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Topic: Culture & Communities     Department: Letters

A wrinkle in space?

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Letter - From the June 21, 2010 issue by Sally Gaines

The back-page essay on May 24, "Walking Woman," had a striking design, but it took some literary license with facts that are obvious to those of us who live in the eastern Sierra.

The first sentence grates on grammatical nerves: The Sierra Nevada range is singular, not plural. The Sierras, plural, is correct if you are referring to several ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra Madre mountains.

In the second paragraph, the author takes liberty with geography or map reading. A traveler cannot descend Tioga Pass on Highway 395 and immediately pull over in Big Pine.

Descending Tioga Pass on Highway 120, one would meet Highway 395, then drive south for 80 miles before reaching Big Pine.

Sally Gaines
Sunny Slopes, California

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Log in to comment (1)
I half agree
Steve Snyder
Steve Snyder
Jun 25, 2010 12:01 AM
Obviously, the highway geography is wrong. But, "the Sierras" has been used in newspapers and magazines for years as an alternative phrase for the Sierra Nevada. I don't know what Ms. Gaines has or has not been reading.
 

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