Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Orange County. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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Rainfall in Orange County is as erratic as it is slight. On the coastal plain, the annual precipitation has ranged from merely 4 inches to a record of 32 inches. Up to 5 inches have fallen on the coastal plain in a single day, and in the Santa Ana Mountains, one storm dumped 9 inches in a single night.

By and large, Orange County’s balmy, dry climate is remarkably well suited to year-round outdoor activity. Nevertheless, high temperatures, scarcity of water, and occasionally smoggy air during summer and early fall make that particular period less desirable for hiking in the inland foothills and mountains. During the other seven or eight months of the year, the weather is often ideal.

Reading the Rocks

Of California’s many geomorphic (natural) provinces, Orange County claims parts of only two: the Los Angeles Basin and the Peninsular Ranges. The bulk of the county’s urbanized area lies in the Los Angeles Basin, while the mostly undeveloped Santa Ana Mountains and the semideveloped San Joaquin Hills belong to the Peninsular Ranges province.