The Spanish words for "Snowy Range" are Sierra Nevada, and how appropriate this is for the beautiful mountains in this California region. The Sierra Nevada Mountains stretch a full 400 miles, acres of wilderness and plenty of recreation opportunities for all visitors.

This mountain range was formed millions of years ago through upheavals in the plates in and around the North America continent. Then the glaciers of the ice age carved canyons, with rivers cutting through making deeper and more ornate gorges. More uplifting was caused by large earthquakes. Thus came to be one of the most beautiful ranges in the US – the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

There are so many things to see throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains that you could spend months traversing the trails. With literally thousands upon thousands of acres of wilderness, and numerous lakes and rivers, this is a vacation wonderland.

A popular destination in the Sierra is Lake Tahoe, a huge freshwater lake in the northern part of this range. A stunning place with waterfalls and huge granite domes is Yosemite National Park, in the Central Sierra Nevada. High peaks are a common sight, with Mount Whitney being the highest point in the continental US.