Catalina Experience

      Over the last few weeks I had the opportunity to go to California to do and see some incredible things. For my Energy and Sustainability class 20 students including myself stayed in Los Angeles and on Catalina Island for 12 days. Along with some sight seeing in the area we were able to visit some great places that have to do with environmental science. Even though we were not in Iowa I still think that we had plenty of experiences that relate directly to this blog. I figured that I would discuss all of this on this post and have a separate post used just for the pictures.

       One of the first things on our agenda was to go check out the La Brea Tar Pits which are located in a very upbeat residential area of Los Angeles. The tar pits are areas where asphalt comes bubbling up from underground. In some places the asphalt would gather in shallow pools and have a couple of inches of water on top of it. Animals would see this as a pool of water and become trapped in the tar. Often times packs of predators would find other animals in distress and attempt to make a meal out of them. More often than not the predators also found themselves stuck. These tar pits have been active for over 50,000 years now and many animals that are found in the tar pits are now extinct. Some of these animals include dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, coyotes, and mastodons (which are like smaller mammoths). There are areas in the park where hundreds of fossils can be seen on top of each other where animal after animal was caught in the same hole. When animals become trapped like this it has the ability to preserve the fossils very well because of how fast they are taken into the earth. There are still times when some animals like squirrels will actually get into the asphalt and become stuck and staff will have to rescue them. Having the opportunity to go back in time and see the remains of animals that roamed the same area thousands of years ago was quite spectacular.

       The next adventure we had that involved this blog was when we headed out to Catalina Island. If you are not familiar with the island it is located about 22 miles off the coast of LA. The Island is 22 miles long and as wide as 8 miles at its widest point. 88% of the Island is protected by the Catalina Conservancy which helps to protect the wildlife on the island. Islands are considered to be very unique by scientists because they are isolated from many outside forces. Plants and animals can change very drastically over a small amount of time even without different species being present. No matter where, islands are always a great location to be conducting experiments and observing. On our way out on to the island seals and dolphins could be seen playing in the water. Also there were a lot of different bird species than we have here. Years ago a film crew brought bison on to the island for a movie. After their budget ran short, there was no money to bring the giant beasts back to the mainland so they were left there. To this day the Conservancy manages the bison population on the island. There are also a few endemic species of plants and animals that have developed into their own species that can only be found on the island. One is the Catalina cherry tree and another is the Catalina Island fox. These species have adapted over time to fit into the island life. One of the major differences between Iowa and California is obviously the ocean. The ocean provides life to a completely different type of plants and animals. Sharks, sting rays, and a bright orange fish called the Garibaldi can all be seen from shore or in the water. My favorite activity on the island was taking a hike to the top of the watershed where our camp is located. This 4-hour, 6 mile hike included a 1776 foot vertical climb up and of course back down. When we reached the top you could see for miles in all directions. The coast on one side, the great Pacific on the other with little islands popping out from the depths. The island experience was tremendous from both a vacation standpoint and an environmental and learning standpoint.

       Back on the mainland we did some more sight seeing, but we also went to the LA Zoo which was fun. Looking back on some of the animals that we were able to see, it becomes apparent how rare it would be to see those species in the wild. It also gives me an appreciation for being able to go out and have the opportunity to see wildlife outside of a cage.

       I could not fit a fraction of what I wanted to from the trip without writing for hours and hours. Do not forget to check out my other post of pictures that relate to this trip!