Over time, the widespread deposition of loose sediments along the hillsides, along with fracturing from the fault and other factors make these hills susceptible to landslides.

The Berkeley Hills Tunnel serves the Yellow Line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system.

The four bores of the Caldecott Tunnel carry State Highway 24 between Oakland and Contra Costa County.

In the section above East Oakland to Castro Valley, the ridge appears on most maps as the San Leandro Hills.

In the 1930's to establish a watershed system and regional parks, these animals were removed from certain areas which caused parts of the grasslands to get taken over by shrublands.

[10] The area welcomes a wide variety of birds, black-tailed deer, coyote, ground squirrel, striped skunk, western terrestrial garter snake, gray fox, bobcat, and red-tailed hawk.

Four protected species also call the Berkeley Hills their home, the San Francisco tree lupine moth, Alameda whipsnake, Callippe silverspot, and Bay checkerspot.

Additionally, the grassland acts as an annual foraging spot for the northern harrier, American kestrel, prairie falcon, and turkey vulture.

The oceanic marine layer, which develops during the summer, bringing fog and low clouds with it, is usually less than 2,000 feet deep and thus is blocked by the range.

In spring and fall, sinking air from aloft combining with inland high pressure periodically sends a hot, dry, and gusty northeasterly wind across the ridges of the Berkeley Hills, posing a fire danger, which in the 20th century produced several wildfires, two of which caused major damage to Berkeley and Oakland.