Monterey County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter I Physical Features 1893
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Book Title: Memorial And Biographical History Of The Coast Counties Of Central California.



MONTEREY COUNTY

CHAPTER I.

PHYSICAL FEATURES-LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY, MINERALOGY, ETC.

THIS county, which derives its name from the city and bay of Monterey, is
situated in the central part of California, fronting on the Pacific ocean, and
is between 35° 45' and 37° north latitude; and a meridian line 121° 80' west
from Greenwich would bisect the county into two nearly equal portions. It is
bounded on the north by the bay of Monterey and Santa Cruz county, on the
northeast and east by San Benito, Fresno and Tulare counties, on the south by
San Luis Obispo county and the Pacific ocean, and on the west by the Pacific ocean.

  The salient topographical features of this county are its sea-coast lines: the
Monte Diablo and Gabilan range of mountains on its eastern border; the extensive
valley of the Salinas river, which debouches into the bay of Monterey; and the
Santa Lucia range on the west. These mountain ranges traverse the county nearly
its whole length, running parallel with the sea-shore.

  Monterey county has an area of about 3,600 square miles, or something over
2,300,000 acres. It is four times as large as the State of Rhode Island and
twice as large as Delaware, and one-fourth larger than both those two States
combined, which have a population of over half a million people. But its
products are more varied than are the products of either of those States;
everything which they can grow, and many more, some of which are vastly more
profitable, can be grown on the wonderfully fertile soil, and in the equable,
genial climate of Monterey county.

  Although the harbor of Monterey is not land-locked, like those of San
Francisco and San Diego, yet, as it opens only toward the northwest, from which
direction storms never come, it is safe for shipping at nearly all seasons of
the year.

  The Salinas river, the only considerable stream in the county, has its source
in the Santa Lucia mountains, in San Luis Obispo county, and, after entering
Monterey county, near San Miguel Mission, runs in a northwesterly direction
about 120 miles, through the broad, fertile valley of the same name, emptying
into Monterey bay, near the northern boundary of the county. Its width near the
mouth is about 450 feet.

  Like many California streams, the Salinas sinks in its sandy, gravelly bottom
in summer; in other words, it to a great extent runs under ground, except during
the time of winter floods, when it carries a large volume of water from the
extensive system of watersheds which it drains. Its principal tributaries are
the San Lorenzo, Estrella, San Antonio, Arroyo Seco and Nacimiento. The Carmel
river rises in the Santa Lucia mountains, and running through the Carmel valley,
empties into the Carmel bay. The Pajaro river forms the boundary line between
Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, and in the winter or rainy season often
carries a large amount of water. Elkhorn creek, in the northern part of the
county, runs westerly into the Salinas river. There are numerous other small
streams in the southern portion of the county, among which are the San Jose, El
Sur and El Sur Chiquito.

  The Gabilan mountains extend from the Pajaro river at the northern boundary of
the county, through the entire length of the county, a distance of some
seventy-five miles, and are from twenty to thirty miles in width. From the
Pajaro southerly, the first eighteen miles of the range are a system of low
mountains, covered almost everywhere with grass and an abundance of timber. This
portion of the mountains is now mostly occupied by farmers and horticulturists.
The next thirty miles of the range, going southward, is composed of high, rough
mountains, which extend as far as the San Lorenzo; and from thence to the
southerly boundary of the county these mountains are low, rolling hills, forming
the foothills of the Coast Range. In this section are many beautiful little
valleys, nearly all of which possess a rich soil, and have a mild, delightful
climate, peculiarly adapted to the growth of fruits of both the temperate and
semi-tropical zones. The Gabilan mountains contain immense deposits of
limestone; and quicksilver, gold and silver have also been found in small
quantities, causing many people to have faith that they will eventually be found
in large or paying quantities.

  The Santa Lucia mountains extend from Carmel bay, southeasterly along the
coast to San Luis Obispo, thence running in an easterly direction, and merging
into the Monte Diablo range. They have an average breadth of about eighteen
miles, and at several points reach an elevation of from 4,000 to 5,000 feet
above the level of the sea. There are also many small, fertile valleys in this
range, which are already settled; and semi-tropical and other fruits do
remarkably well wherever planted, many small orchards having been put out within
the last few years.

