Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve is a
California State Park
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...
in western
San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.
Junípero Serra founded the Mission ...
, in the
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undeveloped ...
region. It preserves centuries-old
coast live oaks (''Quercus agrifolia'') growing atop
relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.
Biology
A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas.
Geology and geomorphology
In geology, a r ...
sand dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
.
It is located in the
Los Osos Valley
The Los Osos Valley is a valley within San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast of California region.
Geography
Los Osos Valley lies between southern San Luis Obispo and Baywood-Los Osos. The town of Los Osos is in the valley.
The Irish ...
between
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...
and
Baywood Park-Los Osos, just outside the town of
Los Osos. The park was established in 1972.
Area history
There are several prehistoric sites in the proximate vicinity of the Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve, in addition to
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
recovery within the reserve itself. A significant-sized
Chumash Chumash may refer to:
*Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism
*Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California
*Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California
See also
* Chumash traditional ...
site,
Los Osos Back Bay, has been partially excavated on a stabilized sand dune slightly to the north of the reserve dating to at least as early as 1200 CE.
Proposed for closure
The reserve was one of several state parks threatened with closure in 2008. After the
2009 California state special elections
The California state special elections, 2009 were held on May 19, 2009 throughout the state of California. The elections were authorized by the California State Legislature, State Legislature and Governor of California, Governor Arnold Schwarzen ...
, in which voters turned down a package of propositions dealing with
California budget crisis, Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
proposed the temporary closure (for at least 2 years) of 220 parks. The closures were ultimately avoided by cutting hours and maintenance system-wide.
See also
*
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coasta ...
*
Elfin Forest Natural Area — ''in Baywood-Los Osos''.
*
List of California state parks
This is a list of parks, historic resources, reserves and recreation areas in the California State Parks system.
List of parks
See also
*California State Beaches
*List of California State Historic Parks
* Parks in California
* California Depa ...
*
Protected areas of San Luis Obispo County, California
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
References
External links
Official website at California State Parks Hikespeak Blog: Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve— ''images, info, map''.
*
{{Protected areas of California, SP
California State Reserves
Parks in San Luis Obispo County, California
Morro Bay
Protected areas established in 1972
1972 establishments in California