Channel Islands of California
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
along the Santa Barbara Channel
Santa Barbara Channel
The Santa Barbara Channel is a portion of the Pacific Ocean which separates the mainland of California from the northern Channel Islands. It is generally south of the city of Santa Barbara, and west of the city of Ventura....
in the United States of America. Five of the islands are part of the Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park
- External links :* Official site: * *...
.
Characteristics
The eight islands are split among the jurisdictions of three separate California counties: Santa Barbara County (four), Ventura County (two) and Los Angeles County (two). The islands are divided into two groups — the Northern Channel Islands and the Southern Channel Islands. The four Northern Islands used to be a single landmass known as Santa RosaeSanta Rosae
Santa Rosae was an ancient landmass off the coast of present-day southern California, near Ventura County and Santa Barbara County, of which the northern Channel Islands of California are remnants....
.
The archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
extends for 160 miles (257.51 kilometers) between San Miguel Island
San Miguel Island
San Miguel Island is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Channel Islands at , including offshore islands and rocks. Prince Island, off...
in the north and San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
in the south. Together, the islands’ land area totals 221331 acres (89,569.6 ha), or about 346 square miles (896.1 km²).
Five of the islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara) were made into the Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park
- External links :* Official site: * *...
in 1980. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a reserve area off the Pacific coast of the United States, near California.Established in 1980, the sanctuary in the Santa Barbara Channel is an area of national significance because of its exceptional natural beauty and resources. It has an area of...
encompasses the waters six nautical miles (11 kilometers) off Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel and Santa Barbara islands.
Santa Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa 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 long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
is the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement—the resort city of Avalon, California
Avalon, California
Avalon, or Avalon Bay, is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island of the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. Besides Avalon, the only other center of population on the island is the small unincorporated town of Two Harbors...
, and the unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
town of Two Harbors
Two Harbors, California
Two Harbors, colloquially known as "The Isthmus", is a small unincorporated island village on Santa Catalina Island, California with a population of 298 . It is the second center of population on the island, besides the city of Avalon. It is mainly a resort village. It has only one restaurant, one...
.
Natural seepage of oil occurs at several places in the Santa Barbara Channel. Tar balls or pieces of tar in small numbers are found in the kelp and on the beaches. Native Americans used naturally occurring tar, bitumen, for a variety of purposes which include roofing, waterproofing, paving and some ceremonial purposes.
The Channel Islands at low elevations are virtually frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
-free and constitute one of the few such areas in the 48 contiguous US states. It snows only rarely, on higher mountain peaks.
The eight Channel Islands of California, off the west coast West Coast of the United States West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in... of North America |
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| Island Island An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm... |
Areami² | Areakm² | PopulationCensus 2000 | County County (United States) In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S... |
Highest peakfeet (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern islands | |||||
| Anacapa Anacapa Island Anacapa Island is a small volcanic island located about off the coast of Port Hueneme, California, in Ventura County. The Island is composed of a series of narrow islets six miles long, running in a mostly east-west orientation, five miles east of Santa Cruz Island... |
1.14 | 2.95 | 3 | Ventura | Summit Peak, 930 (283) |
| San Miguel San Miguel Island San Miguel Island is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Channel Islands at , including offshore islands and rocks. Prince Island, off... |
14.57 | 37.74 | - | Santa Barbara | San Miguel Hill, 831 (253) |
| Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Island 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... |
96.51 | 249.95 | 2 | Santa Barbara | Devils Peak, 2450+ (747+) |
| Santa Rosa Santa Rosa Island, California 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... |
83.12 | 215.27 | 2 | Santa Barbara | Soledad Peak, 1589 (484) |
| Southern islands | |||||
| San Clemente San Clemente Island San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and... |
56.81 | 147.13 | 3001) | Los Angeles | Vista Point, 1965 (599) |
| San Nicolas San Nicolas Island San Nicolas Island is the most remote of California's Channel Islands. It is part of Ventura County. The 14,562 acre island is currently controlled by the United States Navy and is used as a weapons testing and training facility, served by Naval Outlying Field San Nicolas Island... |
22.75 | 58.93 | 2001) | Ventura | unnamed, 907 (276) |
| Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Island Santa Barbara Island is a small island of the Channel Islands archipelago in California. It is located about off the Southern California coast from the Palos Verdes Peninsula, near Los Angeles in Ventura County, California.... |
1.02 | 2.63 | - | Santa Barbara | Signal Hill, 634 (193) |
| Santa Catalina Santa Catalina Island, California Santa 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 long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is... |
74.98 | 194.19 | 3696 | Los Angeles | Mount Orizaba, 2123 (648) |
| Channel Islands | 350.89 | 908.79 | 3703 | Devils Peak, 2450+ (747+) | |
| 1) Navy installations, itinerant Itinerant An itinerant is a person who travels from place to place with no fixed home. The term comes from the late 16th century: from late Latin itinerant , from the verb itinerari, from Latin iter, itiner .... military and civilian population |
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History
Separated from the California mainland throughout recent geological history, the Channel Islands provide the earliest evidence for human seafaring in the Americas. It is also the site of the discovery of the earliest paleontological evidence of humans in North America. The Northern Channel Islands are now known to have been settled by maritime Paleo Indian peoples at least 13,000 years ago. Archaeological sites on the island provide a unique and invaluable record of human interaction with Channel Island marine and terrestrial ecosystems from the late Pleistocene to historic times. Historically, the northern islands were occupied by the Island Chumash, while the southern islands were occupied by the Tongva. The Chumash and Tongva were removed from the islands in the early 19th century, taken to Spanish missions and pueblos on the adjacent mainland. For a century, the Channel Islands were used primarily for ranching and fishing activities, which had significant impacts on island ecosystems, including the local extinction of sea otters, bald eagles, and other species. With most of the Channel Islands now managed by federal agencies or conservation groups, the restoration of the island ecosystems has made significant progress.In 1972, the Brown Berets
Brown Berets
The Brown Berets is a Chicano nationalist activist group of young Mexican Americans that emerged during the Chicano Movement in the late 1960s and remains active to the present day. The group was seen as part of the Third Movement for Liberation. The Brown Berets focus on community organizing...
