When Gaspar de Portola led the first Spanish land expedition north from San Diego in 1769 and reached the sheer mountain range near Santa Barbara, he opted to follow the coastline around Point Conception, rather than brave travel over the steep mountain range.
The Santa Ynez mountain range is a striking geological landmark as seen from almost anywhere in the Santa Ynez Valley. Its lush north-facing slopes offer relief in the Valley’s semi-arid climate in addition to an inspiring view.
On the crest’s south-facing side, the mountains are tilted steeply at a 50-degree angle to the south and serve as a formidable barrier to land development. The Santa Ynez Mountains define the character of Montecito and Santa Barbara, as much, if not more, than the ocean to its south. Some people in Santa Barbara and Montecito call it “the mountain wall” because it so dominates the Santa Barbara and Montecito landscape.
With its east-west orientation, the range is unique because nearly all mountains on the North American continent run in a north-south direction. An east-west mountain range is known as a traverse range.
The mountains weren’t always traverse. Around 12 million years ago in the middle of the Miocene geological age, the Santa Ynez Mountains were actually like all the other mountain ranges and ran in an “orderly” north-south direction. But the earth is a living thing, tectonic plate interaction occurred, and over eons an incredible 110-degree tectonic clockwise rotation changed the mountain’s orientation to east-west.
The continuous crest of the Santa Ynez range is almost 70 miles long and runs from near Ojai to where Point Conception meets the Pacific Ocean.
There are three passes over the range: Gaviota, Refugio and San Marcos. Gaviota Pass provides a prominent dip in the range, and at less than 2,000 feet in elevation, it presents the only well-defined break in the entire Santa Ynez range. Gaviota Pass is so narrow that northbound lanes of Highway 101 must use a tunnel that was bored through the rock in the 1950s. Gaviota Pass has been the most traveled pass since the 1700s.
The elevation at the crest of San Marcos Pass on Highway 154 is only 2250 feet, due to a “geological synclinal fold” there. Immediately west of the pass, the elevation rises to 4,200 feet at Broadcast and Santa Ynez Peaks. East of the pass, the elevation climbs to an average of 3,500 feet. La Cumbre Peak reaches 3,985 feet. The highest peak in the range, Divide Peak, overlooks Montecito from 4,690 feet.
Refugio Pass at 2200 feet lies half-way between San Marcos Pass and Gaviota Pass. It is little used in modern times due to poor roads, but it was a popular pass in the days when when people traveled on foot and horseback.
The north (Santa Ynez Valley side) of the Santa Ynez mountain range is an aggressive harvester of rainwater and is important in replenishing our water supply. The average rainfall for the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara ranges between 9 and 17 inches annually, but an average year at San Marcos Pass snags an amazing 36 inches, and occasionally rainfall can be much heavier there. Fifty inches was recorded in the wet year of 1995.
Faced with severe water shortages in the early 1900s, Santa Barbara city fathers noticed that the steep ridges of the Santa Ynez Mountains drained almost entirely down the north slopes and into the Santa Ynez River.
In 1904, desperation drove the city to dig a tunnel, by hand, through the rock of the Santa Ynez Mountains in hopes of transporting water to reservoirs in Santa Barbara. It took men working with picks and axes seven years to complete the four-mile Mission Tunnel and by 1912 water from the Santa Ynez River was being shared with Santa Barbara. Over the years other water tunnels have been dug through the Santa Ynez Mountains and today there are three tunnels carrying water to Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria.
Other marks of man’s presence are scattered across the mountains, from cave paintings made by the early Chumash to 14-inch-deep stone grooves left by stagecoaches that shuttled passengers over the mountains from 1860 to 1901.
President Ronald Reagan spent 364 days of his eight year presidency on his ranch near Refugio Pass. Heads of state from Russia and England visited the modest adobe home that was officially designated the “Western White House”. Reagan once said about his ranch, “if not heaven itself, it must have the same zip code.”
This beautiful range, with its distinctive crest, divides the Santa Ynez Valley from the south coast and reaches nearly 5,000 feet in elevation.
