Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in California, USA, that's shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild, wet winters and hot dry summers) and wildfire. Similar plant communities are found in the five other Mediterranean climate regions around the world, including the Mediterranean Basin (where it's known as maquis), central Chile (where it's called matorral), South African Cape Region (known there as fynbos), and in Western and Southern Australia. The word chapa… (More on Chaparral)