 In far northern California, this produces a zone of convergence which has resulted in the compressive uplift of the Coast Ranges.At its core, the SNGV block consists primarily of the Sierra Nevada batholith which has been tilted westward like a large trapdoor with its "hinge" lying deep beneath the sediments which fill California's Central Valley.This tilt is attributed to the buoyancy of the eastern part of the block due to the greater subterranean heat associated with the tectonics of the adjacent Great Basin, compounded by the weight of sediments accumulating over the western portion of the block.