SOIL CLIMATE. 5 



found only in a few areas preserved by their owners for future use, at no 

 distant day. Not only have the Eureka Mountains lost their forests, but 

 the neighboring mountains for long distances have been devastated to fur- 

 nish fuel for the smelting furnaces. Some idea may be obtained of the 

 enormous consumption of wood from the statement that 10,000 bushels of 

 charcoal are required daily for the smelting furnaces when the works are 

 running their usual force, and that for five or six years the daily consump- 

 tion was rather over than under that amount. 



Soil. Nature presents a barren, arid appearance. Perennial streams in 

 the ravines are exceptional, other than those found on the slopes of Diamond 

 Peak. Fresh water springs lie scattered about the mountains and fur- 

 nish a scanty supply of water, barely sufficient to meet the wants of the 

 people. A few deep wells have been successfully sunk in the broader 

 valleys. Vegetation is everywhere limited, and is mainly confined to bunch 

 grasses on the mountain slopes and sage brush in the open valleys. 



As the valleys are mainly filled with coarse detrital material from 

 mountain slopes, soils suitable for agricultural purposes occupy very 

 small areas, and are found only in the broader basins. In the favored 

 spots where water for irrigation purposes can be readily obtained, all the 

 more hardy vegetables grow well, and are of excellent quality, but nearly 

 all crops suffer from early frosts. In no sense can the country be regarded 

 as an agricultural one, and cultivation of the soil is remunerative to 

 the farmer only by reason of the very high prices received for his produce. 



climate. A rigorous winter, a long hot summer, a dry atmosphere, with 

 a light precipitation of moisture, are characteristic climatic features of the 

 Eureka District. In summer, rainfalls are limited to showers, frequently 

 very severe, but of short duration, and what are commonly known as cloud- 

 bursts are by no means uncommon during late July and early August. 

 The clouds, late in the afternoon, centering over Prospect Peak, break with 

 such force that many people caught without warning have been drowned. 

 In July, 1874, a severe storm and flood destroyed seventeen lives, and 

 carried off property to the value of many thousands of dollars. 



During the period of our survey careful meteorological observations 

 were made throughout the summer. Snow fell in the month of May no 



