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13[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vasquez_rocks_1.png]]
14[[caption-width-right:350:The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasquez_Rocks Vasquez Rocks]] in fiction.\
15LizardFolk not included.[[note]]Top left to bottom right: ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries, Series/StarTrekVoyager, Series/DoctorWho, WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}, Film/TheMuppetMovie, Film/TheFlintstones''[[/note]]]]
16
17The American equivalent of the BBCQuarry, a distinctive set of striated sandstone slabs, dozens to hundreds of feet tall, sharply-angled and pointed at their tops. Familiar from its use as an exterior location in any number of ScienceFiction programs and [[TheWestern Westerns]] (including the films ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' and ''The Magnificent Seven Ride Again'', as well as the "Sleestak Diner" scene in ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack''), and no few automobile commercials. It is also the location of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, which was composited into the [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers first]] [[Series/PowerRangersZeo five]] [[Series/PowerRangersTurbo seasons]] of ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' as the Command Center/Power Chamber building. The entire town of Bedrock in ''Film/TheFlintstones'' was constructed here. Probably best known from its several appearances on ''Franchise/StarTrek'' over the years (especially the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]] episode "Arena"), whence comes the popular nickname for one of the formations (and by extension the entire area). The movie ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'' [[LampshadeHanging specifically points this trope out]] by having the boys watching said episode, before their robotic duplicates drag them out to the rock to kill them.
18
19In reality these are known as the [[http://aeve.com/digitaldesert/vasquezrocks/ Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park,]] in Agua Dulce, UsefulNotes/{{California}}, once known for being a hideout of Tiburcio Vásquez, a notorious {{bandito}} who was one of the inspirations for the character of Franchise/{{Zorro}}. This landmark is located about 30 miles north of Hollywood, which conveniently places it within the "Thirty Mile Zone", a union rule that declares any Hollywood-based production that takes place outside of this area to be "on location", and therefore requires the studio to compensate crew for their travel and accommodation expenses. Keeping film production within the TMZ[[note]]Yes, the Hollywood gossip series was named after this zone[[/note]] therefore keeps labor costs down. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasquez_Rocks Here's]] the Wikipedia entry, with a detailed history of "Kirk's Rock" in TV and film.
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21There was a fortress erected on the Vasquez Rocks park grounds in 1956 that was used for the filming of the TV series, "The Tales of the Bengal Lancers", and later was used for other film projects including Star Trek (it was "Cestus III" in the episode, "Arena") and "The Rat Patrol." The fortress set was torn down by the park service in 1974.
22
23Compare BronsonCanyonAndCaves and DownLADrain, other UsefulNotes/LosAngeles settings used many, many times in film and television. See HeyItsThatPlace for a general listing of very commonly used locales. Not to be confused with VasquezAlwaysDies.
24
25----
26!!Works Featuring Kirk's Rock:
27
28[[foldercontrol]]
29
30[[folder:Advertising]]
31* It appears in the background for a 2013 Spiriva COPD medication ad.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Fan Works]]
35* It is the location of the Guardian of Forever in the ''Star Trek'' fan film, ''Of Gods and Men''.
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
39* ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'': One of the rock outcroppings is drawn to look both like Kirk's Rock and the tail fins of some 1950s muscle car. It is a wink to the Cadillac Ranch in Texas
40[[/folder]]
41
42[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
43%%* Film/AlphaDog (2007)
44* In the final sketch of ''Film/AmazonWomenOnTheMoon'', Kirk's Rock is plainly visible in the distance during a chase scene.
45* The opening shot of ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' shows the [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/06d6e30a5b9056e6ddb115d2a30abc59/tumblr_o24zbawMEy1uku2r5o1_1280.jpg formation]] among the rocks of Mars.
46%%* Army of Darkness (1993)
47%%* ''Film/{{Apache}}'' (1954)
48* ''Film/AustinPowers: International Man of Mystery'' has an appearance as Austin and Vanessa flee Dr. Evil's self-destructing lair ([[CaliforniaDoubling in the Nevada desert]]).
49* ''Film/AngryVideoGameNerdTheMovie'': The Rocks serve as a launch ramp for a mocked-up flying saucer. And Cooper (well, an obvious puppet) plummets from the top.
50* ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'': Lampshaded: Just before the boys meet the Evil Robots, they're watching that particular episode of ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' on TV. When the Robots drag the boys up to the rock to kill them, we even get a recreation of the dramatic zoom out from ''Trek''. They are then murdered by being thrown from the top of the rocks.
51* In ''Film/BlazingSaddles'', Vasquez rocks is the site Hedy Lamarr ("[[InsistentTerminology That's ]]''[[InsistentTerminology Hedley!]]''") recruits desperados for the attack on Rock Ridge.
