DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ) 4

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Dmecror lof ,
BULLETIN 614 | 9 /
GUIDEBOOK

OF THE

WESTERN UNITED STATES

Part D. THE SHASTA ROUTE AND
COAST LINE

J. 8. DILLER AND OTHERS

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1915

MissourR!t BoTaNicalL
GARDEN LiBRARY

PrincrpaAL Divisions oF GEoLocic TIME.¢

[A glossary of geologic terms is given on pp. 133-136.]

Duration, a
Era. Period. Epoch. Characteristic life. ing to variou:
estimates.
Millions of years.
Piostoc ‘Age of Animals and plants of
eistocene | ‘Age of man.’”’ Animals and plants o!
Quaternary. (a res cl odes types.
Cenozoie (re- sis
cent life). 1 to 5.
Pliocene. CaN ”
so ve ore Possible first Pe
Tertiary. een Rise and development o:
Eocene. highest a of plants.
° e of reptiles.”” Rise and culmination
Cretaceous. (*) oe of huge Loa reptiles (dinosaurs), of shell-
fish with complexly partitioned coiled
Mesozoic (in- sh = an god and of é - flyin
reptiles. First appearance urassic
amg Jurassic. (6) of birds and Is; of eyeads, an 4 to 10.
r order of palmlike plants ( Triassic)
Suk aon path nd iantwecd te
which are we Tees
Triassic. >) (in Ceiduanicin’,
Permian.
= ‘Age ofamphibians.” Dominance of club
se ge gr aad and ne st ——
and Primiti
Carbonifer- oe Feng haxiest cone-bearing , ae
ous. - eginnings of backboned land animals
———_———| (land vertebrates). cts.
x ; with nautilus-like coiled shells (
Mississip-| ites) and sharks ab
pian.
‘Age of fishes.” Shellfish (mollusks) also
Devonian. (®) abun — Rise of amphibians and land
plan
Pa a oi oic Shell-forming sea animals dominant, e:
(old life) cially eae Seige to the nautilus eae
5 alopods). Rise and culmination of the
Silurian. (®) pdges po etimes known as sea | 17 to 25.
es (crinoids) and of gian scorpion- :
like Picante Heo cour terids). Rise of
fishes and of reef- nilting corals.
Shell-forming sea a especially ceph-
alopods and mollusk brachiopods,
Ordovician, (6) abundant. Culmination “of the buglike
marine crustaceans known as trilobites.
First trace of insect life.
Trilobites and brachiopods most c!
Cambrian. (®) ristic animals. Seaweeds ( 5 osm
pang No trace of land found.
First life ang has left apna a
gonkian. (b) Crustaceans, brachiopods, an:
r t ot Sonoma
— a
nie desler: — No fossils found. 50+.
@ The geologic record consists mainly of sedimentary beds—beds ited in water. Over large areas
long perfods of uplift and erosion intervened between periods of deposition. Every such interruption in
‘ in any produces there what geologists term an Many of the time divisions
shown above are si ted by such ities—that is, the dividing lines in the table represent | t local
or wid or eg ty oe of the earth’s
bE ; inless use than those

3
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PREFACE.
By Grorce Oris Smirn.

The United States of America comprise an area so vast in extent
and so diverse in natural features as well as in characters due to
human agency that the American citizen who knows thoroughly his
own country must have traveled widely and observed wisely. To
“know America first” is a patriotic obligation, but to meet this obli-
gation the railroad traveler needs to have his eyes directed toward
the more important or essential things within his field of vision and
then to have much that he sees explained by what is unseen in the
swift passage of the train. Indeed, many things that attract his
attention are inexplicable except as the story of the past is available
to enable him to interpret the present. Herein lie the value and the
charm of history, whether human or geologic.

The present stimulus given to travel in the home country will
encourage many thousands of Americans to study geography at first
hand. To make this study most profitable the traveler needs a hand-
book that will answer the questions that come to his mind so readily
along the way. Furthermore, the aim of such a guide should be to
stimulate the eye in the selection of the essentials in the scene that
so rapidly unfolds itself in the crossing of the continent. In recog-
nition of the opportunity afforded in 1915 to render service of this
kind to an unusually large number of American citizens as well as to
visitors from other countries, the United States Geological Survey has
prepared a series of guidebooks! covering four of the older railroad
routes west of the Mississippi.

These books are educational in purpose, but the method adopted is
to entertain the traveler by making more interesting what he sees
from the car window. The plan of the series is to present authori-
tative information that may enable the reader to realize adequately
the scenic and material resources of the region he is traversing, to
comprehend correctly the basis of its davélopitient: and above all to
appreciate keenly the real value of the country he looks out upon,

' Guidebook of the western United States: Part A, The Northern Pacific Route, with
a side trip to Yellowstone Park (Bulletin 611); Part B, The Overland Route, with a
side trip to Yellowstone Park (Bulletin 612); Part ©, The Santa Fe Route, with a side
trip to Grand Canyon of the Colorado (Bulletin 613); Part D, The Shasta Route and
Coast Line (Bulletin 614). 3

4 PREFACE,

not as so many square miles of territory represented on the map in a
railroad folder by meaningless spaces, but rather as land—real estate,
if you please—varying widely in present appearance because differing
largely in its history and characterized by even greater variation in
values because possessing diversified natural resources. One region
may be such as to afford a livelihood for only a pastoral people;
another may present opportunity for intensive agriculture; still
another may contain hidden stores of mineral wealth that may
attract large industrial development; and taken together these varied
resources afford the promise of long-continued prosperity for this or
that State.

Items of interest in civic development or references to significant
epochs in the record of discovery and settlement may be interspersed
with explanations of mountain and valley or statements of geologic
history. In a broad way, the story of the West is a unit, and every
chapter should be told in order to meet fully the needs of the tourist

who aims to understand all that he sees. To such a traveler-reader — : ,

this series of guidebooks is addressed.

To this interpretation of our own country the United States Geo-

logical Survey brings the accumulated data of decades of pioneering
investigation, and the present contribution is only one type of return
to the public which has supported this scientific work under the Fed-
eral Government.

In preparing the description of the country traversed by the Shasta
Route and Coast Line all the geographic and geologic information
already published as well as other unpublished material in the posses-
sion of the Geological Survey has been utilized, but to supplement this
material Mr. Diller made a field examination of the entire route in
1914. Information has been furnished by Dr. F. M. Anderson, Dr.
J. C. Branner, Dr. J. Harlen Bretz, Prof. E. S. Burgess, Mr. J.S. Dag-
gett, Mrs. L. P. Diller, Mr. Harold Hannibal, Mr. O. H. Hershey,
Prof. A. C. Lawson, Prof. G. D. Louderback, Prof. J. P. Smith, Prof.
C. F. Tolman, jr., and Prof. C. E. Weaver, as well as by others to
whom credit is given in the text. Railroad officials and other citizens
have also generously given their aid, and other members of the Survey
have freely cooperated in the work.

For the purpose of furnishing the traveler with a graphic presen-
tation of each part of his route the accompanying maps, 19 sheets in
all, have been prepared with a degree of accuracy probably never
before attained in a guidebook, and their arrangement has been
planned to meet the convenience of the reader. The special topo-
graphic surveys necessary to complete the topographic map of the
route were made by B. A. Jenkins and J. E. Blackburn.

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.
PART D. THE SHASTA ROUTE AND COAST LINE.

By J. S. Ditter and others.

INTRODUCTION.

From Alaska to Lower California the western coast of North Amer-
ica is bordered by a belt of mountains which is from 100 to 200 miles
wide. This belt as a whole has been named the Pacific System. It
separates the Pacific Ocean on the west from an interior plateau
region, which also stretches from: Alaska to Mexico. This plateau is
of varied character but, as is well illustrated by the State of Nevada,
much of it is arid and is seamed with mountain ranges.

Attention need be directed here only to that part of the Pacific
System which lies chiefly in the States of Washington, Oregon, and
California, a section 1,300 miles in length. (See Pl. I.) Within
these three States the Pacific System embraces a number of distinct
mountain ranges from which project some of the loftiest peaks on the
continent. It includes also broad valleys that are in part close to
sea level. Consequently it is a region of strong contrasts in altitude
and of wide diversity of scenery and climate. Before the snow dis-
appears each summer from the crest of the Sierra Nevada the burning
sun in the interior valley of California has yellowed the grain and has
tinted the fruit in orchard and vineyard. Throughout the year the
snow cap of Mount Rainier is in full sight from the fertile valleys of
Washington, where winter severity is unknown.

For its entire extent, from Alaska to Lower California, the Pacific
System may in penera! be divided lengthwise into three parts—two
long lines of mountain ranges and an intervening belt of valleys that
may be called the Pacific valley belt. The northernmost member of
this belt that need be considered here is the valley of Puget Sound.
A low divide separates the sound from Cowlitz Valley, the next mem-
ber of the belt to the south. Cowlitz Valley drains southward to the
Columbia and is succeeded on the south by Willamette (wil-lam’et)
Valley, whose waters flow northward into the Columbia. Willamette
Valley extends southward for about 120 miles, or about halfway
across the State of Oregon. Between its head and the north end
of the Great Valley of California, the next member of the Pacific ©

5

6 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

valley belt, there is a tract of generally mountainous country,
where, for 200 miles, the threefold longitudinal division of the Pacific
System into two ranges and an intervening belt of valleys is less evi-
dent than it is elsewhere. South of this interrupting mass of moun-
tains, which is dominated by Mount Shasta, the Great Valley of Cali-
fornia stretches for more than 400 miles, having a width in general of
40 to 50 miles. Its northern part, known as the Sacramento Valley,
drains southward, and its southern part, known as the San Joaquin
Valley, drains northward, Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers
both flowing into San Francisco Bay. The south end of the San
Joaquin Valley is separated by the transverse Tehachapi Mountains
from the Mohave Desert. This in turn is separated by the San Ber-
nardino range from the Salton Basin, which is nothing more than the
former upper part of the Gulf of California, the sea having been
excluded by the great mass of sediment dumped into the gulf by
Colorado River. By some the Mohave Desert and the Gulf of Cali-
fornia are regarded as parts of the Pacific valley belt. By others,
however, notwithstanding the general alignment of these features
with the Great Valley of California, they are regarded as parts of the
plateau region that lies east of the Pacific System of mountains.

As the Pacific valley belt separates in general two parallel ranges
of mountains, so these ranges in turn may be subdivided into moun-
tain groups that are sufficiently distinct in form or structure to have
received individual names.

At the north end of the western line, between Puget Sound and the
ocean, stand the Olympic Mountains, which attain a height of 8,000
feet. Very little is known of their structure or of the rocks that
compose them.

South of the Olympic Mountains, stretching along the coast of
Washington and Oregon for 350 miles, is a comparatively low range
which, to distinguish it from the similarly situated range in California,
may be called the Oregon Coast Range. This consists chiefly of
rather soft sandstones carrying fossil shells from which it has been
determined that the sands were deposited in the sea during early
and middle Tertiary time. Lavas associated with these rocks show
that volcanoes were active in this region in early Tertiary time.
These rocks are no longer in the original horizontal position in which
they were deposited but have been crumpled by pressure. Moreover,
in some places they have been traversed by long cracks or fissures,
and the rocks on one side of a crack have been shoved past the rocks
on the other side. The geologist would describe these effects briefly
by saying that the beds have been folded, fractured, and faulted.

South of the Oregon Coast Range, partly in Oregon but chiefly in
California, are the Klamath Mountains. They are composed of rocks
that are older and more complicated in structure than those of the

f
2
3
:

3
4

Pag ee Sey eee | eee a ee

THE SHASTA ROUTE ANDCOAST LINE, 7

Oregon Coast Range and are closely related in materials and in
structure to the Sierra Nevada. The Klamath Mountains extend
south-southeastward into California for 150 miles and overlap to the
east for 80 miles the north end of the California Coast Ranges.

The California Coast Ranges extend southward for more than 600
miles to the vicinity of Point Conception, where the coast turns
sharply eastward along the Santa Barbara Channel. They consist
of rocks of great variety of character and of widely different geologic
ages. Their structure also is exceedingly complex. The most
abundant rocks were formed in the Tertiary, Cretaceous, and perhaps
Jurassic periods. Most of these rocks were deposited as sediments
on a sea bottom, but associated with the rocks so formed are in places
layers of lava or masses of igneous rock, which were forced in molten
condition into the sedimentary rocks. All have been folded and faulted
at several periods. Finally erosion, or the action of moving water,
in the form of rain, streams, and waves, aided by the crumbling effect
of weather, carved out the hills as they now appear. The resulting
forms reveal to one skilled in their interpretation some indication of
the complexity of the underlying rock structure.

At their south end the Coast Ranges meet another set of ranges,
which have a more easterly trend than the Coast Ranges proper and
do not fall readily into the general threefold division of the Pacific
System of mountains that is so clearly recognizable farther north.
The suggestion has been made that these mountains should be dis-
tinguished from the Coast Ranges, with which they have commonly
been included, by designating them the Sierras de los Angeles, from
the city of Los Angeles. Well-known individual ranges classed in
this group are the Santa Ynez, San Gabriel, and San Bernardino.

Along the east side of the Pacifie valley belt stretch two great
ranges—the Cascade Range on the north and the Sierra Nevada on
the south. The Cascade Range begins a few miles north of the
boundary between Washington and British Columbia and continues
southward for 650 miles to the vicinity of Mount Shasta in California.
It has a foundation of granite and of sedimentary rocks, such as sand-
stone and shale, ranging in age from Carboniferous to Miocene. Some
of the sedimentary rocks and some associated igneous rocks have been
changed by heat and pressure into crystalline laminated rocks known
as schists. From Mount Rainier southward the rocks just men-
tioned are buried to an increasing extent under lavas which probably
flowed from many vents at different times. The volcanic cones, such
as Shasta, Hood, and Rainier, which form striking features of the
Cascades, represent a comparatively late stage of volcanic activity
and have been piled up on a preexisting mountain range.

The Sierra Nevada, which continues southward the general line of
the Cascade Range, is of somewhat different structure and history. It

8 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

is a great inclined block 350 miles long and 80 miles wide, with a gentle
slope to the west and an abrupt descent on the east to the deserts of
Nevada. This abrupt descent marks a line of faults, east of which
the desert country has gone down and west of which, to some extent,
the Sierra Nevada has gone up. The Sierra Nevada consists of a
creat irregular mass of granite which in early Cretaceous time was
intruded in a molten condition into sedimentary and older igneous
rocks, both of which sets of rocks, in consequence of the heat and
squeezing which accompanied this intrusion, were changed in part
to schists and slates. After the range had been deeply worn down
by erosion, floods of lava were poured over the surface in Tertiary
time and the range was tilted up to its present general form. That
form, however, has been much modified in detail by comparatively
recent erosion and by the canyon cutting of the present streams.

South of the Dominion of Canada three rivers, the Columbia,
the Klamath, and the Pit, flow across the Pacific System from the
interior plateaus to the ocean. Other large streams, such as the
Willamette, in Oregon, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin, in
California, flow northward or southward for many miles in one
or another of the longitudinal depressions of the Pacific valley belt
before turning westward across the western line of mountains to
reach the Pacific.

The valley belt is the great agricultural region of the Pacific coast,
and in Washington and Oregon, owing partly to its accessibility to

ocean-going ships by way of Puget Sound and the Columbia, it con- ’

tains most of the population. In California, however, the broad
fields, orchards, and vineyards traversed by the Sacramento and
San Joaquin are rivaled by the many smaller but fertile valleys of
the Coast Ranges. The superb harbor of San Francisco sufficiently
accounts for the situation of the metropolis; and the rapid growth
of Los Angeles, the second city in the State, is due to a combination
of shipping advantages with highly profitable kinds of agriculture

and extensive resources in petroleum.

Nore.—For the convenience of the traveler the sheets of the route map in this
book are so arranged that he can unfold them one by one and keep in view the one to
which the text he is reading relates. A reference is made in the text to each sheet
at the place where it should be so unfolded, and the areas covered by the sheets are
shown on Plate I. A list of these sheets and of the other illustrations, showing where
each one is placed in the book, is given on pages 137-138. A glossary of geologic
terms is given on pages 133-136 and an index of stations on pages 139-142

css te eee arta rf
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614 PLATE I

BULLETIN

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

An *

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<4 OD Bay 429 1 Cc

RELIEF MAP OF THE COUNTRY TRAVERSED BY THE SHASTA ROUTE AND COAST LINE.

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ITINERARY.
SHASTA ROUTE.
SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO.

On May 11, 1792, Capt. Robert Gray, of Boston, anchored in the
great river that he ‘nnied Columbia, in honor of fis ship, and laid
the foundation of our subsequent claim to the region

Washington. which it drains. The Hudson’s Bay Co., whose
agents early visited the extreme Northwest, discour-

aged settlers, but at Tumwater, near Olympia, at the head of Puget

und, a permanent American settlement was established in 1845.
Marcus Whitman and other missionaries settled near the site of
Walla Walla in 1836, but in 1847 Whitman and his wife were killed
by the Indians and the station was broken up. Conflicting claims
between the United States and Great Britain were adjusted by a
treaty July 17, 1846, which fixed the forty-ninth parallel as the inter-
national boundary. Oregon, as all this wild country was then called,
became a Territory on August 14, 1848, and on March 2, 1853, the
part of it north of Columbia River was separated as the Territory of
Washington, which was admitted as a State February 22,1889. The
State of Washington has an area of 69,127 square miles and in 1910
had a population of 1,141,990.

The superb forests of Washington, illustrated in Plate II, are the
basis of its chief industries. Within it are 10 national forests, a
national park, and a national monument, which together cover more
than one-fourth of the State.

Coal is the principal mineral resource of Washington. In the pro-
duction of this fuel the State holds first rank on the Pacific coast, the
output in 1913 having been 3,877,891 tons, valued at $9,243,137.
Wheat, grown chiefly in the eastern part of the State, is the principal
agricultural product. Oats and barley are next in importance.
Western Washington, which has a moister climate than the eastern
part, produces large crops of hay. The fruit industry is developing
rapidly, apples in particular finding good markets in the eastern
cities and abroad. The waters of the State are full of fish, and the
salmon industry is large. The high mountains and heavy rainfall
insure abundant water power, which will no doubt be pains sal

utilize
9

10 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Seattle (see sheet 1, p. 20), the metropolis of Washington, thc com-
mercial center of the Puget Sound country, and the gateway to
Alaska, stands on a neck of land between Elliott Bay
(an eastern arm of Admiralty Bay, Puget Sound)
and the fresh-water Lake Washington, about 865
miles by steamer and 957 miles by railroad north of
San Francisco. Seattle was founded in 1852 and named after a
Duwamish Indian chief. <A fire that destroyed almost the whole of
the business quarter in 1889 and the financial depression of 1893
retarded for a time the growth of the city, but the discovery of gold
in the Klondike region in 1897 gave it a new impulse, as it became
the shipping point for the new gold fields. It is the western terminus
of three railroads and has direct connections with several others. Its
population has nearly trebled in 10 years, and it is now one of the
largest and most progressive cities of the Pacific Northwest.

The city is built on a series of terraces, the commercial quarter
standing near sea level and the better residential part occupying a
terrace about 500 feet above the sea. From this part of the city
there are fine views not only of the Olympic Mountains and Puget
Sound, to the west, but also of Lake Washington and Mount Rainier,
to the east. The city has an excellent salt-water harbor, which is
being connected by a ship canal with Lake Washington, where ves-
sels may go into fresh water to free their hulls of weeds and barnacles.

The principal exports are coal, timber, hops, and fish. Seattle is
the chief point of entry from the Alaskan gold fields, and large quanti-
ties of gold dust are brought to the United States assay offices here.

The hills in the lower part of the city have been leveled off by a
method used in hydraulic mining; in other words, they have been
literally washed away by powerful jets of water. (See Pl. XTV, p. 48.)
This method of grading was feasible because the city is built on uncon-
solidated drift left by a glacier that once occupied the basin of J’uget
Sound, as described below by W. C. Alden.’

Seattle.

Elevation 20 feet.
Population 237,194.!

1The figures given for population | covers most of Greenland. (See fig. 1.)

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throughout this book are those of the
United States Census for 1910. For places
that are not incorporated the census fig-
ures represent the population of the elec-
tion precinct, township, or other similar

S41 Le oo eae 1 De

Although at times the ice may have coa-
lesced in one vast sheet stretching from
the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the
A a . 41 PL Edn ee ee 1a

g t
of Missouri and Ohio rivers, yet there were
-i eke 4 va MW ung Sof ane

with an asterisk (*).

2 Thousands of years ago, during what is
variously termed the Great Ice Age, the
glacial period, or the Pleistocene epoch,
the northern part of the North American
Continent was covered by vast sheets of
ice similar to the great ice cap which now

spreading. One of these centers was on
Labrador Peninsula, one west of Hudson
Bay, and one, called the Cordilleran, in
the mountains of western Canada. There
were also several distinct periods of ice
accumulation, each followed by a warmer
interval thousands of years in duration,

BULLETIN 614 PLATE Il

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

eR See

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a

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A WASHINGTON FOREST,
fir, but a cedar stands at the extreme left. Photograph t

$ C SURVE
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE

SNOQUALMIE FALLS, WASH.
s a

ght, et 2 ¢ V : ancient lava und by sandstone and shale of Eocene age
Photograph by Curtis, e

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. af

Lake Washington, a beautiful sheet of water near the eastern
border of Seattle, is about 20 miles long and 2 to 5 miles wide and is
entirely surrounded by glacial drift. Small steamers
that ply to and fro on the lake afford fine views of
the Cascade Range.

Snoqualmie Falls (Pl. III) is 270 feet high and more than 50 feet
wide and is well worth seeing. It may be reached by the Northern

Excursions from
attle.

during which the ice is believed to have

largely or wholly melted away. There is | intothe Puget Sound basin. (See Pl. I.)

evidence of at least four of these distinct | The name Vashon, from the large island
stages of glaciation, and the last of these | between Seattle aad Tacoma, has b

is known as the Wisconsin stage. ; applied by geologists to this ice lobe, the

ase =

tended southward from British Columbia

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FIGURE 1.—Map of North America showing the area covered by the Pleistocene ice sheet at its maximum

At a time which probably corresponds | last of the Puget Sound glaciers, and to
to the Wisconsin stage of glaciation east of | the deposits formed i in connection with it.
the Rocky Mountains the moun untains of | This glacier is believed to have attained

gely cov ; :
ons ‘onan af the Cor “dill ice sheet ex- | filled the depressions now occupied by

12

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Pacific line by way of Woodinville, a trip of 54 miles, or by ferry across
Lake Washington to Kirkland and thence by automobile, a route

that, for small parties, is generally preferable.

At the falls Snoqualmie

River plunges over a great mass of lava underlain by fossiliferous
sediments of the Eocene coal-bearing formation.

_ In the immediate vicmity of Squak Mountain and Sammamish
Lake there are a number of large channels cut and then abandoned

by streams from the former glaciers.

They may be reached by either

the sound, spread over the elevated plains
between the valleys, and extended from
the foot of the Olympic Mountains on the
west to the base of the Cascade Range on
the east. On the south it reached to and

probably coalescent on the east with that
descending the slopes and valleys of the
Cascades, to which the name Osceola
glacier has been applied by geologists.

These glaciers, on melting, left deposits
of clay, sand, gravel, and bowlders (the
Vashon and Osceola drift) on the elevated
tracts between and around the troughs of
the sound, but the deep depressions were
unfilled, so that after the ice melted they
were occupied by marine waters.

and gravels (called the Douty gravel, Pu-

glaciers. Buried in these deposits are
beds of lignite, formed from vegetation
— grew upon ne eands and gravels.

much weathered and “eroded; they were
evidently exposed during a long inter-
glacial stage before they were overridden
and covered by the deposits of the Vashon
and Osceola glaciers.

Beneath all these deposits lies a layer
of stiff blue clay, mostly stratified but in
places showing no bedding and crowded

This deposit (known to geologists as the
Admiralty till) is supposed to have been
formed at a till cartier ‘stage of glaciation,
when the P was occupied
by a lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet, as it
was later by another lobe at the Vashon
substage. Some phenomena suggest that
glaciers occupied the basin still earlier.

One view as to the origin of the deep
troughs composing Puget Sound may be
stated briefly as follows: The Admiralty
ice sheet occupied and overflowed deep
valleys which had been cut when the land
stood higher. When this ice melted the
hilly tracts between the valleys were un-
covered first, and the washing in of sand
and gravel leveled these up into what are
now the elevated intervalley plains. The
final melting of the tongues of ice left the
troughs to be occupied b ne water.
Later came the ice of the Vashon glacier,
and this, on melting, again left the main
depressions unfilled.

According to another view the disap-
pearance of the Admiralty glacier left the
clay, sand, and gravel spread in a con-
tinuous sheet over the Puget Sound basin,
burying, in large part, the older valleys
and ridges. Afterward the land rose
about 1,000 feet and streams cut deep val-
leys in these soft deposits. Then the
basin was depressed about to its present
level and the ice of the Vashon and Os-

ceola glaciers filled the valleys and over-

drift and the depressions unfilled.

As the main outlet of the Puget Sound
basin is to the north, ice-dammed fresh-
water lakes were for a time held in the
troughs at each stage of advance of the
ice front. When the outlet was at last
opened the troughs were filled with
marine water, which finally reached the
level at which we now find it

Marine shells found at vicious levels up
to 290 feet above tidewater th
since the disappearance of the glacier of
the Vashon substage the basin bas been
further depressed and submerged and
then reelevated.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 13

of the routes just mentioned but are best seen southeast of Redmond,
where Snoqualmie River once entered Sammamish Lake

The United States navy yard and huge dry dock at Bremerton,
about 20 miles from Seattle, are easily reached by steamer across the
Sound. A trip to Hood Canal affords a close view of the densely
forested Olympic Mountains. The scenic center of this range is
Crescent Lake, reached from Seattle by steamer to Port Angeles; on
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and thence by stage. West of Port Town-
send lighthouse, which is passed on this trip, is a bold bluff, 175 feet
in height, of stratified glacial sand. Tertiary beds (rich in fossils at
Clallam Bay) are well exposed on the southern shore of the Strait
of Juan de Fuca. Crescent Lake contains ten varieties of trout, of
which two are unknown elsewhere. Mount Olympus, 12 miles away,
. may be reached from this point with pack outfit. The mountain is a
complex mass of metamorphic sandstone, shale, radiolarian chert,
glaucophane schist, and greenstone cut by peridotite serpentine, a
series of rocks closely resembling what is known as the Franciscan
group of the California Coast Ranges.

Between Seattle and Portland trains are operated by the Northern
Pacific Railway, Southern Pacific Co., Oregon-Washington Railroad
& Navigation Co., Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, and Great
Northern Railway, the tracks of all these lines being near together.
The Shasta Route trains run over the Oregon-Washington and
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul tracks from Seattle to Tacoma, and
over the Northern Pacific from Tacoma to Portland.

On leaving Seattle the train first traverses made land, built out into
Puget Sound by washing glacial gravels through flumes from the
adjacent hills. A turn to the left,! 2.3 miles from Seattle, brings
into view a bluff of whitish shales and sandstones. These rocks
are exposed for only a short distance at this place, but a mile
farther south they reappear in a more prominent bluff just north of
Georgetown.

These rocks, which were once sediments on a sea bottom, contain
abundant. Sovaill sea ptt that indicate Tertiary (middle Oligocene)

. The exposure of the beds at this place is
nS 5 os to their having been arched up from their
ope ee aa originally horizontal attitude. This arch, or
anticline, as geologists term it, may be traced, as
shown on the map, from Bainbridge Tsland southeastward to and
beyond Lake Washington.

Some greenish rocks that form a bluff on the left are composed
largely of fragments of volcanic material. These beds are fossilif-

‘Unless clearly otherwise intended, | track as they appear to a traveler pis
the words right and left as used in this | the _— in going from Seattle
bulletin refer to the sides of the railway | Francisc

14 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

erous near the wagon-road bridge at Steels Crossing. They belong
to the principal coal-bearing formation of Washington, presently to
be described, and are associated with lavas. At Steels Crossing the
railroad enters the coal field of western Washington, the largest in
the State. The productive portions of the field, however, are miles
away, northeast and southeast of this poimt, about Newcastle and
Issaquah, Black Diamond and Franklin, Wilkeson and Carbonado.
The field contains many coal beds, three or four of which have been
mined, in places to a depth of 2,000 feet. The coal ranges from
low-grade subbituminous to anthracite but is mainly subbituminous
and bituminous. Coking coals occur at a number of localities and
are worked in the Wilkeson region. They are the only coals coked
commercially on the Pacific coast.

The fossil plants that are associated with the coal and that repre-
sent the vegetation from which the coal was formed contrast strongly
with the plants of this region to-day. In the present forest conifers
are dominant in size and number, but in the forests of the Eocene
coal period conifers were few and palms and deciduous trees were
abundant. No palms now grow wild within a thousand miles of the
Puget Sound region, so the climate here during the coal period must
have been very unlike that of to-day. The coal-bearing rocks crop
out at intervals along the western base of the Cascade Range from
the international boundary on the north to the Columbia on the
south.

The railroad crosses Black River, the outlet of Lake Washington,

at Black River Junction, from which branch lines lead to the New- |

castle, Renton, and Black Diamond coal fields.

Black River Junction. The mine at Renton is only 2 miles to the east

fete ae. (left) of Black River Junction. Two beds are
Seattle 10 miles. mined here. The thicker one is 2 feet 8} inches

thick and inclines or dips southeastward at an
angle of 12°. The coal is subbituminous.

From Seattle to Tacoma the railway follows a broad valley in
glacial drift which forms the bluffs on both sides. This valley, which
is continuous from Duwamish River to the Puyallup, was left by
the melting of the ancient glacier as one of the intricate series of de-
pressions now occupied in part by Puget Sound. It was later partly
filled with silt, sand, and gravel by the mountain streams. White
River, which enters the valley on a low deposit of gravel and sand
which it has itself built up south of Auburn, separates on this sloping
deposit, or alluvial cone, into two streams. One, which retains the
name White River, flows northward into the Duwamish, and the
other, called Stuck River, turns to the south and joins the Puyallup.
This division of a stream on the sloping surface of its own deposits
tells the story of a long period of successive floods carrying heavy
loads of gravel and sand into this old depression. The later floods

Foe een eee

SHASTA ROUTE-—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 15

have spread over the valley the fine silt to which its remarkable fer-
tility is due. A generalized section of the valley is shown in figure 2.
The dominant industry in the vicinity of Kent is dairying, and
herds of Holstein cattle may be seen in the fields. There are con-
densed-milk factories at Kent and Auburn, and the

Kent. two have a combined average daily output of about
Elevation 40 fect. 96,000 cans, or 25 carloads. The adie elder
arp — (Sambucus callicarpa), a sho shrub in June, is

likely to attract the traveler’s etaticn aang this
poe part of the route. On the left, a mile away, is the
Blevation 74 feet. Pluff of the great gravel pit of the Northern Pacific
Population 957. Railway, which shows the structure of the ancient

eee delta of Green River. Near the pit are the Northern
Pacific transfer yards, containing 37 miles of track.
On the east (left) side of the valley, 3 miles northeast of Sumner,
is the power plant of the Puget Sound Light & Traction Co., where
water drawn from Lake Tapps, on the upland a few miles to the
southeast, develops 80,000 horsepower.

a n> oad alized section of White River valley at Kent, Wash., showing alluvium-filled depression
ial — including (a) Vashon drift, (6) Orting gravel, (c) Admiralty drift, and @ ——-
of Fears stream

As Sumner is approached a yeast factory can be seen on the left.
the right, near the station, is the gravel pit of
Bessy the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, which

on eet. ,¢ . .
Population 892, shows the general composition of the gravel cliffs in-
oe ee closing the valley.

The Sumner and Puyallup country, once noted for its hops, is now
better known for its fresh and canned fruit, especially raspberries
and blackberries. Here the Cuthbert red raspberry reaches perfec-
tion and is grown in enormous quantities. The Puyallup & Sumner
Fruit Growers’ Association, consisting of 1,400 growers, has its own
refrigerating plant and in 1913 ere 600 cars of fresh fruit to the
eastern markets.

Puyallup is the home of Ezra Mssker: a pioneer who in 1852 with
an ox team crossed the plains and mountains to Puget Sound. In
North Puyallup. 1906 he returned by the same means of conveyance
from Puyallup to New York City, marking the Oregon
Trail at many points by monuments. The brilliant
yellow flowers of the gosmore, or cat’s ear (Hypochzris radicata), a
near relative of the dandelion, abound by the wayside. At North —
Puyallup, with its berry fariis, the railroad enters the Puyallup

Sumner.

Seattle 31 miles.

16 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Indian Reservation and crosses the valley. As Tacoma is approached
the Indian School for Trades may be seen on the left.
Tacoma is the western headquarters and the official tidewater _
terminus of the Northern Pacific Railway. it is beautifully situated —
on a series of terraces rising about 300 feet above the —
Tacoma. head of Commencement Bay, the southeast arm of |
Population 83,743. Puget Sound, and commands fine views of the Sound, —
arcu ae the Cascade Mouataing and the white cone of Mouné}
Rainier (Pl. IV, A). Its industrial poate chentiate include a lead :
smelter and refinery, large sawmills, furniture factories, foundries, _
railway shops, and flour mills. Tacoma carries on an extensive com- _
merce in grain, lumber, coal, tea, silk, and other articles. In the—
courthouse is the Ferry Museum, whith contains, among other things,
an interesting collection of Indian’ baskets, domestic utensils, canoes, —
‘and implements of hunting and war. 2
Tacoma is a subport of entry (Port Townsend is the official port) —
and is second only to San Francisco in the volume of its foreign —
trade. It has an excellent harbor and 25 miles of water front, and 2
from it transoceanic steamship lines run to Japan and China, |
the Philippines and Hawaii, and to London and Glasgow. ;
Capt. George Vancouver visited the site of Tacoma in 1792, and
Lieut. Charles Wilkes surveyed it on his exploring expedition in 1841.
_ Gen. Morton Matthew McCarver founded the present city in 1868.
It was at first called Commencement City, but fortunately the name »
was later changed to Tacoma, an Indian word meaning ‘‘big snow
mountain” and referring to Mount Rainier. .

The principal excursions from Tacoma go to Mount Rainier, which

is reached either from the northwest by way of the —

Wilkeson coal field or from the south by way of Longs 2
mire Springs and Paradise Park.

The great naturalist John Muir has justly termed the mountain
parks ‘‘fountains of life.’ Appreciation of the beautiful in nature
should become more and more an American characteristic, and in —
these days of national stock taking we do well to inventory as part
of the nation’s wealth its resources in wild scenery. |

The Mount Rainier National Park is unique in possessing the
wildest of mountain scenery almost at the gates of two large cities.
Less than half a day’s travel by rail and stage from Tacoma brings —
the visitor to the hotel at Longmire Springs, well within the park, =
and the perfectly graded Government road enables him to reach the — ;
lower end of the Nisqually Glacier. Just beyond is Paradise Park, —

Excursions from
Tacoma.

ings at the starting point for the ascent of the mountain,

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN

614
614

PLATE |

PAR

AD

i roc at ¢+hoa
»ck at e
at the head

Q

ISE PARK, ON SOUTH SLOPE OF MOUNT RAINIER.
ht of the summit is Gibr
of Nisqually River. Photograph by

altar. Beyond the fores
Curtis & Miller, Seattie

BULLETIN

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTILE TO SAN FRANCISCO. RRS

Mount Rainier is the noblest of the peaks that overlook our Pacific
coast. It attains an elevation of 14,408 feet and is the highest
peak of the Cascade Range. Like Fujiyama in Japan and Shishaldin
in Alaska, it rises majestically with the graceful lines that proclaim
its volcanic origin. Its base is set in the green of the wonderful
Puget Sound forest, and its snowy cone merges into the clouds, to
which it appears to belong rather than to the earth. From this cone
ascore of radiating glaciers, the largest in the United States, extend
down the gashed slopes into the forest below, where they give rise
to rushing, roaring rivers of milk-white water. Over 25 years ago
James Bryce, later British ambassador to this country, and Karl
von Zittel, the well-known German geologist, visited Mount Rainier,
and in a report expressed the hope that this peak might be reserved
as anational park. It is gratifying to Americans to know that these
experienced and discriminating travelers said that they had seen
nothing ‘‘more beautiful in Switzerland or Tyrol, in Norway, or in
the Pyrenees than the Carbon River glaciers and the great Puyallup
glaciers.”

In Paradise Park (Pl. IV, B), or in some other sylvan retreat on
the lower slopes of Mount Rainier, whoever is weary of ihe city may
find true recreation. All about are bright flowers, which throughout
the summer follow the retreating snowbanks in a succession of gar-
dens wherein nature displays a profusion of bloom alongside of ice
and snow. Below are the forests, dark and almost silent, except
where their stillness is broken by the raucous cry of the Clark crow
or where some stream roars over the bowlders or splashes musically
among the ferns. Above all looms the peak, clad in eternal snow.

The volcanic cone of Mount Rainier has been built up by lava
erupted through past ages. Although it is practically extinct, its
crater still gives forth steam and sulphurous fumes. The form of the
cone has been modified by the destructive work of glaciers, which have
cut deep grooves into the mountain sides, and of avalanches, whose
occasional thunder testifies to the continued attack of atmospheric
agencies.

Mountain goats, marmots, and ptarmigan constitute the fauna of
the mountain.

To avoid some heavy grades the Northern Pacific Co., by tunneling
Point Defiance and continuing thence by way of Steilacoom, has
recently built a new line from Tacoma to Tenino, commonly known as
‘‘the loop,” thus enabling the traveler to enjoy some coast scenery.
This line is 6 miles longer than the old line, but the easier grades offset
the difference in distance. From Tacoma the new line follows the
shore northwestward for 4 miles, past the flour and saw mills to the

96286°—Bull. 614—15——2

18 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

lead smelter, affording a good view of Commencement Bay and of the
harbor of Tacoma on the right. In the bluffs on the left rudely strati-
fied cross-bedded sand and gravel (Puyallup substage) rest at several
points on evenly stratified clays and fine sands with local pockets
of gravel and bowlders of the earlier (Admiralty) stage of glaciation. —
The first good example is on the left, 2 miles from the Tacoma union _
station, where an arch of the clay beds brings them plainly into view, 2 :
as shown in figure 3.

Four miles from Tacoma, near the smelter tunnel, on the left, is

bedded sand and gravel. The tunnel is 4,400 feet in length and 275 ©
feet in peegs depth. In excavating it no hard rocks were cut, but —
sentir: a large tooth, probably of a miastodiia and —
traces of coaly material were found in sand —
associated with gravel. 4
“tho po Pree _ wut From the west portal the run along the —
wing) anarehot Aly sta shore for 15 miles affords splendid views of —
ralty glacial drift overlain by (6) the Narrows and the Olympic Range be
irregularly stratified gravel and yond. Puget Sound has 1,750 miles of shore —
sand ofthe Puyallup substage- Tine, with shelving beach, precipitous cliffs,
and dense forests, affording some of the most beautiful inland water —
views in America. The seepage of much water in many places along —
a line about 120 feet above low tide marks the contact of stratified
clays and overlying gravel and causes the railway much trouble from _
slides. 7
As Steilacoom is approached the traveler’s attention is likely to be
attracted by the pits on the left, from which large quantities of gravel —
are loaded on scows for shipment to Tacoma and Seattle. The loading :
is done by an application of the hydraulic method, first devised in
placer mining. The gravels as exposed in the pits show distinctly the _
double set of bedding planes characteristic of delta deposits, namely, —
a series of beds that dip rather steeply in the direction of the river's _
flow (foreset beds), overlain by a series of nearly horizontal layers _
(topset beds). The delta was built out into Lake Russell while the
Puget Sound glacier was melting
Steilacoom is one of the hiest settlements in the western part of —
the State. A monument placed here in 1908 marks the site of the ©
_ first Protestant church building erected north of the

Te

eee

Steilacoom. Columbia. It was built in 1853. Scotch broom —
earn ees (Genista scoparia), which has been introduced into

this region, flourishes about Steilacoom, and its bright a
yellow blossoms form a pleasing feature of the landscape.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 19

Beyond Ketron the water view widens. The horizontally stratified
sands and gravels that have been the prevalent material along the
railway for miles are well developed and within view
on Ketron and Anderson islands. The dark-spotted
rock used to protect the railroad embankment from
the southwest storms of winter comes from the vicinity of Bremerton
and contains a few fossil shells. Porpoises, seals, and even whales
may occasionally be seen in this part of the Sound. A whale stranded
near Steilacoom in 1912. At the mouth of Sequalitcher Creek are the
wharf and power house of the Dupont powder works, which are just
out of sight on the left. The foreset bedding of the old delta gravels
is well shown for 34 miles along this portion of the route. These
gravels are succeeded abruptly at 22.1 miles from Tacoma by well-
exposed stratified clays (Admiralty) overlain by stratified gravels.

At the mouth of Nisqually River a strip of the present delta nearly
a mile wide is alternately covered and left bare by the tides. Three

miles up the river valley is Nisqually station, where

Ketron.
Seattle 62 miles.

Nisqually. the main line is crossed by the Grays Harbor branch
edie of the Northern Pacific, leading to Olympia, the State

capital, and beyond to the coast. From Olympia

another branch runs through Tumwater, the oldest American set-
tlement in Washington, which marked the end of the Oregon Trail.
Near Nisqually station there is a small terminal moraine left by
the receding front of the Puget Sound glacier. South of Nisqually
River are delta gravels which were deposited by a former stream on
the great outwash plains left by the melting glacier. These gravels
are well exposed in the railway cut. Near the Nisqually are obtained
some of the best forest views on the route. Almost all the lands of
the Seattle-Tacoma region except the cultivated river valleys are still
forested. The dominant forest tree is the red fir, which covers fully 90
per cent of the heavily timbered area, in places with a stand so dense
that the sun can scarcely penetrate to the soil. In a narrow strip
along the coast the dominant species is the Sitka or tideland spruce.
In the bottom lands, mainly river valleys, the conspicuous trees or
shrubs are the red cedar, giant cedar, white fir, large-leaved maple,
Oregon ash, cottonwood, western dogwood, vine maple, crab apple, va-
rious willows, devil’s-club, and salmon berry. On the gravelly plains
may be seen the only species of oak growing in the State, the black pine,
and from spring until the middle of July a carpet of brilliant flowers.
The material of the terminal moraine southeast of Olympia is best
exposed in the area surrounding Patterson Lake. The railway cuts
are not deep, however, and are therefore not very
satisfactory to the geologic observer. The open
prairies on the glacial outwash plain (that is, the
plain formed by gravel washed from the front of the glacier) begin
near Kyro. They present a sharp contrast with the dense forests

Seattle 71 miles.

20 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

around them and are probably due to some peculiarity of soil or
drainage that is unfavorable to forest growth. Several miles beyond
is Chambers Prairie, which is 2 miles north of the railroad station of
the same name. (See sheet 2, p. 24.) From this prairie excellent
views may be obtained of Mount Rainier, in the rear, to the left,
and of the Black Hills, ahead, to the right. Just before Plumb is
reached there is another fine view of Mount Rainier, across a meadow.
Wie’, At milepost 38 the railway enters Rocky Prairie,
5 which is notable for its curious mounds. The origin
of these mounds has been fully discussed by Prof. J. H.
Bretz, of the University of Chicago, who concludes that they are not
the result of erosion, as some have thought, but that the gravel of
which they are composed was deposited in hummocks. Similar
mounds are abundant on some other prairies.

After traversing another belt of terminal moraine and of hills
composed largely of Tertiary shales the railway enters Tenino, which
stands near the end of a projecting spur of the Cas-
cade Range. On the right, near the station, is a
patton ate fone quarry of a sandstone that is widely known to builders
Seattle 87 miles via In the Northwest as the ‘‘Tenino sandstone.” It is

ee Stmilesvia generally fine grained, well cemented, and easily

worked, and has the valuable property of hardening

after being quarried. The high school and Trinity Church in Seattle

are built of this sandstone. The rock is of Eocene age. About a

mile north of Tenino, near the old line of the Northern Pacific, is a

large quarry in the same sandstone, from which the Government has
obtained rock for the Grays Harbor jetty.

The Puget Sound glacier, of the Vashon substage, is believed to
have had its southern boundary, at its time of greatest extension,
near the line where the prairies end against the timbered hills south
of the town. There is, however, no terminal moraine marking this
limit for some miles east or west of Tenino.

At Tenino the railway is joined by the old line of the Northern
Pacific from Tacoma. This line passes through much prairie coun-
try on the great outwash gravel plain formed by the melting of the
Puget Sound glacier. A few miles north of Hillhurst and at Yelm
the traveler may enjoy fine views of Mount Rainier.

As Bucoda is approached the valley widens. The railway crosses
Skookumchuck River (the name is Chinook for “strong water’’) and
hehe runs between bluffs of coal-bearing Eocene sandstone
Elevation 256 feet, 00 the left and the river on the right. Just south of
Population s55.* Hannaford Creek the beds in the bright-red cliff on
eee thelett stand vertical Phe brilliant colors have thé
effect of a burned coal bed. Waters flowing from the Puget Sound

Seattle 81 miles.

Tenino.

- Distances by the old line are given for stations beyond Tenino, and to get the
distance actually traveled from Seattle by the new line 6 miles should be added.

SHEET. (I

BULLETIN 614
pine OUEERRERSSRE eA RE
122%0 122° WASHINGTON
: EXPLANATION
Loose surface materials
. A Stream deposits (alluvium)
: ait B Outwash etna gad gravel) from retreating
RS Vashon Glacie
a x Joly VM) 7 C Glacial drift (Vashon and Osceola), Wiseonsin |
GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP aN Ss Yel Ir stage Quaternary
i ‘e ) YN D Outwash (Orting gravel and Puyallup sand)

from. Admi ralty Glacier, shown by stippled
pat
sg drift (Admiralty), pre-Wisconsin
ge, represented by he avy line

OF THE

SHASTA ROUTE
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas

te

[| a

Underlying rocks
F Lava flows, andesite Quaternary

G Lava flows (andesite of Cascade Range), |
Miocene

Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by
dhe’ Southern Pacific Company and from additional informs. > mca t ae
Hen: coll with the assistance of t } up) Bec shale, with coal beds ( Puget}

ected ocene J

+ Falls

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR Scale 500-000 S
Approximately 8 miles to I inch

Sieeik te Falls
270F:

eur

David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
! 10 Miles 47
1915 : c 30°
190 5 10 15 Kilometers
map with a name in parenthesis in the ‘etl
wer r left corner is smanoed i in in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic Contour ative) Fi fee

pass of that ni ELEVATIONS IN FEET A EAN oes LEVEL

The distances from Seattle, Washington. are shown every 10 miles
The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart 4

= ws
(Sheet Vo 2)

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO, 21

glacier found an outlet down this valley as far as Centralia and
thence went northwestward by way of the Chehalis River valley.

Centralia, about a mile above the mouth of the Skookumchuck, is

an important railway junction and the center of a large lumber

industry. The town is also becoming a coal-mining

Centralia. center, and much attention is given to dairying and

Elevation 188 feet. to the growing of small fruits, especially strawberries.

cee ee’ ‘The coal-bearing rocks, of Eocene age, lie east of the

town. The beds to the west (Astoria shale) are Oli-

gocene, and are succeeded by still younger formations toward the

coast.

Below Centralia the Skookumchuck enters the broad valley of the
Chehalis, a river which drains a section of the Cascade Range and
flows across the Coast Range to the Pacific at Grays Harbor. Two
railway lines, a branch of the Northern Pacific and a line of the
Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., connect Centralia
with the coast by way of Chehalis Valley.

Chehalis is the center of a large dairying district and has a
condensed-milk factory. A branch line runs west from this place to

South Bend. The State Training School stands on
Chehalis. a terrace formed by gravel with soft decomposed
Elevation 188 feet. pebbles, which is well exposed in several street cut-
tings a few blocks west of the railway station and
at many other points farther down Chehalis River,
especially at Satsop. These gravels were deposited during the early
part of the Pleistocene epoch by the floods from the melting glaciers.

South of Chehalis the river is joined by Newaukum River. The
valley at their confluence is broad and fertile and contains many
thriving farms, chiefly on the left. A group of yellow monkey flower
(Mimulus) brightens the wayside in spring and summer. Other
plants likely to attract attention are the thimbleberry, with its
white blossoms; the salmonberry, with its yellow fruit; the pink
fireweed; the white, plumose, gracefully pendant ocean spray,
or areau woud CSiteechers discolor, Pl. V, p. 17); and other forms
growing among larger plants on the wooded slopes. In the more
open ground the almost omnipresent dandelion in June, with its
fluffy crowns of seeds, the purple lupine, the red and white clover,
the white yarrow, and a host of other flowers give the beauty of
varied coloring to the views in this forest land.

From Seattle to Portland the great forests of Washington are
almost continuous. The exceptions are the so-called prairies of the
outwash gravel plains; the great stretches, bristling with the black-
ened trunk of many a forest monarch, which the lumbermen leave
in their wake; and the long alluvial valleys which the farmer has
cleared and tills. Alder and maple are the usual successors to the
firs in the valleys. —

22 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES,

Beyond Chehalis the railway gradually ascends through shallow
cuts in Kocene sandstone and early Pleistocene gravel to Napavine,
situated near the crest of a low east-west divide (450

Napavine. feet above sea level) that separates Chehalis River

Elevation 444 feet. from the Cowlitz, a tributary of the Columbia. The
Population 1,304.*

Seattle 103 miles. broad surface of the divide is the level top of an exten- ~

sive deposit of gravel that is well exposed in the cuts
along the railway. In this locality the gravel consists largely of
volcanic materials, the white quartz pebbles that are so common in
many gravels being absent. About 3 miles beyond Napavine, near
Evaline, may be seen the brownish Eocene sandstone which under-
lies the gravel.

