San Clemente Island (

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

: ''Kinkipar'';

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 ...

: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the

Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, ...

. It is owned and operated by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered by

Naval Base Coronado Naval Base Coronado (NBC) is a consolidated Navy installation encompassing eight military facilities stretching from San Clemente Island, located seventy miles west of San Diego, California, in Los Angeles County, California, to the Mountain Warfa ...

. It is long and has of land. The 2018 census estimates 148 military and civilian personnel reside on the island. The city of

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway between ...

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

is named after the island.

Geography

Topography

Geologically, the island is described as being "the upper part of a tilted and gently arched northwestward-trending block of the earth's crust that has a straight, steep northeastern slope and a more irregular and much gentler southwestern slope" that is composed primarily of volcanic rock, with the northeast boundary of the island having a large fault that parallels most of the major faults on the California mainland. San Clemente Island has some of the best examples of marine terraces, and has trench-like canyons, streams, periodic waterfalls, and pools of fresh water.

Climate

This region experiences warm and dry summers and moderate mild falls and winters with no average monthly temperature above 21 °C (69.5 °F). According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, San Clemente Island has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Ecology

Fauna and flora

The San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike is an endangered species that the Navy is taking steps to protect. The San Clemente Island fox is an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

species.

Feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

goats roamed the island for centuries, reaching a population of 11,000 in 1972, when their effect on indigenous species was realized. By 1980 the population had been reduced to 4,000. A plan for shooting remaining goats was blocked in court by the Fund for Animals, so the goats were removed with nets and helicopters. The San Clemente Island goat is a recognized breed of domestic goat. The coves around the island are visited by snorkelers attracted by the abundant sea life, including

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s, spiny lobsters,

hydrocoral Anthoathecata, or the athecate hydroids, are an order of hydrozoans belonging to the phylum Cnidaria. A profusion of alternate scientific names exists for this long-known, heavily discussed, and spectacular group. It has also been called Gymnobla ...

and

kelp forest Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Ea ...

s. The island is also home to the endangered San Clemente Island sage sparrow. After decades with no breeding by raptors, because of DDT contamination and Naval activity, there is now at least one breeding pair of bald eagles and more than one pair of peregrine falcons. Island flora includes 300 native taxa and approximately 135 non-native taxa with distribution of at least 47 of the island’s native taxa being restricted to two or more of the California Islands, 15 plant taxa being only found on San Clemente Island, and one insular endemic of the island thought to be extinct. The flora of the island includes some plant species found nowhere else in the world. These

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species include the wildflowers San Clemente Island brodiaea, San Clemente Island triteleia, San Clemente Island woodland star, and San Clemente Island Indian paintbrush, and the shrubs San Clemente Island bushmallow and Blair's wirelettuce. A unique subspecies of

toyon ''Heteromeles arbutifolia'' (; more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, and the Baja California Peninsula. It is the sole species in the genus ...

, ssp. ''macrocarpa'', also grows here, as do two rare subspecies of the royal larkspur. Earthworms appear to have been introduced in 2008 in soil from the mainland used in a road construction project. In this earthworm-free region, the worms alter the soil and microbial communities which allows non-native plants to alter the island’s unique ecosystem and threaten

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

that exists there.

History

PSM V48 D732 Musical instruments found on san clemente 1895

Archaeologists have found traces of human occupation on San Clemente Island dating back 10,000 years. Later inhabitants left trade materials from the northern islands and from the mainland, including Coso obsidian from the California desert. It has not been established what tribe the recent inhabitants belonged to, although the

, who are well attested from Santa Catalina Island, are the most likely candidates. The

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 n ...

, who occupied the northern Channel Islands, may have influenced the inhabitants. Evidence of battles: 'the skeletons of dozens of men piled, one upon another' were also noted on San Clemente and San Nicolas. The first European to sight the island was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, who named it ''Victoria''. It was renamed by Spanish explorer

Sebastián Vizcaíno Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Asia. Early career Vizcaíno was born in 154 ...

