Section
Science History
The history of science in California: Caltech, UC Berkeley, Scripps, the Manhattan Project, plate tectonics, the discovery of the Richter scale, and the people who transformed our understanding of the world.
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Mountain of Knives
Lookout Mountain obsidian became prized toolstone, traded through Indigenous networks from the eastern Sierra to the Channel Islands.
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That Time We Tried to Live Under the Sea Off California
One of the most ambitious attempts to allow humans to live on the ocean floor took place just off San Diego. It’s called SEALAB II.
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The Man Who Saved the Owens Pupfish
Less than 2.5 inches in length, the Owens pupfish is a silvery-blue fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. Endemic to California’s Owens Valley, 200 miles north of Los Angeles, the fish has lived on the planet since the Pleistocene, becoming a new species when its habitat was divided by changing climatic conditions, 60,000 years ago.
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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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The Myth of the 100-foot Whale
So, according to the best records we have, the largest blue whale ever properly measured was 98 feet long. Granted, 98 feet is close to 100 feet, but it’s not 100 feet, and it’s certainly not over 100 feet, as so many otherwise reputable references state.
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California Is a Nobel Powerhouse
The University of California system now counts 74 Nobel Prizes among its faculty and researchers. 23 in physics and 16 in chemistry. Berkeley leads the list, with 26 laureates, followed by UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and UC San Francisco. Even smaller campuses, such as UC Riverside, have ties to winners like Barry Barish, who shared the 2017 Nobel in Physics for detecting gravitational waves.
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The Unsung California Labs That Powered the Digital Revolution
The technology is extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV). And one of the most important points I want to leave you with is that the origins of EUV are not found in Silicon Valley startups or corporate boardrooms but in California’s national laboratories, where government-funded science made the impossible possible.
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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 Caltech Experiment That Proved How Life Copies Itself
The Meselson-Stahl experiment didn’t just prove a point. It told a story about how knowledge is built: carefully, creatively, and with a precision that leaves no room for doubt. It became a model for how science can answer big questions with simple, clean logic and careful experimentation. And it all happened in California.
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California’s Eye on the Cosmos: The SLAC-Built Camera That Will Time-Lapse the Universe
Images from the most powerful astronomical discovery machine ever created, and built in California A breathtaking zoomed-in glimpse of the cosmos: this first image from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory…
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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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How a Tiny Beetle Helped Save California
California’s citrus industry confronted a deadly challenge, leading to a groundbreaking innovation in pest control. Cottony Cushion Scale (Public Domain) Click to We’d…
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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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All the Fish We Did Not See - The Discovery of the Ocean’s False Bottom off California
This phenomenon, later termed the Deep Scattering Layer (DSL), created a “false bottom” in sonar readings, revealing an unexpectedly dense concentration of biological life in a mid-ocean zone once thought to be relatively sparse. The discovery of the DSL challenged assumptions about life distribution in the ocean, showing that vast numbers of organisms—such as fish, squid, and zooplankton—populate these depths, rising and descending with daily cycles to avoid predators and optimize feeding.
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Cadillac Desert: How Marc Reisner Changed the Way We See Water
Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert is not just a history of water in the West; it is a call to rethink our relationship with one of the planet’s most precious resources. At once an epic tale and an urgent warning, it stands as a monumental testament to the price we pay for bending nature to our will.
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A Massive Aircraft Carrier called the USS Independence Rests in Deep Waters off the Coast of California
The waters off California’s coast are scattered with relics of wartime history, each telling its own story of conflict and survival. Among these wrecks is the USS Independence, a WWII aircraft carrier whose journey took it from the heights of naval warfare to the depths of nuclear experimentation.
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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 Magic, Wonder, and Science of Ocean Bioluminescence in Southern California
The phenomenon that causes the blue glow has been known for centuries, but that in no way detracts from its wonder and beauty. The phenomenon is called bioluminescence, and it is one of nature’s most magical and interesting phenomena.
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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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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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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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How Theodore Roosevelt’s 1903 trip to California gave birth to modern conservation
Theodore Roosevelt’s 1903 trip to California gave birth to modern conservation.
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Beyond the Beach: How Santa Monica Became Home to the RAND Corporation, America’s Premier Defense Think Tank
“This was a very smart bunch,” said Ellsberg, before his death on June 16, 2023. “The smartest group of people I ever did associate with. It turns out, by the way, intelligence is not a very good guarantee of wisdom.”
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Caltech Fly Labs and a Century of Genetic Discovery
And much of the work to understand the fruit fly has taken place and is taking place now, right here in California at the Cal Tech fly labs.
