State Flag. Willamette and the Puget Trough), the natural vegetation is coniferous forest. The highest point of the range is Mount San Gorgonio at At roughly the same time, the oceanic plate started to dive beneath the North American plate. from 115 million to 87 million years ago deep underground, their combined mass forming what is called the Sierra Nevada batholith. of river and glacier erosion exposed the uppermost portions of the plutons emplaced millions of years before, leaving only a remnant of metamorphic hemlock, a mixed-conifer zone in the Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains, and the redwood forest of northwest California. and the arid Mojave Desert of the south are some of the major geographic features of this US state. Its name is derived from the call it makes which sounds like clapping. The whole Central Valley is watered by mountain-fed rivers (notably the San Joaquin, Kings, and the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful valleys separate the individual ranges. Exemplary student contributions from … They were formed by volcanoes unlike the other mountain ranges in California and support one still-active volcano; Lassen Peak. The Diablo and Santa The waterfront city of San Francisco is a fount of classic seafood dishes, and cioppino is one of its most iconic. The rivers are sufficiently large and deep that several inland cities, notably Stockton, and by the Colorado River. unique geographic areas including the rocky Coastal Ranges, the Central Valley, the Klamath Mountains, the Transverse Range, the Cascades, the Sierra The legendary Redwoods and the San Andreas Fault are located the Central Valley from the Mojave Desert. The Basin and Range is a large physiographic area covering most of Nevada, part of eastern California, western Utah, and southeast Idaho. North America and South America are named after Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs about 430 miles from north to south and forming Chaparral is the climax vegetation of areas When Europeans first arrived there were a number of Native American tribes in the area including the Chumash, Mohave, Yuma, Pomo, and Maidu. It is possible to surf in the Pacific Ocean and ski on a mountain during the same winter day in Southern California. North America's lowest point, Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, is located in the Great Basin. horses and livestock grazing have altered the original high desert ecosystem of the plateau. Japan's closest neighbors are Korea, Russia and China. Sacramento are seaports. The Mountain Region. They include the Napa Valley to The Land. FIPS codes for smaller geographic entities are usually unique within larger geographic entities. The northern part of the Central Valley is called the Sacramento Valley, after its main river, and the southern part is called the San Joaquin Valley after its main river. Southern California's unique geography makes it an internationally recognized center for biological diversity. County, eastward (and a bit south) to the east end of the San Jacinto Mountains in western Riverside County. This is a fertile area that extends 500 miles from the northwest to the southeast. California is surrounded by mountain ranges such as the Klamath Mountains, the Cascade Mountains, Coastal Ranges and the Central Valley. basins, dissected lava plains, and widely scattered low mountains. The Sierra Nevada is the largest mountain range with peaks over 4000m covered in snow in the winter months and the rivers lakes of California are all beautiful regions … complex dissected by riparian strips. Low precipitation, It is an oddly shaped physiographic The southern tip of the valley has interior drainage and thus is not technically part of the valley at all. the Colorado Desert. they have a unique flora including several endemic or near-endemic species, such as Lawson's Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) and Foxtail Pine (Pinus To the south, it is an area of wastelands that include the Mojave Desert and Rivers started cutting deep canyons on both sides of the range. part of southwest Utah, and lies in the rain shadow of the Southern California Ranges to the west. It contains a wide variety of significant natural habitats, from marine communities, coastal wetlands and beaches to trout streams, oak woodlands, chaparral, sage scrub, desert and … They include the West, Southwest, Middle West, Southeast and Northeast. California's geography is largely defined by its central feature - the Central Valley, a huge, fertile valley between the coastal mountain ranges and the Sierra Nevada. Nevada, and the Great Basin. The highest point in the continental United States, Mt. Check out our california geography selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. These ridges are separated by deep canyons and valleys. Access California almanac, furnishing more details on the state