SCIENCE ONT 1 xA!Lyi 'I give thefe Mo'ltl for the founding ef at College hi, thifjCelony! Gift of Prof. Edward S. Dana NATURE AND SCIENCE ON THE PACIFIC COAST PLATE I Mount Shasta, California. A Bare Cloud Formation Over This Volcanic Peak (Eleva tion 14,162 Feet), Which Stands at the Head of the Central Valley of California. Copyright 1914, by C. A. Gilchrist. NATURE <§ SCIENCE ON THE PACIFIC COAST A GUIDE-BOOK FOR SCIENTIFIC TRAVELERS IN THE WEST. EDITED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE PACIFIC COAST COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ' ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED WITH NINETEEN TEXT FIGURES, TWENTY-NINE HALF-TONE PLATES AND FOURTEEN MAPS PAUL ELDER AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS • SAN FRANCISCO Copyright, 1915 Paul Elder §• Company San Francisco 9 ti> DEDICATED TO JOHN MUIR MAN OF SCIENCE AND OF LETTERS WIDELY TRAVELED OBSERVER OF THE WORLD FRIEND AND PROTECTOR OF NATURE UNIQUELY GIFTED TO INTERPRET UNTO OTHER MEN HER MIND AND WAYS The words of the dedication are those used by President Benjamin Ide Wheeler of the University of California in conferring the degree of Doctor of Laws upon John Muir, May 14, 1913 INTRODUCTORY NOTE The Pacific Coast region of the United States contains many distinctive natural features and much unique material for scientific research. Many of the problems presented here are peculiar to the West, but in their larger aspects they have a significant bearing upon fundamental questions of world-wide concern both in the field of natural sci ence and in the relation of these problems to the affairs of men. However interesting western mate rials may be, the traveler wishing to know of them has little time for study, and sources of information which might be used are frequently scattered or inaccessible. Recognizing the need for ready information on nature and science in the West, the Pacific Coast Committee of the American Association for the Ad vancement of Science has considered it desirable in this year of the two expositions celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal to bring together in hand-book form concise data upon matters of gen eral interest for the use of travelers in this region. A special committee was appointed to assemble the material and to enlist the assistance of men well informed upon the subjects to be discussed. The descriptions contained in this book have been pre pared with care by specialists, and the volume is addressed to all travelers in the West who wish to know the significant features of the land through which they pass. The sub-committee charged with the preparation of this guide-book desires to express its sincere ap- freciation of the generous aid of the contributors. o many others who have assisted by supplying illustrations, maps, and information upon facilities for travel, the committee is also greatly indebted. Only wide co-operation such as has been accorded could make possible the completion of an under taking of this character. The volume is presented with the hope that it may increase the value of the journey for those who visit the Pacific Coast for the first time and that it may be of service also to the people residing within the region which it describes. Sub-Committee in Charge: John C. Merriam, Chairman, H. Foster Bain, Victor H. Henderson, Vernon L. Kellogg, March 20, 1915. Joseph Grinnell, Editor. CONTENTS PAGE Introductory Note vii The Approaches to the Pacific Coast .... 1 Frederick J. Teggart. Associate Professor of Pacific Coast History, University of California. Spanish Settlements on the Pacific Coast ... 9 Charles E. Chapman. Sometime Traveling Fel low in Pacific Coast History, N. S. G. W., Uni versity of California. Historical Sketch of the Panama Canal .... 15 Rudolph J. Taussig. Secretary, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco. Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast ... 19 Alexander McAdie. Abbott Lawrence Roteh Professor of Meteorology, Harvard University. Physiographic Geography 31 Ruliff S. Holway. Associate Professor of Physical Geography, University of California. Geology of the West Coast Region of the United States 41 C. F. Tolman, Jr. Associate Professor of Eco nomic Geology, Stanford University. Earthquakes 62 J. C. Branner. President, Stanford University. Mines and Mining 65 H. Foster Bain. Editor, Mining and Scientific Press, San Francisco. Petroleum Resources and Industries of the Pa cific Coast 75 Ralph Arnold. Consulting Geologist and Petro leum Engineer, Los Angeles. Significant Features in the History of Life on the Pacific Coast 88 John C. Merriam. Professor of Palaeontology and Historical Geology, University of California. The Vertebrate Fauna of the Pacific Coast . . . 104 Joseph Grinnell. Director, Museum of Verte brate Zoology, University of California. Fishes of the Pacific Coast 115 David Starr Jordan. Chancellor, Stanford Uni versity. Marine Biology on the Pacific Coast 124 Charles Atwood Kofoid. Professor of Zoology, University of California. VII Contents pagk Oceanic Circulation and Temperature Off the Pacific Coast .133 George F. McEwen. Scripps Institution for Bio logical Research, La Jolla, California. Insects of the Pacific Coast 141 Vernon L. Kellogg. Professor of Entomology, Stanford University. Flora of the Pacific Coast 147 Harvey Monroe Hall. Assistant Professor of Botany, University of California. Forests of the Pacific Coast . 159 Willis Linn Jepson. Associate Professor in the Department of Botany, University of California. The Deserts and Desert Flora of the West . . .168 LeRoy Abrams. Associate Professor of Botany, Stanford University. The Marine Flora of the Pacific Coast . . . .177 William Albert Setchell. Professor of Botany, University of California. Burbank's Gardens 185 Vernon L. Kellogg. Professor of Entomology, Stanford University. Ethnology of the Pacific Coast 189 T. T. waterman. Assistant Professor of Anthro pology, University of California. Astronomical Observatories 197 R. G. Aitken. Astronomer, Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton. Museums of the Pacific Coast 207 Barton W. Evermann. Director of the Museum, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. Agricultural Development of the Pacific Coast . 214 E. J. Wickson. Professor of Horticulture, Uni versity of California. Some Notable Irrigation and Hydro-Electric De velopments ._ 228 C. E. Grunsky. President, American Engineering Corporation, San Francisco. Chemical Resources and Industries 237 Harry East Miller. Consulting Chemist and Metallurgist, San Francisco. Mountaineering on the Pacific Coast .... 246 Joseph N. LeConte. Professor of Engineering Mechanics, University of California. VIII Contents page Outdoor Life and the Fine Arts _. 252 John Galen Howard. Director, School of Archi tecture, University of California. Literary Landmarks on the Pacific Coast . . . 263 S. S. Seward, Jr. Assistant Professor of English, Stanford University. .* Legal and Political Development of the Pacific Coast States ..267 Orrin K. McMurray. Professor of Law, Uni versity of California. Scenic Excursions 276 A. O. Leuschnee. Professor of Astronomy, Uni versity of California. Index 295 ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE *» . . FACING i Mount Shasta . . . Frontispiece page ii Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Mon terey 14 in Gorge of the Columbia River .... 15 iv Relief Map of Washington and Oregon . 30 v Relief Map of California and Nevada . 31 vi Lassen Peak in Eruption 46 vu The Fault Scarp of the Sierra Nevada . 47 viii Oil Wells at Summerland, California . 86 ix Cambrian Fossils from British Colum bia 87 x Reconstruction of a Triassic Fish- Lizard 102 xi One of the Rancho La Brea Fossil Pits . 103 xii California Condor and Wren-tits . . . 110 xiii Chuckwalla and Desert Tortoise . . .111 xiv Oregon Ground Squirrel and Mountain Beaver 118 xv Trout of the Pacific Coast 119 xvi Puget Sound Marine Biological Station, Friday Harbor, Washington .... 126 xvn Scripps Institution for Biological Re search, La Jolla, California .... 127 xviii Abalone Shells and Pearls 134 xix A Mountain Meadow 135 xx Chaparral, with Spanish Bayonet . . 150 xxi Tree Yucca 151 xxii The Grizzly Giant 166 xxm Monterey Cypress 167 xxiv Desert Palms 174 xxv Lake Spaulding Dam near Emigrant Gap, California 175 xxvi Mount Wilson Solar Observatory . . . 206 xxvii Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton . . 