Point Reyes National Seashore
| Point Reyes National Seashore | |||
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| Location: | California , United States | ||
| Next city: | San Francisco | ||
| Surface: | 287.6 km² | ||
| Founding: | September 13, 1962 | ||
| Visitors: | 2,433,944 (2014) | ||
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The Point Reyes National Seashore is a sanctuary on the Pacific coast in Marin County , about 55 kilometers north of San Francisco in the US state of California . It covers almost the full area of a geologically remarkable peninsula and a small strip of the ocean. The nearly 290 km² large reserve was established on September 13, 1962 under US President John F. Kennedy , is administered by the National Park Service and visited by over two million visitors a year for hiking , camping and nature observation.
geology
The area owes its peculiarity to plate tectonics . The Point Reyes Peninsula lies on the Pacific Plate , which moves north relative to the North American Plate . The San Andreas Fault runs between them . The granite rock of the peninsula corresponds geologically to that of the Tehachapi Mountains , around 500 kilometers further south, between Bakersfield and Los Angeles . Today the course of the San Andreas Fault is marked by the coastline in the south of the area and the 20 kilometers long but only one kilometer wide Tomales Bay east of the peninsula. An educational trail called the Earthquake Trail provides information about the geology, history and earthquakes in the region.
Landscape image
The peninsula has roughly the shape of a triangle, the tip of which points in a west-southwest direction into the Pacific. The southern part of the area is a predominantly wooded range of hills, the highest point of which is Mount Wittenberg at 428 meters. The north consists of a long stretch of land that separates Tomales Bay from the sea. The tip of the triangle is divided on its south side by a bay called Drakes Estero with several deep fingers. At the furthest point is the Point Reyes lighthouse .
The cape is the windiest point on the North American Pacific coast, the highest measured wind speed was 212 km / h, and at the same time the place with the second most frequent occurrence of fog on the North American continent.
Flora and fauna
The harsh climatic conditions on the treeless rock plateau have created a flora adapted to these conditions. The community, known as California coastal prairie , is characterized by short-stemmed grasses interspersed with diverse, predominantly annual flowering plants. These include several species that have only survived in a few locations. The Sonoma spineflower ( Chorizanthe valida ) from the knotweed family grew in only a small area in the protected area until 2000 and has since been established at a second location by the rangers .
Typical for the area are the Douglas-Iris ( Iris douglasiana ), several species of the genus forest lilies ( Trillium ), hazel root species and several evening primrose plants . The area also contains the southernmost occurrence of the rare Lilium maritimum, which occurs exclusively on the California coast .
The range of hills in the south of the peninsula is largely forested, on the north flank on granite floor the bishop's pine is the dominant species of the forests. The south side with floors made of slate and sandstone is predominantly made up of Douglas firs . This is where the endangered spotted owl occurs.
The beaches of Point Reyes is the most important breeding area of the Kentish Plover in California, its protection was the main reason for the under protection in 1962. In the region as well as other important species occur, such as the Quail , the symbolic state bird of California, the Coho- salmon that Steelhead trout and the stubby squirrel . California sea lions live in a particularly exposed bay.
Ten Tule elk were introduced to the area in the 1970s . To date (as of 2014) they have grown into two herds with a total of around 500 animals. Almost half of them live in a fenced area of the former Pierce Point Ranch at Tomales Point , the others are freely distributed in the rest of the area. The peregrine falcon has been supported in a re-naturalization project since shortly after the turn of the millennium. It used to breed in a larger population on the cliffs.
Point Reyes is particularly important for the bird world. Around 490 species have been recorded in the area, which is almost half of all bird species in North America. The peninsula owes this outstanding biodiversity to the combination of the location in the mild, humid climate on the bird migration path along the coast, the diverse landscapes with coast, hills of different altitudes, rock structures, open landscapes, and the large-scale protected area. In the months of May and November, gray whales can be seen migrating along the coast from the coast .
history
The original inhabitants of the Point Reyes Peninsula were Coast Miwoks . They lived in villages made up of round huts with between 75 and several hundred inhabitants along rivers and streams. As hunters and gatherers they lived all year round on seafood of all kinds, hunted white-tailed deer , rabbits , chickens such as the crested quail and, as evidenced by finds, the acorn woodpecker .
In 1579 Francis Drake came to the coast of California on his circumnavigation . The Bay Drake Estero on the south side of the peninsula is named after him, it is not certain that his fleet actually stayed here. At the end of the 16th century, the Spanish fleet developed a route from the Philippines to Mexico , which took advantage of the currents of the Pacific Ocean and led it past the coast. The Portuguese Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño was in Spanish service when he was shipwrecked in the bay in 1595. On January 6, 1603, Sebastián Vizcaíno named the cape after the Three Kings as Punta de los Reyes .
A Franciscan monastery (OFM) brought the first cattle ranch to the north side of the Bay of San Francisco in 1817 . As a result, dairy farms settled in the region and also on the Point Reyes Peninsula. With the California gold rush capital came to the west coast and in 1857 San Francisco lawyers named Shafter, Shafter, Park, and Heydenfeldt bought over 20,000 hectares on the peninsula. They incorporated the existing farms together with new businesses operated by European immigrants in a joint marketing concept and produced butter under the Point Reyes brand . The dairy industry suffered from overgrazing on the one hand and bush cover on the other, and shortly after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 , some businesses closed. The global economic crisis of 1929 led to the closure of other farms in the 1930s and the collapse of the family Shafter, park and Hydenfeldt.
The lighthouse at Point Reyes is on one of exponiertesten Make the California coast. Extreme winds and frequent fog endanger shipping along the coast and to San Francisco Bay. Therefore a lighthouse was built as early as 1870. The Fresnel lens was the most modern technology and had to be imported from France.
