Channel-Islands-Nationalpark

The Channel Islands National Park is a national park, which is located in the Pacific Ocean on the Channel Islands, an archipelago off the coast of southern California. Five of the eight islands belong to the National Park.

The park includes a water area of the Pacific from six nautical miles around the islands. Half of the total area of ​​1009.10 square kilometers is under water.

From plankton about dolphins, California pelicans, cormorants, sea lions, sea gulls to blue whales over 2000 plants and animals inhabit the park. Of these 145 species, such as the lizard Sceloporus occidentalis becki or the lichen Caloplaca obamae, found only on the islands and found nowhere else on earth, in other words, they are endemic.

The Park Service maintains two visitor centers on the mainland in Ventura and Santa Barbara and two little known visitor contact stations to Santa Barbara and Anacapa Iceland Iceland. Access to the islands is by rangers who issue permits to visit the visitor center, regulated.

History

Until the early 20th century Chumash Indians lived on the islands. The archaeological finds date back 10,000 years. On March 5, 1980, the islands were elevated to the status of a national park.

The island gray fox

An example of an endemic species in the Channel Islands, the island gray fox. He lives on six of the eight Channel Islands and is an endemic Fuchsart, derived from the gray fox. Due to the occurring here Inselverzwergung this type is one of the smallest foxes in the world and is slightly larger than a domestic cat. Five of the islands where it is native, belong to the National Park.

The island gray fox is considered endangered and is protected by U.S. federal laws since 2004. To its population decline contributed to a number of factors, all of which have occurred as a result of habitat changes forced by people. This includes pets wild on the islands and the basic food of foxes destroyed, the result of the DDT pollution since the 1960s, declined sharply here local bald eagle and instead settled the golden eagle here, to its range of prey, among other things the island gray fox belonged. As of 2002, bald eagles were reintroduced to the Islands, 2006, she bred again in the National Park.

Islands

• Santa Barbara
• Anacapa
• Santa Cruz
• Santa Rosa
• San Miguel