The Sierra Nevada 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 Nevada is part of the American Cordillera, an almost continuous chain of mountain ranges that forms the western "backbone" of the Americas.
The White Mountains of California and Nevada are a triangular fault-block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately 60 mi (97 km) as a greatly elevated plateau about 20 mi (32 km) wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing south to north. The range's broad southern end is near the community of Big Pine, where Westgard Pass and Deep Springs Valley separate it from the Inyo Mountains. The narrow northern end is at Montgomery Pass, where U.S. Route 6 crosses. The Fish Lake Valley lies east of the range; the southeast part of the mountains are separated from the Silver Peak Range by block faulting across the Furnace Creek Fault Zone, forming a feeder valley to Fish Lake Valley. The range lies within the eastern section of the Inyo National Forest.
The ecology of the Sierra Nevada, located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, is diverse and complex: the plants and animals are a significant part of the scenic beauty of the mountain range. The combination of climate, topography, moisture, and soils influences the distribution of ecological communities across an elevation gradient from 500 to 14,500 feet. Biotic zones range from scrub and chaparral communities at lower elevations, to subalpine forests and alpine meadows at the higher elevations. Particular ecoregions that follow elevation contours are often described as a series of belts that follow the length of the Sierra Nevada. There are many hiking trails, paved and unpaved roads, and vast public lands in the Sierra Nevada for exploring the many different biomes and ecosystems.
Mount Williamson, at an elevation of 14,379 feet (4,383 m), is the second-highest mountain in both the Sierra Nevada range and the state of California, and the sixth-highest peak in the contiguous United States.
Lomatium dissectum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names fernleaf biscuitroot and fernleaf desert parsley. It is native to much of western North America, where it grows in varied habitat. It is found in the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range, Rocky Mountains, Klamath Mountains, eastern Transverse Ranges and the Sierra Nevada in California.
Lomatium utriculatum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name common lomatium or spring gold. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in many types of habitat including chaparral, and in the Sierra Nevada.
The Kiavah Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Mojave Desert, Scodie Mountains, and southern Sierra Nevada in Kern County, California, United States. California State Route 178 connects the town of Lake Isabella to State Highway 14 in the east, crossing Walker Pass at the north boundary of the wilderness.
The South Sierra Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area in the Southern Sierra Nevada, in eastern California. It is located 65 miles (105 km) northeast of Bakersfield, and is southwest of Owens Lake and Olancha.
Lomatium congdonii, known by the common names Mariposa desertparsley and Congdon's lomatium, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family.
Leptosiphon nuttallii is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name Nuttall's linanthus.
Lomatium caruifolium, known by the common name alkali desertparsley, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family.
Lomatium dasycarpum is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name woollyfruit desertparsley. It is native to California and Baja California, where it is widespread throughout many of the mountain ranges, including the Peninsular, Sierra Nevada, and California Coast Ranges, and in valleys.
Lomatium mohavense is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Mojave desertparsley. It is native to southern California with a few outlying populations in Arizona, Nevada and Baja California. It is found in several types of mountain and desert habitat, including chaparral, woodland, and scrub, mostly from 2,000–7,000 feet (600–2,100 m) elevation.
Lomatium piperi is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name salt-and-pepper or Indian biscuitroot. It is native to the Northwestern United States and northern California, where it grows in sagebrush and plateau habitat, and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains.
Lomatium stebbinsii, known by the common name Stebbins' desertparsley, is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family.
Lomatium torreyi is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Sierra biscuitroot. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows in the forests of the high mountains.
Monardella beneolens is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name sweet-smelling monardella.
Senecio pattersonensis is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Mono ragwort. and Mount Patterson senecio.
Lomatium observatorium is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names Mt. Hamilton desertparsley and Mount Hamilton lomatium. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the mountains of Santa Clara County, including Mount Hamilton near the Lick Observatory. It may also occur in Stanislaus County. Its habitat includes mountain woodlands on volcanic and metamorphosed sedimentary rock substrates. Described The plant to science as a new species in 1996, the plant is a perennial herb growing low to the ground, the lightly hairy herbage growing from a long taproot.
