The Pacific Coast scenic tour : From Southern California to Alaska, the…
The Pacific Coast scenic tour by Henry T. Finck is a travelogue written in the late 19th century. It charts an enthusiast’s journey from Southern California to Alaska—with detours to the Canadian Pacific, Yellowstone, and the Grand Cañon—combining scenic description with practical guidance on routes, seasons, and sights. The focus is on climate, landscapes, and developing communities, giving tourists and health seekers a lucid plan for when and how to see the
Pacific Coast at its best. The opening of the book sets out a coast-wide survey from San Diego to Sitka, with an emphasis on underreported Oregon and Washington, and a clear plan to “follow spring northward” for ideal conditions. It then begins on the southern route: a dramatic desert rainstorm en route, arrival in rapidly growing Los Angeles, and a portrait of boom-time ambition—electric lights, new railways, and burgeoning irrigation—balanced by hands-on notes on climate, crops, ostrich and pampas-grass farming, a mysterious vine blight, and the uneven quality of local wines. Next comes the boom’s collapse and a sober case for enduring strength: public works (notably water systems), realistic prospects for immigrants, and practical counsel on profitable niches like poultry and cattle, anchored by a concise primer on irrigation sources—from windmills and artesian wells to river ditches, tunnels, and future reservoirs. A sustained chapter praises the winter paradise—dry air, steady sea-breezes, rare rains mostly at night—and argues its superiority to Florida and Mediterranean resorts, while sketching a vision of dispersed “rural cities” and candidly noting drawbacks such as gophers, pests, summer dust, and the hot, dry “Santa Ana” wind. The narrative then visits Anaheim and Riverside: rabbit hunts in cactus fields, the rise of Washington navel oranges, Riverside’s immaculate groves and grand Magnolia Avenue, and even a wry look at local prohibition. Finally, it turns south to San Diego and Coronado’s near-perfect climate, the Sweetwater Reservoir’s transformative water supply, speculative town-building at Chula Vista, and a lighthearted excursion over the Mexican border to Tia Juana, where the saloons, customs rifles, and meager curiosities furnish a brief, vivid border sketch. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Finck, Henry T., 1854-1926 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Pacific Coast scenic tour : From Southern California to Alaska, the Canadian Pacific Railway, Yellowstone Park and the Grand Cañon |
| Original Publication | London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1891. |
| Credits | Peter Becker, A Marshall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | F850.5: United States local history: Pacific States |
| Subject | Alaska -- Description and travel |
| Subject | Pacific States -- Description and travel |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77884 |
| Release Date | Feb 8, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 319 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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