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

THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY

of the great interior valley of California has been a matter of much discussion,
and it would scarcely be expected that the writer could cast any additional
light on this region. There is abundant evidence in support of the well grounded
theory that at one time the entire valley from Shasta to Tehachapi was a vast
lake or inland sea, and that by a great convulsion of nature the mountain
barrier through which passes the Golden Gate was riven asunder and the lake
drained. Indian tradition, though unreliable, ascribes this origin to the
valley, and there are abundant indications that such is the case. The fact that
marine shells and the remains of sharks, whales, etc., found high up on the
summits of the Coast Range and in places well up the sides of the Sierra, is
indisputable evidence of the former presence of a great inland sea, or perhaps
the evidence more conclusively shows that the Sierra was once the eastern shore
of the Pacific ocean. Along the foot-hills of the eastern side of the valley may
be seen terraces and deposits of sand and gravel in which are yet traceable the
action of mighty waves in long ages past. Further south in that remarkable
region, the Colorado desert, the same phenomena are found. Away up on the
mountain sides are the unmistakable lines showing that at some time this was an
ocean beach, while whale bones, coral, shells and other indications of marine
life are abundant. The Indian tribes of that region even have a tradition of a
time when the desert waste was covered with water and the people inhabited only
the highest peaks. They also tell of a period when all the people of the world
were drowned except a single couple, who took refuge on the topmost summit of
the loftiest mountain peak, and from whom all the nations of the earth have
since been populated. In no part of the world can the geologist find a better or
more interesting field for investigation than here. Unsolved problems and
mysteries confront him on every hand, requiring a lifetime of study and
investigation.

  The islands off the Southern coast are another feature of great interest which
have received scant attention. Catalina, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, San
Nicolas and Anacapa are all easily accessible from the mainland and on all the
archaeologist, the botanist and the geologist can find abundant data for
investigation. The remains of mastodons, the relics of long perished thousands
of human beings, the peculiar vegetable growths, the strange rock formations and
more than a thousand other points of interest are to be found on every hand.
Other features of far less interest and intrinsic value have been written of and
given a world-wide notoriety, but there is no part of California that warrants
closer study and investigation than this.


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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