in California, and is situated on the State lines of Oregon and California, about one-third in Oregon and two-thirds in California, in Siskiyou county, and about seventeen miles from the extreme northeast corner of the State. It is thirty-three miles in length by nine in breadth, and is surrounded by a richly timbered and agricultural country, but almost wholly uninhabited. RHETT LAKE.-This lake is also in Siskiyou county, about eight miles east of Goose lake, and close to the Oregon State line. Its greatest length is about fourteen miles, and its width about eleven. WRIGHT LAKE-Also in Siskiyou county, is six miles directly east of Rhett lake, and four miles from the Oregon State line. It is ten miles in length by five in width. ALKALI LAKES.-Three lakes, bearing each the name. of Alkali, are situated in the eastern limit of Siskiyou county, and east of the Sierras, running more than three-fourths of the width of the county, in a northerly and southerly direction, close to the State line between California and Nevada. They are in one of the richest agricultural valleys in the State. Innumerable streams running from the north and west empty into them; and, although these streams are of crystal purity, the water of the lakes is so alkaline that no living thing is found in them. Surprise valley, in which they are situated, contains some excellent agricultural land. The streams and lakes at certain seasons swarm with wild fowls, geese, ducks, and crane. The most northerly of these lakes is fifteen miles south of the northern boundary of the State; its length is fifteen miles, and its width eight. The centre one is about three miles south of the northern one, and is sixteen miles in length and seven in width. The one farthest south is connected with the centre one by a strip of water of three miles in length. The lake is nine miles long and nine broad; a portion of it is in the northeast corner of Lassen county. LOWER KLAMATH LAKE.-This lake is directly on the boundary line between California and Oregon-half in each State; and is high in the Sierras amidst rugged hills and the desolate table-lands of Siskiyou county. Its extent is fifteen miles in length by six in width, and is connected by a stream of five miles in length with Upper Klamath lake, lying directly north and in the State of Oregon, and with Rhett lake, in Siskiyou county, by a stream of nine miles in length. LAKE TAHOE.-Fourth in size is this queen of the Sierras, whose frowning granite walls upon the one side and rich foliage upon the other have been the theme of romantic poets, enthusiastic tourists, and sighing lovers. It is situated high in the Sierras, one-half being upon each side of the boundary line between the States of California and Nevada, and partly in the counties of Placer and El Dorado. It is twenty-one miles in length by twelve in width, and 6,220 feet above the level of the sea, nestled up among the tall pines, firs, and oaks, and overtopped by the towering pinnacles and snow-capped crowns of the Sierras, which reflect their lengthened shadows upon its placid bosom, as the setting sun gilds in golden hues the rich, wild, but picturesque and beautiful scenery around. The wild and leaping surge and deafening roar of the Niagara may impress the beholder with the terrible power of Omnipotence; but to fill the soul with that sweet inspiration which calmly draws us into communion with the harmony of nature, the sublimity of perfection, and a contemplation of a better land, we must stand upon the silvery shores of Lake Tahoe, while, amidst a stillness sublime and awful, the rays of the morning sun like ribbons of gold dart through the chasms of the frowning mountains and through the dense forest, streaking with amber and golden sheen the placid blue waters, through whose transparent depths the landscape is mirrored below; or, at the close of day, beneath the deep shadow of the stern Sierras, watch the mountain monarch as he comes from his forest glen to bathe his parched lips in this grand aerial urn-God's fountain in the wilderness, to beautify His footstool and invigorate His creatures. But Lake Tahoe is not always dreamy, calm, and placid: her fair smiles are often converted into frowns terribly threatening and uneasy. When the stormcloud breaks over the Sierras, and the snow-flakes fly fast before the thickening gale, she dashes her angry foam in seething, fitful wrath upon the beetling rocks and green sward on the shores, striking with terror the unfortunate navigator, who, with his frail craft, is often submerged beneath its whelming waters. The colors and transparency of this beautiful sheet of water are some of its principal attractions. The shore of the lake is a hard, grayish sand. The water, which is a pea-green, gradually deepens, leaving the bottom of the lake at eighty feet clearly visible; at about half a mile from shore, the color changes to a deeper green, but from first tinged with blue; about one mile from shore, and where the shade is a very deep green, it suddenly changes to an almost indigo-blue: the lines |