Sacramento; pop., 44,696. The principal cities are San Francisco, 416,912; Los Angeles, 319,198; Oakland, 150,174. The State is bounded on the north by Oregon, on the east by Nevada and a small portion of Arizona, on the south by Lower California (Mexico), and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It stretches along the coast from lat. 32° 40′ N. to lat. 42°-a distance, measured along the centre of the State, of 750 miles-and its eastern boundary conforms to the curve of the seacoast, so that its breadth is approximately the same throughout, averaging about 200 miles. The meridian of 120° W. long. marks the eastern boundary of the northern third of the State and bisects the eastward-trending southern part, dividing the whole into two nearly equal parts. The total land area is 155,652 square miles. The population of the State is 2,377,549, according to the census of 1910.

Topography. The physiography of this immense State is strikingly varied, but, broadly stated, consists of two parallel mountain systems, extending northwest and southeast, inclosing between them a very extensive valley, in addition to which is included in the east a part of the Great Basin. Of the two mountain systems the longer is that known collectively as the Coast Range, being a part of the uplift extending from the extremity of Lower California to the edge of Oregon and reappearing in the Olympic Range of Washington, the islands of British Columbia and southern Alaska. Within the limits of California, beginning at the south, it is made up of the San Jacinto, Santa Ana, San Bernardino, and San Gabriel ranges, then of the San Rafael and Santa Lucia mountains along the lofty coast between Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. East of these ranges is a second lesser range, called by the Mexican settlers Sierra Madre, which becomes more prominent northward and extends thence to the border of Oregon, where the watershed bends eastward and forms the very lofty Shasta and Salmon River ranges; but Shasta belongs orographically to the Cascade system of Oregon. Notable altitudes in this system are as follows: San Bernardino Mountain, 10,630 feet; San Jacinto Peak, 10,805 feet; San Gabriel Peak, 6152 feet; Tehachapi Mountain, 9214 feet; Pinos Mountain, 9214 feet; Monte Diablo, 3849 feet; Thunder Mountain, 9121 feet; Eddy Mountain, 9151 feet; Mount Scott, 7850 feet. The altitude of Mount Shasta, a volcanic mass in Siskiyou County, in the extreme northern part of the State, is 14,380 feet.

East of the coast ranges, and parallel with them, lies the Sierra Nevada ('Snowy Range'), at a distance of 100 to 140 miles, stretching from the 36th parallel northwestward nearly to the 41st, where it ends at the valley of Pitt River, which separates it from the Shasta Range. This system consists of a massive uplift of sedimentary and igneous rocks, which have been worn into an area of clustered peaks, averaging 50 miles wide and over 400 miles long. The eastern side is abrupt and rises from the plateau of Nevada, but the western slope, receiving nearly all the rainfall and deliver ing all the drainage, has been worn into a series of tremendous cañons, of which those of the Merced (Yosemite), Kings, Tuolumne, and American rivers are far-famed. The Sierra Nevada is characterized by its ruggedness and by the great average altitude of its central mass. The principal peaks and their measurements are as follows, beginning with the highest mountain

in the United States proper: Mount Whitney, 14,502 feet; Fisherman Peak, 14,448 feet; Mount Corcoran, 14,093 feet; Kaweah Peak, 13,752 feet; Mount Brewer, 13,886 feet; Mount Lyell, 13,090 feet; Merced Peak, 11,722 feet; Gray Peak, 11,518 feet; Dunderberg Peak, 12,320 feet; Twin Peak, 8924 feet; Mount Matterhorn, 12,260 feet; Tower Peak, 11,704 feet; Leavitt Peak, 11,575 feet; Sonora Peak, 11,429 feet; Stanislaus Peak, 11,202 feet; Pyramid Peak, 10,020 feet. In the northeastern corner of the State there runs straight northward along the Nevada boundary a line of elevations of igneous origin, called the Warner Range. West of this line of peaks a plateau formed by a lava overflow and averaging 5000 feet above the sea, stretches to the Shasta and Siskiyou mountains and northward into the Klamath region of Oregon.

