The Cascade Range, the northern continuation of the Sierra Nevada, includes Lassen Volcanic National Park. Whitney, Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park. Rising as an almost impenetrable granite barrier E of the Central Valley is the Sierra Nevada range, which includes Mt. In the southeast lie vast wastelands, notably the Mojave Desert, site of Joshua Tree National Park. Behind the coastal ranges in central California lies the great Central Valley, a long alluvial valley drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.
The Coast Ranges receive heavy rainfall in the north, where the giant cathedrallike redwood forests prevail, but the climate of these mountains is considerably drier in S California, and S of the Golden Gate no major rivers reach the ocean. The region from Point Arena, N of San Francisco, to the southern part of the state is subject to tremors and sometimes to severe earthquakes caused by tectonic stress along the San Andreas fault.
#MAP OF CALIFORNIA SERIES#
A series of low mountains known as the Coast Ranges extends along the 1,200-mi (1,930-km) coast. states in area, California has a diverse topography and climate.
Whitney, 14,491 ft (4,417 m) lowest pt., Death Valley, 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. As of the 2020 census, the state's population was: White alone, 71.9% Black alone, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 39.4% American Indian and Alaska native alone, 1.6% Asian alone, 15.5% Two or More Races, 4%.