207 xxviii Mount Rainier 262 xxix The Stevenson Monument, Portsmouth Square, San Francisco 263 xi MAPS PLATE xxx Portland. xxxi Seattle. xxxii Puget Sound and Vicinity. xxxiii San Francisco. xxxiv West Central California. xxxv Los Angeles. xxxvi Los Angeles and Vicinity. xxxvn San Diego. xxxvm San Diego and Vicinity. xxxix Geological Map of Washington and Oregon. xl Geological May of California and Nevada. xli Salt Lake City. xlii Western and Pacific States. xliii Life Zone Map of California. NATURE AND SCIENCE ON THE PACIFIC COAST THE APPROACHES TO THE PACIFIC COAST BY FREDERICK J. TEGGART , Associate Professor of Pacific Coast History, University of California The name "California" antedates the discovery of the territory to which it is now applied. It seems to have been created by a Spanish ro mancer to signify an island lying beyond the Indies, remarkable alike for its women and its gold — a last effort, apparently, to find a home upon the map for the Hesperides and their golden apples. Viewed from Europe, indeed, California was the most re mote, the farthest of all lands, and some remnant of the wonder of the voyages of Bran, of Hercules, and of Pantagruel even yet lingers about the west ward Thule. Now, however, that Europeans have actually reached and settled this ultimate coast, the outlook changes, and we may survey the efforts of the long line of adventurous explorers from a new point of view. To appreciate the significance of these endeavors it is necessary to disabuse one's mind of the idea, expressed in its accepted form by Bishop Berkeley, that the expansion of the nations follows the path of the setting sun. This idea may suitably interpret the experience of the nations that border upon the Atlantic, but in no circumstances could it have originated upon the shores of the Pacific Ocean. For as we stand here facing the Orient the old conception of a westward line of advance gives place to another view — that of civili zation spreading east and west from some original seat in eastern Asia, traversing the world in opposite directions, and drawing at length to a new focus on this opposite side of the globe. From this stand point the picture is not merely that of Spaniards, English, French, and Dutch crossing the Atlantic Ocean and founding settlements upon its American seaboard; it includes the far more arduous struggles of these same Europeans to find a way around the land masses of America and Asia. What is of equal importance, moreover, is that this newer outlook includes also the sight of oriental peoples over flowing into the great emptiness of the west, and the spectacle of Russians making their way with an irresistible sweep across Asia, to leave, above high-water mark as it were, the wreckage of a 1 Approaches to the Pacific Coast "Ross" or Russian fort upon the banks of a Russian River in California. Indeed, the reflective student can never lose sight of the fact that Asia has always tended to overflow eastward. Migrations remote in time have stamped their impress upon the native population of the American side of the ocean, and it may even be to this source that the American Indian owes his origin. Again, whether or not the land of Fusang is to be identified with Mexico, this in terpretation of the Chinese story of Hiu Shen has at least a suggestive interest in the history of the Pacific. Hiu Shen was a Buddhist missionary from Cabul who appeared in 499 A. D. at King-Chow on the Yang-Tse. To the emperor Wu Ti he brought presents from Fusang — thought to be the land of the agave or century-plant — and the record of his voyage was incorporated in the imperial annals. It is, indeed, no more than might have been ex pected that the extraordinary zeal of the Buddhist missionaries should have brought them in the fifth century to America; and while linguistic scholars continue to disagree, others may, for the time, ac cept the story as an additional illustration of the fact that waves caused by upheavals in the life of Asia break ultimately upon the American shore. So, too, the advance of the Russians across north ern Asia in the sixteenth century reached Alaska, through the discoveries of Vitus Bering, by the middle of the eighteenth; and it is of interest to observe that there were moments in the opening years of the nineteenth century when it seemed as if the Pacific was about to become a Russian sea. Later still, the inauguration of steamship communi cation across the Pacific Ocean showed how easily the Chinese overflow might set towards the Cali fornia coast, while today an immigration problem presents itself that acts of Congress may prove inadequate to solve. The North Atlantic shores of America are dom inated by European civilization. Granted the dis covery of eastern North America, the way there from Europe lay open for all who cared to take it. The interest of Atlantic Coast history lies in the vicissitudes of the settlers in their struggle with nature, and in the varying relations they have main tained with sovereign powers in Europe that could not be brought to take the settlers' view of the problems of a new land. The interest of Pacific Coast history is alto gether different. Far from being easily accessible to Europe, California was, in the first instance, 2 Approaches to the Pacific Coast to be reached only by dint of extraordinary efforts; and the present routes hither have been created by engineering works of unprecedented magnitude. The land is remote, and for the maintenance of connections, even with the country of which politically it forms a part, all the mechanical re sources of western civilization are necessary. Once here, moreover, the man of European descent finds himself looking out upon an alien and incompre hensible Asia. So the dominating consideration in the affairs of the Pacific Coast is that here a de tached outpost of European civilization finds itself face to face, in perpetuity, with the Orient. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the fact that from the point of view of anthropogeography the coasts of the Pacific — Asiatic and American — constitute a unit. The seas unite, the land masses separate, men. Here before us lies the ocean, easily traversed; there behind us rises the great mountain barrier, threaded only by occasional passes, separating us from the eastern part of the continent. Considered in terms of humanity at large, the situation is arti ficial; we close an avenue in the face of millions, and open a path by which only tens arrive. The significance of this anomaly is unmistakable : Euro peans, having by their daring and alertness won a title to a coast which would seem to be the natural area for the overflow of Asia, propose to hold it as the frontier of their own civilization. The su preme difficulty of this attempt should not be under estimated. The ingenuity of the European has abridged distances by means of railroads and canals, and so has made his position here seem ingly tenable. On the other hand, his inventiveness has placed steamships at the disposal of his com petitors, and, while the land on this side remains unfilled, the millions in Asia do not decrease. It is obvious that the study of history inevitably forces upon us a realization of the circumstances in which European man finds himself placed when he undertakes to hold the western border of the Pacific Ocean; but history itself does not seek to elucidate the future; it takes account only of the steps by which the present situation has come to be as it is. From the point of view of the history of occidental peoples, ,the juxtaposition of west and east upon the Pacific is the outcome of the hardihood and adventurous spirit of successive generations of European seafarers and frontiers men. In whichever direction one looks out from Europe, California lies beyond an ocean and a conti- 3 Approaches to the Pacific Coast nent. To reach it from Europe, therefore, it would be necessary to pass around — either to the north or to the south — one of the two great land masses of the globe. Less than four years after Columbus discovered the New World, John Cabot, sailing a Bristol ship, reached the coast of Labrador (1497), and from that time onward the English nation seemed committed to the task of finding a north western passage to the Pacific Ocean. Untiring explorers matched themselves in vain, however, against the ice, until 1907, when the Norwegian Amundsen completed his four years' voyage by sailing into San Francisco Bay. (His ship now rests within a stone's throw of the ocean in Golden Gate Park.) As early as 1553, English ships were sent to try out the possibilities of a northeastern route, but again the accomplishment of the voyage was long deferred, being effected by the Swedish Nordenskjold in the Vega in 1879. The recommendation of the northeast and north west passages would have been their shortness — had they been practicable. Of the open sea routes, that by the Cape of Good Hope had been made known by the voyages of Bartholomew Diaz (1487) and Vasco da Gama (1498), but its extreme length has always left it out of consideration as a way of getting to the American Pacific Coast. In 1520, Magellan discovered the strait named after him, and in 1578 Drake followed the southwestern route into the Pacific Ocean. Drake's voyage may be said to have opened the Pacific to Europeans of every nationality, while his visit to California in 1579 pointed out what remained the only