Natural Bridges State Beach

Natural Bridges State Beach
California state park
Natural Monument (IUCN III)
The last remaining natural bridge
named for: The natural bridges at Santa Cruz
Country	United States
State	California
County	Santa Cruz County
Location	^[1]
- coordinates	36°57′09″N 122°03′27″W / 36.95250°N 122.05750°W / 36.95250; -122.05750Coordinates: 36°57′09″N 122°03′27″W / 36.95250°N 122.05750°W / 36.95250; -122.05750
- elevation	0 ft (0 m) ^[1]
Area	65 acres (26 ha)
Founded	1933
Managed by	Santa Cruz State Parks
Visitation	925,000
Location of Natural Bridges State Beach in California
Website : Natural Bridges State Beach

Natural Bridges State Beach is a 65-acre (26 ha) California state park in Santa Cruz, California in the United States. The park features a natural bridge across a section of the beach. It is also well known as a hotspot to see monarch butterfly migrations. The Monarch Butterfly Natural Preserve is home to up to 150,000 monarch butterflies from October through early February.^[2]

History

The first inhabitants in the Santa Cruz area were small groups of Native Americans. The Ohlone were a semi-nomadic tribe that hunted game and marine mammals and supplemented their diets with shellfish, fish, edible roots and shoots, acorns, nuts, and seeds. The Ohlone raised medicinal plants and herbs. They made tools from locally found stones and shells. Their crafts included shellfish jewelry and baskets.^[3]

The displacement of the natives began with the Spanish colonization of the Americas when missionaries and soldiers brought the Ohlone into the missions. The population of Native Americans was greatly reduced by European diseases to which they had no resistance.^[3] Governance of the area was transferred from Spain to Mexico after the Mexican War of Independence. The citizens of Mexico used what is now Natural Bridges State Beach as pasture land for their cattle. California became part of the United States after the Mexican-American War.^[3]

The area in and around the park later supported a dairy farm, a brussels sprouts farm, hotel, housing for mill workers, a South Seas movie set and a failed housing development.^[3] The land was purchased by the State of California in 1933 and construction of the state beach facilities began in 1954. The land surrounding the park was largely wild and undeveloped until the 1970s. The park is now surrounded by beach development and commercial properties.^[3]

Geology

The natural bridge, as seen at dusk.

The intertidal zone is home to mussels, sea stars, sea anemones and limpets, seen here being studied by children.

Natural Bridges State Beach is named for the naturally occurring mudstone bridges that were carved by the Pacific Ocean into cliffs that jutted out into the sea. The arches formed over a million years ago when a combination of silt, clay and diatoms were solidified into a mixture of stone that formed the three original arches of the beach.^[3] Wave erosion carved the arches and then cut away the cliffs leaving only islands. Of the three original arches only the middle one remains. The outermost arch fell during the early 20th century and the inner arch collapsed during a storm in 1980.^[3]^[4] The middle arch is in danger of collapsing as well due to erosion by wind and waves. Visitors were formerly permitted to climb up, walk and even drive on the bridges. Now the arch is closed to public access.^[3]

Ecology

Natural Bridges State Beach is home to a eucalyptus grove that provided habitat for monarch butterflies. Up to 150,000 butterflies migrate up to 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to the park to escape the cold weather of winter in the northwestern United States and Canada.^[2]^[5] The city of Santa Cruz holds an annual festival to mark the return of the butterflies.^[5] Monarchs settle in groves along the coasts of California and Baja California. At Natural Bridges State Beach they find shelter from the wind and sources of water and food. The butterflies cluster onto the trees, "intertwining their legs among the branches to resemble a clump of leaves."^[3] The butterflies protect each other from cold winter winds and rains by clustering together.^[3] Beginning in the late 1990s the population of butterflies at the park began to decline. Biologist attribute the decline to a lack of habitat caused by fallen pine and eucalyptus trees.^[6] The decline at Natural Bridges State Beach has meant an increase in butterfly numbers at nearby Lighthouse Field State Beach.^[6]

Tide pools at the beach provide a glimpse into marine life habitat for visitors to the park. Receding tides reveal populations of urchins, sea stars, hermit crabs, and kelp.^[3] Marine mammals and birds such as shore birds, whales, seals and sea otters can be seen from the beach.^[3]

