The
Verdugo Mountains are a small
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
located just south of the western
San Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert. This Transverse Range lies in and is surrounded by the Angeles National...
in
Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 9,862,049 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of...
,
Southern CaliforniaSouthern California, or SoCal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers around three major metropolitan areas, each of which have over 3 million people; the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area with over 12 million inhabitants, the San Bernardino-Riverside...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The range is commonly known simply as the
Verdugos. It is also sometimes referred to as the
Verdugo Hills.
The Verdugo Mountains were named for the Verdugo family, holders of the
Rancho San RafaelRancho San Rafael was a Spanish land grant bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present day Los Angeles County, California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo, a Spanish soldier who had served with the 1769 Portola-Serra Expedition...
land grantA land grant is a gift of real estate - land or privileges - made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially as rewards for military service...
which covered the mountains during California's
Spanish and Mexican periodHuman history in California begins with indigenous Americans first arriving in California some 13,000-15,000 years ago. Exploration and settlement by Europeans along the coasts and in the inland valleys began in the 16th century...
. On October 20 1784
Pedro FagesPedro Fages Beleta , nicknamed El Oso, was a soldier, explorer, and the second Spanish military Governor of New California from 1770 to 1774, and Governor of the Californias from 1782 to 1791.-Life:...
, the military governor of
Alta CaliforniaAlta California was formed when Spain separated the Dominican Missions from the Franciscan Missions in approximately 1769 with the founding of the first Alta California mission in San Diego...
, granted
Jose Maria VerdugoJosé María Verdugo was a soldier from the Presidio of San Diego who was assigned to the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel at the time his land was granted by the Spanish Empire in 1784.-Spanish soldier:...
permission to use the rancho referred to as "La Zanja".
The
Verdugo Mountains are a small
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
located just south of the western
San Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert. This Transverse Range lies in and is surrounded by the Angeles National...
in
Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 9,862,049 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of...
,
Southern CaliforniaSouthern California, or SoCal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers around three major metropolitan areas, each of which have over 3 million people; the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area with over 12 million inhabitants, the San Bernardino-Riverside...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The range is commonly known simply as the
Verdugos. It is also sometimes referred to as the
Verdugo Hills.
History
The Verdugo Mountains were named for the Verdugo family, holders of the
Rancho San RafaelRancho San Rafael was a Spanish land grant bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present day Los Angeles County, California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo, a Spanish soldier who had served with the 1769 Portola-Serra Expedition...
land grantA land grant is a gift of real estate - land or privileges - made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially as rewards for military service...
which covered the mountains during California's
Spanish and Mexican periodHuman history in California begins with indigenous Americans first arriving in California some 13,000-15,000 years ago. Exploration and settlement by Europeans along the coasts and in the inland valleys began in the 16th century...
. On October 20 1784
Pedro FagesPedro Fages Beleta , nicknamed El Oso, was a soldier, explorer, and the second Spanish military Governor of New California from 1770 to 1774, and Governor of the Californias from 1782 to 1791.-Life:...
, the military governor of
Alta CaliforniaAlta California was formed when Spain separated the Dominican Missions from the Franciscan Missions in approximately 1769 with the founding of the first Alta California mission in San Diego...
, granted
Jose Maria VerdugoJosé María Verdugo was a soldier from the Presidio of San Diego who was assigned to the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel at the time his land was granted by the Spanish Empire in 1784.-Spanish soldier:...
permission to use the rancho referred to as "La Zanja". The rancho's boundaries were primarily defined by the Verdugo Mountains,
Arroyo SecoThe Arroyo Seco is a stream and watershed in Los Angeles County, USA, that has been called the most celebrated canyon in Southern California. The watershed begins at Red Box Saddle near Mount Wilson in the Angeles National Forest of the San Gabriel Mountains...
, the
Los Angeles RiverThe Los Angeles River starts in San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Mountains, and Santa Susana Mountains and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the west end of the San Fernando Valley, 51 miles southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
: the boundary followed north along the east bank of the river, and wrapped westerly around
Griffith ParkGriffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. It is the second-largest city park in California, after Mission...
to a point near Travel Town.
Geology
The Verdugo Mountains are a rather rugged offshoot range of the
San Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert. This Transverse Range lies in and is surrounded by the Angeles National...
located in Los Angeles County,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, and consist almost entirely of igneous and metamorphic rocks similar to the basement rocks exposed to the north in the San Gabriel Mountains, south of the San Gabriel Fault. These rocks consist of
gneissGneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneissic rocks are usually medium to coarse foliated and largely recrystallized but do not carry large...
