Morro Rock
Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, California
Marker Inscription
Morro Rock An important mariner's navigational landfall for over 300 years. Chronicled in the diaries of Portola, Fr. Crespi and Constanso in 1769 when they camped near this area on their trek to find Monterey. Sometimes called the "Gibraltar of the Pacific". It is the last in the famous chain of nine peaks which start in the city of San Luis Obispo. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 821 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Rec- reation in cooperation with the Morro Bay Chamber of Com- merce and the San Luis Obispo County Historical Society. May 28, 1958
Erected by California State Department of Parks and Recreation
The Story
Morro Rock is a towering volcanic plug at the mouth of Morro Bay, long used by mariners as a navigational landmark along the central California coast. When the Spanish Portolá expedition pushed north in 1769 in search of Monterey, its diarists — including the Franciscan Juan Crespí — noted the great rock as they camped nearby. The last of a chain of ancient volcanic peaks, it earned the nickname the "Gibraltar of the Pacific."
Why it matters
The rock ties California's deep geologic past to the Spanish exploration that opened Alta California to European settlement.
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Related people
- · Gaspar de Portolá
- · Juan Crespí
Related events
- · Portolá expedition
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Morro Rock California Registered Historical Landmark
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Morro Rock, the great volcanic dome rising from the California coast, has guided mariners for over three centuries and was chronicled by the Portolá expedition's diarists — including Father Crespí and the engineer Costansó — when they camped nearby in 1769 during their overland search for Monterey. Sometimes called the "Gibraltar of the Pacific," it served Spanish, Mexican, and American sailors alike as an unmistakable navigational landfall. Today it is a California Registered Historical Landmark.
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