The San Gabriel Mountains are characterized by steep slopes, deep canyons, and sharp ridges. They are young mountains and have been uplifted from their surroundings by faulting, or earthquake movements. Some of the rock types in Eaton Canyon have been dated at well over two billion years old!
Because of earthquake activity, the mountains are composed of shattered rock which is rapidly eroding. Heavy rains cause sand and rocks to be washed down to lowlands and basins. This water-transported rock and sand is called "alluvium". Because alluvia (plural of "alluvium") are porous and well-drained, the upper soil becomes quite dry only a few days after a rainstorm. The deeper levels of the soil remain moist most of the year, permitting plants with deep roots to reach limited quantities of water.
Soil is vital to the plants of the ecosystem because it acts as a storage reservoir for water and minerals, and because it contains oxygen, which plants and animals of the upper soil layer (humus) use in breathing.
There are two types of rock in Eaton Canyon - metamorphic and igneous. The third type, sedimentary, is not found here, but is abundant in places such as Vasquez Rocks.