Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/606

 600 CALIFORNIA 7,000 ft. above all surrounding peaks. It is of volcanic origin, and is visible in every direc- tion for more than 100 m. Other notable peaks are Lassen's, 10,577 ft., of volcanic origin; the Downieville buttes, 8,500 ft. ; Pilot peak, 7,300; Castle peak, 13,000 ; Mt. Tyndall, 14,386; Mt. Brewer, 13,886; and Mt. Dana, 13,277. There are numerous passes in the Sierra Nevada; those most used in travel are the Johnson pass, 6,752 ft. high, in lat. 38 50'; Henness, in 39 50'; and Cajon de las Uvas, 4,256 ft., in 34 50'. The Coast range, as its name indicates, runs along the coast, giving it a forbidding and dangerous rock-bound character. This range averages from 2,000 to 4,000 ft. in height, and is divided in its length by long narrow valleys, the Los Angeles, Salinas, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Napa, and others, and also by the bay of San Fran- cisco. The breadth of the coast mountains (from the Pacific to the great valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin) does not exceed 40 m. in most parts of the entire length of the state. The valleys in the midst of these coast mountains, some of which are 60 m. long by 10 broad, possess an equable and genial climate. The Monte Diablo range, a division of the Coast range, covers a territory of about 150 m. long and from 20 to 30 m. wide, beginning at San Pablo bay on the north. Monte Diablo itself is 3,881 ft. high. Lying in front of this range are the Contra Costa hills, a marked feature of the scenery to be observed from San Francisco, which extend from the strait of Carquinez S. E. about 50. m., joining the main range near Mt. Hamilton, which is 4,440 ft. high. The chief peaks of the Coast range, besides those already mentioned, are Mt. Ripley, in Lake county, 7,500 ft. ; San Carlos peak, in Fresno county, 4,977 ; and Mt. Downie, in Los Angeles county, 5,675. The mountains of this range are clothed throughout with luxuriant forests, and contain a great variety of minerals, of which some of the most valuable are found in abundance. Be- tween the Coast range and the ocean occur numerous minor ranges and isolated hills, fre- quently approaching the water's edge, and en- closing a succession of the most beautiful, salu- brious, and fertile valleys. To the north the Pacific slope is still more broken with low hills and mountains. The interlocking spurs of the Coast range and Sierra Nevada cover the whole northern end of the state, and give it a very broken and rugged character. Between the Sierra Nevada and Coast range lies the great basin bearing the double name of the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, although really but one geographical formation. This extends N. and S. about 400 m., with an aver- age breadth of from 50 to 60 m., and presents evidences of having once been the bed of a vast lake. It is drained from the north by the Sac- ramento river, and from the south by the San Joaquin, which, after meeting and uniting in the eentre of the basin, break through the Coast range to the Pacific. At the S. extremity are the Tulare lakes and marshes, which in the wet season cover a large extent of surface. Along the great rivers the valleys are generally low and level, and extremely fertile, rising into undulating slopes and low hills as the mountains are approached on either side, and broken on the east by numerous spurs from the Sierra. At the N. end, between lat. 40 and 42, is a high table land or plateau, about 120 m. long, and 5,000 ft. above the ocean level, lying between the main chain of the Sierra Nevada and a branch which extends N. V. toward Mt. Shasta. This plateau is an in- dependent basin ; its waters do not leave it, but flow into a few lakes where they are absorbed in the sands. The great basin of Utah, a moun- tainous barren tract of land, having an eleva- tion of 4,000 or 5,000 ft. above the level of the sea, with no outlet for its waters, extends into the S. E. portion of California. This region is exceedingly arid and sterile, and is cut up by numerous irregular ridges of bare, rocky mountains, with intervening valleys of sand and volcanic matter. On the S. E. border of the state is a district about 140 m. long by 70 m. wide which belongs to the Colorado basin, and is known as the Colorado desert, on account of its barren, sandy soil and scanty vegetation. California has a seacoast extend- ing the whole length of the state, amounting, following the indentations, to somewhat over 700 m. The principal bays and harbors, begin- ning on the south, are San Diego, Santa Barba- ra, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Francisco, Tomales, Bodega, and Humboldt. San Fran- cisco bay, the most capacious and best pro- tected harbor on the W. coast of North Amer- ica, is nearly 50 m. long (including its exten- sion San Pablo bay) and about 9 m. wide. The entrance to the bay is in lat. 37 48', Ion. 122 30', through a strait about 5 m. long, and a mile wide, and is named Chrysopylse or Golden Gate. The peninsulas which separate the bay from the ocean are from 6 to 15 m. wide ; on the S. one is situated the city of San Francisco. At the N. extremity of Sun Fran- cisco bay, and connected with it, is the smaller bay of San Pablo, about 10 m. in diameter; and E. of this is that of Suisun, about 8 m. long by 4 m. wide. There are two capes, Mendocino, in lat. 40 25', said to be the stormiest place on the coast, and Conception, in 34 25', the S. limit of the cold fogs and cool summers. There are few islands on the const, and they are small. The Farallones, or Needles, are a small group of seven islands, the nearest of which is about 20 m. W. of the Golden Gate. They consist of bare rugged rocks, which are the resort of large numbers of sea lions and birds. On the southernmost island is a first-class lighthouse. The other islands lie S. of Point Conception, the furthest one being about 60 m. from the mainland. They are named San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz, forming a group about 20 m. from the