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Ansel Adams Wilderness
The Ansel Adams Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States. The wilderness spans ; 33.9% of the territory lies in the Inyo National Forest, 65.8% is in the Sierra National Forest, and the remaining 0.3% covers nearly all of Devils Postpile National Monument. Yosemite National Park lies to the north and northwest, while the John Muir Wilderness lies to the south. History The wilderness was established as part of the original Wilderness Act in 1964 as the Minarets Wilderness. The Minarets Wilderness was created by enlarging and renaming the Mount Dana-Minarets Primitive Area. In 1984, after his death, the area was expanded and renamed in memory of Ansel Adams, well-known environmentalist and nature photographer who is famous for his black-and-white landscape photographs of the Sierra Nevada. Geography and Geology The Ansel Adams wilderness spans in elevation from , forming the northern end of the High Sierra. The centerpiece of the Ansel Ada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madera County, California
Madera County (), officially the County of Madera, is a county at the geographic center of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 156,255. The county seat is Madera. Madera County comprises the Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Fresno-Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the eastern San Joaquin Valley and the central Sierra Nevada. The southeasternmost part of Yosemite National Park is located in the county's northeast. History and etymology Madera County was formed in 1893 from Fresno County during a special election held in Fresno on May 16, 1893. Citizens residing in the area that was to become Madera County voted 1,179 to 358 for separation from Fresno County and the establishment of Madera County. Madera is the Spanish term for wood. The county derives its name from the town of Madera, named when the California Lumber Company built a log flume to carry lumber to the Central P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landscape Photography
Landscape photography shows the spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes. Landscape photography is done for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the most common is to recall a personal observation or experience while in the outdoors, especially when traveling. Others pursue it particularly as an outdoor lifestyle, to be involved with nature and the elements, some as an escape from the artificial world.Caputo, Robert"Landscape Photography Tips" ''National Geographic,'' August 2007, (from ''Photography Field Guide: Landscapes and Ultimate Photography Field Guide: Landscapes'')McNeal, Kevin with interviewer Dimitri Vasileiou"In Conversation... Kevin McNeal", ''Landscape Photography Magazine'', 2014 Edition, p.34Ellement, Brad (U.K."Featured Artist: Brad Ellement", ''Landscape Photography Magazine,'' 2014 Edition, p.56Vas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lodgepole Pine
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, but is rare in lowland rain forests. Like all pines (member species of the genus ''Pinus''), it is an evergreen conifer. Description Depending on subspecies, ''Pinus contorta'' grows as an evergreen shrub or tree. The shrub form is krummholz and is approximately high. The thin and narrow-crowned tree can grow high and achieve up to in diameter at chest height. The ''murrayana'' subspecies is the tallest. The crown is rounded and the top of the tree is flattened. In dense forests, the tree has a slim, conical crown. The formation of twin trees is common in some populations in British Columbia. The elastic branches stand upright or overhang and are difficult to break. The branches are covered with short shoots that are easy to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fellfield
A fellfield or fell field comprises the environment of a slope, usually alpine or tundra, where the dynamics of frost (freeze and thaw cycles) and of wind give rise to characteristic plant forms in scree interstices. Soil dynamics The freeze-thaw cycles tend to push plants out of the soil. In addition, the high porosity of the soil makes a fellfield a difficult place for plants to grow. Fellfields often have typical patterns of rocks: lines of rocks that have been pushed out of the soil, and slid into a low region. Botany In botany the term "fellfield" describes an ecoregion, ecosystem, habitat, or plant community. The term frequently used is alpine fellfield. Fellfield is usually applied to an alpine tundra region of high altitude mountains, or high latitude islands, and the alpine plants there. Flora Fellfields are typically populated by cushion plants: perennials that grow close to the ground. Cushion plants are well-adapted to the dryness and short growing season of a fellf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpine Meadow
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level, and alpine tundra merges with polar tundra. The high elevation causes an adverse climate, which is too cold and windy to support tree growth. Alpine tundra transitions to sub-alpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as ''Krummholz''. With increasing elevation it ends at the snow line where snow and ice persist through summer. Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. The flora of the alpine tundra is characterized by dwarf shrubs close to the ground. The cold climate of the alpine tundra is caused by adiabatic cooling of air, and is similar to polar climate. Geography Alpine tundra occurs at high enough altitude at any latitude. Portion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Valley (California)
