Point Sal State Beach
Map SatellitePoint Sal State Beach includes a stretch of rocky coastline and little sand embayments backed by precipitous bluffs. On these bluffs there is a mosaic of coastal sage scrub and foothill needle-grass, Stipa lepida (= Nassella sp.). The needlegrass forms a dense understory in much of the scrub here. On the higher slopes, in the drier portions, are stands of purple needlegrass, Nassella pulchra, though most of the upper grasslands are primarily exotics.
The rocky coast supports rich populations of algae and marine invertebrates. Several of the latter, including the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus, and a top shell, Calliostoma sp., have southern affinities and the former may be at its northernmost range extension.
The bluffs and offshore rocks are of the Franciscan formation.
See Point Sal Area.
Integrity: There is a road to the beach as well as some facilities on the beach; however, most of the area is relatively undisturbed.
Use: Research, educational, observational, present.
March 1977
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman