MONTE DIABLO — INFLUENCE OF SURFACE ON COMMERCE. 17 



the prominent hill forming its northern limit, and presenting a beautiful picture to the southern 

 shores of Suisun bay — this hill, nearly fifty-five miles inland, can be seen distinctly at ssa, 

 from its great elevation above the low land (3,800 feet.) From the height to which, by its 

 upheaval, the sedimentary strata have been raised, it has impressed the whole district more 

 than any other hill range. Though not a continuous range, yet it has its parallelism well 

 defined, and its hills form larger masses than those of th^ previously described ranges ; it also 

 passes southeast, and in its course are found the Santa Ana hills and Pacheco's Peak ; and the 

 Gavilan, which is a mighty mass of primitive rock, can be looked upon as nothing but a con- 

 tinuation south of the same range. The chain, as stated, is not however a continuous crest, 

 and occasionally the whole drops down, or is represented by low hills or a diffused disturbance 

 over a great breadth of ground. 



East of the Monte Diablo range lies the Talley San Joaquin, beyond which rise the Sierra 

 Nevada, the summits glistening with snow, or covered with clouds. Thus in the district 

 described we have enumerated, between the ocean and the Sierra, three distinct i-anges of 

 hills : the Santa Cruz, the Monte Diablo, and the range lying between these two, for which I 

 could not ascertain that there was any distinct appellation, and which may be described under 

 the term " Central" range — traverse from north to south, producing those deep longitudinal 

 valleys of Santa Clara and San Joaquin, whose level is but little above that of the sea, and 

 whose only outlet is by the Bay of San Francisco and the Golden Gate. 



This parallelism of hill ranges is repeated through Monterey and Santa Barbara counties, 

 producing longitudinal valleys of less area than the foregoing, but resembling it, inasmuch as 

 they are cut off from direct access with the ocean, an intervening chain generally preventing 

 the exit of the valley streams. On account of the proximity of these ranges to each other, 

 there are no large rivers in southern California — there are no navigable streams ; and on ac- 

 count of the north and south direction of the chains, there are no rivers which run a course 

 from east to west into the ocean ; every stream runs along the strike of the chains, or in the 

 valley between two ranges, and rarely is it that, like the Santa Maria, it is able to force its 

 way through one of the littoral ranges to reach the Pacific. From the same orographic con- 

 formation of California, there are no estuaries on the shores ; a few headlands, the continuation 

 of the chains, a few of which have been alluded to, run out into points until they are lost in 

 the ocean, constitute the coast features, forming curve lines of shores facing either the north- 

 west or southwest, (generally the former,) but which are never aided by a corresponding ridge 

 on the opposite shore so as to produce a gulf or an estuary. These ranges of hills cut off the. 

 interior of the south of California from the coast, and have precluded the formation of gulfs, 

 harbors, or deep rivers running up into the land. The south of the State cannot, therefore, 

 be a commercial district, and not endowed with auriferous localities equal in value or number 

 to the north, it will ever remain an agricultural region, with social habits and political 

 feelings very different from the gold bearing counties. Beside the foregoing ranges, the others 

 are the Santa Lucia hills, San Eafael and Santa Inez mountains. As full descriptions of these 

 are given under their respective titles, it is unnecessary to anticipate. It may be said, how- 

 ever, that the more westerly the chains lie, the more the direction varies from the meridian and 

 approaches an easterly trend. The Sierras Monica and Susanna, which ought scarcely be 

 classed as coast mountains, lie almost due east and west. 



The waters of the northern part of California flow southward ; those in the south, in the 

 coast mountains and Tulare valley, flow northward ; and either Monterey bay or San Francisco 

 3U 