The railway crosses Olequa Creek, along which is a well-developed
bench or terrace eroded in the same gravel formation that was seen
near Napavine. A similar terrace, at a corresponding height above
the stream, is a prominent feature of the Cowlitz, Willapa, and other
valleys in southwestern Washington. A bluff of the same gravels,
here 150 feet in thickness and overlying Oligocene beds, appears on
the left as Winlock is entered.

Winlock is commonly known as “Bungalow Town”’ and the sta-

tion has been built in that style. About 3 miles
Winlock. beyond Winlock the valley opens and on the right
Elevation 309 feet. a fine view is obtained of Abernathy Mountain, a
snp aonng spur of the Coast Range. On the left are some

remarkably tall alders with a background of firs.

Near Vader station are tile ovens, which are supplied by clay
obtained near by. A mile beyond the town, on the right, is a small
Vices gas plant. The gas is made from the slabs rejected

* by the adjacent sawmill and is supplied to the town
Seale Mecnan- : Bt:tho rate of $3.a mpnth for five lights and a kitchen
stove. The salable by-products of the gas plant are
pyrogallic acid, creosote, tar, and charcoal.

Olequa Creek is again crossed and the train enters a short gorge.
On the left, by looking ahead down the gorge, the traveler may get
a fine view of the snow-covered top of Mount St. Helens, standing
above deep-green forests of fir. Nearer at hand, on the left, a bluff
exposes a sheet of lava overlying Eocene shales,’ and on the right are
Pleistocene sands.

‘This is the region of the type section | the Ewing ranch, 2 miles above Little
of the Olequa formation, described by | Falls [Vader], southward down Olequa
Arnold and Hannibal as extending from | Creek to Olequa, a distance of 54 miles.

ee Gk ey a hi ;
Pie a oe estas ees pi, eee le!

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE VI

eS

A, SMELT FISHERY ON COWLITZ RIVER NEAR KELSO, WASH.

> % ag

oe
Shree

B. SEINING SALMON ON COLUMBIA RIVER.

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE VII

VIEW UP COLUMBIA RIVER FROM COLUMBIA HIGHWAY AT CHANTICLEER INN, ABOUT 20 MILES EAST OF PORTLAND, OREG.

On the lef the ee ee sles yainst which the flat-topped terrace ends. Th ed on page 26, is part of the floor of a former
v iey * ope c sued b Tk yon a the C chara! a is comparable to the valley af Hue ? son River r, in Ne w York. Photograph copyrighted by Weiste
Portis (See also ‘Pls. Vill re 1X.)

rap r :

SHASTA ROUTE—-SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 93

Olequa Creek joins the Cowlitz, on the left, at Olequa station.
Some hop fields and hop dryers are visible up the Cowlitz. On the
left at the end of the bridge a bluff of columnar
loqua, basalt (lava) overlies Eocene shales, and the railway
a eel passes through a deep cut in this basalt that resem-
Seattle 118 miles. bles the Bergen Hill cut, near New York. At the
south end of the cut, on the left, the Eocene shales
are well exposed. Much of the lava of this region was probably
poured out at intervals over the sea bottom while the sediments that
were later consolidated into sandstones and shales were accumulat-
ing, the lava thus becoming interbedded with the coal-bearing
Eocene strata. Later horizontal sheets of lava overlie the tilted
coal-bearing beds near the volcano St. Helens, from which they
issued, but. these later lava beds, although some of them probably
oxtaad for a long distance west of the volcano, are not visible from
the railway.

Toutle River is crossed near its junction with the Cowlitz, and
that river, bearing numerous log rafts, may now be seen at many
places on the right-hand side of the railway.

At Castle Rock frost is rare. Here are extensive farms among

the low-rounded hills of the region and some small

Castle Rock. orchards of prunes, cherries, and apples. The rail-
Elevation 59 feet. way cuts near Castle Rock expose 60 feet of stratified
tee pao ae light-gray sand, forming a terrace whose top has an

elevation of 120 feet above the sea.
At Ostrander (see sheet 3, p. 32) logs floated down the Cowlitz
are chained into flat or dicar-ehaped rafts for further transporta-
tion to the mills on the Columbia and elsewhere.

Ostrander. This place is noted for the size of the timber that it
Elevation 41 feet. gan supply. A sawn stick 215 feet long can be seen

Population 339.*

Gustto ist inilen. by the station, and one 44 inches square and 100

feet long was prepared for the Chicago exposition.
A few miles beyond Ostrander the railway enters a 1,200-foot
tunnel through a spur of basalt, from which it emerges into a broader
part of the valley. Small stern-whee! steamers ascend
Kelso. the Cowlitz for 17 miles beyond Kelso. The smelt
Minvatwes 3 Set. fisheries (Pl. VI, A) in the Cowlitz yield about $50,000
Seattle 135 miles. annually. Canned smelts sell here at a cent a
pound, and they are shipped as far east as New York.
The Cowlitz Valley contains lignite coal, and some of the seams
have been worked, but the decreasing demand for coal due to the
competition of Californie oil has put a stop to mining for the present.

24 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Mount Coffin, on the right, a few miles down the Columbia from
the mouth of the Cowlitz, was an Indian burying ground and received
its name from the large number of coffins exposed on it. On this
mountain Commander Wilkes, in 1841, made astronomical observa-
tions to determine its position.

Ahead, to the right, over the flats at the mouth of the Cowlitz
and beyond the Columbia, may be seen some even-crested hills about
1,000 feet in height. These continue on the southern horizon from
this point to Portland Heights. Similar flat-topped hills stand
also on the north side of the Columbia. If an observer so situated
as to be able to overlook the whole valley of the Columbia in this
region should imagine all the ravines and valleys which now separate
these hills to be filled to the general level of the flat hilltops he would
then see spread out before him a very broad, shallow, flat-bottomed
valley and would realize that the present hills are all that is left of
such a valley after its floor has been deeply furrowed and carved
by streams. The hilltops are flat because they are parts of what was
once such a continuous valley surface. This old broad valley was
worn in basalt by Columbia River in early Pleistocene or glacial
time, when the land stood 1,000 feet lower than now. When the
land started to rise the streams began to cut into the old valley floor
and fashioned it into the flat-topped hills of the present landscape.

At Carrolls may first be seen the cliffs of basalt

Seni. which form the banks of the Columbia for hun-

Elevation 21 feet. dreds of miles and attain imposing heights along
Seattle 141 miles.

the stretch of river between Portland and The Dalles.

The Northern Pacific once ferried across Columbia

Kalama. River from Kalama to Gobel, Oreg., and the old boat,

Elevation 21 feet. which could carry 24 cars and an engine, can still be

Phas cemane gc SO seen at its wharf. The railway now continues up the

east side of the river to Vancouver. Seines set for
salmon fishing (Pl. VI, B) may usually be seen near Kalama.

The dark bluffs on the left, which the railroad now skirts for
several miles, with the river on the right, are in part solid flows of
basaltic lava, but are mainly beds made up of fragments of volcanic
rock associated with some sandstone and shale. At milepost 111 a
deposit of sand and gravel overlies lava and shales.

As Woodland is approached a fine view opens on the left, up
Lewis Valley. Mount Adams is in sight, and a little farther on, to

Woodland. the left of ‘it, appears the white cap of Mount St.
Elevation 53 feet. Helens. Finally Mount Hood comes into view to
an ee the right of Mount Adams. Near milepost 115,
Seattle 155 miles.

scattered over an alluvial bottom, are some large oaks,
the forerunners of those to be seen later in Oregon and California.

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

SHASTA ROUTE

From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional ftoriek
tion collected with the assistance of this company

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
1915

Each quadrangle shown on the map w

with a name in parenthesis in

lower left corner is than in detail on the U.S. G. S, scat i
Sheet of that na

BULLETIN 614

cine} oA SH Gp

ti see 1

G ‘\
. Bas osPia nen =f
Gress

'G Ge ‘en: > ;
Woh nae

: Be Shor

Outwash (Steilatso

am Wepos nisi lens

WASHINGTON 47

EXPLANATION

gravel) from former retreating

5G
a

*eped _

rs 2,

Se =
ii\ oe, as

sired — 200 fee
ELEVATIONS IN VE

Vashon glacier Quaternary
Glacial drift, marking limit of Vashon enias shown |
by stippled pattern
Sandstone and shale, mainly marine, with some ¢oal it
(Eocene)
Sandstone and nape pl of fresh or brackish water origin Tertiary
with some beds of coal (Eocene) |
Lava flows; chiefly basalt J
| / ( Ss®@ Sandstone quarry
(o~ \L R ‘
ALIN A
WAS
alll} OBS
y BS S
LA fk <1) 2 4e
ee a ] 30°
|
SS. |
>
- 2S
: Ss |
og Vhs i
‘ Scale 500,000
lequad |} Approximately 8 miles to | inch
re ee 7 Se 20Miles
‘ ‘S 0 ‘ git’ =
abe E 10 io ‘5 20 25 3oKilometers |
SAT OY |

MEAN ale LEVEL

Washington, are shown every /0 miles
The crossties on the railroads are spaced } mile apart

Sheet No3

122°30°

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 25

At 157 miles from Seattle Lewis River is crossed. The bluffs of
basalt on the left here give place to slopes of gravel, sand, and clay.
These deposits were laid down by Columbia River in early Pleisto-
cene time and now form hills of pleasing rounded contours.

Two miles beyond the crossing of Lewis River are well-stratified
sands and clays like those near Tacoma, and just beyond is a hori-
zontal sheet of lava (basalt) showing the peculiar feature called
columnar jointing. The columns are due to cracks produced in the
lava by contraction on cooling and may be compared with the polyg-
onal cakes into which a layer of mud breaks on drying. The mud
cakes are thin in comparison with the long, regular columns found in
some bodies of basalt, but the modes of formation are analogous.

Gravels deposited by the Columbia when its bed was higher than
it is now occur between Ridgefield and Knapps,

dgefield.
— where they form an extensive terrace 50 feet above

Elevation 60 feet 5 %

Population 297. sea level. On the left, near Felida, is a bluff of
ee pierce gravel and sand, which are older than the Pleis-
Felida.

tocene gravel of Columbia River.
Elevation 61 feet. ; i
pci a At Vancouver Junction the rounded hills are
covered with prune orchards. From this place

Vancouver Junction. : i
ver sune™n- a branch line runs northeastward 28 miles to

Elevation 62 feet.

Seattle 172 miles. Yacolt.

Vassunver, Wash. Vancouver is the military headquarters of the
Wisiatiek ok net. Department of the Columbia. Here Dr. John
Population 9,300 McLoughlin, the factor of the Hudson’s Bay Co.,

Seattle 170 mils. who in 1824-25 ruled the region with iron hand

but benevolent purpose, built Fort Vancouver, which soon became
not only a thriving port for ocean vessels engaged in the western
fur trade but also an outfitting point for exploring parties. In 1841
the Wilkes exploring expedition ascended the Columbia and camped
at Fort Vancouver for some months, exploring the great river and
its tributaries. An overland party under Lieut. Emmons, including
the geologist J. D. Dana, was dispatched by way of the Willam-
ette Valley, Mount Shasta, and Sacramento to San Francisco. In
1843 John C. Frémont visited Fort Vancouver, having floated down
the Columbia from The Dalles, a route then in favor by emigrants who
came into the country over the Oregon Trail. On arklike rafts
loaded with farm and household belongings these emigrants glided
down the river, those bound for the Puget Sound country turning
northward from the Columbia at the mouth of the Cowlitz, and those
for the Willamette Valley turning southward opposite Vancouver.
Later, in 1853-1855, came the exploring parties of the Pacific railroad
surveys in search of the best transcontinental and coast routes.

26 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.
They traversed the country from Puget Sound to the Gulf of Cali-
fornia along the routes since followed by the Southern. Pacific Co.
The Columbia ' is the great waterway from the interior of the con-
tinent through the Cascade Range to the coast. In 1805 it bore the
canoes of the first transcontinental explorers, Lewis
Columbia River. ae Clark, from the slopes of the Rocky Mountains
o the sea. Their party spent the winter on the
Pacific coast yes returned by the same route in 1806.
Columbia River, including its tributaries, has a drainage area of
about 259,000 square miles and a total navigable length of 2,136
iles. The system as a whole is capable of furnishing an estimated
maximum of about 19,740,000 horsepower, of which only 351,249
horsepower, less than 2 per cent, was developed in 1909, the Intest

year for which complete statistics are available.

1 Columbia River from the lower cas-
rocebaels mouth, a distance of 140 miles,
, like the Hudson, a good example -

The earth’s surface i is not absolutely stable
but is subject to upward and downward
smh commas As a rule shese =e so bce

icin can be seen and interpreted by
those who make a study of land forms.
When a broad section of coast land tray-
ersed by a river moves downward, the sea

river water is backed up, perhaps for
many miles, and the lower part of the
river so affected becomes a narrow inlet
whose waters, instead of gliding steadily
to the sea, ebb and flow with the tides.
As was explained on page 24, the Colum-
biai = carly cinasepaans poeuni: — =
alley
whose floor is now represented bes the flat
tops of the hills seen near The
land, which probably had been stationary
for a long period, then began to rise. The
slope of the river channel was increased,
the water flowed faster, and, with the est
and bowlders of its channel 1 as abrasives,
the river © wear down its bed.
This went on until the land stood higher
than at present and the river had cut its
bed to a very gentle grade. Then the
earth movement was reversed. The land

In five States,

very gradually sank and the ocean water

acked up into the Columbia. It was
this sinking that transformed the lower
Columbia into a navigable stream, deep
enough for ocean-going steamers, and
made possible the commercial develop-
ment of Portland and Vancouver. Thisis
merely one of many illustrations of the
direct a of past geologic events and
proc n modern life. e influence
of some ge these processes, such as the
formation of coal, is plain enough to all.
The influence of a though equally
real, is not so obvi

The mean sees a the tide at Lower
Cascades is only 0.2 foot, at Vancouver 0.8

foot, at Portland 1 foot, and at Astoria 6.4 _

feet. The fluctuation in the height of

| the river due to changes in meteorologic

conditions is more than 20 feet at Port-
land and Vancouver, so that the tidal
oscillations canes are of very slight prac-
tical importan

Rivers are ae sculptors of their own
valleys. The wild gorge through which
the Columbia traverses the Cascade Range
(Pl. VII, p. 23) is the noblest of its kind
on this continent. Its history has not
been fully made out, but it appears that
the Cascade Range was slowly uplifted as
in the form of a series of broad arches or

which is thought to have had nearly its

aes

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE Viil

ONEONTA GORGE, COLUMBIA RIVER, NEAR ONEONTA, OREG.

4

he tributary etream je ates
ne Wipbuta rear ror en
y stream is strong en

he main Columbia, making a gorge.

down its bed abo

ta
(Compare PI. IX.)

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE IX

LATOURELLE FALLS, COLUMBIA RIVER, NEAR LATOURELLE, OREG.

The small tributary stream here, unable to cut down its bed as
a fall. (Compare PI. VIII.) lava adjoining the lower

rapidly as the main Columbia, enters the river by
ne part of the falls ill
Photograph copyrighted by Weister.

en f
Nustrates columnar structure.

27

Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington, 1,072 power
wheels were turned by waters of streams in the Columbia River basin
during that year.

The most valuable fisheries in the world, except only the oyster
and herring fisheries, are those supported by the salmon. Of the
salmon fisheries by far the largest are those of the Pacific coast of
North America. Columbia River is justly celebrated as having
afforded more salmon than any other river in the world, and Astoria
is the chief center of the industry.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO.

Tn early days the salmon were merely dried by the Indians.
1833 they were first salted in old rum kegs. In

About

1864 the canning

of salmon was begun on Sacramento River, in California, and two

years later on the Columbia, where it has flourished ever since.

The

fish are caught in nets of various kinds, but also, and most effectively,
in the salmon wheel, which may be seen at many points along the

shores of the Colombia

at

By this device, which is kept in motion
ee the stream, the fish are automatically scooped up and thrown into
ank,

“=a Vancouver the Columbia is crossed by a new bridge more

than a mile in length. The depth of the river here is 29 feet.

The

present course before the range was
formed, maintained its channel by wear-
ing down its bed as rapidly on the whole
as the mountains rose. The larger tribu-
taries $8 down their channels also and
eep ravines which open on the
river as VIII). The smaller streams,
however, aed been unable to keep pace
with the main stream in lowering their
channels, Ha reach the river by plung
ing over the cliffs as falls (Pl. IX). Tribu-
tary valleys perched on the sides of a
main stream v: a be this way are called
‘‘hanging valleys.”
At Cascade Locks, in the very axis of
the Cascade Range, the river has been
unable to maintain a uniform grade and

portion of the stream. Above the cas-
cades the river is ponded, as if the ob-
struction over which it falls were acting as
a - At one time the ponding was
more extensive than at present, as shown
by the occurrence, some miles above the
cascad at th be = ¢ .

Three explanations have been sug-

tion at the cascades and the consequent
ing of the river above them. One
is that it represents a hum
produced across the river channel by the
continued slow uplift of the pie
Range. It is su accordance
with this view, that the uplift of the range
at this place has proceeded a little faster
than the river could cut down its bed.

formation of the crack being followed by
a slipping of the rocks along it in such a

A third and still.more probable
suggestion is that a large mass of rock has
abd: into the xiver from the cliffs and | ens

living that have been killed by the water
and partly buried in silts (Pl. = sh p. 28)
containing their fossilized lea:

washed away. Not enough geologic work

+ enn erie

deter SMALLS

¥ icinity

which explanation is the ales one.

28 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

character and the natural sorting of the material of the river bed are
well illustrated by the deposits of fine-grained sand dredged oppo-
site Vancouver, of coarse sand opposite Russell Landing, and of
gravel opposite Fishers, 9 miles above Vancouver. Halfway across
the Columbia River bridge the traveler passes into the State of
Oregon.

The name Oregon was in 1778 first applied by Jonathan Carver to
the river now known as the Columbia and afterward somewhat
vaguely to the vast country drained by it. The present
Oregon. State of Oregon is about 375 miles from east to west and
200 miles from north to south and comprises an area of

96,699 square miles. Its population in 1910 was 672,765.

Oregon, like Washington, extends across the mountain belt and
includes much of the interior plateau. It has thus a wide range of
climate, that of the coast being mild, equable, and humid, and that
of the interior dry with pronounced variations in temperature.
Most of the mountain belt is heavily timbered, and the Douglas
spruce (Pseudotsuga mucronata), commonly called red fir, is said to
constitute about five-sevenths of the total timber stand of the State.
This tree yields the well-known ‘Oregon pine” of commerce. The
value of the lumber and timber products of Oregon in 1912 was
about $22,263,920,000. A large part of the State lies within the

great volcanic field of the Northwest, the rocks of which yield rich ©

soils. Although great quantities of oats and barley are grown in
Oregon, wheat is the principal grain crop, and most of it is raised by

Be.

dry farming in the eastern part of the State. The most productive —

agricultural region, on the whole, is the Willamette Valley. The

fisheries of Oregon are of great value. The principal product from
its mines is gold, the yield in 1913 being $1,177,082 from deep mines
and $450,628 from placers. Its water resources for power and irriga-

tion are as yet largely unused and await the further development of

the State.

Oregon was early a bone of contention between nations. While —
the United States claimed the drainage of the Columbia, the British

were moving down from the north and Spain was advancing its
missions from the south. The regulations of the Hudson’s Bay Co.,

administered by John McLoughlin, were the first law of the region. _

They were superseded by a more independent form of government —

when Oregon was organized as a Territory in 1848. The Territory

of Oregon included, besides the area of the present State, the region —

now included in Washington and Idaho, with parts of Wyoming
and Montana. On February 14, 1859, Oregon was admitted to the
Union as a State.

U. §S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE X

A, TRUNKS OF TREES OF A SUBMERGED gen COLUMBIA RIVER ABOVE CASCADE LOCKS,
REG.

Opposite Wind es Wash. It is possible that a landslide into the river from the north side dammed back
ud,

e water so as to drown the trees and cover them partly with mu

meray a

Pr tibdend. Je

B. CIGAR-SHAPED RAFT OF LOGS FOR OCEAN TRAVEL.

On the right is the cradle in which the raft was made.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE xX!

. ca
ee ae
nr See

el

A, MOUNT HOOD FROM PORTLAND, OREG.

Photograph copyrighted by Weister Co., Portland.

>

B. WILLAMETTE FALLS, OREGON CITY, OREG.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 29

From the Columbia the railway crosses the broad, partly swampy
alluvial flood plain of the river and enters a deep cut over a mile in
length and 30 to 100 feet deep. (See fig. 4.) This

wag ia mt erto cut goes through part of a terrace that projects
into the angle between Columbia and Willamette

rivers. East Portland is built on this terrace. The principal
iaterial exposed in the cut is fine sand, rudely stratified and con-
taining scattered
tenses and streaks
of gravel, with a
few pebbles as
much as 6 inches
in diameter. In

this material at Ficure 4.—Sectionof deep cut of Northern P: — in reas rt
: Peninsula between Vancouver, Wash., and Po reg.
intervals of 3 or ; : :

Buff loam,4-6 feet

Cross-bedded sand
and gravel, 40 feet

Fine sand with few
: ppebbles and ith pon
: | of clay, 60 fee

4 feet there are thin beds of clay or clay and sand. Above this lies
coarse cross-bedded gray sand and gravel capped by buff loam.
Beyond the cut the railway crosses the Willamette at Willbridge
and turns to the left up that stream. East of the river, above a
bluff, is Columbia University (Catholic). In the bluff, which is 175
feet high, are exposed lower beds than those seen in the cut, and they
include, as may be seen at one point southeast of Mocks Bottom,
larger bowlders and coarse gravel. On the right as Portland is
approached i is Guild Lake, the site of the Lewis and Clark Exposi-
tion in 1905. It is now being filled for factory sites by washing in

Mt apd

INCI NANT aN es Aleta
aS I SSZASNS
we NOY pics

ind and saie os ae mates oe
d, gravel, OW rary
1 tay rect ace pose shale,
es Series er "and gravel, sup-

° eer ae 2Miles

GURE 5 lor amette Valley at Portand, Oreg. sh fthe sandy
phi (a) and the basalt (b) of rtland 1 (ce) on which Portl d an oat
6 built and to tie ene a) of t Mount Tabor and the eae ‘loam (e) best exp
upper aah of Westover Terrace.

gravel. Across the lake is a dark bluff, which is notched by the ravin.
of small streams that drain a plateau west of it. The bluff, which
is made up of basalt lava, is capped by buff sandy loam that has
resulted from the weathering of the basalt. A diagrammatic section
from the plateau on the west, through the river terraces on which
the cities of Portland and East Portland are built, to Mount Tabor
on the east is shown in figure 5.

The flat-topped heights: west of Portland, including Council Crest,
are part of what in early Pleistocene time was an extensive nearly
level surface produced by erosion—a peneplain, as it is termed by

30 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.
geologists. As such a surface is not produced until the region is
worn down nearly to sea level, this plain must have been elevated
since it was formed. Remnants of this old surface,! which has been
deeply cut by the present rivers and their tributaries, extend up the
Columbia to Cape Horn and up the Willamette to a point beyond
Oregon City.

Portland, 186 miles south of Seattle and 771 miles north of
San Francisco, is often referred to as the Rose City on account of
the beauty and profusion of the queen of flowers
in its gardens and even along its streets. An annual
rose festival is held here during the first week of June.

n the terraces and slopes in the western part of the
city, which have a range of altitude of more than
1,000 feet, there are many beautiful homes, each with its garden,
from which may be obtained views that are surpassed in few other
cities in the world—such as the view across the Willamette to the
snow-crowned peaks of Mounts St. Helens, Adams, and Hood
(Pl. XI

The settlement was founded in 1845 by two men from New England
and was named after Portland, Maine. It was chartered as a city in
1851. Its situation at the head of deep-water navigation on the
Columbia and Willamette and at the gateway for railroads to the
East through the gorge of the Columbia gives it great advantage as a

Portland, Oreg.

Seattle 186 miles.

“
Ss

Phi “ieee ae

commercial center. Steamships ply from it to many domestic and

foreign ports. It exports every year raw materials and foodstuffs—
chiefly wheat, wool, lumber, fish, and flour—to the value of over
$15,000,000, and its manufactured products, including woolen goods,
flour, and many other articles, amount to $35,000,000 annually.

' This peneplain is related to a similar
one in central Washi n and to an
elevated beach along the coast of Oregon
which records the ocean level at that
time. It was in the later stages of this
period of erosion that the basalt became
so deeply weathered.

The general uplift of the region that
followed the formation of this peneplain
caused the rivers to cut deep, wide val-
leys across it and expose the lava and
underlying Tertiary sediments in bluffs
such as those near Portland. Subsidence

enabled the rivers to carry away much of
this old gravel in the Columbia Valley,
but a remnant of it may be seen on Mount
Tabor, a basalt knob in East Portland.
The knob is itself a remnant of an ex-

tensive lava flow. Still another sub-
sidence caused the rivers to deposit the
gravels and sands of the terrace on which
Portland and East Portland are built.
These sands and gravels were themselves
cut into and trenched in consequence of
a later moderate uplift of the land.
i ; been seen, a relatively
slight depression drowned the lower
reaches of the Columbia and, of course,
of the Willamette also, It thus appears
that the land in this region has had

: movements here noted,
however, are only the more conspicuous
ones. Many minor oscillations have left
less noticeable traces in the landscape.

these movements were probably s0
slow that they passed unnoticed by men
if any were there at that time.

se
ne
|
2
|

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. — Si

Among the more notable buildings are the Public Library, the
Wells Fargo Co.’s building, the Chamber of Commerce, the Com-
mercial Club, the Oregonian Building, and the Art Museum. Of the
church buildings, the Presbyterian, Congregational, Baptist (White
Temple), and Episcopal (Cathedral) should be mentioned. The City
Hall contains the Oregon Historical Society’s museum and the
Hawkins Museum of Natural History.

Willamette River, which separates East Portland from Portland,
is spanned by five bridges.

Electric cars afford easy access to the hilltop known as Council
Crest, from which superb views may be had of the rolling lava plateau

in which the Willamette has cut its valley, a country
_Bxeurstons rom _ of rich farms and orchards. To the east may be seen
: the Cascade Range, surmounted by he lofty peaks

of Mounts Rainier, St. Helens, Adams, Hood, and Jefferson.

Cloud Cap Inn may be reached in a day by the Oregon-Washington
Railroad & Navigation Co.’s train up the south bank of the Columbia
to Hood River station, thence by auto stage through the famous
orchard country of the Hood River valley and up the northern slopes
of Mount Hood to an altitude of nearly 6,000 feet. From this place
the glaciers are in full view and may be easily reached. The cliffs
along the south side of the Columbia (Pls. VII-[X), seen on this trip,
are remarkable for their sheerness and for the numerous waterfalls
that plunge over them to the river, but the cliffs upon the north side
of the river are in generalless imposing and lack falls. Fish wheels,
log rafts for ocean transportation (Pl. X, B, p. 28), and the Cascade
Locks are additional attractions of a trip that is well worth taking.

Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia, may be reached by
steamer or railway. The river is 5 miles wide here. At its mouth
are the great Government jetty; Forts Stevens and Scarboro Head,
which guard the entrance; lighthouses; and a life-saving station.
Some typical sand dunes may be seen near Astoria, and the type
locality for the rocks and fossils of the Astoria shale (Oligocene) is
in this vicinity. Here, many years ago, Prof. J. D. Dana, then on
the Wilkes expedition, observed some sandstone dikes, formed by
sand that filled wide cracks in the rocks and later itself hardened
into rock. As a rule dikes are composed of igneous rock which has
been forced into such cracks in a molten condition. Dikes of sand-
stone are comparatively rare.

John Jacob Astor founded the town of Astoria in 1811 as a depot
for the fur trade. It was seized by the British in 1813 but was
restored in 1818. In 1821, while occupied by the Northwest Fur Co.,
it was burned and practically abandoned, the Hudson’s Bay Co.
being left in control of the country.

$2 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Trains from Portland by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Rail-
way connect with steamers of the Great Northern Pacific Steamship
Co., which run to San Francisco three times a week.

On leaving Portland for the south the railway crosses Willamette
River and ascends its valley. The drainage basin of the Willamette

is a roughly rectangular trough-shaped hollow, 145
Willamette River. miles long and 80 miles wide, lying between the

Cascade and Coast ranges. Its area is over 11,000
square miles. The maximum power available from the river and its
tributaries is 1,670,000 horsepower, of which 92,537 horsepower had
been developed in 1909, the date of the United States Census report.
The river is navigable for 100 miles, and shallow-draft steamers ply
regularly from Portland to Oregon City, Dayton, and Corvallis.

East Morrison Street station is in the manufacturing suburb of
East Portland, and a mile beyond, on the left, is the new Ford auto-
mobile factory. Half a mile beyond the suburb of Brooklyn, near

milepost 767 from San Francisco, on the left, there are gravel terraces, _

on which stand the buildings of Reed College. For miles the railroad

runs through a beautiful fertile country in which cultivated fields —

4
i
0
:

are interspersed with groves of firs, alders, and other trees. The —

white-flowered arrowwood, purple hardhack, and fireweed beautify
the hedges and fields. Along this part of the route there are fine
views of the even-crested bluff, probably of basalt, that bounds the
valley of Kellogg Creek on the west. The smooth soil-covered slopes
over which the train passes end abruptly against this bluff, which is
probably due to a fault. Near Milwaukie (milepost 762), on the left,
is Harmony School, and beyond are Mount Scott and other prominent
rounded hills of lava (basalt).

There appears on the left, just before the train reaches Clackamas
(see sheet 4, p. 36) a small sulphurous-looking factory where spray
compounds for fruit trees are made. The State Rifle Range is near

Clackamas. Opposite the station there is a fine

Clackamas. view of Mount Hood over field and forest.
Elevation 137 feet. Near milepost 758 the railroad crosses Clackamas
Phy geeneitt River, which is bordered by banks of basalt. On the

south side is Park Place station near Gladstone Park.

As Oregon City is approached the valley of the Willamette narrows
to a canyon between bluffs of basalt.

Oregon City, situated at the Falls of the Willamette (Pl. XI,

B, p. 29), is a manufacturing town and produces paper and woolen

_goods. The water here falls 40 feet over basalt

Oregon City. to tidewater level. A large hydroelectric plant by
lovetion 308 fet. the falls supplies light and power for Portland, and
pea enema the maximum available energy is said to be 50,000

horsepower. A lock canal along the west bank of |

the river transfers steamers and other boats past the falls.

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC eo

OF THE

SHASTA ROUTE
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

Base a from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by

Southern Pacific Company and fear erst informa-
tion collected with the ce of this compa

UNITED STATES Ee SURVEY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
1915
ch quadrangle shown on the map w

in the
lower left corner is =e in rat on aint os: G. = ‘ouuue
Sheet of that na

BULLETIN 614
Serr anaR oO

SHEET 3

igs Sheet No, 2 .

WASHINGTON -OREGON

J 1005
/ ee Yy P
p 4

7
= v
so: \
a AN

EXPLANATION
A| Stream deposits (alluvium)

B} Lava flows, rnc basalt, and beds of fragmental vol- |
canic material (tuff)

C | Shales (Miocene)

/ ey, ‘e a
’ os mS
D!| Sandstones sais shales. mainly marine, with some beds of + Tertiary | ; ‘Z > Elf
coal (Eoc HEEL WS a Le
| > == = Y j ‘ey
E Sandstonge and shales deposited in fresh or brackish | eS =a aver Sivgt unc B |
r (Eocene) 5 : G Af (==) ww. ek
x ~ sls |
® Coal mine boule : “4 6 1% Bee
6 i |
~

by . 44
= % nee % = 4%
5000 e \& tea e >
rd ogee : 8 \ 2 a AS =" Image A ae
Approximately 8 miles to | inch ms » ‘ dante was #1 a
i \ ¥ = “ = —
Hen aa 2 ere —— z . 92 | aed “SASS cn ee =x SS Fisher
ao { =
icenetere \ Willbridg te OSS
eikcackusabck Sy WE ng og: res luvin
ta %,. ss 3 oe 6B Clarnie
Contour | inter 200 feet ; vis ahigr ge
E VE MEAN SEA LEVEL f : Ss t ™ ek 7 Troutdale
Th. 7 fj Seattl ‘ t PORTLAW,
Washington, are shown every 10 miles : Al lixdum hy meets £5 28 coca ae =
2 is as dessus ek aide fue aneet \ Len ] ruin on
45 a a
x s\ \c\ eas SS
»~ } "|
eee 4 Belly ad
- it 2 Re
Basal Ss >Re)
me
po

| —_
423° Sheet No+

t St:

elens.».
967F ye:

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 33

Basalt bluffs restrict the outlook from the train, but the accom-
panying section (fig. 6) shows what may be seen above the bluff on
the left (east), near the quarry and crusher, and along the road to Ely.

Dr. John McLoughlin, the Hudson’s Bay Co. factor, settled here
and did much for the early settlers and afterward for the t town. His
house is carefully preserved in a park that commands a fine view of
the river.

Between Oregon City and New Era, a distance of 6 miles, the Wil-
lamette has cut a canyon 450 feet in depth across an extensive rolling
upland on which are many fine farms. This upland is traversed
by the Pacific Highway, a road from San Diego, Cal., to Vancouver,
British Columbia. Along the sides of the canyon, at elevations of
100 to 200 feet above the sea, are remnants of a well-defined terrace.
These are parts of a former bottom of the canyon, made when the
river was flowing at a higher Molalla Road
level. The upland is an old dows
erosion surface, and was
formed, together with the can-
yon and the terrace (fig. 6), 3°”
while the gorge of the Colum- © 20’
bia was being cut, before the
falls at Oregon City came into
existence. The falls have °
since cut back about a mile a, Stratified gravel and ae b, stratified coarse sand;
from their first position. In © stratified fine loamy material; ¢, decomposed basalt
comparison with the recession _hoted at Westover Terrace, Portland. They are well
of some falls—for example, exposed near the quarry at the aaah of — Street,
Niagara, which has receded i oa errs a hoe arrose cate
about 9 miles—this distance is not great, but the rock is hard and
gives way slowly under the wearing action of the water.

Near Coalca, at milepost 751, on the left, scarcely visible among
the trees of the terrace above the train, is Coalca or Balanced Rock,
which marks the scene of many an Indian council.

At New Era the railroad emerges from the canyon into a broad
alluvial valley — filled with unconsolidated material deposited

by the Willamette and its trioutaries.1 Gravel is

New Era. dredged from the Willamette here and after washing
cous wiemer and screening is delivered, wholly by machinery, in
bunkers at the railroad ready for shipment. At

Fishs Eddy the river impinges from the west against bluffs of lava,

Oregon City

RAILROAD

Sea level

1 The explanation of the fact that the | to be as follows: Ata time not definitely
Willamette between Oregon City and | determined but probably early in the
New Era flows through a canyon, while | Pleistocene epoch a fracture was formed
north of Oregon City and south of New | in the basaltic rocks near the site of Ore-
Era it occupies broad valleys, is thought | gon City. This fracture had a general

96286°—Bull. 614—15——-3

34 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

which cause it to turn abruptly northwestward. At this place may
be seen some Pleistocene sediments, deposited in the valley probably
while the river was temporarily dammed, as described in the footnote.
From this point to Salem the railroad passes through a region of
broad alluvial plains with prosperous farms won from the great
forest, which is represented now only by stumps and by scattered
groups of tall firs.
The Clackamas County Fairground is visible on the right as the
train enters Canby. Half a mile beyond the town is a railroad
gravel pit. The gravels have the characteristic delta
Canby. structure, known as cross-bedding—a series of layers

Elevation 179 feet. al] inclined in one direction capped by nearly hori-

ulation 587.
atrarory miles. zontal layers. They resemble the delta deposits seen

near Puget Sound. Southeast of Canby, near Wil- —

oe ee

hoit, is a farm where teazels are grown. The dry thistle-like head of —

the teazel is used by fullers to comb up the nap on woolen cloth, and

i
gee

this farm is said to furnish a large part of the world’s supply. At —

milepost 746 the railroad crosses Molalla River, which here flows
along the east side of its broad, flat valley. In this valley are grown

wheat, oats, potatoes, peaches, apples, and hops. In the neighbor- *
hood of Barlow and Aurora, where Pudding River is crossed, the for- _
ested areas increase, but to the northwest, near Newburg, there i is =

fine orchard country. (See Pl. XII.)

At Hubbard and between Hubbard and Woodbum ?—

Hubbard. the country is open to the east, and the traveler may — 4

Elevation 210 feet. get views of the Cascade Range, with Mount Jeffer-
Population

Seattle 218 miles. son and other snow-covered summits. Woodburn is —

the center of a rich farming country. Beyond the

Woodburn. station a vista opens on the right to the Coast —

Elevation 210 feet. Range. Rural scenes continue to Gervais, a towD

Population 1,616. : . x
pita : notable for its fresh, white cleanliness. About @

northwesterly course. The rocks on op- | powerful stream than the Willamette, it
posite sides of it began to move, and ap- | was unable to maintain its original chan-
parently the principal movement was a | nel. It was forced to flow southeast,
rise of the rocks on the southwest side. | along the sloping back of the uptilted
The rocks were lifted as a tilted block, | block, and now enters the Willamette

the hinge of the movement being some- | nearly 3 miles above Oregon City. OF

where near the site of New Era. The | wego Lake, a long, narrow body of water

tendency of this movement was to dam | trending at right angles to the Willamette
Willamette above New Era. Tem- | west of Oswego, is really a remnant of the
porarily the river may have been ponded | former lower part of the Tualatin.

back, but on the whole it appears to have | While the Willamette was engaged in | a

been able to cut a canyon in the basalt | cutting the ~~ sana the hard lava

as fast as the rock rose. The Tualatin, | block it had tim to swing from side t0 :

a tributary ee formerly entered the | side above the sous: and to e
Willamette at Oswego, 5 miles below | from the softer rocks the wide valley
Oregon City, aches its course across the | which the — sees as he emerges
rising block of lava, but being a less | from the can

U. 8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE Xil

WILLAMETTE VALLEY NEAR NEWBURG, NORTHWEST OF HUBBARD, OREG.

8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE

SHALE INCLOSED IN DIABASE NEAR ROSEBURG, OREG,

The diabase, an igneous rock, has broken up through the shale.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 35

mile beyond Gervais patches of blue toadflax (Linaria canadensis)
may be seen in the fields in June. than a
’ mile farther on, at the right, is a grove of oaks which
once oa contrast with the more common fir.
Seattle 225 miles. Just north of the town of Brooks is a noted logan-
Brooks. berry farm, and during the season the adjacent oak
Elevation 230 feet. WOOds are white with the tents of the berry pickers.
vtec iabesang The loganberry is a hybrid produced by crossing a red
raspberry with a species of blackberry. It was named
for its originator, Judge Logan, of California.

At Chemawa is an Indian school with good buildings and well-
kept grounds. It has about 600 students and teaches in a practical

way many trades and industries, giving most atten-

Chemawa. tion to agriculture. The results are well illustrated

Flevation 188 feet. on the school farm. Prune, apple, and cherry

= seat orchards and berry gardens become more numerous
as Salem, the State capital, is approached.

Salem is beautifully situated on Willamette River amid rolling
hills that yield abundantly all kinds of farm, orchard, and garden

products. It is in one of the most productive cherry

Salem. districts of the State, and its cherry festival is an

Elevation 191 feet. . annual attraction. Salem is noted also as a hop and

a prune center. The State buildings are near the rail-

~ road on the righi, and close to them are those of

_ Willamette University. The State asylum for the insane and the

penitentiary, surrounded by beautiful grounds, are about a mile from
the railroad on the left.

A short distance west of Salem are some hills of basalt that are
outliers of the great masses of volcanic rocks forming the Cascade
Range. A pleasant trip on the Salem Heights electric car, running
a mile to the south, will enable the traveler to see the lavas at
many points and to obtain an excellent view of the city among its
trees.

Gervais.

On leaving Salem for the south the railroad follows the valley of
Mill Creek to Turner. The basalt hills just mentioned are on the
right. Two miles from Salem, on the same side, is the Asylum for
the Feeble Minded. On the left is the broad alluvial valley of Mill
Creek, and a few miles farther along the State Industrial Training
School for Boys, which stands on a hill that appears to be basaltic.
Where the railroad rounds the basalt slopes on the right the bright-
yellow monkey flower (Mimulus) borders the track in June, and at
that season there is a wealth of flowers on every hand. The goldenrod
(Solidago) appears even as early as the end of June, and among the
small trees is the attractive madrona (Arbutus menziesii), with its
brown bark and fresh, glossy evergreen leaves.

36 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

For miles south of Turner the Cascade Range is in view on the left
(east). Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters can be seen if the
weather is clear. On the right, a few miles away,

= are basalt hills, some densely forested with firs but
Elevation 332 feet. : ‘
Population 191. others cultivated. The varicolored crops make a
Seattle 246 miles. beautiful contrast with the forest

Here, through spring and summer, the exultant song of the west-
ern meadow lark is heard, and bob white, the eastern quail who has
been brought west, expresses contentment in his new quarters.
Here, too, in the early hours of the day the traveler will hear the
rippling music of the Chinese pheasant and will not wonder that
Starleus: Rostand’s Chantecler, listening to that melody, forgot
Elevation 329 fect, 0 give his clarion call that was to set the world going

564. for another day.

3 Marion is surrounded by a great hay country in
which, as elsewhere in Oregon, vetch is grown with wheat and oats
for hay, with excellent results

t Jefferson the railroad crosses Santiam River, one
Jefferson. of the largest tributaries of the Willamette. Under
Elevation 268 feet. the bridge at low water can be seen dark, more or
Seattle 257 miles. less carbonaceous shales. The railroad passes be-
tween hills of basalt and traverses the alluvial plain

past Millersburg to Alban

Albany, which is on the Willamette at the mouth of Calapooya

River, is an important railroad center. Branches from the main

line of the Southern Pacific extend from it to the
Albany. coast on the west and into the Cascade Range on the
Elevation 40 feet. east.1. A short distance south of Albany the Cascade
and Coast ranges are in full view. Both ranges have
been so eroded as to present irregular sky lines.
Marys Peak dominates this part of the Coast Range, and some basalt
buttes between Santiam and McKenzie rivers are outliers of the
Cascade Range.

1Trips over these branches give the | stones of Eocene age form the foothills
traveler interested i in geology and in the | west of the Willamette Valley and fossils
ppor- | belonging to that epoch occur near Cor-
tunity to study a partial crees seition of | vallis. The crest of the Coast Range is
the Pacific pellet including the Oregon | composed of Astoria shale (Oligocene),
Coast Range, the Willamette Valley, and | but farther west, at Yaquina Bay, where
part of the Cascade Range. the branch railroad ends, Miocene and
At Corvallis, on the way to the coast, | Pleistocene fossils are abundant.
is the Oregon Agricultural College, a State | The Corvallis & Eastern Railroad, 2
institution with which is connected a | branch of the Southern Pacific running

were 28 graduate and 1,250 undergradu- | of Eocene strata before reaching the lavas
ate students at the college in 1913. Sand- | of the Cascade Range.

BULLETIN 614

12 a Sh et he cae
j ie. \) -
a yh hie
, Be ok ( Alluvium
Loy erat
ee Se \
's, ts
Ny h Os W
SN SS. ag
Newberg™e VG —
GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP \
BW Sg
OF THE Fy” pe
‘ Champoey oa N ag ‘
I,
SHASTA R oF Sip SORES clas
STA ROUTE Me le
| Whore » Lava| flows and tu |
as ‘ ‘ ‘ : Ni
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California fs ‘ A |
z ‘
Base compiled from United ‘States Geological Survey Atlas 5 aie
Sheets, from rai alignments and profiles supplied by i,
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa- Py vA
tion collected .with the assistance of this company e) Be
. : : \ =
| ~ ne
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY > ed x
, road ;
. \ ce ‘foun Ss Z
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR a / 5 9 ig
® “
David White, Chief Geologist R. B, Marshall, Chief Geographer atte 9 f ye wnerg
X “4 oy rs
1915 ie oe oe
/ . 2 =
h quadrangle sh the map with a name in parenthesis in the : D i : a J
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic fe or enmnrenl f, C
Sheet of that name. j
EXPLANATION
/ A Stream deposits (alluvium) Quaternary
| i B Lava flows, chiefly basalt, and beds of fragmental|
i voleanie material (tuff)
/ }
} ae 3 C- Shales and sandstones; sediments largely of voleanic | ie
D re material (Miocene) r Tertiary
/ i
/ ft D Sandstones and shales; sediments largely of volcanic |
| 3 / material (Eocene) J
ce ae. |
} : { Pa
| 1 a \ =
| \ \
Boe i : iin
Bee er ahs 5 \ Scale 500,000
Ses at \ Approximately 8 miles to | inch
D \ i} Sr ee, a iS 20Miles
\ 1o ? 10 is 20 25 30Kilometers
Ne ' i a a oe a i a a of - nas Wels ,
i, a \ Contour interval 200 feet
Vie \ ELEVATIONS IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL
Am The di: Si le, Washington. io
} WAY } ae Ene
3 / © .
} ; |
| Be ee |
ace Ne \ Lava TiOWS and tuts
> at < \ H
ni? D , A \
| Pg | |
Oo A py? |
FL Gg |
er aN e
Philomat eee [' ; ae
rie y Sheet No. S&S 122°30’

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 37

For 19 miles south of Albany the railroad runs through a highly
_ productive grain and hay country. Oats and wheat are the principal
grains produced and clover is grown, chiefly for seed. Vetch is sown
with grain to some extent to make hay, but most of the hay crop is
made .from native grasses, which are cured and baled for market.
From Albany Junction to a point a few miles south of Halsey, a
distance of about 20 miles, the track runs due south as the crow flies.
The station called Tangent is a few miles south of Albany Junction.

At the little town of Shedd (see sheet 5, p. 40) there is a creamery

and also a flour mill. On the left (east), 2? miles away, is Saddle
Butte, a volcanic cone from which basaltic rock is
Shedd. obtained for use in road making. A number of these
atoms hoetagg cones, each marking a volcanic vent, probably of
: Eocene age, rise near the valley border. They are
surrounded by alluvium washed into the valley, and a little cone
between Shedd and Saddle Butte is nearly buried by these uncon-
solidated valley deposits.

About 6 miles beyond Halsey, in the vicinity of Alford, near mile-
post 667, good views can be had of the irregular crest
Halsey. of the Coast Range on the right and the foothills of
RE pe the Cascade Range on the left.

Population 337. Harrisburg lies between Muddy Creek and the
Willamette, in a country where shifting meandering
streams, with many islands, make hard problems for

Harrisburg. the agriculturist. As a preliminary step to the work
Elevation 336 feet, of reclamation by drainage, the Federal and State
harpoon governments are cooperating in making large-scale

topographic maps of this part of Willamette Valley.
: Near Junction City fields of grain and hay abound and
Junction City. = ers adorn the roadside. Just beyond the station on
Elevation 353 feet. th Jeft (east) the little blue toadflax shines out. In

Pi jon :
tle 2 mle June the bright blue, purple, or white chicory, the pink
malva, and the yellow poppy give beauty to the scene.

Irving. In the vicinity of Irving groves of English walnuts
Elevation 405 feet, 2nd orchards of apples, prunes, and peaches, with
Population so7.* large patches of loganberries and other small fruits,
oe alternate with fields of wheat, oats, corn, and grass.

— slope, is seen near by on the left. The well-marked
Prevation 453 feet. columnar structure of its basalt is clearly visible
Senttis Seu inne and illustrates the character of many of the buttes

farther north in the Willamette Valley. All these
buttes are composed of solid basaltic lava and appear to be the

38 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

remnants of ancient volcanoes that have been subjected to long
erosion and worn down to their solid cores or hard central parts,
called plugs because they fill the opening through which the lava
had been ejected.

At the University of Oregon, in Eugene, is the large collection of
fossils made. by Prof. Thomas Condon, who in his day did much to
interpret the geology of Oregon.

A stage line up McKenzie River, the largest tributary of the
Willamette, which enters the valley near Eugene, leads to the Blue
River mining district and gives access to the hunting and fishing
grounds about the Three Sisters, snow-clad peaks that carry the
largest glaciers in Oregon. The extent of these glaciers during the
glacial epoch has not been determined. An ice stream of considerable
size probably once occupied the basin at the head of the McKenzie,
but no evidence of glaciation has been recognized in the lower McKenzie
Valley. Stray bowlders found at a number of places in the Willam-
ette Valley have been more or less doubtfully attributed to ice float-
ing in a body of water which Prof. Condon named Willamette Sound.

Railroad cuts on a branch now being built from the main line at
Eugene across the Coast Range to Coos Bay will no doubt display
good sections of the Eocene sediments of which this part of the range
is largely composed. Another branch runs southeastward from
Eugene up the valley of the Middle Fork of the Willamette to Oak
Ridge. This branch when extended across the Cascade Range and
connected with a line already built from Weed, Cal., to Kirk, Oreg.,
by way of Klamath Falls will form the main line of the Southern
Pacific from Eugene to Weed. This route will avoid the deep cross-
drainage valleys of Umpqua, Rogue, and Klamath rivers, will make
Crater Lake National Park more easily accessible, and will be superior
in scenic and geologic interest to the route now followed.

