Name
Image
Date
Location
County
Ownership
Description
Amboy Crater
May 1973
34°31′11.69″N 115°43′26.92″W / 34.5199139°N 115.7241444°W / 34.5199139; -115.7241444
San Bernardino
Federal (Bureau of Land Management )
A 6,000-year-old volcanic cinder cone , made up of pahoehoe , just off historic U.S. Highway 66 .
American River Bluffs and Phoenix Park Vernal Pools
1976
38°39′10.33″N 121°12′59.95″W / 38.6528694°N 121.2166528°W / 38.6528694; -121.2166528
Sacramento
Federal (United States Bureau of Reclamation ), state (California State Parks ), and municipal (Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District)
Contains vernal pools , and blue oak woodlands.
Año Nuevo State Reserve
1980
37°7′7.24″N 122°18′24.02″W / 37.1186778°N 122.3066722°W / 37.1186778; -122.3066722
San Mateo
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
One of the largest mainland breeding grounds for the northern elephant seal .
Anza-Borrego Desert
1974
33°14′57.38″N 116°24′24.63″W / 33.2492722°N 116.4068417°W / 33.2492722; -116.4068417
Imperial , Riverside , San Diego
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
The largest desert state park in the nation.
Audubon Canyon
1968
37°55′46.01″N 122°40′55.85″W / 37.9294472°N 122.6821806°W / 37.9294472; -122.6821806
Marin
Private
The largest known nesting area for great blue herons and great and snowy egrets on the Pacific Coast.
Black Chasm Cave
Black Chasm Cave
1976
38°26′3.4″N 120°37′35.3″W / 38.434278°N 120.626472°W / 38.434278; -120.626472
Amador
Private
A small three-level cave containing a variety of speleothems and some of the best helictite formations in the western U.S.
Burney Falls
1984
41°0′43.79″N 121°39′7″W / 41.0121639°N 121.65194°W / 41.0121639; -121.65194
Shasta
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
Contains some of the best examples in the western United States of a river drainage regulated by stratigraphically controlled springs.
Cinder Cone Natural Area
1973
35°17′21.95″N 115°35′6.99″W / 35.2894306°N 115.5852750°W / 35.2894306; -115.5852750
San Bernardino
Federal (Mojave National Preserve )
A complex of over 20 large cinder cones of recent origin with extensive and continuous lava flows.
Cosumnes River Riparian Woodlands
1976
38°15′56.57″N 121°26′21.22″W / 38.2657139°N 121.4392278°W / 38.2657139; -121.4392278
Sacramento
Private, Federal, State, and County
A small remnant of a rapidly-disappearing riparian woodland community type that once formed a major part of the central valley .
Deep Springs Marsh
1975
37°20′00″N 118°01′03″W / 37.33333°N 118.01750°W / 37.33333; -118.01750
Inyo
Private
An example of increasingly rare desert marsh.
Dixon Vernal Pools
1987
38°16′31.29″N 121°49′25.49″W / 38.2753583°N 121.8237472°W / 38.2753583; -121.8237472
Solano
Private
The best example of valley needlegrass grassland in the central valley .
Elder Creek
1964
39°43′32.04″N 123°37′34.35″W / 39.7255667°N 123.6262083°W / 39.7255667; -123.6262083
Mendocino
State (University of California Natural Reserve System )
A largely undisturbed watershed containing large old stands of Douglas fir , broadleaf evergreens, and deciduous trees.
Emerald Bay
1968
38°57′25.49″N 120°5′36.3″W / 38.9570806°N 120.093417°W / 38.9570806; -120.093417
El Dorado
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
An outstanding example of glacial geology.
Eureka Dunes
1983
37°5′45.6″N 117°40′30″W / 37.096000°N 117.67500°W / 37.096000; -117.67500
Inyo
Federal (Death Valley National Park )
The tallest dune complex in the Great Basin.
Fish Slough Area of Critical Environmental Concern
1975
37°28′8.69″N 118°24′3.1″W / 37.4690806°N 118.400861°W / 37.4690806; -118.400861
Inyo , Mono
Mixed- federal (Bureau of Land Management ), state, municipal
A large, essentially undisturbed, desert wetland that provides habitat for the alkali mariposa lily and the endangered Owens pupfish .
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes
1974
34°57′56.13″N 120°39′1.24″W / 34.9655917°N 120.6503444°W / 34.9655917; -120.6503444
San Luis Obispo
Mixed- federal (Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge ), state, private
A coastal dune tract with off-road vehicle recreation, a national wildlife refuge, beaches, and nesting for the western snowy plover .
Imperial Sand Hills
1966
32°55′0″N 115°3′0″W / 32.91667°N 115.05000°W / 32.91667; -115.05000
Imperial
Federal (Bureau of Land Management )
One of the largest dune patches in the United States.
Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks
2006
33°43′53.4″N 117°41′34.8″W / 33.731500°N 117.693000°W / 33.731500; -117.693000
Orange
Mixed- state, county, municipal
A remarkably complete stratigraphic succession ranging in age from late Cretaceous to the present.
