THE OVERLAND EOUTE — OGDEN TO SAN FRANCISCO. 



217 



The factory of tlie Pacific Portland Cement Co. and adjacent shale 

 quarries can he seen to the north. The limestone used here to mix 

 with the shale is brought from a point near Auburn. 



The traveler coming across the Sacramento Valley in the day during 

 midsummer is Hkely to find the trip warm, but on reaching this gap 

 in the Coast Range he almost invariably notices a change. The cool 

 breezes sweeping in from the west and carrying the smell of the salt 

 marshes become fresher as the train proceeds, and it is a reasonable 

 precaution to have wraps handy from this point on. 



Beyond the first spur of the Coast Range the valley again broadens. 

 Higher mountains, more or less darkened by scrubby timber on their 

 upper slopes, border the valley to the north and far to the south. 

 If the air is moderately clear, Mount Diablo ^ and the southern con- 

 tinuation of the Coast Range may be seen. A group of low, round, 

 and grassy hills a few miles to the south are knoA\Ti as the Potrero 

 Hills. (Potrero, pronounced po-tray'ro, is Spanish for horse pasture.) 

 Suisun (suey-soon', locally soo-soon', the name of an Indian tribe, 

 said to mean great expanse) and the adjoining town of Fairfield (the 



seat of Solano County, population 834) are at the 

 edge of another swampy district green with tule. 

 From this point the railroad is graded across the 

 Suisun Flats, which are so near tidewater level in 

 Suisun Bay, to the south, that no' cultivation 

 possible under present conditions, 



Suisun. 



Elevation 15 feet. 

 Population 641. 



Omaha 1,733 miles. 



though the camps 



of several 



duck-shooting clubs are situated among the sloughs. The railroad 

 has encountered much difficulty in maintaining its grade across this 

 soft ground. Certain spots have been continually sinking ever since 

 the road was first constructed, and it 



is seldom, even now, that 



in going over this part of the route the traveler does not see work 



^ From a point near Benicia. if the day 

 is clear, an excellent view may be had of 

 the double summit and graceful curves 

 of Mount Diablo. Its general outline and 

 isolated poeition have given the impres- 

 sion that this mountain is an old volcano. 

 It represents, however, the higher por- 

 tions of an overturned arch or anticline of 

 sedimentary rocks thrust from the north- 

 east toward the southwest. From its 

 summit to the sea level at Carqutnez 

 (car-kee^nez) Strait is displayed a re- 

 markably complete series of typical Coast 

 Range formations, including Franciscan^ 

 Knoxville, Chico, Martinez, Tejon, ^lon- 

 terey, San Pablo, late Tertiary fresh- 

 water beds, Pleistocene, and Recent. 

 Although Mount Diablo is of moderate 



height (3,849 feet), its isolation and its sit- 

 uation on the edge of the Great Valley 

 make it one of the finest viewpoints in 

 the State. From its top, on a clear mom- 



summits 



traced 



Lassen 



visible 



Shasta. The Great Valley appears di- 

 vided into squares like a checkerboard by 

 the section-line roads and fences. The 

 San Frandsco Bay region is sometimes 

 hidden by a rolling, snowy sea of fog. 

 The mountain is easily reached from San 

 Francisco, thou*rh at present the actual ad- 



dri\in 



It is expected that tl 

 practically to the sun 

 for automobile travel. 



be fitted 



