Editing Ventura County, California (section)

=== Physical geography ===
[[File:Vc bioregions.gif|thumb|left|Map of Ventura County with physiographical [[place name]]s]]
[[File:Point Mugu September 2013 013.jpg|thumb|right|Coastline at [[Point Mugu State Park]]]]
There are {{convert|555953|acres}} outside of national forest land in Ventura County, which means that 53 percent of the county's total area is made up of national forest. Of the land outside of national forest land, approximately 59 percent is agricultural and 17.5 percent urban.<ref name="conservation.ca.gov"/> North of Highway 126, the county is mountainous and mostly uninhabited, and contains some of the most unspoiled, rugged and inaccessible wilderness remaining in southern California. Most of this land is in the [[Los Padres National Forest]], and includes the [[Chumash Wilderness]] in the northernmost portion, adjacent to [[Kern County, California|Kern County]], as well as the large [[Sespe Wilderness]] and portions of both the [[Dick Smith Wilderness]] and [[Matilija Wilderness]] (both of these protected areas straddle the line with Santa Barbara County). All of the wilderness areas are within the jurisdiction of Los Padres National Forest.
[[File:Simi-Valley-Aerial-from-west-with-mountains-August-2014.jpg|thumb|right|[[Simi Valley, California|Simi Valley]] in the [[Simi Valley|valley of the same name]], in the southeast corner of the county]]
The coastal plain was formed by the deposition of sediments from the [[Santa Clara River (California)|Santa Clara River]] and from the streams of the Calleguas-Conejo drainage system. It has a mean elevation of {{convert|50|ft|spell=in|abbr=out}}, but at points south of the Santa Clara River, the elevation is as much as {{convert|150|ft}}, and at points north of the river, as much as {{convert|300|ft}}. The coastal plain is generally known as the [[Oxnard Plain]] with the part that centers on Camarillo lying east of the Revelon Slough is called Pleasant Valley. Most of the arable land in the county is found on the coastal plain. Small coastal mountains rim Ventura County on its landward side. They range in elevation from {{convert|50|ft}} along the coast south of the coastal plain, to about {{convert|3100|ft}} in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Santa Ynez Mountains, the [[Topatopa Mountains]], and the Piru Mountains make up the northern boundary of the coastal plain, the Santa Susana Mountains are alongside the eastern boundary of the county, and the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains are along the southern border with [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2019/03/11/wildlife-corridor-proposal-vote-ventura-county-board-supervisors/3131339002/|title=Wildlife passage proposal goes to Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday|last=Wilson|first=Kathleen|date=March 11, 2019|newspaper=[[Ventura County Star]]|language=en|access-date=March 12, 2019}}</ref> South Mountain and [[Oak Ridge (California)|Oak Ridge]] are low and long mountains that separate [[Santa Clara River Valley|Santa Clara Valley]] from the Las Posas Valley and [[Simi Valley]]. The Camarillo Hills and the Las Posas Hills extend from [[Camarillo, California|Camarillo]] to [[Simi Valley, California|Simi Valley]] and separate the Las Posas-Simi area from the Santa Rosa Valley and Tierra Rejada Valley.<ref name="Agriculture 1970. Pages 142–143">U.S. Department of Agriculture (C. Robert Elford). 1970. ''Soil Survey: Ventura Area, California''. Oakland, CA: University of California Press. Pages 142–143.</ref>
[[File:Mount Pinos.jpg|thumb|right|Summit of [[Mount Pinos]], the highest point in the county]]
[[File:Emma-wood-beach.jpg|thumb|left|[[Emma Wood State Beach]] is located west of the City of [[Ventura, California|Ventura]].]]
The intermountain valley of the [[Santa Clara River (California)|Santa Clara River]] is the most prominent valley in the county and trends east–southwest. The Santa Clara River drains an area of {{convert|1,605|mi2|km2}} and flows from its headwaters in Los Angeles to where it empties into the Pacific. Its principal tributaries are [[Piru Creek]], Santa Paula Creek, and [[Sespe Creek]]. The valley of the [[Ventura River]] is a narrow valley north of [[Ventura, California|Ventura]]. [[Ojai Valley]] is connected to the Ventura River Valley by San Antonio Creek. The small [[Upper Ojai, California|Upper Ojai Valley]], east of Ojai Valley and {{convert|300|to|500|ft|m}} higher, drains to the [[Ventura River]] on the west and to Santa Paula Creek on the east. Ojai and Upper Ojai Valleys are surrounded by mountains and are rich agricultural areas. The Ventura River flows south and drains an area of {{convert|226|mi2|km2}}. Over South Mountain and Oak Ridge, south of the Santa Clara River, are Las Posas Valley and Simi Valley. Las Posas Valley extends eastward from the [[Oxnard Plain]] almost to Simi Valley, which is in the east end of Ventura County. The city of [[Simi Valley, California|Simi Valley]] is bounded on the east by the Santa Susana Mountains and on the south by the Simi Hills. To the south, over the Camarillo- and Las Posas Hills, are Santa Rosa- and Tierra Rejada Valleys, which extend from Camarillo eastward for {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}}. In the hills south of Santa Rosa Valley is the broad Conejo Valley. Santa Rosa Valley, Conejo Valley, Simi Valley, and Tierra Rejada Valley are drained by [[Calleguas Creek]] and its principal tributary, Conejo Creek. These creeks originate in the [[Santa Susana Mountains|Santa Susana]] and [[Santa Monica Mountains]].<ref name="Agriculture 1970. Page 142"/>

The county's diverse {{convert|43|mi|km|adj=on}}<ref>Ginsberg, Joanne S. (1991). ''California Coastal Access Guide''. University of California Press. Page 185. {{ISBN|9780520050518}}.</ref> coastline features a variety of terrain. There are many State beaches: [[Emma Wood State Beach|Emma Wood]], [[San Buenaventura State Beach|San Buenaventura]], [[McGrath State Beach|McGrath]], and [[Mandalay State Beach]]. Other beaches include [[Channel Islands Beach, California|Channel Islands Beach]], [[Solimar Beach, CA|Solimar Beach]], [[Oxnard Beach Park]], and [[Silver Strand Beach]]. While [[Point Mugu State Park]] is known for its steep coastal terrain with little beach access, nearby [[County Line Beach]] in the south coast community of [[Solromar, California|Solromar]] is part of the fabled [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] coastline. Ventura County has plenty of other surf spots along the coast including the notable surf spot, [[Rincon (surfspot)|Rincon Point]], on the Santa Barbara County-line.

The [[Channel Islands (California)|Channel Islands]] in Ventura County are [[Anacapa Island|Anacapa]] and [[San Nicolas Island|San Nicholas Islands]].