Editing Santa Lucia Range (section)

{{short description|Mountain range in California, United States}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Santa Lucia Range
| photo = Conepeak 135711.jpg
| photo_caption = November 2005 view from summit of [[Cone Peak]], the highest coastal mountain in the lower 48 US states.
| country = United States
| state = California
| region = [[Monterey County, California|Monterey County]]<br>[[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo County]]
| topo_map = Cone Peak
| topo_maker = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]]
| border =
<!-- *** Locations *** -->
| range_coordinates = {{coord|36|3|3.861|N|121|28|8.769|W|type:mountain_scale:300000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| highest = [[Junipero Serra Peak]]
| elevation_ft =  5,857
| coordinates = 
| length_mi = | length_orientation =
| width_mi = | width_orientation =
| area_mi2 =
<!-- *** Features *** -->
| map = California
| map_caption = location of Santa Lucia Range in [[California]]<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis |id=273555 |name=Santa Lucia Range |access-date=2009-05-03}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Sta Lucia range near Sta Margarita.jpg|thumb|Santa Lucias in the clouds, near [[Santa Margarita, CA|Santa Margarita]] ]]
[[File:San Simeon 2015 010.jpg|thumb|[[Hearst Castle]] was built atop Cuesta Ridge, the first ridgeline in from the ocean in that part of the Santa Lucia range.]]
[[File:Sitting area by office (Tassajara).jpg|thumb|[[Tassajara Zen Mountain Center]] was built in the heart of the Santa Lucia range, in Monterey County.]]
The '''Santa Lucia Range''' (sæntə luˈsiːə) or '''Santa Lucia Mountains''' is a rugged [[mountain range]] in coastal [[Central California]], running from [[Carmel, California|Carmel]] southeast for {{convert|140|mi|km}} to the [[Cuyama River]] in [[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo County]]. The range is never more than {{convert|11|mile}} from the coast.<ref name="norman">''Big Sur: Images of America'', Jeff Norman, Big Sur Historical Society, Arcadia Publishing (2004), 128 pages, {{ISBN|0-7385-2913-3}}</ref>{{rp|11}} The range forms the steepest coastal slope in the contiguous United States.<ref name=norman/> [[Cone Peak]] at {{convert|5158|ft|0}} tall and three miles (5&nbsp;km) from the coast, is the highest peak in proximity to the ocean in the lower 48 United States.<ref name=mcinney/> The range was a barrier to exploring the coast of central California for early Spanish explorers.