East Bay Hills Explained

East Bay Hills
Country:United States
State:California
Region:Central California
Range Coordinates:37.8017°N -122.1533°W[1]
Highest:Sunol Peak
Elevation Ft:2182
Length Mi:36.8
Length Orientation:northwest-southeast from Carquinez Strait to Alameda Creek/Highway 84
Width Mi:7
Width Orientation:west-east
Map:California
Map Relief:yes
Map Size:250

The East Bay Hills is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. They are the first range of mountains east of San Francisco Bay and stretch from the Carquinez Strait in the north to Alameda Creek/Highway 84 in the south, crossing both Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. Although not formally recognized by United States Geological Survey (USGS) Geographic Names Information System, the East Bay Hills is included as part of the Diablo Range in its list of multiple GPS coordinates for the latter.

Geography and geology

The East Bay Hills runs northwest to southeast for approximately 36.8miles with its midpoint at 37° 48' 06" N, 122° 09' 12" W.[1] The tallest peak in the range is Sunol Peak whose summit elevation is 2182feet.

The East Bay Hills consists of multiple named components: the Briones Hills furthest north, then the Berkeley Hills, the San Leandro Hills centrally, and Walpert Ridge and Pleasanton Ridge to the southwest and southeast, culminating at Alameda Creek/Highway 84.

Geologically, the East Bay Hills are bounded by the Calaveras Fault to the east and the Hayward Fault to the west.[2] [3]

Ecology

Extensive public lands are conserved in the East Bay Hills by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) and the East Bay Regional Park District.[4] The East Bay Hills have groves of coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), making Alameda and Contra Costa Counties two of only four inland California counties to host these trees.[5]

Notes and References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed July 6, 2024
  2. Book: Geology of Mount Diablo Region and East Bay Hills . R. C. Crane . 1995 . Recent Geologic Studies in the San Francisco Bay Area . E. M. Sangines . D. W. Andersen . A. B. Buising . 76 . 87–114 . Pacific Section, Society for Sedimentary Geology (S.E.P.M.) . https://archives.datapages.com/data/pac_sepm/093/093001/pdfs/87.htm?q=%2BtitleStrip%3Ageology+titleStrip%3Amt+titleStrip%3Adiablo . July 3, 2024.
  3. Book: Miocene stratigraphy and structure of the East Bay Hills, California . J. Ross Wagner . Alan Deino . Stephen W. Edwards . Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki . Elmira Wan . September 27, 2021 . Regional Geology of Mount Diablo, California: Its Tectonic Evolution on the North America Plate Boundary . Raymond Sullivan . Doris Sloan . Jeffrey R. Unruh . David P. Schwartz . Geological Society of America . 217 . July 7, 2024.
  4. Afforestation, Fire, and Vegetation Management in the East Bay Hills of the San Francisco Bay Area . Lester B. Rowntree . Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers . 56 . 1994 . 7–30 . University of Hawai'i Press . July 7, 2024.
  5. The Forgotten Redwoods of the East Bay . Sherwood D. Burgess . California History . 1951 . 30 . 1 . 1–14 . July 7, 2024.