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Coyote Hills Wildflowers and Rocks, 4/10/21 by Ronald Horii
On 4/10/21, I went to Coyote Hills Regional Park. I've been going there for many years, but I've never seen it so busy. I had to park miles away and ride my bike in. I covered that in this album:
Coyote Hills Crowds, 4/10/21:
https://tinyurl.com/fku745tr
Once I got into the park, I rode my bike around and marveled at all the wildflowers. There were more than I've ever seen before, but that's because I usually come here in the summer, when it's all dried up. It looked like there was a plant war going on between the natives, represented by the poppies and lupines, and the invasives, mainly grasses and wild radish. In many places, the invasives dominated, but there were some places where the natives were winning. It's all because of Coyote Hills' geology. The red hills are made of ribbon chert, which is sedimentary rock that has been uplifted and twisted by tectonic forces. There are also dark greenish black greenstone rocks, which is a type of volcanic basalt lava. The tops of the hills rise up almost 200 feet above the surrounding marshes and salt ponds. The tops of the hills have lots of bare rock. The natives grow best on thinner and rockier soil that is hostile to the competing non-native plants.
The pictures in this album show the rocky hills and the plants that grow on them.
..................Links:
This describes the geology of the hills: https://biobythebay.com/2020/02/21/california-geology-touring-coyote-hills/
.................. Information about Coyote Hills: https://www.ebparks.org/parks/coyote_hills/ .................. Park map: https://www.ebparks.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=24173
..................Coyote Hills Wildflowers: https://www.ebparks.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=23753
..................Calflora plant guide for Coyote Hills: https://www.calflora.org/entry/wgh.html#srch=t&nplace=Coyote+Hills+Regional+Park&fmt=photo&inbp=t&bgid=psd22248&y=37.5509&x=-122.0807&z=12&lpom=d
............PlantID.net plant guide for Coyote Hills: http://plantid.net/PlantList.aspx?PlantList=Coyote+Hills+Regional+Park
............Article about the geology of the Coyote Hills in "Tidelands" magazine: http://www.sfbws.com/sites/default/files/tideline_fall_2016.pdf
On 4/10/21, I went to Coyote Hills Regional Park. I've been going there for many years, but I've never seen it so busy. I had to park miles away and ride my bike in. I covered that in this album:
Coyote Hills Crowds, 4/10/21:
https://tinyurl.com/fku745tr
Once I got into the park, I rode my bike around and marveled at all the wildflowers. There were more than I've ever seen before, but that's because I usually come here in the summer, when it's all dried up. It looked like there was a plant war going on between the natives, represented by the poppies and lupines, and the invasives, mainly grasses and wild radish. In many places, the invasives dominated, but there were some places where the natives were winning. It's all because of Coyote Hills' geology. The red hills are made of ribbon chert, which is sedimentary rock that has been uplifted and twisted by tectonic forces. There are also dark greenish black greenstone rocks, which is a type of volcanic basalt lava. The tops of the hills rise up almost 200 feet above the surrounding marshes and salt ponds. The tops of the hills have lots of bare rock. The natives grow best on thinner and rockier soil that is hostile to the competing non-native plants.
The pictures in this album show the rocky hills and the plants that grow on them.
..................Links:
This describes the geology of the hills: https://biobythebay.com/2020/02/21/california-geology-touring-coyote-hills/
.................. Information about Coyote Hills: https://www.ebparks.org/parks/coyote_hills/ .................. Park map: https://www.ebparks.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=24173
..................Coyote Hills Wildflowers: https://www.ebparks.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=23753
..................Calflora plant guide for Coyote Hills: https://www.calflora.org/entry/wgh.html#srch=t&nplace=Coyote+Hills+Regional+Park&fmt=photo&inbp=t&bgid=psd22248&y=37.5509&x=-122.0807&z=12&lpom=d
............PlantID.net plant guide for Coyote Hills: http://plantid.net/PlantList.aspx?PlantList=Coyote+Hills+Regional+Park
............Article about the geology of the Coyote Hills in "Tidelands" magazine: http://www.sfbws.com/sites/default/files/tideline_fall_2016.pdf
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