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Map Satellite Lying entirely within the California Sea Otter Game Refuge, several beaches in the Cape San Martin region have outcrops or occurrences of nephrite jade. The best jade is found in the pebbles and boulders on the gravelly beach deposits. Nephrite also occurs in the outcropping of the bedrock in the sea cliffs. In many of the cliffs the exposure is quite good and it appears that the nephrite was derived from cataclastic rocks by chemical reconstitution under stress.
Nephrite jade is found only in a few localities in the country, three of which are in the State. Several meters offshore is a huge sea stack which is a fine example of the erosive action occurring along the coast. Several marine terraces, formed by uplift of the coastal region, are visible in the area.
Integrity: Rockhounds have all but depleted the readily available jade but good specimens may be washed ashore after storms.
Use: Research, education, light recreation
Ref: Crippen, Richard A., 1951. Nephrite Jade and Associated Rocks of the Cape San Martin Region, Monterey County, California. California Division of Mines and Geol. Special Report No. IDA.
May 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
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