

CA 16. Pixley Vernal Pool Area. Acreage: 40. 



Location: Tulare County; Sausalito School quadrangle, "square" no. 30; 5 miles 

 E and 1 mile N of Pixley, reached from Pixley via local, unnumbered roads 

 along section lines. 



Description: Vernal pools are an interesting feature of the grassland of the 

 Great Central Valley of California. These depressed areas of varying sizes and 

 shapes are underlain by an impervious soil layer and during winter rains are 

 filled with water. In late winter and spring a number of spring-flowering annuals, 

 some of which absolutely need water for seed germination, cover the pools with 

 their yellow, white, and blue flowers. During the summer dry season the pools 

 with their colorful flowering plants as well as the grasses and grassland plants of 

 the surrounding area dry up. Certain species are endemic to these vernal pools 

 and will be lost with their destruction. An inventory of the plants on the 40 

 acres shows a total of about 160 plants throughout the year in the pools and sur- 

 rounding grassland. 



References: A description of the area together with an inventory of the plants is 

 in preparation by E. McCuntock and J. T. Howell. 



Encroachments: The western boundary of the 40 acres is a road but on the 

 other three boundaries is irrigated farm land. Encroachment from the surround- 

 ing irrigated land is a potential threat to the area. 



Ownership: TNC. 



Data source: Dr. Elizabeth McClintock, California Academy of Sciences, San 

 Francisco, Cal. 941 18. 



Other knowledgeable persons: Jack Zaninovich, Route 2, Box 716, Delano, Cal. 

 93215; John Thomas Howell, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, 

 Cal. 94118. 



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