The rock underlying Eugene is a fossiliferous gray sandstone of Ter-
tiary age.

The University of Oregon is passed on the right (southwest) a
mile from the station at Eugene. A mile farther on may be seen

an abandoned quarry of the fossiliferous sand-
Springfield Junction. stone, also on the right. Beyond it the railroad
Elevation 474 feet. passes through an area of basalt hills, suc-
arate oO ceeded by shales. At Springfield Junction the
shales give place to a gray sandstone full of marine shells like
those seen nearer Eugene. This fossiliferous sandstone may be
seen in an old quarry on the right side of the railroad. Half a
mile beyond Springfield Junction are bluffs of fragmental volcanic
material (tuffaceous conglomerate), which continue for nearly a mile.
This material is cut by dikes of basalt, which may be seen along the
banks of the river. After passing these the railroad takes final leave
of Willamette River and in a climb of 20 miles surmounts the low

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 89

divide between the Willamette and the Umpqua. For nearly 200
miles now the route is in the area of generally hilly country which, as
noted in the preliminary sketch of the region, separates the Willamette
Valley from the Great Valley of California and links the Oregon Coast
Range and Klamath Mountains with the Cascade Range and the
Sierra Nevada. From Eugene nearly to Greens, a distance of 80
miles, the route traverses Eocene sedimentary or eruptive rocks
except where these are covered by alluvium.

At Goshen basalt forms the hill directly opposite the station and
extends at least to Spencer Butte, a prominent peak of the same
material, which soon comes into view on the right

a (west). Between Mathews and Creswell is a wide
Opalitie ate Stretch of alluvial plain on which are young orchards
Seattle 312 miles. of a great variety of fruit trees. From Goshen south-

ward the valley narrows to Walker, being bounded on
Creswell. the left (east) by the end of a bold spur of lava from

i va the Cascade Range. The low hills on the right consist
Seattle 321 miles. mainly of sandstones and shales, of Miocene age, but
at one point a mile east of Saginaw basalt occurs on
the right and is crushed for road material.
A branch line from Cottage Grove runs up Row River into the
Cascade Range, toward the Bohemia mining district, which has pro-
duced gold for many years. Gold was discovered
Cottage Grove. here in 1858, and the total production has been be-
Elevation 671 feet. tween $300,000 and $400,000. The gold-bearing
“soemnemtaes quartz veins of this district traverse Tertiary lavas.
; uicksilver ore occurs at several places in this region,
and an attempt has been made to mine it at Black Butte, on the Coast
Fork of the Willamette 17 miles south of Cottage Grove.
The Southern Pacific Co. has a plant at Latham for treating wooden
railroad ties with chloride of zinc to increase their durability. This
treatment is called burnettizing, from Sir William
: Burnett, who patented the process. Without treat-
Seattle 331 miles. = ent the ties last about six years, but when burnett-
ized they last eight years. Dated nails are put in all the ties, of
which more than 3,000 are treated daily.
Leaving the Coast Fork, the railroad ascends a branch valley to
the low pass across Calapooya Mountain that separates the drainage
basin of the Willamette from that of the Umpqua.
aerits: Calapooya Mountain is the most northerly of the
— fet. transverse ridges from the Cascades to the Coast
ae Range and is composed of Eocene sediments and
intrusive igneous rocks succeeded on the east by later Tertiary lavas.
The terraced slopes of this pass suggest that formerly Umpqua River
flowed through it and joined the Willamette. In the course of time,
however, its waters found a shorter way through the Coast Range

40 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

to the sea. Igneous rocks appear near by on the right in the divide
and on the left in Wards Butte.

The railroad now enters the Umpqua basin and continues in it for
over 100 miles. In the descent down Pass Creek may be seen out-
crops of tuffaceous conglomerate (formed of volcanic fragments),
which is quarried here and there for riprapping the roadbed.
the general dip of these rocks is northeastward, successively older
strata appear in the course of the southwestward descent. Near
milepost 619, on the right, is an old quarry in sandstone which con-

tains numerous fossil leaves of Miocene or Eocene age.
At Comstock there are traces of coal in the sandstones, and a few
Eocene shells have been found. The valley of Pass Creek in general
is narrow and lies between wooded hills of fine fir

Comstock.
Elevation 476 feet.
Population 321.*
Seattle 339 miles.

timber. Here and there, however, it widens, and
fields of hay and grain extend for some distance up
the hillsides. Lumbering is still the principal industry

of the region. Anlauf, Safely, and Leona are passed

between Comstock and Drain.

‘A cross section of the valley cut
through the Coast Range by the Umpqua
shows certain features that throw light on
the later geologic history of the region.
In the first place, if the section given in
figure 7 were extended it would show that
2k oy fal Lin +1 7 Pe aye

+h Ms Gat d at neaarl«z
CUS Liver ale iivuiec OL J

the same level. An observer standing on
one of these hills and looking over the

FIGURE 7.—Generalized section of Umpqua River
valley in Coast Range, Oreg. a, Peneplain; 6b,
earlier valley; c, later valley. :

country could disregard the present val-

leys and imagine that his vision was
sweeping over a vast rolling surface that

ley. Aiter it had cut down to a consider-
able depth the upward movement of the

land apparently ceased for a time and the
river stopped cutting and began to mean-
der and thus to widen its valley. Later
the upward movement of the land was
renewed and the river again began to cut
down its bed, leaving remnants of its old
valley floor as benches or terraces along
the sides of its present valley.

A similar relation of peneplain, terrace,
and present valley bottom can be deci-
phered along nearly all the larger streams

ws
€ area was affected by the same
vertical movements of the land.

The Umpqua flows through the Coast
Range to the sea in a direct course, which
presents a strong contrast with its mean-
dering course east of the range. This dif-
ference is due to the fact that in the rela-

area east of the Coast Range the river has
probably flowed over softer rocks and at
some stages in its history has had time,
between periods of active downward cut-
ting, to swing from side to side, widen its
valley, and establish graceful meanders
after the common habit of low-grade
treams.

q
‘
4
:

BULLETIN 614
Sint tae

SHEET 5
——
ed , ih ey pec CLT
123° 30 = OREGON
44 A
30

30

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

OF THE
SHASTA ROUTE
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa-
tion collected with the assistance of this company

Xt ho EXPLANATION
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY San . — - 7 >) & ; Ye: Stream deposits (alluvium)

= ay | 5 or ifyet’ i: af Lava flows, chiefly basalt and andesite, with fragmental]
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR shale ict een : ~f meh i

Quaternary

voleanic material (tuff) from the Cascade Ran

David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer ; Yo ye Lava flows (rhyolite)
1915 : As - Gas x He D Sand d shales posed largely of voleanic mate-> Tertiary

ria! (Miocene)

map with a name in ae aren in the
near “left corner is mano in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that

Sand d shal posed largely of voleanice mate-
rial (Eocene) |

stonsb and ses

so

Scale 500,000

Approximately 8 miles to | inch
Kh AR, ose ip Miles

IS 2025 Kilometers

iL

Contour interval 200 feet
ELEVATIONS IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL

‘, ec,

Washington, are shown every 10 miles
The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart

123°30°

ENGRAVED ANS Printed

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 41

At Drain the railroad crosses Elk Creek and enters a gorge cut in
hard basaltic rock, illustrating the fact, already pointed out, that
where the rock is hard erosion is slow and the stream
Drain. valleys are narrow, but where the rocks are soft, as
Elevation 324 feet. north of Drain and near Yoncalla, erosion is more
Scuile3ismizs, rapid and the streams readily widen their valleys. A
stage line from Drain down Elk Creek and the Umpqua
reaches tidewater at Scottsburg, about 25 miles from the coast.
Near milepost 606, on the right (west), is a mineral spring (Bozwell
Spring).
From Yoncalla Valley (see sheet 6, p. 46) grain fields, orchards,
and flowered pastures sweep up the gentle hillsides.
Yoncalla. Many of the hills in this vicinity are composed of
se Ray 8 oe Eocene sediments, but some may have been carved
Siete tes nile. from basaltic lavas. The rocks to be seen on the
ote long ascent to Rice Hill are largely shale and sand-
pits eras stone, but include a small mass of basalt. At the
Sonnet ieet. summit early in June are golden fields of St. John’s
wort (Hypericum), locally called goat weed.
Half a mile north of Oakland the railroad crosses Calapooya
Creek, just beyond which, on the left, is a small lens of impure lime-
stone of Eocene age that contains great numbers of

Oakland. fossils. To the right, beyond the station, can be had
Elevation 454 feet. a, View of Tyee Mountain, a part of the Coast Range.
ee wee This range is more even crested here than it is farther

north. Turning to the left the railroad goes through
a sandstone ridge, near which are some tile works, and comes out
on the flat valley called Camas Swale, where the thriving town of
Sutherlin has recently sprung up. Camas Swale was once occu-
pied by Calapooya Creek, but long before man had

Sutherlin. any knowledge of the region the creek deserted this
Elevation 548 fect. valley for its present course, north of Oakland, rejoin-
Set? mien ing the old channel just below Stephens. Man has

since compelled part of the water of the creek to return to the old
valley, where it is used for irrigating numerous thrifty orchards and
productive fields. To the west may be seen the Coast Range and,
nearer at hand, the entrance to the crooked canyon through which
Umpqua River runs northward to the mouth of Elk Creek, west of
Drain, before turning to the sea. South of Camas Swale, to the left
(east) of the track, are prominent hills of Eocene sandstone. Near
Wilbur the sandstone is accompanied by masses of a rather coarse-
grained basaltic rock called diabase. This rock is believed to have
been forced in a molten condition through the sand that was later
consolidated into the Eocene sandstone while that material was being
deposited on the sea bottom and to have been in turn covered by
more sand. During the period of eruption deposits of tuff, made up

42 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

of fragments of the diabase, were also formed. ‘This tuff contains
fossils of the same kinds that are found in the sandstone. As Wilbur
is approached some of the sandstone may be seen overlying the

diabase and forming prominent bluffs on the left side.
Beyond Wilbur the railroad crosses some Eocene sandstone and
then enters an area of diabase which extends to Winchester. Here
North Umpqua River is crossed. To the left is a mill

Wilbur. dam, a place of fascinating interest during the
Elevation 493 feet. Salmon season, when the big fish endeavor to jump
Population 84. over the dam instead of going up the fish ladder.
Seattle 375 miles.

Between Winchester and Roseburg the railroad

crosses two areas of Eocene sandstone, but these are

ee entirely surrounded by diabase, which continues to

Seattle 379 miles, be the prevalent rock along the route as far as Green,
30 miles from Winchester.

A mile north of Roseburg the railroad reaches South Umpqua River,
which unites with the North Umpqua to form the main stream in
Garden Valley, a few miles to the northwest. At the left are bluffs of
lava in which are inclosed some fragments of Eocene shale, as shown
in Plate XIII (p. 35). Deer Creek is crossed just north of the town.

From Roseburg, which is the seat of Douglas County, a stage line

runs across the Coast Range to Myrtle Point and Coos
Roseburg. Bay. This bay is one of the important harbors of the
Elevation 487 feet. west coast and the port of shipment for the Coos Bay
As cee rn oy coal field, which produces more coal than any other
field in Oregon.

The bold hills about Roseburg are all composed of diabase. About
15 miles northeast of the town, on Little River, a tributary of the
North Umpqua, above Glide, Eocene fossils are abundant.

A mile south of Roseburg the deeply decomposed diabase affords
good examples of spheroidal weathering. Specimens were collected
here for the educational series of rocks prepared by the United States
Geological Survey and distributed in 1898 to all the higher educa-
tional institutions of the country.

At Green there is a sudden change to the older rocks that compose
the Klamath Mountains—conglomerates, sandstones, and shales of
Cretaceous age, associated with more siliceous rocks,
hard sandstones, and cherts of Jurassic age, and slates,
limestones, and greenish lavas of Devonian and Car-
boniferous age

The core of the Klamath Mountains is composed of large masses
of granitic rocks and serpentine, which are intruded into the Devon-
ian, Carboniferous, and Jurassic rocks just mentioned. These
older sedimentary rocks cross the country traversed by the railroad
between Roseburg and Medford, occurring in belts running northeast-
ward toward the Blue Mountains.

Winchester.

Green,
‘Elevation 537 feet.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 43

The hills at Green are smooth and rounded and for the most part
without trees. The rocks of which they are composed are of Meso-
zoic age, mainly sandstones and shales, with some conglomerate.
These rocks are greatly crushed along a belt running northeastward.
Southwest of Green station they are associated with a schist com-
posed largely of the beautiful blue mineral glaucophane. This
mineral, which is a rather rare variety of hornblende, is found in
only a few parts of the world outside of Oregon, Washington, and
California. With the glaucophane schist near Green occur a green-
ish mica schist, some flintlike rocks commonly called cherts, and a
greenish igneous rock, referred to as greenstone, which has been so
much altered that its original character is in doubt. The best
exposure of the blue schist is three-fourths of a mile southwest of
some farm buildings on the right (west) at milepost 567.

This is the only area near the Shasta Route in which these crystal-
‘line schists occur. On the other hand, the sandstones and shales
_ with which the schists are associated occupy a large area that is
traversed between Green and Dole, a distance of about 13 miles.

At Carnes, nearly 14 miles beyond Green, there is a view to the
left up Roberts Creek to Dodson Mountain, a prominent peak stand-
ing 3,235 feet above sea level. In the distance are some outcrops
of a limestone which is used for lime and cement.

At milepost 565 the South Umpqua is reached again by the rail-
road, which follows its right (east) bank. Along the stream the
crushed sandstones and shales are well exposed to view.

Between Dillard and Dole the river cuts through a ridge, thereby
making many fine exposures of the sandstones and_ shales.

Fossils have been found at many places in the
—— belt of rocks just traversed, but opinions differ
age gealaang as to whether the rocks are all Cretaceous or in
part Jurassic.

From Dole (Ruckels post office) may be seen ahead, on the left, two
ridges—one wooded, the other bare. The absence of trees on the

second ridge is due to the fact that it is composed of

od serpentine, a rock containing much magnesia and

~attige bepiontg yielding an unfertile soil. Serpentine is an altered

"form of certain igneous rocks that are as a rule dark

and heavy and contain more magnesia and iron than ordinary

igneous rocks. Their characteristic mineral is olivine or peridot, and
on this account they are called peridotites.

At milepost 553 the serpentine, which forms a belt more than a
mile in width, is visible close at hand. At milepost 551.4 1t 1s cut
by dikes of porphyry, an igneous rock containing crystals that are
noticeably larger and more distinct than those which make up most
of the rock.

44 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

A small cut at milepost 551 shows some fine conglomerate and
sandstone lying at the base of a large mass of Lower Cretaceous
sedimentary rocks (the Myrtle formation), over which the railroad
runs for nearly 10 miles.

About 12 miles northeast of Myrtle Creek station, up the creek,
considerable gold has been obtained by washing the gravels (placer

mining), chiefly the gravels that overlie the igneous

Myrtle Creek. = rocks of the region. Beyond Myrtle Creek the rail-
Brevation Gaveet- road crosses South Umpqua River and runs for some

0) on . . . .
ds evannaadien: miles along the western border of the Missouri

Bottom, where many kinds of fruits and grains are
grown. On the right (west) is a prominent ridge of Cretaceous
sandstone and conglomerate (Myrtle formation). These beds lap up
over the serpentine of the ridge beyond.

At Riddle, in Cow Creek valley, the rocks contain many Cretaceous
fossils, both plants and marine animals, and among the hills to the
southwest, on Thompson Creek, there are also beds

Riddle. containing large numbers of Jurassic fossil plants.
antral he ‘Farther down the valley, among grain fields and
Seattle 413 miles. prune orchards, may be seen on the right (northwest)

a prominent, thinly wooded mountain of serpentine,
in which there is a deposit of green silicate of nickel (garnierite).
This mineral is extensively mined for nickel in the island of New
Caledonia, east of Australia, but the Oregon deposit has not yet been
successfully worked.

The distant bare hills seen to the right near the head of the valley
are composed of serpentine, but the bluffs nearer at hand, on both
sides of the track, consist of Eocene sedimentary rocks. Beyond
these is the entrance to Cow Creek canyon, which has been cut
through the serpentine belt of Nickel Mountain. The serpentine
areas can generally be recognized from a distance by their greenish
color and barren aspect. In places, however, they are covered with
wild azalea bushes, which suggested the name Azalea for the now
abandoned post office at the mouth of Doe Creek.

Between Iron Mountain (milepost 533) and Nichols shales and
sandstones are exposed along Cow Creek and have yielded large
collections of fossil leaves of Jurassic age, as noted below by F. H.
Knowlton.t| Many of these leaves belong to various species of ginkgo,

‘The flora of the Jurassic period is in
many ways one of the most remarkable

Land (62° S.) on the south, and has been

found in nearly every country on the
globe. It is especially abundant in the
western hemisphere, occurring in Spitz-
bergen, King Karl’s and Franz Josef
lands, Greenland, Siberia, Alaska, and
abundantly in Oregon and California.
The luxuriant vegetation and magni-
ficent forests of western and southern

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO.

45

or maidenhair tree, so called because its leaves resemble in shape
those of the maidenhair fern. The ginkgo no longer grows wild on

Oregon give so impressive an air of per-
" manence and solidity that it seems as
if the conditions now found there must

study of the vegetation entombed in the
wayside rocks to prove ony that
during Jurassic time the land was clothed
with a flora totally unlike that which now

conifers, horsetails,
gink The types dominant in the flora
of to-day are the monocotyledons (grasses,
sedges, lilies, palms, etc.) and the still
more abundant dicotyledons (oaks, elms,
maples, etc.), but so far as we know no
plants belonging to either of these great
groups existed in Jurassic time.

A few miles southwest of Riddle there
has been found a flora of about 70 species,

aking this one of the richest localities in
the world for plants of Jurassic age. Of
these species about 20 are ferns, 30 are
cycads, and 10 are conifers, and the
remainder belong to a number of more or
hone doubtful groups.

e largest number of ferns belong to

nds. Another wholly extinct form 1s
Teniopteris, which has long, narrow
nds s type to the grass fern,

now found in this country only in Florida.
Adiantites is believed to be one of the an-
cestors of the maidenhair ferns, of which
there are many living species. ere
are also three that are thought to belong

undant
in individuals as well, some collections

containing literally hundreds of speci-
mens. They all belong to extinct types,
and many of them were evidently large
plants, probably with thick stems or pos-
sibly with trunks, at the top of which be
large compound leaves disposed in
circle or crown.

One of the most abundant and con-

of which four or five species have been
found here. The ginkgo is now repre-
sented by a single species in China and
Japan, where it is a more or less sacred
tree, found about the temples. It is not
certainly known to exist in a truly wild
state anywhere. This tree has had per-
haps a more wonderful history than any
other now living. It appeared at least as
early as the close of the great Paleozoic
era, and by or even before the Mesozoic

FIGURE 8. Pe ofa aps leaf from the
urassic beds o'

era it had waxed mighty and had spread
over most of the world except the ex-
treme southern hemisphere. It has come
down to us so little changed that some of
the leaves from the Jurassic rocks of Ore-
gon, apart from their fossil character, are
distinguished with rosie) from those
of the living tree. (See fig. 8.) Had it
not been for the sb nin - of man the
genus would apparently have become
extinct several centuries ago.

Associated with the ginkgo leaves in

and Taxites (yew

46 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

this continent, but it has been introduced from Japan and is
common in many of our cities. The rocks in which these leaves are
found belong to a formation not yet finally named.

From Nichols station a backward view may be had of the great
flat top of Table Mountain, which is made up of horizontal Eocene
strata. Cow Creek Canyon near Nichols has a depth
of about 1,000 feet and is well wooded, though in a
few places the woods are marred by fire. The most
abundant trees are firs, to which the madronas, with their red-brown
bark and shiny oval leaves, afford a pleasing contrast.

South of Nichols station the fossiliferous Eocene, Cretaceous, and
Jurassic strata are succeeded by a very thick series of sandstones
and shales, which form the slopes of Cow Creek canyon for nearly
15 miles. No fossils have been found in them in this area. This
great mass of sandstones and shales (the Dothan formation, of Juras-
sic age) is much crushed, so that the layering characteristic of rocks
that have been deposited i in water has been obscured.

From West Fork mail is carried over a trail to the lower Rogue
River country and to Gold Beach, on the coast. About 3 miles south

of West Fork a large slide occurred some years ago
West Fork. on the west slope of the canyon and blocked railroad
Elevation 1,050 feet. traffic completely for three months. Four miles of
track had to be changed and two new tunnels cut.

At a number of places along this part of Cow Creek old stream
gravels, lying on hillside benches above the channel of the present
creek, have been worked for gold.

About 4 miles beyond West Fork the sandstones and shales of the
Dothan formation are succeeded by a much more variable set of
rocks, chiefly slates and greenstones. The slates are known as the
Galice formation, from the mining district of that name in the Kla-
math Mountains, farther south. They contain fossils which are simi-
lar to those collected from the slates (Mariposa slate) of the gold
region of the Sierra Nevada, in California, and which indicate Juras-
sic age. The Galice formation is older than the Dothan formation
and ought normally to lie beneath it, but earth movements since the
beds were deposited have reversed these positions and the Galice at
this locality now lies on top of the Dothan. Such an overturn is some-
times brought about by folding of the beds, sometimes by faulting
whereby older beds are slid on top of the younger ones.

From Reuben spur (see sheet 7, p. 60) a wagon
road leads to the Reuben Mountain mining district,
Seam fet. which lies about 10 miles to the northwest. The

Ste rock of the region between Reuben and
Glendale is ree tee

Nichols.
Seattle 425 miles.

Reuben.

-hipacmeenty AND ee ee MAP

: HASTA ‘ROUTE
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied ig
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional inform:

tion collected with the assistance of this company

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer .
1915
Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parenthesis in the

lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that name.

4.3"

BULLETIN 614 SHEET 6
SE) LL SET AERO
123°30' Sheet No.5 23" OREGON
Cc
EXPLANATION
Stream deposits (alluvium) Quaternary
B Lava flows from the Cascad Penge, , chiefly andesites
with some basalt and {rhyolite and beds of fragmental
volcanic ic mate’ terial (tu
C Sandstone (Tyee sandstone, Eocene) 437
30"
D Chiefly thin sandstones and shales (Umpqua formation,
Eocene)
=
E Lava flows (basalt) J |
F Conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and limestone (Myrtle Se 41) bg
formation, Lower Cretaceous) Cr etaceougyy) M4
G Altered intrusive rocks (serpentine and greenstone) Jurassic (7 i
H_ Flinty beds, consisting chiefly of siliceous skeletons of
microscopic animals tage and schists owing
their present character hanges effected by the
intrusion of igneous ae ea
Jurassic
I Sandstones and shales (Dothan formation)
J Slates Yrs formation) containing fossils like those of
the Mariposa slate of California > oy
E>
LS
a3, &
Ley
“2
Bit
|
RE
j Ale ne ny
Scale $00,000 Bure’ ee
Approximately 8 miles to | inc Mite f |
as ar en EN Siar
eZ fe ~ i. 2
oe 6 es 6 a ey 4 a : Gh «
Contour ee che feet Ss .
AN SEA LEVEL ‘6
ELEVATIO Q DSS 2 | AUN if
The di Seattle, Washington. A 10 milk aS We OKA
aaa 4S:
The sill en ths colons are spaced | mile apart ifr ee Qi Zo) Sah y
Z CS ty % Za ie 437
° aa!
x 2 Us eZ
5 aye i cS
PAS
ne
o?
oo" —;
: ee a
¢* po os ae
xx oer ee uh
- esi SNF ga 3
x - oo Cowt Zs jaat
fo oo ae kz
ie ole if Pg
ET oi Pa 2)
Ps F :
/ a / Se 51 LAAN
/ AST = zat
# — Z Nea
Sheet No. z 23° 30' 25°

124°

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 47

Northwest of Glendale there are two prominent peaks of green-
stone—Grayback, 4,033 feet above the sea, and Panther Butte, 3,517
feet. On leaving Glendale the train passes over a

Glendale. mass of siliceous reddish lava (rhyolite), and beyond
Elevation 1,437 feet. this is the greenstone that forms the divide between
Sontle tigi, Umpqua and Rogue rivers. The crest of the divide

also forms the boundary between Douglas and Jose-
phine counties. The dividing ridge is penetrated by a straight
tunnel (No. 8), 2,828 feet in length and 420 feet below the summit.
The basin of Rogue River is traversed by the railroad to the summit
of the Siskiyou Mountains, a distance of 93 miles. Beyond the
tunnel the railroad descends by a long sweeping curve into the
Wolf Creek valley.
The station of Wolf Creek was formerly one of the hostelries
on the old California-Oregon stage line. The small

Wolf Creek. power house on the left (south) is the northernmost
Elevation 1,319 feet. station on the power line from Gold Ray, 50 miles
Seen 2* ahead on the edge of the Rogue River valley. Wolf

Creek runs through a gold country, and in the early
days many gold placers were worked in this vicinity.

Much of the primeval timber along Wolf Creek has been pine
and oak, but madrona and other broad-leaved trees are now taking
the place of the conifers. Buck brush (Ceanothus velutinus), with
its broadly ovate or elliptical shiny leaves, and tree myrtle (Ceanothus
sorediatus), with its small oblong ovate light-green leaves, are common
in the thickets of chaparral in southern Oregon. Blue brush or
California lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus), with its tiny leaves and
blue to white lilac-like flowers, which are good for cattle, soon appears
in increasing numbers. By the roadside in June plants of the so-
called Oregon grape or Mahonia (Berberis aquifolium), the State
flower of Oregon, are full of bluish berries.

At milepost 497 the railroad crosses Grave Creek close to a placer
mine, where water-supply pipes for hydraulicking and the gravel
dumps left from former operations can be seen. Beyond Grave
Creek is a broad belt of slates, probably for the most part Mesozoic.
The name Grave Creek is suggestive of the old rough days of gulch
mining, and the gravels along the creek did in fact yield considerable
gold to the early placer miners. The metal in the placers is thought
to have been derived by erosion from the Greenback lode, on the
divide north of the creek, ‘This lode was worked years ago, but the
mine is now idle.

48 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

From Leland station there is a good view not only of the slates
near by but also of the hilly country. Here the manzanita,! which
is abundant farther south, makes its first appearance.

Leland. The railroad ascends Dog Creek to tunnel No. 9, which
Elevation 1,218 feet. is at an elevation of 1,700 feet, is 2,205 feet long, and
as 9°08 runs 300 feet below the summit. The tunnel is cut

in black slates of Mesozoic age. On the right (west)
as the train emerges is Tunnel Creek, down which it continues for —
about a mile and then, turning sharply to the left, enters an area
of rock different from any yet seen along the route. Most people,
including quarrymen, would call this rock granite, and such for all
practical purposes it is. When fresh it has the characteristic gray
speckled appearance of granite.?

Hugo lies in the area of granodiorite, which is of irregular outline
and extends southward for 15 miles, to the vicinity of Applegate
River, beyond the town of Grants Pass. The rock
at the surface is generally decomposed and crumbling,
and is consequently more easily eroded than the
harder slates and greenstones, and the country under-
lain by it is less rugged than that north of Hugo.

From Merlin a stage line runs to Rogue Rivet; about 4 miles to

the west, and down that stream to the Galice mining

Hugo.
Elevation 1,316 feet.

Merlin, district. In the country beyond Merlin, on the left
Elevation 982 feet. (northeast), an attempt is being made to establish
Sante ini, orchards of apples, peaches, grapes, and other fruits

without irrigation.
A low divide is crossed between Merlin and the town of Grants
Pass, on Rogue River. Along the railroad may be seen cuts and

‘This shrub (Arctostaphylos patula),
wing from 3 to 5 feet high in Oregon
but much taller in parts of California, is
sure to attract the attention of one who
has never seen it before. It has asm

, Spanish for little ss
by which sch is everywhere known o

Pacific coast. Bears are very fond se
these berries. The covers
many hills in California with a stiff and

Its wood is
hard, and the blaze from an old gnarled
root cheers many a western fireside.

? The geologist, who can with the micro-
scope distinguish all the various minerals
that compose rocks, has found that this
rock is not strictly a granite but is inter-
mediate in composition between true
granite and a similar but darker rock
containing less silica (quartz), known a8
diorite, so he would call it granodiorite.
Like granite, granodiorite is an intrusi
igneous rock. It was forced in molten
condition, sepors! about the close of

into the slates and green-
stones that now urround it, and then it
slowly a and solidified under 4
thick cover of rock that has since bee
worn away by erosion. Granodiorite is
abundant in the Sierra Nevada and the
Cascade Range.

U. 8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

HYDRAULIC PLACER MINING IN GRANTS PASS REGION, OREG.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE XV

SS
O58 3,

A. TABLE ROCK, AT ENTRANCE TO ROGUE RIVER VALLEY, OREG.

A lava flow from the Cascade Range caps the softer beds and protects them from erosion.

Sane

i din
ee

B. OREGON CAVES, SOUTHWEST OF GRANTS PASS, OREG.

Stalactites, like icicles, hang from the roof oint upward f loor. When they
meet they form a column. These forms are yet ah pint ee rot lime dapoalted Ral solution in water.
Photograph copyrighted by Weister Co,, Portland.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 49

quarries in the deeply disintegrated granodiorite, which is used by

the railroad as a substitute for gravel about its stations.
Grants Pass, named after Gen. U.S. Grant, who as a captain quelled
an Indian uprising on Rogue River in the early fifties, is the seat of
Josephine County and the mining center of south-

Grants Pass. western Oregon. From 1903 to 1912 the placer
Elevation 963 feet. mines of this part of the State (PI. XIV) produced
— — $2,014,715 in gold, and the vein or lode mines

$1,523,226. A stage line runs from Grants Pass
through Kerby and Waldo to the coast at Crescent City, and a railroad
to the same place is now under construction.
_ Grants Pass is the point of departure for a visit to the Oregon
Caves, the largest caves known on the Pacific coast. The caves are
about 25 miles nearly south of Grants Pass and may be reached by
automobile and trail. They have been formed by the solution of
limestone and are ornamented by a great variety of beautiful stalac-
tites and stalagmites (Pl. XV, B) composed of carbonate of lime
deposited by water. These caves have been set apart by the Federal
Government for preservation as a national monument.

Two miles beyond Grants Pass, at the eastern edge of the grano-
diorite area, is obtained the first near view of Rogue River, the largest
stream of southwestern Oregon. Its water, derived in part from the
snows about Crater Lake, is usually clear. The railroad for 20 miles
upstream follows its valley, which is in places a canyon, but is gener-
ally wide enough to contain some tillable bottom land. The rocks
through which this narrow valley has been cut are Paleozoic in age—
much older than any rocks that have hitherto been seen along the
route. They comprise slates, limestones, and greenstones and, like
the Dothan and Galice formations, already noted, have been so
folded and faulted that the Paleozoic rocks are thrust over upon. the
much younger Galice formation. These Paleozoic rocks resist erosion
better than the granodiorite, and therefore the valley cut through
them by Rogue River remains narrow.

At 34 miles east of Grants Pass, on the left (north), behind a little
hill of granodiorite on Bloody Run Creek, is the Golden Drift placer
mine, now idle. About 5 miles farther north is another small
intrusive mass of granodiorite, about which are some small mines on
gold-bearing quartz veins. , ate

From milepost 469.4 up the river the Savage Rapids are in view.
Old Baldy and Fielder Mountain, peaks of greenstone, stand out
prominently on the left (north) from the point where the railroad
crosses the line between Josephine and Jackson counties (milepost
469.1).

96286°—Bull. 614—15——4

50 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES,

At Rogue River (formerly called Woodville) are fields of corn and
wheat and young orchards. Nearly opposite milepost
Rogue River. 462, on the right (south) side of the river, is the mouth
Flevation 1,025 feet. of Foots Creek, whose gravels have for years been
Seattle 492 mil
worked for gold.
At milepost 458, in the outskirts of Gold Hill, there are a lime-
stone quarry and a cement plant. The limestone is a lenslike mass
in a belt of slate more than a mile wide, which may

Gold Hill. - be traced to the southwest for a long distance and
Elevation 1,108 feet. contains numerous similar lenses of limestone. Fos-
Population 423. . . ee be <

Suuitia abe voliae. sils are rare in this limestone, but those found suggest

Carboniferous age. Other limestone lenses, farther
west in the area of Paleozoic rocks and not exposed on the railroad,
contain fossils of Devonian age. Therefore the Paleozoic rocks of
this region are in part Devonian and perhaps in part Carboniferous.

Rogue River is crossed just beyond Gold Hill, and the river bed
affords a near view of some of the greenstone, which at this place is
clearly made up of fragments of volcanic rock. The greenstones
associated with the slates and limestones are in fact old lavas, partly
poured out molten and partly blown out in fragments from volcanoes
that were active in Paleozoic time. These lavas, originally black or
gray, have become greenish through the slow changes of age. As
will be seen later, these Paleozoic slates, limestones, and greenstones
make up much of the Klamath Mountains.

After crossing the river the railroad turns northward opposite the
hill from which the town of Gold Hill was named. This hill, which

is 2,640 feet above sea level, consists of greenstone and serpentine, .

into which has been intruded some granodiorite that now forms the

hilltop. Small “pockets” of rich gold ore were found here in early :

days.

Between mileposts 454 and 453 there is much of a coarse-grained
dark rock composed chiefly of the mineral pyroxene (an iron-
magnesium silicate) and called pyroxenite. This is an igneous
intrusive rock and was probably very closely related to the rock that
in the course of time changed into the serpentine of Gold Hill.

Northeast of Gold Hill, just across the river from the railroad, is
Table Rock (Pl. XV, A), named from the flat black capping of basalt,
which is part of a flow of lava that long before historic times spread
over this region from some volcano in the Cascade Range. The lava
flowed over comparatively soft beds of shale, sandstone, and con-
glomerate of Cretaceous and Tertiary age. Afterward erosion cut
through the lava in places and attacked the softer rocks underneath,

but Table Rock, with its protective capping, remains and shows how —

much has been washed away around it.
Beyond Table Rock the country opens out into that part of the

valley to which the name Rogue River valley is especially applied. 2

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 51

The valley lies between the Klamath Mountains on the west and the
Cascade Range on the east. The highest point in view in the Cascade
Range is Mount McLoughlin (9,760 feet), named after Dr. John
McLoughlin, of the Hudson’s Bay Co. The mountains are composed
of relatively hard rocks, but the granodiorite and the Cretaceous and
Tertiary sedimentary rocks that underlie the fertile fields of the valley
are comparatively soft. This difference in hardness has enabled the
river and its tributaries to carve out a wide, flat-bottomed valley.
The sedimentary rocks of the valley lie in beds sloping eastward under
the lavas of the Cascade Range, but they overlie the older rocks of the
Klamath Mountains, including the granodiorite, and once extended
much farther west. It will be noticed from the cross section (fig. 9)
that the Cretaceous beds dip at a different angle from the slates of
the Klamath Mountains and that, if they were restored to the west,
_ they would lie across the upturned edges of the slates. This relation
is known to geologists as an sinaase Sociale ob
unconf ormity. Mts Rogue River Valley ee

The train turns up the south- is nee
east arm of the valley, drained
ey Bear Creel, which oa FIGURE 9.—Section of Rogue River valley ade Phoenix,
Rogue River near Table Rock, Oreg. a, Slates, limestones, and lavas of Paleozoic
See pices throught Tilo (eb | ieee cas > Seana | comes
vation 1 ,196 feet, 452 miles d, sandstones and shales containing Eocene leaves; ¢,
from San Francisco) and Cen- _2va of Cascade Range.
tral Point (elevation 1,290 feet, 446.7 miles from San Francisco), where
the traveler may see fine fruit orchards (Pl. XVI) and grain fields,
before arriving at Medford.

Medford, the chief town of the Rogue River valley, is rapidly grow-
ing in consequence of its relation to the fruit industry of the valley,

the mining region of the Klamath Mountains on the

Medford. west, and the forests and resorts of the Cascade Range
Elevation 1,398 feet. onthe east. From Medford the traveler may continue
scm sn on the main line or make a detour, partly by automo-

bile stage, through Crater Lake National Park, return-
ing to the main line at Weed, Cal. The beautiful scenery of this side
trip will amply repay anyone for the additional time it requires. To
those interested in geology or in the ways by which mountains and
valleys have come to their present forms the Crater Lake route will
prove exceptionally interesting. :

From Medford - short are line (the Rogue River Valley Rail-
road) runs west to Jacksonville, and from Crater Lake Junction, a
mile north of Medford, the Pacific & Eastern Railroad extends for 33
miles toward Crater Lake.

[The itinerary southward from Medford is continued on p. 56.]

52 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

MEDFORD TO WEED VIA CRATER LAKE.

The distance from Medford to Crater Lake by automobile stage is
79 miles. The first 20 miles lies through orchards, mainly of apples
and pears, over gravel plains spread out by the streams as they issue
from the mountains, and through foothills where the sandstones and
shales (Kocene to Miocene) of the valley dip eastward under the lava
flows of the Cascade Range.

At 31 miles from Medford the road crosses Rogue River, and thence
for 16 miles, to the mouth of Mill Creek, it follows the north bank of
the river through a deep canyon. From the roadway may be had
good views both of the canyon and the uplands bordering the wider
valley to the west.

Near Prospect (elevation 2,780 feet) Rogue River is again crossed
at the head of its canyon. Here the river in a quarter of a mile falls
325 feet in a series of cascades, at the foot of which Mill Creek, in a
fall of great beauty, 150 feet in height, joins Rogue River. Near
Prospect the primeval forest begins, and for miles the smooth road
built on terraces of lava affords fine forest views.

At Union Creek, 58 miles from Medford (elevation about 3,500 feet),
there is a delightful camping place near Natural Bridge and Union
Falls. The Union Falls are really cascades over some black lava
(basalt), and there are similar cascades at Natural Bridge, a little
farther downstream. These cascades came into existence in the
following way. In late geologic time (Quaternary) a lava flow came
down the bed of Rogue River with scant regard for previous water
rights. When the lava had reached a point about a quarter of a mile
below Natural Bridge it cooled and stiffened sufficiently to stop.
The basalt still shows the ropy forms in which it congealed and the
bubble cavities or vesicles formed by the steam that nearly all lava

contains. Shortly afterward a second stream of lava came down on -

top of the first but did not run quite so far. The river now reoccupied
its bed as well as it could and at first cascaded over the ends of the
lava flows. In course of time it wore back gorges, 60 feet deep, in
the basalt, and it is still busy at the same task. At Natural Bridge
the stream has discovered and doubtless enlarged an old tunnel such
as is often formed in lava streams by the continued flowing of the
deeper molten material after a solid crust has formed above it.

Ten miles beyond Union Falls is the entrance to Crater Lake National
Park. The lake is deeply set in the crest of the Cascade Range, the
surface of the water being at an altitude of 6,177 feet. It is encircled
by a cliff from 500 to nearly 2,000 feet high. From the top of this
cliff the ground slopes away gently on all sides, so that the lake partly
fills a great cup or pit in the summit of a broad conical mountail.
This comparatively low mountain is all that remains of a once mighty
volcano, Mount Mazama (PI. XVII, A). In all probability no human

sislasinelianis

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE XVI

LoL ik ctr Ma ahervtaenemees a ne as RET EE
ae a E * se

*

PEAR AND APPLE ORCHARDS IN ROGUE RIVER VALLEY, OREG,

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE XvVil

A, MOUNT MAZAMA RESTORED,

As it appeared before it collapsed to make the great pit now half filled by Crater Lake, which is nearly 2,000
feet deep.

B, WIZARD ISLAND, CRATER LAKE, OREG.

ormed by the collapse of Mount Mazama.
Mazama that now fills a little valley in the

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. , 58

eye ever looked upon this peak, but geologists know that it existed
and that glaciers crept down its flanks and gouged out its canyons.
_ Through some cause unknown this mountain collapsed—its top fell
in, leaving the hole now occupied in part by the lake, 2,000 feet deep.

Wizard Island (Pl. XVII, B) is a small volcanic cone built up from
the bottom of the pit and now probably extinct. From it may be
had superb views of the cliffs that surround the lake. The sky line
of these cliffs shows U-shaped notches (Pl. XVIII, p. 54), which are
sections of the glaciated valleys that formerly headed high up on
Mount Mazama.

From Crater Lake Lodge, situated on the rim 1,000 feet above the
lake, excursions may be made to many places of interest, especially
the glaciated valleys of Sun and Sand creeks, the great pumice-
covered flow of Llao Rock, and the latest lava flow of all, at Rugged
Crest. A trip by boat to Wizard Island and around the lake gives
the visitor an opportunity to fish and to see the materials of which
the great volcanic cone was built and the way in which these have
been piled up in successive layers.

From the lake to Chiloquin, a station on the Southern Pacific Co.’s
new line from Weed, Cal., via Klamath Falls, the distance is 35 miles.
This new line is intended when complete to be the main line between
Weed and Eugene, Oreg. From the lake to Klamath Falls by the
automobile road the distance is 65 miles. From the point where the
road leaves Crater Lake the view over the broad platform of the Cas-
cade Range (Pl. XIX, p. 55) includes the great cones of Shasta and
Pitt, with many others, large and small, each once an active volcano.

The descent from the rim of Crater Lake is at first very steep over
a moraine (the bowldery deposit left in front of a glacier) to the great
spring at the head of Anna Creek. The road affords fine views of the
canyon of Anna Creek, cut deep in voleanic ejecta. Near its head the
rocks have been eroded into cigar-shaped pinnacles and farther down
systems of parallel cracks in the rocks (jointing) give striking columnar
effects. On the east, across Anna Canyon, stands Crater Peak (7,265
feet), one of the outlying basalt cones built up on top of the flows of
andesite that made the bulk of Mount Mazama. After flowing
through some finely forested, gently sloping country Anna Creek
enters upon the broad alluvial plain of upper Klamath Lake.

Fort Klamath, on the western border of the Klamath Indian Reser-
vation, is now only a small village but was an active Army post at "pic
time when military force was necessary to keep the Indians in order.
Several of the old fort buildings are still standing. Here 1t was that
the notorious chief known as Captain Jack was tried and hanged for
the part he played in the Modoc war, the scene of which was among
the lava beds about 60 miles southeast of Fort Klamath. The Kla-
math Indian Reservation contains much fine pasture and farm land,
as well as forest, and many of the Indians are engaged in agriculture.

54 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

A few miles from the fort are the well-kept buildings of the Klamath
Indian Agency.

Wood River, the clear, cold stream that supplies the fort and
agency with water, rises on a fault whose course is marked by a promi- _
nent bluff leading up toward Crater Lake. The water of the river
may possibly be derived in part from the lake by underground flow
along the fault fissure.

Five miles beyond the agency is Chiloquin, a small village on Wil-
liamson River. The water of Williamson River, though clear, has
the brown color characteristic of streams that drain swamps. i
river is noted for its trout, but the Sprague, into which it empties
half a mile below Chiloquin, is turbid and contributes to the muddi-
ness of upper Klamath Lake.

At the crossing of Sprague River an excavation for a ditch reveals
bright-colored lake beds, which evidently underlie the soil of the
plain. Modoc Point, on the northeast side of Upper Klamath Lake,
is part of a bold bluff of dark lava (basalt) lapped by the waters of the
lake. The bluff marks the course of a northwesterly crack along
which the rocks on the southwest side have sunk or those on the north-
east side have risen—in other words, the lavas are faulted. The
bluff is part of the southwest edge of a block of the earth’s crust that
has been tilted toward the northeast. The effect of the fault has
been to form the hollow, deepest on the northeast and shoaling to the
southwest, in which the lake lies. There are other faults of the same
kind and general direction in southeastern Oregon, and a number of
these have produced lake basins.

From Modoe Point Mount Pitt (9,760 feet) may be seen by looking
west across Pelican Bay. To the south, across the main lake,
appears the snowy peak of Shasta (14,350 feet).

The Plum Hills, near Algoma station, have been carved by erosion
from an uptilted fault block such as has just beendescribed. The fault
fissure runs along the west base of the hills. Dipping east under the
lava which forms the upper part of the hills are some fine, thin-layered
beds which were deposited in a lake that existed before the lava was
erupted.

Klamath Falls (elevation 4,120 feet), at the outlet of Upper
Klamath Lake, is a thriving town, to whose growth the new through
line of the Southern Pacific, now under construction, and the great
Klamath reclamation project of the Government have given added
impetus. The Klamath Basin, which lies partly in California and
partly in Oregon, embraces several thousand acres. Much of the
land to be reclaimed and irrigated was covered by lakes and marshes,
but the waters are being drained off and the land, divided into farms,
is being irrigated by the Government canals. About 30,000 acres are
now under irrigation, and when the system is completed it wi
include 72,000 acres of irrigable land. Practically all the uplands,

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE XVIII

SOUTHEAST RIM OF CRATER LAKE, OREG., FROM WIZARD ISLAND.

Shows U-shaped valleys cut by the glaciers of Mount Mazama, Photograph by Kiser Photograph Co,

BU IN 614 " :
U. & GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN PLATE XIX

SUMMIT OF THE CASCADE RANGE.
Looking south from the rim of Crater Lake, Ore The summit of the range is a plateau

Pho

studded with volcanic cones. Union Peak near the center; Mount McLoughlin on the
areph by Kiser Pr he oo oh Co

=t
Oo

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 55

which comprise the greater part of the area, are privately owned, a
portion being in large holdings which, under the terms of the recla-
mation act, must be subdivided into tracts of not more than 160
acres and sold to actual settlers. The public lands, including much
of the lake areas, are at present withdrawn from entry but will later
be opened to homestead entry.

Beyond Klamath Falls the railroad crosses a great area of tule
(too’lay, the Spanish name for a species of rush (Scirpus lacustris)
common on the swamp lands of the Pacific coast). The reclamation
of this area is part of the Government project. On the right is
Klamath River, and beyond is the gap in the Cascade Range through
_ which the river makes its way. A flow of comparatively recent lava
in the gap has formed a dam which by ponding back the river has
contributed to the formation of the lakes and swamps of the country
now being traversed. :

At Midland, among the marshes, the traveler enters a national bird
reserve, where ducks, geese, and many other waterfowl are abundant
and are secure from molestation. Near Worden, which lies among
low lava hills, apple orchards and fields of grain appear as if by magic,
surrounded by sagebrush and cedars.

By several tunnels through ridges composed of bright-colored beds
of tuff (lava particles thrown out by the explosive action of volcanoes)
Dorris. (elevation 4,238 feet) is reached. Beyond it are other small
towns surrounded by hay and grain fields. The hills become better
wooded as the Cascade Range is approached. The eastern front of the
range, as seen from Macdoel (elevation 4,256 feet) and Mount Hebron
(4,237 feet), is so abrupt as to suggest that this part of the range may
have been uplifted above the country to the east by a fault. The
region about Mount Hebron is a fine cattle country. Forests become
more Conspicuous at Jerome, where the railroad crosses a low divide
between the drainage basins of Butte Creek and Little Shasta River.

At Kegg there is some well-stratified dark voleanic material that
is widely used for railroad ballast. This material, somewhat re-
sembling cinders, was blown out from some volcano. Such frag-
ments of cindery lava are known as lapilli (little stones). The rich
green pastures of the small valleys of this part of the route are bright
with flowers and dotted with contented cattle. They are surrounded
by dark forests of yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa), which is now being
extensively cut for lumber.

From Bray (elevation 4,648 feet) may be seen Goose Nest Moun-
tain (see sheet 8, p. 64), on the right (west), directly across the
valley. Another low divide (5,078 feet) is crossed, and Grass Lake,
surrounded by swampy pastures of green and yellow grass, comes
into view. This country drains westward through Little Shasta
River to Shasta Valley. From Pineland the road descends toward

56 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Mount Shasta, with the rugged cliffs of Sheep Rock on the right.
These cliffs are composed of dark lavas and tuffs, which dip east.

Mount Shasta continues in sight for many miles. The most im-
pressive view is obtained from the station called Mount Shasta. The
mountain has two summits. The higher one, on the left (14,380
feet), is that of Mount Shasta proper; the lower one (12,433 feet) is
Shastina. Whitney Glacier lies between the two peaks and is over
2 miles long. A prominent gray pile of bowlders and gravel, clearly
in view at the lower end of the glacier, is its terminal moraine.
Mount Shasta above a level of 4,000 feet is composed of lava, chiefly
a kind containing less silica and generally lighter in color than basalt,
known as andesite. There are a few basalt cones about the base of
the mountain. Near milepost 364 are some light-gray hills known
as the Haystacks, composed of sedimentary and intrusive rocks like
those of the Klamath Mountains and forming, as it were, an island in
the sea of lava.

About 5 miles beyond the Haystacks, on the right, is a steep little
valley formed by a caved-in lava tunnel. When the supply of lava
is cut off at the close of an eruption the molten interior of a flow
continues to move down hill under its hardened crust, leaving tunnel-
like caves which may be a mile or more long.

Beyond this valley is a gravel deposit made by Whitney Creek,
which is fed by Whitney Glacier. The creek has cut a deep canyon
for several miles below the glacier, but before it reaches the point
where the railroad crosses it the stream becomes overloaded with
gravel and has to drop part of its load. In summer the creek dis-
appears in the porous gravel deposit.

The flows of lava that once poured down the sides of Mount Shasta
end in bluffs around which the railroad swings to Weed.

MAIN LINE FROM MEDFORD SOUTHWARD.

