Encore - Bowling Ball Beach

July 11, 2020

Bowling Ball Beach Pano - North

Today and every Saturday Earth Science Picture of the Day invites you to rediscover favorites from the past. Saturday posts feature an EPOD that was chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers' Choice polls. Join us as we look back at these intriguing and captivating images.

Photographer: Steve Gledhill
Summary Authors: Steve Gledhill; Jackie Phillips

Bowling Ball Beach2- North September 2012 Viewer's Choice Bowling Ball Beach, located on the Northern California coast, holds an unusual display of large sandstone boulders. Nestled in straight lines along its shores, the beach is actually an uplifted rock formation composed of varying sandstone layers. Each layer can be clearly seen as lines parallel to the shore. The boulders sit on a platform eroded by the waves from the Pacific Ocean. As softer sediment is eroded by the pounding waves the harder boulders within the layers are exposed.

Periodically the beach is completely covered with sand, hiding the cause of the alignment. With only the boulders peeking through this provides an even more unusual sight. The nearby cliff face is of the same formation as the rocks on the shore. Photos taken on May 7, 2014.

Photo Details: Top - Camera: Canon EOS 7D; Lens: EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM; Focal Length: 10mm; Aperture: f/8.0; Exposure Time: 0.0010 s (1/1000); ISO equiv: 250; Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.6 (Macintosh). Inset - same except: Focus Distance: 2.24m; Aperture: f/11.0; Exposure Time: 0.0020 s (1/500).

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