Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:00AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi everyone! I'm Ben Waltenberger, the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Hopefully I'll be able to give you all some interesting facts about the Santa Barbara Channel and it's unique "place in space" as we geographers like to say : ) You can find more information on NOAA and the Sanctuary at: button

Paradise HomeSchool Expedition Team: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:01AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Ben: Will the SSE project make for any changes in the maps used by boaters and fishermen in the Channel?

Sarah, grade 5: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:03AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi Ben - can you tell us about any mysterious caves on the islands that you have mapped ?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:04AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Paradise home: There hasn't been a specific project yet that focuses on navigational mapping (which is usually done by NOAA's charting division) but if any unusual bathymetric (underwater terrain) structures are found, they will most certainly be be added to new NOAA charts.

Thomas G, grade 6: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:05AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr. Waltenberg - how deep are the deepest canyons in the channel - and waht lives down there / have you ever gone down in any ?

Ayami - Geography Expedition Team 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:05AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Ben - how do the charts and maps get made? Does the government control maps that are used by sailors?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:06AM PST (-0800 GMT)
It's also very likely that new structures will be found -- Our Archeologist was on a National Park boat a few months ago, and they found an undocumented feature the hard way -- by crashing into it!

Mary ellen, grade 5: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:07AM PST (-0800 GMT)
We read online that there was a rush to get the islands mapped arounf a hundered years ago - especially those that weren't listed under mexican land grants, so that foreign countries couldn't claim them. Are we sure now that the U.S. owns them ?

Expedition Team - 8th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:08AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Ben - if the Channel Islands were gone, perhaps sunk by an earthquake - would it cause the mainland to be underwater?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:10AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thomas, the deepest area of the channel itself is about 330 fathoms, or about 2000 feet. There aren't any major canyons in the channel itself, but there are some neat ones off the islands. We had a submarine explore the Santa Cruz canyon last year. Give me a second and I'll throw up an image of the channel. Ayami: maps are now made on a computer after NOAA hydrographic ships collect digital data during surveys. Of course computers were'nt always around, and we used to spend LOTS of time hand drawing maps. Many say the old hand drawn maps, while not quite as accurate, are much more interesting to look at!

Expedition Team - 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - would you give a brief definition of what a Geographer, such as yourself, is. How is the job defined?

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Does everyone know that James Whistler - who painted the famous Whistler's Mother painting - also worked with the geographers to map / draw the Channel Islands? There is a picture of his drawing on the Camp - and the story of how he got fired for adding a few seagulls to the drawing of Anacapa Island !

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:12AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here's an Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) model I made of the channel bathymetry and the island topography. This is a 3D model that uses a few million data points. It took a very advanced UNIX workstation about two days to draw this:

Expedition Team - 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:13AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Ben: How big is the Santa Barbara channel (how long and how wide)?

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:16AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Everone who comes online for this chat - please look at the center page in your Camp Passport - that is a map of the underwater geography of the areas around all of the eight Channel Islands. Ben, can you tell the students what defines a ridge, an escarpemnt, a basin, a seamount, and a bank ? These are shown on their topographic map in the passport. Thanks.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Expedition team 8th grade: The National Park service has put together a really neat animation showing sea level change from the present back in time into the Ice Age. This image uses NOAA's bathymetry data as its base layer. THis is a 2 megabyte image, so it takes a while to download. You will need the Apple Quicktime VR plugin to view it. You can find the movie at: button Expedition team 5th grade: Geography is a really neat field to be in because we are what they call generalists, in that we are active with and within many different sciences and also help with policy decisions. My primary function here at the Sanctuary is collecting geographic data and putting it into a computer program that allows us to look at how one kind of datum is related to another. For instance, how kelp beds and commercial fishing are related. I also collect data in our areial program, where we look for marine mammals. I also work in remote sensing, which is looking at airphotos and satellite images.

Thomas G: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
what is bathymetry ?

Expedition Team - 6th grade Nipomo: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:19AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Ben: When did the Channel first have maps made of it?

