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Geolens

The Geolens atlas

Explore the geography of a place.

Look closely at a landscape, find it on the map, and explore the processes that shaped it.

Filters
Compare two places to connect their similarities and differences.
Explore the reference point.

US state

California

Sacramento38.58°N 121.49°W

Temperate climate (Csa)Transform
Aerial view of the San Andreas Fault cutting across dry hills in California.
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San Andreas Fault in California's Sierra Madre Mountains. The fault accommodates mainly horizontal motion between the Pacific and North American plates.
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Read the evidence

Take an observation into a 3D lab.

01

Climate at the reference point

Sacramento is classified as Csa in the temperate climate family. Explore how temperature and rainfall define this pattern.

Explore the model 02

Plate boundaries

Compare plates moving apart, sliding past each other and converging. What landforms would each movement produce?

Explore the model 03

Earthquakes

Follow stress building along a fault, then examine how its release sends waves through the Earth.

Explore the model 04

Folds and faults

Examine how compression folds rock and how fractures allow blocks of crust to move.

Explore the model
Compare today’s weather
About the climate and map data

Climate labels describe the marked reference point using the 1991–2020 Köppen–Geiger classification; climate can vary greatly within the surrounding country or region. Tectonic labels identify regional teaching examples.

Beck et al. climate data (CC BY 4.0) and Bird’s PB2002 plate model provide the scientific context.