The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. The Sierra Nevada is part of the American Cordillera, an almost continuous chain of mountain ranges that forms the western "backbone" of the Americas. The Sierra runs north-south, and its width ranges from to across east–west. Notable features include the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world by volume;

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

, the largest

alpine lake An alpine lake is a high-altitude lake in a mountainous area, usually near or above the tree line, with extended periods of ice#On lakes, ice cover. These lakes are commonly glacial lakes formed from glacial activity (either current or in the pas ...

in North America; Mount Whitney at , the highest point in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

; and

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. The valley is about long a ...

sculpted by glaciers from one-hundred-million-year-old

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, containing high waterfalls. The Sierra is home to three

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s, twenty-six wilderness areas, ten national forests, and two national monuments. These areas include Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks, as well as

Devils Postpile National Monument A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. Devil or Devils may also refer to: * Satan * Devil in Christianity * Demon * Folk devil Art, entertainment, and media Film and ...

. More than one hundred million years ago during the Nevadan orogeny, granite formed deep underground. The range started to uplift less than five million years ago, and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the range. The uplift caused a wide range of elevations and climates in the Sierra Nevada, which are reflected by the presence of five life zones (areas with similar plant and animal communities). Uplift continues due to faulting caused by tectonic forces, creating spectacular

fault block Fault blocks are very large blocks of rock, sometimes hundreds of kilometres in extent, created by Tectonics, tectonic and localized stresses in Crust (geology), Earth's crust. Large areas of bedrock are broken up into blocks by Fault (geology) ...

escarpments along the eastern edge of the southern Sierra. The Sierra Nevada has played an important role in the history of California and the United States. The

California gold rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

occurred in the western foothills from 1848 through 1855. Due to its inaccessibility, the range was not fully explored until 1912.

Name and etymology

Used in 1542 by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to describe a Pacific Coast Range ( Santa Cruz Mountains), the term "Sierra Nevada" was a general identification of less familiar ranges toward the interior. In 1776, Pedro Font's map applied the name to the range currently known as the Sierra Nevada. The literal translation is "snowy mountains", from ''sierra'' "a range of mountains", 1610s, from Spanish "jagged mountain range", lit. "saw", from Latin "a saw"; and from the Spanish adjective "snowy". While many mountain ranges are unanimously referred to in the plural ( Smokies, Rockies, Cascades, etc.), some locals who live in "the Sierra" are not hesitant to admonish those who refer to the area as "the Sierras". However, there are historical and literary references that use the plural, such as the 1871 collection of

Joaquin Miller Cincinnatus Heine Miller ( ; September 8, 1837 – February 17, 1913), better known by his pen name Joaquin Miller ( ), was an American poet, author, and frontiersman. He became known as the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about wh ...

poems, ''Songs of the Sierras''. Ansel Adams, in response to a publication of his photographs under the title '' Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras'', commented, "To add an ''s'' is a linguistic, Californian, and mountaineering sin."

Geography

The Sierra Nevada lies primarily in Central and Eastern California, with the Carson Range, a small but historically important spur, extending into Nevada. West-to-east, the Sierra Nevada's elevation increases gradually from in the Central Valley to more than atop the highest peaks of its crest to the east. The east slope forms the steep Sierra Escarpment. Unlike its surroundings, the range receives a substantial amount of snowfall and precipitation due to orographic lift.

Setting

The Sierra Nevada's irregular northern boundary stretches from the Susan River and Fredonyer Pass to the North Fork Feather River. It represents where the granitic bedrock of the Sierra Nevada dives below the southern extent of Cenozoic igneous surface rock from the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

. It is bounded on the west by

's Central Valley, on the east by the Basin and Range Province, and on the southeast by the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. The southern boundary is at Tehachapi Pass. Physiographically, the Sierra is a section of the Cascade–Sierra Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division. The California Geological Survey states that "the northern Sierra boundary is marked where bedrock disappears under the Cenozoic volcanic cover of the Cascade Range."

