La Jolla Cove is small, barely a pocket of sand, but it punches well above its size. One historical authority called it the most magnetic beach in the world, and it's hard to argue the point once you've seen the clarity of the water and the rocky bluffs that frame it.

Beneath the surface lies a designated Ecological Preserve, where kelp beds grow up to a hundred feet tall and sea caves tunnel into the cliffs along the shoreline. The oldest of those rocky formations date back roughly 100,000 years, shaped by ice ages that once left the sea level some 400 feet lower than it sits today.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours use the Cove as a gateway into La Jolla's layered natural history. It traces how ancient ice ages sculpted the coastline and connects the Cove's protected waters to the broader story of this Californian coast.