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A comment on Appalachian Balds.

Re:Appalachian Balds by Xcelerate on Tuesday June 18, 2019 @06:38PM (#20219169)
In a similar vein, does anyone in the Bay Area know why the Santa Cruz mountains on the west side of the valley have a bunch of trees, but the mountains on the east side (near Fremont) have no trees and are mostly just grass? I would think the climate and elevation are similar.
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Re:Appalachian Balds by lisper on Tuesday June 18, 2019 @06:42PM (#20219187)
The mountains on the west cause a lot of moisture in the air to precipitate out as the prevailing winds blow from the west, so they get a lot more rain than the eastern ranges.
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Re:Appalachian Balds by AlotOfReading on Tuesday June 18, 2019 @10:28PM (#20220331)
Not only is it drier, but the Diablo range is heavily overgrazed. If it weren't, it'd be the same chaparral woodland you can still see around calaveras dam.
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Re:Appalachian Balds by dredmorbius on Tuesday June 18, 2019 @10:19PM (#20220292)
Much of the Bay Area (and Northern California) was exceedingly heavily lumbered. I don't know for certain that the East Bay hills were heavily timbered though I suspect they were.

There's at least one history of the EBH which might answer your question:

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467137256

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