Watersheds

The range is drained on its western slope by the Central Valley watershed, which discharges into the Pacific Ocean at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. The northern third of the western Sierra is part of the Sacramento River watershed (including the

Feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

, Yuba, and

American River The American River is a List of rivers of California, river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. Via the Sacramento River, it ...

tributaries), and the middle third is drained by the San Joaquin River (including the Mokelumne, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced River tributaries). The southern third of the range is drained by the Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and Kern rivers, which flow into the

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

of Tulare Lake, which rarely overflows into the San Joaquin during wet years. The eastern slope watershed of the Sierra is much narrower; its rivers flow out into the endorheic Great Basin of eastern California and western

. From north to south, the Susan River flows into intermittent Honey Lake, the

Truckee River The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...

flows from

into Pyramid Lake, the Carson River runs into Carson Sink, the Walker River into Walker Lake; Rush, Lee Vining and Mill Creeks flow into

Mono Lake Mono Lake ( ) is a Salt lake, saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes Hypersaline lake, high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake ...

; and the Owens River into dry Owens Lake. Although none of the eastern rivers reach the sea, many of the streams from Mono Lake southwards are diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct which provides water to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Elevation

The height of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada increases gradually from north to south. Between Fredonyer Pass and Lake Tahoe, the peaks range from to more than . The crest near Lake Tahoe is roughly high, with several peaks approaching the height of Freel Peak (). Farther south, the highest peak in Yosemite National Park is Mount Lyell (). The Sierra rises to almost with Mount Humphreys near

Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is the only incorporated city in Inyo County, California, United States. It is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley within the Mojave Desert, at an elevation of . The city was named after Bishop Creek ...

. Finally, near Lone Pine, Mount Whitney is at , the highest point in the

. South of Mount Whitney, the elevation of the range quickly dwindles. The crest elevation is almost near Lake Isabella, but south of the lake, the peaks reach only a modest .

Notable features

There are several notable geographical features in the Sierra Nevada: *

is a large, clear freshwater lake in the northern Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of and an area of . Lake Tahoe lies between the main Sierra and the Carson Range, a spur of the Sierra. * Hetch Hetchy Valley,

, Kings Canyon, and Kern Canyon are examples of many glacially-scoured canyons on the west side of the Sierra. *

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

is filled with notable features such as waterfalls, granite domes, high mountains, lakes, and meadows. * Groves of giant sequoias ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' occur along a narrow band of altitude on the western side of the Sierra Nevada. Giant sequoias are the largest trees in the world. * Two of the largest rivers in California, which form the Central Valley and drain into

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

, derive most of their flow from the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The northern of the two is the Sacramento River (which also drains the adjacent

and Klamath Range); the southern one is the San Joaquin River.

Communities

Communities in the Sierra Nevada include

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

, South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Grass Valley, Lee Vining, Mammoth Lakes,

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, Nevada City, Placerville, Pollock Pines, Portola, Auburn, Colfax, Kennedy Meadows and Shaver Lake.

Protected areas

Much of the Sierra Nevada consists of federal lands and is either protected from development or strictly managed. The mountain range is home to three

National Parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoiaand two national monuments Devils Postpile and Giant Sequoia. Ten national forests span much of the mountain range's remaining area. Within these national parks, monuments, and forests lie 26 wilderness areas, which together protect 15.4% of the Sierra's from

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks The

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

and the Bureau of Land Management currently control 52% of the land in the Sierra Nevada. Logging and grazing are generally allowed on land controlled by these agencies, under federal regulations that balance recreation and development on the land. The California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area near Mount Williamson in the southern Sierra was established to protect the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. Starting in 1981, hikers were unable to enter the Area from May 15 through December 15, in order to protect the sheep. As of 2010, the restriction has been lifted and access to the Area is open for the whole year.

Geologic history

The earliest rocks in the Sierra Nevada are metamorphic roof pendants of

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

age, the oldest being metasedimentary rocks from the

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

in the Mount Morrison region. These dark-colored hornfels, slates,

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

s, and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

s are found in the western foothills (notably around Coarsegold, west of the Tehachapi Pass) and east of the Sierra Crest. The earliest granite of the Sierra started to form in the

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

period. This granite is mostly found east of the crest and north of 37.2°N. In the Triassic and into the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

, an

island arc Island arcs are long archipelago, chains of active volcanoes with intense earthquake, seismic activity found along convergent boundary, convergent plate tectonics, tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have re ...

