Bolinas Ridge is a north-south

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

in southwestern

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

. Much of the western side of the ridge is protected parkland in the

Golden Gate National Recreation Area The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the Unite ...

, and the eastern side is watershed lands of the

Marin Municipal Water District The Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) is the government agency that provides drinking water to southern and central Marin County, California. Chartered in 1912, it became California's first municipal water district. It serves 191,000 customers ...

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Setting

The ridge parallels a section of the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

, and features panoramic vistas with trees, meadows, rounded hillsides,

Bolinas Lagoon Bolinas Lagoon is a tidal estuary, approximately in area, located in the West Marin region of Marin County, California, United States, adjacent to the town of Bolinas, California, Bolinas. It is a part of the Greater Farallones National Marine ...

Tomales Bay Tomales Bay is a long, narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. Geography Tomales Bay is approximately long and averages nearly wide, with relatively shallow depths averaging 18 ft, eff ...

, the Olema Valley and the Pacific Ocean. The base of the ridge at the south end includes the community of

Stinson Beach Stinson Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located east-southeast of Bolinas, right across the channel that terminates the ...

, with the ridge rising abruptly from around to over at the highest point. West Ridgecrest Road, a two lane highway, runs along the southern portion of the ridge, and has been the location for numerous automobile commercial video shoots. This roadway begins at the Rock Spring parking area and heads north along the ridge. Views to the east include lakes and undulating hills, with the ocean to the west, the source of dense

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

that sometimes obscures all views and limits visibility to a few feet. A popular site for hiking and biking, Mount Tamalpais, where Bolinas Ridge is located, offers many different trails and paths for visitors. A popular trail is the Bolinas Ridge Trail which is a loop that connects to Samuel Taylor Park and is about 16.9 kilometers (or 10.5 miles). In terms of weather, the temperature on Mount Tamalpais is fairly cool, generally somewhere between 43°F and 72°F. December through February tend to be the cooler months while June through October tend to be warmer.

Flora

Much of the original old-growth Coast redwoods were logged off in the late 1800s and shipped out by way of Bolinas Lagoon; however, new redwoods have grown again in the years since, providing a second-growth forest in patches. Today, a diverse community of plant life grows along the ridge. Along with the tall redwoods, sections include stands of

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

, various mixed scrub and open grassland hillsides, hardwood woodlands and along the lower slopes, maritime

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

that features rare Marin Manzanita ('' Arctostaphylos virgata'') and a federally designated 'Species of Concern', Mason's

ceanothus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. ''"Ceanothus" ...

('' Ceanothus masonii''), listed by the state of California as rare. Specifically, starting from the Jewell Trail Junction, the Bolinas Ridge area is mostly grasslands until about a quarter of the way down the Bolinas Ridge Trail, where the trail starts to border a forest made up of Douglas fir and some Coast redwoods.

Fauna

There are few animals that have robust communities near Bolinas Ridge, but within Mount Tamalpais State Park, black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and squirrels (Sciuridae) have been known to roam. Additionally there is a plentiful bird population. Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and northern harriers (Circus cyaneus) are commonly spotted and over 150 different bird species are known to the area.

References

{{WestMarin Landforms of Marin County, California West Marin Ridges of California Bay Area Ridge Trail

Setting

Flora

Fauna

See also

References