Before the middle of the twentieth century, the term "Sierra Madre" referred to the portion of the Transverse Ranges north of the Los Angeles Basin, now known as the San Gabriel Mountains.[4] In 1965, the United States Board of Geographic Names assigned the name Sierra Madre to the range in Santa Barbara County.[3]
Geography
The Sierra Madre range trends from northwest to southeast, and is approximately 25mi (40km) long. High peaks in the range include MacPherson Peak at 5,747 feet (1,752m) in elevation, and the highest point in the range, Peak Mountain at 5,843 feet (1,781m) in elevation.[2] Snow falls on the higher elevations during the winter months.[5]
The Sierra Madre is almost entirely within the Los Padres National Forest, and marks the northern boundary of the San Rafael Wilderness area. The southeastern extent of the range is about 25mi (40km) north of the city of Santa Barbara, and the northwestern extent of the range is about 50mi (80km) north by northwest of the city.
To the southeast, the range merges with the San Rafael Mountains of the Transverse Ranges System, in a complex topography of unnamed ranges. The adjacent highest point of the San Rafael Mountains, and in all Santa Barbara County, is Big Pine Mountain (6,820ft (2,079m)).
Natural history
The Sierra Madre lies in the region historically inhabited by the Chumash people, who used sites in the mountains for sacred ceremonies and rites.[6] Numerous petroglyphs can still be found in the area, including the Painted Rock Site, identified as S'ap'aski or House of the Sun in Chumash tradition.[5]
The mountains are one of the most important undeveloped habitat areas of the endangered California condor.
Geologically, the mountains are mostly sedimentary rock of Tertiary age, with some marine and non-marine sedimentary rocks of Eocene and Upper Cretaceous age. There is a large proportion of sandstone, and one region in the eastern portion of the range is made up of Neogene sediments.[8]
The mountain range is almost entirely uninhabited, except for portions of the lower slopes to the north, which have been developed for oil and gas production at the South Cuyama Oil Field. One difficult, single-lane dirt road follows the mountain crest; it often is closed after storms, and is normally only passable by four-wheel-drive vehicles or motorcycles.[6]
Cliff, Edward P. (Chairman) (1965). Decisions on Geographic Names in the United States. United States Board of Geographic Names. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior. p.15.