Expedition Team - 5th grade Ojai: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:22AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Ben - I hope to study Marine Science in college - is geography a part of Marine Science and should I focus on a special area like geography in preparation for college marine science studies?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
exped. team 5th grade: The channel is about 130 kilometers from Point Conception to Port Hueneme, and about 75 kilometers wide at its widest point. It's also important to note that the Point Conception wind shadow is one of the driving forces in creating the unique geography of our channel, as well as the convergence (meeting) of warm and cold water currents that give us such a neat blend of animals and plants. This image is a sea swell model that kind of lets you see how Pt Conception affects the Channel. The green areas are large swells, the blue areas are calmer seas. This image is a typical day in the channel, and you can see how the point keeps the inner channel calmer than the outer and west channel:

Expedition Team - 5th grade Ojai: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - are there underwater mountains in the Channel?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:30AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thomas: Bathymetry is a word for describing terrain on the ocean floor. Things like hills, underwater mountains, escarpments (steep dropoffs from an underwater plain, canyons, etc. It's a way of describing physical features. If we're describing features on the land, we call that topography. 5th grade Ojai: Marine biologists benefit highly from geography. Knowing the landscape you're studying is very important for recognizing how and why animals may react the way they do or why plants may grow where they do. I would recommend at least one physical geography survey class, as well as at least one GIS class. GIS is becoming very popular in Marine Biology because it allows the scientists to find patterns much more quickly and easily.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:34AM PST (-0800 GMT)
5th grade Ojai: Excellent question! Those are at this point undefined features. We are not sure if there really are pinnacles (steep skinny mountains that look like a "Big Pop" popsicle) or if they are some kind of errors in the NOAA bathymetry archive. In the near future we will be going out there to look for ourselves and positively idnetify them! To everyone: I'm a pretty slow typist, so if in keeping up I missed your question, please don't hesitate to repeat it!

Sammy, Goleta: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:37AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What about pirate ships ? do you map those ?

Camp Team: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:39AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Everyone: Be sure a take a look at the new link in your Geography Expedition classroom to our Image Library - we have a number of new images from Ben to review - click here button to go over to the Library

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:40AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To see how the mainland affects the channel and the islands, look at this image: It is from a NOAA satellite called the AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer). It is showing a "temperature anomoly" which means a weird difference in temperature that shouldn't be there. In this case the orange is showing a higher temperature by a degree or which is actually a sediment (dirt) plume that left the Santa Clara River in Ventura and is hitting Santa Cruz island. This is important because it shows how pollution from the mainland can go all the way out to the islands (about 30 ilometers).

Amanda, Goleta: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:41AM PST (-0800 GMT)
We heard National Geographic will be coming to the Channel soon - what will they be doing ?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:45AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Sammy: We have lots of shipwrecks mapped for the island (over 100!). Some of them are very old, but I don't know if any of them had pirates on board. Maybe in some future chat we can get Bob Schwemmer, our archeologist, to participate. He has lots of really neat stories about the ships that have sunk around the islands!

Oak View: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:46AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, can the channel geography change.

Sarah, grade 5: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:46AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi Ben - can you tell us about any mysterious caves on the islands that you have mapped ?

Oak View: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:49AM PST (-0800 GMT)
how does the deapth around the channel compare to Monteray Bay area.

Oak View: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:50AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, can the channel geography change.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:51AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Oak View: The Channel geology is always changing. A great illustration of this is the link I put up earlier that shows the sea level change. At one time Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel islands were all the same island! Sarah: I don't know if we have any really mysterious sea caves, but we have some really neat ones: Painted Cave is the largest sea cave in the world -- you can feet a 100 foot long boat into it. It is over 1220 feet long all together! We also have some really neat names to go with the caves: Hidden Ampitheater, Cave of the Sea swifts, Cave of the Bird Dropping ( I don't go in that one!)Neptune's Trident, and many more.

Ms. Glenn Class: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:51AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ms. Glenn's classroom has just logged on. We are reading through all this great information.

Ms. Glenn Class: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:52AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ms. Glenn's classroom has just logged on. We are reading through all this great information.

Julie: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:54AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Good morning Everyone! My name is Julie Goodson and I'm here to talk with you about the upcoming Sustainable Seas Expedition in the Channel Islands. Sorry I'm late - although it looks like you've been learning a lot about the geography of the Channel Islands!

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:54AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Amanda: I think Julie Goodson, our Education Coordinator is about to logon and she knows exactly when National Geographic is coming. They are coming out to work with us in the Sustainable Seas expeditions, where we are taking two one person subs into the Sanctuary to explore the ocean. They can go down to 2000 feet!

Oak View: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:56AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How deep is the water around Catalina,( Mikeal Oak View)

Oak View: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:57AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Marci, Oak View is her we have been reading all the interesting questions that have been asked before we asked are own.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:58AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Oak View: I usually don't work with stuff from the Catalina area, but give me a minute and I can look that up for you.

