Name |
Image |
Date |
Location |
County |
Ownership |
Description |
Amboy Crater |
|
May 1973 |
34°31′11.69″N 115°43′26.92″W / 34.5199139°N 115.7241444°W / 34.5199139; -115.7241444 |
San Bernardino |
Federal (Bureau of Land Management) |
A 6,000-year-old volcanic cinder cone, made up of pahoehoe, just off historic U.S. Highway 66. |
American River and Phoenix Park Vernal Pools |
|
1976 |
38°39′10.33″N 121°12′59.95″W / 38.6528694°N 121.2166528°W / 38.6528694; -121.2166528 |
Sacramento |
Mixed- county, private |
Contains vernal pools, and blue oak woodlands.[2] |
Año Nuevo State Reserve |
|
1980 |
37°7′7.24″N 122°18′24.02″W / 37.1186778°N 122.3066722°W / 37.1186778; -122.3066722 |
San Mateo |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
One of the largest mainland breeding grounds for the northern elephant seal.[3] |
Anza-Borrego Desert |
|
1974 |
33°14′57.38″N 116°24′24.63″W / 33.2492722°N 116.4068417°W / 33.2492722; -116.4068417 |
Imperial, Riverside, San Diego |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
The largest desert state park in the nation.[4] |
Audubon Canyon |
|
1968 |
37°55′46.01″N 122°40′55.85″W / 37.9294472°N 122.6821806°W / 37.9294472; -122.6821806 |
Marin |
Private |
The largest known nesting area for great blue herons and great and snowy egrets on the Pacific Coast.[5] |
Black Chasm Cave |
|
1976 |
38°26′3.4″N 120°37′35.3″W / 38.434278°N 120.626472°W / 38.434278; -120.626472 |
Amador |
Private |
A small three-level cave containing a variety of speleothems and some of the best helictite formations in the western U.S.[6] |
Burney Falls |
|
1984 |
41°0′43.79″N 121°39′7″W / 41.0121639°N 121.65194°W / 41.0121639; -121.65194 |
Shasta |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
Contains some of the best examples in the western United States of a river drainage regulated by stratigraphically-controlled springs.[7] |
Cima volcanic field |
|
1973 |
35°17′21.95″N 115°35′6.99″W / 35.2894306°N 115.5852750°W / 35.2894306; -115.5852750 |
San Bernardino |
Federal (Mojave National Preserve) |
A complex of over 20 large cinder cones of recent origin with extensive and continuous lava flows.[8] |
Cosumnes River Preserve |
|
1976 |
38°15′56.57″N 121°26′21.22″W / 38.2657139°N 121.4392278°W / 38.2657139; -121.4392278 |
Sacramento |
Mixed- private, federal |
A small remnant of a rapidly-disappearing riparian woodland community type that once formed a major part of the central valley.[9] |
Deep Springs Marsh |
|
1975 |
37°20′00″N 118°01′03″W / 37.33333°N 118.01750°W / 37.33333; -118.01750 |
Inyo |
Private |
An example of increasingly rare desert marsh.[10] |
Dixon Vernal Pools |
|
1987 |
38°16′31.29″N 121°49′25.49″W / 38.2753583°N 121.8237472°W / 38.2753583; -121.8237472 |
Solano |
Private |
The best example of valley needlegrass grassland in the central valley.[11] |
Elder Creek |
|
1964 |
39°43′32.04″N 123°37′34.35″W / 39.7255667°N 123.6262083°W / 39.7255667; -123.6262083 |
Mendocino |
Private (University of California Natural Reserve System) |
A largely undisturbed watershed containing large old stands of Douglas fir, broadleaf evergreens, and deciduous trees.[12] |
Emerald Bay |
|
1968 |
38°57′25.49″N 120°5′36.3″W / 38.9570806°N 120.093417°W / 38.9570806; -120.093417 |
El Dorado |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
An outstanding example of glacial geology.[13] |
Eureka Dunes |
|
1983 |
37°5′45.6″N 117°40′30″W / 37.096000°N 117.67500°W / 37.096000; -117.67500 |
Inyo |
Federal (Death Valley National Park) |
The tallest dune complex in the Great Basin.[14] |
Fish Slough Area of Critical Environmental Concern |
|
1975 |
37°28′8.69″N 118°24′3.1″W / 37.4690806°N 118.400861°W / 37.4690806; -118.400861 |
Inyo, Mono |
Mixed- federal (Bureau of Land Management), state, municipal |
A large, essentially undisturbed, desert wetland that provides habitat for the alkali mariposa lily and the endangered Owens pupfish.[15] |
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes |
|
1974 |
34°57′56.13″N 120°39′1.24″W / 34.9655917°N 120.6503444°W / 34.9655917; -120.6503444 |
San Luis Obispo |
Mixed- federal (Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge), state, private) |
A coastal dune tract with off-road vehicle recreation, a national wildlife refuge, beaches, and nesting for the western snowy plover.[16] |
Imperial Sand Hills |
|
1966 |
32°55′0″N 115°3′0″W / 32.91667°N 115.05000°W / 32.91667; -115.05000 |
Imperial |
Federal (Bureau of Land Management) |
One of the largest dune patches in the United States.[17] |
Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks |
|
2006 |
33°43′53.4″N 117°41′34.8″W / 33.731500°N 117.693000°W / 33.731500; -117.693000 |
Orange |
Mixed- state, county, municipal |
A remarkably complete stratigraphic succession ranging in age from late Cretaceous to the present.[18] |
Lake Shasta Caverns |
|
May 2012 |
