BajaNomad

Geology Map of Baja (Norte) on GoogleEarth

David K - 4-26-2015 at 07:01 PM

Over on the Pole Line Road thread the question came up how I got the Geology Map from 1971 to overlay on Google Earth...

The map was on a KMZ file from San Diego State University: http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/kmlgeology/kmz/baja140/baja140.h...

Here are some samples...






Gonzaga Bay


Santa Ynez to Mission Santa Maria


Rancho el Parral (Sulfur Mine to Valle Chico road west half), Matomi Canyon



As always, if you have a request to see an area off this map, want it on Nomad, let me know!

4x4abc - 4-26-2015 at 08:00 PM

now I want the southern half

the current one sheds some light on Leon Grande etc

David K - 4-27-2015 at 07:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc  
now I want the southern half

the current one sheds some light on Leon Grande etc


GOOD EYE!



Arrows added pointing Leon Grande, Punta Prieta, Desengaño. The distance from Punta Prieta to Leon Grande is approx. 12 miles (19 kms.)

David K - 4-27-2015 at 07:35 AM

My favorite beach region in Baja...

Cliffy - 4-27-2015 at 08:41 AM

So? Where's the gold?

güéribo - 4-27-2015 at 11:43 AM

Cool map, David. Thanks for the resource.

Alan - 4-27-2015 at 12:43 PM

I've always wondered why geological occurrence created that Boulder Mountain just above GN. It looks like some giant raked up the surrounding plain and just left the pile. :biggrin:

David K - 4-27-2015 at 01:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Alan  
I've always wondered why geological occurrence created that Boulder Mountain just above GN. It looks like some giant raked up the surrounding plain and just left the pile. :biggrin:


El Pedregoso, once the highest mountain in the region made of granite, newer volcanic action surrounded it in a sea of lava. Solid granite breaks down into boulders with age.



(photo from Google search)

[Edited on 4-27-2015 by David K]

Cliffy - 4-27-2015 at 01:30 PM

Geology is fascinating, too bad I'm not a geologist.

Alan - 4-27-2015 at 05:30 PM

Cool. Makes sense to me. Thanks

DavidT - 4-27-2015 at 05:37 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Cliffy  
So? Where's the gold?


When Rudy and Butch would go out mining Rudy would hide what he found and then leave a pile of rocks along Mexico 1 to guide him back later.
So just look for a pile of Rudy's rocks along the edge of the highway.

Cliffy - 4-27-2015 at 06:14 PM

Does that include the rock piles right behind every disabled truck? :-)

Mexitron - 4-27-2015 at 06:21 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Quote: Originally posted by Alan  
I've always wondered why geological occurrence created that Boulder Mountain just above GN. It looks like some giant raked up the surrounding plain and just left the pile. :biggrin:


El Pedregoso, once the highest mountain in the region made of granite, newer volcanic action surrounded it in a sea of lava. Solid granite breaks down into boulders with age.



(photo from Google search)

[Edited on 4-27-2015 by David K]

Those granitics are part of the Peninsular Range batholith which goes from So Cal to the tip of Baja and were formed at the same time as the Sierra Nevada Range batholith in the Mezozoic. Batholiths were once massive underground magma chambers which cooled under certain pressure and temperature to make granite. Over the eons the batholiths have been pushed upward by tectonic forces and exposed. The geometric crystalline-like fault lines which run throughout the granitics abet the eroding of the rock into the shapes you see today---also exfoliation of layers of granite helps round of the boulders (they exfoliate layers of rock like an onion since they are no longer underground under enormous pressure). And as David mentioned much of the Baja batholith has been reburied by volcanic eruptions which occurred from around 10 mya to 2mya as the peninsula separated from the mainland and the SOC and San Andreas Fault were formed.

Cliffy - 4-27-2015 at 07:25 PM

That's interesting that they exfoliate like an onion. I always thought when granite boulders were "rounded" it had to come from rolling around in a water environment. But I guess I never thought about rounded large formations of granite couldn't have rolled in water
Learn something new every day.

