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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature:  The Pacific Ocean


The world's largest geographic feature, the Pacific Ocean covers about one-third of the earth's surface. The area of the Pacific is greater than that of all of the continents combined, and it makes up nearly half of the area covered by the earth's oceans. The Pacific Ocean borders Asia and Oceania to the west, North and South America to the east, and Antarctica to the south. Some of the major marginal seas of the Pacific are the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Coral Sea, the Tasman Sea, the Ross Sea, and the Gulf of California.

The Pacific also contains more islands than the total number in the rest of the world. Many of these islands form archipelagoes that are the tops of submerged oceanic ridges, such as the Aleutian Islands in the northern Pacific. The Pacific is not only the largest ocean but also the world's oldest and deepest, reaching its greatest depth at the Marianas Trench, near Guam. Its most striking submarine feature is the dozen or so deep trenches that are found around its margins. The sea floor also has great abyssal plains and a major spreading centre ridge called the East Pacific Rise.
The paciific coast of California has beautiful cliffs and blue water in California nature Most of the geological activity of the Pacific occurs around its edges. In fact, the Pacific "ring of fire" contains more than 80 per cent of the earth's active volcanoes and most of its earthquake activity. The ocean covers several of the earth's crustal plates. The warm vents and geysers rising from the plate boundaries are prime habitats for rich underwater life.

The Pacific was given its name because of the tranquility of its waters, although it is occasionally swept by typhoons, and a number of strong currents circulate beneath the surface.

The influence of the icy Antarctic continent and the smaller ratio of land to sea in the southern Pacific means that water temperatures there are slightly lower than in the northern Pacific. The cold water generated around the South Pole sinks and then circulates northwards to form a cold, deep current from Antarctica to Japan. The atmospheric and oceanic phenomenon of El Niño in the Pacific creates unusually warm ocean conditions, causing climatic disturbances of varying severity.

The warm southward current, often accompanied by fluctuating air pressure and wind patterns, occurs each December but is exceptionally intense every seven to ten years. El Niño of 1982 and 1983 was the most severe of the 20th century. El Niño affects climates around the world for more than a year.Droughts plague some areas, while others are battered with heavy rains. Birds and fish die or are forced to leave their naturalhabitat during El Niño.

State Route 1, more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.

Stretching from sunny "So Cal" to the shady forests of the north, this coastal highway winds along some of the most spectacular ocean views in the U.S. The highway contains countless examples of the many intrinsic qualities that make a highway a National Scenic Byway--qualities like perfect views of ocean waves breaking on rocky shorelines and cliffs, dozens of historical landmarks like Spanish Missions and Spanish settlements,
The beautiful sunset on the pacific ocean in California nature Rocky bluffs and outcrops are molded by the unrelenting action of the Pacific Ocean along the California Coastline. The California Big Sur Coastline is also the Santa Lucia Mountain Range. A narrow range with peaks up to 5000 feet that drop suddenly into the ocean. Microclimates abound, from grassy hillsides, to moist redwood forests to arid and dry in the rain shadowed eastern slope.

The Cabo Pulmo National Park, home to the only coral reef in the Gulf of California, is under threat from a proposed large resort community to be built nearby.

The reef, estimated to be 20,000 years old, making it one of the oldest on the Pacific coast of the Americas, is home to 226 of the 875 fish species that inhabit that body of water, which separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland.
It is common to see four different species of turtles, as well as dolphins, sea lions, whale, tiger and bull sharks, in that area near the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, which is also part of the migratory route used by humpback and blue whales.

For much of Earth’s history, California only existed as part of the seafloor in a deep blue ocean. California was slowly built by plate tectonics and now lies on the edge of a continental plate. Movement along geologic faults has sculpted spectacular landscapes that have been repeatedly shaken by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Over millions of years, geology and climate have shaped California’s unique habitats and produced a rich mosaic of life. Many plants and animals here are found nowhere else, making California one of the most biologically diverse places in the world.
 
 
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