Ecologically, Sweeney Ridge is a superb example of Coastal Scrub habitat, the landscape being dominated by Coyote Bush, Bush Lupine, and Coastal Sage-in some places up to 6 to 8 feet high.
The "Super Connie" crashed near the top of Sweeney Ridge in San Bruno, very close to the site of a Coast Guard radio station.
They seemed to have been friendly enough when, on November 4, 1769, Gaspar de Portola and his men camped north of here, after descending from Sweeney Ridge where they were reputed to be the first white men to view the San Francisco Bay.
Pacifica straddles San Pedro Creek which flows from the western slope of Sweeney Ridge.
The far eastern portion of Pacifica includes San Andreas Creek which flows down the eastern slope of Sweeney Ridge.
An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà sighted the bay by climbing the hills of Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica on October 31, 1769.
Interestingly, Montara Mountain and Sweeney Ridge are not cloaked in the dense Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var.
This tribe was encountered by the Portolà expedition as it descended from Sweeney Ridge to San Francisquito Creek through what Portola called the Cañada de San Francisco (now traversed by Cañada Road).
The grant extended north from Rancho Cañada de Raymundo along the San Andreas Valley, west of San Andreas Lake up to Sweeney Ridge.
Sweeney Ridge is located in northern San Mateo County and is now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where a monument marks the discovery site.