San Clemente Island or
SCI is the southernmost of the
Channel Islands of CaliforniaThe 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...
. It is owned and operated by the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
, and is a part of
Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 9,862,049 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of...
. Defined by the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
as
Block GroupA census block group is a geographical unit used by the United States Census Bureau which is between the census tract and the census block. It is the smallest geographical unit for which the bureau publishes sample data, i.e data which is only collected from a fraction of all households.Census...
2 of
Census TractA census tract, census area, or census district is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Usually these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist within a county...
5991 of
Los Angeles County, CaliforniaLos Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 9,862,049 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of...
, it is 21
nautical mileThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
s (39 km) long and contains of land. The island is officially
uninhabitedAn uninhabited island is an island that has yet to be populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often used in movies or stories for shipwrecked people...
as of 2000 U.S. Census.
Archeologists have found traces of human occupation on the San Clemente Island dating back 10,000 years, a remarkable figure for an island out to sea, but consistent with results on other Channel Islands.
Later inhabitants left trade materials from the northern islands and from the mainland, including
CosoThe Coso Volcanic Field is located in southeastern California, at the western edge of the Basin and Range geologic province. Initiation of volcanism at Coso preceded the onset of Basin and Range crustal extension there, as expressed by normal faulting. The earlier of the two principal periods of...
obsidianObsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth...
from the California desert.
San Clemente Island or
SCI is the southernmost of the
Channel Islands of CaliforniaThe 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...
. It is owned and operated by the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
, and is a part of
Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 9,862,049 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of...
. Defined by the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
as
Block GroupA census block group is a geographical unit used by the United States Census Bureau which is between the census tract and the census block. It is the smallest geographical unit for which the bureau publishes sample data, i.e data which is only collected from a fraction of all households.Census...
2 of
Census TractA census tract, census area, or census district is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Usually these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist within a county...
5991 of
Los Angeles County, CaliforniaLos Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 9,862,049 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of...
, it is 21
nautical mileThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
s (39 km) long and contains of land. The island is officially
uninhabitedAn uninhabited island is an island that has yet to be populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often used in movies or stories for shipwrecked people...
as of 2000 U.S. Census.
History
Archeologists have found traces of human occupation on the San Clemente Island dating back 10,000 years, a remarkable figure for an island out to sea, but consistent with results on other Channel Islands.
Later inhabitants left trade materials from the northern islands and from the mainland, including
CosoThe Coso Volcanic Field is located in southeastern California, at the western edge of the Basin and Range geologic province. Initiation of volcanism at Coso preceded the onset of Basin and Range crustal extension there, as expressed by normal faulting. The earlier of the two principal periods of...
obsidianObsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth...
from the California desert. It has not been established what tribe the recent inhabitants belonged to,
although the
TongvaThe Tongva are a Native American people who inhabited the area in and around Los Angeles, California, before the arrival of Europeans. Tongva means "people of the earth" in the Tongva language, a language in the Uto-Aztecan family. The Tongva are also sometimes referred to as the Gabrieleño/Tongva...
, who are well attested from
Santa Catalina IslandSanta Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is 22 miles long and eight miles across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles south-southwest of Los Angeles, California...
, are the most likely candidates. The Chumash, who occupied the northern Channel Islands, may have influenced the inhabitants.
The island was named by
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
explorer
Sebastian VizcainoSebastián Vizcaíno was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Philippines, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan.-Early career:...
, who spotted it on November 23, 1602, Saint Clement's feast day. It was used by ranchers, fishermen, and smugglers during the 19th century and into the 20th century.
In the 1920s and 1930s the factory ships
Lansing and
California anchored off San Clemente Island, processing blue and fin whales, among other species, caught by their steam-driven whale catchers.
The city of
San ClementeSan Clemente is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of 2005, the city population was 65,900. Located six miles south of San Juan Capistrano at the southern tip of the county, it is roughly equidistant from San Diego and Los Angeles.-History:Prior to the arrival of the Spanish,...
in
Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
is named after the island.
