[citation needed] Major urban centers located within this ecoregion include Greater Los Angeles, San Diego-Tijuana, Ensenada, and Tecate.

[3] The plant species of the California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion are diverse, with high endemism.

[citation needed] Higher up from the shoreline, above an elevation of 1,000 feet (300 m),[5]: 327  the slopes are densely covered in chaparral shrubs, such as: chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), and California lilac (Ceanothus spp.)

[citation needed] Other species include mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides), silk-tassel bush (Garrya fremontii), and ribbonwood (Adenostoma sparsifolium)[5]: 350–353 California oak woodland occurs in moist areas usually up to 4,900 feet (1,500 m).

Riparian understory contains California laurel (Umbellularia californica) and Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii).

[5]: 399 The Channel Islands are mostly covered in coastal sage and chamise chaparral with some oak woodland including endemic and/or rare: buckwheats (Eriogonum spp.

[citation needed] Vernal pools in the ecoregion are home to Riverside fairy shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni).

[citation needed] Typical birds of the region include scrub jays, wrentits, and rufous-sided towhees.

Other birds found here are the endemic Nutall's woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii) of the oak woodland, and the coastal populations of the protected cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus).

[citation needed] This attractive coastline is highly vulnerable to urban, recreational, and agricultural development and only 15% of original habitat is intact.

[9][10] There are patches of coastal sage scrub in Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Joaquin Hills near Laguna Beach, and the Irvine Ranch in Orange County, California.

Additional patches of coastal sage scrub exist in Southern California in the Angeles National Forest.