California State Route 140
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California State Route 140 is an east-west, two-lane highway in central US state California, 102 miles (164 km) in length. It begins in the San Joaquin Valley at Interstate 5 near Gustine, and runs east into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, terminating in Yosemite National Park.
Going east from I-5, it passes Gustine and crosses CA-99 at Merced. Visitors who travel from the Bay Area or northern California to Yosemite Valley or the southern portion of Yosemite will transfer from Highway 99 to Highway 140 at this point. (Those who visit the northern portion of Yosemite would have taken CA-132 east at Modesto.)
It continues through Planada, after which the farmland gives way to grazing land. It is quite dry in the summer due to California's Mediterranean climate, and the dry grass gives the landscape a golden color. Western Meadowlarks, Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks and even the occasional coyote can be seen near the road. A few blue oaks can be seen as the highway leaves the valley and begins to climb the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They become more and more numerous as the elevation increases. The highway passes through Cathey's Valley, and the vegetation begins to diversify a little. California live oaks and Ponderosa Pines intermingle with the blue oaks as it nears Mariposa.
Visitors to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in southern Yosemite would be advised to take California State Route 49 south at this point. For those whose destination is in Yosemite Valley, the portion of CA-140 between Mariposa and El Portel is a California Scenic Highway (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LandArch/scenic_highways/route140.htm). A ponderosa pine forest surrounds the road as it passes through Midpines. At Briceburg, it plunges down into the Merced River valley. It runs alongside the Merced River, through El Portel, and into Yosemite Valley, where it ends.
External links
- CalTrans Route 140 Photos (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LandArch/scenic_highways/p_rte140.htm)
- California Highways—State Route 140 (http://www.cahighways.org/137-144.html#140)Template:California State Highway Stub