Ephemeral Pond 360 View

This natural ephemeral pond was likely formed after a rainstorm when wet soils slumped and slid down the mountain. The resulting flat area fills seasonally during the winter, but is dry during the summer preventing occupation by bullfrogs and fish. Ponds such as this without aquatic predators are a boon to California red-legged frog (Ranadraytonii) which occur on the Preserve.

Visible to the east is one of the oldest historic features on the Preserve, a rock fence built in the 1850s by the first European settlers of the area. (Photo: Kristi Yost, 6/7/2012, 1:20:15 PM)