California, Here We Are 15 



unless we cross the great Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate, a 

 sunken trough through the Coast Range, offers a seaward outlet 

 to the great empires. We may cross the Golden Gate and the 

 harbor by two of the world's greatest bridges, then we may turn 

 north or turn south. The setting sun points back over the 

 broken and ragged crests of the Coast Range, across the great 



Courtesy Redwood Empire Association 



FIG. 5. Golden Gate Bridge across the Golden Gate at San Francisco. 

 The world's tallest and longest single span suspension bridge. 



Interior Valley, to the high Sierra Range. It is a far call from 

 the Mojave and Colorado deserts far to the south to the gold 

 fields of the central slopes and the barren plains of the rugged 

 lava fields of the north. The great geologic panorama is 

 opened before us. The story of California is complicated. The 

 real history goes back through the geologic ages. All that is 

 now before us is the product of what has gone before. The 

 rugged mountains, the splendid canyon gorges, the gold washed 



