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Show [ 148] 6 the correctness of those made by Malaspina long before either o.f them. Vancouver removed the coast line as fixed by Malaspina, and the subsequent observations carry it bac~. . . . In laying this map before the Senate, and tn anttc1pahon of the full work which my explorations (with some further examinations) may enable rne to draw up hereafter, I .deem ~t a proper accompaniment to the map to present some bnef notices of CA~IFORNIA, . \vith a view to show the charact~r of the country, and Its capab iIi t y or o t h e.r wise to sustain a consider a b I e pop u 1 at ion . In d o in g this, no general remarks applicable to the whole of California can pe used. The diversity in different parts is too great to admit of generalization in the description. Separate views of different parts Jnust be taken; and in this brief sketch, the uesign is to limit the view to the two great divisions of the country which lie on the opposite sides of ~he SIERRA NEvA.nA, and to the character of that 1nountain itself, so prominell't in the structure of the country, a!ld exercising so great an inf-luence over the climate, soil, and product ions of its two divisions. SIERRA NEVADA. This SIERRA is part of the great mountain range, which, under different names and with different elevations, but with much uniformity of direction and general proximity to the coast, extends from the peninsula of California to Russian America, and without a gap in the distance through which the water of the Rocky mountains could reaeh the Pacific ocean, excrpt at the two places where the Columbia and Frazer's river respectively find their passage. This great range is remarkable for its length, its proximity and parallelism to the sea coast, its great elevation, often more lofty than the Rocky mountains, and its many grand volcanic peaks, reaching high into the region of perpetual sno,v. Rising singly, like pyramids, from heavily timbered plateaux, to the height of fourteen and seventeen thousand feet above the sea, these snowy peaks constitute the characterizing feature of the range, and distinguish it from the Rocky mountains and all others on our part of the continent. That part of this range which traverses the ALTA QALIFORNIA is call.ed the Sierra Nevada', (Snowy mountain)-a name in itself implytng a great elevation, as it is only applied, in Spanish geography, to the mou.ntains whose summits penetrate the region of perpetual snow. It Is a grand feature of California, and a dominating one, and must be well understood before the structure of the country and .t~e chara?ter .of. its different divisions can be cotnprehended. I t dtvtdes Cahforn1a 1nto t\\?o parts, and exercises a decided influence on the climate, s0iJ, and productions of each. Stretching al?ng the coast, a.nd at the gen e! al distance of 150 miles from it, t his great .moun ta1n wall receives the ·warm \vin cis, charged \Vith vapor, which S\veep across the Pacific ocean, precipitates their a ccumulated moisture in fertilizing rains and snows upon its western fl ank, and l eaves cold and dry \vinds to pass on to the east. Hence t he characteristic differences of the two regions-mildness fer- . ' \. 7 I [ .148] tility, and a superb vegetable kingdom on one side, comparative barrenness and cold on the other. The two sides of the· Sierra exhibit two distinct climates. The state of vegetation, in connexion \vith some thermomet11ical observations made during the recent exploring expedition to California \viii establish and illustrate this difference. In the beginning of December, 1846, we crossed this Sierra, at latitude 39° 17' 12'', at t he present usual emigrant pass, at the head of the Saln1on Trout r iver, 40 miles north of New Helvetia, and made observations at each base, and in the same latitude, to determine the respective t emperatures; the two ba.ses being, respPctively, the western about 500, and the eastern about 4,000 feet above the level of the sea; and the Pass, 7,200 feet. The mean results of the observations \Vere, on the eastern side, at sunrise; 9° ; at noon, 44° · at sunset 300 ; t h e state of vegetati. on and the appearance of the c' ountry be-' ing at the same time (second week of December) that of confirmed \vinter; the rivers frozen over, snow on the ridges, annual plants dead, grass dry, and deciduous trees stripped of their foliage. At the western base,, the mean temperature ·during a corresponding ·week was, at ~unnse 29°, and at sunset 52°; the state of the atmosphere and of vegetation that of advancing spring; grass fresh and g reen, four to eight inches high, vernal plants in bloom, the air s?ft, and all the s~reatus fr~e from ice. Thus December, on one s1de of the mountain, 'vas winter; on the other it was spring. THE GREAT BASIN. EAsT of the Sierra Nevada, and bPtween it and the Roc.ky moun- - tains, is that anomalous feature in our continent, the. GREAT BASIN, 'the existence of which was advanced as a theory after the second expedition, and is now established as a geographical fact. It is a singular feature: a basin of some five hundred miles diameter every way, between four and five thousand feet above the level of the sea, shut in all around by mountains, with its own system of lakes and rivers, and having oo connexion whatever \vith the sea. Partly arid and sparsely inhabited, the general character of the ~REAT BASIN is that of desert, but \vith great exceptions, ·there being many parts of it very fit for the r esidence of a civilized people; and of these parts, the Mc;nmons have lately established th ez~s€l~es in one of the largest and best. Mountain is the predomtnating structure of the interior of the Basin, with plains betw1~~ n-the mount~ins wooded and watered, the plains arid and .sten1e. The interior mountains conform to the law which governs the ~ourse of the Rocky mountains and of the Sierra N cvada, rangmg nearly north and south, and present a very uniform chara c t e r o f abrupt n e s s, rising sudden l y from a n a r r o \V base o f ten to i. \Venty miles, and attaining an elevation of two to five thousand fee t ~ b o v e the I eve 1 of the co u n try. They are grassy and wooded, :-bowing snow on their summit peaks durino· the greater part of the y~a r, and affording small streams of wate~ from five to fifty feet Wide, which lose themseh·es, some in lakes, some in the dry pl ains, ' |