California’s Channel Islands

Credit: Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team, Posted on: Monday, 2 June 2003, 06:00 CDT Download full size image

Eight small islands lie off California’s southern coast; on the map they appear situated roughly along a transect line that bypasses Los Angeles and stretches southeastward from Point Conception to San Diego. Collectively known as the Channel Islands, five of these islands comprise Channel Island National Park. Including San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara, the park consists of more than 249,000 acres of land as well as surrounding underwater coral reef and kelp beds. The Channel Islands are home to more than 2,000 species of plants and animals — 145 of these species are found nowhere else in the world.

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