*** Source: History and Business Directory of Humboldt County, Lillie E. Hamm, November 1890, Eureka, Cal. *** ---page 031--- [ad] Books and Stationery 10,000 Songs and Song Books Curiosities of all Kinds J. E. Mathews [ad] HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY 31 territory of which nearly every foot is of some tangible worth. The only valley of any very great size in Humboldt county is the Eel River Valley, which contains tens of thousands of acres of as rich land as lie in California. There are numerous small valleys, however, in which most anything can be profitably grown, the soil being extremely fertile. Among the number, Mattole, Klamath, Mad River and Bear River Valleys should be particularly named. Humboldt county can, by no means, be called mountainous, for its hilliest sections are undulating. HUMBOLDT BAY. This magnificent harbor is fifteen miles long, with an average width of three miles, possessing a tidal area of forty square miles, and has an aggregate length of seventy-five miles of navigable channels. Humboldt Bay is the receptacle of a number of small rivers and creeks, of which Jacoby, Freshwater and Salmon creeks and Elk river are the principal, and which have a length from twelve to forty miles respectively. It is completely land-locked, and vessels can lie at the wharves with complete safety at all times of the year, and in all kinds of weather. It is one of three so happily situated on over 1300 miles of sea coast between the Mexican boundary and British Columbia, and ranks second only to the Bay of San Francisco in the importance of its commerce, in point of safety it is second to none. TRINIDAD BAY. Trinidad bay is an open port well sheltered from the winds, twenty miles north of the entrance to Humboldt bay. It is one of the best harbors on the coast, which can accommodate vessels of the largest size. It is in the immediate vicinity of a rich growth of timber, which will, without doubt, be utilized ere long. A railroad to connect the town with Eureka is likely to be built, in the near future, which will transform it into a scene of activity. SHELTER COVE. Shelter Cove lies about 160 miles north of San Francisco and about 50 miles south of Eel river bar. This is an important shipping point for extreme Southern Humboldt and Northern Mendocino. The harbor is of a horse-shoe shape, and is formed by a sharp bend, which, at that point, the coast takes in a westerly direction. It is further protected by large beds of kelp or seaweed, which, to a great extent, break the force of the sea when southerly winds prevail. There is deep water close into the Cove, and plenty of sea-room, making it a good summer harbor for vessels, and a place of refuge during the prevalence of northerly gales. CLIMATE. Humboldt county possesses in common with the coast of California all the characteristics of a genial and equable climate. The air is exhilarating and invigorating, never too warm, and the mercury never descends to the freezing point, a uniformity of temperature being preserved the year round, a condition which ex[ists] [ad] Gibbard & Lever DEALERS IN ALL KINDS OF Furniture Cor. Third an H Streets, pioneer Building, Eureka [ad] ---end---