, who spotted it on November 23, 1602, Saint Clement's feast day. It was used by ranchers, fishermen, and smugglers during the 19th century and into the 20th century. In 1835, the

whaleship A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

''Elbe'' of

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, under Captain Josiah B. Whippey (or Whipple), hunted sperm whales as far north as "St. Clements Island" (San Clemente Island). The American steamship ''Lansing'', as well as the steam-schooner ''California'', both anchored in Pyramid Cove, on the south side of San Clemente Island, to process

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

and

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

s caught by their "killer boats" (steam-driven whale catchers)—the former between 1926 and 1930, and the latter between 1933 and 1937. In 1935, the Norwegian factory ship ''Esperanza'' caught blue whales as far north as San Clemente Island. Channel-islands-nasa-space-view

Navy base

The US Navy acquired the island in 1934. It is the Navy's only remaining ship-to-shore live firing range, and is the center of the integrated air/land/sea San Clemente Island Range Complex covering 2,620 nm² (8,990 km²). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the island was used as a training ground for amphibious landing craft. These small to mid-sized vessels were crucial to the island hopping that was required to attack the islands occupied by the Japanese. It is an active

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

base and has a $21 million simulated city for

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

training. There is a US Navy rocket-test facility on San Clemente. Some Polaris-program test rockets were launched from San Clemente between 1957 and 1960. The

SEALAB III SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy in the 1960s to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the ...

project took place off San Clemente in February 1969. The US Navy uses the island as an auxiliary naval airfield, Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island. The main runway 24/06 is used for carrier training by the Navy. Other branches also use this airfield, including the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

. As of 2014, San Clemente is home to an auxiliary Air Force base responsible for locating Air Force fighter pilots near the California coast. The island is home to United States Navy SEALs training facilities. Seven

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

and one Navy sailor were presumed to have died when their

amphibious assault vehicle The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV)—official designation AAVP-7A1 (formerly known as Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Personnel-7 abbr. LVTP-7)—is a fully tracked amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by U.S. Combat Systems (previously by Unit ...

(AAV) sank during a training exercise off the island's northwest coast on July 30, 2020. One of eight marines died after being rescued from the vehicle. Names of all nine people killed were identified on August 3. Fifteen Marines and a sailor were on the AAV as it returned to USS Somerset. The USMC released a statement on 3 August 2020, saying the AAV had been found. The landing craft sank in nearly 400 feet of water. On 27 August 2020, two soldiers were killed and three were injured when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed on San Clemente Island.

Government and infrastructure

The island is owned and operated by the

, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered by

. The

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States ...

(LASD) operates the Avalon Station in

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

, Santa Catalina Island, serving San Clemente Island.

Gallery

File:San Clemente Island Sunrise.jpg, Sunrise at Pyramid Point, San Clemente Island File:Bluebanded Gobies.jpg, Bluebanded gobies, San Clemente Island File:California Moray Eel, San Clemente Island, Channel Islands, California.jpg, California moray eel, San Clemente Island File:Kelp forest and sardines, San Clemente Island, Channel Islands, California.jpg, Kelp forest and sardines File:2780_aquaimages.jpg, Giant black sea bass, San Clemente Island File:Giant Black Sea Bass, San Clemente Island, Channel Islands, California.jpg, Giant black sea bass, San Clemente Island File:Sea Fan.jpg, Sea fan, San Clemente Island File:Hermissenda Nudibranch, San Clemente Island, Channel Islands, California.jpg, Hermissenda nudibranch, San Clemente Island File:Bat Ray in kelp forest, San Clemente Island, Channel Islands, California.jpg, Bat ray in kelp forest, San Clemente Island File:Spanish Shawl nudibranch, Channel Islands, California.jpg, Spanish shawl nudibranch File:Swell Shark, San Clemente Island, California.jpg, Swellshark, San Clemente Island File:Swell Shark closeup, San Clemente Island, California.jpg, Swellshark closeup

References

External links

San Clemente IslandA very long thesis about the historical geography of San Clemente Island that was funded by the U.S Navy
{{Authority control Islands of the Channel Islands of California Islands of Los Angeles County, California Islands of Southern California Islands of California