The Goleta Slough is an area of estuary, tidal creeks, tidal marsh, and wetlands near Goleta California. It primarily consists of the filled and unfilled remnants of the historic inner Goleta Bay about 8 miles (13 km) west of Santa Barbara. The slough empties into the Pacific Ocean through an intermittently closed mouth at Goleta Beach Park just east of the UCSB campus and Isla Vista. The slough drains the Goleta Valley and watershed, and recieves the water of all of the major creeks in the Goleta area including the southern face of the mountains. Jump to: navigation, search Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing numerous ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits and services. ... Creek can be: A native American tribe, see Creek (people) The language of that tribe, see Creek language In US and Australian usage, a waterflow, smaller than a river, see Creek (stream) In UK usage, a tidal watercourse, usually drying to little or no flow at low tide, see Creek... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... Goleta is a city located in southern Santa Barbara County, California. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Santa Barbara is the county seat and principal city of Santa Barbara County, on the Pacific coast of California. ... Slough (pronounced ) is a town and unitary authority in the county of Berkshire in the south of England. ... The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is a coeducational public university located in Santa Barbara County, California. ... Isla Vista is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. ... A watershed is either (1) a region of land where water flows into a specified body of water, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean or (2) a topographical boundary between catchment basins. ... Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ...

The Santa Barbara Airport has the largest border on the slough and contains the largest part of the slough. UCSB, Isla Vista, the City of Goleta and other unincorporated areas of the county, including the landward bluffs of More Mesa, surround and encompass the rest of the slough. Jump to: navigation, search Santa Barbara Airport (IATA: SBA, ICAO: KSBA) serves the Santa Barbara area. ...

The Goleta Slough as it exists today is the result of two major historical events of the late 1800's and first half of the 20th century. The first was the heavy grazing by cattle on the surrounding foothills and mountainsides followed by wide ranging grassfires, heavy rains in 1861/62, and flooding which caused so much erosion and deposition of sediment in the mouths of the creeks emptying into Goleta Bay that most of the bay became silt filled salt marsh in just a couple of years. The second event was the filling and conversion of the marsh and remaining bay into a military airbase during World War II. This filling was completed by the reduction of the rest of the island used for fill for the airport, and the area around it, into a sewage plant. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Other uses: Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevated land at the base of a mountain range. ... Jump to: navigation, search Look up Erosion on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living... Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. ... Silt refers to soil or rock particles of a certain very small size range (see grain size). ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that...

While no longer having a regularily navigable mouth, nor depths in most places suitable for anything except canoes, kayaks, and very small boats, the slough remains a very import area of vital wetlands, salt marsh, and estuarian creeks. Canoe at El Nido, Philippines A canoe is a relatively small human-powered boat. ... Kayak is also the name of a Dutch progressive rock band. ...

"The Goleta Slough wetlands ... are fragmented along the coast from More Mesa to UCSB Storke Campus". The Goleta Slough Ecological Reserve is administered by the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game. The Slough contains approximately 430 acres (1.7 km²) of wetland habitat (including the 360 acre (1.5 km²) ecological reserve and 14.8 acres at Storke Campus). The approximate historic area was 1,150 acres (4.7 km²).[3]

"The primary function of the Ecological Reserve is to provide habitat for wildlife and a setting for educational and research activities. Public utility and transportation corridors traverse the wetlands, and airport runways, a sanitary treatment plant, a power generation station, and light industrial facilities are constructed on filled portions of the marsh."[3]

Historic use

"It is estimated that Native American peoples began inhabitating the area some 9,000 years ago. Early European explorers used the embayment as an anchorage for large ships until the 1860's. The severe winter storms of 1861/62 filled the embayment with sediment. Agricultural development in the slough began in the 1870's and the following decades saw the construction of berms, dikes and roads to further facilitate agricultural development. In 1928 a landing strip was established in the northeastern portion of the slough, which was expanded in 1942-43 for construction of the Marine Corps Air Station, now the Municipal Airport."[3] Jump to: navigation, search Native Americans is a term which has several different common meanings and scope, according to regional use and context. ... Jump to: navigation, search The purpose of a ships or boats anchor is to attach the vessel to the ground at a specific point. ... Dyke (normal International spelling) or Dike (normal American spelling) can mean several things: A dyke / dike is a long wall built to keep out the sea or enclose land. ... This page is related to transport; you may be looking for the 2002 Bollywood movie Road. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military. ...

Adjacent use

Goleta Slough is almost entirely surrounded by urban development some of which extends into the wetlands. This includes the municipal airport to the north, public utilities and light industrial to the east, a public beach between the ocean and the slough, the campus of UC Santa Barbara to the south and west, and residential and light industrial operations to the north and west.

