wilderness1

Climate
The weather of Puerto Nostra and its surroundings is notably mild, with typical summer highs in the low nineties (F), to typical winter lows in the fourties (F); 70 F is the most common temperature in the area year-round. Fog is also common year-round, mostly in the morning and evening, though some days it lasts all day, and others it isn�t present at all. The fog is typically concentrated over the areas nearest the bays, but can creep as far inland as the next county. It snows roughly once every ten years, during freak weather variations. Rain is common, but less frequent than further north.

Landscape
Not far enough inland for vineyards, the undeveloped landscape of Puerto Nostra and Marin County is
dominated by two distinctly different faces. The older face, the redwood forests, is on the decline due
to both development and cattleranching. The younger face is vast stretches of grassy hillside dotted with oaks. Created originally by the introduction of cattleranching to Northern California, these vast
areas are veritable seas of brown in the summer and fall when the dry season hits and the grass dries out. Rivers and creeks dot the landscape, as well as a few lakes and many ponds. The long, cold, rocky coastline is another matter entirely; the surf is rough and dangerous, and cliffs along the shore can reach fifty feet or more.

Rivers and Creeks
The few large rivers in the area are steelhead trout runs and create wetlands in areas that are protected
where they still exist; others have been developed. In the late fall, at the end of the dry season, these
rivers are reduced in places to nothing but a trickle and standing pools between stretches of dry bed. At
the height of the wet season, typically in february and march, the roaring rush of the water becomes
dangerous to all but the most experienced kayakers. The creeks in the area, which once provided shelter
for the vulnerable steelhead fry, have been horribly defiled. Vast stretches of them have been widened to reduce flooding, destroying the surrounding riparian habitat. In many areas the habitat has been cut down to within feet of the actual streambeds to allow for development. Himalayan blackberries, an imported species, grow rampant along the waterways, choking out beneficial native plantlife, such as willow and bay trees. Nearly all of the creeks of the region are now fishless and polluted by a combination of litter, city drainage, and illegal dumping. Crayfish, guppies and seasonal tadpoles can be found in healthier creeks; but even in these, the crayfish are dangerous to eat due to pollution.

Wetlands (as well as lakes and rivers) Animals
Fish: steelhead trout, rainbow trout, catfish, largemouth bass. Insects: mosquitoes, dragonflies, gnats,
waterstriders, wirligig beetles, water boatmen, mayflies. Amphibians: bullfrogs, leopard frogs, treefrogs, california newts, tiger salamanders. Reptiles: garter snakes, turtles. Birds: great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, ospreys, cormorants, canada geese, mallard ducks, coots, sandpipers, killdeer, and many many more. Mammals: river otters, beavers.

Dry Hills
These areas are filled by a sea of grass that is brown for the better part of the year, dotted by a variety
of different kinds of oaks. Occasionally, manzanita groves can also be found, as well as a variety of
other kinds of trees. Deadfall trees become habitats for various grassland species, when they are not
cleared away by �conciencious� ranchers. Herds of cattle roam freely across vast stretches of the landscape, their only barriers are often poorly maintained wooden fences. The hills are many and varied, and often are cut through by old, dry creekbeds and even cracks in the earth caused by earthquakes. Rock outcroppings are common but strange breaks in the landscape, leading one to wonder what force of nature deposited them there....

Hills Animals
Insects: butterflies, flies, horseflies, gnats, ticks, praying mantises, crickets, grasshoppers, ants, pill bugs, daddy longlegs, black widows, brown recluses, and many more. Amphibians: california toads, treefrogs, arboreal salamanders, slender salamanders. Reptiles: gopher snakes, rattlesnakes, bluebellylizards, alligator lizards. Birds: robins, scrub jays, blackbirds, redwing blackbirds, mourning doves, sparrows, mocking birds, turkey vultures, red shouldered hawks, sparrow hawks, great horned owls, barn owls. Mammals: mule deer, white tail deer, wild horses (small herd near Drake�s Bay only), red foxes, wolves (rare), coyotes, jackrabbits, feral rex rabbits, gophers, moles, kangaroo rats, field mice, skunks, raccoons, oppossums. (Note: Opposums are the most frequent roadkills in Northern California).

Redwood Forest
Characterised by the redwoods it holds, the forestlandof Marin county actually has a wide variety of trees,
most of them coniferous. Included are the giant sequoias, ponderosas, douglas firs, hemlock, willows, and many more. The forest floor is dominated by ferns both large and small, as well as miner�s lettuce, wood
sorrel, and many different fungi, mosses, and lichens. The ground is strewn with leaf litter several inches
deep. Centered around Mt. Sequoia, which lies just northeast of Puerto Nostra, the protected forestland of Marin County National Forest is also quite hilly, allowing for one who wishes not to be found to disappear from sight quite easily. Similar to the hills, the forest is dotted with dried-up creekbeds and random rock outcroppings. Actual caves are virtually nonexistant, but there are many groves hidden by fallen trees and large rocks that act as den areas for the predators of the forest. The forest is of medium density; visibility usually extends about fifty feet in any direction in a flat area. Running through the forest is dangerous for the uninitiated, and the sheer number of fallen trees in some areas makes it nearly impossible for anyone on two legs to navigate quickly... or even at all.

Forest Animals
Note: All animal species listed in the hills are also represented in the forest. Insects: ticks (lymes disease is a danger), many kinds of spiders, scorpions, termites, ladybugs, bananna slugs (not an insect, but close enough). Amphibians: all from wetlands as well as hills. Reptiles: see amphibians. Birds: stellers jays, crows, ravens. Mammals: blacktail deer, wild pigs, blackfooted ferrets, bobcats, cougars (mountain lion/puma), black bears.

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