lOO CARNEGIE INSTITUTION 



SO much as there is on Mount I,owe. For many years this has been 

 an extensive sheep range. 



The Santa Ynez river lies back of Santa Ynez mountain and is 

 about 2,000 feet below the summit. It is the nearest source of 

 water supply. It is said that the water supply of the cit}- of Santa 

 Barbara will eventually be taken from this river, as soon as the 

 tunnel through the mountain is completed. 



Pine mountain is farther inland. It rises to an elevation of 

 about 6,000 feet, and is well covered with timber. The desert lies 

 immediately north of it, and is onl)' about 2,500 feet below the 

 summit. Here there would be no protection from the desert dust 

 and wind. Moreover, it is verj^ inaccessible, as is the case with most 

 of the mountains inland from Santa Barbara. At present there are 

 no roads and no trails over which instruments could be taken. 



The mountains north of Santa Barbara are more promising than 

 those to the southeast, and yet they do not have conditions as favor- 

 able as one would desire. It is pretty nearly an arid country about 

 Santa Barbara. Toward the southeast it is even more barren than 

 in the immediate vicinity of the city. This is a conglomerate region, 

 in which water is exceedingly scarce. 



In the beginning it was not intended that an examination of any 

 portion of Arizona should be made. On his return to Chicago from 

 Pasadena, Professor Hale was much impressed by the transparency 

 of the air over the desert. This led him to urge a brief inspection 

 of northern Arizona. For this inspection I made a trip to Flag- 

 staff and remained a week at the Lowell Observatory^ — from the 

 evening of July 7 to the morning of July 15. 



In response to an inquiry by Professor Campbell, Director Lowell 

 very kindly placed the 24-inch telescope at m^' disposal, and besides 

 did everything possible to facilitate the work. 



In the late afternoon and early evening, Mr. Lowell was using 

 the 24-inch telescope on Venus and Mars. Mr. Slipher was away 

 and the spectroscopic work was discontinued during his absence. 

 This circumstance gave me a large measure of time with the tele- 

 scope without interrupting the regular routine of the obser\'atory. 



I was at Flagstaff at an unfavorable season. For a month or two 

 in the summer there are almost daily thunder showers in this ele- 

 vated region. Some of these are heavy storms, as was that on the 

 day I left ; but more often they are quite local and of short dura- 

 tion. During the week I was there clouds usually formed in the 

 forenoon, sometimes early in the morning, and apparently first in 



