SHASTA ROUTE SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 63 



hot gases issue) on its summit and another on its northern slope. 

 During one of the later eruj^tions of Shasta a stream of lava (andesite) 

 poured down its southern slope, entered the channel of the Sacra- 

 mento, and followed that stream for 50 miles. 



Below Mott the railroad makes a sharp bend and descends into 

 the canj^on of the Sacramento. For 75 miles this canyon traverses 

 a spur of the Klamath Moxmtains that projects toward the Sierra 

 Nevada. In the descent into the canyon there may be soon on the 

 right (north) a continuous section of more than 300 feet of lavas and 

 tufFs; At milepost 328 the railroad doubles on itself again and 

 crosses the Sacramento, the first of 17 crossings between Sisson and 

 Redding. The older rocks (Paleozoic and Mesozoic) of the Klamath 

 Mountains appear here, and those most noticeable along tliis part of 



the route are serpentine and some related coarse-grained dark erup- 

 tive rocks. 



The Shasta Springs yield a celebrated carbonated water containing 

 a large percentage of iron and magnesia, which is bottled for market. 



The town and hotels are on a terrace 300 feet above the 

 Shasta Springs, springs, which issue near the contact of the horizontal 

 Elevation 2,538 feet lavas with the underlvinp^ older rocks. Near the 



Seattle 630.6 milc:^ . • • .-. r^ • i i. - £ 



mam spring is Oxone oprmg, wtiose water is or an 

 entirely different character and has a pungent odor. 



A few hundred yards below Shasta Springs the tram again crosses 

 Sacramento River and passes the beautiful Moss Brae Falls (PL XX, 

 B) on the loft. Summer resorts are numerous in this vicinity, A 

 short distance below Shasta Springs the lava, which, as previously 

 described, at one time took possession of the channel of the river, 

 forms both sides of the canyon cut by the Sacramento since it was so 

 rudely ejected. A good example of colunmar jointing may be seen 

 in this lava on the right (west) side of the track, as the train nears 



Dunsmuir. 



Dunsmuir is chiefly a railroad town. Good htmting and fishuig 

 are to be had near by, and in front of the station are two aquariums 



in wliich may be seen the varieties of trout found in 

 Dunsmuir. ^j^^ region. Three miles south of Dunsmuir, on Lit- 



Eievation 2^84 feet, ^le Castlc Creek, is a chromite mine, which in 1913 

 siuieSTmiii was the only mine in the United States producing 



cln-omic iron ore. In 1914 there were several other 

 but much smaller producers. At the crossing of Little Castle Creek, 

 near milepost 319, the rugged piimacles of Castle Rock appear on the 

 right. Castle Crag, Castle Rock, and Castclla are all neighbormg 

 sunmier resorts near the nigged peaks that suggested their names. 

 At Castle Rock there are effervescent (carbonic acid) springs, the 

 water from which is bottled near the mouth of Soda Creek. This 

 place was a noted station on the old Oregon-Cahfornia stage line. 



