Stop 3

Continue walking to the outdoor plaza between Buildings 3 and 15. The graceful trees that shade this courtyard are Jacarandas (Jacaranda mimosifolia), native to the tropics and found more often in southern California. If you are visiting in June or early July, you will have the pleasure of seeing their beautiful lavender blossoms. Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) grows under these trees.

Turn left and proceed to the large black columns in the center of the plaza. The four large polished columns located on the upper plaza near the water wall are an artist’s conception of California, broken by faults. The black rock that makes up these columns is from the Academy Quarry in the western Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno. The rock, which is approximately 120 million years old, is a quartz diorite containing the dark-colored minerals hypersthene, hornblende, and biotite.

To the right of the columns is a quartz diorite water wall and artificial stream. These are part of the Art-in-Architecture program that was established in 1963 by the President’s Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space. To date, more than 200 works of art have been installed through the program, which seeks to incorporate fine art in the designs of Federal buildings, with emphasis on the work of living artists. While the purpose of the moving water is aesthetic, it also serves as an educational tool when USGS hydrologists use the long trough and whirlpool to demonstrate water-measurement methods to visiting students. Follow the stairs down to the lower courtyard to view the beautiful waterfall. If you cannot manage the steps, there is a ramp at the far end of the plaza.

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