sierra nevada presentation
DESCRIPTION
EVC, WildLifeTRANSCRIPT
Amy Hutto
Carlos Guzman
Linh La
Tracey Mach
Nam Nguyen
S I E R R A N E V A D A
OVERVIEW - HISTORY
Approximately 400 miles long and 50 miles
wide
One of the most popular regions in the state of California
THE SIERRA NEVADA REGION INCLUDES:• 3 National Parks
• 20 Wilderness areas
• 2 National Monuments
BUSINESSES & ORGANIZATIONS• Sierra Entertainment
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
• Sierra Bullets
• Sierra Club
Even the state of Nevada was named for this mountainous region!
EARLY INHIBITERS – NATIVE AMERICANS• Inhabited as early as 500 CE
• Northern Paiutes – East Side
• Mono and Sierra Miwoks – Western Side
• Kawaiisu – South Side
Chief Winnemucca - Pauites
Sarah Winnemucca (daughter) Pauites writer, lecturer
Captain John of the Pauites
Mono Indians
EXPLORERS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA• Began by the Europeans and
Americans in 1827
• Pedro Fages - First European to sight range in 1772
• Bolton Coit Brown – Explored Kings River in late 1800s
• Joseph N. LeConte – Mapped Kings Canyon National Park in early 1900s
• James S. Hutchinson – Climbed Palisades and Mt. Humphreys in early 1900s
MORE EXPLORERS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA• John C. Fremont and Kit Carson – Lake Tahoe in the mid 1899s
• Josiah Whitney & others – Yosemite National Park in the mid 1899s
• 1912 – USGS (United States Geological Survey) published first maps of the Sierra Nevada
John C. Fremont Kit Carson Josiah Whitney
CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH (1848 – 1855)
EARLY ADVOCATES FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA
“None of Nature's landscape are ugly so long as they are wild” (John Muir from Our National Parks)
John Muir (1838 – 1914)Advocate, Conservationist, Author
EARLY ADVOCATES FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA
Ansley Adams (1902 – 1984)Photographer, Environmentalist
CLIMATE• Climate in this region is influenced
by a rain shadow effect.
• Air Flow from the ocean hits the western slope which influences precipitation.
• The Western slope receives about more precipitation than the Eastern slope.
PRECIPITATION EFFECT
Eastern SlopeWestern Slope
• Adiabatic cooling is a major cause for climate in the Sierra Nevada.
• Less oxygen at higher levels.
• Cool and dry air influences velocity
• “Venturi Effect.”
CLIMATE CONTINUED
GEOLOGY• Largest Mountain range in the United States
• Granite rocks
• Young mountain range.
BIRTH OF THE SIERRA NEVADA• Formed when the North American plate pushed westward over
the Pacific Ocean plate
• Erosion carved shape.
• Uplift in the eastern.
GOLD IN SEDIMENT DEPOSITS• Composites of gold and quartz in water
• Engraved in veins of metamorphic rocks
• Erosion
• Gold Rush in California as discovered in the American River
FootHill Woodlands
•Blue Oak (Quercus douglasii)
•California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)
CHAPARRAL
Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron californica)
Yellow Pine Forest
•Kit-Kit-dizze (Chamaebatia foliolosa)
•Sierra Gooseberry (Ribes roezlii)
•Western Azalea(Rhododendron occidentale)
•Greenleaf Manzanita(Arctostaphylos patula)
LODGEPOLE- RED FIR FOREST
• Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea)
• Bush Chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens)
RIPARIAN
• Black Cottonwood
(Populus trichocarpa)
• White Alder
(Alnus rhombifolia)
FLORA
Giant Sequoia, also known as Giant Sierra Redwoods
Sequoiadendron giganteum
The largest living things in the
world!!
FAUNA – FOOTHILL WOODLAND• California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)
• Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus)
• Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
• Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia)
• California Quail (Callipepla californica)
FAUNA – YELLOW PINE FOREST• Gilbert’s Skink (Eumeces gilbert)
• Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
• American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
• American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
• Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
FAUNA – LODGEPOLE- RED FIR FOREST
• Cassin’s Finch (Carpodacus cassinii)
• Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
• Marten (Martes americanus)
• Northern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus)
• Lodgepole Chipmunk (Tamius speciosus)
FAUNA – RIPARIAN HABITAT• Lorquin’s Admiral (Basilarchia lorquini)
• Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)
• Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
• Zephyr Anglewing (Polygonia zephyrus)
• Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon)
CONSERVATION ISSUES- Yosemite Valley government protection (1864).- Endangered spp.- Invasive spp.
ENDANGERED SPECIES
California Tiger Salamander(Ambystoma californiense)
Sierra Nevada Red Fox(Vulpes vulpes necator)
Giant Sequia(Sequoiadendron giganteum)
INVASIVE SPECIES
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)
Yellow star- thistle
(Centaurea solstitialis)
Northern Snakehead
(Channa argus)
THE ENDThank you for listening to our
presentation on the Sierra Nevada region of California!