REPORT. 



This Report will embrace a portion of the counties lying in the Coast Moun- 

 | tains, north of the Bay of San Francisco. The counties included extend from 



Marin to near the northern line of Siskiyou, including the following : Marin, 

 I Sonoma, Napa, Solano, part of Mendocino and Humboldt, with portions of Shasta, 



Trinity, the east part of Klamath and Siskiyou. 



I 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The above portion of the State is made up, for the most part, of mountain 

 ridges having precipitous flanks, with deep, rugged, and in many cases, al most 

 impassable canons. The ridges of the mountains preserve a great degree of par 

 allelism for the greater part of their course, or until after passing the fortieth par 

 allel of north latitude, when they become more rugged, elevated and confused, 

 losing the peculiar characteristics noticeable in their more southern parts. 



Between these ridges lie more or less extended valleys at different elevations, 

 some of which are of considerable magnitude and form the great agricultural 

 regions of this portion of the State. Bounding these valleys are high, rolling 

 hills, covered with the indigenous grasses and wild oats which furnish the grazing 

 lands for the large herds that abound in this region. On the line, two or three 

 large bays indent the coast, the more interesting of which is that of Tourales. 



The gap in the mountains which admits this bay, is about fifteen miles long, 

 and from one to two miles in breadth ; on the south-west point Tourales forms 

 one side, extending in a south-west direction, and terminating finally in the high 

 hills running northward from Touralpias, and on the opposite side, the high ridge 

 which attains an elevation of about 1,400 feet as it approaches the hills in the 

 vicinity of San Rafael. 



Between the two ridges, and near the bend of the bay, a lower gap occurs 

 which readily admits the strong sea winds met so abruptly in passing up the 

 straits leading from the Bay of San Francisco to that of San Pablo. This pecu 

 liarity will be noticed more at length in the following pages, as it will be found 

 to exert a strong influence on the economical adaptations of the country within i ts 

 range. From Tourales, northward, until arriving at Bodega, the country is made 

 up of low mountains ; and after passing this point the mountains assume a much 

 more rugged and elevated character to Cape Mendocino, being but a succession 

 of ridges and canons all the way for that distance, with small and fertile valleys 

 included. 



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