THE OVEBLAND BOUTE OGDEN- TO SA^^ PR.1NCISC0. 



203 



summit 



meadow, undoubtedly of glacial origin, the lower end of which is now 



Soda Springs. 



submerged in a reseryoir called Lake Van Norden, 

 ^, . after a family of eastern capitahsts who hare taken 



Elevation 6,7-18 feet. • j. . • xi / . 



Omaha 1,592 miles. ^ prommeut part m the water-storage, water-supply, 



and hydroelectric power developments that hare been 

 so largely extended in the Sierra during the last few years. I1ie 

 mountain streams thus utilized supply light and power throughout 

 much of California and Nevada.* 



Below Soda Springs (see sheet 23, p. 214) the railroad follows the 

 south side of the upper valley of South Fork of Yuba River, a typical 



granite. Along 



smoothly 



morainal 



J 



An especially noticeable feature of the western slope of the Sierra 

 Nevada is the general evenness of its sky hne. In any extensive view 

 it is not difficult to overlook the deep canyons and imagine oneself 

 looking over a great forested plain sloping gently westward. The 

 ridges between the canyons are in facf remnants of a fonner surface of 



In the foothills there occur: 



Digger pine {Piniis sahiniana)^ a light- 

 gray dusty long-noodle pine, having a 

 foliage so thin that it scarcely casts a 

 shadow. It has a large, heaAy cone and 

 is sometimes known as bull pine. 



Blue oak {Quemis doiiglasii), almost 

 always associated with Digger pine, recog- 

 nizable by its white tnmks and bluish 

 foliage. 



In the Sacramento Valley the scattered 

 oaks and groves are composed of: 



Interior live oak {Querciis icislizenii) , a 

 symmetrical evergreen tree, frequently 

 with a hemispherical top, set low to the 

 ground. 



Valley oak (Qiiercus lobata)^ a deciduous 

 tree which is taller than the live oak and 



many species probably 120 are now rep- 

 resented in the State. They are rapid 

 growers and produce exceedingly hard 

 wood, which is difficult to cure for utili- 

 zation as lumber but which is of verj^ 

 great strength when it can be properly 

 seavSoned. 



^ There are in OaHfomia about 75 de- 

 veloped hydroelectric power plants, 

 most of which, including the largest, are 

 in the Sierra. 



Southern Pacific the principal develop- 

 ments are those of the Pacific Gas & Elec- 

 tric Co., which consist of a system of 

 storage reservoirs, conduits, and power 

 houses for the utilization of the flow of 



■ 



Yuba and Bear rivers. Most of the 

 structures visible from the railroad, as at 



Along the route of the 



has long, drooping, cordlike branchlets Lake A^'an Nordon and in the vicinity of 

 pendant from the ereat crown. 



Near San Francisco Bay the interior 

 live oak is replaced by the coast live oak 

 {Querciis affn/olia)j of similar appearance. 

 A marked feature of Coast Range scenery 

 is the considerable groves of the euca- 

 Iv'ptus, an introduced tree, various species 

 of which ha^'^e been set out in this country 

 within the last 30 or 35 years. They 

 come mostlv from Australia. Of the 



Colfax, have been built in connection 

 with the recently completed Drum plant, 

 which ha^ an ultimate capacity of 40,000 

 kilowatts, or 53,600 horsepower. The 

 fiuther utilization of the power of Bear 

 River will involve the construction of 

 five additional power plants extending 

 from Lake Spalding to Newcastle, the 

 total power capacity of the completed 

 system to be 160,000 horsepower. 



