Sierra County 



WHOLLY within the plateau of the northern Sierras, and comprising 

 one of the most magnificent scenic areas on this continent, lies 

 Sierra County, an assemblage of titanic shapes of granite, roaring 

 rapids and cascades, and lakes of unexampled beauty, diamond 

 clear, and fed by the snows of countless peaks and ridges. The 

 main ridge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains trends north and south through 

 the eastern half of this county. Here are the sources of the Yuba River, 

 which in the lower counties yields up its fine gold to the dredgers, and fur- 

 nishes power which, transmitted, is used in a half-score of the tide-water 

 cities. On the eastern side of the divide are the northern sources of the 

 Truckee. 



Sierra has the heavy precipitation characteristic of the mountain coun- 

 ties, the annual rain- and snowfall being about sixty inches. The most 

 important agricultural area is the Sierra Valley, some thirty miles long 

 by ten in width, and over forty-seven hundred feet above the level of the 

 sea. Here the soil is a deep, black loam, containing a liberal mixture of 

 vegetable mold, the residue of unmeasured ages of the growth and decay 

 of the coniferous forests of this highland region. The greater extent of the 

 county is covered with a stand of first-growth sugar and yellow pine, and 

 spruce, cedar, and fir. 



Stock-raising is an important industry of this alpine region. Cattle 

 are fattened for the markets of San Francisco and elsewhere, and large 

 shipments of sheep are made. The succulent feed of the upland pastures 

 makes Sierra County pre-eminently a pasture region. Late statistics show 

 nearly twenty-five thousand animals on the hoof. There are fifty-five 

 dairies and four creameries, with an output of more than a quarter of a 

 million pounds of butter. The additional stock products are forty thousand 

 pounds of hides, and eighteen thousand pounds of wool, with a substantial 

 production also of lard and tallow. Over and above the needs of its own 

 people. Sierra had for export in 1905 one hundred and thirty thousand 

 pounds of butter, three thousand cattle, two thousand hides, twenty-five 

 hundred sheep, seventeen thousand five hundred pounds of wool, thirty 

 million feet of lumber and twenty-nine million feet of logs. There are twelve 

 sawmills in the county and four electric plants. Hay is the largest crop, 

 running to fifteen thousand tons, and alfalfa comes second. 



Since the days of the Argonauts the principal industry of Sierra has 

 been gold-mining. One hundred ninety million dollars have been taken 

 from its rivers, gravel deposits, and quartz veins. Other mineral assets of 

 the county are iron, copper, asbestos, and lime. 



The Boca and Loyalton Railroad passes through the county, making 

 connections with the Southern Pacific system. Downieville is the county 

 seat. An excellently organized rural school system provides educational 

 facilities. 



Not the least of the resources of Sierra County, from commercial and 

 other points of view, is its prominence as a region of summer resorts. The 

 surpassing scenery, the pure and invigorating mountain air, the beautiful 

 alpine lakes, and the abundant game, all conduce to Its attractiveness to 

 those seeking health or diversion. The average winter temperature is 47 

 degrees, and summer 72 degrees. The summer nights are pleasantly cool. 

 The fruit, berries, garden truck, and dairy products of the region add to 

 the attractiveness of the resorts. Among the principal health resorts are 

 Campbell's Hot Springs, and Webber, Independence, and Gold Lakes. The 

 trout streams of this county are famous, and the lake fishing holds out 

 equal inducements. Mountain quail and grouse are abundant in canyon 

 and gulch, and ducks and snipe frequent the watercourses. Bear and an 

 abundance of deer await the sportsman everywhere In the region. 



