Calaveras County 



WITH its western boundary line among the rolling hills that look out 

 upon the San Joaquin bottoms, Calaveras County trends away 

 eastward, rising finally well into the Sierra plateau. It is tri- 

 angular in shape and has an area of 990 square miles. 



The great Mother Lode of the State runs through Calaveras and 

 makes it a distinctively gold-producing county. Many of the famous quartz 

 mines of the state are located within its confines, among them the famous 

 Utica, Gwin, Lightner, and Melones, all of them good producers of gold. 

 New quartz mines have been opened up in many sections of the county 

 during 1906, and stamp-miiis of from five to twenty stamps put in opera- 

 tion. 



West of the Mother Lode is the copper belt. Copperopolis and Campo 

 Seco are the copper-mining centers, ore from the latter being very rich in 

 gold and silver, enough of these metals being extracted from the copper ore 

 to pay all the expenses of running the entire plant. Large additions have 

 been made to the Campo Seco plant during the year. Still west of the 

 copper belt there is a lead of quartz running from Knight's Ferry to a point 

 below Campo Seco, which has been prospected with excellent results. 

 There is also what is called the East belt, extending from Murphys to West 

 Point. The mining towns furnish an excellent market for the farmers. 



The lumber industry has made enormous progress during the past year, 

 large mills having been completed and put in operation in the yellow pine 

 district, near the famous Big Trees. A railroad has been surveyed from the 

 terminus at Valley Springs via San Andreas to the Big Trees, the object of 

 the new road being to tap the great timber section, where mills are to be 

 erected and lumbering carried on on an immense scale. 



The average annual rainfall in Calaveras County is about twenty inches, 

 this being sufficient to insure good crops. In the granite belt the vine 

 and the more hardy fruits, such as the apple, pear, and plum do well; while 

 on the red loamy hillsides is found excellent land for fruit and vine culture. 

 The plains are largely given to grain and orchards. The rich river bottoms 

 produce, without irrigation, fruits of all descriptions, together with large 

 tracts of corn, beans, and melons. 



Calaveras produces both deciduous and citrus fruits. The western part 

 of the county lies in the thermal belt of the interior valley, and here the olive, 

 citron, orange, and lemon thrive, in places, with great luxuriance. Citrus 

 fruits are not grown extensively, but where grown they are a success. There 

 are orange trees over thirty-five years old at Campo Seco, and they continue 

 to bear remunerative crops each season. Olives do well without irrigation, 

 there being several large orchards in full bearing in the western part of the 

 county. 



Deciduous fruits, such as the apple, pear, peach, apricot, nectarine, 

 cherry, plum, and prune, are grown in all parts of the county. In the east- 

 ern part, where the rainfall is greater and the summers cooler, fine apples 

 and potatoes are grown. This district is known as the "apple and potato 

 belt," and large crops of excellent quality are produced, selling at good 

 prices. There are several large almond orchards in the county, and the 

 English walnut is grown to perfection. Garden truck is raised in large 

 quantities for home consumption. 



The increase in the value of cattle has stimulated the livestock industry. 

 The cattle are driven in summer to the alpine valleys of the High Sierras. 

 An increased attention is being given to dairy products. Hogs are raised in 

 large numbers and the sheep industry is doing well. Calaveras wool always 

 brings the top figure. 



The county is well supplied with electrical power, from the plants of 

 the Standard and the Utica electrical companies. 



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