Lake Shasta Caverns
May 2012
40°48′16.2″N 122°18′15.98″W / 40.804500°N 122.3044389°W / 40.804500; -122.3044389
Shasta
Private
A well-decorated Solutional cave that contains a diverse assemblage of calcite cave formations.
Lanphere Dunes and Ma-le'l Dunes
2021
Humboldt
Federal (Bureau of Land Management , Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge )
Considered to be the largest and best quality sand dune ecosystems representing coastal dunes in the area.
Miramar Mounds
1972
32°50′43″N 117°8′19″W / 32.84528°N 117.13861°W / 32.84528; -117.13861
San Diego
Federal (Marine Corps Air Station Miramar )
Contains unique soil features called mima mounds , which are found in only three or four locations in the country, and vernal pools .
Mitchell Caverns and Winding Stair Cave
1975
34°56′26.97″N 115°30′51.97″W / 34.9408250°N 115.5144361°W / 34.9408250; -115.5144361
San Bernardino
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
Regarded as the most important solution caverns in the Mojave Desert .
Mt. Diablo State Park
1982
37°52′37.75″N 121°55′25.79″W / 37.8771528°N 121.9238306°W / 37.8771528; -121.9238306
Contra Costa
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
One of the few areas in the region where geologic strata of Jurassic , Cretaceous , and Tertiary age can be seen in an aggregate thickness of 42,000 feet (13,000 m).
Mount Shasta
1976
41°24′35.6″N 122°11′41.52″W / 41.409889°N 122.1948667°W / 41.409889; -122.1948667
Siskiyou
Federal (Shasta-Trinity National Forest )
One of the world's largest and most impressive stratovolcanoes , within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
Pixley Vernal Pools
1987
35°59′3.85″N 119°12′45.04″W / 35.9844028°N 119.2125111°W / 35.9844028; -119.2125111
Tulare
Private
One of the few remaining natural vernal pools containing rare endemic crustacean species such as vernal pool fairy shrimp .
Point Lobos
1967
36°31′1.56″N 121°56′33.36″W / 36.5171000°N 121.9426000°W / 36.5171000; -121.9426000
Monterey
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
An outstanding example of terrestrial and marine environments in close association, and the only known habitat of Monterey cypress and variegated brodiaea .
Pygmy Forest at Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
1969
1973
39°22′29.3″N 123°47′22.15″W / 39.374806°N 123.7894861°W / 39.374806; -123.7894861
Mendocino
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
Includes a five step ecological staircase on which a unique forest of low, stunted trees and shrubs is located.
Rainbow Basin
1966
35°1′46″N 117°2′12″W / 35.02944°N 117.03667°W / 35.02944; -117.03667
San Bernardino
Federal (Bureau of Land Management )
Deep erosion canyons with rugged rims with fossil evidence of insects and Miocene mammals.
La Brea Tar Pits (Rancho La Brea )
1964
34°3′46.62″N 118°21′21.49″W / 34.0629500°N 118.3559694°W / 34.0629500; -118.3559694
Los Angeles
Municipal (City of Los Angeles )
Site of the world-famous natural asphalt tar pits.
San Andreas Fault
1965
San Benito
Private
One of the best illustrations of earth displacement caused by small crustal movements.
San Felipe Creek Area
1974
33°10′11″N 115°49′19″W / 33.16972°N 115.82194°W / 33.16972; -115.82194
Imperial , San Diego
Federal (Bureau of Land Management ), state (California Department of Fish and Wildlife )
A marsh containing probably the last remaining perennial natural desert stream in the Colorado Desert region.
Sand Ridge Wildflower Preserve
1984
35°18′31.26″N 118°47′24.29″W / 35.3086833°N 118.7900806°W / 35.3086833; -118.7900806
Kern
Private
A remnant natural area displaying a great diversity of floral species including the Bakersfield cactus .
Sharktooth Hill
1976
35°26′30.57″N 118°56′26.18″W / 35.4418250°N 118.9406056°W / 35.4418250; -118.9406056
Kern
Private
One of the most abundant, diverse and well- preserved fossil marine vertebrate sites in the world.
Tijuana River Estuary
1973
32°33′7.2″N 117°7′9.59″W / 32.552000°N 117.1193306°W / 32.552000; -117.1193306
San Diego
Federal (Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve ), state, municipal
One of the finest remaining saltwater marshes on the California coastline.
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
1977
32°54′59.58″N 117°14′58.7″W / 32.9165500°N 117.249639°W / 32.9165500; -117.249639
San Diego
State (California Department of Parks and Recreation )
Contains a natural Torrey pine forest, high bluffs and sea cliffs, and endangered bird species.
Trona Pinnacles
1967
35°37′3.81″N 117°22′5.08″W / 35.6177250°N 117.3680778°W / 35.6177250; -117.3680778
San Bernardino
Federal (Bureau of Land Management )
A relict landform from the Pleistocene containing unique formations of calcium carbonate.
Turtle Mountain
1973
34°19′5.53″N 114°51′7.28″W / 34.3182028°N 114.8520222°W / 34.3182028; -114.8520222
San Bernardino
Federal (Bureau of Land Management ), state
Contains two mountain sections of entirely different composition.