COAST LINE LOS AXGELES TO SAN EKANCISCO. Ill 



■ 



covers the railroad track and delays traffic. To prevent this the 

 Southern Pacific Co. is planting successfully acacia trees (Acacia 

 latifolia) and a coarse, stout beach gi-ass (Ammophila arenaria) that 

 is used on the dikes in Holland. 



About 5 miles southeast of Pouit Pedernales is a mountain called 

 El TranquiUon (tran-keel-yohn', Spanish for maslin, a mixture of 

 wheat and rye). The reason for the application of this name to the 

 mountain is unknown. Two or tln'ce areas of Franciscan (Jurassic?) 

 rocks are exposed just north of El TranquiUon^ indicating that this 

 formation is the core of the main Santa Ynez uplift. 



The hills northeast of Point Pedernales to an elevation of over 1,000 

 feet arc covered by old terrace and sand-dune deposits. 



Surf (Lompoc Junction), at the mouth of Santa Ynez River, is well 

 named from the breakers that tumble on its broad beach — Lompoc 



Beach. Here the Monterey shale appears again, 



Lompoc Junction. dipping to the south at a rather low angle. Lom- 



Elevation 47 feet. 

 Los Angeles 172 miles. 



renews 



every few years, and occasionally it is the scene 



The strong waves due to the winter storms 



oi Deacn placer mmmg. ^^^ ^ .^ 



strike the Lompoc Beach between Honda and Purisima 

 low angle and cause the sand to drift northward. The 



iter minerals drifts most rapidly, and thus lei 



to 



& 



dark, heavy minerals. The black 



some 



concentratmg wave action it may become rich enough to pay for 

 washmg, but the gold content is not large, the beach placers here 

 bemg not so rich as those of the coast of northern California and 



southern 



railroad 



Valley for 10 miles to the town of Lompoc. The climate and soil in 

 this vicmity are particularly adapted to seed growmg, and great 

 quantities of beans and sweet peas are raised here for seed. Much of 

 the mustard produced m the United States comes from Lompoc. The 

 largest industry of the place, however, is the mming and miUmg of 



are 



(Monterey) a few miles to the south. Thousands of tons of whit( 

 limestone are also shipped from Lompoc annuaUy. 



Northeast of Lompoc Junction is Burton Mesa, part of an unusuaUj 



f..Mvo^a For about 12 miles north of Lompoc 



marme 



through a reg 



Junction to Schumann Canyon the raihoad passes 

 of sand dunes. These rest on a terrace cut m Monterey shale which 

 ]ust south of Tangair is hard, white, and porcelaneous. At many 

 places the hard layers of the shale are full of minute cracks ^^^^h <.on- 

 tain hardened asDhaltum. At other places oil seeps from the shale. 



