604 Part IV. Chapter 4. 
(d) Strips of open wooded lands dotted with oaks Pinus ponderosa and 
spruce. 
(e) Strips of Prnus Lambertiana, P. ponderosa, Pseudotsuga etc. 
() The slope to the Sacramento Valley; Strip of small pines and oaks'). 
ı. Coastal Formations. 
Dune Formation. The principal sand dunes of the northwestern coast 
of California occur at the mouth of. the Garcia River, at Point Arena, at Pud- 
ding Creek near Fort Bragg, at the mouth of Ten-mile River and according 
to my observations along Humboldt Bay, which is separated from the ocean 
by two narrow peninsulas of sand, the mouth partially closed by shifting bars. 
The following plants are characteristic of the Californian sand dunes: Adronia 
latifolia, with heavy prostrate stems and flat leaves; Arctostaphylos uva-ursi in 
large mats on almost pure sand on the sand spit of Humboldt Bay; Convol- 
vulus soldanella, Festuca rubra var., Poa Douglasü, Tanacetum camphoratum, 
Elymus arenarius, Lupinus Chamissonis, L. arboreus (south of Point Reyes), 
Collinsia bartsüifolia (in drift sand), Corethrogyne californica var. obovata and 
species of Prunus, Juncus and Salir?). 
Coast Bluff (Mesa) Formation. The coast bluffs vary in width from one 
to three miles forming a mesa, or bench, between the shore line and the 
summit of the first mountain ridge, which is about 1,600 feet hieh. This ridge 
marks the western edge of the redwood strip. The coast bluffs are elevated 
about 50 feet, or more, above the sea, but at Humboldt Bay, according to 
my observations, it has been eroded almost to sea level, there forming a 
large and very fertile flood plain. It is subject to heavy summer fogs, enjoys 
a more equable summer climate and a greater amount of moisture, than is 
found in the interior and is relatively cool. 
The poorer lands are characterized by growths of Pinus muricata and 
P. contorta, while in Humboldt and Del Norte counties these are replaced by 
Abies grandis, Picea sitchensis and coast hemlock Tsuga Mertensiana. Peren- 
nial grasses are abundant, such as Danthonia calıfornica, Festuca rubra, Cala- 
magrostis aleutica, Deschampsia spec. etc. in company with such maritime 
plants as Erigeron glaucus, Mesembryanthemum aequllaterale, Lupinus Miche- 
nerül. 
White Ash Plain Formation:. On the ridges which separate the smaller 
coast streams, e. g. the Noyo and Albion Rivers, are found the white-ash 
prairies, or white plains. They do not cover the whole of a ridge, but 
predominate near its western extremity, where the sandstone outcrops and the 
soil is white and powdery almost impervious to water. 
ı) First Biennial Report, California State Board of Forestry 1885—86: 133. 
2) Davv, Joseph Burtt: Stock Ranges of northwestern California. U. S. Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry Bulletin 12: 56—62. 1902, 
3) Davy, J. BurTT: loc. eit. p. 52. 
