San Diego, California [33^oN, 117^oW]

Southern California is the only representative of the Mediterranean or chaparral biome in North America. This biome occurs where winters are cool and wet and summers are hot and dry. These conditions in southern California are due to a combination of its latitude, the prevailing winds, and the cool ocean currents offshore (compare the ocean temperature at Scripps Pier (San Diego) with those at Charleston, South Carolina - essentially the same latitude). The biome is dominated by low-growing shrubs with tough evergreen leaves, and the healthiest communities are ones that burn from fires on a regular basis.