78 



GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 



Dixon is an agricultural town in Solano County, Beyond it the 

 Coast Range now looms larger as the traveler proceeds westward. 



Elmira (elevation 79 feet), a junction whence a 

 branch road goes to VacaviUe; Winters^ and Rumsey, 



Dixon. 



Elevation 61 feet. 

 Seattle S89 miles.i 



is next passed. Beyond Elmira the road approaches 

 low foothills of the Coast Range — ^first a bare ridge, 

 with gaps, through one of wliich the railroad passes over a slight rise. 

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

 quarries can be 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 likely 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 bo seen. A group of low, round, 

 and grassy hills a few miles to the south are known as the Potrero Hills. 

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



Suisun (suey-soon'j locallj^ 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 



swampy district green with tule. 

 From this point the railroad is graded across the 

 Suisun Flats, which arc so near tidewater level in 

 Suisun Bay, to the south, that no cultivation is 



Suisun. 



Elevation 15 feet. 

 Population 641, 

 Seattle 909 miles. 



edge of another 



^ Distances for stations from Dixon to 

 San Francisco given by way of ilarys- 

 viWe line; to get distance actually trav- 

 eled by main line through \\'oodland 

 deduct 27 miles. 



*Tl\e general outline and isolated x>osi- 

 tion of Mount Diablo have given the im- 

 pression that this mountain is an old vol- 

 cano. It represents, however, the higher 

 portions of an overturned arch or anticline 



sedimentarv 



thrust from the 



northeast toward the southwest. From 

 its summit to the sea level at Carquinez 

 (car-keenness) Strait is displayed a re- 

 markably complete series of typical Coast 

 Range formations, including Franciscan, 

 KnoxviHe, Chico, Martinez, Tejon, Mon- 

 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 

 situation on the edge of the Great Valley 

 make it one of the finest viewpoints in 

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

 ing, the summits of the Sierra Nevada can 

 be traced for over 200 miles. Lassen Peak 

 is often visible and sometimes Mount 

 Shasta. The Great Valley appears di- 

 vided into squares like a checkerboard 

 by the section-line roads and fences. The 

 San Francisco Bay region is sometimes 

 hidden by a snowy sea of fog. The 

 mountain is easily reached from San 

 Francisco, though at present the ascent 

 must be made on foot or by driving. The 



sum 



mi 



bile travel. 



