Walking the Line
The Moving Story of the Hayward Fault

by Horst Rademacher

It was 140 years ago, in October 1868, that the Hayward Fault unleashed the magnitude 6.8 temblor that put the fault on the map. The quake shook the entire region and virtually leveled the then-small hamlets of Hayward and San Leandro. Now, the land along the fault line is among the most densely populated in the region, a sobering situation given the likelihood of a repeat performance in the near future. But despite their destructive potential, the Hayward and the Bay Area’s other faults are the driving force behind our region’s varied and beautiful topography. Understanding how they work is key both to understanding our local landscapes and to preparing for the next Big One.

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Reaping the Harvest
Parks and Farms on the Urban Edge

by Joan Hamilton

It’s easy to forget how much of the Bay Area was once a working landscape. Row crops, orchards, and pastures held sway in places now covered by freeways and houses. But a surprising amount of that working land endures in our parks and preserves. In the East Bay, ranchers still run cattle on thousands of acres of land, both public and private. And in a few places, thanks to the East Bay Regional Park District, kids and adults can learn firsthand about skills people once took for granted: how to plant a seed, plow a field, grind grain into flour, or spin wool into yarn.

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Give Me Shelter
The Wild Nursery of Drakes Estero

by David Wimpfheimer

Harbor seals, migrating seabirds, and other wildlife find shelter in the productive waters of Drakes Estero at Point Reyes.

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Martinez Regional Shoreline

by Ann Sieck

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Rancho Canada del Oro Open Space

by Rob Lehman

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

San Gregorio State Beach

by Laura Hautala

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Letter from the Publisher

by David Loeb

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Fall of the Buckeye Ball

by Joe Eaton

The dramatic fall silhouette of the California buckeye shows off its giant seeds, that largest of any of our native plants.

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Raising Bair Island

by Carolyn J. Strange

Redwood City's Bair Island is the domino that that didn't fall to development, and now an unusual team of activists, business leaders, and government officials is leading the way toward restoration.

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Catch Some Wild Zzz's

by Mike Koslosky

Animals have to sleep too! But sometimes they do it a bit differently than we do.

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

The Paranoid Jay

by Michael Ellis

Why is this bird attacking my windows?

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Rash Ideas

by Jack Laws

Get a few ideas about poison oak!

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue
Published October 01, 2008
Length:

Bay Nature Library

From a collection of artwork depicting the farms of West Marin to a compendium on Santa Clara County’s breeding birds, here are some of the year’s best new books about nature in the Bay Area and Northern California.

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue

Ear to the Ground
News from the conservation community and the natural world

by Aleta George

Flying to the rescue for condors, finding the fungi, getting a license to protect, voting for conservation, and more...

From the Oct-Dec 2008 issue