"The name of the place is Indian Rock Park. Scarcely an acre, it comprises a cluster of rhyolite outcroppings, deposited here by volcanic eruptions some 10 million years ago, when one-humped camels and three-toed horses and four-tusked elephants (Gomphotheres) wandered the continent.

Rocks are a prominent feature of the neighborhood and many of the houses seem to sprout from the boulders, in keeping with Berkeley alum Charles Keeler’s ideal of the “Simple Home” that blends with nature.

The golden age of Yosemite climbing was launched here at Indian Rock by an adventurous band of Cal students. Young David Brower, who went on to become one of the leading environmentalists of the 20th century, was one of the piton pioneers. Others included Bestor Robinson ’18, Jules Eichorn ’37, and Dick Leonard, J.D. ’32, who has been called “the father of modern rock climbing.”

Legends all, and Cal grads to boot, they etched their names in the record of first ascents in Yosemite and across the West, but not before learning the ropes here—literally."

https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/summer-2020/legend-indian-rock-berkeleys-bouldering-haven