Travel-World Photography
Pinnacles National Park is located east of the Salinas Valley in Central California, southeast of San Jose. The park's namesakes are the eroded leftovers of the western half of an extinct volcano that has moved 320 km from its original location on the San Andreas Fault, embedded in a portion of the California Pacific Coast Ranges.
The national park is divided by the rock formations into East and West Divisions, connected only by foot trails. The east side has shade and water, while the west has high walls. The rock formations provide for spectacular pinnacles that attract rock climbers. The park features unusual talus caves. Pinnacles is most often visited in spring or fall because of the intense heat during the summer. Park lands are prime habitat for prairie falcons and are a release site for California condors that have been hatched in captivity.
