HIGH PLACES OF THE SOUTH 

 By Francis M. Fultz 



THE mountains of southern California do not receive the 

 attention of which they are worthy for their uniqueness 

 and rugged topography, nor due consideration for their alpine 

 character. This situation is largely due to the overshadowing 

 place which the Sierra Nevada holds among the ranges, not 

 only of our Western Slope, but of all temperate North Ameri- 

 ca, and to the no less potent fact that the forest-cover in the 

 south is largely elfin-wood, which suffers much, in popular 

 opinion, in comparison with the giant forests of the north. 



In regard to this elfin-wood — otherwise known as chaparral 

 — I wish here to remark that it is not the least of California's 

 wonders. It forms the most extensive as well as the most high- 

 ly developed area of its kind in the world. It is a real forest 

 of real trees, and its presence is an essential factor in the fer- 

 tility and prosperity of the south. And it takes the loss of a 

 couple of hundred thousand acres, and the consequent denuda- 

 tion of whole watersheds — the result of the recent fires in the 

 San Gabriel Mountains — to arouse people to a realization of 

 this fact ! I should like to say something more about this mat- 

 ter right here, but I must go back to my text, "Fligh Places of 

 the South," or I shall not have space for what I have in mind 

 on that subject. 



San Antonio, San Gorgonio, San Jacinto, and the mountains 

 adjoining these three culminating peaks are the high places in 

 question. To them the southland looks for its water-supply. 

 While their lesser comrades come in for a share of the work, 

 the three giants are far and away the big factors in the case. 

 The ''big three" are all sky-piercing peaks, and the groups 

 which they respectively culminate — the San Gabriel, the San 

 Bernardino, and the San Jacinto mountains — all furnish true 

 alpine conditions. 



San Gorgonio is the highest peak in southern California, 

 reaching 11,485 feet. Next in order is San Jacinto, 10,805 