Southeast of Medford the valley narrows, and at Talent low foot-
hills of Cretaceous rocks are close to the railroad. The gravels formerly
worked in the placer mines seen along here on the

Phoenix. _ right (southwest) are for the most part of Quaternary
cutlrerte tas age. Some gold, however, has been obtained from
Seattle 519 miles. | % Cretaceous conglomerate whose pebbles were derived
directly from the still older rocks on which the con-

glomerate rests. The best known of these placers are those of the
Forty-nine group, near Phoenix, which have yielded not only much
gold but also a number of Cretaceous fossils. The
older rocks on which the Cretaceous conglomerate
rests are possibly Paleozoic. Farther south, in the
neighborhood of Ashland, these rocks are succeeded
along the railroad by a granular igneous rock (quartz diorite) resem-

bling granite.

Talent.
Population 863.*

57

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO.

By looking ahead from a point near Ashland the traveler may see
a bold rock, Pilot Knob, in the Siskiyou Mountains (a part of the
Klamath Mountains). In early days this knob, which stands more
than 6,000 feet above the sea, guided immigrants to the pass to Cali-
fornia now utilized by the railroad.

Ashland, which passengers generally remember as the fresh-fruit
station, is the center of a great peach country and took the prize for
peaches at the Chicago Exposition. Pears also are
being increasingly grown in this region. Orchards
are being rapidly extended southward and westward
over the lower slopes of the mountains. facing the

morning sun. Behind them rise the forested spurs
of the Siskiyou Mountains, culminating in Siskiyou Peak (7,662 feet)
and Sterling Peak (7,377 feet), which carry snow as late as July.

Near Ashland the crumbling quartz diorite is well exposed, together
with sandstones and shales of Cretaceous age. To the deat rises
Grizzly Peak (6,000 feet), a pile of lava flows, under which, as may
be seen on the gentle slopes near Bear Creek, are sedimentary rocks
that contain some beds of coal ‘and fossil daa probably of Eocene
age. The Eocene plants of the Cascade Range are described below
by F. H. Knowlton.

On leaving Ashland the train begins to climb the Siskiyou Moun-
tains, which form the divide between the Rogue and Klamath river
basins. The pass is 2,235 feet above Ashland and the ascent is made
by a 3.3 per cent grade—that ; is, at the rate of 174.2 feet to the
— This average grade is maintained for nearly 30 miles. Shales,

andstones, and conglomerates of Cretaceous age are exposed along
the railroad for more than 10 miles beyond Ashland, except a short

Ashland.
Elevation 1,890 feet.

in clusters of five.

1 In the vicinity of Ashland and Med-
ford, anes. has been found a foreal flora

of Jurassic time but i is 5 also different from
the living flora of Oregon. That this flora
is oie unlike the Jurassic flora is not sur-

ing in view of its much later age
(probably upper Eocene, ai which

in fact, a thing of srecbaedag 3 ns 'eobiake
time is

The Ashland fossil flora is a small one,
comprising ”, about 15 forms belonging
to perhaps 10 types. Among them is a
small fern with oe deeply cut
fronds. There is a Sequoia of the
same type as the sn redwood of the
Coast Range and probably a direct ances-
tor of it, together with a pine of the well-
known white pine type, with its leaves

Among the dicoty-
a or deciduous trees there is a well-

arked species of alder, a chestnut with
the usual sharply toothed os at least
four kinds of oak, an e e bush
(Benzoin), and a leaf that is doubtfully
regarded as belonging to a fig.

A flora which is of the same type and
hence presumably of about the same age
as this one is found in the rocks of north-

erm California, especially about the big
bend of Pit River and on Little Cow
Creek east of Redding. These floras are
evidently closely related to the plants
that lived during the period when certain
of the gold-bearing gravels of the Sierra
Nevada in California were being depos-
ited. The geologic age of these gravels
has been determined in part by the aid
of the fossil plants.

58 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

distance beyond milepost 442, where some of the underlying older
(Paleozoic) rocks appear. The Cretaceous rocks continue beyond the
first great curve in the railroad line to a point near milepost 416,
where an intrusive mass of granodiorite appears and continues to
Siskiyou, the summit station. Beyond the second great curve, at
milepost 415, there are good views of the valley left behind and of the
Cascade Range.
At Siskiyou station the Pacific Highway, which crosses the summit
farther east, near Pilot Knob, is near by on the left. Here on Sep-
: tember 29, 1841, the Wilkes exploring party crossed
Siskiyou. the mountain, which was then the boundary between
aa sp eesn feet. the United States and Mexico. Pilot Knob was
j named Emmons Peak by Wilkes, after the officer in
charge of the. party. At Siskiyou the railroad enters a tunnel 3,108
feet long, which passes about 500 feet below the summit. The rock
near by is quartz diorite, and this is succeeded by a darker igneous
rock (andesite) through which the tunnel has been driven and which,
as will be seen farther south, is erupted through sediments of Creta-
ceous age. Soon after emerging from the tunnel into the drainage
basin of Klamath River the traveler obtains his first view of Mount
Shasta, one of the finest and most imposing of the snow-capped
peaks of the Pacific coast. At milepost 410 Pilot Knob appears on
the left (east).
At Colestin, about a mile beyond the end of the tunnel, a modest
hostelry has been built near a good spring of effervescent chalybeate
water. With its mountain surroundings, a delightful

— ore summer climate, and good hunting, this place is likely
— ras to be more frequented as its attractions become

known.

In the descent from Colestin to Hilt (Cole) and thence to Horn-
brook the train passes almost continuous exposures of Cretaceous
sedimentary beds cut at many places by intruded igneous rocks.
Some at least of these igneous rocks are tilted and faulted as much
as the sedimentary rocks and consequently may be older than most
of the lavas of the Cascade Range, which, as a rule, lie in nearly hori-
zontal attitudes.

Before reaching Cole station, at 403.2 miles from San Francisco, the
railroad crosses the line between Oregon and California.

California, known as the Golden State, is next to the largest State
in the Union. It is 780 miles in length and about 250 miles in average
width and has a total area of 156,092 square miles,

California. being nearly equal in size to New England, New York,
and Pennsylvania combined. The population of Cali-

fornia in 1910 was 2,377,549, or about one-tenth that of the Eastern
States named. The area covered by public-land surveys is 123,910

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 59

square miles, or nearly 80 per cent of the State, and 21 per cent of the
State was unappropriated and unreserved July 1, 1914.

Along the State’s 1,000 miles of bold coast line there are compara-
tively few indentations. The bays of San Diego and San Francisco
are excellent harbors, but they are exceptional.

The climate of California varies greatly from place to place. Along
the coast in northern California it is moist and equable. Around San
Francisco Bay a moderate rainfall is confined almost wholly to the
winter, and the range in temperature is comparatively small. In
parts of southern California typical desert conditions prevail. The
great interior valley is characterized by moderate to scant winter rain-
fall and hot, dry summers. Snow rarely falls except in the high moun-
tains, where—as, for example, in the Sierra Nevada—so much of it
may accumulate as to interfere with railway traffic.

Forests cover 22 per cent of the area of the State and have been esti-
mated to contain 200,000 million feet of timber. They are notable for
the large size of their trees, especially for the huge dimensions attained
by two species of redwood—Sequoia washingtoniana (or gigantea), the
well-known “big tree’’ of the Sierra Nevada, and Sequoia semper-
virens, the “big tree’’ of the Coast Range. Some of these giant trees
fortunately have been preserved by the Government or through
private generosity against the attacks of the lumberman. The 21
national forests in California have a total net area of 40,600 square
miles, or about one-fourth of the State’s area. The national parks in
the State are Yosemite (1,124 square miles). Sequoia (252 square
miles), and General Grant (4 square miles). The national monuments
in the State are the Cabrillo, Cinder Cone, Devil Postpile, Lassen
Peak, Muir Woods, and Pinnacles, and there are bird reserves at
Klamath Lake, East Park, Farallon, and Clear Lake.

Agriculture is a large industry in California, and with the introduc-
tion of more intensive cultivation its importance is increasing rapidly.
In the variety and value of its fruit crops California has no rival in the
United States, if indeed in the world. Its products range from pine-
apples and other semitropical fruits in the south to pears, peaches, and
plums in the north, but it is to oranges and other citrus fruits and to
wine grapes that California owes its agricultural supremacy.

During the season from November 1, 1913, to October 31, 1914,
California produced 48,548 carloads of citrus fruit, 42,473,000 gallons
of wine, and 12,450 tons of walnuts and almonds. ;

Of its mineral products, petroleum ranks first in total value and
gold next. California’s output of petroleum in 1914 was valued at
$48,466,096, about 25 per cent of the world’s yield, and its output of
gold in that year at about $21,000,000. In the production of both
petroleum and gold California leads all other States in the Union.

60 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

California was formerly a part of Mexico but in 1848 was ceded to
the United States, and on September 7, 1850, was admitted to the
Union as a State. Its history is full of stirring and romantic episodes
and should not be neglected by the visitor desirous of understanding
the spirit of the land.

The same Cretaceous conglomerate seen at Ashland continues
through the mountain and reappears near Hornbrook (see sheet 8,
p- 64), where it has been washed to some extent for

old. Directly ahead from Hornbrook may be seen
Black Mountain, whose summit is a mass of lava
resting on Cretaceous strata that dip toward the east.

A few miles south of Hornbrook, at Klamathon, the railroad crosses
Klamath River, which rises in the lake region east of the main ridge
of the Cascade Range and is extensively utilized near
its head for irrigation. Along the course of the Kla-
math through the Cascade and Coast ranges there are
numerous power sites, and at some of these about 5,130 horsepower
has already been developed. Klamath River has not the beautiful
clearness of the Rogue and the Umpqua.

Passing Thrall, Ager, and Snowdon in succession the railroad
climbs to a divide overlooking Shasta Valley and affording an excel-
lent view of Mount Shasta. In making this ascent it
passes over a series of shales, tuffs, and lavas of
Miocene age in the order in which they were deposited.

rom Ager a stage line runs up Klamath River to
Klamath Hot Springs, formerly known as Shovel Creek Springs, a
resort noted for its fishing and mud baths.’
m Montague a short branch line runs to Yreka, near which in
early days a number of placer mines and later a number of lode
es were successfully worked for gold. A short

Hornbrook, Cal.

Elevation 2,156 feet.
Seattle 562 miles.

Klamathon.
Seattle 564 miles.

Ager.

Elevation 2,335 feet.
Seattle 570 miles.

Montague. distance south of Montague, near Shasta River, a
ene iets salt well was once operated but is now abandoned.

The brine was obtained from the Cretaceous sand-
stone which underlies much of Shasta Valley.

' The trip through the canyon affords a
cross section of the greater portion of the
Cascade Range, but, as in the Columbia
River section, only lavas are to be seen.
e ant yoleana which at — unknown
river withitslava. In the lake so fortned
there lived and died countless numbérs
of the microscopic plants known as dia-

f

shells, or more properly skeletal parts,
that fit together much like a pill box and
its cover. The white or very light earth
that may be seen along the stage road i8
composed almost entirely of these delicate
siliceous skeletons, which when examined
with a strong microscope are found to be
of marvelous delicacy and beauty. This
material, diatomaceous or infusorial earth,
is used as a polishing or scouring agent.

BULLETIN 614

SHEET 7
eee
- ee RD A ROSS SOS AIE RSET
ie Pinte No.6 3 : 123 ; OREGON —- CALIFORNIA
See ee
Scale $00,000
, Approximately 8 miles to | inch
ae SS SON, ei, 15 20Miles
WAS ‘
Sy, 5 MOUs PoC. SOI See.
SF SE ce

SS :
'S Contour interva! 200 feet :
ELEVATIONS IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVE

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

% OF THE
~-SHASTA ROUTE
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by

The dista ts ec. tn Me

>>> if
SN The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart

SAVE
"
¢ ZA

A

SN
IZ

the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa- >
tion collected with the assistance of this company s
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 30) Sal]

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer

1915

Ble Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parenthesis in the
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. £. Topographic
Sheet of that name.

Pe ae I ee Tee SAS ay Sh Ra eS

ay,

*,

we:
AS

ee

Ase
‘i

¥

SR TE pet tae A Sa in ee ea - oe

IC, LAX

SSeS
(PENS
SSS

JEM
(SS)

fi

ft

Yo

A Stream deposits (alluvium)
Lava flows of th chiefly andesite, with

gy a Be
some basalt and rhyolite and beds of fragmenta] vol-
canic material (tuff)

wo

i ig

Q ONG yy}
ENS) VFA)
lapy

‘ Tertiary
a D_ Sandstones and shales with coal prospects and much tuff
oe (Miocene-Eocene)
F Conglomerates, sandstones, and shales (Chico forma-
tion, Upper Cretaceous) Cretaceous
G Intrusive igneous rocks, in part altered (serpentine, :
granodiorite, and greenstone} Jurassic(?)
i Sandstones and shales, with some chert (Dothan for-
mation)
Jurassic
J Slates (Galice formation) containing fossils like those of
the Mariposa slate of California
Azer K Slates and limestone (Devonian and Carboniferous)
Paleozoic
Ls Lava flows and tuffs (Devonian and Carboniferous)
N_ Miea schist Pre-Paleozoic ?
Mineral deposits: ® Gold x Coal / Limestone
123°30'

ENGRAVED AND PRONTED BY THE U.S.GECLOGICAL SURVE

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 61

Scattered over Shasta Valley are many small knolls of lava and
tuff, which appear to be, in part at least, the products of minor
and local eruptions that broke through the Cretaceous beds, each
vent contributing its little pile of material. Such feeble and diffuse
volcanic activity is in marked contrast with the vigorous outbursts
that built up the great cone of Shasta. On the right (west) as Gazelle
is approached the traveler may trace along the hills the nearly hori-
zontal line of the Yreka ditch, completed in 1856 to bring water to
the rich placer mines near Yreka, but now used for irrigation near
Gazelle.

Shasta Valley is devoted chiefly to stock raising, and about 700
sarloads of cattle are shipped annually from Gazelle station. In

a valley on the right (west), half a mile beyond Gazelle,
Eonetie. is exposed some gray limestone containing fossil
Somation 2,768 feet. shells of Devonian age. This and other fossil-

bearing limestones in the region afford evidence
that strata of Paleozoic age lie under the Cretaceous rocks of Shasta
Valley and form the mountains to the west. These strata are cut
by many bodies of intrusive rock.

Crossing Shasta River the railroad leaves the dry plains and near
Edgewood enters the wooded foothills northwest of

Edgewood. Mount Shasta. These hills are apparently composed
Elevation 2,953 fect. in large part of morainal material left by some van-
ropulation2,257* ished glacier. The road ascends Boles Creek to

Weed, where the main line is joined by the branch
that extends through Klamath Falls to Kirk, Oreg.

Weed is within the forest belt of Mount Shasta. Here are large

sawmills which each day cut up about 125 carloads
b pra of logs, chiefly yellow and sugar pine, making 87,500
feet of lumber. Much of this is manufactured at
Weed into doors, window sashes, and box shooks
(boards cut to size, ready to be nailed).

On the left near the summit is Sugar Loaf (Pl. XX, A, p. 62), a

remarkable conical peak of solid lava (andesite) without any frag-

mental material whatever in its make-up. The
Sumanalt. thick pasty lava of which it is composed bulged up
Elevation 3,905 feet. directly over the volcanic vent without explosive
pons aicaay eruption. The andesite of Sugar Loaf is remarkable
for its prominent black crystals of the mineral hornblende.

On the divide between Edgewood and Sisson is much loose stony
material that consists largely of fragments of lava known to have
come from the west slope of Mount Shasta. This deposit appears
to be a moraine, left by a glacier that no longer exists. Its surface,
like that of moraines in general, is hummocky and contams small
basin-like hollows occupied by ponds or swamps. The western

Wiavati 92 ACK £,
Seattle 608 miles.

62 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

extension of this moraine abuts against the foothills of the Klamath
Mountains. The meadows seen on the right (west) on the way
down to Sisson probably represent a lake whose waters were held
against the natural dam of the moraine. In course of time the lake
was silted up and became a meadow. The morainal material, which
is well exposed at Upton, is used for track ballast.

About 14 miles north of Sisson (338 miles from San Francisco) a
large spring may be seen to the west of the railroad. This is some-
times referred to as the source of Sacramento River, but the real
head of the Sacramento is in the mountains about 7 miles southwest
of this spring. .

Mount Shasta (Pl. XXI) stands out majestically from Sisson and

may be ascended from this point. A good trail, about
Sisson. 6 miles in length, leads to Timberline camp, and from
eter ca feet. this camp the summit, 6,000 feet higher, may be
tle 619 miles. :
reached and the return made to Sisson in a day.
That temperature and moisture control the distribution of plants
and animals is well illustrated by the strong contrast between the
flora of Mount Shasta
and that of Shasta
: Valley. The summit
7.500" of Shasta is bare of
vegetation because of
cold, and Shasta Val-
FIGURE 10.—Tree zones of Mount Shasta, Cal. a, Transition zone, ley, 10 miles away, is
rw Pi rns) aoe oie Fiusuniciomnd_ treeless for Tack of
sonian zone, white-barked pine (Pinus albicaulis); d, alpine zoe, Moisture. Between
Hulsea nana, extendi to 11,300 feet; ¢, zoneaboveplantgrowth. these extremes lies the
and Polemonium pulchellum, which occur at 13,000 feet. great forest belt of
Mount Shasta, the
trees of which are arranged in zones according to the requirements
of each species for temperature and moisture. The tree zones as
worked out by Dr. C. Hart Merriam are shown in simplified diagram-
matic form in figure 10.

The extreme upper limit of plant growth is reached at an elevation
of 13,000 feet. Among the animals that frequent the summit may
be mentioned butterflies, hawks, and mice. Buck brush and manza-
nita make the undergrowth of the lumbered region, but the trees
appear to be gaining on the underbrush in the struggle for existence.

The glaciers of Mount Shasta are smaller than those of Mount
Rainier, and the charming upland meadows of the northern mountain
are entirely lacking here. The view from the summit, however, is
unsurpassed by that from any cone in the Cascade Range. Although
considered extinct, Mount Shasta still shows vestiges of volcanic
activity. There is a sulphurous fumarole (an opening from which

Shasta Valley
3,500"

> “F bs

qa tha. Qt ae? aot Nel
=

E Xx

PLAT

BULLETIN 614

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

8.

U.

NEAR WEST BASE OF MOUNT SHASTA, CAL.

'

SUGAR LOAF

nout

A lava cone wi

MOSS BRAE FALLS, NEAR SHASTA SPRINGS, CAL.

Bi.

BULLETIN 614 PLATE XXI

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

——

View after the first snowfall of autumn,

OUNT SHASTA, FROM SISSON, CAL.

Mount Shasta is a double volcano, consisting of Shastina, on the left, and Shasta proper,

on the right, 2,000 feet higher (elevation,

14,380 feet).

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. reals

hot gases issue) on its summit and another on its northern slope.
During one of the later eruptions of Shasta a stream of lava (andesite)
poured down its southern slope, entered aa channel of the Sacra-
mento, and followed that stream for 50

Below Mott the railroad makes a sharp poe and descends into
the canyon of the Sacramento. For 75 miles this canyon traverses
a spur of the Klamath Mountains that projects toward the Sierra
Nevada. In the descent into the canyon there may be seen on the
right (north) a continuous section of more than 300 feet of lavas and
tuffs. At milepost 328 the railroad doubles on itself again and
crosses the Sacramento, the first of 17 crossings between Sisson and
Redding. The older rocks (Paleozoic and Mesozoic) of the Klamath
Mountains appear here, and those most noticeable along this part of
the route are serpentine and some related coarse-grained dark erup-
tive rocks.

The Shasta Springs yield a celebrated carbonated water containing
a large percentage of iron and magnesia, which is bottled for market.

“The town and hotels are on a terrace 300 feet above the
Shasta Springs. springs, which issue near the contact of the horizontal
Elevation 2,538 feet. lavas with the underlying older rocks. Near the
couse sae spring is Oxone See whose water is of an
entirely different character and has a pungent odor.

A few hundred yards below Shasta Springs the train again crosses
Sacramento River and passes the beautiful Moss Brae Falls (Pl. XX,
B) on the left. Summer resorts are numerous in this vicinity. A
short distance below Shasta Springs the lava, which, as previously
described, at one time took possession of the channel of the river,
forms both sides of the canyon cut by the Sacramento since it was so
rudely ejected. A good example of columnar jointing may be seen
in this lava on the right (west) side of the track, as the train nears
Dunsmuir.

Dunsmuir is chiefly a railroad town. Good hunting and fishing
are to be had near by, and in front of the station are two aquariums

in which may be seen the varieties of trout found in
Danemed. the region. Three miles south of Dunsmuir, on Lit-
Pentiraral por feet. tle Castle Creek, is a chromite mine, which in 1913
Seattle 634 was the only mine in the United States producing

chromic iron ore. In 1914 there were several other
but much smaller producers. At the crossing of Little Castle Creek,
near milepost 319, the rugged pinnacles of Castle Rock appear on the
tight. Castle Crag, Castle Rock, and Castella are all neighboring
summer resorts near the rugged peaks that suggested their names.
At Castle Rock there are effervescent (carbonic acid) springs, the
water from which is bottled near the mouth of Soda Creek. This
place was a noted station on the old Oregon-California stage lune.

64 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Soda Creek drains an area of Paleozoic slates and limestones east of
Sacramento River.

From Castella a trail runs west across the Trinity Mountains to

Cinnabar, where quicksilver ore has been found. Serpentine and

related dark igneous rocks (pyroxenite and gabbro)
Castella. are the principal rocks along the railroad near Cas-
altars eit tella and in the mountains to the west. In places

these rocks have been rendered slaty by enormous
pressure. The narrow mass of Shasta lava through which Sacra-
mento River is cutting forms low benches at many places along the
sides of the canyon. Between Castella and milepost 311, 2 miles
north of Sims, the river has not yet worn down into the older rocks,
and consequently the lava appears in the bed of the stream.

Sims, near the mouth of Hazel Creek, which enters the Sacramento
from the east, is frequented by trout fishermen, the upper Sacra-

mento affording excellent sport with the fly. Some
Bima. asbestos occurs in the serpentine west of the station.
asia i Near milepost 307 the railroad crosses Shotgun Creek,
e 647 miles. ‘ 5 ‘
on which chromite was mined a few years ago.

The scenery along the Sacramento Canyon from Shasta Springs to
Redding is varied and charming. In places the river is narrowly
confined between steep slopes 2,000 feet in height. Elsewhere the
valley opens and little farms are perched on the hillside benches. All
the slopes are well wooded, for although lumbermen have come and
gone the country is rapidly being reforested and daily grows more
attractive. The clear rushing Sacramento, here foaming over bowl-
ders, there flashing more quietly under the large leaves of the water
saxifrage (Peltiphyllum peltatum), which grows in beautiful masses
along the water’s edge, is a stream to delight the heart of a fisherman.
Along it may be seen the expert with the fly wielding his delicate
tackle, in contrast with the Indian under his tentlike shelter, waiting,
spear in hand, for the unsuspecting salmon.

A mile below Gibson (see sheet 9, p. 70), at milepost 303, igneous
rocks are succeeded by slates and sandstones (the Bragdon formation)
of Carboniferous age. These continue with few interruptions for
nearly 20 miles.

Good exposures of slate appear as Lamoine station is approached,
: and terraces, remnants of the lava flow from Shasta,
Lamoine. may be seen on both sides of theriver. About 75,000
Pram cing feet of lumber, of which one-third is obtained from

the adjacent Shasta National Forest, is cut daily at
— About half of this lumber is manufactured locally into
xes.

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC. MAP

SHASTA ROUTE
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas

tion collected with the assistance of this compan

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
1915

Fey” h A the
lo wer left corner is pee in aio on spot U8. C. S; a a ae
Sheet of that nam

EXPLANATION

Tertiary

__.. D §Sandstones and shales containing some coal; lava flows
j and much tuff (Miocené-Eocerrey
F Conglomerates, sandstones, and shales containing fossils
ee (Chico formation, Upper Cretaceous)
G Chiefly altered intrusive rocks a and gabbro)
and some altered lavas (gree es)

(Brock shale) and limestone (Hosselkus "and |

Cretaceous

Jurassic (7)

Shale
underlain by thin-bedded sandstones, shales, and tuffs Triassic
(Pit formation)

x

Tuffs (Nosoni) and er U apap of Pennsylva-
nian age, underlain by sandstone. and shale
(Baird) of Pcaaducien ee

L- Thin-bedded sandstones, shales, and conglomerates, with

pebbles a Devonian fossils (Bragdon forma-

tion, of Mississippia

__M_ Sandstones, slates, and
Devonian

N Mica schists with ancient lavas and intrusive igneous

Carboniferous

limestones, in part at least Devonian

Pre-Paleozoic (?)

7 Limestone e@Gold OQuicksilver Chromite xCoal

Mineral deposits:

BULLETIN 614

SHEET 8
eaaeaieemmeminictdlie

¥ 7
9 Big Spring \
aa

1237 122 30 Sheet No.7
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Approximately 8 miles to | inch
foe Zeta nmr Sener sero, ue age Oe. s 20Miles "7
Be FE A, SOM: IM ee ae \ \
_ Contour — 200 feet i\
ELe & MEAN SEA LEVEL
The distances from Seattle, Washington, are shown every 10 miles
The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart
ise :
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CALIFORNIA

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ENGRAVED AND PRINTED BY THE U.S.GEOLS:

SICAL SURI

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 8

Near Delta the Bragdon slates make rugged slopes and the forest

growth becomes scanty. The light-colored digger pine (Pinus sabi-

manda), with its strangely thin foliage and unpinelike

Delta. habit of branching, becomes prominent. Associated

Elevation 1,137 feet. with it are live oaks, buckeyes, and shrubs character-

Seattiocsv aie istic of lower altitudes and drier climate than those

of the country about Mount Shasta. From Delta

stages run west over the mountain to Trinity Center and Carrville,
where gold is won from both placer and lode mines.

Half a mile below Delta, on the right (southwest), is a bluff of slate
overlain by 10 feet of gold-bearing gravel deposited by the river when
its bed was about 70 feet higher than now. The g.avel is covered by
the lava from Mount Shasta, as illustrated in figure 11. Since the
lava flowed down the canyon the river has cut not only through the
lava and gravel but 60 feet into the slates.

MM /
LT en
Ai ;
geese SSE -

ay §§

7 a

c & s8 a7 /
YY Y a& Yi

Figure 11.—Section of canyon of Sacramento River just below Delta, Cal. a, Terrace formed by rem-
nant of lava stream that flowed down the canyon of the Sacramento from Mount Shasta to a paint 10
miles south of Delta; b, ancient gravel bed of the Sacramento covered by the lava fiow from Mount
Shasta (gravel is auriferous); c, slates of Carboniferous age in which the canyon is cut; d, portion of
the canvon (70 f, t) cut by the ri i; the Ll fl d fi Mount Shasta

The old California-Oregon wagon road crosses the river and railroad

at Antler (Smithson), and the Pacific Highway crosses about 2 miles

farther south. Near milepost 287 the lava flow

—— from Mount Shasta ends. Its entire length is about

i. 50 miles. Here the railroad crosses the river and
goes through a tunnel.

Between some of the beds of slate and sandstone, which are well ex-

posed along this part of the route, are beds of lighter-colored gray con-

glomerate, generally less than 10 feet thick. Most of

heresies the pebbles are flinty, but many of them consist of fos-

Elevation 804 feet. siliferous limestone. These limestone pebbles, after

long exposure to the weather, dissolve away, leaving

holes that can be seen from the train. The coarsest conglomerates of

the Bragdon formation, to which all these rocks belong, occur near

Elmore, where the limestone pebbles contain Devonian fossils. The

occurrence of these pebbles shows that the Devonian rocks (Kennett

96286°—Bull. 614—15——5

: Pitt.

66 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES,

formation) were subjected to erosion and that fragments of them
were rounded into pebbles by waves or strearis before the overlying
Carboniferous (Bragdon) formation was déposited. In geologic
language the Bragdon formation rests unconformably on the slates,
cherts, and limestones which make up the Kennett formation. The
passage from the Bragdon formation to the Kennett formation is
near a point 280.7 miles from San Francisco, but the unconformity |
can not be seen from the train. The Kennett formation is succeeded
on the south by igneous rocks—a light-colored quartz porphyry and
a greenish lava (meta-andesite—that is, altered andesite). ‘These
two rocks are closely connected with the occurrence of the large copper
deposits of Shasta County. The altered andesite is older than the
Kennett formation and represents volcanic action in early Paleozoic
time. The porphyry is intrusive and was probably injected into the
rocks with which it is associated in late Jurassic time. From this
locality to Redding, a distance of about 20 miles, these are almost
the only rocks visible along the railroad.

Pitt station is near the mouth of Pit River, where that stream joins

the much smaller Sacramento. “A branch railroad on the left (east)
i leads to Heroult, where there is an extensive deposit
of iron ore and an electric smelter, and to Copper
Elevation OSs feet. City and Bully Hill, where there are large copper

mines.

A mile beyond Pitt is tunnel No. 2, at the farther end of which, on
the right (west), there is exposed a narrow north-south belt of Devo-
nian slates (Kennett formation). This belt lies in a large area of
meta-andesite. It probably represents material which once lay
horizontally on top of the andesite but which, when the rocks were
bent into sags and arches by regional pressure—folded, as geologists
say—was caught in a sag (syncline) and finally squeezed together
as a narrow slate belt between two masses of meta-andesite.

Kennett is the northernmost of the three active centers of copper
mining in Shasta County, and the Mammoth mine is about 3 miles
northwest of the town. The ore of this region is
pyritic and occurs as large bodies of irregular shape
in the quartz porphyry referred to above. The
fumes from the smelter are treated by the bag process
before they are allowed to escape into the open air. By this means
some of the zinc in the ore is saved in the form of zinc sulphate, a
white pigment.

Fossil-bearing limestone belonging to the Kennett formation
(Devonian) caps the ridges on both sides of Backbone Creek. Lime
and ground limestone, used as a fertilizer, are both made here.

Kennett.
Elevation 670 feet.
mil ‘

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 67

A belt of country in Shasta County, extending 25 miles northeast-
ward from Kennett, “3 especially noted for its Devonian, Carbon-
iferous, Triassic, and wurassic fossils.

n leaving Kennett the train crosses Backbone Creek. Here lime-
kilns may be seen on the right (north), and a copper smelter is farther
up the creek, behind them. From Kennett southward for many miles
the railroad traverses a region of desolation. The fumes from the
copper smelters at Coram, Kennett, and Keswick have killed all
vegetation and left bare slopes whose coloring suggests the sun-baked
hills of the desert. The principal copper mines are in the hills of
porphyry to the right (west). To the left, across the river, is the
meta-andesite, which contains numerous gold quartz veins.

The Balaklala copper mine is 3 miles northwest of Coram, west of
the hills, and the smelter is at South Coram, a mile from the station.

Across the Sacramento, opposite Motion, formerly

Coram.
Elevation 630 feet.
Population 666.
Seattle 684 miles,

called Copley, a bench or terrace may be discerned
about 200 feet above the river.
and is the work of the river at a former period of its

This is cut in rock

history. It may be traced from this place into the

On McCloud River, which flows into
the Pit about 6 miles east of Kennett,
there are in the McCloud limestone a
number of Pleistocene caverns which
contain ani remains of considerable
scientific interest, described by J. C
Merriam. In Potter Creek Cave, about

00:
number of species were extinct. Among
the animals represented in this cave
were the great extinct cave bear, another
bear more nearly related to the living
black bear, a large extinct lion, a puma,
an extinct wolf, and fragmentary spec-
imens representing the mountain goat,
deer, bison, camel, ground sloth, ele-
phant, mastodon, an extinct horse, and
a peculiar goatlike animal known as
Euceratherium.

Samwel Cave, which is about 18 miles
from the mouth of the McCloud, is a large
cavern with many galleries, in several of
which the cave earth contains remains of
extinct animals. Among these is another
peculiar extinct goatlike animal, known
as Preptoceras.

The beautifully coiled and intricately
marked fossil shells known as ammonites
are especially abundant in the Triassic
rocks of this region, and the Upper
Triassic H. 11 1 4 f th y gi n
contains numerous remains of marine
reptiles. Bones have been found repre-
senting the ichthyosaurs (fish lizards)
and another peculiar marine group, the

fragments have been obtained from these
deposits, but the skeletons are nearly all
imperfect and do not show the wonderful
preservation of the Middle Triassic spec-
imens from Nevada.

The history of the ichthyosaurs found

far known in the story of this group.
The Middle Triassic forms are much more

less advanced specialization of the limbs,
tail, eyes, and teeth for life on the high
seas. The Upper Triessic types also are
relatively primitive but are intermediate
between the Middle Triassic and the
Jurassic stages of evolution.

68 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

north end of the Sacramento Valley. At Buckeye, 4 miles north of
Redding and about 3 miles east of the railroad, rich gold-bearing
gravels, left by the river on this bench, were formerly worked.
Gold-bearing quartz veins are worked at the Reed
Central Mine. mine, on the left (east) across the river from Central
Seattle 690 miles. Mine station. The ore is brought to the railroad by a
bucket tramway.

The Iron Mountain mine, which has produced copper to the value
of over $33,000,000, is 5 miles northwest of Keswick, with which it is

connected by a very crooked narrow-gage railway.

Keswick. The ore of this mine is pyritic and, although of low

Elevation 567 feet. grade, contains considerable gold and silver. It is

Nowa smelted near Martinez, on San Francisco Bay, where

part of the sulphur from the pyrite is manufactured

into sulphuric acid. The acid in turn is used for converting rock
phosphate into fertilizer.

At Keswick the rock terrace 200 feet above Sacramento River, first
noted at Motion, is visible along both banks of the river. On the west
side some patches of gravel lie on the terrace.

Middle Creek, which is crossed near the station of the same name,
was at one time rich in placer gold, and dredges may be seen in Sac-

ramento River below, recovering from the river
Middle Creek. gravels gold that probably came in large part from
Soe tens arbels, _The rocky ledges along the river here are

meta-andesite. In this vicinity the canyon of the
Sacramento opens out into the wider valley that forms a part of the
Great Valley of California. This wider portion is the area generally
called the Sacramento Valley and is described below from data fur-
nished by Kirk Bryan.? A mile and a quarter beyond Middle Creek

‘ Including Coram and other places. The total irrigable area, including the

* The Sacramento Valley* extends from rolling land lying north of Red Bluff, is

the vicinity of Redding on the north to | 2,500,000 acres, of which 123,500 acres was
larquinez Straits on the south. It is a irrigated in 1912.

broad, flat plain 160 miles long, 50 miles The principal tributaries of the Sacra-

The valley is 557 feet above the sea at | Nevada. Inthe flatter parts of the valley
Redding and slopes down to sea level at | overflow at some point is a yearly occur-
Suisun Bay. rence. The overflowed lands, which in
The area of the valley is about 6,500 many places support a luxuriant swamp
square miles, of which 2,633,000 acres, vegetation, are among the most fertile in
nearly two-thirds—is bottom land. On | the valley, and levees have been built to
the east side of Sacramento River 535,000 | reclaim them.
acres and on the west side 424,500 acres, | For five months, October to March, the
or 959,000 acres in all, is now subject to | weather is cool and rainy, but the rest of
occasional overflow. Of this land more | the year is practically rainless. Summer
than 300,000 acres is protected by dikes. | temperatures are high, reaching 115° F.,

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO.

69

the river cuts through fossiliferous Upper Cretaceous (Chico) sand-

stone and conglomerate.

These rocks unconformably overlap the

older rocks of the Klamath Mountains, including the meta-andesite.
On the right the bluff affords a section of the sands and gravels of the
Red Bluff formation, which occupies a large area in the Sacramento

ey.

but the nights are cool and the air dry.
The winter temperature seldom falls
below freezing, and 18° above zero is the
lowest temperature recorded in 60 years.
Snow is almost unknown.

The character of the climate is reflected
in the life of the people. With the begin-

and cattle and sheep are brought down
om the mountains where they have
passed thesummer. The overflowed tule
lands in the center of the valley are grazed
in the long dry s summer, but with the
coming of the rains the cattle are taken to
the higher plains. grain farmer sows
his wheat and barley in the fall and har-
vests them early in thesummer. He lets
his land lie fallow after the rains, to be
planted dry in the fall. All the decidu-
ous fruits bear heavily and are rarely
damaged by frost. The more delicate

well when assisted by irrigation.
are large areas of vineyards and the long
dry season is favorable to the concentra-
tion of sugar in the =~ and to the dry-
ing of the grapes to m isi

The agricultural Bo of the valley
is closely related to its geologic history.
With the uplift of the Sierra Nevada and
Coast Range in Pliocene time the valley
became land, and deposition of alluvial
materials toni under conditions similar
to those of the present time.

The alluvium is of two kinds—an older
and a younger. The older alluvium is of
Pleistocene or possibly of late Pliocene

composed of
clay, sand, and gravel feo varies much in
appearance and composition. It is dis-
tinguished from the younger alluvium by
the fact that it is now undergoing dis-
section by streams and by the greater
oxidation and dehydration of its iron con-

tent. Because ia this oxidation it is
characteristically
The dopéaition ‘é the older alluvium
was followed by uplift in both the Sierra
Nevada and the Coast Range. The
edges of the valley were bent up and the
middle gently bowed down. In conse-
quence of this movement the older allu-
vium was uplifted along the borders of
the valley, and streams began to cut into
it. At this time began the deposition
of the younger alluvium, which has con-
ued to the present day. This material
floors by far the larger part of the valley
as the older

tively thin, probably nowhere in the
valley over 300 to 400 feet thick. Every
high water adds to them, and this is so
well understood that farmers have been
known to deliberately turn flood waters
on their land for the benefit derived from
the sediment left behind

The recent alluvium is the most pro-
ductive water bearer of the valley forma-

water usually lies within 25 feet of the
surface, but its level fluctuates with the
seasons. This fluctuation is seldom more
than 10 to 15 feet, a fact which indicates
that a much larger volume of water is
available than is at present utilized.

e Sacramento Valley is now in a
state of rapid change. The overflowed

for reclamation by levees and drainage.
After reclamation they are cut up into
small lots and colonized. Grain ranches
are being subdivided and sold in small ir-
rigated tracts. In consequence the popu-
lation is increasing and its character is
changing The keen, intelligentirrigator,
raising special crops, living a community
life, and keeping abreast of the times, is
replacing the old-time rancher.

.

70 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Redding, the seat of Shasta County, is the supply point for much
of the southern part of the Klamath Mountains, especially the region
drained by Trinity River and about Weaverville, a
Redding. town 50 miles from Redding, reached by a daily auto-
Elevation 557 feet. mobile stage. The basin in which Weaverville stands
i pom has been the richest and most persistently produc-
tive gold-placer region of northern California. At
the La Grange mine, reported to be the largest hydraulic mine in the
world, about 1,000 cubic yards of gravel is washed each hour. A
stage line runs eastward from Redding across the low Cascade Range
north of Lassen Peak to Alturas, which is within the Great Basin,
east of the Pacific coast mountain belt.

Redding is built on the division of the older alluvium of Sacra-
mento Valley that has been named the Red Bluff formation. The
railroad cuts in the plain south of the town show much coarse gravel
belonging to this formation. To the west the gravel laps up over a
terrace that is traceable around the northwest border of the Sacra-
mento Valley and is continuous with the terrace along the river
above Redding, already noted. Beyond the terrace may be seen to
the northwest the rounded form of Bally Mountain (6,246 feet), com-
posed of granodiorite, and in the west the sharper form of Bully
Choop (7,073 feet), composed of peridotite.

At milepost 253 the railroad crosses Clear Creek, which drains the
French Gulch mining district and on which is Horsetown, noted for
its formerly active placer mines and for its Lower Cretaceous fossils.
To the northeast the horizon shows the outlines of the numerous
conical voleanic hills characteristic of this part of the Cascade Range.
The highest of them is Lassen Peak (10,437 feet), an active volcano
recently in eruption. To the left, farther north, is Crater Peak (8,724
feet), on which snow remains into July. The Lassen Peak volcanic
ridge fills the 50-mile gap between the Klamath Mountains and the
Sierra Nevada.

From Anderson a short railroad line runs northward to Bella-
om : vista. Directly east of Anderson is Shingletown

= Butte, a perfect little extinct voleanic cone. From

Populationiso.* Panorama Point may be obtained the best view of

Lassen Peak to be had from the railroad. Shingle-

P si town Butte is in the foreground, and Inskip Hill, a

‘nia: 2 eee of recent craters, lies to the right (south) of it.

A quarter of a mile south of Cottonwood station

Cottonwood. the railroad crosses Cottonwood Creek, on which, 14

Elevation 423 feet. miles to the west, are some peculiar sandstone dikes.

shes wave Here cracks in the rocks that were formed by an

_ ancient earthquake have been filled with sand, and

the sand filling has hardened into rock, so that the dikes resemble true
igneous dikes.

; SHASTA ROUTE

____ From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California
Ef —s —— —— United States Geological Survey Atlas

oe ignments and profiles supplied by

the | ous ie Pacific Company and from a informa-
tion collected with the assistance of this com

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist B. Marshall, Chief Geographer

1915

*
£ach quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parenthesis in the
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that name.

EXPLANATION

A Stream deposits (alluvium and Red Bluff formation) . Quaternary
B ; Lava flows (chiefly basalt). east ie the yap bom
Valley and andesite in _— upper
flow from Mount Shas Tertiary
C Tuffs (Tusean tuff, Pliocene); gravels, — and clays
(lone formation, Eocene) ( stippled pattern
F Conglomerates, sandstones, and shales; (Chico. Horse-
town, a - oxville formations) containing Creta- Cretaceous

i na s f

G Sandstones and shales composed largely of voleanic
empan bse — and Modin formations), containing Jurassic
urass'

| Shale (Brock apres and limestone (Hosselkus limestone)
underlain by thin-bedded sandstones, shales, and tufts Triassic
{Pit formation)
J Lavas, tuffs, and granular intrusive rocks of Triassic ;
to Cretaceous age Mesozoic
K Tuffs (Nosoni) and — {eC ioad) of Pennsylva-
age, underlain b. ffs, sandstone, and shale
(Baird) of Snaiaaicdinn Pies

L_- Thin-bedded sandstones, shales, and conglo

rate ;
pebbles contain Devonian fossils (Bragdon Rasaatian.
of Mississippian

Carboniferous

M Sandstone, shales, and limestone (Kennett formation) Devonian
N Altered | d tuffs (meta-andesite)

_ Mineral deposits: © Gold predominant
Chromium and iron predominant

Pre-Devonian
a Copper predominant
Limestone: represented by solid red color

BULLETIN 614
OTR

SHEET. 9

x?)
Ss
ye
2

erso
ress rd

linda
\

CALIFORNIA

Scale 500 0.000
eugene 8 miles to | inch
5 10 ._I5Miles
[] 10 '5 20 25 Kilometers
Contour eggs 200 feet
ELEVATIONS IN FEET A &€ MEAN SEA LEVEL
fi PCeartie Washington, bh. wm iti

The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart

Hooker
EL.S43

-COoTtonwo Od
EL.423

ee

Nek

Ivrea

Ns
grees No./O

W
oO

pILES

r DISTANT 39

: 437 FEE
pEAK 10,
LASSEN
ere]

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 71

At milepost 236 may be had a view of the North and South Yolla
Bolly Mountains, on the right (west), with snowbanks lasting into
July. Toms Head is between them. These peaks are at the south
end of the Klamath Mountains. Beyond and to the left of them is
the Coast Range of California.

A low, broad uplift of the Quaternary formations, the Red Bluff
arch, runs in an easterly direction across the northern portion of the

Sacramento Valley. The railroad crosses this arch
— through cuts in gravel near Hooker, and Sacramento
poration 8 feet. River crosses it farther east, in Iron Canyon. The

possibility of damming the river here affords the
basis of an extensive project for irrigating 400,000 acres in Tehama
County. Beyond Hooker the train passes Ivrea and Blunt.

Red Bluff (see sheet 10, p. 74), a thriving town, is the seat of

Tehama County. It takes its name from the adjacent river bluff,

about 50 feet high, in which is exposed a fine section
Red Bluff. of the sands and gravels of the older alluvium (Red
Elevation 308 feet. Bluff formation), bowed up by the Red Bluff arch.
» enero neste The town is the head of navigation on Sacramento

River and a supply point for a large area of farming
and stock country. It is at the northern limit of the citrus belt, and
or. ages, lemons, almonds, and figs are raised here, but more atten-
tivu.is paid to peaches, pears, and prunes.

The Lassen Peak region and the great volcanic plain west of it
may be most easily reached from Red Bluff during the summer by
automobile or stage to Mineral, Morgan Springs, or

Side trip toLas- Drakesbad, by way of the Red Bluff-Susanville stage
a eos road. From these places trails lead to the mountain.
The trail from Mineral passes Soupan Hot Springs

and the boiling mud pots and sulphur-lined fumaroles at the head of
Mill Creek. At Morgan Springs there are hot-spring baths, and the
trail from this place passes Bumpass Hell, a vigorous solfatara. Near
Drakesbad are the Geyser, a large boiling spring; Tartarus Lake, a
+ -‘ling mud lake of 3 acres, encircled by fumaroles and boiling springs ;
..i the Devil’s Kitchen, an area of solfataras. Warner Creek runs
directly through the Devil’s Kitchen, so that a fisherman may catch
»° : eook his fish from the same stand. Cinder Cone, the work of a

-nt voleanic eruption, is within a day’s reach. It has been made
a Rational monument.

Lassen Peak, from which since May 30, 1914, there have been
many eruptions, may be easily reached by trail from Drakesbad.
The character of its outbursts is shown in Plate XXII (p. 72), and
its new crater in Plate XXIII. The enormous rolling cloud which
rises above the crater during an eruption and which is plainly visible
from the railroad is composed of rock fragments, rock dust, and steam,

42 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

with perhaps other gases. No fresh lava has issued from the crater.
The dust and fragments blown out by the explosive action of the hot
gases are derived from the older solid lava through which these gases
have burst their way. The opportunity to observe a vigorous vol-
canic eruption in safety from a railroad train is itself a rare one, and
the obstacles to a nearer approach need daunt no one who is willing
to travel by stage and put up with simple accommodations. Drakes-
bad may be reached by automobile not only from the west by way
of Red Bluff but also from the east by way of Westwood, on the
Southern Pacific, or Keddie, on the Western Pacific.

Tuscan Springs, a health resort 9 miles northeast of Red Bluff,
may be reached by daily stage. The springs, which are hot, rise in a
small area of Upper Cretaceous shales (Chico) surrounded by a large
mass of volcanic tuff thrown out from the volcanoes of the Lassen
Peak region.

At Proberta the railroad approaches the top of the bluff which
limits the flood plain of the Sacramento on the west. The route
continues along the bluff to Gerber. The Kimball
Plains, about 12 miles wide, lie to the right (west).
Below, to the left, in the fertile river bottoms, may
be seen hop and alfalfa fields irrigated by water pumped from wells.

Gerber will soon succeed Red Bluff as the division point for this
portion of the route. Here the train descends into the river bot-
toms and, passing through green alfalfa fields, crosses
Elder Creek before entering Tehama. On Elder
Creek, about 20 miles west of this point, is exposed
a famous section of Cretaceous rocks 29,000 feet in thickness. This
great body of Cretaceous strata is inclined eastward, extending
beneath the later formations that fill the Sacramento Valley on
the east and lapping up against the Coast Range, which is made up
mainly of older rocks on the west. The tilted Cretaceous rocks are
beveled by erosion, and their edges form a broad terrace or plain
along the western border of the Sacramento Valley at the foot of the
Coast Range.

The town of Tehama is about half a mile east of the railroad station
and is the oldest settlement in the county. The soil hereabouts is
rich, but the country is occasionally overflowed.
wagon bridge crosses the river to the green irrigated
— alfalfa fields of the new colony of Los Molinos
Geattin 944 sathas. (mo-lee’nos). Here may be seen good examples of
: the beautiful oaks characteristic of valley scenery
in California. Tehama is on the later alluvium, but beyond it the
line ascends again to the gravel plain of the reddish older alluvium.
From Tehama the Marysville line turns off to the left, crosses the

Proberta.
Seattle 740 miles.

Gerber.
Seattle 741 miles.

Tehama.

U. §. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 614

PLATE XXil

al,

N

ERUPTION OF LASSEN PEAK, CAL., A
As seen from 7

Peak. The

c

lumn of smoke is abo

miles the
'000 feetin yl

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE Xxiil

-
me od

NEW CRATER OF LASSEN PEAK, CAL., AFTER 25 ERUPTIONS WITHIN THE OLD CRATER, AUGUST 17, 1914.

The banded material on the farther rim of the new crater has been thrown out by the recent eruptions and covered a layer of snow. The dark material in the ieeiiaall isa

snowbank cove ae by 3 inches of wet dust, Sone of the falling stones sank into the snow, Photograph copyrighted by Thompson, Susanville, Ca

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 73

Sacramento, and goes south on the east side of the valley. The
main line continues down the west side of the valley. The distances
given for the stations as far as Davis (p.77) are measured by way of
the main line. The distances given for stations south of Davis are
measured by way of the Marysville line, which is 27 miles longer.
Surrounded by grain fields and groves of oranges and olives, Rich-
field lies to the left (east) of the railroad, in the valley of Thomas
: Creek. On this newly colonized tract wells have
Richfield. been sunk and electric pumps installed. About 800
> a a ie agg acres were irrigated in 1913. An electric pump and
ater flowing from an 8-inch pipe can be seen at
milepost 181, on the left. In the 3 miles from Richfield to Corning
the track follows a swale of recent alluvium, in which the soil is finer
and darker than that of the gravel plains.
Corning is the center of the Maywood colony and has probably
doubled its population since the last census. It is the shipping point
for large numbers of turkeys raised on the neighboring

Corning. plains, and for much dried fruit and olives. The
Elevation 271 feet. locality has long been famous for peaches and prunes,
bibeaaampats but present interest centers in olive culture. The

Seattle 753 miles.
Cee white building of mission architecture on the left of

the track south of the station is an olive-pickling factory. Eucalyptus
trees are abundant here, and palms line the streets.

