Jalama Creek
Map SatelliteMuch of this area is annual grassland and coastal sage scrub, the latter with California sagebrush, Artemisia californica, and black sage, Salvia mellifera, as the dominants. There are patches of foothill woodland, primarily coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia.
Along the creek bed and in some of the tributaries are riparian woodlands. Included among the trees are black cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa, Salix lasiandra, and Southern California black walnut, Juglans californica. This population of black walnut is a disjunct, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the nearest population slightly to the north. It is the westernmost stand.
At the mouth of Jalama Creek there is a lagoon with tidal influence but with no well-developed marsh, though there are patches of marsh vegetation.
Animal life is typical of the central coast. Two fish, the tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi, and Pacific staghorn sculpin, Leptocottus armatus, are found in the creek.
In the upper Miocene Monterey formation, exposed above lower Jalama Creek and on the slopes of the tributary Espada Creek, there are scattered outcrops of diatomite with fish and other fossils.
Integrity: The area has been grazed and a portion is a public park. While disturbed, the riparian woodland is in good condition.
Use: Research, educational, observational, present. Portions are private, others are restricted.
Ref: Dibbles, T. W., Jr. 1950. Geology of Southwestern Santa Barbara County, Calif. Div. of Mines Bull. No. 150, 95 pp.
Mahrdt, C. R., et al. Natural Resources of Coastal Wetlands in Northern Santa Barbara County. Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game Coast. Wet. Series No. 14, 99 pp.
March 1977
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
