FOREIGN STATES AND TERRITORIES,

LOWER CALIFORNIA.*

GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES.-The peninsula of Lower California extends from the 23d to near the 32d degree of north latitude, about 775 miles in a direct line, and varies in width from about 35 miles in its narrowest part to more than twice that where it is widest. Bounded on one side by the Gulf of California and the Colorado river, and on the other by the Pacific ocean, it has a coast line greater in proportion than almost any tract of similar area in the world. Nor is this all; owing to its extremely irregular outline, this coast is almost a succession of bays, harbors, and roadsteads, furnishing convenient depots for the numerous whalers who resort here.

The general impression seems to have been that the whole peninsula was a mass of rugged mountains, dry, barren, and desolate. This is by no means the case: there are mountains, and a large part of the country is dry and desolate enough; but it has many redeeming features, and wherever water exists its fertility is astonishing. That portion lying south of La Paz is by far the roughest, has the highest and most rugged mountains, the deepest valleys, and is in all respects the most picturesque. The San Lazaro chain starts as low hills near Cape San Lucas, and running north and northeast, culminating in the peak of San Lazaro, perhaps 5,000 feet high, falls near Triunfo to not much more than 1,000 feet, and continuing northeast again, rises in the high and frowning masses of the Cacachilas, making a most imposing background to the beautiful town of La Paz, as seen from the bay. Small spurs run out from the San Lazaro chain down to the west coast, while eastward spurs and nearly parallel chains fill in the whole area to the eastern coast. Beautiful valleys nestle among these mountains. The valley of San José del Cabo runs northward, east of the high mountains, about 20 miles in length, much of it in a high state of cultivation, and with much more that could be easily rendered arable at trifling expense. Other valleys, smaller in size but similar in most respects, occur, scattered here and there, and even on the summit of the high spur known as the Sierra de la Victoria is said to be a long chain of little valleys with the richest soil, finest of grass, a superabundance of clear, sweet mountain water, and bordered by groves and forests of oaks and pines. North of this granite mass, and extending with some trifling breaks to Sta. Gertrudi's or San Borja, lies a belt of table mountains of sandstones. These almost everywhere commence on the west coast as broad plains, rising towards the northeast so gradually that, were it not for their being cut by innumerable canons which show their steadily increasing height, one might still believe himself to be but a few feet above the ocean.

The regular elevation of the tables continues to within a few miles of the gulf, where a sudden descent cuts them off with a face so precipitous that, except in a very few places, it is impossible to find a pass by which to reach the coast. Seen from the west side, the mountains look like a sea of flat tables, barren and covered with loose stones; while from the eastern face they are steep, rugged, and so serrated as to lose entirely their tabular form. On * EXPLORATION OF LOWER CALIFORNIA.-An important and interesting scientific reconnoissance of the peninsula of Lower California was made last year, under the direction of Mr. J. Ross Browne, who organized a party in San Francisco, consisting of Mr. Wm. M. Gabb, of the State Geological Survey; Dr. F. Von Lohr, of the School of Mines of Freiberg, and a corps of assistants. The results of the expedition have not yet been published. Mr. Browne and his party landed at Cape St. Lucas, from which point they proceeded by the coast trail to San José del Cabo; thence through the valley of the same name to the mining district of Triunfo, near the town of San Antonio. Here they spent several days examining the mines; after which they visited La Paz and Pichiluigue, on the Gulf of California. At La Paz they had an interview with Governor Pedrin on the subject of the proposed colonization of the Territory by Americans. The general feeling of the people on that subject seemed to be favorable; but no encouragement was given to the project by the officers of the Mexican government then in power. Judge Galvan, who has since become governor of Lower California, is not considered inimical to American occupation; and the prola bility is, he will use his influence to promote the settlement and development of the Territory, should be be permitted to remain in power, which is questionable. On returning to Triunfo, Mr. Browne and his party procured an outfit of pack-mules and saddle-animals, and crossed the peninsula to the bay of Todos Santos. From that point they made a dreary journey up the coast to the bay of Magdalena. Water is scarce along the trail, and the country presents but few attractions, having an almost uninterrupted desert of sand and rocky masses, sparsely covered with cactus and thorny shrubs. At Salado, an isolated water-hole, seven miles from Magdalena, the party encamped to recruit their animals. Several days were spent in visiting the neighboring shores of Magdalena, but no water was found nearer than Salado, and the whole country seemed to be without resources. Two whale-ships lay at anchor, from which Mr. Browne procured a boat and crew to make an exploration of the bay. Dividing his party, he started the main branch of the expe dition across to Loreto, and thence, as experience and the object of the reconnoissance might suggest, northward through the peninsula to San Diego. Having made a careful examination of the bay of Magdalena and its shores, and gathered material for an interesting report, Mr. Browne crossed the peninsula again, via San Hilario, to La Paz, where he remained a short time, revisiting Pichiluigue and the Triunfo. Returning thence to Cape St. Lucas, he crossed the gulf to Mazatlan, and from that point obtained passage in the gov ernment steamer Suawnee to San Francisco. His forthcoming official report on the mineral resources of the States and Territories West of the Rocky Mountains contains a very interesting and valuable contribution on the geology of the country, from the pen of Mr. Gabb, who, with his party, crossed the peninsula ten times, making the entire trip from Cape St. Lucas to San Diego on mule-back. As this is the first and only scientific reconnoissance ever made of the peninsula of Lower California, the account from Mr. Gabb will be found of great interest and value. (American Journal of Mining.)

