This is a Coast Live Oak growing in the Sunol Regional Preserve, Sunol, California.  The tree was probably growing in this location before the U.S. Constitution was penned to paper.  It grows at the confluence of two streams and is surrounded by ancient Ohlone Indian acorn grinding stones.  The Ohlone would collect Blue Oak Acorn from the surrounding hill then sit in this area grinding the acorns into meal.  The meal would be placed in fiber bags and hung in the rushing stream water to leach out the tannin.  Acorns were an important food source before the Spanish settlement of California.  

The Live Oak is about 20 miles inland from San Francisco Bay.  The area has about 400 frost free days per year with winter lows usually around 26 degrees Fahrenheit.  The climate is Mediterranean with about 25 inches of rain per year mostly falling between November and March.  This photo was taken January 1st, 2009 on my annual New Years pilgrimage to visit this spot.

Bill Merrill, California