Gaviota Coast

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Coordinates: 34°28′15″N 120°13′29″W / 34.47083°N 120.22472°W / 34.47083; -120.22472
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Gaviota Coast
ZIP codes
93117, 93436

The Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, California is a rural coastline along the Santa Barbara Channel roughly bounded by Goleta Point on the south and the north boundary of the county on the north. This last undeveloped stretch of Southern California coastline consists of dramatic bluffs, isolated beaches and terraced grasslands.

History

Sites inhabited in the Paleoindian Period (13,000–8,500 B.P.) have been found through archeological deposits at the mouths of rivers and along the seashore where there was an abundance of food. At least fourteen Chumash villages were located along the coastline including Qasil, Tajiguas, and Shishuchi'i'.[2][3]

The Spanish began colonizing Alta California with the Portolá expedition of 1769–1770. Much of the area is within several ranchos including the 1794 Spanish land grant, Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio and the Mexican land grants, Rancho Punta de la Concepcion (1837), Rancho Cañada del Corral (1841) and Rancho Dos Pueblos (1842).

Near the end of the 1920s, an oil boom started at the

automobile age began and the beaches became a popular destination for motorists. After the unit was decommissioned in 1946, the owners sold the property to the state and Refugio State Beach continued as a popular beach getaway.[7] In 1953, the state purchased another private campground and created El Capitán State Beach.[8]

Congress ordered a study in 1999 for a proposed 76-mile-long (122 km) National Seashore from

UC Santa Barbara to Point Sal at the northern boundary of Vandenberg Space Force Base.[9] Although the National Park Service found the area suitable with nationally significant natural and cultural resources,[2] the study found the establishment to not be feasible due to local opposition within the approximately 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) study area and the high cost of acquiring land and operating a new park.[10][11]

Crude oil and

crude oil out of one of the pipelines.[12]

The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary began a public comment process in 2021 after a positive review of the nomination submitted by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council.

marine sanctuary of about 7,600 square miles (20,000 km2) has extensive kelp forests, vast sandy beaches and coastal dunes, and wetlands serving as nursery grounds for numerous commercial fish species and important habitat for many threatened and endangered species.[15][15]

Alisal Fire

The Alisal Fire ignited in the afternoon of October 11, 2021; it burned 16,970 acres (6,868 ha) and destroyed 12 homes.

fire lines.[32]

Geography

Situated on a narrow

mountain lions, black bears, badgers, golden eagles, and the California condor.[34] The mountains parallel the Channel Islands to the south, another east–west trending range which is a geologic extension of the Santa Monica Mountains
.

The coastal waters are considered unique for the biodiversity of ocean life.[35][36] The unusual species found here are the result of the cold water from the north meeting the warm water from the south.[37] The annual migration of about 19,000 Gray whales through the Santa Barbara Channel may come as close as 100 feet (30 m) from the shoreline.[37] The marine environment has extensive kelp forests and wetlands serving as nursery grounds for numerous commercial fish species and important habitat for many threatened and endangered species.[15] The Gaviota Creek watershed is the largest watershed along this coast and is the most important steelhead stream in Southern Santa Barbara County.[38] Refugio Creek is one of the larger coastal streams along the coast and descends through a mosaic of commercial orchards, ranches, and rural residential developments and crosses under Highway 101 before flowing into the Pacific Ocean.[39]

Resource utilization and protection

The narrow coastal terrace is primarily used for recreation and

cattle grazing.[33] The county adopted a coastal land use plan in 1982 that was consistent with their policies and development standards to preserve the natural scenic beauty.[40] Protected areas along US 101 include three public beaches with campgrounds and hiking trails: Gaviota State Park,  El Capitán State Beach, and Refugio State Beach.[41] There are also several private campgrounds.[42] There are several marine protected area off the coast: Point Conception State Marine Reserve, Naples State Marine Conservation Area, and Kashtayit State Marine Conservation Area
.

The lightly populated area has large ranches with much of the land held in agricultural preserves under the

White Abalone Restoration Consortium, which is studying this endangered marine snail and restoring the wild populations. They are also collaborating in developing curriculum to educate the next generation about sustainable aquaculture and conservation.[48]

Hollister Ranch has six beaches but they are difficult for the public to access.[49] Some of the ranches are also luxury estates.[50] El Rancho Tajiguas is a 3,600 acres (1,500 ha) working ranch that was developed with two luxury homes over a period of 40 years under the ownership of Mansour Ojjeh.[51][52] The 1,800 acres (730 ha) Las Varas Ranch was purchased by Charlie Munger and donated to the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2018.[53]

The area was one of the earliest locations in California developed for

offshore platforms. The Hondo and Harmony oil rigs can be easily seen offshore in front of the Channel Islands in the Santa Barbara Channel from the highway or railroad.[54] Local land use agencies have kept oil processing facilities to a minimum while the oil and gas are processed at onshore receiving plants before being transported to distant refineries
.

The Strauss Wind Farm, consisting of twenty-seven windmills atop rolling hills near the ocean, powered up in 2023. The first wind power complex on the California coast is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of Lompoc, the nearly 3,000-acre site (1,200 ha) includes IdentiFlight, a way to identify approaching raptors and temporarily stop the turbines before the raptors enter rotor range, as red-tailed hawks are common here.[55]

The remote coastline is used as a landing for

drug smuggling from Mexico.[56][57]

Transportation

US 101 northbound approaching Gaviota Tunnel through the Santa Ynez Mountains

train trestles crossing the stream beds that cut through the slope.[58] A 2023 study showed the need to improve wildlife corridors by fixing culverts to accommodate larger species such as mule deer and mountain lion.[59] The 21-mile-long (34 km) section of US 101 from the north boundary of Goleta to State Route 1 at Las Cruces is designated by the state as a scenic highway.[60] While the highway turns inland at Gaviota State Park, the coastal bluff section of the rail line is longer at 30 miles (48 km) traversing areas mostly inaccessible to the public.[61][62] A 2.5-mile (4.0 km) section of the California Coastal Trail was built within Gaviota State Park.[63][64] An Interim alignment for a section of the trail from Guadalupe to the state park is under study.[65][66] These routes follow Chumash and Spanish Period trails.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gaviota Beach
  2. ^ a b c Draft Gaviota Coast Feasibility Study & Environmental Assessment study of the National Park Service (PDF). Cultural Resources (Report). 2003. pp. 27–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2004.Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.
  3. ^ Meares, Hadley (August 20, 2015). "The Gap: Gaviota State Park, the Wild West of Southern California". KCET. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  4. ^ Schwartz, Noaki (October 16, 2011). "Underwater rover looking for oil in old sunken ship". Santa Maria Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Farnsworth, Beth (February 23, 2021). "Tuesday marks 79th Anniversary of Japanese sub attack on Ellwood Oil Fields". KEYT News Channel 3-12. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  6. ^ Orozco, Lance (February 23, 2022). "Forgotten history; 80th anniversary of the day Santa Barbara County was shelled by a Japanese sub". KCLU. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
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  65. ^ "New Interactive Story Map Illustrates Guadalupe-to-Gaviota Trail". Santa Barbara County Trails Council. November 1, 2020. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2020 – via Edhat.
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External links

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