The
Diablo Range is a
mountain rangeA mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the
Pacific Coast RangesThe Pacific Coast Ranges and the Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico...
. It is located in the eastern
San Francisco Bay areaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
south to the
Salinas ValleyThe Salinas Valley lies south of San Francisco, California.The word "salina" is spanish for salt marsh, salt lake or salt pan.-Geography:The Salinas Valley runs approximately south-east from Salinas towards King City. The valley lends its name to the geologic province in which it's located, the...
area of northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Geography
The Diablo Range extends from the
Carquinez StraitThe Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay...
in the north to Orchard Peak in the south, near the point where
State Route 46State Route 46 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California. It is a major crossing of the Coast Ranges, connecting SR 1 on the Central Coast near Cambria and US 101 in Paso Robles with SR 99 at Famoso in the San Joaquin Valley. East of Paso Robles, where it carried U.S...
crosses over the Coast Ranges at Cholame, as described by the USGS. It is bordered on the northeast by the
San Joaquin RiverThe San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
, on the southeast by the
San Joaquin ValleyThe San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
, on the southwest by the
Salinas RiverThe Salinas River is the largest river of the central coast of California, running and draining 4,160 square miles. It flows north-northwest and drains the Salinas Valley that slices through the Coast Range south from Monterey Bay...
, and on the northwest by the
Santa Clara ValleyThe Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County and its county seat, San José, are in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration...
. The USGS designation is somewhat ambiguous north of the Santa Clara Valley, but on their maps, the range is shown as the ridgeline which runs between its namesake Mount Diablo southeastward past Mount Hamilton. Geologically, the range corresponds to the Coast Ranges east of the
Calaveras FaultThe Calaveras Fault is a major branch of the San Andreas Fault located in northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area. To the east of the Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault, the Calaveras fault extends 123 km, splaying from the San Andreas fault near Hollister and terminating at Danville at its...
in this northern section.
The range passes through
Contra CostaContra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
,
AlamedaAlameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
,
San JoaquinSan Joaquin County is a county located in Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 685,306. The county seat is Stockton.-History:...
,
Santa ClaraSanta Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
,
StanislausStanislaus County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the...
,
MercedMerced County , is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of Fresno and southeast of San Jose. As of the 2010 census, the population was 255,793, up from 210,554 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Merced...
,
San BenitoSan Benito County is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California, south of San Jose. As of 2010 the population was 55,269. The county seat is Hollister, which includes nearly two-thirds of the county's population. El Camino Real passes through the county and...
,
FresnoFresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...
,
MontereyMonterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...
, and
KingsKings County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is located in a rich agricultural region. Kings County is also home to NAS Lemoore, which is the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet air station. The county seat is Hanford...
counties, and ends in the northwesternmost extremity of Kern County.
Topography
Though the average elevation is about 3,000 ft, a summit at over 2,300 ft is considered high, mainly because the range is mostly rolling grassland and plateaus, punctuated by sudden peaks. The plateaus are usually at about 2,000–3,000 ft. The hills (not including foothills) rising out of valleys rise to about 1,000 ft at most, and the hills rolling around inland plateaus go from 1,500–2,500 ft. Foothills, such as the which are found near the Santa Clara Valley, Livermore Valley and San Joaquin Valley, are lowest, from 400–1,000 ft.
Canyons usually are 300–400 ft deep and valleys are deeper but gentler. The peaks often have high topographic prominence because they are typically surrounded by hills, valleys, or lower plateaus. Some streams draining the eastern slopes of the Diablo Range include Alameda Creek, Coyote Creek (Santa Clara County),
Hospital CreekHospital Creek, originally Arroyo del Osnital, Hospital Creek is a tributary of the San Joaquin River draining eastern slopes of part of the Diablo Range within San Joaquin County, in the Central Valley of California, USA...
, and
Ingram CreekIngram Creek, originally Arroyo de la Suerte, is a tributary of the San Joaquin River in Stanislaus County, in the Central Valley of California, USA....
.
The Diablo Range's following peaks and ridges are between 2,517 and 5,241 ft and are distinct landmarks. Mount Diablo (3,889 ft),
San Benito MountainSan Benito Mountain is a mountain located in the Diablo Range of California. The mountain, which rises to an elevation of , is the highest point in San Benito County and the Diablo Range and is also the highest point in the San Francisco Bay Area, though due to distance from other cities and the...
