Why is serpentinite important in california

This is an important distinction. Supporters of this bill argue that having a rock with an association with harmful derivative materials is inappropriate for a state symbol. However, the connection between the mining process and harmful effects were discovered thereafter and asbestos mining was banned in California in the s. So, why is the issue coming up now? Much of the information presented in this post comes from the educating and advocacy about this issue by geoscience educator Garry Hayes at his blog Geotripper , Bay Area science writer Andrew Alden at geology.

Passersby often view them as recently-burned landscapes that are attempting to recover. Chaparral can also form where frequent fires suppress the development of forest or woodland ecosystems. The Sierra foothills and the Mother Lode Belt have many serpentinite outcrops.

Placer and El Dorado Counties have been dealing with this for many years as homeowners wish to live and build in the foothills. To see how to avoid such soils and potential health risks, we have included links to a report by the Department of Conservation and a map of Placer County below. Similar reports and maps can be obtained for other California counties. One of the most interesting aspects of serpentinite in California is the plant-soil edaphic connection.

For California, Arthur Kruckerberg has written numerous articles and books. Spring is a wonderful time to go, especially if you want to see wildflower displays and some rare plants. There are many serpentinite areas throughout California and the simplified CA Geologic Map link below will show you generally where they are.

If you see pine, it will normally only be the foothill pine. Occasionally you may notice glossy and shiny spots where you might stop to look for pure serpentinite. Serpentinite soils often weather a red color due mostly to the oxidation of iron in the parent rock. An excellent and large area of public land that demonstrates both serpentinite rock and hundreds of acres of serpentinite soils is the Red Hills in Tuolumne County, between Oakdale and Sonora.

This is an area of splendid early spring wildflower displays. Traverse Creek SIA. Ross Jennie Skillen Previous Issues vol. Serpentine Richard P. Serpentine as known as serpentinite , the current and potentially soon-to-be ex- state rock of California.

This does not have a direct connection to volcanoes, but it sure is about geology and the science in the news. State Senator Gloria Romero of California has sponsored a bill to change the California state rock from serpentine because, as she claims :. California should not designate a rock known to be toxic to the health of its residents as the state's official rock.

For one, asbestos is not a mineral - neither is serpentine thus its place as "state rock". Serpentine is a group of minerals , one of which is chrysotile, the most common component in the industrial material known as asbestos.

The weak bonds between these sheets gives serpentine its greasy or scaly look, and slippery feel like a snake skin. Serpentinite often contains many veins, some of which may be filled with the fibrous mineral chrysotile a form of asbestos. Chrysotile is a serpentine mineral in which the silica sheets are rolled into tiny tubes to form hollow fibers.

Loose asbestos fibers cause lung disease if you inhale them. Scientists do not fully understand how serpentinite makes its way from deep in the Earth, where it often forms, to the surface of the Earth. In the process of formation, serpentinite rock actually becomes less dense more buoyant as water is added. Thus it essentially floats upwards, buoyed up by the denser rock around it.