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Shaded-relief map of Alta Sierra, California: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
CALIFORNIA · KERN COUNTY

Alta Sierra

103 people, 5,660 ft above sea level in Kern County.

5,660 ftElevation, city center
103People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Clear 56°
Clear now Dew point 48° · NNE 3 mph · high 59°
City of Alta Sierra River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Alta Sierra plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Alta Sierra

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM PST
RIGHT NOW Delano Municipal Airport (KDLO) · 5:35 PM
Clear
56° Clear Feels like 56° · high of 59° near 5 PM
WindNNE 3 mphno gusts
Humidity74%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.00 in →steady
Visibility— mifog or heavy haze
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 48° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly cloudy
Monday, about 11 AMin about 41 hours · 58% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT0.1–0.3 inmost likely 0.2; 1 in 10 over 0.5
LAST RAINOct. 230.01 in · 22 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Kern County
NWS Hanford and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:45 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:29 AM4:48 PM ↓
10 h 19 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
39
GOODAir quality index · ozone
Tomorrow: 44, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
59°
45°
68°
49°
57°
45°
CHANCE OF RAIN
58% · 0.06 in Monday evening 50%
WIND, MPH
2
3
3
3
3
0
3
0
2
4
3
4
4
6
9
7
4
1
2
3
3
3
4
4
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 45 to 54°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
59° 43°
0% rain — ENE 2 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
68° 46°
0% rain — ESE 2 A
MON Nov. 16 Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
60° 41°
60% rain 0.1–0.3″ NW 7 C
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
59° 38°
10% rain — N 3 B
WED Nov. 18 Showers likely Showers likely
62° 45°
80% rain 0.02–0.9″ E 3 B
THU Nov. 19 Showers likely Showers likely
61° 41°
90% rain 0.5–1.7″ S 7 C
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
60° 38°
20% rain — N 5 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Alta Sierra about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the California coast three days ago, and over southern California a day ago, about 350 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. It rose from near the ground on the way. Near the ground the air came from Baja California; at 10,000 feet, from the desert Southwest. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Alta Sierra stands on

Alta Sierra’s center stands about 5,660 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 3,870 ft to 7,000 ft, a difference of 3,130 ft: mountain country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Cannell Peak, about 9,460 ft, 14 miles northeast.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Mesozoic granitic rocks, unit 3 (Sierra Nevada, Death Valley area, Northern Mojave Desert and Transverse Ranges) (granodiorite), from the Permian to Tertiary, 2.6 to 260 million years old.

The section below crosses 3 rock units mapped at the surface.

Bodfish to Pine Flat, cut in half

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
2,000 ft4,000 ft6,000 ft ALTA SIERRA5,660 ftBodfish3,140 ftLake Isabella2,570 ftPortuguese Peak7,910 ft ← S · BodfishPine Flat · N →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 4×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Mesozoic granitic rocks, unit 3 (Sierra Nevada, Death Valley area, Northern Mojave Desert and Transverse Ranges)

Granodiorite. Age: Permian to Tertiary, 2.6 to 260 million years old. About 20 mi of the line.

Pre-Cenozoic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks undivided

Schist, gneiss. Age: Paleoproterozoic to Cretaceous, 66 to 2,500 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Quaternary alluvium and marine deposits

Coarse-detrital. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.
MILE3
THE WATER

Where Alta Sierra’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Alta Sierra reaches the Tulare Lake basin by way of Ice House Creek, Shirley Creek, Tillie Creek and the Kern: about 85 river miles. The Tulare Lake basin has no outlet to the sea: the water leaves only by evaporating or soaking into the ground.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Alta Sierra≈ 85 mi · the Tulare Lake basin
FROM THE CENTER OF ALTA SIERRA ≈ 85 mi to the Tulare Lake basin Ice House Creek → Shirley Creek → Tillie Creek → Kern

Lake on the way: Isabella Lake.

A lake that comes back. The bed of Tulare Lake is farmland now; in very wet years it floods again.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Alta Sierra; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Alta Sierra on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Porterville CA · 36 MI 36 miles northwest Bakersfield CA · 38 MI 38 miles southwest Fresno CA · 101 MI 101 miles northwest Los Angeles CA · 118 MI 118 miles south Long Beach CA · 136 MI 136 miles south Anaheim CA · 137 MI 137 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Alta Sierra, California. Explore the plate
CALIFORNIA · KERN

Alta Sierra

103 people, 5,660 ft above sea level in Kern County.

5,660 ftElevation
103People
1 sq miLand
Clear 56°
ClearDew point 48°
1

Today in Alta Sierra

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly clear night 59° 0%
8p mostly clear night 50° 0%
11p mostly clear night 48° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 47° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 45° 0%
8a partly cloudy day 51° 0%
Mostly cloudy
NEXT RAINMonday about 11 AM · 58%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
43
59
A
Sun0%
Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
46
68
A
Mon60%
Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
41
60
C
Tue10%
Sunny Sunny
38
59
B
Wed80%
Showers likely Showers likely
45
62
B
Thu90%
Showers likely Showers likely
41
61
C
Fri20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
60
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Alta Sierra stands on

Alta Sierra’s center stands about 5,660 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 3,870 ft to 7,000 ft, a difference of 3,130 ft: mountain country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Cannell Peak, about 9,460 ft, 14 miles northeast.

Alta Sierra, south to north Alta Sierra5,660 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 7×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center5,660 ft
Within 3 miles3,870 to 7,000 ft
Lie of the landMountainous (3,130 ft of relief)
High point nearbyCannell Peak, 9,460 ft, 14 mi northeast
Rock at the surfaceMesozoic granitic rocks, unit 3 (Sierra Nevada, Death Valley area, Northern Mojave Desert and Transverse Ranges)
Its agePermian to Tertiary, 2.6 to 260 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 85 mito the Tulare Lake basinIce House Creek → Shirley Creek → Tillie Creek → Kern

A raindrop that lands in Alta Sierra reaches the Tulare Lake basin by way of Ice House Creek, Shirley Creek, Tillie Creek and the Kern: about 85 river miles. The Tulare Lake basin has no outlet to the sea: the water leaves only by evaporating or soaking into the ground.

Lake on the way: Isabella Lake.

A lake that comes back. The bed of Tulare Lake is farmland now; in very wet years it floods again.