Berryessa Peak - Cottonwood Canyon
Map SatelliteA large tract of relatively undisturbed land on the inner North Coast Ranges, this area is representative of the inner Coastal Range chaparral. There is some oak woodland, with black oak, Quercus kelloggii, blue oak, Quercus douglasii, interior live oak, Quercus wislizenii, and some gray pine, Pinus sabiniana. Along the intermittent Cottonwood Creek is some riparian, with big-leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, and spice-bush, Calycanthus occidentalis, among others.
However, the dominant cover is the chaparral, which includes Arctostaphylos manzanita, Arctostaphylos glauca, California lilac, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, buck brush, Ceanothus cuneatus, scrub oak, Quercus berberidifolia, chaparral pea, Pickeringia montana, chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum, and mountain mahogany, Cercocarpus betuloides.
Animal life is relatively abundant and typical.
Much of the area is an uplifted sandstone of Upper Cretaceous marine origin, with outcrops of the formation in some of the upper elevations.
Integrity: Roads, fences and several buildings, including a lookout tower on the peak, have done little to disturb the area, though it is grazed. A fire burned the northern section in mid-1971.
Use: Research, educational. Remainder, private.
October 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
