Sierra Nevada Mountains and Lake Tahoe, California, U.S.A. June 1991

The Central Valley, the snowcapped Sierra Nevada Range, and Lake Tahoe are visible in this synoptic, low-oblique, east-looking photograph. The Central Valley’s numerous agricultural fields trend north-south. Sacramento and Stockton (near the bottom center of the photograph) are visible. The forested Sierra Nevada Mountains trend north-northwest-south-southeast. The forested areas are part of the Tahoe, El Dorado, and Stanislaus National Forests. Centrally located is Lake Tahoe, a large depression-filled lake within the Sierra Nevadas. Viewing clockwise from Pyramid Lake at the top center of the photograph are Walker Lake and part of Mono Lake. Courtesy Office of Earth Science/NASA