Cerro Cabrillo, also known locally as Cabrillo Peak, is a rocky
mountain in eastern
Morro Bay State Park,
San Luis Obispo County,
central California.
Geography
Cerro Cabrillo is one of the
Nine Sisters
The Nine Sisters or the Morros are a chain of twenty-three, although typically only nine are included, volcanic mountains and hills in western San Luis Obispo County, Southern California. They run between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.
Geography
...
, a group of nine volcanic landmarks in the area. Others include
Morro Rock
Morro Rock (Salinan: ''Le'samo; ''Chumash: ''Lisamu; Spanish: ''El Morro'') is a volcanic plug in Morro Bay, California, on the Pacific Coast at the entrance to Morro Bay harbor. A causeway connects it with the shore, making it a tied is ...
and
Hollister Peak
Hollister Peak is a volcanic plug located near Morro Bay, California. It is one of the Nine Sisters, and receives its name from the family that lived at its base in 1884. It was of religious importance to the Chumash Chumash may refer to:
*Ch ...
. It is named after
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...
, a Spanish maritime explorer, who was sailing off the coast in 1542.
The rock outcrop, composed mostly of
rhyodacite, is a
volcanic plug
A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged mag ...
formed when
magma welled up underneath a layer of softer rock and solidified. The softer overlying rock has since eroded away, leaving a distinct, rugged shape.
[
]
On its east face is a
rock formation
A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...
named Tiki Rock, because of its resemblance to a Polynesian
Tiki carving.
Access
The slopes and peak of Cerro Cabrillo are popular with hikers and rock climbers, with trailheads in Morro Bay State Park.
Its slopes support many
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
and
coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...
wild flowers, such as
Deer Weed (''Acmispon glaber''),
Soap plant (''Chlorogalum pomeridianum''), and
Chaparral checkerbloom (''Sidalcea hickmanii'').
See also
*
Morro Bay State Park
References
External links
*
Hikespeak.com: "Cerro Cabrillo and Tiki Rock in Morro Bay State Park"— ''with photos''.
{{Nine Sisters
Nine Sisters
Morro Bay
Mountains of San Luis Obispo County, California
Mountains of Southern California
Volcanic plugs of California
Volcanoes of California