Editing San Benito County, California (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Tumey Hills BLM.jpg|thumb|left|Tumey Hills BLM recreation area, near Interstate 5]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|1390|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|1388|sqmi|km2|0}} is land and {{convert|1.8|sqmi}} is water (0.1%).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_06.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=October 4, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

Sharing a border with [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]], San Benito County lies adjacent to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and is sometimes considered a part of that region. Frequently, the county is associated with the [[Monterey Bay Area]] through governmental organizations such as the [[Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments]] as well as the [[Pajaro River]], which flows from northern San Benito County into the [[Monterey Bay]]. The [[United States Census Bureau]] includes the county in the [[San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA|San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara]] [[United States metropolitan area|MSA]] and the [[San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area|San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland]] [[Combined Statistical Area|CSA]], which the Census uses as a statistical definition of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The county also borders [[Merced County, California|Merced County]] and [[Fresno County, California|Fresno County]] on the east, which extend into California's [[San Joaquin Valley, California|San Joaquin Valley]]. It borders Santa Cruz County on the west and Monterey County on the southwest border.

The county is also the location of the [[Mt. Harlan AVA|Mount Harlan]] and [[San Benito AVA|San Benito]] [[American Viticultural Area]]s. The latter contains the [[Cienega Valley AVA|Cienega Valley]], [[Lime Kiln Valley AVA|Lime Kiln Valley]], and [[Paicines AVA|Paicines]] AVAs.

===Flora===
Due to the varied topography, diverse geology, and varied climate from near-coastal to inland, San Benito County contains a high diversity of vegetation types. Common vegetation types include annual grasslands, [[coastal scrub]], [[chaparral]], and [[oak woodland]].

In the extreme southeastern portion of San Benito County at Panoche Valley, [[Panoche Hills]], [[Tumey Hills]], and Vallecitos, the climate is arid and part of the recently recognized San Joaquin Desert biome.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://bioone.org/journals/natural-areas-journal/volume-31/issue-2/043.031.0206/The-San-Joaquin-Desert-of-California--Ecologically-Misunderstood-and/10.3375/043.031.0206.full | doi=10.3375/043.031.0206 | title=The San Joaquin Desert of California: Ecologically Misunderstood and Overlooked | year=2011 | last1=Germano | first1=David J. | last2=Rathbun | first2=Galen B. | last3=Saslaw | first3=Lawrence R. | last4=Cypher | first4=Brian L. | last5=Cypher | first5=Ellen A. | last6=Vredenburgh | first6=Larry M. | journal=Natural Areas Journal | volume=31 | issue=2 | pages=138–147 | s2cid=85723011 }}</ref>  The flora there includes saltbush scrub, San Joaquin Desert scrub, and California juniper woodland. Panoche Hills navarretia (''Navarretia panochensis'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=13540|title=Navarretia panochensis Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> is nearly endemic to this small portion of the San Joaquin Desert in San Benito County.

At the highest elevations of San Benito County at [[Fremont Peak (California)|Fremont Peak]] and [[San Benito Mountain]], the average annual precipitation is high enough and the average annual temperature is cool enough to support mixed conifer forest. At San Benito Mountain, the high elevation climate and extreme geology of the [[San Benito Mountain|New Idria serpentine]], supports a unique mixed-conifer forest that includes [[foothill pine]], [[Coulter pine]], [[Jeffrey pine]], and [[incense cedar]]. The extreme conditions of the [[serpentine soil]]s of the New Idria serpentine mass support many rare local [[Endemism|endemic]] plant species including San Benito evening primrose (''[[Camissonia benitensis]]''),<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=1386|title=Camissonia benitensis Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> rayless layia (''[[Layia discoidea]]''),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/entry/observ.html?track=o#srch=t&taxon=Layia+discoidea&inma=f&cch=t&cnabh=t&inat=r&chk=t|title=Observation Search - Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> Guirado's goldenrod (''Solidago guiradonis''),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=7673|title=Solidago guiradonis Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> and San Benito fritillary (''Fritillaria viridea'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=3646|title=Fritillaria viridea Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref>

The plant species ''[[Benitoa occidentalis]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=9730 | title=Benitoa occidentalis Calflora }}</ref> was named for San Benito County.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=103788|title=Benitoa in Flora of North America @ efloras.org|website=www.efloras.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> ''[[Camissonia benitensis]]'',<ref name="auto"/> ''Monardella antonina'' subsp. ''benitensis'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=5615 | title=Monardella antonina SSP. Benitensis Calflora }}</ref> and ''Arctostaphylos benitoensis''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=9685 | title=Arctostaphylos Xbenitoensis Calflora }}</ref> were named in recognition of their being endemic or near-endemic to San Benito County. The species ''[[Hollisteria|Hollisteria lanata]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=4203 | title=Hollisteria lanata Calflora }}</ref> was named after [[William Welles Hollister]], namesake of the city of Hollister.

===Fauna===
''[[Illacme plenipes]]'', a [[millipede]] having more legs than any other millipede [[species]], was discovered in the county in 1926.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sara Goudarzi |url=http://www.livescience.com/animals/060607_leggy_millipede.html |title=666-Legged Creature Rediscovered. |publisher=LiveScience |date=June 7, 2006}}</ref>

A [[California condor]] was found shot to death in the county on July 22, 2022, leading to the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] posting a $5,000 reward for information on the killer.<ref>Jess Thomson [https://www.newsweek.com/critically-endangered-california-condor-shot-killed-1825295 (9 Sep 2023) Reward Offered to Find Who Killed Endangered California Condor]</ref>

===National protected area===
* [[Pinnacles National Park]]