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Vasquez Rocks is a 745 acre Los Angeles County Park, located in Agua Dulce midway between Santa Clarita and Palmdale.

These towering rock formations are one of southern California's most famous geologic wonders. The Vasquez Rocks are formations created by 8 to 15 million years of earthquake activity along the Elkhorn fault, an offshoot of the San Andreas Fault. Compressed, folded and tilted as much as 50 degrees, and up to nearly 150 feet high, erosion gradually stripped away soil from around the rocks leaving these ancient and spectacular creations. Course-grained yellowish-gray sandstone beds several feet thick make up these strange jutting and sweeping formations. Shale, basalt, and reddish-brown conglomerate can be found layered between the sandstone slabs.

The Vasquez Rocks park has been used for location shooting in many movies and television series such as Star Trek.

Local annual and perennial grasses are short and turn brown and brittle early in the summer. Chamise, yucca, California juniper, scattered scrub oak, manzanita and various succulent desert plants. Animals most frequently seen in the area include coyotes, gophers, jack rabbits, lizards, snakes along with blue jays, red-tail hawks and quail.

Camping, hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing, exploring rocky nooks and crannies and wildlife watching offer lots of adventure at this unique landscape conveniently located just a short drive from Los Angeles.

Photo: Copyright 2005 Carolyn Allen

For more articles about California Nature