Shell Beach
Map SatelliteShell Beach, a part of the Sonoma Coast State Beach, includes both onshore and offshore communities. Onshore, the dominant is a coastal scrub with Baccharis pilularis, Lupinus arboreus and Heracleum lanatum.
Much of the beach is an unprotected rocky coast, with numerous offshore rocks and sea stacks.
The intertidal zone is particularly rich in both marine invertebrates and algae. Over 250 species of algae have been reported here, including Endocladia muricata, Plocamiurn violaceum, Fucus distichus, Cystoseira osmundacea, Dictyoneurum californicum and Laminaria setchelli, among others.
The uplands are on a Pleistocene marine terrace. On the bluffs and cliffs there is the best exposure of the Franciscan melange in the County.
Integrity: There is a parking lot, together with other facilities, but most of the area is relatively undisturbed. It has been extensively studied.
Use: Research, educational, observational, present.
December 1977
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
