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Coordinates: 37°53′32″N 122°16′23″W / 37.89222°N 122.27306°W / 37.89222; -122.27306
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{{Short description|A park and rock formation in Berkeley, California, USA}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}
[[Image:Berkeley Indian Rock Panorama.jpeg|right|thumb|300px|The view from Indian Rock]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
'''Indian Rock Park''' is a {{Convert|1.18|acre|m2|sing=on}} public park at 950 Indian Rock Avenue in the city of [[Berkeley, California]], on the slope of the [[Berkeley Hills]]. It is located in the northeast part of the city, about two blocks north of the Arlington/Marin Circle, and straddles Indian Rock Avenue. The central feature of the park is a large rock outcropping on the west side of Indian Rock Ave. The larger portion of the park, on the opposite side of the street, has several much smaller rock outcroppings, grass fields, and a small barbecue and picnic area. The rock is composed of Northbrae rhyolite.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/us/12bcintel.html|title=Indian Rock Park|last=Pellissier|first=Hank|date=2010-09-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
{{Infobox park
| name = Indian Rock Park
| alt_name =
| photo = Berkeley Indian Rock Panorama.jpeg
| photo_width = 250
| photo_caption = The view from Indian Rock
| type = Public
| location = 950 Indian Rock Avenue [[Berkeley, California]], [[United States]]
| nearest_city = [[Berkeley, California]]
| map = California
| coords ={{Coord|37|53|32|N|122|16|23|W|region:US-CA|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area = {{convert|1.18|acre|ha}}
| created = {{Start date|1917}}
| operator =
| visitation_num =
| status = Open year round
| open =
| website =
}}
'''Indian Rock Park''' is a {{Convert|1.18|acre|m2|adj=on}} public park in the city of [[Berkeley, California]], on the slope of the [[Berkeley Hills]]. Located in the northeast part of the city, it is about two blocks north of the Arlington/Marin Circle, and straddles Indian Rock Avenue. The central feature of the park is a large rock outcropping on the west side of Indian Rock Ave. The larger portion of the park, on the opposite side of the street, has several much smaller rock outcroppings, grass fields, and a small barbecue and picnic area. The rock is composed of Northbrae rhyolite.<ref name=NYT-2010>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/us/12bcintel.html|title=Indian Rock Park|last=Pellissier|first=Hank|date=2010-09-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


==History==
The land for Indian Rock Park was donated to the City of Berkeley by Duncan McDuffie, a real estate mogul, Sierra Club president and mountaineer, during Mason McDuffie's development of the Northbrae area.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/us/12bcintel.html|title=Indian Rock Park|last=Pellissier|first=Hank|date=2010-09-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was dedicated for park purposes in 1917. Indian Rock has long been used as a practice site for serious [[rock climbing]], particularly [[bouldering]]. Members of the [[Sierra Club]] began climbing there regularly on weekends at least as early as the 1950s. Dick Leonard, the “father of modern rock climbing, and noted environmentalist David Brower, founder of Friends of the Earth, learned rock climbing and developed their mountaineering techniques at Indian Rock. Brower used this special knowledge to prepare training manuals during World War II, which proved critical in enabling the 86<sup>th</sup>Regiment of the U.S. Army to surprise the Germans at Riva Ridge in the North Appennines in Italy, the major action disrupting German lines in southern Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Parks_Rec_Waterfront/Trees_Parks/Parks__Indian_Rock_Park.aspx|title=Parks: Indian Rock Park - City of Berkeley, CA|website=www.cityofberkeley.info|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref>
{{Tilden Park map |side=left}}
[[File:Acorn pit at Indian Rock.jpg|thumb|Acorn grinding pit at Indian Rock]]
Volcanic in origin, Indian Rock is one of the [[rhyolite]] [[Rock formations in the United States|rock formation]]s found across the Bay Area. The formation of such outcrops are estimated to have occurred between nine and eleven million years ago, effectively dating the structures. These rock formations are resulting from two different phenomena. They stem from either molten material from subduction (found in regions like Pinnacles national park), or volcanic activity from the slip-strike nature of the transform faults in the East Bay.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stoffer |first=Philip |date=September 30, 2002 |title=Rocks and Geology in the San Francisco Bay Region |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/2195/b2195.pdf |journal=USGS Bulletin |volume=2195}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Henschel |first1=Wesley G. |last2=Hodgin |first2=Eben B. |last3=Grimsich |first3=John L. |last4=Swanson-Hysell |first4=Nicholas L. |date=2024-05-20 |title=The Northbrae rhyolite of Berkeley (California, USA) constrains motion of the proto-Hayward Fault |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00206814.2024.2355620 |journal=International Geology Review |language=en |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1080/00206814.2024.2355620 |issn=0020-6814}}</ref> Evidence for the Indian Rock rhyolite being from slip-strike activity comes from the site being in the path of the Mendocino Triple Junction as it migrated northward. Similar sites can be found nearby, including only one block east of Indian Rock Avenue, where the {{Convert|0.39|acre|m2|adj=on}} Mortar Rock Park is found.


