California topographic maps

In 1850, African-American frontiersman James Beckwourth discovered the lowest pass through the Sierras, which became known as Beckwourth Pass. Using the pass, he blazed a trail from Western Nevada through much of Plumas County, eventually terminating in the Sacramento Valley. Many erstwhile miners followed…

Average elevation: 1,560 m

Indio is home of Riverside County's eastern administration offices. Palm Springs had more people from 1955 to 1992, when the US census announced that Indio surpassed Palm Springs and that title was returned to them. The official elevation of Indio is below sea level; the city hall is 14 feet (4 m) below sea…

Average elevation: 74 m

Average elevation: 14 m

There are two major valleys in the park, Death Valley and Panamint Valley. Both of these valleys were formed within the last few million years and both are bounded by north–south-trending mountain ranges. These and adjacent valleys follow the general trend of Basin and Range topography with one modification:…

Average elevation: 1,177 m

Average elevation: 48 m

Average elevation: 7 m

Average elevation: 64 m

Average elevation: 1,977 m

Average elevation: 12 m

The Santa Cruz Mountains are a region of great biological diversity, encompassing cool, moist coastal ecosystems as well as warm, dry chaparral. Much of the area in the Santa Cruz mountains is considered temperate rainforest. In valleys and moist ocean-facing slopes some of the southernmost coast redwoods…

Average elevation: 210 m

There are a number or rare and endangered species found in Stanislaus County. The Beaked Clarkia, (Clarkia rostrata), is listed as a candidate for the Federal Endangered Species List. It has only been found in blue oak-gray pine associations in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, a habitat which occurs at…

Average elevation: 151 m

Larkspur is a city in Marin County, California, United States. Larkspur is located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 43 feet (13 m). As of the 2020 Census, the city's population was 13,064. Larkspur's Police Department is shared with that of the neighboring Corte Madera and town of San…

Average elevation: 53 m

Walker Pass (elevation 5,250 ft (1.60 km)) is a mountain pass by Lake Isabella in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. It is located in northeastern Kern County, approximately 53 mi (85 km) ENE of Bakersfield and 10 mi (16 km) WSW of Ridgecrest. The pass provides a route between the San Joaquin Valley on the…

Average elevation: 740 m

Coleville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mono County, California, United States. It is located at an elevation of 5,141 feet (1,567 m) in the Antelope Valley on the West Walker River. The population was 419 at the 2020 census, down from 495 at the 2010 census.

Average elevation: 1,683 m

Average elevation: 81 m

Summer winds and the higher elevation keep Desert Hot Springs on average 5-7 degrees cooler than other communities in Coachella Valley. However, the winter season can be warmer due to the surrounding mountains blocking north winds. Since it lies at a higher elevation than the cities further south, cold air…

Average elevation: 498 m

Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of 2,454 feet (748 m). It is located 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Barstow, in the Calico…

Average elevation: 785 m

On January 17, 2007, an unusually cold storm brought snow in the Santa Monica Mountains. The hills above Malibu picked up three inches (eight centimeters) of snow - the first measurable snow in fifty years. Snow was reported on Boney Peak in the winter of 2005; and in March 2006, snow also fell on the summit…

Average elevation: 288 m

Average elevation: 434 m

Hayfork is located at 40°34′17″N 123°8′48″W / 40.57139°N 123.14667°W / 40.57139; -123.14667 (40.571406, -123.146619) at an elevation of 2310 feet.

Average elevation: 1,049 m

Average elevation: 764 m

The differences in elevation, temperature, and moisture give rise to diverse vegetation. Being the western boundary of the Sonoran Desert, the eastern mountainslopes are hotter and drier, while the western side is affected by the Pacific Ocean and receives more precipitation with cooler temperatures. There are…

Average elevation: 900 m

Average elevation: 837 m

Downieville is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Sierra County, California, United States. Downieville is on the North Fork of the Yuba River, at an elevation of 2,966 feet (904 m). The 2020 United States census reported Downieville's population was 290.

Average elevation: 1,157 m

Average elevation: 787 m

Average elevation: 486 m

Average elevation: 470 m

Average elevation: 155 m

Average elevation: 1,560 m

Average elevation: 76 m

Average elevation: 122 m

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.7 sq mi (58.8 km2), of which, 22.0 sq mi (56.9 km2) of it is land and 0.69 sq mi (1.8 km2) of it (3.09%) is water. Its elevation is 130 feet above sea level.

Average elevation: 150 m

Average elevation: 62 m

Average elevation: 194 m

Average elevation: 18 m

Average elevation: 105 m

Average elevation: 533 m

Since it is the highest point in a region which is separated from higher peaks (e.g. in the Sierra Nevada) by relatively low terrain, San Gorgonio Mountain is one of the most topographically prominent peaks in the United States. It is ranked 7th among peaks in the 48 contiguous states and 18th overall.

