page_title: Red Hills (Tuolumne County)
section_title: Flora
hierarchical_section_title: Red Hills (Tuolumne County) / Flora
caption_attribution_description: The Red Hills is a region of 7,100 acres of public land located near the intersection of State Highways 49 and 120, just south of the historic town of Chinese Camp in Tuolumne County. The Red Hills are noticeably different from the surrounding countryside. The serpentine-based soils in the area support a unique assemblage of plant species. Included among the thorny buckbrush and foothill pine is a rich variety of annual wildflowers, which put on a showy display every spring. In the Red Hills buckbrush and other shrubs provide browse and seeds for small populations of mammals, including mule deer, jackrabbits and rodents. Coyotes, bobcats and fox can also be found in the Red Hills. Approximately 88 bird species have been observed in the Red Hills. Some common species include mourning dove, acorn woodpecker, ash-throated flycatcher, scrub jay, wrentit, plain titmouse, bushtit, Bewick's wren and house finch. Valley quail and mourning doves are the major game birds in the Red Hills. An abundant insect population supports insectivorous birds including western kingbirds, ash- throated flycatcher, tree swallows, barn swallows, black phoebes and others. Raptors include the red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, prairie falcon and great horned owl. Fish-eating birds seen in the Red Hills include the belted kingfisher and great blue heron. Roadrunners can also be found. Four sensitive species of animals are known from the Red Hills. Wintering bald eagles roost along the shores of Don Pedro Reservoir and have been observed where Six Bit Gulch enters the lake. As many as 20 bald eagles have been sighted during the winter on the shores of Don Pedro Reservoir, roosting in stands of foothill pines. Photo by Patrick Congdon, BLM volunteer.
context_page_description: The Red Hills are a mountain range in Tuolumne County, California.
  Elevations within the Red Hills vary between 750 and 1,750 feet above sea level. Slopes of the hills themselves vary from about 30% to 75%.
  In 1937 Paramount filmed on location at the Red Hills area the motion picture North of the Rio Grande starring William Boyd as 'Hopalong Cassidy'. The studio sent a Hetch Hetchy railroad locomotive No.30 to roll through the Red Hills scenic landscape.
context_section_description: The Red Hills are vegetated mostly by a foothill pine-buckbrush chaparral/woodland. Virtually the only tree species in the Red Hills is Foothill pine (Pinus sabiniana), which is found throughout the Red Hills in low densities. Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus) comprises a majority of the shrub cover. Other shrubs include Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Coffee berry (Rhamnus californica tomentella), Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), Hollyleaf redberry (Rhamnus crocea ilicifolia), California yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum), and Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.).
  Native perennials constitute a large percentage of the grass cover in the Red Hills. This is in contrast to similar elevations in the foothills, without serpentine substrates, where native perennials have been mostly replaced by exotic annuals. Important native perennial species include California oniongrass (Melica californica), Big squirreltail grass (Sitanion jubatum) and Pine bluegrass (Poa secunda). Disturbed areas, including burned areas, have a typical array of Mediterranean annual grasses.
  Herbaceous plants provide a spectacular wildflower bloom in the spring that attracts tourists, amateur naturalists, and classes from educational institutions. Although most of the species comprising the display are widespread on and off serpentine, some (in addition to the rare species discussed below) are strict serpentine endemics (e.g., Streptanthus polygaloides).
caption: The Red Hills area is host to shrubs, perennial grasses, and wildflowers
exif: {"Image Software": "Google"}