In some places, the Sierra Nevada is made up of smaller mountain ranges that splinter off the main crest, like long fingers pointing toward the sagebrush-studded deserts of the Great Basin.

The geology of the Sierra is very heterogenous, so where water carves some rocks quickly, nearby stronger rocks withstand more erosion. (Photos courtesy of Jennifer Kent) The Sierra Nevada mountain ...

"There have been many competing hypotheses about the rise of the Sierra Nevada in recent geologic time," said Chamberlain. "One view suggests there was once a huge plateau in the West known as the ...

Three decades ago geologist Mary Hill wrote a handbook to the Sierra Nevada’s geologic history and it became the standard guide. The aptly named author has now extensively revised her book. I… ...

Yes, under California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, tiny tremors are being recorded where the laws of geology say they shouldn't exist.

A new Stanford study confirms that the northern Sierra Nevada are about 40 million years old, ending a contentious debate about the age of these beloved peaks. While mere youngsters in geologic ...

Scientists found new evidence that Earth’s crust is peeling underneath the Sierra Nevada in California. The process might be how the continents formed, they say.

This new field-trip guide from The Geological Society of America takes readers on a six-day, west-to-east geologic journey across the Mesozoic magmatic arc of the central Sierra Nevada in California, ...

Scientists discover deep earthquakes in California's Sierra Nevada, revealing a process that could offer insights into the formation of continents.

Scientists found new evidence that Earth’s crust is peeling underneath the Sierra Nevada in California. The process might be how the continents formed, they say.