From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the mountain range in Spain see
Sierra Nevada (Spain)
The
Sierra Nevada
(
Spanish
for "Snowy Range") is a
mountain range
that is almost entirely in the eastern part of
California
.
The range started to uplift less than five million years ago.
[1]
The Sierra Nevada stretches 400 miles (650 km), from North to South. It is bounded on the West by California's
Central Valley
, and on the East by the
Great Basin
.
Uplift continues, and ground slips make spectacular
fault
escarpments
along the eastern edge of the southern Sierra. The Sierra Nevada is part of the
American Cordillera
, an almost continuous chain of mountain ranges which make up the western "backbone" of the Americas.
The Sierra Nevada has played an important role in the history of California and the United States. The
California Gold Rush
occurred in the western foothills from 1848 through 1855.