the Gabilan ridge reappears, and is separated by Petaluma valley from the Sonoma ridge, that by Sonoma valley from the Carneros ridge, and that by Napa valley from the main Coast ridge. Farther north the spurs are so numerous, and connected so closely together, that they are scarcely distinguished by names; and a large portion of the coast, from the main ridge westward, is a mass of mountains. The Coast Mountains are steep, rocky, rugged, and brown: north of 38° they are covered with timber and brush; south of that the ridges nearest the ocean have some timber, those farther inland are nearly bare. The main ridge near the head of the Sacramento valley is called the Trinity ridge; near Mount Diablo it is called the Diablo ridge, or the Bolbones ridge; south of 34° it is called the San Bernardino ridge, and in one place the Cuyamaca Mountain.

§ 3. Coast Peaks and Passes.-The principal peaks of the main ridge are Mount Linn, in 40° 10′; Mount St. John, in 39° 25'; Mount Ripley, 7,500 feet high, in 39° 08′; Mount St. Helena, 3,700 feet high, in 38° 40'; Mount Diablo, 3,857 feet high, in 37° 50′; Pacheco's Peak, 2,700 feet high, in 36° 57′; Mount San Bernardino, 8,500 feet high, in 34° 20'; and Mount San Gorgonio, 7,000 feet high, in 33° 48'. In the Gabilan ridge are the following peaks: the Chupadero, in 36° 35'; the Gabilan, in 36° 50'; the Loma Prieta, 4,040 feet high, in 37° 08'; and Table Mountain, or Tamulpais, in 37° 53'. The principal passes in the main ridge are south of the outlet of the Sacramento basin, and are-Livermore's Pass, 686 feet high, in 37° 42'; Pacheco Pass, in 37°; the Pass de los Robles, in 35° 20′; the Cajon de Tenoco, in 34° 40'; the Pass of San Francisquito, 3,437 feet high, in 34° 35'; Williamson's Pass, 3,164 feet high, in 34° 30'; the Cajon Pass, 4,676 feet high, in 34° 10′; the San Gorgonio Pass, 2,808 feet high, in 33° 55'; and Warner's Pass, 3,780 feet high, in 33° 10'. The Santa Margarita Pass, with an altitude of 1,350 feet, leads across the Santa Lucia ridge, in 35° 20′; and the San Fernando Pass, 1,956 feet high, crosses the Santa Susanna ridge, in 34° 20′.

Having thus considered the mountains, let us look into the valleys of the coast. The flat land west of the San Bernardino Mountains, south of 34°, is rather composed of plains than of valleys, though watered by the San Gabriel, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and other rivers. There are two of these plains: the lower one about two hundred and fifty feet above the sea, and skirting the coast; the other one thousand or twelve hundred feet high, nearer the mountains. On the lower plain are Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Pedro; on the upper are San Fernando, San Bernardino, Cocomongo, Jurupa, Temescal, and Temecula. Northward of 34° we find long, flat, narrow, fertile valleys, shut in by steep, rugged hills. We have already mentioned the names of many of these valleys, as dividing certain ridges of the Coast Mountains from each other. South of the Salinas all these valleys open upon the ocean, save the Cuyama valley, the river of which runs in a cañon through mountains as it approaches its mouth. The Pajaro River breaks through the Gabilan Mountains, and makes a small but rich valley. The average width of these coast valleys is five miles at the mouth, with a length of from ten to forty miles, narrowing to a point near the head in the mountains. The Salinas valley, the largest of all the coast valleys, is ninety miles long, and from eight to fourteen wide. Three terraces are distinctly traceable on each side of the river. The first and lowest is about four miles wide, with a sort of a rich, sandy loam; the second rises with an abrupt edge, is eleven feet higher, has about two miles of width on each side, and has a coarser, poorer soil; the third terrace is less regular in height and width, and has a coarse, gravelly soil, scarcely fit for cultivation. This terraced formation, with its variations in richness of soil, is a strongly-marked feature of many valleys in the state. Ordinarily, the coast valleys are separated from each other by steep, rugged mountain-ridges, but there are occasional exceptions. Thus, there is a low plain between Russian River and Santa Rosa valley, which opens into Sonoma and Petulama valleys; and again, the Santa Clara and

Pajaro valleys are separated from each other by hills not more than two hundred and fifty feet high; and the valleys of the Pajaro and the Salinas open into each other. So also the divide between San Ramon and Amador valleys is so low as to be scarcely noticed by the traveller; and Amador valley is connected, by a level road through a cañon, with Suñol valley, and that by another cañon with the plain at San José Mission. North of San Francisco Bay, the valleys of Suisan, Vaca, Putah, and Cache Creek, lie castward from Napa valley. The valley at the head of Putah Creek is sometimes called Berreyesa valley; and that at the head of Cache Creek, Clear Lake valley. North of Russian River there is little level land, and that little is found in Eel River valley, about the shores of Humboldt Bay, and about Crescent City.

