Measurement of the magnetic susceptibility of more than 6000 samples of granitic rock from the Mariposa 1?? by 2?? quadrangle, which crosses the central part of the Sierra Nevada batholith between 37?? and 38??N latitude, shows that magnetic susceptibility values are above 10-2 SI units in the east and central parts of the batholith and drop abruptly to less than 10-3 SI units in the western foothills. In a narrow transitional zone, intermediate values (10-3 to 10-2) prevail. Magnetic susceptibility appears to decrease slightly westward within the zones of both high and low values. Magnetic susceptibility in plutonic rocks is chiefly a function of the abundance of magnetite, which depends, in turn, on the total iron content of the rocks and their oxidation ratio. Correlations of magnetic susceptibility with initial 87Sr/86Sr suggest that oxidation ratios have been inherited from the source regions for the magmas from which the rocks crystallized. Reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ by organic carbon or other reducing substances may also have affected magnetic susceptibility. -from Authors