Section
Geology
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MBARI and the Machines That Let Us See the Deep
You’ve probably seen the videos. A fish with a transparent head, its organs floating inside like tennis…
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Curiosity Is the Point
The more you look around in California, the more you realize there is almost always something fascinating to notice and something worth learning a little more about.
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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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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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Recommended California Science & Nature Videos
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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Upwelling, the Ocean’s Engine Beneath California’s Waters
Few marine processes are as impactful on the abundance of sea life off the coast of California as upwelling. It may not be a term you’ve heard before, but the natural oceanic process of upwelling is one of the most important engines driving climate, biological diversity, and the ocean’s food web.
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Transforming California’s Oil Platforms into Marine Sanctuaries
Beneath the surface of California’s offshore oil platforms lies one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. As the state debates whether to remove or reef these massive structures, scientists, divers, and environmental advocates like Blue Latitudes’ Amber Sparks are fighting to keep the life they support alive.
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San Clemente Island is Where War Games and Wildlife Coexist
San Clemente Island is a remote, Navy-controlled island off Southern California where live-fire military training zones share rugged terrain with rare birds, endemic foxes, and ancient Tongva sites.
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Ten Essential Books About California’s Nature, Science, and Sense of Place
I’m an avid reader, and over the past decade I’ve dedicated a large section of my bookshelf to books about California—its wild side, its nature, and its scientific wonders.
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The Story of Southern California Sand from Mountains to Surf
It turns out most of the grains between your toes actually began their journey high in the mountains above LA, on craggy slopes far from the shore. Mostly, we are talking about the San Gabriel Mountains and other peaks in the Transverse Ranges that run east-west across Southern California.
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The Physics and Geology of The Wedge, California’s Most Dangerous Wave
There is something unforgettable about the Wedge and the way its waves crash with such raw force. Sometimes they detonate just offshore, sending water skyrocketing into the air; other times they slam thunderously against the sand, eliciting groans and whoops from bystanders.
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Bring Human Exploration Back to California’s Deep Ocean
California's deep ocean remains one of the least explored places on Earth. Here's why it's time to send humans back down — and what we stand to discover.
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What David Attenborough Reminded Me About the Sea
The new National Geographic documentary Oceans makes plain what bottom trawling does to the seafloor — and why protecting the ocean might be the most important thing we can do.
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The Salton Sea Was California’s Strangest Catastrophe
In California’s southeastern desert, the Salton Sea stretches across a wide, shimmering basin, a lake where there shouldn’t be one. At about 340…
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The Plate Tectonic Revolution and How California Became the Epicenter of a Scientific Breakthrough
For many geologists, the moment this new understanding solidified was in December 1969, at a groundbreaking conference at the Asilomar Conference Center in California that reshaped the future of the field.
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Berkeley’s Cosmic Breakthrough and the Alvarez Discovery That Rewrote Earth’s History
The Alvarez’ work led to one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century: the discovery that a massive meteorite impact was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and much of life on Earth.
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Long Valley Caldera Discover the Science and Beauty of California’s Ancient Supervolcano
The Long Valley Caldera in eastern California is an extraordinary geological feature, spanning about 20 miles in length and 11 miles in width. It owes its existence to one of the most dramatic volcanic events in Earth’s history, a supereruption that occurred approximately 760,000 years ago.
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A Deep Dive into Monterey Canyon, California’s Great Abyss
Monterey Canyon, often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is one of the largest and most fascinating submarine canyons in the world. Stretching over 95 miles from the coast of Monterey, California, and plunging to depths exceeding 3,600 meters (11,800 feet), this underwater marvel rivals its terrestrial counterpart in size and grandeur.
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The Mountain Pass Mine in California May Be the U.S. Rare Earths Game Changer
The Mountain Pass Mine in California’s Mojave Desert is America’s only rare earth mine, and it may be the key to breaking China’s near-total grip on the minerals powering the modern world.