this side, and adjoining the coast, are some good little valleys; south of Loreto, for perhaps 20 miles, is a tract of level land bordering the coast, and often a couple of miles wide, most of it covered with a fertile soil. Further north, at San Bruno, at San Juan, and again south of Moleje, are broad valleys forming bays in the hills, from three to ten square leagues in area, and all excellent land, only requiring water to be brought to the surface to render them valuable. On the west side, adjoining the Pacific, is a plain from near Todos Santos to the mouth of the arroyo of Purissima, about 150 to 200 miles in length, and with an average width of perhaps 10 miles, more than half of which is covered with good fertile soil, but without water. In the various cañons which cut the mesa lands, embouching on this plain, are little valleys of from a few acres to several square miles in extent, usually well watered, and some of them in a high state of cultivation. Further north, between the bays of Ballenas and San Sebastian, the plains exist again, merging into mesas on the east, but separated from the sea by a range of granite mountains parallel with the coast, known as the Sta. Clara range. Still further north, these plains continue with occasional interruptions to Rosarita, where they are cut off by the rolling mountain masses reaching the west coast. These northern plains are, however, for the most part deserts, though a portion could perhaps be reclaimed.

Near Maleje the eastern side of the range undergoes a change. The abrupt eastern face falls to some extent and retreats from the coast, the intervening space being filled with rolling hills or barren transverse ridges almost to Sta. Gertrudi's. In this space is the high volcanic mass of Las Virgines, nearly 4,000 feet high, and running westward from it to near San Ignacio is a succession of irregular peaks and ridges of volcanic origin.

By the time the traveller has gone a day's journey north of Sta. Gertrudi's he will observe a change coming in the form of the mountains. The heavy sandstone beds that formed the mesas begin to thin out, only cropping some of the higher hills, the others being peaks, ridges, and spurs of granite with the irregularity of outline which usually characterizes that rock. This transitionary state continues for the next hundred miles, to San Borja, beyond which the range on the east side splits, sending off a branch of low hills to the northwest, the main chain continuing along the east coast. This latter chain continues, high, rough, and forbidding, to Santa Maria, beyond which it extends as a low range of lava-capped granite bills of constantly diminishing altitude, until it is lost in the desert of the northeast. In the mean time, the spur which started from San Borja as a chain of partially isolated hills becomes more marked near the coast, and after passing San Andres it assumes very respectable proportions, growing larger and higher, entirely occupying half the width of the peninsula and connecting with the coast ranges of Upper California. East of this, and north of Santa Maria, the country is represented to be mostly a sandy desert, with a few fertile spots. Scattered through the western foot-hills, and along the flanks of the range bordering the Pacific, are many beautiful and fertile valleys, which will be mentioned more in detail further on.

