The record-union., 1899-09-24
GEOGRAPHY
AND TOPOGRAPHY
OF CALIFORNIA,

| OF CALIFORNIA.
! In general outline, California may be
described as an irregular parallelogram,
averaging 700 miles southeast by north
west, from latitude 81 deg. 40 min. to
latitude 40 deg, with an average
breadth of nearly 200 miles. The area
of the State is 15S,6S7 square miles,
comprising more than 100,000,0OO stat
ute acres, of which, it is estimated,
3o.OOO,00O acres are adapted for agri-
cultural purposes, 23,000,000 acres for
grazing, 100000 of swamp and over
flowed lands which are being steadily
reclaimed and converted into orchards,
100000 acres of lakes, rivers, bays
and permanent water, 100000 acres
of arid lands to be reclaimed for the
husbandman by irrigation, and 23,000,
UUO acres of mountains for the most
part heavily timbered.
geographically, the State may be
divided into coast and an interior dis
trlct, separated by the main ridge of
the Coast Range, running the entire
l
the ocean at a distance of about fifty
miles. The interior district may be
subdivided into the Sierra Nevada, the
Sacramento and San Joaquin basins,
the plateau of the Sierra Nevada, the
klamath basin and the Colorado des-
| ert
The Sierra Nevada range traverses
the eastern boundary of the State and
the Coast Range extends along the
western coast line. These ranges unite
on the south at Tehachapi in latitude
80 deg, and on the north near Mount
SHASTA in latitude 40 deg, inclosing the
valleys of the Sacramento and San Joa-
qu1n, which are about $50 miles in
length and 40 to 80 miles wide at their
points OF greatest divergence. These
valleys contain nearly five-eighths of
all the level land in the State. All the
water moving from nearly 500 miles
OF the Sierra Nevada ranges and from
the eastern slope Of the Coast Range
nnds It's way to the ocean through
these valleys-the Sacramento flowing
from the north, the San Joaquin from
the south, and bringing the accumu-
| lated waters to the Suisun Bay where
| they unite
The Sierra Nevada mountains, which
bound the Sacramento and San Joa-
quln Valleys on the east include a
series of ranges, which, collectively, are
seventy miles wide The Coast Range,
which bounds these valleys on the west.
also Consists of a series of chains ag-
gregating forty miles wide The high
est peaks of the Sierra Nevada, from
Mount Shasta on the north, including
Lassen's Butte, Spanish Peak, Pilot
Peak, the Downieville Buttes, Pyramid
Peak, Castle Peak, Mounts Dana, Lyell.
Brewer, Tyndall and Whitney, which
reach an altitude of from 10000 to TO-
/ OuO feet above the level of the sea. are
nearly in line running north 81 deg.
west. On the eastern side of this cul-
| mlnatlng line of peaks is situated a
series of lakes. the most important of
which are the klamath, Pyramid, Mono
and owens, lying wholly to the east
ward of the Sierra. and Tahoe, occupy
| ing an elevated valley, or crater of an
extinct volcano, at a. point where the
| range separates into two SUBMITS
The valleys of the Coast Range are
the garden spots of California. Here
the soil is especially adapted to the
culture of orchards and vineyards, and
| mere the climate is equally warm in
| summer and genially even in winter.
The flat land west of the San Bernar-
dino mountains, south of "a deg is a
broad plain rather than a valley, and
| is watered by the San Gabriel, Los
Angeles and Santa Ana Rivers. There
are two of these plains in the San
Bernardino Valley, the lower one about
250 feet above the sea, and skirting
the coast, the other 900 or | 200 feet
above the sea level. On the lower plain
are the thriving cities of Los Angeles,
Anaheim and San Pedro; on the higher
mesa are San Fernando, San Bernar-
dino, Cocomongo, Jurupa, Temescal
and Temecula.a Northward of 81 deg.
are numerous long, fiat, narrow val
leys, shut in by steep, rugged hills
This region is specifically designated
Southern California, and it is within
this sub-tropical section of the State
that the orange, the lemon and the
olive have attained their most profit
able development
South of the Salinas River, the only
navigable stream traversing the Coast
Range, all the valleys except Guyana
open upon the ocean, the Pajaro River
|
tains, and distributes it alluvium over
a small but rich valley. The average
| width of these coast valleys is five
| miles where they debouch upon the
ocean, the length is from ten TO forty
miles, narrowing into canyons and bar
rancas as they rise to mountainous al
titudes. The Salinas Valley, the larg-
est of all the coast valleys, is ninety
miles long and from eight to fourteen
miles wide Three terraces are trace
able on either side of the Salinas Val
ley. The lowest of these terraces is
about four miles wide, composed of q
rich, sandy loan; the second bench is
eleven feet higher and the average
width is two miles; the third terrace
is less regular in hight and width, and
the soil is a coarse gravel. The sol
of the second terrace is a sandy loam
but not so friable as that of the bot
tom lands
Ordinarily, kc coast valleys are sep
ged mountain ridges, but there are oc.
casional exceptions. Thus, there is 6
low-lying plain between Russian River
and Santa Rosa Valley, which open:
into Sonoma and Petaluma Valleys, ant
the Santa Clara and Pajaro Valleys
are separated from each other by hills
not more than 250 feet high. The val
open into each other. The divide be
tween San Ramon and Amador Val
leys is so low that the rise is scarcel,