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:59AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi Amanda National Geographic will be coming to the Channel Islands as a host for the Sustainable Seas Program. The R/V McArthur (which has the DeepWorker subs!) will anchor off Santa Barbara on May 24. The first two days of the expedition will be for the submersible pilots to do some refresher dives. On Thursday, May 27, the first Sustainable Seas Expedition will begin!

Ana Rosa,Twyla: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 9:59AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What are some of the animals on the Channel Island's?

Oak View: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:00AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben , Do you know of any volcanic activity, Tommy and Keith at Oak View

Ana Rosa,Twyla: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:01AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, what is the biggest point in Point Conception?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:03AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ana Rosa & Twyla: There are a lot of animals on the islands: Seabirds, including brown pelicans, seagulls (lots!)auklets, and cormorants. There are seals, sea lions, elephant seals. We have an island fox, and many wild pigs that were introduced by humans an and changed the landscape on Santa Cruz island very much.

Ana Rosa,Twyla: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:03AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, What is the biggest land formation you've seen in the Channel Island?

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:04AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, the contour maps of the channel between Catalina Island and the mainland show a depth contour line of 350 fathoms. There are 6 feet to one fathom so....that would make the depth of some of the basins at 2100 feet! I don't know about the backside of the island though.

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:05AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Welcome Julie - can you tell us what the submersibles will be looking for when they arrive ? And how dangerous is it to go down 2,000 feet in one ?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:05AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ana Rosa & Twyla: Point Conception is just a part of the California coasts that sticks out into the ocean a bit. You can see what it looks like on the first image in your image library. It is in the top left corner of the picture, just below Point Arguello.

Tiffaany: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:06AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben,is there any acctive valcanos on the channel island.

Regina , 5th grade /: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:06AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What and where is the biggest cave on Catalina?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:07AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thanks for looking that up Julie! Interestingly, that is very similar to the deepest point in the Santa Barbara Channel. The deepest point in the bathymetry map in the library is over 6300 feet!

Ana Rosa,Twyla: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:08AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, have you ever been bit by any animals on any of the Island's?

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:10AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Marcy: The submersibles will be following six transect lines within the Anacapa reserve. THe submersibles will start at the deeper water depths and run upslope along the transect. The goal is to define different habitat types along the transects. This will help Sanctuary Managers define what lives in the sanctuary. Different animals are adapted to different types of habitats. So the pilots in the submersibles will map different bottom types (mud vs. rock reef or rubble)along the transect.

Christian michael: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr.Ben Do you know any kind of spical brids that live on the Island?

Ana Rosa,Twyla: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, did the pirates call Point Conception Devil's Jaw?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:12AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Tiffany: There aren't any volcanos on our islands. Regina: I actually don't know much about Catalina geography. I work mostly with the coast around Santa Barbara and Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara islands. You might want to click here to get information on Catalina island button (they also have a neat virtual tour page)

Ana Rosa,Twyla: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:14AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, what is the main Island that you studied?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:16AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Christian: do you mean special birds? Ana Rosa & Twyla: I've never heard of the Devil's Jaw name used. Is that something you learned here on Camp Internet? It would make a lot of sense -- Point conception has very rough seas and there are quite a few shipwrecks in the area. The Navy even lost five warships near there about 50 years ago.

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Regina: I know of some caves over on the West end of Catalina Island, but I don't know how big they are. There is a cove called "Blue Caverns on the lee side (that is the side facing the mainland coast). On the windward side (the side facing the ocean) there are also some caves. Most of the caves are underwater for both locations.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:19AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ana Rosa & Twyla: I look at information for all five islands in the Sanctuary, but mostly I study the the shorelines and the waters surrounding them. YOu can go to button whre you can see some flyby models I made of a couple of the islands using Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The fly around the areas that I mostly study.

Oak View: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:27AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben do you know of any volcanic activity around the channel islands.

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:30AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - is there any effort afoot to get San Nicolas and San Clemente turned over from the Navy to become part of the National Park / Sanctuary programs ? The students have an area on the Camp where they can read how long it took to form the Park / Sanctuary, and have wondered about the other islands ..

Trinica Diana Sarah: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:31AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben witch island do you like the most.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:31AM PST (-0800 GMT)
For those of you interested in geography as a career, you can get info at button Any of you that have an interest in channel or island geography can always email me anytime at bwaltenberger@cinms.nos.noaa.gov I'm always happy to provide information on local geography as well as GIS and remote sensing.

