Goleta Slough
Encyclopedia
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
, tidal creeks
Creek (tidal)
A tidal creek, tidal channel, or estuary is the portion of a stream that is affected by ebb and flow of ocean tides, in the case that the subject stream discharges to an ocean, sea or strait. Thus this portion of the stream has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle...
, tidal marsh
Tidal marsh
A tidal marsh is a type of marsh that is found along coasts and estuaries of which the flooding characteristics are determined by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean . According to the salinity of the flooding water, freshwater, brackish and saline tidal marshes are...
, and wetlands near Goleta
Goleta, California
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated, populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, the Census-designated place had a total population of 55,204, however, a significant...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA. It primarily consists of the filled and unfilled remnants of the historic inner Goleta Bay about 8 miles (13 km) west of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. The slough
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
empties into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
through an intermittently closed mouth at Goleta Beach County Park
Goleta Beach
Goleta Beach is a region of coastline located near Goleta, California, just east of the University of California, Santa Barbara campus. A portion of the shore of Goleta Bay is managed by the County of Santa Barbara as Goleta Beach County Park —GBCP. The beach itself is partly man-made as sand was...
just east of the UCSB
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
campus and Isla Vista
Isla Vista, California
Isla Vista is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Santa Barbara County, California in the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 23,096. The majority of residents are college students at nearby University of California, Santa Barbara or at Santa...
. The slough drains the Goleta Valley and watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
, and receives the water of all of the major creeks in the Goleta area including the southern face of the Santa Ynez Mountains
Santa Ynez Mountains
The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California.-Geography:...
.
The Santa Barbara Airport
Santa Barbara Airport
Santa Barbara Airport , also known as Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, is a public airport located west of downtown Santa Barbara, California, United States....
has the largest border on the slough and contains the largest part of the slough. UCSB, Isla Vista, the City of Goleta and other unincorporated areas of the county, including the landward bluffs of More Mesa, surround and encompass the rest of the slough.
The Goleta Slough as it exists today is the result of two major historical events of the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The first was the heavy grazing by cattle on the surrounding foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
and mountainsides followed by wide ranging grassfires, heavy rains in 1861/62, and flooding which caused so much erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
and deposition of sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
in the mouths of the creeks emptying into Goleta Bay that most of the bay became silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
-filled salt marsh in just a couple of years. The second event was the filling and conversion of the marsh and remaining bay into a military airbase during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This filling was completed by the reduction of the rest of Mescalitan Island, which was used for fill for the airport and the surrounding area. The former location of Mescalitan island now contains a sewage treatment plant.
While no longer having a regularly navigable mouth, nor depths in most places suitable for anything except canoes, kayaks, and very small boats, the slough remains a very important area of vital wetlands, salt marsh, and estuarian creeks.
"The Goleta Slough wetlands ... are fragmented along the coast from More Mesa to UCSB Storke Campus". The Goleta Slough Ecological Reserve is administered by the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game. The Slough contains approximately 430 acres (1.7 km²) of wetland habitat (including the 360 acre (1.5 km²) ecological reserve and 14.8 acres (59,893.5 m²) at Storke Campus). The approximate historic area was 1,150 acres (4.7 km²).[3]
"The primary function of the Ecological Reserve is to provide habitat for wildlife and a setting for educational and research activities. Public utility and transportation corridors traverse the wetlands, and airport runways, a sanitary treatment plant
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
, a power generation station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
, and light industrial facilities are constructed on filled portions of the marsh."[3]
Historic use
"It is estimated that Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
peoples began inhabitating the area some 9,000 years ago. Early European explorers used the embayment as an anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
age for large ships until the 1860s. The severe winter storms of 1861/62 filled the embayment with sediment. Agricultural development in the slough began in the 1870s and the following decades saw the construction of berms, levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s and roads to further facilitate agricultural development. In 1928 a landing strip was established in the northeastern portion of the slough, which was expanded in 1942-43 for construction of the Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Air Station, now the Municipal Airport."[3]
The Marine station was known as Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara
Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara
'Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located in Goleta, California north of Los Angeles during World War II...
and became inactive in 1946.
Adjacent use
Goleta Slough is almost entirely surrounded by urban development, some of which extends into the wetlands. This includes the municipal airport to the north, public utilities and light industrial to the east, a public beach between the ocean and the slough, the campus of UC Santa Barbara to the south and west, and residential and light industrial operations to the north and west.Adjacent historic use
CattleCattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranching began in 1846 followed by agricultural development on the uplands around the slough. A whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
station was established in about 1870, asphaltum mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
commenced in the 1890s, development of small farms expanded to cover the entire mesa
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
in the 1920s, and rapid urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
began in the 1940s.
