Devil's Punchbowl

The Devil's Punchbowl is a fun place to hike and to see ancient rock formations that have been pressed up through the earth by the forces of the San Andreas fault.

Located off the Highway 138 near the town of Pearblossom, the rocky, desert environment of the Devil's Punchbowl makes a stunning contrast to the snow-capped San Gabriel mountains.

The sandstone formations have been tilted to funny shapes by the pressure of the San Andreas fault, which has pushed up the San Gabriel Mountains to their impressive height.

The surrounding soil was eroded away by millions of years of snow melt draining off the San Gabriel mountains.

Pinyon Ridge, pictured behind me, covered in evergreen trees, was the Northern shoreline of an ancient sea sixty million years ago.   

The Southern shoreline was the granite rocks of what now have grown to be the San Gabriel Mountains.

The Devil's Punchbowl is a textbook example of "plunging syncline" or a V-Shaped fold in the earth's surface caused by compression.

A pretty strenous one-mile loop takes you right down to the stream in the middle of the Devil's Punchbowl.  Longer hiking trails are available for those who are fit for mountain hiking.

There are many plants and animals to observe on this trail and the time passes pleasantly despite the steep trail.

Near the visitor center, signs identify the common plants found in the Park.

Over 10 different species of lizards live in the Devil's Punchbowl and we saw many colorful examples on our walk.  This male was doing "push ups" aggressively to scare us away.

He looks like one of the ancestors that roamed this land when the ancient sea covered this land sixty million years ago.

We made it in time to see the wildflowers and they added splashes of color everywhere we looked.

The main attraction is the interesting rock formations.

Look at all the mosaic inside this boulder.  The photograph did not capture how very colorful all the small rocks inside this are.

I like imagining what the rock formations resemble.  I see a friendly ghost in this one.

And a whale's head in this one:

When you reach the bottom of Devil's Punchbowl and look back up, the view is so impressive: it is worth the effort.

It's unbelievable to see this giant formations turned sideways.

The stream at the bottom sounds so restful and many animals come here to drink.

Back up at the top of the trail, tables provide a nice resting place in the shade.  One of these days, I'm going to return here with a picnic lunch and spend the entire day exploring the longer trails.

This natural wonder is part of the Los Angeles County Park system and is a real gem to visit: the Park charges no fees for day use.

We really enjoyed this Park and look forward to enjoying many more day-trips to this unique environment.