1.
Constructed wetland
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A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland created for the purpose of treating anthropogenic discharge such as municipal or industrial wastewater, or stormwater runoff. It may also be created for land reclamation after mining, refineries, constructed wetlands are engineered systems that use natural functions of vegetation, soil, and organisms to treat different water streams. Depending on the type of wastewater that has to be treated the system has to be adjusted accordingly which means that pre- or post-treatments might be necessary. Constructed wetlands can be designed to emulate the features of natural wetlands, some constructed wetlands may also serve as a habitat for native and migratory wildlife, although that is usually not their main purpose. The two main types of constructed wetlands are subsurface flow and surface flow wetlands, the planted vegetation plays a role in contaminant removal but the filter bed, consisting usually of a combination of sand and gravel, has an equally important role to play. Many terms are used to denote constructed wetlands, such as reed beds, soil infiltration beds, constructed treatment wetlands, treatment wetlands, beside engineered wetlands, the terms of man-made or artificial wetlands are often found as well. A biofilter has some similarities with a wetland, but is usually without plants. However, the term of constructed wetlands can also be used to describe restored and recultivated land that was destroyed in the past through draining and converting into farmland, ponds for wastewater treatment or water purification are not considered as constructed wetlands. They are referred to as ponds or treatment ponds, respectively. A constructed wetland is a sequence of water bodies designed to filter and treat waterborne pollutants found in sewage. Constructed wetlands are used for treatment or for greywater treatment. They can be used after a tank for primary treatment. Some CW designs however do not use upfront primary treatment, vegetation in a wetland provides a substrate upon which microorganisms can grow as they break down organic materials. This community of microorganisms is known as the periphyton, the periphyton and natural chemical processes are responsible for approximately 90 percent of pollutant removal and waste breakdown. The plants remove about seven to ten percent of pollutants, different species of aquatic plants have different rates of heavy metal uptake, a consideration for plant selection in a constructed wetland used for water treatment. Constructed wetlands are of two types, subsurface flow and surface flow wetlands. Many regulatory agencies list treatment wetlands as one of their recommended best management practices for controlling urban runoff, in most cases, the bottom is lined with either a polymer geomembrane, concrete or clay in order to protect the water table and surrounding grounds. The substrate can be either gravel—generally limestone or pumice/volcanic rock, depending on local availability, subsurface flow wetlands can be further classified as horizontal flow and vertical flow constructed wetlands
2.
Canyon
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A canyon or gorge is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from the erosive activity of a river over geologic timescales. A canyon may also refer to a rift between two peaks, such as those in ranges including the Rocky Mountains, the Alps. Usually a river or stream and erosion carve out such splits between mountains, examples of mountain-type canyons are Provo Canyon in Utah or Yosemite National Park in Californias Sierra Nevada. Canyons within mountains, or gorges that have an opening on one side are called box canyons. Slot canyons are very narrow canyons, often with smooth walls, steep-sided valleys in the seabed of the continental slope underwater are referred to as submarine canyons. Unlike canyons on land, submarine canyons are thought to be formed by turbidity currents, the word canyon is Spanish in origin, with the same meaning. The word canyon is used in North America while the words gorge and ravine are used in Europe and Oceania, though gorge. In the United States, place names generally use canyon in the southwest and gorge in the northeast, in Canada, a gorge is usually narrow while a ravine is more open and often wooded. The military-derived word defile is occasionally used in the United Kingdom, most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau or table-land level. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion, Canyons are much more common in arid than in wet areas because physical weathering has a more localized effect in arid zones. The wind and water from the combine to erode and cut away less resistant materials such as shales. The freezing and expansion of water also serves to help form canyons, water seeps into cracks between the rocks and freezes, pushing the rocks apart and eventually causing large chunks to break off the canyon walls, in a process known as frost wedging. Canyon walls are formed of resistant sandstones or granite. Sometimes large rivers run through canyons as the result of geological uplift. These are called entrenched rivers, because they are unable to alter their course. In the United States, the Colorado River in the Southwest, Canyons often form in areas of limestone rock. As limestone is soluble to an extent, cave systems form in the rock. When these collapse, a canyon is left, as in the Mendip Hills in Somerset and Yorkshire Dales in Yorkshire, England
3.
