Año Nuevo Island
Encyclopedia
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, between San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
. It is an important breeding site for Northern Elephant Seal
Northern Elephant Seal
The northern elephant seal is one of two species of elephant seal . It is a member of the family Phocidae . Elephant seals derive their name from their great size and from the male's large proboscis, which is used in making extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating...
s and the endangered Steller's Sea Lion
Steller's Sea Lion
The Steller sea lion also known as the northern sea lion, is a threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus Eumetopias and the largest of the eared seals . Among pinnipeds, it is inferior in size only to the walrus and the two elephant seals...
, as well as several species of seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, including Rhinoceros Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
The Rhinoceros Auklet is a seabird and a close relative of the puffins. It is the only living species of the genus Cerorhinca. Given its close relationship with the puffins, the common name Rhinoceros Puffin has been proposed for the species.It ranges widely across the North Pacific, feeding on...
s, Brandt's Cormorant
Brandt's Cormorant
The Brandt's Cormorant is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges, in the summer, from Alaska to the Gulf of California, but the population north of Vancouver Island migrates south during the winter...
s and Western Gull
Western Gull
The Western Gull, Larus occidentalis, is a large white-headed gull that lives on the western coast of North America. It was previously considered conspecific, the same species, with the Yellow-footed Gull of the Gulf of California...
s. Due to the number of seals and sea lions, great white sharks are frequently spotted patrolling the waters around the island. It is protected as part of the Año Nuevo State Reserve
Año Nuevo State Reserve
Año Nuevo State Park is a state park of California, USA, encompassing Año Nuevo Island and Año Nuevo Point, which are known for their pinniped rookeries. Located in San Mateo County, the low, rocky, windswept point juts out into the Pacific Ocean about south of San Francisco and the Golden Gate...
.
Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area
Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area
Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, on California’s central coast.The area is approximately 55 miles south of San Francisco. The SMCA is 11.07 square miles...
and Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area
Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area
Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County, on California’s central coast. The area is approximately south of San Francisco. The SMCA is...
are two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of Año Nuevo State Park. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. The waters of Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area
Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area
Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, on California’s central coast.The area is approximately 55 miles south of San Francisco. The SMCA is 11.07 square miles...
surround Año Nuevo Island.
Geology
As recently as the 18th century, what is today Año Nuevo Island was a peninsulaPeninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
. It has since become separated from the mainland by a channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
that continues to widen. The island is mainly made up of Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and deposits from ancient dunes, along with a broad intertidal shelf and low, rocky islets, all of which are frequently altered by the erosive pounding
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
of waves, particularly during winter storms.
Administration
Año Nuevo Island is managed by the University of California-Santa Cruz's Long Marine LaboratoryLong Marine Laboratory
The Long Marine Laboratory is a research center located at the West edge of Santa Cruz, CA. It is affiliated with the University of California, Santa Cruz and is a field base for researchers of the Monterey Bay...
under an agreement with the California Department of Parks and Recreation
California Department of Parks and Recreation
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 278 parks and 1.4 million acres , with over of coastline; of lake and river frontage; nearly 15,000 campsites; and of hiking, biking, and...
. The Año Nuevo Island Reserve, including the island and surrounding waters, comprises 25 of the 4000 acres (1,618.7 ha) of the Año Nuevo State Reserve, the rest of which is on the mainland opposite the island.
Access and facilities
Access to Año Nuevo Island is restricted to members of approved research teams. The island is closed to the public.Año Nuevo Island has a few abandoned buildings built in the late 19th century. A residential home and foghorn station, all abandoned, are located on the island. The original light tower was deliberately toppled early in the first decade of the 21st century as it began to deteriorate and became a hazard to the resident wildlife. Some of the remaining buildings are used as research facilities.
See also
- Año Nuevo State ReserveAño Nuevo State ReserveAño Nuevo State Park is a state park of California, USA, encompassing Año Nuevo Island and Año Nuevo Point, which are known for their pinniped rookeries. Located in San Mateo County, the low, rocky, windswept point juts out into the Pacific Ocean about south of San Francisco and the Golden Gate...
- Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation AreaAño Nuevo State Marine Conservation AreaAño Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, on California’s central coast.The area is approximately 55 miles south of San Francisco. The SMCA is 11.07 square miles...
- Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation AreaGreyhound Rock State Marine Conservation AreaGreyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County, on California’s central coast. The area is approximately south of San Francisco. The SMCA is...
- List of islands of California