A big part of California’s coastal landscape is covered by grasslands dotted by oak trees. These oak savannas have always been particularly beautiful to me in the dry season when the grasses turn golden and the green oak leaves are set against them.
Savannas are plant communities that include trees as a component, but where their density is low enough to all grasses and other herbaceous plants to grow. Unfortunately, intact oak savannas are among rarest of plant communities in the world these days. California is one of the major areas in North America where oak savannas are found.
Today’ shot was taken on the knees of Figueroa Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest in central California. It’s one of my favorite photos, although it may not count as a great photo. For me it captures the landscape that once dominated large parts of California, but which are now restricted to much smaller areas, and converted to grazing land. It reminds me of the history of California, and provides a glimpse of the California that once was.
While many people disparage California, especially the southern part of the state as lacking in climatic character, I see the seasonal transition of our hillsides from emerald green in the spring to the golden brown of late summer and fall as every bit as spectacular as the changing of the leaves in a northeaster deciduous hardwood forest. Those climatic snobs who disparage California just don’t understand our Mediterranean climate that is driven through changes not so much by temperature as by wet seasons and dry seasons. One of the major characteristics of Mediterranean climates is the alternation of mild wet winters, and long hot dry seasons. Once you understand this, you can begin to see the seasonal changes in the natural landscape of California. Of course, if you look only at the introduced, artificial vegetation in urban and suburban areas you won’t see this change, as these imports don’t respond to the seasonal changes that way the native vegetation does.
I took this photo with my Canon EF17-40 mm f/4 lens zoomed to 40 mm mounted on my Canon 10D camera. The exposure was set to 1/250 sec at f/9.5 and ISO 100.