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The San Francisco Bay Area Geology
San Francisco Bay Area in California’s northern region is home to a vast geological variety. It is known for its gorgeous mountainous terrain and deep valleys as well its coastal plains and abundance of natural resource. This region was formed by the San Andreas Fault and is made up of many different geological formations. These range from sedimentary rocks to metamorphic, igneous, and metamorphic rocks (Gans 2020). San Andreas Fault is the most distinctive feature in the San Francisco Bay Area. The fault runs through the region, creating a border between the two plates of the North American Plate, and the Pacific Plate (Gans 2020). This fault has caused many large earthquakes, such as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Pacific Plate is also responsible for the area’s volcanic activity, with many extinct volcanoes located in the region, such as Mount Diablo and Mount Hamilton (USGS, 2020). San Francisco Bay Area contains a wide range of rock formations as well as tectonic processes. These diverse geological processes have created an area with stunning beauty and vast natural resources.
