The Sherwin Range 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 arise ...

that is a sub-range of the

Sierra Nevada 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 ...

system, in

Mono County Mono County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridgeport. The coun ...

, eastern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The range is also known locally as The Sherwins.

Geography

The Sherwin Range is immediately to the south of the

Long Valley Caldera Long Valley Caldera is a depression in eastern California that is adjacent to Mammoth Mountain. The valley is one of the Earth's largest calderas, measuring about long (east-west), wide (north-south), and up to deep. Long Valley was formed 7 ...

, and stretches from just south of the town of

Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...

. to the

Wheeler Crest The Wheeler Crest or Wheeler Ridge is a ridge (geology), ridge in Mono County, California, Mono and Inyo County, California, Inyo Counties, California. The crest is long, and partially lies in the John Muir Wilderness. The ridge is bound on the w ...

of the Sierra Nevada.Wheeler Crest: at The range lies to the south of the

. The range is named after Jim Sherwin, a prospector who operated the first toll road across the Sierra. Its eastern terminus was at Mammoth Lakes.

Recreation

The Sherwin Range is within

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest poi ...

. It is well known for hiking opportunities in the summer, and backcountry skiing in the winter.

Geology

The range largely consists of reddish

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

, which are the

roof pendant In structural geology, a roof pendant, also known as a pendant, is a mass of country rock that projects downward into and is entirely surrounded by an igneous intrusion such as a batholith or other pluton. In lay terminology sometimes "rock hat" ...

for the Sierra Nevada. This rock was formed in the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

Era, and then was subsequently recrystallized and warped by the intrusion of the

Sierra Nevada batholith The Sierra Nevada Batholith is a large batholith which forms the core of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, exposed at the surface as granite. The batholith is composed of many individual masses of rock called ''plutons'', which fo ...

underneath it.

Landmarks

Prominent peaks

* Bloody Mountain * Laurel Mountain *

Mount Morrison According to USGS GNIS, Mount Morrison may refer to one of four possible peaks in the United States: It can also refer to: * Mount Morrison in the Lost River Range of Idaho. * One of two mountains in Antarctica, in Enderby Land and Victoria L ...

Red Slate Mountain Red Slate Mountain is a summit in the Sierra Nevada. It lies along the Sierra Crest that divides Fresno County from Mono County, California. Red Slate Mountain can be reached by scrambling either from McGee Pass, or starting from Bighorn Lake. ...

(tallest peak) * Mount Baldwin * McGee Mountain * Mount Morgan * Mount Huntington

Other features

* Convict Lake

References

External links

{{commons category, Sherwin Range
Mammoth Lakes Trail System: Sherwin Lakes Trail

Mammoth Museum at the Hayden Cabin
— ''homepage''. Mountain ranges of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Mountain ranges of Mono County, California Mountain ranges of Northern California