The water-courses of the country are hardly worthy of a separate mention. Of rivers, properly speaking, there are none. The largest streams are but a few feet in width, except some few in the extreme northern portion, adjoining Upper California. In the valley of San José del Cabo is a little rivulet, fed by the springs in the granite ranges, and furnishing an abundant and steady supply of water for irrigating purposes. A smaller but equally steady stream is found at Todos Santos, and is the means of keeping up the prosperity of the place. Similar permanent streams exist at Comondo, Purissima, San Ignacio, and elsewhere, and by supplying moisture to the soil, enable these places to support a comparatively dense population. These streams invariably sink on reaching the plains, and are lost to the surface, though the water could be regained by shallow wells or carried on the surface by ditches, thereby much increasing their usefulness. This latter plan was successfully followed by the missionaries in several instances, the most valuable of which is at the deserted mission of Guadalupe, where the water of San José creek was secured above the sink and carried several miles in a ditch or canal, the dilapidated ruins of which still exist. At Rosario, San Ramon, Guadalupe, and Fia Juana are streams, one or two of which would be called rivers in Upper California; that at San Ramon and the Rio Fia Juana carrying as much water as Los Angeles river, if not more. Besides the above there are many smaller streams, flowing perennially in the cañons, along a part or the whole of the courses, which I have not deemed worthy of special mention.

Adjoining or lying a little distance from the coast are numerous islands, several of which are from 20 to 50 miles in length. In the gulf the largest is that of the Angel de la Guarda, or the Guardian Angel, said to be rich in minerals, but very rocky and desolate. Further south, below Loreto, is the long, narrow island, noted for its salt, called Carmin island. Still further south, near La Paz, are the three islands known as San Josef, Espiritu Santo, and Cerralbo. On the west coast we have, among many others, the large island of Margarita, forming one side of Magdalena bay; and lying off the coast, opposite the bay of San Sebastian, is the large island of Cerros, or Cedros, claimed to be rich in copper, and famed for its wild goats. Most of these islands are very rough and inhospitable, and entirely unsuited for either farming or grazing purposes.

As before mentioned, the whole coast line might be said to be nearly a succession of harbors. Most of these are, of course, small, shallow, partially exposed, or have some other

drawbacks, but several will compare well with any other ports on the west coast. Perhaps the finest is the bay of Magdalena. This bay, in the neighborhood of 100 miles from Cape San Lucas on the Pacific side, is about 50 miles in length and, in places, several miles wide. It communicates with the ocean by two entrances, one at each end of Margarita island, and is well protected to the seaward by the same island. Its importance as a naval station for our vessels cannot be overrated, and if our government does not secure it for this purpose, some European nation will be very apt to make an effort to obtain it so soon as its value shall become known. Should any colony of foreigners ever settle in Lower California, it will probably be placed on the plains bordering the long northern arm of the bay, where the soil is extremely fertile, and an abundance of water can be obtained from shallow wells. Nearly opposite to Magdalena bay is the harbor of La Paz, a fine bay, well protected from all winds, except the fearful hurricanes or "temporales" which blow in the months of September and October, and come from such a quarter as to blow directly up the bay. Eight or nine miles down the bay from the town is a sheltered nook, called Pichilingue, used by the United States war vessel on this station as a coaling station. Here vessels are safely protected on all sides. Half way up the west coast are two large bays-Ballenas, opening towards the southwest, and San Sebastian Viscaino, opening towards the northwest. Into the former empties the San Ignacio lagoon, and into the latter Scammon's lagoon. These lagoons are two land-locked bays, with comparatively narrow entrances, and much frequented by whalers. They are said to have many shoals, though the channels are sufficiently deep for large vessels. It would be useless, in the present connection, to mention in detail the numberless other ports on the two coasts. Suffice it to say that there are many used by the regular coasting trade, such as the Puerto Escondido, the harbors of Loreto, Moeje, Sta. Maria, Sta. Domingo, and many others.

