SANTA BARBARA ISLANDS

also called Channel Islands, island chain extending 150 miles (240 km) along, and 2590 miles (40145 km) off, southern California's Pacific coast. The islands form two groups. The Santa Barbara group, to the north, is separated from the mainland by the Santa Barbara Channel; the group includes San Miguel Island, Santa Rosa Island, Santa Cruz Island, and Anacapa, a group of small islets. The Santa Catalina group is separated from the mainland by the San Pedro Channel and the Outer Santa Barbara Channel; it includes the islands of Santa Barbara, San Nicolas, Santa Catalina, and San Clemente. The islands range in size from Santa Cruz (98 square miles [254 square km]), the largest, to the small Anacapa islets. The islands of both groups are rugged and mountainous. Their geologic structure is related to the coast ranges, and their composition is of upthrust fault blocks (the Santa Barbara group is believed by some to be anticlinal mountains). Ocean basins and troughs between the islands reach depths of more than 6,000 feet (1,829 m). Sea caves are common, and the islands are frequented by colonies of sea lions, seals, and birds. Fossils of marine invertebrates and Pleistocene mammoths have been found. The islands are also noted for their distinctive plant life (about 830 varieties), including the giant coreopsis. Chamise chaparral and coastal sage are the characteristic vegetation. Only Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina are forest-covered. The Santa Barbara Islands were once the home of the now-extinct Canalio Indians and were visited in 1542 by the Portuguese navigator Juan Rodrguez Cabrillo, who is reputedly buried on one of them. The larger islands support sheep and cattle ranches. Santa Catalina Island is a noted resort, and San Clemente is used as a training ground by the U.S. Navy. Channel Islands National Park embraces Anacapa, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Rosa islands. Seeping oil from a ruptured underwater well in the Santa Barbara Channel caused widespread ecological damage to several of the northern islands in 1969.