Saturday, July 4, 2026

Question: California’s newest national park, established in 2013, protects towering rock spires that began as a volcano near Los Angeles and were carried almost 200 miles northwest along the San Andreas Fault. What is it called?

Answer: Pinnacles National Park. Its spires are the eroded remains of a volcano that formed about 23 million years ago near present-day Lancaster, then was carried about 196 miles northwest along the San Andreas Fault to its home in Central California. First protected as a national monument in 1908, Pinnacles was redesignated a national park in 2013, making it California’s newest.