PROCLAMATION 7266-JAN. 11, 2000 114 STAT. 3241 Proclamation 7266 of January 11, 2000 Boundary Enlargement of the Pinnacles National Monument By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Pinnacles National Monument was established on January 16, 1908, for the purpose of protecting its natural rock formations, known as Pinnacles Rocks, and the series of talus caves underlying them. The monument sits within one of the most complex and fascinating geologic terrains in North America, an area where rock masses have been sliced apart, transported for up to hundreds of miles, and then reassembled into a fantastic geologic mixture. The monument holds only half of an ancient volcano; the other half is found 195 miles to the southeast in northern Los Angeles Coimty. The volcano was split apart and transported north by an early strand of the San Andreas Fault, known as the Chalone Creek Fault, which lies within the monument. The pinnacles inside the monument are composed mainly of volcanic breccia, a mixture of angular blocks of volcanic lava, pumice, and ash. The occurrence of the pinnacles within the monument is unusual, as some of these volcanic rocks also contain marine fossils. Since 1908, the boundaries of the monument have been enlarged on five occasions by presidential proclamations issued pursuant to the Antiquities Act (34 Stat. 225.16 U.S.C. 431). Proclamation 1660 of May 7, 1923, added 562 acres to include additional natural formations with a series of caves underlying them. Proclamation 1704 of July 2, 1924, added adjoining lands that included a spring of water and valuable camping sites. Proclamation 1948 of April 13, 1931, added 1,926 acres that held additional features of scientific and educational interest and for administrative purposes. For these same purposes, the boundary was later expanded on July 11, 1933 (Proclamation 2050). Proclamation 2528 of December 5, 1941, added additional lands adjoining Pinnacles National Monument in order to protect more objects of scientific interest in the monument area. The boimdary of the monument was further expanded by statute on October 20, 1976 (Public Law 94-567, 90 Stat. 2693). The boundary enlargement effected by this proclamation is central to the continued preservation of the Pinnacles National Monimient's unique resources. In addition to containing pieces of the same faults that created the tremendous geological formations throughout the monument, the expansion lands hold part of the headwaters that drain into the basin of the monument. Over millions of years, flash floods and stream currents have helped to sculpt the land's natural features. Additionally, these lands contain a biological system that must be protected if the wild character and ecosystem of the monument are to be preserved. The geologic formations provide a stellar habitat for important and sometimes fragile biological resources. For example, raptor populations, including prairie falcons, golden eagles, red-shouldered hawks. Cooper's hawks, harriers, white-tailed kites, long-eared owls, and red-tailed hawks, nest on the rocky formations and forage in the broad watershed. The lands within the expansion area contain steep, rugged slopes surroujiding small canyons. Shallow rocky soils, gravel
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