The 65-acre (26 ha) of the park have a variety of habitats. Saltwater and freshwater marshes are found on Moore Creek. Coastal Scrub surrounds the margins and undeveloped interior areas of the park. Sand dunes and a fresh water pond are also found at the park.^[7]

Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve is a marine protected area off the coast of Natural Bridges State Beach. Like an underwater park, this marine protected area helps conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

Recreation

Natural Bridges State Beach is open to year-round recreation including swimming, surfing, hiking, nature walks and picnics. The beach is small and sheltered. The afternoon winds attract kite flying and wind surfing. The beach is open to surfing and is busiest during the winter when large swells wash up onto the shores of Natural Bridges State Beach. Hiking trails pass through the Moore Creek estuary and the Monarch Butterfly Nature Preserve. Guided tours of the butterfly preserve take place on weekends during the fall and winter. Tours of the tidal pools take place year-round as do nature walks.^[3]

Nearby state parks

References

1 2 "Natural Bridges State Beach". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. June 14, 2000. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
1 2 "Natural Bridges State Beach Natural Resources". Santa Cruz State Park. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Natural Bridges State Beach" (pdf). California State Parks. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
↑ Associated Press (1980-01-12). "Rain could spell more trouble for the Northwest". The Lewiston Journal. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
1 2 Connell, Patricia (2004-11-07). "Santa Cruz: Nice beach, great bugs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
1 2 Dayton, Lily (2009-11-24). "Flight of the butterfly: Winged visitors suddenly scarce in Santa Cruz". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
↑ "Natural Bridges State Beach". Friends of Santa Cruz State Beach. Retrieved 2010-05-28.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natural Bridges State Beach.

Santa Cruz State Parks Info about the park.

Protected areas of California

National Park System

National Parks	Channel Islands Death Valley Joshua Tree Kings Canyon Lassen Volcanic Pinnacles Redwood Sequoia Yosemite

National Preserves	Mojave

National Monuments	Cabrillo Castle Mountains Cesar E. Chavez Devils Postpile Lava Beds Muir Woods World War II Valor in the Pacific

National Seashores	Point Reyes

National Historical Parks	Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front San Francisco Maritime

National Historic Sites	Eugene O'Neill Fort Point John Muir Manzanar

National Memorials	Port Chicago Naval Magazine

National Recreation Areas	Golden Gate Santa Monica Mountains Whiskeytown

State Parks

State Parks	Ahjumawi Lava Springs Andrew Molera Angel Island Annadel Año Nuevo Anza-Borrego Desert Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland Bidwell–Sacramento River Big Basin Redwoods Border Field Bothe-Napa Valley Burton Creek Butano Calaveras Big Trees Castle Crags Castle Rock Caswell Memorial China Camp Chino Hills Clear Lake Crystal Cove Cuyamaca Rancho D. L. Bliss Del Norte Coast Redwoods Donner Memorial Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point Emerald Bay The Forest of Nisene Marks Fort Ord Dunes Fremont Peak Garrapata Gaviota Great Valley Grasslands Grizzly Creek Redwoods Grover Hot Springs Hearst San Simeon Hendy Woods Henry Cowell Redwoods Henry W. Coe Humboldt Lagoons Humboldt Redwoods Jedediah Smith Redwoods Julia Pfeiffer Burns Leo Carrillo Limekiln MacKerricher Malibu Creek Manchester McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial McLaughlin Eastshore Mendocino Headlands Mendocino Woodlands Montaña de Oro Morro Bay Mount Diablo Mount San Jacinto Mount Tamalpais Navarro River Redwoods Pacheco Palomar Mountain Patrick's Point Pfeiffer Big Sur Placerita Canyon Plumas-Eureka Point Mugu Portola Redwoods Prairie Creek Redwoods Red Rock Canyon Richardson Grove Rio de Los Angeles Robert Louis Stevenson Russian Gulch Saddleback Butte Salt Point Samuel P. Taylor San Bruno Mountain Sinkyone Wilderness South Yuba River Sugarloaf Ridge Sutter Buttes Tolowa Dunes Tomales Bay Topanga Van Damme Washoe Meadows Wilder Ranch

State Natural Reserves	Antelope Valley California Poppy Armstrong Redwoods Azalea Caspar Headlands John B. Dewitt John Little Jug Handle Kruse Rhododendron Los Osos Oaks Mailliard Redwoods Mono Lake Tufa Montgomery Woods Point Lobos Smithe Redwoods Torrey Pines Tule Elk

