Channel Islands National Park

Channel Islands National Park, off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara, became a national park in 1980.  The park is made up of five of the eight Channel Islands.

The islands that make up the park are surrounded by the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, a protected area for marine wildlife.

Arch Rock, eroded by the Pacific Ocean, sits off the coast of Anacapa Island, one of the Channel Islands in the park. The rock has become a symbol of the park.

Bird watchers scout the coast of Anacapa Island for bald eagles and hawks. The islands in the park are looped by hiking trails, where volunteers often remove invasive iceplant.

Lydia Kapsenberg, a researcher from UC Santa Barbara, prepares to test the acidity of the water off of Anacapa Island. She monitors the real-time ph balance of the water using equipment that wasn

While Kapsenberg and her partner replaced water-acidity sensors in December 2014, a sea lion swam nearby to check them out.

Researchers have been studying the kelp beds off the coast of the Channel Islands and the impact of climate change on those kelp beds.

Climate change may lead to a change in salinity and acidity of the water. Researchers want to know whether flora and fauna that call that water home will adapt.

The Channel Islands are home to more than 2,000 species, including the Channel Island fox and the Island fence lizard, which are endemic to the islands.

Getting to Channel Islands National Park requires a boat ride from either Ventura or Santa Barbara counties.  About 30,000 people visit the park each year.