52%%* Film/BubbleBoy (2001)
53* ''Film/TheFlintstones'': The entire town of Bedrock was built here. After filming, the studio left it up for a few days and allowed tourists in to visit the set.
54%%* Film/ForTheBoys (1991)
55%%* Film/FreeEnterprise
56%%* Film/GunsOfElChupacabra (1997)
57%%* Film/HeartsOfTheWest (1975)
58%%* Film/HellComesToFrogtown (1971)
59%%* Literature/{{Holes}}
60%%* Film/InTheArmyNow (1994)
61* In ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'', Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly is a reference to the characters Marshall, Will and Holly on ''Series/LandOfTheLost1974'' -- a shout out reinforced by the subsequent appearance of the Sleestak Diner sitting in the shadow of Kirk's Rock.
62* ''Film/JingleAllTheWay'' features the rock during the ShowWithinAShow (''Turboman'') in the film's opening.
63%%* Film/JoeDirt
64%%* Film/KillYourDarlings (2006)
65* ''Film/TheLegendOfTheLoneRanger'' features the Ranger and Tonto riding past it on horseback.
66%%* Film/LittleMissSunshine
67* In ''Film/MetalstormTheDestructionOfJaredSyn'', Jared-Syn's hideout is located near the rocks.
68%%* Film/MomAndDadSaveTheDay
69%%* Film/MyStepmotherIsAnAlien (1988)
70%%* Film/{{Parasite|1982}} (1982)
71* ''Film/{{Paul}}'': Graeme and Clive visit Kirk's Rock and reenact the scene.
72%%* Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes (2001 Remake)
73* ''Film/PlanetOfTheDinosaurs'' is mostly shot around Vasquez Rocks, giving the planet a very desolate and rugged feel.
74%%* he Rapture (1991)
75%%* Film/PrincessOf ars (2009)
76* ''Film/{{Secrets|1933}}''. Kirk's Rock was a popular shooting location long before ''Star Trek''. In this 1933 movie, John and his ranch hand are riding through Vasquez Rocks when they see Houser the cattle rustler passing the other way with John's cattle. The cattle are passing right in front of the pointy rocks when they're seen in close-up.
77%%* Film/ASingleMan
78%%* Film/ShortCircuit
79* ''Film/StarTrek2009'': The landscape of Vulcan is a clear homage, with the distinctive shape of the rock formation repeating many times along the horizon.
80%%* Film/StarTrekGenerations
81%%* Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome
82%%* A Thousand and One Nights (1945)
83%%* Film/VeryBadThings
84* ''Film/WerewolfOfLondon'' is one of the first movies to use this location, in this case as a stand-in for the Himalayas. It appears in the movie's opening shot, decked out with tents and fake Tibetan prayer flags.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Literature]]
88* Mystery writer Creator/MichaelConnelly, who sets all of his works in a [[TheVerse shared universe]] around Los Angeles, has mentioned Vasquez Rocks a couple of times.
89** ''Literature/BloodWork'': The backstory recounts how detective Jaye Winston had investigated the case of a murder victim found at "a large outcropping of sandstone known as Vasquez Rocks." This is how she got to know Terry [=McCaleb=], the protagonist who now needs her help investigating another murder.
90--->The slanted and jagged formation caused by tectonic upheaval was beautiful in the afternoon light. The sun was hitting the front rock faces at a low angle and throwing the crevices into deep darkness. It looked beautiful and dangerous at the same time.
91** ''Literature/TheLincolnLawyer'': Mickey Haller meets members of the Road Saints motorcycle gang at the "jagged formation" that is Vasquez Rocks. He sees some hikers eating sandwiches on the edge of a precipice and thinks that it's a bad place to have lunch.
92** In Connelly novel ''Literature/ResurrectionWalk'', Literature/HarryBosch points out the "jagged formation" of Vazquez Rocks as he drives past it on the highway. He's riding with Shami Arslanian and awkwardly trying to make conversation with the attractive doctor
93* In the ''Literature/InCryptid'' novel ''Spelunking Through Hell'', Alice visits an arid DeathWorld, and notes that the rock formations would fit in perfectly in an episode of ''Star Trek''.
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
97%%* ''Series/TwentyFour''
98%%* Series/TheAdventuresOfChampion
99%%* Series/TheAdventuresOfRinTinTin
100%%* ''Series/{{Airwolf}}''
101%%* Series/AlienHunter
102%%* Series/AlienNation''
103%%* ''Series/{{Alias}}''
104%%* ''Series/AliasSmithAndJones''
105%%* Series/BrokenArrow
106* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': While en route to a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' convention, the guys specifically visit this location due to its use in the show. Their car is stolen while they are posing for pictures in their costumes in front of the rocks.