State Marine Reserves	Albany Big Creek Carmel Pinnacles Del Mar Landing Emeryville Crescent Estero de Limantour Fitzgerald Laguna Beach Lovers Point Montara Moro Cojo Slough Natural Bridges Point Lobos Point Sur Russian River Stewarts Point

State Historic Parks	Anderson Marsh Antelope Valley Indian Museum Bale Grist Mill Benicia Capitol Bidwell Mansion Bodie California Citrus California State Indian Museum Chumash Painted Cave Colonel Allensworth Columbia Cowell Ranch/John Marsh El Presidio de Santa Barbara Empire Mine Folsom Powerhouse Fort Humboldt Fort Ross Fort Tejon Governor's Mansion Hearst San Simeon Indian Grinding Rock Jack London La Purísima Mission Leland Stanford Mansion Los Angeles Los Encinos Malakoff Diggins Marconi Conference Center Marshall Gold Discovery Monterey Old Sacramento Old Town San Diego Olompali Petaluma Adobe Pigeon Point Light Station Pío Pico Point Sur Railtown 1897 San Juan Bautista San Pasqual Battlefield Santa Cruz Mission Santa Susana Pass Shasta Sonoma Sutter's Fort Tomo-Kahni Wassama Round House Watts Towers of Simon Rodia Weaverville Joss House Will Rogers William B. Ide Adobe Woodland Opera House

State Beaches	Asilomar Bean Hollow Bolsa Chica Cardiff Carlsbad Carmel River Carpinteria Caspar Headlands Cayucos Corona del Mar Dockweiler Doheny El Capitán Emma Wood Gray Whale Cove Greenwood Half Moon Bay Huntington Leucadia Lighthouse Field Little River Malibu Lagoon Mandalay Manresa Marina McGrath Montara Monterey Moonlight Morro Strand Moss Landing Natural Bridges New Brighton Pacifica Pelican Pescadero Pismo Point Dume Point Sal Pomponio Refugio Robert H. Meyer Memorial Robert W. Crown Memorial Salinas River San Buenaventura San Clemente San Elijo San Gregorio San Onofre Santa Monica Schooner Gulch Seacliff Silver Strand Sonoma Coast South Carlsbad Sunset Thornton Torrey Pines Trinidad Twin Lakes Westport-Union Landing Will Rogers William Randolph Hearst Memorial Zmudowski

State Recreation Areas	Admiral William Standley Auburn Austin Creek Benbow Lake Benicia Bethany Reservoir Brannan Island Candlestick Point Castaic Lake Colusa-Sacramento River Folsom Lake Franks Tract George J. Hatfield Harry A. Merlo Kenneth Hahn Kings Beach Lake Del Valle Lake Oroville Lake Perris Lake Valley Martial Cottle Park McConnell Millerton Lake Picacho Providence Mountains Salton Sea San Luis Reservoir Silverwood Lake Standish-Hickey Tahoe Turlock Lake Woodson Bridge

State Vehicular Recreation Areas	Carnegie Clay Pit Heber Dunes Hollister Hills Hungry Valley Oceano Dunes Ocotillo Wells Prairie City

Other	Burleigh H. Murray Ranch California State Mining and Mineral Museum California State Capitol Museum California State Railroad Museum Castro Adobe Delta Meadows Estero Bay Hatton Canyon Indio Hills Palms Point Cabrillo Light Station Point Lobos Ranch Point Montara Light Station Reynolds Wayside Campground San Timoteo Canyon Stone Lake Verdugo Mountains Ward Creek Wildwood Canyon

National Forests and Grasslands

National Forests and Grasslands	Angeles Butte Valley NG Cleveland Eldorado Humboldt-Toiyabe Inyo Klamath Lake Tahoe Basin Lassen Los Padres Mendocino Modoc Plumas Rogue River – Siskiyou San Bernardino Sequoia Shasta–Trinity Sierra Six Rivers Stanislaus Tahoe

National Wilderness Preservation System	Agua Tibia Ansel Adams Bucks Lake Caribou Carson-Iceberg Castle Crags Cucamonga Desolation Dick Smith Dinkey Lakes Emigrant Golden Trout Hoover Inyo Mountains Ishi Jennie Lakes John Muir Kaiser Marble Mountain Mokelumne Mount Shasta Wilderness North Fork San Gabriel Sanhedrin San Jacinto San Rafael Sespe Siskiyou Snow Mountain South Fork Eel River South Sierra South Warner Thousand Lakes Trinity Alps Ventana Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Yuki

