Stoney Point Outcroppings | |
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Stoney Point
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Location | Chatsworth Park North, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California |
Coordinates | 34°16′15″N 118°36′13″W / 34.270929°N 118.603522°WCoordinates: 34°16′15″N 118°36′13″W / 34.270929°N 118.603522°W |
Area | Santa Susana Mountains |
Architect | None |
Architectural style(s) | None |
Governing body | City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |
Designated | November 20, 1974 |
Reference no. | 132 |
Stoney Point, also known as the Stoney Point Outcroppings or Chatsworth Formation, is a Los Angeles City park near the north end of Topanga Canyon Boulevard (State Route 27) in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, part of the city of Los Angeles. Stoney Point is a popular destination for hikers, equestrians and also with rock climbers because of its large boulders, which afford many opportunities to practice the sport of bouldering. The top of the rock formation offers excellent views of Chatsworth, the Santa Susana Mountains, Coyote Pass, and the entire San Fernando Valley.
Wildlife including coyotes, rattlesnakes, red tailed hawks, golden eagles, turkey vultures, rabbits, and skunks can all be found at Stoney Point. When visiting the park, dogs should be kept on a leash for their own safety and a watchful eye should be kept for africanized "killer" bees. http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20080604/killer-bees-strike-injure-hiking-boy
Geologists know Stoney Point as the Chatsworth Formation, which are the giant rock outcroppings in Simi Hills. They are Upper Cretaceous outcroppings, which means they are more than 65 million years old. They originated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, possibly on the continental shelf near Central America, or even near Baja California. They were formed by turbidity currents, giant “gravity slides” that deposited sand in the ocean at the depth of 4,000 to 5,000 feet. These turbidity currents were often “tens of miles in length and a half a mile or more in width” which explains the size of the mountains around the Chatsworth Formation, and makes them turbidites. In between this activity, in quiet times, silt from the ocean would settle on the formation, and because silt erodes more quickly, the different turbidity currents that formed the rock are visible.