1.
Summit
–
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
Summit
–
The highest elevation summit, Mount Everest, shown with a climber at the summit wearing an oxygen mask. The summit is 8850 m (29,035 ft) elevation. (While the cruising altitude of jetliners is roughly 10,000 m (32,808 feet), they are pressurized.)
Summit
–
View from the summit of Switzerland's highest,
Monte Rosa
Summit
–
The summit of
Mount Damavand,
Iran, in winter
Summit
–
Jeff Davis Peak, one of the highest peaks entirely within
Nevada
2.
North American Vertical Datum of 1988
–
NAVD88 was established in 1991 by the minimum-constraint adjustment of geodetic leveling observations in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It held fixed the height of the tidal bench mark, referenced to the International Great Lakes Datum of 1985 local mean sea level height value, at Rimouski, Quebec. The definition of NAVD88 uses the Helmert orthometric height, which calculates the location of the geoid from modeled local gravity, the NAVD88 model is based on then-available measurements, and remains fixed despite later improved geoid models. NAVD88 replaced the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, previously known as the Sea Level Datum of 1929, the elevation difference between points in a local area will show negligible change from one datum to the other, even though the elevation of both does change. NGVD29 used a model of gravity based on latitude to calculate the geoid and did not take into account other variations. Thus, the difference for points across the country does change between datums. Altitude Geodesy Sea Level Datum of 1929 Topographic elevation Topography Reference ellipsoid Geoid United States Geological Survey home page, U. S. National Geodetic Survey home page
North American Vertical Datum of 1988
–
Geodesy
3.
Topographic prominence
–
It is a measure of the independence of a summit. A peaks key col is a point on this contour line. By convention, the prominence of Mount Everest, the Earths highest mountain, is taken to equal the elevation of its summit above sea level, if the peaks prominence is P metres, to get from the summit to any higher terrain one must descend at least P metres. Together with the convention for Mount Everest, this implies that the prominence of any island or continental highpoint is equal to its elevation above sea level, for every ridge connecting the peak to higher terrain, find the lowest point on the ridge. The key col is defined as the highest of these cols, the prominence is the difference between the elevation of the peak and the elevation of the key col. The following mental exercise may illustrate the meaning of topographic prominence, imagine you are standing at the top of a peak and imagine that an imaginary sea level rises to your feet. Now slowly lower the sea level and an imaginary island appears beneath your feet. Your island will grow and will merge with other islands that emerge, the parent peak may be either close or far from the subject peak. The summit of Mount Everest is the parent peak of Aconcagua at a distance of 17,755 km, the key col may also be close or far from the subject peak. The key col for Aconcagua is the Bering Strait at a distance of 13,655 km, the key col for the South Summit of Mount Everest is about 100 m distant. Prominence is interesting to many mountaineers because it is a measurement that is strongly correlated with the subjective significance of a summit. Peaks with low prominences are either subsidiary tops of some higher summit or relatively insignificant independent summits, peaks with high prominences tend to be the highest points around and are likely to have extraordinary views. Only summits with a sufficient degree of prominence are regarded as independent mountains, for example, the worlds second-highest mountain is K2. While Mount Everests South Summit is taller than K2, it is not considered an independent mountain because it is a subsummit of the main summit, many lists of mountains take topographic prominence as a criterion for inclusion, or cutoff. John and Anne Nuttalls The Mountains of England and Wales uses a cutoff of 15 m, in the contiguous United States, the famous list of fourteeners uses a cutoff of 300 ft /91 m. Also in the U. S.2000 feet of prominence has become a threshold that signifies that a peak has major stature. This generates lists of peaks ranked by prominence, which are different from lists ranked by elevation. Such lists tend to emphasize isolated high peaks, such as range or island high points, one advantage of a prominence-ranked list is that it needs no cutoff, since a peak with high prominence is automatically an independent peak
Topographic prominence
–
Figure 3. Diagram of a mountain range showing peaks and cols, from which mountain parentage and prominences can be determined.
Topographic prominence
–
Topographic prominence of three peaks near Great Pond Mountain, Maine, USA. Red triangles mark the peaks, the lowest contour line encircling each peak are shown in black and the green dots mark the key cols. The prominences are Atkins Hill: 430 – 310 = 120 ft, Cave Hill: 570 - 530 = 40 ft, Mead Mountain: 671 - 530 = 141 ft. The parent peak of each peak is Great Pond Mountain.
4.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
5.
Marin County, California
–
Marin County /məˈrɪn/ is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 252,409 and its county seat is San Rafael. Marin County is included in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, Marin County is one of the wealthiest localities in the United States, known for its affluence. In May 2009, Marin County had the fifth highest income per capita in the United States at about $91,480, the county is governed by the Marin County Board of Supervisors. The county is well known for its natural beauty and liberal politics. San Quentin Prison is located in the county, as is George Lucas Skywalker Ranch, autodesk, the publisher of AutoCAD, is also located there, as well as numerous other high-tech companies. The Marin County Civic Center was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and draws thousands of visitors a year to guided tours of its arch, in 1994, a new county jail facility was embedded into the hillside nearby. Marin Countys natural sites include the Muir Woods redwood forest, the Marin Headlands, Stinson Beach, the Point Reyes National Seashore, the United States oldest cross country running event, the Dipsea Race, takes place annually in Marin County, attracting thousands of athletes. Mountain biking was invented on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin, According to General Mariano Vallejo, who headed an 1850 committee to name Californias counties, the county was named for Marin, great chief of the tribe Licatiut. Marin had been named Huicmuse until he was baptized as Marino at about age 20, Marin / Marino was born into the Huimen people, a Coast Miwok tribe of Native Americans who inhabited the San Rafael area. Vallejo believed that Chief Marin had waged several fierce battles against the Spanish, starting in 1817, he served as an alcalde at the San Rafael Mission, where he lived from 1817 off and on until his death. The Coast Miwok Indians were hunters and gatherers whose ancestors had occupied the area for thousands of years, about 600 village sites have been identified in the county. The Coast Miwok numbered in the thousands, today, there are few left and even fewer with any knowledge of their Coast Miwok lineage. Efforts are being made so that they are not forgotten, francis Drake and the crew of the Golden Hind was thought to have landed on the Marin coast in 1579 claiming the land as Nova Albion. A bronze plaque inscribed with Drakes claim to the new lands and this so-called Drakes Plate of Brass was revealed as a hoax in 2003. In 1595, Sebastian Cermeno lost his ship, the San Agustin, the Spanish explorer Vizcaíno landed about twenty years after Drake in what is now called Drakes Bay. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 828 square miles. It is the fourth-smallest county in California by land area
Marin County, California
–
Marin County Civic Center
Marin County, California
–
The
Mission San Rafael Arcángel
Marin County, California
–
The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands
Marin County, California
–
Stinson Beach is one of the most popular beaches in West Marin
6.