Three miles south of Corning the railroad swings toward the east,
passing through Kirkwood and over the plains to Malton station,
where it crosses the line between Tehama and Glenn counties. The
road here runs over a gravelly deposit (alluvial fan) built up, during
comparatively recent time, by Stony Creek, which has its source in the
Coast Range. This deposit extends eastward from Black Butte, a
basaltic crater 6 miles west of the railroad, to the river. Gravel from
pits along Stony Creek is shipped to many parts of the valley for

igh-class concrete work and for railroad use.

Near Orland appear the well-made ditches of the Orland project of
the United States Reclamation Service. Storage reservoirs have been

constructed in the mountains to conserve the water

Orland, of Stony Creek. The substantial concrete buildings of
Elevation 255 feet. Orland attest the faith of its people in the permanence
ince oa, ‘ar of prosperity under a Government irrigation project.

The project is one of the smallest yet undertaken by
the Government, the land to be irrigated including only about 14,000
acres, but it is the first unit in a vast scheme to reclaim a large portion
of the Sacramento Valley. The soil and climate of this locality are
adapted to a great variety of agricultural and horticultural products.
The general elevation is 190 to 300 feet above sea level, the tempera-
ture from 26° to 114°, and the annual rainfall 17 inches. The tract

74 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

is in a citrus belt, and its oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and almonds
ripen early. Grain has been grown upon this land for years. Under
irrigation the staple crop has been alfalfa, and dairying is an impor-
tant industry. Practically all the lands have been filed upon and can
be acquired only by purchase from the present owners, who have
subdivided their holdings into farms of 40 acres or less.

From Orland a branch line goes east 9 miles to Hamilton, a sugar-
beet town on the river.

As Orland is left behind the Coast Range is in full view on the right.
The foothills of this range show a certain evenness of crest which sug-
gests that the tops of the hills are remnants of a surface that was once
almost level (a peneplain). This old surface was possibly at one time
continuous with the bench at the head of Sacramento Valley previ-
ously noted. West of Orland it cuts across the beveled edges of
upturned Cretaceous strata. The crest line of the Coast Range,
while less even than that of the foothills, is suggestive of the for-
mer existence of a much older peneplain which probably extended
over what are now the Klamath Mountains. In other words, both
ranges simply represent what is left after an old, gently rolling sur-
face has been uplifted and valleys have been eroded in it.

-To the southeast appear the tops of the Marysville Buttes, a rough
mass of mountains standing isolated in the middle of the flat valley,
above which they rise about 2,000 feet. These buttes are the eroded
remnants of an extinet volcano.

From Greenwood, 3 miles beyond Orland, nearly to Colusa Junction,
a distance of 32 miles, is another straight stretch of north-south track.

Germantown is a typical village of the older type in the valley,
now being quickened through the subdivision of some of the adja-

cent grain ranches and the development of the land
Germantown, by irrigation. On the right (west) as the train
Elevation 158 feet. leaves the town may be seen the numerous pumping
coer mike, Plants of the Shaw ranch. Artesian water was

struck here at a depth of 800 feet and flows at the
rate of 200 gallons a minute.

Willows, the seat of Glenn County, is the headquarters of the
Sacramento Valley Irrigation Co., whose operations are known as the

Kuhn project. Water i is pumped from Sacramento
Willows. River above Hamilton and brought down in a great
Elevation 134feet. ditch which is crossed by the railroad just below
pha spon Willows. The project covers 60,000 acres, and as

the land is sold it is being gradually brought under
irrigation. Development by means of the ditch has stimulated well
boring west and north of the town.

From Willows a branch line goes to Fruto, in the Coast Range.

BULLETIN 614

nad Ne 9
< =

SHEET 10
a ag i2\°30' CALIFORNIA
A y eal
— Chr c ‘ LUG ks é rot
aya ‘ Wi
pee?
a ne
Y al
GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP ay
:
OF THE A &)
“er oy, ha
SHASTA ROUTE GO co Sos | eee
core = oe od
: ° : D
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California Richfield Scale $00,000
£L.256 Approximately 8 miles to | inch
Base co — from ene Berry Geological Survey Atlas a ao. _ 20Miles
Sheets, railroad ts and profiles supplied by i
the = Pacific Comme. peo! Noe ee informa- A Pro Bl, Fe ie SS eee
tion collected with the assistance of this Cen tour | interval 200 feet
s ELEVATIONS IN F & MEAN SEA LEVEL
UNITED STATES cae SURVEY \ aie niancen from Seatie, Weshington, are shown every 10 miles
\
\ / he railroads are spaced | mile apart
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR ae sakes The crossties on the railr :
\
David White, Chief Geo Marshall, Chief Geographer ie ‘ & Br SY
i \ 1 2 : Serr phy
1915 \ | 760 |— 3
‘ \ Malton
quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parenth in the \ ‘ &L.250- >
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. paccerantes F -
Sheet of that name.
Oo
°
a
EXPLANATION <4
A _ Stream deposits (alluvium and Red Bluff formation) Quaternary 3
B sLava flows (basalt) a \ canines
acinto
C_Auriferous river gravels and fine tuff Tertteiy : ; ss ~ Lyman .
D Tuffs (Tuscan tuff, Pliocene); gravels, sands,and clays |, 1
(lone formation, Eocene) J w | W soy _rac_ $780
F Lerowiamgener gj — nan _— (Chico, Horse- GC etaceous et ; oe Willows Glenna
-—— : a 30’
G Pontatence and shales, with flinty —— (cherts) made re) \ { ys \ uchvele wr
up Sige microscopic — skeletons of — rians | jurassic (1) c4 \ ; A CY { hk Mp *
sa : \ i } | °
a met a ~ ss saierestople ca | ® \ 2 Stream deposits : lm Butte City 2) i oh \ 3
er \ , >) ; K
H Altered sedimentary and igneous rocks underlying or 9 ° \ 5 Logandale Y} % y | ; | PEE PALERMO 4
auriferous gravels of Sierra Nevada Paleoscie . \ D | &t.102 se | Biggs i §| aX. ‘ ¢
\ aan ¢ iges & | *T+90 j }
\ N x wo oof EL. <) oo) is
; Norman = Princeton = i oe ,) a
% ; v $ » if
o
®
AA)
F

)
n }
g\o¥?
fal

Faas

or”
09
ne
pe

Sheet No.//

Gridle
Eu.

f
~
o
a
ae
a ans!
¢ on s
=o
=
ow

vd

wes
-—+
YFIED

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 75
The stations of Logandale and Norman are passed in turn, and 13
miles south of Norman station the railroad crosses from Glenn a tae
into Colusa County. Near Delevan, the next station, as any
other places along the Shasta Route in California, the bri aeolian
to orange-colored poppies (Eschscholtzva californica) form glowing
clumps in spring and early in the summer. Beyond Maxwell (see
sheet 11, p. 76), an old village of the grain-farming days, is Colusa
Junction, where the Shasta Route crosses the Colusa

Maxwell. & Lake Railroad. This line runs from Colusa, on
een — Sacramento River, westward to Lakeport, in Lake
Seattle 798 miles. y. It passes at Sites the sandstone quarry that:

furnished the material for the Ferry Building 1 in San
Francisco. Lakeport, on Clear Lake, in the Coast Range, is in a farm-
ing region. Evidence of recent volcanic activity and the occurrence

of deposits of quicksilver ore and sulphur give additional interest to
the oad country about Clear Lake.

Twenty miles east of Maxwell the rugged Marysville Buttes rise
esis from the plain, forming a landmark that can be seen for
many miles in all directions.'

The land near. Williams is outside of the area served by the Sac-
ramento Valley Irrigation Co.’s ditch, and the local
farmers pump their own water. Several pumping
plants may be seen south of the town. To the east
is the Colusa Basin, a shallow trough which parallels
the river as far south as Knights Landing, east of
Zamora station. When the levees along the river break this basin
is flooded and forms a veritable inland sea from Colusa to Knights
Landing Ridge.

West of Williams the bench of older alluvium becomes wider and
more prominent and extends in a southeasterly direction to Yolo.
North of the village this little plateau is about 400 feet above sea level

Williams.

Elevation 79 feet.

Population 1,463.*
806 miles

! The Marysville Buttes are a cluster of | fragments of lava of various sizes with
hills about 10 miles in diameter, culmi- L414 £ th 1 as

eaastanae and shales. The material of

nating in South Butte, 2,132 feet above
sea level. Butte has an elevation
The central area, about 4

miles in diameter, is composed of andesite,
a lava that was pushed up from the in-
terior of the earth in a molten but stiff

ary age, bent upward by the force of
intrusion - the andesite 80 that teed dip
090°

ra ‘outer belt, about 2 “miles pets of
tuffaceous breccias, consisting of angular

these breccia beds probably once flowed

from the crater of the volcano as a thick
stony mud. The streams flowing down
from the buttes have broad valleys which
are filled with alluvium in their lower

urses. The hills have an outer slope of
250 feet to the mile and a steeper in-facing
scarp or bluff. A projection of the outer
slope to the center would restore the
outline of the ofd volcano, making it about
5,000 feet high, or over twice the present
height.

76 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

and covered with a scanty growth of oaks. The streams flow across
the plateau or bench at right angles to the trend of the bluff that
separates it from the present flood plain of the river and have cut
through the alluvium into Cretaceous sandstone and shales that
dip toward the valley. The older alluvium rests on the eroded edges
of these beds. The bluff in this locality is a fault scarp; that is, it
marks a line of faulting. This fault extends from Williams south-
eastward to Cache Creek and there turns south to Putah Creek.
The Coast Range west of Williams is a greatly crushed and faulted
mass of Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks.
From Williams the road rises about 63 feet to

Arbuckle. Arbuckle, situated on a fan-shaped deposit of recent
Elevation 42feet. alluvium supplied by the dissection of the earlier
Souk amie, _ Pleistocene plateau. The principal industry here

is almond growing.

At Harrington a branch road, called the Beet Line, turns off
to Grimes and Colusa. The line between Colusa and Yolo counties
is crossed at Hershey station. Dunnigan, the next
Dunnigan, village, lies close under the escarpment of the plateau,
— — which is here dissected by streams into rounded
Seattle 827 miles, ‘Hills. On this land are grown wheat and barley,
and the skill of the farmers in taking traction engines
and combined harvesters over these hills is remarkable. Notwith-
standing the recent changes in agriculture previously noted, the
great staple product of the Sacramento Valley is still wheat. There
are grain warehouses at nearly every station, and the traveler can.
not fail to realize that he is passing through one of the greatest
wheat regions of the world. Near Dunnigan a newer industry

is seen in thousands of acres planted with eucalyptus trees.
At the village of Zamora (Blacks Station post

Zamora. office), the plain between the hills and Colusa Basin
peace oe ~=—Ss«dS. Very narrow and backwater from the tule land has
Seattle 835 miles, been known to come within 14 miles of the village.

This is a country of fine oaks.
From Zamora the railroad rises about 30 feet to the village of
Yolo on Cache Creek. This stream leaves the Coast Range through
Capay Valley at Esparto and, crossing the plateau

Yolo. of older alluvium, here 10 miles wide, cuts through
aadeogeet vie the escarpment in a terraced canyon 3 miles west of

Yolo. From this point it begins to deposit sedi-
ment brought from the mountains. In past time Cache Creek
has built up a considerable area of country around Yolo and Wood-

BULLETIN 614 SHEET 11

pr

22 é Sheet No. /O
‘ee PZ

Maxwell
ELGS

CALIFORHIE

»)
; ae ,) oe
of Liveosak o Of
NG z

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC .MAP

OF THE

SHASTA ROUTE
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California
~ 8 compiled from United States Geological Survey At

las
eets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa-

(
TT N\A

Pp ;
tion collected with the assistance of this company \ mas Stream deposits N
iN S
‘ x ) q
i SA 6 Q pe
ED AL EY oo é > “f
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURV lok, \O \weathe | belee
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR | TES Reema: 5" ro
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer x wi Sheridan
x &) °
K ¢
1915 Bes’
Oi'o?
Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parenthesis in the WY : 2 )
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic 2 n 3 : ao"
Sheet of that name. : er iN 3 -
y a sa
i

a.
SSG
qa

Nee \o)
\ ~ NV v ee « i
o ci ? Pol, oh oe Re a) = we A
cr pW " Resduille Mey Sho Af)
w I | j at3) pa (i Ms} i,
ee SS s id St. Ea SE | So
Yolo Sheet No. /2 W2P'30
TS
EXPLANATION
A __ Stream deposits (alluvium and Red Bluff formation) Quaternary
B Lava flows and tuffs (andesites and some rhyolites) me 500.000
C River gravels (auriferous) and fine tuffs eee Approximately 8 miles to | inch
Tertiary 10 5 10 1S 20Miles
D Gravels, in part marine, locally auriferous, with marine tt a - i. = * 23 A :
sandstones and clays (Ione and Tejon formations) ce 5 10 iS 20 25 20Kilometers
F Conglomera dstones, and shales (Chico, Horse- :

te, san
town, and Knoxville formations) Cretaceous Contour interval 200 feet
ELEVATIONS IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL

BS

auriferous gravels of Sierra Nevada

+ . fi Seatth
ine

Washington, y 10 mih

Altered sedimentary and igneous rocks underlying <a
Paleozoic The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. rete

by it has formed the Knights Landing Ridge, an elevation hardly
“scernible to the eye, which separates the Colusa Basin from a
similar depression to the south known as the Yolo Basin. The
fertile soil of the Yolo Basin is underlain by coarse gravel from which _
large supplies of ground water are obtained.

The largest pumping plant in the valley, the St. Louis plant of
the Sacramento Valley Sugar Co., is near Yolo. It consists of 12
wells connected with an eicctrically driven 15-inch centrifugal pump
having a capacity of 7,000 gation: a minute. From this plant 1,200
acres were irrigated in 1913.

Woodland (see sheet 12, p. 80) is the seat of Yolo County and one

of the oldest and richest towns in the valley. Irri-
Woodland. gation was begun here in 1856 by diversion from
Pirate Wi tee, Cache Creek through the Moore ditch. The system
Settle Sta wi, ~~: 18 Now controlled by the Yolo Water, Light & Power

Co., which irrigated 23,000 acres in 1913. In that
year about 7,000 acres east and north of Woodland were planted
to sugar beets. >

From Woodland the railroad passes through a rich farming region
to Davis, where the Shasta Route joins the route from Omaha by

way of Ogden and Sacramento to San Francisco.

Davis. To the east is the level expanse of Yolo Basin,
Elevation 42 feet. where yearly flooding prevents the growth of all
hes emcee irae except tule (Scirpus lacustris) and coarse grasses.

To the west may be seen the low, reddish hills of
older alluvium. Near Davis is the large farm of the University
of California used for experimental and educational purposes. The
country in this vicinity is an almost flat plain near sea level, but
nevertheless high enough to provide drainage. With its rich fields
of grain and orchard patches it has a decidedly prosperous look.
Beyond Davis the Coast Range becomes more prominent, especially
to the right, ahead of the train, showing as a low, dark ridge broken
by one or more gaps. Valley and live oaks are again a common
feature through the fields.

Along the Pacific coast, from the vicinity of Santa Barbara on the
south to Humboldt County on the north, the Coast Ranges divide
the Great Valley of California from the ocean. They are broken by the
one great gap by which the combined Sacramento and San Joaquin
rivers find outlet into the Bay of San Francisco. The Coast Ranges
are geologically the most recent of the great structural features of the
State. They are largely built up of folded and crushed Cretaceous,
Jurassic, and Tertiary sedimentary rocks, which are in places broken
through by andesitic and basaltic lavas and by older igneous rocks
(diabase and other dark, heavy rocks, in part altered to serpentine).

1 By way of main line; 881 miles by way of Marysville branch.

78 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Dixon is an agricultural town in Solano County. Beyond it the

_ Coast Range now looms larger as the traveler proceeds westward.

Elmira (elevation 79 feet), a junction whence a

branch road goes to Vacaville, Winters, and Rumsey,

is next passed. Beyond Elmira the road approaches

low foothills of the Coast Range—first a bare ridge,

with gaps, through one of which the railroad passes over a slight rise.

The factory of the Pacific Portland Cement Co. and adjacent shale

quarries can be seen to the north. The limestone used here to mix
with the shale is brought from a point near Auburn.

The traveler coming across the Sacramento Valley in the day during
midsummer is likely to find the trip warm, but on reaching this gap
in the Coast Range he almost invariably notices a change. The cool
breezes sweeping in from the west and carrying the smell of the salt
marshes become fresher as the train proceeds, and it is a reasonable
precaution to have wraps handy from this point on.

Beyond the first spur of the Coast Range the valley again broadens.
Higher mountains, more or less darkened by scrubby timber on their
upper slopes, border the valley to the north and far to the south.
If the air is moderately clear, Mount Diablo? and the southern con-
tinuation of the Coast Range may be seen. A group of low, round,
and grassy hills afew miles to the south are known as the Potrero Hills.
(Potrero, pronounced po-tray’ro, is Spanish for horse pasture.)

Suisun (suey-soon’, locally soo-soon’, the name of an Indian tribe,
said to mean great expanse) and the adjoining town of Fairfield (the
seat of Solano County, population 834) are at the
edge of another swampy district green with tule.
From this poimt the railroad is graded across the
Suisun Flats, which are so near tidewater level in
Suisun Bay, to the south, that no cultivation is

. Dixon.

Elevation 61 feet.
iles.1

Suisun.

Elevation 15 feet.
Population 641,

‘Aishoosh Mount Diablo is of moderate

! Distances for stations from Dixon to

San Francisco given by way of Marys-
ville line; to get distance actually sitet
eled by main line through Woodlan
deduct 27 miles

* The g eral out line and isolated posi-
tion of Mount Diablo have given the im-
pression that this mountain is an old vol-
cano. It represents, however, the higher

of sedimentary rocks thrust from the
northeast toward the southwest.
its summit to the sea level at Carquinez
(car-kee’ness) Strait is displayed
markably complete series of typical Coast
Range formations, including Franciscan,
Knoxville, Chico, Martinez, Tejon, Mon.
terey, San Pablo, late Tertiary fresh-
water beds, Pleistocene, and Recent.

height (3,849 feet), its isolation and its
situation on the edge of the Great Valley

From its top, on a clear morn-
ing, the summits of the Sierra Nevada can
be traced for over 200 miles. Lassen Peak
is often visible and sometimes Mount
Shasta. The Great Valley appears di-
vided into squares like a checkerboard
by the section-line roads and fences. The

mit, will probably be fitted for automo-
bile travel

U. &. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE XxIV

A. SINKS OF SUISUN FLATS, CAL.

Railroad crew at work raising and regrading a recent sink. upward-bulging mud ridge on each side
and tilted telegraph cae on the left.

B. VIEW ALONG THE SHORE OF SAN PABLO BAY NEAR OLEUM, CAL.

Terrace in middle represents raised beach that can be seen at several points around San Francisco Bay.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO, 79

possible under present conditions, though the camps of several
duck-shooting clubs are situated among the sloughs. The railroad
has encountered much difficulty in maintaining its grade across this
soft ground. Certain spots have been continually sinking ever since
the first construction of the road, and it is seldom, even now, that
in going over this part of the route the traveler does not see work
trains and grading crews busily engaged in filling and raising some
sunken portion of the track. (See Pl. XXIV, A.) Mud ridges have
risen along the tracks on both sides, and their broken and lumpy sur-
faces indicate a slow flowing mass of mud squeezed out by the weight
and vibration of passing trains. It is said that as much as 30,000 car-
loads of coarse gravel ballast have been dumped into one of these spots.
Beyond the marshes the railroad meets the rocky headlands that
here close in upon Carquinez Strait. Some fine exposures of Cre-
taceous and Tertiary sandstones and shales may be seen in the cliffs

and road cuts around Army Point.
Near Benicia, on the left, is a United States arsenal and signal
station. Benicia (named by Gen. Vallejo after his wife) is a manu-
facturing town with deep-water frontage. It con-

Benicia. tains, besides the arsenal, tanneries and other com-
eesti $ fst mercial establishments. Southeast of Benicia, across
opulation 2,360. eee ‘

Seattle 921 miles. the strait, is the town of Martinez, near which John

Muir, California’s great naturalist, lived for many
years. The tall smokestack east of the town belongs to the smelter of
the Mountain Copper Co., which mines its ore near Kennett, in Shasta

County. At this smelter sulphur fumesare utilized in making sulphuric
acid, which in turn is used in treating rock phosphate brought from
the company’s mine near Montpelier, Idaho, and here turned into fer-
tilizer. Just beyond Benicia the train is run onto a ferryboat and is
carried across Carquinez Strait to Port Costa, a distance of a mile.

The geologic section from Benicia and Port Costa to the vicinity
of Berkeley and Oakland is particularly interesting, as in it are
represented many of the characteristic sedimentary formations of
the Coast Range. The stratigraphic section is quite different from
that of corresponding age in the Sierra foothills.

Port Costa (see sheet 13, p. 90), the western ferry terminus, is a

shipping point, particularly for grain, which comes
Fort Costa. from the interior valley* and is here loaded into ocean-
Elevation life. going vessels. A long line of galvanized-iron grain
e warehouses may be seen on the water front.

1 Aericulture in California had its be- | combined harvesters, steam gang plows,

ginning in wheat raising, and wheat was | and other farm machinery of extraordi-

Pp nary size and efficiency. Recently, how-

duction steadily increased, until about | ever, fruit growing has become a more

important industry than grain farming.

The levelness of the great grain fields | In the value of its fruit crop California
of the valley led to the utilization of leads all the other States.

80 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

On leaving Port Costa the train skirts the south shore of Carquinez
Strait, where the steep bluffs offer many good exposures of folded
sedimentary rocks. The first rocks seen are Upper Cretaceous
(Chico) sandstone and shale. The rocks have a moderately steep
westward dip and trend almost directly across the course of the
railroad, so that as the train proceeds successively younger forma-
tions are crossed. At Eckley, a short distance beyond Port Costa,
brick is manufactured from the Cretaceous shale. At Crocket is a
large sugar refinery. Mare Island, across Carquinez Strait, is the
site of the United States navy yard, which, however, is not readily
discerned from this point. The Cretaceous shales and sandstones
continue to Vallejo Junction and a little beyond.

On the southeast side of San Pablo Bay, near the west end of
Carquinez Strait, there are wave-cut terraces and elevated deposits
of marine shells of species that are still living. These terraces and
deposits do not show south of San Pablo Bay, and therefore seem to
indicate the recent elevation of a block including only a portion of
the shore around the bay. This block probably includes the Berkeley

and a considerable territory to the east, perhaps even extending
to Suisun Bay.

From Vallejo Junction a ferry plies to Vallejo (val-yay’ho), which
is on the mainland opposite the navy yard and from which railroad
lines extend into the rich Napa and Sonoma valleys.
Santa Rosa, the home of the famous Luther Burbank,
is in the Sonoma Valley. Vallejo was named from
Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, who played a
prominent part in the early history of California. It was the capital
of the State from 1851 to 1853. Beyond Vallejo Junction Carquinez
Strait begins to open out into San Pablo Bay.! (See Pl. XXIV, B,
p- 78.)

The dark Cretaceous shales near the railroad station at Vallejo
Junction are soon succeeded by brown shales and massive sandstones
belonging higher in the Cretaceous system. The contact between
the Chico and the Martinez (Eocene) beds is in a fault zone cut by

Vallejo Junction.

Elevation 12 feet.
Seattle 929 miles,

* The section along the shore of San
Pablo Bay between Vallejo Junction and
Pinole (see map and section on stub of
sheet 13, p. 90) includes six of the most
widespread divisions of the sedimentary
series in the Coast Range region of Califor-
nia. The formations or groups represented
are the Chico (Upper Cret Martinez
(Eocene), Monterey (earlier Miocene),
San Pablo (later Miocene), Pinole tuff
(Pliocene), and Pleistocene. The only

visions of the middle Coast Range
sequence not rep: are the Fran-

ciscan (Jurassic?), Tejon (Eocene), and
Oligocene, all of which are — within
a few miles to the east and sou
In the San Pablo Bay parr all the
formations below the Pleistocene are in-
luded in a syncline, on the northeaste
side of which thestrata are nearly verti-
cal, but on the southeast side the dip of
the beds is lower. The Pleistocene beds
rest horizontally across
edges of the Miocene and Pliocene.
te thickness of the sediments
the San Pablo Bay section is not less than

BULLETIN 614 SHEET I2

i22° Sheet No// 21°30 CA ul FOR N | A
a es ee 5, Yolo \ > aes
et Ps Tae IGP AM of
: Se Ao) 3é
} en TO ri
\ Madison EEE
y, | \ ay
~
: GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP ty ~~
A OF THE . ) hae '
; iy
+f SHASTA ROUTE | : £
: z
q ‘: i - z Pup Davisd
: From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California ( Sh
OS Ns fe S
7 Base compiled from United “States Geological Survey Atlas ape e (Woo ‘Conbisiiittad
me Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by 35 rr Q pWolFSKil
: the Southern Pacific Company and from additional te tela SES VA om
tion collected with the assistance of this company , y Ee ® Iluvium
3 pay 3
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY / Wy aS k Allendale 890M Dizon |»
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR c ‘ SS 4
: David White, Chief Geologist B. Marshall, Chief Geographer SS ; A ian aay
; 1915 ; SSS ° a i 10 5 20 v4) 30Kilometers:
3 ses acaville ee Aa i A ee oe eee ae
“ Es a name in parenthesis in the a Ne! ia
& lower “left corner is sapped in Mare on gts U. S. G. S. Topographic Ba eco Contour interval 200 feet
i Sheet of that nam es BOVE MEAN SE
Me, The di Seattle, Washington, are shown every /0 miles
3 Se Ta a eae
i
: 3 EXPLANATION
aN Sierra Nevada
Modern stream deposits (alluvium)
Quaternary
Gold-bearing gravels ; Pleistocene }
Fragmental lavas (chiefly andesite); Neocene
Clays, & sands, and gravel with some coal beds (Ione for- Tertiary
tion); Eocene
Granite and diabase or amphibolite and related intrusive
rocks; late Jurassic or early Cretaceous
Mesozoic
Slates, sandstone, and conglomerate (Mariposa slate);
Jurassic
Coast Ranges
+ A p ste (all ey Quaternary
~. Qe Fresh-water conglomerate, sandstone, clay, and lime-
% o stone (Orinda ge eee stratified light-colored
~~ es é ? pumice (Pinole tuff);
» aR i
C_ Sandstones and shales, Bose | garage ress ( — 8
group and San Pablo f Tertiary
Sandstone with some shale and conglomerate ( ay for-
mation above and Martinez formation below); Eocene
E.__ Lava flows (basalt, rhyolite, and rhyolitic tuff)
F — yellowish sandstone and clay shale oe
merate at bottom (Chico formation, pose Mescucie
wer

ceous) pare by dark shale (Knoxville s
taceous)

Iso"

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 81
the railroad tunnel a short distance west of Vallejo Junction. Just
beyond the tunnel the contact between the Martinez and the Monterey
(Miocene) is clearly shown in a ‘high cliff to the left, opposite the
Selby Smelting Works, where the buff-colored Monterey sandstones
and shales rest with marked unconformity upon the black Eocene
shales. Near the contact the Eocene shale is filled with innumerable
fossil shells of boring Miocene mollusks. The Monterey beds are
_ extraordinarily well exposed in the cliffs to the left, and immediately
beyond the contact, where they consist of fine buff shales with shaly
sandstones and thin bands of -yellow limestone.

After leaving these cliff exposures the train passes Tormey station,
crosses a little swamp, and approaches a tunnel cut into vertical
cliffs of massive gray sandstone; this is the type locality of the San
Pablo formation (upper Miocene). The refining plant of the Union
Oil Co., at the east end of this tunnel, is located on the upper part
of the San Pablo beds. Vertical beds of massive tuff immediately
west of the oil refinery represent the lower part of the Pinole tuff.
Beyond these beds the train crosses another swamp and enters a
cut in which white volcanic ash beds of the Pinole tuff dip at a
relatively low angle to the northeast. This change in dip shows
that these beds are on the southwest side of the San Pablo Bay
syncline, the axis of which passes through the swamp area. Resting
upon the tilted ash deposits in this part of the section are horizontal
beds of Pleistocene shale.

The name Rodeo (ro-day’o), meaning ‘‘round-up,” indicates that
the station so called was formerly a cattle-shipping point. Beyond

Rodeo the train enters a series of cuts. Near the sta-

my tion are exposures of massive tuffs close to the base of
en the Pinole tuff. Beyond this point the San Pablo

(Miocene) appears, with low dips to the northeast.
In the sea cliffs on San Pablo Bay a few yards from the railroad
are excellent exposures of the Miocene capped by Pleistocene shale.
At Hercules, where there are large powder works, the railroad cut

in the same formation a few miles to the

8,000 feet. With the exception of the 4
east. The Martinez fauna is represented

Pliocene and a portion of the Pleistocene,

all the formations are of marine origin
A portion of the Pinole tuff was certainly
deposited in fresh water. The Pleisto-
cene beds were deposited under varying
marine, estuarine, and fluvial conditions.

Fossil remains are found in all the for-
mations of the San Pablo Bay section,
and at least six distinct faunas are repre-
sented. Very few specimens have been
procured in the Chico near the line of the
railroad, but abundant fossils are found

96286°—Bull. 614—15——_6

in the cliff opposite the Selby smelter.
The Monterey and the San Pablo con-
tain abundant remains. The fresh-water
fauna of the Pinole tuff is represented by
molluscan species. Leaves and remains
of vertebrates are also present.
Pleistocene shale contains abundant
marine shells of a few species, with mam-
mal bones representing the elephant,
horse, camel, bison, ground sloth, ante-
lope, lion, wolf, and other forms.

82 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

is in broken shale of the Monterey group, the same beds that were
seen near the Selby smelter, on the northeast side of the syncline.
Beyond Hercules the railroad passes over Monterey shale to the
town of Pinole (pee-no’lay, a Spanish term used by the Indians for
parched grain or seeds), where the Pinole tuff is in contact with the
Monterey and is covered by a thick mantle of the
Pleistocene shale. In the cuts southwest of Pinole
the rocks exposed are all either steeply inclined
Pliocene tuffs or horizontal Pleistocene beds.

At Krieger, where the tracks of the Santa Fe Route may be seen
approaching the bay front from the south, is a so-called ‘‘tank farm.”
The oil-storage tanks, which belong to the Standard Oil Co., are
beyond the Santa Feline. Beyond Sobrante station is Giant, another
powder factory, and beyond that are pottery works which obtain clay
from Ione, in the Sierra Nevada. The bay shore near Oakland is
largely given over to industrial uses, on account of its facilities for
rail and water transportation.

Beyond Giant the foothills retreat from the bay shore and the rail-
road enters the broad lowland on which the cities of Berkeley and

Oakland are built. Near San Pablo, in the vicinity

Pinole.
Population 798.
Seattle 935 miles.

oe cteorg of San Pablo and Wildcat creeks, there is a gravel-
Elevation ore filled basin. Many wells sunk in this gravel may be

seen near the tracks, and from them a municipal
water company and both railroads obtain water. West and south-
west of San Pablo station a line of hills shuts out a view of San
Francisco Bay. These hills constitute the Potrero San Pablo, so
called because, being separated from the mainland by marshes, they
were a convenient place in which to pasture horses during the days of
Mexican rule, when fences were practically unknown. The hills are
made up wholly of sandstone belonging to the Franciscan group.*

' The rocks of the Franciscan group com-
prise sandstones, conglomerates, shale,
and local masses of varicolored thin-
bedded flinty rocks. The flinty rocks
consist largely of the siliceous skeletons of
minute marine animals, low in the scale
of life, known as Radiolaria, and on this
account they are known to geologists as

by dark igneous rocks (diabase, perido-
tite, etc.), which generally contain a good
deal of magnesi id iron but little silica

The peridotites and related igneous rocks
have in large part undergone a chemical
and mineralogic change into the rock

known as serpentine. Closely associated
with the serpentine as a rule are masses
of crystalline laminated rock that consist
largely of the beautiful blue mineral

1 + pr Smee, SMe wa callion

olan

glaucophane schist. Schist of this char-
acter is | in comparatively few parts
of the world but is very. characteristic
of the Franciscan . It has been
formed from other rocks through the
chemical action known as contact meta-
morphism, set up by adjacent freshly in-
truded igneous rocks. Franciscan
group is one of the most widespread and
interesting assemblages of rocks in the
Coast ranges,

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 83

On the other side of them are wharves, warehouses, and large rail-
way shops belonging to the Santa Fe system. From that side, also,
the Santa Fe ferry plies to San Francisco.

Richmond, on both the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe lines,
is becoming a busy shipping, railroad, and manufacturing point, on
account of the congestion of the water front of Oak-

geen land and San Francisco. The hills on the east side
S aealaamg of the track, known to old Californians as the Contra

Costa Hills but now often referred to as the Berkeley
Hills, rise steeply from the plain. The most conspicuous summit
from the west is Grizzly Peak (1,759 feet), but Bald Peak, just east
of it, is 171 feet higher. The hills are generally treeless on their
exposed western slopes, although their ravines and the eastern slopes
are wooded.!

Beyond San Pablo and Richmond the rocks of the Franciscan group
outcrop in low hills. At Stege the railroad is still close to the shore
of the bay. Between this place and the hills is one of the suburbs of
Berkeley known as Thousand Oaks. The traveler can get here an
unobstructed view out over the bay and through the Golden Gate.
Mount Tamalpais is on the right and San Francisco on the left. Just
to the left of the Golden Gate the white buildings of the Exposition
grounds can readily be distinguished if the day is at all clear. At
Nobel station a little wooded hill of Franciscan rocks stands close to
the railroad on the left. Beyond Nobel an excellent view may be had
of the hilly portion of the city of Berkeley.

West Berkeley station, also known as University Avenue, is in the
older part of the city of Berkeley, and the center of the city is now

almost 24 miles back toward the hills. Berkeley was

Berkeley. named after Bishop Berkeley, the English prelate of
Elevation 8 feet. the eighteenth century who wrote the stanza begin-
ooo wit ning “Westward the course of empire takes its way,”

by those who chose it as a site for the University of
California. One of them, looking out over the bay and the Golden
Gate, quoted the familiar line, and another suggested ‘“‘Why not
name it Berkeley?” and Berkeley it became.

of Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene age.
These in turn are overlain by tuffs, fresh-
water beds, and lavas of Pliocene and

‘ The geologic structure of these hills is
rather complicated. Along their south-
base, between Berkeley and Oak-

land, is a belt of the sandstones, cherts,
and schists belonging to the Franciscan
(Jurassic?) group and characteristically
associated with masses of serpentine.
Overlying the Franciscan rocks are

es, shales, and conglomerates

early Quaternary age. The
structure of the ridge east of Berkeley is
synclinal, the beds on both sides dipping
into the hills. The upper part of Grizzly
Peak is formed chiefly of lava flows of
Pliocene age.

84 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES,

The University of California was founded in 1868. It is one of the
largest State universities in America, including besides the regular
collegiate and postgraduate departments at Berkeley the Lick
Observatory, on Mount Hamilton; colleges of law, art, dentistry,
pharmacy, etc., in San Francisco; the Scripps Institution for Biologi-
cal Research, at La Jolla, near San Diego; and other laboratories for
special studies elsewhere. It is a coeducational institution and had a
total enrollment for 1914-15, not including that of the summer
school, of 6,202. The members of the faculty and other officers of
administration and instruction number 890. The university build-
ings at Berkeley are beautifully situated and have a broad outlook
over San Francisco Bay. Their position can readily be identified
from the train by the tall clock tower. Another prominent group
of buildings occupying a similar site just south of the university
grounds is that of the California School for the Deaf and the Blind.

Just before reaching Oakland (Sixteenth Street station) the train
passes Shell Mound Park. The mound, which is about 250 feet long
and 27 feet high, is on the shore of the bay close to the right side
of the track. It is composed of loose soil mixed with an immense
number of shells of clams, oysters, abalones, and other shellfish
gathered for food by the prehistoric inhabitants of the region and
eaten on this spot. The discarded shells, gradually accumulating,
built up the mound. Such relics of a prehistoric people are numerous
about the bay, for over 400 shell mounds have been discovered within
30 miles of San Francisco. The mound just described is one of the
largest, and from excavations in it a great number of crude stone,
shell, and bone implements and ornaments have been obtained. The
mounds evidently mark the sites of camps or villages that were
inhabited during long periods, for the accumulation of such refuse
could not have been very rapid. Archeologists who have studied the
mound say that it must have been the site of an Indian village over
a thousand years ago, and that it was probably inhabited almost
continuously to about the time when the Spaniards first entered
California.

The first stop in the city of Oakland is made at the Sixteenth Street
station, about 14 miles from the business center of the city. Oakland

is the seat of Alameda County and lies on the eastern

Oakland. shore of San Francisco Bay directly opposite San

Elevation ne Francisco. Its name is derived from the live oaks
ion 4 es . . . a Pa fo

os cation: which originally covered the site. It is an important

manufacturing center and has a fine harbor with 15
miles of water front. Visitors to Oakland should if possible take the
electric cars to Piedmont, from which a fine view may be had of San
Francisco, the bay, and the Golden Gate. This view is especially good

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 85

at sunset. A walk or drive to Redwood Peak takes the visitor past
the former home of Joaquin Miller, author of “Songs of the Sierras”
and many other familiar poems, and affords equally fine views.

Leaving the station at Sixteenth Street, the train skirts the west
side of the city and runs out on a pier or mole 14 miles long, from
which the rest of the journey must be made on the San Francisco
ferries. The distance across the bay is 4 miles, and the trip is made

in about 20 minutes. In crossing the bay the traveler sees Goat

(or Yerba Buena), Alcatraz, and Angel islands to the right, Marin
Peninsula beyond them, and the Golden Gate opening to the west of
Alcatraz.

Goat Island lies close to the ferry course across the bay. Like most
of the other islands in the bay, it is owned by the Government. On
the nearest point there is a lighthouse station, and below it the
rocky cliff is painted white to the water’s edge. Just to the right of
this is the supply station for the lighthouses of the whole coast from
Seattle to San Diego. Behind this station is the United States naval
training station, of which the officers’ quarters may be seen on the
hillside and the men’s quarters near the larger buildings below. At
the extreme northeast point of the island is a torpedo station, where
torpedoes are stored for use in the coast defense.

On Alcatraz, the small island west of Goat Island, is a United
States military prison, and on Angel Island, north of Alcatraz, are
barracks and other military buildings, a quarantine station, and an
immigrant station. ae

Few people in viewing the Bay of San Francisco think of it in any
other way than as a superb harbor or as a beautiful picture. Yet it
has an interesting geologic story. The great depression in which it
lies was once a valley formed by the subsidence of a block of the
earth’s crust—in other words, the valley originated by faulting. The
uplifted blocks on each side of it have been so carved and worn by
erosion that their blocklike form has long been lost. Erosion also has
modified the original valley by supplying the streams with gravel and
sand to be carried into it and there in part deposited. The moun-
tains have been worn down and the valley has been partly filled.
Possibly the valley at one time drained out to the south. However
that may be, at a later stage in its history 1t drained to the west
through a gorge now occupied by the Golden Gate. Subsidence of this
part of the coast allowed the ocean water to flow through this gorge,
transforming the river channel into a marine strait and the valley into
a great bay. Goat Island and other islands in San Francisco Bay
suggest partly submerged hills, and such in fact they are.

86 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

San Francisco, the chief seaport and the metropolis of the Pacific
coast, is the tenth city in population in the United States and the
largest and most important city west of Missouri
River. The population in 1910 showed a gain of 20
x ulation 416,912. per cent since 1900. The city is beautifully situated
Seattle 957 miles. ;

at the north end of a peninsula, with the ocean on one
side and the Bay of San Francisco on the other. The bay is some
50 miles in length and has an area of more than 300 square miles.
The entrance to the bay lies through the Golden Gate, a strait about
5 miles long and a mile wide at its narrowest point.

The site of the city is very hilly, and a line of high rocky elevations
runs like a crescent-formed background from northeast to southwest
across the peninsula, culminating in the Twin Peaks, 925 feet high.
Telegraph Hill, in the northeastern part of the city, is 294 feet above
sea level. Here stood the semaphore which signaled the arrival of
ships in the days of the gold seekers. The city has been laid out
without the slightest regard to topography, consequently many of the
streets are so steep as to be traversable only by cable cars and pedes-
trians. The waters of the bay formerly extended westward to Mont-
gomery Street, and most of the level land in the business section of
San Francisco has been made by filling.

Golden Gate Park, containing 1,014 acres and extending westward
from the city to the ocean, was a waste of barren sand dunes jn 1870,
but skillful planting and cultivation have transformed it into one of
the most beautiful semitropical public parks in the country. At its
west end is the famous Cliff House, overhanging the sea, and a short
distance out from the shore are the Seal Rocks, where the great sea
lions may often be seen. The Sutro Baths near by, named after
Adolph Sutro, constructor of the famous Sutro tunnel on the Com-
stock lode, contain one of the largest inclosed pools in the world.

San Francisco Bay is the largest and most active harbor of the
Pacific coast. Besides the coastwise routes, the port maintains

steamship connections with Australia, Hawaii, Mexico,

Central and South America, the Philippine Islands,
China, and Japan. The direct foreign trade is chiefly with Brit-
ish Columbia, South America, China, and Japan. Although the
export grain business has now largely shifted to the ports of Ore-
gon and Washington, San Francisco’s permanence as one of the
greatest ports of the country is assured by its advantageous position,
its wealth of back country, and its command of trans-Pacific and
transcontinental trade routes. Three large railroad systems—the

San Francisco.

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 87

The Northwestern Pacific serves Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin
counties, on the north, and several smaller lines radiate from differ-
ent ports on the bay. Only one railroad line, the Coast Line of the
Southern Pacific, actually enters the city. The other roads have
their terminals in Oakland and other cities around the bay.

The first settlement on the present site of San Francisco dates
from 1776. It consisted of a Spanish military post (presidio) and
the Franciscan mission of San Francisco de Asis. In
1836 the settlement of Yerba Buena (yair’ba bway’na)
was established in a little cove southeast of Telegraph Hill. The
name San Francisco was, however, applied to all three of these
settlements. The United States flag was raised over the town
in 1846, and the population rapidly increased, reaching perhaps
900 in May, 1848. The news of the gold discoveries was followed
by the crowds of fortune seekers, so that by the end of 1848 the
city had an estimated population of 20,000. From that time on
San Francisco has grown rapidly. The first regular overland mail
communication with the East was established by pony express in
1860, the charge for postage being $5 for half an ounce. In 1869
the completion of the Central Pacific Railway to Oakland marked
the beginning of transcontinental railway communication.

The city suffered from severe earthquakes in 1839, 1865, 1868,
and 1906. In respect to property loss the disaster of April 18, 1906,
was one of the great catastrophes of history. The actual damage
to the city by the earthquake was comparatively slight, but the
water mains were broken and it was consequently impossible to
check the fires which immediately broke out and which soon de-
stroyed a large part of the city, cluding most of the business sec-
tion. Some 500 persons lost their lives, and the estimated damage
to property was between $350,000,000 and $500,000,000. Recon-
struction began at once, and the city was practically rebuilt in the
three years following the earthquake.

The Ocean Shore Railroad (station at Twelfth and Mission
streets) and connecting automobile line afford a good opportunity

to see the geology along the shore from San Francisco to
Excursions from Ganta Cruz. The return trip may be made by railroad
San Francisco, stage across the Santa Cruz Mountains. For a distance
of 44 miles north of Mussel Rock (11.9 miles from San Francisco)
there is exposed in the bluffs along the coast a remarkable section
of the Merced (Pliocene) formation, consisting of about 5,800 feet of
highly inclined marine clays, shales, sandstones, conglomerates, and
shell beds. In these beds have been found fossil remams of 53
species of marine animals, mostly mollusks, of which three-fourths
are still represented by forms living in the ocean to-day. The San
Andreas rift (the fracture along which displacement occurred in the

History.

88 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

San Francisco earthquake of 1906) passes out to sea at the mouth of
a little ravine half a mile north of Mussel Rock and is crossed by the
railroad. The exposures of the Merced formation along the sea cliffs
were much finer before the San Francisco earthquake, which shook
down some of the cliffs. From Tobin (18.1 miles) to Green Canyon
(21.1 miles) the bed of the Ocean Shore Railroad is cut in bold
sea cliffs high above the water and affords not only fine shore scenery
but also an excellent section of rocks that probably belong to the
Martinez (Eocene) formation. The contact of these rocks with a
large mass of pre-Franciscan granite (quartz diorite), which forms
Montara Mountain, a bold ridge that extends southeastward from
this part of the coast, is crossed by the railroad between Tobin and
Green Canyon. At the north end of Seal Cove, opposite Moss Beach
station (24.1 miles), the bowldery and fossiliferous sea-beach beds
here forming the base of the Merced (Pliocene) and resting on the
granite of Montara Mountain are well exposed.

This delightful excursion may be extended down the coast to
Pescadero, and the return made by stage across the range and rift
zone to San Mateo; or the traveler may continue down the coast
to Santa Cruz and return across the range on the Southern Pacific
line either by way of the Big Trees and Los Gatos or by Pajaro and
Gilroy.

The characteristic thin-bedded radiolarian chert of the Franciscan
group is well exposed about Strawberry Hill, in Golden Gate Park.
There are good exposures of the chert also on Hunter Point, reached
most readily by the Kentucky Street cars from Third and Market
streets. The principal rock of the point is serpentine. A mass of
basalt in the sea cliffs on the south side presents a remarkable
spheroidal and variolitic structure.

The summit of Mount Tamalpais is very easily and comfortably
reached by ferry to Sausalito, electric train to Mill Valley, and a
mountain railway to the hotel on the top. The ferry trip is one
of the best to be had on the bay. The steamer passes close to the
small island of Alcatraz, used as a military prison. To the west may
be seen the ocean through the Golden Gate. Angel Island, with its
teresting glaucophane schists, serpentine, and other rocks, lies to
the right as the boat approaches Sausalito. The sedimentary rocks
of both islands belong to the Franciscan group and are chiefly
sandstone. The trip from Sausalito to Mill Valley by the North-
western Pacific Railroad gives the traveler opportunity to see some
characteristic bay-shore scenery and particularly to note how the
waters of the bay appear to have flooded what was once a land valley.
Mill Valley is named from an old Spanish sawmill, the frame of which
is still standing. The views obtainable from the scenic railway and
from the summit of Mount Tamalpais are extensive and varied, To

SHASTA ROUTE—SEATTLE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 89

the south may be seen San Francisco and Mount Hamilton (4,444
feet). To the southeast is Mount Diablo (3,849 feet), through which
runs the meridian and base line from which the public-land surveys
of a large part, of California are reckoned. Nearer at hand is the
bay, with its dark-green bordering marshes, through which wind
serpentine tidal creeks. Close under the mountain to the north is
Lake Lagunitas (an artificial reservoir), and beyond it ridge after
ridge of the Coast Range. To the west is the vast Pacific.

From the summit of Tamalpais one sees clearly that San Fran-
cisco Bay is a sunken area in which hilltops have become islands
and peninsulas. This area is the northern extension of the crustal
block whose sinking formed Santa Clara Valley. A later sag
admitted the ocean into the valley, and the Golden Gate, formerly
a river gorge, became a strait.

Mount Tamalpais has really three peaks: East Peak (2,586 feet),
near which the Tavern of Tamalpais is situated; Middle Peak (about
2,575 feet); and West Peak (2,604 feet). From the grassy hills
1} miles west of West Peak there is a good view of Bolinas Lagoon,
through which passes the earthquake rift, but for close views of the
rift topography the visitor should walk or drive through the valley
between Bolinas Lagoon and Tomales Bay, where the effects of the
movement of 1906 are still in many places clearly evident.

Mount Tamalpais is composed wholly of the sediments of the
Franciscan group and the igneous rocks usually associated with them,
though it is chiefly sandstone. A mass of radiolarian chert occurs
near the tavern, and serpentine may be seen at several places beyond
West Peak. To one fond of walking and of marine views, a trip on
foot to West Peak, thence down the main ridge to Muir Woods
(redwoods), and back across the hills to Mill Valley may be heartily
recommended. The distance is probably 8 or 9 miles. The Muir
Woods, which bear the name of California’s greatest nature lover,
form a national monument, presented to the nation by William
Kent, now Member of Congress from the first California district, for
the purpose of preserving untouched by the lumberman one area of
redwoods. No fitter memorial could be dedicated to the memory
of John Muir, whose writings have contributed so much to the
movement for preserving in national ownership, for public enjoy-
ment, some of our finest scenic resources.

The geologic event of greatest human interest on the Pacific coast
in modern times was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. It was

produced by a sudden movement of the rocks (fault-
cae a ing) along opposite sides of a fracture which may be
traced for many miles in the Coast Range. The fis-
sure existed before the earthquake of 1906, and it is evident from the
relations of hills and valleys along it that it has been the scene of

— 90 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

earlier and, for the most part, prehistoric movements. The last
movement was mainly horizontal and in places amounted to about
20 feet. The San Andres rift, as this fissure has been called, lies
just west of San Francisco, and its course is marked on sheet 13
(p. 90).

The cracks in the soil that mark the line of the last displacement
(Pl. XX XTIT, B, p. 127) and the parallel ridges and valleys that show
older displacements along the fault zone are well displayed in Spring

Valley, 13 miles south of
| San Francisco, and es-
pecially near Skinner’s

Yj "Trees WY) ranch, 40 miles north-

= Trees moved 15 feet SE.

Zz
Liga

House House | Wihreferencetshouse West of San Francisco.
“ To reach Spring Val-
she! LEA: ay) ley the visitor should

Figure 12.—Earthquake effects at Skinner’s ranch, near Olema, take a Southern Pacific
ota ten marta Pere pems eet es eee train to San Maton (18
ment was about 15 feet. @, Before earthquake; b, after earth- miles), where a convey-
See ance may be obtained

for a drive through Spring Valley along Crystal Spring and San

Andreas lakes.

Skinner’s ranch can be reached by the ferry to Sausalito and the
Northwestern Pacific Railroad to Point Reyes station, from which
the ranch is only 2 miles distant, near Olema. In this region may be
seen best the earth cracks along the fault line. Near the ranch house
there.is striking evidence of the horizontal character of the movement
that produced the earthquake. The house formerly had two trees in
front of it. The fault line, which trends northwest, passes between
the trees and the house, and the trees were moved 15 feet to the
southeast with reference to the house. (See fig. 12.) There was no
perceptible vertical movement nor any change in the water line along
Tomales :

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

OF THE

SHASTA ann COAST ROUTES
From Seattle, Washington, to San Francisco, California

and
From Los Angeles, California, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa-
tion collected with the assistance of this company

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
1915

Each quadrangle shown on the map with a in parenthesis in the
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that name.

EXPLANATION
F >
Pinole tuff ns
+++ 47
5——| San Pablo
formation
Briones
th sandstone

Hercules shale
member

Ey
UY Rodeo shale
Ue uya| Hembre

y sandstone
4” Tertiary and
Cretaceous

= OM.
U jr

ge pag mmo 3 SY
Oy ee

BULLETIN 614 SHEET 13

Ke CALIFORNIA

12)

0

7 mm

4)

> /

+
EXPLANATION
Stream deposits (alluvium), sand dunes, and beach sands Quaternary
Fresh-water — sands, and clays (Santa Clara for-
i y Qua

mation, ear mary and Pliocene); marine clay,
: : Quaternary
sandstone, and conglomerate (Merced formation, Plio- d Terti

Light-colored soft sandstone and .chalky bituminous

shale (San Pablo formation and Monterey group);
Miocene

Hard sandstone above (Tejon formation); chiefly con- Tertiary
glomerate with sandstone; some shale and thin lime-
e

ale
stone (Martinez formation) below; Eocen:

Lava flows (basalt and rhyolite)

Massive yellowish sandstone with conglomerate member
below (Chico formation, Upper Cretaceous), underlain
by calcareous and arenaceous shale (Knoxville forma-
tion, Lower Cretaceous

Chiefly intrusive rocks (basalt, diabase, gabbro, perido-| yrosozoic
tite, pyroxenite, serpentine); Jurassic (?) >

Sandstones with subordinate shaies, locally alternating Taylorvilie@®
with varicolored radiolarian cherts and some limestone; >?
local schists due to metamorphism on contact of
igneous rocks (Franciscan group); Jurassic (2)

Granite (quartz diorite) Pre-Jurassic (1)

pra acai
Scale 500,000
Approximately 8 miles to | inch
. ee , PEE : Aes
19 ] 10 15 20
a —s ae i ae eS i eet a eee
Contour interval 200 feet
ELEVATIONS IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL
The distances from Los Angeles. California| a
The di fi Seattle, Washington. : A

The crossties on the railroads are spaced } mile apart

J

: S4 . = a ia
Sie Sahn ee SS SNS AN Se, \
123° 122“4o’ Sheet No.6 A |
ws ie z is

COAST LINE.!
LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO.

Los Angeles (Spanish pronunciation, loce ahn’hay-lace) is the

metropolis of the Southwest and is preeminently a city of homes. It

lies on Los Angeles River (see sheet 14, p. 102) only 15

ke SaaS miles from the sea and is built on a series of broad

pevation feet. steplike terraces which, although now from 250 to 500

opulation 319,198. :

feet above sea level, were probably in part carved by

the waves of the ocean. The situation of these terraces and their

equable climate (mean temperature, January 54°, August 72°) have

made Los Angeles and its sister city, Pasadena, two of the most
attractive home cities in the world. 2

The Pueblo de Nuestra Sefiora la Reina de los Angeles (city of
Our Lady the Queen of the Angels) was founded by the Spaniards
in 1781, and the Plaza Church marks the site of the old village. It
became an American possession in 1846 but attracted little attention
until the transcontinental railways were built. In 1885, although a
century old, Los Angeles was still a town of adobe houses with but
few more than 11,000 people. The opening of this delightful region
brought floods of settlers. In 1900 it had a population of 102,479, and
in 1910 this had more than trebled. A city census taken in June,
1915, indicated a population of 528,000. The residential portion of
the city is noted for its many beautiful mansions embowered in semi-
tropical bloom and verdure. The rapidly growing eucalyptus, from
Australia, and the graceful pepper tree, from Peru, with palms,
native and foreign, are the most abundant trees in the streets and
parks. Although largely residential, the city has over 2,300 facto-
ries, whose output in 1913 was valued at more than $157,000,000.

The water supply is excellent and is brought by an aqueduct from
Owens Valley, 226 miles away. For the building of this aqueduct
across the desert and through the mountains $23,000,000 in bonds
were issued. :

Los Angeles is in the heart of the fruit-growing region of southern
California. The surrounding plains and valleys are covered with
vineyards and orchards—olives, oranges, and lemons. The shipment
_ of citrus fruit from the region in the season of 1913-14 amounted to
40,000 carloads.

In Los Angeles and vicinity there are about 50 moving-picture
studios, representing an investment of several million dollars. s
region is said to be the center of the world’s film-producing industry.

' A large part of the material relating to the route between Los Angeles and Watson-
ville Junction has been furnished by Mr. Ralph Arnold. a

92 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

The Museum of History, Science, and Art is one of the most inter-
esting places in the city. It has fine collections in many branches,
exhibited in an attractive and instructive manner. The museum
authorities control the wonderful bone deposits (Pl. XXV, B) in
the asphalt springs of Rancho La Brea, about 8 miles directly west
of the city. These springs have been for centuries the most effective
natural animal trap known, and the asphalt has preserved the bones
of the thousands of Sbiinals caught in its deceptive and sticky pools.
The skeletons of elephants, camels, sloths, saber-toothed tigers, bears,
and myriads of smaller animals, including many birds, are being
gradually dug out and set up in tiie museum (Pl. XXV V, A). Among
the bones has recently been found the skull of a hiniag being who
lived probably not less than 10,000 years ago, contemporaneously with

animals now extinct.

many
is the northern part of the city is a belt of oil-producing territory -

5% miles long, covering an area of 2 square miles.

Here hundreds of

derricks have been erected in close proximity to dwellings.!

' The following notes are based on a con-
cise account of the geology and technology
of the California oil = by Ralph
Arnold and V. R. Ga

The production of cai in Califor-
nia is the most important mineral indus-
try in the State, the annual value of the
oil output equaling that of all the metals.
Since 1903, with the exception of 1907

000, ae haneke
The most ice fields are in the
southern part of the great San Joaquin
Valley, which lies in the central part of
the —— and in the region along the

coat a os Ss: of Santa Barbara
County (fig. 1

Oil is rate in n dommnertial quantity in
geologic formations ranging in age from
princi-
the table on
page 94, the oldest at ue. bottom, the
youngest at the top. All these formations
are not present in any one region, and the

estimates

in santharn (: £, ee 73 ¢

tion co; containing oil in Scones ps
tities is the Topatopa (Eocene), poe
which wells in Simi Valley and at a few

places in the Santa Clara River valley
obtain oil. The oil so far produced pe
this formation is small in amount but
is very light and brings a higher cae
than any other oil in California

The shale of the upper part at the Mon-
terey group (Miocene) is the principal
source of oil in California and has yielded
oil in the Santa Maria, Santa Clara, and
Puente Hills districts. The gravity of
the oil ranges from 12° to 35° Baumé. -
This shale is made up largely of the re-
mains of diatoms—minute aquatic plants
composed of a jelly-like substance sur-
rounded by a shell of silica. Only the
hard shells are now visible.
be seen with a st rong ee gl

The soft matter is believed to have been
changed into petroleum. Besides the
diatoms the shale contains the shells of
minute animal forms called mini

with the hak where it fills the spaces —
between the sand grains; or into the
cracks and 7 pees in the hard and
flinty shale

BULLETIN 614 PLATE XXV

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. LA BREA WING OF THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY, SCIENCE, AND ART AT LOS ANGELES, CAL.

The restored forms, in order from, front hi rear, are the mastodon (Mammut a canu round s
(Mylodon), ), male and faadiala: and saber-toothed gr (Srodon 6 call ss or
n the case in front of the mastodon is the only human skull yet found int e deposit

BREA, NEAR LOS ANGELES, CAL.

B. FOSSIL BONES IN ASPHALT DEPOSIT OF RANCHO LA

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 93

With the permission of the Museum of History, Science, and Art
the Rancho La Brea may be visited. On the way thither the traveler
asses over a portion of the great alluvial plain of Los

eae eel Angeles, which is underlain, at least in part, by three
aternary formations, the oldest of which is a marine

deposit laid down horizontally on the beveled edges of a very thick
series of tilted Pliocene beds. This marine Quaternary deposit has a
thickness of 100 feet in the northwestern part of the city but thins
to an edge near the ancient sea cliff beyond. Los Angeles River exca-

ra 7 T
C ) 1 a |
i : : ~ =
\ a \ Lom — — Swe “+
ee Looustas / / 3
+ \ . “te : ae i tj Walker aS NYE
o 6 Pelt a ‘
; ALPINE yy Fi
oo / X.
: vf e,
Ms

ey
unto
On
4,
».
Jo Independence
°
Owens
£
gta ORES
|
|
|
LOS ANGELES |
= |
|
& os Angeles
LIST OF OIL FIELOS Rep ee Ben, ee = i o
+ Chiitarelin > es is en nF! Segura ” 1
2 Coalinga SANTA ROSA cicusa tas i ra x‘
3 Devils Den <b = e. ge a
4 Lost Hills ne )
5 Belridge e

7 McKittrick
ee

8 SANTA caraunn
9 SAN NICOLASTS,

Sun 2
10 Santa ia ia L
't Summer san d
12 Santa Clara Valley \—
13 Los Angeles iN SAN CLEMENTE
4 Puente Hills Pipe lines + ‘

¥1GURE 13.—Map showing the oil fields of California.

94

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

vated a valley about a mile wide and 100 feet deep in the marine deposit
and filled the trench with river deposits, the second Quaternary for-

mation.

This in turn is covered by the alluvium of the present plain.

Geologic formations in the oil fields of the coastal region of southern California.

Approxi- | |
Ere System or Series or a £ Mate | Quantity of oil and
period. epoch, “ ee » quality (Baumé),
Recent. | Alluvium, terrace deposits. | 1, 000 i
Quater- |
nary: | Pleisto- Paso Robles 1, 000
ae apa spon or deposits of
~| Fernando | Ako LS eas az
Pliocene. formation. | Pismo and Santa 7, 000 “i asphal-
Margarita for-| 2,000
| mations.
—Unconformity
Miocene. : :
3 Monterey group, including |19 999 | Gil; 12°-35°.
S x
iS)
=|
3 |
fai | Good oil; ene
Tertiary. 1g0- : 36°.
ertiary pearl Sespe formation. 4, 300 | some tea
| oil.
Tejon formation. |
Topatopa | * 99 | some high-grade
Eocene. forma- oil; lower oil
Martinez for- —_ 4, 000
mation.
—Unconformity—
Upper ico f :
Cesta Chico formation. 4, 000
ceous.
3 sp hine —Unconformity eaters
"Ss .
5S —_s
retaceous : 4 3, 000
A ce haete Knoxville formation. , 000+
—Unconformit y ae
Jurassic? Franciscan group. 1, 000+
—Unconformity SY He GRERIY Peete
= Schist and ae in- °
8 truded by granite
Fa

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO.

95

Other excursions may be made to the coast at Long Beach (south,
21 miles), Santa Monica (west, 17 miles), Redondo (southwest, 23

he Fernando and its equivalent post-
Monterey formations contain the most

formable position upon the underlying
Monterey group, which has facilitated
upward migration of the oil originating

ping in
Monterey sont occur at a number of
places.

The oil in the California fields, as in
most others throughout the world, occurs
in inclined or sloping beds of porous sand,
and these oil sands are usually overlain
and underlain by water sands, which are
separated from the oil sands s imper-
vious clay, shale, or other stra

‘The principal oil fields stints to Los
Angeles are those of the Los Angeles dis-
trict and the Puente Hills district. The

and the Salt Lake field, immediately
west of the city limits, about 43 miles
from its business center.

The City field was discovered in 1892,
when a 155-foot shaft was sunk near a
small deposit of brea on Colton Street.
The first successful well was drilled later
in that year on Second Street, and by the
end of 1895 there were more than 300

Wells. This field forms a narrow belt
about 54 miles long running through the
northern part of the city; the total area is
about 2 square miles. The wells are from
500 to 1,200 feet in depth, and the gravity
of the oil ranges from 12° to 19° Baumé
The limits of the field are well defined.
The wells have always been small pro-
ducers, necessitating pumping, ¢ and owing

f wells drilled withit thin

a small area the field has been drained at

a rapid rate and water has been allowed
to enter the oil sands in many areas.

he first well in the Salt Lake field was
drilled in 1901 by the Salt Lake Oil Co.,
and since 1902 this field has been the
chief producer in the Los Angeles dis-
trict. The wells are deeper than in the
City field, ranging between 1,200 and
3,000 feet, and the average gravity of the
oil is between 16° and 18° Baumé. Con-
siderable gas under strong pressure ac-
companies the oil, which causes the wells
to gush during the early part of their life.

The oil in the Los Angeles district is
derived largely from the upper 500 feet
of the Monterey group and the basal beds
of the Fernando formation. During 1914
the district produced about 2,500,000
barrels of oil, and between 1894 and the
end of 1914 it produced over 40,000,000
barrels. At present there are about 700
producing wells in the district. Theaver-
age daily production for each well in the
City field is about 2} barrels and in the
Salt Lake field about 23 barrels.

The oils of the City field are uniform in
quality, although they vary considerably
in gravity. They contain considerable
sulphur, and owing to the entire absence
of light products are of little value for

fuel.
Lake field show a si similarity in
general properties ing characterized

by a high pcercent ‘al sulphur. The

heavy oils are highly viscous and yield
considerable asphalt.

e Puente Hills district, from 12 to 34

was completed in 1880. Until 1893 the
Clara River

the oil produce
average depth of the wells in the Puente
Hills district is somewhat more than
1,300 feet and the average life of the wells
is about 16 years. The gravity of the oil

varies between 21° and 32° Baumé

96 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

miles), and San Pedro (south, 22 miles). San Pedro is the chief har-
bor of Los Angeles and is being greatly improved by the Federal Gov-
ernment. San Pedro Mountain, northwest of the town, has a core of
older igneous rocks encircled by Tertiary beds. The slope of the hill
is scored by a series of horizontal terraces suggestive of great steps.
These were cut by the ocean waves when the land stood at lower
levels. Deadman Island, near San Pedro, is one of the best localities
on the Pacific coast to collect Pliocene and Pleistocene fossils.

From San Pedro steamers ply to Santa Catalina,t a mountainous
island composed chiefly of Franciscan (Jurassic?) rocks. The sea —
fishing here is famous, and through the crystal-clear water the sea
bottom and the plants and animals that inhabit it may be seen from
glass-bottomed boats.

About 9 miles east of Los Angeles is San Gabriel Mission, founded in
1771, and near by is the interesting church erected in 1804 of material
brought from Spain. Pasadena is easily reached by train or electric
car. Trips likely to prove more interesting to lovers of nature or
science are those to Mount Lowe and Mount Wilson. These summits
belong to the San Gabriel Mountains, which present an abrupt face
on the north side of the San Gabriel Valley. They are composed of
granitic and other crystalline rocks which contain gold and other
precious metals.

Mount Lowe (5,650 feet above sea level) is reached by the Pacific
Electric Railroad from Los Angeles to Echo Canyon. From the
canyon a cable railway runs over a 1,000-foot ascent to the summit of
Echo Mountain (4,015 feet), where connection is made with a moun-
tain railway for Alpine Tavern (5,000 feet). A trail leads from the
tavern to the summit, from which a fine view may be obtained. The
mountain mass is composed chiefly of granitic rocks, which by their
disintegration have furnished much sedimentary material for the
Tertiary deposits of the foothills and adjacent lowlands.

Mount Wilson (5,750 feet) may be ascended afoot or on burros

from Sierra Madre (mah’dray),

a station on the electric tramway.

The lighter grades of oil are believed

e coarse
On December 31, 1912, there were 470
roducing wells in the Puent nte Hills dis-

nearly 7,000,000 barrels. The total
duction of the field from 1889 to 198,
inclusive, was nearly 41,000,000 barrels.
The oil produced varies in composition,
the greater part being of light — and
utilized by vehueciee near Los Angeles

‘The topography of Santa Catalina
Island presents a striking contrast to that
of the neighboring mainland and to that
of San Clemente Island, which lies farther
outin the ocean. The mainland and San
Clemente Island show old beach lines

but Santa Catalina Island sh

markings; on the contrary, as Prof. A. C.
Lawson has pointed out, this island pre-
sents unmistakable evidence of having
subsided.

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCC. 97

At the top is the solar observatory of the Carnegie Institution. The
view is extensive and very beautiful. The rocks, like those of Mount
Lowe, are highly crystalline. Hotels on the summit and northern
slope make it possible to remain overnight on the mountain. —

The great Los Angeles plain, on which the main part of the city
of Los Angeles is built, has been trenched by the streams that cross
it in a succession of steps or terraces. As the train leaves the Arcade
Station the principal river terrace can be seen on the left by looking
up some of the streets, particularly Main Street just below the
Plaza.

Passing northward and eastward from the business portion of the
city the train goes through the Southern Pacific Railroad yards,
across which, to the left, can be seen the tops of the derricks at the
east end of the City oil field. The oil wells were drilled close together
in the residence portion of the city and, although many of the der-
ricks have been removed, enough are left to attract attention.

North of the railroad yards the main line runs along Los Angeles
River for half a mile. The river here cuts across the beds on the south
flank of the main arch or anticline of the City oil field and exposes a
fine section of the Miocene sandstone (Monterey) along its west bank.
The beds dip south at angles ranging from 20° to 50°. About 472
miles from San Francisco the line crosses Los Angeles River opposite
Elysian Park (on the hill to the left). The railroad continues up
‘the east bank past fine orchards and berry farms. The hills to the
right (east) are composed largely of the Miocene sandstone, folded
into one or more well-developed anticlines. Farther north and east
shales of Miocene (Monterey) age overlie these sandstones and form
the rolling hills between Los Angeles and Pasadena. _

The prominent peak to the left (west) of the railroad, opposite
Tropico, is Cahuenga (ca-wain’ga) Peak (elevation 1,825 feet), of

the Santa Monica Range. It consists largely of

Tropico. granitic rocks, but north of the peak a thick coarse

Elevation 434 feet. ¢onglomerate lies against the granite. South of the

pamela peak are flows and dikes of dark lava (basalt) and
sandstones and shales of the Monterey group.

It is believed that south of Cahuenga Peak there is a strong fissure
(fault) along which the rocks on the south side have sunk or those on
the north side risen. This fault probably extends westward along
the base of the Santa Monica Range, of which Cahuenga Peak is the
easternmost point. The central mass of the range consists largely
of gneiss and black schist. Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks flank this
crystalline core farther west, in the region north of Santa Monica.

96286°—Bull. 614—15——7

98 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Between Tropico and West Glendale the San Gabriel Range,
rising from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the valley, may be seen on the
right (north). This range consists entirely of granitic
West Glendale. snd gneissoid rocks. Structurally it is a great block
tas Angeles Smiles. that has been lifted up along a well-defined fault
which extends along the south base of the range from the region of
West Glendale to the vicinity of Eagle Rock, just west of Pasadena.
Eagle Rock, at the east end of the Eagle Rock Valley, which can be
seen from the railroad in the vicinity of West Glendale, is an old
landmark composed of a locally hardened mass of Miocene (Mon-
terey) conglomerate. The “eagle” on the side of the rock is caused
by shadows cast by overhanging portions of the conglomerate. The
fault is very pronounced in the vicinity of Eagle Rock, where in con-
sequence of it the conglomerate beds on the south dip steeply toward
the granitic mass on the north, although of course they are cut off
at the fault and do not go under the granite.

At Burbank the Coast Line turns off westward from the Valley
Line and enters San Fernando Valley, noted for its large production

. of hay and fruit. South of Burbank, in the little

: ee oe valley at the northeast foot of Cahuenga Peak, on

Los Angeles 12 miles, the edge of San Fernando Valley, is Universal City,

the only city in the world built solely for the pro-

duction of moving-picture film. This magic place can be changed ‘

in a few days to get any scene or setting desired—Athens, Rome,

London, Paris, New York, Hindu'streets, Afghan villages, all with

true local color. Ten miles of film can be made here in a week.

The city contains 3,000 or 4,000 persons, employees of the picture —
company, and a zoo comprising several hundred wild animals.

The Monterey beds on the north flank of the SantaMonica Range,
south of the railroad, are intruded by basalt dikes and associated
with flows of the same lava. Overlying the Monterey, and deposited
later than the basalt flows, is the Fernando formation, consisting of
conglomerates, sandstones, and soft shales, which dip toward the
valley. The Fernando beds also flank the eastern extremity of the
San Fernando Hills north of the San Fernando Valley.. This forma-
tion is full of fossil shells and other marine organisms, which indicate
upper Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene age. ‘

About 3 miles west of Burbank the railroad crosses Tujunga (too-
hoon’ga) Wash, which marks the underground channel of a tributary
to Los Angeles River. This phenomenon of underflow is character-
istic of _the arid and semiarid regions of the Southwest. Several
mountain streams unite in forming Tujunga River, which debouches
from the mouth of a canyon into Tujunga Wash. The water immedi-
ately sinks out of sight and flows through coarse gravels and sands
under the plain until it reaches the hard rocks north of Cahuenga

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO, 99

Peak, where it rises in springs and enters Los Angeles River, a per-
' ennial stream which supplied the city of Los Angeles with water
until the Owens River supply became available. Many legal con-
tests have arisen over the efforts of the people owning the land
along Tujunga Wash to sink wells into the subterranean river, but
the courts have held that the right of the city of Los Angeles to this
water is as well founded as if the river flowed on top of the ground,
Very little water flows over Tujunga Wash except during certain
parts of the rainy season. Passengers often wonder why the rail-
road builds long trestles across apparently dry, cactus-covered desert,
but during the torrential rains which occur every few years the wash
becomes a raging torrent. Settlers who are not familiar with the
characteristics of such washes are often robbed of their entire land
holdings by changes of channel.
At milepost 457 the railroad crosses the pipe line from Owens River.
The traveler looking eastward from San Fernando Valley obtains
a good view of the west end of the San Gabriel Range, which
extends from the low Fernando Pass, utilized by the Valley Line of
the Southern Pacific, eastward to Cajon Pass, north of San Bernardino,
a distance of 70 miles. The culminating peak in the eastern portion
of the range is Old Baldy, 10,080 feet in elevation. This peak, often
snowcapped, is visible from Los Angeles. The western end of the
range, including Mount Wilson and Mount Lowe, is lower, rising only
to a general elevation of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. Some sedimentary beds
of the Fernando formation flank the granitic rocks at the west end
of the range and are faulted into contact with these rocks on the south.
On a clear day the sedimentary rocks can be easily distinguished from
the granites by their yellow color.
At milepost 455 the Pacific Electric Railway track is crossed. On
the left in the distance from Raymer station is the
nega large white schoolhouse at Van Nuys, a town on
sti amended a branch line of the Southern Pacific that runs
= rs through an agricultural district south of the Coast
Line and nearer the river.
Zelzah is the great hay center of the San Fernando Valley. The
region yields about 40,000 tons annually, of which 95 per cent is
barley hay. Much fruit is also raised in the valley,
Zelzah. the orchards being irrigated by pumping ground
Elevation 803 feet. water, As the road approaches the west end of the
So enanda Valley the most prominent elevation
to the left is Saddle Peak, the name being suggested by the obviqus
similarity of the mountain top to a saddle. The rocks here are very
resistant sandstones and the crest of the ridge is rugged and almost
inaccessible. The Santa Susana Range bounds the north side of this
part of the valley.

a

100 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

To a geologist one of the most impressive sights of the whole trip

from Los Angeles to San Francisco is the great escarpment of thick- —

bedded Eocene sandstones which blocks the west
Chatsworth. end of the San Fernando Valley. From the east the
Elevation 952 feet. beds are seen to lie one on top of another to a height
PS iepgure cies ie of nearly 1,200 feet above the valley. The continua-

tion of these beds, whose edges are thus visible, lies
under the San Fernando Valley, and the escarpment indicates a
great break in the earth’s crust along which the rocks on the north-
west side have been heaved up or those on the southeast side have
sunk. In other words, the steep slope that closes the west end of
the valley is a fault scarp. The faulting took place many hundreds
of years ago and the cliff has, of course, since been modified by the
action of water and air. This great fault extends from the south-
west corner of the valley in a north-northeasterly direction into the
Santa Susana Mountaims. The Eocene sandstones are eroded into
grotesque shapes, some of them suggestive of battlements rising
steeply above the railroad.

Sandstone from the Topatopa formation (Eocene) quarried 2 miles
northwest of Chatsworth is utilized for the San Pedro Breakwater
and also as a building stone.

After passing through two tunnels which penetrate minor ridges the
railroad goes through a tunnel, 7,369 feet long, about 500 feet below
the Santa Susana Pass. The line between Los Angeles and Ventura
counties is crossed midway of this tunnel. The Eocene beds (Topa-
topa) dip west at a rather low angle, so that the tunnel, from east to
west, cuts successively younger or higher beds in the formation.
Soon after leaving the tunnel, the train goes through some cuts of
coarse Eocene conglomerate which overlies the beds just described.
These rocks form the east end of Simi (see’me) Valley, which comes
into view as the train proceeds westward beyond the tunnel.

Although the Eocene series here is more than 3,000 feet thick, the
dip of the beds to the west soon carries them out of sight under the
oe younger formations. The rocks immediately over-

Susana. lying the coarse Eocene sandstone and conglomerate

si atacartophnee ral are soft rusty-brown sandstones of Oligocene age—
the Sespe formation. On the north (right) side of

the valley, opposite milepost 436, oil derricks of the Newhall field
are seen in the distance near the base of some low hills lying in front of
the main Santa Susana Range. These derricks mark the position»
of -wells that penetrate the uppermost beds of the Eocene (Topatopa
formation), on the flanks of a well-developed arch or anticline in
these beds. The anticline extends eastward along the base of the hills.
The wells range in depth from 300 to 1,800 feet and yield from 5 to
200 barrels each daily of 37° Baumé oil, the best oil in the State.

101

The light-colored beds showing low in the hills behind the derricks
belong to the Sespe formation (Oligocene). Above them are darker
beds belonging to the Vaqueros sandstone (lower Miocene). The
very lightest beds at the top are the Monterey shale (Miocene).
A full sequence of the formations is found in some of the canyons
running northward from the Simi Valley to the crest of the range.

The hills immediately south of the town of Santa Susana consist of
the rusty beds of the Sespe (Oligocene) formation. Farther back are
the underlying Topatopa (Eocene) beds. Still farther south the
Santa Monica Range consists of a thick series of Cretaceous sedimen-
tary rocks cut by complicated masses of igneous rocks, largely of
Miocene age.

The Simi Valley, like the San Fernando Valley, owes its existence
and general form to the folding and faulting of the rocks—that is, it is
essentially a structural valley and not wholly or chiefly the work of
erosion. It is filled with alluvium to an unknown depth. On the
north side of the valley a well-defined sag in the strata (a syncline)
underlies the line of hills between the crest of the nearest range and
the crest of the most northern range visible. This northern range
forms the south side of Santa Clara Valley! from Saugus to Ventura.
On both sides of that valley are productive oil fields that yield petro-
leum ranging from a heavy, tarry oil to an oil of very light gravity

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO.

that is much sought after by the refiners of illuminating oil.’

1 There are at least two Santa Clara val-
leys in California—one in Ventura and

through parte of peice of these Aires and
should keep the di ti

? The Santa Clara distetet 3a is the oldest
oil-producing territory in the State, the
first oil hei 5, eee At 1 + AQ

ago from tannele driven near Ventura and
on the south flank of Sulphur Mountain.
sé bj Se. oh J at WS fu. 128 .

drilled near Ventura in 1867. The dis-
trict includes the region on both sides of
Santa Clara River from the Newhall field,
in Los Angeles County, 40 miles northwest
of Los Angeles, to the Ojai Valley field, in
Ventura County, about 50 miles farther
west. The Santa Clara district produced
practically all the oil in the State up to
1880, when the Puente Hills district was
discovered. The bulk of the production

is of refining grade. The yield in 1913

was 1,042,348 barrels, most of which was
piped to seaboard.

The district comprises 13 fields, some of
which are in almost inaccessible ]

+h

= 7
Ler auur y 1S
b | 41 a ' i. %

folds. “The wells range in depth from 200
to 3,700 feet, a large number being less
than 1,000 feet deep. It is estimated that
the average depth of the wells is less than
in any other district in the State.

The heaviest oil, ranging from 11° to 16°
Baumé, is found in the Ojai Valley, Hop-
per Canyon, and Elsmere Canyon fields.
Practically all the ee fields yield refin-
ing oil ranging from =
The wells vary ae in capacity, some
having an initial flow of 500 to 600 barrels

a day and some being profitably operated
for a yield of 2 barrels a day or even less.
It is estimated that the average daily pro-
duction per well for the entire district in
1913 was 7.2 barrels.

Although practically all the fields have
been operated for many years, the terri-
tory is by no means all prospected, and

102

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

A stratigraphic arch, the Simi anticline, crosses the mouth of Tapo
Canyon from east to west, extends westward for 2 or 3 miles, and
then gradually swings toward the southwest, crossing
the west end of the Simi Valley. The hills which
limit this valley on the west have been carved by
erosion from the upfolded beds of this anticline. The
beds on the north flank of the anticline are well exposed in the hills
northwest of the valley.

From the town of Simi the railroad follows Arroyo Simi to Moor-
park. The rocks exposed in the cuts along the arroyo (Spanish for -
small stream) are chiefly conglomerates and sandstones of the Sespe
(Oligocene) formation. The same rocks also compose the low hills
on both sides of the track as far as one can see.

An old terrace is visible on the north side of the track at the head
of the Little Simi Valley, north of the village of Moorpark. This
terrace was probably formed at the same time as

Simi.
Population 748.*
Los Angeles 42 miles.

veces’: some of the marine terraces on the coast, though it
roe Lpbger ns is doubtless due to stream erosion and not to waves.

__ Moorpark is a center for barley, hay, dried fruit, and
beans. Water for irrigation is pumped from Little Simi Creek. West
of Moorpark the rocks of the Fernando formation form low hills on
both sides of Little Simi Valley. The high hills farthest north, in-
cluding Oak Ridge, consist of the Vaqueros and higher beds of the -
Monterey group, which here have an anticlinal structure. Rem-
nants of the old river terrace appear along the south side of Litile
Simi Valley for 2 or 3 miles below Moorpark, and near the west end
of the valley suggestions of other less prominent terraces are seen on
both sides. Little Simi Valley owes its form partly to structure but
largely to erosion.

From Ternez and Lagol, in the western part of the Little Simi Val-
ley, fine distant views may be had to the right (north) of San Caye-
tano Mountain (4,122 feet), which lies beyond Oak Ridge and Santa
Clara River, just west of Sespe Canyon. The mountain consists
- largely of Eocene (Topatopa) and overlying Oligocene (Sespe) beds.

Its southern slope is a fault scarp modified by erosion.

North and west of San Cayetano Mountain are visible the Topatopa
Mountains, a prominent range in the Santa Barbara National Forest.
This range is the eastern extension of the Santa Barbara and Santa

esiaiiache to th q

mations contain oil, but the Sespe is the -

: £ i “oe
made from time to time. most productive.
formations involved in the geol The production of the Santa Clara dis-

of the district include a basal complex of
granitic and gneissic rocks, on which rest
the Topatopa, Sespe, Vaqueros, Monterey
(upper part), and Fernando sedimentary
formations. All these sedimentary for-

trict in 1870 was 3,600 barrels. The
production in 1913 was 1,042,348 barrels,
and the total production of the district,
including that of 1913, has been 16,139,943
barrels.

BULLETIN 614
ya SHEET 1A
erence

CALIFORNIA 32
30

Scaie ;
Approximately 8 miles to ! inch
Miles

1o 5 10 15 Kilometers
Contour interval 200 feet

RES Ae
CSD ag

BA s

LEVEL

The distances from Los Angeles. California

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

OF THE

COAST ROUTE

From Los Angeles, California, to San Francisco, California

>} The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart
“eo

Say

ae. ~

4 ike eee EN¢
ae ogee Q
> SS)

=
¢

AN

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas wi Sarees
Sheets; from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by B |. es ‘5

the Southern Pacific Company and from additional sara
tion collected with the assistance of this compan.

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer

Sheet No 24
-\

the m with a name in parenthesis in the
lower ‘left corner is ay mncess in ae, on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that n

EXPLANATION

A Sea-beach deposits (sand vel) and
stream deposits (mainly ty alluvium)

Quaternary

ly Quater-
B Soft conglomerates, sands, and clays (Fer- Early Qu
nando formation) nary, Pliocene,
: and late Miocene :
* C Mainly light-colored shale of Monterey group, :
underlain by sandstone and conglomerate ; Miseusa and

(Vaqueros sandstone) of Monterey grou .
se — -brown and green sand (Sespe Pe Oligocene

D Lava and intruded masses (basalt), with Chiefly
fragmental volcanic material (tuffs) Miocene

E Sandstone with some conglomerate and
shale (Topatopa formation) Eocene

F Conglomerate overlain by sandstone and
shale (Chico formation) Cretaceous

G_ Granite, gneiss, schist, and slate uncon- é
formably underlying the Cretaceous Pre-Cretaceous

11830 :

SAND KUNTED BY THE USGEOLOGICAL SUNY

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 103

Ynez Range, along the south base of which the railroad runs from
Ventura to Point Conception, a distance of nearly 75 miles. Its
structure in general is anticlinal, the crest of the arch being pushed
over (overturned) to the south. It consists principally of Topatopa
(Eocene) and Sespe (Oligocene) rocks, flanked along the lower hills by
sandstones and shales of the Vaqueros and later beds of the Mon-
terey group (Miocene). .

The prominent sharp ridge on the right, north of Somis (see sheet
2a, p. 110) in which light-colored and reddish formations are exposed,
oe is the west end of Oak Ridge. It is composed largely

: of Monterey shale, which in places has been turne
Tee Anattae fats, Prick-red through the oxidation of its former oil con-
* tent. The hills between Somis and Oak Ridge con-
sist largely of the Fernando formation. ‘

In Pleasant Valley in the neighborhood of Somis and Camarillo
(ca-ma-reel’yo) there are 17,800 acres of beans now growing. Large
quantities of honey, walnuts, and dried fruit are also
produced here. On the left’ (east) a few miles from
racration 140 fest. _ Camarillo is the bold northwest end of the Santa

" Monica Range. At its base can be seen a quarry of a
gray igneous rock that is extensively used by the railroad for ballast.
The terrace near Moorpark has a counterpart in the vicinity of Cama-
rillo, due partly to stream action and partly to wave action.

The hills north of Pleasant Valley have been carved by erosion
from a broad east-west anticline which lies south of the main Oak
Ridge arch. The west end of this anticline disappears (plunges)
under thé alluvium of the Hueneme (way’nay-may) Plain. Its
flanks are covered by the soft Fernando beds, which extend north-
ward across Santa Clara Valley.

Under the Hueneme Plain is one of the best-developed artesian
basins in southern California. The wells range in depth from about
50 to 200 feet and yield a good flow of excellent water that is utilized
for irrigating beans and sugar beets, which are produced in enormous
quantities. 3

Oxnard is surrounded for miles by fields of beans and beets and is

one of the greatest sugar and bean centers in the

Oxnard. world. In the large factory seen to the left. of the

Elevation 45 fet. railroad as the train enters the town 3,000 tons of

hegpener tema beets are sliced daily and 1,500 carloads of sugar are
roduced annually. .

A sinking of the land less than 100 feet, a moderate depression in
comparison with movements that are known from geologic evidence
to have taken place along the California coast, would cover. the
whole Hueneme Plain with salt water. The plain is doubtless the
old delta of Santa Clara River, which is crossed at milepost 404, near
Montalvo.

Camarillo.

104 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

From, Montalvo a branch of the Southern Pacific runs up Santa
Clara River to the oil district and connects with the San Joaquin
Valley line of the same company. Immediately

Montalvo. northeast of Montalvo are the remnanis of one of the
Elevation 9 feet. = old saa or river terraces, and half a mile farther north-
ngeles 72 miles.

west is another remnant. The hills north of Santa
Clara River, between Montalvo and Ventura, consist of Fernando
beds, from 8,000 to 10,000 feet in total thickness. Fossils found in
different layers indicate that this formation ranges in age from the
upper Miocene to Pleistocene. (See table on p. 94.) The beds are
soft and form the south side or limb of a broad anticline whose axis
crosses Ventura River in an east-west direction about 24 miles north
of the city of Ventura. Consequently the beds near Ventura dip
south, whereas those north of the anticlinal axis dip north. Knowl-
edge of such structural relations as are here outlined is very important
in prospecting for oil. This great area of Fernando beds extends
northeastward for about 20 miles as a belt of relatively low hills
between Sulphur Mountain on the north and Santa Clara River on the
south.

Sulphur Mountain is an anticlinal fold of Monterey shale. The
fold is overturned toward the south, and the steepness of the south
face of the mountain is due to this structure. This steep face is
plainly visible in clear weather from the railroad between Santa Paula
and Montalvo. Some of the best oil in the State comes from wells on
the south face of Sulphur Mountain.

The city of Ventura (abridged from San Buenaventura) is pleas-
antly situated on the terraced slopes overlooking the sea between the

mouths of Santa Clara and Ventura rivers. Besides

Ventura. being a delightful seaside resort it manufactures some
paeom “8 “3 machinery and has a large trade in beans, sugar beets,

Los Angeles 77 miles, ®PTicots, and other crops. With its many charming
homes, wealth of flowers, and lawns of the Japanese
clover (Lippia repens), Ventura invites more than the passing glimpse
to be had from the train. Its mission, built in 1782, is still in use and
may be seen, together with the county courthouse, from the train by
looking up the streets on the right, soon after leaving the station.

A branch line runs from Ventura up Ventura River to Nordhoff,
16 miles away, in Ojai (o-high’) Valley, inclosed by mountains of
which Topatopa (6,351 feet) is chief. The wild Matilija (ma-tee-
lee’ha) Canyon and Wheelers Hot Springs are near by. Nordhoff is
noted as a winter resort. The route from Ventura thither crosses the
i Monterey, and Sespe formations and the Sulphur Mountain

@

On the west side of the mouth of Ventura River about a mile north-

3

west of Ventura, are some finely developed sea terraces. The train

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCG. 105

skirts one of these on the right, and the deep gullies expose the sand
and gravel on its outer edge. Remnants of the same terraces, some
of them extending up to an elevation of about 500 feet, may be noted
at several points from Ventura northwestward for 15 or 20 miles to the
vicinity of the mouth of Rincon (rin-cone’) Creek. That these ter-
races mark the positions of old sea beaches is known to the geologist
not only from their form but from other more convincing evidence.
Along the beaches of the present day live clamlike mollusks (Pholas)
which by turning round and round and using their shells as a sort of
auger, bore for themselves holes in the rock in which they live. Holes
unmistakably formed in this way can be found along the inner edges
of some of the terraces that are now hundreds of feet above the ocean.
Moreover, the gravels that lie on the terraces contain many species of
marine shells.

Rincon Mtn

Elevated

™
sea beach . oe
“ . fe)
Cliff of Fernando N, ty aor
4 . ot
formation eo
‘. ‘ x exe
RAILROAD ees * eakee
\
7

relations of the formations.

For 2 or 3 miles west of Ventura the road lies on a low terrace about
40 feet above the waves. Just beyond milepost 394, on the right, is
a prominent hill that was formed suddenly about 40 years ago by a
landslide that buried the stage road.

The hills along this part of the coast consist of coarse conglomerates
and sandstones of the Fernando formation, dipping westward at an
angle of about 45°. Toward the northwest the shore line cuts ower
an g Dy Ae eee hee Fe n, I : g f4 Pee ] dy shales.

Beyond Los Sauces Creek (sow’ses, Spanish for the willows), having
crossed the anticline referred to on page 104, the travelercomes ab mile-
post 388 to bold bluffs of the Fernando beds, which dip to the north-
east and are overlain by the horizontal Pleistocene beds of an uplifted
marine terrace. A generalized cross section from the shore to Rincon
Mountain (fig. 14) illustrates the apparent relations of the formations
in this region.

At a point 12 miles northwest of the mouth of Ventura River,
near milepost 385, between Seacliff and Rincon Point (Benham),

106 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

the shore line crosses the contact between the Fernando and the
Monterey formations. Remnants of terraces are to be seen all
along here at different heights above sea level. The layers of the
Monterey shale, as a rule, are highly contorted and wide areas of
intricately crumpled shale are laid bare at low tide. In general the
beds dip to the south at fairly high angles. The canyons which
cut into the shale are sharp and steep sided and afford excellent
exposures of the rocks. .

At several places dark-colored oil sands are interbedded with the
shale. The saturation of these sands is so small and the structure
is so unfavorable that no productive wells have yet been drilled
between Punta Gorda and Carpinteria. -

At Benham the railroad crosses Rincon Creek, which is here on
Monterey shale, and traverses an alluvial plain for several miles.
Sorte An asphalt mine is plainly visible on the left side

__ Of the track. Large quantities of this black asphalt-
Tos Angeles 91 miles. soaked sand have been mined out of the sea cliff
and the asphalt distilled from it.in the old refinery near by. The
underlying shale (Monterey), from which the oil oozed into the
Pleistocene deposits and there evaporated in part to form the asphalt
beds, is visible in the bottoms of the pits, and is also well exposed
in several cuts along the track immediately south of the refinery.
One deep well has been drilled in the Monterey beds half a mile
east of the refinery, but no commercial deposits of oil were found.

Carpinteria (car-pin-tay-ree’ah, Spanish for carpenter shop)
was named in August, 1769, by Friar Juan Crespe and his companion
pioneers, who found the Indians making dugouts.

Carpinteria. Here is a wonderful grapevine, probably as old as
atygna aeten ,.. the missions, whose trunk is 8 feet in circumference,

larger than any other known on the continent. Its
enormous yield of 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of grapes is unequaled,
being several times more than the yield of the famous vine at Hamp-
ton Court, England
On a sea terrace nearly 2 miles wide along the hills back of Car-
pinteria great quantities of fruit, nuts, and beans are raised. Be-
yond this alluvial terrace rises a sharp ridge composed of the Topatopa
and Sespe formations, dipping at angles from 60° to 75° toward the
coast. These beds are cut by a pronounced fault on the north

of Carpinteria the terrace gradually narrows. A lagoon visible
on the left indicates slight recent subsidence of the coast.

2

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 107

The high ridge of Topatopa and Sespe rocks extends to Toro
Canyon, northeast of Summerland. From this point it slopes off
into the hills north of Summerland, which are composed of red
sandstones ‘and shales (Sespe), black shales and some interbedded
sands (Vaqueros), and the overlying diatomaceous shales with two
interbedded layers of volcanic ash of the Monterey group, all
dipping toward the coast at high angles.

The people of Summerland, once a pleasure resort, are now suc-

cessfully invading the adjacent ocean bed and
Summerland. = pumping oil out of it (Pl. XXVI, p. 108). Thesight
Breet ies, Of oil derricks on piers extending out into the ocean
7 * is unique. The wells range in depth from 300 feet
near shore to 1,200 feet at the end of the longest wharf.

At Summerland the Monterey group is overlain by the Fernando
formation, both dipping toward the sea. A local anticline is devel-
oped in these Fernando beds, and on the flanks of this arch and in the
area underlain by the seaward-dipping beds is located the Summer-
land oil field. The Fernando beds are overlain by coarse, nearly
horizontal beds of Pleistocene age which underlie the soil over the
whole Summerland-Carpinteria terrace. These beds are impregnated
with oil in the sea cliff in Summerland, and the productive beds of the
Fernando are also oil-bearing where exposed along the same cliff.
A conspicuous unconformity between the two formations is exposed
near the north end of town.

Miramar (Spanish for behold the sea), a village remarkable for its
wealth of flowers, is between Summerland and Santa Barbara.

: The land here slopes gradually up from the ocean
ee toward the foot of the range. This even slope is the
Los Angeles 100 miles. surface of an alluvial deposit brought down by
streams from the mountains. Such deposits at the mouths of
canyons are known as alluvial fans or alluvial cones.

The low hills seen to the right (northwest) on the way between
Miramar and Santa Barbara are the remains of one or more old sea
terraces that flank the range in the vicinity of Santa Barbara and
have been partly eroded away. The south face of these hills consists
of Monterey shale, dipping steeply toward the north and behind
them toward the mountains, are successively the Vaqueros and

1 The Summerland oil field was opened | 1,500 barrels. The greatest annual pro-
in 1891 and was soon completely drilled. | duction was 208,370 barrels, the quantity
Only a few of thé wells are. now being | produced in 1899, and the total production
operated, and these produce an average | from 1894 to 1913, inclusive, was 1,867,594

of about 2 barrels a day apiece. On barrels. The oil is dark brown or black
Dec. 31, 1912, the Summerland district | and ranges in gravity from 9° to 18
contained 152 producing wells, and the | Baumé. It is used principally for the
production for that year was 65,376 | manufacture of asphalt, for fuel, or for
barrels. In 1894 the production was | road .

108 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Sespe formations. The principal part of the range, as previously
described, consists of steeply dipping beds of the Topatopa formation.

A local anticline extending in a southeasterly direction is developed
in the hill about three-fourths of a mile west of Montecito. This
affects the Fernando formation much like the anticline at Summer-
land, but although the Summerland fold yields oil the Montecito
fold does not.

Near Santa Barbara the train passes a lagoon which, like that at
Carpinteria, indicates a recent settling of the coast.

The city of Santa Barbara lies in a broad valley between the Santa
Ynez (ee’ness) Range on the northeast and a group of low hills on the

southwest. To the southeast this valley opens on’

Santa Barbara. the Santa Barbara Channel. The inclosing hills rise
Spisbitlinit tock: in gently sloping sea terraces on which in great part
Jeqeeeaie poe the city has been built. Sheltered from the ocean
’ winds by the hills to the west and looking out over the

sparkling blue waters of the channel, Santa Barbara enjoys a situation
and a climate that have made it famous as a resort and give its gar-
dens such beauty as can be found in few other places in the world.

The old mission church, built in 1786, is one of the best preserved
in California and has been pictured on hundreds of post cards and
photographs. It is well worth visiting.

Lavigia Hill, directly southwest of the city, is composed chiefly of
beds belonging to the Fernando formation, containing at a number
of places well-preserved fossil sea shells of Pliocene age. At the east
base of the hill, near the bathhouse, is an exposure of soft limy beds
(marl) containing fossil marine shells and impressions of the moss-
like sea animals known as bryozoans. These also are Pliocene.
Along the coast west of Santa Barbara Point the Monterey shale is
exposed underlying the Fernando beds of Lavigia Hill.

The hills lying at the foot of the main range just north of Santa
Barbara and extending westward for several miles have been shaped
by erosion from one or more old marine terraces which formerly
stretched along the seaward base of the range.

The railroad, from a place near Santa Barbara to Point Concep-
tion, a distance of about 40 miles, follows a well-defined shore terrace
but little above sea level. On and near this terrace are walnut
groves, orchards, bean plantations, and broad areas of rolling oat and
barley hay lands. From it may be had broad outlooks over the sea,
with its floating masses of sea weed, now mapped by the Government
as a possible source of potash, and inland views of the rugged Santa
Ynez Range, with its white rocks projecting from what at a distance
looks like a mossy cover of chaparral. This terrace js capped by
soft conglomerates and sandstones which show in many railroad cuts
their horizontal beds, wonderfully sculptured into vertical forms by
the heavy rains of winter. (See Pl. XXVII.) These uplifted shore

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE XxXVI

, ee

6h 48 TAUAWNARRATT ROTA

a a ro a 1888 G8K¢

are ss avy

(Pe ‘Leek
ae

™ ‘wud

err Dez +, Ay
SSS N

SUMMERLAND OIL FIELD, CAL,

BULLETIN 614 PLATE XxXVilI

U, S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

SCULPTURED CLIFFS ALONG COAST LINE NEAR SANTA BARBARA, CAL.

a.

