Everything about The Santa Cruz Mountains totally explained
The
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, bordering
Monterey Bay and ending at the
Salinas Valley. The range passes through
San Francisco,
San Mateo,
Santa Clara,
Santa Cruz,
San Benito and
Monterey counties, with
San Francisco at the northern end and
Salinas as the southern end.
The highest point in the range is
Loma Prieta Peak, near which is the epicenter of the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake. Other major peaks include
Mount Umunhum 1,063 m (3,486 ft),
Mount Bielawski 985 m (3,231 ft),
El Sombroso 914 m (2,999 ft),
Eagle Rock 758 m (2,488 ft),
Black Mountain 853 m (2,800 ft), and
Sierra Morena 737 m (2,417 ft). The
San Andreas Fault runs along or near the ridge line throughout the range. The east side of the mountains drops abruptly towards this fault line especially near
Woodside and
Saratoga.
For much of the length of the range on the San Francisco Peninsula,
State Route 35 runs along its ridge, and is known as "
Skyline Boulevard". The major routes across the mountains are (from north to south)
SR 92 from
Half Moon Bay to
San Mateo,
SR 84 from
San Gregorio to
Redwood City,
SR 9 from
Santa Cruz to
Saratoga,
SR 17 from
Santa Cruz to
Los Gatos,
SR 152 from
Watsonville to
Gilroy,
SR 129 from Watsonville to
San Juan Bautista, and
US Highway 101 from Salinas to Gilroy.
The Santa Cruz Mountains have been a legally defined
American Viticultural Area since 1981. The
Santa Cruz Mountain AVA has emerged as premier producer of top wines, recognized in the historic
Judgement of Paris on May 26, 1976.
Geology
The Santa Cruz Mountains are largely the result of compressive uplift caused by a leftward bend of the San Andreas Fault.
Ecology
The Santa Cruz Mountains are a region of large biological diversity, encompassing cool, moist coastal ecosystems as well as warm, dry chaparral. In valleys and moist ocean-facing slopes some of the southernmost
coast redwoods grow, along with
Douglas fir,
coast live oak,
Pacific madrone,
wax myrtle, and
California bay laurel. There do exist several small and isolated stands of
old growth forest, most notably at Big Basin, Henry Cowell Redwoods and Portola Redwoods State Parks. At higher elevations and on sunny south slopes a more drought-resistant
chaparral vegetation dominates:
manzanita,
California scrub oak,
chamise, and
chaparral pea. Spring wildflowers are also widespread throughout the range.
The area welcomes a tremendous number of species of
birds. (see:
bird list).
California Mule Deer are common, as are gray squirrels, chipmunks and raccoons. Foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions also inhabit the region but are rarely seen. Rattlesnakes are also habitants, mostly in the high, dry chaparral.
Wildfires
The Santa Cruz Mountains have experienced
wildfires from time to time. For the most part, these have been human-caused, although lightning is sometimes the cause.
On May 22, 2008, a large fire, dubbed the "
Summit Fire", occurred in the Santa Cruz Mountains, prompting mandatory evacuations of homes in the area. Some structures have already burned, and more are threatened.
(External Link
) Dry, northerly winds up to 50 mph have been whipping up the fire.
Slides
The Santa Cruz Mountains are the site of considerable slide activity. Mudslides are often the result of heavy rainfall during the rainy season. Rock slides also occur, set off by mudslides, earthquakes, and more often, simply by the gradual forces of erosion on the steep slopes.
Climate
The Santa Cruz Mountains have a Mediterranean type climate typical of most of California, with the majority of the annual precipitation falling between November and April. According to the
National Weather Service, this totals more than 127 cm (50 inches) annually. Heavy summer fogs frequently cover the western ocean-facing slopes and valleys, resulting in drizzle and "fog drip" caused by condensation on the redwoods, pines, and other trees, which sustains the moisture-loving redwood forests. Due to a
rain shadow effect, precipitation on the eastern side of the range is significantly less, about 28 cm (15 inches) a year. Snow falls a few times a year on the highest ridges, and more rarely the higher valleys receive light dustings.
The
National Weather Service's cooperative weather stations in the mountains have included
Black Mountain 2WSW - average annual rainfall 36.65 inches, maximum annual rainfall 80.66 inches, average annual snowfall 0.7 inch, maximum annual snowfall 8.0 inches;
Los Gatos 5SW - average annual rainfall 26.45 inches, maximum annual rainfall 103.23 inches, average snowfall 2.7 inches, maximum annual snowfall 9.0 inches; and
Wrights - average annual rainfall 46.09 inches, maximum annual rainfall 87.65 inches, average annual snowfall 1.2 inch, maximum annual snowfall 10.6 inches. No temperature records were kept at these stations.
Normal winter temperatures range from the upper thirties °F (~3-4°C) to the middle fifties °F (~13-14°C), with valley frosts common but rarely widespread or deep. Summer temperatures regularly reach highs in the eighties °F (~28-29°C) with nighttime usually in the upper forties to lower fifties °F (~9-12°C). Thermal inversions can occur any time of the year where cool air sinks and gets trapped in the valleys.
Recreation
The Santa Cruz Mountains are home to an unusual abundance of parks and protected open spaces, notable among them is California's oldest state park:
Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Other state parks include
Castle Rock State Park,
Portola Redwoods State Park,
Butano State Park,
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Additional land is protected by the
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, the
Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), the
Sempervirens Fund and local county parks districts. Hiking, horse-riding, mountain biking, rock climbing, and backpacking are popular activities. There are two long-distance trails in the range: the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, which winds 58 km (38 miles) from Castle Rock State Park through Big Basin to the Pacific Ocean, and the
Bay Area Ridge Trail, which, while still disjointed, here roughly parallels Skyline Boulevard along the spine of the range. There also exist several backcountry campsites in many of the state parks that enable long distance multi-day outings. Castle Rock State Park has open rock faces suitable for rock climbing and bouldering.
Cultural History
The previous historic
Old Almaden Winery was located on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Film director
Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma had their primary residence near Scotts Valley, the Cornwall Ranch, purchased in September of 1940.
In the 1960s, the Santa Cruz Mountains developed a strong
counterculture atmosphere.
Jerry Garcia's family owned a house in the small town of
Lompico where, at the age of four, Garcia had his right middle finger chopped off by his brother. Local legend has it that Garcia's finger is still somewhere in Lompico. Lompico also served as a residence for
Janis Joplin and her group,
Big Brother and the Holding Company. Joplin often spoke of the Santa Cruz Mountain's
redwood forest as being divine inspiration for her music.
Author and
psychedelic advocate
Ken Kesey owned a house in
La Honda, which served as a home base for his
Merry Pranksters. He frequently entertained friends there with
LSD parties he called "Acid Tests". These parties were noted in some of
Allen Ginsberg's poems and are also described in
Tom Wolfe's
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, as well as by
Hunter S. Thompson.
In 1965, science fiction author
Robert A. Heinlein constructed a compound in
Bonny Doon, and lived there until shortly before his death in 1988.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Santa Cruz Mountains'.
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