Sierra Nevada (US)

The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is mostly in eastern California. The range is also known as The Sierra or The Sierras.

Geology

See Geology of the Yosemite area for a detailed article about the geology of the central Sierra Nevada.

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The geological history of the Sierra Nevada begins in the Jurassic period, approximately 150 million years ago. At that time, an island arc collided with the West coast of North America and raised a set of mountains, in an event called the Nevadan orogeny. This event produced metamorphic rock. At roughly the same time, a subduction zone started to form at the edge of the continent. This means that an oceanic plate started to dive beneath the North American plate. Magma from the melting oceanic plate rose and created plutons of solid granite, deep below the surface. These plutons formed at various times, from 115 million to 87 million years ago. By 65 million years ago, the proto-Sierra Nevada was worn down to a range of rolling low mountains, a few thousand feet high.

Related Topics:
Jurassic - North America - Mountain - Nevadan orogeny - Metamorphic rock - Subduction zone - Oceanic plate - North American plate - Pluton - Granite

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About 25 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada started to rise and tilt to the west. Rivers started cutting deep canyons on both sides of the range. The Earth's climate cooled, and ice ages started about 2.5 million years ago. Glaciers carved out characteristic U-shaped canyons throughout the Sierra. The combination of river and glacier erosion exposed the granitic plutons previously buried, leaving only a remnant of metamorphic rock on top of some Sierra peaks.

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Uplift of the Sierra Nevada continues today, especially along its eastern side. This uplift causes large earthquakes, such as the Lone Pine earthquake of 1872.

Related Topics:
Lone Pine earthquake - 1872

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