California
–
California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
California
–
A forest of redwood trees in
Redwood National Park
California
–
Flag
California
–
Mount Shasta
California
–
Aerial view of the
California Central Valley
7.
Mountain range
–
A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
Mountain range
–
The
Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space
Mountain range
–
Mountain range of
High Tatras in
Slovakia in 1865
Mountain range
–
The
Andes, the world's longest mountain range on the surface of a continent, seen from the air
Mountain range
–
Hillary and Norgay Montes on Pluto (14 July 2015)
8.
California Coast Ranges
–
The Coast Ranges of California span 400 miles from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains, physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn are part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division. UNESCO has included the California Coast Ranges Biosphere Reserve in its Man, the northern end of the California Coast Ranges overlap the southern end of the Klamath Mountains for approximately 80 miles on the west. They extend southward for more than 600 miles to where the coastline turns eastward along the Santa Barbara Channel, here the southern end meets the Los Angeles Transverse Ranges, or Sierras de los Angeles. The rocks themselves that comprise the mountains are of a great variety, most of the rocks were formed during the Tertiary, Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. All of the range has been folded and faulted during several periods, the California Ranges had a high production of mercury following the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada. In the Cache Creek Basin, Cenozoic cinnabar deposits near Clear Lake are the northernmost of a group of similar deposits associated with volcanism, during 1877, these deposits hit their peak production of mercury, producing approximately 2,776 metric tons. These abandoned mines are still a source of mine waste runoff in Cache Creek, the Northern Coast Ranges are a section of the California Coast Ranges. They run parallel to the Pacific Coast from the North San Francisco Bay Area to coastal Del Norte County, the Klamath Mountains, including the Siskiyou Mountains sub-range, lie to the north and northeast. The Southern Coast Ranges lie to the south, the Northern Coast Ranges run north-south parallel to the coast. Component ranges within the Northern Coast Ranges include the Mendocino Range of western Mendocino County and the Mayacamas, Sonoma, and Vaca Mountains and they also include the King Range, which meet the sea in the Lost Coast region. The southernmost peak of the Northern Coast Ranges is Mount Tamalpais, the highest point in the Northern Coast Ranges is Mount Linn, at 8,098 ft. The Northern Coast Ranges consist of two parallel belts of mountains, the Outer Northern Coast Ranges lying along the coast. They are separated by a system of valleys. The northern valley portion is drained by the Eel River and its tributaries, a series of short rivers, including the Mattole, Gualala, and Navarro rivers, drain the western slopes of the ranges. The eastern slopes of the drain into the Sacramento Valley. Clear Lake lies in the southeast portion of the range, U. S. Route 101 runs generally north-south in the valleys between the Outer and Inner Northern Coast Ranges. The seaward face of the coastal Outer Northern Coast Ranges is part of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion, home to forests of Coast Redwood
California Coast Ranges
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Santa Lucia Range
California Coast Ranges
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Outer Northern Coast Ranges:
King Range meets the sea on the
Lost Coast.
California Coast Ranges
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Monument Peak over
Milpitas, California
9.
Topographic map
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Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and man-made features. A topographic map is published as a map series, made up of two or more map sheets that combine to form the whole map. A contour line is a line connecting places of equal elevation, however, in the vernacular and day to day world, the representation of relief is popularly held to define the genre, such that even small-scale maps showing relief are commonly called topographic. The study or discipline of topography is a broader field of study. Topographic maps are based on topographical surveys, performed at large scales, these surveys are called topographical in the old sense of topography, showing a variety of elevations and landforms. This is in contrast to older cadastral surveys, which primarily show property, the first multi-sheet topographic map series of an entire country, the Carte géométrique de la France, was completed in 1789. Topographic surveys were prepared by the military to assist in planning for battle, as such, elevation information was of vital importance. As they evolved, topographic map series became a resource in modern nations in planning infrastructure. Excluding borders, each sheet was 44 cm high and up to 66 cm wide, although the project eventually foundered, it left an indexing system that remains in use. TIGER was developed in the 1980s and used in the 1990, digital elevation models were also compiled, initially from topographic maps and stereographic interpretation of aerial photographs and then from satellite photography and radar data. Since all these were government projects funded with taxes and not classified for security reasons. Initial applications were mostly professionalized forms such as innovative surveying instruments, by the mid-1990s, increasingly user-friendly resources such as online mapping in two and three dimensions, integration of GPS with mobile phones and automotive navigation systems appeared. As of 2011, the future of standardized, centrally printed topographical maps is left somewhat in doubt, the various features shown on the map are represented by conventional signs or symbols. For example, colors can be used to indicate a classification of roads and these signs are usually explained in the margin of the map, or on a separately published characteristic sheet. Topographic maps are commonly called contour maps or topo maps. In the United States, where the national series is organized by a strict 7. 5-minute grid. Topographic maps conventionally show topography, or land contours, by means of contour lines, contour lines are curves that connect contiguous points of the same altitude. In other words, every point on the line of 100 m elevation is 100 m above mean sea level
Topographic map
–
Part of the same map in a perspective
shaded relief view illustrating how the contour lines follow the terrain
Topographic map
–
A topographic map with contour lines
Topographic map
–
Section of topographical map of
Nablus area (
West Bank) with contour lines at 100-meter intervals. Heights are colour-coded
Topographic map
–
Curvimeter used to measure the length of a curve
10.
United States Geological Survey
–
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
United States Geological Survey
–
Clarence King, founder of the USGS
United States Geological Survey
–
Seal of the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
–
The USGS headquarters in
Reston, Virginia
United States Geological Survey
–
USGS gauging station 03221000 on the
Scioto River below
O'Shaughnessy Dam near
Dublin, Ohio
11.
