This short report attempts to illuminate the geological features that contributed to making the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (JRBP) a unique research island within the rapidly urbanized San Francisco Peninsula. Written in the rocks of the Preserve is a history of continental growth that extends back to the Jurassic (~150 Ma) as the California continental margin grew by subduction and accretion. Movement along the San Andreas fault system has left an indelible mark on the topography by uplift and faulting, and is even now changing the landscape by measurable increments. The sediments of Searsville Lake preserve a chronology of logging in the last century and housing development in more recent decades. Continued multidisciplinary study of this dynamic island of preserved interlocking biological, geological, and hydrogeological records will enhance student, faculty, and docent research, and our understanding of this complex area.