40°48′16.2″N 122°18′15.98″W / 40.804500°N 122.3044389°W / 40.804500; -122.3044389 |
Shasta |
Private |
A well-decorated Solutional cave that contains a diverse assemblage of calcite cave formations.[19] |
Miramar Mounds |
|
1972 |
32°50′43″N 117°8′19″W / 32.84528°N 117.13861°W / 32.84528; -117.13861 |
San Diego |
Federal (Marine Corps Air Station Miramar) |
Contains unique soil features called mima mounds, which are found in only three or four locations in the country, and vernal pools.[20] |
Mitchell Caverns and Winding Stair Cave |
|
1975 |
34°56′26.97″N 115°30′51.97″W / 34.9408250°N 115.5144361°W / 34.9408250; -115.5144361 |
San Bernardino |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
The most important solution caverns known in the Mohave Desert.[21] |
Mt. Diablo State Park |
|
1982 |
37°52′37.75″N 121°55′25.79″W / 37.8771528°N 121.9238306°W / 37.8771528; -121.9238306 |
Contra Costa |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
One of the few areas in the region where geologic strata of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary age can be seen in an aggregate thickness of 42,000 feet (13,000 m).[22] |
Mount Shasta |
|
1976 |
41°24′35.6″N 122°11′41.52″W / 41.409889°N 122.1948667°W / 41.409889; -122.1948667 |
Siskiyou |
Federal (Shasta-Trinity National Forest) |
One of the world's largest and most impressive stratovolcanoes, within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.[23] |
Pixley Vernal Pools |
|
1987 |
35°59′3.85″N 119°12′45.04″W / 35.9844028°N 119.2125111°W / 35.9844028; -119.2125111 |
Tulare |
Private |
One of the few remaining natural vernal pools containing rare endemic plant species such as vernal pool fairy shrimp.[24] |
Point Lobos |
|
1967 |
36°31′1.56″N 121°56′33.36″W / 36.5171000°N 121.9426000°W / 36.5171000; -121.9426000 |
Monterey |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
An outstanding example of terrestrial and marine environments in close association, and the only known habitat of Monterey cypress and variegated brodiaea.[25] |
Pygmy Forest at Jug Handle State Natural Reserve |
|
1969
1973 |
39°22′29.3″N 123°47′22.15″W / 39.374806°N 123.7894861°W / 39.374806; -123.7894861 |
Mendocino |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
Includes a five step ecological staircae on which a unique forest of low, stunted trees and shrubs is located.[26] |
Rainbow Basin |
|
1966 |
35°1′46″N 117°2′12″W / 35.02944°N 117.03667°W / 35.02944; -117.03667 |
San Bernardino |
Federal (Bureau of Land Management) |
Deep erosion canyons with rugged rims with fossil evidence of insects and Miocene mammals.[27] |
La Brea Tar Pits (Rancho La Brea) |
|
1964 |
34°3′46.62″N 118°21′21.49″W / 34.0629500°N 118.3559694°W / 34.0629500; -118.3559694 |
Los Angeles |
Municipal (City of Los Angeles) |
Site of the world-famous natural asphalt tar pits.[28] |
San Andreas Fault |
|
1965 |
|
San Benito |
Private |
One of the best illustrations of earth displacement caused by small crustal movements.[29] |
San Felipe Creek Area |
|
1974 |
33°10′11″N 115°49′19″W / 33.16972°N 115.82194°W / 33.16972; -115.82194 |
Imperial, San Diego |
Federal (Bureau of Land Management), state |
A marsh containing probably the last remaining perennial natural desert stream in the Colorado Desert region.[30] |
Sand Ridge Wildflower Preserve |
|
1984 |
35°18′31.26″N 118°47′24.29″W / 35.3086833°N 118.7900806°W / 35.3086833; -118.7900806 |
Kern |
Private |
A remnant natural area displaying a great diversity of floral species including the Bakersfield cactus.[31] |
Sharktooth Hill |
|
1976 |
35°26′30.57″N 118°56′26.18″W / 35.4418250°N 118.9406056°W / 35.4418250; -118.9406056 |
Kern |
Private |
One of the most abundant, diverse and well- preserved fossil marine vertebrate sites in the world.[32] |
Tijuana River Estuary |
|
1973 |
32°33′7.2″N 117°7′9.59″W / 32.552000°N 117.1193306°W / 32.552000; -117.1193306 |
San Diego |
Federal (Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve), state, municipal |
One of the finest remaining saltwater marshes on the California coastline.[33] |
Torrey Pines State Reserve |
|
1977 |
32°54′59.58″N 117°14′58.7″W / 32.9165500°N 117.249639°W / 32.9165500; -117.249639 |
San Diego |
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation) |
Contains a natural Torrey pine forest, high bluffs and sea cliffs, and endangered bird species.[34] |
Trona Pinnacles |
|
1967 |
35°37′3.81″N 117°22′5.08″W / 35.6177250°N 117.3680778°W / 35.6177250; -117.3680778 |
San Bernardino |
Federal (Bureau of Land Management) |
A relict landform from the Pleistocene containing unique formations of calcium carbonate.[35] |
Turtle Mountain |
|
1973 |
34°19′5.53″N 114°51′7.28″W / 34.3182028°N 114.8520222°W / 34.3182028; -114.8520222 |
San Bernardino |
Federal (Bureau of Land Management), state |
Contains two mountain sections of entirely different composition.[36] |