Return to Chaparral  The Chaparral, also know as California
woodland and grasslands, is found on the coast of California in
western North America.  You could find this biome in a section
of the Sierra Nevada. It's latitude range is 53° to 65º North in
the coastal range but the mountain range is at 32° to 60º North.
The California Chaparral has peaks that rise up to 5,000 feet
above sea level and the mountains are steeply sloped. The
valleys and streams are narrow and widely spaced.The chaparral
biome climate is usually hot and dry in the summers, and rainy
and mild in the winters. The temperature ranges from 53° to 65°
F in the coast range and 32° to 60° F in the mountains.
Precipitation ranges from 12 to 40 inches per year, and comes
down mostly as rain. Most of the rain falls in the fall, winter
and spring. It increases with elevation. The snow that comes in
winter melts fast. Frost and a little freezing weather occurs in
the winter. The Chaparral biome contains all four seasons:
winter, fall, spring, and