First ascent
–
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First ascents are notable because they entail genuine exploration, with risks, challenges. The person who performs the first ascent is called the first ascensionist, the details of the first ascents of even many prominent mountains are scanty or unknown, sometimes the only evidence of prior summiting is a cairn, artifacts, or inscriptions at the top. Today, first ascents are generally recorded and usually mentioned in guidebooks. Overwhelmingly, the idea of a first ascent is a one, especially in places such as Africa. There may be little or no evidence or documentation about the climbing activities of indigenous peoples living near the mountain. The term is used when referring to ascents made using a specific technique or taking a specific route, such as via the North Face. In rock climbing, some of the earlier first ascents, particularly for difficult routes, involved a mix of free, as a result, purist free climbers have developed the designation first free ascent to acknowledge ascents intentionally made more challenging by using equipment for protection only. Some other first ascents could be recorded for particular mountains or routes, one is the First Winter Ascent, which is, as the name easily suggests, the first ascent made during winter season. This is most important where the climate of winter is a factor in increasing the difficulty grade of the route, in the Northern Hemisphere conventional winter ascents are made between December 21 and March 21 and are not related to the conditions. Also in the Himalayan area, although Nepal and Chinas winter season permits start on December 1, another is the First Solo Ascent, which is the first ascent made by a single climber. This is most important on high-level rock climbing, when the climber has to provide his own security or even when climbing without any protection at all, another type of ascent, also known as FFA is the first female ascent. The term last ascent has been used to refer to an ascent of a mountain or face that has changed to such an extent – often because of rockfall – that the route no longer exists. It can also be used facetiously to refer to a climb that is so unpleasant or unaesthetic that no one would willingly repeat the first ascent partys ordeal. List of first ascents List of first ascents in the Alps List of first ascents in the Himalaya Glossary of climbing terms Alpinist Magazine – Peter Mortimers First Ascent, Issue 17
First ascent
–
Henry Barber on first ascent of Savage Journey at Lost World,
Mt. Wellington,
Tasmania, 1975
12.
Jacob P. Leese
–
Jacob Primer Leese was a San Francisco pioneer, the second permanent resident of Yerba Buena, and builder of the first permanent house there. He married General Vallejo’s sister, moved to Sonoma, and acquired land holdings. Jacob Primer Leese was born in Ohio and became active in the Santa Fe, Leese first came to California from New Mexico in 1833, but did not remain. He returned in July 1834, settled in Los Angeles and went into partnership with Hugo Reid, two years later he formed a partnership with two established Monterey merchants, William S. Hinckley and Nathan Spear, for the purpose of starting a store in Yerba Buena. In 1836, he was the second permanent settler of the new town established by William A. Richardson in 1835, Leese built for his residence, the first substantial structure. It was preceded only by a tent house put up by Richardson the year before, before Richardson also built a permanent house in 1836, in 1837 Leese married María Rosalia Vallejo, sister of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. The partnership with Hinckley and Spear ended in 1838, Leese continued the business alone until 1841, when he sold out to the Hudsons Bay Company and transferred his business and residence to Sonoma. In 1841 he was granted Rancho Huichica in Napa County, Leese moved to Sonoma in 1841, where he was alcalde in 1844. During the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, Leese was taken prisoner with Vallejo and he figured somewhat conspicuously in the historic Bear Flag revolt as interpreter for the contending force. In 1846 he was associated with Thomas O. Larkin in executing his plans of annexation to the United States, Leese moved to Monterey in 1849. He and Larkin traded real estate, Larkin purchased an interest in Rancho Huichica. In 1852, Leese bought Rancho Sausal in Monterey County, Salinas is located on Rancho Sausal land, and Leese is considered to be one of the founders of Salinas, although he left the area in 1865 and did not return until 1885. In 1863 he, with others, worked on obtaining a concession from the Mexican government for two thirds of Baja California lands for colonization purposes, to work on the project, he moved to New York in 1865, leaving his family in Monterey. Leese returned to San Francisco in 1885 after an absence of 20 years, Jacob P. Leese died on February 1,1892, in San Francisco. Leese Street in San Francisco is named for him and his son, Jacob R. Leese, was born in 1839, served as Monterey County Clerk and as a deputy sheriff. He was also postmaster of Salinas, and later, postmaster of Monterey, mr. Leese was also given credit for first ascent of Mt. Tamalpais, which should more probably be titled as first recorded ascent by an American of European extraction. Jacob P. Leese at Find a Grave
Jacob P. Leese
–
Jacob Primer Leese
13.
Mountain
–
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is steeper than a hill. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces or volcanism and these forces can locally raise the surface of the earth. Mountains erode slowly through the action of rivers, weather conditions, a few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in huge mountain ranges. High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level and these colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains, different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and climate, mountains tend to be used less for agriculture and more for resource extraction and recreation, the highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Asia, whose summit is 8,850 m above mean sea level. The highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars at 21,171 m, there is no universally accepted definition of a mountain. Elevation, volume, relief, steepness, spacing and continuity have been used as criteria for defining a mountain, whether a landform is called a mountain may depend on local usage. The highest point in San Francisco, California, is called Mount Davidson, notwithstanding its height of 300 m, similarly, Mount Scott outside Lawton, Oklahoma is only 251 m from its base to its highest point. Whittows Dictionary of Physical Geography states Some authorities regard eminences above 600 metres as mountains, in addition, some definitions also include a topographical prominence requirement, typically 100 or 500 feet. For a while, the US defined a mountain as being 1,000 feet or taller, any similar landform lower than this height was considered a hill. However, today, the United States Geological Survey concludes that these terms do not have technical definitions in the US, using these definitions, mountains cover 33% of Eurasia, 19% of South America, 24% of North America, and 14% of Africa. As a whole, 24% of the Earths land mass is mountainous, there are three main types of mountains, volcanic, fold, and block. All three types are formed from plate tectonics, when portions of the Earths crust move, crumple, compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upward, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity. Volcanoes are formed when a plate is pushed below another plate, at a depth of around 100 km, melting occurs in rock above the slab, and forms magma that reaches the surface. When the magma reaches the surface, it builds a volcanic mountain. Examples of volcanoes include Mount Fuji in Japan and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, the magma does not have to reach the surface in order to create a mountain, magma that solidifies below ground can still form dome mountains, such as Navajo Mountain in the US
Mountain
–
Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth
Mountain
–
Chimborazo,
Ecuador. The point on Earth's surface farthest from its center.
Mountain
–
Aiguille du Dru in the
French Alps
Mountain
–
The
Matterhorn,
Swiss Alps
14.
