4 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
Having thus considered the mountains, let us look into the 
valleys of the coast. The flat land west of the San Bernardino 
Mountains, south of 34°, is rather composed of plains than of 
valleys, though watered by the San Gabriel, Los Angeles, 
Santa Ana, and other rivers. There are two of these plains: 
the lower one about two hundred and fifty feet above the sea, 
and skirting the coast; the other one thousand or twelve hun- 
dred feet high, nearer the mountains. On the lower plain are 
Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Pedro; on the upper are San 
Fernando, San Bernardino, Cocomongo, Jurupa, Temescal, 
and Temecula. Northward of 34° we find long, flat, narrow, 
fertile valleys, shut in by steep, rugged hills. We have already 
mentioned the names of many of these valleys, as dividing cer- 
tain ridges of the Coast Mountains from each other. South 
of the Salinas all these valleys open upon the ocean, save the 
Cuyama valley, the river of which runs in a cafion through 
mountains as it approaches its mouth. The Pajaro River 
breaks through the Gabilan Mountains, and makes a small but 
rich valley. The average width of these coast valleys is five 
miles at the mouth, with a length of from ten to forty miles, 
narrowing to a point near the head in the mountains. The 
Salinas valley, the largest of all the coast valleys, is ninety 
miles long, and from eight to fourteen wide. Three terraces 
are distinctly traceable on each side of the river. The first 
and lowest is about four miles wide, with a sort of a rich, 
sandy loam; the second rises with an abrupt edge, is eleven 
feet higher, has about two miles of width on each side, and 
has a coarser, poorer soil; the third terrace is less regular in 
height and width, and has a coarse, gravelly soil, scarcely fit 
for cultivation. This terraced formation, with its variations 
in richness of soil, is a strongly-marked feature of many valleys 
in the state. Ordinarily, the coast valleys are separated from 
each other by steep, rugged mountain-ridges, but there are 
occasional exceptions. Thus, there is a low plain between 
Russian River and Santa Rosa valley, which opens into Sono- 
ma and Petulama valleys; and again, the Santa Clara and 
