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A Streetcar to Subduction and Other Plate Tectonic Trips by Public Transport in San Francisco
Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the "Special Publications Series," and available as a free download from their site at agu.org/books/sp/v022/SP022.pdf.
It is hard to be unaware of the earth in San Francisco. Built on rocky hills, the city is surrounded on three sides by bay and ocean that can be seen from nearly everywhere within it. Precipitous cliffs face the city from across the Golden Gate, and the skyline to the north, east, and south is dominated by mountains. Occasional tremors from the San Andreas and related faults nearby remind us that the earth here is active. Until recently the rocks so abundantly exposed in San Francisco baffled geologists. Jumbled together without apparent order and lacking visible fossils, they defied explanation. The theory of plate tectonics has changed all that. We now have an explanation for the origin of the rocks of San Francisco, although it is anything but simple.
It is hard to be unaware of the earth in San Francisco. Built on rocky hills, the city is surrounded on three sides by bay and ocean that can be seen from nearly everywhere within it. Precipitous cliffs face the city from across the Golden Gate, and the skyline to the north, east, and south is dominated by mountains. Occasional tremors from the San Andreas and related faults nearby remind us that the earth here is active. Until recently the rocks so abundantly exposed in San Francisco baffled geologists. Jumbled together without apparent order and lacking visible fossils, they defied explanation. The theory of plate tectonics has changed all that. We now have an explanation for the origin of the rocks of San Francisco, although it is anything but simple.
- GenresGeologyNonfictionScience
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 5, 2023
This is definitely one of my favorite geology books of all time, I read the entire thing in one sitting.
What really sells this book is that this is NOT a general guide to geology in the Bay Area (although the introduction is definitely top-of-the-line). This is a very specific, street-by-street, MUNI route by MUNI route, guide to the rocks and geology that you can find in the City. So far I explored 4 of the 7 trips:
Trip 1: A Streetcar to Subduction, explores the Marin Headlands Terrane in the central part of the city (Twin Peaks, Castro, Diamond Heights, Mt. Sutro, Corona Heights Park). This is a pretty developed part of the city, and unfortunately some of the sections that were open hillsides in 1984 are now covered by buildings. Despite that, the guide overall still works, and it was fun to see the geology pop out of street corners and buildings literally when I got off the MUNI train.
Trip 2: To Fort Mason and Subducted Sandstone, explores the Alcatraz Terrane Graywacke of Fort Mason. What I really liked is this was a literally step-by-step guide, pointing out the rocks, textures, and features in every part of a relatively small walking path.
Trip 3: Baker's Beach and Fort Point, explores both the Marin Headlands Terrane (sandstone, chert, basalt) and the Hunters Point Melange (serpentine) from Baker's Beach up to the Golden Gate Bridge. These are not only some of the most beautiful outcrops but also some of the most scenic views in the Bay Area, and I loved how the guide actually broke this into multiple side trips, each one exploring a different trail/foot path. The guide painstakingly broke down the geological significance of every section, right down to the fairly minor sea rocks off the coast.
Trip 4: A Sedentary Survey of the Stucture of the City (With Side Trips Afoot). This was a roughly circular tour of the city, conducted entirely on public transit. Not only did the guide cover the geology and outcrops, but it also covered the history and architecture of the different neighborhoods that you would be passing through. While there are plenty of side notes for people who want to take side trips, what I really like is that this can be a truly sedentary tour, which would be especially valuable for people who have mobility issues.
I have not yet explored the last trips due to them being technically outside San Francisco (Marin County, Alcatraz, and the Hayward Fault off of BART), but I am excited to complete my tour with this book. The painstaking level of detail, the thought and care, all of the eminently readable information, makes this easily the strongest guide I have ever encountered of San Francisco geology. My only complaint is the maps - while excruciatingly detailed, the mapmaker decided to use nothing but tiny dots to mark the different geologic units (because apparently simple shapes did not exist in the 80s). More egregiously, the key is DIFFERENT for each map, forcing the reader to completely readjust their understanding of what the symbols mean, to the point that I had to cross-check with maps in other books. To paraphrase Mark Twain, I hope the mapmaker was not allowed to die a natural death. Other than that, great book!
What really sells this book is that this is NOT a general guide to geology in the Bay Area (although the introduction is definitely top-of-the-line). This is a very specific, street-by-street, MUNI route by MUNI route, guide to the rocks and geology that you can find in the City. So far I explored 4 of the 7 trips:
Trip 1: A Streetcar to Subduction, explores the Marin Headlands Terrane in the central part of the city (Twin Peaks, Castro, Diamond Heights, Mt. Sutro, Corona Heights Park). This is a pretty developed part of the city, and unfortunately some of the sections that were open hillsides in 1984 are now covered by buildings. Despite that, the guide overall still works, and it was fun to see the geology pop out of street corners and buildings literally when I got off the MUNI train.
Trip 2: To Fort Mason and Subducted Sandstone, explores the Alcatraz Terrane Graywacke of Fort Mason. What I really liked is this was a literally step-by-step guide, pointing out the rocks, textures, and features in every part of a relatively small walking path.
Trip 3: Baker's Beach and Fort Point, explores both the Marin Headlands Terrane (sandstone, chert, basalt) and the Hunters Point Melange (serpentine) from Baker's Beach up to the Golden Gate Bridge. These are not only some of the most beautiful outcrops but also some of the most scenic views in the Bay Area, and I loved how the guide actually broke this into multiple side trips, each one exploring a different trail/foot path. The guide painstakingly broke down the geological significance of every section, right down to the fairly minor sea rocks off the coast.
Trip 4: A Sedentary Survey of the Stucture of the City (With Side Trips Afoot). This was a roughly circular tour of the city, conducted entirely on public transit. Not only did the guide cover the geology and outcrops, but it also covered the history and architecture of the different neighborhoods that you would be passing through. While there are plenty of side notes for people who want to take side trips, what I really like is that this can be a truly sedentary tour, which would be especially valuable for people who have mobility issues.
I have not yet explored the last trips due to them being technically outside San Francisco (Marin County, Alcatraz, and the Hayward Fault off of BART), but I am excited to complete my tour with this book. The painstaking level of detail, the thought and care, all of the eminently readable information, makes this easily the strongest guide I have ever encountered of San Francisco geology. My only complaint is the maps - while excruciatingly detailed, the mapmaker decided to use nothing but tiny dots to mark the different geologic units (because apparently simple shapes did not exist in the 80s). More egregiously, the key is DIFFERENT for each map, forcing the reader to completely readjust their understanding of what the symbols mean, to the point that I had to cross-check with maps in other books. To paraphrase Mark Twain, I hope the mapmaker was not allowed to die a natural death. Other than that, great book!
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September 7, 2015recommended before trip to geology hike in SF.
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