The Channel Islands are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, and the four Southern Channel Islands are part of the Peninsular Ranges province. Five of the islands are within the Channel Islands National Park, and the waters surrounding these islands make up Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The islands were first colonized as early as 13,000 years ago, the earliest paleontological evidence of humans in North America. They are the easternmost islands in the Pacific Island group.
San Nicolas Island is the most remote of the Channel Islands, off of Southern California, 61 miles from the nearest point on the mainland coast. It is part of Ventura County. The 14,562 acre island is currently controlled by the United States Navy and is used as a weapons testing and training facility, served by Naval Outlying Landing Field San Nicolas Island. The uninhabited island is defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 9, Census Tract 36.04 of Ventura County, California. The Nicoleño Native American tribe inhabited the island until 1835. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the island has since remained officially uninhabited, though the census estimates that at least 200 military and civilian personnel live on the island at any given time. The island has a small airport, though the 10,000 foot runway is the second longest in Ventura County. Additionally, there are several buildings including telemetry reception antennas.
Quercus wislizeni, known by the common name interior live oak, is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in many areas of California in the United States continuing south into northern Baja California in Mexico. It generally occurs in foothills, being most abundant in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, but also widespread in the Pacific Coast Ranges ─ where since 1980 it has been known as a separate species Quercus parvula ─ and the San Gabriel Mountains. It was named for its collector, Friedrich Adolph Wislizenus (1810–1889).
Eriogonum is the scientific name for a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It includes some common wildflowers such as the California buckwheat.
Cupressus arizonica, the Arizona cypress, is a North American species of tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Populations may be scattered rather than in large, dense stands.
The blusher is the common name for several closely related species of the genus Amanita. A. rubescens, found in Europe and eastern North America, and A. novinupta in western North America. Both their scientific and common names are derived from the propensity of their flesh to turn pink on bruising, or cutting.
Eriogonum fasciculatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and eastern Mojave buckwheat.
Octopus rubescens is the most commonly occurring shallow-water octopus on much of the North American West Coast, and a ubiquitous benthic predator in these habitats. Its range extends from the southern Gulf of California at least to the Gulf of Alaska, but may also occur in the western Pacific Ocean. O. rubescens occurs intertidally to a depth of 300 m.
Apodemia mormo langei, the Lange's metalmark butterfly, is an endangered North American butterfly. It is a subspecies of the Mormon metalmark and belongs to the family Riodinidae. The butterfly is endemic to California, where it is known from one strip of riverbank in the San Francisco Bay Area. A 2008 count estimated the total remaining population at 131 individuals. Since 2011, this number has dropped to about 25–30.
Rubus ursinus is a North American species of blackberry or dewberry, known by the common names California blackberry, California dewberry, Douglas berry, Pacific blackberry, Pacific dewberry and trailing blackberry.
Eriogonum longifolium, the longleaf eriogonum or long-leaf wild buckwheat, is a dicot of the family Polygonaceae. In addition to populations of E. longifolium var. longifolium found in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, there are varieties or subspecies that are geographically isolated and at various levels of endangerment. According to the University of Michigan Native American Ethnobotony database, Eriogonum longifolium has been used as a food by the Kiowa and as a medicinal by the Comanche.
Eriogonum arborescens is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Santa Cruz Island buckwheat.
Eriogonum giganteum, with the common name St. Catherine's lace, is a species of wild buckwheat in Southern California.
Eriogonum ovalifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name cushion buckwheat. It is native to western North America from California to Alberta, where it is a member of many plant communities in varied habitats.
Isocoma menziesii is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family, known by the common name Menzies' goldenbush.
Eriogonum hoffmannii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Hoffmann's buckwheat. It is endemic to Inyo County, California, where it is found only in the mountains around Death Valley; most of the known populations of the plant are located in Death Valley National Park. The plant grows in the desert scrub on the slopes of the Panamint, Black, and Funeral Mountains.
Eriogonum kennedyi is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Kennedy's buckwheat.
Eriogonum douglasii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Douglas' buckwheat. It is native to the western United States, including the Pacific Northwest and part of the Great Basin.
Eriogonum zionis, common name Zion wild buckwheat or Point Sublime wild buckwheat, is a plant species native to the southwestern United States, the states of Utah and Arizona. It grows on sandy or gravelly soil at elevations of 1300–2300 m.
The wildlife of the Channel Islands of California is wide and diverse, including many endemic species. While the land wildlife is slightly limited, there being only one large, naturally predatory, and native mammal, the small island fox, marine life can include anything from kelp forests to great white sharks.
