Peninsular Ranges

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The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province ) are a group of mountain ranges, extending 1500 km from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Baja California in Mexico. They are also part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. The height of the mountain range varies from 150 to 3,500 m.

The rocks in the mountain range are granite rocks from the Mesozoic, they come from the same massive batholith, which forms the core of the Sierra Nevada in California. They are a part of the geological province, which is known as the Salinian block. She broke off from the North American plate, as the San Andreas Fault and the Gulf of California formed.

The Peninsular Ranges include the Santa Ana Mountains, the San Jacinto Mountains and Laguna Mountains in southern California with the Sierra Juarez, Pedro Mártir Sierra, Sierra de la Gigenta and the Sierra de la Laguna in Baja California. Palomar Mountain, site of the Palomar Observatory, located in the Peninsular Ranges in San Diego County. The Peninsular Ranges extend mainly from north to south, in contrast to the Transverse Ranges in the north, extending mainly from east to west.

In the Mexican shares remainders of the Madrean Pine - Oak Woodlands ( Madrean pine - oak forests) are in some parts of the mountain range still preserved, a vegetation type that is known for its rich biodiversity and the large number of endemic species.