November i, 1906 165 



ftet to a bench about a mile wide and two miles long where itl 

 ages past the Kern river flowed, but now is limited to a narrow 

 channel a number of feet lower. The river breaks abruptly 

 through the mountains at this point, having cut a narrow but 

 deep pathway across the ridges. 



The formation of the country between Bakersfield and the 

 river is mostly disintegrated granite, devoid of trees and shrubs, 

 and is not very prolific in plant life, although in early spring a 

 number of species may be found, especially over the less elevated 

 portions near the town and on the bluffs along the river. 



The lower foothills too are open, with little in the way of 

 arborescent growth except in the ravines, and the species are as 

 a whole different from those found on the plain, the line of de- 

 marcation being very sharp. 



On the right bank of the river, extending from the point 

 where it emerges from the Sierra to opposite Bakersfield are low 

 barren appearing sandy hills, the portion nearest Bakersfield 

 dotted with oil derricks. The flora here is of a somewhat dif- 

 ferent nature from either that of the plains or of the Sierra, and 

 has a few species in common with the oil fields on the west side 

 of the valley, fifty miles distant. Here is found a representative 

 of the desert flora. Ephedra nevadensis^ growing in the sandy 

 ravines near the river. On the south and southeast the Tehach- 

 api range forms a barrier between the San Joaquin valley and 

 the desert, with an elevation of a little over 4000 feet at Te- 

 hachapi pass, while a number of peaks rise from 6000 to 8000 

 feet. The.elevation of the desert at the foot of the mountains is 

 about 3000 feet. 



Although much of the upper San Joaquin valley is practi- 

 cally a desert except where irrigation is possible, the vegetation 

 with a few exceptions is quite distinct from that of the desert 

 proper. Whether the few species observed in isolated places 

 are far removed from their natural habitat, or intermediate sta- 

 tions exist, ray explorations were too limited to determine. 

 Ephedra nei^adensis was collected opposite Bakersfield. Lepto- 