feasible sea route to the coast for three centuries and a third. The path thus indicated by hardy voyagers, pre pared to lose two-thirds of their number on the way, was no practicable road for colonization; and hence the European foothold on the Pacific Coast had to await the long and arduous process of in terior exploration. As might be supposed, the earliest land-approach was not across the American continent at its widest part. The first knowledge of the California coast was a sequel to the conquest of Mexico. The ef forts of Cortes, persistent a$ they were, can scarcely be called successful. The ships for tbe voyage haa to be built upon the Pacific side, and the two he sent out in 1532 never returned. In 1533, the Con- cepcidn and San Ldzaro discovered the extremity of the peninsula, but were otherwise unfortunate. The expedition of 1535, led by Cortes himself 4 Approaches to the Pacific Coast landed at the bay of Santa Cruz, possibly La Paz, but failed in the purpose of establishing a colony. Finally, the supreme effort of Cortes, the expedi tion under Francisco de Ulloa in 1539, succeeded so far as to explore the Gulf of California to its head and the outer coast of the peninsula for about half its length. The viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, next took up the burden of northward exploration. To co-operate with Coronado in the search for the famous Seven Cities of Cibola he sent Hernando d'Alarc6n, in 1540, by sea to the head of the gulf. Mendoza had no better fortune than Cortes in dis covering fabulous lands and cities, but by his next venture, the expedition of Cabrillo and Ferrelo in 1542, the California coast was explored to Cape Mendocino. The return of Ferrelo marks the con clusion of the first period of California exploration. Whatever the policy of Spain may have been at any time in regard to the northern Pacific Coast, her activities upon it may be traced in practically every instance to the movements of foreigners. Even the explorations of Cortes, inevitable as they would appear, seem to have been influenced by his discovery in 1524 that a foreign-built ship — presumably Portuguese from India — had been wrecked upon the Jalisco coast. It was, similarly, the voyage of Drake, followed by that of Cavendish in 1588, that impelled the Spanish government to a new burst of energy. The voyages of Sebastian Vizcaino in 1596 and 1602 were the Spanish re sponse to the English incursions into the Pacific Ocean. Vizcaino was directed to search for a harbor that would serve as a refuge or port of call for the Philippine ships on the return voyage from Manila, and to discover the strait that was supposed to lead to the Atlantic Ocean. On the second voyage he reached the vicinity of Cape Blanco (without finding the strait) and visited and described the ports of San Diego and Monterey, but a hundred and sixty-five years were to elapse before the government was moved to act upon his recommendation that these places should be occu pied. The council that met in the City of Mexico in 1768 to take measures for the occupation of Alta California recognized as the reason for the under taking the approaches of foreign powers towards this unoccupied territory. To Joseph Galvez, visitador-general — one of the most remarkable fig ures in American history — and the other members of the junta it seemed as if the English, French, Russians, and Dutch were converging upon Califor- 5 Approaches to the Pacific Coast nia from the four corners of the earth. The records of the council show that consideration was given to the Russian advance eastward across Asia, and to the French progress overland from Canada; to the activities in the Pacific Ocean of the Dutch who arrived by way of the Cape of Good Hope, and of the English who came round Cape Horn. The danger was in no sense chimerical. In the first half of the eighteenth century such famous sailors as William Dampier, Woodes Rogers, George Shelvocke, and Lord Anson (1740) had, at different times, lain off the coast of Lower California in watch for the Manila galleon. During the sixteenth century the Russians had advanced from the Ural Mountains to Kamchatka; and in 1741 Bering had sailed to explore the coast of Alaska. Between 1737 and 1746 three English expeditions had re newed the effort to find a northwest passage, with the deliberate intention that "if a discovery should be made of this passage, a considerable settlement should be made in California." Meanwhile the French advance from Canada across the American continent had reached its farthest point west in La Verendrye's discovery of the Rocky Mountains in 1743. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763 — which had witnessed transferences of colonial ter ritory on a colossal scale — the European powers set themselves to the systematic exploration of the un occupied parts of the earth. Thus Byron, Wallis and Carteret, and Cook all sailed for the Pacific between 1764 and 1768, while the Russians sent out Krenitzen and Levashef, in 1768-69, on an ex pedition that the Empress Catherine had set on foot in 1764. The occupation of Alta California in 1769 was but one of a number of steps taken by Spain, in face of this general advance of European nations, to protect her outlying possessions against aggres sion. The decision having been made, Galvez took charge of despatching the necessary forces. These, under command of Gaspar de Portola, were divided into four parts — two going by sea and two by land. In June, 1769, San Diego was occupied and a year later a post was established at Monterey. The ex perience of this expedition showed the hazard in volved in maintaining communication between Mexico and Alta California by sea, and the im practicability of the land route up the length of the Baja California peninsula. In these circum stances, Juan Bautista de Anza was directed in 1773, to survey a route overland to California' bv way of the Gila and Colorado rivers. This having Approaches to the Pacific Coast been accomplished, he was further authorized in 1774 to convey a party of soldiers and settlers for the purpose of taking effective possession of the Bay of San Francisco; with the result that a pre sidio was established there in 1776. The new land route from the south, though difficult and unin viting, might have led to noteworthy results, but owing, almost immediately, to the incompetent man agement of the Chevalier de Croix, comandante- general of the frontier provinces, the Indians on the Colorado revolted in 1781, killing some mem bers of an expedition then on its way to the new settlements. With this incident the attempt to ap- E roach California from the south was effectively locked, and the prospect of any extensive coloni zation from Mexico and the south was at an end. Henceforward the problem of an approach to California narrows down to the discovery of a route across the continent. Owing to the elimina tion of the French from North America by the treaty of Paris, the exploration of the continent between 1763 and 1803 was conducted by the rival traders of the Hudson Bay Company and the North west Company of Montreal. In 1769, Samuel Hearne was sent out by the former, and before his return in 1772 had reached the Arctic Ocean at the mouth of the Coppermine River. The activities of the Montreal company did not rise to importance until after the American Revolution. In 1789, Alexander Mackenzie explored to its mouth the river that bears his name, and four years later completed the first overland journey across the continent by reach ing the Pacific Ocean, opposite Queen Charlotte Island, on the 22d of July, 1793. It was not Mackenzie's route, however, but the more southerly one of Lewis and Clark that proved to be tbe long-sought substitute for a northwest passage. Following immediately upon the purchase of Louisiana from Napoleon, Lewis and Clark, at the orders of President Jefferson, made their jour ney overland, by way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, between 1804 and 1806. With the acquisi tion of Louisiana, the American frontiersman promptly overran this vast new territory, and passed unheeding the ill-defined boundaries of the Mexican possessions. By the end of the third de cade of the nineteenth century the pioneer, in the person of Jedediah Smith, had entered California. The contrast between the Spanish and English methods of colonization is nowhere more apparent than in the respective approaches of the Spaniard and American to California. Not so much as a 7 Approaches to the Pacific Coast solitary wanderer had traversed Alta California when, in 1769, a military expedition was sent out to occupy San Diego and Monterey. On the other hand, the personal initiative of the English-speaking adventurer has carried him across the continent — across an ocean and a continent — and has more than once created embarrassment for the govern ment to which he owed allegiance. So, in Texas, Oregon, and