collided with the west coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and raised a chain of volcanoes, in an event called the Nevadan orogeny. Nearly all subaerial Sierran Arc volcanoes have since disappeared; their remains were redeposited during the Great Valley Sequence and the subsequent Cenozoic filling of the Great Valley, which is the source of much of the sedimentary rock in California. In the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

, a subduction zone formed at the edge of the continent. This means that an oceanic plate started to dive beneath the North American Plate. Magma, formed through the subduction of the ancient Farallon Plate, rose in plumes ( plutons) deep underground, their combined mass forming what is called the Sierra Nevada batholith. These plutons formed at various times, from 115 Ma to 87 Ma. The earlier plutons formed in the western half of the Sierra, while the later plutons formed in the eastern half of the Sierra. At this time, the Sierra Nevada formed the western ramp of a high plateau to the east, the Nevadaplano. During this period, rivers cut deep canyons into the range, generating topographic relief similar to the modern Sierra Nevada. This period of incision was halted approximately 30 million years ago by vast outpourings of pyroclastic flows from Nevada which filled the northern Sierran valleys with volcanic deposits. These pyroclastic flows, which continued for about 10 million years, were followed by andesitic

lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...

s which nearly completely buried the northern Sierran landscape such that only the tallest peaks emerged above a volcanic plain. This second period of volcanism appears to have been triggered by crustal extension associated with extension of the Basin and Range Province. As this andesitic volcanism began waning about five million years ago, the rivers were able to begin eroding away the 100s of meters of volcanic deposits and resume the incision that had been halted by the first period of volcanism. Some studies have argued that this recent incision is a sign of recent tectonic uplift. Other geologists claim that the elevations of many of the modern rivers flowing down the range are only lower than their ancient counterparts from 30–40 million years ago and the overall elevation and bedrock topography of the northern Sierra Nevada has changed little since at least 30–40 million years ago. About 2.5 Ma, the Earth's climate cooled, and

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

s started.

Glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s carved out characteristic U-shaped canyons throughout the Sierra. The combination of river and glacier erosion exposed the uppermost portions of the plutons emplaced millions of years before, leaving only a remnant of metamorphic rock on top of some Sierra peaks. Extension of the Basin and Range continues today, leading to downdropping of crustal blocks just east of the Sierra Nevada during large earthquakes, such as the Lone Pine earthquake of 1872.

Climate and meteorology

The climate of the Sierra Nevada is influenced by the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

of California. During the fall, winter and spring, precipitation in the Sierra ranges from where it occurs mostly as snow above . Precipitation is highest on the central and northern portions of the western slope between elevation, due to orographic lift. Above , precipitation diminishes on the western slope up to the crest, since most of the precipitation has been wrung out at lower elevations. Most parts of the range east of the crest are in a

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

, and receive less than 25 inches of precipitation per year. While most summer days are dry, afternoon thunderstorms are common, particularly during the North American Monsoon in mid and late summer. Some of these summer thunderstorms drop over an inch of rain in a short period, and the lightning can start fires. Summer high temperatures average . Winters are comparatively mild, and the temperature is usually only just low enough to sustain a heavy snowpack. For example, Tuolumne Meadows, at elevation, has winter daily highs about with daily lows about . The growing season lasts 20 to 230 days, strongly dependent on elevation. The highest elevations of the Sierra have an alpine climate. The Sierra Nevada snowpack is the major source of water and a significant source of electric power generation in California. Many reservoirs were constructed in the canyons of the Sierra throughout the 20th century, Several major aqueducts serving both agriculture and urban areas distribute Sierra water throughout the state. However, the Sierra casts a

, which greatly affects the climate and ecology of the central Great Basin. This rain shadow is largely responsible for Nevada being the driest state in the United States. Precipitation varies substantially from year to year. It is not uncommon for some years to receive precipitation totals far above or below normal. The height of the range and the steepness of the Sierra Escarpment, particularly at the southern end of the range, produces a wind phenomenon known as the "Sierra Rotor". This is a horizontal rotation of the atmosphere just east of the crest of the Sierra, set in motion as an effect of strong westerly winds. The Sierra Nevada is home to the Mono winds, strong, dry downslope winds that primarily affect the western slopes, especially in the central region, and are most common from late fall to spring. With gusts reaching over 80 miles per hour, these winds can cause widespread disruption, uprooting trees, damaging infrastructure, and making mountain passes hazardous for drivers. Because of the large number of airplanes that have crashed in the Sierra Nevada, primarily due to the complex weather and atmospheric conditions such as downdrafts and microbursts caused by geography there, a portion of the area, a triangle whose vertices are

