Bodega Head is a small promontory on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Sonoma County, approximately 64 km northwest of San Francisco and approximately 32 km west of Santa Rosa.
The peninsula, which is approximately 6.4 km long and 1.6 km wide, emerges from the coast to the north. It shelters the shallow, sandy Bodega Bay and the inner portion known as Bodega Harbor.
The bedrock of the Mussel Point-Bodega Head peninsula in California is primarily quarts diorite, a granitic rock. The shoreline of Bodega Head, which is on the west side of the San Andreas Fault, is characterized by bluffs, terraces, and pocket beaches.
Geology
The geology of California was largely created by three events:
- The subduction of the oceanic plate under the continental plate
- The growth of the San Andreas fault system
- The extension of the Earth's crust in the Basin and Range area
The San Andreas Fault System runs from the Salton Sea in the south to Cape Mendocino in the north. It forms the boundary between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate.
Geologically, the rocks of Bodega Head differ greatly from those on the mainland just to the east. Whereas the rocks of Bodega Head are exposed continental granite, the mainland rocks are of oceanic origin. Bodega Head is the northern tip of a vast geologic province known as the Salinian Block whose core is of the same origins as the core of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The block was torn off the continent as the San Andreas Fault came into existence about 20 million years ago, and was transported northward hundreds of kilometers.
Keep going over the head to look at the ocean, you'll see the only granite outcrops from Bodega Bay north to the Gualala Block that are along this coast, and there are some marvelous trails around the head. These are accessible from the parking lot.
Questions:
- Please visit the GZ and observe the rock formations
- Please describe the colouration
- Please describe the texture
- How to you think this rock formed over thousands of years.
- Please take a picture of yourself or something personal with the stunning backdrop
Please send me your answers, post a picture with your log, and feel free to claim your smiley.