Editing Sierra Nevada

{{Short description|Mountain range in the United States}}
{{Other uses|Sierra Nevada (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Range of Light|the S. Carey album|Range of Light (album){{!}}''Range of Light'' (album)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name              = Sierra Nevada
| photo             = Sierra Nevada aerial.jpg
| photo_size        = 224
| photo_caption     = The Sierra's Mills Creek cirque (center) is on the west side of the [[Sierra Crest]], south of [[Mono Lake]] (top, blue).
| etymology         = 1777: [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "[[wiktionary:nevada|snowy]] [[wiktionary:sierra|mountain range]]"
| nickname          = {{hlist|the Sierra|the High Sierra|Range of Light (1894, [[John Muir]])<ref name=Muir>{{cite book |last=Muir |first=John |author-link=John Muir |year=1894 |chapter=Chapter 1: The Sierra Nevada |chapter-url=http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/the_mountains_of_california/chapter_1.html |url=http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/the_mountains_of_california |title=The Mountains of California |access-date=May 29, 2010 |archive-date=April 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410231841/http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/the_mountains_of_california/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
| country           = United States
| subdivision1_type = States
| subdivision1      = {{hlist|California|Nevada}}
| range_coordinates = {{Coord|38|00|N|119|30|W|region:US-CA_type:mountain_source:NGS|display=inline,title}}
| parent            = 
| length_mi         = 400
| length_orientation = north-south from [[Fredonyer Pass]] to [[Tehachapi Pass]]
| length_ref        = <ref name="sneco">{{cite web |title=Sierra Nevada |work=Ecological Subregions of California |publisher=United States Forest Service |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/projects/ecoregions/m261e.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205212313/http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/projects/ecoregions/m261e.htm |archive-date=December 5, 2010}}</ref>
| width_mi          = 80
| width_ref         = <ref name=width>{{Cite web |title=Sierra Nevada |url=http://www.summitpost.org/sierra-nevada/176773 |publisher=SummitPost.org |access-date=May 29, 2010 |archive-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917232452/https://www.summitpost.org/sierra-nevada/176773 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| location          = 
| map_image         = SierraNevada-Range.svg
| map_size          = 200
| map_caption       = Position of Sierra Nevada inside California
| area_mi2          = 24370
| area_ref          = <ref name=gap/>
| highest           = [[Mount Whitney]]
| elevation_ft      = 14505
| elevation_ref     = <ref name=ngs>{{cite ngs |id=GT1811 |designation=Mount Whitney}}</ref>
| coordinates       = {{Coord|36|34|42.9|N|118|17|31.2|W|region:US-CA_type:mountain_source:NGS|display=inline}}
| geology           = {{hlist|batholith|igneous}}
| age               = Mesozoic
| orogeny           = 
}}
The '''Sierra Nevada''' ({{IPAc-en|s|i|ˌ|ɛr|ə|_|n|ɪ|ˈ|v|æ|d|ə|,_|-|ˈ|v|ɑː|d|-}} {{respell|see|ERR|ə|_|nih|VA(H)D|ə}})<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref>{{efn|Spanish pronunciation: {{IPA|es|ˈsjera neˈβaða|}}; {{literal translation|snowy range}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Carlson, Helen S. |title=Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary |publisher=[[University of Nevada Press]] |year=1976 |page=215 |isbn=978-0-87417-094-8}}</ref>}} is a [[mountain range]] in the [[Western United States]], between the [[Central Valley (California)|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 {{cvt|400|mi|km}} north-south, and its width ranges from {{cvt|50|mi|km}} to {{cvt|80|mi|km}} across east–west.<ref name="width" /> Notable features include the [[General Sherman Tree]], the largest tree in the world by volume; [[Lake Tahoe]], the largest [[alpine lake]] in North America; [[Mount Whitney]] at {{cvt|14505|ft|m}},<ref name="ngs" /> the highest point in the [[contiguous United States]]; and [[Yosemite Valley]] sculpted by glaciers from one-hundred-million-year-old [[granite]], containing [[List of waterfalls in Yosemite National Park|high waterfalls]]. The Sierra is home to three [[national park]]s, twenty-six wilderness areas, ten national forests, and two national monuments. These areas include [[Yosemite National Park|Yosemite]], [[Sequoia National Park|Sequoia]], and [[Kings Canyon National Park]]s, as well as [[Devils Postpile National Monument]].

More than one hundred million years ago during the [[Nevadan orogeny]], granite formed deep underground. The range started to [[mountain formation|uplift]] less than five million years ago,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cascade-Sierra Mountains Province (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/cascadesierra.htm |access-date=February 12, 2022 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en |archive-date=February 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212224300/https://www.nps.gov/articles/cascadesierra.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the range. The uplift caused a wide range of elevations and climates in the Sierra Nevada, which are reflected by the presence of five [[life zone]]s (areas with similar plant and animal communities). Uplift continues due to faulting caused by tectonic forces, creating spectacular [[fault block]] [[escarpment]]s along the eastern edge of the southern Sierra.

The Sierra Nevada has played an important role in the history of California and the United States. The [[California gold rush]] occurred in the western foothills from 1848 through 1855. Due to its inaccessibility, the range was not fully explored until 1912.<ref name="roper" />{{rp|81}}

==Name and etymology==
[[File:Sierra Nevada-terabass.jpg|thumb|right|Kearsarge Lakes Basin is named after the [[USS Kearsarge (1861)|USS Kearsarge]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Farquhar |first=Francis P. |year=1926 |title=Place Names of the Sierra Nevada |chapter-url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/k.html |chapter=K |publisher=Sierra Club |location=San Francisco |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313051653/http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/k.html |archive-date=March 13, 2006}}</ref>{{efn|The ship was named after [[Mount Kearsarge (Merrimack County, New Hampshire)|Mount Kearsarge]] in New Hampshire, see {{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/ships/battleships/kearsarge/bb5-kear.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921170313/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/ships/battleships/kearsarge/bb5-kear.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 21, 2015 |title=''Kearsarge'' (BB-5) |date=February 23, 2005 |work=[[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]] |publisher=[[Naval History & Heritage Command]] (NHHC) |access-date=December 15, 2012}}}}]]
Used in 1542 by [[Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo]] to describe a [[Pacific Coast Ranges|Pacific Coast Range]] ([[Santa Cruz Mountains]]), the term "Sierra Nevada" was a general identification of less familiar ranges toward the interior.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Farquhar |first=Francis P. |date=March 1925 |title=Exploration of the Sierra Nevada |journal=California Historical Society Quarterly |url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/exploration_of_the_sierra_nevada/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430102951/http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/exploration_of_the_sierra_nevada/ |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |doi=10.2307/25177743 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=3–58 |url-status=dead |jstor=25177743 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015049981668 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> In 1776, [[Pedro Font]]'s map applied the name to the range currently known as the Sierra Nevada.<ref>{{cite book |last=Farquhar |first=Francis P. |year=1926 |title=Place Names of the Sierra Nevada |chapter-url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/s.html |chapter=S |publisher=Sierra Club |location=San Francisco |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525083103/https://www.webcitation.org/5yfLF5e68?url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/s.html |archive-date=May 25, 2024}}</ref>

The literal translation is "snowy mountains", from ''sierra'' "a range of mountains", 1610s, from Spanish {{lang|es|sierra}} "jagged mountain range", lit. "saw", from Latin {{lang|la|serra}} "a saw"; and from the Spanish adjective {{lang|es|nevado}} "snowy".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sierra |title=Sierra |work=Etymology Online |access-date=February 27, 2011 |archive-date=August 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806050722/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sierra |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nevada |title=Nevada |work=Etymology Online |access-date=February 27, 2011 |archive-date=August 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829100923/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Nevada |url-status=live }}</ref>

