Name of Province:

Sierra Nevada

SierraNevada

•Color in province

•Put color inlegend

•Write provincename in legend

Description of Province:The Sierra Nevada is a granite mountain

range formed by a tilted fault block nearly 400 miles long.

Sierra Nevada

fault blockGreat ValleyNevada

Half Dome

The sierra granite was formed by the slow cooling of an enormous underground magma chamber.

The rock was uplifted and exposed to weathering and erosion, creating the mountain range we see today.

Weathering by glaciers carved out this valley (Yosemite Valley).

Lake Tahoe is part of the Sierra Nevada mountain

range.

Lake Tahoe

The Tahoe Basin dropped between two uplifted blocks.

Tahoe Basin

Sierra Crest Carson Range

LakeTahoe

Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada range is the tallest mountain in the “lower 48” states (14,491 feet elevation).

What geologic hazards would you expect to find in this province?

Hazards:

• Volcanoes

• Landslides

Mammoth Mountain

Mill Creek

Specific Event:

January 24, 1997, Mill Creek landslide along Highway 50 near

Lake Tahoe.

SierraNevadaMountains

Add the symbols of the hazards to your map.

Name of Province:

Basin and Range

Basin and Range

BasinAndRange

•Color in province

•Put color inlegend

•Write provincename in legend

Description of Province:The Basin and Range is a land of parallel deep valleys (down-dropped basins) and high mountains (ranges).

Death Valley National Park

Basin

RangeEast face of Sierra Nevada mountain range

NevadaCalifornia

Note the parallel, north-south orientation of the basins and ranges.

South

North

What geologic hazards would you expect to find in this province?

Hazards:

• Volcanoes

• Landslides

Long Valley Caldera

Poverty Hills (Owens Valley)

Specific Event:

1986-Present: Volcanic activity at

Long Valley Caldera

The Long Valley Caldera is the most active volcanic area in California.

BasinAndRange

Add the symbols of the hazards to your map