Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes supports an abundance of features of botanic, geologic and zoologic interest. (See also Abbotts Lagoon, Arroyo Hondo, Bird Rock, Double Point Fresh Lakes, Double Point Marine Area, Drakes Estero, Drakes Lagoon, Dwarfed Bishop Pine Forest, Estero de Limantour Reserve, Point Reyes Headlands Reserve and Woodville Earthquake Site.)

Terrestrial habitats include coastal dunes, grassland, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, mixed evergreen, Bishop pine, Douglas fir and redwood forests, and salt and freshwater marshes.

The grasslands, which constitute much of the western and northern portions of the Seashore, consist primarily of exotics. Coastal sage scrub and chaparral generally occur on the westerly side of the Inverness Ridge, forests on the easterly side. Though nearing the southern end of its range, portions of the Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, forest resemble the dense groves of the Pacific Northwest forests. A well-developed Bishop pine, Pinus muricata, woodland occurs in the central section of the Seashore, north of the fir forest. A few second-growth redwoods, Sequoia sempervirens, are found at the southeastern end of the park. There are several freshwater marshes and swamps.

Several plants are endemic to the Seashore, including Agrostis microphylla, Blennosperma nanum var. robustum, Ceanothus gloriosus var. porrectus, Lupinus tidestromii and Sidalcea calycosa ssp. rhizomata. Additionally, nine other rare or uncommon plants with greater ranges occur here, Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis, Arabis blepharophylla, Arctostaphylos virgata, Calamagrostis stricta ssp. inexpansa [not uncommon but previously plants with hard glumes have been called Calamagrostis crassiglumis], Campanula californica, Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. palustris, Limnanthes douglasii ssp. sulphurea, Triphysaria floribunda and Polygonum marinense. Polygonum bistortoides, Camassia quamash and Rhynchospora californica are at their southern limits in the Coast Range in Ledum Swamp; the Rhynchospora is known from only one other locality. The accidental introduction from Alaska, Castilleja chrymactis, also occurs here.

Animal life is abundant and typical of the region. Some 330 species of birds have been observed on the Peninsula, as have 72 species of mammals. The southernmost colony in the Coast Ranges of the mountain beaver, Aplodontia rufa, is located in the Seashore. In 1978 ten tule elk, Cervus nannodes, were reintroduced (after an absence of 150+/- years) and are established in the Tomales Point area. Two exotic species of deer, fallow, Dama dama, and axis, Axis axis, were introduced in the 1920's and are flourishing. Steller sea lions, Eumetopias jubata, and harbor seals, Phoca vitulina, are common.

Marine environments range from protected esteros and bays, through tide pools, to exposed coast, both rocky and sandy. Kelp, Manrocystis sp., is locally abundant, as is eel grass, Zostera marina. A wide variety of marine fish and invertebrates are found. Of note are the relatively dense beds of the now uncommon geoduck, Panope generosa, found in the Seashore.

Geologically, the Point Reyes Peninsula is underlain by Cretaceous granitics, which are exposed on Inverness Ridge and the Headlands. These granitics lie west of the San Andreas Rift Zone. In other portions of the Peninsula the granitics are overlain by sedimentary beds dating from the Miocene and Pliocene, to recent. The Miocene beds have yielded a number of marine vertebrate fossils.

Integrity: Much of the area has been extensively grazed or logged. There are trails, buildings, etc. Approximately half of the area is classified wilderness or potential wilderness.

Use: Present

November 1979