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'San Clemente Island' or '''SCI''' is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is 21 nautical miles (39 km) long and contains 147.13 km² (56.81 mi²) of land. The island is officially uninhabited as of 2000 U.S. Census .^[1]

Contents

History

Navy base

Wildlife

Gallery

External links

References

History

Archeologists have found traces of human occupation on the San Clemente Island dating back 10,000 years, a remarkable figure for an island 55 nautical miles (102 km) out to sea, but consistent with results on other Channel Islands.
Later inhabitants left trade materials from the northern islands and from the mainland, including Coso obsidian from the California desert. It has not been established what tribe the recent inhabitants belonged to,
although the Tongva, who are well attested from Santa Catalina Island, are the most likely candidates. The Chumash, who occupied the northern Channel Islands, may have influenced the inhabitants.
The island was named by Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino, who spotted it on November 23, 1602, Saint Clement's feast day. It was used by ranchers, fishermen, and smugglers during the 19th century and into the 20th century.
The city of San Clemente in Orange County, California is named after the island.

Navy base

The U.S. Navy acquired the island in 1934. It is the Navy's only remaining ship-to-shore live firing range and is the center of the integrated air/land/sea San Clemente Island Range Complex covering 2,620 nm² (8,986 km²).
It is an active sonar base and has a $21 million simulated embassy for commando training.
There is also a U.S. Navy rocket-test facility on San Clemente. It is situated at . Some Polaris-program test rockets were launched from San Clemente between 1957 and 1960.

Wildlife

The San Clemente Island Loggerhead Shrike is an endangered species that the Navy is taking steps to protect. The San Clemente Island Fox is an indigenous species. Feral goats roamed the island for centuries, reaching a population of 11,000 in 1972, when their effect on indigenous species was realized. By 1980 the population had been reduced to 4,000. A plan for shooting remaining goats was blocked in court by the Fund for Animals, so the goats were removed with nets and helicopters. The San Clemente Goat is a recognized breed of domestic goat. The coves around the island are visited by divers attracted by the abundant sea life, including sea lions, lobsters, hydrocoral and kelp forests.

Gallery

External links

★ San Clemente Island

★ San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike

★ Rocket launches at San Clemente

References

1. It is estimated, however, that the number of military and civilian personnel on the island numbers at least 300 any given time. Block Group 2, Census Tract 5991, Los Angeles County