Newbury Park, California
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Newbury Park is a town located mostly within the western Thousand Oaks city limits in Ventura County, California, United States. The unincorporated county island of Casa Conejo is part of Newbury Park, lying within the Conejo Valley in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Newbury Park abuts the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The community is located approximately 35 miles from Downtown Los Angeles and is less than 7 mi from the Los Angeles County border in Westlake Village. The closest coastal city is Malibu,22 mi from Newbury Park, the ZIP code is 91320, and the community is inside area code 805. About 28,000 of Thousand Oaks 110,000 residents reside in Newbury Park, Newbury Park, along with Thousand Oaks proper, have numerous times ranked among the safest and also wealthiest communities in the United States. Money Magazine has ranked Newbury Park as one of the most affluent cities in the United States and it has the 11th highest per-capita income and the fourth-highest median household income in the country. As of 2013, the household income in Newbury Park is $107,302, compared to $60,190 for California as a whole. Newbury Park is named after Egbert Starr Newbury, who was the founder of Newbury Park, Egbert Starr Newbury called his ranch here for “Newbury Park”, which ultimately became the name for the entire town. Egbert Starr Newbury and his family owned thousands of acres in the Conejo Valley and he moved from Michigan to Southern California of health reasons in 1871, opened Conejo Valley’s first post office in 1875, but left California only two years later. The first written material on the Conejo Valley comes from a Chumash folklore told to anthropologist John P. Harrington around 1900 from local Chumash Indians, mammoth fossils have been unearthed in Newbury Park in 1961 and later in 1971, which is at display at the Stagecoach Inn Museum. Newbury Park is believed to first be inhabited by Chumash beginning 6,000,7,000, Newbury Park was home to three Chumash villages, Satwiwa by the southern edge of town, as well as two villages that were located by todays Ventu Park Road. These villages were settled 2,000 years ago, and had a population of 100–200 inhabitants in each village, in addition to those three, a large Chumash village was located just north of Arroyo Conejo Open Space by Wildwood Regional Park. Other nearby villages include Lalimanux at the base of the Conejo Grade by westernmost Newbury Park, Newbury Park also contains many ancient burial sites, most near the Santa Monica Mountains in the southern portion of the community. Many artifacts have been discovered in the area, most notably by Rancho Sierra Vista in southern Newbury Park, Satwiwa, which is Chumash for the bluffs, was the name of a nearby village by the Big Sycamore Canyon. The canyon was a trading route for the Chumash- and Tongva people. These are known as CA-Ven-65, CA-Ven-261, and CA-Ven-260 near the Fieldhouse in Newbury Park, at CA-Ven-261 is an ancient Chumash burial site as suggested by a village of long duration. The Ventureño Chumash first settled in the west end of the Santa Monica Mountains because of its abundant food supply. They had plentiful of roots, berries, seeds, bulbs, acorns, walnuts, shellfish and fish were transported from the nearby Mugu Lagoon across the Santa Monicas
4.
