Geol.— Vol. I.] SMITH— SANTA C ATA UNA ISLAND. 3 



by Prof. Lciwson, who further calls attention to the older 

 topography of this island. 



2. General Description. 



Santa Catalina Island, one of the group known as the 

 Channel Islands, off the coast of southern California, lies 

 about 20 miles south of San Pedro Hill, the nearest point on 

 the mainland. At about the same distance south of Santa 

 Catalina lies the island of San Clemente, the three eleva- 

 tions being nearly in a straight line. 



The general trend of the island is northwest by west. 

 Its length is approximately twenty-one miles, with an aver- 

 age width of three miles, varying from half a mile at the 

 isthmus to about eight miles in the widest part. The pre- 

 vailing winds are from west to southwest, and the waves 

 exert their greatest force on the southwest face of the island. 

 They are, however, by no means inactive on the landward 

 side, as is shown by the rapidly retreating shore-line. 



The only settlements on the island are the summer resort 

 at Avalon, and a small community at the isthmus. Besides 

 these, a few solitary houses are located at different points on 

 the coast. The island was once occupied by Indians, and evi- 

 dences of their camps occur frequently in the form of shell 

 fragments, rounded stone implements, and earth blackened 

 by the camp fires. Owing to its ruggedness and the scarcity 

 of water, the island is habitable in only a few places. There 

 are half a dozen or more springs and creeks which do not 

 dry up during the summer, and a few wells supply the other 

 points. All the water is decidedly alkaline. 



The vegetation consists chiefly of herbage and shrub- 

 bery or underbrush, cactus forming an important part. The 

 larger trees, except for a few dwarf oaks, are confined to 

 the bottoms of the canons. The summits, in general, are 

 bare of everything except grass and cactus, but the majority 

 of the slopes are thickly covered with an often impenetrable 

 growth of scrub-oak, greasewood ( Adenostoma fasciciila- 

 tumf), and elder, intermingled with cactus. It is note- 



