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The Sierra Nevada (/ s i ˌ ɛr ə n ɪ ˈ v æ d ə,-ˈ v ɑː d-/ see-ERR-ə nih-VA(H)D-ə) [6] [a] 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 Madre range trends from northwest to southeast, and is approximately 25 mi (40 km) long. High peaks in the range include MacPherson Peak at 5,747 feet (1,752 m) in elevation, and the highest point in the range, Peak Mountain at 5,843 feet (1,781 m) in elevation. [2] Snow falls on the higher elevations during the winter months. [5]
The Spanish name sierra madre means "mother mountain range" in English, and occidental means "western", these thus being the "Western mother mountain range". [1] To the east, from the Spanish oriental meaning "eastern" in English, the Sierra Madre Oriental range or "Eastern mother mountain range" runs generally parallel to the Sierra Madre Occidental along eastern Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico.
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada, the State of California, and the contiguous United States. This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks [a] of the U.S. State of California. The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways:
The Sierra Madre Oriental (Spanish: [ˈsjera ˈmaðɾe oɾjenˈtal] ⓘ) is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico.The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America, and Antarctica.
That definition excludes the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges, the Mojave, and Sonoran Deserts, [4] i.e. the Pacific Border province. The same term is used informally in Canada to refer to the Coast Mountains and adjoining inland ranges such as the Hazelton Mountains, and sometimes also the Saint Elias Mountains.
The image below from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shows the Sierra Nevada mountain range on Jan. 29 (left) and Feb. 11 (right). Read more: California is in a ‘snow drought.’
The Sierra Nevada Mountains form the southern portion of the Cascade-Sierra province. Like the Cascade Range, the Sierra Nevada Range formed from a chain of volcanoes along a subduction zone. However unlike the Cascade volcanoes, those that formed the Sierra Nevada Range are mostly extinct and buried deep within the earth forming a bed of ...