The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and northern California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south to the central coast, bordering Monterey Bay and ending at the Salinas Valley. The range passes through San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, with the Pajaro River forming the southern boundary.The northernmost portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains is known as Montara Mountain, north of Half Moon Bay Road (California State Route 92); the middle portion is known as the Sierra Morena, which includes a summit called Sierra Morena, and extends south to a gap at Lexington Reservoir; south of the gap the mountain range is known as the Sierra Azul.
