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California's Mediterranean climate

Fellow Mediterraneads -

The Mediterranean climate in California is but one of the many,
varied climatic regions of our fair state.  To illustrate this
point, I have in the past taken people to the Sunset Zone Maps
(different the USDA Zones) - these show a complex puzzle of large
and small microclimates, as opposed to the large expanses of a
single zone in some of the neighboring western states.  And, in the
immediate SF Bay Area, within one zone such as the coastal zone 17,
there are vast differences depending upon what the neighboring zones
are and your proximity to the ocean.

Mild frost is not uncommon in most of my own area, and those
significant frosts which do occur are often short-lived.  But in
close proximity, there are areas in which frost is much more common,
and usually more pronounced.  And there are even 'pockets' which
collect the cold more, or are almost frost free.  On the shore of
Lake Merritt, here in Oakland, there is a small microclimate within
Sunset's zone 17, which really should be thought of as Zone 23, due
to the frost-free moderating influence of the Lake, but also the
better heat-building ability of that land-locked estuary during the
warmer months.  My own garden, not far away, enjoys some of this
phenomenon, but tends to get colder in winter as I am just far
enough away and within some folds of the rising hills.

This complexity in California climate, due to topography and ocean
influence, as well as elevation and exposure, is the reason Sunset
developed their zone system.  It has been reported that they have
created a garden book for the whole USA bow - I assume they found it
much easier to extrapolate their classification system accross the
country due to the relatively simpler situation.

I'm sure in many of the Mediterranean areas there are significant
variances in some of the aspects of what defines the climate, hence
the broad tolerance of the climate definition used by this group.

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    http://www.dla.ucop.edu/sao
 Oakland, California  94610-1459    h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 (510) 987-0577                     'a garden suited to its purpose'
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