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:35AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Julie - if you are still online, can you tell us about the lead scientist for the SSE ? Dr. Earle ..

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:36AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Oak View, there's no volcanic activity around the islands. Marcy, at the present time the chance of the navy giving up San Nicholas is pretty slim. That is, I believe, the only offshore facility they have along the central coast, and they do a lot of hydrophone (underwater listening device) studies from there, so they have a big reason (national Security) to want to hold on to it. Trinicia, Diana, & Sarah: I like Santa Cruz island the most: It's the biggest one and has a lot of very interesting geology. When you're in it's central valley, you feel like you're in a forest in the mainland somewhere, but you can travel a few miles and be sitting on a windswept bluff and watching sealions! I also like diving off of Santa Cruz island.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:39AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here's an online profile of Sylvia (Dr. Earle) button

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:40AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - can you let the students know what some of the major environmental concerns are in the sanctuary that your GIS can assist in addressing ?

: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:44AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Do any of the Islands have nicknames?

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:44AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dr. Sylvia Earle holds the deepest untethered dive in the world in a jim suit. She is the 1998-1999 explorer in residence for the national Geographic Society. She has another company called Deep OCean Exploration and Research out of Oakland CA. She has an autobiographical book called "Sea Change" (1995) THAT discusses the state of the oceans. For SSe she is the project director and is chief scientist for all of the missions at each Sanctuary. for more information on her check out www.doer-inc.com/sae-bio.html

: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:44AM PST (-0800 GMT)

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:45AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Campers - we will be working with Dr. Earle's team late in May when National Geographic comes to explore the Channel - be sure to read the button above that Ben gave so you can learn about her work. We plan to have her participate in a chat with you, so learn about her experience and be thinking ahead about what you can ask her.

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:46AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thanks Ben for the URL on Dr. Sylvia Earle

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:46AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Marcy: Sure. We are currently doing pollution monitoring, sediment plume studies, vessel traffic use (we use our plane to track vessels with an onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) that lets us measure human impacts within the Sanctuary (we have crusie ships visiting Santa Barbara Island now, which is a big human impact). Also we do aerial kelp surveys to see how changes in the ocean affect our kelp beds, which are the mainstay of many of our most diverse marine communities. the El Nino last year wiped out most of the kep, but it has begun to come back nicely (I was playing hide and seek with a harbor seal in it last month!)

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:48AM PST (-0800 GMT)
classrooms - can you let us know who is online now ?

Jasmine 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:49AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Do any of the Islands have nicknames?

Mario : . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:49AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Can people acually live on Richardson Rock?

Chester & Jose: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:50AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Did the Chumash live on all the islands?

Elsa,Beatriz 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:51AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How far is the San Nicholas island from Los Angeles?

Steven and Antonio: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:51AM PST (-0800 GMT)
why is Richardson rock not an island

Alexandra, Kalyn,and Marissa : . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:51AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How long is the mountain range?

Kelsey: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:51AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Which island has the biggist population

Joshua&Uzbaldo 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:52AM PST (-0800 GMT)
did the chumach live on all the channel islands?

Sarah,Christina,Kristina 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:52AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How big can an Island be considerd an Island?

jeff and Jose C: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:52AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How did you get all that information about the island?How big is Santa Cruz island?

ERIC and JAN: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:53AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Are any of the Islands with an old volcano?

Victoria and Vanessa: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:53AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What was the first Island?

Elsa,Beatriz 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:54AM PST (-0800 GMT)

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:54AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Jasmine: I'm not familiar with any island nicknames -- Do you know Julie? Mario, Richardson Rock is a tiny little offshore rock that is very exposed to the rough weather of the Western Channel -- you definitely wouldn't want to live there : ) Chester and Jose: The Chumash had many villages on Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel Islands. I believe the most Chumash archeological sites are found on Santa Rosa Island.

Chester & Jose: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:55AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Santa Barbara Island is the same size of Richardson Rock, So why is'nt Richardson Rock an island?

David & Anthony 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:55AM PST (-0800 GMT)
"Hi".When did the biulding of the Cachuma dam.

Sarah,Christina,Kristina 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:55AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What is the length of Santa Barbara Island?

Mrs. Webb Teacher in Guadalupe: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:55AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Wanted to let you know that we got my calss on. We are pleased and glad to be included.

