14 EESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



about twenty-five hundred feet above the sea ; and then the 

 coniferous trees appear, and are found in dense forests to a 

 height of six thousand feet. 



§ 13. Peaks and Passes of' the Sierra. — Mount Shasta, 

 which rises, in 41° 30', high into the region of perpetual snow, 

 the loftiest peak in the state, may be treated as belonging to 

 the Sierra Nevada, though in fact it stands midway between 

 that range and the Coast Mountains, and is connected by high 

 mountain-ridges with both of them. Its height is given by 

 Wilkes (Exploring Expedition, vol. v., p. 240) at 14,390 feet. 

 Kearly a perpendicular mile of it is always covered with snow, 

 and it is visible in every direction for more than a hundred 

 miles, presenting to the traveller the most prominent landmark 

 of the state. It is of volcanic origin, and still emits sulphure- 

 ous vapors from its summit. Several parties have ascended to 

 its top. The other most notable peaks in the Sierra Nevada 

 are — Lassen's Peak, 9,000 feet high, in 40° 22', also of vol- 

 canic origin; the Donnieville Buttes, 8,500 feet high; Pilot 

 Peak, 7,300 feet high, in 39° 50; Castle Peak, 11,000 feet 

 high, in 38° 10' ; and Mount Breckenridge, 7,500 feet high, in 

 35° 20'. Mount Shasta is the only mountain which has snow 

 on its southern and southwestern slopes throughout the year ; 

 the other-mentioned peaks lose all their snow in September 

 and October, except in deep, shady ravines on their northern 

 slopes. 



The most notable passes in the Sierra Nevada are the fol- 

 lowing: Lassen's, 7,000 feet high, in latitude 41° 50'; Fredo- 

 nyer's, 5,667 feet high, m 40° 47'; Beckworth's, in 39° 50'; 

 Kenness's, in 39° 30'; Truckey, 5,636 feet high, in 39° 25'; 

 Johnson's, 6,752 feet high, in 38° 50'; Carson's, 7,972 feet 

 high, in 38° 43'; Sonora, 10,132 feet high, in 38° 15'; Walk- 

 er's, 5,302 feet high, in 35° 40' ; Hum-pa-ya-mup, 5,356 feet 

 high, in 35° 35' ; Tehachepa, 4,020 feet high, in 35° 10' ; Tejon, 

 6,285 feet high, in 35° ; and Cajon de las Uvas, 4,256 feet high, 

 in 34° 50'. The last five passes are in the Sierra Nevada, south 

 of its bend, where it turns westward to meet the Coast range. 



