White Mountains (California)

The White Mountains along the east side of the Owens Valley

The White Mountains of California are a small mountain range that runs along the eastern side of the upper Owens Valley, just across from the Sierra Nevada. They extend for approximately 60 mi (100 km) are approximately 10 mi (16 km) wide. The northern end of the range extends slightly into Nevada, and its southern end is near Big Pine, where Westgard Pass separates it from the Inyo Mountains.

The highest point is White Mountain Peak, which at 14,252 feet (4344 m) [1] is the third-highest in California. The peak is located at approximately . There is a four-wheel drive road that reaches the summit from the south, and services the "Summit Laboratory" of the White Mountain Research Station . The west face is a scramble.

Ecologically, the White Mountains are like the other ranges in the Basin and Range Province; they are dry, with relatively few trees, but the upper slopes hold open forests of mainly Great Basin bristlecone pine with some Limber pine and Lodgepole pine, and of Single-leaf pinyon and Utah juniper on the middle slopes. One of the bristlecone pines, nicknamed 'Methuselah', is the oldest known tree in the world, about 4,700 years old.

The entire range is within the Inyo National Forest .

External links

• Peakbagger info about the range
• White Mountain Peak climbing info
• White Mountain Research Station homepage
• Photos of Bristlecone Pine trees of the White Mountains - Terra Galleria