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Geological Gems of California State Parks by California Geological Survey and California State Parks State of California Edmund G

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Geological Gems of California State Parks by California Geological Survey and California State Parks State of California Edmund G CGS SPECIAL REPORT 230 Geological Gems of California State Parks By California Geological Survey and California State Parks State of California Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor Natural Resources Agency John Laird, Secretary Department of Conservation David Bunn, Director Department of Parks and Recreation Lisa Mangat, Director California Geological Survey John G. Parrish, Ph.D., State Geologist Copyright © 2015 jointly held by California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey, and California State Parks. All rights reserved. “The Department of Conservation makes no warranties as to the suitability of this product for any particular purpose.” This page intentionally left blank. Geological Gems of California State Parks by California Geological Survey and California State Parks 2015 SPECIAL REPORT 230 Copies of Geological Gems of California State Parks, and other related information are available at www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs. Copies are also available from the Public Information Offices of the California Geological Survey. California Geological Survey’s Public Information Office Southern California Regional Office Publications and Information Office Bay Area Regional Office 320 W. 4th Street 801 K Street Earth Science Information Center/Map Sales Suite 850 MS 14-33 Building 3, Room 3-121 Los Angeles, CA 90013 Sacramento, CA 95814-3532 Menlo Park, CA 94025 213.239.0878 916.445.5716 650.688.6327 This page intentionally left blank. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Authors: Don Braun, Marc Delattre, Ron Churchill, Tim Dawson, Jim Falls, Mike Fuller, Will Harris, Chris Higgins, Jeremy Lancaster, Dave Longstreth, Gerald Marshal, Paul Remeika, Steve Reynolds, Chris Wills, and Michael Wopat. Editors: Syd Brown, Mike Fuller, Bill Short, and Chris Wills. Photograph Credits: Gabrielle Adelman, Kenneth Adelman, Don Braun, Mike Fuller, Will Harris, Cheryl Hayhurst, Dennis Heiman, Janis Hernandez, Pam Irvine, Bret Koehler, Greg Kulak, Jeremy Lancaster, Jennifer Lotery, John Mistchenko, Christopher Mizeur, Steve Reynolds, Alan Schimierer, UC Berkeley, Shannon Utley, Chris Wills, and Michael Wopat. Diagram Credits: Alan O. Allwardt, California Geological Survey, Robert J. Lillie, and Gerald E. Weber. Map Credits: Dave Branum, Mike Fuller, and Jim Thompson. Reviewers: Brian Hausback, George Jefferson, Renee Pasquinelli, and Patrick Vaughan. RECOMMENDED CITATION Citations for the entire collection: Geological Gems of California State Parks, Special Report 230 – Fuller, M., Brown, S., Wills, C. and Short, W., editors, 2015, Geological Gems of California, California Geological Survey Special Report 230 under Interagency Agreement C01718011 with California State Parks. The author of each GeoGem Note appears at the conclusion of the GeoGem Note. Citations should be specific to individual notes when applicable. For example: Fuller, M., 2015, Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area, Geological Gems of California, GeoGem Note 54, Fuller, M., Brown, S., Wills, C. and Short, W., editors, California Geological Survey Special Report 230 under Interagency Agreement C01718011 with California State Parks. COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2015 jointly held by California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey, and California State Parks. All rights reserved. DISCLAIMER The Department of Conservation makes no warranties as to the suitability of this product for any particular purpose. Information in document is not sufficient to serve as a substitute for the geologic and geotechnical site investigations required under Chapters 7.5 and 7.8 of Division 2 of the California Public Resources Code. COVER PHOTOS Castle Crags State Park (center top), photograph by Chris Mizeur; Schooner Gulch State Beach (lower left), photograph by Jennifer Lotery; McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park (lower center), photograph by Michael Wopat; Red Rock Canyon State Park (lower right), photograph by Mike Fuller. This document has been prepared as a series of flyers that can be printed individually and distributed freely at visitor centers and other venues. GEOLOGICAL GEMS OF CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS Table of Contents GeoGems Note 1 Introduction 2 Geomorphology and Plate Tectonics 3 Coast Ranges Geomorphic Province 4 Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park 5 Humboldt Redwoods State Park 6 Robert Louis Stevenson State Park 7 Mount Tamalpais State Park 8 Mount Diablo State Park 9 Hollister Hills State Recreation Vehicle Area 10 Northern Coastline Geomorphic Sub-Province 11 Patrick’s Point State Park 12 Sinkyone Wilderness State Park 13 MacKerricher State Park 14 Schooner Gulch State Beach 15 Jug Handle State Natural Reserve and Van Damme State Park 16 Salt