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Map Satellite The easterly extension of the Portal Ridge which separates the Leona and Antelope Valleys, Ritter Ridge vegetation represents a cross-section of several plant communities of the desert and foothills. On the northern slopes there are some of Antelope Valley's finest mixed stands of Joshua trees, Yucca brevifolia, and California juniper, Juniperus californica. Tetradymia axillaris is also present. Other communities include desert chaparral and creosote bush scrub. The bladder sage, Salazaria mexicana, box-thorns, Lycium andersonii and Lycium cooperi, and the buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium, are found in the area. Some 25 species of mammals, 53 birds, not including migrants, and 19 reptiles have been recorded from the Ridge. Ritter Ridge lies immediately north of the San Andreas fault zone which here traverses the Leona Valley. At the eastern end of the Ridge there are steep cliffs, 60 meters (200 feet) high. Integrity: The California aqueduct alignment borders to the north and east and there are dirt roads along the Ridge. Use: Research, educational, observational, light recreational. September 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2008 Steven Louis Hartman
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