A team of scientists and undergraduate students have analyzed the body size for 25 marine species, including whales, sharks, squids, and other ocean giants. A team of scientists and undergraduate students have analyzed the body size for 25 marine species, including whales, sharks, squids, and other ocean giants.
Donner Summit is also the Sierra Divide where storms spend most of their time, dropping 35-40 feet of snow a year, making skiing a major industry and making the Sierra a reservoir for the rest of the state. Arguably, Donner Summit and Donner Pass across it, is the most important square mile in California.
The culprit was snow. As the Donner Party approached the summit of the Sierra Mountains near what is now Donner Lake (known as Truckee Lake at the time) they found the pass clogged with new-fallen snow up to six feet deep. It was October 28, 1846 and the Sierra snows had started a month earlier than usual.