The Chino Hills are a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
on the border of
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
counties,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, with a small portion in
Riverside County
Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...
. The
Chino Hills State Park preserves open space and
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
in them.
Geography
The Chino Hills are separated from the
Santa Ana Mountains
The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside c ...
to the south by the
Santa Ana River (
Santa Ana Canyon
Santa Ana Canyon ( es, Cañón de Santa Ana), or the Santa Ana Narrows, is the water gap where the Santa Ana River passes between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Chino Hills, near the intersection of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino count ...
). On the northwest,
Brea Canyon Brea may refer to:
Mythology
* Brea (mythology), an Irish mythological god
People
* Anthony José Brea Salazar, a Venezuelan professional racing cyclist
* Armando Bréa, a Brazilian middle-distance runner
* Benjamín Brea, a Venezuelan mus ...
separates the Chino Hills from the
Puente Hills
The Puente Hills are a chain of hills, one of the lower Transverse Ranges, in an unincorporated area in eastern Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. The western end of the range is often referred to locally as the Whittier Hills.
...
.
[''Santa Ana, California,'' 30x60 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1983] To the north of the Puente Hills and
San Jose Creek lie the
San Jose Hills
The San Jose Hills are a part of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Los Angeles County, California, marking the border between the San Gabriel Valley and the Pomona Valley. It includes portions of Covina, West Covina, Walnut, Pomona, and San Dim ...
. The only
paved road
A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cob ...
crossing the Chino Hills is
Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142).
[
]
Flora
The Chino Hills are in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
of the California Floristic Province
The California Floristic Province (CFP) is a floristic province with a Mediterranean-type climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora similar to other regions with a winter rainfall and summer drought climate ...
. The California native plants here are in the chaparral and oak woodland
An oak woodland is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak woodlands are intermediate between oak savanna, which is more open, and oak forest, which is more closed. Although the ...
plant communities
A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...
, with remnant stands of native grasses of California
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and enterta ...
.
Chino Hills earthquake
On July 29, 2008, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
was located southwest of Chino Hills that was felt throughout Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
and felt as far east as the Las Vegas Valley
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Stat ...
and as far south as San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
. It occurred at 11:42 am PDT and caused structural damage to buildings, including to St. Jude Centers for Rehabilitation and Wellness and to the Pomona City Hall. Water main
A water distribution system is a part of water supply network with components that carry potable water from a centralized treatment plant or wells to consumers to satisfy residential, commercial, industrial and fire fighting requirements.
Definit ...
s were ruptured in limited areas of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and superficial damage was done to the facades of businesses and other buildings. Many businesses, including Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
, reported damage to merchandise which was knocked to the floor and South Coast Plaza
South Coast Plaza is a regional shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California. The largest shopping center on the West Coast of the United States, its pre-COVID sales of over $1.5 billion annually were the highest in the United States. Its 275 retail ...
in Costa Mesa
Costa may refer to:
Biology
* Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy
* Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus
* Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral
* Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...
suffered damage to a portion of the ceiling which was knocked to the chair of a restaurant.
There were reports of minor injuries but no fatalities.
Fauna
The famed cliff swallows of Mission San Juan Capistrano are now nesting in Chino Hills. Thousands of the small birds, up from 'wintering' in Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, have built their mud nests in the eaves of the Vellano Country Club, a community situated around a golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
in the hills.[http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/06/06/famed-swallows-capistrano-nest-country-club/ -access date: 6/6/2010]
Adjacent ranges
*Puente Hills
The Puente Hills are a chain of hills, one of the lower Transverse Ranges, in an unincorporated area in eastern Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. The western end of the range is often referred to locally as the Whittier Hills.
...
*San Rafael Hills
The San Rafael Hills are a mountain range in Los Angeles County, California. They are one of the lower Transverse Ranges, and are parallel to and below the San Gabriel Mountains, adjacent to the San Gabriel Valley overlooking the Los Angeles Bas ...
*San Joaquin Hills
The San Joaquin Hills are a low mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, located in coastal Orange County, California.
They extend in a northwest–southeast direction, starting in the northwest in Newport Beach at the southern edge of t ...
*Santa Ana Mountains
The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside c ...
*San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...
* San Bernardino Mountains
See also
*Pasinogna, California
Pasinogna (also, Pasinog-na and Passinogna) is a former Tongva-Gabrieleño Native American settlement in San Bernardino County, California.
This Indian village, identified by name by Hugo Reid in his seminal work on local tribes in 1852, was not ...
*Rancho Santa Ana del Chino
Rancho Santa Ana del Chino was a Mexican land grant in the Chino Hills and southwestern Pomona Valley, in present-day San Bernardino County, California.
It was granted to Antonio Maria Lugo in 1841 by Mexican Alta California Governor Juan Bauti ...
* Chino Hills State Park
References
{{Reflist
01
Hills of California
Peninsular Ranges
Mountain ranges of Los Angeles County, California
Mountain ranges of Orange County, California
Mountain ranges of San Bernardino County, California
Mountain ranges of Southern California
Chino, California
*Hills