Bodega Head
|
|
Wpdms_usgs_photo_bodega_head.jpg
Bodega Head is a small promontory on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States. It is located in Sonoma County approximately 40 mi (64 km) northwest of San Francisco and approximately 20 mi (32 km) west of Santa Rosa.
The peninsula, which is approximately 4 mi (6.4 km) long and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, emerges from the coast to the south. It shelters the shallow sandy Bodega Bay the inner portion known as Bodega Harbor. Sonoma Coast State Beach comprises beaches and dunes along the south side of the promontory. The University of California runs an ongoing marine biology program at the Bodega Marine Lab. The peninsula is considered a prime spot to observe the migration of whales. A series of trails are a popular destination for recreational hiking.
The peninsula was probably inhabited by the coastal Miwok people before the arrival of Europeans.
Geology
Bodega Head lies just on the west side of the San Andreas Fault, which runs between the base of the promontory and the mainland. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the promontory shifted approximately 15 ft (5 m), displacing the harbor to the north relative to the mainland.
Geologically, the rocks of Bodega Head differ greatly from those on the mainland just to the east. Whereas the rocks of Bodega Head are exposed continental granite, the mainland rocks are of oceanic origin from the Franciscan Complex. This indicates that Bodega Head is mostly likely a piece of Southern California or the Baja California peninsula that has been dragged northward by the movement of the Pacific Plate (on which the head sits) relative to the North American Plate (the mainland).
A controversial attempt by Pacific Gas & Electric Company to construct a nuclear power plant on the peninsula in the late 1950s was thwarted because of environmental concerns and the possibility of danger from earthquakes.
See also
External links
- Sonoma State University: The Geology of Bodega Head (http://www.sonoma.edu/geology/wright/Bhead.html)
- Hiking on Bodega Head (http://www.monitor.net/monitor/12-3-95/bodegahead.html)
- P.G. & E. Controversy in the 1950s (http://www.fsm-a.org/stacks/AP_files/APBodegaHead.html)
- Madrone Audobon Society: Bodega Head (http://audubon.sonoma.net/birding/bodega_bay.html)