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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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Giants Fallen: The Destruction of Converse Basin Grove and its Giant Sequoias
The true tragic story of one of the worst environmental crimes in California history.
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Julia Platt was the Unwavering Force Behind Monterey’s Ecological Conservation
In the 18th century, when Spanish and French explorers ventured along the northern California coast they encountered…
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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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California’s SLAC and the Mission to Unveil the Mysteries of Matter and the Cosmos
Since its inception in 1962, originally as the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (as it was previously known), it has been on the forefront of scientific discovery in numerous scientific disciplines. It is truly one of the nation’s great scientific institutions, being at the forefront of numerous major discoveries that have deeply impacted - and will impact - the world.
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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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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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The Eucalyptus Tree’s Twisted Path to Californian Soil
The California landscape is dotted with numerous plant species, many of them native , but few have a story as…
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Mt. Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles is a Celestial Time Capsule
The story of the Mt. Wilson Observatory begins with George Ellery Hale. A visionary, Hale had the foresight to choose Mt. Wilson as the site for his new observatory because of its altitude (at 5,710 feet) and proximity to the Pacific Ocean, making it an ideal spot for stable, clear skies.
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The Sweet Journey of the Boysenberry from Family Farms to Theme Park Fame
Bowl of boysenberries on wooden table. California has long been a hub for berry innovation, boasting a rich history of developing countless berry…
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Einstein in Pasadena: Three Wonderful Winters in Paradise
Of all the places he visited, one city stood out in particular. Pasadena, with its warm weather, lively culture, and, most importantly, its reputation as a scientific hub, had a deep personal appeal to Einstein. He visited Pasadena during the winters of 1931, 1932, and 1933, each time staying for approximately two to three months.
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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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Hannes Keller’s Deadly 1,000-Foot Descent off Catalina Island Was the Dive of the Century
“If a man could go, for instance, to 1,000 feet down and do practical work,” Mr. Keller wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald, “then all the continental shelf zone could be explored, a total of more than 16 million square miles.”
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Baja California Is Slowly Breaking Away from the Mainland and May One Day Become an Island
The Baja California Peninsula is slowly being pulled away from mainland Mexico by powerful tectonic forces. As the Pacific Plate moves northwest, it is tearing the peninsula from North America, opening the Sea of Cortez and reshaping the landscape in a geologic process that continues today.
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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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How Citrus Transformed California
The citrus boom in California reached its zenith in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was during this period that the citrus industry became a pivotal part of the state’s economy and helped shape its cultural identity.
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J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Berkeley Era and The Birth of the Manhattan Project
J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the leading physicists of the 20th century, is often remembered as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’. However, his journey toward this formidable title began at the University of California, Berkeley, an intellectual crucible where his talent for theoretical physics was honed, ultimately leading him to oversee the Manhattan Project, a scientific endeavor that would change the world.
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Genetic Guardians: The Asilomar Conference and its DNA Diplomacy
The Asilomar Conference reached a consensus that with proper containment measures, most rDNA experiments could be conducted safely. This resulted in a set of guidelines that differentiated experiments based on their potential biohazards and suggested appropriate containment measures.
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The Long Life and Accidental Death of the Prometheus Bristlecone Pine
Yet, in an ironic twist of fate, one of these seemingly invincible trees—known as Prometheus—fell not to the ravages of nature, but to the hand of man.
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The Enduring Legacy of Hydraulic Mining in California
California's Gold Rush-era hydraulic mining reshaped entire mountains and choked rivers with debris. Its environmental legacy is still visible in the Sierra Nevada foothills today.
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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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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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The Majesty and Mystery of California’s Bristlecone Pines
Bristlecones are the longest living organism on earth. Gnarled and oftentimes squat, especially when compared to the majestic coastal redwoods and giant sequoias living near the coast further west, they hardly seem like mythical beings. But to scientists, they are a trove of information, offering clues to near immortality and to the many ways that the earth’s climate has changed over the last 5,000 years.
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Beautiful, but Deadly: Painting the Coronavirus
Pandemic as art. You’ve seen it. Probably a thousand or more times by now. It’s the image of a greyish sphere, hanging in space, barbed with blood-red spikes. It looks like an undersea Navy mine……
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The genius of Luther Burbank, father of the most famous potato in the world
Luther Burbank created some of the most successful fruits and vegetables in the world, all from his California farm.
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Towing an iceberg from Antarctica isn’t a new idea.
It was proposed 70 years ago by a maverick California scientist at Scripps. Sign up for the California Science Weekly newsletter . Fresh California science every Friday! Annie Spratt…