Pillar Point Bluff: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 37°30′037″N 122°30′020″W / 37.51028°N 122.50556°W / 37.51028; -122.50556
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== Geology ==
== Geology ==
The [[San Gregorio Fault]], an active, 209 km (130 mi) long coastal fault, cuts across land for 3 km as a 30 m high, east-facing escarpment along the side of Pillar Point Bluff towards the northern Seal Cove Bluffs and to the west of the [[San Andreas Fault]]. This portion of the fault is classified as an active, late [[Holocene]], [[strike-slip fault]], and was believed to be active sometime until after 1270 AD.<ref>[[#sim|Simpson et al. 1997]].</ref>
The [[San Gregorio Fault]], an active, 209 km (130 mi) long coastal fault, cuts across land for 3 km as a 30 m high, east-facing escarpment along the southern side of Pillar Point Bluff towards the northern end, referred to as Seal Cove Bluffs, and to the west of the [[San Andreas Fault]]. This portion of the fault is classified as an active, late [[Holocene]], [[strike-slip fault]], and was believed to be active sometime until after 1270 AD.<ref>[[#sim|Simpson et al. 1997]].</ref> The sedimentary rocks in the bluff are classified as part of the [[Purisima Formation]], from the late Miocene or early Pliocene.<ref>[[#pam|Pampeyan 1994]], pp. 6-7.</ref> [[Malacologist]]s identified marine invertebrate fossils from the Seal Cove and Pillar Point Bluff area consisting predominantly of species of [[Saxidomus gigantea|butter clam]] (''Saxidomus gigantea'') and the [[Leukoma staminea|Pacific littleneck clam]] (''Leukoma staminea'').<ref>[[#ken|Kennedy 1981]], p. 11-12.</ref>


==History==
==History==
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* {{anchor|hoo}}Hoover, Mildred Brooke; Rensch, Hero Eugene; Rensch, Ethel Grace; Abeloe, William N. (2002). [https://archive.org/details/historicspotsinc0000unse ''Historic Spots in California'']. (5th ed. Rev. by Douglas E. Kyle). Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|9780804744829}}. {{OCLC|50735628}}.
* {{anchor|hoo}}Hoover, Mildred Brooke; Rensch, Hero Eugene; Rensch, Ethel Grace; Abeloe, William N. (2002). [https://archive.org/details/historicspotsinc0000unse ''Historic Spots in California'']. (5th ed. Rev. by Douglas E. Kyle). Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|9780804744829}}. {{OCLC|50735628}}.
* {{anchor|hyl1}}Hylkema, Mark Gerald (1991). [https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/131 "Prehistoric native American adaptations along the central California coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties"]. Master's Theses. San Jose State University. 131. {{DOI|10.31979/etd.qke6-ss3e}}.
* {{anchor|hyl1}}Hylkema, Mark Gerald (1991). [https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/131 "Prehistoric native American adaptations along the central California coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties"]. Master's Theses. San Jose State University. 131. {{DOI|10.31979/etd.qke6-ss3e}}.
* {{anchor|ken}}Kennedy, G.L., Lajoie, K.R., Blunt, D.J.; Mathieson, S.A. (June 1981). [https://archive.org/details/annualrepor1119197886west/page/n115/mode/2up "The Half Moon Bay terrace, San Mateo County, California, and the age of its Pleistocene invertebrate faunas"]. ''Annual Report of the Western Society of Malacologists''. v. 14. {{ISSN|0361-1175}}. {{OCLC|499477494}}.
* {{anchor|lop}}Lopez, Sierra (February 10, 2022). [https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-mateo-county-keeps-dogs-leashed/article_106689fa-8a2d-11ec-8597-7bf074f2b052.html "San Mateo County keeps dogs leashed"]. ''[[San Mateo Daily Journal]]''. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
* {{anchor|lop}}Lopez, Sierra (February 10, 2022). [https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-mateo-county-keeps-dogs-leashed/article_106689fa-8a2d-11ec-8597-7bf074f2b052.html "San Mateo County keeps dogs leashed"]. ''[[San Mateo Daily Journal]]''. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
* {{anchor|mof}}Moffitt, Mike (April 29, 2020). "San Mateo County to reopen 13 parks". ''San Francisco Chronicle''.
* {{anchor|mof}}Moffitt, Mike (April 29, 2020). "San Mateo County to reopen 13 parks". ''San Francisco Chronicle''.
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* {{anchor|nps}}National Park Service (2011). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Golden_Gate_National_Recreation_Area_Mui/s-HEdm7M0agC "Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument: Draft General Management Plan, Environmental Impact Statement"]. Vol. III. U.S. Department of the Interior.
* {{anchor|nps}}National Park Service (2011). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Golden_Gate_National_Recreation_Area_Mui/s-HEdm7M0agC "Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument: Draft General Management Plan, Environmental Impact Statement"]. Vol. III. U.S. Department of the Interior.
* {{anchor|now}}Nowak, Nina (Winter 2009). [https://openspacetrust.org/downloads/newsletters/Landscapes-WI09.pdf "Annual Report 2009"]. ''Landscapes''. Peninsula Open Space Trust. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
* {{anchor|now}}Nowak, Nina (Winter 2009). [https://openspacetrust.org/downloads/newsletters/Landscapes-WI09.pdf "Annual Report 2009"]. ''Landscapes''. Peninsula Open Space Trust. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
* {{anchor|pam}}Pampeyan, Earl H. (1994). [https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/i2390 "Geologic map of the Montara Mountain and San Mateo 7-1/2' quadrangles, San Mateo County, California"]. IMAP 2390. U.S. Geological Survey. U.S. Department of the Interior. {{doi|10.3133/i2390}}.
* {{anchor|pos}}[https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/post-transfers-140-acre-pillar-point-bluff-to-county/article_f2e2d540-beb8-51a4-a133-986a07e9f0a8.html "POST transfers 140-acre Pillar Point Bluff to county"]. ''[[San Mateo Daily Journal]]''. August 16, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
* {{anchor|pos}}[https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/post-transfers-140-acre-pillar-point-bluff-to-county/article_f2e2d540-beb8-51a4-a133-986a07e9f0a8.html "POST transfers 140-acre Pillar Point Bluff to county"]. ''[[San Mateo Daily Journal]]''. August 16, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
* {{anchor|pps}}[[Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area]]. [https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=117248&inline Map]. [https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=91622&inline Facts, Map & Regulations]. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
* {{anchor|pps}}[[Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area]]. [https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=117248&inline Map]. [https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=91622&inline Facts, Map & Regulations]. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved October 6, 2023.