While many mountain ranges are unanimously referred to in the plural ([[The Smokies|Smokies]], [[Rockies]], [[Cascade Range|Cascades]], etc.), some locals who live in "the Sierra" are not hesitant to admonish those who refer to the area as "the Sierras".<ref name=":1" />  However, there are historical and literary references that use the plural, such as the 1871 collection of [[Joaquin Miller]] poems, ''Songs of the Sierras''.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |first=Freda |last=Moon |title=Is it 'The Sierra' or 'The Sierras'? Californians can't agree |url=https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Sierra-vs-Sierras-Nevada-California-mountains-16325112.php |work=[[SFGATE]] |date=July 19, 2021 |access-date=January 28, 2023 |archive-date=January 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129012419/https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Sierra-vs-Sierras-Nevada-California-mountains-16325112.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=February 18, 1913 |title=POET OF THE SIERRAS, JOAQUIN MILLER, DIES; His Body to be Burned on Pyre at Mountain Home and Ashes Borne by Winds. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/02/18/archives/poet-of-the-sierras-joaquin-miller-dies-his-body-to-be-burned-on.html |access-date=July 30, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730220236/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/02/18/archives/poet-of-the-sierras-joaquin-miller-dies-his-body-to-be-burned-on.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ansel Adams]], in response to a publication of his photographs under the title ''[[Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras]]'', commented, "To add an ''s'' is a linguistic, Californian, and mountaineering sin."<ref>{{cite book |first=Ansel |last=Adams |author2=Mary Street Alinder |title=Ansel Adams: An Autobiography |publisher=NY: Little, Brown & Co |year=1996 |pages=65–66 |isbn=0-8212-2241-4}}</ref>

==Geography==

The Sierra Nevada lies primarily in [[Central California|Central]] and [[Eastern California]], with the [[Carson Range]], a small but historically important spur, extending into Nevada. West-to-east, the Sierra Nevada's elevation increases gradually from {{convert|500|ft|m}} in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]]<ref name="ecosubregions"/> to more than {{convert|14000|ft}} atop the highest peaks of its crest  {{convert|50|to|75|mi}} to the east. The east slope forms the steep Sierra [[Escarpment]]. Unlike its surroundings, the range receives a substantial amount of snowfall and precipitation due to [[orographic lift]].

===Setting===
The Sierra Nevada's irregular northern boundary stretches from the [[Susan River (California)|Susan River]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Subsection M261Eb: Fredonyer Butte – Grizzly Peak |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/projects/ecoregions/m261eb.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205212103/http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/projects/ecoregions/m261eb.htm |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |access-date=August 2, 2010}}</ref> and [[Fredonyer Pass]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=126 |work=Peakbagger.com |title=Sierra Nevada |access-date=August 7, 2010 |archive-date=May 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515065956/http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=126 |url-status=live }}</ref> to the [[North Fork Feather River]]. It represents where the granitic bedrock of the Sierra Nevada dives below the southern extent of [[Cenozoic]] [[igneous]] surface rock from the [[Cascade Range]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_36/note_36.pdf |title=California Geomorphic Provinces |publisher=California Geological Survey |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040721195123/http://www.consrv.ca.gov/CGS/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_36/note_36.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2004}}</ref> It is bounded on the west by [[California]]'s [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]], on the east by the [[Basin and Range Province]], and on the southeast by the [[Mojave Desert]]. The southern boundary is at [[Tehachapi Pass]].<ref name=sneco/>

Physiographically, the Sierra is a section of the Cascade–Sierra Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger [[Geography of the United States Pacific Mountain System|Pacific Mountain System]] [[physiographic]] division. The California Geological Survey states that "the northern Sierra boundary is marked where bedrock disappears under the [[Cenozoic]] volcanic cover of the Cascade Range."<ref name=CGPNote36>{{cite web |url=http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_36/Documents/note_36.pdf |title=California Geologic Provinces |id=Note 36 |page=2 |publisher=California Geological Survey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222132418/http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_36/Documents/note_36.pdf |archive-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref>

===Watersheds===
[[File:DanaFork.JPG|thumb|right|The Sierra hosts many waterways, such as the [[Tuolumne River]].]]
The range is drained on its western slope by the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] watershed, which discharges into the Pacific Ocean at [[San Francisco]]. The northern third of the western Sierra is part of the [[Sacramento River]] watershed (including the [[Feather River|Feather]], [[Yuba River|Yuba]], and [[American River]] tributaries), and the middle third is drained by the [[San Joaquin River]] (including the [[Mokelumne River|Mokelumne]], [[Stanislaus River|Stanislaus]], [[Tuolumne River|Tuolumne]], and [[Merced River]] tributaries). The southern third of the range is drained by the [[Kings River (California)|Kings]], [[Kaweah River|Kaweah]], [[Tule River|Tule]], and [[Kern River|Kern]] rivers, which flow into the [[endorheic basin]] of [[Tulare Lake]], which rarely overflows into the San Joaquin during wet years.

The eastern slope watershed of the Sierra is much narrower; its rivers flow out into the endorheic [[Great Basin]] of eastern California and western [[Nevada]]. From north to south, the [[Susan River (California)|Susan River]] flows into intermittent [[Honey Lake]], the [[Truckee River]] flows from [[Lake Tahoe]] into [[Pyramid Lake (Nevada)|Pyramid Lake]], the [[Carson River]] runs into [[Carson Sink]], the [[Walker River]] into [[Walker Lake (Nevada)|Walker Lake]]; [[Rush Creek (Mono County, California)|Rush]], [[Lee Vining Creek|Lee Vining]] and [[Mill Creek (Mono Lake)|Mill]] Creeks flow into [[Mono Lake]]; and the [[Owens River]] into dry [[Owens Lake]]. Although none of the eastern rivers reach the sea, many of the streams from Mono Lake southwards are diverted into the [[Los Angeles Aqueduct]] which provides water to [[Southern California]].

===Elevation===
[[File:Mount Whitney September 2009.JPG|thumb|[[Mount Whitney]], the highest peak in the range and the contiguous United States]]

The height of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada increases gradually from north to south. Between Fredonyer Pass and Lake Tahoe, the peaks range from {{convert|5000|ft|m}} to more than {{convert|9000|ft|m}}. The crest near Lake Tahoe is roughly {{convert|9000|ft|m}} high, with several peaks approaching the height of [[Freel Peak]] ({{cvt|10881|ft|m|disp=or}}). Farther south, the highest peak in Yosemite National Park is [[Mount Lyell (California)|Mount Lyell]] ({{cvt|13120|ft|m|0|disp=or}}). The Sierra rises to almost {{convert|14000|ft|m}} with [[Mount Humphreys]] near [[Bishop, California]]. Finally, near [[Lone Pine, California|Lone Pine]], [[Mount Whitney]] is at {{convert|14505|ft|m}}, the highest point in the [[contiguous United States]].

South of Mount Whitney, the elevation of the range quickly dwindles. The crest elevation is almost {{convert|10000|ft|m}} near [[Lake Isabella]], but south of the lake, the peaks reach only a modest {{convert|8000|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google terrain map |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=35.671581,-118.427236&spn=0.1,0.1&t=p&q=35.671581,-118.427236 |access-date=May 29, 2010 |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925052137/https://www.google.com/maps?ll=35.671581,-118.427236&spn=0.1,0.1&t=p&q=35.671581,-118.427236 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Notable features===
[[File:Mt. Tallac, Lake Tahoe, California.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|[[Mount Tallac]] above [[Lake Tahoe]]]]
There are several notable geographical features in the Sierra Nevada:

* [[Lake Tahoe]] is a large, clear freshwater lake in the northern Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of {{cvt|6225|ft|m}} and an area of {{cvt|191|sqmi|km2}}.<ref name="tahoefacts">{{cite web |url=http://tahoe.usgs.gov/facts.html |title=Facts about Lake Tahoe |publisher=USGS |access-date=May 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721070339/http://tahoe.usgs.gov/facts.html |archive-date=July 21, 2011}}</ref> Lake Tahoe lies between the main Sierra and the [[Carson Range]], a spur of the Sierra.<ref name="tahoefacts" />
* [[Hetch Hetchy Valley]], [[Yosemite Valley]], [[Kings Canyon National Park|Kings Canyon]], and [[Kern Canyon]] are examples of many glacially-scoured canyons on the west side of the Sierra.
* [[Yosemite National Park]] is filled with notable features such as [[List of waterfalls in Yosemite National Park|waterfalls]], [[granite dome]]s, high mountains, lakes, and meadows.
* Groves of [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|giant sequoias]] ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' occur along a narrow band of altitude on the western side of the Sierra Nevada. Giant sequoias are the largest trees in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/seki/shrm_pic.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315153430/http://www.nps.gov/archive/seki/shrm_pic.htm |archive-date=March 15, 2010 |title=The General Sherman Tree |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Two of the largest rivers in California, which form the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] and drain into [[San Francisco Bay]], derive most of their flow from the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The northern of the two is the [[Sacramento River]] (which also drains the adjacent [[Cascade Range]] and [[Klamath Range]]); the southern one is the [[San Joaquin River]].

