Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park
The Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park is a nature reserve in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. The park is located in the hills east of Laguna Beach.
Elongated valleys and hiking trails await visitors in the nature reserve opened in 1990. From the mountains of the nearby Pacific Ocean can be seen. Due to the terrain flows the same Aliso Creek.
Geography
Geographical location
The Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park extends into the southern San Joaquin Hills in an area of around 15 square kilometers. The cities of Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point and Aliso Viejo include the area from all sides. At the park also borders the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park to the north and the Laguna Niguel Regional Park in the northeast. From the hilltops glances found on the Pacific Ocean.
The reserve covers the Aliso Canyon, Wood Canyon and parts of Laguna Canyon. Through the park roads and trails wind over a length of 30 miles ( 48 km). The Aliso Creek and Wood Canyon Creek, a tributary, flowing through the grounds.
Geology
The Aliso Canyon was formed by the stream of Aliso Creeks, as the surrounding mountain range rising to its present height before about 1.2 million years ago. The site is located on a four- to eleven -meter-thick layer of sediment that originated in the Holocene.
Flora and Fauna
In Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, a diverse flora and fauna to develop.
The majority of the vegetation in the Aliso Canyon consists of native grasses and shrubs. In the Canyon, there are small groves, which are composed mainly of oaks and sycamores. On the banks of Aliso Creek Riparian forests also grow.
On the resort live up to 137 species of birds. These include egrets, harriers, hawks, gold - Warbler and Yellow-breasted Warbler. The dense shrubbery offers the rare California Gnatcatcher protection. A group of five bald eagles and peregrine falcons have been spotted in several So Canyon. The Aliso Creek originally offered a habitat for rainbow trout. Due to water pollution, dam construction and channelization, the fish population, however, has steadily decreased. Currently living in the waters exclusively carp, which can reach a length of 45 centimeters.
Artifacts and fossils
The Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park houses a variety of old objects that bear witness to its past residents. Many types of prehistoric artifacts were found, including stone tools. The remains of Rancho Niguel, an existing from 1842 to the 1960s farm, are also still visible.
In the northeastern part of the nature reserve the Pecton Reef is located. The exposed rock formation was formed in the Miocene and is the location of thousands of fossils. Fossilized sea animals, reptiles, birds, plankton and algae suggest that the site was formerly covered by water. Due to the findings on Pecton Reef many insights into the early history of Orange County could be won.