Lawson.] 



Geology of Carmelo Bay. 



5 



the summits of these headlands being respectively 140 feet and 240 

 feet above the tide. The greatest length from north to south is a 

 little less than 3^ miles; its greatest width from the mouth of Car- 

 melo River to a line connecting the headlands is about a mile and 

 one-half. 



There are several physiographic features of much interest. The 

 high and prominent ridge of the Santa Lucia Range terminates 

 abruptly on the shores of the bay. 



The Carmelo River, a small stream draining the valley behind 

 this ridge, flows into the bay from the southeast. The river is at 

 base-level, at least in its lowest stretches, and flows through a flat 

 flood plain about three-fifths of a mile wide. It emerges upon the 

 bay through a rocky gate about one-eighth of a mile wide. 



Both the coastal slopes of the bay and the sides of the Carmelo 

 Valley are terraced up to elevations of several hundred feet. There 

 is no evidence in the soundings recorded on the Coast Survey chart 

 of a pronounced submarine delta at the immediate mouth of the 

 stream. 



The soundings plotted on the chart demonstrate the existence 

 of a deep submarine valley which runs in from the Pacific into the 

 southeast corner of the bay, there being 135 fathoms of water 

 within three-fifths of a mile of the shore. 



Less than a mile to the south of Carmelo River San Jose Creek 

 enters the bay from the mountains to the southeast, through a very 

 narrow and sharply cut V-shaped trench. This stream has not yet 

 reached its base-level and is actively cutting. 



The northern extremity of the main ridge of the Santa Lucia 

 Range is a bold mass of granite ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 feet in 

 elevation and sharply scored by deep ravines. 



To the north of San Jose Creek the country is occupied by soft 

 sedimentary formations, and has a much lower altitude, the summits 

 being about 800 to 1,000 feet high, and the surface of the hills takes 

 its character from the undulation of the slightly disturbed strata> 

 greatly modified, however, by stream erosion and the terracing above 

 referred to. ' 



The shores of the bay present a picturesque and pleasant aspect. 

 Rocky points with sea-cliffs and fringing stacks separate beautiful 



