Naturalist Night: Rocks and Waves

"Many are familiar with the stone bridge at Natural Bridges State Beach. It is just one of over a dozen natural arches and bridges that have come and gone along West Cliff Drive during the past century and a half. The ocean waves act like a giant sculptor, chiseling away the sandstone and mudstone, creating natural works of art. They are ephemeral features—just as nature creates them, nature takes them away.

Frank Perry began collecting old photos of erosion features along West Cliff Drive in the early 1980s and wrote about this in Santa Cruz County History Journal number 1 (1994) and in his book Lighthouse Point (2002). He combined his background in earth sciences and interest in local history to learn more about how the cliffs have changed through the years and why. Why are the various coves and points located where they are? How did the arches and bridges form? What has been the impact of cliff erosion on the human history of the area? How did Santa Cruz exploit the beauty of the coastal cliffs to promote tourism? Explore the Rocks and Waves exhibit, and learn more about our ever-changing coastline with curator Frank Perry."