Sierra Pelona Ridge
| Sierra Pelona Mountains | |
|---|---|
 View from Santa Clarita | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Burnt Peak[1] |
| Elevation | 5,791 ft (1,765 m) |
| Geography | |
  Sierra Pelona Mountains Location of Sierra Pelona Mountains in California [2] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Counties | Los Angeles and Kern |
| Parent range | Transverse Ranges |
| Borders on | San Emigdio Mountains and Tehachapi Mountains |
The Sierra Pelona Mountains,[3] or the Sierra Pelona Ridge, is a mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California.[4] Located in northwest Los Angeles and southern Kern Counties, the range is bordered on the north by the San Andreas fault and lies within and is surrounded by the Angeles National Forest.
Geography
The Sierra Pelona Mountains lie northwest of the San Gabriel Mountains, which are divided by the wide Soledad Canyon formation. The mountains are flanked to the south by the Santa Clarita Valley and separated from the Antelope Valley to the north by the San Andreas Fault. Toward the southwest lie Vasquez Rocks, thrust up by the fault. The Tejon Pass separates the Sierra Pelonas, the San Emigdios and the Tehachapis near Gorman and Lebec.
Within the Sierra Pelonas lie the rural areas of Three Points, Lake Hughes, Elizabeth Lake and Green Valley, as well as Liebre Mountain, Burnt Peak, Sawmill Mountain, Grass Mountain and Mount McDill.
Climate
The climate of the mountains is a temperate Mediterranean. Summers are mostly dry but for the occasional thunderstorm, and winters comparatively cold and wet. Snowfall is infrequent due to the mountains' relatively low elevations.
Ecology
Mainly the range falls under the California montane chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, excepting the northeastern flank's gradual slope into the Antelope Valley near Palmdale. The mountains are primarily covered in short grasses, scrub oak trees, yucca, and other chaparral shrubs. The range is prone to wildfires in the summer and fall, especially when the Santa Ana winds blow in from the Antelope Valley.
Hydrology
Three major tributaries of the Santa Clara River and numerous minor watercourses and washes drain the range: Castaic Creek, San Francisquito Creek, and Bouquet Creek.
Three sag ponds nestle within the narrow valley that divides the mountains from the Antelope Valley: Hughes Lake, Munz Lakes, and Elizabeth Lake.
Human history
Native American Habitation
The Native population of California in the Sierra Pelona and Santa Susana Mountains included the Tataviam and Serrano people. They traded with the Tongva and Chumash to the south and west, until the Spanish colonization of the Americas relocated them from their homelands.
18th & 19th Centuries
The San Francisquito Canyon, which runs north-south through the mountains, served as a major wagon route between the Antelope and San Fernando Valleys. This corridor summited at San Francisquito Pass and was part of the El Camino Viejo - an alternate land route to the El Camino Real for reaching northern Spanish and Mexican colonial Alta California - as well as the Butterfield Overland Mail route.
20th Century
The Ridge Route, a major two-lane highway constructed on the western flank of the mountain range connecting Los Angeles to the rest of California, was completed in 1915. It was later bypassed by US 99 in 1953, itself superseded by Interstate 5 in 1968.
The rapid development of Southern California throughout the 20th century saw construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct and five separate reservoirs to supply water to the region: Castaic Lake, Bouquet Reservoir, Drinkwater Reservoir, and Dry Canyon Reservoir and the St. Francis Reservoir, both now drained and destroyed.
Highest peaks
- Burnt Peak 5,788 ft (1,764 m)
- Liebre Mountain 5,760+ ft (1756+ m)
- Sawmill Mountain 5,514 ft (1681 m)
- Jupiter Mountain 4,498 ft (1,371 m)
- Redrock Mountain (benchmark) 3,991 ft (1,216 m)
Adjacent landforms
- Tehachapi Mountains - on the northeast
- San Emigdio Mountains - on the northwest
- Topatopa Mountains - on the west
- Santa Susana Mountains - to the southwest
- San Gabriel Mountains - to the east
- Santa Clarita Valley - to the south
- Soledad Canyon - to the southeast
- Antelope Valley - on the east-northeast
References
- ^ "Burnt Peak". Peakbagger.com.
- ^ "Sierra Pelona Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
- ^ [1], United States Geological Survey GNIS Detail Sierra Pelona, accessed 6/10/11
- ^ [2], USGS GNIS Detail San Gabriel Mountains.