Walter Pawlowski, age 14, of Henderson, NOV., for his question:
HOW LONG IS THE SIERRA NEVADA RANGE?
One of the highest mountain ranges in the United states is the Sierra Nevada. It extends about 400 miles in length and varies from 40 and 80 miles in width. It runs between the rich Sacramento San Joaquin Valley on the west and the Great Basin on the east.
The range has a number of peaks that are more than 13,000 feet. Also in the Sierra Nevada is Mt. Whitney. At 14,494 feat above sea level, it is the tallest peak in the conterminous United States.
In the 400 mile length, there aren•t too many places where roods cross from the east to the west. The reason for this is that the range is very rugged. Railroads cross the range in only two places. Near the northern and the Western Pacific Railroad crosses at a 7,000 foot pass and follows the Feather River Valley down into central California. The Southern Pacific Railroad uses Donner Pass near Reno and Lake Tahoe. This pass has a summit of 7,017 feet. The railroad then follows the American River toward the west.
Three national parks can be found on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Kings Canyon includes the former General Grant National Park. Within each of these parks can be found the giant Sequoia, great coniferous trees that are among the oldest and largest living things on Earth.
Sierra Nevada received its name from early Spanish settlers who thought the mountains looked a lot like their own Sierra Nevada, or "Snowy Range," in Spain. A large tribe of Miwok Indians lived in 40 villages in Yosemite Valley before the white man arrived. Yosemite is a name that comes from the Miwok "uyumati" which means "grizzly bear."
Heavy snow and glacial ice covered the higher parts of the Sierra Nevada during the Ice Age. Glaciers moved westward down the valleys, cutting many of them deeper. Some excellent examples of the work glaciers can do is found is the dramatic 3,000 foot tall cliffs in Yosemite National Park.
Moisture laden winds from the Pacific ocean sweep up the Sierra Nevada and as the air rises, it is chilled and drops its moisture on the mountain slopes. This moisture comes down as rain where it is warm and as snow at higher levels in the winter. Many locations in the mountain range have recorded 400 inches of snowfall during a single winter.
Summers are very dry in the Sierra Nevada. The winter snowfall, therefore, is very important. Water is used to supply cities such as San Francisco and also for crop irrigation in the valleys.
Geologically, the Sierra Nevada is composed of a single block of the Earths crust tilted upward toward the east. Granite, other igneous rocks and metamorphic slate are the chief rocks of the range.
Gold in quartz is found in the Sierra Nevada. Silver is another precious metal that comes from the region.
Great forests cover many of the mountain elopes.