Thousand Oaks, California
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Thousand Oaks is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. It was named after the oak trees that grow in the area. The city forms the core of the Conejo Valley, which includes Thousand Oaks proper, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills. The Los Angeles County–Ventura County line crosses at the eastern border with Westlake Village. The population was estimated to be 129,339 in 2015, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park were part of a master-planned city, created by the Janss Investment Company in the mid-1950s. It included about 1,000 custom home lots,2,000 single-family residences, a shopping center. The median home price is around $669,500, Thousand Oaks was ranked the fourth-safest among cities with a population greater than 100,000 in the United States by the FBIs 2013 Uniform Crime Reports. The area was occupied by the Chumash people, and 2000-year-old cave drawings may still be seen at the Chumash Indian Museum,3290 Lang Ranch Parkway. The Chumash village was known as Sapwi, which means House of the Deer, the areas recorded history dates to 1542 when Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed at Point Mugu and claimed the land for Spain. It eventually became part of the 48,671 acres Rancho El Conejo land grant by the Spanish government and it served as grazing land for vaqueros for the next fifty years. In the late 19th century it was on the route between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. The Stagecoach Inn was built in 1876, and is now a California Historical Landmark, the Janss family, developers of Southern California subdivisions, purchased 10,000 acres in the early 20th century. They eventually created plans for a community and the name remains prominently featured in the city. Jungleland USA was one of Southern Californias first theme parks, wild animal shows entertained thousands in the 1940s and 1950s. Many television and movie productions used the parks trained animals and were filmed there, including Birth of a Nation, Tarzan, jungleland closed in May 1968, in part due to competition from other amusement parks such as Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland. The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center today stands on the site of the park, the City of Thousand Oaks was incorporated on October 7,1964, the first incorporated city in the Conejo Valley. Some sources mistakenly state that Thousand Oaks was incorporated on September 29,1964 and it is known for being a planned community, as the city is one of few that have actually stayed with the master plan
5.
Ventura County, California
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Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 823,318, Ventura County comprises the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is also considered the southernmost county along the California Central Coast, Ventura County was historically inhabited by the Chumash people, who also settled much of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, with their presence dating back 10, 000-12,000 years. The Chumash were hunter-gatherers, fishermen, and also traders with the Mojave, Yokuts, the Chumash are also known for their rock paintings and for their great basketry. Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks has several reconstructed Chumash houses and there are several Chumash pictographs in the county, the plank canoe, called a tomol in Chumash, was important to their way of life. Canoe launching points on the mainland for trade with the Chumash of the Channel Islands were located at the mouth of the Ventura River, Mugu Lagoon and this has led to speculations among archeologists of whether the Chumash could have had a pre-historic contact with Polynesians. According to diachronic linguistics, certain words such as tomolo’o could be related to Polynesian languages, the dialect of the Chumash language that was spoken in Ventura County was Ventureño. Others include Point Mugu from the word Muwu, Saticoy from the word Sa’aqtiko’y, in October 1542, the expedition led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo anchored in an inlet near Point Mugu, its members were the first Europeans to arrive in the area that would become Ventura County. Active occupation of California by Spain began in 1769, gaspar de Portolà led a military expedition by land from San Diego to Monterey, passing through Ventura County in August of that year. A priest with the expedition, Father Juan Crespí, kept a journal of the trip and noted that the area was ideal for a mission to be established, also on this expedition was Father Junípero Serra, who later founded a mission on this site. On March 31,1782, the Mission San Buenaventura was founded by Father Serra and it is named after Saint Bonaventure, one of the early intellectual founders of the Franciscan Order. The town that grew up around the mission, was originally and remains named San Buenaventura, in the 1790s, the Spanish Governor of California began granting land concessions to Spanish Californians who were often retiring soldiers. These concessions were known as ranchos and consisted of thousands of acres of land that were used primarily as ranch land for livestock, in Ventura County, Rancho Simi was granted in 1795 and Rancho El Conejo in 1802. Fernando Tico was granted Ojai and part of Ventura by Gov. Alvarado, California land that had been vested in the King of Spain was now owned by the nation of Mexico. By the 1830s, Mission San Buenaventura was in a decline with fewer neophytes joining the mission, the number of cattle owned by the mission dropped from first to fifteenth ranking in the California Missions. The missions were secularized by the Mexican government in 1834, the Mexican governors began granting land rights to Mexican Californians, often retiring soldiers. By 1846, there were 19 rancho grants in Ventura County, in 1836, Mission San Buenaventura was transferred from the Church to a secular administrator. The natives who had been working at the mission left to work on the ranchos
6.
