Monumental Questions - Tell me More About the Inner Coast Range

Kristie Ehrhardt • January 17, 2022

Tuleyome spokesbear, Essa, on Snow Mountain. At over 7,000 feet, Snow Mountain is one of the highest peaks in the Northern Inner Coast Range.

California is home to over 350 interwoven mountain ranges but a few of them are very distinct. The eastern stretch of the state claims the prominent Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range while the very western edge of the state is defined by the nearly 600 miles of the Coast Range followed by the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges reaching south into Baja California. The Coast Range as a whole is made up of two parallel mountain ranges; the Outer Range runs along the coast and the Inner Range is inland to the east. The Coast Range spans 2/3 of the length of California from El Norte County in far-northern California, south to Santa Barbara County with the San Francisco Bay dividing them into the Northern and Southern Coast Ranges. Between the outer and inner ranges is a complex of north-south valleys situated near faults and folds that cause some rivers to run north from their sources before they empty into the Pacific Ocean.


Within the Northern and Southern Coast Range are 17 separate ranges with a multitude of climates and habitat types. The Northern Outer Range presents coastal fog and redwood trees while the eastern slopes of the Northern Inner Range have a drier, more arid climate. The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument has been called the crown jewel of Northern California Inner Coast Range. Here you’ll find one of the most biologically diverse and dramatic landscapes in California ranging from rolling hills to steep canyons and stunning ridgelines. This landscape provides many different habitat types that support a huge collection of plants and wildlife species. At the higher elevations within the Monument, biological diversity is known as one of the richest in California. Special-status wildlife species such as Bald Eagles, Tule Elk and Northern Spotted Owls as well as highly specialized serpentine plant species are found within the boundaries. If you’re not looking for plants or wildlife, the scenery will certainly win you over with views from nearly sea level to the over 7,000 foot rise of the East and West peaks of Snow Mountain, the dramatic topography is stunning from every angle.


-Kristie Ehrhardt; kehrhardt@tuleyome.org


Tuleyome Land Conservation and Stewardship Program Manager


If you have questions about Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument that you would like us to address, please email them to Nate Lillge (nlillge@tuleyome.org) or Kristie Ehrhardt (kehrhardt@tuleyome.org).


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