The mountains northeast of Los Angeles (San Gabriel Mtns on the north and San Bernardino/San Jacinto Mtns to the east) are as high as the Wasatch, but the valleys are less than 1,000' above sea level. And then you have the massive prominence of the Eastern Sierra, where you have numerous 13,000-14,000' peaks dropping nearly instantly off down into the Owens Valley, which is 3,000-4,000' above sea level.