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Sierra Nevada

Ecoregion in Sierra Nevada in CA, NV

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The Sierra Nevada is a mountainous, deeply dissected, and westerly tilting fault block. The central and southern part of the region is largely composed of granitic rocks that are lithologically distinct from the mixed geology of the Klamath Mountains (78) and the volcanic rocks of the Cascades (4). In the northern Sierra Nevada, however, the lithology has some similarities to the Klamath Mountains. A high fault scarp divides the Sierra Nevada from the Northern Basin and Range (80) and Central Basin and Range (13) to the east. Near this eastern fault scarp, the Sierra Nevada reaches its highest elevations. Here, moraines, cirques, and small lakes are common and are products of Pleistocene alpine glaciation. Large areas are above timberline, including Mt. Whitney in California, the highest point in the conterminous United States at nearly 14,500 feet. The Sierra Nevada casts a rain shadow over Ecoregions 13 and 80 to the east. The ecoregion slopes more gently toward the Central California Valley (7) to the west. The vegetation grades from mostly ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir at the lower elevations on the west side, pines and Sierra juniper on the east side, to fir and other conifers at the higher elevations. Alpine conditions exist at the highest elevations. Large areas are publicly-owned federal land, including several national parks.

— EPA

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