Antonio: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:56AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Why is Richardson rock not an island

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:57AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Chester and Joe - there is evidence that the Chumash lived on Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Anacapa seasonally. Santa Barbara was used seasonally as a tool making workshop due to its stone deposits. The Gabrielino lived on Santa Catalina and San Clemente, and inter-married with the Chumash. One mystery is what type of peoples lived on San Nicolas, where Island of the Blue Dolphins is set. The explorers who visited the island reported that some of the San Nicolas islanders looked a little different than the others, and their arts and crafts were different. Availability of water - fresh water - was the main factor in what islands were inhabited.

Antonio: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:57AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Why is Richardson rock not an island?

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 10:59AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Welcome Guadalupe ! Ben and Julie, this is a class directly sponsored by the Sanctuary and could use a nice over view of the sanctuary mission and goals in brief ...

Elsa,Beatriz 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:00AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How far is the San Nicholas Island from Las Angeles?

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:01AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Chester and Joe: The Chumash inhabited the four northern most islands: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Island. It is thought that the Chumash only occupied Anacapa Island on a seasonal basis because of inaccessiblity to shoreline and a dry landscape.

Alex 5th: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:01AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How many miles is it from San Miguel to Santa Catalina?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:01AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Elsa, Beatrice: San Nicholas is about 60 miles from Los angeles. Kelsey: The biggest population is probably on Santa Cruz, which holds on average about 15 park workers and researchers : ) Sarah, Christina, Kristina: Though definitions vary, if it's big enough that part of it is never exposed to the ocean, you can consider it an island, though it may not be an island you want to live on : ) Victoria and Vanessa: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel were all one island at one time. It's hard for us to say for sure which one of them actually separated first.

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:03AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mrs. Webb - when you want to scroll back up and see the previously posted messages and pictures or links, type in a large number - 100 for example - in the scroll back box, then click on the chat button to its left, and you will go back up as many entries as you choose. Ben has provided some excellent graphics and live links to other resources worth visiting today.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:03AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Give me a second to answer questions guys -- I just got about 15 at once : )

Sarah,Christina,Kristina 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:04AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Where will the mountain range

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:04AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben: I don't know of any Island nicknames. Sarah, christina,Kristina: Santa Barbara Island is only 1 mile in diameter!

Victoria and Vanessa: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:04AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How far is San Nicolas Island

Elsa,Beatriz 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:06AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Were all of these island once valcanoes?

Sarah,Christina,Kristina 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:06AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Where will the mountain range touch C.A.

Chester & Jose: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:07AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Which island has the biggest population?

Victoria and Vanessa: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:07AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How far is San Nicolas Island from Santa Barbra Island?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:07AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Actually, Richardson rock is a bit smaller than Snata Barbar Island. Santa Barbara Island is about one square mile in size, and about 2.5 kilometers long at its longest point.

Mario: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:09AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Are any islands extinct volcanoes?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:10AM PST (-0800 GMT)
San Nicholas is about 25 miles from Santa Barbara Island. Interestingly, the island range is not related to the mountains around Santa Barbara, but is an extension of the Santa Monica range in the Los angeles area.

Chester & Jose: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:10AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Have you been to any of the islands?

Elsa,Beatriz 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Were all of the islands once valcanoes?

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is some of the geology info off the camp web ...... there has been tremendous geologic forces at work on this edge of the American continent for hundreds of thousands - even millions - of years. Scientists estimate that around 15 million years ago the Channel was a hotbed of volcanic activity - much like Hawaii is today. Over the years, the Channel Islands have been formed through a combination of volcanic activity ( pushing molten magma to the earth’s surface - in this case at times underwater ), erosion from the sea as ocean water levels have risen and lowered as much as 300 feet during different ice and warming ages ( wearing away the islands as a result of surf and tide conditions ), and seismic activity ( the lifting and folding associated with earthquakes and other long term movements of the earth’s crust ).

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:12AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Chester & Jose, I've been diving around all the islands except for Santa barbara Island, and have been on Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands.

Alexandra, Kalyn,and Marissa : . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:13AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How big does a landform surrounded by water have to be to be considered an island?

Marcy, camp counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:14AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is some volcano information from the camp web ......The smallest of the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara Island is approximately one square mile in size and its highest point is Signal Peak at 635 feet. This island is believed to be the tip of a Miocene volcano, uplifted from the sea floor by underwater volcanic activity hundreds of thousands of years ago. It has always been isolated from the other islands, and although it is closer to Catalina, it is part of the Channel Islands National Sanctuary and National Park, linking it to the northern Channel Islands.

