The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1854-08-09
PROFESSOR TRAsK's REPORT ON
THE BIOLOGY OFTHE COAST NOUN.
TAiNS OF CALIFORNIA.

PROFESSOR TRAsK's REPORT ON,
THE = BIOLOGY OF THE COAST NOUN.
TAiNs OF CALIFORNIA.
We publish. d in our paper last year C. S
Mining Journal, June oh, 1859 some intares,.
ing ext acts from the report up. n the geology
VI :hr Sierra Ne vada, made to the legislature
Of California by DR. Jol n B Trask. The Pnr
tim of the report then selected by US had refer
ence To the Quar- formation The age OF the ne
i"'ic ', ins, a statement OF the abundance It
PLATINUM in The section Of country under notice
the dis avery of silver in the form Of ruby
b'ende d,sss minated through the vein .t.ne at
| Washington Mine, tauar'.hurg, Mariposa conn
". and ~ sn'phuret in Quartz. in Other local.
ties The rxisrnce OF copper through The
~srtsrn flank at ih- rang, It mountains, and
The arp, france OF large qHan tiles Of Chromium
in Asses 1T 10 t 80 p"uncs each. Tn r. por,
having since then beet compile ed, has b. en il
sued in pamphlet form, aud makrsa very meta.
bic woIk Of nearly one handred pages The
cont. n are peculiarly interesting at This time,
a. they aft I'd valuable assistance in forming a
Judgment upon the babl- future productive
n. - IF III Gold region. On this point Pro.-s
sor Tra,k opinion is exceedingly stron. and
pnsitve He assumes that The produce will be
40 Ia &c NJ to tempt E-ss,ern capital 10 be in.
vested in mi ming the State an extent not
dreamed # BY EASTERN people; he says:
'The min. . Of b State are of a charac er
and value which, il placed in a proper position,
will invite investment rom abroad an amount
| little less than twenty mile ns Of dolle!s with
| IN the n, 1t eight years. This presumption i
| founded On the fact that more u an one sixth o.
| that amount is at the present time in active
operation ~ this country, and its largest pr,pnr-
ton has b. IN derived from American sources,
during potion # thai pe'ioi when public
confidence had been shaken in regard "a their
,a!ne Negotiations are now pending which
| involve nearly one million more Of capital in
v-sim-nt in this branch Of mining, nearly one
| half of which Is in the cities OF Is son and N.
Y.
Considering The disadvantages that now SUR
round them, as shown. from the facts relating
i thereto, they can but be regarded a. the pro-
| life sources OF wealth in this country; and
every nducement consistent with the liberal
policy adopted IN the government Of the placers
is equrliy applicable, and should be extended to
them p"
OF the inr xhaus,ibili,y of the surface digeings
he says.
sit is now scer'ainrd TO a certainty that the
placer ranges extend t., l. e cas-, vi hin ten or
fifteen miles of The summit r.dge," 10 called,
ri The Sierra Navads; and the condition in
all respects to that in the old. or more western
St c ions, i,h perhaps, enc exception, and that
tho relative age of both There are evidences
which clearly indicate deposit Of gold older
than th, dluvial dr,f Of the lower or western
diggngs, (Which latter is often confounded with
the drift deposits If the tertiary periods in this
country, the character ct which differ in almos,
every respect from any ether deposit yet observ-
ID IN ID 8 county, except in this particular
range
Is direction has been traced f;.r about seven
ty miles, and is found tn extend through the
countries of Butte, the eastern part of Yuba
Sierra N.vada, Placer and FL Dorado it ape
pears /, have an average breadth Of about e ur
miles, with an elevation OF four thousand feel
above the sea for the greatest part Ut It's
length "
In addition to the already known area where
Qnar,z mining 10 carried On. he states that the
coast range Of moun'ains in which auriferous
deposits known to occur, 10 eighty /
miles in length !; they have not been worked to
any extent, bat exhibit every evidence of being !
highly productive. The report embraces the |
sxamna ion of a district Of country, included |
within ls0 deg. is min, and 122 deg 81 min. |
wet longitude. and from the thirty 9th paraI- |
lei 10 the thiriy-nin'h degree of north latitude,
inclusive of The coast mountains and the min
eral districts OF the mineral resources Of the |
coast mauntans, the report states
IS The minerals of these mount ms are wilde |
" dispersed throughout their entire extent, they
consist principally Of copper, iron, lead. silver,
gold, nickel aud antimony, with agates, calce.
done, and many others too numerous to IN. n
ton here.