National Monuments and Recreation Areas	Giant Sequoia National Monument San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Smith River National Recreation Area Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area Sand to Snow National Monument

State Forests

Boggs Mountain Demonstration Ellen Pickett Jackson Demonstration Las Posadas LaTour Demonstration Mount Zion Mountain Home Demonstration Soquel Demonstration

National Wildlife Refuges

State Wildlife Areas

Wildlife Areas	Antelope Valley Ash Creek Bass Hill Battle Creek Big Lagoon Big Sandy Biscar Butte Valley Buttermilk Country Cache Creek Camp Cady Cantara/Ney Springs Cedar Roughs Cinder Flats Collins Eddy Colusa Bypass Coon Hollow Cottonwood Creek Crescent City Marsh Crocker Meadows Daugherty Hill Decker Island Doyle Dutch Flat Eastlker River Eel River Elk Creek Wetlands Elk River Fay Slough Feather River Fitzhugh Creek Fremont Weir Grass Lake Gray Lodge Green Creek Grizzly Island Hallelujah Junction Heenan Lake Hill Slough Hollenbeck Canyon Honey Lake Hope Valley Horseshoe Ranch Imperial Indian Valley Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains Kinsman Flat Knoxville Laguna Lake Berryessa Lake Earl Lake Sonoma Little Panoche Reservoir Los Banos Lower Sherman Island Mad River Slough Marble Mountains Mendota Merrill's Landing Miner Slough Monache Meadows Morro Bay Moss Landing Mouth of Cottonwood Creek Napa-Sonoma Marshes North Grasslands O'Neill Forebay Oroville Petaluma Marsh Pickel Meadow Pine Creek Point Edith Putah Creek Rector Reservoir Red Lake Rhode Island Sacramento River San Felipe Valley San Jacinto San Luis Obispo San Luis Reservoir San Pablo Bay Santa Rosa Shasta Valley Silver Creek Slinkard/Little Antelope Smithneck Creek South Fork Spenceville Surprise Valley Sutter Bypass Tehama Truckee River Upper Butte Basin Volta Warner Valley Waukell Creek West Hilmar Westlker River White Slough Willow Creek Yolo Bypass

Ecological Reserves	Albany Mudflats Alkali Sink Allensworth Atascadero Creek Marsh Bair Island Baldwin Lake Batiquitos Lagoon Blue Sky Boden Canyon Boggs Lake Bolsa Chica Bonny Doon Buena Vista Lagoon Butler Slough Butte Creek Canyon Butte Creek House Buttonwillow By Day Creek Calhoun Cut Canebrake Carlsbad Highlands Carmel Bay Carrizo Canyon Carrizo Plains China Point Clover Creek Coachella Valley Coal Canyon Corte Madera Marsh Crestridge Dairy Mart Ponds Dales Lake Del Mar Landing Eden Landing Elkhorn Slough Estelle Mountain Fall River Mills Fish Slough Fremont Valley Goleta Slough Indian Joe Spring Kaweah Kerman King Clone Laguna Laurel Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Lokern Magnesia Spring Marin Islands Mattole River McGinty Mountain Morro Dunes Morro Rock Napa River North Table Mountain Oasis Spring Panoche Hills Peytonia Slough Pine Hill Piute Creek Pleasant Valley Rancho Jamul Redwood Shores River Springs Lakes Saline Valley San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon San Felipe Creek San Joaquin River Santa Rosa Plateau Springville Stone Corral Sycamore Canyon Sycuan Peak Thomes Creek Tomales Bay Upper Newport Bay Watsonville Slough West Mojave Desert Woodbridge Yaudanchi

