Exploring the Farallon Islands

Lauren Sommer Science Hike on Jul 23, 2009 by for
Topics: Environment
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The Farallon Islands

Established as a national wildlife refuge 100 years ago, the Farallon Islands are centered in one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world. While off limits to the public, a handful of scientists study this unique habitat, a breeding ground for marine mammals and hundreds of thousands of birds.

Click on the map points above to see short videos and sets of photos from our trip to the islands.

In this audio slideshow below, Get a behind-the-scenes look of QUEST's trip to the Farallons and find out what's it's like to live on these rocky, remote islands – for both the birds and the scientists who study them.


Visitor Photos

Join the Farallon Islands photo group on Flickr to share your photos of this amazing place.

  • <p>I was going to call this "Pacifica: Wave Report", but when the atmosphere distorted the Farallon Islands I realized I had much more than a just a wave or sunset report.<br /> <br /> A relatively rare East wind blew the tops of the waves back to sea.</p>
  • <p>Hand- held with a 70-300mm lens from Stinson Beach, 30 miles (+/-) away.</p>
  • <p>Sunset Farallones.</p>
  • <p>The Farallon Islands, seen from the top of Grand View Park on a lovely clouded evening, just after sunset. The light from the Farallon Lighthouse is visible at the top of the highest peak.</p>
  • <p>from above Muir Beach<br /> They´re nearly 30 miles away! The day was quite clear.</p>
  • <p>A warm winter day and clear night allowed me to photograph over time the atmospheric refraction and the lighting of the lighthouse on the Farallon Islands, 27 miles off the coast of Pacifica, California.<br /> <br /> You can see the 1,600 pixel version by typing "L" for lightbox, then click on View All Sizes.<br /> At 300 dpi this will print out at 30 inches long.<br /> <br /> Click on the photo in the comment to jump to a description of how this was done.<br /> <br /> Also:<br /> <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fata_Morgana_” rel=“nofollow”>en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fata_Morgana_(mirage)</a></p>
  • <p>Nashville Warbler (left) and Virginia´s Warbler (left) caught on Southeast Farallon, California.</p>
  • <p>Townsend´s Warbler on a boat between Point Reyes and the Farallon Islands. This migrant landed onto the boat and was fairly exhausted. After flying at night it apparently dropped below the cloud and found itself lost and at sea. It hopped around a bit before flying onwards, hopefully towards land.</p>
  • <p>I was extremely fortunate to spend a fall season on SE Farallon Island in 1990 as a landbird migration assistant.</p>
  • <p>The Farallon Islands, also known as the Farallones, are our destination.<br /> <br /> They are protected sanctuary and cannot be landed on. They are known for their diverse wildlife and exceptional abundance of marine life.<br /> <br /> They are nicknamed the "Galapagos of the North" because of this diversity.</p>
  • <p>A Humpback whale surfaces near the boat... one of the first we spotted!</p>
  • <p>The camera didn´t focus in time to see a whale breach - but what a splash it made!<br /> <br /> We did get a fleeting glimpse of a blue whale.. but no cameras were trained on that direction, so no photos of it!</p>
  • <p>Tail of a humpback as it goes down for a dive.</p>
  • <p>Tail fluke of another humpback doing a more gentle angled dive.</p>
  • <p>My 16-month older sister & brother-in-law, both estranged. She´s really into Peak-Oil. They <3 birds . . . we went on a whale-watching tour (yes, we saw some), we also saw some lost birds (hummingbirds & starlings) that will become fish-food when they hit the water from exhaustion. Sometimes the birds land on the boat and can be caught/saved. <br /> <br /> We also saw evidence of sharks (floating seal carcases). It was her birthday. Several ppl got seasick and threw up, lol. It´s like 35-miles off-shore. <br /> <br /> My brother-in-law charmed two women onboard. One was a doctor. When we got back on land, she and her friend got into a very expensive Mercedes. We all smiled & waved.<br /> <br /> <a href=“http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=37.760278,-123.096944&ie=UTF8&ll=37.766381,-123.099757&spn=0.004783,0.009645&z=17” rel=“nofollow”>North Farallon Islands on Google Maps</a>.<br /> <br /> There´s not too many pics of these Islands, most ppl go to the main Islands about 7-miles SE. It was a slow day for whales so the Captain took us here. If U look at the Google map U will see the Continental Shelf drops off at these Islands. For some reason this attracts fish, seals, sharks & whales. If I find the CD for this trip, I´ll post a closer pic.</p>

 

Quest Educational Resources

pdf Print Guide - Farallon Islands ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
kml Farallon Islands KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
pdf Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
pdf Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

 

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