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History Of The Sierra Nevada (United States)
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily in Nevada. 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 General Sherman, the largest tree in the world by volume; Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America; Mount Whitney at , the highest point in the contiguous United States; and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers from one-hundred-million-year-old granite, containing high waterfalls. The Sierra is home to three national parks, twenty wilderness areas, and two national monuments. These areas include Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks; and Devils Postpi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mills Creek
Mills Creek may refer to: *Mills Creek (Missouri), a stream in Missouri *Mills Creek, a San Francisco Bay Area stream with mouth at Arroyo León Arroyo León (Spanish for "Lion Creek") is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 stream in San Mateo County, California which is a tributary of Pilarcitos Creek. ... () *Mills Creek, a California stream with headwaters on the Sierra Crest at the Mills Creek cirque () * Mills Creek (San Mateo County), a stream flowing through Burlingame to the San Francisco Bay References {{SIA, rivers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Cordillera
The American Cordillera is a chain of mountain ranges (cordilleras) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America and South America, with Aconcagua as the highest peak of the chain. It is also the backbone of the volcanic arc that forms the eastern half of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Description North America The ranges of the Cordillera from Mexico northwards are collectively called the North American Cordillera. From north to south, this sequence of overlapping and parallel ranges begins with the Alaska Range and the Brooks Range in Alaska and runs through the Yukon into British Columbia. The main belt of the Rocky Mountains along with the parallel Columbia Mountains and Coast Ranges of mountains and islands continue through British Columbia and Vancouver Island. In the United States, the Cordillera branches include the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and various small Pacific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nevadan Orogeny
The Nevadan orogeny occurred along the western margin of North America during the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time which is approximately from 155 Ma to 145 Ma. Throughout the duration of this orogeny there were at least two different kinds of orogenic processes occurring. During the early stages of orogenesis an "Andean type" continental magmatic arc developed due to subduction of the Farallon oceanic plate beneath the North American Plate. The latter stages of orogenesis, in contrast, saw multiple oceanic arc terranes accreted onto the western margin of North America in a "Cordilleran type" accretionary orogen. Deformation related to the accretion of these volcanic arc terranes is mostly limited to the western regions of the resulting mountain ranges ( Klamath Mountain range and Sierra Nevada) and is absent from the eastern regions. In addition, the deformation experienced in these mountain ranges is mostly due to the Nevadan orogeny and not other external events suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devils Postpile National Monument
Devils Postpile National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located near Mammoth Mountain in Eastern California. The monument protects Devils Postpile, an unusual rock formation of columnar basalt, “all closely and perfectly fitted together like a vast mosaic.” The monument encompasses and includes two main attractions: the Devils Postpile formation and Rainbow Falls, a waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. In addition, the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail merge into one trail as they pass through the monument. Excluding a small developed area containing the monument headquarters, visitor center and a campground, the National Monument lies within the borders of the Ansel Adams Wilderness. History The monument was established in 1911 as "Devil Postpile National Monument," (no possessive) but is widely referred to as Devils Postpile National Monument, and has been officially styled as plural without the apostrophe since the 1930s. An alternate hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings Canyon National Park on March 4, 1940. The park's namesake, Kings Canyon, is a rugged glacier-carved valley more than a mile (1,600 m) deep. Other natural features include multiple peaks, high mountain meadows, swift-flowing rivers, and some of the world's largest stands of giant sequoia trees. Kings Canyon is north of and contiguous with Sequoia National Park, and both parks are jointly administered by the National Park Service as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The majority of the park, drained by the Middle and South Forks of the Kings River and many smaller streams, is designated wilderness. Tourist facilities are concentrated in two areas: Grant Grove, home to General Grant (the second largest tree in the world, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , the park contains the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, at above sea level. The park is south of, and contiguous with, Kings Canyon National Park; both parks are administered by the National Park Service together as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. UNESCO designated the areas as Sequoia-Kings Canyon Man and the Biosphere Programme, Biosphere Reserve in 1976. The park is notable for its Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman (tree), General Sherman tree, the List of largest giant sequoias, largest tree on Earth by volume. The General Sherman tree grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five of the ten largest trees in the world. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an area of and sits in four County, countiescentered in Tuolumne County, California, Tuolumne and Mariposa County, California, Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono County, California, Mono and south to Madera County, California, Madera County. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and Biodiversity, biological diversity. Almost 95 percent of the park is designated National Wilderness Preservation System, wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. The United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. Although Yellowstone was not officially termed a "national park" in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. However, the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve (in what is now Trinidad and Tobago; established in 1776), and the area surrounding Bogd Khan Mountain, Bogd Khan Uul Mountain (Mongolia, 1778), wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Waterfalls In Yosemite National Park
The following is a list of Yosemite waterfalls, including ephemeral falls: * Alder Creek Falls * Bridalveil Fall * California Fall * Chilnualna Falls * Horsetail Fall * Illilouette Fall * Lehamite Falls * LeConte Falls * Nevada Fall * Pywiack Cascade * Quaking Aspen Falls * Ribbon Fall * Royal Arch Cascade * Sentinel Fall * Silver Strand Falls * Snow Creek Falls * Staircase Falls * Three Chute Falls * Tueeulala Falls * Tuolumne Fall * Vernal Fall * Wapama Falls * Waterwheel Falls * White Cascade * Wildcat Falls * Yosemite Falls Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall. Located in the Sierra Nevada of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in ... References External links NPS.gov: Waterfalls in Yosemite National Park {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Yosemite Waterfalls * Yosemite waterfalls Yosemite Yosemit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) 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 cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous intrusions. These range in size from dikes only a few centimeters across to batholiths exposed over hundreds of square kilometers. Granite is typical of a larger family of ''granitic rocks'', or ''granitoids'', that are composed mostly of coarse-grained quartz and feldspars in varying proportions. These rocks are classified by the relative percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase (the QAPF classification), with true granite representing granitic rocks rich in quartz and alkali feldspar. Most granitic rocks also contain mica or amphibole minerals, though a few (known as leucogranites) contain almost no dark minerals. Granite is nearly alway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. The valley is about long and deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines. The valley is drained by the Merced River, and a multitude of streams and waterfalls flow into it, including Tenaya Creek, Tenaya, Illilouette, Yosemite Creek, Yosemite and Bridalveil Creeks. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and is a big attraction especially in the spring, when the water flow is at its peak. The valley is renowned for its natural environment and is regarded as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park. The valley is the main attraction in the park for the majority of visitors and a bustling hub of activity during tourist season in the summer months. Most visitors enter the valley from roads to the west an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii (also the last ones admitted to the Union), and all other offshore insular areas, such as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The colloquial term "Lower48" is used also, especially in relation to just Alaska (Hawaii is farther south). The related but distinct term continental United States includes Alaska (which is also on the continent of North America but separated from the 48 states by British Columbia and Yukon of Canada), but excludes the Hawaiian Islands and all U.S. territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The greatest distance (on a great-circle route) entirely within the contiguous U.S. is 2,802 miles (4,509 km), between Florida and the State of Washington; th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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