Santa Cruz Mountains

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Santa Cruz Mountains
Skyline Blvd runs through the Santa Cruz Mountains, here near Palo Alto.
Skyline Blvd runs through the Santa Cruz Mountains, here near Palo Alto.
Country United States
State California
Part of Pacific Coast Ranges
Highest point Loma Prieta Peak
 - coordinates 37°6′N 121°50′W
 - elevation 3,806 ft (1,160 m)

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.

A ranch in the foothills, north of Sand Hill Road, west of Interstate 280.
A ranch in the foothills, north of Sand Hill Road, west of Interstate 280.

The highest point in the range is Loma Prieta Peak 1,160 m (3,806 ft), 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, California State Route 35 runs along its ridge, and is known as "Skyline Boulevard". The major routes across the mountains are (from north to south) CA-92 from Half Moon Bay to San Mateo, CA-84 from San Gregorio to Redwood City, CA-9 from Santa Cruz to Saratoga, CA-17 from Santa Cruz to Los Gatos, CA-152 from Watsonville to Gilroy, and US Highway 101 from Salinas to Gilroy.

The Santa Cruz Mountains are a legally defined American Viticultural Area. Wineries located in the area can be found in the Category:Santa Cruz Mountains wineries.

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[edit] Ecology

The Santa Cruz Mountains are a region of large biological diversity, encompassing the cool, moist coastal ecosystems as well as the 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.

[edit] 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 in) a year. Snow falls a few times a year on the highest ridges, every so often blanketing the valleys as well. 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.

[edit] 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, The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Addition land is protected by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, the Sempervirens Fund, and local county parks districts. Hiking, horseback 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.

[edit] 1960s history

In the 1960s, the Santa Cruz Mountains devoloped a strong counterculture atmosphere. [1]

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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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 Hells Angels 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.[citation needed]

[edit] External links

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