There is still another item perhaps worthy of notice under this head. Several railroad routes across northern Mexico have been canvassed. Most of these have been spoken of as having their western terminus from Mazatlan northward. Should such an enterprise ever be carried to a successful termination, a short cut across the peninsula would be of value to shorten the distance around the cape. Several possible routes exist, all of which, with one exception, would be required to pass through Purissima or San Ignacio. From the port of San Bruno, or the neighboring one of San Juan, it is claimed that there is a low pass to the head of the Purissima arroyo. I did not visit this; but if a road could be led into the head of the Purissima arroyo it could then reach the west coast at, say the port of San Juanico, without further engineering difficulties. From the port of Santa Inez or San Marcos, above Moleje, an easy route exists up the arroyo of Sta. Aguida to the base of the main chain. Here a mountain, about 600 feet above the valley, has to be surmounted or tunnelled to reach the arroyo of San Ignacio. Another way to reach San Ignacio is perhaps easier, however. From the port of Sta. Maria, north of the volcano of the Virgins, there is no obstruction, following the arroyo of Sta. Maria untii we reach the pass of the Inferno. Here a tunnel of about a mile in length would carry the road to the mesa above San Ignacio, having a gentle grade to the San Ignacio lagoon. The easiest route, however, is from the port of San Luis by way of the arroyo of Calaumjuit, past the old mission of that name, to the mesa of Sta. Ana, along this mesa to the valley of San Andres, and down this valley and the arroyo of San Andres to the coast. Along the whole line there will be no tunnelling required; nature has already made the deep cuts, and there is not a stream to cross. An almost continuous plain extends from coast to coast, without a greater rise anywhere than 30 feet.

GEOLOGY.-The three geographical divisions into which I have separated the peninsula are dependent for their peculiar features on their geological structure. The rough mountains of the south are almost wholly granitic, the table lands of the middle are made up of nearly horizontal sandstones and volcanic rocks, while the more northern portions combine the ragged and irregularly-disposed ridges of the south with occasional flat-topped mountains, capped by rocks of sedimentary or eruptive origin.

All of the higher ridges of the southern extremity of the Territory are made up of granites and sienites, and formed, during the deposition of the heavy bedded mesa sandstones, an island of considerable height and very irregular outline. The structure of these mountains is so simple that a further description is unnecessary. It is not until within half a mile south of the mining town of San Antonio that any change in the geology occurs. Here mica slate is encountered for the first time, and forms a belt several miles wide, and running from Todos Santos, on the southwest, past San Antonio and Triunfo, northeast. It probably extends into the Cacachilas range, and forms there, as at the other mining districts, the country rock of the metalliferous veins. Beyond the mica slate again, on the road between Triunfo and La Paz, granite is encountered, making the face of the range and extending to near the latter town.

In all of the valleys scattered through these mountains, and in some of the lone hills on the east side of the peninsula, are sedimentary formations of a comparatively late geological age. At Santiago I was informed that three miles northeast of that place is a locality where large fossil oysters occur in great abundance, and that they are collected and burnt for lime. I had no opportunity of visiting the locality, a circumstance which I have regretted ever since. A short distance further northeast, near the coast, ut a rancho called Los Martyres, is a high hill of sandstones, without fossils, dipping to the westward at an angle of about

150. From its general appearance it is, in all probability, of the same age as the sandstones which make up the mesas above La Paz. In none of these sandstones have I ever succeeded in finding fossils by which to obtain a clue to their geological age. They probably, however, belong to the same group as the Miocene sandstones of Upper California. They have in many respects the same lithological characters, and bear the same relations to the granites that those rocks hold where we have had an opportunity of proving their age. Besides this very doubtful testimony, there is still another item of evidence which, in the absence of any better, should have some weight. Mr. John Xantus, an able collector, sent from Cape San Lucas to the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, a few fossil oysters, which, if my memory does not deceive me, belong to a species very characteristic of the Upper Californian Miocene-0. titan, Conrad. Should I be correct, this is important, though half a dozen years is a long interval, particularly if one had never devoted any especial attention to the specimens remembered.

With so little evidence of their age, therefore, I have hesitated about pronouncing a decided opinion, preferring to leave it an open question, trusting that some future explorer will be more lucky than myself, and discover fossils from which these rocks can be assigned to their proper place in the geological scale. In consequence of the difficulty I have adopted the provisional name of mesa sandstone in speaking of the formation.

