158 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



large tract of fertile land with abundant moisture. Tulare 

 Lake is fifty-seven feet above Fresno City, and might be 

 drained, and its land converted into cultivated fields, but 

 whether with a profit is a question now unanswerable. This 

 country is so remote from the main centres of population, that 

 probably the chief occupation for residents here must be the 

 breeding of sheep and cattle. 



Turning our attention now to the valleys in the Coast Moun- 

 tains, we find that in all the low land between latitudes 39° 30' 

 and 40° 40', the soil is a rich and moist loam, very favorable 

 for j^asture and for maize, but not so well suited for small 

 grain. In some valleys the season is six Aveeks later than it is 

 across the mountain in the Sacramento valley. Russian, River 

 valley produces more maize than all the remainder of the state. 

 Lying between the bend of Russian River and the head of 

 Petaluma valley is Santa Rosa plain, which has a soil of rich 

 sandy loam, excellent for grain, and probably favorable for 

 the grape. Near the mouth of Russian River is the plain of 

 Bodega, the best place in the state for potatoes. The soil is a 

 light, sandy loam, which is kept moist by the sea-fogs. Peta- 

 luma valley is the chief dairy district of the state. The soil is 

 a rich, moist loam. Sonoma valley has a soil of red gravelly 

 clay near the mountains, and a warm, sandy loam near the 

 creek. This is the chief gi'aj^e district in the northern half of 

 the state. Much of the soil is too thin to produce good crops 

 of wheat. The grape is grown without irrigation, the distance 

 from the ocean (about twenty-five miles) not being so great as 

 entirely to cut ofi:' the fogs. The bed-rock is in some places 

 trap, in othei'S sandstone, and in others magnesian limestone. 

 The latter is supposed to be particularly favorable to the 

 growth of the grape. 



Next to Sonoma valley is Napa, which has a deep, clayey 

 soil, the strongest in the state, and therefore the best for 

 wheat. In proportion to its size, it produces more wheat than 

 any other part of the state. The upper part of the valley has 

 a great deal of gravel, and may be good for grapes. A larger 



