The Kings River is a 132.9-mile (213.9 km) river draining the Sierra Nevada mountain range in central California in the United States. Its headwaters originate along the Sierra Crest in and around Kings Canyon National Park and form the eponymous Kings Canyon, one of the deepest river gorges in North America. The river is impounded in Pine Flat Lake before flowing into the San Joaquin Valley southeast of Fresno. With its upper and middle course in Fresno County, the Kings River diverges into multiple branches in Kings County, with some water flowing south to the old Tulare Lake bed and the rest flowing north to the San Joaquin River. However, most of the water is consumed for irrigation well upstream of either point.
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long. It drains into and through the Owens Valley, an arid basin between the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and the western faces of the Inyo and White Mountains. The river terminates at the endorheic Owens Lake south of Lone Pine, at the bottom of a 2,600 sq mi (6,700 km2) watershed.
Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range of Northern California between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. The name is actually applied to two distinct but nearby crossings of the range. The lower of the two, at an elevation of 741 ft (226 m), carries two railroad rights-of-way (ROWs) and Altamont Pass Road, part of the old Lincoln Highway and the original alignment of US 50 before it was bypassed c. 1937. The bypass route travels over the higher summit, at 1,009 ft (308 m), and now carries Interstate 580, a major regional highway heavily congested by Central Valley suburbanization.
The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about 40 miles (64 km) long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba River proper is formed at the confluence of the North Yuba and Middle Yuba Rivers, with the South Yuba joining a short distance downstream. Measured to the head of the North Yuba River, the Yuba River is just over 100 miles (160 km) long.
Sierra Highway or El Camino Sierra is a road in Southern California, United States. El Camino Sierra refers to the full length of a trail formed in the 19th century, rebuilt as highways in the early 20th century, that ran from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe following parts of modern State Route 14, U.S. Route 395 and State Route 89. Two portions of this road are currently signed as Sierra Highway. The first is an old alignment of SR 14/U.S. Route 6 from Los Angeles to Mojave. This road is also signed with the unusual designation of State Route 14U through the city of Santa Clarita. The second part signed as Sierra Highway is a portion of US 395 in Bishop.
The Kaweah River is a river draining the southern Sierra Nevada in Tulare County, California in the United States. Fed primarily by high elevation snowmelt along the Great Western Divide, the Kaweah begins as four forks in Sequoia National Park, where the watershed is noted for its alpine scenery and its dense concentrations of giant sequoias, the largest trees on Earth. It then flows in a southwest direction to Lake Kaweah – the only major reservoir on the river – and into the San Joaquin Valley, where it diverges into multiple channels across an alluvial plain around Visalia. With its Middle Fork headwaters starting at almost 13,000 feet (4,000 m) above sea level, the river has a vertical drop of nearly two and a half miles (4.0 km) on its short run to the San Joaquin Valley, making it one of the steepest river drainages in the United States. Although the main stem of the Kaweah is only 33.6 miles (54.1 km) long, its total length including headwaters and lower branches is nearly 100 miles (160 km).
Sonora Pass is the second-highest highway pass in the Sierra Nevada, lower by 321 ft. than Tioga Pass to the south. State Route 108 traverses the pass.
Lake Helen is a glacial lake or a tarn occupying a cirque at around 8,200 feet in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The lake is located to the south of Lassen Peak and west of Bumpass Mountain in the Shasta Cascades region of Northern California. Highway 89 runs along the lake's southern and eastern shore. The lake is named for Helen Tanner Brodt who in 1864 became the first woman to reach the summit of Lassen Peak.
Slumgullion Pass, elevation 11,530 ft (3,510 m), is a mountain pass in Colorado traversed by State Highway 149 east of Lake City. The north side has the steepest grade of any continuously paved road in Colorado (9%), but the pass does not close often in winter because snowplows clear the route regularly during this season. It has a few switchbacks and tight spots, but other than that, most travelers will find it an easy, scenic route.
