The North Coast

Yesterday, Barbara, Toby and I took a couple of scenic drives along the coast and through the redwoods.  

First, we headed west along the Klamath River to where it meets the sea.  Here there is a vista called the Klamath River Overlook.  Now to get to the overlook you have to hike, only a half mile, down a steep trail, but then you have to hike back up that same trail.  I did that and it was totally worth the effort.  I definitely got my steps in and a very strenuous workout. From there we headed south to the coastal drive.  Again the vistas were awesome.  There was a lot of moisture in the air yesterday and this is easily visible in the photos. 

Geologically speaking this area is very interesting.  Here the seafloor is sliding beneath the North American continent as it moves west.  As the North American plate slides over the Pacific plate (seafloor) it scrapes off the sediment on top of the seafloor as well as some of the seafloor rock.  This assemblage is pushed up and against the existing continental rock which creates the steep cliffs and the hills known as the coast range.  Some of the rock, that continues to slide beneath the continental rock, eventually melts and comes to the surface in the form of the Cascade volcanoes.  There is a lot going on here beneath our feet.  In fact, this type of geologic setting produces the strongest earthquakes on earth.

From the coastal drive we headed inland to a giant redwood that you can drive through.  You can if you have a small enough vehicle.  We definitely couldn’t get our truck through the opening in this tree and I don’t believe that the Miata would fit.  Take a look!