102 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY—FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT. 
southern part of the county presents a level sandy region which 
has a gradual slope to the Gulf of Mexico. The timber growth is 
chiefly the black-jack oak and the long leaf pine. The sand is of 
considerable depth and the soil is but little used for agricultural 
purposes at the present time. There are few streams and creeks 
but the drainage is good as the rainfall passes directly into the 
loose porous sands. 
That part of the county lying to the north includes the heavier 
and loamy types of soils. The principal growth is the long leaf 
pine, although along the streams and other low and wet places 
cypress, juniper, black gum, sweet gum, and other trees are abun¬ 
dant. The saw palmetto which is so common in some other parts 
of the State is rare in this section. The central part, lying between 
Coldwater Creek and Pond Creek, is very level and the soil here is 
sandy with a red to yellowish sandy clay sub-soil varying from a 
few inches to one foot or so below the surface. This is a good farm¬ 
ing section as evidenced by the many large and well kept farms 
now under cultivation. The northwestern boundary of the county 
is said to be of a little more rolling and clayey nature, the clay be¬ 
ing to a great extent exposed on the surface.* This is also reported 
to be one of the desirable farming sections of the county. 
ELEVATIONS. 
The following elevations are based on surveys made by the Louis¬ 
ville and Nashville Railroad as reported in Bulletin 274 of the 
United States Geological Survey. Crestview in Walton County, 
near the western boundary line of Santa Rosa County, is 175 feet 
above sea level. From Crestview to Holt, a distance of about 12 
miles, the elevation rises to 212 feet. This is the highest recorded 
point in the county. Good Range is 164 feet and Milton, which 
is on Blackwater River, has an elevation of only 15 feet above sea. 
DRAINAGE. 
Santa Rosa County has four rivers within its borders: the Es¬ 
cambia, which forms the western boundary; the Blackwater, in 
the central part of the county; the Yellow, which forms a part of 
its eastern boundary; and the East Bay in the Southern part of 
the county. These rivers all have tributary streams and creeks, 
some of considerable size and extent, which form a network of water 
-courses all through the county and afford excellent natural surface 
drainage and means of irrigation. The main rivers are also navi- 
