Stop 1: Arch Point Tour

Close to the mainland, yet worlds apart, Santa Barbara Island, along with the other Channel Islands, is home to plants and animals that are found nowhere else on Earth. As on the Galápagos Islands of South America, the isolation of the Channel Islands has allowed evolution to proceed independently, fostering the development of nearly 150 plants and animals endemic, or unique, to these islands. Santa Barbara Island is home to 14 of these species and some, like the rare Santa Barbara Island live-forever, are found only on this island.

Isolation has also played a major role in shaping human activities on the islands. While the southern California coastal mainland has seen extensive development, the Channel Islands remain undeveloped. The islands' separation from the mainland by up to 60 miles of an often turbulent ocean has limited and directed human use and occupation for thousands of years. And this limited use continues today, giving us a chance to see coastal southern California as it once was.

So step back in time and experience Santa Barbara Island's isolation as you walk to Arch Point. It's like nowhere else on Earth.