Peachy Canyon
Map SatelliteIn this easily accessible area three plant communities exhibiting a wide diversity of species are present. The communities include an oak woodland, chaparral and grassland.
In the oak woodland two oaks dominate, blue and live, Quercus douglasii and Quercus agrifolia. A third, Palmer oak, Quercus palmeri, is found on the margins of the chaparral which includes a substantial amount of chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum. This population of the oak is a wide disjunct, the nearest known colony being some 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the southeast, in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Among the many other species found here are dogwood, Cornus sericea ssp. occidentalis, Allium peninsulare, Phacelia parryi, and Eschscholzia lemmonii.
Animal life of the region is typical of the Southern Coast Ranges. Badger, Taxidea taxus, frequent the canyon.
Much of the area is siliceous shale of the Paso Robles formation, a non-marine sediment of Plio-Pleistocene age.
Integrity: A road traverses the canyon floor and there are some private homes nearby.
Use: Private
April 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
