About 20 to 25 million years ago, magma welled up underneath a layer of softer rock and solidified.

[5] Bishop Peak's thin, rocky soil supports many plants that are not common in the surrounding area.

Scrub areas support many aromatic varieties of sagebrush, coyote bush, and monkeyflower.

Mammals include deer, raccoons and opossums as well as predators like foxes, coyotes, bobcats and mountain lion.

Bishop Peak Natural Reserve includes 350 acres (1.4 km2) of land purchased or donated since 1977.