Landform Provinces

• Klamath Mountains
• Southern Cascade and Modoc Plateau
• Sierra Nevada Range
• Great Basin & Southeastern Deserts
• Great Central Valley
• Coast Range
• Transverse Range
• Peninsular Range

Klamath Mountains

• Includes: Siskiyou Mtns, Marble Mtns, Salmon Mtns | Trinity Alps, Castle Crags, Yolla Bolly Mtns (all Wilderness areas)
  • Bound by Hwy 101 (Coast); Hwy 199 (Grants Pass, OR); Hwy 96 (Happy Camp)
  • 299 (Redding); Hwy 36 (Platina); I-5 (Yreka); and Hwy 3 (Weaverville)
    
    
• Northern extension of Sierra-Nevada batholith - scoured by glaciers
  
  
• "Klamath Knot" - jumble of intrusive igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic mountains with no real alignment or north/south orientation dissected by great rivers: Klamath, Trinity, Salmon, Scott

• Unique assemblage of soils and plants
  • serpentine soils
  • refugio plants: Darlingtonia, Port Orford Cedar, bunch grass...
  • Small mining towns: Yreka, Happy Camp, Etna, Weaverville
  • Quaint coastal towns: Eureka, Arcata, Crescent City

• Issues: legacy of mining, forestry, and now tourism and recreation

Southern Cascade and Modoc Plateau

Includes: Mt. Shasta, Mt. Lassen N.P., Mt. Burney Lava Beds NP Bound by I-5, Hwy 299, Hwy 89 (Mt Lassen), 395 (Susanville), 36 (Platina) known for isolation - "State of Jefferson"

• Volcanic origin and activity (igneous extrusive); vast basalt flows
  • composite volcanoes and southern extent of volcanic chain
  • Mt. Shasta at 14,162' looms10,000 feet above Shasta Valley
  • Mt. Lassen erupted in 1914; active fumeroles and mud pots
  • Lava Beds National Monument; Burney Fall State Park
    
    
• Porous volcanic soils, steppe climate, sparse vegetation like sagebrush
• Agriculture diminished by cooler climate and winter snow
  • alfalfa, potatoes, grazing, strawberry seeds
    
    
• Water storage & recreation: Shasta Lake, Lake Almanor, Eagle Lake
• Scattered population and most isolated region of state: (Yreka*), Weed, Tule Lake, Alturas, Susanville
• Weak economy: ranching, farming, prisons & other gov't jobs
  
  
• Issues: sovereignty, economy & government jobs

Sierra Nevada

• From Hwy 70 (Feather R.) to Hwy 58 (Bakersfield); Hwy 395;
• Hwy 49 (Mother Lode); 10 passes such as Hwy 120 (Tioga Pass - 9941’)
  
  
• Composed mostly of granite - igneous intrusive
  • some volcanic overlay from Sonora Pass (Hwy 109) north
• massive granite batholith including Klamath Mountains
  • characterized by massive exfoliating domes
  • Fault-block mountain range
    • steep escarpments on eastern side (near S. Tahoe)
    • gradual elevation gradient with distinct plant belts

• Tallest mountains, from Mt. Whitney (14,495')
  • descending to Mt. Elwell (8000') near Quincy (Lakes Basin); lowest passes
  • outstanding examples of alpine glaciations - Horns, Aretes, U-Shaped Valleys

• Lake Tahoe - largest alpine lake in United States
• Natural corridor of National Parks and Forest Service Wilderness areas
  • Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia National Parks
  • Desolation, Emigrant, John Muir Wilderness (Forest Service)
  • Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Mexico to Canada (2500 mi.)