  The climate of these mountain valleys resembles that of the valleys of the
Gabilan range. Stock-raising is the principal industry, higher up in the
mountains; and some fine dairies have been established along the sea-coast.
Gold, silver, quicksilver, coal and other minerals are found in the Santa Lucia
mountains, though seldom, as yet, in paying quantities.

  Monterey bay ranks third among the natural harbors of California; it is over
twenty miles wide at the mouth, and ten miles deep inland, and is semi-circular
in form; Point Pinos (Point of Pines), on the south, and Point Ano Nuevo (New
Year), on the north, forming its headlands. Carmel bay is a smaller body of
water, partly protected, being about four miles in length and two in width,
lying some four miles south of Monterey.

  The Salinas valley, lying between the Gabilan mountains on the northeast, and
the Santa Lucia range on the southwest, is the largest, and constitutes the most
important portion of Monterey county. It extends from Monterey bay on the north,
nearly 100 miles toward the southeast, with a width of from six to fifteen
miles, and has an area of about 1,000 square miles, or 640,000 acres. It is one
of the most fertile valleys, as it is one of the most productive in proportion
to its extent, in the State or in the United States.

  According to the report of the State Mineralogist (1888, p.402), "The valley
is formed of alluvium derived from the degradation of the granitic, serpentine,
chloritic and sandstone formations, of which the mountains on either side are
composed. Above this alluvium, and intermingled with its upper layers, are the
modern detritus and fluviatile additions. How little denudation has taken place
of late years, is evidenced by the remains of ancient terraces, both upon the
valley surface and the edges of the hills. The lower sixty miles of the valley
is a series of low, fiat terraces, which extend in a northerly and southerly
direction."

  "The bed of the Salinas river," continues the authority quoted, "is a white,
micaceous sandstone, which forms quicksand, rendering fording dangerous. During
the summer season this river at Soledad is a broad, sluggish stream. Westward
from the Salinas valley, and south from the city of Monterey, the country
presents a series of hills and mountain ranges almost inaccessible, which have a
width of fifteen to twenty miles. This mountain is called the Santa Lucia. This
is not exactly correct, although the mountain range appears continuous. In the
northern part the Carmelo makes a long valley; centrally the Arroyo Seco cuts
through to the east, and in the southern part the San Antonio and Nacimiento
separate, what there appears, as two distinct chains."

  In Professor Whitney's Geological Report these are classified as "two chains:
the Santa Lucia on the west, and on the east the Point Pinos or San Antonio
range. The Santa Lucia rises direct from the ocean from Point Lopez and Point
Gordo, south to the limit of the county, with ocean bluffs 300 or 400 feet in
height, and peaks 7,000 feet above the sea. These mountains have not been fully
explored, but the Burros mines in the southwest show that they contain minerals
of value." Gold has also been found in placers on the San Antonio ~and elsewhere
in the county. Other minerals, including silver, coal, petroleum, etc., are
known to exist in the county; also fine building stone, limestone, and sand
suitable for the manufacture pf glass.

  Twenty-eight miles below Point Sur (South Point), or sixty miles southeast of
Monterey, there are inexhaustible supplies of limestone which have been
developed to a considerable extent by a company whose works include four patent
perpetual kilns, with a capacity of over one hundred barrels of lime per day.
There is a large forest near by of redwood, pine, laurel and oak, from which
fuel and material for the manufacture of barrels are obtainable in abundance. A
road three-fourths of a mile in length has been constructed to the sea, where
the lime from these quarries can be shipped.

  About fifty miles southeast of Salinas city, in a deep wooded canon, in the
Santa Lucia mountains, are the Tasajara Springs, which have good repute. The
beneficial qualities of their waters, for kidney and other complaints, have long
been known to the Indians and all old settlers; and many persons make yearly
trips to these springs, despite the fact that they are almost inaccessible.
There are in all twenty-nine mineral springs, varying in temperature from cold
to boiling heat. There are other hot springs, as those of the Little Sur river,
the temperature of which ranges from sixty to one hundred and twenty degrees,
Fahrenheit.