===Communities===
Communities in the Sierra Nevada include [[Paradise, California|Paradise]], [[South Lake Tahoe, California|South Lake Tahoe]], [[Truckee, California|Truckee]], [[Grass Valley, California|Grass Valley]], [[Lee Vining, California|Lee Vining]], [[Mammoth Lakes, California|Mammoth Lakes]], [[Sonora, California|Sonora]], [[Nevada City, California|Nevada City]], [[Placerville, California|Placerville]], [[Pollock Pines, California|Pollock Pines]], [[Portola, California|Portola]], [[Auburn, California|Auburn]], [[Colfax, California|Colfax]], [[Kennedy Meadows, California|Kennedy Meadows]] and [[Shaver Lake, California|Shaver Lake]].

===Protected areas===
{{main|List of protected areas of the Sierra Nevada}}
[[File:View from Moro Rock 01 2013.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|View of Sequoia National Park from [[Moro Rock]] ]]
Much of the Sierra Nevada consists of [[federal lands]] and is either protected from development or strictly managed. The mountain range is home to three [[United States National Park|National Parks]]{{snd}}[[Yosemite National Park|Yosemite]], [[Kings Canyon National Park|Kings Canyon]], and [[Sequoia National Park|Sequoia]]{{snd}}and two [[National monument (United States)|national monuments]]{{snd}}[[Devils Postpile National Monument|Devils Postpile]] and [[Giant Sequoia National Monument|Giant Sequoia]]. [[List of protected areas of the Sierra Nevada|Ten national forests]]<ref>{{Cite report |access-date=May 10, 2020 |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/nepa/34195_FSPLT1_015636.pdf |title=Sierra National Forests Indicator Species Amendment Final Environmental Impact Statement |page=5 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816093513/https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/nepa/34195_FSPLT1_015636.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> span much of the mountain range's remaining area. Within these national parks, monuments, and forests lie [[List of protected areas of the Sierra Nevada|26 wilderness areas]], which together protect 15.4% of the Sierra's {{cvt|63118|km2|mi2}} from [[logging in the Sierra Nevada|logging]] and grazing.<ref name="gap">{{cite web |url=http://www.biogeog.ucsb.edu/projects/gap/report/sn_rep.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074547/http://www.biogeog.ucsb.edu/projects/gap/report/sn_rep.html |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |title=The Sierra Nevada Region |work=USCB Biogeography lab |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[United States Forest Service]] and the [[Bureau of Land Management]] currently control 52% of the land in the Sierra Nevada.<ref name="gap" /> Logging and grazing are generally allowed on land controlled by these agencies, under federal regulations that balance recreation and development on the land.

The California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area near [[Mount Williamson]] in the southern Sierra was established to protect the endangered [[Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep]]. Starting in 1981, hikers were unable to enter the Area from May 15 through December 15, in order to protect the sheep.  As of 2010, the restriction has been lifted and access to the Area is open for the whole year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Forest Service Proposes to Change Designation of Bighorn Sheep Zoological Areas |publisher=United States Forest Service |date=September 25, 2010 |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPyhQoY6BdkOyoCAGixyPg!/?ss=110504&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=STELPRDB5201581&navid=180000000000000&pnavid=null&position=News&ttype=detail&pname=Inyo%20National%20Forest-%20News%20&%20Events |access-date=January 23, 2011 |archive-date=October 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005044125/http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPyhQoY6BdkOyoCAGixyPg!/?ss=110504&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=STELPRDB5201581&navid=180000000000000&pnavid=null&position=News&ttype=detail&pname=Inyo%20National%20Forest-%20News%20&%20Events |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Geologic history==
[[File:Sevehah Cliff.jpg|thumb|Sevehah Cliff, near [[Convict Lake]], shows severely deformed [[Devonian]] rock<ref name=StevensGreene/>]]
[[File:YosemitePark2 amk.jpg|thumb|[[Yosemite Valley]] in Yosemite National Park was carved by glaciers]]
{{anchor|Geology}}
{{For|central Sierra Nevada geology|Geology of the Yosemite area}}

The earliest rocks in the Sierra Nevada are [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] [[roof pendant]]s of [[Paleozoic]] age, the oldest being [[metasediment]]ary rocks from the [[Cambrian]] in the [[Mount Morrison (California)|Mount Morrison]] region.<ref name=StevensGreene>{{cite web |title=Geology of Paleozoic rocks in eastern Sierra Nevada roof pendants, California |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242494245 |first1=CH |last1=Stevens |first2=DC |last2=Greene |year=2000 |publisher=Geological Society of America |id=Field Guide 2}}</ref> These dark-colored [[hornfel]]s, [[slate]]s, [[marble]]s, and [[schist]]s are found in the western foothills (notably around [[Coarsegold, California|Coarsegold]], west of the [[Tehachapi Pass]]) and east of the Sierra Crest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0385/report.pdf |title=Geology and Mineral Deposits of the Mount Morrison Quadrangle, Sierra Nevada, California |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |access-date=December 12, 2014 |archive-date=September 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920132321/http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0385/report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The earliest granite of the Sierra started to form in the [[Triassic]] period. This granite is mostly found east of the crest and north of 37.2°N.<ref name="mesopluto">{{cite web |title=Mesozoic Plutonism in the Sierra Nevada Batholith |url=http://www.colorado.edu/GeolSci/Resources/WUSTectonics/SierraBatholith/mesozoic.htm#pt3 |first=Tanya S. |last=Unger |access-date=June 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210251/http://www.colorado.edu/GeolSci/Resources/WUSTectonics/SierraBatholith/mesozoic.htm#pt3 |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the Triassic and into the [[Jurassic]], an [[island arc]] collided with the west coast of [[North America]] and raised a chain of volcanoes, in an event called the [[Nevadan orogeny]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-yosemite-hiking-california-sidwcmdev_056847.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424062151/http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-yosemite-hiking-california-sidwcmdev_056847.html |archive-date=April 24, 2011 |last=Shaffer |first=Jeffrey |title=Evolution of the Yosemite Landscape – The Nevadan Orogeny |work=One Hundred Hikes in Yosemite |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nearly all [[subaerial]] Sierran Arc volcanoes have since disappeared; their remains were redeposited during the [[Great Valley Sequence]] and the subsequent [[Cenozoic]] filling of the Great Valley, which is the source of much of the sedimentary rock in California.