• Old mining towns from Gold Rush days centered on "Mother Lode" - Downieville, Nevada City, Auburn, Placerville, Angel's Camp, Sonora
  
  
• Immense river watersheds for California's agriculture, almost all of which are dammed (over 1200 dams)

1. Feather 2. Yuba 3. American 4. Consumnes 5. Mokelumne 6. Stanislaus 7. Tuolumne 8. Merced 9. Chowchilla 10. Fresno 11. San Joaquin 12. Kings 13. Kern

• Issues of deforestation, dams, development, fire ecology, health of the forest

Great Basin & Southeastern Deserts (including Mohave Desert)

• Bound by Hwy. 395 (Bridgeport); I-80 (Reno); Hwy. 50 (Loneliest); Interstate-15
  
  
• Also known as Basin & Range province (9/10 outside CA)
• including: Warner Range (9892') into Nevada; Mono Lake to Death Valley
  
  
• Enormous elevation change - basins & ranges (aka. horst and graben)
  • White Mountain Peak (14.242') above Death Valley N.P. (-282)
  • Classic rainshadow climate on back side of Sierra-Nevada - Hwy. 395
    • sparse vegetation (steppe climate)
    • sagebrush, junipers, pinyon pine, bristlecone pine (4,600 years old)
      
      
• cold desert: temperatures range from freezing to a blistering 120° F
• Internal drainages known as pluvial lakes such as Soda Lake (Baker)
  • playa lakes such as Pyramid Lake & Carson Sink (Nevada), Saline Valley
    
    
• Tiny towns like Bridgeport (Alpine County) reflect sparse population
  • Bishop and Boron, Baker, Barstow, Antelope Valley
  • Owens River Valley diverted to Los Angeles for water

• Mineral wealth: silver at Cerro Gordo, gold at Bodie (historic ghost town)
  
  
• Death Valley
  • lowest point. in U.S. (-282’); freezing temps to 135° F
  • example of a down-faulted basin (graben)
  • alkaline sediments accumulated for thousands years
    • mined for borate, refined borax, hauled away with 20 mule team until the late 1920’s;
      • alluvial fans and bajadas at base of mountains
  • became National Monument by 1933
  • recent National Park status (1996)

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• Imperial Valley - lettuce capital of the world

• great oasis of the desert; towns of Brawley, El Centro, Calexico
  • grows much of California’s produce and hay for dairies
• irrigation water drains into the man-made Salton Sea
  
  
• Open desert lands: Edwards Air Force Base, Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Base
• Resort and boomtowns: Palms Springs, Indio, Hemet, Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Lancaster, Palmdale
  • now gambling across the "river" in Laughlin, Nevada; also state parks such as Anza-Borego Desert
    
    
• Issues of land-use, water diversion, mining ground water, development
  
  

• Largest valley in the U.S. (and much of the world)
  • over 400 miles long -- broken into Sacramento & San Joaquin Valleys
    
    
• California’s agricultural heartland, supermarket to the world
  • originally resembled the Great Plains covered by vast grasslands, rolling hills
  • town names of Wheatland, Lincoln, Woodland, Willows...

• Bound by I-5 and Hwy. 99; I-80 (Reno); 299 (Redding); 20 (Colusa);
• Hwy. 152 (Pacheco Pass); 198 (Collinga); Hwy. 46 (Paso Robles)

• Major Cities: Redding, Red Bluff, Chico, Marysville, Woodland, Vacaville,
• Sacramento, Modesto, Merced, Fresno, Buttonwillow, Bakersfield (GCV link)

- site & situation (where & why)

• Geology - began 200 million years ago with the deep geosycline trough
  • filled with massive amounts of sediment Sierra-Nevada & Coast Range
  • additional sediments from meandering Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
  • results are deep layers of top soil from adobe clays to alkaline soils

• Climate & habitat: desert in south to temperate Mediterranean (summer drought)
  • creosote brush, alkaline flats; delta wetlands, vast grasslands, oak savanna
    
    
• once great marshes and wetlands along river; Tulare Lake (reclaimed)
  • Wildlife: horny toad lizard, jack rabbits, snakes, antelope, deer, elk, beaver
  • grizzly bear, salmon, sturgeon, fresh water pelicans, egrets, heron
  • Pacific Flyway: ducks, geese, swans, and other migratory species

