Читать книгу Hiking & Backpacking Big Sur. Your complete guide to the trails of Big Sur, Ventana Wilderness, and Silver Peak Wilderness онлайн

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Two massive chunks of Earth’s crust, the Nacimiento and Salinian blocks, were ripped from their moorings along the North American plate and pushed northward along the numerous major faults associated with the San Andreas system. These faults generally run northwest-southeast, paralleling the coastline and general trend of the coastal mountains. A prime example is the Sur-Nacimiento Fault, which separates the Salinian and Nacimiento blocks, relieving pressure along the San Andreas Fault. As the tectonic plates collided, compressed, and fractured along these major fault lines, the land buckled in on itself like folds in a loose carpet, giving rise to the peaks, ridges, and gorges of the Santa Lucia Range.

Stream courses mark many of these otherwise indiscernible faults. The lower Big Sur River from the gorge to Andrew Molera State Park offers startling proof of how fault movement can alter a watercourse. Along this section, the river flows straight down the Sur Thrust Fault until it is forced into a conspicuous 90-degree turn out to Molera Beach.