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A Guide to Places in Motion | ||
| Place | County | Comments |
| Cajon Pass | San Bernardino | Local universities make a point to take their geology students to examine the road cuts (including the famous Blue Cut), sag ponds, benches, and other seismic features. Notable are the Mormon Rocks, named for an encampment of settlers who came through here in 1850. The Pass is located between Devore and Victorville along Interstate 15. |
| Crystal Springs Reservoirs | San Mateo | These long lakes to the west of Interstate 280 between San Mateo and Millbrae lay in a broad trough formed by the San Andreas Fault. There are a few scenic turnouts for viewing the lakes and some pedestrian trails. Do not swim, boat, or fish in the lakes. They form the water supply for the City of San Francisco. |
| Devil's Punchbowl | Los Angeles | The actions of the San Andreas Fault are very much in evidence here. Rocks have been tilted every which way. The area is located inside the Angeles National Forest on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Come in winter to avoid the heat. |
| Golden Gate National Recreation Area | Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo | From the southern end of the Point Reyes Penninsula, the San Andreas Fault runs underwater. Nevertheless, interesting geological features relating to fault activity can be seen in the Marin Headlands, especially along the road cut leading up to Hawk Hill. The Fault comes ashore again south of Fort Funston and runs parallel to the Sweeny Ridge and Milagra Ridge park units. |
| Hollister | San Benito | If you are just dying to feel an earthquake when you visit California, try a short visit here. At the very least, you can study the preparations the locals have made for the frequent quakes that rock the area: just visit the grocery for one thing. |
| Midpennisula Regional Open Space District | San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz | Los Trancos (near the top of Page Mill Road, Palo Alto) features an earthquake trail which explains features like sag ponds, benches, displacement. About one hundred yards from the parking lot at Monte Bello (just across the road) is a scenic overlook of the San Andreas rift zone through Stevens Creek Canyon. Loma Prieta, epicenter of the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake, is visible. |
| Museum of the City of San Francisco | San Francisco | The museum features exhibits (both online and off) about the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire. |
| Pinnacles National Monument | Monterey/San Benito | The Pinnacles are a little more than half what remains of an ancient volcano. The other part of the volcano, known as the Neenah Formation, is located 200 miles south in Los Angeles county. This is an excellent area for hikers, rock-climbers, talus cave explorers, and wild life enthusiasts. |
| Point Reyes National Seashore | Marin | The San Andreas Fault neatly divides the Point Reyes Pennisula from the mainland. Bear Valley Visitor Center features an earthquake trail. |
| Presidio Army Museum | San Francisco | U.S. Army troops were actively involved in maintaining order and rescuing survivors during the 1906 earthquake and fire. The museum includes authentic refugee cabins from the period and other information. |
| Red Rock Canyon State Park | Kern | The Garlock Fault runs along the edge of these colorful cliffs, often featured in Hollywood Westerns. |
| Salton Sea State Recreation Area | Imperial, Riverside | The Salton Sea might be described as a "restoration" of an ancient lakebed, formed by the rupture of a nearby irrigation canal and sustained by Imperial Valley agriculture. The sea lays at the southernmost end of the San Andreas Fault Zone and owes its existence, in part, to seismic forces. |
| San Juan Capistrano | Orange County | An 1812 earthquake demolished the main church. The ruins can still be seen today, when they serve as the nesting place of the Mission's famous swallows. |