658 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



discovery of the first nugget, in 185 1 ; the 

 total output from that field has been at 

 least $35,000,000. The placers are worked 

 to the limit of the present water supply, 

 but water storage will greatly increase the 

 yield. Some of the washings produce 

 from $6,000 to $50,000 every year, work- 

 ing only during the wet season ; in gen- 

 eral the ground runs from 10 to 30 cents 

 a yard. A water power already devel- 

 oped on Rogue River by a 20-foot con- 

 crete dam at Gold Ray affords 10,000 

 horse-power, mostly utilized for mining 

 in that district. In the Blue Mountains 

 •of eastern Oregon are many gold mines, 

 mostly of small or moderate size, but 

 with fair aggregate production, the total 

 of which amounts to about $100,000,000. 

 Near Baker City 450 stamp mills are in 

 operation, with 2 to 20 stamps each. 

 Oregon's total gold product for 1907 was 

 $2,855,700. 



Extensive deposits of copper ore are 

 known in Oregon, notably in the lower 

 end of Josephine County, and in various 

 localities in central Washington. Coal is 

 being mined in Kittitas, Pierce, and King 

 counties, Washington. A group of mines 

 in the western part of Kittitas County 

 gives employment to 2,000 men and pro- 

 duces about 2,000,000 tons a year. The 

 Coos Bay district, Oregon, has an annual 

 production of 70,000 tons. Many other 

 coal prospects are awaiting development. 



Considerable platinum has been ob- 

 tained in Oregon. Molybdenum is mined 

 in central Washington, and mercury ores 

 have been discovered at several localities 

 in southwestern Oregon. Some of the 

 dried-up lake basins in eastern Oregon 

 ■contain extensive deposits of borax and 

 soda, now beginning to be utilized. 



The local demand for building mate- 

 rials on the Northwest coa*st can be 

 judged from the fact that the cost of 

 building in 1908, in Seattle, was $13,577,- 

 700, and in Portland, $9,446,982. There 

 were 1,294,800 barrels of cement (valued 

 at $3,884,400) used in Portland, Seattle, 

 and Tacoma in 1907, of which about two- 

 thirds was imported. Building stones, 

 such as granite, marble, and sandstone, 

 are available in large amount, but they 

 .are not extensively developed. Lime- 



stone suitable for the manufacture of ce- 

 ment occurs in certain sections and one 

 large plant is now in operation on Skagit 

 River, Washington. Cheap lumber has 

 been an important factor in the rapid 

 growth of the towns, but large amounts 

 of stone, brick, concrete, iron, and terra 

 cotta are also used in the cities. 



MAGNIFICENT SCENERY 



The Pacific Northwest presents many 

 features of notable scenic beauty. Prob- 

 ably the most admired are the great coni- 

 cal peaks of Mounts Rainier, Baker, 

 Adams, Hood, Helens, and Jefferson, 

 which are plainly visible from the coast. 

 They are all volcanic and rise far above 

 the surrounding lands into the realm of 

 perpetual snow and ice. Some of these 

 peaks are shown in views in this article, 

 but photographs do scant justice to their 

 beauty. Mount Rainier is often men- 

 tioned as the highest mountain in the 

 United States, but its altitude is only 

 14,363 feet, or inferior to many other 

 peaks in this country. It bears extensive 

 glaciers, and these occur also on the 

 higher of the peaks above mentioned. 

 Some notable glaciers lie on Glacier 

 Peak, in central Washington. Rugged, 

 high mountain scenery is presented by 

 the Cascade and other ranges of the 

 region, some of which may be seen from 

 the railroads. 



The scenery of the great gorge of Co- 

 lumbia River is especially fine, with its 

 cliffs of volcanic rocks over 1,000 feet 

 high, .over which are numerous water- . 

 falls. Much of the' land stretching away 

 on either side of the gorge is an undulat- 

 ing upland, a fact which would hardly be 

 suspected by persons traveling up the 

 river. Lake Chelan, a most remarkable 

 body of water, occupies a long, narrow 

 gorge of the mountains of central Wash- 

 ington. It is 50 miles long and from 1 to 

 4 miles wide, with its water level about 

 300 feet above Columbia River. Much 

 of the bold coast of Washington and 

 Oregon is highly picturesque and the 

 Puget Sound region is full of notable 

 features, especially the great pile of the 

 snow-clad Olympic Mountains lying be- 

 tween the sound and the ocean. 