, and gneissic
dioriteDiorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It may contain small amounts of quartz, microcline and olivine. Zircon, apatite, sphene, magnetite, ilmenite and sulfides occur as accessory...
and
quartz dioriteQuartz diorite is an igneous, plutonic rock, of felsic composition, with phaneritic texture. Feldspar is present as plagioclase with 10% or less potassium feldspar. Quartz is present at between 5 to 20% of the rock. Biotite, amphiboles and pyroxenes are common dark accessory...
, intruded by irregular bodies of equigranular granitic rocks, predominantly quartz diorite and
granodioriteGranodiorite is an intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but contains more plagioclase than potassium feldspar. It usually contains abundant biotite mica and hornblende, giving it a darker appearance than true granite...
, with accompanying
pegmatiteA pegmatite is a very coarse-grained, intrusive igneous rock comprised of interlocking grains usually larger than 2.5 cm in diameter; such rocks are referred to as pegmatitic....
and
apliteAplite in petrology, the name given to intrusive rock in which quartz and feldspar are the dominant minerals. Aplites are usually very fine-grained, white, grey or pinkish, and their constituents are visible only with the help of a magnifying lens...
. Exposed rocks in the
Shadow HillsShadow Hills is a semi-rural neighborhood in northern Los Angeles, California, USA.-History:Shadow Hills is located in the southern portion of the community of Sunland and extreme northeast portion of Sun Valley, California, east of Glen Oaks Boulevard....
neighborhood at the extreme northwestern end of the Verdugos are typically marine sedimentary rocks of
MioceneThe Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the...
age, predominantly
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...
and
shaleShale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable...
. A half-inch-thick vein of blade-shaped
evaporiteEvaporites are water-soluble mineral sediments that result from the evaporation of bodies of surficial water. Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks.- Formation of evaporite rocks :...
crystals can be found in the exposed shale just south of Wentworth Street, between Foothill Boulevard and the
Foothill FreewayInterstate 210 and State Route 210 together form contiguous highway, called the Foothill Freeway, in the Greater Los Angeles area of the U.S. state of California. The western portion of the route is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, while the eastern portion is a state highway...
overpass.
Geography
The range runs roughly southeast to northwest between the City of
GlendaleGlendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is a suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
and the community of Tujunga. The Verdugo Mountains lie within the corporate boundaries of the cities of
GlendaleGlendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is a suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Burbank, and
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
. The Los Angeles neighborhoods of
TujungaTujunga is a district in the far northern reaches of the City of Los Angeles, California.Although Tujunga is commonly perceived as the northeasternmost portion of the San Fernando Valley, it actually is in the Crescenta Valley...
,
SunlandSunland is a neighborhood in the Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, California. Often mistakenly said to be part of the nearby San Fernando Valley, Sunland is actually part of the Crescenta Valley....
, Shadow Hills, La Tuna Canyon, and
Sun ValleySun Valley is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, about 10 miles away from Downtown Los Angeles....
are all adjacent to the range on its north end.
The Verdugos are part of the
Transverse RangesThe Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, one of the various North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. They begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between Santa Barbara and San Diego counties...
. They form part of the eastern boundary of the
San Fernando ValleyThe San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in Southern California, United States. More than half of the city of Los Angeles' land area lies within the San Fernando Valley...
and part of the southern boundary of the
Crescenta ValleyThe Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. It lies between the San Gabriel Mountains on the northeast and the Verdugo Mountains...
. North of the range, it is separated from the San Gabriels by an area of connected valleys containing the Sunland and Tujunga neighborhoods of Los Angeles, between the Tujunga Valley at the mouth of
Big Tujunga Wash and the northern end of the Crescenta Valley. The Foothill Freeway (US 210) climbs for a few miles up and over the northern end of the Verdugos after passing through the Crescenta Valley, descending into Sunland to continue along the northeast edge of the San Fernando Valley. Near where the Foothill Freeway begins to climb the Verdugos is another pass across the north end of the range through La Tuna Canyon along La Tuna Canyon Road. On the southeast end of the range, it is separated from the
San Rafael HillsThe San Rafael Hills are a mountain range in Los Angeles County, California....
to the east by the
Verdugo WashVerdugo Wash is a major tributary of the Los Angeles River, in the Glendale area of Los Angeles County, California.The stream begins just south of Interstate 210 in the Crescenta Valley...
