Scott A. Howard, Photographer

As one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, California's natural beauty has the capacity to inspire. A lifetime can be spent exploring its varied landscapes including oceans, rivers, mountains, deserts, wetlands, and old growth forests. California is one of only five regions of the world with a Mediterranean climate, and harbors more unique plants and animals than any other state. Rapid population growth and associated development threaten the survival of many of the state's unique lands, inland and coastal waters and native species.