Diablo Range
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in western California, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges. It is bordered by the San Francisco Bay, Santa Clara Valley, Gabilan Mountains, and Salinas Valley to the west and by the Central Valley to the east. The range extends 180 miles (290 km), from Mount Diablo in the northwest to the Polonio Pass (north of the Temblor Range and the Carrizo Plain) in the southeast.
Important peaks include Rose Peak, Mount Diablo, San Benito Mountain, Copernicus Peak, Mount Hamilton, and Mount Stakes.
The Diablo Range generally has a chaparral and oak environment, with stands of conifers appearing above 4000 feet. 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 Mountains block incoming moisture, the range gets very little precipitation. In addition, the average elevation of 3000 to 4000 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 2500 feet get light to moderate snow in the winter, especially at the highest point, the 5241 ft (1597 m) San Benito Mountain in the remote southeastern section of the range.
The range passes through Contra Costa, Alameda, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Merced, San Benito, Fresno, Monterey, and Kings counties.
Major routes of travel through the range include CA-4 (north of the range), I-205, CA-152, CA-198, and CA-46/CA-41 (south of the range). It is paralleled for much of its distance by U.S. Route 101 to the west and by I-5 to the east. A sparsely used gravel road is the highest road in the range, with its highest point being San Benito Mountain at 5,200 feet.
The Diablo range is largely unpopulated, particularly outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Major nearby communities include Antioch, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Livermore, and the Central Valley city of Tracy. In the South Bay, communities near (though not in) the range are Milpitas, eastern San Jose, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy. South of Pacheo Pass, the only major nearby communities (those with a population over 15,000) are Los Baños, and Hollister. The small town of Coalinga may also be notable for its location on CA-198, one of the few routes through the mountains.
Most of the range consists of private ranchland, limiting recreational use. However, the range does contain several areas of parkland, including Mount Diablo State Park, Joseph D. Grant County Park, Henry W. Coe State Park, and the BLM's Clear Creek Management Area.
