The highest point in the range is White Mountain Peak, which at 14,252 ft is the third-highest summit in California. Cattle from ranches in surrounding valleys are still grazed under permit as high as the alpine zone. Historically sheep were also grazed in large numbers, introducing diseases from which the native Bighorn Sheep populations are still slowly recovering. Before European colonization of surrounding valleys in the mid 19th century, Paiute Indians occupied summer hunting camps up to about 13,100 ft, leaving ruins of archeological interest.