With its active fault systems, complex landforms, and myriad natural habitats, southern California boasts a rich and dynamic geologic environment. This abundantly illustrated volume at last provides an up-to-date, authoritative, and accessible resource for students and general readers interested in southern California's geology and native plants. Covering an extensive area, north from San Diego to Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada and east to the Mojave and Colorado deserts, its unique, comprehensive approach brings together for the first time the basic principles of geology, the story of plate tectonics, in-depth discussion of the geology of many specific locales within the region, and information on identifying southern California's native plants. "This treatise seamlessly combines an elementary introduction to the theories, facts, and principles defining modern earth science with an up-to-date integration of the present state of knowledge regarding the geologic architecture and geohistory of southern California. Hall, the world's leading expert on this region, has delivered a spectacularly illustrated compendium that should be required reading for the southern Californian geologist, naturalist, botanist, and generally inquisitive hiker."—W. G. Ernst, Stanford University "This treatise seamlessly combines an elementary introduction to the theories, facts, and principles defining modern earth science with an up-to-date integration of the present state of knowledge regarding the geologic architecture and geohistory of southern California. Hall, the world's leading expert on this region, has delivered a spectacularly illustrated compendium that should be required reading for the southern Californian geologist, naturalist, botanist, and generally inquisitive hiker."―W. G. Ernst, Stanford University Clarence A. Hall, Jr. , is Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth and Space Science at the University of California, Los Angeles, Director Emeritus of the University of California's White Mountain Research Station, and Dean Emeritus of the Division of Physical Science, College of Letters and Science, UCLA. He is editor of Natural History of the White-Inyo Range, Eastern California (UC Press) among other books. INTRODUCTION TO THE GEOLOGY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ITS NATIVE PLANTS By CLARENCE A. HALL, JR. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Copyright © 2007 Regents of the University of California All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-520-24932-5 Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................xiiiPART ONE Introduction1 This Book.....................................................................................32 Prologue to Geology of Southern California....................................................5PART TWO The Earth and Geologic Time3 Earth Materials...............................................................................114 Geologic Time.................................................................................385 Plate tectonics...............................................................................64PART THREE Southern California through Geologic Time6 Overview of the Geologic History of Southern California.......................................797 Proterozoic Era...............................................................................818 Paleozoic Era.................................................................................859 Mesozoic Era..................................................................................9510 Cenozoic Era.................................................................................124PART FOUR Geology and Botany of Southern California's Geomorphic Provinces11 Geomorphic and Floristic Provinces...........................................................14312 Peninsular Ranges and Colorado Desert........................................................14513 Mojave Desert................................................................................17914 Eastern Transverse Ranges and the San Bernardino Mountains...................................20715 Basin and Range Province: Death and Owens Valleys............................................20916 Western Transverse Ranges....................................................................23317 Southern Coast Ranges........................................................................28018 San Joaquin Valley...........................................................................31319 Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada Province........................................................317PART FIVE Botany and Plant families20 Botanical Overview...........................................................................35121 Plant Families of Southern California........................................................374BOTANICAL GLOSSARY..............................................................................395MAIN GLOSSA