Upper Newport Bay

The Upper Newport Bay is a bay in Newport Beach in the U.S. state of California. It is the further inland location, part of the larger Newport Bay, about which there is a connection to the Pacific Ocean.

The bay is a designated conservation area and therefore a habitat for many animal and plant species. At the northern top end of the channelized San Diego Creek flows into the Upper Newport Bay.

Geography

Geographical location

The road bridge Pacific Coast Highway forms the dividing line between the south Newport Bay and Upper Newport Bay. The bay extends far inland to the city limits of Irvine. The districts of West Santa Ana Heights and Corona del Mar frame the area to the north and east. At the northern top end of the channelized San Diego Creek flows into the Upper Newport Bay, which is surrounded by high cliffs here. Below the rock is a wetland that extends to the shore zones. The site covers approximately four square kilometers and is under protection.

Flora and Fauna

In the Upper Newport Bay, a diverse flora and fauna to develop.

The fauna of the bay is very rich in species, especially from an ornithological point of view. During the time of bird migration raced large flocks of birds in the Upper Newport Bay. The wetlands serve the animals here as a rich source of food. In the winter months to keep up to 56,000 birds in the field on, including the Hudsonweihe (Circus hudsonius ), Warbler ( Wilsonia pusilla ) and Ruby Kinglet (Regulus calendula ). Likewise, Brown Pelicans ( Pelecanus occidentalis) and rare specimens of the California gnat catcher ( Polioptila californica ) are to be found. The land areas are populated, among others, coyotes and raccoons. In drier areas, lizards hold on.

The fauna of the Upper Newport Bay is divided into different habitats. On the banks of salt plants are the most frequently encountered plants. The watery fringes are mainly overgrown with cattails and samphire. In drier altitudes there are willows and poplars, while preferred thrive on the cliffs succulents.

History

The bright cliffs of the Upper Newport Bay were formed some 15 million years ago. The bay was formed from prehistoric course of the Santa Ana River and eroded during the Pleistocene. In the deposits at the base were found remains of mammoths, bison and giant sloths.

The earliest human settlers are detected for about 9,000 years. 2,000 years ago, reached Gabrielino Indians the area, feeding on fish and plants of the bay. Barely 50 years after the arrival of the Spanish missionaries end of the 18th century, all the natives were gone.

Since that time, grazing cattle on the hills of the surrounding landscape, which the Spaniards called Bolsa de Gengara ( bay with high slopes ). The ship reached Vaquero 1870, the bay, which was at that time its present name Newport ( " New Harbor "). James Irvine acquired the land for 37 cents per acre six years earlier. Between the 1930s and 1969, salt was extracted in the wetlands.

As in the 1960s, a water ski facility should be built in the bay, the residents resisted. The state of California introduced then in 1975 an area of ​​four square kilometers as Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve under protection. The surrounding rocks were also reported in 1989 as Upper Newport Bay Nature Reserve as a nature reserve.