Channel Islands of California
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The Channel Islands of California, also called the Santa Barbara Islands, are a chain of eight islands located off the coast of Southern California in the United States. The eight islands are split between the jurisdictions of three separate California counties: Santa Barbara County (four), Ventura County (two) and Los Angeles County (two). The archipelago extends for 160 miles (257.5 kilometers) between San Miguel Island in the north and Santa Clemente in the south.
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Northern islands
Southern islands
Description
The Channel Islands are part of one of the richest marine biospheres of the world. 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 Rosae.
Five of the islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara) were made into the Channel Islands National Park in 1980. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary encompasses the waters six nautical miles (11 km) off Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel and Santa Barbara Islands. The United States Navy controls San Nicolas Island and San Clemente Island completely and has installations elsewhere in the chain. Santa Catalina Island is the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement—the resort city of Avalon, California.
Wildlife
Many unique species of plants and animals are endemic to the Channel Islands.
Fauna
- Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis)
- Channel Island Spotted Skunk (Spilogale gracilis amphiala)
- Island Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma insularis)
- Ashy Storm-petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa)
- Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana)
- Channel Island Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps pacificus)
- San Clemente Goat
- San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike
Flora
- Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana)
- Island Oak (Quercus tomentella)
- Island Tree mallow (Lavatera assurgentiflora)
- Island Ceanothus (Ceanothus arboreus)
- Island Bush-Poppy (Dendromecon rigida ssp. harfordii)
- Santa Barbara Island Buckwheat (Eriogonum giganteum var. compactum)
- Island Barberry (Berberis pinnata ssp. insularis)
- San Clemente Island Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus clementinus)
- Santa Cruz Island Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nesioticus)
- Catalina cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii)
- Island Alumroot Heuchera maxima
- Dudleya hassei
Recently extinct
- Giant Deer Mouse (Peromyscus nesodytes), extinct 1870
- San Clemente Bewick's Wren (Thryomane bewickii leucophrys), extinct 1927
- Santa Barbara Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia graminea), extinct 1967
Extinct
- Pygmy mammoth (Mammuthus exilis)
See also
- Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico
- Channel Islands (similarly named UK islands)
External links
- Channel Islands National Park (http://www.nps.gov/chis/)
- Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (http://channelislands.noaa.gov/)
- Homepage of Vladimir Dinets-Channel Islands (http://dinets.travel.ru/chis.htm)
| Channel Islands of California: Anacapa Island - San Clemente Island - San Miguel Island San Nicolas Island - Santa Barbara Island Santa Catalina Island - Santa Cruz Island - Santa Rosa Island |
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