• Agriculture: the most productive valley in the world, especially Medit. crops
  • receives the vast watershed of the Sierra Nevada, impounded by large dams
  • irrigated crops: cotton, alfalfa, grapes, orchards, grains, rice, row crops
  • industrial scale farming
  • reliant on the world’s most extensive & complex water system
  • laid out along the township & range grid system
  • farm size enlarged by land grants and fraud
    
    
• Oil deposits in south part of San Joaquin Valley
  • largest discovery of oil
  • still covered with oil "donkeys" today
    
    
• Issues: water diversion, salinization, agricultural chemicals, suburban development

Coast Range

• Stretches from Transverse Range to the Oregon Border (really up to Washington)
  • Scenic highways & roads: Hwy. 101 & 1: 166 (Cuyama); 46 (Paso Robles)
  • Hwy. 198 (Coalinga) situated on San Andreas Fault; 152 (Pecheco Pass);
  • Hwy. 20 (Clear Lake); 299 (Arcata)

• California’s largest and longest landform
  • rolling hills/mtns. no higher than 8,000 feet (Mt. Linn)
  • geological melange; sedimentary & metamorphic rocks
    • Franciscan formation
      
      
• Highly faulted and prone to earthquakes
  • San Andreas fault lies visibly within region
  • under cities: Colinga, Hollister, Gilroy, Daly City/San Francisco
  • numerous other faults: Nacimiento, Hayward, Mendocino Fracture
    • parallel to San Andreas
      
      
• Valleys and Coastal Plains
  • Santa Ynez, Cuyama, Salinas, Napa, Sonoma Valley, Eel, Mad
    • correspond to rivers (drier to wetter)
      • orientated exactly along faults
• Mild Climate
  • cool summers
  • coastal fog from California current and upwelling

• Contains world class San Francisco Bay
  • outstanding protection; access to Sacramento River
  • landing for 49er’s (gold miners)
  • Monterey Bay (Spanish settlement)

• Counties in north such as Lake Counties:
  • lots of water
  • lots of agriculture - pear orchards
  • lots of recreation: Clear Lake, Skunk Train, Redwoods
  • towns: Santa Rosa, Napa, Clear Lake, Ukiah, Eureka

• Counties in south such as San Benito County:
  • lack water (landlocked); rolling hills & open grasslands
  • lots of cattle ranching
  • sparse in population, pastoral setting, limited growth
  • towns: Solvang, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Monterey, Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose

• Issues: suburban development, water diversions
  
  

Transverse Ranges

• Oriented east-west
• separating Central Valley from Southern California
  • cross at "Grapevine" on Interstate 5 (I-5)
    
    
• Numerous fault-block mountains
  • Lofty San Bernadino, San Gabriel mountain ranges
  • Mt. Baldy (10,064), Mt. Gorgonio (11,499 feet)
  • Channel Islands National Park (off Santa Barbara)
  • Santa Ynez mountain ranges

• National forests above enormous urban areas
  • recreational area of L.A. (ski areas, lakes, trails)
  • threatened by pollution

• Protected coastal basins from interior heat & cold
  • mild climate
  • trap in pollution such as "smog"
  • adiabatic warming - "Santa Ana" winds

• Rich agricultural soils, oil deposits, and now housing developments
  • Los Angeles Basin
  • Oxnard Basin
  • Ojai Valley & Santa Barbara coast

• No large natural harbor (artificial harbor in L.A.)

• Issues: suburban development, water diversions, air pollution, ethnic violence

Peninsular Ranges

• Oriented northwest - southeast
• South of San Andreas fault
  • part of Pacific Plate and extension of Baja, California
  • Santa Ana Mountains and Mt. San Jacinto (11,000)
    
    
• Large basins - San Jacinto Valley: Hemet, Moreno Valley, Temecula

Catalina, San Clemente Islands Marine terraces and palisades (Palos Verdes, Laguna, Huntington) Mild climate for agriculture: citrus, and avocados

• Excellent natural harbor at San Diego

• Issues: suburban development, water diversions, landslides & earthquakes
  
  

- Landform Provinces Worksheet

- Geomorphic Provinces - Geology Worksheet

California Index