Summit Lake is a lake in the Lassen Volcanic National Park of Shasta County, California, east of California Route 89 at elevation 6,700 ft (2,000 m). Two campgrounds, named Summit Lake North and Summit Lake South, are located adjacent to the lake.
Juniper Lake is a large lake located at the southeast corner of Lassen Volcanic National Park in the U.S. state of California. The lake sits at an elevation of 6,700 ft (2,040 m) above sea level. There is a campground and a ranger station located on the eastern shore of the lake, and a campground and private cabins located on the northern shore. The lake is accessible by an unpaved road from Chester.
In the U.S. state of California, U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a 557-mile (896 km) route which traverses from Interstate 15 in Hesperia, north to the Oregon state line in Modoc County near Goose Lake. The route clips into Nevada, serving the cities Carson City and Reno, before returning to California.
Morgan Summit is a mountain pass on a road shared by Highway 89 and Highway 36 in Tehama County, California. The pass is located in between the town of Mineral and Childs Meadow south of Lassen Peak and Lassen Volcanic National Park. The stated elevation of the pass varies between 5,753 ft (1,754 m) and 5,768 ft (1,758 m). The pass is high enough to receive snowfall during the winter.
The South Fork Kern River is a tributary of the Kern River in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. It is one of the southernmost rivers on the western slope of the mountains, and drains a high, relatively dry plateau country of 982 square miles (2,540 km2) along the Sierra Crest. The upper South Fork flows through a series of rugged canyons, but it also drains a flat, marshy valley before joining the Kern River at Lake Isabella.
Mount Rose Summit is a mountain pass located in the Carson Range near Mount Rose and Slide Mountain northeast of Incline Village. The 8,911 ft (2,716 m)-high pass is traversed by State Route 431, which is the highest point of the highway and the highest mountain pass open year-round in the Sierra Nevada. The saddle itself features a parking lot and a small building which both serve as a highway stop. A closed dirt road leading to the Mount Rose Ski Resort ends near the northern section of the summit.
The North Fork American River is the longest branch of the American River in Northern California. It is 88 miles (142 km) long from its source at the crest of the Sierra Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, to its mouth at Folsom Lake northeast of Sacramento. Prior to the construction of Folsom Dam the river was about 9 miles (14 km) longer making for a total length of 97 miles (156 km).
The Middle Fork Kings River is a 37.2-mile (59.9 km) tributary of the Kings River in Kings Canyon National Park, California, in the southern Sierra Nevada. Draining 318 square miles (820 km2) – almost all of it wilderness – the Middle Fork is one of the largest wholly undeveloped watersheds in the state, with no dams or paved roads within its basin. The entire length of the Middle Fork is designated a National Wild and Scenic River.
The South Fork Kings River is a 44.1-mile (71.0 km) tributary of the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada of Fresno County, California. The river forms part of Kings Canyon, the namesake of Kings Canyon National Park and one of the deepest canyons in North America with a maximum relief of 8,200 feet (2,500 m) from rim to river.
Pisgah Mountain or Pisgah Ridge is a long ridgeline 12.5 miles (20.1 km) Tamaqua to Jim Thorpe oriented NNE-to-SSW whose northside valley is followed by U.S. Route 209 from river gap to river gap. The ridge is a succession of peaks exceeding 1,440 feet (438.9 m) looming 300–540 feet above the towns of Lansford, Coaldale, Summit Hill, and Tamaqua in the Panther Creek valley. Near Summit Hill was the 'Sharpe Mountain' (peak), where in 1791 Phillip Ginter is documented as having discovered Anthracite leading to the formation of the Lehigh Coal Mine Company. In 1818 the Lehigh Coal Company took over the mines and the mining camp gradually became a settlement and grew into Summit Hill.
Trabuco Peak is a 4,607-foot (1,404 m) summit in the Santa Ana Mountains on the border of Orange and Riverside Counties, California, about halfway between Rancho Santa Margarita and Lake Elsinore. The mountain sits on the divide between Arroyo Trabuco on the west and the Temescal Creek valley on the east. Situated in the Cleveland National Forest, it is the highest summit in the Santa Anas south of Santiago Peak.
