The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America. Five of the islands are part of the Channel Islands National Park.archipelago extends for 160 miles (257.51 kilometers) between San Miguel Island in the north and San Clemente Island in the south. Five of the islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara) were made into the Channel Islands National Park in 1980. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary encompasses the waters six nautical miles (11 kilometers) off Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel and Santa Barbara Islands. Santa Catalina Island is the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement--the resort city of Avalon, California, and the unincorporated town of Two Harbors. The Channel Islands at low elevations are virtually frost-free and constitute one of the few such areas in the 48 contiguous US states. It snows only rarely, on higher mountain peaks.

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The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a Federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast. Stretching from Marin to Cambria, the MBNMS encompasses a shoreline length of 276 miles and 6,094 square miles of ocean. Supporting one of the world's most diverse marine ecosystems, it is home to numerous mammals, seabirds, fishes, invertebrates and plants in a remarkably productive coastal environment. The MBNMS was established for the purpose of resource protection, research, education, and public use of this national treasure. The MBNMS is part of a system of 13 National Marine Sanctuaries and one marine national monument, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Island Area
mi˛ Area
km˛ Population
Census 2000 County Highest peak
feet (m)
Northern islands
Anacapa 1.14 2.95 3 Ventura Summit Peak 2, 930 (283)
San Miguel 14.57 37.74 - Santa Barbara San Miguel Hill, 831 (253)
Santa Cruz 96.51 249.95 2 Santa Barbara Devils Peak, 2450+ (747+)
Santa Rosa 83.12 215.27 2 Santa Barbara Soledad Peak, 1589 (484)
Southern islands
San Clemente 56.81 147.13 3001) Los Angeles Vista Point, 1965 (599)
San Nicolas 22.75 58.93 2001) Ventura unnamed, 907 (276)
Santa Barbara 1.02 2.63 - Santa Barbara Signal Hill, 634 (193)
Santa Catalina 74.98 194.19 3696 Los Angeles Mount Orizaba, 2123 (648)
Channel Islands 350.89 908.79 3703 Devils Peak, 2450+ (747+)

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