Pinnacles National Park’s wide landscape of dramatic rock formations and craggy spires looks otherworldly, especially in golden hour light. But few people who visit the park, located in Central California, southeast of the San Francisco Bay Area, are aware that the rock formations were once at the center of one of the most fierce debates in the history of California geology.
Roadcuts in California, those slices through hills and mountainsides made during the construction of roads, are like open books to geologists. They reveal the intricate and often dramatic geological history of the state.
In the heart of Los Angeles, on a seemingly ordinary spring day in 1985, a sudden explosion tore through the
Tejon Pass, located in the mountains of Southern California, is more than just a mountainous pathway connecting the San Joaquin
You’ve surely seen those dramatic museum displays: fearsome T-Rex skulls, triceratops horns, towering brachiosaur skeletons – tangible reminders of a
Serpentine is formed through the metamorphic process, where pre-existing rocks are transformed into new types under high temperatures, pressures, and chemical processes. This unique rock originates from the Earth’s mantle, brought to the surface through tectonic activity like subduction.
Mono Lake, located in California’s Eastern Sierra region, is one of the most unique lakes in the world due to its extremely high salinity and high levels of arsenic. What’s even more astonishing is the ecosystem of bacteria that inhabit the lake, which have adapted to use arsenic instead of oxygen for photosynthesis. They are truly alien life forms. Well, not really. But they are weird.
The hills are known for their unique geological formations, including massive rounded boulders and natural arches, and their rich history and cultural significance.
This is Vasquez Rocks, one of California’s most interesting and dramatic geologic formations.