The cliffs consist of gravel, sand, and clay that cap the prominent rrarine terrace traversed by the railroa

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 109

deposits, representing the combined action of sea waves and land
streams, are well exposed about 6 miles north of Santa Barbara (at
365 miles from San Francisco), where they rest on upturned and con-
torted beds of Monterey shale.

At Goleta (go-lay’ta, Spanish for schooner), amid walnut groves
on the right, is a nursery of the Southern Pacific Co., in which are

grown. trees, shrubs, and flowers to ornament the sta-

Geleta. tion grounds and to plant on drifting sands in order

Lavation sfeet. to prevent their covering the railroad. An example

eae ew of this treatment of sand will be seen beyond Point

Arguello (ar-gwail’yo, Spanish for faintness), where the Santa Ynez

Mountains end at the ocean. A large lagoon on the left, just west
of Goleta, indicates coastal sinking.

On the right, north of Elwood, is a famous olive grove and oil fac-
tory. West of Elwood some of the larger streams from the moun-

tains have gashed the terrace which the railroad is
Elwood. following, and some beautiful views of ravines and
La ation Sect. | sea may be enjoyed from the car window. This is
ee tes practically true from Bell Canyon (milepost 358)
west to Gaviota. The larger canyons cut back into the mountains,
exposing the several southward-dipping formations in series. The
light-colored rocks in the main range are Topatopa, the reddish rocks
in front of them Sespe, and the shales along the lower hills, forming
the foundation for the terrace, are Vaqueros and later beds of the
Monterey group.

Naples and Capitan (see sheet 34, p. 114) are small places beyond
Elwood. From Orella (o-rail’ya), the next station, to Gaviota
Orella (ga-vyo’ta, Spanish for sea gull) and a little beyond

: the Monterey shale beds along the coast are very uni-
oo form, having a southerly dip of 30° to 45°. They are
well exposed along the foot of the sea cliff at low tide. The straight
shore line along this part of the coast is due to the uniform trend or
strike of the beds and their steep seaward inclination or dip, which
render them very resistant to the attack of the waves. N everthe-
less, at a number of places between Tajiguas (ta-hee’gwas), 346 miles
from San Francisco, and Honda (ohn’da, Spanish for deep), 310
miles, the railroad company has been compelled to build a sea wall
of concrete. ; :

At several points the low terrace which the railroad follows is
covered by bowlders from the hills immediately to the north. In
the vicinity of Gaviota these hills come close to the shore, and a good
view may be had of the coarse, steeply inclined sandstones.

; At Alcatraz (Spanish-American ] ciation al-ca-
—- trahss’, meaning pelican), on the right (north), there
Los Angeles 134 miles. i; an oil refinery to which oil is piped across. the
Santa Ynez Mountains from the Santa Maria field.

110 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

From Gaviota nearly to Point Conception the rocks dip south, but
at El Cojo (co’ho, Spanish for cripple), 11 miles be-
yond Gaviota, the shale beds dip north, indicating |
tec Saas es some complications of structure at the pronounced

. bend in the coast which forms Point Conception.
The shale extends northwestward from Point Conception to Surf
(Lompoe Junction).

The wind-swept country near Point Conception is devoted to the
raising of cattle and hay. On the point are a lighthouse (Pl. XXVIII,
p- 118) and a lifesaving station. From the train
in passing from Carpinteria to Concepcion, a dis-
pipeerayhaants tance of 56 miles, beautiful views are obtained of

sys the Santa Barbara Islands. The intervening Santa
Barbara Channel is shallow and, with the islands, belongs to the con-
tinent rather than the ocean. Beyond the islands the depth of water
increases very rapidly, and this steep submarine slope, which on
land would appear as a large cliff, marks the real boundary between
continent and ocean. This slope has probably been formed by
faulting as the continent rose. It runs north and south off Point
Conception and determines the abrupt change in the trend of the
coast

Gaviota.

Concepcion.

ast.
At milepost 320 the train crosses Jalama (ha-lah’ma) Creek. On
the left, near the creek, is the house of an early Spanish settler who
harbored the 200 survivors of the Yankee Blade, wrecked on this
coast in 1856. “The anchor of the Yankee Blade may be seen on the
left (at milepost 318), in the field, just after the train emerges from a
small tunnel a mile southeast of Sudden.

ery good exposures of Monterey shale are to be
oe seen near Sudden, where cracks in the siliceous shales
Elevation 75 feet. are filled with hardened asphaltum.

roe The lighthouse at Point Arguello is built on contorted
Monterey shale, here very well exposed. The terrace which the rail-
road follows is narrow but well defined, and slopes gently toward the
foot of the hills. At some points in the region between Sudden and
Point Arguello there are indications of an older, higher terrace. Near
Point Pedernales (pay-dair-nah’lace, Spanish for flints) the railroad
crosses Canada Honda (ca-nyah’da ohn’da) Creek, near the mouth
of which, within plain view, is the wreck of the Santa Rosa, blown
ashore in 1911.

From Point Pedernales, which marks the western extremity of the
Santa Ynez Mountains, northward the country near the coast is
covered with sand dunes which have-drifted from the beach over the
terraces and lower hill slopes, impelled by the strong winds which
continually prevail in this region. The drifting sand sometimes

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

COAST ROUTE

From Los Angeles, California, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa-
tion collected with the assistance of this company

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
1915

Each quadrangle — on the ma in the
lower left corner is mapped in aad on the U. S. G. Ss. one
Sheet of that name.

BULLETIN 614

SHEET 2A
= Ra Ra SE
ae e a ——
120 19°30 CALIFORNIA
119°
EXPLANATION ‘
A Sea-beach deposits (sand and gravel) and stream deposits
(mainly fine alluvium) Quaternary
fi Early Qua-
ternary,
B Conglomerates, sands, and clays (Fernando formation) Pliocene,
and late
Miocene
o C Mainly light-colored shale of Monterey grou by
oe seaetone. and conglomerate 1 san ‘biane) — jd Miocene and
of p and reddish-brown and green sand (Sespe for-{ Oligocene
ea i
‘ D Sandstones and shales (Topatopa formation) Eocene
34 \ es ; 34)
30 Ss x 30
ty las “,
St Ss Song
ey firey
ar EES .
id Re eens eee: = =
: ee
8 x
9
5 - =
: *
0
£
9

ym

©
wil
pall uv
ueneme

19 : + . rt 4 + a 1 i a ,_ 20Miles
ae) 5
RE Se a Se ee ne a Se EN Waa Pe Oe ae ae ten teal RPE Se ae ee)
Co tone — 200 _
ELEVATIONS IN F: — MEAN SE4 LEVEL

The distances from Los Angeles. ©

The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart

i. in

30° g°

ENGRAVED AND PRINTED BY THE U.S-GEGLOGICAL SURVE

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 111

covers the railroad track and delays traffic. To prevent this the
Southern Pacific Co. is planting successfully acacia trees (Acacia
latifolia) and a coarse, stout beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) that
is used on the dikes in Holland. ;

About 5 miles southeast of Point Pedernales is a mountain called
El Tranquillon (tran-keel-yohn’, Spanish for maslin, a mixture of
wheat and rye). The reason for the application of this name to the
mountain is unknown. Two or three areas of Franciscan (Jurassic ?)
rocks are exposed just north of El Tranquillon, indicating that this
formation is the core of the main Santa Ynez uplift.

The hills northeast of Point Pedernales to an elevation of over 1,000
feet are covered by old terrace and sand-dune deposits.

Surf (Lompoc Junction), at the mouth of Santa Ynez River, is well
named from the breakers that tumble on its broad beach—Lompoc

Beach. Here the Monterey shale appears again,
Lompoc Junction. = dipping to the south at a rather low angle. Lom-
ee poc Beach is a ‘‘gold beach” that renews its riches
eo every few years, and occasionally it is the scene
of beach placer mining. The strong waves due to the winter storms
strike the Lompoc Beach between Honda and Purisima Point at 3
low angle and cause the sand to drift northward. The sand made
up of lighter minerals drifts most rapidly, and thus leaves behind
along this beach the black sand of dark, heavy minerals. The black
sand contains some gold, and when the sand is long exposed to the
concentrating wave action it may become rich enough to pay for
washing, but the gold content is not large, the beach placers here
being not so rich as those of the coast of northern California and
southern Oregon.
- From Lompoc Junction a branch railroad ascends the Santa Ynez
Valley for 10 miles to the town of Lompoc. The climate and soil in
this vicinity are particularly adapted to seed growing, and great
quantities of beans and sweet peas are raised here for seed. Much of
the mustard produced in the United States comes from Lompoc. The
largest industry of the place, however, is the mining and milling of
diatomaceous earth, of which there are large deposits in Miocene shale
(Monterey) a few miles to the south. Thousands of tons of white
limestone are also shipped from Lompoc annually.

Northeast of Lompoc Junction is Burton Mesa, part of an unusually:
broad and even marine terrace. For about 12 miles north of Lompoc
Junction to Schumann Canyon the railroad passes through a region
of sand dunes. These rest on a terrace cut in Monterey shale, which
just south of Tangair is hard, white, and porcelaneous. At —
places the hard layers of the shale are full of minute cracks we oe
tain hardened asphaltum. At other places oil seeps from the shale.

112

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

About 10 miles east-northeast of Lompoc Junction is the Lompoc
or Purisima oil field, the wells of which are from 2,000 to 4,000 feet in
depth and produce from 25 to 400 or 500 barrels each daily.’

Near milepost 298, just south of Tangair, there is a cut affording

fine

Tangair.

Elevation 210 feet.
Los Angeles 178 miles.

over it on the right.

exposures of the siliceous Monterey shale.
the railroad attains the summi
whose surface has been cut by wave action across the
tilted Monterey beds.

Here
ummit of Burton Mesa,

There is an extended view

1The Santa Maria oil district lies in
northern Santa Barbara County, in the
region of rolling hills between the Santa
Ynez and San Rafael mountains. The
district comprises three principal fields—
the Santa Maria or Orcutt field, the Lom-
poc field, and the Cat Canyon field. Up
to the present time the greater part of the
development has taken place in the
Orcutt field, as this was the first one dis-
covered and exploited. The first success-
ful well was finished in August, 1901.
The wells in this field yield from 60 to
2,500 barrels of oil a day each, although
initial yields of 2,000 to 12,000 barrels
have been recorded. The gravity of the
oil is from 18° to 31° Baumé. The wells
of the Lompoc field yield oil of 16° to 37°

Canyon field the wells so far brought in
have yielded from 150 to as high as 10,000
The oil in this field runs

The Pacific Coast Railway connects the
different fields with San i
Harford

Gaviota and Avila, on the coast; the Asso-
ciated Oil Co. owns the former and the
Union Oil Co. the latter plant. The

Standard Oil Co., which controls a small
see a bs SSMS 3 ¥.

ing the district with Port San Luis.

The shales of the Monterey group are
the probable source of the oil in the dis-
trict and the present reservoir in some of
the fields and are characterized by their
diatomaceous composition.

The Fernando formation, a series of
sandstone, conglomerate, and shale, rests
pasinwennee o upon the Monterey otis
with studies of this oil district from the
facts that it obscures the oil-bearing for-
mation over a wide area, that it affords
through its structure a clue to the struc-
— of the g Monterey, and that

acts as a reservoir for the oil i am the Cat
Garis field and
ing bitumino ous aanigg in several leew
ties within the distric

This district is a coarget of long sinuous
folds, a peculiar type of structure charac-
teristic of the Santa Maria region. It is
near the axis of these folds that the pro-
ductive wells are located.

In 1913 there were 289 producing wells
and the output was 4,938,185 barrels. The
annual output of the district varied from
99,288 barrels in 1902 to 8,651,172 barrels
in 1907. The total output of the Santa
Maria district from ag to 1913, inclusive,
was 56,599,642 barrels.

This district yields four distinct grades
of petroleum in addition to the heavy oil
which flows from springs or collects as
asphalt deposits. These petroleums vary

widely in physical and chemical propet-

ties and as a consequence are utilized in
many different ways, the lighter oils
usually for refining and the heavier for
fuels, road dressing, etc. The oil as it
comes from the wells contains varying
quantities of gas, often amounting to a

gas is very rich in gasoline hydrocar'

which it is distributed by means of
steamers.

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 113

Beyond Schumann Canyon and Casmalia the formation exposed is

: the Monterey shale, which is much folded. About

Casmalia. Casmalia considerable barley is grown for hay and

sapped sl feet. grain. The rounded hills in this vicinity are golden in
ngeles 187 miles. . .

August with the bright little flowers of the tarweed.

North of Casmalia the railroad crosses a well-defined anticline.
Several oil wells seen on the left (west) side of the track have been
drilled on the south flank of this fold and obtained commercial quan-
tities of very heavy oil at depths ranging from 1,800 to 2,500 feet.

At Schumann station, which lies on the north flank of the anti-
cline, the Monterey shale is soft and thoroughly impregnated with

oil, which colors it dark and trickles from it in places.

Schumann. This is as good an exposure of the soft upper beds of

“adipgees ng pee the Monterey as can be seen along the railroad. The

* lower portion of this shale formation is hard, thin

bedded, and siliceous, but the upper portion is softer and does not
show the bedding as plainly.

Beyond Schumann the railroad swings to the left, and the broad
valley of Santa Maria River may be seen on the right. The train
passes along the northeastern base of the Casmalia Hills, where the
rocks exposed in most of the cuts are of Pleistocene age, although
‘the Fernando formation occurs in the hills a short distance south of
the track. Several old asphalt mines may be noticed in this vicinity.
The asphalt occurs in the form of dikes and irregular lenses in the
soft Fernando sandstones.

On the right (east) side of the track, about 2 miles south of Gua-
dalupe (gwa-da-loo’pay), is Guadalupe Lake, the water of which has
been impounded by drifting sands. Beyond the lake, at Betteravia,
is a beet-sugar factory.

The rich alluvial valley about Guadalupe produces large crops of
beans, bects, potatoes, and barley. The main Santa Maria Valley,

which extends eastward from Guadalupe for 10 or 12

Guadalupe. miles, is primarily a structural valley that has been

Elevation 79 feet. deeply filled with Pleistocene and alluvial deposits.

population as A clearly defined terrace follows the north bank of

Santa Maria River, and northeast of the valley are

the San Rafael Mountains. The lower slopes are marked by an anti-

clinal fold, in the heart of which is a large mass of serpentine and

Franciscan rocks. The flanks of this fold, including the larger part

of the southwestern slope of the mountains, consist of distorted
Monterey shale.

Just north of the Guadalupe station the railroad crosses Santa
Maria River, the boundary line between Santa Barbara and San
Luis Obispo counties. Looking southeast from this bridge the trav-
eler can see Graciosa Ridge, with the wells of the Orcutt or old Santa

96286°—Bull. 614—15——8

114 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Maria oil field in view on its flanks. Mount Solomon, a flat-topped,
buttelike peak, composed of Tertiary rocks, is visible just to the left
(east) of the oil field. It is the culminating point of Graciosa Ridge.
Southwest of the Santa Maria bridge the drifting sands encroach to
an elevation of 1,000 feet on the flanks of Sulphur Ridge. This
encroaching sand rising so high on the mountains is one of the peculiar
characteristics of this part of the coast.

For 14 miles north of Guadalupe the train passes through a region
of wind-blown sand. On the left (west) as far as Bromela (bro-may’‘la)
is a prominent ridge of sand dunes advancing upon rich farms.
Farther north, between Bromela and Callender, the dunes have
advanced far inland across the railroad, and the company has an
expensive task in maintaining the roadway open. Between Callender
and Oceano (0-say’ah-no) the advance is less rapid and lagoons
have formed behind the sand. Just beyond Oceano, at the mouth
of Los Berros Creek (Spanish for water cresses), Pismo Creek barely
breaks through the barrier beach it has followed for 2 miles from Pismo.

On the way up Pismo Creek beyond Pismo (see sheet 4A, p. 120)

the first rocks to be seen on the east are those of the

Pismo. Santa Margarita formation (Miocene), the equiva-
Elevation 25 feet. lent of the lower part of the Fernando formation
ngeles 212 miles.

farther south. South of Edna the creek crosses a
large area of these rocks, which in places are heavily charged with
asphalt.

At the crossing of the Pacific Coast Railway just south of Edna
are bold bluff exposures of asphalt-impregnated sandstones of the
Pismo formation, which is probably of the same age

Edna. as the Santa Margarita formation. They dip south
resiteacrsy yea at moderately low angles and are underlain by more

steeply dipping shale beds of the Monterey group.
These sandstones were formerly mined for asphalt, but the produc-
tion of asphalt as a by-product from the refining of oil has for the
present rendered them of no value.

Some oil wells have been drilled on the west side of the track south
of Edna. Oné or two of these wells encountered oil in commercial
quantities, but they have never been operated continuously, owing
to mechanical difficulties caused by the thickness of the oil. The
dark-colored asphaltic rock is cavernous in places and is eroded into
grotesque forms. East of Edna are some well-developed stream
terraces.

At Edna the railroad enters San Luis Valley, which extends
northwestward for 20 miles. On the northeast the valley is bounded
by the Santa Lucia Range and on the southwest by the San Luis
Range. At the northwest end it opens to the ocean. This valley,
unlike most valleys in the Coast Ranges, has no stream flowing
lengthwise through it. Pismo and San Luis creeks, which drain

115

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO.

most of it, enter from the east and cut through the San Luis Range
to the sea.

Edna is built in part on the Paso Robles (ro’blace) formation, of
Pleistocene, Pliocene, and late Miocene age. The rocks composing
this formation, however, are much better exposed farther north.

rom a point 2 miles north of Edna to a point 1 mile beyond the
town of San Luis Obispo a set of rocks not hitherto seen on this
route, the Franciscan group, is almost continuously exposed.!

The most prominent topographic feature in the vicinity of San Luis
Obispo (Spanish for St. Louis the bishop) is the row of conical hills

that begins with Islay (ees-lie’) Hill, on the right (east),

San Luis Obispo. little over 2 miles southeast of San Luis Obispo, and

calorie ge extending to Cerro Romauldo (ro-mowl’do), about 4

ngeles 223 iniles, Miles northwest of the town. There are eight of these

hills (Spanish cerros), the four larger northwest and

the four smaller southeast of the city. These hills, of which The

Bishop (1,502 feet) is the highest, are composed of igneous rock and

are the cores of small volcanoes which broke through the Franciscan

sedimentary rocks. The eastern part of Islay Hill consists of a
surface flow of basaltic lava.

From San Luis Obispo, which is a division point on the railroad, the
Pacific Coast Railway runs to Port Harford on the coast, passing
through the resort of Sycamore Warm Sulphur Springs. At Port
Harford is the end of the Producers’ Transportation Co.’s pipe line
from the San Joaquin Valley oil fields.

San Luis Obispo is one of the old Spanish towns of California. A
mission was founded here in 1772 by Father Junipero Serra, and the
church building is still standing.

The most important metallic mineral resource in the San Luis
region is chromite, which occurs in the serpentine of the San Luis and
Santa Lucia ranges.

as serpentine. Closely associated with

The rocks of the Franciscan group
most of the serpentine are masses of crys-

are older than the oil-bearing rocks over

which the route has thus far lain and are
probably of Jurassic age.
conglomerates,
asses of varicolored thin-bedded

largely of the siliceous skeletons of minute
marine animals, low in the scale of life,
known as Radiolaria, and on this account
they are called radiolarian cherts. All
the rocks mentioned have been intruded
here and there by dark igneous rocks
(diabase, peridotite, etc.), which have in
large undergone a chemical and
mineralogic change into the rock known

talline laminated rock consisting largely
of the beautiful blue mineral glaucophane
and for that reason called glaucophane
schist. Schist of this character is known
in comparatively few parts of the world,

other rocks through contact metamor-
phism—that is, through the thermal and
_* 1 ae - 1 a2 tf 1.1

.
mies

intruded igneous rocks. The Franciscan
group is one of the most widespread and
interesting assemblages of rocks in the
Coast Range

116 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

On leaving San Luis Obispo the train crosses San Luis Obispo Creek,
which emerges from a canyon in the Santa Lucia Range, on the right
(east). On the left is Cerro San Luis Obispo, one of the old volcanic
necks. A mile and a half beyond the station, on the right, is the Cali-
fornia Polytechnic School and in the foreground a ledge of rocks char-
acteristic of the Franciscan.

The railroad curve known as “the horseshoe”’ begins at Goldtree, 4
miles from San Luis Obispo, with a grade of 2.2 per cent. The ascent
continues through shallow cuts in sandstone belonging to the Fran-
ciscan group, but at the end of the horseshoe, above Goldtree, the road
swings to the left and crosses a belt of serpentine to the open hilly
country of the overlying Monterey shale. Near Serrano (elevation
941 feet) Franciscan rocks again appear in complex association with
serpentine and dark intrusive rocks. The railroad continues on these
rocks principally for 4 miles, passing by six tunnels through ridges of
diabase. The longest tunnel, 3,616 feet long, is farthest north and
pierces the divide into Salinas Valley, nearly 600 feet beneath the
summit.

The black earthy shales seen between the northernmost tunnel and
Cuesta (239 miles from San Francisco) are of Lower Cretaceous (Knox-
ville) age. A little of the same shale was crossed between the first
and second tunnels. The shale overlies the Franciscan rocks, but the
two formations were not deposited continuously. The Franciscan
rocks were raised above the sea and eroded, then submerged again and —
covered by the muds now consolidated as the Knoxville shale. The
geologist expresses these facts briefly by saying that the Knoxville lies
unconformably on the Franciscan. On the right (east) at Cuesta is
an area of dark intrusive rock (olivine diabase). Beyond this the
railroad passes across a small area of light-colored shale (Monterey),
traverses another area of dark Knoxville shale, and enters upon a belt
of sandstone, which with some conglomerate and shale composes the
characteristic Chico (Upper Cretaceous) formation. The sandstones
of the Chico weather into large blocks. Near Santa Margarita the
sandstone is covered by recent alluvium.

The general trend or strike of the formations here, as elsewhere in
this part of California, is northwest, in accord with the general align-
ment of ridges and valleys.

Santa Margarita is on the southwest side of a northwest-south-
east depression which is followed for most of its length by Sali-

nas (sa-lee’nas) River. The valley extends for 8 or

Santa Margarita. 9 miles southeast of the town and is followed by
accor’ #5 fect. the railroad for about 10 miles to the northwest. It

pulation 918. a :

Los Angeles 239 miles. OWES 1ts form partly to geologic structure and partly
: to erosion, as it is occupied by comparatively soft
Tertiary formations, while the hills on both sides are composed
mainly of harder, older rocks. Along the southwest side of the

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 117

valley, to the left of the railroad, are Franciscan and Cretaceous beds.
On the northeast, to the right, is a large area of granite, probably of
pre-Jurassic age. The valley represents a long, narrow trough or
syncline along which the Tertiary beds have been bent down into
the older rocks. Faulting along the sides took part in the formation
of the syncline. Erosion afterward removed the Tertiary beds on
each side of the down-folded and down-faulted strip, exposing the
older rocks of the present hills. The Tertiary rocks of the present
valley were protected to some extent by being inlaid, as it were, into
the older rocks, but, being soft, they were hollowed out into a valley.
At some stage in the erosion and hollowing process Salinas River
several miles above Santa Margarita became deflected to the granite
on the northeast side of the valley. Gradually the valley as a whole
became deeper and wider, but the river had deepened the channel
that it had begun in the granite and was unable to leave it. Con-
sequently the river to this day leaves the belt of soft Tertiary rocks,
turns northeastward into the hard granite and after flowing for 5 or
6 miles through that rock, returns to the main valley northwest of
Santa Margarita. This is a case of what geologists call ‘‘super-
imposed drainage.”

The Santa Margarita region is one of rolling hills well covered
with the wild oat (Avena fatua)' and dotted with oaks. It is an
excellent stock country. Growing on the bottom land of the ad-
jacent valley are some of the finest white oaks (Quercus lobata) to
be seen in California.

Half a mile beyond Santa Margarita, on the right at milepost 235,
is the Producers Transportation Co.’s pump and ten oil tanks with
an aggregate capacity of 75,000 barrels.

The type section and locality of the Santa Margarita formation
is just north of the town, where the soft, more or less limy coarse
sandstone of the formation occurs along the railroad for nearly a
mile. These beds carry large fossil oyster shells which are character-
istic of the Santa Margarita formation throughout the Salinas Valley

on.

eke Eaglet, on the left (west), there are several abrupt changes
from Monterey shales to the coarse beds of the Santa Margarita and
vice versa. The hills on the right (east), across the
Eaglet. river, are composed of granite. A bed of Vaqueros
Elevation 985 feet. (ya-kay’ros) sandstone that can be seen lapping up
Hos Angeles 244 miles. (~~ the granite along the base of the hills prob-
ably once arched completely over the granite, but part of it has been
removed by erosion. The sandstone in turn is overlain by the
Monterey shale.
1 The wild oat, one of the most abundant and characteristic grasses of California,

was brought to this country from Europe.

118 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

The low hills on the east side of the river opposite Atascadero
(a-tas-ca-day’ro, Spanish for a deep miry place) are composed of
. the Paso Robles formation, already seen at Edna.
Atastadeto. The formation in general consists of gravels whose
Elevation 819 feet, Pebbles are composed of shale of the Monterey group.
Los Angeles 247 miles. Tt ranges in age from late Miocene to’ Pleistocene.
Just north of Atascadero station, on the west side
of the track, is a good exposure of the white fossiliferous Santa Mar-
garita sandstone, dipping north and overlain unconformably by the
light-colored Paso Robles gravel.
At Templeton the railroad turns northward, leaving the valley of
the upper Salinas and passing through Paso Robles Canyon toward
the lower or main Salinas Valley. Well-developed

Templeton. river terraces are to be seen in this vicinity.
boar a ang S37 Just before reaching Paso Robles station the train
ngeles 253 miles.

asses a gravel pit in which a tooth of an extinct
elephant has been found. The gravel is of stream origin.

Paso Robles (Paso de los Robles, Spanish for pass of the oaks),
with its hot sulphur springs and mud baths, is widely known as a

pleasure and health resort. The springs have a
Paso Robles. temperature of 95° to 110° F. and the mud baths
Elevation 720 feet. Of 140° F. The Camino Real (ca-mee’no ray-ahl’,
eta as i Spanish for king’s highway), at first a trail but

later a road connecting the missions from Mexico
to San Francisco, passes near by and is now used by automobile
tourists. The nearer hills on both sides of the railroad from Paso
Robles to San Miguel are composed entirely of the Paso Robles
formation.

At milepost 214, 2 miles north of Paso Robles, near the railroad and
the river, is the new hot mud bathhouse of the Paso Robles Hotel.
The Camino Real is on the left, and beyond it are attractive parklike
fields and hills with scattered oaks.

On the left as the train enters the little village of San Miguel
(me-gale’) is the old mission, built in 1797, of adobe brick, with its

bell in front and remnants of the inclosing walls on
San Miguel. the right. San Miguel is near the head of the main
Rivetko a ee, Salinas Valley, which extends northwestward in an
ns poacatprae ae almost straight line for nearly 100 miles to Mon-

terey Bay. It is one of the best examples of the
narrow northwest-southeast valleys, owing their form to erosion
_controlled by geologic structure, that are characteristic of the Coast
Range between San Francisco and Los Angeles. From the vicinity
of San Miguel the northeast slope of Salinas Valley, toward
the Gabilan (ga-vee-lahn’) Range, is suggestive of a great plain
gently tilted toward the observer and furrowed by streams flowing
straight down the slope. It is perhaps a tilted block of the earth’s

¢

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 614 PLATE XXIX

o

A, ALLUVIAL FLAT AND TERRACE OF SALINAS RIVER NEAR BRADLEY, CAL.

B. MISSION OF SAN CARLOS DE MONTEREY, FOUNDED

IN 1770.

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 119

crust with a fault along its northeast edge and probably another
along its southwest edge, under the valley. The surface of this
slope is covered with the Paso Robles formation, through which the
stronger streams have cut into the underlying Santa Margarita
formation.

The Paso Robles formation forms the near hills on both sides of the
river between San Miguel and Bradley. Just north of the mouth
of Indian Valley, at Chanslor (205.5 miles from San Francisco) there
is an excellent example of one of the landslides which frequently
occur in the soft Paso Robles formation when it has been under-
mined by stream erosion.

From McKay a branch railroad runs to the Stone Canyon coal
mine (24 miles), now worked only in a small way to supply local
demand. The coal of Stone Canyon occurs in the lower part of the
Vaqueros sandstone and is the best in California. In places the bed
is 16 feet thick, and if it were not for the abundant supply of oil in
the State the coal would probably again be mined for shipment.

Near the mouth of Sierra River (on the left) the railroad bears to
the right and crosses Salinas River on a steel bridge that was partly
washed away in 1913. Two of the old steel spans may be seen
lying in the river to the left. Very little water flows over the sandy
river bed in summer, but there is a large flow beneath the surface.

Bradley, though a small town, is the center of a considerable
cattle industry. The alluvial flat and terrace of Salinas River in this

vicinity are shown in Plate XXIX, A. Beginning
Bradley. about 23 miles northwest of Bradley there are indi-
Elevation 538 feet. cations of a line of disturbance, apparently a great
Segre araigan miles, [2Ult, along the west side of Salinas Valley. A little
‘farther on, at 192.5 miles from San Francisco, the
prominent bluffs on the right (east) are of the Paso Robles formation
and the hills on the left, across the river, are composed largely of the
Monterey shale. Inasmuch as the Paso Robles normally overlies the
Monterey, their occurrence so close together at nearly the same level
suggests that there is an extensive fault between them, along the
river, That a large fault occurs along the west border of the Salinas
Valley is indicated also by the presence of a line of springs in that
region. Many of these springs are hot, and some of them, as at
Paso Robles and Paraiso (pa-ra-ee’so, Spanish for paradise), have been
improved as health resorts. Along this fault line the great earth
block previously referred to as sloping up toward the crest of the
Gabilan Range on the northeast side of the Salinas Valley must have
dropped down, bringing the Paso Robles gravels into juxtaposition
with the Monterey and Santa Margarita (Miocene) beds and pro-
viding the structural conditions for the subsequent erosion of the
long, straight valley. ;

120 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

About 35 miles almost due west of Bradley is the Mansfield mining
district, where some coarse gold has been recovered from stream
beds. The gold is probably derived from quartz veins in igneous
rocks of the Franciscan group. Some nuggets weighing several
ounces are said to have come from this district. Farther southeast,
toward San Luis, a number of deposits of quicksilver and chromite
occur.

The village of San Ardo (see sheet 5a, p. 122) is surrounded by a
wheat and stock country which includes the rolling low hills along

the river, An exposure of the Santa Margarita forma-

San Ardo. tion begins about 6 miles south of San Ardo and

Elevation 452feet. extends in a northwesterly direction to a point on

ae hnetec oop mites, the west edge of the valley immediately opposite San

o. This strip of Santa Margarita beds consists

of white sandstone that at several localities contains fossils. The

geologic structure immediately west of San Ardo is complex. The

hills for several miles back from the river on the west side are com-
posed of Monterey shale. ;

Three miles northwest of San-Ardo the Paso Robles gravels on the
east side of the valley give place to sandstones of the Santa Margarita
formation, which occupy an area of. many square

San —— miles extending in a northeasterly direction from
retina tos San Lucas. Fossils, including numerous sea urchins

‘and oysters, occur at several points throughout the
area. The Santa Lucia Range, which bounds Salinas Valley on the
southwest, culminates in Santa Lucia Peak and Vaquero Peak, in
the region west of San Lucas. The upper slopes of these mountains
consist of coarse heavy-bedded fossiliferous Vaqueros sandstone
dipping toward the valley. This sandstone, toward the railroad, is
overlain by the upper formation of the Monterey group. Along the
northeast edge of Salinas Valley the Monterey in turn is overlain by
the Paso Robles formation, which either rests directly on the Monte-
rey or at some places on intervening beds of the Santa Margarita
formation.

Extending north for 3 miles and west for 4 or 5 miles from San
Lucas is a gravel terrace probably deposited by the river at an earlier
stage in its history.

King City is a shipping point for gypsum obtained from the hills,
15 miles to the north-northeast. At Elsa, 3 miles farther north, the

sugar-beet industry is important, and on the left

pees ee! be — "s a distance one of the large sugar fac-
Elevation 330 feet. ores. the Faso Robles gravels continue to occupy
oogenesis both sides of the Salinas Valley to a point within 3
- miles of Metz. From Chalone Creek, which is crossed

at Metz, northward the main Gabilan Range becomes more rugged
and consists chiefly of granite with some schist and crystalline lime-

id re ee ON rec a 2 WT ee, Bi

COAST ROUTE

From Los Angeles, California, to San Francisco, California

Base Rese from United States Geological Survey At las

Shee

, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by

the Route Pacific Company and from additional informa-
tion collected with the assistance of this compan

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

David White, Chief Geologist

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
B. Marshall, Chief Geographer

1915

Each drangle sh he map with a in p hesis inthe —
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that name.

BULLETIN 614
A Mate ARTA

SHEET 4A
ALE RGEE E SI M aIE

121° Sheet No5A

120°3a° CALIFORNIA

QO oO >

m

0)

_ Granite

. EXPLANATION
Stream deposits (gravel and fine alluvium
4

Marine terrace deposits and dune sand =}

Conglomerate, sandy and marly clays (Paso Robles for- Early PEELS
ash Piiocene, and lh
ene

pcwoaogs pandstone, flinty shale, al voleanic
(Pism nta iiaite focthations

Siliceous and bitum

terey group Ee by sandstone -_ conglomerate

(Vaqueros sandstone of Monterey group

Lava flows and fragmiental voleanic material (rhyolite
— fi in role of acnaxesd group, with various intrusiv.

with some Mp Sale and shale (Chico for-
pinice. ‘pnattain by dark .thin-bedded sandstone:

(Knoxville formation

. Intrusive igneous rocks and. derivatives (diabase and
neiscan }.

serpentine) (pre-Chico but post-Frane

Sandstone, conglomerate, ©
thin-bedded flinty rocks ( heaton pha ae oe

owing caged Present gee Sigh to changes produced od

intrusio’ {eontact metamorphism
_ (Frane eae foteie :

ous diatomaceous shales of Mon-}
af Miocene

= Cretaceous

ae — 200 feet
& MEAN SEA LEVEL

obi ‘i T f Pe omy a - h, a

The crossties on the railroads are spaced | mile apart

8
ee

ha
02,3 (6

Quaternary

te

ne} Chiefly Micon.

Jurassic (7)

zt Jurassic?) = ) A

(21° Sheer No 3A

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 121

stone. This part of the range, which has been little studied, contains
some metalliferous deposits, especially ores of quicksilver.

At milepost 147 the railroad leaves Salinas River and surmounts
a terrace which borders the river for some miles. The deposits form-
ing this terrace are comparable with those near San Lucas.

Soledad (so-lay-dahd’, Spanish for solitude) is built on a fertile plain
which forms part of the terrace just mentioned. From the town may

be had fine views of the valley and bordering moun-
Reledad. tains, and the vicinity affords some delightful drives.
Rents er Across the river are the ruins of the mission church
Los Angeles 331 miles, PUIt in 1791. A stage runs from Soledad southwest

8 miles to Paraiso Hot Springs, at an altitude of 1,400
feet in the Santa Lucia Range. About 14 miles northeast of Soledad
are The Pinnacles (Pl. XXX, p. 124), picturesque masses that have
been sculptured by erosion from some rock whose character and geo-
logic age have not been ascertained. The prominent peaks 6 or 7
miles east of Soledad are the Chalone Peaks, which are composed of
marbles and other crystalline rocks that are probably older than any
others in the Coast Range. North of them is an area of rocks in which
copper and quicksilver occur. Flanking these peaks and extending
northward along the northeast side of Salinas Valley are some hills
of moderate height composed partly of sandstone.

On the west side of the Salinas Valley, opposite Soledad and
Camphora, are some old alluvial fans that merge with the terrace
deposits along the river. Recent erosion has cut trenches in some of
these fans, but as a rule they stand out as nearly perfect examples of
this type of stream deposit.

Along this part of Salinas Valley the same contact observed farther
south persists; the mountain slope on the northeast is comparatively
gentle, but that on the southwest is steep. The southwest slope, as
previously noted, is probably a fault scarp or fault cliff, worn back
and cut into by erosion.

Beyond Gonzales (gohn-sah’lace), in the neighbor-

Gonzales. hood of Chualar (chu-a-lar’), the valley gradually
Elevation 125 feet. widens northwestward, toward Monterey Bay. Great
eee ee, quantities of alfalfa hay and grain are produced in
this vicinity. The terraces found all along the Salinas

ae Valley from Templeton northward are here well devel-

Elevation 100 feet. oped and grow broader toward the mouth of the
Los Angeles 346 miles, shen

er.
Salinas. The town of Salinas (Spanish for salt pits) is the cen-
Elevation 41 fect, ter of a large beet-sugar industry. Besides sugar beets,
Population 3,736. beans are extensively grown in this region, especially

Hos Angeles 357 miles. 1 Sar the coast. Opposite Salinas the river flows at
the extreme west edge of the valley.

122 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Del Monte Junction lies but a few miles from the mouth of Salinas

iver and Monterey Bay. A branch line; over

Del Monte Junction. which pass through trains to and from San Fran-

aay aa 16 Sees cisco, runs southwest from this junction to Del
‘Monte, Monterey, and Pacific Grove.!

Some terrace deposits may be seen east of Del Monte Junction.
They extend northward to the edge of Pajaro Valley, the surface
apparently rising to the north. The railroad traverses a lower plain
terrace descending from 16 feet at Del Monte Junction to 2 feet at
Elkhorn station, beyond which it turns up a little valley cut by Elk-
horn Creek in the marine terrace deposits. After crossing Elkhorn
Slough and bearing to the left between some low hills, the railroad
emerges, at about milepost 101, in the Pajaro Valley (pah’ha-ro,

Spanish for bird).

1The Hotel Del Monte, in grounds
world-famous for their jae is situated
on one of the most charmi d inter-
esting parts of the whole California coast.
Near by are the combinations of rocks,
sea, woodland, and hills such as delight
an artist. Old buildings and associations
appeal to the student of early California
history. There are ample facilities and
opportunities for the pursuit of sport of
many kinds. Finally, the region is of
exceptional geologic interest and is the
type locality of the white shale of the
Monterey group. The old mission church
is built of this shale, which, although,
soit when quarried, hardens on exposure
and has withstood the sea air without

crumbling.

Monterey, although visited and named
by the Spaniards in 1602, was not per-
manently settled until 1770. In that
year Gaspar de Portola, the first governor

XXIX, B, p- 119) is still used. The mis-
sion at Carmel, where Serra lived and
died, was founded the next year. Commo-
dore Sloat landed at Monterey July 7, 1846,
and took possession for the United States
A monument to him and one to Serra

stand in the Presidio. Monterey was the
first capital of California, and in
Hall the first constitutional convention
was held September 1, 1849
tion of more recent date that will endear
the place to many is that here for a time
lived Robert Louis Stevenson

Monterey is the terminus of a pipe line
from the Coalinga oil field, in the San
Joaquin Valley, and from 12,000 to 15,000
barrels of oil is pumped through this line
daily.

Soundings by the United States Coast
and Geodetic Survey have shown that a
deep depression extends across the bot-
tom of the comparatively shallow Monte-
rey Bay out to the steep submarine slope
that marks the real boundary between
continent and ocean. Some geologists
have interpreted this depression as a val-
ley of erosion cut by Salinas River when
the land stood higher than at present and
when the bottom of the bay was dry land.
Prof. A. C. Lawson, however, has main-
tained that a similar submarine valley, in
Carmel Bay south of Monterey, which is
not quite in line with the present valley
of Carmel River, is probably a structural
sag or syncline and not an erosion valley
atall. He can find no evidence of recent
uplift of this part of the coast sufficient to
have enabled the river to cut a valley
across What is now the bottom of the bay.

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

OF THE
From Los Angeles, California, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas

Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by

the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa-

tion collected with the assistance of this company

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
1915
Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in

parenthesis in the
lower Ieft corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that name.

BULLETIN 614

SHEET SA

ee oe

a
ELS

zales~
2 Ss

Scale 500-000
Approximately 8 miles to 1 inch
age eg

1o 5

OES eS GE tee Sao Nee” har one ae RY es ON ey OM OR timer ear ee WOM Siar tear Dame elt Gar ers

10 15 20

ELEVATIONS IN

ntour interval 200 feet
FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL

Angeles, Californi:

The crossties on the railroads are spaced ! mile apart

|

e ° ar is Oe aa NEE
[i 121°30° Sheet No 6A 12) CALIFORNIA
\
\
oe \ EXPLANATION
Bee A Stream deposits (alluvium)
al abilan Pk B Marine terrace deposits and d jaf cpaicnind
SA SSS NES - arine terrace depositsand dune sands |
EX CSAS) : -
. FAKs <a 2% C Conglomerate; sandy and marly clays = ogee
ASW (Paso Robles formation) land late Miocene
D_ Siliceous and bituminous diatomaceous’
shales of Monterey group, underlain
by sandstone and conglomerate Miocene
(Vaqueros sandstone) of Monterey)
group a
H_ Sandstone, conglomerate, and shale with}

—

varicolored thin-bedded flinty rocks
(radiolarian chert) and schists owing
their present character to changes> Jurassic (?)
produced bf intrusion of igneous rocks!
(contact metamorphism); (Franciscan |
p)

Granite Pre-Jurassic(?)

)

oO,

pee

; ;
40 ANNE
et Pape 7 m
| SS Jap >
12 ?
(Solinas
+) ~ Se

121°30

121°

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 123

From Watsonville Junction (see sheet 6A, p. 130) a branch line turns
to the left (west) and makes a detour through Santa Cruz and other
OEE SB Pe points, rejoining the main line to the north at San

* Jose. Passengers may take this route to San Fran-
cisco but will have to change cars. The Santa
Cruz route affords an opportunity to see a fine
group of “big trees” (Pl. XXXI, p. 125), the coast redwood (Sequoia
sempervirens), Which, although smaller than Sequoia gigantea of the
Sierra Nevada, are still gigantic, the largest measuring 70 feet in
circumference. This route, crossing the Santa Cruz Mountains at an
altitude of more than 1,000 feet, passes through beautiful country.
The geology is complicated, old crystalline rocks and later rocks of
Jurassic (2), Cretaceous, and Tertiary age being much folded and
faulted. The great rift or crack (San Andreas fault) along which
occurred the earthquake of 1906 is crossed by this route west of Alma.

North of Watsonville Junction the main Coast Line crosses a rich
apple country, in which the orchards reach part way up the slopes of
the bordering hills.

The hills to the right and left, gradually approaching as the valley
narrows, are composed of Tertiary strata, with a narrow belt of Qua-

ternary deposits along Pajaro River. Just beyond

Aromas. ‘Aromas the train enters Pajaro Gap. Here a small

= aye apa aad fault, cutting across the range, has weakened the

‘ yocks and thereby enabled the river to wear Its way

through. On the left is the river, and on the right are bluffs of

crumpled and crushed rocks, largely diorite (an igneous rock resem-

bling granite, but containing little or no quartz), which are artifi-
cially further reduced by rock crushers for railroad ballast.

The country opens abruptly as the train crosses the bridge over the
Pajaro near Chittenden, and the diorite of the gorge gives place to

the Tertiary sediments of the Chittenden-Sargent oil
Chittenden. field. This change is due to the fact that the Ter-
Elevation 123 feet. tiary beds are much softer than the diorite and have
Tos Angeles 383 miles. | eroded out into a valley. Traces of the San
Andreas fault, a slight recurrence of movement along which pro-
duced the earthquake of 1906, are here visible for the first time to the
traveler from Los Angeles to San Francisco over the Coast Line,
although the crack continues into southern California to the east of
Los Angeles. The hillsides to the northwest (left) are scarred by the
earthquake rift, and one-third of a mile beyond Chittenden, around
a, curve, on the left near the track, is a knoll blackened by the oil from
a storage tank that was wrecked by the earthquake.

The Sargent oil field produces approximately 40,000 barrels a year,
and some of the oil is shipped from Chittenden. The oil-bearing

Elevation 21 feet.
Los Angeles 375 miles.

124 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

rocks—shales, sandstones, and conglomerates of the lower part of the
Monterey group—cover a wide area. They are bent into anticlines
and synclines and are covered by younger shales of the Monterey
group and in part also by younger Miocene and Pliocene sediments.
The rocks of the lower slopes near which the train passes just beyond
Chittenden, on the right, are Pliocene (Merced formation). About
24 miles from Chittenden, near milepost 88, San Benito River and
Llagas Creek join to form Pajaro River. The railroad turns to the
left up Llagas Creek to Sargent.

West of Sargent, beyond the oil field, the Franciscan rocks form the
higher portions of the range. Beyond Sargent the railroad soon passes

out of the low hills into the southern portion of the
Sargent. broad Santa Clara Valley. This portion, a great
Elevation 134 feet. — alfalfa and stock country irrigated by electric pumps,
or apres drained by Pajaro River a the Bay of Gaeer
Across the valley in the distance can be seen Pacheco (pa-chay’co),
Antimony, St. Anna, Mariposa (the highest), and other peaks of the
Mount Hamilton division of the Diablo Range, which separates the
Santa Clara Valley from the San Joaquin Valley.

The Santa Clara Valley extends from San Francisco Bay southeast-
ward to and beyond San Benito, a distance of nearly 100 miles. It
has a notable peculiarity in that it is divided transversely by a scarcely
noticeable soil-covered divide. The southern portion is drained by
Pajaro River, but the northern portion drains through Coyote River
directly into San Francisco Bay, and the alluvial plain is continuous -
across the divide.

From Carnadero (car-na-day’ro) Junction, 4 miles beyond Sargent,
a branch line runs southeast to Hollister, in San Benito Valley, where
it is said there is “silver in eggs” and “gold in apples.”” From the
junction the main line continues northward through the Santa Clara
Valley to San Francisco Bay, passing through one of the most pro-
ductive fruit-growing regions in the world.

The town of Gilroy is the point of departure for the Gilroy Hot
Springs, which lie 13 miles to the northeast. Oaks appear about

Gilroy, and alfalfa begins to give way to grain and
Gilroy. especially to fruits. Grapes, prunes, peaches, and
Elevation — apricots are grown in large quantities. The moun-
bor gree miles, tains on the right are markedly different in. aspect

from those on the left, although both are com-
posed, at least in part, of rocks belonging to the Franciscan group,
partly covered by Tertiary sediments. The mountains on the right.
have a nearly even crest line (Pl. XXXII, p. 126). Along their
base, beyond the orchards, is a much lower even-crested ridge.
Between this ridge and the mountains is Coyote River, which flows
northwestward to San Francisco Bay. The valley in the foreground

U. §. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MILES NORTHEAST OF SOLEDAD, CAL.

THE PINNACLES,

rOCKS.

rosion of fragmental

e

Formed by

BULLETIN 614 PLATE XxXxl

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

8.

U.

IG TREES (SEQUOIA SEMPERVIRENS) AT SANTA CRUZ, CAL.

B

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 125

is drained to the southeast by. Llagas Creek to Pajaro River and
Monterey Bay.

At Madrone the valley narrows. The rocky slopes on the left are

near the railroad and several little cuts expose serpentine, which is a

: characteristic accompaniment to the Franciscan
Madirone. group. The summit of the transverse divide (ele-
ee vation 345 feet) is reached near Perry, about 2 miles

beyond Madrone, but there is no break in the con-
tinuity of the atari plain, and the traveler will probably not notice,
unless his attention is called to it, that he is passing from the drainage
basin of Pajaro River to that of Coyote River. The Coyote enters
Santa Clara Valley from the mountains on the right (east).

It has been suggested that all the drainage that now finds its way
into San Francisco Bay and thence to the ocean by way of the Golden
Gate, once flowed southward through Santa Clara Valley to Monterey
Bay. Those who maintain this view think that the submarine chan-
nel across Monterey Bay was cut by the more powerful stream that
then flowed through Pajaro Valley. A striking resemblance that has
been noted between the strictly fresh-water fishes and other forms of
life inhabiting Sacramento and Pajaro rivers tends to confirm the
conjecture that the two streams were formerly one. Later investiga-
tions by Dr. J. C. Branner, however, have suggested a different inter-
_ pretation of this evidence.

A study of the material of the divide shows that it has the low
conical form of an alluvial fan—that is, a deposit made by a stream
where it issues from a canyon upona plain. Atsuch a place the veloc-
ity of the stream generally becomes less, and the water is compelled
to drop much of the sand and gravel that it swept along with ease
in the mountains. This particular deposit was made by Coyote River
during a period (probably glacial) when the land stood at a higher
level than now and the creek carried a large load of detritus. As the
alluvial fan grew Coyote River shifted its position from time to time
to lower parts of the conical slope, and thus flowed sometimes to San
Francisco Bay and sometimes to Monterey Bay. In this way oppor-
tunity may have been given for fishes and other living things to pass
over the divide by way of Coyote River. If this happened, it would
of course not be necessary to account for the similar faunas of Sac-
ramento and Pajaro rivers by supposing the streams to have been at
one time directly united.

Six miles southwest of Coyote, in the hills composed of rocks

belonging to the Franciscan group, is the New

Coyote. ' Almaden quicksilver mine, which has yielded more
Elevation 248 feet. quicksilver than any other mine in the United States.
pe dee ok cine’ At milepost 59 on the right may be had the first

view ot Lick Observatory, on Mount Hamilton.
The observatory may be visited from San Jose.

