Morro Rock

Morro Rock
Morro Rock
	Morro Rock looking west
Highest point
Elevation	581 ft (177 m) NAVD 88
Coordinates	35°22′10″N120°52′03″W / 35.369430653°N 120.867550139°W
Geography
	Morro Rock California Morro Rock Morro Rock (the United States)
Parent range	Santa Lucia Range
Topo map	USGS Morro Bay South
Geology
Age of rock	c. 23 million years
Mountain type	Volcanic plug
Volcanic arc/belt	Nine Sisters
California Historical Landmark
Designated	January 1, 1968
Reference no.	821

Last updated October 26, 2024

The south side of Morro Rock from the entrance of Montana de Oro State Park Morrorock2.jpg — The south side of Morro Rock from the entrance of Montaña de Oro State Park

Morro Rock (Salinan: Le'samo; Chumash: Lisamu'; Spanish: El Morro)^[4]^[5]^[6] is a volcanic plug in Morro Bay, California, on the Pacific Coast at the entrance to Morro Bay harbor. A causeway connects it with the shore, making it a tied island. The rock is protected as the Morro Rock State Preserve.^[7]

Geology

The 581-foot (177 m)^[1] Morro Rock is one of 13 volcanic plugs (remnant necks of extinct volcanoes), lava domes, and sheetlike intrusions between Morro Bay on the north and Islay Hill on the south, all in San Luis Obispo County.^[8]

It is composed mostly of dacite, an igneous, volcanic rock. It is a groundmass of plagioclase, with amphibole (hornblende), biotite, pyroxene (augite), quartz, and glass; it also includes phenocrysts of plagioclase. Its silicon dioxide (SiO2) content ranges from 63 to 69 percent.

The dacite volcanic plugs, lava domes, intrusive sheets, and felsitic rhyolite-dacite between Morro Rock and Islay Hill are part of the Morro Rock-Islay Hill Complex of the Oligocene epoch (from 27 to 23 million years ago). The complex lies east of the San Gregorio-San Simeon-Hosgri fault (the SG-SS-H fault). This complex is one of three probable sources of the volcanic clasts within the sandstone and conglomerate of the Miguelito and Edna members of the Pismo Formation in the Point Sur area 145–160 km (90-100 mi) to the north and west of the SG-SS-H fault. Based on paleomagnetic signatures, the Morro Rock-Islay Hill Complex was rotated 40 to 50 degrees, perhaps during late Miocene or early Pliocene time.^[9]

History

Tribal

The Salinan and Chumash tribes consider Morro Rock to be a sacred site. The Salinan name for Morro Rock is Le'samo and the Chumash name is Lisamu.^[10]

The Chumash had an important nearby prehistoric settlement at least as early as the Millingstone Horizon (6500-2000 B.C.E.), and the village was near the mouth of Morro Creek, at the current site of Morro Bay High School. The right of the Salinan people to climb Morro Rock for their biannual solstice ceremonies has been established, in which they celebrate the time in legend when a hawk and a raven destroyed a two-headed serpent-monster Taliyekatapelta as he wrapped his body around the base of the rock.^[11] The established Salinan right to climb the rock has been in legal dispute by the local Chumash tribe, which claims that Morro Rock is Chumash, not Salinan, territory.^[12] The Chumash also believe that the rock is so sacred that it should never be climbed. Because of its fragility, it is illegal for the general public to climb it.^[13]

European sighting

Morro Rock was probably seen by Spanish maritime explorers as early as 1542 under Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, but its current name was given during the first European land exploration of Alta California. The Spanish Portolá expedition came down Los Osos Valley and camped near today's Morro Bay on September 8, 1769. Franciscan missionary and expedition member Juan Crespí noted in his diary that "we saw a great rock in the form of a round mountain (Spanish:morro )".^[14]^[15]

Quarry and historical landmark

The rock, which was quarried on and off from 1889 to 1969, provided material for the breakwater of Morro Bay and the improvements at Port San Luis Harbor.^[16] In 1966, a state law was adopted that transferred title to the State of California. In February 1968, the San Luis Obispo County Historical Society and the City of Morro Bay succeeded in having Morro Rock declared California Historical Landmark number 821.^[3]^[11]

Flora and fauna

Several types of birds nest on Morro Rock, including three cormorant species and two gull species.^[17] It presently serves as a reserve for peregrine falcons, which are locally endangered and cause most of the laws that prohibit intervention with avian life.

Sea lions and sea otters can be seen regularly in the water around the rock.^[18] Seals, however, are much more common in the nearby Morro Bay State Park, where they breed.

