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from three  to  seven  thousand  feet  deep. Then, grand- est of all  is  the  grand  canon  of  the  Colorado,  300 miles long,  and  from  3,000  to  6,200  feet  in  depth,  also the result  of  erosion.

There are  likewise  many  other  noted  wonders  in California,  as  Bower  cave  near  by,  with  its  cleft,  per- pendicular chamber walls  and  subterranean  lake,  clell, grotto, and  grove;  the  Alabaster  stalactite  cave  of  El Dorado  on  our  right ;  the  Calaveras  cave  of  skulls  in which,  when  discovered,  were  found  human  skeletons coated with  carbonate  of  lime;  the  Santa  Cruz  cave, and numerous  natural  bridges. Bower cave,  situated in Mariposa  county,  consists  of  a  crevice  in  the  lime- stone hollowed out  by  water;  hence  it  is  open  at  the top but  widens  out  cave-like  beneath  the  surface. It is 133  feet  long,  109  feet  deep,  and  80  feet  wide. Three maple  trees  grow  within  it,  sending  their branches out  through  the  split  roof,  and  the  water  on the  bottom  is  so  transparent,  that  the  deep  cavities which are  worn  on  either  side  above  and  below,  may be distinctly  followed  beneath  the  surface  to  a  depth of forty  feet. Alabaster cave,  in  Placer  county  near Auburn, is  a  large  canity,  discovered  by  lime-burners while quarrying. There are  two  chambers,  one  100 by 200  feet,  and  the  other  25  by  100  feet,  and  from 4 to  20  feet  in  depth. Brilliant stalactites  of  various shades and  shapes  hang  in  irregular  rows,  interspersed with spaces  stained  with  a  sort  of  grotesque  graining. One of  the  chambers,  called  the  Cr3^stal  Chapel,  looks like an  embowered  arctic  region  petrified. Over a branch  of  the  Trinity  river  nature  has  thrown  a  ledge of rocks  300  feet  wide  and  150  feet  thick,  under  which runs the  stream  through  an  arch  80  feet  wide  and  20 feet high. Among others,  Coyote  creek,  in  Tuolumne county, is  spanned  by  two  natural  bridges.

To these  scenes  of  grandeur  and  beauty  vegetation contributes its  quota. Among twenty  clusters  of mammoth  trees,  there  are  eight  principal  groves,  of