Bowling Ball Beach is part of the California State Parks system. It's known for these round rock formations that fall away from the cliffs. At low tide they do look like bowling balls. Mark Hancock recently visited at a minus tide and got these photos.

Mark wrote, "The tide was so far out beyond the bowling balls and the colors of the seagrass and mosses against the sandy tone of the balls was beautiful. A truly magical morning walk on one of the most unique beaches in the world!”

To learn more about Bowling Ball Beach and  the adjacent Schooner Gulch State Beach, here is their website:https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=446

The Schooner Gulch access to the south is much easier than the direct route to Bowling Ball. That route is challenging until State Parks repairs the access.

Here is a description of how the "bowling balls" were formed, from the website atlasobscura: "...the so-called bowling balls are actually a geological phenomenon known as “concretion,” sedimentary rock formed by a natural process wherein mineral cements bind grains of sand or stone into larger formations. These boulders are the result of millions of years of concretion and erosion, exposing the hard spheres as the mudstone of the cliffs receded around them."

Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photos with you here. Another of Mark's photos will be in Thursday's Independent Coast Observer with my column, Mendonoma Sightings.

Fog, fog and more fog close to the ocean, but it's sunny on the ridge. I have fog in front of our house and sun behind it!