These temper the heat of summer, so that in the shade no one is incommoded by perspiration; they also soften the rigors of winter, and produce such a moderation in the climate, that the inhabitants can wear the same dress throughout the year.
The soil in the neighborhood of the sea-coast is of a brown color, inclining to red, and generally poor; being a mixture of clay and gravel.

In the interior, and especially in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, the soil is generally blackish, though sometimes yellow.

It is frequently mixed with marl, and with marine substances in a state of decomposition.

This kind of soil extends to a considerable depth, as may be perceived in the deep cuts made by ravines, and by the beds of rivers.

The vegetation in these valleys is much more abundant than near the coast; in fact, it is these fertile intervals, locked up between rocky sierras, or scooped out from barren wastes, that population must extend itself, as it were, in veins and ramifications, if ever the regions beyond the mountains should become civilized..