The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was a dramatic reminder that UCSC is located in one of the most geologically interesting regions of the world. The formation of the modern-day UCSC landscape has taken hundreds of millions of years and has directly involved 2 dynamic geologic processes: plate tectonics (the constant movement of the Earth’s crust) and a fluctuating sea level (caused by climate change). In addition to earthquakes, the campus is covered with sinkholes, caves, springs, disappearing streams, mima mounds, remnant marine terraces, an abandoned gold mine, an old marble quarry, and a surprising diversity of rocks, minerals, and soils.