Many remains of acorn-grinding pits carved into solid rock can be found in all these outcroppings, especially the aptly named Mortar Rock. These pits were made by the local indigenous people, the [[Huichin]] band of the [[Ohlone]]s. The park is very historically significant to the Ohlone people, as they consider their history and personal connection to the rocks to be sacred.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Markovich |first=Ally |date=December 6, 2023 |title=The stories Indian and Mortar rocks can tell us |url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/12/06/indian-rock-mortar-rock-berkeley-ohlone-indigenous-history#:~:text=She%20even%20has%20a%20preliminary,rock%20and%20admiring%20the%20view |access-date=October 17, 2024 |work=Berkeleyside}}</ref> For example, the nearby Mortar Rock Park marks the place where Ohlone people used the bedrock mortars as grinding stones for food or medicine, wearing deep depressions into the rock. The stones also were important community gathering and social sites for the Ohlone people, where ceremonies could be held and stories could be shared. To this day it remains a place of cultural significance that people protect and recognize for its history.<ref name=":0" />

The land for Indian Rock Park was donated along with other nearby parcels in 1917 to the City of Berkeley for the purpose of creating a park during the Mason McDuffie development of the Northbrae area.<ref name="NYT-2010" /> The donor, Duncan McDuffie, was an environmentalist, real estate mogul, Sierra Club president and mountaineer. During the great depression, a set of stairs was added into the park as one of the “New Deal” projects.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Todd |first=Gail |date=December 27, 2007 |title=Indian Rock, Berkeley |url=https://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/Indian-Rock-Berkeley-3233946.php |work=SFGate}}</ref> Indian Rock has long been used as a practice site for serious [[rock climbing]], particularly [[bouldering]]. Members of the [[Sierra Club]] began climbing there regularly on weekends at least as early as the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003 |title=Indian Rock |url=https://berkeleyplaques.org/plaque/indian-rock/ |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=Berkeley Historical Plaque Project}}</ref> [[Richard M. Leonard]], the "father of modern rock climbing", and noted environmentalist [[David Brower]], founder of Friends of the Earth, learned rock climbing and developed their mountaineering techniques at Indian Rock.<ref name=":2" /> Brower used this special knowledge to prepare training manuals during World War II, which proved critical in enabling the 86th Regiment of the U.S. Army to surprise the Germans at Riva Ridge in the North Apennines in Italy, the major action disrupting German lines in southern Europe.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Parks_Rec_Waterfront/Trees_Parks/Parks__Indian_Rock_Park.aspx|title=Parks: Indian Rock Park - City of Berkeley, CA|website=www.cityofberkeley.info|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref>

==Description==
The top of the main outcropping, Indian Rock, has views that encompass sights from [[downtown Oakland]] and the [[University of California, Berkeley]] campus to the south; central Berkeley, [[San Francisco Bay]], and [[San Francisco]] to the west; and [[Marin County]] and [[Richmond, California]] to the northwest and north. All three of the bay's largest bridges can be seen from the rock.
The top of the main outcropping, Indian Rock, has views that encompass sights from [[downtown Oakland]] and the [[University of California, Berkeley]] campus to the south; central Berkeley, [[San Francisco Bay]], and [[San Francisco]] to the west; and [[Marin County]] and [[Richmond, California]] to the northwest and north. All three of the bay's largest bridges can be seen from the rock.
Volcanic in origin, Indian Rock is the largest of a number of similar [[rhyolite]] [[Rock formations in the United States|rock formation]]s in the vicinity, including the smaller rocks in the portion of the park on the east side of Indian Rock Ave. For example, only one block farther up the east side of Indian Rock Ave. is the {{Convert|0.39|acre|m2|sing=on}} Mortar Rock Park, which has its own complex of granite outcroppings. Many remains of acorn-grinding pits carved into solid rock can be found in all these outcroppings, especially the aptly named Mortar Rock. These pits were made by the local indigenous people, the [[Huichin]] band of the [[Ohlone]]s.