  Artesian water has been struck in various parts of the Salinas valley, and in
some cases gas, as well as water, was developed. A well was bored in 1890, near
the courthouse in Salinas city, for the express purpose of obtaining gas. A
record of the strata pierced shows that the substances extracted were similar in
character to those which form the Gabilan mountains. The gravel brought to the
surface consisted of small water-worn pebbles, from one-half to two or three
inches in diameter, many of the coarser stones requiring to be broken in the
well. Slight flows of gas were developed at 85, 120, 497 and 764 feet deep, but
not in sufficient or paying quantities. The fact, that gas was found in the
gravel beneath the clay, tends strongly to substantiate the hypothesis, that it
must exist in large, perhaps inexhaustible, quantities, beneath some impervious
stratum of rock, which can be reached by the drill. It was the intention to sink
this well much deeper, which if done would aid in determining the character of
the underlying strata of the valley, and the relation they bear to the
surrounding mountains. Numerous other wells have been sunk in the Salinas
valley, but none so deep as the one above noted. They have all shown thus far
that the valley has the same character of formation.

  Some flowing water has been obtained at a depth of 120 feet; in other wells
water was struck, but it did not flow. In some of these in which gas was struck,
adjoining ones a few yards distant would show no gas, though greater depth was
reached.

  In 1880 a well was bored in Castroville to a depth of 178 feet, which
presented the remarkable phenomenon of yielding a large quantity of fresh water,
which at high tide flowed over the top of the casing, but which at low tide
ceased to flow altogether. This well was near the mouth of the Salinas river,
and the surface of the ground was twenty feet above the river. Another well, six
miles sonth of Salinas city, was sunk to the depth of 154 feet, the last four
feet being in bituminous shale, in the boring of which there were encountered
water and traces of oil and gas.

COAL.

  Coal is found in numerous localities, as at Stone Canon, Peach Tree, El
Chiquito Rancho, etc. The character of the first named may be inferred from the
following, which is condensed from the report of the State Mineralogist; The
canon in which the coal measures are exposed runs east and west, and may be
regarded as a dividing line between the sandstones, which lie to the west, and
an extensive district of metamorphosed slate and jasper, which lies to the
south. They are first observed at the southern base of the mountain, which forms
the northern wall of Stone Canon, and rises to a height of about three hundred
feet above the coal formation. This mountain is composed of sandstone at the
summit, and is somewhat fossiliferous. About fifty feet lower down, it is a
coarse, crystalline sandstone, the silicious cementation and quartz granules
being distinctly marked. Lower down, the sandstone is less crystalline in
appearance, and occasionally contains tiny pebbles, which is one of the
characteristics of the sandstone overlying the the [sic] head-wall to the coal
below. Lower down and immediately over the head-wall, the tiny pebbles become
more numerous, and the sandstone contains fossils. The sandstone forming the
head-wall is of a light gray variety, and streaked with oxide of iron. This
head-wall sandstone appears to be thirty or forty feet in thickness. The coal
itself is about twelve feet thick, and seems to be a good quality of lignite. It
rests upon a tenacious clay, much stained with carbonaceous matter and oxide of
iron. To the south of the foot-wall is a stratum of fine-grained sandstone,
cropping out in peaks upon the north side of the canon, and widely extending
upon the south side are metamorphic slates, passing into both white and red
jasper. This mine was discovered about the year 1870. The works consist of four
openings in the above-named canon, two of which are tunnels, and two are
inclines. The tunnels, an uprjer and a lower, are the most easterly workings,
and have been run in an easterly direction along the strike of the vein. The
lower tunnel is about 1,300 feet long, and the upper about 300 feet.

  The vein, which is twelve feet wide, pitches toward the north, at an angle of
about eighty degrees. The foot-wall is a clay, stained with iron and
carbonaceous matter, and the hanging-wall is a light-colored sandstone, streaked
with oxide of iron. During a year about 1,000 tons of coal were taken out.

  About a quarter of a mile west of the tunnels are two inclines, one being 120
feet, and the other 160 feet deep; these follow the vein down, which here
pitches at an angle of about thirty-five degrees, a little to the east of
magnetic north. A short distance to the northwest of the tunnels the canon makes
a bend, crossing the coal measures between the tunnels and the incline. Water
and also sulphurous gas have interfered somewhat with the working of the mines.
The coal is hauled by teams from the mines to San Miguel, a distance of about
twenty miles.

  A large body of coal of good quality has been discovered a few miles east of
Peach Tree, and sixteen miles from the line of the railroad.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California.

Illustrated.

Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the
Earliest Period of its Discovery to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of
its Auspicious Future; Illustrations and Full-Page Portraits of some of its
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers, and Prominent
Citizens of To-day.



HENRY D. BARROWS,
Editor of the Historical Department.

LUTHER A. INGERSOLL,
Editor of the Biographical Department.

"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.
1893.


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