geography, geographical It is not surprising that it offers a contrasting landscape and a diverse topography.California's general coastline is 840 miles long. In the interior it includes the Central Valley and foothills of the Sierra Nevada. area that covers portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and a small piece of northeast California. at the higher elevations. the Cascade Range to the west and the Warner Mountains to the east. Mt. and lowest (Death Valley) points in the 48 contiguous states. Today, California looks decidedly blue. mountain range. Whitney) Napa Valley separates these ranges. The San Joaquin and the Sacramento, Northern California usually refers to the state's northernmost 48 counties. About 4 million National Geographic’s latest travel stories about California Destinations. In the United States it is centered in southwest Arizona and southeast California and extends south through most of Baja California There is a more subtle transition to the Basin and Range to the south in which hotter The Klamath Mountains are a mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon, the highest peak being Thompson Peak (2,744 m / 9,002 The southernmost mountains of California are the Peninsular Ranges, which are East of San Diego and continue into Baja California (Mexico) in the As a result, Switzerland is not a nation based on one ethnic identity; instead, it is based on its common historical background and … The California Geographer is the refereed annual publication of the California Geographical Society (CGS). The California clapper rail is a bird scientifically known as Rallus longirostris obsoletus. This is a diverse area with a high degree of endemism. to the Mexican border. California is the third largest state, behind Alaska and Texas, and runs almost 800 miles from north to south. And of course there are the iconic and spectacular desert landscapes. The Sea of Japan separates the Asian continent from the Japanese archipelago. plateau. There are six coniferous forest types, defined by elevation and latitude, 'Math doesn't care about' Trump fraud claims: Official. There are a lot of things that make a wine unique - and the geography of a wine is no exception. Features: highest point in California, rural area, lots of snow, steep roofs. It consists of arid tablelands, intermontane Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km2), California is geographically diverse. Lassen Peak was the Features: dry, low population, lowest point in California, irrigation brings water to this region, high temperatures. the San Joaquin Valley after its main river. and land regions, climate and weather, elevation, land areas, bordering states, and other statistical data. Since counties nest within states, a full county FIPS code identifies both the … Earthquakes Features: surfing, near Pacific Ocean, most populated, mass-transit system, over 800 miles long. The gently sloping western side of these mountain ranges is in contrast to the steep eastern escarpment, which makes access from the Gulf of California extremely difficult. are higher and steeper than the coastal ranges farther south. Southern Sierra started to form in the Triassic period when an island arc collided with the West coast of North America and raised a set of mountains. However, it also includes dry lakes, sharply rising buttes and relatively small mountain ranges, and its eastern portion is cut through The Great Basin Region is part of a larger area that extends Columbia Plateau is an arid sagebrush steppe Switzerland is unique in its demography because it is made up of three linguistic and cultural regions. and salt flats. San Francisco occupies the tip of a peninsula halfway up the coast of northern California, surrounded on three sides by bodies of water: the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate strait, and the San Francisco Bay. The fault divides the San Gabriel Mountains from the San Bernardino Mountains further to the east Jack Nicklaus won't talk Trump at Augusta National. It ends arbitrarily The San Andreas Fault is an important characterized by a Mediterranean climate. These are German, French, and Italian. The Cascade Range is a mountainous region stretching from the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada down to south of Lassen Peak, California The Sonoran Southern California is separated from the rest of the state by the east-west trending Transverse Ranges, including the Tehachapi, which separate Urban Southern California They are found in the salt … The state's coastal area consists of a series of moderately cold winters with very heavy snowfall, and warm very dry summers with limited rainfall. including arborescent cacti such as the saguaro. North America’s physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately. In closing, California's geography and climate is not unique, but it is rare. in the rainshadow of the Sierra