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Site No. 17— Owens Valley
Highlights
- Legend of Winnedumah
- Panoramas of the Sierra and the Inyo mountains
- Mountain-building Geology
Winnedumah & Panoramas
The Owens Valley stretches from Haiwee Reservoir in the south to the Sherwin Summit in the north (just north of the town of Bishop). Owens Lake was named for Richard Owens a member of John C. Fremont's 1845 exploration party. Later, the entire valley became known as The Owens Valley
Beginning about 3 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada Fault and the White Mountains Fault systems became active with repeated episodes of slip earthquakes gradually producing the impressive relief of the region. The Owens Valley is a "graben"—a downdropped block of land between two vertical faults.
The Sierra Nevada casts the valley in a rain shadow, which makes Owens Valley "the land of little rain". In late prehistoric times, the valley was inhabited by the Timbisha (also called Panamint or Koso) in the extreme south end around Owens Lake.
Local Resources