Checked Out Serpentine Rock on Angel Island 10-10-10

Yesterday was a gorgeous day so I went on a hike at Angel Island in San Francisco with a geology group and shot some video along with a few photos. At left I accidentally caught a Blue Angel jet  when I was taking a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge (click to enlarge).  I didn't see the jet in the viewfinder so I was shocked when I saw it in the photo.

I've never been to Angel Island before, a California State Park.  I went with a geology hike group and learned a lot about the state's official state rock Serpentine.  Apparently the Serpentine rock has asbestos in it so some congress woman was trying to get it removed from the state's official status.  According to the geology teaching guide, this was preposterous.  The Serpentine rock is green and very rare.  Asbestos in this rock doesn't cause cancer in humans.

California has a greater number of minerals and a wider variety of rock types than does any other state. Serpentine, a shiny, green and blue rock found throughout California, was named the official State Rock in 1965. It contains the state's principal deposits of chromite, magnesite, and cinnabar. California was the first state to designate a State Rock. -Source

I shot some video too.  I usually upload the videos in HD but this time I accidentally imported it in the wrong video program so I don't know how it will turn out.

All I know is I've already edited the video and can't take the time to do it all over again for HD.

We hiked around the entire island and came across some interesting abandoned buildings.  Some were from way back during the civil war that were all boarded up in great condition.  Another was a hospital building you could just walk into that had no windows.   The entire island was once dedicated to WWII activities and military officers stayed on the island.

Here's a blurb of the island's geological history and evolution:

Until about ten thousand years ago, Angel Island was connected to the mainland; it was cut off by the rise in sea levels due to the end of the last ice age. From about two thousand years ago the island was a fishing and hunting site for Coast Miwok Native Americans. Similar evidence of Native American settlement is found on the nearby mainland of the Tiburon Peninsula upon Ring Mountain.^[3] In 1775, the Spanish naval vessel San Carlos made the first European entry to the San Francisco Bay under the command of Juan de Ayala. Ayala anchored off Angel Island, and gave it its modern name (Isla de los Angeles); the bay where he anchored is now known as Ayala Cove. - wikipedia

 

My shot of the Coit Tower from the Ferry on the Way to Angel Island

In San Francisco you pay a ferry $16 round trip to go to Angel Island where you can ride a bike and kayak. I was considering going back for an electric bike excursion, only to learn electric bikes aren't allowed on the island.  At the end of the hike I was exhausted and wasn't sure I could make it.  I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight.