The old rock and the ill fortuned serpent

Morro Bay (Central Coast California) has a big rock, where evidently a hawk and a raven once destroyed a two-headed serpent-monster called Taliyekatapelta (say it aloud, I dare you) as he wrapped his body around the rock’s base. This, at least, according to Salinan tribal news.

Dinah with Morro Rock in the background

We non-native Americans are banned from the rock because it’s fragile and birds live there. The Salinan Tribe was given rights to climb the volcanic plug, once a year, as part of a sacred ceremony. But the Chumash sued the Salinan because they claimed their religion forbids trespassing on it. I couldn’t find the legal resolution of this, but it would have been settled in the white man’s court of law, if the tribes couldn’t figure it out.

For those who wonder about these things, the 576 foot volcanic plug is made from magma that solidified in a volcano’s vent about 25 million years ago.