<P> Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula , Mexico . It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate ( mild , wet winters and hot dry summers ) and wildfire , featuring summer - drought - tolerant plants with hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves , as contrasted with the associated soft - leaved , drought - deciduous , scrub community of coastal sage scrub , found below the chaparral biome . Chaparral covers 5 percent of the state of California , and associated Mediterranean shrubland an additional 3.5 percent . The name comes from the Spanish word for scrub oak , chaparro . </P>
where is the chaparral biome located in the world
primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula , Mexico