The Key to Willow Creek
Thanks to the efforts of dozens of volunteers, a biologically rich watershed on the Russian River has become one of the newest additions to our state park system.
History
Speak of the Devil
Mount Diablo is such a towering icon of our landscape that it is sometimes easy to forget how much complexity lies within its familiar outline. Indeed, the mountain holds many...
What a Grand Sight!
Beginning in 1860, botanist William H. Brewer accompanied state geologist Josiah Dwight Whitney on an expedition to perform “an accurate and complete Geological Survey” of California’s rocks, fossils, soils, minerals,...
The Cattle Baron and the Elk
The 19th-century cattle baron Henry Miller (not the noted California author of the same name), who once had an estate on Mount Madonna (the subject of our July-September 2007 On...
At Home off the Range
Once home to California's largest landowner, Mount Madonna near Gilroy showcases an impressive range of habitats, from redwood forests to open oak woodlands, serpentine barrens, and chaparral.
Native Patwin Grinding Rocks/Conservation in Solano County
Two grinding rocks once used by the native Patwin people at Lynch Canyon Open Space in Solano County are perfectly situated. There are strong winds for winnowing the skin from...
Highway to the Flyway
Along the gentle arc of the northern San Pablo Bay shoreline, one of the region's least loved highways, Highway 37, traverses one of its most fascinating landscapes. Best to be...
The Tribe
When Greg Sarris of Santa Rosa, an adopted child, learned that his paternal grandmother was a Coast Miwok, it opened the door to a whole alternative culture. He would soon...
Presidio, Past and Present
San Francisco’s Presidio is among the richest historical sites in the Bay region, or perhaps in all of California, a place with structures and changes in the landscape that go...
Whispers in the Water
By a quiet picnic area in the Presidio, water gurgles out of the hillside, spills over brick walls, and disappears underground on its way north to Crissy Field and the...
