From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The King Range is a mountain range of northern coastal California. Part of the Northern Coast Ranges, the King Range runs parallel to the coast, and its western slopes fall steeply to the Pacific Ocean. Due to its rugged terrain, the engineers assigned the task of building State Route 1 in 1936-37 were inclined to force the road inward toward the town of Leggett when they reached the King range at Westport. Subsequently, the inaccessible coastal wilderness, known as the Lost Coast, is the longest undeveloped stretch of coast in California. The King Range is adjacent to the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates (the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, and the Juan de Fuca Plate) meet, and the area experiences frequent earthquakes.
The range is part of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion, and largely forested, with important trees including Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii ssp. menziesii), Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), and Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus). The rivers and streams that drain the range, including the Mattole River, have runs of Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, and Steelhead Trout.
Historically, the King Range was home to the Native American Mattole and Sinkyone peoples. In the 19th century, the region was opened to commercial logging, fishing, ranching, and tanning. In 1970, the US Congress designated 60,000 acres (240 km²) of the range as the King Range National Conservation Area. In 2006 Congress designated 42,585 acres (172.34 km²) of the area as a federally protected wilderness. [1]
Most mountains and ridges in the range are low to moderate in elevation. King Peak at 4,088 feet (1,246 meters) is the highest mountain in the range. Snow falls above 3,281 feet (1,000 m) a couple times per year.
Protected Areas of California |
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State Parks |
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National Forests |
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State Forests |
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National Wildlife Refuges |
Antioch Dunes • Bitter Creek • Blue Ridge • Butte Sink • Castle Rock • Clear Lake • Coachella Valley • Colusa • Delevan • Don Edwards San Francisco Bay • Ellicott Slough • Farallon • Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes • Hopper Mountain • Humboldt Bay • Kern • Lower Klamath • Marin Islands • Merced • Modoc • Pixley • Sacramento • Sacramento River • Salinas River • San Diego Bay • San Diego • San Joaquin River • San Luis • San Pablo Bay • Seal Beach • Sonny Bono Salton Sea • Stone Lakes • Sutter • Tijuana Slough • Tule Lake
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State Wildlife Areas |
Wildlife Areas: Antelope Valley • Ash Creek • Bass Hill • Battle Creek • Big Lagoon • Big Sandy • Biscar • Butte Valley • Buttermilk Country • Cache Creek • Camp Cady • Cantara/Ney Springs • Cedar Roughs • Cinder Flats • Collins Eddy • Colusa Bypass • Coon Hollow • Cottonwood Creek • Crescent City Marsh • Crocker Meadows • Daugherty Hill • Decker Island • Doyle • Dutch Flat • Eastlker River • Eel River • Elk Creek Wetlands • Elk River • Fay Slough • Feather River • Fitzhugh Creek • Fremont Weir • Grass Lake • Gray Lodge • Green Creek • Grizzly Island • Hallelujah Junction • Heenan Lake • Hill Slough • Hollenbeck Canyon • Honey Lake • Hope Valley • Horseshoe Ranch • Imperial • Indian Valley • Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains • Kinsman Flat • Knoxville • Laguna • Lake Berryessa • Lake Earl • Lake Sonoma • Little Panoche Reservoir • Los Banos • Lower Sherman Island • Mad River Slough • Marble Mountains • Mendota • Merrill's Landing • Miner Slough • Monache Meadows • Morro Bay • Moss Landing • Mouth of Cottonwood Creek • Napa-Sonoma Marshes • North Grasslands • O'Neill Forebay • Oroville • Petaluma Marsh • Pickel Meadow • Pine Creek • Point Edith • Putah Creek • Rector Reservoir • Red Lake • Rhode Island • Sacramento River • San Felipe Valley • San Jacinto • San Luis Obispo • San Luis Reservoir • San Pablo Bay • Santa Rosa • Shasta Valley • Silver Creek • Slinkard/Little Antelope • Smithneck Creek • South Fork • Spenceville • Surprise Valley • Sutter Bypass • Tehama • Truckee River • Upper Butte Basin • Volta • Warner Valley • Waukell Creek • West Hilmar • Westlker River • White Slough • Willow Creek • Yolo Bypass
