Santa Rosa Island

California's second-largest island is Santa Rosa Island in Channel Islands National Park.

Plan Around Santa Rosa Island

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Santa Rosa Island Details

Santa Rosa Island lies 40 nautical miles from the park visitor center in Ventura, Calif., and is the second-largest island in California (behind Santa Cruz Island) at approximately 53,000 acres, or 84 square miles. The island's landscape varies greatly, from sandy beaches to sheer cliffs and a high mountain range soaring 1,589 feet at its highest point. The island sustains a subspecies of Torrey pine that is one of the rarest pines in the world. If the rainfall is right during the year, wildflowers are likely to bloom in late winter and spring. Animals found on the island include more than 100 bird species, three mammal species, two amphibian and three reptile species, and colonies of seals and sea lions. In the waters surrounding the island, kelp forests and marine mammals can be found. To say there's a lot to see on and around Santa Rosa Island is an understatement. The National Park Service protects the island's resources in an effort to sustain cultural sites and historic buildings, remove non-native plant and animal species, recover the population of island foxes, and reestablish bald eagles. The majority of activities are found on the island's east coast.

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