Abbotts Lagoon is a lagoon on the northwestern coast of the Point Reyes National Seashore, southwest of Tomales Point, in California, United States. The inland portion of the lagoon receives freshwater runoff, but the lagoon may be brackish from occasional winter tidal exchange along its western edge.[2] The eastern shore of the lagoon is covered with old growth northern coastal scrub including coyote bush, yellow bush lupine, sword fern and California blackberry.[3]

Abbotts Lagoon
A lake surrounded by hedges, grasses and sand dunes
Location of the lagoon in California, USA.
Location of the lagoon in California, USA.
Abbotts Lagoon
Location of the lagoon in California, USA.
Location of the lagoon in California, USA.
Abbotts Lagoon
LocationMarin County, California
Coordinates38°7′3″N 122°57′12″W / 38.11750°N 122.95333°W / 38.11750; -122.95333[1]
Typelagoon
Primary outflowsPacific Ocean
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface elevationsea level

Geology

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Abbotts Lagoon is usually separated from the Pacific Ocean by dune sand to the west. The eastern side of the lagoon is bordered by Miocene marine sediments to the north and Pliocene marine sediments to the south from sedimentary rock formations on the western side of the San Andreas Fault.[4] Santa Margarita Sandstone atop the Monterey Formation forms a ridge along the southern side of the valley containing the lagoon inland of the pedestrian bridge, and is exposed along the eastern shoreline of the lagoon seaward of the pedestrian bridge.[5]

History

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Coast Miwok lived in the area before 19th-century European colonization. The lagoon land was used for cattle and dairy ranching by the 1870s.[5] Abbotts Lagoon was variously identified as Abbott's Lagoon Bombing Target, Abbott's Lagoon Target Area, Abbott's Lagoon Bombing Range, and Bombing Range Number Two while used as a dive bomber practice area by pilots from Alameda Naval Air Station and Santa Rosa outlying field from 1941 to 1952.[6] The lagoon was designated part of Point Reyes National Seashore in 1962.[5]

Recreation

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Walking trails provide access to observe the birds and wildflowers of the locally unique habitats surrounding Abbotts Lagoon.[7] Brush rabbits, black-tailed jackrabbits, pocket gophers, muskrats, river otter and black-tailed deer may be seen around the lagoon. Coyote, bobcat, gray fox, long-tailed weasel, striped skunk, raccoon, badger, and cougar are rarely seen.[8]

Birding

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Great blue heron at Abbotts Lagoon

Bird species observed at Abbotts Lagoon include:

Flora

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Abbotts Lagoon is the location of the single remaining natural population of the endangered plant species Sonoma spineflower (Chorizanthe valida).[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Abbotts Lagoon". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ "Abbotts Lagoon". Great Outdoor Recreation Pages. Archived from the original on 9 September 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  3. ^ Stallcup, Rich & Pitkin, Melissa Discovering Birds at Point Reyes (2007) Point Reyes National Seashore Association ISBN 0-9607890-6-5 pp. 35–37
  4. ^ Koenig, James B. Geologic Map of California:Santa Rosa Sheet (1976) State of California Resources Agency
  5. ^ a b c "Geology at Point Reyes National Seashore and Vicinity, California" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  6. ^ "Tomales Bay Abbotts Lagoon Bombing Range, California (J09CA7292)". Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  7. ^ a b c Bay Area Hiker: Abbotts Lagoon
  8. ^ Stallcup, Rich & Pitkin, Melissa Discovering Birds at Point Reyes (2007) Point Reyes National Seashore Association ISBN 0-9607890-6-5 p.39
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw Stallcup, Rich & Pitkin, Melissa Discovering Birds at Point Reyes (2007) Point Reyes National Seashore Association ISBN 0-9607890-6-5 pp. 36–37
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "CalPhoto.com Arnel Guanlao". Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Adam Paul Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Point Reyes Light[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j SurfBirds.com Daniel Edelstein 25 October 2009
  14. ^ a b c point Reyes National Seashore
  15. ^ a b "Biohere". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  16. ^ a b c Rockskipper
  17. ^ "Panoramio". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  18. ^ Sutton Center Archived 7 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Valentino, Silas (2 June 2022). "Access to Point Reyes beach denied so plover birds can thrive". SFGATE. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  20. ^ Fog Archived 29 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ USFWS. Chorizanthe valida Five-year Review. August 2010.
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