POINT LOBOS 



The Plant* s Response to Forces Cosmic in Their Origin 



Point Lobos is a small rocky headland, from the curv- 

 ing coast of California thrust out into the Pacific seas. 

 Before it rise a score or more of petty islands, mostly 

 mere rocks, covered at high tide, at low tide joined by 

 ragged stony chains, mere wrecks, witnesses of ocean's 

 all-devastating strength. 



The parallel of north latitude 35 31' meets the shore- 

 line at the headland 's western front, from San Francisco 

 south, perhaps a hundred and twenty-five miles. To 

 north of us is the Bay of Monterey for which our head- 

 land forms part of the southern enclosing wall, although 

 Carmelo Bay indents the shore between. Both bays are 

 well shut in by ridges of rock ; in fact, we have here two 

 of the lesser folds of the Coast Range of California 

 mountains coming down to meet the sea; the one, the 

 more eastern, Sierra de Salinas, gives us Point Pinos 

 and Point Cypress farther north; the other, Sierra de 

 Santa Lucia, terminates in the headland which affords 

 the basis of our present study. East of Salinas at no 

 considerable distance stretches the most conspicuous and 

 the highest of these curious parallel folds, the Sierra del 

 Monte Diabolo, to which reference will be made farther 

 on. Between the two ranges first named, Salinas and 



