List of National Natural Landmarks in California

From List of National Natural Landmarks, these are the National Natural Landmarks in California. There are 36 in total.[1]

Name Image Date Location County Ownership Description
Amboy Crater May 1973 Amboy 34°32′38″N 115°47′28″W / 34.543889°N 115.791111°W / 34.543889; -115.791111 (Amboy Crater) San Bernardino federal (Bureau of Land Management) A 6,000-year-old volcanic cinder cone, made up of pahoehoe. Its location just off historic U.S. Highway 66 has given many visitors the opportunity to climb a volcano.
Anza-Borrego Desert 1974 Imperial, Riverside, San Diego state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) The largest desert state park in the nation.
Audubon Canyon 1968 Marin private The largest known nesting area for great blue herons and American egrets on the Pacific Coast.
Año Nuevo State Reserve 1980 San Mateo state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) The only mainland breeding ground for the northern elephant seal in the world.
American River and Phoenix Park Vernal Pools 1976 Sacramento mixed- county, private Contains outstanding examples of vernal pools, and blue oak woodlands
Black Chasm Cave 1976 Amador private A small three-level cave containing an outstanding variety of speleothems and some of the best helictite formations in the West.
Burney Falls 1984 Shasta state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) Contains some of the best examples in the western United States of a river drainage regulated by stratigraphically-controlled springs, and of a waterfall formed by undercutting of horizontal rock layers.
Cinder Cone Natural Area 1973 San Bernardino federal (Mojave National Preserve) A complex of over 20 large cinder cones of recent origin with extensive and continuous lava flows.
Cosumnes River Preserve 1976 Sacramento mixed- private, federal A small remnant of a rapidly disappearing riparian woodland community type that once formed a major part of the central California valley.
Deep Springs Marsh 1975 Inyo private An example of increasingly rare desert marsh.
Dixon Vernal Pools 1987 Solano private The best example of valley needlegrass grassland in the Great Central valley.
Elder Creek 1964 Mendocino private (University of California Natural Reserve System) A largely undisturbed watershed containing large old stands of Douglas fir, broadleaf evergreens, and deciduous trees.
Emerald Bay 1968 El Dorado state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) An outstanding example of glacial geology.
Eureka Dunes 1983 Inyo federal (Death Valley National Park) The tallest dune complex in the Great Basin.
Fish Slough 1975 Inyo, Mono mixed- federal (Bureau of Land Management), state, municipal A large, essentially undisturbed desert wetland that provides habitat for the endangered Owens pupfish.
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes 1974 San Luis Obispo mixed- federal (Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge), state, private) The largest relatively undeveloped coastal dune tract in California. Includes off-highway vehicle dune recreation, a national wildlife refuge, beaches, and nesting for the western snowy plover.
Imperial Sand Hills 1966 Imperial federal (Bureau of Land Management) One of the largest dune patches in the United States.
Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks 2006 Orange mixed- state, county, municipal A remarkably complete stratigraphic succession ranging in age from late Cretaceous to the present.
Lake Shasta Caverns May 2012 Shasta private An extraordinarily well-decorated solution cave that contains an especially diverse assemblage of calcite cave formations.
Miramar Mounds 1972 San Diego federal (Marine Corps Air Station Miramar) Contains unique soil features called mima mounds, which are found in only three or four locations in the country.
Mitchell Caverns and its "Winding Stair" cave 1975 San Bernardino state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) The most important solution caverns known in the Mohave Desert.
Mt. Diablo State Park 1982 Contra Costa state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) Geologic strata of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary age can be seen in an aggregate thickness of 42,000 feet (13,000 m).
Mount Shasta 1976 Siskiyou federal (Shasta-Trinity National Forest) One of the world's largest and most impressive stratovolcanoes.
Pixley Vernal Pools 1987 Tulare private One of the few remaining natural vernal pools containing rare endemic plant species.
Point Lobos 1967 Monterey state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) An outstanding example of terrestrial and marine environments in close association.
Pygmy Forest at Jug Handle State Natural Reserve 1969

1973

Mendocino state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) A unique forest of low, stunted trees and shrubs. This NNL was expanded in 1973 to include the entire five step Ecologic Staircase, or Marine terrace series on which the pygmy forest is located.
Rainbow Basin 1966 San Bernardino federal (Bureau of Land Management) Deep erosion canyons with rugged rims.
La Brea Tar Pits (Rancho La Brea) 1964 Los Angeles municipal (City of Los Angeles) Site of the world-famous natural asphalt tar pits.
San Andreas Fault 1965 San Benito private One of the best illustrations of earth displacement caused by small crustal movements.
San Felipe Creek 1974 Imperial, San Diego federal (Bureau of Land Management), state Probably the last remaining perennial natural desert stream in the Colorado Desert region.
Sand Ridge Wildflower Preserve 1984 Kern private A remnant natural area displaying a great diversity of floral species.
Sharktooth Hill 1976 Kern private One of the most abundant, diverse and well- preserved fossil marine vertebrate sites in the world.
Tijuana River Estuary 1973 San Diego federal (Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve), state, municipal One of the finest remaining saltwater marshes on the California coastline.
Torrey Pines State Reserve 1977 San Diego state (California Department of Parks and Recreation) Contains a unique and undisturbed biological community supporting endangered bird species.
Trona Pinnacles 1967 San Bernardino federal (Bureau of Land Management) A relict landform from the Pleistocene containing unique formations of calcium carbonate.
Turtle Mountain 1973 San Bernardino federal (Bureau of Land Management), state Contains two mountain sections of entirely different composition.

References

  1. "National Natural Landmarks Program, California". National Park Service. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
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