In addition to this sandstone, which will probably be found to have a considerable development along the gulf side below La Paz, there is an extensive deposit of horizontal gravels filling or bordering all of the valleys, sometimes making, in part or in whole, the division between them, and lying unconformably on the upturned sandstones, as at the Martyres. This gravel formation is evidently the most modern deposit in the country, perhaps newer than the recognized post pliocene beds, which will be described further on It is usually made up of debris of the underlying granite, but in some places contains boulders of a porphyry closely resembling some which we encountered several hundred miles further north, overlying post pliocene strata. This porphyry is most abundant in the vicinity of the Martyres, and from there northward. In a few places the gravel is replaced by a fine grairia sandstone, and is occasionally, though rarely, disturbed, as at the Cuevas, where it tilted three or four degrees. Almost everywhere this formation takes on the form of level terraces, though often very much cut up by dry gulleys. At Sta. Anita and at Santiago, where they are best developed, these terraces are about 60 feet high and well defined. They also exist at Todos Santos, and northward along the coast for many miles. At Todos Santos the main terrace is about 60 feet in height, but there is also another in the arroyo of about half the height. The latter is limited in extent and seems to be very local. Going northward the elevation diminishes until at last the tabular character is entirely lost. On the northern border of the mountains, approaching La Paz from the south, are encountered for the first time volcanic rocks in place. These form hills of from 500 to 700 feet high, of volcanic ash overlaid by beds of compact porphyries and trachytes. The rocks are pretty regularly stratified and mostly dip to the west and northwest, though northeast of La Paz the disturbance is general, and the dip in every direction. The ash is to some extent quarried for building purposes, and the new church or cathedral now in process of construction is being built of

this material.

After leaving the granitic ranges south of La Paz the whole appearance of the country changes, and with it the geological structure. The granite itself has disappeared, only to show itself as one or two insignificant outliers, and in its place come enormous deposits of sandstones forming flat-topped mountains, ragged and precipitous along the east coast, but sloping off so gradually towards the Pacific as to merge insensibly into the broad low plains of the west. Pretty regularly bordering the west coast and occurring occasionally along the gulf are deposits of post pliocene age, in places filled with and almost made up of the casts or shells of mollusca, still living in the adjoining waters. Penetrating both these formations, and often capping one or the other or both indiscriminately, are deposits of volcanic origin. These volcanic rocks usually occur as dikes or broad superficial sheets which have been spread over the top of the mesa subsequent to the deposition of the post pliocene, and are by no means uniform either in thickness or in the manner of their distribution. Very few volcanic cones exist. Almost the only ones are the volcano of the Virgines, north of Moleje, and a series of cones and ridges extending westward to near San Ignacio. Elsewhere the eruptions appear to have taken place in the form of long fissures, forming dikes, which, having spread their surplus over the surrounding plains, have closed, never again to reopen. In this manner immense areas have been covered with caps of eruptive rocks often 100 feet thick, the source of which is now entirely hidden, an occasional hint only existing in the denuded section of some bluff where the dike has been cut through by the agency of running water.

The post pliocene rocks usually lie on the lower margins of the mesa in such a manner as to show that they were deposited during the period of elevation of this portion of the peninsula. The older mesa sandstones are usually so little disturbed that the two formations seeni conformable, though sufficient evidence exists to prove that the elevating force had been acting for a long time before the oldest beds of the newer formation were deposited. This later series consists of fine grained argillaceous sandstones and shales, some coarser light gray sandstone, and lastly a thin bed, highly fossiliferous, as are also some of the earlier

strata, but the latter highly calcareous. Where the series remains unbroken, this last stratum is always the highest, and it is nearly made up of the casts of living species of shells, Ostrea Cummingii being almost the only one retaining its structure. At Purissima, on the west slope, the mesa sandstones have been folded in a series of long and graceful undulations, the tops denuded to a nearly straight line, and the post pliocene lies unconformably capping the surface. On the opposite side of the mountains bordering the gulf there are still more marked instances of unconformability, which will be described in their proper place.

