10 RURAL CALIFORNIA 



tion and depression of the crust upon which they 

 worked, the geological map of California is a com- 

 plex which baffles popular exposition, even though the 

 owner of a single farm may have between his own 

 fences almost an epitome of it. The popular wonder 

 and significance of the geology of the State are em- 

 bodied in the soils which have been created for the 

 development of California agriculture and of which 

 a sketch will be undertaken in Chapter II. 



TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE 



From the brief outline of its geological history, 

 it can readily be inferred that the surface conforma- 

 tion of California would be strikingly diverse in both 

 general and local features. Within the boundaries of 

 California stands the highest mountain of the con- 

 tinental United States 1 (Mt. Whitney, 14,501 feet 

 above sea level) ; the deepest valley (Death Valley, 

 278 feet below sea level) ; the greatest stretch of lati- 

 tude of any state (9^ degrees) ; the longest sea coast 

 of any state (1200 miles). In addition, California 

 has the only active volcano in the continental United 

 States and it is still making new topography. These 

 and many similar facts are suggestive of great topo- 

 graphical variety. Four transcontinental railway 

 lines start at sea level on San Francisco Bay and run 

 northerly, easterly and southerly, traversing dis- 

 tances of 100 to 300 miles without rising more than 



1 The term "Continental United States" as used by the 

 U. S. Census excludes Alaska and Mt. McKinley, which is 

 higher than Mt. Whitney. 