107%%* ''Series/TheBigValley''
108%%* ''Series/{{Bonanza}}''
109%%* ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury''
110%%* Series/BuffaloBillJr
111%%* ''Series/TheBionicWoman
112%%* Series/{{Branded|1965}}
113%%* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
114* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'': In the episode "Soul Survivor", this represents a prehistoric environment into which Leo and Chris stumble through a time portal.
115%%* Series/CimarronStrip
116* ''Series/{{CSI}}'': It appeared in “The Descent of Man” as the site where a holy man who called himself “The Holy Steven” was killed. It was a rare non-Murder as he was killed by a tortoise shell dropped by a bird.
117%%* Series/DanielBoone
118* Homaged in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E6TheCaretaker The Caretaker]]", which opens with the Doctor and his companion in a NoodleIncident where they've been chained up in the desert to die on an alien planet. A large Vasquez Rocks-like formation is in the background.
119%%* ''Series/TheFallGuy''
120%%* ''Series/{{Fastlane}}''
121%%* ''Series/FearFactor''
122%%* ''Series/{{Friends}}''
123%%* ''Series/TheFugitive''
124%%* ''Series/HaveGunWillTravel''
125%%* Series/HellTown
126%%* Series/TheHighChaparral
127%%* Series/{{Hunter}}
128%%* Series/TheInvaders1967
129%%* Series/JohnnyRingo
130%%* Series/Korg70000BC
131%%* Series/KungFu1972 Pilot Movie
132%%* Series/{{Lassie}}
133%%* ''Series/LasVegas''
134%%* ''Series/LogansRun''
135%%* ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}''
136* In ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' episode "The Seven Wonders of the World Affair," Napoleon survives a plane crash and wanders through the [[CaliforniaDoubling Himalayan desert]] until he passes out on the side of the rock, which is near the bad guys' headquarters.
137%%* ''Series/{{Maverick}}''
138* ''Series/MrShow'': used as the location of their ''Theatre/JesusChristSuperstar'' parody in the episode "The Biggest Failure in Broadway History".
139%%* ''Series/{{Medium}}''
140%%* ''Series/TheMiddleMan''
141%%* ''Series/MissionImpossible''
142%%* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': episode "Mr. Monk and the UFO"
143* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': An episode has members of the team follow a lead in Arizona. In clear view behind them when talking to a local cop, Kirk's Rock.
144* In the first season finale of ''Series/NewGirl'', the guys drive out into the desert to help Nick get over a breakup. The rock formation appears in the background of a few scenes.
145%%* Series/{{NUMB3RS}}
146* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' episode, "The Zanti Misfits", this is where the aliens land.
147* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
148** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': The Command Center/Power Chamber (aka. American Jewish University's "The House of the Book") sits on this rock, as it does through the following two series, [[Series/PowerRangersZeo Zeo]] and [[Series/PowerRangersTurbo Turbo]].
149** ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'': One episode has Red Ranger Leo forced to fight right next to them. It probably isn't a coincidence that his shirt gets ripped to shreds, forcing him to take it off, at the same time.
150%%* ''Series/ThePretender''
151%%* ''Series/{{Prey}}''
152%%* ''Series/TheRangeRider''
153* ''Series/TheRatPatrol'': Part of the second season episode "The Darers Go First Raid" was filmed at Kirk's Rock (the opening scene when a German armored convoy is seen rolling toward a desert base).
154 ** The end of the episode took place at said desert base, which was actually a fortress erected on the Vasquez Rocks park grounds and also used for filming episodes of Star Trek (it was notably "Cestus III" in the episode, "Arena") and the series, "Tales of the Bengal Lancers." The fortress set was torn down by the park service in 1974.
155%%* ''Series/TheRifleman''
156* ''Series/{{Roswell}}'': The wilderness scenes heavily featured Kirk's Rock. The scenes of the town, including the Crashdown Cafe, were shot in Covina, CA. The season 1 finale reveals that the rocks themselves (outside Roswell) are actually the crash site of the alien ship that brought the protagonists to Earth.
157%%* ''Series/SavingGrace''
158* ''Series/{{Sliders}}'': Featured in the episode "Electric Twister Acid Test"
159%%* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond''
160%%* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''
161%%* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''
162%%* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''
163* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
164** The TropeNamer; the famous fight in the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E18Arena Arena]]", takes place here, as mentioned in the description.
165** Also, this is where Lazarus' timeship is located in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor The Alternative Factor]]".
