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Owens Valley, California

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Identifier	ov066
Title	Owens Valley, California
Creator	Mendenhall, Harry W., 1882-1952;
Date Created	between 1910 and 1950
Description	View of floor of Owens Valley looking west to town of Big Pine and the Sierra Nevada. Inscription on front of photograph: "Looking Across Valley at Big Pine. H. W. M. 1007." Title supplied by cataloger.
Historical Background	The 120 mile long Owens Valley in California varies in width from two to six miles and reaches an elevation of 4000 feet at its floor. Two majestic mountain ranges seal off the valley. The Sierra Nevada dominates its western border. Its lowest peak is approximately 7,000 feet, its highest is Mt. Whitney (14505 feet), the highest point in the contiguous United States. Ranging in size from 4000 feet to 14000 feet, the White-Inyo Mountain Range marks the eastern border of the Owens Valley. To the southeast of the valley is Death Valley; Yosemite National Park is is in the Sierras to the northwest of the Owens Valley. The earliest inhabitants were the Native American Paiutes. Stimulated by gold and silver mining strikes in the nearby mountains, Anglo-American settlements had sprung up by the 1860s at such places as Bishop Creek (later Bishop) and Big Pine, leading to the displacement of the Paiute from the valley's best lands, although they remained in the valley. Agriculture, ranching, and mining were the economic mainstays of the valley. The snowpack in the mountains (fully evident in this photograph) provided abundant water for the streams and Owens River, making agriculture possible. In the early twentieth century, Los Angeles bought up land and water rights to obtain water for its growing population, resulting in the great Owens Valley Water Controversy as valley residents resisted Los Angeles' intrusion. Today, the City of Los Angeles remains the largest employer in the valley; tourism based on outdoor recreation is the other economic mainstay. The valley lies within the borders of Inyo County. The county seat is Independence, although Bishop (population 3,575) is its biggest town. Other important towns are Big Pine and Lone Pine. The photographer, Harry W. Mendenall, was the owner of the Camera Art Shop in Big Pine, California and a resident of Big Pine from at least 1910 until his death in 1952.
Type	image;
Physical Description	1 postcard : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Institution	Center for the Study of Los Angeles Research Collection, Loyola Marymount University
Collection Identifier	http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3w1022nb
Country of Creation	US
Copyright Status	Public Domain
Copyright Statement	http://library.lmu.edu/dlp/copyright.htm
Language	eng;
Subject (Place)	Owens Valley (Calif.); Big Pine (Calif.); Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.);
Form/Genre	Photographs; Postcards;
Metacollection Identifier	http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/
Item/Call Number	J. D. Black Papers, CSLA-15, Series 3: Photographs, Subseries A: Photographic Postcards, Box 16, Sleeve 17