Pinnacles National Monument

Photo by Frank S. Balthis

Spirelike rock formations 500 to 1,200 feet high, with caves and a variety of volcanic features, rise above the smooth contours of the surrounding countryside. These rocks are remains of an ancient volcano. Or rather they are part of the remains, for the rest of the volcano that lies 195 miles to the southeast. Sound intriguing? Well, the story began more than 23 million years ago when a volcano formed along the San Andreas Rift Zone. As the Pacific plate and the North American plate continued their movement this caused one side of the volcano to move in one direction and the other side to go in the other.

Source of Information: U.S. National Park Service

The displacement along the San Andreas has been at an average rate of 1.4 cm/yr for the last 23 million years. View along Condor Gulch Trail. Photo courtesy of Paul Myers.

Pinnacles National Monument continues to move northwest along the west side of the San Andreas Fault. The rocks in the park are a complex series of rhyolitic and andesitic lava flows and pyroclastics. Photo courtesy of Paul Myers.

For more insights into visiting Pinnacles go to Webfoot's Place homepage.

Proclaimed Jan. 16, 1908.
Boundary changes: May 7, 1923; July 2, 1924; April 13, 1931; July 11, 1933; Dec. 5, 1941; Oct. 20, 1976.
Wilderness designated Oct. 20, 1976.

Acreage- 16,265.44

Federal: 16,254.62

Nonfederal: 10.82.

Wilderness area: 12,952

For information write or call:

Pinnacles National Monument
Paicines, CA 95043
408-389-4485

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