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Show , [ 148] 14 thousand square miles. Looking westward from the sumn1it of the Sierra, the main feature presented is the long, low, broad valley of the Joaquin and Sacramento rivers-the two va11eys forming onefive hundred miles long and fifty broad, lying along the base of the Sierra, and bounded to the west by the low coast range of mountains, which separates it from the sea. Long dark lines of timber indicate the streams, and bright spots mark the intervening plains. Lateral ranges, parallel to the Sierra Nevada and the coast make the structure of the country and break it into a surface of valleys and mountains-the valleys a few hundred, and the mountains two to four thousand feet above the sea. These form greater masses, and become more elevated in the north, ·where some peaks as the ShastJ, enter the regions of perpetual snow. Stretched a long the mild coast of .the Pacific, with a general elevation in its plains a·nJ valleys of only a few hundred feet above the level of the sea-and backed by the long and lofty wall of the Sierramildness and genialily may be assumed as the characteristic of its climate. The Inhabitant of corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic side of this continent can with difficulty conceive of the soft air and southern productions under the same latitudes in the maritime region of Upper California. The singular beauty and purity of the sky in the south of this region is characterized by Humboldt as a r~re phenornenon, and all travellers realize the truth of his descrip-tiOn. • Th.e present con~i~ion of the cou~try affords but sli5ht data for formwg ~orrect optmons of the agncultu~al capacity and fertility of the sod. Vancouver found, at the mission of San Buenaventura in 1792, latitude 34° 16', apples, pears, plums, figs, oranges, grapes: peaches, and pomegranates growing· together with the plantain banana, cocoa nut, su ~· ar cane,. and indigo, all yielding fruit iz: obunrlance and of excellent quality. Humboldt mentions the olive oil of California as equal to that of Andalusia and the wine like that of the Canary islands. At present, but 1i'ttle remains of the high and various cultivatio which had been attained at the misSions. Under the znild and paternal administration of the" Fathers " the do rile character of the In dian s was made avail a b 1 e for I a b 0 ' r · a?d thousands were employed in the fields, the orchards and th~ VIneyards. At .Present, but little of this former culti;ation is seen. The fertde valleys are overgrown with wild mustard· vineyard~ ~nd oliv~ orchards,_ decayed and neglected, are amo~g the retnarning vesttges; only In some places do we see the evidences of wh.at the co~ntry is capable. At San Buenaventura we found the. olive trees, 1 • J~nuary, bending under the weight of neglected f~ut~; a~d the ffiiS~lOn of San Lui~ Ob!spo (latitude 35°) is still dtshngutshed for the excellence of Its ohves considered finer and _larger than those of the Mediterranean. ' The pr.oductions of the south differ from those of the nor!h and o~ the m Hl dIe. . <?rapes, ol~ ves, Indian corn, have been its staples, vnth ~any asstnlllated frutts and grains. Tobacco · has been re- . cently Introduced; and the uniform summer heat which follows the 'vet season, and is uninterrupted by rain, would make the , • ' . 15 [ 148] .southern country well adapted to cott'on. Wheat is the first product of the north, where it always constituted the principal cultivation of the missions. This promises to oe the grain gro,ving regi ·n of California. The moisture of the coast seems particularly suited to the potato and to the /vegetables common to the United States, which grow to an fXtraordinary size.' Perhaps few parts of the worJ d can · produce in such perfection so great a variety of fruits and grains as the large and various region enclosing the bay of San Francisco and drained by its waters . A view of the map will show that region and its great extent, comprehending the ~,.,tire valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and the whole western slope of the Sierra Nevada. General phrases fail to give precise ideas, and I have recourse to the note's in my journal to show its climate and productions by the test of the thermometer and the state of the vegetable kingdom. I . ' VALLEYS OF THE SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN. These valleys are one, discriminated only by the names of the rivers which traverse it. It is a single valley-a single geographical formation-near 500 miles long, lying at the western base of the Sierra Nevada, and between it and the coast range of mountains, and stretching across the head of the bay of San Francisco, with which a delta of twenty-five miles connects it. 'l'he two rivers, San Joaquin and Sacramento, rise at opposite ends of this long valley, receive numerous streams, many of them bold rivers, frozn the Sierra Nevada, become themselves .navigable rivers, flow to,vard each other, meet half way, an.l enter the bay of San Francisco together, in the region 0f tide water, making a continuous water ltne from one end to the other. The valley of the San Joaquin is about 300 miles long and 60 broad, between the slopes of the coast mountain and the Sierra Nevada, with a general elevation of only a few hundred feet above the level of the sea. It presents a variety of soil, from dry and unproductive to well watered and luxuriantly fer.tile. The eastern (which is the fertile) side of the valley is intersected with numerous streams, forming Jarge and very beautiful bottoms of fertile ]and, Vlooded pri?cipally with white oaks (quercus longiglanda, Torr. and Frem.) In open groves of handsome trees, often five or six feet in d.iameter, and sixty to eighty feet hig.h. Only the .larger :;;tre.ams, 'vh1ch are fifty to one hundred and fifty yards ·wide, an~ drain the upper parts· of the mountains, pass entirely across the valley, forming the Tulare lakes and the San Joaquin river, which in the rainy season, make a continuous stream from the head of th~ valley to the bay. The foot hills of the Sierra Nevada which limit the valley, make a \voodlan d country, eli versified wi t'h und u _ lating grouods and pretty valleys, and watered \vith numer0us small str~ams, \vhich reach only a few miles beyond the hills, the springs whtch supply 'them not being copious enough to carry them across the plains. These afford many advantageous spots for farms making sometimes large bottoms of rich moist land. The ro11idg sur· " |
