THE SIERRA NEVADA
The Sierra Nevada Mountains, California’s wonder-land, derive their name from sierra (saw), and nevada (snowy),—descriptive of the saw-toothed outlines of the summits of the range, and the mantle of perpetual snow that covers the highest tops.
The term Sierra Madre, absurdly translated by some persons as “Mother of Christ,” means, of course, “Mother Sierra,” that is, the largest mountain range personified as the mother of the smaller ranges.
“The Sierra Nevada is generally considered to extend from Tehachapi Pass in the south to Lassen Peak in the north, and constitutes the dividing ridge between the great basin on the east, to which it falls abruptly, and the San Joaquín and Sacramento Valleys on the west. It is characterized by deep and narrow valleys, with almost vertical walls of rock thousands of feet in height, and its scenery is of surpassing grandeur, much more imposing than that of the Rockies. Many of its higher summits are covered with perpetual snow.”—(Lippincott’s Gazetteer.)