166** And where Kirk fought Finnegan in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E15ShoreLeave Shore Leave]]". The glade scenes were shot at Africa USA Ranch, a former wildlife preserve in nearby Soledad Canyon.
167** This is where Kirk, Spock, [=McCoy=], and Eleen hide out in "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E11FridaysChild Friday's Child]]", and where Leonard James Akaar is born.
168%%* Series/StarTrekVoyager
169* ''Series/StarTrekPicard''. Used for a MythologyGag when Jean-Luc Picard goes to meet Raffi Musiker, who is living in a house built right next to Vasquez Rocks. (The actual Vasquez Rocks. On Earth. There's a title informing us that we are at "Vasquez Rocks.")
170%%* Stories Of The Century
171%%* Street Hawk
172* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'': Appears in a prehistoric setting when the twins travel a bit too far back in time.
173%%* ''Series/{{Voyagers}}''
174* Given that ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' is both science fiction and Western series, there's the inevitable homage shot, seen near the sand-buried church in Escalante. Westworld has been constructed in accordance with its Western theme, right down the Monument Valley landscape of John Ford movies, so this is likely an InUniverse homage as well.
175* ''Series/TheWildWildWest'':
176** In episode, "The Night of the Cadre", West and Gordon defeat the fake Union soldiers at Vasquez Rocks with a knockout gas Gordon devised.
177** The climactic gunfight in "The Night of the Jack O'Diamonds" takes place here also.
178* ''Series/{{Zorro|1957}}'': Probably one of the earliest use in television, and before they were called that. In the episode "The Missing Father", Zorro pursues a mysterious masked figure over the Rocks.
179[[/folder]]
180
181[[folder:Music Videos]]
182%%* About a Girl (Sugababes)
183%%* Be With You (Enrique Iglesias)
184%%* Black or White (Michael Jackson)
185%%* Crawl Back In (Dead By Sunrise)
186%%* Drummer Boy by Debi Nova
187%%* The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades (Timbuk3)
188%%* Heaven Is A Halfpipe (OPM)
189* "[[Music/TheBends High and Dry]]", UK Version (Music/{{Radiohead}}) - The band performs the song on a set in front of the rocks - midway through the song, a sprinkler unleashes heavy rain on the band.
190%%* Mind's Eye (Wolfmother)
191%%* Mobscene (Marilyn Manson)
192%%* Rehab (Rihanna ft. Justin Timberlake)
193* "S Club Party" (Music/SClub7) - The group performs the song in front of the rocks while also taking part in an automobile race against a group of teens from the 1950s.
194%%* Solitary Confinement (Evidence ft. Krondon)
195%%* Sora ni Kakeru Hashi (空にかける橋?) (Masami Okui)
196%%* This Darkened Heart (All That Remains)
197%%* Turnaround (Stealin Horses)
198%%* Work The Angles ( Dilated Peoples)
199* "You Got Lucky" ([[Music/TomPetty Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]]) - The rocks are seen in the background behind the shed they find.
200* "Steal My Girl" by Music/OneDirection has a music video about [[NoFourthWall the filming of a music video]] at Vasquez Rocks, directed by Creator/DannyDevito
201[[/folder]]
202
203%%[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
204%%* ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}''
205%%[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Video Games]]
208* ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'': The game's DLC has the "Cheese Land" level, which resembles [[ShiftingSandLand the rocky deserts of the southwestern United States]] but is actually [[LevelAte made of cheese]]. Some of the formations in the background are loosely modeled on the Vasquez Rocks. This wasn't the case for the original ''VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit'' iteration of Cheese Land, which was far more generic because of graphical limitations of the time.
209%%* VideoGame/Prey2006
210%%* VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Pandora's deserts seem to be endless expanses of similar rock formations.
211* ''VideoGame/{{Obduction}}'': The landscape of Soria is made up entirely of those, colored purple and curiously devoid of almost any signs of civilization. They and the strangely close planet in the sky are one of the first truly alien things the player sees as they exit the "entry canyon" in Hunrath.
212[[/folder]]
213
214[[folder:Web Original]]
215* Parodied in Alasdair Beckett-King's sketch comedy video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb6OckmgLUc Every Sci-Fi Movie In The 50s]], in which a [[StylisticSuck not-especially-convincing]] backdrop showing a Vasquez-like rock formation appears in the background of every single shot. Sometimes it's flipped.
216[[/folder]]
217
218[[folder:Western Animation]]
219%%* WesternAnimation/DanVs (Animated as an allusion to Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries)
220* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': As a direct reference to ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', the crew winds up on a planet which just happens to have an exact recreation of the rocks. Leela and William Shatner end up fighting (and more besides) on them.
221[[/folder]]

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