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The
California Channel Islands:
There are eight islands located off the coast of southern
California which comprise California's Channel Islands. These
are divided into two separate groups: the Northern Channel
Islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa Islands),
and the Southern Channel Islands (Santa Catalina, Santa Barbara,
San Nicolas and San Clemente Islands). The four Northern Channel
Islands, plus Santa Barbara Island, fall within the boundaries
of Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary.
The Northern Channel Islands represent emergent portions of
a complex system of submarine canyons and ridges and are believed
to be a seaward extension of the mainlandﾒs Santa Monica
mountain range. Current scientific evidence suggests that
these islands have not been connected to the mainland since
about 1.5 million years ago. However, during the last ice
age it is believed that the northern islands were connected
to each other as one large island which scientists call Santarosae.
Then, about 18,000 years ago, with the end of the ice age
and melting of the great continental ice sheets, rising sea
levels eventually divided Santarosae into the four separate
islands we see today.
Fossils
recovered from the islands of Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and
San Miguel show that they were the home of the prehistoric
Pygmy Mammoth, a population of small animals that developed
on the islands from full sized ancestors, which swam across
the Santa Barbara Channel sometime during the Pleistocene.
These animals stood about four to eight feet (120-240 cm)
high at the shoulder.
Habitat types on the islands include coastal dune, coastal
bluff, grasslands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, island oak
woodlands, mixed hardwood woodlands, conifer stands, riparian
areas and wetland communities. The island flora is eclectic
and includes species such as the endemic Island Ironwoods,
the Torrey pine, and the strange tree sunflower, Coreopsis
gigantica.
The islandsﾒ climate is Mediterranean, characterized
by mild wet winters and warm dry summers. The prevailing northwest
winds drive moisture laden marine air and summer fogs onto
north-facing coastal slopes. Periodic El Nino events, which
bring series of winter storms and much precipitation to the
islands, can be separated by extended periods of drought.
The flora and fauna of the islands have become well adapted
to such climatic fluctuation.
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2002 All information above is from the Santa Barbara Channel
Islands Poster published by Eric Zimmerman and EZ Photography/Solutions.
Reproduction of this information without consent is prohibited.
www.ezphotography.net
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