penetrated by the southern arm of San 
 Francisco bay, and the Sonoma valley extending northwest from 
 San Pablo bay are the largest; Napa valley comes next in size. 
 Sonoma valley, and Santa Clara with its southeast prolongation, 
 the San Bcmito valley, are each nearly one hundred miles long and 
 attain a widtli in places of eight to twelve miles. Their nearly 
 level bottom lands are formed of sediments deposited in long, 
 narrow estuaries of the ocean during the last great submergence of 
 th(^ coast. All about th(- bay are low lands sloping gently back to 
 the surrounding hills. These are of the same nature as the valley 
 floors exc(^pt for some modification thru stream action. The bay 
 is shoaling in many places, and since the last submergence giving 
 rise to the present sheet of water thousands of acres have been 
 filled in with stream or delta deposits. 
 
 The hills comedown (luite boldly to the straits of Karquines, 
 a fact whi<'li would be explained l)y the theory of a clifPerential 
 movement of the mountains with reference to the floor of the 
 Great valley. 
 
 The broad valleys of the San Francisco bay region cannot be 
 considered other than structural in their origin, but modified and 
 enlarged by erosion. All cannot have had the same history. The 
 sharp contrasts between the canons which open back into the 
 enclosing mountains and the broad, even-floored valleys would in 
 itself suggest that the one is new, the other old.
 
 THE I'lnSIOGKAl'HY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 27 
 
 All the features of San Francisco bay impress one as those of a 
 drowned area. As the land sank the sea came in thru the Golden 
 Gate, flooding the lower portion of the ^rcat river. The character 
 of the hays and islands, and especially the tilled in valleys l^etween 
 
 Sansalito and San Rafael, illustrate 
 particularly well this last ijhase of 
 the physiograijhic history of this 
 region. 
 
 Mount Diahlo dominates the 
 outlet of the Great valley. It 
 rises to a height of 3,850 feet, and 
 is by far the most prominent and 
 striking feature of the Coast 
 l\anges as one approaches them 
 across tlie Great valley. The core 
 of this mountain is made wp of the 
 older rocks of the Coast Ranges 
 ((_iol(l(-ii Gate formation.) Its 
 prominence is due in part to oro- 
 -rapliic movements, and in part to 
 the more rapid erosion of the sur- 
 rounding beds. 
 
 The mountains enclosing Napa 
 valley as well as a considerable portion of the Coast Ranges 
 extending north to Clear lake, are of volcanic origin. The highest 
 peak of this volcanic region lies northwest of Napa valley. It is 
 known as St. Helena and attains an elevation of 4,300 feet. 
 
 As we go northwesterly from San Francisco bay, the valleys 
 become narrower and the mountains higher. Near the coast there 
 are heavy forests of redwood, but farther inland the mountains 
 become less timbered while the valleys are dotted with oaks. 
 
 About one hundred miles north of San Francisco and within 
 the heart of the Coast Ranges, lies Clear lake. It is an irregular 
 lake with a length of aboiit twenty-five miles and an elevation of 
 1,310 feet. It is the only lake of any size within the Coast Ranges. 
 The surrounding region was the scene of protracted volcanic action 
 during the Pliocene period. Uncle Sam, a bold and picturesque 
 mountain of volcanic origin, overlooks the lake and rises to a 
 height of 4,200 feet. Mineral springs of many kinds abound in 
 this'section, and at the Sulphur Bank near the eastern end of the 
 
 A YOUNG CANYON IN THE SIERRAS.
 
 28 
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 lake, there is a most inten^stin^ example of solfataric action with 
 deposits of sul})huran(l eimiabar. 
 
 The \vat(>rs of Clear laki; now empty thru Cache creek at its 
 eastern end into the Sacramento river. The ontlet of the lake was 
 formerly westward thrn the canon-lik(^ depression, in which the 
 pictnrescpie B1ik» lakes lie, into a tributary of Eussian river. Only a 
 few feet rise of the waters of Clear lake, would, if the eastern outlet 
 were stopped, a<2;ain send th(i draina<4e of the lake westward directly 
 to the ocean. The cause of the chanij;e of drainage has not been 
 investigated. It may have been due to a tilting of the mountains 
 or thru a lowering of the divide of Cache creek by erosion. 
 
 THE NEliULES— Showing one type of Weathering. 
 
 North of Clear hike the Coast Ranges form practically a unit. 
 There are but two slopes, a short one toward the east, and a long 
 one westward to the Pacific. The crest gradually rises as we fol- 
 low it northward, until in the Yallo Bally peaks it reaches a 
 height of aliont 8,000 feet. The main stream draining the western 
 slope in this section is Eel river. This stream and its tributaries 
 exhibit a fairly well matured stage of development. The courses 
 of the large streams are mostly subsequent, altho they still flow 
 thru canons, or valleys of no great width. Well formed terraces 
 appear at many points along Eel river. At Humboldt bay, 
 where this river comers out to the ocean, the higher mountains 
 stand back some miles from the coast, and there intervenes a strip 
 of level or slightly undulating country. A part of this land about
 
 THE PHYSTOGHAI'HY OF CAMFOUN'IA 29 
 
 the bay is of delta fonnation, Init tlie iiujst has been eroded out of 
 a soft Pliocene formation. 
 
