2 MISCELLANEOUS CIRCULAR 94, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



SPANISH CALIFORNIA KNEW LITTLE OF THE FORESTS 



The Spanish explorers who were attracted to California in the 

 early days were right in their assumption that the region possessed 

 wealth beyond the dreams of avarice. But they missed the one kind 

 of wealth they sought — gold — and they failed to realize the wealth 

 that is in her forests and waters, wealth now being derived from a 

 thriving timber industry and from prosperous irrigated farms and 

 orchards. 



The attraction that California has always had is reflected in the 

 name itself, which probably originated with the legend of Montalvo, 

 who wrote of the " romantic wonders and magazines of wealth of 

 the island of California which lies at the right hand of the Indies." 



CALIFORNIA'S GREATEST NATURAL RESOURCE 



The national forests of California cover nearly one-fifth of the total area of the State 

 and contain resources valued at $300,000,000 



Coronado, in 1535, searched Lower California for the " seven 

 golden cities of Cibola." Yet for 150 years after the Pilgrims landed 

 on the Atlantic coast California lay untouched by civilized man. It 

 was not unknown to the world of that day, for Cabrillo had sailed 

 along its coast in 1542 in search of a passage to India, and the Eng- 

 lish admiral Drake had landed and explored a small part of the 

 coast north of the Bay of San Francisco in 1579, and after naming 

 it " New Albion " had sailed away without having seen the bay 

 itself. 



Its real history began in 1769, when Junipero Serra, a Franciscan 

 monk, landed in San Diego, claimed all of California — which was 

 still believed to be an island — for Charles III of Spain, and began 

 his labor of establishing the missions along the coast. In 1775 Juan 

 de Alaya sailed through the Golden Gate and explored the Bay of 

 San Francisco, first of all white men to do so. 



