The Sierra Nevada Overview

The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is known as California’s backbone, stretching 450 mi. from stifling Death Valley in the south to near the Oregon border in the north. Its magnificent, jagged peaks—including Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental US—are a tribute to the area’s active geological past. Breathtaking U-shaped valleys testify to the more recent tempering influence of granite-smoothing glaciation. The Sierra Nevada, whose name fittingly translates as “snowy range,” also contains Lake Tahoe’s crystalline waters, Sequoia National Park’s towering redwoods, and Yosemite’s incredible waterfalls.

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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.