The Inner Coast Ranges are a long

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

subsystem of the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte County, California, Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Trans ...

, running generally north–south in western

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, from

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa M ...

north to the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

system.

Geography

The term ''inner'' is a reference to the greater distance of these ranges inland/east from the Pacific Ocean's coast in California, compared to the ''outer'' of the Outer Coast Ranges subsystem, that are along or near the Pacific Coast.

Northern Inner Coast Ranges

The Northern Inner Coast Ranges are the eastern/inland section of the

Northern Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. Phy ...

, running in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

from the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area north to the

system. Ranges include the

Mayacamas Mountains The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern California in the United States. The mountain range is part of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges, of the California Coast Ranges System. Geography The Mayacamas Mountains are located south of th ...

Sonoma Mountains The Sonoma Mountains are a northwest–southeast trending mountain range of the Inner Coast Ranges in the California Coast Ranges System, located in Sonoma County, Northern California. Geography The Sonoma Mountains range is approximately long ...

, and

Vaca Mountains The Vaca Mountains are a mountain range in Napa County, California, Napa and Solano County, California, Solano Counties, California that is one of the California Coast Ranges. They represent the easternmost of the Inner Coast Ranges in north−ce ...

Southern Inner Coast Ranges

The Southern Inner Coast Ranges are the eastern/inland section of the Southern

Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States; ; ) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Althoug ...

, running in Northern, Central, and

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

from the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

region of the San Francisco Bay Area south into

. Ranges include the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley a ...

Gabilan Range The Gabilan Range or Gabilán Range (Spanish for "sparrow hawk") is a mountain range in the inner California Coast Ranges System, located in Monterey County and San Benito County of central California. Pinnacles National Park is located in the s ...

, Sierra Madre Mountains, and

Temblor Range The Temblor Range is a mountain range within the California Coast Ranges, at the southwestern extremity of the San Joaquin Valley in California in the United States. It runs in a northwest-southeasterly direction along the borders of Kern County a ...

Ecology

Ecosystems within the Inner Coast Ranges include

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coast ...

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 ...

oak savanna An oak savanna is a type of savanna (or lightly forested grassland), where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. It is also generally characterized by an understory that is lush with grass and herb-related plants. The terms "oakery" or ...

and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

. Dominant oak tree species include Live oak (''Quercus agrifolia''), Blue oak (''Quercus douglasii''), and Black oak (''Quercus kelloggii''). Flora of the Southern Inner Coast Ranges includes: *'' Quercus alvordiana'', a natural hybrid oak occurring from Carmel Valley to the

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...

. * Coulter pine (''Pinus coulteri'') * Gray pine (''Pinus sabiniana'') Flora of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges was described by

Willis Linn Jepson Willis Linn Jepson (August 19, 1867 – November 7, 1946) was a late-19th and 20th century California botanist, professor, conservationist, and writer. A co-founder of the Sierra Club in 1892, he was much honored in later life for his rese ...

early on, he was one of the first to do so. He noted the presence of

Yellow pine In ecology and forestry, yellow pine refers to a number of conifer species that tend to grow in similar plant communities and yield similar strong wood. In the Western United States, yellow pine refers to Jeffrey pine or ponderosa pine. In the S ...

and

Sugar pine ''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree and has the longest Conifer cone, cones of any conifer. It is native to coastal and inland mountain areas along the Pacific coa ...

species. Other trees include Canyon live oak (''Quercus chrysolepis'').

References

Geography

Northern Inner Coast Ranges

Southern Inner Coast Ranges

Ecology

See also

References