Marine Protected Areas	Abalone Cove Albany Mudflats Anacapa Anacapa Año Nuevo Asilomar Atascadero Beach Bair Island Batiquitos Lagoon Big Creek Big Creek Big Sycamore Canyon Bodega Bolsa Chica Cambria Cardiff and San Elijo Carmel Bay Carmel Pinnacles Carrington Point Catalina Marine Science Center Corte Madera Marsh Crystal Cove Dana Point Del Mar Landing Doheny Doheny Duxbury Reef Edward F. Ricketts Elkhorn Slough Elkhorn Slough Encinitas Estero de Limantour Fagan Marsh Farallon Islands Farnsworth Bank Fort Ross Gerstle Cove Goleta Slough Greyhound Rock Gull Island Harris Point Heisler Park Hopkins Irvine Coast James V. Fitzgerald Judith Rock Julia Pfeiffer Burns La Jolla Laguna Beach Lovers Cove (Catalina Island) Lovers Point MacKerricher Manchester and Arena Rock Marin Islands Mia J. Tegner Moro Cojo Slough Morro Bay Morro Bay Morro Beach Natural Bridges Niguel Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Painted Cave Peytonia Slough Piedras Blancas Piedras Blancas Pismo Pismo-Oceano Beach Point Buchon Point Buchon Point Cabrillo Point Fermin Point Lobos Point Reyes Headlands Point Sur Point Sur Portuguese Ledge Punta Gorda Redwood Shores Refugio Richardson Rock Robert E. Badham Robert W. Crown Russian Gulch Russian River Salt Point San Diego-Scripps San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon Santa Barbara Island Scorpion Skunk Point Sonoma Coast Soquel Canyon South Laguna Beach South Point Swami’s Tomales Bay Upper Newport Bay Van Damme Vandenberg White Rock (Cambria)

Bureau of Land Management National Landscape Conservation System

National Monuments	Berryessa Snow Mountain California Coastal Carrizo Plain Fort Ord Mojave Trails Sand to Snow Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains

National Conservation Areas	California Desert King Range

Wilderness Areas	Argus Range Big Maria Mountains Bigelow Cholla Garden Bighorn Mountain Black Mountain Bright Star Bristol Mountains Cadiz Dunes Carrizo Gorge Chemehuevi Mountains Chimney Peak Chuckwalla Mountains Chumash Cleghorn Lakes Clipper Mountain Coso Range Coyote Mountains Darwin Falls Dead Mountains Dick Smith El Paso Mountains Fish Creek Mountains Funeral Mountains Golden Valley Grass Valley Headwaters Forest Reserve Hollow Hills Ibex Indian Pass Inyo Mountains Jacumba Kelso Dunes Kiavah Kingston Range Little Chuckwalla Mountains Little Picacho Machesna Mountain Matilija Malpais Mesa Manly Peak Mecca Hills Mesquite Newberry Mountains Nopah Range North Algodones Dunes North Mesquite Mountains Old Woman Mountains Orocopia Mountains Otay Mountain Owens Peak Pahrump Valley Palen/McCoy Palo Verde Mountains Picacho Peak Piper Mountain Piute Mountains Red Buttes Resting Spring Range Rice Valley Riverside Mountains Rodman Mountains Sacatar Trail Saddle Peak Hills San Gorgonio Santa Lucia Santa Rosa Sawtooth Mountains Sespe Sheephole Valley South Nopah Range Stateline Stepladder Mountains Surprise Canyon Sylvania Mountains Trilobite Turtle Mountains Whipple Mountains

National Marine Sanctuaries

Channel Islands Cordell Bank Greater Farallones Monterey Bay

National Estuarine Research Reserves

Elkhorn Slough San Francisco Bay Tijuana River Estuary

University of California Natural Reserve System

Angelo Coast Range Reserve
Año Nuevo Island
Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
Bodega Marine
Box Springs
Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center
Burns Piñon Ridge
Carpinteria Salt Marsh
Chickering American River
Coal Oil Point
Dawson Los Monos Canyon
Eagle Lake Field Station
Elliott Chaparral
Emerson Oaks
Fort Ord
Hastings
James San Jacinto Mountains
Jenny Pygmy Forest
Jepson Prairie
Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh
Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino
Landels-Hill Big Creek
McLaughlin
Motte Rimrock
Quail Ridge
Sagehen Creek Field Station
San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh
Santa Cruz Island
Scripps Coastal
Sedgwick
Stebbins Cold Canyon
Steele Burnand Anza-Borrego
Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains
Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center
Valentine Eastern Sierra
Younger Lagoon

Heritage registers: World Heritage Sites; World Network of Biosphere Reserves; National Register of Historic Places; National Historic Landmarks; National Natural Landmarks; California Historical Landmarks; California Points of Historical Interest; California Register of Historical Resources

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