§ 4. Coast Rivers.-The rivers of the Coast Mountains have necessarily but a short course. Those south of the bay of San Francisco are the San Lorenzo, Pajaro, Salinas, Cuyama, Santa Inez, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Santa Ana, Santa Margarita, San Luis Rey, San Diegnito, and San Diego. Some of these are large streams in wet winters; but, in the drought of autumn, all those south of the Salinas are swallowed up in the sands before reaching the ocean. Most of them are constant streams to within ten or fifteen miles of their mouths. The Santa Ana, the largest river on the southern coast, rises in Mount San Bernardino, and is in its meanderings nearly one hundred miles long, yet only in very wet seasons, once in six or eight years, succeeds in getting to, the sea. The San Gabriel River sinks before reaching Monte, in Los Angeles county, and, after passing three miles under ground, rises again. The intervening space, where there is no river, is very moist, sandy ground, through which the water spreads and soaks.

W. H. Emory, in his report as member of the Mexican Boundary Commission, writes thus:

"The point at which water ceases to flow is quite variable; its more usual upward limit being marked at or near the passage of the stream from the first rocky ranges into the tertiary

formation. The point, however, as before stated, is by no means a fixed one: thus, during the night it extends farther downward than in daytime; in cloudy weather, for the same reason, its course is more prolonged than under a clear sky. In the stream-beds themselves, however dry, water is generally found a short distance below the surface.

"The descent of these streams in the rainy season may be either a gradual process in the progressive saturation of their sandy beds, or, the saturation being accomplished by previous showers, the irruption may be sudden. A fine example of this sudden appearance was observed in the San Diego River, in December, 1849; when, after a rainy night, by which its sandy bed was completely saturated, the upper stream suddenly appeared in the form of a foaming body of water, moving onward at the rate of a fast walk, curling round the river-bends, absorbing the pools, and soon filling its bed with a brimming, swift current. An instance of the more gradual descent was seen in the following season (December, 1850), when, from the absence of local rain, its downward progress was slow and interrupted."

The only navigable stream south of San Francisco Bay is the Salinas, and that but for small vessels, and near its mouth.

North of San Francisco the main streams rising in the Coast Mountains are the Russian, Eel, Elk, Mad, and Smith Rivers, all permanent, but none navigable.

§ 5. Coast Lakes.-The only large lake in the Coast district is Clear Lake, which lies about eighty miles northward from San Francisco. It is twenty miles long, and varies in breadth from two to ten miles. Surrounded by a small valley of fertile land, it lies in a deep basin bounded by high mountains, with an outlet to the eastward, where its surplus waters are carried off by Cache Creek to the Sacramento. The water of Clear Lake is limpid; the vegetation on its banks abundant and vigorous; the scenery beautiful and romantic. In Amador valley, twenty-five miles eastward from San Francisco, there is a small lake, covering a couple of hundred acres. It

lies in the course of the Alameda Creek.

In the San Francis

quito Pass, forty-five miles northward from Los Angeles, there was a lake called Lake Elizabeth, covering several hundred acres, but it has dried up of late.

These are the only lakes of note in the Coast district. Previous to 1860, there was a lake called the "Laguna Sal," six miles long and three wide, near Alamo, San Diego county; but it entirely dried up in that year. The water had a strong taste of alkali and sulphur. According to report, the lake was formed about the year 1820.

§ 6. Capes.-California has two capes: Cape Mendocino, in 40° 25'; and Point Conception, in 34° 25'. The former is reputed to be the stormiest place on our coast; the latter is the southern limit of the cold fogs and cool summers.

§ 7. Islands.-About forty miles westward from San Francisco are the Farallones, seven little islands of bare rocks, the largest with an extent of a couple of acres, and of no significance save as a danger to shipping, and as a point where a large lighthouse is maintained. All the other islands of California lie between 32° 50' and 34° 10', the farthest one being about sixty miles from the mainland. They are named Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, San Clemente, Santa Rosa, San Nicolas, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara. They are all hilly, rocky, barren, and of little value. Santa Cruz, the largest and best of them, has good water and a few trees. It is twenty-one miles long, with an average width of about three miles. All these islands appear to be peaks of submerged mountain-ridges. Between them and the mainland lies the Santa Barbara channel.

§ 8. Bays and Harbors.-California has four land-locked bays-Humboldt, Tomales, San Francisco, and San Diego. All of them are comparatively long and narrow, and separated from the ocean by narrow peninsulas, their general course being parallel with the coast.

Humboldt Bay is twelve miles long, from two to five miles wide, and is separated from the ocean by two tongues of land, which are covered by high and dense timber, and offer an