THE STRATA PLAZA AS A TEACHING TOOL

The concrete colors, textures, embedded rocks and fossils were specifically designed to represent the rock layers seen around San Diego. Students can learn about the natural history of San Diego and the geologic record as seen in local sedimentary strata.

1. The Mesozoic Peninsula Range Plutonic Igneous Rocks crystallized deep below a volcanic mountain range associated with an ancient subduction zone.
2. The Cretaceous Santiago Peak Volcanics erupted from volcanoes formed over an ancient subduction zone.
3. The Cretaceous Point Loma Formation outcrops along the beach cliffs in Point Loma and La Jolla Cove. It formed from turbidity currents flowing down a submarine canyon and contains many fossils including snails, clams, ammonites, and worm burrows.
4. The Cretaceous Cabrillo Formation formed on an offshore Submarine fan.
5. The Eocene Mt. Soledad Formation is the oldest in a thick section of Eocene sediments found in San Diego . It can be distinguished from the Cretaceous Cabrillo Formation by the presence of distinctive purple-pink clasts.
6. The Eocene Delmar Formation, which was deposited in a coastal lagoon, outcrops on the beach cliffs at Torrey Pines State Park.
7. The Eocene Torrey Sandstone, which outcrops on the beach cliffs at Torrey Pines State Park was deposited along a coastal beach or tidal flat.
8. The Eocene Ardath Shale was deposited underwater, and is characterized by thin bedding.
9. The Eocene Scripps Formation, which outcrops at Tourmaline Beach Surfing Park , was deposited underwater.
10. The Eocene Poway Group, contains several formations, like the Stadium Conglomerate, which outcrops on the cliffs along Friars Road near the Stadium.
11. The Pliocene San Diego Formation was deposited when a bay covered San Diego . It is rich in many types of fossils including marine mammals and sharks.
12. The Pleistocene Linda Vista Formation, which can be seen atop many of the mesas in San Diego was deposited during the Ice Ages and is characterized by a distinctive rust-red color.
13. The Pleistocene Crown Point Formation, which outcrops near Crown Point , was deposited in a bay or estuary during an interglacial period of high sea level between the Ice Ages.