California physical geography is absolutely fascinating. The geography of California is important not only to Californians, but the whole country. California has a low shoreline quickly building in to a high range of hills and mountains. It forms the western side of the great basin, a phenomenon which affects weather all over the country.
You never feel the effects of California geography quite so acutely as you do if you live near the Pacific Ocean in California itself. It was in California that I first learned the term microclimate. I was living in Berkeley at the time, and I could witness the effects of California geography all around me. It was always a little bit warmer in Oakland and a lot cooler in San Francisco. Sometimes I would take walks in the city of San Francisco with one of my friends. If it was too warm, we would go west and immediately feel the air cool off. As it got colder, we would move further east in the city. If it was a really cool day, we would go and hang out in Berkeley together. The ocean winds were so predictable that you could pinpoint to the neighborhood how much hotter or cooler it would be there than where you currently were.
Of course, I haven't had much experience of the mountain geography of California. If you've never lived in the Pacific time zone, you might not know about mountain climates. When I was living in California, they were always separate weather forecasts for different California geography ranges. When it was 90 and cloudless in Oakland, it would be snowing high enough up in the mountains. By looking at the different snow levels, you could figure out how hot or cold it would be at various points in between.
One of the most peculiar features of California geography is the hills along the faults. Some of the most expensive and beautiful oceanfront property is also some of the most dangerous. The Berkeley Hills, for example, afford a scenic overlook of the whole bay. Because of the faults that run through them, They shoot up quite quickly as you move away from the shore. Often on the hills, people build gorgeous and elaborate houses perched on precarious inclines. It is absolutely beautiful, and more than a little bit strange. Basically, it is something you have to see to believe. Looking from one of those great big beautiful houses out towards the ocean is an experience like no other.
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