Bolinas Ridge

Bolinas Ridge from the waterfront town of Bolinas, California on Bolinas Lagoon.

Bolinas Ridge is a north-south ridge in southwestern Marin County, California. [1] Much of the western side of the ridge is protected parkland in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and the eastern side is watershed lands of the Marin Municipal Water District.[2]

The setting

Stinson Gulch in 2009 with the crest of Bolinas Ridge forming the horizon.

The ridge parallels a section of the San Andreas Fault, and features panoramic vistas with trees, meadows, rounded hillsides, Bolinas Lagoon, Tomales Bay, the Olema Valley and the Pacific Ocean.[3] The base of the ridge at the south end includes the community of Stinson Beach, with the ridge rising abruptly from around 400 feet (120 m) to over 1,900 feet (580 m) at the highest point.[4] West Ridgecrest Road, a two lane highway, runs along the southern portion of the ridge, and has been the location for numerous automobile commercial video shoots.[5] This roadway begins at the Rock Springs parking area and heads north along the ridge. Views to the east include lakes and undulating hills, with the ocean to the west, the source of dense fog that sometimes obscures all views and limits visibility to a few feet.[6][7]

Flora

Much of the original old-growth Coast redwoods were logged off in the late 1800s and shipped out by way of Bolinas Lagoon; however, new redwoods have grown again in the years since, providing a second-growth forest in patches.[8]

Today, a diverse community of plant life grows along the ridge. Along with the tall redwoods, sections include stands of Douglas fir, various mixed scrub and open grassland hillsides, hardwood woodlands and along the lower slopes, maritime chaparral that features rare Marin Manzanita (Arctostaphylos virgata) and a federally designated 'Species of Concern', Mason's ceanothus (Ceanothus masonii), listed by the state of California as rare. [9]

West side of Bolinas Ridge in Marin County, California, viewed from across the Bolinas Lagoon, 2009

Coordinates: 37°54′26″N 122°37′13″W / 37.90722°N 122.62028°W / 37.90722; -122.62028[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Topographic map". TopoQuest. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Golden Gate National Recreation Area" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Bolinas Ridge". Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Stinson Beach County Water District Hydrologic Survey". Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Ron Erkine takes hike down memory lane through Mount Tamalpais". Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  6. ↑ Kim, Susan C. (October 7, 2007). "Sharing the secret of West Marin's rock circle". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Ron Erkine takes hike down memory lane through Mount Tamalpais". Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Hike of the week: How green is the valley? See it from Bolinas Ridge". Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Fire Management Units: Bolinas Ridge". Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Bolinas Ridge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
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