Lifestyle

The Sierra Nevada stretches 400 miles from Fredonyer Pass in the north to Tehachapi Pass in the south. It is bounded on the west by California's Central Valley and on the east by the Great Basin.

Rivers flowing west from the Sierra Crest eventually drain into the Pacific Ocean, while rivers draining east flow into the Great Basin and do not reach any ocean by natural means. Geographical features in the Sierra Nevada: 

• Lake Tahoe is a large, clear freshwater lake in the northern Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 6,225 feet (1,897 m) and an area of 191 square miles. 
• Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite Valley, Kings Canyon, Tehipite Valley and Kern Canyon are the most well-known of many beautiful, glacially-scoured canyons on the west side of the Sierra.
• Yosemite National Park is filled with stunning features, such as waterfalls and granite domes.
• Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m), is the highest point in the contiguous U.S. Mt. Whitney is on the eastern border of Sequoia National Park.
• Groves of Giant Sequoias Sequoiadendron giganteum occur along a narrow band of altitude on the western side of the Sierra Nevada. Giant sequoias are the most massive trees in the world. The height of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada gradually increases from north to south.