Jonathan

Anacapa  Anacapa is the closest island to the Channel Islands harbor which is 12 miles away. The time it would take to get there is just 1 hour too get there. Anacapa Island is the smallest of all the islands and is only ¼ to ½ in width. Anacapa is a volcanic rock that has been eroded and went through. Although the apperence of this magnificent island is pretty spectacular the plants may amaze you very much too. Native and Endemic Flora There are many native and endemic plants such as the Island big-pod Ceanothus or the Cliff-aster or another is the Northern island Hazardia. I’ll be telling you about those three mainly. First up is the island big-pod Ceanothus, This plant grows on Santa Cruz, San Miguel {not seen since 1886} Santa Rosa, Anacapa, Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands. The big-pod Ceanothus can grow from a 3-12 feet high. Its leaves are leathery with grayish, green white fine hairs that are about ¼ to ¾ inches long. The fruits on this tree are white and grow in clusters. The big-pod’s scientific name is (Ceanothus megacarpus s. insularis **) **

Up next is the cliff-aster. This plant grows for most of the year and is found in many plant communities. It also grows in open areas. It can grow up to five feet tall and does not need much water to live. // Malacothrix saxatilis //, from the Greek word "malakos" meaning soft and referring to the young plant, and "saxatilis" meaning "growing among rocks". Last but not least is the Northern island Hazardia. The northern island Hazardia is only found on the northern Channel Islands such as Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and Anacapa Island. It is also in the sunflower family. If you were to plant this plant than it would take a relatively short time. It would require a rocky type of soil. It doesn’t require much water to keep it alive. The seasons that this plant would grow in are spring and summer. I find its flower color pretty weird because I have seen a red flower but I have never seen a purple flower. Its scientific name is Hazardia detonsa. Despite the colors and the amazement that these plants have bought you the animals may bring you even more amazement.

Native and Endemic Fauna There are many native and endemic animals on the island of Anacapa for instance the xantus murrelet is a black and white bird that feeds far out at sea and dines mainly on anchovies, tuna, sardines and sebastes rockfish. Another animal is the ashy storm petrel. This bird feeds mainly on cephalopods, fish{particularly the deep sea myctophids, which rise to the sea's surface at night} and euphausiid krill. {the parenthesized words in the sentence were copied from wikipedia.org/ashy stormed petrel}.