(5,241 ft),
Mount Hamilton RidgeMount Hamilton is a mountain in California's Diablo Range, in Santa Clara County, California. Mount Hamilton, at is the tallest mountain overlooking Silicon Valley, and is the site of Lick Observatory, the first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. The various summits along its...
(4,230–4,260 ft), and
Mount StakesMount Stakes is a mountain in the Diablo Range in California. The peak is located on the Santa Clara–Stanislaus county line; rises to an elevation of and is the highest point in Stanislaus County. It is west of Newman and southeast of Livermore...
(3,804 ft).
Human elements
The Diablo Range is paralleled for much of its distance by U.S. Route 101 to the west and by I-5 to the east.
Major routes of travel through the range include:
- North of the range
- State Route 4
- San Joaquin (Amtrak)
- Altamont Pass
Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a mountain pass in the Diablo Range between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California...
- I-580
Interstate 580 is an 80-mile east–west Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 runs from San Rafael in the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 near Tracy in the Central Valley...
- Altamont Commuter Express
The Altamont Commuter Express is a regional rail service in California connecting Stockton with San Jose....
- Pacheco Pass
Pacheco Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass located in the Diablo Range in southeastern Santa Clara County, California. It is the main road over the hills separating the Santa Clara Valley and the Central Valley....
- State Route 152
State Route 152 is a state highway that runs near the latitudinal middle of the U.S. state of California from Watsonville to Route 99 southeast of Merced...
- Future California High-Speed Rail
The California High-Speed Rail project is a planned future high-speed rail system in the state of California and headed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority . Initial funding for the project was approved by California voters on November 4, 2008, with the passage of Proposition 1A...
- State Route 198
State Route 198 is an east–west state highway that connects the California Central Coast to the mid-Central Valley at Visalia, although the most-traveled portion is in the Central Valley itself....
- Polonio Pass
- State Route 46
State Route 46 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California. It is a major crossing of the Coast Ranges, connecting SR 1 on the Central Coast near Cambria and US 101 in Paso Robles with SR 99 at Famoso in the San Joaquin Valley. East of Paso Robles, where it carried U.S...
/ State Route 41State Route 41 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting the Cabrillo Highway in Morro Bay with Fresno and Yosemite National Park via the San Joaquin Valley. Except between US 101 in Atascadero and SR 46 near Shandon, SR 41 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway...
A sparsely used gravel road is the highest road in the range, with its highest point being on San Benito Mountain at over 5,000 feet.
The Diablo Range is largely unpopulated outside of the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Major nearby communities include
AntiochAntioch is a city in Contra Costa County, California. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, it is a suburb of San Francisco and Oakland. The city's population was 102,372 at the U.S...
,
ConcordConcord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 122,067. Originally founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months...
,
Walnut CreekWalnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
,
PleasantonPleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
,
LivermoreLivermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
,
FremontFremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
and the Central Valley city of
TracyTracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States and an exurb of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 82,922 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
In the
South BayThe South Bay is a subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States and is roughly synonymous with Silicon Valley, the Santa Clara Valley, and Santa Clara County...
, communities near (though not in) the range are
MilpitasMilpitas is a city in Santa Clara County, California. It is a suburb of the major city of San Jose, California. It is located with San Jose to its south and Fremont to its north, at the eastern end of State Route 237 and generally between Interstates 680 and 880 which run roughly north/south...
, eastern
San JoseSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
,
Morgan HillMorgan Hill is a city located in the southern part of Santa Clara County, California, United States. Founded on November 10, 1906, the city was named after Hiram Morgan Hill, a San Franciscan who built a country retreat home there in 1884...
, and
GilroyGilroy is the southernmost city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 48,821 at the 2010 census. Gilroy is well-known for its garlic crop and for the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, featuring various garlicky foods, including garlic ice cream. Gilroy also produces...
. South of Pacheco Pass, the only major nearby communities (those with a population over 15,000) are
Los BañosLos Banos is a city in Merced County, California, near the junction of State Route 152 and Interstate 5. Los Banos is located southwest of Merced, at an elevation of 118 feet . The population was 35,972 at the 2010 census, up from 25,869 at the 2000 census...
, and
HollisterHollister is a city in and the county seat of San Benito County, California, United States. The population was 34,928 at the 2010 census. Hollister is primarily an agricultural town.-History:...