California, the United States appears as following with hesitation the leadership of an in significant number of westward-moving frontiers men. Following this leadership, however, the Euro pean advance to the Pacific has been consolidated by the completion of the overland railroad in 1869, and of the Panama Canal in 1914. It is due to the personal initiative of many gen erations of Westerners — the Pilgrim Fathers among the number — that the West now confronts the East across the open space of the Pacific Ocean. At every step in the approach to the present situation two great difficulties have been continually growing clearer: it is irksome for a government to admit that the sparse population of a far-lying outpost may intrude itself into the complexities of inter national policy; it is hard for the man on the frontier to remember always that territory not fully occupied in proximity to overpopulated lands must needs be filled up. SPANISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE PACIFIC COAST BY CHARLES E. CHAPMAN Sometime Traveling Fellow in Pacific Coast History, N. S. O. W., University of California The only enduring Spanish settlements on the Pacific Coast north of Mexico were those of California. Yet they have an interest greater even than that of their own idyllic charm, for they bore an important relation to the history of the entire northwest coast, and indeed to that of the United States. From the first, after Cortes had reached the Pa cific in 1522, Spain was one of the principal con tenders for the far northwest. The Cabrillo-Ferrelo voyage (1542-3), that of Vizcaino (1602-3), and the occasions when the Manila galleon passed the Cali fornia coast on the way to Acapulco were the only known voyages of Spaniards to our Pacific Coast prior to the occupation by them in 1769. Yet there was little that Spain more keenly desired than to possess herself of that coast. There was an almost continuous stream of royal decrees calling for its conquest, and considerable expenditure of treasure to that end, though not until 1769 were Der- manent establishments made. Spain became just strong enough in California to keep out the casual voyagers of other nations. She did not develop her holdings in such a way as to lead to discovery of gold. Had she done so, it is doubtful whether the United States would now have a foothold on the Pacific Coast. With the development of California would have come a like advance farther north. Spain could not have held the land, and the United States would not have been strong enough to take it, but a stronger European power than Spain could have entrenched herself and remained. Spain's failure to reach California earlier, and to develop it after 1769 was due primarily to her European entanglements and her poverty. From the moment that Pedro III of Aragon (1276-85) started on a career of conquest in Italy, Spain's retention of her yet undiscovered colonies was doomed. AH went well until the sixteenth century; then, wars in Europe for possessions outside of the Iberian Peninsula began to call for more funds than Spain itself could supply. The Americas were drained and projects of development or conquest became second ary to Spain's policy in Europe. 9 Spanish Settlements on the Pacific Coast Yet, by a fortunate accident, viewed from the standpoint of the United States, development of California under Spain was narrowly averted. What California most needed was communication with the outside world. Natural resources there were in plenty, but everything else was lacking, settlers with families, domestic animals, seeds for planting, and manufactured articles of every variety. Existing routes from San Bias, Mexico, "by sea direct or by way of Baja (Lower) California were never ade quate to supply the needs of California. One other possibility remained, that of opening a route over land from Sonora, Mexico. This was done in 1774, resulting in a pronounced advance of the Cali fornia settlements. But the old difficulty, lack of funds or unwillingness to apply them in so distant a part of her realms as Sonora, caused Spain to lose the advantage of this route only seven years after it was opened. Weak establishments had been made on the California side of the Colorado River opposite what is now Fort Yuma. Ill-provided for by Spain they became an annoyance to the Indians of that vicinity, who in 1781 destroyed both settle ments. No serious attempt was ever made again by Spain to reopen the Sonora route to California. Thus the colonies in California had to go ahead with what they had, supplemented to some extent by shipments from San Bias and by illicit traffic with foreign ships. This then is the meaning that lies behind the Eicturesque life of Spanish California. Had there een no 1769 or 1781, there would have been no 1848, insofar as that marks California's formal entry into the Union. Spain would almost inevitably have discovered gold, but for the Yuma massacre, although she might not have reaped the benefit for herself. But, these things did not happen, and Cali fornia and the entire Coast were held by Spain and Mexico, as it were in trust, for later delivery to the United States. There were five principal elements in the social and administrative organization of Spanish Cali fornia: the presidios, pueblos, ranchos, missions, and Indian tribes. The last named were connected with each of the other four, but also existed in great numbers beyond the pale of Spanish settle ments. It has been estimated that there were 700 - 000 Indians in California when the Spaniards firs't came. This figure may be too high, but the number was certainly very great, far in excess of what it was at later periods or is today. To hold them in check there was a total Spanish population of little 10 Spanish Settlements on the Pacific Coast more than 3000 at its greatest and less than 1000 ?,u j1118*1,*16 crucial d»ys of the eighteenth century. Under Mexico, population increased, but there were certainly not more than 10,000 people of white race in California at the time of its acquisition by the United States. It is usual to speak of California's early history as if it were all summed up in the missions. This is due, perhaps, to the fact that the mission ruins are almost the only tangible remains from that period, and also that the mission fathers left more records of their works than did the others. In fact, the backbone of the establishments here as else where in Spanish colonies was tbe military element, whose principal manifestation was the presidio. Each mission also had its guard, usually a corporal and six soldiers, quite enough to keep the Indians in subjection, but a very necessary part of the mis sion establishment. There were four presidios, San Diego (1769), Monterey (1770), San Francisco (1776), and Santa Barbara (1782), the most important being Monterey, whose commander was also civil and military gov ernor of the province. Around each presidio, but more especially at Monterey, centered the life of the colony. Towns grew up around the presidios, ranch owners came there to visit, foreign traders stopped to enjoy Cali fornia hospitality, and close at hand there was in each case a mission. Life was one continuous round of hospitality and social amenities, tempered with vigorous outdoor sport. There were no hotels in California. Every door was open, and food, lodg ing, a fresh horse, and money, even, were free to the guest, whether friend or stranger. No white man had to concern himself greatly with work, and even school books were a thing apart. Music, games, dancing, and sprightly conversation — these were the occupations of the time — these constituted education. Also men and women were much in the open; all were expert horsemen, could throw a lasso, and shoot unerringly, even the women, ac complishments which fitted their type of life, and made hunting a general pastime. When foreign ships came, there were balls and the gayest of fes tivals, nor were these visits the only occasion for that type of entertainment. This happy life was possible because there were Indians to do the work. Virtual slavery existed, sometimes by direct bargain with a chief for mem bers of his tribe, or by willing submission of the Indians who found themselves better clothed and 11 Spanish Settlements SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO teal ' f MISSION SAN JOSE MNWtfLARA tOSAN J05E SANTA CRUZ SAN CARLOS BORROMCO DE MONTEREY 1770 ,N GABRIEL ARCANGEL TAW3W Opueblo O pnesioio Figure 1 Spanish settlements in Cali fornia. The dates of the founding of the two pueblos and of the four presidios are given on pages 11 and 12. 