Revision as of 05:49, 8 November 2023

Pillar Point Bluff
Pillar Point Bluff facing southwest
Pillar Point Bluff is located in San Francisco Bay Area
Pillar Point Bluff
Pillar Point Bluff is located in California
Pillar Point Bluff
TypePark
Location840 Airport St.
Moss Beach, California, 94038. United States
Coordinates37°30′037″N 122°30′020″W / 37.51028°N 122.50556°W / 37.51028; -122.50556
Area220 acres (0.89 km2)
Owned bySan Mateo County
Operated bySan Mateo County Parks Department
OpenAll year; sunrise to sunset
Public transit accesssamTrans 117, 294
Websitewww.smcgov.org/parks/pillar-point-bluff

Pillar Point Bluff is a 220-acre park in San Mateo County, California. It is part of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, owned by the State of California, and managed by San Mateo County as a county park and nature preserve. The park is located between Princeton-by-the-Sea and Moss Beach, just north of the Pillar Point peninsula, Pillar Point Harbor, and Half Moon Bay. The area was inhabited by coastal indigenous peoples for thousands of years, and in recent centuries, was used for livestock grazing by Spanish Missions and Mexican ranchos. Pillar Point Bluff was once part of the Rancho Corral de Tierra Mexican land grant before California became a state.

Peninsula Open Space Trust purchased the land in parcels from 2004 to 2008 to protect it from development, selling it to the county for use as a park in 2011. The land is now part of the 1,200-mile California Coastal Trail, a network of public trails along the entire coast of California. The park offers hiking trails in a coastal scrub and coastal terrace prairie habitat with scenic views of wetlands, farmlands, the Montara Mountain, Half Moon Bay, the Pacific Ocean, Mavericks surf break, and native wildlife, with seasonal views of wildflowers and gray and humpback whales. The area is also home to the threatened California red-legged frog and the endangered San Francisco garter snake. The park has four trails where on-leash dogs are allowed. The Jean Lauer Trail, a dirt-packed trail, is ADA accessible.

