CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 143 
quite naturally, in each one developing in its own distinctive, character- 
istic way.* And the golden trout, Salmo roosevelti, of Volcano Creek, 
the most radiantly beautiful of them all, became the most individual. 
But the changes which Volcano Creek underwent were far more 
enduring and much more complicated than the changes which occurred 
in the other streams, for aside from the impassable falls, formed by 
the wearing down of the stream beds, Voleano Creek, formerly called 
Whitney Creek, underwent volcanic changes of a more or less unique 
character, which accentuated the deepening characteristics of the 
stream, and in all probability temporarily cut it off entirely from the 
Kern River. 
Volcano Creek rises south of Cirque Peak. Several small, clear, 
‘mountain streams, having their sources at an elevation of from 
10,000 to 13,000 feet, thread their way through picturesque, grassy 
meadows to the point of confluence. For a distance of about eight 
miles the creek flows in somewhat of a southerly direction until it 
enters Toowa Valley, then it turns west in a widening course and 
joins the Kern River about opposite Soda Spring. The South Fork 
of the Kern River has its source near that of Volcano Creek and it 
enters Toowa Valley at about the same place, and in the days when 
this section of the southern high Sierra was first traversed by white 
men, the idea was conceived of joining Voleano Creek and the South 
Fork of the Kern by a tunnel. This was quite possible, for a small 
ridge less than a hundred yards wide, in parts, and scarcely fifty feet 
high divided the streams. No doubt at one time the South Fork of 
the Kern was a natural tributary of Volcano Creek. The tunnel 
which was made caved in, but in the course of experimentation some 
of the golden trout escaped into the South Fork. The cut filled up and 
the two streams again became entirely distinct. Above this tunnel, 
which is at an elevation of 8600 feet, Voleano Creek flows through 
meadowy country, the creek bottom being granite sand and gravel; 
but below the tunnel for a distance of eight miles or so, to the point 
where the creek enters the Kern River, and at a drop in elevation 
of 2300 feet, the stream bed is of volcanic character and the stream 
itself very turbulent. It is not, however, due to the rapids, but to 
the three falls—Agua-Bonita, with a small fall known as Surby 
Fall between it and Stewart Fall (second), and the third, Shields— 
that the trout are barred from traveling from one body of water to 
the other; and in fact, such natural barriers as these are the cause 
of fish isolation in the several streams, and of even entire lack of 
fish in some, where voleanic action and other forces were at play—the 
streams and lakes are barren, many of them despite a good supply of 
food. . 
The value of distributing the golden trout can hardly be overesti- 
mated. First, it has saved these beautiful fish from the complete 
extermination with which they were threatened. Secondly, the trout 
are being planted in heretofore barren streams and lakes, and therefore 
‘they will furnish added fishing grounds for the angler. Too, the fish, 
without the possibility for interbreeding, will remain the pure type. 
And third, they are a prolific fish, and, to the delight of all sportsmen, 
are extremely gamey. 
*“The Golden Trout of the Southern High Sierras,’ by Barton Warren Evermann, 1906. U.S. 
Bureau of Fisheries Bull. 25, pp. 3-51, 16 pls., 1 map. 
