Home > Inyo County, California

Inyo County is a county located in east-central California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada south of Yosemite National Park. As of 2000 the county had a population of 17,945. The county seat is Independence.

1 History

Inyo County was formed in 1866 from parts of Mono and Tulare Counties.

The county derived its name from the Native American name for the mountains in its area. The meaning of the word inyo is "dwelling place of the great spirit."

2 Natural History

Inyo County is host to a number of natural superlatives. Among them are:

• Mount Whitney, the highest point in the United States outside of Alaska
• BadwaterBadwater is a site in California's Death Valley noted as the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, with an elevation of 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. The site itself consists of a small spring-fed pool of water next to the road; however, the accumula, Death ValleyDeath Valley is a deep arid basin in the northern Mojave Desert of southern California in the United States, extending for approximately 140 mi (225 km) along the California-Nevada border approximatley 100 mi (160 km) west of Las Vegas. Famous for its bru, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere
• Methuselah, an ancient Bristlecone PineBristlecone pines Scientific classification : Plantae : Pinophyta : Pinopsida : Pinales : Pinaceae Pinus Ducampopinus Section Balfourianae Binomial names Pinus aristata Pinus longaeva Pinus balfouriana The bristlecone pines are a small group of pine trees, the oldest living thing on Earth
• Tulainyo Lake, the highest lake in the United States
• Owens ValleyOwens Valley is the arid ranching valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. The valley stretches for approximately 75 mi (120 km) between the Sierra Nevada on the west and the Inyo and White Mountains on the east. The moun, the deepest valley on the American continents
• Two mountain ranges exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation: The Sierra Nevada and the White MountainsThe 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 en
• Fourteen of California's fifteen peaks which exceed 14,000 feet (a FourteenerIn mountaineering, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet (4,267. 2 m) above mean sea level. In North America, climbing all the fourteeners in their country (or in their state) is a popular pastime among peak baggers. Not all summits over 14,) in elevation
• The largest escarpmentIn geology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves an elevation differential, often involving high cliffs. Most commonly, an escarpment, also called a scarp, is a transition from one series of sedimen in the United States, rising from the floor of Death Valley to the top of Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range