The Transverse Ranges constitute one of California's 11 geomorphic provinces. Unlike nearly every other mountain range in North America the Transverse Ranges lie on an east-west axis. The Transverse Ranges Province runs for 325 miles "directly across the structural grain of California" (Oakeshott 279). The province extends from Point Arguello and San Miguel Island eastward to the Pinto and Eagle Mountains which end in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts respectively. The province ranges in width from 10 to 50 miles. The narrowest points are at the western extreme in the Santa Ynez Mountains and at the Cajon Pass which separates the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains. The province's broadest point is the distance from the Santa Monica coast, across the Santa Monica, Topatopa and Pine Mountains, to the Tehachapi Mountains.
For the most part, the Transverse Ranges Province is fairly well defined physiographically. To the north, the mountains of the Coastal Ranges Province exhibit the more usual northwest-trend--with the exception of a group of west-northwest trending ranges at the south end, whose possible inclusion in the Transverse Ranges Province "is a matter of debate" (Dibblee 8). The boundary between the two provinces, running west to east, is generally accepted as consisting of the Santa Ynez River, the Santa Ynez fault, and the Big Pine fault. The Big Pine fault abuts the San Andreas fault. At this point, the longitudinal San Andreas fault suddenly extends eastward for several miles. This is indicative of an anomalous feature of the fault. For, although the province, as a whole, extends diagonally across the San Andreas fault, the fault itself "trends more east to west within the Transverse Ranges than normal" (Sharp 17).
At the junction of the Big Pine and San Andreas faults, Frazier Mountain lies to the south, while, to the north, beyond the portion of the Mojave Desert Province that fronts the mountains, ...