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Walter Munk was a Californian Oceanographer Who Changed Our Understanding of the Seas
Photo: Erik Jepsen (UC San Diego) Walter Munk, often referred to as the “Einstein of the Oceans,” was one of the most influential oceanographers of…
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John Isaacs, the Maverick Oceanographer Who Wanted to Tow Icebergs to California
California’s water crises have always inspired bold solutions, but few ideas rival the sheer audacity of John Isaacs’ proposal to tow a giant Antarctic iceberg to San Diego.
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The Great Los Angeles Flood of 1934 was a Disaster That Shaped California’s Approach to Flood Control
A forgotten New Year’s disaster killed dozens, swept hundreds of homes off their foundations in the foothills, and forced California to invent the modern playbook for flood control.
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Get Your Nukes on Route 66: The Wild Plan to Use Nuclear Weapons to Blast a Highway Through the California Desert
…and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Micah 4:3 Fake…
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Unearthing the Secrets of the Sierra Nevada Batholith
Ansel Adams , with his iconic black-and-white…
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The Lost Island of Santarosae off California’s Coast
During the last Ice Age, approximately 20,000 to 25,000 years ago, when sea levels were significantly lower, Santarosae Island was a single, expansive landmass that now comprises most of California’s Channel Islands.
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New Research Sheds Light on the Saber-Toothed Cats of California, Fierce Predators of the Pleistocene
Among the region’s Pleistocene Epoch megafauna, the Saber-toothed cats are some of the most iconic prehistoric predators to have roamed California.
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Unraveling the Geology Behind Palos Verdes’ Ongoing Landslide Crisis
For decades, geologists and engineers have been aware that the Portuguese Bend region of Palos Verdes is prone…
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Looking back at John McPhee’s Assembling California: A Journey through Geology and Time
when it comes to exploring the state’s geology - its mountains, coastlines, and, most notably, its fault lines - few books can match the prowess and eloquence of John McPhee’s “Assembling California”. Part of his Pulitzer-winning series, “Annals of the Former World,” the book offers a comprehensive and accessible tour through the geological history of California, crafting a narrative that is as engaging as it is informative.
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California’s Monterey Formation: Unraveling the Secrets of a Fossil-Rich, Oil-Bearing Geological Wonder
California’s Monterey Formation is one of the most fascinating geological formations in the United States. Stretching along the California coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles, this formation is notable for its incredible diversity of siliceous rocks—rocks rich in silica, such as shale, chert, diatomite, and porcelanite.
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Why Parkfield, California is the Nation’s Earthquake Capital
In Parkfield, every hillside and valley, grassy nook and riverbed is home to some kind of instrument that measures earthquakes. Over the years, these instruments have become more sophisticated and expensive, making it necessary in many cases to fence them off with the threat of arrest. These instruments monitor, hour by hour, or better, millisecond by millisecond, the stirrings of the earth. To geologists, it is ground zero for seismic measurement.
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Pasadena: City of Science
Pasadena, California, often renowned for its picturesque landscapes and historic architecture, harbors another, less visible identity as a bustling hub of scientific innovation and intellectual fervor. This unique blend of beauty and brains makes Pasadena not just a city, but a veritable city of science
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From Desert Treasures to Resilient Glass: How a California Boron Mine Transformed the World
Acknowledgment: Many of my stories begin with something I come across while reading. Often, it is a…
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The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH): Icon of American Scenic Roadways
The Pacific Coast Highway — California's iconic Highway 1 — winds 655 miles along one of the most dramatic coastlines on Earth. Here's its history, geology, and what makes it legendary.
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Black Gold Beach or How Oil Transformed Long Beach and Built the Southern California Economy
How early oil discoveries turned Long Beach into one of Southern California's wealthiest cities — and permanently shaped the region's economy and coastline.
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JPL and the Voyager Golden Record: Humanity’s A Cosmic Mixtape in Space
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, California is well-known for sending spacecraft far into the cosmos to help us better understand the universe. But the agency was also extensively involved in one of the most ambitious and symbolic projects in the history of space exploration: the Voyager Golden Record.
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Geologist Thomas Dibblee Jr. and the Theory Behind Pinnacles National Park’s 200-Mile Tectonic Journey
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.
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The Blythe Intaglios are the California’s Nazca Lines. They are True Mysteries Etched in Earth.