Between these two mountain systems, the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada, lies the great valley of California, broadly open for some 400 miles from where the Kern River Mountains connect the Sierra Nevada with the Coast Range at Tehachapi, to where Shasta closes it in the far north. This valley is divisible into three parts. The first is the basin of the Sacramento River, north of San Francisco Bay, into which the river empties. This stream is considered by some to begin as the Pitt River, which flows out of Goose Lake, in the northern part of the State, forces its way through the gorges that separate the Sierra Nevada from the Shasta Range, and turns southward into the Sacramento River. It is fed by many streams from the mountains on each side, of which the Indian, Feather, and American are largest, and in its lower course traverses a flood plain which is marshy in places annually overflowed. South of where the river turns into the sea and expands into Suisun and San Pablo bays, the valley is occupied by another large river, the San Joaquin, which gathers its waters in the heights of Fresno County. It is also swelled by the Merced, the La Grange, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Consumnes, and lesser streams, which periodically pour their floods down the valley. South of the head of the San Joaquin valley, and separated from it at Fresno by a low divide, begins a dry and fairly level plain, about 100 miles long by 80 broad, the western part of which is a low, alkaline desert, surrounding Tulare Lake-an expanse of marsh-girt waters, 25 miles broad. Into this basin pours Kings River, and towards it flow many other mountain streams, which mostly disappear in the sand. In the southern part of this valley plain the Kern River flows southwestward through a region some 500 feet above sea level and empties into Buena Vista Lake. South and east of the mountains the country becomes a hot and waterless waste, named Mohave and Colorado deserts, sloping gradually to the Río Colorado and the Gulf of California. In the northern half this waste is broken by ranges and groups of arid, volcanic hills, among which lie deep salt-covered valleys, the most forbidding of which is Death Valley (q.v.), a depression near the Nevada boundary and just north of the 36th parallel. The valley is from 200 to 350 feet below sea level. On the seaward side of the Sierra Madre, however, is an extensive region, narrowing northward to Santa Barbara, comprising the most populous part of southern California-the districts about San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, and Santa Barbara. Coast districts

are repeated northward in Monterey and Santa Clara counties, and north of San Francisco Bay, in Sonoma and Mendocino counties, west of the Coast Range. Some important rivers descend to the sea in these coastal regions, such as Russian River, in Sonoma County; Eel River, in Mendocino and Humboldt counties; and Trinity River, in Trinity County, most of which have a northwest course. Flowing irregularly southwest across the northwest corner of the State is the Klamath River, which drains the Siskiyou, Salmon, and other coast ranges of that region.

The coast south of Santa Barbara is a plain, stretches of which are sandy. It has several large islands in the offing. But north of Santa Barbara it is high and rocky, bold cliffs facing the sea, almost unbroken by harbors, other than that of the Bay of San Francisco, entered through the rift in the coast, cut by the joint outflowing of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and called the Golden Gate.

Climate. No State of the United States-indeed, few of the most favored countries of the world-can boast of so delightful a climate as that of the valley lands of California. Low wind velocities and high percentage of sunshine are striking features. Two seasons, the wet and the dry, divide the year-the first, so called because it is the only period during which it rains, though rains are not continuous, and the average fall for the State, 23 inches, is less than at Chicago or St. Louis. Within the State relief causes a wide range in the amount of rainfall in different sections. It amounts to more than 75 inches annually on the windward slopes of the Sierras. Precipitation is light in the Great Valley and east of the Sierra Nevadas, often not exceeding 3 inches a year. The wet season lasts from about the middle of November till April or May.

