Never has there been a park with an attraction as mundane and as common as the California Devil's Punchbowl. This county park is found within the Los Angeles County, Angeles National Forest on the slopes of San Gabriel Mountain, in the course of Littlerock. There are short trails leading towards the park, and driving is also an option.
The whole area is almost threadbare except for the miles and miles AND miles of jumbled, haphazardly lying, and overgrowing rocks. Yes, the park's attraction is a mess of rocks. You can stop wondering why it is free now. The center focuses more, now, on its geographical condition, as well as the flora and fauna rather than just the rocks; a welcoming point since the area offers, and provides, a rich biodiversity of plants and animals that can adapt in the arid desert of mismatched boulders.
The Punchbowl is actually a deep gorge, a canyon of sorts, that have been cut through the mountain. The peaks reach around 8000 feet whereas the parks natural height is half of that. Because of fault action and such, the tiltation and squeezing caused the crags to lift into the familiar spikes of rocks today.
Native vegetation is stiff, with the flora varying from the degrees of water needed by each plant. There are the resistant trees (like the Joshuas) up north and down near the streams, the willows and the cottonwoods stick by the banks to drink what water is available. There is some shrubbery and small bushes nearby, but not much of unique or endemic plants that are of note and special attention.
The animals that live here are nocturnal by nature (they only come out at night). Gray foxes, chipmunks and squirrels are the common residents, snakes usually aren't as sociable and the insects and birds usually stick by the plants (find a few shrubs and you'll get what I mean). They're usually around summer and spring, when the plants had newly bloomed from the fresh storms that pass by the area. The punchbowl becomes more of a fruit bowl when that happens.
The whole area is almost threadbare except for the miles and miles AND miles of jumbled, haphazardly lying, and overgrowing rocks. Yes, the park's attraction is a mess of rocks. You can stop wondering why it is free now. The center focuses more, now, on its geographical condition, as well as the flora and fauna rather than just the rocks; a welcoming point since the area offers, and provides, a rich biodiversity of plants and animals that can adapt in the arid desert of mismatched boulders.
The Punchbowl is actually a deep gorge, a canyon of sorts, that have been cut through the mountain. The peaks reach around 8000 feet whereas the parks natural height is half of that. Because of fault action and such, the tiltation and squeezing caused the crags to lift into the familiar spikes of rocks today.
Native vegetation is stiff, with the flora varying from the degrees of water needed by each plant. There are the resistant trees (like the Joshuas) up north and down near the streams, the willows and the cottonwoods stick by the banks to drink what water is available. There is some shrubbery and small bushes nearby, but not much of unique or endemic plants that are of note and special attention.
The animals that live here are nocturnal by nature (they only come out at night). Gray foxes, chipmunks and squirrels are the common residents, snakes usually aren't as sociable and the insects and birds usually stick by the plants (find a few shrubs and you'll get what I mean). They're usually around summer and spring, when the plants had newly bloomed from the fresh storms that pass by the area. The punchbowl becomes more of a fruit bowl when that happens.
About the Author:
Taking a vacation in California? Why not make it worth the trip? California craft shows. Visit California craft fairs, that's what I use to check up on mine.
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