List of mountain ranges of California

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Mount Whitney is the highest mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada, the State of California, and the contiguous United States. Mount Whitney 2003-03-25.jpg
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.

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Mountain ranges

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of California</span>

California is a U.S. state on the western coast of North America. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km2), California is among the most geographically diverse states. The Sierra Nevada, the fertile farmlands of the Central Valley, and the arid Mojave Desert of the south are some of the major geographic features of this U.S. state. It is home to some of the world's most exceptional trees: the tallest, most massive, and oldest. It is also home to both the highest and lowest points in the 48 contiguous states. The state is generally divided into Northern and Southern California, although the boundary between the two is not well defined. San Francisco is decidedly a Northern California city and Los Angeles likewise a Southern California one, but areas in between do not often share their confidence in geographic identity. The US Geological Survey defines the geographic center of the state at a point near North Fork, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern California</span> American geographic and cultural region

Southern California is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area as well as the Inland Empire. The region generally contains ten of California's 58 counties: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inyo County, California</span> County in California, United States

Inyo County is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is on the east side of the Sierra Nevada and southeast of Yosemite National Park in Central California. It contains the Owens River Valley; it is flanked to the west by the Sierra Nevada and to the east by the White Mountains and the Inyo Mountains. With an area of 10,192 square miles (26,400 km2), Inyo is the second-largest county by area in California, after San Bernardino County. Almost one-half of that area is within Death Valley National Park. However, with a population density of 1.8 people per square mile, it also has the second-lowest population density in California, after Alpine County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Coast Ranges</span> Series of mountain ranges along the Pacific coast of North America

The Pacific Coast Ranges are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although they are commonly thought to be the westernmost mountain range of the continental United States and Canada, the geologically distinct Insular Mountains of Vancouver Island lie farther west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Ana Mountains</span> Mountain range in California, United States

The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 61 miles (98 km) southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little San Bernardino Mountains</span> Mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in California, United States

The Little San Bernardino Mountains are a short mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 40 mi (64 km) southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to near the northeast edge of the Salton Sink and Salton Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Mountains</span> Landform in San Bernardino County, California

The Dead Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California. The range borders the tri-state intersection of Nevada, Arizona and California, and the Mohave Valley, with the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation bordering the range foothills on the east and northeast, in the three states.

Cottonwood Canyon may refer to:

Districts in California geographically divide the U.S. state into overlapping regions for political and administrative purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coyote Mountain (California)</span> Mountain in San Diego County, California, US

Coyote Mountain is a mountain of the Santa Rosa Mountains range, in eastern San Diego County, California.

The Calico Peaks are geologically and historically colorful mountains in the Calico Mountains Range in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County and Inyo County, California. They are located just north of Barstow, Yermo, and Interstate 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of California</span> Overview of and topical guide to California

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Rosa Wilderness</span> Protected wilderness area in California, United States

The Santa Rosa Wilderness is a 72,259-acre (292.42 km2) wilderness area in Southern California, in the Santa Rosa Mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties, California. It is in the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert, above the Coachella Valley and Lower Colorado River Valley regions in a Peninsular Range, between La Quinta to the north and Anza Borrego Desert State Park to the south. The United States Congress established the wilderness in 1984 with the passage of the California Wilderness Act, managed by both the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In 2009, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act was signed into law which added more than 2,000 acres (8.1 km2). Most of the Santa Rosa Wilderness is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.

Temescal Mountains, also known as the Sierra Temescal, are one of the northernmost mountain ranges of the Peninsular Ranges in western Riverside County, in Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 25 mi (40 km) southeast of the Santa Ana River east of the Elsinore Fault Zone to the Temecula Basin and form the western edge of the Perris Block.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cirque Peak (California)</span> Mountain summit in California

Cirque Peak is a 12,900-foot-elevation (3,900-meter) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. It is situated on the common border of Tulare County with Inyo County, as well as the shared boundary of Golden Trout Wilderness and John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Inyo National Forest. It is 14 miles (23 km) southwest of the community of Lone Pine, 7.7 miles (12.4 km) south-southeast of Mount Whitney, and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south of Mount Langley, the nearest higher neighbor. Cirque Peak is the highest point of the Golden Trout Wilderness, and ranks as the 175th highest peak in California. Topographic relief is significant as it rises 1,800 feet above Cirque Lake in approximately one mile. The Pacific Crest Trail traverses the southwest slope of this mountain, providing an approach option. The mountain was apparently named in 1890 by Joseph Nisbet LeConte and companions who noted the remarkable cirque on the north aspect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Gables</span> Mountain in the state of California

Four Gables, elevation 12,776 feet (3,894 m), is a mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. It is situated in the John Muir Wilderness on the common boundary shared by Sierra National Forest with Inyo National Forest, and along the common border of Fresno County with Inyo County. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,800 feet above Horton Lake in approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Neighbors include Basin Mountain, two miles to the east-southeast, Mount Tom, three miles to the northeast, and Merriam Peak, four miles to the west. The nearest community is Bishop, California, 17 miles to the east.

References

    36°34′43″N118°17′31″W / 36.5786°N 118.2920°W / 36.5786; -118.2920 (Mount Whitney)