What is chaparral?
Q: What is chaparral?
A: Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community mainly found in California and other parts of Mexico.
Q: What kind of climate is needed for chaparral to develop?
A: Chaparral is caused by a Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and hot dry summers.
Q: What type of plants can be found in chaparral?
A: Chaparral has summer drought-tolerant plants with hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves.
Q: How much of California is covered by chaparral?
A: Chaparral covers 5% of the state of California, and an additional 3.5% of associated Mediterranean shrubland.
Q: What is the origin of the name "chaparral"?
A: The name "chaparral" comes from the Spanish word "chaparro," referring to scrub oaks.
Q: Where else in the world can chaparral be found?
A: Chaparral can be found in four other regions in the world: parts of the Mediterranean coast, Central Chile (matorral), South African Cape (fynbos), and South Australia (kwongan).
Q: How frequently do fires occur in chaparral?
A: Fires in chaparral are not frequent and usually occur at intervals from 10–15 years to over a hundred years. However, mature chaparral often has dense and highly flammable thickets.