Geography

Pillar Point Bluff is a public park based in Moss Beach, California, in San Mateo County, approximately 20 miles south of San Francisco. The park is located in the westernmost area between the neighborhoods of Princeton-by-the-Sea, and Moss Beach. It is bounded by a private community in the east,[1] county parks in the north and south, and 1200 feet of shoreline to the west. Ross' Cove, the beach directly below the bluff, is part of the Montara State Marine Reserve, while the Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area overlaps and encompasses the area towards the end of the peninsula.

The large white radome of the Pillar Point Air Force Station can be seen in the southernmost part of the peninsula overlooking the promontory, with views of Half Moon Bay and Pillar Point Harbor to the south, the Pacific Ocean, Mavericks surf break, ocean reefs, and tide pools to the west below the bluffs. Towards the east, views of the Half Moon Bay Airport,[2] farmlands, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Rancho Corral de Tierra, and Montara Mountain can be seen from the bluff trails.[1]

Geology

The San Gregorio Fault, an active, 209 km (130 mi) long coastal fault, cuts across land for 3 km as a 30 m high, east-facing escarpment along the southern side of Pillar Point Bluff towards the northern end, referred to as Seal Cove Bluffs, and to the west of the San Andreas Fault. This portion of the fault is classified as an active, late Holocene, strike-slip fault, and was believed to be active sometime until after 1270 AD.[3] The sedimentary rocks in the bluff are classified as part of the Purisima Formation, from the late Miocene or early Pliocene.[4] Malacologists identified marine invertebrate fossils from the Seal Cove and Pillar Point Bluff area consisting predominantly of species of butter clam (Saxidomus gigantea) and the Pacific littleneck clam (Leukoma staminea).[5]

History

Evidence suggests that the three-mile long area from Moss Beach to Pillar Point was likely inhabited sometime around 6,000-7,000 years ago with coastal indigenous peoples gathering seafood from the offshore reefs, while also hunting rabbits, deer, and hauled-out harbor seals from the surrounding land.[6] In the pre-Columbian era, the Chiguan Ohlones inhabited the area,[α] living in two major villages near the coast, Ssatumnumo, which is now present-day Princeton-by-the-Sea, and Chagunte, which is thought to have been near or around Pillar Point.[7]

On October 30, 1769, the Portolá expedition famously described Pillar Point as it camped near Martini Creek at the bottom of Montara Mountain. Franciscan padre Juan Crespí, the official diarist, wrote: "The coast and mainland at about a league from this stream form a very long point of land reaching far out to sea, and a great deal of flats running along its tip, with many large rocks seeming from afar to be island rocks."[8] Crespí named the point "punta del Ángel Custodio", or "Guardian Angel Point".[9] The expedition continued north, making the first recorded European sighting of San Francisco Bay just a few days later, on November 1.[10]

Spain eventually colonized the area, establishing Mission San Francisco de Asís in 1776, just five days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. By the early 1790s, the Mission was using the area near Pillar Point for horse and cattle grazing, where it was described as El Pilar or Los Pilares, based on the rocky formation near the promontory.[11] These types of natural enclosures for livestock at Pillar Point were referred to as "El Corral de Tierra" (the Earth Corral).[12] The land became part of Mexico after they achieved their independence in 1821. The Mexican secularization act of 1833 granted the land, then known as Rancho Corral de Tierra, in two parcels. The Mexican–American War took place from 1846 to 1848, leading to Mexico ceding the area to the United States, making it part of the thirty-first state of California in 1850.[13]

By the early 20th century, a dairy farm was operating at the base of the bluffs.[14] In the 1920s and 1930s, the beach and cliff area just north of the bluffs was used by rum-runners to ship illegal whiskey during the Prohibition era and distribute it to San Francisco. Ranching continued up until World War II, when the southernmost part of the peninsula was converted into the Pillar Point Military Reservation to protect the coast from the potential threat of attack from Japan.[15]

