Geology from a Motor Car 417 



Avenue of the Giants and Eel River Valley 



From the vicinity of Dyerville the Redwood highway runs 

 down Eel River Valley for 40 miles. Beyond the Avenue of 

 the Giants there are few Redwoods. Eel River winds over the 

 bottom of a vast mountain trough. The drive through this 

 valley is fascinating. The slopes on either side of the valley are 

 broken by many rock outcroppings. Fishing, wild game and 

 wild flowers all have their appeal, to each according to his sev- 

 eral tastes and inclinations. The river spreads out over a flat 

 plain of alluvium as it nears the ocean. 



Most Western Points of the United States 



Cape Mendocino, the westernmost point of land in the 

 United States, is west of the main Redwood Forest, a rocky pro- 

 montory at the western extremity of Mount Blank, a plateau 

 2,100 feet above the sea, on the point of which stands Cape 

 Mendocino Lighthouse. North of the mouth of Eel River for 

 60 miles the Redwood highway skirts the Pacific Ocean. North 

 of the mouth of Eel River the highway runs along the shore of 

 Humboldt Bay for 2 5 miles. Here is Eureka, which lays claim 

 to being the westernmost city in the United States, "an enter- 

 prising up-to-date city, the metropolis of northwestern Cali- 

 fornia." Here are hotels, auto camps and cottages, with sea 

 coast, mountains, and primeval Redwood forests within easy 

 reach, also the United States Coast Guard station overlooking 

 a broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean, and the entrance to Hum- 

 boldt Bay. North eight miles is Arcata, at the northern end 

 of Humboldt Bay, seat of Humboldt State College, also lumber 

 manufacturing industries. North of Arcata for 20 miles the 

 highway hugs the ocean shore, crossing a flat-topped plateau 

 1,600 feet above the sea, with an uplifted wave-cut wall 1,000 

 feet above the sea forming the plateau front. 



Historic Trinidad and Lighthouse 



On the route north is old historic Trinidad. This is an his- 

 toric town in very fact, with a lofty lighthouse on the headland 



