CHAPTER IX. 



DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY OF THE NEW IDRIA DISTRICT. 



L Atlas Sheet VI.] 



Surroundings. — Ncw Idriii Hgs close to the line dividiiii;' Fresno and San 

 Benito Counties, among the highest peaks of this portion of California. 

 These form the southern end of the Mt. Diablo Range and divide the upper 

 waters of the San Benito River from the drainage area of the San Joaquin. 

 The scenery of this district is remarkable and wild. From its higher points 

 the view is very extensive, embracing a large portion of the Coast Ranges, 

 great areas of the San Joaquin Valley, and beyond it the southern portion 

 of the snow-capped Sierra. To the southwest, the country visible from the 

 New Idria peaks is fairly well watered, the ranges are wooded, and grassy 

 meadows abound in the valleys. Near the crest of the range also there is 

 a respectable growth of trees, but the comparatively lofty mountains of the 

 district seem to extract the last available portion of moisture from the sea 

 breezes, and the region' to the east o*f New Idria is for the most part a wilder- 

 ness, whei-e the few springs are so alkaline, even in the wet season, that cattle 

 will scarcely touch them and where a scanty growth of herbaceous jdants 

 among the almost naked rocks appears only for a few weeks in the spring. 



This barren region extends as far as the San Joaquin Valley, which is 

 fertile, at least in years of plentiful rain-fall, and early in the season is gor- 

 geous with wild flowers. The eschscholtzia often grows in such masses in 

 the valley that its fine orange tint is readily recognizable at a distance of 

 30 miles and stands out in pleasing contrast to the gleaming snows of 

 the Sierra, which looms up in a somewhat unsubstantial fashion 125 miles 



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