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course is now directly west until it arrives at a point about 
midway between the Cascade and Coast Ranges when, at a 
point where the Willamette enters it from the south it is de- 
flected to the north, by the Coast Range and, at last, breaks 
in turn, through that barrier and opens into the ocean gbout 
on a level with the 46th parallel of latitude. It will be seen 
from this description that the river is turned southwards, as 
it were, by the Cascades, until it finds an opening through 
them when it escapes into the basin which lies between the 
Cascades and the Coast Range. From this basin it attempts 
to escape, turning northwards again for that purpose, until 
again it finds a weak spot to open through into the ocean. 
What these weak spots are we shall see anon. Flowing at 
right angles to the Columbia, that is to say along the lines of 
the mountains and emptying into that river are several small 
streams, the most important of which are John Day’s River, 
the Des Chutes and the Willamette. The West Fork of 
the Des Chutes breaks through the Cascades before it runs 
mmward from the coast showing that the Columbia lies in a 
bed much lower than the head-waters of these tributaries. 
The next river to the south of any importance is the Klamath 
with its branch, the Trinity; but this arises outside of the 
Cascades and cuts through the Coast Range, where it is of 
insignificant height. Next we came to the Sacramento, 
which, running almost directly southward, drains the 
northern half of the great Valley of California, whilst its 
sister stream, the San Joaquin, runs northward and drains 
the southern half of the Valley. They unite just before 
they enter Suisun Bay, and, there becoming the grand 
harbor of San Francisco, made up of Suisun Bay, the Bay of 
San Pablo and the Bay of San Francisco, empties at right 
angles to the coast at the Golden Gate. 
South of this point there are no important streams, but it 
is observable that the tendency of all the streams in this 
section of country is sometimes slightly northward or 
southward until an opening is found, not made, through the 
mountain Ranges, when they escape into the ocean. In fact, 
on examining the topography of this section of country we 