Indian Rock Path, a public walkway, connects the park to the intersection of [[Solano Avenue]] and The Alameda. The main part of Indian Rock itself has two sets of steps leading to its summit that were carved into the rock during the Depression years.
Indian Rock Path, a public walkway, connects the park to the intersection of [[Solano Avenue]] and The Alameda. The main part of Indian Rock itself has two sets of steps leading to its summit that were carved into the rock during the Depression years. All seven of the original Eucalyptus trees were removed from Indian Rock Park from January 2023 and April 2024 in an effort to rid the area of the unhealth, invasive species.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kwok |first=Iris |date=April 11, 2024 |title=Berkeley has cut down all remaining eucalyptus trees in Indian Rock Park |url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/04/11/berkeley-has-cut-down-all-remaining-eucalyptus-trees-in-indian-rock-park |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=Berkeleyside}}</ref> The city has since then been planting native trees such as California Buckeye, Western Redbud, California flannelbush trees. Even after recent renovations, several signs of the previous Ohlone occupants remain embedded in the park, including the deeply-seated mortar carvings that served the lifestyle of these individuals.<ref name=":3" />


Indian Rock Park has been featured in the New York Times on at least two occasions in 2010 and 2018<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/us/12bcintel.html|title=Indian Rock Park|last=Pellissier|first=Hank|date=2010-09-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/travel/berkeley-california-budget.html|title=Berkeley on a Budget|last=Peterson|first=Lucas|date=2018-07-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>. [[File:Acorn pit at Indian Rock.jpg|thumb|Acorn grinding pit at Indian Rock]]
Indian Rock Park has been featured in the New York Times on at least two occasions, once each in 2010 and 2018.<ref name=NYT-2010/><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/travel/berkeley-california-budget.html|title=Berkeley on a Budget|last=Peterson|first=Lucas|date=2018-07-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{commons-cat-inline}}
*{{commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=12614 Indian Rock Park, City of Berkeley website]
*[http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=12614 Indian Rock Park, City of Berkeley website]
*{{LocalWiki|berkeley|Indian_Rock_Park}}
*{{LocalWiki|berkeley|Indian_Rock_Park}}

{{Coord|37|53|32|N|122|16|23|W|display=title}}



[[Category:Parks in Berkeley, California]]
[[Category:Parks in Berkeley, California]]
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[[Category:Landforms of Alameda County, California]]
[[Category:Landforms of Alameda County, California]]
[[Category:Rock formations of California]]
[[Category:Rock formations of California]]
[[Category:Climbing areas of the United States]]
[[Category:Climbing areas of California]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Berkeley, California]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Berkeley, California]]

Latest revision as of 22:47, 5 November 2024

Indian Rock Park
The view from Indian Rock
Indian Rock Park is located in California
Indian Rock Park
TypePublic
Location950 Indian Rock Avenue Berkeley, California, United States
Nearest cityBerkeley, California
Coordinates37°53′32″N 122°16′23″W / 37.89222°N 122.27306°W / 37.89222; -122.27306
Area1.18 acres (0.48 ha)
Created1917 (1917)
StatusOpen year round

Indian Rock Park is a 1.18-acre (4,800 m2) public park in the city of Berkeley, California, on the slope of the Berkeley Hills. Located in the northeast part of the city, it is about two blocks north of the Arlington/Marin Circle, and straddles Indian Rock Avenue. The central feature of the park is a large rock outcropping on the west side of Indian Rock Ave. The larger portion of the park, on the opposite side of the street, has several much smaller rock outcroppings, grass fields, and a small barbecue and picnic area. The rock is composed of Northbrae rhyolite.[1]

History

[edit]

Selected locations in and near Tilden Regional Park 
  •  Points of interest 
  •  Nearby parks and museums 

1
Tilden Little Farm
2
Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round
3
Inspiration Point
4
Lake Anza
5
Brazilian Room
6
Regional Parks Botanic Garden
7
Tilden Park Golf Course
8
Redwood Valley Railway
9
Blake Garden
10
Indian Rock Park
11
Berkeley Rose Garden
12
Lawrence Hall of Science
13
San Pablo Reservoir
Acorn grinding pit at Indian Rock

Volcanic in origin, Indian Rock is one of the rhyolite rock formations found across the Bay Area. The formation of such outcrops are estimated to have occurred between nine and eleven million years ago, effectively dating the structures. These rock formations are resulting from two different phenomena. They stem from either molten material from subduction (found in regions like Pinnacles national park), or volcanic activity from the slip-strike nature of the transform faults in the East Bay.[2][3] Evidence for the Indian Rock rhyolite being from slip-strike activity comes from the site being in the path of the Mendocino Triple Junction as it migrated northward. Similar sites can be found nearby, including only one block east of Indian Rock Avenue, where the 0.39-acre (1,600 m2) Mortar Rock Park is found.

