24-457: The Battle Creek Fault Zone is a system of closely parallel faults that run between the Coast Ranges near the town of Cottonwood to the west, extending northeast about 22 miles toward the southern slopes of Mt. Lassen . The faulting action is normal (vertical motion) with terrain to the south lower than terrain to the north. Although there have been no earthquakes in historic times, it
48-757: A predominantly Mediterranean climate , and are primarily within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion . However, the moister areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains lie within the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion, characterized by forests of Coast redwood . Isolated groves of Coast redwoods are also found in the Big Sur region of the Santa Lucia Range, making them the southernmost natural occurrences of
72-772: A transform fault system. During 1877, these deposits hit their peak production of mercury, producing approximately 2,776 metric tons (3,060 short tons). These abandoned mines are still a source of mine waste runoff in Cache Creek and other downstream bodies of water. The Northern Coast Ranges are a section of the California Coast Ranges. They run parallel to the Pacific Coast from the North San Francisco Bay Area to coastal Del Norte County . The Klamath Mountains , including
96-644: Is believed that the fault zone may still be active, and has been determined to be the closest active and possibly hazardous fault to the Shasta Dam . The fault zone is unusual in comparison to all other faults in Northern California due to its nearly east–west alignment. Coast Ranges (California) The Coast Ranges of California span 400 miles (644 km) from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California , south to Santa Barbara County . The other three coastal California mountain ranges are
120-471: The California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, home to a number of plant communities including: mixed evergreen forest ; oak woodland ; and Interior chaparral and woodland . A major specific plant community of the inner ranges is Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest , which supports particularly high biodiversity within the California Coast Ranges, including the nominate California Black Oak . Columbian Black-tailed Deer are
144-740: The Cascade Range runs to the northeast. The Mendocino Range rises from the California North Coast in southern Humboldt County , to include Bear Mountain, Rainbow Ridge and Gypsy Mountain of the Mattole Range, and Grasshopper Peak, which is the dominant mountain within Humboldt Redwoods State Park . This area is extremely beautiful, with huge stands of giant old growth, including the coast redwood , Douglas fir , and grand fir . The Avenue of
168-965: The East San Francisco Bay Area , and run south into Santa Barbara County . The Transverse Ranges lie to the south. The San Joaquin Valley is on the east, and Pacific Ocean on the west. The Southern Coast Ranges include the Berkeley Hills , the Diablo Range , the Santa Cruz Mountains , the Gabilan Range , the Santa Lucia Range and Sierra de Salinas , the Temblor Range , and the Sierra Madre . There are Outer Southern Coast Ranges along
192-713: The King Range , which meet the sea in the " Lost Coast " region. The southernmost peak of the Northern Coast Ranges is Mount Tamalpais . The highest point in the Northern Coast Ranges is Mount Linn , at 8,098 ft. (2,468 m). The Northern Coast Ranges consist of two main parallel belts of mountains, the Outer Northern Coast Ranges lying along the coast, and the Inner Northern Coast Ranges running inland to
216-705: The Siskiyou Mountains sub-range, lie to the north and northeast. The Southern Coast Ranges lie to the south. The Northern Coast Ranges run north–south parallel to the coast. Component ranges within the Northern Coast Ranges include the Mendocino Range of western Mendocino County and the Mayacamas , Sonoma , and Vaca Mountains and the Marin Hills of the North Bay . They also include
240-587: The Spanish word chaparro , applied to California scrub oaks and Coastal scrub oaks . Common tree species of oak woodlands include oaks, California bay , and buckeye . Riparian species of the coast ranges include sycamore , white alder , willows , and bigleaf maple . Columbian Black-tailed deer occupy the northern and more coastal portions of the Southern Coast Ranges, and California mule deer occupy inland and southernmost portions of
264-692: The Transverse Ranges , Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains . Physiographically , they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province , which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division. UNESCO has included the " California Coast Ranges Biosphere Reserve " in its Man and the Biosphere Programme of World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 1983. The northern end of
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#1732780843652288-589: The California Coast Ranges overlap the southern end of the Klamath Mountains for approximately 80 miles (130 km) on the west. They extend southward for more than 60 miles (97 km) to where the coastline turns eastward along the Santa Barbara Channel , around the area of Point Conception . Here the southern end meets the Los Angeles Transverse Ranges , or Sierras de los Angeles . The rocks themselves that comprise
