Sacramento Mountains Reserve
Map SatelliteNear the north end of the Sacramento Mountains and abutting the Bigelow Cholla Natural Area, this Reserve lies on a south-facing, rocky, desert slope.
Vegetation on the Reserve is a mix of creosote bush and desert cactus scrub. There is an exceptionally dense stand of jumping cholla, Opuntia bigelovii. Twenty-one perennial plant species, including seven cacti, have been identified as occurring here, with burro-weed, Ambrosia dumosa, Opuntia bigelovii and Larrea tridentata the dominants.
Five species of mammals, nineteen of birds and six of reptiles are resident.
Rocks in the area range from Precambrian granitics and gneisses to Tertiary intrusives and volcanics.
Integrity: Highway 40 bisects the Reserve; otherwise, the vegetation is virtually undisturbed.
Use: Research, educational, observational.
June 1981
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