 Russian river exhibits an interesting feature in its lower 
 €Ours(\ From a study of Sonoma valley, with its enclosinj^ moun- 
 tains, one would naturally expect to see Russian river, which drains 
 it, passing southeasterly into San Pal)lo bay. Th(? river does not 
 do this, however, for a little above the city of Santa Rcjsa, it turns 
 southwesterly and crosses the range between the valley and the 
 ocean thru a winding canon. The divide separating the Sonoma 
 valley from the bay is very low, scarcely noticeable. It is probable 
 that the stream has either been superimposed upon the range 
 which it crosses, thru the removal of softer materials of the valley 
 floor, or there has been an uplift of the mountain. 
 
 The structural and topographic features of the coast ranges 
 south of San Francisco are more complicated than north. The 
 extension of the Mount Diablo range to the southeast, forms the 
 real crest, or backbone of the Coast Ranges. This divide lies very 
 near the eastern edge of these mountains the whole distance 
 between Mount Diablo and their southern termination in the San 
 Emedio mountains. The divide varies much in height. East 
 of Livermore, where it is crossed by the Southern Pacific, it is only 
 eight hundred feet high, while near the middle of the range a height 
 of nearly five thousand feet is shown in San Carlos peak. 
 
 The Mount Hamilton range which bounds the Santa Cbira 
 valley upon the east is not structurally distinct from the Mount 
 Diablo range. The Lick observatory stands upon Mount Hamil- 
 ton, the culminating i^eak, at nn elevation of 4.210 feet. 
 
 The Santa Cruz mountains form a broad elevated block 
 between the Santa Clara valley and the ocean. The highest peaks 
 of the range rise to 8,500 feet or over. Following this range south- 
 easterly we find it gradually decreasing in height until we reach 
 the broad and low depression separating it from the Gavilan range 
 which is structurally a continuation of the Santa Cruz range to the 
 southeast. During the Pleistocene submergence, there was here 
 as at San Francisco a broad channel permitting the entrnnce of 
 the ocean into the large valleys within the Coast Ranges. A divide 
 of but little over three hundred feet separates the Santa Clara val- 
 ley from the San Benito valley, while the divide between the San 
 Benito and the oc(^an, discarding the Pajaro canon, has about tiie 
 same height. The San Benito drainage may at one tinu' have
 
 30 
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 p:ono down thru the Santa Clara valley into San Francisco bay. 
 There are good reasons for thinking that the reverse was the 
 case at one time, owing to the presence of a great submarine valley 
 in the bay of Monterey and none opposite the Golden Gate. At 
 present, however, the Pajaro river, draining the San Benito valley, 
 has ciit a narrow canon thru tlic low pass separating the Santa 
 Cruz range from the Gavilaii and passes directly out to the ocean 
 at Monterey bay. 
 
 The Gavilan range as a distinct mountain block has a length 
 of about sixty miles when it blends with the Mount Diablo range. 
 At its southern (^nd ar(> two ]iromiii(^nt elevations known as the 
 
 NKAK THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT LOWB. 
 
 Chalone peak. The higher one is an ancient volcano of Tertiary 
 age. The hardened tuffs to the north have weathered out in 
 pinnacled forms of pictures(pie appearance. 
 
 The union of the Pajaro and Salinas valleys forms th(^ exten- 
 sive lowlands about the bay of Monterey. These wen^ formed in 
 great j^art during the last deep submergence of the coast. The 
 Salinas river, with its important tril)utary, the Estrella, occupies 
 the longest and most direct vaUey of the Coast Ranges. Near the
 
 THE PHYSIO(iRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 31 
 
 bay the valley is shut in between hi^di mountains. Toward the 
 southeast the valley narrows and the mountains become lower. 
 In the middle and upper portion of the })a8in, there are broad 
 reaches of open valley and low hills. On account of the semi-arid 
 conditions prevailint^ in portions of tlu; basin, the Salinas river, 
 except durinti; uncommonly wet seasons, is an insip;niHc,iiit one. 
 During the sunnner its bed is dry in many places. 
 
 The mountain ranges which shut in the valley of the hnver 
 Salinas contrast cpiite strongly with each other. The Gavilan upon 
 the east, tho attaining an elevation of three thousand feet, has only 
 moderately steep slopes and presents the general appearance of 
 much greater age than the Soledad hills uix)n the west. The lat- 
 ter rise also to about three thousand feet Imt present a steep and 
 picturesque scarp tow^ard the valley. The Salinas river flows 
 close under this regular mountain wall, a fact which would indi- 
 cate a recent dropping of the valley floor upon that side. Remark- 
 ably fine examples of debris fans are found along the steep slope 
 of the mountains. 
 
