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The North Coast of California is largely made-up of rugged bluffs of layered sandstone and relatively loosely packed conglomerates. The bluff faces are in a constant state of erosion, losing on average 2 – 4 cm of bluff per year. In our area of Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, the well-known San Andreas fault is centered alternately immediately offshore and then onshore, usually not more than a kilometer or two from the water’s edge. Geologic forces over eons have produced tremendous uplifting of what was once flat seabed and now vertical or nearly so blocks of sandstone. The seams between layers of sandstone tend to erode faster than the main body, leading to fascinating patterns that are a delight to photograph.