'664 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



coke, into which about 12 per cent of the 

 coal is converted. 



The U. S. Geological Survey estimates 

 that there are 165,000,000,000 tons of 

 coal available in New Mexico. In the 

 Hopi Indian reservation, in northeastern 

 Arizona, there is an undeveloped coal 

 field of 2,500 square miles containing an 

 enormous tonnage of coal. It is 75 miles 

 from the railroad. 



The. great oil fields of California are 

 in thfe: southern part of the state, and 

 with rapidly increasing production they 

 promise to be the largest producers in 

 the country. The output in the past year 

 is estimated to have had a value of 

 :$43 ,000,000 or more than the gold pro- 

 'duction of the state, and nearly 10 per 

 <cent of it is produced in Los Angeles. 



One well recently sunk near Bakers- 

 iield struck oil at about 2,300 feet, and 

 the flow was so powerful that it at once 

 became unmanageable. The oil spouted 

 out at the rate of about 25,000 barrels a 

 day, but fortunately it could be held in a 

 great pool, while powerful pumps have 

 since kept forcing it into a pipe line by 

 which it can be shipped. Up to May 3 

 it had produced 2,000,000 barrels of oil. 

 The oil sells at 50 to 90 cents a barrel, 

 and is extensively used for fuel, as coal 

 is expensive, and five barrels of oil have 

 approximately the heat value of a ton of 

 coal. 



The oil occurs in some unexpected 

 places ; one of the extensive fields is at 

 Santa Maria, in the midst of the old 

 mission grounds, while in part of Los 

 Angeles there are hundreds of derricks 

 among the houses, and at Summerville 

 many wells are in the water along the 

 shore. 



Excepting its great oil fields, southern 

 California has not been a large producer 

 of minerals. Several gold mines in the 

 desert region have an aggregate output of 

 about $200,000 a year, and this, with 

 various ores, granite, cement plants, and 

 brick yards yield a total of about two 

 million dollars. This is not including 

 the borax, which comes mainly from 

 southern California, with a production 

 of 50,000 tons, valued at about $1,000,- 



000. Formerly, much of this material 

 was transported many miles over the 

 desert by the much-advertised 20-mule 

 team, but now the railroads cross the 

 country, and the energy of the mules is 

 directed into other channels. 



POPUIvATlON 



The rapid development of southern 

 California in the last twenty years has 

 been phenomenal. It has resulted largely 

 from the disposition of Eastern people 

 to migrate to a region which af¥orded the 

 climatic advantages favorable to health 

 and agricultural opportunities, especially 

 in the very lucrative business of raising 

 oranges and other fruits. 



Los Angeles, the metropolis of the re- 

 gion, has grown rapidly and taken a 

 prominent rank among the cities of this 

 country, with a rate of growth second 

 only to that of Seattle. It is a city of 

 large business interests, and has many 

 thousand comfortable homes, some of 

 them palatial. In 1846 it had a popula- 

 tion of only 1,200, in 1880 of 11,183, 

 1893 of 75,000, while in 1908 it had in- 

 creased to 300,000, and this high rate of 

 increase continues. That the city has the 

 characteristic optimism of the West is 

 shown by a recent bond issue of $23,000,- 

 000 for a water supply to be brought 

 from Owens River, over 200 miles, with 

 volume enough for a population of 

 5,000,000. 



The population of southern California 

 is mostly American, as is well illustrated 

 in the registry of the last election in Los 

 Angeles, when it was found that out of 

 33,000 voters 5,000 were born in New 

 York, 4,500 in Ohio, 4,000 in Illinois, 

 3,000 in Pennsylvania, 2,000 in Iowa, 

 2,000 in Missouri, and only 5,000 in Cali- 

 fornia. Of the foreigners, who are only 

 in small proportion, Germany furnished 

 2,000. 



The assessed valuation of Los Angeles 

 County is $585,000,000. The city is 22 

 miles from the nearest harbor of San 

 Pedro, but it transacts a large and rap- 

 idly growing foreign and coast trade. 

 More than $1,000,000 has been spent on 

 this harbor, in addition to a $3,000,000 

 sea wall. 



