The distribution of the coastal redwood continues towards the south, even below San Francisco, but is eventually eliminated by the drier Mediterranean climate of this region. Here, in the Santa Cruz Mountains near San Francisco and along the Big Sur Coast south of Monterey, the redwood grows in protected valleys along the flanks of mountains on the coastal side. The long dry season eliminates the tree on the exposed slopes, just as it eliminates it from the dry central valley inland from the coastal mountains.
Big Sur Coast south of Monterey.
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