Kelsey and Mario: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:16AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Is the information on Island of the Blue Dolphin true? Have you read the book?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:16AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Alexandra, Kayln, & Marissa: There's no hard and fast rule for size: The general definition is "any landform that is completely surrounded by water"

Alexandra, Kalyn,and Marissa : . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What's the name of the mountain range to the islands?

Elsa,Beatriz 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Wre all of the islands once valcanoes or are some just natural land forms?

Chester : . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Do you know how all the islands are all apart from each other?

Victoria and Vanessa: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How far

Sarah,Christina,Kristina 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:18AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Have you been to all the Islands?

Antonio: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:18AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How many volcanos are there on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:19AM PST (-0800 GMT)
More info from the Camp web on geology and how it creates geographic features ......... Ancient Story ................. Underlying the geography we see today is an ancient story – hundreds of thousands of years of geologic time. Volcanic activity has been noted in the region until fairly recent times – from the upthrusts under the ocean that brought magma from the earth’s inner core to the sea bed surface, to vents along the Santa Barbara shoreline observed in the last 100 years. This volcanic activity is recorded on the Channel Islands most clearly – with submarine lava flows still evident in the rock on Anacapa Island, and Santa Barbara Island actually being the tip of a Miocene era volcano! ......................... Another force that has shaped the geography of the Channel over time has been seismic activities – often dramatic events that can in a single day raise mountain levels 30 feet – and suddenly create tall ridges and deep valleys where there were none a few hours before. The region is laced with earthquake faults endemic to the entire Pacific Rim – also called The Ring of Fire. The motion on these faults has uplifted the mountain ranges we see today both on the mainland and also out on the islands. ............ And there is even another factor influencing the geography we see today – the forces of water and weather. The rivers and streams in the region often follow the earthquake faults as they seek the fastest downhill slope towards the sea from the peaks of the highest mountains and course along arroyos and riverbeds. The weather of the region – wind and rain in a particular – has been shaping the sandstone Santa Ynez Mountains, sometimes forming amazing wind caves and teetering boulders set incredibly atop narrow spikes of stone.

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:19AM PST (-0800 GMT)
The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1980 to protect the cultural and living resources that are a part of the Channel Islands. The designated protected area covers 1,658 square miles around the waters surrounding San Miguel, Santa Roisa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara Islands. An important goal of the Sanctuary is to increase awareness of the Channel Islands through education and research. It is very exciting for us to be working with all of you in Camp Internet:-)

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:21AM PST (-0800 GMT)
THanks everyone for all the great questions. I have to sign off now. Again, please be sure to check out our web page for info on the Sanctuary at button and also feel free to email me at bwaltenberger@cinms.nos.noaa.gov with any other questions, or requests for data you may want to use on school projects.

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:22AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Kelsey and Mario - yes, Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on a true story, although the author of the book changes some of the facts of the story. You can read about The Lone Woman of San Nicolas - and the actual reports from the people who found her - online in the Camp under Coyote's Storytelling Place.

Sarah,Christina,Kristina 5th grade: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:23AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How long is Santa Barbara Island?

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:24AM PST (-0800 GMT)
The story for the Island Of The Blue Dolphins was based on stories told by the last native inhabitant of San Nicholas Island after she was evacuated from the Island and brought over to the California mainland. It is a fascinating account of how life must have been during that time period for the Native Americans.

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
We want to thank Ben for his outstanding service today as your Camp Internet Trail Guide - his answers - and amazing graphics and links - made this one of our best chats yet. Thanks Ben ! If Julie, who is the Education Coordinator at the sanctuary where Ben also works, can stay online, please do, the kids will have more questions. Later we will post the chat room in our archive for everyone to read over anytime. We will keep this room active until noon today, but you can come back anytime and post / answer questions.

Julie@CINMS: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:26AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thanks everyone for your interesting questions! I too must sign off now. If you have any other questions about the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary you can email me at Jgoodson@cinms.nos.noaa.gov So long :-)

Marcy, Camp Counselor: . . . . Thu, Feb 11, 11:37AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thanks to Julie for participating today !! .... great to see the Sanctuary staff talking with students - our future stewards of the Channel resources ............Guadalupe students - thanks for coming online today - if you would like to ask any questions of the Camp by email, you can reach us at camp@rain.org. We can forward any questions on to our Trail Guides for you. And you are welcome to stay in the chat room and try out the fun links that the trail guides posted today by clicking on the words 'button' where ever you see it in one of their messages.

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