USGS Education
| Physiographic Provinces of California USGS Education Home / California Education Standards / California Resources |
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For examples of regional reports, click on a province below, or click on the map. |
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Basin and Range Cascade Range Coast Ranges Colorado Desert Great Valley Klamath Mountains Modoc Plateau Mojave Desert Peninsular Ranges Sierra Nevada Transverse Ranges |
What makes one region different or unique from others? Many factors are involved, including geologic history and landscape evolution, past and modern climates, elevation, precipitation, soils, vegetation, and wild life. These factors influence how humans use and interact with the environment, including agriculture, the location and development history of population centers, mining, energy, water use, recreation, preservation, culture, industry, and politics. These factors also influence the risk associated with natural hazards and disasters (past and future). |
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| Basin and Range Province | |
Long Valley Observatory (USGS Volcano Hazards Team) |
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3D Geology Tour of Death Valley National Park http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/deathvalley/ |
| Cascade Range Province | |
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3D Tour of Mount Shasta http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/shasta/ |
| This website shows landscape features on and around Mount Shasta, the largest volcano of the Cascade Range. |
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| Coast Ranges Province | |
| General Interest Educational Guides and Resources | |
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| Maps and Technical Reports | |
San Francisco Bay Area Geology website http://sfgeo.wr.usgs.gov This website contains links to geologic maps and associated reports for all Bay Area counties. |
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| National Parks in the Coast Ranges | |
Carrizo Plain National Monument Carrizo Plain National Monument (BLM website) |
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3D Tour of Carrizo Plain National Monument http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/carrizo/ |
| Golden Gate National Recreation Area Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/goga/ |
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3D Tour of Golden Gate National Recreation Area http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/goldengate |
Muir Woods National Monument |
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Muir Woods National Monument (San Francisco Bay Region 3D image tour) http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/3Dbayarea/html/MuirWoods.htm |
Pinnacles National Monument Pinnacles National Monument (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/pinn/ |
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3D Tour of Pinnacles National Monument http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/pinnacles/ |
Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes National Seashore (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/pore Geologic Map of Point Reyes National Seashore and Vicinity http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of97-456/ |
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3D Tour of Point Reyes National Seashore http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov |
| Redwood National Park (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/redw/ |
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| Colorado Desert Province | |
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3D Geology Tours of the Coachella Valley Preserve and Red Canyon Areas http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/ and http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov |
| Great Valley Province |
Urban Dynamics - California 's Central Valley http://ceres.ca.gov/calsip/cv/index.html Preliminary assessment of urban growth in California 's Central Valley . Includes an urban growth timeline and an urban growth animation from 1906-1996. |
| Klamath Mountains Province |
| Modoc Plateau Province | |
| Medicine Lake Vicinity: Medicine Lake Caldera, Lava Beds National Monument, and Glass Mountain Obsidian Flow and Domes http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MedicineLake/description_medicine_lake.html Lava Beds National Monument (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/labe |
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Lava Beds National Monument: A 3D Photographic Tour Featuring Park Geology http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/lavabeds/ |
| Mojave Desert Province | |
Desert Landforms and Surface Processes in the Mojave National Preserve and Vicinity http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1007/ Landscape features in the Mojave National Preserve are a product of ongoing processes involving tectonic forces, weathering, and erosion. Long-term climatic cycles (wet and dry periods) have left a decipherable record preserved as landform features and sedimentary deposits. This website provides and introduction to climate-driven desert processes influencing landscape features including stream channels, alluvial fans, playas (dry lake beds), dunes, and mountain landscapes. Bedrock characteristics, and the geometry of past and ongoing faulting, fracturing, volcanism, and landscape uplift and subsidence influence the character of processes happening at the surface. Mojave National Preserve (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/moja Geology of Mojave National Preserve http://geology.wr.usgs.gov/docs/parks/mojave/index.html This website provides links to field trips and location descriptions throughout the Mojave National Preserve. |
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Mojave National Preserve: A 3D Photographic Tour Featuring Park Geology http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/mojave/ |
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Joshua Tree National Park: A 3D Photographic Tour Featuring Park Geology http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/joshuatree/ |
| Peninsular Ranges Province |
| Maps and Technical Reports |
Southern California Area Mapping Project (USGS) http://scamp.wr.usgs.gov The Southern California Area Mapping Project website has numerous links to maps and information resources in the southern California region including information about the Peninsular Ranges. |
| Sierra Nevada Province |
| Devils Postpile National Monument (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/depo/ Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/seki/ |
| Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/yose/ Yosemite National Parks Geology (Geologic Story of Yosemite Valley and Bedrock Geology of the Yosemite Valley Area) by King Huber http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/parks/yos/ |
| Transverse Ranges Province |
| Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/samo/ Channel Islands National Park (National Park Service website) http://www.nps.gov/chis |
| Maps and Technical Reports |
Southern California Area Mapping Project (USGS) http://scamp.wr.usgs.gov The Southern California Area Mapping Project website has numerous links to maps and information resources in the southern California region including information about the Transverse Ranges. |
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://education.usgs.gov/california/provinces.htm
Page Contact Information: USGS Education Web Team
Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 22-Jul-2008 17:22:57 EDT
