184 Adventures in Scenery 



Tributaries from West Form Piedmont 



Platea^l of Alluvium 



Most of the tributaries of Owens River come from the crest 

 of the Sierra on the west. These are turbulent streams in their 

 upper courses, being fed by the snows and glaciers of the range 

 crest. The great piedmont plateau of alluvial wash that lies 

 all along the foot of the Sierra escarpment is crossed by the 

 many streams, and these have cut deep gullies. The alluvial 

 plateau extends up the face of the fault scarp to an altitude 

 of approximately 8,000 feet above sea level, or more than 4,000 

 feet above the flat plain of the valley bottom. Comparatively 

 few streams, and most of these short, descend the western slope 

 of the Inyo range. Some have cut deep canyons, and their 

 walls are rocky and rugged. Alluvial fans reach far up from 

 their mouths. 



Canyon of East Sierra Slope Flanked 



by Moraines 



The largest stream entering Owens River from the west is 

 Bishop Creek, far north in the valley. A few hours by auto- 

 mobile up this valley offers a most thrilling experience. The 

 valley has been eroded through a great granite plateau. Down 

 this valley a tongue of ice pushed its way during the earlier of 

 two glacial epochs, and moraines of the earlier and more exten- 

 sive glacier tongue flank the valley sides. Through the valley 

 after the ice had disappeared ran the creek which has cut a 

 deep canyon. A later invasion of ice, from a glacier of the 

 later ice epoch, deposited moraines over the old moraines. The 

 later moraines may be distinguished from the older by their 

 greater freshness and less weathered character. Far up the 

 stream, among the peaks of the high Sierra, many lakes occupy 

 basins at altitudes of 11,000, 12,000 and even more than 13,000 

 feet, a typical alpine region. A trip by auto, if time will per- 

 mit, will well repay the effort. It will not be possible to reach 

 the high altitude lakes by auto, but the road leads far enough 

 to afford abundant reward for the journey. 