312-628: The Chemise and Red Mountains along the South Fork of the Eel River , and Cahto Peak, near Leggett. These mountains form a rugged terrain that includes Rattlesnake Pass and other mountains along U.S. Route 101 . This mountainous terrain continues south to include Jackson State Forest and the Big River watershed, near Ft. Bragg and Mendocino , with elevations from sea level to 1710 feet, and
336-686: The Giants is a particularly scenic route, providing for car touring of the redwood forest. The Mendocino Range continues south into Mendocino County , to include a mountainous region to the east including the Mendocino National Forest and Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Wilderness along the Middle Eel . Westward, nearer the coast, the Mendocino Range can best be seen by following Highway 1 . Scenic vistas include Gilham Butte,
360-673: The Pacific Ocean on the west, and Inner Southern Coast Ranges to the east, inland to the San Joaquin Valley . The central and southern San Francisco Bay and the Salinas Valley lie between them. The highest point of the Southern Coast Ranges is Junipero Serra Peak in the Santa Lucia Range, at 5,862 feet (1,787 m). Other peaks include Mount Diablo at 3,849 feet (1,173 m), and Mount Hamilton at 4,196 feet (1,279 m). The Southern Coast Ranges have
384-551: The Southern Coast Ranges. Mendocino Range The Mendocino Range is one of several coastal mountain ranges which compose the Pacific Coast Range . This massive range of coastal mountains was formed during a period of coastal orogeny , millions of years ago. The Mendocino Range is a component of the California Coast Ranges of California. The Klamath Range is north of this region, and
408-1027: The area around Ukiah, to include English Ridge, the Sanhedrin Mountains, the Snow Mountain Wilderness , and Cache Creek. Further south, these mountains gradually become smaller and less rugged, transforming themselves into the Mayacamas Mountains , the Sonoma foothills, and the wine country of the Russian River . The Mendocino Range is home to a wide variety of interesting plant and animal species, including elk, black bear , coho and Chinook salmon , steelhead , coastal cutthroat trout , marbled murrelet , northern spotted owl , bald eagle , and large communities of sword fern and other unique rainforest species. It contains several large protected forested areas, and
432-537: The east. They are separated by a long system of valleys. The northern valley portion is drained by the Eel River and its tributaries, and the southern by the Russian River . A series of short rivers, including the Mattole , Gualala , and Navarro rivers, drain the western slopes of the ranges. The eastern slopes of the ranges drain into the Sacramento Valley . Clear Lake lies in the southeast portion of
456-578: The endemic Santa Lucia Fir , the rarest species of fir on earth. The California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion has a great range of plant communities in the Southern Coast Ranges, including mixed evergreen forests , oak woodland and savannas , grasslands , northern coastal scrub , and the Monterey Pine woodlands of the Monterey Peninsula and two other coastal enclaves of the Santa Lucia Range. The name " chaparral " comes from
480-635: The most widespread large mammal, after humans, of the Northern Coast Ranges. The rivers in the ranges are home to several species of salmon . The Southern Coast Ranges , of the California Coast Ranges in the Pacific Coast Ranges System, run north and south, parallel to the Pacific Coast in north-central through north-southern California. The Southern Coast Ranges begin on the San Francisco Peninsula and in
504-460: The mountains are of a great variety and widely varying geologic ages. Most of the rocks were formed during the Tertiary , Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. Most were deposited on the sea bottom as sediments, but in many places also had cracks, crevices and other gaps infused with molten lava or other masses of igneous rock , which were forced in molten condition into the sedimentary rocks. All of
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#1732780843652528-553: The range has been folded and faulted during several periods, with erosion of the softer rock giving much of the current appearance. The California Ranges had a high production of mercury following the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada . In the Cache Creek Basin , Cenozoic cinnabar deposits near Clear Lake are the northernmost of a group of similar deposits associated with volcanism and migration of
552-468: The range, and drains eastward via Cache Creek . U.S. Route 101 runs generally north–south in the valleys between the Outer and Inner Northern Coast Ranges. The seaward face of the coastal Outer Northern Coast Ranges is part of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion, home to lush forests of Coast Redwood and Coast Douglas-fir . The inland and dryer Inner Northern Coast Ranges are part of
576-620: The species. Some of the rarest forest habitat that occurs in the California Coast Ranges are the Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests of the western Santa Cruz Mountains. These isolated groves may include Ponderosa pine , Douglas fir , and knobcone pine . Notably, the highest slopes of the Santa Lucias contain small patches of Sierran Conifer forest, including incense cedar , and ponderosa, Jeffrey, and sugar pines . Steep rocky slopes harbor
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