41 Fun Facts About Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park is in which U.S. state?

Pinnacles lies in central California, straddling San Benito and Monterey counties in the hills east of the Salinas Valley.

The park's rock spires are the eroded remains of what?

The spires are the eroded western half of an extinct volcano; the eastern half lies near Lancaster, roughly 200 miles to the southeast.

Which famous fault carried the park's rocks some 195 miles northwest from where they erupted?

The San Andreas Fault carried the rocks northwest; its active trace has since shifted about four miles east of the park, leaving the Chalone Creek fault as its old line.

What is the name of the long-dead volcano, near present-day Lancaster, that the park's rocks came from?

The Neenach Volcano's eastern remnant lies near Lancaster; matching rock sequences there and at Pinnacles made the pair a textbook example of fault displacement.

Which president made Pinnacles a national monument in 1908?

Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Pinnacles National Monument on 16 January 1908 under the Antiquities Act, which he had signed into law in 1906.

In what year did Pinnacles become a national park?

Pinnacles became a national park on 10 January 2013 under a bill written by Rep. Sam Farr, making it the ninth national park in its state.

Which president signed the law making Pinnacles a national park?

Bill Clinton had already added 7,900 acres and more caves to the monument in 2000.

Which two groups of the Ohlone people lived in the Pinnacles region before the Spanish arrived?

The Chalon and Mutsun, two Ohlone groups, lived around Pinnacles; the last Chalon had left for the Spanish missions by 1810.

Before the 1890s the formations were known locally by what name?

Locals called the spires the Palisades until newspaper articles between 1889 and 1891 gradually switched to 'the Pinnacles'.

What geological term describes the park's caves, formed when boulders wedged into narrow gorges?

Pinnacles' caves are talus caves, formed where boulders wedged into narrow gorges and roofed them over; trails run directly through both the east-side and west-side caves.

Which cave on the park's east side closes seasonally to protect its bat colony?

Bear Gulch Cave, on the east side, shelters a maternity colony of bats and closes during pupping season, typically from mid-May to mid-July.

Roughly how many bat species have been documented in the park?

At least 13 bat species have been recorded at Pinnacles; its caves shelter maternity colonies, which is why they close during pupping season.

Which endangered bird did Pinnacles begin releasing in 2003?

Pinnacles became a California condor release site in 2003; the birds are tagged and tracked by park biologists as part of the species' recovery programme.

The condor has the widest wingspan of any North American bird; roughly how wide?

A California condor's wingspan reaches about 10 feet (3 metres), the widest of any North American bird; they are sometimes mistaken for small distant aircraft.

In what year was the last wild condor captured, leaving the species extinct in the wild?

The last wild condor was trapped on 19 April 1987, leaving only 27 birds, all in captivity; releases back into the wild began in 1992.

What is the leading cause of death among adult and juvenile wild condors?

Lead poisoning, from bullet fragments in carcasses condors scavenge, is the top killer of wild condors; the 2008 Ridley-Tree Act requires non-lead ammunition in condor range.

Which raptor breeds in the park at some of the highest densities anywhere in North America?

Prairie falcons nest on Pinnacles' cliffs at some of the highest densities recorded in North America; peregrine falcons have returned to breed too, in far smaller numbers.

A 1990s census found the park has more of what insect per unit area than anywhere else known on Earth?

Surveys in the late 1990s recorded some 400 species of bees at Pinnacles, mostly solitary bees whose adults live only a few weeks.

Which invasive animal was eradicated from the park's fenced core by 2006?

Wild pigs, descended from escaped domestic stock and introduced boar, were fenced out and removed from the park's core, with eradication declared complete in 2006.

How are the park's East and West Divisions connected?

No road crosses the park: Highway 146 enters from the west and from south of Hollister on the east, but the two sides are linked only by foot trails.

Which town about five miles west is the gateway to the park's West side?

A Spanish mission at Soledad hastened the decline of the local Ohlone in the 18th century.

Which mountains, part of the state's Coast Ranges, hold the park?

