Ice Age Bay Area

latitude 38.429272, longitude -123.115844

Imagine a vast grassy plain covered with massive herds of elephants, bison and camels stretching as far as the eye can see. Lions, tigers, wolves and later, humans, hunt the herds on their summer migration. Where is this? This was the Bay Area during the close of the last Ice Age. Take a trip to a time when the San Francisco Bay was just a riverbed, 20,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Duration: 11:16
Original Air Date: Wednesday, Nov 12, 2008
Embed this video
Make a Big Difference With a Small Donation

 

More by Topic: Geology, Biology
More by Location: Contra Costa County

Were Vernal Pools Born of Abandoned Mammoth Wallows?

Among California's most precious natural resources are the state's vernal pools, seasonally flooded depressions found on ancient Ice Age soils with an impermeable layer such as a hardpan or claypan. The origin of the pools has always been a mystery, but there are several theories that have been offered to explain them. Research paper by E. Breck Parkman
SN_17_-_Vernal_Pools_and_Wallows.pdf (65.9 KB)

Rancholabrean Rubbing Rocks

Unique geological features were recently identified on the Sonoma Coast, approximately 80 km north of San Francisco in northern California. The features consist of highly polished surface areas on Franciscan chert and blueschist outcrops. Research paper by E. Breck Parkman
SN_72_-_Rubbing_Rocks_2002.pdf (394.7 KB)

 

Email List

Sign up for our weekly QUEST e-newsletter.

QUEST Schedule

  • QUEST TV:

    Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on KQED 9 and KQED HD, Comcast 709.

  • QUEST Radio:

    Mondays at 6:30 a.m. & 8:30 a.m. on KQED FM 88.5 and KQEI FM 89.3.

  • The Physics of Baseball/World's Most Powerful Microscope

  • Sat, Jul 4 at 7:00AM, on KQED 9HD
  • Sat, Jul 4 at 9:30AM, on KQED World
  • Sat, Jul 4 at 1:30PM, on KQED World
  • Sat, Jul 4 at 3:00PM, on KTEH
  • Sat, Jul 4 at 7:00PM, on KQED World
  • Sun, Jul 5 at 1:00AM, on KQED World