. The routing of the Glendale Freeway (SR 2) along these hills north of its junction with the
Ventura FreewayThe Ventura Freeway is a named freeway in the U.S. state of California in the Greater Los Angeles area. It refers to the following two segments:...
(SR 134) provides a largely unimpeded view of the eastern slope of the range across the valley.
Peaks
The highest peak in the Verdugos is the informally named Verdugo Peak (3,126 feet) in Glendale near the northern end of the range. Another peak to the south of
Verdugo Peak near Brand Park in Glendale was recently named Tongva Peak (2,656 feet) in honor of the
TongvaThe Tongva are a Native American people who inhabited the area in and around Los Angeles, California, before the arrival of Europeans. Tongva means "people of the earth" in the Tongva language, a language in the Uto-Aztecan family. The Tongva are also sometimes referred to as the Gabrieleño/Tongva...
(Gabrielino) people, the original inhabitants of much of the
Los Angeles BasinThe Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the peninsular and transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
,
Santa Monica MountainsThe Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States.-Geography:The range extends approximately 40 mi east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County...
, and
San Gabriel ValleyThe San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
areas. Other named peaks are Mount La Tuna on the north end of the range and Mount Thom on the south end of the range.
Maps
- Angeles Front Country Trail Map. San Rafael, California
San Rafael is the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2007, the U.S...
: Tom Harrison Maps, 2001. ISBN 1-877689-65-3.
- Verdugo Mountains trail map. Matt Maxon, 2005 http://pctmap.homeip.net/data/PDF/Verdugo%20Mtns%2001-16-05.pdf
- Burbank, California, 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle map. United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning...
.
- Pasadena, California, 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle map. United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning...
.
- Mount La Tuna -
- Verdugo Peak -
- Tongva Peak -
- Mount Thom -
Flora and fauna
Except for a tenuous link to the
Angeles National ForestAngeles National Forest is located in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles County California, and was established on July 1, 1908, incorporating the first San Bernardino National Forest and parts of Santa Barbara and San Gabriel National Forests...
through Big Tujunga Wash to the north, the Verdugo Mountains are an urban wildlife island. Native-plant landscapes that may survive and even thrive in many places at the higher elevations include chaparral and oak woodlands. Hazards that the wise hiker will learn to avoid in these landscapes include poison oak ("leaflets three: let them be!"), black widow spiders, gopher holes (ankle sprainers), and rattlesnakes.
Mountain lions are present in the Verdugos. Visitors should take appropriate care.
Protected areas
- Verdugo Mountains State Park, California Department of Parks and Recreation
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 278 parks and 1.4 million acres , with over of coastline; of lake and river frontage; nearly 15,000 campsites; and of hiking, biking, and...
- Verdugo Mountains Open Space Preserve, jointly operated by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1979 and dedicated to the acquisition of land in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, north and west of Los Angeles, for preservation as open space and wildlife...
and the City of Glendale
- Brand Park, Glendale
- Stough Canyon Nature Center, Burbank
- Wildwood Canyon Park, Burbank
- La Tuna Canyon Park, Los Angeles
- Tujunga Ponds, Los Angeles
The Verdugo Mountains are being considered as part of the proposed Rim of the Valley Corridor National Park.
State conservation
The purpose of the Verdugo Mountains property, in Los Angeles County, is to preserve and protect as urban open space a remnant of natural lands located near the city of Glendale in the north portion of the heavily urbanized
Los Angeles basinThe Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the peninsular and transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
. The mountains are California state-protected property.
Hiking and biking
The Verdugo Mountains have many
hikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking have been confirmed in studies...
trailA trail is a path or road used for walking, cycling, cross-country skiing, or other activities. Some trails are off-limits to everyone other than hikers, and a few trails allow motorized vehicles....
s. The trails are rather short and intermediate in difficulty.
In addition to hikers,
mountain bikeA mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling, including jumps, and traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
riders do their off-road
sportMountain biking is an ever evolving sport that has recently seen a huge flux of popularity but has firm roots in experimentation with non "mountain" style bicycles. The sport consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, with specially equipped mountain bikes or hybrid / cross...
on the many trails in the Verdugo Mountains. The trail that starts on La Tuna Canyon Road in the northwest end of the mountains is popular with bikers as it is one of the wider and easier
trailsSegregated cycle facilities are roads, tracks, paths or marked lanes designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded.- Terminology :...
in the mountains, with one of the easiest grades.
The entrance to the Upper Verdugo Park from the Villa Cabrinis in Burbank is a park popular with hikers who walk up the Cabrini hill.