The mesa sandstones are easily distinguished from the overlying rocks by their coarser grain, greater compactness, and above all by their being highly metamorphosed along the greater part of their eastern margins. Another marked feature is the presence of large quantities of boulders and pebbles of volcanic rocks imbedded in them, sometimes to such an extent as to form even a preponderance of the bulk of some strata. These boulders are uniformly small and very much rounded near the west coast wherever the rock is encountered, and increase in size towards the vicinity of Loreto, or rather towards that part of the coast a little below Loreto, in such a manner as to point unmistakably to this region for their origin. Not only does the size increase, but in the same ratio is the increase in number and the decrease in the amount of attrition to which they have been subjected. The lithological characters vary markedly from those of any eruptive rocks encountered in place on the peninsula; no similar rocks have been discovered between the mesa sandstones and the underlying granite, and the only reasonable conclusion which can be arrived at is that they must have been derived from a body of land which formerly lay in that region now occupied by the gulf, and somewhere in the vicinity of, or a little south of, Carmin island.

Another striking feature of this region is the peculiar manner of the elevation of the mesa. It has not been lifted by an evenly distributed force; not, like most mountain chains, by a folding along a given axis. The eastern side seems to have felt this force almost alone, the elevation of that portion lying to the west seeming to be due almost as much to the rigidity of the rocks as to the extension westward of the uptilting power. More properly speaking, the great force was exerted very nearly parallel with what is now the coast line of the gulf, and from there towards the Pacific this agency diminished so gradually as to produce no breaks or even foldings worthy of mention. We thus have the whole width of this portion of the peninsula tilted up by its edge from coast to coast, so that travelling eastward one can hardly realize the rise until, within 15 or 20 miles of the east coast, he finds himself on the verge of a precipitous descent of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet in height. This eastern escarpment extends from near La Paz to near Moleje, with but few interruptions, and exhibits nearly everywhere the projecting edges of nearly horizontal beds of sandstone, sometimes unaltered, but usually metamorphosed. During the imperfect examinations which our limited time permitted us to make I was unable to determine whether this sudden cutting off of the otherwise undisturbed beds was due to a gigantic fault, or whether the eastern slope of an anticlinal axis had been carried away by denuding agencies. From what little we saw, strong arguments could be deduced in support of either hypothesis, but I prefer leaving the question an open one, content with having called the attention of future students to its solution. It is certain, however, that a well-marked axis, if not several, exists further north; and even at the Sauce, near Loreto, the presence of a mass of granite at the base of the Sierra Gigantea, evidently exposed by denudation, seems to point to this agency as the means of solving the difficulty.

On the west side the post pliocene strata form a strip extending from below Magdalena bay to near San Telmo, with but very few interruptions. The eastern margin of this belt is pretty clearly defined by the elevation of the mesa, rarely reaching but a few hundred feet above the level of the sea. It extends to the coast except along that portion lying between the bays of Ballenas and San Sebastian, where the granite range of Sta. Clara cuts it off. On the east side, near Loreto, it occurs as hills several hundred feet in height, uptilted at an angle, as high in parts as 55°, and dipping to the northeast. This disturbance appears to be due in a very great measure to the intrusion of a large mass of volcanic rocks, which separate the more modern formation from the mesa sandstones. The belt continues with slight interruptions to near the Sauce, where the post pliocene sandstones, very full of fossils, lie horizontally, abutting against the face of uptilted mesa sandstones, which are here highly metamorphic.

Proceeding westward a mile or two, the older sandstones become horizontal, assuming this position by a gentle curve, their edges abutting against a mass of granite. Still further west, this granite mass is seen to underlie the undisturbed horizontal beds of the same sandstones, which make the great mass of the mountain. Dykes of trachytes and porphyries cut alike the granite and sandstone, and in a beautifully exposed section on the face of the Gigantes, can be seen running entirely to the surface of the mountain, over whose flat top they have spread a rocky mantle, which extends almost to the plains of the Pacific.

Space forbids me to describe in detail all of the minuter features of the geology of the country. Suffice it here to say that except the retreating of the summit from the coast above Moleje, and the presence of the belt of volcanic cones from San Ignacio to the volcano of Las Virgines, there are no matters of special interest, until we reach Sta. Gertrudis, over 70 miles above San Ignacio, and just west of the summit of the range. Here a mass of granite appears in the bottom of an arroyo, very similar in character to that at the Sauce.