Southern California is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southernmost counties of California, and is the second most populous urban agglomeration in the United States. The region contains ten counties: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. The Colorado Desert and the Colorado River are located on southern California's eastern border with Arizona, and the Mojave Desert is located north on California's Nevada border. Southern California's southern border is part of the Mexico–United States border.
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 823,318. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, paralleling the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in California. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is located in this mountain range.
Point Mugu, California is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term "Muwu", meaning "beach", which was first mentioned by Cabrillo in his journals in 1542. Mugu Lagoon is a salt marsh just upcoast from the promontory within the Naval Base Ventura County formerly called the Naval Air Station Point Mugu.
Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,847 feet (2,697 m).
The El Paso Mountains are located in the northern Mojave Desert, in central Southern California in the Western United States.
Mount Pinos is a mountain located in the Los Padres National Forest on the boundary between Ventura and Kern counties in California. The summit, at 8,847 feet (2,697 m), is the highest point in Ventura County. The mountain is the highest point of the Transverse Ranges west of Tejon Pass, as well as the southernmost point of the Salinian Block.
Sespe Creek is a stream, some 61 miles (98 km) long, in Ventura County, southern California, in the Western United States. The creek starts at Potrero Seco in the eastern Sierra Madre Mountains, and is formed by more than thirty tributary streams of the Sierra Madre and Topatopa Mountains, before it empties into the Santa Clara River in Fillmore.
Boney Mountain in Ventura County, California is one of the highest peaks in the Santa Monica Mountains. The prominent mountain visible from Newbury Park, California is 2,825 feet (861 m). It is also known as Boney Peak. The mountain contains four of the highest peaks in the coastal range of the Santa Monica Mountains: Boney Peak, Sandstone Peak, Exchange Peak, and Tri Peaks. The highest summit in the Santa Monica Mountains is Sandstone Peak, situated less than a mile northeast of Boney Peak along the same ridge of volcanic rock. It is the top section of a mass of volcanic rock which solidified around 15 million years ago, and was later uplifted to its dominant position, overshadowing western Conejo Valley. The Chumash Native Americans have a long and deeply spiritual history of interaction at and near the mountain, and the peak is considered a sacred mountain to the Chumash people.
The Chumash Wilderness is a 38,150 acres (15,440 ha) wilderness area within the southern Los Padres National Forest. It is located in the Transverse Ranges, in northern Ventura County and southwestern Kern County in California.
Frazier Mountain is a broad, pine-forested peak in the Transverse Ranges System, within the Los Padres National Forest in northeastern Ventura County, California. At 8,017 feet (2,444 m), Frazier Mnt. is the sixteenth-highest mountain in the Transverse Ranges of Southern California.
Cerro Noroeste is a mountain located in Southern California's Kern County, a mile north of the Ventura County border. It is located a few miles southwest of the community of Pine Mountain Club, at an elevation of 8283 feet. The mountain is located in the Los Padres National Forest. It is surrounded by the Chumash Wilderness to the south and west, though the peak itself is not actually within the wilderness.
Grouse Mountain is located on the border of Kern County and Ventura County a few miles south southwest of the community of Pine Mountain Club at an elevation of 8,586 feet (2,617 m). The summit is in Kern County. The mountain is in the Chumash Wilderness which is administered by the Los Padres National Forest.
The Dick Smith Wilderness is a wilderness area in the mountains of eastern Santa Barbara County, California, United States, with a portion in Ventura County. It is completely contained within the Los Padres National Forest, and is northeast of the city of Santa Barbara and north of the city of Ojai. It is most easily accessible from two trailheads off State Route 33, which runs north from Ojai. It is adjacent to the large San Rafael Wilderness on the west and the Matilija Wilderness on the south. Across Highway 33 to the east, and also in the Los Padres National Forest, is the large Sespe Wilderness.
Florence Peak is a mountain located on the Great Western Divide, a sub-range of the southern Sierra Nevada of California. It is located about 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of the community of Silver City and 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the roads end at Mineral King. It marks the southern boundary of Sequoia National Park. On the summit the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness, the John Krebs Wilderness and Golden Trout Wilderness meet.
The Sespe Wilderness is a 219,700-acre (88,900 ha) wilderness area in the eastern Topatopa Mountains and southern Sierra Pelona Mountains, within the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF), in Ventura County, Southern California. The wilderness area is primarily located within the Ojai and Mt. Pinos ranger districts of the LPNF.
Big Sycamore Canyon, often shortened to Sycamore Canyon, is a major feature of Point Mugu State Park, in Ventura County, California, United States. Sycamore Canyon is situated in the northernmost region of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area below the 3,000 feet (910 m) peaks of the Boney Mountain State Wilderness Area. The canyon begins on the north slope of Boney Mountain and heads north down the slope. The canyon then heads southwest past Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa to Sycamore Cove on the coastline.
Wheeler Springs is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, California. It is located 6 miles north of the Ojai Valley, within Los Padres National Forest. It is named for Wheeler Blumberg, who founded the town in 1891, and the many natural hot springs.
The Matilija Wilderness is a 29,207-acre (11,820 ha) wilderness area in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Southern California. It is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, being situated within the Ojai Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest. It is located adjacent to the Dick Smith Wilderness to the northwest and the Sespe Wilderness to the northeast, although it is much smaller than either one. The Matilija Wilderness was established in 1992 in part to protect California condor habitat.
