California Curated

05/28/2026

It's one of the strangest and coolest wildlife stories in Southern California: Sea turtles are living and thriving at the mouth of the San Gabriel River. A big, urban, ugly concrete river in the middle of LA.

A threatened population of green sea turtles is thriving in the concrete channels of the San Gabriel River in Long Beach.

05/23/2026

Latest story!

Exfoliation helped create Yosemite’s famous rounded granite domes and continues to peel the cliffs apart in massive sheets of rock.

05/17/2026

We go inside the desert garden at The Huntington in San Marino. It’s one of the biggest and most diverse succulent gardens in the world.

05/17/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/californiacurated/p/inside-the-huntingtons-extraordinary?r=22pbq&utm_medium=ios

At The Huntington, one of the world’s great succulent collections reveals how plants from some of Earth’s harshest climates evolved to survive, even as many species face threats from plant theft.

05/15/2026

Inside The Huntington's Extraordinary Succulent Garden - California Curated https://open.substack.com/pub/californiacurated/p/inside-the-huntingtons-extraordinary

At The Huntington, one of the world’s great succulent collections reveals how plants from some of Earth’s harshest climates evolved to survive, even as many species face threats from plant theft.

05/10/2026

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYK2zAyO1Ei/

05/10/2026

There's a fake western town on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Still within the so-called TMZ. They've made a ton of movies there. 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX9zTcPJlM1

05/08/2026

Most Californians have no idea that just offshore lies a chasm deeper than the Grand Canyon. Monterey Canyon plunges nearly 12,000 feet beneath the Pacific, creating an alien world of glowing creatures, underwater avalanches, and deep-sea mysteries right off the California coast. 🌊

Monterey Canyon, often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is one of the largest and most fascinating submarine canyons in the world. Stretching over 95 miles from the coast of Monterey, California, and plunging to depths exceeding 3,600 meters (11,800 feet), this underwater marvel rivals its te...

05/08/2026

Manzanitas are so common across California, yet few plants are as strange, sculptural, and uniquely beautiful.

With bark like polished red jasper and curves shaped by time, manzanita is one of California’s most beautiful and overlooked native plants.