Mountains of the South 227 



of the region for the State Bureau of Mines: "Reaching toward 

 the south the view extends far into the Republic of Mexico, 

 and to the north as far as San Jacinto Peak and Mount San 

 Bernardino; to the west the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean; 

 on the east the Cahuilla Valley and the Colorado Desert. 

 Looking down from this elevated standpoint over the surround- 

 ing region the whole country from just back of San Diego east- 

 erly to the western edge of the desert is like an angry ocean of 

 knobby peaks more or less isolated, with short ridges running 

 in every direction and inclosing between and amongst them 

 numerous small and irregular valleys. As a general rule the 

 higher peaks and ridges rise from 1,000 to 2,500 feet above the 

 little canyons and valleys around their immediate bases. But in 

 going easterly from the coast each successive little valley is 

 higher than the one immediately preceding it, and the dominant 

 peaks and ridges are gradually higher and higher above the sea 

 until the irregular line of the main summit is reached, when the 

 mountains break off suddenly and fall within a very few miles 

 from 4,000 to 5,000 feet, with an abrupt and precipitous front 

 toward the east, to the western edge of the desert." 



More than 50 years ago Professor 1 Waldemar Lindgren em- 

 phasized the existence of a great escarpment along the eastern 

 side of the Peninsular Range. Coming to the eastern side of 

 the mountains from the west he said: "The spectator suddenly 

 and unexpectedly finds a view extended before him which in 

 grandeur and sublimity is surpassed by but few places on the 

 continent. He stands at the edge of a gigantic escarpment 

 descending about 3,000 feet in 5 miles; naked granite cliffs, 

 separated by steep ravines, and a few canyons cut more deeply 

 into the rock, form the face of the escarpment; and at its base 

 the Colorado Desert spreads out, a dazzling white plain." 



The Great Mountain Ranges of 

 the South 



The Peninsular Range extends 100 miles into California 



