Año Nuevo Island (''Año Nuevo'' is
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
for ''New Year'') is a small island off Año Nuevo Point on the coast of
Northern California, between
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
and
Santa Cruz. The island has an area of .
It is an important breeding site for
northern elephant seal
The northern elephant seal (''Mirounga angustirostris'') is one of two species of elephant seal (the other is the southern elephant seal). It is a member of the family Phocidae (true seals). Elephant seals derive their name from their great siz ...
s and the
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
Steller's sea lion, as well as several species of
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s, including
rhinoceros auklets,
Brandt's cormorants and
western gull
The western gull (''Larus occidentalis'') is a large white-headed gull that lives on the west coast of North America. It was previously considered conspecific with the yellow-footed gull (''Larus livens'') of the Gulf of California. The western ...
s. Due to the number of seals and sea lions,
great white sharks
The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...
are frequently spotted patrolling the waters around the island. It is protected as part of the
Año Nuevo State Reserve.
Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area and
Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area are two adjoining protected marine areas off the coast of
Año Nuevo State Park
Año Nuevo State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing Año Nuevo Island and Año Nuevo Point, which are known for their pinniped rookeries. Located in San Mateo County, the low, rocky, windswept point juts out into t ...
. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. The waters of Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area surround Año Nuevo Island.
Geology
As recently as the 18th century, what is today Año Nuevo Island was a
peninsula. It became separated from the mainland by a
channel that continues to widen. The island is mainly made up of
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
shale and deposits from ancient dunes, along with a broad
intertidal
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...
shelf and low, rocky islets, all of which are frequently altered by the
erosive pounding of waves, particularly during winter storms.
Administration
Año Nuevo Island is managed by the
University of California Natural Reserve System
The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents acros ...
Santa Cruz campus, under an agreement with the
California Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Año Nuevo Island Reserve, including the island and surrounding waters, comprises 25 of the of the Año Nuevo State Reserve, the rest of which is on the mainland opposite the island.
Access and facilities
Access to Año Nuevo Island is restricted to members of approved research teams;
the island is closed to the public.
The island has a few abandoned buildings built in the late 19th century. A residential home and
foghorn station, all abandoned, are located on the island. The original
light tower was deliberately toppled early in the first decade of the 21st century as it began to deteriorate and became a hazard to the resident wildlife. Some of the remaining buildings are used as research facilities.
Restoration
Año Nuevo Island is a haul-out site for thousands of
California sea lion
The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of C ...
s. Over the past several decades, they have caused extensive damage to native plants and auklet burrows. In 2010, a conservation non-profit organization, Oikonos, started a restoration project to reduce sea lion trampling, re-grow native plants, and help the auklet populations.
In Literature
*
New Year Island (novel) is a 2013 fiction thriller by
Paul Draker, set on modern-day Año Nuevo Island.
See also
*
Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area
*
List of islands of California
This list of islands of California is organized into sections, generally arranged from north to south. The islands within each section are listed in alphabetical order.
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) lists 527 named islands in the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ano Nuevo Island
Islands of the San Francisco Bay Area
Protected areas of San Mateo County, California
University of California Natural Reserve System
Uninhabited islands of California
Islands of San Mateo County, California
Islands of Northern California
Pacific islands of California