A native of Germany, trained as an engineer. As a young man he did field work for the California Geological Survey from 1860 to 1870. Hoffmann created the official maps from the expeditions made by the survey team. Hoffmann is believed to be the first to climb Tower Peak, in the Sierra Nevada. Although it was not until 1880 that the California State Mining Bureau, predecessor to the California Geological Survey, was established, the roots of Californias state geological survey date to an earlier time. ... Sierra Nevada, meaning snowy range in Spanish, is the name of at least two mountain ranges: Sierra Nevada (Spain) in Andalusia, Spain Sierra Nevada (US) in California and Nevada, United States There are also two single mountains named Sierra Nevada in the Andes which are volcanoes. ...