12 on the Pacific Coast fed than in their tribal mode of life, and with perhaps greater personal liberty and less work than at the missions. Aside from those at the presidios there were but two pueblos proper, San Jose (1776) and Los Angeles (1781). Another on the site of Santa Cruz, Branciforte, had a brief existence. The inhabi tants at San Jose and Los Angeles were regarded as of lower social rank than those at the pre sidios, and indeed many of them had but a small proportion of Spanish blood, being part Indian or part negro. They, too, enjoyed an idle life, al though somewhat more addicted to gambling and other forms of vice than others in the colony. The private rancho was not in accord with the aims of the Spanish government, which de sired Spanish settlers in remote provinces like California to live in com munities. But it grew to be a recognized institu tion, getting official sanc tion under certain re strictions, as that it should not exceed three leagues in extent or in fringe upon the terri tories of missions, pueb los, or Indian towns. Under Spain there were probably not more than twenty such grants, these usually being made to re tired officers of the pre- sidial aristocracy. Under Mexican rule the number increased to about 600, a Spanish Settlements on the Pacific Coast single individual being allowed to own as many as eleven square leagues. There the proprietor with his family lived a life of ease and plenty, surrounded by numerous servants, and there he entertained as lavishly as did those of the towns. Occasionally the proprietor rode over his land to see his animals, for grazing was the only great industry of the ranchos. There was no agriculture nor even dairy ing of any consequence. Mission fathers thundered against the rancheros, claiming that they were in vading mission territory, and causing dissatisfac tion among mission Indians, but their protests were without avail. The missions* came to be almost completely self-sufficient establishments, having not only the mission church, but also mission flocks and herds, gardens and fields, warehouses, dormitories, etc. The object of the fathers was to civilize and Chris tianize the Indians. But the Spanish kings employed missions primarily as an effective agency of con quest, to which conversions and the mission system among the backward peoples conduced. In theory the lands and personalty of missions belonged to the Indians, to whom they were to be turned over when the Indians were sufficiently civilized and Chris tianized to leave the mission and take up settled life. The length of time before this could happen was supposed to be but a few years, but in fact the day of emancipation never came. The Indians of Cali fornia were unable to compete with a civilized race; the attempts to civilize them were from the first hopeless. In the early years the Indians were treated with great kindness. Later, when danger of an Indian uprising was no longer a dread possibility, kindness was tempered by correction, whether by the lash or by imprisonment, it being recognized by the au thorities of that day that instruction of Indians and punishments to them were inherently inseparable. The Indians were virtually slaves of the missions. They spent most of the daylight hours at work, and the rest of their time, whether at church service, eating, sleeping, or play, was planned for them by mission rules. Nor were the missionaries able to check the appalling death rate of the Indians, for at the missions as elsewhere more died than were born. Perhaps, in a measure, they put off the fatal * Not including the Ill-fated Purlsima Concepcita and San Pedro y San Pablo of the Colorado and mission visitas (In dian towns near a mission, to some extent under authority of the missionaries), there were twenty-one missions in Cali fornia, all established by the Franciscans of the College of San Fernando, Mexico. (See text fig. 1, and PI. II.) 13 Spanish Settlements on the Pacific Coast day; certainly when the missions were, at length, discontinued the emancipated Indians in great part rapidly passed away. The spirit of the days of Serra, first father-president of the missions, seems to have waned as the years wore on, for the mis sionaries drove a thriving trade with foreign ships, which was against the law. In this they were not alone, but were the most successful, for theirs were the largest flocks and herds, and tallow and hides the chief products sought by foreign traders. But let it be said that they were distinctly a part of the delightful life in California, for none were more hos pitable than the mission fathers of the Camino Real. If they failed to do the impossible, to civilize the Indians in the time available, they did make Chris tians of them, and have left an impress upon Cali fornia art, literature, and sentiment. But in some respects their greatest service was that they helped to hold the land for Spain. Such was California under Spain, beside which Acadia and Utopia were unattractive, a dream life for over half a century. But, like dreams, it had to have its awakening, and, almost as evanescent as they, has disappeared, save only for scattered records and the mission ruins. With tbe independ ence of Mexico came freedom of trade, increase in the number of ranchos, and entry of foreigners, notably the Americans. It was then a brief race to the discovery of gold. That came in 1848, and the scene changed as if touched by a magic wand. By that time America was ready. Today, as she looks forth upon the Pacific from California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, she is still more ready. If the world's future problems are to lie around the Pacific, and if the United States is to play a leading part in them, we may well look back in gratitude to Spanish California, which gave us the chance. For the reader who would like to get a general survey of early California history, in a fairly read able book of one volume, the works of Richman, McGroarty, Norton, and Mrs. Gertrude Atherton may be mentioned, all recent publications. The older but more voluminous historians, Greenhow, Hittell, and Bancroft, still rank, however, as the best, al though it is also true, as often stated, that the his tory of California "is yet to be written." But those who may read the narratives of eye witnesses, as for example in the works of Richard Henry Dana Alfred Robinson, Walter Colton, Alexander Forbes and William Heath Davis, will get more of the at mosphere of early California than can possibly be conveyed by any writings of a later day. 14 plate ii Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Monterey. This Was the Scene of the Labors of Junipero Sena, and Other F.athers- President of California. The Mission Was Originally Located at Monterey, But in 1771 Was Moved to Oarmelo, and Is Now Popularly Known as the Carmel Mission. Copyright, by Plllsbury Picture Company. PLATE III The Gorge of the Columbia Biver. This Is Cut Through a Great Lava Plateau of Tertiary Age, Which Extends Over the Greater Part of Eastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington. Mt. Adams in the Distance Is a Volcanic Peak 12,470 Feet in Height. View Prom St. Peter'3 Dome, Thirty Miles Prom Portland, Looking East. Copyright, by Benj. A. (Moid. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PANAMA CANAL BY RUDOLPH J. TAUSSIG Secretary, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco The water highway westward from Europe which Columbus set out to find over four hundred years ago, but could not because it did not then exist, has now become a reality through the skill, ingenuity and labor of man. For all practical purposes the surmise of the fifteenth cen tury will become true that the ocean to tbe west of Europe and to the east of Asia is the same body of water — the interposition of the continents of North and South America being merely an incident en route. Columbus died in the belief that he had reached the coast of Asia; and long after Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513, the search for the so- called "Secret of the Strait," the short and direct route to Cathay, was continued. The discovery of the Pacific Ocean, the conquest of Mexico by Cortez, De Soto's discovery of the Mississippi River, may all be attributed to this effort. As early as 1523, only thirty-one years after the discovery of America, Cortez, while still searching for the strait, was con vinced of the desirability and practicability of cre ating the strait if it did not exist. In 1529, Alvaro de Saaveda Ceron, a cousin of Cortez, had prepared plans for the construction of a canal where Balboa had crossed the isthmus. It is therefore safe to say that the idea of constructing the Panama Canal is almost as old as the discovery of America itself. It may be of interest to note also that a canal at Nicaragua was spoken of at the same time, and the rivalry has continued to the present day. In speaking of the difficulties of its construction. the bistorian Gomara, writing in 1551, says: "There are mountains, but there are also hands. Give me the resolve, and the task will be accomplished. If determination is not lacking, means will not fail; the Indies, to which the way is to be made, will furnish them. To a king of Spain, seeking