See also
Nearby mountain ranges
- San Rafael Hills
The San Rafael Hills are a mountain range in Los Angeles County, California....
- southeast
- San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert. This Transverse Range lies in and is surrounded by the Angeles National...
- east and north
- Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States.-Geography:The range extends approximately 40 mi east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County...
- southwest
- Santa Susana Mountains
The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west separating the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley on its south, from Santa Clara River Valley to the north, and Santa Clarita...
- northwest
- Simi Hills
The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range in Southern California.-Geography:The Simi Hills are located on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley, United States. They run east-west and they extend 26 miles east-west, and 7 miles north-south. The Simi Hills are part of the Transverse Ranges...
- west
Sources
- Tectonics of the San Gabriel Basin and surroundings, southern California. Robert S. Yeats. Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the "Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Benton County...
: Oregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are over 200 academic degree programs offered through the university...
, Department of Geosciences, 2004.
- Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth. Blake Gumprecht. Baltimore
Baltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding...
& London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
: The Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8018-6642-1.
- Afoot & Afield in Los Angeles County, 2nd edition, Area B-5. Jerry Schad. Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
: Wilderness Press, 2000. ISBN 0-89997-267-5.
- Tectonics of the San Gabriel Basin and surroundings, southern California. Robert S. Yeats. Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the "Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Benton County...
: Oregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are over 200 academic degree programs offered through the university...
, Department of Geosciences, 2004.
- Paleoseismology, active tectonics, and seismic hazards of the Verdugo fault zone, Los Angeles County, California. James F. Dolan. The University, 1997.
- Segmentation, slip rates and earthquake dimensions in the active fold-thrust belt of northern Los Angeles Basin, California. Robert S. Yeats. Dept. of Geosciences, Oregon State University, 1996.
- Geology of Earthquakes. Robert S. Yeats, Kerry E. Sieh
Kerry E. Sieh is an American geologist and seismologist.Sieh's principal research interest is earthquake geology, which uses geological layers and landforms to understand the geometries of active faults, the earthquakes they generate, and the crustal structure their movements produce...
, and Clarence R. AllenClarence R. Allen is a geologist who studies seismology. He is a graduate of Reed College and the California Institute of Technology...
. Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-19507-827-6.
- Living with Earthquakes in California: A Survivor's Guide. Robert S. Yeats. Oregon State University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-87071-493-7.
- The geology of a portion of the western Verdugo mountains. Robert L. Johnston, 1938.
- Geology Underfoot in Southern California. Allen Glazner. Mountain Press, 1993. ISBN 0-87842-289-7.
- Assembling California. John McPhee. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1993. ISBN 0-37410-645-2.
- Cycles of Rock and Water: At the Pacific Edge. Kenneth A. Brown. HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0-06016-056-X.
- Birds of Los Angeles: Including Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange Counties. Chris C. Fisher and Herbert Clarke. Lone Pine Publications, 1997. ISBN 1-55105-104-4.
- A Flora of Southern California. Philip A. Munz. University of California Press, 1974.
- Native Trees of Southern California. Victor P. Peterson. University of California Press, 1970.
- Illustrated Guide to the Oaks of the Southern Californian Floristic Province: The Oaks of Coastal Southern California and Northwestern Baja California. Fred M. Roberts, Jr. F. M. Roberts Publishing, 1995. ISBN 0-96438-470-1.
- Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates: California, Chile, South Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean Basin. Peter R. Dallman. University of California, 1998. ISBN 0-52020-808-0.
- Island Called California: An Ecological Introduction to Its Natural Communities. Elna Bakker. Second Edition. University of California Press, 1984. ISBN 0-52004-947-0.
- Natural History of Vacant Lots (California Natural History Guides). Matthew F. Vessel and Herbert H. Wong. University of California Press, 1987. ISBN 0-52005-250-1.
- Growing California Native Plants. Marjorie D. Schmidt. University of California Press, 1981. ISBN 0-52003-762-6.
- Introduction to California Beetles. Arthur V. Evans and James N. Hogue. University of California Press, 2004. ISBN 0-52024-035-9.
- Geography and evolution in the pocket gophers of California. Joseph Grinnell. USGPO, 1927.
- Evolutionary Dynamics of the Pocket Gopher Thomomys Bottae, With Emphasis on California Populations. James L. Patton and Margaret F. Smith. University of California Press, 1990. ISBN 0-52009-761-0.
- The Verdugos of Hispanic California. Marie E. Northrop. 1978.
External links