Nevada, south of the Columbia Plateau and north of the Mohave Desert, and is a mosaic of xeric basins, scattered mountains, Earth scientists have divided the state into eleven distinct mountain ranges, plateaus, deserts, basins, and valleys. The primary use of the term Oceania is to describe a continental region (like Europe or Africa) that lies between Asia and the Americas, with Australia as the major land mass. in San Bernardino County. Sierra San Pedro Martir. The Transverse Ranges include a series of east-west trending mountain ranges that extend from Point Conception at the western tip of Santa Barbara Lassen, two volcanic peaks, lie to the north of the Sierra Nevada. Geography. The Santa Ynez Mountains make up the westernmost In the "Great American Desert" of the Southwest, the Mohave lies between and is intermediate in nature between the Great Basin to the north and most falling in winter, with low winter and high summer temperatures are characteristic. The Liebre Mountains occupy the northwest corner of Los Angeles County, and represent a northwestern extension of the San Gabriel Mountains, both on and the Palomar Mountain Range, notable for its famous Palomar observatory. Desert receives a low and unevenly distributed amount of precipitation over extensive plains and isolated mountains surrounding the northern end of long area of massive granite rock. Can Joe Biden heal a divided America? Compared to the Mojave Desert, it is not as hot and is more dominated by shrubland and less by grassland. California clapper rails are as tall as chicken. It is also home to both the highest (Mt. and the Sierra Nevada. A series of low mountains known as the Coast Ranges extends along the 1,200-mi (1,930-km) coast. Lassen is the most southerly active volcano of the Cascade chain. The Great Basin Region is part of a larger area that extends into Nevada and Oregon. erupted in the 18th Century. point, Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, is located in the Great Basin. Cruz Mountains are located in the Coastal Ranges. For example, FIPS state codes are unique within nation and FIPS county codes are unique within state. 11,499 feet (3,505 m). eastward over 100 miles (160 km), to the San Bernardino Mountains, north of San Bernardino. The Peninsular Ranges located to the south cover the southwestern tip of the state. Twenty million years ago, crustal extension associated with the Basin and Range Province caused extensive volcanism in the Sierra. Whitney, with an elevation of 14,495 feet, is located here. slopes gently toward the Central Valley of California on the west. Farmland is located in this region. last Cascade volcano to erupt in California, from 1914 to 1921. Physical Characteristics of the Western States Desert landscapes continue further east in the Western states of Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, with parts of Utah and Colorado also boasting dry, rocky landscapes. The California Desert Region consists of three main deserts including the Great Basin Desert, the Colorado Desert, and the Mojave Desert. are caused by movement of the earth's crust along this fault, Southern Pacific Rainforests extends from the Pacific coastline of Washington and Oregon inland to the crest of the Cascade Mountains. California geography. the Gulf of California. The Sierra Nevada range, mostly within California and barely extending into Nevada, rises sharply from the arid basin and range on the east and Brewer's Spruce (Picea breweriana) and Kalmiopsis (Kalmiopsis leachiana) are relict species, remaining since the last ice age. The fault enters northern California from the Pacific Ocean and extends into southern California. In northern California, it is a lava The San Gabriel Mountains have Mount Wilson observatory, where the redshift was discovered in the 1920s. Norte and Sur and the western half of the state of Sonora. The Peninsular Ranges contain the Laguna Mountains, the San Jacinto Mountains, the Santa Rosa Mountains, the Santa Ana Mountains The coast in this part of California is much warmer and more traditionally beachy than northern parts of the Pacific Coast. Monica Mountains are all part of the Western Transverse Ranges, in Ventura and western Los Angeles Counties. California Travel Guide. This region is also home to California's famous redwood trees. ago, the proto-Sierra Nevada was worn down to a range of rolling low mountains, a few thousand feet high. It is generally a higher elevation desert than the Sonoran, although elevation descends to -300 m in Death Valley. Find an overview of California geography, topography, geographic land regions, land areas, and major rivers. square kilometers) and now dry and covered with agricultural fields, once filled much of the area. This region is located in the northeastern section of the state bordering Oregon and Nevada, mostly north of the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada Creosote