Adjacent historic use

Cattle ranching began in 1846 followed by agricultural development on the uplands around the slough. A whaling camp was established in about 1870, asphaltum mining commenced in the 1890's, development of small farms expanded to cover the entire mesa in the 1920's, and rapid urbanization began in the 1940's. Jump to: navigation, search The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales. ... Asphalt is a highly viscous liquid that occurs naturally in most crude petroleums. ... Jump to: navigation, search The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... Several mesas near Los Alamos, New Mexico. ...

Tidal Influence

Extensive areas of the historic marsh below the high tide line are isolated from tidal influence by berms and dikes. Tidal flooding is limited to the south-central portion of the slough, extending into several of the major tributaries. Tidal amplitude in the upper reaches of the slough is diminished. During the summer months the tidal amplitude may become attenuated and eventually eliminated by progressive berming of the mouth. The beach berm is mechanically breached to maintain water quality in the slough. Dyke (normal International spelling) or Dike (normal American spelling) can mean several things: A dyke / dike is a long wall built to keep out the sea or enclose land. ... A tributary (or affluent or confluent) is a contributory stream, a river that does not reach the sea, but joins another major river (a parent river), to which it contributes its waters, swelling its discharge. ...

The Slough is fed by a watershed area of 45 square miles (117 km²).[3]

Tributaries and flow

The major tributaries of the Slough are Tecolotito Creek , Carneros Creek, and Atascadero Creek. Tecolotito Creek's highest flows are during winter storms; during the summer flows are intermittent. Carneros Creek's major flows are of the flash flood type, with intermittent flows in the summer months. Atascadero Creek is a stream that generally has perennial freshwater flow that is augmented by seepage and landscape watering. Highest flows are during winter storms. Other flow sources are runoff from the north-facing bluffs of UC Santa Barbara campus and More Mesa.[3] A flash flood (also a freshet) is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas, rivers and streams that is caused by the intense rainfall associated with a thunderstorm, or multiple training thunderstorms. ...

Habitat

Habitat area has been surveyed for the City of Santa Barbara property, the largest portion of the wetlands. It is:

• 101 acres (409,000 m²) of emergent wetland (saltmarsh)
• 15 acres (61,000 m²) of mudflats
• 4 acres (16,000 m²) of saltflats
• 28 acres (113,000 m²) of creek and channels
• 8+ acres (32,000 m²) of riverine (riparian)
• 198 acres (801,000 m²) of Palustrine (vernal wetlands)
• 4.5 acres (18,000 m²) of scrub/shrub & forested wetlands.[3]

Atlantic coastal salt marsh in Connecticut, USA. A salt marsh is a type of marsh found in the intertidal transition between land and ocean. ... Mudflats are relatively flat, muddy regions found in intertidal areas. ... Categories: Geographical term stubs ... Jump to: navigation, search A riparian zone schematic from the Everglades. ...

Vegetation

Vegetation includes pickleweed, alkali-heath, salt grass, jaumea, salt bush, ditch-grass, pondweed, tules, cattails, and bulrushes. The shrubs include willows and coyote brush. The trees are primarily southern coastal oak.[3]

Animals[3]

Animals using the wetlands include birds, fish, Benthic Invertebrates, insects, and other wildlife. For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Jump to: navigation, search Groups Conodonta Hyperoartia Petromyzontidae (lampreys) Pteraspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Thelodonti Anaspida Cephalaspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Galeaspida Pituriaspida Osteostraci Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) Placodermi Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Acanthodii Osteichthyes (bony fish) Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) Actinistia (coelacanths) Dipnoi (lungfish) This page is about the... Orders Subclass Apterygota Symphypleona - globular springtails Subclass Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) Subclass Dicondylia Monura - extinct Thysanura (common bristletails) Subclass Pterygota Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Blattodea (cockroaches) Mantodea (mantids) Isoptera (termites) Zoraptera Grylloblattodea Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets...

279 species of birds have been observed at Goleta Slough; of these 121 were water associated, including 20 species of special status.

10 species of fish were identified in a 1993 sampling, dominated by killifish, topsmelt, arrow goby, and mosquitofish*. A gravid steelhead trout was collected in Tecolotito creek in 1995. Killifish are small egg laying tooth-carp fish belonging to the order Cyprinodontiformes. ... Binomial name Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard, 1853) The mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard, 1853), is a species of freshwater fish. ... Binomial name Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum, 1792 The Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), also called steelhead trout, is a single species of trout native to the Pacific Ocean and in North American rivers and lakes west of the Rocky Mountains. ...

