Carrizo Plain
Carrizo Plain
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Monument
Aerial view of San Andreas Fault, northwest onto
Carrizo Plain and Soda Lake (top left)
Location:
San Luis Obispo County and Kern
County
Nearest city: Fellows, California
Coordinates: 35°06′47″N 119°38′42″W / 35.113056°N
119.645131°W / 35.113056;
-119.645131Coordinates: 35°06′47″N
119°38′42″W / 35.113056°N
119.645131°W / 35.113056;
-119.645131
Area:
250,000 acres (100,000 ha)
Visitation:
26 (2007)
Governing
body:
Bureau of Land Management
Designated
NMON:
January 17, 2001[1]
The Carrizo Plain is a large enclosed plain,
approximately 50 miles (80 km) long and up
to 15 miles (24 km) across, in southeastern
San Luis Obispo County, California, about
100 miles (160 km) northwest of Los Angeles,
California.[2] It contains the 250,000 acres
(1,012 km²; 101,215 ha) Carrizo Plain Na-
tional Monument, and it is the largest
single native grassland remaining in Califor-
nia. It is one of the easiest places to view the
San Andreas Fault which cuts through the
plain.
Geography
The plain extends northwest from the town of
Maricopa, following the San Andreas Fault.
Bordering the plain to the northeast is the
Temblor Range, on the other side of which is
the California Central Valley. Bordering the
plain to the southwest is the Caliente Range.
The community of California Valley is on the
northern part of the plain. The average eleva-
tion of the plain is about 2,200 ft (700 m).
Soda Lake, a 3,000-acre (12 km2) alkaline
lake, is in the center of the plain with the
popular Painted Rock containing Chumash
and Yokut rock art nearby. As the central de-
pression in an enclosed basin, Soda Lake re-
ceives all of the runoff from both sides of the
plain. At 5,106 ft (1,556 m), Caliente Moun-
tain, southwest of the plain, stands as the
highest point in San Luis Obispo County. The
climate type of the Carrizo Plain is semi-arid
grassland. No trees grow there and the annu-
al rainfall is around 1.5 inches (40 mm) per
year.
The Carrizo Plain is one of t