The Sierra Nevada

by Philip Greenspun

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Alabama

Right now this is just a working file to help me gather my photos together from various PhotoCDs.


Eastward, beyond the surf of the Pacific, beyond the tawny rolling Coast Range and the wide central valley of California, rises the great wall of the Sierra Nevada. Four hundred miles long, seventy-five miles wide, ten to more than fourteen thousand feet in height, it ranks with the major mountain ranges of the world. Certainly it is one of the most beautiful. Geologically, it is a titled block of the earth's crust -- a long, continuous slope fronting the west, and a short, breath-taking decline to the eastern deserts.

Truly the "Range of Light," as John Muir defined it, the Sierra Nevada rises to the sun as a vast shining world of stone and snow and foaming waters, mellowed by the forests growing upon it and the clouds and storms that flow over it.

-- Ansel Adams, 1938, in the foreword to Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail (quoted in the Sierra chapter of his autobiography )

Lake Tahoe

Mark Twain wrote the definitive treatise on Lake Tahoe in Roughing It .

Lake Tahoe. California.

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park

Nevada Falls. Yosemite National Park. California. Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park Nevada Falls (or is it Vernal?). Yosemite National Park. California.

Sunset. Yosemite National Park. California. Nevada Falls. Yosemite National Park. California. Marmot. Yosemite National Park, California. Nevada Falls (I think). Yosemite National Park, California. Vernal Falls (I think). Yosemite National Park, California. Vernal Falls (I think). Yosemite National Park, California.

Mono Lake

Mostly drained to support California agriculture...

Mono Lake. California Mono Lake. California Mono Lake. California Mono Lake. California

Bodie

The nightlife here isn't what it used to be. In its heyday Bodie had 10,000 residents and a murder every day. Bodie is 8400' up into the the White Mountains and is now a California state park.

Bodie, California. Bodie, California. Bodie, California Bodie, California Bodie, California Bodie, California

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

In the White Mountains, just east of the Sierra. Some of these trees are 4,000 years old. They are the oldest living things on earth.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. California's White Mountains. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Sunrise. Looking east toward the Sierra.

The early light of sunrise on the eastern Sierra. From the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of California. Star Streak. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (around 10,500 feet above sea level). California.

Mammoth Region

Here's the Devil's Postpile granite formation:

Devils' Postpile. Mammoth, California Devils' Postpile. Mammoth, California

Alabama Hills

In the Eastern Sierra.

Alabama Hills. Eastern Sierra. Alabama Hills. Eastern Sierra. Alabama Hills. Eastern Sierra. Alabama Hills. Eastern Sierra.

Alabama Hills. Eastern Sierra, California.

Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks

These parks include Mt. Whitney (14,495', highest peak in the Lower 48) and catch all the rain so that it doesn't fall on the dry Eastern Sierra. The Giant Sequoia can live up to 3,200 years and typically grow to a height of over 200 feet. They are the largest living things on earth.

Sequoia National Park, California Moss. King's Canyon National Park, California. Kings Canyon National Park Redwoods. King's Canyon National Park, California. Redwood. King's Canyon National Park, California. Sequoia National Park, California Kings Canyon National Park, California Joel. Kings Canyon National Park, California Rocks. Kings Canyon National Park, California Sunset. Kings Canyon National Park, California Stream. King's Canyon National Park, California. Joel in a stream. King's Canyon National Park, California. Sunset. Kings Canyon National Park, California Sunset. Kings Canyon National Park, California

philg@mit.edu