Mescalitan Island
Encyclopedia
Mescalitan Island was a mesalike island located about 10 miles west of Santa Barbara
near the outlet of the Goleta Slough
into the Pacific Ocean. The island is where the Chumash Indian village Helo was centered. Early Spanish mission documents note that Juan Crespi, an early visitor, observed the island village to have at least 100 houses with about 600 to 800 total residents.
The first European explorer in the Goleta area, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
, arrived on October 15, 1542. At this time the Goleta Slough was deep and wide enough to permit entry of large ships. A Spanish schooner, or 'goleta', reportedly sank in the lagoon area sometime thereafter. From that point on, the area became known as Goleta. During a sailing trip to Northern California Cabrillo was injured, later dying of his injuries; according to some accounts he was buried on San Miguel Island. However, according to the local canaliños (Chumash) he was buried on Mescalitan Island.
Mescalitan Island was a prominent landmark in the Goleta Slough area. In the 1860s, after years of flooding and winter storms the slough became filled in with sediment. In 1941 the Army Corps of Engineers leveled Mescalitan Island to provide fill for a Navy airport.
The island is currently the location of the Goleta Sanitary Sewage Treatment Plant.
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
near the outlet of the Goleta Slough
Goleta Slough
The Goleta Slough is an area of estuary, tidal creeks, tidal marsh, and wetlands near Goleta, California, USA. It primarily consists of the filled and unfilled remnants of the historic inner Goleta Bay about 8 miles west of Santa Barbara...
into the Pacific Ocean. The island is where the Chumash Indian village Helo was centered. Early Spanish mission documents note that Juan Crespi, an early visitor, observed the island village to have at least 100 houses with about 600 to 800 total residents.
The first European explorer in the Goleta area, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese explorer noted for his exploration of the west coast of North America on behalf of Spain. Cabrillo was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of present day California in the United States...
, arrived on October 15, 1542. At this time the Goleta Slough was deep and wide enough to permit entry of large ships. A Spanish schooner, or 'goleta', reportedly sank in the lagoon area sometime thereafter. From that point on, the area became known as Goleta. During a sailing trip to Northern California Cabrillo was injured, later dying of his injuries; according to some accounts he was buried on San Miguel Island. However, according to the local canaliños (Chumash) he was buried on Mescalitan Island.
Mescalitan Island was a prominent landmark in the Goleta Slough area. In the 1860s, after years of flooding and winter storms the slough became filled in with sediment. In 1941 the Army Corps of Engineers leveled Mescalitan Island to provide fill for a Navy airport.
The island is currently the location of the Goleta Sanitary Sewage Treatment Plant.