In this comprehensive and abundantly illustrated book, Allan A. Schoenherr describes the natural history of California—a state with a greater range of landforms, a greater variety of habitats, and more kinds of plants and animals than any area of equivalent size in all of North America. A Natural History of California focuses on each distinctive region, addressing its climate, rocks, soil, plants, and animals.   The second edition of this classic work features updated species names and taxa, new details about parks reclassified by federal and state agencies, new stories about modern human and animal interaction, and a new epilogue on the impacts of climate change.  "...if you are an explorer or even would-be explorer of California’s multivariate landscapes, you should find space for Natural History of California  on your reference shelf."   ― Sierra Published On: 2017-10-22 "...if you are an explorer or even would-be explorer of California’s multivariate landscapes, you should find space for Natural History of California  on your reference shelf."   ― Sierra Published On: 2017-10-22 “An impressive compendium of the state’s landforms, habitats, species, and conservation issues.”— Sierra “One suspects that Allan Schoenherr’s book will be regarded as the publishing equivalent of the Sierra Nevada mountains—unique, conspicuous, a major landmark.”— Santa Cruz Sentinel “Allan Schoenherr’s accomplishment takes us back to heroic times when individuals dared to write multivolume encyclopedias alone, discovered the ‘laws’ of plant and animal distribution for an entire continent, or compiled keys, drawings, and descriptions for more than 5000 species in an area as large and complex as California. This is a good picture of California as it exists now, balanced between what it was and, with restoration, what it could.”— Environmental History   “An impressive compendium of the state’s landforms, habitats, species, and conservation issues.”— Sierra “One suspects that Allan Schoenherr’s book will be regarded as the publishing equivalent of the Sierra Nevada mountains—unique, conspicuous, a major landmark.”— Santa Cruz Sentinel “Allan Schoenherr’s accomplishment takes us back to heroic times when individuals dared to write multivolume encyclopedias alone, discovered the ‘laws’ of plant and animal distribution for an entire continent, or compiled keys, drawings, and descriptions for more than 5000 species in an area as large and complex as California. This is a good picture of California as it exists now, balanced between what it was and, with restoration, what it could.”— Environmental History   Allan A. Schoenherr is Professor Emeritus at Fullerton College, where for decades he taught courses on ecology, zoology, and the natural history of California. He also taught ecology and natural history courses at the University of California, Irvine; California State University at Fullerton; and the Semester at Sea program. He is the coauthor of Natural History of the Islands of California  and Wild and Beautiful: A Natural History of Open Spaces in Orange County  and is coeditor of Terrestrial Vegetation of California, Third Edition. A Natural History of California By Allan A. Schoenherr UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Copyright © 2017 The Regents of the University of California All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-520-29037-2 Contents Acknowledgments, Preface, Introduction, Plates, 1 • CALIFORNIA'S NATURAL REGIONS, 2 • BASIC ECOLOGY, 3 • BASIC GEOLOGY, 4 • SIERRA NEVADA, 5 • MOUNTAINTOPS, 6 • PACIFIC NORTHWEST, 7 • COAST RANGES, 8 • CISMONTANE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: MAINLAND AND ISLANDS, 9 • CALIFORNIA'S DESERTS, 10 • THE GREAT CENTRAL VALLEY, 11 • INLAND WATERS AND ESTUARIES, Epilogue, Noteworthy Publications, Index, CHAPTER 1 California's Natural Regions THE CALIFORNIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (previously known as the California Division of Mines and Geology) has divided the state into 12 geomorphic provinces based on rock type and topography (figure 1.1). The words topography and geomorphic refer to the shape of the land: topography means "place picture," and geomorphic means "earth form." These geomorphic provinces represent natural units within which the boundaries of landforms are remarkably consistent with those of biological communities. That is, the shape of the earth influences climate, and climate influences the distribution of plants and animals. I have adapted geomorphic provinces, with some modifications, into "natural regions" which shall provide the framework of organization for this book (figure 1.2). Reference to landforms is way to refer to geographic features. They can be illustrated by means of aerial photographs or they may be depicted in the form of a relief map that shows topography, highlighting mountains and valleys (figure 1.2). Outlines of the landforms on a relief map show how California can be divided into "natural regions