I was at Temescal Regional Recreation Area yesterday—you probably call it Lake Temescal—and was happy to spot one of my favorite places.
This big hunk of Franciscan something-or-other sits near the head of the lake, displaying the ugly attractiveness that the French call jolie laide. Not a hundred feet away runs the Hayward fault, and there’s a free-running stream here too. Some classic oak trees shade picnic tables, and you can even swim where fish can nibble your toes.
Big Rock is the place I used to illustrate my post “Leave the Stone Alone.” Because for some reason, people seem to respect Big Rock.
Oakland Geology 
2 October 2010 at 2:04 am
This blog is fantastic. oaktownman just started http://oaktownlife.com and will definitely be posting some geologically oriented spots in the future.
1 October 2010 at 9:53 pm
The Hayward fault runs under Lake Temescal, and Andrew has posted very clear explanations on some older posts in this blog, such as this one that has a good map:
https://oaklandgeology.wordpress.com/category/the-fault/page/3/
When my kids took lifeguard lessons at Lake T, they would try to dive down to the ridge on the bottom that traces the fault.
1 October 2010 at 5:51 pm
It seems to me that a lot of water ways follow faults. I would suppose that disturbed ground is more likely to host a water way.
28 September 2010 at 9:38 am
At least it is much better than the pathetic pseudo Indian thingamajig at Bay Street, known in our family as Dead Indian Mall.
The grounds at St Alberts are lovely, and if you ever have a chance, would like to know if you see any interesting rocks!
28 September 2010 at 9:18 am
Only by peeking through the fence. There are several other properties where the creek is open, but the priory has the biggest section below the dam.
Unfortunately, “Temescal Creek Park,” down by the DMV building on Claremont, is only a simulacrum of the creek, like the waterways people install in their gardens. When I brought that up to Tom Bates once, he appeared to be surprised. The real creek is still culverted, about 10 feet down. Back in the 90s there was a lot of noise about opening up the creeks, but doing so is a formidable undertaking.
28 September 2010 at 12:23 am
While you were up at the lake, I was at the OHA tour, which included seeing the Temescal creek as it runs through St. Albert Priory, unculverted. Have you ever looked at it?