Channel Islands National Park is a US national park consisting of five Pacific islands off the coast of Southern California. It covers 249,561 acres and is home to unique animal species. Visitors can camp, dive, and explore historic attractions. The Chumash tribe first inhabited the islands 12,000 years ago, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to discover them in 1542. Fur traders and ranchers settled on the islands in the 18th and 19th centuries, leading to the near-extinction of many species.
Channel Islands National Park is a United States national park off the coast of Southern California in the Pacific islands known as the Channel Islands. Although there are eight such islands, only five of them are included in the Channel Islands National Park. These are Santa Cruz Island, San Miguel Island, Anacapa Island, Santa Barbara Island and Santa Rosa Island. Together, these islands consist of 249,561 acres (1,009.9 square kilometers). They are home to around 145 unique animal species and have been inhabited or used by humans for around 12,000 years.
Visitors to the Channel Islands National Park can enjoy camping and diving, as well as exploring the park’s historic attractions. You must reach the park by boat or plane.
Some of the animal species found in the Channel Islands National Park include the northern elephant seal, the island fox, and the California brown pelican. The island nocturnal lizard is believed to be the only reptile species native to this island. Sea lions, seals and blue whales inhabit the waters surrounding Channel Island National Park.
In 1994, the skeleton of a pygmy mammoth, or Mammuthus exilis, an animal that lived about 13,000 years ago, was discovered in the Channel Islands National Park. Scientists believe these animals lived only in the Channel Islands, having evolved from full-sized mammoths that passed through the islands some 20,000 years ago when sea levels were low.
The native peoples of the Chumash tribe are believed to have populated the Channel Islands around 12,000 years ago. The first inhabitants crossed the mainland back and forth in canoes called “tomol”. These boats, typically constructed of redwood planks and sealed with a tar made from native pine sap, enabled the Chumash to fish, travel around and between islands, and conduct business with mainland communities. Today, members of the Chumash tribe continue to make the traditional journey to the mainland periodically, in honor of their ancestors and heritage.
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to discover the Channel Islands in 1542. In the 18th and 19th centuries, fur traders from America, Russia and Great Britain hunted seals, sea lions and otters on these islands, leading almost to the extinction of many species. Towards the end of the 19th century, ranchers began to settle on some of the islands, and military fortifications were erected in some places.
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