the wealtb of Indian commerce, that which is possible is also easy." Phillip II, however, decided that it would be contrary to the Divine Will to unite two oceans which the Creator of the world had separ- 15 History of the Panama Canal ated, and he decreed that no canal should be con structed. This action was, however, probably due to the fear of the maritime strength of England. Phillip III of Spain again caused surveys to be made for a canal. In 1701 William Paterson of Scotland. in his book on Central America, speaks of the great benefits to be derived from the building of it. Alexander von Humboldt, who spent several years in Central America in the beginning of the nine teenth century, spoke of the feasibility and desira bility of constructing an artificial waterway between the two oceans. The German poet Goethe, alluding to the canal at Panama, is reported to have said: "So much, however, is certain, that if they succeeded in cutting such a canal that ships of any burden and size can be navigated through it from the Mexican Gulf to the Pacific Ocean, innumerable benefits will result to the whole buman race, civilized and un civilized. But I should wonder if the United States were to let an opportunity escape of getting such a work into their own hands." He was, indeed, a prophet I When the Central and South American republics came into existence, the construction of the canal claimed their immediate attention, and was the cause of considerable diplomatic activity. In 1850 the much discussed Clayton-Bulwer treaty was ratified. It provided that neither England nor the United States should exercise exclusive control over any inter-ocean canal. The wrangling over the interpretation of its provisions commenced be fore the ink was dry upon its signatures. Secretary Blaine's comment upon it in 1881 is worthy of repe tition. He says: "It was misunderstandingly en tered into, imperfectly comprehended, contradicto rily interpreted, and mutually vexatious." The treaty was finally abrogated in 1901, but only after strenu ous efforts upon the part of the United States, as England was naturally not disposed to give up the advantages her diplomacy had given her. Meanwhile Ferdinand de Lesseps, inspired by his success at Suez, where he had completed the canal in 1869, turned his attention to the Isthmus of Pan ama. A French company was formed in 1876, and three years later a congress was called together at Paris to consider all questions concerning the build ing of the American canal. The Panama route was decided upon and the Universal Interoceanic Canal Company was organized. The following year De Lesseps reported to the company that the plans for a tide-level canal were perfected, that its cost would be $132,000,000, and that it was proposed that its neutrality should be guaranteed by Europe 16 History of the Panama Canal On February 1, 1881, the work was inaugurated with due ceremony. It was to be a great work, and was to be handled upon a magnificent scale. It is startling to read of the purchases tbat were made and how they were made. Everything was done in an extravagant and showy manner and corruption reigned supreme. After seven years, in 1888, hardly half of the work had been done, the company had spent $400,000,000, and was bankrupt. New' com panies were organized to save what could be saved from the wreck. The scheme of a tide-level canal was abandoned and the construction of locks de cided upon. It was announced that the canal could be and would be completed for an additional $180,- 000,000, and the work was continued. Meanwhile the government of the United States had been negotiating with the Nicaraguan govern ment in regard to the construction of an inter-ocean canal on her territory. The spectacular voyage of the Oregon at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war called the nation's attention to the necessity for a shorter waterway between our Atlantic and Pacific Coast states, and the canal question again became an active one in Congress. A commission was appointed to report to Congress upon the matter. It looks al most as though the commission acted under instruc tions to scare the French company at Panama. Their first report favored Nicaragua, after rejecting the offer of the Panama company to sell out its inter est for $100,000,000. When, however, the French company, alarmed at the prospect of the Nicaragua Canal, reduced its price to $40,000,000, the commis sion changed its recommendation, and in June, 1902, Congress accepted the offer of the French company under certain conditions, and a law was passed authorizing the completion of the canal at Panama. Then came the vexatious negotiations with the United States of Colombia, of which Panama was one of the states. The government of Colombia endeavored to prolong the negotiations until such a time that the concessions to the French company would be forfeited and Colombia would be in a position to possess herself of the purchase price. Treaties were rejected and obstacles put in the way of final adjustment until the State of Panama be came alarmed at the action of the central govern ment, fearing that the United States would again turn her attention to Nicaragua. Panama had once been an independent state and, if independent now, could bring the negotiations with the American gov ernment to a quick and satisfactory conclusion. It 17 History of the Panama Canal is a matter of surmise to what extent these ideas were inspired and also the source of the inspiration. At all events, a revolution took place in Novem ber, 1903, and Panama became an independent re public without the necessity of bloodshed. Diplo matic relations were established, and the United States having acquired the canal zone by treaty, the construction of the canal was taken up, the first commission being appointed in February, 1904. The commission appointed by President Roose velt consisted of Admiral J. G. Walker, Judge Geo. W. Davis, Professor W. H. Burr, Mr. Wm. Barclay Parsons, Colonel F. J. Hecker, Major B. M. Harrod, and Mr. C. E. Grunsky. Plans had been prepared and the work under American control was commenced on May 4, 1904. The lock plan was decided upon, after two years' study, as the most practical one, raising the canal eighty-five feet from the level of the Atlantic to Gatun Lake, and lowering it again near Panama to the Pacific Ocean. The canal was practically completed under the direction of Colonel Goethals during the year 1914, at a cost of close to three hundred and seventy- five million dollars. Slides have interfered seriously with the use of the canal, but it is predicted that the year 1915 will find it ready for its formal open ing to the ships of the world. At its lowest point the canal has a depth of 42 feet, and its length from deep water to deep water is about 49 miles. The commercial world is looking forward to inter esting trade developments owing to the change of communications by the establishment of new steam ship lines with various new routes. Surely the Pan ama Canal is but another link in the chain binding the nations of the world closer together in their governmental, commercial and social relations. 18 WEATHER CONDITIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST BY ALEXANDER MCADIE Abbott Lawrence Botch Professor of Meteorology, Harvard, University It may pay us to begin right by realizing that in discussion of the weather, not only of the Pacific Coast, but of any section, we must first free our minds of the impression that we definitely know the causes of those rather abrupt atmospberic changes which we call weather, as distinguished from the slower and more uniform changes which combine to make the climate of a place. Scientific men are partly responsible for the confusion that exists regarding cause and effect in weather phenomena; and too much has been advanced regarding the structure of storms, gen eral and planetary circulation, rainfall distribution, and other problems, based on assumptions wbich modern soundings in the air are disproving. In deed we have much to unlearn even in so funda mental a matter as the distribution of heat. Many instances could be given of explanations published in text books which are inadequate and out-of-date. Then there are numerous popular misconceptions for which scientific men are in nowise responsible, and which are due to press headlines. One of these which is widespread is that the Kuroshiwo, or black current, more popularly called the Japan current,* warms the northern Pacific Coast. This current, even off the coast of Japan, is only a few degrees warmer than the surrounding water; it fans out into a drift as it moves eastward, and later divides. Except for that return branch known as the California current, the Japan current does • The principal currents in the North Pacific are the north equatorial, the equatorial counter- current, the Kuroshiwo, the California current, and the Bering Sea current. The