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Map of California topography and geomorphic provinces California's major mountain ranges. California is a U.S. state on the western coast of North America.Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km 2), California is among the most geographically diverse states.
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada, the State of California, and the contiguous United States. The following list comprises the mountain ranges of U.S. State of California designated by the United States Board on Geographic Names and cataloged in the Geographic Names Information System .
The ranges are dissected by young, steep streams of relatively low flow rate; as a result, there is high topographic relief throughout the range, and other than in marginal areas (e.g. the San Fernando Valley) and a few river valleys (such as Lockwood Valley and Big Bear Valley), there are no large, flat basins within the ranges.
Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 7,100 feet (2,164 meters) above the valley floor in 7.5 miles (12.1 km). The mountain is composed of Ordovician limestone, a marine sedimentary rock. [5] This mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. [3]
The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch 930 mi (1,500 km) from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Pacific Coast Ranges, which run along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. Elevations range from ...
Of the most prominent summits of California, only Mount Whitney exceeds 3000 meters (9843 feet) of topographic prominence. Five peaks exceed 2000 meters (6562 feet), nine peaks are ultra-prominent summits with more than 1500 meters (4921 feet), and 35 peaks exceed 1000 meters (3281 feet) of topographic prominence.
Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into Tenaya Creek which is a tributary of the Merced River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,700 feet (823 meters) above Tenaya Canyon in less than one mile (1.6 km). The mountain is composed of Half Dome Granodiorite which formed during the Cretaceous period. [4]
The Peninsular Ranges of southern California include the Santa Ana Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, and the Laguna Mountains. [28] The Peninsular Ranges of Baja California include the Sierra Juarez, Sierra San Pedro Martir, Sierra de la Giganta, and Sierra de la Laguna. These ranges run from north to south. [29] The Santa Ana Mountains are the ...