At San Francisco snow is almost unknown, the mercury never remains below the freezing point for 24 hours, and flowers bloom in the gardens at Christmas time. The average mean temperature at San Francisco is 51°-summer, 60°; winter, 49°. The California coast is subject to trade winds from the southwest. Its climate is therefore mild and temperate and recalls Mediterranean conditions far better than the Gulf of Mexico, which is tropical and to which the name of the American Mediterranean is inaccurately applied. Owing to the cool summer climate of the coast between parallels 35 and 40, San Francisco in July is cooler than San Diego by 7°, and than New York by 17°. Its highest temperature is felt only when the trade winds cease in September.

In the inland valleys greater extremes of temperature are experienced than along the coast. The mean temperature for this belt is 64°. It varies little. In the north the summer is warmer and the winter cooler than in the south. The rainfall decreases gradually from north to south, being 51 inches at Cape Mendocino and 46.6 inches at Redding, in the interior, on the same parallel as Cape Mendocino, 23 inches at San Francisco and 7 inches at Bakersfield. In general the northern coast mountains receive an abundant supply of rainfall. These regions are therefore well forested, and lumbering is carried on extensively. In southern California the climate almost reaches perfection. At San Diego the mean winter temperature is 54°, summer, 68°, and at Santa Barbara, 53° and 68° respectively. At Mon

terey the difference between the average temperature of January and July is 6°; at Los Angeles, 12°. San Diego is 6° or 7° cooler than Charleston and Vicksburg, which are nearly in the same latitude. The great heat of the interior and of the southwest, where, as at Fort Yuma, the average summer temperature is 92°, is due to the dryness, which is easily borne, and sunstrokes never occur. The rainfall over a large area in the southern desert of the State is less than 5 inches annually. Cyclonic storms occur at the approach of winter in California. Everywhere the nights are cool. Early spring, comprising the latter part of February through April, is the most delightful part of the year. The air is mild, the sky clear, and the landscape gay with flowers. Summers are dry even along the coast from 6 to 10 miles inland, where fogs are likely to occur. During the summer the earth becomes dried to a depth of several inches; the air is filled with dust, and the smaller streams disappear a state of things that lasts until the autumn rains begin. Among prominent winter resorts are San Diego, noted for its fine harbor, on one side of which is the famous Coronado Beach; Santa Barbara, overlooking the Pacific, a favorite watering place; Santa Monica, noted for surf bathing throughout the year; Santa Cruz, with a fine beach and background of mountains; Monterey, on beautiful Monterey Bay, associated with the earlier history of the province under Spanish rule; Indio, over 100 feet below sea level, remarkable for cures effected by its air in pulmonary diseases; Los Angeles and adjoining places, including Pasadena, in a section that has been termed "the Italy" of the United States-a paradise of rose gardens, vineyards, and lemon and orange groves. Among other well-known resorts are the Arrowhead Hot Springs, Paso Roble, and Napa Soda Springs.

Climate, in California as elsewhere, is the most important factor in agricultural industries. Irrigation has to be resorted to in some sections because of light precipitation on the lowlands, except in the case of grain crops, deciduous fruits, and grapes. The irrigated farms are generally small. Dry weather in summer enables the grain crop to be harvested without loss. The absence of severe storms to damage the crop after it has been cut is an advantage. The citrus-fruit industry, which is valued at over $20,000,000 annually, is restricted to areas having very mild winter temperatures. Oranges are grown as far north as Butte County. Several industries are due to the high temperatures on the Colorado Desert in southeastern California. A splendid farming country occupies the reclaimed areas of the Imperial valley. Long-staple cotton is grown here with success. Date culture has been taken up at Indio and Mecca.

Flora. As California presents almost every variation of temperate climate, it naturally presents a very wide variation in its flora. The influence of climate upon flora is nowhere more strongly marked than in this State. The tree flora of California, as of the entire western part of the country, consists largely of coniferæ, while broad-leafed trees are less abundant and consist of oaks, sycamores, California laurel, madroña, and a few other species. Over 20,000,000 acres of forest land are available for the lumber industry. The trees of all species are of great size. For illustration, see SEQUOIA.