Big Basin Redwoods State Park
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| Big Basin Redwoods State Park | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category II (National Park) | |
| Location: | California, United States |
| Nearest city: | Santa Cruz, California |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 18,000 acres (73 km²) |
| Established: | 1902 |
| Governing body: | California Department of Parks & Recreation |
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a California state park, located in Santa Cruz County about 23 miles northwest of Santa Cruz. The park contains almost all of the Waddell Creek watershed and was formed by the seismic uplift of its rim and the erosion of its center by the many streams in its bowl-like depression.
Big Basin is California's oldest State Park, established in 1902. Its original 3,800 acres have been increased over the years and has grown to over 18,000 acres. Home to the largest continuous stand of Ancient Coast Redwoods south of San Francisco, the park consists of old growth and recovering redwood forest, with mixed conifer, oaks, chaparral and riparian habitats. Elevations in the park vary from sea level to over 2,000 feet (600 m). The climate ranges from foggy and damp near the ocean to sunny, warm ridge tops.
The park has over 80 miles (130 km) of trails. Some of these trails link Big Basin to Castle Rock State Park and the eastern reaches of the Santa Cruz range. The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail threads its way through the park along Waddell Creek to the beach and adjacent Theodore J. Hoover Natural Preserve, a freshwater marsh.
The park has a large number of waterfalls, a wide variety of environments (from lush canyon bottoms to sparse chaparral-covered slopes, many animals (deer, raccoons, an occasional bobcat) and lots of bird life -- including Steller's jays, egrets, herons and California woodpeckers.
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[edit] History of the Basin
In contrast to the redwood trees, many of which have seen more than 1500 summers in Big Basin, humans are much more recent visitors. Although Native American Ohlone people passed through these forests gathering tan oak acorns, huckleberries and perhaps hunting deer and small game, they did not inhabit the Big Basin area. This may have been due to religious respect for the trees or fear of the grizzly bears. But it may have been simply because food was more abundant and weather was milder along the shores of San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
In October of 1769 the Portola expedition 'discovered' the redwoods of southern Santa Cruz County, and camped at the mouth of Waddell Creek, in present-day Big Basin, later that month. Although many in the party had been ill with scurvy, they gorged themselves on berries and quickly recovered. This miraculous recovery, as it seemed at the time, inspired the name given to the valley: 'Cañada de la Salud' or Canyon of Health.
By the late 1800s, redwood forests were gaining international appreciation. Early conservationalists, including such notables as Andrew P. Hill, Father Robert Kenna, Carrie Stevens Walter and Josephine McCracken, led the movement to create a park to preserve the mighty redwoods. On May 19, 1900, the Sempervirens Club was formed at the base of Slippery Rock, within the present day park. In 1902, the California Redwood Park was created in Big Basin on 3800 acres, most of it old growth forest.
In the following decades, visitation to Big Basin grew steadily as park amenities were developed. The Big Basin Inn offered cabins to rent, a restaurant, general store, barber shop, gas station and photographic studio. There were also a post office, swimming and boating areas, tennis courts and a dance floor. Campsites cost 50 cents a night in 1927 and many families stayed all summer. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps assigned a company to Big Basin. These men built the amphitheater, miles of trails, and many of the buildings still used today.
[edit] Plantlife
Although redwoods dominate the landscape, many other plant species are common in Big Basin. One will certainly see Douglas fir, tan oak, madrone and wax myrtle trees in the park. Competing for sunshine are also many shrubs such as huckleberries, western azalea, and many varieties of ferns. Spring and summer bring the wildflowers: redwood sorrel, salal, redwood violets, trillium, star lily and mountain iris. The rains of fall and winter deliver hundreds of kinds of fungi in a startling variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
Upon climbing to higher elevations, one will find the forest growing thinner, as redwoods are replaced by more drought-tolerant species. The higher, drier ridges and slopes of Big Basin are typically full of chaparral vegetation: knobcone pines, chinquapin and buckeye create the canopy, with ceonothus, manzanita, chaparral pea and chamise growing dense and low. Adding a splash of color are wildflowers such as Indian paintbrush, monkey flower, bush poppies and yerba santa.
Near the mouth of Waddell Creek is the Theodore J. Hoover Natural Preserve, a freshwater marsh that is rare because it has been relatively undisturbed. This special place provides habitat for a wide variety of birds, reptiles and amphibians. The nearby Rancho Del Oso Nature and History Center interprets the cultural and natural history of the area.
[edit] Wildlife
A wide variety of animals live within Big Basin and many can be seen by visitors. Black-tailed deer, gray squirrels, chipmunks and raccoons are common, but foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and opossums are also resident. Mountain lions are known to live in the park but are extremely rare. Grizzly bears are extinct in California, but were numerous in the past.
Bird life is abundant throughout the park. Steller's jays and acorn woodpeckers are both seen and heard, and the dark-eyed junco is widespread. Less obvious are the brown creeper, Allen's Hummingbird, common flicker, olive-sided flycatcher and sharp-skinned hawk. The first marbled murrelet nest ever sighted was located in Big Basin not far from the park headquarters. These robin-sized seabirds nest high in the oldest firs and redwoods to feed their young. They can be seen or heard at dawn and dusk, high above the forest canopy.
The damp, shady woodland floor is home to a variety of newts, salamanders and frogs. Particularly intriguing are banana slugs, which can reach 6 inches long. Many lizards and snakes are also resident, but are rarely seen because of their shy behavior. The only poisonous variety is the western diamondback rattlesnake, found almost exclusively in the high, dry chaparral.
California Sisters (Adelpha bredowii) are prominent butterfly denizens, fluttering high in the canopies above the trails.
