Black Mountain, is a ridge in the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley are ...

of southwestern

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, south of

Reef Ridge A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

. Its east end begins about 1.25 miles west of

Zwang Peak Zwang Peak is a mountain in the Diablo Range, southwest of Avenal, and about from Interstate 5 in Kings County, California. Its summit is at an elevation of . The peak was named for cattle rancher Jake Zwang (1880–1968), who came to the are ...

, and runs at elevations over 4000 feet, with the mid ridge rising to 4345 feet, westerly about 3.25 miles to Castle Mountain at an elevation of 4343 feet. It then turns west northwest 2 miles at elevations above 3790 feet with several peaks over 3800 feet and one over 3900 feet along the length of it. There it is linked to the next east west mountain ridge extending east from Mustang Peak. The high point of the ridge is north northeast of

Parkfield, California Parkfield (formerly Russelsville) is an unincorporated community in Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its ...

. The crest of the Black Mountain Ridge from Castle Mountain to the Mustang Peak ridge and extending west along that ridge is the boundary line between Fresno County and

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

and the watershed of the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

. The far eastern end of the north slope of the Black Mountain ridge is the source of Canoas Creek.

References

Diablo Range Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of Monterey County, California Mountains of Northern California {{MontereyCountyCA-geo-stub