Location: Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Area
Date: May 23rd 2020
Observation Time: 0900 hours – 1500 hours.
GPS coordinate: 34.0, -118.4
Topography
Kenneth Hahn state recreational facility is located at an altitude of 143 meters above the sea level. It is the most elevated point along the fault of Newport –Inglewood. The fault resulted in the formation of steep canyons that are dome-shaped amongst the Baldwin Hills. The soil in the area appears to be the product of weathering of the bedrock. The parent rock that underwent weathering is a sedimentary type of stone. The area is therefore covered by the alluvial sediments that resulted due to the breaking down of the parent sedimentary rock underneath (Jones et al., 2016).
The soils in the area are in situ and therefore have not been displaced and appear to have been brought from another place. Around this place, it is evident that the soils belong to the series of Ramona, which is the combination of the loam and clay soils. Type of ground has to a greater r extent impacted the kind and the nature of native vegetation found in the area. The area around Baldwin hills is characterized by scrubs, especially the coastal scrubs, some drought-resistant plants that are shallowly rooted. Moreover, riverine vegetation is abundant in the area at the points where there is a collection of irrigation and stormwater. In general, the organic layer that is close to the surface has a thickness of about 18 inches. It however evident that the topography of this particular place has been impacted by human activities such as the development of the residential areas. The grading dome to facilitate the extraction of oil has also triggered significant impacts on the soil and the general topography of the area. The hills in Baldwin over time have experienced failures in slopes, debris flow and landslides and even ground subsidence. All these changes in landforms can be attributed to the oil field and the extraction of oil, among other developmental activities undertaken by human beings. In the entire park, the available soil supports vegetation that is, in turn, the natural habitats. They include the community of plants scrub sages usually found along the coastline. There is the presence e of the woodland of oaks, especially in the northern section.
Moreover, there is a series of grassland s across the area. This is common particularly on the terrain that is exposed and the windy southwest section. The area around the recreational facility is a habitat for raccoons, opossums, grey foxes among other wild animals.
Weather Conditions
Today May 23rd 2020, the area around Kenneth Hahn State is sunny and cloudy. The high recorded temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The area of humidity is about 31 per cent. The wind is blowing in the southwest direction with a moderate speed. There is a slight difference between the climatic and weather forecast by NOAA with that of real-time forecasting (Maunder, 2019). Often, the weather is warm in the region with most of the time being dry. The overall climate that is experienced in the recreational area is the Mediterranean climate. In terms of the pressure system, there is no evident low of the high-pressure zone in the area around Kenneth Health state recreational facility.
Geomorphological Features and Agents
The area around Kenneth Hahn is one of the fascinating places in California. First, the city is characterized by rolling hills, extensive trails and ponds. There is the presence of the Lake Gwen Moore, which is a humanmade lake with pavements around it. The place is typically open for fishing to the public. It looks like steam. The water moves downhill feeding the fishing ponds. The two features contribute significantly to the modification of the area’s microclimate. There is also a trail of forest that is adjacent to the waterfall (Anzah, & Butler, 2017). The path is extensive and covers the land up to the green valley.
The positioning of the recreational area is a result of the involved plate boundaries. Over the past many years, the plates have been moving in different directions away, towards and along each other. Folding and faulting have, therefore resulted in the new land features that we have currently (Winchell et al., 2016). The fault liens and fissures have also resulted in magma escaping into the surface of the earth, causing volcanic eruptions in other sections of California. The fault that lies close to Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Area is the San Andreas Fault. This is the point whereby the north American plate meets the Pacific plate with a length of about 1200 kilometres. The plates have a tendency of moving in the directions that are opposite to each other. There is often the occurrence of earthquakes that are felt in the area that results from pressure release. The pressure always accumulates due to the frictional forces resulting from the plates. Land changes and erosion in the area around Kenneth Han State Recreational Area can be attributed to wind, ice and water, these are some of the factors that significantly contribute to erosion and deposition of soil in the area. Wind and rain are the agents of rock weathering leading to the formation of new soils. Then rolling plains is a result of folding caused by the compressional forces of the tectonic plates.
Reference
Jones, K., Abrams, J., Belote, R. T., Beltrán, B. J., Brandt, J., Carter, N., … & Wallen, K. E. (2019). The American West as a social-ecological region: drivers, dynamics and implications for nested social-ecological systems. Environmental Research Letters, 14(11), 115008.
Maunder, W. J. (2019). The uncertainty business: risks and opportunities in weather and climate. Routledge.
Anzah, F., & Butler, D. R. (2017). Revisiting an early classic on gopher bioturbation and geomorphology: Joseph Grinnell (1923) The burrowing rodents of California as agents in soil formation Journal of Mammalogy 4 (3): 137–149. Progress in Physical Geography, 41(4), 513-517.
Winchell, E. W., Anderson, R. S., Lombardi, E. M., & Doak, D. F. (2016). Gophers as geomorphic agents in the Colorado Front Range subalpine zone. Geomorphology, 264, 41-51.