Another informative deep dive! Thank you for this. Moore's book Exploring the Berryessa Region was immensely helpful in my research for the Berryessa National Monument. And McPhee is just a master of non-fiction and an American treasure. I've never read a book of his that I didn't marvel at.
Oh, nice. I will have to check out Exploring the Berryessa Region. California geology is endlessly fascinating. Yes, McPhee is fantastic. So many of hs books are good. Dense, but good. Thanks for the comment!
My subjective feeling is that Caltrans, local municipalities and highway departments in Southern California, particularly Orange County, especially hate roadcuts, as being too messy and dirty. They often love to regrade them and cover them over with soil; and reseed them, obscuring or hiding what’s beneath them.
I wonder if that’s true. Road cuts are certainly inclined to disintegrate to some extent. But you’re right that many of them seem inaccessible. It’s worth researching.
Many may not know that Caltrans hires paleontologists to salvage fossils that are uncovered during new construction. The fossils and associated data are donated to museums.
Very interesting! I took a university course in Geology many, many decades ago, and one of its requirements was a field trip from Pasadena to the Pacific Coast. I do remember that the professor took great advantage of the numerous road cuts to explain concepts like geological age and vertical and horizontal stratigraphy.
That's fascinating. Yes, in researching this story we came across many instances of roadcuts being used by geology teachers to take students outdoors to see plate tectonics and stratigraphy in action. And the whole Assembling California book is essentially a road trip.
Another informative deep dive! Thank you for this. Moore's book Exploring the Berryessa Region was immensely helpful in my research for the Berryessa National Monument. And McPhee is just a master of non-fiction and an American treasure. I've never read a book of his that I didn't marvel at.
Oh, nice. I will have to check out Exploring the Berryessa Region. California geology is endlessly fascinating. Yes, McPhee is fantastic. So many of hs books are good. Dense, but good. Thanks for the comment!
That Palmdale roadcut is crazy! It's the match of any Appalachian roadcut with curves and folds.
It’s worth stopping to check out if you’re driving up to the eastern Sierra.
My subjective feeling is that Caltrans, local municipalities and highway departments in Southern California, particularly Orange County, especially hate roadcuts, as being too messy and dirty. They often love to regrade them and cover them over with soil; and reseed them, obscuring or hiding what’s beneath them.
I wonder if that’s true. Road cuts are certainly inclined to disintegrate to some extent. But you’re right that many of them seem inaccessible. It’s worth researching.
“Hmmm.. nice place for a retaining wall to cover all those messy rocks!”
Many may not know that Caltrans hires paleontologists to salvage fossils that are uncovered during new construction. The fossils and associated data are donated to museums.
This is great. That's a new story in itself.
Very interesting! I took a university course in Geology many, many decades ago, and one of its requirements was a field trip from Pasadena to the Pacific Coast. I do remember that the professor took great advantage of the numerous road cuts to explain concepts like geological age and vertical and horizontal stratigraphy.
Thank you for this great read!
You're welcome! We will keep them coming.
That's fascinating. Yes, in researching this story we came across many instances of roadcuts being used by geology teachers to take students outdoors to see plate tectonics and stratigraphy in action. And the whole Assembling California book is essentially a road trip.