Southern California is a diverse geological region. The region also straddles the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. This helps create the wide range of geological structures that make this area so unique. This website will cover many of those unique aspects and show that this region is one of the best to study geology in the country.

Geology affects us in many ways in Southern California. While we are best known for earthquakes, the region has a lot more geological features and phenomena to offer. Minerals and resources, ranging from gold, silver, copper, oil, coal, and gravel are still mined in this area today. Landslides also occur, sometimes with great frequency, which affect our buildings and roadways.

Areas Covered:

• Los Angeles Region
• San Diego Region

Special Reports:

• San Andreas Fault
• Geological Drives
• Santa Clara River – Future
• Death Valley Geology
• June 2019 Preliminary Geologic Investigation of the southern end of the Ridge Route
• Landslide Threats in Southern California
• Earthquakes and Movies
• Help the USGS with earthquakes!
• July 4-5, 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake – Part 1
• July 4-5, 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake – Part 2

Seismic Information:

• Current Earthquake Report from the USGS

Additional Resources:

• Glossary of Geologic Terms Used
• List of Resources Used
• Links to Other Geology Sites

Copyright 1995 – 2024 by Michael F Ballard
All photographs, unless otherwise noted, on this website are owned by Michael Ballard, the owner of socalregion.com.