Simi Hills

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Simi Hills
Range
Panoramic View of the Simi Hills looking north from the Santa Monica Mountains
Country	United States
State	California
County	Ventura, Los Angeles

Part of	Ventura Ranges

Highest point	Simi Peak
- elevation	2,403 ft (732 m)
- coordinates	34°12′N 118°47′W / 34.2, -118.783

The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range in Southern California.

[edit] Geography

The Simi Hills are located on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley, United States. They run east-west and they extend 26 miles east-west, and 7 miles north-south. The Simi Hills are part of the Transverse Ranges. They are almost entirely in Ventura County (the foothills in the south and east are part of Los Angeles County). Simi Valley lies to the north, and Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California lies to the east, over the border in Los Angeles city and county. The Conejo Valley lies to the south. The Simi Hills are the home of the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory where the first commercial nuclear reactor was operated, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as well as the subtle private community of Bell Canyon. Nearby mountain ranges include, the higher Santa Susana (north) and Santa Monica (south) mountains.

[edit] Climate

Because of its short elevation, Simi Hills typically experiences rainy, mild winters. Snow is rare in the Simi Hills, even in the highest areas. Summers are warm and dry and wildfires do occur here. Cool winds from the Pacific Ocean come to the Oxnard Plain, and blow into the inland areas through Santa Clara River Valley and the Conejo Valley, though some low hills (Conejo Mountain) block these winds to the Conejo Valley. The Simi Hills further blocks these winds to the San Fernando Valley, which brings cool weather in either summers or winters.