Mount Tamalpais State Park
–
Mount Tamalpais State Park is a California state park, located in Marin County, California. The primary feature of the park is the 2,571 feet Mount Tamalpais, the park contains mostly redwood and oak forests. The mountain itself covers around 25,000 acres, there are about 60 miles of hiking trails, which are connected to a larger,200 miles network of trails in neighboring public lands. The park received 564,000 visitors in as of 2003, Muir Woods National Monument is surrounded by the state park. From the peak of the mountain, visitors can see up to 25 miles, in a view that encompasses San Francisco, most of the North and East Bay, occasionally, the Sierra Nevada are visible,125 miles away. The Mountain Theater was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the natural-stone amphitheater seats 3,750 people and features the Mountain Play each spring, produced every year since 1913. In the summer, monthly astronomy programs are held in the theater, - http, //www. parks. ca. gov/. page_id=471 Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway Official California State Parks department site describing the park
Mount Tamalpais State Park
–
Hiking trail in Mount Tamalpais State Park
Mount Tamalpais State Park
–
Mount Tam from
Muir Beach Overlook
15.
Drainage basin
–
A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins. Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the covered by the basin. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter, drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks, in a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. Drainage basins of the oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans, the following is a list of the major ocean basins, About 48. 7% of the worlds land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic, The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U. S. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa, Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the areas of Israel, Lebanon. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Oceans drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earths land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earths land. The five largest river basins, from largest to smallest, are the basins of the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks, the largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, which drains into the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and numerous smaller lakes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, in endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this is the Dead Sea, drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important
Drainage basin
–
Animation of
Latoriţa River drainage basin,
Romania
Drainage basin
–
Example of a drainage basin. The dashed line is the main water divide of the hydrographic basin.
Drainage basin
–
Endorheic basin in
Central Asia
Drainage basin
–
The
Mississippi River drains the largest area of any
U.S. river, much of it
agricultural regions. Agricultural runoff and other water pollution that flows to the outlet is the cause of the
hypoxic, or dead zone in the
Gulf of Mexico.
16.
National Park Service
–
It was created on August 25,1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. As of 2014, the NPS employs 21,651 employees who oversee 417 units, the National Park Service celebrated its centennial in 2016. National parks and national monuments in the United States were originally individually managed under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, the movement for an independent agency to oversee these federal lands was spearheaded by business magnate and conservationist Stephen Mather, as well as J. Horace McFarland. With the help of journalist Robert Sterling Yard, Mather ran a publicity campaign for the Department of the Interior and they wrote numerous articles that praised the scenic and historic qualities of the parks and their possibilities for educational, inspirational, and recreational benefits. This campaign resulted in the creation of a National Park Service, Mather became the first director of the newly formed NPS. On March 3,1933, President Herbert Hoover signed the Reorganization Act of 1933, the act would allow the President to reorganize the executive branch of the United States government. It wasnt until later that summer when the new President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Roosevelt agreed and issued two Executive orders to make it happen. In 1951, Conrad Wirth became director of the National Park Service, the demand for parks after the end of the World War II had left the parks overburdened with demands that could not be met. In 1952, with the support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he began Mission 66, New parks were added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery, Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has managed each of the United States national parks, Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no government to manage it. Yosemite National Park began as a park, the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership, at first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the staff was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the government to improve the situation. In response, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane challenged him to lobby for creating a new agency, Mather was successful with the ratification of the National Park Service Organic Act in 1916. Later, the agency was given authority over other protected areas, the National Park System includes all properties managed by the National Park Service
National Park Service
–
In 1916, a portfolio of nine major parks was published to generate interest. Printed on each brochure was a map showing the parks and principal railroad connections.
National Park Service
–
National Park Service Arrowhead
National Park Service
–
In 1934, a series of ten postage stamps were issued to commemorate the reorganization and expansion of the National Park Service.
National Park Service
–
Grand Canyon National Park, south rim of canyon.
17.
Muir Woods
–
Muir Woods National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service on Mount Tamalpais near the Pacific coast, in southwestern Marin County, California. It is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and is 12 miles north of San Francisco and it protects 554 acres, of which 240 acres are old growth coast redwood forests, one of a few such stands remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Muir Woods National Monument is an old-growth coastal redwood forest, due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the forest is regularly shrouded in a coastal marine layer fog, contributing to a wet environment that encourages vigorous plant growth. The fog is also vital for the growth of the redwoods as they use moisture from the fog during droughty seasons, the monument is cool and moist year round with average daytime temperatures between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Rainfall is heavy during the winter and summers are almost completely dry with the exception of fog drip caused by the fog passing through the trees. Annual precipitation in the ranges from 39.4 inches in the lower valley to 47.2 inches higher up in the mountain slopes. The redwoods grow on brown humus-rich loam which may be gravelly and this soil has been assigned to the Centissima series, which is always found on sloping ground. It is well drained, moderately deep, and slightly to moderately acidic and it has developed from a mélange in the Franciscan Formation. More open areas of the park have shallow gravelly loam of the Barnabe series, one hundred and fifty million years ago ancestors of redwood and sequoia trees grew throughout the United States. Today, the Sequoia sempervirens can be only in a narrow, cool coastal belt from Monterey, California. Before the logging industry came to California, there were an estimated 2 million acres of old growth forest containing redwoods growing in a strip along the coast. By the early 20th century, most of these forests had been cut down, just north of the San Francisco Bay, one valley named Redwood Canyon remained uncut, mainly due to its relative inaccessibility. He and his wife, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, purchased 611 acres of land from the Tamalpais Land and Water Company for $45,000 with the goal of protecting the redwoods and the mountain above them. In 1907, a company in nearby Sausalito planned to dam Redwood Creek. When Kent objected to the plan, the company threatened to use eminent domain. Kent sidestepped the water companys plot by donating 295 acres of the redwood forest to the federal government, on January 9,1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the land a National Monument, the first to be created from land donated by a private individual. President Roosevelt agreed, writing back, MY DEAR MR, and, responding to some photographs of Muir Woods that Mr. Kent had sent him, Those are awfully good photos. Kent and Muir had become friends over shared views of wilderness preservation, in December 1928, the Kent Memorial was erected at the Kent Tree in Fern Canyon
Muir Woods
–
Sunlight shining through
redwood trees at the Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods
–
Old-growth coastal redwoods
Muir Woods
–
Main entrance to Muir Woods National Monument, 2006
Muir Woods
–
Undergrowth of a redwood canopy demonstrating the deep shadow under the trees. Note the clearing in the background showing other trees growing in the light.
18.
