Channel Islands of California
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The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America.
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County jurisdiction boundaries of the Channel Islands are depicted on this map of California
The eight islands are split among the jurisdictions of three separate California counties: Santa Barbara County (four), Ventura County (two) and Los Angeles County (two). 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. The archipelago extends for 160 miles (257.5 kilometers) between San Miguel Island in the north and San Clemente Island in the south. Together, the islands’ land area totals 221,331 acres, or about 346 square miles. 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 kilometers) off Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel and Santa Barbara Islands. Santa Catalina Island is the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement—the resort city of Avalon, California, and the unincorporated town of Two Harbors.
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Lighthouse at Anacapa Island
The Channel Islands at low elevations are virtually frost-free and constitute one of the few such areas in the continental US. It never snows except rarely on higher tops of mountains. Military useThe United States Navy completely controls San Nicolas Island and San Clemente Island and has installations elsewhere in the chain. During World War II all of Southern California’s Channel Islands were put under complete military control—including the civilian-populated Santa Catalina where tourism was halted and established residents needed permits to travel to and from the mainland.[1]San Miguel Island was used as a bombing range[2] and Santa Barbara Island as an early warning outpost under the presumed threat of a Japanese attack on California.[3] Legislation is now being proposed in the United States House of Representatives that would make Santa Rosa Island a military resort and training facility. Under the proposal the island would keep its National Park status though public access would be limited.[citation needed] WildlifeThe Channel Islands are part of one of the richest marine biospheres of the world. Many unique species of plants and animals are endemic to the Channel Islands, including fauna such as the Island Fox, Channel Islands Spotted Skunk, Island Scrub Jay, Ashy Storm-petrel, Island Night Lizard, Channel Island Slender Salamander, San Clemente Goat, Santa Cruz sheep, San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike and flora including unique subspecies of Torrey Pine and Oak and the Island Tree mallow. Wildlife gallery
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de:Kanalinseln (Kalifornien) es:Archipiélago del Norte et:Channel Islands fr:Channel Islands de Californie he:איי התעלה של קליפורניה it:Channel Islands ja:チャンネル諸島 (カリフォルニア州) pl:Channel Islands (Kalifornia) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
