Carbondale Ione Manzanita Area
Map SatelliteA few miles north of Carbondale, in an area studded with abandoned claypits and covered with chaparral in the unquarried portions, are several stands of the rare Arctostaphylos myrtifolia. Though the plant occurs in several localities in Amador and El Dorado Counties, these are among the best examples. Additionally, there is a good population of the prostrate form of the rare endemic Eriogonum apricum, known from only this and several nearby localities. (See Iron Clay Barrens and Irish Hill).
The stands grow on the soils formed from the lone formation, a non-marine sedimentary dating from the Eocene and including sandstones, clays and, in this region, lignite.
The coal deposits in the vicinity were worked in the 1870's in a near-boom atmosphere; however, the coal was unsuitable for locomotives and, though mined for several decades, has not been mined recently.
Integrity: Clay and coal have been mined in the area and there are tracks through the chaparral; however, it has not been significantly disturbed, except for the quarries.
Use: Private
February 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman