12 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
miles northward from it, in the Sierra Nevada. After running 
westward to the middle of the valley, it turns northward. 
From its bend southward, the valley discharges no water to 
the ocean during the summer; but in wet winters there are 
continuous sloughs, or pieces of marsh-like ground, from the 
Tejon to the San Joaquin. In the dry season, no channel is 
visible for the escape of the waters of Tulare and Kern Lakes. 
§ 10. Rivers of the Sacramento Basin.—The rivers flow- 
ing down from the Sierra Nevada are about one hundred and 
twenty miles long on an average, following their courses. The 
upper half of their length is in the mountains, where they are 
torrents, falling five thousand. feet in fifty miles. Their beds 
are in deep cafions; after reaching the plain their currents are 
gentle, and they meander between low banks, fringed with 
oaks, sycamores, cottonwood, and willows. In the south- 
ern part of the Sacramento basin there are several large 
streams, which, soon after issuing from the mountains, divide 
into a number of channels, as do some large rivers which have 
deltas near their entrance to the sea. King’s River, which is 
about eighty yards wide where it leaves the mountains, divides 
into seven or eight channels, which all unite again. The Ca- 
huilla or Pipiyuma River, also a large stream, divides into a 
number of channels, which irrigate “the Four-Creek country,” 
and render it one of the most fruitful parts of the state. 
The Sacramento River is navigable for steamers drawing 
three feet of water, to Sacramento City, and to Red Bluff for 
boats drawing fifteen inches. The Feather River is navigated 
by steamers drawing fifteen inches, to Marysville, seventy-five 
miles from Sacramento; and boats have ascended to Oroville, 
twenty-five miles farther. Steamers drawing five feet can run 
regularly to Stockton, on the San Joaquin, a distance of one 
hundred and thirty miles from San Francisco ; and in times of 
high water, a boat drawing about fifteen inches ascends to 
Fresno City, one hundred and fifty miles farther. A number 
of sloughs or tide-water creeks, navigable for small vessels, 
open into the bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, 
