Salt Point State Park occupies six thousand acres on the Sonoma County coast, with a rugged shoreline, extensive trails, and marine habitats shaped by cold Pacific conditions. Its name comes from salt crystals that form in sandstone crevices, long gathered by the Kashaya Pomo with abalone chisels. In the mid-nineteenth century, the coast became a center for sawmilling, sandstone quarrying, shipping, and cattle grazing; Gerstle Cove still preserves traces such as eyebolts, chutes, and a horse-drawn railroad. The park is also notable for its geology, including tafoni and uplifted deep-sea sandstone deposits, and for protected waters that support abundant marine life.