Southern California
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Southern California, often abbreviated as SoCal, is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises Californias 10 southernmost counties. The region is described as eight counties, based on demographics and economic ties, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara. The more extensive 10-county definition, which includes Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, is used and is based on historical political divisions. Southern California is an economic center for the state of California. The 8-county and 10-county definitions are not used for the greater Southern California Megaregion, the megaregions area is more expansive, extending east into Las Vegas, Nevada and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana.5 million people. With over 22 million people, Southern California contains roughly 60 percent of Californias population, located east of Southern California is the Colorado Desert and the Colorado River at the border with Arizona. The Mojave Desert is located at the border with the state of Nevada while towards the south is the Mexico–United States border, within Southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the countrys largest metropolitan areas. With a population of 3,792,621, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. South of Los Angeles and with a population of 1,307,402 is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation. The counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are the five most populous in the state, the motion picture, television, and music industry are centered in the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Hollywood, a district within Los Angeles, gives its name to the American motion picture industry, headquartered in Southern California are The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers. Universal, Warner Brothers, and Sony also run major record companies, Southern California is also home to a large homegrown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Vans, Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear, RVCA, some of the worlds biggest action sports events, including the X Games, Boost Mobile Pro, and the U. S. Open of Surfing, are all held in Southern California. Southern California is also important to the world of yachting, the annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or Transpac, from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is one of yachtings premier events. The San Diego Yacht Club held the Americas Cup, the most prestigious prize in yachting, from 1988 to 1995, Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net. Many locals and tourists frequent the Southern California coast for its popular beaches, the desert city of Palm Springs is popular for its resort feel and nearby open spaces. Southern California is not a geographic designation and definitions of what constitutes Southern California vary. Geographically, Californias North-South midway point lies at exactly 37°958.23 latitude, around 11 miles south of San Jose, however, when the state is divided into two areas, the term Southern California usually refers to the 10 southernmost counties of the state
7.
Wildwood Regional Park
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Wildwood Regional Park is a suburban regional park in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley, in Ventura County, California. It is located in western Thousand Oaks, northern Newbury Park, the park consists of 1,765 acres, and is connected to adjacent open-space areas comprising an additional 1,400 acres. The park is operated by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, Wildwood Regional Park was home to the Chumash people for more than 8,000 years − before it became a part of the Rancho El Conejo Spanish land grant in 1803, during the colonial Alta California era. Sheep and cattle grazed the area for much of the 19th- and it was also used as a movie ranch for the Hollywood film industry from the 1930s through the 1960s. Various wild west movies were filmed here, such as Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, Spartacus, Gunsight Ridge, the park was created in 1967 when the Conejo Recreation and Park District bought Mount Clef Ridge and Wildwood Canyon from the Janss Investment Company land developers. The park offers outdoor activities, including, hiking, mountain biking, jogging, horseback-riding, picnicking, educational tours, interpretive programs, camping. Some of the attractions in the park includes the 70 feet cascade of Paradise Falls, as well as the Arroyo Conejo Creek and creek-bed, the large wooden teepee. The Lizard Rock formation is a volcanic outcropping in the Mountclef Ridge. At Lizard Rock, Teepee Overlook, and similar higher elevation areas, there are panoramic views of the Conejo Valley. The park is home to fourteen nature trails covering over 27 miles, Among the most popular hiking trails are the 2.3 mile Santa Rosa Trail,6.5 mile Santa Rosa Loop, and the 7 mile Hill Canyon Trail. For the ain park entrance, from the Lynn Road exit on the 101 Freeway, then turn left and continue for 0.9 miles to the end of the street at Big Sky Drive. Wildwood Regional Park is recognized for its terrain, wildlife. The climate is Mediterranean, but oftentimes cooler than areas in the Conejo Valley due to cool coastal breeze easily winding its way up through canyons. The parks flora is extensive and more than 250 plant species have been recorded within the park, habitats include, southern oak woodlands, riparian woodland, chaparral and coastal sage scrub, California grassland, and freshwater marsh. The park is home to a variety of wildlife and is a wildlife corridor connecting the Santa Monica Mountains to the Santa Susana Mountains. Its fauna includes 60 species of birds,37 species of mammals and it is home to various mammals, such as the plentiful mule deer, coyote, and bobcat, and occasionally for mountain lions and ring-tailed cats. There are a variety of songbirds, wood-peckers, and raptors such as hawks, Coopers hawks, owls, ravens. Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Parks in Ventura County, California Simi Hills topics COSF. org—Conejo Open Space Foundation, official Wildwood Regional Park website
8.