Marin Hills
–
The Marin Hills are a series of steep high ridges and peaks in southern Marin County. They are a part of the long Pacific Coast Ranges mountain system, the centerpoint of these hills is the 2,571 foot Mount Tamalpais near Mill Valley. Parts of the hills are protected for their beauty by Mount Tamalpais State Park. The many ridges and peaks of these form a dramatic backdrop to the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco skyline. Since these hills lie near the Pacific Ocean, they force much of the moisture out of the air. Due to this orographic rain effect, the Marin Municipal Water District has constructed several dams, the high rainfall also makes these hills conducive for Coast redwood and Douglas-fir. However, an effect is that the eastern hills, where most of Marins population lives, are drier and hotter due to the shielding of marine breezes. The low hills to the east support only California oak woodlands, chaparral and this stand is now the Muir Woods National Monument, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The parklands of these hills are popular with tourists and locals alike seeking to escape the urban areas of the Bay Area, the Black-tailed Deer is the most common large mammal of the Marin Hills
Marin Hills
–
Mount Tamalpais
19.
San Francisco
–
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
San Francisco
–
San Francisco and the
Golden Gate Bridge from
Marin Headlands
San Francisco
–
Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores)
San Francisco
–
1853
United States Coast Survey Map
San Francisco
–
Francis Samuel Marryat, Hilltop of San Francisco, California, Looking toward the Bay, 1849. M.& N. Hanhart Chromolithograph
20.
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
–
The eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, commonly referred to as the East Bay, includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, with a population of roughly 2.5 million in 2010, it is the most populous subregion in the Bay Area. Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay and the third largest in the Bay Area, the city serves as a major transportation hub for the U. S. West Coast, and its port is the largest in Northern California, increased population has led to the growth of such large edge cities as Berkeley, Hayward, Concord and Fremont. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 with its terminus at the newly constructed Oakland Long Wharf. Today the Port of Oakland is the Bay Areas largest port, in 1868, the University of California was formed from the private College of California and a new campus was built in what would become Berkeley. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake saw a number of refugees flee to the relatively undamaged East Bay. As the East Bay grew, the push to connect it with a permanent link than ferry service resulted in the completion of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936. The Bay Area saw further growth in the decades following World War II, the 1937 completion of the Caldecott Tunnel through the Berkeley Hills fueled growth further east, where there was undeveloped land. Cities in the Diablo Valley, including Concord and Walnut Creek, the addition of the BART commuter rail system in 1972 further encouraged development in increasingly far-flung regions of the East Bay. Today, the valleys east of the Berkeley Hills contain large affluent suburban communities such as Walnut Creek, San Ramon, the East Bay is not a formally defined region, aside from its being described as a region inclusive of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. As development moves generally eastward, new areas are described as being part of the East Bay, beyond the borders of Alameda County, the large population of Tracy is connected as a bedroom community housing commuters traveling to or through the East Bay. Except for some hills and ridges which exist as parklands or undeveloped land, and some farmland in eastern Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, the East Bay is highly urbanized. The East Bay shoreline is a corridor with several cities exceeding 100,000 residents, including Oakland, Hayward, Fremont, Richmond. In the inland valleys on the east side of the Berkeley Hills, the land is developed, particularly on the eastern fringe of Contra Costa county. In the inland valleys, the density is less and the cities smaller. The only cities exceeding 100,000 residents in the valleys are Antioch. The free East Bay Monthly has been published since 1970, in the early years of the evolution of USA Today, during the early 1980s, they operated regional newspapers, with the regions paper entitled East Bay Today
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
–
A satellite image of most of the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
–
South
Berkeley,
Emeryville,
Oakland,
Alameda and
Bay Bridge
21.
Muir Woods National Monument
–
Muir Woods National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service on Mount Tamalpais near the Pacific coast, in southwestern Marin County, California. It is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and is 12 miles north of San Francisco and it protects 554 acres, of which 240 acres are old growth coast redwood forests, one of a few such stands remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Muir Woods National Monument is an old-growth coastal redwood forest, due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the forest is regularly shrouded in a coastal marine layer fog, contributing to a wet environment that encourages vigorous plant growth. The fog is also vital for the growth of the redwoods as they use moisture from the fog during droughty seasons, the monument is cool and moist year round with average daytime temperatures between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Rainfall is heavy during the winter and summers are almost completely dry with the exception of fog drip caused by the fog passing through the trees. Annual precipitation in the ranges from 39.4 inches in the lower valley to 47.2 inches higher up in the mountain slopes. The redwoods grow on brown humus-rich loam which may be gravelly and this soil has been assigned to the Centissima series, which is always found on sloping ground. It is well drained, moderately deep, and slightly to moderately acidic and it has developed from a mélange in the Franciscan Formation. More open areas of the park have shallow gravelly loam of the Barnabe series, one hundred and fifty million years ago ancestors of redwood and sequoia trees grew throughout the United States. Today, the Sequoia sempervirens can be only in a narrow, cool coastal belt from Monterey, California. Before the logging industry came to California, there were an estimated 2 million acres of old growth forest containing redwoods growing in a strip along the coast. By the early 20th century, most of these forests had been cut down, just north of the San Francisco Bay, one valley named Redwood Canyon remained uncut, mainly due to its relative inaccessibility. He and his wife, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, purchased 611 acres of land from the Tamalpais Land and Water Company for $45,000 with the goal of protecting the redwoods and the mountain above them. In 1907, a company in nearby Sausalito planned to dam Redwood Creek. When Kent objected to the plan, the company threatened to use eminent domain. Kent sidestepped the water companys plot by donating 295 acres of the redwood forest to the federal government, on January 9,1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the land a National Monument, the first to be created from land donated by a private individual. President Roosevelt agreed, writing back, MY DEAR MR, and, responding to some photographs of Muir Woods that Mr. Kent had sent him, Those are awfully good photos. Kent and Muir had become friends over shared views of wilderness preservation, in December 1928, the Kent Memorial was erected at the Kent Tree in Fern Canyon
Muir Woods National Monument
–
Sunlight shining through
redwood trees at the Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
–
Old-growth coastal redwoods
Muir Woods National Monument
–
Main entrance to Muir Woods National Monument, 2006
Muir Woods National Monument
–
Undergrowth of a redwood canopy demonstrating the deep shadow under the trees. Note the clearing in the background showing other trees growing in the light.
