Sevehah Cliffs, Sierra Nevada, California by ahochstaedter

The Sevehah Cliffs form the eastern face of Laurel Mountain in the eastern part of the Sierra Nevada in California. Convict lake lies at its base. The first rope-belayed climb in California occured here up the main gully in the center of the cliffs. In the early 1930, east cost mountaineer John Mendenhall came to the Sierra upon the invitation of Francis Farquhar, an early climber who later became a prominant Sierra historian. Farquhar thought that it would be a good idea if the local climbers learned how to use proper rope technique in their climbs. Several new first ascents and new climbing routes were soon established in this part of the High Sierra.

The Sevehah Cliffs are composed of early Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Mt Morrison roof pendant. Prominant formations include the light-colored calcareous quartzite of the Mount Morrison formation and the darker reddish brown rocks of the Squares Tunnel formation. Siliceous sediments were deposted in the deeper portions of a trailing continental margin. When the continental margin became more acctive in the Mesozoic granitic plutons intruded the sedimentary rocks, deforming and metamorphosing them. The light-colored calc-silicate rocks in the image are more highly metamorphosed towards the bottom of the cliffs than at the top. The layers dip steeply down the face of the cliff. Much of the apparent crazy deformation is just that--apparent-- caused by erosion of the metasedimentary beds steeply dipping parallel to the cliff face.

A broader gigapan showing more of Convict Lake and its moraines is here: www.gigapan.org/gigapans/95155
More resources:
Much of the geologic information contained here was gleaned from the excellent on-line eastern Sierra geology field guide by David Jessey of Cal Poly Pomnoa: geology.csupomona.edu/docs/sierra.html 
Climbing history summary from RJ Secor, "The High Sierra", and S Roper, "The Climbers Guide to the High Sierra"
A nice climbing and natural history summary of this area is here: www.summitpost.org/laurel-mountain/151761 
If you want to know what it might be like to ski the rock face you're looking at, see this: sierraskijournal.blogspot.com/2011/01/mendenhall-couloir.html