Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is an urban park in

San Diego, California 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 States ...

. Stretching approximately , the park encompasses some of both Peñasquitos and Lopez canyons, and is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The preserve is jointly owned and administered by the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego. Los Peñasquitos is also home to the historic

Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos was a Mexican land grant in present-day southwestern San Diego County, California given in 1823 to Francisco María Ruiz. The name means "Saint Mary of the Little Cliffs". It encompassed the present-day c ...

, an adobe home built in the early 1820s. Operated by the County of San Diego, the home has been restored and tours are available for the public.

Natural history

More than 500 plant species, more than 175 types of birds, and a great variety of

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

and

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

make up the rich bio-diversity of the park. Many of these species are rare or endangered. Mammals commonly spotted in the preserve include mule deer, bobcats, coyotes, and rabbits. A rare mountain lion attac
occurred
in May 2019. The geology of the Preserve area has been described in a geology book by John Northrup in conjunction with the University of California & published by Windsor Associates. Nearby is the

Torrey Pines State Reserve Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is of coastal state park located in the community of La Jolla, in San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road. Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches ...

, where one of only two extant stands of the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Torrey Pine is found.C. Michael Hogan (2008)

References

External links

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
- City of San Diego website

Map of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve Parks in San Diego Municipal parks in California Regional parks in California Nature reserves in California Urban public parks

Natural history

References

Further reading

External links