Mother-Nature Blessed Marin County

So, has Mother-Nature really blessed Marin County? Yes, of course Mother-Nature blessed Marin County. Marin County is a south-facing peninsula in Northern California that is framed in on the north by Sonoma and Napa wine country, on the west by the Pacific Ocean and its rocky beaches, on the south by the stately Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay and on the east by the San Pablo Bay which is often shrouded in fog. If that is not considered being blessed by Mother-Nature, what is?

Because Marin County is sandwiched between two prominent bodies of water and as a result of its winter's rains, it has been proven time and time again to have warmer winters than its immediate neighbors. For just those exact reasons, Marin County was equally blessed with cooler summers which never trigger heat waves, especially near its beaches.

The latest census of the United States Census Bureau estimates Marin County's total area at 828 square miles; 520 square miles of which are dry lands and the remaining 308 square miles are water. Mother-Nature bless Marin County with breathtaking landscapes of fertile green pasturelands, tidal flats at its shores and the majestic Mount Tamalpais which is Marin County's tallest mountain reaching 2,600 feet up to its crystal blue skies.

A menacing topographical fault line, the San Andreas earthquake fault, cuts through Marin County and persistently plucks the Tomales Peninsula from the mainland as it severs their connection a tiny bit more every year.

Just as the very volatile and unpredictable San Andreas earthquake fault is constantly threatening Marin County's stability, it has over the course of hundreds of decades shaped the County into the assortment of rolling hills, flat land masses, high mountains and ocean front boulders that it displays today. In addition, the never ending activities of the San Andreas earthquake fault have through the ages deposited a wide variety of soils each of which is fertile and enriched with nutrients.

To repay Mother-Nature for blessing Marin County so openhandedly, many refuges and preserves have been established to project the wares of Mother-Nature.

- Located in the San Marino Bay, the Marin Island National Wildlife Refuge spans over two islands, the East Marin and the West Marin, and it was established to primarily shelter the largest heron and egret population of the region. This refuge is also a permanent home to many other species of fowl as well as feeding grounds for migratory birds.

- Well over 1,000 genus of plants and animals are protected in the magnificent surroundings of Point Reyes National Seashore which is set amidst the Pacific Ocean, rocky beaches, sprawling grasslands, gently sloping hills and thickly wooded forests.

- The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) was established in 1972 and with its 75,398 acres spanning over a couple of counties is one of the world's largest national parks located within an urban setting as well as one of the largest coastal preserves in the United States. The GGNRA includes 59 miles of beaches and the awe inspiring Muir Woods National Monument of Marin County.