mvh=> set time zone 'UTC'; SET mvh=> select now(); now ------------------------------- 2007-02-13 03:37:35.660652+00 (1 row) mvh=> select timestamp with time zone '2007-01-01' at time zone 'America/Los_Angeles'; timezone --------------------- 2006-12-31 16:00:00 (1 row) mvh=> select timestamp '2007-01-01' at time zone 'America/Los_Angeles'; timezone ------------------------ 2007-01-01 08:00:00+00 (1 row) Where does that extra 8 hours come from?