 The Soledad hills form but th(> eastern ridge of a much higher 
 and more important mountain block known as the Santa Lucia 
 range. This range begins in the pictui'csque and rugged coast 
 near Monterey and extends southeasterly along the ocean for about 
 one hundred miles. It then passes inland, giving place i;pon the 
 shore to another range. The Santa Lucia finally l)lends with the 
 San Rafael and other mountains in eastern Santa Barbara county, 
 and these in turn with the San Emedio mountains. The Snnta 
 Lucia is the most rugged and i:)ictures(pie mountain range in the 
 coast region of California. Its crest is from three thousand to Ave 
 thousand feet high, and lying as it does oidy about five miles from 
 the sea shore, the ocean slope of these mountains is exceedingly 
 rugged and picturescpie. In many plac(>s they rise with steep slopes 
 from precipitous ocean cliffs, l^pon the eastern slope of the range, 
 the canons which unite to form the Arroyo Seco are deep anil nar- 
 row. The region is one of sharp ridges and canons but scantily 
 clothed with timber. The highest peak of the range is San Lucia, 
 seven thousand feet high. 
 
 The San Luis range is that mountain block which replaces tiie 
 Santa Lucia upon the coast toward the south. The seaward pro- 
 longation of this range forms a projei-ting lu>adland known as 
 Point Buchon. At the moutli of Morro bav, a few mili'S north of
 
 32 
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFOEXIA 
 
 this point, stands a .<2;roat rock rising; bare and precipitous from the 
 ocean to a height of nearly six hundred feet. It is known as 
 Morro rock and is by far the most strikinsj; single feature of the 
 coast of California. It is formed of a very resisting igneous 
 intrusion. This rock is but one of a seri(»sof similar peaks extend- 
 ing itilaiid ill a soiilhcastcrly direction ihru the San Luis valley. 
 
 A SCENE I.\ THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 Several of tlieni I'ise from tJie opiMi valley to a height of twelve 
 hundred to fourteen hundred feet in ragged and picturesque 
 forms. They result from differential erosion in rock masses of 
 greatly varying hardness. 
 
 A nnnarkable and interesting valley lies to the southeast of 
 the extreme head of the Estrella. a tributary of the Salinas. It is 
 known as the ('arriso plain, havinga lengtli of al)oat fifty miles and 
 a width of ten. A scarcely noticeable divide separates the plain 
 from the basin of th<> Salinas. As it is. this great stretch of country 
 shut in on most sides ])v low mountains has no outlet. The sink
 
 THE rHYSIOGUAl'HY OF CALIFOKXIA 33 
 
 at its centre is occupied by a salt marsh of considerable extent. 
 The arid conditions prevailing here have kept the valley from 
 being flooded and bn^aking the slight barrier l)etween it and the 
 Salinas. As will be seen later, the floor of this plain is continuous 
 with an old peneplain occupying the upper Salinas valley. This 
 is remarkable as being the oidy inclosed basin in the Coast Ranges. 
 
 The Cuyamas, or as it is known in its lower portion, the 
 Santa Maria, is one of the most interesting rivers of the Coast 
 Kanges. It rises far to the southeast in the San Emedio moun- 
 tains and flowing northwesterly for many miles bt^tween the Mount 
 Diablo, or rather the southern extension of that range, and the San 
 Rafael mountains finally turns abruptly southwesterly, leaving the 
 broad Cuyamas valley, and canons directly across the Santa Lucia 
 range to the ocean. The Cuyamas valley was probably formed as 
 a consequence of fault movements which left it without an outlet. 
 A lake resulted, and in the overflow of the lake originated the 
 stream which cut the present canon. 
 
 The extreme southeastern portion of the Coast Ranges form 
 a rugged and complex group of mountains known as the San 
 Rafael mountains. They are largely covered with dense brush, 
 altho there is some timber where the conditions are favorable. 
 The canons are deep and show but little or no bottom land. From 
 this region the Sisquoc and Santa Ynez rivers flow westerly, the 
 Ojai and Sespe southerly, Zaca lake is a small but well known 
 body of water in the western part of the range. It occupies the 
 valley of a small stream which had graded its valley to correspond 
 with the conditions existing when the coast was depressed about 
 eight hundred feet. 
 
 The Santa Ynez is a regular and continuous range which 
 borders the coast from Point Arguello easterly. Upon the north 
 is the l)road valley of the Santa Ynez river, while upon the south a 
 narrow strip of land separates it from the ocean. This strip of 
 land is, however, fertile and highly cultivated. The city of Santa 
 Barbara is situated upon it. 
 
 From the foregoing description it may be judginl that the 
 larger valleys of the Coast Ranges have not developed contempo- 
 raneously with the canons in the mountains which enclose tht>m. 
 The canons correspond in their stage of development fairly well to 
 those in the Klamath mountains and the Sierra Nevada, but the 
 valleys have had a longin- history. It is a compU'x history to be
 
 34 
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 sure, hut structural conditions rather than erosion have deter- 
 mined in most cases the position and character of the valleys. 
 
