CALIFORNIA 



1059 



CALIFORNIA 



transition periods between, the year has but 

 two seasons, a wet and a dry, the former 

 lasting from late October to April, the latter 

 throughout the rest of the year. The rainfall, 

 however, varies decidedly in different localities, 

 decreasing gradual^ from north to south. In 

 the extreme north it may be as much as fifty- 

 one inches in a year; at San Francisco it is 

 about twenty-three inches, at Los Angeles fif- 

 teen inches, and at San Diego ten inches. In 

 the mountainous region and in the Great Val- 

 ley it is sufficient for nearly all agricultural 

 purposes, but south of the Tehachapi Moun- 

 tains, even in the most fertile sections, irriga- 

 tion is necessary to successful soil-cultivation. 

 Dwellers in these irrigated regions believe that 

 they notice an increasing humidity of the air 

 as a result of this continued application of 

 water. Snow is everywhere practically un- 

 known, except high in the mountains. 



The climate of California has been one of the 

 chief features in its remarkable development, 

 not only because it has made possible the 

 growing of crops which can be raised in few 

 other localities of the United States, but be- 

 cause it has attracted to the state hundreds 

 of thousands of people. Some go because 

 their health demands it, others just for the 

 delight of living in a climate without extremes 

 of heat and cold. 



A feature of the climate of California is its 

 numerous heat and moisture belts, many of 

 them but a few miles in extent. Only a study 

 of local conditions will make clear the causes 

 of some of the peculiar climatic variations. 



A north-and-south mountain range, for in- 

 stance, may force the winds from the ocean to 

 drop their moisture, and a region of heavy 

 timber and luscious grass, like that about 

 Humboldt Bay, is the result. The great in- 

 terior valleys, much hotter in summer than 

 the coast region, are constantly being cooled 

 by currents of ocean air which forces itself 

 through the passes; but not all of the regions 

 profit alike. Fresno receives comparatively 

 little of the cool air, and thus has a summer 

 climate fitted to the production of the raisin 

 grape, while certain sections farther north feel 

 more of the cooling effect, and are great wine- 

 grape regions. There may be, too, a protecting 

 foothill range which creates a frostless belt and 



The illustration Is of "General Sherman," the 

 giant sequoia, pronounced by the United States 

 government the largest tree In the world, meas- 

 ured by the number of cubic feet of wood in it. 

 Twenty men with outstretched arms, hand in 

 hand, can just encircle it. 



THE KING OF TREES 



