4 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



" The point at which water ceases to flow is quite variable ; 

 its more usual upward limit being marked at or near the pas- 

 sage of the stream from the first rocky ranges into the tertiary 

 formation. The point, however, as before stated, is by no 

 means a fixed one : thus, during the night it extends farther 

 downward than in daytime ; in cloudy weather, for the same 

 reason, its course is more prolonged than under a clear sky. 

 In the stream-beds themselves, however dry, water is gener- 

 ally found a short distance below the surface. 



" The descent of these streams in the rainy season may be 

 either a gradual process in the progressive saturation of their 

 sandy beds, or, the saturation being accomplished by previous 

 showers, the irruption may be sudden. A fine example of this 

 sudden appearance was observed in the San Diego River, in 

 December, 1849 ; when, after a rainy night, by which its sandy 

 bed was completely saturated, the upper stream, suddenly ap- 

 peared in the form of a foaming body of water, moving on- 

 ward at the rate of a fast walk, curling round the river-bends, 

 absorbing the pools, and soon filling its bed with a brimming, 

 swift current. An instance of the more gradual descent was 

 seen in the following season, (December, 1850) when, from 

 the absence of local rain, its downward progress was slow and 

 interrupted." 



The only navigable stream south of San Francisco Bay is 

 the Salinas, and that but for small vessels, and near its mouth. 



North of San Francisco the main streams rising in the Coast 

 Mountains are the Russian, Eel, Elk, Mad, and Smith Rivers, 

 all permanent, but none navigable. 



The rivers north of the Golden Gate are sometimes closed 

 up with sand thrown across their mouths by storms from the 

 south, and these barriers may remain for days, the waters 

 meantime finding their way through by percolation. The 

 Klamath, the largest of these streams, has occasionally been 

 accessible for vessels of deep draft, but as the sands frequently 

 shift their position, the idea of obtaining a permanent or con- 



