The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-09-14
A WESTERN SAHARA.
q VAST EXPANSE OF STERILE
COUNTRY IN CALIFORNIA.
hhabittM Only by Coyotes, Lizards
and Snakcs-Miniaturc Vol
canoes Mirage and
Sand Storms.


sterile country, the northern portion of
which is known as the Mohave Desert,
and the southern as the Colorado Desert.
In the absence of natural landmarks, the
dividing line between the two is a little
indefinite. They are, however, about
cquai III extent, and cover altogether
tome thirty thousand square miles; their
exterior boundaries, except en- the cast,
where they border IN the Colorado River,
being not very sharply defined.
The summc heat on this California
Sahara is more than tropical. The Their
mon.eter during the day marks from 1875
10 $50 degrees in the shade. Topograph-
Tally, this region may be described as q
kw-lying plain, the greater part of it be-
ing elevated but little above sca-lcvcl,
while some portions arc depressed below
That level. Scattered over this plain are
clusters of b%asaltic mountains, dark and
scraggy; isolated Duties, low, irregular
hills and cvcr-shifting ridges of sand.
The pain itself is Of q scdimentary or
marine origin; the more elevated lands
have resulted from igncous agencies.
These buttcs are, in fact, nothing but
the cones of dead volcanoes, and the de-
pressed surfaces simply the beds of dried
up seas.
There are two of these low-lying basins
within the limits of this southeastern
wilderness. One, the site of the salses,
or mud volcanoes, is situated on the
Colorado Desert, in the vicinity of Dos
Palmas Station, on the Southern Pacific
Railroad. The other, known as Death
Valley, is located on the northern border
Of the Mohave Desert, 200 miles further
to the north. The former is seventy feet
below the level of the sea, and the latter
$50. The two cover an area of several
thousand square miles. In the basin of
the salses. miniature volcanoes forming
and dissolving, and the hot gases escap-
ing from innume:ablc vents, denote
there the continuance of q feeble sofia
tar!c action.
Owing to the presence of extensive
~Ba'ines, and the rapid evaporation that
here occurs, the mirage is frequently
seen on these deserts, appearing some
times in great perfection. These optical
illusions take on here not only the SEM
blance of real objects, but also at times
many weird and fantastic forms. Lying
of In the hazy atmosphere are. seen
what seem to be pellucid lakes, dotted
with islands and indented with head
lands. Stretching away in the mist are
green meadows and groves, with palatial
structures and castellatcd ruins beyond.
While we look, the scene undergoes a
strange transformation, and taking on
less familiar and pleasing shapes, slowly
fades away-cloudland of youth-em-
blem of human hopes!
A popularity Of this wilderness eli
mate is the sand storm, a meteorological
phenomenon not unlike the simeon
that prevails in Arabia and other parts of
Africa. 1t consists of a strong wind.
amounting sometimes to a gale, coming
up with a black cloud that obscures
the sun, fills the atmosphere 80 COM
pletely with sand and dust that vision is
Obscured, thirst greatly increased, and
respiration rendered extremely difficult.
Thu sitting air, the darkness, the
strangcness of the entire surroundings,
fill the traveller with a dread that in
clines him to stop and shelter himself q
best he can from the effects of the gale.
Even animals arc sc oppressed with fear
when exposed to the sirocco that thew
stop in their tracks and obstinately RI.
fuse to go.
Having ragged for a day or two, tie
wind ceases to blow, the dust clouds SET
ale, the air clears up, and the sun, shin.
ing out with its accustomed ~iercencss,
restores to the leadcn sky its former
bra en- aspect. Swept 10y the blast, the
sand dunes shift like the pillows of the
ocean, vanishing in one place and reap
pearing in another with each recurring
tempest. These simoons, though hardly
less terrifying than the thunder storms
That visit in the summer time countries
further east, are by no means so refresh
ing.
Very misleading to the stranger are the
maps of this region, with their arroyos
M rivers, their lakes and springs, laid
down thereon at convenient intervals.
1t is we'll to supply, as far as may be, the
deficiencies Of nature, wherever we find
them; wherefore, one appreciates the
motive oil he topogIapher in his en-
deavor to represent this arid and for