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

;

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

; and

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, has been dubbed the "Nevada Triangle", in reference to the Bermuda Triangle. Some counts put the number of crashes in the triangle at 2,000, including millionaire and record-breaking flyer Steve Fossett. Hypotheses that the crashes are related in some way to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

's Area 51, or to the activities of extra-terrestrial aliens, have no evidence to support them.

Ecology

The Sierra Nevada is divided into a number of biotic zones, each of which is defined by its climate and supports a number of interdependent species. Life in the higher elevation zones adapted to colder weather, and to most of the precipitation falling as snow. The

of the Sierra causes the eastern slope to be warmer and drier: each life zone is higher in the east. A list of biotic zones, and corresponding elevations, is presented below: * The western foothill zone, , with grassland, oak-grass savanna and chaparral-oak woodland. Gray pine (also known as Foothill pine) is intermixed with the oak woodland. * The Pinyon pine- Juniper woodland, east side only. * The Sierra Nevada lower montane forest ( indicator species: Ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine), west side, east side. This biotic zone is notable for containing giant sequoia. * The Sierra Nevada upper montane forest (indicator species: Lodgepole pine, Red fir) west side, east side. * The Sierra Nevada subalpine zone (indicator species: Whitebark pine) west side, east side * The alpine region at greater than , and greater than east side.

History

Native Americans

Archaeological excavations placed Martis people of Paleo-Indians in northcentral Sierra Nevada during the period of 3,000 BCE to 500 CE. The earliest identified sustaining

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

in the Sierra Nevada were the Northern Paiute tribes on the east side, with the Mono tribe and Sierra Miwok tribe on the western side, and the Kawaiisu and Tübatulabal tribes in the southern Sierra. Today, some historic intertribal trade route trails over mountain passes are known artifact locations, such as Duck Pass with its

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...

s. The California and Sierra Native American tribes were predominantly peaceful, with occasional territorial disputes between the Paiute and Sierra Miwok tribes in the mountains. Washo and Maidu were also in this area prior to the era of European exploration and displacement.

Initial European-American exploration

American exploration of the mountain range started in 1827. Although prior to the 1820s there were Spanish missions, '' pueblos'' (towns), '' presidios'' (forts), and '' ranchos'' along the coast of California, no Spanish explorers visited the Sierra Nevada. The first Americans to visit the mountains were amongst a group led by fur trapper Jedediah Smith, crossing north of the Yosemite area in May 1827, at Ebbetts Pass. In 1833, a subgroup of the Bonneville Expedition led by Joseph Reddeford Walker was sent westward to find an overland route to

. Eventually the party discovered a route along the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is the longest river in the northern and central part of Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in northern Nevada's Jarbidge Mountains, Jarbidge, Independence Mountains, Independence, and ...

across present-day

, ascending the Sierra Nevada, starting near present-day Bridgeport and descending between the Tuolumne and Merced River drainage. The group may have been the first non-indigenous people to see

. The Walker Party probably visited either the Tuolumne or Merced Groves of giant sequoia, becoming the first non-indigenous people to see the giant trees, but journals relating to the Walker party were destroyed in 1839, in a print shop fire in Philadelphia. Starting in 1841, emigrants from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

started to move to California via

and Walker Passes. In the winter of 1844, Lt. John C. Frémont, accompanied by Kit Carson, was the first European American to see

. The Frémont party camped at .