Camarillo, California
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Camarillo is a city in Ventura County in the U. S. state of California. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at the 2000 census, the Ventura Freeway is the citys primary thoroughfare. Camarillo is named for Adolfo and Juan Camarillo, two of the few Californios to preserve the citys heritage after the arrival of Anglo settlers, the railroad coast route came through in 1898 and built a station here. Adolfo Camarillo eventually employed 700 workers growing mainly lima beans, walnuts and citrus were also grown on the ranch. Adolfo bred Camarillo White Horses in the 1920s through the 1960s and was known for riding them, dressed in colorful Spanish attire. The city grew slowly prior to World War II but the war saw the construction of the Oxnard Army Air Field to the west of town. The community also grew as the new base along with nearby Naval Air Station Point Mugu, the grounds of Camarillo State Hospital, which opened in 1936 south of town, are now the campus of California State University, Channel Islands. As with most cities in Ventura County, it is noted for its resistance to new development, in 2014, the council voted against an 895-acre project that would have extended development on agricultural lands east towards the Conejo Grade. Camarillo is located at 34°14′N 119°2′W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.5 square miles. 0.015 square miles of the area is water and this region experiences warm and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Camarillo has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, the 2010 United States Census reported that Camarillo had a population of 65,201. The population density was 3,336.3 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Camarillo was 48,947 White,1,216 African American,397 Native American,6,633 Asian,116 Pacific Islander,4,774 from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 14,958 persons. The Census reported that 64,705 people lived in households,155 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 1,257 non-traditional couples or partnerships. 5,986 households were made up of individuals and 3,231 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.64. There were 17,029 families, the family size was 3.14. The median age was 40.8 years, for every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males
9.
Estuary
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An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a zone between river environments and maritime environments. They are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflows of sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when the sea began to rise about 10. Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns, the banks of many estuaries are amongst the most heavily populated areas of the world, with about 60% of the worlds population living along estuaries and the coast. The word estuary is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea, there have been many definitions proposed to describe an estuary. However, this definition excludes a number of water bodies such as coastal lagoons. This broad definition also includes fjords, lagoons, river mouths, an estuary is a dynamic ecosystem having a connection to the open sea through which the sea water enters with the rhythm of the tides. The sea water entering the estuary is diluted by the water flowing from rivers. The pattern of dilution varies between different estuaries and depends on the volume of water, the tidal range. Drowned river valleys are known as coastal plain estuaries. In places where the sea level is rising relative to the land, sea water progressively penetrates into river valleys and this is the most common type of estuary in temperate climates. Well-studied estuaries include the Severn Estuary in the United Kingdom and the Ems Dollard along the Dutch-German border, the width-to-depth ratio of these estuaries is typically large, appearing wedge-shaped in the inner part and broadening and deepening seaward. Water depths rarely exceed 30 m, examples of this type of estuary in the U. S. are the Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay along the Mid-Atlantic coast, and Galveston Bay and Tampa Bay along the Gulf Coast. They are relatively common in tropical and subtropical locations and these estuaries are semi-isolated from ocean waters by barrier beaches. Formation of barrier beaches partially encloses the estuary, with only narrow inlets allowing contact with the ocean waters, bar-built estuaries typically develop on gently sloping plains located along tectonically stable edges of continents and marginal sea coasts. They are extensive along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U. S. in areas with active coastal deposition of sediments, barrier beaches form in shallow water and are generally parallel to the shoreline, resulting in long, narrow estuaries
10.
