Amazing Islands, Channel Islands

By Yuko Takii

Do you know the name of the islands, which we can see from the beach, in the distance? It is the Channel Islands of California, also called Santa Barbara Channel Islands. It is a chain of Eight islands; Anacapa, Santa Catalina, Santa Miguel, San Clemente, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Nicolas, and Santa Barbara. Then, five of them (Anacapa, San Miguel, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and Santa Barbara) were made into Channel Islands National Park in 1980. We can see them closer, but most of us have never been there. They are mysterious islands for us. Thus, I went to one of them, Santa Cruz Island last fall. Let’s see why this place was so great.

Before I talk about my experience, I’d like to introduce Santa Cruz a little bit. It is said that Chumash Indian found the island first. Santa Cruz is the largest island of Channel Islands. The coastline has very steep cliffs and sea caves. The painted cave is known for one of the largest sea caves in the world. The cave measures 1215 feet in length. This size is more than four football fields. In addition, the protection and preservation are divided between The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service. The Nature Conservancy owns and manages the western 76% of the island. The National Park Service owns the eastern 24%.

Now, let’s talk about my experience. It was sunny day in October. We had to take a boat to go there from Venture harbor. We got off Venture. On the way there, we saw many dolphins. We have never seen this many dolphins at once. Usually, we can see a few dolphins at once. We were very lucky. To meet dolphins is one of the funs.

As soon as we arrived at Santa Cruz, a person who works at The Nature Conservancy told us how to stay on the island. We were not allowed to pick any plants. The guidance was a little bit strict, but it’s to save and keep a clean island. On the island, there is a camping spot. Camping is available every day, every year.

Then, we changed into the wetsuit and went kayaking. We were looking forward to doing it. We could see the bottom of the sea because water was very clear. We enjoyed kayaking, but we were not good at kayaking, so the boat turned over many times. Even though we were wearing the wetsuit, water was tremendously cold.

Then, we went hiking next day. On the island, there are several trails, but it’s only within the management of the National Park Service. Some places are not allowed hiking because of the property of The Nature Conservancy. A lot of nature still remained, so it is said, “Santa Cruz has the greatest number of plant and animal species of all the Channel Island.” We could see many parts of the island while we were walking on the trail. Every coastline had cliffs. Some of them were almost perpendicular. The view from the cliff was great, but I felt fear of falling over.

So far, how do you image Santa Cruz Island? It’s marvelous, isn’t it? Whether you are interested in Santa Cruz or not, I recommend you to go there because you came to Santa Barbara to not only study but also ENJOY California’s life. You would have an amazing experience on Santa Cruz Island.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Read more articles in this category
Read more articles by this author – “The Colorful City,” “Store for Bakery Lovers”
Learn more about the author
HOME