The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast of the state. It covers approximately , about 11% of California's land area. The valley is bounded by the Coast Ranges to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east. The Central Valley is a region known for its agricultural productivity: it provides more than half of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States. More than of the valley are irrigated via reservoirs and canals. The valley hosts many cities, including the state capital Sacramento; as well as Redding, Chico, Stockton, Modesto, Merced, Fresno, Visalia, and Bakersfield. The Central Valley watershed comprises , or over a third of California. It consists of three main drainage systems: the Sacramento Valley in the north, which receives over of rain annually; the drier San J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side. Mammoth Mountain was formed in a series of eruptions that ended 57,000 years ago. Mammoth still produces hazardous volcanic gases that kill trees and caused ski patroller fatalities in 2006. Geology Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex in Mono County, California. It lies in the southwestern corner of the Long Valley Caldera and consists of about 12 rhyodacite and dacite overlapping domes. These domes formed in a long series of eruptions from 110,000 to 57,000 years ago, building a volcano that reaches in elevation. During this time, massive dacite eruptions occurred roughly every 5000 years. The volcano is still active with minor eruptions, the largest of which was a minor phreatic (steam) eruption 700 years ago. Mammoth Mountain also lies on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columnar Basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System. For example, the bulk of the plains of Venus, which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars. Molten basalt lava has a low viscosity due to its relatively low silica content (between 45% and 52%), resulting in rapidly moving lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidifying. Flood basalts are thick sequen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. An important source of irrigation water as well as a wildlife corridor, the San Joaquin is among the most heavily dammed and diverted of California's rivers. People have inhabited the San Joaquin Valley for more than 8,000 years, and it was long one of the major population centers of pre-Columbian California. Starting in the late 18th century, successive waves of explorers then settlers, mainly Spanish and American, emigrated to the San Joaquin basin. When Spain colonized the area, they sent soldiers from Mexico, who were usually of mixed native Mexican and Spanish birth, led by Spanish officers. Franciscan missionaries from Spain came with the expeditions to evangelize the natives ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minarets (California)
The Minarets are a series of jagged peaks located in the Ritter Range, a sub-range of the Sierra Nevada in the state of California. They are easily viewed from Minaret Summit, which is accessible by auto. Collectively, they form an arête, and are a prominent feature in the Ansel Adams Wilderness which was known as the Minaret Wilderness until it was renamed in honor of Ansel Adams in 1984. The peaks were named in 1868 by the California Geographical Survey, which reported: "To the south of Mount Ritter are some grand pinnacles of granite, very lofty and apparently inaccessible, to which we gave the name of 'the Minarets.'" Seventeen of the Minarets have been given unofficial names, including Michael Minaret, Adams Minaret, Leonard Minaret, and Clyde Minaret. Clyde Minaret, named after Norman Clyde, is the tallest of the spires. The Southeast Face Route of Clyde Minaret is a technical rock climb featured in ''Fifty Classic Climbs of North America''. The area is notable for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Ritter
Mount Ritter is the highest mountain in Madera County, California, in the Western United States, at an elevation of . It is also the highest and most prominent peak of its namesake, the Ritter Range, a subrange of the Sierra Nevada in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Mount Ritter is the 15th highest mountain peak in California with at least 500 meters of topographic prominence. Geography Mount Ritter is made of strikingly dark rock and is quite prominent due to its height and isolation. It is in the middle of the Ritter Range, which includes neighboring Banner Peak and the Minarets. The prominent and memorable shape of the Ritter–Banner pair is visible from high elevations far to the north and south in the Sierra Nevada. Mount Ritter was named by Josiah Whitney, chief of the California Geological Survey, for Carl Ritter, who had been a teacher of his when he was a student in Berlin during the 1840s. See also * List of highest points in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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