The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern
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 ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The
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 ...
is part of the Northern
Inner Coast Ranges, 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 ...
System.
Geography
The Mayacamas Mountains are located south of the
Mendocino Range
The Mendocino Range is one of several coastal mountain ranges which compose the Pacific Coast Ranges, Pacific Coast Range. This massive range of coastal mountains was formed during a period of coastal orogeny, millions of years ago. The Mendocino ...
, west of
Clear Lake, and east of
Ukiah in
Mendocino and
Lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
Counties, and extend south into
Napa and
Sonoma Counties. The range stretches for in a northwest–southeasterly direction.
Mountains in the range include:
The range's highest point is
Cobb Mountain, at in elevation, located in the central section.
There are several other peaks over , including
Mount Saint Helena and
Hood Mountain
Mount Hood, also known as Hood Mountain, is a mountain near the southeastern edge of Santa Rosa, California, at the northeast of the Sonoma Valley and attains a height of . The original name was Mount Wilikos, an Indian name meaning "willows. ...
. These peaks are sufficiently high to retain some snow cover in winter.
Several
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
s rise in the Mayacamas Mountains including
Mark West Creek,
Sonoma Creek,
Calabazas Creek,
Arroyo Seco Creek,
Putah Creek, and
Santa Rosa Creek.
;Natural history
Around ten million years ago, during pre-historic times (
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
), the mountains are thought to have been densely forested in Mendocino Cypress (''
Cupressus pygmaea'').
The Mayacamas Mountains currently support
California mixed evergreen forest and
California interior chaparral and woodlands habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s.
Naming
According to Gudde:
The spelling Mayacamas is listed as an alternate name by the Board of Geographic Names.
Geothermal power
Located in the Mayacamas mountain range is
The Geysers, the world's largest and most developed
geothermal field. It consists of more than 22 power plants scattered across an area of about 30 square miles (78 km2). The Geysers spans the
Lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
,
Sonoma, and
Mendocino counties in California, and provides energy to those counties.
The electrical energy is generated when dry steam is pumped from geothermal reservoirs through turbines.
See also
*
Mark West Springs
*
Mayacamas Vineyards
*
Snell Valley
*
Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...
References
*
*
External links
{{Authority control
California Coast Ranges
Mountain ranges of the San Francisco Bay Area
Mountain ranges of Mendocino County, California
Mountain ranges of Lake County, California
Mountain ranges of Napa County, California
Mountain ranges of Sonoma County, California
Mountain ranges of Northern California