The Sierra Nevada

Illustration: The majestic Sierra Nevada range in California.

 In 1776, a Spanish missionary in northern California looked east and saw "un gran sierra nevada," a great range of saw-toothed, snow-covered peaks. He had sighted the mountains known today as the Sierra Navada, a spectacular region of sheer cliffs, deep canyons, mountain lakes, and meadows, and rushing waterfalls.

The mountains stretch unbroken for more than 400 miles, crossed only by a few high passes. On the western side of the range, the land rises gradually to the ranges highest peaks, known as the High Sierras. Forests of pine, fir, and giant sequoias cover the lower slopes. Mountain streams and rivers help make the western foothills a fertile farming region. On the eastern side, the mountains drop off sharply, and the land is dry. Mountain man Jedediah Smith explored the Sierras in 1827. In 1848, the discovery of gold brought miners and settlers to the foothills. Naturalist John Muir first ventured into the Sierras in 1869 and later became their most famous defender. In 1892, he founded the Sierra Club to protect the mountains from grazing and logging. Thanks partly to his efforts, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks preserve millions of acres of the Sierra Nevada today.

DID YOU KNOW....Two famous natural wonders within the Sierra Nevada are 1,600-foot-deep Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney, which at 14,496 feet, is the highest peak in the U.S. south of Alaska.

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