This beautiful range, with its distinctive crest, divides the Santa Ynez Valley from the south coast and reaches nearly 5,000 feet in elevation.When Gaspar de Portola led the first Spanish land expedition north from San Diego in 1769 and reached the sheer mountain range near Santa Barbara, he opted to follow the coastline around Point Conception, rather than brave travel over the steep mountain range.
The Santa Ynez mountain range is a striking geological landmark as seen from almost anywhere in the Santa Ynez Valley. Its lush north-facing slopes offer relief in the Valley’s semi-arid climate in addition to an inspiring view.
On the crest’s south-facing side, the mountains are tilted steeply at a 50-degree angle to the south and serve as a formidable barrier to land development. The Santa Ynez Mountains define the character of Montecito and Santa Barbara, as much, if not more, than the ocean to its south. Some people in Santa Barbara and Montecito call it “the mountain wall” because it so dominates the Santa Barbara and Montecito landscape.
With its east-west orientation, the range is unique because nearly all mountains on the North American continent run in a north-south direction. An east-west mountain range is known as a traverse range.
The mountains weren’t always traverse. Around 12 million years ago in the middle of the Miocene geological age, the Santa Ynez Mountains were actually like all the other mountain ranges and ran in an “orderly” north-south direction. But the earth is a living thing, tectonic plate interaction occurred, and over eons an incredible 110-degree tectonic clockwise rotation changed the mountain’s orientation to east-west.
The continuous crest of the Santa Ynez range is almost 70 miles long and runs from near Ojai to where Point Conception meets the Pacific Ocean.
There are three passes over the range: Gaviota, Refugio and San Marcos. Gaviota Pass provides a prominent dip in the range, and at less than 2,000 feet in elevation, it presents the only well-defined break in the entire Santa Ynez range. Gaviota Pass is so narrow that northbound lanes of Highway 101 must use a tunnel that was bored through the rock in the 1950s. Gaviota Pass has been the most traveled pass since the 1700s.
The elevation at the crest of San Marcos Pass on Highway 154 is only 2250 feet, due to a “geological synclinal fold” there. Immediately west of the pass, the elevation rises to 4,200 feet at Broadcast and Santa Ynez Peaks. East of the pass, the elevation climbs to an average of 3,500 feet. La Cumbre Peak reaches 3,985 feet. The highest peak in the range, Divide Peak, overlooks Montecito from 4,690 feet.
Refugio Pass at 2200 feet lies half-way between San Marcos Pass and Gaviota Pass. It is little used in modern times due to poor roads, but it was a popular pass in the days when when people traveled on foot and horseback.
The north (Santa Ynez Valley side) of the Santa Ynez mountain range is an aggressive harvester of rainwater and is important in replenishing our water supply. The average rainfall for the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara ranges between 9 and 17 inches annually, but an average year at San Marcos Pass snags an amazing 36 inches, and occasionally rainfall can be much heavier there. Fifty inches was recorded in the wet year of 1995.
Faced with severe water shortages in the early 1900s, Santa Barbara city fathers noticed that the steep ridges of the Santa Ynez Mountains drained almost entirely down the north slopes and into the Santa Ynez River.
In 1904, desperation drove the city to dig a tunnel, by hand, through the rock of the Santa Ynez Mountains in hopes of transporting water to reservoirs in Santa Barbara. It took men working with picks and axes seven years to complete the four-mile Mission Tunnel and by 1912 water from the Santa Ynez River was being shared with Santa Barbara. Over the years other water tunnels have been dug through the Santa Ynez Mountains and today there are three tunnels carrying water to Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria.
Other marks of man’s presence are scattered across the mountains, from cave paintings made by the early Chumash to 14-inch-deep stone grooves left by stagecoaches that shuttled passengers over the mountains from 1860 to 1901.
President Ronald Reagan spent 364 days of his eight year presidency on his ranch near Refugio Pass. Heads of state from Russia and England visited the modest adobe home that was officially designated the “Western White House”. Reagan once said about his ranch, “if not heaven itself, it must have the same zip code.”
Story and photo by Connie Cody
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