10 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 12 



SAN CLEMENTS ISLAND 



San Clemente Island is 1964 feet high, and its southeastern end lies sixty 

 Tniles from Point Loma, near San Diego, from whicli it is visible on a clear day. 

 It is eighteen miles long in a northwest and southeast direction, with an average 

 width of two and a half miles, the l)roader and higher part of the island being 

 near the southeast end. Tlie northeast side is straight and l)old, with rocky, pre- 

 cipitous cliffs, but the southwest side is lower and more broken. There is rather 

 good grazing here, and large flocks of sheep are kept at this point. Near the 

 southeast end, at Mosquito Harbor, there is water and a number of trees, but 

 the northw^est part is devoid of moisture for the greater part of the year, and 

 there are no trees and very little brush. Back from the coast the land is rolling, 

 and near the northwest end are two fresh- water ponds, which are dry during 

 the summer. A Peromyscus and a fox occur, and in addition numerous house 

 cats. The San Clemente Wool Company have several ranch houses on the island 

 and it is necessary to obtain permission before staying and hunting in the local- 

 ity. There is no public boat service. 



SAN NICOLAS ISLAND 



This island lies fifty-three miles from the nearest part of the mainland, 

 forty-three miles westward from San Clemente, and twenty-four from Santa 

 Barbara Island. It is eight miles long in an east and west direction, with an 

 average width of three miles, and is 890 feet high. Most of the island is very 

 sandy, with no vegetation to speak of, but around the lower end there are a few 

 patches of thorn, cactus and other scrub. Several alkaline springs occur, but the 

 island is, nevertheless, very barren indeed, and animal life is correspondingly 

 scarce. The high central mesa is the home of many sheep, to care for which there 

 is a single herder. Very few boats visit this island. 



SANTA CATALINA ISLAND 



Santa Catalina Island lies about twenty miles soutliward from San Pedro. 

 It is eighteen and a half miles long in an east and west direction, with a greatest 

 width of seven miles near the east end; the highest peak, 2109 feet, lies about 

 the middle of the island, near Avalon. The latter is a famous fishing ground and 

 resort, with a resident population of several hundred. It is two and a half miles 

 from the east end. About six miles from the western end is a deep cut that al- 

 most divides the island. Catalina is rugged and mountainous, with steep, precip- 

 itous shores, intersected occasionally by deep gulches and small valleys; good 

 Avater occurs in a number of places. For the most part it is covered Mdth brash 

 and scrub oak, with some fair-sized trees in the canyons. The uplands and hill- 

 sides, however, are often bare, except for grass. Two species of mice, a ground 

 squirrel, and a fox occur here, but the latter is almost extinct because of con- 

 tracting "scabies" from tlu' sheep, which causes them to become blind. An ex- 

 cursion ])oat makes a daily run from San Pedro to Avalon. 