A former sea rescue station is located on the south side of the cape. Its predecessor was built on the western sandy beach in 1888 and moved to its current location in 1927. It was initially operated by the United States Life-Saving Service , after its establishment by the United States Coast Guard , and discontinued in 1968. The boathouse with the slipway has been preserved, as well as some outbuildings of the residential buildings for the station's crew. In the boathouse is the original motor lifeboat , built in 1953, of the type TRS with a length of 36 feet , which was a standard type of the Coast Guard , of which only a few have survived. The station is registered as a National Historic Landmark .
After the Second World War, veterans settled in the Bay Area and there were plans to develop settlements on the Point Reyes Peninsula. This contrasted with efforts by nature conservation organizations under the leadership of the Sierra Club , which had been demanding a large nature reserve for the coastal ecosystems around Point Reyes since 1936. In 1962, most of the peninsula was designated as the National Seashore .
Situation and nature protection
Parts of the area were severely impaired by human use for almost a century before they were placed under protection. Agriculture, particularly in the form of dairy farming, shaped the center of the peninsula. This also changed the composition of the flora and fauna. Today, immigrated plant species such as gorse and ivy are painstakingly removed from the area by hand in order to restore the original species composition. To date, around 30 dairy farms operate on the peninsula under license from the National Park Service and use around a quarter of the total area of the area.
In the 1950s, the establishment of several settlements in today's protected area was planned, which ultimately contributed to the protection. About 45 percent of the protected area has been subject to the extensive protection of a wilderness area since 1976 as Phillip Burton Wilderness . In 2002 it was decided that Drakes Bay should also be designated as a wilderness from 2012 if the operating license for the oyster farm that was still approved until this year expired. The oyster farm was sold in 2005 to a new operator who, despite the expiry of the operating license and the pending designation as wilderness, was hoping for a longer operation. At the end of 2012, he filed a lawsuit against the non-renewal of his operating license and sought allies in regional and national politics. His lawsuits were dismissed by all instances, and operations continued during the proceedings. In the meantime, on December 4, 2012, the entire bay was designated as a wilderness area. In October 2014, the oyster farm and the National Park Service reached an out-of-court settlement after the farm ceased operations at the end of 2014.
The illegal cultivation of cannabis poses a threat to the protected area . In the remote, wooded areas, hemp plantations are being built, some of which are being developed with funds from industrial agriculture. They are characterized by the use of fertilizers and irrigation systems and are obviously based on organized crime . There are also small plantings from private growers. Every year, plants from which multi-million dollar street-cost marijuana can be extracted are discovered in the area and removed. The installation of irrigation systems and the use of fertilizers cause lasting damage to the protected area.
recreation
The over two million visitors a year are mainly day visitors from the greater San Francisco area, for which Point Reyes is an important local recreation area. Almost 250 kilometers of hiking trails and 130 kilometers of untouched coastline primarily attract hikers. The cape with the lighthouse is the most visited place in the area. Swimming is not possible in the Pacific, the water is too cold all year round and the hard surf is life-threatening. A small beach is just outside the reserve on the shallow and sheltered Tomales Bay.
At the top of Point Reyes is the end point of the American Discovery Trail , a long-distance hiking trail of 10,800 kilometers across the United States.
During the main whale watching season between the end of December and the end of April, the roads in the protected area are closed to private traffic on weekends with good weather and a shuttle bus system is offered instead .
There are no restaurants or extensive overnight accommodations in the area. For multi-day hikers and only accessible on foot, there are four campsites in the hinterland.
Adjacent protected and recreational areas are:
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Muir Woods National Monument
- Samuel Taylor State Park
- Tomales Bay State Park (with swimming beach)
useful information
A large part of the horror film The Fog by John Carpenter was filmed in Point Reyes . The lighthouse in particular plays a central role in this film.
Web links
- National Park Service: Point Reyes National Seashore (official site; English)
- National Parks Conservation Association: Point Reyes National Seashore - A Resource Assessment , 2002 and Reassessement 2009
Individual evidence
- ^ National Park Service: Point Reyes National Seashore - Birds
- ^ National Park Service: Point Reyes National Seashore: Coast Miwok at Point Reyes , accessed July 20, 2009
- ^ National Park Service: Point Reyes National Seashore: Early European Explorers at Point Reyes , accessed July 20, 2009
- ↑ National Park Service: Point Reyes National Seashore: Ranching History at Point Reyes , accessed July 20, 2009
- ↑ National Parks Traveler: Court Won't Dismiss Lawsuit Over Point Reyes National Seashore Cattle , July 22, 2016
- ^ Committee of Appropriation: Committee Report on the Department of the Interior , 111th Congress, 2010
- ↑ Point Reyes Light: Miracle stay keeps Drakes afloat , Jan. 30, 2014
- ^ Federal Register : Designation of Potential Wilderness as Wilderness, Point Reyes National Seashore , December 4, 2012
- ↑ Nationalparkatraveler: UPDATED: National Park Service Reaches Tentative Agreement With Drakes Bay Oyster Company , October 6, 2014
- ^ National Park Service - Point Reyes National Seashore: Park Rangers and Marin County Sheriffs Office Remove Another Illegal Marijuana Cultivation Site at Point Reyes National Seashore , September 12, 2006 press release
- ↑ National Park Service - Point Reyes National Seashore: Park Rangers and Drug Enforcement Officers Remove Additional Illegal Marijuana Cultivation Site at Point Reyes National Seashore on September 17, 2009 , press release dated September 18, 2009
- ^ National Park Service: Point Reyes National Seashore: Headlands Winter Road Closures