 As illustratinu; how structural conditions have affected the 
 topoecraphy, there might be mentioned a line of narrow valleys 
 extending from the northern portion of the Sierra Madre mountains 
 across the San Emedio, and northwest thru the Coast Ranges toward 
 San Francisco. These valleys have been eroded as a result of earth- 
 ([uake movements in recent times. In fact the formation of fis- 
 urcs and low ridges resulted along this line from an earthquake not 
 
 PASADENA AND THE SIERRA MADRE. 
 
 more than forty years ago. The line of movement or fissure zone 
 is in places half a mile wide, and many distinct ridges and depres- 
 sions can be counted. Springs issue from this zone of broken rock 
 and erosion is proportionately rapid. 
 
 As has already been stated the peneplain which was devel- 
 oped thru Tertiary time upon the slopes of the Sierra Nevada 
 mountains, th(> Klamath mountains, and lirobably also in southern 
 California, cannot be traced continuously thru the Coast Ranges 
 owing to the strong deformation experienced in this region in late 
 Tertiary tim(\ as well as to the fact that during long intervals in the
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 35 
 
 Tertiary the central and southern portions of the Coast Ran^a-s 
 were submerged beneath the sea. 
 
 The fact that the main valleys of tlie Coast Ran<^es exliibit an 
 apparently advanced phase of development, and that the main 
 streams are generally sul)S(^(inent, does not, then, indicate that this 
 region has been elevated longer than the Sierra Nevadas. 
 
 The peneplain of the Klamath mountains can be traced con- 
 tinuously southward nearly to San Francisco bay, descending slowly 
 from a height of three thousand to four thousand feet in the 
 former region to about 1,500 feet near its southern limit. The 
 planation was not complete for scattered peaks rise above this 
 plain. During the development of the peneplain the most of the 
 streams had adjusted themselves to the structural conditicjus. 
 With the uplift they retained these courses so that we have now 
 well adjusted streams where we miglit expect consequent ones. 
 
 With the close of the Pliocene, folding and faulting inaugu- 
 rated new conditions thru much of the Coast Range area. In the 
 northern portion the old i^lain was distorted l)ut not broken. 
 Many of the flat-to^jped crests of mountain ranges south of San 
 Francisco bay probably date from the late Tertiary. One of the 
 most important of these is to be observed upon the Santa Lucia 
 range. In the middle portion of the range there is an area fully 
 ten miles across, and many miles long, which, altlio now deeply 
 dissected, yet presents an almost level sky line at an elevation of 
 about three thousand feet. There are many other areas of simihir 
 character scattered thru the central and southern Coast Ranges. 
 
 Following the post-Tertiary disturl)ances, and during the 
 interval of the early Pleistocene submergence, when the coast was 
 one thousand to fifteen hundred feet below the present level, con- 
 ditions must have been favorable in places for the extension of 
 the Tertiary peneplain, and for the evolving of joartial plains of 
 erosion upon the newly formed mountains as in th(^ case of the 
 Berkeley hills where there are strong indications of peneplanation 
 at an elevation of about 1,500 feet. 
 
 As the coast began to rise from the Pleistocene submergence 
 it remained long at a height above the present level of between 
 750 to 1,000 feet. Extensive plains corresponding to this height 
 were formed in the valley of the SaKnas, north of the Santa Ynez 
 valley and in other places. In the Salinas valley, owing to the wide 
 distribution of soft rocks, the erosion plain was particularly
 
 36 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 extensive. It was fully 150 miles long reaching far southeast into 
 the Carisa plains and across the crest of the Coast Ranges into the 
 Great valley. 
 
 Since the elevation of the coast to its present height, broad 
 valleys have been eroded in this plain and a new erosion plain is 
 in process of formation. There are then to be recognized thru the 
 central and southern Coast Ranges : ( 1 ) a broken and deformed plain 
 of Tertiary age, remaining only as fragments here and there; (2) 
 an extensive one of Pleistocene age but slightly deformed; and (3) a 
 recent one being evolved out of the last. In the northern Coast 
 Ranges, the Tertiary plain, tho deeply eroded and deformed, is con- 
 tinuous. 
 
 THE KLAMATH MOUNTAINS 
 
 The use of the term Klamath mountains has been limited to 
 that portion of the Coast Ranges lying north of the south fork of 
 the Trinity river and extending northwest to the ocean, and into 
 Oregon. Theses mountains are limited upon the east by the line of 
 contact between the older crystaline rocks and the lavas of the 
 Cascade range. On the boundary between California and Oregon 
 the Klamath mountains join the Cascade range in an unbroken 
 ridge, but l)oth north and south of this point broad valleys sepa- 
 rate the two mountain ranges. In California the eastern border of 
 the Kin math mountains extends south along the western edge of 
 Shasta valley, then easterly around the southern base of Mount 
 Shasta, and then bending south, follows down Pitt river to the 
 Sacramento. Along much of this line the contrast in topography 
 between the volcanic plains and the steep slopes of the Klamath 
 mountains, is very marked. 
 