Pinnacles sits in the Gabilan Range, the low Coast Range ridge between the Salinas Valley to the west and the San Benito Valley to the east.

What is the highest point in the park, at 3,304 feet?

North Chalone Peak, at 3,304 feet, is the park's highest point; neighbouring South Chalone Peak rises to about 3,270 feet.

Which threatened amphibian lives in the creeks and canyons of the park's wilderness?

The California red-legged frog, federally listed as threatened, lives in the park's creeks; it is the species behind Mark Twain's celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County.

Which two volcanic rock types make up the park's formations?

The spires are mostly rhyolite and andesite, much of it as volcanic breccia; climbers know the breccia can break under load, so routes demand experience.

Roughly what percentage of the park's vegetation is chaparral?

Chaparral covers about 80% of Pinnacles, dominated by chamise (greasewood), manzanita, buckbrush and other drought-hardy shrubs on its hot slopes.

When is the park usually busiest, given the fierce summer heat?

Spring and fall are the busiest seasons: summer highs often top 100 F, while March and April bring cooler weather and wildflower blooms.

Which federal programme set up a camp of about 200 men at Pinnacles in 1933 to build trails and a dam?

Civilian Conservation Corps crews camped at Pinnacles from 1933 to 1942, building trails, the east-side reservoir dam and stone buildings, and improving the cave passages.

Which president's 1931 proclamation added land donated by San Benito County to the monument?

Herbert Hoover signed the 1931 proclamation enlarging the monument; Harding (1923) and Coolidge (1924) had each added land earlier.

Which forestry chief pushed the president to protect Pinnacles despite favouring productive forest use?

Gifford Pinchot, first chief of the US Forest Service, urged the 1908 monument proclamation even though he generally favoured productive use of forests.

Roughly how much rain does the park get in a typical year?

Pinnacles averages about 17 inches of rain a year, nearly all of it between November and April; summers are almost entirely dry.

Which large native mammals, later extirpated from the region, once roamed Pinnacles?

Tule elk and pronghorn grazed the Pinnacles area before ranching and hunting removed them in the 19th century; grizzly bears disappeared from the region too.

Which trail's steep, narrow section climbs on steps and handrails cut into the rock?

The High Peaks Trail's 'Steep and Narrow' section climbs on footholds and handrails cut into the rock in the 1930s; the blasted tunnel lies on the separate Tunnel Trail.

Roughly how far is the park from the Pacific Ocean?

Pinnacles lies about 40 miles inland from the Pacific, separated from the coast by the Salinas Valley and the coastal mountains.

A mated female condor lays how many eggs?

A wild female lays one egg every other year, since raising a chick takes more than a year; captive breeders remove the first egg to trigger a second, and condors can live 60 years.

How large was the original Pinnacles National Monument proclaimed in 1908?

The 1908 proclamation protected just 2,080 acres; later presidential additions and the park act brought Pinnacles to more than 26,000 acres.

Which bat species breeds in the park's caves, prompting seasonal closures during pupping?

Townsend's big-eared bats raise their pups in the park's caves each summer, so the passages close from roughly mid-May to mid-July; the caves can also flood in high water.

Which mountain range blocks the Pacific's moderating influence, giving the park big day-night temperature swings?

The Santa Lucia Mountains stand between Pinnacles and the Pacific, blocking the sea's moderating effect; daily swings of 30 to 50 °F are common in the park.

In what year was the first California condor nest built at Pinnacles after reintroduction?

A condor pair first nested at Pinnacles in 2010, seven years after releases began there and the first nest in the park for more than a century.

Which cave is reached from the park's west-side Chaparral trailhead?

Balconies Cave, a boulder-roofed passage below the Balconies Cliffs, lies on the park's west side and is also reachable from the east via the Old Pinnacles Trail.

Roughly how far southeast of San Jose is Pinnacles National Park?

Pinnacles is about 80 miles southeast of San Jose by road, east of the Salinas Valley and roughly two hours' drive from the Bay Area.