Tidal Influence
Extensive areas of the historic marsh below the high tide lineTide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
are isolated from tidal influence by berms and dikes. Tidal flooding is limited to the south-central portion of the slough, extending into several of the major tributaries. Tidal amplitude in the upper reaches of the slough is diminished. During the summer months the tidal amplitude may become attenuated and eventually eliminated by progressive berming of the mouth. The beach berm is mechanically breached to maintain water quality in the slough.
The Slough is fed by a watershed area of 45 square miles (117 km²).[3]
Tributaries and flow
The major tributaries of the Slough are Tecolotito Creek , Carneros Creek, and Atascadero CreekAtascadero Creek (Santa Barbara County, California)
Atascadero Creek is a southwest flowing stream in Santa Barbara County, California, USA which empties into the Goleta Slough.-Course:Atascadero Creek forms in Atascadero Canyon just east of California State Route 154 in Santa Barbara, California. The creek runs south and joins Cieneguitas creek...
. Tecolotito Creek's highest flows are during winter storms; during the summer flows are intermittent. Carneros Creek's major flows are of the flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
type, with intermittent flows in the summer months. Atascadero Creek is a stream that generally has perennial freshwater flow that is augmented by seepage and landscape watering. Highest flows are during winter storms. Other flow sources are runoff from the north-facing bluffs of UC Santa Barbara campus and More Mesa.[3]
Habitat
Habitat area has been surveyed for the City of Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
property, the largest portion of the wetlands. It is:
- 101 acres (409,000 m²) of coastal salt marshCalifornia coastal salt marshCalifornia's coastal salt marsh is a wetland Plant community that occurs sporadically along the Pacific coast from Humboldt Bay to San Diego. This salt marsh type is found in bays, harbors, inlets and other protected areas subject to tidal flooding....
- 15 acres (61,000 m²) of mudflats
- 4 acres (16,000 m²) of saltflats
- 28 acres (113,000 m²) of creek and channels
- 8+ acres (32,000 m²) of riverine (riparian)
- 198 acres (801,000 m²) of PalustrinePalustrinePalustrine comes from the Latin word palus or marsh. Wetlands within this category include inland marshes and swamps as well as bogs, fens, tundra and floodplains...
(vernal wetlands) - 4.5 acres (18,000 m²) of scrub/shrub and forested wetlands.[3]
Vegetation
Vegetation includes pickleweedBatis
Batis is a genus of two species of flowering plants, the only genus in the family Bataceae. They are halophytic plants, native to the coastal salt marshes of warm temperate and tropical America and tropical Australasia Batis (Turtleweed, Saltwort, Beachwort, or Pickleweed) is a genus of two...
, alkali-heath
Frankenia salina
The perennial herb Frankenia salina, often called alkali heath or alkali seaheath, is native to California. It is occasionally found in Nevada and Mexico, but its range is limited...
, salt grass, Jaumea
Jaumea
Jaumea is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family.Species include:*Jaumea carnosa - fleshy jaumea...
, salt bush
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
, ditch-grass
Ruppiaceae
Ruppia, also known as the ditch grasses, is the only genus in the family Ruppiaceae. Such a family has been recognized by relatively few taxonomists...
, pondweed
Potamogeton
Potamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed...
, tule
Tule
Schoenoplectus acutus , called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the plant family Cyperaceae, native to freshwater marshes all over North America...
, and cattails
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
. The shrubs include willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
s and coyote brush
Baccharis pilularis
Baccharis pilularis, called Coyote Brush , Chaparral Broom, and Bush Baccharis, is a shrub in the Asteraceae that grows in California, Oregon, and Baja California.-Description:...
. The trees are primarily southern coastal oak
Quercus dumosa
Quercus dumosa is a species of plant in the Fagaceae family. This tree goes by the common name Coastal sage scrub oak.-Distribution:Quercus dumosa is found in Mexico and the U.S. state of California. It is threatened by habitat loss...
.[3]
Animals[3]
Animals using the wetlands include birds, fishFish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, benthic
Benthic zone
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. Organisms living in this zone are called benthos. They generally live in close relationship with the substrate bottom; many such...
invertebrates, insects, and other wildlife.
279 species of birds have been observed at Goleta Slough; of these 121 were water-associated, including 20 species of special status.
10 species of fish were identified in a 1993 sampling, dominated by killifish
Killifish
A killifish is any of various oviparous cyprinodontiform fish . Altogether, there are some 1270 different species of killifish, the biggest family being Rivulidae, containing more than 320 species...
, topsmelt, arrow goby, and mosquitofish
Mosquitofish
The mosquitofish is a species of freshwater fish, also commonly, if ambiguously, known by its generic name, gambusia. It is sometimes called the western mosquitofish, to distinguish it from the eastern mosquitofish . It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes...
*. A gravid steelhead trout was collected in Tecolotito creek in 1995.