22.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
–
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a U. S. National Recreation Area protecting 80,002 acres of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land used by the United States Army. GGNRA is managed by the National Park Service and is one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States, with more than 15 million visitors a year. It is also one of the largest urban parks in the world, the park is not one continuous locale, but rather a collection of areas that stretch from southern San Mateo County to northern Marin County, and includes several areas of San Francisco. The park is as diverse as it is expansive, it contains famous tourist attractions such as Muir Woods National Monument, Alcatraz, the park was created thanks to the cooperative legislative efforts of cosponsors Congressman William S. Mailliard and Congressman Phillip Burton. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law An Act to Establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the bill allocated $120 million for land acquisition and development. The National Park Service first purchased Alcatraz and Fort Mason from the U. S. Army, the Nature Conservancy then transferred the land to the GGNRA. These properties formed the basis for the park. Throughout the next 30 years, the National Park service acquired land and historic sites from the U. S. Army, private landowners and corporations, incorporating them into the GGNRA. Many decommissioned Army bases and fortifications were incorporated into the park, including Fort Funston, four Nike missile sites, The Presidio, the latest acquisition by the National Park Service is Mori Point, a small parcel of land on the Pacifica coast. In 1988, UNESCO designated the GGNRA and 12 adjacent protected areas the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve, the property, located south of Pacifica and surrounding the communities of Moss Beach and Montara, is home to many diverse plant and animal species. The bill passed in the Senate, but did not pass the House of Representatives, Fort Baker - former Army post located on the northern side of the Golden Gate Headlands Center for the Arts - an artist residency program set in renovated military buildings in the Marin Headlands. Nike Missile Site SF-88 - a decommissioned Army surface-to-air missile site located near Fort Barry, located at the southwestern corner of the Presidio Battery Chamberlin - one of the last remaining coastal defense disappearing guns on the U. S. Trails lead across the ridge and to Sharp Park beach, the site includes recently restored wetlands and a pond, protecting endangered San Francisco garter snake and red-legged frog habitat. Rancho Corral de Tierra - the GGNRAs newest park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area Scenery Video, a video showing the scenery observed from the GGNRA, including footage from Lands End
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
–
View of the Golden Gate from Lands End
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
–
San Francisco Bay, and the city skyline seen from Marin County in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
–
This article is about the park with many sites in and around San Francisco and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. For the urban City of San Francisco park located entirely within San Francisco, see
Golden Gate Park.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
–
Bicentennial Campground arranged around a small clearing, with each site accommodating a maximum of two people.
23.
Point Reyes National Seashore
–
Point Reyes National Seashore is a 71, 028-acre park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as an important nature preserve, some existing agricultural uses are allowed to continue within the park. All of the beaches were listed as the cleanest in the state in 2010. The fact that the peninsula is on a different tectonic plate than the east shore of Tomales Bay produces a difference in soils and therefore to some extent a noticeable difference in vegetation. The even smaller town of Olema, about 3 miles south of Point Reyes Station, serves as the gateway to the Seashore and its visitor center, the peninsula includes wild coastal beaches and headlands, estuaries, and uplands. The Seashore also administers the parts of the Golden Gate National Recreation area, such as the Olema Valley, the northernmost part of the peninsula is maintained as a reserve for Tule Elk, which are readily seen there. The preserve is very rich in raptors and shorebirds. The Point Reyes Lighthouse attracts whale-watchers looking for the Gray Whale migrating south in mid-January, the Point Reyes Lifeboat Station is a National Historic Landmark. It is the last remaining example of a rail launched lifeboat station that was common on the Pacific coast and this encompasses 5,965 acres along the coast of Drakes Bay. Kule Loklo, a recreated Coast Miwok village, is a walk from the visitor center. The Point Reyes National Seashore attracts 2.5 million visitors annually, hostelling International USA maintains a 45-bed youth hostel at the Seashore. Point Reyes National Seashore Association, formed in 1964, collaborates with the Seashore on maintenance, restoration, like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. A large shellfish farm raising Japanese oysters, Crassostrea gigas, was located in Drakes Estero until, under court order, Court appeals to keep the operation in place were dropped in December,2014. The farm was purchased by the National Park Service in 1972, a federal law enacted in 2009 authorized, but did not require, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to renew the permit. The NPS and conservation groups viewed the farm as an inappropriate and environmentally-insensitive use of the estero, the farms supporters argued that it was not ecologically harmful and was important to the local economy. Salazar visited the farm the previous week and later phoned the farms owner to give him the news. The oyster farm closure was challenged in U. S. District Court on January 25,2013, the challenge was rejected by a federal court judge, who ruled that the law gave Salazar unfettered discretion to approve or deny a renewal of the permit. The California Coastal Commission voted on February 7,2013 to unanimously approve cease and desist, an attempt to have the appeals court rehear the case was rejected on January 14,2014 and a petition to the United States Supreme Court was denied on June 30,2014
Point Reyes National Seashore
–
Headlands of the Point Reyes Peninsula from Chimney Rock, looking North. Elephant seals lie in the sand at the bottom right.
Point Reyes National Seashore
–
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore
–
Tule Elk at
Tomales Point
24.
Mill Valley, California
–
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about 14 miles north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census, Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay, and the eastern slopes of Mount Tamalpais. Beyond the flat area and marshlands, it occupies narrow wooded canyons, mostly of second-growth redwoods. The Mill Valley 94941 ZIP code also includes the adjacent unincorporated communities, Almonte, Alto, Homestead Valley, Tamalpais Valley. The Muir Woods National Monument is also located just outside the city limits, the first people known to inhabit Marin County, the Coast Miwok, arrived approximately 6,000 years ago. The territory of the Coast Miwok included all of Marin County, north to Bodega Bay, more than 600 village sites have been identified, including 14 sites in the Mill Valley area. Nearby archaeological discoveries include the rock carvings and grinding sites on Ring Mountain, the pre-Missionization population of the Coast Miwok is estimated to be between 1,500 to 2,000. The pre-Missionization population of the Coast Miwok may have been as high as 5000, cook speculated that by 1848 their population had decreased to 300, and down to 60 by 1880. The village site was first identified by Nels Nelson in 1907 and his excavation revealed tools, burials, at that time, the mound was 20 feet high. Another famous Mill Valley site was in the Manzanita area underneath the Fireside Inn located near the intersection of U. S. Route 101, built in 1916, the blind pig roadhouse was outside the dry limits of the city itself. Shell mounds have been discovered in areas by streams and along Richardson Bay, including in the Strawberry and they called themselves the Huimen people. At the mission they were taught the Catholic religion, lost their freedom, as a result of the high death rate at Mission Dolores it was decided to build a new Mission San Rafael, built in 1817. Over 200 surviving Coast Miwok were taken there from Mission Dolores and Mission San Jose, by 1834 the Mission era had ended and California was under the control of the Mexican government. They took Miwok ancestral lands, divided them and gave them to Mexican soldiers or relatives who had connections with the Mexican governor, the huge tracts of land, called ranchos by the Mexican settlers, or Californios, soon covered the area. The Miwoks who had not died or fled were often employed under a state of indentured servitude to the California land grant owners. In 1834, the governor of Alta California José Figueroa awarded to John T. Reed the first land grant in Marin, just west of that, Rancho Saucelito was transferred to William A. Richardson in 1838 after being originally awarded to Nicolas Galindo in 1835. John Reed married Hilarita Sanchez, the daughter of a commandante in the San Francisco Presidio, William Richardson also married a well-connected woman, both he and Reed were originally from Europe. Richardsons name was applied to Richardson Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay that brushes up against the eastern edge of Mill Valley
Mill Valley, California
–
Mill Valley City Hall
Mill Valley, California
–
John Joseph Reed House c. 1884.