Background

The coastal area to the north, around Seal Cove, faced major threats and environmental destruction from human encroachment until it was protected in November 1969 as the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.[16] In 1972, Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act to encourage coastal states to develop and implement coastal zone management plans. The California Coastal Act of 1976 (Ca. Pub. Res. Code § 30000) permanently created the California Coastal Commission, an independent state agency tasked with coastal zone management.[17] The Coastal Act requires that local coastal programs for each county implement its requirements, particularly the policies in Chapter 3 stipulating public access and recreation.[18] San Mateo County Parks began to develop a long-term plan for connecting trails along the coast.[1]

Facing east from the bluff trail towards Rancho Corral de Tierra of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Montara Mountain. Farms growing pumpkins and Brussels sprouts can be seen at the base in front of California State Route 1 and Half Moon Bay Airport. Rabbits are frequently seen on the trails.

The California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 908 in 2001, authorizing the Coastal Conservancy to complete a report on a proposal to build a network of state-wide, public trails along the entire coast of California, to both increase public access to the coastline and educate visitors about the environmental resources of the state. Concurrently, the Fitzgerald Marine Master Plan was completed in 2002. The reserve, which is part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, includes 32 acres of upland coastal bluffs in their master plan.[19]

Soon after, the Coastal Conservancy published their report, Completing the California Coastal Trail in 2003, making the case for restoring and protecting the coastal lands of California and creating a network of public trails open to everyone, "a continuous public right-of-way along the California coastline designed to foster appreciation and stewardship of the scenic and natural resources of the coast through hiking and other complementary modes of non-motorized transportation."[19]

Creation and establishment

Pillar Point Bluff faced major pressure by commercial developers for decades, with various plans proposed for new houses, hotels, and golf courses.[β] The land was acquired in stages over about a decade by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), a private nonprofit. From 2004 to 2015, POST negotiated and purchased approximately 161 acres in four separate parcels for the proposed park. Funding was provided by donors such as the Coastal Conservancy and the Living Landscape Initiative of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.[20]

Before POST became involved, the bluff was privately owned. The public had used it for some time, but the land was threatened by erosion and invasive plants. As POST started acquiring the private property for use as a future node in the California Coastal Trail, it was found to be covered in non-native, invasive pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata) from South America, limiting the biodiversity of the area.[21] It is thought that pampas grass got a foothold in the area due to its previous widespread use in California landscaping.[22] POST began habitat restoration efforts in 2005,[23] spending that summer clearing out pampas grass by the roots, allowing native plants and animals to return, and removing obstacles to the ocean views.[21] To help prevent erosion, POST improved drainage,[24] moved old hiking paths from slopes that were eroding to new trails, and planted native plants on denuded areas of the bluff.[25] POST also removed the remains of the old dairy structure, restored irrigation ponds for wildlife use,[26] and built a ten-car parking lot and restrooms.

San Mateo County purchased the land from POST in August 2011 with a $3 million grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board, adding it to the James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.[27] Pillar Point Bluff is now part of the California Coastal Trail, a network of trails along the 1200-mile California coastline. It connects with the Dardenelle Trail in the north and the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail in the south.[γ]

Ecology

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) on the bluffs

Ecoregions

Pillar Point Bluff is a local biological hotspot, home to a rare coastal scrub and coastal terrace prairie habitats. The area is surrounded at its base by Pillar Point Marsh in the southeast, a system of vegetated wetlands and intertidal flats. The salt marsh is composed of decomposing plants in a hypoxic environment, providing habitats for invertebrates, fish, and birds. The marsh also helps to mitigate the erosion of the shoreline.[28]

Wildlife

A 2000 survey of species in the general area counted five types of amphibians, 14 types of reptiles, 94 types of birds, and 32 types of mammals. Rare wildlife species living in the habitat include the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake.[29] The Western pond turtle may be found in the area around the ocean. Cottontail rabbits are frequently seen on the bluff trails.[30] Birds in the habitat range from songbirds like the salt marsh common yellowthroat, to cormorants, red-tailed hawks,[30] pelicans, egrets, and pigeon guillemots.[30] Hikers may view harbor seals below the bluff on the beaches and in the ocean.[30] In the spring, gray whales are visible, while in the summer and fall, humpback whales can be spotted in the ocean from the bluffs. Native plants[δ] include sticky monkey-flower, rushes, coyote brush,[21] coffeeberry, toyon, and buckwheat. Other plants found growing in the Pillar Point coastal habitat include knotweed, California saltbush, chocolate lily, and coastal gumplant.[31]

