116 
RELATIVE POSITION OE UPRAISED BEACHES. 
corresponding periods of upheaval, are connected the system of ancient terraces which are met 
with everywhere in California. Every mountain side, every river bed, and every valley of that 
State, presents the unmistakable evidence of a state of quiescence of the land with that of a 
gentle flow of water over its surface during the latter portions of the Quaternary period; a 
period of deep estuaries and hays or straits, whose waters then reached points now nearly 2,000 
feet above sea level; or, in other words, when the land was so much depressed. 
Notice has been made incidentally, throughout this report, of the occurrence of these terraces, 
in describing the localities where they exist, and it is only necessary here to collect the obser¬ 
vations together so as to form a connected series. 
Commencing at the Salinas valley. Three terraces have been noticed on its bed, and one on 
the sides of the San Antonio hills, near the mission San Miguel. On the Arroyo San Bonito, a 
tributary of the Pajaro, which it joins near the village of San Juan, a little south of that village 
both sides of the stream have continued terraces for four miles ; that on the east side, or right 
hank, being 40 feet above the present valley level; that of the west side almost as high, differ¬ 
ing only in a few feet from the other ; the valley is not a mile across. This valley is one which 
leads out from Tulare valley through the high range (Gavilan) separating them. 
The pass leading from the Salinas valley to Monterey is formed of the sandstones overlying 
the Point Pinos granite ; at an elevation of 140 feet the summits of the low hills are flattened 
and covered with oaks ; the terrace flat extends 100 yards hack on each slope. This may have 
some connexion with the terrace on the valley side of the San Antonio hills, which are about 20 
feet above the level of the stream. South of the mission San Miguel, terraces again are found 
on each side of the river hank, *70 feet above the river level. 
On the west side of the valley Santa Margarita a small terrace is found, 12 feet above the 
valley ; on this eminence the old mission Santa Margarita is placed. There were no terraces 
observed on the east side of this valley. 
In the valley of the Santa Maria river some of the most extensive systems of terraces were 
found. These have already been noticed in full; they stood on the sides of the San Jose range, 
at the heights of 30 and 150 feet, respectively; a terrace flat existed on the central insular 
elevation and a high terrace on the Santa Lucia hills, above 150 feet high. Besides the hill 
terraces, the river bottom was cut down so as to form a well marked terrace, the ancient or 
upper bed of the river. 
On the east side of the San Jose mountains, in the Panza valley, and the elevated land of 
Carrizo along the hanks of the Estrella river, two sets of terraces were found, the lowest at 12 
feet, and the upper 10 feet above the river level. It is remarkable how nearly the levels of the 
upper terrace here and that of Santa Maria valley assimilate, the one being 1,650 feet above the 
sea and the other 1,610. The difference might, perhaps, be placed to an error of observation. 
In Santa Inez valley the river flows in a narrow bottom, 25 feet below the ancient valley, in a 
direction toward the west; north of the ancient bottom, a terraced land spreads along its margin 
20 feet above it; upon this the mission Viejo is placed, behind which (N. W.) another terrace 
rises 100 feet above the last. These different levels are not distinctly repeated on the south side. 
The different ancient water levels are, then,— 
25 feet—ancient river bed, aboye which, at 
20 feet—1st terrace, 
100 feet—2d terrace, 
above the present river level. 