Mill Valley, California
–
Reed's adobe house c. 1890 after being destroyed by fire.
Mill Valley, California
–
Blithedale Hotel c. 1880–1890s.
25.
Stinson Beach, California
–
Stinson Beach is a census-designated place in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located 2.5 miles east-southeast of Bolinas, the population of the Stinson Beach CDP was 632 at the 2010 census. Stinson Beach is about a 35-minute drive from the Golden Gate Bridge on Californias Highway 1 and it is near important attractions such as Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, and Mount Tamalpais. It has a beach, where the cold water promotes fog throughout the year. Stinson Beach is a day trip for people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although most visitors arrive by car, Stinson Beach is linked to Marin City by a daily bus service. The beach is one of the cleanest in the state, and sandy, Nathan H. Stinson bought land at the site in 1866. The Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway opened in 1896, visitors could ride the train to West Point Inn and then hike or arrange a stagecoach to take them to the beach. In 1906, refugees from the San Francisco earthquake came to the area, Stinson Beach became the official town name in 1916, in honor of the largest landowners, Rose and Nathan Stinson. The first post office opened in 1916, in 1939, the beach was sold to Marin County. It was transferred to the State of California in 1950, and was transferred to the National Park Service in 1977. Stinson Beach is the home for GDTSToo, Inc. the mail order company for the Fare Thee Well Tour. Stinson Beach is located at 37°54′02″N 122°38′40″W, between Bolinas and Muir Beach, the CDP has a total area of 1.46 square miles, of which,1.44 square miles of it is land and 0.02 square miles of it is water. The 2010 United States Census reported that Stinson Beach had a population of 632, the population density was 433.1 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Stinson Beach was 582 White,3 African American,8 Native American,14 Asian,1 Pacific Islander,9 from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 33 persons. The Census reported that 629 people lived in households,3 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 26 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 8 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 147 households were made up of individuals and 45 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 1.86. There were 158 families, the family size was 2.54
Stinson Beach, California
–
Stinson Beach
Stinson Beach, California
–
1916 photo postcard of Stinson Beach, showing Airey's Hotel to the left
Stinson Beach, California
–
Church and Community Center
Stinson Beach, California
–
Bodies of water
26.
Kentfield, California
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Kentfield is a census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Kentfield is located on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad 2 miles southwest of downtown San Rafael, the population was 6,485 at the 2010 census. The ZIP codes are 94904 for street addresses, and 94914 for PO boxes, Kentfield is located on the eastern slopes of Mount Tamalpais. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 3.0 square miles. The National Weather Service reports that Kentfields warmest months are July and August, with a high of 84 °F. December and January are the coolest months with a high of 56 °F. The highest temperature on record was 112 °F on July 11,1913, the lowest temperature recorded was 17 °F on December 31,1915. Annually, there are an average of 28.4 days with highs of 90°F or higher and 3.2 days with highs of 100°F or more, freezing temperatures occur an average of 4.8 days each year. Kentfield has one of the highest average rainfalls of any community in the San Francisco Bay Area, the most rainfall in a month was 26.95 inches in February 1986 and the most in 24 hours was 11.56 inches on January 21,1967. Although heavy snow falls on nearby Mount Tamalpais, snow is rare in Kentfield, however, traces were reported on January 28. In 1857, James Ross bought Rancho Punta de Quentin, Ross, a Scot who had arrived in San Francisco from Australia in 1848 and made his fortune in the wholesale liquor business, set up a trading post called Ross Landing. Steamers would come up Corte Madera Creek to the landing there, albert Emmett Kent bought the land from the Ross estate in 1871. Kent built an estate called Tamalpais, later applied to the settlement by the railroad, albert Emmett Kents son, William Kent, was a US Congressman, philanthropist and founder of Muir Woods. The name of the town was changed to Kent in the 1890s, the 2010 United States Census reported that Kentfield had a population of 6,485. The population density was 2,132.6 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Kentfield was 5,908 White,35 African American,10 Native American,224 Asian,7 Pacific Islander,95 from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 299 persons. The Census reported that 6,463 people lived in households,13 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 83 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 25 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 600 households were made up of individuals and 285 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.51
Kentfield, California
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Bodies of water
Kentfield, California
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Location in
Marin County and the state of
California
27.
Single-family detached home
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A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a residential dwelling. The definition of this type of house may vary between legal jurisdictions or statistical agencies and it does exclude, however, any short-term accommodation, large-scale rental accommodation, or condominia. Garages can also be found on most lots, houses with an attached front entry garage that is closer to the street than any other part of the house is often derisively called a snout house. It is important to note that In the United States, that the term Single Family Residence specifically refers to the not the occupants. Historically, Homeowners Associations have used the term to limit non-nuclear families, presently, these types of HOA policies are subject to Fair Housing Lawsuits, heavy penalties, and possibly personal liability for board members. Terms corresponding to single-family detached home in common use are single-family home, single-detached dwelling, detached house, in the United Kingdom, the term single-family home is almost unknown, except through Internet exposure to U. S. media. In pre-industrial societies most people live in multi-family dwelling for most of their lives and this type of arrangement also saves on the effort and materials used for construction and, in colder climates, heating. If people had to move to a new place or were wealthy enough, they could build or buy a home for their own family, of course and this has produced a cultural preference in settler societies for privacy and space. A countervailing trend has been industrialization and urbanization, which as seen more and more people around the world move into apartment blocks. Single-family homes are now common in rural and suburban and even urban areas across the New World and Europe. They are most common in low-density, high-income regions, for example, in Canada according to the 2006 Census 55. 3% of the population lived single-detached houses but this varied substantially by region. In the Ville of Montreal, Canadas second most populous municipality, only 7. 5% of the lived in a single-detached house, while in the city of Calgary. Note that this includes the city limits only, not the wider region. The term single-family detached describes how a house is built and who lives in it and it does not indicate size, shape, or location. Because they are not surrounded by buildings, the potential size of a single-family house is limited only by the budget of the builder. They can range from a country cottage or cabin or a small suburban prefabricated home to a large mansion. Sizes in real estate advertising are given in area, or by the number of bedrooms or bathrooms/toilets, the choice in materials used or the shape chosen will depend on what is common to the vernacular architecture of that region, or the lasted trends in professionally designed tract housing
Single-family detached home
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A single-family home in
Denmark.
