401 



made up of beds of mud-lava poured out from the vents of the 

 volcano, and within the periphery of the great crater basin 

 abrupt jagged peaks and domes rise, of which South Butte and 

 North Butte are the most prominent, rising to 2,128 and 1,827 

 feet respectively. It is thought when the volcano was in active 

 eruption it formed one great cone. The central mass of the 

 buttes consists principally of massive volcanic rocks. Between 

 the peripheral mud-flows and the massive volcanic core occurs 

 a series of sandstones, clays and gravels. These beds are very 

 much disturbed, and dip away from the central core near by, 

 standing at high angles, sometimes vertical. The force of the 

 ascending lavas during eruption was so great that the surround- 

 ing sediments were uplifted more than 1,000 feet, and bent 

 upwards on all sides. 



Per file Soils; Gold Washing in 

 Foothills 



After crossing Feather River at Marysville the flat plain of 

 the Sacramento Valley continues for 47 miles to Chico. This 

 is a vast agricultural region, and stock-raising, grain growing, 

 and the production of fruits are important industries. Gold 

 washing in the stream courses from the mountains on the east 

 has been common. Southeast of Chico in the valley of Butte 

 Creek for several miles "tailings" or re-washed soil from placer 

 gold mining fills the valley. By irrigation water is brought to 

 higher and dryer lands. Levees hold back water on low lands. 

 Not enough water and too much water are problems of agri- 

 culture. A U. S. Plant Introduction Field Station is located 

 southeast of Chico. A variety of soils are crossed, ranging from 

 clay and silt loams to sandy and gravelly loams, with boulder- 

 covered rough slopes extending down the foothills on the east. 

 A large sugar-beet factory west of Chico testifies to the richness 

 of the river bottom lands. No less than 39 soil types have been 

 determined in the Chico area by the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. 



