LOS ANGELES TIMES MAGAZINE MAP NUMBER 5 : MAMMOTH LAKES

At the edge of Mammoth Lakes, near the rental office of Snowcreek Condominiums, stand the rusty remains of a six-foot waterwheel. In 1878, in the hills just two miles to the west, this wheel powered the mill at the highly touted Mammoth Mining Co., from which Mammoth Lakes took its name. Predictions that Mammoth would yield even more gold than nearby Bodie, however, proved false, and within two years the wheel was idle.

By the early 1900s the crowds were back, drawn not by gold but by trout. A pioneer named Charles Wildasinn built the town’s first hotel; to provide electricity, he hauled the waterwheel down to the meadow near Mammoth Creek, where it has stayed. Even after the development of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1947, the fishermen who gathered in the village continued to outnumber the skiers. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the number of winter visitors began to equal the summer regulars. Mammoth Mountain, the nation’s largest downhill ski resort, has the longest ski season in California--November through June. The latest closing day in the resort’s 39-year history was July 28, in 1983. Yearly snowfall on the mountain averages 335 inches; 567 inches fell during the 1982-83 season. The heaviest snowfall for a 24-hour period--eight feet--occurred in 1969. The coldest estimated temperature on top of Mammoth Mountain is 45 degrees below zero. Permanent, year-round residents of Mammoth Lakes now total 4,500; from November to May the figure is 7,500. On major holiday weekends 45,000 to 50,000 people fill the village. During Thanksgiving weekend, 1941, 250 skiers visited Mammoth Mountain. Last Thanksgiving, lift ticket sales totaled 54,000 for the four-day weekend--21,000 on Saturday alone, a one-day record. In winter, 75% of the tourists come from Southern California; about two-thirds are ages 20 to 39. About half of the summer visitors come from Los Angeles; a third or so have annual incomes of more than $50,000. Mammoth Lakes has about 2,500 condominium units. There are nine real estate offices in Mammoth Lakes--down from 22 in 1981. More than half the residential property belongs to investors whose primary residence is elsewhere. Only 21% of the land in Mono County (where Mammoth Lakes is located) and 2% in Inyo County is privately owned; the rest belongs to government agencies. The City of Los Angeles owns more than half the town of Bishop, the closest major town to Mammoth Lakes. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power controls 665 of Bishop’s 1,100 acres. The DWP pays 38% of the property tax that is collected in Inyo County. There are 1,000 lakes in Mono and Inyo counties. Mono Lake is the third largest lake in California, covering 4,500 acres. California’s state fish, the golden trout, is found almost exclusively in Mono and Inyo counties but is not native to the area. The four fish hatcheries in these two counties raise 2 1/2 million catchable-size trout annually, which are planted in local waters. Each year on the first day of fishing season, more than 15,000 fishermen from the Los Angeles area head to Crowley Lake, where as many as 40 tons of fish have been caught on that weekend. Two thousand Paiute-Shoshone Indians live on Inyo County’s four reservations. The Owens River Valley is the deepest valley in the United States. The mountains bordering it--the White Mountains on the east and the Sierra Nevada on the west--are two miles high. The valley is home to the world’s largest herd of free-roaming tule elk and to the majority of California bighorn sheep. On a winter day, as many as 500 deer can be seen on the ranges near Bishop. In summer, these animals head over the crest to the western side of the Sierra. The Inyo National Forest collects more camping fees than any other national forest in the United States. More than half the number of trails in the forest are in areas set aside to remain undeveloped. In 1984, the Minarets Wilderness was renamed the Ansel Adams Wilderness. In the portion of the forest between Mammoth Lakes and June Lake grows the world’s largest continuous stand of Jeffrey pine. Bristlecone pines, in the White Mountains, are the oldest living things on earth--more than 5,000 years old. Mammoth Mountain is the largest volcano in the Long Valley caldera. It last erupted 200,000 years ago. Molten rock three to five miles underground heats the water in Owens Valley’s natural hot springs. The water temperature in the four production wells at the Mammoth Pacific Geothermal Power Plant reaches 340 degrees Fahrenheit. The plant produces 20% of the electricity used in Mammoth Lakes. Produced by Linden Gross. Research and text by Mary Allen Daily. Demographics reflect currently available figures.