Amador ledger., 1900-02-23
GREAT GRAVEL BEDS PASS THROUGH THE SIERRA
Many Side Channels of Fine Gravel
Garry Gold In Paying Quantities
Covered by Clay, etc.
IBY JOHN A. FAULL.

special study of this series of gravel
and the ravines. We will begin at
Rock creek where the side of the
mountain has been grooved out for
twenty-seven miles in length. This l
also claimed to be of a glacial action,
dropping in its path millions of tons of
gravel in the Mojave desert scraping
out path in that desert 942 yards
wide twisting and turning for a dis
tance of thirty three miles, when it,
doubtless, entered the sea. We can
not trace its lines beyond the distance
we give. The Santa Clara valley,
which was evidently it's path is as now
seen is the work of more recent day,
the decOmposed portions and sedimen-
tary deposits of the great scraper can
be followed from Rock creek through
the Mojave and Santa Clara valleys to
the sea.
1t is but necessary to turn our eyes
to the ridge and follow the range of
hills, to be convinced that, from the
Placerettes above referred to over Sole
dad canyon to the beach on the sea, to
know that no river system could posi-
bly, deposit gravel over the millions of
acres in any such manner as this has
been done. This convinces me of the
certainty of my present position. You
will ask me to point out some place
where view of this great system of
which we have been speaking can be
seen. will ask you to go with me to
the summit Oi the ridge between Sutter
creek and Jackson creek in Amador
county, some morning about April
25th at 6 a. m. We will turn our eyes
to the East and as the sun glints the
mountain tops covered with their man
tel of white we see, as it were, an un-
known world. We gaze upon the
clouds and mountains kissed by the
sun whilst man bows to the eternal.
We will turn from this panoramic
scene to the west and allow our eyes to
rest for moment upon the ancient
Indian, Devil Mount, Mt. Diablo being
the seminal closest to the ocean
beach. The intervening space holds
the great valleys of the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin rivers
with their tributaries stretching out
their vast arms for hundreds OF miles,
being the delta OF the mountains to the
east. Let the eye rest upon the ver-
dine clad vale and although the carpet
Of the gods were there, studded and
gemed, scintillating with rainbow lines,
dazzles and enrapts the sense.
We will rest for a moment from
viewing these hills and valleys and l
will take step to the home of the
Ancient Druids in Cornwall, England.
Here we see the mark of the giants
plow, the hills which were, doubtless,
mighty earns (the name for noun
tains) look today as though they were
placed by the hands of man and which
they said the giants played quoits
with.
These bOulders stood as the noun
tains stand and have been played upon
by the winds of the north and south
sea, each contending for supremacy
until they have worn the mighty
boulders to mere rocks, and as we look
at them and study their shape and
think of the ages through which they
have stood we know not but the chisel
of time in the hand of the Almighty
could have shaped them so, and caused
these so-called playthings of the
giants to crumble and dissolve.
What has been generally known as
lava has been supposed to be of vol
canic origin or the outflow from vol
canic action. Such, as a matter of
fact, must fail to be proven when we
study the exact conditions by which
we are surrounded. Lassen's Butte,
so called, is the only evidence of vol
cano found in northern California.
Here is the scoria, an outflow OF a fiery
condition; at no other point does these
same conditions exist.
From Mt. Shasta, the Three Sisters,
Mt. Mclaughlin, Mt. Rainer, ST.
Helenes, Mt. Baker, not omitting Mt.
Hood to the north. This last named
mountain has been favorite volcanic
spew to many thousands, yet upon it's
sides no sc0ria can be found; in fact all
the debris is of such a nature as would
be found from decompOsed aqeous
formation disintegrated by frosts and
SHOWS that it was a glacial mountain
does not admit of doubt.
We turn to the south and here we
find much clay, sand and tufea-like
debris resting on the mountain sides,
but no scoria pumice in abundance.
The fact that that found at times
called tufea, is glacial mud soliditied
under pressure forming many of our
table mountains and up-lands. The
gravel beds found under these table,
like mountains, is perfectly natural,
because the glacial river flowing from
time to time from a melting glacier,
when subsequent flow again deposited
the debris ar new subsidenee, when the
glacial, itself, leaving the high
mountains, truncating all surrounding
hills, resting for time in its motion
! has made the table lands, much Of