Granitic rocks are found on continents around the world near active or past plate boundaries. They formed as magma cooled many kilometers below the Earth’s surface. The granitic rocks were then uplifted to the surface as the volcanic mountains above them eroded away. In California, granitic rocks form the core of the Sierra Nevada, cooled from rock melted during the subduction process that also formed the rocks of the Franciscan Complex. Granite and granodiorite are also found west of the San Andreas fault near Monterey, Pacifica, and Point Reyes, where granite from the south end of the Sierra range has been transported northward by San Andreas fault movement. Some granite was also carried to the California coast from China by humans. Chinese granite sometimes filled the holds of sailing ships on their way to San Francisco during the Gold Rush.