David K - 4-28-2015 at 03:42 AM

Isn't Nomad a great place!?
Thank's Steve for the science!

nico - 5-1-2015 at 11:55 PM

Thanks David and Mexitron... Geo here too! Field trip... :)

nico - 5-2-2015 at 12:00 AM

Thanks David and Mexitron... Geo here too! Field trip... :)

David K - 5-2-2015 at 08:03 AM

Welcome to Baja Nomad nico!

nico - 5-2-2015 at 03:01 PM

Thank you! I'm enjoying the site plus poking around your great vivabaja.com site.

David K - 5-3-2015 at 07:52 AM

http://VivaBaja.com is a place for people who have Baja Fever or at least the Baja Bug and need a Fix between their trips to the Motherland!

Glad you like it... I just added a couple of 2010 trips on there and the 2011 Lost Mission Hike is linked to my blog page I started... need to catch up to 2015!

nico - 5-3-2015 at 03:23 PM

So are you and your wife geologists too?

I'm living in central Mexico... for 3 years now, and am seriously thinking of a move to Ensenada. I think it would be more my style.

When/if I do... I will probably check out some of your hiking areas... :) thanks for all the work you have put into sharing the info. Much appreciated.

David K - 5-3-2015 at 05:23 PM

Quote: Originally posted by nico  
So are you and your wife geologists too?

I'm living in central Mexico... for 3 years now, and am seriously thinking of a move to Ensenada. I think it would be more my style.

When/if I do... I will probably check out some of your hiking areas... :) thanks for all the work you have put into sharing the info. Much appreciated.


Thank you for asking... no, we are just lovers of the outdoors and four wheel drive trails. I am an irrigation specialist working mostly with low volume sprinklers and drip systems for landscape and gardens, and my wife is in the health care services.

The only Nomad I know personally who is a geologist is 'GeoRock' (Suzanne), but she rarely posts here anymore. You can see her sharing her geology knowledge with our Nomad 'Matomi tour' members, here: http://www.vivabaja.com/204/page6.html

[Edited on 5-4-2015 by David K]

Cliffy - 5-3-2015 at 05:33 PM

Interesting that you mentioned the Sierra Nevada range as I am quite familiar with it from traveling there for 60 years. Its fun the watch it grow in stature as you go north from Mojave. Its been my understanding that up north under Mono Lake its all a big caldera that my let go someday. The Mono Craters are there and as I also understand they are the youngest volcanic craters in NA.
I wonder what some of the earthquakes were like way back then? WOW!

bajaric - 5-4-2015 at 10:49 AM

Cool map, thanks. I downloaded google earth to use the link from SDSU. It is striking to note the large blob of rust brown in the Puertecitos area noted as TPV undifferentiated volcanic on the geologic map. Lots of volcanic activity in that area. A gazillion years ago the whole place was buried under a thick layer of molten rock and ash.

I was looking at the google earth satellite view and I noticed in the area around Isla Huerfanito it shows the new road under construction. This is the same as the mapcarta image I have been using http://mapcarta.com/20303926 so it would appear that both google and mapcarta are using the same satellite data that is a few years old.
bajaric

David K - 5-4-2015 at 03:18 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric  
Cool map, thanks. I downloaded google earth to use the link from SDSU. It is striking to note the large blob of rust brown in the Puertecitos area noted as TPV undifferentiated volcanic on the geologic map. Lots of volcanic activity in that area. A gazillion years ago the whole place was buried under a thick layer of molten rock and ash.

I was looking at the google earth satellite view and I noticed in the area around Isla Huerfanito it shows the new road under construction. This is the same as the mapcarta image I have been using http://mapcarta.com/20303926 so it would appear that both google and mapcarta are using the same satellite data that is a few years old.
bajaric


Correct, that is Hwy. 5 (which is now over 35 more miles south). The newer satellite images on Bing Maps shows the new construction 25 more miles south, all the way to Papa Fernandez', with the new bridge just north in place.

MMc - 5-4-2015 at 04:42 PM

If you would like a better understanding pick up: Markes E. Johnson's Off Trail Adventures in Baja California. The Univ.of Arizona Press. The writing is such you don't need to be a geology student, ( I did wiki a few words).
It's at good read and if you wonder around where he did it fills in a bunch of gaps you had not known about. Who knew the is Opel in Baja?