In the [[Cretaceous]], a [[subduction zone]] formed at the edge of the continent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/Text_WUS.html |title=Geologic History of Western US |first=Ron |last=Blakely |access-date=June 1, 2010 |archive-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622013326/http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/Text_WUS.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> This means that an [[oceanic plate]] started to dive beneath the [[North American Plate]]. Magma, formed through the subduction of the ancient [[Farallon Plate]], rose in plumes ([[pluton]]s) deep underground, their combined mass forming what is called the [[Sierra Nevada batholith]]. These plutons formed at various times, from 115&nbsp;[[Megaannum|Ma]] to 87&nbsp;Ma.<ref name="Schoenherr" /> The earlier plutons formed in the western half of the Sierra, while the later plutons formed in the eastern half of the Sierra.<ref name="mesopluto" /> At this time, the Sierra Nevada formed the western ramp of a high plateau to the east, the [[Nevadaplano]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ernst |first1=W. G. |title=Rise and fall of the Nevadaplano |journal=International Geology Review |date=July 1, 2009 |volume=51 |issue=7–8 |pages=583–588 |doi=10.1080/00206810903063315 |bibcode=2009IGRv...51..583E |s2cid=129541879 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00206810903063315 |issn=0020-6814 |access-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212209/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00206810903063315 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> During this period, rivers cut deep canyons into the range, generating topographic relief similar to the modern Sierra Nevada. This period of incision was halted approximately 30 million years ago by vast outpourings of [[pyroclastic flow]]s from Nevada which filled the northern Sierran valleys with volcanic deposits.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Henry |first1=C. D. |last2=Hinz |first2=N. H. |last3=Faulds |first3=J. E. |last4=Colgan |first4=J. P. |last5=John |first5=D. A. |last6=Brooks |first6=E. R. |last7=Cassel |first7=E. J. |last8=Garside |first8=L. J. |last9=Davis |first9=D. A. |last10=Castor |first10=S. B. |date=2012-02-01 |title=Eocene-Early Miocene paleotopography of the Sierra Nevada-Great Basin-Nevadaplano based on widespread ash-flow tuffs and paleovalleys |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geosphere/article/8/1/1-27/132491 |journal=Geosphere |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.1130/GES00727.1 |bibcode=2012Geosp...8....1H |issn=1553-040X}}</ref> These pyroclastic flows, which continued for about 10 million years, were followed by andesitic [[lahar]]s which nearly completely buried the northern Sierran landscape such that only the tallest peaks emerged above a volcanic plain.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bateman |first1=P.C. |title=Geology of the Sierra Nevada in Geology of Northern California |last2=Wahrhaftig |first2=C. |publisher=California Division of Mines and Geology |year=1966 |pages=107–172}}</ref> This second period of volcanism appears to have been triggered by crustal extension associated with extension of the [[Basin and Range Province]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Basin and Range (Transierra) Region Physical Geography |url=http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g148_f09/readings/basin_range/basin_range.html |author=Joel Michaelsen |access-date=May 7, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727072611/http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g148_f09/readings/basin_range/basin_range.html |archive-date=July 27, 2011}}</ref> As this andesitic volcanism began waning about five million years ago, the rivers were able to begin eroding away the 100s of meters of volcanic deposits and resume the incision that had been halted by the first period of volcanism.

Some studies have argued that this recent incision is a sign of recent tectonic uplift.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wakabayashi |first=J. |title=Paleochannels, stream incision, erosion, topographic evolution, and alternative explanations of paleoaltimetry, Sierra Nevada, California |journal=Geosphere |volume=9 |pages=191–215|year=2013|issue=2 |doi=10.1130/GES00814.1|bibcode=2013Geosp...9..191W |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Helen W|last1=Beeson|first2=Scott W|last2=McCoy|title=Disequilibrium river networks dissecting the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, California, USA, record significant late Cenozoic tilting and associated surface uplift|journal=GSA Bulletin|year=2022|volume=134|issue=11–12|pages=2809–2853|doi=10.1130/B35463.1|bibcode=2022GSAB..134.2809B }}</ref> Other geologists claim that the elevations of many of the modern rivers flowing down the range are only {{convert|100|–|300|meters|feet|sigfig=1}} lower than their ancient counterparts from 30–40&nbsp;million years ago and the overall elevation and bedrock topography of the northern Sierra Nevada has changed little since at least 30–40&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mulch|first1=Andreas|first2=Stephan A|last2=Graham|first3=C. Page|last3=Chamberlain|title=Hydrogen isotopes in Eocene river gravels and paleoelevation of the Sierra Nevada.|journal=Science|volume=313|issue=5783|year=2006|pages=87–89|doi=10.1126/science.1125986 |pmid=16825568 |bibcode=2006Sci...313...87M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gabet |first1=E.J. |last2=Miggins |first2=D. |date=2020 |title=Minimal net incision of the northern Sierra Nevada (California, USA) since the Eocene-early Oligocene |url=https://doi.org/10.1130/G47902.1 |journal=Geology |volume=48 |issue=10 |pages=1023–1027|doi=10.1130/G47902.1 |bibcode=2020Geo....48.1023G |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cassel |first1=E.J. |last2=Graham |first2=S.A. |last3=Chamberlain |first3=C.P. |title=Cenozoic tectonic and topographic evolution of the northern Sierra Nevada, California, through stable isotope paleoaltimetry in volcanic glass |journal=Geology |date=2009 |volume=37 |issue=6 |pages=547–550|doi=10.1130/G25572A.1 |bibcode=2009Geo....37..547C }}</ref>

About 2.5&nbsp;Ma, the Earth's climate cooled, and [[ice age]]s started. [[Glacier]]s carved out characteristic U-shaped canyons throughout the Sierra. The combination of river and glacier erosion exposed the uppermost portions of the plutons emplaced millions of years before, leaving only a remnant of [[metamorphic rock]] on top of some Sierra peaks.

Extension of the Basin and Range continues today, leading to downdropping of crustal blocks just east of the Sierra Nevada during large earthquakes, such as the [[1872 Lone Pine earthquake|Lone Pine earthquake]] of 1872.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/docs/galleries/nathist/geology/lonepine.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522015222/http://sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/docs/galleries/nathist/geology/lonepine.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |title=1872 Lone Pine Earthquake |work=Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum |access-date=May 31, 2010 |quote=Few people ever see a mountain range grow, but on March 26, 1872, the 300 residents of Lone Pine, California, did. |url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{clear left}}
{{Wide image|SierraEscarpmentCA.jpg|700px|Sierra Escarpment viewed from the east. In the foreground is [[Tinemaha Reservoir]] in the [[Owens Valley]].}}

==Climate and meteorology==
[[File:Red Slate Mountain 1.jpg|thumb|[[Red Slate Mountain]] (elevation {{cvt|13156|ft|m|disp=or}}) is still covered with snow in June]]<!-- An example of how the snowpack in the Sierra lasts until June -->

The climate of the Sierra Nevada is influenced by the [[Mediterranean climate]] of California. During the fall, winter and spring, precipitation in the Sierra ranges from {{cvt|20|to|80|in|mm}} where it occurs mostly as snow above {{cvt|6000|ft|m}}. Precipitation is highest on the central and northern portions of the western slope between {{convert|5000|and|8000|ft|m}} elevation, due to [[orographic lift]].<ref name="Schoenherr" />{{rp|69}} Above {{convert|8000|ft|m}}, precipitation diminishes on the western slope up to the crest, since most of the precipitation has been wrung out at lower elevations. Most parts of the range east of the crest are in a [[rain shadow]], and receive less than 25 inches of precipitation per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sierranevadaphotos.com/geography/sierra_precipitation.asp |title=Average Annual Precipitation |publisher=Sierra Nevada Photos |access-date=January 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222205344/http://www.sierranevadaphotos.com/geography/sierra_precipitation.asp |archive-date=February 22, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> While most summer days are dry, afternoon thunderstorms are common, particularly during the [[North American Monsoon]] in mid and late summer. Some of these summer thunderstorms drop over an inch of rain in a short period, and the lightning can start fires. Summer high temperatures average {{cvt|42|-|90|F|C}}. Winters are comparatively mild, and the temperature is usually only just low enough to sustain a heavy snowpack. For example, [[Tuolumne Meadows]], at {{convert|8600|ft|m}} elevation, has winter daily highs about {{cvt|40|F|C}} with daily lows about {{cvt|10|F|C}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weather.htm |title=Weather |work=Yosemite |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=October 8, 2016 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009152047/https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weather.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The growing season lasts 20 to 230 days, strongly dependent on elevation.<ref name="ecosubregions" /> The highest elevations of the Sierra have an [[alpine climate]].

The Sierra Nevada snowpack is the major source of water and a significant source of electric power generation in California.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/docs/Water09.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618010332/http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/docs/Water09.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2010 |title=Water—Most of California's Water Comes from the Sierra Nevada |publisher=Sierra Nevada Conservancy |access-date=June 9, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Many reservoirs were constructed in the canyons of the Sierra throughout the 20th century, Several major aqueducts serving both agriculture and urban areas distribute Sierra water throughout the state. However, the Sierra casts a [[rain shadow]], which greatly affects the climate and ecology of the central [[Great Basin]]. This rain shadow is largely responsible for Nevada being the driest state in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/usclimate/pcp.state.19712000.climo |title=Climatology by state based on climate division data: 1971–2000 |publisher=NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory |access-date=July 11, 2010 |archive-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421024731/http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/usclimate/pcp.state.19712000.climo |url-status=live }}</ref>

Precipitation varies substantially from year to year. It is not uncommon for some years to receive precipitation totals far above or below normal.