Other fauna include a wide selection of tide pool animals, like hermit crabs, small fish, starfish, sea cucumbers, mussels, bivalve mollusks, coral, and more.

On land few flora can survive the harsh, dry environment on the rock, but in the surrounding bay, kelp, sea grass, kelp forest plants, and tide pool plants can survive, and a few common grasses, mosses, lichens and weeds from the mainland take root on the rock itself.

Marine protected areas

Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area and Morro Bay State Marine Reserve are protected areas offshore from Morro Bay. Like underwater parks, protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

In popular culture

In Cyberpunk 2077 , where Morro Bay is home to the independent city-state of Night City, Morro Rock has been demolished in order to build Night City International and Translunar Spaceport (NCX) between 2045 and 2047.

Related Research Articles

San Luis Obispo County, officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.

The Chumash are a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, extending from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu in the south to Mt Pinos in the east. Their territory includes three of the Channel Islands: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel; the smaller island of Anacapa was likely inhabited seasonally due to the lack of a consistent water source. Historically, prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the names of the regions were called Obispeno, Purismeno, Cuyama, Emigdiano, Castaic, Ynezeno, Barbareno, Ventureno, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa.

Morro Bay is a seaside city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, the city population was 10,757 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,234 at the 2010 census. The town overlooks Morro Bay, a natural embayment with an all-weather small craft commercial and recreational harbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Coast (California)</span> Region of California in the United States

The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populated stretch of coastline known as Big Sur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel Islands (California)</span> Archipelago off the coast of southern California, US

The Channel Islands are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. They define the Santa Barbara Channel between the islands and the California mainland. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, and the four Southern Channel Islands are part of the Peninsular Ranges province. Five of the islands are within the Channel Islands National Park. The waters surrounding these islands make up Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The Nature Conservancy was instrumental in establishing the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Point Mugu is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term "Muwu", meaning "beach", which was first mentioned by Cabrillo in his journals in 1542. Mugu Lagoon is a salt marsh just upcoast from the promontory within the Naval Base Ventura County formerly called the Naval Air Station Point Mugu.

Cerro Cabrillo, also known locally as Cabrillo Peak, is a rocky mountain in eastern Morro Bay State Park, San Luis Obispo County, central California.

Morro Bay State Park is a state park on the Morro Bay lagoon, in western San Luis Obispo County, on the Central Coast of California. On the lagoon's northeastern and eastern edges in the park, there are saltwater and brackish marshes that support thriving bird populations.

The Nine Sisters or the Morros are a chain of twenty-three, although typically only nine are included, volcanic mountains and hills in western San Luis Obispo County, Southern California. They run between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.

Bishop Peak is a 1,546-foot (471 m) volcanic plug in San Luis Obispo, California. It is the tallest of the Morros or "Nine Sisters", a chain of similar peaks stretching to Morro Bay. Often said to take its name from its resemblance to a bishop's miter, it is named in homage to the town's name. "Obispo" is the Spanish word for Bishop.

Los Osos is an unincorporated town in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, Los Osos had a reported population of 14,465 in 2020. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Los Osos as a census-designated place (CDP).

Montaña de Oro is a state park in Central Coastal California, six miles southwest of Morro Bay and two miles south of Los Osos.

Chumash Peak is a 1,257 ft (383 m) mountain in San Luis Obispo County, California. It is just northwest of San Luis Obispo, on the south side of California State Route 1.

Islay Hill is a volcanic cone, and is the southernmost of the nine volcanic mountains and hills that make up the Nine Sisters, located in the San Luis Obispo County of central California.

Hearst San Simeon State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving rocky coast and rare habitats. It is located between Cambria and San Simeon. The 3,409-acre (1,380 ha) park was first established in 1932. The park includes the Santa Rosa Creek Natural Preserve, the San Simeon Natural Preserve and the Pa-nu Cultural Preserve, which were established in 1990.

The Los Osos Valley is a valley within San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast of California region.

The Elfin Forest Natural Area is a nature preserve protecting a unique plant community in Los Osos-Baywood Park, San Luis Obispo County, central California. It consists of prehistoric sand dunes, rising 150 feet (46 m) above southern Morro Bay, on the north of Los Osos-Baywood Park.

Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area (SMRMA) and Morro Bay State Marine Reserve (SMR) are two marine protected areas that provide protection for Morro Bay Estuary on California's central coast. The two marine protected areas together encompass 3.31 square miles (8.6 km²). The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of any living marine resources is prohibited. nWithin the SMRMA, fishing or taking any living marine resources is prohibited with the exception that, with a valid state water bottom lease and permit, the recreational taking of finfish and the aquaculture of oysters is permitted north of latitude 35° 19.70′ N. Recreational hunting of waterfowl is allowed unless otherwise restricted by hunting regulations.