 Different portions of the Klamath mountains are known under 
 different names. The Siskiyou range forms a group partly in Cali- 
 fornia and partly in Oregon. The Scott and Salmon mountains 
 lie to the south and include the highest peaks of the whole group, 
 many rising from seven thousand to nearly ten thousand feet. The 
 geological structure of the region is not as regular as in the Coast 
 Ranges to the south, and as a consequence the mountains and val- 
 leys have no definite arrangement. The streams flow in deep, and 
 generally narrow canons, except in a few cases where basins inclos- 
 ing softer beds than those forming the main body of the mountains 
 have given rise to valleys of considerable size. Among these are 
 Scott's valley. Hay Fork valley, and the valley about Weaverville.
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF C'ALIFOKNIA 
 
 37 
 
 Amoiii? the larger streams are the Khimath, Trinity, ;im(1 Sac- 
 ramento rivers. The Klamath river rises in the Klamath lake 
 basin east of the Cascade range in Oregon. It flows southwesterly 
 into California, and, after crossing the depressed portion of the Cas- 
 cade range, pursues a tortuous course in a deep cafKJii across the 
 Klamath mountains to tlie ocean. The mountains trav('rs<'d rise 
 to a height of six thousand or seven thousand feet, and th(! ([ues- 
 tion naturally arises why the river should have cut across these 
 mountains rather than have; turned southerly thru Shasta valley 
 where a low divide of only 'AAOO feet elevation above the sea sep- 
 arates it from the basin of the Sacranum'to river. In this case the 
 most reasonable explanation seems to be that of a gradual rise of 
 
 AVALON, SANTA CATALTNA ISLAND.— A harbor made by the partial floodiii>; ot 
 a valley of erosion. Result of last subsidence of the coast. 
 
 the Klamath mountiau region after tlu^ river had actiuired its 
 present course. 
 
 The source of the Sacramento river is in large springs issuing 
 from the lava at the southwest base of Mount Shasta. The stream 
 iSows southerly and, after leaving the lava, crosses a spur of the 
 Klamath mountains before reaching the Sacramento valley. Its 
 course for many miles is thru a picturesque canon The canon 
 
 J70
 
 38 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 antedates the latest of the lava streams from Shasta, for one of 
 them flowed down thru it for fifty miles. The river has cut thru the 
 lava in most places and is now deepening its channel again. 
 Among the picturesque features of the upper Sacramento canon 
 are the Castle Crags, bare and castle-like pinnacles of granite. 
 
 The Trinity river drains the southern portion of the Klamath 
 mountains. The basin of this river is separated from the Sacra- 
 mento valley by Bully Chooj) mountains, while upon the north 
 are the Salmon and Scott mountains. 
 
 The higer portions of the Klamath mountains, particularly 
 the Salmon range, were glaciated during the Glacial period. The 
 glaciers were more local than those in the Sierra Nevada moun- 
 tains and did not descend below five thousand feet. The higher 
 mountain valleys contain numerous little lakes, which with the 
 moraines and polished rock surfaces are characteristic of glaciated 
 areas. 
 
 Viewing the Klamath mountains as a whole, we find that they 
 have many physiographic characters in common with the Sierra 
 Nevada mountains. There is the same absence of isolated peaks 
 rising much above the elevated ridges, and the same deep canons 
 carved out by erosion. Geologically they also have much in com- 
 mon. 
 
 THE SIERRA MADRE AND PENINSULA RANGES 
 
 Under this head will be included all that part of California 
 lying south of the San Emedio mountains and west of the Great 
 Basin area. The broad and high range of mountains extending 
 south of east from the San Emedio region, forms the watershed 
 between the fertile valleys of southern California and the Mojave 
 desert. This mountain block is known at various points under 
 different names. The designation Francisquita mountains is given 
 to that portion lying south of Antelope valley (western arm of the 
 Mojave desert) and west of Soledad pass. East of this pass the 
 range broadens and becomes much higher, reaching an elevation of 
 nine thousand feet in San Antonio peak. This portion is known 
 as the San Gabriel range. 
 
 At Cajon pass the range is again depressed sufficiently to per- 
 mit of its being crossed by a railroad. Beyond the pass to the 
 east rises the still more lofty and rugged San Bt^-nardino range 
 culininating in (Trayl)ack, over eleven thousand feet high. To the
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFOUXJA ;{<) 
 
 east the raiiije now becomes lower and forms the low divide 
 between the Mojave and Colorado deserts. 
 
 The Sierra Madre range, as a whole, was elevated near the 
 close of the Tertiary period, pro])ably thru the combined iiitluciicp 
 of folding and faulting. The sontheru front of the range is par- 
 ticularly bold and imposing rising as it does from extensive valleys 
 and waste slopes elevated less than one thousand feet a])ove the 
 sea. The mountains are deeply cut by sharj) \'-sliaped canons in 
 which are insignificant streams during the dry season. After 
 heavy storms each carries a nniddy torrent, which, spreading out 
 at the mouth of its canon, contributes its load to the building up 
 of the waste slope. 
 
 But one stream of any consequence, the Mojave river, drains 
 the northern side of the San B(>rnardino range, and it is soon lost 
 in the sands of the desert. Upon the southern side the San 
 Gabriel and Santa Ana rivers are the most important, l)ut even 
 these carry but little surface water to the ocean. The most of it is 
 used in irrigation. 
 
