The Channel Islands
California's "Galapagos" off the Southern coast
The Channel Islands are a chain of eight islands off the coast of Southern California, strung along the Santa Barbara Channel from near Santa Barbara down to San Diego. Long isolated from the mainland, they evolved their own distinct plants and animals - including the tiny island fox and, in the past, a dwarf mammoth - earning them the nickname "the Galapagos of North America."
Five of the northern islands and their surrounding waters make up Channel Islands National Park, a rugged, largely undeveloped refuge of sea caves, kelp forests, and huge seabird and seal colonies reachable only by boat. The southern islands are more developed - Santa Catalina is a popular resort, and San Clemente and San Nicolas are used by the U.S. Navy. Together they preserve a glimpse of what the Southern California coast looked like before its cities.