Point Loma Kelp Bed
Map SatelliteThe intertidal zone (see Point Loma Intertidal Area) is comparatively narrow, with steep-walled cliffs dropping 6 to 9 meters (20 - 30 feet) to a sloping shelf covered with large boulders and rock reefs. There is a sea cliff about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from shore. The bottom is highly irregular in the vicinity of the cliff, with caves and pinnacles (New Hope Rock one kilometer (0.6 mile) offshore is an example). The area supports the largest example of a coastal kelp bed, Macrocystis pyrifera, on a rocky bottom in Southern California.
Upwelling near the tip of Point Loma undoubtedly enhances the biological productivity. A combination of factors has produced an unusually rich and diverse kelp bed community including the Macrocystis, Egregia laevigata, Pelagophycus porra, Pterygophora californica, Gelidium cartilagineum, Corallina chilensis, Calliarthron spp., and Rhodymenia spp. Numerous fish and marine invertebrates occur here.
Integrity: The kelp bed is harvested and the harvester practices sea-urchin control. Continuing outfall from nearby sewage outlets appears to have caused no harm.
Use: Research, educational, observational, recreational, commercial.
Ref: Anon. 1968. The Marine Environment Offshore Point Loma, San Diego County. Calif. Dept. Fish & Game Fish. Bull. No. 140, 85 pp.
October 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman