Transverse Ranges

The Transverse Ranges get their name from the peculiar way they jog across the grain of almost all the other major mountain ranges in the state. The vast majority of the Golden State’s mountains generally run in a southeast to northwest orientation. As you might suspect, many of California’s fault lines also share this alignment.

But California’s most famous fault line, the San Andreas, bucks this trend slightly. Emerging in the Salton Trough from a spreading zone, the San Andreas at first trends northwest towards Desert Hot Springs. But not long after it takes a gentle left turn towards a more WNW bearing. Many of its subsidiary faults take a harder left and align themselves in a westerly fashion. As a result the Transverse Ranges trend in a east-west direction. This has a significant impact on the coastal plains of southern California. They are, in effect, cut off from the rest of the state by imposing mountains.

San Fernando Valley

The San Fernando Valley is a semi-arid basin surrounded by the Santa Susana, San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains. Annexed by the city of Los Angeles in 1915, the valley has transformed itself many times since. Agriculture, aerospace, manufacturing and motion pictures have all been major industries and employers in the valley at various times. Once a center of "white flight" from neighborhoods to the south and east, the character of the valley is now far more racially diverse and complex. But "The Valley" is probably most famous for the images of southern California sprawl and lifestyles that it introduced to the world.

Anacapa Island

The northern Channel Islands are considered part of the Transverse Ranges and an extension of the Santa Monica Mountains, despite having never been connected by a land bridge.

Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains. It sits at ~ 6,750 ft (2,060 m) and is a major tourist and winter recreation destination for residents of Southern California. The lake sits in a relatively arid enclosed basin and depends almost exclusively on snow melt for replenishment. In fact, there is a visible difference in vegetation types and density between the wetter south and western shores and the northern and eastern flanks.

Bighorn Sheep

The San Gabriel Range once held over 700 bighorn sheep. The precise number of these elusive animals is difficult to determine. But the California Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates there are now around 400 remaining.

Boney Mountain

Boney Mountain stands high above the Conejo Valley and contains several peaks including Sandstone Peak (not visible). The mountain is primarily composed of Miocene era volcanic intrusions (Conejo Volcanics) that formed some 15 mya and have since been uplifted to their present position.

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