Benthic invertebrates species composition is characterized by low diversity and densities. Three species of polychaetes and bivalves are identified. The epifaunal invertebrates that are abundant included the lined shore crab, yellow shore crab
Yellow shore crab
Hemigrapsus oregonensis is a small shore crab of the family Varunidae; it was formerly classified under the family Grapsidae. It is known under several common names, including yellow shore crab, hairy shore crab, green shore crab, mud-flat crab, and Oregon shore crab.Despite its name, the body...
, and California horn snail.
November 1993 insect surveys conducted with a fine mesh seine or aquarium dip nets at the mouth and the back portion of the slough yielded 11 species; major taxonomic groups were bugs, damselflies, mayflies, beetles, caddisflies, butterflies and flies
Fließ
Fließ is a municipality in the Landeck district and is located5 km south of Landeck on the upper course of the Inn River. It has 9 hamlets and was already populated at the roman age; the village itself was founded around the 6th century. After a conflagration in 1933 Fließ was restored more...
.
1986/87 trapping and visual surveys at the Storke Campus Wetlands identified two species of mice
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
, one vole
Vole
A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...
, one amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
, and two species of reptiles. 1996 report identified the southwestern pond turtle in Atascadero Creek from surveys in 1982 and 1994. The 1996 report also identified three special status species from a 1983 survey of the Ecological Reserve: pallid bat
Pallid bat
The Pallid Bat is a species of bat that ranges from western Canada to central Mexico. It is the sole species of its genus and is closely related to Van Gelder's Bat , which is sometimes included in Antrozous...
, American badger
American Badger
The American badger is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European badger. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico and central Canada, as well as in certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.Their habitat is typified by open...
, and San Diego black-tailed jackrabbit. Ten species of mammals were identified in 1970 survey of the main portion of the slough.
Special Status Species
A 1996 report identified 20 special status species from various surveys (dates not specified): California Brown PelicanBrown Pelican
The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is in length, weighs from and has a wingspan from .-Range and habits:...
, southern bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
, peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
, snowy plover
Snowy Plover
The Snowy Plover is a small wader in the plover bird family. It breeds in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the southern and western USA and the Caribbean...
, common loon, American white pelican
American White Pelican
The American White Pelican is a large aquatic bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America, in winter....
, double-crested cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico...
, White-faced Ibis
White-faced Ibis
The White-faced Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western USA south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to...
, Fulvous Whistling Duck
Fulvous Whistling Duck
The Fulvous Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna bicolor, is a whistling duck which breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Gulf Coast of the United States....
, harlequin duck
Harlequin Duck
The Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies...
, northern harrier, golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
, osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
, long-billed curlew
Long-billed Curlew
The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species is native to central and western North America...
, California gull
California Gull
The California Gull Larus californicus is a medium-sized gull, smaller on average than the Herring Gull but larger on average than the Ring-billed Gull, though may overlap in size greatly with both....
, elegant tern
Elegant Tern
The Elegant Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It breeds on the Pacific coasts of the southern USA and Mexico and winters south to Peru, Ecuador and Chile....
, and black skimmer
Black Skimmer
The Black Skimmer, Rynchops niger, is a tern-like seabird, one of three very similar birds species in the skimmer family. It breeds in North and South America...
. Those with specified dates included Belding's Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
The Savannah Sparrow is a small American sparrow. It is the only widely accepted member of the genus Passerculus...
(1994), and California horned lark
Shore Lark
The Shore Lark , called the Horned Lark in North America, is a species of bird in the genus Eremophila.- Description :...
(1995).
The 1996 report identified the following mammals from a 1983 survey; pallid bat
Pallid bat
The Pallid Bat is a species of bat that ranges from western Canada to central Mexico. It is the sole species of its genus and is closely related to Van Gelder's Bat , which is sometimes included in Antrozous...
, American badger
American Badger
The American badger is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European badger. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico and central Canada, as well as in certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.Their habitat is typified by open...
, and the San Diego black-tailed jackrabbit.
External links
- Goleta Slough Management Committee
- Goleta Beach
- City of Goleta
- Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment
- Shoreline Preservation Fund
- California Coastal Records Project (aerial photography) - by Kenneth and Gabrielle Adelman, CaliforniaCoastline.org, October 23, 2004
- UCSB Beach: 30 Years of Waxing and Waning - by Arthur Gibbs Sylvester, UCSB Geological Sciences Department, updated January 11, 2006
- Davidson Library - Beach Erosion Resources - by Janet Martorana, UCSB Library Services, updated January 30, 2006
- Determination of the source(s) of high nutrient concentration in Goleta Slough
- California Wetlands Information System
- Santa Barbara airport
- Goleta Slough Stream Team
- Accounts and Maps of the Goleta Slough
- This article incorporates text from a US Government website, which is in the public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.