Caliente Roadless Area
Map SatelliteThis area is predominantly a rugged, chaparral-covered, mountainous terrain. The chaparral includes red shank, Adenostoma sparsifolium, chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum, scrub oak, Quercus sp., and Arctostaphylos spp.
In some of the narrow valleys and on the ridges above 1,370 meters (4,500 feet) there are scattered pine - oak woodlands which consist of Coulter pine, Pinus coulteri, coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia, Engelmann oak, Quercus engelmannii, and canyon oak, Quercus chrysolepis.
Intermittent streams and permanent pools provide water which supports an abundance of animals including coyotes, Canis latrans, deer, Odocoileus hemionus, and numerous rodents.
Bordered by the Agua Caliente Fault zone, the area is underlain by granites of the Southern California batholith, dating to the Cretaceous, and earlier granitic and metamorphic rocks.
Sites of archaeological interest are present.
Integrity: By designation, there is no development in the area. Four major fires have occurred in the area in the past 60 years; the largest burned 320 hectares (800 acres) along Caliente Creek in 1953.
Use: Research, educational, observational, light recreation.
August 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman