Geology from a Motor Car 345 



zone. The Merced Hills at Montebello were elevated as a result 

 of folding along the northwestward continuation of the Whit- 

 tier fault zone. 



Alternate Route (b), Palm Springs to Los Angeles 

 via San Gorgonio Pass 



The flat arid plain of the desert continues north from Palm 

 Springs, the lofty peak of San Jacinto towering high on the left. 

 The gravelly "wash" of Whitewater River spreads across the 

 valley to the foot of the Indio Hills. Whitewater River comes 

 from far north in the San Bernardino Mountains, and at flood 

 seasons carries a tremendous volume of water, with the result 

 that the valley is strewn with the rock fragments of the "wash." 

 The water of the stream may reach the Salton Sea at such times, 

 but otherwise, and during most of the year, the water disappears 

 in the gravels of the wash. 



The town of Whitewater is 1 2 miles from Palm Springs, at 

 the eastern end of the pass discovered by Wm. P. Blake in 1853, 

 and haled as the much sought accessible route for a railroad 

 between Los Angeles Basin and the interior of the continent. 

 The discovery of this pass by the Blake party determined the 

 construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Blake and his 

 party entered the Pass from the west, observing with great joy 

 that the summit elevation was 2,580 feet, between the tower- 

 ing peaks of San Gorgonio on the north and San Jacinto on the 

 south. Here was the true gateway from the interior to the 

 Pacific Ocean. Said Professor Blake, in writing afterward of 

 his experience in 1853: "Here, at last, was discovered the great- 

 est break through the western Cordilleras, leading from the 

 slopes of Los Angeles and the Pacific into the interior wilder- 

 ness." 



Side Trip to Devil's Garden 



It will be interesting to pause at Whitewater and enjoy a 

 side trip into the Mojave Desert, which is just across the San 



