Santa Rosa Mountains (California)

The Santa Rosa Mountains are a short peninsular range east of Los Angeles and northeast of San Diego in southern California in the United States. The mountains extend for approximately 30 mi (48 km) through Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial counties along the western side of the Coachella Valley. The range connects on the northern end to the San Jacinto Mountains. The highest peak in the range is Toro Peak (elevation 8,716 ft.), located approximately 22 mi (35 km) south of Palm Springs.

Most of the northern half of the range in Riverside County is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument created in 2000. The southern end of the range west of the Salton Sea is within the northwest corner of the expansive Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. In 1990 the California Legislature created the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy to protect the range and other mountains surrounding the valley. The Palms-to-Pines Highway (State Route 74) crosses the northern end of the range where it meets the San Jacinto Mountains.

Early maps of the region showed the mountains as a southern extension of the higher San Jacinto Mountains. The name "Santa Rosa Mountains" first came into use by the USGS in 1901.

The range contains an extensive population of Peninsular Bighorn Sheep.

External links

* [http://www.ca.blm.gov/palmsprings/santarosa/santa_rosa_national_monument.html BLM: Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument]