Grand View Park
180° view looking north from atop the park

Scroll to the right to see a 180^o view =>     

Grandview Park is a topographical remnant of 140 million-year-old rock, Franciscan radiolarian chert, formed by the deposition of the innumerable one-celled marine organisms called diatoms. These tiny diatoms are visible in the rock if you look closely. The rock is overlain by sands which were derived from Sierran granites eroded by glaciers, transported by rivers and deposited outside the Golden Gate. The supply of win-blown sand from the ocean has been cut off by the intense urban development to the west of the park. Any soil eroded from here is gone forever. The continued existence of the hill depends on stopping erosion. When visiting Grandview Park, PLEASE STAY ON STAIRWAYS AND THE BEATEN PATHS ON THE TOP OF THE HILL.

     Two treeless vegetational communities occur here: Coastal Strand (bush lupine, dune tansy, beach strawberry) and North Coastal Scrub (bush monkey flower, coyote bush). The hill is a harsh environment for plant establishment and growth. The sand retains very little moisture and the plants must survive without rain in the warmest six months of the year. Trees are detrimental in the situation because they deprive the native plants of needed sun, nutrients and moisture. Without the dense growth of many small plants whose roots bind the soil particles, the latter is eroded away by wind and rain. It takes several years to establish a root system that a single human footprint can destroy.

Dune Tansy - Tanacetum camphoratum

     Grandview Park is one of the last habitats for two rare and endangered plants: Dune Tansy and Franciscan Wallflower.

California Native Plants Society

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