north equatorial flows westward in the region of the trade winds and reaching the islands off the Asiatic coast is de flected northward. The equatorial counter-current flows eastward a little north of the equator. The Kuroshiwo Is a portion of the north equatorial current, passing north of Formosa and southeast of Japan. Leaving the Japanese coast, the current becomes more a drift, fanning out and flowing eastward past the Aleutian Islands, dividing into north and south drifts on the Alaska coast. The California current is that portion of the Kuroshiwo flowing southeast ward some distance from the Oregon-California coast. Be tween this current and the shore is a narrow counter-current known as the Davidson current, flowing northward. (See fig. 2.) The California current is colder off the California coast than the water of the Pacific farther west. 19 Weather Conmtions on the Pacific Coast not come near the coast and could not very well raise the temperature. The California current moves from north to south and, as will be seen Figure 2 Oceanic temperature chart for the Pacific Coast. by the chart of ocean and air temperatures (fig. 2), from a colder to a warmer region, and so evidently does not warm the coast. The really effective factor 20 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast in controlling the temperature along the coast is the general and steady drift of the surface air from west to east, that is, from a water surface to a land surface. The specific heat of air at constant pres sure is about one-fourth that of water, which means that it requires four times as much heat to raise a given volume of water one degree as for air. B34-A Figure 3 Temperature chart for California, showing mean annual isotherms and direction of prevailing winds. The specific heat of water vapor, however, is twice that of air, or half that of water. The water vapor is free to move and does move in the form of invisible vapor or in the visible form of condensed vapor which we call fog. This is a matter of much importance, but to it little attention has been given heretofore in explaining temperature control in coast regions. If, as is the case on the Pacific Coast, the prevailing winds are from the water surface to the land, and the circulation is strong and steady, 21 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast the reason why the temperature is comparatively uniform is plain. There is little doubt but that if our surface circulation were to be reversed and the air moved from land to sea, there would be decided changes in temperature; and the isotherms would run east and west instead of north and south as they now do (fig. 3) . It is the practice of meteorologists to regard the weather of the coast section of California, Oregon and Washington as irregular and to try to account for the irregularity by ocean currents, up-welling waters, etc. A more rational view, it seems to us, is to regard the weather of this section as regular and of a simple type; and consider the weather of other sections, especially our Atlantic Coast, as irregular. The first control, then, of weather on this coast is the quantity of water vapor brought in by the prevailing west winds. Other factors are, distance from storm tracKs of maximum frequency, and tbe orography of the coast. For detailed informa tion regarding the first of these factors the reader may consult various Weather Bureau publications showing average storm-tracks; and particularly Climatology of California (McAdie, 1903). Regard ing the other factor, one may refer to the physio graphic features of the coast as discussed elsewhere in this volume. Two conspicuous illustrations of a direct con nection between weather and physiograpbic fea tures may be found in California; first, the forced draft through the Golden Gate and the deflection of the surface air northward through the Sacra mento and northern bay valleys, also southward through the Santa Clara and tbe San Joaquin val leys; and second, the draft through El Cajon Pass. Through the latter, under certain pressure distri bution, the dry, sand-laden air pours into the Colton-Riverside-Ontario section. Known locally as Santa Anas, these wind storms constitute the most disagreeable feature of the weather in the great valley of the south. They are trying to man, beast and vegetation, and at times interfere with traffic. The last weather control of importance is the location of the particular hyperbar or infrabar de termining the general surface circulation. These more or less permanent pressure areas have been called "centers of action;" but the newer names are more appropriate. The best known of the infrabars is the Aleutian low, which in a normal winter ex tends from latitude 40° N to 60° N and from longitude 130°W to 140° E. In the summer this 22 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast infrabar disappears. The most marked hyperbar is the one over the Pacific extending from latitude 25° N to 40° N and from longitude 125° to 160" W. There is also a marked continental hyperbar. It has been found (McAdie, 1914) that typical wet winters on the coast of California occur when the Aleutian infrabar is displaced eastward, overlying in part the continent west of a line drawn from Alberta to central California. And, as further il lustrating the control of weather, it is found that dry winters occur with a displacement north and west of the normal center of the Aleutian infrabar and a westward extension of the continental hyper bar. In summer the Aleutian infrabar practically disappears and the oceanic hyperbar moves north with the result that the winds are northwest and the days and nights rainless, although fogs (day) are prevalent. Compared with other sections of the United States the Pacific Coast south of Cape Mendocino has few storms. The zone of maximum storm fre quency lies north of latitude 45°, and California, therefore, is practically out of the storm belt. In the extreme south there is, however, a storm track, that of storms of the Sonora type, and during July, August, September and occasionally other months storms are not infrequent. Such storms seldom affect the weather north of the Sierra Madre. In the central and northern portions of the State, there are few storms in June, July, and August. In a period of 64 years only 13 disturbances have been recorded. In September the frequency increases and in the 64-year period 14 storms have been noted. The most noteworthy of these early storms was that of September 22-26, 1904, which stands unparalleled in the history of summer and early fall rains. At San Francisco, for example, the rain fall amounted to 129 millimeters (five inches). In October the number of storms reported amounts to 40; November, 60; December, January and Feb ruary, about 200 each; March much less, and April and May about as in November. Occasionally there will be a winter month without a single storm, as in December, 1876, and February, 1864.* • In a recent publication of the Weather Bureau (Bowie and Weightman, Storms of the United States), there is given in table 1 the number of lows for various sections for a Serlod of twenty years. Storms of the North Pacific type ave occurred as follows: January, 53; February, 48; March, 44; April, 33; May, 27; June, 16; July, 14; August, 12; Sep tember, 23; October, 28; November, 48; December, 53. This table, however, is misleading for California, as many of these storms pass far north of the State. The storm fre quency is much less for the central and southern portion of the Pacific Coast than Indicated in these figures. 23 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast The reader can obtain detailed information re garding the weather in various parts of the State by referring to the bibliography at the end of this paper: For San Francisco (McAdie, 1912), (McAdie, 1913); for Berkeley (Reed, 1913); for Lick Ob servatory (Reed, 1914); for San Diego (Carpenter, 1913). The following condensed data for San Francisco may prove of interest: Pressure. — Mean annual pressure 1017 kilobars (763 mm. or 30.03 in.); highest pressure 1036 kb. (777 mm. or 30.60 in.) ; lowest pressure 985 kb. (739 mm. or 29.10 in.). The absolute range of pressure 51 kilobars, i. e., in equivalent force units, 51,000 dynes or 5 per cent of an atmosphere. Temperature. — San Francisco has a compara tively small range of temperature. The annual mean, based upon records covering a period of forty years, 1871 to 1911, and obtained from the mean of the daily maximum and minimum read ings, is 286° A. (56° F.). A truer value determined from the 24-hourly readings for a period of twenty years, 1891 to 1910, is 285.6" A. (54.6° F.). The departures from the mean are comparatively small in all months. The warmest month is Sep tember, with a mean of 288° A. (59.1° F.), and the coldest month, January, 282.6° A. (49.2° F.). The warmest month has practically the same departure above the mean as the coldest