News Summary

• Vasquez Rocks Natural Area in Southern California jut from the arid landscape of the Soledad Basin at remarkable angles.
• Geologists estimate that the tilt of sedimentary rock strata found in the area averages 50 degrees, steep enough that many of the otherworldly formations appear to point toward the stars.
• Viewed from space, the Vasquez Rocks are considerably less dramatic, but they show up clearly as bands of gray nestled between mountain ranges in these false-color and natural-color images captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Lan dsat 9.