Dr. Peter W. Weigand conceived and initiated this website for the use of the education community in the Southern California area. His conviction was that students, teachers and others interested in geology would benefit from having images of local geologic features along with their locations available to those interested in identifying and understanding the geology around them.

Peter W. Weigand, Emeritus Professor of Geological Sciences at California State University Northridge, passed away September 26, 2003 in Los Angeles, CA, from complications during heart surgery. At the time of his passing, Dr. Weigand was in the process of developing lecture materials and this website focusing on the geology of the Los Angeles area. This effort will be continued by volunteers who were inspired by the passion and dedication of their mentor.

Among numerous professional contributions, Dr. Weigand served as Vice President of the Thomas Wilson Dibblee, Jr., Geological Foundation since 2000. This foundation is devoted to preserving the scientific, technical, educational, and economic values of Dibblee's life work through timely publication of his maps of areas of California.

Additionally, he served as General Co-Chair of the 2001 first-ever joint meeting of the Cordilleran Section of the Geological Society of America and the Pacific Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Dr. Weigand, 60, left behind a deeply personal and inspiring professional legacy and was known for his enthusiasm for geology, for his dedication to students, and for his commitment to teaching excellence. He led or co-led numerous educational field trips to local geological features not only for CSUN students, but also for local teachers and for societies for which he was a member.

Dr. Weigand’s research with undergraduates and masters students focused on improving our understanding of the character and origin of volcanic formations in the Santa Monica Mountains and nearby areas of southern California. His research contributions were honored with the 1999 George Lefevre, Jr., Research Award from the CSUN Chapter of Sigma Xi Research Society. His most recent research focused on the volcanic rocks in the Neenach Formation near Gorman and in Pinnacles National Monument. This and previous work in these areas contributed to the body of knowledge on the offset along the San Andreas fault in central California.

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