We started 2012 with a stimulating hike at Devils Punchbowl Natural Area, a little-known Los Angeles County Park surrounded by Forest Service land. This is a stunning display of geology with spectacular views around every turn.
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| 300 foot deep Punchbowl from the Vista Point |
We went with Ruth’s daughter Gudrun and her fiance Malcolm.
From the Punchbowl’s website:
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| Creek with mountain snow runoff |
The most conspicuous features of the park are geological. The Punchbowl is a deep canyon cut by the runoff of large quantities of water from the higher San Gabriel Mountains occurring over a long period of time. These mountain peaks above the park are 8,000 feet in elevation while the Nature Center is located at 4,740 feet above sea level. The Punchbowl Canyon is 300 feet deep at the vista point. The peculiar uptilted rock formations to be seen in the entire area are layers of sedimentary rocks that were formed long ago by the depositing of loose material in horizontal layers by water. Later they were squeezed into their present steeply-tilted form by the continuing action of uplift along the Punchbowl and Pinyon Faults and pressures along the San Andreas Fault. The Punchbowl Fault is to the south of the rock formation while the Pinyon and San Andreas Faults are to the north.
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