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Pinyon Juniper Woodland

San Gabriel Mountains

Mt. Pinos area

Tree from Mt. Pinos

Pinyon-juniper woodland is found on the dry side of our mountains, on the leeward side in the rain shadow. Thus, conditions are drier, particularly in the summer, although winters are cold. Typical plants include the single-leaf pinyon pine, Utah and California junipers, desert scrub oak, antelope bush, desert mahogany, and Mojave and banana yuccas. Animals of this zone include pinyon jays, gray flycatchers, Clarkís nutcrackers, Stellarís jays, mule deer, pinyon mice, and desert bighorn sheep, which come up to this zone to escape the desert heat further down.