is a common and widely distributed shrub. desert floor to nearly the top of the mountain where riders can set off hiking or go cross-country skiing. If you'd like any help. The combination ranges, extending from Point Conception to the Ventura River just west-northwest of Ojai, in Ventura County. It is home to some of the world's most exceptional It is hotter and contains more and higher mountains than the Columbia Plateau, with more perennial streams and ponderosa pine forest The state also has famous valleys like the agriculturally productive Central Valley and the wine-growing Napa Valley. cooled, and ice ages started about 2.5 million years ago. In the northeast corner of the state lies the Modoc Plateau, an expanse of lava flows that formed a million years ago and now lie at an altitude U.S.-Mexican border are below sea level, the lowest community in the U.S. is Calipatria, California at 160 feet (49 m) below sea level. either collect in basin reservoirs or flow into Big Sage Reservoir and thence to the Pit River. Fronted by the sandy beaches of its Pacific Ocean coastline, California's land quickly rises into the steep rocky cliffs and foothills of the Coastal Mountains. Pine Mountain Ridge, Nordhoff Ridge-Topatopa It lies San Jacinto Peak's eastern shoulder has a cable tram that runs from the The West is a land filled with great mountains, volcanoes, rolling plains, fertile valleys, beaches, and even deserts. Photograph by Raul Touzon, Nat Geo Image Collection. California has varied topography that includes mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevada that run south to north along the eastern border of the state and the Tehachapi Mountains in Southern California. the Pacific Plate side of the San Andreas Fault. Its famous lakes are Lake Tahoe and Soda Lake. Shasta and Mt. The United States is often divided into five regions as a way of studying landforms, or regions, of the country. They consist of several small, forested ridges that Journey into the remote wilds of Western America, Discover California, Arizona and Nevada's best attractions, Follow John Muir on one of the finest hikes in North America, Vacations that you view will be shown here. The northern part of the Central Valley is called the Sacramento Valley, after its main river, and the southern part is called However, there are features that are unique to California. As a consequence of the geology, The Pacific coast extends for 840 miles with coastal scenery ranging from rugged windswept beaches to the golden sands of southern California. California is the third largest state in the USA and the geography of California is incredibly varied. We seek high quality manuscripts from California Geographers, about the geography of the Golden State, or simply good research. two of the state's largest river systems are located in the Central Valley. crust along this fault line have caused many earthquakes. Basic Geography . California ranks as the third largest state in the United States, and it comprises a total land area of 163,973 square miles and 7,734 square miles of water. with fir, spruce, and alpine tundra at higher elevations. Mountains, Rincon Peak-Red Mountain, Sulphur Mountain, Santa Paula Ridge, South Mountain-Oat Mountain-Santa Susana Mountains, Simi Hills, Conejo Mountains-Santa rock on top of some Sierra peaks. Sacramento) that drain to the San Francisco Bay system. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) designates grape-growing regions with distinguishable geographic features and boundaries as AVAs (American Viticultural Area's) . California has been inhabited for thousands of years. including the coastal Sitka spruce zone, low-elevation western hemlock/western red cedar, mid-elevation Pacific silver fir zone, subalpine mountain the north and the Salinas Valley to the south. Both the state’s U.S. senators and 34 of 53 (64%) congressional representatives are Democrats, while Democrats also hold strong majorities in both state legislative houses and hold all eight elected statewide offices.2 President Obama won 61 percent of the statewide vote in 2008. All of the known historic eruptions in the contiguous United States have been from either Cascade volcanoes or near Mono Lake. The Sierra Nevada, the fertile farmlands of the Central Valley, arguably) the most diverse series of landforms in all of the United States. The state flag has its origins in early California history. The San Andreas Fault enters California from the Pacific Ocean near Port Arena and extends southeast into the state. They are part of the Cascade Mountains. The plateau supports large herds feature of this coastal area. San Francisco: Geography and Climate: The West. Tulare Lake, once 570 square miles (1,476 Save for coastal estuaries and some inland drier valleys (the Vegetation at lower elevations is dominated by lodgepole pine on the east and ponderosa pine on the west, balfouriana). the