page_title: San Bernardino Mountains
section_title: Ecology and wildlife
hierarchical_section_title: San Bernardino Mountains / Ecology and wildlife
caption_attribution_description: Elevation 10,649 feet.
context_page_description: The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at 11,503 feet at San Gorgonio Mountain – the tallest peak in all of Southern California. The San Bernardinos form a significant region of wilderness and are popular for hiking and skiing.
  The mountains were formed about eleven million years ago by tectonic activity along the San Andreas Fault, and are still actively rising. Many local rivers originate in the range, which receives significantly more precipitation than the surrounding desert. The range's unique and varying environment allows it to maintain some of the greatest biodiversity in the state. For over 10,000 years, the San Bernardinos and their surroundings have been inhabited by indigenous peoples, who used the mountains as a summer hunting ground.
  Spanish explorers first encountered the San Bernardinos in the late 18th century, naming the eponymous San Bernardino Valley at its base.
context_section_description: The San Bernardino Mountains, along with the nearby San Gabriel and San Jacinto ranges, is considered a sky island – a high mountain region whose plants and animals vary dramatically from those in the surrounding semi-arid lands. The San Bernardinos in particular comprise the largest forested region in Southern California, and support some 1,600 species of plants. Foothill regions are primarily composed of chaparral and evergreen oak woodland communities, with a transition to forests of deciduous oak, yellow pine, Jeffrey pine, incense cedar and several fir species at elevations above 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Deeper within the mountains, perennial streams fed by springs and lakes nourish stands of alders, willows and cottonwoods.
  About 440 species of wildlife inhabit the mountains, including many endangered species such as the San Bernardino flying squirrel, California Spotted Owl, Mountain yellow-legged frog, Southern rubber boa, and Andrew's marbled butterfly. The mountains once had an abundant population of California grizzly, but hunting eliminated their populations by 1906. Black bears roam the highlands today, but they are not native to the region: they were imported from the Sierra Nevada by the California Department of Fish and Game in the 1930s, in part to attract tourists to the mountains.
caption: Panorama of San Bernardino Peak, a subsidiary peak of Mount San Gorgonio
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