The record-union., 1899-09-24

their courses. The eastern half or
these streams is in the mountains,
where the waters are torrents, falling
5000 feet in fifty miles.
The Sacramento River is navigable
for steamers drawing three feet OF
water to Sacramento City, and to Red
Bluff for boats drawing fifteen inches.
The Feather River, one of it's tribu-
taries, is navigated by steamers draw
ing fifteen inches to Marysville seven
ty-five miles from Sacramento. and
boats have ascended on high water to
Oroville, twenty-five miles farther.
Steamers drawing five feet run regular
ly to Stockton, on the San Joaquin
River, distance of 130 miles from San
Francisco, and in times of high water
boats drawing fifteen inches can reach
Fresno City, 80 miles to the south
ward.
number of sloughs or tide-water
creeks, navlgable for small vessels,
open into the bays of San Francisco.
San Pablo and Suisun. The most nota-
Bile of these are the Alviso or Guadalupe
Slough, at the head of San Francisco
Bay; the San Antonio Slough. now be-
ing dredged by the Federal Govern
ment for a deep-water harbor for the
city of Oakland; the Petaluma, Sonoma
and Napa Sloughs, opening into San
Pablo Bay; and Susun and Pacheco
Sloughs, flowing into Suisun Bay.
The Sierra Nevada is $50 miles long,
in California, and seventy miles wide,
with hight varying from 5000 5000
feet above the sea level The greater
part of this width is on the western
slope of the range, which descends to
a level of 300 feet above the ocean. The
eastern slope is only five or six miles
wide, and terminates in the deserts oi
Nevada at an altitude of 1000 to 5000
feet above the sea. Nearly all the SHOWS
and rains that visit the Sierra Nevada
fall on it's western slope. and are car
ried to the ocean by tributaries of the
Sacramento and San JOAQUIN Rivers.
The valleys of the Sierra are small,
hundreds of them being merely mead
ows of limited acreage where the cat
tie of the lower valleys Craze upon the
rich, nutritious grass during the sum-
mer The greater part of the Sierra
Nevada is covered thick with forests.
The oak, manzanita and nut pine grow
to an altitude of about $500 feet above
the sea. and coniferous forests extend
the timber line of the range to a hight
of 5000 feet.
About latitude 40 deg. the Sierra
Nevada divides-one branch running
northward in the line of the
main chain: the other northwestward
to Mount Shasta. Between these two
branches, and between 40 and II
deg, is high tableland or plateau,
about 120 miles long and 5000 feet
above the ocean level. This plateau is
an independent basin, and it's waters
never leave it, flowing into few lakes,
where they are swallowed up in the
sands. Pit River has it's source in the
northeastern corner of the State. and
breaks through the plateau. North OF
this river are Wright Lake and Rhett
Lake, within five miles of the Oregon
line; and Goose Lake and Lower Kla-
math Lake, partly in Oregon. North OF
latitude Il deg. lies the basin OF
the klamath River, which rises in Ore
gon, crosses the California line about
eighty miles from the sea, then turns
southwestward, and, after a course of
about 80 miles, empties into the Pa
cific in latitude Al deg. 33 minutes
The basin Of the klamath is very
rugged, particularly that part of it
within forty miles of the ocean. Along
the main river there is no valley or
bottom lands: it's entire length is be-
tween steep hills and mountains, and
through rocky canyons. It's largest trib-
utarieS the Trinity and Salmon, run