El Centra to Yreka 31 



Cascade and Emerald lakes are beautiful glacial relics similar to 

 Fallen Leaf Lake. Less majestic than the crest region of the 

 Sierra Range farther south this region is still of surpassing inter- 

 est. The divide between the Pacific Ocean and the Great Basin 

 is the crest of the main Sierra Range, on the right of our Bee- 

 line. To the west the waters flow into the Sacramento. To the 

 east the waters find their way to the saline sinks of the Great 

 Basin, a part first emptying into the great natural storage basin 

 of Lake Tahoe, called one of the most beautiful mountain lakes 

 in the world. The grades of the westerly flowing streams are 

 very steep, a fall of 100 to 200 feet per mile being common. 

 The north fork of American River has eroded a canyon which 

 attains a depth of 4,000 feet, and is known as the American 

 Royal Gorge. 



Hunters' and Fishermen's Paradise 



This is a somewhat wild and tempestous country. It is not 

 the garden spot of California as such. Valleys have been scoured 

 by glacial ice, and lakes occupy picturesque pockets. To the 

 west on the Sierra slope are the great California gold fields. 

 Waters that come from the high mountains in torrential 

 streams, or impounded in lakes, have been harnessed for hy- 

 draulic mining. Old washings and once productive mines, 

 deserted towns where once life was stirring, tell of the past. 

 Fishing is fine in the lakes and streams. This is the hunter's 

 paradise. Magnificent views of volcanic peaks, hard granitic 

 rocks polished by glacial ice, deep-walled canyons cut by streams 

 forced by the ice of the Glacial Period to find new channels, 

 huge moraines deposited by the melting glaciers, lakes of clear 

 cold water abounding with fish, and the homes of geese and 

 ducks, forests in which roam deer, bear, and cougar, it is indeed 

 a wild country. The forests furnish lumber, and grassy slopes 

 and meadows furnish grazing for great numbers of sheep. Geo- 

 logically the country is charming. The air is fresh and invigor- 

 ating. The camper, the recreationist, the lover of the wild in 



