Roseburg road soon emerges into the Umpqua Valley, the distance by this route from Coos Bay being about forty miles.
What further remains to be said of Southern Oregon will be found under the specific heads of geology, mineralogy, mining, botany, etc.
CHAPTER XI.
about Oregon's inland empire.
The whole extent of country, lying east of the Cascades in Oregon, consists of immense plateaux, crossed from the northeast to the southwest by the Blue Mountains, from which numerous spurs put out in various directions. The best land in East Oregon lies along near the base of this transverse chain of mountains, and in the valleys of the streams flowing from it on either side, the upper portion of these valleys being invariably the best. All the timber of the country—fir, pine, cedar, spruce, and larch—grows on the high mountain ridges, except the mere fringes of cotton-wood and willow which border the streams. The Blue Mountains constitute a wall between the Columbia River Basin, to the north, and the Klamath Basin to the south; hence all the rivers of East Oregon head in these mountains, and flow into the Columbia and Snake Rivers, only excepting those in the Klamath Basin, which run south and empty into marshy lakes or sinks. Along these rivers and about the lakes there are large tracts of excellent land suitable for farming. Subtracting from the whole area of East Oregon what may be called the valley lands, the remainder is high, rolling prairie, with a considerable portion of waste, volcanic country in the central and western divisions. The country may be considered well watered throughout, as the streams are numerous, and water is to be found by stock at all seasons of the year. Owing, however, to the elevation of the plains above the beds of the principal streams, irrigation cannot be effected over a large portion of it, unless by artesian wells or by conducting water from the mountains. Such are the general features of that portion of Oregon lying east of the Cascade Mountains.
