In 1874, Tiburcio Vásquez, one of California's most notorious Mexican bandidos, used these rocks to elude capture by law enforcement.

[4] The land and rock formations were acquired gradually by Los Angeles County, beginning with a donation of 40 acres in 1971, with more parcels being added through 2001.

[9] The San Andreas Fault runs parallel behind the Sierra Pelona Mountains and separates the formation from the North American Plate.

[11] Once laid flat across the basin floor, immense pressure converted the layers into sandstone, which became covered with younger sediment deposits.

[11] Due to its proximity to the San Andreas Fault, tectonic activity has been an important factor in the reshaping, uplift, and exposure of the buried sandstone.

[11] The Vasquez Rocks consist mainly of coarse-grained conglomerate and breccia sediments, which were deposited adjacent to active faults during rapid uplift and consequent erosion of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Approximately 25 million years ago (late Oligocene time), the collision of the North American and Pacific tectonic plates uplifted the area along the Elkhorn Fault.

[12] Energetic erosion of the highland along with uplift and volcanism caused debris flow sediments to be distributed in alluvial fans into a rapidly subsiding rift known as the Soledad Basin.

The distinctive hogback ridges of steeply inclined strata serve to graphically demonstrate the significant fault activity in the area.

[20] Futurama pays homage to its usage in Star Trek in the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", in which most of the original series actors and broadcast tapes are transported to an alien planet whose landscape prominently features rocks modeled after those at Vasquez.

The Pacific Crest Trail passes through Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park and can be used for short as well as lengthy hikes.