The Sierra Nevada (s-r´ rå n-vä´ då) Mountains extend north and south through the entire length of California. They contain the highest peaks in the United States, outside of Alaska. Mount Whitney is 14,502 feet high. Lassen Peak is the only active volcano on the mainland of our country. Many of the peaks of the Sierra Nevadas are covered with ice and snow the year round. That is why they were given this name, which means "snowy range." In some places the lower parts of the mountains have been cleared of their trees and are used for farm land. In other parts the great forest trees still remain. The Yosemite Valley is a small strip that extends through Yosemite National Park for a distance of about 7 miles in length and less than a mile in width. It looks like a great crack in the rocks of the Sierra Nevadas with, with a flat level floor, and steep, overhanging walls of granite rock on either side. Down these rocky walls, many beautiful water-falls tumble. It is here that we find the highest water-fall in the world, Yosemite Falls. The Upper Fall is 1,430 feet high, nine times as high as Niagra Falls. The Lower Fall is 320 feet. This makes the entire distance from the crest to the river, half a mile. Bridal Veil Falls is only 620 feet high. But nowhere in the world is there another scene such as this. It plunges straight down its precipice in a white, frothy, sheet. When it reaches the bottom, its sprays spread out in what looks like the graceful folds of a huge, soft, filmy bridal veil. Thus it gets its name. Another of the wonderful falls here is the Ribbon Falls. This sheet of water drops a distance of 1,612 feet, or 10 times the height of Niagra Falls. Keystone ID: 5022 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.