Editing Transverse Ranges (section)

{{Short description|Group of mountain ranges of southern California}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name=Transverse Ranges
| photo=Digital-elevation-map-so california.svg
| photo_caption=The ellipse outlines the region of the California Transverse Ranges
| country=United States
| parent=Pacific Coast Ranges
| area_km2=
| border=
| length_mi=300| length_orientation=
| width_mi = | width_orientation=
| highest=[[San Gorgonio Mountain]]
| elevation_ft=11503
| coordinates = {{coord|34.099162|N|116.824853|W|type:mountain_region:CA|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| range_coordinates =
| geology= | period= | orogeny=
}}

The '''Transverse Ranges''' are a group of mountain ranges of [[Southern California]], in the [[Pacific Coast Ranges]] physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the [[California Coast Ranges]] and lie within Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Kern counties. The [[Peninsular Ranges]] lie to the south. The name is due to the ranges' east–west orientation, making them [[wikt:transverse|transverse]] to the general northwest–southeast orientation of most of California's coastal mountains.<ref name=":1">Dibblee Jr, T.W., 1982. Regional geology of the Transverse Ranges Province of southern California. ''Geology and mineral wealth of the California Transverse Ranges'', ''10'', pp.7-26.</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Geology of California|last1=Norris|first1=R. M.|last2=Webb|first2=R. W.|publisher=Wiley|year=1990}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Ingram | first = Scott | title = California: The Golden State | publisher = Gareth Stevens | year = 2002 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/californiagolden0000ingr/page/21 21] | url = https://archive.org/details/californiagolden0000ingr/page/21 | isbn = 978-0-8368-5282-0 }}</ref><ref name="CCM">{{cite web|title=California's Coastal Mountains |publisher=California Coastal Commission |url=http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/coastal/mountains.html |access-date=2007-12-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222101439/http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/coastal/mountains.html |archive-date=2007-12-22 }}</ref>

The ranges extend from west of [[Point Conception]] eastward approximately 500 kilometers into the [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]] and [[Colorado Desert]]. The geology and topography of the ranges express three distinct segments that have contrasting elevations, rock types, and vegetation. The western segment extends to the [[San Gabriel Mountains]] and [[San Gabriel Fault|San Gabriel fault]]. The central segment includes mountains that range eastward to the [[San Andreas Fault|San Andreas fault]]. The eastern segment extends from the [[Cajon Pass]] at the San Andreas fault eastward to the Colorado Desert.<ref name=":1" /> The central and eastern segments (near the San Andreas fault) have the highest elevations.

Most of the ranges lie in the [[California chaparral and woodlands]] ecoregion. Lower elevations are dominated by chaparral and scrubland, while higher elevations support large conifer forests. Most of the ranges in the system are [[fault block]]s, and were uplifted by tectonic movements late in the [[Cenozoic Era]]. West of [[Tejon Pass]], the primary rock types are varied, with a mix of sedimentary, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks, while regions east of the pass are dominated by plutonic granitic and metasedimentary rocks.<ref name=":1" />