Benthic invertebrates species composition is characterized by low diversity and densities. Three species of polychaetes and bivalves are identified. The epifaunal invertebrates that are abundant included the lined shore crab, yellow shore crab, and California horn snail. Orders Subclass Protobranchia Solemyoida Nuculoida Subclass Pteriomorphia - oysters Arcoida Mytiloida Pterioida Subclass Paleoheterodonta - mussels Trigoinoida Unionoida Subclass Heterodonta - clams, zebra mussels Veneroida Myoida Subclass Anomalosdesmata Pholadomyoida Animals of the Class Bivalvia are known as bivalves because they typically have two-part shells, with both parts being more or less symmetrical. ...

November 1993 insect surveys conducted with a fine mesh seine or aquarium dip nets at the mouth and the back portion of the slough yielded 11 species; major taxonomic groups were bugs, damselflies, mayflies, beetles, caddisflies, butterflies and flies. Families Amphipterygidae Calopterygidae - Broad-winged damselfly Coenagrionidae - Narrow-winged damselfly Dicteriadidae Lestidae - Spread-winged damselfly Megapodagrionidae Perilestidae Platystictidae Polythoridae Protoneuridae Pseudostigmatidae Synlestidae The Damselfly (suborder Zygoptera) is an insect in the order Odonata. ... For other uses, see Beetle (disambiguation). ... For other uses of the term butterfly, see butterfly (disambiguation). ... Fly can refer to any of the following things: A fly (plural flies) is any species of insect of the order Diptera. ...

1986/87 trapping and visual surveys at the Storke Campus Wetlands identified two species of mice, one vole, one amphibian, and two species of reptiles. 1996 report identified the southwestern pond turtle in Atascadero Creek from surveys in 1982 and 1994. The 1996 report also identified three special status species from a 1983 survey of the Ecological Reserve: pallid bat, American badger, and San Diego black-tailed jackrabbit. Ten species of mammals were identifed in 1970 survey of the main portion of the slough. Jump to: navigation, search MICE is an acronym for: Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment Money, Ideology, Compromise, Ego, four factors by which spies may be recruited. ... Genera Microtus Myodes Phenacomys Lagurus Arvicola A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body; a shorter, hairy tail; and smaller ears and eyes. ... Orders Subclass Labyrinthodontia - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia   Anura   Caudata   Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia) are a taxon of animals that include all tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs. ... Orders  Crocodilia - Crocodilians scary crocodiles. ... Binomial name Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777) The American Badger, Taxidea taxus, is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European Badger. ...

Special Status Species, "1996 report identified 20 special status species from various surveys (dates not specified): California brown pelican, southern bald eagle, peregrine falcon, snowy plover, sandhill crane, common loon, American white pelican, double-crested cormorant, [[white-faced ibis, fulvous duck, harlequin duck,]] northern harrier, golden eagle, osprey, long-billed curlew, California gull, elegant tern, and black skimmer. 1994 - Belding's Savannah sparrow#, 1995 - California horned lark#. 1996 report identified the following mammals from a 1983 survey; pallid bat, American badger, and the San Diego black-tailed jackrabbit. Binomial name Falco peregrinus Tunstall, 1771 The Peregrine Falcon or Duck Hawk (Falco peregrinus) is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a large crow: 38-53 cm (15 to 21 inches) long. ... Binomial name Charadrius alexandrinus Linnaeus, 1758 The Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, is a small wader in the plover bird family. ... Binomial name Grus canadensis Linnaeus, 1758 An adult Sandhill Crane The Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis, is a large crane. ... Binomial name Gavia immer (Brunnich, 1764) The Great Northern Diver, known in North America as the Common Loon (Gavia immer), is a large member of the loon, or diver, family. ... Binomial name Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmelin, 1789 The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a very large (50–70) white bird with black wing tips and an enormous orange bill. ... Binomial name Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson, 1831) The Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus †) is a North American member of the cormorant family of seabirds. ... Harlequin Duck - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Binomial name Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a bird of prey of the harrier family. ... Binomial name Aquila chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758 The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best known birds of prey in the world. ... Binomial name Pandion haliaetus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a medium large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution. ... Binomial name Numenius americanus (Bechstein, 1812) The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a very large shorebird. ... Binomial name Larus californicus (Lawrence, 1854) The California Gull, Larus californicus, is a medium-sized gull, smaller than the Herring Gull but larger than the Ring-billed Gull. ... Binomial name Sterna elegans Gambel, 1849 The Elegant Tern (Sterna elegans or sometimes Thalasseus elegans) is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. ... Binomial name Rynchops niger Linnaeus, 1758 The Black Skimmer Rynchops niger is a tern-like seabird, one of three very similar bird species in the skimmer family. ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... Binomial name Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777) The American Badger, Taxidea taxus, is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European Badger. ...

See also

• Chumash Indians

External links

• City of Goleta
• Santa Barbara Airport
• UCSB
• Determination of the source(s) of high nutrient concentration in Goleta Slough
• [1]

This article incorporates text from a US Government website, which is in the public domain.