Many remains of acorn-grinding pits carved into solid rock can be found in all these outcroppings, especially the aptly named Mortar Rock. These pits were made by the local indigenous people, the Huichin band of the Ohlones. The park is very historically significant to the Ohlone people, as they consider their history and personal connection to the rocks to be sacred.[4] For example, the nearby Mortar Rock Park marks the place where Ohlone people used the bedrock mortars as grinding stones for food or medicine, wearing deep depressions into the rock. The stones also were important community gathering and social sites for the Ohlone people, where ceremonies could be held and stories could be shared. To this day it remains a place of cultural significance that people protect and recognize for its history.[4]

The land for Indian Rock Park was donated along with other nearby parcels in 1917 to the City of Berkeley for the purpose of creating a park during the Mason McDuffie development of the Northbrae area.[1] The donor, Duncan McDuffie, was an environmentalist, real estate mogul, Sierra Club president and mountaineer. During the great depression, a set of stairs was added into the park as one of the “New Deal” projects.[5][6] Indian Rock has long been used as a practice site for serious rock climbing, particularly bouldering. Members of the Sierra Club began climbing there regularly on weekends at least as early as the 1930s.[7] Richard M. Leonard, the "father of modern rock climbing", and noted environmentalist David Brower, founder of Friends of the Earth, learned rock climbing and developed their mountaineering techniques at Indian Rock.[6] Brower used this special knowledge to prepare training manuals during World War II, which proved critical in enabling the 86th Regiment of the U.S. Army to surprise the Germans at Riva Ridge in the North Apennines in Italy, the major action disrupting German lines in southern Europe.[5]

Description

[edit]

The top of the main outcropping, Indian Rock, has views that encompass sights from downtown Oakland and the University of California, Berkeley campus to the south; central Berkeley, San Francisco Bay, and San Francisco to the west; and Marin County and Richmond, California to the northwest and north. All three of the bay's largest bridges can be seen from the rock.

Indian Rock Path, a public walkway, connects the park to the intersection of Solano Avenue and The Alameda. The main part of Indian Rock itself has two sets of steps leading to its summit that were carved into the rock during the Depression years. All seven of the original Eucalyptus trees were removed from Indian Rock Park from January 2023 and April 2024 in an effort to rid the area of the unhealth, invasive species.[8] The city has since then been planting native trees such as California Buckeye, Western Redbud, California flannelbush trees. Even after recent renovations, several signs of the previous Ohlone occupants remain embedded in the park, including the deeply-seated mortar carvings that served the lifestyle of these individuals.[9]

Indian Rock Park has been featured in the New York Times on at least two occasions, once each in 2010 and 2018.[1][9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Pellissier, Hank (September 11, 2010). "Indian Rock Park". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Stoffer, Philip (September 30, 2002). "Rocks and Geology in the San Francisco Bay Region" (PDF). USGS Bulletin. 2195.
  3. ^ Henschel, Wesley G.; Hodgin, Eben B.; Grimsich, John L.; Swanson-Hysell, Nicholas L. (May 20, 2024). "The Northbrae rhyolite of Berkeley (California, USA) constrains motion of the proto-Hayward Fault". International Geology Review: 1–15. doi:10.1080/00206814.2024.2355620. ISSN 0020-6814.
  4. ^ a b Markovich, Ally (December 6, 2023). "The stories Indian and Mortar rocks can tell us". Berkeleyside. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Parks: Indian Rock Park - City of Berkeley, CA". www.cityofberkeley.info. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Todd, Gail (December 27, 2007). "Indian Rock, Berkeley". SFGate.
  7. ^ "Indian Rock". Berkeley Historical Plaque Project. 2003. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Kwok, Iris (April 11, 2024). "Berkeley has cut down all remaining eucalyptus trees in Indian Rock Park". Berkeleyside. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Peterson, Lucas (July 27, 2018). "Berkeley on a Budget". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
[edit]