The height of the range and the steepness of the Sierra Escarpment, particularly at the southern end of the range, produces a wind phenomenon known as the "Sierra Rotor". This is a horizontal rotation of the atmosphere just east of the crest of the Sierra, set in motion as an effect of strong westerly winds.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/114663.pdf |publisher=American Meteorological Society |conference=12th Conference on Mountain Meteorology |title=Sierra Rotors: A Comparative Study of Three Mountain Wave and Rotor Events |first1=Vanda |last1=Grubišic |first2=Brian J. |last2=Billings |date=2006 |access-date=May 8, 2010 |archive-date=July 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705015959/http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/114663.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Sierra Nevada is home to the [[Mono winds]], strong, dry downslope winds that primarily affect the western slopes, especially in the central region, and are most common from late fall to spring. With gusts reaching over 80 miles per hour, these winds can cause widespread disruption, uprooting trees, damaging infrastructure, and making mountain passes hazardous for drivers.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Ruscha | first1=Charles P. Jr. |date=February 1976 |title=Forecasting the Mono Wind |url=https://www.weather.gov/media/wrh/online_publications/TMs/TM-105.pdf |journal=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |volume=NWS WR-105 |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=November 22, 2021}}</ref>

{{anchor|Nevada Triangle}}
Because of the large number of airplanes that have crashed in the Sierra Nevada, primarily due to the complex weather and atmospheric conditions such as [[downdrafts]] and [[microbursts]] caused by geography there, a portion of the area, a triangle whose vertices are [[Reno, Nevada]]; [[Fresno, California]]; and [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], has been dubbed the "'''Nevada Triangle'''", in reference to the [[Bermuda Triangle]]. Some counts put the number of crashes in the triangle at 2,000,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schoenmann |first1=Joe |title=The Nevada Triangle: A Graveyard For Planes |url=https://knpr.org/knpr/2015-09/nevada-triangle-graveyard-planes |website=knpr.org |access-date=March 18, 2019 |archive-date=March 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302034650/https://knpr.org/knpr/2015-09/nevada-triangle-graveyard-planes |url-status=live }}</ref> including millionaire and record-breaking flyer [[Steve Fossett]]. Hypotheses that the crashes are related in some way to the [[United States Air Force]]'s [[Area 51]], or to the activities of [[extra-terrestrial aliens]], have no evidence to support them.<ref>{{cite news |last=Winter |first=Stuart |url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/149355/Mystery-of-the-Nevada-Triangle |title=Mystery of the Nevada Triangle |newspaper=[[Sunday Express]] |date=January 3, 2010 |access-date=September 15, 2015 |archive-date=August 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820000256/http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/149355/Mystery-of-the-Nevada-Triangle |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people=Pupp, Martin (director) |url=http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/the-missing-evidence/the-nevada-triangle/1003747/3418206 |title=The Missing Evidence: Nevada Triangle |format=TV series episode |date=December 1, 2014 |access-date=September 15, 2015 |archive-date=September 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902211613/http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/the-missing-evidence/the-nevada-triangle/1003747/3418206 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Ecology==
{{Main|Ecology of the Sierra Nevada}}
[[File:Tuolumne Meadows Sunset.jpg|thumb|[[Tuolumne Meadows]] is an example of a [[subalpine meadow]] in the Sierra.]]

The Sierra Nevada is divided into a number of [[life zone|biotic zones]], each of which is defined by its climate and supports a number of interdependent species.<ref name="Schoenherr">{{cite book |last=Schoenherr |first=Allan A. |title=A Natural History of California |year=1995 |publisher=UC Press |isbn=978-0-520-06922-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00scho}}</ref> Life in the higher elevation zones adapted to colder weather, and to most of the precipitation falling as snow. The [[rain shadow]] of the Sierra causes the eastern slope to be warmer and drier: each [[life zone]] is higher in the east.<ref name="Schoenherr" /> A list of biotic zones, and corresponding elevations, is presented below:
* The [[Sierra Nevada foothills|western foothill zone]], {{cvt|1000|-|2500|ft|m}},<ref name="Schoenherr"/>{{rp|92}} with grassland, oak-grass savanna and chaparral-oak woodland.<ref name="ecosubregions">{{cite web |title=Chapter 33-Ecological subregions of the United States, Sierran Steppe - Mixed Forest - Coniferous Forest |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/land/pubs/ecoregions/ch33.html |publisher=United States Forest Service |access-date=August 30, 2013 |archive-date=January 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192152/https://www.fs.fed.us/land/pubs/ecoregions/ch33.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Gray pine]] (also known as Foothill pine) is intermixed with the oak woodland.<ref name="Schoenherr" />{{rp|95}}
* The [[Pinyon pine]]-[[Juniper]] woodland, {{cvt|5000|-|7000|ft|m}} east side only.<ref name="Schoenherr"/>{{rp|92}}
* The [[Sierra Nevada lower montane forest]] ([[indicator species]]: [[Ponderosa pine]], [[Jeffrey pine]]), {{cvt|2500|–|7000|ft|m}} west side, {{cvt|7000|-|9000|ft|m}} east side.<ref name="Schoenherr"/>{{rp|92}} This biotic zone is notable for containing [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|giant sequoia]].
* The [[Sierra Nevada upper montane forest]] (indicator species: [[Lodgepole pine]], [[Red fir]]) {{cvt|7000|–|9000|ft|m}} west side, {{cvt|9000|–|10500|ft|m}} east side.<ref name="Schoenherr" />{{rp|92}}
* The [[Sierra Nevada subalpine zone]] (indicator species: [[Whitebark pine]])<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fites-Kauffman |first=J. |author2=P. W. Rundel |author3=N. Stephenson |author4=D. A. Weixelman |year=2007 |contribution=Montane and subalpine vegetation of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges |pages=460–501 |editor1-first=M.G. |editor1-last=Barbour |editor2-first=T. |editor2-last=Keeler-Wolf |editor3-first=A.A. |editor3-last=Schoenherr |title=Terrestrial vegetation of California |edition=3rd |publisher=University of California Press |place=Berkeley, CA, USA}}</ref> {{cvt|9000|–|10500|ft|m}} west side, {{cvt|10500|–|11500|ft|m}} east side<ref name="Schoenherr"/>{{rp|92}}
* The [[alpine tundra|alpine]] region at greater than {{cvt|10500|ft|m}}, and greater than {{cvt|11500|ft|m}} east side.<ref name="Schoenherr"/>{{rp|92}}

==History==
[[File:John Charles Frémont.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John C. Frémont|John Frémont]] was an early American explorer of the Sierra]]