. The small town of
CoalingaCoalinga is a city in Fresno County, California. The population was 13,380 at the 2010 census, up from 11,668 at the 2000 census. It is the site of both Pleasant Valley State Prison and Coalinga State Hospital. Coalinga is located southwest of Fresno, at an elevation of 673 feet .-Early...
may also be notable for its location on State Route 198, one of the few routes through the mountains.
Parks
Most of the range consists of private ranchland, limiting recreational use. However, the range does contain several areas of parkland, including
Mount Diablo State ParkMount Diablo is a mountain in Contra Costa County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area, located south of Clayton and northeast of Danville. It is an isolated upthrust peak of , visible from most of the San Francisco Bay Area and much of northern California...
,
Alum Rock ParkAlum Rock Park, founded in 1872, was the first municipal park in the U.S. state of California. Located in a valley in the Diablo Range foothills on the east side of San Jose, the 720 acre park offers 13 miles of trails, varying from fairly level along Penitencia Creek to sharp switchbacks...
,
Grant Ranch ParkGrant Ranch Park is the largest park in Santa Clara County, California, USA. Also known as Joseph D. Grant County Park, this site is situated in the eastern foothills of Santa Clara Valley....
,
Henry W. Coe State ParkHenry W. Coe State Park is a California state park located in Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties. It contains over 86,000 acres , making it the largest state park in northern California, and the second-largest in the state...
, and the
BLMThe Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
's Clear Creek Management Area. In addition, some private land is held in
conservation easementIn the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...
s by the
California Rangeland TrustThe California Rangeland Trust was formed in 1998 by a group of ranchers within the California Cattlemen's Association. Since its inception, the trust has worked with voluntary landowners and other conservation partners to conserve of rangeland on 27 ranches across 19 counties.Steve Sinton was...
.
Environmental aspects
Since the range lies around 10 to 50 miles (16 to 80 km) inland from the ocean, and other coastal ranges like the Santa Lucia Range and the
Santa Cruz MountainsThe Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...
block incoming moisture, the range gets little precipitation. In addition, the average elevation of 3,000 feet is not high enough to catch most of the incoming moisture at higher altitudes.
Winters are mild with moderate rainfall, but summers are very dry and hot. Areas above 2,500 feet (762 m) get light to moderate snow in the winter, especially at the highest point, the 5,241 ft (1,597 m)
San Benito MountainSan Benito Mountain is a mountain located in the Diablo Range of California. The mountain, which rises to an elevation of , is the highest point in San Benito County and the Diablo Range and is also the highest point in the San Francisco Bay Area, though due to distance from other cities and the...
in the remote southeastern section of the range. However, though sites at the lower end get annual snowfall, it is typically light and melts too fast to be noticed. Once or twice a decade there is seriously deep and long lasting snowfall.
Flora
The Diablo Range is part of the
California interior chaparral and woodlandsThe California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers in an elliptical ring around the California Central Valley. It occurs on hills and mountains ranging from to . It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers...
ecoregionAn ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
. It is covered mostly by
chaparralChaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and
California oak woodlandCalifornia oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
communities, with stands of
Closed-cone pine forestClosed-cone pine forest is a plant community of coastal California and several offshore islands. It consists of stands of Bishop Pines, Monterey Pines, and others which rely on fire or strong heat to open their cones and release the seeds.-Closed-cone Pines:...
s appearing above 4,000 feet (1,219 m). The native bunch grass
savannaA savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
has been predominantly replaced by
annual Medeterranean grassesGrasses are one of the most abundant floras on all continents except Antarctica. Their divergence is estimated to have taken place 200 million years ago. Humans have intentionally and unintentionally introduced these species to North America through travel and trade. On the North American plains,...
, except in some rare
habitat* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
fragments. The understory is dominated with nonnative invasives. Blooming in spring are such plants as
Viola pedunculata,
Dodecatheon pulchellumDodecatheon pulchellum, commonly known as pretty shooting star, few-flowered shooting star, dark throat shooting star and prairie shooting star, is a perennial herb with single, leafless flower stems, growing from very short erect root stocks with no bulblets...
,
Fritillaria liliaceaFritillaria liliacea, commonly known as Fragrant Fritillary, is a threatened perennial herb in the Liliaceae family, in California.-Description:...
, and
Ribes malvaceumRibes malvaceum, called chaparral currant, is a member of the Grossulariaceae . It is native to California and northern Baja California, where it occurs below 1500 m in chaparral, foothill oak woodland, and closed-cone pine forest.Less than 2 meters tall, this perennial shrub lacks the...