Ecological Reserves: Albany Mudflats • Alkali Sink • Allensworth • Atascadero Creek Marsh • Bair Island • Baldwin Lake • Batiquitos Lagoon • Blue Sky • Boden Canyon • Boggs Lake • Bolsa Chica • Bonny Doon • Buena Vista Lagoon • Butler Slough • Butte Creek Canyon • Butte Creek House • Buttonwillow • By Day Creek • Calhoun Cut • Canebrake • Carlsbad Highlands • Carmel Bay • Carrizo Canyon • Carrizo Plains • China Point • Clover Creek • Coachella Valley • Coal Canyon • Corte Madera Marsh • Crestridge • Dairy Mart Ponds • Dales Lake • Del Mar Landing • Elkhorn Slough • Estelle Mountain • Fall River Mills • Fish Slough • Fremont Valley • Goleta Slough • Indian Joe Spring • Kaweah • Kerman • King Clone • Laguna Laurel • Loch Lomond Vernal Pool • Lokern • Magnesia Spring • Marin Islands • Mattole River • McGinty Mountain • Morro Dunes • Morro Rock • Napa River • North Table Mountain • Oasis Spring • Panoche Hills • Peytonia Slough • Piute Creek • Pleasant Valley • Point Lobos • Rancho Jamul • Redwood Shores • River Springs Lakes • Saline Valley • San Dieguito Lagoon • San Elijo Lagoon • San Felipe Creek • San Joaquin River • Santa Rosa Plateau • Springville • Stone Corral • Sycamore Canyon • Sycuan Peak • Thomes Creek • Tomales Bay • Upper Newport Bay • Watsonville Slough • West Mojave Desert • Woodbridge • Yaudanchi
Marine Protected Areas: Abalone Cove • Agua Hedionda Lagoon • Albany Mudflats • Anacapa • Anacapa • Año Nuevo • Asilomar • Atascadero Beach • Bair Island • Batiquitos Lagoon • Big Creek • Big Creek • Big Sycamore Canyon • Bodega • Bolsa Chica • Buena Vista Lagoon • Cambria • Cardiff and San Elijo • Carmel Bay • Carmel Pinnacles • Carrington Point • Catalina Marine Science Center • Corte Madera Marsh • Crystal Cove • Dana Point • Del Mar Landing • Doheny • Doheny • Duxbury Reef • Edward F. Ricketts • Elkhorn Slough • Elkhorn Slough • Encinitas • Estero de Limantour • Fagan Marsh • Farallon Islands • Farnsworth Bank • Fort Ross • Gerstle Cove • Goleta Slough • Greyhound Rock • Gull Island • Harris Point • Heisler Park • Hopkins • Irvine Coast • James V. Fitzgerald • Judith Rock • Julia Pfeiffer Burns • La Jolla • Laguna Beach • Lovers Cove (Catalina Island) • Lovers Point • MacKerricher • Manchester and Arena Rock • Marin Islands • Mia J. Tegner • Moro Cojo Slough • Morro Bay • Morro Bay • Morro Beach • Natural Bridges • Niguel • Pacific Grove Marine Gardens • Painted Cave • Peytonia Slough • Piedras Blancas • Piedras Blancas • Pismo • Pismo-Oceano Beach • Point Buchon • Point Buchon • Point Cabrillo • Point Fermin • Point Lobos • Point Reyes Headlands • Point Sur • Point Sur • Portuguese Ledge • Punta Gorda • Redwood Shores • Refugio • Richardson Rock • Robert E. Badham • Robert W. Crown • Russian Gulch • Salt Point • San Diego-Scripps • San Dieguito Lagoon • San Elijo Lagoon • Santa Barbara Island • Scorpion • Skunk Point • Sonoma Coast • Soquel Canyon • South Laguna Beach • South Point • Tomales Bay • Upper Newport Bay • Van Damme • Vandenberg • White Rock (Cambria)
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National Landscape
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National Marine
Sanctuaries |
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National Estuarine
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University of California
Natural Reserve System |
Año Nuevo Island • Bodega Marine • Box Springs • Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center • Burns Piñon Ridge • Carpinteria Salt Marsh • Chickering American River • Coal Oil Point • Dawson Los Monos Canyon • Eagle Lake Field Station • Elliott Chaparral • Emerson Oaks • Fort Ord • Hastings • James San Jacinto Mountains • Jenny Pygmy Forest • Jepson Prairie • Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh • Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino • Landels-Hill Big Creek • McLaughlin • Motte Rimrock • Quail Ridge • Sagehen Creek Field Station • San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh • Santa Cruz Island • Scripps Coastal • Sedgwick • Stebbins Cold Canyon • Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains • Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center • Valentine Eastern Sierra • Younger Lagoon
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