Santa Clarita, California: Star Trek Gorn Battle Rocks - Vasquez Rocks

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is 905 acres of unique geological rock formations along Escondido Canyon Road in Agua Dulce and is a part of the San Andreas fault line. Vasquez Rocks has been the location of numerous movie sets, television programs, music videos, and a famous bandit's hideout. The notorious bandit Tiburcio Vasquez hid out amongst the rocks from 1873 and 1874 to escape capture by law enforcement.

The rocks became a part of the National Register of Historic Places (site #72000228) in 1972 due to its significance as a prehistoric site for the Shoshonean and Tataviam peoples.

Meg and Marisa -- Roadsideamerica.com's unofficial rock formation testers -- battled for balance during a recent family visit to Vasquez Rocks Park, northeast of LA. They could hardly have known (or cared) that on this same craggy outcropping, Captain James T. Kirk battled the vile Gorn commander in the "Arena" episode of the original Star Trek TV series. The telegenic rocks have also appeared in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, Austin Powers, the Flintstones movies, etc.