Pine Mountain Ridge (or simply Pine Mountain) is a
massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
of the
Transverse Range
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 Ba ...
s located in northern
Ventura County
Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises ...
, and entirely within the
Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...
. The ridge is a large block of
Matilija Sandstone, and reaches some of the highest elevations in the southern Transverse Ranges. The north slope of the ridge is part of the Sespe Wilderness.
Major peaks on the ridge include, from west to east, Reyes Peak, Haddock Peak, and Thorn Point.
Ecology
The ridge is located in the
California montane chaparral and woodlands
The California montane chaparral and woodlands is an ecoregion defined by the World Wildlife Fund, spanning of mountains in the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Coast Ranges of southern and central California. The ecoregion is part of ...
ecoregion. Lower slopes are dominated by chaparral, while the upper reaches of the mountain support a forest of
jeffrey pine
''Pinus jeffreyi'', also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja Califo ...
,
white fir
''Abies concolor'', the white fir, concolor fir, or Colorado fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains, and int ...
,
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 ...
,
bigcone douglas fir, and
California incense cedar
''Calocedrus decurrens'', with the common names incense cedar and California incense cedar (syn. ''Libocedrus decurrens'' Torr.), is a species of coniferous tree native to western North America. It is the most widely known species in the genus, ...
.
[California Consortium of Herbaria ]
Accessed November 28, 2023.
See also
*
Santa Ynez Mountains
The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges.
The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age created ...
- to the west
*
Topatopa Mountains
The Topatopa Mountains are a mountain range in Ventura County, California, north of Ojai, Santa Paula, and Fillmore. They are part of the Transverse Ranges of Southern California.
Etymology
A name for the mountains was first inscribed within t ...
- to the south
*
Sierra Pelona Mountains
The Sierra Pelona, also known as the Sierra Pelona Ridge or the Sierra Pelona Mountains and originally known as the Liebre Mountains, is a mountain ridge in the Transverse Ranges in Southern California. Located in northwest Los Angeles County, t ...
- to the east
*
San Emigdio Mountains
The San Emigdio Mountains are a part of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, extending from Interstate 5 at Lebec and Gorman on the east to Highway 33–166 on the west. They link the Tehachapis and Temblor Range and form the southe ...
- to the north
References
External links
Los Padres National Forest: "Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak Campgrounds"
{{Coord, 34.3271, -117.6952, display=title
Transverse Ranges
Mountain ranges of Ventura County, California
Los Padres National Forest
Mountain ranges of Southern California