 The Santa Clara river drains the northern portion of the area 
 under discussion. Its tributaries head in the San Emedio, Fran- 
 cisquita, and San Gabriel mountains. In the middle and upper 
 portions of this basin the rainfall is light, and except after periods 
 of heavy rain but little water flows upon the surface of the river 
 bed. The valley of the Santa Clara expands to a width of twelve 
 or more miles near the ocean, and for fifty mili^s l)ack from the 
 coast is highly cultivated. Mounts Pinos, Alamo, and Frazier upon 
 the northern edge of this basin are the loftiest peaks of th(^ San 
 Emedio range. The two latter peaks in particular have nearly fiat 
 summits of considerable extent which appear to be remnants of an 
 ancient peneplain. The Tertiary and Pleistocene deposits high up 
 on the flanks of these mountains testify to very marked elevation 
 in recent geological times. 
 
 The valley of the Santa Clara rivt^r seems to have originated 
 in a structural depression formed thru faulting. The San Fer- 
 nando range bordering this vall(\v upon the south and eight(H>n 
 hundred to three thousand feet high givi^s evidence in its 1)()1(1 
 scarp facing the valley, and gentle slope to the south, of l)eing a 
 raised and tilted block. The valley of the Santa Clara river lias 
 like most of the other large streams had its lH>d graded ui) in 
 adjustment to the present conditions.
 
 40 
 
 THE PHYSKXIEAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Extending east and west along the north side of Santa Monica 
 bay, and reaching eastward to Los Angeles, is another mountain 
 ridge known as the Santa Monica range. Its highest peaks reach 
 an elevation of nearly three thousand feet. The range is formed 
 largely of volcanic rocks. Structurally it appears to be continuous- 
 with the islands to the west lying off Santa Barbara channel. 
 
 An irregular line of low mountains stretches along near the- 
 southern base of the San Gabriel range and is separated from it by 
 a waste filled valley. In the eastern end of the San Fernandez 
 valley this elevation is known as the Verdugo mountains. Farther 
 east are the San Rafael hills. Between Los Angeles and Pasadena 
 these hills are much eroded, but beyond the San Gabriel river they 
 
 MILL VALLEY AND MT. TAMALPAIS. 
 
 rise again to form the Puente hills. Tracing them farther still, 
 they are found to increase in height, forming the steep and high 
 Santa Ana range whose eastern front is a great fault scarp of 
 recent geological origin. The highest peak of the range has an 
 elevation of 5,600 feet. 
 
 Between the San Gabriel river and San Fernando the streams- 
 issuing from the San Gabriel range have cut across this line of hills, 
 and mountains, and in many places have nearly obliterated them. 
 The waste slopes sweep across them in even grade. 
 
 Th(? plain stretching from Los Angeles south and west to the
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 41 
 
 coast formed the floor of a broad bay during the last extensive^ sub- 
 mergence of this region. It has been l)ut slightly moditicd by 
 erosion. 
 
 The Santa Ana is the largest stream of southern California. 
 Rising in the San Bernardino range it flows westward past San 
 Bernardino and Riverside thru a region of low relief, and then 
 canons thru the northern end of the Santa Ana range. It emerges 
 from the caiion upon a broad flood plain which extends to the ocean. 
 The river was probably either superimposed upon the Santa Ana 
 range because of an original dej)Osit of soft sediments filling the 
 basin thru its middle course, or it cut the canon as the range was 
 slowly elevated across its course. 
 
 The old topography in the region about Riverside is most 
 interesting. The graded condition of the streams, the low hills of 
 granite and ancient crystalline schists afford us a picture of what 
 nearly the whole of southern California might have been if it were 
 not for the faulting which gave rise to the rugged ranges of the 
 region. If it were not for these high mountains arid conditions 
 would prevail and there would be another Mojave desert. 
 
 This area of ancient topographic forms stretches south from 
 Riverside for many miles and also west to the Puente hills. It 
 presents the most striking contrast to the bold scarps of the Santa 
 Ana, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto ranges. 
 
 South of the San Bernardino range, and on the south side of 
 the low pass leading east to the Colorado desert, rises the rugged 
 peak of San Jacinto to a height of about eleven thousand tVet. 
 twin l>rother to Mount San Bernardino. 
 
 Mount San Jacinto may be termed the northern end of the 
 Peninsula range, that continuous chain of mountains stretching 
 from this point south for nearly one thousand miles thru the penin- 
 sula of lower California. This range rises as a general thing 
 very abrul)tly from the desert and gulf at its eastern base, and in 
 position and structure might be considered a worthy continuation 
 of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The lower portion of the scarp 
 of the range near the Mexican line is particularly bold. Here 
 recent faulting has raised the niDiintains abDut one thousand 
 feet. Upon the slope of Carrizo mountain mollusc borings still 
 remain upon the surface^ of the limestone at an elevation of t\v."lv,> 
 
 hundred feet. 
 