, which can be viewed in the
Blue Oak Ranch ReserveThe Blue Oak Ranch Reserve a unit of the University of California Natural Reserve System, is an ecological reserve and biological field station located in the Diablo Range, northwest of Mount Hamilton, in Santa Clara County, California, United States, located on at 1,500' asl .The land, part of...
.
The range's
riparian zoneA riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
s have such trees as Bigleaf Maple (
Acer macrophyllum),
White alderAlnus rhombifolia, the White Alder, is an alder tree native to western North America, from Washington east to western Montana, southeast to the Sierra Nevada, and south through the Peninsular Ranges and Colorado Desert oases in Southern California. It occurs in riparian zone habitats at an...
(
Alnus rhombifolia),
California BayUmbellularia californica is a large tree native to coastal forests of California and slightly extended into Oregon.It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia....
(
Umbellularia californica), and Californiasycamore (
Platanus racemosa).
The most common trees are Coast live oak (
Quercus agrifolia) and Blue oak (
Quercus douglasii), with the largest blue oak growing in Alameda County. There are also good populations of
California buckeyeAesculus californica is a species of buckeye that is native [ |] to California and southwest Oregon [Jackson, County], and the only buckeye native to these states.-Description:...
(
Aesculus californica), and California black oak (
Quercus kelloggii). The Gray Pine – Digger Pine (
Pinus sabineana) and rarer
Coulter PineThe Coulter Pine or Big-cone Pine is a native of the coastal mountains of southern California and northern Baja California . Isolated groves are found as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area in Mt. Diablo State Park and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve...
(
Pinus coulteri) can be found at all elevations, especially between 800 ft. and 3000 ft. Coulter pine reaches its northern limit on northern of Mt. Diablo. The conifers at higher elevations in the Diablo Range include
Knobcone PineThe Knobcone Pine, Pinus attenuata, is a tree that grows in mild climates on poor soils. It ranges from the mountains of southern Oregon to Baja California with the greatest concentration in northern California and the Oregon-California border....
(
Pinus attenuata) and Ponderosa pine (
Pinus ponderosa).
Fauna
The Diablo Range attracts far more
raptorsBirds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
than coastal forests, such as Red tail hawks.
Golden EagleThe Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
nesting sites are found in the Diablo Range, reaching their highest density in southern Alameda County.
The
Bay Checkerspot butterfly--173.79.54.79 21:10, 1 December 2011 The Bay Checkerspot is a threatened insect subspecies which is native to the U.S. State of . Since the 23911s the population of checkerspots has been in serious decline...
, a federally listed
threatened speciesThreatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
, has habitat in the Range, especially at Mount Diablo. The
California Tiger SalamanderThe California tiger salamander is a vulnerable amphibian native to Northern California. Previously considered to be a Tiger Salamander subspecies, the California tiger salamander was recently designated a separate species again...
(
Ambystoma californiense), also a federally threatened species and a
vulnerable speciesOn 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
of
amphibianAmphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
native to
Northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, lives in ponds in the range. The
Northern Pacific RattlesnakeCrotalus oreganus is a venomous pitviper species found in North America in the western United States, parts of British Columbia and northwestern Mexico. Seven subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here....
is thriving, as are many
ground squirrelThe ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...
s, hares, and various species of native and nonnative rodents.
Black-tailed deerTwo forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupying coastal temperate rainforest on North America's Pacific coast are subspecies of the mule deer. They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all recent authorities maintain they are subspecies...
are abundant.
Tule ElkThe tule elk is a subspecies of elk found only in California, ranging from the grasslands and marshlands of the Central Valley to the grassy hills on the coast. The subspecies name derives from the tule that it feeds off of, which grows in the marshlands...
live in small, disjunct populations in Santa Clara and Alameda Counties, and are slowly recovering.
PronghornThe pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
,
grizzly bearThe grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
s, and wolves were extirpated in the 1800s. There still are numerous coyotes and some of the more vital mountain lion populations in the state. There are excellent populations of
bobcatThe bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s and
gray foxThe gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
es, who depend on the chaparral habitat.
See also
- Rancho Cañada de Pala
Rancho Cañada de Pala was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José de Jesús Bernal. The origin of the name Cañada de Pala is the subject of debate. The word "pala" translates as "shovel" in Spanish, but means "water",...
- Rancho Santa Teresa
Rancho Santa Teresa was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to José Joaquín Bernal...
Category: Mountain ranges of the San Francisco Bay Area