126 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Just north of Coyote is the narrowest part of the valley. Ser-
pentine occurs here on the left but is on the right at Edenvale, where
the valley widens and a belt of Tertiary rocks forms foothills to
mountains that are composed chiefly of Franciscan rocks.

At San Jose (ho-say’), which is by far the largest city in the Santa
Clara Valley, the branch line running through Santa Cruz joins the

main Coast Line. The New Almaden mine may be

San Jose. reached by a spur from this branch. Other railroad
Elevation 5 fect. lines run from San Jose east of San Francisco Bay
Population 28,

Las Angeles ait eites, tO Oakland and have connections across the Diablo
Range, through Livermore Valley, with the several
lines in San Joaquin Valley.

The city is built on the fertile plain between Guadalupe and
Coyote rivers, 11 miles southeast of the head of San Francisco Bay.
Its delightful climate, beauty of surroundings, fertility of soil, and
consequent profusion of flowers and fruits make San Jose a favored
spot even in California.

From San Jose automobile stages run to Mount Hamilton (26
miles). All the sedimentary rocks seen on this trip belong to the
Franciscan group. Some beautiful drives may be enjoyed in the
suburbs and in the country around the town. During the rose
season the drive along Alameda Avenue from San Jose to Santa
Clara, about 3 miles, is particularly recommended. This trip may
also be made by trolley car.

At College Park, on the left as the train leaves San Jose, is Pacific
College. Well-kept orchards of prunes, apricots, peaches, pears,
and cherries, as well as vineyards, lie on both sides of the railroad
throughout this part of the valley. Acres of sun-drying prunes
are a common sight in August.

Santa Clara College, the white building of which may be seen on
the left near the center of the town of Santa Clara, was founded in

1851 by the Jesuits. The chapel is one of the old
Santa Clara. mission buildings erected in 1777 and is well pre-
= = served. Several large canneries may be seen along
Los Angeles 427 mites, the railroad and are kept busy for most of the year

by the wide range of fruit and vegetable products
which the Santa Clara Valley affords. Two miles beyond Santa
Clara on the right, barely visible in the distance across the broad
fields of barley hay and between groves of oak and eucalyptus, is
the Agnew Asylum for the Insane, a State institution.

The Santa Clara Valley widens northward and the fertile bottom
land grades near the south end of the Bay of San Francisco into
extensive salt marshes. The railroad bears to the west from Santa
Clara, toward the mountains which form the backbone of the penin-
sula of San Francisco.

U. 8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 614 PLATE XxXxil

teat ocr stages

A
Seerees

‘Apes "

Whol
Ai

SANTA CLARA VALLEY NEAR GILROY, CAL.

i

The even crest of the distant ride of Franciscan rocks suggests a plain mw erosion. The narrow valley be

the two distant ridges is due t ) fau ting and contains — ote
n the middle ground, is filled with alluvium th r

inuous from San Francisco Bay ay to the Bay of Montere yr

Rive inta Clara Valley, with its fine orchards

mn &
explanation see page 124,

BULLETIN 614 PLATE XxXxill

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

eect «

Sciiediancecandcanace

starter gg

semrdtemeemrigreattnetagy

THE ARCHES, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CAL.

|

The displacement of the capitals of PF g

B. FURROW A MILE pice deeds OF OLEMA, CAL., MADE = THE MOVEMENT WHICH
ED THE EARTHQUAKE OF 19

On the left is the rift = which extends from Bolinas Lagoon to Tomales Bay and is a result partly of
earlier movements, partly of erosion along a zone of crushed rocks.

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 127

Although fields of hay with scattered oaks predominate near
Sunnyvale, there are large tracts devoted to orchards and market
gardens. The climate and soil of the lower Santa
Sunnyvale. Clara Valley between San Jose and Sunnyvale, like
Elevation 93 feet. that of Lompoc Valley (p. 111), are such that seeds
Population 1,559" mature well, and there are several large seed farms
E near Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.
Near Mountain View the railroad runs nearer to the foothills of
the Santa Cruz Range. The lowest hills are composed of sandstone
belonging to the lower part of the Monterey group.
Mountain View. Black Mountain (elevation 2,787 feet), the culminat-
Elevation 76 feet. ing point of Monte Bello Ridge, is the most prominent
Toe nweles 133 mites, Peak of this part of the range. Just behind it lies
the San Andreas fault or rift. (See pp. 89-90.) The
upper slopes of Black Mountain are mainly sandstone with some
lenticular masses of limestone, several thousand tons of which are
crushed annually and shipped to beet-sugar factories. Some of the
best red wine made in California is produced near Mountain View.
From Castro, about a mile beyond Mountain View, is visible on
the right the Dumbarton Bridge on the railroad freight route from
Oakland to San Francisco.
At milepost 33 on the left, ahead and more than a mile away, may
be seen among the trees the red-tiled roofs of the Stanford University
buildings. The entrance to the university grounds
Palo Alto. is on the left, near the Palo Alto station, and the uni-
Elevation 58 feet. versity buildings, a mile away, hidden from the station
erxumaee OF "ies, DY trees, may be reached by a trolley line. Leland
Stanford Junior University, founded by Senator and
Mrs. Stanford and opened in 1891, has nearly 2,000 students, both
men and women. The medical department is in San Francisco and
the marine biological laboratory at Pacific Grove. The buildings
of the other departments are on the Stanford University tract,
which embraces 8,400 acres. The buildings (see Pl. XXXIII, A),
designed originally by H. H. Richardson, take their architectural
motif from the cloisters of the San Antonio mission, and the combina-
tion of buff sandstone with red tiled roofs gives striking color effects.
The buff sandstone came from the quarries at Graystone, about 10
miles south of San Jose, and is of early Miocene (Monterey) age.
The San Andreas fault, the line of the San Francisco earthquake,
lies 4 miles southwest of Stanford University and is easily reached
from that point. The university suffered much from the earthquake
but has completely recovered.
The accompanying cross section from Palo Alto to the summit of
Santa Cruz Mountains (fig. 15, p. 128) shows the general geologic
structure of the region.

128

By looking ahead from the Palo Alto station the traveler may see on
the sgouct of the track the tall tree (Spanish, palo alto) for which
ee Senator Stanford’s estate was named. It is

tu
z

San Andreas
rift

Santa Cruz
Mts

Palo Alto

:
:
Sa
ane ay
SI:

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

crete to protect it from floods.

formations about the San Andreas rift.
, Vaqueros formation (Tertiary); db,

Tm, Monterey shale (Tertiary); Tv

Menlo Park.

Population 820.
os Angeles 442 miles.

tion for drying Alaskan codfish.

showing the folds and faults of the several

; Ke, Chico formation (Cretaceous); fc, Franciscan formation (J urassic?).

Alluvium; Tsc, Santa Clara formation (Tertiary); Tp, Purisima formation (Tertiary);

FIGURE 15,—Section from Palo Alto, Cal,, to the summit of the Santa Cruz Range,

< q it, near the railroad, is one of
Ser 7. Carlos. the umping stations. i
a & Elevation 25 feet.
oes : fecppotiag ats the oak-crowned hills composé
7 acs of sandstones and other rocks
Xoo Ong

the only redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) near
the main line of therailroad. It stands on the
bank of San Francisquito Creek, and the
Southern Pacific Co. has built a wall of con-

In Menlo Park, a village of beautiful parks
and grounds, rohide many well-to-do business
and professional men who pass their working

ays in San Francisco.
the right, near the bay beyond

Menlo Park, is a large tannery,
~ and far out in the marsh a sta-

The town of Redwood was formerly the cen-
ter of the redwood lumber industry of the
Santa Cruz Range, then completely forested.

ost of the redwood trees are

Redwood. gone, but a few of them can
Elevation 7 feet. be seen scattered along the
be ranch oe

‘Angeles 445 miles, CTeSt of the distant range. The
trees in view, however, are
largely asecond growth. On the left, near Red-
wood, is a factory where magnesite is ground.
Between Redwood and San Carlos there is a
good view to the left (west) of an even-
crested ridge well clothed with forest. is i
Cahill Ridge. Between it and the rounded
oak-strewn foothills that lie nearer to the rail-
road is the narrow, rectilinear valley of the
San Andreas rift. Two lakes, San Andreas
and Crystal Springs, have been formed in this
part of the valley by damming and supply
much of the water used in San Francisco.
Just beyond San Carlos, on the left (west),
is an iron standpipe forming part of the water-
supply system of San Francisco, and below

of the Franciscan group come close to the
bay and leave only a narrow belt of alluvium
een the foothills and the salt marshes.

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 129

Soon after leaving Belmont the train passes through a shallow cut
in sandstones and cherts of the Franciscan group. The chert is
quarried for use on roads. Half amile beyond Bel-
Relmont. mont there is an extensive view to the right across
_ apr the marshes and bay to the white salt fields of the
‘ Union Salt Works, where salt is obtained by solar
evaporation of water from the bay. Along this portion of the salt
marsh bordering the bay fresh water is obtained from wells of various
depths up to 400 feet. This water evidently lies below the salt
Beresford: Cotirel water. Generally the fresh water can be obtained
post office). from these wells only by pumping, but at high tide,
when the flats are covered by salt water, which is
heavier than fresh, the hydrostatic pressure of the
salt water on the deeper fresh water makes some of the wells overflow.
At Leslie there are artificial ponds (vats) in which the water of the
bay is evaporated for salt. In the mill close by the salt is refined and
prepared for market at the rate of about 8 carloads
a day. The bay water contains only about half as
much salt as an equal volume of ocean water, but
there are so many more bright days in this locality than there are
along the coast that it is more profitable to use the weaker brine.
San Mateo (ma-tay’o) is a pretty town noted for its beautiful live
oaks and handsome suburban residences. Here the road crosses
San Mateo Creek, which, at the point where it issues

Los Angeles 450 miles.

Leslie.
Los Angeles 451 miles.

San‘ Mateo. from the San Andreas rift valley, about 34 miles

athe southwest of San Mateo, has been dammed by a high

Los Angeles 452 miles, concrete structure that holds back the waters of
Crystal Springs Lake.

A daily stage plies between San Mateo and Pescadero (pes-ca-
day’ro, Spanish for fishmonger), near Pebble Beach on the coast, a
distance of 33 miles. This stage ascends the valley of San Mateo
Creek and crosses Crystal Springs Lake on a dividing dam, made of
earth, which was cut and displaced by the movement along the fault
at the time of the San Francisco earthquake but was soon repaired.
The road to Pescadero passes near the interesting old village of Span-
ishtown and reaches the coast at Pebble Beach, noted for its agate
pebbles. The trip from Pescadero to San Mateo may be conveniently
taken in connection with one from San Francisco to Pescadero by
the Ocean Shore Railroad.

At Burlingame (pronounced locally bling’um), a place of residence

- jn favor with people of wealth and leisure, there 1s

Burlingame. a country club, with golf links and polo grounds.
mn 26 feet. (See sheet 13, p. 90.) In this vicinity, as elsewhere
fr tees ies. “ies, in California south of San Francisco, there are three

trees which figure characteristically in the land-
scape—the Australian eucalyptus, the Peruvian pepper tree, and the
96286°—Bull. 614—15——9

130 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

sturdy native oak. The eucalyptus, a tall, slim tree that is
rather untidy about its bark, grows rapidly and is much used not
only along the roadsides but as windbreaks. The pepper tree, which
has pendant plumose foliage, is highly ornamental and is largely used
in cities as a street tree and in parks and gardens. But of all the
trees that adorn the fertile bottom lands of the great interior valleys
the native valley oak (Quercus lobata) is by far the most important.

The large hay ranch on the left (west) near Millbrae belongs to the
estate of the late D. O. Mills, a well-known capitalist and philanthro-
pist. On the right in the bay are the oyster beds of
the Morgan Oyster Co. The native oyster is small
and of coppery flavor, and although esteemed by epi-
cures for oyster cocktails is generally inferior to the
eastern oyster. Attempts to establish colonies of eastern oysters on
the Pacific coast have been unsuccessful. The young oysters, or
spat, however, are brought from the Atlantic seaboard and are
matured on the western coast. ;

Ahead is San Bruno Mountain, beyond which lies San Francisco.
On the left are some parallel ridges running northwest. The nearest
is Buriburi Ridge (elevation 700 feet), composed of sandstones and-
shales of the Merced formation (Pliocene), underlain by Franciscan
sandstones and igneous rocks, which form the mass of the ridge.
Beyond is Sawyer Ridge (1,100 feet), consisting of Franciscan rocks.
In the valley between them, 13 miles southwest of Millbrae, is San
Andreas Lake.

At San Bruno the railroad branches. The main line (a cut-off),
built only a few years ago and now used for ihe through traffic, bears
to the right along the bay shore around the east end

Millbrae.

Elevation 8 feet,
Los Angeles 457 miles.

ae of San Bruno Mountain and through five tunnels
rescigemncrloab omni reaches the station at Third and Townsend streets

San Francisco. The old line bears to the left up
Merced Valley and around the west end of San Bruno Mountain and
by a heavier grade and greater distance reaches the same station.

e San Francisco Peninsula, at whose northern extremity is the
city of San Francisco, is divided into two parts by the northwestward-
trending Merced Valley. Each of these parts is a block of the earth’s
crust with a fault along its southwest side, upheaved along that side so
that it has a gentle slope to the northeast. Both fault blocks have
been much carved and worn by erosion so that their original blocklike
character has been in great part lost. Both are composed of pre-Ter-
tiary rocks, and the valley between them is filled with the Merced
formation (Pliocene), covered for the most part by alluvium. The
fault which limits the San Bruno fault block on the southwest is con-
cealed by the alluvium. North of San Bruno Mountain, between
it and the Golden Gate, is an irregular group of hills composed of

BULLETIN 614 SHEET 6A
‘ Sr ENA

CALIFORNIA

I22

aheo eS

SS)
\
<\

exaPA

a oS ANCA SE SS =
Ne SA he
5 76 X :

GEOLOGIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

OF THE

COAST ROUTE

From Los Angeles, California, to San Francisco, California

Base compiled from United States Geological Survey Atlas
Sheets, from railroad alignments and profiles supplied by
the Southern Pacific Company and from additional informa-
tion collected with the assistance of this company

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR
David White, Chief Geologist R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer
1915

te

4,
El)
&S

Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parenthesis in the
lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. Topographic
Sheet of that name.

=a

a=

bn ae Dane!
a
>

ag |

EXPLANATION :
tream deposits (alluvium), sand dunes, and beach sands
Fresh-water gravels, sands, and clays (Santa Clara for- }
mation); marine clay, sandstone, and conglomerate ternary and
(Merced formation) liocene

Quaternary

O>

ZS Ni
Py, = ty
——P

’

C Conglomerate, sandstone, and shale (Purisima and Santa!
Margarita formations), underlain by chalky bituminous}

AS aes fl
XX KU ip}

“a
ane

ar,
shale, in places containing flinty layers, and by mas- ae

‘ sive sandstone (upper part of Monterey group) ; under-| oe Say EAN RS

es lain by heavy— ed sandstone and conglomerate Oligocene = (ih ZB

(Vaqueros sandstone) of Monterey group {Miocene}.
At base clayey shales with some fine-grained sandstone
(San Lorenzo formation, Oligocene J

ake
RA
(on
Cz;

Up se Ay as
hy akan ie

wee

|
wie a
fAS “tak AN
Vl ~y Z if = ; SS

D Hard sandstone (Tejon formation); chiefly conglom-

erate with sandstone; underlain by shale and thin Eoeene == aint ¢
limestone (Martinez formation} J SSS SS SS Sei? Ne --
Lava flows (basalt and rhyolite) Tertiary ——— SSS = CGO So!

E CeBots:
1 = AY 5
F Massive yellowish sandstone with conglomerate at bot-) Scale 500,000 = Se
tom (Chico formaiion, Upper Cretaceous), underlain) @-o:accous , 7 ——
by limy and sandy shale (Knoxville formation, Lower | : Approximately 8 miles to 1 inc =
Costnconm) 3 . Oe GE Pe, Se ere.
te G Intrusive rocks and derivatives (diabase, gabbro, :
- ; peridgtite, pyroxenite, serpentine) Co: soe S7 ‘2? ee ae
s H Sandstenes with subordinate shales and varicolored thin-| Contour interval 200 feet
bedded flinty rocks (radiolarian cherts) and some Jime- J ie (2) ELEVATIONS IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL
stone. Locally changed to schists near contact with sodas ons et i
igneous reeks. (Franciscan group) The dis f ig :
The crossties on the railroads are spaced ! mile apart
i ight-gray crystalline limestone and mieaceous ia hits =
a re Pre-Jurassic(?) er 122° (Sheet No. 5A)
J Granite (quartz diorite) Pre-Jurassic(?) re nnencontosaRcensonm a te -

COAST LINE—LOS ANGELES TO SAN FRANCISCO. 131

Franciscan rocks and dune sand. On and between these hills is the
city of San Francisco. :

South San Francisco is a manufacturing town, whose chief industry
is the refrigeration and preparation of meats. Here also there are
poet Ws pare Spent igs terra-cotta, brick, paint, pipe,
ener aterm The five tunnels between South San Francisco

‘and San Francisco are from 1,088 to 3,547 feet in
length. All are in rocks of the Franciscan group. The first, through
Sierra Point, is in sandstone, of which there is a fine exposure in an
open cut beyond the tunnel. The second, the longest tunnel, pene-
trates a complex ridge of sandstone, radiolarian chert, and diabase.
The large railroad traffic near San Francisco is indicated by the great
freight yards in Visitation Valley, between the second and third —
tunnels. As the train emerges from the third tunnel, which is in
sandstone, Hunter Point appears ahead. Beyond Hunter Point, on
the left (west), across the salt marsh of Islais (ees-lah’ees) Creek, is
the city garbage incinerator. The last two tunnels are in serpentine.
Near the new terminal station a sugar refinery and the Union Iron
Works, where the famous battleship Oregon and many other warships
have been built, are to be seen on the right.

A short description of San Francisco is given on pages 86-87.

SOME PUBLICATIONS ON WEST-COAST GEOLOGY.

age F. M., gona deposits of the Pacific coast: California Acad. Sci.
-, od ser., vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1-154, 1
a Raten: Geology. and oil resources of the Summerland district, Santa Barbara
County, Cal.: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 321, 1907.
ARNOLD, RatpuH, and ANDERSON, ROBERT, Geology and oil resources of the Santa
Marts oil district. Santa Barbara County, Cal.: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 322, 1907.
Arnop, Ratpn, and Hannrpau, Harotp, The marine Tertiary stratigraphy of the
rth Pacific coast of a eaiek Am. Philos. Soc. Proc., vol. 52, pp. 559-605, 1913.
Branner, J. C., Newsom, J. F., ee Bees Raupu, U. 8. Geol. Survey Geol.
Atlas, Santa Cruz folio (No. 163), 1
Brerz, J. H., Glaciation of Puget aoe Washington Geol. Survey Bull. 8, 1913.
Contains list of publications
eo piper As, Oregon pooloey, a revision of The two islands, edited by Ellen
n McCormack, 1910.
Deron: N. H., The structural materials of Oregon and Washington: U. S. Geol.
Survey Bull. 387, 1909.
DILLER, as 8. ,U. 5. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, om Peak folio — hg 1895.
U.S. Geol. Survey Seven-

oS Ann. Rept., pt. 1, pp. 447-520, 1896.

—— U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Roseburg folio (No. 49), 1898.

—— U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Redding folio (No. 138), 1906.

Geological history of Crater Lake: U. S. Dept. Interior, 1912.

Mineral resources of southwestern Oregon: U. 8. Geol. Survey Bull. 546, 1914.

Exprince, G. H., and Arnowp, Rapa, The Santa Clara Valley, Puente Hills, and
Los Angeles oil districts, southern California: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 309, 1907.

Farrpanks, H. W., U. 8. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, San Luis folio (No. 101), 1904.

LANDES, Huwny, a Ruppy, ©. A., Coal deposits of Washington: Washington Geol.
Survey Ann. Rept. for 1902.

Lawson, A. C., Report of the California State Earthquake Investigation Commission:
Carnegie Inst. Washington Pub. 87, 1908.

——— U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, San Francisco folio (No. 193), 1914.

Martruss, I’. E., Mount Rainier and its glaciers: U. S. Dept. Interior, 1914.

Oregon Bureau of Mines and Geology, Mineral resources of Oregon, vol. 1, 1914.

Osmont, V. C., A geological section of the Coast Ranges north of the Bay of San Fran-
cisco: California Univ. Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 37-87, 1904.

Ransome, F. L., The Great Valley of California, a criticism of the theory of isostasy:
California Univ. Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 1, pp. 371-428, 1896.

RussEtt, I. C., and Surrn, G. O., Glaciers [and rocks] of Mount Rainier: U. 8. Geol.
Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 349-424, 1898.

Smiru, G. O., The coal of the Pacific coast: U.S. Geol. Survey Twenty-second Ann.
Rept., pt. 3, pp. 473-513, 1902.

Smirx, G. O., and WiiuIs, et a to the geology of Washington: U. 8.

GLOSSARY OF GEOLOGIC TERMS.

Alluvial fan. The outspread sloping deposit of bowlders, gravel, and sand left by a
stream where it passes from a gorge out upon a _
Andesite. A lava of widespread occurrence, usually of dark-gray color and inter-
mediate in chemical composition between rhyolite and basalt.
Anticline. An arch of bedded or layered rock pesp in ae of an overturned
canoe. (See fig. 3, p. 18.) (See also Dome and Syn
dlands. region nearly devoid of vegetation ao erosion, instead of carving
hills and valleys of the familiar type, has cut the land into an intricate maze of
arrow ravines and sharp crests and pinnacles. Travel across such a region is
almost juipoesible: hence the name
Basalt. A common lava of dark color ple of great fluidity when molten. Basalt is
less siliceous than granite and rhyolite, and contains much more iron, calcium,
and magnesium.
Bolson (pronounced bowl-sown’). A flat-floored desert valley that drains toa central _

b,
Eee gerromnces bretch’a). A mass of naturally cemented angular rock frag-

es rock. A rock composed of closely fitting mineral crystals that have
formed in the rock substance as contrasted with one made up of cemented grains
of sand or other material or with a volcanic glass.

Diabase. A heavy, dark intrusive rock having the same composition as basalt, but,
on account of its slower cooling, a more crystalline texture. Its principal con-
stituent minerals are feldspar, augite, and usually olivine. Olivine is easil
changed by weathering, and in many diabases is no longer recognizable. Augite
is a mineral containing iron and magnesium and is similar to hornblende.

Dike. A mass of igneous rock that has solidified in a wide fissure or crack in the
earth’s crust.

Diorite. An even-grained intrusive igneous rock consisting chiefly of the minerals
feldspar, sraletneds. and very commonly black mica. If the rock contains
much quartz, it is called quartz diorite. Quartz diorite resembles granite and is
connected with that rock by many intermediate varieties, including monzonite.
The feldspar in diorite differs from that in granite in containing calcium ani
SO instead of potassium. Hornblende is a green or black mineral con
iron, enesium, calcium, and other constituents

Dip. “The slope of a rock layer expressed by the angle which the top or bottom of
the layer makes with a horizontal plane. (See fig. 9, p. 51. ) (See also Strike.)

Dissected. Cut by erosion into hills and sean _ Applicable especially to plains
or peneplains in process of erosion after a

Dome. As applied to rock layers or beds, a ‘oiet anticline, suggestive of an inverted

n.

Drift. The rock fragments—soil, gravel, and silt—carried by a glacier. Drift in-
cludes the unassorted material known as till and deposits made by streams flow-
ing from a glacier.

Erosion. The wearing away of materials at the earth’s surface by the mechanical
action of running water, waves, moving ice, or winds, which use rock
and grains as their tools or abrasives. Erosion is aided by weathering. (See
Weathering.) ie

134 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Fault. A fracture in the earth’s crust accompanied by movement of the rock on
one side of the break past that on the other. If the fracture is inclined and the
rock on one side appears to have slid down the slope of the fracture the fault is
termed a normal fault. If, on the other hand, the rock on one side appears to
have been shoved up the inclined plane of the break, the fault is termed a reverse
fault. (See Pl. XXXIIT, B, p. 127; fig. 12, p. 90; fig. 15, p. 128.)

Fault block. A part of the earth’s crust bounded wholly or in part by faults.

Fault scarp. The cliff i by a fault. Most fault scarps have been modified by
erosion since the faulti

Fauna. The animals that inhabited the world or a certain region at a certain time.

Fissure. A crack, break, or fracture in the earth’s crust or in a mass of ro

Flood plain. The nearly level land that borders a stream and is subject t asional
overflow. Flood plains are built up by sediment left by such fe SS (See
Pl, XXIX, A, p. 119.)

The assemblage of plants growing at a given time or in a given place.

Fold. A bend in rock layers or beds. Anticlines and synclines are the common
types of folds. (See fig. 15, p. 128.)

Formation. A rock layer, or a series of continuously deposited layers grouped

Fossil. The whole or any part of an animal or plant that has been preserved in
the rocks or the impression left on rock by a plant or animal. Preservation is
invariably accompanied by some change in substance, and from some impressions
the original substance has all been removed. (See Pl. XXV, p. 92

Gneiss (pronounced nice). A rock resembling granite, but with its mineral con-
stituents so arranged as to give it a banded appearance. Most gneisses are meta-

ks.
Granite. A crystalline igneous rock that has solidified slowly deep within the
: earth. It consists chiefly of the minerals quartz, feldspar, and one or both of
the common kinds of mica, namely, black mica, or biotite, and white mica, or
muscovite. The feldspar is the kind known as orthoclase, and may be distin-
guished from quartz by its pale reddish tint and its property of breaking with flat
shining surfaces (cleavage), for quartz breaks irr irregularly. The micas are easily
recognized by their cleavage into thin, flexible flakes and their brilliant luster.
Horizon. In geology any distinctive plane traceable from place to place in different
exposures of strata and marking the same period of geologic time. A particular
: horizon may be characterized by distinctive fossils.
Igneous rocks. Rocks formed by the cooling and solidification of a hot liquid
material, known as magma, that has originated at unknown depths within the

or plutonic rocks. Those that have flowed out over the surface are known as effu-
sive rocks, extrusive rocks, or lavas. The term volcanic rocks includes not only
se but bombs, pumice, tuff, volcanic ash, and other fragmental materials or
ecta thrown out from volcanoes.

Lithslogie. Pertaining to lithology, or the study of rocks. (See also Petrology:)
Pertaining to rock character.

Lode. ; An o ne EATING vein (see Vein); especially a broad or complex vein.

Loess (pronounced lurse oat the r obscure). A fine homogeneous silt or loam show-

a pee t of wind-blown dust.

GLOSSARY OF GEOLOGIC TERMS. 135

Meander. To flow in serpentine curves. A loop in a stream. The term comes
from the Greek name of a river in Asia Minor, which has a sinuous course. Most
streams in flowing across plains develop meanders

Metamo orphism. Any change in rocks effected in Abe earth by heat, pressure,
solutions, or gases. A common cause of the metamorphism of rocks is the intru-
sion into them of igneous rocks, Rocks so changed are termed metamorphic.

Monzonite. An even-grained intrusive igneous rock intermediate in character
ttwecn diorite and granite. It resembles granite.

Moraine. A mass of drift deposited by a glacier at its end or along its sides.

Oil pool. An area or body of sedimentary rock that yields petroleum on drilling.
The oil occurs in the pores of the rock and is not a pool or pond in the ordinary
sense of these words.

eee: That part of a rock that appears at ~~ surface. The appearance of a rock

t the surface or its projection above the
Sicateee The study of the world’s iia life, either plant or animal, by
eans 0

Peneplain. A region reduced almost to a plain by the long-continued normal ero-
sion of a land surface, It should be distinguished from — = uced by the
attack of waves along a coast or the built-up flood plain of a ri

Petrography. The description of rocks, especially of ‘enon pe" metamorphic

rocks studied with the aid of the micr croscope.

Petrology. The study of rocks, especially of igneous and metamorphic rocks

Placer deposit. A mass of gravel, sand, or similar material resulting from the
crumbling and erosion of solid rocks and containing particles or nuggets of gold,
platinum, tin, or other valuable minerals derived from rocks or veins by erosion.

Playa (pronounced plah’ya). The shallow central basin of a desert plain, in which
water gathers after a rain and is evaporated.

Porphyry. Any igneous rock in which certain crystal — are distinctly
visible in contrast with the finer-grained substance of t

Quartzite. ra rock composed of sand grains cemented by alice tuto an extremely

hard m
Rhyolite. ge lava, usually of light color, corresponding in chemical composition to
granite. The same molten liquid that at great depth within the earth solidifies
as granite would, if it seeing out on the surface, cool more quickly and crystallize
less completely as rhyo
A rock that by rch to heat and pressure within the earth has under-
gone a change in the character of the particles or minerals that compose it and
has these minerals arranged in such a way that the rock splits more easily in cer-
tain directions than in others. A schist has a crystalline grain roughly similar to
the grain of a piece of wood.
Sedimentary rocks. Rocks formed by the accumulation of sediment in water
— deposits) or from air (eolian deposits). The sediment may consis nsist of
ents or particles of various sizes (conglomerate, sandstone, shale); of
oe remains or products ts of omaeas or plants (certain | estones — coal); of the
mixtures
of these vankarinla: Some oon adebint deposits (tafis)a are pUtsicad of fragments
blown from volcanoes and deposited on land or in water.
of sedimentary deposits is a layered structure known as bedding
Each layerisabedorstratum. Sedimentary bedsas deposited lie ote or nearly flat.
(See Pl. XXVIII, p. 118.)
Shale. A rock consisting of hardened thin layers of fine mud.
Slate. A rock that by subjection to pressure within the earth has acquired the
property of . need into thin ai, The cleavage is smoother and

2h
ture regular (flail bie split be

136 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Stratigraphy. The branch of geologic science that deals with the order and rela-
tions of the strata of the earth’s crust.

Strike. The direction along which an inclined rock layer would meet the earth’s
surface if that surface were level. The outcrop (which see) of a bed on a plain is
coincident with its strike

Structure. In geology the forms assumed by sedimentary beds and igneous rocks
that have been moved from their original position by forces within the earth or the
forms taken by intrusive masses of igneous rock in connection with effects pro-
duced mechanically on neighboring rocks by the intrusion. Folds (anticlines
and synclines) and faults are the principal mechanical effects considered under

ures.

®

Syncline. An inverted arch of bedded or layered rock suggestive in form of a canoe.

Talus SS tay’lus). The mass of loose rock fragments that accumulates at

of a cliff or steep slope. :

Terrace. ‘A steplike bench on a hillside. Most terraces along rivers are remnants of
valley bottoms formed when the land was lower or when the stream flowed at
higher levels. Other terraces have been formed by waves. Some terraces have
been cut in solid rock, others have been built up of sand and gravel, and still
others have been partly cut and partly built up. (See Pl. XXIX, A, p. 119.)

Till. The deposit of mingled bowlders, rock fragments, and soil left behind by a
melting glacier or deposited about its margin

Tuff. A rock consisting of a layer or layers of lava particles blown from a volcano.
A fine tuff is often called volcanic ash and a coarse tuff breccia.

Type locality. The place at which a formation is typically displayed and from
which it is named; also the place at which a fossil or other geologic feature is dis-
played in typical form

Unconformity. A break i in the regular succession of sedimentary rocks, indicated
by the fact that one bed rests on the eroded surface of one or more beds which
may have a distinctly different dip from the bed above. An unconformity may
show that the beds below it have at some time been raised above the sea and have
been eroded. In some places beds thousands of feet thick have been washed
away before the land again became submerged and the first bed above the sur-
face of unconformity was deposited. If beds of rock may be considered as leaves
in the volume of geologic history, an unconformity marks a gap in the record.

Vein. A mass of mineral material that has been deposited in or along a fissure in
the rocks. A vein differs from a dike in that the vein material was introduced
gradually by deposition from solution whereas a dike was intruded in a molten
condition.

Voleanic bomb. A rounded mass of lava thrown out while in a hot and pasty con-
dition from a volcano, A bomb, like a raindrop, is rounded in its passage through
the air and may be covered with a cracked crust due to quick coolin

Volcanic hope A mountain or hill usually of characteristic conical Sonio built up
around a voleanic vent. Th e nearly perfect cones are composed
of lava Phigage nit volcanic a ash ~ principally

ic a that has cooled and solidified before it has had time to

crystallize.
oleanic neck. A plug of lava that formerly congealed in the pipe of a volcano.

When the tuffs and lava flows that make up most of a volcano have been washed
away by erosion the neck may remain as an isolated hill.

Voleanic rocks. Igneous rocks erupted a or near the earth’s surface, including
lavas, tuffs, volcanic ashes, and like m

Weathering. The group of processes, nips ie chemical action of air and rain
water and of plants and bacteria and the mechanical action of changes of tem-
perature, whereby rocks on exposure to the ft ag mea in character, decay,
and Saaity crumble into soil. (See Pl . XXVII, 09.)

ILLUSTRATIONS.

ROUTE MAP.

For the convenience of the traveler the sheets of the route pe are So folded and placed that he can
unfold them one ms one and Keep cnc one in biol while he is reading the text relating to it. A reference
p t p pind should be unf
Page,
SHEET : Seattle fo-Kyro, Wash. :..---2 5. 2.505 eis d al soe eee ie Seas eee es 20
hambers Prairie to San Rock, Werks a ieee 24
3. Pciiie. Wash., to Clackamas, Oreg. ......--.-.--------- 00-00 32
4. Clackamas to Tangent, Oreg iL ae ae aoe 36
5. Shedd to Dram, Oreg. 2... 52. Pee a a, eh wee =e 40
6. Yoncalla to West Fork, Oreg...--......----------- eee cere terete 46
7. Reuben, Oreg., to Zuleka, Cal............---------+-- eee eee ees 60
§.. Hornbrook’ to Simé; Cabo. loco ee cea ot Se eee he en eee 64
9. Gibson to Blunt, ale WRN SORE RIE ee Rg ae a etn arene eae 70
10. Red Bluff to isaac Cal. Les ER ap ae 74
11, Maxwell to Yolo, Cal... 1.20. 25.20 o< oe eee a ae ne net ree 76
12. Yolo to Port Costa, on a eee Coie is tc ee ee Oneonta oe ate 80
13. Port Costa to San Francisco, Cal....-.......----+-- +--+ +--+ ----2 3% 90
la. Los Angeles to Moorpark, Cal. ....--.----------+----+2teeer ere 102
2x; Somisto Naples, Cali .2. isso. + 52g tse eae oS eee os 110
8a, Capitan to Oceano, Cal........-------6-------- eee e eres ert tetl 114
44. Grover to Wunpost; Cal... 5... 5. .6 +22 - nose ++ sso eee eee tse 120
5a. San Ardo to Del Monte Junction, Cal..........----------------+--- 122
64. Watsonville Junction to San Mateo, Cal........------------+------- 130
PLATES.
Pirate I. = ‘cig of the country traversed by the Shasta Route and Coast
COS SN ae ean er agi wie ale a a alnee mini eae 8
II. ie ington forest... ....-..2<c20s- ence ene s cee ences tastes et 10
If. Siicusatnate Pele, cnt ees ee ee ye in ee ee eee il
IV. A, Mount Rainier, Wash., from Spanaway Lake; B, Paradise Park,
on south slope of Mo ae Veniwlee ot ce ee a es 16
V. Ocean spray (Sericotheca discolor), a common flower in Washington. . 17
VI. A, Smelt fishery on Cowlitz River near Kelso, Wash.; B, Seining
salmon on Columbia River......---------------+---ctrrtttt tte 22
VII. View up Columbia River from Columbia Highway at Chanticleer
a about 20 miles east of Portland, Oreg 23
‘VEE: ost Gorge, Columbia River near Oneonta, NUE ios agentes ae 26
IX. eer Falls, Columbia River near Latourelle, Ore cose 5 235 27
, Trunks of trees of a submerged forest, Columbia Riv er, above
cade Locks, Oreg.; B, Cigar-shaped raft of logs for ocean trave 28
p.2 Ey F io, Hood from Portland, Oreg.; B, Willamette Falls, Oregon
Won cen eet en nnn nn 29
XII. i ae Valley near Newburg, sosticweeh of Hubbard, cae se 34
XIII. Shale inclosed in diabase near Roseburg, Oreg--.---------- ae 35
XIV. Hydraulic placer mining in Grants Pass feeiint One Be eae oe 48

Figure 1.

ae
8.

4E
=

M4

. A, Table Rock,

. Pear and apple orchards in Rogue River valley, O
. A, Mount Mazama restored; B, Wizard Island, Grater — Oreg.
. Southeast rim of Crater Lake, Oreg
. Summit of the Cascade Range

. Section of bluff 2 miles north of station at Tacoma, Wash
. Section of deep cut of Northern Pacific Railway across Portland

. Section of east bluff a at encase City, Oreg

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.

Caves, southwest of Grants Pass, O

, from Wizard I

A, Sugar Loaf, near west base of Mount Shasta, Cal.; B, Moss Brae
Falls, near Shasta Springs, Cal
Mount Shasta, from Sisson, Cal

. Eruption of Lassen Peak, Cal., at 12.30 p. m. August 22, 1914.....
. New crater of Lassen — Cal., after 25 eruptions within the old

crater, August 17, 19

inks of Suisun ane Cal.; B, View along shore of San Pablo
Cal

. A, La Brea wing of the Museum of History, Science, and Art at

Los Angeles, Cal.; B, Fossil bones in asphalt deposit of Rancho
La Brea, near Los Angeles, Cal

. Summerland oil field, Cal

. Sculptured cliffs along Coast I
. Lighthouse at Point Conception, Cal
. A, Alluvial flat

r Santa Barbara, Cal.......-

and terrace of Salinas River near Bradley, Cal.; B,
Mission of San Carlos de Monterey, founded in 1770

. The Pinnacles, 12 miles northeast of Soledad, Cal

. Big trees (Sequoia sempervirens) at Santa Cruz, Cal
. Santa Clara Valley near
. A, The arches, Stanford University, Cal.; B, Furrow a mile north-

Gilroy, Cal

west of Olema, Cal., made by savenend that caused the earth-
— of April, 1906

FIGURES.

P
se of North America showing the area oe by the Pleistocene

ce sheet at its maximum extension and the main centers of

Generalized section of White River valley at Kent, Wash

Peninsula, between
mette Valley at Portland, Oreg

Generalized section of Umpqua River valley i in Coast Range, Oreg. -
Sketch of a ginkgo leaf from the Jurassic beds of Oregon

es

Section of canyon of Sacramento River just below Delta, Cal
Earthquake effects at Skinner’s ranch, near Olema, Cal
3. Map showing the oil fields of California
coe cross section from the Pacific Ocean to Rincon Moun-

as ae Palo Alto, Cal., to the summit of the Santa Cruz Range.

Page.
to Rogue pris eee Oreg.; B, Oregon

127

INDEX OF RAILROAD STATIONS.

Ager, Cal
Albany, O:
ibany J aneton 3. eee nee eee
Alcatraz, Cal

Ashland, Oreg

Atascadero, Cal
Auburn, Wash
Aurora, Oreg

Blunt, C

pedgeeeesevye seo a se

Page. Sheet.
60

oo
obhauoa > mo

-
J

—
De

13
6A

ts)

3A
6A

Cwnnraro

Page. Sheet
Central Point, Oreg 51 7
Chambers Prairie, Wash..........--. 20 2
Centralia, Wash 21 2
Chanslor, Cal 119
Chatsworth, Ca 100 1A
halis, Was 21 2
Chemawa, Ones sas cces 5040 crns ss 35 4
ico, Cal 10
Chittenden: Cal. sigc.s20c55 dawstyee 123 6A
horro, Ca 4A
Chualar, Cal 121 5A
Clackamas, Oreg......-. 2-00.22 5 4500 32 4
Conlon, Orede . «av sup 35s as eet 33 4
Coburn, Cal - 5A
Cole, Cal 58 7
, Oreg aie 58 7
Colusa Junction, Cal......------..--- 75 ll
mstock; Oreg. ..--.---2-<2+-+---5 40 5
Concepcion, Cal. ....------------++-- 110 3A
ami; Calis 5.2... o ii eeveacsee =e 67 9
Corning, er Se ae Were See eS 73 10
oromar, Cal. <....+--...32--4+- 64-4. 2A
parame bac oo At Racadesteces 39 5
Cottonwood, Cal.........------------ 70 9
pasty neve te 38 sewer 6
Coyote, Cal.......--.------------+++- 125 6A
Creswell, Oreg-....----.-----+------- 39 5
Gubeta, Calse 2522 22s 2 sere een se 116
D.
Davis, ee A ihe oes te pe Se aT 12
Del Monte as os Cilia fee 122 5A
Doeterreias: Clas eo ose ee tase’ 75 10
lta, Sea pe RS nana ee mee 65 9
Dillard, Oreg......---------+-++-+--+ 43 6
ivide, Oreg. <2 225. ..---00e-2--02-es 39 5
Dixon; Callie .o:23 5.24.5 ss-see- Fh 78 12
Doe Creek; Ore « css 42 soso seas. ss 6
Dole, Oreg. - --.------+--+-----2+-+5° 43 6
Drain, Oreg...-.--------+---+----+-- 41 5
Drake, Cal. ..2.....-------2--+-+--+- 3A
D igan, Cal.......-.-.-----+--++--- 76 il
Dunsmuir, Cal........-------------+-- 63 8
Durham, Cal.......----------------- 10
E.
Eaglet, Cal.....--------2s0--020 0005+ ee 7.
East Morrison Street, Oreg-..-------- 32
Edenvaile, Cal......------------++--- 126
Edgewood, Cal. ..---------++---+++++ 61 8
Bdna, Calo. .2. oo eke ees 114 44
Elkhorn, Cal... ..----+----+++---+°7- 122
Elmira, Cal.....-.-----<---+-*---*7-- 73 13
Elmore, Cal ....-.----------------> 65 9
Elwood, Cal.....-.-------------+->-- 109 2A
Eugene, Oreg....----------+----++77- 37 5
Evaline, Wash. ...-.---------------- 2
139

140

INDEX OF RATLROAD STATIONS.

Page.
Fairfield, Cal 78
Felida, Wash. 25
Gato, Cal
Gaviota, Cal 110
Gazelle, Cal 61
Georgetown, Wash 13
Gerber, Cal 72°
r) town, Cal 74
Gervais, Oreg 35
Gibson, Cal 64
Gilroy, Cal 124
Girvan, Cal
Glinsie, Oreg. . 47
old Hill, Oreg 50
Goldtree, Cal 116
Goleta, Cal 109
G les, C 121
sagt Cal
Goshen, O 39
Grants Pass, Oreg 49
eg 42
eRe Gabo ck. csaec te eee os 74
Te) , Cal
Gridley, Cal
Grover,
Guadalupe, Cal 113
ERBIBOYS ORO os aan hoe eee 37 »
isburg, Oreg 37
as , Cal
Hercules, Cal 81
itt, Cal
ih A Wash 20
Hillsdale, Cal
Honda, Cal 111
Hooker, Cal 71
Hope oe, * Pike ad i siege eae
FIOER ONE, COs 2s eck, 60
Hubbard, Oreg 34
> 48
ing, Oreg ee ae
Ivrea, Cal 71
Jalama, Cal
Jefferson , Oreg. .
Junction City, Oreg. 37
Kalama, Wash 24
Kelso, 2B
Kennett, Cal 66
Kent, Wash 15
Keswick, Cal 68
Ketron, Wash 19
King City, Cal 120
Mekwited, Cal ooo tae
Klamathon, 60
Witenes, Week: os co 25
Kyro, Wash. 19

Sheet

_
wrest

re) o oo oo
et a
wsASc Kr oROOKH Arr

on
bee

= | ed
omoan

ar / wo
aSrroroww ot oo

rm O&O

L. Page.
Lagol, Cal
Lakeview, Wash
Lamoine, Cal 64
tham, Oreg 39
Leesdale, Cal
Leland, Oreg 48
Lento, Ca
ona, Oreg 40
Leslie, Cal 129
coln,
Liveoak, Cal
Logandale, Cal 75
Lompoe Femntion: Cab eee lil
Los Angeles, Cal 91
rip Ca 1. 7
M.
McIntosh, Wash
McKay, Cal 119
Madrone, Cal 125
Malton, Cal 73
Marion, Oreg 36
Martins Bluff, Wash
Marysville, Cal
Mathews, Oreg 39
Maxwell, 75
Mayfield, Cal
Medford, Oreg 51
Meru Perk Cal. ee. og os 128
Merlin, Oreg 48
erritt, Cal
Metz, Cal
Middle Creek, Cal.2 oo. 22s 68
MMA OWN io joe oe ee 130
rsburg, Oreg kee
Milwaukee, Oreg 32
Miramar, 107
Montegne, Cal 60
Montalvo, Cal 104
M er eager Se canoe ay Sa 102
MOY OOhi piso ecu rl
Motion, Cal 67
«ER RAS tea ae RE dR 63
-onninagi WEOW SORE tie es ues 127
PORE eui sot eee ey
a Creek, A Pea saree an Cua 44
Ny
2 Rte eae ieee eee el
ADRV ING. Washi oe 22
GION CN ee ea es 109
Maro OAL oa, Te
Ni 1 > Baap sees ay Deine eR Ne
New Era, Oreg 33
Penis, Crees 8 oo Ne 46
mmually, Washi 000 ise 19
‘ord, Cal
Cal 75
North Puyallup, Wash.............. 15
oO.
1G, Cabs et ec ea eceed es &4
0. hie §. epee eee ee eT 41
O'Brien, Weak. oi

114

Sheet.

dpa
arNIF aoe

a
nee

Soran SkPue ober. eerkrot

_

Saat

INDEX OF RAILROAD STATIONS,

Page.
Olequa, Wash 23
Oregon City, Oreg 32
rella, Cal 109
oO land, ic 73
Ostrander, Wash 23
Oxnard, C 103
P.
TOMBTLO POM core sek olsen aoe 127
Paso Robles, Cal 118
hoenix, Oreg 56
Pinole, Cal 82
ismo, Cal 114
Pitt, Cal 66
Plumb, Wash 20
P eRe ee rs ee 79
» Oreg 30
Proberta, Cal 72
i;
Rainier, Wash
Rawson, Calin iviics. eres eee
Raymer, Cal 99
Red Bluff, Cal 7
Red MUAE Sys ein ros eee ee 70
Redwood, Cal 128
IMM Re ace ei px ca vc 3s 46
ate ry St oc eae eee 41
SPR MIRE ooo Stucke tone sess 73
PRInHINOMG, OOS csc dacstets Hales 83
ichvale, ql
Riddle, Oreg 44
sear Wash 25
Rodeo, Ca Rl
Rogue eg Oreg 50
Roseburg, Oreg 42
R MiG GRE® | tee eeu ne wes
Round tthaiai Oreg
8.
Sac: i; Cc
Sacramento, Cal
Safety, Oreg 40
Saginaw, Oreg 39
St. Clair, Wash
Salem, Oreg 35
Salinas, Cal 121
an Ardo, 120
San Bruno, Cal 130
Parr Casing Cake ooo oe) ae es 128
ik.) Bene Cente eae 86
OME ME Te Clan icecewa renee s 126
San Lucas, Cal 120
San Luis Obispo, Cal..........-..... 115
Patt Marty OO) ox waco parece res ae
at MAIOO OC Ole ose: coe ace ences 129
figuel, Cal...-.---+-------+-s+- 118
Pat Pablo: Wel. 260: cs ee es 82
Santa Barbera, Cal... .:...5:---+-+-. 108
Santa Clara, Ca) 126
ante Cre, Calico. eos. cis. sees 123
Santa Margarita, Cal...:.-.--------- 116
Banta Susana, Calo). 22... 100
Binge Cal oo ie. soe 124
pacing, Cl. 2 crise 113

Sheet.

wm bo

ee
wo

Seacliff, Cal
Seattle, Wash
Serrano, Cal
Shasta Springs, Calin
Shedd, O

Sutherlin, Oreg

Tac coma, Wash
Cal

ina, Cal
Visitacion : Cal

Wabash, Wash
Waldorf, Cal

ewer ee whew eeeecooces

West Fork, Oreg..... ee ieeeenese

Page. Sheet.
1 A
10 1
116 4A
63 8
37 5
11
102«1A
64 8
58 7
62 8
65 9
60 8
121 5A
103 «2A
10
131 13
1
2
38 5
18 1
58 7
1A
110 3A
78 12
oy --SK
61 8
15 1
127 «6A
3A
41 6
16 1
109 «3A
56 7
1 A
37 4
72 10
118 4A
20 2
102
60 8
51 7
fae
36 4
10
22 2
80 13
1
25 3
25 3
104 = 2A
10
13
2
3A
39 5
oe
13 866A
61 8
4A
46 6

142

INDEX OF RAILROAD STATIONS.

Page.
West Glendale, Cal 98
Wheatla: al
Wilbur, Oreg. 42
Willbridge, Oreg
Williams, Cal 75
Willows, 7
Willsburg, Orez
inchester, Oreg. 42
Winlock, Wash 22
Wolf Creek, Oreg. 47
Woodburn, Oreg 34
Wi Mt Coe ee eee 77

Sheet.

Page.
Woodland, Wash re 24
Wines, Cal. sys ae

Sy
Yelm, Wash 20
Yolo, Cal 76
Yoncalla, Oreg 41
Z.
Ao ep ee ie ee 76
7 0 ES Aiea pia oi ees a eae 99
Zuleka, Cal

Sheet.

4A