CHAPTER SIX. 
BUILDING MATERIALS —COAL.—LIGNITE .—BITUMEN. 
Distribution op building materials.—Granite.—At the mouth op the gila.—Bernardino pass.—Warner’s pass—Cajon pass.— 
TeJON PASS AND CANADA DE LAS UVAS.-TEJON TO FORT MILLER.-FORT MILLER.—FORT MILLER TO LIVERMORE’S PASS.—GRANITE AT 
SAN FRANCISCO.—QUARRIES AT MONTEREY AND PUNTA DE LOS REYES.-MORMON ISLAND.—SANDSTONE OP SAN FRANCISCO AND ITS 
vicinity.—Adaptation as a building material.—Sandstone op benicia, Fort ross, and mokelumne Hill.—Limestone.—Lime¬ 
stone IN THE VICINITY OP SAN FRANCISCO.—At THE TEJON AND CANADA DE LAS UVAS.—CAJON AND SAN BERNARDINO.—BlTUMEN.— 
Tar springs op los angeles.—Bituminous shales.—Uses of the bitumen.—Coal.—Absence of coal op carboniferous age.— 
Bellingham bay coal.—Extent op the beds and quality of the coal.—Section.—Synchronism op the strata with those op 
SAN FRANCISCO.—COAL FROM VANCOUVER’S ISLAND.—USE OF THE COAL ON THE STEAMER ACTIVE—COWLITZ COAL.—LlGNITE NEAR SAN 
FRANCISCO. 
BUILDING MATERIALS. 
The following are brief notes upon the principal building-stones and*their distribution along 
the line of the survey. In the event of the construction of a railroad over any part of the line 
which has been explored, abundance of suitable stone will be found in the mountains or in the 
ridges at the sides of the passes, but none can be obtained on the plains; for those parts of the 
line it must be transported from the nearest and most available points. These will be enumerated 
in their order of succession from the mouth of the Gila to San Francisco. 
GRANITE. 
Junction of the Gila and the Colorado Rivers — Fort Yuma. —This is an important point upon 
the line, and requires a supply of stone to form abutments for a bridge. It seems almost as if 
this want had been foreseen, for an isolated granite knob rises up from the surface of the Desert 
at this place, and is the only locality of building-stone within a circuit of many miles. It is at 
the point where it is most needed, and, indeed, the abutments for a bridge seem already formed. 
The rock contains a large amount of feldspar, and is porphyritic; it is firm and durable, and 
suitable for masonry. Stone can be taken from this point to any part of the Colorado Desert; 
and it can also be obtained at Pilot Knob, seven miles further west, on the line. 
Bernardino or San Gorgono Pass. —The mountains on both sides of this Pass are granitic, 
and will afford abundance of stone suitable for bridges or abutments. The rocks do not crop 
out along the roadway or open part of the Pass, and must be obtained from either side. The 
rocks of San Gorgono Mountain are laminated and slaty, being chiefly gneiss intercalated with 
white limestone. These rocks are chiefly on the slope towards the Desert, further west, or at 
the summit and beyond; they are more compact and solid, and there is little doubt that good 
granite can be obtained from some of the numerous canons which extend towards the centre of 
the mountain. It is abundant on the north side of the Pass on the flanks of San Bernardino 
Mountain. 
This would be one of the principal points for obtaining granite to build bridges or abutments, 
if such are found necessary in the northern parts of the Desert. Granite and gneiss could also 
