wing hang glider unaided. The flight lasted more than an hour, and he became the first person in the world to do so. Environment Mission Peak is home to California oak woodland and chaparral. Typical of the interior coast ranges, the woodland contains coast live oak, California bay, California buckeye, blue oak, and western sycamores. Black oak is rare, because most stands have been logged. Bigleaf maples and gray pines are less common, though the old-growth oak forest in the Hidden Valley (see Hiking) known as A.A. Moore Memorial Grove contains all the tree species. Many oaks are 100 to 600 years old, with few younger than 50. Oak saplings have been eaten by cattle and choked by invasives for centuries. The steepest slopes are home to hard, evergreen chaparral, primarily California sagebrush, chamise, and scrub oak. The grasslands have native and nonnative plants brought by cows, though native wildflowers grow in the spring. The cattle have a feisty reputation. Black-tailed deer are abundant. Pronghorn and tule elk were extirpated in the late 19th century. Tule elk were reintroduced to Alameda County, and now visit occasionally. Predators include bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, and very rarely seen mountain lions. Small mammals include the black-tailed jackrabbit, the western gray squirrel, and California ground squirrels. Visitors should beware that northern Pacific rattlesnakes are very common. Southern Alameda County has a high density of nesting golden eagles, seen often, along with turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, prairie falcons, and sharp-shinned hawks. They nest in on the slopes of steep valleys, where no trails enter. Light snow falls most winters, and melts quickly. Heavy snow falls once or twice a decade, such as in March 2006 (see picture in the Hiking and bicycling section). On December 7, 2009, the snow level dropped to and snow remained for three days. Geology Mission Peak has a large (300 m wide by 1200 m long) landslide that started in 1998 due to the El Niño rains. Landslides had recurred here in the geological past. The landslide threatened new housing, and local development regulations were changed to address the geotechnical hazards. Some sources have incorrectly labeled Mission Peak as an extinct volcano, because of the sharp point of the peak. However, the mountain is a product of natural uplift and erosion, not of volcanic origin. This range is being compressed and uplifted due to the proximity of the