That Time We Tried to Live Under the Sea Off California

The Valley That Feeds a Nation

When it comes to a geological feature that has quietly shaped daily life in California more than almost any other, we should consider the Central Valley, arguably the state’s most important geological masterpiece.

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California’s Daily Tidal Wave of Life

Every day, trillions of marine animals migrate up and down through the ocean in the largest daily movement of biomass on Earth. California’s exceptionally productive waters, and research hubs like MBARI near Moss Landing, make the state one of the best places in the world to observe and study this vast, invisible pulse of life.

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Measuring the Earth’s Tremors and the Development of the Richter Scale

In 1935, Charles F. Richter, a seismologist at CalTech, introduced a groundbreaking method to quantify earthquakes: the Richter scale.

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When Muybridge Made Motion Visible in Palo Alto

Eadweard Muybridge’s ‘Animal Locomotion’ was the first scientific study to use photography. Now, more than 130 years later, Muybridge’s work is seen as both an innovation in photography and the science of movement.

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Recommended California Science & Nature Videos

Would you support us? Just a few bucks. We’d appreciate it! Today’s newsletter is a little different. Instead of one big story focused on a single topic, I put together a short list of some of my…

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Ancient and Poisonous Cycads Are the Prehistoric Plants of Southern California

Cycad at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. (Photo: Erik Olsen) Would you support us? Just a few bucks. We’d appreciate it! If there’s one thing our increasingly digital world has pushed me…

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