Channel Islands National Park

Channel Islands National Park
Satellite view of Channel Islands National Park
Map showing the location of Channel Islands National Park
Map showing the location of Channel Islands National Park
Location of Channel Islands National Park
Map showing the location of Channel Islands National Park
Map showing the location of Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park (the United States)
LocationSanta Barbara County & Ventura County, California, United States
Nearest citySanta Barbara
Coordinates34°0.5′N 119°25.0′W / 34.0083°N 119.4167°W / 34.0083; -119.4167
Area249,561 acres (1,009.94 km2)[2]
EstablishedMarch 5, 1980 (1980-March-05)[3]
Visitors323,245 (in 2022)[4]
Governing bodyNational Park Service
Websitenps.gov/chis
Map of Channel Islands
A beach in Channel Islands National Park

Channel Islands National Park is a national park of the United States, which consists of five of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of California. Although the islands are close to the shore of the densely populated state, they have been relatively undeveloped. The park covers 249,561 acres (100,994 ha), of which 79,019 acres (31,978 ha) are federal land.[2]

Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the eight, is divided between The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service. The Nature Conservancy owns and manages the western 76 percent of the island, while the eastern 24 percent is owned and managed by the National Park Service.[5]

The islands are home to significant natural and cultural resources, resulting in several designations. Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands were made a national monument in 1938. All eight islands became a biosphere reserve under UNESCO in 1976.[6] And five — Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Miguel and Santa Rosa — were made constituent to the new national park on March 5, 1980.[7][8] Of these, all but Anacapa are in Santa Barbara County, the latter being in Ventura County.

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary encompasses the waters six nautical miles around Channel Islands National Park.

  1. ^ "Channel Islands". protectedplanet.net. Protected Planet. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Carlson, Cheri (September 2, 2016). "Bringing Channel Islands National Park to the people". Ventura County Star. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference visits was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SantaCruz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Biosphere Reserves » United States of America - Channel Islands". unesco.org. UNESCO. November 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference index was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ 96th U.S. Congress. "An Act To establish the Channel Islands National Park, and for other purposes" (PDF). United States Government Printing Office.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (Pub. L. 96–199, 94 Stat. 67, enacted March 5, 1980)