Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south, bordering Monterey Bay and ending at the Salinas Valley. The range passes through San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties.
The highest point in the range is Loma Prieta Peak (1160 m; 3806'), near which is the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Other major peaks include Mount Umunhum (1063 m; 3486'), Mount Bielawski (985 m; 3231'), El Sombroso (914 m; 2999'), Eagle Rock (758 m; 2488') and Morena Sierra (737 m; 2417'). The San Andreas Fault runs along or near the ridge line throughout the range.
The area welcomes a tremendous number of species of birds. (see: bird list) The range is also home to some of the southernmost coast redwoods.
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