Irvine Ranch is a United States National Natural Landmark that covers much of Orange County. It has some overlapping areas in Crystal Cove State Park which is almost as equality protected. So why was it designated a National Natural Landmark (NNL)?
For starters, the geology of the area is quite impressive. Cliffs that are rising at 2mm per year help build land in California. Since the ocean is also rising at 2mm a year, this is rise is canceled out. This leaves time for life to diversify over longer periods of time. It's very unique to get have land rise at the same rate as the ocean. This could also lead to more erosion and steeper cliffs and more shallow shorelines.
100 years ago, this place had no houses, no roads, and no geocaches. It was then a perfect place for species to thrive in the shallow canyons and costal mountains of the area in and around Laguna Beach. Because this place is still protected, it will continue for many years to come be a wild life sanctuary for future generations to enjoy.
From this vantage point, you can see the Monterey Formation, the main geological formation in all of California. The Monterey formation is made up of siltstones and sandstones. The specific names of the rocks found here are diatomite, chert, and fossiliferous sandstone. Over millions of years, these rocks were laid down in the shallow ocean and were uplifted at a rate of 2mm per year. They are still uplifting today, but this section has been eroding natural erosion and uplift.
40,000 acres of land was set aside from the original Irvine Ranch in 2006 and was then designated a National Natural Landmark for it's rare biological and geological features. Nationwide, there are less than 600 National Natural Landmarks, so even being recognized as such is a huge honor. The NNL is designated by the U.S. Secretary of Interior for both private areas such as Irvine Ranch and public such as Crystal Cove State Park.
According to the State of California, Irvine Ranch National Natural Landmark contains rare and exotic flora and fauna. It also home to the Tecate Cypress Woodlands, which can only exists under certain conditions. Tecate Crypress is considered "venerable threatened" on the IUCN grading scale that ranks species based on population growth. The map below shows their populations and how local change as little as building structures such as homes or roads can literally make a tree go extinct. This is one of the main reasons that the Irvine Ranch was placed as an NNL to help protect any further damage from these rare trees.
One of the geologic wonders of Irvine Ranch is it's location. It's situated between fault zones, that are inter-related to the San Andreas Fault system. For example, the Newport-Inglewood Fault is right off shore here and is responsible for the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake which actually had it's epicenter in Newport Beach. The next major fault zone going east is the Elsinore Fault, which also is very close to parts of the Irvine Ranch but far from Crystal Cove State Park. The tension between theses faults help creates the twisted rock formations as well as lifting them quite literally out of the sea.
Works Cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_forbesii
http://www.ocregister.com/news/shows-246222-active-state.html
http://letsgooutside.org/about/
http://irconservancy.org/where/nnl.aspx
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/734/files/cnl%20register%20of%20california%20natural%20landmarks.pdf
https://islandofcalifornia.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/800px-cuyamaca_peak_cypress.jpg
TO LOG A FIND ON THIS CACHE YOU MUST GIVE ME THE CORECT ANSWERS. YOU CAN CONTACT ME THROUGH MY EMAIL OR THE GEOCACHING MESSAGE CENTER. ANY INCORRECT ANSWERS WILL RESULT IN A DELETED LOG
1. "Crystal Cove State Park - Irvine Ranch" on the first line of your email.
2. How many acres of wooded canyons, grasslands and bluffs exist here?
3. Name at least 2 geologic features that are both seen in the picture on the plaque that you can still see from this vista point.
4. Explain how urbanization have effected these features both in positive and negative ways. Use the picture to help you visualize the changes. Note what year the picture represents as this may effect your answer.