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Map Satellite Near the mouth of the Garcia River is a rather extensive wetland, primarily salt marsh but grading into brackish, and on Hathaway Creek, freshwater marsh, coastal scrub and pasture land occur in the uplands.
Vegetation in the salt marsh includes Salicornia virginica and Distichlis spicata. Rubus sp., Salix sp. and Juncus sp., as well as Scirpus sp., are also present. Two rare plants, Lilium maritimum and Castilleja mendocinensis, occur on Hathaway Creek upstream from its confluence with the river.
This area has a particularly rich concentration of birds. Of particular note is the flock of whistling swans, Olor columbianus, which winter in the area. This is one of the few flocks that winter on the coast and not in the central valley. (See also Manchester Beach State Park.)
Integrity: Cattle graze on the uplands and there is a gravel quarry in the area; however, most of the area is relatively undisturbed.
Use: Private
December 1977
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
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