Tehachapi Mountains

Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains Crest peaks
Highest point
Peak	Double Mountain
Elevation	7,981 ft (2,433 m)
Dimensions
Length	40 mi (64 km)
Geography
Country	United States
State	California
Counties	Sierra Pelona Mountains

The Tehachapi Mountains (/təˈhætʃəpi/; Kawaiisu: Tihachipia, meaning "hard climb")^[1][2] are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately 40 miles (64 km) in southern Kern County and northwestern Los Angeles County and form part of the boundary between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert.

Geography

The Tehachapis form a geographic,

The Tehachapis are delineated from the San Emigdio Mountains by

The Tehachapis are delineated from the Sierra Pelona Mountains by California State Route 138 at the range's southwestern end, connecting Interstate 5 and the Antelope Valley.

The Tehachapis are delineated from the Sierra Nevada by

The Tehachapis, though neither as long or high as other California mountain ranges, are often considered the topographic feature that separates this part of

The Tehachapis are largely the result of the movements of the Garlock Fault, located along the southeastern base of the range, a major transform fault which runs from the San Andreas Fault in the west to the Sierra Nevada Fault on the east and some distance beyond. This earthquake fault is unusual in California in that it is a left-lateral fault — meaning that if one stands facing the fault, the land on the opposite side moves to the left — opposite to most of the state's faults which are right-lateral faults.

Natural history

The Tehachapi Mountains are a major and crucial wildlife corridor and plant habitat bridge linking the other Transverse Ranges and the California Coast Ranges on the west with the Sierra Nevada on the east. Their relative lack of development, especially in the large Tejon Ranch section, have allowed the continuity of these ecological functions to date.

Flora

The Tehachapis are primarily in the

The Tehachapi linanthus (Leptosiphon nudatus) is a phlox plant species endemic to chaparral habitat in the Tehachapi Mountains and the southern Sierra Nevada. The Tehachapi ragwort (Packera ionophylla) is an aster plant species endemic to forest habitat in the Tehachapis and eastern Transverse Ranges. The Tehachapi buckwheat (Eriogonum callistum) is known only from the chaparral of the Tehachapis.^[7]

Fauna

The Tehachapi slender salamander is endemic to the Tehachapi Mountains and a listed vulnerable species. The white-eared pocket mouse is endemic to the Tehachapis and San Bernardino Mountains and a listed endangered species.

There are at least 107 bird species, including the

The Tehachapi Mountains are also the only known breeding site prior to 1860 of the jaguar in the United States. The big cats were found there as recently as the late 1800s.^[10]

Climate

The range includes and is the boundary between the

The origin of the name Tehachapi may come from the Kawaiisu language, derived from the word "tihachipia" translated as "hard climb".^[11]
The historic Indigenous peoples of California with homelands in the Tehachapi Mountains were the:

• Kitanemuk
• Kawaiisu^[12]
• Serrano people

The historic Mexican land grants in the Tehachapis are:

• Rancho El Tejon
  (1843)
• Rancho Castac (1843)
• Rancho La Liebre (1846)
• Rancho Los Alamos y Agua Caliente
  (1846)

All four Tehachapi ranchos were acquired over 1855 to 1866 and combined by Edward Beale. As the Tejon Ranch it stayed in the family until sold by Truxtun Beale 1912. The purchase was by a Harry Chandler—Moses Sherman lead syndicate of land investors, and became a public company in 1936. Tejon Ranch is still one of the largest private landholdings in the state, and currently an undeveloped agricultural and wildland entity. The Tejon Ranch corporation has recently proposed major new developments in portions of the Tehachapi Mountains, including the Tejon Mountain Village and Centennial, California planned urban center.

Historic sites

• Francisco Garces
  was first European to use the pass in 1776
• Fort Tejon: 1854 fort, with the nearby former 1854 Chumash Sebastian Indian Reservation. Now Fort Tejon State Historic Park in the Tejon Pass area.
• 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake – moment magnitude of 7.9, average slip along the fault was 4.5 meters (15 ft)
• Monolith Cement Works: supplied concrete for the construction of Hoover Dam and other major public works; east of Tehachapi Pass.
• Old Tejon Pass – Another ancient native trail, used by Pedro Fages in 1772 and Jedediah Smith in 1827.

Peaks

• Double Mountain 7,981 ft (2,433 m)
• Tehachapi Mountain 7,960+ ft (2,426+ m)
• Cummings Mountain 7,760+ ft (2,365+ m)
• Bear Mountain 6,920+ ft (2,109+ m)
• Black Mountain 5,686 ft (1,733 m)
• Grapevine Peak 4,815 ft (1,468 m)

See also

• Tehachapi, California
• Tejon Hills
• Path 26

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tehachapi Mountains.

External links

• Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park website – with the Kawaiisu Native American Village