Channel Islands National Park is a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a national government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, and protected from most development...
that consists of five of the eight
Channel IslandsThe Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
off the coast of the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, in the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
. Although the islands are close to the shore of densely-populated Southern California, their isolation has left them relatively undeveloped. The islands within the park extend along the Southern California coast from Point Conception near
Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the west coast, between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the sea, and having a Mediterranean climate, it is called California's...
to
San Pedro- Places : Argentina:* San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province* San Pedro Partido* San Pedro Department, Jujuy* San Pedro Department, Misiones Belize:*San Pedro Town, a town on the island of Ambergris Caye Chile:...
, a neighborhood of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
.
Channel Islands National Park is a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a national government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, and protected from most development...
that consists of five of the eight
Channel IslandsThe Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
off the coast of the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, in the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
. Although the islands are close to the shore of densely-populated Southern California, their isolation has left them relatively undeveloped. The islands within the park extend along the Southern California coast from Point Conception near
Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the west coast, between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the sea, and having a Mediterranean climate, it is called California's...
to
San Pedro- Places : Argentina:* San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province* San Pedro Partido* San Pedro Department, Jujuy* San Pedro Department, Misiones Belize:*San Pedro Town, a town on the island of Ambergris Caye Chile:...
, a neighborhood of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
. Park headquarters and the
Robert J. LagomarsinoRobert John "Bob" Lagomarsino is a former Republican congressman from California. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in a special election in 1974, replacing Charles M. Teague, who died in office. Lagomarsino was re-elected every two years, until June 1992, when he was...
Visitor Center are located in the city of
VenturaSan Buenaventura, commonly referred to as Ventura, is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. Ventura has a population of 106,744. Ventura is accessible via U.S. Route 101, State Route 33, and State Route 126....
.
Channel Islands National Park is home to a wide variety of significant natural and cultural resources. It was designated a
U.S. National MonumentA National Monument in the United States is a protected area or a historic site that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress...
on April 26, 1938, and a National Biosphere Reserve in 1976. It was promoted to a National Park on March 5, 1980.
More than 2,000
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of plants and animals can be found within the park. However only three
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
s are endemic to the islands, one of which is the deer mouse (
Peromyscus maniculatus) which is known to carry the sin nombre
hantavirusHantaviruses belong to the Bunyaviridae family of viruses. The Bunyaviridae family is divided into 5 genera: Orthobunyavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, Tospovirus, and Hantavirus. Like all members of this family, hantaviruses have genomes comprised of three negative-sense, single-stranded RNA...
. Spotted Skunk and Channel Islands Fox also are endemic. The Island fence lizard is also endemic to the Channel Islands.Other animals in the park include
Island Scrub JayThe Island Scrub-Jay or Island Jay is one of the species of Aphelocoma native to North America and is endemic to Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California...
, harbor seal,
sea lionSea lions are any of seven species in seven genera of modern pinnipeds including one extinct species . Sea lions are characterized by the presence of external ear pinnae , long front flippers, and the ability to walk on all four flippers on land...
,
island foxThe Island Fox is a small fox that is native to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. It is the second smallest fox species in the United States. There are six subspecies of the fox, each unique to the island it lives on , reflecting its evolutionary history...
,
spotted skunkThe spotted skunks are three species of Skunk in the genus Spilogale.The Eastern Spotted Skunk is smaller and more weasel-like than the striped skunk. Both species are nocturnal and crepuscular. The spotted skunks are faster and more agile than the striped skunks and they have better pelts...
,
island night lizardThe Island Night Lizard is a night lizard native to three of the Channel Islands of California: San Nicolas Island, Santa Barbara Island and San Clemente Island. The San Clemente community is a recognized subspecies, the San Clemente Night Lizard, or Xantusia riversiana reticulata...
,
barn owlThe Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of the two living main lineages groups of owls, the other being...
,
American kestrelThe American Kestrel is a small falcon. This bird was colloquially known in North America as the "Sparrow Hawk". This name is misleading because it implies a connection with the Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, which is unrelated; the latter is an accipiter rather than a falcon...
,
horned larkThe Shore Lark , called the Horned Lark in North America, breeds across much of North America from the high Arctic south to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, northernmost Europe and Asia and in the mountains of southeast Europe. There is also an isolated population on a plateau in Colombia...
and
meadowlarkThe Western Meadowlark is a medium-sized blackbird, very similar in appearance to the Eastern Meadowlark.Adults have yellow underparts, with a black "V" on the breast, and white flanks which are streaked with black. Their upper parts are mostly brown, but also have black streaks...
and California
brown pelicanThe Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard...
. One hundred and forty-five of these species are unique to the islands and found nowhere else in the world. Marine life ranges from microscopic
planktonPlankton consist of any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than their phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
to the endangered
blue whaleThe Blue Whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales . At up to in length and or more in weight, it is the largest animal ever known to have existed....
, the largest animal ever to live on earth. Archeological and cultural resources span a period of more than 10,000 years.
The park consists of , half of which are under the ocean, and include the islands of:
- San Miguel
San Miguel Island is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands and the sixth-largest of the eight at , including offshore islands and rocks. Prince Island, off the northeastern coast, measures in area. The island, at its furthest extent, is long and wide...
- Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa Island is the second largest of the Channel Islands of California at 53,195 acres . Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block 3009, Block Group 3, Census Tract 29.10 of Santa Barbara County, California, the 2000 census showed an official population of 2 persons. It is part of...
- Anacapa
Anacapa Island is a small volcanic island located about off the coast of Ventura, California, in Ventura County.Anacapa is part of the Channel Islands archipelago , and is part of the Channel Islands National Park. It is the smallest of the northern islands. The island is actually composed of...
- Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Island is a small island located about off the southern California coast from San Pedro, near Los Angeles.With a total area of about 640 acres it is the smallest of the eight Channel Islands of California. It is the southern-most island in the Channel Islands National Park...
- Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Island was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States, but is currently part-owned by the National Park service . The island, located off the coast of California, is long and from wide...
76% owned by the Nature Conservancy, 24% by the National Park Service
Visitation
Annual visitation to the park's mainland visitor center is 300,000. Visitation to the islands and waters is low, with about 30,000 visitors traveling to the islands, and another 60,000 who go only into park waters. Although most visitation occurs in the summer, migrating gray whales and spectacular wildflower displays attract visitors in the winter and spring. Autumn is an excellent time to travel to the park, as well as for diving, as the days are usually sunny, with minimal winds and clear ocean water. Camping is a popular activity on Santa Cruz Island, with visitors arriving at Pirate's Cove on the north shore and staying in the valley beyond. A new island visitor center opened at Scorpion Ranch on Santa Cruz Island on April 6th, 2009.
External links