GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS. 211 



cess than the Columbia. It is even said, that there is not a good harbor on 

 the coast of Oregon below lat. 46"^ nortl^i. Above this parallel there are 

 several, not only easy of access but secure of anchorage ; the principal of 

 which are those of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and the Gulf of Georgia. 

 The islands of Vancouvre and Queen Charlotte* also possess a number of 

 excellent harbors. 



These islands are large, well timbered, and generally fertile. Though, 

 like the mainland, quite broken and hilly, they embrace many beautilul 

 plains and lovely valleys, abounding with game, and coursed by ample 

 streams of fresh water. Vancouvre's [sland is two hundred and si.\ty miles 

 long by fifty in width, and Queen Charlotte's one hundred and forty by 

 twenty-eight. In addition to the above named, there are a number of small- 

 er islands near the Straits of Juan de Fuca — more important on account 

 of their fisheries than the quality of their soil. 



The whole extent of the sea-coast, connected with the territory, (i. e.. 

 from California to the Russian possessions,) is about one thousand miles, 

 besides that of its various islands. Reckoning from the above data, the 

 area included within its limits is not far from nine hundred and two thou- 

 sand, two hundred and fifty square miles. 



To speak of this vast country in toto, we could give no general character 

 either in regard to its climate, soil, or productions, possessed, as it is, of 

 every diversity, from the piercing frosts of perpetual winter, to the smihng 

 verdancy of unfading spring — from the dwarfish herbage of the arctic re- 

 gions, to the generous fruits of warmer zones — and from the barren steri- 

 lity of a Lybian desert, to the exuberant fecundity of earth's choicest gar- 

 den-spots. 



However, from the numerous peaks that rear their cloud-capped heads in 

 almost every direction, and the continuous ridges intersecting it from side 

 to side and from end to end, we might with safety pronounce it mountainous. 



The Rocky Mountains, forming its eastern boundary, branch off wester- 

 ly and northwesterly at various points, and, in connection with other ridges, 

 beUne the whole country. It is my present purpose merely to classify some 

 the more extensive of these ranges, and note their locality, as auxiliary to 

 a more accurate and comprehensive disposal of the leading subject before 

 the reader. 



The Blue Mountain chain commences not far from 45*^ 30^ north lati- 

 tude, and bears a southerly course, till it passes into California and unites 

 with the intersecting ridges of that province. It runs nearly parallel with 

 the Rocky Mountains, at an interval varying from one hundred to one hun- 

 dred and fifty miles, forming the Eastern Division of Oregon. 



The Cascade chain (before noticed, in connection with California) com- 

 mences in the Russian possessions, and pursues a southerly course through 

 both countries, till it finally becomes lost in the sea-girt isthmus of the Lower 

 Province. It runs parallel with the coast, at a distance varying from one 

 hundred to one hundred and fifty miles, and defines the Western and Mid- 

 dle Divisions of Oregon. 



* By the terms of the proposed treaty, the islands of Vancouvre and Queen Char- 

 lotte are transferred to Great Britain, leaving only a few diminutive and comparative- 

 ly valueless ports in the Straits of Juan de Fuca and in islets south of Vancouvre, 

 within the hmits of the U. S. territory. 