Navy base
The U.S. Navy acquired the island in 1934. It is the Navy's only remaining ship-to-shore live firing range and is the center of the integrated air/land/sea San Clemente Island Range Complex covering 2,620 nm² (8,990 km
2).
It is an active
sonarSonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels. There are two kinds of sonar: active and passive. Sonar may be used as a means of acoustic location and of measurement of the echo characteristics of "targets" in the water...
base and has a $21 million simulated embassy for
commandoThe term commando, in English, means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means élite light infantry and/or special forces units, specialised in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and effect...
training.
There is also a U.S. Navy
rocketA rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust by the reaction of the rocket to the ejection of a jet of fast moving fluid exhaust from a rocket engine. Chemical rockets create their exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant...
-test facility on San Clemente. It is situated at . Some
PolarisThe Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy. It was designed to be used as part of the Navy's contribution to the United States arsenal of nuclear...
-program test rockets were launched from San Clemente between 1957 and 1960.
The U.S. Navy also uses the island as an auxiliary naval airfield:
Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente IslandNaval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island , also known as Frederick Sherman Field, is a military airport located on San Clemente Island, in Los Angeles County, California, USA....
. The main runway 23/05 is used for carrier training by the Navy. Other branches also use this airfield, including the
United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of seven uniformed services. It is unique among the military branches in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set...
. Pilots that use this airfield find it to be one of the most demanding airbases in the United States; it is known for its high winds and dangerous terrain that surrounds the runway.
The airfield is also home to the
United States Navy SEALsThe United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land Forces, commonly known as the Navy SEALs, are the Special Operations Forces of the United States Navy, employed in direct action and special reconnaissance operations...
training facilities located north of the runways.
Fauna and flora
The San Clemente Island Loggerhead Shrike is an
endangered speciesAn endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Also it could mean that due to deforestation there may be a lack of food and/or water...
that the Navy is taking steps to protect. The San Clemente Island Fox is an
indigenousEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
species.
FeralA feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, can disrupt ecosystems and may, in some cases, contribute to extinction of indigenous...
goats roamed the island for centuries, reaching a population of 11,000 in 1972, when their effect on indigenous species was realized. By 1980 the population had been reduced to 4,000. A plan for shooting remaining goats was blocked in court by the Fund for Animals, so the goats were removed with nets and helicopters. The San Clemente Goat is a recognized breed of domestic goat. The coves around the island are visited by divers attracted by the abundant sea life, including
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...
s,
lobsterClawed lobsters compose a family of large marine crustaceans. Lobsters are economically important as seafood, forming the basis of a global industry that nets US$31.8 billion in trade annually....
s, hydrocoral and
kelp forestKelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth.Kelp forests occur worldwide throughout temperate and polar coastal oceans...
s.
The flora of the island includes some plant species found nowhere else in the world. These endemic species include the wildflowers
San Clemente Island brodiaeaBrodiaea kinkiensis is a species of Brodiaea also with the common name San Clemente Island brodiaea. This flower is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. It has one cylindrical leaf alongside a tall stem which bears an inflorescence of one to several bell-shaped...
,
San Clemente Island woodland starLithophragma maximum is a rare species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name San Clemente Island woodland star. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the eight Channel Islands of California. It is known from only about four kilometers of rocky coastal cliffs on...
, and
San Clemente Island Indian paintbrushCastilleja grisea is a rare species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name San Clemente Island Indian paintbrush.It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. Although the exact abundance of the plant is not currently known, recent surveys have noted fewer...
, and the
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
San Clemente Island bushmallowMalacothamnus clementinus is a rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name San Clemente Island bushmallow. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, where it is known from fewer than ten occurrences in the steep, rocky seaside...
. A unique subspecies of toyon, ssp.
macrocarpa, also grows here, as do two rare subspecies of the
royal larkspurDelphinium variegatum is a species of larkspur known by the common name royal larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it grows in mountains, valley and coast in woodlands and grasslands. On the forest floor of California oak woodlands typical plant associates are Calochortus luteus,...
.
External links