EXPLORATIONS IN CAPE REGION. 749 



are hundreds of others, which consist merely of dry 

 canons, with flat dry river beds, giving undisputed evi- 

 dence of a former period of great rainfall, which probably 

 has been constantly diminishing since the great ice age. 



THE SIERRA. 



The most interesting part of the Cape Region is the 

 great sierra, which towers above everything, and which 

 imparts its character to the whole country, whether it is 

 seen from aboard the vessels, far out at sea, or from the 

 high mountain crests of the sierra itself. The sierra 

 may be said to begin slowly rising in the vicinity of Cabo 

 San Lucas and ending immediately north of Sierra 

 Laguna, but the true and high sierra proper begins with 

 Mt. Troyer and El Taste in the south, and ends with Mt. 

 Limantour in the north. This sierra, which possesses 

 no general name, consists of a granite mass or upheaval, 

 very precipitous on the western side, and little less so on 

 the eastern side. Thus the highest points are situated 

 nearer the western than the eastern side. The eastern 

 side of this sierra ends at or borders on the San Jose 

 Valley, while on the western side it reaches the Pacific, 

 with a slight rise near the shore line. There is no main 

 crest or backbone running north or south. On the con- 

 trary, the sierra is composed of a number of ridges run- 

 ning parallel east and west, and separated by passes 3000 

 to 4000 feet high, while the high peaks of the Sierra reach 

 6000, 7000 and possibly 8000 feet. This feature of the 

 sierra makes it impossible to travel with pack-animals 

 any great distance north and south. Thus, if we are 

 once landed at El Taste in the south, and wish to reach 

 Santa Genoveva and Sierra Laguna in the center and 

 north, it is absolutely necessary to first descend to the 

 plains, and then to ascend the mountains again at another 

 point. The many ridges sloping down to the east are as 