===Native Americans===
{{Main|Great Basin tribes}}

Archaeological excavations placed [[Martis people]] of [[Paleo-Indians]] in northcentral Sierra Nevada during the period of 3,000&nbsp;BCE to 500&nbsp;CE. The earliest identified sustaining [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous people]] in the Sierra Nevada were the [[Northern Paiute]] tribes on the east side, with the [[Mono tribe]] and [[Valley and Sierra Miwok|Sierra Miwok]] tribe on the western side, and the [[Kawaiisu]] and [[Tübatulabal people|Tübatulabal]] tribes in the southern Sierra. Today, some historic intertribal trade route trails over mountain passes are known artifact locations, such as Duck Pass with its [[obsidian]] [[arrowhead]]s. The California and Sierra Native American tribes were predominantly peaceful, with occasional territorial disputes between the Paiute and Sierra Miwok tribes in the mountains.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hoffmann |first=Charles F. |year=1868 |title=Notes on Hetch-Hetchy Valley |journal=Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences |volume=1 |issue=3:5 |pages=368–370 |url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/notes_on_hetch-hetchy_valley.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509102144/http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/notes_on_hetch-hetchy_valley.html |archive-date=May 9, 2011 |access-date=September 27, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Washoe people|Washo]] and [[Maidu]] were also in this area prior to the era of European exploration and displacement.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516220327/http://www.sierrarockart.org/makers.html |url=http://www.sierrarockart.org/makers.html |archive-date=May 16, 2008 |title=Ancient petroglyph makers of the Northern Sierra |last=Drake |first=Bill |year=2000 |publisher=sierrarockart.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofgrassvalley.com/services/departments/cdd/IdMd/FinalMEAJune2006/405_CulturalRes.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5qzIbKsfp?url=http://www.cityofgrassvalley.com/services/departments/cdd/IdMd/FinalMEAJune2006/405_CulturalRes.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2010 |title=Prehistoric Context |page=2 |access-date=August 15, 2008 |date=June 2006 |work=Idaho-Maryland Mine Project, Master Environmental Assessment |publisher=cityofgrassvalley.com |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Initial European-American exploration===
{{See also|History of the Yosemite area|California Trail}}
[[File:Albert_Bierstadt_-_Among_the_Sierra_Nevada,_California_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|alt=Painting of a lake with deer at the water's edge and the Sierra Nevada in the background. Light is shining between the clouds onto the mountains.|thumb|[[Albert Bierstadt]], ''[[Among the Sierra Nevada, California]]'', 1868]]
American exploration of the mountain range started in 1827. Although prior to the 1820s there were [[Spanish missions in California|Spanish missions]], ''[[pueblo]]s'' (towns), ''[[presidio]]s'' (forts), and ''[[Ranchos of California|ranchos]]'' along the coast of California, no Spanish explorers visited the Sierra Nevada.<ref name="Wuerthner">{{cite book |title=Yosemite: A Visitors Companion |first=George |last=Wuerthner |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-8117-2598-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/yosemitevisitors00wuer/page/13 13–14] |url=https://archive.org/details/yosemitevisitors00wuer/page/13}}</ref> The first Americans to visit the mountains were amongst a group led by fur trapper [[Jedediah Smith]], crossing north of the Yosemite area in May 1827, at [[Ebbetts Pass]].<ref name="Wuerthner" />

In 1833, a subgroup of the [[Bonneville Expedition of 1832|Bonneville Expedition]] led by [[Joseph Reddeford Walker]] was sent westward to find an overland route to [[California]]. Eventually the party discovered a route along the [[Humboldt River]] across present-day [[Nevada]], ascending the Sierra Nevada, starting near present-day Bridgeport and descending between the Tuolumne and Merced River drainage. The group may have been the first non-indigenous people to see [[Yosemite Valley]].<ref name="Schaffer">{{cite book |title=Yosemite National Park: A Natural History Guide to Yosemite and Its Trails |first=Jeffrey P. |last=Schaffer |publisher=Wilderness Press |location=Berkeley |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-89997-244-2}}</ref> The [[Walker Party]] probably visited either the [[Tuolumne Grove|Tuolumne]] or [[Merced Grove]]s of [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|giant sequoia]], becoming the first non-indigenous people to see the giant trees,<ref name="Wuerthner" /> but journals relating to the Walker party were destroyed in 1839, in a print shop fire in Philadelphia.<ref name="Kiver">{{cite book |title=Geology of U.S. Parklands |edition=5th |first=Eugene P. |last=Kiver |author2=Harris, David V. |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=New York |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-471-33218-3}}</ref>

Starting in 1841, emigrants from the [[United States]] started to move to California via [[Sonora Pass|Sonora]] and [[Walker Pass]]es.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Exploration of the Sierra Nevada |journal=California Historical Society Quarterly |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=3–58 |date=March 1925 |first=Francis P. |last=Farquhar |doi=10.2307/25177743 |jstor=25177743 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015049981668 |url=https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/exploration_of_the_sierra_nevada/ |hdl-access=free |access-date=December 27, 2022 |archive-date=October 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019035212/http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/exploration_of_the_sierra_nevada/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the winter of 1844, Lt. [[John C. Frémont]], accompanied by [[Kit Carson]], was the first European American to see [[Lake Tahoe]]. The Frémont party camped at {{cvt|8050|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite book |year=2007 |orig-year=1999 |title=Frémont's "Long Camp" |url=http://www.longcamp.com/longcamp.html |access-date=May 29, 2010 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819115823/http://www.longcamp.com/longcamp.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Gold rush===
[[File:Sierra Gold Rush map.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Map of gold fields in the Sierra]]
{{main|California Gold Rush}}
The California Gold Rush began at [[Sutter's Mill]], near [[Coloma, California|Coloma]], in the western foothills of the Sierra.<ref name="CAMap">{{cite web |url=http://www.consrv.ca.gov/CGS/minerals/images/Big_AUMap.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214035847/http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/minerals/images/Big_AUMap.pdf |archive-date=December 14, 2006 |title=California Historic Gold Mines |publisher=State of California}}</ref> On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall, a foreman working for [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] pioneer [[John Sutter]], found shiny metal in the [[water wheel|tailrace]] of a lumber mill Marshall was building for Sutter on the [[American River]].<ref name="BancroftDiscovery">{{Cite book |last=Bancroft |first=Hubert Howe |title=History of California, Volume 23: 1843–1850 |publisher=The History Company |year=1889 |location=San Francisco |pages=32–34 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bancrohistofcali23huberich/bancrohistofcali23huberich_djvu.txt}}</ref> Rumors soon started to spread and were confirmed in March 1848 by [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] newspaper publisher and merchant [[Samuel Brannan]]. Brannan strode through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!"<ref name="BancroftDiscovery" />

On August 19, 1848, the ''[[New York Herald]]'' was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report the discovery of gold. On December 5, 1848, President [[James Polk]] confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to [[United States Congress|Congress]].<ref name="Starr">{{Cite book |last=Starr |first=Kevin |title=California: a history |publisher=The Modern Library |year=2005 |location=New York}}</ref>{{rp|80}} Soon, waves of [[Immigration to the United States|immigrants]] from around the world, later called the "forty-niners", invaded the [[Gold Country of California]] or "Mother Lode". Miners lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships.<ref name="Holliday">{{Cite book |last=Holliday |first=J. S. |title=Rush for riches; gold fever and the making of California |publisher=[[Oakland Museum of California]] and [[University of California Press]] |year=1999 |location=Oakland, California, Berkeley and Los Angeles |page=60}}</ref> Wherever gold was discovered, hundreds of miners would collaborate to put up a camp and stake their claims.

Because the [[gold]] in the [[California]] gravel beds was so richly concentrated, the early forty-niners simply [[gold panning|panned for gold]] in California's rivers and streams.<ref name="Brands">{{Cite book |last=Brands |first=H. W. |title=The age of gold: the California Gold Rush and the new American dream |location=New York |publisher=Anchor (reprint ed.) |year=2003}}</ref>{{rp|198–200}} However, panning cannot take place on a large scale, and miners and groups of miners graduated to more complex placer mining. Groups of prospectors would divert the water from an entire river into a [[sluice]] alongside the river, and then dig for gold in the newly exposed river bottom.<ref name="Rawls" />{{rp|90}}

By 1853, most of the easily accessible gold had been collected, and attention turned to extracting gold from more difficult locations. [[Hydraulic mining]] was used on ancient gold-bearing gravel beds on hillsides and bluffs in the gold fields.<ref name="Starr" />{{rp|89}} In hydraulic mining, a high-pressure hose directed a powerful stream or jet of water at gold-bearing gravel beds. It is estimated that by the mid-1880s, 11&nbsp;million [[troy ounce]]s (340 metric tons) of gold (worth approximately US$16&nbsp;billion in 2020 prices) had been recovered by "hydraulicking".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/ghayes/goldrush.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061203062554/http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/ghayes/goldrush.htm |archive-date=December 3, 2006 |title=Mining History and Geology of the Mother Lode}}</ref> A consequence of these extraction methods was that large amounts of gravel, [[silt]], [[heavy metals]], and other pollutants were washed into streams and rivers.<ref name="Rawls" />{{rp|32–36}} {{As of | 1999}}, many areas still bear the scars of hydraulic mining, since the resulting exposed earth and downstream gravel deposits do not support plant life.<ref name="Rawls" />{{rp|116–121}}