Gold rush

The California Gold Rush began at Sutter's Mill, near Coloma, in the western foothills of the Sierra. On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall, a foreman working for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter, found shiny metal in the tailrace of a lumber mill Marshall was building for Sutter on the

. Rumors soon started to spread and were confirmed in March 1848 by

newspaper publisher and merchant Samuel Brannan. Brannan strode through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" On August 19, 1848, the '' New York Herald'' was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report the discovery of gold. On December 5, 1848, President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. Soon, waves of immigrants from around the world, later called the "forty-niners", invaded the Gold Country of California or "Mother Lode". Miners lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships. Wherever gold was discovered, hundreds of miners would collaborate to put up a camp and stake their claims. Because the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the

gravel beds was so richly concentrated, the early forty-niners simply panned for gold in California's rivers and streams. However, panning cannot take place on a large scale, and miners and groups of miners graduated to more complex placer mining. Groups of prospectors would divert the water from an entire river into a sluice alongside the river, and then dig for gold in the newly exposed river bottom. By 1853, most of the easily accessible gold had been collected, and attention turned to extracting gold from more difficult locations.

Hydraulic mining Hydraulic mining is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment.Paul W. Thrush, ''A Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms'', US Bureau of Mines, 1968, p.560. In the placer mining of ...

was used on ancient gold-bearing gravel beds on hillsides and bluffs in the gold fields. In hydraulic mining, a high-pressure hose directed a powerful stream or jet of water at gold-bearing gravel beds. It is estimated that by the mid-1880s, 11 million troy ounces (340 metric tons) of gold (worth approximately US$16 billion in 2020 prices) had been recovered by "hydraulicking". A consequence of these extraction methods was that large amounts of gravel,

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

, heavy metals, and other pollutants were washed into streams and rivers. , many areas still bear the scars of hydraulic mining, since the resulting exposed earth and downstream gravel deposits do not support plant life. It is estimated that by 1855, at least 300,000 gold-seekers, merchants, and other immigrants had arrived in California from around the world. The huge numbers of newcomers brought by the Gold Rush drove Native Americans out of their traditional hunting, fishing and food-gathering areas. To protect their homes and livelihood, some Native Americans responded by attacking the miners, provoking counter-attacks on native villages. The Native Americans, out-gunned, were often slaughtered. California Geological Survey Field Party of 1864

California Geological Survey Field Party of 1864

Thorough exploration

The Gold Rush populated the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, but even by 1860, most of the Sierra was unexplored. The state legislature authorized the California Geological Survey to officially explore the Sierra (and survey the rest of the state). Josiah Whitney was appointed to head the survey. Men of the survey, including William H. Brewer, Charles F. Hoffmann and Clarence King, explored the backcountry of what would become

in 1863. In 1864, they explored the area around Kings Canyon. In 1869,

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

started his wanderings in the Sierra Nevada range, and in 1871, King was the first to climb Mount Langley, mistakenly believing he had summited Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the range. In 1873, Mount Whitney was climbed for the first time by 3 men from Lone Pine, California, on a fishing trip. From 1892 to 1897 Theodore Solomons made the first attempt to map a route along the crest of the Sierra. Other people finished exploring and mapping the Sierra. Bolton Coit Brown explored the Kings River watershed in 1895–1899. Joseph N. LeConte mapped the area around

and what would become Kings Canyon National Park. James S. Hutchinson, a noted mountaineer, climbed the Palisades (1904) and Mount Humphreys (1905). By 1912, the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

published a set of maps of the Sierra Nevada, and the era of exploration was over.

Logging

Logging in the Sierra Nevada has significantly impacted the landscape. The logging industry in the Sierra Nevada started in the early 1800s, when settlers relied on hand tools and ox-teams. Before the California Gold Rush, the industry was relatively small, and most of the lumber used in the state was imported. However, as the demand for lumber to support the mining industry increased, logging became a major industry in the region. Initially, most of the lumber produced in California was used in mining. The Comstock Lode was a major center for logging, with operations supplying lumber for the construction of mine structures, such as tunnels, shafts, and buildings, as well as fuel for the mines. Dan DeQuille observed in 1876, "the Comstock Lode may truthfully be said to be the tomb of the forests of the Sierra. Millions upon millions of feet of lumber are annually buried in the mines, nevermore to be resurrected." In the late 1800s, the logging industry moved westward due to the depletion of white pine forests in the upper Midwest. This shift was encouraged by the positive portrayal of the Sierra Nevada as a promising timber region. In 1859, Horace Greely marveled, "I never saw anything so much like good timber in the course of any seventy-five miles' travel as I saw in crossing the Sierra Nevada." HenryERoberts-BaseofFallenSequoia

The logging industry experienced significant growth in the late 1800s due to several factors. The Timber and Stone Act of 1878 allowed individuals to claim ownership of old-growth timber tracts, which were later consolidated under joint-stock companies, such as those founded by Midwestern lumber magnates. These companies had the financial resources to transport timber from remote locations and build sawmills near the tracks of the Southern Pacific railroad which connected the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

to the rest of the state in the 1870s. This facilitated the nationwide distribution of lumber. In addition, technological advancements, such as the

shay locomotive The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a ''geared st ...

and the v-shaped log flume, made it easier to transport lumber across mountainous terrain.

