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<br />... <br /> <br />the Sierra emerges from beneath the sediments filling the Sacramento <br /> <br />Valley and rises northeasterly on a general gradient of about 3 per- <br /> <br />cent. Along the eastern limits of the watershed, elevations of almost <br /> <br />3050 m (10 000 ft) are reached in the swmnits of Pyramid Peak and <br /> <br />other nearby peaks in the Crystal Range. <br /> <br />The principal forks and tributaries of the river have cut deeply into <br /> <br />the Sierran bedrock carving a northeast to southwest trending, youth- <br /> <br />ful to matur~ relief. Many of the interfluves (the area between <br /> <br />adjacent streams flowing in the same direction) stand forth as steep <br /> <br />sloped ridges with very wide, gently sloping crests. Others have <br /> <br />sharp ridge crests between closely spaced, deeply cutting streams. <br /> <br />The broad interfluves and other gentle surfaces make up about 6 per- <br /> <br />cent of the watershed; 16 percent of the slopes are steeper than <br /> <br />40 percent; and 78 percent have gradients between 10 and 40 percent. <br /> <br />An analysis of the aspects of all slopes shows that 37.5 percent are <br /> <br />westerly; 37.5 percent are southerly; 15.6 percent are northerly; <br /> <br />only 6.3 percen~ are easterly; and 3.1 percent are level (Richards [1]).1 <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />1 Numbers in brackets refer to items in the bibliography at the end of <br />this section. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />3 <br />