Monday, October 10, 2011

habitat ~ 10/10/11 ~ Point Lobos State Natural Reserve


Hmph! I have more IDs from this hike, but they're flummoxing me. Those will have to wait until another day. In this habitat post I want to show a typical trail, the unusual geological formations, the variety of blooms in October, the incredible coves for which Point Lobos is famous, and a map of the current closed trails. Enjoy!

ps 10/26/11 - For the only other picture of the rock circles I've found online, check out DidaK's flickr. Thanks to an informative The Rocks of Point Lobos PDF provided by the Point Lobos Foundation (linked in the location name under the photos), I now know the rock circles are weathered concretions.

7 comments:

Imperfect and Tense said...

Are those fossils in the second photo, Katie? And if so, of what, please? Yours, Flummoxed of MK

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

I am curious too about the second photo. Rock eating abalone? :)

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Eh? I doubt those are fossils. They were at least 3-4 ft. wide. The circular patterns were unusual for around here, so I included them. If you know more about them, then please tell!

Graeme, what does "MK" stand for?

JL, I thought about you when our brother-in-law visited last week. He ended up at the very nice Marina Dunes with his extraordinarily large RV... after 5 1/2 hours driving Hwy 1 from San Simeon. Apparently, the mudslides from earlier this year are still holding up normal Hwy 1 traffic. Thought I'd let you know.

Imperfect and Tense said...

Jings, that big?! They look like some landscape feature that's been preserved in stone. On a smaller scale, I've seen sand ripples and cracked mud paving, but nothing like those in your photo. I did wonder if they were the remnants of stromatolites. MK stands for Milton Keynes!

Katie (Nature ID) said...

I'm not up on my geology, but stromatolites may not be too far off. Doh! Milton Keynes. Of course. It'd be like me saying PG for Pacific Grove.

Katie (Nature ID) said...

The rock circles are called concretions. I've added a postscript above with a link to a PDF with more information.

Imperfect and Tense said...

Many thanks for the interesting info, Katie. I consider myself well and truly edumacated. Our Lass gave a nod at the word 'concretions', it seems that she's clinging on to some knowledge from Geology classes in her youth. We'll know who to ask next time!