Conservation

The tourism potential of the Sierra Nevada was recognized early in the European history of the range.

was first protected by the federal government in 1864. The Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded to

in 1866 and turned into a state park. John Muir perceived overgrazing by sheep and logging of giant sequoia to be a problem in the Sierra. Muir successfully lobbied for the protection of the rest of Yosemite National Park: Congress created an Act to protect the park in 1890. The Valley and Mariposa Grove were added to the Park in 1906. In the same year, Sequoia National Park was formed to protect the Giant Sequoia: all logging of the Sequoia ceased at that time. In 1903, the city of

proposed building a hydroelectric dam to flood Hetch Hetchy Valley. The city and the Sierra Club argued over the dam for 10 years, until the U.S. Congress passed the Raker Act in 1913 and allowed dam building to proceed. O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923. Between 1912 and 1918, Congress debated three times to protect Lake Tahoe in a national park. None of these efforts succeeded, and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, towns such as South Lake Tahoe grew around the shores of the lake. By 1980, the permanent population of the Lake Tahoe area grew to 50,000, while the summer population grew to 90,000. The development around Lake Tahoe affected the clarity of the lake water. In order to preserve the lake's clarity, construction in the Tahoe basin is currently regulated by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. As the 20th century progressed, more of the Sierra became available for recreation; other forms of economic activity decreased. The John Muir Trail, a trail that followed the Sierra crest from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney, was funded in 1915 and finished in 1938. Kings Canyon National Park was formed in 1940 to protect the deep canyon of the Kings River. In the 1920s, automobile clubs and nearby towns started to lobby for trans-Sierra highways over Piute Pass (which would have closed the gap in SR 168) and other locations. However, by end of the 1920s, the Forest Service and the Sierra Club decided that roadless wilderness in the Sierra was valuable, and fought the proposal. The Piute Pass proposal faded out by the early 1930s, with the Forest Service proposing a route over Minaret Summit in 1933. The Minaret Summit route was lobbied against by California's Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in 1972. The expansion of the

and Ansel Adams Wildernesses in the 1980s sealed off the Minaret Summit route. A trans-Sierra route between Porterville and Lone Pine was proposed by local businessmen in 1923. Eventually, a circuitous route across the Sierra was built across Sherman Pass by 1976. By 1964, the Wilderness Act protected portions of the Sierra as primitive areas where humans are simply temporary visitors. Gradually, 20 wilderness areas were established to protect scenic backcountry of the Sierra. These wilderness areas include the John Muir Wilderness (protecting the eastern slope of the Sierra and the area between Yosemite and Kings Canyon Parks), and wilderness within each of the National Parks. The Sierra Nevada still faces a number of issues that threaten its conservation. Logging occurs on both private and public lands, including controversial clearcut methods and thinning logging on private and public lands. Grazing occurs on private lands as well as on National Forest lands, which include Wilderness areas. Overgrazing can alter hydrologic processes and vegetation composition, remove vegetation that serves as food and habitat for native species, and contribute to sedimentation and pollution in waterways. A recent increase in large wildfires like the Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest and the King Fire on the Eldorado National Forest, has prompted concerns. A 2015 study indicated that the increase in fire risk in California may be attributable to human-induced climate change. A study looking back over 8,000 years found that warmer climate periods experienced severe droughts and more stand-replacing fires and concluded that as climate is such a powerful influence on wildfires, trying to recreate presettlement forest structure may be difficult in a warmer future.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Clickable map of Sierra Nevada peaks

Sierra Nevada info at SummitPost
{{Authority control Geologic provinces of California Mountain ranges of Northern California Mountain ranges of Nevada Physiographic sections Regions of California Regions of Nevada Volcanism of California