"tree island" of MONTEREY CYPRESS 43 



the Monterey cypress, clinging to the edge of the continental shelf, is, as a 

 species, the most dramatic witness of past changes on the western shore 

 line. It has seen the Santa Lucia Mountains take on their present form, 

 with knife-like canyons cutting direct to the sea; it has seen the Coast 

 Range foothills soften and smooth to their present velvet-flowing slopes ; 

 it has seen many forest species migrate from the mountain tops to the shore 

 line to avoid extinction; it has seen the "Golden Gate," that is the one 

 main outlet to the ocean for waters from the Great Valley, move from 

 Monterey Bay to San Francisco Bay. What a fine pageant has been this! 

 No other tree, from this consideration, is so deserving of the protection 

 which can be afforded by enclosure within the limits of a park sanctuary. 

 Its singular beauty lends to this bit of coast a special charm. No other tree 

 on earth has so narrow a natural range, though its full history, when 

 written, it is not unlikely, will show a range as long as California, or pos- 

 sibly much longer. It has today a wider horticultural distribution over the 

 earth than any other California tree species ; and yet it cannot or does not 

 extend back naturally, that is to say, spontaneously, from the shore line 

 over land which is now and has been barren of trees. Interesting and preg- 

 nant questions multiply constantly about it. All thought, all contemplation, 

 all study are here in a sufficient way eminently worth the mind 's attention. 

 It is one tree whose full history will be highly fruitful, and it will in time 

 easily take its place by the side of those trees most well-known of the 

 earth's silva. 



Monterey cypresses grow on the face of cliffs, 



so exposed that roots are frequently undermined— 



to toss huge trees into the pounding seas 



