[3] Located in northwest Los Angeles County, the ridge is bordered on the north by the San Andreas Fault and lies within and is surrounded by the Angeles National Forest and a tiny section in the Los Padres National Forest The Sierra Pelona Mountains lie northwest of the San Gabriel Mountains, which are divided by the wide Soledad Canyon formation.

The Tejon Pass separates the Sierra Pelonas, the San Emigdios, the Tehachapis, and the Topatopa Mountains near Gorman and Lebec.

Mainly the ridge falls under the California montane chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, excepting the northeastern flank's gradual slope into the Antelope Valley near Palmdale where the ecology transitions to that of the Mojave Desert.

The mountains are primarily covered in short grasses, scrub oak trees, yucca, and other chaparral shrubs.

The Native population of California in the Sierra Pelona and Santa Susana Mountains included the Tataviam and Serrano people.