THE NORTH TEMPERATE ZONE 135 



e. g., Stanford University, usually have summer maxima ten to 

 twenty degrees higher than the city. 



While the west side of the Coast Ranges intercepts much of 

 the moisture from the ocean winds, so that the valleys are compar- 

 tively dry, the mountains are not of sufficient elevation to shut off 

 the Sierra from the moisture laden winds, and the west side of 

 the Sierra above about 4,000 feet has a very heavy precipitation, 

 mostly in the form of snow, which allows the development of a 

 forest of giant trees. 



The main range has an average elevation of about 10,000 feet, 

 the highest peak, Mt. Whitney (14,502 ft.) being the highest 

 point in the United States, outside Alaska. This great barrier 

 effectually protects California from the extreme climate of the 

 Great Basin. Owing to the southerly position, the snow fields 

 are much less developed than in the Cascades, and except, on Mt. 

 Shasta in northern California, glaciers are practically absent. 

 There is, however, a very heavy snow-fall, the melting snow pro- 

 viding the necessary moisture for the great forests that clothe much 

 of the western slopes of the Sierra, and feeding the numerous 

 glacial lakes of the high mountains, and the streams that flow 

 from them. 



It is interesting to note that Mt. Whitney, the highest point 

 in the United States, overlooks Death Valley, also in California, 

 the lowest spot, over 300 feet below sea-level. 



The coast of California is very varied in character, and this 

 is reflected in the great variety of the coastal vegetation. Through 

 much of the state, the outer Coast Range runs close to the sea, 

 and as at the Golden Gate, high cliffs rise sheer from the water, 

 and bold rocky headlands are a feature of much of the coast, 

 especially in central California. Low clay bluffs are sometimes 

 met with and elsewhere broad sandy beaches and dunes. At San 

 Francisco and near Monterey, dunes are developed on a great 

 scale. Salt marshes occur in such sheltered places as parts of San 

 Francisco Bay, but are comparatively rare. 



The rocky shores with extensive reefs and tide-pools, harbor 

 an extraordinary variety of algae and the whole Pacific Coast 

 from Alaska to Mexico is extremely rich in both red and brown 

 species. In the deeper and quieter water are delicate red algae 

 in great variety; but the species growing on the rocky ledges and 



