VALLEY OAK SERIES, STUDY 4
The valley oak once covered vast expanses of the interior valleys of California. English explorer George Vancouver eloquently described an expanse of valley oaks in the Santa Clara Valley in 1796: "For about twenty miles it could only be compare to a park which had originally been closely planted with the true old English oak; the underwood, that had probably attended its early growth, had the appearance of having been cleared away and left the stately lords of the forest in complete possession of the soil which was covered with luxuriant foliage." Today the population of valley oaks is greatly reduced. Lone valley oaks, such as the one in this photograph, are often seen standing in quiet isolation in agricultural fields. This oak was photographed from a vantage point along Mace Blvd. in Davis, CA.
© TERRY NATHAN
