Geology

Types of Rocksby: Jessica Alvarado

San Simeon Beach For my field and lab assignment I went to

two different places to do my research. The first place I went to was to a beach in San Simeon near the State Park.

San Simeon Beach

San Simeon is located in San Luis Obispo County near Cambria.

San Simeon also refers to some geologic structures of the local area, particularly elements of the coastal Jurassic Age landforms and ophiolite mineral formations of this region.(Wikipedia)

San Simeon Beach

Many of the rocks in this area were sedimentary or metamorphic. Some examples I found were…

San Simeon Beach

The fossiliferous limestone, which is a type of sedimentary rock. This type of rock contains “holes” which were caused by ancient plants or animals.

This type of rock is in the carbonate formation group.

Fossiliferous Limestone

San Simeon Beach

Limestone rocks are mainly formed of calcium carbonate or calcite, and are mostly formed at the surface of warm, calm waters.

These rocks can also contain fossils such as shells and skeletal.

Fossiliferous Limestone

San Simeon Beach

Another sedimentary rock I found at the beach was the sandstone.

This rock is usually found in deserts and beaches.

Sandstone

San Simeon Beach

Sandstone rocks are formed by layers of sand accumulated as a result of sedimentation from water or air. When the sand is compressed by pressure of overlying deposits and cemented by the precipitation of minerals within the pore spaces between sand grains it becomes a sandstone.

Here’s a closer look at the same sandstone rock from the previous slide. I took a closer picture at home to get the detail.

Sandstone

San Simeon Beach

The third type of rock I found was slate which is a type of metamorphic rock.

This type of rock is formed through the metamorphism of shale.

Slate

San Simeon Beach

Slate is considered to be the least metamorphosed rock in the metamorphic category.

This is a fine grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock which is formed in low heat and pressure.

Slate

Coalinga

The second place I went to was a creek about 2 miles away from the town of Coalinga California. This place is around hills and it’s about 100 miles away from San Simeon.

Coalinga is a town where there is oil fields.

Coalinga

When I arrived at this creek in Coalinga the first rock I saw was a Conglomerate which is an example of an clastic sedimentary rock.

This rock is very distinctive because of the smaller rocks it has.

Conglomerate

Coalinga

Conglomerate rocks are formed of small rounded rocks that have been cemented together by minerals.

This rock can be found along beaches and rivers.

Conglomerate

Coalinga

The last rock sample of rock that I found in this place was diorite.

Diorite is an example of an intrusive igneous rock.

Diorite

Coalinga

Diorite is the plutonic equivalent of andesite.

These rocks can be found in dikes, sills, and stocks.

Diorite

FAULTWEATHERING PROCESSES

MASS WASTING AND EROSIONAL EVENTSSEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS

PRACTICAL USE OF GEOLOGY

Part II

San Andreas Fault

As soon as I read that I had to research a fault I right away thought about the San Andreas Fault. This fault is a continental transform fault also known as a conservative plate boundary because it runs along the boundary of a tectonic plate. The San Andreas forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.

San Andreas Fault

I took many pictures of the fault when I went to Parkfield here in California. It is about 45 miles from Avenal. It lies right along the San Andreas Fault which is the reason why many scientists come here to study the fault. These scientists are trying to figure out when the next “Big One” will hit. After I did my research me and my boyfriend went to the one and only restaurant there is. At this restaurant they have much history about Parkfield they even have an old seismic measuring machine. Other than that they have a menu with the history of the town and cool food names. The food was really good which kind of gives another reason why many scientists like to do “research”.

San Andreas Fault

Here is a picture of the old seismic measuring machine.

And here you can see some of the names of the food they have in the restaurant.

Weathering Process

This weathering process is chemical weathering. I took this picture in San Simeon. Chemical weathering transforms rocks when water interacts with minerals to create a variety of chemical reactions.

Weathering Process

Another weathering process I found in San Simeon was physical weathering.

Physical weathering is the process which causes disintegration of rocks without the chemical change.

Mass Wasting

The best example of mass wasting I found was this. I took this picture on my way to the beach. Mass wasting the slope or mass movement.

Sedimentary Environments

Continental environment is where rapid streams emerge from a mountainous area onto a smoother surface I took this picture

somewhere around last year in Yosemite. I thought it would be a good example of continental environment

Erosion

As many of the pictures this was also taken in San Simeon. This is a good picture of erosion.

Erosion is a natural process which includes the movement of loose or weathered material.


Marine environment are located at the ocean. This includes shallow and deep marine environments. Marine environment includes coral reefs and floors of the deep ocean.


Transitional environment is transition of continental and the marine environment. This is usually marked by the shoreline. The most familiar place we can find this environment is at beaches.

Practical Use of Geology

Some practical use of Geology around my area are a canal and a waste disposal facility.

Education

Geology