154 CALIFORNIA. 



its far-famed port ; but I soon found, from the reports of the officers, 

 after the trial they had had of it during the months of August and 

 September, that their experience altogether contradicted the received 

 opinion upon the first mentioned point. Many of them compared its 

 climate to that of Orange Harbour, at Cape Horn, with its cold bluster- 

 ing winds and cloudy skies. This kind of weather prevails during the 

 greater part of the year, and the comparison is literally true in relation 

 to one portion of California — the sea-coast. 



There is, perhaps, no other country where there is such a diversity 

 of features, soil, and climate, as California. The surface exhibits the 

 varieties of lofty ranges of mountains, confined valleys, and extensive 

 plains. On the coast, a range of high land extends in length from Cape 

 Mendocino to latitude 32° N., and in breadth into the interior from ten 

 to twenty miles. 



The valley of San Juan, of no great extent, lies between these hills 

 and the Sierra, which is a low range of mountains. East of the Sierra 

 is the broad valley of the Sacramento, which is prolonged to the south 

 in that of Buena Ventura, as far as Mount San Bernardino, under the 

 thirty-fourth parallel. Beyond this valley is the Californian Range. 

 which is a continuation of the Cascade Range of Oregon, and whose 

 southern summits are capped with snow. This range gradually de- 

 creases in height, until it declines into hills of moderate elevation. To 

 the east of the Californian Mountains are the vast sandy plains, of 

 which we know but little, except that they form a wide trackless waste, 

 destitute of every thing that can fit it for the habitation of manor beast. 



The soil is as variable as the face of the country. On the coast 

 range of hills there is little to invite the agriculturist, except in some 

 vales of no great extent. These hills are, however, admirably adapted 

 for raising herds and flocks, and are at present the feeding-grounds of 

 numerous deer, elk, &c, to which the short sweet grass and wild oats 

 that are spread over them, afford a plentiful supply of food. No at- 

 tempts have been made to cultivate the northern part of this section, nor 

 is it susceptible of being the seat of any large agricultural operations. 



The valley of the Sacramento, and that of San Juan, are the most 

 fruitful parts of California, particularly the latter, which is capable of 

 producing wheat, Indian corn, rye, oats, &c, with all the fruits of the 

 temperate and many of the tropical climates. It likewise offers fine 

 pasture-grounds for cattle. This region comprises a level plain, from 

 fifteen to twenty miles in width, extending from the bay of San Fran- 

 cisco, beyond the mission of that name, north and south. This may 

 be termed the garden of California ; but although several small streams 



