U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Geological
Survey
California boasts of some extraordinarily diverse landscape—from glaciated peaks to vast expanses of desert; from broad, sandy beaches to dense redwood forests. It is home to numerous Federal and State parks and preserves that highlight these varied scenic wonderlands. And of course California is also home to the infamous San Andreas fault. The resources below will help you to explore geology studies that are underway in California and how they contribute to diverse problems such as understanding earthquake shaking, finding minerals, and evaluating volcanic hazards.
Visit the ever-popular USGS "Quake" website to see information about the daily earthquake activity in California and Nevada.
Perhaps not widely known is that California is home to a restless caldera, which is a type of volcano. Find out what USGS scientists are discovering about the Long Valley Caldera. You might also enjoy reading online versions of two USGS Fact Sheets called "Living With A Restless Caldera—Long Valley, California" and "Future Eruptions in California's Long Valley Area--What's Likely?"
Hundreds of miles of coastline and controversy about how it should be used makes California ripe for several important coastal studies.
The USGS has several geologic mapping projects underway in California. Visit the geologic mapping team's website to find out what they are learning. A related website describes oil and gas seeps in the state, which are much more abundant than most people suspect!
To gain a full understanding of the geology of an area, it's important to be able to "see" into the subsurface. Using specialized instruments mounted on airplanes, geophysicists are able to help determine what geologic structures lie beneath the Earth's surface. Find out what what scientists are discovering about California through geophysical mapping.
California is home to a vast array of mineral resources—find out what USGS scientists are learning about these resources and about the environmental impact of exploiting them.
Years of development and population growth around the San Francisco Bay have changed the ecosystem of the area dramatically. Find out more about the San Francisco Bay Ecosystem project.
The Mojave Desert is a vast expanse of land covering parts of California and nearby states. The USGS is participating in an ambitious interdisciplinary project to better understand the fragile Mojave Desert Ecosystem.
It may seem impossible, but dust is crucial to the well-being of the desert environment. Find out what USGS scientists are learning about the importance of dust.
Did you know that landslides following an earthquake were linked to an outbreak of a disease called "valley fever?" Find out more about this case and other landslides as well as the landslide research being done by the USGS.
Finally, you may be interested in all the research being done to determine the impact of climate change in the southwestern United States.
The USGS has some state by state listings that might interest you:
| Minerals Information | USGS Fact Sheets |
 |
Download shaded relief map of California (158 kb GIF file) |
Geologic Inquiries
Office
Menlo Park Regional Center
345 Middlefield Road, MS 919
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Contact: Phil Stoffer
Phone: (650) 329-5028
e-mail: pstoffer@usgs.gov
USGS State representative for California:
Michael
V. Shulters
Placer Hall
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-6129
Telephone: (916) 278-3026
Fax: (916) 278-3070
Office hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Water
Resources Division, California Office
Biological Resources
Division
National Mapping Division
If you haven't found the geologic information you're looking for yet, you'll surely want to visit the website for the California Geological Survey
USGS Products are sold at Earth Science Information Centers (ESICs) throughout the country. Find out what an ESIC is, and whether there is an ESIC near you.
Geologic Information For Other Western States
| Alaska | Arizona | Hawaii | Idaho | Nevada | Oregon | Utah | Washington |
Return to Geologic Information about the Western United States
| Geologic
Information about the | Central Region | Eastern Region | National Geologic Information | |