It is estimated that by 1855, at least 300,000 gold-seekers, merchants, and other immigrants had arrived in California from around the world.<ref name="Starr" />{{rp|25}} The huge numbers of newcomers brought by the Gold Rush drove [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] out of their traditional hunting, fishing and food-gathering areas. To protect their homes and livelihood, some Native Americans responded by attacking the miners, provoking counter-attacks on native villages. The Native Americans, out-gunned, were often slaughtered.<ref name="Rawls">{{Cite book |editor1-last=Rawls |editor1-first=James J. |editor2-last=Orsi |editor2-first=Richard J. |title=A golden state: mining and economic development in Gold Rush California (California History Sesquicentennial Series, 2) |year=1999 |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles |publisher=[[University of California Press]]}}</ref>
[[File:California Geological Survey Field Party of 1864.jpg|thumb|upright|The exploration team for the California Geological Survey, 1864]]

===Thorough exploration===
The Gold Rush populated the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, but even by 1860, most of the Sierra was unexplored.<ref name="roper">{{cite book |last=Roper |first=Steve |title=Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country |year=1997 |publisher=The Mountaineers Press |isbn=978-0-89886-506-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Moore |first=James G. |title=Exploring the Highest Sierra |year=2000 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-3703-6}}</ref> The state legislature authorized the [[California Geological Survey]] to officially explore the Sierra (and survey the rest of the state). [[Josiah Whitney]] was appointed to head the survey. Men of the survey, including [[William Henry Brewer|William H. Brewer]], [[Charles F. Hoffmann]] and [[Clarence King]], explored the backcountry of what would become [[Yosemite National Park]] in 1863.<ref name="roper" /> In 1864, they explored the area around [[Kings Canyon National Park|Kings Canyon]]. In 1869, [[John Muir]] started his wanderings in the Sierra Nevada range,<ref>{{cite book |title=My First Summer in the Sierra |first=John |last=Muir |url=https://archive.org/details/naturewritings0000muir |year=1911 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-1-883011-24-6 |url-access=registration}}</ref> and in 1871, King was the first to climb [[Mount Langley]], mistakenly believing he had summited [[Mount Whitney]], the highest peak in the range.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/famous-u-s-summits-mount-whitney-california |title=Famous U.S. Summits: Mount Whitney, California |last=Leonard |first=Brendan |date=n.d. |website=REI Co-op Journal |location=www.rei.com/blog |publisher=REI Co-op |access-date=July 16, 2018 |archive-date=July 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716200535/https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/famous-u-s-summits-mount-whitney-california |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1873, Mount Whitney was climbed for the first time by 3 men from Lone Pine, California, on a fishing trip.<ref name="roper" /> From 1892 to 1897 [[Theodore Solomons]] made the first attempt to map a route along the crest of the Sierra.<ref name="roper" />

Other people finished exploring and mapping the Sierra. [[Bolton Coit Brown]] explored the [[Kings River (California)|Kings River]] watershed in 1895–1899. [[Joseph N. LeConte]] mapped the area around [[Yosemite National Park]] and what would become [[Kings Canyon National Park]]. [[James S. Hutchinson]], a noted mountaineer, climbed the [[Palisades (California Sierra)|Palisades]] (1904) and [[Mount Humphreys]] (1905). By 1912, the [[USGS]] published a set of maps of the Sierra Nevada, and the era of exploration was over.<ref name="roper" />{{rp|81}}

===Logging===
{{See also|Logging in the Sierra Nevada}}
[[File:DeQuille 137 Timbering the Mines.jpg|thumb|[[Philip Deidesheimer|Square-set timbering]] as used in the [[Comstock Lode|Comstock mines]], 1877.]]
Logging in the Sierra Nevada has significantly impacted the landscape. The logging industry in the Sierra Nevada started in the early 1800s, when settlers relied on hand tools and ox-teams.<ref name="Johnston 1997">{{cite book |last=Johnston |first=Hank |date=1997 |title=The Whistles Blow No More |publisher=Stauffer Publishing |isbn=0-87046-067-6}}</ref>{{rp|103, 127}} Before the California Gold Rush, the industry was relatively small, and most of the lumber used in the state was imported. However, as the demand for lumber to support the mining industry increased, logging became a major industry in the region.

Initially, most of the lumber produced in California was used in mining. The [[Comstock Lode]] was a major center for logging, with operations supplying lumber for the construction of mine structures, such as tunnels, shafts, and buildings, as well as fuel for the mines. [[Dan DeQuille]] observed in 1876, "the Comstock Lode may truthfully be said to be the tomb of the forests of the Sierra. Millions upon millions of feet of lumber are annually buried in the mines, nevermore to be resurrected."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historynet.com/square-set-timbering-v-flume-kept-comstock-lode-running-strong/ |title=Square-Set Timbering and the V-Flume Kept the Comstock Lode Running Strong |last1=Straka |first1=Tom |last2=Wynn |first2=Bob |date=January 17, 2018 |website=History.net |publisher=HistoryNet LLC |access-date=December 27, 2022 |quote=The Comstock Lode may truthfully be said to be the tomb of the Sierras. Millions upon millions of feet of lumber are annually buried in the mines, nevermore to be resurrected. When once it is planted in the lower levels, it never again sees the light of day. …For a distance of 50 or 60 miles, all the hills of the eastern slope of the Sierras have been to a great extent denuded of trees of every kind; those suitable only for wood as well those fit for the manufacture of lumber for use in the mines. |archive-date=December 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227204458/https://www.historynet.com/square-set-timbering-v-flume-kept-comstock-lode-running-strong/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the late 1800s, the [[History of the lumber industry in the United States#Twentieth century|logging industry moved westward]] due to the depletion of [[Pinus strobus|white pine]] forests in the upper Midwest.<ref name="Johnston 2011">{{Cite book |last=Johnston |first=Hank |title=Rails to the Minarets: The Story of the Sugar Pine Lumber Company |publisher=Stauffer Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-9846848-0-9 |edition=Fourth Edition (Revised) |location=Fish Camp, California}}</ref>{{rp|9–14}}  This shift was encouraged by the positive portrayal of the Sierra Nevada as a promising timber region. In 1859, [[Horace Greely]] marveled, "I never saw anything so much like good timber in the course of any seventy-five miles' travel as I saw in crossing the Sierra Nevada."<ref>{{cite book |last=Horace |first=Greely |date=1859 |title=Overland Journey: New York to San Francisco the Summer of 1859 |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/AFK4378.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext |location=New York |publisher=C.M. Saxton, Barker & Company |page=280 |access-date=December 31, 2022 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307170906/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/AFK4378.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:HenryERoberts-BaseofFallenSequoia.jpg|thumb|[[Clearcutting]] in [[Converse Basin Grove|Converse Basin]] resulted in a loss of 8,000 [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|giant sequoia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.inventionandtech.com/content/log-flume-1 |title=Log Flume |last=Zimmerman |first=Robert |date=Fall 1998 |website=American Heritage's Invention and Technology |publisher=American Heritage |access-date=December 23, 2022 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120055024/https://www.inventionandtech.com/content/log-flume-1 |url-status=live }}</ref> ]]
The logging industry experienced significant growth in the late 1800s due to several factors. [[Timber and Stone Act|The Timber and Stone Act of 1878]] allowed individuals to claim ownership of old-growth timber tracts, which were later consolidated under [[Joint-stock company|joint-stock companies]], such as those founded by Midwestern lumber magnates.<ref name="McDougall">{{cite book |last=McDougall Weiner |first=Jackie |date=2009 |title=Timely Exposures: The Life and Images of C.C. Curtis, Pioneer California Photographer |location=Tulare, California |publisher=Tulare County Historical Society}}</ref>{{rp|142–144}} These companies had the financial resources to transport timber from remote locations and build sawmills near the tracks of the [[History of the Southern Pacific|Southern Pacific]] railroad which connected the [[San Joaquin Valley]] to the rest of the state in the 1870s. This facilitated the nationwide distribution of lumber. In addition, technological advancements, such as the [[shay locomotive]] and the [[log flume#V-Flumes|v-shaped log flume]], made it easier to transport lumber across mountainous terrain.<ref name="Johnston 1997" />

===Conservation===
{{see also|Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada}}
[[File:General Sherman tree looking up.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[General Sherman Tree]], a [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|giant sequoia]] in [[Sequoia National Park]], is the world's largest tree by volume.]]

