Contra Costa County topographic map

The San Francisco Bay Area is characterized by a diverse and dynamic topography shaped by geological processes over millions of years. This region features a combination of coastal plains, steep hills, and rugged mountains, all influenced by the tectonic activity associated with the nearby San Andreas Fault…

Average elevation: 113 m

Average elevation: 3,888 m

On January 17, 2007, an unusually cold storm brought snow in the Santa Monica Mountains. The hills above Malibu picked up three inches (eight centimeters) of snow - the first measurable snow in fifty years. Snow was reported on Boney Peak in the winter of 2005; and in March 2006, snow also fell on the summit…

Average elevation: 201 m

Average elevation: 2,552 m

Average elevation: 1,541 m

Average elevation: 98 m

The borders of the San Francisco Bay Area are not officially delineated, and the unique development patterns influenced by the region's topography, as well as unusual commute patterns caused by the presence of three central cities and employment centers located in various suburban locales, has led to…

Average elevation: 113 m

Average elevation: 2,887 m

Average elevation: 1,364 m

Mount Shasta (Shasta: Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki; Karuk: Úytaahkoo) is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of 14,179 feet (4,321.8 meters), it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth-highest in the state. Mount Shasta…

Average elevation: 3,717 m

Average elevation: 468 m

The Santa Cruz Mountains are a region of great biological diversity, encompassing cool, moist coastal ecosystems as well as warm, dry chaparral. Much of the area in the Santa Cruz mountains is considered temperate rainforest. In valleys and moist ocean-facing slopes some of the southernmost coast redwoods…

Average elevation: 230 m

Average elevation: 749 m

Average elevation: 230 m

Swall Meadows sits partway up the Sherwin Grade below the Wheeler Crest of the eastern Sierra Nevada, at an elevation range of approximately 6,000 to 7,000 feet (1,800 to 2,100 m). It is in pinon-juniper/subalpine zone habitat, with views south along the Sierra Crest of Mt. Tom, and east across the Owens…

Average elevation: 2,086 m

Average elevation: 1,955 m

Average elevation: 3,888 m

Average elevation: 201 m

Average elevation: 2,017 m

The climate in San Diego, like most of Southern California, often varies significantly over short geographical distances, resulting in microclimates. In San Diego, this is mostly because of the city's topography (the Bay, and the numerous hills, mountains, and canyons). Frequently, particularly during the "May…

Average elevation: 57 m

The area is surrounded on the southwest by the Santa Rosa Mountains, by the San Jacinto Mountains to the west, the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the east and San Gorgonio Mountain to the north. These mountains peak at around 11,000 feet (3,400 m) and tend to average between 5,000 and 7,000 feet (1,500 and…

Average elevation: 72 m

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2), 99.86% of it land. The elevation is 4,800 feet ASL.

Average elevation: 1,464 m

In the 1860s, San Franciscans began to feel the need for a spacious public park similar to Central Park, which was then taking shape in New York City. Golden Gate Park was carved out of unpromising sand and shore dunes that were known as the Outside Lands, in an unincorporated area west of San Francisco's…

Average elevation: 71 m

Average elevation: 521 m

Morgan Hill is approximately 39 km (24 mi) south of downtown San Jose, 21 km (13 mi) north of Gilroy, and 24 km (15 mi) inland from the Pacific coast. Lying in a roughly 6 km-wide (4-mi-wide) southern extension of the Santa Clara Valley, it is bounded by the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and the Diablo…

Average elevation: 145 m

Average elevation: 144 m

Average elevation: 57 m

Average elevation: 3,799 m

El Dorado Hills (EDH), as defined by the 2010 census-designated place (CDP), is at the western border of El Dorado County, between the City of Folsom and the unincorporated community of Cameron Park. The northern limits of the CDP are Folsom Lake and the South Fork of the American River, where river rafters…

