Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 2006 the world's tallest tree was discovered in a remote area of Redwood National
Park (its location is kept secret to protect it). It's named Hyperion and stands a whopping
379ft tall.
Marine Mammals
Spend even one day along California's coast and you may spot pods of bottle-nosed dol-
phins and porpoises swimming and doing acrobatics in the ocean. Playful sea otters and
harbor seals typically stick closer to shore, especially around public piers and protected
bays. Since the 1989 earthquake, loudly barking sea lions have been piling up on San
Francisco's Pier 39, much to the delight of ogling tourists. Other excellent places to see
wild pinnipeds include Point Lobos State Natural Reserve just south of Monterey, Point
Reyes National Seashore in Marin County, and Channel Islands National Park, offshore
south of Santa Barbara.
Once threatened by extinction, gray whales now migrate in growing numbers along
California's coast between December and April. Adult whales live up to 60 years, are
longer than a city bus and can weigh up to 40 tons, making quite a splash when they dive
below or leap out of the water. Every year they travel from summertime feeding grounds
in the arctic Bering Sea, down to southern breeding grounds off Baja California, and then
all the way back up again, making a 6000-mile round trip.
Northern elephant seals have made a remarkable comeback along California's coast,
after being hunted almost to extinction by the late 19th century for their oil-rich blubber. In
winter, the behemoth bulls engage in mock - and sometimes real - combat, all the while
making odd guttural grunts, as their harems of female seals and young pups look on. Año
Nuevo State Reserve, north of Santa Cruz, is a protected breeding ground, and there's a
smaller rookery at Point Reyes, north of San Francisco. California's biggest colony of
northern elephant seals hauls out by Point Piedras Blancas near Hearst Castle, south of Big
Sur.
Peak mating season for northern elephant seals along the Pacific coast just happens to
coincide with Valentine's Day (February 14).
