Fresno County CA Archives History - Books .....Geographical 1892
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Book Title: Memorial And Biographical History Of The Counties Of Fresno, Tulare, And Kern, California

GEOGRAPHICAL.

  We will first consider the San Joaquin valley as extending from the Cosumnes
river 260 miles south to the Tehachapi mountains, and with an average width as
previously stated, this constitutes about three-fifths of the area of the whole
basin. This southern half of the great plain is subdivided into the San Joaquin
and Tulare valleys, although the latter is practically a continuation of the
former. It is proper here to define our understanding as to what constitutes a
valley, and thus establish as well as define our position as to the great
interior basin being one valley. It will certainly be conceded that a valley is
a comparatively level body of land surrounded, or bounded, by higher lands,
hills or mountain ranges. Assuming that this is admitted, we will state further
that there is no perceptible elevation marking the line between the Sacramento
and San Joaquin valleys; neither is there an elevation to mark the divide so as
to establish the Tulare valley claim. The subdivisions admitted are marked and
defined by the Sacramento river in the north-central portion of the valley; and
the same will apply to the San Joaquin river where the Southern Pacific Railroad
crosses that stream near the Fresno and Tulare county line; and the Kern valley
claim may likewise be defined by the Kern River, which crosses the plains near
Bakersfield en route to Kern lake.

  Having briefly defined our position we will resume our valley rambles, and
proceed by saying that this great valley is situated between two parallel
mountain chains extending in a northwesterly and southeasterly direction,
through a great part of the State-the Sierra Nevada, on the east, attaining
their highest point in Tulare County, in the lofty peak of Mount Whitney, rising
to an altitude of 15,056 feet above sea level, from which the summit line slopes
gradually both to the north and south, and the Coast Range, on the west side,
having an average height of less than 2,000 feet.

  The valley consists of two plains of unequal width extending from the
foothills of the mountains, and meeting in a trough, not midway, but
considerably west of the center line of the great depression. This trough,
extending from one end of the valley to the other, has a general inclination in
a northwesterly direction toward the outlet for all drainage waters of this
great basin, Suisun bay. Its slope is not uniform, but flattens out at intervals
where lakes and marshes exist, as the streams flowing in on either side have
banked up the silt and detritus washed from the mountains at special points for
ages past. In this manner Kern river, sweeping down enormous volumes of
decomposed granite, has spread out a broad barrier across the valley, including
a basin above it for the reception of the waters forming Kern and Buena Vista
lakes, at the southern extremity of the trough; and King's river, carrying its
load of sand and silt to the lowest part of the valley, has raised a dam across
the depression, and completed the shallow basin where now exists Tulare lake,
one of the largest sheets of fresh water in California. The general conformation
of the valley favors the opinion that this trough once held the bed of a
continuous stream from Kern river, extending the entire length of the valley and
receiving the tributaries flowing in on either side. As it now is, the
depression serves as the drainage way for all the valley, however impeded may be
its course.

  From Kern and Buena Vista lakes, which occupy the same level in the lowest
depression of the southern end, and are at an elevation of about 293 feet above
low tide, it slopes at the rate of about two feet per mile for forty-two miles
to Tulare lake, whose elevation is 198 to 210 feet, according to the stage of
its waters. Thence to the mouth of Fresno slough at the great bend of the San
Joaquin, fifty-five miles from the lake, the slope is eighty-six hundredths of a
foot per mile. The total fall from this point to the mouth of the San Joaquin
river, a distance of 120 miles, is 165 feet.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Memorial and Biographical History
OF THE COUNTIES OF
Fresno, Tulare, and Kern, California

Illustrated
Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the
Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of
its Prospective Future: with Profuse Illustrations of its Beautiful Scenery,
Full-page Portraits of Some of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of
Many of its Pioneers, and also of Prominent Citizens of to-day.

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants." -Macaulay.

CHICAGO:
The Lewis Publishing Company.
Undated, but OCLC lists a publication date of 1892


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