 The western portion of Mount San Jacinto, overlooking^ tlir
 
 42 Tin: iMivsiodiiAPHY of caltforxia 
 
 hroad reaches of llie valley of the same name, is a l)()l(l fault scarp. 
 San Jacinto river Ho\vin>j,- for some distance at the base of this 
 scarp turns abruptly southwest, aud crossinsi; the re,«;-ion of old 
 topoj^raphy already describeil. empties in seasons of exceptionally 
 w.'t weather into Lake Elsinore, th(^ lari;-(^st lake of southern Cali- 
 fornia. This lake lii's at tlu^ (^astern base of the southern con- 
 tinuation of the Santa Ana fault scarp, and occasionally overflows 
 northwesterly down the Temescal vall(\v to the Santa Ana river. 
 
 FoUowiui? the fault scarp from Elsinore for thirty miles in a 
 southeasterly dircK-tion we come to T(unecula creek, a stream of 
 consid(>ral)le size risinti; to the south of San Jacinto. This stream 
 instead of llowinu; northw(>st alono- the base of the scarp as we 
 should naturally expect it to do, has instead cut a canon directly 
 across tlit» scarp and pursues a fairly direct course to the ocean. 
 Here as in many other cases there are two hypotheses to choose 
 from to account for the course of the stream. Either the moun- 
 tain scarp has been slowly raised across its course or the valley 
 in the depressed ])lock to the east of the fault was filled with pleis- 
 tocene deposits to a level with the rim of the scarp at the time the 
 draina.u-e was established. Which explanation is the correct one 
 has not yet been determined. 
 
 The canon wliicli tlie stream has cut is narroAv and (piite pic- 
 turesque. Standing- at the top of the present steep walled canon 
 we appear to be in the centre of a l)road valley of older topographic 
 forms, a valley eroded and fairly matured before the last uplift. 
 
 South of Temecula the fault scarp disappears altho Smiths 
 mountain which appears to be an uplifted block may be related to 
 the same line of disturbance. Toward the southern boundary of 
 the state the Peninsula range becomes more simple. Back of San 
 Diego the crest of the rang(^ is nearly as far from the fault line at 
 its eastern base as from the western. The features of an ancient 
 baselevel are particularly noticeable upon the crests of the moun- 
 tains and ridges. The sunnnit of Smiths mountain as well as that 
 of the Laguna mountains are fine examples of flat topped. Viewed 
 from a point east of Falllu'ook the western slope of the mountains 
 forms a nearly even sky line gently (lii)i)ing towards the coast. 
 The present canons have been eroded in this ancient plain, and in 
 many cases they have wid(Mied to extensivt^ valleys. The main 
 streams are comi)letely graded, flowing over a sand floor. Their 
 beds are dry during a great part of the year but water can be 
 oblaineil in al)iiii(laii<-c bv sinking tliru the sand.
 
 THE physi()(;haphy of camfornia 4;i 
 
 Th(M^xt('tisiv(uiK'sa oxtoiidiii.o- from San Dic^^o to ofcan side 
 is an old sea floor. Excei^t for the steep walled canons cnit across 
 it tli(^ surfac(> has been but slightly modified since the uplift. One 
 can trac(^ in places th(^ successive lines of sand dunes formeil as tin- 
 coast rose. San Diego bay has probably b('en formed thru the 
 drowning of a river vaUey in conruK-tion with the action of ocean 
 waves and currents. 
 
 COAST FEATURES 
 
 The fact has already been mentioned that along the whole 
 length of the California coast the topography resulting from sub- 
 aerial erosion has been modified by wave action and sedimentation 
 incident to depressions of the coastal area. The lower portions of 
 the stream valleys once excavated deeper than they now appear 
 were partly filled with sediments when the ocean level was 1000 to 
 1500 feet higher.. At the next i^eriod of elevation stream erosion 
 was again active. Now the valleys are again being silted up to sea 
 level as a consequence of submergence. 
 
 Nearly every stream along the whole length of the coast has 
 either a tidal lagoon at its mouth, the tide entering from a few 
 hundred yards to a number of miles, or an extensive alluvial plain. 
 Those streams like the Klamath river, containing a large volume 
 of water the year around, maintain an open channel to the st'a, the 
 tide flowing in and out. The entrance to San Francisco bay is 
 preserved not so much thru the volume of the river which finds its 
 outlet here as thru the vast amount of tidal water pouring thru the 
 Golden Gate. 
 
 Those streams like the Salinas which flow a considerable 
 amount of water for only a portion of the year, and whose channels 
 are deeply filled with detrital material do not show the efl'ects of 
 subsidence as distinctly because of the fllling in of their estiiaries. 
 Along the southern coast there are many streams of this char- 
 acter. There are other sm;ill streams flowing only during wet 
 weather and which carry but a small amount of the detrital nuiter- 
 ial. During the sunnner the waves and ocean currents block the 
 outlets of these and the enclosed lagoons on drying leave a surfac*' 
 whitened with more or less salt. These conditions are beautifullv 
 shown along the coast of San Diego county where the can'ms of 
 many sni:dl streams have been flooded by sul)sidence. 
 
