 Named summits in the San Joaquin Hills include (from north to south)
French Hill in Turtle Rock, Irvine;
Signal Peak and Pelican Hill, both of which are near the Newport Coast neighborhood of Newport Beach;
Temple Hill in Laguna Beach, more commonly known as "Top of the World" after the neighborhood situated on its peak;
and Niguel Hill in Laguna Niguel.A fault line, the San Joaquin Hills blind thrust, lies eight miles below the hills.Scientists have suggested that the San Joaquin Hills have been formed by uplift from this fault.