believe the recent uplift has thus far outstripped these erosive forces. If the uplift slows or stops, however, the tables will turn and gradually return the region to a rumpled landscape of low, rolling hills and plains.
Climate
CLIMATOLOGISTS HAVE LONG COMPARED California’s climate to that of the Mediterranean coastline, with dry summers, wet winters, and moderate year-round temperatures. Big Sur’s climate differs markedly, however, due primarily to consistent summer fog and the sheer topography of the Santa Lucia Range. Temperatures and humidity run the extremes along the fog-shrouded coast, atop 5000-foot mountain peaks, amid deep river canyons, and across the sun-drenched south-facing slopes.
An air circulation pattern known as the North Pacific High dominates regional weather patterns. From May through September, the sun most directly strikes the Northern Hemisphere. Surface air warms and rises into the upper atmosphere toward the North Pole. This heated air mass cools quickly in the upper atmosphere, subsequently sinking toward the surface as a large high-pressure cell. This massive high-pressure cell drives Big Sur’s westerly winds and summer drought, as well as its summer fog, a very stable phenomenon off the California coast that is absent in the Mediterranean basin.
Thick fog forms when westerly winds brought by the North Pacific High push cold ocean water inland, forcing warmer surface water offshore. Rich in nutrients from nearshore submarine canyons, the cold water wells to the surface, sustaining abundant marine life along the Big Sur coast. With temperatures in the low 50s Fahrenheit, it also makes a swim here brisk at best, even in summer. The cold water chills the air directly above it. When this cold water comes in contact with warm, moist air along the coast, water vapor condenses into fog.
In the wake of winter rains, fog retreats and grasslands and forests burst with new growth.
This pattern continues until late fall, when the sun strikes Earth farther south and the North Pacific High dissipates. No longer deflected by the high-pressure cell, the jet stream flows over California and brings with it strong winter storms. From November through April, California’s wet season, these storms batter the coastal ranges until the sun’s path again swings north to rebuild the North Pacific High.
Plant & Animal Communities
BIG SUR IS HOME TO A DIVERSE ARRAY of plant communities and associated wildlife. Botanists have long been fascinated by the proximity of northern and southern species living beside one another along the region’s steep-sided ridges, narrow valleys, deep canyons, sun-drenched grasslands, and chaparral. Here, moisture-dependent redwoods may tower alongside drought-tolerant yuccas.
The story begins 5 million years ago, when the Santa Lucia Range was more of a low, rolling plain blessed with a moderate climate. Winters were warmer and summers wetter than today’s more Mediterranean climate. The climate was likely too damp for chaparral species and too warm for redwoods and their shade-loving companions. Given the relatively uniform landscape and climate, botanists suggest the area supported fewer species than today’s diverse topography permits.
Squeezed by tectonic plates and compressed by massive faults, the region rose and folded in on itself, creating the Santa Lucias’ jagged peaks, steep ridges, and deep gorges. This topographic shift occurred in concert with climatic changes from the most recent Ice Age some 2.5 million years ago. These profound changes disrupted the uniform vegetation, paving the way for a major plant invasion.
The cool, damp climate allowed redwoods to take root in narrow, deep canyons along the coast. Fog encroached inland in dry months, supplying much-needed moisture to northern species. Thunderstorms became commonplace, as moist air rose abruptly to form thick cumulonimbus clouds, or thunderheads. These clouds arrived in summer, when temperatures were at a maximum and moisture at a minimum. Lightning sparked regular wildfires, and fire-adapted plant species thrived.
Drought-tolerant species also had an advantage. As the range continued to rise, coastal lands received the lion’s share of precipitation, depriving eastern slopes of moisture. The steep topography also meant accelerated erosion, preventing mature soils from developing. The resulting shallow, primitive soils held considerably less ground water. But the hardy vegetation that populated these slopes shrugged at the arid conditions.
Low tide reveals diverse inter-tidal life.
Today, drought-tolerant plants still thrive on arid slopes, moisture-loving species grow along creeks and rivers, and shade-seeking plants retreat to the deep canyons and ravines. To categorize these patterns, botanists devised the concept of plant communities. A plant community is a group of species that grow together in a particular environment. Although it’s possible to break these down into more detailed divisions, following is a basic breakdown of Big Sur’s primary plant communities and their resident animals:
Coastal Scrub
Coastal scrub communities extend along the entire California coast and are divided into two major types: northern coastal scrub and southern coastal scrub. Although Point Sur is considered the loose boundary between the two types, northern and southern species intermingle along the Big Sur coast.
Common coastal shrubs include coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), California lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus), California coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica), and poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). Headlands and bluffs feature such fragrant shrubs and herbs as California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), black sage (Salvia mellifera), hedge nettle (Stachys bullata), California mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana), and yerba buena (Satureia douglasii). Spring welcomes colorful purple, orange, and yellow blossoms from species such as silver and yellow bush lupine (Lupinus albifrons and arboreus), sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus), and seaside wooly sunflower (Eriophyllum staechadifolium). Trees in this community are shrub-like, and few exceed 10 feet in height. California bay (Umbellularia californica) and coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) nestle in ravines, while dense clusters of willows (mostly Salix coulteri) huddle near water.
The coastal bluffs and low rolling hillsides endure the constant assault of wind and salt spray, which sculpt and prune the plants to grow low and rounded. These species favor areas of heavy fog, average precipitation, abundant sunlight, and mild year-round temperatures. In Big Sur, northern plants thrive in moist locations, while southern species are more abundant in arid locations. When fire burns mature stands of coastal scrub, lush herbs and nutritious new growth thrive, providing prime foraging and nesting habitat to a greater number of animals.
Seeds, berries, roots, flowers, and young seedlings provide excellent food sources for herbivores, while woody plants provide nesting material. Omnivores and predators use the abundant scrub as cover from which to hunt, while prey species such as rodents, snakes, and small birds use it to hide from the former. Resident species include:
MAMMALS Mule deer, coyote, bobcat, gray fox, brush rabbit, black-tailed hare, California ground squirrel, Botta’s pocket gopher, California meadow mouse, brush mouse, pinyon mouse, Merriam’s chipmunk, long-tailed weasel, striped skunk, and dusky-footed woodrat.
BIRDS California condor, red-tailed hawk, white-tailed kite, California quail, western scrub jay, wrentit, California thrasher, song sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, bushtits, rufous-sided and California towhees, Anna’s hummingbird, and western meadowlark.
REPTILES Western fence lizard, alligator lizard, western skink, gopher snake, California mountain king snake, western terrestrial garter snake, and western rattlesnake.
New growth of this native pine appears purple as new cones form the next generation of Monterey pines.
Chaparral
Comprising dense thickets of hardwood shrubs with stiff evergreen leaves, chaparral is unquestionably the dominant plant community in Big Sur, particularly in the Ventana and Silver Peak Wildernesses.
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