California montane chaparral and woodlands
The California montane chaparral and woodlands is an ecoregion defined by the World Wildlife Fund, spanning 7,900 square miles (20,000 km2) of mountains in the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Coast Ranges of southern and central California. The ecoregion is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, and belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
Montane chaparral and woodlands of Big Sur
Montane woodlands in the San Gabriel Mountains
Montane chaparral in Vasquez Rocks State Natural Area
Hesperoyucca whipplei in the San Gabriel Mountains
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Kern counties. The Peninsular Ranges lie to the south. The name Transverse Ranges is due to their east–west orientation, making them transverse to the general northwest–southeast orientation of most of California's coastal mountains.
The Ranges rise steeply above major urban areas such as Los Angeles
Snowy Mt. Baden-Powell in the San Gabriel Mountains
View west of the eastern portion of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains, with the Mojave Desert on the right and Silverwood Lake near the boundary. The San Andreas Fault runs straight up the middle toward the horizon.
The San Andreas Fault trends more east-west where it cuts through the Transverse Ranges.
