Physiographic Provinces of California
USGS Education Home / California Education Standards / California Resources |
For examples of regional reports, click on a province below, or click on the map. |
Basin and Range
Cascade Range
Coast Ranges
Colorado Desert
Great Valley
Klamath Mountains
Modoc Plateau
Mojave Desert
Peninsular Ranges
Sierra Nevada
Transverse Ranges
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What makes one region different or unique from others? Many factors are involved, including geologic history and landscape evolution, past and modern climates, elevation, precipitation, soils, vegetation, and wild life. These factors influence how humans use and interact with the environment, including agriculture, the location and development history of population centers, mining, energy, water use, recreation, preservation, culture, industry, and politics. These factors also influence the risk associated with natural hazards and disasters (past and future). |
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| Coast Ranges Province |
| General Interest Educational Guides and Resources |
Geology and Natural History of the San Francisco Bay Region (USGS Bulletin 2188)
http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/bulletin/b2188/
This guidebook contains field trip guides to popular Bay Area destinations and discussion on Bay Area history, climate, archeology, minerals, and popular regional publications and websites.
Rocks and Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region (USGS Bulletin 2195)
http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/bulletin/b2195/
This field guide describes common rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) that occur throughout the Coast Ranges of California. provides illustrative images of rocks, and descriptions of how they form and where they occur.
The San Andreas Fault In The San Francisco Bay Area, California:
A Geology Fieldtrip Guidebook To Selected Stops On Public Lands
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1127/
This field guide provides descriptions of the section of the San Andreas Fault that ruptured in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Descriptions of places the public can go range from the South Bay regions near Holister, San Juan Bautista, throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains between San Jose and San Francisco, and Point Reyes National Seashore. Introductory materials include an overview of the San Andreas Fault System, geology, landscape features, and plant communities that reveal information about the underlying geology.
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| Maps and Technical Reports |
San Francisco Bay Area Geology website
http://sfgeo.wr.usgs.gov
This website contains links to geologic maps and associated reports for all Bay Area counties.
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| National Parks in the Coast Ranges |
Carrizo Plain National Monument
Carrizo Plain National Monument (BLM website) |
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3D Tour of Carrizo Plain National Monument
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/carrizo/ |
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/goga/ |
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3D Tour of Golden Gate National Recreation Area
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/goldengate |
Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/muwo
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Muir Woods National Monument (San Francisco Bay Region 3D image tour)
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/3Dbayarea/html/MuirWoods.htm |
Pinnacles National Monument
Pinnacles National Monument (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/pinn/
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3D Tour of Pinnacles National Monument
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/pinnacles/ |
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/pore
Geologic Map of Point Reyes National Seashore and Vicinity
http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of97-456/
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3D Tour of Point Reyes National Seashore
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov |
Redwood National Park (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/redw/ |
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| Colorado Desert Province |
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3D Geology Tours of the Coachella Valley Preserve and Red Canyon Areas
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/ and http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov |
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| Mojave Desert Province |
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Desert Landforms and Surface Processes in the Mojave National Preserve and Vicinity
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1007/
Landscape features in the Mojave National Preserve are a product of ongoing processes involving tectonic forces, weathering, and erosion. Long-term climatic cycles (wet and dry periods) have left a decipherable record preserved as landform features and sedimentary deposits. This website provides and introduction to climate-driven desert processes influencing landscape features including stream channels, alluvial fans, playas (dry lake beds), dunes, and mountain landscapes. Bedrock characteristics, and the geometry of past and ongoing faulting, fracturing, volcanism, and landscape uplift and subsidence influence the character of processes happening at the surface.
Mojave National Preserve (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/moja
Geology of Mojave National Preserve
http://geology.wr.usgs.gov/docs/parks/mojave/index.html
This website provides links to field trips and location descriptions throughout the Mojave National Preserve.
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Mojave National Preserve: A 3D Photographic Tour Featuring Park Geology
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/mojave/ |
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Joshua Tree National Park: A 3D Photographic Tour Featuring Park Geology
http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/joshuatree/ |
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| Peninsular Ranges Province |
| Maps and Technical Reports |
Southern California Area Mapping Project (USGS)
http://scamp.wr.usgs.gov
The Southern California Area Mapping Project website has numerous links to maps and information resources in the southern California region including information about the Peninsular Ranges. |
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| Transverse Ranges Province |
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/samo/
Channel Islands National Park (National Park Service website)
http://www.nps.gov/chis
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| Maps and Technical Reports |
Southern California Area Mapping Project (USGS)
http://scamp.wr.usgs.gov
The Southern California Area Mapping Project website has numerous links to maps and information resources in the southern California region including information about the Transverse Ranges. |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey