LAKE ELIZABETH—PASS OF SAN FRANCISQUITO. 
57 
another appeared to represent a long chain with a hall at one end, surrounded by rays, like our 
representations of the sun. 
The southern side of this ridge was found to support a sparse growth of timber, and the 
opposite heights of the main chain were seen to be thickly covered with a growth of green 
chamizal. The arrangement of the mineral of the rock of this ridge, and its entire difference in 
appearance from the granite about to be described, have led me to regard it as metamorphic, 
and I have so indicated it on the section. 
Valley of Lake Elizabeth .—Descending the southern side of the ridge, we passed into the 
long valley between it and the main chain. Turning up the valley to the right, we soon 
reached the borders of a very beautiful sheet of water—Lake Elizabeth. This valley extends 
towards the Canada de las Uvas, and we found the trail made by the wagons in their passage 
from there to the lake. The position of the valley and the lake will be seen by referring to the 
small geological map of the Tejon and its vicinity, (Chapter XV,) and to the section of the 
Bernardino Sierra. The valley is comparatively narrow and long, and is about 3,300 feet above 
the sea. It is well watered, and produces an enormous growth of grass, where herds of deer 
delight to congregate, not only for food, but for the shelter from view which the tall grass 
affords. 
We encamped on the borders of the lake, and during the night the temperature fell to 29°, 
and 32° at daylight. Thick ice was formed. It is probable that considerable snow accumulates 
in this valley during the winter. 
October 13.—We returned on our trail through the valley, about eight miles, to the entrance 
of the Pass of San Francisquito. Between the lake and the pass there is a line of hills, of 
moderate height, composed of sedimentary strata, probably horizontal, but which were not 
well exposed at any point we passed. These strata are chiefly of coarse sandstone, of a light- 
gray color, containing a large amount of the debris of white granite, and, in some places, in 
such quantity as to resemble, in composition, granite itself. This same formation extends 
through the valley several miles to the eastward, and is probably Tertiary. The ascent'from the 
valley of Lake Elizabeth to the summit-level of the pass is short, and no interesting exposures 
of rock occur. The underlying formation consists, however, of a white granite, in which white 
feldspar or albite, and quartz appear to be the predominating constituents, forming the binary 
compound called pegmatite. This rapidly decomposes, and furnishes a rich soil, which sustains 
a vigorous growth of chamizal of dwarf oaks on the slopes, and large evergreen oaks in the 
valleys and canons of the south side, where there is more moisture and a greater depth of earth. 
The view to the southward, presented from the summit of the pass, is peculiarly beautiful. 
The gorge or valley of the pass is almost transverse to the trend of the main chain ; the observer 
can thus overlook its subordinate ridges, and from the great elevation see beyond them to other 
ranges nearer the Pacific. Perhaps at favorable seasons the ocean itself may be seen in the dis¬ 
tant horizon. The width of the mountain chain at the pass being over twenty miles, the ridges 
are seen in succession coming down to the ravine of the pass, becoming more dim and faint in 
the distance, until their outlines are blended with the distant haze, resting over the heated val¬ 
leys and plains of the coast-slope. The aspect of the landscape from this point was changed 
from that of the Basin not only by a modification of the topography, but by the presence of 
vegetation of various kinds, more agreeable to the eye than the strange, thorny plants of the 
Basin, with which they contrasted very strongly. We encamped in the evening a few miles 
below the summit, at the side of a spring of good water, bordered by a growth of high rushes, 
8 F 
