Living amongst the oaks

What is more characteristic of the California landscape than the majestic oaks that abound throughout our Golden State? They range throughout our state from high desert slopes to the Pacific shores.

The relatives of modern oak species contributed to the landscape of prehistoric California more than 20 million years ago, and the state has over 20 species of indigenous oak species.

As California’s population has grown, we have moved into territories that were once thick with these ancient trees. When the first settlers in wagon trains moved over the Sierra Mountains, they viewed on the valley fl...