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.
Engineer and enthusiast Theodore Judah solves the great riddle of the Pacific Railroad when he reaches Donner Pass (named for the ill-fated emigrants of 1846). Judah immediately recognizes the location as ideal for constructing a line through the Sierra Nevada.