SOIL SURVEY OF THE REDDING AREA, CALIFORNIA. 7. 



The northern and eastern parts of the area are drained principally 

 by Churn, Stillwater, and Cow creeks, which flow south. It is prin- 

 cipally in the narrow valleys of these streams that the farming lands 

 of this district are located. 



By far the greater part of the agricultural population is confined to 

 the Anderson and Happy valleys, where in places the country is quite 

 thickly settled. In other parts of these districts, where the farms are 

 larger and farm dwellings some distance apart or where the land is un- 

 cleared of timber and brush and used only for grazing, the population 

 is rather sparse. In the rougher and more hilly districts and upon the 

 treeless plains of the southeastern part of the area the population is 

 confined to a few small clearings or cultivated farms upon the uplands 

 and in the minor stream valleys. The farming class is of a cosmo- 

 politan character, dra^\^l not only from the various parts of the United 

 States but from foreign countries. 



Redding, the county seat of Shasta County, now has a population 

 of about 5,000, and is the principal town. It is a shipping center 

 and outfitting point for near-by mining camps, which have contributed 

 greatly to its development. Anderson, having a population of about 

 1,000, is the main fruit-shipping point and agricultural center. 

 Cottonwood, a smaller town near the southern boundary, is the center 

 of a small fruit district. Bellavista, a little town near the northeast 

 boundary, is the site of a lumber mill and box factory of considera- 

 ble size. 



Transportation is furnished principally by the Portland and San 

 Francisco branch of the Southern Pacific Railway. The Anderson 

 and Bellavista Railway, connecting Anderson with Bellavista, is used 

 mainly for lumber and ore shipments. 



The Redding area is well provided with public roads, wliich in the 

 more thickly settled districts are of excellent character. 



Fruits and other farm products are shipped to the East, to San 

 Francisco and vicinity, and to Portland and other cities to the north. 

 The towns and mining camps of northern California and Oregon also 

 afford excellent markets for fruits, vegetables, hay, poultry, and 

 dairy products. 



CLIMATE. 



The climate of the Redding area is characterized by a long, warm, 

 dry summer season, followed by a mild, rainy ^\-inte^ season. 



The normal annual precipitation at Redtling, at an elevation of 552 

 feet, is reported by the United States Weather Bureau as 36.11 inches. 

 This is somewhat in excess of 'the rainfall reported for the more south- 

 ern Sacramento Valley points, the precipitation, for instance, at Red 

 Bluff — elevation, 309 feet — at the head of the main valley, being 26.1 1 

 inches. Owing to slightly greater elevation and proximity to the 

 mountains it is probable that at Reddmg it is somewhat greater than 



