The Cal Poly campus lies along the northeast edge of the hills. The San Gabriel Mountains are situated approximately 10 kilometers to the north and the Puente Hills 2-3 kilometers to the south. The study area lies in the central portion of the San Jose Hills and includes mush of the hilly topography at the crest of hills. Elevations range from 200 to 400 meters. The area is presently being developed for custom homes and utilized as a land fill.
Access is provided by a series of paved and ungraded dirt roads.
The oldest rocks in the San Jose Hills are the Early Miocene Topanga Formation. They outcrop in the core of the San Jose anticline at the west end of the San Jose Hills. The Middle Miocene Puente Formation overlies the Topanga and comprises much of the Puente Hills. In the type area. Locally, in the western San Jose Hills Miocene Glendora Volcanics intrude the sedimentary units.