Just east of the Los Angeles basin, the counties of Riverside and San Bernardino taken together call themselves the Inland Empire. From the snow-capped peak of Mount San Gorgonio, 11,499 feet above sea level, to the Salton Sea, 228 feet below sea level, the Inland Empire is a land of contrasts. Its variety ranges from large cities to small towns, from ski resorts to desert resorts, and from pine forests to date groves.