This section comprises the hot foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and the southwestern end of the Cascade Ranges, adjacent to the Great Valley.
Summers are hot and dry and winters are mild.
Sierra Nevada Range geomorphic province. Mesozoic sedimentary, granitic, volcanic and ultramafic rocks. Soil Taxa . Alfisols, Aridisols, Entisols, Inceptisols, Mollisols and Vertisols in combination with mostly thermic soil temperature regimes and xeric or aridic soil moisture regimes. Predominant potential natural communities include the Blue oak series, Needlegrass grasslands, Chamise series, Mixed chaparral series, Foothill pine series and Valley oak series.