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Map Satellite Lying seaward of the south runway of the Los Angeles International Airport is the last sizable remnant of what was once the most extensive and important dune system in Southern California. The El Segundo Sand Dunes cover an area of some 90 square kilometers (35 square miles) north of the Palos Verdes Hills; however, virtually all of the system has been converted to residential and commercial use. Elements of the original coastal strand vegetation, mixed with exotics, occur in this remnant. Of particular import is the buckwheat, Eriogonum parvifolium, the host plant for the endangered El Segundo Blue, Shijimiaeoides battoides allyni. This butterfly is known only from this site and a nearby refinery (see El Segundo Dunes). Two other insects endemic to the dune system, moths of the family Phaloniidae, may occur here. The rare coastal pocket mouse, Perognathus longimembris pacificus, is found here. The area supports some of the last populations in the Los Angeles Basin of the coast horned lizard, Phrynosoma coronatum, and the California legless lizard, Anniella pulchra. Integrity: Surrounded by highways and a now dismantled residential development, the area is disturbed. It lies within the critical habitat area of the El Segundo Blue and has been proposed for an ecological reserve. Use: Research Ref: Pierce, W. D. 1939. The Fauna and Flora of the El Segundo Sand Dunes. A General Ecology of the Dunes. Bull. So. Calif. Acad. Sci. 37, pp. 93 - 97. December 1979
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2008 Steven Louis Hartman
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