746 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



in m}' travels in the Cape Region. One of these is at 

 Agua Caliente, north of Mirafiores, where there is a fine 

 hot sulphur spring near the bottom of the creek; the 

 other is the famous spring at San Bartolo, between San- 

 tiago and La Paz. This spring is one of the marvels of 

 the peninsula, and the finest spring I have seen in any 

 country. It courses out through one or two holes from 

 under an alluvial and glacial mesa, in probably about five 

 cubic feet of water per second. It is of exceptional purity 

 and coolness, always retaining its low temperature and its 

 even and undiminished flow, winter and summer. The 

 spring empties in an otherwise dry gulch and canon 

 known as San Bartolo Canon. In the dry season the 

 canon or creek bed is dry immediately above the spring, 

 and also some four miles below it. But for four miles or 

 more the flow from the spring is sufficient to cause the 

 appearance of a small stream in the bottom of the canon, 

 besides giving sufficient surplus to constantly irrigate 

 several hundred acres of land, terraced on the steep slopes 

 of the canon. The canon itself is very narrow and pre- 

 cipitous, its sides are terraced in places, and everywhere 

 are seen fields of sugar cane, bananas, oranges, etc., 

 and other tropical fruit trees and plants, making this one 

 of the most charming spots imaginable, in great contrast 

 with the surrounding hills which are quite barren, as 

 compared to those around the San Jose Valley. 



Another spring is found at La Palma, nearer San Jose, 

 and a few others are scattered about the country, here 

 and there. 



The San Jose River is the largest water course in the 

 Cape Region. It is some forty miles long, or, if we 

 count in its main tributary at Miraflores, it maybe said to 

 be about fifty-five miles long. It receives during the 

 rainy season a number of tributaries from the sierra on 