Threats

Threats to Pillar Point Bluff include invasive species, erosion, and off-leash dogs.[32] Invasive plants like pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata) and oxalis (Oxalis pes-caprae) threaten the Pillar Point Bluff ecosystem and are routinely monitored for eradication. Efforts to control the pampas grass population have been largely successful since the park was established, but maintenance and control of invasive oaxlis is ongoing.[33] Brush removal efforts target trees like Monterey pines (Pinus radiata), which can contribute to wildfires and prevent native plants from growing in the coastal habitat.[34] Due to the lack of adequate enforcement and the potential for wildlife and habitat destruction, off-leash dogs have been a topic of concern, as they can pose a threat to small animals who live in burrows on the bluffs as well as harbor seal pups on the beaches below.[35]

Activities

Cyclist on Pillar Point Bluff trail. Remnants of invasive pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata) can be seen on the ground in the lower left.

The park offers self-guided nature and hiking trails, views of summer wildflowers, the Pacific Ocean, and Mavericks surf break (binoculars are recommended).[30] On-leash dog walking is permitted. The major trails are dirt, but the Jean Lauer Trail is wheelchair accessible. Restrooms are available at both the Pillar Point Bluff trailhead entrance on Airport Street and at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve trailhead entrance on California Avenue.[36]

  • Pillar Point Bluff Trail. Begins at Airport Street and connects to Jean Lauer Trail and Frenchman's Reefs Trail.
  • Jean Lauer Trail. 1.4 miles round-trip. ADA accessible dirt path along the top of the bluff that is accessed from the Airport Street parking lot and connects to Bernal Avenue at the top of the bluff. The trail is named after a former employee of Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).[37]
  • Ross' Cove Trail. Connects to Jean Lauer Trail.
  • Frenchman's Reefs Trail. Connects to Jean Lauer Trail and Pillar Point Bluff Trail.

The Jean Lauer Trail at Pillar Point Bluff may be accessed in at least four different ways. The main, but small, Pillar Point Bluff parking lot, is located at 840 Airport Street in the middle of all of the available access points;[30] Additional parking along Airport Street at the base of the bluff is also possible. The southwest entrance is found near the Pillar Point Marsh, at 22 West Point Avenue, near the Pillar Point Harbor, in the West Shoreline access parking lot. From this direction, the trailhead is accessed by a paved service road approximately 0.1 miles away which begins behind a yellow gate across the street from the parking lot.[38] The longest trail, beginning outside Pillar Point Bluff park in the north near Seal Cove, starts at North Lake Street and California Avenue, at the parking lot and trailhead entrance to the James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, which connects to Ocean Boulevard and the Bernal Avenue trailhead;[39] this trailhead has two access points, one at the 1 Alvarado Ave intersection of Bernal Ave, and another at the end of that street, which has very limited parking.[38]

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, San Mateo County Parks closed all 23 parks, including Pillar Point Bluff, from the evening of March 27 to May 4.[40]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ According to Mission register data the Chiguan were one of six tribelet groups in the general area. This includes the Cotegen of Purisima Creek, the Oljon of San Gregorio Creek, the Quiroste of Ano Nuevo, the Cotoni of Scott Creek, and the Uypin of Santa Cruz. A smaller group known as the Guemelento or Wemelente lived in the upper Pescadero Creek area. See Hylkema 1991, p. 54.
  2. ^ Weigel 2015: "POST's preservation of the area has helped deter development over the years...[The] site was sought after for construction about 20 to 30 years ago and less than 10 years ago houses were proposed just south on the bluffs." POST 2023: "[The parcels] were purchased from absentee landowners who planned to develop the bluff into luxury hotels, homes, or golf courses." POST 2006: "POST acquired this windswept lookout in August 2004 to protect it from commercial development."
  3. ^ See the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve map and brochure for details of connecting routes.
  4. ^ Botanists collected specimens in the area of the Santa Cruz Mountains for centuries, but these were held in mostly private collections until the mid-20th century. Stanford botanist John Hunter Thomas surveyed the vascular plants in the Pillar Point area in the late 1950s and published his work in 1961.

References

Bibliography

External links