Single-family detached home
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Single-family houses in
Montreal.
Single-family detached home
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Typical Finnish post-World War II single-family houses in
Jyväskylä.
Single-family detached home
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The
Saitta House,
Dyker Heights,
Brooklyn,
New York,
United States,
North America, built in
1899, is a single-family detached home.
28.
North American plate
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The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Russia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia, the plate includes both continental and oceanic crust. The interior of the continental landmass includes an extensive granitic core called a craton. Along most of the edges of this craton are fragments of material called terranes. It is thought that much of North America west of the Rocky Mountains is composed of such terranes, the parallel Septentrional and Enriquillo-Plantain Garden faults, which run through the island of Hispaniola and bound the Gonâve Microplate, are also a part of the boundary. On the northerly boundary is a continuation of the Mid-Atlantic ridge called the Gakkel Ridge, the rest of the boundary in the far northwestern part of the plate extends into Siberia. On its western edge, the Farallon Plate has been subducting under the North American Plate since the Jurassic Period, the Juan de Fuca, Explorer, Gorda, Rivera, Cocos and Nazca plates are remnants of the Farallon Plate. The boundary along the Gulf of California is complex and it is generally accepted that a piece of the North American Plate was broken off and transported north as the East Pacific Rise propagated northward, creating the Gulf of California. A few hotspots are thought to exist below the North American Plate, the most notable hotspots are the Yellowstone, Raton, and Anahim hotspots. The Yellowstone and Anahim hotspots are thought to have first arrived during the Miocene period and are still geologically active, for the most part, the North American Plate moves in roughly a southwest direction away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. One recent study suggests that a convective current is propelling the plate. Geologic timeline of Western North America New Madrid Seismic Zone - an ancient intraplate fault zone within the North American Plate, notable as early as 1699 Notes
North American plate
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North American Plate
29.
Pacific Plate
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The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate, the Pacific Plate contains an interior hot spot forming the Hawaiian Islands. Hillis and Müller are reported to consider the Birds Head Plate to be moving in unison with the Pacific Plate, bird considers them to be unconnected. The north-eastern side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge. In the middle of the side is a transform boundary with the North American Plate along the San Andreas Fault. The south-eastern side is a divergent boundary with the Nazca Plate forming the East Pacific Rise, the southern side is a divergent boundary with the Antarctic Plate forming the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. The Alpine Fault marks a boundary between the two plates, and further south the Indo-Australian Plate subducts under the Pacific Plate forming the Puysegur Trench. The southern part of Zealandia, which is to the east of this boundary, is the plates largest block of continental crust, the northern side is a convergent boundary subducting under the North American Plate forming the Aleutian Trench and the corresponding Aleutian Islands. The Pacific Plate is almost entirely oceanic crust, but it contains some continental crust in New Zealand, Baja California, the Pacific Plate has the distinction of showing one of the largest areal sections of the oldest members of seabed geology being entrenched into eastern Asian oceanic trenches. The oldest member disappearing by way of the Plate Tectonics cycle is early-Cretaceous, all maps of the Earths ocean floor geology show ages younger than 145 million years, only about 1/30 of the Earths 4.55 billion year history
Pacific Plate
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Pacific Plate
30.
San Andreas Fault
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The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly 800 miles through California. It forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip. The fault was first identified in 1895 by Professor Andrew Lawson of UC Berkeley and it is often described as having been named after San Andreas Lake, a small body of water that was formed in a valley between the two plates. However, according to some of his reports from 1895 and 1908, following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Lawson concluded that the fault extended all the way into southern California. In 1953, geologist Thomas Dibblee astounded the scientific establishment with his conclusion that hundreds of miles of lateral movement could occur along the fault. A project called the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth near Parkfield, Monterey County, is drilling into the fault to improve prediction and this is the approximate location of the epicenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The fault returns onshore at Bolinas Lagoon just north of Stinson Beach in Marin County, from Fort Ross the northern segment continues overland, forming in part a linear valley through which the Gualala River flows. It goes back offshore at Point Arena, after that, it runs underwater along the coast until it nears Cape Mendocino, where it begins to bend to the west, terminating at the Mendocino Triple Junction. The central segment of the San Andreas fault runs in a direction from Parkfield to Hollister. The southern segment begins near Bombay Beach, California, box Canyon, near the Salton Sea, contains upturned strata associated with that section of the fault. The fault then runs along the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, crosses through the Cajon Pass. These mountains are a result of movement along the San Andreas Fault and are called the Transverse Range. In Palmdale, a portion of the fault is easily examined at a roadcut for the Antelope Valley Freeway, the fault continues northwest alongside the Elizabeth Lake Road to the town of Elizabeth Lake. As it passes the towns of Gorman, Tejon Pass and Frazier Park and this restraining bend is thought to be where the fault locks up in Southern California, with an earthquake-recurrence interval of roughly 140–160 years. Northwest of Frazier Park, the runs through the Carrizo Plain. The Elkhorn Scarp defines the fault trace along much of its length within the plain, the southern segment, which stretches from Parkfield in Monterey County all the way to the Salton Sea, is capable of an 8. 1-magnitude earthquake. At its closest, this fault passes about 35 miles to the northeast of Los Angeles. Such a large earthquake on this segment would kill thousands of people in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and surrounding areas
San Andreas Fault
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Map of the San Andreas Fault, showing relative motion
San Andreas Fault
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Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the
Carrizo Plain
San Andreas Fault
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Vasquez Rocks in Agua Dulce, California are evidence of the San Andreas Fault line and part of the 2,650 mile
Pacific Crest Trail.
San Andreas Fault
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The Mormon Rocks within
Cajon Pass show the physical movement of the San Andreas fault in southern California.
