California is perfectly at sea level.
Base level . As an illustration , the uplift of the Colorado Plateau , combined with the opening of the Gulf of California to the sea , established sea level as the base level for the Colorado River and led to the ( geologically ) rapid erosion that resulted in the Grand Canyon . California . Located on the western ( Pacific Ocean ) coast of the U.S. , California is bordered by the other U.S. states of Oregon , Nevada , and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California . California 's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east ; and from the redwood -- Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast . Though California is well-known for its warm Mediterranean climate , the large size of the state means it can vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north , to arid desert in the interior , as well as snowy alpine in the mountains .