William





Anacapa Island By William Have you ever wondered what the island from off the shore off the coast of Ventura? Well, there are actually two. On the right, is Santa Cruz Island, but on the left is beautiful Anacapa Island. Anacapa Island is the smallest islands in the Northern channel Island and is comprised of three small islands. It is 14 miles off the coast of San Buenaventura (Ventura), and is 5 miles east of Santa Cruz. If you look on a map, Anacapa Island is 34* latitude and -199.4 Longitude. Now, the location of Anacapa is a wonderful thing, but its physical apperence is the true jewel of the sea . In my opinion, Anacapa Island looks like the loch ness monster, with water covering the bottom half of it’s body and it’s long neck lying on the water. In real life it is three giant islets made of Igneous (Volcanic) rock. The sides of the islands has been weathered and eroded over the years and created sheer cliffs with a smooth plateau on top. There are also many caves were lava used to flow. Anacapa Island is well known for Arch Rock. An igneous rock that has formed by weathering and erosion. There are other Arch Rocks, But this one Is the biggest and the boldest. Although the apperence is great, there are mind- blowing animals.

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On Anacapa, there are many animals. Some are Native and some are Endemic. The first animal that will be talking about is the California Brown Pelican. The California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis Californicus) are magnificent Birds wit a wingspan up to 6 feet. The are found from the Farallon Islands to Mexico. However this bird was nearly extinct! But know they are recovering in population. Big nests of the California Brown Pelican are on Anacapa and Santa Barbra Islands. Their diet consists on fish and occasionally shrimp. Did you Know that the Male and the Female take turns incubating the eggs. The second animal that I will be talking about is the Xantus’s Murrlet. Xantus’s Murrelets (Synthliborampuhus Hypolecus) are found on the eastern Pacific Coast (Washington to Baja California). These birds are rarely observed. It’s diet consists on Anchovies, rockfish, crustaceans, and fish larvae. Did you know that more than 20% of the population is in Santa Barbara. The last animal I will be talking about is the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus). They are found coastal from California to Baja California and Tropical areas in Central America. They are a very common species and are friendly to humans. Their diet consists on fish, Squid, and Shrimp. They could be found in pods of more than 20. Those are some animals from Anacapa, but there are also magnificent plants. On Anacapa Island, there are more than just animals. There are also many extraordinary plants. Some are Terrestrial and some are Aquatic. For example, the Island Big-Bod Ceanothus (Ceanothus Megacarpus s. Insularis) is a fabulous plant. It looks like a big white snowball. It is part of the Buckthorn family and could be found on every island except Santa Barbara and San Nicolas. The next Plant I will be talking about is the Island Morning Glory (Calystegia Macrostegia S. Macrostegia). The Island Morning Glory looks like a shinning white bell with a gold star in the center. It grows on every island except Santa Barbara, San Nicolas and San Clemente. These beautiful flowers are found in rocky areas. The last plant I will talk about is not Terrestrial, it’s Aquatic. The Giant Kelp is like an under water forest. They require nutrient rich water with temperatures below 20* C. That is marvelous Anacapa island

Excellent job William! Please check your spelling but I am looking forward to reading more!-Mrs. Geib Great! Your stories are so good, it looks like someone might plagiarize your work!-Jayden