Oakland Hills is an informal term used to indicate the city neighborhoods lying within the eastern portion of

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

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 ...

. The northernmost neighborhoods were devastated by the

Oakland firestorm of 1991 : The Oakland firestorm of 1991 was a large suburban wildland–urban interface conflagration that occurred on the hillsides of northern Oakland, California, and southeastern Berkeley over the weekend of October 19–20, 1991, before being b ...

Geography

The geologic feature

"Oakland Hills" is most commonly an informal name for that section of the

Berkeley Hills The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la C ...

range which extends along the eastern side of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. In recent decades, it has become the more common popular term although it remains "officially" incorrect among geographers and gazetteers. Before the establishment of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

in Berkeley, the range was called the Contra Costa Hills. The common usage often includes another officially unnamed ridge which runs in front (west) of the Berkeley/"Oakland" Hills, as well as the linear valley enclosed between the two ridges in the Montclair District along State Route 13. This other ridge, a

shutter ridge A shutter ridge is a ridge which has moved along a fault line, blocking or diverting drainage. Typically, a shutter ridge creates a valley corresponding to the alignment of the fault that produces it. Shutter ridges occur exclusively at strike- ...

created by the

Hayward Fault The Hayward Fault Zone is a right-lateral strike-slip geologic fault zone capable of generating destructive earthquakes. This fault is about long, situated mainly along the western base of the hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay. It runs ...

, lends its informal name, " Rockridge", only to the district of Oakland at its northwest end, although it extends southeast to the junction of Highway 13 and I-580 in East Oakland and includes most of the small residential community of

Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it me ...

. Plant communities are diverse, ranging from oak-grassland savanna and chaparral on sunny exposed slopes, to woods of oak, madrone, bay laurel, pine and redwoods in shady canyons.

Oakland Hills neighborhoods

The Oakland Hills neighborhoods comprise the highest elevations within the city's land area, following the alignment of the hills and the central section of the

Hayward Fault Zone The Hayward Fault Zone is a right-lateral strike-slip geologic fault zone capable of generating destructive earthquakes. This fault is about long, situated mainly along the western base of the hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay. It runs ...

. The area includes all of Oakland lying east of State Route 13 and east of I-580 south of its junction with Route 13. The area includes Upper Rockridge, Oakmore, Montclair and Mountain View Cemetery. The Oakland Hills touch the eastern border of

and include a section of the Claremont neighborhood, the northern part of which lies within the city of

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

. The Oakland Hills also include the northern section of

Lake Chabot Regional Park Lake Chabot Regional Park is a regional park located in the southern Berkeley Hills in Alameda County, California. It is part of the East Bay Regional Parks system. Lake Chabot is a reservoir located in the park. The northern part of the lake a ...

and borders

Robert Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve Robert Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve is located in the Oakland Hills of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The park is part of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD), covers , and lies east of Oakland, partly i ...

Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve is a regional park and nature reserve in the Oakland Hills, in the eastern East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) region of the San Francisco Bay Area of California. It is within Alameda and Contra Costa Coun ...

Redwood Regional Park Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park (formerly known as Redwood Regional Park) is a part of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located in the hills east of Oakland, California, Oakland. The park ...

and

Anthony Chabot Regional Park Anthony Chabot Regional Park is a regional park in Oakland, Alameda County, California in the United States. It is part of the East Bay Regional Park District system, and covers in the San Leandro Hills adjacent to Oakland, San Leandro and Cas ...

; all part of the

East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...

Neighborhoods

Northeast Hills

* Claremont (southern portion) * Forestland * Glen Highlands * Hiller Highlands *

Joaquin Miller Park Joaquin Miller Park is a large open space park in the Oakland Hills owned and operated by the city of Oakland, California. It is named after early California writer and poet Joaquin Miller, who bought the land in the 1880s, naming it "The Hights ...

Lake Temescal Lake Temescal is a small reservoir in the Oakland hills, in northeastern Oakland, California. It is the centerpiece of Temescal Regional Recreation Area, also known as Temescal Regional Park (and originally, Lake Temescal Regional Park). It is a p ...

* Merriwood * Montclair * Montclair Business District * Mountain View Cemetery * Oakmore *

Panoramic Hill Panoramic Hill is a residential neighborhood of the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, California defined by the homes along and within the access corridor defined by Panoramic Way. Geography The Panoramic Hill Neighborhood is located at the easter ...

* Piedmont Pines * Shepherd Canyon * Upper Rockridge

Southeast Hills

Chabot Park Chabot Park is located in the Southeastern section of the Oakland Hills. The neighborhood has a population of around 2,845. Chabot Park is in Alameda County. The neighborhood is adjacent to Knowland State Park and the Oakland Zoo The Oakland ...

* Crestmont *

Grass Valley, Oakland, California Grass Valley is a neighborhood in Oakland, California. Located in East Oakland in the hills east of Bishop O'Dowd High School and the Oakland Zoo The Oakland Zoo is a zoo located in the Grass Valley neighborhood of Oakland, California, Uni ...

* Sequoyah Heights * Sheffield Village * Skyline-Hillcrest Estates * Caballo Hills * Leona Heights *

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

* Redwood Heights * Woodminster

Culture

Several popular cultural sites and events are located in the Oakland hills: *

Chabot Space and Science Center Chabot Space and Science Center, located in Oakland, California, is a center for science learning featuring interactive exhibits, planetariums, a large screen theater, hands-on activities and three powerful telescopes. The center is the continu ...

Woodminster Summer Musicals

Montclair Jazz & Wine Festival
*

Joseph Knowland State Arboretum and Park Joseph Knowland State Arboretum and Park is a park located in the Grass Valley neighborhood of Oakland, California. It was formerly a state park, and is now the property of the City of Oakland. The Oakland Zoo occupies the developed western low ...

Oakland Zoo The Oakland Zoo is a zoo located in the Grass Valley neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States. Established on June 6, 1922, it is managed by the Conservation Society of California, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the ...

References

{{Oakland, California neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Oakland, California Berkeley Hills