SlLvER-ln the country of Monterey this
metal occurs in the form Of argentiferous gal |
ena, Tor lead and silver.) and this mineral is |
fsAnn in, he nPi,p md tpan
Astounding in this section !; it is found in small
veins, and disseminated the range in which il |
occurs exile nds from the Gabilan p. ak to the
Chapedero on the south, distance Of twelve |
miles inclusive.
lRos- This metal 10 found in almost every
variety Of form, from one end Of the coast |
mountains to the other he prevailing mineral, |
however, 10 the proxide and protoxids Of this |
metal the latter 10 often found in the form OF |
hydrate, aud when occurring in proximity TO
serpentine ricks, often found to be more or !, %
aurifrrous. This mineral is largely developed
in some parts Of the auriferous district of Mari
posa county, and form one Of the ioost valuable
receP'acles Of gold among tine gold bearing
rocks If that section.
SULPHArE OF lKoS-'rhis article, known in |
commerce under the name of ccperas, is found |
native in large quantities near the town Of San |
Ia Cruz. It's principle Rad occurred short dis |
lance west Of the house Of Mr.. Medor, in !
gulsh running from the mountains through the !
low hills to the coast followed ,he course
OF the ravine from where il enters the high hill
near the crossing of the road north west Of the
town 10 near the sea. The average debth of IT'S
banks varies from fifteen 10 thirty feet, it's length
from the hill 10 the Coast, brin. about two
miller.
MAGNETIC TRoS-At the distance of two
miles north west Of The above locality, an ex-
lensive bed Of magnetic iron occurs, running
down 10 the ,ast, at which point it crops and
exhibits depth Of several feet.
GyPsUH-Sulphaie of lime is reported to
abound in the northern part of Santa Cruz, ard
in the vicinity Of Palo de los Yeska, some six
miles from the mission. Il was frequently
spoken Of by The Inhabitants of this place, but
was unable to learn its precise locality.
CIrHABAR-ls reported to exist in this 10 !,
liy
NicKEL-The ores Of this we Ia, -. found
from Contra Costa on the ne,rth - ~ , ,"u"u
southern limit reached n -. g.. a ae u,
II occur: IN the p..mi,;v rocks. a.socis,sd with
s.,.s ~ w. 40 Utmost every case where the |
'a'11 '.ay De obtained. It appears as bright |
zen T.neral on the fractured service Of tire |
o,,--<r ores, and 10 known in technical language
a. nicked green" The scarcity of this metal |
renders the discovery of its ores in this country
an object OF some importance, aud its wide |
distribution leads to the belief that it exists in
sufficient quantities 10 warrant investment for
ito extraction from other ores, at no distant day
1t IL extensively used in the manufacture Of
German silver for wares and household uten
sils ~
GoLD-This metal has been found in the |
Coast mountains from the county San Francis |
CO, on the north, to Luis Obirpo on he south. |
The states and serpentine formations which |
have been noticed previously in this report, are
found to be recepticles of gold here as in the |
Sierra Nevada; these rocks are extensive in the
Coast Mountains, often comprising an entire
ridge for miles; they usually fanked by The
granite. During the past summer, the piacers
in The county Santa Cruz were much worked,
the gold found here was principally on the San
Lorenzo and its tributaries; it was fine, and |
much resembled that found in the Cao,i Hill,
near Nevada; under the glass it had oil the APP
pesIancc Of having suffered bu: little from
attraction BY water. the surface of the grains
being rough, az ti;nugh just detached from their
original matrix. The states and serpentne
rocks occur on both sides o. tEs creek, with |