26 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
obtain here. Reference to the frontispiece and the accompanying diagram (Fig. 3, 
PL ii), from sketches made on the ground, will assist very much in understanding the 
description which follows. 
Two-Ocean Pass is a nearly level piece of meadow land, surrounded by rather 
high hills except where the narrow valleys of Atlantic and Pacific creeks open out 
from it. Running back among the hills to the northward are two small canons; on the 
opposite side is another canon of the same character. Down these canons come the 
three main streams which flow through the pass. The extreme length of the pass 
from east to west can not be much less than a mile, while the width from north to 
south is perhaps three-fourths of a mile. From our camp at 4, just on the border of 
the meadow, an excellent view of the pass and its surroundings could be had. Just 
in front was Pacific Creek. Following it upstream for more than a mile above our 
camp, we found it to head west of the pass, then follow down a rocky canon in a general 
northerly direction before finally turning somewhat abruptly to the southward just 
before entering the pass. The course is then southward across the western border of 
the meadow until a short distance to the right of our camp, when it turns suddenly 
west and leaves the pass through a narrow, grassy valley. 
Atlantic Creek was found to have two forks entering the pass. At the north end 
of the meadow is a small wooded canon down which flows the North Fork of Atlantic 
Creek. This fork hugs the border of the flat very closely, and at 3 turns rather 
abruptly to the east. At c we found a small tributary stream coming into Pacific 
Creek from across the meadow. Following up this stream we found it to start in a 
spring at 5; but above this spring and connected with it we found a well-marked, dry 
channel, with gravelly bottom and distinct banks. This we followed to its source and 
found it to branch off from the North Fork at 3. Very recently a green pine tree had 
fallen across this channel right at its origin in such a way as to completely dam it, 
thus throwing all the water back into Atlantic Creek. Only a little effort was needed 
to clear away the tree and the rubbish that had accumulated against it, and very soon 
a good portion of Atlantic Creek was flowing down the old channel to Pacific Creek. 
The distance from 3 to the spring, 5, is about 1,000 feet, and the slope is very gentle. 
This, together with the fact that the ground throughout most of the distance was 
quite dry and took up water rapidly, caused the water diverted into the old channel 
to travel very slowly, and not until the next morning had it reached and connected 
with the running water at the spring. Mr. El wood Hofer, our guide, traveled through 
this pass in September, 1890, at which time he says there was a continuous stream 
of water from point 3 to Pacific Creek by way of this old channel. 
The South Fork of Atlantic Creek comes down a canon to the right, skirting the 
brow of the hill a little less closely than does the North Fork. The phenomenon dis- 
covered on the north side was found to be repeated on this. At 1 an old channel was 
found branching from the South Fork and running toward Pacific Creek. It had also 
been dammed by a dead tree falling across right at its place of branching from the 
main stream, turning all its water back into Atlantic Creek. Putting a few rocks 
in the main stream and clearing away some of the rubbish resulted in sending at 
least 30 miner’s inches down the old channel to 2. This old channel runs along pretty 
close to the main stream for some distance, at one place, d, coming within a few feet of 
it. Across this narrow strip is another old bed through which water would be made 
to flow by a rise of a very few inches in Atlantic Creek. The old channel, beginning 