The Blythe Intaglios—have long puzzled anthropologists and captivated the imagination of those who visit them or view them from the sky.
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Roadcut Revelations: Unearthing California’s Deep History Along the Highway
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.
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Underground Fury: The 1985 Methane Blast That Rocked Los Angeles and Rerouted Its Subways
When an unseen pocket of methane ignited under a Ross Dress for Less in 1985, it didn’t just injure 23 people — it forced Los Angeles to redraw the future of its subway.
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Journey to the Iron Giant: NASA’s Psyche Mission Could Unlock the Secrets of a Metallic World
The Psyche spacecraft in the clean room of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, CA A NOVEL PROPULSION SYSTEM WILL TAKE US TO A MASSIVE METAL ASTEROID IN DEEP SPACE Imagine being…
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Navigating the Unseen Current: How the California Current System Shapes Our Ocean, Climate, and Future
The California Current, originating from the colder regions up near British Columbia, sweeps its way down toward Baja California, extending laterally several hundred miles offshore into deep oceanic waters off the continental shelf.
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Davidson Seamount and the Unseen Mountains and Hidden Treasures Off California’s Coast
Perhaps the most astonishing discovery at Davidson Seamount occurred in 2018, when scientists discovered the “Octopus Garden,” the largest known aggregation of octopuses in the world. The garden is about two miles deep and was discovered by researchers on the research vessel (RV) Nautilus.
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The San Gabriel Mountains Are Still Growing. Here's Their Story
The mountains hovering above Los Angeles are geologically young, tectonically restless, and still getting taller.
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Tejon Pass is a Journey Through Time, Terrain, and Tectonics
Tejon Pass — the dramatic gateway between the LA Basin and the Central Valley — is where the San Andreas Fault, ancient sea floors, and millions of years of California geology converge.
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Baja California Is Slowly Breaking Away from the Mainland and May One Day Become an Island
In the southwest corner of North America, surrounded by the vast Pacific Ocean and the ethereal Sea of Cortez, lies the rugged and beautiful Baja California Peninsula. While well known for its captivating landscapes, what’s perhaps more fascinating is the story of its origin—a tale written in the language of tectonic plate movements, over tens of millions of years.
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Where the Sand on Southern California’s Beaches Comes From
Beach sand, particularly in Southern California, is primarily composed of quartz and feldspar mixed with silvery mica and milky quartz. These minerals originally existed in the granite of the local mountains, miles from the shoreline.
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Why Are Dinosaur Fossils So Scarce in California?
Hadrosaur on ancient California landscape. Hadrosaurs like this AI generated one are among the very few dinosaurs whose fossils have ever been found in California. Support California Curated with a…
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Maybe You’ve heard of Josiah Whitney, Mt. Whitney’s Namesake
Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, is one of the great peaks in California. A wildly popular destination for…
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Serpentine is the Geological Gem of California
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.
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Ten Little-Known Facts About California
Giant Sequoia California is known for its sunny beaches, bustling cities, and iconic landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Hollywood sign. However, the state is also home to a wealth of…
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The Rich Historical and Geological Past of the Alabama Hills
The hills are known for their unique geological formations, including massive rounded boulders and natural arches, and their rich history and cultural significance.
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Exploring the Long Valley Caldera, California’s Ancient Supervolcano
Beneath the seemingly calm and serene landscape of Eastern California lies one of the planet’s most explosive features — a volcanic giant that has been slumbering for thousands of years. It’s the Long Valley Caldera.
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Clair Patterson: The little-known California scientist who may have saved millions of lives.
The Caltech geologist who proved leaded gasoline was poisoning all of humanity — and then spent decades fighting the oil industry to get it removed from the air we breathe.
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How one building survived the San Francisco earthquake and changed the world.
The Bekins building survived because it was made of a relatively new material that had largely been ignored (and vigorously opposed) in California. That material is reinforced concrete.
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Vasquez Rocks: Where Plates Collide and Captain Kirk Roamed
This is Vasquez Rocks, one of California’s most interesting and dramatic geologic formations.