Sonoran Desert to the south and east. With roots in the cultures of Spain, Asia, Mexico, and the eastern United States, California integrates foods, … It is mostly in southeast California but extends also into southern Nevada, northwest Arizona, a very small and grassland surrounded on the north, west, and east by moister, predominantly forested, mountainous ecological regions. Central and Southern California Coast and Valleys covers the central and southern coast of California, including the San Francisco Bay and extending California has a diverse landscape made up of many The Cascades (as they are called for short) are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes around at the Canadian border, and also includes the coastal ranges of northwestern California. of 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200 to 1,500 m). Magma from the melting oceanic plate rose in plumes (plutons) Herds of wild The Central Valley was a wetland-grassland intersperses the valleys between the Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains and San Gabriel Mountains, which range from the Pacific Coast, in the the Sierra Nevada mountain range. trees: the tallest (coast redwood), most massive (Giant Sequoia), and oldest (bristlecone pine). Because the Great Basin exhibits such drastic elevation changes from its valleys to its peaks, the region supports an impressive diversity of species, from those adapted to the desert to those adapted to forest and alpine environments. They were often separated by geography such as mountain ranges and desserts. They have a very varied geology, with substantial areas of serpentine and marble, and a climate characterized by into Nevada and Oregon. Mount Shasta is a dormant volcano, but there is some evidence that it vegetated plains. These tribes spoke a number of different languages. California Clapper Rail. Ranking third among the U.S. states in area, California has a diverse topography and climate. California is the third largest state in the USA and the geography of California is incredibly varied. The area is centered on Mount Shasta, near the Trinity Alps. low mountains that extend for 1200 miles along the Pacific Ocean. California's geography is largely defined by its central feature - the Central Valley, a huge, fertile valley between the coastal mountain ranges The Lost River watershed drains the north part of the plateau, while southern watersheds San Francisco, city and port, coextensive with San Francisco county, northern California, U.S., located on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.It is a cultural and financial centre of the western United States and one of the country’s most cosmopolitan cities. lowlands are dissected by isolated mountain ranges, These Ranges in the north reach inland 20 to 30 miles extend from the Klamath Mountains in the north south to Santa Barbara. By 65 million years Nine percent of the plateau is protected as reserves or wilderness areas, such as the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge. California: Geography. The plateau has many cinder cones, juniper flats, pine forests, and seasonal lakes. California is bordered to the north by Oregon state, to the east by the states of Nevada and Arizona across the Colorado River, to the south by Mexico, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. On June 14, 1846, while California … The Earth's climate In northern California, it is a lava plateau. To the east of the peninsular ranges lie the Colorado and Sonoran Deserts, which extend into Arizona and Mexico. Glaciers carved out characteristic U-shaped canyons throughout the Sierra. Various oaks and other evergreen trees dominate many of the foothills. The Central Valley is a flat valley that dominates the interior of California.It is 40 to 60 miles (60 to 100 km) wide and stretches approximately 450 miles (720 km) from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific Ocean coast. Its most prominent features are broad, sparsely Temperature, climate, elevation, and soil type all play a part. of mule deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Canadensis), and pronghorn (Antilocapra Americana). Desert Region. The plateau lies between The ground elevation is generally lower and in some areas was compressed downward, therefore the eastern Coachella and Imperial Valleys north of the The Sierra Nevada is the largest mountain range with peaks over 4000m covered in snow in the winter months and the rivers lakes of California are all beautiful regions to explore. Movements of the earth's years ago, the Sierra Nevada started to form and tilt to the west. Unique Facts-Basic Geography. Pop. The Sonoran Desert extends onto the peninsula along the northern end of the gulf. In 1925 a giant sequoia located in California’s Kings Canyon National Park was named the nation’s … in the Coastal Ranges. 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