7° 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Tamalpais, except a few sheltered nooks and portions behind 

 islands. 



The tidal area inside the Golden Gate is about seven hundred 

 and forty square miles at high tide ; this includes that portion which 

 extends east of the Coast Range into the valley of California, and 



known as Suisun Bay; this bay is connected with San Francisco 

 Bay through the Straits of Carquinez and Sari Pablo Bay. Empty- 

 ing into Suisun Bay at its easterly end are the Sacramento and San 

 Joaquin Rivers. Thus the tidal waters washing the base of Mount 

 Tamalpais are connected with the interior valley of California, and 

 tributary to them are about twelve hundred miles of navigable 

 channels, tapping the central part of the State. 



From the summit of this peak the eye sweeps the horizon of 

 the Pacific Ocean for nearly one hundred and fifty degrees. To 

 the northwest, north, and northeast lie Petaluma, Santa Rosa, 

 Sonoma, and Napa Valleys, the view over these being bounded by 

 the ridges inclosing them. To the east are the Straits of Car- 

 quinez, the outlet of the fifty-eight thousand square miles of drain- 

 age of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and the only water 

 gap in the entire perimeter. 



From the east to the south lie the slopes of the Contra Costa 

 Hills and the ranges bounding the drainage into the Bay of San 

 Francisco, and including the Santa Clara Valley, thus embracing a 

 magnificent view of the garden spots of California, and the cities 

 and towns around the bay— the homes of about one third the popu- 

 lation of the State. Three prominent peaks mark the limits of the 



