Geographie Character: Central Division. 109 
Thus with cliffs, terraced and buttressed, with towers, pinnacles, minarets and 
cut with deep reentering angles, the entire region is one of picturesque grandeur. 
While every stream in this region flows in a canyon, the most remarkable 
succession of canyons is that on the main stream of this region, the Colorado, 
and its principal branch, the Green. The Green River, on leaving the Wind 
‚River Mountains traverses southward a great plain, or valley, known as the 
Green river basin and meets the Uinta range at right angles to its course. 
This range it cuts through in gorges of enormous depth and enters the Uinta 
basin, crossing it to enter a canyon in the sedimentory rocks. Passing through 
three such canyons, the Green River joins its forces with the Colorado River 
in the gloomy depths of the Stillwater Canyon. The Colorado River buries 
itself deeper and deeper until at the mouth of the Colorado Chiquito, it is 
3800 feet (1158 m) below the surface. This is Marble Canyon, and the river 
turns to the west to enter the gorge known as the Grand Canyon, where 
the canyon is at its maximum depth 7000 feet (2134 m). To the north of the 
Colorado Plateau isa plateau known as the Uinta Mountains having its greatest 
length in an east-and-west direction. Others lie to the southeast, such as Santa 
Fe, San Francisco and Pecos plateaus. 
e. Pacific Mountains. 
West of the Great Basin are found the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which 
extend along the eastern border of the State of California from Tejon Pass 
northward to Lassen Peak, a distance of 450 miles (724 km). South of Tejon 
Pass, the height of these mountains decreases and they become topographically 
identified with the Coast Range. North of Lassen Peak, the metamorphic 
rocks which make up the Sierras disappear beneath a volcanic plateau with 
Mount Shasta at its southern base. The average breadth of the Sierra Nevada 
Mountains is 80 miles (129 km). The highest peaks are the following: 
Mount Whitney ... . 14,898 feet (4530 m; 4410 m earlier maps). 
>» Shasta . 14,380 > (4382 m). 
» Corcoran... 14,093 » (4296 m) 
Kaweah Peak . .... 14,000 >». (4267 m! 
Mount Lyell..... 13,042 > (3984 m) 
>=.+DanR ... n + 12,992 » (3960 m) 
Castle Peak... - - 12,500 >» (3950.m) 
Mount Shastina ..... 12,433 > [3800 m) 
Elak Pak win 11,295 >» (3443 m) 
Stanislaus Peak 11,202 > (3415 m) 
Mono Pas... ..- 10,765 » (3280 m) 
Lassen Peak... .. 10,437 » (3181 m) 
Arnot Peak ..... 10,036 » (3058 m). 
The Yosemite Valley is a feature of the Sierra Nevada range which 
merits a passing mention. The valley is a nearly level area, 6 miles in length 
and from half a mile to a mile in width. It is a gigantic trough with precipi- 
tous, almost vertical walls, which are noted for their great height compared 
