last in California mean I ’ve seen my fair portion of beach , and spectacularly beautiful 1 at that , from the striking coves down the hill from my house to the Central California coastline that includesBig Sur .
So I do n’t say it lightly when I pretend that Salt Point , a tranquil stretch of coastline in Northern California , ranks up there as one of the most picturesque beaches in the state .
Salt Point is actually aCalifornia State Parkencompassing over 6,000 demesne of Sonoma County , and its ocean front comprises six miles of tough , rocky coastline . The park is named for the saltiness crystals found in cracks and crevice along the shoring .
From Highway 1 , a tangle of pine and oak tree get up from the promontories that define Salt Point . Miles of hiking trails snake around the drop , including a path that climbs up to the wooden deck of cards on Sentinel Rock .
Sweeping bird’s-eye views abound on top of Sentinel Rock , and while fog typically hug the coast ( even in summertime ) , you do get the occasional clear-cut sky over the cove which paint the water a majestic purple blue air .
But what makes Salt Point so especial from the other 834 miles of coastline in California ?
Take a short hike down the steep cliffs at Fisk Mill Cove or Gerstle Cove and an alien - corresponding landscape greets you : pitcher of undulating sandstone , khaki - colored and worn smooth from centuries of H2O tumbling over the rocks . layer of deposit keep and carve by sea nebuliser , forming fantastic pits , ridge , rib , and thickening at the water supply ’s edge .
These strange organization are known as tafoni ( think to derive fromtaffoni , the Sicilian word for “ holes ” ) and they ’re a fascinating work into the personal effects of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks quartz interact with sandstone in a abrasive coastal climate . As common salt and other minerals soak into the stone , they tone up and sculpt some region while soften others . A unmarried sweeping wave can harden or dethaw it , leaving behind an ever - changing array of honeycombs .
The sandstone was so abundant in the arena that in the 1850s , a San Francisco company quarried the rock music to produce the street and buildings in the metropolis ( as well as the naval readiness on Mare Island ) .
These sidereal day , Salt Point is a protected park and you’re able to explore the ancient sea hatful that are continually change every year , even every calendar month . And I find it so wild-eyed that every visit will never quite be like the last one .