Average elevation: 3,154 m

Average elevation: 39 m

Average elevation: 662 m

Average elevation: 3,820 m

Average elevation: 41 m

Average elevation: 0 m

Average elevation: 331 m

Average elevation: 663 m

Average elevation: 276 m

Average elevation: 1,586 m

Average elevation: 140 m

Lakeport is an incorporated city and the county seat of Lake County, California. This city is 125 miles (201 km) northwest of Sacramento. Lakeport is on the western shore of Clear Lake, at an elevation of 1,355 feet (413 m). The population was 5,026 at the 2020 census, up from 4,753 at the 2010 census.

Average elevation: 417 m

Trinidad (Spanish for "Trinity"; Yurok: Chuerey) is a seaside city in Humboldt County, located on the Pacific Ocean 8 miles (13 km) north of the Arcata-Eureka Airport and 15 miles (24 km) north of the college town of Arcata. Trinidad is noted for its coastline, with ten public beaches and offshore rocks, part…

Average elevation: 38 m

Average elevation: 45 m

Average elevation: 218 m

It is estimated that the Serrano natives first settled in Big Bear between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. The Serranos had both winter and summer settlements throughout the area. While their winter village was located in Lucerne Valley, they relocated to villages in the San Bernardino mountains during summer, as…

Average elevation: 2,155 m

Average elevation: 49 m

The entire eastern boundary of the Colorado River Basin runs along the North American Continental Divide and is defined largely by the Rocky Mountains and the Rio Grande Basin. The Wind River Range in Wyoming marks the northern extent of the basin, and is separated from the Colorado Rockies by the endorheic…

Average elevation: 93 m

Average elevation: 206 m

Average elevation: 19 m

Average elevation: 513 m

Average elevation: 355 m

Average elevation: 12 m

In the mid-1950s, the Ventura Freeway was completed from Los Angeles to points north, making it an easy one-hour trip to Camarillo. The Old Town was bisect by the Ventura Freeway. On the southern side of the freeway contains a strip of businesses, churches, schools, and parks. The freeway was originally…

Average elevation: 90 m

Average elevation: 16 m

Average elevation: 87 m

Kings Canyon is characterized by some of the steepest vertical relief in North America, with numerous peaks over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) on the Sierra Crest along the park's eastern border, falling to 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in the valley floor of Cedar Grove just ten miles (16 km) to the west. The Sierran crest…

Average elevation: 2,591 m

Average elevation: 1,189 m

Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, is on Inyo County's western border (with Tulare County). The Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, the lowest place in North America, is in eastern Inyo County. The difference between the two points is about 14,700 feet (4,500 m). They…

Average elevation: 1,473 m

Lake Tahoe has a dry-summer continental climate (Dsb in the Köppen climate classification), featuring warm, dry summers and chilly winters with regular snowfall. Mean annual precipitation ranges from over 55 inches (1,400 mm) for watersheds on the west side of the basin to about 26 inches (660 mm) near the…

Average elevation: 2,077 m

Average elevation: 121 m

Average elevation: 1,590 m

One possible origin of palm in the place name comes from early Spanish explorers who referred to the area as La Palma de la Mano de Dios or "The Palm of God's hand". The earliest use of the name "Palm Springs" is from United States Topographical Engineers who used the term in 1853 maps. According to William…

Average elevation: 859 m

Average elevation: 122 m

The topography of San Ramon is varied, featuring a mix of the rolling hills of the Diablo Range and the flatter basin of the San Ramon Valley. The city is predominantly urban and residential with many new housing developments; however, much of the land around the city's perimeter regions remains undeveloped,…

Average elevation: 210 m

Los Banos is located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Merced, at about 118 ft (36 m) elevation. Its coordinates are 37°03′30″N 120°51′00″W / 37.05833°N 120.85000°W / 37.05833; -120.85000. The city is at the intersection of California State Route 152…

Average elevation: 36 m

Average elevation: 85 m

Average elevation: 276 m

The Goleta Valley is a coastal plain, approximately three miles (4.8 km) across, between the Santa Ynez Mountains, the principal mountain range of southern Santa Barbara County, and the Pacific Ocean. It consists of Holocene and Pleistocene alluvium, colluvium, estuarine deposits, as well as marine terraces…

Average elevation: 57 m

Average elevation: 327 m

The rare and endangered species Hickman's potentilla occurs at the northern extremity of Montara on the slopes above Martini Creek at elevations ranging from 32 to 410 ft (9.8 to 125.0 m).

Average elevation: 66 m

Average elevation: 102 m

Average elevation: 107 m

Average elevation: 601 m

Average elevation: 265 m

Average elevation: 112 m

Average elevation: 425 m

Average elevation: 978 m

Average elevation: 18 m

Average elevation: 1,563 m

Average elevation: 163 m

Average elevation: 1,352 m

Average elevation: 69 m

Average elevation: -3 m

Average elevation: 35 m

Average elevation: 324 m

Average elevation: 61 m

Average elevation: 421 m

Average elevation: 27 m

Average elevation: 47 m

Average elevation: 642 m

Average elevation: 29 m

Average elevation: 173 m