, a group of Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
activists, seized and claimed the islands for Mexico, citing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...
, a treaty between Mexico and the USA by which Mexico lost more than half of its territory, and arguing that the treaty does not specifically mention the Channel Islands nor the Farallon Islands
Farallon Islands
The Farallon Islands, or Farallones , are a group of islands and sea stacks in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA. They lie outside the Golden Gate and south of Point Reyes, and are visible from the mainland on clear days...
. Though the United States had occupied them since 1852, the group speculated that Mexico could claim the islands and seek their return through litigation before the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
. However, a detailed analysis of its situation puts in doubt the likelihood of Mexico winning the case at the International Court of Justice.
Military use
The United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
completely controls San Nicolas Island and San Clemente Island and has installations elsewhere in the chain. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
all of Southern California’s Channel Islands were put under complete military control—including the civilian-populated Santa Catalina where tourism was halted and established residents needed permits to travel to and from the mainland. San Miguel Island was used as a bombing range and Santa Barbara Island as an early warning outpost under the presumed threat of a Japanese attack on California.
Wildlife
The Channel Islands are part of one of the richest marine biospheres of the world. Many unique species of plants and animals are endemicEndemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the Channel Islands, including fauna such as the Island Fox
Island Fox
The island fox is a small fox that is native to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. There are six subspecies of the fox, each unique to the island it lives on, reflecting its evolutionary history...
, Channel Islands Spotted Skunk
Channel Islands Spotted Skunk
The Channel Islands spotted skunk, Santa Rosa Island spotted skunk, or island spotted skunk is a subspecies of North American skunk about which little is known. It is native to just three islands off the coast of Southern California , and may be extinct on one...
, Island Scrub Jay
Island Scrub Jay
The 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...
, Ashy Storm-petrel
Ashy Storm-petrel
The Ashy Storm Petrel is a small, scarce seabird of the storm-petrel family Hydrobatidae. It breeds colonially on islands off the coasts of California and Mexico, and is one of six species of storm petrel that live and feed in the rich California Current system.-Taxonomy:The Ashy Storm Petrel was...
, Island fence lizard, Island Night Lizard
Island Night Lizard
The 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...
, Channel Island Slender Salamander, San Clemente Goat, Santa Cruz sheep
Santa Cruz sheep
Santa Cruz sheep are an extremely rare breed of domestic sheep that once existed as a feral population on the Santa Cruz Island of the Channel Islands of California. Small and hardy, the sheep were all killed or removed from the island to prevent destruction of natural habitats. Today, they number...
, San Clemente loggerhead shrike, San Clemente sage sparrow and flora including a unique subspecies of Torrey Pine
Torrey Pine
The Torrey Pine, Pinus torreyana, is the rarest pine species in the United States, an endangered species growing only in San Diego County and on one of the Channel Islands, endemic to the coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion in the U.S...
and Oak
Island Oak
Quercus tomentella, the Island Oak, also the Island Live Oak or Channel Islands Oak, is an oak in the section Protobalanus.-Distribution:...
and the Island Tree mallow.
See also
- Guadalupe IslandGuadalupe IslandGuadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...
and the Coronado IslandsCoronado IslandsThe Coronado Islands are a group of four islands off the northwest coast of the Mexican state of Baja California. Battered by the wind and waves, they are largely infertile and uninhabited except for a small military detachment and a few lighthouse keepers...
of Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, Mexico share the California chaparral and woodlandsCalifornia chaparral and woodlandsThe California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of lower northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America...
ecoregion with the Channel Islands - Channel IslandsChannel IslandsThe Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
(similarly named islands in the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, off the coast of France) - Dwarf elephant on Channel Islands
- List of islands of California
External links
- Anacapa Island Site with Photos and History
- Channel Islands National Park
- Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
- Catalina Island Life During WWII
- "Military Wants Santa Rosa Island" LA Times 12/10/05
- "The Channel Islands: Special Places in the Garden's History," Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Newsletter: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 (Part 1 not online)
- A review in the NY Times, Feb 2011, by Barbara Kingsolver, of T. C. Boyle's comic novel about the Channel Islands, "When the Killing's Done." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/books/review/Kingsolver-t.html?ref=review