month has below. The annual amplitude is 5.5° A. (9.9° F.). The monthly mean temperatures determined from hourly readings are: January 283 49 July 289 56 February * 284 51 August 287 57 March 285 52 September 288 59 April 285 54 October 288 58 May 286 56 November „¦ 286 55 June 287 56 December j 283 50 The coldest month was January, 1890, when the mean temperature was 281° A. (46° F.), and the warmest month, September, 1889, when the mean was 291° A. (65° F.). -,„..!n, an averaSe year there are approximately 1311 hours when the temperature is above 289° A. ioSo ^"H4??1 hours when the temperature is above 286 A. (55° F.) ; and 7625 hours, or about 87 per cenl °ooohoe .entAr£, 3£ar» when the temperature ex ceeds 283 A. (50 F.). Differences between day and night tempera tures are small. The warmest hour, 2 p.m. has a 24 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast mean temperature of 288° A. (59.2° F.). The cool est hour, 6 a.m., has a mean temperature of 273° A. (50.9° F.). The highest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco is 311° A. (101° F.). This occurred September 8, 1904, during a prolonged period of warm weather. For four consecutive days maxi mum temperatures exceeded 305° A. (90° F.). This was the warmest spell of wbich there is record in San Francisco. The lowest temperature recorded since 1871 is 271° A. (29° F.), which occurred January 15, 1888. In the last twenty years the temperature has not fallen below 273° A. (32° F.). The absolute range of temperature from 1871 to 1911 is 40° A. (72° F.). Sunshine. — The amount of sunshine received at San Francisco is not as large as might be expected, but nevertheless compares favorably with that of other cities in the United States. The average num ber of hours in a year, based upon hourly records from 1894 to 1910, is 2807, or 63 per cent of the possible. The average number of hours of sunshine for different months is: Hours Per Cent of Possible Hours Per Cent of Possible February .. March April . ,_ 147 163 i 213 . 256 294 50 July 67 September ... 66 October . 67 November 75 December .... 308 .. 258 _i 252 236 . 175 160 68 61 68 68 58 345 64 It is interesting to compare the number of hours of sunshine at Mount Tamalpais for a year with the number at San Francisco, fourteen miles away. In 1910 the total number of hours of sunshine at Mount Tamalpais was 3258, or 70 per cent of the possible; at San Francisco, 3019 hours, or 66 per cent of the possible. The difference, amounting to 239 hours, equivalent to the total sunshine of an average month, shows how much sunshine is lost at San Francisco through the summer after noon fog. In some years there is a difference of as much as 500 hours in the annual amounts of sunshine at tbe two stations. In some seasons the lower station receives more sunshine than the upper, the clouds forming and remaining on the mountain crest. The fogs can be seen to great advantage from the station at Mount Tamalpais. The fogs are caused by the mixing of air streams of different temperatures and different vapor con tent. Some are caused by cooling due to elevation 25 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast and some by excessive loss of heat by radiation. It is interesting to note that in summer San Fran cisco receives but 68 per cent of the possible sun shine, while at Mount Tamalpais more than 90 per cent is recorded. The Winds. — The prevailing drift of the sur face air along the California coast is from west to east. Briefly, the summer winds may be grouped as follows: West to northwest, 75 per cent; north to northeast, 4 per cent; east to southeast, 3 per cent; south to southwest, 3 per cent; and calms, 15 per cent. The winter winds show a greater per centage of motion from the south. Southerly gales are not infrequent, and there is a common belief that southeast is the prevalent direction in winter months. This, however, is not true. West to north west winds have a frequency of 30 per cent; north to northeast, 18 per cent; east to southeast, 17 per cent; south to southwest, 22 per cent; and calms, 13 per cent. It is plain from the above figures that north west is the predominant direction along the coast in the vicinity of San Francisco. Owing to the topography there are certain deflections and changes in the direction of the wind, especially through the Golden Gate from northwest to west or even west by south. These are referred to else where. During certain portions of the year, especially May and June, the northwest wind attains a re markably high velocity. Another type of high wind experienced at San Francisco is the north-northeast wind of November, December, and occasionally January. This wind differs from the northwest wind of summer and is distinctly a mountain wind. The highest wind velocity recorded in San Francisco, 28.6 meters per second (sixty-four miles per hour), from the northeast, occurred on November 30, 1906.* The most prevalent high wind of winter is from the southwest, closely followed by the southeast. The latter is the well-known wind preceding winter storms in this section. At San Francisco south east winds will sometimes prevail for several days; but in most storms the wind after blowing for twelve or more hours increases in velocity to 18 meters per second (forty-one miles an hour), more or less, and then shifts suddenly to the southwest • The velocities used here are Weather Bureau instru mental records. These are only approximately correct For conversion into meters per second it may be convenient to remember that one meter per second equals 2.2 miles per 26 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast attaining a slightly higher velocity. After a few hours the velocity decreases and, with the change to northwest, the weather clears. At such times the air is remarkably pure and the distant moun tains can be seen distinctly. The average hourly wind velocity in San Fran cisco is nearly 4.5 meters per second (ten miles per hour), and the prevailing direction west. The wind attains its greatest velocity about 4:30 p.m. and its least about 6 a.m. The average movement during the twelve hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. is approximately 4.9 meters per second (eleven miles per hour), and from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., 4 meters per second (nine miles per hour). Fog. — One of the most marked climatic features of San Francisco is the prevalence of fog. In sum mer afternoons sea fog moves through the Gate, appearing about 1 p.m. and covering the whole sky by 3 p.m. The average depth of the fog layer is 518 meters (1700 feet). Comparing the percent age of possible sunshine at San Francisco and Mount Tamalpais, it is at once apparent that the summer afternoon sea fog shuts out 50 per cent or more of the possible sunshine between 3 and 7 p.m. during June, July, and August. There is also curtailment of sunshine between 7 and 9 a.m. dur ing May, June, July, August, and September. In the winter, morning fogs, or, as they are commonly called, "tule" fogs, frequently occur. These are low-lying banks of condensed vapor formed by cooling due to radiation and contact. The land surfaces are much cooler than the water surfaces, and hence these fogs have a decided mo tion from the land to the sea. The average number of foggy days is twenty-four per year. In addition to the summer afternoon sea fog, moving from west to east, and the land or tule fog of winter mornings, there is a third kind of fog, which may be called smoke fog. Under certain atmospheric conditions the smoke of the city moves seaward during the forenoon and returns about 1 p.m. as a dense black pall. This is the cause of the so-called dark days. The phenomenon is of brief duration, seldom exceeding two hours; but while it lasts causes some apprehension. Humidity. — Relative humidity is a term fre quently used in attempts to describe relative damp ness of a locality. The term is misleading and while generally used can not give a proper basis for comparison unless temperatures are also given, inasmuch as relative humidity is only a ratio and does not indicate a fixed amount of water vapor. 27 Weather Conditions on the Pacific Coast Thus at San Francisco relative humidity through out the year is high; but during the summer months, owing to low temperatures, the absolute weight of water vapor per unit of volume and the vapor tension are much less than at coast stations of the Atlantic. Notwithstanding high relative humidity in summer, the vapor tension and absolute humidity are low at San Francisco. Rainfall. — Rainfall records have been main tained in San Francisco for a period of sixty-five years. The greatest 24-hour rainfall occurred on K£Omi^il| S2 ... -, 0 \oZ50im\ , J 0 to io inches £50*500- ^B 10 ' zo " ^^^S^^BOOmm 6W" ISO ' Vffll 20 ¦ 30 ' l£50 ^n^^^^fey ftBS 1000 mm reo-tooo- 1000-1250' 30 ¦ 40 ¦ 40 50 0«r 1250" Over SO * lOtWmm^ljfl Att yB^^^FSS^Srp, 5Q0 rnm 730wim,jE3 ___Sg50