Point State Park 17 Fort Ross State Historic Park 18 Wilder Ranch State Park 19 Point Lobos State Natural Reserve 20 Montaña de Oro and Morro Bay State Parks 21 Point Sal State Beach 22 Klamath Mountains Geomorphic Province 23 Castle Crags State Park 24 Cascade Range Geomorphic Province 25 McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park 26 Modoc Plateau Geomorphic Province 27 Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park (continued on next page) GEOLOGICAL GEMS OF CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS Table of Contents GeoGems Note 28 Great Valley Geomorphic Province 29 Sutter Buttes State Park 30 Sierra Nevada Geomorphic Province 31 Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park 32 South Yuba River State Park 33 Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park 34 Emerald Bay State Park 35 Grover Hot Springs State Park 36 Basin and Range Geomorphic Province 37 Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve 38 Red Rock Canyon State Park 39 Transverse Ranges Geomorphic Province 40 Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area 41 Gaviota State Park 42 Malibu Creek State Park 43 Mojave Desert Geomorphic Province 44 Providence Mountains State Recreation Area 45 Picacho State Recreation Area 46 Peninsular Ranges Geomorphic Province 47 Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (Earthquake, deformation) 48 Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (Erosion, alluvial fans) 49 Cuyamaca Rancho State Park 50 Southern Coastline Geomorphic Sub-Province 51 Torrey Pines State Beach and Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve 52 San Onofre State Beach 53 Colorado Desert Geomorphic Province 54 Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (Badlands, fossils) 55 Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area GEOLOGICAL GEMS OF CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS | GEOGEM NOTE 1 Introduction alifornia is a veritable treasure chest of nationally acclaimed natural landmarks Cand much adored scenery. This geologic legacy on display in the landscape can be observed throughout California’s State Park system. The mission of California State Parks is “to provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological This abundant biodiversity … diversity, protecting its most valued natural and everything from the alpine cultural resources, and creating opportunities for to the saline. high-quality outdoor recreation.” We selected exemplary units of the State Park system to highlight California’s geologic legacy. The selected parks are dubbed “GeoGems.” Of these, a third have been bestowed various national accolades and recognitions. This GeoGem Note 1 is the first in a series of more than 50 notes that describe individual GeoGems, the geomorphic provinces in which they exist, and the processes that created them, leading off with a general explanation of plate tectonics in relation to the geomorphic provinces. Introduction GeoGem Note 1 California’s topography is one of the most diverse in the conterminous United States, including a splendid coastline; the largest estuary on the west coast; the famously fertile Great Valley; formidable mountain ranges studded with jewel-like lakes; parched, desolate deserts; snow-capped volcanoes; and extensive plateaus of lava. Elevations are extreme, ranging from 282 feet below sea level at Badwater in Death Valley to 14,495 feet above sea level at the top of Mount Whitney; both the lowest valley and the highest peak in the conterminous United States are less than 90 miles apart. Along with complex landscape comes rich Both the lowest valley and the habitat diversity. California inherited the most highest peak in the conterminous diverse flora in the country; including majestic, ancient redwood and sequoia forests; kelp United States are less than forests teeming with life; and grasslands and 90 miles apart. wetlands that support the famous Pacific Flyway—the main lifeline for migratory birds in western North America. This abundant biodiversity results from habitat heterogeneity (diversity), everything from the alpine to the saline. California’s annual precipitation ranges from less than two inches in Death Valley in the south to over 100 inches at Honeydew in Humboldt County in the north. The abundant rainfall in the north feeds the many coastal streams that are the lifelines for the migratory Pacific salmon. Throughout an inland network of thousands of miles of streams, the life cycles of these anadromous fish both begin and end. GEOLOGICAL GEMS OF CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS Introduction GeoGem Note 1 GeoGem Parks with Special Recognition National Natural Landmarks World Heritage Site Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (1974) Redwood National and State Parks includes Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Emerald Bay State Park (1968) International Biosphere Reserve McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park (1984) Redwood National and State Parks includes Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Mount Diablo State Park (1982) National Estuary Mitchell Caverns
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