Average elevation: 254 m

Average elevation: 947 m

Average elevation: 1,989 m

Average elevation: 60 m

Average elevation: 973 m

Average elevation: 503 m

Average elevation: 205 m

Average elevation: 405 m

Average elevation: 1,127 m

The topography of the sea floor surrounding Crescent City has the effect of focusing tsunamis. According to researchers at Humboldt State University and the University of Southern California, the city experienced tsunami conditions 31 times between the years 1933 and 2008. Although many of these incidents were…

Average elevation: 31 m

Average elevation: 57 m

Average elevation: 1,709 m

Average elevation: 2,016 m

Average elevation: 1,473 m

Average elevation: -1 m

Average elevation: 822 m

Average elevation: 1,595 m

Twain Harte is situated in Tuolumne County along Highway 108 at an elevation of 3,640 feet (1,110 m).

Average elevation: 1,123 m

Average elevation: 1,211 m

Average elevation: 297 m

The Berkeley Hills are bounded by the major Hayward Fault along their western base, and the minor Wildcat fault on their eastern side. The highest peaks are Grizzly Peak with an elevation of 1,754 feet (535 m) and Round Top, an extinct volcano with an elevation of 1,761 feet (537 m) and William Rust Summit at…

Average elevation: 158 m

Average elevation: 212 m

Average elevation: 57 m

Average elevation: 0 m

Average elevation: 530 m

Green Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, in Los Angeles County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2936 feet (895 m). The population was 1,036 at the 2020 census, up from 1,027 at the 2010 census.

Average elevation: 1,057 m

Average elevation: 83 m

Average elevation: 1,882 m

Average elevation: 421 m

Average elevation: 133 m

Posts (formerly Posts Summit) is an unincorporated community in the Big Sur region of Monterey County, California. It is located on the Big Sur Coast Highway, 4.8 miles (7.7 km) south of the Big Sur Village at an elevation of 945 feet (288 m).

Average elevation: 251 m

Average elevation: 712 m

Lockwood is in southern Monterey County, 6 miles (10 km) east-southeast of Jolon, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the mouth of Tule Canyon, 3.0 miles (4.8 km) north of the San Antonio River, and 9.3 miles (15.0 km) north of Bryson, at an elevation of 971 feet (296 m). It is 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Lake San…

Average elevation: 307 m

Average elevation: 118 m

Average elevation: 130 m

Average elevation: 51 m

Average elevation: 48 m

Average elevation: 11 m

Average elevation: 966 m

Average elevation: 691 m

Average elevation: 84 m

Average elevation: 1,496 m

Average elevation: 119 m

Average elevation: 603 m

Average elevation: 90 m

Average elevation: 54 m

Average elevation: 9 m

Average elevation: 35 m

Average elevation: 1,143 m

Average elevation: 2,606 m

Average elevation: 573 m

Average elevation: 72 m

Average elevation: 69 m

In January 2006, Ramona Valley was designated the country's 162nd American Viticultural Area (AVA) by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which recognized the area for its distinctive microclimate, elevation, and soil attributes.

Average elevation: 469 m

Average elevation: 3,722 m

Average elevation: 23 m

Average elevation: 1,807 m

On January 17, 2007, an unusually cold storm brought snow in the Santa Monica Mountains. The hills above Malibu picked up three inches (eight centimeters) of snow - the first measurable snow in fifty years. Snow was reported on Boney Peak in the winter of 2005; and in March 2006, snow also fell on the summit…

Average elevation: 304 m

Average elevation: 1,789 m

Average elevation: 1,015 m

Average elevation: 1,586 m

Average elevation: 3,566 m

Mount Williamson, at an elevation of 14,379 feet (4,383 m), is the second-highest mountain in both the Sierra Nevada range and the state of California, and the sixth-highest peak in the contiguous United States.

Average elevation: 3,821 m

Average elevation: 3,805 m

Average elevation: 3,911 m

Average elevation: 3,378 m

Average elevation: 3,672 m

Average elevation: 3,833 m

Average elevation: 3,786 m

Average elevation: 3,745 m

Average elevation: 3,535 m

Average elevation: 1,754 m