CHAPTER VII. 
SANTA MAMA RIVER AND CUYAMA PLAIN. 
The SANTA MARIA RIVER.-ITS LENGTH AND DIRECTION.-LOCAL IGNORANCE OF.—EFFECTS OF ITS PASSAGE THROUGH THE SANTA LUCIA 
hills.—Limits of the river valley.—Character of the country between the upper waters of the santa maria and tulare 
VALLEY.-PORPHYRITIC HILLS OF ESTERO PLAIN.—NATURE OF THE PLAIN.— STRATA ON THE EAST SIDE OF CUYAMA VALLEY.—GyPSIFER- 
OUS SANDSTONES.—WEST SIDE OF THE VALLEY.—BROWN SANDSTONES.—STRUCTURE OF THE CUYAMA VALLEY.—TERRACES OF.— CEN¬ 
TRAL islet.—Traces of denudation and littoral action.—Relative and absolute height of the terrace levels. 
Excepting the Salinas, the Santa Maria is by much the longest river of southern California ; 
having its head-waters in the mountainous district of San Emilio, the melting of the snows, 
and the unusual fall of rains upon which, are its chief sources, it traverses the course common to 
Californian rivers, a northwesterly course, through a long valley—the Cuyama valley—during 
which it receives small tributaries from either side; reaching the northern or lower end of the valley, 
its further northwest course is arrested hy the irregular hilly district lying between the valley of 
San Jose and that of this river. These hills are granitic outliers of the San Jose mountains, 
with serpentine and trappean upheaves, sent olf laterally from the Santa Lucia range. A con¬ 
tinuation of the upheaves similar to those called the Kinconado hills, further north, which closes 
up Santa Margarita plain. Unable to force its way further northward, the river suddenly takes 
a sweep west and enters the Santa Lucia range, passing through deep gorges and breaks in this 
chain until it finds its way to the head of the plain of G-uadalupe Largo, where it resumes its 
northwest course, and empties into the sea north of Punto Sal. In its course through the 
mountain range it winds frequently, but its main course is due west. So little is known of this 
river, even by the natives resident near, that it is not even known to he the same in its whole 
course, being called the Cuyama river in its southern portion, and Santa Maria near its mouth. 
It rises in longitude 120° W. and latitude 34° 40' H., and is separated hy not more than two 
miles distance from the head-waters of the Peyrou, one of the tributaries of the Santa Clara 
river, and making allowance for its flexions, its length cannot he less than 110 miles. The 
valley of the river is 50 miles long, and varies from 4 to 8 miles wide, increasing in breadth to 
the south, where it stretches out into plains hy the depression of the continuation of the San 
Jose range. This is the portion known as the Cuyama. In the lower part of the valley (north) 
the river flows rapidly through an alluvial bed, cut from 10 to 12 feet through clays ; higher 
up, the river flows less rapidly, is not more than 6 to 8 feet below the plain, which is a loose 
sandy clay, the bed of the stream being a micaceous and quartzose sand. Everywhere through 
its course its waters are hitter and saline, charged with common salt and gypsum, derived from 
the sandstones over which it rolls for many miles. The soils of the plains communicate their 
ingredients, being themselves disintegrated sandstones commingled with basalt, trap, and por¬ 
phyry pebbles. 
Passing over so large a plain surface of an inland valley, and not receiving large tributaries, 
river becomes smaller as it descends the valley, and would infallibly dwindle into a petty 
