Sierra Nevada

The Sierra Nevada is the longest mountain range in America and it lies partially within the parks. Along this range lies Mt. Whitney, at an elevated height of 14,491 feet and considered the tallest mountain within the lower United States. In Sequoia National Park, resides another prominent ridge of mountains called the Great Western Divide and it has been posed as the rival of the Sierran Crest. The topography and its gradual formation was the result of the uplift of the southern portion of the Sierra block over an elevation of 8,000 feet during the Plio-Pleistocene time (Konigsmark 2002). In the midst of these towering figures is where many canyons are found and the most spectacular of them all is Kings Canyon. This grand geological feature incorporates a broad glacial valley, awesome tall cliffs, a twisting river, livid green meadows and tremendous waterfalls. Many other iconic canyons can be found spread within the two parks such as Lodgepole below Tokopah Valley, Deep Canyon on the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River and also Kern Canyon (National Park Service Online 2016). Thus some the Tokopah Falls are amongst…

Basin and Range Province in eastern California (Fig.1), and within the Owens Valley basin, flanked by the Sierra Nevada and Inyo/White mountain ranges to the west and east, respectively. The hills are of particular interest as they represent an unusual combination of lithologies, structures, and a geomorphology that is inconsistent for the basin. Using geophysical methods, I hope to infer the source of this outcrop. A long-runout landslide, or a structural flower system is currently proposed to…

High in the Sierra Nevada mountains, there is Mono Lake, which is a large but secluded lake tucked away in a depression in the ground a few miles away from the nearest road. At first glance, it may seem like just another normal lake, but it is home to a bizarre, otherworldly landscape that was created when water from fresh water springs underneath the lake mixed with the lake’s salty, alkaline water, forming deposits of limestone. Near the south shore of Mono Lake, grotesque towers of rough,…

involved in a factory accident which left him temporarily blind, he quit his job in the factory and began to submerse himself in nature. Although he was raised by his father as a very religious man, it was not in a church that he found spirituality. It was in the solitude of the wilderness that he felt the closest to God. He became a leader in the movement to preserve the wilderness. Moving to California and experiencing the beauty of the Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite led Muir to…

1. Which biodiversity hotspot did you choose to write about? (Give the name) I choose to write about the California Floristic Province. 2. Where is it located? (Give the world, region and country) The California Floristic Province is located in California, which is in the United States, which is in North America. 3. What are two important species (give common and scientific names) that live there? Why are they important? The giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and the San Gabriel slender…

They began traveling across the desert where they lost numerous oxen. Then they came upon a trail salesman, Hastings, was selling maps trying to get money. In order to sell them his map, he told the Donner Party that he knew a shortcut for them to take, which was through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Their first mistake was taking the map. This new shortcut was not safe and had never been traveled on. Half of the party took the shortcut and the other half took the original trail. The group…

Over time, we learn how to make clothes from furs and how to read the weather to prepare for rain or a snowstorm. Although we have a lost a few horses and most of the chickens to the freezing temperatures, if we did not move quickly enough, they provided us enough meat to last for weeks. The snow became an excellent way to store meat to help preserve it. With frozen meat lasting longer, we can survive winter and not worry about the risk of starvation. Every year, we move further South until we…

When I come to The United State, I was thinking everything for me is novel and amazing also this is my first time abroad. First, I lived in Irvine, California. My aunt came to America two years ago, so my parents agree me to study abroad. I went to many places in California with my aunt and cousin before I went to University of California, Riverside extension. Such as I went to Santa Monica beach it’s one of the famous beaches in the world. There are so pretty and comfortable. Then I went to…

The Great Smoky Mountains is where Thomas Wolfe’s play The Mountains takes place. Although Wolfe doesn’t delve deep into the environment of the mountains themselves one can feel the mountains surrounding the play itself. The Great Smoky Mountains is a place full of plant life and animals. Surrounding all this plant life and animals are the mountains themselves and the history they tell. The Great Smoky Mountains at its highest areas is roughly about 6000 feet above sea level (Hadley 1). These…

What to Offer in Golden Circle Iceland? The adventure in Golden Circle Island never stops. You should visit the Kerid Crater Lake because it is a 3000-year-old lake. It is a volcanic crater with has 55 meters deep. You need your camera to capture the deep slopes and hilly surroundings in this lake. The circular slopes of this lake look like Caldera and the whole place is nothing short of breathtaking. This place is the must visit place in it. You can take your time to hike down the crater and it…