The tourism potential of the Sierra Nevada was recognized early in the European history of the range. [[Yosemite Valley]] was first protected by the federal government in 1864. The Valley and [[Mariposa Grove]] were ceded to [[California]] in 1866 and turned into a state park.<ref name="Schaffer"/> John Muir perceived [[overgrazing]] by [[domestic sheep|sheep]] and logging of [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|giant sequoia]] to be a problem in the Sierra. Muir successfully lobbied for the protection of the rest of Yosemite National Park: Congress created an Act to protect the park in 1890. The Valley and Mariposa Grove were added to the Park in 1906.<ref name="Schaffer" /> In the same year, [[Sequoia National Park]] was formed to protect the Giant Sequoia: all logging of the Sequoia ceased at that time.

In 1903, the city of [[San Francisco]] proposed building a [[hydroelectric dam]] to flood [[Hetch Hetchy Valley]]. The city and the [[Sierra Club]] argued over the dam for 10 years, until the [[U.S. Congress]] passed the [[Raker Act]] in 1913 and allowed dam building to proceed. [[O'Shaughnessy Dam (California)|O'Shaughnessy Dam]] was completed in 1923.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dam!: Water, Power, Politics, and Preservation in Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite National Park |last=Simpson |first=John W. |year=2005 |publisher=Pantheon Books |isbn=978-0-375-42231-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/damwaterpowerpol00simp}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Battle over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism |last=Righter |first=Robert W. |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-531309-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/battleoverhetchh00righ}}</ref>

Between 1912 and 1918, Congress debated three times to protect Lake Tahoe in a national park. None of these efforts succeeded, and after [[World War II]], towns such as [[South Lake Tahoe, California|South Lake Tahoe]] grew around the shores of the lake. By 1980, the permanent population of the Lake Tahoe area grew to 50,000, while the summer population grew to 90,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stream and Ground-Water Monitoring Program, Lake Tahoe Basin, Nevada and California |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/FS-100-97/ |publisher=USGS |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-date=May 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530064146/http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/FS-100-97/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The development around Lake Tahoe affected the clarity of the lake water. In order to preserve the lake's clarity, construction in the Tahoe basin is currently regulated by the [[Tahoe Regional Planning Agency]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trpa.org/default.aspx?tabindex=1&tabid=40 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716131956/http://www.trpa.org/default.aspx?tabindex=1&tabid=40 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |title=Construction Monitoring |publisher=Tahoe Regional Planning Agency |url-status=dead}}</ref>

As the 20th century progressed, more of the Sierra became available for recreation; other forms of economic activity decreased. The [[John Muir Trail]], a trail that followed the Sierra crest from Yosemite Valley to [[Mount Whitney]], was funded in 1915 and finished in 1938.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Starr |first=Walter A. |date=November 1947 |title=Trails |journal=Sierra Club Bulletin |volume=32 |issue=10}}</ref> [[Kings Canyon National Park]] was formed in 1940 to protect the deep canyon of the [[Kings River (California)|Kings River]].

In the 1920s, automobile clubs and nearby towns started to lobby for trans-Sierra highways over [[Piute Pass]]<ref name=usfsRoad>{{cite web |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd499744.pdf |title=The High Sierra Piute Highway |first=Steve |last=Marsh |publisher=US Forest Service |year=2015 |access-date=December 31, 2020 |archive-date=August 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815210623/https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd499744.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> (which would have closed the gap in [[California State Route 168|SR 168]]) and other locations. However, by end of the 1920s, the Forest Service and the Sierra Club decided that roadless wilderness in the Sierra was valuable, and fought the proposal. The Piute Pass proposal faded out by the early 1930s, with the Forest Service proposing a route over [[Minaret Summit]] in 1933.<ref name=usfsRoad/> The Minaret Summit route was lobbied against by California's Governor [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1972. The expansion of the [[John Muir Wilderness|John Muir]] and [[Ansel Adams Wilderness]]es in the 1980s sealed off the Minaret Summit route.<ref name=usfsRoad/>

A trans-Sierra route between [[Porterville, California|Porterville]] and [[Lone Pine, California|Lone Pine]] was proposed by local businessmen in 1923.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=Trail Over Mountains Supported |date=June 15, 1923 |page=II10}}</ref> Eventually, a circuitous route across the Sierra was built across [[Sherman Pass (California)|Sherman Pass]] by 1976.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Fresno Bee |title=See It All in the Sierra |date=October 24, 1976}}</ref>

By 1964, the [[Wilderness Act]] protected portions of the Sierra as primitive areas where humans are simply temporary visitors. Gradually, 20 [[U.S. Wilderness Areas|wilderness areas]] were established to protect scenic [[backcountry]] of the Sierra. These wilderness areas include the [[John Muir Wilderness]] (protecting the eastern slope of the Sierra and the area between Yosemite and Kings Canyon Parks), and wilderness within each of the National Parks.

The Sierra Nevada still faces a number of issues that threaten its conservation. Logging occurs on both private and public lands, including controversial clearcut methods and thinning logging on private and public lands.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Forest Issues - CSERC |url=http://www.cserc.org/local-issues/forests/ |website=CSERC |date=December 16, 2014 |access-date=January 28, 2016 |language=en-US |archive-date=January 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121020027/http://www.cserc.org/local-issues/forests/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Grazing occurs on private lands as well as on National Forest lands, which include Wilderness areas. Overgrazing can alter hydrologic processes and vegetation composition, remove vegetation that serves as food and habitat for native species, and contribute to sedimentation and pollution in waterways.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2014 Grazing Report Released by CSERC - CSERC |url=http://www.cserc.org/news/2014-grazing-report-released-cserc/ |website=CSERC |access-date=January 28, 2016 |language=en-US |archive-date=February 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202145658/http://www.cserc.org/news/2014-grazing-report-released-cserc/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> A recent increase in large wildfires like the Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest and the King Fire on the Eldorado National Forest, has prompted concerns.<ref name=":0" /> A 2015 study indicated that the increase in fire risk in California may be attributable to [[anthropogenic global warming|human-induced climate change]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yoon |first1=Jin-Ho |last2=Wang |first2=S.-Y. Simon |last3=Gillies |first3=Robert R. |last4=Hipps |first4=Lawrence |last5=Kravitz |first5=Ben |last6=Rasch |first6=Philip J. |date=2015 |title=Extreme Fire Season in California: A Glimpse Into the Future? |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283425168 |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |volume=96 |issue=11 |doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00114.1 |issn=1520-0477 |pages=S5–S9 |bibcode=2015BAMS...96S...5Y |osti=1240234 |doi-access=free |access-date=September 26, 2016 |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201194439/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283425168_EXTREME_FIRE_SEASON_IN_CALIFORNIA_A_GLIMPSE_INTO_THE_FUTURE |url-status=live }}</ref> A study looking back over 8,000 years found that warmer climate periods experienced severe droughts and more stand-replacing fires and concluded that as climate is such a powerful influence on wildfires, trying to recreate presettlement forest structure may be difficult in a warmer future.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pierce |first1=Jennifer L. |last2=Meyer |first2=Grant A. |last3=Timothy Jull |first3=A. J. |date=November 4, 2004 |title=Fire-induced erosion and millennial-scale climate change in northern ponderosa pine forests |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=432 |issue=7013 |pages=87–90 |doi=10.1038/nature03058 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=15525985 |bibcode=2004Natur.432...87P |s2cid=1452537}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Geography|Mountains|California|Nevada}}
* [[Bibliography of the Sierra Nevada]]
* [[List of Sierra Nevada road passes]]
* [[List of Sierra Nevada topics]]
* [[Sierra Nevada (Spain)]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|32em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.climber.org/data/SierraPeaks/map.html Clickable map of Sierra Nevada peaks]
* [http://www.summitpost.org/sierra-nevada/176773 Sierra Nevada info at SummitPost]

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[[Category:Sierra Nevada (United States)| ]]
[[Category:Geologic provinces of California]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Northern California]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Nevada]]
[[Category:Physiographic sections]]
[[Category:Regions of California]]
[[Category:Regions of Nevada]]
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[[Category:Volcanism of California]]