The geological history of Point Lobos, regarding the Point Lobos headland on the Central Coast in Monterey County, California.

The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is a National Marine Sanctuary in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties on the Central Coast of California. It was designated on October 11, 2024, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is the first marine sanctuary to have been proposed by an Indigenous group. It protects nationally significant natural, cultural, and historical resources in Central California's coastal and ocean waters and offers opportunities for research, community engagement, and education and outreach activities.

References

1 2 3 "Morro 2 reset". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce . Retrieved June 13, 2009.
↑ "Morro Rock State Preserve". California State Parks. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
1 2 "Morro Rock". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
↑ National Marine Sanctuaries - Proposed Designation of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary
↑ Environment America - We're thrilled that California’s central coast may get a new marine sanctuary
↑ City of Morro Bay - Morro Rock Beach
↑ "Morro Rock State Preserve". California State Parks. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
↑ The University of Auckland, ed. (2005). "Dacite".
↑ Hall, Clarence A Jr. (2007). Introduction to the Geology of Southern California and Its Native Plants. University of California Press. pp. Plate 17. ISBN 9780520933262 . Retrieved January 31, 2017.
↑ Purper, Benjamin (February 10, 2023). "Chumash Tribes 'Reunite' Sacred Rock in Morro Bay Ceremony". KQED. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
1 2 Dillion, Angela H. (2008). "Preserving Nature and Culture at Morro Rock".
↑ PEMBERTON, PAT (December 8, 2014). "Chumash Fight State Over Access to Morro Rock". www.courthousenews.com. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
↑ Hogan, C. Michael (2008). A. Burnham (ed.). "Morro Creek ed. by A. Burnham".
↑ Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. pp. 182–184. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
↑ Gudde, Erwin G. (1969). California Place Names . Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 212.
↑ Herbaugh, Austin (August 23, 2022). "Pieces of Morro Rock to be brought back to original location". KSBY. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
↑ Joan Easton Lentz and Don DesJardin (2006) Introduction to Birds of the Southern California Coast, University of California Press, 316 pages ISBN 0-520-24321-8
↑ Fodor's (December 21, 2010). Fodor's Northern California 2011: With Napa, Sonoma, Yosemite, San Francisco & Lake Tahoe. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4000-0503-1 . Retrieved December 25, 2011.

External links

"Morro Rock". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved June 13, 2009.
City of Morro Bay

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[ngs-1] 1 2 3 "Morro 2 reset". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce . Retrieved June 13, 2009.

[slostateparks2-2] "Morro Rock State Preserve". California State Parks. Retrieved March 2, 2013.

[CHL-3] 1 2 "Morro Rock". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 14, 2012.

[4] National Marine Sanctuaries - Proposed Designation of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary

[5] Environment America - We're thrilled that California’s central coast may get a new marine sanctuary

[6] City of Morro Bay - Morro Rock Beach

[slostateparks-7] "Morro Rock State Preserve". California State Parks. Retrieved January 11, 2010.

[8] The University of Auckland, ed. (2005). "Dacite".

[9] Hall, Clarence A Jr. (2007). Introduction to the Geology of Southern California and Its Native Plants. University of California Press. pp. Plate 17. ISBN 9780520933262 . Retrieved January 31, 2017.

[10] Purper, Benjamin (February 10, 2023). "Chumash Tribes 'Reunite' Sacred Rock in Morro Bay Ceremony". KQED. Retrieved February 12, 2023.

[Dillon-11] 1 2 Dillion, Angela H. (2008). "Preserving Nature and Culture at Morro Rock".

[12] PEMBERTON, PAT (December 8, 2014). "Chumash Fight State Over Access to Morro Rock". www.courthousenews.com. Retrieved August 23, 2022.

[13] Hogan, C. Michael (2008). A. Burnham (ed.). "Morro Creek ed. by A. Burnham".

[14] Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. pp. 182–184. Retrieved January 31, 2017.

[15] Gudde, Erwin G. (1969). California Place Names . Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 212.

[16] Herbaugh, Austin (August 23, 2022). "Pieces of Morro Rock to be brought back to original location". KSBY. Retrieved August 23, 2022.

[17] Joan Easton Lentz and Don DesJardin (2006) Introduction to Birds of the Southern California Coast, University of California Press, 316 pages ISBN 0-520-24321-8

[Fodor's2010-18] Fodor's (December 21, 2010). Fodor's Northern California 2011: With Napa, Sonoma, Yosemite, San Francisco & Lake Tahoe. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4000-0503-1 . Retrieved December 25, 2011.

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