130 



Life in the Open 



the spinal column of the country between the Pacific and 

 the Gulf of California. 



Lower California is but an extension of Southern 

 California, growing naturally warmer as one proceeds 

 south ; as Agassiz said when he visited it on the 

 Hassler Expedition, " It has an almost perfect climate 

 during the winter, being similar to that of Southern 

 California, only milder." 



The peninsula is a narrow, mountainous strip about 

 seven hundred and fifty miles long, from thirty to 

 seventy miles wide. For the convenience of the sports- 

 man it can be divided into three areas : one on the north 

 abutting Southern California, two hundred miles long, is 

 a continuation of the Sierra Madre, a fine range rising 

 from five to ten thousand feet in air, on which one 

 can stand and see the Pacific and the Gulf of California 

 in one sweeping glance. These mountains abound in 

 fine pine forests and form the source of numerous 

 springs and small rivers, and in the lower region are 

 some beautiful valleys where grazing and ranching are 

 carried on. One of the most attractive is the Maneadero 

 Valley, not far from Ensenada. Here one may see 

 typical California ranches of the old days. Beyond 

 this there is a central region, made up of table-lands 

 and flat ridges, with mountains isolated and in groups, 

 running up to four or five thousand feet. This extends 

 for four hundred and fifty miles, which brings us to 

 what Gabb calls the third province, extending one hun- 

 dred miles from Cape St. Lucas to La Paz and beyond 