 NuuKn-ous wave-cut ternices of varying width arc i<> be
 
 44 THE PHYSTOGEAPHY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 observed at favorable points alonp; the whole coast of California. 
 These ranu-e from ten feet to fiiiteen hundred feet in elevation. 
 
 The p;reat mesa north of San Dleijo is a wave cut plain. Its 
 iip^HT limit has an elevation of about (ML!;ht hundred feet. 
 
 San Pedro hill, forminsi; a prominent feature of the coast 
 o])i)osit(> Los Ant2;eles, is fijiely terraced up to an elevation of 
 twelve liuiidrcd feet. San Clemente island, which, like the other 
 islands. stH'nis to have movcnl in the main with tlu^ mainland, is 
 terrac-ed up to nearly fifteen hundred feet. 
 
 At Point Sal. in northwestern Santa Barbara county, there is 
 a broad terrace at one thousand feet. Upon the seaward slopes of 
 San Luis rantj^c^ there are many terraces, some of them remarkably 
 perfect, they rariy-e in height from ten to 750 feet. Upon the 
 slopc^s of the Santa Lucia range they appear at heights of 750 to 
 one thousand ivvt. Very fine terraces also appear along the slopes 
 of the Santa Cruz range. North of the mouth of Russian river 
 they are n^cognizable as high as fifteen hundred feet. Th(^ upper 
 one forms a bench against the old penei^lain so distinctly shown 
 in that region. 
 
 As the land rose iDcrmitting the formation of these terraces, 
 there was a prolonged stop at an elevation varying from 750 to 
 one thousand feet; the difference between these figures possibly 
 indicating the amount of differential movement since. The breadth 
 of this terrace and its correspondence in height to the l)road pene- 
 plain of Pleistocene age which is very prominent tliru portions of 
 the Coast Ranges marks this as an important stage. 
 
 As the coast rose the rivers also formed terraces. Below 
 Bradley upon the Salinas river six terraces can be seen. 
 
 Along nearly the whole length of the state except where the 
 mountains rise directly from the ocean cliffs there is a coastal 
 l)lain. This varies in width from a fourth of a mile to several 
 miles, and in height from sixty to two hundred feet. Along por- 
 tions of the Mendocino coast where this plain is broad and fur- 
 nishes a large part of the best land in the county, much of it 
 attains a height of four hundred feet. 
 
 The coast of California is bordered by a submarine plateau 
 s]iar[)ly marked off from the deep waters of the ojjen Pacific. 
 This plateau is a part of the continental mass and has at various 
 times in its history been wholly or in part raised above the water. 
 The present islands rise from the surface of this plateau, and rep-
 
 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF (Ar.IFoKNlA 45 
 
 resent peaks of iiioiiiitaiii ranges structurally related to those upon 
 the adjoining niainhuid. 
 
 The sulnnarine i^hitean is ({uite narrow along the coast of 
 northern California. From point Arena S(juth\vard it slowly widt-ns 
 sweeping just outside of the Farrallon islands, twenty miles otf 
 the Golden Gate. The surface of the plateau generally slopes very 
 gradually out to the one hundred fathom curve when it takes on 
 a much steeper descent to the deeper portions of the plateau or to 
 the abyssal depths of the Pacitic. 
 
 The plateau narrows opposite Monten^y l)ay, and along the 
 high Santa Lucia range the one hundred fathom curve is only 
 4.() nules from shore. Farther south it widens, sweeping out 
 side of the channel islands, and finally attaining a width of 
 150 miles. The surface of the broad portion of the plateau is far 
 from being uniform. Some of the islands rise over two thousand 
 feet above the sea level, and in places the dejith of the water at 
 their bases is two thousand to three thousand feet. An elevation 
 of less than one thousand feet would connect the Channel islands 
 (those lying otf Santa Barbara) with the mainland. Such an ele- 
 vation existed during the early Pleistocene, for remains of the 
 mastodon and other mammals are found upon one of them. The 
 water about San Clemente and Santa Catalina is much deeper. 
 
 Crossing this marginal plateau at various points are sul^ma- 
 rine valleys which from their position and general character are 
 believed to have been formed by subtBrial erosion. Many of the 
 most prominent valleys lie opposite the mouths of the present lan<l 
 valleys, some are not thus situated. The greatest of the subma- 
 rine valleys is that occupying the bay of Monterey. It extends 
 westerly from a point ntnir the mouth of the Pajaro and Salinas 
 rivers and down across the plateau to the abyssal depths of the 
 Pacific. It reaches so close to the shore as to have influenced the 
 location of a wharf. It has been thought that because of the 
 absence of any submarine valley opposite the Golden Gate the 
 drainage of the Great valley once entered the ocean thru the val- 
 ley in Monterey bay. 
 
 Many important and interesting facts connected with the 
 physiographic history of California yet remain to be studied. 
 Enough has been said however to give some conception of the 
 varied features of the state, and to show the richness of tlu> geo- 
 graphic material at hand for our schools.
 
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