Saddle Peak is a mountain located in the Santa Monica Mountains between Malibu and Calabasas. The summit is accessible via the Backbone Trail. There is also a feeder trail to the top from near the top of Stunt Road (just 1 block below the ridge intersection with Scheuren Road at the viewpoint) maintained by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. And there is an informal trail up the bottom East nose of the massif right across the intersection from the Scheuren Viewpoint. This latter trail passes around a water tower and eventually joins the main trails near the top.
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.
Malibu is a beach city in western Los Angeles County, California, situated about 30 miles (48 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its 21-mile (34 km) strip of the Malibu coast, incorporated in 1991 into the City of Malibu. The area is known for being the home of Hollywood movie stars, people in the entertainment industry, and other affluent residents. Most Malibu residents live within a few hundred yards of Pacific Coast Highway, which traverses the city, with some residents living up to a mile away from the beach up narrow canyons. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,645.
Calabasas is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the hills west of the San Fernando Valley and in the northwest Santa Monica Mountains between Woodland Hills, Agoura Hills, West Hills, Hidden Hills, and Malibu, California. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 23,058, up from 20,033 at the 2000 census. The city was formally incorporated in 1991.
Vegetation is sparse on the peak; dwarf forest and chaparral on the approaches, scrub and grassy at the top. Some oaks at lower elevations.
Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is a rare ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humidity but poor soil. There are two main dwarf forest ecosystem types, involving different species and environmental characteristics: coastal temperate and montane tropical regions. Temperate coastal dwarf forest is common for parts of Southern California. Montane tropical forests are found across tropical highlands of Central America, northern South America and Southeast Asia. There are also other isolated examples of dwarf forests scattered across the world.
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the US state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate and wildfire, featuring summer-drought-tolerant plants with hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves, as contrasted with the associated soft-leaved, drought-deciduous, scrub community of coastal sage scrub, found below the chaparral biome. Chaparral covers 5% of the state of California and associated Mediterranean shrubland an additional 3.5%. The name comes from the Spanish word chaparro, for evergreen oak shrubland.
Photographed from the top of Saddle Peak, near Malibu California.
The true summit is the South Eastern hummock, much degraded. Views from here are of the Pacific Ocean to the West, and other ridges and peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains to the East and West. There is a second summit reached by private road, to the Northwest, with a wire-fenced compound of numerous radio relay towers. At the far end beyond the compound is a house site foundation in disrepair. This slope burned in 1989. Beyond and below that is a private road back down to Stunt Road, with private residences below.
There are occasionally rattlesnakes on the SMMC trail.
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