Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning five major rivers. Subalpine wildflower meadows ring the icy volcano while ancient forest cloaks Mount Rainier’s lower slopes. Lenticular clouds are stationary clouds that form mostly in the troposphere, typically in parallel alignment to the wind direction. They are often comparable in appearance to a lens or saucer.
San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge opened on May 27 1937, instantly becoming a much-loved symbol of the city and an iconic piece of architecture around the world. The suspension bridge spans the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the American city of San Francisco, California – the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula – to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The San Francisco Bay, reached via the Golden Gate Strait, was missed for 227 consecutive years by passing Spanish ships. It was finally discovered in 1769, when bored hunters passed overland and found the bay; three years later, at last, the strait was spotted from present-day Oakland.
Sunset on Rodeo Beach, located in the Fort Cronkhite area of the Marin Headlands, one of the most special places in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area with access to multiple trails, fantastic views, a dog-friendly beach, fascinating geology, and an interesting history. As a pocket beach, Rodeo Beach sands do not migrate up or down the coast. Instead, they are carried a short distance offshore in winter, tumble about in the surf, and then return to replenish the beach in the spring and summer. Thus, the sands of Rodeo Beach are native to the Marin Headlands and reflect the Franciscan geology of the closest hills and cliffs. This earthcache focuses on the abundant radiolarian chert and rare carnelian pebbles.
