16 The Alhaline Lakes of California. [Jan., 



Myriads of aquatic birds resort during the breeding season to 

 this lake ; but its waters are, with the exception of the larva of a fly, 

 destitute of life. These larvae, which are small white worms, occur 

 in such immense quantities, that they are collected by the Indians, 

 under the name of " Koo-chah-bee," as an important article of food. 

 For this purpose they are first dried in the sun ; the hard cuticle is 

 then crushed by rubbing between the hands, and afterwards sepa- 

 rated by winnowing in large shallow baskets. Before being eaten, 

 the prepared grubs are kneaded into a kind of dough, and baked 

 in the embers. 



Stretching south from Mono Lake is a chain of extinct volcanoes : 

 obsidian and pumice are abundant throughout the whole region, 

 the soil being so intensely diy and pulverulent, that the traveller 

 sinks over his ankles at every step, and experiences no small dif- 

 ficulty in obtaining even a scanty supply of fresh water. 



Owens Lalce. — This lake is situated about a hundred miles to 

 the south-east of the foregoing, in lat. 36^ 20' S., long. 118^ W. 

 from Greenwich, and is twenty-two miles in length, and about eight 

 in width. Owen's Eiver rises in the Sierra Nevada, not far from 

 the head of the San Joaquin, and near the southern extremity of 

 the valley flows into Owen's Lake, which has no "vdsible outlet, and 

 whose shores are thickly coated by an alkaline incrustation. No 

 fish of any description are found in its waters, but they produce 

 large quantities of hoo-cliah-hee, which is plentifully collected by 

 the various tribes of Indians inhabiting its shores, and dried for 

 winter consumption. 



The water of this lake has a specific gravity of 1'076, and con- 

 tains 7 128" 24 grs. of solid matter to the imperial gallon; of this, 

 2942 grs. are chloride of sodium, 956 grs. sulphate of soda, and 

 2914 grs. carbonate of soda. The remainder consists of sulphate 

 and phosphate of potash, silica, and traces of organic matter. Iodine 

 is also present in very minute proportions. 



The incrustations which at certain seasons of the year are depo- 

 sited on its shores to the extent of many hundreds of tons, consist 

 of a yellowish-white efilorescence. A specimen of this substance 

 subjected to analysis afibrded the following results : — 



Chloride of Sodium 2 "14 



Suli)hate of Soda 3-10 



Caibouate „ 46-10 



Silica 0-22 



Potabli traces 



"Water with traces of organic matter . . 48 • 44 



100-00 



The carbonic acid and soda in this case exist in such proi)or- 

 tions as to form a monocarbouatc of that base; but fragments 



