April 24, 2019 - Carrizo Plain

Commenter Dangerman alerted me to the bloom in the Carrizo Plain, so I made plans to drive the Prius up there. The Carrizo Plain is grassy plain(the largest in California) between the Temblor Range on to the east(with the Central Valley on the other side) and the Caliente Range on the west(with the Coastal Range further west). The San Andreas Fault runs along the foot of the Temblor Range and is a noticeable part of the terrain. Soda Lake, a 3,000-acre alkaline lake is in the center of the plain. The northern third of the plain is privately owned and consists of cattle ranches and solar farms. The southern portion is a National Monument, administered by the Bureau of Land Management. On a clear day, Mt. Pinos(the hike to the summit was feature in last year’s Halloween edition of OTR) is visible towards the south.

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Blue and Gold

While the super bloom wasn’t as super as it was a few weeks prior, it was still a noticeable part of the landscape. You can see the bloom on the far shore of Soda Lake and patches in the grasses on the near shore. This was taken on a hill above the lake that they’ve set up a road and trails to provide an overview of the lake and the plain.