Quercus agrifolia
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Quercus agrifolia, the California live oak, or coast live oak, is an evergreen oak, native to the California Floristic Province. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California and it is classified in the red oak section. This species is sympatric with canyon live oak, and the two may be hard to distinguish because their spinose leaves are superficially similar. Coast live oak typically has a trunk and reaches a mature height of 10–25 meters. Some specimens may attain an age exceeding 250 years, with diameters up to three or four meters, such as those on the Filoli estate in San Mateo County. The trunk, particularly for individuals, may be highly contorted, massive. The crown is rounded and dense, especially when aged 20 to 70 years, in later life the trunk and branches are more well defined. The leaves are green, oval, often convex in shape, 2–7 cm long and 1–4 cm broad. The outer layers of leaves are designed for maximum solar absorption and these outer leaves are deemed to be small in size to more efficiently re-radiate the heat gained from solar capture. Shaded leaves are broader and thinner, having only a single layer of photosynthetic cells. The convex leaf shape may be useful for interior leaves which depend on capturing reflected light scattered in random directions from the outer canopy. The flowers are produced in spring, the male flowers are pendulous catkins 5–10 cm long. The fruit is a reddish brown acorn 2–3.5 cm long and 1–1.5 cm broad, with the basal quarter enclosed in a cupule, unusually for a red oak. There are two varieties of Quercus agrifolia, Quercus agrifolia var. agrifolia, throughout the range of the species. Leaves that are glabrous to slightly hairy on the abaxial side, hybrids with Q. kelloggii, Q. parvula var. shevei, and Q. wislizenii are known. Leaves that are tomentose abaxially, with densely interwoven hairs and it prefers granitic soils, hybrids with Q. kelloggii known. Several hybrids between coast live oak and other red oak species have been documented, hybrids with interior live oak are known in many areas in northern California. Coast live oak also hybridizes with Shreve oak, all these oak species show evidence of introgression with one another
11.
Coastal sage scrub
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It is within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. Plant community Coastal sage scrub is characterized by low-growing aromatic, flora Characteristic shrubs and subshrubs include, California sagebrush, black sage, white sage, California buckwheat, coast brittle-bush, golden yarrow. Larger shrubs include, toyon and lemonade berry, herbaceous plants, grasses, and in some locales, cacti and succulents, are also part of the flora. The coastal sage plant community is divided into two geographical subtypes — northern coastal scrub and southern coastal scrub. Northern coastal scrub occurs along the Pacific Coast from the northern San Francisco Bay Area northwards to southern Oregon and it frequently forms a landscape mosaic with the California coastal prairie plant community. The predominant plants are low evergreen shrubs and herbs, Characteristic shrubs include coyote brush, yerba santa, coast silk-tassel, salal, and yellow bush lupine. Herbaceous species include western blue-eyed grass, Douglas iris, and grasses, Southern coastal scrub is mostly found along the maritime Central Coast region, and the terraces and mountains with coastal climate influence in Southern California. The plants of this community prefer the mild maritime climates found along Southern Californias coastline, world Wildlife Fund estimates that only 15 percent of the coastal sage scrublands remain undeveloped. Bernard Field Station at the Claremont Colleges, in San Diego County, the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base protects larger areas, and the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has vernal pools and the endemic mint Pogogyne abramsii. One of the largest remaining areas of coastal sage scrub is found in the Temescal Mountains of Riverside County. A number of rare and endangered species occur in coastal scrub habitats. For example, the California gnatcatcher is a bird species endemic to the coastal sage scrublands. Other endemic fauna includes the El Segundo blue butterfly in the LAX dunes, the endangered Torrey pine is the dominant tree at Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, one of only two known stands of this pine species. Terrace California coastal prairie California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion Native grasses of California Index, California chaparral and woodlands In, Mayer KE, a Guide to Wildlife Habitats of California. Sacramento, CA, California Department of Fish and Game, Coastal Scrub, de Becker, berkeley, CA, University of California Press. California coastal sage scrub and chaparral, Claremont Colleges, Robert J. Bernard Field Station website — Lists and photographs of organisms found in Coastal sage scrub. Las Pilitas horticulture database, California coastal sage plant community — text. Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, Native Plant Guides — Southern California species
12.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
