Right Column

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Natural Diversity

California is the wildlife state. Its varied topography and climate have given rise to a remarkable diversity of habitats and a correspondingly diverse array of both plant and animal species. California has more species than any other state in the United States and also has the greatest number of endemic species, those that occur nowhere else in the world (CDFG 2003). Wildlife provides significant economic benefits to the state through recreation, tourism, commercial harvest, and ecological services such as pollination. Many of the places where wildlife thrive are often the same as those valued for recreation and other human activities. By learning what threatens the state's wildlife and the steps that can be taken to reduce those threats, California's residents have the opportunity to become more active stewards of this precious resource, ensuring that the Golden State remains the wildlife state for generations to come.

From the shores of the Pacific to the crest of the Sierra Nevada, California's topography is unparalleled. Within 80 miles of one another lie the highest and lowest points in the lower 48 states-Mount Whitney at 14,495 feet and Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level. Geological and climatic forces have shaped the state's topography and soils. Glaciation, sedimentary and volcanic deposits, movement along fault zones, the uplift of subterranean rock and sediment layers, and gradual erosion have created unique topographical features and a mosaic of bedrock and soil types. The state's geography and topography have created distinct local climates. North to south, the state extends for over 500 miles, bridging the temperate rainforests in the Pacific Northwest and the subtropical arid deserts of Mexico. Many parts of the state experience Mediterranean weather patterns, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Along the northern coast there is abundant precipitation, and ocean air produces foggy, moist conditions. High mountains have cool conditions, with a deep winter snow pack. Desert conditions exist in the rain shadow of the mountain ranges. This exceptional variation in landscape features, latitudinal range, geological substrates and soils, and climatic conditions supports alpine meadows, desert scrub, coastal wetlands, sandy beaches, dunes and bluffs, oak woodlands, diverse grasslands, moist redwood forests, spring-fed lakes, and freshwater streams, rivers, and marshes.