Beachfront Property
San Francisco’s Fort Funston is perhaps best known for dogs and hang gliders, but its cliffs also host a thriving coastal bank swallow colony.
Geology
Betting on Point Molate
With stunning views of the Bay and Marin, Richmond’s Point Molate has seen a lot of changes: It’s been a shrimp camp, a huge winery, and a Navy fuel depot. Now the site of a controversial casino proposal, this modest point of land is home to diverse wildlife and some of the East Bay’s last native coastal prairie.
Earthquake Resources
Plate Tectonics And Earthquakes National Earthquake Information Center USGS website providing current data on earthquakes worldwide. USGS Earthquake Hazards Program-Northern California Website providing general and latest quake information, hazard maps, sources of preparedness information, synthesis of current research, and resources. … Read more
In the Fault Zone
On April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake centered just west of San Francisco ruptured the earth from Humboldt to San Juan Bautista. While the more dramatic traces of this 7.8 temblor may be hard to find one hundred years later, the tectonic forces that moved the earth that day are still relentlessly shaping our young and active landscape, carrying us towards another cataclysm in the near future.
On The Move
All of the familiar landforms we see here in the Bay Area—ridges, cliffs, lakes, and even San Francisco Bay itself—are products of the same titanic encounters between tectonic plates that produce our frequent quakes. Through a geologist's trained eye, we learn to interpret the signs these forces have left on the land around us.
Letter from the Publisher
I was working at my computer at the Bay Nature office in Berkeley the other day when I was interrupted by a short, sharp jolt. I looked around at the others working in the office: “Did you just feel that?” … Read more
Vasco Regional Preserve Open for Public Tours
At Vasco Regional Preserve, stone balls the size of dinosaur eggs litter the landscape, the winds burrow into stone, and cup-sized pools tucked into sandstone outcrops teem with fairies (of the crustacean variety). The preserve, owned by the East Bay … Read more
Voice of the Volcano
We all know that the East Bay hills are ripe for an earthquake, but volcanoes? Don't look for lava in the headlines anytime soon, but there is a place in Oakland where an ancient volcano has laid bare a tale of fiery eruptions, long-extinct ecosystems, and the massive movements of tectonic plates. Many people go to Sibley Regional Preserve for the views of Mount Diablo or the quirky labyrinths at the bottoms of old quarry pits. But look closely at the trailside rocks, and you’ll see lava flows and a volcano turned on its side!
Down to the Sea Again
Daly City's cliffs hold tales of ancient seas and volcanic eruptions. But don't count on them to stand still under your feet, or your home.
Going Overboard
In 1985, when Jane and Ray Pittsinger rented a house at 548 Esplanade Avenue in Pacifica, they had a 30-foot-deep backyard that fronted on the cliffs, a staircase down to the beach, and the most amazing views of the Pacific … Read more
